Here is my monthly review of the books I’ve read. I’m linking up with muttering mummy’s blog as usual. If you would like some suggestions of what to read I recommend you check it out.

The One Dollar Horse – Lauren St. John
Casey Blue’s prospects in life aren’t great. She lives in a run down tower block in Hackney with her dad, an unemployed dreamer. The best things in Casey’s life are the stables where she works as a volunteer, the cafe where she waitresses and the 60 something year old lady, Mrs Smith, her one and only friend. Casey is a dreamer too. Her life long ambition is to win the Badmington horse trials, but with no horse or money this is a pipe dream at best.

Then one day Casey and her dad rescue a horse that is about to be taken to the knackers yard. With only a one dollar note that her dad found on the floor, they make a cash exchange and sign the legal documentation to take ownership of the horse. With the help of Mrs Smith Casey brings the horse back to life and begins to train him. It seems like her life long ambition to get to Badmington might not be a pipe dream after all.

I loved this book. I read it with my daughter and neither of us understood any of the technical horsey talk, but nevertheless we both enjoyed the story. It is a heart warming tale of friendship, hardship, love and loss and one that I would recommend.

Eeek! The runaway alien – by Karen Inglis
This was a timely read about an alien who runs away from his home in order to come to England to learn about football. Eeek, as he is christened by the boy, Charlie, whose door he turns up at one day, is obsessed with the England football team and the World Cup.

Charlie and his friend Jake try desperately to keep the alien a secret from his little brother Rory and the rest of the family, but not content with staying in Charlie’s bedroom, Eeek is keen to get out and experience things for himself causing no end of trouble for the Boys.

My seven year old daughter and I read this book together. The story was engaging and we both fell a little bit in love with the cute little alien. My daughter also loved the illustrations that are integrated throughout the text too. The only thing that wasn’t believable about this book was England winning their football match. If only…

You can read an extract of Eeek! The Runaway Alien from a previous Friday Fiction post.

The Finisher – David Baldacci
This story is set in the fantastical town of Wormwoo, where the wugs, as the locals are called, live a sheltered life. The town is run by the Council, who rule over the locals with an iron fist. Children are sent to learning (school) until they are able to work, then they are chosen for a particular job according to what they are good at. All children are taught that there is nothing beyond Wormwood except the Quag and if you go in to the Quag you will die.

Vega is different, she asks questions about her existence and she realises that there may be more to life. But she is risking her life for thinking this way. At fifteen sessions (years) her life is at a turning point, her parents are gone and her brother is taken away to work with the Cpumcil, so she has no one left. Along with her best friend, Delph and her canine Harry Two, Vega sets out to find the truth.

Oh my goodness I loved this one. I’m a big fantasy fan and so on the back of Game of Thrones finishing, this was just the ticket. It was one of those books that you have trouble putting down and the end is left right open, so I am hoping there is at least a second installment. If you like this genre, I’m sure you will love this one. In fact, I can imagine it as a film already!

Hope you have some ideas for books to read next month based on these recommendations. If you do read any of these, please let me know. I would love to hear what you thought of them too.