Balla Bookworms
All That It Ever Meant
What a start of a book! Maybe the story gets a bit confusing, but there is a twist at the end and you will understand. I loved the road trip and Zimbabwe must be a wonderful country.
Miss Geval
The Final Year
I love this book.
My class in year six read this book and I loved it so much that I went to the libary and borrowed it so I could read it again.
This book has a really big sentimental value to me and I can't wait to read the second book.
Lara
All That It Ever Meant
I quite enjoyed the book at the start and thought it was just right, then it felt a bit slow for a while and at the end I found it didn't make much sense but over all I think it had a good story.
Lara
All That It Ever Meant
Overall I didn't really care for the book. The general story didn't really appeal to me, the characters were mostly uninteresting, and the topic that it was covering (grief and how people deal with death) is one that I don't really enjoy reading about as it just doesn't engage me in the book. 2/10
Johnny
Play
This book is so funny and thought provoking! I like the fact that the characters that we follow are all a stereotypes and that we see parts of each in ourselves. It really makes you think about the consequences of your actions and how that can affect others as well. Seeing different experiences of the same situation really adds to the book as well because it shows you how the world is perceived by different people and how people's thought processes vary. This book emphasises the need for empathy and understanding even when it is hard to do so - a valuable lesson which everybody at this point in the world needs.
Bella
All That It Ever Meant
This book was unique in so many ways that I don't know where to begin! Firstly All that it ever meant is a book about family relationships, tragedies and cultural identity, I see myself in every one of the characters in this book and that is what made it enjoyable. The disconnection that the main character feels from the rest of the family is shown in the style of writing, whether this was on purpose or not, I don't know but I think this made the ending even more emotional.
Bella
Treacle Town
This book was an experience that I didn't think I would be reading during the short list for the Carnegies. Treacle Town focuses on those who have the hardest lives in poverty in Scotland and how this shapes the characters friendships, decisions and dreams for the future. It made me feel pity for them as well as rooting for their success and happiness. As their home town seems to be ever more inescapable and the main character wishes for a better future, we see the ways in which relationships and a persons financial position can truly pull them away from the very place that is harming them.
Bella
Glasgow Boys
This was such a heart warming and emotional book to read, especially for people trying to get into reading or is in a bit of a reading slump. The two main characters have very chaotic and sad backstories and have learnt to deal with their past in
different ways, one retreats inward and shies away and the other is loud and sees confrontation as something he deserves (especially when it harms him). These two very different characters become a part of each others lives and rely on each other for a sense of security, but when it all falls apart and their lives take them on different paths, both regret what happened that day while also trying to become a better version of themselves.
Bella
The Things We Leave Behind
I thought that this book was quite unique because of the setting that we read about. I think the way that it deals with grief and fear makes it special, especially when Clem talks about her half sister Billie. I think that made it link so well to how, slowly, the main character is able to begin to process what has happed and look forward to a brighter future.
Bella
King of Nothing
This was a good read - engaging, moving, sometimes funny, with some great characters. The pace of the book was good. Anton's journey from bully to friend is an interesting one, and the relationships in the book are very realistic and credible. Parts of it were very funny, and I enjoyed reading it.
Ros
Treacle Town
This was a very powerful book and not one for the faint hearted! The story of Con and his desperation to escape the cycle of poverty and violence into which he has been pulled, is moving and brutal. This is reflected in the extensive use of bad language, which pulls us into his world. His voice in the book is very real, and I so want to hope that his future will be brighter!
This book is quite a tough read, but very immediate and will stay with me.
Ros
The Final Year
I loved this book because it was very real. I thought that the character was me because I felt what he felt. My favourite characters were Dylan, Mr. Joshua and Caleb. I liked Dylan because he was only young, but I felt for him a lot. I liked Mr. Joshua because he is very chill and Caleb, because he was a good friend.
Rhiannon
King of Nothing
A very good story.
Very mysterious at the start, very heart warming and funny, then quite sad and at the end it is very heart warming again.
I would love to know more about Kehinde and why he seems to hate girls.
Lara
The Final Year
I loved this book. I enjoy verse novels, and this was a very fine example of the style. The story was very compelling - I read it all in one sitting. The characters were well drawn and the plot was absolutely absorbing, and very realistic. The issues to which the story draws attention are very real and the trials and tribulations of friendships are very well observed. The teacher seemed like exactly the kind of teacher every student needs, and I cheered his attitude to tests! I found the book very moving, especially towards the end and the final few lines had me in tears!
Really good read.
Ros
Glasgow Boys
What a book! Makes one realise how important it is to have a support network. What a struggle for these two boys life has been and how difficult it has to be to trust people again. Although these boys are totally different, they have so much in common. Enjoy this book and cherish your friends and family!
Miss Geval
The Things We Leave Behind
I really liked this booklet was very exiting and had some emotional parts, it was very realistic when it mentioned the government.The ending almost had me in tears. Overall it was a very good book and I would highly recommend.
Alesia
The Things We Leave Behind
I enjoy dystopian fiction, and this book did not disappoint. It was frightening real in its description of how the government moved so quickly to the right and how fast things became dangerous for anyone with a different opinion. It all seems quite close to home and is a reminder not to take the freedoms we enjoy for granted. The story was exciting, it moved at quite a pace, and kept me wanting to read on. I kind of suspected the twist towards the end, but I was so hoping I was wrong! A really well considered story that promotes empathy towards others, and challenges us to think about the way in which aspects of our world are changing... scary!
Ros
Little Bang
This book looks at the currently very relevant issue of a woman's right to abortion. For that reason I think it is an extremely important book for teenagers to read. The discussion around abortion is so often bound up in religion, and morality, which this
book does mention, but its main focus is on the right of a woman to choose what should happen to her body. The two characters are very real, and their romantic story is sweetly told. The writing is engaging and I really cared about all the characters. It is very enjoyable, just as a story, but its message makes it more than that.
Ros
All That It Ever Meant
This was a short but very powerful read. The characters come alive on the page and the way the family interacts is very real. The travelling through Zimbabwe is so beautifully described and the feeling of family healing as the journey progresses is very moving. The twist towards the end is clever and unforeseen (at least by me!) and the final few pages bring the story to its end beautifully. I really enjoyed this book.
Ros
Play
I so enjoyed this book. The four characters were well drawn and the issues they had to deal with were very 'real life' (sadly!). Their individual stories and the way they intersected over a number of years made for a sometimes complex plot, but very readable. As I got towards the end of the book, I was intrigued as to how it might finish, and I did not see the ending coming - it was a fabulous ending, different in tone from the rest of the book, but utterly compelling and overwhelmingly moving. My favourite so far...
Ros
Little Bang
I really enjoyed this book! It gives such a different perspective of situations that children grow up hearing about. I wouldn't have known without this book the cultural difference and general opinion of people in a country which has laws which seem almost shocking to someone who has grown up thinking ,that in the western world, laws such as abortion would generally be agreed on and had become more liberal in modern times.
Isabella
The Things We Leave Behind
This book was exciting, scary and moving. I really enjoyed this dystopian novel that was sometimes too close for comfort. I loved the characters, and the story flowed well.
Ros