Abingdonian 2018

51 www.abingdon.org.uk Summer Term woods, they discover an almost dead rook. Kenny, who really likes wildlife, asks his brother if they can take the rook home and care for it. His brother agrees. The book focuses around their adventures looking after the bird alongside Nicky’s flirtations with a girl who he really likes and the challenges he faces from bullies. This is a highly compelling book which I thoroughly enjoyed. My favourite character is Kenny because he loves wildlife, just like I do. At times I felt that I was in the book. It was extremely gripping and a real page turner. My favourite part of the book was the moment when Nicky got on the bus and tried to follow Sarah home. However, when the ticket collector arrived, he ran off at the nearest stop, so unfortunately, he did not get to declare his love to Sarah. Fortunately, by the end of the book, he and Sarah do discover their love for each other. The book deals with some very emotional issues such as when all the bullies turn on Nicky and insult his brother Kenny. Nicky has to deal with a great deal of emotional pain many times. This book was moving and certainly kept me on the edge of my seat, at times wiping a tear from my eye as I turned the pages expectantly. I think this book would appeal to ages 10 upwards as it does deal with some sensitive matters. I do wish the author had made the ending a little clearer though, especially regarding whether or not the rook survived. However, overall I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It is very well written and I liked the focus on nature. I don’t think I would really compare it to any other book because it was quite unique in its content. I would give it 9 out of 10, missing one last mark because of how predictable the book was at times. Alexander Lees, 1MWL Wed Wabbit by Lissa Evans Wed Wabbit is about a girl called Fidge who gets stuck in a bizarre world filled with three thousand Wimbley Woos, along with three companions: Dr Carrot, Ella the elephant, and her annoying cousin Graham. In order to escape this nightmare of a place, Fidge must solve several almost impossible tasks and defeat the dictator of the land who can’t use the letter ‘r’ properly. And the worst part of all this for Fidge is that the entire situation is all her fault. I did find some aspects of this particular book quite enjoyable; one of these aspects is the fact that the whole thing is in a place that Fidge knows more about than she thinks. Another thing is how Graham’s character evolves during and after the experience due to the ending and the lessons learnt. However, there were also parts that I couldn’t really understand, like how the story breaks the laws of physics numerous times over, not to mention how the story affects the real world and also reality itself. Overall, the book will give people an okay read, with puzzles that make sense in its own universe, but nevertheless will annoy those with a logical mind set. For those who like stories with their own rules it is good, but otherwise it won’t give you the best of times. Peter Harris, 2SCVM