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

Alice in the Country of Hearts: Volume 1

Alice in the Country of Hearts - Quin Rose

Rating: 9/10

Quin Rose brings alice back to life in this unique Manga interpretation of Lewis Carolls Alice in Wonderland. Alice is kidnapped by a mysterious White rabbit, thrown into wonderland she participates in 'the game.' To get home she must interact with the inhabitants of the country of hearts, who are all irrevocably in love with her. The trigger happy and dangerous residents of this wonderland posses a curious disregard for value of life and not only does she have to survive her encounters she is told she cannot go home alone, its one of the rules of the game. 

summary by Crimsonblaide 

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K Rowling
Rating: 8.5/10

Chilling, malevolent voices whisper from the walls only to Harry, and it seems certain that his classmate Draco Malfoy is out to get him. The mysteriously gleaming, foot-high words on the wall proclaim, "The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware." Harry, Hermione, and Ron do everything that is wizardly possible to solve this 50-year-old, seemingly deadly mystery.


summary by Goodreads.com


Unquestionably an excellent sequel to the first of the Harry Potter series. The unique magical environment of Hogwarts and it's occupants make for a ceaselessly engaging novel. I found that unfortunately the main female lead had more than her fair share of bad luck this novel and Potter had a comparatively easier year, with most of all intellectual challenges pre-solved and most battles fought for him, this in my opinion detracted slightly from his character role as 'hero.' However, the tiny imperfections in character roles serve more to amuse than to reduce in any way and in total I found that I unreservedly enjoyed the book.

Good Points:

• Funny, imaginative, timeless.
• Almost universally appealing to all ages.

Bad Points:

• Slight over-victimising of Hermione.
• Harry doesn't actually do a lot for himself in this novel, most things are done for him by others. 

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

Buy 

Blind Faith

Blind Faith - Ben Elton 
Rating: 7.5/10


Imagine a world where everyone knows everything about everybody. Where 'sharing' is valued above all, and privacy is considered a dangerous perversion. Trafford wouldn't call himself a rebel, but he's daring to be different, to stand out from the crowd. In his own small ways, he wants to push against the system. But in this world, uniformity is everything, and even tiny defiances won't go unnoticed. 


summary by Goodreads.com


A powerfully thought provoking novel that challenges a culture devoted to blind faith. I found this presentation of the future fairly disturbing, Ben Elton's Blind Faith is unlike anything I've read before in terms of crude and questionably risque content. I found personally that the violent and ugly nature of the book sought to challenge the reader to consider the controversy of a world dictated by religion and yet operated by science, the struggle between faith and reason. As well as the strong concepts behind the novel I found the book well written and captivating. I would recommend to those who enjoy reading about societal controversy and the battles between science and religion.  


Good Points: 

• well written, captivating
• thought evoking   

Bad Points:

• controversial, not universally tasteful. 

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

Borrow

Catching Fire

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Rating:9/10

Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have become the poster boys for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. That new, unwanted status puts them in the bull's-eye for merciless revenge by The Capitol.


summary by Goodreads.com


Another great book from the Hunger Games series. The strong female protagonist Katniss is back. The story line picks up right from where it left of in the Hunger Games and delivers the same outstanding results, completely absorbing, once again another book to be wary of if you value sleep in any way. As an extension of the first book I personally loved Catching Fire, the only thing I found fault with was a lack of immediate action in the first third of the book , this was made up for in progressing the depth of the plot and many other ways anyway. I would recommend to any one with an interest in reading, (having read the first one first of course.) Definitely a must read.


Good Points:

• An excellent sequel - does not disappoint.
• Intense characters and plot

Bad Points:

• none - so go read the first one. :P 

(if you haven't already of course ...)

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

Buy 

The Brides Farewell

The Brides Farewell - Meg Rosoff
Rating: 6.5/10
On the morning of her wedding, Pell Ridley creeps out of bed in the dark, kisses her sisters goodbye and flees — determined to escape a future that offers nothing but hard work and sorrow. She takes the only thing that truly belongs to her: Jack, a white horse, and small mute Bean who refuses to be left behind. 


Summary by Goodreads.com


Another story by Meg Rosoff, as simple and lacking in complexity as What I Was, with a hint of a sub-story that the aforementioned novel definitely wanted. The story itself was sweet and reminded me of a much lighter-hearted equivalent of Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Again for a romance novel it lacked a great deal of the romance that the blurb suggested. However, what little it contained was sweet and charming and the conclusion was by far better than What I Was.

Good Points:

• Easy ready, comfortable and just nice. 

Bad points:

• Doesn't quite live up to the claims of the blurb.
• Lacks sincere complexity.

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

Borrow

What I Was

What I Was  - Meg Rosoff
Rating: 6/10

Toward the end of his life, H looks back on the relationship that has shaped and obsessed him for nearly a century. It began many years earlier at St. Oswald’s, a dismal boarding school on the coast of England, where the young H came face- to-face with an almost unbearably beautiful boy living by himself at the edge of the sea. 


Summary by Goodreads.com


Whilst I vaguely enjoyed the story, the characters, the plot I was disappointed to find them simple, linear and straightforward. The novel lacked for me the strong romantic aspect that the blurb suggested and the ending proved to be unfulfilling, merely a method for collecting loose ends in an unsatisfactory way. The whole novel led to a feeling of expectancy, constantly waiting for something that would barely appear, this detracted from an overall enjoyment of the book. However a unique portrayal and sense of writing saved the book from being utterly unreadable, the book was spot on for its target audience of young adults/ teens and I would not dissuade others from reading.

Good points: 

• Nice easy reading

Bad points:

• Lacks the strong romantic aspects of a romance novel
• Unfulfilling, misfit conclusion

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

Borrow