Newest Confident Readers Reviews
I Swapped My Brother On The Internet by Jo Simmons
After a terrible argument over the Hanging Pants of Doom (don't ask), the sibling rivalry between Jonny and his older brother Ted comes to a head. Jonny fills out an application form at siblingswap.com and sits back to wait for a new brother who is bound, surely, to be infinitely better than patronising, mocking, bullying, Ted. Right? Any brother would be better than Ted. Right? Of course! What on earth could go wrong?
Well, plenty as it happens. Full review...
Twelve Nights by Andrew Zurcher
This story opens on a terrifying note. Kay and Eloise's father is working late at his college, as usual, but when the two girls and their mother arrive to pick him up, they are told he does not work there. In fact, everyone they meet insists they have never heard of him. It sounds like the beginning of a scary murder-mystery, or a cat-and-mouse chase in the style of James Bond or Dan Brown, but what actually lies behind this event is far stranger and more confusing. Later that night Kay hears voices at her window and embarks on a quest to rescue both her father and her younger sister from ruthless beings who are decidedly not human. Full review...
Hero From Another Planet by Jnr Rademeyer
Jason Bronkurts is the kid the teachers like: he's always on time and puts his school work first. He isn't a great socialiser and certainly not one of the cool kids, although he's had something of a crush on Rosie, but he's known her since kindergarten and done nothing about it. At the other end of the scale are Jack Radogerens and his friend Ryan, who bully Jason. It might be Wednesday, but Jason will be glad when the week's over. His home life is a bit strange too: when we meet thirteen-year-old Jason, his dad has just phoned to say that he's going to be away for three days. Jason's on his own. Well, apart from the UFO and its occupants, that is. Full review...
Women in Sport: Fifty Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win by Rachel Ignotofsky
Women in Sport is coming to us just before the Winter Olympics in South Korea in February 2018. It celebrates a century and a half of the development of women's sport by looking at fifty of its highest achievers, covering sports as diverse as swimming, fencing, riding, skating, and much more. Think of a sport and a pioneering women succeeding at it is probably in this book somewhere. Each entry is a double page spread with a brief biography and a striking portrait. Full review...
Sky Song by Abi Elphinstone
The Ice Queen has cast a spell on Erkenwald, separating the Fur and Feather Tribes and making the third – the Tusk Tribe – the enemy of both. Eager to secure her position by gaining eternal life, the Ice Queen is consuming the voices of the Erkenwald people. There seems little anyone can do until three children – Eska, Flint and Blu – come together. With help from 'the wild', they set off on a quest to find the legendary 'Frost Horn' and the magical 'Sky Song' that will free Erkenwald from the Ice Queen's control. Full review...
Below Zero by Dan Smith
Twelve year old Zak Reeve is supposed to be enjoying a relaxing holiday in the sunshine with his family before he goes into hospital for surgery. Instead, the whole family are on a plane to the Antarctic because the 'spider drones' his parents have designed to support the Exodus mission to Mars have started to malfunction. His parents assure Zak and his older sister, May, that this will be a flying visit but, as you'd expect with any action adventure story, things go wrong from the moment their plane crashes into the ice outside Outpost Zero. Zak and his family are about to find themselves in a chilling adventure that will leave them fighting for survival. Full review...
My Sweet Orange Tree by Jose Mauro de Vasconcelos and Alison Entrekin (translator)
It's just that sometimes, Zeze, you're too naughty. And that's almost the entire truth about our narrator, Zeze – he's a young tyke, and everyone in his large, half-Indian family – heck, everyone who recognises his blonde and pale looks in the neighbourhood – knows he's skilled at being up to no good, that perhaps he was born with a little of the devil in him where Jesus should reside. Instantly adept at being able to read, even when he's only five, the precocious brat is forced to face something that might be the changing of him, once and for all – school. This time of change is also featuring a move of home, as the family cannot afford the rent arrears on their current place, although having downsized the garden comes to feature the titular tree, which almost works as a confessional cum best friend. Whether either the new home or the school will get to change Zeze, or neither, is the plot of this vintage Brazilian junior read. Full review...
The Mirror of Pharos by J S Landor
12 year-old Jack Tideswell is not your typical adventurer. In fact, he spends most of his time trying to prevent his Nan worrying and trying to avoid the gang of school bullies. This, however, changes when a seagull delivers a strange package through the cat flap. Suddenly everything is different. Jack finds himself briefly catapulted into the future and then into the past. It takes him a long time to understand what's happening but luckily he has several friends to help him. There is his best friend from school, Charlie (occasionally known as Charlotte), the people he meets in the past and the future (several of whom claim to have met him before), the stranger Jago Flyn, and the magical wolf, Alpha. With their help, Jack learns that he's a fledging Magus (a true magician) and comes to realise that he alone can prevent a Titanic-like disaster in the future. Sadly one of his friends isn't everything they claim to be. Will Jack realise in time? Full review...
Beauty and the Beast by Katie Haworth and Dinara Mirtalipova
We all know the story of beauty and the beast. A prince, transformed in to a monster for his cruel and malicious nature, trapped in his grotesque form seemingly for the rest of his days. Then comes along a young woman, the beauty of the story, who mellows the beast's harsh character and grows to love him for who he is, and not because of his appearance. It's a fairy tale of old and a story of love crossing boundaries which has been adapted countless times both on screen and in literature. So is this new retelling worth the read? I think so, because I loved it. Full review...
Conkers and Grenades by Hilary Lee-Corbin
It's Bristol in 1916. Britain is halfway through the Great War and everyone is expected to put their shoulder to the wheel of the war effort. Mar and Appy might be boys, but they're no different. Both their fathers are away fighting and the two young boys are expected to help with household chores, look after younger siblings, earn a few extra pennies through casual jobs and concentrate on getting an education... Full review...
Under The Light of a Full Moon by Donna McGrath
When the bad dreams and the whispers at night first start, Clara has no idea what's going on. All she knows is that the lack of sleep is making her feel ill. But a visit from her Great Aunt Selina supplies some answers. Clara's family has a gift. One member of each generation has the ability to shape-shift into the form of any species of animal. But the gift comes with an ancient curse - bearers of it can only transform during the three days of the full moon each month. Full review...
Potter's Boy by Tony Mitton
Life is unpredictable; it never goes exactly where we want it to despite how much effort we put in to shape a direction for ourselves. It's a hard lesson to learn, and one Tony Mitton captures with vivid simplicity for the potter's boy. Full review...
American Gothic: The Life of Grant Wood by Susan Wood and Ross MacDonald
Who won a national prize for a crayon drawing of three oak leaves before he was properly in his teens? Who sought acclaim as an artist and came to Europe to study from the greats, only to reject all they had to offer? Who instinctively knew a picture of his dentist (yes, his dentist) would be more appealing and say more to people than floating water lilies and frilly ballet dancers? The answer in all cases was Grant Wood, practically the most well-known painter in America at one time, and still the best, alongside Edward Hopper, at presenting his world minus any Modernist trappings. Full review...
The Atlas of Monsters by Stuart Hill and Sandra Lawrence
There are monsters and mysterious characters, such as trolls, leprechauns, goblins and minotaurs. They're the stuff of far too many stories to remain mysterious, and every schoolchild should know all about them. There are monsters and mysterious characters, such as Gog and Magog, Scylla and Charybdis, and the bunyip. They are what you find if you take an interest in this kind of thing to the next level; even if you cannot place them all on a map you should have come across them. But there are monsters and mysterious characters, such as the dobhar-chu, the llambigyn y dwr, and the girtablili. To gain any knowledge of them you really need a book that knows its stuff. A book like this one… Full review...
The Road to Ever After by Moira Young
A grumpy old lady who can no longer drive requires a chauffeur, and we watch as she gradually softens towards him and they become friends. So far, so Driving Miss Daisy, an apt comparison in a book which references several well-loved classic films. But the obvious similarity ends there. Davy, hired to take Miss Flint on her final road trip, is thirteen years old and has not the foggiest idea how to drive a car. Full review...
Tortot, the Cold Fish Who Lost His World and Found His Heart by Benny Lindelauf, Ludwig Volbeda and Laura Watkinson (translator)
Meet Tortot. He's a camp chef for an army, with a cold heart – he sheds no tears, or at least as much as does a fish – and a brilliant way of gauging the warfare going on around him. The book even starts with him crossing the battlefield to start work for the enemy the night before they turn the tables on his previous employers and defeat them, leaving Tortot on the winning side once more. But now he's not alone – for he has managed to also inherit an assistant, who lives in a barrel of the Emperors' favourite and most important gherkins… Full review...
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
Morrigan Crow is a cursed child. Everyone in Jackalfax where she lives believes she is responsible for all the things that go wrong in their life. And, if that's not bad enough, the curse means she will die on her eleventh birthday. Morrigan believes there is no escape from her fate until a mysterious man appears and offers her a new life in the secret city of Nevermoor. There is only one problem – to stay in Nevermoor she needs to gain a coveted place in the Wunderous Society by competing against hundreds of other hopefuls to pass four seemingly impossible trials. Full review...
Secret of the Stones by Tony Bradman
Twelve year old Maglos has a fulfilling and happy life with his father, the High Priest of Stonehenge. However, everything changes when his Uncle Tigran murders Maglos's father at the mid-summer festival before turning to do the same to Maglos. As the axe is about to fall, two strangers intervene warning Tigran that the Gods will be angry if he spills the blood of a child. Tigran allows the strangers to take Maglos away as their slave. What Tigran doesn't realise is that these two men carry the secret of the stones – a secret that they pass onto Maglos and which he will ultimately use against his uncle. Full review...
Dog by Andy Mulligan
What life can you find for yourself, when it seems to be marked out at the start that this – the only one you get – begins at such a lowly place? That's the question the dog in Dog faces, especially when a snide spider tells him he is the runt of the litter, and instead of being bought has been selected by an adult only because he's free. He wasn't even really chosen, and they had thought to get a cat. Oddly enough the mutt gets to be called Spider by Tom, the lad who gets to call him his, but he's fraught with self-doubt. The spider tells him he's only going to cause harm – which he does. But the neighbourhood cat declares that Spider has something of the feline in his mongrel mix, and tempts him across to her way of living. Tom himself, meanwhile, is being nudged into thinking he's beginning at a lowly place – he ignores his absent mother, he has the privilege of a scholarship for him to get beaten up and bullied at school, and he can't see much future for himself, either. Can Spider work out his lot, and match his life with that of Tom, or will outside agencies get in the way? Full review...
Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody
Gomorrah, a travelling circus as big as a city, tours the land, entertaining the crowds with fantastic shows of magic, illusion and sleight of hand. But the proprietor of Gomorrah, Villiam, believes he has a far more important role than merely organising the acts in the circus. He has political ambition, which he keeps a secret from his adopted daughter. Growing up in the circus, Sorina knows that she will one day become the Proprietor and take over from her father. At sixteen, she is keen to start learning everything she can from Villiam. Full review...
The Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum, Michel Laporte, Olivier Latyk and Vanessa Mieville (translator)
Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Hollywood any more. And no, indeed we are not. We are in the realm of L Frank Baum, and not the cinema version of this fantasy quest story. So those slippers are silver and not ruby, the companions do not get given solid things that may imply they have achieved what they seek, and the flying monkeys played backwards do not work out to be singing Pink Floyd records, or whatever the urban myth was. Otherwise, we're pretty much on the same, assured, solid ground, with the greyness of Kansas (in a scene that seemed to foretell of the Dust Bowl decades later) being swapped for the quartet of queer, questing characters, the yellow bricked road and everything else you would want of a young reader adaptation of the novel. Full review...
The Real Thief by William Steig
Meet Gawain. He's a goose, with great plans to be a great architect, who's fallen instead into being the Chief Guard of the Royal Treasury belonging to King Basil the bear. Only the two of them have keys to enter through the only door into the place, but lo and behold, some of the gems have been stolen. Gawain promises to be even more diligent than he already is – I check, I double-check and I re-double-check, he insists. But more and more things go missing, and soon Gawain is being accused of betraying King Basil's trust and helping himself. I would say he's out on his ear as a result, but, you know – he's a goose. Full review...
Detective Nosegoode and the Museum Robbery (Detective Nosegood 3) by Marian Orlon, Jerzy Flisak and Eliza Marciniak (translator)
Last time I met with the retired Detective Nosegoode and his loyal and helpful dog Cody – the dog that can speak human language, what's more – there was a most intriguing case for the two to solve – that proceeded to go about in less than perfect ways. This third volume of the pair's adventures contains prequels – a selection of three shorter works that convey dramas from the latter stage of Nosegoode's career. So a museum curator is convinced the town's masterpiece landscape is due to be stolen, the chess club has a robber, and Nosegoode gets a tip-off from his mentor about a pickpocket being in town. It's almost too much for even a clever little old man and his clever little hound. Full review...
The Christopher Robin Collection by A A Milne and E H Shepard
'The Christopher Robin Collection is a compilation of stories and poems and what not, from A. A. Milne's original works, so it's a new book but with existing content, perfect for re-remembering as Owl might say, but equally good for discovering for the very first time, just like Pooh and the North Pole (Discovered by Pooh…Pooh found it). Full review...
The Best Bear in All the World by Paul Bright, Brian Sibley, Jeanne Willis, Kate Saunders and Mark Burgess
Winnie the Pooh is a classic, and sometimes classics should be left untouched by the hands of time. After all, can you improve on perfection? With A.A. Milne no longer with us, there are limited options for continuing the stories of Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit and the gang, but in this authorised sequel the show must and indeed does go on, with four new tales about the bear with very little brain. Full review...
The Snow Angel by Lauren St John
Makena was born and raised in the city of Nairobi but she dreams of mountains, in particular Mount Kenya. When her father takes her on her first real exploration of the mountain, and she gets a brief glimpse of a strange sparkling fox, Makena thinks life can't get any better. Within weeks, however, her perfect world is shattered. Makena finds herself scratching out an existence in the city slums. She contracts cholera and almost dies. Luckily a pair of young charity workers are led to her by a fleeting image of a fox and offer her a new start and a trip to the Scottish Highlands. But will Makena be able to accept their kindness? Full review...
Undercover Princess (The Rosewood Chronicles) by Connie Glynn
Lottie Pumpkin is an ordinary girl who is obsessed with princesses, fairy tales and Disney. Her dream is to become a princess and she had no idea that she would be sharing a room with one at Rosewood Hall...Ellie Wolf is a princess who wishes to be ordinary, so she attends Rosewood to avoid her royal duties in the kingdom of Maradova. When destiny puts these girls in the same room, the only way to survive Rosewood is to swap identities... Full review...
Blue Dog by Louis de Bernieres
Mick's mother had a mental breakdown after his father's death and Mick was sent to live in in the outback with Granpa. On the face of it you'd think that it was going to be a lonely life for an eleven-year-old city boy, with no school to attend, in fact no other children anywhere near. Granpa's busy too: life on a cattle station is brutal for anyone, with all the heat and the dust. But they've all got to make the best of the situation. Full review...
