Category Archives: 2013-2014

Apr
30
2014

Out Of The Blue By Victor Cruz And Peter Schrager

Posted by

 

The main character of this book is Victor Cruz. Victor Cruz is a football player. Victor Cruz was a fighter. He’d never give up. It took him 5 tries to get his SAT’s high enough to get into UMass. The book also gives a lot of messages like don’t give up, keep trying. This book is also cool because you would think that it would be easy getting into the NFL yet it’s hard look at Victor Cruz. One of the NFL’s top wide receivers.

 

I enjoyed the book because Victor Cruz is a person who I like as a football player and I like to see how he came about. Victor Cruz’s main problem was that he couldn’t go to college because his SAT scores weren’t high enough. His other problem was that he wasn’t getting enough playing time when he was accepted. Therefore no scouts would be able to find him and like how he’s doing and he’ll end up undrafted. If there was one more chapter in the book I would talk about his next “cut day” and how for once he can feel confident that he’s going to make the team. You can also look at a player a different way. The most exciting quote in the book is when Victor’s wife says, “Vic, I’m pregnant.” It really changed how I look at Victor Cruz. Now I can look at him like a father. I never thought he was a father. And now I know he is.

 

I think this is a good autobiography/biography to start with if you’re a sports fan that isn’t interested in biographies because that was me when I started to read this book. If I didn’t like biographies when I started the book why did I start to read this book? Well, I saw Marlowe reading Out of the Blue and it looked good but I didn’t know that it was a biography and I ordered it online. Don’t you like how things work out like that sometimes?

 

I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars because it is written well and you don’t want to put it down because you get dragged into the book and it’s really interesting.  (Fun fact I sat at the couch reading this book over playing video games).

 images

Apr
30
2014

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Posted by

This book is called Scorch Trials by James Dashner. The characters are the Thomas and the Gladers. (Well actually Thomas is a glader) The Gladers are the kids that got dumped in the Glade with their no memory. In this book it turns out that the Maze is part one in a series of tests a weird organization called WICKED. The Glade is inside giant maze that opens in the morning and closes at night. Thomas mostly worries about his own problems because after they get these tattoos that tells them their place in the group all Thomas thinks about is how his tattoo says “to be killed by group B.” The setting of this book is in future America where there are sun flares that give people diseases that turn people into cranks and when you’re a full blown crank you go crazy.

Spoiler! Don’t Read The Second Paragraph If You Haven’t Read The Book

Thomas’s main problem is that he has a disease called the flare and needs to go 100 miles north to get to a safe haven where there’s a cure. An important event is when a hurricane strikes and kills lots of gladers. Another big event is when Thomas gets kidnapped by group B and Teresea is in charge of the group. Teresea is the only girl glader who Thomas can talk to in his mind if she also wants to. That is important because that means Teresea betrayed him. Also, a big event is when Thomas sees Teresea and kisses her. I think that Teresea betrayed him because of this quote: “The betrayal meant he couldn’t trust her anymore, and his heart told him he couldn’t forgive her.”

 

I enjoyed this book because most of the time it kept you on your toes and because it had lots of action. I would recommend this book to people who like mystery because this book is pretty mysterious. It is mysterious because the character doesn’t know a lot about the world he’s in. I would also recommend this book to people who like action because it has lots of action. I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

007

Apr
30
2014

The Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, by Judy Blume

Posted by

If you’re in fourth grade, most of you are, I would recommend this Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume to all of you. I personally didn’t want to read this book but my dad talked me into it and as soon as I read the first chapter I couldn’t stop. Another thing this book has in common is I think we all live in NYC just like Peter the main character in this book and his little brother Fudge. Unknown-1Peter is a BIG, BIG, BIG, BIG, BIG, BIG, BIG, people pleaser. An example of this would be when the dad of  Peter and Fudge has some guests staying at there house. Each bring both Peter and Fudge presents and though Peter despises his present he tries to please the guests by using his “amazing” acting skills. Peter is also as an impatient kid and a kid who takes things too literally.

The whole book is based around fact that Fudge has some spite to him and adults only get to see the angle side of him. For example Peter’s first pet passed away because Fudge swallowed him whole which lead to Peter getting a dog. In this story Fudge goes to the hospital for the reason listed above. That is a really important event in the story because right when Peter starts to get the slightest bit of attention Fudge has to pick the pet up and swallow it whole, that of course l leads to Fudge getting more attention not intentionally like always.

           I enjoyed this book because I can relate to two things with the main character, we are both in 4th grade, and we both have parents who always assume that the little sibling is an angel and  rarely gets in trouble. My favorite quote in the whole book would be when the mom said “ we have to trick Fudge if we want him to stop whining so this is the plan…” I like this quote because normally in this story everyone is always on Fudges side of things and this quote changes things up a bit. I would recommend this book to everyone because this book isn’t a book that is only interesting to the people who like that genre, but it is one of books like Wonder where it is a funny and interesting book for everyone. I would rate this book 4****and a half out of 5*****

 

 

Apr
30
2014

Dork Diaries (1), By Rachel Renée Russell

Posted by

The book Dork Diaries is 91diEjm-uGL._SL1500_about a girl named Nikki and her adventure in middle school. Nikki is at a new school and has no friends. What Nikki really wants it to hang out with the CCP (Cute, Cool, and Popular) group. Unlucky for her, she has a locker next to most popular girl in school, Mackenzie. Mackenzie is very full of herself. She says mean things about every girl’s fashion. (Of course not her best friends.)

 

I really liked the book because it I can relate to Nikki in the sense that we are both girls and we both girls who go to school. I am kind of learning from her because she is already in middle school and I am going into middle school. My favorite part of the book is when Nikki finally kind of gets the guy. I liked that because I felt happy for her. My least favorite part of the book is when Mackenzie’s friend tripped Nikki in the lunch room. I didn’t like that because it was mean.

At the end of the book Nikki writes in her diary I’m such a dork! That tells me that even at the end of the book she still thinks of herself of a dork. I don’t think she should think about the bad things about herself, I think she should think about the good things. She said “ Hi, Mrs. Wallabanger. I just stopped by to ask if you lost your hearing aid?” Page. 122 That quote tells me that Nikki is a kind person who cares about what someone has lost. I would recommend this book to someone who likes a good realistic fiction book. I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

Apr
30
2014

Al Capone Does My Homework, Gennifer Choldenko

Posted by

search*°•The Al Capone series doesn’t need to be read in order, only the first and second book need to be read in order•°*

 This is the last book in the series.

Moose and the gang are having fun, spying on the cons, helping them to. Moose needs to help Capone, who has already gotten nat into a special school for kids with disabilities. Moose is nice, and now it is working against him flowers for Mae Capone, Al’s mom…

 

He needs help and has a limited time period to do it. He has to look like he is alone, not with his friends on the boat, ware Mae will be.

 

But there are some cons with them on Alcatraz that are up to something of their own.

Piper has found a list, not just any list, a list made by cons, and not just any list from a con, but a game, but not any game… a game that can kill, literally. And it looks something like this: And guess who the new assistant warden is; Moose’s dad…Nat is also getting really smart.

 

Apr
13
2014

Legend by Marie Lu

Posted by

Legend by Marie Lu

 

The main characters in Legend are June and Day. Day is very loyal to his family members because he risked stealing from a heavily guarded hospital with only two knives to get the medications his brother needs. June is very smart because she got 1500 on her trial. In the Republic Of America you get a trial when you’re ten. You score anywhere from 0-1500 on your trial. Depending on what you get on your trial you either die, get to go to a high school and a college, or go to a high school and get a choice of the top four colleges. The trial determines whether your smart or dumb. June is the only person to get a 1500. June wants to hunt Day down because she thinks he killed her brother, Metias This book is set in the Republic Of America which is at war with the Colonies Of America.

 

Day’s main problem is that he’s a most wanted criminal but he needs to make a ton of money to get his brother the cure to the plague he got. Junes main problem is that her brother just died and she left college to join the military. June is fifteen. An important event is when Day steals from a hospital and people think he killed June’s brother so June hunts him down. Another important event is when June goes on a website that her brother made and the website tells her the truth about the capitol. The website tells her a everything that’s bad about the capitol. Day knew all  of it way before her. Legend is all about rebels because the main characters are rebels against the Capitol.“If you want to rebel, rebel from inside the system. That’s much more powerful than rebelling outside the system.” – Metias before he died. I think this means that if you rebel outside of the government they can just shut you out, but if you rebel from inside it’s harder to shut you out because you might have supporters that are in the military or someone that is powerful.

 

 

I definitely liked Legend. It had a lot of action (which I like) and it really kept me on my toes, like I couldn’t wait for the next part. I also liked it because it is very interesting to see from two totally different points of view. I would recommend this book to people who like dystopias and action because it is a dystopia with lots of action. I would also recommend this to people who like knowing a story from both sides because June doesn’t know about all the bad things and only knows about the military and lives in a rich sector. Day on the other hand knows all about the bad stuff the capitol does and lives in a slum sector.

 

I would give this five stars because it kept me on my toes and had lots of interesting twists in the plot.

 

Legend_Marie_Lu_Book_cover

Apr
13
2014

Spy School by Stuart Gibbs

Posted by

 

This book is about a kid named Ben Ripley. He is in 5th grade. He is very smart but has a life that is filled with boringness and no enthusiasm. Alexander Hale opens the door to Ben’s life and offers him the key to adventure, action and most important to an enthusiastic fulfilling life.

“Thus, a mere twenty-three minutes after my arrival at spy school, I had learned something extremely important about it: it was not going to be easy.” (p.30)

 

Spy School is a book filled with tons of action, but this action is all about smarts. If you’re on grade 16 in math and you check the spy school website I am sure you will qualify for the school. Spy School is covered as a “Science School“.

Part of the expectation from the school  is to be ready for everything… EVERYTHING.

 

My favorite part of the book was when Ben arrived at the school because: When Ben meets his first friends and enemies trouble awaits. When Ben arrives at Spy School the action kicks in and from there on the book pulls you in by each word.

Ben is in love with a girl named Elizabeth Pasternak. But when Ben goes to spy school he is in for a treat. Spy school is a great book to read for people who like action, adventure and a little bit of mystery.

Wyatt recommended this book to me, and I am recommending it to people who have the interests of the subjects above.

 

Spy training.

Protective spys.

Young spys

 

Secret information.

Covert operation.

Handy training.

Old school cover as science school.

Opertive.

Little people.

This book is definitely 5stars because it has everything you want in an action adventure book. By the way if you do not have a book to read ask Wyatt and I swear you will love the books he will recommend!

 

Apr
09
2014

Pendragon By D.J Machal

Posted by

The book that I read is called Pendragon by D.J. Machal. The three main characters in the book are Mark, Bobby and Courtney. Bobby loves his normal life, he does not want to have some kind of amazing ability. When Bobby first found out what he was, his first thought was “How am I going to get out of here?” not “How can I help?” Mark is really shy. When he talks to people who are not his friends he stutters in every sentence. Courtney is very competitive she is quite the opposite of Mark. At school they grabbed Courtney off the girl’s volleyball team and put her on the boy’s volleyball team because she was too good. There are two parts of the story’s setting, there are Bobby chapters and there are Mark and Courtney’s chapters. The setting in Bobby’s chapters is in the past in Durenderon, a far away land packed with monsters and all kinds of other weird things. Mark and Courtney’s chapters take place in the present with cars and cellphones.

 

The book is about how Bobby and his Uncle Press are travelers. There are a whole bunch of different territories and every  territory has a turning point. A turning point is when a territory has peace for ever or it is bad for ever. Travelers try to get the turning point to be piece but others don’t… Durenderon is at its turning point and the Migilo (who are little humans) are slaves to the Kagan Army (which are tall knights). They yanked Bobby away from his life at home so what they did was they let Bobby Write notes to his friend (Mark). Mark then  shares the notes with Courtney (Courtney is Bobby’s girlfriend) and they read Bobby’s stories. Bobby Really wants to go back to his home but he realized the Migilo need him and if he flies away  now he would kill them. To prove that he felt like he could go back the book says “I could have just left right then and there but I couldn’t, there were people depending on me”.

I enjoyed the book a lot because it did not wait a “century” to get to the plot so the whole time you want to know what happens next. I also liked the way they made the characters, because they did not make them cheesy, they made them normal. It felt like Bobby could actually be a person. I recommend this book for kids 9 and up because smaller kids would not understand the book. I also recommend this book to people who like fantasy because every single moment of the book is packed with fantasy. I rate the book 5 out of 5.                 imgres

Apr
09
2014

Alan Mendelsohn The Boy From Mars By Daniel M. Pinkwater

Posted by

Alan Mendelsohn The Boy From Mars By Daniel M. Pinkwater

I read a book called Alan Mendelsohn The Boy From Mars by Daniel M. Pinkwater over spring break. Alan Mendelsohn The Boy From Mars  is about well, you guessed it Alan Mendelsohn a boy from Mars. It is told from the point of view of Leonard Neeble, Alan Mendelsohn’s best friend. My dad read this book when he was a kid. So, he found a copy on Ebay and bought it for me. I really enjoyed this book. Alan is weird for example, he says he is from Mars and there is what looks like an U.F.O. in his backyard. Leonard is just an average kid. He like reading comics and playing sports. This book takes place in Hogboro, a fictitious city.

Alan Mendelsohn and Leonard Neeble are both pretty smart. They are one of the very few people who can use mind control, and they have thought their way out of very sticky situations. The problem in this book is Alan and Leonard trying to figure out the secrets of mind control. There is one character who sort of helps them throughout the book and that is Samuel Klugarsh. Samuel Klugarsh is the creator of Klugarsh Mind Control  which is his “How To for mind control. Uncle Boris is Leonard’s uncle and this is how he describes Klugarsh, “ Samuel Klugarsh has always been regarded by some as a swindler. I myself have always thought of him as someone who sells people things they don’t really need for more money than they’re worth. If that’s your definition of a swindler, then he is one.”

I enjoyed this book because it is weird. There are aliens, and mind control. For example,  Alan and Leonard read Clarence Yojimbo’s Japanese to English Dictionary backwards, and find out that mind control is easier if you use metal. The main characters use mind control to cause mischief by making people take off their hats and rub their stomachs and doing a little jig.

 My favorite character is Alan Mendelsohn. Alan Mendelsohn claims  that he is from Mars. Alan is a genius, like if someone said “What does this word mean?” he would use the definition from the dictionary just by thinking about it. He is so smart that barely ever has homework.

Leonard Neeble was just a normal kid who had very few friends until Alan Mendelsohn moved to Hogboro. Alan started to make friends with Leonard. They buy a mind control set which works pretty well. They start using it after school at Alan’s house. Later in the book Alan starts acting weird. For example, he announces to the whole school that he is from Mars. Find out the rest in Alan Mendelsohn The Boy From Mars.

I would rate this book 10 stars out of 5. Once you read the first page you can’t put it down. I would recommend this book to people 7+.

 

Apr
08
2014

Spy School By Stuart Gibbs

Posted by

The book I read recently is called Spy School by Stuart Gibbs. The book is about a kid named Ben Ripley who gets recruited to Spy School.  Ben is really smart. “I didn’t even have to think about it, I have a gift for mathematics” said Ben. Ben’s file says that he created something called pinwheel and an evil company wants whatever pinwheel is. The book takes place at Spy School, modern times. The school has modern technology, and better security than a lot of places. It has something like 400 security cameras all over campus. It is in Washington D.C.

Ben makes a new friend, Murray Hill. Murray is not his best friend at Spy School, but they have lunch and some classes together. But Ben considers Murray his friend. Murray has a secret he will not tell Ben. You’ll find out more later on in the book. The main problem in the book is that there is a mole from an evil company who is trying to capture Ben. My favorite part of the book is when Ben jabs a taser into a keypad and the electricity goes out. The reason he had to do that was because someone was coming for him and he didn’t want them to see him. I think the book was written very well.

I recommend this book to people that like action, mystery and adventure. I enjoyed this book it was really good because like. I rate it 6****** out of 5*****.

If you want to get the book click on the link below

http://stuartgibbs.com/books/