Hello! My name is Ottie, and I’m 12 years old. I love reading, especially murder mysteries and adventure novels! Some of my old favourites include Harry Potter by JK Rowling- where like a lot of others I felt that I became a part of the magical world; Murder most unladylike by Robin Stevens which was my first real taste of murder mystery, yet it still felt like a safe environment because its grounded in Daisy and Hazel’s friendship; Frost hollow hall by Emma Carroll, I also devoured all of her others but this was my introduction to her writing- I think my all time fave would have to be the girl who walked on air; Malamander by Thomas Taylor, where I felt that I was completely surrounded by this fantastically magical nautical adventure, I wished I could have been there solving it together with Herbert Lemon and Violet Parma; to name but a few…
Over the past year I have begun to read older novels with more intense plot lines/ content! These include the One of us is lying series by Karen McManus, I particularly loved how each chapter is from a different characters perspective; Eight pieces of silva by Patrice Lawrence, I loved that the plot was so thick that I didn’t know what happened until the very last chapters when the plot began to be revealed; Ruby in the smoke by Phillip Pullman, in this I loved that it was set in the past yet felt so real, I also loved the main character Sally, I loved that she was so forward for her time; Noughts and crosses by Malorie Blackman, I found it so refreshing and eye opening to see racial discrimination from another angle and have it flipped on its head; and I capture the castle by Dodie Smith, although its quite dense as its a classic the moments of hard reading are very much worth it due to her incredibly descriptive writing.
What I look for in a good book is when I get to see the relationship between the characters developing, a good varied dialogue, relatable elements and I like when stories are somewhat grounded in reality.