Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

UnknownOne book I read over winter break is called Nimona.  Nimona is by Noelle Stevenson. Nimona and Blackheart are the main characters. The main problem is that Nimona splits herself into two parts, the fear self and the strong self. The strong self turns Nimona into a dragon; the fear self makes her small, like a child. Nimona is a book about power, because Nimona is a villain with Blackheart, who is an evil scientist. Nimona is a shapeshifter, which means she can turn into anything. The book takes place in a lab, where Nimona and Blackheart work.

One part of Nimona that I thought was interesting is how evil Blackheart and Nimona are. That is very interesting because in most stories the main characters are good. One big event that happened in Nimona was when she split herself into two parts. The dragon part can talk, but also talks back a lot, which is really Nimona (she talks back a lot). Then it was up to Blackheart to either leave her in the fire that she was making as a dragon, or get her out of there. This event is so important because everything was fine but then Nimona burnt it all down. 

Nimona is different because she is a shapeshifter. One time she turned into a old lady, to steal an apple. Another word to describe Nimona is powerful. Because she is a shapeshifter, she can turn into anything, like a dragon or a girl with a monster’s arms, and have that person’s or thing’s power. “I have NEVER lost my powers,” Nimona said. One more word to describe her is unexpected, because she can creep up on you at any time. An example is when she robs a bank, because you don’t see her coming.

I LOVED Nimona because it was so suspenseful. One example is when Nimona turns into a cat and gets stuck in the middle of a carnival. Another example is when Nimona punches down every single door in the lab because she is mad. In both cases, I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to see how it would turn out. I would recommend this book because it is really kid-appropriate. It is also a book about changing the way you think about someone when you get to know them and go through something scary together. This is an extraordinary book – there is nothing else like it. It is unique because it is a book about passion and working together, and happiness. I would give this book five stars — maybe even one hundred stars, if I could! This is a one-of-a-kind book, so I bet you will love it if you read it.

Crossover by Kwame Alexander

 

the-crossoverThe book I’m reviewing is called Crossover by Kwame Alexander. The book is about a boy named Josh Bell, also known as Filthy McNasty, and about his twin brother Jordan Bell, also known as JB. They are thirteen year old twins. The author uses poems and rhymes to describe their lives on and off the basketball court. The main characters, Filthy and JB  fight often as brothers do and the conflicts get pretty bad.

 Josh got the nickname Filthy McNasty when he and his dad were listening to a musician named Horace Silver and his dad says, “Josh, the cat is the real deal. Listen to the piano, fast and free, Just like you and JB on the court.” His dad dedicated the song “Filthy McNasty” to Josh.

One day, Filthy decided that he wanted dreads like his dad. While watching a replay of his dad’s old games, Filthy noticed that his dad’s hair looked like wings taking him higher and higher. Filthy is girl-crazy but never gets any girls. He is good in the paint (an area on the basketball court) and he can dunk. Jordan got the nickname “JB” from the initials of his first and last name. JB is bald, a great shooter, a girl magnet, and likes to bet with his brother. His dad is a sportscaster and was a former basketball player for the European League. His mom, also known as Dr. Bell, is the assistant principal at the boys’ junior high school.

Filthy and JB made a bet. The bet was that if the game was tied and it came down to the last shot and JB get the ball didn’t miss the shot, then he gets to cut off Filthy’s hair. If JB misses the shot, he has to walk around naked at lunch time. The twins changed the bet because they thought it was too bad. They changed it to if JB lost he would have to moon the nerdy group of 6th graders at lunch, but if Filthy lost, he would only have to cut off one lock of hair. The game was tied with three seconds left. He shot with one second left; the ball was flying in the air and went right into the hoop and Filthy lost the bet.

Filthy and JB’s dad has a heart attack and dies. Filthy had a one-on-one basketball game with his dad. While his dad was trying to dunk, he fell and passed out. Filthy screamed “HELP PLEASE!” to the crowd. His dad was rushed to the hospital and was in a coma because of a myocardial infarction. Myocardial infarction happens when blood flow to an area of the heart is blocked long enough time that part of the heart muscle is damaged or dies. After 19 days in the hospital his dad died at thirty-nine years old.

On page 14, Filthy’s quote helped me discover more about his character. “My hair is long my height’s tall. See I’m the next Kevin Durant, LeBron, and Chris Paul.” This quote helped me discover that he thinks he is really good at basketball like Kevin Durant, LeBron, and Chris Paul.

 

Survivors: The Empty City By Erin Hunter

 

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Lucky is a lone dog. He is trying to stay alive after the big growl (a earthquake) shook everything up. Buildings are caving in and pipes are leaking. Disaster is caving in for Lucky, his life is falling apart piece by piece.  Then Lucky finds some leashed dogs (dogs that are owned by someone ) there names are: Bella, Martha, Mickey, Bruno, Sunshine, Daisy, and Alfie. Can they survive in the wilderness? From Lucky’s perspective, he just wants to be alone. He decides that he’ll teach these dogs to survive and then leave. Lucky has the wisdom and he is the best at strategy he is a very quick thinker. Bella is kind to the other dogs. Martha has webbed paws and can see things out of the corner of her eye, Mickey is fast and smart. Bruno is strong and buff. Sunshine is small and keen Daisy can brighten up everyone’s hearts to hope when there is none. And Alfie is a good digger. Can these dogs survive?

 

The most interesting and important parts in the story were when Lucky escaped from his cage and the building he was trapped in collapsed. He and a dog named Sweet both got out of the building and he Sweet became a pack for a few days and then they split. After Sweet left, it changed Lucky’s perspective on survival. Lucky’s then decided “i’ve got to get a pack and be with someone because I’m lonely”.  Which was a big change from the old Lucky who said “ I’m a lone dog. I don’t need people and dogs to care for me.”  Lucky felt this even more when Martha saves Alfie from drowning.  Lucky changed his mind and started thinking maybe the whole pack thing isn’t so bad.

 

Lucky is independent because he chooses to do his own thing and be alone all the time. This was revealed when Lucky said “ I am a lone dog and I will never be in a pack”.  This is how Lucky thinks of himself and his life ahead. Lucky is inspiring  because he inspires the other dogs in the book. For example when, “I want to be just like you Lucky! I want to hunt!” said Daisy about Lucky. Lucky is intelligent because he always has good strategies. “We are going to going to come up the right side of the hill then Sunshine and the smallest will creep up on them from the forest so you guys will be look out” said lucky about his great plan to creep up on the other dog pack and surprise them.

 

I enjoyed the book a lot because of the amazing adventures of the dogs. To be a dog, I mean that would be awesome! This book is great and I definitely enjoyed it. I recommend this book to people who love dogs and who are going through situations like moving. The book makes you feel stronger and bigger. After I read this book, I said in my head “yes, totally reading the series!” I think the book “The Tiger Rising” is related to this book because the main characters are feeling the same thing. They want to get out of their situation and make changes in their life. I would rate this book ***** 5 stars.                          

 

                                                     

The G-Man Super Journal by Chris Guiarroso

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The book that I read is called G-MAN SUPER JOURNAL AWESOME ORIGINS written by Chris Guiarroso. The main character in this book is G Man. All of G Man’s friends are getting super powers one by one. G Man is the only one without super powers so he uses a blanket as a cape then he gets super powers. This book takes place at G Man’s school in the future.

One thing that I found that was interesting was that every time one of his friends got a super power then G Man tried to get that kids super power the same way that kid had gotten it. I found this interesting because he fails over and over again. Another interesting thing was that a blanket gave him super powers. G Man’s family had a special blanket that they would use whenever they were sick to make them feel better. He got desperate for super powers and he thought since the blanket had magical powers to make his family feel better that he could use it for a cape to fly. He cut a piece off and he could fly. In the end his brother got jealous that G Man got super powers so he uses the rest of the blanket as a belt and then he flies too. One big event that happened was when there were superhero tryouts at G Man’s school. He couldn’t go because he got detention for talking back to the teacher.  It changed the whole book because he couldn’t go to the tryouts to get super powers because he was in detention.

G Man was determined because he kept trying to get super powers.  He kept failing but eventually he got super powers.  He was determined because when he had super powers he had to fight a bad guy and he didn’t quit until he won.  He was emotional because many times in the book he got mad and sad.  He got sad when he could not go to the super hero tryouts.  G Man was brave because when someone said to him “This is my flying area, you are not allowed to fly here,”  G Man said, “Well guess what, who said we can’t.”

I enjoyed this book because it’s about super heros and I like super heros. I would recommend this book because it’s really fun to read. There is a lot of action in this book. This book reminds me of AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON.  It reminds me of this because at the end of the book they are all fighting the bad guy. In the movie, at the end they all fight the bad guy too. My rating for this book is five stars! It was so fun to read. I felt like it was happening all around me. It was so cool.  

From The Mixed-up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

 

51fEgIRXYyL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_The Mixed-up Files Of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler by E.L.  Konigsburg, is about a girl named Claudia and her younger brother Jamie. The book begins with Claudia’s decision to run away from home in Connecticut to hide in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, because she didn’t feel appreciated at home. She took her younger brother with her because he had the most money. The narrator of this story is Mrs. Frankweiler telling her lawyer Saxonberg the children’s story.

In the book, once Claudia and Jamie made it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Claudia told Jamie that she wanted to learn everything about everything in the museum. So that day they went to learn about the Italian Renaissance. They saw a big line so they waited to see what was at the front. That’s when they found a sculpture that changed their whole plan. They saw Angel, a 2 foot statue that might be the work of Michelangelo. That is an important part of the story because they then focused on only finding evidence to prove that Michelangelo was the sculptor who made Angel. Claudia then decided to not learn everything about everything, but to only learn everything about Angel. That was important because Angel, even though he’s a statue, becomes a very important character in the book after that.   

Claudia is very adventurous, because she takes a trip from Connecticut to New York to hide in the Metropolitan Museum of Art with nothing but her backpack and trumpet case full of clothes. Claudia is also responsible. She took care of her younger brother without letting him or herself go hungry or get sick. Claudia is independent, because she makes sure everything is alright and nothing goes wrong with no help from an adult. Mrs. Frankweiler said to the lawyer Saxonberg, “Angel became part of Claudia’s story about finding herself, about how the greatest adventure lies not in running away but in looking inside, and the greatest discovery is not in finding out who made a statue but in finding out what makes you.”

I enjoyed this book because it was interesting and it taught me a lot about Michaelangelo such as he signed all his work with a M on it. It had some challenging words in it but the story made sense. I really liked their story and hearing about all the things they did in the museum, like taking a bath in the fountain and hiding from the night watchman. I would definitely recommend this book. It is really fun to read and super interesting.  This book doesn’t remind me of any other book or movie. I think that there is no other book or movie like this book because Claudia’s not running from somewhere, she is running to somewhere. I rate this the book the highest rating of five stars.          

Shadows on Society Hill By Evelyn Coleman

imgresThe book I read was Shadow on Society Hill. It was a part of a series called An Addy Mystery, an American Girl book. The main character is Addy. The story Shadows on Society Hill was basically about Addy’s family moving to a new neighborhood called Society Hill to live in the servant quarters. It was the nineteenth century, slavery just ended and Addy and her family were African-American. Addy’s father was a really good carpenter and the Radisson family hired him to work for them to fix their house. Addy, her mom, her dad, her brother Sam, and her sister Esther all moved in.

 

Mr. Radisson hired Addy’s father after Addy saved Mr. Radisson from getting run over by a horse. Mr. Radisson’s wife, Mrs. Radisson, was prejudice and didn’t like African-Americans. Mrs. Radisson blamed Addy for stealing food because Mrs. Radisson didn’t know where the food was.  She also thought that Addy stole the choker. Mrs. Radisson blamed Addy only because she is African-American, but she didn’t steal it; she just  had the same choker.

 

When Mrs. Elizabeth and Mrs. Radisson accused Addy of stealing the choker Addy’s mom walked in and said, “Hey! Don’t go accusing my girl, What is the problem?”. Mrs. Radisson said, “Your daughter stole my choker.”,  but Addy didn’t really steal Mrs. Radisson’s choker.  Mrs. Radisson hid her choker and blamed it on Addy so people would think African-Americans were bad.

 

Addy is brave because she saved a man’s life. She is strong because she carried her sister on her back all the way to her new house in Society Hill. Addy is a good person because she never stole anything.

 

I liked this book because it is mysterious. I liked this book because I was happy that the father got a better job. I would recommend this book because it has a secret spy involved and a lot of people like books with spys.  This book is unique because it doesn’t remind me of any movie and there are not a lot of children books that deal with American slavery.

12345 I give this book a five out of five.

How To Handle a Bully, by Nancy Wilcox Richards

imgres-1My book review is on How To Handle a Bully by Nancy Wilcox Richards. There are several main characters in the book. They are Rilla, Cameron, Olivia, Oliver, Lauren, and Nicholas. The book is about Rilla, her friends, and enemies. Rilla and her friends are training at the playground to win a new Xtreme bike in a fitness competition. Cameron and his gang, Olivia and Oliver, bully Rilla, Lauren, and Nicholas. Cameron and his gang hog all the playground equipment. If Rilla and her friends can’t train on the playground equipment, they won’t be able to improve and win the fitness challenge. The book takes place at Rilla’s school and the playground near her house in the springtime.

 

Kids learned about the fitness challenge at school. There were a lot of events at the fitness challenge including monkey bars, pull-ups, tire run and bike riding. Rilla did not know how to ride a bike without training wheels. Training wheels were not allowed at the challenge. Rilla was very scared of riding a bike without training wheels because the last time she tried, she fell and hurt herself. Lauren and Nicholas convinced Rilla that they could teach her to ride a two wheel bike. Rilla decided to be brave and try. By the fitness challenge, Rilla could do it! Rilla had another big challenge. Cameron and his gang bullied Rilla and her friends and scared them away from the playground. It was hard to train when they were scared away from the playground equipment. One day Rilla and her friends were riding by the playground. They saw that Cameron was alone and stuck. Rilla knew this was her chance to get back at Cameron and she took advantage of it. The next day Rilla, Lauren,  and Nicholas went to the park with more of their friends in case Cameron was there. When Cameron told Rilla and her friends to get lost, Rilla stood up to him. Cameron and his gang decided to leave the playground when they saw all of Rilla’s friends. This was important because Rilla wasn’t scared anymore. She believed she could win the fitness challenge.

 

Rilla is a really nice and fair girl. Instead of trying to scare Cameron and his friends away from the playground, she told them that they should share the equipment. In parts of the book, Rilla was really scared. She was afraid of riding a bike without training wheels and she was also afraid of being bullied by Cameron and his gang. Rilla showed that she was confident too. She was the best in her class at doing pull-ups and was one of the fastest kids on the monkey bars. One quote that really shows who Rilla is, is “I’d love to win that bike. But you know, I don’t really care who wins, as long as it’s not a River Rat.” The River Rats are Cameron and his gang. This quote shows who Rilla is as a person because she says that she doesn’t care who wins. She would be happy for anyone who wins as long as they are nice.

 

I loved this book because it’s a cute story about a group of kids trying to win a fitness challenge. This book is an awesome book for kids in third and fourth grade to read. How To Handle A Bully is a good book for people who like sports and for anyone who’s had an experience with bullies. I would recommend this book because anyone can read and enjoy it. Also, it’s a good book for schools and students because it teaches kids important lessons about bullying. I haven’t read any other books or seen shows that have bullying. I would give this book a five star rating.

 

The Lemonade War, by Jacqueline Davies

 

imgresThe book I am reviewing is titled The Lemonade War. It was written by Jacqueline Davies. The book was based on a real story because the author has two children that had lemonade wars all the time. It is about two siblings that used to get along really well but then they got into a fight, so they decided to have a lemonade selling contest because they both loved selling lemonade together. Their lemonade war meant whoever sold the most lemonade by Labor Day which is towards the end of the summer won all the money they earned. The main characters in my book are Evan and Jessie Treski. Evan and Jessie are going into 4th grade but Jessie is eight and Evan is nine. They live in a suburban neighborhood. This book takes place in the five days before Labor Day.

 

Evan is kind because whenever he is mean to his sister he tries to make-up for his mistake. There was one part in the beginning of the book where he was embarrassed because he would be in her class and he wanted to scream at her but he didn’t because he did not want to hurt her feelings. Evan is also jealous because when Jessie was selling lemonade with his crush, named Megan, Evan wanted to do the lemonade stand with Megan. Evan is also understanding. He is very careful about other people’s feelings. That is why he doesn’t like to yell at his sister.

 

One part of the book that I liked was when Jessie tells Evan that Megan likes him. She asks, “Evan, Megan really likes you. Do you know that?” I liked that part because the reader gets a lot of information about how Evan feels. I think that Evan felt very relaxed because he likes Megan too. Evan’s reaction to that was a blush. I think he was very happy to hear that Megan liked him.

 

Evan made a big decision when he said that he would do the competition because he says in the book that he was not made for competitions. The competition brought the two characters farther apart but at the end of the book they are closer than ever. Jessie asked if Evan wanted to play a game with her and Evan said “You ruin everything. You ruined my summer and now you are going to ruin school!” that shows that he is uncomfortable with her in his grade. Through the competition, Evan learned that he could trust Jessie. He realized that Megan and Jessie were honest with each other. He learned from them, that he still had things to learn, even from his younger sister.

 
I enjoyed this book because it reminds me of me and my other because we have fights sometimes, but we always make-up at the end. The book also reminds me of the summer because I sell a lot lemonade at my own stand outside of my building. There was one time I was selling lemonade and a group of tourists from India had a selfie stick and wanted to take a selfie with me. I recommend this book to kids that are interested in business. There are things in this book about business that are good to know. This book is kind of like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing because it is about siblings that fight a lot. I would rate this book three stars because it was pretty good.

The Cricket In Times Square

 

 

9780374316501_xlgThe book I am reading is called The Cricket In Times Square by George Selden. The main character’s name is Chester, he is a cricket. Three other important characters are Mario, Harry the cat, and Tucker the mouse. The main problem is that Chester came from Connecticut, but he got stuck in a picnic basket between two liverwurst sandwiches and he could not get out. Now he is in New York City and it is too crowded for him. The setting of the book is a newsstand in Times Square and the year is around 1957.

One important part of the book is when Chester gets stuck in the picnic basket. It is important because Chester would’ve not gotten to New York City if he hadn’t got stuck in the picnic basket. One other important part is when Mario hears Chester playing his music. That is important because if Chester did not play his music, Mario would have not heard him. And if Mario did not hear him, Chester would have not been rescued by Mario. One big event that happened in The Cricket In Times Square is when Chester gets stuck in a picnic basket and then gets to New York. This event is really important because if this part did not happen, the book would not be called The Cricket In Times Square. Another important part is when mama Bellini almost killed Chester. She did not kill Chester because Tucker told Chester to play his music and he did and the song he played was her favorite song. So mama Bellini was really happy instead of being really mad.   

Chester is honest, because he never tells a lie to anyone about  anything. I also think Chester would do anything to help his friends. Chester is friendly because he made two friends really easily. The two friends are Harry the cat, and Tucker the mouse. Chester is very musical because he can memorize a song after hearing it once. Once, he was listening to the radio and he heard a song about a minute later he started to play along. One day, there was a fire, and Chester said, “I’m going back there, if the Bellinis find me gone, they’ll think I set the fire and ran.” This quote shows that Chester is honest because it is very risky for him, but he does not want to disappoint them so he goes back there.

I like this book, because I like books about animals. I think it was a good idea that a cat, a mouse, and a cricket would be best friends. I would recommend this book, because I think a lot of other fourth graders also like books about animals and we all live in New York where the book takes place. A Cricket In Times Square also won the Newbery Honor. I think this book is similar to Stuart Little, because it is about animals that talk and act like humans. I would give this book five stars.                                                            

Gods of Manhattan

 

gmlgThe title of my book is Gods of Manhattan and the author is Scott Mebus. Also there are two more books. The main characters are Rory, a magician trick reader and his sister Bridget, a normal girl who doesn’t like girly stuff. This book took place on a hot summer day on Bridget’s birthday in Manhattan. The main problem of this book is they were trying to help save the American Indians from a trap that was set by a god. The god did it because the  American indians were annoying him and disturbing him. They don’t do it alone they get help by a magician named Hex that Rory does not trust.

The only reason Rory and Bridget got help, because on Bridget’s birthday, Hex did a unbelievable trick. Hex did a trick where he made a card that Rory wrote on go into Bridget’s present. The card said, “Hex is full of crap.” After that Rory was thinking about he did the trick ever since. Until five to ten minutes later he heard a voice call out, “I live on Raisin street.” Those are the two most important things in the book. Also they are my two favorite parts in the book. The most important thing he did was that he actually listened to Hex and went to Raisin street. Also when to Raisin street it was hidden and scary.

 

Some things about Rory are that he is smart, brave, and strong. He is smart because when he was in a tunnel of running water and he was about to lose his friend, he found a place that could make him safe. He is brave because when a demon attacked him, he stood his ground and fought against him after he lost the first time. He is strong because he pulled an alligator 10 feet against the river current flowing at 30 miles per hour to save his friend. After he did all of that he said “Thank god I did that right or else I would of been dead.”  

I loved the book it was really good. It was really good because it was always surprising. It was surprising because in one part someone that was a watch guard was a god. Also it had a happy ending. It is really good, so I would recommend it to other people. Only read it if you like surprises. This book does not remind me of anything. But it shouldn’t because it’s so unique in its own way.It is unique because I have never read a book like this before because non of them had a cockroach ridding a rat before.   I would rate this book 5 stars!!! Because I loved it and I would want to read it again.