8C+Novel+Reviews

Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves - Mathew Reilly Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves, the sequel to Scarecrow that was released in 2003 by Mathew Reilly, is a thrilling sequel that I believe out did the first. This book is about an old Soviet weapon installation in the Arctic has fallen into disrepair. Known as Dragon Island, the facility is home to a next-generation weapon with the potential to unleash a destructive force upon the world that was developed during the Cold War and subsequently forgotten. When a terrorist organisation, known as the //Army of Thieves,// takes control of the fortified island and activates the weapon, a distress call goes out to any and all soldiers that are in or close to the area. A small band of Marines and civilians in the Arctic get the call and move in to stop them, as they are the only unit close enough to Dragon Island to be able to reach the installation in time within this team is United States Marine Corps Captain Shane Schofield also known as his kill sign scarecrow. My rating for this book is 8/10 it was a great read and I really enjoyed the action and gore it brought with the story. There is no movie for any of Mathew Reilly’s books however he has said that there have been many offers but soon after got cancelled for the lack of money that would be needed to turn one of Mathew Reilly’s books to a movie. I recommend this book for anybody who enjoys an action packed story with lots of gun and melee fight for the survival of earth. (Kyle Moreau-Staerk)

Track of the Tiger – Bear Grylls This is a thrilling book making me enjoy it the whole time I was reading it. It is suitable for both girls and boys around the age of 12 and above. In this book, the Grey family with their friend Beck go on a holiday to Indonesia. Their first stop is to see the orang-utans in the Indonesian jungle. Beck Granger and Peter Grey want to stay longer and Mr Grey lets them. The keeper Nakula says he will bring them back later. On their way back, they discover that a volcano has erupted right next to them. They have to overcome many challenges, will they survive? This would mon bear Grylls television show. This is a great book and I give it a rating of 9/10. (Zack kallinikos)

Harry Potter and the philosophers’ stone

Harry Potter and the Philosophers stone is a book that all teens and pre-teens will enjoy. Hogwarts, a school for all young witches and wizards go to learn how to use magic, is in danger from the scary Voldemort. Harry Potter’s parents were murdered by Voldemort when he was young, so he was forced to live with his Aunt, Uncle and Cousin. The made his life hell for eleven years. He thought he was nothing special, until one day, he received a letter saying that he was a wizard. Harry couldn’t wait to get away from Dudley, his cousin. But it’s not safe at Hogwarts while he’s there. Voldemort wants revenge. I think everyone who reads this will enjoy it. It keeps you on the edge of your seat. 9/10 (Jessie B)

Is an intriguing and thrilling story that I would recommend for mature readers 12 years and up. If you like the Hunger Games than you will enjoy INSIDEout and the sequel OUTSIDEin. It is the story of a young girl called Trella who lives in the Inside. She is a scrub whose job is to clean the pipes for the uppers who live above them. Then she meets Broken Man a former upper who claims to have found the gateway to the outside. Trella scorns the prophecy until her only friend Cog is captured by the Pop Cops and she vows to find the gateway and free him. With the help of Rory who proves that uppers are are not as different from her as she has been lead to believe, some other scrubs and a mysterious doctor who has a connection to Trella’s past they launch a full scale rebellion and discover a secret that will change their lives forever. I would give it an 8/10. (Emma Taylor) Skulduggery Pleasant is a living skeleton with a sense of humour, who is blessed with control of the elements (fire, water, air and earth). The book starts off with the death of an author who you later find out to be the uncle of a young girl called Stephanie Edgley who inherits in his will his entire fortune and his house. Stephanie nearly gets killed by a robber searching for ‘a key’ but Skulduggery saves her and she tags along with him to be his sidekick and discovers that the world is full of people capable of control of the elements. This is a fast paced novel I recommend for any mature child in need for a decent read. 10/10 (Will Lutz)
 * __ INSIDEout __**
 * __Skulduggery Pleasant-__**__Derek Landy__

__ The Other Side Of The Island __


 * The Other Side of the Island ** is a thrilling and heart wrenching book about love, loss and discovering everything in between. When Honor and her parents are forced to move to the mysterious island 265 where the corporation rules everyone and everything, life, as they know it, turns upside down. When Honor’s parents actively rebel, Honor and her friend are forced to rescue them from the clutches of the islands most dangerous secrets. The Other Side of the Island is a gripping book that will certainly leave you gasping for more. I recommend this book to all mature readers who enjoy a meaty read with a twist at the end.[[image:year8novelreviews2012/OTHER-SIDE-ISLAND-front.jpg width="75" height="120" align="left"]]9/10. (Tahlia Homan)

**__ Lockie Leonard- Human Torpedo __**
Lockie Leonard- Human Torpedo is a delightfully frank novel exploring the experiences of a young teenage boy growing up. This book was written by the famous Australian writer, Tim Winton. Lockie Leonard is twelve and three quarters, loves surfing and has just come into a new town and has just enrolled in a new school. Being new to the school he gets bullied but then finds himself in love with the richest, prettiest and smartest girl in town, Vicki Streeton. Lockie is head over heels in love and his relationship with Vicki grows. However, Lockie begins to grow physically and emotionally; he discovers that Vicki’s ideas about life differ from his. Finally, when Vicki betrays Lockie, he comes to the conclusion that he needs to enjoy the life of a typical teenager. The mixture of romance and humour made this an exciting book and I liked this book very much. I score it 7 out of 10. (Sabrina Hossain)

The Last Song is the story of a teenage girl and her summer at her Dad’s house in North Carolina. Ronnie Miller is still angry with her father after her parent’s divorce and tries to get back at him. She soon realises that they have a lot in common, finds a boyfriend and that there is still hope for her “summer in hell.” An ideal read for girls aged 12-16 about love, music and family. I couldn’t put this book down and strongly recommend it rating it 8.5/10. (Isabella Burling)
 * __ The Last Song __**




 * __ Soul Surfer - Bethany Hamilton __**

Soul surfer is an Inspirational and moving biography, written to inspire people of all ages. The book is about American professional surfer Bethany Hamilton who is known for surviving a shark attack in which she lost her left arm, and overcame this injury to ultimately return to professional surfing. This book is ideal for the ages 10-15 that have an interest in surfing and the beach. Later after the book was released a movie was made retracing her steps during the shark attack. The movie is ideal for girls aged 9-16. I loved reading this book and it inspired me to never give up. I rated it 7.5-10. (Viane Legat)

__ The Help - Kathryn Stockett __

The Help is a wonderful and insightful book that will keep you reading well into the night. It is based in Jackson, Mississippi in the time when coloured people were believed to be diseased and worthless. The book is based around Aileen, a coloured women in her 50’s trying to teach her 17th white child to be loving and caring to all people in the world no matter their colour. Minny, a maid famous for her cooking who finds her and her sassy tongue fired and looking for a job when the mysterious Miss Celia hire’s her for her most challenging job yet. And Miss Skeeter, a young unappreciated women just out of a degree of journalism, come home to find her loved maid gone from her family home. This sparks curiosity and the passion to fight for a cause resulting in the maids of Mississippi telling their stories of working for the white women to Miss Skeeter. Their actions result in a thrilling end to a fantastic book. It is the best book I have read in a long time. 9/10(Jessie McRae)

Middle School The Worst Years Of My Life Middle School Some of the Worst Years of My Life is a very pleasant book but full of trouble. A boy called Rafe Khatchadorian and his imaginary friend Leo make up a game where he tries to break every rule in the student rule book which is called the HVMS Code of Conduct (Hills Village Middle School. He gains points for different rules he breaks . While Rafe is getting into trouble, he is trying to impress a girl called Jeanne Galletta and trying to escape from a bully called Miller. I think this would be a good movie and I give it a 7.5/10. (Zac Lawrence)

__ Fishing World – Flathead Trolling Article __ This article is explaining the changes of flathead fishing over the past 9 years to this day. From using hard body lures to soft plastics which are the most common now. But many of the fish are being released and a recognising lures to real baits. This makes it harder to fish with plastics. This article is obviously based around fisherman. I give this Article an 8/10. (Chris)

A series of Unfortunate Events – by Lemony Snicket The series of Unfortunate Events is an interesting storyline. The main Characters are three children Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. After coming home and finding out their parents perished in a blaze of fire in their home they struggle to come against the fact that they are orphans. In the book they have to deal with a horrible somehow related Olaf who is put in charge of looking after them. The story is quite intense and I would recommend it for people between the age of 10- 14. I would rate this series 6/10. (Jessica ) Kenny and the Dragon-( Tony Diterlizzi ) Kenny is a rabbit who lives on a farm with his mother and his father who is a shepherd. Kenny loves books and adventure but is a little too imaginative! He dreams big and loves life! His best friend is a big friendly bear who owns a book shop. Soon Kenny is to find another friend- a huge fire-breathing dragon! ‘Kenny and the Dragon’ is a brilliant book for all ages. It is funny and mystical. If you love adventure it’s the book for you. I rate this book 9/10. Sophia Whitt
 * Samurai Kids ** **book review (Sandy Fussell)** The Samurai Kids (the white crane) is the first book of the amazing series .This is an innovating and interesting read for boys and girls to enjoy. The scene is set in Japan in the Cockroach Ryu samurai training temple hidden in the mountains,where a wise sensei and four disabled children warriors prepare for the Samurai games.Which they will come against the mighty Dragons, the previous winners of the tournaments. But for Niya being a one legged boy can have its challenges. Is it possible for Niya, Kyoko, Mikko, Taji and Yoshi to finally defeat the Dragon Ryu and win the samurai games? I loved this novel for its mystery, excitement, interesting characters and also the plot of the storyline. I would rate this book 9/10 (Chantelle Syme)

Hells Heroes is the final book in the demonata series. This book series is set in Ireland and is told in present tense first person through Grubbs Grady, as well as other characters which tells the story of the demonata efficiently. The final book in the series is by far my favourite and although you will have to read the other books in the series first, you will have this book to look forward to! Grubbs is the protagonist of the first book (Lord Loss), the third (Slawter), the fifth (Blood Beast) the sixth (Demon Apocalypse), the eighth (Wolf Island) and the tenth (Hell's Heroes). Grubbs makes appearances in the seventh book (Death's Shadow) and the ninth book (Dark Calling).Grubbs also has incredible magic powers which he uses to destroy and rip apart the demonata, the antagonists of the series. If you’re looking for something to get you hooked, the demonata is your series! (Mitch B)

Scarecrow - Army of Thieves – Mathew Reilly A terrorist group calling itself the Army of Thieves captures Dragon Island, a long forgotten relic of the Cold War and the site of a devastating super weapon built by the Soviets. This is bad news for just about everyone, because the Thieves want to use said super weapon to violently re-shape the world order. Only maverick marine Shane ‘Scarecrow’ Schofield relocated to the Arctic and assigned to a scientific testing detail after a little local difficulty with the French secret services can save the day. This book is the 5th instalment in his trilogy; also his books were engaged with movie deals however, all dropped out due to costs. Mathew Reilly is a best-selling author with a total of 11 books under his sleeve, over 200,000 copies of that work were given away for free in August of 2005. I rate this book a 9/10. (Angus Murray) The Moral Instruments- City of Glass I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is the last book in the series of the moral instruments, and I enjoyed it much more than the first two. This book, the city of glass is about the chaos of war; the shadow hunters destroy demons and protect humans (mundane- as they call humans) Shadow hunters must decide to make an alliance with the vampires, werewolves and other downworlders (things from the underworld) to save the city of Iris from being pulled apart by the evil, Valentine and his army of demons. For the shadow hunters to be able to save their city, they have no choice but to fight alongside with the vampires, werewolves and downworlders. But for this to happen the clave, who is like the government, must allow the gates to open, and for the wards to be pulled down to avoid breaking the law by letting downworlders into Iris. When the clave agrees the job is now up to the shadow hunter brother and sister, Clary and Jace. This book is mystifying, and it shows courage, love and hopefulness. This book is the best book I’ve read so far….. 9/10 (Taylah)

Divergent - A story of pain, loss and suffering Divergent, by Veronica Roth, is an incredible story of how one girls choice can change the world. In what used to be place known as America, there are now five factions, each with its own human trait which they believe brought evil into the world; Abnegation values selflessness, Candor values honesty, Dauntless are brave, the Erudite are intelligent and the Amity are peaceful. When you turn sixteen you can choose a faction according to where you think you belong. This one choice can transform your life, for better or for worse. I think this book is an excellent choice for both males and females from the age of 12-15. I give it a rating of 9/10 and would recommend it to everyone. Elly Wikaire

Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins) Set after the hunger games Peeta and Katniss have been sent into the games again, for the 75thQuarter-Quell. To me this is ‘one of the better books’ of the sager as there are clues throughout the book with a major plot behind it. I say this book is for mature audiences and don’t recommend it for kids as it is a little too descriptive in some parts. I give it 9.5 out of 10. And may the odds ever be in your favour! Nick Martini