Write a book review for the library!
As part of the summer reading program we are encouraging readers of all ages to write reviews of the books they read this summer.
Your review should include the following:
Title:
Author:
How did you like it? *One Star **Two Star ***Three star ****Four Star
What was it about?/Why did you like it?
Please write your review in a comment below this post.
Write a book review for the library!
Alright, it said above that all book reviews should be written in a comment below, so here it is.
The Sisters Grimm (entire Series)
By Michael Buckley.
The sisters grimm series, made out of 8 books, is enjoyable, intelligent, and just fun. Not an especially intellectual book or an really easy one, but safe to say, this is perfect for almost any person who could read. In these books, there is a thin line between fantasy and reality. Sisters Sabrina and Daphne Grimm have spent nearly a year in an orphanage after their parents mysterious disappearance. After being shuffled off to live with crackpots and delinquents, they are sent to live with their ‘grandmother’ who is supposedly dead. How ever, they soon realize that this really is their grandmother, and that fairy tales may not be tales anymore. When snow white is real, and so is Jack the giant killer, a book has to be interesting. There’s very little wrong with these books, except, maybe that the second one hasn’t come out yet!
Alright, another book review.
The Mysterious Benedict Society (entire series)
These books are amazing. Full of logic puzzles, this is a book where children are the heros. Perhaps this book is better for older kids, simply because it is a bit hard to follow, but if you are a lover of reading, you should probably look at this book. Four children, Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance, act as secret agents for the eccentric but kind Mr. Benedict. And they succeed. Riddles, bad guys- good guys, science- these books are amazing.
3rd book review
Ella Enchanted
By Gail Carson Levine
My copy of Ella Enchanted has pretty much fallen apart, because I read it a few times a year. Full of magic and strange creatures, Gail Carson Levine writes about Ella, a stubborn, head strong, courageous girl who is cursed terribly. A creative take on a classic fairy tale, Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted is much more than just an old fairy tale.
I just finished reading Compromised by Heidi Ayarbe and I keep finding myself thinking about the main characters. Two girls meet in a foster care situation and are drawn to each other, in part because they have very different ways of seeing the world. They run away in search of an aunt who may be living in Idaho. The two don’t always make the best decisions and have some disastrous outcomes. The best part of this book is the quick, quirky, and very funny dialogue. Each character is unique and I’d like to spend time around them!
4th Book Review
Harry Potter (series)
J K Rowling
I LOVE HARRY POTTER. I love a lot of books, but I don’t think there’s any series that I can just pick up and read. The 4,950th time, I can still enjoy Harry Potter. Harry Potter is full of magic, friendship, bravery, joy, heros, evilites (my amazing word), and just- so many, many enjoyable words.
Twilight (series)
By Stephanie Meyer
I think people normally write book reviews on books they like, but I’m going to break that law right now. Twilight is sort of a cool idea, I guess, but It’s not very original. None of the characters in Twilight are exactly heros. These books don’t give out a very good message. I mean, the last thing we want people
to think us that romance is more important than life, a message that is constantly portrayed through out the books. Yeah they’re fun, yes, they’re enjoyable, but they just aren’t very GOOD. So, try a different book! Twilight IS NOT a must read.
6th
On The Banks Of Plum Creek
Laura Ingalls Wilder
My daddy is re-re-re-re-re-re-re reading the Little House series to me. We just finished the 4th book, which I am reviewing, and have started the 5th one. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books to me are very, very enjoyable. She writes about a life that was so exciting, and even simple things like maple sugar are described so that I want to live in the 1800s farmer life style. Pa will build a house in a few weeks, Mary will go blind, Santa Claus will meet up with characters, grasshoppers will fall from the sky, so many, many, many things happen that are well worth reading. Laura Ingalls Wilder describes her life with detail to perfection.
Willa, you ROCK!
In case any of you avid readers are interested, here is a list of 101 books you should read before you die.
http://icanbuyhappiness.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/101-books-to-read-before-you-die/
Jay,
Many thanks! The list is wonderful- I’ve got to get started.
More book reviews soon, hopefully.
The Weed That Strings The Hangman’s Bag
By Alan Bradley
The Second book in the Flavia D’eluce series is just as good as the first. 11 year old Flavia, just as intelligent and resourceful as ever. A good thing, too, because there is a murder at foot and Inspector Hewwit alone cannot solve it! Equipped with her notebook, her trusty bicycle Gladys, and her ever present mind, Flavia is sure to discover WHO murdered Rupert Porson, and HOW a ¥oung boy of 5 or 6 was killed. Tis book is fabulous and interseting.
(Note- Though I think it’s an adult’s book, there isn’t exactly anything racey in it- however, the writing is a little dense, if only because Flavia has such an extra ordinary mind).
A Red Herring Without Mustard
By Alan Bradley
Quick witted Flavia D’eluce is back! Solve the mystery of the murder of some and the attack of some along with her! Fascinated y chemistry and death, Flavia D’eluce is the only one for the case. Alan Bradley write with quiet humor about outgoing and clever Flavia, who, canot quite seem to keep her nose out of trouble. Set in the 1950s, A Red Herring will always provide fascinating, funny, and fun reading. For most ages.
Be A Perfect PersonIn Just Three Days
Stephen Manes
Summary:
Milo wants to be perfect. How wonderful would it be, he thinks, if I wasn’t forever knocking things over, if my parents and teachers weren’t cross with me, if I was a magnificent baseball player? When a thin book called ‘How To Be A Perfect Person In Just Three Days’ falls on Milo’s head, he is excited to embark upon a three day journey- becoming perfect. He soon finds that this is not as easy as it may sound, but still, he is determined to follow through with the books strange instructions.
Review:
I did not find Stephen Mane’s writing particularly funny, interesting, or original.
The Incorrigible Children Of Ashton Place
The Mysterious Howling
Maryrose Wood
Summary: When Intelligent young Penelope Lumley graduates early from The Swanburne Academy For Poor Bright Females, she is at a loss as to what. Soon, this predicament is resolved. She travels to Ashton Place, a somewhat mysterious estate, to be a governess to 3 rather covert children. Lady Constance and Lord Frederick Ashton found these three children in the woods. The saying ‘raised by the wolves’ is, in this case, accurate. Penelope, or Miss Lumely soon embarks on a mission to teach these children the ways of life in the rue Swanburne style Little by little, she begints to cure Alaxender, Beowulf, and Cassieopiea of their canine habits.
Review
Maryrose woods writes creatively and descriptively on an almost un heard of topic. She has a lovely way with words, as does the main character, Penelope Lumley. As Miss Lumley reads poetry to Cassiopiea-Cassawoof, teaches Alaxander the Scottish, and cures Beowlf’s tendancy to chase squirrels,
she begins to develop a wonderful teaching method. I really like this book, and suggest it to all readers who enjoy fiction.
So B. It
By Sarah Weeks
This is a delightful tale of young Heidi It. Her mother, who calls her self ‘So B. It’, has a ‘bum brain, so Bernie, Heidi’s loving neighbor takes care of her. Bernie and Heidi keep a list of the words So B. says, and, with 22 words, and 1 word that is not quite a word. Soof. When Heidi first heard her mama utter these words, she thought she misheard, but as the word kept popping up more and more frequently, she knew that it meant something. So Heidi went on a mission.
She went on a mission to discover her past, and to discover the meaning of soof. 9/10
Captain Underpants (series)
By Dave Pilkey
Meet George and Harold. Two fun loving young boys, no one seems to exactly understand George and Harold. And then they’res Captain Underpants. Incredibly over confident and brave, but also virtually talentless, Captain Underpants is always ready to ‘come to the rescue’.
Dave Pilkey writes in very simple words about a very everywhere plot. These books will probably be very amusing to young children, although, I myself, do not particularly enjoy them.
Macbeth
By- you guessed it- William Shakespeare
This is not exactly a ‘book’ review. But it is review.
Shakespeare writes with eloquent, if a little cryptic, language.
With strong (and sometimes very. very weak) characters.
With a sturdy plot, and people of every category- witches, good, evil, ghosts, nobles, and tyrants, Macbeth is one of the best Shakespeare plays.
Summary plot:
When three witches- The Weird Sisters- tell Macbeth his royal future, Macbeth and his Ruthless wife begin to grow bloodthirsty and murderous. Macbeth, due to another prophecy from the weird sisters, has a false confidence and believes he cannot be vanquished. But he must be. Some one has got to kill the dictator and tyrant, demanding and ruling upon them. And Macduff, a proud noble, may be the only one who can.
A Midsummer’s Night Dream
Shakespeare
One of Shakespeare’s less tension filled plays, a Midsummer’s Nights Dream is a fun play for all ages. Full of mistaken identities, fairies, queens wooing donkeys, and mischievous
sprites, this tale has you laughing-howling for pages.
Meet Oberon, the cruel king, Tatanya, Oberon’e queen and frenimy, Puck, Oberon’s fairy servant, and Hermia, Helena, Lysander, Demetrius- all lost in the woods. When Puck decides to play a ‘harmless’ prank on them, the balance of the forest is uprooted. A Midusmmers Night Dream is. A dream.
I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I want to be your Class President
By Josh Lieb
This book is great for 5th grade and up. The character is hilarious. He is a fat, middle school boy who acts dumb, but really is a super smart evil genius that runs a multi-million dollar empire beneath his house. His mom is nice to him, but he hates his dad. No matter how brilliant of things he does, like build a sand castle that lasts over night, his dad still won’t be proud of him. To make his dad happy, Oliver[the main character]tries to run for class president. Tis book is one of the funniest I have ever read. I highly recommend it.
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
In 1913, a little girl arrives in Brisbane, Australia, and is taken in by a dockmaster and his wife. She doesn’t know her name, and the only clue to her identity is a book of fairy tales tucked inside a white suitcase. When the girl, called Nell, grows up, she starts to piece together bits of her story, but just as she’s on the verge of going to England to trace the mystery to its source, her grandaughter, Cassandra, is left in her care. When Nell dies, Cassandra finds herself the owner of a cottage in Cornwall, and makes the journey to England to finally solve the puzzle of Nell’s origins.
This story, spanning 100 years and two continents, reads like an adult fairy tale, and an adult version of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett who is a character in this novel. It is the ultimate sweeping Victorian fairy tale and I am loving it.
Jay, This book sounds fabulous!
Here is a book review:
Understood Betsy
By Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Elizabeth Ann has always been a shy, timid, delicate little girl, and her Aunt Frances would never let any harm to come to her. But when Aunt Frances’s mother takes ill and she has to take full care of her, Elizabeth Ann is sent to live with the dreadful Putneys’ who she has always heard about in terrible terms, and is rechristened Betsy. At first, Betsy is terrified of sturdy, kind new family. She lives on a farm and can eat as mucha s she want, she is also expected to do chores! At first, Betsy revels when she does her hair by herself, and washes her plate all alone. But then, her victories become bigger and Betsy finds herself changing into an independent, sensible girl. She begins to love her ‘dreadful Putney cousins’ and makes many friends in Vermont. So what will happen when her Aunt Frances comes to sweep her away again?? The most perfect farm scene, this has been one of my favorite books for many years.
Shakespeare’s Secret
By Elise Broach
Hero thinks her older sister Beatrice has everything. Friends, looks, and a name from Shakespeare that isn’t completely idiotic. When Hero and her family move for the billionth time, just about the same thing happens. Beatrice goes and instantly becomes the most popular girl in school. Hero goes to school and is mocked and humiliated by everybody. But, for the first time, it seems as if Hero has something Bee doesn’t. A cute 8th grader- Danny, is interested in Hero, not Bee. AND, the next door neighbor- Mrs.Roth, befriends Hero quickly. Mrs. Roth tells Hero about the missing Murphy diamond. Allegedly left in Hero’s new house by it’s previous owner. Danny and Hero do some digging, and become determined to find the diamond. A completely new story by Elise Broach, Shakespeare’s secret is fantasy and mystery of the best kind.
Book Review
By The Shores Of Silver Lake
By Laura Ingalls Wilder
I have written about the Little House Series as a whole, but I am reading By The Shores Of Silver Lake (For the upteenth time), and wanted to write about it. Laura, Mary, Carrie, and their baby sister Grace are traveling to an unsettled portion of Minnesotta with their ma and pa, where Pa will work on the railroad. Reading the Laura and Mary books for me is amazing, for the resourcefulness people had in the 1800s is stunning. Laura and Mary sew their aprons for Christmas and do help do the dishes every day. Mary, who is recently handicapped (I won’t tell you how!), because of illness, but never ceases to be ‘a good little girl’. The Ingalls family feels like they’ve never been luckier, especially when they find a wonderful temporary home, and are blessed. But- read the first 4 books before you read this one! As in all her books, Laura Ingalls Wilder writes in simple words that manage to describe monumental things. If you haven’t read the Little House series, you must.
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows
By J K Rowling
Again, I have already composed a book review about the entire Harry Potter series, but the 7th and last book in this series is my favorite, so I’ll write about it. The darkest of these books, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows tells of a time when Harry and his loyal friends, Ron and Hermione are virtually alone. Lord Voldemort has taken over most of the wizarding community, and Harry will not rest until he can bring the Dark Lord down. So, the 3 friends set out on a journey to find the horcruxes Lord Voldemort made, and destroy them. But, Harry is distracted by something called The Deathly Hallows, and he must make a near impossible choice- Horcruxes or Hallows?
The Wanderer
By Sharon Creech
I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that this books was very good, knowing it was written by Sharon Creech. Like many books by Sharon Creech, this is written in the form of a journal. Sometimes, it is Sophie’s Journal, and sometimes it is Cody’s dog log. The sea calls to Sophie, but terrifies her secretly. Cody, Sophie, Uncle Dock, Stew, and Mo, with Stew’s son Bryan are sailing to England to see their Bompie (Father and Grandfather). Sophie clearly has a mysterious, and little by little, Cody begins to piece it together. Uncle Dock has a lot love, and Bompie is in failing health, The sea is calling! Like all if Sharon Creech’s novels, this one is great!
I just finished “An Unquenchable Thirst” by Mary Johnson. It kept me company night after
night this past January. It is a true page-turner! I loved the way Mary
Johnson wrote so directly with no fluff, no explanations, just straight
from her heart and gut.
Not having been brought up Catholic, and by a family who had disdain for
the religion, complete with a holier than thou attitude, I was glad to
realize I had transcended my prejudicial upbringing and could read her
book with an open mind.
I found her descriptions for physical and emotional intimacy both poignant
and palpable, her struggles compelling, whether abiding by Mother Teresa’s
RULES or breaking them, and ultimately aligning herself with her truth.
~ anonymous patron
Midnight for Charlie Bone
by Jenny Nimmo
This book is not a ‘good book’. It is not particularly well written, sometimes everything is much too obvious and sometimes you are very confused, many times the characters don’t make sense and their decisions don’t make sense. However I find the plot to be very enjoyable and I love the characters. This book involves magic. It is a very easy read (a big font with large spaces between the lines). I don’t think I would recommend it to anyone but I would not warn people away from it. I think this book could go into the category easy and fun.
Wondersruck: a novel in words and pictures
Brian Selznick
This is a wonderful and magical book. It tells the story of two people, their stories set fifty years apart. One is told in pictures the other in words. The art is all black and white. Brian Selznick is a fantastic author and artist. He manages to create two different yet similar stories. It is wonderful figuring out how Rose and Ben will eventually meet. All of the characters are vibrantly described and it is a truly magnificent book. This book would be enjoyed by all ages.