WSFG Carnegies Shadowers

Wolf Siren
This book is very rich with many plot twists making it quite engaging. I personally never got bored of reading, this book, and this book gave me no reason to put it down! It is filled with action so there is always something going on and when there is descriptive bits, it is done right and paints a realistic picture in your head, which for me is important in fantasy books. Onto the topic of fantasy - the detail when describing magic is well explained, making this fantasy book easy to understand and is not confusing. Overall, this is my favourite current Carnegies book, and the one book that will leave a memory in my mind!

Loren

Not Going To Plan
I really enjoyed Not Going To Plan by Tia Fisher because I love how engaging it is - partly because of the storyline and the way it is written. Basically, how she illustrates the words or describes them - like the tone she's saying them in and how Marnie’s friends supports her after what she finds out. It is a believable story but I would have liked it if there was more description. It did feel quite rushed and I believe there could have been more written about what could happen next to make it more lengthy.

Apolonia

Not Going To Plan
I really liked this book. The way all the characters were portrayed was really nice with all of them having flaws and likes about them. Despite only having two people narrating, all of them are well developed. Like Jessica Bates who initially is a mean girl who bullies Marnie, but we then learn that she is also taken advantage of. As well as this, I particularly liked how Zed is shown with his queer identity. As a queer person myself, I found that his struggle with figuring out his identity is very realistic and resonates with me. Overall, I thought this book had a very nice message and is my favourite of the books (that I've read so far).

Lara

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
Life-like, intimate and interesting. It's interesting reading a love-story backwards. Why? Well, because it makes it more interesting as a reader to already know the outcome but still watch as it happens. I think it gave it a sark that common love stories just simply miss out on. I also like how it doesn't feel like the main character's world is revolving around you as a reader, because it's written really nicely in a way that makes it really feel as if the main character is just living their life. When Zed talks to his grandma and grandad it has a sense of authenticity that works really well with the setting that's laid out. I like how Neon dislikes Denzel Jeremy Washington and the story of Aria is set out really well, as if you and the main character are talking to each other. Overall, I thought it was really good.

Ellie

Not Going To Plan
Bold, Beautiful and Brave. I loved this book - it has a wonderful representation of text and an exceptionally arty, proud and relatable main character Marnie. I like the contrast between her and Zed, the less artful and more science-based character. Both of them have expectations given to them. I thought the plot was really in depth and vibrant, showing life isn't easy and that quite a lot of the time it doesn't go your way. Again the text really shows the readers exactly what is going on and makes it a lot nicer to read. This book is also really nice because it makes the reader feel more aware and understanding to situations that they would probably think "that could never happen to me" and through the characters it also shows that you shouldn't assume anyone's story and people can change, eg. Jessica. Overall, I thought it was absolutely amazing. I would highly recommend it. It is a truly beautiful piece of artwork that stands proud, reminding others to be brave.

Ellie

Birdie
I really don’t think this was the right book to tackle the issues it tried to. To start, the mix of old English and type dialect of the different places she was through the book made it quite a hard read. There’s a lot of repetition. I don’t think I’ve ever read the words ‘any road’ so many times in one sitting and every time a character cried, they ‘burst into tears’. I also found it quite hard to like Birdie and relate to her despite also being a mixed race girl and I found her quite annoying. Furthermore, the plot line of her, her new family, the village and the racism she experienced could have been a completely separate book to the one of her and the pony. Also, it’s wildly unrealistic to have half the town suddenly change a deeply rooted belief that’s likely been with them since childhood overnight because of a simple note at the end of a sermon, and then for the other half to follow along at the end of the book which completely ruined the opportunity for a message about how hard it was and how long it took for racist beliefs to have declined so much to where they are today. Lots of sentences felt clunky or poorly written and should have been edited like “she kneeled up onto her knees” or “he pushed up his cap with his thumb which he always wore” - just things that ruin the flow and make you have to read it again. Back to the plot: the ending felt extremely rushed. All the problems of her grief, the pony and racism were solved in practically one page. Lastly, I already mentioned the missed opportunity of a message about racism but I also think it missed lots more along the way: overcoming grief (both that of her and her aunt and uncle seemed solved instantly (in Birdie’s case by finding Mr.Duke again and in the other by taking in Birdie) and how actions have consequences. None of her poor decisions (and there were many) made much of a lasting impact which makes the ending, in my opinion, too happy and too resolved almost. To conclude, I was left very much disappointed by this book.

Georgia

Wolf Siren
I loved this book! I wouldn't usually pick this book up at Waterstones, but I'm glad I could read it. I found it so insightful and just massively enjoyed it. I stayed up all night reading it and couldn't put it down. The mix of the classic tale with serious issues in a book for 9+ kids was perfect. 10/10!

Freya

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
Quirky, comic-like, reflective. I think this book is really interesting because it's quite reflective. By that, I mean there are clear bridges between those in society and their roles. For example - the lizards are looked down upon whereas the lions are seen as self-absorbed. I also think the book does this in a way that is really nice and subtle to reflect its age rating. Comic-like - I think it is a bit like a stereotypical hero-defeats-villain book, but tuned down to an extent because the main plot is very much "let's be heroes and defeat Peicarnassius" with the fact Pelicarnassius goes and finds a massive robot machine and attempts to destroy something, but then the heroes defeat him with super powers. Quirky - I like the way it's not all very normal as well, like the main character having France on his knee. This also makes it a lot more interesting and funny. I also think the metaphor of the "black dog" is nice because it shows the reader how it's guarding her and not something that she can change or choose. I interpreted it as some form of mental illness or grief. Overall, it's an interesting take on society and how disabilities, body type and authority are shown. Although, I think I personally would have liked this a lot more as a 7-year-old.

Ellie

The Boy I Love
Melodic, old-fashioned and has brilliant world-building (be wary of spoilers)... The world of Stephen and Danny doesn't seem too far from ours - it's set in WW1 and I think it's really interesting to see the difference between how he talks and how characters in more modern books talk because of the difference in timeline. The tone is really refreshing and I like how he describes it as the "meatgrinder". I quite like Lady Labelle and Captain Jackson as characters. I find it extremely surprising though that Jackson is not a straight character because it is indeed needed to make Stephen and Danny possible, but I would be very surprised if that had happened at the time. In my opinion the more common reactions would be more alike that of Stephen's mother and Robert, only because at the time it was not considered acceptable. I also think Lady Labelle is a really important character and helps Danny find out who he is and I find it very sweet. I also find it heartbreaking when Jackson admits to being the reason for Percy's death, because the only difference between him and Percy was slightly more power but he and Stephen still couldn't do anything to stop them sending them up top while the wire wasn't cut. I found the use of repeating the memory of the German soldier saying "Kamrad" very powerful because it gave the readers an insight into the guilt of murdering as well. However, I find it odd how at the end, and even before, Stephen and Robert's injuries don't get mentioned very much, especially how Robert goes on to do carpentry, after being wounded by a chunk of shrapnel in his shoulder (wouldn't that stop him being able to do that or at least make it a lot harder?) Overall, it was a great book - however the injuries didn't quite add up for me and the ending seems kind of uneventful. Don't get me wrong - I like that they are reunited - but the rest of the book is really action packed and because of this I really expected a bigger ending. I love the language and the message that nobody really loves war unless they are far away from it and it's not their lives on the line.

Ellie