The Crowham Martyrs

The Crowham Martyrs

Jane McLoughlin,

The Crowham Martyrs

Catnip Publishing, 2015

ISBN 9781846471636

11-14 Shortlist 2016

 

On this shortlist:

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out of 5
 

 

 

Who Wrote It?

Jane McLoughlin is an American who has lived in the UK for over 25 years. Despite this she has never lost her accent. Jane worked as a secondary school teacher (among other things) and regularly gives talks and delivers writing workshops in schools and at festivals all over the UK. Jane lives in East Sussex with her family.

Jane is seriously delighted, pleased and chuffed that The Crowham Martyrs is on the Leeds Book Awards 11 -14 shortlist for 2016.

What's It About?

The Crowham Martyrs - A spine tingling creepy gothic tale set in a boarding school about a girl called Maddy Deeprose.  Maddy can see ghosts, they are benevolent but when the new school term starts things aren’t right. She starts to have alarming nightmares and visions of suffering and hurt, her friends start to go missing as she investigates what is going on. Battling her fear and terror Maddy fights on to find out the truth of what is happening. A scary fast paced novel that leads up to a terrifying climax. 

https://www.foreverwatch.me.uk/replica-watches/

Fact File

Jane’s debut novel for teenagers, At Yellow Lake, was nominated for the 2013 Carnegie Medal and longlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize and the Branford Boase.

Her second book, The Crowham Martyrs, was published in June 2015, by Catnip Books. It has been shortlisted for both the 2016 Leeds Book Awards and the 2016 Essex Book Awards.

https://www.replicaluxurious.co.uk/

She is also proud to be Patron of Reading for Kincorth Academy in Aberdeen.

To find out more about Jane follow her on Twitter: @JBMcLoughlin

Your Reviews

abbigtale from corpus christi catholic collage school:

this book was facinating and spooky this is like a book that comes back alive.

abbigtale gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

Ellie from Boston spa:

I thought that this book had an amazing plot but the way that it was written could be different to make it a little less scary. I know that the book is meant to be scary but it is too scary for some 11-12 year olds.

Ellie gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

Charlie from Abbey Grange Academy:

This book was very interesting and scary. I was really surprised at how things turned out. I would recommend it to anyone.

Charlie gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

Joe from Allerton Grange:

The Crowham Martyrs is a good book with many interesting twists and a great plot. I would recommend this book to people who like a bit of suspense and horror.

Joe gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell.

Yasmine from Benton Park Secondary School:

It’s about Maddie Deeprose who can see ghosts and in this boarding school, there are ghosts in which she can see. As she finds out more about her family, things get more suspicious and mysterious.

Crowham Martyrs was a book that kept me reading one chapter after another. Despite the negativity it got from my friends, I enjoyed it. It was upsetting to see that I was reaching the end of the book but the ending got me slightly confused and made me rethink about Maddie and Caleb. I wouldn’t have saw the twist coming and Maddie’s stubbornness did get rather agitating, though I could see why she would be like that.

To round it off I give the book a 4/5 and recommend it to people who likes mystery and suspense books.

Yasmine gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell.

Megan from leeds east academy:

the crowham martyrs was a good book to read.I like how her mom sends her to a creepy old bording school and she isn't even worried.One thing I would change is that maddies thoughts are confusing at points in the book

Megan gave The Crowham Martyrs 3 out of 5 and now plans to read 13 Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt.

nathan from leeds east academy:

this book was a well written story about a girl who can see ghosts and is also at a boarding school. Although the book was a well written gothic fictional book it wasn't quite my taste. Overall I would recommend it for lovers of fictional ghost stories.

nathan gave The Crowham Martyrs 2 out of 5 and now plans to read Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin.

Maisie from Abbey Grange Academy :

The Crowham Martyrs was such a good book to read, making you never want to put the book down. Despite this not being my kind of book I thoroughly enjoyed it nevertheless, I thought that it was exciting but mildly scary at the same time. The book was extremely unique, and have never read something quite like it. The reason I gave it 4/5 is because it wasn't really my kind of book that I would choose to read, but still i thought it was great. I would recommend this to people who like mystery/ thriller.

Maisie gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

Eleanor from Boston Spa:

This book was written amazingly. At points it felt as if I was really there an example of this is:' I stare beyond them into the fire, where the flames dance and strut.'I think that to improve this book Jane McLoughlin could change the front cover because the yellow feels garish and the picture does not do the writing justice. My favourite character was Hannah because she was kind hearted and forgiving.

Eleanor gave The Crowham Martyrs 3 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

Aine from Prince Henrys Grammar School:

This wasn't my type of book but when I reached the end of the book I started to really enjoy it. The only thing I didn't like about this book was that the start of the book had nothing to do with the blurb and it got me really confused.

Aine gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell.

Charli from Corpus Christi Catholic College:

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it gives you little snippets of history about Crowham Martyrs. They also really specifically describe parts about the characters when their introduced. The end of the story is also a very quick pace but keeps in the crucial parts of what happened. I would recommend this to people who like thriller and mystery.

Charli gave The Crowham Martyrs 3 out of 5 and now plans to read Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin.

Lloyd from King James's School:

The Crowham Martyrs was quite different to the other books I’ve read on the shortlist. Magic, friends going missing and demons; this book was full of twists and turns.

I found that there were parts in this book that dragged on a bit and could have been shortened. Having these parts in the book made me reluctant to pick it up. However I felt the end was rushed which spoilt it for me.

I found Maddy not particularly unique, but very stubborn, which caused a number of problems for other people.

I liked the idea of a secret organisation in school but other than that it was a bit one dimensional.

Lloyd gave The Crowham Martyrs 2 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

Aniqah from Allerton Grange High School:

The crowham martyrs was a very mysterious book and kept you in suspense all the way through. I liked the plot and how middy's brother celeb was brought into the story. Throughout the story it got better and better.

I would recommended this book to people who like a mystery book.

Aniqah gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

Freya from Boston Spa School:

This book was an absolute page-turner. It is more of a four and a half but I couldn't put it down. The books plot was extremely unique, I have never read anything like it. This book is an absolute thriller and it is full of mystery and adventure.

Freya gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

William from King James's school:

I really enjoyed this book but it reminded me too much of harry potter, a boarding school in the middle of nowhere- witches, ghosts and noises in the night. Apart from this I liked the puzzle and mystery you had to solve. Maddy made a lot of stupid mistakes but that made her more human. I liked the explanation towards the end because it all made sense.

William gave The Crowham Martyrs 3 out of 5 and now plans to read Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin.

Alice from King James's School:

Despite it not really being my type of book, I thought the Crowham Martyrs was mysterious, exciting and scary at times. I liked all the twists in the plot and how much suspense there was whilst reading this book. I didn't really like the character of Maddy but I did like Hannah because she was brave, adventurous and a very good friend to Maddy. Overall, I didn't really enjoy reading the Crowham Martyrs, only because it's not my type of book. However, I did think it was well written and would recommend it to people who like that genre of book.

Alice gave The Crowham Martyrs 3 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

Nathan from Leeds East Academy:

The Crowham Martyrs is a well written book. Although I find the story interesting I cant quite get into it. However the author (Jane McLoughlin)

has wrote the book well and has a very interesting storyline with lots of different twists and turns in the plot. Overall the story is slow but is very good for fans of quite detailed fictional books.

Nathan gave The Crowham Martyrs 3 out of 5 and now plans to read Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin.

Megan from Leeds East Academy :

So far...Love this book it is so mysterious and creepy. I like how you get a back stories of the book. I only wish you could change the idea of Maddys thoughts I don't quite understand them at times. Overall so far a good book

Megan gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read Jessica's Ghost by Andrew Norriss.

kiera from crawshaw academy:

It is interesting and disturbing in some places.

kiera gave The Crowham Martyrs 3 out of 5 and now plans to read Jessica's Ghost by Andrew Norriss.

Jamaal from Hillcrest academy:

The crowham martyes is an amazing book.

If you like horror books it will be the just right book for you.

You dont want to do anything but read. The story glues you to it

Jamaal gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read 13 Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt.

AbuZarr from Co-operative academy of Leeeds:

I really like this book because it has a long mystery that starts near the middle. The only thing that I would change was that the front cover was more about Maddy.

AbuZarr gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin.

Lewis from Allerton Grange:

This book was highly disturbing and there were some bits that were a bit uncomfortable to read as a boy ( especially page 78 ). But it was still clever although slightly overcomplicated and I think it would have an even greater effect if it was simpler and just a little funnier to make the scenarios sound even more outrageous and that it was happening to normal people. I personally wouldn't recommend this book to boys my age but I think it would appeal much more to girls.

Lewis gave The Crowham Martyrs 3 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

Jake from King James's School:

I didn’t enjoy Crowham Martyrs that much but I admit there were a few parts that made me want to read further as they took me by surprise.

One thing I didn’t understand was Maddie’s memories as I would have thought it would be easy to remember a nice older brother.

A thing that seemed to really frustrate me was the fact that Maddie wouldn’t listen to anyone who said they would explain things to her. I understand the reason she wouldn’t listen is because everyone else had told her lies, but she really got on my nerves.

For me, something Jane Mcloughlin could work on is her character traits and personalities, I couldn’t relate to any of her characters. It could be because most the characters my age were girls and all the other boys were either older or younger than me.

The final thing I have to nit-pick about this book is that it reminded me too much of Harry Potter for instance, there were: ghosts, demons, a huge boarding school and a forest/wood no-one wanted to go in, in fact, the book reminded me of Harry Potter so much I kept getting surprised when the characters used electricity.

I did enjoy the book when it took dramatic twists like a certain characters death. It gave the book way more suspense that I wanted to carry on reading for another couple of hours.

I loved the fight at the end and onwards as it really summed up the book.

Jake gave The Crowham Martyrs 2 out of 5 and now plans to read The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell.

Daniyal from Roundhay high school:

The Crowham Martyrs is an AMAZING book which you just want to read and do nothing else.The story totally glues you to it.

Maddy Deeprose is the main character who is very brave. She has a speciality which makes her see ghosts.Her best friend is called Hannah who i will move onto next.

Hannah is Maddy's best friend from Africa. She is also very brave and has a speciality which makes her hear certain things.BADNESS!

Caleb is a very handsome boy who has something to do with Maddy. Everytime they touch each other they get a reaction.

Maddy feels as if everybody is evil and wants to lock her up in Crowham Martyrs, but she is wrong.They are doing it for her own safety.

She goes out on bonfire night and bravely wanting to see what it's all about.But there HE is the man which killed Maddy's mother waiting for her and wanting to kill her. What will Maddy do?...

Daniyal gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

Joel from King James's School :

The characters in this book were well described from all angles and the relationships between the characters were also clear and interesting. The feelings and emotions came through heavily and helped me to empathise with Maddy.

There was a lot of mystery and suspense which made me want to read on. It kept me guessing from start to finish which was on the whole a good thing. However, I would of preferred it if It had explained a little more as in some places I was slightly confused.

The end needed more in my opinion as I was left a little lost as to what had happened. You had spent the whole book waiting for the answers to pretty much everything and then they all came at once. It was too much too fast and I would of preferred it if they had come gradually and slowly shed light on the whole plot.

Overall, I enjoyed this book though it was far from the best I have read. I will give it a three out of five.

Joel gave The Crowham Martyrs 3 out of 5 and now plans to read The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell.

Zahra from Allerton High School:

Maddy is the main character. She faints and soon finds out that she is a _____. Not revealing the words. She faints in lesson and watches someone struggle to breathe and die.Eventually her best friend Hannah gets kidnapped, well that's what she thinks, and the school lie and say that she has gone to live in cape town with her parents and her aunt has taken her but she does not have an aunt who is currently living in England... READ!READ!READ THIS BOOK! At times there is too much description but overall i really enjoyed this book.

Zahra gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read Jessica's Ghost by Andrew Norriss.

Vevila from Allerton High School:

This book is very interesting. The main character, Maddy Deeprose (short for Madeline)was very brave, courageous and determined. She was very confused at first, but soon she started to put the pieces together and she eventually found out the truth about herself and realised why things happend the way they did. It gripped me straight away and I would love it if Jane wrote a sequel to this book.

Vevila gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell.

Hannah from Allerton High School:

I love this book! It was full of suspense and I couldn't put it down whist I was reading it. It was also very mysterious and didn't give too much away so it was very gripping. My favorite character is Hannah because she is so bright and bubbly. She is happy all the time and always makes Maddie happy. I loved the ending of this book because it had kind of a cliffhanger. I think this book should have a sequel to it. I absolutely love this book and I think it is one of the best books I have read.

Hannah gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

Catherine from Allerton High School:

This is an amazing book to read if you are into gothic, mysterious stories that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the whole thing. It is really gripping and descriptive and there is never a dull moment. It is very tense and you will want to keep reading to find out what happens.

Catherine gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell.

Aliyah from Allerton Grange High School :

The Crowham Martyrs shows people what it is really like to have a special ability and not be able to tell anyone about it.Not even your best friend...

Aliyah gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin.

Charlotte from Benton Park`:

This book was one of the best books I've ever read and I've read a lot of books. What I liked the most was the suspense that was with you throughout the whole story. My favourite character was Mr. Casey because he tried so hard to warn Maddie even though it had disasturous concequences. I highly recommend this book to people who like stories that keep you on the edge of your seat. This is my favourite book so far.

Charlotte gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin.

Elpida from Corpus Christi Catholic College:

Fantastic book that I really enjoyed. Every element of it was amazing: from the characters to the plot. I really do hope that this book wins. I gave it a four due to the fact that it had too much mystery that half the time I didn't know where the characters were or what they were doing. However this book was very mystical and in my opinion should get a five star rating.

Elpida gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell.

meah from Guiseley high school:

i loved this book and i think it should win as it has lots of suspense and mystery leading to you not wanting to put this book down. the book has an amazing ending that will leave you wanting more!

meah gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read 13 Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt.

Kaya from Allerton Grange School:

I loved this book! It was so mysterious all the way through and it kept me guessing the whole way through. One of the best books I've read.

Kaya gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin.

Miss Busby from Corpus Christi Catholic College:

I found the story a little slow to begin with but I persevered and was pleased when the book began to pick up!

It's a great book for girls and boys who like a bit of mystery.

This spooky story is very descriptive which makes it easy to visualise the gothic boarding school setting and the presence of the unknown!

Miss Busby gave The Crowham Martyrs 3 out of 5 and now plans to read 13 Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt.

Katie from King James School :

I really enjoyed this book because it had many twists and turns and a very good story line. I liked how Jane McLoughlin made it so that the past repeated itself I thought that added a very interesting depth to the book because it made me wonder if there was any way to stop the cycle. I also feel like it has the message of learn from the past’s mistakes or re-live them.

I liked Hannah’s role in this book and how Maddy stood strong to her theory that she had been abducted even when she was told she was wrong. Maddy and Hannah’s friendship was strong and they were both loyal to each other until the end.

I liked it how Jane went into so much depth about each aspect of Maddy’s life. Such as friendship, school, love and family all of these points were fully covered until the end. I felt as if the end was rushed slightly and Jane could’ve added some more detail. I felt that the school in this book had a Hogwarts feel to it. But apart from this minor detail this book was an amazing read with many sudden and interesting twists.

Katie gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

Robert from Ossett Academy and Sixth Form College:

I haven't read a book of this genre before - I prefer books that are funny - but I was impressed by this one nevertheless. It made me more interested in other types of stories, stories that I wouldn't normally consider reading. I don't think it was enough to make me turn to that specific genre, but I would still recommend this book!

Robert gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin.

Maya from Boston Spa High School:

I enjoyed reading this book as it kept me on the edge of my seat.

What is this book about?

The main character, Maddy Deeprose, can see... Ghosts! When she joins the boarding school, The Crowham Martyrs, she realises that something just isn't right.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it took me on a roller-coaster ride filled with adventure and surprises. Although I wouldn't normally pick up this genre of book, I enjoyed it as it was filled with suspicion and an adventure!

What was my favourite part of the book?

My favourite part was when Maddy enter the woods and she thinks that nothing will hurt her.

It is definitely a horror story, filled with unpredictable adventure!

What are the characters like in the Crowham Martyrs?

I found that there was something suspicious about most of the characters as they are always behind the scene, knowing what will happen to Maddy next...

Who would I recommend this book to?

I would recommend this book to lovers of horror stories and to people who want something to keep them on the edge of their seat as no one knows what will happen next. I would also recommend it to people who like Enid Blyton as some of her books are quite similar to this.

Read this book!!!

Maya gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read Jessica's Ghost by Andrew Norriss.

Abigail from Benton Park:

I enjoyed this book. Although the plot was a little confusing I enjoyed all the twist and turns of the plot line. I enjoyed the mysteries and how it was based loosely on history. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Abigail gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin.

Shauna from Corpus Christi:

It was quite boring. Although the plotline was great the story was slow and the characters didnt have much development. It was slow. But, the story was very creative.

Shauna gave The Crowham Martyrs 2 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

Sophie from King James School:

I thought Crowham Martyrs was a great story filled with twists and turns making it a super, but scary, book that will have you on the edge of your seat all the way through.

Sophie gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

dan from benton park:

i thought this book was quite slow but very creepy

dan gave The Crowham Martyrs 3 out of 5 and now plans to read Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin.

soufia from Allerton grange:

its was amazing very exiting and tense, I could barley put the book down.

I would recommend this to all readers I defiantly loved it. Every one should get a chance to read this great book.

soufia gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read Jessica's Ghost by Andrew Norriss.

Magnus from Roundhay High-school:

suspence in every sentence.Creepy Spooky Scary book. I loved it!!! So far its my favoroit book.It takes a few chapters to get into it but once you get to the good bit you cant put it down! i rate this 5/5 and wish there was anothere one like this.

Magnus gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

Jennah from Allerton Grange High School:

WOW it is really spooky but so interesting I didn't want it to end !!!!!

Jennah gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read Jessica's Ghost by Andrew Norriss.

Miriam from Allerton High:

I really enjoyed the Crowham Martyrs. The book is about Maddy Deeprose, who is a student at the creepy Crowham Martyrs boarding school. When she was younger, Maddy's mother told her not to tell everyone her secret- Maddy can see ghosts. As she gets older, she realises that there's something lurking at the school- something evil.

This book was very enjoyable, although it is not the sort of thing I would usually read. When you read the book, you can tell that Jane McLoughin has a real talent as a writer. There is a lot of description which, if done badly, can make the plot in a novel seem less gripping. However, in this book, it was done really well and made a very vivid image in your head. The characters in the book were also described well and I enjoyed reading about them.

My one complaint with this book is that it seemed to rush the ending slightly. Throughout the book, it revealed small amounts of the mystery as you went along. Despite this, it revealed quite a lot at the end. But, overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to a friend.

Miriam gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell.

Jennah from Allerton Grange High school:

I found it soooo spooky but really enjoyable I would definitely recommend you read this ASAP !!

Jennah gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read Jessica's Ghost by Andrew Norriss.

Jenna from King James's School:

I found this book interesting and exciting. It isn’t the best book I’ve read but it certainly is far from the worst. I enjoyed it though, and found it entertaining. I loved the way the author used suspense and the large reveals were exciting and made sense, unlike some books.

The book was so surreal, I can’t find myself relating or see others relating to the well-rounded characters. This is not necessarily a bad thing. I enjoyed not knowing what would happen because of this factor. But the characters were so well written I can see myself feeling for them.

I normally do not find myself drawn to this kind of genre, and this is no exception. I was not fully engaged at all times, though the times I was I really enjoyed it. It’s not because of the book; it’s because of my preferences. I think, though, that the book helped me see that those kinds of books can be fun and worth reading. Someone who likes this kind of thing I’m sure would adore this book and I would recommend it.

It was a fun, suspense-filled book full of interesting concepts.

Jenna gave The Crowham Martyrs 3 out of 5 and now plans to read If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn.

Eloïse from Benton Park:

I think that this book was very interesting, but a little complicated. However it was good, because the mystery was unravelled slowly. Toward the end you started to want to tell Maddy to not make a certain decision, because you thought it would turn out bad. This was a good book and I would recommend it.

Eloïse gave The Crowham Martyrs 3 out of 5 and now plans to read Jessica's Ghost by Andrew Norriss.

Heather from King James's School:

I enjoyed this book. It was easy to read and really enjoyable.

I liked the plot because it was very unpredictable with lots of twists and turns and uncovered truths. However, it was a bit slow to start off with.

Also, I liked the fact that it keeps the reader guessing. It’s like a mystery being solved throughout the book.

The characters are very well thought out with a lot of history to them. I like how they are all linked in different ways and all the different emotions between them. It adds a lot to the book.

I felt that the setting could have been described in more detail to add depth to the book. The setting is great but I would have been able to picture the school better, it reminded me off Hogwarts a bit.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and I would recommend it to my friends. It was a gripping story with excitement on every page.

Heather gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read 13 Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt.

Erin from King James School:

I found The Crowbar Martyrs a very well written book managing to keep you on edge every time you turned the page. I loved the storyline, very well thought out. The only parts I disliked was when Maddie felt uncertain and scared so she couldn't make the right choice, but on some levels this is good because it proves how you can make bad choices when stressed or scared. I find Maddie very relatable in some ways, this book compelled me to read more horror books and helped me begin to like them

Erin gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read 13 Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt.

Heather from King James's:

I enjoyed this book. It was easy to read and really enjoyable.

I liked the plot because it was very unpredictable with lots of twists and turns and uncovered truths. However, it was a bit slow to start off with.

Also, I liked the fact that it keeps the reader guessing. It’s like a mystery being solved throughout the book.

The characters are very well thought out with a lot of history to them. I like how they are all linked in different ways and all the different emotions between them. It adds a lot to the book.

I felt that the setting could have been described in more detail to add depth to the book. The setting is great but I would have been able to picture the school better, it reminded me off Hogwarts a bit.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and I would recommend it to my friends. It was a gripping story with excitement on every page.

Heather gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read 13 Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt.

Isobel from Pool c of e primary:

At the start it is really creepy but when you get to the exciting part it isn't any more:) This is not a book to read after dark!

Isobel gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell.

Adam from Abbey Grange Academy:

Mady is different to other people, she can see ghosts. She is sent to a weird school in the middle of nowhere in which she finds out about her destiny.

The book was exhilarating. The plot line was fast paced and I could not put it down. One of the reasons I gave this book a four was because an exciting event took place on almost every page.

However, I did not give this book all stars because I think the plot line was over complicated with small, stand alone plot lines that confused the reader.

Overall, this book was an incredible read and it has a good chance of winning the Leeds book awards 2016.

Adam gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell.

Anika from King James's School:

Maddy Deeprose (the main character)tells her story and believes she sees ghosts;however ghosts aren't the only thing she senses.

My favourite character was definitely Maddy as I felt I could relate to her emotions whether she was happy or sad. A particular scene that kept me on the edge of my seat was when she was in the woods feeling confident, ready to face somebody - it really was fantastic! The book for me was a little irritating at the beginning as there was nothing to grip onto although the information was necessary. As I progressed and dived into the book I was starting to register the storyline...the story abruptly began to be more intriguing, dramatic. By half way I couldn't stop reading, the suspense left me begging for more! It was a doubtless choice that this book should be on the 11-14 shortlist: readers with the need for mystery would adore this.

Anika gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin.

Luke from King James's School:

This is a book about a girl (Maddy Deeprose) who can see ghosts anywhere she goes. She has been moved to a school which was supposed to keep her safe but something evil is hiding there now and it leaves one question is… she… safe?

My favourite character is Caleb because he seems like a laid back, lazy boy but that doesn’t stop him from doing what he needs to do. Some of the characters felt real to me because the students are what you expect and the “myth” is realistic because the author makes the character do what you expect a person to feel or do when they see their worst fear. The story did keep me guessing because it did give you that rush of adrenalin when something out of the ordinary happens. My favourite part of the book was when Maddy was behind the stage with Mr Casey and Caleb because it reveals a lot but also creates new things that you didn’t expect. I think the part when Maddy’s bedroom was wrecked because it gives the reaction that you would expect a person to do in that circumstance and it builds even more tension in the book. This story wasn’t sad enough to make me cry and it wasn’t funny enough to make me laugh. Because of the suspense this book made me want to keep on reading because I didn’t want to leave it on a cliffhanger and when I read up to a bit where the suspense had finished, it would start back up again and I would have to keep on reading again. I think the author shouldn’t build up tension when it isn’t needed e.g. Caleb’s arrival. I would recommend this book for 13-15 year olds because then you are not too young that you don’t want to read anymore because you find it too scary and you are not too old to have the rush of adrenalin that makes you read on. This book is probably one of the best books I have read because of how well the author has written it and the way they have added suspense into it.

Luke gave The Crowham Martyrs 5 out of 5 and now plans to read Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin.

Laurie from Roundhay High School:

The Crowham Martyrs is a blood curdling horror novel with plot twists around every corner. I turned the last page and felt disappointed and upset because it ended to abruptly. The main character in the story is an inspiring, courageous, and slightly creepy schoolgirl who is completely different to anyone around her... well almost everyone...

Her boarding school is just like any other, terrifying for the children with horrible food and boring lessons. But the Crowham Martyrs is hiding a dark secret, and Maddy knows it.

This is an amazing book that I would recommend to any avid reader in search of an fright.

Laurie gave The Crowham Martyrs 4 out of 5 and now plans to read The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell.

Scott from King James's School:

The underlying mystery in this book was great. It was certainly very suspense-building.

Whether or not one likes the book, it has to be said that it keeps you hooked and reading. I was constantly wanting to see what would become of Maddy and her mystery.

I certainly connected with Maddy, even if I didn’t feel that she had a very realistic character.

I felt this book wasn’t my thing, but I thought it was well written.

Scott gave The Crowham Martyrs 2 out of 5 and now plans to read Jessica's Ghost by Andrew Norriss.