August 2007

Realistic Fiction

 

The Aurora County All-Stars, written by Deborah Wiles, is an extraordinary book. This is Deborah Wiles' third book, after Each Little Bird That Sings and Love, Ruby Lavender and all three are set in the same small town ("Halleluia") and feature many of the same characters. Having loved the other two books, I truly enjoyed reading more about the people I'd come to love.

 

The main character of this story is a baseball-obsessed boy named "House" who had to spend all of last year sitting on the sidelines because of a broken elbow. Nothing is going to keep him from playing in the big All-Star game this summer, nothing that is except the town's 200th anniversary pageant, which ends up being scheduled for the same EXACT time. The pageant is the biggest event ever to hit Aurora County, and all of the moms insist that the boys skip the game to attend the pageant. The pageant is being directed by the dramatic, bossy 14-year-old girl "Finesse" who was the one who broke House's arm last year. This time she's twisting it to get him and all the others to be in her production. Can everybody get what they want this year?

 

Deborah Wiles answer to that question is both funny and sad, with many touching moments that includes poetry by Walt Whitman. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I couldn't put this book down until I was finished. Now I miss all the characters of Halleluia so much that I hope she writes another book very soon!

May 2008

Fiction

 

Savvy, written by Ingrid Law is a truly incredible book, with a huge variety of emotions swimming all throughout the book. Mibs Beaumont is just about to become 13 years old. In a normal family, that would just mean a party and some presents. But in the Beaumont family, it means something completely different. You see, when a Beaumont turns 13, they develop a special power, or as they call it, a savvy.

 

But the day before Mibs' special day, her Papa gets in a terrible car accident. After that Mibs doesn't dream of powerful savvys anymore, she just hopes for something that will save Papa. Mibs sneaks away her birthday party and the people watching over her and her two brothers to try a find a way to Papa. She boards a bus for the town of Salina, where her Papa is, but doesn't end up where she hopes to be at all. The bus ends up going in the other directions, and now Mibs must find a way to get back to Salina.

 

Mibs and her friends meet some kind and cruel people along the way. In her struggle to get back to Salina, Mibs must also try and figure out her savvy and how to use it.

by Kieran Scott

2008

Realistic Fiction

 

 

KJ Miller wants nothing more than to get rid of her “geek” guy-friends, who follow her around everywhere. In her opinion, they may be nice, but are also extremely annoying and make it almost impossible for the popular Cameron Richardson to notice her. So, when she meets Tama Gold, the popular queen, she thinks she finally has the perfect solution to all of her problems. Tama’s technique of “getting rid of geeks” is not all it seems, however. Geek Magnet is cleverly formatted as if it were a play, which corresponds to Grease, the play KJ and her friends are performing. It is a great book for light, fun reading and relates to high school social classes, as well.

 

Even if you don't like science fiction this is a great book. The souls have taken over earth and only a few rebel humans are left over. So when a soul named Wanderer takes the host body of one of the former adult rebels, she's in for a suprise. Her host body whose name is Melanie, won't let her body and mind be left to be taken over by Wanderer. Wanderer eventually gives into Melanie and they share her body, with Wanderer doing most of the bigger things. Wanderer and Melanie eventually stumble upon a group of rebel humans, a few of which Melanie know. The humans don't trust them because they know that they could be led to seekers to be infected with a soul. They lock Wanderer/Melanie up and it seems like they will never see the light of day again. What will happen to Wanderer and Melanie now?

 

 let me tell you, the title says it all! and this is the first book of the series so it's incomplete

 

Quest is a war hero, specifically a super hero with no record or memory of his past, was unjustly blamed and banned from the kingdom after a large battle fought for the king. now, 20 years later, the king's snobby 11 year old son, Nestor, comes to him and claims that he and Quest must search for a mythical weapon that was said to decide the fate of the world, and he Nestor, is the only one who can find it. now some of the most villainous creatures in the land are being sent by their dark lord to bring the boy back. Quest, now reluctantly must help the boy and save the very kingdom that banished him 20 years before. but the more trying obstacle Quest and Nestor seem to face is trying not to kill each other first.

 

 If you like fantasy and adventure get this graphic novel!!!
Telly Kade is an average teen living in the 23rd century where everything is virtual reality and done by computers. She has no friends in her real life but in the zone she's happy and content with her two closest friends, Nekocat and Kimmie66. That is, until she receives a suicide note from her best friend, Kimmie66, claiming that she's going to drown herself in the fishtank. The note says that since Telly's the only one that cared; she's the only one that knows. But strange things are going on in the zone; something not right and unnatural, all being done by someone who calls herself Kimmie66. Now in a race to find answers, Telly and Nekocat must team up with another zone gamer called Coil and travel to unknown zones to find out what Kimmie66 had hidden from them all this time.  Unmasking the truth is a scary and nerve wrecking experience Telly can't live down and must face herself in order to live.

 

Princess Ben is about a teenager whose parents are murdered while away. Ben (Benevolence)’s father was the brother of a king who was also murdered at this incident. Ben is sent to her uncle’s castle, now ruled by his wife, Queen Sophia. Since Queen Sophia has no children of her own, Ben must train to become an amazing princess, and she is planning to make it has hard as possible for her aunt, and everybody else. One day, after Ben has been beaten by the queen, she stumbles upon an enchanted room, where she trains with magic. Soon, Queen Sophia wants Ben married and it’s all Ben can do to keep her secret a secret. Then it is time for the ball, and Ben starts having an amazing adventure…

 

Name: S.

Grade: 6

Title: The Slippery Map

Author: N. E. Bode

Month/Year of Publication: 2007

Genre: Adventure/Fantasy

 

The Slippery Map is about a boy named Oyster R. Motel who lives in a nunnery and desperately needs something fun to do. One day, when he and Ms. Fishback are going to get Oyster's tooth fixed, a whole new adventure begins. He is sucked into a whole new world where there are creatures called Perths. These Perths need help to defeat the evil Dark Mouth who currently rules the land. Oyster's parents are prisoners in Dark Mark's home and it is Oyster's duty to save them. Join him in this amazing adventure and see what happens at the end! I really enjoyed this book because I felt that it really put me in a "position", I was right there with the character. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, but mostly geared to middle school kids.