Noah Barleywater Runs Away by John Boyne

Noah Barleywater Runs Away by John Boyne

 

Noah Barleywater left home in the early morning, before the sun rose, before the dogs woke, before the dew stopped falling on the fields.

A nice, easy read. A book in which not a lot of action takes place. Simple, slightly boring at first, but it gets more interesting - not considerably more though... Is this a book addictive book? Defiantly not, but I'll tell any potential Noah Barleywater Runs Away readers what it is. An average story with gradually, slow building pace almost like an artery slowly closing up with gunk. It is a book that I could of put down and happily never picked up again, yet I did not do that and matter of factually I read it...I'm somewhat of a book craving adrenaline junkie, so I do not know why I continued to read this specific book...Though I did actually like it...just about.

Not very surprising, but Noah Barleywater runs away...He runs away from his parents and if I told the potential Noah Barleywater Runs Away readers why, well that would just ruin one of two worth reading twists in the story. Though Noah does claim that his reason for leaving home is simply because he wants to go on an adventure...

On his travels through villages strange occurrences take place such as hospitalized apples, a hungry donkey, an easily offended dachshund, spectacular trees - well just the one(hint*cough*book cover) and where many helpful wooden objects are present. Noah seems to take all of the unusual goings on quite well - he just excepts them without much consideration.

My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- I liked it...just about(3/5 cats)

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 I must mention that I feel somewhat disappointed with Noah as a character - he appears to be almost identical in nature to John Boyne's other small boy character Barnaby Brocket from The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket. Although, one must eliminate Barnaby Brocket's ability to float, following this they may as well be twins except maybe a few minor details regarding brief physical appearances. Furthermore John Boyne has a knack for not clearly wanting to give much description on the physical appearance of his characters...We are told Noah is short for his age, has black hair and green eyes - that is completely acceptable, but not when John Boyne doesn't develop his characters personalities enough! His readers are left with scraps for a character instead of a nicely done, not at all burned around the edges type of character.

Dexter is Delicious by Jeff Lindsay

Dexter is Delicious by Jeff Lindsay

Dexter always lived by a single golden rule: only kill people who deserve it. But the Miami blood spatter analyst has recently become a daddy - to an eight-pound curiosity named Lily Anne - and strangely, Dex's dark urges seem to have left him. Is he ready to become an overprotective father? To pick up soft teddy bears instead of his trusty knife, duct tape and fishing wire? What's a serial killer to do?

Then Dexter is summoned to investigate the disappearance of an eighteen-year-old girl who appears to have been abducted by a bizarre group who just may be vampires... and, possibly, cannibals. There's nothing like the familiar hum of his day job to get Dexter's creative dark juices flowing again. Assisting his bull-in-a-china-shop detective sister, Deborah, Dex wades into an investigation that gets more disturbing by the moment.

To compound the complication of Dexter's ever-more-complicated life, a person from his past suddenly reappears... moving dangerously close to his home turf and threatening to destroy the one thing that has maintained Dexter's cover and kept him out of the electric chair: his new family.

  I've come to a certain problem with the Dexter series. Constant, near death situations that Dexter always gets out of unharmed to any extent at all - there just is not an tense build up anymore. I feel there is not enough interest in Dexter's somewhat unusual hobby...being a serial killer and all. He is not challenged enough, where as in the Dexter TV series, Laguerta is a prevailing force who would have been scrutinizing Dexter's activities with great interest.

The character of Rita(Dexter's wife) can be considered rather aggravating in relation to her stumble of speech. Her dialogue consists of half sentences, that are broken up by other mumbled, often pointless statements. Although, I am quite pleased with Dexter's brother Brian. He is serial killer with purpose, charm and for some untold reason he has a considerable amount of interest in Dexter's family. Brain is to some degree a Dark Daddy Dexter Defender.

Barely any to no mentoring is done by Dexter to try and stir Astor and Cody firmly and directly down the Harry path. Dexter finds himself intoxicated with family life prior to being intoxicated by a certain Dark Passenger... The constant need that pulls from the gleam of the moon to the dark, feathery wings that tickle his neck with a piercing insight into what it thinks he needs to do is gone. Will it stay gone? Will Dexter Morgan, blood spatter analyst ever return to his former guilty pleasure?

My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- I really liked it (4/5 cats)

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 A big bubble of a surprise bursts triumphantly into the crevices of the this very book - a fascinating theme crops into view for the duration of the book - that is cannibalism. Not a particularly light theme, but has a respectable amount of blood and gore, like is expected from the combination of the blood spatter design that glows a proud red on the cover, and from the lengthy description. Several scenes honestly were simply too much for my mental gag reflex - various flesh chewed, cooked, violently torn, generally ripped to shreds and eaten...Furthermore the dysfunctional vampires with purposely sharpened canines that like to dance and sway to awful sounding music, while drinking masses of blood colored, red punch...

All of the Dexter book series always have good conclusions. There are no big wriggling worms of cliff hangers, but instead a nice, concise ending. It mightn't have the effect of wanting the reader to read more about Dexter experiences, but then again I don't think an exploding cliff hanger is needed to keep one's attention; Jeff Lindsay's clever writing style and general creative story telling is quite enough for readers to lock and load their minds' for another Dexter book.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

I had finally gotten a copy of The Fault in Our Stars and was ever so excited to get munching on John Green's extravagant usage of words. My build up of excitement was not only, because of  the endless prong of praising reviews for the book,or the Fault in Our Stars Tumblr plague of obsession, but because I am a subscriber to the vlogbrothers. I found it incredibly exhilarating that one part of the vlogbrothers was in fact an author. John Green an author, a person who spends his time writing fiction while finding time to make YouTube videos. Really? The same man that subscribers find themselves learning from every second video on the vlogbrothers channel. I could almost not believe it, so I was exceedingly eager to investigate this book called The Fault in Our Stars.

Life. Cancer. Struggle. Love. Death. I generally try to avoid cancer books due to the often depressing story lines, but my above stated excitement made me scramble to buy a shiny new copy of the renowned book. It was undoubtedly very important to me to get a copy of this book...It is the fourth book I have ever bought. The library staff just could not get a copy of the book transferred to them, as other libraries do not transfer relatively new books to other libraries.


Leonardo da Vinci wanted to be able to fly. If he had the determination of a terrier who wanted to escape a yard he would of not of been able to fly. So he drew up inventions for various flying contraptions. Unfortunately, sometimes no matter how strong willed a person may be s/he can not fight something and win; in Leonardo's case gravity and in Hazel Grace's own personal experience, she could not successfully fight cancer. 

Hazel Grace excepts her situation, but does not want to be a "grenade" by leaving people mentally ripped to pieces after her inevitable demise. She meets Augustus Waters and she likes him. Likes him to the extent of love. Loves him to the extent of letting herself  mean something to him without worrying about the "grenade" effect.



 

My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- It was absolutely amazing(5/5 cats)

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Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters seem to live not to fight cancer anymore, but to live for the wonderful happiness of being within each others company. They laugh, cry, smile and live within the most desired moment of young love blossoming beautifully. A bitter-sweet love that will warm and squeeze your heart simultaneously.

In truth, there is a considerable amount of sadness throughout this book, but it is mixed with a very special thing...love. Love that runs through the veins of the book in union with the sadness to make a modern day, heart twisting masterpiece.






 

Lies of Silence by Brian Moore

Lies of Silence by Brian Moore

  

When Michael Dillon is ordered by the IRA to park his car in the car park of a Belfast hotel, he is faced with a moral choice which leaves him absolutely nowhere to turn. He knows that he is planting a bomb that would kill and maim dozens of people. But he also knows that if he doesn't, his wife will be killed.

It isn't a particularly a long read and I'm exceedingly glad that it isn't for it is far from breathtaking...

Micheal the central character is not a likeable or admirable character; he cheated on his wife with a woman half his age, he only married his wife as he found her exceedingly attractive and loved the envious stares that were directed at him by other men. 

He is for the most part quite cowardly, although he does ponder the idea of speaking up against the IRA. After all he happens to have a vital piece of evidence that could lock up one of their members.

The book puts the IRA in a bad light. It implies that they don't care whether they use protestants or Catholics to get what they want - in this case bombing a hotel. Also, violence is shown by the group and they portray a certain fierceness which many local people are sacred of - Catholics and Protestants alike. This is a book of fiction, but I do not know whether things of such nature happened. I do know that there was violence in Northern Ireland and there is still some violence there, but I do not know much of the goings on of the place. This is justified for in the 80's, my parents were offered to stay at someone's house in Northern Ireland, they refused the offer in fear of trouble - bombs going off etc.




 My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- It was okay(2/5 cats)

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I didn't enjoy this book. I did not like Michael as a character. I felt his courageous decision was made far too late and he suffered immensely for his mistake. I think the book could of been far better convicted, if Maria was the main character - she is a strong willed, rebellious, independent character and she is what every women should want to be.

I didn't have any particular problem with the story - it was fine, but as I have somewhat stated already- it could of been such a compelling story, if only Maria was made the main character.



 

  


 

 

 

 

The Bed by Travis Mcbee

The Bed by Travis Mcbee

  

Steve isn't much for antiques. In fact, he hates them. So when he finds himself in an old antique shop taking shelter from the rain, he isn't pleased. But he finds something in there. He finds a beautiful old bed that he falls in love with and must have. But the bed is not normal, and Steve learns the hard way that sometimes you fall into things that you simply can't get up from.

This is a short story - I don't usually read short stories, but I gave this one a chance and I'm glad in doing so.

I appreciated the third person narration throughout this short story - I liked the opportunity in being able to see behind the scenes so to speak - to be the presence behind everyone's eyes instead of just Steve's eyes.

The whole theme of a furnishing or just a non living thing to have certain powers is a very fascinating theme.

It made me look at my bed in a new light - I nearly was tempted to check my bed's head board to see if I could see any peculiar markings carved into it...luckily I found known. When I was a kid, a similar outcome happened after I watched the first Toy Story animation ; I started treating my toys with much better care and made sure they were securely in their toy box or just in another room than I happened to be sleeping in...

It is short as short stories tend to be, for this reason I'm not going to give away too much and in hope that someone will be incised to read The Bed by Travis Mcbee. 

 

My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- It was absolutely amazing(5/5 cats)

Cat Cat Rating Scale- http://minstrelcrazy.blogspot.ie/p/reviews.html

 I tend not to read short stories often and this is my first rating of one, so I mightn't have enough experience to rate it fairly, but I feel that short stories are largely based on enjoyment and I enjoyed reading it very much.

     

 

 

 

You Against Me by Jenny Downham

You Against Me by Jenny Downham

If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge, right?

If your brother's accused of a terrible crime but says he didn't do it, you defend him, don't you?

When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her, his world begins to fall apart.

When Ellie's brother is charged with the offense, her world begins to unravel.

When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide.

I guilty relished in reading a book which has easy-read-big print. It was nice to read something, that wasn't hard to understand and once a paragraph was read the meaning was clear.

I read this book continuously until 7:30 am, by then I was somewhat fatigued so I slept for about seven hours.Once I awoke, I kept reading until I had every single word read and absorbed for my demanding mind to process...

The book is based around the theme of rape, but also love, which blossoms from the terrible situation - that is rape. Ellie Parker's brother Tom is accused of sexually assaulting Mikey McKenzie's sister. Throughout three quarters of the book the reader's mind is battling with the details of what actually happened that night? Did Tom sexually assault the girl with the short orange mini skirt, that wore purple lipstick or is she lying? These two questions make the book so addictive...

The love aspect to the story is sad, but sweet - there are a lot of obstacles for the the young couple of  Ellie and Mickey to deal with. It is truly challenging  for them; they try to be loyal to their families, but it's hard when both of them are potentially in love with someone from the opposing team, or in this case - a member of the family on the other side of the spectrum in court.


My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- It was absolutely amazing(5/5 cats)

Cat Cat Rating Scale- http://minstrelcrazy.blogspot.ie/p/reviews.html

I like the realistic characters that occupy this book - the kind that live life day to day, without big explosive circumstances punching them in the gut everyday. They are believable - I felt like I could personally know these people, that they could inhabit my community without raising an eyebrow.

Out of everything that this book obtains, there is only one small thing which I found partially bothersome: The repetition of the noun bloke. Almost every male that is described in You Against Me is described by the noun bloke. This can be a problem, if the reader decides to read large quantities of the book at one time. At some point that particular noun dwindles away and is not seen again for the remainder of the book. It is a minor detail, for it is only a noun and it does go away, so no cat will be taken off my rating for this book.

Conclusion: A genuine, book-addictive book.

Dexter By Design by Jeff Lindsay

Dexter By Design by Jeff Lindsay

 

After his surprisingly glorious honeymoon in Paris, life is almost normal for Dexter Morgan. Married life seems to agree with him: he’s devoted to his bride, his stomach is full, and his homicidal hobbies are nicely under control. 

But old habits die hard--and Dexter’s work as a blood spatter analyst never fails to offer new temptations that appeal to his offbeat sense of justice...and his Dark Passenger still waits to hunt with him in the moonlight.

The discovery of a corpse (artfully displayed as a sunbather relaxing on a Miami beach chair) naturally piques Dexter’s curiosity and Miami’s finest realize they've got a terrifying new serial killer on the loose. And Dexter, of course, is back in business.

It took me slightly longer than it should have done to read this book. Why? Roughly half of the first part of the book is uneventful, with the exception of two interesting occurrences, that take up about four pages out of about one hundred and forty pages... I think a book should be addictive and hook the reader from the start; Dexter by Design does not accomplish this, but I read on nonetheless, as I have a simple expectation for Jeff Lindsay to deliver and he did.

It is a long wait, but there are a few unexpected twists - twists that bring Dexter farther afield than he would normally feel comfortable going...People trust Dexter - some of these unsuspecting people even have the same morals and perspective in life as Dexter himself has!

Dexter continues to mentor Astor and Cody - his wife Rita's children. They become impatient and want to learn more in relation to Dexter's specialty... Dexter does teach them some basic rules, but is often preoccupied with a new Dexter-threatening monster - which happens to be terrorizing Miami.

My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- I really liked it (4/5 cats)

Cat Cat Rating Scale- http://minstrelcrazy.blogspot.ie/p/reviews.html

I should of mentioned this before, but at least I've finally got around to it now. Jeff Lindsay has taken full advantage of the many adjectives and nouns which coordinate with Dexter's name: Delightful Dexter, Daring Dexter, the list continues...Even the titles of the books are done this way: Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dexter in the Dark , Dexter by Design etc. I appreciate the various titles Dexter has, for they connect the reader to the story, not to mention that each Dexter-title is exciting, descriptive and well suited to every situation Dexter finds himself in. I adore this technique which Jeff Lindsay has successfully repeated throughout the series.

 The half-a-book-worth-of-boring is why I have taken a cat off my rating for this book. Generally a reader expects a slow beginning/ introduction - maybe a chapter or two - but following the introductory chapters a worthwhile story should unfold.

On a positive note; Lindsay delivered a big satisfying twist, that saved another cat or two from being knocked off my rating. The half-a-book-worth-of-boring is almost forgotten, but not to the extent of the book being classified as absolutely amazing.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 

by C.S. Lewis

Open a door and enter a new world.
NARNIA ... the land beyond the wardrobe door, a secret place frozen in eternal winter ... a magical country waiting to be set fee.
Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the Professor's mysterious old house. At first, her brothers and sisters don't believe her when she tells of her visit to the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund, then Peter and Susan step through the wardrobe themselves. In Narnia they find a country buried under the evil enchantment of the White Witch. When they meet the Great Lion, Aslan, they realize they've been called to a  great adventure and bravely join the battle to free Narnia from the Witch's sinister spell.

 Why didn't I read this book years ago? I should of done! I should have read it ten times by now, but unfortunately I  have failed to read it during my childhood.

The hype around the 'Chronicles of Narnia' did put my expectations among the clouds for this series and this book did that expectation justice for 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' is now among my favorites.

It has one of the great story recipes: Magic, talking animals, magical creatures, evil beings, magnificent beings, battles and nutty professors. It has a variety of themes which makes it exciting and somewhat unpredictable. It has moments of cruelty, but great moments that overshadow the evilness. There are moments of courage, moments of pure goodness and fun.



My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- It was absolutely amazing(5/5 cats)

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I think C.S. Lewis was exceedingly talented at creating great characters - both good and bad. I adore the good character of Aslan and I hate the bad characters, such as the White Witch and the White Witch's dwarf minion. It is hugely important for a story to have characters that one feels empathy and adoration for, but also characters which one hates with passion; if this is accomplished the reader really cares what the outcome of the story is and how the characters react to the obstacles thrown at them. C.S. Lewis has whole heatedly achieved this, which resulted in me having a hungry stomach whilst desperately trying to finish this book because quite frankly, it is a stupendous story.

It is a fast paced book, it twists through a winding path of exceptional adventures that any reader should be happy to find themselves on. It is exciting and is like a hoover, as it will suck you in until you have bags under your eyes and drool coming from your mouth - book addiction can be so destructive...

The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne

The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne

There's nothing unusual about the Brockets. BORING, RESPECTABLE and PROUD of it, they turn up their noses at anyone STRANGE or different. But from the moment BARNABY BROCKET comes into the world, he defies the laws of gravity - AND FLOATS. Desperate to please his Parents, Baranby does his best to Keep both feet on the Ground - BUT HE JUST CAN'T DO IT!

ONE Fateful day, the BROCkets decide enough is ENOUGH. They never asked for a weird, abnorMAL FLOATING CHILD. BARNABY HAS TO GO...

Betrayed, Frightened and ALONE, Barnaby floats into the PATH of a very special Hot-air BALLoon - and so begins a magical journey around the WORld.

The beginning of this slightly reminded me of the start of Harry Potter and the Camber of Secrets just regarding a normal family who hated anything out of the ordinary.

I adore stories that are made for children, because of the fast pace which the writers have to use, if they want to keep their young readers entertained, the simplicity used - no deep symbolism thank you very much and just the very fun themes that are regularly used. This book is no exception. John Boyne mushed all of the above things together - which I appreciate about children's fiction and as a result I found it very much worth reading.

The book is quite fast paced which is appropriately needed for the target audience. It achieves a fast pace because of all the wonderful things that happen in this book; Barnaby Brocket goes on an awful lot of exciting adventures, meets and helps people along the way and makes great friends.

A simple easy read- without beginning belittling. Sentences throughout the book generally state their point quite clearly and effectively. I liked the simplicity, I liked it so much because it is nice to only have to read a paragraph once to understand it and it is completely lovely, when a author decides I'm not going to beat around the bush, no I'm just going to simply tell the story as it should be told.

I liked the simple theme that the author used; the theme of not fitting in -being regarded as "different" and sometimes branded as a "freak", but finally embracing your differences in the end and loving yourself for them. It is a good message for children, that standing out from a crowd- isn't always a bad thing.

My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- I really liked it (4/5 cats)

Cat Cat Rating Scale- http://minstrelcrazy.blogspot.ie/p/reviews.html

Unfortunately , two problems arose: a) At some points I found myself skimming over pages and not paying much attention to the story but that could be due to tiredness or just down to my easily distracted self...b) Often, when a small disaster is going to happen or other occurrences, there are often subtle hints a page to a page and a half before it happens. The problem with these hints, is that they are far too obvious, luckily it isn't just one big twist that is ruined but some of the smaller ones...

Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay

Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay

Dexter Morgan, Miami PD blood-spatter analyst, is accustomed to seeing evil deeds - he occasionally enjoys committing them himself. Guided by his Dark Passenger - the voice that helps stalk his prey - he lives outwardly normal life according to one simple rule: he kills only very bad people.

But everything changes when Dexter attends a gruesome double homicide. Dex realizes he's  dealing with someone a lot more sinister than he is, and it sends the Dark Passenger into hiding. And if the Dark Passenger is scared, it has to be serious...

This book is undoubtedly the most unpredictable so far. It has nearly no similarities to the TV series at this point.

Dexter gradually becomes a father figure/mentor for Astor and Cody - his girlfriend Rita's two children. Meanwhile, he has to help Rita organize their wedding. Not to mention,the Dark Passenger slowly goes into hiding following a gruesome crime scene, resulting in Dexter losing his predatory instincts and actually feeling fear and anxiety. He becomes distressed daily and constantly misses and wishes for the return of his lifelong buddy- the accurate and reliable Dark Passenger...

The book is rather erratic because a) In relation to already having watched "Dexter" the TV series, it is basically a completely different story and b) Once "The Watcher" starts stalking Dexter, it is somewhat confusing and it is hard to determine who "The Watcher" is.

My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- It was absolutely amazing(5/5 cats)

Cat Cat Rating Scale- http://minstrelcrazy.blogspot.ie/p/reviews.html

I thoroughly was entertained by this book. Lindsay has drawn outside the box of reality for this book and as a result I adore the wild tale, which Dexter undergoes throughout this book.

Dexter frantically tries to gather information about the Dark Passenger once it eludes him. I considerably appreciated the zooming in on the Dark Passenger. The routes of the Dark Passenger are frightfully interesting. The zooming in on the Dark Passenger's origins is where Lindsay has slightly drawn outside the box of reality, but all for the better I assure you!

I preferred this to the other books, unquestionably because the plot has almost no similarities to the TV series. 'Darkly Dreaming Dexter' is a close second as it clearly portrays Dexter's twisted, insightful and logical mind.

The Magician's Nephew by C.S.Lewis

The Magician's Nephew by C.S.Lewis

The secret passage to the house next door leads to a brand new world. Narnia...where horses grow wings and talking beasts are called to life...a new world full of magic, where the adventures begin.

Digory and Polly meet and become friends one cold, wet summer in London. Their lives burst into adventure when Uncle Andrew, who thinks he is a magician, sends them hurtling to somewhere else. They find their way to the new land Narnia! But when they awaken to an evil sorceress, Polly and Digory are sent on a quest to stop her before she destroys the world they've just discovered.

  

This book is apart of 'The Chronicles of Narnia'. It was written well after the majority of the Narnia books, but its time frame is before the other books, therefore I recommend reading this book before the other books in the series-to discover how the world of Narnia came to be.

The character of Digory is a typical mischievous child who wants to explore and push all of the "Do not touch!" buttons, or in this case levers. In saying that, he is not a stereotype for he has many other qualities; he is courageous and caring - not to mention - he has a brilliant gift for seeing people's true intentions and he openly states his findings.

Polly is more reserved than Digory, but she still has a sense of fun; she happily obliges Digory by exploring mysterious places in their surrounding area. Unlike Digory, Polly has a great deal of sense, which he seems to ignore on many occasions. The mix of Digory and Polly together brings a great dynamic to the story and together they are a suited team to combat the corruptness of  certain adults that accompany them on their journey.

My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- I really liked it (4/5 cats)

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I enjoyed this book, but it didn't necessarily enchant me like I presumed it would. Perhaps, the hype around 'The Chronicles of Narnia' placed my exceptions among the clouds; when it is more so looking up at the clouds-so to speak.

Aslan -the lion who created Narnia- referred to Polly and Digory as the daughter and son of Adam and Eve. This, I felt was irrelevant to the world of Narnia, where many river gods and gods of other nature dwell. It did not seem authentic to suggest the religious beginnings of humans, maybe the author was being primitive with his views considering the time-frame it was wrote in, but I felt the reference to religion wasn't necessary... Also, there happened to be a similar 'garden of Eden' area, in which a magical apple tree inhabited. Digory was sent to retrieve an apple from the tree but was coxed by the evil sorceress. For such a magical place like Narnia, I think it shouldn't relate to the bible- where Eve was apparently manipulated by a snake- representing evil. It should be a unique beginning and I'm somewhat disappointed with the unoriginal idea used.

Holes by Louis Sachar

Holes by Louis Sachar

 Stanley Yelnats isn't too surprised to find himself at Camp Green Lake, digging holes in the dried up lake bed, day after scorching day. After all, his family has a history of bad luck.

The boys at Camp Green Lake must dig one hole each day, five feet deep and five feet across. But what are they digging for? Why did Green Lake dry up? And what do onions and lizards have to do with it all? The answers lie in Stanley's own past...

While I was doing work experience in a library recently, I was stocking books and in the process, I read a title on a book spine. It was 'Holes' by Louis Sachar and it immediately became apparent that this title was exceedingly familiar to me.Why was the book's title familiar, but not the author? Simple, I had watched the film years before and was now looking at the very book, which it was based on. I was very excited at this  for I relish comparing books with their films/TV programmes counterparts.

Stanley Yelnats gets wrongly convicted of stealing a pair of shoes-which were shortly going to be auctioned off for charity- and happened to be the famous basketball player Clyde Linvingston's shoes. After all, who's going to believe that the shoes fell from the sky-like Stanley claimed?

Stanley is sent to Camp Green Lake and is assigned to group D. The other boys, which occupy group D, all have nicknames like "Armpit" and "Squid". They soon nickname Stanley "Caveman" and he doesn't mind, for he feels he is excepted by them.

Digging holes in the dried up lake is quiet dangerous for the boys, as rattlesnakes,scorpions or the extremely feared yellow-spotted lizard could be lurking nearby. The work is hard, but luckily if anyone finds anything of interest, they can show it to the warden and possibly get a day off from being a victim of the scorching sun. Stanley finds an interesting fossil, but is surprised when apparently it is not classified as what the warden is looking for. Thus leaving the question-what is the warden searching for?

Some problems arise in the camp for Stanley, which he naturally blames on his "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing grandfather." Every time bad luck plagued the Yelnats, they believed it had to do with the curse, which was put on the entire family because of their  "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing" relation.

Stanley befriends Zero-usually a mute person by choice- and together, they solve the great Kate Barlow mystery. Kate Barlow's life story was tragic but wonderful and it is significantly connected to Green Lake and the camp which was made on it.

My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- It was absolutely amazing(5/5 cats)

Cat Cat Rating Scale- http://minstrelcrazy.blogspot.ie/p/reviews.html

I enjoyed the consistency of the book and how it flowed in an interesting manner. The story behind the Yelnat's family curse was expertly entangled within the crevices of the story. Not only that, but the characters were also relevantly connected by their histories.

The mystery aspect of the story was enchanting- every snippet of information grudgingly told, led to the reader longing for more.

A beautiful easy-read and I highly recommend it.