June Reviews from St Kilda

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma written by Trenton Lee Stewart, illustrated by Diana Sudyka, review by Jaxon

It's a story about a boy, he isn't a teenager yet, he's still pretty young. His name is Reynie. His parents die somehow and he goes to an orphanage and gets tutored by a lady. Right now she's teaching Reynie to speak Tamil. Then he sees an article in the paper which says: 'Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?' So they have to find the punk house. He's the only one who passes the first and second test to enter. The second test is near impossible, but Reynie realizes it's actually a puzzle and the answers can be found. Then he finds out he has to do a third test with everyone who completed the first and second tests in the other rounds. One is Kate. She didn't actually get the test right, but she helped a lady called type 2. She's very introverted, and when everyone was yelling about their kids not getting in, she creates a distraction and hides in a cupboard and makes it to the next round. George Washington abandoned his parents because they were so wealthy and mean and thought they might be better off without him. He was so distraught by this, that he ran home and got some hair remover. Constance is out the front of the house. She is a bit troublesome. One of the tests requires them to get to the other side of the room without walking on the squares. Kate does a trick that circus people do, rolling around on a bucket, Reynie just walks over- he realizes the floor is covered in rectangles, not squares. The fourth and last test is a maze....

Rated: 5/5 Reallys "It's a great book, I suggest reading it"  

Kira Dreaming: Pippa's Island by Belinda Murrell, review by Arianna

It's about these four friends and the main character Pippa. It's a whole series that I'm reading. In this one they have to do this concert and they have to sing a popular song.  Pippa isn't comfortable with it because she doesn't like to sing. They sing and they don't get through. Another group do, but at the last minute, one of the girls falls off the stage, because she doing cartwheels as part of a gymnastics routine. She broke her leg!

Rated: 4/5 Reallys "It's interesting but I would prefer it if it was more exciting"


Just Macbeth! by Andy Griffiths; Illustrated by Terry Denton, review by Lachlan

They have to do a project for school and try and base it on a wish. They get all these ingredients and mix up a bunch of stuff and then drink it. Andy gets to be Macbeth, Lisa is Lady Macbeth and Danny gets turned into Banquo, who is effectively Macbeth's best friend. Lisa wants to be queen, so she tells Andy to kill the King and Queen and take their places.

Rated: 4/5 Reallys "Not enough friction" 


Doll Bones by Holly Black; Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler, review by Cailey

It's about these people who find this doll, she calls herself the queen. She sends them on quest and they try to find her lost powers, but then she turns...

Rated: 5/5 Reallys "I liked it because there was a lot of evil!"

Well done, Secret Seven by Enid Blyton, review by Zara

It's about seven people, who, because they are really hot in their den where they have secret meetings, they and make a tree house. They also have a dog named Scamper, and they make a pen for him. Once they're sitting in the tree they heard a voice, and they were scared because it was Jack's sister and Jack's sister is a horrid girl. They peered down and saw that it wasn't her, it was a little boy with an injured cat. George pushes Pam and makes her squeal, so the boy looks up through the branches and sees them...

Rated: 5/5 Reallys "I really liked it, the part with the police officer was interesting, -the best book ever!"

Hot Dog! by Anh Do; illustrated by Dan McGuiness

They walk to the friendship tree and they find this baby bird sitting on the ground. So they go on an adventure to find its mother. They meet all different type of bird, because they don't know who his bird mother actually is....

Rated: 3.5/5 Reallys "It was too short"


Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan, review by Aarev

It's about this boy whose mum is missing presumed dead because of an explosion. He goes and stays with his uncle who lives in the Sword of Summer. But then he takes the sword out of the ice and dies -but it isn't over. He goes to Valhalla but without his weapon, which is very unusual, you usually get to keep them. He gets to do all of these cool things, he gets some friends and they help bust him out of there so he can actually go on his quest to save the world from the fire giant...

Rated: 5/5 Reallys "it's got lots of adventure and action in it"

Geronimo Stilton and the Wizard's Wand by Geronimo Stilton, review by Sonia

It's the ninth book in The Kingdom of Fantasy. It's about Geronimo having a nice peaceful day, when this magical sleigh comes through his window. It takes him to The Kingdom of Fantasy. Once he gets there he finds that Queen Blossom has vanished. Then everyone calls Geronimo a knight and he's on a quest to find the missing queen. There are three magical items; a wand, a spell book full of spells and an invisible cloak.

Rated: 5/5 Reallys "I liked it because it's really adventurous, and if you're still reading it you want to know what's going to happen next"

The Unicorn Quest by Kamilla Benko, review by Alicia

It's about this girl called Clare and her older sister. One day they find out that their great aunt has died and her fortune has been left to them. Part of it is a mansion. So they go and stay there for a whole summer. They find a ladder in a chimney place.

Rated: 5/5 Reallys "It's the best book I've ever read"