Friendship, mischievous toys and Russian adventures are discussed in this week's roundup!
To start it off this week, reader Lady Abigail wrote a tremendous review of Naughty Amelia Jane by Enid Blyton! In this story, Amelia Jane is a troublesome toy doll who causes mischief. Lady Abigail praised the descriptions in the novel, which she described as like 'seeing one hundred pictures in my head'!
Naughty Amelia Jane is so naughty that one time she cut the curtains with big sharp scissors. I like this book… It would be surprising if anybody disliked this book. I guess that no one would dislike the book. Also it has big writing which makes it easy for everybody to read!'
With similar mischievous tones, site member Poppy68 wrote a superb review of Rendezvous in Russia by Lauren St John. In this book, when Laura and Tariq visit a Russian film set in St. Petersburg, they uncover an aristocratic thief up to no good!
'I really enjoyed this thrilling novel…This book yet again stars Laura Marlin in her fourth mystery, aided by Tariq and her beloved husky, Skye. Lauren St John has definitely made this book one not to miss! It's so passionate, intriguing, mysterious and thrilling so I truly believe it deserves the title…'
Another holiday adventure now, with a friendship twist – reader bookworm wrote a fantastic review of Tell Me About It by Sue Limb! In this tale young Ruby meets another girl Sasha whilst learning to swim, and arguments ensue as the girls learn some valuable lessons about friendship.
'I like this book because it is funny and fun to read. I also like it because it isn't too long. I don't like this book because it has bad language in some parts. The illustrations in this book are very cartoon-like… Others should read this book because it is funny. I recommend this book for 7 or over.'
Continuing the friendship theme, but now something for our teen readers – lilybelle wrote a truly outstanding review of GingerSnaps by Cathy Cassidy! As a natural loner, Ginger Brown reinvents herself to gain friends. When she meets saxophone-playing Sam Taylor, however, she begins to wonder whether reinventing herself was really such a good idea.
'This is the first Cathy Cassidy book I've read, and I definitely wasn't disappointed! I read it quite quickly, because it's written in a really exciting way, and, for example, when I was reading the terrible scene of Shannon's birthday party, I really felt as though I was there, and I was just dying to read it even faster to find out what happened… I found the story really inspiring… What I think is that everything would maybe be a bit nicer if there were more people who 'dared to be different' (like Sam), and also that it's a shame to hide who you are, and if you're scared that your friend wouldn't like the real you, he or she might not be such a good friend after all (like Shanon to Ginger). As promised by Cathy Cassidy in her introduction, this is a story that will certainly get you thinking!'
Moving on to a similarly friendship-themed novel, reader fluffyni wrote a spectacular review of Diamond by Jacqueline Wilson! Diamond is a young girl from a poor family – who sell her to the circus! Fluffyni wonderfully summarised the storyline - 'Diamond finds out the ups and downs of the circus life; meeting new people and finding new friends along the way.'
"Diamond, by Jacqueline Wilson, was a spin-off book from the Hetty Feather Trilogy. It had to reach high standards and it certainly did! … Jacqueline has pulled this off magnificently and I hope for a sequel! I would recommend this to older girls/young teens and anyone up for laughing, crying and growling."
With a nod now to unlikely friendships, Bethany from our Millennium RIOT Readers wrote a delightful review of Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. In this story a girl named Fern, a piglet named Wilbur and a spider called Charlotte form an unexpected friendship!
'I would say that the genre of this book is Animals. My favourite character in the book is Charlotte because she is very kind and helpful to everyone, even a pig … I loved every moment of this book. I would recommend this book to any reader over 10 or 11. I give this book a score of 5/5 as it was great!'
Also from our Millennium RIOT readers, Anne sent in a brilliant review of Twilight: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer! As the last book in the Twilight saga, Bella and Edward's supernatural romance faces the ultimate test.
'Breaking Dawn is a completely thrilling book with action, love and drama … The contrast between the action and the romance that shouldn't be is enthralling and it really connects with the rest of the story. I could hardly bring myself to put it down and when I did I longed to get back to it.'
Elsewhere, on a touching topic, reader XoXo, BookWorm_98 wrote a super, thought-provoking review of The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder. This novel tackles the complicated issue of childhood illness, as seventeen year-old Campbell Cooper hopes for a miracle.
'The Probability of Miracles is about death - how you can, if you want to, make yourself more than the disease that threatens your life; one that will probably take it away too… But mostly, and this is what touched me the most - it's not about how long you have to live, but LIVING in that time - no matter how unfair! It's romantic yet heart-breaking, it will make you laugh and cry and will leave you thinking about it for a long time to come!'
Finally this week, site member Cece Jones wrote a fantastic review of I Am So Over Being a Loser by Jim Smith. In this book, the third in the Barry Loser series, Barry's mum wins a competition to become the 'face' of their local supermarket Feekos – which is very embarrassing for poor Barry!
'This is the third Barry Loser book and it is the funniest of them all … Jim Smith's illustrations really make the story stand out and are very funny. It was a real page-turner. I look to reading more from him – he's keel!'
Thank you to our readers for all your terrific reviews this week! Like always, if your review has been mentioned in our roundup, email the children's books team - childrens.books@theguardian.com - and we will send you a book-shaped prize.
Happy reading and reviewing!
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