Category Archives: Realistic Fiction

Genre

Feb
16
2017

Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Smart Miss Know It All , by Rachel Renee Russell

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In this book the main character is a girl named Nikki. The main plot in this book is that sometimes the main character makes bad decisions and then needs to fix them. Also after she made the bad decision she has a hard time fixing it. For example at a sleepover she got dared to do something that was crazy and she actually did it. In this book it takes place in probably 2017. I think that it takes place in 2017 because she has a portable  phone. She maybe lives in the suburbs because a girl that Nikki is not friends with has a back yard.

The main character is sometimes very unmotivated, busy, and concerned.

Nikki is unmotivated a lot because she makes a problem and then tries to fix and it does not work and she gets really unmotivated and does not want to try again. For example Nikki tries to get a job working at the school and does not get it. After that she just gave up. Luckily her friends made her go back. Nikki is also busy because she is always dealing with a problem or an activity. In the book she has a problem with the girl she does not like and then that got her into a busy job. Nikki is concerned a lot because she is trying to fix one of her problems and she does not know what is going to happen.

In the book I found it interesting that she thought all the exercises she had to do for PE were not what they were supposed to be. For example she thought a curl up was curling her hair. Something that is important to the story is that her friends are really supportive. That is important because if her friends were not supportive she would not fix her problems because she would just give up. In the book it is also important that Nikki has an arch-nemesis. I think this is really important because if she didn’t she probably would not have as many problems. Also almost every problem she has her arch-nemesis is in it.

I enjoyed this book so, so much. In almost every chapter something makes me laugh hysterically. In one chapter she told a man she was going to the bathroom and then came back quickly because she really did not have to go. When she came back, he wondered why she was back so quickly when she said she was going to the bathroom. Another funny thing is that in one of the chapters a cat attacked her. You did not see it coming at all. Also in the book the main character Nikki is a lot like Greg in Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I think this because they are both getting themselves into big problems. In Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Greg and his brother don’t always get along. In Dork Diaries it is the same but Nikki has a little sister. I would really recommend this book because it is so funny and there is always something happening. If I had to rate this book I would give it five stars because I would love to read it again.  

 

  

Feb
16
2017

The War that Saved my Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

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This review has spoilers so if you don’t want the book spoiled don’t read this review. I read “The War that Saved my Life” by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. This is the story of ten-year-old Ada, who has never been allowed to leave her one room apartment. Her abusive mother is too embarrassed to let her go outside because of her clubfoot. She cooks, takes care of her six-year-old brother Jamie, and sees the outside world only through a window. When Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada decides to leave with him, without telling her mother. When they arrive in the countryside, Ada and Jamie are sent to live with a woman named Susan Smith. With Susan, Ada is able to go outside, learn how to read and write, and is taken care of. The setting of the book is London and Kent, England in 1939, during World War II.

Ada Smith is determined, caring, and imaginative. She is determined because she teaches herself to walk so she can escape from London with her brother, Jamie, despite the physical pain this causes her. Ada also teaches herself to ride Susan’s horse, Butter, when she moves to the country. Ada is caring because she has been her brother’s caretaker and protector since he was born. She is imaginative because she when she feels scared or unsafe, Ada escapes by transporting herself to another place in her mind.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the book is when Ada rescues her neighbor Margaret, who had fallen off her horse. I found this interesting because Margaret, who is wealthy and well-educated, had looked down on Ada when she first arrived as a poor evacuee from London. The girls eventually become friends after Ada returns Margaret home safely. It was also interesting when Mam came to collect Ada and Jamie from Susan’s house in the country. Mam had been abusive to the children when they lived with her.  She had also never replied to any of Susan’s letters, so it was shocking when she arrived.

I enjoyed reading “The War That Saved My Life”. It was entertaining because there was a happy ending. When Ada and Jamie’s mother came to collect them from Susan’s house, it seems like they have to return forever to a life of abuse and neglect with their mother. The book ends happily when Susan comes to London to rescue the children from their mother. I also learned about World War II in an interesting way by reading the book. I wouldn’t typically choose historical fiction, but this book is a page turner. I recommend this book because it keeps the reader’s attention and is hopeful. Ada reminds me of Anne Frank because of her bravery. I would give this book 5 stars.

 

Feb
16
2017

Out Of My Mind, By Sharon M. Draper

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This book review is about Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper.  It takes place in no named state.  All we know is that it is in the USA.  The time is the present.  Melody is the main character and she is mute and disabled.  She has cerebral palsy.  The only thing in her body she can control is her thumbs.  Rose is Melody’s only friend.  Melody lives her life misunderstood.  A doctor asked her questions to figure out how smart she is.  She knew the answers but could not speak.  She had to be put in the “disabled kid” room.  In the book she says,“Doctors. Where do I start? Doctors really don’t get me.  Mom’s a nurse, so I guess she speaks their language, but they sure don’t know how to speak to me.”

Melody is smart, emotional, friendly, and probably fun to be around.  She is smarter than everyone in H-5, her class.  And she can’t tell anybody, but her mom knows, “Melody laughs at my jokes, right at the punchline!” and “Melody is able to figure out things, communicate, and manage in a world where nothing works right for her.  She’s the one with the true intelligence!”  Melody can get emotional, like when everyone thought she was dumb just because she has cerebral palsy.  She felt bad.  She was crying.  “I stuck out my lip and stared at the wall.  ‘Leave me alone!’ I said.” Melody is friendly and almost never gets mad at people.  She took Rose on a trip, even though Rose can be mean to Melody sometimes.  But Melody took her anyways.  Being put in the “disabled kid” room, when she gets the Medi-Talker, is a HUGE breakthrough.  The Medi-Talker is a computer that will talk for her.  Then she can go to inclusion classes with regular kids.  This is important because she wants to be normal and now she is with normal kids.  But then her sister, Penny, gets hit by a car.  I am going to leave a cliffhanger so you can find out what happens to her.  Another important part of the book is the Wiz Kid Quiz Team Competition.  Melody wants to join her school’s team (her school is Spalding Street Elementary School). This is hard because she is disabled.  She is underestimated, but she aces her try-outs and makes the team!  This is a turning point in the book because she now proves she is smart.  Their team beats the first two teams and on to Washington D.C for the finals they go.  The “team”  goes to breakfast without her, because somebody needs to spoon feed her.  When Melody and her family get to the airport they see that the plane is cancelled.  But the rest of the team got on the early plane because they went to breakfast without Melody.  I’m not going to tell you the end…you will see for yourself.

I really liked this book.  On a scale of 1–10 it is an 8.  I liked that the whole book was written as an assignment that the teacher, Miss Gordon, gives her. The assignment is to write a autobiography.  If you like “Wonder” you will probably like this book, and if you like “Out Of My Mind” you will probably like “Wonder.” The characters are alike, and the book content is similar.

Jan
27
2017

Boy Ends Up in Prison Camp for Being Mistaken by Police

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An important event in the book I’m reading(Holes) is probably when Stanley Yelnats tells the people/ people at his camp that the “crime” that he committed was by “stealing” a shoe. Stanley said that he was just walking down the street and a shoe just flew into his hand and apparently the shoe belonged to a very famous baseball player that was being given to a homeless shelter. The reason he ended up in the prison camp is because if you were in court it would be a pretty unbelievable if you said that the shoe flew into your hand. So he was considered guilty and went to the prison camp. It is a very good book, I would really recommend it. 

Jan
26
2017

Treasure Hunters Secret of the Forbidden City by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein

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Parents Kidnapped, Kids Save the Day

The kidds are riding away from the kidnappers and they have the treasure.

In the book Treasure Hunters Secret of the Forbidden City, the bad guy in the book (A German criminal) has kidnapped the Kidd families’ mom, and their dad might be dead. The Kidd family are treasure hunters and the mom and dad are CIA agents. The kidnappers are trying to get the treasure map to find the treasure, which is valuable artwork, and that is why they kidnap the mom. They hold the mom for ransom, the treasure. The Kidd’s dad said the Kidd kids need to find his treasure map to save their mom. The kids, 2 girls and 2 boys, spend the whole book trying to find the map and that is basically what the book is about. They will get their mom back if they find the map.

An important part in this book is at the end when the Kidd kids defeat the kidnappers and are reunited with their mom and dad on their boat in Germany. The kids have a different plan. Instead of finding the map for the kidnappers, they use their dad’s clues to find the actual treasure so the kidnappers can’t have it, which is what they really want. The kidnappers chase them to a river in Germany where they the kids see their parents boat. Then the kids see the kidnappers heading towards their parents. It is a suspenseful scene where the kids go into the water and push one of the kidnappers off the edge of a waterfall. The reader doesn’t know if they bad guys will win and take their parents again or if the kids will get their parents back. It is important because the book is about them finding their parents and finally they found their parents.

Jan
26
2017

The Fourteenth Goldfish By Jennifer L. Holm

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A Brilliant Discovery

The book i’m reading is The Fourteenth Goldfish by  Jennifer L. Holm. The most important event so far in the book is when Ellie’s grandfather injects himself with a liquid in a Jellyfish that causes anti-aging and he then appears as a 14 year old boy. Ellie’s grandfather is a scientist and talks about things that she does not yet know about, but after living with him for a few months she starts finding her inner science. It is important because her grandfather inspires her to be a scientist later on in her life. I think this is a great book to read because it will teach you new things . This was a good book, you should go read it!

Jan
26
2017

Paperboy by Vince Vawter

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Paperboy Pitches Something Besides Papers

A really important event in the story, Paperboy, is that the main character becomes a paperboy.  This happens because the soon to become paperboy is the best pitcher in his grade. He pitched a baseball, and that ball went into Art, his best friend’s, face. Art was the actual paperboy so our main character became the substitute paperboy. This event is important because he stutters and it gets him to talk to a lot more people.  Most of the people are very nice on his paper route, some of them are not. There is a lady on his paper route named Mrs. Worthington. Every house he tries to say a word that is troubling him like basketball or pitch. When he came to Mrs. Worthington’s house he said the word pitch.  She thought he said a different word, maybe a bad word.  There is another person named Mr. Spiro. The first time the paperboy goes to Mr. Spiro’s house to deliver a paper Mr. Spiro is sitting on his porch. They start having a long conversation and at the end of the conversation, Mr. Spiro asks the paperboy a dreaded question, “What is your name.”  When the paperboy tries to say his name he gets so stuck on the V sound he faints. Mrs. Worthington is important because he has a really strong relationship with her towards the end of the book. Mr. Spiro is very important because he also has a strong relationship with the paperboy and rich conversation.  He also persuades the paperboy to talk a lot more and the paperboy doesn’t like to talk because of his stuttering. Mr. Spiro also knows some tricks to help the paperboy talk better. Once he said if we say “this word” in unison will it help you. The paperboy nodded, and guess what, it worked. I know you’re asking “what is this kids name”? I don’t really know, but it doesn’t make the book any different. This is a really good book. I recommend reading it. In the book they change Art’s name into rat because it is easier for the paperboy to pronounce. The names in this book may be confusing but the story is great and realistic.  

Jan
26
2017

A Ring Of Endless Light By: Madeline L’Engle

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Vicky Austin can Communicate With Dolphins

A important moment from A Ring of Endless Light is… almost 16 year old Vicky Austin is staying with her family in Seven Bay Island for the summer because her grandfather is dying. Vicky meets Adam, a friend of her brother John, who is a scientist who studies dolphins.

When Vicky is invited to Adam’s lab, they discover to understand and communicate with dolphins. She provides a lot of help for a Adams research on dolphin and communicate.That is why you should read the book.

Jun
14
2016

Are You There God Its Me Margaret by, Judy Blume

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The book I read is are Are You There God Its Me Margaret by, Judy Blume. This book was about  a girl named Margaret who moved from New York City to the suburbs. And meets a girl named Nancy who is in the same class as her Mr. Benedict’s Sixth Grade. The end up being friends. Nancy also stared a club called the PTs’s which stands for Pre Teen Sensations. If I had to give the book a rating it would be five stars.

Password: littlered!

Penny’s Book project from LREI on Vimeo.

Jun
14
2016

HOLES BY LOUIS SACHAR

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518Ts+tXaLLI read the book Holes by Louis Sachar. The main character is: Stanley. The main problem is that Stanley got sent to Camp Green Lake for no reason. (Camp Green Lake is a camp for kids who do bad things. Or is i?…) All they do is dig holes that are five feet deep and wide. It’s not a good place to be. The setting of the book is Camp Green Lake because the nearest town would be five miles away by car.

One big event that happened is: Zero (a boy from Camp Green Lake that he’s friends with) runs away and Stanley runs after him, but when they find each other, they are already the middle of nowhere. This event is so important because when they can’t find the camp, they realize that they need food or water. And fast. Two parts of the book that were my favorite is: at the end of the book when Stanley goes home with Zero because Zero finally finds a home. Another example is when Stanley gets his nickname, Caveman, because you know it’s a start to a good book.

One adjective to describe Stanley’s personality is brave, because he realizes that Camp Green Lake is wanting something, but they have to dig it up. Another adjective that describes Stanley is kind, because he rescued Zero from the waste land. The last adjective is clumsy, because he is the slowest digger, and also because he falls a lot. One quote that helped me understand Stanley’s personality is: “I always seem to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time.” Why that made me understand him, is because that means he is brave, because he has to stand up to who ever is there, and figure things out.

I really enjoyed the book, because the author made you feel like you were there. Another reason is that it is a book that has a bunch of things whipped into it. Drama, humor, sadness, and adventure. I would recommend the book, because like I just said, it has whatever kind of book you’re into. It really has a story to tell. I would give this book four and a half stars.