Student Review: QUILLBLADE by Ben Chandler

GUEST REVIEWER: CHRISTINE

Christine is a first time reviewer, and this September 2010 new release sound like it is full of promise. Thanks heaps, Christine!

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Drama
Category: Teenage, Young Adult
Style: Mecha

QUILLBLADE shares the adventures of Lenis and his twin sister, Missy. The twins have been sold as slaves to operate a massive airship with the help of their Bestia. However, they are not your normal slaves. They are capable of some other things that has endangered not only their life, but the Hiryu's crew members' too. I like how the twins manage to operate the Hiryu despite their young age and how they are inseparable.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy, adventure and drama.

Student Review: THE KEEPERS: MUSEUM OF THIEVES by Lian Tanner

GUEST REVIEWER: KIRSTY

The Keepers is a fantasy novel about a girl called Goldie. Goldie lives in the city of Jewel where children wear silver chains around their wrist to keep them safe until their Separation Day when their chains get taken off. When Goldie’s Separation Day is cancelled she runs away and takes shelter in the Museum of Dunt where the rooms shift and she has to hide from the Blessed Guardians who are trying to capture her.

I thought this book was very exciting. The characters and places in the book are mysterious and imaginative. The book is full of surprising events which make you want to keep reading to find out what happens.

I think this book is ideal for children aged about 9-13 who enjoy reading fantasy and adventure novels.

I’m looking forward to reading the next books in the series.

By Kirsty

Student Review: THE THIEF-TAKER"S APPRENTICE

GUEST REVIEWER: FENELLA

Huge thanks to Fenella for reviewing this intriguing crossover novel...

THE THIEF-TAKER"S APPRENTICE was written by Stephen Deas, and would be classified as a fantasy novel. The book is about a boy called Berren who is a thief. One day Berren tries to steal from a thief-taker, which is a person who is paid to find criminals, aka thieves. The thief-taker sees something in Berren and takes him as his apprentice. The book is mainly about Berren learning to become a thief-taker, as he and his master go on an 'adventure'.

I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was written very well and I really enjoyed how the author moved the story along quite quickly.

I would recommend this book for young adults who enjoy fast paced books with lots of action. I would not recommend it for people who enjoy books that are happy and optimistic.

Available October 2010  RRP$22.99

Student Review: THE KEEPERS: MUSEUM OF THIEVES by Lian Tanner

GUEST REVIEWER: TANAYA

This is Tanaya's first review, and she has picked a winner!!! Thank you Tanaya, for taking the time to pen your thoughts.

I really enjoy adventure books, mystery books, and fantasy books. This book: it had all of those.

THE KEEPERS was a fantastic book. It lured me into the story from the beginning. I didn’t want to stop reading it from the moment I read the first page.

The front cover got me started, it looked liked they were on an adventure or trying to uncover a mystery, and that's what keeps me reading a book. The blurb sounded even more exciting, the bit where it says:

Only a thief can find their way through the strange, shifting rooms of the Museum of Dunt...

made me want to read it even more than I first wanted to.

Goldie (main character) runs away from home and ends up at the museum of Dunt. She meets the owners of the museum and learns their ways.

I felt exactly like what Goldie felt, alone, sad, angry, happy, determined, It was like I was there, going through everything Goldie had to go through.

The ending was perfect, it makes me want to read the next book that's coming out in 2011. It doesn’t drop off like other books, it shows that the ‘baddies’ haven’t given up yet.

If I was to rate this book out of 10, I would give it a 9, 1/2.

This is one of my most favourite books I have ever read.

Student Review: WYRMEWEALD: RETURNER'S WEALTH

GUEST REVIEWER: TEGAN M

The amazingly voracious Tegan M has managed to review another title already. Bravo Tegan! And many thanks to you!

I think the only reason I chose to review this book (WYRMWELD by Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell) was because of the cover. It had a dragon on the front, and I love reading stories about dragons. The blurb sounded very good, but the first page…ah, it was okay.

BUT, I have encountered heaps of books like this before, where they have a boring first page, but got more and more exciting the further I read. So I thought I would give this one a go.

90 pages in, and it still wasn’t getting better. It was just too wordy for me. It had a lot of description, so I really had to concentrate. A few more pages, and then, suddenly, it got exciting!

It was a mixture of romance, adventure, wyrmes (dragon-like creatures), and a boy called Micah. It was almost like I was standing next to him, watching as whitewrymes flew above us, and carrionwyrmes were picking at dead wyrmekith only a few feet away.

Yes, all the strange names are slightly confusing, but after a while, it all matches, creating an awesome adventure.

And, yeah, it wasn’t one of my most favorite books ever, but I really enjoyed it, and it was worth those boring 90 pages to get to the good bits. 

Anyone who like dragons (wyrmes in this case) adventure, romance, a little (maybe A LOT) of blood and descriptive writing, this is the book for you!

Student Review: THE EYEBALL COLLECTOR F.E. Higgins

GUEST REVIEWER: 
TEGAN M

I, personally, found this book to be very strange. Very strange, but terribly…FANTASTIC! One of the best, no, GREATEST books I have ever read. And believe me, I have read A LOT of books.

This is the kind of book that will keep you awake at night, tossing and turning in bed, until you eventually sneak out of your room, grab a torch, a bar of chocolate, and sit in bed reading word after word, until you fall asleep. Which will probably mean falling asleep just about the time when you should be getting up!

I think the cover may even have dents in it, where I was gripping it so tightly from fear, shock, excitement and curiosity.

The eyeball collector is a story of riddles, murders, butterflies, blackmail, glass eyes and an intelligent boy named Hector. I f you chance upon seeing this book in a bookstore, there is only one simple step you must take: BUY IT!

I certainly recommend this awesome novel to anyone who can read, although a 9+ would be the best!

Many thanks to Tegan for her awesome review. Hopefully it is the first of many!