Ami lives with her mother on an island where the sea is as blue as the sky. It’s all she knows and loves, but the arrival of malicious government official Mr Zamora changes her world forever: her island is to be made into a colony for lepers. Taken from her mother and banished across the sea, Ami faces an uncertain future in an orphanage. There she meets a honey-eyed girl named for butterflies, and together they discover a secret that will lead her on an adventure home. Ami must go back to the island of no return, but will she make it in time?
Ami lives on a beautiful island but when an outsider comes to change the rules, she realises that the rest of the world doesn't see her home as beautiful, they see it as dangerous. Because lepers live there, and more are being moved there. Set in the Philippines in the early 20th century, Ami's life is uprooted by the government's new rules that she and other kids that don't suffer from leprosy are to be moved to another island, to an orphanage.
Just as beautifully written as The Girl of Ink and Stars, it was so incredibly sad, both how they were treated and the individual stories of Ami and her mother, and others like them. When Ami is taken across the sea, she vows to return but turns out that's harder than is seems when Mr Zamora is on the warpath. He was an awful character, so fearful and rude of those who suffered. Ami is quick to realise something is wrong with him is a very different way than the physical, and that is why I adored her. She desperately wanted to go home but even as a twelve year old, she was blind to the prejudice and feelings of others.
This story can be summarised as short and sweet, although mildly heartbreaking as well. It's such a unique topic to explore but a very important one, as the scientific breakthroughs and the development of medicine impacted the modern world but the treatment of those people, seeing them as individuals with families and homes, isn't something we often consider. I adored this story, Ami was so incredibly brave and I can't believe Hargrave packed so much into 200 pages!
Published 4th May 2017 by Chicken House. Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
"I don't want to die!
Save me, somebody!
Save me!"
The tale of how a little girl named Fern, with the help of a friendly spider, saved her pig Wilbur from the usual fate of nice fat little pigs.
An affectionate pig named Wilbur befriends a spider named Charlotte, who lives in the rafters above his pen. In this story of friendship, hardship, and the passing on into time, White reminds readers to open their eyes to the wonder and miracle found in the simplest of things.
Don't hurt me but I've never read this. I know, even my own mother was shocked when I told her. Which is precisely why I chose it for my final Classic of the year, as something nice and easy to read before I broke up for Christmas.
For those who have been living under a rock and haven't read this, like me, basically a little girl looks after a piglet and watches him grow up in a barn. Wilbur the pig likes being looked after by Fern but when she leaves, he is alone. Until a spider in the corner talks to him, called Charlotte.
So, here are my thoughts: I know it's a children's book but it seemed really simple. Like, three word sentences simple. And yet, it used words like "perspiration"! While the story was pretty basic, I liked the message it gave, about friendship in all shapes and forms. It was also about growing up and being brave, which Wilbur was not, but Charlotte was. Charlotte is the one who comes up with the "miracle" of tricking the farmers and saving Wilbur.
I read this in three short sittings, just slipping into the old-fashioned and easy world of barn life and Wilbur's story. Definitely should have read it when I was younger but I'm glad I could see what all the fuss was about and finish this Classic's Challenge on a high.
Published 3rd July 2014 by Puffin Classics. First published 1952.
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey ‘there and back again’. They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon.
The prelude to The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit has sold many millions of copies since its publication in 1937, establishing itself as one of the most beloved and influential books of the twentieth century.
I have never read LoTR but vaguely remember reading The Hobbit in year 5, so when I was about 10. I did have the movie version running through my head rather than any memories of reading it the first time, so things did get a little puzzling.
Bilbo is somewhat manipulated into an adventure, to join the dwarves on their quest to their old home of the Lonely Mountain and win back their treasure from the dragon, Smaug. Everyone should know this already but I think I was expecting too much from the movie; the book is much simpler. It is very much a children's story - nothing's too graphic or brutal, things move along at a steady pace and nothing is left too open.
Having said that, I did still enjoy it. Maybe a bit different to what I expected, but it's still a good story, easily recognisable, and very nice to read. Definitely a modern classic.
Published 2nd November 1998 by Harper Collins. First published 1937.
Deepdean School for Girls, 1934. When Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong set up their very own deadly secret detective agency, they struggle to find any truly exciting mysteries to investigate. (Unless you count the case of Lavinia's missing tie. Which they don't, really.)
But then Hazel discovers the Science Mistress, Miss Bell, lying dead in the Gym. She thinks it must all have been a terrible accident - but when she and Daisy return five minutes later, the body has disappeared. Now the girls know a murder must have taken place . . . and there's more than one person at Deepdean with a motive.
Now Hazel and Daisy not only have a murder to solve: they have to prove a murder happened in the first place. Determined to get to the bottom of the crime before the killer strikes again (and before the police can get there first, naturally), Hazel and Daisy must hunt for evidence, spy on their suspects and use all the cunning, scheming and intuition they can muster. But will they succeed? And can their friendship stand the test?
Set in the 30's and an all-girls boarding school, cut off from the rest of the world, Daisy and Hazel have a murder to solve. Things are not easy as they first have to find the body! Written from Hazel's perspective from her detective notebook, we follow their adventures as they to determine who might have wanted to hurt their science mistress.
What I really loved was the lovely portrayal of their friendship, especially the balance between them, as Daisy is the leader and Hazel is the quiet new girl. While Daisy might be the the brains in the operation but as she realises she's been underestimating Hazel, Hazel gets her chance to shine. And as the narrator, Hazel is the more emotional one, as she is the one who discovered the body, the one who really takes to heart the possibility of a killer living among them.
This was such a great mystery, I had many guesses but didn't see the truth coming! The mix of adventure, mystery and friendship was really cool and very fun to read.
Published 5th June 2014 by Corgi.
Dark black sketches by author add to this file, starting with a letter from Mrs. Frankweiler 82, to her lawyer Saxonburg. Claudia 11, bored by suburbia luxury and responsibility, runs away with wealthier brother Jamie 9, to the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art (map included). The collector sold the museum a small statue, the Angel. By Michelangelo or not? Claudia must know.
This is a re-published classic children's story, originally from the 60's. Just a little early for me(!) but I understand that a whole generation of writers was inspired by this story. And having read it, I can see why.
A short and sweet story, it tells of Claudia and her desire to run away. Not because she's unhappy but more because she wants to change. She enlists the help of her younger bother Jamie and they catch the train into the city and live in the Museum of Art. They learn to avoid the guards, sleep in ancient royalty's beds, wash in the restaurant fountain and then there are pulled into the mystery of a possible Michaelangelo statue.
Both kids were adorable and had their own personalities, yet I could tell they were siblings. Claudia, as the oldest child, was bossy, stubborn, liked to give directions but not take them, while Jamie, only 8, was surprisingly smart and money-conscious. They bickered but they relied on each other and I loved that portrayal.
As we get through the book, more clues pour out about this narrator. I really liked how it was told from Mrs Frankweiler's perspective but as if she was acting as an omniscient observer. All becomes clear by the end of the book, and in a nice clean circle. A sweet little tale of discovering secrets and growing up.
Published 4th June 2015 by Pushkin Children's Books. Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.