Kesgrave Bookworms

Treacle Town
I didn't like treacle town very much I just found it excessive in the amount of swearing and that made it rather boring and repetitive in dialogue

evelyn

Glasgow Boys
I loved this book so much. It really showed amazing character development and storytelling in a way that completely hooks the reader. It made me feel genuinely sad and is a book I instantly want to read again. One of the best books I've ever read.

Emily

All That It Ever Meant
This book is heartwarming and a very compelling read. The theme of grief is a very hard topic to read about and i struggled to get into the flow of reading it. I love the character of the metacais and how beautiful their clothing sounds. The novella is full of captivating characters and a great plot it is a powerful story of family grief and change. The novella is very cleverly told through the eyes of Mati.

Elizabeth

Glasgow Boys
The book was relatively interesting and hooked me in from the blurb, it really drew me in seeing how all the characters reacted to everything and the amount of depth within their person. The authour is insanely creative, as it would be difficult to perfectly imitate the way people speak. Although the blub was a little misleading, as I couldnt always see the relevance. I think it was an emotional book, the plot was well thought out, and it is definetly my favourite so far out of the carnegie books.

Jennifer

All That It Ever Meant
This book has really made an effort in portraying how you feel after the death of a parent, however, I believe that to be potentially one of the only good qualities of this book. Instead of making you feel the story, it kind of made me think that i was a child being read a bedtime story, as it was bland and i was more interested in other things. the character development was choppy, if any at all. It didn't have the suspense and climax I was looking for, and the plot twist at the end didnt really make my jaw drop as much as i had anticipated, as the writing before just made me bored. Its an alright book, and i would reccomend it to someone who isnt really into action and is shocked easily,

Jennifer

The Final Year
This book was alright, I liked how it was written in the form of some poems, however it took a while to get used to. It portrays the life struggles anyone can be going through in a really understandable, sympathetic way. It is very relatable as he moves up the school years, as many feel nerves in such situations. It also shows how you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. Nate really goes through a struggle rampage, and i believe this book to be really well written with a good story. Although, I was not a fan of the missing g's at the ends of the words, as it just made everything muddle up in my head.

Jennifer

Play
"Play" by Luke Palmer is a book that generates a lot of feelings, though not all were positive for me. On one hand Palmer's writing is undeniably alluring and thought - provoking, and there are moments were the story really shines, particularly in the emotionally raw moments of each character. I definitely think the exploration of deep themes like drugs, toxic masculinity, homophobia etc. was quite insightful. The observations made about relationships in this text show that time was taken to execute the story in a sensitive way. However I found the pacing can be irregular and at some points difficult to connect with especially right at the very end. Overall its a sophisticated and reflective read and can 100% be enjoyed depending on your reading style.

Mila

The Things We Leave Behind
A heart-felt story about the hidden struggles of a refugee and how talking can help to heal the pain you may have gone through.

evelyn

Treacle Town
At the start of the book I found the language and the type of slang used very hard to understand and with my small attention span evidently almost put the book down. But after a little bit I began to get more into it, and understood a little more of the terms used. I started to like the main character at around the middle of the book and really wanted him to achieve what he desired. The writing changing tense was very confusing at times, and i had to re-read a lot of the chapters before I could understand it, but it was an overall okay read because i couldnt understand a lot and it was really sad, but a pretty solid book.

Jennifer

King of Nothing
Something I think is great about the book is that you can see Anton’s personality shift throughout the chapters, but I believe the writing to be a little abrupt and his personality seems to alter large sums between the chapters start and finish. You can see how he changes, but its just quite quick to switch up. It educates you on the importance of close friends, but it also follows a common steryotype, with the 'bad boy' and the 'unpopular kid/nerd'. Although I think it was a good read, the simple plot and steryotypes evidently made the book a bit boring.

Jennifer