The Golden Day
By Ursula Dubosarsky
1. This story was really interesting because you learned about how friendships can change over time. Seeing the way in which the characters experiences in their childhood still affected them years later was quite thought-provoking. It was also a really good mystery as you wanted to find out what happened to Miss Renshaw and whether the girls really knew what happened to her and were keeping secrets that they shouldn't have been. Sometimes it was a bit confusing as it was quite vague in places and you didn't really know what was happening but overall, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to people who like mysteries.
By Shannon
2. I found this story quite creepy because of all the secrets and the way that it was written. It deals with death in mysterious circumstances and how it affects children in their lives and even in their friendships. It was quite difficult to read because of this but still interesting. It gave me a real feel for the time and Australia because of all the description but I didn't really find out much about the Vietnam war and it didn't make me want to find out about the time. I thought the book was interesting but not the sort of book I would usually choose to read and probably not suitable for much younger readers because it's quite dark in the way that it deals with death and the impact of death on young children.
By Zak
3. The Golden Day is fantastic! The events are based on a true story and the author has fictionalised small town history. It was very realistic and the ending was very mysterious and as a reader you could sit there and fill in the blanks. The style is brilliant, you are watching it in the 3rd person but you have information as if you are that character.
By Megan
4. I enjoyed all of it, but in the middle it's a bit sad, because the teacher, Miss Renshaw, died. To me it was tragic. I think the beginning was good, but sudden. Miss Renshaw read a newspaper and it said a man hung himself! She wanted to take her class (11 girls) out into the garden to think about death. I thought that was sudden, especially when the poor girls were shocked. I would like to read more books about history and more books by this author.
By Rebecca
5. ‘The Golden Day' by Ursula Dubosarsky was a satisfactory book. I believe that the book really wanted to make the reader think, to decipher the hidden story behind it. Also I thought that the plot was very individual and intriguing.
However, I don't think that I would read this book again, because I found it almost tedious to read. I felt that the plot dragged on a bit, in fact it wasn't a hugely exciting plot to begin with.
Another point that I should make is that I wasn't entirely aware of the time period that the book was set in until I read the information given about the story, on the blurb. It would be a lot more effective if this was apparent straight away.
Overall I would rate the book 5/10.
By Edward
6. This is a scary book to read and I could not put it down. It is a mix of history, mystery and ghostly. I had lots of questions about the paintings and why the girls did not tell anyone about Morgan visiting Miss Renshaw.
I would recommend this book to my friends but I don't think it is suitable for under 12's 7/10
By Sophie
7. I felt that this was a girl's book. It was ok but just not my type of story. The plot was quite good and at times I felt scared but that could be because I was reading it at night. I did want to find out more about the cave paintings. It is a mystery to solve. 6/10
By Matthew
8. For 11 young girls, whose springy-haired, slightly mad teacher, Miss Renshaw, goes missing, after an outing led by Morgan, a gardener who is close friends with Miss Renshaw, to explore some nearby beach caves. The girls wait for their teacher to return, but she never does. Nevertheless they stay loyal to her after she said ‘I know I can trust you girls. It will be our little secret.'
I did not enjoy this book, however, I have never read a book like it, as it was written very simply and the plot moves at a slow pace making it tedious to read. Furthermore it had barely anything to do with history apart from being set at the time of the Vietnam War.
By Daniel
9. This book is set in the time of the Vietnam War, in Australia. It is about some school girls whose teacher goes missing when they are out on a school trip. It has got a bit of mystery in it and some suspense.
I thought the book was okay, but you never really found out what happened to the teacher, which was disappointing. Also, it didn't have much to do with the Vietnam War, so the history wasn't very fulfilling. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone looking for history. I also found it hard to recommend to anyone because it was, overall, a bit boring.
By Rachel