Dragonfly

How would you like to be forced into marriage with someone you don't know in order to unite your lands? Princess Taoshira, The Fourth Crown Princess of the Blue Crescent Islands felt exactly that same way when she was being order to marry Prince Ramil ac Burinholt,Prince of Gerfal.

She soon began her journey to Gerfal which laid over a thousand miles away from the Blue Crescent Island. But to make matters worse, Prince Ramil was unspeakably rude and not even trying to be pleasant to her. Princess Taoshira was so upset over the meeting with Prince Ramil that she refuses to leave her quarters. Ramil knew he had so do something to fix this, so he decided to take her for a horse ride.

Princess Taoshira has never ridden a horse before, and she soon found herself sliding all over the horse's back with no conception of how to stay on at full speed. Princess Taoshira was feeling extremely angry at what Prince Ramil did to her, that she called the alliance off and that she is going home; unaware that somebody is lurking in the forest waiting to kidnap the Prince and the Princess....

Personally, I thought this book by Julia Golding was going to be a boring book but it turned out to be a marvellous read and I didn't regret borrowing it!

My rating: 10/10

The Graveyard Book

Nobody Owens, also known as Bod has been living in the graveyard, raised and educated by ghosts after his real family has been killed. This book is packed with endless stories about Bod's adventures in the graveyard. He has met a human girl called Scarlett which he finds her a great companion besides the other ghosts. Together they explore the different parts of the graveyard, while Bod would tell Scarlett whatever he knew about the inhabitants of the grave or tomb and she will tell him about the world outside, about cars, aeroplanes,television and buses. One day they decided to explore a mausoleum under the hills which said to content treasures hidden by the people before the Romans came. Suddenly, a slithering noise made Scarlett half gasp half wail, without seeing anything Bod knew there was trouble....

******************************************************

But in the land of living a another danger lurks among the darkness; it was the same person who killed his family and now he wants to kill Bod too. Now, can his master save he as he did last time when Bod was taken to jail? or will Bod die the same way as his parents did?

A absolutely captivating story written by Neil Gaiman. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a little fantasy and danger to read about. 'The Graveyard Book' deserves a rating 9 out of 10.

Forget Me Not- [READING CHALLENGE]

'Forget me not' is an intrigueing and passionating novel written by Anne Cassidy. A kind of book which I can easily gobble up in a a few hours; the curiosity, wonder and fear won't let you put the book down for even a minute.
Stella Parfitt, 18, lives alone with her mum in the suburbs of London. One night, Teresese -her mum- comes home very late, all muddy and with no rational explanation for her drunken and disgarceful state. That very night, a child is taken from its cot, just a few houses down. Stella watches the investigation unfold, and begins to gather information of her own. How can it be, that all of a sudden it is she that has to take care of her mother? And why is it that she only learns about her terrifying past once teh police arrives at their door? A very dark secret lures right around the corner...
A fascinating yet paralyzing novel, a must read for intrigued readers who enjoy solving challenging puzzles.

Rating: 8.5/10

Double or Die - Charlie Higson

With such action, adventure and trouble, this book is deadly outstanding, even though there are few gruesome and bloody situations - mostly when James Bond gets in serious trouble (or to put it right, when trouble comes to him). The story begins where James gets a letter full of cryptic clues that conclude that a teacher in his school, Eton, has been kidnapped so that he could make this mathematical technology that is 3 times the man-kind's mind and that can crack top secret codes. Now that the trouble has arrived James, he gets into action trying to save the teacher... as well as himself. He goes through secret, illegal gambling pubs, chemical and car explosions, over-speed-for-humans transporter, 5-sec-to-explode ship, two frightening murderers and also nerve-wrecking high heights. However, all of this hasn't stopped James, he still survives from these deadly scenes... though he ends up feeling none of his bones but could taste his own blood.

In conclusion, this book is hair-rising and bloodcurdling. I found it absolutely fantastic and I adventured every action with James Bond, so I can promisingly rate this book 10 out of 10 (in my opinion).

Homework (set Thursday 2nd December 2010)

Imagine you are Siegfried Sassoon. Write a letter to a friend at the Home Front, describing your opinion of the Generals who are in charge of the War Effort.

Remember to use an appropriate register , form and tone and include ideas about the following:
1) What the Majors look like
2) Describe how the Majors spend their time during the war
3) Describe the Majors’ attitude to the way they deal with the deaths of the young soldiers
4) Express your own opinion (or rather, Sassoon’s) about the war

DUE: Monday 6th December 2010