Hetty Feather

Despite her being a very prolific author, Jacqueline Wilson still manages to elicit a sense of excitement whenever one of her books is due to be released. Hetty Feather proved to be no exception.

This time round, Jacqueline Wilson's story takes us to London during the year 1876. Hetty is still a baby when her mother leaves her on the doorstep of an orphanage. However she must first live with a foster family before she is old enough to go to school. Hetty goes to live in the countryside where she spends a large amount of time with her 'brothers' Gem and Gideon. One day a travelling circus passes by and Hetty is mesmerised by the show.

The time comes when Hetty has to go back to the orphanage and she finds it really difficult to adapt to this kind of new life, involving school and terrible lunches. There is one positive side to this - now she can start looking for her real mum.

Jacqueline Wilson official site

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Author Rick Riordan's series of books featuring Percy Jackson are amongst the most popular titles with children. The thrilling adventures of this young boy as he tests his wits and courage against mythological creatures, have captured the imagination of many.

The story is as follows: Percy Jackson is always up to mischief and trouble, and in fact has been expelled from several schools. One fine day, during an outing, one of his teachers turns into a monster and tries to kill him. However he manages to stay alive thanks to a pen that magically transforms into a sword. Understandably, this disconcerts Percy quite a lot and a string of similarly odd occurrences does nothing to dispel his nervous mood. Going back home offers no solace either as his mother is at the moment living with this despicable man known as 'Smelly Gabe'. Some time later she is kidnapped by a minotaur. Percy does not know what to do but one of his friends, Grover, who turns out to be a satyr, takes him to Camp Half-Blood, which is a training ground for demigods. And the adventure continues.

As you can see, Percy Jackson's stories are breathtaking and leave one craving for what's coming next. Once you start reading a story, you simply MUST keep on at it till the very end. So imagine the reaction of many at the news of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief being turned into a movie! The trailer has been released and it looks awesome. The director, Chris Columbus, is the same one behind the first two Harry Potter installments. So this should be extremely good. :)

Percy Jackson Official Site

Rick Riordan