Garth NIX, (2000), The Seventh Tower The Fall, Scholastic Inc.

Pablo Manning Sánchez, 2º ESO A

The Seventh Tower The Fall is about a boy called Tal who lives in a very dark world where the most precious commodity is light. In the castle of seven towers he is one of the chosen keepers of the magical Sunstones. But when one day his father (who carries their sunstone) goes missing, Tal goes in search for one. He tries everything he can except for one thing: stealing one. He climbs up the red tower to get past the veil (very sunny) where the sunstones grew. But while he’s getting one, he is caught by a powerful Spiritshadow that knocks him off the tower into to the black wilderness filled with unknown warriors, huge beasts and hidden magic. He also meets an enemy who saves his life and holds the key to his future.

The main themes are courage, resourcefulness, teamwork, and thinking your way out of problems.

I found it particularly interesting when he ventures with mina to retrieve two sunstones because they face terrifying creatures, fierce weather and hardship.

I would recommend this book to 10-13 year olds.

WELLS H.G. (2008) The invisible man. Penguin Classics

Pablo Fernández Jover, 2º Bachillerato EFL

A mysterious stranger arrives in a small village (Iping) wearing a long thick coat, gloves and a wide-brimmed hat. His face is hidden entirely by bandages, and dark glasses hide his eyes. The stranger demands to be left alone, and spend most of his time in his room. Meanwhile a series of mysterious burglaries occur in the village, in which the victims fail to see the thief. But when the villagers discover the stranger's terrible secret they realize they are in danger.

Possibly, the part of the book I liked the most is when Griffin is wounded. This part shows that everyone has feelings, it doesn't matter if the person is a murderer, a kidnapper or an innkeeper. The invisible man is a murderer, but in this chapter, we see how tough his life is, and why he's killing people. And this makes me think about people who kill, such as terrorists, and that they might kill because they have had a tough childhood or they are still having a hard life. However, I don't think it is a good enough reason to defend the act of killing.

I would recommend this book to people of fifteen and over.

LEROUX, Gaston, The Phantom of the Opera, abridged edition, Mass Market Paperback

Sergio G. Sánchez, 2º Bachillerato EFL

The story is about a man, Erik, whose face is deformed, and who lives under the stage of a famous theatre in Paris. He is in love with a singer, Christine Daaé. But she is engaged to Raoul de Chagny. The phantom invites her to visit his house and the secret catacombs of the theatre. After that, the main character shows her his deformed face, she screams of terror, so the phantom locks her and only lets her go when she promises to come again to visit him.

When she is safe, she discovers that the phantom is the person responsible for murders and accidents. She marries Raoul de Chagny in secret and tries to leave Paris, but ...

I think that all the classic novels are really good, but some of them could be boring. In this case (the adaptation) is never boring, it is as if the phantom is going to catch you when you are reading. The novel is a mix of mystery, terror, action and love, a book to have a great time. I recommend this novel for everybody who wants to have a good time with a book. The society of Paris in the 19th century is represented very well The vocabulary is easy to understand. Enjoy!

COLLINS, Wilkie, The Woman in White, Penguin Readers, C1

Toni Munar Frau. 2º Bachillerato EFL

The Woman in White is a mystery novel. It’s about a woman, Laura, who falls in love with her new teacher, but she has to marry Sir Percival, a wicked man interested in her money. The teacher goes to America to forget Laura. One day, a woman dressed up in white clothes appears and warns Laura not to marry Sir Percival. But in the end, they marry, and all Sir Percival wants is Laura to sign an arrangement to give him all her money if she dies; he wants the money because he has a secret. The woman in white knew the secret, so Sir Percival put her in an asylum some years before pretending she was mad, but she escaped. When the teacher gets back from America, he starts investigating Sir Percival’s secret by meeting the woman in white and her mother. What he finds out is…

The story takes place in the 1850’s. Then, the men were “more important than women”. Laura falls in love with Mr. Hartright, her teacher, and he loves her too. However, she promised her father she was going to marry Sir Percival, who seemed a good man and was a baronet. So, although she didn’t like Sir Percival and she felt something strange in him, she decided to marry him. This situation was really common in those times: women had to marry men who their parents chose and the weddings were arrangements between families to elevate their social status. Laura is living a life she doesn’t want, but she prefers it rather than opposing to her father’s decision.

GOLDING, William, Lord of the Flies (1954) Faber & Faber.

Mauricio A. García Blanco, 2º Bachillerato EFL

A small group of boys try to survive in an island after the plane that carried them crashed. The boys are left by themselves, with no adults, and they are unaware of the tremendous difficulties that they will have to go through.

My favourite part was when Piggy was not allowed to be a hunter and he was in charge of the smallest boys. I really liked it because we can see how happy Piggy was telling the kids what to do.

I will recommend this book to older teenagers and adults because it has some extra elements that you will only understand completely if you are a bit more mature. 

CASSIDY, Cathy (2006) Scarlett, Puffin

Fatima Ahmed Martinez, 2º ESO A

Scarlett is in trouble again! She’s just twelve, but since her parents split up, she has become wild. She’s gotten herself kicked out of five schools in two years. With her tomato ketchup coloured dyed hair, pierced tongue and terrible attitude, her mum’s had it up to here with her, so she sends Scarlett to her dad’s.

The thing is, Scarlett’s dad doesn’t live in England, he moved to Ireland with his new wife and her daughter. Not only does she go to Ireland, but also finds her dad’s new wife eight months pregnant. Scarlett is determined not to like it in Connemara, but a handsome, mysterious, 14 year old boy named Kian that rides a beautiful black horse named Midnight help Scarlett to see her life another way. When her new little sister is finally born, she becomes very happy, but it wasn’t easy saying goodbye to Kian. Scarlett returns to her mum and visits her dad every holiday. She and her mum do still have fights but they’re working on it. Every day whilst living in London, she hopes to see Kian again, some day

The part of the story I found most interesting was when Scarlett and Kian meet because that’s when they’re lives change around and also when everything starts.

I would recommend this book to girls aged 12-15.

Guilty Conscience

Oscar García Ruiz

3º ESO

http://www.scribd.com/doc/69842300/Guilty-Conscience-by-Oscar

A Day at the Market

Poem
By Celia Rodriguez Martinez, 3º ESO

I went to the market to stock up on veg,

As I noticed there were no tomatoes on my shelf.

The lady who sold them had golden curls

But she ran like the wind as I approached.

I asked the man to give me a fruit

But he was a rock and wouldn’t give me a grub.

I saw three poppies as red as blood,

And these dressy daffodils and pretty petunias too.

The sound of the rain was music to my ears,

As I heard the pitter patter near.

But life is a constant battle,

That’s how much it sucks,

As I’m staring here as the flowers get soaked.