The Book Corner

  INSURGENT BY VERONICA ROTH BLURB “I have done bad things. I can’t take them back, and they are part of who I am.” Tris has survived a brutal attack on her former home and family. But she has paid a terrible price. Wracked by grief and guilt, she becomes ever more reckless as she struggles to accept her new future. Yet if Tris wants to uncover the truth about her world, she must be stronger than ever… because more shocking choices and sacrifices lie ahead. MY THOUGHTS Similar thoughts to last one Hard to watch/read what Tris had to go through Got part of the storyline mixed up with Mockingjay, so there were a few surprises My thoughts on this one are very similar to Divergent, so this probably isn’t going to be the longest review.  As always, the writing was sublime, but this story was quite different. Tris was no longer the young and innocent sixteen-year-old she was in Divergent. “I wish we were alone” he says “I almost always wish that” So much had happened to her that it ...

  The Lottie Project - Review Hi all, it’s Neassa and today I’m going to be reviewing the book that I just finished, The Lottie Project. I have read this book multiple times before, at various ages, starting with eight, and always enjoy it and pick up on a few more jokes that I wouldn’t have noticed the previous times. What is this book about? This book is about a girl called Charlie Enright who gets a strict new teach, called Ms. Beckworth, who sets them a Victorian project at the beginning of the term. Boring, right? Well that’s what Charlie thinks anyway. Until she starts reading about servants. They were young girls like her! Charlie is hooked immediately, and begins writing a diary from the perspective of a Victorian Nursery maid, Lottie, who has been sent away from her home to make money. From this point on in the book, it was a chapter about Charlie followed by a few pages about Lottie, and then back to Charlie. The book follows the two girls as they go through family strugg...

 DIVERGENT BY VERONICA ROTH BLURB “Three flying birds… one for each member of the family I left behind” Sixteen-year-old Tris is forced to make a terrible choice. In a divided society where everyone must conform, Tris does not fit. So she ventures out alone, determined to discover where she truly belongs. Shocked by her brutal new life, Tris can trust no one. And yet she is drawn to a boy who seems to both threaten and protect her. The hardest choice lies ahead. MY THOUGHTS I have scrapped my usual bullet points at the beginning because, honestly, I forgot. I usually take some notes while reading, which become my points at the start. But this time I was too caught up in the book to think about things like that, even though this is my third time reading it. It is really that good. I remember exactly how I heard about this book. My friend was reading it in school, pretty much non-stop. During it she raved about it to everyone - even our English teacher. What really struck me , howeve...

  My Current Top 5 Books Hi all, it’s Neassa here. Today I’m going to count down my current top five books. This is qute  varied list, but I love all of these books so, so much and would definitely recommend them all to anyone around the age of 12. So, without further ado, here’s my list! Skulduggery Pleasant: the dying of the light. The ninth book in the Skulduggery Pleasant series, this book is my second favourite book of all time. It follows the journey of Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton detective, and his assistant, Valkyrie Cain, as they work together to try to save the world, but, more importantly, try to save each other from their unwanted destinies. I love this book because it is the most explosive of the Skulduggery Pleasant books. It is also the book where all of the things that have been hinted at in previous books happen, which cleared up a lot of the questions that I had coming into the book. Hunger games: Catching fire The 2nd book in the Hunger Games trilogy, a...

The Seeing Stone Review Hi all, it’s Neassa here and today I am going to write a review on the second Spiderwick chronicles book, the seeing stone by Holly Black and Tony Diterlizzi, which I have just finished reading.  What is it about? The book follows Malory, Jared and Simon as they settle into their new home, where very strange things happen. First there are odd sounds, then a daunting meeting with an old friend, and then Simon goes missing! What can the other’s do? Did you like the book? If I’m being completely honest, I didn’t particularly like this book because it was very short and very similar to the first book. I mean, in the first book, they are happy in the beginning, something bad happens, they are sad, something worse happens, they are sacred, they find out who is responsible , and sort everything out. In the second book, they are happy in the beginning, something weird happens, they are upset and curious, something more weird happens, they are scared, something ...

PLAYING FOR PIZZA BY JOHN GRISHAM BLURB Rick Dockery was the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the deciding game at the climax of the season, to the surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually got into the game. With a 17-point lead and just minutes to go, Rick provided what was arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL. Overnight, he became a national laughing stock and, of course, was dropped by the Browns and shunned by all other teams. But all Rick knows is football, and he insists that his agent, Arnie, finds a team that needs him. Against enormous odds, Arnie finally finds him a team and informs Rick that, miraculously, he can in fact now be a starting quarterback. Great, says Rick - for which team? The mighty Parma Panthers of Parma, Italy Yes, Italians do play American football, to one degree or another, and the Parma Panthers desperately want a player from the home of American football at their helm. So Rick reluctantly ag...

  Faceless by Alyssa Sheinmel BLURB "When Maisie is burnt in a terrible accident, her face is partially destroyed. She's lucky enough to get a face transplant, but how do you live your life when you can't even recognize yourself any more? As Masie discovers how much her looks shaped her relationship to the world, she has to redefine her own identity, and figure out what 'lucky' really means." MY THOUGHTS Struggled through the first few chapters. Cringed at times, but kept reading. Got better halfway. Different mindsets. Sweet and sad. This one is a toughy. While I don't really like the story, I couldn't put it away and stop reading. I just had to know what happened to Maisie in the end. I don't know if that says more about me or the book, to be honest. I struggled a lot through the first few chapters, and came very close to giving up. Maisie's accident happens in chapter 1 or 2, but from there she just kept whining for about 4 chapters. And I h...

A  Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly MY THOUGHTS A brilliant historical fiction book. Interesting style in breaking up chapters - True murder story makes an interesting backdrop. I felt a personal connection to murder victim Very well written - kept me engaged and empathising with Mattie Very distinctive romance BLURB “Based on a real murder at the turn of the century, this outstanding debut novel is a powerful and moving coming-of-age book. Mattie is torn between her familial responsibilities, her desire to be a writer, and the excitement of a first romance. Her dilemmas and choices are quietly reflected in the life of a young woman found drowned in a lake, a woman that Mattie only gets to know through reading her letters. When  finally the tales of Mattie and the drowned girl merge, their stories beautifully combine in  brilliant conclusion.” MY THOUGHTS When my mam recommended it to me I was skeptical as I had never heard of it before and hadn’t read many American h...

How To Encourage Your Child To Read: Dos And Don'ts You’re looking at your child, wishing he/she would get off their device for once and enjoy a book. What can they be doing on a device for this long?   You are frustrated. Annoyed. But whenever you suggest reading they refuse or lose interest quickly. Luckily, we see you and are here to help. We can see this problem from both your eyes, and the eyes of your child.  We have compiled a list of do’s and don’ts to help you get your child to not only read books, but eventually find it enjoyable and maybe - just maybe - pick up one instead of going on their device. Let’s get into the list... Dos Lead by Example Why should your child read if you don’t? The first thing to do if you want your child to read more is to do that very thing yourself and express enjoyment about it. Please be cautious, however, it will scare your child off if they think you are forcing the enjoyment of books, so just be casual about it. 2. Go To The Library O...