Category Archives: Usborne Publishing

The Girl Who Read Too Much #2

Hello its me The Girl Who Read Too Much again. While Simon is still having a break of sorts I thought that I would take over the blog for the day and let you all know of some books which I have been reading of late. All of these books are books the publishers very kindly sent me which I really wasn’t expecting and so has been very exciting. Thanks publishers!

Dead Man’s Cove – Lauren St John

When I first saw the book I thought it would possibly be really childish and about pirates but in fact it wasn’t! I’d give it to either 11 or 12 year olds. It’s a really good book to read in bed though you might not get to sleep very quickly as it’s a book with a cliff hanger at the end of every chapter!

Laura Marlin is in an orphanage but they don’t know wkether her Dad is alive or not but their is a possibility he’s in America yet they’ve given up looking. But, what they have found is her Mother’s brother, who lives right by the sea. He has agreed to take Laura in to be her guardian. When they arrive at his house it’s the dead of night and all she can hear is a dog barking inside the house. She suddenly feels the terror boiling up inside her and she wants to go back to the orphanige but she can’t. Her driver goes up and rings the bell and the dog goes silent for a minuite but then they can hear it coming closer and closer. Her Uncle opens the door and peers out. He greets them with warmth but Laura isn’t convinced. He still could be a villen out of one of her favourite books, Matt Walker the detective. As she thought of her childhood idol she felt stronger as she was introduced to Lottie the dog who was calmer than she sounded. She was invited in and offered cake. As her new life started she noticed some strange things about the town. Like everyone was scared of a Coast calle Dead Man’s Cove, but why?

The storyline is thrilling and unpredictable I would definitely read more of this series in the future. It’s a spooky ending and is scary to read before bed! See if you dare!

Mistress of the Storm – M. L. Welsh

This book isn’t the best ever book and it takes a while to get into the story, I think I expected more. It has a very good ending though. The main character is interesting yet is also quite hard to understand.

Verity is a bullied girl the sort that every day has something taken out of her school bag. One day in gym class her teacher announces that she needs another girl for the sailing race at the end of the week. Verity is the only girl avalible so she, against her will, is volunteered to do the race. Before the race a strange visitor is announced in the house so she is kicked out of her room. The guest is her horrible Grandma. She needs a kit for the race so all the females in the family come with her (her, her Mum, her sister and her Grandma). She has a lovely kit in mind and finds a perfect one but her Grandma sees a disgusting one and because her Mum wants Grandma to feel welcome she buys the horrible one. All the girls tease her at the race as she gets into the boat. Then when she gets in she feels upset. But, then as if by magic she feels at home. She steers the boat with another girl so well it’s like she’d been doing it for years. She wants to find out more about her family history to see where that gene comes from and that is how it all starts… what happens next you will have to read it to find out. This book has a lot of detail and unfortunately takes too long to set up, maybe it’s because there is a series planned. I am not sure if I would read more. If you want a long read choose this book as it does take a while without being that big.

Half a Sister- Kelly McKain

When I received this book I didn’t think it would be the best book ever. But, when I’d read it all it ended up just that! I recommend it as a present to female teenagers for Christmas!

When I got this book I was instantly pulled into its pages and couldn’t get myself out. An only child called Hannah is always pushed aside by her best friend Maya who has become best friends with another girl called Beth. Beth is a really selfish, spiteful girl who wants to hurt Hannah as much as possible.  But, when Hannah’s parents do nothing but fight Hannah is determined to find out why but when she tells Maya and Beth they aren’t at all sympathetic they don’t really even care. The source of all the fighting is that her Dad has another daughter that he never realised he had. The only problem is the daughter’s not her Mum’s. Her name’s Ellie and she’s half French. Her Mum was in a car crash so she’s now in a hospital in France so she has to go and live with them for a while. Ellie is lovely and beautiful but what Hannah doesn’t realise is that Ellie has a darker side.

The book is in diary format and is a really good read. I found the ending surprising and really suspention full. All in all an amazing book!

So that is all from me for a while, I’ll be back soon. Thanks for reading! Enjoy your books!

The Girl Who Read Too Much.

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Filed under Kelly McKain, Lauren St John, M.L. Welsh, Orion Publishing, The Girl Who Read Too Much, Usborne Publishing