Author Archives: Zariel

Sep
06
2015

A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban

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The book I read this summer is called A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban. The book has many different settings. Two of the main settings are her house and her school. The main character’s name is Zoe Elias. Some other characters are Miss Person her piano teacher, her mother, her father, Wheeler Diggs her friend from school and her dad’s baking partner, and Emma Dent her “former” best friend. In the book Zoe has big dreams to become the next Vladimir Horowitz (a famous pianist). The main problem is that Zoe has been begging her parents for a baby grand piano. Instead she gets a wood-grained, vinyl-seated, wheeze-bag organ. She also wants to play at Carnegie Hall. But it’s kind of hard to play at Carnegie Hall when you don’t have a baby grand piano to practice on.

But soon a big twist changed the direction of the story. Miss Person thinks it will be good for Zoe to enter the annual Perform-O-Rama organ competition. Zoe has to make a big decision between going to the Preform-O-Rama and understanding that it’s okay to make mistakes or just staying home and giving up on the big dreams she has of becoming an amazing pianist. One quote that really inspired her when she was playing was  “just keep playing”. I know this sounds just like words but to Zoe these words were very inspirational because she just has to focus on the piano and not focus on what’s going on around her and then surely she will do great! She also have to keep in mind that everybody makes mistakes and that it’s okay to make mistakes but you have to learn from those mistakes. Zoe resolves her problem by thinking “just keep playing” and she does just that. She ends up doing an amazing performance.

I really enjoyed this book. I really enjoyed it because it helped me learn that everyone makes mistakes and that it’s okay to make mistakes. An example of this is when Zoe performs at the Perform-O-Rama and she makes a few mistakes but she keeps going. I also thought that a lot of the characters were really funny and quirky especially Zoe and her family. An example of this is when Zoe’s dad decorated the hotel room to look just like their house. I also just love reading about people who have big dreams and try to make their dreams a reality. An example of this is when Zoe keeps trying hard to become amazing and she puts a lot of effort into playing the piano.  I think a pianist would read this book because it gives a lot of facts about the piano. I also think a reader who likes humor would like this book because it is a very funny, quirky book. I give this book a five star rating.                                                          

Feb
26
2015

Number The Stars By Lois Lowery

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51dKKLBZ1jL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_The book I read is called Number The Stars by Lois Lowry. The book is mainly about a girl named Annemarie Johansen  who is living during World War II in 1943. It is about how she lives through this and how she helps her best friend Ellen who is Jewish not get found and captured. The main setting of the book is Copenhagen and some other settings are Sweden and Denmark.

Three adjectives to describe Annemarie are fearless, polite, and honest. She’s fearless because when she first meets one of the Nazi guards she does not get scared and she just tries to stay calm. She’s polite because whenever she gets frustrated she does not get very worked up about it like when her little sister Kristi  was about to tell the Nazis that they were helping Jews go to Sweden. She gave Kristi a serious look indicating that she should not say anything. Annemarie is honest because when she talks about her sister Lise who died, she did not try to sugarcoat it, she just said the cold hard truth.

There were many important things I learned when I read this book. One of them is about this thing called the Resistance which is like a secret organization to stop the Nazis. The second thing that I learned was that the Nazis would somehow know if you are helping Jews stay safe and go to Sweden. I think they know Annemarie’s family is helping Jews because her sister was part of the Resistance. A third thing that I found important was that the Nazi guards had guard dogs and people would carry little handkerchiefs  of  a scent and if the dogs smelled it then it would numb their sense of  smell and then they would be unable to smell. Another thing that I found interesting was that during the war no one could eat butter and if they were lucky some people would have butter but very little. The people did not have butter because the Nazis had better privileges then the people living in the war.  The Nazis had taken most of the butter and they would never even eat it. They did not eat it because they just wanted the people living in the war to suffer.

I enjoyed this book very much because I got to learn a little bit more of people living during the times of dictators and why they might have left their homes. This book is not related to any movies I’ve seen, but this book is similar to Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez. It is also an immigration story around the same time period but in a diffrent place in the world.

I give this book a rating of 5 stars because I really liked it. I would be happy to read it again.

 

Jan
29
2015

Lawless by Jeffrey Salane

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The book I read is called Lawless by Jeffrey Salane. The main character’s name is M Freeman. The book is mainly about M. When she was younger her father had gotten killed. One day M got into a new school called Lawless. Lawless is a school for criminals. Will M commit a crime or get kicked out of Lawless? The main settings of the book are  the school called Lawless, London, Germany, and Paris.

One thing that I found most interesting is that there could be such thing as a  school for people who could go and become a criminal. The second thing that surprised me is that you can uncover secrets about different things in history. The third thing that surprised me is that some peoples real names are M I really like that name. If I were to describe M in three adjectives the first one would be Fearless. I say that because in this book she gets herself into some big trouble  but she just keeps moving no matter what. The second thing would be Friendly I say that because she is always so nice to her friends and always putting them before her. The third adjective to describe her would be great full  I say this because she is always thinking about what she has that others might not have.

If I were to relate this book to any movies or books the movie I think relates to this a lot is Divergent. I say this because  Tris the main character in Divergent and M the main character in Lawless are a lot alike. Tris chose to go to  one  category to live in for the rest of her life which is like Lawless. If I were to give  this book a rating I choose 5. I definitely recommend this book to people.  I recommend this book to people because it is like a  story that is a little bit scary but not to scary so it is for kids. It is also a book that is a family book so everyone can enjoy it.

 

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Jan
05
2015

Before We Were free By Julia Alvarez

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The book I read is called Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez. The book is about a girl named Anita. What happens to her is she is in the Dominican Republic and she has a photo of their “president” who she soon finds out is her country’s dictator. Later she finds out about all the horrible things that he has done and also about the crimes that her father has committed. To top it all off she has to deal with being a teenage girl. Its very difficult because she has to deal with her classmates being mean and telling her that her only friends are her cousins. The main setting of the book is the Dominican Republic, Anita’s house and other peoples homes.

Something that surprised me was the story is about a real event that happened in the Dominican Republic. It is known as the Trujillo Times. They call it his because it was such a bad time in the Dominican Republic. Another thing that surprised me was that my great grandmother lived in the Dominican Republic and she had to try to escape because it was so dangerous but she made it out alive without being harmed or stopped. The last thing that surprised me was that my mother’s uncle used to be best friends with Trujillo Jr. who is Trujillo’s son who used to go to school with him when they were  kids. I would describe Anita as adventurous. I say that because she tries to discover what is going on in her life and why its happening. The second adjective would be very quiet because in school she does not have any friends only her cousins and she barely talks to them. She does not like to have much social interaction with friends. The last adjective would be indescribable  because you will never know what she is going to do next.

I can relate to this book very much because a lot of my family is from the Dominican Republic. I’ve heard stories about this time period in the Dominican Republic so I already knew a lot of things about the Trujillo Times. Even if you are not from the Dominican Republic the book is basically an immigration story. I loved this book. I give it 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.