Boys Read Books

I bought this book based on a recommendation on Twitter and although I did enjoy it and would recommend it to you guys, i n my opinion this book has it’s ups and downs. The books strengths are its strong characterisation and interesting concept. T he characters were really well designed and fleshed out, from angry Lamb to crazy Arkle and the book starts out with a really interesting plot idea, but sadly for me, it just didn’t quite live up to the hype. The book's opening had this really ominous feeling and loads of interesting questions, like who opened the box and why are dead animals coming back to life?  But, when I got the answer I found it a bit anti-climactic and not really as exciting as I had hoped. However, I would rate this book a solid 8/10 because it was such an interesting plot, the initial suspense was great and sense of foreboding was genuinely creepy.

I am guessing that is not going to be a popular post.... 😁 I watched the first two Lord Of The Rings movies and although I thought there were some pretty cool battle scenes (Helm's Deep), they were a bit long and some bits dragged. I had never read the books though, so, when I was given some old hardback copies, I chose them for my summer holiday reading when we went on holiday two years ago. Big mistake. Not only did the books weigh a ton and filled all my bag, but nobody warned me that they were actually really boring. In two weeks, I only managed to read a few hundred pages of the Fellowship Of The Ring and all they did was talk about stuff. There's no way I could read a whole book of that, let alone three! I had to end up buying some emergency books on my Kindle and ended up reading Plague by Michael Grant (from the Gone series) about 6 million times instead. To be frank, I nearly left the Lord Of The Rings in France. I know the books are meant to be classics and som...

The Maze Runner is the first in a series of books set in a dystopian future. It begins with main character Thomas being transported by the box into The Glade, a community of around 70 young boys, surrounded by a maze. All newcomers have had their memories wiped by the Creators who have put them there, but  they have established a community over time  and are trying to find a way through the maze which is full of horrible beasts called the Grievers. To the Gladers shock, a girl is transported in to the Glade with  a warning that she will be the last person ever to be brought and then falls into a coma. When she wakes up however, bad things start to happen. First the sun disappears, then the box no longer brings up supplies and finally the Grievers are let loose into the Glade. As the Gladers are killed one by one,  Thomas desperately has to find a way to escape the maze before the Grievers take him too. I love dystopian books so this one was a big hit right from t...

The Weirdstone Of Brisingamen is a fantasy novel that is more than 50 years old, not that you can tell apart from a few things that are a bit strange to a kid in 2019, like the farmers using horse and carts and no technology at all! It tells the story of Susan and Colin who have gone to stay with some old friends of their mother, while their parents are abroad. They are thrown into a fantasy world of wizards, dwarves and legends when they go exploring in the mysterious Alderly Edge. They meet a   wizard known as Cadellin Silverbrow from whom they learn that  safety of the world rests on finding the missing Weirdstone of Brisingamen. The Weirdstone holds the key to an enchantment protecting the earth from dark forces.   When Colin and Susan realise that they know where the Weirdstone is, they are hunted by the svarts, minions of the dark spirit Nastrond. They have to battle the shape shifting sorceress Selina Place and the evil wizard Grimnir.  With the help ...

Which is the best school set series? Back when I was in year 4, I started reading the Diary of A Wimpy Kid series of books by Jeff Kinney and have since read all thirteen in the series. I was first tempted to read the books because I read the second book at a local library, liked it and wanted to read more. The tales of Greg Heffley in his first year at middle school capture the worries and weirdness of leaving primary school for secondary school (I know middle school isn't quite the same as secondary school, but it's pretty similar). Although Greg is supposed to be 12 or 13 in the books, the stories are much more suitable for under 12s and with all of the illustrations, they are a pretty easy read. The Middle School series of books by James Patterson are similar to Wimpy Kid, but they have very different protagonists. Greg from Wimpy Kid can come across as a bit of a self centred spoiled brat, whereas the main character of Middle School, Rafe, actually has some a...

The Knife Of Never Letting Go is a sci-fi fantasy book set on a recently colonised planet, New World.  This planet is populated only with men and  everyone can hear each others and all the animal's thoughts, something that they call the 'Noise'. According to New World lore, t he indigenous population of  New World, the Spackle,  were wiped out in a previous war that unleashed a virus killing all New World females. The book follows 13 year old, Todd, who is the only boy in the last settlement on New World, Prentisstown and who in this world of overwhelming Noise,  stumbles upon a place of total silence, and a girl. This discovery causes him to question the history of New World that he had been taught and  forces him into hiding with the girl and his faithful dog Manchee when he is pursued by the Mayor of Prentisstown. When Todd realises that everything he has been told about New World is a lie,  who can he trust and who will betray them? This book ...

Two weeks ago when I did The Enemy it seemed that you guys really liked it and since I can't stop talking about this series, I am more than happy to write about Book Two! The Dead is a sequel to The Enemy and exists within the same dystopian universe as the first book, but follows a completely different story line.  We meet Ed, who is desperately trying to escape from his boarding school where all of the teachers have become zombies or "sickos' as the book calls them. He is rescued by the mysterious grown up Greg, has he  escaped the sickness that has infected all the other adults and can he be trusted?  A few plot twists and turns, sees Ed seeking refuge in the Imperial War Museum with  another group of survivors and their leader Jordan, but with an army of sickos drawing ever closer will they be able to come out on top? Or will they get eaten alive? This book is a fantastic addition to the series and introduces us to so many new characters. It’s just so intere...