I did enjoy reading this book as it was a different experience for me. I liked it that not much actually happened – but by the end, I felt like I knew all the characters inside-out. (Turbulence had this same feeling). I thought that Paul Magrs was trying to do something really different and original but failed slightly. I think more details about Simon’s school life and more ahem ‘meetings’ with Kelly would have made the book much more enjoyable – but it would have narrowed the audience considerably! This book definitely didn’t deserve to win, but nevertheless I enjoyed reading it and recommend it to anyone who has some time to kill! A critical 6/10.

Exchange was an odd sort of book. Nothing much actually happened, and the plot was very vague, yet it was still a light, enjoyable book.

It was about a boy called Stephen who lives with his grandparents after his parents’ death. He is quite shy but loves reading. The book is basically about him meeting a girl called Kelly, who works at a shop called The Great Big Book Exchange, and about his Gran’s relationships and her meeting up with her childhood friend, and now bestseller, Ada Jones.

This best thing about the book was the simplicity of the plot, the lovable characters and how light and easy it was to read. I liked the way it was sometimes set in the past when it described about Winnie and Ada’s childhood. My favourite character would be Kelly; because she seems cool, self-assured and the sort of individual character you like reading about.

I liked the fact that Terrence and Winnie didn’t get together, because, in real life, that sort of thing doesn’t happen much, especially not to older people. They just stick with who they’ve got whether they like it or not, just because they’ve been with them for so long. However, I would have liked it if Kelly and Stephen had really got together.

There were some bad points about the book. The plot was so vague sometimes it felt like the book wasn’t going anywhere; I wasn’t sure what had been achieved at the end. The attitude towards Stephen from the other kids in the book was unrealistic. It says they just ignored him, or gave him weird looks. That doesn’t happen in real life. People come up and ask nasty questions and say bad things-in real life Stephen would never have gotten away with reading at the back of the sports hall without getting even slightly bullied.
However, I did feel the author gave a wrong impression that almost no one in the world likes reading. It says that Stephen was amazed to find someone else his age who actually read book, which would really be impossible-he would have to have been hiding in a dark cave all his life for that to be true.
Also, the teachers at his school seemed to discourage him reading certain books, and did not seem to believe that any of their students would read book. In reality teachers notice who the smarter pupils are, pick up on whether they read or not and expect them to as well, and never discourage a child from reading.

I give this book 7/10 and recommend it to 11 to 13 year olds.

this book annoyed me as nothing happend in it. I cannot say anymore as I will be very mean
marks:4/10

This book isn’t too bad although I don’t think that it’s the best book in the competition. I liked the characters and I like how Simon is really nice to his grandmother. The plot isn’t very exciting but the style of writing and characters make up for it.

Im not sure what to write about this book as not much happend in it. the plot was quite boring (apparently publishers standards are getting lower) it was about aboy who was trying to please his grandmother, just a bit sad if you ask me ,yes we all love our grannys but he took it a bit too far. I give this book 2/10 TERRIBLE

The story of the Exchange is such a well-written and enjoyable one.
I loved reading about Simon, about his loss, fears and hopes. The writer made him so clear to me I felt could almost reach out and touch his chubby face. I found that Simons favourite activities and love of books were similar and I really liked his character as well as the extreme outrageousness of Kelly’s. I found the nearly-there scenes between the pair cringey but funny too.
I loved this book and so rate it very highly; the characters apart from Simon's Granddad seemed warm and welcoming and the happy ending was classic.

BEFORE I STARTED READING THIS BOOK I DIDN'T THINK I WOULD LIKE IT BECAUSE THE COVER IS NOT THAT EXCITING BUT IT IS A REALLY GOOD BOOK

Exchange is very interesting as it mixes suspense with reluctant love. The best part is when they discover the great big book exchange. When Simon meets Kelly its like they can read each others thoughts because Kelly writes her number on his card, you could tell he wanted to ask her for it but didn’t have the guts to do so. My favourite part is when Kelly punches the leader of the gang that is bullying Simon. This book is utterly unputdownable I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Exchange is a good book about how simon tries to cope with a new life. When his parents die he moves to live with his grandma. Him and his grandma are mad about books and they stumble into a book shop with a slight difference

book, books, and more books. i like it

Exchange is a fantastic book about how Simon copes after his parents die and he has to go and live with his Grandparents. Him and his Granny find, ‘The Great Big Book Exchange,’ which is a new way of reading books, They are astounded at how many books there are, but the Exchange takes him and his Granny on another journey, into her past. A fantastic read for children.