Category Archives: Deborah & Joel

Apr
19
2017

Chasing Secrets by Gennifer Choldenko

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Is the plague really here?

By Jade Young

A girl was seen trying to get into Chinatown while it was being quarantined. She was trying to find Jing a really important person in her life and the book. The girl’s name was Elizabeth but everyone called her Lizzie, except when older people in her family got mad at her. Except Billy her older brother. This book takes place in Chinatown, San Francisco in 1904 to 05. The name of this book is Chasing Secrets: A deadly surprise in a city of lies. The author of this book is Gennifer Choldenko.

The characters in this book are very different but sometimes they are the same or have the same thoughts. The majority of the characters in this book are related somehow. Not always family but they know each other friend or foe sometimes. Here are some of the characters: Lizzie, she doesn’t much like her life when her dad goes away for work and she can’t go. She wants to be like her dad. A doctor. She helps her dad sometimes when he gets called away. Lizzie goes to a school called Miss Barstows and she doesn’t like it until she meets a girl named Gemma and a boy named Gus who are brother and sister. Lizzie had no friends before, so she was thankful. Lizzie also cares so much about everybody, even Maggie the maid.

Noah is Jing’s son. He is Chinese like Jing. He calls Jing “Baba.” Only Lizzie knows about Noah and is good about keeping him a secret. Noah’s Chinese name is Choy.

Papa, as Lizzie calls him, is the dad to Billy and Elizabeth. He is a doctor who goes to patients to treat them for very little money or even none sometimes.

Uncle Karl: Uncle Karl is married to Aunt Hortense and their last name is Sweeting. Uncle Karl knows more than he is telling Lizzie about the plague and what she wants to know.

I loved this book so much. The book is historical fiction and it has a very adventurous part too. I recommend this book to people who like reading a nice mix of sad, delightful, and mystery. A lot of parts make you wonder what’s going to happen next and think, “I hope no one dies.” That’s the mystery. Delightful because of turns of events, and sad because of the plague and the quarantine. I give this book a five star rating. It has a lot of sudden turn of events. It’s a really amazing book! I really recommend this book.

Apr
19
2017

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

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Review by Margot Story

 

Is Captain Flint an ally, or an enemy? Over Spring Break I read the book Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome. The Swallows and Amazons series consists of twelve books. Swallows and Amazons was written in 1930, and the rest of the books were written in a pattern: 1931, 1932, 1933 etc. It is also a British book, which changes some of the language. The main characters are the four Walker siblings and the two Blackett sisters. The Walker siblings are: John Walker (the eldest), Susan Walker, Titty Walker, and Roger (the youngest). They also have a baby sister Vicky, who is mentioned throughout the book. The two Blackett (usually mentioned as “Amazon”) sisters are: Ruth Blackett (though her pirate name is Nancy, and that is her name throughout the book – She changed her name after her Uncle Jim said that pirates were “ruthless”.), and Peggy Blackett. It is set in the Lake District in England, though some of the later books are set in other places. The four Walker siblings convince their mother to let them go on an adventure while on summer vacation. They consider themselves explorers, while the Amazon sisters consider themselves pirates.  They meet the Amazon sisters and they form an alliance. Then they get into a whole series of events which included the Amazons and the Amazon’s Uncle Jim, who they refer to as Captain Flint.

 

I am going to describe Titty because I feel that she is the most interesting. Titty is independent, brave, and curious. She is independent and brave because she stole the Amazon during one of the events that happened in the book. She also volunteered to stay alone on the big island at night, with absolutely no contact with her sister and brothers. She is curious because when she was alone she thought that some pirates were burying treasure on the island, and to have proof when her sister doubted her, she actually went to the spot and dug around. She also was very curious about Captain Flint at first, and decided to try and find out things she was curious about throughout the entire book. She has a big imagination because she thinks that Captain Flint is a retired pirate, and also she loves role-play. Whenever she role-plays she is Robinson Crusoe, and she pretends that her mother is Man Friday, two explorers from a very famous old book a little similar to Swallows and Amazons.

 

One of the most interesting (to me) parts of the book is when the Swallows see Captain Flint waving his fist at them. It is a minor point in the book, but I find it interesting because they have absolutely no idea what he is waving his fist about, yet later in the book when John goes to visit Captain Flint it is made known that Captain Flint believed that the Swallows lit his houseboat on fire. While the visit seems more interesting, I think that the fist waving is more important. It starts the relationship between the Swallows and Captain Flint, which is needed to start the series of events in the books that makes Swallows and Amazons one of the most interesting and pleasurable to read.

 

As you can probably tell already, I really love this book. I do think, though, it is a VERY difficult book to read, as the vocabulary is very advanced, using phrases like “make fast”, and using the word “native” as an offensive term. These are some outdated old British sayings which makes it hard to read, but if you use the context and read it over and over you can probably figure out what the words mean (with the help of Google), and then you can really enjoy the book.. I wouldn’t recommend this book for younger children, because of the vocabulary issue, and because it is such a long book I think they may find it draining to read. I think that if you want to try to read this book, go for it! It may be tricky at first but it’s a very enjoyable book to read. I am actually on my sixth time reading it, so get reading, you fo’c’sle crew!
My rating for this book is: Five stars! It was so fun to read. And I just loved the storyline!                   

Apr
19
2017

Return of the Padawan by Jeffrey Brown

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My book is called “Return of The Padawan” by Jeffrey Brown. It’s the second book in the series of Jedi Academy. The main character is Roan Novachez. She has two best friends named Pasha and Gaiana and her two enemies named Cronah and Cyrus who are probably Sith. This book takes place in the Star Wars universe before the Clone Wars.

Three adjectives that would describe Roan are hard working, force-sensitive and ambitious. She is hardworking because on page 64 it says,“I’ve been studying for star pilot simulator a lot, because I want to get the high score in class.” She is also force sensitive which means she can control stuff with her mind or hand, or befriend or hypnotize people or animals. Also, on pages nine and ten the book says she goes to Jedi Academy where force sensitive people go to train. She is ambitious because on page 64 it says, “I’ve been studying for star pilot simulator a lot, because I want to get the high score in class” (she really wants to be a pilot).

An important part of the book is when Roan throws a ball in dodgeball so hard that her best friend gets a black eye. This is important because it really changes the plot of the story and you don’t see it coming. Another important part of the the book is when Roan tears a page out of an important book that her friend’s father was studying. This is important because her last best friend stop liking her because he says he didn’t hear Roan apologize.
I loved the book mostly because it was about Star Wars. But, I also really enjoyed how it plays out with a lot of plot twisters. I would recommend this book to anybody who likes Star Wars. But also I would recommend it to people who like fast paced, plot twisting emotions. This book connects to all the Star Wars movies because they all live in the Star Wars universe. I would give this book five stars because I like Star Wars, and may the force be with you.             

Apr
19
2017

Foxheart By Claire Legrand

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Quicksilver grew up with a hard life. She was abandoned by her parents and grew up in an orphanage. She refused to go by her real name Anastazia and had no name, so everyone called her Pig Witch. Her only friend was a dog she named Fox. She was the big prankster.  One day a man came to the orphanage and got angry, he sent his seven wolves after the girls and revealed himself as the witch hunting wolf king. She fled with fox and found herself at a house of a kid and his ill parents. The kid called himself Sly Boots. Soon Pig Witch became Quicksilver, Best Thief In The Star lands. They made a deal,  he joined her in robbing and he let Quicksilver stay at his house.  On one of their lessons Fox found a stranger with magic Quicksilver just had to have. She went up to the stranger, and little did she know it was the start of a long adventure, in the past, to defeat the Wolf King. Will, Quicksilver, Fox, Sly Boots and the stranger succeed on their quest?

Quicksilver is a brave yet lonely girl. She grew up being teased with barely any friends and when she found true friends she brought them misfortune. She is brave since she was always ready for what came next no matter what the risks were.

I recommend this book to people who like adventure stories, with magic yet sacrifices too. I love it so much, the book really toys with your emotions. I give the book a five star rating.

 

Apr
19
2017

Who was Daniel Boone

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¨Who was Daniel Boone¨

by Sydelle Kramer

Daniel Boone killed a bear when he was sixteen. I learned this in the book “Who was Daniel Boone.” This book is written by Sydelle Kramer and takes place from 1734 to 1820. The setting is mostly in the woods and nature. Boone likes company and not being alone. Boone had a very sad life. Almost all of his kids died. When he, his son, his wife and many more relatives were trying to get to Kansas, his son and other relatives went to get supplies. They did not return. The skeletons of all of the relatives who went with his son were found later.

Boone is determined, strong and pays attention to things that other people may not see. For example, when his daughter was captured by the Shawnee and the Cherokee, she made a trail for people to see but nobody saw it except for Boone. He was determined because when he first went to Kansas to hunt game,  (game is the same thing as animals) all of his things were taken and he was told to go back to his town and stay there – but he did not since there was better game in Kansas. He was strong and had skill because when he was 16 he killed his first bear; which requires the skill to find and aim for the heart and the strength not to panic and miss.

 

I think a couple of key things were important to Boone’s development. Being alone made Boone become a different person. People usually take companionship and family around them for granted but when all of Boone’s family either left him or died, he realised how much it meant to have family around. Killing his first bear was also important because it triggered his “hidden potential.” After he killed his first bear he was going on long hunts and killing a lot of game (although he could not use everything because it was to heavy).

 

In conclusion, I think the book was great and had lots of action and adventure. I like this genre so this was a great read for me. I thought it was interesting when the Indians had to test if Boone was fit to be one of them. The test was very dangerous but a little silly if you ask me. A group of Indians hit the one who is trying to get to the checkpoint with sticks. That person was Boone. He passed the test on his first try. My rating is 4 and a half stars. I would recommend it if you like action and adventure. There are other “who was” books so you can check them out too!

Apr
19
2017

The Big Wave

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The Big Wave

Book by Pearl S. Buck

I  read the book “The Big Wave” by Pearl S. Buck and would like LOVE to write about it.  Image result for the big wave

Pearl S. Buck has written many novels and books, mostly about Asia like China, Japan, and Korea.  But let’s get back to “The Big Wave.”

“The Big Wave” takes place in Japan, when the Great Wave takes place.  Kino and Jiya are best friends.  Kino is a farmer and Jiya is a fisherman.  Jiya is tall, handsome, healthy, and likes Kino’s  sister Setsu.  Even though Jiya is a fisherman he (and all fishermen) are afraid of the sea’s anger.

Kino is a farmer.  He loves to swim and is afraid of the volcano.  Setsu is a mischievous girl who likes to hide things.  

When Kino and Jiya swim (after checking to see if the sea is angry) they swim to an island, Deer Island.  The person who owns the Island is the Old Gentleman.  The Old Gentleman lives in a Castle and only comes out when he is angry.  

One day when IS angry, he sends a great wave that wipes out most of the fishermen…and Jiya’s family.

Jiya then moves in with Kino’s family and sleeps in sadness, scarcely waking up.

After a long while Jiya finally gets over the loss of his family and marries Setsu.
Please note that there is WAY more to the book.  If you thought that Jiya marrying Setsu was the real end you are wrong.  I really hope you read “The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck” and enjoy it as much as I did!

Apr
19
2017

Zane And The Hurricane By Rodman Philbrick

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Have you ever wondered about hurricane Katrina? You should read Zane And The Hurricane, it is by Rodman Philbrick. The book takes place in New Orleans in 2007 when hurricane Katrina happened. The book is historical fiction. It is about how rescue dogs saved people when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans . Zane is the owner of Bandit, a mutt who saves people by choice in New Orleans from hurricane Katrina. Zane is always along for the ride with his dog. It is like Zane is on the leash not Bandit.

 

Zane is brave, curious and determined. Zane is brave because he follows his dog around to do things that are too dangerous for him to do but he does it anyway. One time his dog went into the water to save a person and Zane followed him, that makes him brave. Zane is curious because he tried to find his dog when he thought the dog was lost because he was away doing work for a very long time. Zane is determined when his dog was lost. That was the same time he was curious. He would not give up until he  got bandit back.

 

My three favorite parts of the book are when Bandit got lost, when Bandit got Zane in trouble with the police and when Zane followed Bandit to a creek. The part where Bandit got lost was on of my favorite parts because I liked how Zane wanted to find Bandit so badly. It shows the love between them. Zane went everywhere to find his dog and finally he found him near a broken down house. The part where Bandit got Zane in trouble with the police was one of my favorite parts because I loved how much the police officer cared about Bandit. This situation shows how much care was put into hurricane Katrina and the people who survived it. Another one of my favorite parts was when Zane followed Bandit to the creek. This was one of my favorite parts because it was very action packed and it felt real. To me it almost felt like I was actually in the moment. Throughout the book Zane and Bandit’s relationship gets stronger. One time a civilian was worried about the two of them but Zane and Bandit stuck together.

 

I enjoyed Zane And The Hurricane. I enjoyed it because I liked how realistic it was. I loved how I felt like I was actually in hurricane Katrina. I also really enjoyed how Zane was easy to relate to. I felt like I could connect with the character and by being able to connect it really helped me understand the book. I would recommend this book because it is action packed and very fast historical. I like action packed books that keep on moving and follow a strict storyline and this book did this for me. If you are like me and like this then I recommend the book. Another reason to read the book is because it teaches you a lot. It almost feels like you are in the book when you are reading it. One book that is similar to Zane And The Hurricane is I Survived Hurricane Katrina. It is similar because it is historical fiction and it is about hurricane Katrina. I would give this book four stars.

Mar
17
2017

New Middle School Dogs Best Friend, by James Patterson

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I read “New Middle School Dog’s Best Friend” by James Patterson. This book is part of a series and it is book eight. I would recommend reading the first seven books in the series first. This is a story is about a kid named Rafe Khatchadorian and his friend Finn (but mostly Rafe). Rafe is trying to get a multi platform Wormhole (a video game set). He started a dog walking business to raise the money. There is another kid dog walking business trying to do the same thing and they get in a couple arguments in this book. They get into a fight because the other kid dog walking business “tore down his dog walking flier.” So they fought with words not physical.

Rafe is not thoughtful about his thoughts. He is not thoughtful about his thoughts because in the book he says some mean stuff to his mom and does not care until he makes his mom cry. Rafe is also a determined person, he is determined because he had one goal and that goal was to get the Wormhole. He tried and tried until he got $390. That was almost enough to get it so he asked his sister for ten dollars. Rafe also is smart by tricking his sister into doing stuff for him. Some times his sister blackmails him. One time she blackmailed him was when she was “helping” Rafe with his homework because they were in the same class for some subjects. He is smart at making choices like when the other dog walking business was right next to him, he did not have a fist fight he fought with words.

The most interesting part of the book is when Rafe starts a dog walking business. This is the most interesting part because he is doing this and being responsible and he is not a responsible person at all. He finally did something responsible and he starts acting his age toward the end of this book. Another interesting part is that Rafe starts doing stuff with his sister, and they both do not like each other (for some reason I do not know). They end up being good brother and sister toward the end of the book. That was a huge surprise to me because they were not being a good brother and sister in the begining of this book.

I really liked this book. It was funny, detailed, and an AMAZING book to read (for me). I really liked the suspense that it gave me so I would keep wanting to read. I would really really recommend this book, if you want to laugh. If you have not read this book yet read it and then tell one of your friends to read because it is that good. This book does not really remind me of anything because it is based on middle school and middle school problems. I am not in middle school yet. I would rate this book 5 stars. 5 stars= I loved. I could read it again (if I want to read it again). You should read this book.

Feb
23
2017

Diary of an 8-Bit Villager Warrior

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Do you ever need a book to read? If so then read Diary of an 8-Bit  Villager Warrior by Cube Kid. The book takes place in Minecraftia, which is a whole different world. Runt and Stump, the two main characters, are trying to complete their goals in life and become warriors, but they can’t. They’re just every day villagers they can’t be warriors and the mayor won’t let them. They have to be farmers, blacksmiths or librarians. Runt and Stump are in their last year of school and after this year they would have to get a job but they don’t want any of those jobs. Luckily the mayor changes the rule that villagers can’t be warriors because the mobs (zombies, skeletons, endermen, witches, creepers and slimes) are getting stronger and smarter. So now, the top five students can be warriors.

 

But Runt and Stump have some competition on their hands. Even though Runt is the second best student, a bully Max is in first. Max’s best friend is Razberry but he is not doing too well. When the mobs destroyed Steve and Mike’s house the village know that they were in trouble. Steve and Mike came from this weird planet earth, and got transported into Minecraftia by this weird wizard named Noch. They say that they play a game called Minecraft a lot and Minecraftia is a lot like it. Steve and Mike are really good warriors. Since they lost their house earlier, Steve stayed in Runt’s house and Mike… well, let’s just say he did some bad thing earlier. Anyway Runt is really excited for the first combat class but their teacher knows nothing. Runt insisted on letting let Mike out of jail and he let’s Steve and Mike be the combat teachers. He said yes to Steve but he had to prove himself so he did and then they let Mike try and he proved himself too. So now they are the combat teachers and they are actually learning combate.

 

I like this book because it has action and there is always something going on and to think about. I like it because it is also funny and fun to read. I would recommend this book if you like those type of things in a book. I would also recommend this book if you like books that take place in Minecraft even though in this book you don’t notice it and it is in Minecraftia, which is a little different. A connection I have to this book and my life is a game I play is called Minecraft and they say that bad people come and take caritas from the farms and steal things from the blacksmiths and I do that all the time in Minecraft. I rate this book a 4 I really like it.

 

Feb
16
2017

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

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Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton fits its name perfectly. This is because this book is about a park that recreates animals from the Jurassic period. What kind of animals am I talking about? DINOSAURS!!! There are a lot of characters in Jurassic Park. The characters are (and some were, I mean that some of the characters died) Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler. They are both paleontologists. There is John Hammond who runs the whole park, and his scientist Dr. Wu. There is the lawyer who is part of Ingene. Ingene is an evil corporation that wants to steal the dinosaurs. His name is Genaro. There is an inspector named Malcolm who is figuring out if the park is safe for visitors. He is a scientist that studies chaos theory. Then there is Tim and Lex who are John Hammond’s kids. And Ed Regis who is a scientist who is helping the kids. Jurassic Park  tells the story of an experiment to bring life back to the dinosaurs, a miraculous discovery. But the electric fences have been turned off and the Dinosaurs escape. They start breeding and that slowly leads to the end of the island. Or at least that is my prediction. Set on a tropical island, somewhere near Costa Rica, Jurassic Park takes place in a dangerous park that is filled with bloodthirsty dinosaurs.

 

Dr. Grant is very intelligent and knows all about dinosaurs. He survived in tough situations, like when the electric fences turned off and they were stuck in the car right next to the tyrannosaur exhibit. The tyrannosaur destroyed the car killing some of the main characters, but Alan Grant survived by not moving a muscle. The dinosaur couldn’t see him while he stood still so the tyrannosaur roared, trying to scare Grant and make him move, but Grant didn’t move, and he and the kids escaped. The plot of the book is that John Hammond hires a lot of people to do all the engineering and complex computers. One person (who dies eventually) who works with the big computer turns off all the power so the electric fences go out and the dinosaurs escape. This person is Dennis Nedry, who is bribed by Dodgson, the founder of Biocon, (an evil corporation competing with Ingene). Alan Grant finds the eggshell of a velociraptor, which means they are breeding, even though Wu has made all the dinosaurs female. When the dinosaurs escape, the velociraptors, the most dangerous dinosaurs, escape.

 

IF YOU DO NOT WANT FOR ME TO SPOIL THE BOOK DO NOT READ THIS PART.

 

They kill some of our characters John Arnold who works with the computers, Dennis Nedry (the guy who let the dinosaurs out) trying to steal the dinosaur DNA, and Henry Wu. Then the velociraptors trap Ellie Sattler, Muldoon, Henry Wu, (before he dies) John Hammond and Ian Malcolm, who is badly injured. When the velociraptors are about to chew through the final bar, Tim, Lex, Grant and Gennaro turn the power back on. The velociraptors go for Grant, Tim, Lex and Gennaro but I will tell you about that  later with Grant and his great plan.

 

YOU CAN READ ON NOW.

 

I LOVED Jurassic Park!!!  It was so full of action and suspense. I loved the part where the energy was turned off and the T-Rex got loose in the middle of the night, with the tour car right in front of his exhibit. The other part that I LOVED was when Grant had this awesome plan. Grant, Tim, Lex and Gennaro were cornered in the hatchery so Gennaro, Tim and Lex hid while Grant got the poison that was in the hatchery. Grant put the poison inside the dinosaur’s eggs. Then he rolled them toward the velociraptors. They ate the eggs and then saw Grant. They all headed for Grant when one of the three velociraptor’s mouth started foaming with bubbles. There was a chain reaction and they all died. But before the last one perished it nearly nicked Grant’s chest.

I recommend this book greatly to anyone who doesn’t get scared of blood and enjoys dramatic things. And you need to be able to stick to this book because it is a long book and it has some lengthy passages that may be boring about dinosaur DNA that you might not understand. There are not really much connections to my life in this book because this book is fantasy. I have never read a book that talks so much about the DNA of dinosaurs, to keep track of them and to keep them under control. Actually I have never really read a bloody dramatic book that has dinosaurs in it! I would rate Jurassic park… FIVE stars. Yes, I loved this book. It had all the qualities of a book that I would want to read. And of course I would really want to read this book again. Sure it may take a while, but Jurassic Park was amazing. You should read it. If you have the Jurassic instinct that is!