Schools & Libraries Book Reviews

Name: Louise Gahan
12 April 2024;

Genre: Fairy Tales & Folk Tales

Alina and her Granny live in a lighthouse by the sea: a home filled with the warmth of Granny's magical stories. 

But Alina is worried. Granny's memories and stories are starting to fade away, and she doesn't know how to bring them back. Then one day, she meets a mermaid on the rocks near the...

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Name: Wendy Kelly
12 April 2024;

Genre: Mental Health & Wellbeing

Adnan (based on a short film of the same name) is quite a worthy book that will no doubt be put forward for many prizes. It tells the story of a little boy called Adnan, who now lives in Western Europe with his mother. We are told they lived as a family of four in a war zone a...

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Name: Sue Wilsher
12 April 2024;

Genre: Fantasy

Kayla is a cadet Sky Rider, training at the Sky Academy in Sophiatown. Her only friend is her pangron, Faro, and when he is stolen from her, she will stop at nothing to get him back. Alethea is a healer living in the Blue District, the poorest in Ataria. She is trying to continue her father's...

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Name: Dominion Age 8
12 April 2024;

Genre: School Stories

It's a very good book but it's so long

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Name: Levelle Age 11
12 April 2024;

Genre: Funny Stories

This book is amazing, each chapter feels like an entire book but condensed down into a chapter that helps progress the plot. Rex is my favourite character because he's so funny. He makes me feel like I'm watching a cartoon progress as the main character learns lessons. I also like Rex's...

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Name: Sharon Porter
12 April 2024;

Genre: Picture Books

All the Wonderful Ways to Read by Laura Baker and illustrated by Sandra de la Prada is a journey through all the different ways one can read a book, with vibrant illustrations sharing a love of reading. It took a while for Class 11 to realise that the text was so intricately t...

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Name: Ruth Cornish
11 April 2024;

Genre: Suspense & Thrillers

Despite the clue in the title, the reappearance of the focus of this brilliant new YA novel from Holly Jackson still surprised me! I was so deeply immersed in the disappearance of the main character, Bel's mum Rachel, that her unexpected return to the Price family left me, the reader, as unset...

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Name: Donna Burkert
11 April 2024;

Genre: Adventure

Finn doesn't want to be in the Alps on a school residential. He wants to be on his sofa, gaming and eating pizza. Instead, he is walking! And to top it all he's been paired with Milo - or The Professor - as Finn calls him. The brainbox full of useless information. Two misfits thrown together....

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Name: Linda Brown
11 April 2024;

Genre: Family & Home

Football is everything for Sam and his dad, they live and breath it. At the weekends his dad supports him as he plays; he never misses a game. However, dad sometimes forgets and gets carried away, celebrates Sam's achievements and then real life kicks in. Money... it's always the same, dad pro...

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Name: Stephen Leitch
11 April 2024;

Genre: Dystopian

From the author of The Loop series comes a shocking yet compulsive novel of survival, determination, social media and reality TV called 'The Kill Factor'.  "Retribution Island exists to reform criminals, and that is what you are." Teenager Emerson Ness has just b...

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