Jun
05
2017

Samurai Rising By Pamela S. Turner

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Samurai Rising
By Pamela S. Turner

(Book Blog by Lorenzo Brigode)
If you love Samurai then keep reading, if not, you are about to love Samurai. Get ready to immerse yourself in “The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune” in Samurai Rising by Pamela S. Turner!

Samurai Rising is a great book with small, beautiful illustrations (by Gareth Hinds) that help you understand what was going on in that time period. There are a lot of hard words (and I mean it) in the book that are in Japanese, but never fear! Just flip to the pronunciation key to know precisely how to pronounce each word. If you are confused on where something happens you can flip to the map and key. Plus right before the index there is a, “And If You’re Still Not Satisfied” with more information on Samurai. If even that is not enough for you, there is a timeline, notes on names and dates and chapters, plus a glossary and a bibliography.

If you think I’m done talking about Samurai Rising, you are so wrong, I’m just getting started with how great this book is!
Samurai Rising is about Samurai families in war: The Minamoto, The Taira (the main characters), and then The Imperial Family and The Hiraizumi Fujiwara (are lesser characters). Samurai Rising takes place from 1160 to 1189, a long time ago! The reason behind the war is when Yoshitsune’s Father took the Retired Emperor’s side in a political dispute, when the Retired Emperor won Yoshitsune’s Father expected money and a grand title. Instead he was named Minister of the Stables of the Left. A rival samurai also backed up the Retired Emperor and received a much more grand title. Yoshitsune’s Father attacked the Retired Emperor’s palace wanting to pry titles out of the Retired Emperor while making him strip titles from Taira Kiyomori. Yoshitsune’s Father was expecting for Taira Kiyomori to flee, instead he fought back, and so the war started.
Taira Kiyomori let Yositsune live. He thought, “The Taira won the war, surely the scattered sons of Minamoto–and little Yoshitsune in particular–could pose no possible threat. Kiyomori was wrong. Utterly, fatally wrong.”

Samurai Rising is a history book told in a really easy to understand and fun to read format. Samurai Rising is so good that it seems like it is fiction, but it’s not! All of the content in Samurai Rising is 100% non-fiction, Samurai Rising has everything; history, betrayal, spies, assassins, friends. You name it! In Samurai Rising there is sure to be something for everyone to like.

Samurai Rising is the type of book that sets you reading in bed at midnight with a flashlight under your covers. So you know there is a lot I did not give away, so read Samurai Rising.

On a five star rating I would give Samurai Rising 5 stars -⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jun
05
2017

Color Me Dark, Patricia McKissack

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Nellie must move. She and her family must go because things in the south for people of color are getting bad. Like her Uncle Pace who fought in war. There were no seats in the colored car on the train, so he sat in “white territory”. He was beaten and killed just for that.

Nellie is a interesting, articulate kid. It is so cool to see through this amazing kid’s eyes. not only is she an amazing kid she has an amazing story too.

 

This story really has a lot of emotion. It shows what Nellie feels and just through her journal you know everything that’s going on. I would recommend this book because something in it has a place in everyone’s heart. I give this book ⅘ stars.

 

-⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

May
12
2017

The Mighty Dynamo by Kieran Crowley

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The book that I chose to read (or the book Tara told me I had to read) is called the Mighty Dynamo by Kieran Crowley. Noah is the main character of this book. The setting is Ireland in the present day. The Mighty Dynamo is what Noah’s mom used to call him before she passed away. Noah gets into a fight at one of his soccer games, a fight that he did not start. As a result, he gets kicked off of the school’s team, Saint Killian’s.  When Noah gets banned from Saint Kilian’s soccer, he sets his eyes on building his own team under the name of another school.  Noah has a genius friend named Stevie who was the one to come up with the idea of starting Noah’s own team. The idea is to start a new team for the all girls school St. Mary’s.

Noah is not pleased that he is playing for a girls school but he knows this is the only way he can play in the big tournament. The St. Mary’s principal lets Noah’s play under her school’s name but she says they must have at least one girl on their team. Noah is not pleased with this either but again he knows that this is the only way he can play. The girl on the team is Maggie O’Connell. Noah met Maggie at the park to see if she was any good at soccer. He found out that she was really really good, so he started to appreciate her. The first thing Maggie did when she saw Noah was pull out a tennis ball and they had a Juggle off which is when you try to keep the ball in the air for as long as possible. The Juggle Off was so hard because it was with a tennis ball not a soccer ball. Maggie wanted the Juggle Off as a way to test Noah’s skills.

Noah is unstoppable, athletic, and stubborn. Noah is unstoppable because when he got banned from the soccer team he didn’t give up. He still wanted to play in the big tournament so he made his own team.  Noah is athletic because he is the best player on his soccer team. He is also the leader of his soccer team and he is the captain because he is the leader. Noah is stubborn because once Stevie presented the plan of starting a new team under the name of the a all girls school, he didn’t want to do it at all. It took a lot of Stevie arguing with him before he agreed.

Noah was eventually into the idea of starting this new team because he wants to play in the big Tournament, the World Cup. When Noah’s team realizes that the first manager/coach doesn’t work out he hires Stevie to be the manager/coach. This is the most interesting part because Stevie is not that good at soccer but he is a great coach. Stevie was happy from then on out, but when Noah wasn’t looking he always had this look in his eyes that he wanted to be a player. I think the quote I chose resembles Noah’s leadership, “Come on team we can do it. We have to get better.” This quote shows Noah’s leadership because he is saying encouraging words to the players.

I loved this book so much because it was a step outside my comfort zone, that’s big for me. Tara told me that I needed to take a look at fiction, not only nonfiction and I listened to her. Now I’m reading so many fiction books that sometimes I have to read a little nonfiction. I would recommend this book if you like realistic sports fiction. This book takes a lot of surprising twists and turns, but it is still very realistic. Things happen that could totally happen today. This book reminds me of a typical sports story, it isn’t unique. There are a lot of parts of this book that remind me of Matt Christopher and Tim Green books. If you don’t know, those two are some very famous sports writers. I would give this book four stars because I really liked it.  I would have liked an epilogue so I could find out if Noah ended up playing in the Premier League when he grew up.

 

May
04
2017

A Wrinkle In Time

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A Wrinkle To My Book Review:

A Wrinkle In Time By Madeleine L’Engle

 

By Avery Rosen

 

Will Meg, Calvin and Charles Wallace save save Meg and Charles’ father and live to tell the tale to the planet Earth? Find out by reading this book review about A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle. The book A Wrinkle In Time is part of a series, A Wind In The Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. All consist of amazing fast paced stories that are sure to make you stay on your toes. A Wrinkle In Time will take you around the world. . . No wait, around the Universe! The main characters in the book are Meg, Calvin and Charles Wallace, all of whom I will introduce more in the next paragraph.

 

Meg is a girl who doesn’t fit in at all and always feels like she looks atrocious and loathes some of the other kids who are normal. She has the impression that her little brother is being bullied by older kids. Even though they just hear rumors about Charles Wallace. She gets beat up a few times because of this reason. Meg will soon realize though, how special her little brother Charles Wallace really is. After their big adventure Meg is almost never oppressed by other kids. Three words that would describe Meg are, one, afraid. Afraid of her little brother being taken away, and that she will never see her father again. Two, she knows when to do the right things in certain breathtaking situations. She’s confident and insightful. Three, she is shy and doesn’t like to shine, even though she is a good student, and is very helpful.

 

Calvin, a big boy who is about three years older than Meg is strong, and I do not only mean his physical strength. Calvin is abused by his mother who will physically hurt her children. Calvin has saved many of his friends with his gift to persuade his friends and enemies, some may be both. Calvin in tall, strong, vigorous, caring and red-headed. Charles Wallace is a boy who is very, very smart. Unfortunately he hasn’t gone to school which makes him seem strange. His reputation is one that is very quiet. Many people bully Charles Wallace but he really doesn’t mind. He likes not being noticed and keeping his brilliance to himself and his family. It turns out, though, that Charles has many, many gifts and talents. I would describe Charles Wallace as intellectual, determined, and he is very brave. He is the kind of guy who would “Take one for the team.”(His vocabulary is also quite impressive.) Together they make a great team.

 

There are many plots in the book. One of the many is saving their father. At first they are living a normal life, until their father disappears for many years and Meg starts to get worried. Her father had vanished before Charles Wallace was born, so naturally Charles Wallace doesn’t know his father. One day though, in the very first few chapters of the book a woman named Mrs. Whatsit comes into their lives. She has a very bizarre, perplexing and demanding behavior. It turns out that Charles Wallace knows this Mrs. Whatsit and her very bizarre, perplexing and demanding friends. Mrs. Whatsit and her friends take Calvin, Meg and Charles to different universes to save their father and more. “I don’t want Charles Wallace to grow up to be dumb like me,” said Meg. “Oh my darling you’re not dumb,” her father answered. “How do you know I’m not dumb? Isn’t it just because you love me?” This is an example of how Meg is always too hard on herself, as I said before she is quite smart, but she doesn’t always get respect for it. This is on page 10 & 11.

 

I enjoyed this book a lot. The only thing was that there was a little too much fantasy. I loved it for all of the description during the suspense. Madeleine L’Engle slowed the big suspense down with description. Like it was at a part where Meg, father, Calvin and Charles Wallace were stuck on a mysterious island and to slow the pace, it explained the feelings of the characters. I would recommend this book if you are into fantasy worlds, and magical creatures that live on them. The creatures in this book remind me of greek mythology and Lord Of The Rings. I would rate this four stars.

 

May
04
2017

The Penderwicks, By Jeanne Birdsall

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THE PENDERWICKS

By Jeanne Birdsall

 

Can Mrs. Tifton get the Penderwick family out of Arundel before their vacation is up? Jeez, I honestly don’t know. The Penderwicks can honestly be a pretty big handful that will not  fit in your hand. If you keep reading, you may or may not find out whether she kicks them out. This book is the third in the series  called The Penderwicks. It shares the same title as the first book does, which can be a little confusing if you’re writing it down on paper (which, in this case, I am).

 

In this story, the important main characters are Rosalind (she’s the oldest Penderwick sister), Skye (second oldest), Jane (the middle one), and Batty (the youngest). Mrs. Penderwick died of cancer when Batty was two weeks old.

 

When they start out, Hound (the family dog) had eaten the map to Arundel. It turns into a major problemo. They finally find their way to Arundel cottage, and then they see that it is next to  a mansion. Kind of a bad place to put a cottage, don’t ya think?

 

Anyways, Skye goes exploring and bumps into a kid who lives at Arundel Mansion. She calls Mrs. Tifton snooty and stuck-up. The boy’s eyes widen and Mrs. Tifton calls his name. “Excuse me,” the boy says. “My mother is calling me and you’re in my way.”

Skye is ina  heck of a lot of trouble, or so she thinks..

 

As soon as Skye gets back to the cottage,  she calls an emergency MOOPS (Meeting Of Older Penderwick Sisters). She explains what the problem is, and they decide to send Jane to Arundel Mansion to make up with Jeffrey.

 

Jane and Jeffrey come back only to discover that Skye had burned the cookies. Skye goes on  rampage as Jane and Jeffrey enter. She calls Jeffrey a stuck-up boy with a rich, snooty, mother.

 

Finally, they get on good terms. After a while, Jeffrey turns eleven, and it has to be his worst birthday ever. He finds out the hard way that his mother is engaged.

 

About three days later, Mrs. Tifton finds Skye and Jeffrey wrestling on the ground. Just like, playful wrestling.

Mrs. Tifton kicks Batty (she was there too) and Skye out of the music room (what a terrible place to wrestle).

Mrs. Tifton doesn’t know that Mrs. Penderwick is dead, so she goes on throwing insult after insult at her. Naturally, Skye was eavesdropping. She couldn’t stand it anymore and burst into the music room. Skye shouts at Mrs. Tifton “My mother is dead, you hear me, DEAD!! She would never leave us like that, because she was the best mother in the world, unlike you, who won’t even listen to your own son!”

 

Mrs. tifton feels a hint of remorse for the Penderwicks. But, alas, she still send them home to the cottage. They are on sort of okay terms now.

 

Sadly, a few weeks later, the Penderwicks leave, and they all agree that they had the best time of their lives!

 

I would give this book ????? stars;  I love IT! (This is like, the 7th time I’m reading it…)

May
04
2017

The Terrible Two Get Worse

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If you like pranks then keep reading; if not, then keep reading anyway– because there is so much more than just pranks in this book! I am reading the The Terrible Two Get Worse, the second book in the series The Terrible Two, by Jory John and Mac Barnett. The book takes place in Yawnee Valley and the year is around 2016. Miles and Niles, the two main characters, are clever pranksters but during school they are the teachers’ pets. Miles and Niles mostly pull pranks on Principal Barkin, a blowhard who bosses people around a lot.

 

Miles, one of my favorite main characters, is sneaky, smart, and clever. He is sneaky when he and Niles creep into their school about fourteen hours early to pull a prank. The reason why I think he is smart, is when they are doing a quick prank he thinks of one fast. Finally, why I think he is clever is he and Niles can do pranks and nobody ever knows it’s them. They are the best students and fool everyone at the meetings where they try to figure out who did the pranks.

 

One of the most important parts of the book is when Niles and Miles do a prank and it gets Principal Barkin fired and Barkin’s father, who used to be the Principal, replaces him. That is important because the bossy Principal Barkin is really easy to prank. At first, Miles and Niles were a little happy about Principal Barkin leaving, but when they realize Principal Barkin’s dad turns the school into a boot camp, they try to get Principal Barkin back. The reason why they don’t want Barkin’s dad to be Principal is because he is harder to prank then they thought and they want to bring the fun back to their classmates.
I liked this book because it has what I like in a book–it’s funny, at times it’s suspenseful, and there are pranks! I also enjoyed this book because there is always something going on that keeps you entertained. I recommend this book to anyone who likes fun books. It’s also the perfect  book for a reader who wants interesting characters. I think this book is similar to The Twits by Roald Dahl because they both have a lot of pranking in it. I would rate this book four stars.  

May
04
2017

A Snicker Of Magic, By Natalie Lloyd

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    The book I read is A Snicker Of Magic. It is about a girl named Felicity Juniper Pickle, her sister Frannie Jo, her friend Jonah/ Pumpernickel, her mom, her aunt Cleo, her dog Biscuit, and much more! Felicity likes words so much that she collects them. They come in many different colors, shapes, and patterns. Felicity was moving basically her whole life. She moves into Midnight Gulch, Tennessee and meets her first friend not including her sister Frannie Jo. Midnight Gulch used to be magical but all that changed when the Brothers Threadbare left town. They used to be magical too but they did a duel to see who was the best and Berry won. He roared like a Lion and Stone couldn’t roar like a Lion so Stone had to leave town and never returned and he took all the magic with him. Berry realized his magic doesn’t work without his brother so he went after Stone. Felicity’s class decided to have their own duel which would be a talent show. Jonah made Felicity do the duel and share one of her poems.  She forgot her blue book which holds all her words and poems. So instead of sharing her poems she decided to try to bring the magic back. She told Uncle Boone to sing a song that had the same two instruments that the two brothers played back when they would play music. Then everyone’s shadow came out under them and started dancing.

 

Felicity is polite, embarrassed by who she is, and unique. Felicity is polite because when she talks to people she talks very polite and kind. She is embarrassed by who she is because she doesn’t think anyone will like her because she collects words and they might think she’s a nerd. She is unique because not a lot of people can see words like Felicity. A quote from the book is “Take all the time you need.” This is a quote from Felicity the main character. This is about her mom in the first time in a while is painting. She is painting the gallery wall that was last painted by one of the Brothers threadbare.

 

One thing I found interesting is that Felicity can see words like words people think about or things they want. That because that is a magical talent. Another thing I found interesting is that Felicity moved almost all around the world and finally settled in Midnight Gulch because  of all the places in the world she settles in the one magical place. This is interesting because there is a lot of places in the world but she chose the one that was magical.

 

I enjoyed this book because it had a pinch of magic in it and a tiny tiny bit of mystery because Felicity had to solve a riddle and it had historical fiction in it and I like historical fiction. I would recommend this book if you like words and historical fiction. I would also recommend this book because Felicity is a great character and I loved reading about her and her family. This book reminds me of Color me dark because Erma Jean and Felicity both like words and letters. I rate this book a four out of five because I really enjoyed the book but it’s not my favorite book.  
  

May
04
2017

Darkmouth: the Legend Begins by Shane Hegarty

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The book I read was called Darkmouth: The Legend Begins by Shane Hegarty This book is in the series Darkmouth. The main characters are Finn and Emmie. Finn hunts monsters called legends and he is really bad at it. To make it worse his father might move away and he will have to protect his home town, Darkmouth. His best friend Emmie knows everything about his family after Finn tells her.

Finn is smart, brave, and scared. Finn is smart because he figures out that his mother is in trouble and someone is at his house trying to free the leader of the Legends, Gantrua, while he is fighting manticores. A manticore is a beast with the body of a lion a scorpion tail and the head of a lion. Finn is brave because he doesn’t stop for a second while being chased by a minotaur( a minotaur is part bull part human)  and figuring out how to stop it without his desiccator (which is a gun). Finn is scared because he will probably fail keeping Darkmouth safe without his father’s help.

An important part that happened was when a legend called a hogboon helped Finn and Emmie defeat a minotaur. This was important because legends and humans won’t stop fighting and this showed that they don’t need to fight. Another important thing that happened was when Finn’s father Hugo was looking at pictures and talked about how Finn tried and that is when Finn said “Mom admitted it.” “Admitted what?” said Finn’s dad“That I was special.” said Finn This was important because it gave Finn hope that he could protect Darkmouth.

I liked Darkmouth: The Legend Begins because it always keeps you hanging and making you want to read more. Another reason that I liked Darkmouth: The Legend Begins is that it was very intense when Finn was being chased by a minotaur and was running through Darkmouth. The entire book from there was intense.

I recommend Darkmouth: The Legend Begins because it always is pulling you into the story and if you close the book it takes your mind back into reality again. It is like a whole new world. For example when you are finished with chapter 20( which is about 3 quarters through the book) and  you close the book it is like you were just a cloud that had a plane go through it. while this is happening you are watching a portal open with a man next to it holding a desiccator like it is a dog looking at something strange. This book reminded me of Percy Jackson because there was a lot of monster slaying. It reminded me of Ghostbusters because they have these guns that capture monsters. It reminded me of medieval times because at one point they use swords and maces. I would give it a 5 star rating!

May
04
2017

Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O’Dell

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I  read a book called Island of the Blue Dolphins. The book takes place island off the coast of California 200 years ago.The author’s name is Scott O’Dell. There is not a series of the book but you can find more books written by him.The book is about a girl who lived on an island called the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Her name was the Girl With The Long Back Hair (Karana.) She is Left behind from her family because they don’t think the island is safe. Her brother went back to the village to grab a spear and the ship was starting to sail away. Afraid that the ship would not return to rescue her brother she jumped into the water and swim back to shore.

Karana is fearless, crafty, and loving. She is fearless because she was stranded on the island by herself with wild dogs. She is crafty because she made herself weapons to defend herself. Karana is loving because when her brother was left on the island she jumped into the water to be with him.

The plot of the book is that this girl she lives on an island by herself with her brother, and animals. She and her brother wait everyday to see if the boat will come back. It’s interesting that Karana is on the island with nobody else besides her brother and wild dogs. If I was by myself with a friend and wild dogs I would be scared out of my mind. Quote from the book: “More than anything it was the blue dolphins that took me back home.” This is interesting to me because not all animals are bad. Some are kind and helpful. And in this case the dolphins helped her find her way home. One of the most interesting thing in the book is when Karana shoots the leader of the wild dogs with an arrow then helps the dog. This is interesting because she has a heart and she doesn’t want animals to be tortured so she helped.

I loved Island of the Blue Dolphins. I loved it because it was drama and there and love. I love those kind of books. I recommend this book for kids ages 7 and up. I say this because there is death and I don’t want this book to scare people. This book reminds me of Julie of the Wolves and Home Alone. It’s similar to Julie of the Wolves because there’s this girl named Julie and she’s left alone and she makes friends with wolves. Also reminds me of Home Alone because Kevin is left alone at home nobody to comfort him. I give this book 4 stars because it’s not the best book I’ve read. But if you like drama and love this book is just right for you.

May
04
2017

George By Alex Gino

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I read the book George by Alex Gino. The book takes place in modern times in New York City. George, the main character, struggles to understand who she really is. She feels like a girl, but looks like a boy. George is scared to explain her true feelings to her mom. She feels insecure about herself. At school George tries out for the school play, Charlotte’s Web. George really wants to be Charlotte in the play, but when her best friend, Kelly gets the part instead of George, she gets extremely disappointed. George and Kelly do not speak to each other for a while, but finally they start to talk again and when they do,  they think of a plan to show the world that George is a girl and not a boy. The plan is to reveal George and not Kelly as the girl role of Charlotte during the second performance of the evening. George is so happy to be able to show the world who she really is, a girl.

George is shy, resilient, and forgiving. George is shy because she never has the guts to tell her mom how she really feels inside, especially about wanting to be a girl and not a boy. George is resilient because when she does not get the girl part, she never gives up. George shows the director that her want for a girl part is no joke. She stands up for what she believes in, even if others do not understand. George is forgiving because when Kelly gets the part that George wants, George takes a moment to be upset and then forgives her by moving on without letting the situation escalate into a big deal.

Although this book is serious, I found one part to be funny.  The mean boy in George’s class named Jeff makes fun of the Charlotte role in the play. George does not think this is kind or right, so she sticks a sign on Jeff’s back saying “Jerk!” When Jeff finds out, he turns around and punches George in the stomach which causes George to projectile vomit all over Jeff! This part is fun and I like the revenge George gets on the mean boy. Another part that is interesting is when Kelly offers her girly clothing to George for their trip to the zoo with Kelly’s grandfather. This makes George feel so happy and comfortable in her own skin. When Kelly said for George to wear her clothing… girl clothing, George said, “Are you sure?” I feel glad that George felt so good at the zoo.

I really enjoyed this book. The book taught me that it is ok to be different and the most important lesson is to be true to yourself. Another reason why I loved this book is it teaches the importance of good friendship.  Without good friendship, Kelly and George would not have come together to craft a way for George to play the part too. Kelly put herself in George’s shoes and wanted to make her friend happy. I would absolutely recommend this book. It has a powerful message for everyone to learn. This book is unique to me because I have never read about being transgender and the struggles that come with it. I rate this book with 5 starts which means I loved it and would want to read it again!