Dec
11
2015

The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan

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imagesI am reading The Lightning Thief book one in the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. In my book, the main characters are Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon(God of the Sea),  Grover, a Satyr (a half goat half man), and Annabeth, daughter of Athena (the Goddess of Wisdom). Percy Jackson’s problems start after he thinks his mother is dead and discovers that Poseidon is his father. Then when Zeus thinks that Poseidon has stolen his precious lightning bolt called the Master Bolt, Percy Jackson is given a quest to get the lightning bolt (the strongest weapon in the world). Percy thinks that Hades stole the bolt to create an argument between Poseidon and Zeus, so he sets out to get the bolt from Hades and give it back to Zeus to clear his father’s name.  The Lightning Thief takes place during the 20th century in the United States and has Greek mythological creatures and gods running around and living with mortals, otherwise known as humans.

Percy sets off on his quest with Grover and Annabeth. They have to go from  New York to Los Angeles, but they can not take a plane because Zeus is the god of the sky and it might not be safe for the son of the god of the sea. They need to go to Los Angeles because they think there is an entrance to the underworld there. As they journey across the country, they encounter many different monsters who are trying to stop them from reaching LA. The second monster they come across is Medusa. Medusa is particularly dangerous because if you look in her eyes you turn to stone. When they first see her she wears a black veil over her face that covers her snakey hair. She lures them in her house with fresh hamburgers and chocolate shakes. Then she asks them to pose for a photo and just as she was going to take her veil off they realized something bad was going to happen.

The story takes a different direction when Luke, a councillor from Camp Half Blood, where they all went to school, says that whoever stole the Master Bolt would surely need to be invisible to get it. Finding the master bolt is a big deal in the. Another thing that changed the direction of the book is that Ares The God Of War used to be Percy’s friend but at the end of the book he tried to kill him. Percy also figured out that Ares was the one who stole the Lightning boult.

One of the things I really loved about Percy Jackson was that he is brave; for example he went to the Underworld and confronted his uncle Hades. He also fought Ares The God of War with his magical sword Riptide on the beach to recover the helm of darkness for Hades. It was terrifying because he was fighting the God of War who obviously is a very good fighter and Percy is just a boy.  Percy is also loyal because he constantly risked his life for friends and family. He went to the Underworld on his quest to retrieve the Master Bolt but really he went to save his mother despite the fact that no one had ever done that before and lived.

The Lightning Thief is my favorite book I have ever read! I never knew that I was into Greek mythology but now I love Greek mythology. I am already reading The Sea of Monsters the second book in the Percy Jackson series. I also like that in The Lightning Thief There is a lot of action and monsters Percy has to fight. I would rate my book five stars out of five.  

Dec
11
2015

Schooled, by Gordon Korman

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imagesThe novel Schooled is written by Gordon Korman and has lots of fascinating characters. The main character is Capricorn Anderson who has grown up on a commune his whole entire life and suddenly forced to go to a public middle school. A commune is a place where a lot of people live together. His grandmother Rain has been Cap’s teacher, friend, and most of all his mother.

When Cap arrives at his new school he faces a lot of confusing situations that he has not experienced including the most popular kid in school who happens to be a very mean bully named Zach Powers. Cap is an innocent boy who must adjust to his new life in the real world, including the new school, and his foster home with Sophie a girl who is not so happy about Cap’s appearance

When Capricorn first comes to Claverage Middle School he is treated with absolutely no respect. He is humiliated and teased every single day. Every year the kids at Claverage nominate the biggest dweeb in the grade for class president so they could make fun of him in assemblies and meetings. On the first meeting Capricorn promises to learn the name of every kid in school, which seems ridiculous at first. He surprises everybody by actually learning all their names by the time of the school dance. The bully Zach Powers is very frustrated because he wants Cap to fail at everything.  Instead, many kids start to like him.

Because Cap grew up in a commune he does things that typical kids don’t, including Tai Chi in the front lawn every morning. First everyone thinks he is crazy, but soon people join and find it really enjoyable. This shows that being different is not always a bad thing.  

A scene in the book that changes Capricorn’s life at school is on the busride home one day. The kids are bullying him by throwing lit matches at him. The driver of the bus suddenly falls off the seat and has a heart attack in the middle of driving. No one does anything until clever Cap takes the wheel of this big school bus and rushes the bus driver to the hospital. This is a very exciting chapter because there is a lot of action and the other students get to see a new side of Capricorn Anderson. When Cap gets to school the next day he is suddenly the most popular kid in school instead of the least popular.

Another big scene is when Cap does a really nice thing for his foster sister Sophie. She doesn’t like Cap because she cares too much about her image and how other people see her. If Cap is around he will embarrass her so she is mean to him. Cap is so nice that he gets the bracelet her dad gave to her engraved, because her unreliable dad never does.  After some clues, Sophie figures out that the bracelet was not engraved by her dad, but by Cap.  This really brings the two of them closer together, because Sophie realizes what kind of kid Cap really is.

Cap is confident and a little bit clueless at the same time. He is confident because he is his own individual and does not care about what anyone thinks. For example he wears shoes made out of cornhusks. He is clueless because he doesn’t understand when he is being made fun of. When he is locked in the library by Zach Powers and his friends, Cap does not care and just sits there.

I have enjoyed Schooled very much. I have because it has  a lot of action. I would rate Schooled 5 stars.      *

Dec
11
2015

Fablehaven: Keys To The Demon Prison, by Brandon Mull

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imgres-1The name of my book is Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull. Fablehaven is the name of the series, and this one is the last book. The main characters in Fablehaven are brother and sister Seth and Kendra Sorenson. The main problem is a demon named Graulas and a demon named Nagi Luna are trying to open a prison full of super powerful demons who could destroy the world. The setting of Fablehaven is Fablehaven, Living Mirage, Obsidian Waste, and Shoreless Isle. All of these places are in a magical world that’s inside of the real world.

An important thing that happened was Seth accidentally healed Graulas with a magical cat called the Sands of Sanctity when Graulas was dying. Graulas tricked Seth into becoming his friend so he felt bad for him when he was in pain. Then Graulas took over The Society of the Evening Star. That’s bad because the Society is really powerful and now they are more powerful. The Sphinx was the leader of the Society but then Graulas took over. Graulas freed Nagi Luna and she became more powerful than Graulas and the most powerful demon not in the demon prison. An event that changed the direction of the story is when Seth gets a very powerful sword called Vasilis and he defeats Nagi Luna and Graulas with it. Another event that changed the direction of the story is when Graulas and Nagi Luna free the demons and the Fairy Queen comes and helps Kendra and Seth defeat them. Two adjectives to describe Seth are brave and a little stupid because he was jealous of Kendra when she got attacked by a dragon because he thought it would be epic.

I enjoyed Fablehaven because I like fantasy and magical creatures. I also enjoyed the book because it is a combination of magical people and places and the real world. I rate this book five stars because I loved the series and I thought this book was a good finale for the Fablehaven series.

Dec
11
2015

Wonderstruck By Brain Selznick

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imgres-1This book is called Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick. The main character is Ben. In Wonderstruck Ben runs away to New York City to find his dad. Wonderstruck takes place in New York City and Minnesota. 

One part thought I was important was when Ben went to the library because it’s when he finds what he’s looking for. I like the part when Ben finds the cabinet in the museum where his seashell turtle fits in the design because it’s mysterious even though it doesn’t really mean anything. It is important Ben meets Jamie at the museum. Jamie shows Ben a special room in the museum that used to be an exhibit but is now a storage room filled with random stuff. Ben is optimistic because always he always thinks on the bright side. He never gives up looking for his dad. I also think Ben is brave because he’s deaf and still goes on this big trip to New York City.

I enjoyed this book because it was action packed and written well. The pictures were really good and it had a good life lesson. I rate this book 5 and a half stars!

Dec
11
2015

The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner

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imgres     The book I’m reviewing is called The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner. The book takes place mostly in the woods. The main characters are Gen and the magus (Not capitalized in the book). The magus wants Gen to steal the Hamiathes gift, an ancient object that’s very well guarded. The reason the magus wants Gen to steal the gift is because no one has ever stolen it, so when Gen stole the gift, the magus would take all the credit.

The first important part of the book was when Gen said he could steal anything. This was important because he got thrown in jail because he was bragging about that. The second important part  was when the magus hired Gen to try to steal the Hamiathes gift after years of imprisonment. This was important because Gen would risk his life trying to steal the gift. Of course someone wouldn’t risk their life without a bribe or a gift of some sort, so the magus says if Gen tries to steal the gift, the mangus will give him a lot of gold since Gen is poor. One event that changes the direction of the story was when Gen accepted the magus’s offer. This was important because Gen would be in prison if he didn’t accept offer, but if he did accept the offer he would risk his life. Another event that changes the direction of the story is when Gen says he won’t be the Queen’s thief. This was important because the Queen would try to kill Gen if he didn’t accept. Why the Queen wants a thief is that if she wants someone to steal something for her she would have someone else get it for her. Gen is sneaky because he stole the the Hamiathes’s gift which no one has ever stolen before. Gen is also overconfident because he says he can steal anything.

I thought this book was really good because  you could never tell what was going to happen. I also liked this book because there was a lot of descriptive language. One piece of descriptive language was when the magus said Gen you are as blue as a sea. I would rate this book four and a half stars.

Dec
11
2015

Arnie The Doughnut: Bowling Alley Bandit, by Laurie Keller

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61uZ2PjMQXL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_The title of the book that I read is called Arnie The Doughnut: Bowling Alley Bandit by Laurie Keller. The main characters of this book are Arnie, Mr. Bing and Peezo. The problem is that Mr. Bing’s bowling ball got stolen and nobody knows who stole it. The book takes place at  Lemon Lanes bowling alley.

There are many important events that happened in the book. One important isevent is that someone stole Mr. Bing’s bowling ball. This event is important because Mr. Bing needed to use it to win. The 2nd big event is the Bing Bats the bowling team won the finals of the bowling tournament. This is important because Mr. Bing never won a championship and now he did. One more big event is when Arnie finds Mr. Bing’s stolen bowling ball. Another big event is when Arnie decides to help Mr. Bing find his bowling ball after he wanted to help find the bowling ball. Arnie is really talented because he can sing a lot of songs. Like Take Me Out for Some Bowling it’s such a great song. Also he is always determined because when he accused some one who wasn’t the bandit he did not give up.   

I enjoyed the book because it was really funny when Arnie said he could not bowl because he is smaller than a bowling ball. It was also funny when Arnie met Einstein and Einstein said, “You + bowling = impossible” and there were a lot of other funny things too. That is why my rating for this book is FIVE STARS!!

Dec
11
2015

The School For Good and Evil, Soman Chainani

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61PWRNlIucL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_The book I read the  book called The School For Good and Evil. It was written by Soman Chainani. The three main characters are Sophie, who is the ‘witch’ in their story that goes to the school for Evil, Agatha, who is the ‘princess’ of their story that goes to the school for Good and Tedros, the ‘prince’ of their story that goes to the school for Good. One adjective to describe Sophie is romantic because Sophie holds hands with Tedros a lot.  

The problem is that Agatha makes a wish for a different ever after ending for her story with Tedros instead of Sophie. Agatha has an ending with Tedros and Sophie has a crush on Tedros so they are fighting on who gets him. An ever after is when the Princess or Prince or rarely the Witch gets a happy ending. Then the Schools for Good and Evil change to the Schools for Girls and Boys. This is a problem because the “Storian” (The pen that writes the stories) makes all of the “The End’s” in the stories go away. Then all of the princes come out of the stories and want to destroy girls. The book takes place at The School For good and Evil which is in the Endless Forest and Gavaldon which is where Sophie and Agatha live.

One reason I think this book is good because when you read one chapter you always want to read the next one. This book is also good because it really tells you that friendship and being a good friend is very important. This book is also good because it makes you think about what it might be like as a fairytale character. I like this book because it has some very beautiful romance and humor. I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

 

 

 

Dec
11
2015

Nightbird, By Alice Hoffman

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51errxztrCL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_The title of my book is Nightbird the author of my book is Alice Hoffman. The main character of my book is Teresa Jane Rose. The main problem in my story is that the whole town thinks there is a monster. The setting of my book is a small town deep in the woods.

I think the book is good because you hear a lot about the monster. Which is incredible: some claim they saw the monster. Teresa’s family has a curse, all the men/boys in the family have wings so they need to keep her brother a secret and that is a problem for Teresa because she does not make friends quickly, because no one is allowed to come to her house and she is not aloud to go to other people’s house.Teresa decides to hunt for the monster because she thinks it has something to do with her brother.

Teresa also decides to sometimes fly with her brother in the night on his back. Because flying is really fun. Teresa is kind of shy because she never talks to anyone. She is also very helpful because she helps her mom bake.

I like that the book is very descriptive with the words because sometimes I can’t understand what a book is saying. I also like that they talk about what she looks like and what she wears and even what her hair color is (her hair color is brown like wet mud). Also she is very peaceful like when she stayed calm at the fire in the book. I think the book is 4 stars and a half. I definitely think you should read it, at least give it a shot.

Dec
11
2015

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, by Judy Blume

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TalesFourth9Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was written by Judy Blume in 1972. From reading the book recently you would not know that is was written around 40 years ago. The book seems so futuristic. In the book the main characters are Peter Warren Hatcher and his younger brother Fudge (Farley Drexel Hatcher). Farley is called Fudge because when he first learned his name he called himself Fudge. In the book the main problem is Fudge. He always hits pots and pans together to make a very loud noise, which irritated Peter so much that he wanted Fudge out of his life. Fudge also annoys Peter because Fudge also goes into Peter’s room and played with Dribble, Peter’s turtle. The setting of the book is in Manhattan on 25 W. 68th St. with the coolest elevator ever that takes him up to his 12th floor apartment. Peter and Fudge live with their mom and dad.

 

One important part in my book is when Peter and Fudge’s mom left the oven on and left three 9 year old kids, Sheila the great, Jimmy Fargo, Peter’s best friend, and Peter in charge of a 2 year old baby. It did not end well because Fudge, the 2 year old baby, thought he was a bird, flew off a jungle gym and knocked out his 2 front teeth. The second important detail is when the dad’s clients come to stay with them and Fudge scares them out of the apartment. One event that changes the story is when Fudge and Peter’s mother goes to Boston to visit her newborn niece and Fudge gets to be in his dad’s client’s commercial. It changed the direction of the story because Fudge’s mom thought Fudge was more grown-up than usual and also he looked more mature on T.V. Because Fudge looked more grown-up the mom gave him more responsibility that he could not handle.  The second event is when Fudge swallowed Peter’s pet turtle and has to go to the emergency room to take medicine to poop the turtle out. Peter is worried because it was his turtle and the turtle might die. The turtle dies, then Peter gets a puppy and names it Turtle after his turtle. It changed the direction of the story because it made Peter is no longer willing to tolerate Fudge. One adjective to describe Fudge is silly because he thinks he is a bird. Another adjective to describe Fudge is annoying because he bangs pots and pans to make a “clunk clack’’ that annoys everyone in the house. One adjective that describes Peter is clever. Peter knows how to deal with Fudge because when Fudge didn’t like shoes Peter tried them on and Fudge liked them. I think Peter is jealous because of all the attention Fudge gets.       

 

I enjoyed this book because it reminded me of my brother, on Thanksgiving when he fell off a rock and scraped his face and eye on the ground in Central Park. This book reminds me of this event because the book takes place in Central Park and Fudge and Dennis fell off something. The book was also really funny. I would rate this book 5 stars because it was so awesome.

Dec
11
2015

The Black Stallion, By Walter Farley

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Black-Stallion-Book-Cover-the-black-stallion-13136793-420-617I read The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. The main characters are Alec and the Black Stallion. The main problem in the book  is when the ship Alec was on (Drake) was shipwrecked. The setting of The Black Stallion is on the ship, then on the island and at the end at Alec’s home.

One important part of my book is when the Drake was shipwrecked. It was important because Alec was the only human survivor of the shipwreck and the Black Stallion was the only horse survivor. A second important part is when the Black Stallion and Alec were living on the island. It was important because he lived on an island where no other people live and they become best friends. A third important part is when Alec raced with the Black Stallion and won in the most famous horse race with the two most famous horses. It was important because now he became famous. Two events that changed the story are first, when Alec met the Black Stallion and the Black Stallion and Alec helped each other survive. The second event was when the Drake was shipwrecked and Alec had to live on the island. Alec is strong because he lived on an island all by himself and he had to live on his own. I think Alec is brave because he learned how to ride on a wild stallion all by himself and survived on his own.

I enjoyed this book because I like stories about animals. I also like this book because I think it is cool how a wild stallion saved Alec and how on the island the Black Stallion and Alec bonded. I would give this book a five star rating.