Category Archives: 2015-2016

Jan
14
2016

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K Rowling

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searchMy book is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was written by J.K. Rowling. Harry, Ron and Hermione are really not just in one place. They travel all over the place because they are wanted. No they aren’t bad people, the Dark Lord has taken over and his first target is Harry and his friends.

In the beginning of the story, they were at a wedding and they had to run because they were attacked. When they were the ministry’s last hope of Voldemort not killing everyone they fled, so they have to make it right. If they don’t, Voldemort will take over once and for all. They have to get the Horcruxes that will destroy Voldemort, but when they start hearing about the Deathly Hallows they get a bit side tracked. So you’re wanted by half the world and you have to kill their leader, it is going to be a lot of hard work. Hermione is smart and tough. Once when she was 13 she punched a bully in the face. Without her, Ron and Harry would of been dead six years ago too. Ron is nice and not a blood boaster. Most people that are pure blood brag and say stuff like mud blood and half blood. Harry is good at duels and is kind plus brave. He gets his incredible kindness from his mother.     

I liked the book because it was long and I like long good books because they last me a long time to read. I also like the magic and imagination. It just makes the story come to life. I also LOVE the nineteen years later. It’s the best. I would recommend it to someone who likes action and adventure. It is just adventure written all over it. Exploring and magic. 100% perfect. Five full stars to this book.

 

★★★★★

So does he die? You’ll have to find out.  

 

Jan
14
2016

Sisters Grimm 2, By Michael Buckley

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I read a book called The Sisters Grimm 2 by Michael Buckley that was commendable. This book is part of a series called The Sisters Grimm. The central characters’ names are Daphne Grimm and Sabrina Grimm. This book takes place in Ferry Point Landing. The complication in this book is that there are monster problems at Ferry Point Landing Elementary, Daphne’s and Sabrina’s school. The girls try to solve the mystery of their school and go on an adventure.

Other characters in this book are Mayor Charming, the Mayor of Ferry Point Landing, Snow White and Mr. Grumpner.  Snow White is Daphne’s teacher and Mr. Grumpner is Sabrina’s teacher. Sadly Mr. Grumpner meets his death by a giant spider and is replaced. Other characters are Mr. Sheepshank, a teacher, and Relda Grimm, the girls’ Grandma and Puck, a “friend” of Sabrina’s.

Sabrina is tough and angry because in the first few days of school she already got in many fights. Another example is that she is always getting mad at people. Daphne is goofy, silly and kind because she tried to ground her older sister. Another example is that she loves making silly faces. The last one is that when her sister got a broken arm she gave her sister a big hug. I enjoy that the two sisters have very different personalities.

The plot is fascinating. One part that is very interesting is when a giant frog girl starts chasing them. It was very interesting because I did not expect that to happen. Another thing that was interesting is when Sabrina gets in a fight with someone she loves. That was interesting because those people had never fought before. The main character made a big decision when Sabrina tried to fight something much bigger than her.

I enjoyed this book very much because there were a lot of twist and turns and when you think you know something it ends up being much different than you thought. Another reason I enjoyed this book is because there were some classic fairytale characters like Rumpelstiltskin and Snow White. I would recommend this book to people who like twisted fairytales because this book is like a fairytale book just with lots of things you would not expect. At the beginning of this book you think it is going to go one way when it actually goes another. A connection I have with this book is that my personality is very similar to Daphne’s. I think it is a four out of five stars.            

 

        

Jan
14
2016

I Even Funnier, By James Paterson

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f906044348db44a554e9e441e04869ddThe book I am reading is I Even Funnier  by James Patterson . The main characters are Jamie, Pierce, Cool Girl, Gaynor,and Gilda. The story takes place in Long island in the present time. The book is about how Jamie’s friends are trying to help  him become  a good comedian. Jamie’s parents died in a car crash. Jamie survived but his legs do not work anymore and he was in the hospital for almost a year. In the hospital the nurses told him laughter is the best cure, so he watched comedians, he read joke books and he did everything he could to become funny.  When he was released from the hospital he hoped to become a comedian.  

When Jamie was released from the hospital he went to live with his aunt and uncle and his cousin, Stevie, who was the biggest bully in the world.  Stevie beat him up every day.  In the town where he lives there is a Planet’s Funniest Kids Contest.  Of course, Jamie entered the contest. The contest consisted of   several rounds of stand-up comedy to get to the finals. Jamie entered the first round not knowing anything about how the contest worked. He ended up winning the first round and the second, but then his uncle (a different uncle than the one he lived with) got sick so Jamie withdrew from the contest. Then Gaynor’s mom got sick and so he decided to make a Youtube video to help Gaynor’s mom feel better.

  The contest was still going on and two other people got to move on to the semifinals. However, there was also a wildcard slot and the judges picked him to fill that slot thanks to his Youtube video. When his uncle got better, Jamie went to the semifinals and then on to the finals, which was held  in Las Vegas. Jamie is very determined because he keeps on trying to win the contest and he does. He is also very nice because he helps other kids become good comedians. Also when people are bullying other kids he stands up for them.

I enjoyed the book because it was very funny and helped me understand that if someone is disabled, he or she can still do things like if they can not walk they can still play a game just in a wheelchair. I  also liked the book because Jamie got to the finals of the contest  by working hard and doing things for others like making the video for Gaynor’s mom to help her feel better, which was how he was able to move on to the finals. I would  recommend this book to somebody who is determined,somebody who likes comedy, and  somebody to whom friendship is important. I give this book four out of five stars. 

 

   

 

 

 

Jan
14
2016

Rose and the Magician’s Mask, by Holly Webb

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I am reading Rose and the Magician’s Mask by Holly Webb which is part of The Rose Series. The main character of my book is named Rose. There are also other characters like Freddie who is Mr. Fountain’s apprentice and Bella who is Mr. Fountain’s daughter who is very spoiled and screams a lot. The main problem of this book is that Gossamer stole a mask from the king’s palace in England but the worst part is that the mask can do anything! Rose and the gang have to stop Gossamer and the mask before they build an army to take over the world! This book takes place in Venice and England in 1943.

When Gossamer steals the mask from the King’s palace in England, Gossamer runs off to “The City of Magic” (Venice) to unleash the power of the mask. Mr Fountain, Freddie, Bella and Rose chase Gossamer in Venice where nothing is quite what it seems. Some of the events that change the direction of the story are when Mr. Fountain almost does not bring Rose, Freddie, Bella or Gus (the really wise talking cat who guides them through magic) but at the very last moment he changes his mind. I think this really changes the direction of the story because if Mr. Fountain did not bring them they would not be as successful in the end.

I think something very surprising is that Bella screams so loud and it combines with her magic. She does not realize it is so loud that she knocked down a big boat and makes a few people’s ears bleed (actually). I think that Rose has a really hard life because when Mr. Fountain chose her to be his apprentice she still wanted to be a maid. In the book she has to be a maid and a magician’s apprentice and it is hard to find time to do both those things when she is trying to chase Gossamer.

Another thing that makes Rose’s life hard is that all the servants act weirdly around her because they feel weird about magic. When the people you always clean with barely talk to you it does not feel very good. I think Rose is very brave because she was not very scared until the end because unexpected things happen then.  Also, Rose is not very self confident because although she is brave she always doubts her decisions. I think Rose should believe in herself more. Rose is also very shy because she didn’t talk to kids very much in the orphanage.

I really liked Rose and the Magician’s Mask (and the rest of the Rose Series) because Rose has a really strong personality. Rose also has the courage to take risks, which is a good trait to have. I also like Rose and the Magician’s Mask because everyone has a part in saving the mask. I would recommend this book to readers who like unexpected surprises because there are a lot of surprises. I also recommend it if you like magical realism. I would do this because this book is all about how Rose learns how to use her magic. One connection between me and my book is that it is usually loud in the Fountain Mansion and it is like that in my house. If I had to rate this book it would definitely be five stars (out of five)!

Jan
14
2016

The Isle of The Lost, By Melissa De La Cruz

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51u643G2a9L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_My book is called The Isle of the Lost. It’s by a woman named Melissa De La Cruz. The main characters in my book are four children of evil people in fairy tales: first Jay, son of Jafar who is always stealing things, second Evie, daughter of Evil Queen who is obsessed with being pretty, third Carlos, son of Cruella De Vil, and lastly Mal, daughter of Maleficent who is obsessed with being the most evil. I would describe Mal as cruel, mean, and cool. The time is once upon a time like in a fairy tale and the place is The Isle of the Lost, Auroudon and the Isle of the Doomed. It’s about the children of evil people from fairy tales and how they have to go on a mission together to get their parents and themselves off The Isle of the Lost.

An important thing that happened in the book is that when Mal forces Carlos to throw a party that Carlos’s mother knows nothing about so Mal can get revenge on Evie for not inviting her to a party when they were three. They are not friends at the beginning of the book. The way Mal gets revenge on Evie is that she locks her in a closet with lots of traps to keep people out of Cruella’s (Carlos’s mother) fur closet. Another important thing that happened is when the four kids go to the Isle of the Doomed to succeed in doing their mission. If I say anymore it will ruin the book.

I enjoyed this book a lot because it gives you a chance to see how the bad guys feel in fairy tales and it gives you a chance to root for the bad guys. I would recommend this book to people who like fantasy and fairy tales because it has a lot of both. I would rate this book five stars (being the best).  

Jan
14
2016

From The Notebooks Of A Middle School Princess, By Meg Cabot

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5600cad5539b4.image-1I’m reading a book called From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess by Meg Cabot. The main character is a girl named Olivia. Olivia lives with her aunt in New Jersey. She lives with her aunt  because her mom died when she was very young. She doesn’t live with Her dad because he lives in New York City, and her aunt doesn’t want her to meet him because Olivia is unaware that he is royalty. Olivia’s family wants her to have a normal life without knowing she’s a royal. A mean girl named Annabelle, who also attends Olivia’s middle school, doesn’t like her. Olivia tries to figure out why, and also how to fix it and become Annabelle’s friend.

She draws in her free time, loves animals and is a very positive person. She is also very kind. For example, she was not mean to Annabelle when Annabelle was being mean to her, and she is a very good friend. Olivia is also smart. For example, she gets very good grades in school. This quote helped me understand Olivia’s personality more, “Middle school has not been going great, but of course my expectations were very high.” It helped me because she was thinking about how great middle school could be and not how bad it could turn out to be. This means that she always hopes for the best, even if it doesn’t turn out that way.

Olivia had a surprise visit from her royal sister Mia, who she hadn’t known about. Olivia’s sister said she could pick one place she wanted to go and her sister would take her there. Olivia chose to meet her dad for the first time ever in New York City. When Olivia finally met her dad, he asked her to move in with him. They would need to live in a different country, and that means leaving Olivia’s best friend Nishi. Olivia’s aunt does not want her to move in with her dad. You will have to read the book to find out if Olivia moves in with her dad or not!

I love this book because Olivia has to make a life changing decision, like meeting her dad, moving in with her dad, and living in a whole new country with people she had only met a few days ago. I would recommend this book for people who like books about adventures . I would also recommend this book for people who like books with life changing decisions in them. I would give this book five stars out of five stars.  

Jan
14
2016

The School for Good and Evil: The Last Ever After By Soman Chainani

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My book is called The School For Good And Evil: The Last Ever After. It is the third book in the series The School For Good And Evil. It was written by Soman Chainani. Sophie and Agatha are the main characters. The main problem is that all of the fairy tales that everyone knows are getting changed and rewritten by the evil Schoolmaster. Instead of good winning, evil is winning. Evil is killing all of the good characters because it has love on its side. Evil got love because Sophie married the evil Schoolmaster. As long as she wears his ring, evil will win all of the fairy tales ever to come and good winning will just be forgotten.

My book is set in two places. One of them is the Blue Forest. The Blue Forest is a forest that students from the school for good and the school for evil used to train in to prepare for the real forest, which is where they would go and live their real fairy tales. The second place that my book is set in is the school for new evil, which includes the school masters tower. The School For New Evil is the School For Evil but in a different and bigger building. The Schoolmaster’s tower is like the Schoolmaster’s house, but it doesn’t have any stairs to go down, you have to fly up and through a window to get in.

Sophie and Agatha were best friends. That was until a boy, Tedros came between them. Tedros is the prince of Camelot. Sophie and Agatha both loved Tedros. Tedros picked Agatha to be his princess. So, Sophie went seeking love. She came upon the evil Schoolmaster and found out that she loved him but he was evil. She married the Schoolmaster and became evil. The Schoolmaster wanted to change all of the fairy tales so that evil would always win and it seemed like evil was right and good was wrong.

Evil characters that have been killed by their good nemeses rise from their grave and find their enemies to kill them. Everything starts dying including the sun. If the sun dies, everyone in the world will die as well. The only way to stop everything dying is if Sophie destroys the Schoolmaster’s ring with Excalibur, Tedros’ father’s sword. Sophie must decide who she wants more. Her best friend, Agatha or her true love, the Schoolmaster.

Sophie is a confused person. She doesn’t know what is right and what is wrong because she always tries to be good, but no one appreciates it so she turns evil. Sophie doesn’t want to be evil, she wants to be happy. The only way for Sophie to be happy is if she finds true love. Sophie found true love but it is evil. For example, on page 2 it says “Sophie reddened, remembering she was all alone in this world. Everyone else had abandoned her. Every desperate effort to be good had been punished with betrayal. She had no family, no friends, no future.  And now, this ravishing boy in front of her was her last hope for love. Panic burnt through her muscles and dried out her throat.  There was no choice anymore. Sophie swallowed and slowly stepped towards him.”

Sophie is also desperate for love. She has always wanted to be good but when she fell in love and it was evil she wasn’t willing to sacrifice love for good. She was too desperate. For example, Sophie once had a choice. Her choice was love or friendship. She could have gone to Camelot with Agatha and been good just by destroying the Schoolmaster’s ring but she couldn’t. She knew she wouldn’t get a second chance at love and by destroying the Schoolmaster’s ring it would mean giving her happy ending to Agatha and losing hers.

Agatha has a very strong personality. She doesn’t let other people take her over or do things for her. For example, on page 147 it says, “If anyone can make Sophie see what love really is…it’s her best friend, isn’t it?” said Agatha. “The league’s old faces melted to childlike stares, as if finally seeing the young girl with hope instead of disdain. Tedros stepped next to his princess, chest proud. “Exactly. Leave Sophie to me.” Agatha’s smile vanished.”

Agatha is also very independent. For example, before she went to the school for good she lived in a small house in a graveyard with her mother and her cat. She did most things by herself and didn’t have any friends. But, Agatha stayed strong and was good even though everyone including herself thought she was evil and a witch.

One of the reasons that I really enjoyed this book was it was very descriptive and it makes you feel like you are experiencing everything that the characters are experiencing. For example, on page 542 it says, “Slowly their eyes drifted upwards, pinned to the trees, and as they adjusted to the darkness, they began to make them out… bony, vulturous shadows, eerily still on the elm branches, not making a sound.” Another reason I really liked this book is that every time they solve one problem it leads to another. It keeps it filled with excitement and action and makes the book very interesting. The last reason is that it doesn’t start with just Agatha or just Sophie, it alternates every chapter and when both of the girls are in the same place, the book says both of their thoughts so that you can actually understand what is going on and why.

I would recommend this book to someone who loves reading fantasy and fractured fairy tales. It is filled with both of those things and makes the book what it is. This book is about good against evil and which one is right and if you like changing concepts you would probably like this book. I would definitely rate this book five stars out of five stars (five being the best and one being the worst.)  

Jan
14
2016

The Chocolate Touch, by Patrick Skene Catling

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This book is called “The Chocolate Touch” by Patrick Skene Catling.  The main character is John Midas.  He is a young boy who is very selfish and loves chocolate. One day he finds a coin on the street that has a chocolate bar on one side and a  fat boy on the other side, and it says “JM”.  He takes this coin to a candy shop and he says to the man,  “I only have this money. Do you accept it here?”  And then the man says,  “Yes, that is the only kind we take.”  So John pays the man and buys a box of chocolate and goes back to his house and puts in under his bed.  At night,  he takes the chocolate out and eats it all and then in the morning when he is brushing his teeth, he says to  his sister,  “Did you get chocolate flavored toothpaste?” because the toothpaste turns to chocolate. John then goes to breakfast and his food turns to chocolate and he loves it.  When he goes to school,  everything there turns to chocolate including his pencil, his lunch, and his glove.

His chocolate touch gets stronger.  At first only the piece of the object that went in his mouth turned to chocolate,    but then when he put anything in his mouth the whole thing turned to chocolate. For example, his trumpet turned to chocolate at band practice. He gets really embarrassed and sad and he runs out of school and goes home. He plans never to go back to school. He asks his dad to take him to the doctor who says he cannot help him.  John has an idea to go to the chocolate store because he thinks the man can help, but the store is gone and there is a sign that says, “for sale” and he starts crying.  He goes home to tell his mom that he has a chocolate touch and she starts crying and he kisses her on the cheek and she turns into a giant chocolate statue.  He gets really scared and runs back to the chocolate store where it was and it was there and he says to the owner who sold him the chocolate earlier, “Help me my mom has turned to chocolate and you need to fix this.”  The man says, “If you have the choice to have  your mother alive and still have the chocolate touch or don’t have the chocolate touch and have your mother be a chocolate statue what would you choose?”  John made the decision to…. (read the book to find out).  

I enjoyed the book because of the adventure and the problem was interesting.  I liked when John ate the whole toothpaste tube because it was funny.  I also liked when he ate his glove and the school bully wanted to eat some too and then the school bully spat it out because it gave John the advantage of having the chocolate touch but then he learned it isn’t an advantage.  I also liked when John bit his best friend’s coin because he thought it wasn’t real silver and he bit it in half.  It showed that it wasn’t an advantage at all and just made him lose his best friend.

I would recommend this book to someone who likes funny and interesting books.  I would give this four and half stars because sometimes there was stuff that happened and I couldn’t figure it out.

 

Jan
14
2016

Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone By J.K. Rowling

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In Harry Potter the main characters are… Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. One night a powerful dark wizard comes into the house of James and Lily Potter and their one year old son Harry Potter. This is Lord Voldemort. James tries to hold him off while Lily runs away with Harry. Voldemort killed James and went to kill Harry, but Harry’s mother begged Voldemort to kill her instead of Harry. Voldemort killed Lily Potter and went after Harry. But something special about him made Voldemort lose his powers and Voldemort  just made it out alive. That is how Harry got his lightning bolt scar on his forehead.

Harry went to live with his muggle (non magical) aunt and uncle. Harry did not know he was a wizard until ten years later, and that is where it all begins, when Harry goes into the wizard world. In this book the main problem is that a giant three headed dog named fluffy is guarding the Sorcerer’s Stone, the Sorcerer’s Stone is a ruby red stone and as long as you’re holding it you can never die. Fluffy is guarding the stone for Dumbledore, because Voldemort is trying to get it to come back to power. The dark arts are people who murder other people with a spell.  Harry’s defence against the dark arts teacher meanwhile is keeping a dark secret that Harry will never forget, once he finds out what it is.

Harry is happy when he is playing quidditch. When Snape takes points off Gryffindor for no reason Harry gets mad. When one of Harry’s friends are hurt he is sad. Professor Snape, a greasy hair, crooked nose git, hates Harry. Professor Snape hates Harry because when he and Harry’s father were in school together they were enemies. Snape is the potions master (he teaches potions.) But Snape has always wanted the Defence Against The Dark Arts job. At his first quidditch match, Harry got his broom jinxed either by Professor Snape, which is likely, or Professor Quirrell, his defence against the dark art teacher.  On Halloween a troll was set loose and got locked in a bathroom with Hermione, and thanks to Harry and Ron, Hermione was safe and they all ended up all alive. Harry, Hermione and Ron decide go to get the Sorcerer’s Stone they know they have to go through a bunch of obstacles before they can get the stone. Some of the obstacles are…  devil snare, troles, wizard chess, and potions.

I REALLY enjoyed this book because it has fantasy and fiction in it. I also liked it because it has a lot of beautiful language in it. I recommend this book because it has a good and an evil, and a good evil, and a too good! This is my favorite type of FICTION!! If I were to rate this book I would give it 5 stars being the best 1 being the worst I would give it a 5,                        

1 2 3 4 5!!

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Jan
14
2016

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan

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searchI read Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan. I enjoyed the first book, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, so I read the second one in the Percy Jackson series. The main character is Percy Jackson. The problem in my story concerns a boy named Luke, who used to be a friend of Percy’s but then betrayed him. Luke poisoned the tree that used to be Talia the daughter of Zeus. That tree would put a magical shield around the camp to protect it from monsters. Now that it was poisoned it could no longer protect the camp. The story mostly took place in part of an ocean called the Sea of Monsters in the year 2013.

He is also really brave and likes adventures because he was willing to go on a quest that no man has ever returned from. Percy is also athletic because he loves to do flips and to practice every drill there is at camp. One of the hardest drills is a rock climbing wall that is very high and squirts out burning hot lava.

Percy did some interesting things throughout the story including going on a ferry that had Luke and some monsters on it. Another event that was interesting was a horse race with two people in a carriage that they had to design and build. A big decision that Percy made was to battle one of his brothers – a big ugly cyclops that had killed all of the people that have entered his island . But not someone named Jason who slashed his sword in his one eye and has half blinded the cyclops.

I like this book because it has a lot of fighting and adventure. My favorite fight was when Percy and Annabeth fight the cyclops and Annabeth puts on a cap that turns her invisible. Annabeth called out ”HEY LOOK OVER HERE REMEMBER ME! IT’S NOBODY.” And the cyclops said “No not nobody I remember you.” That is what Jason called him self.

I think the genre of the book is adventure, action, and mystery. I would recommend this book if you like battles. Also if you like Greek mythology. I would rate this book five stars.