When a new boy named Ahmet joins the school, people initially think he's strange because he doesn't speak or join the other children on the playground during break times. They soon learn that Ahmet is a very special student because he's come to the UK from Syria. He has a foster mother who is taking care of him as he was separated from his parents when he arrived. As the students learn more and more about Ahmet, a group of clever and resourceful friends hatch a plan to reunite Ahmet with his parents. It might just be the greatest plan ever devised, or it might completely backfire and cause a lot more trouble than the students are prepared for. I absolutely loved The Boy At the Back of the Class. We don't know the narrator's gender or name for the majority of the novel and it really woks, having that kept a secret as their identity is slowly revealed. The novel tackles some serious issues including the refugee crisis of course but also home grown casual racism that in my opinion is rampant in UK society. There are cruel students who are mimicking their parents' bigotry and apathetic teachers who allow bullying to occur under their watch. It also sheds light on the generosity and kindness that will hopefully prevail in the end. It's an important book that I think should be required reading in Year 6 or 7!
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Penelope Lumley has just landed a job as governess at Ashton place, a formidable looking estate in the countryside. Right from the start Penelope can tell something is a little off about the entire place. The people act funny and the children she is supposed to be caring for are nowhere in sight. When she is shown them, she discovers the truth, that they are actually feral children discovered by Lord Ashton himself during a hunting party. At fifteen, Peneloe has never experienced anything quite like this, but she is a headstrong and resourceful teenager and decides to plunge ahead with the daunting task of bringing the children into the "civilised" world. Penelope teaches them basic manners, like not chasing squirrels (this will become a huge task late in the novel) and learning poetry and Latin. To add to the pressure, Lady Constance has instructed Penelope to get the children ready for the biggest Christmas party in the land, something that fills Penelope with dread. To make matters even worse, Penelope has the sneaking suspicion that not all is right with Ashton Place. Mysterious characters like Old Timothy roam the grounds trading whispers with the others and she doesn't like the vibe coming off of Lady Constance in general. I can't believe it took me this long to get to this series. Anyone who ever grew up watching Mary Poppins or the Sound of Music and reading Harry Potter or any Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie will really dive into it. Penelope is a tremendous force of nature yet in a quiet way which only makes her more likeable. The children, Beowulf, Cassiopeia & Alexander will tug at your heart strings from the second you discover them huddled under a pile of hay in the barn. Then there's the mysterious Frederick & Lady Constance, perfect villains set in a strange estate that seems to breathe and act on its own. One of the best books I've read this year, I'm really excited to promote it to my students in the Library! When Winnie finds out that Raj, her boyfriend of three years has dumped her for another girl, she never expected to find out via Facebook. To make matters worse, her and Raj were meant to be together as per her family's Hindu's priest's predictions. Somehow, things get even worse for Winnie when she finds out that Raj has been made chair of the student film festival when film has always been Winnie's passion, not Raj's. Winnie is a Bollywood film fanatic, and sees her life reflected in those glossy, flamboyant films and is having a hard time decipher this new turn of events. Working within the festival, she meets Dev, a boy she's always known but never really spoken to that often. It turns out that Dev loves film just as much as she does and they soon form a close bond. However, she still feels like Raj should be the guy because for her it's been written in the stars. She starts to feel something towards Dev but can't seem to put her finger on what is holding her back other than her priest's predictions. With help from her family and friends, Winnie navigates the minefield that is love and high school. My So Called Bollywood Life is a fast paced dramedy that taught me a lot about Bollywood and Indian culture in general. I really like Winnie and her friends, they felt genuine, as did her relationship with Dev and her frustrations with Raj. This will be a huge hit with the students in the high school Library that I manage, I'm excited to promote it to them! Felix Knuttson lives with his mum Astrid in a VW Westfalia van in Vancouver. They are part of the hidden homeless, people who become homeless but stay with other people, live in automobiles or other places they can find. In short, they aren't living on the sidewalk...yet. Felix is desperate to keep this secret hidden from his friends at school. Astrid has issues with authority and can't keep a job held down for more than a few weeks. She resorts to shoplifting, something she tries to brush off as a necessity but it's not for Felix. For him things are as bad as they seem. The only light at the end of the tunnel is the new game show that's in town for kids. It's a trivia show and the winner will receive $25,000. That money would get Felix and his mum off the street and into a place of their own. But as the tension mounts, and the teachers and friends start to suspect something's up with Felix's living arrangements, the likelihood of Astrid not being reported to social services gets smaller and smaller. No Fixed Address is in my opinion Susin Nielsen's best work yet. It's hilarious, sad and has a cast of amazing characters. Felix is an adorable 12 year old with a knack for trivia. He's tough yet sensitive at the same time. His mother is someone who will cause debate for a long time after you've read it. Astrid lives by her own moral code, she wants Felix to call her by her first name, she encourages him to shoplift and she doesn't expect him to follow all of societies' unspoken rules. At the same time you know from the start that she loves Felix more than anything and would jump in front of a bullet for him without hesitation. Together they make a really interesting duo. Felix's friend Winnie starts off as a know-it-all nuisance but soon grows on Felix and I found myself liking her more and more as she begins to bond with Felix and defend him throughout the latter half of the novel. It's a book that will spark a lot of discussion about parenting, survival and how we treat those on the fringes of what we consider "normal" society. I loved every page of it and I know our students are going to really eat this one up, can't wait to promote it to them. I recommend it for ages 11 and up! One thing Tomas enjoys doing is gardening with his grandfather. When he discovers a weird looking tree, he almost gets rid of it but decides at the last moment to keep it. He takes the even weirder looking fruit from the tree and brings it into his house. Something about it tells Tomas that it's special but he can't figure out what. He gets a huge shock when the fruit bursts open and a dragon flies out. Tomas names it Flicker and tries his best to hide it from his family and friends. The problem is, Flicker does things like set fire to almost everything and poops everywhere. To make matters even stranger, Tomas finds that more and more dragonfruit are growing from the tree. He is officially growing dragons, but can he keep his secret for long? The Boy Who Grew Dragons is a very touching tale about friendship, standing up for yourself and much more. It's full of great laughs (exploding poo, toothbrushes that have been burnt by dragon fire) and sinister villains. Tomas' neighbour is a mean, grumpy man that doesn't like Tomas or his grandfather. You can see where this is going, and it's pretty great. The illustrations in this novel are amazing. It's the first in a series which I highly recommend for anyone 9 and up! |
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