Category Archives: 2015-2016

Dec
10
2015

The Sisters Grimm, by Michael Buckley

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176327I read a book called The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley. The central  characters names are Sabrina and Daphne Grimm. The complication in this book is that a giant carries away their grandmother and the grandmother’s friend, Mr. Canis. The Grimm family lives in a small town called Ferry Point Landing.

The kids try to stop the giant and save their grandmother. There is a giant killer named Jack, (from Jack and the Beanstalk ) that tries to help them save their grandmother. Charming is another character that Sabrina and Daphne think is mean, he is an important character and is the mayor of Ferry Point Landing. When the sisters were trying to find their grandmother, they found a magic mirror that helped along the sisters journey. The sisters have very different personalities, Daphne is happy most of the time and a little goofy while Sabrina is a small grump and hates bullies. “I love these t-shirts the are so cute,” said Daphne when talking about their new clothes. “They make me want to barf,” said Sabrina after looking at the new t-shirts.    

I enjoyed the book because It had a lot of twists and turns; and I liked the personality of the main characters. I also enjoyed it because in one part, one of Sabrina’s enemies turned into a close friend, and one of Sabrina’s friends turned into an enemy. I would recommend it to people who like fiction and fairy tales. I would give it four and a half stars (out of five).   

Dec
10
2015

Who is Bill Gates? by Patricia Brennan Demuth

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imgres-1Who Is Bill Gates? is about Bill Gates’s life from from being a poor boy in Seattle to a very rich man because of Microsoft.  It was not all easy because his friend who made Microsoft with him got very sick and Bill Gates had to run the business by himself.  

Bill Gates was very smart even when he was young. When Bill was seven he read the whole encyclopedia. When he was 11 he entered a contest to memorize a sermon from church. He won a dinner at the top of the Space Needle a restaurant that is really tall! School was not fun for Bill because it was boring to him and he was teased for being smart.  Later he said “Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.” Bill moved school in 7th grade to an  all boys school called Lakeside.  In 1968 Bill was shown the new computer lab but there were no computers because personal computers were not made yet. There were only million dollar ones.  So the school bought a teletype machine. That is a thing with a phone cord that is connected to a fancy computer. You put commands in and they come back in letters. That was the beginning of Bill Gates and computers.

I enjoyed the book.  First, because I like to learn about computers.  Second, Bill Gates has had an interesting life.  Finally, he has said some encouraging things about being nice and a nerd. I would recommend this book to kids who like to know more about different people. I give this book five out of five stars.

         

 

Dec
10
2015

Rose, by Holly Webb

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11179335Rose is about a orphan who learns what she can really do. Rose by Holly Webb and is a great fourth grade book. The main character is named…well…Rose. Rose is a kind-hearted orphan who gets chosen to work at the most famous magician’s house! When Rose learns she has magic too, she tries to get rid of it. If she can’t get rid of it, can she at least learn how to use it properly? Someone puts her magic to the test when children are being stolen and Rose has to save the day. The beginning takes place in St. Bridget’s Home For Abandoned Children; after that most of the story takes place in Mr Fountain’s mansion.

As the first book of the four book Rose series, this book really explains who Rose is. Rose gets picked up from the orphanage to work at the house because she could’ve used her powers in bad ways by accident! There are lots of problems for Rose including when the St. Bridget orphans go missing. Another problem is the mean housecleaner Susan, who despises Rose. Rose decides to save the orphans with the snobby Freddie from the Fountain mansion which might not go as well as planned but Rose won’t give up. Rose is a determined character who struggles through the twists and turns of all the magic and weird things going on in the Fountain mansion. Rose only wants to be a housemaid and she really tries to be an obedient servant and kind orphan. For example, Rose says “It’s not that I don’t want to stay,” she murmured. “But I’d like to earn my own living.”

I really enjoyed the first Rose book and I am reading the second Rose book right now. I love the descriptions in the book and how they build Rose’s personality throughout the book. I also liked how Holly Webb added a mean servant because it gives Rose more challenges. I would recommend this book for nine to ten year olds because it has some hard words and long pages. I would recommend Rose to kids who like series of books because Rose is a four book series including Rose, Rose and the Lost Princess, Rose and the Magician’s Mask, and Rose and the Silver Ghost. Over all, I would rate Rose five stars.

Dec
10
2015

I TOTALLY FUNNIEST, By James Patterson

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51KQihg1QYL._SX316_BO1,204,203,200_I TOTALLY FUNNIEST by James Patterson, is about the main characters and comedy contests. The main characters are Jamie Grimm, Gilda Gold, Joey Gaynor and Jimmy Pierce. Jamie is a middle school kid who is in a wheelchair and is very funny. His friend Pierce is a brainiac, Gaynor is cool and Gilda is gutsy. Jamie has been in many comedy contests before and the main problem is that he’s scared he’s going to lose the final contest.  The setting of the book, I TOTALLY FUNNIEST, takes place in Long Beach, NY. Jamie also goes to Hollywood for the final contest.  

Jamie is very nervous about the final contest because it’s on TV and it has the biggest crowd he’s ever seen.  If Jamie wins, he gets one million bucks and a TV show. His cousin, Stevie Kosgrov, is a bully but he is protecting Jamie at school because he wants half of Jamie’s one million bucks that Stevie thinks Jamie is going to win. Jamie’s friends are mad at him because he’s not hanging out with them as much as before. “I’m pretty sure we’ll all be friends again as soon as this whole comedy contest is over. I hope so. But right now, I need to focus on THE FINALS” said Jaime. 

I did not like this book as much as the other books in this series, but it was still good. The whole entire book was based on the final contest. At the beginning of the book all they really talk about is the final contest. Around the middle of the story for three or five chapters they were about Jamie going to Hollywood. At the end of the book, well I can’t tell you the end so all say the contest was too short. I would recommend this book to nine and ten year olds because they use some bathroom words but it is ok for them because it is very funny. I would give this book four stars. By the way this is the THIRD BOOK IN THE SEIRES SO READ THE FIRST TWO BOOKS FIRST they’re I FUNNY and I EVEN FUNNIER!!!!

 

Dec
10
2015

Shouldn’t You Be In School?

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bdak-square-1536The author of this book is Daniel Handler. The main character is a boy named Lemony Snicket. The main problem is that a villain named Hang fire is causing a lot of problems such as kidnapping, causing fires, and countless deaths. This all takes place in a town named Stained by the sea which was once a beautiful place when the sea was there now the Sea is gone, drained away.

The plot of the book is amazing it is very mysterious because there are unsolved mysteries, joyful because you can really enjoy this book, and entertaining because you can feel like you are right there with them. The main plot is Hang fire’s treachery he has committed countless amounts of crimes and countless amounts of death and fatalities.

The main character makes two very big decisions number one is deciding to stay in Stained by the sea and investigate the number of crimes committed by Hang fire. Number two is being the lead investigator for the sea project. “I elect to keep the sea or it will affect wildlife in a way that cannot be fixed”.

I really enjoyed this book and i hope others do too. The reason I love this book so much is because the book is filled with mystery, adventure, and big decisions. I recommend this book to 3rd grade and above because at some points the book uses big words that 2nd and below might not understand. I personally would give this book a 4 stars out of 5 stars. checkout the website, www.danielhandler.com      

 

Dec
10
2015

Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling

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imgresA book called Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince written by J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter, a 16 year old boy, who when he was one took down Lord Voldemort the most dangerous murderer of the century. And now Lord Voldemort is back in action risen from the dead and it’s up to Harry and his friends to take down Lord Voldemort once and for all. But still being 16 Harry has to go to Hogwarts, his school, to finish his wizard training.

Harry Potter has to defeat Voldemort by going face to face with him. Finding one bit of Voldemort’s soul and trying to rip it to shreds. Finding out  Ron, his best friend is being called Won-won by Ron’s girlfriend. His other friend Hermione, his other friend refusing to be near “Won-won” because she feels nauseous. Deciding which one to hang out with.  Figuring out who is the Half Blood Prince is and failing. Life is scattered all over and it is all day, along with homework, of course. All together they try to figure out how to destroy Voldemort. It takes a lot of work.

I liked it because it was magical and full of surprises. I also think all the names are creative and original. Like Winky is pretty weird, Kreacher’s also a really weird name. So I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure and fiction because it is filled with that. I would give this out of 5 stars 4 and 3 quarters because it’s really good but the chapters are so long!

 

Dec
10
2015

Dead End In Norvelt, by Jack Gantos

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imgresMy book is called Dead End In Norvelt. It is about a kid called Jack and Miss Volker. The time period that this book takes place  in is 1962. Jack is an average kid who always has a bloody nose. Whenever he gets nervous or scared his nose bleeds. It bleeds a lot. Jack will do anything for his friends. He traded a plane ride to play a game of baseball with his friends. Jack is friendly. Miss Volker is an old lady, she is one of the original people who lives in Norvelt. She made a promise to someone that she would be the last original person in Norvelt. Mr Spizz is like an old delivery man who rides around on a tricycle. Mr Spizz wants to marry miss Volker. He asked her and asked her to marry him but she said no every single time (because she didn’t like him) except for once. She said she would marry him once she was the last original person from Norvelt. Then all of sudden all of the original people from Norvelt start to die. All of a sudden Miss Volker has to write a lot of obituaries, (since her job is to write obituaries) and needs some help. She asks Jack to help her out over the summer, and since Jack got grounded he is free to help her.

Jack was playing with his dad’s rifle and didn’t realize the rifle was loaded. He was not allowed to use the rifle. He fired and and a bullet shot out of the gun.  No-one was hurt and nothing got hit but his dad found out he had used his gun and Jack got grounded. Later on Jack mows his mom’s corn-field down because his dad told him to so his dad could build a runway for a plane, and get’s grounded by his mom while he is still grounded from his dad. Jack lives in Norvelt in around the present time and is grounded for the whole entire summer.

Jack’s mom’s corn field was for food for the old ladies of Norvelt. Jack’s dad told Jack to mow down the corn-field because he was going to make a runway for the plane that he won. Jack’s dad told everyone the runway was a bomb shelter because if Jack’s dad told someone that he was building a runway they would shut it down. He could get in big trouble. “Yes. ol’ Spizz was very cooperative with me, and it didn’t take too much work to get him to confess that he did…” You will have to read the book to find out what he did!

I loved this book! I love this book because it is a mystery and those are one of my favorite types of books. Another reason that I enjoy this book is that different problems keep  coming up in the story and once they solve one problem it leads to another. The last reason I enjoyed this book is that history facts are in the story so I can learn history in a book that’s not about history! If you like mysteries I would definitely recommend this book to you because it is a mystery! It is a mystery that keeps you on a ledge waiting to read more. If I rated this book I would rate it five stars out of five stars!

 

Dec
10
2015

Goddess Girls, by Joan Holub

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imgresMy book is called Goddess Girls. It’s by a woman named Joan Holub. The main character in my book is a girl named Athena. She gets an invitation to go to a school on Mount Olympus in Greece where gods and goddesses go to school because she is a goddess. The problem is that she can’t fit in because she used to think she was a mortal so she still acts like one.

  Athena has three friends who help her fit in. One important thing that happened was when Athena got invited to the god and goddess school. First Athena was REALLY excited, then she was REALLY scared but when she got to the school she felt better.

A different important thing that happened was when Athena met her roommate, Pandora. Athena didn’t really like Pandora but once Athena really got to know her  and had to save Pandora’s life, Athena liked Pandora better.

Athena was excited because she won the object fair because she invented the olive. First she drew the olive, it was round and it was a pale green color then she actually invented the olive with her magical powers (she has magical powers because she is a goddess)

This book is very enjoyable because the author really explains what is going on and how it is happening. An example of this is when she [the author] tells us when Zeus (the king of the gods) eats the olive, The author really explains how the olive tastes. In this part of the book Zeus says “So sweet but also sower.” Another example is when the author says how a statue seemed to breath because it looked so life like.

This book would be fun for kids who like fantasy because it has a lot of fantasy and mythological references in it and the title really pulls the reader in (if he or she likes fantasy). The title also gives the reader a taste of what the book is about. I think this book is rated five stars meaning the best. 

This book would be fun for kids who like fantasy because it has a lot of fantasy and mythological references in it and the title really pulls the reader in (if he or she likes fantasy). The title also gives the reader a taste of what the book is about. I think this book is rated five stars meaning the best.

Dec
10
2015

The Lightning Thief, By Rick Riordan

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Screen Shot 2015-12-10 at 10.43.07 AMI read a book called Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. The mystery in the story is that Percy Jackson [the main character] is blamed for stealing a weapon called the lightning bolt. The lightning bolt is owned by Zeus,[ god of the skies]. The book takes place in New York City and the Underworld.

The lightning bolt was stolen by Luke. Then Luke told Ares[god of war] about his dreams of Kronos (father of all gods) and that there would be a war between the gods if the lightning bolt was not returned in 10 days. Ares wanted there to be a war considering he’s the god of war. So he took the lightning bolt off Luke’s hands. Ares and Percy started to have the same dreams of Kronos; Ares listened to Kronos but Percy refused.

So then Percy and his friends Annabeth (daughter of Athena) and Grover get sent on a quest to retrieve the lightning bolt. On their way to retrieve the lightning bolt Percy, Annabeth, and Grover face some of the worst monsters possible.

I rate this book five stars!

 

Dec
10
2015

“Eleven” Book Review, By Lauren Myracle

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357936The book Eleven is about an 11 year old girl named Winnie who lives in Atlanta and loves cats. Winnie is just starting middle school and is thinking it’s going to be great, but there are bumps in the road and problems she has throughout the year. For example, Amanda, Winnie’s BFF is ditching her for Gail, a new girl who is incredibly rude. Another example of how the year is not going her way is that her sister Sandra is being so grumpy that Winnie can never do her homework, which leads to bad grades, and Winnie’s mother cannot stand bad grades. Winnie hopes she can fix the mess she’s made including the fights with both her mom and Amanda. 

Valentine’s Day is coming up in school and everyone is talking about it.  Everyone has a valentine in Winnie’s grade except her. Winnie really wants one, so one night she asks Ty her little brother if he will call Deren and find out if he likes her. The only problem she comes across is that Ty is not a good person to do the mission she asked for. He hung up five times and made Deren’s brother really angry. Winnie is the only one sitting alone on Valentine’s day.

I really enjoyed this book because it has a lot of unexpected things that will pop out at you. For example, Winnie is having a great time at the beach with her family when Sandra breaks her ankle unexpectedly.

The book has very descriptive words so it’s fun to read and listen to how the author ties it all together.  I would give this book 4 stars, because some of the parts or characters really didn’t have a meaning. For example, when it was winter time, Winnie’s mom got stuck on the road and Winnie almost had to stay overnight. I didn’t understand why the author put this in, because it was totally off from what I was reading in the sentence before. I still really recommend this book if you like drama, unexpected plot twists, and silliness.