Just A Girl

by Jane Caro

Reviewed by Jessica

Just a Girl was an interesting historical book, but I think it's for a much older age group. QUC needs to re-define the age group: it's not suitable for 12-14 year-olds. My mother very much enjoyed this, so I think the book should be for uni-students studying Elizabethan history, or 20+. 

The Clockwork Three

by Matthew Kirby 

Reviewed by Jessica

The Clockwork Three had my attention right from the beginning. I was reallly getting into
the story and loving it. Like the title suggests, each character's story is intertwined with the
other main characters. One thing that I didn't like though, was the fact that J. Kirby made
a 'spiritualist crackpot' or in other words, a lady who could commune with the dead, (witchcraft) a GOOD character. How does that work? In my mind you cannot mix good with evil.. so a witch shouldn't be a good character!!! Perhaps it doesn't bother other people, but to me it as if Sauron out of Lord of the Rings were a good character... It just doesn't work... y'know? All in all, I was disappointed 

No Safe Place

by Deborah Ellis

Reviewed by Jessica

No Safe Place was definitely not for the age rating suggested. The themes of sex, aggression and survival, plus the language used were NOT appropriate for the suggested age group.

11 to 14 years?! More like 13 to 16 years!! The story itself is definitely a stark eye-opener. It helped me to see how refugee children struggle, and how strong they become through all their struggles. It also helped me to see how soft, and spoilt Australian children are becoming. And how very, very privileged we are to have education, literature access, and freedom of speech. No Safe Place was good in it's own way, however, even though it was a story with children as the main characters, I believe the book needs to target a more mature audience.

Careful What You Wish For

by Maureen McCarthy

Reviewed by Jessica

Careful What You Wish For was an interesting enough book... but I didn't like the concept
of a magical rat??! Also, McCarthy was very prejudiced in her opinion of Catholicism going so far as to call one Nun 'Thunder Gut'! I'm sure if I published a book calling Muslim leaders names I would get some kind of radical response. Apart from this, I suppose I liked the concept that Ruth has to experiance three different lives before she realizes that her life is what she appreciates the most, snotty brothers, weird parents and all.
A good read for children eleven and under.

Raven's Mountain

by Wendy Orr

Reviewed by Jessica

Raven's Mountain was a very slow. Even though it was written by the author of Nim's Island I still think it had almost no story. Summing it up in one sentence: A girl hikes up a mountain with her family and gets separated from them by a rockfall, she then has to get help. I think, even though it has a lovely family message, it is a little slow. Perhaps that is because I am fifteen, though.

Dragonborn

by Toby Forward

Reviewed by Jessica

Dragonborn was an excellent fantasy fiction, and I thoroughly enjoyed this on-the-edge-of-your-seat story. I couldn't put it down for more than a few moments and even then it would be calling to me to pick it up and read, read, read. The only fault that I could find was the editing.

Just when you thought you were figuring out what was going on in the story, you would spot a stray comma, a spelling mistake, a quote from a character that wasn't finished off with a quotation mark. This was an excellent piece of work, but seemingly unedited at all. (This applies to the published edition as well.) I would still highly recommend this story full of wizards, good, evil and spells to all magic lovers. 

Life: An Exploded Diagram

by Mal Peet

Reviewed by Mitch

Many books are set with the background of the Holocaust, but never before have I come across a book set in the Cold War, let alone in young adult fiction. The book is sad at times but the coming-of-age aspects of the novel were uplifting overall. The main characters of this book are Clem and Frankie and the story centres on their unique love. Clem is a strong protagonist, living with his parents and grandparents in a claustrophobic little house together with Frankie, the daughter of a rich farmer. Clem and Frankie's journey is truly inspiring and easy to relate to. I enjoyed the character's back-stories which are told through flashbacks.

As the book is written through memories, it switches from first person to third person.  The book is written in a beautiful way with lovely word choices creating a gorgeous atmosphere. My overall thoughts on this book are that it is a unique young adult historical fiction novel that is totally captivating from the first chapter. It's one of the best I've read. I really enjoyed the character's stories and their way of life. The plot was unique and the writing was beautiful. It is one of the best books I've read this year.

rating:  4.5/5 stars.

You Against Me

by Jenny Downham, publisher, price.

Reviewed by Mitch

The story is a unique tale of star-crossed love with mature themes. The book centres on the characters of Ellie and Mikey. Ellie is from the rich side of London and Mikey is from the poorer side. I really like Jenny Downham's writing because she develops the characters so well. I'm also reading Before I Die, another one of her books, which I am also enjoying. She is one fo my favourite authors.

Keeping it short and sweet, all I can say about this book is that IT IS AMAZING.  I urge everyone to read it

rating: 5 stars.