Brooke Weston Book Busters

Create Group Magazine

The Song Walker
A wonderful story full of mystery and intrigue. Set in the Australian outback and featuring two girls who are both on very different journey's of discovery. I enjoyed seeing how the relationship between them developed over the course of the story and the plot twist at the end was totally unexpected! Beautifully written and highly recommended - definitely one of my favourites from this year's shortlist.

Mrs Mann

Away With Words
Away with Words is a fantastic book that really shows the struggles of being in a new country when you don't speak the language. I absolutely loved the metaphor of the words being physical things that people can see, as I thought it was really interesting. I also really enjoyed how the 'bullies' in the story are portrayed, and how Gala and Natalie helped them overcome their challenges in life. I absolutely loved this book and I would definitely recommend it!

Kristina

Safiyyah's War
Safiyyah's war is an incredible book about the life of those who helped the jews in the war. I learned so much, and I really loved the way that the people were all portrayed as humans. We got to see how people back then managed to escape, and how some of them didn't. Overall, this book was my absolute favourite as it uncovered some very hidden parts of history. Would definitely recommend!

Kristina

Safiyyah's War
Honestly, an amazing piece of history with a brave heroine and a variety of different relationships. I adored reading about some history I had never learnt about before.

isabella

The Wilderness
For this book I don't think that it was the best book that I have read. This book would be a good book if it had a bit more meaning behind it. For people who would enjoy this book I think that the age range on this book would be any age really. However, there were some good parts in this book like when the girl (Oktober) meets Wilderness ( the monster in the story). The other good parts in this book are when we found out all the names of everyone in the story. They were all named after the months of the year.

Narina

The Wilderness
The book The Wilderness is good but it doesn't have that much greatness to it. I'm a fan of the art but not so much for the story. I do like the wilderness design even though it looks a little intimidating but it is a gentle giant.

cohen

The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish
I liked it, it was pretty cool. The most eye catching thing were the pictures, they were very cosy and those colours were blended to make the whole book better and beautiful. Also, the text was pretty boring but the pictures made up for it.

Rozalia

The Wilderness
I enjoyed this book so much. It was about siblings who are all named after a month. The monster that was in a story was called Wilderness this is why the book is called the Wilderness. One of the siblings is unsure if the monster is scary or not. Later the whole family became friends with the monster. I would say this book is for any age because this is teaching kids how to make friends with other people not judging them by their cover.

Nicola

The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish
Really good because the images are so realistic and fun to look at. The writing was easier to read and was not that hard. I recommend it for 6+ as it can be hard to understand at first and then gets better.

lucienne

The Door of No Return
The Door of No Return is a really good book (spoiler alert) filled with love compassion and loss. It shows the everyday life of a young African boy who lives a normal life, including rivalries, friends and crushes. But his life is turned upside-down when he is taken away to the slave trade. The cliffhanger at the end enables us to hope for what we know may be impossible, but it is nonetheless an incredible book.

Kristina

The Midnight Panther
I really like this book because of all the pictures and the art in it. This book would be amazing for all ages. The Midnight Panther is one of the best books I have read so far. There are many images of the panther and all of the pictures of the panther, the sun, the moon, and the rain were all extremely realistic and had lots of detail.

Narina

The Midnight Panther
The book The Midnight Panther includes beautiful artwork and it does have a decent story but overall the books message is when you try to fit in with some people to impress them you don't need to do that instead just be yourself! I myself enjoyed the book and what you should do is to love yourself more and like and respect yourself for who you are!

cohen

The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish
I enjoyed this book and I think this is a book for any age. The jelly fish is hiding and the people in the boat are trying to find them and they thought the jelly fish is a myth. Later on in the book they find the jelly fish and they believe the myth that the people told them. It is very good.

Nicola

To the Other Side
I did not like this book because there was some kids getting grabbed and I think this book will be for 11 yeas old. The pictures were colourful.

hayden

To the Other Side
I do not recommend it because it was upsetting and stressful because of the pictures and the story that goes with it. I only recommend for more grown up people as it is drastic and it was scary. 14+

Lucienne

The Bowerbird
The rhymes of this illustrated poem for children is actually very good and it surprised me to see some vocabulary that children may not know at their current age such as 'haughty' and 'bower'.

Matthew

The Bowerbird
The books message is about finding true love and love the ones who care and love you and not to love the ones who don't care about you. In the book they want more and more things and by doing those things you think they will love you but they will find somebody else to love. So this book's message is love the ones who care and love you and move on from the ones who don't care about you.

Frederic

The Midnight Panther
I like this book because it shows that people and animal's like panthers can be different. I like the illustrations because they are very pretty and special, I do recommend looking at them closely so you can see more details in it. I would only recommend this book for older kids and young adults as there is a lot of words and there are some topics which can be confusing or upsetting to little kids.

Lucienne

The Midnight Panther
I enjoyed this book because it has animals in it. I liked the colours of the pictures and the lion that was in it and the cheetah as well. I think this book will be good for five year olds.

hayden

Steady for This
Steady for This was a really good book because it explores themes of friendship and loss and shows how even those who live completely different lives to us can be people we meet in everyday life. The people we meet throughout the story are extremely lovable and you immediately seem to connect with everyone. There is a range of people with different ages throughout and people can really connect with them. I really enjoyed this book and I hope that its message can reach more and more people.

Kristina

Steady for This
Great book overall but I personally do not like the 'raps' in this book as it is cringey. The plot is great and fits perfectly with the theme of this book. 6/10.

Matthew

The Door of No Return
A beautifully written historical verse novel, the first in a trilogy, about the Atlantic slave trade and the real lives of the Asante people in the 19th century in what is now Ghana. A story about a young boy Kofi Offin who is enjoying village life, swimming, playing Oware and hanging out with his friends Ebo and Ama until his world is turned upside down after an incident at a festival between rival villages. A compassionate and important read and I can’t wait to read book 2!

Mrs Mann

The Song Walker
I found the book very interesting, the general theme was exciting and it was thrilling to learn more and more about this mystery girl as the book continues. I won't say much for I fear to spoil- however I did, personally, begin to get a bit bored with how slow it felt at times, but that only made every new discovery so much more exciting, thus making it worth the wait. I would recommend.

Caitlin

April's Garden
This book is lovely, however it does start off sad then it has a happy ending. The most sad thing about this book for me is probably the fact that there isn't a dad in this story. And because there isn't a dad in this story it leads for me to think that the dad might have died or the dad might have left the mum. However there are some more sad things that are in this story like when she doesn't like the clothes that her neighbours give her and she goes into a huff because of this. But I think that this story also has a meaning. The meaning is to respect others.

Narina

April's Garden
I liked it because the pictures are not not too colourful, it is very gloomy and miserable. This book made me feel comfortable (cosy and made me feel relaxed). It's cool, I rate it for kids 10-13 years

Rozalia Mutaf

To the Other Side
I love how they use the pictures to portray the dangerous journeys of crossing borders

Ornella

April's Garden
I recommend the book to older kids because it has some topics which some younger kids might not understand. April moved and she lived in a big house and she was not happy because she wanted a plant to grow but thought that it was dead and the neighbours gave her a lot of things like toys. In the end she was happy again.

Lucienne

The Bowerbird
The books message is about finding true love and love the ones who care and love you and not to love the ones who don't care about you. In the book they want more and more things and by doing those things you think they will love you but they will find somebody else to love. So this book's message is like I said, love the ones who care and love you and move on from the ones who don't care about you.

cohen

Away With Words
Away With Words is about a Spanish girl called Gala who moves to Scotland to live with her dad's boyfriend. At first, she doesn't like it there and wants to go back to her town in Spain. As she makes friends with a girl called Natalie who has selective mutism and they start making poems but someone lies and they get accused of something they didn't do. Gala grows to like her new life in Scotland and her new friends and her dads' boyfriends dogs.

Felicity

April's Garden
I enjoyed this book. It was about a girl called April and she didn't have any money and needed to go to the homeless shelter with her parents. She and her family were in a house with strangers. She was gloomy because she missed her old house. In addition, all she wanted was a garden and her mum was cheering her up and trying to make her happy. I would say that people at the age of 6+ would read this because there are some sad scenes in this book but there is a happy ending. And, there are a lot of different pictures.

Nicola

April's Garden
I liked this book because it was about a girl called April who wanted a garden and she was moving house because she didn't like the house she was in. I think that 7/8 yeas old would like this because it has different pictures in it.

hayden

Crossing the Line
Crossing The Line is a verse novel about a boy called Erik whose dad passed away and it shows how he gets manipulated and involved in county lines and drugs. I liked how Erik developed as a character. It also shows the danger of drugs and how county lines effect children in the UK and how his family was put in danger.

Felicity

Lost
For this book (Lost) I really love the fact that author has told the story with a meaning behind it - to be kind and respectful to everyone even if you have never met them before. And, if someone is lost then instead of ignoring them you can ask if they need help or if they're ok. Since this book has lots of images and not so many words, this book would be amazing for all ages.

Narina

Lost
I enjoyed this book alot. Basically it was about a polar bear and this polar bear was very lost and asked some people for help but no one would listen to him and they didn't care due to being on their phones. Suddenly a girl helped him out and took him back to her house. He wanted to go back to his home and the girl helped him by wrapping him with a blanket and letting him go to his home. This Polar Bear was lost in London and I found that out as there was a tube that was underground. I think this book can be for any ages because there isn't anything too serious. My favourite part of the book was that a girl helped the polar bear because she cared about him and treated him with respect.

Nicola

The Wilderness
I liked this book. I liked the pictures and I also I liked that this book contained words. So yes, its cool and probably this book is for children that know how to read.

Rozalia Mutaf

Lost
The book Lost is a good representation of the idea of physically or mentally being lost but this book's message is about friendship and how strangers can respect everybody including you and how some can help you find your way of finding yourself or home. This book shows you that if you ever feel lost or helpless there will always be someone to help you.

cohen

The Wilderness
I recommend this book for someone who is an ok reader but not under 3 because some words are hard to understand. I like this book because it has a mystery and adventures. Some bits can be funny which I like. I like the pictures and the details.

lucienne

The Wilderness
I enjoyed this book because it has different people in and lots of stuff going on. I think this book is for a 9/8 year old. I liked the fact that this book had more words. The pictures showed different things like the monster and the kids.

Hayden

The Tree and the River
I like the design of the city and the artstyle used throughout this book

Ornella

Crossing the Line
'Crossing The Line' is a book that deals with sensitive subjects such as drug dealing, poverty, grief, and murder. It follows the journey of a boy who has just lost his dad and is manipulated into selling drugs. He agrees to partake as his family is struggling for money and his mum has just given birth to twins. Eventually, his must escape but in doing so he puts his families lives at risk. It shows the effect drugs has on your life and how it affects those around you.

Chloe

Choose Love
This book was a great book about refugees but the images didn't really make sense to me. The message of this book really touches your heart as the foreworder: Onjali Rauf describes their journey of life. The poems used in this book were really GOOD!!! Overall this book is amazing!

Matthew

Away With Words
I love we see the change in how Gala goes from hating her new home in Scotland to absolutely loving it and making a new friends

Ornella

Away With Words
'Away With Words' is a beautiful novel about a girl, Gala, who moved from Spain to Scotland. It is set in a world where words physically come out of your mouth when you speak. She struggles to fit in and wishes to go back to Spain. She meets a girl with selective mutism and befriends her. They come up with a plan to spread positivity with words but when it backfires, they must work together to explain themselves. It's a wonderful book that highlights the struggles of bilingual people and people with selective mutism.

Chloe

Choose Love
Generally a really good book the message is very deep it made me really contemplate on how much I take things for granted.

Frederic

The Boy Lost in the Maze
The Boy Lost in the Maze is a fantastic book about how your identity can be heavily impacted by the loss of one or both of your parents. It takes Greek mythology and puts a spin on it, presenting the characters as every day, ordinary people. I also really like how the two boys meet at the end and join together in their search for 'manhood'.

Kristina

Safiyyah's War
This is a really deep book that follows Saffiyah's experiences as she navigates the challenges and dangers war, including air raids, rationing, and the evacuation of children from the city. She finds courage and strength and makes a friend called Timothee and they face the uncertainties of war with bravery. I would give this book an 8/10.

Rashad

Crossing the Line
A powerful and important YA novel told in free verse about poverty, crime, drugs and county lines and how a few bad decisions can have a domino effect on a young person’s future. It was easy to empathise with Erik who is vulnerable and an easy target for recruitment as he is grieving for his dad and has money worries at home. Fast-paced, gritty, and gripping, highly recommended.

Mrs Mann

Choose Love
An incredibly moving collection of poems that provide an insight into the real-life experiences of refugees forced to leave their homes and leave their lives behind. Told in three parts: departure, arrival, and healing - an important collection of poems that build awareness and empathy. A reminder to us that refugees are real people and that nothing, but circumstance separates us from the experience of being a refugee and that love is the choice we all need to make.

Mrs Mann

The Song Walker
I liked The Song Walker because of the plot twist at the end and how it is all about the main characters memory loss and how her character develops throughout the book. I also enjoyed how we learn about the different cultures of the First Country Australian people. I think it took quite a long time to really get into the main part of the book and it can be repetitive at points but it still was quite interesting and I liked the plot.

Felicity

The Door of No Return
Mixed feelings about this book: some of the themes were very dark but I felt that being told through verse made it more accessible for younger readers. The contrast of the first part of the story to the second was stark. Kwame Alexander portrayed Kofi as a happy-go-lucky young boy at the beginning of the story, who had hopes and dreams for his future. This made the second part of the story even more heart breaking and the scene has been set for the next part of Kofi's and his cousin's journey. We can only guess at the horrors that will lie ahead if they manage to survive but I think I will want to read on to find out more in Book 2.

Frederic

The Boy Lost in the Maze
'The Boy Lost in The Maze' is a verse novel with multiple perspectives that shows the similarities between Theo, a fatherless boy, and Thesus and the minotaur in Greek mythology. Both Thesus and the minotaur are in search of love from their fathers and their stories intertwine despite the time difference. You also have the option to choose possible options for the characters and see whether or not your character will survive. I really enjoyed the book and I loved how interactive it was.

chloe

The Boy Lost in the Maze
I like The Boy Lost in the Maze in the way it was written from the two perspectives of Theo and The Minotaur and Theseus and how Theo relates to the Greek myth. It includes lots of metaphors of how Theo relates to the myth. This book is a verse novel and the different types of poems are a really good idea. I also liked how in parts of the story you could choose what the characters did which made the book feel more personal. Sometimes the myth part of the story was harder to understand with the language and I got a bit confused between whose story it was talking about at times. Overall I enjoyed The Boy Lost in the Maze and it was a very interesting book.

Frederic

The Door of No Return
I enjoyed the storyline of 'The Door Of No Return'. Kofi's point of view was interesting and relatable, but I didn't particularly like the fact that it was a verse novel; making it slightly harder to understand, and the way that the speech was written was confusing, making it harder to follow. Besides this, I liked 'The Door Of No Return', and would rate it a 6/10.

Lilly

The Door of No Return
During the time I have been trying to read this book I have found the free verse style to be not very captivating with its unusual way to display pages and paragraphs. The content of this novel was good but it can get a little repetitive with the jokes. I would recommend it if you like historically accurate novels. This book is a great way to highlight the Slave Trade but not very fun to read. All of this is my personal opinion, so please don't let it put you off reading it if you like historical fiction.

Matthew

Safiyyah's War
A well written piece of hidden history based on real events highlighting the role Muslims and the Great Mosque in Paris played in helping the Jewish community escape persecution during the Second World War during the occupation of France by the Nazis. I also enjoyed reading about the relationship between the protagonist Saffiyah - a brave, young Muslim girl who helps lead the Jews to safety, and her wise grandmother. Overall, great story telling and an important story to be shared about the power of community, faith and hope.

Mrs Mann

Crossing the Line
'Crossing the Line' by Tia Fisher is a beautiful bildungsroman book that follows the story and of young Erik. The story is a verse novel which I personally found made the book harder to read due to the poetic structures. None the less, the plot is most enjoyable and guides the reader through an emotional roller-coaster. I would recommend this book to verse novel enjoyers.

caitlin

Choose Love
Choose Love is a very interesting book. It's one of those books where you read it and think you know exactly what the meaning is, until someone says something at school or at home and you have a massive realisation. This book has helped me understand more about refugees and what they go through. Definitely recommend.

Kristina

Choose Love
I would give this book an 8/10 as it loses 2 marks for the first couple of illustrations due to them being far too abstract for me and distracted me from the poems. It's a nice book that explores ideas of the difficult theme of being a refugee which I was able to understand.

Rashad

The Bowerbird
I loved this book as it was a bit more realistic than the others I have read. I think that this book would be great for ages around 10 years old because it might be a little sad for younger readers. For this book there was one specific message that the writer was trying to give the reader: do not trust strangers. When the bird came to help the bowerbird and the other bird took all the items the bowerbird collected.

Narina

April's Garden
I thought it was a good book that my group looked at because April's mum wanted to move to a new house because the old house was not a good place to live. I would think that children 7 years old would enjoy looking at this book.

hayden

April's Garden
To be fair I liked it, because it included some of the family, house and some emotional problems. Also, I just enjoyed it because it had cool pictures! I think that young children 10-15 years old will actually understand what the thought and meaning behind the book is - in particular the problems and what she is feeling.

Rozalia

April's Garden
I liked the book because it shows a girl who moved house and her emotions about moving home. I recommend age 8+ because they can read it but it could be upsetting to 5 year olds.

lucienne

The Tree and the River
It was a good book. The story behind it was that the tree was still there and the time changed into the past and the future. The pictures were really arty and it was very nice. I would say all ages can read this book. Basically some parts were sad and some parts of the book were about the future and some were about the present time. I really enjoyed this book I think this is my favourite book so far. In addition is also says that humans changed the present time into the future time and that the tree survived all along, that was the story behind it.

Nicola

The Tree and the River
I really enjoyed this book because it had lots of different types of pictures. However, it didn't have any words as it lets you imagine what is happening.

Narina

The Door of No Return
The Door Of No Return is a wonderful book written by Kwame Alexander. It not only displays his love for a different culture but it also displays his amazing writing skills and his ability to hook readers in using a verse novel format. The novel is a brilliant coming of age story and sheds light on the terror and horrific events of the North Atlantic Slave Trade through the eyes of the slightly naïve 11-year-old, Kofi Offin. It contains sections about family love, childish crushes, family feud and some historical events about black people. It has everything for everyone and is a nice way to show the world the true story of black culture and history.

Michelle

Choose Love
This book was a good mixture of overwhelming illustrations and amazing writing I personally didn't understand this book until I figured out the pictures represented something important in their life. It had some out of place poems but overall was good.

Aaron

The Song Walker
The Song Walker was a really fantastic book that quite literally brought tears to my eyes. The way the main character developed as the story progressed really inspired me. Usually, I find the symbolism in stories rather annoying, but Bethell does a fantastic job of making it understandable. This story was also very thought provocative, leading to an even deeper understanding of the character's lives and the authors intentions. On the other hand, I would have preferred it if we knew slightly more about how the main character and her friend turned out as we didn't really get a lot of detail as to what happened. Overall, I really enjoyed this book as the characters were my age and while they were relatable, they were completely different to what I would have expected. I would definitely recommend this book!

Kristina

Felicity

Steady for This
I would give this book a 5/10 because it just meets the alright mark. Growls mum works hard for him, I think Siobhan and him should just be friends. Honestly, I believe that the fact he is called "poopy pants" is pathetic and just cringe because all his mum did was carry laundry. It's also not Growls job to worry about eviction- it's his parents.

Rashad

The Boy Lost in the Maze
I really enjoyed reading this book. It is a mythological book with a real-life story running alongside it. It is about a boy who wants to find his father and starts to write about Theseus, the son of a king, who also goes on an adventure through many obstacles to find his father. There is also the minotaur who has a different life completely, he was abandoned and seen as a monster from the moment he was born. As well as this I like the fact that the book was written in three different perspectives, because it allowed me to immerse myself in the book more. There is also an interactive element of making your own choices and choosing your own adventure that makes the book a lot better and more expansive. Overall I think this book will be one of my favourites for quite a while. I would definitely recommend this book.

Aaron