 Every week, Volumes will feature a new review from one of your St Cuthberts classmates. Want to write one of your own? It's easy! Email seniorlibrary@stcuthberts.co.nz with the subject line 'Book review request' to find out more.
This week, Isla Hoskin (Year 8) reviews Lemony Snicket's grim classic A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Bad Beginning. This book was written by Lemony Snicket. I am pretty sure this book was set towards the olden days because of some of the words they used and how they described their birth parents' home. It is a fiction book which is quite dark and could be said to be a horror, because of some of the things these poor kids had to go through. I really liked this book, I found it very interesting and it was a page turner. The book's events were quite sad. I felt sympathetic towards them. They made the characters very clear and I really liked how they did a great description of each character. Violet was described as the leader of the children as she was the one who looked after Klaus and Sunny. She is a very smart and determined girl who does not let anything get in her way. Klaus was the leader of the siblings and I found him quite interesting because he found out most of his information on how law works and stuff by using his books. Sunny is just a very bitey baby. This book made what was going on very clear and I have a vivid memory of the events that happened. I really liked how at the end they left me on a cliff hanger making me want to jump right into the next book. My adrenaline was up when Violet was forced to get married. I liked how they also used problem solving throughout the book. The description in the book was great and I really felt like I was on a stage with Violet and Olaf. I give this book a five star rating! Keen to read? You can pick up a copy of A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Bad Beginning at the Frances Compton Library!
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Student Book Review: My Year in the Middle by Lila Quintero Weaver, reviewed by Lucy Gill (Year 8)3/15/2022  Every week, Volumes will feature a new review from one of your St Cuthberts classmates. Want to write one of your own? It's easy! Email seniorlibrary@stcuthberts.co.nz with the subject line 'Book review request' to find out more.
This week, Lucy Gill (Year 8) reviews new historical fiction novel My Year in the Middle by Lila Quintero Weaver. This book is historical fiction and it was published in 2020. It’s about a girl at a school that black and white children attended in Alabama during the integration of schools period in 1970. Girls 11-13 years of age are most likely to enjoy this book. Lu Olivera is the main character and she is into running. But that hasn’t always been her top interest. She recently discovered her passion for running track and that brings her to find a new friend, Belinda, who also shares her passion for running. The theme is to not always give up when something happens because it might change your life forever. The author wanted me to learn that black people in the USA have different lives to us and they go through different things that we don’t go through. My rating for this book is 5 stars out of 5. Keen to read? You can pick up a copy of My Year in the Middle at the Frances Compton Library!  Every week, Volumes will feature a new review from one of your St Cuthberts classmates. Want to write one of your own? It's easy! Email seniorlibrary@stcuthberts.co.nz with the subject line 'Book review request' to find out more.
This week, Cerisa Gu (Year 8) reviews As Good As Dead, the final book in the Good Girl's Guide to Murder trilogy by Holly Jackson. As Good As Dead is a mystery thriller novel written by Holly Jackson. It was published last year (2021) and is set in a fictional town in Buckinghamshire called Little Kilton. This book is the last in the trilogy of ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ (AGGGTM). ‘As Good As Dead’ continues Pip’s journey as a podcaster who uncovers the truth behind many missing and dead people, but this time, she’s the one who is about to go missing. Having received many threats, Pip, the main character, must find out how to save herself before it’s too late. The good thing is, Pip is smart, knows how to find clues and is experienced when it comes to crimes. She starts the book as a student who has graduated high school and is about to start university. Pip doubts many things in the beginning, including if legal justice really is fair, but by the end of the book, she is sure of most things and will take things into her own hands when the law doesn’t help. Overall, the main message of the book is that there isn’t always a definite good or bad, but a lot is grey, and left to the interpretation of yourself. I rate this book a ⅘ as it definitely kept me on my toes, but the ending was a little weak for me. People who are into crime, mystery and books with amazing plot twists should read this book, but I would recommend this to mature readers since there are violent scenes and the overall plot is quite scary. Anyone from Year 8 or above should read this book. Four stars. Keen to read? Pick up a copy of As Good As Dead at the Frances Compton Library! Student Book Review: Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan, reviewed by Aimee Bradley (Year 8)3/15/2022  Every week, Volumes will feature a new review from one of your St Cuthberts classmates. Want to write one of your own? It's easy! Email seniorlibrary@stcuthberts.co.nz with the subject line 'Book review request' to find out more.
This week, Aimee Bradley (Year 8) reviews Rick Riordan's Daughters of the Deep. Have you read a book called ‘Daughter of the Deep’ by Rick Riordan before? Well if you haven’t then read on… This book was published in 2021 and is about a girl called Ana and her class of 20 freshmen who go on a journey after their boarding school has crashed into the ocean after being shot by a torpedo. If you are aged between 10-15 years old and are interested in adventure and historical fiction then I think you will enjoy this book. It is set along the Californian coast. The main characters are Ana - a brave girl who excels at languages because she is in the house called Dolphin. She is a descendant of Captain Nemo. Gem - a very good fighter because he is in the house called Shark and is quite protective when he gets asked to do something. Nelinha - an excited/kinda sassy girl who calls everyone babe. She is an excellent engineer because she is in the house called Celaphod. Ester - a quiet/shy girl who has a lively support dog called Tops. She is a descendant of the founders of her school. The theme of this book is about never giving up when times are tough and the importance of friendship. The author of this book wants people to learn that as long as you work together as a team then you can do anything. I think that this book is perfect for people who like stories like this one. I rate this book five stars, because it kept me intrigued throughout the whole book (and that's saying something because it was a pretty big book). Keen to read? Frances Compton Library doesn't have this title...yet... but keep your eyes peeled - it'll be on our shelves soon!  Every week, Volumes will feature a new review from one of your St Cuthberts classmates. Want to write one of your own? It's easy! Email seniorlibrary@stcuthberts.co.nz with the subject line 'Book review request' to find out more.
This week, Prabhnoor Gangyan (Year 8) reviews children's classic The Naughtiest Girl in the School by Enid Blyton. The Naughtiest Girl in the School is written by Enid Blyton and illustrated by Kate Hindley. Other notable works of Enid Blyton are the famous five series and the secret seven series. This book was published in 1940. This book falls under the category of fiction. The Naughtiest Girl in School is about a little girl whose name is Elizabeth Allen. She is a spoiled girl and is very rude and headstrong. She is sent away to boarding school (which Elizabeth hates) and she vowed to herself she would be rude and mean and get sent home, but she soon finds out that being bad at Whyteleafe school isn’t as easy as it seems… This book is aimed at 9-14 year olds so tweens and teens. The setting of this book is mainly in a School and at the start, at Elizabeth’s house. When was the setting? In the first term of school for Whytealeafe. Some of the main characters would be Elizabeth who is rude and headstrong, Joan; a timid little girl and Rita and William who are the head girl and boy of Whyteleafe and are both wise and proud. We do see Elizabeth change in a very positive way throughout the book. This book teaches us that giving is way better than receiving. Also that it is not feeble or weak to change your mind once it is made up, it is feeble to not change your mind when you know you made the wrong decision. I would rate this book 5 stars out of 5 stars. It is an awesome book, really heartwarming, funny and beautiful. Keen to read? You can check out The Naughtiest Girl in the School at the Frances Compton Library!  Every week, Volumes will feature a new review from one of your St Cuthberts classmates. Want to write one of your own? It's easy! Email seniorlibrary@stcuthberts.co.nz with the subject line 'Book review request' to find out more.
This week, Ava Dilly (Year 9) explores the haunting, unsettling horror read Bunny by Mona Awad. When you think of a bunny, what comes to mind? Soft and cuddly? Cute and playful? Bunny by Mona Awad is the antonyms of all those adjectives embodied. Published in 2019 and the winner of the Ladies of Horror Fiction Award for Best Novel, Bunny sucks readers down a dark hole of isolation, desperation, and the dangers of imagination. Samantha Mackey, an antisocial college student part of an exclusive writing program at Warren University in New England, despises the other four women (nicknamed ‘Bunnies’) in her cohort. Yet, when they unexpectedly invite her to one of their weekly workshops outside of school, Samantha can’t find it in herself to refuse and gets caught up in a whirlwind of supernatural rituals and axe decapitations. Awad’s novel is reminiscent of others such as The Secret History and Frankenstein, with common themes of isolation, alienation, ambition, and the pursuit of perfection in their respective crafts. Through seeing ourselves in Samantha, Bunny helps us explore the idea of our desperation to belong and just how far that desire will take us. ‘And that’s when I realise that whatever pain I have, whatever true want I have that lives under all this greasy, spineless needing to please isn’t something I want to give them.’ I would compare reading this book to a rollercoaster ride, but that would imply the weirdness declined at some point. It did not. From the first line, I knew I was in for a read of a lifetime. Awad’s way of crafting words is so gruesome and masterful that I often found myself stuck between grimacing at the gore and grinning at the impeccably timed dark humour. I would definitely recommend paying attention to all the details while reading, because you’ll be rewarded with an unforgettable experience as the story draws to a close. Bunny was a disturbing and surprisingly sad novel that has hopped up to first place in my top books so far this year. I gave this book 5 stars and would recommend it to anyone over the age of 12 who loves psychological fiction and wishes life was a little more supernatural. Keen to read? You can check out Bunny at the Frances Compton Library! Trigger Warnings: animal abuse, bullying, death of a parent (past), drugging, gore, manipulation, mental illness, murder, parental abandonment, self-harm, sex  Every week, Volumes will feature a new review from one of your St Cuthberts classmates. Want to write one of your own? It's easy! Email tom.augustine@stcuthberts.co.nz with the subject line 'Book review request' to find out more.
This week, Alicia Gan (Year 9) explores the romantic anthology of short stories, Meet Cute. Meet Cute is a series of short stories written by 13 authors. Every story is unique to itself. From a new intern giving a singer-songwriter a tour of the city, to working in a print shop and having to deal with twitter chaos, to a futuristic campus dedicated to love, I don’t think you’ll put this down until you finish reading. One of my favourite chapters is The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love. This chapter starts off with a girl who believes in logic and statistics, not fate. But perhaps that’ll change. One morning on the train to school, she sees a boy on the line travelling the opposite way. Coincidentally their eyes meet and they both smile. Once Viv gets to school, she decides to make this her science project. The probability of both of them seeing each other again. This is one of the more realistic stories in the book which I thoroughly enjoyed because it’s a bit easier to imagine and relate to. To all you readers who are a bit more realistic, this is a good one. It’s not too cliche that you foresee every action, but something you would expect to hear from a friend. A futuristic story that doesn’t seem too out of reach is Click by Katherine McGee. The story starts off with Alexa Faraday who’s on her way to her first “Click” date. I’ll explain what Click is, once you sign up, Click sweeps the internet and finds every. Single. Thing you did. The app then gives you a list of romantic potentials and their compatibility rates. Alexa meets Raden, her “date” but realises that she left her phone on the taxi here, and in that phone is a very, very important data chip. Now you’ll have to read the rest of it to find out how their search ended and why the data chip was so important to Alexa. The author ends on a lightnote with hotdogs which I think is a nice touch after the anxiety I had following their “chip” chase. I will tell you that there are hotdogs at the end. I think that the message the author was trying to convey was that although data and statistics are good to rely on, sometimes you need to stray from the more travelled road to find the right path for you. One of the few stories I didn’t like the most, is the first story! I found it a bit boring as 99% of the story consists of two teenagers, Hailey and Wolf, the main characters reminiscing about their childhood in a really ugly bathroom hiding from the police after getting caught drinking… Yeah. It doesn’t flow that well in my opinion and there isn’t much to take away from the story. Apart from this, Meet Cute has a wide range of stories and a very good novel I recommend to 12 year olds and over. A pleasant read on a rainy day, or on a picnic with friends. With fourteen stories, I’m sure you’ll find one for you. Keen to read? You can check out Meet Cute at the Frances Compton Library! Student Book Reviews: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, reviewed by Madeleine McDonald11/30/2021  Every week, Volumes will feature a new review from one of your St Cuthberts classmates. Want to write one of your own? It's easy! Email tom.augustine@stcuthberts.co.nz with the subject line 'Book review request' to find out more.
This week, Madeleine McDonald (Year 9) explores Jennifer Lynn Barnes' unsettling thriller The Inheritance Games. ‘To some people, you’ll be Cinderella. To others, Marie Antoinette.’ The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, published last year, follows Avery Grambs, a high school student with an absent father, dead mother, a half-sister that doubles as a guardian, and a clear plan for her future. Everything changes when a teenager in a suit shows up at her school. Fast forward, and she’s at the reading of a billionaire’s will, having just inherited his entire estate. However, Avery must live in his secret-passage riddled mansion for one year, alongside his two daughters and four charismatic, handsome grandsons. Avery soon discovers a trail of clues left by the late billionaire. Meanwhile, she struggles to navigate the complex world of the Hawthornes, with the added pressure of constant media attention. Avery has just inherited a fortune people would lie and kill for, and in an alien environment she doesn’t know who to trust. This book is aimed at around 13+, a similar age to the author’s — Barnes — other YA books. The best thing about The Inheritance Games is its characters. While the plot is fast paced and complex, and the writing is amazing, the characters are three dimensional and many-layered. First and foremost is Avery, the main character. Avery’s backstory is well-written, and her pragmatic personality makes her a sharp contrast to the extravagant world of the Hawthornes. The Hawthornes themselves are enigmatic and charming, magnetic characters that draw you further into the story. Even side characters, such as Avery’s friend Max or Libby’s — Avery’s sister — abusive boyfriend Drake, are well thought out and realistic. The characters, both minor and major, breathe life to The Inheritance Games. I really enjoyed reading this book. The Inheritance Games draws you in right from the first page. It reminds me of a more modern version of The Westing Game, with much deadlier stakes. The ‘mystery’ element is well thought out, and isn’t too convoluted, even though there are plenty of twists to keep the plot interesting. Any discoveries Avery makes feel natural, not forced, and the series of clues and puzzles are intricate but the reader can link them together easily. The characters are vibrant, and fun to read about, especially the protagonist Avery. However, I do wish this had been a stand-alone, rather than a trilogy, as I feel the story could have been wrapped up in a single book. Apart from this, I find it hard to find any major negatives. The Inheritance Games is well rounded and well written. Overall, I loved The Inheritance Games. It hits all the notes that a mystery — or any good book — should. The characters are realistic and full of life. I would recommend this book to anyone older than 12. In my opinion, this is one of the best books I have read this year. Keen to read? You can check out Jennifer Lynn Barnes' The Inheritance Games at the Frances Compton Library, or pick up an e-book copy! Student Book Review: They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera, reviewed by Ella McCutcheon11/23/2021  Every week, Volumes will feature a new review from one of your St Cuthberts classmates. Want to write one of your own? It's easy! Email tom.augustine@stcuthberts.co.nz with the subject line 'Book review request' to find out more.
This week, Ella McCutcheon (Year 9) explores Adam Silvera's thrilling sci-fi They Both Die At the End. They Both Die at The End by Adam Silvera is a Sci-fi novel where you receive a phone call telling you only 24 hours to live. Total strangers, Mateo and Rufus, connect through an app with an aim to live their entire lives in a single day. It’s a standalone, written from the different views of the characters throughout the 5th of September 2017 (The same day it was published). My favourite part of this book was the timestamps: 2:12 pm-2:22 pm, because, in the midst of chaos and confusion, we get this little excerpt of character development and bonding between the two main characters. They decide to take a break from all the panic and fear from the previous chapters and take time to play on some monkey bars and act like little kids. The book is very centred on the theme of upcoming death, and that makes the rest of the book quite gloomy, heavy and suspenseful, leaving the readers on edge the whole book, which adds to the mystery of the ending. But in the quick 10-minute difference we see the characters take a break from worrying about what’s happening in the future and focus on the current moment they’re in. They take a moment to stop and accept the apparently inevitable, one of them gives away his prized possession to a teenager nearby, which showed us how much he’s matured in the short 14 hours we see him. We see the characters unwind and enjoy each others company for a while and put their problems away for 10 minutes. This is where the characters move from being strangers to friends and they share stories and experiences together, forming a bond and connection between them that we haven’t seen before. Two things I thoroughly enjoyed about this book was the structure, the first was the way the chapters were all time-stamped, almost like a diary, and the point of view is listed at the top of the page. This helped readers understand some of the motives and reasoning behind the characters actions, and how specific outcomes affected them. It gave me a solid idea of their different backgrounds and how they grew throughout the book. It also was interesting because we got to see the supposed ‘antagonist’ planning their final moves and the thoughts and organisation that went into it. Another thing that I thought was a nice touch, was the way the book is split into 4 separate parts: Death-cast, The Last Friend, The beginning and The End. These parts separate the 4 stages the boys went through from start to finish: Part one; Death-cast, is where we see one of the two main characters named Mateo, receive a call that he’s going to die today and his reaction, the next part is where he meets a stranger Mateo, through an app. The second to last part is the two of them bonding and spending time together, and we see the character development take place while seeing the supposed antagonist plotting his scheme. Lastly, in ‘The End’ the action takes place, there are some guns fired and clubs escaped from, and if you want to hear the ending, read the book. One way this book could be improved is by adding a deeper purpose to the text, the whole storyline revolves around how two boys are supposedly going to die, and how much their characters change in the 22 hours they spend together. But outside of that, there isn’t a solid plot line or a vendetta that needs to be justified. It’s simply 2 people bonding over the idea of death and living nevertheless. It’s hard to see a point to a plotless book with an inevitable ending, but that’s kind of the irony of reading it, you’re sabotaging yourself due to the title drawing in your curiosity. This book could have built on one of the boys needing to repay a debt or trying to prevent a certain action from happening. Instead, it’s two boys counting down the minutes until their last breath. This book has so much potential to be a mystery or romance book, but I think the main reason the author chose to write this book without a clear purpose is to convey the message that even though we are young and healthy and think we have forever, we don’t. We’re all on a timer, we just down know how long until it goes off. So we need to live in the moment and remember our days are numbered. To summarise, ‘They Both Die at The End’ by Adam Silvera is a heart-wrenching, LGBTQ+, YA, fiction piece that focuses on two strangers named, Mateo and Rufus. They both received a call to tell them they were dying in the next 24 hours. It focuses on how they spend their last day living on the verge of death. A favourite part of mine was when the boys slowed down for a minute and bonded over talking in a park and catch up with each other. I really enjoyed the formatting of this book which included a diary layout with time stamps and separate points of view. And also how the author decided to separate the 4 main ideas of the text, by physical pages. I personally thought the writer could have added more plot into the book apart from the message that we only live once. Overall I recommend you read this book if you like something heartwarming and wholesomescc.wheelers.co/title/9781471166211/epub with a twist that you’ll never see coming. Keen to read? You can check out Adam Silvera's They Both Die At the End at the Frances Compton Library, or pick up an e-book copy!  Every week, Volumes will feature a new review from one of your St Cuthberts classmates. Want to write one of your own? It's easy! Email tom.augustine@stcuthberts.co.nz with the subject line 'Book review request' to find out more.
This week, Xinxin Zhu (Year 9) explores Lois Lowry's classic The Giver. The Giver by Lois Lowry is a fictional story that was originally published in 1993. It is first set in an utopian community, but is revealed as dystopian as the story progresses. We learn that sometime in the past, the community where Jonas, the main character lives in, decided to eliminate pain from people's lives, and they created what is called ‘sameness’. They wiped out the actual memory of pain such as what had been suffered throughout human history, like war, and without the memory of it, it meant that society could not be affected by any type of regret or grief, since they can’t remember the events that hurt them. However, without memories, the community could repeat the past errors, so they designated one person as the Receiver of memories. Jonas had been selected, and he had to aid the community's decision making and draw wisdom from history. A truly significant part of the book is when Jonas learns the truth about his life. It all started off smoothly when the first memory that was transferred to Jonas was of a sled riding downhill in the snow. He felt his first sense of true happiness, and was amazed by emotions he never knew existed. However, as time passed, he soon realized that the community he lived in gave up all these memories of happiness, love, and more in order to live with peace, and perfect harmony. He found out that living without pain, envy, anger, suffering, and even hate, is impossible without sacrifice of the good. The burden that Jonas had to carry on his shoulders was massive. He now knows that there are a billion more things in life, but can only watch oblivious people going about their daily tasks, while keeping all this information to himself. However, this did not last long for Jonas. One day, he learns of something terrible, and this realization made Jonas determined that the community needed change. He could not bear the weight anymore. Jonas knows that if the plan succeeds, his actions will be irreversible – but would you agree with what he did? I guess that’s up to you to decide. The Giver was inspired by many experiences throughout Lois Lowry’s life, including her interaction with her father, who at that time was starting to lose his memory. Although her novel is mostly aimed at young teens and children, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to wonder about the future or loves dystopian books. This book contains so much meaning for its short length; only about 200 pages or so, which adds to the reason why I recommend it so much. It is one of a few young adult books which leaves the ending up to you and you have a choice in what it means. This book comes in a series of 4 and has also been made into a movie. Overall, this novel shows us how it can be tempting to live in a walled-in world where violence, poverty, and injustice technically does not exist, but we learn from the people living in the community that being in a sterile world for so long promotes the danger of losing the real emotions that make us human. Just think about how scary it would be if this new dystopian world in the book The Giver created was our future; it makes me truly grateful that we can live a life filled with not only the good emotions, but hurtful ones too. Keen to read? You can check out Lois Lowry's The Giver at the Frances Compton Library, or pick up an e-book copy! |
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