May reviews from Albert Park

The golden door by Emily Rodda - reviewed by Vincent

Rye lives in the walled city of Weld and the town is being attacked by monsters. His older brothers go off to fight, but when Rye is told that they are missing he decides to go and find them. This means he has to leave the city through the golden door. I think this book is much better than Deltora Quest, it is funnier and has more adventure.

Rated: 5/5 - "Emily Rodda is a good writer and she has put all her wit into this book. I also like it because it's full of monsters!"

Fairy school drop-out undercover by Meredith Badger - reviewed by Jo

Elly Knottleweed-Eversprightly is sick of being a fairy and going to fairy school. She decides to go undercover and attend a human school. It is a fun book, but not much of a challenge to read. It is very easy to read.

Rated: 3/5 - "Not good, not bad!"

The mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart - reviewed by Che

Children answer an ad that asks for bright children to come and sit a test. Only four children pass - they are Reynie, George, Kate and Constance - and they become part of the Mysterious Benedict Society run by Nicholas Benedict. There is also a Mr Curtain at the school but the children uncover a plot by Mr Curtain to control the world by putting messages into people's heads. The kids have to go on a mission to save the world.

Rated: 5/5 - "Interesting!"

Wonder by R. J. Palacio - reviewed by Emma T.

Auggie is 10 years old and has always been home-schooled. He starts going to school but fears being bullied and rejected because of his facial deformities. There are some negative and nasty reactions but he also makes a couple of good friends. The chapters are narrated by different characters, seeing the same incident but from a different point of view.

Rated: 3.7/5 - "I really enjoyed the book. I had to read it for school and at first I thought it didn't sound that good, but I ended up liking it a lot!"

The voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis - reviewed by Alex

Edmund and Lucy are staying at the house of their annoying cousin Eustice. In the room where they are sleeping is a painting of a ship. Edmund, Lucy and Eustice are able to get back to Narnia through the painting. There they reunite with Prince Caspian who is on a quest to find the seven lost lords of Narnia. The voyage takes them to different places, and a quest to reach the end of the world.

Rated: 5/5 - "I think the book is really interesting. I recommend it for 9-11 year olds."

Shadowlands - Deltora Quest 2 by Emily Rodda - reviewed by Alex W.

Jasmine and Glock find a secret passage to the Shadowlands and are captured by goblins. It is Jasmine's fault because she wanted to rescue her sister. They are captured and to be fed to 'the fear'.

Rated: 5/5 - "Emily Rodda is my favourite author."

The Malory Towers by Enid Blyton - reviewed by Emma B.

Darrell wants to make new friends at her school - Malory Towers - but manages to get into a fight and shoves another girl Sally and exacerbates her appendicitis. Darrell's father performs surgery on Sally. Darrell, feeling bad, wants to learn to control her temper and then ends up becoming good friends with Sally. This series starts when Darrell starts her first year at Malory Towers, until she finishes and goes off to university.

Rated: 4/5 - "I liked it but not enough to give it a 5!"

DragonQuest by Anne McCaffrey - reviewed by Annabelle

Pern is a planet that has been colonised by humans. There is another planet orbiting Pern which is causing strife. Dragons and their dragonriders (humans bonded to their dragon) have to save Pern.

Rated: 5/5 - "I could not put this book down! I plan to read more from this series."

Mao's last dancer by Li Cunxin - reviewed by Jessica

This book is an autobiography. Li lives in a poor village with his parents and 6 brothers. Mao sends scouts out to find dancers for Madame Mao's Dance Academy and after several tests he is admitted to the school. He becomes a great dancer and travels to America for three months to train at a dance academy there. He falls in love with an American dancer, Elizabeth, and defects to America. Eventually he divorces her, and comes to Australia to dance with the Australian Ballet.

Rated: 5/5 - "I got this book for my birthday and I found it really interesting. It made me think about how people live in other places, being poor and living in communist China."