Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl.

Rating - ★★★★
Age Limit Suggestion - 8+

This lesser know story is a great sequel to the much loved classic - Charlie and the Chocolate factory.  

I read this book multiple times though primary school and again in the beginning of high school so as you can probably guess, it is a well loved story for me and probably will be for you, whether you're 8 or 88. 

This story follows Charlie and his family as they shoot into outer space and begin there journey landing in a new space hotel, battling aliens and chatting the president of the united states of America. 

This book may not be your cup of tea if you are not really interested in the sci-fi genre and that is why I have only given this book 4 stars as it isn't really for everyone, however my advice is to just give it ago, its not sci-fi like Star-Wars or anything so if you enjoyed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory then I highly recommend this book.  

This is a great starter book if you are a young reader looking to get into longer stories, it is action packed with never a dull moment in sight so younger readers aren't starting with a boring book that may put them off novellas or novels in later life. 

All though this book is over 40 years old, it is still an old favourite so they tend to be expensive so I have found this one on WHsmiths for £5.24 <<here>> but I bought my copy for £2.99 in my local book shop so check your local shops and libraries. 

Have fun, read it for yourself and happy reading. 
Remember to comment your thoughts, questions and opinions.

Thanks :) 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon.

Rating - ★★
Age Limit Suggestion - 13+ (strong and frequent language) 

Okay so you probably recognise this as the big Broadway production that is very recent to the stage but before that it was a well know book by Mark Haddon. The story is about a boy who witnesses the murder of a neighbour's dog, from then things go from bad to worse, his mum left him long ago and his dad drinks so Christopher (the boy) sets off on a journey of a life time with his pet rat, Toby.

This is a book that I really didn't enjoy, although I do have to give Haddon some credit for a well loved book in other people's opinions. The reasons for me for not liking the book is because the swearing is used way to often and it takes away from the story especially if the swearing isn't really needed. Fair enough there are some arguments that the author may have wanted to emphasis but when every other word is the F word then it just seems immature. 

Another reason for me not to have enjoyed the book is because it is very 'he said, she said, and then, and etc' which really makes for slow reading and very boring reading at that. I wanted to go really careful around saying this as the protagonist is supposed to be autistic but I just feel that the author really underestimates the words that he can use while still portraying the boy as autistic. 

Over all I don't really have any positives for this book as I just really didn't enjoy it but if you are considering reading this book then I'm not stopping you, just try it, if I didn't read every book that had one bad review then I probably wouldn't have read a single book. 

If you are considering taking the challenge of reading this book then the cheapest I have found it is for £3.85 on Amazon <<here>>

Have fun, read it for yourself and happy reading. 
Remember to comment your thoughts, questions and opinions.

Thanks :) 

My Sister Jodie by Jacqueline Wilson.

Rating - ★★★★ 

Age Limit Suggestion - 12+ (I'd give the plot away if I said why but it's a bit upsetting)

Jodie and Pearl are sisters but they are complete opposites, with Jodie, a rebellious teen, and Pearl, a 10 year old book worm. Pearl very much looks up to Jodie but she doesn't always agree. During a move to a new school in a new city, the girls relationship changes drastically and maybe even for the worse. There is a huge plot twist at the end but I'm not giving anything away so pick up the book and you'll be as surprised as I was!

This book is one of my favourites from Jacqueline Wilson and I feel that she is pushing the boundaries slightly to make a book possibly aimed at an older audience, however she has still produced a great book that I have read time and time again so I don't really have any room to criticize. 

As I said at the top there are some quite upsetting scenes but it really depends on your maturity and where your imagination will take you if you decide you want to read the book at an earlier age. 

The only reason I haven't given this book 5 stars is because younger children may have read some of Jacqueline Wilson's milder books and enjoyed them, making them want to read My Sister Jodie - the only problem with this is that it doesn't really fit into the age ranges of her other books so it can cause a problem.

Over all this is a great book and I do really recommend it but definitely just for the right age group. The cheapest I found this book is from WHSmith for £5.24 <<here>> but as I always say check out your local book shops or libraries. 

Have fun, read it for yourself and happy reading. 
Remember to comment your thoughts, questions and opinions.

Thanks :) 

The Chocolate Box Girls series by Cathy Cassidy.

Rating - ★★★★★ 

Age Limit Suggestion - 9+ (nothing bad it's just quite large books)

This is a series that I have read time and time again, if my limit wasn't 5 stars then these words wouldn't be here because the page would have been taken up with stars! Basically it's a story of 5 girls; Summer and Skye (the twins), Coco (the youngest), Honey (the eldest) and Cherry (the step sister). The 4 girls' Dad left along time ago and their mum remarries to Cherry's dad so when Cherry and her Dad move to Somerset, Honey takes it hard and Cherry's Dad decides to open his very own chocolate business. The books then follow then girls stories from every point of view that they have of their lives, hopes and dreams. 

The books include (in order) - 

1. Cherry Crush
2. Marshmallow Skye
3. Summer's Dream 
4. Coco Caramel 
5. Sweet Honey

I highly recommend this series and it is a great starter series if you are looking to get into longer books or into a series! 

I more recommend this to girls as it is about girls thoughts, feelings, problems and lives however not being prejudice, boys, feel free to read! 

Unfortunately I found that this series isn't very accessible in a box set but luckily the books don't seem to be any more than £7.00 each, or you could just check out your local library. 

Cathy Cassidy is also bringing out and has plenty more books so stay tuned for further reviews! I'm so EXCITED!!

Have fun, read it for yourself and happy reading. 
Remember to comment your thoughts, questions and opinions.

Thanks :) 

The Call of the Wild by Jack London.

Rating - ★★★★

Age Limit suggestion - 12+ (Some graphic content)

I have recently read this great 19th Century novel in my English literature class and I have to say that is really interesting. The plot is largely based around an anthropomorphised dog named Buck who is used to a fancy life in California but is kidnapped to be a sled dog in the 1890's Alaskan Gold Rush, the story then follows Buck and the other dogs on their journey. 

Of course I am a huge animal lover but if you do get easily upset then I highly don't recommend it, this is only because Jack London is very thorough with his descriptions and as you can probably expect, fights do break out amount the dogs and there is a very descriptive fight scene with a group of huskies. 

Although this is a fictional story and there is a little to no chance that Buck actually existed, you do have reason to believe some of the information in the novel as London wrote this from his experiences when he was on the journey himself! 

The only reason I haven't given this 5 stars is mainly because of the gore and a little bit of the way I have had to analyse it but not appreciate it as an actual story but if you read it you may enjoy it a lot more! I would actually like to read it again soon but not in class. 

The cheapest I have found this book is on Amazon for £2.50 <<here>> but remember to check your local book shops and libraries!

Have fun, read it for yourself and happy reading. 
Remember to comment your thoughts, questions and opinions.
Thanks :) 

(I have provided links to a few pages of a few

 things that you may want to read up on)

The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

Rating - ★★★★★

Age limit suggestion - 12+ (for some graphic content)

Okay so these are probably the most read and reviewed books of the modern day but they also happens to be some of my favourites. You probably recognised them as the action packed, romance filled major moving images of the last few years but the books are a lot different and frankly a lot better.

Whereas the films are largely based around the love triangle of Katniss, Peeta and Gale - the books are mostly based around the rebellion and the fight for Katniss to save her sister from having to fight yet having to face the games for herself. I feel that the film makers are focusing more on the romance to attract a larger audience and hey, if that's your thing then the films will perfect to give you goose bumps - but for me I love drama, the suspense and the imagery that makes your imagination run wild so if you do too then The Hunger Games will be a great series for you. 

I definitely wouldn't call it a starter series as it does get complicated as it gets to later on in the series as (without giving anything away) in the end of Mockingjay, Katniss begins to describe her thoughts and feelings as well as her surroundings so you do sometimes have to read a page multiple times to actually understand what's going on and I don't think that it's just me. 

Over all I feel that it is an amazing series that everyone should at least have a look at it. 
I would say that my favourite book of the series is actually Catching Fire because of the suspense and mystery of what is or is going to happen, I'm not giving anything away but when you find out what is actually happening it's a very 'oh yeah, of course' moment that seems obvious at the time. 

The cheapest I have found for the whole set is £16.30 from WHSmiths which you can find <<here>> (it is however temporarily reduced) but you could always buy them separately or from your local supermarket or book shop which may be cheaper. 
Remember to always check out libraries because they are free and very accessible!

Have fun, read it for yourself and happy reading. 
Remember to comment your thoughts, questions and opinions.
Thanks :) 

I also think the covers are really pretty :)