The Magnificent Lizzie Brown and the Mysterious Phantom. By Vicki Lockwood.

This historical mystery/adventure story set in Victorian London , has lots of 'cliff hangers' ,making it compulsive reading , I couldn't put it down!

When Lizzie Brown escapes from her heavy drinking father , and the Rats Castle Victorian slum ,she is cold , poor and hungry until........Fitzy's travelling circus rolls into town.

Whilst working for the circus ,helping Madame Aurora ( the palm reader),she realises that she can actually read palms! She can see people's past , present and future when reading their lifeline.

Meanwhile  she overhears the news of an illusive phantom  in London ,who is robbing wealthy people's houses.
As she does a reading she sees the phantom strike again.
With the help of her newfound friends from the circus they go after the phantom.

I loved reading this book ! I literally couldn't put it down and read it in one day. I didn't expect the ending to be anything like it was either. A fabulous read.
It reminded me of the Gully Potchard story too , so if you liked that you'll definitely enjoy this one.

I rate it 5/5 and think boys and girls would like it.

This is my review for  http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk

Looking-Glass Girl by Cathy Cassidy

When Alice has a freak 'accident' at Savvy's Alice in Wonderland themed sleepover , she suddenly finds herself in Wonderland . How will she get back?

Lainey and Yaz used to be Alice's best friends in primary school . When they all moved to secondary school they became best friends with Savannah the 'queen of the school' instead and began being mean to Alice.

When she received an invite for an Alice in Wonderland themed sleepover from Savvy ,she was suspicious as to why she was invited but decided to go anyway.

During a game of hide and seek Lainey leaves Alice in the cellar,when the power goes off and the light goes out.

When Alice finally gets out of the cellar she finds the other girls all ready for bed in their pyjamas and chatting. She overhears Lainey talking nastily about her to the other girls, so she goes into the bedroom and tells them she is leaving and wants her coat.
Savvy tries to persuade her to stay until the morning because it is late. Lainey wants Alice to go ,and during a tussle at the top of the stairs Alice falls.

It is a story about friendship, love, jealousy and rivalry between friends and a modern twist on Lewis Carroll's original story.

Many of the chapters left me in suspense and it was difficult to stop reading, I was thoroughly engrossed in it.

I liked the way it was written, starting with the 'accident' ,taking you through the events of the night and ending with the truth.

I have read a few of Cathy Cassidy's other books and this is the best one so far for me, I really enjoyed it.

I think girls age 9+ will like this book.
This is my review for lovereading4kids.co.uk/

New link --> http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/book/11034/Looking-Glass-Girl-by-Cathy-Cassidy.html

The Song Bird Cafe Girls-Mollie Cinnamon is not a cupcake:By Sarah Webb.

An exciting story about Mollie who is  on the island of Little Bird .She would rather be anywhere else because there is nothing to do and she doesn't have any friends.......yet!
Mollie is on the Island being looked after by her great-granny as her mum is a TV presenter and is off travelling for her work for a while. She doesn't really know her gran and has only ever spoken to her on the phone a few times.

She is really bored at her great-grannies and it's only her first day!
Luckily that afternoon her nan takes her to the Song Bird café , which is only a short walk from the house. Here she meets Alanna the café owner, Sunny a home schooled girl and they become good friends.

She is sent to school and gets picked on by Lauren and Chloe , her mum made a mistake on the weather, which they found on youtube and repeatedly played to her on their mobile phones. She doesn't like school as she is not liked because she is from the city and even Bonny ,who likes everyone ,is turned against her by Lauren telling lies about her.

Mollie's mum Flora keeps letting her down, cancelling their trip to Paris together and not visiting . But then the café is threatened to be demolished and turned into a hotel and things become more interesting . she and her new friend Landy (Laurens twin brother)make plans to save the café with help from Sunny.

Although Mollie is unhappy at first ,things improve as her nan phones her old school and Mollie is able to be home schooled .Mollie and her new friends decide to help save the café together and this also helps her to cope with her disappointments from Flora her mum.

I loved reading this book it was very descriptive and it felt like you where there . I liked the information in the back of the book too.

I think it would appear to the readers of age 9+
This is my review for http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/

The dream snatcher By Abi Elphinstone

This is a book about Molly(Moll) Pecksniff a Romany gypsy and her wildcat Gryff. Full of magic, mystery and adventures!

When Moll is woken up in the middle of the night she finds herself in  the forest near her camp, lured there by a chant of some kind... 

I liked reading this book even though I didn't get gripped by the plot.

I would think this book is suitable for 9+ and for both girls and boys

this is my review for lovereading4kids.co.uk

Scarlet and Ivy:The Lost Twin By Sophie Cleverly

When Scarlet goes missing from Rookwood boarding school ,it is up to Ivy  her twin sister to find out what has happened to her.

Ivy is sent to Rookwood to replace Scarlet(who was supposed to have died of flu/pneumonia) to avoid any upset at the school.

Ivy realizes Scarlet may not be dead after all when she finds her diary......but lots of pages are gone!

Scarlet has hidden them around the school hoping that they would eventually lead to her rescue.

Ivy,now known as Scarlet, together with her new friend and room mate Ariadne,look for the missing diary pages. They hope that they can discover where Scarlet is and what has really happened to her.

With lots of lessons and activities in school to attend how will they do it? 

Will they ever find out the truth about Scarlet's disappearance ?

I loved reading this book, never knowing what was happening next.There are lots of ' cliff hangers ' at the ends of the chapters too.

I was thoroughly engrossed in this book and before i knew it it was the end ! As the ending was so unexpected it made me like this book even more.

I would recommend this adventure/mystery story for anyone aged 9+ and rate it 5/5

Scarlet and Ivy:The whispers in the walls is to follow in October 2015 and i look forward to reading that one too.

This is my review for lovereading4kids

At the moment i am waiting for a book from lovereading4kids.co.uk Scarlet and ivy the lost twin By Sophie Clevery

Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian

A moving story about a boy evacuated from London out into the countryside. 








Join young William Beech as he is evacuated from London to Little Weirworld ,where he is billeted with Tom Oakley , during World War 2.


He does lots of new things and discovers talents he didn't know he had. He goes from being skinny , shy and unloved ,to well fed ,confident and happy.
When he is called back home by his mean cruel mother his life completely changes again and not for the best.
Will he ever be reunited with Mister Tom and his friends again?

This historical fiction has lots of twists and turns of Williams life and at times is very upsetting .It seems realistic because things like this may have happened in the wartime . The characters are very well described and feel real.
I felt as if I had stepped back in time and had a feeling of what it was like being a WW2 evacuee.
I liked this book very much even though it was tragic at times.
I rate it 4/5.


My review is for lovereading4kids.co.uk