The book I am reviewing is called "CHERUB Maximum Security" by Robert Muchamore. I like this book because it is part of a series and it’s hard for me to find good books, so it’s very good for me.
I recommend this book because it is an action packed story, a page turner and and has lots of surprises that you will enjoy. There are ten books and lots of humour. I recommend this book and this series.
The NZ Book Council (Te Kaunihera Pukapuka o Aotearoa) has some up to date book reviews worth checking out for tweens and teens. (Click here.)
One book they mention is "The Severed Land," a new fantasy by NZ writer, Maurice Gee.
I read this at the start of the holidays.
Fliss lives in a divided world, lucky enough to be on the safe side of an invisible wall. On the far side, war and poverty reign. After Fliss saves a soldier boy she sees in danger, her world changes forever. She must return with him to the other side on a perilous rescue mission.
This is an exciting page turner, and probably the first of a series of books. Maurice Gee is well known for his trilogies such as The O Trilogy and The Salt Trilogy. See more about Maurice Gee here.
“The world needs books.” Eight-year-old Madison loves reading and thinks you should too. This amazing advocate for books was posted on Literacy Online.
"They fuel our minds like cars and gas." Madison is a real inspiration!
Wonder is a children's novel written by R.J. Palacio. It was first published by Knopf books in 2012 and has won the Carnegie Medal.
August Pullman has been born with a severe facial deformity which has kept him away from school until now because of operations and because his parents have wanted to protect him. Now off to school, this is about how he and others deal - and fail to deal - with his differences.
The story is told from the point of view of August and the other people in his life. "My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse." We get an inside into the world of the physically disabled and are made to realise that a deformity doesn't change what is on the inside.
"You can't blend in when you were born to stand out." I've seen this saying on posters and didn't realise that it came from this book. This is a reassuring mantra for anyone who has ever felt left out.
I believe all readers from about nine years to adults will get a lot out of August's story. It is about patience, inner strength, honesty and acceptance.
