Albert Park's September reviews

Boy overboard by Morris Gleitzman - reviewed by Ambrose

We had to read this book for Literacy Circle at school but I quite like it. It is about Jamal who lives in Afghanistan and loves playing soccer. Girls cannot play outside without a parent and have to be covered up. Jamal's sister ignores this and plays soccer and the ball lands in an area full of mines. Jamal's mum is doing 'illegal schools' because kids - especially girls - aren't allowed to get an education. Because of this they decide that they need to move away to the city. His mother gets captured by soldiers and their house is blown up. Jamal's dad rescues his mother and they decide to leave Afghanistan and make their way to Australia.

Rated:  4/5 - "I like the book so far, it has two of my favourite things in it - soccer and a journey."

How to twist a dragon's tale : bk. 5, How to train your dragon by Cressida Cowell - reviewed by Leticia

The exterminator dragons have woken up because the firestones have been stolen. Hiccup (who is a viking) realises that it was his dad who has stolen it. There is also a competition in which the Vikings have to tell the best stories. Hiccup enters the competition and predicts that the volcano will explode and everyone panics and evacuates.

Rated:  5/5 - "The book has mythical creatures and adventure which I like."

The ersatz elevator : bk. 6, A series of unfortunate events by Lemony Snickett - reviewed by Alex

I read the first book in the series ages ago and forgot about them, and now I've come back to it. It is about the three Baudelaire orphans who are sent to a big, dark apartment building (which has 84 flights of stairs) to meet their new guardian Esme and Jerome. Jerome is nice but Esme is not. They meet two other children there called the Quagmire triplets but 1 of them died as well as their parents. Count Olaf who was after the Baudelaire orphans in the first book is also after the Quagmire children because they have the Quagmire Sapphires.

Rated:  4½/5 - "It's really good except a read them really fast. I recommend this book for 9+."

The land of stories : the wishing spell by Chris Colfer - reviewed by Tiana

The main characters are twins, a boy named Connor and a girl Alex. They are very different - Alex is a loner while Connor is very popular. Their father died in a car accident. On their birthday their grandma gives them a book called ‘The Land of Stories’. The book makes a humming noise and when Connor opens it a light glows and a bird flies out.

When they ‘fall’ into the book they meet a frogman and escape a forest which is the most dangerous part of the land they are in. This land is inhabited by characters from fairytales. There is a riddle which they need to work out how to make a wishing spell.

Rated:  5/5 – "Very intriguing … I stayed up until 2 in the morning to read it!"

The Magic Folk collection by Enid Blyton - reviewed by Zoe

I’m reviewing 'The Prisoner of the Dobbadies'. It’s about two people (a girl and a boy) who are playing a ball game. The ball goes behind the tree and the boy goes to get the ball and he disappears, the girl looks for him and vanishes as well. They both end up in a place called Dreamland and the Dobaddies hate it there.

Rated:  4½/5 - "Interesting!"