Ben Maeda
A4
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
J.K. Rowling
309 pages
Rating: ***
Recommendation: This book is great for people who likes magic and fantacy. It's great because it also talks about frendship with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. This book will keep you entertained!
Summary: This book talks about a boy who survived the Dark Lord (you know who). Harry finds out about wizard school and learns more and more about his past. Meanwhile, he becomes friends with a boy named Ron and a girl named Hermione. Harry and his friends must face one of the professor. They beat the Professor and live happily for the rest of the year... Until next year.
Explanation of rating: The reason I gave this book a three star is... It went too deep when explaning things. Also, she put what wasn't needed in the book to explain everything. Ober all it was a good book. It explained lots about the book and it was bery easy to understand.
Favorite passage: "You think it - wise - to trust hagrid with something as important as this?" -Chapter 1
I liked this passage because it talked about professor McGonagall not trusting another teacher at the school. And in the next sentence it talks about Dumbledore saying "I would trust Hagrid with my life." She is disagreeing with Professor Dumbledore. I thought that was intresting. That's why I liked this passage.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Charlie Bone and the Beast A-4
Name: Rick Smith
Class: A-4
Book: Charlie Bone and the Beast
Author: Jenny Nimmo
Pages: 387
Rating: ***
Recommendation: Readers who enjoy fantasy, mystery, and magic would really enjoy this book. It has a lot of all of these. It is the 6th book in the series, so people who are thinking about reading it should read the first five books in order to understand what is going on.
Summary: This story is about a group of endowed (special powers) friends. One of the endowed students at Bloor's Academy, the school they all attend, goes missing. "Asa" is a shape shifter that turns into a werewolf at night. He used to be a follower of the evil endowed students, but you find out in the last book that he is really a good kid. When he goes missing, Charlie Bone knows that something is going wrong. To make things worse, Dagbert "The drowner" has just transferred to Bloor's to aid Manfred (The evil head boy) to keep Asa hidden. Throughout the book, Charlie and his friends look for clues to where the Bloor's are hiding this wolf boy. Along the way, they constantly run into the evil endowed children who are trying to stop them from finding Asa. Meanwhile in a bad part of town, an ancient stone knight is being revived by the Bloor's to aid them in their hostile take over of the city. In ancient times this city was the land of the Red King (ancestor of all endowed). If the Bloor's could rule the city, they would rule all the endowed. At this same time the good guys are reviving their own knight (the Red Knight) to fend off the Stone Knight. At the end of the book, after Charlie finds out where Asa is being held, He and his friend Billy, a boy who can talk to animals, set out on a rescue mission to find Asa. They rescue Asa from a deep cave hidden under the school. As the come out of the cave the battle of the two knights begins. The Red Knight, having the ancient Red King's sword defeats the Stone Knight and everything is well. Asa is sent to live with his mother to protect him from the Bloor's. The story ends with everything working out perfectly.
Explantion of Rating: I gave this book three stars because I felt like it was just a filler in the series. Nothing really related to the other books. It was it's own story. None of it seemed relevant to the story the series is trying to tell. But on it's own, it was a good story. Each book is a different year at the academy, so she just needed to fill a book with a story about their second to last year, while leading up to their final year at Bloor's.
Favorite Passage: "They want something, and they shall not have it...Opening the cloth, he revealed a shining sword hilt."
This is when Charlie goes back in time (using his endowment) to visit an ancient blacksmith. Feromel the blacksmith says the lines to Charlie to tell him how important this magical sword hilt is. Feromel knew that this hilt would one day serve a great purpose, so he needed to keep it hidden. It turns of that at the end of the story, the Red Knight used to magical sword with it's hilt to destroy the Stone Knight to save the day.
Class: A-4
Book: Charlie Bone and the Beast
Author: Jenny Nimmo
Pages: 387
Rating: ***
Recommendation: Readers who enjoy fantasy, mystery, and magic would really enjoy this book. It has a lot of all of these. It is the 6th book in the series, so people who are thinking about reading it should read the first five books in order to understand what is going on.
Summary: This story is about a group of endowed (special powers) friends. One of the endowed students at Bloor's Academy, the school they all attend, goes missing. "Asa" is a shape shifter that turns into a werewolf at night. He used to be a follower of the evil endowed students, but you find out in the last book that he is really a good kid. When he goes missing, Charlie Bone knows that something is going wrong. To make things worse, Dagbert "The drowner" has just transferred to Bloor's to aid Manfred (The evil head boy) to keep Asa hidden. Throughout the book, Charlie and his friends look for clues to where the Bloor's are hiding this wolf boy. Along the way, they constantly run into the evil endowed children who are trying to stop them from finding Asa. Meanwhile in a bad part of town, an ancient stone knight is being revived by the Bloor's to aid them in their hostile take over of the city. In ancient times this city was the land of the Red King (ancestor of all endowed). If the Bloor's could rule the city, they would rule all the endowed. At this same time the good guys are reviving their own knight (the Red Knight) to fend off the Stone Knight. At the end of the book, after Charlie finds out where Asa is being held, He and his friend Billy, a boy who can talk to animals, set out on a rescue mission to find Asa. They rescue Asa from a deep cave hidden under the school. As the come out of the cave the battle of the two knights begins. The Red Knight, having the ancient Red King's sword defeats the Stone Knight and everything is well. Asa is sent to live with his mother to protect him from the Bloor's. The story ends with everything working out perfectly.
Explantion of Rating: I gave this book three stars because I felt like it was just a filler in the series. Nothing really related to the other books. It was it's own story. None of it seemed relevant to the story the series is trying to tell. But on it's own, it was a good story. Each book is a different year at the academy, so she just needed to fill a book with a story about their second to last year, while leading up to their final year at Bloor's.
Favorite Passage: "They want something, and they shall not have it...Opening the cloth, he revealed a shining sword hilt."
This is when Charlie goes back in time (using his endowment) to visit an ancient blacksmith. Feromel the blacksmith says the lines to Charlie to tell him how important this magical sword hilt is. Feromel knew that this hilt would one day serve a great purpose, so he needed to keep it hidden. It turns of that at the end of the story, the Red Knight used to magical sword with it's hilt to destroy the Stone Knight to save the day.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Pact B1
Name: Claire Lewis
Class Period: B1
Book Title: The Pact
Author: Jodi Picoult
Pages: 496
Rating: *****
Recommendation: This book is good for teenage girls mainly, probably because it is basically a love story between two teenagers. There is some romance in it, which i know boys wouldn't enjoy. Adults would like it too because of the great writing. Readers might want to be careful, though, because there are some romantic....parts.
Summary: Two teenagers, Chris and Emily, had been best friends since the day Emily was born. They grew up together, because their parents were best friends, too. As they reach high school, something changes, and Emily winds up dead, shot through the head. Chris was the only person with her, and he had the gun, and so he was put on trial for her murder in the first degree. The book explains his live in prison, and the feelings from Emily's family and Chris's own. Chris's defense statement is that they had made a suicide pact, and that she killed herself and then he was planning on killing himself after, but got too scared. His story changes throughout the book, and you never know what really happened. The end is really exciting when you find out what really happened at the murder scene...
Explanation of Rating: This book was long, and I couldn't put it down. It went by quickly because the writing was so good, and each chapter switches from points of view from different main characters. You get a good feel for many different sides of the case. I love all the books by this author. She is a great writer, and really keeps you hooked with twists in the story. You get really attached to the characters, for example, I practically cried at the end of this book.
Favorite Passage: "I, um, I have this problem. I broke up with my boyfriend, you see. And I'm pretty upset about it, so I wanted to talk to my best friend...The thing is, they're both you." - Emily to Chris
This part just made me smile, because I could tell that Chris was so happy to hear this after their fight. We know how they both felt (different chapters), and how they were both hurting because of the fight they were in. This just helped and it was so cute.
Class Period: B1
Book Title: The Pact
Author: Jodi Picoult
Pages: 496
Rating: *****
Recommendation: This book is good for teenage girls mainly, probably because it is basically a love story between two teenagers. There is some romance in it, which i know boys wouldn't enjoy. Adults would like it too because of the great writing. Readers might want to be careful, though, because there are some romantic....parts.
Summary: Two teenagers, Chris and Emily, had been best friends since the day Emily was born. They grew up together, because their parents were best friends, too. As they reach high school, something changes, and Emily winds up dead, shot through the head. Chris was the only person with her, and he had the gun, and so he was put on trial for her murder in the first degree. The book explains his live in prison, and the feelings from Emily's family and Chris's own. Chris's defense statement is that they had made a suicide pact, and that she killed herself and then he was planning on killing himself after, but got too scared. His story changes throughout the book, and you never know what really happened. The end is really exciting when you find out what really happened at the murder scene...
Explanation of Rating: This book was long, and I couldn't put it down. It went by quickly because the writing was so good, and each chapter switches from points of view from different main characters. You get a good feel for many different sides of the case. I love all the books by this author. She is a great writer, and really keeps you hooked with twists in the story. You get really attached to the characters, for example, I practically cried at the end of this book.
Favorite Passage: "I, um, I have this problem. I broke up with my boyfriend, you see. And I'm pretty upset about it, so I wanted to talk to my best friend...The thing is, they're both you." - Emily to Chris
This part just made me smile, because I could tell that Chris was so happy to hear this after their fight. We know how they both felt (different chapters), and how they were both hurting because of the fight they were in. This just helped and it was so cute.
thirteen reasons why B1
name. camille sanchez
class period. B1
book title. thirteen reasons why
auther. jay asher
pages. 388
rating. *****
recommendation: This is a very good book for those who like suspence and also if they enjoy reading books that talk about peoples lives. Its a book about suiside, high school crushes and friends. Jay is a great author... he has alot to say :)
summary: This is a story about a girl who has thirteen reasons why she commeted suicide.Her name is Hannah Baker. There is thirteen tapes and one person on each tape. Each tape will tell you the reason why that person is one out of the other twelve for her death. The boy who has the tapes and is listening to then ... is Clay Jensen, He has no clue why he would be one of the reason why Hannah Baker commited suicide. He discovers something that will change his life forever. Not just his but every one else too and how people will look at Hannah Baker now. In the end he finds out who the last person was.. that couldnt help her save her own life.
explanation of rating: This is a great book for teens to understand how to act and what you say to all the people around you. It gets very interesting and intense at times to where you dont want to put the book down, and keep on readng. But it is a very life lessoning book to help no just teens but everyone. To treat everyone and everybody better and try to see how they would feel or react to anything that could or would happen. This is also a very good book on how friends, high school, and activities relate to all people. Also how they will feel or been in the long term.
favorite passage: "And yes, Clay-I'm sorry, too. cassett 5 side A (thats the chapter)
The reason i love this passage is becasue those are the last words that she ever says to him and the very last words that he hears her say directed to him. Those were also words that he said to her... before she died. Yes it is ironic. But it is just how the book goes. :)
class period. B1
book title. thirteen reasons why
auther. jay asher
pages. 388
rating. *****
recommendation: This is a very good book for those who like suspence and also if they enjoy reading books that talk about peoples lives. Its a book about suiside, high school crushes and friends. Jay is a great author... he has alot to say :)
summary: This is a story about a girl who has thirteen reasons why she commeted suicide.Her name is Hannah Baker. There is thirteen tapes and one person on each tape. Each tape will tell you the reason why that person is one out of the other twelve for her death. The boy who has the tapes and is listening to then ... is Clay Jensen, He has no clue why he would be one of the reason why Hannah Baker commited suicide. He discovers something that will change his life forever. Not just his but every one else too and how people will look at Hannah Baker now. In the end he finds out who the last person was.. that couldnt help her save her own life.
explanation of rating: This is a great book for teens to understand how to act and what you say to all the people around you. It gets very interesting and intense at times to where you dont want to put the book down, and keep on readng. But it is a very life lessoning book to help no just teens but everyone. To treat everyone and everybody better and try to see how they would feel or react to anything that could or would happen. This is also a very good book on how friends, high school, and activities relate to all people. Also how they will feel or been in the long term.
favorite passage: "And yes, Clay-I'm sorry, too. cassett 5 side A (thats the chapter)
The reason i love this passage is becasue those are the last words that she ever says to him and the very last words that he hears her say directed to him. Those were also words that he said to her... before she died. Yes it is ironic. But it is just how the book goes. :)
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Name:Addison Shurtz
Class:A2
Book:Harry Potter 6
Author:J.K. Rowling
Pages:652
Rating:****
Recommendation: This is book six of the Harry Potter series. It's a terrific book and is great for all ages. It could be challenging for children younger then 10 or 11 but that's about it. Its an action with a little Mystery to it, which makes it great to read and discuss with others. J.K. Rowling's word will drag you into this magical book.
Summary: We then find Harry Potter is once again to staying with is dreaded Aunt and Uncle for the summer. He hates it there and is quite pleased when he receives a letter from Albus Dumbledore requesting to come escort Harry to the home of the Weasleys. After a few stops they reach the Weaslys home where Harry's friend Ron lives. They eventually head off to Hogwarts not fully comfortable with all the secrets and Mysteries going on. They do some spying on the Slytherins but don't fully understand whats going on. The Year passes on and Harry finds that there is only one way to defeat Voldemort is to destroy the six Horcrux's. Dumbledore is cautious about letting Harry get to involved. Until it is revealded that Harry is the Chosen One. No matter what he wants, he has to keep it aside if he is to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort.
Explanation of Rating: I loved this book and have fully enjoyed this series. This book had action and mystery that always kept it mind bottling! J.K. Rowling put a lot of time and effort into this amazing book. But it was pretty dark at times with so much evil and death. It could sometimes feel disturbing. The book itself overall was the darkest one yet. Even though it was dark at some moments, it still taught many things such as friendship and obedience.
Favorite Passage: "Severus...please..." - Chapter 27
This was a heartbreaking moment in the book, but it shows Dumbledore beg his long time friend Snape to kill him instead of Draco. It Just shows Dumbledore had such a peaceful heart and always had others first. Him wanting Snape to do it over Draco just shows who Dumbledore really was!
Class:A2
Book:Harry Potter 6
Author:J.K. Rowling
Pages:652
Rating:****
Recommendation: This is book six of the Harry Potter series. It's a terrific book and is great for all ages. It could be challenging for children younger then 10 or 11 but that's about it. Its an action with a little Mystery to it, which makes it great to read and discuss with others. J.K. Rowling's word will drag you into this magical book.
Summary: We then find Harry Potter is once again to staying with is dreaded Aunt and Uncle for the summer. He hates it there and is quite pleased when he receives a letter from Albus Dumbledore requesting to come escort Harry to the home of the Weasleys. After a few stops they reach the Weaslys home where Harry's friend Ron lives. They eventually head off to Hogwarts not fully comfortable with all the secrets and Mysteries going on. They do some spying on the Slytherins but don't fully understand whats going on. The Year passes on and Harry finds that there is only one way to defeat Voldemort is to destroy the six Horcrux's. Dumbledore is cautious about letting Harry get to involved. Until it is revealded that Harry is the Chosen One. No matter what he wants, he has to keep it aside if he is to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort.
Explanation of Rating: I loved this book and have fully enjoyed this series. This book had action and mystery that always kept it mind bottling! J.K. Rowling put a lot of time and effort into this amazing book. But it was pretty dark at times with so much evil and death. It could sometimes feel disturbing. The book itself overall was the darkest one yet. Even though it was dark at some moments, it still taught many things such as friendship and obedience.
Favorite Passage: "Severus...please..." - Chapter 27
This was a heartbreaking moment in the book, but it shows Dumbledore beg his long time friend Snape to kill him instead of Draco. It Just shows Dumbledore had such a peaceful heart and always had others first. Him wanting Snape to do it over Draco just shows who Dumbledore really was!
The Alliance
Melissa Daley
B2
The Alliance
Gerald N. Lund
329
****
Recommendation: I recomend this book to anyone who likes a little adventure and excitement. Those who enjoy some conspiracy, mystery and even a little romance would probably enjoy this book. This book is one you won't want to put down.
Summary: This story is about survivors of a nuclear holocaust who are forced to a new society called the Alliance. Eric Lloyd and his village are introduced to this new way of living where there is work and safety and food enough to spare. It seems like a dream come true where no crime, anger and prejudice are allowed. Eric and his family realize the Alliance grants absolutely no freedom to choose as you like. Throughout the whole book Eric continues to uncover new things about this way of life. He feels like a prisoner in this not so perfect world. Eric wants to destroy the Alliance.
Explanation of Rating: I rated this book a four because I found it exciting and enjoyable. It was one I couldn't wait to see how it ended. I usually am not like that with books, I normally get really bored and quit. I like the types of books like the Alliance. It was interesting and fun to read. It was the best novel I have read because I enjoyed it enough to finish.
Favorite Passage: I like the part where he finds out how to end the Alliance because it wants you to keep reading to find out if he succeeds or not.
B2
The Alliance
Gerald N. Lund
329
****
Recommendation: I recomend this book to anyone who likes a little adventure and excitement. Those who enjoy some conspiracy, mystery and even a little romance would probably enjoy this book. This book is one you won't want to put down.
Summary: This story is about survivors of a nuclear holocaust who are forced to a new society called the Alliance. Eric Lloyd and his village are introduced to this new way of living where there is work and safety and food enough to spare. It seems like a dream come true where no crime, anger and prejudice are allowed. Eric and his family realize the Alliance grants absolutely no freedom to choose as you like. Throughout the whole book Eric continues to uncover new things about this way of life. He feels like a prisoner in this not so perfect world. Eric wants to destroy the Alliance.
Explanation of Rating: I rated this book a four because I found it exciting and enjoyable. It was one I couldn't wait to see how it ended. I usually am not like that with books, I normally get really bored and quit. I like the types of books like the Alliance. It was interesting and fun to read. It was the best novel I have read because I enjoyed it enough to finish.
Favorite Passage: I like the part where he finds out how to end the Alliance because it wants you to keep reading to find out if he succeeds or not.
My Sister's Keeper A-2
Name: Rebecca Knell
Period: A-2
Book Title: My Sister's Keeper
Author: Jodi Picoult
Pages: 423
Rating: ****
Recommendation: My Sister's Keeper is a really sweet and heart touching book. I recommend this book probably to women. This book puts you in the life of a family struggling with cancer, and gives you a real life perspective. It is funny, loving, and very powerful to the heart.
Summary: Anna Fitzgerald and Kate Fitzgerald are sisters. Kate is very ill with leukemia. Ever since Anna has been a baby, she has had to go through so much pain with surgery after surgery. The thing is, Anna isn't even sick. Before she was born her parents found out that if they had a genetically engineered baby, they could help Kate get better. So that's what they did. Since Anna has the exact same bone marrow and blood cells as Kate. Anna has been in so many surgeries like Kate. It's like Anna has leukemia. She's always in and out of the hospital just like Kate. Anna is tired of having to go through all of this pain. Anna decides that she wants to stop doing all of this and gets herself a lawyer to sue her parents for the right of her own body. Her parents are totally confused about Anna's decision. They don't know what to do. Anna's family tries to talk Anna out of it. But the truth is they don't know why Anna is really doing all of this. What will her family have to go through to find out the truth?
Explanation of Rating: This book is magical and will bring you to tears (in a good way). It is heart warming and makes you want to keep reading it to the very end. My
Sister's Keeper shows a realistic life style of a family going through cancer. It makes you want to be better in your own life seeing how life can be taken away from you very quick and how anyone can be sick. Jodi Picoult wrote this book very beautifully realistic. It has humor, love, and intensity all in one book.
Favorite passage: "It's hard to be the one always waiting. I mean, there's something to be said for the hero who charges off to battle, but when you get right down to it there's a whole story in who's left behind." -Brian Pg. 327
I like this because we can't always be the hero. In fact most of us will never be the hero. Most of us are the quiet hero's that no one knows about. Who are left behind, doing all the "grunt" works of life.
Period: A-2
Book Title: My Sister's Keeper
Author: Jodi Picoult
Pages: 423
Rating: ****
Recommendation: My Sister's Keeper is a really sweet and heart touching book. I recommend this book probably to women. This book puts you in the life of a family struggling with cancer, and gives you a real life perspective. It is funny, loving, and very powerful to the heart.
Summary: Anna Fitzgerald and Kate Fitzgerald are sisters. Kate is very ill with leukemia. Ever since Anna has been a baby, she has had to go through so much pain with surgery after surgery. The thing is, Anna isn't even sick. Before she was born her parents found out that if they had a genetically engineered baby, they could help Kate get better. So that's what they did. Since Anna has the exact same bone marrow and blood cells as Kate. Anna has been in so many surgeries like Kate. It's like Anna has leukemia. She's always in and out of the hospital just like Kate. Anna is tired of having to go through all of this pain. Anna decides that she wants to stop doing all of this and gets herself a lawyer to sue her parents for the right of her own body. Her parents are totally confused about Anna's decision. They don't know what to do. Anna's family tries to talk Anna out of it. But the truth is they don't know why Anna is really doing all of this. What will her family have to go through to find out the truth?
Explanation of Rating: This book is magical and will bring you to tears (in a good way). It is heart warming and makes you want to keep reading it to the very end. My
Sister's Keeper shows a realistic life style of a family going through cancer. It makes you want to be better in your own life seeing how life can be taken away from you very quick and how anyone can be sick. Jodi Picoult wrote this book very beautifully realistic. It has humor, love, and intensity all in one book.
Favorite passage: "It's hard to be the one always waiting. I mean, there's something to be said for the hero who charges off to battle, but when you get right down to it there's a whole story in who's left behind." -Brian Pg. 327
I like this because we can't always be the hero. In fact most of us will never be the hero. Most of us are the quiet hero's that no one knows about. Who are left behind, doing all the "grunt" works of life.
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