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It was really good and very age appropriate for my level, I liked how it was really funny and it was very relatable especially the events that happened in the book. I love that there are lots of series of the books, and I am very excited to read some more of them. My favourite character was Reina, I liked her because she was really different to me and it was interesting to compare myself to her and make some connections to her. Overall, it was a great book and I highly recommend it to people in my year to year 8.

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Picnic at Hanging Rock (play adaptation)

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Picnic at Hanging Rock (play adaptation)

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Playwright Tom Wright’s adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s novel, ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ focuses on communicating the harsh Australian landscape and the disappearance of the young students. Like the original novel, this play is filled with mystery, feeding the human obsession with unresolved and inconclusive narratives. Wright’s script is incredibly poetic and allows the actors to use such lyrical language to portray the non-naturalistic environment hauntingly. The tone of the play is incredibly foreboding – exploring the nature of colonisation and its need to ‘tame’, ‘cultivate’ and ‘civilise’ the wild Australian country. I recommend this to anyone who loves the original novel and new adaptations. I loved this, 10/10!

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The Catcher in the Rye is a book by J. D. Salinger about Holden Caulfield, a teenager, and two days in his life after he runs away from his boarding school. He goes to hotels, clubs and movies, and catches up with old friends. He goes to the park, his old school, and even visits an ice skating ring. Through all of this he fears of growing up and becoming an adult. He thinks adults are crazy and he overthinks simple things. This book is deep and complex on many levels though it appears as a shallow story of a whining teenager. 7/10 stars

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129 Isabella Troise Clarke Year 12 Fangirls Yve Blake Yes Everyone is a fan of something, some however take It more seriously than others… Yve Blake’s play ‘Fangirls’ follows the story of Edna, a superfan of Harry, a singer in the world’s biggest boyband (no it’s not the Harry you’re thinking of! This is not only a hilarious story, but it showcases the brilliance of superfans – the freedom of self-expression and sense of community that those a part of it experience. Blake’s emphasis on Edna’s intelligence and quick thinking refocuses this story as an uplifting celebration of all fangirls. For any superfans, or even just fans too, I recommend this. 9/10! 101 Yes

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Of Mice and Men is a story of two optimistic drifters who are eventually disenchanted by the “American Dream”. Lennie is kind, mentally challenged and gullible man, who is unaware of his own strength. His partner George is hypercritical, shrewd and conceited. Searching for work, they come across a farm and work there as ranch hands. While they’re there, unwitting Lennie is kept hopeful by George by reminding him of their “dream” of owning a farm. Eventually Lennie becomes a victim through his innocence and trustfulness while others struggle to understand where he’s coming from. This book had amazing writing, and I give it 9/10 stars.

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The Princess Bride by William Goldman is an utter masterpiece of humorous fiction. Buttercup is a beautiful girl living on a farm. And of course, there is a worker. Westley or farm boy as Buttercup called him. (Buttercup and Westley fall in love but Westley goes out to seek his fortune in America. Evil prince Humperdinck is determined to make Buttercup his bride after Westley is SPOILER ALERT “killed” by Dread Pirate Roberts (or not…) And 3 men: Fezzik the giant, Inigo Montoya the sword fighter and Vizzini the Sicilian. This book is hilarious and a must read, I give it 10/10 stars! It was made into a 1987 film, and it is a rare case where the movie follows the book to the word. I would recommend you watch it after you’ve read the book. Sadly there is no sequel :(

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‘Dance of the Happy Shades’ is a compilation of short stories by Alice Munroe. Each story is unique and depicts the challenges of growing up, adversities in life, love, guilt and acceptance. Munroe is an expert at developing vivid imagery of the world of the character – written in first person. As the reader, we can fully grasp and visualise the frustrations, trials and joys of each character. My favourite short story is ‘The Office’. In this story, a writer seeks out an office to write in – attempting to get away from the business of life and her roles as a wife and mother. Munroe amazingly makes you squirm in your seat with discomfort when Mr Malley (the landlord) will not leave her alone. I thoroughly recommend this book, 8/10.

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The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy is a French adventure novel set during the French revolution. While hundreds of heads fall before the guillotine a mysterious Englishman is saving French Nobleman in various and amusing ways. He is the Scarlet Pimpernel and none know who he is. This book had a lot of mystery and suspense, but the author spent many, many chapters talking about a characters feelings. For example, a character was in a dilemma and a whole chapter was “If they do A, consequence B. If they do C, consequence D” Over and over again! This book is pretty good apart from that but it does make a reader lose interest. 6/10 stars.

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This book addresses the deep issue of mental health. Helena Fox has created a powerful story of how Biz doesn’t see her mental illness carrying her daily until it starts to control her. She tries to compress the pain by looking at the waves and taking photos, until the messages in those talk too loudly to her. Her dad appears beside her, remembering past memories as advice as an imagination of her mind. Biz struggles with mental illness. However she finds help from her mum, Sylvia, the twins and Jasper. Her mum tries to be by her side while still being a grieving widowed mother of 3 children. This story really dug into how much parents try to do their best to help their children without knowing how much the little things mattered. Biz also has Sylvia, a grandmother that feels like her own, listening to her talk about emotions to photography. She has her younger twins, two shining stars that light up her day.  She has Jasper, the new boy who allows her to escape and understand herself more. Even with all these positive people balancing her unhappy life, she feels like her life is claustrophobic.  “Why are you so sad and empty when you have a house with walls and a roof and people who love you?” On the more technical side, the author used a wonderful poetry style to represent the emotions felt. I made relating to the characters easier and suited her situation well. Biz’s character was so well built and the way that she describes her multiple tragedies made me want to hug her through the page. This book allowed me to see how hope and illness were intertwined. It was a very raw book, dealing with depression, suicide attempt and thoughts, panic attacks, loss of a loved one, grief, and loss but also with hope and happiness, relief and joy. ‘how it feels to float’  is a book that will stay with you for a long time after you finish reading it.

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The Count of Monte Cristo (contains spoilers)

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The Count of Monte Cristo (contains spoilers)

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The Count of Monte Cristo is the story of Edmond Dantes, a young sailor who was about to get married and promoted to a captain. However, his fiancée’s cousin Fernand, another sailor, Danglars, and a drunk friend Caderousse hatch a plan to ruin his life. With the help of the judge Villefort, he is pushed into prison for treason and aiding Napoleon. Fast forward 14 years later: Dantes has escaped and begins his quest for vengeance. It gets quite boring in the middle, until we are introduced to new characters like the murderer Cavalcanti, and we meet the previously fainthearted Caderousse who has (SPOILER ALERT!) killed his wife and a jeweler. This book provides an interesting insight into life in Napoleonic-era France. However, a host of new characters are introduced later and it is hard to keep up with all the action, leaving you wondering about their purpose. But all is cleared up in the last few chapters. I give this book 8.5/10 stars. Bon Voyage!

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Murder in Williamstown was an alright book. While it was fun to travel through Melbourne with the main character, Miss Phryne Fisher, it wasn’t the most interesting of plots, with the action being really drawn out and not very well described. The book was written well with incredible descriptions that made me visualise the setting. It was fun to read about places that I have been before, because the book is set in Melbourne, but that wasn’t enough to really sell me on the book. The main character, Phryne Fisher was, in my opinion not written well at all. She was interesting, sure, but I feel as if the author had gone for a strong, doesn’t take anything from anyone kind of character but in doing so it made the character just too much. Overall, I give this book a 3 out of 5 :)

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Throne of glass follows 18-year-old Celaena Sardonthien, the world’s greatest assassin, who, after spending a year in the slave mines of Endovier, has been selected by the Crown Prince, Dorian Haviliard to take part in a competition to become the King’s Champion.  If she wins, she has to serve as the King’s Champion (a.k.a personal assassin) for four years, after which she will receive freedom. But she also has to do this while pretending to be a jewellery thief, since it would be embarrassing for people to know that the famed Adarlan’s Assassin was a mere girl. She soon begins to become annoyed with the ruse, especially since she has to endure endless mockery from her fellow competitors. However, when her competitors begin to be killed one-by-one, it becomes apparent to Celaena that something evil is afoot in the castle, and her pursuit of freedom becomes a desperate quest to find and destroy the evil before it destroys them all. This book is probably one of my all-time favourite books, so I give it a rating of 4.8/5 stars.

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‘The Bell Jar’ is the only novel published by Plath in her lifetime just weeks before her suicide in 1963. The story follows the scholarship girl Esther through the end of her university semester and into her summer holiday as she loses the direction and purpose once given to her by her conquering of the education system.  The story is coloured brilliantly through Plath’s poetic language which builds a beautiful atmosphere throughout the novel and creates some iconic metaphors such as that of the fig tree. The book follows the thoughts and mental state of the narrator-main character closely, pulling the reader to intimately understand Esther’s view of the world she inhabits and her actions because of it. I think it is definitely one of the best books I have read in that respect.  However, some aspects of the novel detract from the beauty of the story. Sylvia Plath is partial to racist imagery and descriptions which were sometimes extreme even for the 20th century. Additionally, I found the pacing slightly odd, and I think it might have flowed better if the last half to a third of the story was extended a bit to make the ending less abrupt, even if it was good.  Overall, I really loved The Bell Jar for its intimate and unique story as well as its language which displayed her skill for describing things as a poet, despite the nastier aspects of Sylvia Plath’s personality which shone through in parts.

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Friday Barnes, a crime fighting mystery novel, is marketed towards late elementary readers, however, I often come back to re read this hilarious masterpiece. Friday Barnes is about a very smart and unsociable girl, who has just finished year 6 and doesn't know where to go to school. Despite her best efforts at going to university (she passed with flying colours, it was her age that they didn't like) she had to go to a high school, and after much shenanigans and solving locked box crime she goes to high crest. Besides the rivalry, friendships and mystery in this book, it's greatest strength is its comedy. It is a laugh out loud kind of book, and Fridays out spoken and lack of human interaction, every single page has so many laughs. 10/10 would read again.

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I started reading this book after watching the anime based on this. I didn't know what to expect seeing as it was a novel instead of the usual manga that anime is adapted from. Firstly, this book had a phenomenal way of setting up story arcs and characters that makes the book very gripping and exciting. It has so many loose threads and gaps in the story telling that it is hints to the readers implicitly that Ayanakoji may be a very unreliable narrator. As mentioned before the set up for story beats is beautiful and sentences that seem meaningless or throw away can become very important further down the line. As we learn more about Ayanakoji's past, I hope the rest of this series keeps up the intrigue.

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Behold! She’s singing to bring down the chandelier!  The Phantom of the Opera (by Gaston Leroux) is a gothic horror novel set in a Paris Opera house in the 19th century. Meet the titular character: Eric. Eric is a disfigured man living in the underground part of the Opera, always wearing a mask. He operates silently and terrifyingly, murdering the Opera visitors and workers in his pursuit of Christine Daae, the beautiful opera singer. Christine: A frail singer in love with her childhood friend Raoul. Both are Norwegian. Christine cannot escape the clutches of Eric. Raoul: A lovesick young man who adores Christine. The writing in this book is magnificent and intense, and somehow Leroux manages to incorporate humour in his darkest scenes. It was especially suspenseful in Eric’s pursuit of Christine to the very end and the horror of the final, fatal decision.

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Tris has survived Dauntless initiation, but now a war between the factions has tris back fighting for survival. Hidden information from the outside world is being kept by Erudite’s evil leader, Jeanine Matthews and tris is desperate to work it out. When violence breaks out, Tris knows she has limited time, she needs to get it. To be honest, I usually find the sequels of a good book are never as good but this one was actually really interesting. I am now really excited to read the next book, Allegiant! I give it a 9.5/10!

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Throughout Jane Austen's Bildungsroman Emma, she explores key themes of friendship, love and gender roles. As protagonist Emma, interacts with the members of society she is shown to look down upon others due to her class and higher social status. She cultivates friendships and relationships in order to entertain her meddlesome notions. This is highlighted by her friendship with Harriet, who she seeks to find a match for, despite her lower social status. This book is able to develop complex characters, however, at times it moves at a remarkably slow pace which can make the book difficult to follow and unpleasant to read.

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Jing-Jing is a 19 year-old Asian-American. Forced into an arranged marriage, to a rich but disgraceful bachelor by her parents, Jing-Jing rents a fake boyfriend. When Jing-Jing gets entangled in her web of lies and starts to fall for her fake boyfriend, Drew, she has to decide what is more important, her freedom and happiness or her parents’ approval. Will she pretend to be who she is not and marry Hongbo, or find happiness. I loved this book! It was so heartfelt and dealt with serious issues, but was also so light and funny! I loved the character developments of Drew and Chloe as well. I definitely give it a solid 10/10!

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In an oppressive dystopian world are five factions. Amity of peace and kindness, Erudite of knowledge and intelligence, Candor of complete honesty, Abnegation of utter selflessness and Dauntless of bravery and challenge. Tris knows she is not born to be in Abnegation like the rest of her family, so when she turns 16 and has to decide the faction of her choice, she is torn. When she finds out that she is Divergent, a mix of factions and very powerful, she knows that she is in great danger. When she decides to join Dauntless she knows she is under attack and a civil war is brewing. Will she stop the war between the factions and survive Dauntless initiation? I am obsessed this book! It was super thrilling and captivating. I especially loved Tris and Tobias’ characters. I give it a 10/10

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Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

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Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

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Gregory Maguire’s bestseller, ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, 1995’, was written inspired by the stories and characters from L. Frank Baum’s ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’. Fun fact: The name Elphaba, (the Wicked Witch of the West) was inspired by the original author’s initials (L.F.B). The story follows Elphaba from her challenging upbringing of social ostracism to her fate with Dorothy Gale (Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz). Maguire uses Elphaba’s journey to explore the problems of good versus evil, terrorism, propaganda, and life’s purpose. Maguire focuses on Elphaba’s ‘origin story’ – encouraging readers to understand how she came to be so truly “wicked”. At its core, it is incredibly heartfelt and insightful! Great read, 10/10!

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Tiger Daughter is the story of Wen Zhou and Henry Xiao, two teenagers from Chinese families that have immigrated to Australia. Wen’s father had the potential to become a successful doctor, but after failing his exams he gave up and became a waiter at a Chinese restaurant. Henry’s father sells fruits and vegetables at the grocers. Both mothers stay at home and do not work. Henry’s mother is depressed while Wen’s is spirited but controlled by her husband. When Henry’s mother commits suicide, Wen’s father prevents her from helping Henry’s family, since they are “disgraced”. However, she and her mom smuggle food to Henry in secret. This was a beautiful, heartbreaking book, and the fusion of two cultures was perfectly described.

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WARNING!!! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!! IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO READ THIS/HAVENT GOT TO THIS CHAPTER YET THEN LOOK AWAY!!! When I started reading this book, I couldn’t put it down.  The last and final book of the first series is a jaw-dropper, with exciting vocabulary and a fast-paced plot. A very fascinating first series that makes your brain hurt because of how many mysteries you weave around (the names of characters is quite confusing as well) 😲.  In the sixth book, Tigerstar sends wild dogs into the Thunderclan camp attempting to kill them all. Luckily, with the courage and quick thinking of the deputy Fireheart, he manages to lure the dogs away. When Fireheart fails to get the dogs over the ravine and is getting attacked, the Thunderclan leader Bluestar comes to the rescue and sacrifices her last life as a leader to save her clan. Just before her last breath, she names Fireheart the new leader of Thunderclan. Firestar, who is now the leader of Thunderclan, later finds out that Shadowclan’s new leader Tigerstar and Riverclan’s leader Leopardstar have joined together to create an alliance named Tigerclan. Tigerclan wants Windclan and Thunderclan to surrender so they can join them into one whole group, but Firestar knows it’s only because Tigerstar wants to have endless power over the forest. According to the warrior code, there must be four clans in the forest just like there are four seasons. Because of Tigerstar, Firestar must team up with Windclan to defeat him before it’s too late… Overall this was an excellent read and I am very excited to start the second series!

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Friday Barnes is a book about, well, Friday Barnes, an extraordinary 11-year-old girl, who uses the reward money for solving a bank robbery to send herself to Highcrest Academy, boarding school for the rich and wealthy. She also proceeds to exploit her headmaster by exchanging menial tasks for thousands of dollars of tuition and board, but that’s another story. She begins her time at Highcrest with a dramatic car accident, and a trip to the principal’s office who wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to sue. As if that wasn’t enough drama already, all the other students (with the exception of her super-sleepy roommate Melanie) seem determined to make Friday’s life hell because they have somehow decided that she must be the scholarship student (I mean, with the way she’s dressed, that’s a pretty logical conclusion to arrive at). Oh, and Ian Wainscot (Highcrest’s resident heartthrob) seems to hate her for no particular reason, except that she’s smarter than him. (Like dude, get over yourself, she’s probably smarter that the whole school, including the teachers) Anyways, Friday soon finds herself as Highcrest’s unofficial resident detective, solving cases like missing homework and the perhaps dastardlier (Yes, that’s a word, I googled it), case of the Swamp Yeti. Will she solve it, or will she fall victim to the vicious swamp yeti? I would give this book a 4/5, a bit juvenile for my tastes but a good book nonetheless.

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Birdy is a story about a girl who doesn’t speak. She doesn’t speak  because in the past. she got drunk  and kissed her best friend’s boyfriend and ended up hated by everyone. Her mum brough† her to somewhere remote to somehow try to make her speak again. Birdy meets Alice, an old lady who is still waiting for her daughter, who disappeared, to come back. One day, Maddy stole Alice's daughter’s diary. This is a verse novel, which is a type of narrative poetry. It is lyrical and visually pleasing to read. Heartfelt and very beautiful. I would recommend. 9/10

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So this book is about a couple that is divorced and they have a daughter. their dad lives in Florida, and the mum and daughters live on a boat because their mum is a jellyfish scientist. The main character, the girl is called Beatrice and then one day, she sneaks out and takes a small rowboat to a nearby island. There she stumbles across a horse. She follows the horse and she falls into quicksand and got stuck. She tries to help the horse and pull the horse out. Then an old lady in tractor comes by called Annie and she helps them but Beatrice is almost unconscious. Annie takes Beatrice and the mare to her hut. Beatrice returns to her boat/ house where she realises she is in trouble and she's grounded and no more spoilers. I love this book is how half the book is actually happening in her life and the other half of the book is about Beatrice reading Felipa's diary. That was such a great book!~!!!!1 10/10

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This book follows a 16-year-old girl called Kiva, who has been imprisoned for 'suspected treason against the crown' since she was 7 and her farther was taken, her brother murdered, and her mum and older siblings had to flee. since then her farther had died of a mysterious stomach virus, and Kiva had taken his role of prison healer. She was keeping her head down and not drawing attention to herself until Tilda the leader of the Rebellion was caught and sent to jail. Seeing the woman was sick and knowing she would have to face the deadly trial by ordeal, kiva takes her place. If she fails she and Tilda will die... but if she succeeds both she and Tilda will be set free. This is brilliant book that I recommend to everyone if you like fantasy, mystery, realism and plot twists, it has everything!

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Before I die, I would like to write a review for this book. :D  This book is about a girl who has cancer/leukemia. She rejected treatment because she knows it won't work. So she writes down a list of things she must do before she dies. Starting with making love. This book is from her perspective, and how she would sometimes feel so tired she couldn't even blink, or sometimes she felt so alive, the trees and the birds and the sounds that surround her make her feel alive. Sometimes she would rage, like the once she threw everything out of her house because she needed the fatigue and pain to remind her she is still healthy and alive. This book is heart-wrenching. It would be a bit more suitable for older ages, but this book made me appreciate life and be thankful for it. A 8/10~!

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I was so so excited to read the final book of the Hunger Games trilogy, but I was a little disappointed. Perhaps what made the Hungers Games exciting to me was the actual Hunger Games itself and that was not present in the final book. While I felt that this book’s portrayal of Katniss was probably realistic, it wasn’t what I wanted to read. I liked her as this feisty character that does her own thing. I must give her a point for the stunt she pulled with the President Coin at the end but that was about it. The actions were also limited for around half the books and I was not into the romance. I knew she was going to end up with Peeta so I was low-key trying to root for him the whole time but the romance was so underdeveloped and I still couldn’t figure out why she ‘chose’ Peeta until she told us in the last chapter. More like he chose her and Gale went and did his own thing. I would’ve given it a 4 stars if she had not (spoiler alert) killed Finnick! He was finally getting his happy little ending and we learnt so much more about his character and then Collins went and kill him! I was so mad! More upset than when (spoiler alert again) Prim died, which I didn’t get the significance of at first but then I realised that it draws back to how 12 years old Katniss was really upset at her mother for behaving the way she did when her dad died but she pretty much reacted the same way to Prim’s death. Overall, even though it was comparatively more anti-climatic, I still enjoyed it and the series is still a must read! 3.5/5 stars.

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Layla has been cursed by the evil eye. She is doomed to spend her summer lying on Lame Beach with her Lebanese family and Aussie family, "a halfie". Always feeling torn between her two families. When Shontel Meyer is shot at a summer beach party, her attacker is not punished and the blame is put on Layla’s Lebanese family. Layla knows that the high power people in their town are blaming the wrong people on purpose. Layla fights for justice to clear her family’s name and shame Daniel. This book is about family, justice, racism and fate! I give it a 10/10 stars!

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“Flight 714 to Sydney ” is the 22nd book of the Tintin series. It starts when Tintin, Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus – and not to forget, Snowy – are at an airport in Jakarta and chance upon an old friend, Skut. Skut is the pilot for millionaire Laszlo Carreidas. Tintin and the group agree to join him on a test run, for old times’ sake. Unfortunately, the evil crewmate Alan sabotages the plane, and holds them captive in the fictional south-east Asian country of Sondonesia. Under the guidance of the recurring criminal mastermind, Rastapopoulos, Alan plans to find the millionaire’s bank account number after injecting him with a serum meant for the victim to be unable to lie. However, things go terribly wrong after Carreidas demands that Rastapopoulos also be injected. This adventure is filled with missing hats, volcanoes, and of course, Captain Haddock making a fool of himself. I give it an 8/10, because I didn’t honestly like the ending.

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In this book Sophie has lots of different powers and one of them is that she can track minds so she follows the words of someone or something's mind her, Fizt and a few others run after the mind they get closer and it turns out she has found a unicorn one of the very last ones she is surprised and the unicorn is very scared of Sophie and her friends and the unicorn is about to fly away but then Sophie transmits 'friend" into the unicorns mind and the become friends Sophie then jumps back to her house with the unicorn.

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Lily lives in a small beach town, Pippi, with her family. When famous Hollywood actors arrive on the jetty, Lily is embarrassed at her family’s performative antics and desperation to impress their new Hollywood visitors. Casey the light of the party star and Dorian the self obsessed mega star. When Lily begins to get entangled in the Hollywood actors’ lives she starts to realise that looks can be deceiving. Maybe Dorian is not the person he is made out to be. This book was a hilarious story with a very strong message. It had very solid character development and I give it a 10/10!

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This book is about a girl who is transgender, and how she was bullied before in her old school. When she arrived at a new school, boys crushed on her, falling in love because she was so pretty. Soon, she fell in love with Grant but was afraid he might stop liking her if she revealed her secret: she is transgender. This book opens a new door that helps me relate to the LGBTQ+ community, and understand how they feel. This book had great character development. It was an interesting read. I might not read it again, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book. 7/10

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Just Breathe was a book I felt I could relate to, with my swim trainings and very strict mum. I loved this book, and how it made me realise I need to have passion in what I am doing and that I love it. This book is about David, a cross country runner who's dad is preparing him for Nationals. His dad would train him in hypoxic high altitude masks that restrict you from breathing a lot and horrendous amounts of training, and NO JUNK FOOD. But one day, David meets Emily, a girl he finds "pretty good looking". Guess what. They fall in love. The rest I won't spoil, but it was a fantastic book that you will run for! 9/10~!!!!i

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I loved an ember in the ashes. It was written in the perspective of two different people, Laila the girl was a part of the land that was enslaved. she lived in fear of the guards and especially masks, especially trained assassins who work for only one person. The emperor. Elias however is being trained as one of these masks at Blackmount academy and he wants to escape. It was a page turner and kept me up long past I was supposed to go to bed. I would recommend this book to everyone as it puts into perspective how different two people's life can be. This book left me thinking about it weeks after I finished reading and I can't wait to read the second one once its returned to the library.

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Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children

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Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children

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I read this book first when I was 7, which I do not recommend in the slightest as little me could not sleep without nightmares for a while, and I reread it now to annotate it (and because I want to continue the rest of the series) and OMG…this book moves slowly. Like at first, I was just reading it and then plot actually started showing up and I looked at how far I was in, and IT WAS FAR. Also, the chapters were long which I did not enjoy in the slightest. Though I did enjoy the fact that it took me a significantly less amount of time to read it than my friend 😊. A solid 8/10 book!

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Little White Lies is about Sawyer Taft, whose lived is turned upside down when her estranged grandmother shows up and offers her a deal. If Sawyer lived with the Taft family for nine months, she would be given a half a million-dollar trust. Oh, and Sawyer could also finally find her biological father. Enter the Taft family. Aunt Olivia, Sawyer’s mom’s sister, who always needs everything to be “perfect”, Uncle JD, Aunt Olivia’s husband, Lily, Sawyer’s cousin, who shares her mother’s need to be “perfect” and John David, Lily’s brother. Sawyer’s only clue as to the identity of her biological father is a picture of a group of Squires, with four faces crossed out. Originally Sawyer thought that these were the Squires from the year that her mother was a Debutante, but it turns out that it was actually a someone six years older that her mother. The search for her father reveals old secrets and webs of deceit. Sawyer eventually becomes good friends with Lily and Sadie-Grace, Lily’s best friend. They also become unlikely allies (and eventually sort of friends) with Campbell Ames (a.k.a “the devil incarnate”) in order to help get her father, Senator Ames, arrested. This book was full of twists and turns I loved it! The plot twist in the end was executed perfectly. Overall, I would give this book a 5/5 star rating.

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How do I recommend a book when I disliked the first two books in that series? The only reason I started the series in the first place was marketed as a super amazing enemies-to-lovers story. Don’t be fooled because the romance takes up around 2% in the first book and it mostly involves them trying to kill each other. Our main character is Jude Duarte and I extremely disliked her in the first instalment. The series is written in the first POV and there is a dramatic overuse of “I”. She over-explains all of her thoughts and actions and it makes the reading experience extremely tedious. I was counting down the pages until it was over. Further, the world-building and plot are all over the place, but it was still interesting enough that I picked up the second book. I’m still glad I continued because thankfully it gets better. Cardan is given more of a backstory and his character improves overall, and so does Jude. The world-building and plot make more sense and perhaps I have gotten used to it but the writing style bothers me less. Still, when I finally got to the third book, I didn’t expect anything higher than 3.5 stars. I was pleasantly surprised at how wrong I was. I genuinely loved it and even shipped Jude and Cardan. But because of the first two books, I can’t give The Queen of Nothing 5 stars. However, I am not against picking up the Stolen Heir duology. So I guess to answer my own question, if you are not in the right head space you will hate the series but if you can make it through the first two, you won’t regret reading the series by the end.

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The book that I read was truly amazing. I found it quite boring at first, but I soon got roped into it. Nevermoor The Trials of Morrigan Crow is about a girl who is cursed because she was born on eventide and she is to die on her 12th birthday, but she finds out it is going to happen a year early. Before midnight on eventide, a man called Jupiter North comes to save her from the hunt of smoke and shadow and Jupiter illegally takes Morrigan over the border to live with him at his hotel. Morrigan goes through a series of trials to get into the Wundrous Society, but if she doesn't pass the trials she will be kicked out of Nevermoor where the hunt of smoke and shadow awaits her. As I said at the start, this book is truly amazing and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in it.

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The Secret of the Unicorn is a comic book in the Tintin Series, written by Herge. At the start of the book, Tintin buys a mysterious model of a ship for his friend, Captain Haddock. 2 men successively convince Tintin to sell the ship to them. Later, when he shows it to Haddock, he finds that it was the ship of Haddock’s Elizabethan ancestor, Francis Haddock!  When Snowy, his dog, breaks the mainmast, Tintin doesn’t think anything of it. However, afterwards he returns to his house to find the ship stolen and his house ransacked! Snowy leads Tintin to a parchment that was hidden in the mainmast, and then the fun begins. There are some numbers and a cryptic message, and Tintin soon realises they are part of a location (using coordinates). Only after Haddock retells his ancestor’s story does Tintin realise, the coordinates are for the missing treasure of Red Rackham, a pirate that Francis defeated. One of the other collectors each have one model ship and are seeking the others too. The third ship belongs to the Bird Brothers, who are ready to kill to get the other scrolls. In addition to this Thomson and Thompson the clumsy detectives are on the trail for pickpockets but keep having their purses stolen. They add an element of humour to the book. This book is full of action and mystery but it is only about finding the scrolls (an adventure in itself). However, the next book “Red Rackham’s Treasure” is about Tintin and Haddock’s perilous attempt to find the treasure.

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A good girls guide to murder is a murder mystery book about Pippa, a year 11 student picking up a cold case that shook her small town 6 years ago. Friends can turn to enemies, and nothing is for certain. As Pippa tries to untangle the case, the more confused she becomes. Little Kilton is certainly more than meets the eye, and uncovering the case has earned Pippa more than a few enemies, and now she is playing with real lives. And then the threats begin. Someone in this town has a dark secret, and Pip is determined to find the truth.

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Library of Auschwitz is a true story about one of the concentration camps in WW2. I have read many sad books, but I think that the real-life ones hit the hardest, because they actually happened to people just like me. This book really helped me understand the magnitude of the second world war, and just the scale of what Nazis did. It also made me realise how fortunate I am to have access to our extensive school library, home to hundreds of books, each holding a story, and each capable of changing a life. War is never justified, even if it begins with a noble cause, and that is why I think everyone should be able read this book, to get an education, to learn about history, and to care. So that we can stop repeating the past and continuing the cycle of war and hate. Books can be taken away, but they will leave a lasting impression, and you can never take that away. This is what this book has taught me, and what I hope it can teach you too.

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The novel ‘What I like about me’, written by Jenna Guillaume, was about teenage girl Maisie’s summer holidays. Maisie goes to Cobber’s Bay every Christmas, with her family and friends. When she meets up with her best friend Anna, Maisie finds out she has taken her one and only true love. Things begin to get crazy when Maisie applies for a beauty pageant and is body shamed online. ‘What I like about me’ is a novel about self love, bravery and belief in yourself. I loved reading it and I think it spreads such a meaningful message about self love and belief. I give it a 10/10!

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In the land of Carthya, Sage is an orphan whilst a civil war is brewing. When regent royal, Conner, abducts Sage to help save Carthya from war, Sage doesn’t realise he will be committing treason. Whent aken to the grand mansion of Conner’s, Sage is put against two orphans to portray the long lost prince of Carthya, and stakes rise inevitably high. Can Sage, the mischievous, dirty orphan, become the prince of Carthya? Whilst fooling the people that were supposed to know him best? The False Prince was an incredibly entertaining fantasy and mystery novel and I give it a 9/10 rating!

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Annaleigh Thaumas lives in a castle by the sea with her twelve sisters. When four of them have tragically die, the Thaumas sisters have finally decided to give up their mourning and get back into society. Conspiracies spread through the town about the family’s curse, and the sisters are left with no willing suitors. Annaleigh has began to have ghostly visions of her sisters deaths. When more lives are tragically lost, Annaleigh knows they were not accidental. Who is behind these tragic deaths and how can Annaleigh stop them, before it is too late? I loved the House Of Salt and Sorrows, because it was so beautifully written and I loved how it only delved slightly into the theme of fantasy and was very dystopian and eerie.

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Keralie is a thief in the land of Quadaria. Where four queens rule each quarter of the land, Toria, Archia, Eonia and Ludia. When Keralie steals the evidence of the four queens murders off an Eonist messenger she is entangled in the mystery. Befriending the messenger, the join forces to solve the case. When old friends set them back, all hope is lost. How far will they go to save the queens, the country and themselves. Four Dead Queens was a very unique novel. It delved into dystopia, fantasy, romance, and mystery. This gave it a lot of variety and I found it super interesting. I give it a 10/10 rating!

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Moon Rising is a well-crafted, beautiful story -- and perhaps one of the most interesting book in the series. Moon Rising is about a dragonet named Moonwatcher, who attends the school in a mountain called Jade Mountain Academy. Moon is a mind-reader, and seeing her perspective on  mind-reading is just so interesting! Moon Rising tells all the interesting thoughts that Moon hears; she hears thoughts from her friends, Qilbi, Winter, Kinkajou, etc. and learns much more about them than she ever would by speaking to them in her shy, quiet voice and nature.   HIGHLY RECCOMMENDED! Whoever decided to set down two stars on this book really needs to read the book again; this book deserves a 10/10

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Girl, Goddess, Queen is the story of what really happened with Hades and Persephone thousands of years ago. Before her name was Persephone (meaning bringer of chaos/death), it was Kore (girl, maiden). Persephone was desperate to not be married of to some random god by her parents. So, since she is actually quite smart (despite what the rest of the world might think), she gets Hades to give her shelter and protection. They end up becoming good friends, and the concoct a plan to keep Persephone safe. Their plan is to get married, because if she is married then, well, she can’t get married off to some rando. Their plan actually works quite well, and no one suspects a thing, except for Demeter, but she can’t do anything to change things. Throughout this time, Persephone has been changing the Underworld for the better, creating the Elysian Fields for those who lived good lives. But something doesn’t add up. How can Persephone, the goddess of flowers, do more to change the Underworld than the King of the Underworld? It turns out that Persephone is actually the goddess of life, not flowers. Meanwhile, on Earth, there is a famine. All eyes go to Demeter, goddess of harvest and agriculture, who does not want Persephone in the Underworld and married to Hades. Everyone assumes that this is Demeter’s protest, but a few months later, when Persephone and Hades agree to a meeting in Olympus, they find out that Demeter is not the cause. But who is? Turns out that since Persephone is the goddess of life, her being away from Earth causes famine. Zeus tries to trap Persephone on Earth, but she manages to eat six pomegranate seeds from a pomegranate grown in the Underworld. This means that she gets to spend six months in the Underworld every year, which is in my opinion, a pretty good outcome considering Zeus wanted to chain her to a rock on Earth for all eternity. I liked this book because I never liked the way that Persephone was just this helpless goddess that got Stockholm syndrome, also that Hades was a total creep. I especially like the way that Persephone basically said screw you to Zeus by marrying Hades, and Zeus just had to go along with it. I really didn’t like Demeter’s character, but I understand why she acted that way. I also like the way that Hades was given a sensitive side, instead of just being a one-dimensional macho macho character. This was overall an awesome book, and I give it 5/5 stars.

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The Graveyard Book Volume 1 is a very long graphic novel with different artists that illustrate every few chapters. The first volume tells how the man Jack tries to kill a boy's family, and did not succeed to kill the baby boy because it crawled away, then got found by a ghost couple, who then named him Nobody Owens. Silas, Bod's guardian teaches him the alphabet while Bod also learns about gouls and screeching languages. This Graphic novel brings the original novel to life with ghastly terrific illustrations and images. I love everything about it, and how the artists made everything very grim and dark coloured. Recommended for people who are a bit mature because the vocabulary is very complicated and hard. Great for learning new words!

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The school for good and evil is written to be very stereotyped. It is about two girls, Agatha and Sophie, who got whisked away to a another world where there are two castles. One for good and one for evil. Every four years, two people, whether they are boys or girls, get chosen. One is most evil and one most good. Sophie believes that she is good, but has been placed in evil, while Agatha thought she was evil and got placed in good. Overall, this book is suitable for ages 9-12 and has expected twists and surprises. I think this book is pretty average, but has great descriptive language and a massive use of figurative language. It is great for writing narratives!

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The School for Good and Evil : A World Without Princes

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The School for Good and Evil : A World Without Princes

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The school for good and evil: a world without princes is actually better than the first book, where everything is less stereotyped. It is fascinating how the characters change, like how Sophie does not want to be evil and tries to be good. Which shows that the author wants all of us to know that you can be whatever you want, not you categorized somewhere. When Agatha and Sophie where sent back to their home far away from the castles of good and evil, Agatha made a wish, wishing for her prince. the wish was so strong it sent Agatha and Sophie back to the castles, only to find out their ending left everything in chaos, causing the girls and boys to go against each other. Now, the girls can be whatever they want and not princesses. I like this book better than the first one. Very awesome book. 7/10~!!!!!!!

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Into the Wild is very engaging and will make you read every single book in its series, which is like 50 books. the words are very easy to read, not many hard words, and is very clear and is written for children 8-12. The book is about a cat call Firepaw finding his tribe and getting along with each other while facing challenges and battles. In the end, this novel is very immersive, so sink yourself in this book and let the whole story make you read into the nights and get caught by your mum. You will love it! 8/10

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Daughter of the Pirate King is about a seventeen-year-old pirate captain named Alosa, who is sent on a mission by her father, the pirate king, to steal a piece of an ancient map that leads to a legendary treasure. To do this, she has to orchestrate herself being kidnapped by her enemies, putting herself in the perfect position to search their ship for the map. My favourite character in this book is Alosa herself. Because she is strong, determined and is not intimidated by being one of the few pirates that is a woman. She is also really smart and successfully outwits her captors many times. I also found this book to be absolutely hilarious, especially when Alosa actually knocks her guards’ heads together while escaping. The overall tone of this book is quite light-hearted, even when some pretty dark stuff happens. I loved this book and would definitely give it a 5-star rating.

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The Inheritance Games is about Avery Grambs, an ordinary girl whose plan is to survive high school, get a scholarship, and get out. Then the billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves basically his entire fortune to Avery, for reasons unknown. The only requirement is that Avery has to live in Hawthorne House for a year. Then she meets Tobias’ four grandsons. Nash, the eldest, who was never interested in the fortune anyways. Grayson, the one who was supposed to inherit everything, who is convinced that Avery is a con-woman and is determined to take her down. Jameson, who sees her as one last puzzle given to the brothers by their grandfather. And Xander, the youngest, a literal genius, who becomes good friends with Avery (or in his words, her Best Hawthorn Friend Forever). Avery does not have an easy time in this book. Between Tobias’ daughters, Zara and Skye Hawthorne, her sister’s vengeful ex and her deadbeat father, Avery has a nightmarish few months. On the upside, Avery and Jameson, with some help from Xander, figure out Tobias’ last puzzle, which was created to help bring the brothers back together. This was a great book, and I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

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Truly Devious is about true-crime aficionado Stevie Bell, whose mission is to solve the case of the century, which happened at her new school, the exclusive Ellingham Academy. The aforementioned case is a triple murder of the founder’s (Albert Ellingham) wife, daughter and a student who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only clue the killer left is a haunting piece of poetry,  Look! A riddle! Time for fun! Should we use a rope or gun? Knives are sharp and gleam so pretty Poison’s slow, which is a pity Fire is festive, drowning’s slow Hanging’s a ropy way to go A broken head, a nasty fall A car colliding with a wall Bombs make a very jolly noise Such ways to punish naughty boys! What shall we use? We can’t decide. Just like you cannot run or hide. Ha ha. Truly, Devious But now the murderer has returned, and someone has gotten away with murder. I loved this book because like any good murder mystery, it keeps you guessing. I am a big fan of the way that the book jumped between two timelines, which I felt added to the mysterious aura. The only thing I didn’t really enjoy was that it was a bit slow-paced at the start, which made it hard for me to really get into the book, but otherwise it was a fantastic read. I give this book a solid 4.5/5 stars.

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Aunts aren’t Gentlemen is an amazing book about Bertie Wooster and his valet, Jeeves. When Bertie Wooster is invited to stay with his Aunt Dahlia in Maiden Eggsford to improve his health, trouble ensues. Aunt Dahlia has betted on the wrong horse in the village race, his terribly bossy ex-fiancée Vanessa Cook follows him after breaking up with Orlo Porter, and the horrible Cook Senior is there too. With him is an African Explorer that haunts Bertie by accusing him of being a criminal called Alpine Joe. Then there is the cat that is attached to a rival horse in the race, who keeps popping up everywhere and being stolen by everybody. In all, it is an amazing read for people who like humour, by P. G. Wodehouse, one of the funniest English writers of all time. I give it a 10 out of 10!

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While tiring to read, this book was still quite enjoyable though I didn't always understand what was going on and God the letters that were sent in this book were so long, almost 6 pages for the big one from Mr Darcy!! Elizabeth Bennet was a slay and to be honest she had every right to be a little annoyed at Mr Darcy because he was unfairly rude to her at the beginning and its ridiculous that his one reason for doing so was “I was in love”. Mr Darcy and Elizabeth's beginning relationship walked so millions of parents around the world telling their daughters that a boy hitting them shows that he likes them could run.

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This book was quite like the original untouched by the undead Pride and Prejudice just with more cultural appropriation and questionable clothing choices and of course Zombies, or as they called them in the late 1700’s, unmentionables. Our girl Lizzy did take a big bite out of a heart she had, two seconds before, stabbed out of someone’s chest…so cannibalism was also present. I honestly thought it would be a lot scarier than it was because, you know, the undead rising from their graves in a time were the main medicinal practice was just…giving perfectly healthy people an illness until BOOM something works and BOOM people aren’t getting sick but no…it was just a whole lot of beheading…and a lot of the time the characters were saved by an abnormal amount of cabbages. A solid 6/10 and I hope the next 2 books are considerably scarier.

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Why we Took the Car is a German novel that makes you feel jiggly and weepy. Unlike Coleen Hoover’s excuse for literature, it will legitimately leave you feeling a bit shattered. It’s a German Summer in the 80s, and two Year 8 boys, our vaguely apathetic protagonists, Mike and Tschick, steal a decrepit old Lada and embark on a cross country road trip to the fictional land of Wallachia. Armed with 200 Euros, an old CD of classical music, a hitler-moustache, and a really good drawing of Beyonce, it quickly becomes the best (and worst) summer of their lives. Few books can paint as heartbreaking a picture of humanity and decency with the humour and subtlety of Wolfgang Herrndorf.

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[SPOILERS IN REVIEW]

Cafe Con Lychee, an utter waste of an amazing idea. The idea for this book is that of a sort of Romeo and Juliet dynamic mixed with the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Gabrielle and Theo, two people of completely different cultures, that being Korean and a vaguely Hispanic culture. These two boys hate each other, they're both from rivalling cafe shops in their small town and are fighting for revenue. Along comes the fusion cafe, a terrible mix of cultures, appropriating each one equally horrifically. So, to help their two shops keep going they have to work together to keep their cafes afloat. An amazing concept in my opinion, all the things I like in a book, except it is done so terribly it makes me wish I had never bought it at all (except for the pretty cover). Firstly, NONE, of the plot points that are actually interesting are focused on, the love story between them and the change between rivals to friends to lovers was barley mentioned, only Theo berating Gabi at ever second for being just breathing, even when he came out. The finale of this book was completely unearned, as their parents gave them the fairytale ending of fusing their stores to be one Korean and vaguely Hispanic shop of cuisine, when they had barley made any character development, and throughout the book Theo had become more and more unbearable with his complete victim mentality when was literally Gabi was kicked out of his house.

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Vivian Carter is a student at East Rockport High School, run by sexist, disrespectful boys, who think they rule the world because they can throw a ball. This needs to stop. As Vivian embarks on her mission for equality, she discovers just how many problems her school is hiding. Racism, assault, illegal fund channelling, and their principal who lets all of it happen! This book is an inspiration to girls everywhere, revealing how women are treated, and what it truly means to be feminist. I think this is a particularly important message to share, as I think we are living in a time where people are choosing not to identify as feminist because it is too controversial. Moxie is the voice us girls need to change the world!

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This Book is THE BEST BOOK EVER. DO NOT DENY BECAUSE ONCE YOU READ IT, IT IS THE BEST. It has the just right amount of romance, not over the top, and makes your stomach flip and turn while reading about Conrad and Jeremiah fighting secretly over Belly.=] I promise you, once you read it, you read nonstop. I love this book so much, every character is different and described perfectly, great use of words, metaphors, similes. It is a memorable read. I strongly recommend it. 100000000000000000000000000000000/10

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This is a collection of excerpts of stories on diverse love. My overall response to this was very neutral. Starting off with the positives, ‘Love hurts’ captures so many different types of love, fun, serious, same gender, old, young. It’s an amazingly picked and specific selection of love stories. One aspect bugged me quite a lot. As a reader, it’s always nice to understand your characters a bit before the great big love climax. This book jumps right into the plot of each story and shows their love and relationship without backstory, making it slightly confusing. Some people may find this quick and sharp summary-like book format more enjoyable but it isn’t my cup of tea. In conclusion, this book was fantastically diverse but had several faults.

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Joan Lindsay’s quintessentially Australian novel, ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock, 1967’ is written as a ‘true story’ including news articles and publications from the media about the horrible twist of fate that occurs on Valentine’s Day. A class of schoolgirls venture out to Mt Macedon’s Hanging Rock; a strange and uncanny rock, whose grandeur the girls are captivated by. Linday critiques the colonisation of Australia, and how the repression of nature will eventually result in retribution. The mystery of Appleyard College’s students and staff is enthralling, revealing how quickly gossip takes control and how even being of a higher class does not protect you from the dangers of the unknown. This was a good book, 9/10!

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Mary Zimmerman’s play, ‘Metamorphoses’ was inspired by Ovid’s poem Metamorphoses, a volume of 15 poems he completed in 8 AD. The poems written in Latin combine the Greek and Roman myths centered around humans and their relationships with and respect towards temperamental gods. Zimmerman adapted 11 of Ovid’s poems into a series of vignettes, providing digestible scenes that teach these important myths. The play surrounding a pool of water is integral to the performance as the characters transform (metamorphose) in and around it. Zimmerman is an expert at taking literary, mythical, and historical texts and presenting them in a way that makes them feel honest, real and current to audiences. From this play, Zimmerman relates the stories to real-life scenarios, allowing readers and audiences to learn from the character’s decisions as they evolve and metamorphose. I recommend this to any mythomaniac!

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Virginia Woolf, the precursor among female authors who employ the stream of consciousness in their novels.  This novel is initially confusing since the soliloquies of different characters are constantly shifting. However, once you get the hang of it, you will find yourself devouring the story and craving more words. This is a story about identity: Mrs. Dalloway or Clarissa, the two names hold disparate meanings for the same lady; this is a story about post-war anguish: to the WW1 veteran Septimius, his tragic fate to demise is viewed as a generous offer from the heaven; and this is a story about love: Peter Walsh’s inexplicable love to Clarissa still entangle him and Clarissa despite the erosion of time.  Read it, and you will be astonished by the profound of human thoughts, emotions and memories.