Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo

Blurb:

Michael's parents buy a yacht, and take him off to sail round the world. Washed overboard in a fierce storm, Michael finds himself on the shore of a remote island - and soon discovers he's not alone. Kensuke, a former Japanese soldier, survived the war and the bombing of Hiroshima, but his family perished. As an extraordinary bond forms between the two, Kensuke faces a heart-breaking choice: can he give up the secluded life he's built for himself to help reunite Michael with his parents? Knowing the pain of losing his own family, Kensuke knows which way he has to decide...

Summary/story:

Michael, his parents and their dog Stella set sail around the world in their yacht the Peggy Sue. Michael has never been so happy and then disaster strikes when he and his dog are swept overboard and find themselves stranded on an island where he discovers Kensuke, a former Japanese soldier and an old man. There the old man helps him to survive and they form a close friendship.

Setting:
They travelled from England to Africa, South America and Australia. When he is on lookout one night which the boat was near Papua New Guinea, steering the boat, Michael, his dog and his football are washed overboard. They awake to discover that they are stranded on a desert island in the Pacific Ocean.

Characters:
The two main characters are Kensuke and Michael. These were fairly realistic and Michael Morpurgo explored the relationships in the story well. The other characters are Mum, Dad and Stella, the dog. He could have gone into more detail about the feelings and details of kensuke but apart from that the characters were good.

Themes:
There are a few themes in this book but i think the main one is 'family'. This constantly pops up and it shown to be important

Language:
The language in this book is fairly easy to read as it is a childrens book. However, even though the language is simple, Morpurgo still gets across what he wants to.

Overall:
I give this book 7/10 for it's different setting and generally being a good, easy read. It was recommended to me by HB. :)

To Kill A Mocking-Bird

Blurb:

'Shoot all the Bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a Mockingbird.'

A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel - a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man's struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much....

Summary/story:

This book is a timeless classic. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee tells of Scout and Jem's childhood, the two main characters, in Alabama and how a series of events that happen while they are growing up, taught them about human nature. The book shows the racism and predjudice that is happening around the two children as they grow up and the struggles they face when their Dad steps up to defend a black man accused of raping a white girl...

Setting:

The story is set in Alabama in the 1960s. Everything happens in the small tight-knit community however the community still has it's outcasts. The community is split into the whites and the blacks and Harper Lee explores this racist elements behind this.
Characters:
The characters in this book are really realistic. Harper Lee shows their emotions and feelings in a sensitive but powerful way.

Language:

The language was not too difficult but a number of phrases were hard to understand. As it's set in the past and in a different country the language was more native to that perticular place.

Themes:

The main theme in this book is racism, it is explored in a brash and realistic way and has an anti-racism mood to it.

My opinion:

I give this book 10/10 because it is a beautifully written classic. The themes are different and Harper Lee has written it in an extremely powerful way.

'The Glass Demon' by Helen Grant

Summary:
This book is set in modern time Germany. The main character is a 17 year old English girl called Lin Fox who's Dad moves her and her mum, brother and sister to a small town in Germany to pursue a dream of finding the lost Allerheiligen glass. Lin follows her historian father who's convinced he will be able to discover the mythical and long lost Allerheiligen stained glass. There is a legend about a demon protecting the glass...But someone is out to destroy her, her family and everyone who knows about the infamous Allerheiligen glass.
Blurb:

The first death: Seventeen-year-old Lin Fox finds a body in an orchard. As she backs away in horror, she steps on broken glass. The second death: Then blood appears on her doorstep – blood, and broken glass.The third death: Something terrible is found in the cemetery. Shards of broken glass lie by a grave.Who will be next? As the attacks become more sinister, Lin doesn’t know who to trust. She’s getting closer to the truth behind these chilling discoveries, but with each move the danger deepens. Because someone wants Lin gone – and won’t give up until he’s got rid of her and her family. Forever.

My opinion:
The characters in this book are realistic and you can relate to the problems and feelings they have. There is a bit of romance but mainly it's a fantasy book. It is quite a straight forward read but some times the characters talk in German and you don't find out what it means until the end of the chapters.

Overall:

I give this book 9/10 because it is a very different and unique book that is unputdownable!
The characters:
The characters in this book are very realistic, the main character Lin really gets you to sympathise with her and the chemistry between her and her fellow characters makes the book better than most others I've read. They are quite complex and occaisionally can leave you wanting more!
Bad points:
The only thing wrong with this book is that occasionally the characters speak German and as a non-German speaking person it was annoying waiting to find out what something ment. A word glossary would solve that problem.
Overall a very good book :D xxx