Huge thanks to the children of Wolston St. Margaret's Primary School who, for the past two weeks have entertained us with their fabulous reviews. 

You have all worked so hard, we are very proud of you and we do hope you continue on with your reading. 

With thanks to teachers, Miss Brown and Miss Cunnigham.

We hope you, the readers, have enjoyed our children's fiction fortnight but, for now, it's back to the grown ups...

Best Wishes

The Editors.

Review by Robbie, aged 9 and Seren, aged 8 of “Freedom Train” – a Treetops Graphic Novel.

Freedom train is a really good book.

It’s all about slavery a long time ago…

 A young slave girl named Lizzie escapes from her cruel owner, Marshall. When she escapes, her friend gets shot in the back. We both agreed that it was sad at that moment, and quite unexpected!

After that, Lizzie has to trust others to guide her to the Promised Land. The Underground Railroad was a secret system that Lizzie had to use to escape Marshall. 

When she escapes, she meets Samson. Samson was a friend of Elijah, and when Lizzie told Samson the Elijah had been shot in the back he was very upset. After he heard the news, he decided he couldn’t lose anyone else. He sent Lizzie to Philadelphia in a cargo of cotton to keep her safe. 

When she arrived, she found a station and she also found her first conductor named William Still. After that, William told Lizzie to go back to her cotton cargo to continue her journey. While she was sleeping, she had dreams about the faces of people she had left behind. Meanwhile, Marshall put up a poster saying that Lizzie was missing and that whoever found her would get $50…We were both worried that Marshall would find Lizzie.

When Lizzie arrived at her next destination, she met someone called Harriet Tubman. Lizzie didn’t know at the time but Harriet Tubman was one of the most interesting people she would ever meet. She said to Lizzie that she would take her to Canada…. At the end of the story Lizzie escapes to the Promised Land and lives happily ever after.

Seren said that it is one of the best books she has ever read. Robbie said he had read better books but he also said that this one is pretty good as well.

Robbie - aged 9 and Seren - aged 8.

Review by Maizey Batchelor, aged 14, of “Straight Outta Crongton” by Alex Wheatle

This book had me hooked right from the start. It’s very relatable for teenagers: 

“He hasn’t got anything to bring apart from his drunk-up bruk-ass self,” says Mo, the main character of this book. I really love the way Alex uses slang and colloquial language. 

Mo is a fifteen-year-old girl who lives with her mother and her mum’s horrible boyfriend Lloyd.  She tries her best to stay out of their way, since Lloyd has been to prison for all the wrong reasons. She prefers to hang out with her two G’s Elaine and Naomi or spend her time wishing she was Sam’s girlfriend. 

One day, Lloyd beats up Mo and she runs away to stay with Elaine. But Lloyd is not finished. He hurts one of Mo’s friends and Mo needs to make it right. Who does Lloyd hurt? Will Mo ever get revenge on Lloyd.  And Will she ever be reunited with her mum?

Alex Wheatle has written lots of other great books such as Liccle bit, Home Girl and Crongton Knights. He really captures the minds of teenagers and his books are far more enjoyable than any others I’ve read previously. Straight Outta Crongton is full of both drama and romance and I give it a five-star rating!

About the Reviewer 
Maizey is fourteen and loves drama, dance and performing. She has recently re-discovered books after a long break from reading. This is her first ever book review!