IGCSE2 On Fire

  The story I would like to present to you issues from a compilation of short stories in the book “Partners in Crime” written by Agatha Christie(link) in 1944. In this case, a famous explorer named Gabriel Staavansson goes out on a 2 year expedition in the north pole. The issue is that when he arrived a fortnight sooner than expected, he couldn’t find his wife, Ms. Hermiocvxcne Leigh Gordon. So he went to her Aunt’s home Susan Clonray, where she was supposedly staying. But she wouldn't give much information as to where Hermione was. After a while, he finds out that she was in Maldon thanks to a telegram sent from Hermione that he managed to catch a glimpse of. Staavansson traveled there to find his wife again but there was no sign of her, so he went to Blunt’s Brilliant Detectives to seek help. The detective couple went for her search in Maldon when Tuppence remembered that there were two Maldons in England and that they needed to go to the other one in Sussex. Sure enough, they fo...

  THE GREEN MILE , by Emily Kreuger, 2IGCSE2 THE GREEN MILE , by Emily Kreuger, 2IGCSE2 The Green Mile was written by Stephen King , a world-famous horror author, and published in 1996. This novel tells the story of Paul Edgecombe, a death-row supervisor, and his encounter with a new inmate. Throughout the book, the author slowly reveals that this inmate, John Coffey, has supernatural powers. This prompts Paul Edgecombe to discover the truth about the prisoner's incarceration. The book received two awards: the Bram Stoker Award for Novel in 1996 and the German Fantastic Prize for Best International Author in 2001. It was also adapted into a f ilm in 1999 by Frank Darabont. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. First of all, my favorite character in the book was of course Mr.Jingles: a curious mouse that happened to be living on the prison block. Mr. Jingles, also known as Steamboat Willy, was important to the plot because, without him, the other prison guards would have never disco...

  My book is One Child by Torey L.Hayden . It was originally published in 1980.    This book is about Torey Hayden's experience as a teacher for special needs children. We discover how she takes care of children. And how she always stays patient, even with the most severely disabled children that sometimes tend to be aggressive or not cooperating. The plot is mostly turned towards one pupil in particular: Sheila. This new six years old student started attending Torey’s classes after she committed an act of violence against another student in her school. We then find out about Sheila’s family issues. Torey notices that Sheila also has advanced capacities.  Tiger’s Child is then published in 1995,  by Torey Hayden explaining Sheila’s life.    I really liked the plot of the story, however I did not get with the book. It seemed like I read a lot, and the plot did not advance. I also had issues finishing the book because of personal reasons. I truly ...

 Blood in the Dust :  During the holidays, I read Blood in the Dust . This book by Bill Swiggs  was published in 2019 and is a Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing prize winner. Set in Australia in 1853, it tells the story of two young boys on a quest to restore what is rightfully theirs , as well as the story of a family arriving in Australia to start a new life.    Toby and his younger brother Patrick are forced to set off on a long journey after their parents’ murder and the loss of the family farm. They don’t know where they are going or for how long they will be gone. But, one thing is for sure: they will be back and will restore the family fortune . On their way, they will make friendships and create forever-lasting bonds . They will, however, have to fight to survive; and, whatever happens, stay together.    Meanwhile , a family of four has just arrived on the promissing land that is Australia. At first, they struggle to build a new life. T...

                                  The Mysterious Mr Quinn review  Today I will be sharing my honest opinion about a book I recently read: «The Mysterious Mr Quinn» by Agatha Christie which was published in 1930. This book is basically divided in 12 short stories. Throughout every one of them we can witness the same two characters meeting each other and solving mysteries together. The book is narrated by one of them: old Mr Satterthwaite. The other one is called Harley Quinn and though he is in every story, strangely enough, we know very few about him... At first I didn’t expect this book to be a short story collection so I was a bit confused at the beginning. That didn’t prevent me from loving it though! Every story had a different style and context, and various characters. The ending of the stories are also always the same : Mr Satterthwaite finishes by so...

Science-Fiction stories by Isaac Asimov   Published in 1956 This book is actually four little-short stories, and they all have the theme: science-fiction. They are robots, time travel, aliens, giant super computers, and a lot more. Every story is about 10-20 pages. I really loved the book; theses four short stories are really amazing. They are remarkably simple to understand and are very surprising. I loved every description of the author because he really manages to put us in his own world. Also, his stories are very interesting to read because he creates new worlds at each one, with new characters and new laws of physics. The plot is always surprising, no one could ever have guessed them. Everything just connects and the whole story is good to be read again. However, the stories could have been more developed even if I love the book as it already is I recommend this book; it can be read pretty fast to fill your free time and is simply amazing.

“A Dead Man’s Folly” (Clara Z) . Published in 1956, “A Dead Man’s Folly” is a captivating fictive murder mystery. It was written by the well-known crime author, Agatha Christie . This novel has been adapted into a film twice: in 1986 and in 2013.          Hercule Poirot , a Belgian detective, is summoned to Nasse House by his friend, and crime writer, Adriane Oliver. She is organizing a fake murder hunt for Mr. and Mrs. Stubbs’s guests at the summer fête. At the last minute, Mrs. Oliver senses something sinister is going to happen and calls upon Poirot to find out what is happening before it is too late. The next day, a teenage girl is found dead during the fake murder hunt, which was scripted by Mrs. Oliver. It is now up to Poirot to lead the investigation. Beware, no one is who they seem.    “A Dead Man’s Folly” is an exciting and suspenseful novel that will leave you hanging until the very last page. I personally really enjoyed ...