The Girl Who Could Fly, by Victoria Forester

The book that I chose to read is called The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria  Forester. The main character is a average girl or is she?…anyway her name is Piper McCl6639840-M-1oud she is 9-10 years old and has a big country accent, her parents are Betty and Joe McCloud. The list of supporting characters go on forever so im just not going to name them. The setting of the book shifts from Lowland country to the academy for children with extraordinary talents.

One really important event was when Piper learned to fly. It started out like this…when Piper was born she always had the ability to float a few feet above the ground. Finally when she got older Piper built up the courage to jump off the room of her farm house. She realised SHE COULD FLY!

Another important event was when piper had to make a big decision. She had to chose to leave her parents forever (remember she is only 9-10) or go to an academy for special children who have extraordinary talents. P.S you might think this is  spoiler but its not because it says it on the back of the book. Piper chose to go to the academy but little did she know that she would be taken from her parents do that .

I think the biggest problem is probably when she gets to the academy and settles in she soon realizes that what she thought to be the safest place for her . Her talent turns out to be the most dangerous place she could ever be. You might think the biggest problem is something else. But you might want to stay clear from this book, normally you all wouldn’t take my advice but trust me on this one I am saving you a lot of disappointment. One thing I liked about this book is behind all the discription this book has some incredible quotes. Like when Piper is teaching her self to fly she made up a little saying to make the lesson a lot easier “I am as light as a feather, as swift as a bird and I can fly.” So even though this book is horrible you might want to scan it to see all the good and funny quotes and take a look at the part when the author does tell the story how good the story is.

I didn’t enjoy the book very much but I hope others will. I loved the story a lot but there was too much detail, the book should have been 100 pages long but instead it was 320 something pages because of description. It is good to explain and have discription but this is too much, you could barely go through three words without having to move into description and change the topic. Some parts of this book were as painful to hear as to see a grown man cry. Just when you are getting into the story you can be taken out and distracted really easily. I would recommend this book to people who love and can take in gallons of description and who stick to one book even if it is horrible. (HINT, HINT) I would rate this book 11/2 stars*½ out of 5 stars*****

 

The People of Sparks, by Jeanne DuPrau

The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau is an amazing book.

 

imgres(DON’T READ THE REST OF REVIEW UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THE CITY OF EMBER. THIS IS THE SEQUEL OF THAT BOOK. I’M WARNING YOU. YOU WON’T GET IT AND IT WILL BE A SPOILER. IF YOU WANT TO THAN YOU SHOULD CHANGE YOUR MIND. OTHERWISE IT’S A BAD CHOICE.  ~MARLOH. :))

 

The main characters are Lina and Doon. Lina is a kind-hearted, curious, nice, surprising, and an adventurous, 12 year old girl. Lina jumped onto a truck to see if she could see a city. She thought that she would be gone for two days, but she was away for twenty-eight days, almost a month. This example is from the first book, The City of Ember. Doon is different in some ways than Lina, and he’s different. Doon is smart,  adventurous, and has a temper. He’s good at figuring things out (read the book to see what I’m saying). In Ember there was something called Assignment Day where the 12 year old kids of Ember are assigned jobs (They take a slip of paper out of a bag and it say’s a job on it, and that’s the job they have for a while.).  When Doon picked his job, he lost his temper and threw down the paper that told him his job in front of the mayor. This is one example of Doon losing his temper. The setting of this book is in the future, and at one point it’s in a city (I think the city’s San Francisco because the book says it’s                                                                                                                                             hilly.)

 

The people of Ember/The Emberites “leaders” are Lina and Doon. They finally find a city that will take them for 6 months, but after that they are gonna have to build something on their own. One important event was when the Emberites found Lina and Doon. Another was when they found the settlement. Another was when Ben Barlow, a town leaders arm almost fell off.

 

I really enjoyed the book because it kept me on my toes. I would recommend this book to people who are 8+ because they might not understand it. I would also recommend this book to people who like cliffhangers. I would rate this book infinity stars because I couldn’t put it down.

Batman The Sires, By Bob Kane

I looooove this book. It was and original to the people who really like comic books, like myself. Batman is so cool. With all his gadgets and little tinkering devices. He has the skill of a regular superhero and is not a mutant or alien or experiment gone wrong.

 

He just went away for a few years and then came back this crime fighting awesome guy. One time he was fighting Joker, and he punched him in the stomach and The Boy Wonder/ Robin punched him in the legs and Joker went flying.

 

Robin is also really awesome because he always gets caught and he never ever dies. Then he remembers he has a homing devices, and boom batman is there. Batman is like a symbol to people like James Jordan the police commissioner.

“He’s the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero. He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.” -Jim Gordon in Batman

 

Well I give this book ten out of five stars because Batman is so awesome and he deserves better than regular comic. He is a awesome billionaire during the day, and he becomes an awesome crime fighters at night.

Here are a few more quotes from Batman. P.S, they are epic!

“It’s not underneath, but what we do that defines us.” Rachel Dawes in Batman

“Either you die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Harvey Dent in Batman

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Savvy by Ingid Law

Savvy   is   a   book   about   a   girl   named   Mississippi   but   everyone   calls   her   Savvy-by-Ingrid-LawMibs.   She   isn’t   a   normal   girl.   She   doesn’t   live   in   a   normal   family   ether.   They   all   have   what   is   called   a   savvy   they   find   out   there   savvy   when   they   turn   13.   Mibs   is   really   excited   to   get   her   savvy.   And   can’t   wait   to   be   a   teen.

 

Unfortunately   the   night   before   the   night   of   her   b-day   her   father   gets   injured   too  far   for   all   of   them   to   visit   him.   So   Mibs   mom   and   older   brother   Rocket   leaves   them   alone   for   a   while   with   their   grandpa.   Then   there   naber   miss   rosemary   throw   a   big   party   for   her   at   the   charge.   Mibs   gets   mad   then   her   her   brother   and   her   friend   and   his   sister   sneak   on   a   bible   delivery   bus   to   go   to   Mibs   father.

I   would   recommend   this   book   to   everyone   over   the  second  grade.    I   like   this   book   because   it   is   adventure-fantasy.And I really like adventures.  I   would   give   is   5   *****   stars.

-Ruby

 

Bartimaeus the Golems Eye

Bartimaeus the Golem’s Eye by Jonathan Stroud

Warning! Do not read this review unless you have read Bartimaeus the Amulet of Samarkand!

 

Bartimaeus the Golem’s Eye is by Jonathan Stroud. The main characters are Nathaniel (also called John Mandrake), Kitty Jones, and Bartimaeus the djinni. Nathaniel is very powerful and a bit arrogant. Kitty Jones is very rebellious and joined the resistance, an organization made to rebel against the magicians. Bartimaeus is a trickster and has a big mouth. This book takes place in London and Prague. It takes place in about 1980.

 

Nathaniel is the assistant head of Internal Affairs in the government. There is a Golem (a mythical demon) lurking around London and they have to find it. He also needs to find Kitty and the resistance before they cause any more trouble. Bartimaeus is bound to Nathaniel’s word. Kitty has a score to settle with head of internal affairs Mr. Julius Tallow. “Mr. Tallow wrecked my life! I will get him soon,” said Kitty. In this book, It rotates the prospective, but it is random whether it is Kitty, Bartimaeus or Nathaniel.

 

I loved this book because the writing was very descriptive, the characters were interesting, and it kept you on your toes. I would recommend this to people who like action and imgresviolence. There is a lot of that in this book! I would rate this book four stars! It was very good.

 

Mandy, By Julie Andrews Edwards

I read a book called Mandy, by Julie Andrews Edwards. I started to read it when I saw that a very famous actor was a writer. The book was about an orphan named Mandy. She would love to have a place to call her own. There is a big wall that is the border of the orphanage. One day Mandy finds a way to climb over the wall. When she gets over the wall she finds an old cottage in the woods. Everyday after school mandy climbs over the wall and does her best to make the cottage her own. She saves up her money to get things to use in her cottage and even lies to get the things for her cottage.

 

Two important events are when: One day Mandy is really sick. It is very cold out also but Mandy still goes to l the cottage. Another important event is when Sue, Mandy’s best friend and roommate follows her to the cottage. I won’t say why its important because it spoils the story. I think a decision that changes the story is when Mandy goes out when she is sick because it changes the rest of the story.

 

I really liked the book because It has a lot of adventure yet it doesn’t. I don’t like no adventure but I don’t like too much or it gets too busy for me to keep track of. I recommend the book to people who don’t like no adventure but don’t like a lot of it. I would rate the book 1000000 out of 5 stars.

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Crogan’s Vengeance by Chris Schweizer

Crogan has a big problem. A pirate who Hates Crogan is the captain of Crogans ship and is  trying to kill Crogan. The setting of this book is Tortuga, another island, and Crogan’s ships. Actually, this book is really set in a random suburb because the author uses a framing device. A framing device is where you have two stories, usually someone is telling the story or thinking of it and the “framed” piece is the main part but the non-framed part is what’s really happening. Crogan is very acrobatic. There’s a reason he’s called “Catfoot” Crogan. He can swing from the crow’s nest on a rope in a semi circle and land next to the captain.imgres

 

Crogans old captain had a set of rules that keeps the pirates alive. For example one rule is not to plunder French ships because the pirates are helped by the French. A big event is when D’or (the new captain) decides to plunder a French ship so Crogan gets in trouble because too many people knew that Crogan was with D’or in a French island. That is also a problem because it means that D’or will give Crogan a bad reputation. Another important event is when the old captain give Tom Dander the small ship not D’or, his first mate because this makes D’or really mad. Theres a good quote from the old captain that helps prove my point. “In truth,I was surprised he didn’t throw thunder when I named Tom Dander captain ‘stead of him.”

I enjoyed this book a lot because it is good and has lots of action and suspense. Also, the story of Crogan is interesting because he starts as a man working for a crazy captain and ends up joining a pirate ship. I would recommend this book to people who like pirate adventures. I would also recommend this to people who like lots of action. I would rate this book ****4 stars out of five because it wasn’t that funny.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Book review by Jack Lille Yerington

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The book I have been reading is called The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. The main character’s name is Nobody Owens (Bod for short). This book shows Bod’s life from when he was just a couple months old to when he is eight (so far).The setting of the book is the graveyard. He is living in the graveyard because his parents were killed by an assassin named Jack. He is being hidden by Silas (his guardian) and his adopted parents Mr. and Mrs. Owens. Bod can do something unique, he can see ghosts and everything dead. Every chapter of The Graveyard Book is a cliffhanger. Bod is curious, which leads to problems. For example, once he took his friend into a cave, and then almost died in the cave.

Bod has a lot of adventures in this book. Once, he noticed  some ghouls in the graveyard and they started talking to him. They talked for a little while and they finally persuaded him into going to Ghûlheim. Ghûlheim is where all kinds of creatures live, the ghouls live there, Night-Gaunts live there, Hellhounds live there, and much more. Bod was taken by the ghouls and put into a sack. He found a screw in the sack and started poking a hole in the sack. A Hellhound attacked the bag and Bod fell out. He was almost killed by the Hellhound but, he cried help in Night-Gaunt and was saved by one.

 

As I said earlier, Bod took his friend Scarlett into a cave, they were gone for a long time. Bod’s friend’s parents got worried and called the police. When she and Bod came out they were very relieved, however, they wouldn’t let her go to the graveyard again. She was allowed to go back to the graveyard one more time to say goodbye because she was moving. The last time she saw Bod Bod asked, “Go where?” Scarlett answered, “Scotland. There’s a university there. For Dad to teach particle physics.” Scarlett didn’t want to say goodbye to Bod but she had to.

I enjoyed this book because it was suspenseful. This book has ghosts and ghouls and more creatures, and I love that. It also has mystery which I really like. I would recommend this book to kids who are in 3rd grade and up. I would also recommend this book to kids who love mystery. I would give this book

 

Unwanteds :Island of fire

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This book is called Unwanteds written by Lisa McMann.This takes place on a island called Artime. Artime is an island that is green all over but has a mansion in the middle.  If you have read my other book reviews then you know that the main character is a boy named Alex and his new friends Sky and Crow, and his old friends Meghan, Samheed and Lani. In the third book Alex is under pressure now that the Unwanteds have no food, no water and are looking to Alex for answers. As Alex tries to pull everything together by getting the voice stealing thorn necklace off Meghan and finding Lani and Sameed.

In Quill, another section of the Island, Aaron has been planning an attack on Artime ever since he got a band of people riled up and then when he had taken over as high priestess and kidnapped high priestess haluki. Alex has to now decipher a cryptic note Mr.Today had left at his parting, a riddle:

Follow the dots at the traveling sun

Magnify, focus, every one

Stand enrobed where you first saw me

Utter in order; repeat times three.

“The unwanteds were beginning to starve. He handed it back to Henry and shook his head.”Give it to meg,”he said.”no, wait… to Carina Fathom and her baby. They need it most. Alex swallowed hard a

nd turned away so he wouldn’t be tempted to grab it back again.”  Alex is sacrificing everything for the Unwanteds, so they can live and keep Mr. Todays legend going.

I enjoyed this book because it has twists and turns you would never expect to happen, for example how Megan’s character had the necklace of thorns inserted on her neck and how they kidnapped Governor Haluki. I would recommend thisbook to people who like magical realism, action, adventure and drama. Unwanted would be a book for anyone who like dystopian books. The events in the stories fit like a puzzle piece. I would give this book 4 stars.

 

Dumpling Days

The book that I was reading is called Dumpling Days, and the author is Grace Lin or Pacy Lin ( Pacy is her Chinese name.) The main character is Grace Lin or Pacy Lin ( This book is about the author, that’s why the main character has the same name as the author.) Pacy has two sisters and a big family, her sisters are Lissy and Kiki. She has an uncle but she doesn’t know his name so she calls him Uncle Flower, she has a dad and a mom, and a lot more siblings. The main character is trying to get better at painting because in another book, The Year Of The Dog, Grace got the 3rd place award in making books for all schools and Grace made a picture book with her drawings in it and when she takes a trip to China she has to go to a painting class. There is a girl who makes mean faces to her so Grace thinks of her as an enemy. Who Grace tries to be a better painter than the girl that is mean to Grace in Grace’s painting class. This book takes place in China because Grace took a trip to China for the first time also to see her family there.
Grace is not having the best time in China. She is having trouble speaking chinese, she feels like people are bullying her. She gets really sad and feels like she wants to go home when she goes to a night market. Grace might be able to win the art contest, will she beat her part-enemy? Grace has another problem, when people come up to her and speak chinese to her, Grace’s mom tells them they she can’t speak chinese ( this is how you say it in chinese —> wo bu hui swo xiong wo. ← that is how you say I can’t speak chinese, in chinese ) “How did I say I couldn’t speak Chinese, again? I couldn’t remember. What were those words Mom had taught us on the train?” “Meiguoren! Meiguoren! I said. That was the only word I could remember. American. She had the same look in her eyes as that mean bus driver in New Hartford from so long ago. My cheeks burned red as if her words were slapping my face. “Meiguoren! Meiguoren!” I said again, stupidly-like a parrot. I didn’t know what else to say. I felt like crying. “What’s up?” Clifford said, grabbing my arm. The woman yelled something at him. “ Dui Bu Qi, dui bu qi,” he said as he waved her away, and nudges me toward the road. “Sorry, sorry.” I saw her shake her head in disapproval and disgust as Clifford dragged me away. “She was mad at me!” I said to Clifford. “She wasn’t mad, exactly,” he said. “She just didn’t understand why you couldn’t speak Chinese.” A heavy feeling fell upon me. Like a crushing boulder.”
I enjoyed this book a lot. I like it because Grace is Chinese, like me. I like this book because I’ve been to China before. I also like this book because Grace is very much like me. Another reason I like this book is because the setting is in China. I would recommend this book to chinese kids because they might relate to this book. I would recommend this book to 8-12 year olds. I think a lot of people would like this book, maybe even adults. I like this book a lot and so does Clarissa (my sister) and Olivia P (my friend). I would recommend this book to asian kids too. I like it a lot so I think kids around 4th or 3rd grade would like it too. I would rate this book five stars out of five, 5 ***** out of 5 *****. If I could I would rate this book 10 stars!