Masterpiece by Elise Broach

51iTSvM1fBL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_This book is called Masterpiece written by Elise Broach and illustrated by Kelly Murphy. The main characters are a shiny black beetle named Marvin and an eleven year old boy named James. The book takes place in New York City, sometimes at James’s house (where Marvin lives) and sometimes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Marvin drew an amazing pen and ink illustration and by accident James took all the credit. Now James is expected to draw more illustrations but he can’t do it without Marvin’s help.

 

Marvin and James became really good friends because they would always travel together on wild journeys to The Met and they would collaborate all the time on new drawings. Marvin was sneaking out of the apartment again and again to go to the Met. The streets of New York City are not meant for a little beetle. Everyone in Marvin’s family was really anxious because he was unprotected in the big city.  Albrecht Dürer, who is a famous pen and ink artist is a very important part of this story. Christina, a woman who worked at The Met, has crazy ideas. She thought if James could make a forgery of Albrecht Dürer’s famous drawing then she could use the fake drawing to catch the real criminal who stole the other drawings. James and Marvin work together to find the drawings. “And Prudence! And Temperance! They’ve been missing for more than two years.” Prudence and Temperance are two of Dürer’s drawings.

 

I really enjoyed this book because I love art and drawings and I also like the four virtues that Dürer drew (a set of four drawings including Prudence and Temperance). I would recommend this book to people who like art and books that almost every chapter is a cliffhanger and you just don’t want to stop reading. I would rate this book five stars because I love art and even if it was complicated I really enjoyed how the whole story connected together and at the end you could connect all the steps together and understand everything.

 

My Best Frenemy by Julie Bowe

The title of this book is My best Frenemy by Julie Bowe. The main character of this book is Ida May. The setting of this book is present. Ida May’s perfect best friend, Stacey Merriweather. Everyone loves Stacey!

 

All the girls get in big trouble after a truth or dare game. Ida doesn’t know if Stacey can help out now! This is from the beginning of the book when she is writing to her diary: “Dear Stella, How are you? I am fine. This is the first time I have written to you so here is a little background information.

  1. I am a girl.

  2. I am 12 minus 3. (get it?)

  3. I have bleu clair eyes.

  4. I do not have freckles.

  5. Or pierced ears.

  6. I really want to get pierced ears, but my parents say I have to wait until I’m old enough to take care of them. I’m not sure how old that will be, but I know it will have double digits.

  7. My best friend is Stacey Merriweather.

  8. My second is my sock monkey, george. Please don’t tell george he came in second.

  9. My regular friends are Randi, Brooke, Meeka, and Jolene.

  10. Jenna Drews (see page 1) is not exactly my regular friend. She used to be my enemy, but now she’s not exactly that either. I guess you could call her my frenemy.

  11. I don’t like writing much.

  12. I don’t like boys much either. Except for my dad. And Mr. Crow. Tom Sanders is okay too. He’s the only boy in my class who doesn’t burp on a regular basis.

  13. And maybe I like Quinn.

  14. A little.”

 

I enjoyed this book and I thought it was very dramay. So…I recommend this book to people that like those kinds of books. I rate this book three stars***because I am not into those dramay books that much but I still like them.

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Flush by Carl Hiaasen

flush-carl-hiaasenI am currently reviewing the book Flush, by Carl Hiaasen. The main character is Noah, the son of a local environmentalist. Noah lives with his mother and sister Abbey, while his dad waits it out in jail. Noah’s dad is trying to stop the Dusty Muleman. Noah is honest and loyal. Even though his dad is a risk taker, he supports him and helps him prove the truth. Noah’s sister Abbey is more doubtful of their father, because she doesn’t want him to stay in jail. Meanwhile, Noah’s mom loves Noah’s dad very much; she knows he is doing the right thing but is upset that his decisions are affecting the family. The book takes place in Key West, Florida.

 

Throughout the book, the main characters, Noah, Abbey, their mom and dad are surrounded by trouble related the Coral Queen. The Queen is a gambling boat, owned by Dusty Muleman. Noah’s dad knows that Dusty is dumping waste into the beautiful, clear water. The only problem is, he can’t catch him! Noah seeks out the help of Lice Peeking, an only friend of his fathers…and an ex-employee of Dusty Muleman. Together, they figure out a way to catch Dusty Muleman in the act and free Noah’s dad from jail. “What’s wrong with him? Is he dense or what?” “Abbey don’t talk like that way about your father,” Mom said, “and the word is ‘deluded,’ not ‘dense.’ “ I think Abbey is upset about this.

I enjoy this book because it is a big journey if you are trying to do something good but get in trouble. I think Noah’s dad is very brave to do this. I recommend this book to people who like books like spying stories, action, and adventure stories because i think those are the kinds of words that would describe  this book. I rate this book 3 stars because I liked it but I am not into spying kinds of books.

 

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand

This book is called The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand. The main character is a girl named Victoria Wright. Victoria is an A student and always is a good girl until one day when she gets a B in music and gets really upset. The setting of this book is in the Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls which is the scariest Home ever.  It’s scary because crazy magical things happen.It takes placein the present.10893214

 

One day Victoria woke up perfectly normally and walked to her only friend’s house as usual. Her only friend is Lawrence Prewitt and all he does is play the piano really well. She rang the doorbell but nobody answered. After a while his parent came and she shivered (that has been happening a lot) and they looked normal but didn’t seem normal and Victoria couldn’t find what was wrong. Lawrence was apparently “at his grandmother’s house” but Victoria didn’t believe her. She found out that he was at the Cavendish Home. When she met with Mrs. Cavendish for the first time and found out that she was really nice. But on her second meet with her she saw Mr. Alice first. This part was a little creepy because Mr. Alice said at the end of the chapter on her second meeting with Mrs. Cavendish, “She has been waiting for you.” All different creepy things have been happening like she saw feelers coming out when she least expected it. Victoria is trying to get Lawrence out of the Cavendish home.

 

I thought this book was scary mostly because of the things Mrs. Cavendish was doing.  She was trying to avoid Victoria getting Lawrence out of the home.I recommend this book to people who like creepy books. I rate this book 3-4 stars because it wasn’t my favorite book ever and I don’t usually read creepy mystery books.

 

Madison Finn By Laura Dower

9780613750387The title of this book is Madison Finn by Laura Dower. The main character is Madison Finn and she has all different kinds of personalities because she gets into all different problems in this book. For example, after Madison gets into a fight with best friend, Ivy/Poison Ivy, they become enemies. Then, her dad comes to her house (her parents are divorced) with his new girlfriend and things get crazy with her parents. It is awkward for Madison and her divorced parents because Madison is stuck in between them. The setting of this book mostly takes place at school and at her house.

 

Madison takes a long journey through all different emotions and gets caught up so many times. She doesn’t know what to do because right after she starts to settle down, its like she gets a really loud wake up call jolts her back into action. The book begins with Madison working on the school elections. Then, somebody nominates Madison for Class President, but she doesn’t know who. Throughout the rest of the book, she tries to figure out who it was. Her email pen pal gives her advice throughout the book, especially about boys. Madison has a crush on a boy named Hart. One quote that best describes the book is from a file Madison wrote, “Rude Awakening: Crushing can be hazardous to your health. I just don’t get boys. One minute they’re so nice, the next minute they’re so not. Does crushing on someone mean my heart is going to get squashed?”

I really liked the book a lot. I liked it because I can understand how Madison was feeling. For example, sometimes, I have mixed emotions and I don’t know which one is most powerful. Madison is also overwhelmed by her emotions when Ivy always gets her way in everything. Then Madison feels mad and sad and doesn’t know which feeling is worse. I also liked the book because it had email sections that were fun to read. It made it really easy to understand her emotions. I would recommend this book to people who experience mixed emotions sometimes. The book really captured Madison’s different feelings. I would also recommend it to people who have trouble figuring out their problems. Madison’s pen pal helps Madison figure out her problems, so maybe the person reading the book could get help as well. I would rate this book four stars because it was a good book and I could relate to it, but it wasn’t my favorite book (which would be five stars). It is only four stars because it didn’t make me laugh and my favorite kinds of books are funny ones.

 

Ellen Tebbits, By Beverly Cleary

The title of this book is called Ellen Tebbits by Beverly Cleary. The main character is Ellen Tebbits. The setting is in a ballet class and it takes place in the present because they have modern things. Ellen Tebbits has a secret that will ruin her life if people from her school find out. She finds out that the new girl, Austine Allen, is hiding the same secret. They become the best  of friends and Ellen doesn’t feel that embarrassed about her secret. But when Ellen does something that Austine cannot forgive her for, she stops talking to her! It becomes really hard to say sorry to Austine and Ellen doesn’t know what to do.

20131021213542!Cover_of_Ellen_TebbitsI enjoyed this book. my favorite part is when Ellen finds Austine hiding in the broom closet because she doesn’t want anyone to see that she has the secret and they both find out they have the same secret. I would rate this book three stars *** because I liked it, but I didn’t love it. It isn’t my favorite ether. I recommend this book to people who like secretive books because of their secret.

 

Alice-Miranda At School by Jacqueline Harvey

The name of this book is Alice-Miranda At School by Jacqueline Harvey. The main character is Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones. She goes to a boarding school called Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale Academy for proper young ladies, when she was only seven.

While at school, Alice-Miranda finds that there are many unhappy people and that something is wrong. She finds that the Headmistress, Ophelia Grimm/Miss Grimm is nowhere to be found. There also seems to be someone hiding out on the premises. Alice-Miranda starts interrupting Miss Grimm’s study and Miss Grimm gets annoyed so Miss Grimm finds a way to get Alice-Miranda kicked out. Alice-Miranda has to do all different challenges to stay in the school.

I enjoyed this book because Alice-Miranda has her way of doing certain things that she should or shouldn’t do. My favorite part is toward the end of the book, when Alice-Miranda finally reveals a mysterious twist about Miss Grimm’s life- I have to keep it a secret though! I would recommend this book to people who like suspenseful books and mysteries. I really loved reading it because it kept me on my toes. Even though it was exciting, I would only give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Flora And Ulysses, By Kate DiCamillo

This book is called Flora And Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo. The main characters are Flora and Ulysses, and they live in Flora’s house in the late 1900’s. Three important events in the book are: Flora saves Ulysses from a vacuum, Flora discovers that Ulysses can understand everything Flora says, and they get into many different adventures. I really enjoy this book because it is exciting and funny.

My favorite part of the book is when Flora saves Ulysses because the vacuum was out of control and Flora was watching it all happen. Then all of a sudden, the vacuum went on top of Ulysses and Flora helped him. It made me laugh to imagine this happening in real life. I would recommend this book to people who like humorous books and fantasy books (because Ulysses can understand Flora). I would also recommend it to people who like Kate DiCamillo books because it is better than her Mercy books.

Lastly, I rate this book five stars because it was exciting, funny, and Kate DiCamillo added images and comic book strips that added to the story.

The Chocolate Touch, By Patrick Skene Catling

The title of my reading partnership book is The Chocolate Touch, by Patrick Skene Catling. The main character is John Midas and the book takes place far in his town. After John finds a mysterious coin, he buys a box of chocolate and everything he eats or touches his mouth, turns into chocolate. John starts to have problems with this. My favorite part is when the song from the play comes up in chapter eight, “Where the pools are bright and deep, Where the gray trout lies asleep, Up the river and over the lea, That’s the way for Billy and me….” I enjoyed this book, I would give it three stars on a scale of five stars because it wasn’t my favorite book. I would still recommend it, especially to people who like fun, fiction books.