Obernewtyn | Isobelle Carmody

It is set in what I have assumed to be the fairly near future. A sort of natural disaster called the Great White has causes civilisation as we know it to break down and a new culture has grown. They call God Lud and the council has complete control. The Great White still affects the people; most of the land is uninhabitable and even to go near certain parts could be deadly and sometimes people are born with special powers. The council burned these people before any of their evilness could rub off on anyone else. Unfortunately for the council, not all of these gifts are noticeable from birth; they develop as they get older. The council decided against burning people who had already been accepted into the community so they call them misfits and send them to Obernewtyn, a sanctuary hidden in the mountains.

The main character is an orphan girl called Elspeth Gordie. She is a misfit and is trying desperately to keep it hidden but they find out and sent her to Obernewtyn. When she gets there, she realises that there are lots of things that don’t make sense and a few of the other misfits are very strange. With the help of a couple of friends, she sets out to discover the truth behind Obernewtyn.

To be honest, I didn’t really understand the plot. Elspeth is supposed to be different from the other misfits in some way but I’m not entirely sure how and I don’t understand the attitude of all the misfits at Obernewtyn. They are all very secretive and don’t talk to each other which confused me because I thought, since they had already been caught, they didn’t need to hide anymore.

I enjoyed the end of the book but, up until there, I was really struggling to read it. The story seemed to drag and there was nothing happening. Also, it was like I didn’t know things I should have, like a chapter explaining things had been missed out somewhere. I understood that I should only know what Elspeth knew but I didn’t even understand the things that Elspeth was constantly referring to. Maybe it was supposed to be part of the whole mystery of the thing but it didn’t work for me. I like books that don’t necessarily have to be full of action, but with suspense and mystery in them, but I felt that this was taken so far that I didn’t really have a clue about what I should have known about. Like I said, I enjoyed the end but I don’t think I’ll be looking for the next in the series any time soon. Maybe I’m wrong, I should read the next one because it explains everything I’m confused about? But that’s just my opinion, decide for yourself.

Zobdy
Age 14

Behemoth | Scott Westerfeld

Potential Spoilers if you haven't read the first book in the series.

For all that haven’t read the first book:

This is the second book of an exciting adventure fantasy based on World War One about war between two types of people; one that uses machines and one that uses fabricated animals for everything.

This continues the story of our two main characters, twelve year old Alek, who was on the machine side and was the Arch Duke of Austria-Hungary. He was taken away by his teachers to protect him when his parents were killed. Deryn was on the animal’s side and was pretending to be a boy so that she could join the air service.

The Leviathan is a giant, flying, fabricated whale with guns on top (a war ship).
In this book it is heading for the Ottoman empire with Alek and Deryn on board, and they meet some clankers on the way.
They’re heading straight for an empire of trouble, with only one family in the empire they can trust.

This is extremely action packed with quite a few surprises all mixed up into one super book!

There is a new type of weapon invented by Mr Tesla, a radio inventor!
The war’s still going on and Alek has adopted a ‘pet’.

I give this book a 10/10 for suspense!

By MJ, aged 11

P.S. if you want to see the review for the leviathan you'll find it under the Scott Westerfeld label

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

This book is set in what I think it our world, maybe the future? It doesn’t specify. But, wherever it is, things are not going well. Cities have huge walls around them to protect them from the infected out in the forest. The infected are people that have been bitten by other infected people. When someone gets bitten, the infection kills them and they come back as either breakers or mudo (different types of infected) depending on the circumstances. When they return, they don’t remember anything about their past lives. All they do is try to infect other people who have no option but to kill them.

The main character is a girl called Gabry who starts the story by climbing over the wall with her friends. She is having the time of her life because the boy she likes (her best friend, Cira’s, brother, Catcher) has just told her he likes her and kissed her for the first time but it all goes wrong when a breaker crashes the party. Some of the kids become infected and the rest get caught for going over the wall. Catcher gets bitten but, as it is only a small bite, it will take a few days before he turns. He doesn’t want to infect the rest of the city so he hides in the forest waiting to turn. Gabry is scared so runs away which means she doesn’t get caught with her friends. She vows to find Catcher and to free Cira.

I love the whole concept and, at the beginning, I loved the story. I loved finding out about Gabry’s past but I got frustrated and began to hate her by the end because she changes her mind completely. There’s someone she loves who would do anything for her and she randomly decides to like someone else but still leads him on. Also, it wasn’t as scary as the cover and blurb suggest. I didn’t really find it scary at all. Maybe that’s because I didn’t feel that the infected and their attacks were described in enough detail to scare me. Despite that, I still really want to read the sequel.

By Zobdy

Age 13

Dark Secrets 3: The Back Door Of Midnight by Elizabeth Chandler

It is the third in the Dark Secrets series. I have read Dark Secrets 2. It doesn’t make a difference whether you have already read any of the previous books because they each have individual, unrelated stories with different characters. The first two have two stories in but the third one has one.

The story in Dark Secrets 3 is called The Back Door Of Midnight. The main character is a girl called Anna who has a complicated family history. Her mother, Joanna, was taken in by her aunt and uncle (Anna’s great aunt and uncle) when she was pregnant with Anna. Her aunt and uncle are called Iris and Will and are brother and sister. Joanna was murdered when Anna was three so Anna was adopted by Kathryn who she thinks of as her mum. She has a seven year old adopted brother called Jack and six year old adopted twin sisters called Claire and Grace.

Uncle Will invites Anna to stay with him and Aunt Iris but when she gets there she discovers that he has died in between sending the letter and her getting there. Everyone thinks that it was a simple accident but something doesn’t feel right to Anna. That added with Aunt Iris talking to Uncle Will as if he’s still there and local boy Zack seeming to know more than he’s letting on makes her look around to find out what really happened that night.

Like Dark Secrets 3 it was impossible to guess what had actually happened. I had a thousand theories buzzing around my head but none of them were right. I couldn’t wait until I could read some more to add more clues so I could try and work out the mystery. But the, more I read, the more options seemed possible and it was only at the end when I knew what had really happened. I couldn’t put it down and loved it to bits especially the last page.

By Zobdy

The Unit | Terry DeHart

The Unit by Terry DeHart


The Unit, is set just after a nuclear war; a time when there is no one you can trust except your family. Jerry, his wife, Susan, and his nearly adult children, Melanie and Scotty, are left with nothing except just enough food to keep them alive for a short while, four guns (though Melanie refuses to carry one), each other and a determination to survive.


Jerry just wants to protect his family and he’ll shoot anyone that threatens them. Susan wants her children safe and out of this mess. Melanie is trying to stand up for what she believes in. She won’t carry a gun and she’s desperate for this to end. Scotty was saved so now he plans to fight for what’s right and he plans on shooting anyone who gets in his way.


Bill and his gang, on the other hand, were locked up in a juvenile detention centre but the power went out and the guards left. They’ve found that everything is for the taking - if you’re strong enough to hold onto it.


It’s a tough book in every sense of the word. It’s not exactly an enjoyable read but I felt compelled to carry on anyway. I had to know what would happen to them. I hated Bill but cared a lot for the family, particularly Melanie. It was impossible to predict how it would end until I actually got there. Worth a look but don’t go in expecting a happy story. I definitely would not recommend it to under fourteens.


By Zobdy

Age 13

Hex Hall | Rachel Hawkins

When young witch, Sophie Mercer, makes one magical mistake too many, she is sent off to Hecate Hall,
a reform school for magical beings. This sets the scene for a teenage adventure story.

In this book, no matter how bad the situation is, teenagers still manage to be, well, teenagers.
While an evil creature is attacking and even killing fellow students, the characters still find time to fall in
love, bicker over boyfriends and fall out.

As the story draws towards a climax however, Sophie is forced to put all this to one side to clear
her best friend’s name. Yet all the while, she is walking into a trap herself, and surely, it is only a matter
of time before the trap snaps shut.

An interesting read for all teenage girls.

Wombat – 11

The Graveyard Book | Neil Gaiman

The main character is called Nobody Owens; known as Bod. When he was a baby, his family was killed. Bod managed to escape being killed and ended up in the graveyard where all the graveyard folk (the dead) care for him. They call him Nobody because they decided that he looks like nobody but himself.

Throughout the book, Bod gets into a lot of scrapes but, with the help of his friends and adopted family, just about manages to get out of most of them. Until he faces the hardest challenge ever thrown at him – the man who murdered his family. But he must learn to stand on his own two feet if he ever wants to be ready for the world outside the graveyard.

I was sucked in from page one. In the opening, it describes a knife then goes on to talk about the man holding it. It’s an extremely descriptive and captivating opening. My school librarian and several of my friends agree with me. I felt everything Bod felt. I loved everything and everyone he loved and hated the things and people he did. I desperately wanted it to end happily for him. I loved the idea of a boy living and growing up in a graveyard with the dead as his friends and family. Despite its title, this book is not scary. To Bod, the graveyard is his home filled with people (well, dead people) he loves.

By Zobdy

Age 13