Category Archives: Survival

Jan
05
2015

A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’engle

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wrinklecover9The book that I read is called A Wrinkle In Time. It is written by Madeleine L’engle. The series is called The Wrinkle In time Quintet. The main characters are Meg, Calvin, Charles,  Mr.Murry and Miss Who, Miss Whatsit and Miss Which. The book is about the main characters trying to defeat the Dark thing. There are lots of settings in this book but one of them is called Comotz.

Something that is really interesting is that the author really describes what the characters are feeling and why they are feeling what they are feeling. I found that this book is really complicated so you really have to read slowly. Adding on to what I just said is that sometimes you might have to read the page all over again and then you will get what they’re talking about. Sometimes the author gives you riddles you have to figure out. Meg is very, nice, outgoing and loving. She is nice because when she meets Calvin she helps him and she cares for him. She is outgoing because when she meets Miss Who, Miss Whatsit and Miss Which she does not get all shy, she goes for it and makes friends with them. She is loving because when her brother is in danger she helps him because she loves him.

I thought this book was ok, it was not great but it was not terrible. I like books that have more suspense. And I like books that have a tiny bit of violence in them. I would recommend this book to people who like riddles and to people who like mixed emotions in their books. I wouldn’t recommend this book to people who like violence or to people who don’t like a little love in their books. There is really nothing that I have read that is similar to this book, this book is unique in its own way. I would rate this book a three. I thought it was ok. It was not the best book and I would not read it again.

 

Jan
05
2015

Before We Were free By Julia Alvarez

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The book I read is called Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez. The book is about a girl named Anita. What happens to her is she is in the Dominican Republic and she has a photo of their “president” who she soon finds out is her country’s dictator. Later she finds out about all the horrible things that he has done and also about the crimes that her father has committed. To top it all off she has to deal with being a teenage girl. Its very difficult because she has to deal with her classmates being mean and telling her that her only friends are her cousins. The main setting of the book is the Dominican Republic, Anita’s house and other peoples homes.

Something that surprised me was the story is about a real event that happened in the Dominican Republic. It is known as the Trujillo Times. They call it his because it was such a bad time in the Dominican Republic. Another thing that surprised me was that my great grandmother lived in the Dominican Republic and she had to try to escape because it was so dangerous but she made it out alive without being harmed or stopped. The last thing that surprised me was that my mother’s uncle used to be best friends with Trujillo Jr. who is Trujillo’s son who used to go to school with him when they were  kids. I would describe Anita as adventurous. I say that because she tries to discover what is going on in her life and why its happening. The second adjective would be very quiet because in school she does not have any friends only her cousins and she barely talks to them. She does not like to have much social interaction with friends. The last adjective would be indescribable  because you will never know what she is going to do next.

I can relate to this book very much because a lot of my family is from the Dominican Republic. I’ve heard stories about this time period in the Dominican Republic so I already knew a lot of things about the Trujillo Times. Even if you are not from the Dominican Republic the book is basically an immigration story. I loved this book. I give it five stars.

 

Jan
05
2015

Stay Alive Flood by Joseph Monninger

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searchThe book I read is called Stay Alive Flood by Joseph Monninger. It is the fourth book in the series called Stay Alive. The main characters of the book are Day, Kuru, Ellis, and Carmen. The book takes place in the apartment building that all the kids live in.They are stuck in 10 feet of water from a massive storm that floods the building.The kids have to devise a plan for them to survive the flood and get out alive.

At the beginning of the book the kids barely know each other but once they all realize that there is a flood in their town they join together to find a way out.

In the basement of their apartment building the owner’s son keeps 7 pythons as pets. When the flood occurs the pythons escape from their cages and are set free.

Carmen is wounded by one of the pythons when it wrapped around her neck while she was sleeping. All the kids felt  bad for Carmen and let her rest while they were still trying to find a way out . Day was my favorite character in the book because he’s smart, really nice and athletic. Day was good at chess which shows that he is smart, nice because he took really good care of his younger brother Ellis, Carmen when she was hurt, and played a lot of sports showing he was athletic. By the end of the book  all the kids learned a very valuable lesson in friendship and caring for one other.

I did not like this book because I thought there was too much talking and conversation among the main characters and not a lot of action. Also I did not like the ending because I wanted there to be more action. I would not recommend this book because I found it boring. I did think though that the idea of the story was good and liked the parts where all the kids were helping each other. The book and movie that pops into my head that feels similar to me is the book called The Lost City Of Ember. This book was also about a storm and how two kids had to escape by boat.

 

 

I would give this book 2 stars out of 5.

 

Dec
12
2014

Son by Lois Lowery

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The book I read is called Son, by Lois Lowry. There are four books in the series, number one is called The Giver, number two is Gathering Blue, three is Messenger and the last one is Son. The main characters are: Claire, Jonas, Gabe, and Trademaster. In the book there are Elders, who are the leaders of the community. Their community is a place without freedom, the people never get to choose or pick anything. There are a ton of rules. Every year there is a day called were a group of twelves get assigned a job to do, and a girl named Claire got assigned Birth mother which is when a group of twelve girls give birth to a baby three times then they get out of the Birthing unit and they get to rest for a lot of time. Claire gives birth to her first baby and her eyes are covered up in a mask so she can’t see the baby come out of her body, but the people that are working at the birthing unit call her baby a failure to thrive. So Claire gets sent to the Hatchery where they take care of fishes and their eggs. Secretly, Claire goes out to see her baby and pretend she doesn’t know it’s her baby. Once birth mother’s have their  baby, their baby gets sent off to new parents. So Claire goes every day to see Gabriel her son. One day a person named Jonas runs away from the community, which is against the rules. He takes Gabriel with him, and now Claire has her heart set on finding him.

One very interesting part of the book is when the author describes how Claire felt when she was birthing Gabriel. It’s interesting because I  would describe Claire as heart set, strong, and loving. I really enjoyed reading Son and the whole series.

It’s kind of a mix between fiction and non fiction, but it’s more fiction. I also enjoyed it because it’s also educational at points. I would recommend this series to 3rd grade and up, this series is actually for young adults. I would rate this book four stars.

 

Dec
12
2014

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

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    The book I read was Julie of the Wolves written by Jean Craighead George. This book is part of a series called Julie. The main character is Miyax and she runs away from her home. Then she gets lost in the Arctic with no food and starts to live near a pack of wolves. After that she starts to examine the wolves to see how they communicate. She tries to communicate with some of the wolves to get food.  The book takes place in the Arctic and Alaska.

      In this book Miyax talks about her past and her family which is very important because it explains why she is doing some things. She once talked about her father and how he communicated with the wolves one time when he went hunting and there was no game. He came back with a deer that the wolves gave him and he left soon after that to go hunt seals and he never came back. Miyax also says that she left home and was planning on going  to San Francisco to her pen pal. She takes a lot of risks in this book.  Miyax is adventurous, hopeful, and hard working because she is communicating with wolves which represents all of those traits.

       I thought this book was pretty good because even though there were  some good parts there were some parts I didn’t really like. There were some parts that I thought were strange.  An example is, when Miyax was with the wolves, she noticed that one of them wasn’t staying with the pack.  I think wolves stay together as a pack and they don’t kick one of their kind out.   One of the parts I did like was when Miyax saw her reflection in a pond after weeks of being lost in the Arctic and she was surprised what a mess she was.   I would recommend this book because it is full of adventure.  It is an exciting book about a girl who survives months in the middle of nowhere.  This book reminds me of Hatchet, which was about a boy who gets in a plane crash  on his way to his mom and has to survive in the wilderness with a hatchet that his dad gave him. They are alike because they are both about surviving in the middle of nowhere.  From one to five, I would rate it three stars.

Dec
12
2014

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

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For my book review I read The Borrowers by Mary Norton.The main character is a borrower named Arrietty. A borrower is a tiny person who borrows things that they need from the house they live under.  The book is about Arrietty and her family of borrowers who live under the floor of a house. The setting of the book is under the floor of a house, in the house and the yard.

Something I found interesting was when the boy who stays in the house became friends with Arrietty. That is interesting because borrowers aren’t supposed to become friends with the people who live above them. Arrietty meets the boy when she is out borrowing with her father. The boy sees her in the garden and they start talking and become friends.  Another thing I found interesting was when the boy gave a lot of furniture from a dolls house.  The furniture fits for them because they are tiny. Also because they are tiny food is bigger to them. A crumb would be a scone , a nut would be a loaf of bread and a piece shrimp would be a turkey.I think that Arrietty is brave because she talks to the boy when he could be tricking her.I also think Arrietty is sad because she is stuck in the floor all day. I think Arrietty is curious because she keeps on asking her mom and dad if she can go outside.

I enjoyed the book because it is fantasy, and I enjoy fantasy because anything can happen. I also enjoyed it because it’s about a girl like me and I can imagine what it would be like. I would recommend this book. I would recommend it because when you start it you can’t put it down.I also would recommend it because it is fun to imagine what it would be like if you were a borrower. I think that Stuart Little is similar because it’s about a mouse who becomes friends with a person he’s not supposed to. I also think the Cricket in Times Square is similar because it’s about someone little.I would give it three and a half stars.

 

Dec
12
2014

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

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My book is called The Lost Hero it is written by Rick Riordan. The series is called The Heroes Of Olympus and it is kind of like the Percy Jackson series. The main characters are Jason, Piper, Leo and Coach Hedge. The book is about Jason, Piper and Leo trying to defeat the evil mother earth and her son Porhryion the giant and to save Hera the Queen of Greek gods. There are many settings in the book but one of them is called Camp Half Blood.

Something interesting is that you would think Aphrodite is all about being pretty but really it’s about who you are on the inside and not on the outside. Something that I also like is that you get to learn about the main characters thoughts and feelings descriptively and nicely worded.  Every two chapters each character takes a turn to speak about what their perspective is of what is happening. Something that is really important is that you really understand what the characters are like, and how they think.

I think Piper is really daring, caring and she believes in herself. She is very caring because when Jason is very hurt by a blinding light she really tries to help him. She is daring because even though her dad is hurt she still leaves him with someone she knows will help him. She believes in herself because when she meets a evil princess named Medea she believes that she  can defeat  the evil princess.

I enjoyed this book because the book usually leaves cliffhangers after every chapter. When you really want to know more it just stops and then you get all sad. But then you get into another character and then you go to another characters part. I would recommend this book to people who like gods and for people who like problems you need to solve. Also for people who like a little bit of violence in their book. A similar book is the Kane Chronicles they are written from the same author and they’re also about gods but Egyptian gods. I would rate this book a four out of five, because I wouldn’t read it again but it was a really good book.

Dec
11
2014

The Son Of Neptune by Rick Riordan

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The main characters are Percy, Frank, and Hazel. The story is about when the the main characters go to Alaska to find the prison of Thanos the God of Death to rescue him from the giants. In my book there are a lot of different settings,for example – Camp Jupiter is in San Francisco which is where the story begins.

The three main characters are all demigods. A demigod is a son or daughter of a god.  They go on a quest because Frank’s dad, the War god, asked them to go on a quest. On their quest they go to Portland, Oregon to find a blind man who  can tell them where Thanos’s prison is. The person who told them to see the blind man in Portland was Iris the Rainbow goddess. Iris owned a shop called R.O.F.L. Co-op which was an employee-run cooperative that promoted a healthy lifestyle. Percy has amnesia. Frank and Hazel have a curse. Hazel’s curse is that she could find gold and riches under the earth. This is a bad thing because the gold made Alcyoneus reform. Alcyoneus is a giant. Frank’s curse is that his life depends on a driftwood stick. If it burns, he will die.

I think this book is interesting because there is a lot of action in it. There are different sections to the story and they all come together like a puzzle. I like the main characters because they fight evil basilisks (fire breathing snakes). I would recommend this book to anyone who likes action because my book has a lot of action in it.

I would give this book five stars.  *****

Dec
11
2014

The Lost Hero by Rick Roirdan

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My book is The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan. The main characters are Piper, Leo and Jason. They all have one godly parent and a mortal parent. Also Piper can tell anyone what to do with charm speak, Leo can summon fire and Jason can summon lighting. Piper is the daughter of  Aphrodite (Goddess of Love), Jason is the son of Zeus (God of the Sky and king of the Gods) and Leo is the son of Hephaestus (God of Fire and Blacksmiths).

The main problem is the main characters are trying to stop Gaea from destroying the Gods. Gaea is mother Earth (Goddess of Earth). The story takes place in many locations but the main area is New York.

Trying to stop Gaea by killing all her different monsters is the main theme of the story. They have many different ways to kill them like using lightning to kill Giants. Piper, Leo and Jason have ADHD to make their fighting more enhanced. What I mean by enhanced is they have more energy to fight. They are part of an important prophecy. A prophecy is something good or bad that will happen in the future.

I loved this book. I recommend this book to people who read the Percy Jackson books or anyone who likes adventure and Greek mythology. I rate this book five stars because it is an awesome story and it takes your mind on a roller-coaster of dreams.

 

 

 

By Antonio Ruiz

Dec
11
2014

Poppy by Avi

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           I read Poppy by Avi. The main characters are Poppy and Mr. Ocax. Poppy is a mouse and Mr. Ocax is an owl. The main problem is that the mouse population is growing and there isn’t enough food to feed them all. They have to move to a place with more food but Mr.Ocax won’t let them move. It takes place in the woods.

                  At the beginning of the story, one day Poppy and her boyfriend Ragweed go to Bannock Hill because Ragweed thought that it would be romantic if he asked Poppy to marry him on Bannock Hill. Then Mr. Ocax flies down and eats  Ragweed up and Poppy feels really sad. After that Mr. Ocax wants to eat Poppy but Poppy saves herself and only gets a little scratch on her forehead. Poppy makes a big decision to go through Dimwood Forest all by herself. Mr. Ocax made the mice think that he is the boss and he protects them from porcupines but. Then Poppy figures out that he’s lying and that he’s the one afraid of porcupines and porcupines are vegetarian. He doesn’t want them to move because then he will lose his food.

         I enjoyed this book because sometimes it leaves you at a cliffhanger when you just want to read more and find out what’s going to happen. I also think it is fun when the animals are talking. I also really enjoyed this book because it has a lot of feeling at the end of the book. I would recommend this book to people who like books about animals or books that are a little scary or people who like mysteries. I rate this book 4 stars out of five stars.