Archive for July, 2008
The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien
Book review by Verycomfyundies
OMG, The Hobbit was…no wait…is the world’s worst book. It drags on and is too complicated. It made me mad reading it and I ripped my copy up. No Joke. I feel sorry for the year 7s who have to read it. And don’t recommend it to anyone unless you want a slow, painful death.
Nearing 100 posts…
I won’t say just how close we are, but it won’t be too long before the 100th post is published on The Portal.
If you happen to be the author of that post you might find yourself on the other end of something scrumptious! The more you post, the better your chances…
Mrs Sweeney
Scot Gardner visits Scotch
A privileged group of boys laughed their way through Scot Gardner’s quietly delivered talk today, entranced by tales such as his dream to win the Year 9 Sewing Grand Prix. His sewing teacher, whom he and other boys tortured week by week, ended up becoming his mother in law! Karma!
Over the next few weeks Scot will use his wry humour and understated sense of drama to inspire a hand-picked group of boys to read and hopefully write. Scot congratulated these boys on the fact that at Year 9 they are special… they are at the peak of their ’stuffaroundability’. Until year 11 Scot was a non-reader, able to achieve an A grade for an essay on Of Mice and Men without actually reading the book. His turning point came when he picked up a book called ‘My Side of the Mountain’, by Jean Craighead George. At this he point he realised he’d been missing out on a depth and richness in his life that only books can deliver. In fact, books were to become his main source of income.
Fast forward a couple of decades, and you have a writer of books for young adults and children, an expert at seeing through the eyes of teenage boys and girls. Scot’s books include Burning Eddy, One Dead Seagull, The Legend of Kevin the Plumber, White Ute Dreaming, Gravity, The Other Madonna and The Detachable Boy. We look forward to him passing on some of his insights and secrets to the lucky boys participating in this special program.
Mrs Sweeney
Announcing the winner…
Image : http://www.tonyfugere.com/funny/ 18/7/08 Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors).
Exciting news! The time has come to announce the winner of the ‘Most Commented on Post’ competition for term 2, 2008. And the winner is…Tyronec! This prolific contributor wrote about the decline of English in his post Moden Inglish , attracting 16 comments on this controversial subject. Clearly it’s something Scotch boys feel strongly about.
Congratulations Tyronec! Come and see me to collect your yummy prize.
There is also a consolation prize for Gilla, runner up in the competition with his post ‘Poetry for Dummies’, which inspired 11 responses. Come and collect your prize too, Gilla!
The competition will run again this term, so start thinking of topics which might ignite passions in your fellow students or staff. Remember, they do need to be related to books, writing, reading, words or the literary world.
Good luck!
Mrs Sweeney
The Recruit by Robert Muchamore
I wasn’t sure what to expect having heard very little of the author and his books. I decided to give it a try with the first book in the CHERUB series, The Recruit. The Recruit was published in April 2004. Since then Robert Muchamore has written a whole host of books, but it was only recently that I had heard of him so it was with the recruit that I began. Most blurbs of books give significant details away but The Recruit is different.
The recruit is based on a boy, James Choke, who succumbs to anger easily. After a violent day at school which led to a female student getting injured, James returns home to find out that his mother has died due to too much consumption of alcohol. James has nowhere to go except for a children’s home, where he meets Kyle, a CHERUB agent on a recruitment mission. Kyle manages to get James into CHERUB, where he takes a whole range of tests which he successfully passes and is admitted into CHERUB. But before James can go on missions he must get through 100 days of basic training, which he passes with the help of his partner Kerry Chang.
Soon after completing basic training, James is given his first mission with his swimming trainer Amy to infiltrate a hippie settlement. It is a very dangerous mission, with a powerful anthrax disease in the midst. As to what happens, I shall leave for you to find out but I must say the ending is action packed and full of tension until the climax is reached. This book is extremely captivating and action packed, it is definitely worth reading.
Sylvester
Breaktime by Aidan Chambers
If you’re of a literary bent…the kind who smiles with satisfaction at recognising quotes and who enjoys YA books with a vocab to challenge most adults, you’ll like the writing of Aidan Chambers. Having read Dance on My Grave, a quirky look at nascent teenage sexuality, I was keen to read more by this British author.
Breaktime is equally satisfying, simultaneously tackling those ubiquitous YA issues like first girlfriends, tumultuous father/son relationships and the boundaries breached by young male egos, whilst avoiding stereotypical styles of writing, moralising and patronising simplicity.
The father of seventeen year old Ditto is ill in hospital, having collapsed after one of their now frequent rows. When Ditto receives an unexpected letter and photo from an attractive girl, an apparently unabashed invitation to rid him of his virginity, he guiltily plans a weekend away. Meanwhile, Ditto’s mate Morgan has challenged Ditto to prove that literature is ‘relevant’ and represents truth. (These are not your average teenage boys). Ditto records the events of his interesting weekend in a journal which is amusing, insightful, poetic and original in style…but is it the truth, or a tale spun to outwit Morgan?
Decide for yourself.
Mrs Sweeney
