Emily B. has been busy! This is a brilliant piece of writing.
A White Crow
A large space in a room that's small,
A terrible, fantastic fall,
A soft rock
An unexpected shock.
All the impossible, all the insane,
Not all the obvious main,
But what if there was a river that didn't flow?
What if there was a white crow?
Friday, 17 June 2011
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Out of Shadows
By Jason Wallace
Robert is from England, but his family moves to Africa and he is sent to a boarding school there after the war. The school is changing because of the new government.
The storyline to this book was very good and I thought it was a very good insight to a different time period and continent than what we are used to. I thought the characters are well developed and I loved how when you forget about some of them, a few chapters later they come back.
I didn't like how at the end of most chapters it hinted how people were going to die, or what was going to happen. I found it very irritating. And also the writing wasn't perfect, and sometimes a bit clunky.
Overall I thought this book was good, but not amazing, and definitely not my type of book at all. So I give it 6.5/10
By Elle
Robert is from England, but his family moves to Africa and he is sent to a boarding school there after the war. The school is changing because of the new government.
The storyline to this book was very good and I thought it was a very good insight to a different time period and continent than what we are used to. I thought the characters are well developed and I loved how when you forget about some of them, a few chapters later they come back.
I didn't like how at the end of most chapters it hinted how people were going to die, or what was going to happen. I found it very irritating. And also the writing wasn't perfect, and sometimes a bit clunky.
Overall I thought this book was good, but not amazing, and definitely not my type of book at all. So I give it 6.5/10
By Elle
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace
"If I stood you in front of a man, pressed the cold metal of a gun into your palm and told you to squeeze the trigger, would you do it?”
“No sir.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course, sir. No ways!”
“What if I then told you we’d gone back in time and his name was Adolf Hitler? Would you do it then? Would you?"
Its Zimbabwe 1980’s, the apartheid has just been broken and Robert and his family move in to enable his father to access his new job. As soon as Robert joins school he is constantly teased for his English heritage. Forced to make a decision between his morals and fitting in, Robert befriends Ivan, the class bully. Little did Robert know that this decision could affect the peace that Mandela had worked so hard for. For the war may have stopped for everyone else, but Ivan is still in the fight.
I really enjoyed this book as it gives a real insight on to what it was really like after the apartheid and how although peace had been declared, within the confines of peoples own communities the war had just begun.
The book is written from Robert’s point of view which, although it adds some depth into what he is feeling about Ivan, I think that if we could read Ivan’s point of view we would understand his character a bit more. Apart from that I can’t fault this book in any way as it flowed easily and really made you empathise with Robert at certain parts, especially when they bury Nelson. By reading all his conflicting emotions I found it made me feel closer to him as a reader. I think that Wallace showed a very good understanding of his characters and the plot was very well laid out.
Overall I would recommend this book to anyone between the ages of 12 to 16 as although I found it quite easy to read, the political aspects of this book may be too mature for younger readers. I give this book 8/10!
Imogen
“No sir.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course, sir. No ways!”
“What if I then told you we’d gone back in time and his name was Adolf Hitler? Would you do it then? Would you?"
Its Zimbabwe 1980’s, the apartheid has just been broken and Robert and his family move in to enable his father to access his new job. As soon as Robert joins school he is constantly teased for his English heritage. Forced to make a decision between his morals and fitting in, Robert befriends Ivan, the class bully. Little did Robert know that this decision could affect the peace that Mandela had worked so hard for. For the war may have stopped for everyone else, but Ivan is still in the fight.
I really enjoyed this book as it gives a real insight on to what it was really like after the apartheid and how although peace had been declared, within the confines of peoples own communities the war had just begun.
The book is written from Robert’s point of view which, although it adds some depth into what he is feeling about Ivan, I think that if we could read Ivan’s point of view we would understand his character a bit more. Apart from that I can’t fault this book in any way as it flowed easily and really made you empathise with Robert at certain parts, especially when they bury Nelson. By reading all his conflicting emotions I found it made me feel closer to him as a reader. I think that Wallace showed a very good understanding of his characters and the plot was very well laid out.
Overall I would recommend this book to anyone between the ages of 12 to 16 as although I found it quite easy to read, the political aspects of this book may be too mature for younger readers. I give this book 8/10!
Imogen
White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick
“You are the devil. You are the devil!”
When a faith driven priest meets the twisted doctor Barriuex they orchestrate an unholy chain of events which changes the future for everyone. Rebecca, new to the town, meets the elusive and mysterious Ferelith and her life changes as dark secrets are dug up when they are best left alone. When both the past and the present come together, it exposes the macabre research which was carried out in order to discover whether there is indeed life after death. Through the grim ordeals of the candle room neither characters lives will ever be the same again.
The book is written from Rebecca, Ferelith and the priest’s point of view and I think that Sedgwick’s unique style of writing really contributed to the overall gothic feel of the book. Although the book contained many different characters, I think that it wasn’t over-complicated due to Sedgwick’s enticing style which for me made the book very difficult to put down! At some points during the book however, I felt that Rebecca’s feelings towards Ferelith changed a little too dramatically and that in real life Rebecca would probably take more time to change her opinion. Aside from that the book was really interesting from both the historical and the gothic side and I think that is a very good accomplishment.
I really liked this book as I enjoyed the contrast between what we believed in the past and what we believe in present day. If you like historical gothic horror stories with a surprising twist in the tale, this book is for you!
I think that Sedgwick showed that he was in very good command of the plot as his ability to keep on top of the complicated storyline involving several characters’ conflicting viewpoints simultaneously was executed extremely well.
I give this a ten out of ten rating. By Imogen
When a faith driven priest meets the twisted doctor Barriuex they orchestrate an unholy chain of events which changes the future for everyone. Rebecca, new to the town, meets the elusive and mysterious Ferelith and her life changes as dark secrets are dug up when they are best left alone. When both the past and the present come together, it exposes the macabre research which was carried out in order to discover whether there is indeed life after death. Through the grim ordeals of the candle room neither characters lives will ever be the same again.
The book is written from Rebecca, Ferelith and the priest’s point of view and I think that Sedgwick’s unique style of writing really contributed to the overall gothic feel of the book. Although the book contained many different characters, I think that it wasn’t over-complicated due to Sedgwick’s enticing style which for me made the book very difficult to put down! At some points during the book however, I felt that Rebecca’s feelings towards Ferelith changed a little too dramatically and that in real life Rebecca would probably take more time to change her opinion. Aside from that the book was really interesting from both the historical and the gothic side and I think that is a very good accomplishment.
I really liked this book as I enjoyed the contrast between what we believed in the past and what we believe in present day. If you like historical gothic horror stories with a surprising twist in the tale, this book is for you!
I think that Sedgwick showed that he was in very good command of the plot as his ability to keep on top of the complicated storyline involving several characters’ conflicting viewpoints simultaneously was executed extremely well.
I give this a ten out of ten rating. By Imogen
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Fan Art
Take a look at the amazing imagery in these fan art pieces by Imogen in Year 7!
White Crow
I love this image!
Prisoner of the Inquisition
White Crow
Prisoner of the Inquisition
The prisoner of the inquistion
by Thresa Berlin
“The stench of burnt flesh lingered in the square for hours”
When Zatrina, daughter of the town magistrate, is met by a filthy beggar in the streets she exerts her power and has him arrested. But her father decided mercy should not see the town on that day as his wife had died and killed him. In cold blood. Zatrina is horrified but the beggar’s son more so. Crazed with fury he promises revenge on the man who lost him his father’s life.
Saulo (the son) is taken on a wild sea battle and meets the great explorer Christopher Columbus and inherits a mysteriously heavy coat. Zatrina has her own problems though. The inquisition a great force of God has come to her town and mercy yet again is shown the door. With executions and torture her troubles rise to meet Saulo’s of pirates and the sea.
Brought together in the palace of the good queen Saulo for the first time in his life experiences a new sensation: love. Brought together in act of defiance can they- united escape the inquisition?
This is a great book and I’d recommend it to anyone between 11 and 14. Thresa Berlin captures emotions, scenes and the reader’s attention incredibly well. The writing is flawless the historical references perfect and the book: a treasure.
by Wilfred y7
“The stench of burnt flesh lingered in the square for hours”
When Zatrina, daughter of the town magistrate, is met by a filthy beggar in the streets she exerts her power and has him arrested. But her father decided mercy should not see the town on that day as his wife had died and killed him. In cold blood. Zatrina is horrified but the beggar’s son more so. Crazed with fury he promises revenge on the man who lost him his father’s life.
Saulo (the son) is taken on a wild sea battle and meets the great explorer Christopher Columbus and inherits a mysteriously heavy coat. Zatrina has her own problems though. The inquisition a great force of God has come to her town and mercy yet again is shown the door. With executions and torture her troubles rise to meet Saulo’s of pirates and the sea.
Brought together in the palace of the good queen Saulo for the first time in his life experiences a new sensation: love. Brought together in act of defiance can they- united escape the inquisition?
This is a great book and I’d recommend it to anyone between 11 and 14. Thresa Berlin captures emotions, scenes and the reader’s attention incredibly well. The writing is flawless the historical references perfect and the book: a treasure.
by Wilfred y7
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
Monsters Of Men
by Patrick Ness
Chaos Walking Series
Hi guys, my first review. Now, monsters of men is a new story about a war on a far off planet in the future. It is between settlers and a native tribal race. Behind it is romance, action adventure, greed and plot all in one book. The story itself is basically seen in a few other books I have read or movies I have seen but the way he was able to word it and adds detail to the basic story.
The story has danger for the young couple and a war with red herrings and false routes but then SNAP it changes just like that. The war twists and turns and is hard to keep up, but that’s a good thing. Unlike the other two books, the Mayor and Mistress Coyle seem to be getting better but the truth is far more dangerous than just that...
The book is incredibly, cleverly, worded and written with a gripping story and fast paced action in it. Just how it is written is completely unique to Patrick Ness' work. At first I did not like the way he wrote it but it grew on me and now when I pick up a book I'm like "what on earth is this!" Patrick Ness' work is able to pull you in and carry on and adds an extra force to help push it through and almost adds depth to the story and how they think.
When I started reading the knife of never letting go I did not like it and that was my tone for the rest of the series of chaos walking. How more can I be proved wrong. With fast paced action and romance, I found it hard to put down. This book however is rather gory in parts so should be about 14+ like it was rated. It is also hard to pick up in parts so can be hard to understand but when you think "how can this work" he can pull it through and make it work
I like the book because of how cleverly it is written and how it works with the story and the use of characters that fit it and the imaginative settings. However I do think that it is far too long and the action dies down after a while. He does pick it back up but still it could be shorter as it is hard to get through it so if it is a bit shorter it would be a good book.
In conclusion it is a good book and I would give it 8/10 as a book.
Adam Smith :)
Chaos Walking Series
Hi guys, my first review. Now, monsters of men is a new story about a war on a far off planet in the future. It is between settlers and a native tribal race. Behind it is romance, action adventure, greed and plot all in one book. The story itself is basically seen in a few other books I have read or movies I have seen but the way he was able to word it and adds detail to the basic story.
The story has danger for the young couple and a war with red herrings and false routes but then SNAP it changes just like that. The war twists and turns and is hard to keep up, but that’s a good thing. Unlike the other two books, the Mayor and Mistress Coyle seem to be getting better but the truth is far more dangerous than just that...
The book is incredibly, cleverly, worded and written with a gripping story and fast paced action in it. Just how it is written is completely unique to Patrick Ness' work. At first I did not like the way he wrote it but it grew on me and now when I pick up a book I'm like "what on earth is this!" Patrick Ness' work is able to pull you in and carry on and adds an extra force to help push it through and almost adds depth to the story and how they think.
When I started reading the knife of never letting go I did not like it and that was my tone for the rest of the series of chaos walking. How more can I be proved wrong. With fast paced action and romance, I found it hard to put down. This book however is rather gory in parts so should be about 14+ like it was rated. It is also hard to pick up in parts so can be hard to understand but when you think "how can this work" he can pull it through and make it work
I like the book because of how cleverly it is written and how it works with the story and the use of characters that fit it and the imaginative settings. However I do think that it is far too long and the action dies down after a while. He does pick it back up but still it could be shorter as it is hard to get through it so if it is a bit shorter it would be a good book.
In conclusion it is a good book and I would give it 8/10 as a book.
Adam Smith :)
Fan Fiction Monsters Of Men
It was a warm, autumn evening and the sun was setting over Lilac Hill. I lay back on Roses Beach, letting the sand slither through my fingers and tickle my toes. The waves of the Ocean, slowly crept it's way up the beach and the Ocean remained calm. The pale blue shimmered on the Ocean's surface, making a pathway of shining, gleaming light from the lazy sun.
My eyes gazed on the rosy lilac New World sky with wonder. It still amazed me how humans and Spackle could be so cruel to New World and just completely disregard it's utter beauty. Another yawned passed through my mouth. Sandy footprints edged closer to me and a two-fingered nudge was enough to make me sit up and turn my body 90 degrees clockwise. Todd stood tgere with those solemn, sad blue eyes and dry red lips. I smiled a weary smile at him. He looked behind him, then turned to face me and smiled back.
"No need, to be anxious," I told him and patted a patch of smooth sand, beckoning him to sit down. His noise was put to sleep almost immediatly. Warmth filled me inside. I closed my eyes...'
"Viola, viola, honey wake up!" I opened my eyes to find my dream freshly wiped from my mind. I sighed. My eye's scanned the dusty shack that had been Todd's 'room' for the past 2 weeks. Todd lay beside me, eye's closed, sleeping carelessly. My heart thumped loudly as I heard his noise, like fire, burning out, slow and bright. "OH VIOLA....oh viola" he kept screaming out over and over again. I stayed with him all day, every day. Sweat was pouring from his forehead. The longer the coma went on, the more anxious I got. I could only hear his noise when he let me so that must mean he knows I am out there, beside him. He must. If only I could tell him how hard we working to heal him. So I could see those beautiful, soft brown eyes one more time.
By Kirsty Year 7
My eyes gazed on the rosy lilac New World sky with wonder. It still amazed me how humans and Spackle could be so cruel to New World and just completely disregard it's utter beauty. Another yawned passed through my mouth. Sandy footprints edged closer to me and a two-fingered nudge was enough to make me sit up and turn my body 90 degrees clockwise. Todd stood tgere with those solemn, sad blue eyes and dry red lips. I smiled a weary smile at him. He looked behind him, then turned to face me and smiled back.
"No need, to be anxious," I told him and patted a patch of smooth sand, beckoning him to sit down. His noise was put to sleep almost immediatly. Warmth filled me inside. I closed my eyes...'
"Viola, viola, honey wake up!" I opened my eyes to find my dream freshly wiped from my mind. I sighed. My eye's scanned the dusty shack that had been Todd's 'room' for the past 2 weeks. Todd lay beside me, eye's closed, sleeping carelessly. My heart thumped loudly as I heard his noise, like fire, burning out, slow and bright. "OH VIOLA....oh viola" he kept screaming out over and over again. I stayed with him all day, every day. Sweat was pouring from his forehead. The longer the coma went on, the more anxious I got. I could only hear his noise when he let me so that must mean he knows I am out there, beside him. He must. If only I could tell him how hard we working to heal him. So I could see those beautiful, soft brown eyes one more time.
By Kirsty Year 7
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Marcus Sedgwick Visit
It’s not often that our students manage to delight, entertain and frighten me half to death all in the same day. The 25th of May was one of those days.
It all started last year, on the way to the Carnegie Awards.
Didn't they all look innocent? I began to hear whispers as we waited at the station, rumours on the Tube, hints at the possibility of a planned kidnap attempt. Shortlisted author Marcus Sedgwick was in danger. They’d all really loved Revolver and had had decided, in a marvellously Stephen King-esque way, that the best way to show their admiration would be to kidnap him and seal him in the library office with nothing but food, water, wine and a computer with no internet connection. Research requests would have to be passed under the door to an eager group of volunteers. Luckily, that day passed without incident. Marcus was warned and managed to step over the trip wires. I though their plans had been forgotten.
I was wrong.
The day started with delight. Preparations for the visit had been going on for several days and from 8am that morning, there was a steady stream of baked goods being delivered to the library. Among others, tiny sentence cakes made by Ellie, a gorgeous White Crow cake by Louise, wonderful personalised cupcakes by Elle and a huge cake topped with more glitter* than a nineties club night were delivered safely to my desk.**. The time, care and enthusiasm that had gone in to all these cakes was truly remarkable and I admit I teared up a little bit***.
It all started to change at break time, when the conversation turned suddenly ugly. Their plans from last year had not been forgotten. In fact, they were now being added to. A larger Carnegie group also means that there is a larger field of crazy for all these ideas to be drawn from. The kidnap plan was back in place, with the added bonus that the poor unsuspecting writer would innocently bring himself right here, to their clutches. Tempted through the door by cake, he would then be fed almost to the point of death and forced to work off cake calories by writing new stories for us****. It didn’t stop there. The added crazy and the influence of White Crow also led to ideas of religious interrogation, chaining to chairs and possible beheading. The crazy led to more crazy, the pitch of conversation increased as Ellie got more and more shrill, and by the end of break I was scared. Very scared.
I tried to warn him. Concerns were posted on Twitter, and Marcus had the very good sense to be concerned.
But then he arrived and was delighted by the mass of baked goods awaiting him.
At 1pm an excited mass of Shadowers poured into the library with their packed lunches. Slightly star-struck, everyone settled down to demolish the feast in approximately five minutes, rendered their plans unfeasible as they scoffed their way through the most shocking quantities of cake to ever be consumed in such a small time frame. Sated by sugar and loaded up with questions, everyone settled down for the interrogation.
Evil machinations of the Shadowers aside, Marcus was a wonderful guest and took the time to speak to everyone, answering every question incredibly honestly and in detail. He talked about the process of writing, the way that ideas come together from the strangest places, writing as a business (I think we were all horrified at how little money from the sale of a paperback goes to the author) and the publishing process. He told us about his evolution as a writer, from the early stories that were rejected, to finding an agent and securing a publishing deal.
There was a lot of interest about the early years and about what he’d been like a teenage reader, what he’d read then (Gormenghast) and tips for those who would like to take their writing further (Plan! Finish everything!) and how being a writer has influenced his role as a reviewer too.
After answering every question we had time for, the entire group lined up to have books and postcards (thanks Marcus!) signed and the last remaining questions were mopped up while the rest of us finished off the cake table.
We’d all like to say a massive thank you to Marcus for visiting us and being so very generous with his time!
Anytime you need cake, you know where to come…
* THERE IS STILL GLITTER EVERYWHERE...
** They really were safe! I ate very few of them before everyone else got there. Very few.
*** It must be remembered that I was ill and high on cake taking lots of over the counter medication.
**** I was later assured that this plan would have failed as Marcus, being some sort of super human, is incapable of gaining weight.
**** I was later assured that this plan would have failed as Marcus, being some sort of super human, is incapable of gaining weight.
Monday, 6 June 2011
Fancy entering this?
What do you think? We could go for it as a group and post the books between us over the summer, add reviews to the blog. A day as editors at the Guardian would be an AWESOME prize...
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Monsters of Men
By Patrick Ness
This book is about Viola and Todd, who are caught up in a war between three different armies. They have to try and stop the war and make peace and they have to try and make the decisions of war right for the people and not make the war personal.
My favourite character in the book is Viola because she always thinks of others and the way the book is written really makes you feel for her. She has to try and not make war personal and tries to make decisions that won't harm Todd. I think this puts accross the idea that she wants to please everyone but knows that that is impossible.
I didn't have a favourite part of the book because I liked it all. I loved the way it was written from Todd, Viola and Spackle 1017's points of view. Although I liked it from 3 different points of view I found 1017's parts quite tedious and I got a bit confused about the earth and sky.
The feelings of characters in this book are put accross very well and I although the three points of view often went over the same things from different perspectives, I really enjoyed seeing what the others felt.
War in this book is a key point and the hard choices that you have to make were written well. Nearly all of what happened was unexpected for me and I thought it was great not knowing what was going to happen next.
In conclusion, I thouht this book was amazing and I would definitley recommend it to anyone. It was well written but I thought the 1017 bits could have been a bit shorter and clearer.
Emily, Year 7
This book is about Viola and Todd, who are caught up in a war between three different armies. They have to try and stop the war and make peace and they have to try and make the decisions of war right for the people and not make the war personal.
My favourite character in the book is Viola because she always thinks of others and the way the book is written really makes you feel for her. She has to try and not make war personal and tries to make decisions that won't harm Todd. I think this puts accross the idea that she wants to please everyone but knows that that is impossible.
I didn't have a favourite part of the book because I liked it all. I loved the way it was written from Todd, Viola and Spackle 1017's points of view. Although I liked it from 3 different points of view I found 1017's parts quite tedious and I got a bit confused about the earth and sky.
The feelings of characters in this book are put accross very well and I although the three points of view often went over the same things from different perspectives, I really enjoyed seeing what the others felt.
War in this book is a key point and the hard choices that you have to make were written well. Nearly all of what happened was unexpected for me and I thought it was great not knowing what was going to happen next.
In conclusion, I thouht this book was amazing and I would definitley recommend it to anyone. It was well written but I thought the 1017 bits could have been a bit shorter and clearer.
Emily, Year 7
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