Monthly Archives: December 2014

Dec
18
2014

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

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The book that I am reading is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling. The main characters are Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The problem in my book is people are getting petrified and the Chamber of Secrets has opened, which has not been opened in 60 years. The book takes place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the time is the present.

Harry Potter is going back to Hogwarts for his 2nd year, but before he goes back a house elf named Dobby comes to warn Harry not to go back to Hogwarts. When Harry tries to get on platform 9 ¾ Dobby does not let Harry, so him and Ron take a flying car to Hogwarts and almost get killed by a tree. Later on, a girl gets taken into the Chamber of Secrets; they know that because there is a blood message on the wall telling everyone. Harry and Ron go to the chamber to save the girl and take the stupid teacher with them. he is stupid because he thinks he is so great, but he is the worst wizard in the world!  I am not going to give away the end; you have to read the book!

I loved the book because it is awesome! No, I am still not going to give away the ending! I think Gilderoy Lockhart is a very funny git. I think Dobby is also very funny and awesome at the same time. I would recommend this series to everyone because it is by the best author in the world. All the books teach you something. What I learned was that I really like Harry Potter . You can choose what you learned from the book. I rate this book five stars!

Dec
17
2014

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

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The book Wonder is about a boy named August who is deformed. It was written by  R.J. Palacio. In the book there is a kid named August who is deformed. He was getting home schooled up to middle school but his parents decided for him to go to a real school. Most of the book takes place in Beecher Prep (his school). So when he gets to school a lot of kids are mean to him. He had an old friend named Christopher. They both like Star Wars, and started growing a braid in the back of their head. Other then his deformity, August  is totally normal.

At school August meets some really nice people. Like his friends Summer and Jack Will. Throughout the school year people get adjusted  to August’s face, but most of the kids still did not want to be friends with him. Throughout the book the perspective of the character changes so you can see what all the other people think about him. The author has divided these into parts and there are seven parts in the book, but I actually have a special edition that has eight parts and the eighth part is the bully’s perspective. 

I really liked the book because it was super  interesting seeing how he gets through life. I also liked it because it is hard for me to find good books and this was amazing. If you have a hard time finding good books you should read this book. Even if you do not have a hard time finding books you should read it. I would give it a *****star rating.

 

 

Dec
12
2014

The People of Sparks by Jeanne Duprua

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The book I read is The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau. This book is the second book of Ember. The main characters of the book are Lina and Doon. They are both twelve and Lina has a baby sister named Poppy  (if you did not read the City of Ember, STOP reading this review  and go read the first book otherwise some things get spoiled! Linas mom and dad died because The City of Ember is underground and Linas parents were trying to get out so Lina lived with Poppy and her grandmother but Linas grandmother gets sick and dies (all in the first book). She moved in with Mrs. Murdo who is like a mom to them . The book is mainly about how at the end of The City of Ember they come out  of the ground and look for a city. They find a city called “Sparks” that they join and try to share the world. They are trying to avoid war they are having food shortages and not much  supplies to live on. They have these people called Roamers who go out to new places and bring things back to use they trade at the Sparks Plaza they get things like pots and pans matches candles cloth or clothing magnets and games seeds to plant food and things like that… The setting in the book is in Sparks a very naturey place and lots of green, not many homes, fallen apart furniture and not much that we have now.

I found out that the book is in the future and the book leaves a lot of clues why like they mention that in the  past they had moving pictures called movies and now they don’t also they had things that take pictures called a camera and now they have none of that stuff now and if you read the book you will find out all the clues.  In the book the People of Sparks have a  special weapon it reveals the weapon at the end of the book.I know what the weapon is but I don’t want to spoil. One of my favorite parts of the book is when someone from either Ember or Sparks throws tomatoes at the supplies shed and then it starts to get tense between them and other things start to happen….. Three adjectives that describe Lina and Doon are adventures, nice and curious they were the ones that lead everyone out of Ember so the are like the leaders of Ember.

I really really like this book I liked the first one and the second. Something I really like about these books are that they have mysteries and you have to find them out. I would recommend this book if you like adventures books. Also if you like funny books this is a good book for you because the Emberitties don’t know what a lot of things are that the people of Sparks have because were they come from has barley  anything that we have now they don’t know what these things are like lemons,trucks,apricots, and lots more. Some other books that are like this book are Percy Jackson and Harry Potter they are just a little similar the only thing is that this book has no magic and is a lot shorter. I like this book better than Percy Jackson and Harry Potter.  Out of 1-5 I would give it a 4 ½ but you should read it!!!

Dec
12
2014

From The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

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The book I read is From The Mixed-up Files of Mrs.Basil E.Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. The main character is Claudia. The book is about Claudia and her little brother Jamie running away. The book mainly takes place in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art but it never tells you what year it is but I’m guessing it takes place in the late 50s or the 60s because they had really cheap things like a hot fudge Sunday cost 27 cents and back then things were cheaper.

Claudia is the oldest out of her three brothers so she get the most chores and least amount of money in her allowance and she wanted to go on an adventure. So she goes to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with her brother Jamie and they decided to learn everything about everything there. Once it was Jamie’s turn to choose so he chose the Italian Renaissance because he thought it sounded important and when they  were walking through the Italian Renaissance they saw a line of people and they went to the line while the line was moving they saw a statue. Claudia wanted to know everything about the statue.The statue was a statue of an angel and people were trying to see if Michelangelo made the statue or not. So Claudia and Jamie wanted see if it was Michelangelo who made it or not so they found a clue and wrote a letter to the Museum but the Museum said that they already saw that clue and need more evidance that it was him. So Claudia and Jamie go to Mrs.Basil’s house and Mrs.Basil was the person who sold the statue to the Museum. Mrs. Basil tells  Claudia and Jamie that they have one hour to look for the files that say if he did the statue or did not do the statue.

I liked the book because I think it was a good book for me.  It also had like mystery and adventure that I like. I recommend this book to people who like mystery and a touch of adventure. I would also recommend this book because of  the style of the words they used are descriptive words and sentences which I personally liked . I think this book is different than other books because I have never read a book about someone running away and hiding in a museum before. I would give this book four out of five stars because it was a really good book but I don’t thinks it’s so good  it will  make me want to read it again and again.

 

Dec
12
2014

Son by Lois Lowery

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The book I read is called Son, by Lois Lowry. There are four books in the series, number one is called The Giver, number two is Gathering Blue, three is Messenger and the last one is Son. The main characters are: Claire, Jonas, Gabe, and Trademaster. In the book there are Elders, who are the leaders of the community. Their community is a place without freedom, the people never get to choose or pick anything. There are a ton of rules. Every year there is a day called were a group of twelves get assigned a job to do, and a girl named Claire got assigned Birth mother which is when a group of twelve girls give birth to a baby three times then they get out of the Birthing unit and they get to rest for a lot of time. Claire gives birth to her first baby and her eyes are covered up in a mask so she can’t see the baby come out of her body, but the people that are working at the birthing unit call her baby a failure to thrive. So Claire gets sent to the Hatchery where they take care of fishes and their eggs. Secretly, Claire goes out to see her baby and pretend she doesn’t know it’s her baby. Once birth mother’s have their  baby, their baby gets sent off to new parents. So Claire goes every day to see Gabriel her son. One day a person named Jonas runs away from the community, which is against the rules. He takes Gabriel with him, and now Claire has her heart set on finding him.

One very interesting part of the book is when the author describes how Claire felt when she was birthing Gabriel. It’s interesting because I  would describe Claire as heart set, strong, and loving. I really enjoyed reading Son and the whole series.

It’s kind of a mix between fiction and non fiction, but it’s more fiction. I also enjoyed it because it’s also educational at points. I would recommend this series to 3rd grade and up, this series is actually for young adults. I would rate this book four stars.

 

Dec
12
2014

Ramona’s World by Beverly Cleary

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Ramona’s World is mainly about a girl named Ramona. This book is by Beverly Cleary. Ramona is just beginning fourth grade but her teacher m.s Meacham is not very nice. She makes a really good friend named Daisy. Daisy helps Ramona through fourth grade. Ramona has an older sister named Beezus. She is not always very nice. This book takes place from September-February. These are some places this book takes place: Daisy’s house, Ramona’s house, school, and the park.

The three most interesting parts of the book for me were when Ramona had a play date at Daisy’s house and there was a little accident. And when Ramona had to watch her little sister Roberta. I liked this part of the book because she fixed the problem right before her mom got home. I also really liked the part where it was picture day. This reminds me that in second grade I made a ridiculous face! Ramona is really responsible because in the book she watches her sister and her friend’s cat all by herself for one half hour while her mom went to pick up her sister ramona. Ramona is very pleasant because in the book she makes Valentines for her whole class. Ramona is very bold because on the first day of school she raised her hand to share what she had wrote before anyone else.

I recommend this book to other people because I thought it was funny in some parts and I enjoyed the drama in the book. It was funny how Ramona got into so much trouble but she figured out how to fix it right in time! I thought it is cool how in the beginning Ramona was enemies with this girl but at the end they were good friends! I would also recommend this book because it is very sweet. It is about her family and friends.  The book reminds me of the book Parent Trap they are both about girls that fight a lot. And the movie Matilda because they both take place at school.

I would rate this book four stars!

 

Dec
12
2014

My Life as a Stuntboy by Janet Tashjian

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imgresMy Life as a Stuntboy is by Janet Tashjian. The series is My Life series. The main character’s name is Derek Fallon, who gets to be a skateboard stunt-boy in a movie about a kid that runs away from danger.  The book takes place in California.

An important thing in my book is Derek got a part in a movie but his friend didn’t. So his friend got mad. Derek also has a hard time reading. But he does not know that one time when he had a tutor come to his house he was filmed by his best friend Matt. Matt put the film on youtube because he was mad at Derek. Another important thing in the book was before Derek got the part in the movie he got a monkey! He was really brave when his monkey got stolen by a kid in school. The kid in school put him in the top of his garage on the fifth shelf and Derek got him! Derek is not that smart. He left his monkey in his room with his toys, and his monkey ate them. Derek is normal. Like most kids he is excited to be in a movie because he does not get to be in a movie every day.

I did like this book because of the monkey. Especially when Derek’s family found out they could keep his monkey. I also like when the author drew pictures of new vocabulary words that some people might not know. I would recommend this book to people that like easy ways to figure out hard words. This book reminds me of Diary of a Wimpy Kid because it’s the same author. I give this book five stars.

 

Dec
12
2014

Famous For Thirty Seconds by P.G. KAIN

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The series I am reading is called Commercial Breaks and the name of the book is called Famous For Thirty Seconds by P.G. Kain. The main character’s name in the book is Britney Rush. The book is mainly about a girl who moves to Hong Kong for a year and when she gets back she does not have such great luck getting in for bookings go-sees and auditions will she realize  that there is more to life than being Famous For Thirty Seconds.The main setting of the book is casting places her house.

Something that I found the most interesting is that Britney has a twin and she expects that her and her sister are supposed to be exactly the same. Because just because you look like someone does not mean you are exactly the same. Another thing that surprised me was that the book talks a lot about the city and Washington Square Park and NYU because the author works at NYU  and my mom works at NYU so thats how I got this book.

 Finally that the person who wrote the book used to be an actor himself. That’s why he knows so much about acting. If I had to use three adjectives to describe Brittany the first one would be competitive I think that because any time her ‘’friend’’ Phoebe gets a booking she says that Phoebe did that purpose just to make her feel bad. The second adjective would be insecure I say that because she is always thinking about what other people think about her not what she thinks about herself. Third would be very friendly I say that because anytime time she sees people who she has seen before she says hi even though they keep walking.

I enjoyed this book so much because I can relate to this book soooo much because I go to auditions like Britney and when I go to them I  see people and one day later  I see those kids on TV. Also because she is always trying to get an audition and if she doesn’t then she gets very mad she almost quit acting. I recommend this book because  even if you do not go  on  auditions she still has a regular life just like us.She can also relate to people because sometimes people like of love things and they do not focus on anything only that and she does not realize she is in reality. I don’t think this book is related to any movies or TV shows or other books because i have ever heard of any and also because this is just such a great book so it will be hard to top. If I had to give a rating about the book out  of a possible 1 meaning I did not like that much. 2 I didn’t like it. 3 it was pretty good. 4 I really liked it.  and 5 I loved it. I want to read it again. I choose a five I really like this book.

 

Dec
12
2014

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

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    The book I read was Julie of the Wolves written by Jean Craighead George. This book is part of a series called Julie. The main character is Miyax and she runs away from her home. Then she gets lost in the Arctic with no food and starts to live near a pack of wolves. After that she starts to examine the wolves to see how they communicate. She tries to communicate with some of the wolves to get food.  The book takes place in the Arctic and Alaska.

      In this book Miyax talks about her past and her family which is very important because it explains why she is doing some things. She once talked about her father and how he communicated with the wolves one time when he went hunting and there was no game. He came back with a deer that the wolves gave him and he left soon after that to go hunt seals and he never came back. Miyax also says that she left home and was planning on going  to San Francisco to her pen pal. She takes a lot of risks in this book.  Miyax is adventurous, hopeful, and hard working because she is communicating with wolves which represents all of those traits.

       I thought this book was pretty good because even though there were  some good parts there were some parts I didn’t really like. There were some parts that I thought were strange.  An example is, when Miyax was with the wolves, she noticed that one of them wasn’t staying with the pack.  I think wolves stay together as a pack and they don’t kick one of their kind out.   One of the parts I did like was when Miyax saw her reflection in a pond after weeks of being lost in the Arctic and she was surprised what a mess she was.   I would recommend this book because it is full of adventure.  It is an exciting book about a girl who survives months in the middle of nowhere.  This book reminds me of Hatchet, which was about a boy who gets in a plane crash  on his way to his mom and has to survive in the wilderness with a hatchet that his dad gave him. They are alike because they are both about surviving in the middle of nowhere.  From one to five, I would rate it three stars.

Dec
12
2014

Alvin Ho by Lenore Look

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alvin_hoThis book that I read is called Alvin Ho and it is by Lenore Look. The main characters are Alvin Ho and his little sister Anabella. The book is about Alvin Ho, a little  boy that is afraid of everything like tunnels, wasabi, airplanes, girls, the dark and a lot of other things. The setting takes place in his  school and his house and a little in the piano teacher’s house.

The book is also about Alvin Ho going to school on the first day. He is a little bit nervous about school but his mom and dad made him feel ready. He is nervous because he doesn’t have any friends. He gets to meet a lot of good and mean people in the book he also makes a lot of good friends. He also has a cousin that knows a little bit of something of everything. He doesn’t talk at school but he talks at home. He is 7 and he is going into 3rd grade. He lives in Concord Massachusetts. He also likes superheroes. He is nice because in the book he was really nice to people by being friendly to people. He also wants to be a gentleman like his dad. He is afraid and he also gets shocked by many things. The last thing is that he doesn’t  want to go to school because it makes him nervous.

I liked this book because  I can relate it to my one life. There are many things that I am afraid of like the dark, pigeons and roller coasters. I  also liked this book because there was no part that was boring in this book. I Also like this book because he would say funny things like jokes. I would recommend  this book to people who like fun and exciting books. I would also recommend this book if you are afraid of things to.I would give this book 4 stars because it was a good book and interesting but I would not read it again. I can’t compare  it to any shows or movies.

 

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