JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

Team Hero 1: Battle for the Shadow Sword by Adam Blade

Welcome to Hero Academy! Join Jack and your other new classmates at this secret school, where the lessons are more exciting than Maths and PE. But when a portal from the evil underground realm of Noxx is discovered beneath the school, Team Hero needs your powers. The next invasion is upon us!

Surprisingly, I had a lot of fun reading this and I’m about twenty years older than the intended audience!

Jack Beacon is a school kid with scaly hands that he keeps hidden in gloves. His classmates tease him, until he manages to stop a moving car simply with his hands. Before he has time to work out what’s happening, a woman named Miss Steel finds Jack and brings him to Hero Academy. He joins other classmates who all have different types of powers. Here, they train and learn how to defeat the evil underground realm Noxx.

“With low mutterings, the students edged forward. Jack gasped as he saw what lay within the wall. It wasn’t a pool at all but a pit. At its base were horribly life-like statues, moss-covered and flaking. There were skeletons wielding swords and things like giant bats, wings speed as if about to fly away.”

Team Hero is actually really fun. Adam sure knows how to end each chapter with suspense and intrigue! The book is filled with illustrations, making it easy for kids to read. The chapters aren’t too long and the words aren’t too difficult. I’d say this book is perfect for kids who have just started learning to read chapter books, so age 6+

This book, with its comic-strip type illustrations, actually reminded me of a lot of animated kids shows I watched as a kid. The combination of superpowers and an academy would no doubt really draw a young reader in.

“Then Jack felt it too, through the soles of his feet — a tremor, then a rumble. Within the low stone wall, the statues began to tremble. Jack set the bike down quickly.”

Battle for the Shadow Sword is the first book in the Team Hero series. There are eight books coming out in total.

I recommend this to parents who are looking for something adventurous for their young child to read. Given that I loved reading it and I’m an adult, at least a parent would enjoy reading it to their child (after all, it’s always good if the parent actually likes the book as well as their kid).

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Team Hero 1: Battle for the Shadow Sword
Adam Blade
July 2017
Hachette Book Publishers

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Matilda
Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake
October 1988

Matilda is a children’s classic – loved by all and appreciated by both children and adults. Roald Dahl has written such beautiful children’s novels and Matilda is most definitely my favourite. Both the book and the movie are marvellous, and it’s a story I would happily recommend to anyone who hasn’t yet read it. The book is also marvellous as a re-read, if you’re feeling like a revisiting an old classic.

The book is set in a small Buckinghamshire village; Matilda Wormwood is highly intelligent, gifted six-year-old but her parents neglect her and treat her horribly. Her father is a crooked car dealer who is teaching Matilda’s brother about the business so he can hopefully take over it one day. The only way Matilda can bear to live in the house is because she’s teaching herself to read and she has discovered the library and she’s spending time by herself discovering literature. Her parents think she’s ‘nothing more than a scab’ and that she should spend more time watching TV and less time reading books.

Matilda befriends her kindergarten teacher, Jennifer Honey, and is at first afraid of the nasty principal Ms. Trunchbull. She is a bully and terrorizes the students. She invents crazy punishments for non-existent mischief. Matilda seems to be very much alone in the world with just books for company. That is, until she meets Miss Honey.

The book is about Matilda learning to stand up for herself and be courageous amongst scrutiny and judgement – she learns how to outsmart her parents and her principal and not succumb to their horrible treatment of her.

“I know you are only a tiny little girl, but there is some kind of magic in you somewhere”
Miss Honey

The book explores education, family, relationships and Matilda’s supernatural abilities. When you re-read the books as an adult, you notice there’s a level of darkness in the book that you never knew was there. Miss Trunchbull is a lot crueller in the books, and the loneliness and neglect that Matilda experiences is really quite awful. At times it almost felt too dark for a children’s book, but perhaps that speaks to a broader issue about the dampening down of serious issues in children’s books. Perhaps we don’t give children enough credit these days – perhaps there are too many children’s books now that have filtered out any darkness.

“So Matilda’s strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: You are not alone.”

Roald Dahl is a wonderful writer, full of wit, warmth and heart. His characters always feel larger than life, and Matilda is the kind of character that a lot of children might relate to, not because of her neglect (hopefully!) but because of the solace she finds in reading. She’s a shy, quiet over-achiever and there would be a lot of young girls reading this who would feel like they’re quite similar to Matilda. This book shows them that there’s nothing wrong with being bookish or introverted. It worked out very well for Matilda, in the end.

The 13-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton

The 13-Storey Treehouse
Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
September 2011
Pan Macmillan
Children’s Fiction – Ages 7+

It’d be almost impossible to find a young child who hasn’t heard of the Treehouse series by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton. There are now five books in the series, which is about two young boys Andy and Terry and their multi-storied treehouse full of creatures and fun rooms and hilarious, madcap adventures.

In this first book in the series, Andy and Terry live in a riotous 13-Storey Treehouse and whilst desperately trying to write their next book, they’re both being distracted by all of the crazy mishaps and nutty adventures occurring around them.

Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton have tapped into a childhood dream and transformed it into a highly successful children’s book series. Every child wishes they had a treehouse, full of different rooms and living spaces, with animals and creatures and enough toys and possessions to pass the time. In Andy and Terry’s 13-Storey Treehouse, there’s a bowling alley, a see-through swimming pool, a tank full of sharks, a library full of comics, a secret underground laboratory, a games room, self-making beds, vines you can swing on, a vegetable vaporiser and a marshmallow machine that follows you around and automatically shoots your favourite flavoured marshmallows into your mouth whenever it discerns you’re hungry.

Andy’s writing is hilarious. The pace is quick to keep children entertained, and there are some witty lines in there to entertain adults as well. The characters move from room to room almost every second page, and this keeps children engaged and in awe of the treehouse setting. The storyline is not overly complicated and is easy for children to follow. Andy and Terry need to deliver their next manuscript to their publisher, but Terry keeps getting distracted in the treehouse! And Andy can’t work out what to write about!

Terry’s illustrations are almost like sketches at times, but the page is always jam-packed with detail and there doesn’t seem to be a section free. The drawings must take him hours to complete, and the illustrations alone would be enough to keep children reading. The book is full of illustrations – they almost seem to be on every page – and with Terry Denton’s signature detailed drawings, children will be entertained for hours reading the book.

This is a fun, hilarious, heart-warming book for children aged 7+. The 13-Storey Treehouse is perfect for young children, and I highly recommend this for reluctant readers. There are so many drawings and illustrations, that children won’t even feel like they’re reading.

You can watch a book trailer for The 13-Storey Treehouse HERE

The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin

In the world of A Song of Ice and Fire the ice dragon was a creature of legend and fear, for no man had ever tamed one. When it flew overhead, it left in its wake desolate cold and frozen land. But Adara was not afraid. For Adara was a winter child, born during the worst freeze that anyone, even the Old Ones, could remember.

Adara could not remember the first time she had seen the ice dragon. It seemed that it had always been in her life, glimpsed from afar as she played in the frigid snow long after the other children had fled the cold. In her fourth year she touched it, and in her fifth year she rode upon its broad, chilled back for the first time. Then, in her seventh year, on a calm summer day, fiery dragons from the North swooped down upon the peaceful farm that was Adara’s home.

And only a winter child-and the ice dragon who loved her-could save her world from utter destruction.

Despite being marketed and advertised as a children’s book, The Ice Dragon is not a children’s book. Sure, the main character is a young girl who needs to prove herself to her family and mature and find her identity, but this book does deal with loss and poverty and is quite dark for a children’s book. Although I do commend George R.R. Martin for addressing these adult-ish themes in a subtle way, so that it’s not blaringly obvious to a child reading it.

This story was actually published in 1980, but has since been re-jacketed (in hardcover) and re-illustrated by acclaimed artist Luis Royo. All of the illustrations are black and white sketches, which add to the moody, gloomy atmosphere of the book and the plot. However, the front cover has some slight colour, which I imagine would help it stand out in a bookstore.

From what I can tell, this book takes place in the same world as A Song of Ice and Fire, but several years earlier. The ice dragon is feared among all citizens, except for Adara, who befriends the dragon. Adara almost seems to be outcast from her family, because her mother died giving birth to her. She was born ice cold, and she has stayed that way – both physically and mentally – ever since.

Adara matures and changes through the book; however, this is done in a lyrically subtle way that you don’t often see in children’s literature. The prose is blunt, but it flows. And Adara’s personality is clear from her actions and not from the character description.

GRRM’s description is extremely vivid and detailed. You can imagine the characters and scenes so well. Here’s an excerpt from the book from when he’s describing the ice dragon:

The ice dragon was a crystalline white, that shade of white that is so hard and cold that it is almost blue. It was covered with hoarfrost, so when it moved its skin broke and crackled as the crust on the snow crackles beneath a man’s boots, and flakes of rime fell off.

GRRM often uses long sentences to enhance his description. It works well with characters, and it works well at the beginning of a story to help the reader imagine that character. Well, children aren’t really going to appreciate his stylistics, but any adults that read this will.

My Score: 9/10
Buy at BOOKTOPIA or BOOKWORLD

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter is lucky to reach the age of thirteen, since he has already survived the murderous attacks of the feared Dark Lord on more than one occasion. But his hopes for a quiet term concentrating on Quidditch are dashed when a maniacal mass-murderer escapes from Azkaban, pursued by the soul-sucking Dementors who guard the prison. It’s assumed that Hogwarts is the safest place for Harry to be. But is it a coincidence that he can feel eyes watching him in the dark, and should he be taking Professor Trelawney’s ghoulish predictions seriously?

It’s hard to review these books and find different things to say about each one – it’s too easy to talk about plot instead of writing style.

This story is definitely the most intriguing so far because – unlike the first two – Voldemort doesn’t feature in the book. Sure, Voldemort is mentioned in the book and the events directly RELATE to Voldemort, but he doesn’t actually appear in the book. And this novel is where we finally get some background information about Harry’s parents and their murder.

The twist at the end with Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew is a real shock for first-time readers, and it’s nice that Harry finds a family member in this novel (even if it’s only short-lived). The time turner is a nice plot device that J.K. Rowling used, and it really helped to tie in all of the questions/mysteries/confusions at the end of the book.

There were a few things about this third instalment that I disagreed with. Firstly, Harry seems to conveniently overhear all of these important conversations. He just HAPPENS to be in the right place at the right time, almost every time. And I know that sometimes he’s under his invisibility cloak, but these people seem to have these important conversations in easily accessible locations. For example, Harry, Hermione, and Ron go for Butterbeer at Hogsmeade and the teachers are at the next table talking about how Sirius Black is Harry’s Godfather. That seems a little too easy.

In the later novels, Harry gets visibly annoyed at Dumbledore because he knows SO MUCH but really doesn’t help Harry or share information with Harry as often as he could. Readers get the first inclination of that in this novel. At the end of the novel, Dumbledore hints to Hermione that she can use the Time Turner for good, but if they hadn’t of done it, or if Harry and Hermione were unconscious from the attack, would Dumbledore have done it himself? Or left it for the others still? Dumbledore seems all-knowing all the time, but doesn’t seem to actually help Harry that often.

My Score: 8/10
Buy HERE