Happy New Year from the school library staff!
We’re excited to welcome you back for the spring term. There are plenty of exciting events planned
and new books on the way, so January is a great time to visit the library.
Ms. Lo has added her lovely handmade decorations to celebrate Lunar New Year in our library.
Now, let’s jump into our first blog of 2025!
Kick-start this January and take home one of our new titles: Mortal Chaos by Matt Dickinson (KS3); Young Gothic by M.A. Bennet (KS3); A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik (KS4).
The North Light by Hideo Yokoyama (KS5); The Escape Room by L.D. Smithson (KS4); Trials of the State by Jonathan Sumption (KS5)
Author Matt Dickinson
To Visit SGS on World Book Day 2025
Our school is pleased to annouce that Matt Dickinson, author of the Mortal Chaos Series, Lie Kill Walk Away and The Everest Files, will be coming to speak to SGS students on World Book Day – Thursday 6th March 2025.
If you are in KS3/4 and would like to order a copy of Lie, Kill, Walk Away or The Everest Files, book 1 (or both) to get signed on the day by the author, please ask your parent or guardian to order them on Parent Pay. The cost of each book is £7.00.
Deadline for Parent Pay Orders is: Friday 21st February 2024.
Please note that no books will be available on the day to buy.
Logo credit: www.worldbookday.com
Last Call for Masked Reader Entries
If you are in Year 10 and are thinking of doing a Masked Reader Video the deadline for entries is 31st January 2025. Record a video of yourself wearing a mask while reading a popular book, and send it via email to Ms Lo.
Whodunnit Club Returns
After Half Term
That’s right, Whodunnit Murder Mystery Club is back for six weeks after half term. Put your super sleuth hat on, grab a magnifying glass and follow the clues to find out whodunnit?
Open to students in Year 7 -10 and anyone else who would like to join, simply turn up on
Monday 24th February at 3.40 -4.25pm in our school library.
Get ahead and start reading some Murder Mystery novels to share with the group.
We have updated our book list on the Reading Cloud – logon today to find them.
This club will run fortnightly on Mondays – Week B.
Holocaust Memorial Day
27 January 2025
Holocaust Memorial Day is observed on 27 January to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. This day also serves to remember the countless others who suffered and died due to Nazi persecution, as well as those who have faced genocide in places like Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia,
and Darfur.
The theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day is “For a Better Future.” This year is significant as it commemorates the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, which was the largest Nazi death camp, and it also recognizes the 30th anniversary of the genocide that took place in Bosnia.
We have selected these subject related books for you to read: The Saboteur of Auschwitz by Colin Rushton (KS4); Safiyyah’s War by (KS3); Anne Frank, The Diary of A Young Girl (KS3); The Tattooist of Auschwitz (KS4).
Mrs Taylor has ordered some new books for Holocaust Memorial Day which will be available for you to borrow soon: My Survival: A Girl on Schindler’s List by Rena Finder and Joshua M Greene (KS3); A Rebel in Auschwitz: The Story of the Resistance Hero who fought the Nazis from inside the camp by Jack Fairweather (KS3/4); Refugee by Alan Gratz (KS3)
The National Literacy Trust has joined up with well-known, non-fiction historical author Tom Palmer to share a commemoration event with school children featuring conversations with two holocaust survivors.
Stay tuned to our big library screen for this HMD event and other resources on how Tom Palmer wrote his book “After the War.” Take a look at Tom Palmer’s writing scrapbook: My “We Will Tell Your Stories,” by visiting: https://tompalmer.co.uk/holocaust-memorial-day/
Take a look at this great list of YA Holocaust and WWII books:
www.goodreads.com/YA_Holocaust_WWIIBooks
The Tattooist of Auschwitz Book Review
by Blog Buddy Toby 9M
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a poignant and meaningful love story retelling the horrors of the Holocaust.
It follows Lale, who tattoos new arrivals at Auschwitz, and Gita, who he falls in love with. The two live through the concentration camp, Auschwitz, together, and this book documents their incredible journey. The novel is partially fiction but is also largely comprised of the real stories of Lale and Gita, the former of whom Heather Morris (the author) met with between 2003 and 2006.
The writing style is unique and gripping, and Morris kept me engaged throughout reading. Whilst some of the subject matter here is slightly upsetting, it makes for a poignant and gripping story, showcasing the horrors of the Holocaust and remembering those who suffered through it.
Morris wrote two more books in this excellent series, both of which are equally moving and gripping as their superb predecessor. The Tattooist of Auschwitz and its sequels (Cilka’s Journey and the Three Sisters) are all available in the library today.
Don’t forget to dip into SORA for Holocaust Memorial Day Books.
Lunar New Year of the Snake
By Blog Buddy Aarav 9L
I interviewed Ms Lo about how she celebrates Lunar New Year and the meaning behind the year of the snake.
Q: What does the year of the snake mean?
A: The snake is associated with wisdom and agility. People born in the year of the snake are often described as wise, intuitive and highly intelligent. The Chinese zodiac has a twelve-year cycle. The most recent snake year is 2013.
Q: How do you celebrate Chinese New Year?
A: I celebrate with a feast on Chinese New Year eve, which consists of 10 dishes; typically with mushroom, dried oysters, chicken meat and Fat Choy – Black Moss. On the first day of the year we wear new red clothes from top to bottom for good fortune and prosperity. We visit family, relatives and friends and bring boxes of candy and fruits. We also give red packets with money inside to the children.
Q: Which New Year has been the most memorable for you so far?
A: The year of the dragon, as my son was born that year.
Q: What do the Red Chinese Decorations mean?
A: Red symbolises happiness and good luck.
Check out these snake-themed titles for Chinese New Year: The Snake Trap by Kevin Brooks; Medusa by Jessie Burton; City of Snakes by Darren Shan; Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz. Log onto SORA for more Chinese related fiction.
Ms Cummins Reviews
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
The Wide Sargasso Sea is beautifully written and transports the reader into the lushness of Caribbean island life with its sultry landscape, people, colourful flora and sounds. This aspect of the novel must have come from Jean Rhys’s own life, as she grew up on Dominica, leaving for England at 16 where she faced ridicule and rejection because of her Creole heritage and refusal to speak ‘proper English’.
The Wide Sargasso Sea takes the existing narrative of Jane Eyre (by Charlotte Bronte) and expands it by telling the story of Rochester’s first wife. In Jane Eyre, Berthe (called Antoinette in Rhys’ novel) lacks a voice so I especially like that in The Wide Sargasso Sea she isn’t just the ‘mad woman in the Thornfield attic’. Rather she takes centre stage.
Jean Rhys put Victorian society’s unsympathetic view of women’s mental health and its depiction as madness under the spotlight. Anette, Antoinette’s mother, loses her husband, her money, her status, is afraid of her former slaves / workers, and finally her son dies after a fire is deliberately started. Reasons enough to lose one’s grip on life. Antionette has been afraid all her life and seems to be in love with Mr Rochester, but her eagerness unnerves him and he is ready to believe the rumours about her sanity and unchaste past – spread by a man seeking money. Within the context of the 19th century, Rochester is more ready to believe a man over his wife.
The themes of money, possession and enslavement are woven throughout the text. Both Antoinette and Edward are trapped into marriage by money, she by having it, he by not. However, though his behaviour is awful, I cannot be entirely without sympathy as he married Antoinette, not knowing her, in a ‘deal’ made by his family for her wealth. In return she gained status as an English gentlewoman.
The Wide Sargasso Sea touches upon post-colonial and feminist themes, so whether or not you are also familiar with Jane Eyre, it is well-worth reading.
Children’s Mental Health Week
3-9 February 2025
Children’s Mental Health Week is all about raising awareness for mental health in young people across the UK. This year’s theme is Know Yourself, Grow Yourself, which aims to equip and empower children to embrace self-awareness and understanding what it means to be them.
Taking time to read for pleasure is a great way to relax and unwind. Make a comfortable reading
space and encourage positive thinking. We have some fantastic books in our library to help
promote well-being.
We recommend these young adult books for you to access on SORA. Watch out for more books on Mental Health Week coming soon to our big library screen.
SGS are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of
all our students, visit the Wellbeing and Safeguarding section of our school website:
www.suttongrammarschool/lstudent-wellbeing
Dead Happy, the next installment of Happy Head
Reviewed by Aaryn 8T
Dead Happy by Josh Silver is the intense sequel to “Happy Head” and is the second part of the gripping series. The story follows Seb (Sebastian), who has already survived the Happy Head program, as he finds himself on an isolated island with a select few. Here, Seb and other participants face bizarre and dangerous challenges, pushing them to the limits in their quest for happiness.
Author, Josh Silver used a gripping writing style that kept me engaged from the start. He himself has worked in mental health and this is evident from the novel’s insightful plot and style.
My favourite part of the story was the various challenges the protagonist had to undertake. This was because the suspense filled me with curiosity about what would happen next.
Overall, Dead Happy is an exciting sequel to Happy Head, offering a blend of tension, horror and adventure that will intrigue fans of dystopian novels. It’s a book that not only entertains but captivates the struggle of anxiety and encourages one to reflect on what happiness really is.
Both books are available to borrow in our library and on SORA.
Suzanne Collins
Suzanne Collins is the youngest of four children. Her father was a career officer in the U.S. Air Force, leading the family to move frequently with his job. Suzanne spent time in Indiana and Belgium before graduating from high school in Birmingham, Alabama. After studying theatre and telecommunications at Indiana University, Suzanne received an MFA (master in fine arts) in dramatic writing from New York University in 1989.
During the 1990s she wrote for American television where she became head writer for Scholastic Entertainment’s Clifford’s Puppy Days. Whilst continuing to work in television, Collins came up with the idea for her children’s novel, Gregor the Overlander, published in 2003. The story follows an 11-year-old boy from New York City who gets pulled into an amazing underground world. The series continued with four more books, collectively called the Underland Chronicles.
In 2008 Collins wrote The Hunger Games, a dystopian novel aimed at teenage readers that follows the story of headstrong 16 year old Katniss Everdeen as she competes in a televised competition in which she must fight other contestants to win. Collins wrote the sequels, Catching Fire in 2009 and Mockingjay in 2010. In 2020 she published the prequel to the Trilogy, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Coming Soon
The Next Hunger Games Book
Legendary author Suzanne Collins is set to grip us once again with her new novel, Sunrise on the Reaping, released this March. It is the second prequel to her Hunger Games trilogy making it the fifth book in the series. Set twenty-four years prior to the original novels, the book opens on the morning of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games, where significant events are set to unfold – taking readers back to the world of Panem.