The Angel of Death Review by Jeannette P.

 

Ferguson, Alane.  The Angel of Death. Puffin Books, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0142410875

 FIC FER

This book talks about the death of a teacher and the personal life of Cameryn. Cameryn wants to be forensic like her dad but her dad don’t think she should do it because this is a hard work, but she don’t care. Then killed her teacher she cannot believe that someone murderer and then everyone starts to investigate the death and seek and seek and find no supporting evidence; or anything or everything is complicated but also Cameryn will soon be reunited with her mother who already has a lot of time without seeing her but she says she does not want h her mother is no longer in her life their relationship is really complicate but her mother love Her,  at the end of all the murderer turns out to be Cameryn’s boyfriend  who according to the murderer because the teacher had no family also confesses that her father is an important woman in your life with whom to start a new life and she feels bad because she was hoping that her parents back together and now never could. At the end of the story the mother is visiting and she was very excited and wants to get something but not sure if she liked her mother.

The purpose of this book is to find the murderer of Cameryn teacher and was reunited with his mother. This book is very interesting for me because I like the suspense of a mystery and this story has much suspense. I think the most interesting moments are when the murderer confesses and was demonstrated Cameryn excited about the reunion with his mother.

I really liked this book because my life is like in the sense Cameryn and her mother and I reunited with my mother grabs a few months till I really like this book is very interesting since it starts reading.

I think if the author achieved the purpose of the story, I loved reading this book. Writing the text was very powerful. The strengths for this book I think were the suspense. This book is excellent, I like it. This book I think is very interesting. I recommend this book to all those who like the suspense of a story.

Hunger Games Review by Michael L.

Collins, Suzanne.  Hunger Games. Scholastic Press.  2008.  ISBN-13: 978-0439023481

The book I am reviewing is the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games book is  about a girl named Katniss who lives in a country called Panem  in the ruins of North America. She is picked to fight in an arena that considered a game in the country she lives. There are twelve districts and they pick one boy and one girl from each district. Katniss’s little sister Prim is picked and Katniss volunteers to go in Prim’s place. The book tells about how she survives the arena and the people she meet along the way in the struggle.

In my opinion this book has been very successful because it was on the New York Times list for a very long time and a movie is currently being made about it. The book is well written and not too hard to understand. The book’s strength are the chapters where she was fighting but the dialogue was lacking a little bit. There were also parts where her and her love interest got a little repetitive. Collins spent a little too much time on flashbacks, for example when she got some food from someone, or when she talks about getting a pet goat. In conclusion, this book is a great read and the books go progressively better throughout the trilogy.

Fahrenheit 451 Review by Devin H.

 Bradbury, Ray.  Fahrenheit 451. Simon and Shuster. Reprint 2011. ISBN-13: 978-1451673319

FIC SMI

The story is about a man named Guy Montag. He is a fireman and his job is to burn books and the houses that have them. He enjoys his life until he meets his new neighbor. She tells him of a time when people were not afraid. Then He starts to think, and he gets a burden secret. He talks to a professor and learns the truth.   This was a good book. It is definitely a reflection of our society shaping today. A story of love, suspense, action, and an example of what we could be. I suggest this book to anyone who likes to learn and who actually cares to read.  It  is a a good book in my opinion.

The Inheritance Review by Destini A

Alcott, Louisa May.  The Inheritance.  Penguin Books.  2008. ISBN-13: 978-0140436662.

This book is mainly starting off as a rag to riches ramble in the life of orphan Edith Adelon, who is taken in by Lord and Lady Hamilton to serve as a companion to their young daughter, Amy. When lord Hamilton dies, Edith is treated as a servant in the household. This is built on the premise that birth into a family of wealth and high social position empowers the individual, and the main question is how young Edith can find her true happiness and place. This story was took place in the nineteenth century. What I found most interesting in this book is that Edith has outstanding qualities. These qualities are what made her stand out to Lady Hamilton, and she then became fiercely attached to the Hamilton’s. Although, she feels a keen sense of loneliness, this I can closely relate to because moving a lot and having to get used to a new environment can be quite a struggle. Especially when you feel like an outsider, but she still stands her ground and make do with what she can.

I felt as though the other definitely achieved its purpose in writing this book. She made you really be able to connect with the main character Edith, and feel her desperate need to fit in and find her place. This writing was effective and powerful, it’s striking to see how strong Edith really is. I fell in love with this book and certainly encourage other to read it too!

A Hero Ain’t Nothing but a Sandwich (Student Review by Christian F.)

 

Childress, Alice.  A Hero Ain’t Nothing but a Sandwich.  Puffin Books.  November 2001. ISBN-13: 978-0698118546.

A Hero Ain’t Nothing but a Sandwich may be a little wacky of a name, but it is an eye-opening and riveting tale.   Benjie is a teen age drug attic living in the Bronx in the 1970s.  The book shows how his life and his decisions affect his family, friends, and school life.   This novel is sad, but there is just so much truth to it.  I think a lot of people can relate to this tale to some degree.  It shows racial  and drug issues in school (Students pop pills at lunch, including Benjie).  It also recognizes how his mother is dealing with having a 13 year old drug attic.  I recommend everyone read this.  There’s a good message in it,  and it really will open some eyes on what life was and in some cases is still like for some very unfortunate folks.  It can get you teary eyed at times, but your more intrigued about what’s going to happen next.  Is Benjie going to straighten up? Can he ever get clean?  How will the Caucasian teachers make peace with the African-American ones?  Read the book and find out.  I promise you won’t be let down.

The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

Lore, Pittacus.  The Power of Six.  HarperCollins Publishers.  August 23, 2011. ISBN: 0061974552.   FIC LOR.

The Power of Six is the sequel to I am Number Four and the next installment in the Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore.   If  you are not a fan of alien SciFi, this book will still grab your attention and and take you on a great adventure.  This book starts where the first book let off.  Sam, Six and Four are on the run from the Mogs, and the  FBI is after them for what went happened in Paradise, Ohio.  This  trio  try to uncover the secrets to their past. while trying to stay alive to be able  to figure out their future in Loric.  The The Power of Six also introduces a new Garde character Seven or Marina.  She narrates her journey where she’s hiding out in a small Spanish village.  Her Cepan has abandon her responsibilities of training Seven for survival, but that doesn’t stop this determined character of discovering her legacies and trying to locate her inheritance. What unfolds is a series of dangerous encounters between members of the Garde and Mogs and lots of action that keeps you glued to the edge of your seat.  I will not leak too much about the romance factor in the book, but let’s just say that sparks fly for Four for a new girl and awkward love triangle develops!  Also new and unexpected members of  the Garde are introduced as well!

I usually do not like a second book better than the first, but I must say this work is much more riveting!  I read the book very quickly because of its intense action and plot twists!  If you were not a big fan of I Am Number Four, please give The Power of Six a try!

Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

Brashares, Ann.  Sisterhood Everlasting.  Random House.  June 2011.  ISBN: 978-0385521222

The jeans are long gone, but the sisterhood is everlasting.   Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood (2007) ended almost a decade ago as Lena, Carmen, Bridget and Tibby completed their freshman year of college. Ann Brashare’s latest book Sisterhood Everlasting picks up with the characters a generation has grown to love.  Now approaching 30, the four friends are struggling as individuals as well as a group.  They all feel they are missing something significant in their lives.   In San Francisco, Bridget avoids committing to immigration lawyer Eric. Lena lives alone in near poverty and isolation in Providence, where she teaches art. She still pines for her lost love Kostos.  Acting in a TV police drama, practically anorexic Carmen’s  career has taken off and she is engaged to an ABC executive no one seems to like. The three have not heard much from Tibby since she moved to Australia with  Brian a few years ago. Then unexpectedly Tibby sends tickets for a reunion on the Greek island of Santorini, where they have already shared so much.  What happens in Greece shakes the women to the core, and the rest of the book is spent exploring its impact and following each one as she rediscovers herself.  I really cannot say more without ruining this book. This is not a young teen book. These characters are adults now and adult themes are prevalent in this book.  I was disappointed in  more than a few ways.  I did not think they sounded like the adults they are, and I think they have changed too much from their former selves–with the exception on Bee.  If this was a standalone book, I would have never finished it.  I only stayed with it because of the characters I had grown to know in the previous books.  Sorry!

Paper Towns by John Green

 

Green, John. Paper Towns. Penguin. October 2008. ISBN: 978-0-525-47818-8

Quentin Jacobsen (aka Q.) is a high school senior in love with his childhood friend, Margo Roth Spiegelman, who drifted apart from him after a somewhat traumatic childhood incident and ditched him for “cooler” friends. One night, she appears dressed all in black at his bedroom window, asking him to join her on an all-night, score-settling spree which includes catfish, Sea World, and Mountain Dew. The next day, however, Margo is gone, leaving only a mysterious trail of clues for Q to follow. It is now Quentin’s  mission to find out if she’s run away or committed suicide.  In his search Q. learns more about who the real Margo is–not the person he’s imagined her to be.

The characters were a bit flat but they still were interesting.  The typical high school clique characters are all here.  I particularly liked the loveable geeks, Radar and Ben.  The Bloody Ben story and the Santa collection plot is so weird and dorky but so funny!  The plot weaves about a bit confusingly, but that pretty sums up adolescence.  The  plot alternates from funny to dark and then humorous again.  Just when I thought it could not get any darker, Green lightens the mood with a particularly funny phrase or turn of words. It is Green’s use of literary allusions, Walt Whitman poems, metaphors, and intelligent wit that makes this novel a joy to read!  I know–I cannot help it!  It is the English teacher coming out of me! I also liked the double cover with the two different looks and moods of Margo!

Witch and Wizard by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

Because I am an avid Harry Potter fan, I was really excited about the new series by James Patterson that was supposed to be the next great wizardry book. I have to admit that I was disappointed.  Whit and Wisty Allgood find their lives turned upside and separated from their parents in just a night.  They find themselves in a prison with no idea of why are there.  The government has seized control of everything and kids are disappearing.  What does the New Order want from them and why do the officials keep accusing them of having special powers? Now facing execution for being witch and wizard, Whit and Wisty must try to figure out their powers while trying to save themselves, their parents, and the world from the evil “leader, The One Who is the One.”

Well, I guess the best way to start is to say that I like James Patterson books (Maximum Ride series) and I think he is great writer.  However, this one just does not capture my imagination.  I found the plot predictable and unexciting.   The characters were flat and the dialogue not realistic for teenagers today.  I kept reading because I wanted it to get better, but I never was drawn into Whit and Wisty’s world.  I did not feel a part of the book or the magic like I do in other fantasy books. Maybe the sequel The Gift will do that for me!  I will let you know!

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Warped by Maurissa Guibord

337 pp.  Delacorte Press (Random House Children’s Books)  2011 ISBN: 978-0-385-73891-0

Summary (From the author’s website): Tessa Brody doesn’t believe in magic. Or Fate. But there is definitely something weird about the dusty unicorn tapestry that she discovers in a box of old books. The wild, handsome creature woven within it draws Tessa, and frightens her too.

Soon after the tapestry comes into her possession strange things begin to happen. Tessa experiences vivid dreams of the past and scenes from a brutal hunt. When she accidentally pulls a thread from the tapestry, Tessa releases a terrible secret-one that has been contained for centuries. She also meets William de Chaucy, a young sixteenth-century nobleman with gorgeous eyes, an odd accent and haughty attitude to spare. His fate is as inextricably tied to the tapestry as Tessa’s own. “His Lordship” is pretty hard to get along with but equally hard to resist.

Together with Will, Tessa must correct the wrongs of the past to defeat a cruel and crafty ancient enemy.

But what is she willing to sacrifice in order to do it?

Review:   I must admit that castles and unicorns are not topics I usually go for in a good read!  However, I felt that the rest of the plot made up for this main thread of the novel!  Thread–get it!   🙂  Do you believe in fate?  Can you stop it?  Are we controlled by forces we don’t understand, or do we have free will?  These are just a few of the questions that this new author asks.  Maurissa Guibord, like Madeleine L’Engle before her, explores time wrinkles.  Tessa just wants everything to go back to the way it used to be, but nothing is the same after she discovers and pulls the loose thread in the old unicorn tapestry. Never does she expect to have a handsome Brit drop into her life, nor does Tessa think she will ever have to fight for her own survival in this world as well as  another.  The characters are well-defined, but the dialogue seems to be unrealistic for a teenager today.  I would recommend the book for anyone who likes fantasy romance.  This read brings a woven plot that is guaranteed to stay with you for  awhile. Sorry, I could not resist another pun.

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