Mrs Gidden's cool readers club - Lara

Priory’s Head of English, Mrs Gidden, has been really impressed with many of our multi-talented pupils lately and wanted to highlight their love of reading alongside their other talents.

This week she interviewed Year 8 pupil, Lara, about fitting in being a netballer, loving cheerleading and being a top reader:

My favourite author is Pseudonymous Boksch. This author, who uses a fake name or pseudonym, has written a series of really great books - the most famous of which is called ‘The Name of this Book is Secret’.  

There is a super element of mystery created through all this author’s works and the stories are often very secretive so you’re always hooked and wanting to get to the end to solve the mysteries that the author creates. 

Another of the famous Boksch books is ‘This Book is not Good For You’ and ‘If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late’. The titles here alone make you want to read on because you want to know why it’s not good for you or why it’s ‘too late’ it’s so interesting. 

Reading the books was every bit as exciting as the titles. Everything was so intrugiung to read. Every single chapter ends with a cliff hanger. But I just can’t describe it! The books get quite dark in places and I was worried the characters wouldn’t make it. 

At the moment though, I’m having a break from my favourite author and I’m reading some John Green. ‘The Fault in our Stars’ is absolutely devastating. I’m near to the end now and it is just so terribly sad. I almost don’t want to put myself in the situation the characters are in because it’s just horrible. The main character, Hazel, is so well written. I’d know Hazel anywhere. She doesn’t want to fit in and stands out throughout the book. If she were real, I’d like her, she’s so unique. The other main character is Gus and he is so nice to Hazel; he’s got the most lovely manners. This creative characterisation makes the book so sad because we care about the characters. I can’t wait to get to the end but I’m braced for lots of tears. I’ll probably finish it over this weekend, I might even read it on Christmas Eve even though it might make me really sad. 

I love reading. We did a lot of reading at primary school, in Howick. The teachers all used to say to my mum how much I loved reading.

When I started Year 7, I got a Book Buzz book from an initiative Mrs Elliot was running, this was ‘Fuzzy Mud’ and I liked this book too. It was really realistic but quite dramatic and fantastical. I like AR and I like the quizzes; it tracks how I’m doing. I’m not yet a millionaire but I have read about six books this year already.

It’s not just reading I love, I do a lot of cheerleading, dancing and netball. I was on the Netball team last year and we were quite successful. I played Centre most of the time and sometimes Goal Defence. I then joined the Cheerleading Squad at school, with Pom Cheer but outside of school I do Stunt Cheer which is is brilliant. I’ve been doing it for four years and I can do lots of stunts where I get thrown up in the air; if I told you the names it wouldn’t make sense. Some of the stunts are scary but it feels like I’m flying; it’s such an adrenaline rush. 

Cheerleading, dancing, and reading fills all my spare time, I’m so busy with it all and my friends that I don’t know how I fit it all in. 

For the rest of my time at Priory, I want to study really hard and I hope I keep all my lovely friends. I hope to become a prefect; keep doing cheer but become a coach. I also want a Grade 9 in English, I’m going to do my best even though it’ll be hard. I wasn’t in set one last year but I know I’m doing well and I can’t wait to keep trying and do my very best because it feels amazing when I achieve my goals.      

Unfortunately, when it came to taking Lara’s photograph for this article, she had been sent home after an injury during PE.  We wish her a speedy recovery and hope there won’t be too many tears at the end of her John Green book!