Holes - Louis Sachar - Reviewed by Lewi Gillman

“Holes” is a thrilling story about a juvenile camp called Camp Green Lake that was once a beautiful lake in Texas but now it has transformed into a scorching hot desert, suffering from an eternal drought. Ill behaved kids are sent to camp Green Lake to dig 5 feet wide by five feet deep holes every day until they are released back home. This book is an exciting, adventurous tale, with everything you need to have for an award winning novel.
Stanley Yelnats IV is a young boy from Texas with a fascinating family history, ever since his great, great grandfather turned his back on a fortune teller named madam Zeroni; the Yelnats family has had bad luck, generation after generation. Now the bad luck has moved to a new level when Stanley Yelnats IV was wrongly accused of a crime he did not commit. He is sent to a juvenile camp called Camp Green Lake, which was once a beautiful lake with vegetation and life, but is now a scorching hot desert and the only life there is the extremely venomous yellow spotted lizard. Stanley earns himself the nickname caveman and meets a young boy named Hector Zeroni (who everybody calls Zero). Stanley agrees to give zero reading lessons (because he spent most of his life on the streets) in exchange for zero to dig a little bit of Stanley’s hole every day. After one of the camp instructors Mr. Pendanski discriminates Zero for not being able to read, Zero bashes him in the face with a shovel and runs for his life into the scorching desert. A couple of days after Stanley goes after him and finds him miles out helpless and dehydrated. Stanley and Zero hike up a gigantic rock in the search of water and plantation. By the time the two reach the top, Zero is unconscious on Stanley’s back. To Stanley’s relief and surprise, they find a small pond and an onion field at the very top. The book wraps up when Stanley’s luck changes from bad to good and he finds what they have really been digging for.
The aspect of this book that made it most enjoyable was how real it was. There weren’t any dragons or evil sorcerers thriving to take over the world, but instead Sachar used real things like outlaws and venomous snakes What Holes lacked in action, it made up for in excitement. Normally I would rather watch television than read a book, but once I read this I had a whole new opinion on books.
Sachar’s style of writing was extremely interesting, he tended to explain everything to full detail, when reading Holes it felt as though I was really at Camp Green Lake, digging holes in the scorching heat of Texas.
Holes was an extraordinarily exciting novel to read, with each chapter leaving you on the edge full of suspense. Now i sit at home eagerly awaiting the arrival of Holes 2 or something along the lines of that.

Wall-E - Reviewed by Patrick Walsh

The movie Wall.E is a 2008 computer animated science fiction film directed by Andrew Stanton and produced by Jim Morris. The main actors are the voices of Ben Burtt the sound engineer for WALL-E which stands for (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class), Elissa Knight as EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) Jeff Garlin as the Captain and Fred Willard as Shelby Forthright. The movie goes for 98 minutes

In the early 22nd century the Mega Corporation “Buy n Large” assumed every economic service on Earth, including the government. Overrun by un-recycled waste, the planet eventually became so polluted that it could no longer support life (it was literally covered in trash).
Buy n Large CEO Shelby Forthright developed a plan that would have humans spend the next five years aboard fully-automated star liners, while an army of "WALL-E" robots would compact the waste into skyscraper-like towers for easy disposal. However Forthrights plan failed dramatically. The oxygen on earth became unbreathable which made the earth virtually unbreathable. Shelby made the star liners stay their course, for the next 700 hundred years. Over several generations in a micro-gravity place which resulted in the loss of bone mass this then resulted in the humans becoming really obese and not being able to anything without the help of robotic assistance. On earth the Wall.E robot have failed except for one. This remaining robot still carries its duties but, after centuries of prolonged activation, it has developed a sort of personality and is very curious, befriending a cockroach, and watching an old video tape of Hello Dolly to learn about human emotions such as love.
During an average day at work Wall.E find a new plant growth inside an old fridge he places the plant inside a shoe for safekeeping. Later that day a space ship lands deport an EVE probe to search the land for new plant growth Wall.E fell in love with EVE at first sight even though eve is much more concerned on for filling her mission but is doesn’t worry Wall.E he follows her around for the rest of the day. When EVE was fed up with finding negative information she became more interested in Wall.E. Wall.E takes EVE back to his home to show her all of his stuff he has collected over time when Wall.E shows eve the plant eve scans it. EVE's automatic programming initiates, causing her to seize the plant and store it inside her. Wall.E is unable to wake EVE, but he goes to great length to protect her from the elements, as well as taking her motionless body out on dates. EVE’s space ship later returns to take EVE back t the axiom when the space ship came Wall.E was out doing his daily work Wall.E sees the space ship and goes as fast as he can to try to save EVE. When he is climbing up the side of the ship the ship takes off with Wall.E hanging on the side when the ship returns to the axiom, the flagship of the human star liners.
When Wall.E boards the axiom he discovers that EVE is part of the axioms programming to determine if the Earth is capable of supporting life. When the plant sample EVE carries is positively identified in the ship's holo-detector, the ship will return to Earth with its hyberjump engines, allowing humans to recolonize the planet. However, the ship's autopilot, referred to as "Auto," had received a final directive from Forthright those hundreds of years ago, incorrectly asserting that Earth had become too toxic to ever support life, and told the autopilots to stay the course in space. Auto takes measures to stop the plant from being delivered to the holo-detector by attempting to destroy it, having one of the robots under his control secretly steal the plant from EVE and attempt to launch it in a self-destructing escape pod. At first, EVE thinks WALL-E took and lost the plant and becomes really angry with him, and things only worsen between them when his clumsy antics at the robot repair ward get him and her into trouble by accidently letting all the broken robots escape. But when she tries to send WALL-E back to Earth in an escape pod, they both witness the true thief deposit the plant into the pod. WALL-E safely retrieves the plant for EVE who, out of gratitude, kisses him and shares a dance with him in space around the ship.
WALL-E and EVE try to return the plant to the ship's Captainso he can put the plant into the holo-detector, but Auto prevents them from bringing the plant to the holo-detector because of the message he had been sent 700 hundred years ago. The Captain understands that the plant is living proof that life is again sustainable on Earth, as well as a sign that they have to return to Earth to make amends, but Auto does not and drops WALL-E and EVE down a garbage chute into the Axiom's waste chambers. WALL-E is significantly damaged, and the only parts that can save him are those he kept on Earth. EVE, having realized her true feelings for WALL-E after observing through her own security recordings how he protected her while she was dormant, determines that the only way to return to Earth in time is to get the plant into the holo-detector and initiate the hyperjump. With the help of the humans and other robots, the two attempt to get the plant into the holo-detector, but are continually thwarted by Auto's control of the ship and security systems. The Captain manages to stand up on his own and deactivates Auto, allowing the plant to be placed in the holo-detector and sending the Axiom back to Earth, though WALL-E is damaged to an even greater extent in the process.
After the Axiom lands on Earth, EVE frantically attempts to repair WALL-E. Though she is able to restore his body, his memories and personality seem to have been erased, his waste-disposal programming taking over. EVE is heartbroken and mournfully gives WALL-E a farewell "kiss", resulting in an electrical spark that reboots WALL-E's memory. The two robots embrace happily as the humans from the Axiom take their first steps on Earth, carefully replanting the seedling that brought them back and begin working alongside the robots to restore their home.




after Wall.E, Wall.E escapes just in time he uses a fire extinguisher to propel himself back to the axiom. When Wall.E gets back on to the axiom he and EVE are on a mission to get the plant into the holo-detector to trigure the hyberjump engine to get back to earth but getting the holo-detector open and the plant inside it will be so hard because the autopilot (Auto) has control over the whole ship. After Wall.E has stuck himself under the holo-detector to keep it open Eve Evenly gets the plant inside triggering the hyberjump back to earth. When Wall.E had stuck himself under the holo-detector he was badly injured and also before that when he had been electrocuted by Auto (the ships auto pilot) Eve knows that the only spare parts are back on earth and they have to get there fast. When the axiom finally gets back to earth EVE is franticly trying to fix Wall.E when she had fixed him he went back to the way when he was just made which meant that Wall.E didn’t remember anything that had just happened. EVE was so upset she gave Wall.E a hug and when she did a little spark happened and Wall.E remembered everything again. The humans buried the plant that had brought then back to earth and began working alongside the robot to restore here homes.
The movie Wall.E is really a love story

Except instead of humans its robot this was a great movie I saw it three times I would really recommend this movie to the younger people.

Awful end - Philip Ardagh - Reviewed by Simon Mackenzie

Awful end is the first book of the Eddie Dickens trilogy written by Philip Ardagh this book is full of random but very hilarious subjects. This book would suit anyone from the age of 8 and up as long as they have a sense of humour.

Awful end is set in old days, it is the story of a young Eddie Dickens who has to move out of his house to get away from his parents who are extremely ill described in the book as “all yellow and crinkly around the edges” and he is taken away with Mad Uncle Jack (Eddies mad great uncle jack) “the thinnest of thin beaky-nosed gentlemen” who comes out of a wardrobe and his Even Madder Aunt Maud “a force o be reckoned with, with a stuffed stoat called Malcolm”. Together Eddie, Mad Uncle Jack and Even Madder Aunt Maud set of to Awful End although on the way they have many unexpected encounters.

I personally got into this book when I went to the city to see some authors speak which to me meant an afternoon off school until Philip Ardargh got up and spoke and got me interested, he was funny which to me didn’t happen in books until then books to me were boring words on paper that we had to read for school but Philip Ardagh opened my eyes in his speech and immediately I bought the book and cold not take my eyes off it until I had finished. This book means a lot to me as it opened my eyes to books because it is like no other book it is very random which I find funny.

This is a great book about a boy who has to be taken off kicking and screaming with his mad relatives, during the book Eddie gets entranced by a handkerchief, has a revolver pointed to his head, escapes inside a cow and many more crazy adventures. This is a great book which I highly recommend.

The Sleepwalker - Robert Muchamore - Reviewed by Richard Skok

Robert Muchamore has written a series of books called the Cherub series, consisted of many books including the Sleepwalker, the most recent of them all. The general genre of all these books is adventure and action. The age group that I think will best suit this book will be from the ages 8 – 15. I think this because it is an action packed book that will get young readers very interested.
An airplane experiences mid flight problems that causes it to crash over the ocean killing all passengers. CHERUB investigators (all 18 years old or less) are called into action. A help hotline is opened which causes a young boy from England to call accusing his father of doing it after he overheard strange conversations between him and his mum. This turns out to be partly true as he did have some involvement but it was also to do with a big trading ring.
Personally I thought that this book was very good. It was full of action which kept me very interested throughout the whole time I was reading it. It was the sort of genre that I like reading as well. Also the author, Robert Muchamore definitely earns his pay.
The genre of this story is adventure/action, a mixture of both. It is story that is fast paced with different things happening every chapter so that I being the reader am not bored whilst reading the book.
This book is the ninth instalment in the CHERUB series with a tenth, eleventh and twelfth to come. All books are based on problems that are occurring in the world where CHERUB agents are sent into action because no one ever expects a kid to be a spy.
The Sleepwalker is a book that relies on action to keep the reader interested and that is what it has succeeded in doing. This book along with the others that he has written have taught me how to write in this type of genre. He (Muchamore) has shown me that if you are going to write an action packed book you have to always keep it flowing, introducing new characters and making new and interesting things happen.
A great book!!

The General - Robert Muchamore - Reviewed by Jack Fry

Target Group: Teenagers

James Adams is back. The General is the latest release from incredibly successful teenage writer Robert Muchamore it is the 10th book to be released in the action packed Cherub series. This book alone has sold more than a million copies so far! It’s witty, exciting and of course a diarrhea filled story line will have you from the very first word. This novel offers an escape from the real world for the average teenager.
The General is set in modern day America where the world's largest urban warfare training compound Fort Reagan is playing host to the world’s biggest war game ever, but the British posses a secret weapon - a team of British cherub teenage spies lead by one of the most deadly men on the face of the earth.
Although the storyline sounds somewhat basic from a far, it is filled with twists and turns that will keep you guessing to the very last word. The story is able to introduce new characters onto the scene that only help to give the novel more life, for example we find out more about Kazakov, a Ukrainian training instructor whose brutal tactics and war expertise come right into play when he's asked to head an insurgency against an entire American battalion. The novel is also able to tie these super spy teenagers to everyday emotions, joy, sadness and a thirsty sense for adventure quite successfully by the end of this book you will feel like have met each character face to face. I would not hesitate to say that The General is a new breed in the world of teenage spy fiction - it really does leave Alex Rider kicking and screaming in a puddle of his own blood simply because it is more realistic. Robert Muchamore is defiantly one of the only writers that can make teenagers want to read again.
Writers tend to go with the basic Hollywood script allowing the reader to not think too much while reading but Robert Muchamore has defiantly gone above and beyond with his latest release - it’s as if the characters are right there in the room with you. These character aren’t the “die hard” type, in fact in this book, war is more than often fought with words than weapons. For instance, Muchamore seems to have an irreverent view on the American Military tactics and he expresses this by using the phrase: “that’s why you idiots lost the war in Iraq”. But in the end the novel is not one of a political nature and more than often has something blown up. But basically the back story is all about teen interaction, basically the same sort of storyline you’d pick up for teenager these days.
Basically this is a light and easy book to read, it does not even require the reading of previous books to know what is going on, although it does help to get an idea for the characters. This book is defiantly alright for younger readers from about ten years and up, but parents should keep in mind that sex, drugs and alcohol are bought up in this and previous books.
You might like this book if you also enjoyed the Boy Soldier series by Andy McNab, The Young Bond series by Charlie Higson and all of the other books in the Cherub series, and the Henderson's Boys series by Robert Muchamore.

Eragon - Christopher Paolini - Reviewed by Gianni Mancuso

Eragon (2003) is a compelling novel written in the genre of high fantasy. It is the first in a series of three other books written by Christopher Paolini. Set in the Ancient times, Eragon explores significant changes in life, for example the change from boyhood to manhood or more simply the ‘coming of age.’
This book will appeal well to any one from 11 to 18.

When Eragon, a simple farm boy in the village of Carvahall finds a polished blue stone while out hunting in the dangerous mountains known as the spine, his life is changed forever. He tries to sell it for money and unsuccessful in his attempts, he leaves the stone sitting in his cabin until it hatches into a majestic, glittering blue dragon. After a trip to the town storyteller, an old wizened man named Brom, he names the dragon Saphira. Eragon and his partner have stumbled upon the long lost legacy of the dragon riders, a secret group of heroes astride magnificent dragons fighting for order and peace in the country of Alagaesia. Unfortunately, Eragon is the only rider left apart from the malevolent King Galbatorix. It is his duty to restore peace to the land.

Although the glittering dragon has brought nothing but danger towards his only remaining family, Uncle Garrow and his cousin Roran. With the murder of his uncle by putrid servants of the King and the shocking departure of his cousin Eragon decides there is nothing left for him in Carvahall. He leaves in pursuit of the beasts that destroyed his home and killed his Uncle. With the help of Brom, Eragon faces his destiny. On his journey Eragon learns sword fighting, magic and the art of the ancient language. He will encounter many difficulties and events that no ordinary fifteen year old boy would even dream of, from fighting a shade and hordes of angry Urgals or fighting alongside dwarves and conversing with the mysterious Elves.

The most interesting aspect of Eragon was the many twists and turns that were intertwined in the plot. Several times throughout reading the book I was surprised and at times shocked with some of the events that occurred. Another interesting aspect of Eragon was the particular way Paolini has used many words from Old Norse and other languages and adapted them to use them in his book as the Ancient Language. As well as the many races in Eragon being a blend of different ancient cultures.

Christopher Paolini’s style of writing is very descriptive. He tends to put a lot of detail into every single aspect of the book. He uses a lot of similes and metaphors to put depth into his writing. Eragon shows that he is a very descriptive writer. In my opinion every single chapter of this book seems to be written with great enthusiasm. It seems as if Paolini has thought of a story and wanted to get it down on paper as soon as possible, without sacrificing quality.

Eragon explores the change from boyhood to manhood although with the addition of a dragon. This book also explores the many dangers and surprises life can throw at you and how you can deal with them. One of the issues explored is the responsibility of becoming an adult.


It is hard to write a fantasy novel that is not similar to others in a way. Tolkien wrote the first high fantasy novel, Lord of the Rings and since than it has been hard for other writers to come up with a novel as good as that. A lot of fantasy novels have been criticised for being similar to Lord of the Rings and Eragon has been a victim of that as well. The story line was not similar but the actual characters were criticised for being similar. For example, Tolkien was the first to use Elf’s that were almost human in character and Paolini himself has used elf’s similar to Tolkien’s version of them. As well as the fact that Paolini has been criticised for using an Orc like race called Urgals. Aside from the criticism Eragon has received it is a very unique book.

Eragon is a fantastic book, and I would recommend it to any other fantasy/adventure fan. It is a brilliantly written book and is a genuine page turner for anyone between 11 and 18. Eragon was written by a young first time author and could not be considered to be as good as Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings but it is still good enough to be named a ‘literary masterpiece’.

The Ersatz Elevator - A Series Of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket - Reviewed by Youssef Elias

The Ersatz Elevator is the 6th instalment for the Series Of Unfortunate Events. There are 3 main characters named; Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire. Violet, who is the eldest is known for her creation of inventions. Klaus, is the 2nd eldest, is known for his knowledge of books since he reads a lot. Sunny, is the youngest, is known for her very sharp teeth to cut things. They are orphans since their parents died in a house fire. The caretaker of the Baudelaire’s finances is Mr. Po. He is the person to put the three children in a book but something always goes wrong. Their enemy, Count Olaf, always follows them and tries to steal the Baudelaire’s fortune as their parents were very wealthy.

Plot Summary of the book:
Mr. Po sends them to stay with 2 wealthy people, Esmè and Jerome Squalor. They live at 667 Dark Avenue. The children had to climb 66 flights of stairs since the elevator was closed.

Throughout the book, Count Olaf is disguised as Gunther in an auction as they could see his one monocle to correct his vision and the high boots to cover a tattoo on his ankle.

Klaus recognises that all of the floors have one elevator, but the top floor had an extra elevator. They investigate the area for clues. They find out that it is an Ersatz Elevator, despite that it is empty without an elevator. So they went down the shaft and find 3 Quagmire children and said that Gunther was going to steal them and hiding the Quagmires in an item which he would win during an auction.

Klaus looks at an auction catalogue and notices item number 50 which is VFD. He does not know what it is. They rush to the auction and asks Mr. Po to buy item number 50. They bet $1,000 and they won. The box contained Very Fancy Doilies (VFD).

During the auction, Count Olaf is revealed since the wind blew his monocle and boots, seeing the eyebrow and tattoo. He flees and the Baudelaire’s move to another home, hoping that Count Olaf will never follow them again.

The most amazing part of the book was when Klaus found the Erstaz Elevator and down the shaft found the Quagmire triplets finally.

Why I recommend the book:I recommend this book to people who like Mystery, Action and Fantasy. Each of the main characters has an identity and something that they are good at. If you have seen the hit-action/adventure film: Lemony Snicket – A Series Of Unfortunate Events, I would start picking this book up and reading it.