So Many Detested-Poem

A friend of mine recently wrote a poem about the riots a few weeks ago. I really liked it and (with her permission) have decided to post it here to see what people think about it. It's called So Many Detested. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

So Many Detested

Riots in London breaking out,

Being cool is all they care about,

Faces covered with scarves and hoods,

Booze, money and electrical goods,

Are taken by crazed thugs,

So driven it's like they're on drugs.

Buildings going up in flame,

These hooligans have no shame,

They all communicate by text,

No one knows where they'll head next,

People know the meaning of fear,

When they lose everything they hold dear.

Police brought in to keep looters at bay,

But these rioters look like they're here to stay.

These riots are spreading,

Where will the thugs next are heading?

So many arrested,

So many detested.

Please tell me what you thought of it!

Threads By Sophia Bennett-Book Review

I picked this book up the other day in a charity shop up Chiswick High Road. What drew me to it was the cover. The illustration is by Giles Deacon a British fashion designer.

The book, Threads, follows the story of Nonie and her two best friends Edie (obsessed with her CV and world peace) and Jenny (an actress). When they meet a young girl in fairy wings sketching a dress in the V&A museum they are instantly hooked. Nonie, who has a big interest in fashion and anything to do with it, takes her under her wing. They quickly form a strong friendship and they learn that Crow, the girl's nickname, is a refugee from Uganda and lives with her aunt in a small, smelly apartment. It very quickly becomes clear that, even though Crow struggles with reading and writing, she has amazing talent. Crow draws and designs gorgeous outfits that are up there with all the latest designers. Nonie, Jenny and Edie decide that they should help Crow and soon she is producing and selling dresses and skirts. Customers are practically falling over each other to try and get one of her creations.

This is a well written and creative story of friendship, fashion and passion.  Even if you’re not into fashion you can still enjoy it as much as any other good story. The book is also packed with lots of sub-plots e g Jenny's crush and possible relationship with co-star Joe Yule. What’s more is that £1 from every copy sold is donated to Save the Children.

Have you read this book? If so what did think of it?

Robert Muchamore Book Signing

For those of you who don't know already, I am a massive fan of Robert Muchamore's Cherub book series. Today at Foyles in Charing Cross I was lucky enough to meet him at his London book signing as part of his UK three day tour. I woke up at quarter past seven ready and eager to take the trip to Theatreland to see the author. After travelling on a stuffy tube filled with business men and women for an hour and walking up Charing Cross Road I finally arrived at Foyles, the bookstore. It's embarrassing for me to say, but at first I couldn't see anyone. I walked into the shop expecting to see a huge queue of teens but instead the bookstore was virtually empty. My initial thought was that I had missed it, but that couldn't be right as I had checked three different sources of time and they all said that it was two minutes past ten. My mum and I were circling the shop and I was about to ask a shop assistant where the the signing was, when I heard a woman ask "Are you here for the Robert Muchamore book signing?" Although she wasn't in sight we followed the sound of her voice until we discovered a whole other part of Foyles bookstore where a queue of teens were. Relieved to have finally found the signing, I joined the queue. I was soon approached by a smiley, curly haired woman who explained to me what I needed to do e.g write my name on a post-it-note and stick it in the new book, People's Republic.

While I spoke to the curly haired woman (whose name I never found out) my mum was given the task of picking up a copy of People's Republic. I thought it would be a pretty easy task as I have talked constantly about this signing for weeks. However my mum proved me wrong and returned with a paperback copy of Shadow Wave, the 12th book in the Cherub series! Now my mum isn't stupid, she runs her own business and has an IQ higher than average, but somehow she had managed to miss all the A2 posters with the cover of People's Republic on, the display stall packed with hardback copies of the new book AND the forty plus people each holding a copy of the new book! I gave up trying to explain to her the fact that it is a new book, which means that it is only available in hardback, as I realised that wouldn't mean anything to my mum as she isn't a crazed Cherub fan like me.

The queue moved very quickly and in no time at all we were only a few people away from being at the front. After seeing a very funny poster of Robert in a wig wearing big, pink sunglasses I was reminded that I needed to teach my mum to use the camera on my phone. This sounds pretty hard but unlike most mums, my mum is pretty good with technology . This was the case up until the point when she had to take the picture of Robert and I.  I had spoken with him briefly and he seemed to be a really nice guy, I told him a little bit about my blog and he was happy to sign the extra four books that I had brought along with me from home. He was happy for my mum to take a picture and I gave my mum the phone. She seem pleased with the picture and I left the table picking up a pen, bookmark and badge that they were giving away. When my mum showed me the picture I felt a little disappointed as we weren't even looking at the camera let alone smiling, but I didn't mind as she had made the effort to come all the way into London with me.

Overall the book signing was great and I really enjoyed meeting Robert Muchamore.   I can't wait to start reading his new book and will, of course, be reviewing it here.