Vista Academy Littleport

Wolf Siren
Wolf Siren is a story about a young girl called Red who is partially blind and has just had her first cycle. She loves the woods, and continues to visit despite her mother's constant warnings. But one day, Red discovers that she has a terrible secret, one that could ruin the only life she's ever known... My favourite character was Aerona because she was so caring and understanding. The characters felt real, and the story was one which kept me guessing what was going to happen the whole way through. My favourite part of the story was when Red met with Miss Blaeberry and experienced her first transformation. The scenes were well written, and the sad scenes made me feel like I was there. Parts of the book made me laugh, whereas some of them made me feel like I was going to cry. It was so gripping, and at points I couldn't put it down! There wasn't much I didn't like about the book - it was one of the better books I've read. My favourite character was Aerona because she was so caring and understanding. The characters felt real, and the story was one which kept me guessing what was going to happen the whole way through. My favourite part of the story was when Red met with Miss Blaeberry and experienced her first transformation. The scenes were well written, and the sad scenes made me feel like I was there. Parts of the book made me laugh, whereas some of them made me feel like I was going to cry. It was so gripping, and at points I couldn't put it down! There wasn't much I didn't like about the book - it was one of the better books I've read. I'd recommend this book to people who like adventure and tales of growing up. I would suggest it for teens because of the topics, but it is a very gripping tale. I loved it!

Catelyn P

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
Twenty-Four Seconds From Now was an interesting book. The storyline was there but not quite enough for me to say the book was incredible to be honest. I found the grammar and writing style to be inconsistent which really bothered me and I struggled to keep engaged. Overall, it wasn't a terrible book, it was just unable to meet my expectations disappointingly.

Libby

Not Going To Plan
Going into this book, it definitely wasn't my preferred genre, but I didn't dislike it as much as I thought I would. It is a verse novel that follows the stories of Marnie and Zed, Marnie being a rebellious teenager who recently got manage moved from her all girls boarding school, whereas Zed is a quiet boy in the back of the class, seated at the only desk that has a spare seat, so there they befriend each other due to needing help in their respective weak subjects - maths and physics for Marnie and Spanish for Zed. I think the way the book is laid out is very effective in showing the juxtaposing characters of Marnie and Zed, how despite being very contrasting personalities, they still managed to become friends. It was also a quick read, yet still covered all the grounds it needed to in order to get the overall message across. However, personally I thought the chapters leading up to the ending were quite dragged out, and there were numerous times I thought 'that should be the end' when it wasn't, just for the actual ending to be quite abrupt. As well as this, there were many moments throughout where I got quite a bit of second-hand embarrassment, but I feel like that's inevitable in a young adult novel, especially one handing such taboo topics. Overall, it wasn't my favourite read, but I was relatively impressed by how it surpassed my expectations.

Lyra

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
In my opinion '24 seconds from now' was interesting. The way the timeline went back so you can see how the events came to play knowing what would eventually happen was different but still enjoyable. The book follows the protagonist, Neon, and his girlfriend Aria, and the lead up to his 'first time', learning about intimacy and what not to do. I was not sure that the yearbook aspect was necessary to the plot of the story, as he could have been meeting with his friends for any other reason or could have only mentioned Dodie at all, as he was the only character who actually helped the theme of the book, showing societal norms of how boys should view sex. I believe that this book would be useful for YA readers as it is maybe too mature for younger readers but pointless for older readers. Overall, it was not a book that I would usually read but a more or less enjoyable read nonetheless. 7/10

Elijah