Lexi's review of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Alice in Wonderland, which is written in the third person, tells the surreal tale of a girl named Alice (the main character) falling through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar creatures in which she finds many friends. As events unfold, each more bizarre than the next, Alice begins to realize there is more to people than it may seem. When faced with insanity, can Alice stay true to herself and remain 'normal'?

In the story Alice considered herself to be the only 'ordinary' character out of the many creatures/people she meets over a time period of a day. Time and time again during the story you see Alice stay with her own firm opinions, even though Wonderland would make me question myself about my beliefs. Reading this book, I felt excited and a bit scared, however it was so interesting I had to finish it. I found the Mad Hatter the most interesting because there was so much about him the author didn’t explain and I wanted to know more. I liked the fact it didn’t make very much sense as things didn't really follow on from each other.

I loved the setting and how mysterious the White Rabbit and Wonderland are. My favourite part of the story was when Alice grew and shrunk after eating and drinking a magical cake and potion because it is so unusual and dreamlike. I wonder what Lewis Carroll's inspiration for this story was? I would definitely recommend this book as it was a great read and led me to find out all kinds of new vocabulary I could use in my writing. Next, I want to read more about Alice's adventures in 'Alice Through the Looking Glass'.

Ella's Review of Matilda by Roald Dahl

Matilda is a young girl who lives at home alone because her Mum leaves her to play bingo and her Dad goes to work with her brother Michael selling broken cars. Matilda is left alone to learn how to cook and clean. However, her brother is indulged. Luckily for her, Miss Honey comes to the rescue and adopts her for good.

Matilda's life at home was hard for a five-and-a-half-year-old, but she managed to find a way at home. She taught herself how to cook, clean, wash up, read and lots more every day challenges for a five-year-old. When her parents got home all they would do was watch tv until one day Matilda finally convinced her parents to let her go to school where she met kind teacher Miss Honey. When Miss Honey saw Matilda, she noticed she was different and smarter which made her special. Matilda showed her recently discovered and unusual powers. Miss Honey came to the rescue and adopted Matilda from her horrible parents Mr and Mrs Wormwood.

This book covered Matilda's whole life up till she was six and a half years old, which is weird because the book is so small but her life was so big. In the story I liked it how the start of the story was slow and it built up to be more exciting as the story went on. All the events followed on from each other and as the story unfolded I could predict what was going to happen, which made me feel excited.

The main characters were Matilda, Mr and Mrs Wormwood, Miss Honey and Miss Trunchball, the Headmistress. Matilda was a sweet, smart and caring girl, while her parents were liars and cheats who were so disgusted that she was different. Miss Honey was the nicest person you will ever meet and loved Matilda with all her heart, but on the other hand Miss Trunchball was the strictest person in the world and hated children.

I liked how Roald Dahl described Mr Wormwood as a mean crooked crook. I Found Miss Honey the most interesting as her past was so bad but by the end of the book, she had got her house back and better wages and was happy. I think Miss Honey developed to see life from other people's perspectives. On the other hand, Miss Trunchball the Headmistress of the school hated children and punished them by putting them in The Chokey. The Chokey was a narrow cupboard that is 10 inches square with broken glass sticking out of the walls and nails in the door and you cannot sit or squat, so it is a very uncomfortable and scary punishment. 

The story was written in third person as it was describing Matalida's life. I liked how it described the setting where ever she went, although in the story it didn’t really describe her or the other character's feelings in detail. I thought it was a good story because it was entertaining to read. My favourite part of the book was when Miss Honey adopts Matilda, because it is when the story ends happily ever after.

When I was reading this story, I felt that I could not put the book down. After I read the book, I felt happy because I had read it, but sad it was finished. From the book I learnt that you should not judge people before knowing them. I would recommend this book to other people as I enjoyed because the characters were so interesting and well written.  I think other people will like it too. I would read other books by Roald Dahl as his books are so creative and wonderful. 

Clara's Review of R.J.Palacio’s Book ‘Wonder’

In Wonder, August Pullman (Auggie), a boy with facial disfigurement, starts fifth grade (Year 6) at Beecher Prep Middle School in New York City. August meets Jack Will on his first visit to the school, and they get on well. However, Julian Albans teases Auggie and makes fun of him, while being nice to him in front of adults. Things come to a head on Halloween, when August hears Jack and Julian with a few others talking about his face. At the end of the year, on a trip, August is picked on by older boys, but Jack and some other boys, previously Julian’s friends, come to his rescue. And as they say, all’s well that ends well. The story is about August’s journey through the first year of middle school, making friends and enemies. The book covers from the first term of school to graduation day. The book shows that although August does not look normal, he goes through life mostly like every other child. The opening of the story shows an insight to August’s world, as he explains he may not look normal, but inside he is completely like everyone else. The events of the story followed on in chronological order, with one or two flashbacks at the beginning. It flowed smoothly, and each chapter ended in a way that made you want to read the next.

The main characters in this book are August and his friends and family (Via, Mum, Dad, Jack and Summer). At the beginning, August is quite dependent on his family, and was a recluse and rarely went out. However, at the end, August is a lot more independent. Most of the characters learn an important lesson: Jack and Summer (August’s best friends) learn not to judge a book by its cover, Via (August’s sister) learns that it is alright to want to know people without them knowing August, and August’s parents learn not to keep him from the outside world. August is described in detail by Via, ‘His eyes are about an inch below where they should be on his face,’ ‘He doesn’t have eyebrows or eyelashes,’ ‘He doesn’t have cheekbones.’ I thought Via was the most interesting character because I could empathise with everything she said. Also, I felt sorry for her, having to grow up faster than everyone else because her parents needed to focus on August. As the story develops, she quite enjoys high school, where there were not many people who knew her, and, therefore, knew August. She gets a boyfriend, called Justin, but does not have many friends. Her two best friends from middle school, Miranda and Ella, abandon her and do everything together.

This book is written in first person, and moves between narrators every few chapters. This is important because you can see someone’s actions with another person’s viewpoint, and see someone else and what they thought of it. Sometimes the setting was described in detail, like in the school, and sometimes it was not. Feelings were described in detail sometimes, too, although sometimes it was not. I think this was a good story, as it was interesting to read, and taught you that even the most unusual people can be just like you on the inside. My favourite moment in the story is when, on a trip, August is bullied but lot of people in his year come to the rescue, because it is the moment that August finds out that people do like him. I do not think there was anything that could be improved.

I think the author had a reason to tell this story because it is a true story and it teaches children to be tolerant. During reading it, I felt intrigued to know more and live in the story. After reading it, I felt saddened I had reached the end, and I did not want it to end. I also felt like I had changed, because while reading the book, I laughed when August laughed, and cried when he cried. It was like August had become a part of me. I would recommend this book to children or adults because it makes you look at what you have in life and be proud and grateful for it. I would read other books by this author.

Tyler S - Book Review of Demon Dentist by David Walliams

This book is about an evil dentist who eventually tries to cook people and uses their teeth for decoration. Her name is Miss Root. She uses special toothpaste to rot children's teeth and leaves bad items under their pillow!  Alfie along with his friend called Gabz found out what she did and with the help of his dad slays the witch.

The book cover makes you want to look further into the book. This story is definitely unusual and can't happen in real life. The story was boring to start with then goes up and down from there. There are some interesting bits like when the dentist turns into a skeleton.

The main characters in this book were the evil dentist and the boy called Alfie. Other important characters were the boy's friend Gabz, his dad and the social worker called Winnie. The dentist was pure evil. The boy was clever and also nice because he looked after his dad who was in a wheelchair. When he had hardly any food he would give most of it to his dad. The most interesting character in the book was Miss Root because you didn't know what she was going to do next. She got more evil as the story went on and even turned into a skeleton. Alfie did not like the social worker at first because he was scared of her. By the end of the book he cared for her and lived with her when his dad died.

The story was written in third person. This was not important because it still tells the same story. This story makes you imagine what everything looks like but also with some pictures. I think this was not a very good story because it was a bit slow and too long. I prefer shorter stories. My favourite part was when the evil dentist turned into a skeleton.  I think they should have left some things out to shorten the story. I think the police should have killed her. It didn't make sense that the skeleton needed to breathe and could see. I was glad when it finished because it was too long. The book was fiction so it taught me nothing. It did not make me scared to go to the dentist because I know it is not real. If you like reading books I would recommend this book as it has a good surprising ending. I would read other books by David Walliams depending on what other choice there was. 

Tegan's Book review about Dog Zombies Rule by Liz Pichon

Plot

In this story a boy has been asked to look after his friends pet and he says yes.This story is about a boy who is in a band called dog Zombies rule and he look after a pet hamster called Marble. This book took 4 hours to read and is quite interesting. The book was like your normal life in a book to most young boys. The opening to the book was really dramatic, when I first opened the book I was like WOW what`s he so excited for then when I finally got into the book I understood why he was so excited.

Characters

The main character is a boy called Tom Gates he loves animals and he really wanted a pet and because his friend offered him to look after his hamster Marble he was happy. The characters are nice except for the boy called Marcus he's really annoying. I found Tom the most enjoyable one because he likes to annoy his older sister Delia and he loses control of Marble at night because he's nocturnal and he keeps Tom awake all night and he said that his face looks like a potato when he wakes up. The character didn't change as the story went on.

Comments on style

 The story was written in first person the whole way through the story. The first person is important to the story because they're talking about a individual life of a specific boy. The story was good I enjoyed it I have read it four  times now. My favourite part of the story is where Tom gets woken up in he night by Marble. 

General

During the story I was laughing at the parts where they was doing something silly. I would recommend this book to people because its funny. I would read the rest of the the Tom Gates books .

Maddie's Book Review about Diary of a Wimpy Kid the Getaway by Jeff Kinney

The book was about Greg's family who went abroad over the period of the Christmas holidays. They

didn't want to stay at home because Greg's parents kept fighting and getting stressed out and his

dad hated being out in the cold shovelling the snow. Greg was the only one who wanted to stay at

home but he didn't have a choice and so they went on holiday to Isla de Corales which is the place

where his parents went for their honeymoon.

His parents wanted to stay in the same building where they stayed on their honeymoon but the lady

at reception said that the resort has changed since they’d last been there. The resort was now split

in two halves; the wild side and the mild side. Where they stayed on their honeymoon was now in

the wild side. Greg's family had to stay on the Mild side because no children were allowed on the

Wild side.

This book is number 12 in the series, but none of them are following on. Each book covers parts of

his life and like the other books and they are about a small part of the year in his life.

The book is about the holiday and everywhere they go something wrong or bad happens like: when

one little bird distracts the family while they were sat at a table outside; when the family are

distracted the other birds from the trees above swooped down and stole their food. There Iguanas

that wander around the resort on the Mild side and that scared Greg from ever going in the pool on

their holiday. Another part of the book is about something that happened with a spider and Greg but

you will only find out what happens if you get the book...

The main character is the wimpy kid called Greg and his family and friends who are: Rodrick, who is

his older brother; Manny, who is his younger brother; Rowley, who is his best and only friend and

Greg's parents. Rodrick is very mean and mischievous to Greg and Manny is very nosey and mean as

well. His parents are okay with Greg but sometimes can be quite disturbing and mean to him. I do

not have a favourite character because in the different stories I like different characters at different

times.

The story was written in the first person. If it wasn't in first person it wouldn't be a diary entry and it

would just be a story. The scene setting was described in detail for example it told how they went

through the snow and how cold it is for them. There were lots of feelings described in the book for

example: 'Well, my family just got back from holiday, and believe me, if I could've stayed home, I

WOULD'VE. But I didn't have a choice' clearly showed he was annoyed. It was a good story because

it drew you in every page and every page I turned I got even more excited. My favourite moment in

the story was when they always got caught wherever they went or whatever they did when they

were on holiday. I like the way the characters are in all the books and I wouldn't want to change

anything at all.

Jeff Kinney is probably basing the story on his own life and memories and just spun his own holidays

around to make it more fun for readers to read. I feel I am part of the book whilst I am reading it but

now after I've finished it I really want to read it again and wish I hadn't read it too quickly. I have

learnt from this book that everyone is different and like different things but it's always better to

listen to your parents. I would recommend this book because it is fun to read and Jeff Kinney is an

amazing author and my convincing reason is if you really like Tom Gates or Dork Diary you would

really like this book! Also, if you have read one of Jeff Kinney's other books you will also like this one

as well. I LOVE ALL THE DIARY OF A WIMPY KID BOOKS BY JEFF KINNEY!!