The Chronicles of Avantia First Hero

           Title: The Chronicles of Avantia First Hero

   Author: Adam Blade

   Pages: 155

   Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

   Age Recommendation: 5th grade or lower

   On the back: Firepos had been a patient trainer. Tanner wasn't sure what he was being trained for, and when he tried to ask, his Beast would close her eyes and wait for the questions to cease. For a long while he hadn't been sure if Firepos understood him, until he realized that she could read his thoughts.
      He learned how to hold on to the Beasts back during her steepest dives, how to live on a mountainside without dying of exposure, and where to hunt in the most barren places. He was no longer the skinny seven-year-old who'd watched his father die. He was stronger now, in body and spirit. Firepos had taught him how to survive.

Plot: Tanner enjoyed his life living with is grandmother, Esme, and getting trained by his beast, Firepos, but he knew one day he would be called to action. Then a person named General Gor and his huge army came to his town, Forton. He wanted the Mask of Death that was said to be able to control all the beasts of Avantia. Will Tanner and Firepos be able to stop General Gor? Or will his army take Tanner and his hometown down?

Review: I was recommended this book my Ms. Plisko( my language arts teacher) to see if the book was at a 7th grade level. In my opinion the book was at a 5th grade level or lower, because it sticks with the themes of beasts, soldiers, and warriors, which seem to be below a 7th grade level. None-the-less I felt this was a really good book. I was interested and focused on the book the whole time. I can't say one time during the book that it got dull and not an enjoyable read anymore. I really enjoyed all the characters (my favorites the beasts) and I wanted to see the other beasts that would be in the next stories in the series like Nera and Falkor. One problem I had with the book is I wish there was more of a background story. I wish the author let me know more on how Firepos trained Tanner and how Derthsin started. Overall, this was a very good story, even though I think it was not at our 7th grade level. If another one came out in the series, I would be one of the first one to grab and read it.

                                                                     Casey Lowe

Stargirl

Title: Stargirl

Author: Jerry Spinelli

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf (Random House) in 2000

Pages: 186

On the back: She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl. We did not know what to make of her. In our minds we tried to pin her to a corkboard like a butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew.

Age recommendation: 10 & up

Plot: In Mica High, everyone is talking about the new girl. And what does she call herself? Stargirl. She's not real. She's not real. This is what echoes through the minds of the students as they watch her wacky activities, like strumming her ukulele in lunch, and dancing in the rain. Maybe everyone else thinks she's not real, but Leo Borlock knows otherwise. But somehow, everything turns out wrong, with the students not willing to accept Stargirl's differences, and Leo is left trying to piece everything back together.

Review: Stargirl really spoke to me. It is all about individuality, and never changing yourself just so others will be content. It tells you that you can change things, and leave your mark on the world, even if others are against you.
Stargirl is a girl that comes from home-schooling to Mica High. She wears floor-length skirts, strums her ukulele to wish people happy birthdays at lunch, sets up a vase with a flower in it on her desk each day, and cheers for both basketball teams. To put it simply, Stargirl is a shock to everyone at Mica High.
Leo Borlock becomes interested in the girl, and finds that everything she does has meaning. She purposely drops coins on the sidewalk, hoping that some little kid will come along, pick it up, and will have a smile on his face. She reads the newspaper “fillers”, to try to find out about what the local people will need in order for their day to be fantastic. Never once does she think about herself.
Stargirl may not be connected to the people, but she is connected to the earth, and to thought. She absorbs all of the ideas, all of the wonderments, all of the puzzles the world has to offer. Stargirl enjoys life as an individual, and lives life to the fullest.
Leo, however, is having his doubts when he becomes Stargirl’s boyfriend. He soon realizes that he will not be able to keep both Stargirl’s, and the students at school’s affections. He has to choose, and when he finally does, it is too late.
Stargirl is a beautiful book, and will inspire everyone who reads its words.

Title: Brightly Woven

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Publisher: EgmontUSA (March 23, 2010)

Pages: 368

First sentence “The day the rains finally came was like any other, with blistering air coating the canyon in a heavy stillness. “

Age Recommendation: 13 and up

Star Rating: 5/5

Plot: When the handsome wizard Wayland North diminishes the drought that has been dragging down Sydelle Mirabel’s village for 10 years, the citizens are more than thankful. So thankful, that they offer up anything the young wizard could possibly want. He chooses Sydelle. Off they start on their epic adventure, annoying the bits out of each other along the way, but Wayland isn’t being completely honest with Sydelle or himself. He knows a secret about her that (putting in bluntly) could destroy the world. Talk about pressure.

Review: Books that can make you cry, laugh, swoon, and occasionally chuck them at the wall is amazing in my opinion. When reading, I feel that it very important to be able to directly connect with each character and feel what they feel. Well, I can tell you Sydelle and I were on the same page (no pun intended) throughout the whole book. Not once did I feel out of the loop when characters were conversing or during any scenes. Bracken presents readers with a fantastical world with plenty of attractive wizards to protect it. So when I say 5/5, I really meant 100/5.

Hannah ♥

Across the Universe

Title: Across The Universe
Author: Beth Revis
Publisher: RAZORBILL
Age Recommendation: 12 and Up
Star Rating: 5/5

Plot: When Amy sinks into the ice of her cryo chamber on the Project Ark Ship, she plans to land in her new home 300 years in the future and assist her parents in creating the ideal new Earth. Waken 50 years early, that plan is no longer feasible. Amy was unplugged.
Elder is the next leader of the Godspeed spacecraft, due to begin his reign ate passing of the current dictator, Eldest. His duty is to protect the passengers aboard the ship through tyranny. He was the one who unplugged the girl with the fiery hair in the cryo chamber.
When chaos begins to erupt and shatters the ships perfect order, the pair must determine if peace is really the product of the tainted spacecraft; and if it's not, how to overthrow Eldest.

Review: Across the Universe is a rare perfection of a novel. Composed of irreplaceable poetic elements, a fragile, budding, romance, and a riot that could put existence in jeopardy; Revis has created a sci-fi work to battle that of  it's predecessors.  This modern take on the genre offers something fresh and real: delivering such an image that leaves a battle between fact and imagination.
5 Stars hardly summarizes how easy this novel was to fall for.

-Rachel

The Eleventh Plague (Advanced Reading Copy)

Title: The Eleventh Plague
Author: Jeff Hirsch
Ages: 12 and up
Publication Date: September 2011


Plot:

The Eleventh Plague:  a deadly strain of flu released by the Chinese government on the United States in response to nuclear war.  It all happened nearly twenty years ago—the Collapse.  Now the people of America are no longer united: no government, no police force, no form of currency.  No electricity, or running water, no grocery stores, or medical facilities.  Survivors and doing just that-- surviving.  Some have formed small towns, scattered throughout the now vast landscape; others salvage, trading whatever small valuables they come across for food, clothing, or weapons. Militant groups and Slavers also exist, threatening the freedom and well being of anyone they come across. 

Fifteen year old Stephen Quinn, his father, and his grandfather are salvagers, constantly on the move, north to south, searching for items worth trading.  Stephen has learned to trust no one, because his grandfather trusted no one.  It was his grandfather’s coldhearted survival instincts, after all, that had gotten them through so much over the past years since the Collapse.

But that’s all about to change.  Stephen’s grandfather has died, and now it’s just father and son who are left to continue on their own. But only twenty-four hour later, as Stephen and his dad attempt to rescue a woman and child who have been captured by slavers, Mr. Quinn falls down a gorge and into a raging river. Knocked unconscious from a serious head wound, Mr. Quinn slips into a coma, and Stephen has no choice but to trust a group of men who promise shelter and medical attention at Settler’s Landing—a small, protected town where they live. 

Settler’s Landing.  The closest thing to a “normal” community since before the Collapse.  Houses—real houses that survived the war, a school house where students read novels and textbooks salvaged by community members, a park with swings and a baseball diamond.  It’s a place where people work together to survive; a place that welcomes few strangers.  Yet they take in Stephen and his dad, who remains in a coma. Stephen has never known any other life other than salvaging, and he struggles to let his guard down, even as Marcus and Violet Green open their home to them, even as Violet- a nurse before the Collapse- tends to his father, even as the other teenagers in the community try to make him feel welcome.

Stephen soon has two problems: Will Henry, a vengeful teen who wants nothing more than to get Stephen and his dad thrown out of town, and Jenny, a smart-mouthed girl who gets Stephen into as much trouble as she does getting him out of trouble-- and he can't help but be attracted to her.  So when Will goes too far with his taunts and accusations, Stephen and Jenny plan a prank that goes horribly wrong, bringing far more danger to the tiny community than it can handle.  Now Stephen must make a choice between leaving, and living the kind of life that he’s only known, or staying to fight for a life that might be possible.

Review:

Suzanne Collins describes this book as one that “hits disturbingly close to home.”  She’s right.  This book made me wonder if our world really could fall apart so devastatingly easy, and it made me appreciate all the things that many of us take for granted, like opening the refrigerator to pull out a cold soda, or turning on the faucet to take a warm bath, or flicking a switch to turn on the lights at night. Hirsch’s writing is so precise and well crafted that it pulled me into the story by paragraph one.  Imagine having to bury your grandfather while, at the same time, wondering if you should remove his gold ring to later trade for food or bullets.  Imagine growing up and seeing dilapidated shopping malls, amusement parks, and McDonald’s restaurants without ever knowing what it must have been like before.  Imagine always having to be on the move, on the lookout, to never have slept in a real bed, or go to the movie theatre, or play baseball with your friends.

The world that Jeff Hirsch has created in this novel is captivating, and the relationships that he creates between Stephen Quinn and the other teens at Settler’s Landing are realistic, poignant, and entertaining.  I can’t wait to share this novel with my students this fall.  Oh, and the cover rocks!

--Ms. Plisko

Wonderstruck (advanced reading copy)

Title: Wonderstruck

Author: Brian Selznick

Ages: 9 and up

Advanced Reading Copy
Release Date: September 2011

Plot:
This novel contains two stories, each told from the viewpoint of two people, Ben and Rose.  Set fifty years apart, in two different locations, Ben's story is told in words, and Rose's story is told in illustrations.  Both stories intertwine, giving the reader insight into the past and present of both characters.  Ben, a young teen who has just lost his mother, longs to learn about a father he has never known.  Rose, born deaf, longs for her mother's attention and to have a life outside the protective confines of her home.  With twists and turns of discovery, both characters make their way to New York City, which is the beginning of how Rose's life in 1927 will eventually affect Ben's life in 1977.

Review:
Wow.  I love when this is the first thought I have when I close a book at the end of its story. I don't know what impressed me more, the illustrations, the combination of one story told in words offset by another told in illustrations, or the intertwining story line.  Okay, it was all three.  And because of all three, I couldn't put the novel down...I sat and finished it from cover to cover in one sitting...what a great way to spend an afternoon! The illustrations are absolutely beautiful; there's something about the black and white effects of pencil sketches that draws the eye to study them. There is one illustration toward the end of the novel that depicts a "Cabinet of Wonders," an early form of a museum. I think I stared at the double page picture of this beginning museum for nearly fifteen minutes-- there was so much to look at.

When this novel first arrived in my class room I showed it off to my students and it was immediately snatched up by two girls who wanted to see if they could figure out Rose's story by simply studying the pictures.  Their conclusion about her story was pretty accurate, I must say.

A definite must read, and a must see!

--Ms. Plisko

Ms. Plisko's Summer Reading

I dream of summer for one thing: reading a wonderful book under a shady tree.  Okay, maybe that's two things. I have a pile of advanced reading copies just waiting for me to open, and I can't wait to get started.  Here they are, in no particular order:


Circle of Secrets by Kimberley Griffiths Little
Wonder Struck by Brian Selznick
Floors by Patrick Carman
Sound Bender by Lin Oliver and Theo Baker
The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch
Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter
Flyaway by Lucy Christopher
A Web of Air by Philip Reeve
Consumed by Kate Cann
Six Days by Philip Webb
Icefall by Matthew Kirby


Phew!  First up will be, I think, Circle of Secrets....I love a book set in the south....


--Ms. Plisko

Dead Is The New Black

Author: Marlene Perez
Age Recommendation: 11 and Up
Star Rating: 5/5 

Plot: Daisy Giordano has always felt like the odd one out. In a town 'chock-full of the unknown, the unusual, the unexpected' and in a family of gifted psychics, Daisy is normal. No telepathy, no telekinesis, no special powers or secret identities -- just unruly hair and a talent for cookery. When her mother asks her older sister Rose for help with a case it's the final straw for Daisy. She's going to prove that she can help solve crimes too, powers or no.

Only with cheerleaders dropping like flies and the "Divine" Devereaux, head cheerleader and Daisy's arch-enemy, reinventing herself as a gothic fashion-plate over the summer, that might not be as easy as Daisy hoped. Luckily she has some skills that even she doesn't know she possesses and she can always depend on Ryan, son of the local police chief and maybe more than a friend to Daisy, to help her investigate.


Review: Ever since I was younger I never enjoyed reading. I could never understand how someone could be so hooked on one book that they couldn't put it down; until I had done it myself. In the beginning of the year I started reading this novel. A few of my friends were telling me about this book and saying all this fantastic stuff about it. I decided to start reading it because, truthfully, it looked kinda small and I thought I might as well try it. By the first page I was already hooked. I just couldn't put that book down! It had so many exciting things happening in it that you never were bored. "Dead Is The New Black" by Marlene Perez is a must read! There is a ton of "cliff" hangers that'll make you feel the urge to never stop! This is the first book of the series. There is four more; "Dead Is A State Of Mind" "Dead Is So Last Year" "Dead Is Just A Rumor"  and the fourth one is still being written, "Dead Is Not An Option." These books really catch your eye, but be careful once you start this book you won't be able to put it down!

--Brittany

13 Gifts (Advanced Reading Copy)

By:Wendy Mass
genre: fiction
rate: 4 stars

When Tara gets in trouble at school she has to go live with her cousins instead of going on vacation to Madagascar with her parents. Then when she meets a woman with a duck shaped birthmark her world is turn upside down. Now with her new friends she has to get 13 gifts by her 13 birthday or something bad might happen to her.

I Rated 13 gifts  by: Wendy Mass 4 stars because it starts off making it seem like realistic fiction but shortly switches genres to fiction. This crazy and surprising book just makes you keep reading more. Also with the unique twist and turns and a "bubbling" surprise ending this is one of the best books Wendy Mass has written.
-Kayla
COMING OUT SEPTEMBER 2011

The Summer I Turned Pretty

Title: The Summer I Turned Pretty
Author: Jenny Han
Publisher: Simon and Shuester
Age Recommendation: 12 and Up
Star Rating: 5/5

Plot: It had always just been summer for Belly. No romance, no worries, nothing but sun and surfing on Cousins Beach. With only her mother and her friend Susannah along with her sons Jeremiah and Conrad, summer at the beach was all Belly had to look forward to. That is until things began to get complicated, until the summer Belly turned pretty to both of Susannah's boys. Suddenly torn between dark and tortured Conrad, who Belly has always secretly loved, and cherub-like Jeremiah, Belly will have to make her desicion carefully, in risk of her heart being broken.

Review: From page one I was attached to Conrad. Page two, I was hooked on Jeremiah. I can't imagine the struggle Belly had when choosing between the Fisher boys. Jenny Han set up the perfect novel; with two boys who fall, in thier own ways, in love with a childhood friend. Backset with drama and heartbreak due to the loss of a family member (shh, I can't tell whom), both boys need Belly and she wants them both. In every way possible, The Summer I Turned Pretty was written for success and emotion.

Rachel

Summer Reading

These are some great books to read over the summer!

• The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
• Matched by Ally Condie
• Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Twilight saga and The Host by Stephanie Meyers
• The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
• City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
• If I Stay by Gayle Forman
• Before I Fall by Louren Oliver
• Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Happy Summer!!!

-erica '

Eleven

Title:   Eleven

By:      Patricia Rielly Griff

Rating: 5/5

         This book was really good. It was more entertaing than anything. I felt that it was also really discriptive.

          The book Eleven, is about a boy named Sam who lives with his grandfather because his parents died. He lives with his grandfather in his grandfather's work shop. He is a very skilled boy at the age of eleven but he has a small reading problem. He climbed into his attic to see if he could find his birthday presents but instead of presents he found a newspaper clpping saying he was missing. So he goes on a daring journey to find out who he really is.

          I would rate this book 5 out of 5 and I would suggest this book for anyone who like realistic fiction mysteries.

                                                               - Brendon Summerton

                                                       

Matched

 Matched
Author: Ally Condie
 Rating: 5/5 stars
Age Recommendation: 8th grade and up
Genre: Fiction          

Everyone thinks 17 year old Cassia is they luckiest girl to get matched with her best friend(Xander) but when she puts the name card in it flash's another boy she knows (Ky). Will she be matched with her best friend,or will she go a different route that's no one has every tried to go before?

I rated this 5 out of 5 because it was a nice story. Its a good book to read if you don't want to read stuff about vampires or werewolves. Its a very good story about true love and friendship.
-Kayla

Rachel's Must Reads

This is a list I've made of a few very good books... some are rather advanced amd may not be for everyone. Also, you may notice my obsession with the Victorian Era.

In no Specific order:

1. Clockwork Angel By: Cassandra Clare

2. The Luxe By: Anna Godbersen

3. The Summer I Turned Pretty By: Jenny Han

4. A Kiss in Time By: Alex Flinn

5. A Great and Terrible Beauty By: Libba Bray

6. Hex Hall By: Rachel Hawkins

7. Maximum Ride Series By: James Patterson

8. Dragonfly By: Julia Golding

9. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet By: Jamie Ford

10. City of Bones By: Cassandra Clare

11. Fallen By: Lauren Kate

12. Shiver By: Maggie Steifvater

13. Beautiful Creatures By: Kami Garcia and Margeret Stohl

14. Percy Jackson Series By: Rick Riordan

15. The Red Pyramid By: Rick Riordan

The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner
Author:James Dashner
Rate: 4/5
Genre:Science Fiction/Action Adventure
Age Recommend: 13 and up

This story was about a guy named Thomas who wakes up inside a box can't remember anything but his name. Then when he arrives at Glade. This place is like a huge nightmare were huge doors close every night,the outsides a maze that changes every night,monsters called Grievers outside,  and now that Thomas is here werid things are happening at Glade. Like the next day the get a new person(a greenie) which is werid because they get one once a month.Weirder this one is a girl with a not saying she's the last one. Shes in a coma? Glade has always been a place of all boys and everyday they try to escape. Will they ever escape,Will they crack the maze or Will they all die? Read this book to find out!

  I rated this book a 4 out of 5 because of its action, its unique story line.It is also a good adventure that the charaters go on. I also think its a different kind of book then most books. Thats why i gave it 4 out of 5 review.
-Kayla

A Great and Terrible Beauty

Title: A Great and Terrible Beauty
Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: RandomHouse
Age Recommendation: 8th Grade and Up
Star Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Plot: Raised in Bombay, India by her stricktly English mother, Gemma Doyle is independent for a young women who will one day enter the London society. When her mother, who forbids Gemma to leave for London instantly, is murdered brutally in the Bombay marketplace, Gemma must leave Bombay in which she calls home and set out to adopt her role as a wealthy English girl at the infamous Spence Academy. When her life finally seems to begin setting off on the proper foot, Gemma finds herself seeing visions of things that could only be described supernaturally. With her newest Spence friends and her unlikely ally, Kartik, a handsome Indian boy who seems to be following her across the world, Gemma must learn what her visions mean and how to control the outcome of things with her newfound ability.

Critique:
I'd always found reviews on posted by Libba Bray (the author) on the covers of my favorite novels. I was drawn to her writing by her simple and witty "one-sentance" reviews and I began to search the internet for her novels. Her most recent debut, Going Bovine, rather scared me away by the strange cow on the cover; but, considering my obsession with the Victorian Era, I decided to give this one a go. And I absolutely don't regret it. Though the magical view of this novel was sort of awkward for me, I found the romance, poetic components, stong charectars, and everything else fantastic and worth-while.

PIE

PIE

Rate:0/5
Author: Sarah Weeks

Genre:realistic fiction

This book starts off when aunt Polly passes away. Aunt Polly was famous for her pies she didn't charge for them,but people donated food so she can make her incredible pies. So after she dies everyone wants her pie recipe and Alice's Mother wants it to make her family rich and famous. Will anyone find Aunt Polly's recipe,Will anyone ever understand Aunt Polly will?

I rated it 0 out of 5 stars because it was so boring. I read this book thinking it would be funny but it was just boring.I didn't like it because it was dull story line. The only thing good about this book was the pie recipes in it.If you want to read this book is coming out October 2011

-Kayla

Soul Surfer

Title: Soul Srufer by Bethany Hamilton
Publisher: MTV (June 6, 2006)
Age: young adult
rating: 4/5

Soul Sufer is really good. And because it is a true story the movie was really good too. After being attacked by a shark and still hetting back in the water and eventually becoming a pro surfer is really insperational. i just loved the book and movie a lot. And I would reccomend it for any age group.

-erica

Delirium

Title: Delirium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperTeen
Age Recommendation: 8th Grade and Up
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Plot: One rule had been made clear and simple through Lena's childhood: Do not catch delirium. In other words: Do not fall in love. As an innocent and obedient citizen of our advanced nation, Lina has no intention of breaking such a law. That is until she meets Alex, the autumn of her last, dreadful year being unmarried. He's different that the man who she is engaged, he's a free spirit. But, he's also and Invalid; to her country, he doesn't exist in any legal way. Will Lena fight for her newfound, precisely  forbidden love or will she die trying? After all, how many times can this law be broken, how many times will a citizen catch Delirium before chaos strikes?

Critique: I remember picking up this book in the store, not knowing what it was about, but somehow knowing I'd like it. I don't know if that's intuition or just a really good cover, but  what I do know is I was right. I was attached to this book from page one. I didn't let it slip out of my hands for more than a second. The plot, the ideas, the world in which Lena must live (which is the future of our own country) was perfectly constructed though I feel the writing didn't quite live up. Lena's character was nicely composed, however at times, doubted her love and became hesitant while decided how she could be with Alex. It almost seems as though she wasn't prepared to give enough effort to escape. Over all, it was a fascinating read that opened my eyes to what forbidden love really is, and the intensity that burns when you are denied your freedom.

Clockwork Angel By Cassandra Clare

Title: Clockwork Angel
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Simon and Shuester
Age Recomendations: 8th Grade and Up
Star Rating: 5/5


Plot: It's 1878. When Tessa Gray came to London from America, she thought she would find her brother, waiting, by the boat dock.  About a year later, it becomes apparant that it was never the case. Stuck in the Dark Sister's manor house and being forced to perform strange transitions into people she never knew, she develops and learns to use her newfound powers. Until, she's rescued by the strikingly handsome and internally tortured Will Herondale. Will has secrets, but most shockingly, there's a world of demons and demon-slayers she never knew about, Shadowhunters. They live among her, Will and his mystrerious best friend Jem Carstairs are part of this race. With plots being cooked behind the scenes, romance boiling inside the Institute in which Tessa stays, and death over taking the accomplished London, chaos will break to the surface. Will the puzzling Tessa Gray be the hero after all, being ignorant to the world in which she must fight?


Critique: Yes! Cassandra Clare has nailed it again. In her bestselling novel, City of Bones, she unfolded the mysterious world of modern-Shadowhunters, those who live today in the chaos of modern betrayal. However, she yet again hit the target with her puzzling Victorian-era prequel. A strong heroine, complicated romance, thrilling battles, and dead on literature that I simply gushed about to everyone after I finished reading, it was all so perfect it left me breathless.


A Note to City of Bones fans: William Herondale is Jace Lightwood's (from City of Bones) ancestor. Both boys are equally sensational, and extremely similar (though not on the physical level).

--Rachel