Tag: Review Crew Aysha

Peanut Jones and the End of the Rainbow by Rob Biddulph, reviewed by Aysha (12)

I absolutely loved this book. I got it for Christmas and I couldn’t put it down because it is a thrilling book to read. This book is great for readers who love adventure stories and books with illustrations. 

“This book is funny and definitely one of my favourites.”

Aysha (12)

This book is the third in the Rob Biddulph’s series and it is all about Peanut Jones who is at the end of her journey to beat Mr White and make The Illustrated City wonderful again with the help of her friends. But when Mr White decides to get Peanut Jones’s mum involved, now she’s in terrible danger. Will Peanut Jones be able to save her mum and also stop Mr White?

My favourite character is definitely Rockwell as over the series you can see how much he has grown to become the character he is in the third book. At the start of the series, he was quite shy and scared but at the end of the series he got braver and used his knowledge to his advantage. 

This book is funny and definitely one of my favourites. The illustrations are phenomenal and you can tell that he has put a lot of work into making the illustrations come to life with the different colours. 

(Cover illustration by Aysha)

The Magic Hour by David Wolstencroft, reviewed by Aysha (12)

It all starts with a girl called Ailsa Craig who was late for everything! She had very poor time management and was often caught daydreaming.

“I really loved the idea of the book. In fact, I’ve never read a book like it.”

Aysha (12)

Entirely different to Ailsa was a girl called Credenza who had everything prepared, it was almost like she had an extra hour. What would happen if she did?

Imagine being able to walk into your shed, a portal to Old Edinburgh and get an extra hour to complete tasks, yet arrive back in the real world at the time you left.

I really loved the idea of the book. In fact, I’ve never read a book like it. It kept me guessing about what would happen right until the very end which I really enjoyed. 

Witchstorm by Tim Tilley, reviewed by Aysha (12)

I think Witchstorm is an amazing book that everyone should read!

It has good and bad witches, magical places, friendships and a treasure hunt.

“I absolutely loved this book . . . It made me desperate to read another Witch book.”

Aysha (12)

One day Will awakes to find his Ma missing. Curiously, he looks around and discovers Agatha’s amulet. Agatha is a witch that died a thousand years ago but before she died she made stormstone that controls all the elements. Will meets a witch called Magma, will she help Will find his Ma?

I absolutely loved this book. I thought it was well thought out and detailed and the illustrations were fantastic. It made me desperate to read another Witch book. I can’t choose which character was my favourite but it would be between Will and Aunt Hera. I loved how Aunt Hera loved sword fighting and was a really fun aunt to be around. For Will, I loved his skills in solving mysteries and I was very impressed with how dedicated he was in his search for his Ma.

I would recommend this book for ages 11 upwards.

Wren by Lucy Hope, reviewed by Aysha (11)

This thrilling historical adventure story is set in Wren’s ancestral home in Anglesey, in North Wales in 1870. 

Wren is not like other girls, she is adventurous and she likes taking risks. One day, Wren hears a strange noise coming from the walls of her house. A song or a call? Later at  breakfast, her strict father tells her there was no sound and tells Wren that he is planning on sending her to Boarding school where she will learn how to behave like a proper ‘lady’. 

“I loved this book as I never thought that it would have so much to the story…”

Aysha (11)

Wren notices a letter left on the table from a famous French inventor who built a flying bird and includes his plans. Deciding to escape from her home, Wren decides to build the flying bird in order to escape. Wren gathers the equipment, and with some help from her friend, they make it. However, the day she decides to use it, the weather is terrible and she lands in the cold sea, but when she was up in the sky, she spotted something…

What could it be?

I loved this book as I never thought that it would have so much to the story. I would recommend this book for 10-13 year olds but I think there should not be an age restriction on books so if you are an adult, go for it too!

(Cover illustration fan art by Aysha)

Giant by Nicola Skinner, reviewed by Aysha (11)

This book is amazing!!!

I love the way it is written and illustrated and told.

As a person who does not usually read a lot of books about Giants, this book was great! As you can tell by the title, this book is about Giants. 

I loved reading this story, there were so many twists to the story, it kept me guessing right till the very end. 

Aysha (11)

In Minnie’s island of people, there are also Giants. The Giants work for the Giant Management Company which is run by Mrs Primrose. How does it work, you ask? Well, Giants get trained to be servants and look after children until the children turn 12. When the children turn 12, there is a ceremony where the children kiss their Giant. When the child kisses their Giant, their Giant turns to stone.

When a massive earthquake hits Quake Quarter, Minnie’s ceremony is fast-tracked. But she is not ready for her ceremony and not ready to say goodbye to Speck her Giant, so Minnie runs away. How will she survive and are there some hidden secrets along the way!?

I loved reading this story, there were so many twists to the story, it kept me guessing right till the very end. 

The Thief Who Sang Storms by Sophie Anderson, Reviewed by Aysha (11)

The Thief Who Sang Storms is a great book written by Sophie Anderson. 

It contains magic, creativity, teamwork and most of all love (but not the romance kind).

I love how this book has lots of flashbacks so you can understand the back story too

Aysha (11)

It’s all about a bird girl called Linnet and her Island of Morovia, which is now divided into areas where humans live and a swamp area where all the bird people now reside, after something drastic happened. 

The bird people formed a group called the Unity Movement who have been trying to take down Captain Ilya who separated the bird people from humans for ‘safety’ after what happened. When Linnet’s father, Nightingale, gets caught by the bogatyrs (Captain IIya’s troops), Linnet realises she needs to do something. 

She teams up with humans to help stop this nonsense, but can she do it?

I love how this book has lots of flashbacks so you can understand the back story too.

The Unexpected Tale of Bastien Bonlivre by Clare Povey, reviewed by Aysha (11)

In this magnificent book by Clare Povey, the main character, Bastien Bonlivre, gets taken to an orphanage. In this orphanage, the owner, Monsieur Xavier, is not very nice and horrible to the children.

Bastien’s parents died and they left behind a notebook which was told to have something hidden inside it as they were very famous book writers.

I loved this book as it’s based in France and I love reading stories about different places. There are even a few French words in it too!

Aysha (11)

Over the next few days in the awful orphanage bastien meets another boy, Theo, who is a very cunning engineer who can build almost anything out of scrap. As the months go by, Theo and Bastien decide to escape briefly to see France in all its pride and glory.

Suddenly back at the orphanage the notebook gets stolen, can Bastien get is back before it’s too late?

I loved this book as its based in France and I love reading stories about different places. There are eve a few French words in it too!

This book will be right up your alley if you like stories, as Bastien reads a lot of stories to the orphanage boys: mysteries, crime and Paris.