Tall Tales

I just finished the book called Tall Tales. It was about a girl named Meg who moved to a new school and really wanted a friend. She started lying to people about her life and her family because I think she was embarrassed about her family since it was a little messed up. Her dad was an alcoholic and when he was drunk he hurt his kids and once he even broke his son's arm. He was sort of a dangerous man and Meg didn't want other kids to know that. Finally Meg met a girl named Grace and they became best friends. As Grace started telling Meg about her life and family, she asked Meg questions about her family. Since Meg didn't want Grace to know about her family, she started making up lies and getting herself more and more tangled in the lies she told Grace. But, as this caring friendship for each other kept unwrapping, Meg realized that she would soon have to tell Grace the truth about her family. The questions she started to ask herself were if this friendship could last after Meg told the truth? Or would she ruin it when Grace found out Meg was lying to her all along?

This was a great book and it really showed me how important it is to not lie to my friends or anyone in fact, because although it might not seem so at first, the lies can turn into bigger problems and it's very hard to get out of them.

Monsters of Men

Towards the end of my book, Monsters of Men, peace is made. The Spackle and humans agree to stop fighting, and are in the process of making a peace treaty that will help both races greatly, when the mayor goes back to being his old self. He breaks into the small ship and uses the engine fuel to light everything ablaze. Because of this, the Spackle leader dies, and the a new leader is chosen that decides to march to the ocean shore, where the mayor is, to kill him. When they get there, he accidentally appears to have killed the main character, but at the very end of the book, he stirs in his sleep.

Cherub: The Killing

The Killing is a great book. Again, like the rest of the Cherub series, James is the main character. This is the fourth book in the series. I am only 200 or so pages into the book, so I haven't finished, but so far James has been sent on a mission. He has to find out about the Tarasovs. A family that the British Intelligence has been tracking for a while, and they think has been behind some casino robberies, and hijacking cars. James and David Moss, the other kid that is on the mission with James, have to figure out if the Tarasov family is really behind these robberies and hijacking these cars. James and David are asked by Leon, the dad of the Tarasov family, to go steal a car. Leon owns a secondhand car dealership and he also owns two casinos. They are asked to steal the car, which is a Porsche GT2 RS. A car that in the U.S., would have a starting cost of $245,000. James and David hijack the car and get away with it. This now gives them evidence that Leon is behind the hijacking cars thing. James starts to become friends with all of the neighbors and kids. He acquires a computer from one of these friends that belonged to her older brother. The computer started to heat up and smoke because the fan was jammed. When they looked in the fan in order to fix it, they found drugs and CD's in the fan. This lead them to think that maybe Leon was also in the drug business. The CD's had information on them that James couldn't under stand so he sent them to the British Intelligence. That is how far I am right now.

The Lying Game

The Lying Game is one of those books that you can't stop reading and you want to know more and more. So Emma Paxton is pretending to be her identical twin sister Sutton. They make a deal that Sutton will go to find they're real mom so Emma will take Sutton's spot. People are getting a little bit suspicious over "Sutton", who is really Emma. Emma is so worried about Sutton because she was only supposed to be gone for one day and its been about three and she hasn't come back home. She tries to call her but she won't pickup! Emma tries to explain to Sutton's parents what's going on but they just won't believe and Emma doesn't know what to do next. Because everyone thinks that she's acting weird and not like herself, she has to solve problems with her boyfriend, her friends, and her family.

Best Friends for Never

I read the book Best friends for never. It is the second book of the Clique series. Massie is super rich, and goes to Octavian Country Day school (OCD). She is the alpha of the Pretty Committee. Claire has just moved here, and desperately wants to be part of Massie's clique. She lives in Massie's guest house, but she still can't get a spot! Massie convinced her parents to let her hold a boy girl Halloween party, but she has to throw it with Claire! They also have to invite all the grade, including the LBR's (losers beyond repair)! Massie doesn't want her reputation ruined, so she tells Claire to put her name on the LBR's invitations. Claire decides to get back at Massie, so she puts Massie's name on all their invitations, so Massie now has LBRs calling her to RSVP to the party. Their parents make Massie include her in the Pretty Committee, and Claire has to go as a dirty devil with the PC, too...Massie doesn't want this, and Claire tells her parents that her brother wants to be the PowerPuff girls with him, so Claire doesn't have to go as a dirty devil.

THE ROAR

I am reading The Roar. This book is great for readers who like to read fictional books I mean this book has some of the greatest action scenes ever. There was a scene where a monkey bit this guys ear off and he fell into a dark river, there was also the part where two of the main characters are flying through the air in a jet quickly flying through buildings as if they were the best flyers the world has ever seen. This book is about four people a boy, a girl, a monkey, and one seriously mad old man. through out the story you will get to that part where you just go WHAT!? That's not possible! Or you will go Oh man that was amazing! I suggest this book to all who read this post because it is a really great book.

Remember it's for the love of reading

The Alchemyst

I just finished the book, The Alchemyst by Michael Scott. Scott does a great job casting the main characters. They are twins, Sophie and Josh. When they see Nicholas Flamel battling his old apprentice John Dee in his bookstore, the twins realize their lives will never be the same. They enter into a world where whatever they have learned is only a part of the truth, where danger can wait for them, hidden among the shadows anywhere. They step into the world of magic, sorcery, and alchemism (not a real word). I really enjoyed it because it makes you believe that this could actually happen. For example, I believed that lead could turn into gold until Ms. Winkler proved me wrong. You cannot add or subtract protons from an element, and so you can't turn one element (lead) into another (gold). Bummer. :)

The Help

Right now I am reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It is a really good book, I like it a lot. It follows 3 people so far, Aibileene, Skeeter and Minny. Minny and Aibileene are both maids, working for two different houses. Aibileene's son was killed at work shortly before the book takes place. Skeeter is a writer who has trouble finding a husband and her mom is also really disappointed in her. She had a maid, Constantine, who has now mysteriously disappeared, and Skeeter wants to know why. Minny did something terrible to the lady that she used to work for, but she hasn't told anyone yet. She got fired and is now working for a lady that is very strange and is always tired-and Minny really wants to know why! It is a really good book and I'd recommend reading it!

Need

I just recently read the book Need by Carrie Jones. Need on the surface seems like a really cool idea for a book. There's a man stalking the main character, Zara, leaving a trail of gold dust, and she recites the names of different phobias to calm herself down. So Zara and her friends take it into their own hands to defeat the pixie king that is hunting Zara down to be their queen. Sounds like a good idea, right? However, once her boyfriend and practically every other character besides the pixies and her best friend became some sort of were (werewolf, were-tiger, were-bear, etc.) the story just got out of hand. It started moving too quickly without enough character development to match. I feel like Jones had the idea of a plot down, but forgot about all her lovely characters. Most of them had the start of some sort of personality, but it sorted just ended there. Even the main character, Zara, had almost nothing. Jones characterized her by the fact that she recites phobias when she's nervous or scared, and forgot about anything else. To give an example, it's like in Twilight by Stephenie Meyer where the only trait she gave Bella was that she was clumsy. Really clumsy. So clumsy that she seemed to be just tripping over things every chapter. Oh, poor Bella! So unique and clumsy! Zara's character just kind of seemed thin and Bella-esque to me. Her reactions were just too generic and the entire story played out way too fast, not giving time to really develop any relationships thoroughly. Granted, I was skeptical about this book from the beginning because of the quote on the back stating that this book would be the result if Stephenie Meyer and Stephen King teamed up together to write a book, but that part was actually true. This book had really great scary moments and a wonderful plot built up, like Stephen King's writing, but a huge downfall in the character development and relationships, which was where the Stephenie Meyer side came in. All in all a book you can skip, unless you're a twilight kind of person and you want something to fill your hunger once you finish the books.

Calder Games Blog Post Annie Lyman

I am reading the book The Calder Games by Blue Balliett. So far the book is about the main character Calder Pillay and his two friends Petra, and Tommy. The first event that takes place in the book is them going on a class field trip to a museum to see the man Alexander Calder’s (the main character was named after him) wonderful artwork. At the museum they find amazing sculptures, and displays that catch their curiosity. Soon enough the main character Calder finds himself wonder away from the group. He finds himself at a huge wooden door in the museum that states “ Play the Calder Game, Take Five, All Are Welcome”; hesitantly he opens the door, to see what the Calder Games are all about. Eventually he figures out that the rules of the Calder Games Consist of thinking of or creating mobile made of anything you want, designing it, and making it look creative and beautiful. He realizes he should go catch up with the rest of his class, but he is almost sure he’ll come back tomorrow to play the game. Calder eventually returns back to his class and joins them to explore the rest of the museum. So far this book is really interesting and I’m really excited to continue reading it and figure out what happens when he goes back to the museum and plays The Calder Game.

Giants in the Earth - Rolvaag

Currently, I am reading the book Giants in the Earth, by Rolvaag. His name contains some umlauts and such, but my symbol skill with the Mac leaves much to be desired. I got this book from my grandmother, with yellow pages and cracked binding. I haven't read very far, but here's a quick plot summary: A group of Norwegian settlers travel out west into the Dakota territories in 1873. Four families make the journey, but one is left behind. This is the family of Hans Olsa, the family that is shown at the very beginning of the story. Eventually, after finding fresh horse dung, they reach the small "kingdom" that belongs to the other families. After dividing the land amongst themselves, each family begins to start building a house and a farm. They call it a "Kingdom", with kings and princes, because they compare it to the Pharaoh's land in Ancient Egypt. However, things are starting to go slightly wrong, at least in my opinion, for the family of Hans Olsa. The sod house that he is trying to construct is a palace, with three rooms (comparatively, the other family's sod houses are a single room). Hans is working day and night, be it on the house, or on the crops that he planted. To me it seems that Hans will lose his mind in this strange new world. I originally thought this book would be very Robinson Crusoe-esque, but as I read further, it isn't. Also, according to the plot summary on the back, Hans Olsa's wife is supposed to be the main character, but in what I've read so far, she hasn't really done much except for talk with her husband, make food, take care of the kids, and internally whine about how bad the endeavor is/could end up. While it looks like a lot, it doesn't further the plot and is described with but a few words each time her deeds are mentioned. So far, I think it is OK. I believe that the book just has a very long introduction, setting the stage for some real action (not like fight-action). If you like Norway, books about settlers, the Dakotas, or American adventures, this book is probably for you. If not - well, then probably not.

-Farvel! (That's Norwegian)

Fallen Angels

Fallen Angels

Pg.1-100/235

Fallen Angels is a book about a 17 year old, Perry, who is not able to go to collage or get a job in the U.S. so he has no choice but to enlist in the army an go to vietnam. To this point it is an incredibly good insight into the Vietnam war. They use terms such as: Charlie, VC, barracks, NVA, ARVN, Congs, etc. I studied the vietnam war in some free time of mine and so far I have found it very accurate.

The story begins as private “Perry”, as he is called, heads over on a plane to vietnam after his months of training. His first impressions were that it was humid and unbearable but after a few weeks, he is transferred to Saigon(Ho Cho Min City) where he gets used to the heat. He than Starts his first tour of vietnam from there and travels to Da Nang and has his first encounter with a causality. So far than it is a good story and i will read the next 100 for the next blog.

Peace, Love, Baby Ducks

I have read about half of Peace, Love, Baby Ducks and I think it is a really interesting view on sibling relationships. It shows both lights of having a sibling, that they can be your best friend, and worst enemy. The main character, Carly, is very smart and gets straight A's, but doesn't really fit in at her perfect Christian school, Holy Redeemer. The younger sister Anna, isn't as smart as Carly but is the perfect Prom Queen of Holy Redeemer. Through being sister, both of them get to live both lives, but they don't really appreciate it and it often causes conflict and jealousy because both sisters want what they don't have. Also Carly's best friend is also really good friends with Anna, and is turning into more of an Anna then Carly might like, so it seems like to Carly that over the course of one summer, she is losing her best friend and baby sister. Throughout the story so far Carly does everything she can to be different and not fit in and that also causes conflict between the two sisters because Anna is a freshman in highschool and doesn't want to be know as the "wierd kids" little sister. Once Anna asks Carly to just try and fit in and it starts a huge argument. I think that the author does a really good job of showing what it is like to have a sibling.

Story Time (2nd Blog Post)

Story Time has heightened dramatically. Kate and George have begun to delve into the past of the Whittaker Library. Apparently, an enormous incident transpired there over 50 years ago.

Books were frequently read out loud there to young children. And after every reading, the children would go berserk. They would break things, belt all around the room, and smack people. For several weeks, the weird behavior was manifested by the kids. But then, an adult also started to display that behavior.

Cornell Whittaker Number 2, the owner of the library at that time, hypothesized that the thing prompting all this behavior somehow related to the spirit world. He proposed that a spirit had invaded the library.

Of course, he was scorned for his proposal, but evidence started to accumulate that this was the case. Bad behavior intensified into deaths. Children and adults died.

As George and Kate dredge up more and more information, the Whittaker library is in crisis. The First Lady is visiting the library in a few weeks. But the directors of the Whittaker library suspect that a demon is loose, and they have no idea how to combat it.

Can George and Kate ascertain how to defeat the monster, or will the monster claim more lives, including the First Lady's life?

The Help

Blog post on independent reading book, Cade Gleekel

The book I have chosen to read for my first independent reading book is the book The Help by Kathryn Stockett. The general topic of the book is about a young woman named Skeeter, who tries to secretly the true stories of the “help” during a very dangerous age for black people. The “help” are the black woman who serve the white people, in this specific case, in Mississippi. The first two black woman that take the risk to truly tell Skeeter their point of view of working and basically living with white people are two woman named Aibileen and her friend Minny. At the beginning of the book they both work for very racist mean white ladies. At the point I just reached in the book Minny finally found a job outside of the main town, she couldn’t find one in town because she fed her “poop” (which wasn’t the word she used) to her last employer, maybe I will go into more detail about that story next blog post. Now Minny has finally found a job outside of town for a white woman named Miss Celia, who is a little odd. When Minny first arrived at Miss Celia’s house, Miss Celia greeted her with a warm hug, and during lunch she came and sit with Minny. Of course this was quite out of the ordinary for the year 1962 in Jackson, Mississippi.

Granny Torrelli Makes Soup

Granny Torrelli Make Soup
By Sharon Creech

One of the books I have recently read was called Granny Torrelli Makes Soup, by Sharon Creech. The book was definitely below my reading level, but it was a cute, short read. The book is mainly about three characters, Rosie, her grandmother, Granny Torrelli, and her next door neighbor, and best friend, Bailey. Rosie and Bailey’s friendship has ups and downs especially when new kids move in on their street. Granny Torrelli smoothes over their friendship over and over throughout the story. Both kids are going through their own challenges, Rosie with the new kids, Bailey is blind, and with that come many difficult challenges. Granny Torrelli tells stories to the kids that help them to solve their issues and view their world in a more positive way.
Sharon Creech did a wonderful job on this book, she crafted her characters in a way that shows both the good side and bad side of kids and their dramatic friendships. The plot in this book is easy rolling, but not extremely exciting. It was a one-day read, and quite easy, but perfect for a lower school student. Sharon Creech makes the simple things in life important and it is really fun to read her writing. She also wrote two of my favorite books, Bloomablility and Walk Two Moons. Creech has crafted another novel that brings humor, sensitivity and joy to the reader.

artemis fowl

i have been hearing about the artimes fowl series for a some time, but i never took the liberty to actually read it. so i have started the first book. first thing i was interested and i new it was going to be a good book. ninja body guards, genius kids, fantasy creatures, this is definitely my kind of book. i am normally not a fan of annotating but this book leaves such open ended lines that i just feel the urge to right down, what i might think happened/is going to happen. artemes's mom is scary and sad at the same time. she freaks out over little things, so i feel if you were to have a little mistake she would freak on you. for example there was the slightest crack in the curtain letting the slimmest amount of light through, and she started yelling that it was impossible to sleep with the light quot "making the room glow." she is also creepy/ scary in the way that she is imagining things that are trying to get her, and thins that are crawling on her. i think it would be very hard for artimes to handle her mother like this. i know i would have no idea what to do if somebody was hallucinating things. but in the book artimes seemed to act pretty chill tourds his moms actions, so i would imagine this started happening to his mom pretty long ago.

Catching Fire (Spoilers)

I read Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. You probably all have already read this book, but I'll talk about it anyway. Catching Fire is the sequel to The Hunger Games. This book is really good i recommend that you read it if you haven't already. The book will obviously only make sense if you have read the prequel so be sure to do that first! This book starts with Katniss Everdeen talking about the victory tour that comes with winning the Hunger Games. Eventually the 75th Hunger Games arrive with a little twist, the tributes are chosen from the victors of each district. Katniss Everdeen is selected by default because she is the only victor from her district. Believed to have started a rebellion Katniss must marry Peeta Mellark, her fellow victor so that her rebellious action from the first book could be seen as an act of love instead of rebellion. During the interviews we see that Katniss's wedding dress burst into flames and turn into a mockingjay costume, we then also find out that Katniss is pregnant with Peeta's child which causes an uproar among the audience. Prior to the games Katniss's stylist is beaten by peacekeepers for the mockingjay stunt. During the games she and Peeta make new allies and find something out about the arena. Eventually they are able to destroy a force-field around the arena making their escape. We then find out that a rebellion has been planned and will continue through the third book Mockingjay. So that is a kind-of brief summary of Catching Fire the second book of the Hunger Games Trilogy.

The Lying Game

Georgia Johnson

B Period

Blog Post: The Lying Game

I just started The Lying Game and it is a very good book so far. This book written by Sarah Shepard leaves you hanging at the end of every chapter. There is a girl named Emma Paxton who was abandoned by her parents at age five. She was then living in foster care and had a tough life from the beginning. She had always been wanting and looking for a family of her own. Emma then finds a family that she can go and live with, a woman named Clarice who is a single mother of a boy around Emma’s age named Travis. Travis then shows Emma a picture of a girl who appears to be her and looks identical to her. As she is wondering how a picture of her got up on the internet she remembers that she had been abandoned as a child and maybe that she had a long lost sister. She then calls social services and asks if Becky had abandoned in any other children and social services isn’t sure how to respond because they don’t have any record of her doing so. Emma later goes on a train to see her long lost sister, Sutton after they communicated a couple of times. Emma was waiting for Sutton to come and pick her up but in the end she never showed up to pick up Emma.

The Hunger Games

I am reading the book the hunger games. it starts with the main character who is also the narrator. she wakes up and describes who the other characters are, her sister prim and her mother. We then learn more about the place were she is living called district 12, in the country of Panem. She goes into the woods to hunt with her friend Gale, were you then learn her name is Katniss. When Katniss goes to the mayors house with Gale you learn more about the hunger games and how they work. Soon after that they go to the drawing for the games. Prim gets chosen to go to the hunger games, but Katniss decides to take her place so she does not get hurt. Then the candidates are taken on a train to were the hunger games are. Katniss and Peeta who is her enemy for the hunger games eat dinner together as they prepare for the games. Katniss has met Peeta once before, she was trying to take bread out of the garbage from the baker who is Peeta's dad. his mother sees her and hells at her. Later Peeta gives her two loafs of burnt bread to her. she feel he burned them on purpose so he could give them to her. Katniss does not know how to feel abut fighting him.

A Red Herring Without Mustard (A Flavia de Luce Mystery)

I'm reading the Falvia De Luce mystries, by Alan Bradley. I love this series! Flavia is a hilarious eleven year old with an affinity for chemistry. She is constantly finding new mysteries in her small town in 1950s Britain. Although it's not the most realistic book ever in that it reminds me of Dora (where are her parents?!?!), it is an interesting, witty and charming series. In the book I'm reading (the third of three books) Flavia has befriended a gypsy and lets her come stay on her family's estate in the fields. In the morning, when Flavia goes to wake her up, Flavia finds her drenched in blood. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to keep reading and was left with that cliffhanger!
Flavia never ceases to amaze me. Of course, she's a made-up character who is written by and adult but I think that she is a believable character, except that she is too level-headed I think. She can find a dead person and just treat it as though it's sort of an every-day encounter.
My favorite parts of the book are when her sisters try to get her. Her sisters treat her like some sort of vermin and are relentlessly tormenting her. It sounds horrible, but a lot of the time her clever plots of revenge and pointed come-backs make me laugh.
Read this series!

Cherub: The Dealer

I read The Dealer and I really enjoyed it. There are never any boring parts. There is action on every page and I just couldn't put the book down. I am now reading the third book, Maximum Security. This is an 11 book series, and I am excited to read more. But, right now the author, Robert Muchamore, is reprinting all of his books to the U.S. He has only reprinted the first three books of the series to the U.S. and so now I cant read the fourth book until he reprints the fourth book. The book is about a kid, named James Adams, who was a troublemaker and school and his mom died. His mom was the director of a thief organization. In book one he got recruited by a organization called cherub. Cherub is an organization where athletic and smart kids go and spy on people in order to get information to let the British Intelligence arrest them and get them away from the community. IN this book, The Dealer, James is on a mission to catch a drug dealing organization called KMG. KMG deals cocaine and makes a very large profit. James has to make friends with Keith Moore's kids, and find out evidence so that the Police can finally prove that Keith Moore is behind all of this. James goes to Keith Moore's boxing school and boxes and becomes a good boxer, thanks to all of his martial arts training at cherub. He then gets a job dealing cocaine, and he is now on the inside of this organization. Read to find out the rest.

Story Time

Story Time by Edward Bloor is about two kids who attend a cruel, abnormal school. After their neighborhood is swallowed up by the Whittake Magnet School District, Kate and her Uncle George (who is two years younger than Kate; the family set up is a little bit different) are forced to attend this school. George and Kate are astonished as they unearth what actually occurs in the Whittake School Building; students are force-fed protein shakes to supplement their intelligence, their classes don't teach anything but rather bombard the students with standardized tests, and teachers are fired periodically for promoting creativity or defying the curriculum or always giving standardized tests. Even worse, a demon is loose in the building, poised to pounce on innocent people in the Whittaker School Building.

So far, I love the book. I love it for several reasons. First, the plot is crammed full with action. Second, the book hovers around a great plot, that is really gripping. Third, the author's writing is suffused with great metaphors, which help you visualize the author's writing better.

However, their is one reason I dislike the book. When a book has a suspenseful plot, I crave a fast-moving writing style. However, Edward Bloor's writing style is slow, with each paragraph concentrating on one simple action or event. To me, the paragraphs feel like many identical ways of describing one thing that have accumulated.

The bad thing that this writing style prompts is that when a suspenseful or event full of action occurs, the slow-paced writing will make the event seem less exciting.

Overall, the book is great, though.

Candor

The book Candor is centered on a city with subliminal messages. The subliminal messages are contained in music, which plays all over the streets. The subliminal messages tell kids to do the homework, obey their parents, and eat healthy, which makes Candor a perfect, model town.

Oscar Banks is the perfect role model, who all the kids look up to. But Oscar is the only one who can get kids out of Candor before their changed by the messages and he is the only one who can resist them.

When a new girl, Nia, comes to town, Oscar is intrigued by her, and finds himself falling for her. He has to juggle being perfect, getting kids out of Candor, and dating Nia all at the same time. Evidence suggesting that Oscar is bad accumulates, and Oscar has to choose whether to keep Nia here in Candor and risk his safety or to get Nia out of Candor and forever lament her departure.

So far, in the book, this is what has happened:

Nia comes to town. Oscar steps outside to meet her. He mocks him that he is so perfect, and the messages pound on Oscar’s brain to go back to do his homework. To resist the messages and prove Nia wrong, he takes her graffiti can and sprays graffiti all over a building wall- an enormous crime in Candor.

Teens Against Graffiti (TAG) is assembled to find the person who sprayed graffiti over the wall. Oscar’s life is put in danger. So that no one suspects him, he has to elevate his game of being perfect, committing himself to many other activities such as chess club and running for class president. Those activities swallow all his time, preventing him from talking to Nia, and convincing her not to confess to TAG that he did it.

Nia says she won’t, but Oscar is unsure. Once the messages claim her, she won’t be able to lie or hide anything. Oscar devises his own music, that is steeped in subliminal messages telling her to resist the other messages and to not tell and forget the graffiti incident.

All goes well for Oscar for a while, until his life again is plunged in danger. His client, Sherman, who he will send out of Candor goes to get picked up three days earlier than the original departure time. He left a note to his parents informing them that he was leaving, so he can’t go back to his house. He stays in the woods, furnished with several protein bars.

However, Sherman is caught. Oscar worries that he will spill the beans to authorities. But Sherman stays loyal. The only thing he does is steal Oscar’s girlfriend, Mandi. Mandi was someone only to augment Oscar’s image of being perfect. And now that she’s gone, Nia and him can start dating, which puts Oscar’s image in danger.

I like the book so far. Every chapter welled over with suspense, and it was very gripping. The only part I didn’t like about the book was that after Oscar and Nia started dating, the book kind of hovered toward the romance genre, which I didn’t enjoy whatsoever.

Monsters Of Men

My independent reading book, Monsters of Men, by Patrick Ness, has made for some good reading. It is the third book in the Chaos Walking series, which also includes The Knife of Never Letting Go, and The Ask and the Answer. After capturing the president, who had earlier committed terrible crimes such as separating all women and men, controlling people’s minds, and probably killing all the women of his old town that he was mayor of. Todd and Viola are forced to release him to help fight off the indigenous people, known as Spackle, that were on the planet the story takes place in before the humans came. Todd stays with the mayor, fights in the war with the Spackle, and even starts to think better of the mayor, while Viola helps try to make peace of the war with the incoming ship (containing 5,000 people) that she was originally on before her pod crashed. Also trying to get the ship on their side are The Answer, an all female nurse terrorist organization that Viola used to be a part of and that can be good and bad at the same time. Todd and Viola do everything they can to be close to each other and keep each other alive, even if it means sending missiles at the Spackle while trying to make peace with them or following the president’s instructions. So far, the theme or message of the book has been to not give up on someone because of what they have done in the past. This has been the case with Todd and the president, and with the Spackle and the humans.

Peter and the Sword of Mercy

The book that I am reading is Peter and the Sword of Mercy. As I ended my reading at page one hundred of a five hundred and fifteen page book, these pages already have me thinking of what is going to happen next. The book is based on Peter Pan on extra adventures with his friend Molly, this is the third book in the series so you have to get through the first three, which also are very fun, and good reads. The end of the third book gives a great leave off which leaves the new fourth book a good beginning. In the prologue, the first sentence gripped, just as I gripped the book with white knuckles. A battle between two leaders one wielding the famous sword of Curtana, which is broken in a downward strike coming from his opponent Lord Ombra. Theses five pages have me guessing in a good well-written book. Unfortunately, the text is very easy to read as it was intended for a lower reading level than most of our own. But a weaker text doesn’t stop Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson from making a good fiction novel. The broken parts of the blade have been lost forever, Lord Ombra’s great grandson, The Skeleton who is from the group called the “others” who can deliver deathly pain in an instant. He looks for this piece of the blade for evil but Peter Pan is looking to stop him, and on the way to finding more stardust. Just talking about this book wants me to read more right now. This is a very fun and quick read, the large text lets you speed through but I find trouble digging in as Peter and Molly wander for a long while in the book. I recommend this book to everyone, so next time you can’t think of a book, think of Peter and the Starcatchers, the first book in the series.

Carly Bullock

Class D

The Maze Runner

I am reading the maze runner by James Dashnser. I am on page 80 and so far the book has been kind of slow. It is about a boy named thomas who gets placed in the glade he is 16 years old. He dosn't remeber anything about his past life except some objects, but no faces or names. In the glade there are hundreds of boys all about 12-18. There is a maze that the runners have to go thourgh every day. There are big doors that look the boys in the glade that close at night. Thomas has a storage eruge to be a runner even after he sees them coming back painting andnout of breath. He also sees a griever that can kill you in the maze and he still wants to be a runner. Every month a new boy comes up an elevator or "the box". A day after Thomas comes to the glade there is another newbie. The person that comes up is a almost dead girl with a note in her hand. I wished that they had spent less time describing the setting and got to the point of him wanting to be a runner, faster. I think that James Dashnser did a very good job of describing “the box” and when the girl comes up it. So far I like the book but at some points it is a little confusing. I am excited to hear what happens with Thomas wanting to be a runner.

The Chocolate War

Right now I am reading, The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. The book is about Jerry Renault, a freshman ant Trinity High School. Jerry refuses to sell chocolates in the annual school fund-raiser. His refusal to sell chocolates starts out as an assignment from a secret society within the school, but soon becomes an act of defiance to the society, called The Vigils. His act spurs several other students to follow his lead, and boycott the fund-raiser. This makes the Vigils, and the school administrators very uncomfortable, so they attempt to stop the fund-raiser boycott. The resistance to sell chocolates is significant, because there is twice as much chocolate as in the past, and it is also being sold for twice the usual price. All of the chocolate has to be sold, in order to keep the school running.
One of the things I think is interesting about the book is that, it doesn't just follow one character, it follows several different characters and their points of view. The author is very good at creating very different characters, with greatly differing mindsets. The uniqueness of the characters makes the conflict more significant, and more interesting. Overall, the book is fairly interesting, but I'm not sure I would recommend it, because it takes a while to actually get into the story and there isn't a whole lot of action in the first half of the book.

Cherub: Divine Madness

I am reading a book in the cherub series by Robert Muchamore called Divine Madness and have been liking the action. What I have read most recently was an action scene where one of the main characters Bruce tied up the enemy and was able to contact the mission controller. I like this book more and more as I read it and develop a greater understanding of it. Right now at the point I’m in in the book, I haven’t been able to understand why the enemies are enemies and I am not able to picture the setting very well either. It seems like what is going on is that there is somebody that the young recruits have captured and that this could become significant for them to find and capture the main enemy. I think that as I read further into the book I will sooner understand what is going on. I haven’t been able to connect with the characters much yet because of my lack of reading comprehension. I hope for more from this book because I have read all of the others in this series and have loved them, but for now I am not the biggest fan of it.

Hatchet

My book is Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. It is about a 13-year-old boy named Brian Robeson. Brian's parents get divorced, and he is flying to Canada in a private plane to visit his dad when the pilot has a heart attack and the plane goes off course and crashes. Brian has to find shelter and food in order to survive until he is rescued.

The Help

Love this book! So far The Help is a fantastic book! Even though I’m only on page 54 I feel like you know what each of the women are like. Kathryn Stockett has done an amazing job capturing the essence of what it was like to be a maid back in 1955. She also uses amazing imagery and provides many sensory details, which tend to lure you into the book.

My favorite part of the book so far is the new relationship between Minny and Miss Celia. Miss Celia is so nice to Minny, Minny isn’t sure what to make of it because she’s used to white woman being rude to colored woman. Minny thinks that most white woman love shopping and gossiping with their friends. Minny realizes that Miss Celia isn’t like that at all. She wears tons of make up and gets beautiful for the day but stays in bed. The only time of the day she gets out of bed is to learn how to cook from Minny.

I am excited to see how the relationship progresses. I also can’t wait to see if Miss Celia tells Mister Johnny about Minny because Miss Celia promised Minny that she would tell him in about ninety days.

So far, I would highly recommend this book for many types of readers because it contains many different lessons about or American history.

The Hunger Games

Right now, I am on page 80 of The Hunger Games. So far, The Hunger Games is mostly about the life of a girl named Katniss. She started out as a poor girl who lives in district twelve of Panem with her mom and her sister, Prim.

In Panem, once a year a national holiday sort of thing takes place in the Capital. Two people (one boy, one girl) by random are picked from each district to compete in the Hunger Games. The point of the Games is for the 24 kids to fight, and see who is the last one standing/living. Originally Katniss’s sister, Prim was picked along with a guy named Peeta. Katniss would not let her younger sister go through this, so she decided to take Prim’s place, and participate in the Hunger Games.

The book surprised me in a couple ways, the strongest in the way that it “got to you” on page 50 or less. When you find out that Prim, out of everyone, got selected to participate you sort of just freeze for a couple seconds. The author, Suzanne Colllins, makes you feel like you are there and feeling what the characters are feeling. I am so incredibly excited to finish the rest of the book!

The Throne of Fire

The Throne of Fire, written by Rick Riordan, is an action-packed sequel about two siblings: Carter and Sadie Kane. Their story begins when their father unleashes the gods of Ancient Egypt in an attempt to help face the ultimate enemy: the ancient and powerful snake god of Chaos, Apophis. Carter and Sadie must prevent him from breaking free of his prison in several days’ time or the world will end. Realizing the only way to stop Apophis is to awaken his enemy, the sleeping sun king of Egyptian gods named Ra, Carter and Sadie journey around the world in search of pieces that will awaken him. To make matters worse for the Kanes, Ra is rumored to have lost his mind and to have become weak. Carter and Sadie travel to ancient tombs and foreign countries, encounter the strangest of gods, and gamble parts of their souls in search of Ra. In the nick of time, the Kanes wake Ra only to discover that he has become senile. When it seems all hope is lost, Desjardins, predominantly an enemy to the Kanes, appears and performs a powerful act of magic that contains Apophis, buying time, at the cost of his life.

The Throne of Fire is a light, entertaining, and easy read with alternating narration between siblings: Carter and Sadie. Their voices are honest and humorous. Altogether, The Throne of Fire does not have any underlying themes or have any insights to be gleaned. In my opinion, The Throne of Fire was simply meant as an easy but entertaining read.

Carter and Sadie Kane are the protagonists stumbling through their lives in The Red Pyramid and The Throne of Fire. Though the siblings are close in age, they are two very different people. Carter is a quiet and thoughtful 14 year-old boy. Sadie, however, is a very tenacious and willful 13 year-old. They are also described as having very different coloring from each other. Carter is the “look before you leap” character of the duo, while Sadie is more prone to rash actions and words. Though having spent most of their lives apart from each other and obvious personality differences, they are fiercely protective of one another. Other characters, regardless of magic, power, and immortality, all have quirky, memorable voices along with a modern twist written into their personalities.

Throughout The Throne of Fire, Carter and Sadie have to deal with many conflicts such as Apophis rising, magicians with personal agendas, police, gods, as well as your usual mix of teen angst. Though most of the events that take place in the story are highly implausible, Carter and Sadie Kane are written like any 14- and 13 year-olds, albeit thrown into the middle of mythological, world-changing events. Because of this, Carter and Sadie are relatable, especially in the “over your head” sense though not quite on the same standard.

All together, The Throne of Fire was an enjoyable and entertaining read recommendable for someone looking for a light and humorous adventure.

All The Kings Men- by Robert Penn Warren

1^st Quarter – Period D

Crey Bankes

I have chosen “All The Kings Men” for my first quarter literature reading assignment. The book was written by Robert Penn Warren, has received the Pulitzer Prize and is 661 pages in length. When searching for my first quarter reading, I looked through books of authors that I am familiar with – Dickens, Steinbeck and Paulsen . I chose my first quarter book because it is focused on early American politics and corruption. This will be the first time I have read a book on this topic.

This literary fiction begins in Mason City during 1936. The main characters introduced in the story are Willie Stark (Boss), Lucy Stark, Sugar Boy and Tommy (Willie’s son’s) and Mr. Duffy. The main character Jack Burden is narrating the story. The story begins with the main characters entering Mason City.

Willie Stark is the Governor and very well known to the locals. Although popular by political status, generally people did not like him. The first scandal involved Willie blackmailing the local judge Irwin to not run for Senate. The intimidation did not work on the judge. Willie tried to use his power to corrupt a contract bid in the town for the school construction. He hoped to use this situation to gain votes in his election. The town people went opposite of Willies guidance on the construction. Willie did not get support and lost the election. He went back to the farm and continued to study law.

2 years after losing the first Senate election, the construction of the schoolhouse was not up to code and children were killed and crippled by a fire drill. This event gave Willie power and trust in the people of Mason City. He decided to use this change of luck and re-run for Senate.

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Stolen is a creepy and intense, but good book. It is about a girl named Gemma, who has had a man named Ty stalking her since she was about eight years old, and he finally kidnaps her in the Bangkok airport. The obsessive, probably mentally ill man takes the 16-year-old to a deserted place that he built in the desert of Australia and expects her to love him.

There aren’t very many characters in the book. The main character, Gemma, is stubborn, independent, and a city-girl, who doesn’t enjoy the city all that much. The supporting character is Ty, a man in his late twenties, who is tan, handsome, strong, an artist of rocks and natural landscape, patient, a horrible speller, and nature/desert-loving. Gemma’s parents are talked about or appear a few times in the book. They seem to love Gemma in a very subtle way, and are very work-driven.

I’m guessing that the time era of the book, Stolen, is from around the late 1990’s-now (2011). It either takes place in the city of London (in flashbacks that Gemma has), the Bangkok airport, or a desert in the middle of nowhere, Australia. It is written in third person, which is interesting.

I would recommend Stolen to some people, but not others. It is a very good, complex, and interesting book that makes the reader think hard about what they are reading.

Lucy Nelson

9/11/11

A Clash Of Kings

A Clash Of Kings is the second book in the series A Song Of Ice And Fire. George R. R. Martin wrote the book. The book picks up right where the first one ended, with little or no time passing. Throughout the books very little time passes, which I found odd considering how much happens in the books. The plot of the second book is that Robb is declared the king of the north and he is marching to war against the king of the south, Joffery. While they are fighting there war another is being fought on the wall. Which is a massive seven hundred foot high wall made of ice. The soldiers of the wall are fighting against the white walkers. The undead. Only though I have read about 100 pages I can already begin to see that many of the characters are still having many problems. The Starks are still grieving over their father who was killed by Joffrey. And Bran who is just eight years old has to be the lord of their castle until Robb returns. For the Lanisters there is Cersei who has the emotional problem of her brother. Who has been captured by the starks. Cersei is also incestuous with him. Although there are many other conflicting problems with the book the oddest thing I have found so far is that the author decided to take out one of the main characters of the first book and make them into a supporting character. Since each chapter is about a specific character I looked ahead and found that the chapters on Daenerys are short and scarce. I’ve read around 100 pages and yet she has not appeared in the book. But I’m sure as I continue to read the book many more interesting characters and events will appear.

Bat Man, Fear the Reaper

I recently read the graphic novel, Bat Man, Fear the Reaper. I would say it is below my reading level mainly because it is a graphic novel, besides that I really enjoyed this book. I am a fan of comic books and I love the Bat Man movies. It obviously follows Bat Man fighting a rutheless killer, The Reaper. The Reaper fights crime but will kill anybody in his way, including law enforcement, crime heads, and Bat Man. After several encounters with The Reaper, Bat Man realizes what he needs to do. He decides to use a gun even though he swore never to kill. After defeating The Reaper, Bat Man sees he is Rachael Caspain’s Father. He tries to help him but The Reaper falls of a building to his death. After Bat Man and Gotham City think he is defeated, the son of Bat Man’s parents killer takes on The Reaper’s identity and keeps on fighting crime. Eventually he kidnaps Rachael and Bat Man goes after him. The Reaper catches him and forces him to believe he didn’t miss his parents through the use of drugs and a fake movie. Then Robin comes to save Bat Man and the two takedown The Reaper.