One Dead Seagull

One Dead Seagull
Scot Gardner
7/10

ATTENTION ALL YOBBOS!
"This product may contain traces of sand, sex, toothpaste,nudity , lamb chops, sun, sunscreen, feathers, deodorant,love and/or wisdom, laughter,rock music, cigarette smoke, tears and blood."
This is a warning label from the front of the book and the reason i decided to read and review a book that the less intelligent, more animalistic creatures among us could enjoy.

I found this book moderately interesting, it has a decent storyline and a good plot however it was simply a story that had no really moving parts to it. it's really the perfect book for an analysis in English. (Don't get any ideas, sylvo)

The book really is a decent read though, it has enough things in it to keep it interesting and it also contains a thorough understanding of what many teenagers are going through at certain times in their life. The main character is in year 10.
Like me:)and i felt that he was an accurate representation of the average Yobbo in my year level however I may be wrong I don't claim to know the feelings of your average Yobbo.

I quick and easy read with a whole lot of information it was good enough for me to read but nowhere near good enough for a detention.

Best Served Cold

Best Served Cold
Joe Abercrombie
9/10

Best Served Cold is a book that seems to have a way of pulling you in. It makes sure that when you put it down you pick it up again, even though it is quite heavy. for those of you who don't know Revenge is a dish best served cold and this book is heavy with revenge. It follows the story of a mercenary who seeks revenge on her jealous employer after he kills her brother and seriously maims her trying to kill her at the same time. This leaves her with a horribly scarred body and a thirst for revenge. She sets out to kill everybody related to her attempted murder with only a handful of allies. These allies are what made the book so interesting for me. they each have their own quirks, vices and behaviours. My favourite being an exceedingly polite serial murderer who is obsessed with numbers and only wishes he could return to the order of his medieval prison. Along within arrogant poisoner, a drunk who both hates and loves her and a viking mercenary who only wants to be the best man he can be. The cast of characters makes sure that the seven men who must die, do so in a way that satisfies a thirst for revenge that is harboured in the heart of the most feared and revered woman in all of Styria.

Something that I tend to do more out of habit then anything else is analyse the book (yes, I know, I'm supposed to read for fun) but it was really one of the things that made this book interesting. When you read it, think about the way that all of the main characters seem to try to get the best out of the situation in which they find themselves. Money is a big factor and stories of betrayal are told, made and revenged upon many times in the book. This story has no 'good guys' there are main characters but read the whole book and try to tell me that in the end there is a winner. The battle may have ended, but the war rages on, and the price of victory may have been too great. Read the book and then make your decision. Leave a comment, please, I'd like to discuss this idea.

This book is enthralling, entertaining and a very long read that is well worth reading slowly and pondering during class. Not worth a detention when is is a lot easier and much more fun to simply ponder and daydream about the horrible yet intricate enigma that is Revenge.

P.S There, happy? I tried to make a longer review after receiving criticism for making them too short.

A Word On Comments

Look I put a paragraph about it in my universal adress but for those of you who only hae time to read one post ten read this one so that next time you read a post then you will know what i want you to do. Leave a comment please, i've had a number of people come up nd tell me what they thought about the site, that's great but leave a comment so that other people know what you said, that way i can use the number of people who agree with you or don't agree with you to know if I should take your advice. Someone told me that my reviews are too short, do you agree? leave a comment so that I know. Please?

Check it out! I've put a poll on the site. It was a question put forward by the enigmatic Mr McPhee. If you are driving at 60Km an hour and a child chasing a squirrel runs out in front of you what do you do? He named four options and i've put a fifth up there (other) if you select other then please tell me what the other is in a comment on this post.

Please take my words of wisdom on board :D

The Maximum Ride Series

The Maximum Ride Series
James Patterson
9/10

This is my first series review, yaaay!:)
and What a way to start, The Maximum Ride is awesome. it consists of 5 books, The Angel Experiment, Schools Out Forever, Saving the World And Other Extreme Sports, The Final Warning and Max. They are super easy to read with no chapter being more than four pages long and the writing being simple and easy to understand.

The story revolves around around the endeavours of a flock of mutant bird kids. Yes thats right, MUTANT BIRD KIDS. They are human in almost every aspect, except they have wings. What procedes is essentially the tale of all the troubles that they run into as there are a number of scientists who do not want the world to know about their, 'experiments'

Outrageously funny, witty and with a killer storyline Maximum Ride is a series worth a detention and then another.

The Book Thief

The Book Thief
Markus Zusak
10/10

Attention All Saps! I have found a story worthy of your time! This book is perfect for those of you who want a story of love, courage, loyalty. All those other things that make a story fantastic- There is no epic hero, no legions of enemies hunting the hero who doesn't exist, no ring of power that could bring the end of the world. There is a mountain of fire, but it is not used to destroy a ring (that doesn't exist) being carried by a hero (who doesn't exist) who's being chased by an army of bad guys (who, also, don't exist)

Even though none of these things the book is still capable of moving even the most unfeeling of my classmates. The story follows a little girl who is living in Nazi Germany and unlike many of the other books written about this time, she's German!
(<:0Shock Horror) It tells us that not all of the Germans were Nazi's. Her family is against good ol' Adolf and everything he stands for. What they do whilst his leadership dooms Germany will prove that even in something as bad as the holocaust love can be found and everything that happens will come to a conclusion that may bring a tear to your eye.

Warning! Not for the not so faint of heart. this book is truly amazing and I'm telling you to make it a book that you read before you leave school. Worth a detention and a bad nickname for crying in class.

The Way Of Shadows

The Way Of Shadows
Brent Weeks
10/10

This book is, for want of a more technical term, really good. I thoroughly enjoyed reading a book about one of my favourite period of history, with a light sprinkling of things like magic and impossible occurrences. This delacate balance causes a book to be incredibly interesting and kept me geussing with a multitude of different twists and turns that finally ends with both an interesting conclusion and a cliffhanger opening that makes reading the sequel "Shadow's Edge" the top priority on my reading list.

The book centers around a young boys dream to become the apprentice of the deadliest assasin in the city. It's an awesome read and has all of the features of a book well worth reading. I fail to see a way that it could be any better and cant wait to read the other two books in the series. Well worth a detention.

A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange
Anthony Burgess
6/10

First and foremost I would like thank my English teacher Mr Carolan for attempting to scar me for life by asking me to read this book. Unfortunately, you failed, as I have been desensitised by violent video games and movies. Keep trying though, a fairy tail about communist Russia is also doomed to fail but you've got a whole term after that, so keep looking for a book capable of splitting my brain into tiny pieces, I hear padded cells are quite comfortable these days. :P

The book itself is quite a tough read, half the words are Nadsat, which is language invented solely for use in a book and boy does I make it tough to read. Don't try to analyse the book because then you've got to find a hidden meaning in a passage you don't know the obvious meaning of, but i digress.

If you can manage to understand Nadsat than read the book because it tells a great story about a boy who likes Rape, Drugs, Gang Violence and Beethoven's' 5Th. he then gets cured. a confronting book, but enthralling non the less.
Sadly, like all school books the cons outweigh the pros and as such I took a while to read the whole thing. There are good parts but i could not get really interested in it. The book is almost worth getting a detention for NOT reading.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins
10/10

This book is awesome. Simple as that.
No ifs. No Buts.

this book is set in a futuristic, totalitarian dystopia. For all you normal people that means that is is set in a futuristic society where everybody has to do what the Government tells them to do. The quality of life is very poor and most civilians are lucky to eat once a day. The book is about a competition that is held every year and televised around the country. Essentially one boy and one girl are selected from each of the twelve districts and put in a massive arena where they have to fight until only one remains.

This book is a fast pased thriller with a number of plot twists, well described fight scenes and even a love interest for you saps who like romance but tell everyone you're a tough, cool and unfeeling. Yeah, good luck getting a girlfriend with that story.

But seriously I would reccomend this book to everybody, it has something that will appeal to every person who knows the meaning of thriller. Easily worth ten detentions at the climax of its storyline. I repeat TEN OUT OF TEN!!!

Up A Tree In A Park At Night With A Hedgehog

Up A Tree In A Park At Night With A Hedgehog
Paul Robert Smith
8/10

This is the most messed up book in the world! Seriously it is freaking ridiculous, and i loved it. This book is all about one mans life story and the multitude of problems he faces. He makes many attempts to right these wrongs and by the end he is left up a tree in a park at night with a hedgehog. This book is bloody hilarious and i loved almost every minute of it.

The book is defininately a book for those looking for a good read but i am warning you that it is weird to the point that i almost gave up. Do not be puterbed by the first page, read on and you will encounter a story that is quite entertaining. one of the problems that i found with the book is that it is not in chronological order and frequently jumps around between different stories in his life. this was confusing at best and annoyed me a lot.

To conclude it is a book that i enjoyed immensely and if you can get your head around the messed up occurences and jumps between time periods then you will have a story woth remembering. Totally worth a detention.

A Word On Ratings

I have decided that if if going to be rating books then i should have a system of how i rate them. In my reviews i will give a brief description of the book, how hard it is to read and when i feel like it, a story about the circumstances in which i read the book. All of these are in my first review "Kill The Possum" and i hope to add a few new features to my reviews like related reading and books by the same author.

I will also put labels on my post, this allows a quick search of keywords to find a review that you are looking for. labels will be things like "action" or "thriller". One that i put on the end of "KTP" was story, this is a book that is simply, a story, there is no action, your heart doesn't start racing with suspence, you dont need to geuss "whodunnit" its just a story that you can read and i often find that stories are very good reads and will generally get a high rating.

A final word is on the comment on whether or not its worth a detention. i like to read in class and some teachers (Math)like to threaten a detention. books that are worth a detention are books good enough that I will read them in class even under threat of detention. If its worth a detention then anybody can read it and enjoy it.

See you all at school:)

Kill The Possum

Kill The Possum
James Moloney
7/10

The book that started it all!
This is the book that a read almost a year ago and originally put the idea of a book blog into my head and is the reason that I gave the blog such an obscure and stupid title. This book was part of a wider reading program run by none other than... Silver Fox, RPV, The V Man, everybody's favourite teacher, Mr. Vernon!!

The book itself is Young Adult and revolves around two teenage boys who are planning to murder a man. This book looks at many of the difficult questions relating to murder and whether or not murder can be justified. Lots of "fun" to read and analyse. There are a number of mature themes in the book which makes it the kind of book that you will have to really think about. Fortunately, if thinking is not really your thing then never fear, it is a great book with a decent storyline and an interesting set of plot twists that keep you enthralled till the end.

Overall the book is quite enjoyable and is worth reading even if you dont need to write an essay or six about it. However not worth a detention.