It's the biggest book reviews roundup in the world, including (in no particular order): friendship, spooks, spoons and some exotic Arabian stories
Are you sitting comfortably? Good: then we'll begin this week with a spine-tingling review by Ink Blot of Joseph Delaney's The Spook's Apprentice. In this horror of horrors, Spook and his apprentice Tom must protect the local villagers from deadly beasts, witches, boggarts and more!
'This book is very good. It has plenty of action, a complicated plot and it makes you want to read more. It's different to most books but also similar, with the same sort of style to some famous fantasy books … The whole concept of boggarts and witches was very different so the book would be a great read for people who like fantasy. The book was also scary … so horror fans would also like it. I would recommend this book to children aged 10 and over. I would rate the book 9/10.'
Something else for our fantasy lovers might be Arabian Nights illustrated by Anna Milbourne, superbly reviewed by site member Prince Caspian. This illustrated collection brings together many funny and scary short stories.
'I really liked this book because it has lots of stories in it and they are all about different adventures and characters. The book is very funny, but also has a few scary bits. One of my favourite parts was in the story of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, when Ali Baba's brother gets stuck in a magic cave with treasures in it and he forgets the password and starts shouting lots of crazy things like 'open barley!' and 'open chickpea!' – that part really made me laugh … The scariest story was the Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor because he goes off on his fishing boat which gets shipwrecked, and some of his crew are eaten by cannibals!
Teen readers might be tempted by ItWasLovelyReadingYou's outstanding review of Counting By 7s by Holly Goldberg. When Willow Chance's adopted parents die in a tragic car accident, her counsellor gets more involved than he intended.
'There was nothing complicated about this book; there were no intricate details, no scattering of metaphors and similes, no overuse of alliteration – and that's what I loved about it. It was simple and unaffected, yet it captured the personalities of the characters perfectly and drew me in like a fishing rod reels in its catch. I finished the book in one sitting… it was a beautiful and entertaining story of unexpected friendships and building family ties, featuring a group of charismatic characters that will stay in the reader's mind long after the last word has been read.'
Friendship, with a bit of personal development thrown in, was also the theme of Snowswick's brilliant review of Our Spoons Came From Woolworths by Barbara Comyns. Snowswick summarised the storyline thus: 'Our Spoons Came From Woolworths is the story of a journey from a world of naivety, immaturity, ignorance, and simplicity into a world of financial despair, failed marriage and loss … until the protagonist, Sophia Fairclough, finds well deserved love.'
'The content provides a realistic (or at least imaginable) insight into the life of 1930s bohemian London through Sophia's eyes and it appears rather tedious and dreary while it lasts … [the] book is written in first person, in a chatty, conversational way which intrigued me as a reader. However, it didn't have me hooked from the word 'go'. Part of this reason is that I found the lack of dialogue throughout the book rather dull, especially at the start … Ultimately, the book grew on me …
Now to a unique novel with a twist which many of you will no doubt have been hearing about, DavidTennantFan23 wrote a fantastic review of Every Day by David Levithan, in which protagonist A wakes up each day in a different person's body.
'The plot, I thought, was brilliant. The author described the emotions and thoughts of the character so well, and you could almost believe you were there, alongside A … I loved this book. It was gripping, emotional, sad, terrifying, romantic, strange, and beautiful all at the same time. The only problem was that it had quite an abrupt ending, and I found myself turning the last page, only to be shown the acknowledgments. I so desperately wanted the book to carry on!'
Finally, to end on a lighter note, zombies123 wrote a terrific review of Big Nate: The Boy with the Biggest Head in the World by Lincoln Peirce (no zombies, we promise!). In this big-headed read, the main character Nate believes he is destined for greatness (how wrong can this go?!)
'This book is really funny. The jokes were very good and some of the situations Nate got into made me laugh as well. I liked the illustrations too. Some of them were Nate's drawings of other characters … Overall, I really liked the book … it reminded me of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.'
A big thank you to all our readers for reviews, reviews and yet more reviews this week - it's certainly been a busy one! If we have included your review in our roundup, please email us (childrens.books@theguardian.com), and we will pick you out a bookish present!
Happy reading!
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