Wonder By Raguel J. Palacio

The book I read was Wonder. It was written by Raquel J. Palacio. This book is kind of in a series because there are special chapters that the author made to show the other characters that are mentioned in the book. The main characters are: August, Jack Will and Julian. This book is about how August has been homeschooled his whole life and when he finally goes to school he has such a hard time. He has a hard time because of his facial deformity. Like how Julian says have you been a fire or something. But when Julian says it Jack Will steps in and tells Julian to shut up. And that’s when August made his first friend. One day August walked in and saw Jack Will and Julian looking for August because he was supposed to where a Boba Fett but came in as bloody scream. So August listened to there conversation and heard Jack Will say that I look like Darth Sidious (Julian’s costume). So he told him something like I don’t want to be friends anymore. (Couple days later) After some months they did make up. After that Julian started to put notes in our during the locker because Jack Will punched him in the face. But Julian did get suspended for two weeks. During those weeks they went on a nature retreat and on that nature retreat the seventh graders started a fight and then amos came in and wrecked them and they ran. When they went back to school August was popular. And Julian was super suspicious. And Julian was really unpopular. In the end August was awarded the award of being brave and stuff like that.

I believe August is brave, smart and sensitive. I believe August is brave because he went to school and put up with all of that teasing (even when he wasn’t in school he was teased). I believe August is smart because when he came into the school tour he wanted to join the science elective which is the hardest class in the whole school. August is sensitive because when Jack, Will, and Julian were talking August heard them and got really upset. He was upset because August heard that Jack Will said that August looked exactly like Julian’s mask, which was Darth Sidious a.k.a Emperor Palpatine. I believe that Jack Will is caring, ingenious and two faced. Jack Will is caring because when August came to the tour and Julian said something really mean Jack Will stood up to him. Jack Will is ingenious because the things he does just makes him seem really original like how he was kind of popular and caring because some people let popularity get to their head. Like how Julian did and started to be really mean. Jack Will is two faced because he is good friends with August but he was talking to Julian about something really mean about August. I believe Julian is short tempered, untrustworthy and popular. Julian is short tempered because after him and Jack Will had their “beef” soon after he started to do these really mean post it’s and putting them in their lockers. He is untrustworthy because he and Jack used to be best friends but then he stabbed him in the back and got punched in the face because of it. Julian is very popular because the second he made “plague” everyone believed him. There is only one rule do not touch August or you have the plague.

The most important part of the book in my opinion was in the end of the book when August won the award of being brave and things like that. This was important because August has some serious facial issues which made it more important, that August won the award it.The second most interesting part of the book in my opinion was when the seventh graders were bullying August and Amos and Miles stepped in and started a fight with the 7th graders.This is important for two reasons. One reason is this shows that even with a kid like August involved who grosses everyone out, there are still allies. The other reason is that people can change because Amos and Miles used to be in Julian’s group and now they are with August. Another interesting part of the book is how Charlotte only ever pays attention to August when the teachers teachers are around, otherwise she only nods hello. Jack Will is nice to him automatically but Julian I think we all know how he is to August. This is interesting to me because they were both asked to be August’s welcome buddy but only Jack Will was nice to him other than summer were nice to him. An important quote from the book was the first paragraph. The paragraph is, “I know I’m not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. I mean, sure, I do ordinary things. I eat ice cream. I ride my bike. I play ball. I have an Xbox. Stuff like that makes me ordinary. I guess. And I feel ordinary. Inside. But I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don’t get stared at wherever they go.” This is an important paragraph because it really shows what August feels and who he is. It shows that August is pretty normal but people are judging him by his cover not the inside.

I enjoyed this book very much. I enjoyed this book because it  has many different ways you can think about the book. Like which side are you on, Julian or August. Another reason is because it has a very interesting backstory and a even more interesting story line like how everything changes when August came into the school. Another reason is that this kind of continues the talk about bullying and allies. I would recommend this book. I would recommend this book to people who lies the kind of books with things happening on every page, not to readers who like take things in slowly. This book reminds me of nothing because nothing really has this book’s same story line, well nothing has the same story line of this book. What I’m trying to say is that this book really sticks out to me and many of other people have read this book and liked it to. Now for the one to five rating. One = I didn’t like it that much. Two = I didn’t like it. Three = It was pretty good. Four = I really liked. Five = I loved it. I want to read it again. And I would rate this book five.

Flush By Carl Hiaasen

 

 

 

This book is about a boy named Noah who is trying to catch whoever is putting gallons of raw sewage into the waters of Florida Keys. In addition to this very hard task Noah’s dad is behind bars. His dad refuses to go to court and get his way out of jail.

 

Noah is a caring, adventurous and hardworking.  He likes to solve mysteries and he cares for his family. He worries about his mom a lot and so does his sister. Noah’s  little sister name is Abby. Noah likes to think of her as an older sibling mostly because Abby has a big mouth and she is not afraid to use it.  Abby and Noah are a nice team.

 

Out of one to ten I rate this book a eight. It is not a book that is a page turner but there is still a lot of things going on. I recommend this book to people who like realistic fiction. Go read this book!

 

 

 

 

H20 by Virginia Bergin

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It starts up when Ruby the main character is at a party. They turned on the radio and they heard that the rain is killer if you touch it you die. But it doesn’t affect animals. Then Casper ran out into the rain, after he came in he started throwing up. Zach’s mom took Ruby and Casper to the hospital but she dropped of Ruby first at her house. Her step dad, mom, baby brother were still all ok, but then her mom hugged her and the next day she died with the baby brother. There were people rioting everywhere for supplies. Ruby was in solitary for a while because the step dad didn’t know if she had the rain disease or not so she was in the closet until her mom died.

Ruby is a spoiled 15 year old. She craves her phone while people are getting killed. And you’ll find a quarter of the book about her complaining about her makeup. She is British person and she is not an apocalypse survivor.

They were stuck in the house for a while because there were people that had guns and they would get killed immediately so they didn’t go out for a while. You would think. After time had fixed that Ruby and her step dad went to the supermarket. They couldn’t find anything but plants. Ruby took some flowers for her dead mom and dead baby brother. Then the step dad noticed something he noticed that the plants have water and he thought that they hadn’t been changed in a while so he took the muggy water and drank so much. They were stuck in there for a while. There were still people outside wanting to get in. Finally it all calmed down, they went out and looted some houses but they didn’t find anything. But other than that no one was there.

On the next errand Ruby found some animals that she took home. After that Ruby was stuck in the house for a long time. But then she ran out of water, so she went out and found a nerd from her school in a house. They had some water and a little girl who didn’t talk. The nerd’s name was Darius Spratt and she didn’t really know him but she recognized him. He said that there was people trapped into the school. She went there and found a bunch of men. There was a key and she let them go. She wanted to go to London to find her real dad. She didn’t have a licence yet but she wanted to drive the car to London. The good thing is that it’s only a two hour drive but they get sidetracked a lot so it’s a lot longer than you think, so yeah. Will she get to london and see her dad or will she die from the rain? Find out in the book H20!

I do think i’ll recommend this book because it’s young adult. So I don’t think your parents will let you read this unless your parents are like mine so yeah. I think I would rate this book from 1-5 stars 5 for me but probably not you. But yeah if you’re ready for people dying and alcohol read it!

Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen

I read a book called Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen. Hatchet’s main character is named Brian. The story takes place in the Canadian wilderness in a few years before modern day. Brian Robeson and a pilot go through a deadly plane crash and only Brian survives. He only has his Hatchet that his mother gave him as a birthday present, and a tattered windbreaker. He has a family secret. His parents are divorced. Now, Brian has to get help.

 

Brian is resourceful, persistent, and smart. He is smart because he knew when to eat, when not to, and when to go outside. He is persistent because when he saw dead bugs in a lake, he used a small dam to block the bugs, and drink the water. He is resourceful because he made fire, and a small home.

 

Two of the most interesting parts of the book were when the plane was crashing. I liked this part because I didn’t know if Brian and/or the pilot would survive. Also, it was full of action. Another interesting part of the book was when Brian saw a bear, and even though the bear didn’t attack Brian, he still was not intimidated. An important quote from the book is when Brian thinks, “Spearwood, he thought, and it rolled all over him…

There were these things to do.” This quote is important because it tells you about Brian’s experience in the Canadian wilderness.

 

I didn’t really like the book, it was too slow, not enough suspense, etc. I’m not saying it was terrible, but it wasn’t the best. But if you like challenging reads, or survival, this is definitely your choice. This book is related to many books, including Holes, Percy Jackson, Spy School, and more. In Spy School, Ben is trying to survive in The Academy of Espionage, in Percy Jackson, Percy, Grover, and Annabeth are trying to survive alone; on a quest. In Holes, (if you read my last review, you already know.) Stanley and Zero are trying to survive at Camp Green Lake. I would give this book a three-star-rating. It was okay.

Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick

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.

Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff

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.  

 

    

Wonder By: R.J. Palacio

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.

George by Alex Gino

“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.

Out of my Mind by Sharon M Draper

The book I read is called Out of my Mind by Sharon M Draper. The book is about a girl named Melody who has cerebral palsy, a disease that doesn’t allow you to talk or walk. In her head she knows so many things but she can’t let the world know because she has no way to talk. Everyone at her school is normal except for the room H-5 where all the kids who have disabilities stay, including Melody. When she moves up to middle school she had inclusion classes that allows her to get along with the other kids. But soon enough she gets a device that helps her talk called a medi-talker. She names it Elvira. The books takes place in Ohio, mostly at her house or her school.

Melody is special, smart, and nice. Melody is special because ever since she was a few months old, things stuck to her and every moment had a word to go with it. She is smart because she knows a lot of things. Anything she learns stick to her because she has a great memory. But know one knows. Melody is nice because she cares about other people. She is thankful for everyone who helps her do things for her. Melody has a hard time eating and drinking by herself. That is why she is nice.

 In the book Melody gets a medi-talker that she names Elvira. It helps her talk in school and at home so she can respond for the first time in her life when people talk to her. But she gets jealous because her sister Penny can walk and talk normally, and she can’t even speak one sentence from herself not from a machine. I think that’s interesting because a lot of people in the world can talk and walk, but some people can’t and it makes me think how lucky I am to have a pair of legs and a working mouth. In the middle the book Melody takes a test to determine if she can be part of the quiz team that takes place in the book. But when they leave to perform on live TV in Washington, they leave without Melody. I thought that was interesting because Melody was the smartest one on the team.That’s what I think made the team loose when she wasn’t there with the rest of the team in Washington DC. Those are two things I found interesting. One quote that would be good to describe the main character would be: “All of my memories have words, and all my words and meanings. But only in my head.” I think this describes the main character because she has a lot of memories and all of them stuck with her throughout her whole life. But she couldn’t tell anyone because they were only in her head.

I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed this book because it was from a point of view from someone different that you would usually see. It taught me how lucky I should be that I can you talk and walk properly. I would recommend this book to anyone because it seem special in a way that I can’t explain. Like I’ve known it in a different universe. This book sort of reminds me of Wonder because August, the main character tries to fit in in school. So does Melody, they both wish they could be normal like everyone else around them. I would rate this book four stars out of five stars which means I really liked it.

 

 

 

 

Extraordinary By Miriam Spitzer

The book I read is Extraordinary by Miriam Spitzer Franklin. This is a book about a girl named Pansy and her friend, Anna. Pansy is always chickening out on stuff, like going to sleepaway camp. After Anna goes to sleepaway camp by herself she gets a very high fever and suffers from brain damage. When Pansy learns Anna is getting a surgery that might cure her she tries to become the most extraordinary person possible to prove to Anna that she won’t always chicken out. She tries to learn how to ice skate/roller skate, cuts her hair to donate, and tries to be number one on the independent reader list. I think this book is set in the New York or upstate New York and takes place in 2017 because there are phones and sleepaway camp is a common thing.

WARNING: THESE PARAGRAPH CONTAINS SPOILERS!

Pansy is dedicated, brave, and caring. She is dedicated because even after she had many big falls roller skating she kept trying. One time, she fell and dogs pulled her across the whole park. She is brave because on the first day of school when she wore mismatching shoes she didn’t care and wore mismatching shoes for the rest of the year. After a few weeks, she made some new friends and they wore mismatching shoes too. Lastly, Pansy is caring because when a boy called Anna a “retard” she stood up for Anna and told him that what he was saying was not nice. In the end, the boy started to be nicer to Pansy. When Pansy is standing up for Anna she says, “There’s no cure for brain damage. It’s like starting over except you’re stuck in this place where you can’t get any better. It doesn’t matter how smart you used to be, how good you were at everything, there is nothing anyone can do. And then you get seizures, so they have to brain surgery. Do you know what happens in brain surgery? First they shave off all your hair. Then they cut open your head and operate on you for hours. You lose a lot of blood. You can get infections. Your family sits in the waiting room and prays for you.” I think this quote shows how caring and sympathetic Pansy is to Anna. She wanted people to know that having brain damage is not an easy thing.

 

One of the most important parts of the book is when Pansy realizes that not being top of the independent reader list is okay. She realizes how hard she worked to win, and that even though she may of not been on the top she tried her hardest. Another important part of the book is when Pansy roller skates to her friends house without falling. I think this is important because after this, she starts to believe in herself more and becomes more confident. Lastly, it is important when Pansy gives a box of Oreos to Anna. After Anna got her surgery, she wasn’t moving her right arm for a few days. When Pansy gives her the oreos she moves her arm to slap the Oreos. This is important because it gives Pansy more hope that Anna will be okay.

Personally, I loved this book. I liked how I could relate to the book because sometimes I chicken out on things. Like Pansy, I get scared when I go roller skating. Also, I liked how the book was sad, but also had some funny moments. For example, when Anna gets brain damage it is sad, but when Pansy gets pulled by dogs it is funny. I would recommend this book to people who like sad books. There are a lot of dramatic moments, so if you are not a sad book person I would not read this book. This book reminds me of Wonder because they both have stad stories except in Extraordinary it’s Pansy’s view. Also, they both include a bit of bullying. I would rate this book 4 ½ stars.