 | The Diary of Alice Paynton - ‘My Story’ The Great Plagueby Pamela OldfieldReviewed by: Emma Hilton ---
Published by: Scholastic Ltd (2001) |
This book was a great inspiration to me; it is about a young teenage girl and her fight for survival. When London went through the horrors of the great plague. How she found herself growing from a girl to a woman. The challenges she faced and the emotional heartbreak she went through. This book truly shows how cruel and devastating the great plague was. How many thousands of people died, during this dreadful time. A true story about how Alice Payton survived the great plague and the after math that occurred even after this great tragedy.
Here is a true inscription written in by Alice Paynton:
July 3rd 1665
Aunt Nell came home from the market looking very pale. She over heard two men discussing the weekly Bills of mortality (death toll). It seems that in the past week 700 people have died from the plague. So the plague has well and truly come to London after all. After much discussing I am to be sent to Woolwich with Aunt Nell. I refused to go with out Poppet (the dog) and Papa has relented. I was sent to enquire of a carrier but was soon stopped in my tracks. One of the houses in the next street had a red cross painted on the door. Above the cross someone had chalked “Lord Have Mercy Upon Us.”
I would have to say this book is more suited for the likes of older children and adults. For it can be a bit intense in parts. But it really makes you realise how bad it really was, because I really feel that some people under estimate, what actually happened back then. I know I did before I read this book. I promise that you’ll be most interested in this book if you’re into, real life drama, adventure, slightly romantic and about someone trying to find their way in life kind of books.
I feel this is a truly brilliant book, that really inspired me to get as much as I can out of life, and for the entire time I was reading this book I just could not put it down. This book really makes you want to treasure all the people you love and care for the most. Because one day they may be here the next they could be gone, you just never know so make the most of your life and the people around you. So generally to me, this is a fantastically thrilling book that you just want be able to resist reading, which I must say you should definitely think twice about reading.
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 | The Shade of Hettie Daynesby Robert SwindellsReviewed by: Tania Lewitzki --- Hamilton Community Living Trust – Transition to Employment
Published by: |
The Shade of Hettie Daynes tells the story of these determined kids who decide to go down the river at night time and find the girl ghost of Hettie Daynes, but the grown ups don’t believe them so they all try to convince them that there is a ghost named Hettie Daynes.
One night they all go off to a Halloween hop party all dressed up in scary costumers and Alison decides to go to the party as the ghost of Hettie Daynes.
I found the book to be interesting and I could picture some of the things that were going on in my mind. The book was also very enjoyable and very fascinating to read.
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 | Old Drumbleby Jack LasenbyReviewed by: Amanda Stone --- Johnsonville School, Wellington
Published by: |
Old Drumble is written by a New Zealander by the name of Jack Lasenby. It is set in the 1930’s in a small town called Waharoa, in the central North Island.
The story is about a schoolboy named Jack who has a friend called Andy, who is a drover (someone who moves farm animals from one place to another). Jack joins Andy each week during the summer holidays as he passes through Waharoa. Andy tells Jack lots of stories (that aren’t true but Jack believes them) about the adventures of his “strong eye” dog called Old Drumble.
The book was difficult to read because there were lots of strange words and sayings that I didn’t understand (because of the way they talked back then). The glossary was helpful to find the meaning of the unusual words, but it was frustrating going backwards and forwards, to the glossary and back to the spot where I was up to, then rereading it making sense of it. The way Andy spoke was also confusing at times because I couldn’t tell if he was talking about the past or present.
Even though it was hard to read, there were some very funny stories which Andy told. I especially liked the one where Andy’s horse called Old Nosy got stuck up an apple tree, ate all the apples and got the “giant farts”! Another funny story was about the sheep being blind folded and Old Drumble led them over a flooded river on a tight-rope.
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