Cambridge High School Library 2024

By: Miranda Sings Location: 920 MIR Genre: Yep another YouTuber book    I had a good look at this book and chuckled- at times laughed out loud and I do confess to a bit of a snort as well. This book is hilarious but bizarrely in a weird way- it is wise. The thing is Miranda is not real- Miranda is fictional and the real Miranda is a very talented and qualified musician called Colleen Evans. What I like is how she has adapted  the inside real character of what it is like to feel ridiculous, useless and incompetent and chucked it onto the stage for all to see what we know is tucked up inside of us. That is why 6 million people follow her, we all inside say "yes" to what she is portraying outwardly. This book does the same! "Over six million social media fans can’t be wrong: Miranda Sings is one of the funniest faces on YouTube. As a bumbling, ironically talentless, self-absorbed personality (a young Gilda Radner, if you will), she offers up a vlog of helpful advic...

By: Michael Punke Location: FIC PUN Genre: " A superb revenge story"- Historical Fiction at its best! Is today  Leonardo DiCaprio day- will he finally win an Oscar for his role of Glass in this adapted novel! As always read the book first- it is always better.. but then there is  Leonardo DiCaprio..... The word REVENANT is defined as "a person who returns, especially supposedly from the dead." There could be no better title for Michael Punke's high spirited, outback survival, revenge novel that is based on a true story. The trappers of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company live a brutal frontier life. Hugh Glass is one of the most respected men in the company, an experienced frontiersman and an expert tracker. But when a scouting mission puts Glass face-to-face with a grizzly bear, he is viciously mauled and not expected to survive. Two men from the company are ordered to remain with him until his inevitable death. But, fearing an imminent attack, they abandon...

By: Carl Bowen Location: Easy Reads-  EAS BOW Genre: Great fun short good vs evil stories Short simple adventure with simple comic style illustrations.  Phantom Sun is a  quick read based on a special secret operation team in Antarctica sent to retrieve a Chinese drone, before the Russians. One tricky ambush as the American patrol approaches the drones landing site leads to the death of one soldier. Earpiece negotiations save 41 scientists but lose the drone.  White Needle  is about a  multi-branch elite military team must infiltrate Syria and stop rebels from launching a chemical weapon. Readers who are into military, war, etc. would enjoy this story. I could see it being a solid recommendation for younger, strong readers as well as older high-low students. There are casualties though they are kept to a minimum and the good vs. evil message is clear.

By: Carrie Hope Fletcher Location: NF 920 ELE Genre: Another blogger/ writer “Don't ditch your childhood dreams just because you dreamt them up as a child.”  ―  Carrie Hope Fletcher Carrie Hope Fletcher is a singer-songwriter and an author. She also plays the ukulele, guitar and saxophone. Carrie is well known on YouTube for her channel 'ItsWayPastMyBedtime' where she has over 600,000 subscribers. Most of her videos consist of giving advice to her younger audience, talking about Disney and covering her favourite songs. She played Eponine in the West End production of Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre until February 13th 2016. She is the first actress to have played both young Eponine and older Eponine. Her debut book, 'All I Know Now: Wonderings and Reflections on Growing Up Gracefully' was published in May 2015. The book is based on what she writes on her blog. Her first fiction novel, 'On the Other Side' is due to be published in July 20...

It t'was the night before Christmas And all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, Not even a mouse. 'Cause the cat had pounced, And torn him apart. Ate his mousy intestines, And chewed up his heart. Hey y'all, a beautiful poem from the librarian moose's.

By: Laurie  Sutton Location: EAS SUT Genre: Scooby Doo - it is its own genre I had a love hate relationship with Scooby Doo . As a kid I liked how Shaggy and Scooby solved crimes in a fraught and confused way. I loved how unbrave Scooby was and I wanted so much to be able to imitate Scooby. I love how Scooby pronounces things: " Ri don't rink so"  but despite that it always scared me! But when these two books came across my desk for just old times sake- I could not resist. They are You Choose books, which means you get to figure out what path to take the story. They have 12 possible different endings! One of the stories goes like this.. Velma's uncle, a famous archeologist, asks the gang to visit his dig site in Mexico. It seems something is scaring his workers, and he needs to get to the bottom of it. But when Scooby-Doo and the gang arrives, the dig is empty and Velma's uncle is missing! Where did he go and what's scaring everyone? To solve the my...

By: heaps of stylists Location:  NF 646.34 ALD Genre:  I need this cause I am useless at this stuff This book is pretty- full of photos, well set out and fun to look at but it is more than that.. Style Yourself is the perfect personal-style handbook—and gift!—for fashionistas of the digital age. This book presents the best of fashion bloggers, with tons of outfit ideas and expert tips that show you how to apply high-fashion inspiration to your everyday wardrobe. In this innovative guide to personal style, 95 of the world’s premier fashion bloggers—whose sites receive over 500,000 daily visits combined—give hundreds of coveted insider tips, which are sure to delight teens, industry experts, and urban professionals alike. -GARMENT BASICS. Each type of garment is broken down, piece by piece, to help readers get their personal perfect fit. -TAKE YOUR PICK. Illustrated galleries showcase tons of garment types, giving you variations on the basics, plus how to style e...

By: Lynda Mullaly Hunt Location: FIC HUN Genre:  Could be a true story- but isnt  This book had me swiveling on my library chair reading happily. It was like reading my sons own story- super intelligent, spunky, quick as a fiddle, amazingly  gifted with oral and verbal skills- sometimes misdirected but often used as compensation. He had to survive high school years with dyslexia. Some years he had teachers who just did not get it, and made his life extremely difficult, like asking an obese man to run a marathon, each day.  Often he was told "Common- just write down what you are saying- write it!" They could of asked him to speak Russian with the same results. He has made it, he is my hero, he is working with kids kicked out of school as an outdoor instructor, many of whom have also learning difficulties. I guess it was our support and belief but also Mr Peters and Mrs Dixon and Miss Taigels. Tyler got an excellence in Yr 13 English- because of them! The power...

The Movie Its going to be great! may need tissues!

By: Rebecca Rupp Location: FIC RUP Genre: Coming of age- war, death and love When Daniel’s brother Eli is killed at war, Daniel considers the history of unusual fatalities to determine what makes a death — or a life — matter. I had a good friend die- I was 14 , she was 15. Her name was Sonia. She fell off a horse on a road in Canterbury on her way to a hockey game.  She was so talented, gifted, an athlete, an artist, a musician, a great hockey player and a good friend. She was from a loving large family who deeply mourned her death.  I could never figure out at the age of 14 why she had to die. Maybe I needed this book- then! Danny is one of those characters whose voice just seems so authentic. When his older brother Eli dies in Iraq Danny’s family flounders with their grief. His mother is chronically depressed, his father is angry and their family has fallen apart. Set over one long summer holiday period Danny makes some new friends in Is...

By: Jo Knowles Location: FIC KNO Genre: Youth Fiction- set in a school- in a small town “But then, as she looks at their unsuspecting, uninterested faces, she will start to think about what that really means. That just like there is more to her than what they see, there is more inside each one of them. What’s your story? she will wonder as she scans the room from face to face. And this time, when she pleads with them to read between the lines, she will try to do the same. " We live in a small town and I work in the school of that small town and when I look around I see groups of mates, hanging out, being, doing, chatting, planning. Most students are in a group, most students understand what the culture of school is,  most know that you have to lock yourself in a group, get your identity from that group and hold on tight to survive school years. This book is just about that- one day in the life of a school, the groups, who they are and how they intersect and interlock. Nin...

By: Alex Honnold and David Roberts Location: NF796352 HON Genre: Rock climbers with a death wish! A twelve-year-old kid in the audience raised his hand and asked, 'Aren't you afraid you're gonna die?'   Without missing a beat, Alex shot back, 'We've all gotta die sometimes. You might as well go big.' My husband is an outdoors man, so is my son. They climb rock walls and kayak white water and bike on mountains, but I am never too worried about them- they want to live! They use ropes when they climb, this guy doesn't. he climbs vertical  walls 100's meters high- unprotected! Even the cover gives me the heebyjeebies! Alex Honnold is 28 years old, and perhaps the world's best 'free solo' climber, scaling impossible rock faces without ropes, pitons or and support of any kind. There is a purity to Alex's climbs that is easy to comprehend, but impossible to fathom; in the last forty years, only a handful of climbers have pushed ...

By: Jamie Curry Location: NF 920 CUR Genre: Yep another one- Blogger writer- this one is cool as it is from a kiwi perspective!  I like Jamie- she rides a unicycle... "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Jamie, I'm 19-years-old. I make videos on the Internet, and enough people watched them that they let me write a book. I know. What is life?" Inside these pages is my life so far, and what I've learnt - or haven't learnt - along the way. Read about my cowboy hat years, the year I dug a big hole, and the time I pulled down my pants at a badminton game. I'll tell you my top travel tips (drink water), how to have fun at a school ball (don't go) and how to be an adult (eat an oyster). And I'll talk about YouTube, because I suppose that's what got us into this mess in the first place .. I seriously loved this book. I love Jamie and this books was amazing.  Jamie is so funny and great, and this book just blew my expectations through the roof. It...

By: Dan and Phil Location: If you ever find it in the library it is 920 HOW. I got two copies! Genre: Blogger s,  who have pub lished REAL books OK- This book is cool-  very cool. Doodles, information, cartoons, bio's, weird photos, texts, writing challenges, Chat Logs YouTube advice, Apocalypse information, Phangas and my favourite- Emojinterview  :) As for Dan and Phil- we get to know them pretty well- kind off! It is the perfect rainy day book- hang on- its raining- this librarian is about to find a beanbag and have a gander, now where is my teapot! Hello reader, In this book is a world. A world created by two awkward guys who share their lives on the internet! We are Dan and Phil and we invite you on a journey inside our minds! From the stories of our actual births, to exploring Phil's teenage diary and all the reasons why Dan's a fail. Learn how to draw the perfect cat whiskers, get advice on what to do in an awkward situation and discover which of our ...

By: Jonathan Franklin Location: NF 920 FRA Genre: Survival at sea- the real Life of Pi without the animals I love the story of Unbroken- the whole story. But it was in the movie that the long long long days of being in the boat adrift at sea made me realize what a horrid existence  ocean drifitng is. The movie dragged on and on and I guess that was the impact it was supposed to have- imagine filming this book-  438 days of it-wow! 438 Days  is the miraculous account of the man who survived alone and adrift at sea longer than anyone in recorded history—as told to journalist Jonathan Franklin in dozens of exclusive interviews. On November 17, 2012, Salvador Alvarenga left the coast of Mexico for a two-day fishing trip. A vicious storm killed his engine and the current dragged his boat out to sea. The storm picked up and blasted him west. When he washed ashore on January 29, 2014, he had arrived in the Marshall Islands, 9,000 miles away—equivalent to tra...

By: R.J.Palacio Location: FIC PAL Genre: Wonder- the backstorys “I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives.” WONDER has been huge at our school. I think it is because kids relate to feeling different, to not fitting in, to feeling awkward at those around us who suffer. It speaks to the soul about being an outsider fighting to fit in! Yet it screams out redemption and justice and smiles at humanity rather than scowls at it- most of the time. So what are the back stories of the other characters in this book. Auggie and Me tells you . WONDER tells the story of Auggie Pullman: an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face, whose first year at school changed the lives and the perspectives of everyone around him. This companion book is a must read also. Told from the POV of Julian (the bully who torments him all through fifth grade), Chris (the friend Auggie has known s...

By: Joe Sugg Location: GRA SUG Genre: Vlogger writes Graphic Novel Like anyone who feels as though they just don't fit in, Evie dreams of a place of safety. When times are tough, all she wants is a chance to escape from reality and be herself. Despite his failing health, Evie's father comes close to creating such a virtual idyll. Passing away before it's finished, he leaves her the key in the form of an app, and Evie finds herself transported to a world where the population is influenced by her personality. Everyone shines in her presence, until her devious cousin, Mallory, discovers the app... and the power to cause trouble in paradise "I loved the story idea so much and actually, I feel connected with Evie because her case was just like mine. I’ve been struggling with this school life thingy in these past 2 years now. I just feel like everyone don’t want to accept me for who I really am, like Evie. So I’m just trying to find my own safe place, like Evie. :D So...

By: Ryan Graudin Location: FIC GRA Genre:   Historical Ficton x SciFi Fantasy "Once upon a different time, there was a girl who lived in a kingdom of death. Wolves howled up her arm. A whole pack of them -- made of ink and pain, memory and loss. It was the only thing about her that ever stayed the same. Her story begins on a train." In a alternative 1956, where the Nazis have won WWII and Germany and Japan are the two major ruling powers in the conquered world, the story follows the story of Yael our MC, who is an escaped concentration camp prisoner who was experimented on. This vile experiment gave her the ability to skin shift or in other words she can change her appearance. To celebrate the alliance between Germany and Japan, a yearly motorcycle race across Europe and Asia- a cross continental race is held. In 1955, Adele Wolfe is the only female to ever win the race and had the rare chance to dance with Hitler himself at the victors ball. So, Yael is on a mission fo...

By: Claudia Gray Location: FIC GRA Genre: Sci Fi with complicated relationships Series: Firebird #2 “So, yeah, we go through some terrible things together, and I’ve seen versions of you who are darker, and damaged, and I don’t care. I want you even when you’re broken. I want you no matter what. Your darkness, your anger, whatever it is you fear inside yourself—it doesn’t matter. I love you completely, don’t you see? I even want the worst of you because it’s still a part of you.” This series is a bout a girl named Marguerite. Her parents create this device called the Firebird, which enables you to travel between different dimensions. Every dimension is basically like a different universe, with more or less the same people. The result of each dimensions is based on the choices people make, or the possible choices they could of made. In this book  had  the idea of a romance between two people in multiple different dimensions in which they're quite different people every t...

By: Tyler Oakley Location: NF 920 OAK Genre: Blogger writes Book Here we go- the bloggers and YouTubers are writing books and we have a stack of them!!! Pop culture phenomenon, social rights advocate, voice on YouTube, Tyler Oakley brings you his first collection of witty, personal, and hilarious essays written in the voice that’s earned him more than 10 million followers across social media. Tyler writes with substance as well as plenty of humor. He discusses his experiences with eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, abusive relationships, coming out to a religious parent, advocacy, and his slow rise to fame in the world of social media. Tyler shared that he wrote Binge with the wish to demonstrate "the value of taking chances, pushing beyond our comfort levels, dusting ourselves off after our inevitable humiliations, and remaining open to the life and feelings and possibilities that are happening while we are busy either chasing phantoms of success or trying to outrun ou...

By: Max Porter Location: FIC POR Genre: It will make you sad in a clever way I read this over the holidays, it was sad but it was hopeful. Any story with a mum dying in it leaving a dad and two boys is going to be sad, but what redeems it is the journey to realisation and continuation without minimising the pain of loss. It is also has a cuteness. The conversations are real, subtle, obvious and cutting to the heart. I have two boys and a man.. I felt this book! I also have a daughter I wonder what amazingness she would have bought into this story- her voice would had added much. But thankfully my family is not this story- it belongs to others. In a London flat, two young boys face the unbearable sadness of their mother’s sudden death. Their father, a Ted Hughes scholar and scruffy romantic, imagines a future of well-meaning visitors and emptiness. In this moment of despair they are visited by Crow - antagonist, trickster, healer, babysitter. This self-described ...

By: Mitch Albom Location: FIC ALB Genre: Classic Albom -Music x fantasy x reality I am a big fan of Mitch Albom, it is an immediate buy for me personally and for the library.  This book of course was no exception. It has a ring of The Book Thief about it, but instead of Death being the narrator it is Music. The story moves from Spain to the UK, to the USA to Waiheke Island in my own country, to The Philippines and back to Spain. It is about music first, or is it about love, can the two collide together, or not? It is about the burden of being gifted and yet the joy of expressing that gift, it is historical both in terms of music but also in terms of our world. It is mystical. It is classic Albom and it is a great read - one I have mulled over since I put it down a week ago... At nine years old, Frankie Presto is sent to America in the bottom of a boat. His only possession is an old guitar and six precious strings. But Frankie's talent is unique, and his amazing journ...

Location: Cambridge High School Library By: As many authors as there are names Genres: Everything we have it all We are in for another great year. Heaps of new books are about to enter the library and we will be reviewing the best of them daily if we can. Heaps of great books are being made into movies in 2016 and we reckon you should read the books first. We have nearly all of them in here! Lots of sequels and some stunning new books by debut authors are being published in 2016 and we promise you  will find them in our library as fast as anywhere else you can lay your hands on them. 2016- it is going to be massive- get on board!