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LauraLoves Ultimate Teen Guide Book Challenge


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2011 Book 2 - CS Lewis - The Screwtape Letters

 

my main thoughts for this book are in my reading thread.

 

Age Rating - 14+

 

Recommendations

The Great Divorce - CS Lewis

The Alcamist

Gulivers Travels - Jonathan Swift

 

Quick thoughts - I really enjoyed this book and think I'm going to have a look at the recommendations too!

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The_Boy_in_the_Striped_Pyjamas_1.jpg

 

2011 Book 3 - The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne

 

Age Rating - 12+

 

Recommendations - Private Peaceful - Micheal Murpurgo

 

Synopsis - The story of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is very difficult to describe. Usually we give some clues about the book on the cover, but in this case we think that would spoil the reading of the book. We think it is important that you start to read without knowing what it is about. If you do start to read this book, you will go on a journey with a nine-year-old boy called Bruno. (Though this isn't a book for nine-year-olds.) And sooner or later you will arrive with Bruno at a fence. We hope you never have to cross such a fence.

 

My Thoughts - This is possibly the saddest book that I have read this year. I don't really want to say all this much as I don't want to give away much about the plot. The book centres around a 9 year old boy Bruno, and how some events of the second world war are seen through his eyes. This book is a brilliant read and for once I agree with the age rating that the UTBG Challenge has given.

 

Rating - 5/5

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi Laura! I managed to find a cheap copy of the Ultimate Teen Guide Book the other day. I was so thrilled! :D Now I can read all the little reviews myself.

 

YAY :D just a quick health warning . . . stay away from the recommendations section! I keep adding to my wishlist because of it!

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YAY :D just a quick health warning . . . stay away from the recommendations section! I keep adding to my wishlist because of it!

 

What a troublesome book! :lol: With that one and this forum combined, your wish list will explode by the end of the year :huh:

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YAY :D just a quick health warning . . . stay away from the recommendations section! I keep adding to my wishlist because of it!

 

Uh oh! Well, I'll try to skip the recommendations, but I do have a thing where I feel like I have to read all of the text. rolleyes.gif

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What a troublesome book! :lol: With that one and this forum combined, your wish list will explode by the end of the year :huh:

 

My wishlist for this year is already bigger than last year and we are only in april!

 

Uh oh! Well, I'll try to skip the recommendations, but I do have a thing where I feel like I have to read all of the text. rolleyes.gif

 

Same as me Kylie! I don't feel like I've read a book properly unless I've read every word!

 

I have just done a quick run through the list and have read 53 of them. I would say only about 10 (including Harry Potters) of those 53 are YA though

 

wow youve read more than me so far! I agree though, some books such as War and Peace I would definiatly not class as YA!

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2011 Book 4 - The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkein

 

Age Rating - 12+

 

Recommendations - The Lord of the Rings - challenge book

The Merlin Conspiricy

Eragon - challenge book

Cronicles of Prydain

 

Synopsis - The Hobbit is a tale of high adventure, undertaken by a company of dwarves in search of dragon-guarded gold. A reluctant partner in this perilous quest is Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving unambitious hobbit, who surprises even himself by his resourcefulness and skill as a burglar. Encounters with trolls, goblins, dwarves, elves and giant spiders, conversations with the dragon, Smaug, and a rather unwilling presence at the Battle of Five Armies are just some of the adventures that befall Bilbo. Bilbo Baggins has taken his place among the ranks of the immortals of children's fiction. Written by Professor Tolkien for his own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when published.

 

My Thoughts - I had never read this book as a child, and I'm kind of wishing that I had now. I'm a fan of Lord of the Rings, but I'm only just getting round to reading the books, some kind of sin I know! I read The Hobbit first and I really enjoyed it. It was very easy to read, and once I picked it up I found it very difficult to put down again! The world that Tolkein has created is so complex and almost beautiful, I can't understand how one person can create such a world. It almost felt as though it was real, just how it was written! A fabulous book to read and would recommend it to anyone, young or old. I would have definitaly read this book, its just a coincidence just how many reading challenges that this book is on!

 

Rating - 5/5

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2011 Book 5 - The Secret Garden

 

Age Rating - 12+

 

Recommendations - A Little Princess by the same author

The Railway Children - E. Nesbit

Ruby Holler - Sharon Creech

 

Synopsis - Mary Lennox was horrid. Selfish and spoilt, she was sent to stay with her hunchback uncle in Yorkshire. She hated it. But when she finds the way into a secret garden and begins to tend it, a change comes over her and her life. She meets and befriends a local boy, the talented Dickon, and comes across her sickly cousin Colin who had been kept hidden from her. Between them, the three children work astonishing magic in themselves and those around them.

 

My Thoughts - This was a re-read of a much loved classic for me. I loved this book when I was younger, it to me was just like magic. And reading it again now that I'm older has not got rid of any of the magic for me. I love the little story, it is hard to believe that it is 100 years old. it is fully readable and should be a must read for anybody!

 

Rating 5/5

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2011 Book 6 - The Lord of the Rings

 

Age Rating - 12+

 

Recommendations - The Simarillion (same author)

Unfinished Stories (Same author)

 

Farseer trilogy (challenge book)

His Dark Materials (Challenge Book)

Deryni Novels

 

The Hobbit - (Challenge book) READ

 

Synopsis - Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered to him all the Rings of Power -- the means by which he intends to rule Middle-earth. All he lacks in his plans for dominion is the One Ring -- the ring that rules them all -- which has fallen into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose. Since it was first published in 1954, 'The Lord of the Rings' has been a book people have treasured. Steeped in unrivalled magic and otherworldliness, its sweeping fantasy has touched the hearts of young and old alike.

 

My Thoughts - I did slightly cheat on this challenge book, I read the three separate books as I thought that reading the whole book in one go would really stetch my mojo! I really enjoyed reading this series, a fantastic story and anyone that hasnt read itt really should! I can definitaly see why it is on the list and would definitaly recommend it!

Rating 5/5

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2011 Book 7 - The Day of the Triffids

 

Age Rating 14+

 

Recommendations - The Kraken Wakes (same author)

The War of the Worlds (challenge book)

Hatchet - gary Paulsen (challenge book)

Jurassic Park (Challenge Book)

 

Synopsis - The triffids are a monstrous species of stinging plant; they walk, they talk, they dominate the world. The narrator of this novel wakes up in hospital to find that, by missing the end of the world, he has survived to witness a new world. But the new world that awaits him is fantastic and horrific.

 

My Thoughts - This is not a genre of book that I usually read, but I have to say I really enjoyed it. The idea that this sort of thing could happen does scare me a little bit, but I didnt find the triffids actually scary! I found the book itself was easy to read and its a relitivly short story, but there is an awful lot of story crammed in. I liked the search for Josella and how bill never gave up looking for her. I found it interesting as I thought I would reflect how the human population would react. This was my first 'world ending/changing' book but I will definitaly read more! This is a really good book and I highly recommend reading it if you havent already!

 

Rating 4/5

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Shelock Holmes Books

 

Novels

1- A Study in Scarlet

2- The Sign of the Four

3- The Hound of the Baskervilles TBR Pile

4- The Valley of Fear

 

Short Stories

1- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

2- The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

3- The Return of Shelock Holmes

4- The Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes

5- The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes

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2011 Book 8 - A Prayer For Owen Meany: John Irving

 

Age Rating - 14+

 

Recommendations - The World According to Garp - John Irving (challenge book)

Lake Wobegon Days - Garrison Keillor

This Boy's Life - Tobias Wolff (challenge book)

 

Synopsis - ‘If you care about something you have to protect it. If you’re lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.’

 

Eleven-year-old Owen Meany, playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire, hits a foul ball and kills his best friend's mother. Owen doesn't believe in accidents; he believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after that 1953 foul ball is both extraordinary and terrifying.

 

My Thoughts - I didn't really like this book, I found it quite heavy going, it is over 650 pages long and to be honest I thought it could have been cut by a couple of hundred pages. However I am glad that I read it, as it is on my challenge lists! I can't see why it is rated over 14, the only thing I can think of is that it is quite heavy going!

 

Rating - 2/5

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Great reviews Laura, but can I ask, where do you get the age recommendations from? I was just discussing books with my 10 year old daughter this evening and she wants to read The Night Circus but not wait till I've read it to see if it's ok for her, an age rating would be really useful on books.. :-))

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Sorry, I just read through some of your thread and realised the age recommendations are in the book, think that might be a good buy! :)

 

Its a really good buy, and yes the ages recommendations are in the book! However some of the age recommendations are a little off because War and Peace is recommended 14+ I think! I don't think id like to tackle that now and I'm almost double that hehe!

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