Category Archives: Survival

Jan
14
2016

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan

Posted by

searchI read Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan. I enjoyed the first book, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, so I read the second one in the Percy Jackson series. The main character is Percy Jackson. The problem in my story concerns a boy named Luke, who used to be a friend of Percy’s but then betrayed him. Luke poisoned the tree that used to be Talia the daughter of Zeus. That tree would put a magical shield around the camp to protect it from monsters. Now that it was poisoned it could no longer protect the camp. The story mostly took place in part of an ocean called the Sea of Monsters in the year 2013.

He is also really brave and likes adventures because he was willing to go on a quest that no man has ever returned from. Percy is also athletic because he loves to do flips and to practice every drill there is at camp. One of the hardest drills is a rock climbing wall that is very high and squirts out burning hot lava.

Percy did some interesting things throughout the story including going on a ferry that had Luke and some monsters on it. Another event that was interesting was a horse race with two people in a carriage that they had to design and build. A big decision that Percy made was to battle one of his brothers – a big ugly cyclops that had killed all of the people that have entered his island . But not someone named Jason who slashed his sword in his one eye and has half blinded the cyclops.

I like this book because it has a lot of fighting and adventure. My favorite fight was when Percy and Annabeth fight the cyclops and Annabeth puts on a cap that turns her invisible. Annabeth called out ”HEY LOOK OVER HERE REMEMBER ME! IT’S NOBODY.” And the cyclops said “No not nobody I remember you.” That is what Jason called him self.

I think the genre of the book is adventure, action, and mystery. I would recommend this book if you like battles. Also if you like Greek mythology. I would rate this book five stars.

Dec
11
2015

The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan

Posted by

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

The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner

Posted by

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

Skeleton Creek, by Patrick Carman

Posted by

skeletoncreekMy review I will talk about is called Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman. The story is about two friends a boy named Ryan and a girl named Sarah. The story takes place in Skeleton Creek. The main problem is that there are a lot of scary and weird things happening in Skeleton Creek. Ryan and Sarah are trying to find out who is behind all of these ghostly events.

Sarah goes to the Dredge which is a big building that someone had died in and now there is a ghost who haunts it. Sarah finds the ghost and gets so scared that she runs away. She takes videos and e-mails it to Ryan while he writes it in his journal. The whole book is written like it is Ryan’s journal. When Ryan was watching Sarah’s video he saw a message in the background and it said “Are you the alchemist?” An alchemist is like a potion maker. Sarah decided to go back to The Dredge to figure out more clues using a video camera. She then returns to the dredge with Ryan a second time to find even more clues. Ryan is brave because he was not allowed to talk to Sarah on a phone or ever,because she keeps going back to the Dredge.  Ryan is also secretive because he has been talking to Sarah for so long and the parents don’t even know.

Skeleton Creek is my favorite book because it is scary and exciting. You also get to go on the computer and watch videos that relate to the story being told. I rate this book a whopping FIVE STARS!!! It is my favorite book EVER!

Dec
10
2015

Island of the Aunts Eva Ibbotson

Posted by

imgresIn the book Island of the Aunts by Eva Ibbotson, aunts kidnap children because they need someone to help them take care of the animals. The main characters are the aunts: Etta, Coral, and Myrtle. The main problem is that a man named Mr. Sprott finds his son on an island after his son has been kidnapped by the aunts. Mr. Sprott then kidnaps all of the animals and creatures. He wants to be richer. He decides to bring them back with him to his home. He is going to make people pay a lot of money to see them. Then the Kraken comes and destroys the ship. The Kraken is like a giant whale except bigger. He is bigger than a blue whale. The children meet all types of mythical creatures. Then they help the animals. The biggest event that changes the direction of the story is when Stanley Sprott rides his yacht to the island. He picks up Lambert, his son, and sets traps for the mermaids so he can catch them all. Then a fight happens between Stanley and the aunts. Stanley hits Fabio and gives him a concussion, while Fabio and Minette were trying to keep the Kraken’s son safe.  So Stanley takes the Boobrie, which is a bird the size of an elephant, the mermaids, stoorworm, and Kraken’s son on his yacht.  Then the Kraken’s father comes, smashes into the boat, and takes his son away. His son explains that Minette and Fabio tried to help him, so the Kraken turned back to save Minette, Fabio, Coral, Etta, Myrtle, boobbrie, stoorworm and Herbert (a selkie, a seal that can turn into a human and vice versa) from drowning. Minette and Fabio return home, and the aunts promised them that when they die, the island will be theirs. I give Island of the Aunts 1 stars..

 

 

 

 

Dec
10
2015

The School for Good and Evil, By Soman Chainani

Posted by

 

 16248113  The book I read was called The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani. Agatha and Sophie the main characters, are from a town called Gavaldon. One day they are taken away at night by the school master. The school master runs the “School for Good and Evil.” Everyone at Gavaldon thought Sophie would go to Good and Agatha would go to Evil.  There was one “mistake” though, Agatha ended up going to the school for Good being clueless of what to say and do, “She did the first thing she thought of and delivered a swift, loud fart.” And Sophie ended up at the school for Evil looking like a pretty princess.  

Agatha wants to get home but Sophie wants to stay thinking that the girls will switch schools. Sophie always tried to be good. She would use Agatha as one of her deeds for being good. She used Agatha by tricking her that she was her friend. She did that by going to Agatha’s house everyday and give Agatha her favorite cookies. She used Agatha because Agatha’s father left when she was young and she lived in a graveyard with her mother who was a doctor that had no patients.  Agatha was shy and had no friends except for maybe Sophie. She had a cat named Reaper that kept her company, but she had a very weary life. She never left the graveyard because people made fun of her and called her Evil when she walked by.

Sophie had lost her mother when she was young and had a very selfish father who was never proud of Sophie because she was a girl. Sophie’s father always wanted a boy so he could be worshiped and have more similarities with him. Sophie dreamt often about going to the School for Good and getting a handsome prince. She wanted to have her own fairy tale. Sophie is also obsessed with beauty. Every day she would put makeup and lipstick on. Boys didn’t care that she was selfish and rude they just thought she was pretty.

I really enjoyed this book, it was funny, exciting and sad. I would definitely recommend this book to someone who likes fairy tales, chapter books, and illustrations.

 

I rate this book five stars!

 

If you would like to take the test to see if you’re an Ever(Ever After) or a Never(Never After) go on to www.schoolforgoodandevil.com. Also if you really like the book you can read the other books in the series. And you should also check the date to see when the movie comes out on the website.

 

 

                            

 

Sep
04
2015

Flora & Ulysses Book Review

Posted by

floraUlysses is a plain old regular squirrel until he gets sucked up by a vacuum cleaner. I read Flora and Ulysses by Kate Dicamillo. It is about a girl named Flora that saved a squirrels life. She breaths into the squirrels mouth and all of a sudden it lifts up the vacuum cleaner and starts to shake it. Flora is 10 years old and she is a cynic. Her parents are divorced so part of the book is with her dad and the other with her mom but she lives with her mom. The setting is mostly in Flora’s neighborhood.

 

Flora is very Strong, Brave, and kind. She is Strong because it is really hard to have divorced parents and have your mom trying  to murder your pet squirrel. She is Brave because it is really hard to tell your mom that you want to live with your dad instead of her. She is Kind because she saved Ulysses life. An interesting thing about this book is how Ulysses can fly! Because he is a normal squirrel not a flying squirrel. Another interesting thing about this book is how Ulysses writes poetry if I was writing this book I would never thought of making Ulysses write poetry. Another interesting part is how Flora’s mom thinks Ulysses is a dirty animal and wants to murder him. And Flora’s dad likes Ulysses and is kind to him.

 

I really enjoyed reading this book. I like how it is really unique I have never read a book like this. I recommend this book to people who like short books where you can’t put it down. I also recommend this book to people who like animal books. I rate this book 5 stars!

 

Jun
03
2015

Warriors: The Darkest Hour

Posted by

Warriors

by Sophia

I read the sixth book of The Warriors series. It is called the darkest hour. I liked it so much I made a diorama of it. There are a lot of awesome scenes, but I thought this is the most important. I really wanted to show how I imagine the ThunderClan camp looking. I could have also done the scene when Firestar receives his nine lives in Mother Mouth but I did not want to because it would be too hard to make and it would take a really long time. My scene is when Firestar is preparing ThunderClan to get ready to attack BloodClan and to get ready to join the other clans to join together to make LionClan vs BloodClan. I hope you like my diorama. Firestar is on top of the rock and his deputy is on the left side and is gray and his name is Graystripe. Firestar’s girlfriend Sandstorm is next to Graystripe. Cloudtail and Brightheart are next to the little cave next to the rock. The other cats are just random.

IMG_0022

Jun
03
2015

The Son of Neptune By Rick Riordan

Posted by

This is a map of the battle to free death so monsters can die and go back to Tartarus and stay there. This is my favorite scene in the Son of Neptune in the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan. The Son of Neptune is the second book in the series after the Lost Hero.

They need to free death. If they don’t there won’t be a way to win the war because the monsters would be immortal just like gods. The main characters are Frank who is son of Mars(Ares), Hazel who is daughter of Pluto(Hades) and Percy who is The Son of Neptune(Poseidon). Percy is brave and courageous(and maybe a little stupid too). It takes place in Alaska and is probably in about 2013/2014. The book is fast paced and you cannot put it down if you like greek mythology.

IMG_0005

 

Death is the blue part on the glacier. He is in chains.

May
29
2015

Middle School book 6 by James Patterson

Posted by

My book is Middle School book 6 Save Rafe! It is by James Patterson. In the video the main character Rafe is climbing a mountain because he needs to pass a training camp to go back to his old school that he got expelled from. He needs to go back because his new school that he goes to is closing so now he needs to go back to his old school. He needs to go to the training camp because the principal won’t let him come back to the school easily because they have very strict rules and he broke almost all of them. I would rate this book 4 stars.

Finn's Book Review from Namita Tolia on Vimeo.