Monsters of Men

By Patrick Ness

This book is based around Todd and Viola, two teenagers caught up in a new world of war. They try to stop two ferocious armies from tearing each other apart, while an ever-growing army waits and watches on the side lines to choose the perfect moment to attack.

This book is very action-packed and goes into the feelings of Todd, and he shows his true colours in this book. It is a mixture of romance and action and be prepared to fall in love with Todd! Davy Prentiss starts out as an all around baddy but in the end he turns out to be a true hero. The Mayor was always a shifty character, especially with his ever-growing power.

The Authour uses the men's 'noise' to show their feelings and how they really think. I think this is one of the many aspects that makes this book and easy winner of the Carnegie Medal Award. It's not about what they portray, it's about their actual honesty and how it really can be used in advantage and disadvantage.

I really liked this book and I found that reading the series (from start to finish) made the book even better. I felt like I was standing right next to the characters and I felt so emotional when things went wrong. I was dragged in page by page and I wish in future to become a great fan of Patrick Ness and his amazing imagination!

Kirsty Year 7

Prisoner of the Inquisition

By Theresa Breslin

Zarita was the only child of a town magistrate. Her mother had just given birth to a baby boy, and she was not well, so Zarita went to the church to light a candle for her mother. A poor man from the slums came to beg, but he touched her, so he was hanged. His son Saulo was sent away to become a slave on a Christopher Columbus’ ship. Saulo swear to return and kill the magistrate and his family.

I loved Saulo and Zarita. There are very few books where my favourite characters are on the ‘good side’, but this was definitely on of them! I loved their relationship towards the end of the book, and I almost cried when they found out who the other was. I also really liked Loretta and how Zarita was terrified when she found out how like Loretta she really was. I loved the twist at the end, especially because I found Zarita’s aunt really boring.

The plot was really interesting, and I thought it was really clever the way everything came together in the end. Although I found Saulo’s narration a little bit boring at first.

I really liked the double-sided narration and seeing what Zarita and Saulo thought of each other. The twist at the end was really clever, and I was so relieved when it happened

I loved this book and I would recommend it to almost anyone. The only bit I didn’t really enjoy was the beginning. I would have also liked a description of what Zarita and Saulo looked like earlier in the book, because you only found out when they were describing each other towards the end.

By Molly (Year 7)

The Prisoner of the Inquisition

By Theresa Breslin

This book is about a girl called Zarita, who is the daughter of a magistrate, and a boy called Saulo, the son of a beggar. Zarita is rich and lives a life of wealth and privilege. Saulo's family is forced to beg for money. When their two lives collide Saulo's father is wrongfully arrested and killed and Saulo vows revenge on the Magistrate's family. The agents of the inquisition come to Zarita's town and eveyone is suspicious and terrified. Zarita and Saulo meet again and face each other, still with feelings of betrayal and revenge.

This is an amazing book! I loved reading it. It was written well with lots of descriptions that made it seem very life like. I liked how it swapped between Saulo and Zarita telling the story and it was interesting to see what different lives they led, even though, despite their differences, they were quite alike.

At the beginning I had no idea what the inquisition was and I had to ask someone and check everything I knew from the book. At the beginning there is an introduction that introduces what happened in what year but I still checked just to be sure. Once I knew what the inquisition was the whole thing was easy to read.

My favourite character was Lorena, Zarita's stepmother, because she was quite mysterious and unexpected things happened that she was involved in. She came across as an evil or wicked character, but I liked how she was described. My next favourite character was Zarita because she was described and her feelings were described so that it sounded like she was just a grieving and upset girl who was not sure of herself.

I didn't have a favourite or least favourite part of the book because I loved it all!

In conclusion, I thought this book was great and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It is, in my opinion, the best of the books I have read so far.

By Emily, year 7

Theresa Breslin on Prisoner of the Inquisition

Click here for some fantastic videos of Theresa Breslin answering questions about her shortlisted novel, Prisoner of the Inquisition.

These videos work in school, so watch away!

The Bride's Farewell

By Meg Rosoff.

The night before her wedding, seventeen year old Pell Ridley runs away from home, taking with her horse and her mute brother Bean.  She’s running from the restrictions of marriage and childbearing, heading towards goodness knows what.  Along the way she loses everything, gains a whole lot more, and perseveres through hardships that would take most people a life time to cope with.

I enjoyed reading this and the book rattled along in delightfully short chapters that made it a perfect before bed read.  When I was younger, I would have adored the horsey elements of this books which were charmingly well observed, and it was Pell’s ability and talent with horses that was part of what made her such an attractive character.  Her ability to just keep going through all her losses and her compassion for her animals and siblings made her quite unforgettable. 

I worry though that I wouldn’t have enjoyed this book half as much when I was younger.  Before my very late teens, there was no way that I could have appreciated what it was that Pell was running from.  Considering what she suffers, I would have urged her to return to Birdie, get married, live happily ever after with the horses.  It’s only since seeing friends settle down and lose themselves (however temporarily!) to being wives and mothers that I can fully grasp why she ran.  The way that so many loose ends were tied up also grated with me a little.  It was all a little too neat, with Esther and the revelations about her connections to the Ridley family just taking it a step too far for me. 

A lovely read but I’d struggle to recommend it to many people, which seems a really pity.  One of those books I feel a bit guilty for not loving.

Miss A.  

Prisoner of the Inquisition

By Theresa Breslin

Prisoner of the Inquisition is about Zarita, the daughter of the town magistrate. But after an incident when Zarita was young, a beggar, Saulo, after having believed his father wrongfully killed swears to return and kill the Magistrate and all of his family.

The Inquisition arrives at the town and bring suspicion upon everyone and death for some of those in the town. But in the royal court, Zarita and Saulo meet again once more.

I did enjoy this book but I think it would be hard for certain people to enjoy; finding the book hard to get into. I think the characters I liked most were Zarita and Saulo as you got to know them the best. I thought the other characters were intriguing but I found that they were hard to engage with as they, although detailed, lacked some aspects that I think improve a characters depth. I think writing it from the characters point of view meant you could engage with the characters better. I thought Breslin is a good writer but I think she was better at writing the parts about when Zarita saw Saulo, and vice versa. I think she managed to explain their feelings very well and their emotions when they were in each others company.

I thought the plot was an amazing idea but I thought sometimes certain areas of the book were written without much reason behind it, some parts did not add much to the story. After talking with other people I also found out that there was confusion in the beginning as the book is hard to get into but it was enjoyable once you understood and can engage with the characters.

Jenna, Year 8

Out of the Shadows

By Jason Wallace

‘Out of Shadows’ is a book set in Zimbabwe after the civil war during the 1970’s. Robert Jacklin has just moved from England (Pommesland) to a new school called Haven, in Africa, as his father has been offered a new job. Robert’s new classmates are still unsettled from the war, as the guns are still loud in there head and the wariness is still around the country.

Robert soon makes friends with Ivan and becomes part of his gang, but there is one condition, he must stay away from black boys like Nelson! Throughout the book there is a constant ‘battle’ between the two racial factions, the ‘Whites’ and the ‘Blacks’.

I really enjoyed this book as it was not only very action-packed and descriptive but also taught me a lot about this era in Zimbabwe, such as facts about Robert Mugabe, the then new, prime minister and the general life differences for the white and black skinned people! I thought this book was really descriptive, so I could really picture everything that was described, practically Ivan's house and farm! I also thought it was very clever in the way at witch Wallace chose to have Robert from England as it showed how absurd it seemed to him, as Africa, in many ways, was so far behind England in equal rights. Another factor I really enjoyed about this book is the way African slang was used such as calling someone a ‘pomme’ if they were British as it really set the scene.

Also the book showed, how, although the war had ended how unhappy white people, such as Ivan and his family had become, as they still thought that white people were better than black. Another reason white people may be upset with the new government, is that Robert Mugabe was tacking away all of the white people's farms and property and giving it to his supporters (normally darker skinned people) even if the farms had been in the family for over a hundred years!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book as I thought it was very well written and informative about the era and I would definitly read it again and recommend it!

Jess Year 8

Prisoner of the Inquisition by Theresa Breslin

“For the love of God, let her die! Let her die!”
“The stink of burning flesh lingered in the square for hours afterwards”

When the respected daughter of the local magistrate’s life is turned upside down it affects the fate of the whole town, for the wrath of the Holy Inquisition shows no mercy. In the summer of 1490 Zarita watches helplessly as her distraught and inconsolable father hangs a beggar on the spot, using a worn rope from the servant’s quarters. Saulo, son of the beggar endures his father’s wrongful prosecution and sees his fathers dying moments unfold before him. Swearing revenge he is forced to become a slave, whisked away from his dying mother to do manual labour at sea. Little did they know that barely a year later they shall meet, brought together by the terror of the inquisition and to face the final acts of betrayal and revenge.

I really enjoyed this book as it tells the tale about two different characters whose stories of wealth and poverty are brought together to reflect on just how ruthless the Inquisition could be. Although they remain far apart from one another, they both experience the force and power which the Inquisition brings and I think that Breslin really shows an incredible amount of in depth knowledge which drew me in and for me made the book utterly un-put-down-able!

Throughout the book there were many different events which sparked off varying feelings as there was torture, love, injustice, action and sadness which Breslin has made all come together and I think this shows amazing ingenuity without over-crowding the main plot. Breslin’s ability to captivate your thoughts and make you feel as though you are really there and experiencing the novel is clearly natural and you can really get a good sense of the flow of the story from page one. I particularly enjoyed the thrill of never knowing what was going to happen next as it made me both excited and curious which I think Breslin was very good at.

The book is written from both Zarita and Saulo’s points of view by alternating each narration chapter to chapter. I personally feel this gives great insight on to how both characters are feeling at different times and I find that it allows you to feel closer to Zarita and Saulo’s journey. My favourite character from page one has to be Zarita as although Saulo’s first opinion of her is vanity, reading from Zarita’s narration you can see her true thoughts and internal struggles. At moments in the book I feel that Zarita can be quite selfish and self-centred but at other scenes I think that she is the most selfless and brave person I’ve ever read about. Some people may dislike the book for this reason as they may find it confusing and that the perception of Zarita’s personality should be clearer, but I like the complexity of Breslin’s style.

Overall I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys books about historical events, love and a small bit about action. Personally I think that this is one of the best books I’ve read in terms of style, plot and genre and I urge other readers to try this book. I would not have chosen this book off the shelf usually as I prefer more mystery/ crime fighting type dramas but I am glad that through Carnegie Shadowing I have been able to experience this genre. This has definitely been my favourite Carnegie shortlisted book so far and I can’t wait to read more books by Theresa Breslin!

By Imogen 

Year 7

The Death Defying Pepper Roux

By Geraldine McCaughrean

Pepper Roux’s mother was told that her little boy would never live beyond the age of 14. Pepper’s aunt claimed that Saint Constance told her this in a dream. Pepper runs away and escapes on his father’s ship. He keeps changing his name and almost everything about him, but he always thinks he is seeing angels sent to kill him or fiery chariots to take him away.

The only character I liked in the book was Duchesse. I really liked his kindness and his selflessness. I thought it was really sweet when Duchesse told Pepper that he was like the son he had never had. I also liked that he only ever seemed to wear clothes from strange and exotic countries. I didn’t really like any of the other characters and I found them really boring. I got really annoyed with Pepper towards the end of the book, because his Aunt Mirelle had warped his head. He thought all the statues could move and that all of the people were angels out to get him.

The plot was really interesting, and when I first read the back of the book, I thought that I would enjoy the book. I think the reason I didn’t enjoy the book was because of the way it was written. I think the characters were dull and most of the events weren’t very exciting.

I’m not exactly sure how the book could have been written better , and it is definitely better than anything I could ever do, but I didn’t really enjoy this book and I found it quite hard to get through.

By Molly (Year 7)

The Bride's Farewell

By Meg Rosoff

The Bride's Farewell is about a girl called Pell who runs away, just before she is to be married. She wants to escape a life of work and sorrow. Many things happen to her and she must fight to survive. Along the way she makes lots of friends, some of which leave her alone in the world in one way or another.

I really enjoyed this book and it was very good. It is written extremely well and everything was described clearly. Everything that happened to Pell in the book was obviously well thought out and it all tied together.

At times I was a bit confused becasuse all of the characters kept popping up and I didn't know who was who but as I got further into the book it got better. I grew to like some characters and dislike others.

My favourite part of the book was near the beginning, when Pell is at Salisbury fair. The person she meets and makes friends with there was my favourite character apart from Pell herself. This is because in the book she seemed a likeable character and her personality seemed very nice.

I didn't really have a least favourite part because I liked all of it. I always felt sorry or happy for Pell and I kept wishing in my head for everything to turn out ok.

In conclusion, I loved this book. It wasn't hard for me to read and I liked the characters. The descriptions were amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the whole thing.

Emily, Year 7