A review on the book by Simon Scarrow. This book revolves around Roman History, about how slaves in Rome were treated in 61 B.C.
Marcus, a ten year old, is with his father, talking to him, when his servant comes and tells them that some people are arriving with weapons. Though Marcus and his father, Titus, survive the first attack, their servant and Titus are not able to survive the next and Marcus and his mother are taken into slavery. Marcus escapes, but his mother is not able to. Marcus has to find a way to reach Rome, to reach King Polienus, because KIng Poienus owns Titus his life.
Ten years ago,the Romans had a war with the slaves of Rome, in which the head was about to kill Polienus. If it would not have been for Titus the king would not have been alive that day.
He hides into a ship to reach Rome, but his food and drink supplies are over and he seriously needs something to drink and eat. He gets out of his hiding place, but is caught and comes into slavery again. Though, this slavery is different. Here the master teaches you to be a gladiator. A gladiator is a person who is a slave and learns how to fight others and when he completes his course, he has to fight in public to entertain them. Just like cowboys. Here he meets Brixus, who, he tells him, serves in the Slave war.
Marcus has a scar on his back. But, when Brixus sees it he knows its not a scar. Marcus had been branded by his mother when he was small, and the sign was that of the slaves in the Slave war. This meant only one thing to Brixus, that Marcus' mother is the wife of the leader of the slaves and Marcus, the son of the leader of the slaves. Now, Marcus has to fight with his enemy to entertain some people. Marcus wins and he is ordered to kill his opponent. Marcus does not agree to it and, because he denied his masters, he is said to fight the hungry wolves. During the fight a girl falls into the stadium and the wolves go after her. Marcus saves himself and the girl. He has some severe injuries and is taken to Polineus' room where he comes to know he is a bodygaurd to the girl he saved. In the end, Simon Scarrow tells that Marcus is confused that whom should he call father and the story ends here.
This is a very good book for some one interested in historical adventure. The story is woven around Roman history and provides some good insights into it. Anyone who is interested in history can get to know a lot about Roman History. On the whole, a good book for pre-teens and teens interested in thrills, swords and wars!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Sky Hawk
A review on the book by Gill Lewis. This book is for nature lovers, who would give their life for nature and who know that nothing but nature can save them from all harm.
Callum and his friends, Rob and Euan, are there in Callum's garden. They see a girl, Iona, fishing. Rob and Euan make that girl go away, when it is going to rain. Callum doesnt like someone who comes to his park to go away like this. He takes Iona's things and goes after her. When he finds her, he gives her her things. In exchange, Iona tells him that she will tell Callum a secret on one condition that he will not go tell anybody about it. He promises and Iona asks him to meet her at the same place.
The next morning Callum comes there to find Iona already there. Iona shows Callum a nest, an osprey's eyrie. This Osprey will be looking for a mate. These people come everyday and watch the osprey searching for a mate. Finally, one day, the osprey finds a mate.
Unexpectedly, one day Iona comes and calls Callum to go see the ospreys. When they go see them, they find that the mate is hurt. They have no choice, but to go tell their father this thing. Callum's father has a friend who works in a zoo.
Ultimately, the family and Hamish come to know about the ospreys and Callum's father and brother make a treehouse there. Iona and Callum decide they will spend the night there. The next day, Callum comes to the treehouse but Iona is not there. Callum waits for some time but Iona doesnt show up and Callum starts worrying. He goes to Iona's house to find her down with a flu.
The next day, his mother informs Callum that Iona died last night. It was very sad as they both were very good friends. Then there was the funeral and all. As all the other birds, even ospreys migrate and Irie migrated before her mate and her child. They used to see her through a device which was fitted on her back on the day when Hamish came. Slowly, even Rob and Euan came to know about the ospreys. After some time Irie landed in Africa and she got lost there.
Callum got tensed and started worrying when Rob gave him an idea to send mails to everyone in Africa considering her position. After some time they recieve a mail from a girl called Jenny and she takes Irie into care and when Irie is strong to fly back, leaves her. Till now, Callum and Jenny become very good friends. Irie is seen flying back and has to fight against a cyclone brewing up in the North Atlantic. In the end, we see Irie, her mate and her child coming back to Scotland and Jenny flying there for the treatment of her legs as a truck had run over her legs. They had a party and stuff and in the end the whole world knows about Jenny as Callum and his friends collected all the money for her treatment and her flight. THe whole world even came to know about the Ospreys and there was a protective cover built out for the ospreys.
This book is very good for nature lovers and people who seek adventure. From the age of 10 anybody can read this book. It is a lovely book.
Callum and his friends, Rob and Euan, are there in Callum's garden. They see a girl, Iona, fishing. Rob and Euan make that girl go away, when it is going to rain. Callum doesnt like someone who comes to his park to go away like this. He takes Iona's things and goes after her. When he finds her, he gives her her things. In exchange, Iona tells him that she will tell Callum a secret on one condition that he will not go tell anybody about it. He promises and Iona asks him to meet her at the same place.
The next morning Callum comes there to find Iona already there. Iona shows Callum a nest, an osprey's eyrie. This Osprey will be looking for a mate. These people come everyday and watch the osprey searching for a mate. Finally, one day, the osprey finds a mate.
Unexpectedly, one day Iona comes and calls Callum to go see the ospreys. When they go see them, they find that the mate is hurt. They have no choice, but to go tell their father this thing. Callum's father has a friend who works in a zoo.
Ultimately, the family and Hamish come to know about the ospreys and Callum's father and brother make a treehouse there. Iona and Callum decide they will spend the night there. The next day, Callum comes to the treehouse but Iona is not there. Callum waits for some time but Iona doesnt show up and Callum starts worrying. He goes to Iona's house to find her down with a flu.
The next day, his mother informs Callum that Iona died last night. It was very sad as they both were very good friends. Then there was the funeral and all. As all the other birds, even ospreys migrate and Irie migrated before her mate and her child. They used to see her through a device which was fitted on her back on the day when Hamish came. Slowly, even Rob and Euan came to know about the ospreys. After some time Irie landed in Africa and she got lost there.
Callum got tensed and started worrying when Rob gave him an idea to send mails to everyone in Africa considering her position. After some time they recieve a mail from a girl called Jenny and she takes Irie into care and when Irie is strong to fly back, leaves her. Till now, Callum and Jenny become very good friends. Irie is seen flying back and has to fight against a cyclone brewing up in the North Atlantic. In the end, we see Irie, her mate and her child coming back to Scotland and Jenny flying there for the treatment of her legs as a truck had run over her legs. They had a party and stuff and in the end the whole world knows about Jenny as Callum and his friends collected all the money for her treatment and her flight. THe whole world even came to know about the Ospreys and there was a protective cover built out for the ospreys.
This book is very good for nature lovers and people who seek adventure. From the age of 10 anybody can read this book. It is a lovely book.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Olivia's First Term - Stage School
A review on a book by Lyn Gardener. Olivia's First Term is a book related to circus. It includes having courage,determination and trust.
Olivia, a twelve year old girl is with her father, Jack, and her sister, Eel. Her mother, Toni died in a plane crash. Jack used to run a circus and was a high - wire walker. He had stopped walking because he had encountered an accident which did not only break his six rib bones but also his spirit and determination. After that wherever they travelled crowds started to thin down and the people in the circus also left. Jack and his family were left with no money and they were going to Alicia Swan's home. Olivia's grandmother. When they reached there Olivia came to know that her gran runs a stage school and she hates stage schools. But, she is forced to stay there until her father dosent get some money to the family. She dosent like it there while her sister gets on very well.
As we all know, all schools have good students and bad students. It was the same here. There was a student called Katie Wilkes-Cox who was very rich. She didnt like the growing popularity for Olivia and she felt very jealous of her. To put Olivia down she used a girl Georgia's lie to bully her and make her do everything. Olivia asked Georgia to stand up to the truth. But, she realised that both she and Georgia were cowards who couldnt stand up to the truth.
Meanwhile, Eel was getting worried about Olivia's behaviour. Olivia was missing doing her high - wire walking and Eel noticed that. She finds a room which is not usually used and tells Olivia to practice there. Katie sees them and whenever OLivia is free she goes and practices there while Katie spies on her. One day, Tom, one of OLIvia's classmates saw her doing her practice and was impressed by her. He asked her to teach him. OLivia told yes on one condition that he go tell no one about this. Tom was picking up well and very soon Olivia asked him to do double take with him. they started practicing double take.
When Olivia's interest in the class did not vary, one of her teachers took her to see Romeo and Juliet. After the play, he asked her if she had enjoyed it and OLivia said that she had enjoyed the play just like high - wire walking, but in a different way. He also gave her the dialogues of the play. While going to her gran's flat, she tried acting a part and she looked beautiful.
Meanwhile, Olivia's marks were going down and she didnt want to be removed from the the Royal Spectacular Show and that is why she used Georgia to do all her work. Once, Katie passed in the exams nobody could remove her from the Show and exactly the same thing happened.
Olivia asked Tom to practice Romeo and Juliet on the high - wire with her and they did it. Seeing this, Katie got very frustrated and when Olivia and Tom had left, she went in and put in OLivia's bag hervearings studded with real rubies and diamonds because she thought that as there are so many robberies taking place, finding something robbed and that thing found in her bag would make her go out of the school. During a vocal classes, everybody kept their valuable things on the window sill, including Georgia who had got her mother's topaz ring with her. Katie acted as if she is putting her earrings there. During the break, everybody went down to drin some juices , but Olivia stayed back. When they came back, Katie shouted the alarm that her earrings were missing and the teacher told them to look every where.Katie looked into Olivia's bag and found the earrings there and even started telling that she was the one who stayed back in the class during the break. That time, a bird came and took away Georgia's topaz ring. Olivia immediately put the rope around and climbed and got all that what had gone missing. At that moment Miss Swan came in and saw what was going on. After that Katie confessed everything she had done from bullying Georgia to hiding the earrings on Olivia's bag. Miss Swan expeled Katie. Her father tried everything he could but afterwards he realised that everything cannot be done with money. After all that everybody saw Olivia and Tom doing high - wire walking and enacting Romeo and Juliet.
They were waiting for the auditions when Olivia came to know that her father is doing high - wire walking between two buildings which were far apart and the sea was in between them. Olivia somehow saved her father, her father got a lot of money after the act. Olivia and Tom went for the auditions and were chosen and the Queen loved their act.
Olivia, a twelve year old girl is with her father, Jack, and her sister, Eel. Her mother, Toni died in a plane crash. Jack used to run a circus and was a high - wire walker. He had stopped walking because he had encountered an accident which did not only break his six rib bones but also his spirit and determination. After that wherever they travelled crowds started to thin down and the people in the circus also left. Jack and his family were left with no money and they were going to Alicia Swan's home. Olivia's grandmother. When they reached there Olivia came to know that her gran runs a stage school and she hates stage schools. But, she is forced to stay there until her father dosent get some money to the family. She dosent like it there while her sister gets on very well.
As we all know, all schools have good students and bad students. It was the same here. There was a student called Katie Wilkes-Cox who was very rich. She didnt like the growing popularity for Olivia and she felt very jealous of her. To put Olivia down she used a girl Georgia's lie to bully her and make her do everything. Olivia asked Georgia to stand up to the truth. But, she realised that both she and Georgia were cowards who couldnt stand up to the truth.
Meanwhile, Eel was getting worried about Olivia's behaviour. Olivia was missing doing her high - wire walking and Eel noticed that. She finds a room which is not usually used and tells Olivia to practice there. Katie sees them and whenever OLivia is free she goes and practices there while Katie spies on her. One day, Tom, one of OLIvia's classmates saw her doing her practice and was impressed by her. He asked her to teach him. OLivia told yes on one condition that he go tell no one about this. Tom was picking up well and very soon Olivia asked him to do double take with him. they started practicing double take.
When Olivia's interest in the class did not vary, one of her teachers took her to see Romeo and Juliet. After the play, he asked her if she had enjoyed it and OLivia said that she had enjoyed the play just like high - wire walking, but in a different way. He also gave her the dialogues of the play. While going to her gran's flat, she tried acting a part and she looked beautiful.
Meanwhile, Olivia's marks were going down and she didnt want to be removed from the the Royal Spectacular Show and that is why she used Georgia to do all her work. Once, Katie passed in the exams nobody could remove her from the Show and exactly the same thing happened.
Olivia asked Tom to practice Romeo and Juliet on the high - wire with her and they did it. Seeing this, Katie got very frustrated and when Olivia and Tom had left, she went in and put in OLivia's bag hervearings studded with real rubies and diamonds because she thought that as there are so many robberies taking place, finding something robbed and that thing found in her bag would make her go out of the school. During a vocal classes, everybody kept their valuable things on the window sill, including Georgia who had got her mother's topaz ring with her. Katie acted as if she is putting her earrings there. During the break, everybody went down to drin some juices , but Olivia stayed back. When they came back, Katie shouted the alarm that her earrings were missing and the teacher told them to look every where.Katie looked into Olivia's bag and found the earrings there and even started telling that she was the one who stayed back in the class during the break. That time, a bird came and took away Georgia's topaz ring. Olivia immediately put the rope around and climbed and got all that what had gone missing. At that moment Miss Swan came in and saw what was going on. After that Katie confessed everything she had done from bullying Georgia to hiding the earrings on Olivia's bag. Miss Swan expeled Katie. Her father tried everything he could but afterwards he realised that everything cannot be done with money. After all that everybody saw Olivia and Tom doing high - wire walking and enacting Romeo and Juliet.
They were waiting for the auditions when Olivia came to know that her father is doing high - wire walking between two buildings which were far apart and the sea was in between them. Olivia somehow saved her father, her father got a lot of money after the act. Olivia and Tom went for the auditions and were chosen and the Queen loved their act.
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