Across the Senior School, Fyling Hall pupils have shared their thoughts on their most recent good read. Looking for inspiration? Take a look at their comments below and you may find your next good read.

Pachinko

Currently I am reading a book that my aunt got me for my birthday called ‘Pachinko’ by a Korean writer Min Jin Lee. It was a National Book Award finalist and is a fictional book. The book itself is split into three sections or books as the writer calls them and each section is set during a certain date.

The first section is set from 1910-1933 and is called ‘Gohyang’ which means hometown in Korean. Section two is set between 1939-1962 and is called ‘Motherland’ and the final section is ‘Pachinko’ and is set from 1962-1989.  
The book follows a girl called Sunja through her life. It’s very interesting as this period (1910 onwards) is what we are doing in history and the historical facts in the book are remarkably correct. It mentions the Manchuria Crisis and how the Japanese took over Korea and the truth behind what schools teach about the Japanese. It shows the Eastern viewpoint of the period and not just what America and Europe saw behind the mask.

The story depicts how girls were treated and the political views of Korea at the time. It can be hard to read to someone who is not familiar to these things and to someone who doesn’t know a lot of Korean as although the book is English, there are Korean words throughout the book which are spelt phonetically so it may be difficult to understand what’s going on. 
I find it very interesting to read and I’m sure not all but some people will find it enjoyable to read as well. 

Hyunbee, Year 10  

The Time Riders book series

This week I am reading the Time Riders book series. It tells you the story of 3 teenagers rescued during a fatal event (The first guy, Liam is rescued during the sinking of the Titanic, the first girl, Maddy is rescued from a bomb attack in a plane and the second girl, Sal rescued from a burning skyscraper in Mumbai) but as you can see, these three events are at different time period, because the person whose rescued them is Foster, an old guy that have a time and space travel machine with him, so these three person will supervise the normal flow of the time (pay attention if someone disturb the time flow as the put it in the right direction) so they are installed under a bridge in Manhattan during the events of the twins towers in 2001, slowly but surely , we learn more during the 9 tomes of this series about the characters. 

Oscar, Year 9 

The Weight of Water

This week I have been reading the book club book, The Weight of Water. It is unique as it is written in poems but still conveys a story. It is about a girl form Poland who has to adapt to the British way of life as she tries to settle down and find her missing father. I did not first think I would enjoy it but I would definitely recommend it to anybody aged twelve or over.

James, Year 9 

The Midnight Gang

I am reading a book called The Midnight Gang. The auther is called David Williams and it is illustrated by Tony Ross. The book is about a gang, who are at Lord Funt Hospital and they have adventures in the night when everybody else is fast asleep. 

Bethany, Year 7 

The Enemy

This week I am reading “The Enemy” by Charlie Higson. It’s series with 7 books, “The Enemy“, in 2009, “The Dead”, in 2010 “The Fear”, in 2011,“The Sacrifice”, in 2012 which is my favourite, “The Fallen”, in 2013 “The Hunted”, in 2014 and the last book, “The End”, in 2015. The first book is set in the year 2007, in London. There is this weird disease that only affects people over 14 all over the world, in the country, the city, everywhere humans have lived, and basically turns them into zombie and can’t be exposed to light or they explode

Since they are zombie like creatures, their nails are very long and very sharp. As people over 14 are teens and adults, London is in ruin and younger kids are roaming the streets in fear of the “Grownups” (as that’s what the kids call them) because the Grownups will hunt children, kill them, and eat them. They stay out of the dark and the shadows and stay in the sun whenever they can. The children that are left in London have learned to fight and make weapons to protect themselves and those around them. They live in any building that’s safe. Such as the museums and Buckingham palace and the tower of London. 

Right now, I am on the last book, “The Fallen” and so far, all the children in the country had travelled to London to fight the “Grownup” beside the children in London. So far, I’m on the chapter before the big battle to the end of this disease. 

Aubrey, Year 7 

Alert

I have been reading James Patterson’s ‘Alert’. I think that this is a great book which is filled with plenty of action, drama and mystery. After two high-tech attacks on New York City, Detective Michael Bennett, along with his old friend, the FBI’s Emily Parker, must catch the criminals who claimed to have done the attacks. But they are much better at concealing their identities than Michael Bennet thought. At the end, he races against the clock to save New York city from destruction. I think that this is a must read for pupils of Year 9 and above because it has action packed fights and daring rescues and missions. I would rate this book 10/10. 

Tomas, Year 9

The Brilliant World of Tom Gates

I was reading The Brilliant World of Tom Gates this week. I thought it was an excellent book because it incorporated funny pictures with the story. It is about the life of a schoolboy who is in year 5 and all the exciting and fun adventures he gets up to. It is written like Tom’s diary and the writing is in actual handwriting, not just print, so it gives a more authentic read. Overall, I think that this is a great book if you are looking for a quick read. It is very entertaining, and I would give it 8/10. 

Toby, Year 9

For part of my English lit course I have been reading “Tess of the D’Urbervilles” which is about the protagonist, Tess, and journey that of her life. Thomas Hardy is the author, and I believe that he wants his readers to recognise the differences between the classes and the social injustices about gender in this novel. If I am truthful, at the very beginning, I was not really interested, but as the book unfolds, I got continuously more interested. I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to keep busy with a classical novel, but even if you are not really one for the classical genre, I still say don’t chuck it before you try it. Even though it is a part of an A-Level course does not mean that it is particular to those students. If you are up for a challenge and for some traditional reading then this is definitely the book for you!

Phoebe, Year 12