Son - Lois Lowry

I chose to read Son by Lois Lowry. It’s a science fiction book published in 2012, and for the most part it takes place in a Utopian Elsewhere village, as well as flashbacks to the point of the last three books in its series: The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger. This is a fictional world where colors and emotions don’t exist, so have a careful mind! The story is about a girl named Claire. Her son Gabe was taken (in reality, Jonas took Gabe with him), and she embarks on a quest to find him. I think the theme goes to the fact that you must find your strengths and face your fears.

      The story’s point of view is in third person, and it’s where Claire looks for her son Gabe so that she isn’t worried about him, and it’s inspiring for young teens, just like its precessors. It’s very subjective, which gives it an interesting rhythm and creates the style.

      All three of its precessors (and itself) have improved my eyesight’s color by .005% and I feel bonded to them. It reminds me of the Astronaut Academy series by Dave Roman and the Zita the Spacegirl series by Ben Hatke, as both take part in fictional utopian worlds that the main protagonists save from further danger (both series from the very first book!).

      Overall, I liked the vast majority of the book, especially the foreshadowing between books, and the return of a crucial antagonist – Trademaster. I also like the return of important characters, such as Jonas, Gabe, Kira, and many more! Mostly, I like how the ending seems more concise than the first book,  I would highly recommend this book for 10 & older, because you’ll need an open mind!

Caedan Clarke

10/17/13

Rating: ★★★★☆

Rot & Ruin- Jonathan Maberry

      This six weeks I read Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maderry. The book was first publish

in 2010 and is a fictional book about kid who lives in town surrounded by Zombies. The book takes place in a town that was made after first night. The book tells a story about a boy named Benny who is sixteen. Benny is looking for a job but can’t find one. He ends up going to work for his brother as a Zombie killer. I felt like the theme of this book shows that you could have it hard in life depending on where and how you grow up.

       The story is told in third person that follows the character Benny. The book starts off during First Night. This is when all the zombies first where seen, and all the madness began. The survivors came together and formed the town. Benny lost his parents on this night and had memories that haunted him about his brother and his parents being killed. Outside the town is the Rot and Ruin where the Zombies are. After first night a town was built where Benny now lives. The book is a Sci-fi adventure and is for people who likes zombies, adventure, and likes to be sacred. The book is exciting and goes in great detailed about zombies and how to kill them or fight. The author added a gut wrenching and scary style to the book.

     It was a great book that has some scary and sad parts to it. The book affected me in a small way. Just thinking how hard it would be to grow up in a world with Zombies. I haven't read a book like this one and I think I should look for more like this one.

      
     The book is super cool and exciting. The book is scary and keeps your attention through the whole book. The only thing it needs is it should have more gore for a zombie book. I would recommend this book to whoever likes zombies or scary books.

Trey wood

11/8/13

*****5/5

Best of the Best

      I decided to read The Best of the Best. The book was written by Tim Green and was copyrighted in 2011 by Tim Green. The type of book is a nonfiction sports book and is mostly about a boy that plays baseball that is going through a rough part of his life. He is playing for the all-stars and he is trying to gain money to support him and his mom because of the divorce of his parents. The theme of this book is patience because you need to be patient with life and with sports, such as baseball.

    The story is told by third point person view and is mostly told by the narrator. This book is about a boy named Josh, he loves to play baseball, he finds out that his parents are getting a divorce and his dad is moving out and that he already has a girlfriend. Later on he gets chosen to play with the All-Stars Team, and trys to get money so he can help out with his mom and himself. The book genre is sports drama because of his life and also while playing baseball. This author keeps me intrested beause of him playing a sport, even though im not that intrested in baseball and also because he goes through his rough life and while playing baseball.

   This book affected me by telling me if i should play baseball or nbot because you have to practice and practice to make a team and also how a sport could get you distracted in life. I did notchange any ideas that i had held in. Honestly it did not bring up any memories from books because this is my very first baseball book that I have ever read.

This best thing abou this book is that it shoed alot of foreshadowing and that the book was flowing really good.

Julian Vasquez
11/8/13
Rating:****4/5
 

The Fourth Stall

   The fourth Stall is a book that was written by Chris Rylander. the book was first published in 2011. this book is a realistic fiction book about a boy named Mac who help kids with their problems any were from test answer to helping with bully's. Mac and his friend Vince are has been running a business to try to get money to go to a Chicago Cubs World Series Baseball game until a one day when a third grade boy named Fred need to get protection from one of the most dangerous bull Staples. I think that this book is good if you would like to read a funny book.                                                                                                                                        The story is told by events and Mac and Vince solving it, and the point of view of the author is first person. The plot is that their is a bully named Staples he has stared a organization where kids can place bets on school sport to try to win money. However Staples has been sabotaging these games to make kids lose their money to him and then they will have to pay back but the amount of money is to high so the kids can't pay it of so he sends people to bully them also kids who works for his business can't leave. But there was one kid who try to leave and he is trying to get him so the kid goes to Mac for help. I think the intended audience is kids from 8-12 because they will get what is going on. The genre of this book is realistic fiction and i think i fits the book well because it is a fake story but it seems real. The author keeps me interested by telling us how Mac and Vince solve their problem. The author style is funny but it has some big words so i think it dose effective for the author intended audience.                                                                                                                                        This book affected me because i don't like a lot of books but this is so good that it is one of my favorite book. I didn't change any ideas i had of it. it does not fit in with what i think. This book didn't bring up any memories of other books or authors i have read.                                                                                            I like this book because it is in the fourth stall and i like that the book it funny. I also like how this story can happen in real life. There is not anything i hate about this book that i can think of. As i have said before I recommend this book for kids age 8-12 and anyone who like to read a funny book.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Minhkhoi  Hoang Thursday, November 7, 2013 Rating: 4/5                                      

The Project - Brian Falkner

      This six weeks I decided to read "The Project", by Brian Falkner. This book was published in 2010. It is a fiction book that takes place in the present and the future. This book is one of the most suspenseful stories I have ever read! It starts off in Iowa about a 14 year old boy name Luke and his best friend Tommy. Luke is originally from New Zealand. These two boys are major trouble makers. When they pull a prank on their school statue, their principle makes them do a report on the most boring book in the world. Little do they know what kind of power it contains and how much it is worth.
 
     This story is told in third-person. I believe it is third-person omniscient because the author really emphasizes how each character feels and what they are expressing with their body. The plot is centered around Luke and Tommy being somewhat spy-like. They discover that a man has recovered Leonardo da Vinci's drawings of a time machine. This man just happens to be a Nazi who wants to go back in time and give Hitler plans for a nuclear bomb that would change the world as we know it. The intended audience is probably teenager to adult because there are some pretty heavy subjects in this story. I think that this book is a mix of science fiction and a tad of action because of the intense imagery. The author kept me wanting more and more and I still do! The intense detail in every scene in my head made me lose track of time.

      This book made me come to realize that some people will do anything to have what they want. It also makes me think about people like Luke and Tommy and how they make incredibly brave decisions to save the world even. The idea is not only unbelievable but insane! For example, Luke and Tommy have to go back to Nazi Germany to stop a man from destroying the world! This book is like a mix of The Hunger Games and James Bond.

      This is definitely one of the best books I have every read and I am obviously going to read another one of his books. One thing I did not like though was some of the information was not that well said. But other than that it was fantastic. I was really excited to get to read it and I hope you will too!



Seth Silva
11/7/13
4.5/5

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer- Mark Twain

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

                The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was written by Mark Twain and was first published in 1876. It’s a book about a naughty boy called Tom Sawyer, who played tricks and was very clever. He enjoyed having adventures with Huckleberry Finn and became a hero and got rich. The theme of this book is that Tom experienced lots of things and became a better boy.

                This story talks about Tom’s habits, his tricks, and his adventures. The point of view is third person omniscient because the narrator could tell everybody’s thoughts. The story started when Tom played tricks with many kids around the village, like tricking other kids for painting the fence for him, participating his own funeral, and playing with his “pinch-bug” at church. Tom and his partner Huckleberry Finn went into a graveyard and happened to see a murder. He became a hero by telling what really happened. Finally, Tom and Huck became rich by finding a treasure box. The intended audience is all ages. The genre is adventure; the book fits into this genre by having Tom’s experiences mentioned. The author kept me interested and laughing with a funny writing style and Southern accents, and I wanted to know what will happen next in the book while reading.

                This story reminds me to be brave like Tom who told the truth in the court although the murderer might revenge on him. It also reminds me of a space adventure story called “Cosmic”, which is also a fun novel.

                The book mentioned about Negroes sometimes, which I don’t feel comfortable because slavery wasn’t abolished yet. Otherwise, this book is a good story. I really like the story of Tom’s adventure because it has many hilarious events. I never felt bored while reading this book.

Yuening Li

11/06/13

RATING: **** 4/5

Stormbreaker - Anthony Horowitz

      This six weeks I decided to read the book Stormbreaker, by Anthony Horowitz. This book was first published in 2000. It is an fiction adventure book that is based around spies. It is a very suspenseful book that will make you want to keep reading more. The story begins with a boy named Alex's uncle's funeral ceremony. When Alex is told to go to where his uncle worked he finds out that his uncle was a spy and how he died. The overall theme of Stormbreaker is that revenge is bittersweet because Alex didn't get revenge on the man who killed  his uncle. And to not trust everyone because the police lied to Alex on how his uncle died.

      The story is told in a third person limited point of view. It is third person limited because you are only able to see what is going on from Alex's perspective. The plot is centered around Alex, the spy agency Alex is working for, and Sayle Enterprise. The intended audience is for adolescents. It is for adolescents because it contains information about the latest technology and how the technology is being used in schools. This book would be considered a action adventure novel. It would be  an action adventure novel because Alex is forced to solve problems in order to get the information that he needs. Anthony Horowitz kept me interested in this book by having action on almost every page and never knowing what will happen next. 

      This book had a very big effect on my life. This book taught me that not every thing is as good as it looks. Also if you do something wrong it might come back to haunt you in the future. For example in Stormbreaker one of the main characters was bullied as a child and when he  became an adult he made a plan to get back on the people that bullied him. One idea that changed after reading this book was to always be nice to others. I would defiantly not want to live in the world that Alex is living in because if you do any small thing wrong you will be punished for it. This book reminded me of the James Bond series of books.

      I enjoyed this book very much. There were a few things that I did not like about Stormbreaker. I did not like how the story ended. I thought that Anthony Horowitz should have added a little more information on the end. Although I did not care for the ending of the book I would recommend this book to any person who likes action and adventurous book.


Ben Jankowsky
11/5/13
4.25/5