Final Book Review
Posted on May 29, 2007 by Mrs. Albanese
Think about the AR book that you read for this marking period. Be sure to take an AR test on this book for credit.
Book Review: Do a pre-write to answer the questions below then do a draft in WORD. Revise and spell check the draft. Save it to your file on the server. Copy it and paste the final product both as a response to this post and a post on your own blog.
Answer these questions in an essay form. Prepare at least a 400 word document. Spelling and grammar count. Worth 2oo points!
- Give the title and author of your book.
- Write a brief summary of the plot and setting. Do not give away the ending!
- What part of the book touched you the most? Why?
- What similarities did you see in your own life or what lessons were in the book that may have been enlightening for you?
- Of all the books you have read this year, what is your favorite and why?
- What will you read this summer?
Filed under: Assignments, Book Review
The Hideout
By: Paul Hutchens
Brian – Core 3
The book was about a boy named Jeremy was ridding a train when it crashed. Jeremy did not want to be around all the dead people. Then he ran. He ran through the woods then he found a hunting cabin. He went in the cabin and that was going to be his home. He knew there had to be a town near by so he started to walk. finally found a town and remembers that his grandfather gave him 50 dollars. He bought food and a newspaper. On his way out he ran into a girl but kept going back to camp. A few days later he saw the same girl and they started to talk. He never said anything about the train crash. He stayed in the cabin for weeks. One night a bear came up to the cabin. But when he went to the store again he saw the girl. They became better friends each time. Then one time he went to her house by then he had told her. Hunters came to the cabin. It was not hunting season yet. He let them go until they shot something. So they where poachers. He could do nothing but tell. I have to stop here because you told me not to tell the end
The part of the book that touched me the most was Jeremy’s braveness and his courage. He did not even think of what could have happened he just did it. I try to be like it but I always think of what might happen.
The lesson I learned from this book was don’t be scared of anything if Jeremy was scared he probably been hurt or dying of starvation. He ran and lived. He made a friend who took care of him and helped him. This book helped me so much I could not thank Paul Hutchens enough.
Out of all the books I have ever read in my life this one has been my favorite of them all. I do not know why I just liked this one a lot. I got a real good mental picture in my head that is probably why.
Jake Drake
By: Andrew Clements
Taylor – Core: 3
The book that I read this marking period was about a boy named Jake and his life at school. He just wanted to be a regular kid at school but things didn’t work out for him.
Jake was always able to help someone out, but when he went to school he always helped out his teachers and even though he didn’t look at it that way he was being a teachers pet. He would always get recognized for the hard work he did and the teachers always rewarded him so after while he had no friends and became a teachers pet.
The part of the book that touched me the most was when the kids at Jakes school always teased him for being good at what he did, and always helping out the teacher. He would always go home and just sit up there in his room from when he got home till later that night, when he finally calmed down.
Some similarities that I have with this book are that sometimes the teachers do over react to some things that the kids do. The lesson in this book that has enlightened me while reading was that even though you might not be the smartest or brightest you can still try your hardest.
Out of all the books I have read this year the best one was Joey Pigza. Why I think I liked this book so much out of all the other ones I have read this year is because it had a very interesting beginning it pulled the audience into it.
If I read anything this summer it will probably be a magazine or a news paper. I don’t think ill be reading a lot of books this summer I plan on being outside in the pool or riding four wheelers and I plan on spending time at the beach.
Patrick Upshur
Core 3
11/20/06
Life about John Milton
Milton was famous for his poetry.
Married a16 year old named Mary Powell.
Had four children during his life.
His beliefs were to be independent.
John Milton had studied theology.
Had wavy long hair. Had light brown hair.
He had might felt about the town of Milton
As very historic.
The book he wrote was Paradise Lost.
People said he was one of the greatest artists around.
Also people said he spreaded a lot of controversy.
Another name for Milton is very brave.
Goosebumps Bad Hare Day
By: R.L. Stine
Jesse Core 3
Bad Hare Day was one of the most interesting books I have read. R.L. Stine is a great writer of suspense and mystery stories. Throughout the beginning of the book he dose not give any clues to how the book ends but he dose prepare you for by letting you know about the main character’s dream and that he will try very hard to accomplish it.
This takes place in a small town and a place called midnight mansion. There’s a story about midnight mansion which is that an old woman who was fifthly rich lived in that house and was all alone and all she ate was peanut butter.
The part of the book that touched me the most is near the end where the main character meets his idol the Amazing OZ. And the end of the book because I did not suspect it and the middle of the book here he took his sister with him to go see midnight mansion even if see was blackmailing him by saying that she will tell her mom and dad. Than they went to the garage and grabbed their bikes and road off to midnight mansion alone without their parents knowing.
The main thing that we have in common is that he main character and I will both stop at nothing to accomplish our dreams. And we also have an annoying sibling even though mine is a brother and his is a sister and my brother is older than me and his sister is younger than him.
There are many books I want to read that include Goosebumps numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 if I still have time I love to be able to read Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean At World’s End. And if I don’t get too bored I will probably try too read some books on Greek mythology like Zeus, Coronus, Hades, and Hercules. If I get done the summer I would like to read a little bit of Chinese mythology like Sun Wunkong in the school year.
Shiloh
Phyllis ReynoldsNaylo Freddy Core 3
Shiloh is one of my favorite books that I’ve read in awhile because it’s got a great story line. The book is very interesting because of the relationship that the boy and the dog develop. I find it interesting because of the old saying that dog is man’s best friend.
Some of the main characters in the story are Shiloh the dog, and Marty the little boy. The plot of the story is very interesting. The story takes place in West Virginia at first the boy finds a runaway dog that is very shy, but then the boy convinces the dog to come. Marty tries to go home but the dog won’t stop following him.
Marty find out whom the dogs owner is an old mean alcoholic and he abuses his dogs. Marty is told to give the dog back to its rightful owner by his parents, but Marty has suddenly developed a relationship with the dog, and Marty does not want to give the dog back to its abusive owner. Marty decides to keep the dog with out his parents knowing, he keeps the dog in a dog house that he built in the woods and that decision sparked a war between Marty and Shiloh’s real owner.
The part of the book that really touched me was how Marty and Shiloh developed such a bond. I really liked the way that Marty cared so much about the dog, because it would have been a lot less trouble for Marty just to give Shiloh back to his abusive owner. Instead of him risking getting himself in trouble.
I really don’t see any similarities between this book and my life. There’s really only one similarity and that is that I care about my dogs the way that Marty cared about Shiloh.
Out of the entire book that I have read this year I would have to say that this is probably my favorite book. It is my favorite book of the entire school year because I like the basic story line.
Little Ghetto Girl
Danielle Santiago
The setting in Little Ghetto Girl took place in Harlem, New-York and it was about a girl named Kisa Montega but everyone called her Kisa Kane. She was well known in the Manhattan area as a big time drug dealer and she was also with a big time drug dealer named Sincere. Kisa later stopped selling drugs and opened up her own hair salon and everything was going good. Sincere threw Kisa a party which probably cost a little under 150,000 dollars because he had celebrities in there like Mary J. Blige and her sister. After the party Sincere took Kisa home and the next day he proposed to her with a five carat platinum ring. Everything was going bad for Kisa and Sincere until Sincere ended up getting busted and had to serve 15 months in prison but before he went to prison Kisa found out she was pregnant with her daughter Kai. Sincere didn’t get to be with her through her pregnancy but always had security for her. About 8 months into Kisa’s pregnancy her sister Shea had her set-up to be robbed for almost 1,000,000 dollars and the robbers beat Kisa in the face with a gun. Sincere found out and had a plan for both shea and her robber.
There are two parts of the book that touched me the most, the first one was when Sincere came home. It was touching because he was suppose to be doing 15 months but ended up only doing 9 months, he didn’t tell Kisa he was coming home so when he came home he rung the doorbell and Kisa’s security guard answered and then he told Kisa to come in the room and when she saw Sincere she cried and then she showed him Kai who was about 5 moths already. He fell in love with Kai instantly. The second part that touched me was when Kisa actually found out that Shea her sister kidnapped her daughter Kai and held her hostage for 6 million dollars but when it was time to get Kai back Sincere and his boys had a plan to kidnapp Shea right when Kai was in Kisa’s hands and then they gave kisa the gun to kill her own sister. At first kisa couldn’t do it then she thought about and ended up doing it. But right after she did it and she started walking away one of Shea’s friends who was in on the plot ended up shooting Kisa in the leg and back and when she went to the hospital she found out she was pregnant again.
This taught me a lesson that you have to watch everyone around you including family because you never know who will turn on you first. Out of all eight books I’ve read like this I have two favorite ones and yes this book is one of them because it’s so real and I feel like I’m part of it even though I know I’ll never be
Aaron G
Three days 6-29-07
This novel was written about a father and daughter, vacationing in Italy. On the way back from a restaurant, the father passes out while driving. Ten year old Sammy did not know what to do so she jumped in the first truck that stopped to help. The truck was driven by an old man and his son. Next the men took her to the southern part of Italy. When the got to their destination the put the girl in their house were the son, old man and their cousin Allison also lives. Sammy and Allison try to commutate with out talking because they speak different langue. On the third day in Italy, while the men are at work, Allison sneaks out and finds an old graveyard. At this graveyard she finds that Allison had a daughter. That would have been her age, died three years ago. Then she finds out those men aren’t evil. The found her on the side of the road, like a gift of Allison’s died daughter. Later that day Allison puts Sammy on a train out of that town to some where else with a newspaper article with her picture on it that said she was missing.
The part of the book that touched me the most was when Sammy found out that Allison had a daughter that died. Then she realized that the men took her to make Allison feel happy. Those men took Sammy so Allison would be happy. But when Allison put Sammy on the train, Allison had that mother feeling that Sammy needed her mom.
Very similar too what her parents told her is what my mom and dad, have told me about strangers. It’s different if your in a county that does not speak your langue but still she should have waited for the police.
My favorite book I read this year would have to be Three days, this book. I liked this so much because it was always keeping me on my toes. Also how the author made one little detail change the whole plot. Once Sammy relived that those men took her because Allison last her son, Sammy became more considerate. In the begging of the book Sammy wanted to kill those men but at the end she did not tell a sole who took her even when she knew there names.
I’m not really sure what I’m going to read over the summer. I while defiantly read the new Harry Potter book when it comes out. I while read what ever my 9th grade teachers at Indian River tell me to read. I will miss Cape Henlopen School District for ever.
Clint Chalabala
Core1
5/29/07
The Dalmatian
The Dalmatian is a book about the dog called a Dalmatian and the way they live and survive. A couple facts about Dalmatians is of course there all white with black spots all over. The Dalmatian gets about the size of a medium sized dog and has a very good sense of smell. Also the Dalmatian is the fire fighters mascot. The most touching part of the book that surprised me was when the book said Dalmatians were good at hunting because I like to go hunting so I thought that was kind of touching. Well and as you can tell I like hunting and so do Dalmatians so that’s a similarity between me and the dog. A lesson in the book about Dalmatians was is if you don’t want a hyper dog don’t even think about getting a Dalmatian believe me they had a old lady in the book who had a Dalmatian she had to get rid of it because it was to hyper for her. It’s a very tough decision on what was my favorite book I read this year but I think im gunna have to go with Old Man and the sea because I really liked the book by the subject an the way the author wrote the book. Hopefully I will read a couple of the books I got at home like the hardy boys and Harry potter, but im not going to sware im going to actually read them books.
Marlfox
by: Brian Jaques
In this book, a squirrel named Dann, a squirrel named Song, a shrew named Wugger, and a watervole named Burble, went on a quest to take back a beautiful tapestry stolen from Redwall Abbey of the abbey hero Martin the Warrior. Their quest took place in Mossflower.
I was personally touched by the part where Dann gave his life to save Song’s life.
A very enlightening lesson in the book is that friends come first. Out of all the books I have read this year, my favorite is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, it was thrilling, and emotional at the same time. This summer I will read the last Harry Potter book.
Book by Barbara Cohen:
Thank you Jackie Robinson
Sam Green is nuts about baseball. His mother runs an inn in New Jersey and Sam’s best friend is Davy, the African American cook at the inn. They especially admire Jackie Robinson, the first black man in major league baseball. Together Davy and Sam set out to see a game at each ball park within a day’s drive of their home. They can’t go any farther than that since, in these days of segregation. Davy is not allowed in any restaurant or hotel. When Davy has a heart attack, Sam musters up his courage and gets past many obstacles to get Jackie Robinson’s autograph on a baseball for Davy, somehow convinced that the ball with make him better. The similarities that I seen where the determination of Sam and I to get an autograph. This is the best book all year, because this has a lot of action and information in it. I will not read a lot of things but I will try the part that touched me the most is learning about Davy’s illness, Sam’s determination to get that autograph and Lovers of baseball should find alliance in the book and baseball cards, autographs and other memorial stuff can be a logical outgrowth. There’s so much to talk about after this one that it’s hard to know where to begin. Certainly the Jim Crow laws that kept Davy and Sam from being able to eat in restaurants or stay in hotels during the trips to ballparks are something every person should know about. Jackie Robinson’s breakthrough into the major leagues should raise the question of what happened to all the talented Black ballplayers before then and that can lead to an investigation of the Negro Leagues as well as Jackie Robinson’s entire career. Why was he the chosen one to break the color barrier? This book is a very good book earn about the Negro baseball players and mostly Jackie Robison.I recommend it to anyone who wants to l
Book Review #9
Rakkety Tam
By Brian Jacques
Rakkety Tam is a hired soldier squirrel who is trying to escape from the rule of the tyrannical King Araltum and his wife Idga Drayqueen with the help of his highlander friend, Wild Doogy Plumm. When Idga Drayqueen’s precious flag is stolen by a band of flesh-eating vermin led by a wolverine by the name of Gulo the Savage, she forgets about all of her fallen and eaten subjects, and wants to get her flag back. Idga and Araltum decide to use Tam and Doogy to get the flag back (after they were both sent to jail for making rude remarks about the King and Queen). Meanwhile, Gulo is on a bloodthirsty mission to retrieve the Walking stone from his brother Askor so he can rightly claim his lands of ice in the North. Unfortunately, Askor was shipwrecked in the South where the Redwall Abbey lies. Because of its fabled hospitality (and his insanity), Gulo decides to travel to Redwall to find his brother there. Little did he know that Askor killed himself and buried the walking stone to escape Gulo’s wrath. While traveling to Redwall, Gulo made the grave mistake of attacking and eating eight Long Patrol Hares (force of fighting hares that protect the mountain Salamandastron under the rule of a Badger Lord) and stealing a drum meant for the Redwall Abbey, the Long Patrol joins forces with Tam and Doogy after finding out where Gulo was headed, and began the quest to save Redwall.
The part of the book that “touched” me most was when the Brigadier sacrificed himself to protect Redwall from a sneak attack by some of Gulo’s vermin. Although he was wounded, the Brigadier took two arrows to his chest while fighting the small band of vermin. His final blow was placed on the brain of the attack when he grabbed her sword by the blade and slashed at her neck with it. It was one of the most horrifying moments in the book because the Brigadier was one of the greatest characters that Brian Jacques ever thought of from his seriousness to his assortment of songs he always sang.
The lesson in the book that enlightened me the most was how the story tells you that you don’t need to be tough-looking to be strong. Throughout all of Brian’s books, Redwall’s peaceful animals always prevail over the evil vermin, even when Redwall isn’t a place packed with warriors and weapons.
Of all the books I read this year, I don’t have a favorite book. I have a favorite series! The Redwall series is my favorite because it is filled with detail so you can see all the images that Brian portrays. It has characters that you will never forget, and always an inspiring tale of friendship. This series is also captivating because it gives you all the sides of the story. You hear the vermin’s point of view, you see life through the Abbey dwellers eyes, and you read the tale of the hero that helps Redwall out.
From what I told you about the Redwall series, it’s definitely a 100 percent yes that I am going to read the Redwall series this summer. Each book has its own little stories that change the plots and twists each time I read them, so I will never grow bored of it. Once I am done, I will try to find a series just as fun and captivating as Redwall.
Twilight
BY: Stephanie Meyers
Twilight – for the most part – is a love story. It’s about a girl named Bella who falls in love with a vampire named Edward. In the beginning, Edward tries to avoid her. Not because he doesn’t like her, he just doesn’t want to hurt her. Edward is very strong which makes her very fragile to him. Not only that, but the fact that he’s a vampire, so even the slightest drop of blood could send him off. But not if he truly loved her like he says he does.
The part of the book that touched me the most was when Bella was in danger of dying. She was being hunted by a vampire who would stop at nothing till he got what he’d been hunting. Im not going to give away the details, but the hunter does find her and she is bitten.
There were a few parts of her life that were similar to mine. One similarity is that we both feel that this life can be very boring sometimes, and were just waiting for something wonderful to happen. Our difference is that she was waiting to fall in love with a vampire, im just waiting for summer vacation.
Of all the books I’ve read this year, Twilight was the best and the longest one I’ve read. This was the only book that made me feel what all the characters were feeling. And this was the only that I had to absolutely force myself to put down and go to sleep. Which was a very difficult thing to do, I stayed up until 2:00 A.M. just to see what happens at the end.
This summer, I think I’m going to read the two sequels to Twilight. After those two or three weeks I’m going to just enjoy my summer, wishing that I didn’t finish the books so fast.
“The First Time”
Cher
KAYLA-CORE 4
This book doesn’t exactly have a “setting”. This book is all about Cher and her first time doing a lot of things. It had a lot about Sonny in it too. It had her first embarrassment, her first time on television, the first time she met Sonny, and a lot more of her firsts. It was very interesting and cool to hear all of these things from Cher upfront in her book. She is one of my favorite celebrities and is defiantly a role model for me. The ages of the stories in her book range from birth to when she wrote the book which was kind of recent.
It talked a lot about her mom too. I remember one funny story but not exactly everything. Her mom yelled at the next door neighbor and stood up for Cher. It may not sound exciting here but trust me, it was. I liked this book because it wasn’t exactly an autobiography, but it was kind of. Cher wrote t about herself up-close and personal. It told about alot of her first times doing things and some were completely random.
What touches me the most was, how she did so much. She had a good childhood, had a great time with friends as a teenager, just like me and so many other people. She then got to be famous. She sang, she acted, did movies and met Sonny. They made a show together called “The Sonny and Cher Show”. I like how she wasn’t born into fame like, Paris and Nicky Hilton and others. She had to work and earn her fame. I totally respect that.
I guess me and Cher have some things in common. We are both driven. If we want something, we go out and get it. We both like to act and sing. There are other things also but those are some main points.
I have read a lot of books throughout this school year but I am going to have to be a softy and say “A Walk to Remember” by Nicolas Sparks. I love the movie based on his book also. It is just so touching. Its just one of those books where you start and get so into it that you can’t put it down until your down and your done and then once you are done you’re sorry it’s over. That was my absolute favorite.
I also enjoyed the biography I read on Al Pacino, in which the book happened to be called “Al Pacino”. He is one of my favorite actors and most people know him from the movie “Scarface” but he was in a lot of other movies. I find him very interesting. He is a wonderful actor and he has such a love of acting, it’s incredible.
This summer I am planning on the magazines I like such as, Cosmo and Seventeen and then read these books that I got a year ago but never read yet. The one book is called, “The Stranger” and it’s written by Albert Camus. I am also going to read, this one book written by Fredrick Douglas. I hope to read a lot this summer even though I will be busy.
Bridge to Terabithia
Katherine Paterson
Katherine Paterson crafted an entertaining story about a boy, after training for the whole summer, loses to a new girl. He befriends her. The two soon become close friends. Jesse shares his secret love of drawing with Leslie. With this new friendship, the two children create an imaginary kingdom in the woods near their homes. They create the imaginary kingdom of Terabithia together, and name themselves King and Queen where they spend every day after school. In Terabithia they are able to work out their fears of the real world: fears such as the 8th grade bully Janice Avery.
Jesse really likes his teacher, Miss Edmunds, so when she asks him to go with her to a museum he is all for accompanying his music teacher on this exciting trip. This where a lot of his troubles begin. He asks his mother while she is barely awake making sure that she would say yes. While he was gone Leslie went looking for him in Terabithia and that was the end of something great.
The part that touched me the most was at the end how much strength and courage Jesse had from the friendship between him and Leslie. The lesson in this book had to do with friendships
My favorite book this year would probably have to be Bridge to Terabithia. It was a good book that kept me wanting more and had a really good ending. Reading this book will make me want to read more books of hers this summer and books by Lisi Harrison.
A Matter of Trust
Angela Johnson
Iona Caldwell
5-30-07
Core 4
Book Review
A matter of trust was about an African American couple arguing about what their going to do about this baby on the way. The girls name is Darcy & the boys name is Hakeem. Their Both Seniors and their struggling to finish school and work for money for there kids. The setting takes place in a old, raggedy, molded broke down apartment.
The part of the book touched me most is when the Rent was 4 weeks due the manager Mr. Hudson, Put them out in the street, he told them that they had to MOVE OUT! So then they had no place to go.
I didn’t see any similarities, because I am not a senior & I don’t have any children.
All the books I read this year, my most favorite book was The First Part Last, by Angela Johnson. I like this book, because it’s just my favorite!! I would probably read all of Angela Johnson’s series this summer.
The book I read was called Black Beauty, it was written by Anna Swell. The book was about a what a young black stallion went through as he grew up. He’s sold to this rich man and is taken very good care of, but the mistress of the house became ill and they have to sell him. So he is sold to another man who’s coachman became drunk and ran black beauty down a rock path. He gets a rock stuck in his hoof, but the man is to drunk to notice so beauty falls hurting his knees. We the man being rich he couldn’t have a horse who looked like it had broken knees so he gave him to a traveling horse auction. There he is sold to an old man who happens to be a cab driver, he meets several new friends, but see one old one. The horse Ginger, she used to be with him at the first rich guys stable with him. Beauty sees her doing rough work and talks to her a bit, then she said. ”I don’t want to suffer anymore, I hope I die.” It’s a truly heart breaking moment. The old man becomes sick and sells Black beauty once more. The rest you’ll have to read.
I learned that if you want good thing to happen you must wait, because that’s what Black Beauty did and he ended up happy. Also he was just like me, I was raised well and I am courteous around others, but I have some rebellious friends too.
My favorite book was Stephen King’s “Cell.” It was so detailed that I could actually picture it in my head and it keeps you right on the edge the whole book through. Wanting to know what happens next, I went to the last page and read the last paragraph. I couldn’t put it down. Its about a pulse that turns anyone who was on the cell phone, at 3:00, into a zombie like state.
I’ll probably read more Stephen King books, Japanese comics , Happy House, and I’m looking for the book “The Last Unicorn.” I read half of it in Oklahoma before I had to go, and it was great so far, so I wanted to read the rest. It about a unicorn who finds out it’s the last of its kind and goes out to see if it’s really true.
Ben and Me
James – Core 4
The plot of this story is that a little church mouse that lives in Philadelphia. It was a cold winter and the mouse didn’t think it was right to eat the sermons in the church so all of his family was hungry. One day he left the church and went into a house. It turned out that the man in the house was Ben Franklin. He had a terrible cold that night and was wearing a fur cap. The mouse saw that there was a hole in the cap so he crawled into it. It turned out to be just his size. So the mouse slept. Later on Ben discovered the mouse. At first he was shocked but then he saw that the mouse was scared and cold so he took the mouse under his wing. They had done everything together. Then Ben had to go to London to talk to the queen but the mouse didn’t want to go. The mouse wanted to stay home with his family. Since being with Ben the mouse has been bringing home good meals for his family like cheese and a little bit of meat. The setting in the story is in Philadelphia in 1780’s. Also the setting was in London during the same time.
The part that touched me the most in this book was when I read that the mice were living in the church eating sermons. It was touching because those mice could have had more to eat than that what they were eating. They were living in church walls. The nights were cold and they could have slept somewhere warm like in old quilts or something. It was just touching to me to see their living conditions like this.
Some lessons in the book that had been enlightening for me were that you should never think you’re the best because someone or something will come and ask for help and if you don’t help then you will feel really bad in the end because you didn’t help them. If you try to go back and help them it may be too late to do so. So you want to help someone in need when you get the opportunity to do so. That has helped me a lot because I get the opportunity to help people all the time and I take every opportunity I can get.
I think the best book I read this year was Brian’s Hunt. This was my favorite book because it had to deal with the outdoors and hunting. My two favorite things in the world are hunting and the great outdoors. Also Brian was faced with many problems which he overcame in the end.
This summer I believe I will read books that have to do with adventure, comedy and the outdoors. I want to read these because they are my favorite types of books. These books help face the next thing that happens to me every day.
Call Me Francis Tucket
By: Gary Paulson
The book I read this marking period was “Call Me Francis Tucket” by Gary Paulson. This book is about a thirteen year old boy who was taken by Indians while traveling in a wagon train going to Oregon. Before Francis was captured, his parents had bought him a brand new Winchester rifle that he always had with him. While he was captive, A man called kquier snuck into the camp and rescued him. However, two days later the Indians found them, Francis escaped but Kquier was killed. So Francis went off by himself into the prairie to find his parents wagon train with his rifle and a mare (horse) they took from the Indians.
Francis woke up one morning to see two men over him. One was holding him down and the other was stealing his supplies. When they were done they left him to die, but Francis followed them and while they were asleep, he took their guns and made them run at gunpoint. He got all his supplies back plus the two men’s stuff. He went until he saw something in the distance. When he came upon the thing, it turned out to be a wagon. When he looked inside there were two children sitting in it. They told him their father died and they were stranded out here. They went with Francis and he got some more supplies from the wagon including food and a pistol. They rode on until Francis found a train that he dropped the kids off at and still rode on the find his parents.
Coraline
Neil Gaiman
Brittany B. Core-4
Coraline was a very intriguing book, if you look at the cover your first thought is goodness grace this looks scary so I am not one to judge something by the way it looks so I read it and I’ll tell you, it’s one of the best books I’ve read. It’s a page turner, because you want to know what is going to happen next and Neil has a way of building suspense like no other author.
In Coraline the little girl, Coraline, was like any other girl, curious and always wanted to know more about something even if she shouldn’t. And that’s what got her into trouble. As they say don’t let curiosity get the best of you, but in Coraline’s position it did and it hurt her greatly. And she was especially adventurous when they moved to their new flat. When her parents went out to get groceries they never came back. And before they left Coraline had asked about the door in the drawling room and her mom told her that it was a door to nothing because they put a brick wall up to divide up the different flats. But coralline wanted to see it for herself so she got the key to unlock the door and just as her mother had told her there was nothing there but a brick wall. And ever once in awhile she would go and look at the wall, and one time it wasn’t there so she went through and on the other side it looked exactly like her flat, even the drawing room looked the same except there was a snow globe on the mantel. And even though a snow globe doesn’t sound important now, but it means the world to Coraline even though she doesn’t know yet. And when she went into the “other flat” she saw a women and a man who claimed to be her “other mother” and “other father”. And that’s all I can tell you, you’ll have to read the book for yourself to find out the rest.
The part of the book that touched me the most is how she sacrificed so much to get her parents back, and I know I would have done the same for my parents, but she went through so much pain and she was mostly miserable and she picked a normal life over a life where she got everything she ever wanted.
The similarities that I see in the book and my life is that I am as clueless as she was in the beginning about what you don’t know what you have till its gone and I’ll never take anything for granite.
My favorite book would have to be this one, it makes you think and realize a lot of stuff in your own life.
I probably wont read anything but magazines this summer, I might read a little baby book but nothing to big.
“What Happened”
Deanna Howerly
A tragedy had occurred in a small town of Ohio. Anna Riley was the victim of this story. She was being stalked and she didn’t even know it. Anna was very shy and independent. She didn’t need anyone to tell her what to do besides her mom Ella. Her dad had died of a heart attack and she was devastated when this had happened. Anna was twelve when her father died. Anna wasn’t much liked her small town school and she didn’t care because she had one great friend Elizabeth Goodser. Elizabeth was a true friend to Anna. Elizabeth was the kind of friend Anna needed to stay strong from people bullying her and teasing her by the clothes she wore.
Days went by and Anna noticed a man around his forty’s was following her and then he would vanish. Anna didn’t know that this man was following her since her father died. The man Tyler Foundersly used to know her father and he was trying to get to Anna.
Anna had no idea she was being followed nor followed by a man her father knew either. Anna noticed the guy as days passed and he called her name out one day and she ran. He wrote a note to her and put it in her locker before the bell rang for school to start. Anna found out his name and looked up records and found out he was charged with murder of her father.
Clearly Anna didn’t know that her father was murdered by this man and she cried because her own mother didn’t tell her about this murderer that killed her father instead of telling the story about her father having a heart attack. She stopped and followed the man and screamed she knew he killed her father and he started running after her and she ran too. He stopped and left. She was very frightened. Anna didn’t know what to do.
The next day Anna had told Elizabeth the whole story and Elizabeth was shocked and frightened as well as Anna. Anna was in class and she felt safe for a few minutes until Tyler walked in with a gun. Everybody in the classroom screamed and everybody was held as hostage. He came up to Anna. Put the gun to her forehead and said, “Did you love your father?’’ and Anna said yes. Everybody screamed. This book touched me because Anna didn’t know the truth and if her mom had told her really happened, and then Anna could make a difference and called the police or tell someone she was being followed by a guy.
Telling the truth makes everything better to me and it would if Ella told the truth to her daughter. Over all books that I have read this year my favorite would be and or the Nancy drew stories or books I have read. The always make the story so exciting and mysterious. Those kinds of books make me read and read until I have finished the book. This summer i will probably read more Nancy drew books if I can at all because this summer I am going to be really busy.
The Wind on the River
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In this story, the main character is named Griff and he is a soldier in the civil war. During the story he travels all over the place with the Confederates even though originally he was Union soldier. As a Union soldier, he was captured, put in jail by the confederates, and he was trying to make his way to the Gold Rush. The part of the story that touched me the most was that he found out later that most of his friends from the Union, were killed in battle. This touched me because Griff had no one back home and he finally found people he could rely and trust, and they all died except for one man named Willey. Willey only survived because Griff had given him a silver bell to wear around his neck, and when he was fallen on the battlefield, he rang the bell and a fellow Union soldier carried him to safety.
I relate to this story and Griff because I have three siblings and I have to fight for what I want and I can’t really trust anyone of them. None of the lessons in this book really enlightened me but the biggest lesson in this story is that there is always an alternative, other than giving up all the time. If Griff had given up, then he would have died in the confederate prison or in the battlefield.
My favorite book that I read this year was the story “Everything on a Waffle” because it was fun and it got me laughing. Over the summer, I will probably read more advanced books that are about mysteries and murders. These books will probably be from one of my favorite authors, Nora Roberts. Last summer I read her whole Key series and I loved them!
Everything on a Waffle
Polly Horvath
The story is about Primrose, whose last name is not coming up in my head. Her parents were lost at sea and her uncle gets her custody. She had a dog named Mallowmar! Then she is hit by a truck and her pinky toe gets cut off! And people hunting for bears find her parents! In the book there is a fire in the neighborhood. Primrose likes to go to a restaurant called “The Girl on the Red Swing”; every thing you order comes on a waffle! That is why the book is called everything on a waffle! Her uncle used to be in the navy and when he got primrose he moved into the old base next to the gym. She was very happy when her uncle got her. The part where her parents were found really touched me because she was the only one who believed they were alive. If not for her home and power to believe the book would defiantly be different. I also liked the part where her and hre parents reunited it was so happy and it was something she hopped would happen and it did! I think Primrose and alike because we both never stop believing or hoping. So far this is my favorite book because it includes humor and reality and some fiction. I liked the genre but I don’t expect to read this summer………..at least not books anyway!
The Penultimate Peril
The Penultimate Peril. Written by Lemony Snicket. The story takes place in a hotel. This hotel is weird because all the letters on the building are backwards. When the Baudelaire’s first get to the hotel they think the hotel is in the pond in front of it. The hotel is designed like a giant library, with rooms catalogued by the Dewey Decimal System. My favorite part that touched me the most was when the Baudelaires get together after a long day and try to put together their stories, and wonder how the two managers can be in three places at once. Finally, Klaus deduces that a crow will bring the sugar bowl to the Hotel; it will be shot down by the harpoon gun, fall onto the flypaper, and the sugar bowl will fall into the laundry room vent. This was also one of my simularities because if my brother and I are trying to find out a mystery we get together and put our information with the rest of the facts. Of all the books I have read this year the ones I favoried the most was the Series of unfortunate events series. I likes them because usually the only series I read is Harry Potter so it was new to me. Over the Summer I will probably read the last Harry Potter book.
Book Review (Final)
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
The book is the story of a person who has two fathers: the first was his biological father – the poor dad – and the other was the father of a friend he had when he was a kid, Mike – the rich dad. Both fathers taught the him how to achieve success but with very different approaches. He became aware to the him which father’s approach made more financial sense. Throughout the book, the author compares both fathers – their ideas, financial practices, and degree of dynamism and how his real father, the poor and struggling but highly educated man, paled against his rich dad in terms of asset building and business acumen.
The author compares his poor dad to those people who are scampering in the Rat Race, helplessly trapped in a vicious cycle of needing more but never able to satisfy their dreams for wealth because of one glaring lack: financial literacy. They spend so much time in school learning about the problems of the world, but have not acquired any valuable lessons about money, simply because it is never taught in school. His rich dad, by contrast, represents the independently wealthy core of society who deliberately takes advantage of the power of corporations and their personal knowledge of tax and accounting (or that of their financial advisers) which they manipulate to their advantage.
The book’s theme reduces to two fundamental concepts: a can-do attitude and fearless entrepreneurship. The author highlights these two concepts by providing multiple examples for each and focusing on the need for financial literacy, how the power of corporations contribute to making the wealthy even wealthier, minding your own business, overcoming obstacles by not fostering laziness, fear, cynicism and other negative attitudes, and recognizing the characteristics of humans and how their preconceived notions and upbringing hamper their financial freedom goals.
The Maze
By Will Hobbs
Justin Core 2
The story takes place in a town in Utah and Arizona. With a kid named Rick Walder. It begins in court room. Rick is being sentenced for throwing rocks at a stop sign. He is sent to camp for juveniles. He jumps the fence of the camp and hitch hikes all the way form Utah to Arizona. He gets in the back of some guys car and goes to a camp ground. He tries to take the guys car and turns around and gives it back. He tells the guy he was sorry and gives the car back. The guy says, “its okay come here I’ll let you stay with me.” Rick was talking to the man and the guy tells him about the maze. The guy said, “The maze was unsafe.” Rick asked, “If they could work there. The maze was a canyon for people to go and try to find a way out. The maze had workers but no body ever survived going through the maze.
The beginning touched me the most because I know what it feels like to be accused for doing something out of anger.
I know what feels like to move around a lot like he had to move out of the state of Utah just to get away from the cops. I had to move around a lot because of foster care.
Out of all the books I read this year my favorite book has to be Elvis Presley because I really like some of Elvis’s songs. I wanted to know how he died.
A book I hope to read this summer is the fourth Harry Potter book which is called the Goblet of Fire.
Book Reveiw (Final)
I may be somewhat old-fashioned, but I just love The Summer of the Swans. To me, it seems like a perfect book for younger teens. .I have searched the net for other references to this wonderful novel, but for the most part have been disappointed. I see papers by young critics who treat it as a thriller about a girl’s search for her missing brother. That’s part of the story of course, but only a small part. The real focus of the story is about an adolescent girl who learns to grow up. In many ways, she’s a seventies version of Anne of Green Gables and a perfect comparison for that novel.
Sara Godfrey is a girl with many problems: She’s unhappy with her looks; she misunderstands her father’s coldness for a lack of love; she is overly protective of her handicapped brother; she misjudges the motives of everyone around her. The Summer of the Swans is about a summer in which an ugly duckling discovers she may really be a swan. Everything in the book is relevant; there are no wasted scenes. It’s brilliantly written, with clear symbols, foreshadowing, and a serious, sensitive theme.
Hatchet
By: Gary Paulson
Derrick – Core 4
Brian is a 13-year-old boy who is on a plane going to visit his father’s house in Canada for the summer. As the pilot is flying, he has a heart attack leaving Brian to fly the plane by himself. After the pilot’s death, Brian takes the pilot’s radio off his head and tries to radio for help every ten minutes. He finally gets a signal, but then is disconnected and never finds any others. When the plane runs out of gas, Brian flies the plane into a nearby lake.
Over the next few days, Brian is very sore and hungry from the crash. Later, he finds ways to get food by making traps for fish, a bow and arrow to kill rabbits and other game, using his hatchet given to him by his mother just before he got on the plane, and finding edible berries in order to survive in the Canadian wilderness. The book’s setting was in Canada’s wilderness where Brian survives until he is rescued.
One part of the book that I was most touched by was when Brian was finally rescued after he went through surviving in the wild and going back into the submerged plane in order to get the survival pack and the transmitter that brought the rescue plane to save him. Another part of the book that touched me was the pain the pilot went through when he was having the horrible heart attack that killed him.
Some similarities that I see between this book and my life are that Brian and I are both in our teens and are surrounded by the outdoors. That is to say that although Brian was in a much more rural area of Canada compared with Milton, Delaware, I am definitely not in a city.
Out of all of the books that I have read this year, my favorite has been The Series of Unfortunate Events “The End” because it finally summed up the series of 12 books that I had been reading since I had first heard about them. The series had a great story to tell about how three orphan children could survive many unfortunate and tragic events caused by a treacherous villain who was trying to capture them along with their fortune.
This summer I will probably read more of Gary Paulson’s books or other adventure genre. Otherwise, I will try to find another series similar to The Series of Unfortunate Events. These kinds of series’ keep me busy and interested in reading the next book in the series.
Halo Ghosts of Onyx
Eric Nylund
Dustin -Core 3
The book Halo Is about the human race trying to fight against the covenant. The covenant is a group of religious aliens trying to eradicate all life in the universe because they feel they are heretics and are not worthy to be part of the great journey. The great journey is when the covenant move on to true spiritual enlightenment by activating these giant ring worlds called Halos. Halos are weapons of last resort built by an ancient advanced race known as the forerunners to be used against a parasite know as the flood which feast on all things living and turn it into one of them. Halo destroys all living beings in the universe. But the marines are trying to stop the covenant from activating the rings the marines are not alone in this fight. There is an elite group of warriors known as Spartans are biologically enhanced super humans. But there are only a few left so they must create more starting up the Spartan III project. A few of the original Spartans find a artificial planet known as onyx a the same planet they used to train these new Spartans. This planet was built by the forerunners its called sheildworld it was created to be a shelter from the blast of Halo.
A moment in the book that made me think was when one of the Spartan III died by a needler a needler is a covenant weapon that shoots little purple crystals that explode on impact.
Similarities where that the teams of Spartans on in the book were just like my tactics I use when I play games over Xbox live.
Over the summer I will read the next halo novel called contact harvest. This book talks about a marine named sergeant major Avery Johnson and the first encounter with the covenant So the Spartans are not in it.
Final book review
Twilight
By Stephanie Meyer
Twilight is about a girl who goes to live with her father and falls in love with a vampire, Edward. The book is wonderful its full of action, suspense, and drama. The book is fallowed by its sequel “New Moon” and that is fallowed by “Eclipse”. Some of the book characters are Edward, Bella, Alice, Jacob, Mat, and Emmett. Her name is Bella Swan. Her parents got divorced when she was young and used to spend her summers with her dad. Before her and Edward are together she was on her way inside the school a van was going out of control and headed straight for her and Edward pulled her out of the way. He saves her life multiple times.
The part that touched me the most was when she was in the city with some friends and decided to stay in the city while the rest of her friends went for dinner. She was looking for a book store when she got lost and two strange men were following her and when she turned the corner there were two more. Im not going to tell you the details on what happened but Edward drove up and saved her and that’s when he told her what he was. I was touched the most by this part because in the descriptions of the book I could feel how scared she was and how she felt when Edward saved her.
The similarities between me and Bella Swan are that she is incredible clumsy and so am I, you can look at the holes in the knees of my pants for proof. Bella and I have very similar point of views and I can relate to her life very much.
This and the sequels of this book are my favorites. The sequels of “Twilight” are “New Moon” and “Eclipse”. “Eclipse” is the last book so far and comes out in August.
The book I will read this summer is “Eclipse” when it comes out.