Checkmate is the penultimate book in the Noughts and Crosses series. Callie is the daughter of Sephy, a Cross, and Callum a Nought. She soon learns that life in this divided society isn’t going to be easy…
Author: Alyssa
Knife Edge by Malorie Blackman Book Review
In the second book in the Noughts and Crosses series, the story is told by Sephy, a Cross, and Jude, a Nought. Jude blames Sephy for what happened to his family, and now he wants revenge, but with Jude’s life resting on a knife edge, that’s not going to be easy…
Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman – Book Review
In Callum and Sephy’s society, Noughts, the white citizens, are ruled by Crosses, the black citizens. Callum, a Nought, and Sephy, a Cross, who have been friends since childhood, soon learn that Noughts and Crosses simply don’t mix when Callum goes to a mainly Crosses school for the first time. As they get closer, they find it harder and harder to be together. Then, everything changes when the bomb goes off…
The Manifesto on How to be Interesting by Holly Bourne – Book Review
Bree is the opposite of what is defined as “popular” at her school. While most of her year are partying, Bree prefers to write. As her pile of rejection letters for the book she has written grows, Bree is told she needs to live a life worth writing about. She sets up a blog and begins to write The Manifesto on How to be Interesting, but she soon finds out that being popular is not all that it seems…
Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher – Book Review
Zoe did something terrible, and somehow, she managed to get away with it. Ever since the incident she has kept what really happened a secret, until one day when she decides to write to a stranger to try and come to terms with what she has done. It’s no ordinary stranger though. It’s someone who knows about secrets – a murderer on death row in Texas, America. Zoe picks up a pen and begins to write…
Say Her Name by Juno Dawson – Book Review
One night, a group of friends decides to try and summon the ghost of Bloody Mary, just for a laugh. Anyway, what’s the worst that could happen? With a camera ready, they chant Bloody Mary five times into their bathroom mirror. Strange things begin to happen when one of the friends, Bobbie, discovers a message in the mirror – “five days,” it says. As they try to unravel the mystery, they learn that while many have tried to say her name for a dare, all Mary wants is the world to know the truth…
Say Her Name is based on a version of the legend of Bloody Mary. Piece by piece, the story is uncovered and it is not until the very end that there is an explanation of some of the scary goings-on in the book.
Even then, there are some things that are left open for you to interpret yourself. It was so gripping that I didn’t want to put it down over the two days during which I read it. The dialogue between the teenagers was so realistic that it really made the characters come to life and made it even more believable.
The book was scary in parts, mainly because as the story went on, there were many plot twists and details added that meant that you couldn’t predict how the story would work as the story progressed.
Overall, I loved this book – when I thought it couldn’t get any scarier, I really struggled to construct any theories about what was really going on. There was always something around the corner that would make me want to read on!
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – Book Review
Twins Cath and Wren both share a love for Fanfiction: their Simon Snow stories are a global hit. Growing up without a mother, they find themselves relying on each other as they go through their teenage years. When they both head to university, Wren reveals that she doesn’t want to share a room with Cath. Without the support of her sister, Cath is forced to deal with her anxiety and adapt to life as a freshman at college.
Hunger by Michael Grant – Book Review
It’s been three months since the beginning of the FAYZ wall, which suddenly appeared in Gone, and life isn’t getting easier for Sam, Astrid and the rest of Perdido Beach.
To make things worse, Caine’s group from Coates Academy are constantly trying to cut of the power supply to the town, so they can leave Sam in complete darkness. However, that’s not the only type of darkness they should be worried about…
One by Sarah Crossan : a Q&A with my sister
After seeing Sarah Crossan at the Bath Children’s Literature Festival my sister Thalia was inspired to read her latest book, One. It sounded like such an interesting book that I decided to ask her a few questions to see what she thought about it.
The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness – Book Review
Mikey is just your average teenager – he hangs out with his friends every weekend and hopes that he has the courage to ask a girl to the prom at the end of the year . He and his friends have never been the ones to fight the zombies and the soul-eating ghosts – that’s up to a group of people called the “Indie Kids”. Mikey soon finds out that even if you are not the “Chosen One” you should still try to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.
Fiction for Teens 