Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Meggie, the heroine, is a 12-year-old girl whose mother has disappeared and is left her with her dad, Mo. When a stranger knocks on their door they are forced to flee to Meggie's aunty’s home where Mo is forced to reveal a secret Meggie had never known.

Inkheart is about a magical book that when Mo reads it out loud, the people come out of the story. In other words, what happens is that the characters from the world inside the book cross over into Meggie’s world. Mo does not want these people in this world as some of them are quite dangerous, but he can’t – or thinks he can’t - read them back into their own world.

The main characters, as I have mentioned, are Mo and Meggie’. Meggie’s father Mo is a bookbinder by trade. Meggie is a 12-year-old girl whose mother has disappeared and she is now left with her dad. Both have a great love for books. Another key characters is dustfinger. He is a interesting character. Because there is more to him than meets the eye.

The other character that I like is Capricorn

You should buy this book if you are If you are a dreamer, a wisher, or a pretender, you have to read this book. Click on the link to go to Fishpond.co.nz and buy the book or add to your wishlist.

The 39 Clues Book One - The Maze of Bones

The 39 Clues Book One - The Maze of Bones

The Maze of Bones is the first book in The 39 Clues series. Book one is written by Rick Riordan. If you like codes, puzzles, danger, and exciting worldwide adventures, this is definitely a book for you. I really like the fact that there are codes and puzzles for the main characters to figure out, but there are also codes for you and me - the readers - to decode. Each book has six clue cards for you to collect. These cards make up parts of a puzzle and give us information about the hunt for the 39 clues. The collectors cards also give you codes to use with the online 39 Clues game and website which you can see here: www.the39clues.com.

My Dad thinks this book is a great way to learn history and have a good time while you do it. Don't get me wrong, it's not a dull history lesson... It's an absolutely exciting way to learn about some of the most important people and events in history.

What would happen if you discovered that your family was one of the most powerful in history? This is the basic story idea. Finding the 39 clues is a challenge from the main characters' dead grandmother. You can take a million dollars or... you can accept the first clue on the journey to find the 39 clues. We don't know exactly what the prize is, but it's a secret that will make you the most power person in the world.

My favourite characters are Dan and Amy Cahill. They are brother and sister. I like Dan because he has a photographic memory - he can remember anything. Amy is also one of my favourite characters because she is a couple of years older than Dan and she is very good at research. Both Amy and Dan have a special ability to communicate their thoughts to one another. Each one seems to always know what the other is thinking. I think this is a great advantage because their enemies don't know what they are planning.

Some of other main characters are the mysterious man in black, their slippery Uncle Alistair Oh, their cat Saladin, and their baby-sitter Nellie. Actually, she's their au-pair... Dan hates her being called their baby-sitter. You also need to know that there are four family branches competing against each other for the 39 clues. These are the Lucians who are tricky spies, the Thomas who are fighters and thugs, the Ekatarinas who are clever inventors, and the Janus who are the artists. Pretty much anyone important from history comes from one of those four families. They all have their good and bad sides. You probably belong to one of these family branches too, but it depends on what your skills are.

Do you accept the challenge? Buy this book and join the hunt for the 39 clues.

The Mysterious Benedict Society

The Mysterious Benedict Society is a novel by Trenton Lee Stewart. Overall, this is a great book for anyone aged 8 to 88. If you like action, adventure, mysteries, excitement, and solving puzzles you will definitely love this story... perhaps even better than Harry Potter.

My favourite character is Kate. I like her because she carries around a bucket attached to her belt. She uses this bucket for carrying handy things like a penlight, flashlight, swiss army knife, a sling shot and marbles. She also has a spool of clear fishing twine and a bottle of extra strength glue for those sticky situations. All of these things come in handy on their adventures. Kate is resourceful and active. And, she likes being constantly busy. Actually, she's a lot like me!

My next favourite character is Constance. She is clever but very grumpy. She is good at poems and insulting rhymes. Here's one of my favourites: "Rules and schools are tools for fools. I don't give two mules about your rules!"

As well as the two girls, there are two boys in the adventure. Their names are Reynie and Sticky. Reynie is the leader of this gang of gifted children. He is a clever thinker too. His friend Sticky is the fourth member of the society. He is very brainy but very nervous. Reynis and Sticky are both extremely clever, but in different ways. The four children are looked after by the mysterious Mr Benedict. He is one of the good guys. He has a medical condition called narcolepsy which means that he falls asleep sometimes without warning!

The main bad guy is Mr Curtain who runs a nasty school called "The Institute". I won't tell you any more though because I might give away the story! Buy this book. It's great!!