March Reviews from St Kilda

Keys to the Kingdom Series by Garth Nix, Review by Aarev

There is this 12 year-old boy called Arthur Penhaligon and he has to collect all of the keys of the kingdom and gather all the pieces of the Will, otherwise Nothing will engulf the entire kingdom and every thing and one will die, including him...

Rated: 5/4 Reallys "I just skimmed this series but it was really exciting"

The Reluctant Assassin: WARP, Book 1, by Eoin Colfer, Review by Jaxon

 This series is by the same author of Artemis Fowl. There are three main characters. First there is Riley a Victorian boy, who finds himself in the 21st century, and his evil master Albert Garrick who is on  the run from the FBI's youngest agent. The FBI has a time machine, and they are planning to go back in time to kill a terrorist while he is still in high school. He is the world's most masterful assassin ever.He took out ten people armed to the teeth in 2 minutes. Albert goes through the time wormhole with Riley and there is aberration because he fuses with the scientist who opened the wormhole, and now he is running loose in the 21st century.

Rated: 5/5 Reallys "I like this book because it explains a lot and is very detailed, but not too much. I always know what's going on and the characters are well explained. It does have murder and assassinations in it An amazing book, really captured my attention."   

Eagle Strike: The graphic novel, by Anthony Horwitz & Antony Johnston Illustrated by Kanako Damerum and Yuzuru Takasaki, Review by Atticus

It begins when Alex's enemy Yassin Gregorovitch turns up in the town where he is having a beach holiday with his girlfriend Sabina Pleasure. My favourite part is when they steal Air Force 1 and when a bad guy gets sucked into the plane engine.

Rated: 5/5 Reallys "It's violent and interesting"


Lizzie and Margaret Rose by Pamela Rushby, Review by Ariana 

It's about a girl called Margaret Rose. She was in London during the war during the first of the bombings. One day she realizes she forgot her book so she runs out to get it, and that's when the bomb hits, killing her parents. She has to move to her relative's house, but the girlfriend of her relative was really mean so she had tp move to Australia. Lizzie, her cousin doesn't make her feel welcome  because she doesn't want her to live with them. She is worried she will be sent away...

Rated: 5/5 Reallys "It's a really good book. It's really sad what happend to her in her life. I'm really fascinated by World War II."

Hunt for the Colosseum Ghost by Geronimo Stilton, Review by Sonia

Geronimo takes his little nephew Benjamin to Rome. At the airport he meets one of his best friends. Everyone says there is a ghost in the Colosseum. Geronimo tries to kill the ghost, then realizes, well - he's just a ghost!

Rated: 5/5 Reallys "I love fantasy. I find this series interesting and engaging"


The Journey Through Time by Geronimo Stilton, Review by Zara

It was a really cold day so Geronimo got sick. Lots of people called to sure he was okay and to tell him to rest, except his grandfather Will, who says he should go to work even if he has to be taken in on a stretcher! He turns all of his internet connections off and sleeps for three days. When he wakes up he has 30 calls from friends and relatives, 15 from grandfather Will and 3 from a professor...

Rated: 4/5 Reallys "Adventurous'

Kylie the Carnival Fairy by Daisy Meadows, Review by Safiya

 Kylie is the fairy. A goblin steals the carnival master's hat and the rides stop working. Rachael speaks to one of the clowns and realizes he is actually the leader of the goblins! He runs away with the hat. Then there is a burst of glitter...

Rated: 3/5 Reallys "I liked it but some bits were boring"


Withering by the Sea by Judith Rossell, Review by Alicia

Orphan Stella live with her two mean aunts at the Hotel Majestic. They make her take French and sewing lessons, and lessons about "how to be a lady." One day she sneaks out (she's good at picking locks). There's a shiny, green man called Mr. Philbert who works there. He is a magic person, an ancient tree who can turn into a person. He's a tree spirit. He makes her take a package. She sneaks out, but because she forgot her book and turns back she hears the robbers...

Rated: 5/5 Reallys "Really interesting" 

Trash by Andy Mulligan, Review by Cailey

It's about these three boys who are really poor. Their family has always searched through trash in order to find things to sell at the market. One day Raphael who is 13 find a bag with an identity card in it and 1,100 pesos. He is questioned but denies having it and gets take to the police station to be questioned...

Rated: 5/5 Reallys  "Really interesting"



Witch Switch by Sibeal Pounder, Review by Lauren 

It's about two witches who live on Cauldron Islands, Tiga and Fluffanora. Tiga really wants to go back to Ritzy City. They get a message from a fairy that their friend Peggy is missing. So they turn a cauldron into a boat and chase after the baddies who have captured her...

Also includes fizzy drink and time travel.

Rated: 5/5 Reallys "A really adventurous story"

February Reviews from St Kilda

The Enchantress by Michael Scott, Review by Jaxon

This is the last book in the series. This is the story of the gold and the silver, the orange and vanilla, the twins of legend. There is a prophecy that one will save and the other will destroy. There is a big plot twist, -which I won't spoil-, but one of the twins ends up being an earlier character in the series. Remember the plot? Twist it around and then throw it out the window!

Rated: 5/5 Reallys. "It's an amazing book, I love magic."



The Taken: Foxcraft by Iserles Inbali, Review by Arianna

When Isla gets back to the den everyone she knows has disappeared and been replaced with strange foxes with blood shot eyes who want to kill her. She escapes and goes in search of her brother and nearly dies multiple times. Over her journey she meets a fox who teaches her foxcraft. She finds her brother eventually but isn't prepared for his betrayal...

There are three books in the series.

Rated: 5/5 Reallys."I really like magic and this book has a lot of attention to detail. It's a bit like Endling.

Dreams Come True: The Ella Diaries by Meredith Costain, Illustrated by Danille McDonald, Review by Zara

It's about a girl, Ella and her favourite singer Cassie Valentine. There is this competition where you have to make a video and the best one gets to produce the play. There are two assistant teachers from this year and last year and Ella thinks they will choose her because of how creative she is...

Rated: 3.2/5 Reallys. "It's really good"



Firestorm's Musical Muck-up: Miniwings, Book 1 by Sally Sutton, Illustrated by Kirsten Richards, Review by Safiya

There's a girl called Sophia. She has six miniwings, which are magical, tiny horses with wings. They think they are just regular horses though. Their names are Oceania, Firestorm, Glitter Wings, Comet, Moonlight and Whizz. They are actually real and the kids get into lots of trouble because of them...

Rated: 5/5 Reallys. "It's a series. I'm going to read them all"


The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jacklyn Moriarty, Review by Aarev

It's set in kingdoms and empires. There is the Whispering Kingdom, where the Whisperers have powers of mind control. A super charged power will cause a a complete loss of free will on the victim. They whisper in your head, make you think something and push it along. They steal children to work in the mines. They're not mining diamonds, but a substance that stops them from fading away. Not all Whisperers are bad, though many are by choice. There are also Dark Mages and Good Mages and Spellbinders. You can tell you're a Spellbinder if your toenails turn blue at midnight! Bronte, who is the main character, had parents but they were killed by pirates when she was young. She wasn't  that upset because she never got to know them well. There are Faeries too. Anyway Bronte's parents have left her a will which requires her to visit all her aunts across the kingdoms. If she doesn't her home and the whole town are doomed to crumble...

Rated: 5/5 Reallys.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Review by Cailey

So it's just this normal kid who gets kicked out of school because of weird things that have happened (for example, he killed a snake with his bare hands as a toddler.) In year 6, on an excursion at a museum, one of his teachers turns into a demon with leathery wings and a man in a wheelchair gives Percy a knife. When he stabs the demon, she turns to dust. Later on he hears people in the school office talking about how it isn't safe for him to be in school. He has a mysterious friend that gives him his business card and a Mum and a stinky stepdad. One day his dad never came back. He is going on a holiday with his mum when something happens to the road, and a Minotaur appears....

Rated: 5/5 Reallys. "Lots of interesting parts, lots of fantasy and magic"

The Bad Guys. Episode 8, Superbad by Aaron Blabey, Review by Nick

I'm still reading this at the moment. It starts with them being surrounded by aliens, who were in the last two books. They're having a cold fight because they have super powers now. Snake has telekinesis, Mr. Wolf has super strength, Piranha has super speed and Shark can shape-shift. They're about to lose when Mr. Wolf's friend Agent Fox flies down with a group of friends and rescues them before they are obliterated. Then they have to get back to their secret lair for training.

Rated: 5/5 Reallys. "Really funny"

Wonder by R. J. Palacio, Review by Alicia

It's about a boy who is deformed called Auggie. He doesn't go to school, but then one day his mum and dad decide he should. He meets the principle and students Jack, Will and Charlotte who give him a tour. At Halloween he wears a costume and his disfigured face is hidden. He really likes Halloween because he doesn't have to deal with being seen as different. Then he thinks he hears his friend Will, who is wearing a mummy outfit. Will doesn't seem to know it is Auggie behind the mask and his is talking about him...

Rated: 5/5 Reallys.

Curse of the Arctic Star by Carolyn Keene, Review by Jasmine

It's about this girl who is the boss but isn't really the boss. After some threatening emails she is sent to investigate a cruise ship. She pretends she won a prize to get on board. Immediately her luggage is misplaced and when it is found it looks slightly different. She goes with her friend Georgie. They keep their bellboys occupied with drink orders and pillow requests while they investigate. Then they hear a scream: "there's a body in the pool!"

Rated: 5/5 Reallys. "Pretty freaky, pretty cool"


Geronimo Stilton: Kingdom of Fantasy Series by Geronimo Stilton, Review by Sonia

I really like this series and lots of people in my class do too. Full of funny and cool stories. Lots of adventure and fantasy. I really recommend it for anyone my age (9).

Rated: 5/5 Reallys.



Explorers of Australia 1778 to the Present by Linsie Tan, Review by Lachlan

I have been learning a lot about the history of Australia including how and when Europeans discovered it, settlement and some politics.

Rated: 4/5 Reallys. "Pretty interesting"