Biblioteca de la EOI de Oviedo

Título: Macbeth

Autor: Shakespeare

Adapted by: Brigit Viney

Level: Intermediate to Upper-Intermediate + Audio CD

The Classic Graphic Novel Collection is a revolutionary new series of graphic novels which re-tell classic literature for learners of English. Graded at intermediate to upper-intermediate (B1-B2) levels, the fresh blend of contemporary storytelling and captivating artwork ensures that students will want to return to these stories time and again.
Features:
* The combination of graded texts and stunning artwork encourage learners to read the classics, motivating even the most reluctant reader.
* Each reader includes Audio CDs with the full text, recorded using professional actors.

Título: Ivanhoe

Autor: Sir Walter Scott

Obra adaptada: NO

Nivel: Avanzado

Reseña:

Richard the Lionheart has gone to the Crusades for some years. Since his departure Prince John, his brother, has been trying to make profit of his absence to control the country and to be proclaimed as King of England.
Both of them, Richard and John, represent the power of Norman people, who have conquered England after having beaten the Anglo-Saxon, the former inhabitants of the island.
On the other hand, a great deal of Saxon people have declared themselves  outlaws and live in the forests of Central England while only a few of them remain in their homes trying to unite their people against The Normans. Between these last ones is ‘Cedric the Saxon’, Ivanhoe’s father, who has disinherited his son because he has accompanied Richard to the Crusades.
The return of Richard and Ivanhoe is going to put an end to Prince John’s power and to the wishes of Cedric the Saxon too. A new era is going to begin between Norman and Saxon people and instead of fighting against each other they finally decide to live together.

Walter Scott wrote this famous novel in 1819 and like most of the Romantic writers from all over Europe, he tried to idealise the origin of their countries, finding the essence of their nations during the Middle Age.

The spirit of Chivalry, the love between Ivanhoe and Lady Rowena, the generosity of  Rebbeca, the determination of Cedric the Saxon and the ambition of Prince John helped the author to describe a difficult time where the differences between Norman and Saxon people were going to disappear with the help of Richard and Ivanhoe.

The book is extremely readable and in spite of having been written 200 years ago it continues to be sold an read, not only all over the United Kingdom but in the rest of the world and its plot has served to make a great number of films.

 Valoración: 5/5

 Ojeda  2ºNA

Título: Watermelon

Autor: Marian Keyes

Obra adaptada: NO

Nivel: Avanzado

Reseña:

Watermelon tells the story of Claire Walsh a young Irish woman who finds herself having to return to her family house in Dublin after her husband leaves her whilst she is giving birth to their first baby. Besides the initial shock, Claire is able to build up again her life supported by her eccentric family. Ana is a lovely hippy who believes in spirits trying to contact her, Helen is a beautiful, heart-breaker who annoys Claire continually but actually loves her and introduces Claire to her handsome college Adam and finally her passive father and erratic but adorable mother.

This book, like all of this author, based on the Walsh family is written in a direct style completely accessible to any reader. Amusing and dynamic dialogues between the main characters are an essential part of the book and makes it very easy to read. The language is plain and full of modern-type expressions.

Watermelon tells the story of a normal girl with problems and this is probably the attraction of Keyes books because so many readers can identify with the characters. These are well-drawn and designed with a remarkable sense of humour mixed with touching moments which makes the story quite engaging.

This is probably not the best book that I have read buy I would recommend it if one just want to have a good time a rainy afternoon after a stressed day!!!

 Valoración: 4/5

Nuria Fernández  2ºNA

Título: A Christmas Carol

Autor: Charles Dickens

Obra adaptada: NO

Nivel: Avanzado

Reseña:

Dickens is probably the best known and loved author of the Victorian era. He wrote many memorable tales.

A Christmas Carol may be the most popular one. At the age of 12, some sources say that Charles Dickens worked for 12 hours a day, six days a week in a boot factory finishing the bottles of boot polish. On the seventh day he visited his family at the Marshalsea debtors’ prison. This lasted for two years (a traumatic time for young Dickens). He never forgot it, yet, he used his pain to create memorable characters like Scrooge and Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit’s disabled little boy.

The reader can almost see young Dickens chained by poverty to his polish pots as little Tiny Tim is invisibly linked to his crutch. The descriptions and dialogues are rich. The characters are striking and memorable. The imagery is colourful, despite the bleakness of the winter months.

The story told in this book is to apply to most of us. Even in our old age it is not too late to change. In Dickens’ tale Ebenezer Scrooge, an old miser, bitter and resentful man is shown his past, his present, and his future by three ghosts. The first ghost reminds him of how he once enjoyed life’s pleasures. The second ghost shows Scrooge his current deplorable state. The final ghost foretells the likely outcome of his way.

This book it is not so much a Christmas story as a New Year’s story. For those of us who want to change the course of our life, for those of us who want this year’s resolutions to actually mean something, we need to go through an Ebenezer-like process. Whether your life is a bad life or an abused life or a flat life, you can use the ideas from this simple story.

 Valoración: 5/5

Alberto R. Ayala   2ºNA

Título: Murder on the Orient Express

Autor: Agatha Christie

Obra adaptada: NO

Murder on the Orient Express is one of Agatha Christie’s best-known works. The story is loosely based on the Lindbergh kidnap case in America in 1932. On 21 March 1932, the infant son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh was kidnapped from their home in Hopewell, New Jersey. The kidnappers asked for a ransom of 50,000 U.S dollars, but after it was paid, the child was found dead. Bruno Richard Hauptmann was arrested and executed for the murder. Besides this real-life story, the book is also influenced by Christie’s personal fascination with trains – witness the number of murder cases set on trains in her repertoire – and especially with the exotic Orient Express which travels across the continents.

Watch the final trailer for the worldwide box office phenomenon! Starring Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart, TWILIGHT is based on Stephenie Meyer’s beloved bestseller.

Título: Twilight

Autor: Stephenie Meyer

Obra adaptada: NO

Reseña:   

About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him – and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be – that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Yes, this is all you could read at the back of the book if you take “Twilight” from a shelf in a book shop. Some people could think it isn’t enough to have captivated a million persons over the world but… to tell the truth Stephenie Meyer’s debut novel is already an incredible best seller!! Many critics have described this novel as “a vampire story for people who don’t like vampire stories”. And, to be honest, it doesn’t make you think about it?
At first moment, you can have the impression that it’s a romantic novel for teenagers but, its great and meticulous descriptions (thanks to which you can imagine yourself in Forks), and his fast rhythm, makes this book a good election to all publics: adults or teenagers.
The argument is quiet interesting and it grips the reader’s attention from the beginning (but I know my own opinion is quite subjective because I‘m a crazy fan of this vampire’s and forbidden love story).
Isabella Swan is a teenager who decides to move to Forks, at Washington State, to make things easier to her mother, Renée, who wants to travel with her new husband. This is the reason why she decides to go to live with her father, Charlie, who is the police chief, there, in Forks. When she arrives, she discovers a reason that allows her think the life in the small and rainy town can be interesting…this reason is called Edward Cullen. He’s a mysterious young boy who lives with his family, the Cullen, at Forks but they have a secret nobody should know…they’re vampires!! But they’re “good” vampires, if they can exist; because they only eat animal’s blood…it should be a guarantee, don’t you think so?
But as people say….love can support everything, and the affair between our two main characters progress…until the risks of their relation became so obvious when a group of vampires appears in Forks without good intentions….
I really recommend this novel…. I think everybody can discover something special in this book…so let’s go!!!! Start to read and go crazy with this mystery and incredible world where fantasy and reality are combined!!!

Valoración: 5/5

Alicia Sandez    2ºNA

Título: All The Colours Of Darkness

Autor: Peter Robinson

Obra adaptada: NO

“First class crime complete with a lot of emotional intrigue.” Daily Mirror

“Just try putting the book down after a chapter or so: you’ll have a problem.” The Independent; read full review

“Robinson weaves in touches from Othello — destructive jealousy, the persuasive power of suggestion — with an unsettling look into the world of post 9/11 espionage and counterterrorism. But, as always, Robinson’s keen grasp of character supplies the novel with depth and tension.” Miami Herald; read full review

“All the Colors of Darkness is another example of Robinson’s seamless, insightful storytelling.” Sun Sentinel; read full review

“…this installment is a well-written, thought-provoking continuation of our relationship with characters who inhabit the same world of darkness, accident and concern that we all do.” Cleveland Plain Dealer; read full review

Find out more: Peter Robinson