Author Archives: Farin

Aug
06
2015

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

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cover.225x225-75The name of the book I read is The Mysterious Benedict Society (book one), the book is by Trenton Lee Stewart. The book takes place in Stonetown (somewhere on the planet Earth), in present time. The main characters are Reynard “Reynie” Muldoon, George “Sticky”  Washington, Kate “The Great Kate Weather Machine” Wetherall, and Constance Contraire. The main problem is that they have to overcome their differences and learn to work together to save the world from Ledroptha Curtain, and his Whisperer machine before he makes the world his piece of paper.

 

“Sometimes, Reynie, trouble itself is the key.” – Mr. Benedict. The biggest turning point is when the characters (The Mysterious Benedict Society) worked together to shut down the Whisperer by confusing it. After bickering constantly about all the secrets and things they wouldn’t tell each other, they finally bonded together as a team and friends. Throughout the story an important decision is whether to cheat or not to cheat to get higher up in the ranks to become a messenger. Messengers go into the Whisperer and learn more about how Mr. Curtain is able to bend almost everyone’s minds. In the end the big problems do fade away but their shadows are still there.

 

This is a breathtaking book, and there are many examples as to why. But, for right now just three. The first example is that the characters are so relatable, a little bit of yourself is in every character. Constance is determined, stubborn, and very resistant to anything she doesn’t like. Reynie is the go to for puzzles, and problems guy. Kate is very resourceful, and adventurous. Finally, Sticky is the know-it-all.    The second example is that  the story was never boring, or dull, and it never made me want to do other things. The third example is that some of the many riddles and clever wordplay was easy to solve before the characters did, and other times you  just have to go along with the book and the characters. The kind of reader that would enjoy this series is a reader that loves to think, and enjoys some mystery as well as action. The book gives you a lot of uncoded messages that you as well as the characters have to figure out. If I were to rate this book from 1 to 10 stars, I’d give it a full on 10. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Feb
26
2015

Gabriel Finley and the Ravens Riddle by George Hagen

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The book I read was Gabriel Finley and the Raven’s Riddle by George Hagen. The the book takes place in Brooklyn.  The main characters are Gabriel20307079 Finley, Somes Grindle, Abby, and Pamela. A wicked torc, a stubborn writing desk, and a group of valravens (evil flesh eating ravens), are obstacles in young Gabriel’s path to his father. Soon Gabriel befriends a young raven named Paladin, and learns the greatest secrets the world has ever held. He, Paladin and a group of friends travel down to the underground city, Aviopolis, where he finds his father. Soon his friends and his father get captured by valravens . To save them he challenges Corax (his uncle and the lord of the valravens) to a duel of riddles. Does he win? You will have to read to find out.

 

Abby is unique, thoughtful, and smart. Abby is unique because she is confident in wearing one color boot and a different color on the other. Also she does not care what other people think about her. Abby is thoughtful when she snuck caramel candies to Gabriel so he won’t have to eat the terrible food. Abby is smart because she cracked really hard riddles like “The mighty lion runs from me when my legs rise up in fury, yet quietly I serve beneath a judge and all his jury.”

 

One part that I found interesting was when Gabriel and Paladin formed into one, meaning that Gabriel went into Paladin’s body like a ghost. I thought that was interesting because I never knew what it was like in a raven’s body. How neat would it be to fly? A part that I found important was when Gabriel met his dad. That is important because parents take their children under their wing, and teach them important skills .

 

I enjoyed this book because it has a lot of adventures. Also I like friendship and family stories and this is one of them. I would recommend this book to readers who like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. I say this because Harry Potter and Percy Jackson are very similar because they are both special types of humans and go on special missions. I would rate this book five stars *****.

 

 

 

 

Jan
29
2015

Lawless by Jeffrey Salane

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The book I read was called Lawless by Jeffrey Salane. The main character is called M Freeman (just M, not a nickname). The book is mainly about this ordinary girl called M. But is she really ordinary? When M was young her father mysteriously died from a plane accident. In the beginning M thinks her mother and father are just art historians but soon she realizes they are master criminals. All her life she’s been home schooled and that all leads up to her being a master criminal herself. She gets into the hidden school Lawless and goes through challenges such as making friends, finding more about herself and parents, and battling through tests and obstacles. On the way to becoming a Master she soon steals a pair famous paintings by Rembrandt, which soon goes wrong. This book takes place in present time, and is in many countries but the one I like the most is in Germany.

 

One of the most interesting parts was when Cal ,one of M’s friends,was on ice and falls into the water. Without thinking M dives after Cal and faints because she didn’t have enough air. I thought it was interesting because it showed friendship between M and Cal and it showed heroic bravery. Another time I found amusing was when M went into the Box (a room that simulates a challenging scenario). Jules (another one of M’s friends) saves her from her fear of heights since she was on a plane in the Box. I thought it was interesting because it displayed that Jules monstrous cared about M, and that she didn’t want M to get hurt. Ms. Watts is cold blooded, mean, and clever. A fascinating character, Ms. Watts is cold blooded because she let her son (Cal) die in cold water and only cared about the painting that fell with him. Ms. Watts is first-class mean because she trapped M and her friends in the dark, tied to a breaking chair. Also Ms.Watts is wickedly clever because she fooled M in leading her to chaos.

 

I enjoyed this book because it was suspenseful and was very mysterious. I also liked it because of the moral fiber in each character. I would recommend this book to fourth graders because it is very adventurous and I know fourth graders like dauntless writing. Also  is very enjoyable, and if you like suspenseful books, you’d like this one.  I think this book may be like the Harry Potter series because those books are very suspenseful. I would give this book 5 stars*****.

 

Jan
05
2015

The Bridge to Terabitha by Katherine Paterson

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Bridge to Terabithia

 

The book I read was Bridge to Terabithia, the author of this book was Katherine Paterson. In this story there are two main characters. They are Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke. Jess really wants to become the fastest kid in the fifth grade. But his plan gets thwarted when the new kid strolls on to the boy’s side and demands to run in the boys race. Later Jess’ desire to be the fastest kid is not really important thanks to the new kid Leslie Burke. She just moved in near Jess. Jess and Leslie are not close in the beginning of the book. But then they become king and queen of Terabithia, Terabithia is Leslie and Jess’s kingdom. This book takes place in Lark Creek, in the early 1970s.

I thought a part that was most interesting was when Leslie and Jess created Terabithia, their imaginary kingdom, when they crossed the dried creek on a rope. I thought that was interesting because it was so creative how they came up with all their rules and structures. I also thought it was extremely important when they made Terabithia. The reason that part was important because it was the start of a great friendship,and important bravery for Jess. I think Leslie is brave because when it was pouring she tried to get across the flooding creek when the rope could break to protect Terabithia from disaster. She is also determined because she kept trying to talk to Jess to become friends when he was mad at her for winning the race. She is really caring to Jess because for Christmas she gave Jess paints and she knew that Jess always wanted paints because Jess really like drawing.

I really liked this book because I always enjoy tough friendships. In the book the tough friendship between Jess and Leslie was when they raced and Leslie won. It was difficult for Leslie because Jess was mad at Leslie because she became the fastest kid and he wanted to be that person.I would recommend this book to fourth graders because it is the right amount of sadness and happiness. Also it is a good creative book. There aren’t any TV shows, movies, or books that I know of that are similar (but you can ask Dan). I would rate this book 3 stars ***.   

Dec
12
2014

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

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The book I read is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K Rowling, this book is number five of the series Harry Potter. This series is about Harry’s life through the ages 11- 17 at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This particular book is when Harry is 15, and is in his fifth year at Hogwarts. During the year he is trying to learn how to fight Voldemort the Dark Lord, prepare his fellow friends with secret meetings, learn how to keep calm with Professor Umbridge, and learn to cope with Professor Snape while learning occlumency. The main characters of this book are Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger. This book is set in the present time in England, London.

A part I found important was when Grawp (a giant), Hagrid’s  step brother (Hagrid is a half giant) saves Harry and Hermione from rampaging centaurs. It was important because Grawp had a lot of courage and bravery , and showed true friendship. Another  part that I found interesting was when Harry invaded Snape’s privacy. It was interesting because when Snape found out, he did not want to teach Harry anymore. Hermione is loyal because she stuck with Harry and Ron when times were tough for example when they were escaping Death Eaters when she could of saved only herself. She is a forward thinker because when the group was in a circular room and all the doors looked the same but she put a X on the doors she already tried. She is also generous because over the year she was knitting hats for the house elves to set them free even though they didn’t want to be free.

I enjoyed the book because the breath taking adventures and funny love stories. A funny love story was when Harry kissed Cho under mistletoe and the breath taking adventures are when they battled Voldemort. I would recommend this book to readers the age of 9-10000000000. I would recommend at that ages because there is some violence and weird things . But anything else is totally acceptable for younger ages. The book is really great and descriptive (it is 870 pages) and it is enjoyable for many readers. I think the Percy Jackson series is very similar. I know that because they do not know about their kind for a long time, they have to fight, and they make great friends. I would rate this book 4 stars ****.