Daughter of the Clayr?

Lirael By Garth Nix Part Two of the Old kingdom Trilogy.

"It opened it's eyes and they were silver fires, brighter and more terrible than anything Lirael had ever seen."

For every Clayr there comes a time around their twelfth birthday when they receive the ability of true sight, this enables the Clayr to watch over the entire old kingdom. For Lirael the sight is two years overdue leaving her feeling abandoned, alone and unsure of who she is.

She eventually joins the ranks of the librarians. While working in this surprisingly dangerous environment she manages to summon the Disreputable Dog. Together Lirael and the Disreputable Dog explore the library of the Clayr and in the process find out some interesting things about Lirael.

Eventually Lirael's explorations lead her on a journey to find herself that turns into a journey to save the living of the world.

Lirael is a good page turner with one of the best sidekicks ever (the Disreputable Dog) however it ends weakly necessitating the reading of Abhorsen to tie off unending plot lines. A welcome taste of The Old Kingdom.

Blood on Stone.

Sabriel by Garth Nix part one of the Old Kingdom trilogy.

"The bell was twisting in her grasp, trying to sound of its own accord, a sound that would make her walk in Death."

In ages past a wall was made from blood, stone and charter magic to separate two kingdoms from one another.

In Ancelstierre there are cops, cars and cameras. People are born, people go to school, people work and people die and that is their end. It is a land ruled by science.

In the old kingdom there are Charter-stones, carriages and crossbows. People are born, people work and people die but not always forever. It is a land ruled by magic. It is a land ruled by death.

Sabriel is a sixth form schoolgirl in Ancelstierre, she is pretty, smart and privileged. Her father is a necromancer. Her father is the Abhorsen one of the few dedicated to quieting the restless dead of the old kingdom.

When her father goes missing she takes up his bells and sword (tools of necromancy) and sets off into the Old Kingdom in an effort to find him. soon she is fighting for the survival of the charter itself.

This is the start of a very original seres with a new magic system and a very real main charactor. It is so good my sister is reading it! (that is rare FYI) I certainly enjoyed it.

There and back again by Bilbo Baggins

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkin.

"Sorry! I don't want any adventures, thank you. Not today. Good morning! But please come to tea- any time you like! Why not tomorrow? Come tomorrow! Good bye!"

Chapter one: An Unexpected Party

In which the hero of the story Mr Bilbo Baggins entertains a large number of almost uninvited and certainly unexpected guests.

During the course of the most unusual and stressful party poor Bilbo finds himself and a company of dwarves swept up into one of Gandalf''s "Adventures" . A long and dangerous trek through wild lands followed (hopefully) by an attempt at the hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon...

The Hobbit is the King of adventure stories perhaps superseded only by its sequel "The Lord of the Rings".

The Hobbit's twists, turns, circles loops and above all its straightforwardness lead the reader into the unique world of middle-earth. It is perhaps best read at bedtime to a small child a chapter at a time as it was read to me and my brothers. I hope you enjoy it as much as i did.

Outlaw.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach.

"Terminal velocity! A seagull at two hundred fourteen miles per hour! It was a breakthrough."


More than anything else Jonathan Livingston the seagull loves to fly. He doesn't fly to eat, or to impress the flock or anything else. He flies for flights sake itself (he does like speed quite a lot as well).


His dedication shows, he can fly faster and longer than any seagull alive. He is also a bag of bones and rather unpopular with the flock and his parents for his unseagullish ways. Nevertheless he is happy. He discovers a rich bounty of fish under the surface by diving from far above and is thereafter better fed.


One morning he crashes though his flock at terminal velocity shocking them dreadfully and almost killing himself in the process. That night the flock elder outlaws Jonathan Livingston Seagull from the flock.


Jonathan flies away.


This is a book about a seagull's quest for perfect flight among other things. It is very old (1972) and I am assured very famous. It contains some very good black and white pictures of seagulls and a totally new way of looking at the world. I am not going to say good or bad but I will say "worth reading", it's a new lens to see the world through.

Role Reversal.

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman.

This is a story set during the black civil rights movement in America - except in a world where the roles are reversed. The skins of the oppressed are white and the oppressors are black.

Callum is a white struggling for a decent education to make his way in the world. Sephy comes from an upper class black family in the spotlight regularly.

Their friendship goes from strength to strength as Callum's brother and father join the Liberation Militia, a violent terrorist organization supposedly aimed at promoting equality between the two races, and Sephy's mother becomes an alcoholic.

They develop a more intimate connection.

Sephy's dad is a high-ranking politician - strongly anti white integrating - (racist) which does not help the problem. Matters are somewhat complicated further when Sephy receives an unexpected surprise.

The book shows a different but effective "how would you like it?" view, and shows the difficulties and struggles of a racist society. The book is part of a series of four books and is followed by Knife edge, Checkmate and then Double Cross.

Bruno and Shmuel.

The boy in the striped pyjamas by John Boyne.

This is a very short and easy read, but also a powerful one. It is set in Nazi Germany where Bruno, a young boy, faces many challenges when his family move to live in the country, due to his fathers senior military position working at a concentration camp.

Bruno is oblivious to the horrors going on inside the camp and believes that the camp is just a game. He makes friends with a boy called Shmuel through the fence - the only person he now has as a friend.

This may be a short book but it certainly goes a long way and will leave you thinking even after you finish it. It will give you an idea of what a certain perspective of life was like in Nazi Germany. At least see the movie, which is exceptionally well done (despite the characters English accents). This story has a layered plot and will show you many things.

A life of Adventure.

Foundling, book one of the Monster Blood Tattoo Trilogy by D.M.Cornish.

"Beware the monsters, me boy! Ye've been safe in here all yer life, but out there..."

Rossamünd Bookchild, a foundling from the city of Boschenburg, has lived his entire life at Madam Opera's Estimable Marine Society For Foundling Boys And Girls. He is often bullied for his girlish name and his small size and if it weren't for his dormitory masters Fransitart and Craumpalin, and Verline, a parlour-maid he would be having a horrible time.

Rossamünd dreams of heroism on the vinegar seas, of great battles with slavering sea monsters, of becoming a vinegaroon in the Empire's service. So when he is summoned to begin life as a lamplighter by a leer named Sebastipole he is shocked and disappointed.

A Lamplighters life is a life of adventure he is told, "a life of land-locked boredom" he thinks as he sets out on one of the most dangerous, interesting and certainly exciting journeys of his life.

Foundling contains the beginning of a marvellous world where mechanics are replaced by bio-mechanics and alchemy mystery and monsters abound. Fun and easy to read, I like it.

A World of light.

The City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau.

"There it sat, unnoticed, year after year until its time arrived, and the lock clicked quietly open."

The Food shortages are spawning corruption. The coughing sickness is coming in waves, killing many. The generator breaks down often plunging the city into chaos. Worst of all the light bulbs are almost gone.

Darkness is choking the city of light.

Lina sees none of this. She continues her day to day life looking after her little sister Poppy and her slightly senile grandmother and running messages across the city for young and old.
But even she dreams of a taller city, a newer city, a brighter world.

Doon sees it all. He sees the shabby generations old clothing, the food deficit and the general shortness of things. He desperately wants to help Ember and even takes a job in the paperworks to try and help repair the centuries old generator. Sadly he cannot even understand how it works.

Poppy mostly sees things to chew on, but when she finds and chews on some very tough paper (how satisfying) she changes the lives of Lina and Doon and the destiny of Ember itself.

This is an engaging Post-Apocalyptic novel about a city filled with lights but surrounded by darkness. A good read for anyone of high school age or under with a truly imaginative theme.