The Sister Switch by Jane B. Mason and Sarah Hines Stephens: Review by Jackie L.

I read the book The Sister Switch by Jane B. Mason and Sarah Hines Stephens. The genre is realistic fiction. Its about two girls who are identical twins and Cait is the musical and good at school one and Andie is the sporty, social, hates math one. They both have wavy hair and blue eyes, but accept that they dress totally different, and have different hobbies. For example Cait cares what she wears and has all the accessories, but Andie likes to wear plain T-shirts, sweats, and her cleats. Because a gym test might prevent Cait from joining the Jazz Ensemble, and Andie switch. But they keep switching after they promised their best friend, Olivia that they would never do it again. Not because they wanted to, but it is harder to stop now that they are doing things they like, but as the other person. You would think it would be easy, but in this case its not. I think it was a fun, and interesting book. It kept me reading and wanting to know what would happen next. I would recommend this fun book to all girls looking for a great, and quick book to read!

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes: review by Sam A

"Flowers for Algernon", by Daniel Keyes, is the story of a 32 year old man named Charlie Gordon. Charlie is a mentally retarded adult that has to live a life with out the family he once knew. Being retarded he realizes that he doesn't have what most people do; he has a unusually low I.Q.. As a child Charlie was pushed over and over again to be like other people by his mother. But now that Charlie is grown up he has to live on his own. Charlie has taken classes, at the Beekman College Center for Retarded Adults, to learn how to read and write. Charlie wants to be smart because he believes, "If you're smart you can have lots of frends to talk to and you never get lonley by yourself all the time" [sic].

Charlie is picked to be the patient of an scientific surgery that scientists think may increase Charlie's intelligence. The only problem is, this surgery has never been performed on a human being. After the surgery Charlie thinks that now that he"s smart every one will like him and that his life will be great forever. But when he figures out that the surgery will only bring him trouble how will he be able to deal when he realizes that having the surgery done to him may slay him itself.

This is a great book filled with suspense, emotion, amazing writing, and a story of hope. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a great book in their hands.

The River- Gary Paulsen: Review by James M.

Brian Robesen is back! Yes, that is right. The amazing wilderness survivor Brian Robesen is returning to the woods on a government mission. His mission is to go back into the wilderness with a psychologist named Derek and survive again. Having learned of Brian's amazing survival skills, the government wants him to "teach them" how to survive in the woods so they can train military soldiers in-case they are lost or stranded. They will bring emergency food, a tent, a radio, pretty much "everything except the kitchen sink" (according to Derek). Suddenly Brian realizes that this situation is unlike one you would ever find yourself in after a real accident that would strand you in the woods. So, now that they have landed, Brian refuses to take the extra supplies and food in order to create a more realistic survival scenario. However, Derek persuades him to take the radio, some maps, and his journal. The first few days were great: perfect weather, a nice spot for base camp, and lots of food. There was one problem. Mosquitos. Every morning and every night they ate the two adventurers alive.

Derek and Brian knew the weather would go bad eventually, and it did. In a big way. It poured and poured and poured. Then lightning struck and Derek reached for the radio to call in help. At that moment lightning struck and Derek #@! #$%* <>"{ $ @#$^. Now Brian has to !@} )^* )# ? #%*()!^# before he >:~)!!! Wonder what the (^#@)_'s are read this exciting book to find out!

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld: Review by Natalie

I just read a great fantasy book about an alternate history called Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld. It's set right near the beginning of World War 1, in places like Austria, Switzerland, and the Leviathan. It's about two people, Alek and Deryn. Deryn is a 15-year-old girl who enters the British Air service, and has to hide the fact that she is female because girls are not allowed. Surprisingly, the British and their allies don't fly planes, they fly huge hydrogen-filled sea creatures! In this story, the great scientist Darwin discovered DNA and learned how to manipulate it to create unique creatures, for instance message lizards. They repeat orders and bring them to people in other places. The British are called Darwinists because they use Darwin's man-made animals to do many different things. The Leviathan is a giant flying whale airship that was specially designed so that it is possible to walk inside it, where there are rooms and more strange creatures. Alek is the prince of the Austro-Hungarian empire, but his parents are assassinated by the empire to start a war and he has to run away with his teachers. The Austro-Hungarians and their allies, nicknamed "Clankers" are the enemies of the Darwinists. They use mechanical things to do things, but they walk, instead of being on wheels or treads. Alek is also their enemy and to escape them he crosses the border into Switzerland, a neutral country. Not long after the Leviathan crashes close to where he is hiding, and Alek and Deryn (Who is calling herself Dylan) meet. Then, the excitement begins!

You'll have to read this great book to find out what happens next! I loved it because it has lots of excitement and an amazing back story. Also, I am interested in books with alternate history. I'd recommend this book to nearly everyone because one character uses a LOT of interesting swears, though it is a good book. Leviathan is a good read!

Caught in the Web, By Nancy Krulik. Review by Kendall R.

The book I reviewed is called Caught In The Web by Nancy Krulik. Overall, I thought it was a good book! The main characters in the book Caught in The Web are Jenny, Chloe, Liza, Marc, Sam, Marilyn, and Carolyn. They go to school at Joyce Kilmer Middle School, and want to produce a web cast. They aren't popular and they want attention. Also, they just want to have a fun time with each other doing something they all enjoy. They start to plan it and it turns out to be a big success! Of Course, the popular kids HAVE to be the center of attention, and start their own webcast too. Now they are both fighting to see who will have the best show. The popular kids have a fashion show, while Jenny, Chloe, Liza, Marc, Sam, Marilyn, and Carolyn have a karaoke contest. The contest is to see who will turn out to be number one at Joyce Kilmer Middle School. I recommed this book to anyone who likes competion. It was a good, exciting, and interesting book. It is mainly a girl book though, so most boys would not like it. All in All, I really liked this book and I hope you deciede to read it!

Review By: Kendall

Bone: Eyes of the Storm

Have you ever read the book, Bone: Eyes of the Storm by Jeff Smith? Well, I did. I loved the 180-page fiction graphic novel. It was about Bone and his two cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smily Bone. The first minor story is “Moby Bone”, where Phoney Bone and Fone Bone are pirates and Smily Bone was Moby Bone.

The bigger story is that Thom (a main character) and Bone (another main character) are trying to figure out what their dreams mean. Also, while Bone and Thom are doing that, Smily and Fone Bone make a bet with Lucius that …. Wait, wait, wait, read the book to find out. Then Thom finds out that she really is a princess … hold it, I am telling you the story again, aren’t I? So, as I said, read the book to find out.

After the bet was made, everyone in the bar wanted to keill Bones for rigging the cow race. But, Bone loves Thom. He even writes love poems to her but never gives them to her. If you would like to learn more about Bone, read the book (if I haven’t given the book all away).

Horse Crazy by Bonnie Bryant reviewed by Allison O.

Horse Crazy is the first book of the popular Saddle Club series written by Bonnie Bryant. This fictional book introduces the reader to Pine Hollow Stables and the girls who ride there. Pine Hollow Stables is the main setting of this story and is the place where serious horse lovers meet to do what they do best …. Ride! Pine Hollow is a place where traditions are very important to those who are members there.

My favorite character in this book is definitely Stevie Lake. She comes from a wealthy family but is not in the least spoiled. She just loves practical jokes. This is seen in the very first time she meets a new member to the stables, Lisa Atwood, and thought it would be funny to remove the stirrups from the horse she was about to ride so that she would be unable to mount him and join the others for a ride.

The story revolves around Stevie Lake, her best friend Carole Hanson, and the difficulties new comer Lisa Atwood encounters when she tries to make friends at the stable. Another portion of the plot focuses on the annual Mountain Trail Overnight campout which takes place for the students at Pine Hollow. The girls are all looking forward to going but some may have to work harder than others in order to go on this trip. We quickly learn that another trait that Stevie Lake possesses is determination. She finds out that, unless she improves her slipping math grade, her parents will not give her the money needed to go!

I enjoyed this book but did feel that the story line was predictable. I liked following the relationships between the three friends and how they changed throughout the book. Aspiring equestrians will love reading this book because it is full of detailed and accurate information on everything you ever wanted to know about riding and taking care of horses!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Review by Chris

My book is fiction. It is Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. In the beginning Greg talks about how his book is a journal not a diary. In the story he goes to a middle school. At the school there is this cheese in the parking lot and whoever touches it will get the cheese touch. Also in the middle of the story Greg and his friend try to build this haunted house but it did not turn out so good. Greg is the main character of the story. Greg has a mom and a dad and a brother named Rodrick. He goes to a middle school and he feels like a wimpy kid compared to everyone else. I think everyone should try this book because it is a fun book for everyone.

Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt reviewed by Carolyn L.

Wednesday Wars is a realistic fiction book by Gary D. Schmidt. Holling Hoodhood goes to Camillo Middle School and on the first day of 7th grade there was one kid Mrs.Baker hated more than anyone. Him. Since Holling is Presbyterian and all the other kids are either going to Hebrew or Catechism school on Wednesday afternoons he is stuck with Mrs.Baker,alone.Mrs.Baker makes Holling read Shakespeare outside of class. When Mrs.Baker orders cupcakes for a veterans meeting all the kids think Holling will get one since it's just him and Mrs.Baker. So then the kids make Holling get one for each kid in the class. Holling is already loaded with other problems. Mrs.Baker hates him, he has to be nice to her since her family owns the Baker Sporting Emporium and Hollings dad might desighn a building for them. Holling goes to Goldman's Best Bakery to order a bunch of delicious creampuffs. It turns out he doesn't have enough money,and he can't go to school empty-handed. Mr Goldman needs someone who knows Shakespeare so they can be in a play. Holling steps up to the plate and performs in the play. His classmates are satisfied with the creampuffs.

Holling Hoodhood has a huge problem. He lives right in the middle of Long Island. He is really smart too. He might of failed math last year but this year he does Shakespeare with Mrs.Baker. He can understand it and recite parts of it too. Holling is also really athletic. He can run really fast(Mrs.Baker taught him). He runs so fast he made the school's travel team, which is all 8th graders except him.

I enjoyed Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt. I liked it because it tells the story of a seventh grade boy facing problems with his teacher in the year 1967. Hollings family is dealing with problems his dad is trying to design peoples buildings and his sister wants to be a flower child. A flower child is a person who wants peace and no war.

In the end of the book Holling goes on an adventure after a runaway relative. Before that he saves his older sister from an aciddent. Read the exciting book Wednesday Wars and discover if Mrs. Baker and Holling ever become friends.

Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer reviewed by Lauren F.

Eclipse

By: Stephenie Meyer

Eclipse is the third installment of Stephenie Meyer's exciting Twilight Saga series. This book is part fantasy and has romantic moments as well. The back drop of this story again takes place in Forks, Washington. Eclipse starts out with our main character Bella Swan trying to figure out her relationship with her boyfriend Edward Cullen. He has asked her a serious question and she needs to figure out how she wants to answer. Bella is also trying to maintain her relationship with Jacob Black, her best friend who is a werewolf. Bella wants to become a vampire but she knows this would destroy her relationship with Jacob plus it would cause the Cullen's treaty with the werewolves to end. Bella is still the awkward teenage girl with brown hair and a quirky personality.

While Bella is trying to figure out her personal life there has been a lot of murders taking place in Seattle, Washington. The Cullen's are afraid there is a new evil vampire in the area or a returning old foe . Alice Cullen, one of Bella's best friends has a vision that Bella is in jeopardy. With Bella's life at stake the Cullen's and the werewolves must come together if they want to keep their lands safe and save Bella's life. Will they be able to do so??? Will Jacob's hatred of Edward destroy Bella's life? How will Bella answer Edward's questions? These are many of the questions Eclipse challenge's the readers throughout this book. You will be kept on the edge of your seat as Stephenie Meyer's has breathtaking fight scenes that will keep turning the pages until 2:00 am.

I felt Eclipse was a great book but it takes great imagination to get the idea of vampires and werewolves as real people. I also thought the ending of Eclipse was begging me to read the final book, Breaking Dawn.

Witch Child by Celia Rees: Reviewed by Larisa

Witch Child

by Celia Rees

Reviewed by Larisa K.

The year is 1659, fourteen-year-old Mary Newbury's story begins as her grandmother and her are accused of using witchcraft. Mary flees from England and hopes for a new life. As she sails across the Atlantic with the puritans, she strives to keep her identity a secret. Tensions rise in the New World and she and the Puritans are struggling as the harsh winter is around the corner. They struggle starvation, sickness, food shortages, and extreme cold. How long can Mary hide her true past? How long can she keep running?

This mysterious, heart pounding book is stuffed with drama, mystery, and vivid images in every chapter. Even though a fiction book, Witch Child is so realistic it’s almost as if Mary would come alive from the book. My favorite about this book is how it takes place during colonial America, one of the most interesting time periods. With Mary’s amazing journey I give this book four out of five stars. Anyone will fall in love with this book if they love heart pounding mysteries, sacrifices, drama, clear descriptive writing, and great page turning book. The only thing I didn’t like about the book was how suspenseful it was, I couldn’t stop reading!

Point Blank By Anthony Horowitz reviewed By Stephen

Would you like to snowboard down a French mountain on an ironing board? Well, Alex Rider has to do this while two professional mercenaries riding modified snowmobiles chase him and try to gun him down. He narrowly escapes and is saved by the bulletproof snowboard suit he is wearing. He is running away from a small, selective boarding high school for the rich. It is located atop a mountain in the Swiss Alps. Alex, a 14-year-old British schoolboy, works for Allen Blunt at MI6, the British intelligence agency. He is a spy who has saved the world once before. His toy maker, Smithers, one of the largest people you will ever see, invents gadgets for Alex to use on his missions. For example, in his last mission, he made Alex a paste that would dissolve metal and Alex used it to evade a terrible death via a jellyfish. Alex faces many hardships and challenges that threaten his life.
In my opinion, this is one of the best books I've ever read. It kept me guessing the whole time. With a length of only 274 pages, it is not painfully long so you can read it in a short time. It took me about three weeks to read. The first book of the series, Storm Breaker, is also a great read, but I would recommend that you read it before reading Point Blank.

The Big Field by Mike Lupica: Review by Jacob I.

The Big Field, by Mike Lupica, is a book about a boy named Keith Hutchinson. His nickname to his friends is Hutch and he plays shortstop for the 17 and under Florida Cardinals. He usually is with his best friend Cody Cullen who plays second base. Darryl Williams comes to the team and he is known as the best second baseman around. He can hit the ball as far as a missile shoots out of a tank in mid-war.

The Cardinals were up against the Braves with their star play, Man-Up Manning. He is a giant 16 year old. The Cardinals are the youngest team in the league. When Hutch was elected as team captain, Darryl was furious he wasn’t awarded because he thought he was by far the best. So during their next practice they decided to run what they call "extreme infield" . When the biggest kid on the team, Brett Conner’s, was running to second base on a routine ground ball to Darryl, he purposely delayed the throw so Brett would hit Hutch. Darryl’s plan worked and Hutch landed straight on his right shoulder. But he was okay after a while. Then he was at practice a couple of weeks later when the coach had two words to say to him, "Roger Dean", which is the Marlins home field where he'd be playing in the world series. What will happen, who will win?

I recommend this book for anyone who likes action. It is a great book and I loved it.





From Jacob Ingram

"Sixth Grade Nickname Game" by Gordon Korman: Review by Tommy H.

The Sixth Grade Nickname Game
This quarter I read The Sixth Grade Nickname Game. This is about two boys in sixth grade who love to give people nicknames. Theses boys names are Wiley and Jeff. One of the other boys in their class Charles Rossie (AKA Snoopy) doesn't like his nickname Snoopy. Charles earned his nickname Snoopy because he is always snooping in other peoples business, but Charles still doesn't like it. So they make a bet that states if Wiley and Jeff can give a nick name to Mike Smith that doesn't have to do with him at all but still sticks, they have to give him a new nickname. They decide to call him Iceman.
Their new teacher is a huge physco football coach. He mixes his football coaching skills with teaching. This teachers name is Mr.Hughes or as the students call him Mr.Huge. In school Mr.Huge is like a maniac sprinting up and down the rows of desks gulping down gallon by gallon of Gatorade yelling "One hundred and ten percent men!", but a kid on Mr.Huge's football team says he's as slow as a snail at practice ever since he started teaching. Although the kids love their new teacher, all the other teachers don't appreciate Mr.Huge's enthusiasm.

One day in the morning a new girl comes to Jeff and Wiley's class, and she is the strangest girl they had ever seen. The new girls name is Cassandra Levy, and she is very friendly even though she says "totally" in every sentence. Wiley and Jeff spend a majority of the book trying to find a nickname for her,but no matter what they tried nothing seemed to fit her personality.

While snooping in a stall in the bathroom, Snoopy over hears a conversation between their Principal Mr.Doncaster or Deer in head lights as Wiley and Jeff call him, and another teacher. Mr.Doncaster earned his nickname because of his always wide eyes that make him look like a deer in headlights. They were complaining about Mr.Huge, and about how he is really loud. Mr.Doncaster says if that if his students do poorly in the state reading assignment that he would have Mr.Huge fired. When Snoopy takes the news to the rest of the class they know that it's bad because Mr.Huge quit coaching football so he could focus on teaching, and if he gets fired he'll have no job at all. They decide they need to ace the state reading assignment if they want Mr.Huge to stay. And so that's how the Marathon of reading started. Will the class pass the reading assignment to save Mr.Huge? Will Snoopy get a new nickname? And Will Wiley and Jeff ever find a nickname for Cassandra? Read this enjoyable book by Gordon Korman to find out!

Wolves of the beyond by:Kathryn Lasky review by: Sarah Crowley

My book is called Wolves of the Beyond. In this story a wolf pup is born, but he has a distinct and intriguing mark on his paw. There is a wolf called the obea wolf and she is a wolf that takes young wolves to a place to be abandoned and killed.The obea is also a wolf who can not give birth.This is what happens to a young wolf named Faolan who is abandoned on the thin ice of a lake where soon, there will be a brutal snowstorm. A mother bear who had lost her young bear cub to a larger bear. She finds Faolan on the riverside and thinks that he is a gift from the river god. She nurses him and raises him by herself. Faolan discovers that her heart is very loud so he calls her Thunderheart.He soon finds out that he is not a bear, but a wolf. One day when they had been together for about a year, Thunderheart explains to him that in the winter, she hibernates so he needs to go out to hunt if he must. At the beginning of hibernation he leaves to go out to hunt and an earthquake awakens Thunderheart. She leaves the cave to find Faolan but ends up being crushed by boulders and is killed. As soon as Faolan returned he saw that she wasn't there. He remembered that their other den was in the outermost. He traveled there but did not find her, but he did meet savage wolves. He finds an owl named Gwynneth that tells him how to find another pack. Since he had a strange marking on his paw it would be harder to find a pack that would accept him. She also told him that if he returned he would be a gnaw wolf. A gnaw wolf is a wolf that had been abandoned after birth but returns to their pack alive and proves themselves by surviving the cruel hardships. This is a great story for people who like adventure and thrill.

Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer: Review by Carolyn P.

Title - Breaking Dawn

Author - Stephenie Meyer

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer is a book of many things. The theme is action and romance. Breaking Dawn is fiction that has many locations throughout the story. Some locations are Forks/Washington, La Push/Washington, Bella Swan's house, the Cullen's house, Jacob Black's house, and Esme Isle. The plot is about a girl and a boy falling in love and the challenges they face in their love story. The time period is present day and Bella Swan has just married Edward Cullen. They are going on their honeymoon to Esme Isle. When something happens and they get in trouble with vampire royalty, the Volturi, a battle takes place. Thankfully their friends, the Quileutes, are there to help the Cullens. Bella, a nineteen year old girl, for the most part is the one telling the story and is the main character. She has brown hair and has lived in Forks for almost four years now. Breaking Dawn is one of my favorite books because of how romantic it is. I also enjoyed how great, descriptive, and action packed the story was. The book is mostly for girls so I don't recommend it for boys. Also, ask your parents before reading.

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

Review by Kevin

The Wanderer, by Sharon Creech, is a book about a girl named Sophie who sails across the Atlantic to England with her cousins Cody and Brian , and her uncles Dock, Mo, and Stew to visit her grandfather, Bompie. Along the way, they search for someone, but only Uncle Dock knows who, Also, they "find" themselves and some interesting things about each other. They also teach each other new things, some unrelated to sailing.

Sophie is an outgoing, boyish girl that knows a lot more about boats/sailing than other girls and she loves to sail. While sailing, she finds out something surprising about herself. Cody is a joker by heart and never takes things seriously. Brian, on the other hand, is very uptight and serious. He makes sure he knows where everybody is "just in case".

I think the book is a good book because it has lots of surprising twists and turns. Also, if you flipped to the end of the book, you would be completely lost because it's not one of those books where you can guess what is going to happen next. One thing that's for sure is that it is not boring.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney- Review by Daniel G.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Reviewed by Daniel G

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is about a 6^th grade boy’s (named Greg) life. His best friend is Rowley who lives down the street from him. On the way to Rowley’s house lives Fregley. He is the most annoying and weird kid who always stays in his front yard asking weird questions to the people who pass by him. Another annoying person in Greg’s life is Rodrick, his older brother. Rodrick is always trying to hurt Greg, or get him into trouble. Greg participates in many activities such as swimming, being a safety, and most importantly, he participates in the cheese touch at school. The point of the game is someone touches the rotten, moldy cheese, and they try to touch someone else with the same hand, and then the next person would pass it on etc. The only way to not have the cheese touch if someone else touches you with the cheese touch, was if you were crossing your fingers before they touched you, that would reject the cheese touch from you and the person who tried to give it to you would still have it. When you read Diary of a Wimpy Kid you get sucked into the book and can’t stop reading. This is why I choose this as one of my most favorite books ever!

Clarice Bean Spells Trouble by Lauren Child- Review by Julia D.

The book I read is called Clarice Bean Spells Trouble by Lauren Child. Clarice Bean, the main character, is a crazy young girl. She is very imaginative and has a wild vocabulary. She even made up a word called exception ordinarily. Clarice Bean gets herself into trouble a lot. She is also a huge fan of the detective, Ruby Redford and her gang. She has a Ruby Redford Notebook, a Ruby Redford clip and she watches every episode of the Ruby Redford show that she can, even if she has already seen it. This book takes place in a little town that seems to be quiet until a surprise occurs! Throughout this book, Clarice Bean is getting into trouble in many ways during school and at home. She is very clever, imaginative and troublesome!

I loved this book because it was one of those books that you can't stop reading and you cant put down. I also loved it because Clarice Bean was so funny and clever that it made the story pop and that made it interesting. I would recommend it to someone who loves to read books with great characters. This book definitely has characters with interesting personalities in it. Also, I would recommend this book to someone who loves to read books that grab your attention. This book is great and if you love this type of story, I am sure you would, or will, love it too!

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko

Reviewed by Andrew

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko is a realistic fiction novel that takes place on Alcatraz Island. It is the sequel to Al Capone Does My Shirts. Twelve year old Moose is still living with his mom and dad. He is also still just across the island from Al Capone, Seven Fingers, Buddy Boy, Willy One Arm, Machine Gun Kelly, and 273 other of America's worst criminals. However, Moose's sister, Natalie is no longer on the island. She is at a special school called the Ester P. Marinoff School because she has autism, thanks to some help from Moose's laundry man, Al Capone. Life is anything but normal for Moose. Al Capone asked him to get roses for his wife, Annie (one of the kids on the island) wants Moose to confess a secret so big it can get Moose kicked off the island, and all of Moose's friends are mad at him. When all the adults on the island are at a party at the Warden's house, Moose and the other kids get into some really big trouble with some of the criminals.

I liked Al Capone Shines My Shoes and I would recommend reading it. I feel that way because it is a good book with a lot of action and a good plot. Also, novels are my type of book. In conclusion, Al Capone Shines My Shoes is a good book which you REALLY SHOULD READ!

Willa By Heart by Coleen Murtagh Paratore: Review by Stefanie

This book is realistic fiction and is written by Coleen Murtagh Paratore. It's almost summer vacation here on Cape Cod, while Willa and Joe are the compatible couple at Bramble Academy. When the town of Bramble hosts auditions for the play Our Town Willa, and Joe got right for trying out for the romantic leads. When, the new girl Marielle offers some tough competition for the roll she gets it and Willa is redder than a juicy Macintosh apple. After Willa get's to know Marielle a little better she understands why Marielle really is grateful for getting the lead, and wonders if that will change her and Joey.

Willa's family owns The Bramble Briar Inn and has two weddings to deal with at once. Not all of this is fun for Willa because Willa's role as the assistant wedding planner to her mother turns a surprising way when she is forced to dance with the groom’s brother, a Southern gentleman. Only if Willa doesn’t have enough time she has to help the Chef Rosie bake the wedding cakes of the century, and wants to add a little twist to it. The most compatible couple in Briarwood might change Willa and Joey life forever.

I would recomend this book who likes a little twist,and who likes to read.Reading isn't one of my favorite things,but at the end of each chapter,it " hangs you by a thread' and you are dying to read more.That's what at least I felt.I would recomend this book because this is my third time reading it,and it never get's old!

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt: Review by Chloe

I recently read the book The Wednesday Wars By Gary D. Schmidt. The Wednesday Wars is a 264 paged realistic fiction book about a boy named Holling Hoodhood, who is living in the year 1967 and has just started 7th grade. The book is mainly about his conflict with his 7th grade teacher, Mrs. Baker, and some conflict with his father about his work business. Holling thinks that Mrs. Baker really hates him. You can tell because the first sentence of the book says :

" Of all the kids in the seventh grade at Camillo Junior High, there was one kid that Mrs. Baker hated with heat whiter than the sun.

Me."

Holling lives in Long Island, New York, and in the town where he lives, the people who live on the north part of the town who are Jewish go to Temple Beth-El, and the people on the South side whoa re Catholic go to Saint Adelbert's. But since Holling's house is in the middle, and since he is Presbyterian, he goes to Saint Andrew Presbyterian Church. The only reason why being Presbyterian is bad for Holling is that in his class every Wednesday, half of the kids go to Temple Beth-El to go to Hebrew School, and the other half went to Saint Adelbert for Catechism. So that only left Holling in is class with his teacher, Mrs. Baker. Most of the time he has to do tedious work such as clapping erasers, cleaning chalkboards, and washing windows. During most these Wednesdays, many events happen to Holling. One is that Holling must clean out the class pet's cage. The two pets are rats named Sycorax and Caliban and have big yellow teeth and weight about 15 pounds. So as you can imagine, while Holling is cleaning out their cage, they rats both escape. The rats hide up inside the ceiling for a long time while all the teachers try to get them.

Another event on one of those Wednesdays are the cream puffs. On Wednesday Holling is sent down to the school cafeteria to get some cream puffs for a special club. Holling leaves the cream puffs in Mrs. Baker's room with the window open so the cream puffs don't get soggy. After Holling leaves the cream puffs in Mrs. Baker's room he goes outside to clap some erasers for some of the other teachers. While he claps the erasers, a big cloud of chalk dust rises up through the window and right onto the cream puffs. As you can imagine, this does not go well. Lots of these events (including the cream puff one) start chain reactions throughout Holling's school year( One event includes wearing yellow tights with white feathers). What will happen to the two rats, Sycorax and Caliban? What happens to Holling with the cream puff incident? Will Mrs. Baker ever stop hating Holling? Read The Wednesday Wars to find out!

Bone: The Crown of Horns by Jeff Smith: Review by Sara K.

I just finished reading this great book called Bone"the crown of horns." This was written by Jeff Smith. As some of you may know, this book is the last in the WHOLE series. It is very interesting.

To really know what's going on you need to read the first book which is called "Out from Boneville."

then there are eight more books you have to read to really get the story. So in this last book(I really don't wont to give alot away!) There is Thorn, who is a sweet farm girl, who lives with her old Grandma Ben. It's a thrilling ride for them when Phoney Bone, Phonicple bone, and their cousin Smiley Bone,come along! When Phonicple bone gets thrown out of boneville, these three cousins get in heap of trouble! When Phoney bone gets separated from smiley bone,and phonicple bone, he meets the sweet Thorn. From then on the story gets more and more intense. Finally, Grandma Ben loses hope and gives in she say's the whole story. It all began when she was very young, and she had a sister,

Briar. When there was a big war between the rat creuters and briar(she is one of the princesses!) is the leader! She then betrayed her family and the rest is a mystary!

I really don't want to give anything out by accident , so you will just have to read the book!

I would definitely say that I recommend this book to anyone who has read The bone series and Harry Potter.

By Sara.K

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Review by Hunter

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is about Greg’s 6th grade middle school daily activities and happenings of his life that he writes about in his “diary” (journal he calls it because he believes only girls have diaries) that his mother bought him. He talks about his swim team, Roderick (his brother), Rowley (best friend), being on safety patrol at school, the “Cheese-Touch” and so many other kid stuff. Gregory Heffly is the main character he is in the 6th grade, middle school. His best friend is Rowley who isn’t very popular and is definitely not too bright. His brother is Roderick who is very, very, very, annoying and he loves heavy metal music. I would recommend this book to any kid because we all can relate to either all or some of Greg’s daily activities. I felt when reading this book that I was in the moment with him.

Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli: Review by Jackson

Hi Everybody, I just finished the book “Smiles to Go” by Jerry Spinelli. This is about a senior in high school named Will Tuppence. After scientists found that a proton was dead in Yellowknife (a science lab), Will counts the days after the proton died. During these days, many wacky things happen. One of these things was that Will’s best friends Mi-Su and B.T. kissed. Will has only one problem with this…he likes Mi-Su. During this time, Will tries to come up with a plan to get Mi-Su to like him. After Will’s little sister Tabby, who is in first grade is seriously injured, Will starts to wonder if B.T. and Mi-Su are really dating. Will Will and Mi-Su date? Will they just be friends like before or will they hate each other? Read this exciting, realistic fiction book to find out.

In my opinion this is a great book. You never know what’s going to happen next and you’re probably never going to want to put the book down. Throughout the book, Will is an interesting, curious character who is always looking to find answers. Will also changes a lot. In the beginning, he didn’t like his sister because she was constantly annoying him, but when she was hurt he started to think about different sides of her and he realized things he didn’t before about their relationship with each other. He also realized his relationship with his friends and how much they really care about him in a good or bad way. In all, I highly suggest this book to anyone looking for a realistic fiction book or just a good book in general. See you later.

Posted by Jackson C.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton: Review by Tommy W.

The Outsiders

This book is called the The Outsiders. It is by S.E Hinton. The main character in the story is a boy named Ponyboy. After the death of his parents, he was forced to live in a foster home. Unfortunately, he did not like it there, so he ran away. He then joined a gang named the "Greasers". It was made up of him, Johnny,Steve, Soda, Darry and Two-bit. They go through extremely rough times. They go up against challenges they never thought would come. They go up against their arch-rival gang, the "Socs". The Socs are mean and rich kids who live on the West side of town. Soon they get together, gang on gang, and have a brutal, massive fight which follows some things they will never forget.

As Isai before Ponyboy was a fosterchild. At least that was until he ran away to join the gang that his older brother was in. Ponyboy being the youngest in the gang does not stop him from doing anything. He is brave, imaginative, and open-minded. Although he is not smart in school, he is smart on the street. He is usually a good kid, but he is always willing to take a risk.

I have to say that this book was the best book that I have ever read in my life. This book has so much adventure and action that it is almost impossible to stop reading it. I recommend this book mostly to boys. I think that girls would be a little shocked by what happens and some of the events that happen, but if you wanted to I don't see it being a problem. If I were to rate this book in a movie it would probably be a pg-13, mostly because of the violence. If anyone is struggling to find a good book I think that you should definetly read this book.

BY:Tommy W.

Artemis Fowl

Artemis Fowl
by Eoin Colfer
review by Paul C.

Twelve year-old Artemis Fowl is a genius. He is smarter and can outwit the age's premiere scientists and create and hatch impossible plans. He has recently found a new species on Earth, underground. He discovered the world of fairies, goblins, dwarves, trolls, pixies and more. He manages to get a hand on a book that unlocks the entire fairy world to him. He stumbled upon the Book, the fairy bible. It has the laws, rules, and rituals of all fairy kind, and he now has them all. The book was first in Gnommish, the fairy language, but Artemis (being Artemis) hacked and hacked at it and translated the entire language.

He sent messages across the world using the words 'magic', 'fairy', and other fairy-life related words that attracted the LEP (the fairy 'police') to him. He manages to kidnap a LEP officer (Holly) and plans to hold her hostage until Artemis gets what he wants from the fairy people: gold. His father has a motto, "Gold is power", and Artemis lives by it.

The fairy people try to use their fairy technology to strike down the fire before it begins, but it was too late as Artemis got his hands on one of their officers. He now is in a battle against the LEP, their futuristic technology, and the verge of two species clashing together.

Eoin Colfer kicks off this series with a thrilling story thats loaded with excitement, fun, and adventure all wrapped into one. This gets your adrenaline pumping even though you're just reading a book!

The Last Book in the Universe

The Last Book in the Universe

by Rodman Philbrick

Review by Paul C.

The Last Book in the Universe is a sensational book full of odd and unexpected twists and turns. Rodman Philbrick wrote this story originally as a suspenseful short story in a magazine. With it, he turned it into an excellent novel. A supernatural, futuristic world is where a boy named Spaz lives. He is in one of the seven latches of the 'Urb', the outer, non-perfect world.

His latch is led by a gang known as the 'Big Bangers', who then is led by a reckless man who's name is Billy Bizmo. Surrounded by the latches, is a perfect world, called Eden. In this flawless Utopia, only 'proovs' are allowed. These humans are the perfect, genetically improved beings that live in this future Earth. This world was once the earth that we live on today, then came the Big Shake. It was the humongous earthquake that shook the earth and crumbled the once thriving society of humans. The world is the turned into a world where no people in the Urb have seen blue sky, blue water, or grass, the world that Spaz lives in.

Spaz is sent on a 'bustdown', a mission to steal all the possessions of a man named 'Ryter', who lives in what's called the 'stackboxes', which are basically 10X10 concrete apartments. He meets this 'Ryter', and receives a surprise. The old man is ready for the robbery. He has all his possessives lined up by the door. The old man's reply is “bad news travels fast.” Little did Spaz know that he and this old decrepit man were going to change the world.

A 'latch runner' (a messenger who illegally carries messages from one latch to another) arrives at Spaz's crib and tells him that his former sister, Bean, from his family unit(an adoptive family) is deadly ill. Spaz embarks on an illegal, frustrating, exciting, dangerous adventure that will change Spaz's life and the world forever.

Rodman Philbrick's book didn't capture my attention right away, but on my second attempt on reading it, I was engulfed into a futuristic story that I had never experienced before. This story was an amazingly realistic book(for the future, if the Big Shake ever happened) and I wish a sequel will come out to match the excitement of this novel. Can Spaz and the 'Ryter' help Spaz's sister? Can they heal her? Will they get to her in time? Will they even survive the journey? Find out in The Last Book in the Universe.

Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff: Review by Erin

Eleven
I just finished a great book, Eleven. This book is about an eleven year old boy named, Sam. Sam Macenzie? Sam Bell? This whole story started when Sam decided to go hunting for his birthday presents. He looked every where imaginable, in the couch cushions, under the beds, in closets, just about everywhere, but the attic! The day before his birthday Sam decided to go look in the attic. The stairs were in Uncle Mack's room. He was asleep, but Sam thought he would wake him, There was only one other way to the attic...climbing up the building! He did. On his way up the night cat was below him...meowing and waking everyone. When Sam got up in the attic he saw chests and everything, but the presents. He looked over at a chest...there was a newspaper article sticking out. It said MISS...the other part was in the locked chest. Below the words there was a picture of about a three year old boy. It was him. He studied the paper for awhile. He thought that the cut off letters said ING...but it together,and MISSING! He read as much as he could. The name was Sam Bell...not Makenzie! Was this him?There was a new girl in his class named Caroline. She read all day long. He thought maybe she could read it for him. Because of his LOW reading level he needed help. Sam never new who to read and one of his family members was teaching him. He and Caroline started becoming friends. That is when he decided to ask her for help.

I loved this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes cliff hangers. I am personally not a big fan of reading. But, with this book I could not put it down! I enjoy books that are not to long or not to short so you have to infer. The book is a great book that I would recommend to anyone! Will Caroline be able to help him? Will she want to help him? Will she help him? Who really is he? Read Eleven to find out!

Swindle by Gordon Korman: Reviewed by Tommy W.

Swindle

This book is Gordon Korman. This book is about a boy and his friend. They go on a journey to steal back a baseball card that he sold and got ripped off on. I recommend this book for people who like action.

BY: Tommy W.

To Ride Pegasus by Anne McCaffrey, reviewed by Megan

To Ride Pegasus is the first in a series of a few books, and is a great book that merges sci-fi and realism. There are real life situations, such as political problems, trials, etc. There are also sci-fi things such as EEGs that are machines that can detect brain waves and paraphysical activity. The Center is a place where certain people train, take care of, and discover Talents (people who are telekinetics, precogs, etc.). There are different characters that are in the book, but each of them have stories that are sort of in their own different sections.

The one character that is in all of the stories is Daffyd op Owen, the manager of the Center. He is a receiving and broadcasting telepath and a latent teleporter (someone who can teleport, but only in certain conditons). Amalda's story is my favorite. Amalda is a strong broadcasting empath (someone who can broadcast emotions ) and a receiving telepath (someone who receives thought messages from other telepaths ). Their stories connect because op Owen ends up helping Amalda train her skills, and she ends up becoming part of the Center's staff.

I loved this book for many reasons. One reason is that I just couldn't stand to put it down for even a day because it was so good. Another reason is that people are appreciated for their uniqueness and different abilities instead of being thought of as outcasts or freaks by a lot of people, which is something that you just don't see very often.

I would definitely reccomend this book to people, but I have to warn you that there are some more mature themes and situations.

Summer School: What Genius Thought That Up? by Hank Zipzer: Review by Charlie

I read the book Hank Zipzer "Summer School What Genius Thought That Up"? This book is very interesting novel that really kept me wanting to read more. It is about a boy named Hank who just finishes school and has summer break. Hank is really excited to go to the junior explorers camp when he finds he has to go to summer school. Hank says "Summer School What Genius Thought That Up"? The next day Hank finds himself going to summer school and while there he sees all the junior explorers and wishes he could go and be with them. But then a pretty good thing happened, Hank finds out who his summer school teacher will be and it is Mr. Rock, the nicest and best teacher in the whole school. A few days go by in summer school and Hank finds out two things, one he has to do a report on Albert Einstein and two, the junior explorers are having a party and there will be a talent show. Hank has a report to do though and his dad makes a deal with Hank. He has to get an A for him to be able to participate in the talent show. Hank is very nervous and hopes Mr. Rock will give him a good grade. In the end of the story Hank ends up getting an A and performing in the talent show. I thought this book was very good and interesting. I could not close this book nor put it down. I recommend reading this book as you will enjoy it very much. By Charlie R

The Thief by Meghan Whalen Turner: Reviewed by Carl

I read a very interesting story called The Thief by Meghan Whalen Turner. This story takes place in Medieval times, and in the kingdoms of Sounis, Attolia, and Eddis. The main characters in the story are Eugenides, Pol, Ambiades, Sophos, and the Magus of Sounis. Eugenides is a thief who claims he can steal anything. But when Eugenides steals the king of Sounis’s seal, he brags about it to a man at a bar who just happens to be the magus’s spy. Eugenides is sent to the king’s dungeon. At the same time, Medes (a country) is taking over most of the land around Sounis, Attolia, and Eddis. They are soon going to be invading Sounis, Attolia, and Eddis. In order to protect themselves they must unite to defend their land. There is an ancient myth that Hephestia gave a gift (a stone) to Hamiathes, making him the king of Eddis. The gift would free the bearer from death, and when the bearer was at the end of his real life, he would give the stone to his son and die. In order for the stone to work, it would have to be given to its bearer. So when the stone was stolen, the thief would give it to whomever he or she wanted to be king. This went on for many generations. But then one king decided to hide it and didn’t reveal its place. The stone is the key to uniting the kingdoms, and protecting the kingdoms. Eugenides is then released from prison because he is a good thief to go on a journey with the magus, his two apprentices (Sophos and Ambiades) and their body guard (Pol). Eugenides knows he has to steal something but he doesn’t know what. This is a very interesting book and I definitely recommend it.
By Carl.

A Journey To The Centre Of The Earth by Jules Verne: Reviewed by Sam E.

For my blog, I read, A Journey To the Centre of the Earth. It all starts when a boy named Axel is studying in his uncle's,Professor Lindenbrock, office. Lindenbrock comes storming into their house, happy that he purchased a new book, which is very old. When Lindenbrock has gone out for the day, Axel studies the book. He finds a note. At first, he felt happy that he found the note. But after he deciphers it, Axel finds something terrifing. What he finds is a note containing information about a map to the centre of the earth. The note also says that the centre of the earth is under the Icelandic mountain of Sneffels. After the discovery of this note, Axel quickly burns the note. As clever as Axel is, Lindenbrock finds out. Of course, Lindenbrock wants to start on their journey immediately. The first little trip they have to take was a trip to the island of Iceland. There they meet up with their guide, Hans. Hans is a big man who doesn't say much. When they get to the top of the mountain; they find a huge hole. They begin their descent into the massive crater, but after a while they come along a tunnel. They decide to go through it.


After they go into the pathway, Axel finds himself lost. After a while, he begins to hear a voice. At first, Axel thinks that his mind is playing tricks on him. But after a while, he still hears it. He moves closer, and closer to the voice. Then, Lindenbrock and Axel are united again. After many days of continuing down the tunnel, the gang comes across a HUGE area of land. They walk a while through the forest, and then they come across an underground subterranean ocean. They cross the ocean, but on the way, they witness a fight of a lifetime. After the ocean they come to a new area of land. Lindenbrock figures out that the only out of the earth is to be shot out of a geyser. When they get to the geyser, they put their raft on top of the hole and wait. After about five hours the geyser releases the power that in holds and they are shot out of the earth, into Italy. I think that this book is a great book, and anyone who reads will find it interesting. Especially, for those who prefer adventure books.

Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell: Review by Leto

I read Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell . I really liked it because it was based on a girl that is about my age. This book is about Jemie Dexter, a 12 year old girl, whose family is all about war. Her father is the colonel, the "head" person at a military base in Fort Hood, Texas. She and her brother, Tj, are fascinated by the army. Well, Tj has finally turned 18 which means he is eligible to go and the army and fight in Vietnam. When he asks to go to the army, the most ironic thing happens. The colonel say no. After a phone call with a general he is friends with, the colonel agrees to let Tj go. Jamie is thrilled. She can't wait to get letters and photos of what the army is like. The first package Tj sends Jamie is a canister of film with a note asking her to develop the pictures. Jamie is mad at Tj because he sent her film. And when she develops the pictures they are only pictures of soldiers, food, nurses, and shots of the moon. No pictures of combat. As she begins to get more rolls of film, the pictures become more"war-like". And more pictures of the moon. Jamie begins to realize that maybe Tj is telling her about the war through these pictures. Of course she wouldn't have understood what it was like to be in the war with just word. Each canister of film has a story to tell of with the pictures. Find out some of the stories Tj sends her.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Reviewed by: Ryan

This is the fourth book in a series of realistic fictional stories by Jeff Kinney. It is written about the daily humorous life events that a goofy middle school boy named Greg Heffley goes through. It is summer vacation and Greg is happy, unfortunately, his family needs to save money and they can't go on any trips or day trips and he and his mother have different ideas on how Greg should spend his vacation.

All Greg wants to do is stay in his room with the shades pulled and play video games, but his mom has other ideas for him. She gets him into a book club. After a while everyone leaves the book club including Greg's best friend Rowley. Then, one day Mr. Jefferson, Rowley's father, knocks on the door of Greg's house, he says that Greg and Rowley spent eighty-three dollars on smoothies, that they thought were free at the country club. To pay off the debt Greg and Rowley create a mowing service but, it doesn't go over too well. Rowley ends up leaving him and Greg ends up losing his one and only customer to a botched mowing job. His plans never seem to turn out the way he wants them too.

I really liked the character Greg because he is always so miserable and it becomes so funny to constantly hear about all his bad luck, like the night he invited Rowley for a fun sleep over and they ended up sleeping in the bathroom all night because they were terrified after they watched a movie they weren't suppose to.

If you would like to read about a self centered middle school kid and his constant series of misfortunes, you'll really get in to this book. So, read the book. What are you waiting for?

The Warrior Heir by Cinna Williams Chima Reviewed by Andrew W.

The Warrior Heir

By Cinda Williams Chima

The Warrior Heir is a great book. It is fantasy fiction, but it seems like it’s real. It feels like you’re right there. Jack Swift is a Weirlind, one of the five magical guilds, the enchanter, the wizard, the warrior, the sorcerer, and the sooth-sayer, or seer. Jack is a warrior. However, he does not even know about the guilds. He takes medicine every morning, “For his heart,” his doctor, a wizard, says. But really it’s to restrain his warrior powers. When his Aunt Linda, an enchanter, comes to visit, he and his friends Will and Fitch go with her to his great-great grandmother’s grave. Once there, they get a sword named Shadowslayer from the grave. That’s when several wizards attacked Jack, Will, and Fitch. Linda was trying to lure a different wizard who was following them away. Jack used Shadowslayer, which had flames burning on it, to shoot flames at the wizards to get the three of them to safety. Linda gets back and helps Jack. Later, when Will and Fitch are home and she and Jack are at the house and Jack’s mother is working, Linda tells Jack about the Weirlind and guilds, and how he is a warrior, and about most of his neighbors being Weirlind. She has to get him to safety because wizards invented a game to save wizard lives where the dominant wizard houses, the White and Red Roses, sponsor a warrior in a fight to the death. The Red Rose has already sponsored a warrior and issued a challenge to the White Rose. Linda doesn’t want Jack to have to fight. She has him trained in swordplay and wizardry, because he should have been a wizard, if not for his doctor, who made him a wizard. Eventually, he goes to The Game anyway because the wizard who trained him in swordplay wants revenge on the Roses for killing his family. He is entered as a warrior for the Silver Dragon. But his opponent from the Red Rose turns out to be someone he knows from home in Trinity, Ohio. The two 16 year-olds are ready for the fight. But Jack doesn’t want to kill his opponent.

I don’t want to give away the ending, so to find out what happens, read the book!

Reviewed by Andrew W.

Diary of A Wimpy Kid Dog Days by Jeff Kinney

Review by Robert

The fiction book Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days by Jeff Kinney, takes place during Greg’s summer vacation. He does not want to go outside; instead Greg thinks that it’s all about video games this summer. His mom won’t stand for it. So she tries to do all these boring bonding trips .Will Greg give into his mom? Will Greg’s dad help? Will Manny come up with better jokes? Greg Heffley is a boy who loves video games. Greg lives with his two brothers, his mom, and his dad. I think Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days is a great book because the story has a lot of twists to it, and it makes you want to keep reading. Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days is a book that has a lot of funny cartoons. Read this book to find out more about Greg‘s crazy trips!!

A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements

Review by Ilyas


A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements is a fiction book about a boy named Mark who is going in the woods. Mark is a boy who is really brave and sometimes lazy. He likes to explore. Most of the time Mark is sad because his parents like to travel so he can’t see them a lot. The science teacher is mad because Mark is really lazy at him. When the field trip, called the “Week in the Woods” came, he went in the woods and ran away from the science teacher. Mark likes the outdoors so does Mr. Maxwell; he is a 5th grade science teacher. I like this book because it has lots of action. I like this book for the outdoor experiences and because it has lots of detail. What will happen to Mark? Will he get out of the woods? Read the book to find out!

On Thin Ice by Nancy Krulik

Review by Paige

On Thin Ice is a fantasy book about a girl named Katie’s whose best friends are obsessed with an ice skater named Kerry Gaffigan. The magic wind turns Katie into Kerry. It is a big night for Kerry Gaffigan. But then Katie gets turned into her on the big night. What is she going to do? There is not just one, but two switcheroos in the book. When Tony Raven comes to town, Katie’s friend George flips out. Tony Raven comes because he is doing a commercial for his clothing line. The magic wind comes and blows Katie away. Who is she now? Well I am not going to tell you because you have to read the book to find out. Katie is a great person. She has a lot of friends. She has a dog called Pepper. In the book Kerry Gaffigan is an Olympian ice skater. When Tony Raven comes to town he is a snowboarder. He has his own clothing line. He doesn’t like to wear glasses because he thinks he looks funny in them. But then he wears them now. I think On Thin Ice is a good book because it has lots of action in it and it is never boring. If you read this book there is a whole series of them you could read.

My Sister The Vampire Switched by Sienna Mercer

Review by Julia

The fiction book My Sister the Vampire Switched is about a girl, Olivia Abbot. .Olivia loves bright colors and is nice to everyone. Olivia has moved to a new town and she is determined to make her new school’s cheering squad. She also wants to make new friends. So when Olivia gets to her new school she meets a girl named Ivy Vega. Ivy is Goth and doesn’t like Olivia very much. Then Ivy realizes that they look exactly the same. Ivy and Olivia figure out that they are identical twins! Olivia notices something about Ivy and that is that she has a completely different style and personality. And that is that Ivy always wears dark clothes and knee high boots. My opinion of this book is that it’s really good and surprising. Because you don’t really know what they are going to do next. And they have to figure out what they are going to do about the whole identical twin thing, and who they can tell? That made me want to read on and see what they do and what happens. Olivia also figures out that a lot of the people in her school are vampires! Including Ivy!

Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen; Reviewed by Claire

Cole Matthews, age fifteen, is what you might call evil. He believes that in order to have power over someone, they must be scared of you. He follows this rule quite well, too. Cole is a bully. Any of the people at his school might tell you to stay out of his way, and he is proud of that. All of the bad things he does are because he thinks he can get away with them. Everything is a big game to him. Every time the judge says,” This is your last chance,” he knows there will be another one. But, he goes too far when he almost kills Peter Driscal, a frail ninth grader. This time, Cole’s punishment is a choice - either jail, or Native American Circle Justice.


Cole chooses Circle Justice, just as a way to get out of going to jail. But, it turns out that jail would have been a better choice. Cole’s sentence is to spend one year in isolation on an Alaskan island. During that time, the spirit bear, a mysterious white bear, helps Cole learn the value of life. After terribly mauling him, the spirit bear leaves a ripped-up Cole on the ground to die. This experience teaches Cole that being mean does not prove anything, it just leaves scars and holes in the other person’s heart.


I liked this book because it made you think about what was really going on, so you understood it more. Like Hatchet, this book mostly takes place in the wilderness, but at times is a little more civil than Hatchet. You might like this book if you liked Hatchet, but if not, stay away! There is a lot more gore in this book. But, don’t let a little blood stop you from reading a great book! Touching Spirit Bear has a lot of meaning and is quite exciting. Read the book to find out if Cole survives!

Lyddie by Katherine Patterson -Review by Hannah F.

Lyddie is one of the best books I’ve ever read!! It’s a historical fiction book by Katherine Patterson. Lyddie Worthen has a tough life. Her parents are gone and her siblings are sent off to live with other families. Lyddie decides to get a job at the Lowell Mills to help to get money. She works 6 days a week from morning to night. Soon the working conditions of the mill are unbearable. They are affecting her and her new friend’s health. So, Lyddie must make a decision to risk her job and tell the mill owners about the conditions, or keep quiet while her friend suffers. Lyddie is a tough girl. She braves through everything that life throws at her and she doesn’t care about her looks or her clothes. She is full of determination and hoping that everything will be alright. I thought this book was powerful and I couldn’t put it down! I loved how Lyddie never gave up even when so much sadness was involved in her life. I especially loved it because the time era is extremely interesting, especially because it happened here in Massachusetts!Lyddie is an amazing book!!

Eleven by Patricia Reilly Griff: Reviewed by Jennifer K.

Eleven by Patricia Reilly Griff is a fiction book about a ten year old boy named Sam Mackenzie who lives with his grandfather Mack. The story takes place in upper state New York in a small town near the Canadian border. While snooping around in the attic searching for his up coming eleventh birthday presents he finds a picture of him self as a young child with the word missing under it. Could Mack not be his real grandfather but a kidnapper? With the help of Caroline, the new girl at school, Sam sets off to find the truth about his past. In the process he finds a best friend, the truth about himself, the truth about family, and the strength to over come one of his life's greatest struggles. In this book Sam thinks that Mack is not his real grandfather but thinks he really is an unknown kidnapper. To find out the truth of Mack and Sam's relations in the past, Sam and Caroline sneak back in to the attic to look at the contents of the mysteries locked trunk. They follow the clues and in the end, Sam and Caroline find out the truth between Mack and Sam's relationship. Was Sam kidnapped by Mack or are Sam and Mack really related. Read the book and find out. I loved this book because it kept my attention drawn and my curiosity peaked. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery.

ZooBreak By Gordon Korman Reviewed By Caroline H.

This book is nonfiction and it is a book that I really enjoyed. One reason is that is the sequel to the book Swindle.Now try to imagine this: six kids all trying to break into a zoo that is located on a boat, but why? Meet the team, Griffin Bing- the leader, Antonia "Pitch"Benson- the climber, Melissa Dukakis- the computer whiz, Logan Kellerman- the actor, Ben Slovak- the smallest kid in town, and Savannah Drysdale- the animal expert. Griffin is known as "The Man With The Plan" who always finds a way to fix a problem that anyone has especially Savannah's. Ben and Griffin are best friends but will all that change when Ben has to go to Du Point academy for his sleeping disorder? In other news Savannah's sweet and adorable monkey Cleo has been stolen and a mysterious banana peel was left behind and who else but Griffin comes to the rescue.The team is on the case! I liked this book because it was thrilling, it was about animals, and it was about what kids wouldn't normally do. Also another reason that I liked this book was because it was nonfiction. Personally I just like nonfiction better then the rest of the genres. All in all this was a wonderful book to read and I would recommend it to anyone.

Adam Canfield, the Last Reporter by Michael Winerip-- review by Ellie W

book : Adam Canfield, the Last Reporter

author : Michael Winerip




In the book, Adam Canfield, the Last Reporter, a group of kid reporters try to save their school newspaper Slash from being slashed! In a recent paper they wrote, they revealed that a rich family in their town was using their money against the poor people who live in their town. A lot of people were happy that the rich family got busted, but the family sure wasn't! They had so much power in the town that they shut down the newspaper. But Adam and Jessica, the coeditors of Slash, will not go down without a fight. They set about raising enough money to eventually print the paper by themselves. To do this, they hire the Ameche brothers, who call themselves kid entrepreneurs. After a while, they finally find some lead stories, including suspiciously high test scores and a possibly rigged school election.

This book has a mixture of humor, action, mystery and even a little romance. In my opinion, I think this was a great book. I like how it was realistic and really showed how a kid could feel if they were in a tough position with other kids or an adult. Overall, this was a great book and I would definitely recommend this to anybody.

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr; Review by Isabella M.

The historical fiction story, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, by Judith Kerr, is a very touching story. It is about a nine-year-old, Anna, who has to move from place to place after Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany, where she and her family lived during 1933.

Anna, brother Max, her mother, and her father are Jewish so they fled once Adolf became Chancellor because Anne's father had a bad feeling about the man and his official beliefs. At first, they just moved to Stuttgart, Switzerland, right outside Germany's border. But even this small move could have ended in a tragedy. If someone had found that they were Jewish and trying to leave Germany, that person could turn them in, which could eventually lead to death. But luckily, this didn't happen. Once the family got to Switzerland, they met Anna's father who had gone ahead earlier to get a hotel room and other necessary arrangements. After they settled, Anna and Max went to school. But after a while in Switzerland, the family moved to France and they all learned French. After some tough times due to money issues in France, Anna, Max, and her parents moved to England so Papa could accept a job offer. And again, the family learned another language! This story ended while the family was in England and all was well. I hope it stayed like that!

I really enjoyed this story for many reasons. I liked the time period and I liked to hear the way this family made it through their hardships. Anna was such a strong character even though she had to face so many dilemmas through the moves and all the danger that surrounded her. She puts on a strong face although, at times, she was really afraid. I would recommend this book for these reasons and also because you can really get into the story and feel like a member of the family because the author describes their feelings so well. In short, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is a great read.

So B. It By Sarah Weeks

Twelve year old Heidi has been living with her mentally retarded mother all her life. Her mom can't do much though and can only say 23 words (if you include a word that doesn't exsist- soof). Heidi has no idea where she came from. She asks her next door apartment neighbor, Bernadette, and she says she has no idea and that Heidi and her mom just showed up knocking at her door one day. She says "it was like you fell from the sky." Heidi really wants to know her life history. She says "how can a person live without knowing their history?" One day Heidi finds old pictures of her mother. It looks like she grew up in a place for mentally retarded people called Hilltop in Liberty, New York. Heidi is begging to go to Liberty by bus but she has a problem. Bernadette has angoraphobia which means she is afraid to go outside or even leave the house!! Bernadette isn't going to let a little 12 year old girl go by herself. Heidi has a lucky streak so she always wins anything. She goes to a cash machine and wins a game which rewards her with enough money to buy a round trip bus ticket to Liberty, New York and back to Reno Nevada. Heidi finally convinces Bernadette to let her go, and Heidi watches her mother and Bernadette as she leaves for her journey. Does Heidi really want to know her life history, or not?

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The book The Lightling Thief was a great book. It is a kind of book that once you start to read you can not put it down. This book is about a boy called Percy Jackson who find out he is the son of Poseidon or also called as The Sea God. Percy must journey to the underworld to confront Hades About stealing Zeus's master lightning bolt. Read his story of his epic journey of all of the monsters he faces, Places he visited, and how the lightning bolt might not be the worst thing going on right now. I would no doubt recommend this book to anyone. I like this book because it kept me reading and it was very exciting. I would give this book a 9.5 out of 10.

Reviewed by Matt V.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a fantastic, outrageous series written by Jeff Kinney. This is the forth book in the series. I would suggest reading the other ones before reading this one. I read the series backwards and it was confusing. The first book in the series is Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The second book of the series is Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. Finally the third book of the series is Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw. This book is an outrageously funny book that I would recommend to anyone. I think its genre is Comedy. It's life from a middle schooler around our age, so I think we can relate to it. This book is an easy quick read with 214 pages with pictures. Greg Heffley is an middle schooler who has some weird moments in his life and I think it is funny. In the summer he likes to play his video games in the dark with the shades closed. Also he likes to stay up all night and play video games. He wakes up when his dad comes back from work too. I think Greg has a personality like me. I would recommend this book to a anyone because he is in middle school too. He has a break in his summer and the story is about his summer stories. Obviously as you can tell by the title of the book Greg gets a dog. It isn't what he expects a dog would be. I would give this book a 5/5 stars rating and everyone should read this book.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days by Jeff Kinney

Have you ever been sent outside when you are doing something? Well in Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days by Jeff Kinney that is what happens to Greg Heffly. Greg wants his summer to be playing video games, but his mom thinks thinks he should go outside and play with Rowly his best friend. He goes to the country club with Rowley and they have too many smoothies and waste money so Rowley does all work to pay it back and they don't become friends.



I would describe Greg as a selfish person. I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars because it was funny and a great series. This book is a great series with Diary of a Wimpy Kid the 1st one, Diary of a Wimpy Kid Rodrick Rules the 2nd one, Diary of a Wimpy Kid Last Staw and last but not least Dog Days. Get it fast before they are gone!
Reviewed by: Kenny

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID DOG DAYS: Reviewed by Nick H.

I am reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days by Jeff Kinney. This book is the funniest book in the world and to prove it I am doing a book review of it. The main character in this story is mainly Greg Heffley and he is the stupidest kid and the laziest kid in the world. He has a mom and dad and two brothers. His oldest brother is one of those guys that always pick on kids like a bully. His younger brother his name is Manny who is really stupid also and always gets what he wants and if he doesn’t his will cry about it.

There really isn’t a problem but he has like a little problems then he might or might not get a solution for it. Like the time when he and his friend Riley were going to do a lawn mowing business but that didn’t work out to well because they didn’t have a lawn mower. So he finally got a customer but she finally said no to get them away from her lawn so then they quick the business. I think this book is a really funny book and I bet a LOT of people will read this book and I think that other people are doing Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days.

Swindle By Gordon Korman review by Mark D.

In Swindle by Gordon Korman, you dont no whats going to happen next. These kids want to camp out in a old, abandoned house. So they do. In the house they happen to find a Babe Ruth baseball card, but they have to rush out in the morning because it's getting knocked down. Everyone chickens out except Griffin and Ben.They're happy so they bring it to S. Windell Palomino, a collectable shop owner. S.Windell tricks Griffin into getting the card since its rare. Next they need a team and a plan to get the card before he sells it a lot of money. Will they get it back or not?

Griffin, the main character is a daredevil. He will do a lot. He's not scared to do most things. Griffin will camp or get anything if needed. If he cant get it he would still try. This book if good if you like cliffhangers. It teaches you to not listen to stangers for anything. If the thing might be valuable or priceless. Some people might say its adventure but not really. I like this book because you don't know what will happen next. Thats what Swindle is like.

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George Review by: Peter V.

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George is a fantastic book. It is by far THE BEST realistic fiction book I have ever read. The book is about a boy named Sam Gribley who lives in New York City. Sam is tired of city life so he runs away to the Catskill Mountain wilderness to forge a life of his own. All he brings with him is an ax, a penknife, a ball of cord, $40, and some flint and steel to make fires. To survive Sam uses the resources of the land including wild animals and plants. Along the way Sam meets some new people and animals that he gets to know very well. The biggest challenge Sam faces is not surviving, it is staying hidden from people who will take him back to the city. This book is an account of Sam's fascinating wilderness experience. Sam is an ingenius and resourceful young man who always finds a way to make the best of a situation. He has many good ideas like capturing a falcon and training to hunt game for him and making large snares to capture deer. All in all My Side of the Mountain is a terrific book I would recommend to anyone who likes the outdoors.

Talent by, Zoey Dean, Reviewed by, Julie M.

Mackenzie Little-Armstrong, also known as Mac, is the daughter of a world famous talent agent. Her brother Jenner is a surf star, and her sister Maude is a ten year old certified genius. Her dad is an award winning screen writer, and Mac is just a boring old eighth grader attending BAMS(Bel-Air Middle School). Living in a large city like LA, it is difficult for Mac to be associated with such a successful family. Mac hopes to change the way everyone thinks of her with the help of Mac's two best friends, Coco and Becks. Coco is the daughter of a famous dancer and singer, Cardammon, and Becks's dad is a TV host on MTV. The only problem is she doesn't know how she can change the way people think of her. When she meets Emily Mungler, an average girl from Iowa on vacation with her best friend Paige, Mac's luck changes. Emily has serious acting skills or as Mac's mom calls it, "The It Factor," and Mac wants to follow in her mother's footsteps and make Emily a "star." The three best friends have to change Emily's looks and name to become a famous actress. Can Emily take all the heat and leave her best friend Paige? Will Mac make Emily a star? More importantly, does Emily have what it takes to land a major role in a movie ? Will there be four best friends now? Find out what happens in this amazing book.