A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle is a book about a girl, Meg, who doesn’t really fit in with all the other kids. One night she cannot fall asleep because of a hurricane and goes downstairs and finds her little brother Charles Wallace. Charles Wallace knows everything about everything and was expecting Meg to want hot cocoa. Meg actually did want hot cocoa. Their mother Mrs. Murry woke up, also wanting hot cocoa. The twins stayed asleep. All three of them had sandwiches and after a while, a visitor arrived, Mrs. Whatsit. Mrs. Whatsit lives in “the haunted house” in the woods.

 

Charles Wallace, Meg, and their dog, Fortinbras go into the woods to see Mrs. Whatsit the next day. Suddenly they find a boy who’s name is Calvin. Calvin is a couple of grades above Meg. He is on the high school basketball team. They all introduced themselves and headed towards the house. Charles Wallace knocked on the door. A woman named Mrs. Who was knitting on a rocking chair inside the house. Mrs. Who is a friend of Mrs. Whatsit. They live together. Mrs. Who can only speak in quotes because it is too hard for her to verbalize her thoughts. Mrs. Whatsit wasn’t there so Calvin, Meg, and Charles Wallace went home.

 

Calvin stayed over for dinner. After dinner, Calvin took Meg on a walk and in the middle of the walk, Charles Wallace appears and says, “we’re going.” Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin head to the house in the woods. (Charles Wallace thinks that they’re going to find their father). When Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin are walking to Mrs. Whatsit’s house they find Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and a little silver shimmer in the air. The little shimmer start’s to talk, “ Alll rrightt, girrllss. Thiss iss nno ttime forr bbickkerring.” Charles Wallace says to Meg and Calvin, “That’s Mrs. Witch.”

 

That’s all I’m going to tell you because after that comes the part where you don’t want to put the book down. I loved this book because during a few of the chapters I couldn’t put the book down. When I stopped reading, I felt dizzy.

 

My favorite part of the book was when Meg, Charles Wallace, Calvin, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Witch all travel to a woman named Medium. And as they’re approaching Medium’s house, Mrs. Witch says “WWEE ARE HERE!”. I like that part because it is a little funny. (You will understand it if you read the book.)

 

I would recommend this book to people who like books that you can really get into because when I was reading it I literally could not put the book down. I would also recommend this book to people who like to read a book and want to be surprised because trust me, there are a lot of surprises. Lastly, I would recommend this book to people who like fantasy that is kind of realistic because the characters are easy to understand but what happens to them is fantasy. I think that ages 9+ should read this book. If you have read When You Reach Me you will love this book.

 

I would rate this book five stars!

 

This Isn’t What It Look Like by Pseudonymous Bosch

I recently read a book called This Isn’t What It Looks Like by Pseudonymous Bosch. It is a very mysterious book. One thing that makes it mysterious is that the author shows you chapters sometimes that seem random when you are reading them but by the end of the book, you know exactly why he showed you that chapter at that time.

 

The book is about a girl named Cass, who by eating a piece of chocolate, hopes she can find one of the most important pieces of information in the world. Then she falls asleep and goes into a coma, but in her brain, she is on a mission. Will she find out the information, or will she not? Will she get out of her coma, or will she die? I am leaving that for you to figure out. At some times, the book is really relaxing and funny, but at some times, you are not sure if the main characters (Cass and Max-Ernest) will make it back alive.

 

I rate this book four stars because the book is mysterious, but not quite a mystery.

The Lemonade Crime by Jacqueline Davies

A book review by Meadow Magee.

This book is great! I relate to it because I have a brother just like Jessie does. I got to learn a lot about how court works because the setting is just like a real court but in the playground, outside of school using recess equipment. Every start of a chapter has a definition of the title which is all about court. For example, “Trial by Jury: a legal proceeding in which the guilt or innocence of a person accused of a crime is decided by a group of his or her peers, rather than by a judge or panel of judges.” This book picks up after the first book which is The Lemonade War. There is one more book after The Lemonade Crime called The Bell Bandit that I have not read yet!

 

Jessie and Evan are the main characters of this story. They are siblings, Jessie is 8 and Evan is 10. I am 9 and my brother, River is 11 which is why I feel so connected. Jessie is very smart but she has some trouble connecting to other kids. Evan, on the other hand, is very good at connecting to kids but has a little trouble with his math. Jessie is now in Evan’s class because she skipped a grade on account of how clever she is. They live in Manhattan with their mom because their mom and dad are divorced and their dad lives somewhere else.

 

In the first book there was a war to collect $100 by the end of summer break by selling lemonade. At the end of the first book money was stolen and this second book is all about finding out who really stole the money and Jessie makes a court scene about this and makes it very official. Scott is also a main character and he is the one accused of the stealing the money. Megan is a main character too as she is Jessie’s best friend. It’s Jessie’s first best friend ever so it means a lot to her. (Just like Oni means a lot to me) Megan helps out Jessie with the lemonade stand. Megan doesn’t know there is a war going on. Megan is involved in the court proceedings as a member of the audience. The crime occurred at Jack’s house with a couple of friends including Evan and Scott.

I don’t want to give you all the details as it will give away a lot of the book. You just have to read the book yourself! It’s a great book and I would rate this book five stars. This book is ideal for 8-11 year old boys and girls because the court stuff makes it a little hard to understand for anyone younger. I think that you should read The Lemonade War first because you won’t understand this otherwise. I would also give The Lemonade War five stars. I hope you enjoy the “Lemonade” series!

 

Frogged

Frogged

By Colette Leong

The book I read over the weekend is called Frogged, and the author of Frogged is named Vivian Vande Velde. The main character, Igmone, Princess Igmone. Igmone lives in a castle with her mother, father and her younger brother. Her mother told Igmone to read a book called “The Art Of Being A Princess,” before her thirteenth birthday, so she can be a real polite princess.

Igmone goes to one of her favorite places of the courtyard. Igmone meets a frog prince by the pond. The frog prince is really a poor boy who lives on the streets, The boy Igmone left food for, who she felt bad for. But he is just not very nice person. Igmone thought she was just helping him but Igmone, herself got turned into a frog in the boys place. Later on, Igmone met some teenagers in a barn. They’re names are Lulla and Bertie. Lulla, an farmer.Bertie, an actor. Lulla and Bertie capture Igmone and She goes on an adventure with Lulla and Bertie.

If you read this book you will find out what happens out later in this book.I rate Frogged  **** four stars. Frogged is funny and surprising and I hope you think so too!

You Have To Stop This by Pseudonymous Bosch

 by Freddie

 

     You Have to Stop This by Pseudonymous Bosch is the best book in the Secret Series. The Secret Series is 5 books and this is the fifth book. The main characters are Cass, Max-Ernest and Yoji ( Cass and Max-Ernest call him Yo-Yoji though). The book is set in Las Vegas and the Natural History Museum. One of the important events in this book, which is also my favorite part of it, is when Cass, Yoji and Max-Ernest get accused of stealing a mummy. Another big event that happens is when Cass, Yoji and Max-Ernest hide in a crate and get shipped to Las Vegas.  I would recommend this book to mystery lovers since this book is a giant mystery. I thought that this book was so good that I’d give it a 20 out of 5 stars rating!

The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan

The book I read over winter break was called The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan. The Titan’s Curse is the third book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The main characters are Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, Annabeth, Daughter of Athena, Thalia, Daughter of Zeus, and Nico and Bianca di Angelo. The book takes place in a lot of different settings. One of the parts you want to focus on if you read this book is trying to understand the prophecies, they are very hard to understand because they don’t make that much sense. I enjoyed the book because it has humor and it’s action packed. The part I got worried at was… wait I shouldn’t tell you. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars because it’s a good read and to people who like crazy books with action and humor this book is good for you.

 By John Griffin Cook

Alice-Miranda At School by Jacqueline Harvey

The name of this book is Alice-Miranda At School by Jacqueline Harvey. The main character is Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones. She goes to a boarding school called Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale Academy for proper young ladies, when she was only seven.

While at school, Alice-Miranda finds that there are many unhappy people and that something is wrong. She finds that the Headmistress, Ophelia Grimm/Miss Grimm is nowhere to be found. There also seems to be someone hiding out on the premises. Alice-Miranda starts interrupting Miss Grimm’s study and Miss Grimm gets annoyed so Miss Grimm finds a way to get Alice-Miranda kicked out. Alice-Miranda has to do all different challenges to stay in the school.

I enjoyed this book because Alice-Miranda has her way of doing certain things that she should or shouldn’t do. My favorite part is toward the end of the book, when Alice-Miranda finally reveals a mysterious twist about Miss Grimm’s life- I have to keep it a secret though! I would recommend this book to people who like suspenseful books and mysteries. I really loved reading it because it kept me on my toes. Even though it was exciting, I would only give it 3 out of 5 stars.

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins


The Hunger games is an amazing book by an amazing author.  The Hunger Games is about the 12 districts in Panem (the ruins of North America) surrounding the harsh Capitol that thinks they always need to remind everyone of how much power they have. They do that by having a yearly hunger games.


                                                                    Important facts, skip paragraph (not recommended) for rest of review.

 

A boy and a girl get reaped by their names getting drawn from glass ball filled with paper slips with names (when you get picked to fight in the hunger games on live tv.) If you are poor (like many of the people in district 12 are) you can get free food (grains and oil) by signing up for tesserae but you need to enter your name 1 extra time. The reaping day parade is when they pick the people for the years hunger games. To be eligible to be reaped, you need to be between the ages 12-18. Every year towards 18 you get your name put into the glass ball one more time. Sometimes people can volunteer to be a tribute if the person warts or needs to. This is often done by career tributes (kids that train their whole life for the games and are the best players in the games, really good with weapons. Then they volunteer) The districts that tend to have careers are the more wealthy districts 1,2 and 4. Even though it is illegal to train for the games before they are reaped, the capitol allows it because their districts are more wealthy and trade better goods to the Capitol. Sometimes they let other people in even if they are not careers for certain reasons. Last few things before we start about the book: Effie Trinket is the escort for district 12, and Haymitch Abernathy is the mentor for district 12. A mentor is a previous hunger games victor and
gives the tribunes tips on how to win. Escorts are people from the Capitol to do parties and escort you. If you win, you get fame and fortune, losing means certain death.

 

Now for the good stuff! 16 year-old Katniss Everdeen wakes up reaping day and goes hunting (strictly illegal and punishable by death) with her best friend Gale. They talk in the Capitol accent and say “may the odds ever be in your favor.” They’re pretending it’s all fun and games until the parade arrives; her 12 year-old sister Primrose ‘Prim’ Everdeen is reaped, her name was only put in the ball once. Katniss’s father is died in a mine explosion (the districts industry is coal mining), it’s also the same one that killed Gale’s father. Ever since Katniss’s father died, she took over the family. Katniss volunteers and is the district’s first ever volunteer, very big deal. Now for the boys, Peeta Mellark is reaped. The peace keepers take them to there room where they will say their final goodbyes to their families and friends.

When they arrive at the Capitol via hi-speed train they go the penthouse (very luxurious) they get amazing food and really cool showers. They meet their stylist (to help with the interviews and opening day parade,) and Katniss Gets a new stylist, Cinna, who chose district 12 (they hardly ever/maybe only twice won the games) and, he’s great. Past stylists have made the tributes from district 12 look ridiculous and haven’t gotten very many sponsors (if they like what they see they get the mentor and during the games give them supplies to help them survive and/or fight.) The new tributes from district 12, Katniss and Peeta Mellark are… on fire. They look amazing and win the crowd and sponsors. Katniss earns the name ‘The Girl On Fire’.

Training and, ‘‘The 74th annual Hunger Games!.” In the training center there are many stations: archery, camo, hand-to-hand combat, sword fighting, knife throwing climbing, ect, ect. Haymitch said don’t show the others what your really good at.
 Katniss avoids archery and Peeta avoids weight lifting (his family owns a bakery and he throws 100 pound bags of flour over his head.) Katniss visits the plats station to find what plants are edible and which are not. See already knows very well from her family’s book, hunting and her father. See does little fighting stations and sees the careers showing of. They train for 3 days then have their private sessions. Now Katniss does her Archery magic. since Katniss is last person to go the and game makers (what they name is, they do) are drunk and and eating, katniss gives them a surprise… The interviews are on and Katniss again steals the spotlight. She talks about her 11 in training out of a possible 12, best of all the other tributes. “…let the games begin!” Haymitch advises Katniss to stay away from the cornucopia, the giant horn where all the good stuff is. Katniss sees only one bow and arrow but is late to react to the gong so she manages to get a back pack food and stuff. She runs of into the woods.

 

Thats my reveiw,  there is much more of the games in the, but too many spoilers in the rest! The whole series is from Katniss’s point of view. I time period is future.

I love it partly because of the twist of a bad future, not a good future. There is also some really cool teach in the book.

 

I would rate this book 6 out of 5 (yes, 6) stars because you will go to sleep thinking about it. It’s a great book, READ IT!!!!!!! 🙂 Highly addictive. BEWARE!!! 🙂

The Enormous Egg, By Oliver ButterWorth

This book is about a triceratops that hatched out of a hen’s egg. It is also the only living dinosaur in the world. A boy named Nate Twitchel and his friend go on a quest to save this dinosaur. The main characters are Nate, a paleontologist, a dinosaur,and Nate’s  family, which is his dad, his mom, and his sister. The book takes place on a farm in Freedom, New Hampshire. My favorite part was when the egg hatched. The dinosaur was so cute as a baby! I really, really enjoyed this book and I would recommend this book to people who like action and times where you think “ wow! This is interesting, but I wonder what will happen next?” I would most definitely rate this book 5 stars. It is really good.

Survivors A Hidden Enemy By Erin Hunter

My book is about a dog named Lucky. He is a Golden Retriever who is confident and brave and never gives up. This book takes place in the woods, with lots of trees and rivers where lots of humans don’t live, and only wild dogs live there. Lucky leads a pack of more dogs that are trying to survive in the woods. The pack has to travel around the woods and look for new shelter every day. This book has a lot of adventure in it and animals in it. this book also has a lot of description  in it and makes you feel like your in the book. I like this book because it has animal in it and lots of poetic words in it and it makes me understand the book better. Lucky also has a really good friend named Sweet an Italian Greyhound.  Sweet is also really adventures and always keeps everybody going.  I would recommend this book to somebody who likes animals and adventure, I would rate this book 5 stars because the poetic words were  really good and the chapters were not to short or not to long.