Category: Book reviews by Ayaan

REVIEWED BY AYAAN, 10, VIC

Neverseen by Shannon Messenger, Simon & Schuster Ltd, ISBN 9781471189449

Ayaan reviewed his own copy of this book.

Neverseen is the fourth book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, written by Shannon Messenger. The three books that precede it are, in order, Keeper of the Lost Cities, Exile and Everblaze.

Sophie Foster and her friends must go into hiding. And who better to keep them safe, than the Black Swan. They all have mixed feelings about meeting Sophie’s creators. With stowaways, species-threatening plagues, bizarre disguises, after curfew meetings and traitors, can they make it through and finally defeat the Neverseen?

When they meet with the Black Swan’s ruling order, they see bizarre disguises. Who are these mysterious people? Who is Squall, Granite, Blur, Wraith and Mr Forkle? When will they find out?

I would rate this book ten out of ten. I especially love the plot twist at the end when the traitor is finally revealed.

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Ayaan is a regular book reviewer for Alphabet Soup. You can read more of his book reviews here. To send us YOUR book review, read our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

REVIEWED BY AYAAN, 10, VIC

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket, HarperCollins Publishers, ISBN 9780064407663

Ayaan reviewed his own copy of this book.

This is a book written by Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler).

The Bad Beginning is the first book in the series: A Series of Unfortunate Events. The series, unsurprisingly, has thirteen books, and the thirteenth book ends on the thirteenth chapter! These books are about the misfortune of the Baudelaire children. 

This first book in the series is the start of the Baudlaire children’s misfortune and misery. The Baudelaire children are orphans after a fire that wiped out their parents. Violet, who is the oldest and a girl of fourteen, loves inventing. Klaus, a boy of twelve, is an avid reader. Sunny, an infant, has four sharp teeth and loves to bite things. Violet is to inherit the Baudelaire fortune when she is of age.

They are adopted by Count Olaf who is horrid and mean. But is he just mean or is something sinister going on? When they come over for dinner, his acting troupe look a bit suspicious. When the children are invited to perform in Count Olaf’s play, something seems amiss. What are Count Olaf and his troupe planning?

I would rate this book five stars as it is mysteriously interesting. This book is good for people who like mystery and are aged 9+.

Oh, by the way, the book is written in a way that not many books are written. Just something you ought to know.

(Take a sneak peek inside the book!)

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This is Ayaan’s first review for Alphabet Soup. To send us YOUR story, poem, artwork or book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!