Witch Week

by Diana Wynne Jones
When a note appears in the books that Mr Crossley is marking, the whole school turns upside down, unfortunately for them, they live in a world where magic is utterly forbidden. Yet magic keeps breaking out all over the place! The setting is the world that we live in today - only witches are real and they are burnt on a stake if they are found out. An example of this is: Now, when Inquisitor Littleton suddenly spoke in his loud grating voice, Charlie looked at the inquisitor. He was a small man with a stupid face, in a blue suit which did not fit, who enjoyed arresting witches. Charlie found himself remembering his first witch again. The fat man who was so astonished at being burnt. And he suddenly understood the witches amazement. It was because someone so ordinary, so plain stupid as Inquisitor Littleton had the power to burn him. And that was all wrong. I would recommend this book for ages
8-15. There are 4 other books in the series and they do not have to be read in order. The books are Charmed Life, The Magicians of Caprona, The Lives of Christopher Chant, Mixed Magics: Four Tales of Chrestomanci, Conrad's Fate, The Pinhoe Egg. There are also many other separate book also written by Diana Wynne Jones. I woud personally rate this book 4 stars, for its amazing plot-line, for its unique setting for its creative ending and its detailed characters.

Frostfire

by Zoe Marriot

In this book Frost is possessed by a wolf demon which brings death everywhere she goes - only love can set her free. The writer's purpose is to tell the readers about the thin, thin line between good and evil, and how sooner or later each of us has to decide on which side we're going to make our stand. Frostfire is a good name for the book because Frost's real name is Saram, which means fire in her Father's country. By naming the book this, Zoe Marriot is linking the title to both sides of Frost's nature. Frost for the person that she always was: afraid, always running and tortued by the things she's done. Fire for the person that Frost was always supposed be and she was before the Wolf came. Another reason the book might be named this is because the name 'Frostfire' symbolises the force of good and the force of evil. 'Frost' for the demon wolf which both saved and doomed Frost. 'Fire' for the Holy Mother which is the extreme goddess of fire and of kindness in Rua. One of the characters that engaged me was a man called Luca. He was confident, trusted everyone and threw caution to the wind. Arian said softly, "I've been trying to keep him safe for years. Sometimes it feels as though I've been working against him, because the confidence he has, the faith.... after everything he's been though is almost frightening." "He's not like us is he?" I said, staring down at my rough scarred hands. It's as if people - normal people - are made of silver. Shiny to start with, but tarnished by time, by ill-treatment. Luca ... Luca is gold. Nothing in the world will ever make him shine less brightly." I would recommend this book for ages 12-18. This book is the sequel to 'Daughter of the Flames'. You don't have to read the books in order. I would personally rate this book 5 stars for its unique and amazing characters, for its creative plot-line, for its detailed character backround and for its surprising and twisted ending.

The Undrowned child is set in Venice in 1899. It is about Venice in alternate historical fantasy where mermaids run secret printing presses, ghosts good and bad patrol the streets, rats read, statues speak and librarians turn fluidly into cats. I think that the title suits the book because the main character, Teodora, is called the undrowned child in the prophecy. By calling the book this, the author links the book to the characters and makes the book sound interesting so people will want to read it. Michelle Lovric used unique types of language - especially for the mermaids. An example of this is one of the handbills which they create using their printing presses. "Beware Ca' Dario! Only evil flows out of that palace. Evil, And Sickness, And Death. Oh, ye could not be counting the number of lies they're telling ye. More than the hairs on the poor flayed skin of Marcantonio Bragadin. More than the hairs up the nose of your great left-legged baboon of a Mayor". This book is also a really good book because it tells you about the places in Venice as wells as parts of Venice's history. I like this book because the plot-line is engaging and the Characters are very interesting and unique. I think the setting is very detailed which is great because you can connect the book with the places, statues and buildings from real-life Venice. I would recommend this book for the age groups 8-16. This book is the first book in the series, its sequel is called The Mourning Emporium. I personally would rate this book 5 stars for its historical fantasy, it's gripping plot-line, its beautiful comedy and for its unique and amazing characters.