Bryant- Middle School: My Brother is a BIG FAT LIAR!

When i did an entry about Middle School: How I survived bullies, broccoli, and Snake Hill  I might have mentioned Rafe's little sister Georgia and, Big Fat Liar a couple times. I've decided to read Big Fat  
Liar again, and let me tell you i've come to love it even more. You see, the great thing about it is all the other books are about Rafe, who views Georgia as a tattletale, a brat, and a pudding thief. But if you read Georgia's story, you'll find that is completely untrue, (except for the pudding thing... that's accurate) Georgia is a smart kid, surrounded by a bunch of morons, and Rafe is the naughty one. In the first book Rafe literally attempted to break every rule in the rulebook, and that ended up with him being expelled. Now it's Georgia's turn to go to 6th Grade, and guess what... everyone thinks she's just like Rafe! The Vice Principal, all the teacher's, even most of the kids! Georgia runs into Missy Trillin and the Princess Patrol (straight A snobs, who basically rule the school), and the little bro of Miller the Killer (who bullied Rafe in the first book). But she has a few people to rely on... like her bandmates, The Awesomes (Rafe calls them We Stink, because... well THEY STINK!), Rhonda (a super hyper-active, talkative, overweight girl), Sam Marks (a boy who Georgia developes a crush on), Jeanne Galleta (Rafe's impossible crush) Georgia's Mom, and Grandma Dotty ( Georgia's grandmother who they call Dotty because of her short-term memory). Overall, the book is an adventure of Georgia discovering her true origins, proving she's not a troublemaker like Rafe, and most of all ROCKING OUT WITH WE STINK!!!!



I would recommend this book to an audience of 9-15 yrs. and kid's who enjoy cartoons.

The Baby Project by Kaniyah

Jessica is about to have a sister. When her parents first told her, she just couldn't wait. Her best friend Margaret, decided to do a project on babies for school homework. And finally, when Lucie comes, Jessica immediately loved her. She knows how to calm the baby. And her 'headphone' brother Simon also read her a book. (Simon wears headphones to the table(or practically everywhere)) Until, until, until, until, Lucie dies. Everything is horrible now. Can Jessica forgive and forget? Or will everyone sob everyday for the rest of their life? This book is by Sarah Ellis. Recommend to anyone 10 and up. 

How Lamars Bad Prank won a Bubba-Sized Trophy by Kaniyah

Lamar's a 13 year old boy who loves to bowl. His brother Xavier, some people call him, Xavier the Basketball Savior. Well Lamar hates basketball, football, baseball....all those things! People call him the King of Strikers. Everything with Lamar and X were doing fine, until their mother died. Their mother was the angel keeping the two from fighting. Now that dads in charge, nothings the same. And the second problem is......Lamar wants a girlfriend. Why is this a problem? you might ask. Well before, Lamar was a jokester. He pulled pranks on all the girls. Well now.....he's desperate. This book is by Crystal Allen. Recommend to anyone.

Velvet by: Mary Hooper

Velvet is a book about a girl named Velvet who works at a laundry shop in an early 20th century setting. She dreams of better work and  when she is upgraded to the position of a gown laundress she soon receives an invitation to work as an assistant to the famous Madame Savoya, a psychic who claims she can speak to the dead. But soon she becomes suspicious that Savoya's work is not what it seems.In her quest to find the truth about madame Savoya's work, Velvet falls into terrible danger. She must prove the lies Savoya has been teling but risk het life in the process. I really liked this book because it has a lot of surprises and the story changes direction several times. It also has a lot of cliffhangers and leaves you wondering what will happen next. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story and a ferocious plot.

The evil king falls

  The good Varden are on the break of overthrowing the evil king Galbatorix. They attack. They first are doing good, until the magic go's out of control. They soon start loosing badly. They have an inhumanly strong strangth in battle. But then the power fade away from the general and they can use magic again. This is happening because the main character (Eragon) and helpers confront Galbatorix and win. But why is there still about 100 more pages in the book?
  This is a very good and compelling book. I just love it.
 

The end of the under

  Prue, Curtis and Sepmtimis (Curtis's rat) take the Fortress of Fanggg back. They soon find out Alexi's (the heir) maker help the moles remake the City of Moles and the Fortress of Fanggg. He put electricity in. He got out following the electricity line. They go out and soon find him ... in a curcis and he is a bear. He first does not talk. Then Curtis and Sepmtimis leave. After Prue is attacked by Darla, but the bear saves her and talks.
  Rachel and Elsie soon find a road, and the old man understands that they are of woods magic (they don't need man-made stuff to go to the wood). They help them get out of the wood and destroy the orphnariam. They plan to make a new home.
  Mr. Unthank does not succeed. He are about to make a agreement with the man when the orphans come to destroy them.
  At the end it talks about the end in a poetic way. But it still feels unfinished. That is the only bad thing. It is good in all.

Dualed by Elsie Chapman

In this book there is a girl named West. West lives in an era where no one can give birth to children so they have to go to labs to have children made. When they make the kids there are 2 copies. Later in the your life before you become 20 you have to battle your copy so that only the best one lives. In the book West is activated and she and her copy have 1 month to kill each other. This book is sort of violent, less than you might think. Despite how violent it is I think its good.

One for the Murphys by Lydia Mullaly Hunt

This book is about a girl named Carley. Carley's step-father was very abusive so when the police arrest him and question Carley ,she can't clearly remember what happened. Meanwhile her mother is in the hospital and can't take care of Carley. So Carley is put in foster care with a family. At first she isn't fond of the family but she soon starts to love them. But when her mother learns to walk again she has to leave them. In conclusion, this story is heartfelt and sad, and sometimes hard to understand, but that makes it a really good story

Okay For Now

Okay For Now is about a kid named Doug who's family moves to a place called Marysville. It's not easy for him to live there, with his dad always away and when he isn't he's grumpy and mad, having to make friends, and having his brother be accused of crimes. One of his only joys is painting. Then his brother gets back from a war were he has lost both his arms and may have become permanently blind. His best friend also has cancer. But in Marysville he has some good experiences, from learning to drink a very cold coke to getting an invitation to perform on Broadway. In the end things get better for Doug and his family is finally happy. I recommend this book because it goes into Doug's life and feelings very deeply and is just interesting and funny to read.

Clemente Damascus

The book I read was called Clemente by Willie Perdomo. I would recommend this book to a friend because it an amazing story and very inspiring. In the book it says,"because he knew that with con respeto, con argullo, with faith, with hope, belief in yourself, standing up for whats right, fighting against whats wrong, with love, and strength anything in this world is possible. I even learned that Clemente sacrificed his life for the people of nicaragua. I know this because the book even says,"And we definitely cant forget about Clementes last sac fly New Years Eve 1972, Roberto Clemente gets on an airplane. He's going to Nicaragua to help people who lost their lives in an earthquake. The plane never got across the ocean. It was to heavy. It had too many boxes of food and clothes medicine and toys. The plane crashed into the water, and Roberto disappears." In conclusion, the story of Roberto Clemente is very inspiring. I learned about this life on and off the field.

Cirque Du Freak (Craig)

In my book, Darren Shan, a half Vampire, takes a journey to a weird island to find out the past that he never knew about. But the journey wasn't easy. He fought monsters, Dragons, even huge panthers! Then he meets a crazy man who drinks all night and sleeps all day. His name was Spits. He was a pirate that got lost at sea with his "Gang". Unfortunately, all his friends died. He then ended up on his island waiting for someone to come save him. When Darren meets him they try to work together to get off the island but there are some wierd activity going on there. They both find out that Darrens past is really rotten!   

Where the mountain meets the moon

        Where the mountain meets the moon, by Grace Lin, is about a young girl named Minli living in a poor town of rice farmers who goes out to seek her fortune. She starts out by buying a goldfish, and soon finds herself on a magical journey with a loyal dragon to find the place were the mountain meets the moon. They are helped by many along the way, and they also help many. But in the end, this story is brilliant and heartwarming, and altogether a great read. I can only hope that anyone else who picks up this book loves it as much as I did.

The Mark of Athena by:Rick Riordan

This week I have been reading "Mark of Athena." This is the best it packed action, monsters, and memorable characters.The book is about Greek mythology.I highly recommened this book.It starts out with Annabeth and the rest of the Greek camp half blood crew are aboard the Argo 2,headed to camp Jupiter where Romans are.Romans and Greeks have been at war for a long time. Now they must team up to fight the evil godess Gaea from rising terrible giants and destroying the world.If you want to know the rest just buy this book.

The Call of the Wild

This book is about a dog named Buck who is taken from his easy, lazy days, and made into a slay dog for men on the search for gold in the Klondike. He must learn how to be cunning, smart and quick to survive. He becomes the lead slay dog of his group. But after his owners are arrested he is sold, to two brothers, who are very inexperienced, they run out of food quickly and continue on while the ice melts. Buck gets in trouble and is beaten relentlessly by his masters, but right when his light of life is burning out a man inter veins and takes Buck. Buck finds a new thing inside of him, love. He turns out to be a great slay dog and wins a bet giving his owner lots of money. They then go looking for a lost mine, which they never find but they do find lots of gold and become extremely rich. While the gold is being mined Buck has lots of time on his paws (Ha Ha See what I did there)  and is drawn towards the wild which he resists because of his loyalty. In the end buck learns that he is the ultimate predator and gives in to the call of the wild.    

I recommend this book to any one who likes an adventure that's realistic and amazing. I also recommend this to anybody because it's amazing and cool how Jack London talks about how the dogs are thinking and it feels like he interviewed them. This book was the best or one of the best books I have ever read. Please read it.

Sabriel... (Boo!)

Sabriel
By Garth Nix


This is a story that takes place in a different world where magic exists and powerful beings of the dead threaten society. One necromancer - the Abhorsen - joins with the Charter - the source of pure magic that restricts activities that may harm the people of the charter (Charter Mages) - to try and defeat the evil necromancer - Kerrigor a corrupt and dead member of the royal family - before he can raise an army of the dead to take over the Old Kingdom, and then the world. Sabriel must take her fathers place as the Abhorsen and with the help of Touchstone - a recently released human trapped as a figurehead on a boat  in the Old Kingdom for 200 years - and destroy Kerrigor.

This book is an amazing read and is not to be missed, albeit the second book - Lirael - is not as good, taking place 14 years later and engaging with the Clayr and Sameth, Sabriel's son, and his problems.

Mrs. Peregrine’s home for Peculiar Children by: Ransom Riggs

Mrs. Peregrine’s home for Peculiar Children:

Jacob listens to stories his grandfather tells about his horrible childhood. But he doesn't realize that there true until his grandfather's violent and mysterious death. During his trauma after the terrorizing event, Jacob travels to a small island off the coast of Wales to unravel the mystery of his grandfather's stories. This is a really terrorizing book that might give you nightmares. I liked the characters and the way that the book is illustrated, which is using found photos. The photos give the story a sense of mystery and they are all very interested photos that were found by the author. I would recommend this book to anyone who doesn't have nightmares and who enjoys a very scary book.

Warning: If you're prone to get nightmares, please spare yourself the terrorizing nights and do not read this book.

Note: This book contains quite a few curses.

DDD-Nobody's perfect. I'm as close as it gets. by Kaniyah

This Dear Dumb Diary book is about a middle school girl named Jamie who is trying to find out the biggest questions ever in her school. What is in the meatloaf they give on Thursdays for lunch, and why do they serve it since, truly everyone hates it? And she also finds out about PERMENENT RECORDS and finds out it's always permanent and never changes. It only adds up. So Isabella her best friend, forces her to join clubs so she can had a perfecter permanent record. Maybe the perfectest! Ps. These made up words are in the book. The author is Jim Benton. Recommend to people who wants to know about the mystery meat loaf if they read the sequels. And anyone new. You might think its a stupid girly book, but the authors a BOY. Anyway it is cool and funny. Not saying you should read it. Cuz seeing a boy at school reading books like that makes me feel weird. No offense.

Momo

           Momo, by Michael Ende, is the enthralling tale of a young girl and a small town. One day Momo turns  up and begins to live in the ruined amphitheater near town. Nobody really knows where she came from, aside from that she ran away from a children's home, but Momo soon becomes an invaluable friend to the townspeople. This is because she was such a good listener. She did not  say the right thing at the right time, or always interrupt when she felt the need to speak. She simply listened the right way to everyone. This eventually made her indispensable to the townspeople, especially the children.

          Years later, when momo is known and loved by everyone, people start to become more interested in timesaving than the pursuit of happiness. At the same time, men in dark suits start to go around all over the town, yet no one seems to notice.  Momo and her still remaining friends see the connections, but not until it is almost to late. Momo is soon left on her own to save the town and its inhabitants. This is a story I would recommend for anyone looking for a good adventure!

Luminous (Boo!)

Luminous
Dawn Metcalf

        This is a beautifully crafted and amazingly deep story about a girl named Consuela, one fateful day she has an accident in a clothing store, she soon finds out that she now has the ability to shuck her skin, and create and don another out of the elements around her, (water, fire, air, butterflies...) She then learns that she has been connected with the Flow, a shifting world that overlaps with our own. She and other teens similarly trapped in this un-real reality soon find that they indeed are dead, or dying in some distant hospital. Removed from their own lives they must save the lives of others, their assignments, all people who when saved will make a greater impact for the good of mankind. The teens constantly delve into the meaning of life and death, trying to figure out why they are in the Flow, and why they were chosen. 
      Suddenly, one by one people in the Flow are being killed, and no one knows who is doing it. To save the lives of her remaining friends Consuela must make many decisions and try to save themselves before it is too late.

This book is a wonderful read and sheds light on a different world, a dangerous and terrifying world that the reader learns more about chapter by chapter. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend as a fantastical mystery you wont be able to put down.

Boo! - Unnatural Creatures

Unnatural Creatures
Stories Selected by Neil Gaiman
   
       This is a collection of 16 short stories about many unnatural beings and happenings. This book delves into the lives of werewolves, of ordinary people encountering dangerous and other worldly things, and stories about people studying and working with mystical beings such as werewolves, sunbirds and many more.
      I would recommend this book to a friend who enjoys fantasy and thrillers, because this book really captures many different perspectives on strange and unique creatures and events.

The Extraordinary Education of Nicolas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart is about an orphaned boy who moves to an orphanage called  Child's End. When he hears about a treasure hidden in the orphanage he sets out to find it with some newly made friends --before the terrible Mr. Colum does. 0ne thing I liked about the book was how funny it was. I also liked the way the author includes a character from his more famous books, the Mysterious Benedict Society. The book also has good characters that are funny and enjoyable to read about because they have really good adventures and they seem real. I would recommend this book to anyone who has read the Mysterious Benedict Society or enjoys a good fiction story.

The Rangers Aprentice Series Book Eight, The Kings of Clonmel

This book, like all the other books in its series, faces a hardship in life. In this book, a mysterious religious group is trying to protect the country Hibernia from ferocious bandits. Fearing the future safety of Araulen, Will, Halt, and Horace head to the only uninvaded state of Hibernia, Clonmel. The large theme in this book is life in a time of crisis.
I recommend this book, as you can read this book without reading the books previous. I also recommend  this book because of its amazing storyline and depth.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Lauren)

Hello readers!

I'm on vacation with my family, so I brought three great YA novels with me: the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, and the Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I've finished TFIOS and the Lightning Thief, and I'm almost done with Catching Fire, so I'm going to the library tomorrow to get more!

This week I'm going to write about the Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I used a paragraph from the first chapter of this book in a mini-lesson this year. John Green is one of my favorite YA authors. His stories are challenging, both mentally and emotionally, and his characters are deeply complex. He's written other books that I love including An Abundance of Katherines and Looking for Alaska.

In this novel, the main character - Hazel - is a young girl with terminal cancer. Her mom makes her go to a support group for kids with cancer, and there she meets Augustus. Despite the fact that Hazel is definitely going to die, and probably soon, he two kids fall in love. During their time together, they explore some of the biggest questions about life, love, and purpose.

This book is perfect for kids who like to think about life's big questions, and who think that good books don't always need happy endings.

Keep reading, friends! Email me if you have any questions (ldonnelly@communityroots.org)

P.S. Here's my reading notebook page about Hazel -- I did a character web and a quick write about her.

Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick (Miah)

Purple Heart is about a guy named Matt. He was in the army force in Iraq. He got blown up by a nuclear reactor.and he witnessed a boy get shot. And Matt shielded the boy with his body. Matt got shot in the spine and neck. So he had to re learn how to walk. I would recommend this book to any who would like role model.

Bryant- Presidential Pets

When I was in Maryland for the 4th of July, we drove down to D.C many times. On one occasion we went to the Lincoln Memorial, where they had a giant statue of Abraham Lincoln (which you've probably seen in the photos), The Emancipation Proclamation engraved on the walls, and on the exterior the names of the 48 continental states on the walls, with the year they became states. But in the gift shop... I saw a book that interested me... Presidential Pets by Julia Moberg.



The book had all 44 Presidents, the pet(s) they owned, and a cool rhyme to go with them. The pets include but are not limited to: George Washington's french hounds, Thomas Jefferson's grizzly bear cubs, John Quincy Adams's pet alligator (???!!!), Andrew Jackson's parrot (who cursed at Jackson's own funeral), Martin Van Buren's tiger cubs ( sent as a gift from the Sultan of Oman, eventually sent to a zoo), the turkey Abraham Lincoln pardoned on thanksgiving, First Lady Hayes's siamese cat, Teddy Roosevelt's dog, Pete (who once bit the ambassador of France), Cal Coolidge's badger (?), FDR's dog Fala (who was falsely rumored to have been left on the alaskan islands), LBJ's dogs Her and her brother Him (who liked to  have his ears tugged) Bill Clinton's dog Buddy, and the first daughter's cat, Socks (bad combination), and last but not least... Barack Obama's dog Bobama. I would recommend this book to both history and animal loving kids.

Sweet Thang by Kaniyah

Sweet Thang is about an African American teenager named Charmaine Upshaw, in the mid 1970's. Her auntie just died and her family has to take care of her aunties son. When Tracy John, the son, grows up into first grade, he is a total nightmare to Charmaine. Not only that but Dinah, Charmaine's enemy is making it rough for her in 9th grade. And her crush Demetrius, is forcing her to do his own homework. Anyway, she would do anything for him. This book is by Allison Whittenberg. I recommend to people who has an annoying little brother and everyone.

Meet the Kreeps by Kaniyah

Meet the Kreeps is about a girl named Polly whose mom died when she was young and her dad is a perky weirdo. Her sister is too much into cheerleading, and her brother is too much into spelling. Her family is just plain weird! So that is why Polly is doing Plan: New Mom. She finds nice women she knows, but when they meet her dad they are just as weird. Polly wants a mom. Now. Until one day, in Polly's neighborhood, there were new neighbors. These aren't just any regular neighbors though... This book is by Kiki Thorpe. Recommend to people who likes surprises at the end of books. 

Fire    
By: Kristen Cashore

Fire is a wonderful book, that like Katsa incorpeates lots of action. THis book takes place in the time of noble knights and fair princesses. This book is ver amazing.

Fire is a young girl who's father was a human monster blessed with mind control and exceptional beauty , these gifts were then given to Fire. Fire is a kind girl that try's not to use her powers on other, and every day try's not to be killed. Her life is very hard because every man she see's begins to fall in love, and she is not in love with her, people call her terrible things such as B****, and try ton rape her. BUt she is in love with one man, prince Brigan of the bells. He is a symbol of power for the Dells, he was forced into Power by one of the Dells drugged leaders, these men were almost always high, and wanted everything that was "beautiful". When Brigan stepped into power, the Dells military became very strong, and changed their future. With this new army, Brigan, KIng Nash, and Fire must fight back against rising forces. 

Katsa 
By: Kristen Cashore

Katsa is a very interesting book that I have very much enjoyed. Though this is the second time I have read this book, it still pulls me in. In Katsa, many of the characters have"Graces", or magical powers. For example, Katsa has been graced with killing, and could kill a man with her bare hands. Katsa is a mix of Fantasy and sci-fi. This book incorporates much magic and adventure, and the majority of these scenes are full of action. I hope you enjoy this book.     

Maximum ride by James Patterson

I would recommend this book because its a mix of a lot of different genres. Its an interesting book with a main character that is supposed to save the world. I think that it's interesting because it has a group of multiple kids together so you get multiple perspectives. I also recommend it to people who read long books.

Zander  Whyte    

TITLE OF THE BOOK:  Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief

Date Started: 7/3/13

Date Ended: 7/13/13

Date Writing:7/15/13

This is a Science Fiction (Sci-Fi), teen and children's book. It is for ages 8+.

What I like most about this story is how it starts off with an adventure and how his (Percy) life turns out once he found out who he really was. What I didn't like about this story was when he had to struggle with his grades at school and having autism. He changed 6 schools in one year. That is a big adjustment.

The characters reminded me of the ups/downs and challenges of life.

I would recommend this book to others even kids my age (12+). Those who love reading will especially enjoy this story because your imagination will come to life chapter by chapter.

 

Soulkeepers by: G.P. Ching

This week I have been reading a book called “Soulkeepers”.  It has become very interesting; I highly recommend this book to readers. It is a cool series that has 3 awesome books. This book is about a fifteen-year-old boy named Jacob Lau. There was a terrible incident. Jacob was driving in the car with his mother and crashed. Now with Jacob's mother missing, and his dad dying six years ago fighting in a war. Jacob's new guardian is his dad’s brother that he has never seen before. Now Jacob is has to live in Paris, Frances. Discovering and learning new things about his father’s side of the family. Jacob discovers who he really is a soulkeeper. Again I highly recommended this book to all you readers.

English roses: THE NEW GIRL by Madonna (Miah)

In my book this week, there was a new girl coming from New York that Nicole knew. And the girl was moving into town next door from Nicole. The girl's name was Leslie. Nicole thinks that Leslie will make the perfect 6th English Rose. But the others think that she will start problems with everybody. Now they have to wait till she comes to find out what she is really like. I recommend this book to anyone who faces similar problems like them.

The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi is a classic adventure about a living puppet. The puppet is a mischievous imp with a good heart who wants to become a real boy. I would recommend this book because its a good book that will intrigue the reader. I like this book because it's a fantasy that talks about goodness in people. I also like the characters and the way that they are portrayed because they are funny and very foolish. My favorite part of the book was when Pinocchio travels inside the shark because I like the author's description of the inside of the shark and the description of Pinocchio finally meeting his father. One thing I like about how the writer writes the book is that he sympathizes with the characters. I would recommend this book to readers who like fantasy and classic stories.

Going under (first read Under the wood)

  In Under Wildwood Darla Thennis (as the jet black fox) attacks Prue, but curtis and the bandit king saves her. They bring her back to camp. Meanwhile the elder mystic (the leader of the mystics) is killed by Darla and 2 other shape sifting foxes. Prue feels her death (she can hear plants and they were yelling). She soon has a pull pulling her towards North wood with curtis. Once she gets there she hears about how the elder mystic died. Then a boy mystic says "the true heir must be remediated". They go back to the camp to do the quest, but they find out Darla and 3 other jet black foxes destroyed the camp. Some bandits died, others lived and fled. They get attacked by the foxes and fall down the long gap (a ravine, that the bandit camp is on the walls of). They soon wonder into the caves at the bottom of the ravine. They soon find civilization of moles that need help getting back their fortress of fanggg (spelled with 3 gs) from an usurper mole. Can they do it?
  Elsie and Rachel makes friends with a girl named martha. Soon they get suspicious with whats happening with the unadoptables. So they go into office of the person who runs the place (Mr. Unthank). They find boxes that have the initials of all the unadoptables. They steal one, but after stealing are caught and made unadoptable. Mr. Unthank uses his experiments (that are for going into wildwood) on them and sends them into the wood. If they come back it is freedom for them. In the wood they find all the other unadoptables in a house making a family with a old man. Meanwhile Mr. Unthank is asked by a man, to make a complicated machine in 5 days, that lets people go into the wood.
  This book is compelling and mysterious. A part of the book with walking could just turn into the most important part of the book. I recommend this book.

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (Lauren)

Greetings, readers!

I'm so enjoying reading everyone's posts. I can see all of the hard work we're putting into our reading and writing lives this summer.

Feel free to use the "comment" feature on the blog to share out more thoughts, make connections, and build on the work that's happening in our virtual classroom.

I read the book, Bud, not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, last week for the reading workshop I was attending. It started off a little confusing and I was worried that I wasn't going to enjoy the book. It really, really picked up after the first chapter, though, and I found myself wishing that I had a few more stops to go on the train -- so I wouldn't have to put the book down!

The novel is about a boy named Bud who starts the book in an orphanage and who sets out to find his real family, based on hints his mother has left behind in a suitcase. It takes place during the Great Depression and so I learned a lot about what was going on in the mid-western United States during this time period. The author explores themes like family, injustice, racism, and poverty in complex ways -- refusing to let his characters become flat or stereotypical.

This is a great book for kids who are interested in books about kids overcoming obstacles, historical fiction about the Great Depression, or better understanding the complex history of race and class in our country.

Keep up the posts, my friends! See you next week with my write up of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars.

Ghosts of the Titanic by Kaniyah

Ghosts of the Titanic is about a boy named Kevin who doesn't get along with his dad and is a goof off at school. He was like that until the trip to Halifax. A man named Angus Seaton gave the house to Kevin's dad. So for the summer, Kevin and his family go live there for the summer. And once Kevin discovers an empty box in the basement, a ghost keeps haunting him asking, Where is Micheal? Where is Micheal? How will he know me? This book is by Julie Lawson. I recommend to anyone and everyone.  

Molly Moons Hypnotic Time Travel Adventure

In this book Molly Moon is kidnapped and brought back in time to India to meet the man who has caused all her earlier problems. He wants to annihilate her from the past so she won't stop his plans. Instead of destroying her quickly he wanted to learn of her powers. To show off to Molly he goes back in time and gets Molly's from different times in her life. Molly, with the help from her dog Petula escape and find themselves on the streets of India were they befriend a young boy, and with his help follow the past Molly's as they are brought around India. In the book many friendships grow and many people learn to trust each other. It's full of action, escapes, and clever plans I highly recommend it.

From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

I would recommend fron The Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler to anyone who enjoys the Met or an entrancing and intricately woven story. It also won the Newbury Award for children's literature. I enjoyed this book because it takes place in my favorite museum, the Met. I also like this book because it is a good story about kids who run away from home and live for a week in the Met Museum. The kids run away from home and end up sleeping in the Met, just as a famous artist's supposed work is purchased by the museum. The kids join in the investigation on whether or not the artist really did the work. I enjoyed the book because of how the characters were represented and their traits. This is a realistic fiction book, so if you like to read that genre then you will definitely enjoy this book.

Damasus Middle School, We are the ship the story of African American Baseball

The We are the ship the story of Negro League Baseball is about gifted athletes and baseball players who had to go through a lot of struggles just to play the game they loved. The majority of the story is about a lot of the unsung heros who aren't as popular as other players ex. Jackie Robinson. Who overcame segregation, hated, poor living conditions, and low play just to play baseball. One cool feature a bout this book is it feels like it is a story being told by by a Negro League Player. I would recommend this book to any baseball fan.

Bryant, Middle School: How I survived Bullies, Broccoli, and Snake Hill by James Patterson

For those who are not familiar with James Patterson's Middle School series. Rafe is an 8th grader with a lot of imagination, sometimes his imagination gets him into trouble ( He was kicked out of his 6th grade for vandalizing, in Middle School: Worst years of my life). He also had a reputation in all his previous middle schools for being a troublemaker ( Rafe's little sister Georgia had to put up with guilt by association when she went to 6th grade in Middle School: My Brother is a big fat liar) But in this installment... Rafe is going to summer school. When he arrives at Camp Wannamorra he is put in the Muskrat group, where everyone has a nickname. Some of the other Muskrats are: Booger Eater (Norman), Dweebs (Jake), Cav (Cavanaugh), Bombardier (Justin), Smurf (Jose), Two Tunz (Noah),
and Legend (???). The Muskrats later come into conflict with the Bobcats, a rival group led by Doolin (Thomas). After learning he does in fact NOT eat boogers, Rafe befriends Norman, who is constantly teased by Doolin for his nickname. But Rafe has a plan to stop them will he succeed, or end up expelled?



I would recommend this for all middle school kids. I can also relate to Rafe, because I too am being held captive to the physically draining prison that is middle school.



Other James Patterson books: Middle School: Worst years of my life, Middle School: Get me out of here, I Funny, and Middle School: My Brother is a big fat liar.

Erak's Ransom, book seven of the Ranger's Apprentice series

This series is incredibly well written, but is a series in which you really should read the books in order.

In this book, Erak is captured by the Arradi, a desert tribe. Araluen is asked for help, and the Rangers and Horace find themselfs on a diplomatic mission in a foreign land. A large theme in this book is being surrounded by strange customs, and becomes a problem in some points in the story. I recommend this book to those who have read the previous books and want a good level, well written book.

Dairy of a 6th Grade Ninja By:Marcus Emerson

I recommend this book because it takes place in the 6th grade. A new kid comes to town, and joins this new school in the middle of the school year. Some people can relate to that situation. In the story the new kids name is Chase Cooper. As Chase starts getting involved in the school he meets his cousin Zoe. Zoe is cool in the school, and she is on a mission to help her cousin Chase make friends, and blend in with other students. Not to farther in the story Chase makes a new friend named Brayden.Brayden believes in werewolves and is a werewolf hunter. Together they are the main characters. If you don’t have a book to read this is something you should read.

Dork Diaries #6 (Tales from a not so happy heart breaker) by Rachel Renée Russell

 I recommend this series to a friend because this book is funny, and it takes place in middle school so we can all relate in some way. This book shows the perspective of a middle school girl so girls can relate to what she says. The boys can also see from a different perspective. Since everyone can relate to the book then we can all deeply understand it more. I recommend this book to everyone in the school. 

Under the wood

    Under Wildwood is a great book. There are 3 story lines (but not for the whole story), one is with Curtis, another ones with Prue and the last one is with Curtis's sisters, Rachel and Elsie. Curtis is a bandit in Wildwood (Impassable Wilderness) and having a hard time. The bandits are having a hard winter. He used to live in a town near Wildwood. In this one he finds out that Prue (his old friend) is in trouble. Prue is a half breed, (to explain that is a whole other story) that makes her important. She is known very well (mostly in good ways). But South Wood (a part of Wildwood like North Wood, avian principality, ect.) is falling apart and one group of people trying to rule south wood has sent a shape shifting jet black fox assassin to kill Prue. They devise a plan to save her and keep her safe. Will they save her?
   Meanwhile, Prue gets a new science teacher, Ms. Darla Thennis. She is starting to doze in class and getting bad grades. Ms. Thennis says it is ok and this is what happens to girls this age. But then she gets attacked not killed. After a while (couple of hours) Ms. Thennis wakes her up. When will the fox strike next? Who is the fox?
    As that happens, Curtis's parents think they found him in Istanbul, Turkey (they don't know were he is). So they drop Rachel and Elsie at the Joffery Unthank School for Wayward Youth. They soon find this is a place were children have to work. Will they get out?
    I recommend this book. I might be a little bit confusing if you did not read Wildwood. But it is still a really good book.

Lord of the Rings Part Two: The Two Towers

The Two Towers is set in Middle-Earth. In the beginning of the book, the Fellowship of the Ring has been split, and Frodo and Sam continue their quest to banish the Ring at the Cracks of Doom. This book may be difficult to understand for some readers, but the character development and the plot are both pluses. I recommend this book to readers that have read the first part of the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and are ready for a challenging book.

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

      I would recommend this book to a friend because this book is really interesting. It's not like the average fantasy book with just some kids that have powers. It has a bunch of characters from a forest that are all mystical and magical. I recommend it because it also has a lot of details and it goes into depth so you can really imagine the scene. The story was really interesting. I think that if you want a long interesting 
(This was for last week, I didn't get to do it because I couldn't find my laptop charger, and we weren't home)

Honeybee by Naomi Shihab Nye, Lauren

Happy summer, friends!

I've been reading this small book of poetry while at a two-week conference for teachers (1,300 teachers in one room together -- whoa). Naomi Shihab Nye uses the life of honeybees to think about our own lives as readers, writers, friends, citizens, and members of ecosystems. She pushes readers to think about these important relationships in new ways. In those moments when the conference is starting to feel like a buzzing hive, I really connect with Ms. Nye's thoughts about community and individuality.

This book is great for readers who want to be surprised and moved by powerful poetry.