Advent Count Down - Books 13-15

Ok I am cheating a bit taking a series- to go over the weekend. But I'll Count two as one. I may have read most of these a few years ago but every so often I will pick one of them out and start re-reading.    War is awful and terrible things happen in these books but the resilience of the young people is remarkable.  Beautifully and simply told with a wonderful light humorous touch.

"Once I escaped from an orphanage to find Mum and Dad.

Once I saved a girl called Zelda from a burning house.

Once I made a Nazi with a toothache laugh.

My name is Felix. This is my story."

Advent Count Down - Book 12

Nicky Singer's "Island"  has to be one of my absolute favourite reads of this year. Beautiful illustration from Chris Riddell add to the magical, mystical feel of the story. Yet it is contemporary with topical concerns of how we look after our planet.

Cameron is a city boy but comes to this uninhabited Arctic island with his mother, a scientist. There he meets an Inuit girl and a white polar bear amongst the snow, the white cottongrass, the erupting graves, the 24 hours of daylight and the Ukpik-owl.

And any book which advocates silence as a positive is a winner with me.

Advent Count Down - Book 11

 Eleanor is clearly different and will stick out in a crowd whilst Park is someone who just wants to keep his head down. Then Eleanor  sits next to him on the school bus. Slowly over the months their friendship builds as they get to know each other's tastes in music and books.

I have come late to Rainbow Rowell's books. Published in 2013 I missed this novel, perhaps because it is a love story. But this is so much more than just a love story, it is about what it is like to be a teenager, about a myriad of anxieties, about  dysfunctional family, about not being in the popular crowd: a definite recommendation to S3/ S4 readers.

Advent Count Down- Book 10

Ahmet is 9 years old, a Syrian refugee separated from his family. This book will restore your faith in humanity as the children in his class show care and an understanding often missing in the political debate we hear in the news media when discussing issues of immigration and refugees.

Simple, humorous and heartwarming story from Onjali Q Rauf.

Advent Count Down - Book 9

Identity- Family- Resilience

A fabulous book which really surprised me.   

Kiko

• suffers from social anxiety
• knows nothing about her Japanese heritage
• has a challenging relationship with a mother who is incredibly cruel
• does not get into her first choice art school

When everything appears to be stacked against Kiko just that one opportunity (and not the one she dreamed of) changed her life forever. A challenging read but well worth it.

Advent Count Down - Book 7 and 8

It's the weekend so I am allowed to choose two books.

I have always enjoyed Elizabeth Wein's stories.as they feature strong female characters, often set at a time in history when the role of women was changing dramatically.This is true of  both "White Eagles" and "Firebird".  Both are published by Barrington Stoke, are in the "super readable" format and are set in the past with female aviator pioneers. The main character in both books is based on a real life story.

The hero of "White Eagles" is Kristina who at just 18 joins Poland's air force when the country is on the brink of war (1939). There is plenty of tension and as Kristina  navigates her most challenging flight, only to find she has a stowaway on board.

Nastia is the lead fictional character,  the daughter of Russian revolutionaries. She starts as an idealist, serving "the Motherland" but as events unfolds, Nastia begins to question everything she has always believed in.   We learn about  the Romanovs, the  former Russian Royal Family and of one of Russia's leading aviators Marina Raskova and the regiments she trains to fly during the war.  Nastia is a fighter pilot and the description of the flights is my favourite part of the story. The book leaves us to ponder her future after landing behind enemy lines. Does returning home make her a traitor? And what happens to traitors?  

Advent Count Down - Book 5 and 6

I am going to cheat and recommend two books this time. Sarah Crossan is an amazing writer and writes incredible stories in free verse. "One" is the story of conjoined twins and "Moonrise" is about the effect that going to jail for a criminal act can have on the rest of the family. Both books are just simply beautifully written. Loved them but both are emotional reads so you might need a box of tissues to hand!