Ruby Redfort Look Into My Eyes by Lauren Child

Ruby Redfort is a brilliant code cracker and a secret agency called Spectrum have been tracking her down... After the disappearance of their former code cracker Agent Lopez on a mountain-climbing expedition, Ruby is the exact material that Spectrum needs.

Ruby is an ordinary kid who goes to an ordinary school but there's one thing about her that is truely extraordinary. Her ability to solve codes. And that hasn't gone unnoticed. A secret agency called Spectrum have been watching her for some time like when she won the Junior Code Cracker championships and when she won Junior Code of the Year awards when she stunned the judges with her code that was almost impossible to break. It took them 2 weeks to crack it and she was immediately offered a place at Harvard university but she didn't accept the offer. She didn't want to become some sort of nerd. Spectrum needed to make their move.

A few years later on a normal day, Ruby receives a mysterious phone call. There is a woman with a gravelly voice on the other end. She is speaking in code. It's a secret message. 

Ruby's findings lead her to a garage that shut down years ago and to a old petrol pump that when you lift it up it reveals a secret passageway. Ruby Redfort isn't scared usually. She isn't scared of spiders or sharks or vampires or..... I could go on, but the thing she is afraid of is small spaces, she is very claustrophobic. When Ruby reaches the end of the corridor there is just a dead end. Ruby waits. Suddenly, there is a powerful beam of white light that fills the tunnel. Then the dead end opens and Ruby walks in. There is a woman standing behind a desk. She explains that she is the leader of Spectrum and she is called LB. LB doesn't wear any shoes!

Ruby is soon given a tour of the Spectrum gadget room by a agent called Froghorn (the G is silent but Ruby ignores that and calls him Froggy!) and is soon drawn in by a kid called Bradley Baker's rescue watch. Everyone seems to be talking about him because he was one of the best agents Spectrum ever had. Can Ruby find out the infomation that she needs to find Agent Lopez and uncover another plot?

My favourite character in this book is Ruby because of her cocky attitude and sense of humour!
RATING: 10/10!!!

The Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney

This is the seventh book in the Wimpy Kid series, hope you enjoy it!

Greg Heffley is having trouble. He can't find a date for the Valentine's dance at school. Well, it was meant to be a motocross/wrestling party and not a Valentine's dance. At least that's what the school council decided. But I  think the teachers got a bit confused...

The dance is drawing near and Greg needs a date. That's why he asks his not so brainy pal, Rowley to try out for the school council so that he can tell all the girls how great he is. Part of Greg's plan works and Rowley does get elected for school council but the other part, the bit about the girls, doesn't. When the teachers start to hand out Valentine's cards for people to write on, all the girls write cards to Bryce Anderson, the fastest and most handsomest boy in the year. Greg gets nothing.

Windows open up for Greg from time to time like when the girl Abigail Brown got cancelled on by a guy called Michael Sampson and then found out that he was going out with another girl! Greg takes the chance to swoop in to be the hero. His plan works but involving Rowley is a big mistake. The day of the Valentine's dance comes quickly and Greg has to order a chauffeur with a posh car to make a good impression on Abigail. Unfortunately, the only person available for the chauffeur position is Rowley's dad, Mr Jefferson.

A couple of days later and Greg is sitting in the boot of Mr Jefferson's car as there is no room in the back, while Rowley and Abigail are deep in conversation. He is the third wheel, if you like! Will Greg be able to grab his date off Rowley before the Valentine's dance? 

This isn't the funniest in the Wimpy Kid series but it is funny. I didn't like it as much as the others because the other books varied around different topics but this particular book just stuck to one topic. I think the quiz at the end is very funny. RATING: 7/10 :{)

Small Change For Stuart by Lissa Evans

Stuart Horten is small for his age. He is a ten year-old boy who has a good life. He has a treehouse, a nice garden and a 8 speed bike. Then when his mother gets offered a amazing new job which is over 100 miles away, Stuart and his family have to move out. They move to the dreary old town of Beeton but life in Beeton isn't as dreary as you'd expect. This is the story of the Mystery of "Teeny, Tiny" Tony Horten - the magician.

Stuart is unpacking his things into his new wardrobe. He's very bored. He asks his dad if he can go on a cycle around town and his dad says yes. As Stuart is cycling around the town something catches his eye. It's an old house saying "Horten's Miraculous Mechanisims." He starts to climb the fence to the garden but all the windows and doors were boarded up. Stuart climbs back over the fence, gets on his bike and is about to head home but again, somthing catches his eye. On the side of the banner saying "Horten's Miraculous Mechanisims" is a money box. Stuart's dad has one exactly like it.

As soon as Stuart gets home, he asks his dad about the money box. His dad says that when he put money in, it disappeared. Stuart took the box. It was heavy. "It's a trick box!" he exclaimed. He tries twisting it clockwise but it doesn't budge. Then he tries twisting it anti- clockwise and it opens smoothly. Out came three threepence coins and a letter. The letter read: I have to go away and may not be able to get back. If I do not return then my workshop, and all it contains, is yours if you can find it... Affectionately your Great Uncle Tony. Stuart is shocked. He needs to find that workshop.

The next morning Stuart is happy. His mother had booked a family holiday from Friday evening to Monday morning so that they could spend more time together. Stuart decides to visit Great Uncle Tony's house one last time before he leaves. He jumps on his bicycle and rides down the street. When he gets there there are a few builders around. Then one builder comes up to him, "Kid, you shouldn't be here." "Why not?" Stuart said, "because it'll be demolished by Monday morning," he replied. Suddenly, Stuart didn't feel so happy about going on holiday anymore.

Will Stuart be able to solve the mystery and find Great Uncle Tony's workshop in time?

I really liked this book because it was so gripping I just couldn't put it down. This is a great book for people who are into Magic and Mystery.
RATING: 10/10!!!!

Ruby Redfort take your last breath by Lauren Child

Ruby Redfort is a 13 year old girl and a expert code cracker who works for a secret agency called Spectrum. She is currently the youngest Spectrum agent and she works for a particular part of Spectrum called Spectrum 8. They have teamed up with Spectrum 5 (the sea division) to teach younger agents like Ruby how to dive. Ruby's instructor is called agent Kegoa who is one of Spectrum 5's best agents.

Her mum and dad are on a luxury cruise in the local Ocean and they don't know about Ruby's cover. The only person that knows about Ruby's cover is her best friend Clancy Crew. She had to swear to Spectrum 8's boss LB that Clancy wouldn't give her cover away.

At last Ruby is given a mission. There have been srange happenings at sea. The currents in the nearby ocean have stopped and shipping disasters have been happening at sea. Ruby and agent Kegoa take a dive to try and find out what is happening. Meanwhile, the luxury cruise ship with Ruby's and Clancy's parents on it has been captured by a band of rusty pirates.

A couple of days later Ruby is talking Clancy through her diving mission. Clancy is petrified of the ocean because he read the book Jaws at the age of 5. Ruby soon finds out about how the currents are stopping. There is a meteor covering the currents. She also finds out that there are strange sea sounds that are aggravating sharks. Spectrum concludes that this is connected to a villain that they have encountered in recent missions, Count Von Viscount. They think that the Count is bribing the pirates to attack the vessels and ships with the Martha Fairbank treasure which was sucked under the current and into a old shipwreck. Can Ruby and Spectrum foil the Count's evil plans?

This is a extremely good book and is a very good read for all people who are into Mystery stories. My favourite character is definitely Clancy because of his weird nature and phobia of the sea.
Rating: 10/10!  

Ruby Redfort's cool website is here!

Warriors Into The Wild by Erin Hunter

This is the first of the Warriors books that features a house cat venturing into the wild and coming face to face with a clan of wildcats!

Rusty is a house cat that lives with his owners near a forest. He has heard tales of fearsome wildcats that live in the forest but doesn't believe them until he meets one for real. Luckily for him it's only an apprentice who is not as skilled as a fully trained warrior (cats that have learned all the skills they need to become warriors.) This apprentice was called Graypaw, a graystriped Tom who was with his mentor, Lionheart, a fully trained Warrior cat. Then he meets the clan leader Bluestar who accepts him into Thunderclan, one of the clans in the forest. There are four cat clans in the forest - Shadowclan, masters of ambush attacks, Windclan, the fastest runners in the forest and Riverclan the best swimmers in the forest. Rusty becomes Firepaw because of his flame coloured fur but life isn't easy in the forest and Firepaw has to get used to clan life and must rid the clan of a power-craving cat whose name I won't reveal as it will spoil the surprise! Firepaw has a natural hunting ability which is good for mice in the dense undergrowth of Thunderclan territory. Firepaw is quite a cheeky cat and sometimes disobeys the warrior code which all cats in the forest are bound to but only for the good of his clan.

This book is the first in a great series and I'm already on the last book in the third series! I think that Erin Hunter really liked cats and how they can be very adventurous and I think that's what led her to write these stories.

If you're into cats and the unexpected then this is definitely the book for you and you will love the whole series.

Rating: 9 out of 10!

Read about the series here on Erin Hunter's website

The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien

The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, is whisked from his comfortable Hobbit hole by Gandalf the wizard and his band of dwarves wanting to reclaim the stolen treasure that rightfully belonged to their ancestors of the great dwarf town Dale from the evil dragon Smaug who lives in the lonely mountain and they choose Bilbo to be their burglar!

Bilbo is captured by the Goblins of the Grey Mountains and there he meets Golem in a underground lake. When Goblins stray too close to the water's edge Golem slits their throats. Bilbo is clever though and tricks Golem into a riddle contest and manages to claim the first of the three rings, the invisible ring. The ring helps Bilbo steal the treasure from Smaug.

This book is the first in the series of Lord of the Rings books. I would very much like to carry on reading the series to see what happens next. I really liked how Bilbo manages to adapt from his comfortable Hobbit hole to a draughty cave in the lonely mountain.

Rating: 10 out of 10!

Click here to read more about JRR Tolkien

How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third is the least Viking-like Viking on the whole of the Isle of Berk! Hiccup and his colleagues from the Hooligan Tribe face their first big challenge in this first book in the series. They must raid the Dragon Nursery and bring back a dragon baby for each of them to compete in the Dragon Initiation Programme. Whoever is the best will earn the honour of killing their first dragon in front of the entire county of Berk. The Meatheads who are also joining in the competition are the Hooligan tribe's fiercest rivals.

It is time for the amateur Vikings of Berk to raid the dragons' nest. They creep quietly in and snatch a baby dragon each for themselves and stow it away in a basket that they have been given. Unfortunately for Hiccup, he gets a Common or Garden dragon, one of the least terrifying dragons on the surface of the planet! Fortunately for Snotface Snotlout (another amateur Viking) he grabs a Monstrous Nightmare, the fiercest dragon on Berk and which has a habit of setting itself on fire! Hiccup calls his dragon Toothless and Snotface calls his Fireworm.

All of the amateur Vikings have to train their dragons so they can do the basics - fishing, sitting, sleeping in the right place and a few chores. They must be able to do all of these to complete the Dragon Initiation Test. Toothless is very stubborn so Hiccup has to bribe him somehow to train him... the one thing Toothless loves is a joke but Hiccup is really bad at telling jokes!

Near the end of the book, the amateur Vikings from Berk must join together with the Vikings from the Meathead Island and the rest of the Hooligan village to defeat Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus, a very old but very large monster dragon. Hiccup finds out that he once ate a whole Roman galleon and fell into a coma for several hundred years. He has awoken from his deep sleep and eaten another smaller seadragon and is heading for the isle of Berk!! Hiccup and the other amateur Vikings must persuade another seadragon to do their dirty work and fight the Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus. Hiccup hopes that they will tear each other apart and that there'll be nothing left but a pile of bones!!!

If you're into Vikings and gruesome tales and dragons, then this is definitely the book for you. It's hilariously funny and the illustrations and scribbles are fun too. Rating: 8 out of 10.

the How To Train Your Dragon website