Category Archives: Mystery

Genre

Mar
09
2016

The Vanishing Violin By: Michael D. Beil

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Can you solve three mysteries at the same time? Well, the Red Blazer Girls can. The Red Blazer Girls are from The Vanishing Violin by Michael D. Beil. The Vanishing Violin is very different from my other books because I usually read realistic fiction or magical realism but this book is mystery. Mystery is very different than realistic fiction because a lot can happen that is not realistic but depending on the book a lot can be realistic too. This book is part of the Red Blazer Girls Series. They call themselves that because they wear red blazers for school. “They” is Sophie St. Pierre, Rebecca Chen, Margaret Wrobel and Leigh Ann Jaimes.

 

In the first book – The Ring of Rocamadour – they found the ring of Rocamadour and now in the second book they have to figure out who is sneaking into the school and cleaning it, crack a bunch of codes that lead to a violin and last try to find yet another stolen violin. This book does not ever mention when it takes place but I am guessing around the same time it was written which was 2010. I also think it is about modern time because there are iPhones, motorcycles and the subway. This all takes place in New York City and sometimes at their school, St. Veronica’s.

 

I think I would describe Sophie as silly. For example,  When someone says “Hey, loooosers.” she responded “Nice to see you, too, my dearest darling pal,” She also really likes math so that helps her figure out some mysteries. Like when she said “The ring is about three inches in diameter, so the circumference is a little over nine inches. (That’s pi times the diameter, if you’re keeping score-I love math.)” This book is interesting because it is from Sophie’s perspective like when she says “I” or “me”. An important part of the story is that Margaret is getting mystery letters from somebody that leads to the mystery violin. All the friends help her and figure out more clues. Will the clues ever stop? Also, the head of their school is counting on them to figure out is cleaning the school but with two other mysteries on their hands that can be lot!

 

Some of the events that change the direction of the story is at Mr. Chernofsky’s (Margaret’s friend) violin shop he hires someone else that seems a little suspicious considering he went to jail…  I really enjoyed this book because of how the author sets up the story and I also really enjoyed the ending that the author makes. Another reason I enjoyed this book is how everyone’s personalities. I would recommend this book to readers that like series since this is part of the The Red Blazer Girls series. Some connections is to the friends because I feel sometimes I feel like the friends are a lot like my friends. I would definitely rate this four stars. ☆☆☆☆
How does it all connect? 

Mar
09
2016

Demon Dentist, By David Walliams

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91BL+Jvc8yLAlfred(Alfie) hasn’t been to the dentist in six years! The book I read was called Demon Dentist. It was written by David Walliams. The book is about a kid named Alfie and his problems with dentists. He hasn’t been to the dentist in so long because when he was younger he went to the dentist complaining about a toothache, so the dentist took a look at it. The dentist tried and tried with all his might to pull the tooth out but failed. So he called some people in the waiting room to come in to pull with him, that didn’t work. Then he got the people that worked there to help him, that didn’t work. He got more and more people. It had been weeks maybe even months. FINALLY the tooth came out! Except, that was the wrong one. Poor old Alfie came home with a toothache. He hadn’t gone ever since. Imagine years of not going to the dentist. What would your teeth look like? THEY’ED BE YELLOW! OR BROWN! OR YOU WOULD LOSE ALL YOUR TEETH! Luckily Alfie didn’t lose all his teeth from this, but he did lose some. AND HE HAD brown and yellow teeth too. Yikes! He looked like a hamster that had lost two teeth. Think about that for awhile. If you don’t know what hamster’s teeth look like, then look it up!

 

Alfie is very poor. He has one friend named Gabriela(Gabz), who thinks he’s a wimp. I will not be talking about her because if I talked about her I’d spoil lots of things. Well back to Alfie, his dinner is three crumbs of bread! He lives with his father who is dying because he has bad breathing from working in the mine for many years. Alfie takes care of his father all the time. He buys food, makes sure his father is warm, sees if his breathing is getting better and much more. Alfie is a very nice kid, but he can be very protective. And when he gets protective he can sometimes be a troublemaker. For example, on page 176 and 177 when he is trying to protect himself from a new dentist named Ms. Root. “As Alfie accelerated down the stairs he quickly realised he was on a collision course with the headmaster. Nothing could stop the inevitable happening. THWACK!  The tray whacked into Mr Grey’s ankles.”

 

Everything that Ms. Root has is white, even her CAT! She is VERY VERY VERY  dangerous.For example, she gave Alfie a new toothbrush and toothpaste, but these weren’t the ordinary toothbrush and toothpaste, the toothpaste was like acid! It went right through the ground. And Alfie asked for a soft toothbrush, guess what he got? A TOOTHBRUSH WITH SPIKES STICKING OUT OF IT! How is that a soft toothbrush?! After Alfie figures out what Ms. Root gave him, he knew something was going on.

 

The main problem in this story is that somebody has been taking kids teeth when they put it under their pillow and instead of putting a coin they are putting a bat, spider or a moving eyeball! Alfie is trying to catch the person who is behind this. Alfie puts his friends and family first a lot in the book. At first Alfie didn’t want to solve the mystery but when something happened to him, he started to solve the mystery.

 

A connection I have to this book is that I like to solve mysteries. Even if Alfie didn’t want to solve it in the first place and he just did it because then the town would be safe.

 

I definitely recommend this book! NO doubt about it! The book’s genre was mystery, and funny horror. Well sort of horror.

 

Something that I like about this book is that it is funny, touching and descriptive! I love this book and I think that everyone should read it if they like books that have the things that I just listed. I rate the book five stars out of five stars☆☆☆☆☆!

 

Mar
04
2016

The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin

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imgresThis review is about The Westing Game. The author is Ellen Raskin. The main character in The Westing Game is a 12 year old girl named Turtle Wexler who invests in the stock market. Following her stocks is Turtle’s favorite hobby. Turtle even uses her transistor radio in class to listen to her stocks when she is not supposed to. We see Turtle do lots of things, but the big point of this book is to win a game. This game is The Westing Game. The Westing Game is set up by the Estate of Mr. Westing to find out who has murdered him and to decide who will inherit all of his wealth. This book takes place in Westingtown a fictional town in Wisconsin  U.S.A. (named after Samuel W. Westing).

One big part of this book is when the people living in Sunset Towers see smoke coming from the Westing house. This is so important because the Westing house is thought to be haunted and abandoned. One part of this book that I found interesting is that Grace Wexler, Angela and Turtle Wexler’s mom, favors Angela over Turtle and shows it. This is interesting because parents are not supposed to have favorites. This is important because Turtle feels unloved. Another interesting part of this book is Samuel Westing’s will. This will is so interesting because it is like a riddle and the winner inherits all of Samuel’s wealth.

One adjective that I would use for Turtle is business-savvy. I say this because she likes to deal with money. For example, she invests in the stock market and sells her candles that she made at summer camp. Turtle is also very smart. One example that I have of this is how she chooses the right stocks to sell and to buy. A third way I would describe Turtle is risky. One place in the book where she takes a risk is when she goes into the abandoned and haunted Westinghouse. She does this just on a dare. One quote that really helps you understand Turtle better is when she asks Flora Bombeck (who will also play the Westing Game) a question and her mom jumps in and says, “Can’t you see that she is busy with Angela’s wedding dress? And why must you wear a silly costume like that? Really Turtle, I don’t know why you insist on making yourself ugly.” This helps you understand how rude Turtle’s mom is to her, which influences her choices.

This book could have be the best book I have ever read! The ending is so amazing and it is written so well. If you need a new book you should pick up this one. It is a fast read but absolutely outstanding!!! One TV show like this book is Scooby-Doo. They are the same kind of mystery. On a scale of one to five, I would rate this book a ten!

Feb
24
2016

Ratburger

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995468606The book I read for this book reivew is called Ratburger, by David Walliams. The main characters in this book are Zoe (a twelve year old girl), Armitage (a rat), and Burt (a burger vender). What Zoe is trying to change is Burt is taking all the rats in the city that he can find to a beat up old building and torturing the rats. Now Armitage is one of them. The setting of the book is the rusty, dusty, apartment in a tall tall building in the middle of the city, that Zoe is living in, along with her dad, and evil stepmother, Sheila, who just wants a roof over her head and cocktail crackers and nothing else to do with the family.

One big event that happened in the story is when Burt is trying to kill all of the rats and Zoe’s dad was about to fall into the machine that Burt was using to kill all of the rats. This event is so important because Zoe, her dad and everyone who was there had to go through the memory, and that is really suspenseful, someone could have died! Another part of the book that was super important is when Zoe was caught for bringing Armitage into school twice and she got a three month suspension. One other important part of the book was when Zoe and her dad made an ice cream truck (from Burt’s van,) and gave out ice cream. This is so important because, you see, Zoe’s dad always dreamed of giving out ice cream — he didn’t care how, he just wanted to.

One adjective to describe Zoe is fearless, because she was scared, but happy about doing it in some parts of the book. An example is when Zoe was rescuing her rat, she was smiling in the picture. Another adjective to describe Zoe is sad, because Sheila locked her in her room and she was sad that she wasn’t going to get out. Another adjective to describe Zoe is smart, because again, when her stepmother locked her in her room, she decided to take off the braces on her teeth and use them to dig a hole in the wall. A quote that helped me understand Zoe better is: “All I care about is Armitage. I have to save him.” Why that helped me understand Zoe better is because it shows that she loves Armitage, and she would do anything for him.

I LOVED the book. I loved every part of Ratburger, but my favorite is when Zoe found her rat’s name. It is a particularly funny story. I also loved the big fight with Zoe’s dad, Zoe, Burt, and Sheila. It was a funny sight in my head because Sheila is chubby, and makes big effort noises to move. I would recommend this book. David Walliams is a really disgusting, but really funny writer, and his books are so touching. I know for a fact that none of David Walliams’ books are like anything else. It is so unique because it is a book of heart, meaning it is — indescribable! And he is such a good writer, I’ve never liked an author so much in my life! He is just so amazing. I would give this book five stars — millions if I could. I hope if you read this book, you will have the same exact reaction as I did.

Jan
19
2016

The G-Man Super Journal by Chris Guiarroso

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The book that I read is called G-MAN SUPER JOURNAL AWESOME ORIGINS written by Chris Guiarroso. The main character in this book is G Man. All of G Man’s friends are getting super powers one by one. G Man is the only one without super powers so he uses a blanket as a cape then he gets super powers. This book takes place at G Man’s school in the future.

One thing that I found that was interesting was that every time one of his friends got a super power then G Man tried to get that kids super power the same way that kid had gotten it. I found this interesting because he fails over and over again. Another interesting thing was that a blanket gave him super powers. G Man’s family had a special blanket that they would use whenever they were sick to make them feel better. He got desperate for super powers and he thought since the blanket had magical powers to make his family feel better that he could use it for a cape to fly. He cut a piece off and he could fly. In the end his brother got jealous that G Man got super powers so he uses the rest of the blanket as a belt and then he flies too. One big event that happened was when there were superhero tryouts at G Man’s school. He couldn’t go because he got detention for talking back to the teacher.  It changed the whole book because he couldn’t go to the tryouts to get super powers because he was in detention.

G Man was determined because he kept trying to get super powers.  He kept failing but eventually he got super powers.  He was determined because when he had super powers he had to fight a bad guy and he didn’t quit until he won.  He was emotional because many times in the book he got mad and sad.  He got sad when he could not go to the super hero tryouts.  G Man was brave because when someone said to him “This is my flying area, you are not allowed to fly here,”  G Man said, “Well guess what, who said we can’t.”

I enjoyed this book because it’s about super heros and I like super heros. I would recommend this book because it’s really fun to read. There is a lot of action in this book. This book reminds me of AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON.  It reminds me of this because at the end of the book they are all fighting the bad guy. In the movie, at the end they all fight the bad guy too. My rating for this book is five stars! It was so fun to read. I felt like it was happening all around me. It was so cool.  

Jan
15
2016

From The Mixed-up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

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51fEgIRXYyL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_The Mixed-up Files Of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler by E.L.  Konigsburg, is about a girl named Claudia and her younger brother Jamie. The book begins with Claudia’s decision to run away from home in Connecticut to hide in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, because she didn’t feel appreciated at home. She took her younger brother with her because he had the most money. The narrator of this story is Mrs. Frankweiler telling her lawyer Saxonberg the children’s story.

In the book, once Claudia and Jamie made it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Claudia told Jamie that she wanted to learn everything about everything in the museum. So that day they went to learn about the Italian Renaissance. They saw a big line so they waited to see what was at the front. That’s when they found a sculpture that changed their whole plan. They saw Angel, a 2 foot statue that might be the work of Michelangelo. That is an important part of the story because they then focused on only finding evidence to prove that Michelangelo was the sculptor who made Angel. Claudia then decided to not learn everything about everything, but to only learn everything about Angel. That was important because Angel, even though he’s a statue, becomes a very important character in the book after that.   

Claudia is very adventurous, because she takes a trip from Connecticut to New York to hide in the Metropolitan Museum of Art with nothing but her backpack and trumpet case full of clothes. Claudia is also responsible. She took care of her younger brother without letting him or herself go hungry or get sick. Claudia is independent, because she makes sure everything is alright and nothing goes wrong with no help from an adult. Mrs. Frankweiler said to the lawyer Saxonberg, “Angel became part of Claudia’s story about finding herself, about how the greatest adventure lies not in running away but in looking inside, and the greatest discovery is not in finding out who made a statue but in finding out what makes you.”

I enjoyed this book because it was interesting and it taught me a lot about Michaelangelo such as he signed all his work with a M on it. It had some challenging words in it but the story made sense. I really liked their story and hearing about all the things they did in the museum, like taking a bath in the fountain and hiding from the night watchman. I would definitely recommend this book. It is really fun to read and super interesting.  This book doesn’t remind me of any other book or movie. I think that there is no other book or movie like this book because Claudia’s not running from somewhere, she is running to somewhere. I rate this the book the highest rating of five stars.          

Jan
15
2016

Take The Reins by Jessica Burkhart

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2865641The title of the book I read is called Take The Reins by Jessica Burkhart. Take The Reins is part of the series called “Canterwood Crest.” The main character is Sasha Silver. The setting is at Canterwood Crest, a boarding school during the school year. The main problem is that Sasha has to try to get Heather, the mean girl, out of her mind because they are competing for the advanced riding team.

In this book there is a lot going on. Sasha goes to a new boarding school and meets a girl named Heather. She’s trying to get Sasha to go back to a different school again, because she thinks that Sasha is better than her at riding. Sasha wants to be on the advance team in riding. On the advance team there are only five people who can get a spot on the team. That’s why Heather is afraid that Sasha is going to get her spot in the team. During this book you learn a lot about how boarding school is. Sasha has two best friends who stand up for her all the time.  In film class Sasha meets a boy name Jacob. In the beginning she thinks he’s cute. Later on in the book they start hanging out.  Closer to the end of the book the intermediate team which Sasha is on have to plan the winter party. Whoever wants to participate puts their name in a hat. Sasha’s name got picked out of the hat. She had to plan the party with one of her friends Page and her other friends Callie and Nicole. The day before the party she logged on to her email and asked Jacob to come out to the dance with her. One big event in the story that changed what happened is on Parents Weekend the parents finally found out about Heather. They were quite surprised. This changed the story because Heather started being nicer to Sasha because she knew she was going to get into so much trouble if her parents knew about her being mean. Sasha is nice because when her friend Nicole did not get on the advanced team she was not bragging about how she did. Sasha talked to Nicole to make her feel better. I also think she is brave because she went to boarding school and no one knows what could happen at boarding school because you can meet new people everyday. I also think she is brave because in the book she asks Jacob out to the dance. A good quote that helps me understand Sasha is when Page says “Do you like the furniture if not we can change it” and then Sasha says “I think it looks great”. I think that helps me understand the character because she is very loose about things and she goes with the flow.

I enjoy this book because it’s very fast and a lot of ideas keep popping up. One example for this idea is of the party that Sasha had to plan, and then a page later there’s a new idea of the advanced team. I also enjoy this book a lot because I feel really good when I hear stories that are specific about what they mean. One example for that is they describe how many coats of lip gloss Sasha puts on. This book reminds me of this TV series called The Saddle Club because it’s about horseback riding and in that story there’s a mean girl just like Heather. A rating of my book is 5 stars because it just is amazing and I want to read it again.

Jan
15
2016

The School For Good And Evil

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SGE-CoverThe book I read is called The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani. The main characters are Sophie and Agatha. The problem from Sophie’s perspective is that she is in Evil school when Agatha is in Good school. The problem from Agatha’s perspective is that she and Sophie are at the School for Good and Evil and she wants to go home. This book takes place at The School For Good And Evil.

I found it interesting and important when at the end of the Trial by Tale, which is a competition where the top 15 Evers (good people) and top 15 Nevers (evil people) fight in the forest until a winner is declared, Tedros (the prince) finds out that Sophie was using Agatha to get good grades. I thought this part was interesting and important because if Sophie wasn’t mad at Tedros for breaking his promise, she and her roomates, Hester and Anadil, wouldn’t have attacked the School for Good. I liked the part when Agatha got attacked by the Wish Fish. The Wish Fish is a magical fish that you make a wish on. I thought it was really important when Agatha agreed to go to the ball with Tedros because at that part, Sophie realized that Agatha was her nemesis, not Tedros.

In the beginning, Sophie is loyal, kind, and beautiful because she is always doing good deeds. In the end, Sophie is wicked, demanding, and dreadful because she is always ordering people around and she kept trying to kill Agatha. In the beginning, Agatha is rebellious, lonely, and frantic because she’s always alone and never really talks to anyone. In the end, Agatha is friendly, peaceful, and loving because she has a lot of trust in everyone. A quote that describes Sophie in the beginning is when Hester says, “she smells like an Ever.” A quote that describes Sophie in the end is when Agatha says to Sophie, “You brought me here to kill me.” A quote that describes Agatha in the beginning is when Reena says, “she looks so evil.” A quote that describes Agatha in the end is when Agatha says to Tedros, “I won’t help a Captain leading his army to their graves.”

I enjoyed this book a lot. I enjoyed it because it has a topsy-turvy plot that is action packed with a little bit of violence. It also gives a good laugh. I would recommend it to everyone! This book does not remind me of anything but it’s probably related to something I haven’t read or seen yet. I give this book five stars.

Jan
14
2016

Who Could That Be At This Hour, By: Daniel Handler

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Daniel Handler is the name of the author of the book I read. The main characters that appear in this book are Lemony Snicket and S. Theodora Markson. The problem in this book is that a treacherous villain by the name of Hangfire is terrorizing a community named Stained By The Sea. The main problem that the characters are trying to stop is that Hangfire is a skilled arsonist and they are trying to stop him from burning down the community around them.

Some ideas that helped me understand the book better were …

that S. Theodora Markson is the lead investigator for the problem in Stained by the Sea. This idea helped me understand the book better by giving me more background information. Two is that Lemony Snicket is the apprentice to S. Theodora Markson. This information was very helpful because Lemony Snicket ?  is a very mysterious person. Did you know that Lemony Snicket is a very caring person for people he knows and does not know. The only BIG decision that the main character makes is to investigate the case that Theodora is involved in. Hangfire is a arsonist, killer, and kidnapper and he is very proud of what he does.

Hangfire is a lethal killing machine that has haunted Stained By The Sea for many years. 

I really enjoyed this book because Lemony Snicket is a very creative and caring person. I also like this book because of the characters. The last reason I like this book is because it is for all ages. 1 to 5 stars it is a 5 star rated book.

 

www.danielhandler.com

 

Jan
14
2016

Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself, By Judy Blume

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imgresI read the book Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself. The author is Judy Blume. The book takes place in the year 1947 in Miami, Florida. It is about a girl named Sally and her life after World War 2. Sally is in 5th grade. She is nine years old. Sally has many ups and downs in her new life in Miami. A down is that her father cannot stay in Miami with them, because of his job he has to stay in New Jersey. An up is that Sally has many new friends in Miami.

Her father visits every once in awhile, so Sally’s only communication in between visits, is to write to him. Sally tells her father all about Miami, and recent activities, and things that have happened. I love Sally’s letters to her father. They are very descriptive and interesting. I especially like how her letters to him start with, Dear Doey-Bird. That is Sally’s nickname for her father. I think that nickname is pretty funny!

Sally and her family moved to Miami because her brother Douglas got a kidney infection. I will not tell you why Douglas got a kidney infection because I don’t want to spoil an important part in the book. I can relate to this part of the story because my brother has many food allergies and eczema. Eczema is when your skin starts to bleed and gets very itchy and uncomfortable. Every year my family goes to Hawaii for the summer. The weather helps my brother’s eczema. This is similar to how Douglas feels better in Miami because it is not cold. Another connection is that I live in New York and they live in New Jersey. New York and New Jersey are right next to each other.  

Sally is a very interesting character. She is cautious, smart and sometimes brave. For example, on page 102 and 103 it says “After years and years of her mother’s warnings it was finally happening. A strange man was offering her candy!”… “He shook the bag of candy at Sally. “Go … on … take …” “No!” Sally said and rode off, almost knocking the man over.” She likes and thinks some things that you might think are odd for a nine year old girl. Sally likes to call herself a detective because that is her favorite game to play. On page 27 Sally says, “I’ve got this really great detective story ready. We’re after this murderer who cuts people up and stuffs the pieces into brown lunch bags…he leaves the bags all over town and the people are really scared…this is no ordinary murderer…this guy is dangerous.” This gave me the idea that Sally enjoyed different types of games than other kids.

A case that Sally worked on was the case of old scary Mr. Zavodsky, the man who offered her candy. Sally thinks that Mr. Zavodsky is Adolf Hitler(A.H.). She thinks he looks like A.H. because he has slick, dark hair and a small black moustache. There are no pictures in the book but you know what the characters look like because Sally is very good at explaining them.

If I were Sally I would write another note to Mr. Zavodsky. I would say to him, I know who you are, and you can’t hide forever! So admit who you are now or I will tell everyone your real identity. I will not ever call you Mr. Zavodsky again because that is your fake identity. Don’t try to trick people that you’re good by trying to give them candy that probably has poison in it! You can trick my friend Andrea but you can’t trick me! From Detective Sally, your worst nightmare.

I enjoyed this book so much! I liked it because it is funny, exciting, sad, well written and the characters are like a never ending maze! When I read this book I couldn’t stop! I personally think that it is an amazing book. Out of all the Judy Blume books I have read, I think that this one is my favorite. Judy Blume really captures the moments and describes the scenes. It is such an amazing book I didn’t want to stop reading it! I want you to have that feeling too, so that is why you should read this book!

Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself is a great book for 4th graders and higher. If you like mysterious, funny, interesting, breathtaking books, then you should definitely read Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself.

I rate this book FIVE STARS!