Book Review: Matilda

What it is about: Protagonist Matilda is a young girl of unusual precocity, but often ill-treated by her father or neglected by her mother. In retaliation, she pulls pranks such as gluing her father's hat to his head, hiding a friend's parrot in the chimney to simulate a burglar or ghost, and secretly bleaching her father's hair.

At school, Matilda befriends her teacher, Miss Jennifer Honey, who was astonished by Matilda's intellectual abilities. She tries to move her into a higher class, but is refused by her headmistress Miss Agatha Trunchbull. Miss Honey also tries to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood about Matilda's supreme intelligence, but makes no impression. Matilda quickly develops a particularly strong bond with Miss Honey.

When Matilda's friend Lavender plays a practical joke on Miss Trunchbull by placing a newt in her jug of water, Matilda uses an unexpected power of telekinesis to tip the glass of water containing the newt onto Miss Trunchbull.

Miss Honey reveals that she was raised in part by a hostile aunt, identified as Miss Trunchbull, who appears (among other misdeeds) to withhold her niece's inheritance. In preparation to avenge the latter, Matilda develops her telekinetic gift through practice at home. Later, during a lesson that Miss Trunchbull is teaching, Matilda telekinetically raises a piece of chalk against the blackboard and, in the resulting writings, poses as the spirit of Miss Honey's late father, demanding that Miss Trunchbull concede Miss Honey's house and wages and leave the region forever.

This is soon accomplished, and with the approval of the school's capable and good-natured new Headteacher, Mr Trilby, Matilda herself advances to the highest level of schooling. Rather to her relief, she is no longer capable of telekinesis; this explained by Miss Honey as the result of using her mind in a more-challenging curriculum.

Matilda continues to visit Miss Honey at her house regularly, but one day she finds her parents hastily packing to escape from the police who have incriminated her father for selling stolen automobiles. Matilda asks permission to live with Miss Honey, to which her parents rather uninterestedly agree, and so both she and Miss Honey find their happy ending.

I think that this book is a must read for all ages. I would rate this book 9/10 because I love Roald Dahl's books and he has a very good imagination. So please read this book!

Looking For Alaska Book Review

Looking For Alaska was one for the best singular books I have ever read! In my personal opinion I do in fact think that Looking For Alaska was better than The Fault In Our Stars, reason being is that L.F.A had more mystery and wasn't so predictable.

Would I recommend it?
 Yes I so would!!! If you haven't read it yet, what are you doing with your life? It is an amazing read that I think almost everybody can enjoy and love. I finished the book in a few hours because i just couldn't put it down.

Pros and Cons: 
Pros of the book: 
-It had a really amazing story-line and plot twist.
-The ending felt finished, After I ended it and closed the book i felt satisfied that it was over.
- It still left me wondering but in the most amazing way ever!
Cons of the book: 
- To be honest (and not being biased) I can't find a fault with the book, it was so good and I just couldn't stop reading!

If your deciding whether to read the book or not, do it!!!! Right now!!!! You wont regret it.

Thanks guys,
Xanthe

Funniest Books in the Universe #4

Get ready for Andy Griffith`s Mascot Madness! This book is overflowing with banana suits, sports fails, banana-flavoured milk and tomatoes hurled out of a moving bus and lessons entirely based around bananas! It tells the story of school boy Henry McThrottle and his friends as their P.E. teacher Mr Grunt works them to the bone in order to beat rival school Northwest West Academy(For Stuck-Up Losers) at the athletics day. In order to encourage them to try their best, the teacher, Mr Brainfright dresses up as a banana. Everything is well until Mr Brainfright starts thinking he really IS a banana! He even accuses his class of being murderers just for drinking banana-flavoured milk! A banana like no other!

Wings:

Laurel was mesmerised, staring at the pale things with wide eyes.

They were terrifyingly beautiful-too beautiful for words.

Laurel turned to the mirro again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head.

They looked almost like WINGS.

By:aprilynni pike

After The End

Phillip is always in and I cant breath without the nubs. I need help getting out of bed in the morning and doing normal, everyday activities. Life is harder than I thought, the cancer has come back fighting and its brought an army with it fill of sickness and depression. Somedays I wish I never had to wake up in the morning and face the day ahead. I don't attend the support group now and I think that they think Im dead... which doesn't bother me.

8 weeks after coming home I wake up in the middle of the night gaging. Mum runs to my aid and tries to help, I feel myself falling out of consciousness. My brain goes hay-wire and my vision turns blurry. I hear my Mum screaming out my name calling calling for Dad to get an ambulance, but by the time Dad has them on the phone my body has gone limp.

There is no life in my body anymore, only my brain still just alive. I can feel my memories of when I was young flashing like a slideshow at a birthday party. When people told me that as you die your life flashes before your eyes I didn't know they meant like this, it is both wonderful and sad at the same time. I see what my kids might of looked like and what I was going to become... all I hear as my brain finally shuts down is my Mum whispering in my ear "I love you baby, we both do, so does Gus and don't worry you will see him soon enough... Goodnight baby. Forever."

The MAP of TIME:

my book is about...

London 1896. Andrew Harrington's beloved has been murdered by Jack the Ripper.

Claire Haggerty longs to escape the constraints of Victorian society.

For both, timeis the problem: to escape it, to change it, might offer them the hope they need.

As their lives become entangled with that of H.G.

Wells - who is basking in the success of his novel THE TIME MACHINE - all three set off on a desperate flight through the centuries.

Cave bear has no bite!

Hmmm, is it fair to write a review of a book you haven't finished reading? Probably not, but one doesn't have to finish eating a Big Mac to know it's not worth finishing.

Jean M. Auel's Clan of the cave bear is a book I've always wanted to have a go at. However, after 100 pages I knew it was a book that was destined to gather dust on my bedside table. I have to admit that the setting is perhaps half to blame. Cavemen grunting at one another failed to grab me, however it was the predictable plot that really edged this mammoth towards extinction.

The books failure to grab me probably says more about me then the quality of the writing. Luckily for me I was able to take it back to the library and get something else. Let's hope that Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell can make it past the stone age for me.