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These books have been reviewed by students
and are listed alphabetically by title.
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A Child
Called "It"
Becky
A Child Called "it" by David Pelzer;
is one of the saddest books that I’ve read. This book is also a true story
about David Pelzer’s childhood.
The book is about how he was abused
and his mother would 0play "games," with him. The "games," could get as
worse as him nearly dying. One time she tried to put him on top of the
stove. He managed to out smart her but she was still able to burn his arm.
His mother would also starve him for
days at a time. He began to steal food from the other kid’s lunches, but
the principle eventually caught on and called his mother. She would then
start making him barf, so every day when he came home he had to force
himself to barf.
What disturbed me the most was that
his father never tried to do anything to stop her. He would sometimes
sneak him some food from dinner, but after a while he just stopped. He
also said that one day he would get both of them out of there. But he left
without trying to help David.
If it wasn’t for his courage and
determination, David probably would of never survived. It was also from
the help of his fourth grade teacher and the nurse. His teacher would
notice the markings and question him, but he would just say things, such
as he was clumsy, etc. But after a while of hearing the same thing; the
teacher started to get suspicious.
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Al Capone by Alan McDonald
Greg
I read Al Capone by Alan McDonald. It is
a very good book. It’s a biography about his whole life. It tells about
how he grew up and became in a gang and became very powerful.
I would recommend this book to anyone who
likes action packed biographies, mainly teenagers. You would also like it
if you like comedy. Most of the pictures in it are very funny.
I liked almost everything in this book.
It had cool vocabulary with gang words and funny pictures. Some
vocabulary such as
Al Capone by Alan McDonald
I recently read the book Al Capone and His Gang,
by Alan MacDonald. This was a biography of the famous gangster Alphonse
"Al" Capone. I would give this book 3 stars out of 5. It was a good book,
but it was a bit annoying at times.
Al Capone was probably the most famous gangster of all time. He lived
in Chicago and one of the most powerful gangs in the city. In this book
you find out about the Capone gang, his opposing gangs, and anything else
you could want to know about him. You can find out about the places he
lived and owned and you saw all of the escape routes in case of an attack
or if the police came.
This book was good for younger kids
around eight years old. In the book there are comic type things so you are
finding out information and there is a little bit of humor at the same
time. It was also interesting because there was a gangster dictionary at
the end of each chapter with terms that would be used by gangs such as
rubbing out (killing someone), village tux (bulletproof vest), and screws
(prison guards).
If you are looking for a quick book to
read or if you are looking to read a book about Al Capone I would
recommend this book.
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All American Girl
By Meg Cabot
Sabrina
All American Girl, by Meg Cabot, is the story of an every-day girl, Samantha Madison, who
one day saves the life of the President and becomes a national hero. It
talks about everything she goes through, and how her life takes a total
spin after this occurrence.
I would recommend this book to girls around
thirteen. It is more for girls who like to read about people their
age and things that they can relate to. It is not a book for people
who want a mystery, sport book, or anything about history- but it is a
wonderful book if you’re looking for something new!
I liked so much about this book! It
was a good length, and was not very challenging to understand. I
also liked how there were some lessons included throughout the story.
It talked about family and to be yourself.
As for what I did not like, there is only
so much I can say. I did not like Lucy’s boyfriend, Jack.
(Lucy is Samantha’s older sister.) Jack uses Samantha to try to win
the art contest. He also says mean things about David, Samantha’s
friend.
I can relate
to this story because of Samantha and her two sisters. I am a little bit
like Lucy, in the sense that I like fashion, and all that goes with it. I
am like Samantha, because I am artistic and I like to just be myself, and
not try to change that. I am a little like her younger sister, Megan,
because I am intelligent, although she is a little genius, and I am not,
obviously.
All
American Girl is a great book that a lot of young adults would enjoy!
All
American
Girl
Kaitlyn
All
American Girl by Meg Cabot is a book full
of laughter. Rebel Sam Madison lives in Washington D.C. with her genius
younger sister and popular older sister. After she gets caught selling
celebrity drawings in German class she was punished by being made to go to
art lessons with Susan Boone. Sam thinks that it is running her creative
ability. During her art classes, she meets David. Sam does not know it
then, but David is the president’s son. She thinks that she may like him,
but not more than Josh. Josh was her older sister’s boyfriend that she had
loved forever, or so she thought. Saving the president from death was not
on her mind one afternoon, the afternoon that she had skipped art class.
Her life changed after that, forever. Could she love David when she was in
love with Josh? That question was in her mind for days. Also could she
have fallen out of love with Josh? Now that she pretty much messed
everything up in her life that had to do with the people around her, she
has to struggle to fix it. Should she or could she make all the
problems right? As you read this book, learn how Sam gets
through art class and has dinner with the president. All American Girl
is available in most book stores and in the Easton Library.
All
American
Girl
Cristina
The story begins with Samantha getting caught selling celebrity drawings
in school by her very popular sister, Lucy. Her mom then forces her to
start taking art classes, where she meets a boy named David. David happens
to go to the same school as her sister, Rebecca, the genius.
One day outside the studio, Sam saves
the president by jumping onto his assassin. She becomes an instant
celebrity.
The book is written from Sam’s point of
view, and Cabot, as usual, does an excellent job of doing that. The
characters are all very well developed as well.
The ALA booklist calls it, "Absurdly
far-fetched? Absolutely, but that’s exactly why this is so much fun." You
won’t be able to put it down!
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Among the Brave
Margaret Peterson Haddix
240
pages
Review by Nina
Trey is a third child; in other words, he is illegal. He is
afraid of everything from going outside, to eating the wrong food
because he might get caught by the population police and if he eats too
much, someone will notice. He has never seen anything except the inside
of his room and the inside of Hendrick’s School for Boys, where his
mother left him after his dad died. His two brothers are off at another
boarding school, so this leaves Trey all alone except for his two best
friends, Lee and Nina. One night, Trey finds his way to be brave and
everyone thinks that he is a super hero. If they need something
dangerous to be done they say “Hey, send Trey!” Can Trey handle this
kind of responsibility.
In Among the Brave by Margaret Peterson Haddix, she describes
hardships, struggle and a quest for bravery as Trey conquers his fears
and learns how to be brave. The author also describes what life might
be like in future years if the world ever gets too populated.
Margaret Peterson Haddix has also written many other novels, such as
Among the Hidden, Among the Imposters, Among the Betrayed,
and Among the Barons, along with Among the Brave to
round out the series. Also, Running out of Time is another one
of her books.
I would recommend Among the Brave to anyone of any age. As long
as you are interested in mystery, adventure, and suspense, then you will
love practically all of Margaret Peterson Haddix’s books! I thoroughly
enjoyed this book because it was fast paced and kept me reading. Never
once did I want to put the book down. It is very suspenseful and has a
great plot. The story line is great! I hope that you will try this
book, but before you read it you have to read the rest of the books in
this series. These are the following (in order):
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Among the Hidden
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Among the Imposters
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Among the Betrayed
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Among the Barons
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Among the Brave
Enjoy! |
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Among the Hidden
Paul
I have currently finished a book, Among the Hidden written by
Margaret Peterson Haddux. I think that this book was very suspenseful and
it was the kind of book that I couldn’t put down. I really like this book
because Luke, the main character has to stay hidden because a family can
only have two children because of the food supply. So Luke has to stay
hidden just in case the population police come by to see if they have more
than two children.
Luke is used
to going outside and playing in the woods, but when the government tears
down their woods and puts up houses, Luke must stay inside at all times.
Luke notices
one day that there is a “shadow child” next door and takes risks and runs
over to the house. He finds that there is a third child, a girl, and his
age. Over time Luke becomes good friends with the girl named Jen.
Jen decides that she wants to go in front of the president’s
house and have a protest. Jen plans to drive her parent’s car there and to
meet all of the third children there. She asks Luke if he wants to go and
he turns her down. When Jen goes to the white house what will happen to
her and all the other shadow children? All of your questions will be
answered when you read this book.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense and
whoever likes to read books because you will love this book. You will not
be able to put this book down. If I were to rate this book I would give it
5 stars. It was great!
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Among
the Imposters
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Alladin Paperbacks; 2003; 172 pages
Review by C.B. - 2004-2005
In this current-day novel, “Among
the Imposters”, Luke Garner has been sent to Hendricks School for Boys,
a small private school tucked away in the woods. Luke, a 12-year old
boy, has to take on a new identity (“Lee Grant”) in order to survive,
since he is the third of three children in a family, and the government
does not allow more than two children per family. If caught, Luke and
all of the other “shadow children” could be killed by the Population
Police. The Population Police is a group of people who try to find
third children and then either put them in jail or kill them.
While at school, Luke lives in
constant fear of being caught. With the people Luke meets at school,
Luke has to carefully decide who are his friends and who might be his
betrayers. Three students Luke spends a lot of time with are: Jason,
who is always bullying Luke, and Trey and Nina, two followers of Jason.
As time goes on, Luke uncovers a startling secret of many of the other
students at Hendricks. While at Hendricks, Luke gradually finds out
that he is not the only shadow child and imposter. The Population
Police are on a serious mission to hunt them down.
This second book in the shadow
children series is without a doubt a page turner. I think this is
because the danger Luke faces seems so genuine, and this book is full of
surprises, right up to the end. Also, since I am almost the same age as
Luke, I feel like I was walking in Luke’s shoes, feeling the danger.
Suspenseful novels, such as “Among
the Imposters”, are appealing to me. I would highly recommend this
thrilling, high drama book to ages 9 – 109. It is suggested that you do
this after reading the first book in the shadow children series, “Among
the Hidden”. I found this book better than the first book in the
series, maybe because the reader gets to know Luke even better. Also,
the drama which sometimes seems life-threatening, seems so believable.
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And Then There Were None
Lauren
Ten strangers
are trapped on a mysterious island. One of them is a murderer and is
slowly killing the other people on the island. There is nothing to help
the other nine solve the mystery but their own intuition. This is what
Agatha Christie’s mystery novel And Then There Were None is all
about.
The story is full of suspense. Just when the reader thinks they know who
the murderer is, that person is killed, and the reader must start picking
up clues all over again. As a matter of fact, the murderer isn’t revealed
until the very last page of the story. A specific example of suspense is
when a woman on the island named Vera Claythorne hears a suspicious noise.
“Suddenly, she stiffened to attention. She had heard a sound. It was, she
thought, a sound like breaking glass. And it came from somewhere
downstairs.”
The book includes wonderful description. For example, the reader can just
picture Vera’s room- “A perfect bedroom decorated throughout in the modern
style. Off-white rugs on the gleaming parquet floor- faintly tinted walls-
a long mirror surrounded by lights.” Another good description is when a
character named Anthony Marston enters the story. “He touched the horn and
a great roar of sound echoed from the rocks of the bay.”
Of course, the title is brilliant by itself. One can only guess what it
means, and can’t help but think, And then there were none of what?
Even the previous title, Ten Little Indians, makes one wonder what
the book is exactly about.
In my opinion, And Then There Were None is the best mystery novel
I’ve read. Although the beginning is a bit confusing, when the action
starts, the reader can’t put the book down. I would recommend this book to
a more teenage and adult audience only because some scenes may be hard to
understand for some young children.
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Artemis Fowl
The
Eternity Code: By Eoin Colfer
Cristina
Aurum Est Potestas,
Gold is power. In the third book in the Artemis Fowl series,
Artemis’s father has come back, but instead of going back to being a
criminal he wants to go straight. If you’ve read the other two books,
you’d know that Artemis isn’t too happy with this, and he isn’t any
happier when Butler, his bodyguard, is shot and his invention is stolen.
To save Butler and the C Cube, his supercomputer, he calls upon the aid of
the fairies. But there are things even fairies can’t do.
I really like Eoin Colfer’s ability to write such a great action,
violence, and suspense packed book. For instance, Artemis is trying to
escape from the Spiro tower and you think that everything’s going just
fine. Except that’s only what Colfer wants you to think. So now there’s
this big problem and you think that that’s the end for Artemis. Luckily,
Artemis knew exactly what was going to happen and has a backup plan. From
beginning to end this book has unbelievable suspense, along with
foreshadowing and cliffhangers.
A great novel for kids ages
eleven and up, this book is a must read!
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