Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Title: Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief  
Author: Rick Riordan
Year: 2005
Genre: Adventure
Pages: 375
Series: The Percy Jackson series 

I chose this book because it was written by Rick Riodan (he is a great writer.)

I did not know a lot about the book but I did know a bit, because I had read a few books in the next series. I was expecting a wonderful, adventure story that was action packed and that's what I got.

When weird things began to happen at school, everything started to go wrong for Percy. Soon after he had got back home he was on an adventure, fighting monsters, battling gods, completing quests, you know, the usual demigod life. He gets sent to Camp Half Blood and meets two new friends. Off they go on a quest. Well after, you know, totally beating the coolest person in the camp. He came close to death many times but successfully completed his quest. 

I adored this book! However it was a little bit repetitive in some places. I liked it because it was action packed and had an epic story line.

I think this book is aimed at 9-10 years (because that's what  it says on the book ) but i belive that it would be great for any one who enjoys a great adventure!

 

9/10

 

Review by Samara, 7.1

 

Mr Freeman - 1

Team 7.1 - 2

(I have some catching up to do! - Mr F)

Mr Stink

I have recently read Mr Stink. It is a book written by David Walliams who has written many books for children. It was first published in 2009, 4 years ago. If I had to pick a genre, I think I would pick humour. It has 267 pages in total.

I picked this book because I’d seen the film and I wanted to compare the two. I can say the book creates far more of a picture. I knew a bit, but not a lot. I was expecting a few laughs but most of all just to enjoy it.

In the book Chloe has to live with her evil mother who pays more attention to Chloe’s perfect sister Annabelle. Chloe has to hide a few secrets from her mum and only her dad knows. Her dad understands her so helps Chloe.

I really enjoyed it! I liked it because it was humorous and entertaining. It had an interesting plot to the story and was not like anything I’d read before.

This book is for younger kids mainly but up to 14 year olds could read it. Yes, I would recommend it.

I would rate this a 9 1/2 out of 10.

 

Review by Vikki, 7.1

 

Mr Freeman - 1

Team 7.1 - 1

Book – Mr Stink

Author – David Walliams

Year – 2009
Genre – Children’s Humour
Pages – 267

So, this is the first book that I am reading in this challenge, and it has been recommended to me by Vikki.  I know of David Walliams from Little Britain and Britain’s Got Talent, but was quite unconvinced that he would be able to write a quality children’s book.  However, as the illustrations come from long-time friend of Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake, I was willing to give it a try.

Chloe does not have the happiest of lives.  Her bossy mother dotes on her sister, but pretty much ignores her, her Dad is powerless to argue against her Mum, and at school she has to deal with bullies making her life a misery.  However, she is a good person and takes the time to speak to a local homeless man, christened Mr Stink by the locals because of how he smells.  Could he help to change her life around for the better?

I admitted that I was worried about how good this book would be when I started to read it.  Well I am happy to announce that by the time I had finished it, I loved it!  It has all of the same humour that you would find in a Roald Dahl book, with little asides to the reader, and even some graphs.  The story is as lovely as it is ridiculous and the illustrations provided by Quentin Blake make it feel like a classic of children’s literature already.

There is no denying that this book is aimed at children, and I would be amazed if any child were to read it and not love it (no pressure Vikki) but despite being (a couple of years) older than the target market, I found that I loved it, and for the second half, could not put it down until I had finished it.  If you grew up reading the books of Dahl, and loved The BFG, Matilda, and The Twits, then you could do far worse than to give this book a read to be reassured that books of that quality are still being produced.

9/10

Mr Freeman - 1

Team 7.1 - 0

Book - The Hunger Games
Author - Suzanne Collins
Year - 2008
Genre - Young Adult Sci Fi
Pages - 454
Series - The Hunger Games series

I suppose I had better kick things off to show you how a review is written.  This book is not part of the challenge, but I read it recently so I thought I would share my thoughts with you.

With a high grossing film adaptation last year, and a sequel on the way, The Hunger Games is one of the hottest properties around at the moment.  I have had many friends who have either read the book or seen the film, and their reports have varied all of the way from loving it, and recommending it thoroughly, to not seeing what all of the fuss is about and suggesting that I don't bother.  I decided that it was worth checking out, and so I picked up a copy and set about reading it.

The book follows Katniss Everdeen who lives in a future which is governed by a ruling class who make those from the poorer parts of society fight to the death once a year in the gruesome reality TV show style contest called The Hunger Games.  From one of the very poorest of the sections of society, Katniss supports her family by hunting illegally, as they live in constant fear of The Capitol.  The selection process is approaching for their annual event, in which two people from each of the surrounding cities - a boy and a girl - are put into a specially designed combat arena and forced to fight until only one person remains.  A surprise selection for her area sends Katniss' life into turmoil.

I am pleased to say that I found this book a fantastic read!  The friends of mine who recommended it to me were completely right.  The world that Collins has created is beautiful and believable, with characters that you instantly care about immensely, and the concept of the Hunger Games themselves is both chilling and exciting at the same time.  The true brilliance of the book however, is that the action in it is breathtaking.  You feel a real sense of urgency the entire way through the book that keeps you turning pages throughout.

With a sixteen year old female lead, this book is very obviously aimed at the teen market, and the tie in film has supported this idea.  I would suggest that it is not a book solely for teens though.  Although quite long, I could imagine that slightly younger readers would love the action, and the story is more than enough for any adult who enjoys a good sci-fi book.  At the end of the book I was left wanting more - which is fortunate as there are two sequels - but I can confidently say that this is a book that I would recommend to anyone.

9/10

Let the challenge begin...

I love books.  I have always loved books since I was at school, and so I was horrified when I started to teach 7.1 and discovered that not everyone was reading a book!  I was shocked, and so I asked them when it was that they had last read a book.  For many of the class, the answer was a very long time ago.  I wasn't done though.  I asked why my class were not reading at the moment.  The most common answer I received was "Books are boring".

Books are boring?!?!  I could not disagree more!  From the magic of a fantasy novel, to the intrigue of a crime thriller to the drama of a... well... drama, books are the most exciting thing in the world!  Why wait all year for summer blockbusters to come along when a book can paint the same picture in your mind, and there are literally thousands out there that none of us have read yet?

And so I have set 7.1 a challenge.  Each of them were asked to bring in a book that they have not read yet, and they all have.  We have six weeks remaining of this term.  They have that long to read their book, and review it.  I will post everyone's review on this blog so you can all see how they are doing.  In that time, I will attempt to read everyone in the class' books, and post reviews of my own.  If they as a class manage to read more than I do by the end of term, then I will reward them.

So wish me luck, or if you like, wish 7.1 luck.  And let the challenge begin...

Mr Freeman