Newest Confident Readers Reviews
Blue Moon by Jenny Oldfield
Anna thought that life was just about perfect. She was home-schooled for much of the time, but spent quite a lot of time riding her horse, Blue Moon, with her friend Lee and his horse, Stormy. There was even a secret meadow which the two twelve-year olds used to visit. Then one evening, Anna dashed in late for supper at the ranch and realised that something was wrong - badly wrong. Anna's mother had a tumour in her stomach which would require surgery. As if that wasn't bad enough, her father was going to have to sell some of the horses to pay for the surgery. Worried as she was about her mother there was one thought uppermost in Anna's mind: the best-trained horse on the ranch - and the one that was worth the most money - was Blue Moon. Anna could not bear the thought of losing the animal who had known her since she was two years old. She and Lee came up with a plan. Full review...
Strawberry Crush by Jean Ure
Mattie has sometimes felt that she has her work cut out with her cousin Maya. Maya's mum and Mattie's mum are twins and they live around the corner from each other, but Maya's mum is, well, just a bit fragile and Uncle Kevin, her dad, is absent at the moment and no one knows where he is. All that would be enough to cope with, but Maya has crushes. Well, crushes doesn't do what happens justice: it really amounts to obsession and a new one starts when Maya falls off her bike (not unusual) and is 'rescued' by Jake Harper, the school heart throb. What deeply worries Mattie is that Maya is twelve and Jake is eighteen and there are occasions, as Mattie listens to Maya, when she wonders if something really is going on. Or is it all in Maya's over-active imagination? What should Mattie do? Full review...
Wilfred the (Un)Wise by Cas Lester
Back in Ye Olden Days young Wilfred lands himself a dream apprenticeship training – learning how to be a wizard under the instruction of Wincewart the Withering, Castle Mage and Soothsayer of Wallop in the Wold. But learning magik isn't easy and things can go drastically and hilariously wrong – like accidentally transporting himself one thousand years into the future, where he meets a girl called Bel who loves doing magic tricks herself. Full review...
Alice Jones: The Impossible Clue by Sarah Rubin
She's a bit of a loner, and she'd definitely prefer to work on proving an obscure theorem or two than spend time with the rest of her class. Still, the fact remains that Alice is rocket-science brainy, she's as determined as a hungry chimp in a banana shop, and she has the dry droll wit of the old fedora-wearing gumshoes of yesteryear. Look out bad guys, there's a new detective in town, and she won't give up till you're sporting a shiny pair of regulation handcuffs. Full review...
Winnie-the-Pooh by A A Milne and E H Shepard
Is there anyone who doesn't know about Winnie-the-Pooh? You might know him as Pooh Bear and even if you haven't read the stories you'll know about playing Pooh Sticks or The Bear of Very Little Brain. This first book about the bear, originally published in 1926, has been translated into numerous language, including Latin - and that edition featured on the New York Times bestseller list. It's difficult to believe that Pooh will be ninety in October 2016, not least because he's ageless and the books which feature him are not in the least dated. Full review...
Hamish and the Neverpeople by Danny Wallace
Ok. You may know this already but Hamish recently saved the world. And now he is about to meet the Prime Minister, who wants to say thank you. Very much. But things don't quite go to plan. The Prime Minister appears to have gone quite mad. Something about pants. And one by one, people start following him. Before he knows it, Hamish is pulled right into the thick of a second threat to humanity, this time involving the Neverpeople. The same Neverpeople he's been told his father was helping during his personal battle against evil. Full review...
Simon Thorn and the Wolf's Den by Aimee Carter
Simon Thorn doesn't see his mother often. Instead, he lives with his Uncle Darrell in his small New York apartment. But to be honest, an unusual family structure is the least of Simon's worries. Simon has a secret: he can talk to animals. You might think this to be a singular talent and something to be happy about. But Simon's ability makes him relate to animals differently to other children and, as we all know, any kind of difference is like a red rag to bullies. And Simon is firmly on the radar of the school bullies. Full review...
Electrigirl by Jo Cotterill and Cathy Brett
Holly Sparkes is an ordinary 11-year-old schoolgirl, until she is struck by a mysterious bolt of lightning and then everything changes and she becomes extraordinary! Just like one of the characters in her brother's much loved comics Holly has developed superpowers. Holly can generate a massive amount of electricity in seconds, a skill that can, as Holly discovers, cause mayhem unless she can learn to control it. Her brother Joe, an expert in these things, decides to become her mentor and together they resolve to use Holly's new powers to good effect. They get the opportunity sooner than they expect with the arrival in their town of the company CyberSky and the sinister Professor Macavity. Full review...
The Box of Demons by Daniel Whelan
Meet Ben Robson. He is haunted by owning a Box of Demons, which like those TV-advertised DIY liquids, does exactly what it says on the tin. It contains three demons, of different kinds, that have hampered his concentration at school, caused no end of mischief he has had to take the blame for, and may even have had something to do with his mother being incarcerated in a special hospital. But is that all it contains? The demons, as naughty as they might be – where do they sit in the grand scheme of things, and where as a result might Ben end up, if the forces of good and evil choose now (a wet and stormy February), and here (North Wales) to have it out once and for all? Full review...
Dreaming the Bear by Mimi Thebo
Darcy's a typical teenager whose natural habitat is the shopping mall and the multiplex. It's, therefore, not surprising that she's finding it almost impossible to adjust to living in a snowy wilderness without television, a phone signal or wifi. It doesn't help that she's also recovering from pneumonia and tires quickly. But it is this very weakness that changes her life when, exhausted, she stumbles into the shelter of a cave and finds herself embraced by a hibernating grizzly bear. Full review...
Atticus Claw Hears a Roar by Jennifer Gray
If you haven't already, meet Atticus Claw. This is the seventh chance you've had, may I mention. He was an outstanding burglar, but now, as he is 'owned' by the children of a policeman, he has come over to the light side, and is solving crimes and not causing them – which is especially important as no end of criminality has been going on. Chancing on a lost explorer's lost treasure chest, mysterious clues are dropped to lead both goodies and baddies on the trail of jaguar gods, once worshipped by the Maya – did they really take all their treasure to a hidden valley in a last-ditch attempt to appease their sacred spirits and save their civilisation? How many of the diverse characters, including a gang of idiotic magpies, are going to contrive to come along on the adventure? And is one of them a witch – and if so, what does that make Atticus? Full review...
Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford
Meet Al Chaudhury. He lives, unknowingly, among a family of time travellers. His grandfather has such a brilliant memory he can use a mind palace to store anything and everything, and could tell you what happened on every day of his life, and take himself back with his thoughts. His father knows the starlight at night is years old, and is a snapshot of a sun that is remote both in time and space. But even harder to fathom is that Al's father is a real time traveller, and is going to speak from beyond the grave, and send Al on a true mission through time, one that will either save his life, or completely ruin all Al's forevers, for, er, for ever. Full review...
Darkmouth: Worlds Explode by Shane Hegarty
It was bad enough when Finn was being trained by his dad to hunt the monsters known as Legends: at least there was someone around to rescue him if he messed up, and to apologise to the neighbours for the occasional dented car or broken window. And seeing as Finn isn't anywhere close to being the greatest hunter the world has ever seen (he'd much rather be a vet, not that anyone has ever asked his opinion on the matter), there's been lots of apologising to do. Lots and lots and lots. Full review...
The Diary of Dennis the Menace: The Great Escape by Steven Butler
Poor Dennis the Menace. He thinks he's sorted his life out, and got rid of the Bum-Face wimp he loves to hate so much. His school, the Bash Street, is giving the winner of an exam they are holding the chance to upgrade to the snotty Posh Street equivalent, which is a nightmare full of books (and worse) and is actually a boarding school – yes, one of those places for people who seriously want to live in a school. Clearly the exam will only have one winner – said wimp, Walter the Softy. But like I say, Dennis only thinks he has his life sorted – sometimes it can come round to bite him on the bum, and sort him out… Full review...
Cat Burglar (The Scarlet Files) by Tamsin Cooke
Scarlet is thirteen. She goes to school, she does her homework and she's beginning to wonder about boys. So far, so normal. But Scarlet doesn't make friends. She and her dad move house pretty often, and she always wears dull clothes so she can fade into the background – unless you think a balaclava and night vision goggles can be classed as a fashion statement. And instead of surfing the web and downloading music, she spends her free time scrambling over roofs and picking locks. Scarlet is a trainee burglar. Full review...
Chicken Mission: Chaos in Cluckbridge by Jennifer Gray and Hannah George
Chickens are not supposed to live in cities, but they do because humans have got small coops in so many of their gardens. Foxes are not supposed to live in cities, but they have gone there anyway in search of anything to eat – which can include the chickens. Lethal, gigantic cobra snakes are not supposed to live in cities, but one, called Cleopatra that has been a huge enemy to chicken-kind for years, has escaped from the city zoo and is on the loose. You might think that the Elite Chicken Squad could sort out the fox problem if they went to town – after all, they have done so twice before now – but things would be a lot different if by some chance the wily foxes got into cahoots with the cobra… And things would have a lot more urgency if Cleopatra happened to be ready to lay a large clutch of her eggs – which she is… Full review...
Ghost for Sale by Terry Deary
When Mr and Mrs Rundle see an advert in the paper for a wardrobe for sale, complete with ghost, Mrs Rundle decides that they absolutely must have it! They own The Dog and Duck Inn and Mrs Rundle feels that addition of a ghost will add interest to their Inn and bring them custom. The arrival of the wardrobe certainly shakes things up for the Rundles, though perhaps not in the way they'd imagined! Full review...
Queen Guinevere and Other Stories from the Court of King Arthur by Mary Hoffman and Christina Balit
I always enjoy a story with a feisty heroine, so the prospect of a whole collection of stories telling me about the women behind the men in the Arthurian legends definitely had an appeal to me! Taking Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur for inspiration, as well as other historical texts depicting the legends, Hoffman tells us her imagining of what it was like to be married to Arthur, the other women connected to Lancelot and Sir Gawain, and ultimately why the fellowship of the round table really fell apart. Full review...
Confessions of an Imaginary Friend by Michelle Cuevas
These are the memoirs of Jacques Papier. Jacques is not a popular boy. He's not last to be picked in playground games. He's never picked at all! If he raises his hand in class, the teacher never calls on him. The school bus driver often forgets to stop and let him off. Sometimes, his mother even forgets to kiss him goodnight. If it weren't for Fleur, his twin sister, and the fabulous games they play together, Jacques would be very lonely indeed. Full review...
Pick Your Poison (Ruby Redfort Book 5) by Lauren Child
...the thing that you are forgetting here is that this isn't a thriller - this is real life.
...if this was a book, who would you most suspect of being the master criminal?
You, said Ruby.
Ruby Redfort is a teen who has it all: wealthy socialite parents, a luxurious home, great friends, a job at a top-secret spy agency and a seemingly unlimited supply of banana milk. She's smart, sassy, witty and surprisingly likeable for a rich kid. Pick Your Poison is book 5 in the series; the penultimate book before the big finale which promises to be explosive. Full review...
Rise of the Slippery Sea Monster (Adventures of the Steampunk Pirates) by Gareth P Jones
The thing about pirates and their treasure is that once they have won it, they then have to keep control of it. Mutineers, enemy pirates, and those pesky good people, all step in with their say about what happens to it. Oh, and you can now add to that list a huge sea monster, that is capable of cutting its way through a perfectly circular porthole it makes in your treasure storage and helping itself. Is it any wonder that our heroic Steampunk Pirates need to combine forces with a returning character (last met in book two) to put paid to this new horror? Full review...
The Map to Everywhere: City of Thirst by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis
A delicate net for catching clouds, a talking frog and a stop sign with a personally addressed warning on it: items which are ordinary enough on the Pirate Stream, but definitely not in boring old Arizona USA. Marrill is immediately on the alert: why are items from the other world washing up in a disused lot on the far edge of her neighbourhood? That can't happen, mustn't happen – she knows only too well from her earlier adventure that it means something dreadful has happened there and that if the contact continues, it may just rip her world apart. Full review...
