Over the summer I read a book called, Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, by Jonathan Auxier. This book takes place in The Vanished Kingdom. The Vanished Kingdom is a hidden palace in the middle of a prison called The Just Deserts. Peter Nimble, the main character, is an orphan thief who is blind. He is a really good thief because all of his other senses are stronger. People also don’t suspect him as a thief because of his handicap. One day Peter steals a box. The box contains three pairs of magical eyes. One pair is emerald, one pair is onyx, and the last pair is golden. The golden eyes send Peter to the last place they saw. The onyx eyes turn Peter into the last animal he touched. The emerald pair…I can not reveal.

The novel is about his journey to The Vanished Kingdom. On his travels, he meets Sir Tode. Sir Tode is a mix between a knight, a cat, and a horse. “I am a human knight ,  Sir Tode corrected,  who has been trapped inside the body of a cat… and a horse.” Together they battle to save the slaves and defeat the evil king of The Vanished Kingdom.

Peter  and Sir Tode find themselves in a lot of dangerous situations.  Peter is an amazing lock pick. He once picked 12 locks within an hour. “It took the better part of an hour for Peter to pick the locks on the Haberdashers carriage.” He uses this skill to take down the king.

This book was really surprising and suspenseful. It had action, and a little bit of mystery. I would recommend this book to ages 9+. People who like fantasy will love Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes. I would rate this book 10 stars. I hope Jonathan Auxier writes another one.

       My book review is on The Giver by Louis Lowery. The main character’s name is Jonah. Jonah lives in a very controlled society.  When you are one you are a one, two you are called a two, so on. When you turn nine you get a bike, when your group turns twelve you stop going to school and you get assignd a job. At the ceremony when Jonah turns twelve, he is chosen  for a very special job. He is going to be the next receiver.

    Now Jonah doesn’t know what the receiver is. When he gets his sheet to start his training it says “You are allowed to lie.” Lie? Why would he lie? It also says he will go go through much pain. Why? How? The old receiver will train him. Jonah calls the receiver the giver. The giver shows him how life used to be, before this society changed. The Giver changes Jonah by sharing memory’s of the past before the society changes and makes Jonah realize pain and how other people live.

   The giver gives Jonah memories by transferring them through him to Jonah. The first memory is of sledding. But then the actual pain starts. He gets memory frostbite and cuts and burns. The society has made it so no one feels pain. There is no sadness, but not much happiness. Jonah didn’t know what snow was, he had never sledded. The society didn’t even have hills. A big thing he learns is what color is. His soceity has no color.

      I enjoyed this book a lot. I liked it because it has many feeling, it interested me and it was different from any book I had ever read. I rate this book 5 stars. I think everyone should read this book. This book is also kind of sad so maybe a reader who likes a little emotion.

The Glass Sentence by S.E. Grove

by Margaret

I recently read a book called The Glass Sentence by S.E. Grove. This book takes place in a place called New Occident, in 1891.The main character is a girl named Sophia. Sophia lives with her uncle named Shadrack because her parents went missing when she was really little. The only way how to know where you’re going is by maps. They do not have any electronic devices. In New Occident there is something going on called the Great Disruption. The Great Disruption is when the world got split up into little groups and each of those little groups got put into a different time period.

No one knows who is causing the Great Disruption. One day, in Parliament people are trying to figure out how to stop the Great Disruption. They decide that they should close all of the borders of New Occident, so no  one can leave and no one can come. Soon, the borders will be closed and everyone will be stuck in New Occident. Meanwhile, Shadrack is determined to find Sophia’s parents so Shadrack teaches Sophia everything that he knows about maps. They are practically prepared to leave for Sophia’s parents when some mysterious men go into their house and steal Shadrack.  All that Sophia knows about these men is that they all have giant scars across their cheeks. Sophia was so sad. Then, Sophia sees a mysterious boy from a different country in her house. His name is Theo and he had just escaped from the circus and needed somewhere to sleep. Sophia and Shadrack have a housekeeper named Mrs. Clay from the Baldlands. Mrs. Clay is a little bit crazy because she had encountered one of the worlds most rare creatures called a Lachrima when she was little and the thought of it still haunts her now.  On page 124, Theo says “I wish I could have met a Lachrima.” Theo ends up coming with Sophia on her journey to save Shadrack.

Sophia and Theo go around the world, traveling through time. I really enjoyed this book because it has that old-timey feeling. I also like how this book uses a lot of old-fashioned words. I like how it has a very clever plot. If you like mysterious, old-fashioned books, than this is the perfect book for you. I would rate this book four stars.

Katniss Everdeen lives in Panem. Panem is made up of most of the old North America but now it’s 12 districts and a capital. Katniss has a pretty normal life for a district 12 girl. Her dad died in a mining accident, she has a mom and sister, a tiny house and  almost the amount of food she needs to survive. The time has come around again for The Hunger Games.

Why does Panem have The Hunger Games? About 50 years back the capitol had a big fight against the rest of panem. To pay back the capitol made… The Hunger Games, where you kill people to win. The two names that they pick  out of the bowls could change Katniss’s life. And the names are… Peeta Mellark and Prim Everdeen. Katniss gives her life for one of the most important people in her life. Her life is about to change forever and this might be the last time she’ll ever see her home again.

From here on everything is different. First she makes a stunning impression and is called, “The Girl On Fire.” She gets an 11 in training and mostly things are going well. But then… 1. 2. 3. The games begin. Before, Peeta was sort of her friend and now he wants to kill her. She has to go from capitol ways back to district 12 ways but worse.

The story is written in the 1st person and it’s from the perspective of Katniss. This book is good for 4-6 graders. I suggest not reading if you don’t like blood or violence. I would rate this book five stars out of five stars. After you read the books watch the movies.