Reader reviews roundup

Many of your reviews this week seemed to centre around the theme of inner conflict. To begin with, HannahLoveBook wrote a superb review of The Art Of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson. Teenager David wishes to switch gender and befriends a new boy at school called Leo – who would rather remain invisible.

"Written through dual perspectives, I liked it due to the diversity you get from it by being able to see into two characters minds. The character of David I liked although I times I found him to be over the top, but I did like him and the relationship he has with his two best friends along with his family. Leo and his relationships merely extend to his family but I feel like this was good since we are able to understand his character more."

Similarly, love_shadowhunter penned a terrific review of My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga. In this heart-wrenching tale Aysel, a depressed teenager, makes a pact with her friend Roman to try and jump off a cliff.

"My Heart and Other Black Holes is a poignant and heart-wrenching story that is sure to suck anyone who picks it up into its literal black hole. I could not put this book down once I started reading it, and I utterly adored every second of it … The only bad thing about this book was the cover, which I didn't especially like, however this is a great book and I would recommend it to anyone aged 12 or over."

Continuing the topic of internal angst with a more supernatural twist, GeorgiaOwl2 wrote a wonderful review of My Second Life by Faye Bird. In this story teenager Ana keeps having flashbacks to a previous life where she was called Emma and killed her childhood friend.

"I cannot express enough how quickly I was flicking the pages, gasping with surprise at each chapter. My Second Life is one of those books that everyone wishes that they had written – as every aspect of the book is outstanding … Overall I rate this book 5/5 hoots, it is has a clever plot, defined characters, and fabulous writing."

Travelling back in time to the first world war, LottieLongshanks wrote a fantastic review of Some Other War by Linda Newbery. This book follows teenagers Alice and Jack as the experience of war changes them forever.

"I am glad that I read this book, but it didn't grip me in the way that I thought it would. The characters were not quite convincing enough … The book does illustrate well how the barriers between the various social classes were broken down because of things like the war and the suffragette movement. I believe that this is the first of a series of five books about Jack and Alice but I am not sure whether I will look out for the others."

Travelling forward 15 years to the 1930s, Bookeros wrote a wonderful review of Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman. Set in Nazi Germany, this story follows historical figure Gretchen Muller, Adolf Hitler's niece, during her short life living with Hitler.

"Blankman's vivid imagery in her descriptions enables the reader to place him/herself at the scene and feel as if (s)he is actually watching the characters, arguing, walking through the streets and etcetera … So this is historical thriller with an interesting plot full of surprises with a moderate level of writing."

Finally, we end this week's roundup with a dose of adventure: a delightful review by BookieCookie of Shouldn't You Be in School? by Lemony Snicket. This story follows Lemony Snicket (assisted by journalist Moxie Mallahan) as he tries to discover who has caused the mysterious fires in town and what has happened to the only witness.

"Lemony Snicket writes in such an interesting way that you get completely wrapped up in the story. There are so many red herrings and sub plots that you are never sure exactly what is going on, but you just have to keep reading to try to unravel the clues. Every time I read a Lemony Snicket book my vocabulary increases because he uses loads of unusual words, but then tells you what they mean – I love his style of writing! I highly recommend this book to all fans of detective novels."

That's all from the team for our roundup this week – thank you for sending in such fabulous reviews. If your review has been mentioned above, email the Book Elves and they will send you a parcel of books in the post.

Happy reading!

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