Zahra+S

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= Book Reviews:) =

====This book was the first book I read by Jenny Han, and it was a pretty good book. It was about a 16 year old girl named Isabelle but everyone calls her Belly. Every year, her family shares a beach house with her mother's best friend, Susannah, and her two sons, Jeremiah and Conrad. Belly has always had a crush on Conrad, the older boy, but he has always treated her like an annoying younger sister. She has always been in love with Conrad and finally, one summer, it seems like he might have feelings for her too. But it turns out, so does Jeremiah, Conrad's brother. ====

====The thing I liked most about this book was how after each chapter, there was a flashback about the previous summers she had at the beach house. It really gives you a great understanding about Belly's past summers at the beach house. The flashbacks were kept short so it didn't interfere with the present day part of the story. ====

====A really sad part was when Belly and the boys found out that Susannah had cancer and Belly loved Susannah more than any one in the world. She felt really sad about this and she was also a bit annoyed at her mum for not telling her earlier. ====

====The highlight of the book, for me, was the friendship between Susannah and Belly's mother and how they kept the strong connection between them for such a long time. I loved how, how they get away from life for a little while every summer to connect with themselves and each other. ====

====The only problem I had with the book was the main character, Belly. I wasn't really fond of her personality and her attitude towards some things. I didn't like the way she treated her mum and her friend, Taylor. Taylor always helped her out in difficult situations but Belly was a bit selfish. She treated Susannah like she was her mother and treated her mum like she wasn't her mother at all. The way she treated her mum was disappointing and I felt bad for her mum because she did things so that she could be a mother to Belly. ====

====This book conveys mainly the theme of growing up. It wasn't really the best book I've read but it was a pretty good book. Since I read this book which is the first book of the the summer trilogy, I actually read the next one too and still waiting for the last book. I was curious to see what happens. ====

**__Book Review Two: It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han__**


This book was the second book in the summer trilogy by Jenny Han and it was a pretty good book.

It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah and Susannah. But not this year. Not after Susannah died. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart.

But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach __house__, the three of them together, the way things used to be.

I can't wait to read the last book because now that I have read the first two, I am curious to find out what happens next.

**__Book Review Three: That summer by Sarah Dessen__**
// Green Sticker //

This book was a pretty good book, but it wasn't the best.

For fifteen year old Haven, life is changing too quickly. She's nearly six feet tall, her father is getting remarried to the __#|weather__ lady, because they are both news reporters on TV. And her sister the always perfect Ashley is planning a wedding of her own. Haven wishes things could just go back to the way they were, when her parents were together. Then Sumner reenters the picture, and through him, Haven sees the past for what it really was, and comes to grips with the future.

**__Book Review Four: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi__**


Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

In my __#|opinion__ this book was an excellent book. The book is about a girl named Juliette with an inhuman power; anyone who touches her dies. After Juliette helps up a fallen little boy at the supermarket, he dies, and she is locked up by the army. But it was an accident, she didn't mean to do it. After 264 days pass by in her tiny cell where she is locked up, she gets a surprise on her 265 day. She is given a cellmate named Adam. Juliette is later invited outside, to meet the army’s leader, who is the Reestablishment Team, who has plans of their own into using Juliette's power to harm people, but Juliette doesn't want to kill anyone. After that day Juliette and Adam’s lives are turned upside down, as they go on an epic journey for __#|freedom__ together.

The character of Juliette was really interesting because she didn't seem like the person people thought she was. People thought she was a cruel person, but in fact she is a really nice person.

**__Book Review Five: Candyfloss by Jacqueline Wilson__**
// Green Sticker //



This book is about a girl called Floss. Floss loves spending weekends with her dad, in his greasy spoon cafe, even if it's not the smartest place in town. When Floss's mum and her new husband Steve decide to move to Australia, Floss has choose whether she wants to go her mum and Steve or stay __#|home__ with her Dad and she chooses to stay with her Dad. He's not much good at ironing or putting up a swing, but they muddle along on a __#|diet__ of chip butties and candyfloss from the local funfair. But soon they find themselves homeless. And lucky for them they have friends who can __#|help__. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This book was a pretty good book and I enjoyed it.

__**Book Review Six: The Princess Diaries, Third Time Lucky by Meg Cabot**__
// Green Sticker //



<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This book was quite funny. It was about a normal 14 year old girl, Mia who is a princess and this was the third book in the Princess Diaries series. Mia is going out with Kenny but he's really who she wants. Mia has a crush on her best friend Lilly's older brother Michael but he is going out with another girl who is much more cleverer than Mia and can clone Fruit Flies. But it turns out that they weren't going out, they were only working on a project together and Mia had the wrong idea. Mia sent Michael love notes and in the end Michael told her that he likes her too. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This book wasn't a very good book. I just didn't really enjoy it, but i still read it. I would rate it a 2.5 out of 5.

__**Book Review Seven: Lola Rose by Jacqueline Wilson**__
// Green Sticker //



<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Jayni once lived with her mother, father and younger brother, until her mother won the lottery. Her father used to hit her mother whenever he lost his temper, but then he hit Jayni. Her mother, brother and herself ran away with their lottery money to London and change their names, so Jayni becomes Lola Rose which she picked herself as it was the name of a model who she had a picture of in her scrapbook.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">At first life is too good to be true and the family can afford more luxuries, and Lola Rose has a new circle of friends. However their life turns upside down again when her mother starts finds out she she has cancer. She goes to hospital, leaving Lola Rose to care for her younger brother. Lola runs out of money to feed her little brother and herself so she finds her aunt Barbara. Even though her mum would be disappointed of her doing that she still called her and asked for help. When aunt Barbara arrives, the family can have a little normality, but meanwhile their father shows up. He tried to hit Lola's mum but aunt Barbara fought him until eventually he left.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Lola's mum got better after her operation and returned home. Aunt Barbara suggested they came and lived with her and Lola's mum agreed. That was good because they would be safe there and her mum would have a proper job and also Lola and her brother loved their aunt.

**__<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Book Review Eight: The Princess Diaries, To the Nines by Meg Cabot __**
//<span style="color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Green Sticker //



<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Life for Princess Mia is almost impossible now, first of all Lilly isn’t speaking to her. Someone is posting horrible things about her on website called, ihatemiathermopolis.com. Her grandmother is forcing her to give a speech to two thousand of the most powerful businesswomen in America. And Michael dumped her. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> But despite what the press seems to think, Mia has more on her mind than recruiting a new Prince Charming. Like solving a 400-year-old mystery that could mean BIG changes for little Genovia. But her father wants her to forget about it. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">I would rate this book a 3 out of 5

**__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Book Review Nine: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl __**


<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This book has been one of my favourite books for a long time. Charlie Bucket, an intelligent boy from a poor family, lives with his parents and both sets of elderly grandparents (Grandpa Joe, Grandma Josephine, Grandpa George and Grandma Georgina). Grandpa Joe, hears stories about the candy maker Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory he built in Charlies hometown. As time passed, rival chocolate makers sent in spies, posing as workers, in order to steal his recipes. Frustrated by this, Mr Willy Wonka decided to send home his workers and close the factory. Years of silence passed until one day, when the factory mysteriously came back to life. The gates remain locked however; the factory has resumed operations with workers whose identity is a mystery. Nobody, including Wonka, himslef is seen going in or out of the factory.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Wonka holds a worldwide contest, in which five Golden Tickets are hidden under the wrappers of his candy bars; the prize for those who find them is a day-long tour of the factory and a lifetime supply of chocolate. Also, the winner will take over the factory for Willy. The contest becomes a worldwide mania, with people resorting to increasingly desperate to find the tickets, and anyone who succeeds becomes front-page headline news and a worldwide celebrity. Charlie loves chocolate but as his family is very poor, they can't afford it so every year for his birthday charlie gets one block of chocolate from his family and he tries hard to save it and only eats a little bit at a time but when he finds one of the five golden tickets inside a chocolate bar he is delighted to go to Willy Wonka's factory along with four other bad children, the gluttonous Augustus Gloop, spoiled Veruca Salt, gum-addicted Violet Beauregarde, and television-obsessed Mike Teavee. Charlie attends the factory tour with his grandpa Joe.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">As the group moves from room to room, the tour turns into a punishment for the bad children as one child after another falls victim to his/her particular vices and is removed. Augustus falls into a chocolate river and is sucked up a pipe to the fudge room. Violet turns into a blueberry after consuming experimental chewing gum. Veruca is thrown down a garbage chute after attempting to take one of Wonka's nut-cracking squirrels for her own. Mike is shrunk after meddling with dangerous television equipment.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Charlie is the only child who does not misbehave throughout the factory. Seeing that he is the only one left, Wonka announces that he has "won." He receives the entire factory and will take over the company after Wonka retires. Charlie refuses Willy Wonka's offer to take over the factory because that would mean leaving his family. In the end, the family moves into the factory with them.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">__**Book Review Ten: Child x by Lee Weatherly:**__
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Imagine living your whole life thinking you actually knew who you were. Now imagine losing your identity and being known simply as X. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Jules has a pretty normal life: she goes to school, loves her best friend, tries to avoid the school bully and endures her parents' weekly fights. But she'll soon be wishing for those simpler days, as things are turned upside down. First her beloved dad inexplicably leaves home and asks to get paid all the money he used on Jules including interest. Her mum won't come clean about what's happening, and as Jules tries to piece together the nightmare herself, reporters start hounding her at home and school. She is on the news paper and the headline of all stories on TV. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">But it turns out that her uncle Derek is her real father. That was why they had so much in common.