Review by Idris, Year 8, The Kingston Academy
The Prisoner of Bhopal is fantastic book about a 10-year-old boy taken away from his mother and father to work for Mr Kumar, a cold-hearted man. Hidden in secrecy is his great-grandfather’s WW2 journal! When reading the book, he and his deceased great-grandfather reveal not just why Amil was kidnapped but that they share a similar type of magic. But it remains a mystery till a horrifying night when plant sirens ring out across Bhopal!  

Being dyslexic, I sometimes have a harder time reading but, this book was an amazing and easy read with excitement in every twist and turn. The phrase ‘don’t judge a book by its cover.’ but in this case it was wrong! On the cover we can see the protagonists, Amil and his great-grandfather in his army jacket as well we can see Mr Kumars shop and the Taj mahal. Personally, I didn’t like Mr Kugar’s son (Jalesh) as in the book he had blamed Amil for his and his father's failure! My favourite character had to have been our protagonist, Amil as he has been so brave from being abducted to learning his great-grandfather had killed 3 of his allies.

Overall, this book was amazing, it wasn’t a quick read, but it also wasn’t too long which made me quite happy. When I signed up for this competition I instantly went and read the blurb, looked at the front and knew I wanted this to be my book! I enjoy the concept of WW2 and knowing how 60.5 million Indians died in this war, I personally enjoy history and hope that you will get the prisoner of Bhopal by Tim Walker! 

Review by Mohamed, Year 8, Ashcroft Technology Academy
The time period of the novel was especially interesting because 1984 was a year of rapid industrialisation in India where more factories were set up and the book highlights the struggles for lower classes. The book cleverly moves between the events of 1984 and the past connecting the character Amil with events from his great-grandfather’s past.

I found it interesting to learn about the Bhopal tragedy which I knew nothing about before reading the book and the plot is quite riveting because it is serious and thought-provoking. I would recommend the book to other students who are interested in history, geography and environmental issues. It is an emotional story that covers serious issues and at some points I found it challenging due to the themes but overall, I really enjoyed reading this book.