Difference between revisions of "Newest Dyslexia Friendly Reviews"

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{{newreview
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|title=Old Dog, New Tricks
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|author=Bali Rai
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1800901232
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|title=Stitched Up
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|author=Steve Cole
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Nick is a miserable old sod by anyone's definition. His equally mangy dog, Nelson, is the only friend he has, as his nasty nature puts everyone off. But while he may be unpleasant to most people, he is downright horrible when the Singh family move in, bringing out the worst of his racist views - but can a man who likes Bob Marley really hate anyone of another colour? Is Nick just an ignorant and offensive old git, or is there something more beneath the surface? No one seems to have really bothered to find out before a common love of dogs draws young Harvey Singh to attempt to befriend not only the unkempt dog, but the lonely old man as well.
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|summary=Twelve-year-old Hanh wanted to be a fashion designer.  Life in the rural village where she lived with her family was happy, if not prosperous, so when the smartly-dressed man and woman came to the village to offer Hahn a job in Hanoi it was an opportunity not to be missed.  Some money changed hands and Hanh was on the mini-bus to Hanoi.  Only, Hanh and the other girls were not going to work in a shop, they were to work in virtual slavery in an illegal garment factory.  You know those jeans you really wanted: the ones with intricate embroidery and beading on the legs?  The ones with the artfully-placed rips and distressed seams that felt so soft when you touched them?  It's quite possible that Hanh and her co-workers made them.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781123470</amazonuk>
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Marcus Sedgwick
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|title=Wrath
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|rating=4.5
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|genre=Teens
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|summary=Meet Fitz, a young Scottish lad full of frustration at himself. Lockdown is only just over, and he should be free to do what he wants, to go where he wants and with whom he wants, but he cannot stop himself from putting his foot in it when he talks to his best friend, Cassie. They were half of a desultory school band, but Cassie was also one hundred per cent the enigmatic – saying she could hear a subhuman hum coming from the earth. Is this connected with one of her eco-warrior parents saying the end of the world is already a done deal? Is it some spooky new kind of music she's dreaming of? Is she just bonkers? And can Fitz find out the truth? Well, not when Cassie has gone missing he can't...
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|isbn=1800900899
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Lucy Strange and Pam Smy
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|title=The Mermaid in the Millpond
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|rating=4.5
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|genre=Confident Readers
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|summary=There is no mermaid in the millpond. That at least is what Bess is telling herself. Neither will there be a friend for her in amongst all the other kids, who have had their entire childhoods sold to the mill-owners by the London workhouse they used to call home. Bess knows there is no time for friendship in a hand-to-mouth, every man for himself kind of existence. But despite herself Bess does find a bit of a kindred spirit in the slight little Dot, and despite everything that life has taught her about betrayal and how befriending people only leads to harm, there might be a glimmer of companionship in the tired-out mill workers. But surely that doesn't mean there is any truth in the existence of the mermaid?
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|isbn=180090049X
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Keith Gray
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|title=The Climbers
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|rating=4
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|genre=Confident Readers
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|summary=Sully is the best tree climber in the village. He has what's known amongst the kids as 'reach'. But what happens when a new kid shows up in town? A new kid, called Nottingham, who clambers up some of the hardest trees with ease? Suddenly Sully is worried that his status is being threatened, and not only that, that his chance to name the final, unnamed big tree in the park by being the first to conquer it, might be snatched from his hands. How can Sully stop Nottingham? And will it cost him his best friend, or maybe even all of his friends, to do so?
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|isbn=1781129991
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Lisa Thompson
|title=The First Third Wish (Little Gems)
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|title=The Small Things
|author=Ian Beck
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
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|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=This is a lovely story of a lost wish. Cobweb has bungled her very first assignment, losing the third wish meant for a kindly woodcutter. She managed to replace it with a spare, but her job will not be complete until the missing wish is found and returned. It seems a lost wish is very dangerous indeed as it gives the finder an unlimited supply of wishes - and not all people are careful what they wish for. As luck would have it though, the wish has found its way just to the place where it most needed, where it will result in a true happily ever after, not only for the young man who finds it, but for  many others as well.
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|summary=Although Anna has friends at school, she feels like she never really fits in. Her family don't have enough money to let her do after school activities, and so she feels like her life at home is boring in comparison to theirs. When a new girl joins her class, Anna is asked to partner her, but things are complicated because the new girl, Ellie, is unwell and so can't attend school in person. Instead, she joins in with the class by using a robot. Can Anna overcome the challenge of making friends with someone through a robot, and is she even interesting enough to be a good friend to Ellie?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781122458</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1781129649
 
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Emma Carroll and Kaja Kajfez
|title=My Friend's a Gris-Kwok (Little Gems)
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|title=The Ghost Garden
|author=Malorie Blackman and Andy Rowland
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
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|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=When Mike discovers that his best friend Alex is a Gris Kwok or shape shifter it looks like they are in for some real fun. Not only can Alex change into any creature he wants, he can change anyone touching him as well. There are only three hitches. The first is that Alex can only change three times a day. The second is that his sister has the same powers. The third is that Alex is babysitting and if you think babysitting ordinary siblings is difficult just wait until you see all the mischief a shape shifting toddler can get into.
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|summary=Fran, the gardener's daughter at a posh country house, is worried.  She's just cracked her garden fork through quite a grim discovery - a large bone, buried under the potatoes. But she's even more worried when she learns that that event coincided with Leo, the older child of the house, breaking his leg while playing cricket on the lawn. She is due to get even more worried when she finds something else that also seems to foretell a surprise.  Tasked with shoving Leo around the grounds in his bathchair, she might have reason to be out of her mind with fear, when she learns what he is seeking - a long-forgotten burial chamber. But surely that won't act as a premonition to anything - not here in the sultry, summery days of 1914?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178112244X</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1781129002
 
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Alex Wheatle
|title=Snug (Little Gems)
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|title=The Humiliations of Welton Blake
|author=Michael Morpurgo and Faye Hansen
 
 
|rating=2.5
 
|rating=2.5
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
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|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Michael Morpurgo has captured what is like to own a cat, or perhaps more accurately to be owned by a cat, perfectly. Snug comes into the family at almost the same time as Lisa and the two grow up together and share a special bond. His exploits will be familiar to any one who has any experience of cats and many children will relate to things Snug does just like their own pet. The illustrations in this book are beautiful and certain to delight any animal lover, as well as giving readers a nostalgic look at childhood.
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|summary=We meet Welton Blake at the worst of times – only they should be the best of times.  He should be getting a text from the most bae-worthy girl in school in regards to a cinema date, but his phone has packed up, he's chundered last night's meal and his breakfast over another girl in class, who's duffed him up in response, and the wanna-bae seems to actually be with someone else anyway.  On a bigger scale he's living with his mother and not much income now that the dad has left the picture – yes, things are so bad they're resorting to having cabbage for dinner. I know, right?  But surely this is just a blip, a day at school to forget, and everything (like his vomit) will all come out in the wash?  This can't be the start of a most nightmarish time for young Welton?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781122865</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1781129495
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=178112938X
|title=The Castle in the Field (Little Gems)
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|title=Survival in Space: The Apollo 13 Mission
|author=Michael Morpurgo and Faye Hansen
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|author=David Long and Stefano Tambellini (illustrator)
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=I think all children love dens. It is almost a primal instinct for children, to find, construct and hide away in huts, dens, tents, or any other place that gives them that sense of their own private place, away from the world. Michael Morpurgo has captured the magic of a secret den perfectly in this story of three friends who find an abandoned WW2 Pillbox and make it into their own private castle. The children are not really meant to be in the pillbox. It is on private property, but they don't really have any place else to go. Two of the children are not allowed to go home until their parents finish work and the third will not leave his best friend out in the weather alone. At first the pillbox is just shelter from a storm, but it soon becomes an embodiment of all the wonder of childhood as the children transform it into a wonderful private retreat. But how long will they be able to keep their special hideout a secret? This is a lovely story with a  heart warming theme of friendship, a confrontation with bullies, and the inevitable pangs of growing up.
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|summary=It's fifty years since the Apollo 13 mission was launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, but the story of that journey remains one of the greatest survival stories of all time''Survival in Space: The Apollo 13 Mission'' is a brilliant retelling of what happened.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781122873</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1781129312
|title=Ninja: First Mission (Ninja Trilogy)
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|title=Sequin and Stitch
|author=Chris Bradford and Sonia Leong
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|author=Laura Dockrill and Sara Ogilvie (illustrator)
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=If you are looking for adventure, '' Ninja First Mission'' will certain come up trumps. This book never has a slow moment. But even as the story races along at breakneck speed, there is plenty to think about as well. This book has as much to offer the deep thinker as the adrenaline junky. Tata, a young Ninja in training, is desperate to prove himself. He has failed the test for his black belt three times, but this was just a simple test. The sacred scrolls of his clan have been stolen, and all of the fully fledged Ninja but one are away on another mission. Tata faces another test, but this time the stakes are life and death, not only for himself, but for his clan. In order to succeed Tata must learn to find victory in failure. Most of all he must learn to believe in himself.
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|summary=Sequin loved her mum to bits, but sometimes she got very cross with her.  It wasn't that mum wouldn't go outside their flat - Sequin coped with that - it was because she never pushed to get credit for what she did. Mum is a seamstress and she makes the sort of clothes that you see on red carpets or at important weddings. She's not the designer - they're the people who make a lot of money from the clothes. Mum is the person who actually ''makes'' the garments and she's really talented, but when people talk about the dress or the suit, they talk about the designer. The seamstress is never mentioned.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1842999397</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Tanya Landman
|title=Football Crazy
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|title=Jane Eyre: a Retelling
|author=Tony Bradman and Michael Broad
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=''Football Crazy'' is about a group of friends who play on the worst team in the league. It can be difficult when your team loses every time you go on the pitch, but Danny, Jamil and Lewis love the sport and they stick with it - win or lose. They keep hoping the next game will be the game in which they finally win, or at least get on the scoreboard, but it never happens - not as long as Mr Perkins is coaching. When the coach finally packs it in - it looks like curtains for Rovers FC. But, luck seems to be on the children's side when a new coach, Jock Ramsay,  with some history in the pro leagues is found. The new coach is tough, but he quickly gets the team into shape and the Rovers start climbing the league tables. Parents are delighted, the stands are full, but the children find they no longer love the sport. Everything is about winning. Things come to crisis point when Coach Ramsay orders Danny to take a dive.
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|summary=A young woman, fresh from living with horrid relatives who could care less about her, and years in a dreary school, moves into Thornfield Hall with only one intent – to have something like the life she wants – and with only one job, to tutor a young half-French girl, whose father is almost always absent. When he does turn up he seems to be dark, brooding and troubled – but that's nothing compared to the darker, more broody and even more troubling secret in the house. Yes, if you know Jane Eyre then you know the rest – but if you don't, for whatever reason, this is a wonderful book to turn to.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781122121</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1781129126
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1781128952
|title=Secret FC
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|title=The Starlight Watchmaker
|author=Tom Palmer
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|author=Lauren James
|rating=3
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|rating=4
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Unlike many children, Lily, Zack and Khan can't wait for the school year to begin. They live in an overcrowded part of London with no room for outdoor sports and the school ground is the only place they can enjoy a friendly game of football. But their hopes for the new term are dashed when a new Head Teacher decides ball sports are too dangerous for children. Surprisingly, with an overly safety-conscious Head, while football is prohibited there is a wooded waste ground inside the school grounds - which just happens to be the perfect spot for the children to clear and create their own football pitch. But will they be able to keep the secret? Or will Mr Edwards blow the final whistle on all of their sports?
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|summary=This is a dyslexia-friendly, science fiction novella for young adults. It tells the tale of Hugo, an unwanted and rather lonely android, who makes a living for himself mending time-travel watches. When one of his clients demands that his broken watch be mended, Hugo realises there is a mystery to be solved and is only too ready to help. An exciting journey of discovery unfolds, which takes Hugo out of his drab attic workroom and into a scary adventure with some amazing new friends, exploring regions of the planet never before known to exist.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781122415</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1781128693
|title=Samurai
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|title=Special Delivery
|author=Ian Beck and Daniel Atanasov
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|author=Jonathan Meres
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|summary=The hero of our story is nameless. He is only the Samurai, and not even quite that. He is dishonoured, a masterless Samurai, or Ronin. We do not know his master's fate but we can only assume it is death, and that Ronin has fled the field taking his injured dog to safety. The land is desolate and barren and both the text and the superbly drawn illustrations build a feeling of darkness and despair. The path he travels on is lined with skeletons of defeated warriors lashed to wagon wheels. It gives the reader the impression of the road to hell. The young Samurai takes refuge in a ruined palace, yet another sign of devastation upon the land, seeming to exist for the next few days only to care for Cho, his dog, while awaiting the punishment of the gods for his failure. He rises from despair to help others, first to defeat a demon haunting the palace, and then undertaking a journey to find and defeat another deadly demon. Soon the young warrior comes to a village suffering under the most horrific of curses. His courage will be put to the test as he must risk even his beloved Cho to save an innocent girl and lift the curse.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781122202</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|title=Thor and the Master of Magic
 
|author=Kevin Crossley-Holland and Siku
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=I grew up with tales of the heroes of Asgard, and this story was always a firm favourite, but today's children are more likely to know Thor from ''The Avengers''. This book is sure to interest any young comic book fans, and the illustrations will certainly help with this, but it is still faithful to the original myth, and in my mind would count as literature, rather than just a fun read - but I wouldn't tell the children thatThis is an excellent retelling of Thor's visit to Utgarda - Loki ( the giant king's hall) from Prose Edda a collection of Norse poetry thought to have been compiled by the Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century.
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|summary=How do you explain to children about dementia? Injuries or illnesses are obvious, but when the problem is the brain which isn't functioning quite as it used to it isn't as easy to graspFrank was a normal nine-year-old and like many nine-year-olds what he wanted was a new bike. He'd had his for about seventy-eight years and he didn't want to raise the seat any more. Mum pointed out that it wasn't his birthday or Christmas any time soon and bikes cost a lot of money, which didn't grow on trees. His sister Lottie had a solution: Frank could help her with her paper round. Frank agreed despite thinking that it would take him a thousand years to save up the money for a bike AND he had to get up at six o'clock in the morning.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781122210</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|title=Under Attack
 
|author=Jim Eldridge and Dave Shepherd
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|summary=My sons are army barmy as they say, and have been begging for military stories so I was delighted to see this in the Barrington Stoke range. The book reminded me a bit of a cross between the old Commando comic books  and Action Man books with heroes blazing to the rescue, but sadly I found something lacking. It is a very short story and packed with action, but there really does not seem to be any character development. The story itself is very simple but flat. The Taliban attacks a hospital repeatedly and the British Army comes to the rescue. A very small child is shot and the doctor  elects to perform emergency surgery on a kitchen table rather than waiting for the helicopter to arrive, but the Taliban haven't given up. The doctor valiantly tries to operate to remove a bullet next to the child's heart under the most desperate of circumstances, without blood, anaesthetics etc.... all the while under heavy fire. Will the British Army be able to save the day?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781122113</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1781128707
|title=Gamer
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|title=The Spectacular Revenge of Suzi Sims
|author=Chris Bradford
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|author=Vivian French
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=''Gamer'' is written for the child who would rather be in front of a console than reading book. Even the cover depicts action with a scene that changes to depict fighting if you tilt the book. This isn't to say it lacks depth. This has a well developed plot, and very good characterisation, but the action never stops. It is perfect for children who are used to the high adrenaline experience of a video game, but it has plenty to offer the child who loves books as well.
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|summary=Suzi Simms loved running and it was her ambition to win the 100 metres race on sports day at the end of term - and that was next week.  We're going to read about what happened in her diary, although there's a warning that we really shouldn't be reading it, particularly as it's about Barbie Meek. To say that the two girls don't get on at all well is a bit of an understatement. Suzi wouldn't actually do anything about it, but Barbie is a troublemaker and she wants to win the 100 metres race too - by fair means or foul.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781121389</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1949471004
|title=Scrum
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|title=Dog on a Log Chapter Books: Step 1
|author=Tom Palmer and Dylan Gibson
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|author=Pamela Brookes
|rating=5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Steven has a pretty good life. His parents are divorced, but they get on well. He sees his Dad every day and has a good relationship with his Mom and her partner, Martin. True, he would like his parents to get back together, as most kids would, but things aren't too bad as they are. He has good friends, a happy home and a real shot and breaking into the Rugby League teams. His whole world is turned upside though when Mom announces she is going to marry Martin. Soon Steven finds himself in a new home, with a new school and new friends, but he adjusts and makes the best of things. He even has a shot at playing Rugby at county level, but there is one problem and it is major one. The new town is in a Rugby Union area. Steven has always played Rugby League and to his father, switching sides will be a betrayal.
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|summary=What do you do when your child has dyslexia and you need books which will help them to achieve the wonder that is reading?  You can risk buying early readers, but the sounds in the book might not be the ones you've been working on and encountering words which are just too challenging can have more of a negative effect on the young dyslexic than a child without that problem. You need to be able to buy books at a reasonable price which concentrate on what you've been working on, without anything else being thrown into the mix. You need a story which engages the young mind and you need stages which progress steadily through the learning process without there being any large jumps. Some online support and games wouldn't go amiss, either. Reading - and ''learning'' to read - should be a pleasure. It should be ''fun''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1842999443</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1781128510
|title=Heroes (Most Wanted)
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|title=One Shot
|author=Anne Perry
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|author=Tanya Landman
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Trench warfare has widely been acknowledged as one of the most soul destroying forms of combat. It broke men physically and mentally. Death seemed inevitable for many, and life was so horrible that at times it must have come as release. So what is one more death among the multitudes? To Chaplain Joseph Reavely every death counts, but he can not let this one go. Morton was not killed by enemy fire - he was murdered and Joseph will not rest until justice is done. It sounds pretty straight forward, but there is far more to it than this and justice is truly poetic in this case.
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|summary=''Pa and I understood each other. Our souls were cut from the same cloth.'' But Pa has since died, leaving Maggie very much alone in her family. She was the only one of three children who looked like him, and none of the others acted like him, and certainly, his wife didn't seem to fully understand him. Maggie might as well be reliving the Cinderella story, stuck with two siblings and mother that are fully against her. But at least she can sneak out at night, and shoot some game to stop them from starving? Well, no, not where her mother is concerned – the very idea of a female shooting things, when they could be preparing for a life of unhappy married drudgery, is just scandalous.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1842995103</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=178112843X
|title=Fox Friend
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|title=Lark
|author=Michael Morpurgo and Joanna Carey
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|author=Anthony McGowan
|rating=3
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|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Clare loves animals. Her best friend is her horse, and she loves all the lambs born on her family farm as well. This natural affection for animals easily extended to the fox she saw strolling through the farm as well. Her father however despises foxes saying ''the only good fox is dead fox''.  Clare's Father says the foxes had already killed ten lambs that year, and it was only March with the lambing season in full swing. (I did find these figures quite high -  but then again, maybe they owned a lot of sheep). When Clare finds an injured and orphaned cub after a fox hunt, it is obvious she can not turn to her parents for help. But regardless of her father's feelings, Clare is determined to save this helpless little creature.
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|summary=I'll warn you first.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781120862</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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This is the fourth and last story about Nicky and Kenny. Try not to cry before you've even read the first page.
|title=Moose Baby
 
|author=Meg Rosoff
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|summary=Jess is a pretty average teenage mother - except for one thing. Instead of giving birth to a normal little girl as she was expecting, she ends up delivering a 23lb moose calf by C-Section. It seems there has been a cluster of non homo-sapien births to human mothers. For some unexplained reason, a number of women have given birth to animals - mostly moose.  Jess  feels confident she can cope with the trials and tribulations of teenage parenthood. She can handle the midwives' harsh looks, her mother's disappointment and her boyfriend's parents' disapproval. But giving birth to a moose instead of a human may be more than any mother can adjust to.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781121974</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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Things have got tense at home - again - for Nicky and his learning-disabled brother Kenny. Their mum is coming to visit - the mum who abandoned them a long time ago. They haven't seen her for years and the impending visit is stirring up a lot of uncomfortable feelings. And Nicky's girlfriend has ended things. To take their minds off it all, Nicky and Kenny plan a day out, trekking across the moors. But it doesn't go to plan and an accident puts both boys - and their dog, Tina, in terrible danger.
|title=The Wickedest Witch in the World
 
|author=Kaye Umansky and Gerald Kelley
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|summary=Everyone knows the story of Hansel and Gretel. At least we thought we knew. But as the saying goes there are always two sides to every story and this one is told from the perspective of Old Maggit, The Wickedest Witch in the World. You see Maggit really wasn't so wicked after all. It was the children who were wicked. Well, maybe they were not exactly ''wicked'', but they were most certainly obnoxious, and old Maggit's no nonsense manner and just a bit of attention may be exactly what these children need to turn them around.  Maggit really has built a house of gingerbread to lure children into as a means of finally winning the Wickedest Witch in the World title. But once she has the children - she has no idea what to do them and ends up teaching them manners. As to the whole cannibalism story - that was all made up of course. The children decide the only way for Maggit to win is to lie - and they come up with a whopper. It was so good people have been repeating it for centuries with the original tale thought to have originated in the 14th century.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781122016</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1786697173
|title=Mary's Hair
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|title=Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Blue Moon
|author=Eoin Colfer
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|author=Sally Gardner
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Mary hates her hair. It has black bits and brown bits, curly bits and straight bits and Mary feels that it looks very much like a bush. Her Daddy says if you don't like something, you should change it (instead of whining about it to your parents when they want to relax with a cup of tea). Mary's Daddy, like many others, should watch what he says to children. Mary follows his advice with hilarious results. First she cuts her hair, but when that doesn't go to plan she decides to dye it. She has learned something from the whole hair cutting experience though, this time she plans to try the dye out on someone else first.
+
|summary=Betsy K Glory lives a rather wonderful life on a peaceful island where nothing horrible ever happens. Her father, Alonso, makes the most wonderful ice cream in every flavour you could imagine. Her mother, Myrtle, is a mermaid and comes to visit regularly, although she still lives in the sea. Betsy dreams of two things: firstly, about the circus owned by a tiger and whether it would ever come to her island and secondly, about a magical ice cream made from the berries of the Gongalong bush. One scoop of this ice cream can make wishes come true.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781122261</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
And then Mr Tiger and his circus arrive. And a journey is planned...
|title=Dead Brigade
 
|author=James Lovegrove
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|summary=Sergeant Jonah Hammond's career has been at a standstill in the years since he launched a complaint against a reckless commanding officer whose arrogance resulted in the massacre of British soldiers. Now that same officer is offering Hammond another chance. This time Hammond won't have to worry about some idiot getting his men all killed - because they are already dead. Hammond has been given the task of training a crack squad of reanimated soldiers, immune to pain, disease and capable of fighting with massive injuries. These living dead are reanimated by nanobots. They are capable of learning, following instructions, and meant to be incapable of independent thought. However, it soon becomes apparent that things don't always go the way they are meant to. These are not mindless killing machines; a part of them is still human, still the soldier they once were, trapped within a decaying corpse, kept refrigerated until ready for the next mission. They have no life, nor do they have the luxury of death.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1842995081</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1781128286
|title=Sweetness and Lies
+
|title=Run Wild
|author=Karen McCombie and Jessica Secheret
+
|author=Gill Lewis
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Starting a new school is always tough, and when Tilly is the only girl from her primary to win a place at the more exclusive Beech Cliff School, her old friends abandon her as being too posh. She quickly makes friends with Mia, but when a new girl Amber Sweet tries to join the group Mia definitely feels that two is company and three is a crowd. Amber is torn between loyalty to Mia and her own conscience as Tia is openly cruel to Amber. Tilly soon begins to question Mia's jokes and put downs. There doesn't seem to be any way Tilly can be friends with both girls, Mia won't allow it. Can she find the courage to stand up to Mia and risk having no friends? And would Amber even want to be her friend any more if she did?
+
|summary=Meet Izzy and Asha. Bullied away from the local attempt at a skatepark, they find a huge waste ground in the shadow of a derelict gasometer to practise on, which they duly do, even though they have to drag Izzy's younger brother with them. The following day they all want to return, as does the brother's schoolfriend, despite – and of course because of – there is a huge wolf living in the site. Can the children survive living in the urban wilderness, alongside such obvious dangers?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781121990</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Jennings Different
|title=Cheesemares
+
|title=A Different Dog
|author=Ross Collins
+
|author=Paul Jennings and Geoff Kelly
|rating=4
+
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Every time Hal eats cheese he has terrible nightmares. Hal's mother suggests drastic measures - no more cheese before bed. Hal loves his cheese though so he sets off on a quest for clues to solve the Case of the Cheesemares. He is accompanied by his canine sidekick, Rufus. He stumbles upon his first clue very quickly. All of the cheese that has been giving him bad dreams has come from Contessa Von Udderstein's  (not at all evil) House of Cheese in Bovina. Hal follows the trail to a spooky castle ruled by the evil Contessa Von Udderstein, a very mad cow who looks quite a bit like a bovine version of Cruella De Ville. The irate cow wants revenge on humans for stealing their milk for years (it's a good thing no one mentioned hamburgers or roast beef) Hal and Rufus must escape from the clutches of the mad cattle and make cheese safe to eat again. It's a good thing cows don't have hands to clutch with.
+
|summary=Our hero is a boy, whose name we never learn. We know what he wants in life – with his mother exceedingly poor, and even his bed burnt to keep the two of them warm, he wants the prize offered by a down-a-mountain-and-back-up-and-down-again foot race. Winning the race and the large purse would also give him more status in the eyes of those kids that bully him, and it might even give him a voice – for he is almost mute. We quickly learn he never talks back to anyone, whatever the motivation, and can only speak aloud to himself – and, so it turns out, to a dog he rescues from a bad road accident he finds on his way up the hill to the start line…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781121915</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Dawson_Grave
|title=Cherry Green Story Queen
+
|title=Grave Matter
|author=Annie Dalton and Charlie Adler
+
|author=Juno Dawson and Alex T Smith
|rating=5
+
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=At first glance, I expected this to be a fairly typical girl's story for tweens. I certainly was not expecting a story of such beauty or depth. This is a very enjoyable read, but is it much more than light fiction. I enjoyed it so much, I wanted to share the book with my sons, but I had to be very careful to hide the cover. Being typical boys, they are not going to want to hear a story that looks so much like a girl's story. This book has something in common with 'The Arabian Nights, Tales of 1,001 Nights'. In fact it shares a direct link with the ancient book. But this story will only give us three nights of magic. Still three nights might just be enough to change the lives of six children in foster care. This also shares the basic message of 'The Allegory of the Long Spoons' a well known parable by  the Rabbi Haim which has passed into the folk lore of many cultures. The basic message is that the difference between heaven and hell is not so much a difference in physical circumstances, but rather is the result of how we treat one another.
+
|summary=Since Eliza died, since the night of the car crash that took her life, Sam is a broken soul. He is lost without the girl he loves, feeling as though a part of him died that night too. But he is desperate and he cannot live without Eliza. He remembers his estranged Aunt Marie and her peculiar healing powers and wonders if she might be able to help him. However, finding his Aunt Marie leads him to discover the Milk Man, which causes Sam in his grieving state to make a pact with forces he doesn't understand. Things soon turn complicated as supernatural powers start to change Sam's life in more ways than he bargained for.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781122008</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{newreview
+
Move on to [[Newest Dystopian Fiction Reviews]]
|title=Mr Birdsnest and the House Next Door
 
|author=Julia Donaldson and Hannah Shaw
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|summary=I love Julia Donaldson's books for younger children. Everyone loves [[The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson|The Gruffalo]] and [[Tyrannosaurus Drip by Julia Donaldson|Tyrannosaurus Drip]] is still one of our favourites, but as the children have grown, these books have been read less frequently. I have to admit, I've missed them. ''Mr Birdsnest and the House Next Door'' gives us a chance to enjoy this brilliant author for just a little while longer. This is fun story, told in the first person, so we never know the name of the main character. We do know she is lively active young girl, perhaps with  an active imagination. I would guess her to be about 10 years old with an equally active and inquisitive younger brother named  Elmo.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781120056</amazonuk>
 
}}
 

Latest revision as of 15:30, 13 May 2022


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Review of

Stitched Up by Steve Cole

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Twelve-year-old Hanh wanted to be a fashion designer. Life in the rural village where she lived with her family was happy, if not prosperous, so when the smartly-dressed man and woman came to the village to offer Hahn a job in Hanoi it was an opportunity not to be missed. Some money changed hands and Hanh was on the mini-bus to Hanoi. Only, Hanh and the other girls were not going to work in a shop, they were to work in virtual slavery in an illegal garment factory. You know those jeans you really wanted: the ones with intricate embroidery and beading on the legs? The ones with the artfully-placed rips and distressed seams that felt so soft when you touched them? It's quite possible that Hanh and her co-workers made them. Full Review

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Review of

Wrath by Marcus Sedgwick

4.5star.jpg Teens

Meet Fitz, a young Scottish lad full of frustration at himself. Lockdown is only just over, and he should be free to do what he wants, to go where he wants and with whom he wants, but he cannot stop himself from putting his foot in it when he talks to his best friend, Cassie. They were half of a desultory school band, but Cassie was also one hundred per cent the enigmatic – saying she could hear a subhuman hum coming from the earth. Is this connected with one of her eco-warrior parents saying the end of the world is already a done deal? Is it some spooky new kind of music she's dreaming of? Is she just bonkers? And can Fitz find out the truth? Well, not when Cassie has gone missing he can't... Full Review

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Review of

The Mermaid in the Millpond by Lucy Strange and Pam Smy

4.5star.jpg Confident Readers

There is no mermaid in the millpond. That at least is what Bess is telling herself. Neither will there be a friend for her in amongst all the other kids, who have had their entire childhoods sold to the mill-owners by the London workhouse they used to call home. Bess knows there is no time for friendship in a hand-to-mouth, every man for himself kind of existence. But despite herself Bess does find a bit of a kindred spirit in the slight little Dot, and despite everything that life has taught her about betrayal and how befriending people only leads to harm, there might be a glimmer of companionship in the tired-out mill workers. But surely that doesn't mean there is any truth in the existence of the mermaid? Full Review

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Review of

The Climbers by Keith Gray

4star.jpg Confident Readers

Sully is the best tree climber in the village. He has what's known amongst the kids as 'reach'. But what happens when a new kid shows up in town? A new kid, called Nottingham, who clambers up some of the hardest trees with ease? Suddenly Sully is worried that his status is being threatened, and not only that, that his chance to name the final, unnamed big tree in the park by being the first to conquer it, might be snatched from his hands. How can Sully stop Nottingham? And will it cost him his best friend, or maybe even all of his friends, to do so? Full Review

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Review of

The Small Things by Lisa Thompson

5star.jpg Confident Readers

Although Anna has friends at school, she feels like she never really fits in. Her family don't have enough money to let her do after school activities, and so she feels like her life at home is boring in comparison to theirs. When a new girl joins her class, Anna is asked to partner her, but things are complicated because the new girl, Ellie, is unwell and so can't attend school in person. Instead, she joins in with the class by using a robot. Can Anna overcome the challenge of making friends with someone through a robot, and is she even interesting enough to be a good friend to Ellie? Full Review

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Review of

The Ghost Garden by Emma Carroll and Kaja Kajfez

4.5star.jpg Confident Readers

Fran, the gardener's daughter at a posh country house, is worried. She's just cracked her garden fork through quite a grim discovery - a large bone, buried under the potatoes. But she's even more worried when she learns that that event coincided with Leo, the older child of the house, breaking his leg while playing cricket on the lawn. She is due to get even more worried when she finds something else that also seems to foretell a surprise. Tasked with shoving Leo around the grounds in his bathchair, she might have reason to be out of her mind with fear, when she learns what he is seeking - a long-forgotten burial chamber. But surely that won't act as a premonition to anything - not here in the sultry, summery days of 1914? Full Review

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Review of

The Humiliations of Welton Blake by Alex Wheatle

2.5star.jpg Confident Readers

We meet Welton Blake at the worst of times – only they should be the best of times. He should be getting a text from the most bae-worthy girl in school in regards to a cinema date, but his phone has packed up, he's chundered last night's meal and his breakfast over another girl in class, who's duffed him up in response, and the wanna-bae seems to actually be with someone else anyway. On a bigger scale he's living with his mother and not much income now that the dad has left the picture – yes, things are so bad they're resorting to having cabbage for dinner. I know, right? But surely this is just a blip, a day at school to forget, and everything (like his vomit) will all come out in the wash? This can't be the start of a most nightmarish time for young Welton? Full Review

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Review of

Survival in Space: The Apollo 13 Mission by David Long and Stefano Tambellini (illustrator)

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

It's fifty years since the Apollo 13 mission was launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, but the story of that journey remains one of the greatest survival stories of all time. Survival in Space: The Apollo 13 Mission is a brilliant retelling of what happened. Full Review

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Review of

Sequin and Stitch by Laura Dockrill and Sara Ogilvie (illustrator)

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Sequin loved her mum to bits, but sometimes she got very cross with her. It wasn't that mum wouldn't go outside their flat - Sequin coped with that - it was because she never pushed to get credit for what she did. Mum is a seamstress and she makes the sort of clothes that you see on red carpets or at important weddings. She's not the designer - they're the people who make a lot of money from the clothes. Mum is the person who actually makes the garments and she's really talented, but when people talk about the dress or the suit, they talk about the designer. The seamstress is never mentioned. Full Review

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Review of

Jane Eyre: a Retelling by Tanya Landman

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

A young woman, fresh from living with horrid relatives who could care less about her, and years in a dreary school, moves into Thornfield Hall with only one intent – to have something like the life she wants – and with only one job, to tutor a young half-French girl, whose father is almost always absent. When he does turn up he seems to be dark, brooding and troubled – but that's nothing compared to the darker, more broody and even more troubling secret in the house. Yes, if you know Jane Eyre then you know the rest – but if you don't, for whatever reason, this is a wonderful book to turn to. Full Review

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Review of

The Starlight Watchmaker by Lauren James

4star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

This is a dyslexia-friendly, science fiction novella for young adults. It tells the tale of Hugo, an unwanted and rather lonely android, who makes a living for himself mending time-travel watches. When one of his clients demands that his broken watch be mended, Hugo realises there is a mystery to be solved and is only too ready to help. An exciting journey of discovery unfolds, which takes Hugo out of his drab attic workroom and into a scary adventure with some amazing new friends, exploring regions of the planet never before known to exist. Full Review

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Review of

Special Delivery by Jonathan Meres

4star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

How do you explain to children about dementia? Injuries or illnesses are obvious, but when the problem is the brain which isn't functioning quite as it used to it isn't as easy to grasp. Frank was a normal nine-year-old and like many nine-year-olds what he wanted was a new bike. He'd had his for about seventy-eight years and he didn't want to raise the seat any more. Mum pointed out that it wasn't his birthday or Christmas any time soon and bikes cost a lot of money, which didn't grow on trees. His sister Lottie had a solution: Frank could help her with her paper round. Frank agreed despite thinking that it would take him a thousand years to save up the money for a bike AND he had to get up at six o'clock in the morning. Full Review

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Review of

The Spectacular Revenge of Suzi Sims by Vivian French

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Suzi Simms loved running and it was her ambition to win the 100 metres race on sports day at the end of term - and that was next week. We're going to read about what happened in her diary, although there's a warning that we really shouldn't be reading it, particularly as it's about Barbie Meek. To say that the two girls don't get on at all well is a bit of an understatement. Suzi wouldn't actually do anything about it, but Barbie is a troublemaker and she wants to win the 100 metres race too - by fair means or foul. Full Review

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Review of

Dog on a Log Chapter Books: Step 1 by Pamela Brookes

4star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

What do you do when your child has dyslexia and you need books which will help them to achieve the wonder that is reading? You can risk buying early readers, but the sounds in the book might not be the ones you've been working on and encountering words which are just too challenging can have more of a negative effect on the young dyslexic than a child without that problem. You need to be able to buy books at a reasonable price which concentrate on what you've been working on, without anything else being thrown into the mix. You need a story which engages the young mind and you need stages which progress steadily through the learning process without there being any large jumps. Some online support and games wouldn't go amiss, either. Reading - and learning to read - should be a pleasure. It should be fun. Full Review

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Review of

One Shot by Tanya Landman

4.5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Pa and I understood each other. Our souls were cut from the same cloth. But Pa has since died, leaving Maggie very much alone in her family. She was the only one of three children who looked like him, and none of the others acted like him, and certainly, his wife didn't seem to fully understand him. Maggie might as well be reliving the Cinderella story, stuck with two siblings and mother that are fully against her. But at least she can sneak out at night, and shoot some game to stop them from starving? Well, no, not where her mother is concerned – the very idea of a female shooting things, when they could be preparing for a life of unhappy married drudgery, is just scandalous. Full Review

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Review of

Lark by Anthony McGowan

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

I'll warn you first.

This is the fourth and last story about Nicky and Kenny. Try not to cry before you've even read the first page.

Things have got tense at home - again - for Nicky and his learning-disabled brother Kenny. Their mum is coming to visit - the mum who abandoned them a long time ago. They haven't seen her for years and the impending visit is stirring up a lot of uncomfortable feelings. And Nicky's girlfriend has ended things. To take their minds off it all, Nicky and Kenny plan a day out, trekking across the moors. But it doesn't go to plan and an accident puts both boys - and their dog, Tina, in terrible danger. Full Review

1786697173.jpg

Review of

Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Blue Moon by Sally Gardner

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Betsy K Glory lives a rather wonderful life on a peaceful island where nothing horrible ever happens. Her father, Alonso, makes the most wonderful ice cream in every flavour you could imagine. Her mother, Myrtle, is a mermaid and comes to visit regularly, although she still lives in the sea. Betsy dreams of two things: firstly, about the circus owned by a tiger and whether it would ever come to her island and secondly, about a magical ice cream made from the berries of the Gongalong bush. One scoop of this ice cream can make wishes come true.

And then Mr Tiger and his circus arrive. And a journey is planned... Full Review

1781128286.jpg

Review of

Run Wild by Gill Lewis

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Meet Izzy and Asha. Bullied away from the local attempt at a skatepark, they find a huge waste ground in the shadow of a derelict gasometer to practise on, which they duly do, even though they have to drag Izzy's younger brother with them. The following day they all want to return, as does the brother's schoolfriend, despite – and of course because of – there is a huge wolf living in the site. Can the children survive living in the urban wilderness, alongside such obvious dangers? Full Review

link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/Jennings Different/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21

Review of

A Different Dog by Paul Jennings and Geoff Kelly

4.5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Our hero is a boy, whose name we never learn. We know what he wants in life – with his mother exceedingly poor, and even his bed burnt to keep the two of them warm, he wants the prize offered by a down-a-mountain-and-back-up-and-down-again foot race. Winning the race and the large purse would also give him more status in the eyes of those kids that bully him, and it might even give him a voice – for he is almost mute. We quickly learn he never talks back to anyone, whatever the motivation, and can only speak aloud to himself – and, so it turns out, to a dog he rescues from a bad road accident he finds on his way up the hill to the start line… Full Review

Dawson Grave.jpg

Review of

Grave Matter by Juno Dawson and Alex T Smith

4.5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Since Eliza died, since the night of the car crash that took her life, Sam is a broken soul. He is lost without the girl he loves, feeling as though a part of him died that night too. But he is desperate and he cannot live without Eliza. He remembers his estranged Aunt Marie and her peculiar healing powers and wonders if she might be able to help him. However, finding his Aunt Marie leads him to discover the Milk Man, which causes Sam in his grieving state to make a pact with forces he doesn't understand. Things soon turn complicated as supernatural powers start to change Sam's life in more ways than he bargained for. Full Review

Move on to Newest Dystopian Fiction Reviews