Anthony describes Alex as a boy who is a super spy wanting to be a normal boy.

The story is set in many places. It starts in London to where Alex is called for another mission.  Then in Cayo Esqueleto (Skeleton key) to find out what Sarov is planning.  Alex then gets taken hostage and gets flown to Russia                                                     (stopping at Canada then London).  The author describes everywhere with great detail.  The setting is important to both the characters and the plot because the story is set in many places.

The main problem is for Alex to stop the nuclear bomb from detonating in Russia, which the wind will shower most of Europe in deadly spores.  Anthony describes all the events in good enough detail they are all believable.  The ending is convincing and joking. A funny moment is when Alex stuns the salesman on may fair lady (the boat) a sad moment is when Alex gets caught escaping from Sarov`s mansion and found, an exciting moment is when Alex rides the cribber and nearly gets killed.

This is a book that you would never put down in a lifetime The reader starts reading this for a second and its been an hour with all the excitement pacing through his head at the speed of light with laughter that keeps him going for ever making a perfect combo!

This book is for older kids, with 325 pages this will put off younger readers.  Anyone looking through this would take a long time to find pages or even words to make this shorter. This book fills the reader up with gripping excitement from start to finish! It can’t be put down!  Some people may not like this book when it starts but it all adds up to the climax!

Published by Dav Pilkey

Captain Underpants and Professor Poopypants is a book about a mean principal who turns into Captain Underpants because of George and Harold. Professor Poopypants becomes their science teacher and everyone laughs so he gives everyone a silly name then Captain Underpants comes to the rescue and saves the day.

George and Harold are two troublemakers who write and draw their own comic books about Captain Underpants. They do this in their spare time and detention time. George and Harold hypnotised their mean principle called Mr Krupp.“You will be Captain Underpants when I snap my fingers!” said George. ”Snap” so he ran away in his underpants, tore off his hair and put on a cape. The author Dav Pilkey gives great detail about Professor Poopypants. Professor Poopypants is the mean, evil man in the story and he does not like his name so he gives every one else a silly name!

The school is the place George and Harold get up to their latest tricks and adventures. The school is not very well described but it’s still a great book. The tree house is also another place where they write and draw their comic books.

Professor Poopypants is embarrassed about his name and shrinks the school and gives everyone a silly name like if your first name starts with a J and the first letter of your surname is M and the last letter of your last name is Q your name would be poopies banana toes!

Captain Underpants and Professor Poopypants is written in comedy style but not just that, it’s also quite a chatty book it still really good.

Captain Underpants is a really good book it is full of laughs and is action packed. This is for boys and girls of any age that can read. It looks like a really thick book but honestly it hardly has any writing.

The main characters in the Red Boxing Glove s are Miles, Terry and Brickley. They behave like young boys about eleven years old. Their hobby is boxing and sparring against each other. They all  want to be better than each other.  Brickley is honest but he does not play by the rules. Terry is self-confident and frightened that he is not good enough to fight. It took him a while to fight.

Most of the story is at boxing training, after doing hard sweaty press-ups and working on the punchbag. They go and spar against each other and they don’t like to lose, so it will be hard for them.

Two boys called Terry and Brickley are the two main boys in the Red Boxing Gloves. The author is trying to explain that you can’t judge a person by their face.

It’s a serious story but some of it is chatty. The chatty part can be boring at times. This book would recommend from the age of 10-14years old. If you like serious books this would be the book for you.
 
                                  

FRIDAY FOREVER

This is a very interesting book about a boy whose life changes over a burp.

Lenny is under a lot of pressure so he wishes something he regrets later on. After this wish everything changes in Lenny’s life. Lenny Brown is a kind, caring boy. Darren is the new boy who is allergic to bees and wasps. Ross seems to get left out a lot but later on Lenny becomes his friend. Sita is the smart girl who always gets her work completely right. Miss Parrot is a supply teacher who does a quiz every Friday. Annie Dalton describes the characters very well.

Lenny’s house is a lovely house until Friday when everything changes. The house smells of burnt food and bad vibes. Annie Dalton takes the reader in the imagination to a smelly house. She doesn’t describe Lenny’s school very well but that doesn’t interrupt the story’s plot. The school is where most of the story is set and where everything changes in Lenny’s life.

Lenny is under a lot of pressure and stress and all this pressure and stress comes out in one big cosmic burp. This cosmic burp forms a message that says “FRIDAY FOREVER”. This particular Friday was the best day of the week for Lenny. The author describes all these events very well. 

This is an easy book to read with only 80 pages. It is very exciting and sometimes funny. Annie Dalton describes the characters quite well but it could be better.

This book would appeal to readers from the age of 9 to about 12 maybe some older if they enjoy fun-adventure books. Friday forever is a very interesting and an enjoyable book.

This story is about a boy called JP who loves playing his game boy and who goes on the adventure of his life. This book was published in 2003 and it was reprinted in 2004 twice and then in 2005.

 JP is a young kid. This story is about a boy called JP who loves playing his game boy and who likes playing games. The author makes his mum stay in the kitchen when JP is upstairs in his room. His mum thinks that he is up to something and JP goes on the adventure of his life.
The story is set inside and outside JP’s house and down at the Old junk shop .The junk shop has an old chair, a smashed television, a cracked vase, a parrot cage, CD’s and an old   CD player game boy game. JP goes through a cave and turns right and he spots a 30    foot   spider. Then he goes through a swamp and he spots a crocodile and the crocodile opens its mouth. The size of the crocodile’s mouth is about 6 foot with thirty big shiny teeth.
JP  buys a game boy game ‘Some call it life some call it death.’ JP bought the game from the old junk shop. Then on the front of the game it said WARNING! THIS EXPERINCE MAY SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH.
This book is a kids’ book and it is also a fiction book with a big spider   and a crocodile and a double headed snake. A lot of kids would like the animals in the book. The author Alan Durant describes the animals very well

James Maloney uses dialogue throughout to help us to understand his characters that are Joe, Daniel and Lizzie. Joe is a young boy who is crazy about space. He believes he is going to be a spaceman by always communicating. Daniel is Joe’s best friend and pretends he is Captain Kirk. Daniel is crazy about space too just like Joe.

Most of the story is set in the garden where Joe’s friends play and hang out in the hut. The Author brings in some little ants to play a trick on Joe, Daniel and Lizzie. The garden is turned into space in the characters’ minds. Daniel, Joe and Lizzie go in the garage to get some space toys and bring them to the garden. 

James Maloney has good description of the characters and setting. He describes well on the characters in a chatty way. Some readers would find parts of the book boring but younger people  might find it funny. The length of the book is short so it would be good for younger children but older children would also find it easy because it is a short book.

 
Joe, Daniel and Lizzie are playing a game in Joe’s garden and pretending it is space and using walkie –talkies to communicate with each other. They find little ants playing a trick on them. When mum comes home she runs over the little ants. Joe, Daniel and Lizzie are shocked when they see the ant’s dead.

 
Young teenagers would find it funny but not as funny as the children. Some good readers might find the style old-fashioned but most readers will enjoy this good story. 

Beagle in a basket 

This is Lucy Daniel’s 56th volume of animal ark and Robbie the beagle is really missing his devoted companion, Martha the tabby cat.

Mandy is an 11-year-old vet who loves animals and on one fine sunny day, she saves a male duck from Mr hope’s car. She is quite lazy at school, but likes working with her Mum and Dad in her house vet. The author makes Mandy seem kind and generous by making her save animals. Her friend is Mr Hope and he is helpful and generous just like Mandy, although he is a bit stubborn. Geraldine O’ Meara’s beagle, Robbie is very friendly and was raised by a female cat called Martha when his mother abandoned him. Martha is an old female tabby cat who raised Robbie when he was just a very young puppy. 

The story gives a wide range of settings: beautiful woodlands filled with wildlife, Mandy’s vet- house that saves animals to just a simple school out in the countryside. Lucy Daniels makes the settings come alive. 

Mandy saves a male duck from Mr Hope’s car. Her friend, Geraldine O’ Meara, introduces her to her home. It is teaming with wildlife and Mandy is amazed by it! Robbie the beagle is happy, but when Martha passes away, Robbie can’t cheer up! Mandy wants to help. She needs to find a way to cheer him up. 

This story appeals to mostly girls of all ages, but boys who love animals will like this too. There is no scary content, which makes it suitable for even the youngest children’s bedtime story. The author is making her 56^th volume as good as the 1^st one.

Nine people are invited to a school reunion. Tim and Nick are amongst them. The reunion is hosted on a remote Scottish island. The author describes the island well.
 
 
Tim is the stupidest detective in the world! He is a young adult and is kind. Nick is Tim’s little brother. He is a smart 14-year-old boy.       
Eric Draper is a prefect at school. He comes first in history and is very smart. Janet Rhodes is best at French at school. Rory McDougal comes first in maths and is the host of the school reunion. Sylvia Binns is best at chemistry and loves chocolate. Johnny Nadler has come second in everything in life and is very jealous. Mark Tyler is best at sport at school and is a marathon runner. Libby Goldman comes first at geography and has a TV show called Libby’s Lounge. Brenda Blake is best at music.
 
 
Crocodile Island is a remote Scottish island with sharp rocks surrounding it. It is shaped like the head of a crocodile. Nine people stay in a castle on the island. The castle is a big dark building on the island with hundreds of expensive artefacts described by Anthony Horowitz.The nine visitors will stay on the island.
 
 
Nine people go to a school reunion on a remote Scottish island where they would stay in a castle for a few days. They find the reunion host, Rory McDougal, dead, and then they all start dying in the strangest ways. So the remaining people are stuck on the island with the murderer. It is a great storyline by Anthony Horowitz.
 
 
The author has written an Action/detective/comedy book, which is rarely boring. It has great description. There are hard words in this short story book that young children may find hard to read.
 
 
The target age would be from 10-14. Most boys would be enjoying this book and some girls. Some  girls would not like this story because it is a gory book.  People who get bored easily may not like this book, but if the reader just holds on a couple more pages  it gets straight back to the action.
 
 

Ally’s World the Past the Present and the Loud, Loud Girl

By Karen McCombie

Published by Scholastic

Ally’s problems are growing and growing.

Ally is a girl who has many everyday girls problems.  She tries to sort them out but it turns out to be harder than she thought so she seeks help from her friends and family but they don’t seem to be much help.  Will she find a way to solve all her problems by herself?

Ally is a really mixed-up and stressed girl but her problems become ten times worse when the mean, judgemental Kyra Davies turns up and Ally’s is told to show her around.  Karen McCombie makes her characters believable by giving them real life problems.  The reader gets a good idea of the characters because they are described in Ally’s opinion.  Ally thinks Kyra is really evil but when Kyra spills the beans everything changes!

Most of the story is set in Palace Gates School which Ally has enjoyed going to for ages but it doesn’t seem to be up to Kyra’s standards. She complains about the grotty toilets, the boring teachers and everything else she could think of.  The rest of the story happens in Ally’s house that the author describes as a large Victorian house that is a bit crumbly around the edges.  It’s a bit of a mad house inside with Tor’s many pets, Rowan’s crazy works of art and the noise of constant arguing between Rowan and Linn.

The author takes us through an eventful school term with Ally.  The term starts off fine but as it goes on Ally’s stress mountain builds up until it’s bigger than Mount Everest. She starts worrying about what to get for Dad’s birthday, then to make things worse she has to hang around with the annoying Kyra Davies all day and to top things off her friends turn against her.  But all day she has something else on her mind but she can’t remember what it is.

The book is very funny because of the chatty, personal and informal style.  The reader gets a good description of the characters because they are described in Ally’s thoughts as the book is written in the first person.  Some of the words are slang words that aren’t in the dictionary but they add to the excitement and humour of the book.

The book would mainly appeal to girls aged about 9-13.  It is a hilarious and fun packed book and it’s like it gets glued to your hands when you read it. It has just the right amount of pages and doesn’t become boring at all the excitement just keeps coming and coming. The book probably wouldn’t appeal to boys but girls will enjoy the humour and thrill of it.

THE THREE OF DIAMONDS

By Anthony Horowitz

Published by Walker

Tim Diamond is the worst detective in history. Along with his little brother, Nick, the two of them set out to solve crimes.  As the two set out, they don’t know what they will face – maybe guns, imprisonment, Class A drugs, murder and killers.  This is a book that contains pages full of mystery and murder.
Tim is a silly man whose brain is the size of a walnut, whereas his little brother, Nick Diamond, is the exact opposite.  Together, they solve mysterious crimes.  Anthony Horowitz makes the characters funny and realistic.  Tim Diamond is stupid but he is also a coward, as he doesn’t want to get murdered.
 
There are three parts to the story- ‘The French Confection’ is set in Paris where the ‘Mad American’ lives, ‘The Blurred Man’ is set in London when they follow dead man’s footsteps and ‘I Know What You Did Last Wednesday’ is set on an island called Crocodile Island in Scotland where strange murders start happening.  Tim and Nick solve a mystery by accident as they were on holiday.
When Tim Diamond wins a trip to the Latin quarter of Paris with his brother, Nick, a strange woman from France is on the same carriage in the train smuggling something to her shop.  As they get out, a steward gives them a sachet with a strange substance inside!  Anthony Horowitz makes sure Tim and Nick nearly get murdered on all three occasions, but solve the case and go back to the flat.  When they come back, an American goes to the flat and tells them about a ‘great’ dead man who gets steamrolled by a madman.  When they solve the case, an old school friend of Tim’s writes to ask Tim and Nick to go to Crocodile Island and be awarded with money!  As it happens, there might be a case to solve…
The author has few made-up words in the story, such as Bestle yoghurts, the ‘Mad American’, ‘The French Confection’, and more.  There are some French sentences in this story such as ‘Que fais-tu?’,  ‘Qu’est-ce passé?’ and a few more. 
This excellent three-part book will appeal to boys aged 9-13 and a few adults too.  The story contains drugs and murder.  There are a few funny parts but not many.  The style is funny and silly as well as being violent.  Younger children might find this horrible to read and might be scared.  The reader will find it hard to put the book down.