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Book Reviews Senior School Library Book Reviews
Top 5 most popular books
Stormy Weather by Anita Ganeri Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo Earth-shattering Earthquakes by Anita Ganeri The Dead by Charlie Higson Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
This is the story of Rose, a dhamphir who has the responsibility of protecting Lissa, a Moroi princess who is the last of the royal family of Dragomirs who are mortal vampires. Rose is trying her best to protect Lissa from Strigoi, a vampire of the type that never die, who would like to make Lissa one of his own. Rose has to make many sacrifices as she must always put her friend Lissa’s needs before her own. The question is, in the end, is this enough to save the princess? There are several vampire books on the market at the moment, but this one is different from all the others. It is the first of a series of six, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I recommend it to those who love adventure, fantasy, and romance fiction. Raushan Firaq, Y11.2
Birth Marked by Caragh M O’Brien
Birth Marked is set in the future, when the world has been baked dry by the sun. The main character is a young girl named Gaia, who serves the enclave faithfully as an apprentice midwife. Every month the surrounding villages have to make a sacrifice to the enclave. The first three children delivered each month by a midwife have to be taken to the enclave where they will live with an adoptive family and grow up with riches and be given a good education. However on the night that Gaia delivers her first child unassisted, her parents are arrested as traitors and threatened with execution. She smuggles herself into the enclave and tries to rescue them but gets arrested herself. From a prison cell she tries to find the answers to the mystery surrounding her parents’ arrest. Along the way there is a romantic twist as Gaia forms an attachment to one of the soldiers who himself has a secret past. This book is an interesting study of the contrast between an elite inside the enclave and a subservient class of people outside; the elite group are ignorant of those outside yet they depend on them unknowingly. Readers who enjoy adventure and a heroine who stands up for what she believes in, even if it is against the law, will enjoy this captivating tale. The cliff-hanger ending sets the scene for an exciting sequel. Katie Jelpke, Y11.3