This week's roundup opens in a dystopian future, where a boy born on the millennium is targeted by a cult group who believe he must be killed in order for them to rule. Site member Booktrain125 wrote a superb review of Thirteen by Tom Hoyle, which they summarised as 'awesome, gripping and mildly scary':

'It is an exciting and gripping book where you just can't wait to find out what happens next … I liked it when the crazy cult leader Coran failed to kill Adam so he put himself in dorm 13, the place where people get punished if they do something wrong! … Although this book sounds scary it actually didn't scare me too much. I would recommend this book for over 9s but 8 year olds could read it if they felt brave!'

Moving on to another thought-provoking novel for our older readers, Noggin wrote a terrific review of Counting By 7s by Holly Goldberg Soan! In this friendship-themed tale, Willow meets Mai and Quang-Ha, who help her to overcome a tragic event.

'What I really liked about this book is the way that it tells such a sad story in a really uplifting way. It shows that even when you think your world has been torn apart, there are ways to join the bits back together again. The characters in this story are all so different from each other, which really adds to the plot. My favourite character is Cheddar the cat, because although he seems pretty insignificant, what he shows is characters changing as a result of each other … Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and would definitely recommend it to a friend. I think that the book would be great for anyone going through a difficult time in their lives, as the book shows how even the worst possible event always has a silver lining.'

In similarly tragic-uplifting vein, Oceanpotion wrote a wonderful review of the highly critically-acclaimed follow-up to My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher. In this coming of age tale, Zoe Collins starts writing to a convict on death row in order to confess her darkest secret.

'Annabel Pitcher is great at building suspense … Zoe is very easy to relate to and has a good personality with lots of interesting quirks; this helps the book along, as the voice of Zoe is an intriguing one to listen to … I would definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for an invigorating, coming-of-age book. The young adult category can often come off as whiney and "woe is me" but this book proves that that is not always the case, even when the main character does have a lot to whine about. There are good authors of every genre if you just know where to look and Annabel Pitcher is one of them.'

On a lighter note, but also for our teen readers - hold on a little longer, young 'uns! - ItWasLovelyReadingYou tore up the reviews rule book, writing instead a delightful letter to author Stephanie Perkins praising her romance, Anna and the French Kiss. Anna is reluctantly shipped off to boarding school in Paris, but once there she meets St Clair, Etienne and Josh who make the move worthwhile.

'Anna and the French Kiss was the kind of book that made me 'squee', pull weird faces at myself in the mirror, hyperventilate, jump up and down and yell (in caps lock) in my mind. I could go on and on about how light and fluffy and happy this book made me feel but I'm not going to. You have to experience it yourself, because if you've not read it yet: WHY NOT … All in all, Anna and the French Kiss was a wonderful book that is guaranteed to make you smile and laugh and melt inside.'

And now something for our younger readers: returning to the theme of inner conflict, dewdrop wrote a brilliant review of Ghost Hawk by Susan Cooper. This historical novel, set during the English invasion of native America in the 1600s, follows the story of Little Hawk, an American Indian who befriends an English man called John.

'I liked this book, but I didn't truly love it. I found that it spoke of many opinions and told of a world drowned out by intruding men in black suits and top hats, but I couldn't relate to it like I could with other books. I found that the utter politeness of the past made you lose a part of their character, especially when told in third person. It felt like the only types of people in this book were either good or bad, when really there is a complex variety in the world which makes it unique … A truly inspirational book that is worth reading if you should ever want something interesting and new to sink your teeth into.'

Prefer your books a little more hands on? Then this is the book for you! We end this week's roundup with a fantastic review and illustration by our family reviewers of the Lonely Planet World Search series! Rosie (aged five), Sam (aged three) and Charlotte (aged one) all combined to write a selection of marvellous reviews about the series, some snippets from which we've included below:

'The books are good quality with clear text on the inside of each flap. We loved discovering the flaps (there's around 5 per page) and lifting them to reveal the fact. The illustrations are good (flag of each country is on the page - educational box ticked!) but not mind-blowing. There's also a 'can you find' picture - which we loved finding as well as free stickers (always a bonus!)'

A round of applause for our site members for sending in such amazing reviews - once again, we wish we could put all of them in the roundup but Guardian Towers would simply explode with awesomeness if we tried! Those of you lucky enough to get the nod, the Book Elves are waiting to send your prize so do remember to email in (childrens.books@theguardian.com).

Happy reading!

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