Every year the sixth year charity committee choose a charity to fundraise for and raise awareness of during their last year at school; this year they have chosen Young Minds. The mission statement for Young Minds says that they are “committed to improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people.”
To find out more about the charity click on the logo, which will take you to their website – it’s very easy to use.
Uglies was a difficult story for me to get into, but one fairly easy to relate to. It creates a crazy idea of the future, full of weird but strangely awesome (and impossible sounding) technology. It refers to us (they call us Rusties, as of our immense use of metal) as idiotic and pathetic, doomed from the start. I guess I agree with that, but it’s bit weird. I can completely relate to the whole choosing a friend over anything and choosing right over wrong but aside from that this book wasn’t my favourite. Still, I’m going to read the rest of the series.
Uglies is by Scott Westerfeld
The B.F.G. (Big Friendly Giant) is a very magical, exiting novel by the great Roald Dahl. Dahl is known for his marvellous novels. This is one of my favourites.
In this thrilling adventure Sophie, a little orphan girl, sees the B.F.G. giving dreams, yes you heard right giving dreams. This means that the B.F.G. must snatch her so she does not tell his secret. He takes her to the land of giants. This is a very long and weird journey.
They become the best of friends and have lots of fun together. All is not well in giant land though, evil giants who feast on humans are after Sophie. All ends well though and they even meet the queen.
Overall I would rate this book
7/10
*******
The Scottish International Storytelling Festival is on soon, with venues in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, and loads of really interesting events. The theme this year is ‘Once Upon a Story: Folktales of Europe’. Have a look at the brochure (which is on the main library desk) or at the website, which you can get to by clicking on the picture of the dragon.
This week’s Book of the Week is another eagerly awaited next-book-in-series. This one is Charlie Higson’s The Sacrifice, the fourth book in his The Enemies series about what happens when all the adults get an illness which, basically, turns them into zombies.
The blurb on the back of the book says:
The sickness destroyed everyone over the age of fourteen. All across London diseased adults are waiting, hungry predators with rotten flesh and ravaged minds.
Small Sam and his unlikely ally, The Kid, have survived. They’re safe with Ed and his friends at the Tower of London, but Sam is desperate to find his sister.
Their search for Ella means Sam and The Kid must cross the forbidden zone. And what awaits them there is more terrifying than any of the horror they’ve suffered so far . . .
And don’t watch this video clip if you are easily scared or sickened!
The Night Circus is a wonderful book. The black-and-white circus is open from dusk till dawn and magically transports itself to any place in the world. That sounds thrilling enough in itself…but the magic is real. Celia Bowen, the enchanter’s daughter, and Marco Alisdair, the sorcerer’s apprentice, are pitted against each other in a challenge that shows off their magical skills. Obviously, they fall in love. As the repercussions of magic takes its toll, the couple realise only one will come out of the challenge alive. The struggle to stay together could end up tearing them apart. An utterly captivating story that I refused to put down.
The Night Circus is by Erin Morgenstern.
The October edition of the technology and strange stuff magazine ‘Flipside’ is now out – pick it up on the library desk. This month there are articles on:
and the usual mix of yucky facts and reviews for games, gadgets, films and music.
Avast there me hearties, today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day so I expect to hear lots of ‘Aye Ayes’ and ‘Avast Ye’ s echoing around the library today. I would suggest, that unless you want to walk the plank, you don’t try talking like a pirate in class!
You could try reading like a pirate instead. There are masses of stories set in the world of piracy, from the classic ‘Treasure Island’ to the hilarious ‘Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!’. Have a look at the display at the main desk and read a pirate book today.
Someone asked me this week what I meant by ‘pre-ordered books’. Perhaps I should think up a better term for them – like ‘books we are waiting for but which aren’t out yet’, because that is exactly what they are. If I am asked for a book which has not yet been published – the next in a series, or the latest book by a popular author – I will put it on the pre-order list, which means that when it does come out, I will buy it immediately.
The current list of books we are waiting for is in the right sidebar, underneath the ‘library links’ – sometimes publishing dates change, but I try to keep this as up-to-date as possible. If you know about a book which I should add to the list, let me know.
Today is Roald Dahl Day in the UK. To celebrate, why not click on the logo to go to Blue Peter Books and watch Dick and Dom bringing George’s Marvellous Medicine to life?