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[[Category:Confident Readers|*]]
[[Category:New Reviews|Confident Readers]]__NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->
|rating=5
|genre= Confident Readers|summary= Twister certainly lives up to her stormy nameWill's life is difficult, in a multitude of ways. She He is bullied because he has 'the wrong shoes', he has the wrong shoes because his dad can't work and doesn's so stubborn t have enough money for even the most basic of things like food, and determined that shehis dad can's almost t work because he lost his job at the college, was working a force of nature cash-in her own right-hand job on a building site and had an accident. Throw into that mix the fact that his mum and dad are separated, and sheWill's fiercely loyal to her familylife seems bleak in every direction. Her beloved father And yet, he still has disappeared and her mother is sunk in a dreary depression where she barely seems aware tiny amount of her daughter's existence: if it weren't for Aunt Honey and her wonderful cookinghope. He is good at art, and Point clings to the dogmoments of joy when he is drawing, she would that feel all alone in like a light at the worldend of a long, dark tunnel. |amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>140718511X</amazonuk>1398527122
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=1805141872
|title=The Teacher Who Knew Too Much
|author=Rob Keeley
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=''Seventeen banks and a jeweller’s have been raided. The police are baffled, but only Ben knows the truth – his Maths teacher, Miss Judson, is really a safecracker! With police and her gangster boyfriend Al on their trail, Miss Judson and Ben go on the run. But Al needs them for one last job...''
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Twelve year old Zak Reeve Meet Gil. Just twelve, he is supposed so determined to be enjoying escape the care system – the system that constantly puts him in futureless places that are not homes – and find a relaxing holiday in the sunshine with his family before home for himself. He is en route to yet another fosterer, when he goes jumps into hospital for surgery. Insteadan anonymous car, the whole family are on a plane and lets it ride him to the Antarctic because the 'spider drones' his parents have designed future. That future seems to support the Exodus mission to Mars have started to malfunction. His parents assure Zak and be in jeopardy when someone steals his older sister, May, one bag of belongings – but that this will be someone lives with his brother in a camp on an island between the two directions of a flying visit butmotorway, as you'd expect with any action adventure story, things go wrong from the moment a place inaccessible and definitely ignored enough to provide for their plane crashes into the ice outside Outpost Zerosafety and seclusion. Zak Them, and his family are about to find themselves in a chilling adventure that will leave them fighting for survivalmute girl also finding a home there, albeit so much more successfully. Over a few weeks we see if their oddball destinies can combine, or if this is one place where life as we would want it just would not work…|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1910655929</amazonuk>1804540080
}}
{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Jose Mauro de Vasconcelos and Alison Entrekin (translator)Helen Peters|title=My Sweet Orange TreeFriends and Traitors
|rating=3
|genre=Confident Readers |summary=''It's just that sometimesEngland, Zeze, you're too naughtyWW2.'' And that's almost Two young girls are new at the entire truth about our narratorcountry pile called Stanbrook. One is Nancy, Zeze – he's a young tykedestined to be in service all her life it seems, and everyone in his largelike the female generations before her. The other is Sidney, halfa girl from a hoity-toity Sussex boarding school that has been removed there away from bomber flight-Indian family – heckpaths. The girls are chalk and cheese, everyone who recognises his blonde and pale looks in the neighbourhood – knows heif we hadn's skilled at being up to no good, t guessed that perhaps he was born then their behaviour with a little of the devil in him where Jesus should resideeach other over their first encounters would only prove it so. Instantly adept at being able to read, even when he's only fiveBut something is amiss, and first separately and then in combination they realise the precocious brat is forced to face something that might Lord Evesham must be the changing of him, once and for all – schoola rum 'un. This time Midnight deliveries are received under cover of change secrecy, talk is also featuring a move made of homemeetings with Germans, as the family cannot afford the rent arrears on their current placeand not only that, although having downsized the garden comes to feature the titular tree, which almost works as a confessional cum best friendlocal Spitfire factory has been attacked. Whether either the new home or But surely the school will get to change Zezegirls are wrong, or neither, is and the plot of this vintage Brazilian junior read.upper class could never be so underhand?|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1782691537</amazonuk>1788004647
}}
{{newreviewFrontpage|author=J S LandorJamie Littler|title=The Mirror of PharosArkspire
|rating=4
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=12 year-old Jack Tideswell is not your typical adventurer. In factTwo sisters, he spends most of his time trying to prevent his Nan worrying Juniper and trying to avoid the gang of school bullies. ThisElodie, howeverborn fifteen minutes apart, changes when a seagull delivers a strange package through the cat flapare growing to be chalk and cheese. Suddenly everything Juniper is different. Jack finds himself briefly catapulted into the future an eager hunter and then into trader in illicit magic, including relics from prior major wars left out in the pastBadlands. It takes him a long time Elodie is intent on getting closer to understand what's happening but luckily he has several friends power in one of the religious districts of Arkspire, perhaps even to help him. There is his best friend from school, Charlie (occasionally known as Charlotte), become the people he meets child in line to inherit the power of the past and Watcher, the future (several of whom claim closest to have met him before), a ruler the stranger Jago Flyndistrict has, and one of the magical wolf, Alphafive major victors in said earlier war. With their help, Jack learns Being trained in the magic that he's a fledging Magus (a true magician) and comes to realise that he alone only five people can prevent a Titanic-like disaster in use would definitely change the future. Sadly one status of his friends isn't everything they claim to bethe whole family. Will Jack realise But in time?finding something oddly magical, Juniper might just be able to gain some power of her own – for good, or for very, very bad…|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1788039203</amazonuk>0241586143
}}
{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn= Katie Haworth and Dinara Mirtalipova024162343X|title= Beauty and the BeastStolen History|author=Sathnam Sanghera|rating= 4.5|genre= Confident ReadersChildren's Non-Fiction|summary= We all know I was the bad company other people got into at school. I was disruptive in religious education classes because I disputed the story existence of beauty and a 'god'. Where was the beastproof? In history lessons, it was probably worse still. A prince Not too long after the end of WWII, transformed in I didn't so much want to a monster for his cruel learn about the British army's successes (and malicious natureoccasional failures, trapped but we didn't dwell on those) in what came to be called 'the colonies' as want to dispute what right the army had to be there in his grotesque form seemingly for the rest of his daysfirst place. Then comes along a young woman Looking back, I still believe I was right - but I regret that I lacked the beauty of maturity to approach 'the story, who mellows the beastproblem' politely. I wish I'd had Sathnam Sanghera's harsh character ''Stolen History''.}}{{Frontpage|author=Thiago de Moraes|title=Old Gods New Tricks|rating=4.5|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Meet Trixie. Forever getting into scrapes, larks and grows to love him for who he isadventures involving flooding the school aircon with fart powder, and not because she could almost be thought a young goddess of his appearancenuisance. It But just when she's being told that by her one-last-chance-giving headteacher, the world changes. Suddenly, practically everything electronic stops working – a fairy tale power-out, even of old electric cars, hits not just the town the school's in but the entire planet (apart from mobile phones, and a story all that powers the Internet, just for our convenience's sake). Trixie, luckily, realises what has happened – the ancient Gods have taken the power of love crossing boundaries which has been adapted countless times both on screen and in literaturepower from us. So is this new retelling worth the read? I think And soshe begins her epic quest, because I loved to gather all the people that can steal itback – namely the characters from myth that have past form in stealing from the Gods, ie the semi-deities, giants, half-gods and so on known as the tricksters.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1783704578</amazonuk>178845295X
}}
{{newreviewFrontpage|author= Hilary Lee-CorbinHannah Gold and Levi Pinfold|title= Conkers and GrenadesFinding Bear|rating= 4.5|genre= Confident Readers|summary=It's Bristol in 1916[[The Last Bear by Hannah Gold|Last time]], April had been on Bear Island, a lot further north than many people would venture, and finding a ridiculously unexpected but delightful friendship with a polar bear – that she called Bear. Britain is halfway Back home, things on the domestic and family front are a bit advanced, but not perfect for her, and so can easily be ignored when word comes through from the Great War islands Bear was last left on. For a bear doing very Bear-y things has been shot and everyone is expected wounded. Desperate to put their shoulder make sure he's OK, she and her father return to the wheel Arctic and hope that in a world of the war effort. Mar very white and Appy might be boysvery dangerous things, but they're no different. Both their fathers are away fighting she can find one specific white and dangerous thing – and that the two young boys are expected to help with household chores, look after younger siblings, earn a few extra pennies through casual jobs and concentrate on getting an education..friendship can continue.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1788033515</amazonuk>0008582017
}}
{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Simon Fox|title=Under The Light Deadlock|rating=4.5|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Late one night Graham Blake is late back from his shift on the force, and then suddenly rings Archie, demanding he fetch something from a secret place, and join him on the run. They get together, but barely begin to smell the whiff of Southern trains when the father is arrested, leaving Archie on the late express to Brighton, toting a tin his father was determined to keep away from his colleagues, and the bearer of a Full Moonwhole heap of questions.|isbn=1839944420}}{{Frontpage|author=Donna McGrathCath Howe|title=My Life on Fire|rating=35|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Ren's family home is destroyed in a fire. She, her parents, and her little brother lose everything. She doesn't have any of her clothes, or any of her special little knick-knacks from her cupboard, and now she is living at her grandmother's house where they can't touch anything, or do anything, or even eat the foods they normally eat.5 When she goes back to school she discovers that the class are doing a special art project, creating boxes of their lives, to display things that are important to them and show who they are as a person. But Ren has nothing to put in a box, and so she finds herself starting to steal things. Small things, things that people might not really miss, not when they have so much already. But what will happen to her if someone finds out what she is doing?|isbn=1839942835}}{{Frontpage|author= Rob Keeley|title= The Boy Who Disappeared and Other Stories|rating=4
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=When the bad dreams and the whispers at night first start, Clara has no idea what's going on. All she knows Hooray! Bookbag favourite Rob Keeley is that the lack of sleep is making her feel ill. But back with a visit from her Great Aunt Selina supplies some answers. Clara's family has a gift. One member of each generation has return to the ability short story format! The Boy Who Disappeared treats us to shape-shift into the form of any species of animal. But the gift comes with an ancient curse - bearers of it can only transform during the three days of the full moon eleven new tales, each monthas fun to read as his previous offerings.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>B00D9V7QOA</amazonuk>B0BVW69N1G
}}
{{newreviewFrontpage|author= Tony MittonLaura Noakes|title= Potter's BoyCosima Unfortunate Steals a Star|rating= 4.5|genre= Confident Readers|summary= Life Meet Number One. Or rather, Cosima Unfortunate. Or rather, just Cos to her friends. The practice in the home she lives in is unpredictable; it never goes exactly where we want it for the girls to just be named by the number they correspond to despite how much effort we put in to shape a direction for ourselvesthe ledger, and they're all Unfortunates – young people with disabilities, uncommon mentalities or suchlike that Victorian society frowns greatly upon. It's But Cosima bears the tag as a hard lesson surname because nothing else seems to learnbe known about where she came from, as the first ever inmate, and unique in having no known family in the outside world. During a daring escapade to steal some posh cakes from the kitchen one Tony Mitton captures with vivid simplicity afternoon, she discovers a plan involving said outside world – a devilish Lord Fitzroy seems to want to adopt all the girls for his Institute. But why, and what does that body entail? And could it possibly bring Cos closer to the potter's boy. past she has so little link with?|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1910989347</amazonuk>0008579059
}}
{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Susan Wood and Alice M Ross MacDonald|title=American Gothic: The Life of Grant WoodNowhere Thief
|rating=4.5
|genre=Children's Non-FictionConfident Readers|summary=Who won At last there is new stock in the impoverished yet over-full antiques shop Elsbeth and her mother run in a national prize seaside town. Elsbeth knows this because she has stolen it. She also knows she should be free from worries about being found out, because she has the ability to leave this world, and use an unworldly portal of kaleidoscope colours to enter other worlds, where the sea levels are rising dramatically and the buildings are generally empty of humans and ripe for plunder. With eviction imminent, can Elsbeth nab anything to actually generate custom at the shop? Well yes, is the answer, but the fact a crayon drawing mysterious man knows exactly which items come from these different Somewheres only raises more questions…|isbn=1839943769}}{{Frontpage|author=Natasha Farrant|title=The Rescue of three oak leaves before he was properly Ravenwood|rating=5|genre=Confident Readers|summary=This story is another excellent adventure from the author of ''Voyage of the Sparrowhawk''. Ravenwood is an old house, in his teens? the North of England, where Bea and Raffy have been living for most of their lives. Who sought acclaim They are part of a complex, extended family arrangement, as an artist Bea is there with her Uncle Leo, and Raffy is there with his mum, and came to Europe to study from they are living together as a family. They have grown up swimming in the cove, roaming through the greatstrees, only to reject completely at one with all they had to offer? of the nature around the house and loving every inch of the place. Who instinctively knew a picture of his dentist (yesBut now the house is under threat, as Leo is under pressure from his dentist) would be other two brothers to sell the property to a developer as it's becoming more appealing and say more expensive to people than maintain. The children find themselves worrying not only about where they're going to live, but if they'floating water lilies ll even be together, and frilly ballet dancersif Ravenwood itself will be torn down.|isbn=0571348785}}{{Frontpage|author=Robin Birch and Jobe Anderson|title=Secret Beast Club: The Unicorns of Silver Street|rating=4|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Jayden''? s nose is forever in a book, which means he knows a lot about mythological creatures – the phoenixes and unicorns of the world, for example. Aisha is addicted to her new tablet, where she can see videos of anything that might be out there. The answer in all cases was Grant Woodproblem, as their mothers see it, is that they are never 'out there' themselves, practically exploring the most welloutside world of Hackney, London. But when a narrowboat turns up carrying a science-known painter in America at minded, educational purpose, and with a past involving Jayden's cousin, they find a magical world they never knew existed. For many of those mythological creatures are real, including the one timeAisha thinks she's seen on a bit of local footage. The crew of the boat, including a living gargoyle, are tasked with saving the rare critters – and still the bestkids unknowingly have the magical sight needed to join in. Dare they side with Leila, the woman on board, alongside Edward Hopperand her relative who lives as a figure in a painting, at presenting his world minus any Modernist trappings.and become saviours of the unseen?|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1419725335</amazonuk>0241573483
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=B09XWSXSKY
|title=Maestro Orpheus and the World Clock
|author=Robert Penee and Joanne Grodzinski
|rating=4
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Frederick (or Fred, but never Freddy, please) couldn't sleep. A tune, rather like the ticking of a clock was playing over and over in his mind. It happened every time he came to visit his grandfather. He hadn't really wanted to come; after all, he's ten now and all those old clocks don't appeal to him anymore.
And that was why he was looking at the clock beside the bed. It was nearly twelve o'clock but at midnight the clock chimed only six times. There was nothing for it but to go and find grandad - but where was he? And why had all the clocks stopped at twelve o'clock?}}{{Frontpage|author=Nigel Baines|title==[[The Atlas A Tricky Kind of Monsters by Stuart Hill and Sandra Lawrence]]Magic|rating=4.5|genre==Emerging Readers[[image:4star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:ChildrenCooper loves to perform magic tricks. His father was a magician, and named Cooper after the great Tommy Cooper. But sadly Cooper's Non-Fiction|Childrenfather died suddenly, and now Cooper doesn't quite know who to be, or how to be. And when his dad's Non-Fiction]]prop rabbit starts talking to him, [[:Category:Spirituality and Religionhe ''really'' doesn't know what's going on anymore!|Spirituality and Religion]], [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]isbn=1444960261}}