What Miss T Read

Welcome to Anatomicum. This museum is open all hours. It houses a remarkable collection of displays, from the muscles to show emotion to the delicate workings of the brain. So what makes our bodies tick? And how does a human body grow from a single cell?  Anatomicum had been on my "books I really want but can't justify buying yet" list for a long time before I finally caved and bought it and boy am I glad I did. Illustrated by Katy Wiedemann and written by Jennifer Z Paxton Anatomicum is an in-depth look into the human body - from all angles! It's the perfect illustrated science book, which we all know I'm a huge fan of.  The book is split into six sections, each focusing on a different system within the body: musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and respiratory, digestive and urinary, nervous and special senses, immune and lymphatic and endocrine and reproductive. (The amount of red squiggly lines that appeared whilst I was typing that shows me I need to brush up on m...

Ten teenagers lured to a derelict carnival. Each one with a dark past they are determined to keep hidden. As they start to die, is it an unknown killer they need to fear...or each other?  Mind games. Murder. Mayhem.  How far would you go to survive the night?  If the blurb doesn't sell this book to you then you must really be a tough nut to crack. I was lucky enough to win a copy of Good Girls Die First after taking part in the #SixforSunday chat that Steph hosts on Twitter each week and I was thrilled as it was brilliant to talk to Kathryn about her inspiration behind the book and just how she came up with such a macabre story line. I'm a big fan of a thriller and murder mystery so this Young Adult delight was right up my street and I couldn't wait to delve in.  The concept is straightforward yet quite unique. Ten teenagers each receive a mysterious note luring them to the abandoned carnival pier.  Each note is seemingly ambiguous - a picture, a typed message...

When a mysterious boy washes in with the tide, the citizens believe he is the Enemy - the god who drowned the whole word - come again to cause untold chaos.  Only Ellie, a fearless inventor living in a workshop crammed with curiosities, believes he's innocent.  But the Enemy can take possession of any human body, and the ruthless Inquisition are determined to destroy it forever.  To save the boy, Ellie must prove who he really is - even if that means revealing her own dangerous secret.  I'd heard a LOT of good things about this book before I finally bought myself a copy last month and with it being compared to His Dark Materials  it certainly has gained high praise indeed from authors, teachers and book bloggers alike. And I'm pleased to say it's very well-deserved.  The book is set in a dystopian-style future, where The City is the last remaining city in the world, following a flood which washed out (we presume) most of the human population. Now, the popul...

Aleja is a dreamer who longs for a life of magic and adventure. So when a mysterious ship arrives in her Spanish harbour city, crewed by a band of ruthless women, Aleja knows it's sailed right out of a legend. And it wants her.  But life aboard the Ship of Shadows is more than even she bargained for. It will take all of Aleja's strength and skill to gain the trust of her fellow pirates - and discover what they are risking everything to find ... I know what some of you may be thinking. Haven't you already reviewed The Ship of Shadows ? And you'd be right. I have (you can find last month's review here ) but when I heard about The Write Reads Blog Tour to help promote Maria's book I couldn't help but jump aboard. So here is review number two, with a little acrostic twist, because I'm a teacher. Plus, you know it must be good if I want to review it twice. S is for SEA.  It wouldn't be a book about pirates and ships without the sea. Throughout the book we...

It's July already and I'm not quite sure how that happened. What with being in lockdown for 100+ days and not being in work every single day the last few months have flown by. This has been a bonus for my reading habits though as I've had much more time to spend reading I usually do! July is the start of everything going back to normal and back to the daily grind. Although there are only two weeks left of the school year and I can't quite believe that I will have to say goodbye to my lovely bunch so soon!   This month I plan on trying to maintain my reading level and fly through some books that I've been waiting to read for a while. I've limited myself to four on this list but I'm hoping I can complete a few more if I manage to speed through these. I can't wait to finally set foot back in a bookstore (I've still been avoiding non-essential shops for the moment) and the wonderful feeling you get from browsing through brand new books! A Monster Calls -...

A ferocious storm is raging in Eerie-on-Sea. An ancient artefact filled with a wondrous light has washed up on the beach. And a mysterious hooded stranger has just checked into the Grand Nautilus Hotel. Herbie and Violet know that these events are connected - and that they must act fast to save the town. But their investigation may just lead them to the cold, dark bottom of the sea... Gargantis is Thomas Taylor's fantastic follow up to Malamander, where we were first introduced to our adventurous pair, Herbert Lemon and Violet Parma, and the mysterious seaside town of Eerie-on-Sea. Being a huge fan of Malamander it's an understatement to say I was excited to read Gargantis and it didn't disappoint. From the very start, just as in Malamander,  Herbert Lemon's quiet life as the Lost-and-Founder at the Grand Nautilus Hotel is interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious and sinister hooded man who entrusts him with a clockwork hermit crab. Add to that the arrival of a myster...

“One day, on tearing off some old bark, I saw two rare beetles, and seized one in each hand; then I saw a third and new kind, which I could not bear to lose, so that I popped the one which I held in my right hand into my mouth.” At the age of 22 Charles Darwin clambered up the steps of HMS Beagle, armed with enough notepads to last him for several years and set sail on a journey of exploration that would change his life and how we view the entire world forever. When Darwin Sailed the Sea is a brilliant biographical look at the life of Charles Darwin. Presented through chronological chapters combined with illustrations by Sam Kalda, this is the perfect introduction to a man who changed the beliefs of the world with his discoveries.  The book is written in biographical format and starts with Darwin as a young boy, telling of his failures at school and his own desire to study divinity, not science (something which I was completely unaware of!). Each chapter is short and comp...