Author Archives: 25giag

Jun
06
2017

As Brave as You, By Jason Reynolds

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As Brave as You, by Jason Reynolds

This book is called As Brave as You. The (awesome) book is by Jason Reynolds. I chose this book because from the moment I picked it out and read the first page, I saw that it had that hilarious and sarcastic aura to it, and I really like those types of books.  This book is about Genie (age 11) and Ernie Harris (age 13 about to turn 14), who go to North Hill, Virginia, and they stay with their grandparents for a whole month.

 

North Hill is a small town in the middle of Virginia. At first, Genie and Ernie are like “Dude, what is this place? Nothing like home, man.” They hate North Hill. Ernie and Genie are from Brooklyn. They miss the shade coming from the tall buildings cooling down the streets. They miss the ice cream truck coming to the sidewalk every day. Something that they really hate in North Hill, is the sunlight. Imagine the sunlight coming from your bedroom window, except 30 times brighter. That’s how bright the sun is there. There are a lot of steep hills, woods and forests in North Hill.

 

When Ernie and Genie arrived in North Hill, they hung out with their grandparents the first few days and they thought it was boring because there were no other kids their age there. Their grandparents literally live on the ‘North Hill’ of North Hill. They live on the top of an actual hill. There are no other houses on top of the hill.

 

Over the next few days, they wandered around aimlessly not knowing what to do (except for Ernie, he mostly played with the dog, Samantha, for the majority of the first few days). One day, Genie was looking over the side of the cliff and saw a little tiny row of houses he had never seen before. In front of a red house, he saw a girl around Ernie’s age. They walked down the hill (Genie tumbled) and met the girl.

 

Her name is Tess. Tess lives down the hill from them. They became friends and Tess took them to the local tavern where they drank the North Hill “special”. It turns out to just be ginger beer. Ginger beer is kind of like ginger ale, I think. They chatted for a bit, went to her house, and after a while Ernie and Genie left. Their grandma was hollering their names from the top of the hill like a mad woman, so they ran back up. For the rest of the vacation, the three of them hung out, got into big pickles and made DIY items.

 

Finally, Ernie’s 14th  birthday comes up. Grandpa Brooke (that’s his first name. Weird, right?) decides that he wants to teach his oldest grandson how to shoot! Grandpa Brooke decides to teach him how to shoot in the forest, so no bullets would do any harm to outsiders. Grandpa Brooke was a sniper in the Vietnam War!  He taught some of the best shooters in North Hill how to shoot.

 

IF YOU DON’T WANT A KIND OF BIG SPOILER, SKIP THIS ENTIRE PIECE OF INFORMATION!!! I’M WARNING YOU!!!

 

It’s kind of surprising that Brooke is a blind man! Yep, blind, and he still knows how to shoot. Kind of crazy. Grandpa Brooke is also scared of going outside because the last time he was outside, he had just become blind (because of Glaucoma), and he was sitting on the front steps of his house. All of a sudden, a poisonous snake came out of nowhere and bit Brooke. He had to be rushed to the hospital, and ever since then, he was scared to go outside.

 

NOW YOU CAN READ YOUR HEART OUT!

 

Brooke, Ernie, Genie, and Crab (a shooter in North Hill who is a good friend of Brooke’s), all go to the woods to teach Ernie how to shoot. Genie isn’t old enough to learn how to shoot, so he just goes to watch Ernie.

Everyone Is oblivious to Ernie’s nervousness, except for Genie. That’s right, Ernie is nervous. The weird thing is, Ernie is never nervous about anything. Nothing at all. As soon as Ernie held the gun in his hands, he started to get really shaky and his hands trembled. Once he pulled the trigger the gun slipped backward from his hands, sending the bullet behind. It didn’t hit anyone, luckily. However, the gun slammed into Ernie’s mouth, knocking out two of his teeth. He had to go to the Emergency room and get braces. This is the kind of pickle they would get into.

 

About two weeks later, the brothers’ parents come back to get them, and Ernie and Genie can’t deny that they had a good time. Just as they were getting to like North Hill, they had to leave. Sad, right?

 

I would definitely recommend this book if you like sarcasm and wit. Also if you like some sort of tame adventure.

Again, this book is AWESOME! I would give it ????? out of ????? stars. THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ!!!

 

May
04
2017

The Penderwicks, By Jeanne Birdsall

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THE PENDERWICKS

By Jeanne Birdsall

 

Can Mrs. Tifton get the Penderwick family out of Arundel before their vacation is up? Jeez, I honestly don’t know. The Penderwicks can honestly be a pretty big handful that will not  fit in your hand. If you keep reading, you may or may not find out whether she kicks them out. This book is the third in the series  called The Penderwicks. It shares the same title as the first book does, which can be a little confusing if you’re writing it down on paper (which, in this case, I am).

 

In this story, the important main characters are Rosalind (she’s the oldest Penderwick sister), Skye (second oldest), Jane (the middle one), and Batty (the youngest). Mrs. Penderwick died of cancer when Batty was two weeks old.

 

When they start out, Hound (the family dog) had eaten the map to Arundel. It turns into a major problemo. They finally find their way to Arundel cottage, and then they see that it is next to  a mansion. Kind of a bad place to put a cottage, don’t ya think?

 

Anyways, Skye goes exploring and bumps into a kid who lives at Arundel Mansion. She calls Mrs. Tifton snooty and stuck-up. The boy’s eyes widen and Mrs. Tifton calls his name. “Excuse me,” the boy says. “My mother is calling me and you’re in my way.”

Skye is ina  heck of a lot of trouble, or so she thinks..

 

As soon as Skye gets back to the cottage,  she calls an emergency MOOPS (Meeting Of Older Penderwick Sisters). She explains what the problem is, and they decide to send Jane to Arundel Mansion to make up with Jeffrey.

 

Jane and Jeffrey come back only to discover that Skye had burned the cookies. Skye goes on  rampage as Jane and Jeffrey enter. She calls Jeffrey a stuck-up boy with a rich, snooty, mother.

 

Finally, they get on good terms. After a while, Jeffrey turns eleven, and it has to be his worst birthday ever. He finds out the hard way that his mother is engaged.

 

About three days later, Mrs. Tifton finds Skye and Jeffrey wrestling on the ground. Just like, playful wrestling.

Mrs. Tifton kicks Batty (she was there too) and Skye out of the music room (what a terrible place to wrestle).

Mrs. Tifton doesn’t know that Mrs. Penderwick is dead, so she goes on throwing insult after insult at her. Naturally, Skye was eavesdropping. She couldn’t stand it anymore and burst into the music room. Skye shouts at Mrs. Tifton “My mother is dead, you hear me, DEAD!! She would never leave us like that, because she was the best mother in the world, unlike you, who won’t even listen to your own son!”

 

Mrs. tifton feels a hint of remorse for the Penderwicks. But, alas, she still send them home to the cottage. They are on sort of okay terms now.

 

Sadly, a few weeks later, the Penderwicks leave, and they all agree that they had the best time of their lives!

 

I would give this book ????? stars;  I love IT! (This is like, the 7th time I’m reading it…)

Feb
16
2017

A Grimm Warning, By Chris Colfer

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Do you like fairy tales? If so, have you ever wondered what happened to your favorite characters after their story finished? Well, if you keep reading, you’ll find out. This book is the third in the series called, “The Land Of Stories,” by Chris Colfer. Chris Colfer acted in the TV series called Glee.

In this story, the two main characters are Alex and Conner, the Bailey twins. Their father died on their 11th birthday. Freak car accident can happen. Alex and Conner are the grandchildren of the great and powerful Fairy Godmother, the ruler of the fairy-tale world. They have more power than any other magic fairytale character to ever live.

They have many problems to face, with their first being Alex living in the fairy tale world and Conner living in the Otherworld (Earth). Their Grandmother closed the portal between the fairy-tale world and the Otherworld for good, along with the help of the Fairy Council (basically the United Nations except made up of ten people and they are all fairies).

Apparently, the French Grande Armeé is here from the 1800’s, and they didn’t die. They were led into a portal along with all their artillery, and were stuck in there for 200 years. When they finally got to the Land Of Stories, they raised a dragon, which has not been seen for centuries in the fairy-tale world, and the Fairy Godmother is the only one who knows how to slay them. But, due to some unfortunate events, she is veeery sick, and old, and frail, and in a sort of a coma.

When the Grand Armee attacks the Fairy Palace, (The HQ for the Fairy-Tale world) they capture all the monarchs from all the kingdoms. They capture Queen Snow White and King Chandler Charming from the Northern Kingdom, Queen Cinderella, King Chance Charming and Princess Hope from the Charming Kingdom, Queen Sleeping Beauty, King Chase Charming and Princess Ash from the Eastern Kingdom, Red Riding Hood from the Red Riding Hood Kingdom, and Little Bo Peep, who got elected Queen during this same time period, and re-named the kingdom, the Bo Peep Republic, and Prince Charlie Charming from the Charming Kingdom (he’s one of the 4 charming brothers, and dating Red. He turned into a man sized frog, but still acts and talks like a human).

The Grand Armeé threatens to kill all the monarchs if the Fairy Council does not surrender. The Fairy Council does not surrender, but they get all the monarchs to safety by cutting the ropes around them and letting the monarchs fight (the monarchs trained while they were on the secret path, with Jack and Goldilocks as their trainers. Jack and Goldilocks are both outcasts, but they are friends of Alex and Conner’s, which is why the monarchs let Jack and Goldilocks stay). Alex performs some pretty awesome magic, but gets betrayed by the boy she was dating, who told the Armeé about the secret path.

But a few minutes later, the dragon comes, and is controlled by the Masked Man. The Masked Man is a master criminal, but is very evil, which is why General Jacques Marquis took him into the army. At first the General thinks that the dragon is his, but is wrong when he gets a scorching demise caused by the Masked Man. The Masked man takes control of the Armee and orders them to attack. But all of a sudden, with her last energy, the Fairy Godmother comes out of her chamber and kills the dragon. The Masked Man orders his forces to retreat. The battle is over, and the Fairy-Tale world is at peace once again. Alex becomes the new Fairy Godmother, and Conner stays there to become her assistant.

None of them know what the Masked Man is plotting next…      

Jan
18
2017

The Battle Of Hubbard Glacier

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The Son Of Neptune

Camp Jupiter, CA-  Breaking News! A couple of days ago in Seward, Alaska, on top of Hubbard Glacier, Percy Jackson, Hazel Levesque, and Frank Zhang all battled the giant Alcyoneus (the anti-Pluto, Hazel’s father). Their goal is to find the Roman Demigod Legion’s lost eagle (their symbol of power), which has been missing since the 1980’s. They all venture to Alaska, which is beyond the Ancient Roman Gods source of power and help. Hazel and Frank’s parents are Roman Gods, Percy’s godly parent is Greek.

“It was kinda scary,” said Hazel. “It was my first big battle, since I had been dead for 70 years. I didn’t know if I was going to die again or not.”

Frank’s lifeline is tied to a piece of magical firewood. He was cursed as a baby by Juno (the goddess of marriage and family life). The wood can set on fire whenever he wants it to.

Percy is probably the best and most powerful demigod to ever be born in America. He is a son of Poseidon and can make hurricanes, storm surges, and make any type of water do what he wants.

Hazel should not be alive. She is a daughter of Pluto (a.k.a Hades) who died in 1941 and was snuck out of the underworld by Nico DiAngelo, her step-brother, who is a son of Hades. She also has a special power, she can summon any type of metal, stone, or jewel just by concentrating. She can also make them do whatever she wants, like make it fly 30 miles away.

“Hazel has some pretty awesome powers. Once in Seattle, she was able to explode a silver jewelry crate, and make two enemies hang upside down from their ankles on a railing that was two stories high with just a flick of her hand!” said Percy.

Alcyoneus had also captured Thanatos, the god of Death, which meant that nobody could die as long as he was chained up. Thanatos said, “Only the flames of Life can burn through chains of Death.” Frank had to use his own firewood to burn through the chains and that almost killed him. Thankfully, he survived.

While Frank was burning his life away with the chains and firewood (literally), Percy and Hazel fought the enemies.   Percy sliced through lines of ghost soldiers that were trying to get to Frank and kill him, as a hurricane formed around Percy. Alcyoneus was immortal in his home territory, so they knocked him out, dragged him on a thirty-five foot long sled all the way to Canada.

“I have to say, Alcyoneus was a pretty lame fighter,” said Frank. “I mean, fifteen minutes and he was knocked out 3 times. And as he was getting up, I changed form to a grizzly bear and charged. He just got up and yelled a war cry and as I charged him, he fell back down and got knocked out again and Hazel killed him. How stupid is that?”

After they killed Alcyoneus, they all rode back to Camp Jupiter (the Roman demigod headquarters) on Arion and their sled, and prepared for another battle.