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How would YOU feel if you were considered bad luck by your own family?

Your childhood years should be the most innocent and joyful time of your life, but for one girl, the main character in this book, this was not the case. Chinese Cinderella, by Adeline Yen Mah, is a story of a young girl’s struggle for acceptance and how she overcame the odds to prove her worth. She was pushed down by her unloving family. She had 4 siblings and 2 half siblings. Her mother died when she was just 2 weeks old after giving birth and because of this incident she was considered by her step-mother and her whole family bad luck. All her photos of her mother were destroyed, as ordered by her father.
“Tell me what my real mama looked like. I can’t picture her face’, Adeline had said in the book.
“There are no photographs of her,” said Aunt Baba… “Your father ordered all photographs to be destroyed”.
Her two half-siblings were given the royal-treatment because they belonged to their real mother who was Adeline’s stepmother.
This book is of great struggle and has been my favourite book ever read. The book is non-fiction as it is a true story. Her Chinese name was Yen Jun-ling but in school her name was Adeline. She was sent off to a boarding school as she was considered a hassle and also because her stepmother despised her. In the end she begs her father and stepmother to go to university, but they do not allow her, though all of her other siblings are allowed to go. It is not until her father notices her talent in the local newspaper and says that she has a talent for writing.
I regard this book as of a sad nature and a book that I would recommend to anyone who loves these types of books.

Review by Dim

I have just recently read one of the most confusing of my life. It’s called The Other Facts of Life and it’s by Morris Gleitzman.

Some of the sentences were just random and didn’t make any sense. The whole book didn’t make any sense. At times, I couldn’t tell who the friends were and who the family members were. Morris Gleitzman gave the family members friend characteristics and the friends family characteristics. I was so confused that every time I started reading this book, I wanted to put it down straight away. This story contained the most random sentences and scenes ever. One time, two people were in a chicken coop and there was a KFC box on the ground. Another time, Morris was describing an object then randomly added, “There was a cow”. This was the most confusing part of the book. Only one of the things in the book was described thoroughly and that was the boy when he shaved his head bald, turned himself tan and was naked except for a cloth around his waist. This got me disgusted and made me close the book and go to sleep. The title of the book doesn’t even match the content of the book. There were no facts of life in the book. And the picture on the front of the book is an egg. What has an egg wearing glasses got to do with anything? The first time I saw this book, I thought it was going to be a hilarious book but then when I opened the book and started to read it, it was one of the worst and most random books I have ever read.

Review by Xn00bX

I recently had the pleasure of reading the book, The Bombing of Darwin by Alan Tucker.

The story is about a young 14 year old boy called Tom Taylor who lives in Adelaide with his mother. It is set during World War II. Tom’s father is in Darwin serving for the army. His mum can’t live without her husband so she decides to move to Darwin with Tom. They go by boat and train. They live in Darwin for one year while his dad is there. Tom meets new friends, young and old, and learns lots of things from the locals and soldiers. But on February 12th 1942, Darwin is bombed by Japanese planes and Tom’s life is thrown into chaos.

This book has very good themes, such as war, family and bravery. This book is perfectly designed for teenage boys and girls. I would really recommend this book to all teenagers out there who like reading true stories and exciting, well told books.

Review by Woody

Around Australia in 80 Days is about a family whose ambition is to travel around Australia in 80 days. It is a diary-style book written by the father who is an author and journalist. He writes down everything from encounters with crocodiles to breakdowns and to what they did on each day. The family consist of a dad, mum and two children and they all stick together. They all go through ups and downs and still love each other. They come from the suburbs of Melbourne and will have to live in caravan for 80 days and sleep in the same room for 80 days. It is a book which is great for people who like travelling.

Review by Thomas

I have to start by saying that I found this book very compelling. Each of the characters represented a different frame of mind and personality. They were all distinctly different and all of them were believable. They were brought to life so well in the book that it felt like the happenings in the book were not out of the ordinary. I especially loved how the plot was unique and cleverly thought out. Each twist and turn was countered by a historical moment related to the main character’s ancestor. The author created suspense by gradually unraveling the story so that there was a harmonious balance of drama and portrayal. He left you turning the page until the end until which then everything made sense. I really enjoyed this book and it left me desiring more. I think that because this is a detailed but simple book, it should be the foundation stone for excellent story writing in many.

Review by Albert

The book I am going to write about is called The Alchemist. It is written by Paul Coelho, who lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This book is about a boy in search of his personal legend, or literally the meaning of life. The boy in this book is called Santiago and he is a shepherd. He strolls around the fields with his sheep, without a worry in the world.
This all changes when he meets an old man who claimed that he used to be a king. He tells Santiago that there is a great treasure waiting for him in the Pyramids in Egypt. His wisdom helps Santiago to understand that his personal legend was not just to look after sheep, but much, much more. Santiago then goes on an amazing journey where he learns the abstract art of alchemy. Using this amazing technique, he manages to turn himself into the wind and he sets off for the pyramids of Giza, in Egypt, where he is to dig up his treasure. His journey will be treacherous, but with the guidance of the king, a strange gypsy woman and two special rocks, Urim and Thummin, not only will he find his treasure but finds the love of his life. A great book about a boy searching for someone who he didn’t even know existed.

Review by Peter

Holes is about a young boy called Stanley Yelnats who is accused of stealing a pair of shoes from a homeless shelter. Stanley is then taken to Camp Green Lake as punishment but when he arrives, he discovers that there is no lake and all there is is dried up desert.
Upon arrival at Camp Green Lake, Stanley finds out that he is required to dig holes. Each hole must be 5 feet wide and 5 feet deep. Over his days at camp Stanley meets other campers and also makes friends with his fellow tent mates. He meets a boy who is called Zero whose real name is Hector. Hector cannot read or write and Stanley decides to teach him.
One day Stanley finds something while he is digging and he hands it to X-ray (another of his tent mates). After finding the object Stanley figures out that they are not digging holes as punishment but instead they are looking for something very valuable.
Zero decides to run away and Stanley decides to go after him. They eventually meet up and they survive on Sploosh (something they find to drink). They see the Big Thumb and they decide to go up and look for food.
Zero and Stanley make their way to the Big Thumb and find some onions to eat. They both return to Camp Green Lake where a big surprise is waiting for them……

Review by Jeremy

Boy written by Roald Dahl is a tremendous book filled with stories that grasp the reader’s imagination. Another clever masterpiece by Dahl as it is not the typical, sometimes lacklustre, autobiography. Dahl states in the opening pages that he has written this book not to bore people about his life but to instead share unforgettable moments that has helped shape his years to date! The book captures the theme of growing up as Dahl starts his stories from the young age of five and ends when he gets his first job working as an accountant at the age of twenty. This book is followed by a sequel called Going Solo.
For Dahl readers across the world it helps show them how he creates his stories using his magnificent memory. Boy also showcases boarding school life in Britain during the 1930’s and living in a large family (Dahl had 8 brothers and sisters) which was of course very common in those days.
A book I recommend to the young and old especially those who always have room inside them for a bit of humour! I’m sure everybody who reads Boy can somehow relate one of Dahl’s experiences to themselves.

“Another magical piece – fantastic work Mr. Dahl!”

Review by Charlie

Ned Kelly’s Jerilderie Letter is book about the life of the famous Ned Kelly. It contains a lot of information on how he was such an outlaw and how he was on the run for years. This book mentions a lot of the people behind the life of Ned and his family. This book is perfect for people interested in Australian history, and for those who don’t know much about Ned Kelly. This book explains Ned’s side of the story and how he thought he was innocent and how he didn’t do anything wrong, whilst the police thought otherwise.

Ned Kelly’s Jerildere Letter is edited by Carole Wilkinson and illustrated by Dean Jones.

Review by Tom

One senior student has commented on The Portal that he doesn’t usually like Young Adult (YA) books. This made me think there must be many senior students at Scotch who either don’t like the style of YA books, or have simply outgrown them (although I would argue that the best YA books can be enjoyed at any age).

So…let’s create a list of adult fiction titles that are likely to be enjoyed by keen senior readers at Scotch. Post a comment with your suggestions, and I’ll add them to this list. It would be great if you added a sentence or two about the book, in addition to the title and author.

Here’s my list. OK, I freely admit that I’m a woman, and I also admit (less freely) that I’m considerably older than you senior students. I may be completely off the mark. Try some – let me know!

The Secret River by Kate Grenville

Honk If You’re Jesus by Peter Goldsworthy

Three Dog Night by Peter Goldsworthy

Maestro by Peter Goldsworthy

Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey

True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey

Farenheit 101 by Ray Bradbury

Children of Men by P.D.James

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

The Drowner by Robert Drewe

Skin and other stories by Roald Dahl

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Orpheus Lost by Janette Turner Hospital

Cloudstreet by Tim Winton

The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth

My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven

Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin (the adult edition)

Kes by Barry Hines

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatji

My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok

An Imaginary Life by David Malouf

The Great World by David Malouf

The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill

The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak

What is the What? by Dave Eggers

Exodus by Leon Uris

I’m looking forward to seeing your recommendations!

Mrs Sweeney