Category Archives: 2016-2017

Jun
09
2017

Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

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  The Phantom Tollbooth is about a kid named Milo who travels to a different dimension with a tollbooth. And he goes on a mission with two new friends that he makes in his travels. They are going on the mission to find Rhyme and Reason who are two sisters who used to fix every problem between the two kingdoms Digitopolis and Dictionopolis. They got taken away and put in a castle in the sky and Milo and his friends had to find them.

 

Milo is daring, brave and adventurous. He is daring because when he was willing to go on a mission to find the two princesses Rhyme and Reason. An example of when he is brave is when he encounters demons in Digitopolis and he outsmarts them. Milo is adventurous because in the book he goes on all of these missions in the new dimension.  

 

My favorite part of the book was when Milo, the Humbug and Tock the dog got into Digitopolis after their long hard journey. It was my favorite part of the book because it took them so long and most of the book to get there and it sort of felt good when they got to the destination, but that was not the end of the story. Also, I really liked when Milo, the Humbug and Tock rescued Rhyme and Reason because their escape was really cool and the two cities Digitopolis and Dictionopolis came to agreement for once. My favorite quote from this part of the book is when Milo says, “We’ve come to rescue you both,” Milo explained very seriously, “And the worried demons are close behind.” said the Humbug, still shaken from his ordeal. This was exciting because it explained why they were in a hurry to rescue them.

 

I liked this book because it kept you very eager to read. My reasons are almost every chapter ended in a cliffhanger and there were a bunch of different stories and every character had a different unique personality. I would recommend this book to people who like adventure because it has a lot of action and cliffhangers.It does not remind me of any other thing because they use really sophisticated language and words that don’t make any sense that I have not seen in other books. I rate this book four stars because it was really good but I am a picky critic.

 

Jun
09
2017

My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish Live and Let Swim by Mo O’Hara

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This book I read is called My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish Live and Let Swim by Mo O’Hara. This book has two parts to it. The first part takes place in Acuram. The first part is about the zombie goldfish Frankie who is being attacked by a psychic octopus named Antonio. Antonio can tell the future and Sanj and Mark kidnap Antonio and Frankie. The second part takes place in a TV show scene. The second scene is a crazy scene where Marks cat Fang turned into a zombie cat that hypnotizes people too. Mark was also trying out for the addition against Frankie,who is owned by Pradeep, Samy and Tom. Mark and Fang are cheating.

Tom, Pradeep and Samy are all smart because they always find a way to stop their older brothers from doing something evil. In the book they stopped them from stealing the octopus from the Acuram while hanging over a pit of hammerhead sharks. They are foolish because they let Frankie go into the tank where they needed were feeding the octopus and Frankie nearly died. They are not afraid because they go into spaces they’re not allowed to without really caring. In the book they went into the staff only place a couple times.

One of the most interesting parts is when Fang turned into a zombie cat. This is interesting because Fang was so cute the way they described. I would’ve never thought that Mark would turn Fang into a zombie goldfish because Fang is his pet. Just picturing Fang with zombie glowing eyes and hypnotizing powers looks wierd to me. I can’t really see Fang with glowing eyes and hypnotizing powers because he is so cute. There are even some pictures and I still can not imagine it because Fang was so cute then he turns into a zombie. A quote from the main that describes the book is “this octopus is a psychic octopus.” This is that describes the book because it helps me get an understanding that he is psychic. It also helps with later in the book.

I really enjoyed this book because there a lot of funny parts and there are a lot of turning points happening. It was so much fun reading this book for me. I would would recommend this book because there are a lot of events in this book, that’s what kept me on my toes while I was reading this book. I would also recomend this book because it is super funny. This book reminds me of a two parted episode of a show because this book has two parts that kind of relate to each other. I would rate this book five stars which means I loved it

Jun
09
2017

Shadowmagic by Joshua Khan

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The book I read is called Shadowmagic by Joshua Khan. The book is about a boy named Thorn and the leader of Gehenna, (grand city) Lilith (Lily) Shadow. There is a person trying to kill Lily Shadow and Thorn arrives and they find out who the killer is. In the book it takes place in Gehenna. To be more specific it takes place in Port Cutlas before moving to Castle Gloom and ends in the City of Silence. I have a zero percent clue of when it takes place.

Thorn is a smart, fearless, and a strong boy. Thorn is smart because he figured out who was trying to murder Lily. Thorn is fearless because he defeated a few of Gehenna’s and Lumina’s (also a grand city) soldiers while trying to get into Castle Gloom. Thorn is strong because he fell off a roof and did not break any bones or injure himself.

THE REST DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS.

Three important parts that happened were when Thorn found his father, when Lily used magic and when a guard said to Thorn, “Your father murdered Lady Shadows family.” It was important when Thorn found his father because he said he did not kill Lily Shadows family. It was someone else! It was also important when Lily used magic because boys are only allowed to use magic. This was important because if a girl uses magic they would be sentenced to die but she summoned a ghost puppy named Custard and nobody knew!!! Lastly it was important when a guard said to Thorn, “Your father murdered Lady Shadows family.” Even though this is not true it was important because it made Thorn look like a bad person even though he is a great hunter and was trained and raised in the woods and he knew his father wouldn’t do that.

I enjoyed Shadowmagic because it always left you hanging so it really didn’t matter where you ended. For example when you finish chapter 47 which is the end of being in Castle Gloom and move into the City of Silence, Thorn realizes that Lily’s uncle (Pan) is using the Mask of Azeroth or the mask of the ,undead, to kill Lily and Thorn jumps on a  bat that is dying named Hades to save Lily. I would recommend Shadowmagic because it always gives enough detail to make you feel like you are there. For example on page 293 it says “The spectators surrounded them on all sides. She tried to back away but it was too late. They caressed her with icy fingers.” This made me feel like I was actually there that is why I recommend this book. This book reminds me of Heroes of Olympus: the House of Hades because it mostly takes place in the underworld and that is where it probably takes place (look at the map in the front if you read it). I would give it an infinity star rating but I can only give five so five!

Jun
09
2017

Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick

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I read a Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick. It is the same author that wrote Absolutely Truly. The book is about four girls in sixth grade (middle school) and the girls are all very different. Their names are Jess, Cassidy, Emma, and Megan. Cassidy plays hockey, Jess lives on a farm, Emma wants to be a writer, and Megan wants to be a fashion designer. At first they don’t really get along, but then they become bffs. It starts with their mothers starting a book club, when Emma, Jess, Cassidy, and Megan weren’t getting along. They read Little Women in their book club. I think the book club really brought the girls together.

Cassidy is brave, stubborn and self conscious. She is brave because she got pushed into the boards during hockey, but she kept playing. She is stubborn because she made a plan to tryout for hockey even though her mom told her “no” a thousands times. Cassidy is self aware because after she was really disrespectful to her mother, she realized she had been rude. Even though she realized what she said was wrong, in the end she didn’t apologize which I don’t think was right, but at least she realized!

I thought it was interesting the way Heather wrote the book. She wrote it so that the chapters or sections were either Emma’s, Jess’, Cassidy’s, or Megan’s perspective. I thought it was interesting because I’ve never read a book written like this and I like it. One of favorite parts was when the girls became friends, because it released a lot of tension between them. That I didn’t enjoy too much, it felt like one huge sass-off between the girls. A quote I thought was important was “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” This quote is important because the girls are learning how to steer the ships. I think steering your ship means to manage life.

I enjoyed this book, but it did have a slow start. The reason why is that at first they had to introduce the main characters (Jess, Emma, Cassidy, and Megan) which took time. I liked it because there were always these little events that kept the story exciting, like The “Beauty and the Beast” play. I found some beautiful language in my book. Since we marked beautiful language in Color Me Dark, I thought I would do it in my book. I also wanted to mark it because there were some good beautiful I liked: They’ll be ripe soon, just thinking about the way the thick purple skin burst when I bite down, releasing the sour juice inside makes my mouth start to water.” “My voice is as sharp as the blades on my skates.” “I fly up and down the rink, free as a bird.” “I close my eyes, feeling its thunder echo in my bones and in the hollow part of my chest.”

I would recommend this book because it is very different. It is different because it isn’t really one big plot, there are little events in the whole story. I think there is more books in this series but I don’t know. This author of this book doesn’t only write kids books she writes adult books as well. I rate this book three stars – it was pretty good.

Jun
09
2017

Spy on History, Enigma Alberti and Tony Cliff

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9780761187394.jpg (1760×2475)I just read a book called Spy on History, the authors are Enigma Alberti and Tony Cliff. This book takes place in Washington D.C. around the time of the Civil War. I don’t think this book is part of a series. This book a historical fiction. This book is about a woman named Mary Bowser. She is a spy who work in the White House. She tries to crack cases. She gets information that President Davis gets from the Union. Davis is the president of the U.S.A

 

Mary is Brave, smart, and sneaky. She is brave because she keeps going into president Davis is office to find information even though she’s not allowed to. She is smart because she couldn’t read or write but Mary had world knowledge. That means that she came get information from the thing a round her. She was sneaky because she mostly got away with things like going into President Davis’s office without anybody knowing.

 

Mary has a friend who’s also a spy that works at a clothing shop. Her name was Bet. Bet is an important part of the story because she found a way to solve a very complex code. The code gave Bet and Mary lots and lots of information about the Union. I’m sure Mary and Bet work for the Confederacy and cracking that case gave the confederacy lots of information about the Union. The Union and the Confederacy are to organizations that don’t like each other. Another person who is a big part of the book is the baker. The baker helped Mary with some codes because the baker passed on information from the Union so she could have a better knowing of the Union. In the book Mary accidentally gave the president’s wife a flower called Rhododendron. That’s the flower for danger. A maid called O’Melia scolded Mary forgiving the president’s wife the wrong flower.

“I didn’t know, I didn’t know.” said Mary. This helped me realize that Mary doesn’t really know what is what even though she had world knowledge.

I really liked Spy on History. I liked the book because I could really  imagine the Mary doing secret stuff. I would recommend this book for people who like spy work. If you do, this book is just right for you. This book reminds me of James Bond. It reminds me of it because James Bond is a spy who cracks code just like Mary. This book also reminds me of Sherlock Holmes because Sherlock Holmes is a detective and Mary is also like a detective in her own way. I give this book 5 stars because I would totally read this book again and again. And I bet each time I read it I will still love it.

Jun
09
2017

Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff

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I read Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff. The book is about a girl whose brother died and is really cautious. The girl’s name is Annie and her brother’s name is Jared. She has to find her way back to not being so cautious. On the way she also has some trouble with a friend named Rebecca. I think that the book takes place around now because she has messages on a phone. I think this book takes place more in the countryside because they are taking their bikes around and they aren’t that old. Maybe twelve or eleven. Also Rebecca has a back yard.

Annie Richards is very cautious, sad, and creative. She is cautious because after Jared died she wanted to make sure that she didn’t either. At one part she started sweating and thought that she was sick. She is sad because whenever Jared is not around at a family event it reminds her of old times and gets sad. She is creative because in the book it said before her brother died she loved making obstacle courses and the doing them. You have to be creative to make a good obstacle course.

I think that one important part in this book is when Annie spits out some stuff about her brother and how he is more important than a hamster. I think this is important because it shows that it is hard for her to think about her brother. Another important part of the book is when she gets told to close her umbrella. She got told to close her umbrella because when Jared died she got really cautious. Closing your umbrella is basically saying to Annie that she should stop being so cautious. When she told Annie to open her umbrella they were talking about Annie’s brothers birthday. I think that this is important because if she was not told to open her umbrella she would not have tried and let go a little. One more important part of the book is when Tommy, Jared’s friend, is talking and being nice to Annie. This is important because he also feels her pain about Jared dying.

I like this book for a lot of reasons. One is that the book is sad. I like books that are a little sad because it gives the book a nice plot to reflect on. The second reason is that I liked how she had a little problem with her friend. I like this because it makes the book more interesting when the book already is interesting. I would recommend this book because it always has something new to make it interesting. For example when she was just riding her bike and then a kid came and scared her. You did not see it coming, and it made it a lot more interesting. I think that this book is unique because does not remind me of any book or movie. Another reason why this book is unique is that in this book she has many problems not just one. I would give this book a four star rating because it was really good and I really liked it. I would not give it five because it wouldn’t have the same reaction if you read it again.  

 

    

Jun
09
2017

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The book I read is called Stella By Starlight by Sharon M. Draper. The main characters in this book are Stella, Mom, Dad, her little brother, her neighbors (I would say the neighbors names but that would take up too much space) and her teacher. This book is about an African American girl named Stella who lives in a segregated town called Bumblebee in North Carolina. One night her little brother wakes her up and takes her outside. The Ku Klux Klan is burning a cross very close to her house. Throughout the book they must face the KKK and other segregation. Stella also figures out who one of the Klan members is. Stella’s father and neighbors register to vote and in the end are able to vote. This book takes place in the early 1900’s.

 

WARNING – SPOILER ALERT THESE PARAGRAPHS GIVE AWAY IMPORTANT INFORMATION IN THE BOOK

 

Stella is brave, quick to act, and smart. She is brave because she has to deal with all kinds of awful stuff but she gets through it. She is quick to act because when her mom is bitten by a venomous snake Stella acts fast and makes her a bandage. She is smart because she recited a long important quote easily and she is a good writer even though she thinks she is not. Every night she practices writing.

 

At one point in the book Stella gets a typewriter. She uses it to write newsletters to herself about stuff that has happened. One time her friend who really likes track gets beat up by these really mean and racist people. Then Stella writes a newsletter about that. She also writes a newsletter about when her neighbors, the Spencers get their house burned down by the KKK. A really important part of the book is when the KKK is burning a cross near Stella’s house because that starts the story off with a bang and Stella sees one of their horses and recognizes it. Another important event is when Stella’s mom is bitten by a rattlesnake and the white doctor will not help. That is important because it proves the guy is super cruel and cannot be changed. I think the last really important part is when Stella saves the white doctor/ KKK members daughter from drowning. Then Stella finds out that the girl’s father really is part of the KKK and Stella finds out that he is abusive. A quote that describes Stella is “The roosters don’t go far from the pen. I wonder if they ever think about flying. I do.”  This describes Stella because she is wondering about stuff bigger than Bumblebee and if there was no segregation.

 

I really like this book. I like it because it is a mystery when Stella is trying to figure out who is in the KKK. It is really suspenseful because you never know when the KKK is going to strike next.

I would recommend this book because it is a good length. Also it is educational and teaches about segregation and that kind of stuff. It is a good book and it makes you want to keep reading. This book reminds me of Turning Fifteen On the Road to Freedom. It reminds me of that because they are both about segregation and take place in the South. I would rate this book four stars.

Jun
09
2017

Wonder By: R.J. Palacio

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Wonder By R.J. Palacio

Image result for Wonder

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!

This contains spoilers.

 

 

Wonder is a series and the other books are “Auggie And Me”, “The Julian chapter” Is a  different chapter in the book from Julian’s perspective. “360 days of wonder” is  different book but it has the concept and quotes from people. . Wonder is about a boy named August who has a deformed face and how he lives. But the book has perspectives of different people and August’s friends.For a while August didn’t have any friends but later people started to hang out with him. The book switches between a few people August, Via, Justin, Jack Will, Summer, and Miranda.`This book is about at 2012 to 2017 because texting was a thing and face-touch water fountains(they have sensors so if you put your face in it shoots water).

 

August is brave because he once heard people talking about how if they were him they would kill themselves. August is at the same time kind of scared because for two years he wore a helmet to hide his face. August is nice because he gives everyone a second chance like when his friend said he was told to be his friend and to be nice to him. However, August forgave him.

One quote from Wonder is “beauty is not in the face beauty is in the heart.” by R.J. Palacio I think she was saying that you can be beautiful on the inside and on the outside doesn’t matter as much. In Wonder I really liked one of the scenes where when August was with his friends and he was bullied by other people and there was a fight and then a chase which added a lot of action. Another scene I liked was when August told his story about how he wore a helmet for two years of his life because he got out of that phase and had grown up. One last thing I liked was when August was hanging around after he graduated from lower school and he was with all his friends.

 

I really liked this book because of all the characters and how they acted. I liked this because all the characters had different thoughts about August. I would recommend this book to people who like action and realistic fiction. I also would recommend this if you enjoy character swaps (when the perspective changes). If you read Wonder you should read “360 days of Wonder” and “The Julian Chapter” because it continues the story. I give this book 5 stars because it is long and is very realistic about August life.

Jun
09
2017

The Wishing Spell, by Chris Colfer

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The Land of Stories

Image result for the wishing spell cover

When I was little I wondered what happened to characters like Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood after their stories ended. Well in the Land Of Stories series, you can find out. The book I read is called the Wishing Spell and it is written by Chris Colfer. This book is about two kids, Alex and Conner, who are brother and sister. They are going through a hard time because there father recently died. For their 12th birthday, their grandma gives them a book called The Land of Stories. One night the book starts humming. Weird right? Alex then starts dropping her pencils on the book and they fall into the book! Eventually Conner and Alex jump into the book! When they land into the different world they realize that all fairy tale characters they knew growing up are real. As much as Alex and Conner enjoy this world they realize the only way back to the old one is to get the Wishing Spell.

Alex is smart, brave and cautious. She is smart because she remembers thoughts and lessons from the past and uses that to help her in the future. She is in the top of her class (unlike her brother) and pays attention to things. She is brave because she takes risks to do things that pay off in the end. She is cautious because she doesn’t trust everyone and makes plan B’s.

I thought the most interesting part of the book is when they realize their family used to live here. I thought it was interesting because the way the two twins reacted differently tells a lot about their personality. Alex is surprised and happy, she feels like she finally has a connection to some place because for the past year the twins had to move around a lot. Conner on the other hand doesn’t want his friends to know and is highly embarrassed. I think that Conner has less confidence and sometimes does things he might not necessarily want to do, for other people.

I enjoyed this book because I thought the ‘after stories’ made a lot of sense and by the end of the book I felt like I knew each character. I would recommend this book as well as the other two books. (A new one is coming out shortly.) Chris Colfer is in many shows and movies such as glee and struck by lightning. I think the Bailey twins are very unique because they share both many similarities and many differences. They each know so much about each other, but respect their differences. A quote from the book that I think would best explain Alex would be, “I think what I’ve learned from all of this is that villains are mostly people villainized by circumstance.” I think this explains a lot about her personality because in the beginning of the book, Alex only thought that the heros or princesses were the good people. But in the end like it said in the quote, they were mostly villainized by circumstance. They were originaly good people and something they did wrong made them an outcast. Even if Alex is wrong, she would usually not admit that she knew she was wrong. She learned that its OK to be wrong after her experience in the fairy tale world. I would rate this book 5 stars because of the creativity and the bonds between characters.

 

 

 

Jun
09
2017

George by Alex Gino

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“George” is a book by Alex Gino. This book is Alex Gino’s first novel. The main character is George. “George” is about a transgender girl, but George’s mom doesn’t know that George is transgender neither does her friends. Another thing that happens in “George” is that the teacher is casting for Charlotte’s web. George wants to be Charlotte but she can’t because she is a “boy.” The setting of the book is in New York. I know this because at one point,  George goes to the Bronx Zoo with her best friend and the friend says the zoo is an hour away and George says she lives in New York.

 

George is friendly, nervous and brave. George is friendly because she nevers gets in fights with anyone, even if she’s mad. I think George is nervous because she only tells her best friend that she is a girl but she doesn’t tell her mom or brother. I think George is brave because she is not scared when she auditions for the play.

Another important part in the book is when George says to her mom and older brother “What if I’m a girl?” I think this quote is important because she is finally telling her mom what she is. She is also expressing herself by finally letting go of what she has kept a secret for so long.

 

I really liked George because of the concept and how unique it is, I think George is unique because of the beautiful language. I also really liked George because it is not all over the place and there isn’t too much going on at once and there is only one plot. I do recommend this book if you like extraordinary books. I would also recommend this if you like quick and easy books. This book reminds me of Gracefully Grayson because it has the same concept of a girl inside a boy’s body.  I would give this book five stars because of it’s uniqueness.