Bridge Street Books
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Bridge Street Books |
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Wicklow |
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| Book Club Reads |
For more ideas for this age group, check out recommendations for 9-12...
The book club meets on 2 days once a month to discuss the book of the month, and whatever else takes the groups fancy on the day! We are split into 2 age groups - 9-12years & 11/12+ years; we meet on (generally) the last Tuesday and Thursday of the month. If you are interested in joining Bridge Book Club, please contact Joanna on 62240
| Month | Book | Author | What it's about..... | The Verdict.... |
| April 2011 | Wishful Thinking Ali Sparkes |
Blue Peter Award winning author It's just a regular trip for Kevin, and he comes back with just the regular sorts of things. Some local fudge, a scented candle for his mum ...and his own personal god. It's Abandinus, a little-known Celtic deity, who has suddenly found a new purpose in his eternal life-sorting out Kevin's. With a god on your side, everything's going to get a lot easier, isn't it? After all, a god can get stuff done. The trouble is, it's not always the kind of stuff Kevin has in mind |
to be discussed last Tuesday & Thursday in April - in the morning, due to Easter Holidays | |
| March 2011 | My Story: Titanic | Margaret Anne dreams of leaving the orphanage behind, and she can hardly believe her luck when she is chosen to accompany wealth Mrs Carstairs aboard the great Titanic. But when the passengers are woken on a freezing night in April 1912, she finds herself caught up in an unimaginable nightmare.. | Most enjoyed this & thought it a good book, if a little short on time spent on the Titanic! Some had read it when they were a little younger, and had enjoyed it more then. Overall, a good series for 9+ who like historical fiction | |
| The Name of this Book is Secret Pseudonymous Bosch |
Quirky, original and hugely entertaining, this is a debut novel of fantastical proportions from a talented new voice in children's fiction. When intrepid investigators Cass and Max-Ernest set out to discover the history of the mysterious Symphony of Smells, they become embroiled in a dastardly experiment involving kidnapped children and the secret of eternal youth. Together they must come up with a plan to rescue their classmate from a hideous fate and escape the eerie pyramid of the Midnight Sun. Colourful characters abound in this utterly inspired journey of discovery, guaranteed to delight and enthrall readers | Adored! Original (although the author writes similar to Lemony Snicket!) funny, adventurous & at times kinda scary - this book ticked all the boxes! | ||
| February 2011 |
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The Girl Savage Katherine Rundell |
Wilhelmina Silver's world is golden. Living half-wild on
an African farm with her horse, her monkey and her best friend, every
day is beautiful. But when her home is sold and Will is sent away to
boarding school in England, the world becomes impossibly difficult. For
lions and hyenas are nothing compared to packs of schoolgirls. |
Africa - the first 6 or so chapters - got a mixed review, with most of the book clubbers preferring this part of the book. Her descriptions were very clear, although some found it boring - and I think this is mainly to do with the language, which is quite long winded in parts, mixed in with afrikans. The 2nd half of the book is set in a posh English boarding school, and is more straight forward. Overall a high scoring book. |
| December/January 2010 | The Girl Who Could Fly Victoria Forester |
Piper McCloud can fly. Just like that.
Easy as pie. Problem is, the good folk of Lowland County are afraid of
Piper. And her ma's at her wits' end. So it seems only fitting that she
leave her parents' farm to attend a top-secret, maximum-security school
for kids with exceptional abilities, whose skills range from
super-strength to super-genius. |
Good, fun book with great characters. The special powers were 'cool' & the conversation got very animated when I asked what power would you like and how would you use it to help the world! A good read - a nice easy one for the older group. | |
| November 2010 | SOS Icequake Colin Bateman |
Baring Island, the Canadian Arctic. Michael & Katya are stranded & alone, in the middle of a blizzard. They've come with the SOS team in search of a missing satellite, but now they are struggling to stay alive. | The group loved it - funny, adventure & 2 really great characters (a boy & a girl!). Appealed to all. | |
| Chocolate Cake with Hitler Emma Craigie |
This tells the remarkable story of Helga Goebbels, 12 year old daughter of the Nazi Party's head of propaganda, who spent the last 10 days of her life cooped up in Adolf Hitler's bunker in Berlin. As defeat closes in, Helga realises all is not well with the grown-ups - her parents grow more distracted, the bunker grows daily more empty & even the soldiers that have been guarding them take their leave. Jumping back and forth between the early and later days of the war, Helga is a very insightful young girl. | Anyone interested in Hitler/Second World War would love this book. It is very sad, but extremely poignant and generated a lot of discussion. Well written. | ||
| October 2010 |
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Mr Stink David Walliams |
Chloe is just about the loneliest girl in the world. But then she meets Mr Stink, the local tramp. Yes, he smells a bit - but he's the only person who's ever been nice to her. So when Mt Stink needs a place to stay, Chloe decides to hide him in the shed. But Chloe's about to learn that some secrets have a way of leading to disaster. | A light read - very well written & very funny. Nobody had a bad word to day about it! |
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Across the Divide Brian Gallagher |
Liam and Nora form an unlikely friendship when he lends her a helping hand during a music competition. Liam's father, a mechanic, is a proud trade union member, while Nora's father is a prosperous wine importer. When Jim Larkin takes on the might of the employers in 1913, resulting in strikes, riots & lockouts, Liam & Nora's friendship is challenged and their loyalties torn. | A good historical novel with a good story. The Dublin Lockout is an interesting topic for a novel for 11+ year olds, as it is not a topic many that age a re aware of. However, most felt that there is enough information in the novel to explain the situation & the times, without giving too much detail as to make it boring! All of the book clubbers appreciated the way Nora & Liam's friendship went, although most were disappointed with the ending! | |
| September 2010 |
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Sparks Ally Kennen |
When Carla's beloved Grandpa dies, she is inconsolable. Then she finds a secret letter, and decides to give him the end he always wanted. A Viking funeral, in a burning boat heading out to sea. Carla and her siblings set out on a crazy and dangerous race against time to achieve the impossible. | This is a gentle book that deals with loss and the importance of family. It has a slow pace, but an exciting end, with clever characters. |
| August 2010 |
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Young Sherlock Holmes: Death Cloud Andrew Lane |
The year is 1868, and Sherlock Holmes is
fourteen. His life is that of a perfectly ordinary army officer's son:
boarding school, good manners, a classical education - the backbone of
the British Empire. But all that is about to change. With his father suddenly posted to India, and his mother mysteriously 'unwell', Sherlock is sent to stay with his eccentric uncle and aunt in their vast house in Hampshire. So begins a summer that leads Sherlock to uncover his first murder, a kidnap, corruption and a brilliantly sinister villain of exquisitely malign intent ..."The Death Cloud" is the first in a series of novels in which the iconic detective is reimagined as a brilliant, troubled and engaging teenager - creating unputdownable detective adventures that remain true to the spirit of the original books. |
Everyone agreed that the beginning is boring.....HOWEVER, once the reader is into the 3rd chapter and Sherlock is on his holidays, the pace and excitement picks up. Very well written, with very descriptive writing, this book gallops along at an exciting pace. Well received by both boys & girls who like either detective, or historical fiction novels. |
| July 2010 |
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Timecatcher Maire-Louise Fitzpatrick |
The recent winner of the Bisto Award, for
her latest picture book, this is a debut for the older age group. It involves mystery, magic & ghosts.... Marie-Louise came to meet the book club in August to discuss this book and talk about her next book, which is due in June next year. It was a great discussion with lots to learn all around. More can be learnt about 'The Timecatcher' on the facebook page. |
Jessie & Duff meet Ghostboy in the old button factory in
Dublin. Together with detectives Nat & Jason and surly,
badtempered Greenwood, they try to solve the mystery of the Timecatcher. As a whole this is a very enjoyable book. While a little slow in the middle, this can be forgiven as it gains your interest from the beginning and the end is a flurry of mad excitement. With well drawn characters this is a lovely book for anyone wanting a good story with a little bit of magic thrown in. |
| June 2010 |
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Dogs Don't tell Jokes Louis Sachar |
'Why did the guy eat two dead skunks for
breakfast?' 'Because dead ones squeal when you stick the fork in.' Gary
W. Boone knows he was born to be a stand-up comedian. It is the rest of
the kids in the class who think he is a fool. Then the Floyd Hicks Junior High School Talent Show is announced, and he starts practising his routine non-stop to get it just right. Gary's sure that this will be his big break - he'll make everyone laugh and will win the $100 prize money. But when an outrageous surprise threatens to turn his debut into a disaster, it looks as if the biggest joke of all may be on Gary himself. |
An interesting discussion - although the point of the
book was lost on the younger members. It was evenly split between love and dislike - loved if the central theme running through was picked up on; boring if not. All agreed it was quirky & different to anything they'd read before. Definitely 1 for the older age group. |
| May 2010 |
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Frozen in Time Ali Sparkes |
1956 Freddy and Polly have always known
their father is a genius. So they've never minded helping him with his
experiments. Even when that means being put into cryonic
suspension-having their hearts frozen until their father wakes them up
again. They know it will only be for an hour or two, so there's nothing to worry about...2009 Ben and Rachel have resigned themselves to a long, boring summer. Then they find the hidden underground vault in the garden-and inside it two frozen figures, a boy and a girl. And as if that isn't spooky enough, when Rachel accidentally presses a button, something unbelievable happens...Can Polly and Freddy adapt to the twenty-first century? Will their bodies survive having been in suspension for so long? And most important of all, what happened to their father-and why did he leave them frozen in time? |
Winner of the 'Blue Peter- Can't Put Down Award' Although there were holes to pick in this book, it still managed to score 105/110 on Tuesday & 90/100 on Thursday! The general consensus was it started well and ended brilliantly, but it was a little slow in the middle. Very funny with good characters -Freddy & Poll from 1956 being the best!- it was great alround book & comes highly ecommended! |
| April 2010 |
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Spilled Water Sally Grindley |
When her husband dies, Lu Si-yan's mother
is encouraged to sell her young daughter into domestic service. Lu
Si-yan is just eleven when sold by her uncle. Nearly two years will pass
before she can get back home to her mother and brother. In this powerful and compelling novel Sally Grindley portrays the life of a young girl in China, a young girl whose life is said to be like 'spilled water'. With a brilliant first-person narrative and a powerful description of time and place, this novel is gripping, heart-wrenching and utterly mesmerising |
Although a few of the younger ones found the Chinese
names a little hard to understand, this was generally a well-liked book.
The characters were well developed and there was a lot of feeling
throughout the book.
A few of the children had just done Chinese history in school & they felt this was well researched & very believable (this seems to be important to a lot of them!) A good few said they'd read more Sally Grindley novels - which is a complement in itself! |
| March 2010 |
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Once Morris Gleitzman |
Once I escaped from an orphanage to find
Mum & Dad. Once I saved a girl called Zelda from a burning house.
Once I made a Nazi laugh. My name is Felix. This is my
story. The story of Felix, a young Jewish boy who leaves an orphanage to find his parents, during the Second World War. His story brings him on a journey of self discovery through Germany and beyond. |
This was a hard one to start a discussion on, as there
was so much to discuss - Felix learns so much throughout the course of
the book and there are so many decisions he makes that become
significant turning points within the novel. The main comments were the overwhelming sadness that all felt reading this book. Overall it was very much enjoyed and many have gone on to read 'Then' and are keenly awaiting the release of 'Now' in May 2010. A very well written book which captures the awful times during the Second World War - very thought provoking. |
| February 2010 |
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Wolven Di Toft |
When Nat Carver takes home a strange & smelly mutt, his life is changed for ever. Woody is the last of his kind, a Wolven, thought only to exist in legend. Then Nat discovers Woody has escaped from a top-secret science project - and some very bad guys want him back..... | This provoked a lot of interesting conversation among
the group - a clear divide between love - really exciting & hate -
boring. I think where the problem arose was the plot, while
simple, had some complicated aspects which not all members understood. There was no middle ground on this one and it's a hard one to call. While I enjoyed it & thought the ending particularly exciting, it appears that, as a general consensus, the boys loved it and the girls were not so keen at all! Overall Score: 110/140 |
| January 2010 | Three Cups of Tea | Three Cups of Tea Greg Mortenson |
One day Greg Mortenson set out to climb K2 - the world's
second highest mountain - in honour of his younger sister, but when
another member of his group fell ill, they turned around and Greg became
lost in the mountains of Pakistan. He wandered into a poor village,
where the chief and his people took him in. Moved by their
kindness, Greg promised to return & build a school for the children. This is the remarkable story of how Greg built not one, but more than sixty schools in Pakistan & Afghanistan, and how he has dedicated his life to promoting literacy, peace & understanding.
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Including an interview
with his daughter Amira, this book gives an insight into life of the
people of Pakistan & Afghanistan, and the importance of helping others
less fortunate than us. Book Club Verdict: An interesting book, because if you didn’t know the story was true, it would be quite unbelievable. Most surprisingly enjoyed this book – as it was a true story, they would never have picked it up, but enjoyed reading it none-the-less. Overall score: 95/120 |
| December 2009/January 2010 | The Star of Kazan | Eva Ibbotson | In 1896, in a pilgrim church in the Alps,
an abandoned baby girl is found by a cook and a housemaid. They take her
home, and Annika grows up in the servants' quarters of a house belonging
to three eccentric Viennese professors. She is happy there but dreams of
the day when her real mother will come to find her.
So when a beautiful aristocrat arrives to claim her,
it is as if Annika has walked into her own dream. Whisked off to
her true home-a remote estate far, far from Vienna-her new life begins.
But the dark & crumbling castle echoes with secrets & lies, and as
Annika unravels the truth she finds herself in terrible danger......
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Overall this received a good review - the girls liking
it the best so far & the boys, though slow to start, enjoyed it by the
end. Although set back in late 1800, the book appears not to be dated - appealing to those who like historical fiction & also those who just like a good story. With very descriptive writing & very believable characters, this book will appeal to a wide range of interests.
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| November 2009 | The Thornthwaite Inheritance | Gareth Jones | Ovid and
Lorelli Thornthwaite have been trying to kill each other for so long
that neither twin can remember which act of attempted murder came first.
But whoever struck first, trying to take each other's lives is simply
what they do. Until one day a lawyer arrives at their house to take
stock of its contents, and his accompanying son attracts their
attention. Soon a new battle evolves - one in which the twins have to work together to solve the mystery of their parents' deaths. Can Lorelli and Ovid overcome their old animosities, and will they ever get to finish that game of chess? |
Overall most enjoyed
this book – the murder plots were good & there were a few favourite
characters. It was a good mystery & stayed a mystery through to
the end – enough though you tried to guess, no one guessed right. Some were disappointed there were not more murder plots – as these were the most exciting bits. Although the ending was quite far-fetched, it was still a good, exciting book, with plenty of funny parts
Overall score: 125(ish!) out of 150
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| October 2009 | Shark Island | David Miller | Hanna, Ned & their parents are on the holiday of a lifetime on the paradise island of Kaitan. But the idyll is shattered when the pirates come in the night, burning their house & kidnapping their mother & father. The children are stranded & don't even know if their parents are alive or dead. In this action packed adventure, there is no one to help....Survival and escape are up to Hanna & Ned | A real mixed reaction to this one. Although it was generally agreed that it was a page-turning thriller, Ned annoyed some of our readers, by being a tad unbelievable as a character. However, everyone, including the boys, liked Hanna and some of the other 'badie' characters made up for the flaws in the story. |
| September 2009 | The Mysterious Benedict Society | Trenton Lee Stewart | 4 children with unusual talents are recruited for a top secret mission with only 1 rule - there are no rules. How can they work together to save the world? | Brilliant!!!!! It was a really exciting adventure story. The characters were really good and really believable. 'I loved the Harry Potter books & this was as good as them'! Overall score - 59/60 (David, Rory, Megan, Oisin & Jessica) |
| August 2009 | The Diamond of Drury Lane | Julia Golding | Cat Royal lives in a theatre in Drury Lane. In this book she leads us through London in 1790, where the difference between the rich and the poor is colossal. Join Cat and her friends as they defend themselves against the scoundrels who rule the streets, fighting for survival, as they try to protect their friend and go on a mission to find a diamond. | Absolutely brilliant. A great adventure story with
brilliant characters and a great storyline. Really good - will
definately read more in the series Overall Score - 59/60 (Daniel, David, Rory, Lorcan, Caitlin & Rachel) |
| July 2009 | The Story of Cirrus Flux | Matthew Skelton | From the man who gave us Endymion Spring,
this book follows orphan Cirrus Flux, who is being watched.
Merciless rogues are conniving to steal the world's most divine power,
which they believe Cirrus has inherited. Now he Faces a perilous journey through London as a sinister mesmerist, a tiny man with an all-seeing eye & a skull-collecting scoundrel persue him. Cirrus must escape them......
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The Villians could have been a bit more evil, but
overall it was a really good story with great characters and a great
hero. We really enjoyed it (with the exception of 1 girl who
wasn't too kean)
Overall score - 34.5/60 (Daniel, David, Lorcan, Rory, Megan & Elise) |
