tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85755844889312732232024-02-21T09:38:07.121-08:00On the Middle ShelfBooks, movies, games, and random thoughts by students in the middleMrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-76229561332563472272013-02-26T07:09:00.001-08:002013-04-05T07:46:07.186-07:00INSURGENT by Veronica Roth<br />
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REVIEWED BY BRYSON</div>
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Veronica Roth is one of my favorite authors, and her new book, <u>Insurgent</u>, proves just why. <u>Insurgent</u> was a fast paced action adventure that I could not stop reading. When I finished reading the first book, <u>Divergent</u>, I had to find out what happened next! </div>
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTGgOXJUvErQvSC502uZFRar-Lfzl-2I_HIhsAE3uKBOpNXUZjl" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="rg_i" data-sz="f" name="gZBhPL5O5ia5xM:" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTGgOXJUvErQvSC502uZFRar-Lfzl-2I_HIhsAE3uKBOpNXUZjl" style="height: 202px; margin-top: 0px; width: 133px;" /></a><br />
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The Factions are in ruins. Dauntless have split into two groups. Most of Abnegation is dead. Erudite is seeking and destroying all the Divergent, including Tris. Becoming a leader and celebrity she does not want to be, Tris must overcome obstacles, physically and mentally. It seems like she can trust NO ONE. And even worse than that (if you can get worse), Marcus has a secret. A secret she will learn, one way or another. But first she must survive. And to survive, they must bring down Erudite, once and for all. But do they really want to know the secrets that lay in store for them?<br />
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I love how the author builds and develops her characters. Roth did a great job in describing and making them come to life. She took the time to describe how her characters walked, talked, and looked. I walked down the halls of my schools picturing Tobias and Tris in my head. I felt like she was describing real people doing real things! Plus, every character had a unique personality. Whether they were funny or flirtatious, they were all unique. Every character was different. Also, every character had a different kind of slang in the way they spoke. I could hear the characters speak in my mind. <br />
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Also, Roth describes the city in such a way that I expected to find it in the 2012 Atlas. I could see the crumbling walls of the buildings and the glamorous new buildings. I could smell the faction less camp and taste the food that people ate. Every bullet that was shot, I could feel and hear the shot come out of the gun. The suspense was so realistic that I could feel every part of it. I give this book a full heartedly 4 out of 5. I keep the extra star because Roth leaves me hanging off a 1000 foot cliff. Now I have to wait a whole year to read what happens next. I read this book on the edge of my seat, because of the suspense and action! I did not want to put this book down! Roth has created a great page-turner that should be on every ones “got to read this” list. Roth has made another great page-turner adventure!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NqfvAyuxPeU" width="560"></iframe>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-47297831785390825032012-11-12T20:32:00.002-08:002012-11-12T20:32:30.240-08:00The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Reviewed by Brandon </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In
the third installment of the <u>Heroes of Olympus</u> series, <u>The Mark of
Athena</u>, Rick Riordan creates a mystifying story yet again. This new
thrilling novel intrigued me more than his last few stories. This book should
definitely be on the top of any bookworm’s “must read” list.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzt0RjyJCxDO4vHvRoNgr192Dl1DRHmkTYK5dfJEt0GLno_mQiF5rGxbzsEg2KIXNEL2UQNXSzcYbGTJi8XiRoX3AIAklz7-IbIhPjSO9l2fZFPIxBjFD-Ot47h82s8NyqTHqE3LDnXew/s1600/The_Mark_of_Athena_cover_art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzt0RjyJCxDO4vHvRoNgr192Dl1DRHmkTYK5dfJEt0GLno_mQiF5rGxbzsEg2KIXNEL2UQNXSzcYbGTJi8XiRoX3AIAklz7-IbIhPjSO9l2fZFPIxBjFD-Ot47h82s8NyqTHqE3LDnXew/s1600/The_Mark_of_Athena_cover_art.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Percy Jackson is a not so normal 17
year-old. Over the past 5 years Percy has fought many monsters, gods, and
demigods. After being whisked away from his camp, Camp Half-Blood, for 8 months
and saving his “new” camp, Camp Jupiter, from new monsters and a Cyclops to
regain their War Eagle, he is reunited with his girlfriend, Annabeth, when she
comes to rescue him from the Romans. The reunion doesn't last long, though.
After they are reunited, one member of the quest party that Annabeth has set up
attacks the Romans. This just complicates their
journey even more. Now added to the stress of finding Hazel’s brother, Nico,
and defeating two giants, they now must get away from the Romans as well. Then
something unexpected happens…Annabeth must complete a quest by herself and
everyone that has tried before her has met a terrible death. Can Percy let her
go, again, if it might mean she will never come back?<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Riordan uses a complex writing style
in which he changes who the story focuses around every couple of chapters. I
think this makes the story more fun to read because you get to know different points of
view on what is happening within the story. This makes the book more enjoyable to me and makes me want to just read
it all at once. For example, Piper only thinks of Percy as the Son of Poseidon (Neptune), while
Annabeth thinks of him as an amazing boyfriend that she can’t live without.
This is why I like his writing as much as I do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This book had me constantly on the
edge of my seat waiting to see what kinds of twists and turns Riordan could
throw at me. I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars because it was so
intriguing and fast-paced. I cannot wait for the fourth book to be released
because I think his writing is very good.</span></div>
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Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-76300870480786647832012-11-12T20:20:00.002-08:002012-11-12T20:22:27.276-08:00Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Septys<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6O2vIBufkizuqHYlnlbuOEjaQO1jo0k21ihZkbwgWq7eWNEqXkDm7QClePNaHeHT0Ukr28qhkNVruZKtuOpx-bR46bx7SMztuU-gGtEXHhd17G1J7iQHfxZPgS_lXGcJv1sOdx4hpf8U/s1600/BetweenShadesOfGray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6O2vIBufkizuqHYlnlbuOEjaQO1jo0k21ihZkbwgWq7eWNEqXkDm7QClePNaHeHT0Ukr28qhkNVruZKtuOpx-bR46bx7SMztuU-gGtEXHhd17G1J7iQHfxZPgS_lXGcJv1sOdx4hpf8U/s400/BetweenShadesOfGray.jpg" width="268" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Reviewed by Bo</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Between Shades of Gray</u></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> is a novel that is putting author Ruta Septys on the literary ma</span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">p. </span>It hooked me from the very beginning. I randomly picked up this book to pass
time, but once I started reading I couldn’t stop. If you are looking for a
love/survival book then this is the one for you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Lina, who is 15 years old, is
residing in Lithuania, June 1941. Lina and her family are living right in the
middle of a monstrous war. She is planning for a future career in the art
world, until her and her family was taken by the Soviet Union. With her art
abilities she sends clues in her drawings through many people in different
camps, hoping to get back to her father. During this time of tragedy, she
desperately fights the Soviets to save her, and the lives around her through
the whole book. Can love and the desire to save her family keep her alive?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sepetys created characters that are well-developed and dynamic. Her effective and vivid descriptions makes it easy for the reader to imagine the characters and to bring them to life. I could
picture Lina and I being friends from her amazing character details.I
could literally see myself in their world interacting with them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sepetys skill with words and her ability to effectively use imagery created a raw, gritty movie in my mind. I could easily feel Lina's pain and put myself in the character's horrible environment. The way that she describes the settings
is unimaginable. When she describes Lina with her family in the soviets truck
looking at the girl coming from the hospital, you can really see it in your
brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her ability of doing imagery
makes this novel one of my favorites. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Between+shades+of+gray&hl=en&sa=X&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7ADSA_enUS453&biw=1280&bih=803&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnsb&tbnid=bbhDPELR-YiU3M:&imgrefurl=http://www.darientimes.com/8562/teen-book-nook-review-of-between-shades-of-gray/&docid=LjykFzvBsVoBsM&imgurl=http://www.darientimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/12913325.jpg&w=317&h=475&ei=UlGZUISmMNCyqQHEp4D4Dw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=881&vpy=113&dur=1747&hovh=275&hovw=183&tx=90&ty=139&sig=114850539105030430252&page=1&tbnh=147&tbnw=102&start=0&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0,i:88" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">WHEN I WOKE, the car was dark. I moved to the
front and hung my head over the side for air. My hair swung away from my neck.
A rush of air swirled around my face, and I breathed deeply. Gravel crunched. </span></i></div>
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<a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Between+shades+of+gray&hl=en&sa=X&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7ADSA_enUS453&biw=1280&bih=803&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnsb&tbnid=bbhDPELR-YiU3M:&imgrefurl=http://www.darientimes.com/8562/teen-book-nook-review-of-between-shades-of-gray/&docid=LjykFzvBsVoBsM&imgurl=http://www.darientimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/12913325.jpg&w=317&h=475&ei=UlGZUISmMNCyqQHEp4D4Dw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=881&vpy=113&dur=1747&hovh=275&hovw=183&tx=90&ty=139&sig=114850539105030430252&page=1&tbnh=147&tbnw=102&start=0&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0,i:88" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This
is one of those books you will never want to put down. Sepetys and her book <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Between
Shades of Gray</u></i></b> had such an effect on me; this novel and its characters will stay with me for the rest of my life.
It made me want to go out and do something about the hardships Stalin created and prevent them from ever repeating themselves in history. I gave this book 4.5 out
of 5 stars. I did not give it 5 stars, because I think she should have
provided more details of what became of the characters and their struggle. Sepetys could have easily written a second book that would answer the lingering questions that resulted from the very abrupt ending. </span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GPiQ_LuKtDE" width="560"></iframe>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-47172232284219906762012-11-08T10:20:00.003-08:002012-11-08T12:15:35.399-08:00The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Maggie Stiefvater is quickly becoming my favorite YA author.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s yet to write anything that I haven’t devoured on sight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>The Raven Boys</u> is her most recent delectable dish which had me lapping up each word in less than three days (bring on the cheese!). It is a book that is refreshingly unique in its plot and characters, and one that should be on the very top of your “to read” list.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Blue Sargent is as unique as her moniker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Living in a home filled with psychics and mediums only adds to her unusual aura.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her clairvoyant mother and three gifted aunts each have unique, supernatural abilities to communicate with the dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blue has never had the “second sight” like her family members, and she assumes these gifts have skipped her altogether – until she sees her very first spirit on St. Mark’s Eve.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Traditionally, St. Mark’s Eve is a time when the spirits of the soon-to-be dead travel corpse road – a path that winds through a crumbling, abandoned churchyard outside of Blue’s hometown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blue’s mother usually greets these spirits while Blue records their names.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Within 12 months, the people whose spirits traveled this road on this night will be dead, and townspeople pay a pretty penny to see if their name is on the list of the doomed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blue usually sits through this night without much to do, other than to assist her mother and write down the names of the spirits passing by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEC40vESd2YFg4YyImH-7BdH8dAkDIges3ekeMdhyphenhyphen2P0MW8Fps_4OaudkrB8w4CrOYOgjKgSiyHpjYITEOTBgjBSn_QOx3YmA0GawKed1jshSkDGwobAlCTCcbDvqDw5zY-mkFf-OgpaA/s1600/the-raven-boys-book-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEC40vESd2YFg4YyImH-7BdH8dAkDIges3ekeMdhyphenhyphen2P0MW8Fps_4OaudkrB8w4CrOYOgjKgSiyHpjYITEOTBgjBSn_QOx3YmA0GawKed1jshSkDGwobAlCTCcbDvqDw5zY-mkFf-OgpaA/s320/the-raven-boys-book-cover.jpg" width="211" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This year’s St. Mark’s eve begins like any other, except for Blue’s aunt is doing the other-worldly greetings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blue silently observes her aunt speak to the souls Blue can’t see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bored and silently wishing for this night to come to a close, Blue is shocked to see a boy her age stumbling through the churchyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is a spirit, but the fact that Blue can see him scares and awes her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to her aunt, “there are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either you’re his true love, …or you killed him.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Determined to find this boy and warn him about his fate, Blue goes on a quest to change his destiny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What Blue uncovers about this mysterious boy and the supernatural trouble surrounding him kept me up late at night and unable to stop reading. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Stiefvater’s writing style and seamless plot development are not the only reasons <u>The Raven Boys </u>is such an enjoyable read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her ability to create real, dynamic characters is what makes each of her novels so appealing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blue Sargent could easily be a friend of mine due to Stiefvater’s effortless dialogue and subtle descriptions embedded within the dialogue and narration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gansey and the rest of the Raven Boys are unique and unlike any other characters I’ve ever met in fiction, but seem too real and alive to be trapped in a book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They remind me of the gang in <u>The Outsiders</u>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sodapop, Darry and Ponyboy are characters that have stuck with me for decades, and I have an inkling that Ronan, Adam, Noah and Gansey will be around for awhile, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this excerpt, Gansey is meeting Blue for the first time, and I love the unconventional way in which Stiefvater describes Gansey and his friends. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There was something annoyingly impressive about him, an impression that he was very tall, although he was no taller than most boys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“My socially inhibited friend Adam thinks you’re cute, but he’s unwilling to make a move. Over there. Not the smudgy one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not the sulky one.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Blue, largely against her will, glanced to the booth he pointed to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three boys sat at it: one was smudgy, just as he said, with a rumpled, faded look about his person, like his body had been laundered too many times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The one who’d hit the light was handsome and his head was shaved; a soldier in a war where the enemy was everyone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the third was – elegant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was not the right word for him, but it was close.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was fine boned and a little fragile looking, with blue eyes pretty enough for a girl. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve never heard of a character described as “smudgy”, but after you read this book, you’ll understand why this adjective is the PERFECT descriptor of Noah. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stiefvater’s writing is original and makes it impossible for the narration and dialogue to ever become boring.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is one of those magical books that readers hunt for and crave – those rare gems that have you flying through the pages and itching to read at stop lights, under the table at dinner, and during any spare moment you can find. <u><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Raven Boys</u> IS THAT BOOK for me – the likes of which I haven’t read in a very long time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eager to find out when the next book will be released (2013ish), I looked at reviews on the site Good Reads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently, I’m not alone in my love for the Raven Boys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s average rating is a 4.6 out of 5 stars, and rating which I will also give the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I only reserve the ½ star, due to my annoyance with Stiefvater for ending this book with so many unanswered questions, and making me wait entirely too long for the sequel!</span></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nWzaJrJUP-w" width="560"></iframe>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-16824759809961390492011-07-15T11:59:00.000-07:002011-10-16T08:01:18.422-07:00DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuhqQYYF4zVKD41Tq493Z1KR_FFv3-gzhnB8IzI4XGdTS74cLrAyZLP-iVCxoT6DoCToBEIWMx4gvrlSaj-eAl_niuTnps2mz1_q0NRxnAQh45St6Zn-KWO30VP4t5cT70ONd7pIILoU/s1600/Divergent+hc+c+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuhqQYYF4zVKD41Tq493Z1KR_FFv3-gzhnB8IzI4XGdTS74cLrAyZLP-iVCxoT6DoCToBEIWMx4gvrlSaj-eAl_niuTnps2mz1_q0NRxnAQh45St6Zn-KWO30VP4t5cT70ONd7pIILoU/s320/Divergent+hc+c+%25282%2529.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><b>Divergent</b></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b> By: Veronica Roth</b></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reviewed by: Jacob Duncan</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I recently finished <u>Divergent</u>, and was pleasantly surprised. Thinking that it was going to be just a </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Hunger Games</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> rip-off I did not have high hopes for this book. Like the </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Hunger Games</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">, it too is a dystopian fiction novel. This one book you should not pass up.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Divergent</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> is a book where the last remnants of the civilized has been split up into 5 groups, and one group is fighting for control. Each has a different core </span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">value that all members must follow.On an appointed day of every year, every sixteen year old has to pick a faction, and after that, face the rigorous initiation. Tris, the main character is in the midst of that struggle as she has to decide if she wants to stay with her faction, or join another one. Her choice catches everyone by surprise. Later at initiation she learns that all is not right when she is told she is divergent. A faction is after all the divergents, and tris has no idea who to trust.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The author truly did an amazing job on character development. At the beginning Tris was frightened and put others thought into consideration, but by the end she was changed. I can’t really think of an age appropriate word that would match how she was in the end of the book. She didn’t care about other people, she didn’t help them out. In fact she scoffed at anyone who showed any sign of weakness. I’m saying the author did a good job because you saw her thoughts and watched as the initiation awoke a demon inside of this little girl. </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span></i></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Never come near me again... If you do, I swear to God I will kill you,” I say. “You coward.”</span></i></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That small excerpt let me know that the character transformation was complete. Tris was now completely changed. I did not like the way the author transformed this character, but he still did a good job on it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The action was everything you could hope for in this genre, the thing I like most was the use of guns, not just as weapons, but a symbol of hope for the main character. The author did a good job not putting all the action into the last part of the book. While the last couple of chapters are some of the most intense, the beginning and middle had some pretty good moments as well.</span></span></div><br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I give </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Divergent</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> a 6/10 because of how much I hated the character towards the end. Halfway through I wanted to jump into the book and shoot Tris. If there is a second (which seems to be the trend with this genre) I will probably not buy that one based on the fact that the character is hard to get along with. Other than that, a big portion of this book I would say it was a good read. If you haven’t read it, read it. So you can see exactly what I’m talking about. if you liked or hated this book read </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Hunger Games</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">, a better series with more likable characters.</span></span></div><div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 12px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span></span></div></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-8167997852133726012011-04-15T10:25:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:27:15.715-07:00KILLER PIZZA by Greg Taylor<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEeUiLmakbYI6VHRTeaoU_YZSxyBvZIqE7K8uqyQ6EtHnZYfFfu444OHNvE47CbT_RU147XU1uVDfHY2yR6PLCJxlOfslyn9QNfd_ExgjoNUxGDYpryxc2P5hfqbVY7Gyy0b-GfK8SgAkp/s1600/Killer-Pizza-by-Greg-Taylor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEeUiLmakbYI6VHRTeaoU_YZSxyBvZIqE7K8uqyQ6EtHnZYfFfu444OHNvE47CbT_RU147XU1uVDfHY2yR6PLCJxlOfslyn9QNfd_ExgjoNUxGDYpryxc2P5hfqbVY7Gyy0b-GfK8SgAkp/s400/Killer-Pizza-by-Greg-Taylor.jpg" width="263" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <u>Killer Pizza</u> by Greg Taylor was a real page turner filled with perfect action that I was overjoyed to have found at my school. When I first purchased it I was a little bit discontent about reading it (the title is Killer Pizza, I mean really?) , but after the first few pages I knew from then on it would be the perfect book for my liking.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taylor sets up the perfect fiction novel for any boy or girl teen. Killer Pizza, a pizza shop that is just opening in a small community called Hidden Hills, catches the eye of a teenager named Toby, who’s only dream is to become a famous chef with only <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Food Network</i> as his experience. When he gets the job he can’t wait to go to work for the first time. Soon he has a “thing” for a fellow Killer Pizza employee and overpasses his colleagues. Soon he finds out that Killer pizza has a killer secret. Killer Pizza is just a cover up for their real purpose- to hunt monsters. When dangerous monsters attack Hidden Hills, the crew of Killer Pizza has to take them out before time runs out.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like how Taylor creates his characters with such personalities. He makes the reader feel like an employee at Killer Pizza on this crazy adventure. He gives the reader a perfect image of how the characters react to the monsters and their true emotions. I really like how Taylor wrote the book in first person so you know what Toby feels about his crush and the monster invasion, because some of the stuff that happens you wouldn’t know happened unless you where Toby. I really like the flashbacks and foreshadowing, but the most outstanding thing in this book is layout of the book and how he has the romantic twist in the story.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“When Toby pushed through the front door of the pizza shop, he was greeted by the sight of four people standing in the small area in front of the ordering counter. He tried not to stare at the beautiful girl with the ink-black hair.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This quote shows his first time in the store and the first thing he notices is this beautiful girl with long black hair. It foreshadows that they’re going to have a relationship later on in the book.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I give this book 9 out of 10. The story was great and exciting. The ending boss fight was awesome and the cast of characters was just phenomenal. I read this book with anticipation and enthusiasm and finished it in two days flat. If you like Killer Pizza you might also like The Monstrumologist or any other monster hunting genre. This book is a great read and anyone will like it as much as I did. </span></span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 32px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Reviewed by Josh Ivey</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 32px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>8th Grade</b></span></span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">**NFMH** Check out this awesome, student created book trailer I found on youtube by "waletti":</span></span></div></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yytBTCspsv4" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"></div></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-49936421173937022862011-04-15T09:39:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:27:34.259-07:00EIGER DREAMS by Jon Krakauer<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/61050000/61058441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/61050000/61058441.JPG" width="266" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you love being in the mountains or just like to be outdoors, I have found the perfect book for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>Eiger Dreams</u> by Jon Krakauer is a must read novel for anybody who is interested in mountaineering or climbing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This book will grip your mind and take you for a ride in the high altitude of the Alps, Himalayas, and beyond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This book is basically a collection of articles that Krakauer wrote for the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Smithsonian </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Outside </i>magazines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of these articles are about extraordinary mountains and the crazy men who climb them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, one chapter is about one of the worst summers in the history of climbing one of the deadliest mountains in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One climber who tried to make a summit attempt, went delirious just above the summit and was left for dead by other climbers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next day he was seen crawling down the mountain with severe frost bite and altitude sickness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This example is just one of many found in this book that describe outragious climbers that have an extremely strong will to survive.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my favorite parts of this novel is Krakauer’s ability to write about these people and describe their accomplishments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The way he writes of the things they do allows you to get “lost” in reading and become engrossed in the story being told.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only the way Krakauer writes about these people, but the people themselves he chose to write about are interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are hardly any words that describe the adrenaline junkies that are subjected in this book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their inhuman feats will blow your mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Krakauer definitely picked an all star line up to write about when it comes to climbing.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The way this book is organized also makes it really outstanding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like I said before, it’s a collection of articles Krakauer wrote for a few different magazines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am a big fan of this style of book because they are easy to read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t get bored with a dull plot or the same old characters because it’s a different story every chapter.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably my most favorite part of this book is the descriptions Krakauer gives about the experiences of the climbers in the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of my favorite examples of this is a passage from the book about Krakauer himself summiting a mountain in Alaska called the Devils thumb.</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“It wasn’t possible, I couldn’t believe it. I felt my cracked lips stretch into a huge, painful grin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was on top of the devils Thumb…The summit was a surreal, malevolent place, an improbable slender fan of rock and rime no wider than a filing cabinet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It did not encourage loitering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I straddled the highest point, the north face fell away beneath my left boot for six thousand feet; beneath my right boot the south face dropped of twenty-five hundred.”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think this passage can sum up Krakauer’s knack for making a description chilling and gripping. His use of adjectives and figurative language make you feel as though you are the one climbing a mountain.<br />
This book is probably one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. If I were going to rate this book I would give it a nine out of 10. It is definitely worth your reading time ,and I suggest this book to anybody who is interested in mountains and climbing</span><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Reviewed by Ryan Bowman</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">8th Grade</span></span></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-37553327195681567712011-04-15T09:35:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:28:06.305-07:00UNWIND by Neal Shusterman<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Unwind</span></u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> by Neal Shusterman is full of adventure and action, with surprises when you least expect them. This heart-pounding, dystopian fiction novel that got me hooked from the first chapter on and I couldn’t stop reading it.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="http://www.dreamstuffbooks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/unwind1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.dreamstuffbooks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/unwind1.jpg" width="271" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the second civil war in America, a new bill was passed. It was the Bill of Life. It states that you can have your kid "unwound" from the age 13 to 18 if you choose to do so. Unwinding is when your body is taken apart by surgeons, and your organs and other parts are used for adults in need of them. Since every part of the unwound person's body is being used, they are not technically "dead", so unwinding is legal. Teens that are forced to be unwound are usually kids with behavior issues and are signed up by their parents, or are orphaned children who have no one to care for them. So when the main character of this book, Connor, finds the unwind order papers on his father's desk for Connor's unwinding in two weeks, Connor is scared and angry. He decides to take his chances and runaway. Connor must overcome all odds to survive until he is 18 and can not be forcibly unwound. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shusterman did a very good job creating the characters. It seemed like they were real, because he put so much detail into them. The story is told from three different character perspectives, and even though Connor is the central character, it was still really cool to see what the two other characters were thinking and feeling. Shusterman described them in such a way that it was easy to visualize them in my head. In the passage below, you can easily imagine what Connor's girlfriend looks like: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> “Her eyes are sweet violet with streaks of gray. She’s such a slave of fashion- always getting the newest pigment injection the second it’s in style. Connor was never into that. He’s always kept his eyes the color they came in. Brown.”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> </span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The characters helped developed the story to make it well-rounded. I really cared about Connor as a person and rooted for him to survive. I felt Connor's anxiousness and urgency with each turn of the page.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I rate this book 10 out of 10. It is the best book I have read yet. There is amazing detail, and awesome action sequences. I really hope someone will decide to make this great book into a movie.</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Reviewed by Grant Sandercox</span></b></span></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 32px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">8th Grade</span></span></b></span></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>**NFMH** This is a great student made book trailer on youtube by "SpunkRansom02":</i></b></span></div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/p1aEbXr5_08" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-63938061348534589192011-04-15T08:05:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:28:34.571-07:00THE FAERIE PATH by Frewin Jones<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n38/n194975.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n38/n194975.jpg" width="274" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went to the library with my sister, I came across <u>The Faerie Path</u> by Frewin Jones. My sister was showing me the books that she had read and liked when I asked her about <u>The Faerie Path. </u>She chose not to read <u>The Faerie Path</u> because it isn’t in her best interests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I picked up the book anyway and read the back cover. Little did I know that Faerie is the French spelling for Fairy in English. Even though the book is named <u>The Faerie Path</u>, it is not about Fairies.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Anita Palmer is turning sixteen very soon. She loves her family, friends, and new-found boyfriend. Her world may not be perfect but she has everything she could ever want. On the eve of her sixteenth birthday she disappears into a completely different world. She is lost, but luckily she found she found a friend named Gabriel. She finds out quickly that she is Princess Tania, the seventh daughter of King Oberon. She could walk between the mortal world and the Faerie world, if she knew how to control her power. Her soul is split between both worlds and she isn’t sure what to do. She wants to see her friends and family but at the same time Gabriel and others won’t let her. With Gabriel trying to steal her power, will she ever see her “true” parents again or will she find a way to travel to both worlds without getting lost again?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The plot development has an interesting format. I loved the way it is set up to make every page so realistic even though it could never happen. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Strange new muscles flexed on her back and she felt the air stir. She drew herself up onto her hands and knees. There was no pain now. Grasping the rim of the sink, she pulled herself to her feet.”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In this passage Anita grows wings on her back. Jones makes it so realistic that you can believe that growing wings can really happen.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jones made the character development so marvelous that each page was a new adventure.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“His head rested against thread bare velvet cushions. His golden hair hung around a lean, care-lined face. Anita had seen that face before, just for a few moments when she had first stepped onto the gallery above the great hall. It was the man she had seen on the throne, the man with the neat beard and mustache, with the sharp, angled cheekbones and the flashing blue eyes. Except how his expression was filled with sadness and his eyes were hooded, as if he was lost in deep, heartbreaking memories.”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jones refers to the king as if he were looking straight at him. There are many more great page-turning passages in <u>The Faerie Path</u> and exciting adventures too.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If I were to rate this book on a scale of 1-10, I would rate it a ten. The plot, the characters, and everything was just right. I understood everything and really got into <u>The Faerie Path</u>. <u>The Faerie Path</u> is<u> </u>part of a series of books that I encourage people to read. Every book is a new adventure.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Reviewed by Lori Howard</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">8th Grade</span></strong></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-43918290623741376272011-04-14T09:39:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:28:54.508-07:00IMPOSSIBLE by Nancy Werlin<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have recently finished the novel <u>Impossible</u> by Nancy Werlin. This romantic teen fiction book is a haunting, thrilling, romantic puzzle. <u>Impossible</u> shifts in point of view between two characters, Lucy and Zach.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="http://www.nancywerlin.com/images/covers/impossible_book_final_pb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.nancywerlin.com/images/covers/impossible_book_final_pb.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lucy Scarborough is a seventeen year old girl with a normal life. She has friends, goes to school, and is excited about her upcoming prom. All is well and normal in her life until she turns eighteen and has to race against time to break a curse that has haunted generations of Scarborough women. Like her mother before her, and her grandmother, and EVERY woman of the Scarborough line, Lucy becomes pregnant and has to complete three impossible tasks before she has the baby. If she doesn’t she will go insane and forever be owned by the Elfin Knight with no freedom, and spiral into a life of insanity and heartbreak.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The structure of the book is unusual it has lots of flashbacks and switches characters point of view. Many might find this structure to be confusing, but Werlin kept me interested in the novel through this method of writing. I couldn't help but keep reading, and found it hard to put the book down. I also like the way the author used the song lyrics from "Scarborough Fair" to help Lucy unravel the mystery behind the curse. Lucy's mother also left her a parcel of letters that Werlin uses snippets of throughout the novel. This helped me understand why the letters were so important and vital to help Lucy break the curse.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But by the time her eighth birthday arrived, Lucy had forgotten all about the secret compartment and the T-shirt, and about the mysterious papers with the faded, tight, urgent handwriting. She would be seventeen, and in deep trouble, before she remembered.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"></span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would rate <u>Impossible</u> an eight out of ten because of the way the author wrote and made me feel like I was Lucy going through the tasks. <u>Impossible</u> was unlike any other book I have ever read; it was an unimaginable journey with an extraordinary ending. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><div style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I will definitely be reading the other books written by Nancy Werlin.</span></span><br />
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<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Reviewed by Blaire Barker</b></span></span></span></div></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>8th Grade</b></span></span></span></div></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 32px;">**NFMH** For more details about this awesome book, check out this novel trailer by the book's publisher.</span></b></span></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></span></span></div></div><div style="line-height: 200%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zNjavMx1Jlw" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe></div></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-58089202545378418792011-04-14T09:25:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:29:12.976-07:00ONE OF THOSE HIDEOUS BOOKS WHERE THE MOTHER DIES by Sonya Sones<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1416907882.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1416907882.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg" width="284" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recently just finished reading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies </i>by Sonya Sones. I was introduced to this book by my reading teacher, Mrs. Hart. You would think by looking at the title of this book it would just be really depressing throughout the whole book, although it is not. This book is filled with lots of drama and ups and downs of one girl’s life. It is definitely hard to set down this book once you get started. It is written in free-verse poetry, which made it really interesting to read. I found myself flying through the pages of this book, just wanting to read more and more.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Ruby is a teenage girl whose mom recently died and her aunt, that she is very close to, is traveling all around the world with her boyfriend. Unfortunately, she is forced to move to California to live with her stuck up, movie star dad, that hasn’t even had time to send her a birthday card. Everything about her life seems to be going downhill from there, especially since she is forced to move away from her boyfriend and best friend. The only bright side of the whole situation is the fact that she finally gets to meet her dad after all of these years, although, she’s still not sure if she even likes him or not. Ruby’s life is definitely going to change, having to start over a whole new life with whole new people. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The plot development in this book was awesome because it had me turning the pages constantly. There were so many events going on in her life, you just wanted to keep reading more and more about it. Sones did an amazing job with the structure of the book. Sones used a very creative way of writing her book, to keep it interesting.</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Welcome to California!”</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He says it like he’s rehearsed it.</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But he says it like he means it.</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like he really, really means it.</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well,</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what if he does?</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because I’m here to tell him </span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That he can’t just ooze out</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Onto the stage of my life</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And play my father.</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not after Mom did all the hard work</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of teaching me to be a decent human being,</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> which is something he obviously couldn’t have done</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even if he’d bothered to try</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since he clearly doesn’t know the first thing</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">About being one himself.</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m here to tell him</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That this is going to be</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The toughest role he’s ever had to play.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I chose this passage from the book because it shows you how Sones used free verse poetry in her writing. In this passage you also got to see how the relationship between Ruby and her dad starts off. The imagery in this book was also amazing. The way she used great detail in her writing, kept an image in my head throughout the whole book. Sones kept me turning the pages, keeping me hooked to see what was going to happen next.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I would definitely rate this book a 9. The reason I give this book such a high rating is because I think that everything about this book was awesome! There were rarely any parts of the book where I wanted to put it down, I just wanted to keep on reading. It usually takes me awhile to get though a book, but it took me hardly any time to get through this one. I would recommend this book to all teen readers out there, especially ones who like a little bit of drama. </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="_GoBack"></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Reviewed by Hannah Stanaland</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong>8th Grade</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>**NFMS** Want to learn more about Sonya Sones and her other amazing books? Check out her <a href="http://www.sonyasones.com/books/oneofthose/a_syn_book.html">WEBSITE</a>!</strong></span></div></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-64437788157857862642011-04-13T12:32:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:29:33.099-07:00BLUE IS FOR NIGHTMARES by Laurie Faria Stolarz<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="http://realteenreviews.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/blue-is-for-nightmares3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://realteenreviews.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/blue-is-for-nightmares3.jpg" width="260" /></a><u><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Blue is for Nightmares</span></u><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> by Laurie Faria Stolarz is a book that is well worth the time we all seem to spend reading books. Main character Stacey Brown attends Hillcrest Prep-School and has a secret that she doesn’t want anybody else to know about. Drea, her roommate, doesn’t like the Wiccan spells Stacey casts nor does she like the nightmares Stacey has every night. Stacey has been having nightmares about people she encounters ever since she was born. When she starts getting threatening notes form an anonymous writer, she has to face the fact that someone she is close to is in danger. Can she figure out what her dreams are trying to tell her before it is too late?<u></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">In this book by Lauria Faria Stolarz, there is no way to stop turning pages once you begin. Stolarz does an amazing job with imagery throughout the whole book. Since most of us aren’t Wiccan, we don’t know what exactly to picture in the book when Stacey is casting her Wiccan spells. But Stolarz makes this amazingly easy by doing a great job with the narrative voice for many of the characters. It is very important to have a good narrative voice for a book of this sort, because books like <u>Blue is for Nightmares</u> are hard to picture in terms of action, and seeing through the main character’s eyes. The fact that Stolarz has written this with such an insight makes this one of the best books I have read with a first-person voice. Character development was very important in this book, since the storyline was so complicated.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“Veronica. She’s lying on the ground, a collection of textbooks surrounding her head, as well as Madame Lenore’s clay planter, still in one piece. There’s a narrow stream of liquid running from her head, pooling itself into a pear-shaped puddle. I shake my head over and over again, swallowing the bile down, telling myself that the running liquid it just a water spill from the planter or a leak from the ceiling. But I know it’s really blood. That she’s dead. Her moss-green eyes stare up at me, wide open and disappointed, asking me why I didn’t get here sooner. I glance up toward the window shade, slapping against the wooden ledge. The chilly November air filters into the classroom, plays with the wisps of cinnamon-brown hair at the base of her forehead, now stained bright Valentine red. I cover my face with my hands. That’s when the darkness in the room folds in and swirls all around me. When my body hits the floor.”</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> While I read this I was shocked at how well Stolarz created suspense in such a short amount of time. I couldn’t stop reading until I finished the book completely. The way Stolarz spreads the suspense throughout the whole book amazes me. In some books I have read in the past, the author waits until the last fifty pages and decides to suddenly cram in all the action they didn’t put in the whole other three-hundred or so pages. Another thing I found surprising was that she didn’t use short and choppy sentences as most authors use in suspenseful parts of their novels.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> I would rate this amazing book a 9 out of 10 for its storyline and use of imagery. The reason I did not rate it a full 10 is because it lacked a sense of one thing I always look for in a book. Relation. I couldn’t relate to the characters in most parts of the book because there was a totally different type of lifestyle in the book than I could relate to. But overall it was an amazing book and I intend to read more of Stoarz’s novels in the future.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Reviewed by Jenny McCrummen</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong>8th Grade</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a fan made book trailer by "signingupagain" for Blue is for Nightmares. Very creepy, but cool!</span></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6qSuyeHq1RI" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-62709894446273669192011-04-13T10:26:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:29:50.860-07:00WORLD WAR Z by Maz Brooks<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/wwz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/wwz.jpg" width="259" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I came across <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">World War Z</i> by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Max Brooks</i> from my sister. My initial opinion was a little unsure, but it defiantly came through as a great book. I would say this is the best horror novel I’ve ever read.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This book is definitely different from others I’ve read. It doesn’t have a definite plot line and only one character remains constant. This is revealed through the questions of a journalist who goes around the globe interviewing survivors of “World War Z”. As the location changes, so do the different characters and each story is one of its’ own. He goes from the survival story of one families journey north to the horrific sights a downed air force pilot endures on her trek to safety.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Brooks does every single convention so well as well as others that it’s hard to choose between them. Everything was fantastic. One thing in particular that sticks out to me is the structure. He sets up each segment by describing the place and the person interviewed, sometimes explaining their career during the pandemic. Each character is completely unique to themselves and none resemble each other. There might be someone who goes straight to their story and the journalist (whose name remains unknown) rarely pitches in, or someone who needs to be pushed for questions before they give any information away. The book couldn’t have been written in a better format, he makes these characters all too real. As you read you will start to question yourself if “World War Z” actually happened or not.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His character development was yet another perfect aspect of Brooks writing.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“As much a legend for her temper as for her outstanding war record, it is difficult to see how so much intensity can be compacted into her diminutive, almost childlike frame. Her long black bangs and delicate facial features only reinforce the picture of eternal youth. Then she removes her sunglasses, and I see the fire behind her eyes.”</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This paragraph is just a tiny feature he gives you for each character, making them extremely vivid and very real. He types the dialogue for each person with an accent, some very heavy and others barely noticeable, yet still there. I can’t stress enough how the story behind each character is all too realistic which just makes it so chilling to read.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Brooks has an amazing knack for details which sets him apart from all other authors. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">They weren’t the way Hollywood portrays them, in suits and everyday clothing. Many were being treated when they changed. They were in hospital gowns and sweats, some even naked</i>.” This quote is still an understatement for his amazing details. He goes as far as describing through one of the characters that they even saw zombies trapped in cars, unable to undo their seatbelt. I don’t think anyone else could put as much details into this books as Brooks did, it was absolutely fantastic. His details and logistics actually made sense, making the characters stories and the idea of “World War Z” very plausible. This book will definitely leave you wondering if it could really happen or not.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The way he implies how things have changed after the pandemic is amazing too. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He lifted his shirt, revealing a wound about the size of a prewar dime.”</i> You will be asking yourself, ‘Prewar dime? What does he mean by that? Are they different now?’ It leaves you curious and begging him for more information.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t think this review or anyone else on a Brooks novel can do it justice - there’s just so many things he does right. The review itself would be the length of a novel, you just have to go read it. Giving this book anything below a 10 is an injustice and I recommend it to anyone and everyone who can stomach the horrific tales and images Brooks will plant in your head.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Reviewed by Blake Beal</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>8th Grade</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">**A Note from Mrs. Hart*** <u>World War Z</u> movie rights have been purchased by Brad Pitt's movie production studio, "Plan B Entertainment". MTV Movies Blog reports on a recent post:</span></b></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 200%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><a href="http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/04/12/avatar-2-superman-henry-cavill/">"World War Z" Is Actually Happening, So Get Ready</a></b><br />
Buy your rifles and stock up your pantries, because "<a href="http://moviesblog.mtv.com/tag/world-war-z" style="color: #d91b00; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">World War Z</a>" is almost upon us. <a href="http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/04/12/scoop-world-war-z-going-ahead-cinematographer-prepping-at-studio-right-now/" style="color: #d91b00; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Bleeding Cool</a> has the news that the film's cinematographer, Robert Richardson, is currently prepping production for the film at one of London's major movie studios. After weeks and months of delays and financial woes, it looks like the flick is actually going to get made. Thanks goodness!</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 200%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><b>On the Middle Shelf will be sure to post any new movie news about <u>World War Z.</u></b></span></span></div></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-68636989925243303922011-04-12T09:10:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:30:08.761-07:00LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID21401/images/linger_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID21401/images/linger_cover.jpg" width="256" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> After searching for a week or two, I finally came across this book. I read it in a matter of days (if it were up to me it would have been hours). <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Linger</i> is a continuation of Maggie Stiefvater’s first book; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shiver</i>. One of the main things that caught my interest was the story plot; it’s basically about a boy and a girl who fall in love. I know what you’re thinking, “Ohhh great, another teen romance trying to live up to the standards of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Twilight</i>.” Wrong. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Here's the catch in this romance of boy and girl; the dude just happens to be a werewolf! How did this relationship come to be? Well a young girl by the name of Grace lives in house not too far from a forest. Not just a normal, every-day set of trees - wolves live there. One day Grace comes home to discover a boy lying on her back porch. Turns out he’s one of the wolves from the forest named Sam who had transformed to human. Crazy, huh? After getting to know one another, they soon fall in love. Everything is perfect until it’s time for Sam to change back into wolf form, leaving Grace all alone. They have to fight to stay together through Sam’s four-legged conflicts, as well as Grace’s parents intruding on their relationship. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Stiefvater easily made me laugh and want to cry. She sets up each individual scene with great detail, forcing the reader to easily feel as if they’re watching the movie. Just read the following passage for further convincing. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Motionless, I watched as a black wolf appeared behind the gray one, followed by another I didn’t know. They moved like a school of fish, constantly touching, jostling, and communicating without words. Soon there were six wolves, all keeping their distance, all watching me, all scenting the air. I was afraid. The wolves circled me, wary of my human form but curious of the smell. Maybe they were waiting for me to shift.</i> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> What I love more than anything is the way Stiefvater tells the story from different characters’ perspectives. One chapter is in Grace’s point of view and the next is in Sam’s. This makes me adore the book even more. No longer will I have to wonder what the other character’s thoughts and feelings are. Unlike some authors, Stiefvater easily shows the obsessive relationship between the two main characters. You can tell they are completely and unconditionally in love. She just as easily shows the relationship between other characters in the book. From hatred to love, you always know they’re feelings for one another. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Before grabbing <em>Linger </em>off of the shelf, I recommend reading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shiver</i> beforehand, just to get the feel of it all. On a scale of 1 to 10, I easily give <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Linger</i> a 9. The book does provide a slight disappointment because the previous book was just so great, it heightened my expectations for the second. Only because of that slight flaw I give it a 9, hardly shy of a 10, but I’m quite harsh on my ratings. Now all I can do is pray and hope for either a movie, or a third book to satisfy my cravings for more. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Reviewed by Logan Love</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">8th Grade</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">*NFMH* Maggie Stiefvater has a really interesting website full of information about her books, blog posts, links to short stories, and tons of other neat stuff. Click <a href="http://www.maggiestiefvater.com/index.php">HERE</a> for Maggie's website.</span></strong></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-34746910265335096752011-04-11T13:05:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:30:48.465-07:00PEACHES by Jodi Lynn Anderson<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">I just read the novel <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Peaches</u></b> by Jodi Lynn Anderson - a teen fiction book. This book was the perfect thing to read when I was feeling stressed or overwhelmed and needed to get away. Any teenage girl could relate to this interesting and engrossing novel.</span><span style="color: black;"></span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172319738l/163460.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172319738l/163460.jpg" width="266" /></span></a><a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172319738l/163460.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Peaches</u></b> is about three very different girls, who become best friends under odd circumstances. Murphy McGowen, the wildest girl in Bridgewater, is forced to work at Darlington Orchard when she’s caught trying to steal the owner’s <i>Creme de menthe</i>. Birdie Darlington, the owner’s daughter, is a girl who has been home schooled her whole life and isn’t afraid of getting a little dirt under her nails. Leeda Cawley-Smith, the richest, most popular girl in Bridgewater and Birdie’s second cousin, is forced by her parents to come and work at the orchard during spring break. These three girls learn what true friendship really is. They help each other deal with guy problems, and Birdie’s parents getting divorced. What was the best part about this book? They do it all while picking peaches under the Georgia sun. </span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This book is so well written. The novel is told through each character's point of view, which helped me to understand each of the girls' thoughts and feelings. I could understand why Murphy did what she did but I could also understand why Leeda was upset by it. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other convention that I absolutely loved was the character development. Each character changed over the course of this book in a way that you could feel like you were changing with them. </span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still, if it was possible, Uncle Walter looked even older than he had in April, the gray at his temples having grown up the sides of his head like fungus.</span></i></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Standing on the porch besides Walter, Birdie looked the opposite – she looked fresher, a little thinner, and excited. Her eyes scanned the group in front of the porch frenetically. Leeda looked behind her to see who Birdie might be looking for. Instead, her gaze landed on Murphy, skulking in the back, dark circles under her eyes and her arms crossed around her waist.</span></i></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think this passage shows how the characters changed physically and mentally overtime. I have never read a book as realistic or truthful as this one. Everything that happened in this book happens to a lot of people every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plot structure of this book isn’t very normal, but this is why I like it. Everything flows together and makes sense. </span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jodi Lynn Anderson is a great writer and I rate this book an <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>8</u></b>. I recommend this book for any teenage girl. If you like <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Peaches</u></b> I suggest you read the rest of the series or <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants</u></b> by Ann Brashares.</span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Reviewed by Baylee Stovall</strong></span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong>8th Grade</strong></span></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-61489128753167246182011-04-11T12:59:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:31:04.263-07:00THE ENEMY by Charlie Higson<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT9m7Dwf3gbn2F8rbugIFBNtKyGyiARiTntt6Eg_jisczB69Lhx31Lf_PhhzC5z6u17u4TlKjaXS3hcXj8anw-p8gP0dt8b_2yHFNwhFN_zsXqa6GVvnbPyzLnKiH3cHKs4s8XMB2-Sv8/s1600/9781423131755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT9m7Dwf3gbn2F8rbugIFBNtKyGyiARiTntt6Eg_jisczB69Lhx31Lf_PhhzC5z6u17u4TlKjaXS3hcXj8anw-p8gP0dt8b_2yHFNwhFN_zsXqa6GVvnbPyzLnKiH3cHKs4s8XMB2-Sv8/s1600/9781423131755.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> <u>The Enemy </u>by Charlie Higson is an amazing dystopian fiction book filled with nonstop action and tons of surprises waiting around every corner. This book is a nonstop thrill ride with tons of twists.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This book is about a disease that hits the Earth and it has turned everyone over 16 into zombies. It takes place about a year after the infection hit in London, England. Some kids have managed to survive by seeking shelter in a grocery store, but when a new kid shows up saying there’s a safe place at Buckingham Palace, the kids decide to risk it all and go. On the trip they lose many people but when they arrive everything is not as it appears. The kid who is in control of the palace has his own agenda. He doesn’t care about the well-being of his people all he really wants to do is control all of London.</span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The characters are really well rounded. They seem like they could be real people. They were tough from a year of fighting for their life and from scavenging food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were not sissies but they had a soft spot, which I think really helped shape the story. For example, some kids wanted just to stay alive but others want to take control of all of London for themselves. This new kid that showed up is named Jester when one of the kids dies he doesn’t really care and just wants to make it back to Buckingham Palace.</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 6pt 0in 10pt 1in; text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“They’ve rested enough,” said Jester. “We were hours in Camden waiting for Arran to die.””That’s cold man,” said Blue. “What do you think we should have done? Finished him off ourselves?”” Of course not,” said Jester. “But it was obvious he was going to die.” “We did what we did man,” said Blue. “Couldn’t have done it no other way.””I know,” said Jester.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 6pt 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I love the way the author switched people every chapter and told how they were surviving. It is organized really well, so whenever it was switching people you did not confuse them with another character.</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 6pt 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Overall I would rate this book an 8.5 out of 10 for the heart pounding action. If you liked this book I would recommend <u>Maze Runner</u> or <u>The Roar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></u></span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Reviewed by Jacob Duncan</strong></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong>8th Grade</strong></span></div></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-8837499881401701052011-04-11T12:46:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:31:23.593-07:00THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> Are you looking for an outstanding book? I just read <u>The Road</u> by Cormac McCarthy, and “outstanding” would definitely describe this book. If you like survival books and stories about getting through hard times, I strongly suggest you try this novel.</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoeQ3wQg-0EwxxsYywsVaNUTSGBBP7OCbynh0DCCTxwJa_dtrWkpIvCOag0Oe8i1FduhEHmytmAgmdrinAhPhIvu-Oof-q87XwEZKI3BQJahj0QMl2RTAKopa0HLbL5dKY6kmK8v41jAI/s1600/the-road-cormac-mccarthy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoeQ3wQg-0EwxxsYywsVaNUTSGBBP7OCbynh0DCCTxwJa_dtrWkpIvCOag0Oe8i1FduhEHmytmAgmdrinAhPhIvu-Oof-q87XwEZKI3BQJahj0QMl2RTAKopa0HLbL5dKY6kmK8v41jAI/s1600/the-road-cormac-mccarthy1.jpg" /></a><span style="line-height: 200%;"></span><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This book is the story of a young boy and his dad having to journey across a post-apocalyptic country. They are in search of a warmer place because they will not be able to survive winter with what little possessions they have. The only transportation they have is their feet, the only food they have is some canned goods they push in a cart, and the only protection they have against danger is a gun with only one bullet. They face danger on the road they travel almost every day. In spite of these hopeless conditions, the man and his son persevere for the sake of each other’s survival. This summary can’t even describe the emotions and the intense battle for survival told in this story, so you will have to read the book to get the full story.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> In my opinion, one of the most outstanding qualities of this book is the narrative voice. The narrator frequently uses simile to explain things that happen in the book. An example of this is:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“And the dreams so rich in color. How else would death call you? Waking in the cold dawn it all turned to as instantly. Like certain ancient frescoes entombed for centuries now exposed</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to the day.”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This passage is referring to a dream one of the characters had and compares it to a fading ancient painting. This is just one of the many great examples of figurative language the narrator uses in <u>The Road.</u></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This book also has great descriptions of the setting. The way the author uses imagery is almost breath-taking. This paragraph is just one of many interesting examples in the book that demonstrates the way the author describes the setting:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The blackness he woke to on those nights was sightless and impenetrable. A blackness to hurt your ears with listening. Often he had to get up. He rose and stood tottering in the cold autistic dark…He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them on his return.”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you read <u>The Road</u> you will encounter many more descriptive paragraphs similar to this.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Reading this book really made me think. It is a very emotional story and you would have to be heartless for this book not to touch your feelings in some way. The emotions, the intense battle for survival, and the loving bond between a father and his son make this book phenomenal. If I were going to rate this book on a scale of 1-10, I would give it a 10 for sure. I couldn’t find one thing I didn’t like about this book while I was reading it. If you are looking for a one-of-a-kind book, you need to check out <u>The Road </u>by Cormac McCarthy.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Reviewed by Ryan Bowman</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">8th Grade</span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">**NFMH** On the Road is now a movie. Keep in mind the rating, and always have parent permission if you are under age before renting such a film :)</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></strong></div></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FTQScPdcBnc" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-48004292727114961362011-04-11T12:41:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:31:40.515-07:00BOOST by Kathy Mackel<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“You need to Boost your game Christopher!” is what Savvy Christopher has been hearing ever since she has moved to this new town. All she wants to do is play basketball, even if it’s on an 18U team where she’s pushed around by older, stronger players. Callie (Savvy’s older sister) also needs to Boost her game. She realized at the beginning of the school year that she gained too much weight to be a Varsity Cheer flyer. There is a lot of pressure for both girls to up their game. How far will they go to get better?<br />
</span><a href="http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n63/n315119.jpg"></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The description Kathy Mackelgives throughout the book about the characters is excellent. After you read this you will feel like they could be one of your friends too! This story is very realistic and is possible of happening. Kathy made this story really interesting and exciting; I couldn’t put it down! Also, the descriptions of what was happening in this book are incredible!</span> <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n63/n315119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n63/n315119.jpg" width="263" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">I felt the ball, leather like second skin, and bent my knees, loose and strong. Powering up through my legs, I flexed my wrist and watched the ball take flight.</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Swish.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">A murmur went through the coaches, parents, and other girls. They would be saying, </span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Who is that girl, where did she come from, and how the heck tall is she?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Savvy Christopher. Newly arrived in Rhode Island, all the way from New Mexico. Six two and still growing.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"></span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This passage helped me create a picture in my head of all the pressure on Savvy, and how important it was to succeed in basketball to her. Mackel gives this incredible detail all throughout this novel.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The theme of this book would be not to change your body for anyone. If you want to get in shape or whatever your goal is then you should work at it and not do anything drastic or stupid to your body. Readers will come out with more understanding about steroid use and consequences when using them. <u><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boost</u> showed me no matter how much I want to get better at sports; I shouldn’t do anything harmful to my body because in the end it will just mess everything up.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I would give this book a definite ten. I immediately got into this book. For me, since I’m really interested in basketball, I sped right through it! Also, if you’re a girl athlete and tired about all the sports stories where the characters are usually guys, then you need to read <u>Boost</u>. If you’re the least bit interested in basketball then you should give this book a try! It’s a great read about life’s difficulties, making friends (and enemies), family, and of course; basketball.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Reviewed by Stephanie Smith</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">8th Grade</span></strong></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-11728885526042455102011-04-11T10:57:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:32:05.336-07:00UGLIES by Scott Westerfield<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="http://www.sfsite.com/grc/1007/uglg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.sfsite.com/grc/1007/uglg.jpg" width="285" /></a><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><stroke joinstyle="miter"></stroke><formulas><f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></f><f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></f><f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></f><f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></f><f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></f></formulas><path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"></path><lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></lock></shapetype><shape alt="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:u5gLLf-iiRvHDM:" href="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sfsite.com/grc/1007/uglg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sfsite.com/08a/ug325.htm&usg=__Ahq33gr3fSV60lC96wbhL39dVQM=&h=560&w=400&sz=47&hl=en&start=1&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=u5gLLf-iiRvHDM:&tbnh=133&tbnw=95&prev=/images?q=uglies+by+scott+westerfeld&hl=en&safe=active&sa=G&gbv=2&tbs=isch:1" id="Picture_x0020_1" o:button="t" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 166.5pt; left: 0px; margin-left: -23.25pt; margin-top: 0.7pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 118.9pt; z-index: 1;" type="#_x0000_t75"><fill o:detectmouseclick="t"></fill><imagedata o:title="" src="file:///C:\DOCUME~1\fisd\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg"></imagedata><wrap type="square"></wrap></shape><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="line-height: 200%;">Uglies</span></u></i><u><span style="line-height: 200%;"> </span></u><span style="line-height: 200%;">is a great dystopian fiction novel and the first in a series of four. Scott Westerfeld writes about a world where people have an operation done at the age of 16 that turns them from an “Ugly” to a “Pretty”. When the main character, Tally, meets a girl who doesn’t want the operation things start to go out of control. The girl runs away to a place called the Smoke, and Tally is forced to go after her by a secret organization called Special Circumstances. She then has to choose between betraying her new friend to the government or becoming a Pretty.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Scott Westerfeld writes this book from Tally’s third-person limited point of view. He does an amazing job at developing not only the main character, but many of the side characters as well. As you read the book, you will be able to see how Tally changes drastically through her opinions of people and how she sees each of them in a new light. You can also see the subtle changes or, in some characters, how quickly they can go from the good guy to the bad guy and vice versa. </span><span style="line-height: 200%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What really made this book good was the structure. Special Circumstances is a government organization that no one knows if they are just legends or if they really do exist. The presence of Special Circumstances just makes this book more intense, as if they are in the shadows the whole time, watching Tally. Dr. Cable, the head of Special Circumstances, is the main antagonist and is the person who forces Tally to travel to the Smoke and betray her friend. I think the way Westerfeld develops this organization and makes them a looming figure throughout the book is a great aspect of his writing.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another good thing about <u>Uglies</u> is how Westerfeld uses imagery. The way he describes scenes in the book makes you feel like your right there next to Tally getting sprayed by a waterfall or nearly burning to death in the forest.<em> </em></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>“Billowing clouds of smoke surrounded her, blotting out the sky. A ragged wall of flame moved through the flowers, giving off a wave of blistering heat. She stumbled down the hill and away from the fire.”</em> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"></span><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His great use of words will make you feel the heat, cold, or wherever Tallys’ travels lead her.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would rate this book a 9 for its concrete plot line and the authors’ strong structure and character development. Overall, this is a great book and I recommend the sequels’ to it, which are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Pretties</u></i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Extras</u></i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Specials</u></i>.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Reviewed by Blake Beal</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong>8th Grade</strong></span></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-58158445406924653502011-04-11T10:40:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:32:50.092-07:00CIRQUE DU FREAK: A LIVING NIGHTMARE by Darren Shan<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%;"></span></u><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <u>Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare</u> is a creepy, interesting, and well-written fantasy fiction novel that you certainly will not forget (or want to read before bed time). I found myself unable to stop reading once I started, and the fact that the book is now a movie made me excited to finish. This is one of the first books I actually found myself looking forward to reading.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The main character, Darren Shan, is an adventurous boy who enjoys things that will make you cringe in fear. He has quite a bit of courage, and will do anything for his best friend Steve.</span> </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://ya.huntleylibrary.info/sites/ya.huntleylibrary.info/files/LivingNightmare_Shan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ya.huntleylibrary.info/sites/ya.huntleylibrary.info/files/LivingNightmare_Shan.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Darren is an average boy, but this will certainly change after all of the gruesome and heart pounding events that will occur in the midst of this novel. The dynamic plot includes things like witnessing a snake boy, a wolf man, and other deathly creatures, including a vampire and his pet spider; Madame Octa to name a few. </span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> A</span>ll of these events amazing encounters began with shriveled poster which Darren and his friends find advertising a freak show, which reads the lettering ; <u>Cirque du Freak.</u> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have no earthly idea what mysterious and wondrous events this paper holds. Ony two people can go, and Steve and Darren just happen to be the chosen ones. Once they make it to the scary and unusual atmosphere of the old building (which the show is being placed at) they know this will change them forever. It will also change Darren and Steve’s relationship because little did Darren know; Steve wanted to become a vampire. Steve confronts the Vampire after the show and asks to become one, but is denied for “bad blood”. But how would Steve feel if one day Darren must become a Vampire, even if it was to save him?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <em> </em></span><em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Yes, Steve snarled. I wanted to become one, but you’re the one who did. You planned this all along didn’t you? You told him I was evil. You made him reject me so that you could--.”</em></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You’re talking nonsense, I sighed. I never wanted to become a vampire. I only agreed to join him in order to save your life!” </em></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shan used great character development throughout this novel. The author Shan shows in-depth feelings and first-person thoughts through Darren, as well as feelings of other characters too. The book is easy to follow, the plot is also well thought out, and it is difficult to put down!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would have to rate this novel a 9 out of 10 because of the authors wonderful use of imagery, and interesting plot structure. I am very glad that I took the time to read this book, and I'm already working my way through book two of the <u>Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant</u>.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Reviewed by Jaxon Parrot</strong></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong>8th Grade</strong></span></span></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-10927412975526196302011-04-11T10:32:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:33:13.337-07:00SHIP BREAKER by Paolo Bacigalupi<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">I recently finished <u>Ship Breaker</u> by Paolo Bacigalupi. This dystopian fiction is one of the best I have read in a while. If you are looking for an action pact page turner or just an awesome book, this should be your first choice.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="http://rhapsodyinbooks.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/sbreakercover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://rhapsodyinbooks.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/sbreakercover.jpeg" width="264" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><u>Ship Breaker</u> is set in America’s Gulf Coast region. The main character, Nailer, is a ship breaker. A ship breaker is someone who breaks down beached oil tankers for scrap metal. After a giant hurricane, Nailer and his friend find a clipper ship. A clipper ship is a ship that only the richest of the rich own. Nailer finds the owner of the clipper, who happens to be a girl about the same age. He can either kill her and take all the loot for himself or help her get to her dad. The choice he makes soon turns into a deadly adventure.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One of the best things about this book is the character development </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 1in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Richard Lopez wouldn’t hesitate. He’d slash the rich girl’s throat and take the rings and shake the blood off them and laugh. A week ago, Nailer knew for a fact that he could have done the same. This swank girl wasn’t crew. He didn’t owe her anything. But now, after his time in the oil room, all he could think of is how much he’d wanted Sloth to believe that his life was just as important as hers.”</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">That passage is an excellent example of how Nailer developed over the course of the book. He turned from a stone cold kid that didn’t take anything from anyone to someone who valued other’s lives.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The plot development is absolutely one of the best out of the dystopian fiction genre. Everything somehow leads to the next in this novel. It starts out a little slow, then it turns into a heart pounding thrill ride that doesn’t make you want to let go until the very end. The pages almost turn themselves in this book.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I give this book a 9 because of the awesome character and plot development. It was medium pace at first, and then it started to pick up. If you liked this book then you should get <u>The Roar</u>. Although they aren’t alike I still loved both of them.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Reviewed by Jacob Duncan</strong></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong>8th <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">G</span>rade</strong></span></span></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-64813175987693735242011-04-11T09:10:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:33:29.213-07:00WISH by Alexandra Bullen<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="http://www.mvtimes.com/marthas-vineyard/images/2010/03/11/large/Book-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.mvtimes.com/marthas-vineyard/images/2010/03/11/large/Book-cover.jpg" width="281" /></a><span style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">I recently finished the book <u>Wish</u> by Alexandra Bullen. <u>Wish</u> is a very touching book that will keep you reading till the end. <u>Wish</u> is about a girl, named Olivia, who moves to a new town after her sister, Violet, dies. While having to deal with her family falling apart and her parents fighting at all times, she also has to deal with liking and going out with her friends ex-boyfriend. She gets a dress and while wearing it wishes that her sister was back. What she doesn’t know is that the dress is magical and her sister does come back. Her whole world is changing can she keep it together?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love the style of this book. Bullen uses great imagery. She describes things very thoroughly it is as if you are there looking at the people and places she is describing. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Olivia kept staring at her sister’s profile. Violet. Violet was back. Violet was sitting right beside her. She looked a little paler, maybe, and a little thinner, too—Olivia noticed a trail of blue veins crisscrossing the insides of her sister’s wrists, veins she didn’t remember ever seeing before. But other than that, it was the same Violet. The same wild, copper-colored hair; the same sparkling, impish eyes.”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She describes Violet so thoroughly that I can almost see her. She uses imagery like this throughout the whole book. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also like how Bullen used third person and first person point of view. She tells it from the outside looking in, but she still has the thoughts of both sisters so you can understand what they are going through and what they are feeling. She has more of Olivia’s thoughts than Violets, but she describes what is going on in such great detail that you can conclude what they are feeling. The plot is complicated, but she makes it easy to read. Anyone and everyone can and should read this amazing novel. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I had to rate this book I would give it a 10 out of 10. I love how she describes everything and makes it seem real. She took a topic that could be childish and cookie cutter, but she ran with it and made it a teen fiction and not a fairytale for little kids. I love the romance and family conflicts and how she tells a tragic story without it being depressing. She shows that Olivia is sad, but she also shows that she is trying to get over the loss of her sister and have her parents forgive her for her sister’s death.</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Reviewed by Reagan Smith</span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">8th Grade</span></strong></span></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-31176365009671179712011-04-11T09:04:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:33:52.272-07:00THE LYING GAME by Sara Shepard<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://tvovermind.zap2it.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/TheLyingGameBC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://tvovermind.zap2it.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/TheLyingGameBC.jpg" width="263" /></a>In <u>The Lying Game</u> by Sara Shepard, there were many outstanding features. Things such as detail and character development made the book a success. When I began the story, I had high expectations due to another of her series, <u>Pretty Little Liars,</u> because it had an amazing plot and brilliant suspense-filled chapters. I fell for Shepard’s writing and just had to try her first in the series <u>The Lying Game</u>.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“<i>Sutton had a life anyone would kill for. Then someone did.</i>” Emma Paxton has been from foster home to foster home her whole life. When she discovers she has a long lost identical twin, Sutton Mercer, she hops on a train ASAP to meet her. When Emma arrives at Sutton’s hometown, everybody assumes Emma IS Sutton. Emma soon gets a death-threat note from a mysterious mastermind informing her that Sutton is dead and Emma is being forced to masquerade as Sutton or she’s next on the list. When Emma finds out about the Lying Game, a game Sutton and her friends play consisting of hard core pranks, she realizes that Sutton and her friends are more devious than she thought. Once the first prank of the Lying Game is played, Emma realizes that how her sister died could be a prank gone terribly wrong. Let the Lying Games begin. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shepard made the plot of this novel so complex and intense that is was hard to put it down. It had a lot of sub-plots and description throughout the book. Those are qualities I find essential to having a decent storyline. That being said, I think <u>The Lying Game</u> has too much resemblance to <u>Pretty Little Liars</u>.The plot of <u>The Lying Game</u> has a very close resemblance to <u>Wanted</u>, the last in the <u>Pretty Little Liars</u> series. Although Shepard does write both books very well, I was looking forward to something different. Both novels had the murder-mystery plot to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved the novel regardless. The narrative voice of <u>The Lying Game</u> was a little hard to follow since Sutton, the dead twin, is the narrator. The way this book was written was foreign to me. I have never read a book that was written like <u>The Lying Game</u> was, so I had some trouble following the story at first. This passage gives an example of how Shepard wrote the novel in Sutton’s perspective.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“I watched Emma as she floated toward sleep, her face untroubled and unsuspecting. I wished we could have had one day together, one</i> hour<i>. I wished I could whisper in her ear and tell her what I knew for sure: </i>Always sleep with one eye open. Never take anything for granted. Your best friends might just be your enemies.<i> Most important, she shouldn’t trust a single thing she knew about me yet. I wasn’t sure how I knew, but something deep inside, something I couldn’t quite comprehend, told me I was the trickiest member of the Lying Game by far.”</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sutton can get into Emma’s head and tell her thoughts. In parts of the novel its a little hard to keep up with what Sutton is talking about: her own situation or Emma’s. To some people, it can be as challenging to follow as it was for me. Once I got into the book and got used to the way Shepard wrote, it was an amazing read. I enjoyed how easy it was to put myself into Emma’s shoes. Since I have never had any experience in Emma’s situation, it was a big part of the book to me. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would rate this book a 7 out of 10 because even though it had an outstanding plot, it lacked originality. I loved the book, but I wish it didn’t have such a close relation to her other series. When I finished, I felt like even though it is the first in a four-book series, the end was too abrupt. Shepard knows how to get the reader hooked, but it’s going to be hard to wait for the next book, <u>Never Have I Ever</u>, with so many unanswered questions.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Reviewed by Jenny McCrummen</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong>8th Grade</strong></span></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8575584488931273223.post-57404970905611087632011-03-29T06:02:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:34:11.363-07:00Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNiwIQjvijLbniPHrqGSShGPpc-Dv0h_TfTgYWClY_pX9XlW044uviD6-pOJVuyq-T8XXLxanZJ-rU2Zha_E0ZobLSKTh5GuPnhw7wqTd1gNwOowkzZ7IA0f7sLfiNQpxavjdQf98O1I/s1600/wild.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNiwIQjvijLbniPHrqGSShGPpc-Dv0h_TfTgYWClY_pX9XlW044uviD6-pOJVuyq-T8XXLxanZJ-rU2Zha_E0ZobLSKTh5GuPnhw7wqTd1gNwOowkzZ7IA0f7sLfiNQpxavjdQf98O1I/s400/wild.jpg" width="261" /></a><span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I just read a great book called <u>Into the Wild </u>by Jon Krakauer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a nonfiction survival book and probably one of the best in this genre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This book is filled with life-or-death situations, survival stories, and controversy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After you read this book you will be hooked on the survival genre.</span></span></div><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><stroke joinstyle="miter"></stroke><formulas><f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></f><f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></f><f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></f><f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></f><f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></f></formulas><path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"></path><lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></lock></shapetype><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><shape alt="http://www.audiobooksonline.com/media/Into-the-Wild-Jon-Krakauer-unabridged-compact-discs-Random-House-Audio.jpg" id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 241.65pt; margin-left: -30pt; margin-top: 76.2pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 219.9pt; z-index: -1;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-147 0 -147 21453 21659 21453 21659 0 -147 0"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><imagedata o:title="Into-the-Wild-Jon-Krakauer-unabridged-compact-discs-Random-House-Audio" src="file:///C:\DOCUME~1\fisd\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></span></shape><span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This book is set in 1992 when a young man named Chris McCandless decided he would give up on “regular” life and drift around the Western United Sates. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After he finished college, he donated his $25,000 in savings to charity, got rid of most of his possessions, and started his epic journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He traveled with literally nothing for a couple of years before heading to the Alaskan Bush.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He lived off the land in Alaska for a few months before he was found dead by some hunters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This short summary is just the tip of the iceberg. This book explains what happens on McCandless’s journeys in vivid details that make this book a rapid page turner.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The way Krakauer uses character development in this book is almost unbelievable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Krakauer does an excellent job of describing McCandless’s life through interviews with his family and friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After reading this book I felt as though I knew Chris McCandless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think this passage from the book shows excellent character development:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Chris was fearless even when he was little. He didn’t think the odds applied to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were always trying to pull him back from the edge.”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is a quote that Krakauer used in the book from an interview with McCandless’s dad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it shows good character development because it describes McCandless’s driven and fearless mindset. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The structure of this book is also very interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is written almost like a report or magazine article.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It includes many of McCandless’s journal entries and a good amount of interviews with the people that knew him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This structure helps you understand the story better and also helps you know what opinions other people have about Chris Mccandless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In some cases this structure might make a book boring but in this case it makes it more interesting.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I definitely rate this book a 10 out of 10.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is probably the most interesting book I have ever read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is well written and will keep you turning the pages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>Into the Wild</u><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>is an emotional story that will make you think about subjects you haven’t ever thought about before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if you aren’t a serious outdoorsman or you usually don’t read books about survival, I suggest you give this book a try.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>Into the Wild</u> is definitely worth your reading time!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Reviewed by Ryan Bowman</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>8th Grade</strong></span></div>Mrs. Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01852277366590904005noreply@blogger.com0