The Unvisibles by Ian Whybrow Book Review

Oliver Gasper has found an ancient magazine with a 'disappearing' formula in it. Desperate to miss school, he's tried it out .. .. and it's worked! The problem is, somebody's stolen the magazine and Oliver can't remember the words he needs to get back again. And he's fast learning that being invisible isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Fed up with being sat on buses, and facing death just crossing the road, Oliver turns to Nicky Chew for help, another boy without a friend. Nicky has made himself invisible in school, staying out of trouble and avoiding the attention of teachers. Together they try to track down the missing formula. If they don't, Oliver will never be seen again.. .. ..

The Unvisibles is a very enjoyable book, with lots of action and bits that made me laugh. It is a fun book to read and is particularly good for those people who think reading is boring or a bit of a struggle.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix Book Review

After much anticipation, I finally received my copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix on Saturday morning 21st June.

I couldn't wait to start reading, so, not even bothering to flick between The Saturday Show and SMTV (my usual Saturday morning routine), I set up my chair in the garden, in the shade of next door's tree and begun to plough through the 250,000 words of J K Rowlings latest installment.

In this book, Harry is now 15 years old and he experiences many of the growing pains that anyone who has been 15 would be familiar with. However, Harry is not just any 15 year old he is a wizard and still has his Nemesis (you know who) to deal with.

This book sees the return of many of the characters from previous books, including some of the past defence against the dark arts teachers. But the introduction of some new characters is also very welcome, in particular, the new defense against the dark arts teacher gives Harry something to think about again this year.

On the whole I felt the story got off to a slow start and Harry's stroppy attitude was a bit of a drag, but it built to an imaginative and exciting climax. As usual, I couldn't guess what was going to happen next and each chapter brought a new turn to the tale. Finally more background information about Harry's past leaves you in suspense and crying out for the next book.

Overall the book was written with J K Rowling's usual style and imagination, although my favourite so far is still The Goblet of Fire, The Order of the Pheonix is an excellent 5th adventure in the Harry Potter series.

inURarea review team - Alison