Room

The story Room by Emma Donoghue is a real life fiction, it is something that could happen is everyday life but still isn’t a true story. Room is about a 5 year old boy who has lived in captivity with his mother who was kidnapped many years ago. The boy is finally free but is having trouble adapting to the whole new life ahead of him.

The main character of this story is 5 year old Jack who lives with his mother or ‘Ma’. His mother had been kidnapped 7 years ago by a man referred to as Old Nick. Ma was kept in a room with nothing and was forced to raise a child and have the role of mother, friend, teacher, and protector. Ma knows this isn’t the life she wants for Jack, so they decide to get out. When they are out of room and living in the outside world everything is so different for Jack and he isn’t so sure he likes it. Read this story and the reader will find out how jack starts his new life in the outside world. It’s a good reminder that there are predators out there that will kidnap you and it’s a very scary thing. And it also shows sometimes change can be scary but it can also be for the better, like with Jack’s situation.

This story gives you a whole different perspective because Jack, who is 5 is the narrator. It makes the story have less gruesome details of the kidnapping of Old Nick compared to if an adult was telling the story. There is the innocence of the child in the point of view. This story had too many dull patches to keep my interest. Not enought excitement that I would say this is a great book. Overall I think that the book had a good outline but Emma Donoghue could have added more plot twists to keep it interesting, overall I don’t think I would recommend this book to anyone.

Book Review by Allie K.

Gathering Blue

Lois Lowry’s “Gathering Blue” is not a sequel, but a companion book to Lowry’s book “The Giver”. Although the two are companion books, there are only vague clues throughout the book that says they relate. “Gathering Blue” is a story of loss, lies, and working hard to find the truth.

In “Gathering Blue” Kira is left as an orphan as her mom dies of an unexpected death. The women of the village, especially Vandara wants Kira gone to take her land. In the end the court decides to use Kira’s talents for weaving. Kira’s life is going in the right direction thanks to Councilman Jamison, or so she thinks. With the help of Kira’s friends Matt and Thomas, Kira finds somebody she thought she had lost forever.

“Gathering Blue” is a phenomenally written book that keeps readers clinging on for more. This book is full of excitement and courage. If you want a good read, with excitement on every page “Gathering Blue” is the book for you.  

Book Review by Tatum V.

Inside Out and Back Again

Inside Out and Back Again

This book is about a little girl named Thanhha Lai. She was born in Vietnam and moved to Alabama. In 1975, when she was 10 years old, she escaped from South Vietnam, leaving the world she knew and loved. Thanhha Lai shares in words how her family escaped Vietnam before the fall of Saigon. This book is pretty much a diary of her life moving from Vietnam to Alabama. She describes about her journey on a boat for a week with her family. She tells about how the United States is different from the landscapes to the food to the little things. The United States of America is nothing compared to Vietnam.  It is also different because of the coldness of its strangers. Thanhha also tells about getting bullied for what she believes and how she looks. They called her “BUDA” because she was Asian and called her “pancake face” for the shape of her head. They pulled her hair and chased her until she started to cry in tears.  The moving situation had a big impact on her because she had friends and family still living in Vietnam.

I thought that this book was very life changing because it shows you her point of view and how she felt all this time in every single detail.  It also helped me understand what it is like to move to a whole different country. Basically the book shows there are people out there that suffer more than you.

I would recommend this book because it teaches different ways of life and the suffering people have to go through. It also teaches about her culture.  It’s not a hard book to read and once you read it you won’t be able to stop.

Book Review by Jonathan M.

Fake ID

Fake ID by Walter Sorrells

It is about a young girl Chastity (aka Chass) For as long as she can remember her and her mother were always moving changing their names and ID's. Chass was never allowed or told why. Chass wasn’t allowed to ask questions about her father and why they were on the run. On the night of Chass’s 16th birthday her mom disappears. Police find blood matching her mom DNA but Chass doesn’t believe her mother is dead. If Chass can't find her mother in six days she will be put in foster care or murdered first.

I really enjoyed this book liked this book because for one I liked her overall attitude. I also liked how the whole story was action packed and made me really want to keep reading. It is suspenseful action packed, page turner, and overall a good book.

Book Review by Mohamud A.

Crossed

The book that I read is Crossed by Ally Condie. Ally Condie has written many books this book is a lot like this one. The book Crossed an compare to Ally Condie’s  because, she writes stories about one girl stuck between two great choices or romances.   An amazing heroin named Cassia trying to discover who her real match is. is it her childhood friend Xander or is it the strange boy who just appeared Ky? When Cassia decides to go to the outer society in search for her crush Ky (whom we are sure has been taken by the society for his death) she finds that he escaped into the majestic but dangrous canyons.  Can Cassia and Ky survive or will the have a horrible end to this twisting novel find out in Crossed by Ally Condie .

The young heroin  Cassia is faced with an obstacle of true love and freedom. What are the limits she is willing to go to in order to find true happiness and love. Cassia is stuck between Xander her childhood friend and Ky the mysterious one from out of the province.

I enjoyed this book because it kept me on the edge of my seat excited to know more i would  recommend  reading this book for those whom like romance and action.

Book Review by Kortney S.

Warriors: Dawn of the Clans: The Sun Trail

Warriors: Dawn of the Clans: The Sun Trail

The Sun Trail was written by Erin Hunter, who most people think is one person, but is actually six different women who use a single penname and work together to create the Warriors series. Dawn of the Clans is the newest addition to Warriors and explains the story of how the Clans were created, and how the Tribe cats adjust to their new home.

There are a few characters that could be considered main characters but the whole story revolves around Gray Wing, a cat from the Tribe living in the mountains. When Stoneteller, the leader of the Tribe, forsees that the Tribe will not survive with so many cats and so little prey, so she sends a group to follow the sun trail, where she sees that there will be a better place to live for the younger cats. When Jagged Peak sneaks off to follow the cats, Gray Wing is forced to go along on the perilous journey to rescue Jagged Peak and find the Tribe’s new home. The cats stop at many different places, thinking that it might be their new home, but when they actually find it, there are hostile cats, kittypets, dogs, and other dangers that they have to face.

This book is filled with action, mystery, romance, comedy, adventure, and so much more, and has an amazing storyline that will surely keep you turning pages. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to read, or anyone who doesn’t love to read. No matter who you are, Warriors will keep you reading, because there is always more to be found out.

Book Review Griffin H.

Last Man Out

Have you ever wanted to read a book based on an Iowan that was a P.O.W., prisoner of war? If you said yes in your mind, then you need to read the book Last Man Out. This book was written by Bob Wilbanks and was based in 1941 and it is a true story about the POW Glenn McDole on how he was captured by the Japanese and was forced to do hard labor in the Japanese work camps. Before he was captured he was first in Los Banos, a town in the Philippines, hiding military planes so the Japanese wouldn’t blow them up since they attacked Pearl Harbor. A few days later the Japanese figured out that they were hiding the planes and then they bombed them.  He was then transferred to an island called Corregidor which is an military island that looks like a tadpole. Once he got there he was in charge of making sure the general was safe and not in danger. Then one day the Japanese conducted a major attack and captured most of the people that tried to escape including Glenn McDole and they were forced to do the battalion death march to the Japanese work camp where they were to work or be killed.  Glenn McDole survived a year and a half in conditions you and I can’t even imagine. He survived on one small meal a day of rice or beans.  The P.O.W.’s were tortured or executed for disobeying the Japanese camp officers.   If you want to learn more about Glenn McDole and the struggles he went through you need to read this book

If I was to rate this book I would rate this book a ten out of ten because it shows the solider point of view and it also informs you on the other things about world war two that you wouldn’t know about. Being a fan of war stories I thought that it was very educational and a good way to hear about what Glenn experienced in his life time as a P.O.W.  in large detail.  If I was going to recommend this book to anyone I would recommend it to people that like war stories and true stories about the life of others this would be a good book for you to read in your free time this would be the book.

Book Review by Andre G.

Social Networking

Mark Zuckerburg was origanally just creating a social network for all of the students who attended Harvard but then Mark had decided to make the social network Mark Zuckerburg dropped out of Harvard University his sophmore year to success his dream to create a social website which we know today as Facebook. The main creators of Myspace (Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe)had split up in 2009 and Myspace began to lose popularity after they had split. Jack Dorsey one of the creators of twitter had wanted to dispatch routes (to have full control of a route like a taxi driver or ambulance drive).

This intresting,fascinating, and compulsive book is filled with information about social networking sites and creators of the sites.This book taught me things I've never even know about social networking.One example is the option of changing your profile on Myspace was a glitch from the workers of Myspace. Once you read this book you'll be surprised about how old they were when they created these sites, what they did before they had created websites, and how smart these creators are.It is shocking how much people use social networking this book has all the information about the amount of people who use it and how sucessful it was.

There is still more information if you are intrested or want to read this book you can find at the Roosevelt High School Library.

Social Networking is released at www.goodreads.com If you want The book copy and paste the link below onto your url.

Book Review by Leeh M.

House on the Gulf

For my book review i choose House On the Gulf by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This book compares to her other stories in the following ways, most of her stories are mysteries or have a mysterious plots, her stories all have surprising twits, and they are all in first person narrative. When Britt's older brother, Bran finds a job house sitting for the Marquise's it sounds like a great opportunity for the family. Their mother can finish college and they get to live in a real house for once. But when Bran starts acting suspicious hiding the Marquise's mail and not letting anyone touch the thermometer Britt starts to wonder if they are supposed to be there. 

    

This story is a mystery that you will have to read to believe. Why has Bran Britt's once caring, trustworthy and reliable older brother suddenly started acting as if there is something to hid? and how could the Marquises neighbors not know the Marquises hired a house-sitter for the summer? This book quickly gets interesting, leaving you on the edge of your seat wondering whats going to happen next. 

I did like this book because there was never a dull moment. Each page was filled with new questions that made you finish the book to find the answers. When i finished the story i was left in awe because of the shocking ending. I would suggest everyone to read this story. But it is a really easy read so if you were looking for a more challenging read I would choose a different book.      

Book Review by Rachel H.

Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse

Percy Jackson and the Titans Curse

Percy’s mom is driving him and his Half Blood friends Annabeth and Thalia to boarding school. When they Get to school and meet there friend Grover at boarding school. Then it turns out that the two headmasters are Manitcors. As Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover are fighting the Manitcors they lose Annabeth in the battle and no one knows where she went. They don’t know who to trust but they will do anything to find their friend.

This New York Times children best seller is about a group of Powerful friends who loose there friend and will do anything to get her back. This Book is a page turner full of Mystery, and friendship.

I liked this book I would rate it an 8 out of 10. I give it an 8 out of 10 is because I feel like it could’ve ended a different way and the ending kind of sucked. I think you should read it if you like mystery and if you read the 2 books before the titans curse. Which is the lighting thief and the sea of monsters can’t wait to read the next book!

Book Review by Mohamud A.

The Skin I'm In

The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake

This book is about a poor little 7th grader Maleeka Madison dark skinned, tall, skinny with low self-esteem, it was hard for her trying to blend into the right group trying to make friends in school without not trying to get bullied every single day, it all started when her father died. Her mother sews her clothes to not think about the death that had happened. Sometimes she will do this girl names Clar the most popular girl in school homework and she will return the favor in clothes so she will feel better in clothes that everybody is wearing. One day walking home from Char’s she had gotten bullied and raped by three boys she was too ashamed to tell her mother.

Somebody who impresses Maleeka is her new teacher Mrs. Saunders she sees the intelligence in her and give her more advanced stuff for exercise skills. The more that Mrs. Saunders helps her and builds her self- confidence up helps her not to think about her father or all the other kids giving her a rough time. At the end Char blamed a fire on Maleeka but Char got expelled for it and Maleeka and Caleb  are back together and also maintaining a good relationship more like friendship with her teacher Mrs. Saunders

Book Review by Quyen V.

Soul Moon Soup

Soul Moon Soup by Lindsay Lee Johnson was a great book with a fascinating subject. Phoebe Rose is 11 years old; she is an artist and a poet, living in the big city with her Mama and their suitcase. Mama always told that if they carried a suit case at the bus station, people would assume they were going somewhere. For a while, Phoebe even bought it. Now, however, Daddy is gone. Daddy can’t bring home little presents to their “living van” because it left when he did. Phoebe used to draw him things, like a comfy couch or a necklace of pearls that she was sure he would buy for Mama if he could. But the money left when he did, and all that was left was the suitcase.

This book is full of poems of the thoughts going through Phoebe’s head as she journeys through the life of a homeless child, and even back to Mama’s home town, Silver Moon Lake.  One night at the bus station, she was left in charge of the suitcase while Mama got food samples for them. She was told to stay still and guard it with her life. Phoebe Rose couldn’t hold it anymore; she had to go to the bathroom, so she took it with her, and left it outside the stall. Not a minute later, their suitcase was gone. It was empty, but it held their pride, and that’s when the beginning of the end begun. That’s when Mama put her baby girl on a train by her lonesome and off to Silver Moon Lake.

There, Phoebe stayed with her Mama’s Mama. She learned about being a kid and letting the grownups do their grown up things. She learns secrets of her family and how to collect eggs with frustrating the hens. She made her first real friend, a lifelong sister, and she learned to forgive her Mama.

Soul Moon Soup is a wonderful story about the honest and struggling life of a homeless child. I found it to be helpful when it comes to empathy and understanding of fellow human beings. The words flowed together flawlessly and made the story easy and interesting to read. I have not read any other books by Lindsay Lee Johnson, but I look forward to checking out more of her work in the future.

Book Review by Maddie J.

Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies was written by William Golding author of other books such as, The Inheritors and Pincher Martin. Lord of the Flies was written to show why the world has rules and what happens when there are none.

Lord of the Flies is about a group of boys stranded on an island trying to survive. Most of the book revolves around the conflict between Jack and Ralph as each tries to assert themselves as the leader of the boys. At the beginning of the book they are just trying to survive on the island and not die. But everything changes after a disagreement on whether they should focus on hunting or keeping the fire going between Jack and Ralph. After the argument Jack tries to undermine Ralph’s authority and everything goes downhill from there         

I would not recommended the book to anyone I feel like the book focused too much on Piggy and Ralphs relationship. I would rather know more about the other characters like Jack and Simon who were more interesting. I would not buy this book the only good part was the last two chapters where most of the action took place. But if you were too look at the book as a metaphor you may like it. Because then the book becomes more about the idea and not the characters. I did not like the book but it is a “classic” and there may a deeper meaning of the book to you. To me it just felt like a chore to read.

Book Review by Chris Z.

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

Anne Frank the diary of a young girl is a good book. It’s by Anne Frank. Miss Frank doesn’t have any other books. She is a young girl who is just hiding and scared of what her life and future might become. She is young and curious. Nothing will get in her way because she is determined that she will live. The theme is about the German Nazis taking over Germany and exterminating the Jews. Anne Frank is a Jew that is hiding from the Nazis trying not to get caught.

The story is a journey that takes you on a trip through a girl’s life that doesn’t want to get caught. The family with her is squished into a closet and had no freedom to do anything. Anne Frank and her family were the start of this secret annex. Her father decided to hide a couple of more people (families) with them. Anne meets a guy that catches her eyes and doesn’t know what to say. She tries to have a decent conversation with her mother but her mother just doesn’t understand.

I loved the book. The book tells me that I need to appreciate life as it is because tomorrow is never granted. This book also tells me that I need to face every problem that the world throws at me because someone on the other side of the earth is going through something even worse. I don’t think that this book will waste your time because Anne Frank is a courageous and inspiring person. You should really pick this book up as fast as you can because it’s worth your time.

Book Review by Courtney B.

The Skin I'm In

In the book "The Skin I'm In" by Sharon G. Flake there is a girl by the name of Maleeka Madison. She is in the seventh grade at McClenton middle school. In this book, Maleeka has a very low self-esteem. Maleeka is continuously getting teased by the other girls and boys at her school. The other kids are always laughing and making fun of Maleeka because of the color of her skin. But at the end of the book Maleeka learns how to love herself for who she is and who she has become. 

This book really talks about how Maleeka gets teased at school all the time and how kids at her school always laugh at the color of her skin. Maleeka soon starts to underestimate herself and starts downing herself and starts thinking that she isn't beautiful. But then a new English teacher comes along and teaches her how to love who she is, and love herself. The teacher is always telling Maleeka to accept who she is and never worry about what the other kids say about her.

This book has really taught me to love who I am and never change for anyone. I am who I am and that's what makes me so unique. I recommend this book to anyone who is willing to take time out and it. This book teaches you how to never change for anyone and it gets down into talking about having self- esteem. I really enjoyed reading this book. 

Book Review by Cassandra B.

Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life

The name of the book I read was called Middle School, TheWorst Years of My Life. The author of this story is James Patterson. James Patterson has written plenty other books like: Witch and Wizard, 1st to Die, and the sequel Middle School, Get Me Out of Here. This book is about a kid named Rafe Khatchadorian who has just entered the 6th grade and hates school. The theme of this book would be family life or middle school, because conflicts at home are equally as bad as they are at school. In this book Rafe writes in a notebook all of the school rules and is destined to break all of them until something goes terribly wrong.

Rafe Khatchadorian a first year middle school student and new trouble maker. Rafe does not enjoy school and enjoys the rules even less. Rafe writes a notebook of the school rules and crosses them off when he breaks one of them. He also write about his crush Jeanne. But everything changes when the notebook gets into the hands of the school bully. Some of the main characters of this story is Rafe Khatchadorian, Jeanne Galleta, Miller “The Killer”, and Leonardo the Silent. A quote from this book that I found really interesting was “Every masterpiece comes at the end of a long line of failures” (Patterson 173).

This book was okay, I found it a little depressing though. I think that this book was a great story otherwise. If you are in middle school or just entered high school recommend this book to you because than it is kind of easier to relate to the characters in this book. In conclusion this was a good book for certain people, otherwise I don’t recommend buying it    

Book Review by Aidan S.

The Brotherband Chronicles Book 3: The Hunters

My second book is titled The Brotherband Chronicles Book 3: The Hunters, by John Flanagan. He is the author of the previous books in the Brotherband series, and ten other books in the Ranger’s Apprentice series. Mr. Flanagan lives in Sydney, Australia where he was a television advertising executive. He began writing stories for his son, Michael, in order to get him to read more. The theme of the book is: If you have a big goal or if you have to make something right, don’t give up, keep trying to right the wrong that you did. Relate to Hal and the Herons and do what you think needs to be done. This book continues the adventures of the Heron Brotherband as they seek to recover the Andomal, a sacred glass ball stolen by the pirate Zavac. In this book, the Brotherband pursues Zavac to the pirate stronghold Raguza.

Having chased Zavac across the ocean, the young warrior, Hal, leads the Herons up the River Dan to retrieve the Andomal and bring it back to Hallasholm.  They face one challenge after another, as they are accused of murder, put in jail, nearly drowned in a whitewater gorge, and attacked by pirates. After the heroes bluff their way into Raguza, the book climaxes with a duel between Zavac’s ship the Raven and the Heron. 

“’I think the party’s starting,’ he said cheerfully.

The red-and-blue flag was sliding down the flagstaff as Hal looked. The duel had begun” (Flanagan 352).

This is an outstanding book for anyone who enjoys reading about pirates and adventures on the high seas, while also learning about sailing. The plot was great and the setting was very interesting and exciting. I loved the setting the most in this book because of how many different places the Herons were sent to in order to reach their goal.Hal is an amazing character with lots of good qualities. I thoroughly enjoyed Book 3 of the The Brotherband Chronicles and look forward to reading Book 4.            

Book Review by Greg E.

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 is a very odd book. It is hard to believe it was written in 1953.It shows a society that is an eerie exaggeration of ours; it deals about censorship and society’s obsession with technology. I had never read a Ray Bradbury book before but I could imagine this being one of his best.

The book is about a future where people burn books because they are to offensive, one of the people who burn the books, or firemen has a sudden change of heart. You learn more about this scary world more as you turn each page. One of the better parts of the book is near the end. It compares the sad events that happened in this world to a phoenix. I found that part uplifting and interesting. I also found many of the characters original and fun to read about. Fahrenheit 451 does a great job of making its main character Guy Montag fun to root for the whole way.

Fahrenheit 451 is a difficult book to read at times and you may need to reread some chapters, which becomes a little frustrating. Although If you are looking for an original story, with interesting characters, you’re going to find it. I most definitely recommend it.  You can find a copy at the Roosevelt Library.

Book Review by Luke J.

The Last Olympian

The book I read was the Last Olympian by Rick Riordan. Riordan is a successful author writing numerous series. Such as the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Also he is writing a sequel series called the heroes of Olympus. The theme of the story is action/comedy book with plot twists and turns. This book will have wanting to read more of it. Also the story brings ups events in ancient Greece. Such as Greek gods and goddesses and famous events like the ancient war. Riordans books are the best because each page will have you sitting up on your chair very interested.

This book it’s about a 16 year old Percy Jackson whose father is the god of the sea Poseidon. Percy is forced to make a decision that could end his life or his whole camp. His camp is camp half-blood where demigods are safe from the mortal world where they are blood thirsty monsters from the underworld. Demigods are the product of s Greek god and a mortal. Demigods are hunted by monsters so they go to camp half-blood where they live and train to fight monsters by the centaur Chiron. A centaur is an immortal that is human from the waist up and is a horse from the waist down. Chiron mentors young demigods to survive in the mortal. Percy’s friend Annabeth is the daughter of Athena the goddess of wisdom. She is well organized and an awesome fighter. So the problem in the story is that the ancient titan lord Kronos has awakens from a long slumber. The titans are gods that ruled the earth before the Olympians and now they are trying to over throw the Olympians and take power again. The Olympians are weak but it’s up to the demigods to save the world!

This book should be recommended to everyone because it is freaking awesome. Go out and find this book it will make you jump of fear and excitement. Also they made movies about this series in a few years this book will be a movie. Trust me this book is better than any book on the market. Also you should read more of Riordans books. I promise you it is your money’s worth.

Book Review by Abdul S.

The Door of No Return

My book is called The Door of No Return; it is by the author Sarah Mussi. This book is about a boy is named Zack, who has to find a lost treasure that his ancestors left to him because he is the last of the princes since his father is not there with him anymore. Some of Sarah Mussi books are related because they are things that are true but also thing’s that are made up. But when you read the book it seems so true and you actually believe it for a second that’s the cool pat of the book it’s exciting.

After Zack’s fathers dies from a mugging, his father leaves him a diary that only he has, he is to go and find a lost treasure that was left a long time ago by his ancestors, in Ghana. He doesn’t know that he is the last of the princes. But he finds out when he start’s to read the diary that his father has left. In the beginning he has to live with foster parent but, he’s been sent to a foster home for children who do not have a home they switched him because he was accused of stealing a phone. But he then learns that he is being followed and tracked down by people who want to get the treasure before him. But they do not have the diary that Zack has. So Zack has to get out of London and go to Ghana, and find the lost treasure that was let by his ancestors king Baktu.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read adventurous books. Because I think that this was actually a good book, I couldn’t stop putting it down cause you want to know what is going to happen next. Some books that Sarah Mussi has written are siege and angel dust. I have not read any on these but I’m thing of doing it because the door of no return was extremely good and it was my first book I have ever read by her.  But this book is full of adventure, sadness and some ancient history facts.  There are a lot of characters that I think that people would like. And that is why I would recommend this book. The book is so good because you don’t know what is going to happen next and so you read until you want to find out about what happens next. For example when he is close to finding the treasure there are people who get into his was. And you’re like oh! What’s going to happen next so you start reading more? That’s what happened to me.

Book Review by Stella J.

Summer of the Monkeys

This book I am doing a review on is called Summer of theMonkeys by Wilson Rawls. Rawls was also the author of Where the Red Fern Grow, another amazing book. Summer of the Monkeys takes place in the very late 18th century in Oklahoma. It is about a fourteen-year old boy named Jay Berry Lee who wants a pony and a .22 caliber gun and desires to purchase them by trapping monkeys and returning them to the circus for a large sum of money.

In his first attempt to catch the monkeys, he sets the traps under a tree, hides them, and pins apples on the tree. This plan fails when Jimbo, the head monkey, simply reaches high and gets the apples off the tree, and, when he is satisfied, he gives the rest of the apples to the little monkeys. For his second plan that day, Jay sets the traps, hides them, and places apples on the trigger. This plan also fails when Jimbo uses a stick to trip the traps. He again shares the apples with the little monkeys. Later, Jay Berry decides to take a break and heads to the nearby spring. When he gets back, he finds that the monkeys have stolen his lunch and traps. He gets angry and shoots rocks at the monkeys. The monkeys then get very angry and chase Jay home.

Jay spends a huge chunk of his summer trying to catch those monkeys, will he do it? There’s only one way to find out and that’s if you go and check the book out. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to read a fun and exciting book.

Book Review by Jacob S.

Poems: Second Edition

The book I was reading is, "Poems second edition" by Joseph Kelly. Mr. Kelly has made another poem book that I've read, and I think that this one is a little better. He's a great author and he has a lot of good poems in the two books as well. There isn't really a theme to this book. But the book is about a bunch of. Adventure, funny, cool, love (maybe, it depends on how you read some of the poems) and it's really good. There isn't much that u can tell you about this book but there are a lot of poems you will like in this book.

I definitely think that who ever is reading this review, should read this book, it's so amazing, there's a lot of fascinating stories in there as well. There's many poem books that you may have read already, but I bet, that you'll like this poem book the most. 

Book Review by J'Vonn C.

No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden

No Easy Day by Mark Owen

The whole book is filled  with information, this book is on the killing of Osama Bin Ladan, the book starts off with the auther Mark Owen talking about how he became a Navy Seal and why he wanted to be a Navy Seal also shares some of what he had to in training, and some pictures of a couple drawing of Osama Bin Ladans compound and how they went in his compound and killed him, if you like books on or with real information read this book the book is nothing but information but it s really good book it is $26.95, go and buy this book it really good, i thought this book was great in the order he put the book in but he could have talked less about how he got to be a Navy Seal thats the only thing i have wrong with this book. 

Book Review by Adam R.

I Am the Messenger

If you like a book that is inspiring and also has a good mystery behind it this is a good book for you to read. You should go get IAm The Messenger by Marcus Zusak.

Markus Zusak has also written The Book Thief. That story has been made into a movie that opens November 27th. Some of his other books are When Dogs Cry, The Underdog, and Fighting Reuben Wolfe. I Am the Messenger was published in 2002. Markus Zusak is becoming very famous right now because of the success of The Book Thief. I chose to read this book because it was written in current time and I like reading books in present time instead of historical books.

The story is about a young cab driver named Ed. He is only 19 and hes not supposed to be driving a cab yet but he lied about his age so he would be able to. He hasn't had a very good life. His dad is dead and his mom doesn't treat him very well but she is nice to all of his other siblings. It really bothers him and makes him feel unwanted and worthless.

Ed’s best friends are Audrey, Ritchie and Marv. Another important character in the book is the doorman, Ed’s dog. Every morning they have coffee together. The doorman keeps him company when he is lonely. Those are really the only people he talks to other than his mother. Ed and his friends get together and play cards a lot and hang out. None of them really have any money they are all just getting by in life.

The story begins when they are at a bank that gets robbed. Even though he doesn’t mean to Ed becomes a hero in the robbery attempt that goes wrong. Ed’s picture is in the paper and all over the news and after that he starts receiving playing cards in the mail. The cards had names addresses and clues on them and he had no idea why. Soon he figures out that each of the clues on the card represent a person he has to deliver a message to.

The rest of the story is about Ed and his struggles and lessons he learns as he delivers these messages. What Ed learns is that when you are helping someone else you are also helping yourself. That is the theme of the story. He thought that he was doing something for them but they were really doing something for him.

I would recommend this book to people who like reading a non-fantasy fiction book instead of fantasy books. Ed is just another person and he has struggles and problems like a normal person would and it is a really interesting story about him. Even if you feel like you don't have anything you can still help somebody else. It really made me think about doing things to help other people. Even by doing something small it can really change somebody. If i was to choose another book of his to read it would probably be The Book Thief but i'm not a fast reader so I know it would take me a while to read it. I also am excited for the movie to come out my parents and I are thinking about going to see it when it comes out.

Book Review by Jake Y.

Bad Boy

The memoir Bad Boy was written by Walter Dean Myers. Myers is also the author of Hoops, Monster, The Mouse Rap, The Outside Shot, Slam!, The Yound Landlord, and many more. This book is a story on his childhood and how he overcame his struggles growing up, comparing to his other writings, which are mostly fiction. This memoir, Bad Boy, is a fantastic story. The events all lead up to where he is today. By reading this book, you realize that dreams can be noticed when you're at the lowest level and be accomplished with the highest standards. The hardships were a pat on the back, providing him motivation to go past his lines, in order for him to gain the dreams he has always wanted.

Bad Boy is about Walter Dean Myers growing up in Harlem during the 40's and 50's. Through his inspiring stories as a kid, he made them all into a book. The dreams he had as a kid with no attention, and barely any money, came true. With the books and paper, he realized the joy of writing was basically his mental and emotional therapy. The streets of Harlem were also a distraction due to gang violence and racist entercounters. The main characters are Walter Dean Myers, his adoption family and his close friends. Without the wealth or intelligent power, Walter managed his way through the childhood struggles.

"It was in my childhood community that I was first exposed to the cultural substance that is so much a part of my writing today"(Myers 205). This shows that every author, no matter if they have good or bad experiences, can make their writing apart of life lessons they've dealt with.

I liked the book Bad Boy because it made me realize that your memories can become a model for other people, if you express them. I suggest you read the book soon, it makes you very interested since it's actually about the author. Not only is Bad Boy a great book by Myers, but he has many more you can choose from for great interest.

Book Review by Jaylen F.

Gregor the Overlander

Gregor the Overlander

This is only the first book in Suzanne Collin's overlander series and im already hooked on the series. After ordinary 11 year old Gregor follows his little sister Margaret (they usually call her Boots) into a grate in their New York apartment laundry room, Gregor plummets toward an underground world inhabited by a city of humans who live in the presence of giant rats, bats, spiders, and cockroaches in delicate peace, but all that changes when Gregor ariives in the underland.

the novel is a suspence filled action adventure where a boy named Gregor and his little sister travel to an underground world known as the underland and enrust the help of a city of humans to help him and his sister to get back home to the surface. This story is unraveled in chapters that follow Gregor and his new friends in his quest to find his way back home. The further and further Gregor and his freinds go in his quest the more suspence that the reader has built up making the reader want to read more and thats what i like about this book.

during the time i was reading Gregor the Overlander i didnt want to put it down, the suspence that i built up during the story made me want more, which is why this book(in my opinion) is a good page turner. I would definately recomend this book to readers and im sure that all readers will love this book as much as i did and keep on reading the series.

Book Review by Jaykub R.

Night

Night by Elie Wiesel

Born in the town of Sighet in Transylvania Elie Wiesel was an ordinary child. He persevered through countless endeavors that, with just one wrong step, would have been the end of him. He was founder of the Holocaust Memorial Council in the U.S. and was himself a survivor of the concentration camps during the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel is one of the greatest biographical writers of the 20th century.

As a young teenager, Elie had lived his life as most Jews did in the town of Sighet. He had great love for his faith those days. But like many of the faithful it would disappear in an instant. One day, he met a boy who was nicknamed Moshe the Beadle. This was toward the end of 1941 and he was at the age of 12. He and Moshe would pray many, many times increasing their love for their god. Not only was their faith getting stronger but as was their friendship. But that all changed when the Germans came. Moshe and many others were taken away in cart trains not knowing their destination. They were all forgotten as soon as they left by most of the town. Not long after, Elie his mother, father, little sister, and the rest of the town was being taken to an unknown location. And when they had gotten there they saw the beginning of the end. They arrived at what was a factory of death. Buildings converted into crematories with people lined up against the entrances waiting to be thrown in and burned alive all at once, with endless smoke rising from the chimneys, others being beaten and tossed to the ground only to be shot down like a dog seconds later. And families getting separated the mothers and fathers, and their children being torn away from each other. He and his father were instantly separated from his mother and little sister as well. And that would be the last either of them would see each other would ever see them (as he pointed out later in the book that the women and young children were all said to be killed since they could not work in the camps). And moments later he would be in a line for the crematories. And less than a few feet away the line stopped and he and all the others in line were ordered to head back to the train carts. And it was at that moment that he said his faith had burned in the fires of the crematory.  

They were taken back to the train carts and were transported to the Nazi Camp in Germany known as Auschwitz, considered the most horrifying of all the concentration camps during the second world war.  He and his father were later transferred to another concentration camp known as Buna. He spent most of the war and his teenage years in there being forced to work constantly and abused to no end. Making and loosing new friends every now and then. And many days wishing an officer of the camps would end his suffering with a bullet or the butt of a gun. In 1944 his father and him along with the whole camp were sent on a death march to Buchenwald (since the allies were gaining ground in the war) and spent a great amount of time there as well…

This book is without a doubt one of the best biographies I have ever read in my life. It is descriptive and moving. Unsuspecting is great word for this book and you almost instantly get hooked. And there are many things he described about what went on in the camps that I didn’t even know happened. There were some parts were I couldn't put the book down because it is so compelling. I really recommend this book as I’m sure and reader would like as long as they don’t dislike tragedy!                       

Book Review by Noah H.

Catalyst

The book I read was titled Catalyst written by Laurie Halse Anderson. She is also the author of the books “Speak”, “Wintergirls”, and “Chains”. The story is about a senior in high school named Kate who is waiting to hear back from MIT college to see whether she has been accepted or not. MIT was Kate’s choice college, because it was were her Mother had went before she passed away. Kate struggles with communicating with her Dad, because he is a preacher, but surprisingly Kate doesn’t see herself as being very religious at all. She is also having some relationship issues and at this point has us all wondering how she plans to get out of these “sticky situations”

After awhile Kate finds out she has not gotten into MIT and she didn’t bother to apply anywhere else! To make matters worse the Litch family who lives down the hill`s house catches on fire and Teri and Mickey Litch are forced to stay with Kate and her family. This would not be so bad, but Kate cannot stand Teri. She is always getting in to trouble, she fights boys at school, and she is exactly the person Kate can see getting sent to jail. As the book intensifies she ends up working things out with her boyfriend and she even starts to not half mind Teri, but when it comes to the little boy Mickey she thinks he is one of the sweetest little boys. Kate`s father soon finds she has applied to no backup colleges and they must discuss what she is planning to do, Kate`s bond with her father becomes stronger as she learns to relies on him and be happy. Close to the end is a real shocker, one of the characters ends up dead while everyone is busy rebuilding the Litch`s house and with this loss it’s hard for many of the characters to see a way to cope with it. It turns out that all of the characters learn an important lesson, to be thankful for what they have. Kate also learns another important lesson. That lesson is that you can not always judge people from what you see on the outside or “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, which we all often do.

Personally I thought this book had its “boring points”, but I also enjoyed the read. I think the reader conveyed an important message not only about people, but the other helpful message that when it comes to college you must be prepared. I would say this book was okay, I think the middle of the book captured me more than the beginning and to really want to read something I like to be hooked in from the beginning. It was however an okay book, I just don’t think it was exactly the book for me. I would recommend you reading this if you enjoy inspirational novels, however at the end the book could probably also be categorized as a tragedy.

Book Review by Liz Z.

Perfect Chemistry

My book report is on Perfect Chemistry, written by Simone Elkeles. This book follows the lives of several characters, specifically Brittany Ellis and Alex Fuentes. They are two teenagers that discover what true love really is by experiencing having to accept each other’s striking differences and hobbies. 

Senior Brittany Ellis is forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the opposite side of town from where she lives. Brittany doesn’t want to ruin her perfect reputation so she doesn’t want anything to do with Alex. Her home life isn’t so great but she has to make sure no one knows because to everyone else she is absolutely perfect. Alex being part of her life could ruin everything she made perfect.

Alex gets into a bet with his friends that he can get Brittany to like him. Alex, being a bad boy accepts this challenge. At first this is just a bet to him but as he gets to know her he starts to fall in love with her which is not supposed to happen. Alex realizes that Brittany is just a normal person with problems just like him. He starts to notice that not everything goes perfect for her. As she gets more normal to him the more he falls in love with her.

This book grabs my attention right away. I don’t want to stop reading but at the same time I don’t want to read because I don’t want it to end. The characters are very well explained throughout the story. All the characters from the past story play a part in this story which is very nice. Overall this book is one of my favorite story’s.   

Book Review by Celia D.

Chain Reaction

This book review is about the book Chain Reaction. The author of this book is Simone Elkeles. The book compares to the other books in the series because the author follows the characters’ lives through several generations. This story is about to teenagers learning about trust and faith in their true love. They go through many hardships trying to stay together.

Luis Fuentes loves to take risks because it gives him a trill. Even if it means he has to climb a mountain without a harness, Luis is always trying to find the next big excitement.

Nikki Cruz lives by the saying never trust a guy that tells you he loves you because he’s just trying to use you. This is because her last boyfriend really hurt her with the words “I love you”. When she meets Luis (a boy from her High School) at first she doesn’t give him the time of day because to her he’s just another boy who’s going to try and use her. Slowly she starts to fall in love with him and wants to start trusting him with the words “I love you”.

Luis really wants to get Nikki to like him but that’s going to be a really big challenge because he knows she doesn’t go out with guys that are in gangs that do drug deals. Luis happens to be in a gang that does drug deals. Will Luis leave his gang to be with Nikki or will Nikki learn to except that he’s in a gang because she loves him?

This book is one of my favorite books. Within the first few pages the story quickly snatches your attention because it starts out with a daring adventure with a main character. The two significantly different environments the two main characters live in are very interesting. The struggles both of them go through to try and be together catches my full attention. Each and every character is described fantastically and they all have a significant role in the story. 

Book Review by Celia D.

Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

I've long heard the name of this book before, though I've never had a chance to read it, I've long known it's fame.

This novel shouldn't be actually called a novel, but it's more of a script.No, it is actually a script.

In this tragic, Willy, an old salesman, was once a great salesman, but he is now faced with the cruel truth that he couldn't sell a thing.Mean while,his family was still under the burden of monthly payments sucking every single cent from their cheap salary. Also, Willy had two sons, Biff and Happy, which Willy always had arguments with them because he thought his sons weren't working so hard for success.

In general, this script depicted the sad truth that the saying that one would succeed if he preserves and endeavors isn't always the case by details of every single character. The characters were only actors, but they are acting everyday people.

Willy worked so hard for his entire life, and he was so successful, but it didn't prevented his current self from being deserted by the world. There were few parts that still cheered the people up a bit was Willy saw his brother and other people who got a fortune by endeavoring at a young age, and wished that miracle to reappear on themselves--Willy and his two sons. But whether the protagonists would succeed, or they would be run over by the sad truth, it slowly shows though the pages.

In my opinion, I recommend this book, for despite this book is about just a elderly salesman, he is actually a typical figure taken out from the everyday life, based on people and the environment around us, which means the play does not have only artistic appealing, but also telling us about a sad fact of everyday life.

Book Review by John Z.

How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous

How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg

Another book by this author is Matisse on the Loose. This is a non-fiction book about the deaths of historically famous people.

This book explains the lives of historically famous people, and even more important and less known than that, their deaths. For instance, lots of people think that king tut was murdered, but evidence points more to the theory that he died of malaria. Also, when Albert Einstein died, some crazy dude took his brain and kept it till 1995. This book is full of interesting facts about people in history, their lives, and their deaths.

I liked this book because it’s full of interesting facts about history, and it gives you a better perspective about what the historically famous were like. Also, this book throws in some humor as well. I think that you should read this book if you like history, or if you like any specific historical person.

Book Review by Victor M.

Tears of a Tiger

The book I have read is called Tears of Tiger. It was written by an author named Sharon M. Draper. Draper has written 27 books in all during the years of 1994-2013. I have read 3 other books written by her and they are Battle of Jericho, November’s Blues, and Forged by Fire. These books compare to the book I have read because they are the afterlife of the tragic that started in Tears of Tiger. I think the message she was trying to get across in Tears Of Tiger was that Drinking and driving is a serious danger and the grief behind it can be life threaten as well. Overall the other three books are informing readers that everyone goes through problems, but its life and you just have to learn to adapt.

In Tears of Tiger Four junior boys that attended Hazelwood high school got into an accident while drinking and driving on an expressway. The Death of one boy in the car struck the whole student body. The main Character Andy Jackson Struggled through life blaming himself. Or what little life he did have. He couldn’t take the guilt anymore and committed suicide.  Students were absolutely traumatized because they couldn’t believe kids their age could die.  After the death of two of their peers eyes were truly opened to the real world, and life around them.

I recommend this book to readers who have a drinking problem, knows someone who has a drinking problem, or thinks drinking is cool. There are many things that can happen that not everybody thinks about. This book could save lives and/or prevent deaths. If none of these things apply to you then this is also an amazing way to be able to look into others’ lives, and see you’re not the only one going through a tough time. It provides great tip on how to deal with life situations. You should read it immediately!!!

Book Review by Alicia H.

Unwind

Unwind is a riveting tale of adventure by author Neal Shusterman. It is only book one of a series of books. After the second civil war over reproductive rights a child’s life is still important but inviolable from conception to the age of 13.When a child is between the ages of 13 and 18 parents have the opt out of having their child unwound. Unwinding is where they take all of the child’s organs and give them to other people. This “unwinding” is basically aborting the child without them technically dying. This is the story of three children Connor, Risa, and Lev who want to escape this fate.

Connor is the typical uncontrollable teenager who just doesn’t care. Connor had a feeling that he could be a candidate for unwinding but didn’t know for sure if his parents would have him unwound until he found the unwinding order. Connor knew that even if he acted his best he would still be unwound because one you put in the order it cannot be taken back. As Connor started to read the order he saw that the date of the unwinding order was set for the day before his family took a Thanksgiving trip to the Bahamas.

Lev was a tithe, meaning that he was born for the sole purpose of being unwound. Lev lives in a loving family with other siblings. As he gets closer and closer to the time when he would be unwound the more second thoughts that he has. Why me? He asked himself. He lived in a religious family and talked to his Pastor, Pastor Dan about the questions he asked himself and the issues he was having. Lev just didn’t understand why he was chosen to be the tithe even though it was a “blessing” to be chosen as the tithe he didn’t see much blessing in it for him. The biggest thing that he didn’t understand was why he would not get to enjoy his life in one piece like everyone else.

Risa is a ward of the state. She just is not “special” enough not to be unwound. She doesn’t really have any special talents or anything that sets her apart from the other children. Risa did not realize that she was being unwound until one day while she was at school she was called to Headmaster Thomas’ office. When she arrived she saw her social worker, Headmaster Thomas, and the school’s legal counsel. When she got there and sat down the exact words said to her were. We feel you’ve reached your full potential here. That was the way that they told Risa that she was being unwound. When Risa didn’t understand they let her know that in order to make room for more wards, they had to cut the teenage population by 5%. In other words they were getting rid of her to make room for more people.

These three teenagers did not want unwinding to be the way that they leave this earth so they did not just let it happen they tried to escape. Individually they may not have a chance, but together they just might have a bigger chance of escape. Read more to find out whether they escape unwinding or not.

I highly recommend this book. What makes this book so amazing is the author’s ability to capture these characters emotions, making the characters very relatable. You can really put yourself in these characters shoes and feel what they feel. I give this book 4.5/5 star. The only reason that it gets 4.5 and not 5 is because bouncing between the characters and different storylines can get a little confusing at times. Sometimes this caused me to have to go back and re-read sections for more understanding. Overall this is a really great book and you should go pick it up from your local library today or as soon as possible.

Book Review by Allen H.