Book Reviews
from students and teachers of Aston Academy
The winner of our weekly Book Review competition is awarded a signed book by Tom Palmer. We will announce the winner each week at the end of The Reading Room Session which takes place every Thursday at 3.15, until March 8th, when it will move to 5.30pm to allow you to get home before tuning in. Send your book reviews to [email protected]
Rooftoppers by Katherine ArundellThe book I have decided to review is called Rooftoppers - it is by Katherine Rundell and is a novel about a girl called Sophie who came from London and was raised by Charles , her loving and protective guardian . She has been told her whole life she was orphaned in a shipwreck when she was very young and was found floating in the middle of the English channel in a cello case in which is to be thought to be her mothers . Rescued by Charles Maxim , who was also shipwrecked along with her , took her in to look after her . Sophie is still convinced that her mother survived the shipwreck . However , when nobody believes her , she sets out to prove them wrong . Being chased by the authorities who want to take Sophie to an orphanage , Charles and Sophie flee to Paris together , in search of her mother , who they believe lives in Paris . Breaking away from Charles ' protection , she goes by herself to find her mother . In the midst of desperately trying to find her , she meets a boy who is a feral street urchin named Matteo , who lives on the roof of the law courts . They become friends and scour the city together , and search for her long lost mother . She needs to find her , before she is caught and sent back to London by the authorities . Just when she is on the brink of losing all hope , she hears a cello being played a few rooftops away . She dashes and jumps over the houses of Paris , with Matteo . Will she really find the mysterious cello player ? Is her mother still out there somewhere in the large city of Paris ? By Lucy Brammer 1984 by
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After the War by Tom PalmerThis book was very educational but also very sad when one of the characters was thinking back and having flashbacks to the time during the war and in the concentration camps. It is very descriptive about the times in the ghettos and camps and what happened to the people, it was very harrowing. The story is not all about bad times, I also really loved the time in the Lake District when times were happier and fun after the war and the way the book describes the children playing, which seemed a lifetime away from all the death and despair. I would recommend this book but be prepared to be sad at times, it is very thought provoking. Reviewed by Emily Jayne Stuart Hammond The Land of Neverendings by Kate Saunders‘The Land of Neverendings’ is a fantasy-fiction book that depicts the life of the young protagonist, Emily, after her severely disabled sister, Holly, died suddenly. Because of her sister’s death, Emily thought that nothing would ever be the same: all of her sister’s equipment such as her special lift for her wheelchair and the huge hoist over the bath was being taken away, and she had a lingering ache in her heart, that her sister’s presence had prevented. As well as missing her sister, Emily also missed her sister’s toy blue bear, Bluey. Bluey was Holly’s constant companion, and Emily used to make up stories of him and his adventures in the magical (and very silly) land of Smockeroon to entertain her sister. The only person who had seemed to understand Emily’s grief was Ruth, Emily’s kind-hearted next door neighbour. After a few weeks following Holly’s death, very strange things had started to occur; Emily started to have dreams of talking toys visiting her bedroom, telling her that they have a message for her from Bluey. Because of this, she immediately goes to Ruth, and finds that she has also been seeing toys which have come to life, which had originally belonging to her dead son. This causes them both to realise that Smockeroon is a real place, powered by imagination, where the spirits of toys live, and that the door between the magical world and their world had been left open, meaning that anyone could go through. They both realise that to save Smockeroon, they have to find a way to close the door between the two worlds. While this is a very sad book that pulls at the heart-strings, it is also a beautiful and humorous book about imagination. The toys in the book are amazing - plastic penguins with moustaches run a bed and breakfast, nun Barbie dolls, a choir whose songs were complete nonsense, and a beige bear giving a tour of Emily’s school, using it as a sugar factory. Whilst the book is funny and light hearted in many places, the story is also filled with sadness and grief. It follows the healing process of both Ruth and Emily following the death of their loved ones. It is emotionally comforting whilst being highly imaginative, interesting and entertaining, and I think deserves a 10/10. Charlotte Marsh The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda SalisburyThe Sin Eater’s Daughter takes place in a fantasy-medieval setting, a kingdom named Lomere. The main character, Twylla, is the “chosen one”; the reincarnation of the gods’ daughter. She proves her power by ingesting poison once each month. She was adopted by the queen of Lomere 4 years prior to the beginning of the story, and therefore is betrothed to the Prince of Lomere. The poison she ingests gives her the ability, or curse, to kill with a single touch: and the queen takes advantage of that, using Twylla to painfully execute anyone she decides went against the crown. When one of Twylla’s two guards falls ill, the queen brings Twylla a new guard, Lief. Lief is one of the only people who doesn’t avoid Twylla. He feels comfortable only being within an inch of her skin, risking death. His easy-going nature and charming smile cause Twylla to fall for him. But his arrival reveals that the queen has been plotting… The Sin Eater’s daughter receives a bad reputation, and while I can see the negative points, I disagree with them. The book only starts to pick up around the middle, and I agree that the 2nd and 3rd books are better. However, I believe the bad reviews leave out an incredible detail that pushes the book into being wonderful; the world-building. While the year isn’t explicitly mentioned, you can gather that the year is somewhat medieval due to the long dresses, stony castles, faith in religion, also the fact that the royal family in Lomere is- really into incest- but anyway! The lore isn’t too complex that it gets boring, instead it’s revealed over the course of the book. With flashbacks to Eatings (where Twylla’s birth mother would eat a feast off a coffin, with each item of food corresponding to a different sin.), folklore about the Sleeping Prince (see- book 2 in the trilogy: The Sleeping Prince), as well as the general mythology about the gods Twylla’s life is so centred around, the book truly has well thought out lore and I love it. The plot, although slow paced in the start, is an excellent one. There’s a twist towards the end that truly shocks you, and honestly had me in tears. The twist is so beautifully written that you feel every inch of Twylla’s pain, everything about the betrayal hurts you and makes you grieve for the time of being oblivious. I wholly believe Salisbury is a fantastic writer, and I love how you can see her evolve over the course of the trilogy. Ironically, I read the 2nd book way before I read the 1st and 3rd. I borrowed it years ago from a library, Grimm & Co, and treasured it before eventually returning it. I then received the whole set for my birthday in 2020 and have really enjoyed filling in some of the blanks and remembering reading certain lines all that time ago (2016), before the world crumbled into The Plague. Anyway- 9/10 for The Sin Eater’s Daughter. – Emily M |