Category Archives: Realistic Fiction

Genre

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!

Mar
01
2016

George’s Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl

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51ctcmuIfFL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_I am reading George’s Marvelous Medicine written by Roald Dahl. It is a story about an eight-year-old boy named George who is an only child who lives on a farm far far away from other kids. One afternoon after his mom and dad left, George and his Grandma were left alone. George has one major problem; his Grandma is evil (really really mean). She punishes George for growing so much he tries to shake her up a bit by making her a new medicine.

George dumps out Grandma’s medicine and makes her a new one out of all types of stuff.  He puts in shaving cream, soap, hair removal cream, nail polish, nail polish remover,  toothpaste  and deodorant from the bathroom. Next, he goes to the kitchen he puts in three bottles of gin (a type of alcohol which makes Grandma go crazy), chili peppers and a bottle of dish detergent. This is one of the funniest parts of the story because I can not imagine eating any of these things. The effect of this medicine is that it makes Grandma grow and grow and grow. This is very shocking to George and makes him have the idea to feed it to the animals.

Even though George was not too kind to his Grandma, he is really a kind person. He said  “I would not dare touch the medicine, mom said It could kill a man.” Even Though he wanted to shake Grandma up a bit, He did not want a dead body on my hands.” This is kind because he does want to kill Grandma. He is a bit of a scaredy cat for example he is scared of his own Grandma. George is creative. He is creative because he made his own medicine.

I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend this book. I enjoyed this book because it is really, really funny.  I would recommend this book as a book review book because it is the perfect length. This book is similar to most Roald Dahl books because it have a evil grandma. I would rate this book 4.9 stars.

By JAck BARKER

Feb
24
2016

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

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9780553751758The title of my book is called Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. The main character’s name is Won-a-pa-lie which means The Girl with Long Black Hair. Her secret name is Karana (she is a Native American). The setting of the book is on an island in the middle of the sea and the time of the book is in the mid-1800s. The main problem in the book is that Karana is living on an island all by herself with no people, just animals. She has to survive all alone, just by the things she remembers.  One big event in the book is when a boat came and took all of her people, including Karana, away from an island (the people from the boat were nice people) and Karana’s tribe brought all of their stuff with them. But her little six year old brother went to get his fishing spear at the last second and the boat left without him. One minute later when the boat had not moved that far away from the island Karana noticed that her brother was not with her. She looked back to the island and there her brother was running on the island to the boat. Karana had to decide if she wanted to stay on the boat with her people and leave her brother behind or jump off of the boat and leave her people to be with her brother. She decided to jump off of the boat and be with her brother. That is important because it changes the whole story and it means that she cares more about her brother then everything else. One part of the book I thought was really interesting was how she made stuff, like her fence and her house. I think that is interesting because she was so creative about what she made it out of because she did not have that much stuff to build with. For example, she made her fence out of whale bones.

One adjective that describes Karana is brave. She is brave because she survived on an island all by herself. Another adjective that describes the main character is skillful. Karana is skillful because she can make a bow and arrow, house, a lamp made out of a fish and a fence made out of whale bones.The last adjective that describes the main character is loving. She is loving because she jumped off of the boat and left everything and everyone she knew and had, to be with her brother.  After Karana jumped off of the boat and swam back to the island to be with her brother. She thought “I felt the sand under my feet and saw him standing at the edge of the waves, holding his fishing spear and looking so forlorn, I forgot all those things I had planned to to do. Instead I fell to my knees and put my arms around him.” This quote/thought makes me understand the main character because it tells me that Karana cares more about her brother than creating a new life at the new island and all of her belongings.

I liked this book because it was very interesting. The parts I found interesting were how she made the things she used to survive, for example, it was interesting how she made a fence, a lamp and weapons.  (It also won a Newbery award so it has to be good). I would recommend this book because I thought it was very interesting. It also grabbed my attention and made me want to read it a lot. This book reminds me of a book called Swiss Family Robinson. The thing that is sort of in common is that the family was shipwrecked and they had to survive on an island by themselves. I would give this book a five star rating!                                                                                                                                                    

Jan
15
2016

How To Handle a Bully, by Nancy Wilcox Richards

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imgres-1My book review is on How To Handle a Bully by Nancy Wilcox Richards. There are several main characters in the book. They are Rilla, Cameron, Olivia, Oliver, Lauren, and Nicholas. The book is about Rilla, her friends, and enemies. Rilla and her friends are training at the playground to win a new Xtreme bike in a fitness competition. Cameron and his gang, Olivia and Oliver, bully Rilla, Lauren, and Nicholas. Cameron and his gang hog all the playground equipment. If Rilla and her friends can’t train on the playground equipment, they won’t be able to improve and win the fitness challenge. The book takes place at Rilla’s school and the playground near her house in the springtime.

 

Kids learned about the fitness challenge at school. There were a lot of events at the fitness challenge including monkey bars, pull-ups, tire run and bike riding. Rilla did not know how to ride a bike without training wheels. Training wheels were not allowed at the challenge. Rilla was very scared of riding a bike without training wheels because the last time she tried, she fell and hurt herself. Lauren and Nicholas convinced Rilla that they could teach her to ride a two wheel bike. Rilla decided to be brave and try. By the fitness challenge, Rilla could do it! Rilla had another big challenge. Cameron and his gang bullied Rilla and her friends and scared them away from the playground. It was hard to train when they were scared away from the playground equipment. One day Rilla and her friends were riding by the playground. They saw that Cameron was alone and stuck. Rilla knew this was her chance to get back at Cameron and she took advantage of it. The next day Rilla, Lauren,  and Nicholas went to the park with more of their friends in case Cameron was there. When Cameron told Rilla and her friends to get lost, Rilla stood up to him. Cameron and his gang decided to leave the playground when they saw all of Rilla’s friends. This was important because Rilla wasn’t scared anymore. She believed she could win the fitness challenge.

 

Rilla is a really nice and fair girl. Instead of trying to scare Cameron and his friends away from the playground, she told them that they should share the equipment. In parts of the book, Rilla was really scared. She was afraid of riding a bike without training wheels and she was also afraid of being bullied by Cameron and his gang. Rilla showed that she was confident too. She was the best in her class at doing pull-ups and was one of the fastest kids on the monkey bars. One quote that really shows who Rilla is, is “I’d love to win that bike. But you know, I don’t really care who wins, as long as it’s not a River Rat.” The River Rats are Cameron and his gang. This quote shows who Rilla is as a person because she says that she doesn’t care who wins. She would be happy for anyone who wins as long as they are nice.

 

I loved this book because it’s a cute story about a group of kids trying to win a fitness challenge. This book is an awesome book for kids in third and fourth grade to read. How To Handle A Bully is a good book for people who like sports and for anyone who’s had an experience with bullies. I would recommend this book because anyone can read and enjoy it. Also, it’s a good book for schools and students because it teaches kids important lessons about bullying. I haven’t read any other books or seen shows that have bullying. I would give this book a five star rating.

 

Jan
15
2016

The Lemonade War, by Jacqueline Davies

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imgresThe book I am reviewing is titled The Lemonade War. It was written by Jacqueline Davies. The book was based on a real story because the author has two children that had lemonade wars all the time. It is about two siblings that used to get along really well but then they got into a fight, so they decided to have a lemonade selling contest because they both loved selling lemonade together. Their lemonade war meant whoever sold the most lemonade by Labor Day which is towards the end of the summer won all the money they earned. The main characters in my book are Evan and Jessie Treski. Evan and Jessie are going into 4th grade but Jessie is eight and Evan is nine. They live in a suburban neighborhood. This book takes place in the five days before Labor Day.

 

Evan is kind because whenever he is mean to his sister he tries to make-up for his mistake. There was one part in the beginning of the book where he was embarrassed because he would be in her class and he wanted to scream at her but he didn’t because he did not want to hurt her feelings. Evan is also jealous because when Jessie was selling lemonade with his crush, named Megan, Evan wanted to do the lemonade stand with Megan. Evan is also understanding. He is very careful about other people’s feelings. That is why he doesn’t like to yell at his sister.

 

One part of the book that I liked was when Jessie tells Evan that Megan likes him. She asks, “Evan, Megan really likes you. Do you know that?” I liked that part because the reader gets a lot of information about how Evan feels. I think that Evan felt very relaxed because he likes Megan too. Evan’s reaction to that was a blush. I think he was very happy to hear that Megan liked him.

 

Evan made a big decision when he said that he would do the competition because he says in the book that he was not made for competitions. The competition brought the two characters farther apart but at the end of the book they are closer than ever. Jessie asked if Evan wanted to play a game with her and Evan said “You ruin everything. You ruined my summer and now you are going to ruin school!” that shows that he is uncomfortable with her in his grade. Through the competition, Evan learned that he could trust Jessie. He realized that Megan and Jessie were honest with each other. He learned from them, that he still had things to learn, even from his younger sister.

 
I enjoyed this book because it reminds me of me and my other because we have fights sometimes, but we always make-up at the end. The book also reminds me of the summer because I sell a lot lemonade at my own stand outside of my building. There was one time I was selling lemonade and a group of tourists from India had a selfie stick and wanted to take a selfie with me. I recommend this book to kids that are interested in business. There are things in this book about business that are good to know. This book is kind of like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing because it is about siblings that fight a lot. I would rate this book three stars because it was pretty good.

Jan
15
2016

Robin Hood, by Grahame Baker-Smith and David Calcutt

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imagesRobin Hood by David Calcutt and Grahame Baker-Smith.Robin Hood is the main character in the story of Robin Hood. Robin Hood’s main idea is to free poor people from having to pay huge taxes. This is because the king of England, who everybody loved, was away and his brother took over the country. This happened in the early 1100s. Part of the reason why it is such a big problem that the king was giving such big taxes is that some of the poor people could not pay the taxes. Then they got hung or  tortured and then killed. Robin Hood builds a band of outlaws to stop all of this nonsense.

One big part of this book is when Robin Hood goes to an archery tournament between the head sheriff and his guards. Robin Hood is there and he is a very very skilled archer. While the sheriff’s guards are shooting, Robin Hood has a hood over his face and he is standing and chuckling with his grin hidden under his cloak. Although the sheriff does not know it is Robin Hood, by the first sight of him he knows this man is trying to make fun of them. So, he calls him over and asks him to join the contest and bet some money. Now the sheriff shoots a very, very good shot, but Robin Hood shoots right down the middle of the bullseye and splits the wood of the sheriff arrow for the win.

This book has a ton of action too. One place that shows it has a lot of action is when Robin Hood sees a man on the other side of a bridge that he is crossing. Only one man can cross the bridge at a time, so Robin Hood challenges the man to a staff duel. Although the man does not know that Robin Hood is only saying this to see if the man is a good fighter and maybe a good recruit for his outlaw band. They have their duel, and little John, after a little while, knocks Robin Hood off his feet and into the water. This is when Robin Hood invites Little John to join his band of outlaws.

The biggest decision that Robin Hood makes in the whole book is to become an outlaw. This is so important because now the government is after him and he cannot live freely. He makes this decision because he feels it is wrong that King John is making such a high tax rate and then torturing people if they can’t pay for it.

Robin Hood is very, very brave. One place that shows this is when he is brave enough to shoot down seven government warriors. This is so brave because it is a death penalty for murder. His reason for doing this is that these government warriors were trying to kill him and they were bad men who had tortured and killed many people. One of the biggest words that I would use to describe Robin Hood is strong. He is probably the strongest character of any character I have ever come across  in all the books I have ever read. There are many places that show he is extremely strong. One of them is how he can climb up to the top of trees almost as tall as apartment buildings. Climbing up a tree may seem easy, but it takes tons of core strength. Another big part of Robin Hood’s personality is that he is very polite for an outlaw. Even though he is a little violent, he does these things for a good cause. He also has very good manners and is polite. One place where Robin Hood is polite is when he says,  “You’d have to go a long way to find a better swordsman than Little John.” He is quick to notice the good in other people.

I like this book very much. One of the reasons why I like it is because I like a lot of action. If you like action, this book has a lot if it. Another thing that I like about this book is that it is not too long, or too short. I would recommend this book to people who like action. This book is also very interesting because you don’t just read a story, you feel like you are there in the story. One thing to know about this book though, is that if you cannot handle a little bit of drama and suspense then this book might have too much of that for you. One thing this book reminds me of is the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty. This reminds me of Sleeping Beauty because there are very many versions of this book and movie. If I were to rate this book, I would give it a four ½ out of five.

Jan
15
2016

It’s Like This, Cat by Emily Cheney Neville

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818095The book I’m reviewing is called It’s Like This, Cat, by Emily Cheney Neville. The main characters are a cat named Cat and a boy named Dave. Cat is Dave’s cat. Dave is trying to achieve a lot of thing but one is to get his own pet. The book takes place in the 1950s in lower Manhattan.

One very big part was when he and his best friend Nick had a fight and wouldn’t talk to each other for a week or two. The fight was about Dave being grumpy about the movie they had seen with some girls. This is really important because Nick and Dave do pretty much everything together and now won’t talk to each other or hang out. One thing that is important is that Dave goes on his first date with a girl named Mary. This is interesting because Dave doesn’t seem like a kid who would go on dates because he is calm and low key. He doesn’t seem like a guy girls would want to go out with, or like a guy who would want to go out with girls. The date is also important for the plot because he can share everything going on at home with Mary. Another thing that is important is that Cat runs away into a cellar of a building and gets stuck in a cage. When Dave got down to the cellar a college age boy freed Cat.

An adjective to describe Dave is that he is brave. He is brave because he fights his best friend when his best friend insults him. Dave is also good in school. He is a good good in school because he took extra classes because he was smart. Dave is also friendly. He is friendly because a lot of kids want to hang out with him. One quote that helped me understand Dave better is he said “Do I have to pay for the girl at the movies,” said Dave. This helped me learn about Dave because it meant that he liked the girl but he was not willing to pay for her.
 I really liked this book because it told me a lot about the 1950s and the story was told very well. I also really liked this book because I never spaced out because the book was boring. I would recommend this book to someone who likes history.  I would also recommend this book to someone who likes Historical fiction. This book doesn’t really remind me of anything because I don’t read a lot about the past. I would rate this book four stars.

Jan
15
2016

Blubber, by Judy Blume

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c87aad5d03ccd04cd73b144299d63bf4812a2bd7The name of my book is Blubber, by Judy Blume. The main characters, Linda, Wendy, Jill, Caroline, and Tracy, live in a suburb called Hidden Valley. The main problem in the book is that Linda is a little overweight for her age and gets bullied non stop at school by Jill, Wendy, and Caroline. Linda knows she can’t tell on the three girls, because Wendy rules fifth grade, and she would punish Linda for the rest of the year, so Linda keeps her mouth shut.

One important part of the book is when Linda gets her nickname Blubber, which becomes her name for the rest of the story. Linda writes a report on whales, and she is talking about blubber, which is fat on a whale. Wendy, the mean girl in school, said that they are going to call Linda Blubber from now on, because Linda is also fat. Once Linda gets her nickname, all the girls start to pick on her and pressures Linda into doing things. Some things that the girls do to Blubber are make her kiss fat boys and make her say, “Hi, I’m Blubber, a smelly whale.” Towards the end of the book something big happens. Linda and Wendy become friends and now start bullying Jill. This is so important because Linda went from being bullied, to being the bully.

One of the main characters is Wendy, who is mean, controlling, and selfish. Wendy is mean because she spends all of her time bullying other people just to make them feel bad. Wendy is controlling because she demands so much from the people around her. Also, Wendy is selfish, because she only cares about herself and nobody else. One day all the kids turn against Wendy, because they have had enough. Wendy is so tough she looks at them and says, “you will regret being mean to me.” Just imagine having Wendy in your class every day.

I enjoyed Blubber because I could read the book by myself, without any help. Another reason that I loved Blubber is that there is bullying. I love when there is bullying in a book, because it is fascinating to see how the characters solve all of their problems at the end of the book. I recommend Blubber, because you can really get into the book, and that makes you understand the characters more. Also the book is short, only 153 pages, so it is good if you need to write a book review and can’t have a long book. My book Blubber is kind of like the other book I did for a book review, Schooled. Blubber is like Schooled, because they are both about bullying. Overall, I would rate Blubber four stars.   

 

Jan
14
2016

Hit and Miss By Derek Jeter and Paul Mantell

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My book is called Hit And Miss by Derek Jeter and Paul Mantell. This book is fiction based upon Derek Jeter’s life. The book takes place in Beverly Hills, California in 1977. The main character is Derek Jeter. Derek Jeter is now a legend. He used to play shortstop for the Yankees.This book is about a kid who has moved from New Jersey to Beverly Hills.

Derek as a kid was not any different from every other kid. In little league he played for the Red Sox. And he always loved baseball. Derek had a hard time fitting in as a kid. When he made a friend the other kids would make fun of him even more. But he did not care. For example, he would never listen to the people making fun of him. He would just walk away without a care. Derek would always play and practice baseball, he was always so dedicated. For example whenever his friends were going to an arcade or something he would always go home to play or practice baseball.

I enjoyed this book because it was very interesting and really made me think about the story. I liked how Derek would always think about the moment and nothing else. Every time one of his friends would ask him if he thought he would win or lose in a baseball game he would always say, “We’ll see later”. Derek would always set his mind on one thing and completely focus on it. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves baseball because the whole story kind of circles around baseball. I would also recommend this book to any Yankee fans. I would give this book 4 1/2 stars.

Jan
14
2016

Henry Huggins By Beverly Cleary

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81VDSr07o4LHenry Huggins by Beverly Cleary, is about a nine year old boy who is pretty normal. The main character is Henry Huggins. He lives with his mom and dad in a house on Klickitat Street during the 1950’s. One day Henry finds a dog and names it Ribsy and brings it home. Ribsy gets Henry into a lot of trouble. For example, Henry, accidently throws a very expensive football in a car because Ribsy barked at him. Ribsy saw a car coming that Henry did not see, so Henry let go of the football because he was so surprised by Ribsy’s bark. The ball belonged to his friend Scooter. So Henry has to buy another football for Scooter by Sunday and if he does not, he’s going to be in BIG trouble. Henry was also going to buy the football that Scooter had but now he has to buy two and they are very expensive.

Some adjectives that describe Henry are kind, funny, and hardworking. Henry is kind because he took good care of his guppies. Henry is funny because he says “Golly” a lot which in my opinion is funny. Henry is hardworking because he earns enough money to pay for Scooters football by collecting Nightcrawlers (which are worms for fishing). One interesting part in the story is when Henry finds Ribsy. Henry finds Ribsy outside the drugstore on his way home. He tries to bring Ribsy home on the bus, but the bus driver tells him he has to put Ribsy in a box. It takes three tries before Henry gets on the bus with Ribsy. Henry gets in trouble with Ribsy on the bus and a police car comes and brings Henry and Ribsy home.  Another interesting part is when Henry is in a school play and he gets the part of a little boy and does not like it. Henry is very angry because everyone is making fun of him. Ribsy saves Henry by spilling green paint on Henry’s face so he has to play a green elf and not the little boy. One thing that changes the story is when Ribsy wins a dog show and Henry and Ribsy become popular.

I like Henry Huggins. Henry gets in trouble a lot and he is always really funny. I really like the part when the green paint falls on Henry’s face. I also like the part when Henry finds Ribsy. I would recommend this book to everyone because there are no bad words or bathroom humor and it’s a good book. I also recommend this book because it’s almost like a real story from a long time ago. Henry Huggins is a realistic fiction book. This book reminds me a little bit of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days. I would rate this book four stars.⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is the first book in the Henry series and I recommend reading the other books in the series, even though I have not read them yet.