Team Berko

The Things We Leave Behind
My favourite part of this story was when Clem told back the story of when Billie died and we realise that she was dead the whole time and not there being alive but dead. This is because I found that this was a really good plot twist and it had lots of hints the whole book leading up to it and I found it interesting the style the writer used to make this work throughout the whole book and give Billie a living feeling even though she was dead. My favourite Character was Clem because even thought most people don't like their siblings to much or they don't care for them but Clem was like a parent to Billie and when her dad went it was just her, Billie and Claudia(her step mum) and then Claudia went and through all of the grief and sadness Clem stepped up and became a parent to look after Billie and keep her happy. I really liked the style of writing used at the end in the plot twist with Billie being dead and the way she used lots of techniques to try and give subtle hints on the fact Billie is dead but also keeping us thinking something might be wrong with Billie but we still thought she was alive and that was very interesting.

Matthew

The Final Year
My favourite part of the book was when Nate's old friend, P.S, punched a boy who was making fun of him and mocking his very ill brother. Dylan(Nate's younger brother) has had a sudden heart attack and is very ill and P.S stopped being Nate's Friend at the start of year 6 and became friends with Turner but then Turner started mocking Nate and P.S punched his friend to help his old one and they became new friends. I like this because it shows how only real friends help you in your darkest moments and lift you up. I also really like the style the book was written in. The book was written in a style most people wouldn't expect. Quite a lot of the book was in the format of poems. there also wasn't much writing on each page and there was quite a few drawings of the beast reaching out the Nate which really made the book more real and I really enjoyed reading it. I also find the characterisation very good and very easy to understand but still very real. I found it very interesting how the writer could do that in the form of a poem. I mainly like the the characterisation of Nate because he is the oldest brother of 2 siblings and his mother was absent most of the time and he had to take care of his brothers. But even though he did that his mother didn't show much appreciation towards Nate.

Matthew

King of Nothing
My least favourite character was Kehinde because he was a bully and a fake friend. Kehinde is mean to people and he is not a very good person. People think that they're friends with him and he turn on them and stabs him in the back. He beat people up and was not a very nice person to be around. I think that the moral of this story is to not be surrounded by the wrong crowd. Anton at the start of the book was friends with Kehinde and people who would make him get in trouble by making him think it was cool. Therefore, he wasn't as nice of a person, but when he stops hanging out with them and hangs out with Matthew he is a lot nicer, gets himself in trouble less, gets better grades, gets smarter, and is a better person. My favourite part of the story is when Matthew saves Anton's life. This is my favourite part because this is when Anton starts to like Matthew and respect him and it is a different part to read. This is a big turning point in Anton's life and what he wants and that is why I like it.

Matthew

King of Nothing
Anton is a boy with lots of friends trying to act like roadmen at the start of the book, and I think this book is all about the coming of age for Anton where he realises that he doesn't have to be bad and naughty as a person. He can be friends with whoever he wants. My favourite part was when he realises that he does not have to be friends with Kehinde or his other mean friends. I liked this part because it showed real meaning and it felt like he was a mature person. My least favourite part was the coffee shop part. this is because we realise that Anton dad was actually not very nice at all. He was quite misogynistic towards the mother and It was quite sad to see.

Thomas

The Final Year
1. My least favourite character was Turner because he was a bully and he ripped away friendships which meant that he was not a very nice person. This was shown when PS went on holiday and by chance he met Turner. This then turned to bullying as he and Turned started to forget, and even be horrible to Nate. 2. I think the moral of the story was to be nice to people because when something goes wrong, it may be the last time that you see someone again. This was shown when Turbo Terror, Nate's brother fell ill and suddenly PS felt really sorry for Nate, and because Nate is a kind person he took him back. 3. This opened my eyes to different ways to wright books. This book was written using poetry which reflected into the book because Nate was a good poet that sees his artistic potential by the end. This was a subtle reflection.

Henry

King of Nothing
1. My favourite character was Matthew because when Anton joined "The Happy Campers", he used to bully Matthew, but when one day he saved Anton's life, everything changed, and Anton finally liked him. This shows that if you do a good deed to someone, then, no matter how horrible they are, they will repay the deed somehow. 2. My favourite part of the story was when Matthew saved Anton's life and, in his own way, Anton repaid his by getting him to win over his crush Fernanda. This shows that Anton's heart changed, which made the readers like him a bit more as he was portrayed as an idiot beforehand. 3. I think that the moral of the story was if you do a good deed to someone, then, no matter how horrible they are to you, or anyone else, they will repay the deed somehow.

Henry

King of Nothing
This fantastic novel was great for three main reasons (although I could easily add more!) Firstly Matthew was a great character because he tried to be popular but was really, really, REALLY bad at it. An example of this is when he tried to make friends with Anton - this backfired because Anton had already made his mind up that he did not want to be friends and found Matthew very annoying, especially when they were camping together. 'Goodnight roomie,' he yawns. When I don't respond he says it again. Now it's getting awkward. Just hanging there like a fart in the silence.' In addition, the book is written in the present tense which I found engaging. 'Sebastian looks helplessly at Matthew and scuttles away like a turtle'. The author also includes text messages in speech bubbles which adds to the overall impact and has a little extra creativity compared with other books I have read recently. My final reason is around the humorous theming of the book. Teenage kids, stuck together on a camping trip with Anton trying to avoid Matthew at all costs. I felt sorry for Matthew and could empathise with him but equally could see why Anton disliked him so much. I don't think I would want to be stuck on a camping trip with him either! The moral of the story is that being humble is important and Anton eventually learnt to see that he wasn't the 'king of the school' when he needed someone else to save his life - and that person was Matthew. It is a fantastic book that I recommend to anyone 11+.

Rory

King of Nothing
I think that the moral of the story was that there is a lot of toxic masculinity in the world and a lot of peer pressure to do things that you may not see as necessarily right, and its all about trying to find the right path to take even if it's unpopular. My favourite character was either Mathew or Anton. firstly I really liked Mathew as he was one of the main triggers that lead Anton to becoming a better person, and was nearly always there for him tying to lend a helping hand. secondly I liked Anton as he is the character that symbolises that people can change for the better, as he portrayed slowly through out the whole book. I particularly empathised with Anton as his dad was assumed to be an abuser and that is why he went to jail. A lots of kids take after their parents as they are their role models, and its really hard to try and distinguish what is right and wrong if you grew up with it. That's why I sympathise with Anton so much because he had to grow up with a toxic and masculine figure. People also had a big idea of who he is as a person because of his father, but as the story goes on you can see that Anton doesn't want to withhold his fathers picture for himself.

Maddison

King of Nothing
My least favourite character was Kehinde. He was one of Anton's friends in the start, he gets into trouble at school and isn't a very nice person generally. I recon he only liked Anton because his dad was in jail, and so he was come across as 'tough'. He always wants to know where Anton is and what he is doing, he didn't give him space - this is one of the reason I did not like him. When Anton's nana died he didn't care, showing he didn't have empathy. This is another reason showing that he wasn't nice. Near the end Kehinde and Caleb (one of Anton's other friends) decide to vandalise a centre Anton and Matthew were working on, Kehinde tries to commit arson, however he would have died if Anton and Matthew didn't save him. This book shows how toxic masculinity can narrow down how we see the world, and that people can be influenced easily. An example of this was Anton's dad, when they met each other after he got out of jail he was trying to convince Anton that everything was his mum's fault, that women need to be 'held down' to 'know who's in charge'. Kehinde also seemed to be influenced by Anton's dad, AND social media. After reading this book I have realised how much toxic masculinity there is in the world and how fast in can spread, either through word or online. These things get into the minds of (mostly) young boys and it can impact how they see thing and how they treat others.

Rada

King of Nothing
My least favourite character was Anton's dad because he was never there for Anton and was really rude, mean, and disrespectful to Anton's Mum. For example, in the scene when Aton is talking to his dad in the café, his dad is trying to blame the fact that he was in jail on his mum, who did nothing wrong. My least favourite part in the book was when Kehinde and Caleb went to destroy the women's shelter, because all of the time and work that they had put into it was being ruined. For example when Kehinde threw the paint all over the mural, it made me feel angry because he had no respect for what the shelter was for or for how long it had taken to build. The themes in this book were centred a lot around friendship, and not being friends with someone just because they are popular. This was so people could realise how bad and mean your "friends" could be, and so people can realise who people might pretend to be vs who they actually are. For example Kehinde starts off as Anton's best friend, but as the book progresses we realise that he is actually only pretending to be friends with him because he is scary as his dad is in prison. "

Eleanor

The Things We Leave Behind
My favourite character was Billie because she was just a small girl in the midst of all of the commotion that was England. For example she never knew how dangerous her situation was, especially when she was in the woods, living in a hut, hiding from the people of the village. My favourite part of the book was the prologue, because I was happy for Clem, and that she had found somewhere safe. For example when it says that her and Claudia are looking for her Dad, it meant that they must be safe because if they weren't they wouldn't be able to try and communicate with him. And also when it says that she's getting messages from Mischa, which meant that she must have been somewhat happy, despite losing Billie. My least favourite part of the book was the part when Clem was telling the fairy-tale, because it distracted me from the story and, although it was telling her story at the same time, I found it a bit annoying. For example, when there was a cliff hanger and then it just changed I found that annoying and it made me want to skip past it.

Eleanor

The Things We Leave Behind
One part that I like about this book is when they were staying with Grandad, because his house and small village was portrayed as being almost like something from a fantasy world. For example, the small shed/house in the woods was made to seem like a mystery house from a fairy tale that they were hiding in. My favourite character in this book was Grandad because when the sisters first arrived he didn’t remember them. For example, how he asked very often, ‘who are you?’ to the sisters although he had just remembered who they were soon before. My least favourite part about this book was when it was found out at the end that Billie had been dead the whole time and that her sister had actually been on her own the whole time. I didn’t like this part because I felt that there could have been more clues that hinted that she was dead, for example, when she was playing outside grandads’ house, maybe the author could have described Billie as something like ‘Outside, I could see the almost ghost-like figure of Billie playing with the flowers.’

Isla

King of Nothing
My favourite character in this book was the Grandma, because she was quite funny and just seemed like a nice person. For example, the way that she always kept out of the arguments that Anton had with his mum quite regularly. My least favourite part about this book was the sad part ( when grandma died), because she was my favourite character and she appeared quite a lot in the book, so when she died I felt sad for Anton and his mum. One part I particularly enjoyed about this book is when Antons mum announced that he was going to happy campers club. I liked this part because it was quite funny and I could resonate with the feeling of being told to do something you really don’t want to do. An example of how it was funny is the way that Anton rolled his eyes at his mum, and begged not to go."

Isla

King of Nothing
My least favourite character in this book was Kehinde because he was a bully to the others, and he was the leader of a poisonous friendship group. My evidence for this was when he figured out that Anton was friends with Matthew and they had been repainting St Lukes together, he went and tried to destroy Anton’s mural by throwing paint all over it. This showed that he couldn’t appreciate what Matthew and Anton were doing, and he was a bully. My favourite part of this book was the end. This was because Kehinde and Caleb left the school and also Marcus had a new group of friends. My evidence for this was ‘ Marcus was now hanging out with the skater kids. He had grown his hair out and I’d nod to him when I saw him in the hallways. He was the only one who didn’t unfollow me on Snapchat.’ This showed me that Marcus generally wasn’t a bad person but I thought he had been forced into doing bad things because of the gang he was in. Finally, my favourite character was Nana. This was because she always seemed like a caring and happy person and she really seemed like she cared about Mum and Anton. An example of how she cared about them was when Mum realised that Anton’s father had been released from prison, and Nana was comforting Mum and trying to make her feel better. I felt very sad when she died because when she passed away it made such a difference to their house, it just seemed so different without her presence in it.

Zahra

The Things We Leave Behind
My favourite character in this book was Grandpa (Huw). This is because he seemed like a really nice break from reality and because he had dementia he often didn't know what was going on around him. An example of this was when he kept calling for Grandma (Nancy). This made me feel sad because although Grandma had died several years ago he didn't remember. He was a break from reality because when war was breaking out he remained how he had always been, calm and collected. My least favourite character was Imogen Glass because she was a really mean person. An example of this was when she tried to force Clem out of the village. Although Clem had nowhere else to go and Imogen knew that she still tried to force her out of the village, because that was just who she was, an awful person. This book was a bit of a plot twister, because right at the end we realised that Billie had been dead the whole time and that was quite surprising. This was surprising because Billie had been present with Clem for the whole book and it was surprising to realise that Billie had just been in Clem's head the whole time, that Billie had died at the protest."

Zahra

The Final Year
My favourite character was Nate because he was the main character and he also shared his life with us as the readers which really connected me to him in the book. Things like him sharing his life about how he basically had to take care about his family and how he had difficulties in school when he lost his best friendship to highs of him having amazing connections with his teacher and at the end him solving his friendship, I thought I was their watching him for the whole time. My least favourite character was PS. I didn't like him because I thought that it broke Nate a lot and made him have a lot of loneliness and hard times at school which made me angry because it was annoying that he stopped being friends with Nate even though they were best buds. This book opened my eyes to a new way of writing stories. Most of the time I read action books with basic writing. But this book lead me to really want to start reading more books that involved poetry. I thought this because I loved the pace of the book and how he used poetry to emphasize on certain things like emotions. Examples of this would be when Nate was crying and scared for his brother he he thought was dead, the author made it such a tense moment with the use of his poetry. I think the message that the author is trying to put across is that life can be tough but you can get through to get to good times. I think this was the message because of how for most of the book Nate has a massive amount of hard times, like when his brother goes to hospital and when he loses his best friend to someone else. But then at the end of the book the brother gets better and he gets his best friend back and it goes back to the good times. This shows why the message was that hard times will turn into good times.

George

The Final Year
I liked how it was formatted; it was a poem layout and given he liked songs it made the book more tense and with casual bigger fonts made it seem interesting in the most unusual times. I also liked the characters, they all had different backgrounds which made it more interesting to learn about them; my favourite was Nate; he was quite peculiar and was forced into being the man of his house My favourite thing was the main plot of the book. Family issues. It is such a classic topic and it makes a great book because you can see how it can affect people in today's world and it is interesting to learn about what happened with it in fictional characters and how they do it.

Kishan

King of Nothing
"I liked how the plot was about someone who is popular, smokes and is kind of in a gang, ends up going to a kiddy camp and becomes friends with someone who is the exact opposite, good at school and the kind of teenager who still acts like a child and how the only reason they became friends is because Matthew saved Anton's life. My favourite character was the mum. She was such a fun character for a single mum, very chill with Anton and was pleased when he made friends with someone who was different to him. She also was smart in her own way and used a lot of tactics to get the point in Anton's head that he needs to improve so he doesn't head down the same road his father went on; which is jail. I also really liked the themes in the book, like issues, adventure and suspense, because every chapter had something about it and my favourite was when Matthew saved Anton's life, he was stung by a bee and Matthew had an EpiPen to save him which was very cool and earned Matthew a lot of respect from Anton."

Kishan

The Final Year
My favourite character was the main character as even though he was young he always was their to help his younger brothers Jax and Dylan. For example he helped him get through when their brother was about to die and he helped him get through saying it will all be fine. I enjoyed the most when Nate (the main character) had to try and hold back his anger because he was sad from his brother being very ill and then the anger is portrayed like a monster that wants to come out but then it does come out and then he goes crazy and the teacher has to calm him down. This was a bit in the book that showed how devastated he was at his brother being ill and nearly dying as he usually can control his anger but he is so sad that he can't hold it back. The moral of the story is to find support in hard times and help others when they are sad as Nate does in the story to Jax. I emphasised with the mum as she was trying to help them but she didn't have much money but she was trying her best even though she had a gambling problem.

Zak 1

The Final Year
My favourite character would have to be Mr Joshua, he was a teacher in this book who was really nice to the main character Nate. Now Mr Joshua took lots of care with Nate as he has had a really hard year in school after his brother died twice, (but was then saved) and he has very big anger issues. But despite all of this, Mr Joshua kept him on track and helped him throughout every single challenge and nearly every time made Nate feel better. I really enjoyed the writing in this book as it was not your typical classic formal writer, but this included some slang. For example, the book was as if it was a poem and the words were written in some sort of slang like: ain't of inn't. This really made you feel like you were in the book and brought it to life. My least favourite character would have to be PS (Parker Smith), as he was a really good friend with Nate but then left him once they switch classes. Now although this is ok, PS was not very kind to Nate on things like school trips he was making him trip over and it was not right. But in the end PS came back to him and didn't even say sorry.

Zak 2

King of Nothing
The writing of this book was really cool and I thought it was similar to The Final Year, as it talked in a very similar way. It made you get a better understanding of where they are from and because of this you could feel like you are knowing how they think and act. I really enjoy these different types of writing as they are not the same as every other book but they show purpose in what they do. My favourite character would have to be the Grandma of Anton because they had such a big connection with each other. The Grandma is also very relaxed about whatever Anton does with his friends. An example of this is how he and his Grandma have secrets that they don't tell anyone about, so if Anton leaves the house when he is not supposed to the Grandma will not tell the mother. But if the Grandma has way to much sugar in her tea, Anton will not tell his mother ad they made a deal with each other about it. This is a really sweet connection. My favourite part of this story is when his mother forces him to go to happy camp, this is a little camp that has a range of activities to do and it helps shape you in the future. I really liked this bit as the mother made a deal with Anton. This was that if he goes to this camp, he will get his Wi-Fi back, but if he does not go then he will not get it back and cant text his friends. But I also like this part as he meets a boy called Matthew, and if Anton did not go to happy camp and meet and make friends with Matthew then he would not be where he was today.

Zak 2

King of Nothing
"King of Nothing is a funny, heart-warming book about school and reputations. My favourite character was Anton's Grandma because she always wanted the best for Anton and they kept each other's secrets. An example of this was when Anton came home late from school, his Grandma didn't tell his Mum to keep him out of trouble. My least favourite character was Kehinde because he was very cruel to Anton, Mathew, and Anton's Mum. For example, at the end of the book, Kehinde ties Mathew up, sets fire to Anton's Mum's project (a womens' refuge), and fights with Anton. My favourite part was when Anton first joined the Happy Campers because it was very funny, especially when Mathew was trying to be friends with him, but Anton didn't like him. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes comedy or action."

Emmeline

The Final Year
My favourite character was Dylan because he went through a lot over the course of the book. An example of this was when he was diagnosed with endocarditis, a life-threatening condition. He went through this but survived and bounced back stronger. I really liked Matt Goodfellow's style of writing, mixed with the occasional illustration. All of the book was written in poetry (sometimes rhyming, sometimes not!) which made it more interesting and engaging. My favourite poem was 'The Noise' because it built lots of tension and suspense. For example there was lots of polysyndeton and repetition which made the reader more scared and anxious about what was going to happen next. I would recommend this book to younger readers who enjoy poetry.

Emmeline

The Final Year
The Final Year is written in a Poem structure on each page and In my opinion, I enjoy it because it gets to the point, however, it can get quite repetitive as the verses are quite similar. An example of this is when he was going to school. My favourite character was probably the teacher as always helped Nate, when he was struggling with preparing for his SATS, especially when his brother was in the hospital. For example, he always reassured him by quoting Bob Marley's lyric 'every little thing is gonna be alright'. I enjoyed the end, because it ended with a happy ending. An example of this was when Nate's brother got better and was let out of the hospital.

Isabella

King of Nothing
My favourite part of this book is when Anton is trying to get Matthew to ask out his crush, and so Anton made Matthew wear an earpiece when talking to his crush so that he could tell him what to say, but it ends up going really badly because Anton can't actually hear what she is saying back to Matthew, I enjoyed this part of the book because it was really funny. My favourite character in the book was Matthew because even though he is quite quiet in school, outside of school he is very kind, funny and theatrical. I think the style of writing was really interesting because it used a lot of language that teenagers use without making it seem to cringey. There was also a lot of text bubbles instead of just the dialogue which I thought split up the book in a really nice way.

Elizabeth

King of Nothing
My favourite character was Anton (the main character) a 15 year old who has pretty much flunked school, and avoids any questions which have to do with with what he wants to do in his future. He lives with his mum and grandma, who hate his friends and is always getting told off, especially for all the dirty plates and cups in his room. This a fictional book and this has opened my eyes to books I used to read about family and friendship problems. The main moral of this story is to never judge a book by its cover. The book was laid out nicely with not super long paragraphs and chapters, with pages sometimes filled up like a WhatsApp or messages mage with texts going back and forth making it easier and simpler to read.

Charlotte

The Final Year
My favourite character Dylan. He was a four year old whirlwind who found the joys in life. He was always so happy, especially when he pretended to be Spider Man. I empathised with Nate when Dylan was in the hospital. The book helped you understand the pain that Nate felt with his ill brother. Seeing the once excited little boy turn into a sleepy, unwell child. Lastly, it opened my eyes to how someone with anxiety (or anger issues in this case) struggled in school and everyday life. Although this may not be true in certain cases, Nate lost control and struggled deeply. For example when he tore his classroom apart.

Amelie

All That It Ever Meant
This story really opened my eyes to how much struggle grief puts someone through. The whole family breaks after losing the narrator and mum. For example, Chichi used to be a lovely, caring girl. But becomes stroppy and a troublesome teenager. Secondly, I disliked some parts of the story due to the book rambling on. I found that for example when they were traveling in Zimbabwe, I could skip 30 pages and still know what was happening. Lastly, my favourite character was Tana. He was the younger brother and was described as 'sweet' and other synonyms. He felt pain after the death but kept going. My favourite part of the character was when he found something inappropriate in Chichi's bag, and was so innocent and cute. Even when everyone else was laughing.

Amelie