Vista Academy Littleport
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
The Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody is a story about a monitor lizard called Zeke and his friends Daniel and Alissa. There is a school bully – called Pelicarnassus – a very loud hawk and a school principal with an armored butt!
I like this book because it is funny, witty and about friendship and family. I would recommend it to anybody who likes to have a good laugh!
My favourite character is Daniel because he is funny, kind, and has everything I would wish for in a friend.
My favourite part of the story is the tale of France and Zeke’s knee – but I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read the book yet.
I would definitely read this book again!
Catelyn P
Not Going To Plan
Not Going to Plan follows the story of Marnie and Zed, two complete opposites who end up becoming friends over revision sessions. I thought this book was very powerful in terms of its themes and the message it put across about teen pregnancy, abortion and consent. It portrayed lots of characters with lots of different backgrounds, and showed how everyone has the right to say no and make their own decisions.
My favourite character was Marnie, while she was quite a difficult student at the start of the story I liked the way she followed her own path and developed as a character throughout the book.
Verse novels aren't my favourite but I liked the way it was written with both Zed and Marnie's point of view. Overall I enjoyed this book, it tells us an important message in many ways and I would recommend it to lots of young adult readers.
Emma
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
This book is about a monitor lizard and his friendships, along with one of his enemies making life a bit difficult for him. He also needed to figure out who he was and/or wanted to be.
I particularly liked the drawings throughout the book; it brings life to the pages and a good vision in your mind. The ending was very sweet and it made me quite emotional.
In conclusion, I think that this is a very well written book with all of it's diversity and friendship based. I think it is definitely a good read for young children
Eiligh
Twenty Four Seconds from Now
24 seconds from now is a teen romance about a boy who wants to spend a romantic night with his girlfriend. The story describes 24 seconds, 24 minutes , 24 hours, 24 weeks and 24 months before that night. Then it rewinds to that present moment. I thought this book was interesting and I would recommend to someone who likes this kind of YA genre.
poppy r
Popcorn
At first I wasn't sure - I thought that this might be another 'tick box' exercise, but I was quickly won over by how sensitively the author addressed a range of topics. Not only did he give a really accessible description of what it feels like to have a panic attack, he spoke with sincerity about the realities of living with someone with Alzheimer's Disease. This made me really warm to his character, Andrew. I also appreciated him showing that not all teachers are ogres - there are goodun's out there who care for the student beyond their grades. Thank you!
Mrs Webb
Wolf Siren
Wolf siren is a book about 13-year-old Red finding the true magic of the forest whilst also holding a secret of her own. My favourite part was when she found out what really happened to Caragh (the village woodcutter). Even though I liked Red, my favourite character is Red’s best friend, Delana because she is kind and faithful and loves to read.
I would recommend this book to people who like magic and fairy tales as it is based on little red riding hood. I would also recommend it to people who are passionate about injustice and sexism.
Ailsa
Birdie
Birdie is an amazing book. It is all about a young girl that grew up in an orphanage and had to be adopted by her long-distance aunt who lives in a new city with new people and a new school. The part of the story that stuck out to me the most was when she started a new school and got bullied by a group of boys. This made me feel empathy and interest in the story. I have never read a book that I loved reading before, until I read Birdie. You should read this book, it inspired me to read more and maybe it will you too.
Caelan
Ghostlines
This book is about a girl who lives on a island called Ayrie. One day she sees a boy being sick over the edge into the sea. She decides she wants to give him a tour of the island. Then they go to another island nobody is allowed to go to. They build a camp and become really good friends. One of my favourite bits of the book is the description of where she first sees the boy and how the writer describes him. By the end of the book I was finding it a bit boring even though it started off really good. I did really like this book overall and I would recommend it to people who like adventure.
Summer
The Boy I Love
I really like this book because the plot was quite interesting and the character design was done amazingly well. Another thing I liked about this book was that I really liked the genre of the book as it had the LGBTQ+ involved with it and making about war added more detail to the plot which I really enjoyed
Skye W
Wolf Siren
Wolf Siren is not your typical "Little Red Riding Hood" retelling. Beth O’Brien has crafted a world where the woods aren’t just a place of danger, but a place of belonging. The protagonist, Red, is a wonderfully complex character—she is visually impaired and navigates a world that often tries to limit her, yet she finds her true strength and magic among the wolves.
The themes of female empowerment, disability representation, and the connection to nature are woven together beautifully. I loved how the author used the "wolf" as a symbol for the parts of ourselves that society tells us to hide. It’s atmospheric, slightly dark, and incredibly moving. A must-read for fans of feminist fairytales.
Peace
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
I have mixed feelings about this book. Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody follows the story of Zeke, who becomes a hall monitor with his friends and has to stop a school bully from destroying the school. I liked it in the sense that it had some deeper meanings about the story - standing up for yourself and themes of close friendship. Some parts were quite funny and my favourite character was Miel because he didn't let his sight stop him from doing anything. Zeke also never let the bully Pelicarnassus win and always helped his friends when they needed. However I did find some parts quite confusing, like how conversations were interrupted by a back story and then just carried on from where they left off. I also didn't really understand why France was on Zeke's knee and I think it was aimed at quite young readers, but overall I found this a good book - it portrayed how you should always believe in yourself and I would recommend to any younger person for a good read.
Emma
Ghostlines
Ghostlines is about Tilda , a girl who has lived on an island all her life and Albie , a boy who has just moved and finds it hard to warm up to the new life . I think it's quite a nice book in the sense that it's quite an easy read and has a nice storyline . The island adventures are nice to read about as there is a lot of descriptive language which helps you see what the author is writing about in your head. I also enjoyed the sub plot of her brother as it kept me reading wanting to find out what happened . However , one slight thing that bothered me was the fact that almost all the sentences were very long with multiple 'ands' in them . I think it was supposed to reflect how she's thinking this and her brains moving quickly but it was a bit hard to get used to . Overall , I quite liked this book and I would give it a 7 or 8 / 10.
Holly H
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody is a such a great and funny book! Expect to find yourself laughing out loud and struggling to put this story down!
Zeke is a monitor lizard who has just become a hall monitor at his school, but he has no idea what he is about to experience. You should be ready for unexpected twists, turns and lots of jokes through out this book!
My favourite character was Alicia as she acts like such a normal side character, but she is so kind and fearless. There were so many scenes that I could relate to and sometimes it even felt like I was in the story! Some of the scenes that felt the most real were the tense and embarrassing ones.
Something that didn’t work for me was that the whole story was in 3rd tense, and I found it quite hard to follow along at some points, e.g. when there was a conversation happening and the author didn’t specify which character was talking. However, after the first few chapters, I got the hang of what was happening and could follow along quite easily.
Overall, I think that this a funny and interesting book that I would recommend to younger readers, but honestly anyone could read this book and get pleasure out of it. I am definitely going to read the other books in this series!
Gwen
Birdie
Birdie is a story of a young girl (named Birdie, hence the title) who moves from Leeds to the countryside to live with her great-aunt. But the folk here are not like those at home, and Birdie becomes an instant target for the bullies. One day, when it all gets too much, Birdie runs away and ends up in the mines, where she meets a pit pony. But his life is in danger, and Birdie may be the only one who can save him…
My favourite character in this book was Birdie because she is so persistent and believes in herself.
My favourite part of the book was when Birdie first met Mr Duke, having just run away from the bullies.
I would recommend this book to people who like horses, and tales of courage, bravery and kindness.
Catelyn P
Birdie
This book is about Birdie Bagshaw, an orphan in a care home for 'brown babies'. She comes to live with her great aunt and uncle in a small mining village near Yorkshire. She faces racism and because of this, ends up finding Mr Duke, a pit pony who she befriends. I didn't particularly love this book because it was a bit boring-I did not find myself wanting to keep reading on, especially at the beginning. I did think that the character development was good but the characters kept saying Shakespearian language like 'thee' and random phrases like 'any road' instead of any way-it was very annoying. Overall, it was not an amazing book. 6/10
Elijah
The Boy I Love
"The boy I love" was an educational book. It was set in 1916 during WW1. Whilst this book was not one I would usually go for, the pacing and structure was probably the best thing about the it! As a reader I found the book flowed very nicely. Now although the book was not terrible, it did seem to focus a lot on the love between the two boys which was of course frowned upon at the time which I thought was something that took away from the book as well as how Danny and Stephen were alone in the trench it just didn't seem accurate. Other than that the book was enjoyable but as I said it was not one I would go for again in future.
Libby
Not Going To Plan
The book "Not going to plan" was unique. It follows the story of Marnie a school girl who finds herself getting into some troubles at school which results in her moving schools to sit her GCSEs. There, at her new school, she meets Zed a boy in her tutor class who was very different from Marnie. The book was a verse novel and a short, easy read which I enjoyed. I thought the topics were explained really well whilst not being "too heavy" they seemed more subtle but known. To begin I was not to sure on what I thought, however, as I read more I grew to enjoy the book. Review by Libby
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
The book Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody is about a monitor lizard named Zeke with France on his knee (literally) and his friends Alicia and Daniel, who are against a bully with a supervillain mum names Pelicarnassus. This book covers mental health with animal facts weaved into the storyline.
My favourite character is Daniel, because he adds some comedic effects and is a good friend to Zeke.
My favourite part of the book is when Zeke’s class is learning about France and examines Zeke’s knee because I find how the French people respond to the class’ questions funny.
I think this book is aimed at younger audiences because not as much happened earlier on and it was more about friendship, and just generally isn’t the type of book I’d read. It is a very touching and beautiful book and it makes me happy to read it.
Kirsty
Birdie
The overview, it was set against in stark, soot-stained backdrop of 1950s Yorkshire,Birdie is a poignant and atmospheric historical novel that explores themes of displacement, masterfully captures the “windrush generation” experience though the eyes of a young girl, making the historical personal and deeply moving. There are also plot and character development, which the story follows Birdie, who travels from the vibrant, sun- drenched landscapes of Jamaica to a cold, grey mining villages in England. The contrast between her two worlds is not just physical but emotional. Rose develops Birdie as a character with immense internal strength; she is a”bird” trapped in a cage of cultural shock and social hostility. The style used a real 1950s racism and the isolation of being an outsider. Rose uses sensory language using the 5 senses. The conclusion, Birdie is more than just a historical fiction, it is a lyrical exploration of identity. It challenges the reader to consult what “home” truly means honours the courage and the people who help rebuilt post-war despite the cold.
Peace
Not Going To Plan
Coming into this book I expected another book warning about teen/YA sex, ending in abortion. But this book defied my expectations. I wasn't expecting it to be a verse novel, though, and the perspective of the mother and Rakel were enlightening, and I thought really brought something to the book. It follows Zed and Marnie as they explore their sexuality and love lives. While the author still covered abortion, it was from an objective perspective and was tactful in explaining it. Overall I didn't hate this book but didn't love it enough for me to want to reread it. 6/10
Elijah
Birdie
Birdie spent most of her life in a foster home, then her great aunt and uncle decided to adopt her, but they didn't realise the problems that they are going to face. Birdie faced a lot of racism when she moved to Barrington dale, she felt like an outsider. then she found a pony that made her feel not like an outsider. They form a special bond.
This book really broke me because it shows how horrible racism was around that time but it was also heartwarming because it shows the magic of animals.
Michelle
Wolf Siren
Wolf Siren by Beth O'Brien is a book about a 13 year old girl, Red. Her grandmother disappeared 3 years ago, the woods outside the village are magical and Red discovers her ability to transform into a wolf.
I quite liked this book, it kept me guessing about what would happen next. My favourite character was Red - even though she was visually impaired, she didn't let that stop her from doing anything. I also liked the way the author described some scenes, she made it feel like you were there in that moment.
However I didn't one part of the book. I think the ending could have been explored in a bit more detail because it didn't fully explain what happened to all the characters at the end, especially Red with her powers. But overall I enjoyed this book and I would recommend to others - it was a good read.
Emma
Birdie
I quite enjoyed this book. It follows the story of Birdie Bagshaw, a young girl who'd been adopted by her great aunt and uncle after living in an orphanage for "brown babies" her whole life, and as she's running away from a group of older boys taunting her, she stumbles into a mine and meets a horse she later names Mr Duke. I think the pacing of this book was quite good, as it doesn't have any weird jumps but there aren't any plot holes that need filling, and I also liked that it was based in reality and it demonstrates what it was like for people of colour in the 1950s. The plot developed well, and I liked that it had a happy ending, but it was targeted to younger audiences so at some points I got a bit bored. Overall, I think it was a good read though.
Lyra
The Boy I Love
This book was educational. It followed the story of Stephen, a gay second lieutenant in WW1. He falls in love with Danny, his soldier-servant, or squire, and they campaign for the soldiers not to have to go over in the battle of the Somme. I liked how the relationship was developed but I didn't think it was realistic how often they were alone in the trench. The description of war seemed accurate though, even if the ending was a bit hopeful, considering that all the gay characters survived. Overall, it was a perfectly fine read, just not one I would choose. 6/10
Elijah
The Boy I Love
I really liked this!
Nice structure, some emotive description, subtle links to Sassoon's war poetry.
I give it 4/5
Mrs Radcliffe
Not Going To Plan
Not Going to Plan is a book about a young girl called Marnie who is just about to take her GSCE’s. She joins the school late – she doesn’t know anyone. But Harry Borman invites her to a party, and how can Marnie refuse? But when she is deceived, can she trust the nerd who sits next to her to help fix things?
My favourite character was Marnie because she was quite kind, and willing to make friends and adapt to a new environment. I can relate to her emotions at the beginning of the book because when I started year 7, I felt the same way. My favourite part of the book was when Marnie went to Zed for help, because it was when Marnie and Zed finally realized their friendship. There were some emotional scenes, and they felt very real.
There wasn’t really anything I didn’t like about the book. I really liked it.
I think that older children would like this book because there are some grown-up topics, but overall I think it is a very good book!
Catelyn P
Wolf Siren
Wolf siren is a book about a young girl called Red who is partially blind and has just started her first cycle. Red loves going in the woods despite her Mum’s constant warnings of the danger it can hold. So, when Red is old enough, she becomes a courier so that she can enter the woods whenever she wants without getting told off. However, when Red is going to deliver a parcel to Ms Blaeberry she discovers a secret that if anyone else finds out, it could ruin her family’s reputation forever…
I loved this book as the descriptions felt so real and could even imagine how the characters must have been feeling! It was such a heart-warming tale with so many plot twists that kept me guessing what would happen next! My favourite character was Aerona because she was so caring and innocent and didn’t understand what was happening until Red has to explain what’s happening to her. There were so many times when I had to put the book down because I had burst out laughing and others when I was on the verge of crying. This story was so good that I couldn’t even put the book down! I felt like I just had to keep reading and find out what would happen next!
I don’t think I have many negative things to say about this book. The only thing is really that I wish something different happened to her sister, so it didn’t create such a dark tone to the ending, but the blossom really lifted the spirit.
I would recommend this book to younger readers and people who love fantasy, animals and nature as it is a very nature-based story. I really enjoyed it and would read more books from this author.
Gwen
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
I found this book a hard book to understand . It follows the story of Zeke who becomes a hall monitor at school and gets bullied but ends up overcoming this and stopping the bully from destroying the school. I think it was a nice book in the sense that it put across a good message about standing up for yourself and knowing that you can or that you are just as good as everyone else. I enjoyed how some parts were quite funny and I particularly enjoyed the character of Miel . This book also had some deeper topics , for example his dad's death and his mums grief struggles which surprised me with this genre .However , a lot of things were quite hard to understand like why Zeke had France on his knee. The plot sometimes seemed a bit silly which makes me think that this book is aimed more at younger readers .Overall I think it puts out a good message of believing in yourself but it was a bit confusing and I think I would have enjoyed this more if I was younger . I would give this book 3/5 stars.
Holly H
Not Going To Plan
Not going to plan was a book that followed Marnie - a rebellious teenager and Zed - a quiet kid who does not like to talk to people . I think the book did well in getting across the general point of abortion rights , teen pregnancy etc and also showed people how their not alone . As it is a coming of age book it did well in portraying people working through differences and exploring different options and viewpoints of life , however I felt the way the friendship between Marnie and Zed grew so quickly was a bit unrealistic . They are polar opposites and seemed to form a friendship overnight which wouldn't really happen in real life .This book wasn't my genre of choice but it was a quick easy read and I felt the dual narrative helped with the flow and movement of the book . It conveyed emotion and did encourage me to think more about abortion rights which shows that the point was made well and clearly . Overall I would give this book 4/5 stars .
Holly H
Ghostlines
Ghostlines by Katya Balen follows the story of the main character Tilda, who lives in the island of Ayrie. Everyone knows each other, and she has lots of friends. When a new boy arrives, she ends up taking him out to a haunted island that people are forbidden to go to, as one last shot at making him like Ayrie.
I enjoyed this book, it is written in first person and the author uses lots of descriptive language in the story, which I think creates lots of visual images in your head. She writes in a way that makes you feel like you are actually in the story and experiencing what happens to the characters.
There was one thing I didn't like and that was when the author wrote using 'and' quite a lot in just one sentence. It showed the protagonist's emotions and was used when Tilda experienced lots of things all at once, but I found it confusing and sometimes had to reread the sentence again to process it. However overall I thought this was a good book and I enjoyed reading it.
Emma
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