Author Archives: 24amosd

Jun
14
2016

The Harry Potter Series by J.K.Rowling

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9780545162074_p0_v2_s1200x630This review is on the great series called Harry Potter by J.K Rowling.  This is a series of 7 books: The Sorcerer’s Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Goblet of Fire, The Order of the Phoenix, The Half Blood Prince, and The Deathly Hallows. Each book tells the story of a year at Hogwarts and the summer vacation except for the last book which covers some of the future. These are probably the best seven books I have ever read. The main character is an eleven year old boy (in the first book) named Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The big problem in this series is that a dark wizard named Voldemort is trying to kill Harry.  This series takes place in England in 1991.  

It is very challenging to choose the most important events in such a big series, but I have chosen three. One huge event that changes Harry’s life is in The Prisoner of Azkaban, when Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban (the wizarding jail). Throughout the series Sirius becomes more important and a bigger part of Harry’s life, this is why his escape is important. Another big event is at the end of The Goblet of Fire. This is when Lord Voldemort comes back and tries to kill Harry. Harry just barely escapes, but that’s the least of his worries…now the darkest wizard is out to basically kill everyone but his closest followers and nobody will believe Harry that he is back. A third big event is the the Battle of Hogwarts in The Deathly Hallows. Many people close to Harry die in this battle which affects his life greatly for the worse.

Harry is very fair. I say this because in the fourth book ha could have cheated in a tournament but chose not to. Harry is also mentally strong. I say this because he is literally having a conversation with the most dangerous person ever and does not break down. A third thing I would describe harry as is brave. I would say he is brave because he was willing to go somewhere where there was a 99% chance he would die. A quote that explains harry is “I don’t go looking for trouble, trouble usually finds me”. I think this explains Harry because he’s always getting himself into a bad situation but he does not want to be in them.

I loved this series! One reason why I thought it was great was because it was I am an adventure fan and this is definitely adventure. I would totally recommend it, especially if you like Percy Jackson. I think any adventure fan would like it. On a scale of 1 to 5 I would give this series a 1,000!

I hope you like my Show Me. Just so you know, there are some random pauses in it. Sorry!

Mar
04
2016

The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin

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imgresThis review is about The Westing Game. The author is Ellen Raskin. The main character in The Westing Game is a 12 year old girl named Turtle Wexler who invests in the stock market. Following her stocks is Turtle’s favorite hobby. Turtle even uses her transistor radio in class to listen to her stocks when she is not supposed to. We see Turtle do lots of things, but the big point of this book is to win a game. This game is The Westing Game. The Westing Game is set up by the Estate of Mr. Westing to find out who has murdered him and to decide who will inherit all of his wealth. This book takes place in Westingtown a fictional town in Wisconsin  U.S.A. (named after Samuel W. Westing).

One big part of this book is when the people living in Sunset Towers see smoke coming from the Westing house. This is so important because the Westing house is thought to be haunted and abandoned. One part of this book that I found interesting is that Grace Wexler, Angela and Turtle Wexler’s mom, favors Angela over Turtle and shows it. This is interesting because parents are not supposed to have favorites. This is important because Turtle feels unloved. Another interesting part of this book is Samuel Westing’s will. This will is so interesting because it is like a riddle and the winner inherits all of Samuel’s wealth.

One adjective that I would use for Turtle is business-savvy. I say this because she likes to deal with money. For example, she invests in the stock market and sells her candles that she made at summer camp. Turtle is also very smart. One example that I have of this is how she chooses the right stocks to sell and to buy. A third way I would describe Turtle is risky. One place in the book where she takes a risk is when she goes into the abandoned and haunted Westinghouse. She does this just on a dare. One quote that really helps you understand Turtle better is when she asks Flora Bombeck (who will also play the Westing Game) a question and her mom jumps in and says, “Can’t you see that she is busy with Angela’s wedding dress? And why must you wear a silly costume like that? Really Turtle, I don’t know why you insist on making yourself ugly.” This helps you understand how rude Turtle’s mom is to her, which influences her choices.

This book could have be the best book I have ever read! The ending is so amazing and it is written so well. If you need a new book you should pick up this one. It is a fast read but absolutely outstanding!!! One TV show like this book is Scooby-Doo. They are the same kind of mystery. On a scale of one to five, I would rate this book a ten!

Jan
15
2016

Robin Hood, by Grahame Baker-Smith and David Calcutt

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dec
11
2015

The Goblet of Fire, by J.K.Rowling

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imgres-1The book The Goblet of Fire by JK.Rowling is a very nice read. It is about Harry Potter and his friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. In the Wizarding world Quidditch is the popular sport but … in Harry Potter’s fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry the  Quidditch cup was cancelled. The Quidditch cup was canceled for a different event called the Triwizard Tournament. There are three wizarding schools Hogwarts, Durmstrang Institute and  Beauxbatons Academy. Each school is supposed to have one winner that will try to compete the Triwizard Tournament, but Hogwarts somehow gets two, Harry and Cedric Diggory. This is a big problem for Harry because he doesn’t want to compete in this tournament but he has to, also someone wants his name in the pot that picks the champions. You have to end up with the most points in the end to win the tournament. This year the Triwizard Tournament takes place at Hogwarts.

This book also has a lot of action. One of the places that shows that this book has a lot of action is when Harry defeats the dragon in the first task of the Triwizard tournament. Another place where this book has a lot of action is when Harry has to knock out Victor Krum (the Durmstrang contestant) with a spell. One big part in the Goblet of Fire is when Lord Voldemort (the most evil person in the Wizarding word also a mass murder) kills the house caretaker Frank who is innocent.This is big because it means that Voldemort is back and he wants to kill. Another place that is important in this book is when Harry’s name comes out of The Goblet of Fire. This is important because it means Voldemort is up to something. These are examples of how there are also a lot of plot twists in this book too. The scene when Harry summons his quidditch broomstick all the way from his dormitory to the courtyard is very spellbinding. Another spellbinding thing in The Goblet of Fire is when Lord Voldemort is able to have two of him on this earth at the same time. I think Harry is very brave because he ran right through the most dangerous people in the world at the same time (Death Eaters). I think Harry is also fair because when he could have cheated on the first task of the Triwizard tournament he told Cedric that the first task was going to be dragons.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is really fun but surprisingly not to hard. It is pretty long but it is the kind of thing that you can put aside if you have a school book or something else. The Goblet of Fire is also good for any age. The one thing that I do not like about this book though is that sometimes if you’re sensitive to scary stuff, this could give you the creeps. Overall I rate this book a four and a half out of five.