Nov 18 2007
Book Reviews
Are you looking for a good book? These are recommendations from students (past and present).
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Better Than Yesterday
By: Robyn Schneider
Skylar has tried for years to maintain a reputation for being admired as an intelligent young women only for it to be torn apart her freshman year of high school. Charley wants to go to a college to study music, but isn’t brave enough to tell his own father that. Marissa just wants to read books and have a good time with her friends, but is too afraid of risking her perfect transcript, and Blake just wants to be loved, but feels like nothing is going his way. This funny, fast-moving, upbeat story talks about real life problems, when a bunch of friends a faced with the scariest thing in their life, a prestigious boarding high school called Hilliard.
In this book, these four friends after having their friendship torn apart freshman year, by lies and mistakes, somehow piece it back together in time for their last summer session before senior year. But all is not well they each have a problem up their sleeve, especially when Blake runs away to New York City because he feels unloved. They all know it will risk their futures, and it means having to seek help from old alliances, but they team together, and set out to find Blake.
As they travel to New York, they see each other in a new way, they finally learn to let go and believe in their friendships, but with angry parents, and a tough school board will they be able to save Blake, and themselves from a bad future? You’ll have to read to find out. This is a book for both teenage girls and boys, that they will all be able to relate to, with it’s real life problems and lovable characters, told in alternating voices, this is the book to read.
TTFN
By: Lauren Myracle
Angela, Maddie, and Zoe are three inseparable best friends. This is their sophomore year in high school, and boy, they’re excited. Although, some other unknown sides of the three start to emerge. The sweet and crazy Angela has a family crisis. Moving doesn’t seem like such a big deal, until it’s to the other side of the country. Maddie gets involved in crazy ordeals with new friends. But her choices may differ once the police get involved. And last but not lest, the sweet, calm Zoe, who’s always doing the right thing. She’s now meeting a new boy, in this volume of the series, but he’s not new to Angela. Zoe and Angela fight viciously over who’s heart he should chase. This up-beat, in-your-face, and hilarious novel relates to all teen girls in its text. Written completely through Instant Messages, it gives the reader a chance to infer all happening in-between the conversation logs. The three friends seemed to choose sides in each individual’s conflicts. The “Winsome Threesome” is beginning to fall to pieces as Angela is sent to California. Her return back home is shocking, even for Angela. Maddie’s dabble in drugs and alcohol wipes the slate clean in place for more page-turning drama and action. With police chases and possible love on the line, Maddie has to choose between and addiction, and a lifestyle. Zoe then is slung into the arms of her dream guy, Doug. She’s instantly head over heels, but jealousy begins to tear the two apart. Angela used to have Doug’s affection, but rejected him each time. Now that he has interest in her best friend, she seems to find more good in him than before. This twisted, humorous, and realistic book is an amazing part of a trilogy that all teenage girls (and boys) can appreciate. Lauren Myracle’s “TTFN” is definitely a must read.
I’m so excited to be reading your reviews. I’m very impressed with the first two entries.
Both of these reviews rock!!!!
Blood is Thicker
The main character is Hakeem. Hakeem is in high school and is responsible and inquisitive. Hakeem, his two sisters, mom, and dad move from California to Detroit with his aunt, uncle, and cousin because the dad got sick with cancer. Hakeem didn’t want to move instead he wanted to stay with his friends. When he moved he was rudely welcomed by his secretive, arrogant cousin who acted ignorant towards him. The greatest thing that happened to him in Detroit was Anika. They became close friends. Being that his cousin was arrogant he pushed Hakeem too far that led to a fight. The text is given somewhat romantic and an interesting plot that has some twist. The book is highly recommended for teens that will have them wanting more!
Christopher Paolini
Eldest
Eragon is quite a teenager. He is a magical and powerful dragon rider, and is trying to help out his people by overthrowing a tyrant king. In the exciting sequel to Eragon, Eldest brings in new characters and exciting places. We start off where Eragon has just defeated a monster called a Shade with the help of his dragon, Saphira. By doing this, he has saved the rebels of the King Galbatorix, while also saving a whole underground city of dwarves. Now he must now go to the mysterious land of the elves in order to continue his training to become more powerful so that he can defeat the evil king. The rebels depend on Eragon’s ability to become stronger, along with his dragon. While Eragon must do this, his cousin, Roran, is being attacked by soldiers who want Eragon and his dragon Saphira. Roran is a great leader and in many ways much like Eragon. Though he is not a dragon rider, he is a powerful man. After the attacks on his village, Roran and the village must escape through mountains and flee the empire. Both Eragon and Roran face external plus internal battles. Christopher Paolini creates an original world that is fascinating and magical. Fans of fantasy will love this book.
Eagle Strike
Anthony Horowitz
Alex Rider is no ordinary, blonde-haired teen. He’s a spy working for M16, British Military Intelligence. Alex goes on vacation with a girl, who he likes, Sabina, and her parents. It didn’t go well from there. He finds out that a man named Damian Cray is using a contract killer for some bad deeds. When Alex tries to find out what Damian is plotting he is caught and forced to go through an obstacle of a real life version of a deadly video game. Damian catches Sabina to force Alex to give back something very dear to him, which will help him launch 25 nuclear bombs on to 25 of the leading production plants and farms of drugs. Damian believes this will make the world a better place. No one suspects him since he is the living, millionaire saint. He donates millions of charity to different causes. Now he believes that taking a mass amount of lives is going to save millions more from drugs. This action-filled novel is sure to attract attention to anyone in the family. I recommend this book to anyone interested in a lot of action.
Untouchable
By: Kate Brian
Reed Brenna goes to Easton Academy Private School. She is now accepted into the most popular clique in school known as the Billings Girls. Her boyfriend has just died and the police are trying to find out who did it. Reed now likes Josh, and they are both trying to figure out who killed her boyfriend. The rest of the Billings Girls tell Reed that Josh did it. Reed then finds out Josh has not taken his medications, and the police find out also. Josh then is the number one suspect. Interesting plot twists, death, and parties add up to suspicions and a great fast read for everyone.
Kall’s young life is perfect he is the son of a wealthy merchant he spends his lavish days playing with his best friend in complete safety. Then, his life is shoved into a washing machine and given a spin when his paranoid father is faced with the only kind of attack he wasn’t prepared for, one from within Kall, is horrified as his best friend’s father the captain of the guard organizes a massive assassination killing all those loyal to his father who is reduced to a magically bound slave. Kall barely escapes with only a few parcels of emergency supplies then with a group of newfound friends he begins a new life and with a new mission. Find his friend’s treacherous father, but when his cold trail shows a spec of warmth in the dungeon like old home of one of his companions that just happens to be home to an ancient fire demon things really heat up. Johnson’s new novel does a great job of keeping you blindfolded and stumbling to keep up as he drags us behind a horse through a dark tunnel. Cryptic enough to keep you utterly in the dark but fascinating enough that you still read on.
A Dog’s Life
By Ann M. Martin
Gr 5-12- Squirrel is born to a litter of five, in which only she and her brother Bone survive. When all is going well, all of a sudden their mother disappears and never comes back. Now Squirrel and Bone must venture out into the world alone to find life. Bone is soon taken from his sister by two teenage girls who didn’t want Squirrel. Alone and panicky, she saunters the region around her in search of other life. She comes across a mall and finds new friends in her travels. She learns not all dogs are alike and neither are humans. She learns some are cold and heartless and that some are kind and warm. Squirrel is an amazing character and the plot of this story is amazing. Ann M. Martin has wonderfully portrayed the autobiography of a stray with lots of detail and brilliantly crafted ideas that will stun the reader in amazement. This incredible author depicts a story in which you can jump within the depths of a dog’s mind. This will definitely stick to your heart. I give praise to this book and recommend it to people who like fiction and animals. I don’t recommend this book to people who like nonfiction or people that are looking for a good humor in a book. This book seems to be geared towards older readers and not meant for very young children. I’m sure though every reader can find something in this tale and it can touch everyone’s hearts. This book is fascinating!
The Five People you Meet in Heaven
By: Mitch Albom
It’s the last day of Eddie’s life, but he doesn’t know it yet. Eddie is a maintenance worker at Ruby Pier, an amusement park. All the kids love him. He is 83 years old and today is his birthday. Eddie has to use a cane to get around because of an old war accident, but that doesn’t stop his heroic effort to save a little girl from a ride call Freddy’s Freefall. A cart from the roller coaster is loose; it comes flying off over the crowd around it. Eddie pushes a little girl out of the way only for him to fall and die. Suddenly he realizes he is in heaven and all the pain, emotional and physical, is gone. Here is where he meets five people. He learns something from each person. The first person is the Blue man he learns why some die while others live. The second person is his old military Captain. The Captain teaches him the meaning of sacrifice. The third is Ruby, the woman Ruby Pier was named after. Eddie learns how to forgive from her. The forth is his wife Marguerite. He learns only of the most precious thing to him, happiness. The last and most important person he meets is Tala. She was very special; she is the one who brought Eddie to heaven. She is the only person who could do this because Eddie let her go to heaven. When he let her die he had his accident. The author makes this meeting an irony. He guides Eddie through his life and lets him know why the things that happened to him happened by making him meet five people that affected his life in big ways. The fear, sadness, and relief that Eddie feels through his journey are just another way the author brings Eddie to life. This novel is heartwarming and something that will surely make you look at your life at a different angle. Something everyone will take to the heart.
The Five People You Meet In Heaven
By: Mitch Albom
A man named Eddie worked at Rudy Pier in the amusement park. A cart from a ride fell. He died trying to save a little girl from the falling cart. He goes to heaven and meets five people that affected his life somehow. Some of the people were very close to him, and some were complete strangers. For example, one person he saw was his wife. She reminded him of their wedding and that love is never ending. All of the people he met told him about his life and why things that happened the way they did. The author started with the death of Eddie. So, it sort of worked backwards. This gave it a twist and made it even that much more interesting. It is a great read for teenagers and up.
When the bar is set high…my students rise to the expectation…and pass it! I’m so proud of the work I am seeing
Football Genius
By Tim Green
Eleven year old Troy White is a backup quarterback for his little league football team, although he is better than starting quarterback Jamie Renfro. Jamie’s dad is the coach of football team, so he never gives Troy a chance. Troy starts to realize that he has a special “psychic power” about football. He sees the plays that the defense is running, and knows what they are prepared for. Luckily, Troy’s mom gets a job in the public relations department with the Atlanta Falcons. Troy and his mom get field pass tickets to every game that season. He walks up to the defensive coordinator during a game to tell him which plays to run, but coach Krock thinks that Troy is crazy, and calls security on him. His mom loses the job. She comes back the next day to get her things, and the owner, Mr. Langan gives her back the job. Seth Holloway, linebacker for the Falcons comes to their house to get the football Troy had stolen from his backyard. Troy tells him about his special powers, and shows them to him while watching a Georgia Tech game. Holloway now believes him. He brings Troy to defensive coordinator Coach Krock, and tries to show him the powers he has, but Krock does not see it because Troy does not feel the power. Troy then finds out that the game that Krock had shown him was a preseason game, which had no pattern to it, so Troy couldn’t see the pattern. Holloway brings Troy to the head coach. He now believes him. This is a very fast moving book, and it is highly recommended. Great for sports fans, or fans of the protagonist!
The name of the main character in this book is Nathan McAllister or Tenas Mac. He was a clever and adventurous 13 year old boy. He lived in a lighthouse on the island of Tatoosh with his parents. He was an only child, his mother was very sick because of the climate and could have gotten tuberculosis if her and her family did not move to a warmer climate. This weird and slow moving book doesn’t begin with a lot of action but certainly ends with it. Captain Bim sold his trading post to a big strong man named Kane. Nathan suspects him as trying to find the treasure that Captain Bim told nathan about. Nathan has to figure out whether he should go after Kane and risk his life or just let him go. When nathan tries to find the treasure and keep it away from Kane, Kane and his companion Dolla Bill find him and take the map from him. The book was very slow but i would recommend it for someone who likes mysteries and likes to figure out clues.
If you like suspenceful lovestories, then confessions by Kate Brian is a great book for you. Reed Brennan is a sophomore who goes to a somewhat normal school, Eston Academy. Out of no where this peaceful school turned into a frightful and panicked place when questions pop up about Reed’s boyfriend Thomas Pearson’s murder. The evidence on scene is a bat which appeared to have been used to strike Thomas. The owner of the bat was Josh Hollis, Reeds new boyfriend and Thomas’s best friend. Reed knows that Josh didn’t murder Thomas and only with an alibi from two people that were with Josh on that night would set him free. Would these people give their alibi and if so would they find the real murder? Read the book to find out. This book is highly recommened because it is suspenceful and it keeps you guessing.
Private
By: Kate Brian
Reed has just moved into a new school. She’s fifteen, beautiful, and totally oblivious to the real world. Reed wonders if Easton Academy is right for her. Easton is comprised of rich snobs and rich geniuses. Reed is neither and feeling like she will never fit in, until she meets the Billings girls. They are the most beautiful, intelligent, and intensely confident girls in the school and their names are Noelle, Ariana, Kiran, and Taylor. Everyone wants to be one of them and so does Reed. Reed tries her best to please them by doing their every whim. Soon they start to take a liking to her. Just as she is starting to fit in she meets Thomas Pearson. He is the most popular guy in the whole school, and he has taken a liking to her. Reed soon finds herself hanging out with “hottest” guy in school and the Billings girls. The only problem to this perfect life she has created is that her boyfriend and her best friends hate each other. Noelle tells her that she has to choose between the two of them. This is a problem at first until she finds out that Thomas deals drugs. Thomas apologizes and she accepts. To celebrate their makeup he takes her to a party. The Billings girls are there and so are their boyfriends. Thomas gets drunk and accidentally hurts her. The next morning Thomas is reported missing and Reed’s perfect life crumbles. This is a riveting, exciting thriller that will catch your eye. I would definitely recommend this book for grades eighth to eleventh.
Cross
By: James Patterson
Alex Cross is a member of the Washington, DC, Police
Department, who’s wife was killed by a random shot right in
front of him. Maria’s killer was never found after a long and hard attempt to catch him. The case was put into a filing cabinet with all of the other DC drive-by shooting cases that remained cold. A few years later, still being haunted by the absence of Maria Alex quit from his high up job in the FBI to become a psychologist once again. His life with his grandmother, and his children, Damon, Jannie, and “little” Alex was finally going to be a true family. He even has a chance at new found love. The Cross’s partner from the FBI called in a “favor”. He wants Alex to help catch a serial killer. This case reminded him about a cold case from a few years back that the duo worked on together. When the case reveals a lead to his beloved wife Maria’s death Alex jumps right on the opportunity, the ride of his life. Will Alex find Maria’s killer? Will Alex catch the serial killer? This is a wonderful book for adults or people in their late teens. There is a lot of descriptive death and abuse through out the book. Though Cross was a wonderfully written book, it probably should not be read by children or young teens.
Blade Silver
By: Melody Carlson
Do you think your life is hard? Well you have not met Ruth Wallace. This intense book will change your mind. Ruth Wallace lives with her verbally abusive dad her dysfunctional mom and her younger brother Caleb. Her mom tried to take her own life. Her dad yells at her and Caleb for anything and everything. Ruth copes by cutting herself on her arm with razor blades. When her best friend Abby finds out she tells Ruth that she needs to stop and get some help. Ruth tells her that she can stop on her own and does not need help. Everything looks good when she finally gets a boyfriend but then Caleb runs away and everything turns for the worst. So does Ruth stop cutting and get help or not? Read this interesting, engrossing, heartfelt book to find out. Readers will sure be able to get hooked on the book and not want to put it down.
Solider Boys
By: Dean Hughes
Two boys, one American (Spencer Morgan), and one German (Dieter Hendric), are eager to join their respective armies during World War II. However when the two meet in the Battle of the Bulge during the winter of 1945, the combat is like nothing they’ve ever seen before. Spencer, a boy that isn’t really gifted in anything back home in Utah, wants to join the United States Paratroopers so that he can show everybody back home that he is a man. Also because he has this fantasy of becoming a war hero. Dieter, a boy from southern Germany is eager to get into combat, but for different reasons. Dieter was brought believing that the Germans were the master race, and he would gladly fight and die for Adolf Hitler. After the war, the boys lives are changed forever
Imagine a world in which all books have been banned! So begins this intriguing tale of sedition, intrigue, and politics as seen by a young girl on her journey to womanhood. The girl is hostile, black-eyed Mosca Mye, who has just arrived in the bustling, war-ravaged city of Mandelion directly from the quiet, unassuming village of Chough. She struggles to cope with her new surroundings, even with her natural cunning and much-feared ability to read. Accompanied by Eponymous Clent, a smooth-talking con man, and Saracen, her homicidal pet goose, Mosca must solve a murder, find an illegal printing press, and, ultimately, decide where her allegiance truly lies.
This book, both funny and profound, is a good read for anyone who likes mysteries and action. The plot is based on interweaving storylines that form a complex whole, much like individual instruments in an orchestra, and the book is all the richer for it.
Claire Lyons is the new girl in Westchester, New York. She’s also the newest member of The Clique. Claire’s world was flipped upside down when her family moved into Massie Block’s guesthouse. After some fighting, Claire was accepted into Massie’s clique, and she became best friends with all the clique members. So now “The Pretty Committee” has a new adventure in front of them when Hadley Durk, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, walks off the set of her new movie, also starring Abby Boyd, another one of Hollywood’s elite. Hadley’s part becomes available to Massie, Claire and Alicia! But when Claire wins the part, and the stardom, Massie can’t handle someone stealing her spot light.
This book is a great window into the life of the rich and the famous. All the girls’ wardrobes are described in great detail, right down to the designers. The author, Lisi Harrison, uses many similes to help you understand exactly what’s going on in the book. You can tell just how a character is feeling. Harrison did a great job of using dialogue that 7th grade girls would use.
I would definitely recommend Dial L for Loser, but most likely, only teenage girls would enjoy this book. I would recommend it to that group because Dial L for Loser is easy for teenage girls to relate to. Not necessarily relating to the flying on private jets and meeting movie stars, but the drama that goes on between friends.
Small Steps
By: Louis Sachar
Two years after Armpit’s release from Cape Green Lake Juvenile Correctional Facility he was holding shovels again. Now he is back in his hometown and getting paid $7.55 an hour. Now he works for Raincreek Irrigation and Landscaping. He got his name the first week at Camp Green Lake he got stung on the armpit by a scorpion and he complained so much about the pain that everyone started calling him Armpit but once the pain went away the name stuck. Before that day everyone had called him by his real name Theodore Johnson. He is good friends with X-ray another boy from Camp Green Lake. They decide to each buy 6 tickets to a famous singer Kaira DeLeon’s concert. This way they would sell them all to other people for more than they bought them for. Then Armpit decided he would ask a girl named Tatiana from school that he liked if she wanted to go with him to the concert with him. She said yes but they only had 2 tickets left so he had to stop X-ray from selling the last 2. He stopped him then Tatiana cancelled on him so he asked his neighbor Ginny who has Cerebral Palsy to go and she said yes. X-ray had a client already who wanted the tickets so he scanned them and gave 2 fake ones to Armpit. They got caught with the fake tickets but instead got to watch the show on the stage. Armpit met Kaira and they liked each other and started dating. She traveled a lot so they didn’t see each other often he went to one of her shows for a weekend but just before this an investigation broke out looking for the man who was selling fake tickets. They interrogated X-ray and Armpit but they didn’t know Theodore was Armpit so he was in trouble yet. He and Kaira got into an argument and she stormed off after throwing food at him. Her manager doesn’t like her at all so he was plotting to kill her and frame Armpit. This novel is adventurous, will make you treasure what you have already and think before you act. It has some twists at times in the plot. I recommend this book to teenagers that like stories about life and its pros and cons.
Oh, sorry, forgot the title: Fly By Night, by Frances Hardinge.
A Wind in the Door
By: Madeleine L’Engle
Charles Wallace is not what we think of as a “normal” six-year old. He is very bright and gets bullied at school because of this. His older sister Meg tries to help with this situation by talking to his principal, Mr.Jenkins. But being bullied is not Charles Wallace’s only problem. He is having difficulties with his Mitochondria. When Meg meets two mysterious strangers, she soon finds out that they are her only hope to helping her younger brother. This fast and exciting story takes you on an adventure through the mitochondria of Charles Wallace where you can meet creatures known as farandola. A Wind in the Door is strongly recommended to people who enjoy fast-paced adventures.
Accessory to Murder
By: Elaine Viets
Josie is a typical single mother who loves to spend time with her daughter. Her life gets turned upside-down when her best friend’s husband is accused of killing his neighbor, Halley Hardwicke. Halley is a young fashion designer with a big career ahead of her. She is married to Cliff, and has a daughter named Brittney. Although Josie thinks Jake is a snob, she wants to help Alyce prove that he is innocent. Josie and Alyce spend a lot of time talking to friends and family of Halley Hardwicke, uncovering information that is vital in the arrest of the real murderer. Throughout the book, Alyce gets a feel on which of her friends are really her friends, as well as Josie. Is Jake the murderer? Has he been set up to look like the murderer? This book will definitely keep you reading. Accessory to Murder is a book that has many twists and turns, but at the same time is funny. I highly recommend this book if your looking for a few good laughs, mystery, and suspense.
The Boyfriend League
Rachel Hawthorne
Danielle(Dani)Runyon is your average 17 year old. She has bright green eyes and brown straight hair. She is pretty normal except for her insane love for baseball. She persuades her parents into letting a boy from the collegiate baseball team stay at their house for the summer. Little do her parents know that the whole reason she did that was because she wanted a boyfriend for the summer. Unfortunately, her mom makes Dani and her sister Tiffany promise that they won’t date the boy in the house. That still leaves the rest of the team though. While the boys are in town Dani meets Mac, the team’s catcher and begins to date him. Mac’s not the best boyfriend though. He flirts a lot with sister. Jason, the pitcher and the guy living in the Runyon house, decided to confront him about it and they end up getting in a fight on the baseball field. Dani realizes that she has never had feelings for Mac but the guy she has feelings for is Jason. She promised she wouldn’t fall in love with him, but she can’t help it. What will she do? Will she stay with Mac or move on to Jason? Romance, humor, a quirky girl, two really cute guys, and of course baseball make this a very interesting story. It is a great read for any girl who likes sports with a little bit of romance added into the mix.
Ark Angel
Author:Anthony Horowitz
Alex Rider is 14, fit, close trimmed brown hair and a spy for MI6.
Alex rider stepped right down onto the curb, right as the sniper fired the bullet from 250 feet away. The small step down made the bullet hit him above and to the left of his heart, which had been the target. If it had made contact with its target, Alex Rider would be dead, but he isn’t . He is in the top hospital in London, Saint Dominic’s hospital. Since Alex was MISO,(Military Intelligence, Special Operations) working for MI6 he, like all the celebrities came here to St. Dominic’s.One night though four men come into the hospital looking for the son of a multi billionaire Paul Drevin. The father, Nikolei Drevin is not in the hospital, and when the four men shoot the receptionist and come looking for Alex, he has to react. He knocks the four out using various techniques including a defibrillator, a medicine ball in an elastic cannon, and MRI machine and a blow to the neck. Then Alex gets knocked out by the leader who came in from the car, Kaspar.
Kasper and his band of goons are an organization called Force Three, which are a bunch of eco-warriors, but they kill anyone who says one thing bad about them.Case and point Nikolei Drevin wiped out a few birds on his island, Flamingo Bay. So Force Three is after people who are related to him in ways to get to him.
Nikolei Drevin is using his island as a launch pad for his rockets, going up into space and he has people building the first hotel in space. He hopes to have all the celebrities come, pockets lined to go up to Ark Angel.
A CIA ex-field agent, Joe Byrne informs Alex that he is to spy on Nikolei Drevin, but when he does he figures out that Nikolei is a criminal and the the Pentagon has a whole investigation against him. Also Ark Angel is billions of dollars over budget, so Nikolei wants to send a bomb up to it and it will fall right on the Pentagon and destroy all of Washington DC.
So in a nutshell Alex goes to space, meets Kaspar, kills Kaspar with a floating knife and then makes it back to earth in a escape pod of the coast of Australia. This book is a GREAT read for anyone who can understand the book. This is a true great read for anyone.
Gemma, a sixteen-year-old girl, lived with her mother and father in India. After her mother is killed by some strange evil person, Gemma is sent to a finishing school in London. While there, she meets quite a few other girls, who all deal with problems of their own. Most of the girls deal with their own inner pain by not showing it to anyone, and by emotionally distressing the girls who are weaker than their selves. In spitefulness of this exciting environment, a diary that Gemma finds forges bonds between her and some of the other girls. The diary tells of two girls who used to go to that same finishing school. Both of the girls practiced magic, a fact which interests Gemma because she experiences visions that she’s not able to control, even though a strange boy named Kartik tells her that her visions are hazardous. Soon, Gemma and the other girls learn magic. This is a must-have book and it is really exciting.
Travel Team
By: Mike Lupica
Twelve-year-old Danny Walker is an above average kid who loves the game of basketball. He is extremely short for his age but that doesn’t stop him from hoping to someday play on the same travel team that his dad, Richie Walker, led to the national championship when he was Danny’s age.
Danny’s hopes are crushed, however, when he is told he is “too short” to play on the travel team coached by his dad’s bitter childhood friend Mr. Ross. Mr. Ross seems to want a “big” team this year and he wants to have lots of strength. Danny acts like this unforntunate event doesn’t bother him, but it’s difficult for him to remain calm when he and everyone that made the travel team know that he is one of the best players in town. His mom Ali Walker, and his friends Will and Tess try to cheer him up but Danny doesn’t even want to look at a basketball since he’s not on the team he has always dreamed of being on.
Then Danny’s dad comes up with a great idea, Danny can make his own travel team and Richie Walker would coach it. Danny is a little skeptical about the idea at first, especially since Richie has had trouble keeping jobs ever since he was involved in a near-fatal car accident which took him out of the NBA. Richie, however, is motivated to coach the team so he can prove to Danny and himself that he can do something and not run away from it. There’s also the problem of finding players for the team a couple days before the season starts, but with the help of Danny’s friends they are able to do that. But the one thing they need more than anything else is the strength to last and endure all the obsatcles that seem to keep coming up and are keeping them from their goal, winning the state championship.
This book is a great story about achieving your goals even if all odds are against you. This book moves fast and has something very exciting that will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time you read. There is nothing boring about this book.
I reccomend this book to athletes, sports fans, and anyone in the need of motivation. “Travel Team” is a one of a kind must read book.
The character in the story is very interesing. Her name is Cyd Charisse and she is 17. Her bio-dad lives in New York City, and her mother lives in San Francisco. When Cyd was going to visit her dad in New York City, her boyfriend broke her heart. His name was Shrimp and he was the hottest, artist-surfer in San Francisco. She changed alot over the summer to be more of an adult because she believed if she changed and had a better attitude maybe he would come back to her. They got to know each other better and got back into a relationship. Then graduation came and Cyd had to decide if she wanted to spend her life with Shrimp or get an education. This book is very funny, romantic, and pop cultured. I would only recommend this to girls because it has alot of drama and is about boys.
How my Private Personal Journal Became a Bestseller
By: Julia Devillers
Jamie she is just an ordinary fourteen year old girl, just waiting for
something exciting to happen to her. But when she accidently turns in her private personal journal and not her english assignment things get a little crazy. No one would have ever guessed that her journal would make it number one on amazon.com for the best books. She goes through new adventures including walking on a red carpet and going to parties with celebrities. She realizes just how hard it is to balance friends, school, and trying to make all her fans happy, when she gets in fights with her 2 best friends, and one of her fans is telling her that she might run away with some guy she barely knows. What will she do? Well you would have to read the book to find that out.This is a book that you would really not want to put down its funny and very suspenful. I would highly recomend this book but mostly to girls since it does have alot of drama.
Wolf Rider
By: Avi
Andy Zadinski is a 15-year-old boy who received a phone call from a man named Zeke. He told him he had just killed a girl. He described the murder in great detail. Even giving the girls name. Andy’s friend Paul, His father and the police all think it is just a prank call. Andy decides to investigate the murder himself. The pursuit of this man totally consumes Andy and gets him in trouble with his father, his school, and the police. Wolf Rider is a mystery that has a suspenseful plot. It will keep your interest. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a book that keeps you wondering what will happen next.
A book for everyone. Molly Parker is a courageous and outgoing twelve-year old who finds adventure while looking for something very important to her. Since her mother’s death she now lives in Boston, Massachusetts with her mother’s best friend from college, her daughter, and husband. The big story around Boston is the basketball team, the Celtics. They are led by Josh Cameron who everyone thinks of as a big superstar. But according to her mother’s letters, Molly thinks of him as something else, a father. With the help of her best friend Sam Bloom, she finds ways to meet Josh Cameron, such as sneaking into his car and taking a train ride to find him in New York. She is determined to prove that Josh is her father, but Josh wants nothing of it. He pushes Molly away until she shows him her mom’s letter proving that he is her father. This puts a little of the doubt out of Josh’s head, but could it make him believe her? With adventure, courage, determination, and some twists and turns Mike Lupica makes this a book that every sports and adventure fan will want to read.
By: Dean Hughes
Two boys, one American (Spencer Morgan), and one German (Dieter Hendric), are eager to join their respective armies during World War II. However when the two meet in the Battle of the Bulge during the winter of 1945, the combat is like nothing they’ve ever seen before. Spencer, a boy that isn’t really gifted in anything back home in Utah, wants to join the United States Paratroopers so that he can show everybody back home that he is a man. Also because he has this fantasy of becoming a war hero. Dieter, a boy from southern Germany is eager to get into combat, but for different reasons. Dieter was brought believing that the Germans were the master race, and he would gladly fight and die for Adolf Hitler. After the war, the boys lives are changed forever. I would recommend this book because of the way its written because of how fast the book is after the first 5 or so chapters and how good the book holds you in and you dont want to stop reading.
This story is about these twins, a boy and a girl. The older twin‘s name is Edward and his sister name is Meg. Meg is younger, but way smarter and taller. Edward says that she is twelve noon and I am twelve midnight. Meg says that we are nothing alike. We have nothing, but being twins, in common. Even their mom says that they are different. They are like night and day. Despite how much they do not get along, and how much they think they are different, as you read this exciting novel by Avi and Rachel Vail, you can tell that they have a lot in common.
Sure fire
By: Jack Higgins
The main characters in this story are Rich, Jade, and John. John is Jade and Rich’s father. John is a spy for an oil company. Rich and Jade are fifteen-year-old twins. Rich enjoys reading about how to do things. Jade is obsessed with her fitness and health. She eats a lot of vegetables and fruit.
In this story John steals a gas sample from an oil company called KOS. This oil sample allows your vehicle to enhance the distance it can travel. Now the owner of KOS Viktor Vishinsky kidnaps John to try to get it back and Jade and Rich have to try to free him. This book is fast and panic. It is like this because there is action all the time, which makes it fast. It is panic because the children are alone and people are trying to capture them. I would recommend this book for people who like books that are action packed
Novel: Riding the Flume
Author: Patricia Curtis Pfitsch
Around 1894, a 15 year old girl named Francie who was the daughter of a hotel owner lived in a place in California where sequoia trees were being chopped down by lumbermen. Francie’s sister, Carrie, had died 6 years ago. One day while Francie was counting tree rings for a newspaper editor, she noticed a secret note among the trees. Francie realized it had been written by her sister before she died. Even though Carrie had passed away she still wanted to figure out what the note was about. With help from her cousin Charlie, they found the information they needed to understand the secret note. They discovered that a man known as “Old Robert”, had left the largest sequoia tree for her in his will. The lumbermen of California were planning to cut it down, but Francie wanted to stop them because they have no right to cut down her sister’s tree, the only memory Francie had left of her. In order to stop them, Francie had to get to St. Joseph quickly to prove that they couldn’t cut down the sequoia tree. The only way for Francie to get there in time would be to ride the dangerous path of the flumes. This adventurous, mysterious, historical fiction novel, mostly enjoyed by girls, will keep its readers entertained and eager to keep reading until they have completed the novel.
Travel Team
By Mike Lupica
Travel team is a book about Danny Walker, a seventh grader who plays basketball in Middletown. His parents are divorced, his mom a teacher and his dad a former professional basketball player. Danny’s father’s career ended with a car crash and a DUI, leaving Danny and his mother on a single income. Each year Danny tries out for the Warriors, a local travel basketball team, and has always made it. That is, except for this year. Danny is very good at basketball; it is just that he is only four feet and six inches tall. The travel team coach Jeff Ross, father of Ty Ross, the best player in Middletown, and one of the nicest kids, cuts Danny because he says he wants the team to be bigger this year. Danny’s father, Richie Walker, now sober for quite a while, is angry with Jeff Ross. Danny’s father creates his own team, a team of all the rejects from the Warriors who were wrongly cut. Their season starts out troubling, but better times are to come for Richie Walker’s travel team. The rest is for you to read.
I would recommend this dramatic, uplifting sports novel to all of those who enjoy a book about the accomplishments of the underdogs. Mike Lupica is the author of many other great sports anecdotes in “The New York Daily News” and has often appearances on ESPN. Lupica writes with a dramatic and comical input, and thoroughly describes the life of Danny Walker. This is a great read and I recommend it for all ages.
The Hoopster
By: Alan Lawrence Sitomer
Gr 7 Up-A thrilling edge on life as an African American teenager. Andre has a boring, as most teens do, basketball loving life. He is stuck with his loving but not really caring what the heck he does parents and siblings. He has a job working at a magazine as a mister do what I say guy (go make me copies, ok sir, do it faster) until bang he gets promoted to a writer with more cash. His first assignment is to write an article about racism. His article is great and gets published. The article does not go over too well with some racists and they attack Andre. They crush his right hand not knowing Andre is left handed (those idiots). Let’s just say the book would not have sequels if the left hand was crushed. The attack on Andre is devastating, but he is stronger in the end. The book is realistic and very well written. The dialogue matches the age of the characters perfectly. The book keeps you interested with the dialogue, character points of view, and characters lives because it’s similar to most teenagers reading it. This is a great teenage read especially with few good teenage books out there.
The Outlaws of Sherwood
By: Robin McKinley
Robin is a young man with no parents. His father was a master archer. Robin is not as good as he should be and wants to be in a archery contest. On his way there the local ‘bullies’ are sitting next to a tree. They pick on him because he is not good. They end up doing a contest and Robin wins. As he walks away an arrow cuts his neck. His first reaction is to turn and shoot back. He aims for the leg, but it curves and shoots the kid in the chest. Robin is now an outlaw. He seeks shelter in his make-shift home. Now he and his friends have to supply him and help him through his time of need. Robin is a stubborn, needy kid. This book uses humor and action to suspense the reader. This book is for the fantasy and medieval liking reader. -Ano277
artemis fowl artic incident by: Eoin Colfer
The character in this book is called artemis fowl. He is a boy who lost his father and went to war 2 years ago and won money. The main events in this book were when koboi the bad guy unleashed himself and shut down the fairy communications so the goblins could take over the underworld, another event is when the goblins attacked captain root, captaion holly, butler, and artemis fowl, and the last is when mulch diggums helps. The crisis in this movie is that opal kobio is trying to kill some faries and that people have stolen artemis fowls father. This book has interesting plot twist. I would recomend the book.
The Hoopster
By: Alan Lawrence Sitomer
Out in the ghetto and basketball courts was a seventeen-year-old boy named Andre Anderson with his friends. He was a black boy in a racist world to him, and he loved to write. One day in his hard job, he gets offered a huge chance to write a great article and he takes it. When he does, his boss is very proud and he is a town celebrity. He even gets new girlfriends and promotions. See how this isn’t the greatest part of his career later on in this dramatic, teenage reality book. It’s a great read but only recommended for teenagers or up.
Foster’s War By:Carolyn Reeder
Foster Simmons (10) is a fifth grader in a family of five. He is a kid that gets picked on a lot in school by a kid named Victor. He is a big boy that won’t stop. He is a caring and smart young boy. He has two brothers, a mom, a dad, and a sister. He is the middle of the three brothers. His oldest brother is in the Air Force. His youngest is in first grade. Evelyn is in high school. Foster makes up an organization called the Yout for the War Effort. He says he is the head of it so Victor would stop picking on him. Victor backs off and tells the whole class. They all think he is serious. When he comes home he has to discover a way to go along with the YWE so his classmates don’t know he lied. When he walks up to his house his brother is washing the car. Mel is listening to the radio when there is an interruption. Because of the Pearl Harbor bombing Mel has to report the Air Force Base. He is shipped overseas. This book keeps you wanting to read more. It has a lot of twists and turns. I strongly reccomend this book to all readers who enjoy learning about history and wars.
Oblivion Road
By: Alex McAulay
On the way home from their ski trip in Colorado, five friends find themselves fighting to stay alive. Three out of the five had to embark on a journey through the snow and bitter temperatures to find help after their car accident crumpling the SUV and giving them all severe injuries. Then as if it wasn’t hard enough to keep the five of them alive here comes a man with handcuff from the prison crawling up. He claims he can lead them to the closest town, Pine Valley. The group decides to take him in and then to later split up with hope of finding help. Seventeen year old Courtney the follower, Reyna the confident leader, and Jeremy the optimist are led fifteen miles through raspy winds and knee-high snow along the abandoned road and thick forest by the prisoner. Will the friends make it out alive? Alex McAuley has written a fast-moving, nerve racking novel that has many unexpected turns along the way. Teen readers will be sure to enjoy following these friends as they make life altering decisions that affect more than just themselves.
Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors
By: Jenny Nimmo
Charlie Bone is an endowed child with the gift of being able to go through pictures. He very avid when it comes to figuring out what needs to take place in a situation where there is a problem so he often uses his power to find the missing clue. Events that occur are when the three Flames (cats) help Billy escape from his new foster home, which was currently held up by a force field. When Billy escapes he is chased after by his foster parents and he gets away. Charlie then faces a vigorous adventure when going to the legendary Castle of Mirrors were all throughout the castle the walls are filled with mirrors where Charlie tries to keep his friend Billy Raven there for safety from his new evil parents and the Yewbeam sisters, and the Bloors. Once Billy is out of the house Charlie decides that Billy should stay with their friend Fidelio. The Bloors find out about Billy’s escape and all the turmoil left behind it. Will the Bloors capture Billy? Will they ever let him have freedom? This book is very uplifting, adventurous, has many twist and turns, and sure to leave you at the end of your seat. I would powerfully recommend this book for anyone that wants to read something outside of the box.
Cirque Du Freak
The Vampire Prince
By: Darren Shan
The main character in this book is called Darren Shan. He is a very brave and strong character. He is a half vampire and a half human. Darren fights a lot against the vampeneze which are the enemies of the vampires. After Darren is finished healing from when he gets hurt from falling in a river, he reunites with his two friends called Crepsley and Seba Nile. The 3 of them try to find the cave in Vampire Mountain where the vampeneze were last spotted along with the traitor Kurda. In the cave, they find the vampeneze and decide to take a big group of them with an army of their friendly spiders. In the cave, the vampeneze lord was very powerful and they must decide to escape or sacrifice many things to defeat him. The text in here is very fast moving. There are a lot of scary and surprising moments that occur in the text. I would recommend this book to read. I would because there is a lot of action. There are also a lot of surprising parts along with unexpected twists and turns. So that is why I would recommend this book.
Brian’s Winter
By: Gary Paulsen
Brian’s Winter is a continuation of the story Hatchet. It tells what would have happened to Brian if he had not been rescued. Brian is a thirteen year old boy who is alone in the Canadian Wilderness. After his plane went down he had to use his survival skills. He taught himself how to make weapons and how to hunt animals. When he realized winter was coming he made himself a better shelter and gathered lots of dry wood. Brian encounters a bear, and the bear starts to fight him. Luckily Brian is saved by a skunk giving off his scent. Brian uses his skills to make a very strong bow and arrows with very sharp rock tips. Then he used these he to hunt. Brian witnesses wolves eating a moose alive, and he feels sorry for the moose. He knows the wolves are doing it to survive, but he feels sorry. The story is very interesting because we are starting to wonder if Brian will be rescued. Getting ready for winter, being attacked by a bear, and hunting the animals keeps the story alive. Brian hears poping noises in the woods and thinks hunters are nearby. He yells to them, but he never gets an answer. It turns out the trees are so cold they are making poping noises because of the sap. I would recommend Brian’s Winter to anyone who enjoys action stories. The book keeps your attention and it is easy to visualize the story. To find out if Brian survives the winter or gets rescued make sure you read the book.
Cirque du Freak: Vampire’s Assistant
Darren Shan
This is a great series for boys and younger teens, 11-15. Darren Shan is a wonderful, real character, just as the supporting characters are, Mr. Tall, and Mr. Crepsley. Darren’s situation is unique, he’s a half vampire. But that’s not the unique part. He’s still a kid. So not only was half of his human life taken away but he lost his friends from his old life. What’s a teenage half-vampire to do? Join the Cirque du Freak obviously! Darren however does not want to have to act and do vampire things even though he is one. He chooses not to drink human blood, which will reduce his health until he will eventually die! Darren begins to forge bonds of friendship with some of the denizens of the freak show like Evra, the snake-boy, as well as with Sam, a local non-freak who longs for what he sees as the exciting circus life. What does fate have in store for the Cirque du Freak troop and Darren in particular? You’ll learn some surprising things about vampires, as this book takes you through Darren Shan’s vampire training at bloody, breakneck speed.
Cryptid Hunters
Author: Roland Smith
Ready for a story with legend told animals, pursuing scientists, stubborn twins, and an ominous villain? The text is driven by a fast moving, question filled, hidden secrets adventure! A pair of twins, Marty and Grace O’Hara (aged thirteen), have to go live with their uncle due to an unfortunate accident. The thing is, this is an uncle they didn’t even know they had. Dr. Laurel Lee, a scientist, comes to visit Uncle Wolfe. She shows him something very valuable, an egg from a dinosaur that hasn‘t been extinct yet. The egg relates backs to a situation with his enemy, Dr. Blackwood, who would use the dinosaur to make money. The twins need to go back to school, due to an emergency with the egg, but they end up falling out of the plane into the Congo jungle, in Africa. This occurrence is enough to change the twin’s–everyone’s lives. Then Grace is captured by one of Blackwood’s men, Butch. As the story continues to move on, the twins and Dr. Laurel Lee find out that Uncle Wolfe has many painful, yet powerful secrets. In the end, it leaves a humorous ending, the type of ending that all good books have. This will be good for science fiction, or adventure-type readers. I recommend this book because once I got to the jungle part I didn’t want to put the book down until I got to the end.
I’m excited to see the reviews are starting to arrive
I have the complete Cirque du Freak series in our classroom if you want to check one out. I’m glad that you have liked them!
I just ordered a handful of Roland Smith books if anyone is interested. They should be here next week!
Keep the reviews coming! Beautiful job so far!!!
The Navigator
By: Eoin McNamee
The Navigator, a very interesting book about how finding your place in a different world is much easier than expected. The main character Owen is a very poor boy that lives with only his mother ( his father supposedly went suicidal) which in there town isn’t a very common thing. Making Owen be the odd ball out. Because it’s only his mother taking care of him he doesn’t have much including clothes, and even a way to clean himself. He has black hair and dark skin, his clothes are worn out and very dirty. In this story Owen wishes he could figure out what his purpose in life is, he always questions it because it seems like his life now is stuck in a circle as if he does the same thing everyday. Until one day he goes out to the river, which he is freakishly scared of and has no idea why. While he is there he see’s a man with a stick in his hand, like a police night stick. Then it begins, the sky turns dark and something different comes out and makes a terrible screech, more like a battle cry. With that the man notices Owen’s reaction and takes him with him. While there running from the darkness Owen realizes that the fully grown man is only about 1.5 meters tall(about 4 feet). When they reach there destination Owen is explained that the “darkness” is a part of the plague and that Owens destiny in life is to stop it. The story is driven with so much info that most of the time the author spends about 4-5 pages explaining one thing, the book also has interesting plot twist which makes it very interesting to read. I would definitely recommend this book to any strong reader.
This is a great book for people who like to play baseball. Billy Baggs is a 14 year old boy who works on his family farm a lot and loves to play baseball but cant because he has to work on the farm because his dad Abner got sent to jail. This is how it happened Abner had just picked up Billy from baseball practice and saw Randy Meyers a person who sold Billy’s mom a car fixed up with glue and saw dust. So Abner got out of his truck and started up there bull dozer and then ran over every car and the office building. While Abner was in jail Billy had to tend to the farm. He had to quite baseball to do this cause the nights he had practice he had to tend to the field. Billy’s mom felt bad for Billy so she told him to go make a baseball field in the farm and get some of the other farm kids and make a team. When he had got his team on of the town baseball tam players challenged him to a game. To find out if they win read the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes baseball cause this is a great book about baseball.
The Queen of Everything
By: Deb Caletti
Have you ever thought your life was too hard to bare? I have for sure, but my life has never reached anywhere near the hard times in Jordan MacKenzie’s life. Jordan is a product of divorced parents. She favors her father over her mother, because she considers him the normal parent. Jordan had loved her life with her father, Vince MacKenzie, until her mat a married woman named Gayle D’Angelo. She was rich by marriage and to him very attractive. When Jordan put the pieces together and saw it she couldn’t believe it, so much for the normal parent. Her father was changing before her eyes, and there was nothing she could do about it. Jordan follows her father, observes his actions and finds that she doesn’t even know him anymore. If you thought that sounded bad then, check this out. She starts dating her best friend, Melissa’s crush, her grandfather dies, her father goes to jail, and she gets laid off from her job. Why did her father go to jail? Why did this relationship end in violence? What is Jordan going to do to cope with the pain? This book has many interesting twists, and can be related to many of the younger market. I highly recommend this to anyone going through a hard time. It will teach you a life long lesson.
Flushed is a thrilling, adventure filled, book that I think everyone can relate to. Noah and his little sister, Abbey roam around the Florida key’s finding any evidence possible to prove their father is right for the recently local crime committed trying to save their precious ocean that was being polluted in. During this book Noah and Abbey come in to very close danger with his father’s rival, Dusty Muleman and his “goons,” as they try to prove their father right. Even though Noah and Abbey try to be the hero’s to save their town and their family, the may be ruining it. They just found out that their mother is getting sick of the jail routine, and is thinking about a divorce. Flushed always kept me wondering, and wanting more… I would recommend this book to many different people. Flushed has humor, action, suspense, and loyalty satisfying many peoples reading needs.
Can You Feel The Thunder?
Author: Lynn E. McElfresh
Mic Parsons, 13, is an average kid living with his parents, a little brother named Ricky, and his older deaf-blind sister named Stephanie. Mic remembers how he and Stephanie used to communicate a lot. She even taught him how not to be afraid of thunder by feeling the window pane’s vibrations during a storm. Lately though he and Stephanie hadn’t talked a lot. Mic’s life is turned upside down when Vernon Chortle, aka “Nerd Boy”, moves down the street and tries to be friends with Mic. After accepting his friendship with Vern, Mic finds out the Chortles aren’t that weird after all. Later on in the story Mic is forced to bring up his failing Math grade if he wants to ever play baseball again. After asking around and still not understanding, Mic begins to lose hope. Then miraculously someone opens new doors in Mic’s mind and he finally understands. This novel was really great. Also the ups and downs and adventures of the story teach a great lesson about hope and instant surprises. Many young readers will enjoy reading this story!
Gr 5-10-The Meeker family was sitting at the table eating dinner when his older brother Sam, opened the door and was dressed in a rebel uniform. Sam was very headstrong and stubborn like his father. He informs his family he is going to war to fight for freedom against the British, even if his father disapproves. Sam’s little brother, Tim is very worried, he loves both his father and Sam very much and doesn’t want to cross either of them. Betsy Read, daughter of General Read, former general of the Rebel army knows whenever Sam is coming back to visit but has to keep it a secret so his father will not know. This makes it hard for Tim to function because he is always hiding something. There are many secrets kept from father by Tim who is unsure of what to do because he loves his father and brother very much. One day, Tim and his father were bringing meat to the Verplanks to trade for rum. The British controlled the Verplanks, so rebel cattle thieves tried to make them hand over their meat. Being the stubborn man he was, Tim’s father did not and was severely beat, but a group of horsemen saved them. On the way back from the Verplanks, Tim’s father was ambushed and held prisoner. Tim does not know which side to trust, Sam is on the Rebel side, but they took his father, and the British are being savages and stealing from stores. Eventually Sam comes home and is wrongly accused for cattle stealing and is sentenced to death. This book would be wonderful to anyone who loves the revolutionary war and action. The author shies away from the typical all is well happy ending so the reader can have a little twist.
If you’re looking for a cliche Pirates of the Caribbean story, then Bloody jack probably isn’t for you. But if you want a story written entirely from a penniless, adventurous, and cheeky girl pretending to be a a boy, then this is a great book to read.
When Mary Faber is orphaned, she gets adopted by a street gang of poor, scavenger parentless children like herself. After living with them for most of her life, the gang’s leader dies, leaving Mary to decide if she will stay or not.
Mary decides to cut off her hair, put on boy’s clothing, and apply to be a ship’s boy on the HMS Dolphin. Women were not allowed at sea, so pretending to be a boy was the only way for Mary to be able to be on the ship. She also changed her name to Jacky Faber.
Once on the ship, Jacky meets other ship’s boys and gets the hang of life at sea. Nobody is suspicious of her gender– yet. Jacky makes a world of difference on the ship, adapting her new nickname while doing so. She is called Bloody Jack due to how fierce she is in battle.
All is going well, until she falls in love with a fellow ship’s boy, Jaimy. She must reveal her secret in order to not have her sexual orientation questioned. Jaimy is relieved that he is not falling in love with a boy, and they have a secret Romeo and Juliet relationship aboard the Dolphin.
Jacky is captured by a French Pirate. But when captured, the pirate immediatley notices that she is NOT a boy. He reveals it to the rest of the crew, who are dumbfounded. They don’t know what to do with a girl!!!
Jacky is told that for her own good, she must go off to a boarding school to become a lady. She must decide whether to do the right thing, and attend school, or run away with her beloved Jaimy.
The text is interesting. Since it is in first person, it is told by her, but the way she speaks is not like other narrators. She has had no proper schooling, and has lived on the streets most of her life, so she has no proper grammar, which makes it all the more exciting. Tons of run-on sentences, and misspellings make the character seem so genuine.
I suppose the theme of the story is you can’t keep a secret forever. Lies get you nowhere but in trouble.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a funny, adventurous, quirky story. And to anyone who loves a good swashbuckling novel. =]
Can’t Get There From Here
By: Todd Strasser
This book was very interesting. Whenever I pick up a book I expect it to all be great in the end, but I’m glad that this one didn’t tell the ending because I don’t like happy-go-lucky books where everything is perfect. But the changes of Maybe throughout the book made this book fun and likeable to people all ages. It made me sad when I thought about how this is how many people live in New York City. It makes you think twice about how we might view the homeless.
This was a very good novel about a girl named Maybe who lives in New York City, and she’s homeless because her mom doesn’t want her. She lives with her own “tribe” of other homeless kids, and when most of them leave or die she realizes that she can’t live the rest of her life like that. Because she wouldn’t have a life anymore because she’ll probably die before she’s 18. I hate Bobby. I loved Tears, Maybe, Maggot, Rainbow, Jewel OG and Pest. This book was a very touching book. It was also a book that some people could relate to in many ways. I personally loved this book. I recommend it to all people.
Nineteen Minutes
Author: Jodi Picoult
Nineteen Minutes is a story where the beginning lays the ground work and the story uniquely falls into place. Although the book is somewhat thick, it moves quickly and is always interesting. This novel is told through many characters, so you see the story through everyone’s eyes. This element helps you see a better picture of the events, instead of being twisted by any of the characters’ opinions. The story is mainly about Peter Houghton, the seventeen year-old who had been tormented and bullied throughout his life and finally got fed up with it. He had designed a video game where the dorks, freaks, and nerds control the school by shooting all jocks, beauties and the popular kids. But one day, March sixth, he didn’t just play the game, he did it in real life. From the front steps of the school, where he had shot his first victim, to the gym locker room, where he had killed his last victim, Peter had killed nine students and a teacher and wounded nineteen others in nineteen minutes. Peter is held in a cell, where his defense attorney talks to him and decides the only way to lessen the jail time for Peter, is to try to convince the jury that he has post-traumatic stress disorder. While this was very probable, it still did not help him much. While Peter had much motive to do what he did, he didn’t realize that all the torment that was inflicted on him, would not matter as much later on. There are many twists to this intriguing novel and the way it is set up, where the chapters go from past to present, may be slightly confusing, but is completely necessary to keep your attention.
The Fire Thief
Author: Terry Deary
Little Jim is just an little kid that gets adopted by a theif who he calls Uncle Edward. They were about to rob a house in Edin City when they run into this young-looking man Prometheus, who is actually a Titan from Ancient Greece. They use him to carry the coffin that they put everything in. They get caught and Edward sacrifices his life for Prometheus and Jim’s lives. Prometheus returns the favor and saves Edward. Prometheus goes away to find a hero like he was searching for and Jim and Edward get away. This is a great book for kids aged 10-15. There is never a dull moment in this book filled with hope, action, twists and comedy. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I never wanted to put the book down from start to finish.
ECLIPSE
BY:STEPHINE MEYER
A novel full of twists and turns! Bella your average teenage girl with dysfunctions in her life finds herself falling more in love. Edward the love of Bella’s life and the rest of the Cullens are vampires. Edward and Bella stay together for the rest of their high school career. Later they are planning to spend the rest of their lives together and go off to college together. Their exciting adventures will have you holding on to the book no doubt. The sweet story of young love and how they’ll do anything to be together will have you seconds from tears. There is one character that wants to keep them apart though. This is Jacob Black; he is the second in command of the werewolf pack in La Push. Though the out loud thoughts of characters spoken by Edward are a little crazy, they will help the reader understand the plot more accurately. Jacob and Edward tell their feelings toward one another that cold night in the tent right before the war the next day. Some of these thoughts will surely surprise the fans of two previous books in the series. Could Edward honestly be thankful for Jacob being around or even jealous? Readers will love to read these juicy unexpected thoughts. Though some parts of the book are not as exciting as others, this is definitely an amazing thriller!
Daughters of the Moon; into the Cold Fire
Author: Lynne Ewing
The series is great for teen girls mostly, for ages 10 and up. Serena is a teenage girl from Los Angeles. But, she’s no ordinary girl. Her and her friends are the Daughters of the Moon. She has the power to read minds. She and the girls were beginning to understand their powers, which they’d been given when they were born. Everything was all good, until Jimena had a premonition that Serena was going to betray them and the join the dark forces of the Atrox. Ewing makes the reader want to read on to find out if Jimena’s premonition will actually come true. The bad part is that Jimena has never been wrong. The girls’ destiny is to protect the ones they care for, and even the ones they don’t, from Followers of the Atrox. Their goal in life is to rid everyone of hope. Serena doesn’t know who to trust when she has a run in with her enemy Stanton, who claims who doesn’t want to hurt her. Will he drive her to the dark side? Read the book to find out what side Serena will fight for. This series is recommended for those who enjoy romance, action, and heroic themes.
Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant
by: Darren Shan
This the second book in the Darren Shan saga. We come a across Darren Shan a human vampire hybrid who is isolated from human kind and he also refuses to drink human blood which is life for all vampires. Mr.Crespley is Darren’s vampire master and a former Circus actor at Cirque Du Freak. Later in the book Mr.Crespley and Darren go to live in Cirque Du Freak so Darren may be a teenager instead of a monster. Day by Day Darren becomes weaker by the lack of blood Darren drinks, but he is still content with his new friends like Evra the snake-boy, Sam who is a human child that wants to join the freak show, and R.V. another human obsessed with nature and wild-life. Then Darren invites R.V. and Sam to the freak show; now Sam wants to join the Circus more than ever and R.V. is concerned with the way the freaks are treated in the freak show and mostly there is a wolf-man in the show. Later on R.V. does the unthinkable and let wolf-man go free! In the process of that foolish mistake Sam is ripped in half, enraged by Darren’s friends Death he knocks the wolf-man flat. Finally Darren decides to drink Sam’s blood so that he can keep a piece of Sam with him before he dies; sadly R.V. went missing so he could not pay for his mistake. What will become of Darren in the next book and will he ever find R.V. in the future we will never know unless you read the horror story, mind blowing sensation that is Cirque Du Freak!
Summer camp meant alot of different things for Natalie, New friends, roommates, bugs, and dirty bathrooms. Natalie and her friends have found themselves at camp for all different reasons but they are all carrying around a secret. Natalie is very upset when her mom decides to send her to summer camp for eight weeks. The text in this story is very interesting, but can be very confusing at times. I would definitely recommend this story it’s a real page turner it makes you smile alot and even laugh out loud at times. I thought it was a really good start for the sequel.
The Host
By Stephanie Meyers
How would the world be different if souls were implanted onto human bodies? Melanie a 21-year-old girl- has been captured by aliens. Wanderer the soul has been put in her body, with a task of exposing unfound humans. But instead Melanie fills wanderers mind with thoughts and visions of Jared and Jamie hidden somewhere in the desert. They set out on an exciting epic journey to find Jared- the one Melanie loves and Jamie- her brother. Eventually they are found by Uncle Jeb in the desert. Held as prisoners, they feel alone and unwanted by Jared and everyone else who lives in the caves. After a near death experience, they earn the respect of everyone, save the life of Jamie and learn the life in the caves. Wanderer is torn in half when she learns of Doc taking soul’s lives trying to figure out how to remove them from their human hosts. As the end of the book nears, Wanderer and Melanie are faced with a tough decision: to keep Melanie trapped in her own body unable to make decisions or even control anything she does, or try to remove Wanderer from Melanie. This fast moving book with plenty of surprising plot twists is sure to be a well-liked book, for fans of The Twilight Series and adventure readers.
The Girls
Author: Amy Goldman Koss
This book is great for grades 6-8. What would you do if you were ruled by the most popular girl in school? Koss lets us live through that type of experience in her perceptive, well-written, fast paced, comedic novel. We enter the minds of 5 girls: Maya the childish one, Renee the quiet one, Brianna the impulsive one, Darcy the naive one, and their leader, Candace, the ruthless one. Candace’s manipulative hold on the girls makes them hurt each other and they learn not to trust. The bond between the 5 girls creates self-doubt within their group. Maya’s the first to be kicked out of the group, and Brianna went next, with Renee following them on her own accord. Darcy becomes obsessed with the beautiful, popular Candace, desperately clinging onto her status in middle school popularity for dear life. Little does she know she may be next. Eventually the girls turn against each other, and the novel ends with a special, almost cruel twist. Crucial topics are raised in this novel, such as social status, friendship, trust, teenage angst, and confidence. This book is sure to be a hit with young teenagers.
The Last Lobo
By Roland Smith
This book is a sequel to Roland Smith’s book called Jaguar, but it is easy to understand without having read the first book. It is about a boy named Jake who flies to an Arizona Hopi Reservation to look after his grandfather, Taw, after Taw left New York without telling Jake. When he arrives, he discovers that some people believe that there are lobos, or Mexican wolves, in the area who are killing livestock. After seeing one, he ends up trying, with his grandfather and other relatives, to save the lobo and relocate it to a place where it will be safe from people trying to kill it. This is especially important to them because the lobo is an endangered species. The race to capture the wolf before the bad guys get it makes the story hard to put down. It is also exciting because of the fast-moving action and close calls throughout the story. Jake is a brave and hardworking character that is also brave and kind. Other characters like Taw, Jake’s grandfather, John, Jake’s great-uncle, and Earl, Jake’s cousin’s ex-husband, are also fun to read about and have well-developed personalities. The Last Lobo is recommended to anyone who likes a good adventure story about the outdoors or has enjoyed other Roland Smith books (especially Jaguar).
The Dangerous Days of Daniel X
By: James Patterson
The Dangerous Days of Daniel X has a great main character named Daniel X who is an Alien Hunter from Alpar Nok and is sent to Earth to save it from any alien outlaws. James Patterson is a great writer who includes action and some suspense in his books. He keeps you on the edge of your seat while you read and he keeps the action coming. Daniel x has the ability to shape shift and create things with his mind. His is a normal boy with a surprising twist about his life. Patterson keeps the plot interesting with lots of twists and cliff hangers. The reader will not be able to put down the book and follow all of Daniel’s moves. When Daniel is three a six foot tall praying mantis comes to his home and kills his parents but Daniel is able to evade him. A picture is put in your mind when you read this book and a question comes to mind, do aliens exist? At each point in the story there is always some kind of twist changing Daniels fate and how he is perceived by the reader. When Daniel tries to go after the number 6 alien he is caught and taken aboard his ship and taken to his home planet Alpar Nok where he escapes and finds his real family. In this surprising twist Patterson catches the reader off guard and creates a big twist in the story. In this story Daniel takes responsibility for two planets and changes them forever. Daniel is only a fifteen year old boy but he shows people that he can make a difference that changes the universe. This is a very vivid and high action book with many cliff hangers and twists in its plot. I would recommend this book to any age reader and I think it will book for any one who loves fantasy and action.
“That Summer,” by Sarah Dessen.
Haven McPhail is five-foot-eleven inches and shows no signs of stopping. Her sudden growth spurt is not the only thing bothering her; her father leaves her mother for the local “Weather Pet,” and her sister is getting married at the end of the summer. When one of her sister’s old boyfriends comes to town, Haven remembers that summer when her parents were still married and her sister was happy. By the end of the story, Haven realizes that you have to let go of the past to face the future. The author puts together an enjoyable story, full of thoughtful reflections, for her debut novel. Dessen’s narrations are perceptive, witty, and laugh out loud funny. The plot moves at a comfortable speed and is filled with lots of twists. I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants a good read, although the story can get a little slow at times. Overall, it’s a great book!
Scorpia: an Alex Rider adventure
By:Anthony Horowitz
Scorpia is the folow up of Eagle Strike. It is the result of Alex finding out the truth about his father and a terrorist organization called Scorpia. Alex rider is a 14 year old spy. He has blonde hair and an athletic body. He is tall and acts more mature than anyone else his age. In this book Alex Rider goes to Venice to find Scorpia. He ends up in a room that begins to fill with water but barely escapes. Alex meets the leader of Scorpia and she tricks him into joining. Eventually Alex fins out about Scorpia’s plan to kill thousadns of children in London and decides he has to stop them. With an ending that no one will be expecting. In this book Horowitz throws in tons of action and non-stop suprises. Readers will just want to keep reading all the way untill the end. It is a modern action story for people of all ages to enjoy. Once you finish this book you will want to start readin the next one to see what happens. I definitely recommend this book to any reader.
Stormbreaker by: Anthony Horwitz
A spy book for teens. Alex lives with his uncle Ian and his maid/friend Jack she is very kind. Alex is a 14 year old athletic teenage boy who is brave like a mini James Bond. He is a fair skinned boy. Before he figures out he is one he will learn that his Uncle was murdered. And during his mission he learns why his uncle mad him learned how to do so many things (drive a vehicle, karate, track, and to keep fit).This book is a descriptive action for young adults. There will be a surprising end for the young spy. With his first mission done more is expected from the 14 year old MI6 agent. Readers will feel like they are there watching the action. This book is highly recommended.
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment is a unique and action packed book. Max a 14 year old mutant teenage girl takes care of 5 other kids in a remote house in the mountains. The kid’s names are Angel, Nudge, Gasman, Iggy, and Fang. All of these kids have something very alike but totally weird. They all have bird wings and lighter bones to make them fly. Ever corner these kids take there are action exploding events with all out brawls and guns blasting. The kid’s enemy is the School, the place and organization where they were made into mutants and scientists (whitecoats) ran tests on them. In the beginning they had already been at their house for 2 years unharmed and not a sign of the schools mercenaries, the Erasers. Erasers are werewolf like humans who speak like angels and look like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie look alikes. One day the Erasers come and beat the kids to a pulp except Angel. They take her back to the School which leads Maximum to lead the flock to go back to the School. After that the Erasers are on their butt the whole book. Max finds out later on that she may have a tracking chip in her arm.On the way they hit some trouble. Max helps a young girl and gets shot in the shoulder and wing from a couple violent boys. The author James Patterson describes the characters like they were flying right next to you in the air. All the kids have different powers, Angel can read minds, Iggy can make explosives in the nick of time, Gasman makes gross smelling farts, Nudge can see in the recent past of an object, and Fang is a very skilled fighter. Max doesn’t have any apparent powers except she has a voice which helps her in many situations and frustrates her throughout the book. She later finds out she’s supposed to save the world and in the end she finds something about her family but it’s too late, because she accidentally killed him. Read more of this amazing book to find out who it is and why she is going to save the world. James Patterson makes this book exactly like a comic book just with no pictures. When I red it and visualized what I was reading I found myself putting “pows and bams” during the fighting scenes. When you read this book you won’t want to put it down. Your mom will probably yell at you to go to sleep because you’re reading it so much.
Septimus Heap
Magyk
Angie Sage
Did you ever think that you would have a princess living with you? Try not knowing for about ten years! The Queen was killed by her bodyguards, shortly after the birth of her baby girl. Silas Heap finds the baby, wrapped in a blanket outside, on the coldest day of the winter season. Little does he know that this little girl is the missing princess. Knowing that his newborn baby Septimus is dead, he brings in the little girl and raises her as his own. On the day of her tenth birthday, the ExtraOrdinary wizard, Marcia Overstrand visits him and his family and informs them that the princess has been discovered. One of The supreme custodians is out trying to assassinate ten year old Jenna, and she runs away to Marram Mrashes with some of her family and a few friends. They are aided by many magical beings and journey to an excellent conclusion. But you have to read the book to find out!
Joe and Frank are brothers that want to grow up and become detectives because their father is an investigator for the Police Field and they want to be just like him. Joe is age 16 with brown hair and a stocky figure. While Frank has blonde hair is tall with a slim figure and is 17 years old. The book mainly takes place in a town called Shantytown. Shantytown is a quiet town where not to many people live and there are very few stores and not much sunlight there. But Shantytown is where all the action takes place. This is where the robbers meet Frank and Joe at the side of the cliff and almost shot both of them but was scared away by the car. Also, this is where they discover the cave on the other side of town. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a book filled with action and suspense because the author writes in a fast pace that has a bunch of twist so it always keeps you wanting to read more! So get The Missing Chums by Franklin W. Dixon today!
Chinese Cinderella
Adeline Yen Mah
Are you into classic fairy tales or don to earth, but interesting books? If you are in-between, get ready for your socks to be blown off by Adeline Yen Mah’s Chinese Cinderella. In this fantastic story, you follow young Adeline from the age of 3 to her early years of being a teenager. Adeline starts school with perfect grades and continues to do so throughout her life, but without the support of her stepmother, father, and all of her siblings. In this wonderful interpretation of a new kind of Cinderella, Adeline finds not a lover, but a shot at college. You will cry when she cries, laugh when she laughs, and by the end of this book you will be wiling to read it again and again for a burst of mixed emotions.
Could you imagine being in a foreign country? Learning a new language? That’s just what Siena had to do. Jumping at the chance to find her father through a Carpe Diem list, she joins the students across the seven seas program. She leaves behind her two best friends and a loving mother, but gain two new friends along the way. One thing she wanted to do was meet a boy and have a foreign romance. It is only natural that she has a little competition. All of her new friends join her in an exhilaratingly satisfying journey to discover her self in Munich, Germany. Siena believes in things like karma and yoga. Her new roommate is from Texas, and is more the fluffy type. Then their new friend is a closet poet, who turns out to be a fashion diva. Any reader would love the hilarious challenges they go through, though more appealing to girls.
Title: Tangerine
Author: Edward Bloor
Review: Moving to a new place can be tough. Especially if you’re legally blind, have an evil brother, and a dad who cares more about that evil brother’s football dream, than you. Paul Fisher is that kid. Supposedly, Paul starred into a solar eclipse, and this is what caused his blindness. He and his family have moved to Tangerine County, Florida. The one thing Paul is looking forward to in this new place is soccer. Paul wants to play goalie for the Lake Winsdor Middle Seagulls. His dreams are crushed when he finds out that he cannot play soccer for the Seagulls due to his blindness. Paul’s bad luck continues when his classroom portable sinks in a natural disaster. This means that Paul must go to Tangerine County Public School. Wait, this means that Paul can play soccer for the Tangerine War Eagles, right? Right, Paul plays for the War Eagles and gets some interesting friends. Bloor makes the story line flow beautifully, and the characters very developed. Even though the connection between Paul and Kerri is unnecessary, the connection between the other characters is great. For example, Paul’s cruel brother Eric, his concerned mother, and his unconcerned father, make you feel even worse for Paul. If you have a sibling who isn’t the nicest person, you can really relate to Paul Fisher. As you read on, piece together Paul’s blurry past, and find out what really happened to him. I recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery, sports, and adventure!
opps. srry mrs. mcgovern, i forgot the title and author
Title: The Sound of Munich
Author:Suzanne Nelson
srry=)
Marco’s millions
By: William Sleator
If you like a science adventure through universes, through space and time then you will like the adventure of Marco and his sister Lilly as they try to stop the world ending or so they think. As it’s a race through time and minutes tick away in the world, hours tick by in the real world. They are informed by aliens from a hole in a wall that there is a Lord and Master they call the Unknown. Marco knows that the unknown is really a naked singularity. Naked singularities connect universes with worm holes. The aliens tell Marco that if he and Lilly don’t help them it will explode and destroy their world and any world connecting to it (including Marcos universe). Lilly is too scared to go in so Marco does all of the work while Lilly covers for him with their parents. In the end I would recommend this book only if you have the second book “the boxes”, only then will the ending make sense. This is a good book and it gets really good when he is in the singularity.
Heat
Author: Mike Lupica
Michael Arroyo is an unusually talented 12-year-old pitcher on his Little League team. Off the field he seams like an average kid but he has a tragic past and a mysterious home life. Born in Cuba, Michael lost his mother to cancer when he was very young. His father brought Michael and his brother Carlos to America with the hope of seeing Michael pitch in the Little League World Series. His father died of a heart attack without seeing Michael realize his dream. Michael and Carlos are trying to keep their father’s death a secret until Carlos, just months shy of his 18th birthday, can legally assume custody of Michael. Otherwise the brothers may be split up or worse. For now they are being taken care of by a neighbor, Mrs. Cora. But Children’s Services is getting suspicious, and a rival coach and player have accused Michael of being too old to play in the Little League. This causes Michael to be suspended until he can obtain his birth certificate from Cuba. He needs something to go right for him and soon. This story is realistic and deals with one of today’s big issues — immigration. The action is fast-paced and exciting. The author makes the reader care about Michael and what happens to him. I simply could not put it down. I would definitely recommend this book whether you are a baseball fan or not.
“Oh My Goth” by Gena Showalter
Jade Leigh is your average Goth, trying desperately to live outside the norm of her high school. She is content being the “freak”. But when Jade gets sent to the principal’s office, yet again, her principal decides to send her into a virtual reality game with her worst enemy, the high school lead “Barbie”, Mercedes, the two must learn to work together to escape the newfound nightmare. The game makes the girls’ situations in school and at home switched. Jade is now a part of the norm, her gothic clothes and attitude no longer showing her individuality, and her real friends hate her. She finds herself surrounded by admirers and friends. The one person keeping her from going mad is the new guy, Clarik, who she crushes on in the game, hard. But will it last into the real world? It is a new feeling for Jade, people liking her, not making fun of her. Jade is beginning to wonder whether or not she will ever get out of this place, or even if she does decide she wants to. In this epic page-turner, Gena Showalter has you on the edge of your seat, begging for more.
The Falcon’s Malteser
Author: Anthony Horowitz
By the author of the New York Times best-selling Alex Rider Adventures, I bring you The Falcon’s Malteser. A book full of nonstop action and humor this book will leave you in question until the very end. Tim Diamond is possibly the world’s dumbest detective. He’s forgetful, inpatient and not very bright. Tim and his little brother nick get their life’s turned upside down when a dwarf, or as Tim liked to put it vertically challenged man shows up at their front door step with a package worth over 5 million dollars and pays them $1000 just to watch it. When the owner of the package is murdered Tim gets the blame, nick gets the package and every thieve in town out to get them. Will nick be able to prove his brothers innocence, and keep the package safe at the same time? Read this fast paced, heart pounding action packed book and find out what happens next.
Chicks with Sticks
(Knit wise)
The book is about four girls whose life is basically about sewing or knitting. They all face the differences of splitting up after high school and how they were going to keep the club together. In the beginning of they are all together Scottie, Amanda, Bella And Tay are together in a park trying to come up with a slogan or flyers to het students at school to join their knitting club. While they were there they talked about how they came to love knitting. This year they were seniors and they had to pick a community service project and everybody in the group knew what they wanted to except for Scottie. As her eyes wondered she saw this community service called Big sibling and Lil sibling and as time was running out she decided to sign up for it. A couple of weeks later they had a major problem that would upset the group. Tay had told them that she was going to move with her mom. This was a problem because she didn’t like going back and forth between her parents. The only reason why this is because her mom really doesn’t pay her any attention and she says that her dad is very boring and doesn’t like to do anything really with her. If you want to find out more about what happened you should READ It!!!!
Eragon
Grades 6 and up. Eragon has had many adventures so far with his dragon Saphira. They are now the only free dragon and rider left, not in the King Galbatorix, a very strong rider’s control. He is trying to take over the empire, and kill the Varden, whoare trying to stop the invasion and leave Alegesia freee. Eragon has sworn loyalty to Nasuada, Queen of the Varden and will try to protect them and fight off as many of the empire as possible. Eragon is a young man, with similar apperance’s of an elf. He found a dragons egg a few years back and has trained Saphira very well. Eragon is a strong-headed boy with high ambitions; he doesn’t always listen to directions, which gets him in trouble. He is not as strong as some riders, but fights very well and is getting much better with his magic powers. The description of the battles and Varden make readers captivated in the setting themselves. The continual growth of Eragon from the first two books makes this cliffhanger story very unique. The combined emotions of Saphira and Ee reader feel touched by what they share and make the reader want them to always succeed. Although the book ends abruptly, readers will love the book and want more. I loved the book and hope to get more thrills from a fourth book.
The Arctic Patrol Mystery
By: Frank W. Dixon
Frank and his brother Joe, 17 and 18, have been informed that they have to go on a hunt for a man in Iceland who is owed $50,000 by his insurance company. Both of them embark on the quest to find this “Mystery Man” and face dangers such as almost being blown apart inside of a small seaside shack and luxuries like the nice Saga hotel in Iceland. What is thought to be an easy mystery to solve amazes the Hardy’s as they find out that this mystery is related to the kidnapping of a U.S. astronaut and a relation to a secret spy administration! They make new friends along the way who help them solve this amazing mystery. Frank W. Dixon is actually a pen name for a group of writers who decided to write this series and the group wrote the book so well and has so much descriptiveness in it that it makes you feel as if you are watching a movie right in front of you instead of reading a book. After the mystery is solved the Hardy Boys’ are both more aware about the things that they have to face in life and this excerpt explains all of that: “So you were going to kill them?” Rex Mar asked as he steered the boat out of the cove. Taking in every word, Joe Hardy shuddered at the thought of the fate that might have overtaken them. At the end of the book both of the Hardy’s and their two friends that tagged along came out to be mature adults ready to go on in life.
North
Donna Jo Napoli
This book is about a boy living a normal life. He lives with his mother in a small town. His mother is extremely overprotective and she goes over the limit sometimes. But this time was too much. Alvin couldnt take it anymore. So he just leaves his house as goes as far North as possible. He meets new people and strange foods. When he cant go any further on his own, he meets a man named Idlouk Tana. He is a man with a lot of expierience in the North Arctic. He teaches Alvin how to hunt and survive. Alvin learned what animals to kill and how to kill them. What parts of the animal to cook and what parts he should use to keep warm. Alvin returns to his mother the following spring and learns that there is more to life and he comes back with adventure in his eye.
It seems that James Bond has taken a turn down the road that leads to bad movies and a thinning group of fans. In the third book of the series “Young Bond Adventures”, called “Double or Die”, James Bond and his friends embark on a rescue mission to save their beloved Professor Alex Fairborn. Fairborn was kidnapped by a very confusing group of villians; the two henchmen Ludwig and Wolfgang Smith, who work for Sir John Charnage, who works for a KGB agent named Bubushka, who, in turn, works for the Japanese government. The author, Charlie Higson, spends absolutely no time describing or giving background information on the characters, villians and heroes alike. Higson has Bond and company racing all across England following boring clues, that seem to be taking turns being simple and confusing. New characters are introduced and killed off left and right, and once again, hardly any background information is given on them. Towards the end of the book, Bond some how manages to stumble across the villain’s hideout, and in a VERY confusing chain of events, kills off the henchmen and Charnage, then randomly has a change of heart and allows Bubushka to flee unharmed. In the end, the book finishes in typical James Bond fashion, with big explosions, bad special effects, and of course, Bond ends up with the girl. I personally think that Bond should stick to his Sean Connery figure, even if it was from the 70’s. At least in those versions of James Bond, you don’t have to wait until the middle of the book to realize that there is actually a plot and main character.
TITLE- Double or Die
AUTHOR- Charlie Higson
The Thief Lord
Author: Cornelia Funke
In the beggining of the book you meet the inseperable brothers Prosper and Boniface otherwise known as Bo. Several months before the story begins the brothers mother died leaving Prosper to take care of 5 year old Bo. That was short lived because just weeks later their Aunt and Uncle took them in but evn that didn’t last long as the wicked Aunt decided to send Prosper to boarding school while she looked after Bo on her own. After learning about this, the brothers ran away but as nothing is ever easy for the two, Bo gets sick just as their Aunt hires a detective to find them and bring them back. Luckily, they are found by another orphan girl by the name of Hornet who takes them to Stella which turns out to be an abandoned theater which is also home to several other orphans who together for a band whos mission is to steal from the rich for their own gain. In the plot there is also a twist that could change any or all of the orphans lives forever. Personally, i would give this book around 4 stars because sometimes i found the plot line a little hard to follow. Otherwise this is a great book for the avid reader! if you want to find out whether Prosper and Bo are finally free or get recaptured by ther twisted Aunt……You have to read the book!
Cirque De Freak:Trials of Death
Darren Shan
In this book a young half-vampire named Darren must complete a series of deadly trials to he is a good vampire. Darren competes in foure trials, The Aquatic Maze, The Path of Needles, The Hall of Flames and The Blooded Boars. Darren almost lost in The Aquatic Maze but got lucky and saved himself at the last second. The Path of Needles was easier but he still ended up very damaged but he had three days and nights to rest because of the Festival of the Undead.In The Hall of Flames he nearly burnt himself to death but he got another three days before his next trial because a Prince has to watch over the trials but all of them had important meeting concerning the Vampaneze Lord(his arrival meant the start of a war between the vampires and the vampaneze and the vampaneze would win). Darren was mostly recovered from his burns the day of his last trial. He was about to loose but his friend, Harkat, came to save him not knowing that they could both be killed for it. I recommend this suspensed filled book, especially if you want to find out the twisted ending.
Wheel Wizard (March 23, 2009)
There was a boy named Seth and he was in a car accident. His favorite sport was basketball that was his career. He thought he couldn’t play basketball because he was in a wheel chair. He finds another way to play basketball again. It makes it so funny in the ending because he plays basketball and he has 21 points in his game while in the wheel chair. I recommended this book because it shows how you can play basketball in a wheel chair. This book should go to 6th grade to 12th grade because there is some people that is in wheel chair and they want to play sports and they can because all they have to do is read this book.
Jonh is 10 years old and he lives with his mother in a two room house and he doen’t have any brother’s or ssiter’s.
The story was about a boy that was going to the store and get some food to eat. A man came out of the alleyway and he tried to bite him . He want to school the next day and there was a girl in the hallway and he followed her all day long. After school he tried to bite her but she got away.
It made me want to keep reading this stoey because it was scary and it was a lot action in it.
I recomed this book because other kids my age are going to like this book because it is scary and it has a lot of action in it and it is about monster’s bitting everyone in the word.
The main character doesn’t get goood grades. His teacher gives spelling words to study. He studied all night. He told his parents he would pass but the next day he didn’t even make it to school . he and his sister had a constant battle about her lizard. I had to keep reading to find out whether or not he passed the test. I recommend this book to any girl or guy in middle school. It is really fun and exciting.
Ever a novel written by Gail Carson Levine is a love story and to me a fairytale. Kezi is a fifteen year old who despites being a sacrifice to keep her mother alive. She falls in love with a immortal named olus. The story is very mythical and requires thought. I would recommond this book to other young readers even though this was my first book read my this author.
Greg is my main character and he has a friend named howley.and they do some stupid stuff. what’s the brief the brief of the story is that this kid named Greg and his mom got him a diary. And he writes his life in there. the story is really funny mean your going to laugh a few time in this story and the book is pretty darn good to me I give it a thumbs up to the auther.last I will recommend that you should buy or rent this book because this book is awesome.
This is a rollercoaster of emotions story.The name of the main chracter in this book is rose lymond.she is a clever 15year old girl that lives with her parents .Rose recived a diary from her great-grandparents on her 12 birthday. Rose kept some secrets things that she did not want anybody to know .The story begins when a woman is murdered .The diary has some details that that can help the police solve the killing.The police gets the diary from Rose’s mother.Rose want’s diary back so there is an aventure that she goes on to get it back – she steals a police car,tears out pages of the diary that has the evidence needed .In a short time the police catch Rose,takes her to the police station,questons her.It was many attempts to get from her what they needed bescause the evidence was destroyed.Rose went to court,the judge gave her 50 hours of community service. After she done that she went to a boarding school in Massachusetts.Rose thought she was the only one to know what happened that weekend. Someone else knows what happened and will do any thing to keep her quiet This book tickled my spine of suspence.I think you should read this story to find out everything that cameout. It would shockyou .the story is a mystery action and has a lot of adventure with twists. I like this book and I recommand this book bescause it’s page turner.
Angus lives in New Zealand. She has a boyfrined named Luke. Nobody at her new school knows she is a Sex God. Angus went to her granddad’s house. Her granddad wanted to know why she hadn’t told him she was a Sex God. She had trouble at school because kids made fun of her. In the end, she told them her story of being a Sex God and they became frineds. The book is interesting and it kept me reading. I would recommend this book to teenaged kids and even teachers.
I read Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas by louis Rennison The girl’s name is Georgia Nicolson she has a boyfriend named robbie and a ex-boyfriend name dave. Georgia is white and her outfit is a white shirt orange,pink,yellow and red stipes in her skirt and black shoes. And she has long hair and the color is brown and her eyes is light brown. Georgia is on house arrest for ostracized leper banner. The story is about georgia wants to break up with robbie her boyfriend and just wants to go with dave. And she on house arrest for ostracize leper banner. The book is interesting because georgia doesn’t want to go with robbie but she does not know how she is going to break up with him. And she is also on house arrest. It is a good book because it ralates to a real life situation for teenages.
Dan and Amy Cahill are brother and sister who are poor unlike the rest of his famly. They are traveling all acrosted the world to new places to become the gratice cahill in history. Most of the texted is fast like it keeps you on the edg of your seat. I recumend this book to any one who loves a good adventure book.
Wiglaf is a 12 year old boy who goes to dragon slaying acadamy.He has one younger brother Fergus and he is new to that academy. He is very shy to talk him and his brother works on dragon slaying every day with dragon hunters. His father was the first one to slay a dragon.wiglaf wants to be just like him. I think the book is interesting and addicting because the are 5 of these dragon slaying academy books so I’m just goanna keep reading I would recommend this book because it talks about wars and fighting and anamals.Thats the kind of books that I like to read.
Jack is about to do a gum expriment
Jacks nose is very senitive
Jack could smell antthing
He could smell what the school was having for lunch
Jack could also smell the gum that was lef under the table for weeks
The book was entersting because every page kept me going and jack likes gum and at the middle of the storie jack was chewing gum and walking down the hallway and a gold key caught his eye
I would recommend this book because it is funny it would keep u reading because it is full of joy the boy jack likes gum and he finds the janitors key and does not want to give it back how can that relate to your life
Junior is a idean and he is a spoken idean. Junior plays basketball for the best team. But when he plays his old basketball team they lose because junior gets hurt. My text is a relly funny and the book goes by so fast. I think the book is very exciting.
Pardon my French
A seven-teen-year-old named Nicole goes to Peabody high school she lives at Peabody Corner, M.D. Her parents have sent her to the S.A.S.S program because they want her to learn, explore a different culture and learn how other people live. They want her to enjoy living in a new environment and study variety of subjects. Really Nicole is not interested; she thinks her parents have this obsessive need for her to expand her thoughts. All Nicole really cares about is Nate, a side of shopping, gossiping with three best friends and pizza.
Nicole imagines her self spending the rest of her life with her boyfriend named Nate. Nicole takes a trip to Paris to study abroad without him. Making her think differently of spending the rest of her life with him. She also discovers that Paris is a beautiful city with cars that move at the speed of light, weird snails that you can eat and a language she has no clue how to speak or read. While she is in Paris she doesn’t think she can find joie de vivre (Pleasure in living) on her own. Nicole does get into some drama she thought she would never have to deal with. This is a great book because you’ll learn new languages and almost know how it feels to be In Paris.
Someone like you
by: Sarah Dessen
What can i say, a great book. There are these two girls who are best friends who are having some real bad problems, Halley is grounded but is going out with a trouble maker, and Scarlett is pregnant and the father died in a motorcycle accident. Since he is dead Halley has to go with her for all they baby needs. Since this is Halley’s first boyfrend she starts to ditch her best friend. Halley then brakes up with him but her and Scarlett are still not talking. Read the book to find out if they ever become friends and if the pregancy is a success or not. This book is highly reccomended for girls with highschool problems.
Heat
Mike Lupica
Heat is a very good book if you like sports books. It has really good characters and an awesome theme. The main character Michael is a terrific baseball player who has been through a lot. If I would rate this book I would give it a 5 because I like sports and the problem in the story.
CIRQUE DU FREAK ALLIES OF THE NIGHT
AUTHOR: DARREN SHAN
MY BOOK REVIEW
The best vampire leader is Darren Shan. Darren is also the author of this book. Darren has two leaders. Their names are Vancha the prince and Larten the one time general. Darren and his leaders defeated the Scars of the Age of War and Darren brought the greatest Vampaneze Lord against him. When Darren, Vancha, and Larten have to defeat the greatest Vampaneze Lord to win the Age of War II, Darren and his leaders use their special power to defeat The Vampaneze Lord. This book is recommended because Darren is an awesome writer and Darren books are scary, interesting, and has surprising endings that show us that it’s all over.
NEVER LAND
IN THE BOOK PETER PAN AND HIS FRIENDS JOURNEY AROUND THE ISLANDS .
THERE IS THIS GOAT SPIRIT THING THAT STEALS SOME THING FROM THE GOAT.
PETER GOES TO THE WIND CAVE WITH HIS BUDDIES AND SOME BODY FALLS INTO THE RIVER INSIDE OF THE CAVE THEY SAVE THE KID.
CAPTAIN HOOK IS AFTER THEM WITH HIS TRUSTY PIRATES PETER HAS A BATTLE WITH HIM.
THEY CAPTURE THE STOALEN THINGS THAT THE GOAT TOOK .
MORE MISHAP HAPPENS .
PETER AND THE LOST BOYS HURRY OUT OF THE CAVE.
THEN FROM THERE CAPTAIN HOOK LOOKS STUPID .
THAY ALL TRAVEL AND SET SAIL FOR THE NEW ISLAND OR SOMETHING THEN THEY HAVE LAUGHS AND FUN.
THE END.
Claudia, she is a nice girl, but the most important thing is that claudia cant spell. Also claudia is in the six grade. Claudia loves to babysit. Claudia is in bud trouble at school. I think the book is funny because clagia dosent know how to spell, also she always getting yelled at. The book goes by fast. First they are in school then they go to this dance.kristen is going to this spring dance and she wants to invite all of her friends. But she can only invite three of em. I recommended you to read this book because its funny and it relaxes your mind. For an example if you are mad. And u pick this book up and start reading it, I think you wont be mad for to much longer!!!!!
This book is Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers. And what it is talking about is like this 10:05a.m.
The sun shining like a big yellow shining and er, warmey planet on fire thing. Then something full of miraculosity has happened .My vati,world- renowened fool and paid- up member of a big twit club, has for once in his entire. Then at 10:15a.m. the only fly in the ointmosity of life is that vati is making us go to some crap clown- car convention. Then 9:10p.m. outside the front- room door .Room. this is it. Ive got my old teletubbies. Then at both of our parents have said yes. Unbelievable. Actually. I am not amazed that jass parents said yes because they are on the whole not entirely mad. But my parents? Weird. Then german. Herr kamyer was as usual rambling on about the koch family. The last thing was whelk boy. A whelk is a horrible thing that only the truly mad eat. And this book was interesting to me. And I will recommended to teener.
My main charcter is Abby . Abby is going to the fifth grade .Abby lolves to excersize every morningshe never stops .She loves the game of soccer Abby had just started school she decided to finally try out soccer for the first year .Abbys has a best friend name Jessica.Abby’s friend Jessica tought her how to play more advace. Her first game she led her team with victory for the first time . The book is very interesting because she is a young girl in fifth grade trying to set goal who love math and would be a good romodles for soccer players.
The dairy of a wimpy kid
Author: Jeff Kinney
The story I’m reading is about a little boy his name is Greg he is always getting into stuff like on Oct.31 his friend Rowley and he were outside trick or treating when they were they saw some teenagers riding by in a car then they played a trick on them after that they said they were going to call the cops so you can say that Greg knows how to find stuff to do.
One day Greg tells about when he had to join the swim team because his mom made him do it his older brother Roderick had to take him to swim class and Roderick was In a band so every time Roderick hits a bump in the rode Greg would pray that his brother’s stuff would not hit him in the head.
Rowley was a friend how acts like he isn’t so smart then so he gets his hand broken because they here playing on a big wheel and throwing footballs at each other after he gets his cast a lot of people start hanging around Rowley so Greg gets a idea so he tells everyone that he is the one who broke his arm after that no one likes to talk to him any more but his friend Rowley.
For Christmas when Greg was little he asked for a Barbie house so he could play with his little soldiers in it but his dad said no so he asked his uncle for It and in stand of getting him the house he just picked the first thing that had Barbie on it so he got a little Barbie girl so if you see a picture of a Christmas when he had a frown on his face it is because of that and that only.
This Christmas will be different because you can believe Greg asked for a boy toy. That day everyone came over to there house and Greg didn’t get any thing he wanted so at the end of the day his mom came to him and said that she got his game but she must of gave it to a friend by mistake.
So many awesome books! Hopefully this list of books and reviews will help you with future book selections. I have quite a few of these books in our classroom library! ENJOY!