A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban

The book I read this summer is called A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban. The book has many different settings. Two of the main settings are her house and her school. The main character’s name is Zoe Elias. Some other characters are Miss Person her piano teacher, her mother, her father, Wheeler Diggs her friend from school and her dad’s baking partner, and Emma Dent her “former” best friend. In the book Zoe has big dreams to become the next Vladimir Horowitz (a famous pianist). The main problem is that Zoe has been begging her parents for a baby grand piano. Instead she gets a wood-grained, vinyl-seated, wheeze-bag organ. She also wants to play at Carnegie Hall. But it’s kind of hard to play at Carnegie Hall when you don’t have a baby grand piano to practice on.

But soon a big twist changed the direction of the story. Miss Person thinks it will be good for Zoe to enter the annual Perform-O-Rama organ competition. Zoe has to make a big decision between going to the Preform-O-Rama and understanding that it’s okay to make mistakes or just staying home and giving up on the big dreams she has of becoming an amazing pianist. One quote that really inspired her when she was playing was  “just keep playing”. I know this sounds just like words but to Zoe these words were very inspirational because she just has to focus on the piano and not focus on what’s going on around her and then surely she will do great! She also have to keep in mind that everybody makes mistakes and that it’s okay to make mistakes but you have to learn from those mistakes. Zoe resolves her problem by thinking “just keep playing” and she does just that. She ends up doing an amazing performance.

I really enjoyed this book. I really enjoyed it because it helped me learn that everyone makes mistakes and that it’s okay to make mistakes. An example of this is when Zoe performs at the Perform-O-Rama and she makes a few mistakes but she keeps going. I also thought that a lot of the characters were really funny and quirky especially Zoe and her family. An example of this is when Zoe’s dad decorated the hotel room to look just like their house. I also just love reading about people who have big dreams and try to make their dreams a reality. An example of this is when Zoe keeps trying hard to become amazing and she puts a lot of effort into playing the piano.  I think a pianist would read this book because it gives a lot of facts about the piano. I also think a reader who likes humor would like this book because it is a very funny, quirky book. I give this book a five star rating.                                                          

The True Meaning of Smekday By Adam Rex

They have finally arrived, the aliens have come to Smekland, Er… I mean Earth. What will happen to the world now that they’re here, find out in The True Meaning Of Smekday, by Adam Rex. This strange bUnknownut fast paced and exciting book is about a girl named Gratuity, but everyone calls her Tip. The mane idea of this book is there is an invasion by aliens, the aliens are called the Boov. everyone thinks the Boov are bad news and so does Tip, at first. the Boov send all the people of the U.S.A to one one state, California. On the way to California Tip meets a Boov, his earth name is J.Lo. J.Lo convinces Tip to take him with her, and after awhile they become friends.

When Tip and J.Lo got to california they learned that the dang Boov had changed their mind, now all the people of the U.S.A get to live in Arizona, so they started the long long trek to the other side of the country. In the middle of their ride, a different alien species comes to earth, this species is called the Gorg. The Gorg and Boov fight for the planet, The Gorg win by s lot and before the Boov retreat, J.Lo convisis Tip that the gorg are bad news, much worse than the Boov, so The two of them put their heads together and think of a plan to get rid of the Gorg.

This book is very fun and never really that slow, even just diving they make fun with the comedy. I would recommend this book to pretty much everyone, this book has so many different themes that there is something for everyone (accepted if you like really slow books). I loved this book and if you read it, I hope you like it just as much as I did.

    

 

The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman by Meg Wolitzer

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This summer I read a book called The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman written by Meg Wolitzer. The main characters are Duncan Dorfman (from Drilling Falls, Pennsylvania), April Blunt (from Portland, Oregon) and Nate Saviano (from New York City). They each represent teams at a national scrabble tournament (the YST a.k.a. the Youth Scrabble Tournament) in Florida. There are four main problems:

  1. Duncan is a new kid in his town at a new school trying to figure out a new life.
  1. April is the only person in her sporty family who hasn’t won anything and she’s trying to get into the spotlight.
  1. Nate is getting homeschooled by his dad who has high expectations for him as a Scrabble player.
  1. ONLY ONE TEAM CAN WIN!

One event that changed the directional point of the story is when Carl Slater, captain of the Drilling Falls middle school Scrabble club and bully, finds out about Duncan’s power. I’m not going to tell you what it is because you have to read the book first. Fine, I’ll tell you what Carl says. Carl says to Duncan, “You’re telling me you can feel the words underneath your fingers without looking? I have plans for you, Lunch Meat (Duncan’s nickname from the first day of school — this is a part of the story you will find out about when you read the book!)” Duncan has to decide whether he wants to use his special talent or not to win. Another event that changes the story is when Nate gets frustrated during a game and quits the tournament. His teammate, Maxie, ends up quitting, too. They have a conversation and Maxie offends Nate. Nate says, “I am not selfish, Maxie. I had no idea you cared so much about this tournament.” Then Maxie says, “Oh, you thought I was just doing it for you Nate? Well, think again.” Nate and Maxie become friends again and finish the tournament (they end up losing to Duncan’s team and place third).

I enjoyed the book because it was a story about friendship. An example of friendship is when Nate walked away from the Scrabble game and Maxie came and got him back in to it. Another reason why I enjoyed the book was there was a lot of action in it. An action scene was when Nate’s father, Larry, met his old Scrabble partner, Wendell Bruno. Wendell was talking, and talking, and talking about when they played Scrabble together. And THEN he started talking about how he looks for a Saviano in every single Scrabble tournament. But it was an action part and a BIG part in the story. Also one last reason I enjoyed the book was because it makes you want to play Scrabble. After I finished the book, I wanted to play a game of Scrabble and I did. I would rate this book 5 stars because Meg Wolitzer did a good job of telling the story and not having it get too complicated with lots of characters who play a big part in the plot.

THE END *****

 

Middle School book 6 by James Patterson

My book is Middle School book 6 Save Rafe! It is by James Patterson. In the video the main character Rafe is climbing a mountain because he needs to pass a training camp to go back to his old school that he got expelled from. He needs to go back because his new school that he goes to is closing so now he needs to go back to his old school. He needs to go to the training camp because the principal won’t let him come back to the school easily because they have very strict rules and he broke almost all of them. I would rate this book 4 stars.

Finn's Book Review from Namita Tolia on Vimeo.