Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K.Rowling
Rating:7/10

Harry's ongoing exploits, along with those of his contemporaries, teachers, and relatives, are as imaginative, entertaining, and mysterious as ever. For during Harry's third year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he must face his greatest challenge yet: a confrontation with Sirius Black, an escaped convict and madman who is rumored to be collaborating with Harry's archenemy, the Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort. 


Summary by Goodreads.com


An Interesting and worthy sequel to the Chamber of Secrets, the Prisoner of Azkaban makes for another whimsical and charming story. A pleasant, casual escape for older readers and a thrilling saga for younger teens. Definitely a book that can appeal to all ages. Personally however I found that with the movie interpretation of the series, the characters of the books in their younger ages seem naive and unco-ordinated in comparison making what would be normal events unnecessarily haphazard and erratic. Hermione in particular had been cast in an unfortunate temperamental role causing the reader to see her in a bad light that I felt wasn't all together deserved.


Good Points:

• Appeals to all ages, a nice yet interesting and colourful world.
• Page turning, yet comfortably paced.

Bad Points:

• More disarray with Hermione's character.
• Characters can be a little frustrating and slow.  

Buy/Borrow /Avoid:

Buy, a nice book for the collection, despite small misconceptions caused by movie. 

The Sign of four

The Sign of Four - Arthur Conan Doyle
Rating:6.5/10
Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson accompany a beautiful young woman to a sinister assignation, Mary Marston has received several large pearls – one a year for the last six years – and now a mystery letter telling her she is a wronged woman. Unbeknownst to them all, others stalk London’s fog-enshrouded streets: a one-legged ruffian with revenge on his mind – and his companion, who places no value on human life...


Summary by Goodreads.com


Second novel to the Sherlock Holmes series, I found that it continued with all the wit and skill of technique and precise story telling exhibited in the first novel. Although I enjoyed the novel, I found the ideas and concept of the plot unfortunately clichéd in these modern times. The suspense and mystery therefore could not quite live up to its prequel. Despite the lack of focus I gave the end of the novel I believe this story would still appeal to those who enjoy a mystery/detective novel.


Good Points:

• Written with skill and finesse.
• Not too taxing for a short read.

Bad Points:

• Not as entirely gripping as the first novel.
• Story substantially slowed towards second half.

Buy/Borrow/Avoid: 

Borrow

The Shining

The Shining - Stephen King

Rating:9/10

Danny is only five years old, but he is a 'shiner', aglow with psychic voltage. When his father becomes a caretaker of an old hotel, his visions grow out of control. Cut off by blizzards, the hotel seems to develop an evil force, and who are the mysterious guests in the supposedly empty hotel?

summery by Goodreads.com  

A brilliantly written and at times truly terrifying horror novel. With sufficient amounts of conventional gore and subtle literary techniques to make your spine crawl this completely absorbing novel is well worth it's slow introduction. The overlook hotel is brimming with secluded inescapable horror as it starts to take on a life of its own and the in-depth characters with their grim-reality backgrounds only serve to make the novel chillingly realistic. I would recommend this book to those who truly appreciate a profoundly deep horror novel with complex and intricate structure and content. 

Good Points:

• Completely absorbing, utterly terrifying.
• Written with amazing finesse, designed for full on gore and subtle nightmarish illusions.

Bad Points:

• Slow beginning.
• Aimed at generally older readers, not for the timorous. 

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

• Buy, definitely a work of fiction worth adding to any collection. 

Just in Case

Just in Case - Meg Rosoff
Rating: 6/10
Justin Case is convinced fate has in for him.
And he's right.
After finding his younger brother teetering on the edge of his balcony, fifteen-year-old David Case realizes the fragility of life and senses impending doom. Without looking back, he changes his name to Justin and assumes a new identity, new clothing and new friends, and dares to fall in love with the seductive Agnes Day. With his imaginary dog Boy in tow, Justin struggles to fit into his new role and above all, to survive in a world where tragedy is around every corner. He's got to be prepared, just in case.


Summary by Goodreads.com


Another novel from Meg Rosoff I found all the familiar qualities of the previous novels a comforting simplicity. The book I found like its kin was a nice, easy read, something to relax and chill with, not too taxing or demanding which made the read enjoyable. With no expectations for this novel I could enjoy it as it was, another surprisingly unique piece of YA literature. With some real-life issues being addressed the book had a certain amount of depth, however I found the male lead completely jarring for his portrayal as a sex obsessed teenage boy with an almost constant foul mood.


Good Points:

• Easy read, not too demanding or intellectually challenging.
• Light hearted for the most part.

Bad Points:

• Author clearly has some deranged ideas on what a teenage boy thinks about all day :|
• Completely un-relatable characters.

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

In general for most people, avoid, unless you're a fan of Meg Rosoff's style or enjoy YA literature. 

The Book of Loss

The Book of Loss - Julith Jedamus

Rating: 4.5/10

A renowned storyteller and lady-in-waiting to the Empress, the narrator is locked in a bitter rivalry with another woman for the love of a banished nobleman. Forced to observe the complex rules and social hierarchies of court life, she finds herself caught in a trap of her own making. Her machinations reach such a pitch that they threaten to undermine the rule of the Emperor himself.

Summary by Goodreads.com

I chose this book because I am a big fan of novels delineating asian and ancient japanese culture, however upon beginning this novel I was confronted with a vague and disarranged prologue, not the greatest start. The confusion is only cleared up after the first few chapters and only by the pretense that the prologue hadn't happened. Continuing on with the plot, of which the environment and description was praiseworthy, I found that the characters presented were unique in such a way that every flaw and malign thought were exposed, leaving a clear image of the protagonists personality. I found this refreshing, in contrast to the too often occurring mary-sue characters of more popular novels. Unsurprisingly the romance present in the book turned more tragic than winsome, the emotions of the characters were powerfully portrayed and the feeling of the protagonists continual loss, passion and jealousy were woven through the entire book. However, despite it's merits, the novel ends in an unsatisfactory and inconclusive manner, I found myself continually putting the book down for a few days even though I liked a large proportion of what I read, for that reason I can not give the book higher than a rating of 4.5/10.

Good Points:

• Beautifully descriptive
• Refreshing characters
• Exhibits emotion above expectation

Bad Points:

• Confusing start off-putting
• Inconclusive and vague ending.

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

For most people I would not recommend the book, I found it tough to keep picking it up after putting it down so many times. Avoid.

Demon Thief

Demon Thief - Darren Shan

Rating: 7.5/10 
When Kernel Fleck's brother is stolen by demons, he must enter their universe in search of him. It is a place of magic, chaos and incredible danger. Kernel has three aims: learn to use magic, find his brother, stay alive. But a heartless demon awaits him, and death has been foretold…


Summary on Blurb


At first an ambiguous sequel to Lord Loss with no clear context available, I found the immediate story difficult to grasp. With further progress into the plot the characters themselves become fuller and seemingly less random and therefore easier to relate to. Despite the confusing start (due to my own expectations of a sequel possessing chronological uniformity) Demon Thief held it's own as almost an equally engaging novel. The Gore and horror that were presented within were equal to that of the contents of Lord Loss and therefore the opinions on that count are congruent. 


Good Points:

• Imaginative use of Demon alternate universe, engaging and new.
• Just the right amount of fear inducing events to not have me up all night hiding under my duvet. 

Bad Points:

• Chronological chaos causes confusion.
• Alienates older readers.

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

Buy, the Demonata are an entertaining set of books and a complete collection is always pride worthy.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle
Rating: 0/10

A book based on the exploits of a very hungry caterpillar, eating his way through a variety of meals, we travel with him through a very emotional journey of self realization, the deeply moving metaphorical content of the novel mimics our own societies vices and forces the reader to consider the way in which we view materialism and the consequences of greed.


Personally I hated it.

Summary by Crimsonblaide