A bride's farewell

This is a tale of a girl who is set to be married the following day, but does not want to be a housewife, for she does not want to make the sacrifice, so she runs away, Bean stubbornly sticking with her despite her planning on going alone. She encounters many troubles and adventures on the way to a destination not even she knew

I'll admit when picking this book up it looked like a romantic thing, which I'm not really into, however, there is little of that, and more adventure as she travels. I liked how information was not given to you immediately, but more in 'flashback' or 'memory' chapters, which was good.

I knew that being a wife in those days would not have been easy, however, this book showed me what was so horrible about it and why more like pell ran to escape it! So many children would never be easy even if you wanted to have so many, and Pell did not.

The only thing lacking at some points was pace, but even that was there at most points.

Will

YR8

Monsters of Men

Todd and Viola. Two people trapped in a war between 3 leaders, all looking to dominate the other 2. The Mayor, who controls Prentisstown, Mistress Coyle, Head of the Answer, and The Sky, leader of the Spackle (or the land as they call themselves). And they are two people who have to create a world that is safe for an entire new convoy of Settlers on the New World, and they don't have long.

Now I look at it, I realise I have been verbally reviewing this book for ages. They have been as short as: "Read it now. It is awesome" or sometimes I have gone into a bit more detail. I have been so seriously obsessed to the extent that some people have started to worry in love with this book my Mum is reading it currently. I'm not joking.

I had already read it before last years Carnegie (where Patrick Ness had been short-listed for the Ask and the Answer. I was actually lucky enough to meet him!). Miss Adkins had put me onto them, starting with the knife of never letting go. By the time I had got to Monsters of Men I was so totally in love with the series I read it in one day (I was standing outside lessons, reading, in lessons, reading, at home, reading, I bed, reading, downstairs, recovering from its awesomeness and something else that I won't say because it would kind of be a spoiler). I have since lost count of how many times I have read it. Enough blabbering.

Why do I love it (other than it just being utterly epic)?

Well, I'll start with the characters. I love them (especially Todd and Viola) because, not only are they superbly rounded, the voices are so amazingly written that when they are speaking, you are then. I swear, whilst reading, I actually love Viola (and Todd as well!). Basically, he deviously crept in whilst I was engrossed and started playing with my emotions!

Todd. I'll begin with Todd. Viola is his world, and almost everything he does is to protect Viola, and to make the world a better place. Obviously, with such a personal cause he makes mistakes along the way, sometimes they are awful things, but he does all with the best intentions, and punishes himself more than anyone else ever could, maybe more than he should, and he always picks himself up again and continues to try his best.

Viola next. She is a wonderful character, who tries so hard to do the best, as does Todd, for the world. She is from a new convoy of settlers, as opposed to Todd, who was born on the New World from an earlier lot of people looking for a better life. She again, makes her mistakes, most are to protect Todd, but finds a way to make up for them and carry on.

Then there was The Mayor. I never loved him (obviously) but his character is so cleverly created. He's not meant to be loved (again, obviously) but he can fool you. Easily. He is manipulative and crazy, so power hungry he would do anything to stay in power. But he's clever enough not to need to be desperate. He's clever enough to stay there using manipulation and ruthless cunning. I could go on for hours about the other characters but I might just crash Google with my epic fan geek rant.!

So, I move on to the plot. I have heard people say it goes on to long, but for me, I wanted more *laughs evilly with more echoing in the background*. The twists and turns were so carefully crafted, catching you at the best times. The power struggles (for which Ivan is a good measure of) are constant, ever changing and merciless. And guess what? Todd and Viola are in the middle *wishes them luck and runs*.

So as this war unfolds Todd and Viola have to find a way. A way to not only survive, but save the world from any supreme rule (and there isn't just one way that could happen).

Now, I have used up enough of your time already. Time that should have been spent reading. Reading this. Go. Now. Read it or I might have to make you or you are missing out!

*gives Blogger a break*

(the) Will

YR 8

Monsters of Men

By Patric Ness


“VIOLA”

War, tragedy, suffering, battlemore, projecshun, noise. In a world of war and hatred there is one force: the voice. After a devastating history Viola (i as in high) and Todd are forced into a bloody, costly battle by the mayor. With the mayor using the voice for control and the land using it as one can 1071 and Todd finally make peace?

The book tells the story of an old battle showing the monsters ang greatness of men. Missiles are fired, fire hurlers are activated, hoopers are drooped and buzzes and hums are thrown. Can tom beat his old enemy in a battle of mind? Can Viola fight a fatal illness? And can peace find a way?

This book was the best I have ever read. No doubt or wondering. Patric Ness writes like the voice is guiding him. Now having read the first one I am going to take out the others within a week. I have nothing else to say but: READ THESE BOOKS.

By Wilfred y7

Fan Poetry - White Crow

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?

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

Out of Shadows

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

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

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

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

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 :)

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