May
04
2017

Spy School By Stuart Gibbs

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The book I read was called Spy School it is written by Stuart Gibbs. This book is about a kid named Benjamin Ripley who has amazing math skills and a girl named Erica Hale who is an amazing spy. One day coming home from school Benjamin  a man named Alexander Hale who recruits Benjamin because of a fake skill that Benjamin doesn’t have. When he gets to Spy School there was a test to make sure he is actually qualified to go to Spy school. That was when he met Erica.The penalty for not making it through the test was death. If you weren’t qualified to be a spy you would probably die.  Benjamin did survive by meeting Erika who helped him through the test she also gave him a taser which he didn’t think was helpful but since he had a crush on Erika he didn’t say it. Soon after he met Chip Schacter who wanted Benjamin to hack into one of the computers so he could cheat and get all the answers. Then after that Murray Hill came in and knocked out Chip. Later in the middle of the night a murderer came into Ben’s room. Ben pulled out a tennis racket from the side of his bed and he hit the murderer with the tennis racket out the window. Ben  didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of them either because he was in boxers.

Benjamin is smart, determined and friendly. Ben is smart because when Alexander asked him what is 98,261 times 147 ,Ben immediately said “14,444,365”. Ben is determined on getting himself off the SPYDER’s hit list. He is also determined to get Erica to like him so he has to impress her which will be hard because she is the best in the school. Benjamin is a friendly because within like three days of being in Spy School he managed to get at least five friends. Erica is smart, independent, and prepared. Erica is smart because instead of making friends she reads, studies and practice things. At lunch she sits on a bench alone and reads. Erica is independent because she would rather do it right then let someone else do it wrong. For example when everyone was doing paintball and when the plan they made went wrong. Erica already had her own plan and she took out the guards and made sure that no one that no one would see that she went up the castle shot the sniper and stole the flag. Erica is a quick thinker because when Ben and Erika just figured out the mole’s location Erika already grabbed two M16s. This makes her a quick thinker because it proves she is ahead of the game and is ready for anything. Chip Schacter is two faced, sneaky and, tough. Chip is two faced because in the beginning of the book he was the bully like when he threatened Ben unless Ben  hack into the school computer so he could see all the answers to get better grades. Chip is sneaky because when everyone was playing paintball he snuck out and found a bomb in a cave. Chip is reckless because when he went to the bomb during paintball, he already had terrible grades on his bomb defusing class and he could have blown up the hole school.

I think the most interesting part of Spy School was when Ben and the mole are fighting and then Ben shot the huge ice crystal above the mole’s head making the mole fall unconscious. I think this is the most interesting part of the book because pretty much the whole book was. The second most interesting part of this book was when Erica made Ben say really bad things to the principal like what’d you’ve for lunch today dog poo? This is interesting to me because he is already in so much trouble now Erica asked him to get into even more trouble and she wouldn’t even tell him why she wanted him to do it. The third most interesting part of the book is the fact that Warren has a crush on Zoe but Zoe has a crush on Ben this is interesting to me because they are supposed to be working together on finding the mole. The most important part of Spy School is when Alexander came to Ben’s room to recruit him because if he didn’t there would be no point of the book and he wouldn’t have done all the cool things or met all of these people. The second most important part of the book is when they discovered that SPOILER ALERT Murray was the mole because if they hadn’t, SPYDER would have gathered so much information about the CIA and that would have ended everything if SPYDER had all of the details about the CIA. The third most important part of the book was when Ben discovers that SPOILER ALERT Alexander Hale is a fraud because otherwise Ben would be looking up to a guy that doesn’t even know anything and if he did that he would probably die. He would die because Alexander didn’t do anything right so Alexander would say something they would go into a trap and die. An important quote/message that Ben received to show when he was accepted into Spy School. Dear Mr. Benjamin Ripley it’s my great privilege to accept you to the Academy of Espionage of the Central Intelligence Agency, effective immediately. This quote/message is important to the book because if he didn’t get the message there would be no proof that Ben would be qualified or allowed to be in Spy School.

I enjoyed this book because Spy School because it has elements from genres there is mystery, action, adventure, fiction, spying and, drama. Also on occasion this book is kind of funny. Also because on almost every page there is something important or awesome happening. I would recommended this book because it has lots of unexpected twists that make it more interesting. Also because when you get into it you can’t come out of it like a trance, and I wish it will never stop. There are no TV shows, movies or books that I know of that are like Spy School. I think this because there are some things that are like this that I do not know of but if there are I want to read them because this book was amazing. I would rate this from five to one. Five which means I loved it. I want to read it again.

May
04
2017

The Courage Test By James Preller

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This book is called The Courage Test by: James Preller. It is about a boy named “William Meriwether Miller” and his father going camping trip to spend some “father and son time” alone. This trip was inspired by the explorers William Clark and his partner Meriwether. On this trip he has a rare and frightening experience with a grizzly bear. He also meets a girl who was in the country illegally. This book takes time and place around the time we are in now because they had fast food places and iPhones.

William is brave because he once was face to face with a bear and didn’t run away He was a little more cautious after encounter. He is also lazy because when it comes to something like hiking he  would rather sit down and have a bag of doritos. He is smart because when it comes to almost drowning he knows how to react by just staying still and not struggling.

One part of the plot that I liked was when Will was left behind and his father left him with a stranger.I liked that because when you read the book you will think that the characters will stay together because it’s a father son camping trip. I also liked that because most books don’t just lose their characters by killing then or something. One of the book/Will’s quotes is “Often the test of courage is to not die but to live.

I really liked this book because it has a few cliffhangers. Another reason this book is good is because it has lots of new characters joining the adventure. I would recommend this book if you like a fast paced book with a lot of characters. Also it would be good for you if you like lazy couch potatoes. This book is one of my favorite adventure books because it has a lot of characters and each is different than the next. Another reason it is good for this type of book is because it’s kind of like a diary or a journal.  I would give it a five because it has a lot of characters and some are lazy(like me)and it has historical facts that teach me about The first people who came to america and trails they took.

 

 

May
04
2017

Dork-Dairies by Rachel Renee Russell

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The book I read is called Dork Diaries-Tales From A Not So Fabulous Life. This book is part of a series called Dork Diaries. The book is about this girl named Nikki who just moved to a new school. In the new school she moved to she is not so popular. The book usually takes place in her private school called Weschester Country Day. I think this book takes place in 2016.

Nikki is pessimistic, lonely, and embarrassed. Nikki is a pessimist because when she moves to her new school she always thinks about how lame she is because she has no friends until the middle of the book. She is lonely because she has no friends for a long period and is sad about that because when she trips in the lunch cafeteria no one stands up for her and that sortof shows how lonely she is.  Nikki is embarrassed because when she moves to her new school all the kids made fun of her when she fell on the floor.

I thought it was interesting how the popular kids from Westchester Country Day school only liked Nikki when she started making temporary tattoos for other people. I thought it was interesting because nobody should like someone because they’re cool and popular. They should like them for who they are. I think it was important how Nikki’s life completely changed when she moved to a different school and it took her on a different path. It was important because it is hard for someone to start a new life in a different school and have new friends. I can really get this situation because when I moved to my new school I had to learn how to fit in and make new friends.

In my opinion the book was okay. I thought it was okay because I sort of knew what was going to happen when I got close to the middle of the book. She moved to a new school, had to make new friends, and try to fit in. It was sort of obvious, I would of liked to not know what would happen. I’m probably not going to read the next book in the series because I didn’t like it that much. I would not recommend this book because of what I said about it being obvious but that’s just my opinion. The book reminds me of Popularity Papers. It reminds me of Popularity Papers because they’re sort of the same because they’re both realistic fiction and books that are funny and have a lot of drama. If I could rate this book on a scale threw one to five I would rate it a 2 because It wasn’t a good book in my opinion and I would like there to be more of a story.

May
04
2017

The Mysterious Benedict Society By Trenton Lee Stewart

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This book is the first in a series called The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. This book is about four really smart orphans named Sticky, Kate, Reynie and Constance who are gathered by Mr. Benedict, the founder of the society, to go on a secret mission. Of all the orphans who take tests to see who will be part of the society, these four are the only ones who pass. They must stop someone named Ledroptha Curtain from broadcasting brainwashing messages on TV. They must pretend to be students at his school, The Institute, and find out his secrets to stop him from boosting the messages to full power and brainwashing people to think Mr. Curtain is their ruler. They use morse code to send messages to Mr. Benedict. This book takes place in modern times but not with phones and iPads and things like that. The story mostly takes place in Mr. Benedict’s house and The Institute.

Reynie, the main character because the book follows him most is brave, smart, and sneaky. He is brave because he goes on the mission even though it is dangerous. He is smart because he passed all the hard tests. Also he comes up with a lot of good plans and ideas for the mission. He is sneaky because he keeps his mission a secret from Mr. Curtain.

 

WARNING- this paragraph has major spoilers do not read if you don’t want the book to be spoiled

 

Reynie and Sticky have to become messengers to find out Mr. Curtains secrets because messengers are the ones who broadcast the messages on TV. Once they are chosen to become messengers, they find out that he uses a machine called the whisperer to send the messages. The whisperer is a weird machine that manipulates your thoughts and makes whoever is sitting in it think the messages. The whisperer then sends that thought out to the world and makes everyone think it as well. Reynie and Sticky sit in the whisperer and it uses their thoughts for the messages. They also find out that Mr. Curtain used the whisperer to take away people’s memories and make them think they are his servants. I thought the part when they found out Mr. Curtain was taking away people’s memories was important because the kids were sad that Mr. Curtain was doing that to people and were more motivated to stop him and save the people. I also thought the part when Reynie and Sticky became messengers was important because that had been their goal and they finally completed it. Reynie said “I just can’t believe he did that to those innocent people.” It was important because  it made everyone try harder to stop Mr.Curtain. In the end Reynie and Sticky destroy the whisperer by teaching themselves to resist the thoughts so strongly that it no longer works. I think this teaches people that our minds are very strong. For example the orphans learned how much strength they had. Constance who seemed liked the weakest, in the end was the one who resisted longer than anyone and really broke the whisperer.
I enjoyed this book a lot because it was a mystery and it was suspenseful. Also it had a lot of action and taught me a lot because the kids are really smart and they said a lot of things they knew in the book. I would recommend this book because the reader always wants to find out what will happen next because it is so suspenseful. Also there are are a lot of cliffhangers and people will want to keep reading because of that. This book reminds me of Evil Spy School because in that book the main character has to sneak into a school and be a secret agent and find out information just like in the Mysterious Benedict Society. I would rate this book 5 stars.

May
04
2017

The Castle In The Mist by Amy Ephron

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I read The Castle In The Mist by Amy Ephron. The book is about a girl named Tess who finds a hidden castle. She discovers that there is a family that lives there and she makes friends with the kid. She hangs out with them and plays with them. At the end something happens and she has the find a way to fix it. This book takes place in a little town. I think it takes place around now because it mentions not having wifi and not being able to use their phones.


Tess is brave, persistent, and adventurous. Tess is brave because when she saw that her brother and her friend were in trouble she went ahead and saved them. She did not think a lot about it  she just thought of a plan and went for it. Tess is persistent because when her brother and her friend were in trouble she did not give up and made a plan to save them. Tess is adventurous because when she found the castle she was walking around the forest adventuring and she went pretty far.

In this book I think that it is important that William’s house is hidden and no one can see it. I think that this is important because it tells you about his dad. It tells you that his dad does not like when things are open to everyone and that he needs his privacy. I also think that it is important that Tess’s parents are both away. I think this because when she starts thinking about things she thinks about them and what they said about what she should do. Something important that she thought of was when there was a storm she thought of her dad saying to her, “Don’t go there, don’t try to imagine me over there. Just think of me as right here on your shoulder. Always.” I think this is important because she is thinking about her dad in a storm when he is not there. She is remembering when he was there. It shows that she misses him and probably would want him there right then. This is important because it changes the way she acts and it changes her mood. It would change her mood probably from happy to feeling like you’re missing something.
I enjoyed this book a lot. One reason is because I wanted to know more about William so I would just keep reading. The second reason is that I wanted to know if her mom was going to be okay or know if the dad would be okay reporting the war. I would recommend this book. I think this because I liked how mysterious William was and how I wanted to know more about the castle. I think that this book is unique because I haven’t seen a movie or book about a girl who is living in a little town with her aunt and brother before the girl goes off and finds a castle. I would give this book a four star rating because I liked it a lot I probably wouldn’t want to read it again.

May
04
2017

One Crazy Summer By Rita Williams Garcia

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I read One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. This is a historical fiction novel about three sisters, Delphine (11), Vonetta (9), and Fern (7) who live with their father and grandmother in Brooklyn, New York. The girls’ father sends them to Oakland, California one summer to stay with their mother, Cecile, who abandoned them seven years before. Cecile is a Black Panther, and spends most of her time in her kitchen writing poems and printing flyers. The Black Panthers were a political party whose  purpose was to patrol African American neighborhoods to protect residents from acts of police brutality. Cecile repeatedly tells the girls that she never asked them to visit her. She sends them out of the house everyday to The People’s Center, run by the Black Panther Party, for breakfast and day camp.The setting of the book is Oakland, California in 1968.

 

Delphine is mature, loyal, and cautious. She is mature because she is responsible for her two younger sisters the whole time they are in Oakland. Delphine makes sure the girls have been fed and bathed, and encourages them to behave properly. Delphine is also loyal to her father and grandmother. Delphine knows that her father and grandmother would not approve of the girls eating takeout every night, so Delphine decides to go grocery shopping to make a dinner similar to one they would eat at home. Lastly Delphine is cautious. She is nervous about possible violence at the Black Panther rally and tells her sisters they will not attend.

 

One of the most interesting parts of the book is when Delphine rides her friend  Hirohito’s go-kart for the first time. This is the first time in the book that Delphine acts like a child having fun, not like a parent to Vonetta and Fern. “As the go-kart went faster, I felt the rumbling of the wheels hitting the concrete underneath me. I screamed. So loud I startled myself. I had never heard myself scream. Screamed from the top of my lungs, the pit of my heart. Screamed like I was snaking and falling. Screamed and hiccupped and laughed like my sisters. Like I was having the time of my life, flying down that glorious hill.” This is the first glimpse of Delphine enjoying herself, without concern for her sisters. Another part of the book I enjoyed was when Fern spoke at the Black Panther rally, and announced that one of their members, Crazy Kelvin, was friendly with the police. It was exciting that Fern had made the discovery, and was praised by the Black Panthers at the rally.

I enjoyed the book because I learned more about the Civil Rights Movement and was introduced to the Black Panthers. I also liked the relationships between the three sisters, who were all very different but loved each other deeply. I would recommend this book because it teaches about the Civil Rights movement in an interesting and exciting way. I would also recommend the book because, although it addresses serious topics, can be funny. This book is similar to “Turning 15 On The Road To Freedom”. Both books have young women as the main characters and are about the Civil Rights Movement. I would rate my book four stars.

Wonder by R.J Palico

The book I read is called Wonder by R.J Palacio. The book is about a boy named August Pullman who was born with a facial difference. He has to learn how to fit in, and make new friends in his first year of actually going to school at Beecher Prep. This book takes place in present time in New York City.

August is brave, nervous and extraordinary. August is brave because he is willing to give school a try even know he might go through some tough times. August is nervous because he is scared people won’t want to be his friend or that he won’t fit in. You sort of have to realize as a new kid that it can be hard especially when you were born with a deformed face. August is extraordinary because he goes to school for the first time and does his best to fit In and that is very hard. I think that that is very special.

I thought it was interesting when August and a couple of friends got beaten up in the woods and some kids that were sort of grossed out by August came and stood up for them. I thought it was interesting because it was really surprising and I didn’t see it coming. I didn’t expect it like in the other book I read. In the other books I read I sort of knew what was going to happen. I also thought it was interesting how August’s friend Jack stood up for him by punching a boy who was making fun of August. It was interesting because at that time they weren’t best friends yet. He almost got expelled from doing that and I think it was sweet in a violent way. My favorite quote in the book is when August keeps doubting himself and his mom says to him “You’re not ordinary you’re extraordinary!” I think that this quote describes him well because he went though a lot during his school year and was very brave. It was a lot of pressure but he got threw it and he very extraordinary for that.

I enjoyed his book a lot, it’s probably my favorite book. It is my favorite book because it’s just so unique, the story that is told and the lessons that are learned in this book is just really interesting because they teach you more things in this book then in usual books. I would recommend this book for sure, it is rally unique in its own way. I would read it a thousand times if I had to. I’m really excited for the movie that is coming out this November! I want to see what the characters will look like especially August. Hope there will be a commercial soon. On a scale from one to five, one meaning I didn’t like that much, five meaning I really liked I want to read it again, I would rate it five stars of course! Hope you can get a chance to read this as well.

May
02
2017

What Is the Super Bowl? Book by Dina Anastasio

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Image result for what is super bowl book

What Is the Super Bowl?
Book by Dina Anastasio

What is the Super Bowl

 

Man! There has been a lot of super bowls.

Now many of you may know what the super bowl is but you might not know the history. The first super bowl was on January 15, 1967 between the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Green Bay Packers, who won? The Packers. The super bowl wasn’t always called the “super bowl” it used to be called the AFL-NFL championship. No team has ever been undefeated except for one. In 1973 the Miami Dolphins had a 15-0 record, all they had to do was win the AFL championship and then win super bowl llll and they won the AFL championship! Now it was all up to the coach of the Dolphins Don Shula to win the super bowl and then they will have a undefeated season. And they were versing the mighty Washington Redskins.

 

Another time when a team was undefeated was in 2007 when the New England Patriots won all of their regular season games including the AFC championship game, that meant they were 16-0. All they had to do was win the super bowl and they will be tied with the dolphins. But in the super bowl they were versing the Eli Manning and the mighty giants. With only 1 minute left in the game the giants were down 10-14  giants wide receiver David Tyree made a diving , leaping ,crazy, awesome , helmet catch that basically won the game for the giants. And the final score was 14-17 the giants won. And from then and on Don Shula and the dolphins hold the record.
This book is part of a series that is called who was, who is, what is, what was, where is and where was. This book is about 170 pages long. Plus if you do not like the super bowl it is ok to still read this book because it also has some of the halftime performers such as Bruno Mars and Katy Perry and many more. This book will tell you about every super bowl from super bowl 1 to super bowl 50. (This book does not tell you who won this year, just a heads up the Patriots beat the Falcons.) this also has a timeline of who won every super bowl (I think…) I will give this book a five star rating. I like this book because it tells you a story of who won every super b0wl.

May
02
2017

Who Was King Tut

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Image result for who was king tut? the bookThe book I’m reading is called who was King Tut, it takes place in the early 13oos, in the desert, back then, life was very different. People got married at the very young age of  ten. Also, kings and queens and other people of the 13oos wore clothes that were much more different than the clothes and accessories we wear today. The Kings dressed very fancy with beads on their fancy hats and crowns. King Tut grew up in the desert. Many of the Games, toys and clothes that once belonged King tut are in museums. When the museums first opened with all the treasures inside, people went crazy trying to get in. People were amazed by all the famous King’s treasures. So who was King Tut? King Tut was a boy king and the ruler of Egypt who died before he was twenty. He is Also a three thousand year old mummy! He was born around 1343. He became the king of Egypt when he was 10 years old. Back then when someone died, they would paint pictures of them. But it was not only to remember them and honor but the people believed that the pictures  could come back to life. So the artists made sure to include all the persons arms and leg so that the person would be able to walk when he/she “came back to life.” Also the artists had to draw the person when he/she was young and and healthy. If the person came back to life they would want to look young and healthy not old and sick like around the time they died. Although not born of royalty, Nefertiti looked very much like she belonged with the people of royalty. Nefertiti was Tut’s wife.  Nefertiti was very beautiful. In the 3100s, people believed that there were these gods:

Thoth: God of the moon. Anubis: God of cemeteries. Isis: God of protecting children.

These gods were important to the people of Egypt. The most important god of all was Amun-Ra, god of the sun. he appeared in human form. Every day day he rode across the sky in his chariot. When king tut was under the age of twenty he died. After his death he became a mummy in egypt. His mummy in in museums today. We do not know if Tut had children. There were two baby girls next to Tut’s mummy those may have been his children we don’t really know. A lot of things are still unknown about tut, but by the looks of things, life was NOT the same and that is what we know for sure. I would recommend this book if you’re into history and I would give it four stars out of five because it was really good but it just wasn’t my favorite book in the world. Thanks for reading!

May
01
2017

Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’engle

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What were the three W’s going to do? Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Which. They are the wise women who have been living for millions of years. They also guided Calvin Meg and Charles Wallace (brother + sister except Calvin, just a friend) on possibly the greatest adventure through time and space ever.Image result for wrinkle in time

 

Meg and Charles Wallace’s dad was an amazing scientist but a year or so ago he was sent on a mission by the government. Meg Calvin and Charles Find the siblings father on a dangerous planet controlled by IT. IT is a giant pulsing brain having everyone under its pattern.

 

Believe it or not IT is not the  main problem or “villain”. It is a black thing that  is pure evil and has been terrorizing many galaxies for longer than the W’s have been alive.

 

They go through many adventures together and after a while they realize that they love each other. That is like their power.

 

If you want a spoiler read this if not, DON’T:

 

THEY FIND THEIR DAD!!!!!

I love this book because I love adventure. The book is basically just adventure. They toggle withe time, play with space. In fact they stretch through time with the 5th dimension.

 

I would give this book a 5/5 stars.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.