Shaedow Master

by Justin D'Ath

Reviewed by Brendon D of Year 9

In the heart of the land of Folavia lies a mysterious lake. Many years ago the lake was inhabited by the most magical species, the Dalfen. These wonderful creatures lived in peace and harmony with the humans, keeping the land fertile and green.

Slowly and mysteriously, the Dalfen started to die out. The lake turned to quickwater and the land was helpless.

No person living today was able to survive this lake, except one, Ora Beliarius. Now Ora must confront the King's terrible secret and discover the truth of the Shaedow Master before her world is torn apart.

This book was one of the most amazing I have ever read. It was an extremely good fantasy and it was very gripping. There were many strange and wonderful characters within this book. For fantasy lovers this is one book that you must read. I found that it had the best storyline as there were many twists and turns.

Justin D"Ath mainly writes for teenagers and young adults. He has written many other books such as the incredible Hunters and Warriors.

This book deserves a 10.

Visit Justin D'Ath on the web.

Cornelia Funke

Dominic from Year 6 goes to Walters Road Public School and is the brother of Hayden in Year 8. He has recently read two books by Cornelia Funke and has two different opinions about them:

'Dragon Rider'
I liked this book because it is about a dragon called FIREDRAKE who is on a quest to find the Rim of Heavens, and the humans who are planning to flood the valley. So Firedrake and Sorrel, a brownie, set off. Along the way they find a small friendly boy named Ben and a professor and his wife, Mrs. Greenbloom; Twigleg, a homuncles and Gravelbeard. They also made a powerful enemy by the name of Nettlebrand.

I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an adventure!

'Inkheart'

The story base line is that Silvertongue is hiding a book called Inkheart. It is the only copy in the world. But of course there is someone who betrays Silvertongue. Morris has a daughter named Meggie. She meets a friend named Dustfinger. On the way they meet an awful and powerful enemy named Capercion.

The book did not turn out how I wanted it to turn out. It wasn't as good as Dragon Rider. I didn't like this particular book because it wasn't as adventurous as it sounded on the blurb.

Read a review of Dragon Rider written by Luke last year when he was in Year 8 here.

Watch a video interview with Cornelia Funke here.

AGREE OR DISAGREE? GIVE YOUR OPINION BY CLICKING ON COMMENTS BELOW.

Keeping up with the challenge

As you can see from our statistics at the top of the side bar (eyes left!) the PBB Readers' Challenge has really taken off. Further down you can read the list of books read so far. After only one week we have already nearly fifty entrants and about the same number of dollars. By letting people record books read since 1st February we thought we would give encouragement as some people might have a book to put down already. This was an underestimation in some cases, with several boys recording 10 books already, and more. To keep everyone recording those books we have an extra page of 25 lines on the back of the reading record. So keep on reading!

HELP WANTED - URGENTLY! Your ideas for improving Book Bites, including YOUR book reviews. If you have read any of the books listed so far why not write a short piece about it and send to us via the email address in the Book Bites header, or by clicking on COMMENT below.

A Getting of Wisdom

This is the title of a Sydney Morning Herald article featuring the words of Craig Ashby from Walgett in the far north west of NSW who successfully completed his first year at Sydney University last year. The surprising part of this story is that at 15, just four years ago, Craig could barely read or write. Getting a scholarship to St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill was a turning point but the full story is worth reading. He tells it best. Here is a sample:

Even though I could not read or write when I went to Joey's, not once did any kid ever give me a hard time about it or call me dumb, and I got on pretty well with everyone. Maybe they were scared, or maybe they understood me, but whatever it was nobody ever had a go at me about it.

So my confidence kept growing and growing, and the more it grew, the better I started doing. My literacy skills improved rapidly and by the end of year 9 at Joey's I could read and write....

My years at St Joseph's changed my life. It turned me around as a person, made me proud to be an indigenous boy, and showed me that I can take my place in the world and the possibilities that are out there for me to work for my country, nation and people.

Strong Starters!

There has been a great burst of enthusiasm in the last couple of days for the Readers' Challenge and here are the statistics:

Registered readers: 25
Books recorded: 57
Number of entry donations received: 5
Money donated so far: $12
Highest single donation: $5

This is a great start! So register, get reading and don't forget to bring in your donation for the Fred Hollows Foundation.

FableVision artwork in this post copyright by Peter Reynolds/ FableVision