'The Wolf Princess' by Cathryn Constable - Reviewed by Heena Pala

Today I'm very pleased to post another great review by Heena Pala, aged 13.

It's a review of The Wolf Princess by Cathryn Constable,, which is due out in paperback in October 2012 (Chicken House).

Over to you, Heena:

 

The Wolf Princess is a fantasy book about an orphan called Sophie. Sophie dreams of having some adventure in her boring, boarding-school life. When he was alive, Sophie’s dad told her stories of forests and wolves and adventures. Sophie promised herself she would go there and see the tall forest trees and the thick snow falling at her feet. One day...

When a school visitor comes and wants Sophie to show her round the school,she seems very intrigued with Sophie’s life. And then she fulfils Sophie’s dream of an adventure; she sends Sophie and her two friends on a trip to Russia. But this is not what the young girl had in mind. There, waiting for them in Russia, is princess of the lost Volkonskaya Winter Palace. Sophie thinks she is from a boring, broken family but she discovers it’s a lot more complicated. Soon, the three girls realise they can trust no-one…

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Wolf Princess. The story was well-structured and the way Cathryn Constable describes the abandoned palace makes you feel like you’re really there. Some parts send a shiver up your spine and you forget the world around you - like someone’s picked you up and put you in Russia with Sophie, Marianna and Delphine. There’s not one part without some sense of adventure. One criticism would be that it is a little slow to start. The main part happens in the last half of the book.

RATING: 8/10

PUBLISHER: Chicken House

YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2012

AGE RANGE: 11+

RRP: £6.99

View the book on Amazon UK


Many thanks, Heena.

More from me soon.

Best wishes,
Ros

Another review from Heena Pala: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

 

Today I'm delighted to post another review by my young co-reviewer Heena Pala, aged 13.

Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes

 Reviewed by Heena Pala
 

Flowers for Algernon is a science fiction book narrated as a diary by Charlie Gordon. Charlie has a low IQ. He finds himself involved in an experiment; this involves undergoing an operation along with a lab mouse, Algernon. As part of assessments, Charlie and Algernon have to compete in races and mazes. Charlie gets frustrated with Algernon for always beating him, but soon becomes his friend. The operation is to increase his intelligence.

Charlie works in a plastic box factory. There, his colleagues are nasty to him and take advantage of his misunderstanding of the world around him. The operation works a success, but as Charlie’s intelligence increases, he begins to spot a difference in the way people behave around him.

Overall, I enjoyed Flowers for Algernon. One thing that the author could have improved on is the ending. It ended on a cliff-hanger and was also a little too slow-moving for me. I think that the author has achieved his goal of opening the reader’s eyes about how we take our everyday abilities for granted.

RATING: 7/10

AGE RANGE: 10+

PUBLISHER: Gollancz

FIRST PUBLISHED: July 1968

LATEST EDITION: Sept 2011

RRP: £8.99

Buy on Amazon UK

Thank you, Heena, for another very helpful review. 'Flowers for Algernon' sounds fascinating and I'm lookng forward to reading it myself very soon.

Happy reading
Ros

Rosalie Reviews: Secrets of the Henna Girl by Sufiya Ahmed

Welcome back to Rosalie Reviews! Today I'm very pleased to post a review of Sufiya Ahmed's YA novel, Secrets of the Henna Girl. 

I'm delighted to introduce my new guest reviewer, Heena Pala, aged 13, who lives in Coventry. Heena is a keen reader and writer and has had many reviews already published in local newspapers. I'm sure you'll give her a warm welcome to Rosalie Reviews.

Over to you, Heena:

Secrets of the Henna Girl is a book full of a mixture of feelings; sometimes you laugh, sometimes you just sit in shock and sometimes you cry.

Zeeba Khan was just a regular sixteen-year-old girl from Yorkshire. She spent her time revising for exams, relaxing in the park and watching films with her best friend, Susan. But an unexpected trip to Pakistan leaves her thinking her life may not turn out the way she planned. It was supposed to be a holiday but Zeeba's parents seemed to be acting suspiciously. She can sense tension in the air but things turn out to be a thousand times worse than she thought. It is a few days into the “holiday” when she finds out the truth: she is forced to marry someone of her dad’s choice to protect his honour. Will she follow her instinct and escape while she can or will she accept that she will never live the same Yorkshire life again?

Personally, I think that the book was an eye-opener. Young girls who live lives of freedom don’t realise how lucky they are. It was the kind of book where you couldn’t wait to get to the ending to see what happens. Sufiya Ahmed has done a marvellous job in creating such a realistic environment. A criticism of the book would be that it is not a unique story. There are many books which are about forced marriages that follow the same storyline. The book could have done with a slight twist in the tale. The book is for more of a mature read. If you already know about the field of forced marriages then this is the book for you.

RATING: 7/10

AGE RANGE: 13+

RRP: £6.99

PUBLISHER: Puffinbooks

Thanks, Heena. You can view this book on Amazon (UK) at:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secrets-Henna-Girl-Sufiya-Ahmed/dp/0141339802/

Or on Amazon.com at:

http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Henna-Girl-Sufiya-Ahmed/dp/0141339802/

Happy Reading and more soon!

Ros

I haven't forgotten Rosalie Reviews...

It's been a sad and busy few weeks, since I lost my dear Dad. But I'm still reading (and writing) and there'll be more posts and reviews on here soon.

Meanwhile, you may like to take a look at my today's post on Girls Heart Books, which is all about Dad, his kind and funny ways, and the inspiration he has always been to me.

http://girlsheartbooks.com/2012/07/11/introducing-george-henry/



All best wishes,
Ros

Apologies for lack of posts

My apologies for the lack of posts on my blog recently. My father very sadly died, rather suddenly, on June 11th, so I know you will understand and forgive my absence for while.

Good wishes to all - I'll be back soon.

Coventry is having its own Literature Festival - next week!

Excitement is gathering in the literary enclaves of Coventry as our very first Literature Festival approaches. Forget the Jubilee, forget the Olympics, forget even Wimbledon - Coventry is the place to be from 11th-16th June 2012.

Literally Coventry Book Festival will be hosting all kinds of literary-themed events, including a visit from 'The Fonz' - US TV star Harry Winkler, who was awarded an MBE by the Queen last year for his work for children with dyslexia and special educational needs.

Harry Winkler has also co-authored (with Lin Oliver) the New York Times bestselling Hank Zipper books. Their book Ghost Buddy, which features a boy with a super-cool ghostly room mate, will be published in June 2012.

Read more about the Fonz's visit to Coventry in the Coventry Telegraph here.

Other famous names who'll be appearing include actor John Challis from Only Fools and Horses, who will be talking about his new book Being Boycie. And look out too for bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater, plus many other writers and poets, including Ruth Eastham, Jo Nadin, Cathy Cassidy, Ann Evans, Anna McQuinn, Chris Hoskins and even yours truly, Rosalie Warren. (I'll be running a school-based workshop for children of 7+ entitled 'WIXI Robot in the Making' - on the theme of my new series commissioned by Phoenix Yard Books.)

There'll be lots of events for all ages taking place in schools, in local communities and at various theatres and other venues.

And finally, let me mention an event close to my own heart. The Coventry Writers' Group will be performing extracts from their prizewinning anthology Coventry Tales at the Criterion Theatre, Earlsdon, Coventry, on the evening of Monday June 11th, 6.30-7.45pm (tickets are free!)  As those of you who follow my blog will know, this book recently won first place in Writing Magazine's Writers' Circle Anthology Award 2011. We are very proud of our achievement and look forward to performing to an audience of Coventrians and visitors in this wonderful theatre. There'll be poetry, short plays, quizzes, prizes and lots more. Come along and share our enthusiasm for Coventry and the writing it inspires.

You can see the full programme of festival events at
http://literallycoventry.eventbrite.co.uk/

If you're anywhere near Coventry next week, please come along and join us for lots of fun based around books, poetry and the written word.

STOP PRESS: 'Coventry Tales' has won a national prize!

I was delighted to get back from a few days' break yesterday to discover that our Coventry Writers' Group anthology Coventry Tales has achieved FIRST PLACE (hurray!) in the Writing Magazine Writers' Circle Anthology Award! What an achievement and how encouraging for everyone involved.

As regular readers of my blog will know, we brought out this book of short stories, poems, historical accounts and humorous pieces as something of an experiment last November. The contributions were all written as entries in a competition held last summer, and we felt it would be a waste just to let them go. One of our members suggested we self-published as a paperback and an eBook - and as a result of his enthusiasm and expertise (thanks, Mike) - that's exactly what we did.

For some of our members, this was the first time they had seen their work in print. We all had a lot of fun and learned a tremendous amount about what goes into self-publishing a book. I was able to practise my skills as a proofreader and we commissioned a talented local artist who brought the book alive with her wonderful illustrations of Coventry.

From the blurb:

Coventry Tales is the new book inspired by the city and the people of Coventry. Fifteen local authors make up this colourful collection of nineteen short stories and poems, providing insights from Coventry's past and present, narratives that explore the fabric of the city life and what makes it unique, stories that celebrate the life of Coventry and the people who inhabit her.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to step back in time and live in the Coventry of yesteryear? Or yearned to discover the mystic powers of the Coventry Ring? Want to know what Lady Godiva was like to live with, or see the wild zebras of Binley?

Here you will find all these stories and more. Written by some of Coventry's finest writers, Coventry Tales provides a rich and colourful tapestry of stories and insights into our city.

Anyway, congratulations to all involved in the writing and production and publicising of Coventry Tales.


Downloads:

On Amazon UK: 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coventry-Tales-best-known-up-coming/dp/1907670149


On Amazon US: 
 http://www.amazon.com/Coventry-Tales-best-known-up-coming/dp/1907670149