Title: The Fox and the Ghost King Author: Michael Morpurgo “Every fox in the whole town, in the whole country just about, is a football fan…. And we all have an impossible dream.” There is an ordinary family of foxes who live under an ordinary human’s shed. They live an ordinary life and like all foxes, they adore football. They all support the same team: The Foxes (AKA Leicester City) but they NEVER win! One day, on the way back from the latest football game against Chelsea, (Leicester loses again), Daddy Fox and his eldest son come across a voice in the earth in a car park. The voice tells them that he is the ghost of King Richard III and that he hates Shakespeare. He also tells them that if they dig him out, he will grant them one wish. What wish could 2 football mad foxes ask for? Do they dig him out? What is their impossible dream? Does His Royal Highness grant their wish? You’ll have to read the book to find out! I give it 5*****. I recommend this book to 9+ children with an interest in football and history. After I finished this book, I…

Title: When my mum threw out the TV Author: Emily Smith This is one of my Summer Reading Challenge books from the library, which is why it’s quite an old book. It’s still worth reading though if you can find a copy! This book is about a boy called Jeff who loves TV. His mum is fed up of him watching TV so she locks it up in the wardrobe, then she gives it to an old lady for a few MONTHS! At Jeff’s school he can’t join in the latest gossip as he hasn’t watched the latest show, Cybernauts. He has no interests in it; this is why no one in his class is his friend! One day, he meets a girl called Dizzi, in the library and they become best friends. Dizzi enters him to go on the Cybernauts show. He becomes one of the few contestants. He tries 6 hard challenges and completes them all; not like the other contestants who fail miserably on the first test. His classmates are amazed when they see him on the TV!!!! Does he get the TV back? Read this book to find out. I recommend it to 7+ good readers….

Title: Defenders – Killing Ground Author: Tom Palmer Seth loves football; especially Halifax F.C. He has never missed a home game even though his mum is seriously ill. She has cancer. However, she is going to London to have treatment soon. Seth is one of a kind! He sees things that have happened in the past. They are mostly good things but as he is growing older now, bad things are starting to creep in. It all starts at half time at the latest football match when the new floodlights come on. A massive storm hangs over the stadium like a helicopter about to land. Trees start shaking and fire starts burning. Seth sees a face; a Viking’s face. Every night after this, Seth notices a group of Vikings rounding up and slaughtering Saxon villagers. He needs to help them but how? Can Seth and his new friend Nadiya stop the gruesome, gross, ghost slaughter? Read the book to find out! I love this book and can’t wait for the next one in the series, which is due out soon (August 2017)! I recommend this book to 9+ readers who like history. Also, this is an easy to read book…

Title: Kid Normal Author: Greg James and Chris Smith This book is about a boy called Murph and his peculiar school. Murph has a problem; he keeps moving house and has no school to go to at the moment. So, his mum keeps on searching for a new school. One day, on his way home from the shops, Murph’s mum spots a child coming out from an alleyway which leads to a place called “The School”, so his mum runs to get the attention of a man who is also there. Whilst she is talking to him, there is a BIG misunderstanding about “flying” and as a result of this misunderstanding, Murph is allowed to attend this school! Meanwhile, at the school weird things are happening, especially the fact that its top secret and the students there have “capes” otherwise known as superpowers. But what can Murph do without a cape? He can be laughed at and called names, such as Kid Normal! But Murph can still save the day especially as there is an evil supervillain lurking around the corner. Nektar is a wasp-man (a cross between a wasp and a man) and he hates picnics. He’s in need…

Title: The Trials of Apollo – The Hidden Oracle Apollo was a God until his father Zeus made him into a mortal. He also made him fall from the sky and land in a dustbin in New York. Soon a pair of thieves turn into the alley he is in and try to rob him, so a little girl called Meg helps Apollo as he didn’t have his Godly powers anymore. This sparks a friendship between them but they are still in danger because spirits are following them. They need to get to get to Camp Half-Blood to be safe but how do they get there? They just ask the famous Percy Jackson to take them there but strange things are happening at Camp Half-Blood. People are going missing and Apollo needs to find an oracle to save the day. Does Apollo and Meg’s friendship last? Does Apollo get to Camp Half-Blood? Does Apollo become a God again? Read the book to find out! I really enjoyed this book and it kept me on the edge of my seat. You don’t need to have read the Percy Jackson books to understand this series. I recommend this book to 9+ Percy…

Title: Middle School – Escape to Australia Series: Middle School Author: James Patterson This story is about a boy called Rafe who is unlucky (most of the time). At his school, they had an art competition and the prize was a 3 week holiday to Australia. Rafe gathered all his best artistic sketches and won the 3 week holiday. He was so excited and when he got home he told his mum the news straight away. In Australia he got pranked 3 times by Bradley and Belinda whose parents owned the house they were staying in. These were the pranks: Making him surf and then his swimming trunks came off Putting a ginormous snake in his bed Dropping a soft, cuddly toy bear on him, making him think that it was a dangerous drop bear After the pranks, Rafe wants REVENGE. But how? Does he escape Australia alive? What is the revenge plan? I recommend it to 9+. If you like adventure, this is the book for you. I give it 5*****. If you like Tom Gates, you’ll like this book as well.

Title: The Ethan I was before Author: Ali Standish   Ethan’s story was definitely a page turner! The book is about Ethan and his best friend Kacey. Kacey and Ethan liked to dare each other to do weird things. Their final dare ended terribly and resulted in the end of their friendship. Kacey’s window had been dark for forty-nine days. Ethan became depressed and kept running away to try to reach Kacey. On his third attempt, his brother Roddie found him and told him to stop running away. After this incident, Ethan’s family moved from Boston to a small town called Palm Knot; this is where Ethan makes a new friend called Coralee who also has a secret or two! But, not everyone liked Palm Knot; Roddie didn’t like it there because there was no baseball team; his girlfriend was still in Boston and there were no good colleges nearby. Also, mum didn’t like it there because they had to live with Grandpa Ike and they didn’t get on particularly well! What happened to Kacey? Whose fault was it? Does Ethan disclose his secret to Coralee or his friends? Do Grandpa Ike and Mum make up? I really enjoyed this…

Title: The Adventures of John Blake Author: Philip Pullman This comic book is about a boy called John Blake. This book starts in the sea when a girl falls off her family yacht and drowns and then appears on a ship with the name of “The Mary Alice”. She has time travelled to the past; to the time of the pirates! The crew has a special boy called John on board who has an extremely special secret! What is the secret? I recommend it to 8+ adventure and comic fans. I give it 5/5. If you like mysteries this is the book for you. Also, if you don’t like long, boring books without any illustrations, you will like this book!

Title: Timmy Failure 6 – Cat Stole my Pants Author: Stephan Pastis This is the sixth book in the series and it’s called the Cat Stole my Pants because when Timmy meets his real dad (not Doorman Dave) he loses his trousers and he blames it on the cat with six toes! These books are about a boy called Timmy Failure who thinks he’s a good detective but he hasn’t solved any mysteries in any of the 6 books, so this shows he is a terrible detective (obviously not like Sherlock Holmes!). In this book, Timmy’s mum and stepdad, Doorman Dave, are on honeymoon on an island called Key West and unfortunately for Timmy, he has to go with them! His stepdad’s nephew, Emilio, is also there. Emilio becomes Timmy’s unpaid intern because Total, Timmy’s obese chicken nugget loving polar bear had swum to Cuba. Emilio has an interesting hobby; he likes to read romance novels in his spare time. A few days into the holiday, Timmy goes fishing with Doorman Dave but Emilio doesn’t go with them due to the fact that he’s a bit “sniffly”, and fishing would make it worse! On the same day, a note falls…

Title: William Wenton and the Luridium Thief Author: Bobbie Peers William is a codebreaker and he gets this skill from his grandfather. He is on the run after his grandfather’s disappearance. But when the impossible puzzle (a really hard code) comes to Norway (William’s family’s hiding place), William can’t resist going to see it. After a misunderstanding, William is forced to solve the puzzle and his extraordinary skills are discovered. That night, William is KIDNAPPED!!! He is taken to the Institute for Post-Human Research because someone is after him. Someone who needs him to help him find some Luridium (a very important metal). Does he make any friends? Does he stop the person who is after him? Does he find his grandfather? Things are definitely not what they seem! Why? How? You’ll have to read the book! I really enjoyed this book and it’s definitely one of the best books I have ever read. I recommend it to 9+ Alex Rider fans. I loved this book and give it 12/10.