Newest Confident Readers Reviews
From TheBookbag
Confident readers
The City of Spirits by Paul Bajoria
London, the 1820s. Our main characters, Mog the tomboy, and her twin brother Nick, are returning to the city they were dragged up in – home to evil people who separated them almost at birth, and denied them their family, their birthright, their happiness. But, brought together by the first two books in this trilogy, they are a little upset to find their newly-discovered inheritance is worth nothing – an estate saddled with enough debt to mean their memories of poverty will stay with them much longer. Full review...
Island of the Phantoms by Stephen Alter
When Courtney, Orion and Ming sneak into the Carville library after hours to read from a spell book, none of them really think they are doing anything but scaring themselves. But The Compleat Necromancer isn't a joke book, and soon after they read the spell, ghosts start appearing, trapped in the pages of certain books. Full review...
Superior Saturday (The Keys to the Kingdom) by Garth Nix
Arthur Penhaligon has managed to free five of the seven keys from the Morrow Days and is thus five-sevenths of the way to restoring the Will of the Architect. But the sixth is going to prove troublesome. Superior Saturday isn't just a Morrow Day and trustee of the will - she's also the oldest Denizen and the most powerful sorceror in the House. And she has been anticipating Arthur for the past ten thousand years. She knew the Will couldn't be confined forever, and so her fortress is utterly impregnable. Full review...
Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London by Keith Mansfield
Johnny Mackintosh is a thirteen year old boy, living in a children's home in Essex, his only friend is his dog, Bentley. Constantly tracked and put down by the home's chief, Mr Wilkins, he is finding it increasingly hard to get solitary access to the home's computer room. This proves problematic, because soon after the teenage computer genius programmes the computers to search for extraterrestrial intelligence, he finds a signal coming from above the Earth. Full review...
Barnaby Grimes: Legion of the Dead by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
Barnaby Grimes is a tick-tock lad. They deliver letters and packets all over the city and - tick tock - time is money. Barnaby highstacks over the roofs of the city to make his deliveries and can charge more for his services than those who have to go along the street – the cobblestone-creepers. One autumn morning the sky the colour of an Indian Runner duck egg he takes a box of links to make finger chains to Ada Gussage in Adelaide Mansions. When the dead are buried those who can afford it have a chain attached to the fingers of the deceased which leads to a bell. Then, if it should transpire that the burial has been a little premature, assistance can be summoned. Full review...
The Sky Inside by Clare B Dunkle
Martin lives several generations from now, in metal-roofed domed suburb. Life is very ordered but everyone in his suburb has everything they could possibly want - food, warmth, the latest gadgets, even new, ever-improved genetically-designed babies. Most people don't need to work. It's a real democracy too. Every day, Martin's parents get to vote on the burning issues of the day - what colour curtains the President should have in his office, that kind of thing. Martin's father is quite an important man in the suburb too - he's the Packet Chief, and he supervises everything coming in and going in and out of the area. People don't go in and out unless they die. Full review...
City of Screams by John Brindley
It's been some years since Ash broke free of the compound on ASP Island and established a new society in which rodents could exist cooperatively with raptors and agles. Evolution has continued apace, and the first flier, Laura, has descendants with beautiful and fully-formed wings. They are known as air agles. Phoenix, however, despite her name, is a ground agle who wishes she were an air agle. She's in love with Gabriel, whose advanced flying skills and piercing eyesight has made him one of the first arch angels. Phoenix wants to be an air agle so much that she despises her heavy body and makes herself sick after every meal. Full review...
Measle and the Doompit by Ian Ogilvy
Iggy Niggle, believe it or not, is about to be proven correct about something. Iggy, you might remember, or care to learn, is the world's most inept wrathmonk – inhabiting a dog kennel, and sharing his species' permanent taunt of a raining thundercloud perched in the space above his head, but with none of the magic he is supposed to have. Still, when it comes to being worried about his master and best friend (sorry, only friend) Measle going away on a school trip, he is closer to the truth than anyone could tell. Full review...
The Mark of Edain by Pauline Chandler
Aoife and her brother Madoc have been slaves for four long years, since they were taken captive in a Roman raid on Britain. Their father, the tribe's druid, was killed in the raid. Their uncle, Caradoc, known to the Romans as Caractacus, is still in Britain, leading the Celtic resistance against the imperial invaders. Full review...
Barnaby Grimes: Return of the Emerald Skull by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
Barnaby Grimes is a tick-tock lad – they deliver letters and packages all over London – and time is money. The last time that we heard about his exploits he had a spine chilling encounter with a wolf as he highstacked over the roofs of a vaguely Dickensian London. This time he's collected a package from a ship in the docks and he has to deliver it to the headmaster of a high class school. The ship is found abandoned in mysterious circumstances the next day and when Barnaby returns to Grassington Hall School he finds a reign of terror. Full review...
Mirrorscape by Mike Wilks
Mel is a young artist, living his simple youth away in a basic village, with a rude hut for home, and a weaver for a father. His future lies between two seeming polar opposites. On the one hand a powerful and rich benefactor, whose agent – a scary giant of a man with a scarred face and silver artificial hand – comes with news that his skills have been adjudged worthy of a free apprenticeship. On the other, a sinister witchfinder-general type, sent with the news that the drawings Mel has done so far are illegal goods. Full review...
The Trouble With Donovan Croft by Bernard Ashley
Keith Chapman is about to get a new foster brother. His name is Donovan, and he can't stay at his own house because his mother has gone back to Jamaica to care for her dying father, and his father works too many hours at the factory to take proper care of him.
Keith isn't sure how he feels about having someone else in the house. It's just been him and his parents since his older brother got married. Then Donovan arrives and he won't talk to anyone. He won't talk to Keith, he won't talk to Mr and Mrs Chapman, and he won't talk to the teachers at school. It's not that he's badly behaved – he does everything he's asked to, he just won't respond. Full review...
After the Flood by L S Matthews
Jack lives in a world deeply affected by climate change. The weather is increasingly unpredictable and floods are commonplace. Cars are no more. People travel little. Goods are delivered by horse and cart. Rural children no longer get a proper education as they can't make it into towns to school. They're taught instead by a kind of Dad's Army of volunteers and achievement is patchy to say the least. Tea, sugar, coffee, chocolate - they're all treats. But life goes on. Full review...
The Tribe by Valerie Bloom
Maruka's mother was stolen by the fierce Kalinago people. In the same raid, her beloved older brother was killed. Maruka's father is a cacique, or chief, of the peaceful Taino people. They don't lie, they don't raid, and they don't kill. Maruka isn't like the other Taino girls. She likes to hunt, and she hates to work in the fields. And, embittered by the loss of her mother and brother, Maruka has anger and revenge in her heart. She's convinced her mother is still alive and she is determined to rescue her some day. The half-made canoe hidden in the jungle is testament to that. Full review...
Promise of the Wolves (Wolf Chronicles 1) by Dorothy Hearst
Never consort with humans. Never kill a human unprovoked. Never allow a mixed blood wolf to live.
The is the wolf's covenant. So when the Greatwolves prevent pack leader Ruuquo from killing Kaala, a young puppy born in a forbidden, mixed blood litter, it causes shockwaves and consternation throughout the pack. To make matters worse, Kaala has a crescent moon of white fur on her chest. A wolf with such a crescent, it is prophesied, will some day either save or destroy her pack. Full review...
Barnaby Grimes: Curse of the Night Wolf by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
Barnaby Grimes is a tick-tock lad. These days he'd be a motorcycle courier but Barnaby wears his coalstack hat, a twelve-pocket poacher's waistcoat and carries a sword stick to defend himself as he highstacks over the roofs of London to carry any message or parcel anywhere at any time. It was a quirk of fashion that propelled Barnaby into his first adventure – everywhere you looked the fashionable people wore fur on their collars and cuffs. It wasn't just any fur though – this had to be the Westphalian trim. Full review...
Jessica Juniper (Kingdom of the Frosty Mountains) by Emerald Everhart
Emerald Everhart's Kingdom of the Frosty Mountains series looks promising from the outside, and with glitter, flowers and pink pages is going to catch every girl's eye. Unfortunately, Jessica Juniper, the first book in the series, just doesn't live up to its expectations. The premise behind the book, a magical kingdom filled with ballerinas secreted inside a perfume bottle, is a wonderful idea, and gives Jessica Juniper the edge it needs to make you turn to the first page. If only the world inside the bottle were half as interesting. Full review...
Whizz-Bang Winnie by Laura Owen and Korky Paul
Many parents and children will be familiar with Winnie the Witch and her cat Wilbur from the picture books by Valerie Thomas. Winnie has a new friend to tell her stories now, in the form of Laura Owen who has teamed up with Korky Paul who illustrated the original picture books. They're telling us all about the zany witch in book form for the newly confident reader. I'm sure that there'll be plenty of parents only too willing to share this book with the younger child too. Full review...
Birth of a Warrior: Spartan 2 by Michael Ford
In the first book in the series, Lysander discovered his true identity as the son of a Spartan warrior. For this second volume, he has left his Helot slave home behind and joined the training barracks all Spartan boys belong to. He'll be a regular in the Spartan army until he's thirty. The training is tough and ruthless and Lysander is expected to show absolute obedience to his commanders. He's not universally liked - he's a mothax or half-breed. But he's making his way though hard work and perseverance. Some things about the Spartan regime still rankle though, and Lysander finds it difficult to hold his tongue. When he's forced to savagely whip an old Helot friend, he wonders if he'll ever be able to fit in. Full review...
Lost Riders by Elizabeth Laird
When Rashid was eight, he was sold. He lost everything. He lost his home. He lost his brother. He lost his freedom. He lost his name. Rashid was one of the lucky ones.
Camel racing is one of the most popular sports in the United Arab Emirates. The fastest camels run best with little jockeys - and little doesn't mean short men like jockeys in the western world. It means little children, some under five years old. Over three thousand children were taken from Pakistan by traffickers and sold into slavery as camel jockeys, some under the most appalling conditions. Half-starved to keep their weight down, bullied and abused, children worked all hours of the day and night, all in return for a pittance sent home to their naive, but very poor, parents. Full review...
Daisy Dawson and the Secret Pool by Steve Voake
Daisy Dawson can talk to animals - and as she lives in the countryside, she has plenty of opportunity to do so, from the family dog to a horse in the pasture on the way to school to squirrels in the forest to gerbils in the classroom. When she gets a new camera and gets involved in a project involving photographing animals in their natural habitats, her animal friends tell her about a secret pool deep in the forest where some shy otters have recently appeared. Full review...
Olaf the Viking by Martin Conway
Olaf has a habit of losing things. He's lost his mother, his father is missing abroad after sailing away six years ago, and he's letting supper, in the shape of a pig, run away from himself. Also finding things missing, elsewhere, is Thor no less, who seems to have mislaid his magical war-hammer. This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain Loki, would it? - a Loki who is actually living as a slave in Olaf's village. Full review...
