The Life of Pi by Yann Martel

This story revolves around a teenage boy, as he is thrown aboard a sinking ship as his family travel to Canada. As the sole survivor of this horrific accident, Piscine Molitor Patel - or Pi Patel, as he likes to be known by - is washed away in a lifeboat, flung upon the Pacific ocean, where he is abandoned, along with an orang utan and a hyena, two outcasts from his family's zoo as they travel to a foreign land.

Or so it might seem.

Another creature lurks beneath the tarpaulin: a Royal Bengal tiger, who sits. And waits. Eventually, hunger drives the animal from the safety of his 'den', and he demolishes the hyena and orang utan savagely, displaying the vicious and ruthlessly ferocious companion that Pi must now live with. But a supply of survival rations show Pi that this is not the end, and for 227 days man and beast live side by side on the small boat. Pi tames the tiger with the help of a whistle, and through ruthless taunting on the part of the boy, and a life of pampering and caring for in the zoo on the part of the animal, he eventually learns not to attack Pi.

The book is heart-wrenching, yet very enjoyable, and I thoroughly benefited from reading it cover to cover, not skimming through, but thinking about the author's words; letting them delve down deep inside me. It is compelling and irresistible, yet there is one main factor of the tale which you might not have realised - it is a true story.

The writer uses emphatic imagery to describe the simplest of things, making a fish sound like a raving monster, a ferocious beast, and really looks into the subject of religion very closely. I love Martel's use of extended metaphors and would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading, as it really makes your brain whirl, and your thoughts swell on the point he is trying to get across.

by Kitty Low

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

This is the story of Ponyboy Curtis who faces a daily battle with the gangster-related culture of 1960s' America. Ponyboy is a Greaser and he and his gang have battles with the Socs (short for "Socials"). The Greasers are the lowerclass and the Socs are upper class. Ponyboy is involved in a fight with the Socs and this results in he and his friend Johnny running away to evade capture and further injury. They are caught in a fire and Johnny and Ponyboy become heroes for saving some children. The story has a tragic end for Johnny but leaves Ponyboy with the realization that he is no worse off being a Greaser because he has morals, family and friends and above all else he is a bright kid with a bright future despite his hard struggle.

by Jehan Akhtar

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyle

This book is about a nine-year-old boy called Bruno who moves with his family to a place called “Out With”. Bruno is told that there are many places that he cannot visit but this makes him curious. One day he goes out exploring and comes to a wire fence. He sees a boy sitting on the on the other side of the fence. He is the skinniest and saddest boy Bruno has ever seen and he is wearing striped pyjamas. His name is Shmuel, and so the friendship begins between the two nine year old boys who discover that they share the same birthday. Bruno brings food for Shmuel and when Shmuel tells him that he cannot find his father, Bruno vows to help him do so...

This book is so sad. We see the world through Bruno’s eyes. We hear the lies his parents tell him to cover up the terrible things that are actually happening in “Out With”. The ending is hearthbreaking.

by Kate Finn

War of the Witches by Maite Carranza

I would like to recommend this book because I think it's wonderful: a fascinating book about
a young girl finding out she's a witch then using her powers to save her mother. Her mother
had been kidnapped by the evil Omars. Also her mother is the chosen one. This book is
wonderful and adds a little twist at the end. I definitely recommend this book to readers
who enjoy Fantasy as a genre.

By Keira Sesay

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend

The Adrian Mole series is a close-to-the-heart novel, about Adrian passing through the different stages of his life. When we first meet him, he is a troubled, insecure and acne-mad person, as he calls it, a misunderstood intellectual. As he is thirteen and three quarters he is at the beginning stages of adolescent life and his painfully honest diary lets us look into a life of teenage trials, tribulations and angst! In the first book of the series, he has just met the love of his life, Pandora, but will a relationship develop between them? And amongst all these issues, his family is dysfunctional and his parents Pauline and George Mole are working-class characters who drink and smoke a lot. After a long marriage they decide to divorce when George realises that Pauline is having an affair with their recently divorced neighbour Mr Lucas. As Adrian grows during the series he learns and develops into a strong, independent man but does he get the life he wants ? Does he get a close and steady marriage? Well I recommend you to read the series and find out...

by Angel Garcia Brown

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

This touching classic is a must read for every girl. Sarah Crewe has been brought up as "A little Princess" In India with her successful father. Sarah has a special relationship with her father but she has to move to a boarding school in England, leaving her father in India. Her father's sudden death leaves little Sarah a penniless orphan. Sarah is moved to a grotty attic room and becomes a maid for the school where she used to be Miss Minchins "star pupil". But Sarah's vivid imagination gets her through the hard time and a secret something that is putting a hot meal in her room and new clothes on her bed. Maybe miracles can happen? This story is sure to make you cry and laugh at Sarah's queer little personality.

by Ella Laurie

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

This novel was first published in 2001 in Zafón's first language of Spanish- he is a native of Barcelona- but was translated into English in 2004 by Lucia Graves. Set in the mysterious city of post-Civil War Barcelona, The Shadow of the Wind tells the fascinating story of Daniel Sempere, who at the beginning of the novel is 10 years old (however for most of the book is around the age of 18.) His father owns the Sempere and Sons bookshop in the Calle Santa Ana and both father and son have a passion for literature that is so vital to their lives, for their livelihood and their own sense of purpose. The book starts as Sempere Senior takes his son to the clandestine Cemetery of Forgotten Books, an unknown labyrinth of thousands of forgotten books, a treasure hidden in the depths of the city. Daniel picks out a book - as any visitor is allowed to do - named The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. Enraptured in this delightful albeit dark novel, the young adolescent develops an insatiable interest in Julian Carax, one who shall never die. This is the key focus of the entire book.

Daniel meets many shady characters along this path, but also makes some irreplaceable friends. The demonic, nefarious persona of Inspector Javier Fumero makes many appearances, a personification of all evil that Daniel must overcome. There is also an enigmatic and obscure character who seems to be burning and destroying all trace of Carax's existence, who the young Sempere encounters for the first time one stormy, windswept night. However, there are also love interests for our hero; primarily one young lady whose name I shall not reveal. Moreover the humourous and loveable Fermin, who becomes Daniel's closest companion and best friend. Fermin always manages to act cheerfully despite the tragic traumas he has been through before we even get to meet him.

Overall, this is a fantastic novel, a true classic of our day, due to Zafón's eloquent and charming prose and the unexpected twists in the story. This is definitely my favourite book and I would recommend it to all lovers of literature of the age of 13 minimum. Hope you love it as much as I do! I also recommend Zafón's next book: The Angel's Game. This is for slightly older readers and is in general a much darker novel.

by Cherry Elliott-Millar 8H

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

I found this book a thrilling and exciting novel. The main character, Mia Thermopolis, discovers she is the true heir to the throne of Genovia. Her dad tries to lecture her and convince her that she really is a princess. She is speechless as she always thought that her dad was an important president who represented Genovia but he was actually a royal, the reigning king of Genovia. She now has to take princess lessons which her grandmother forces her to do daily. She is beginning to think second thoughts. One minute she’s completely normal. Next minute she’s the heir of Genovia. Her life is starting to be a right royal muddle. But how will it turn out in the end? I recommend this book as it will keep you hooked and excited until you find all the answers you were looking for. I continue to read the books as it is a series (10 books in all) and I think I will find all of them as enjoyable as the first book.

by Sahar Mohamed