Emma Hanmer

Emma Hanmer
The Lightning Thief
Rick Riordan
Fantasy
Holiday
84

1. For my independent reading, I'm reading The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. The main character, Percy Jackson, is a demigod or half-blood. That means that one of his parents, in this case his dad, is a god and the other parent is human. Percy's best friend Grover is actually half boy half goat but disguises himself as a human to protect Percy from harm. Percy, Grover, and his mom were driving to Camp half-blood, which is a place where demigods are protected from monsters that try to hunt them down and kill them. Percy was attacked by a monster at school so Grover told his mom and they left for the camp. On their way, Percy and his mom encountered a bull-like monster called a menataur. Percy and Grover made it to the camp safely, but his mother was killed by the monster.

2. I really enjoy this book. It is action packed and intriguing! Books about Greek gods are interesting because they can have so many stories and legends extending off other stories that you never get bored. This isn't a new author for me, because I accidentally read the second book first this summer. I really like the way the author incorporates each character's powers and special abilities. The second book is mainly based on Grover because he gets stuck on an island guarded by a monster and Percy has to go find him. The other thing I enjoy about this book is that it is a fun, easy read to go to while we read To Kill A Mockingbird together. Since To Kill A Mockingbird is more of a deep, thinking novel, it's nice to have a relaxing book to read on the side.

3. A popular theme in this book is good vs evil. Percy and all the people in camp half blood are good. They train to protect themselves and learn how to use and control their powers under the watchful eyes of the gods and the creatures in the camp. The evil is the monsters. The camp is protected by a magical shield that only demigods and other camp members can penetrate, so the monsters can't get in. The monsters hunt down and kill demigods if they can't make it to the camp. The theme also occurs between the gods. Hades is the god of the underworld, and he is always disturbing the peace  between the other gods like Zeus and Poseidon. He was banished to the underworld because he was evil and tried to overthrow mount Olympus. I'm sure this theme will continue on throughout the novel, and I hope to see it a lot when the lightning thief is discovered, because there will be a lot of evil coming along with that.

4. My favorite character in this novel is Percy's mom, Sally Jackson. She devoted her life to keep Percy safe and make sure he doesn't know about his secret. The more he knows, the more descent he gives off which monsters can detect. Since he had no idea, he didn't have a strong, detectable odor. Also, his mom married a man who was bad to her, was always drunk, and didn't respect their property just because of his odor. His scent covered up Percy's demigod scent, keeping monsters away. His mom sacrificed so much, her own well being and her happiness, just to protect her son and let him have a normal life for a while. I really admire how selfless she is.

5. My least favorite character is Gabe Ugliano. He is Percy's stepdad. He is the one that covers up Percy's scent and protects him from monsters. Even though he protects Percy, I still do not like him. All he does is sit on the couch all day eating chips and playing poker with his buddies. He takes money from Percy and his mom, and hits her on occasion. He also bosses Percy around. When Percy asked him to let go of his mom before they left for the camp, he started to pouch him around and tell Percy he could do whatever he wants. He's an awful man that goes around making messes and causing misery in the Jackson's home.

6. I predict that Percy will not be the lightning thief. On the cover, it shows him holding the bolt, but I think that is just him returning it to Zeus. I also think this because Percy is a good kid. Even though he has been expelled from a lot of schools and causes trouble, he just figured out that he is the son of a god. He had no idea about this greek world or the lightning bolt until he got to the camp. There is no way that he could have been lying and stolen it. And why would he? Also, I predict that Hades stole the bolt. I think this because he wants the gods to turn against each other so he can overthrow Olympus. I hope that Percy isn't the thief and that he finds the bolt and who has it before something terrible happens.

P.S.- Sorry for my late blog! I had to post it in school today because I have been having non-working wifi but it is being fixed this week. Sorry again! -Emma

Sam hartley

Sam Hartley
Holes
Louis Sachar
Fiction
Just Right
89

1) In the book Holes, they start off by describing what Camp Green Lake is like. Stanley Yelnats, the main character  ends up that the camp because he was accused off a crime. He had the chose of either going to jail or camp and so he picks the camp because he thought it was going to be fun. When he goes to the camp he finds out its nothing what he expected; it turned out to be this place where boys had to create one hole everyday. Stanley ends up in tent D with some other kids and they don't talk to him very much at first. Soon the other boys tell Stanley about the boy who he replaced named Lewis who's in the hospital. that night Stanley tells the other boys about how he stole Sweet Feet's sneakers, which was a lie since he didn't steal them. Stanley starts his first day making a hole and is the last to finish. After he takes a cool shower and writes a letter to his mother. Also he gets the name Caveman. The next day he finds a rock but the Mr Pedanski didn't find it interesting enough to let him have the day off. Again, Stanley was the last person to finish his hole. The Next day he finds a Gold tube that him and his buddies believe is a gun bullet. Stanley gives the bullet to X-Ray so he can have the day off. The next day the warden comes out and sees the bullet and lets X-Ray have the day off.

2) I think this book is very good because I really like the plot to it. I think that each scene flows into perfectly. Also I think that so far every page of the book has been really interesting and has really captured me as a reader. Also I find all the characters to feel real and have a real personally. When I'm reading the book I feel like I'm really there with all the characters. I didn't really like the first chapter because I thought it should have been told later in the book when Stanley ends up at Camp Green Lake.

3) A huge theme I think I see in the beginning of Holes is environment. I think this represents Camp Green Lake and the characters because the camp is dry, hard, and hot. And the people who work there live unpleasant lives and are often tough and unfriendly. Also, the Counselors are cruel and not nice to any of the kids who end up working there,

4) My favorite character so far in the book would probably have to be Stanley because first I think its really weird how is name spelled backwards is Stanley Yelnats and that's pretty cool. Another thing that makes Stanley make favorite character is because I think that hes very innocent because he doesn't deserve to be treated cruel since he shouldn't be there since he didn't do the crime. Also I think hes a nice character who is really friendly.

5) I think that X-Ray is my least favorite character because I think that he is a mean leader. I don't understand how hes the leader of the group of boys that Stanley is with. Also I think that it was an awful that he did when he took the bullet away for Stanley because even though I understand that hes been there for a long time and hasn't found anything and then all of a sudden a new guy comes around and finds a bullet I would be jealous to but that is no reason to take that away from someone.

6) I have a few predictions about what might happen. One is I think that now the warden found a bullet shes going to make the boys look even harder near the same area where X-Ray believe to have found it. Also i think that they wont find anything since they aren't looking in the right area. Also I think that one of the boys will try to escape from the camp but wont be successful. Lastly I think that Stanley will find another important object like maybe another bullet or treasure.

Cloe Grace

Cloe Grace
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Ransom Riggs
Fantasy/ Science Fiction
Just Finished (100%)
Just Right

1. In the ending of this book the children walk back to the house discovering that it has been bombed. The children realize they need help from another emburay. They go inside the house to find the map of the loops. After they find the maps they study all of the different loops. Then since it's hard to go back into loops Jacob will probably never get to see his family again. So Jacob says goodbye to his father but he doesn't care and thinks that Jacob has gone crazy. His father says he's going to bed and they give him a note to prove that Jacob will not come back. After they leave they leave a sketch in the cave of the dates of the loop. Next they pack everyone in the canoe and set off.

2. I overall thought this book was very good and action packed except the very end. I was looking forward to a big ending and I didn't really get one. The climax was full of excitement but it left you hanging so you thought there would be an even bigger ending. I wish Riggs left the book with an even better cliffhanger instead of the children just leaving. I think a better ending could have left off when the children find out where the big explosion is going to be where all of the wights are going.

3. A theme in this book is good vs. evil. In this book the peculiar children are facing the wights. The wights like eating peculiar children. The children are trying to ward them off in many places in this book like when Golan tries to kill them. But since they survived Golan captures Miss Peregrine and Miss Avocate. Another way this theme pops up is when the children sometimes "raid the village" in this case the children are the bad ones who are trying to scare all of the townspeople. As you can see there are many events where this comes up.

4. My favorite character is probably Jacob because he is very courageous and brave in the part. He takes charge as a leader even though he's brand new to the children. I also like him because he knew what the house would look like if it was bombed and he stayed calm and collected when all of the kids found it. I also like Emma as my favorite character even but she wasn't as favorable in this ending as the rest of the book. I wish she stood up more.

5. It is very hard to pick a least favorite character in this ending because there's not a lot of bad people. I thought that the dad was probably my least favorite character but for the same reasons as my other blogs. I think the my second to least favorite character is Miss Peregrine because she is still a bird and I think that even though she can't turn back she could at least try to communicate to the children. I feel like the children have to act like Miss Peregrine which I like but she doesn't even try to explain why she can't turn back into a human.

6. The ending of the book was very lame I thought. It was so unexciting it surprised me. The climax was excellent though. As I said before, I wished it was more exciting or left me hanging at the edge of my seat. I thought it was predictable which was unlike the rest of the book. One part I did like about it was that it left me feeling that I finished the book. I do not like some books that have a huge discovery then ends. I do think Ranson could make a sequel if he wanted to about the explosion but I don't think he will. Overall, this book was really good and I enjoyed everything about it except the unsatisfying ending.

seth novitch

Seth Novitch
A Higher Call
John Makos
realistic fiction
just finished 346

1. The ending of the book was a major dog fight which is a battle in the air between planes. This one was very interesting because it was a pretty long time ago so they didn't have the best planes which caused a lot of trouble for both sides. First of all they had planes with propellers which weren't very reliable. This made a huge difference because the two best pilots had to face off against each other even though it wasn't a fair fight it was unexpected which made it even better. The german pilot was in a small and fast jet and the American pilot was in a huge and slow bomber. Originally I thought the German would win but it turned out that after fighting in the air for a long time none of them could defeat the other. They were just way to evenly matched and eventually they were just to damaged to keep fighting so they had to turn back home. After the war had ended the American went back to America and so did the German. Then out of know where they actually meet each other at a cafe even though they didn't actually know who the other person was. Soon after they talked about it for a while they realized that they were the ones fighting against each other. The surprising part was that they just laughed about it. Eventually going there separate ways but they still kept in touch with each other.

2. Overal I thought the book was a pretty good read even though some parts of it were a little boring and confusing. The parts I especially enjoyed was that the story went back and forth between the two characters. Which was very interesting because I got to see both perspectives of what the war was like on the enemies and good guys side. The author was also very good at explaining each part of the war because eventually I couldn't understand some of the parts of the war and some terms but he explained them eventually in the book. If he hadn't done that then I wouldn't really have enjoyed the book.

3. I thought that the books theme was hopes and dreams because that was shown thought the whole entire book. It was mostly in the beginning of the book because there was just two boys the were hoping to be a  pilot some day in the army. Then it was when they were actually in the war and hoped that they could go back home and hope they wouldn't die. This just shows how sometimes kids in the world want to be soldiers when they get older and they think it would be cool. But then they are there and they want to go home and wish they weren't in the army. Of course sometimes people do want to go into the army though to serve there country and are not afraid of it.

4. My favorite character was Charlie and he was the American pilot in the story. He was my favorite character because I was able to relate to him in some ways like how as a kid he wanted to be in the army which was one of my dreams. Also that he was really fun to follow because he did so many cool things as a pilot plus he was really fun and a good leader.

5. I didn't really like Franz the german fighter pilot. he wasn't my favorite because later in the book he would take way to many risks and ended up killing some of his friends. Also because he was on the enemies team in the book and the germans did some bad things in the book. Overall he was still an ok character but had some fluas to him which is why he wasn't my favorite.

6. Well actually I thought the book was going to be the same as it turned out. This was because one of the major clues I got from the author was that as they went through training and stuff you could already tell they were some of the best pilots ever. This led to them facing each other in battle and none of them actually beating the other one. Something I did not expect was in the end when they met each other and became good friends instead of fighting or even getting mad at the other one.

Louie Parizeau

Louie Parizeau
The Stand
Stephen King
Sci-Fi
Challange
940

1. Right now in The Stand, Mother Abagail has just come back from her trip that she said she had to do for God. Because she is so old, she came back in very bad shape, starving and out of shape. The night right before she died, Stu, Frannie, Larry, Lucy, Glen, and Ralph came to her because Mother Abagail said she had a message for them. She said that Stu, Larry, Ralph, and Glen should go west that day without food or water. They have to walk to Las Vegas by foot to meet Flagg, and make their stand and fight him. Soon after, Mother Abagail dies, and The four men decide to go. They start their journey west, before the story cuts to Flagg's side of the story. On the "dark" side of  the story, Flagg somehow knows that the "good" side has sent people to spy on their side, and wants them killed. So the border control men, Dave and Bobby, follow their orders to look for a bald man driving a blue jeep. From earlier in the book, these details let us know that this man is the judge, one of the wisest men that the "good" side has, and they sent the Judge to spy. Flagg's orders are to kill his man, but to not shoot his head, only the body, so that they can cut of the head and send it back to the "good" side as a threat. As the judge pulls up to the border line control men, after a long journey, he steps out of his jeep with a gun in hand. Dave comes to greet him nicely, while Bobby stays behind to secretly get a good shot on the Judge. But the Judge sees him taking aim at him just as Bobby takes a shot, hitting him in the mid-section. Then, Dave stands over the Judge to finish him off. Unfortunately for Dave, Bobby takes another shot, meaning to hit the Judge, but it plows through Dave's neck instead, and he fell dead. Quickly, the Judge grabs his gun, with the bullet still in his side, and prepares to take a shot at Bobby. In a panic, Bobby runs away and carelessly fires three bullets at the Judge. They tear the Judge's face into pieces, and he dies. Bobby takes a deep breath, before he realizes that he killed the Judge, but also ruined his face. The chapter ends with Bobby trying to run away before Flagg can terrorize him for ruining the Judge's face. 
2. So far, this book is very interesting and exciting. I think that it is cool to see the "dark" side's point of view in the story, because it gives you a feel of what their side is like, and it makes it easier for me to make predictions about what will happen in the book later. For example, now that I know the "dark" side wants to kill them, because they killed the Judge, I can predict that when the sides meet, a gory and violent battle may happen. I also think that throughout the book, there is a lot of exciting parts to keep me interested. Mother Abigail coming back, bombs exploding in the town, and the Judges death keep me wanting to read. Lastly, I think that the characters in this book are unique in their own way. There is a secret evil side to some of the characters, and some characters are behaving differently now that the community has gotten so big. This is because they feel like they can over power the unstable government the "good" side has created.
3. One of the themes in The Stand is hope. Hope is a theme because the "good" side has to stay strong and keep moving even though their leader, Mother Abagail, has died. For the "good" side, Mother Abagail was their symbol of leadership and honor. So now the community has to be optimistic and see hope in the future.
4. My favorite character so far is (or was) the Judge.  He is a very brave man and was willing to go out to the "dark" side to be a spy.  Also, he contributed a lot to the "good" side and their government because he was wise and help them establish the system of government. I think that he is brave and willing because many other people were not brave enough to do that. He new how dangerous it would be, and he also didn't want to do it, but did it because it was for the better of his community. He is also brave because before he died, he kept fighting. I think that this  is an important part of the story because that was the first of the "good" side the "dark" side had seen, and he stood for the good side as a symbol of bravery and and courage.
5. My least favorite character is Dave, the border control man. He was very mean to Bobby before the Judge came, and was swearing at him to not mess it up when the Judge came. Once the Judge came, he was very sneaky and heartless. He pretended to act nice to the Judge, but once the Judge was wounded, he was stepping over him to kill him. I think that this is heartless because even though he was following his orders, he was still going to kill a man without any hesitation. This makes me believe that he has killed many others, since he was about to kill the judge very swiftly.
6. I predict that the four men, Stu, Larry, Ralph, and Glen will successfully make it to Las Vegas. Once there, I think that they will make a stand against Flagg, and defeat him. But I think that the battle will not be between the two communities, just Flagg against Stu. I believe that Stu will fight Flagg because he is one of the major leaders of the community, and also Mother Abagail told Stu to lead the four men.

Alex Dombrowski

Alex Dombrowski

Series of Unfortunate Events #2: The Reptile Room

Lemony Snicket

Fantasy

Holiday

Just Finished: 151

 

 

1.      I have recently finished Series of Unfortunate Events #2: The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket. Montgomery is planning to take the children and Olaf to Peru with him. Then the children tell Uncle Monty they think his new assistant is actually the evil Count Olaf, but Monty actually think he is trying to steal his new discovery, the incredible deadly viper. Just before the Baudelaire’s are leaving for Peru with Uncle Monty, he is found dead in the reptile room with what appears to be a snakebite right below his eye. The children think Count Olaf is the one who actually killed him, but Olaf says that a snake bit him. Count Olaf is planning to take Violet, Klaus and Sunny to Peru when he crashes into Mr. Poe, who is Baudelaire’s accountant car. Olaf and Mr. Poe discuss what they are going to do with the children, while the three children look for evidence to prove that Olaf is guilty. What the three decide to do is cause a diversion, by pretending to have the incredibly deadly viper attack Sunny. This gives them enough time to look in Count Olaf suitcase. In it they find the syringe used to inject snake venom into Uncle Monty and powder. They show this evidence to Mr. Poe, he believes them and also begins to suspect this man is Count Olaf. Mr. Poe asks him to show his ankle, where is he is Olaf should have a tattoo of an eye, but the tattoo is not there. The Baudelaires insist he wipe his ankle. When he does, the tattoo is revealed. Mr. Poe calls the police, but before they can arrive Olaf escapes.

2.      I really liked the whole book. It isn’t difficult to read an very entertaining. Also it isn’t confusing at all. It is a fun easy read, which made it a enjoyable book for me. The characters make the book interesting. All of the children have very different personalities. Violet likes inventing things. Therefore she can come up with good solutions to problems. Her brother Klaus likes reading. Thus he is extremely smart. He also can fix problems with his knowledge because he usually has an answer for a question or problem. Sunny the youngest of the three is too young to do anything. In my opinion she is the only boring character in the book. Snicket does something interesting with her though. Whenever she makes a baby sound he translates it to what she is probably trying to say. This is a very good book and I would recommend it.

3.      I think the theme is good versus evil. After Uncle Monty died it was just the kids and Olaf. Even though they never actually had a great battle like in both books with this theme, they are always against each other.  The children who are innocent, good mannered and trying to live somewhere nice versus Olaf, who only wants to try to steal their great fortune. Eventually they do confront each other. When they suspect it’s he who killed Uncle Monty, they accuse him of it. Olaf is constantly scheming to steal their money and the children have to stop him. This time when they do prove him guilty, he escapes. Good versus evil is a very obvious theme in this book.

4.      My favorite character is Mr. Poe. He is always very nice to the kids. He never threatens them and is supportive of them. I think it is because he has kids of his own and understands them well. Also, he sides with the children when they accused Olaf of killing Uncle Monty. He knows how smart they are and therefore never doubts them. Mr. Poe also watches over the kids and makes sure they don’t have any major issues with their guardians. Mr. Poe’s kindness towards the Baudelaires makes him my favorite character in the book.

5.      My least favorite character is still Count Olaf. He is a mean man; all he cares about is stealing the Baudelaire’s money. He murdered someone in a failed attempt to steal their money. This makes him even more undesirable because it shows he will do anything for money. Olaf also is making three orphans very miserable because he always ends up in their lives. He does not have any nice personality traits. He is greedy and doesn’t care about other people. He is very persistent about trying to steal the children’s money. I except him to show up in the next book as well. Count Olaf evil schemes make him my least favorite character.

6.      I did not expect this ending in the book. I never thought Mr. Poe would show up in the book again because he all he did is bring the children to their new homes. Nothing foreshadowed him returning, it was a total surprise. I knew that Uncle Monty was going to be killed because Snicket said Olaf was Going to kill him, but I expected the murder to happen in Peru. I didn’t notice much foreshadowing from Snicket, he liked to surprise the reader.

Hannah Keavany
the fault in our stars
John Green
Realistic Friction
Just right
93

Hazel has written an email to her favorite author about a book she can relate too.  When she gets an email back from him saying that he cant email the answers because she may publish a new book of his or talk on the phone because she may record the phone call.  So he says that she is in Amsterdam and that she could meet him there.  She doesn’t have the money.  She used up her one wish from the wish foundation so she gets very sad.  Her friend Augustus who she calls Gus brings her to this picnic. The picnic is at this museum; he brings all these Amsterdam related things.  He tells her that he hasten used up his wish yet. They talk about the writer and he tells her that he wants to take her to see this writer with her.  He does this because he really likes her and she feels bad because she doesn’t like him that way.  She can’t go to Amsterdam without her parents or her doctor because of her condition. 

I think that the theme of this book is not giving up on something because Augustus will not give up on Hazel. 

My favorite character is Augustus because he seems like a very nice person.  His parents seem like such nice people.  Even though he has a bad leg he doesn’t let it interfere with his days.  Think he really likes to make people happy like he made Hazel happy.  He is very nice to his friends for example when Isaac was so sad when he lost his girlfriend. Gus was there for him.  He let him ruin all his trophies from basketball.  He let his come over to hang out with him.  Gus is taking Hazel to see their favorite author ever and she is so excited.  

I still don’t have a least favorite character yet because everyone seems like good people.  

I predict that when Augustus and Hazel get to Amsterdam they will not be able to find this author and that they will have gone there for nothing and that Gus wasted his wish on nothing and he will get mad.  Another prediction I have is that when they get there Hazel will get very sick and may pass away in Amsterdam. 

Turner Garland

Turner Garland
The Maze Runner
James Dashner
Dystopian Fiction
Just Right
230

1. Right now in The Maze Runners everything has changed. For two years everything had been routine in the Glade, but since Tomas and Teresa showed up everything has gone to chaos. The normal sunny perfect temperate weather has gone to a gray color. With no more sun in the Glade growing plants will not be an option. The animals will all die off soon too without agriculture. The vanishing sun is not the Gladers  only problem, the weekly supplies stopped coming. At the same time on the same day the creators have sent up supplies, but for some reason they never show up. Despite the recent events, Thomas has to do his job as being a runner. Even without the sunshine, Minho and Thomas enter the maze on their daily exploration through the maze. Besides the grayish sky above them, the maze seems normal. The walls have done their usual shifts. When Minho and Thomas round a corner they spot a griever. Minho and Thomas decide to follow, because they have always wondered where they go at night so they follow it all the way to the cliff and then it disappears. This isn't the first time they have seen the grievers just disappear off the cliff, so Thomas and Minho are interested. After a few minutes of throwing rocks of the cliff in the direction where the griever has disappeared they find a small spot where the rock vanishes. Minho and Thomas are so confused but they know they have to head back and tell the others about their findings. As they return to the Glade they find everyone rushing around. Then Thomas realizes that the girl had woken up. The girl that had talked to him in his head.

2. So far I love this book. I can hardly put it down and when I do all I want to do is pick it back up and start reading it again. James Dashner makes every single chapter packed with suspense, action, and questions. At the end of almost every chapter there is a cliffhanger that leaves you dying to find out what will happen next. I love the way that the author gives the reader hints and clues and every chapter Thomas finds something new out that puts him one step closer to solving the maze. The characters in this book are very well developed. They each have their own personality that makes the book much more interesting to read. Order is one of the most important parts about the glade and the different personalities and different views from each character causes tension. These tensions between character makes the book much more interesting to read. I have never read any books by James Dashner, I really enjoy his style of writing and I am looking forward to read more from him.

3. The major theme that has been shown throughout the entire book is questions and answers. Although it has mostly been questions in Thomas's head, deeper into the story more answers are showing up. In the very beginning when Thomas was in the elevator going up to the maze, questions flooded his mind. Where am I? Why am I here? How did I get here? Some of those questions still have not been answered, but in the small time that Thomas has been at the Glade he has found out a lot. He even has a better understanding of the place than most of the other Gladers. Thomas has experienced many questions and answers since his stay at the Glade, but he is not the only one. All the strange things that have happened around the Glade since Thomas had shown up has given many of the Gladers many questions. When Minho and Thomas find the hole that the griever disappeared into has given them the answer to where the grievers go at night. With every answer though, it seems like even more questions come. What does it lead to? Am I seeing correctly? How is that possible? Questions and answers are a definite part in making this book so good.

4. I like a lot of the characters that have been introduced in this story but my favorite is Thomas. I admire Thomas's courage and especially his will. When he knows that he will most likely die, he still enters the maze to help save Minho and Alby. This shows a lot of will and a lot of courage. Another thing that I really like about Thomas is that he is very optimistic. When everyone else seems down and when they start to give up, he always pushes and dives himself and others to try and accomplish something. The Glade is a tough place and kindness seems like the last thing that everybody is worried about. Thomas, spends extra time and effort being kind to others and helping them out. I really like reading about Thomas and I admire a lot that he has done so far in this book.

5. My least favorite character in this story is Gally. He is always in a bad mood and he never appreciates anything or anybody. Many of the other Gladers don't like him and he is especially a jerk to Thomas. I think that you have to be plain mean to hate someone without any reason. Gally once threatened to kill Thomas when Thomas did't do anything to Gally. During a Keepers Meeting Gally threatens Minho for no reason at all. I don't understand Gally, I definitely cannot relate to him, and he's just a mean dude.

6. One of the reasons that I love this book is that almost anything could happen, but I have a few predictions of what  think is going to happen next. I think that After Minho and Thomas tell Alby and Newt that they had the "Griever Hole" that they will think they are lying. I think this because after Thomas and Minho had discovered this hole they really couldn't believe it themselves. If they had actually saw it and had a hard time believing it then I think that it will be even harder for the other Gladers. Another thing that I think will happen is, now that Teresa is awake I think she will meet Thomas. She already has given the Gladers hints and other information, so I think that her and Thomas might find something out about the maze. I think this because Thomas and Teresa have some sort of bond because she can talk to him inside their heads. They must have some sort of connection because Thomas also admitted to Newt that she seemed familiar. I am very curious to see if my predictions are true and to get back to reading one of my favorite books.

Sean Dougherty

Sean Dougherty

The Maze Runner

James Dashner

Sci-fi

Just Right

212

1.     Currently, I am reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner. This is my second post on this book, so refer back to it to review past events. But, where I left off, Thomas was getting a strange feeling that he wanted to be a runner (a scout that searches the maze for a way out). Previously, I mentioned that the keeper of the runners, Minho, noticed a dead griever in the maze. This has never been recorded before, so this is another exotic event that has occurred. The first would include the girl entering the glade. To solve this mystery, Alby (supposed leader) and Minho go out in the maze to investigate. It gets late, and the gigantic rock walls surrounding the glade are going to be closing soon. They were supposed to be back by noon, yet they still haven’t returned. All of a sudden, Thomas, standing at the gate, notices Minho carrying Alby rushing as fast as he could to the gate. It was too late, the walls were closing and there was no chance that they could make it in time. Right before the walls close, Thomas breaks the most important rule: never leave the glade. He jumps out to held Minho; nevertheless, all three of them are trapped with chances of survival close to the estimated 0%. Minho collapses, knowing that they’re done. Thomas doesn’t give up, he suggests climbing the vines of the wall. This was quickly shot down by Minho. They hear the shrieking sound of grievers approaching them. Minho recommends splitting up, leaving Alby, and running for it. For Alby has been pricked by the griever that was supposedly dead. He needs to get in the maze, or he will die. Minho doesn’t care, so he bolts off. Thomas stays, ties Alby up high in the vines, and then runs when a griever finds him. He is losing ground when three more grievers join the run. He meets up with Minho, only to run into the way out of the maze, it’s a cliff. They wait for the grievers to come, then the jump out of the way. The grievers run off the cliff and disappear. They had made it through the night and return to the glade. By their surprise, Alby is still alive and they quickly get him to the hospitable. He survives. Thomas is welcomed back as a hero to some, and a criminal to others. He becomes a runner, however he has to serve a day in jail for breaking the number one rule I mentioned earlier.

2.     This has to be the most exciting book I read so far this year, and the biggest nail biter I have ever read in my life. The plot is so good; it gives you info, yet you still don’t quite understand what exactly is happening. That’s why it is impossible to put this book down. Dashner is such a genius. These events aren’t just conversations, they’re sudden flashbacks and paused action. For example, when Thomas and Minho find a way out of the maze while being chased by grievers. Also, for such a handful of characters, they all share different personalities and views. Thomas seems to be the only one with hope of survival and escaping the maze. Most others feel that they need to just focus on surviving and hope for the best. But the finisher is that all these characters are new people, their memories of past lives they used to live are trapped in a maze inside their minds. The personalities are ones that are rare to find in the real word due to experience.

3.     The theme of this book is hope. The plot is written through hope. If the gladers didn’t have the stroke of hope that they have, how could they even try to survive. They are put in an immense maze with almost ne way out, with no memory of anything to go back to even if they ever escape. The glade was lucky enough to get Thomas who has the most hope out of all of them. When he was trapped out of the glade with almost no chance of survival, he didn’t give up. Even when Alby was unconscious, he didn’t let him get eaten, he tied him up high out of the reach of the grievers. Thomas did survive; even found a way out of the maze. Hope led him through.

4.     My favorite character is still Thomas because of what he has become. He started with no memory, no idea that he was or what he was doing in a maze. But, he didn’t loose hope and became his own person. Created his own memory. Also, he seems to be one of the only gladers who are friendly and nice unlike the stubborn others who have lost hope living in the glade for a few years. He has the hope to make everybody else a different person. Furthermore, he seems to the hero of the story, but not in the eyes of others. He wasn’t born special; in fact he doesn’t even when he was born. In the words of Disney, he went from zero to hero.

5.     It is hard to choose my least favorite character, but it would have to be the runner, Minho. Despite his connection with Thomas, is still extremely hard to like because of his personality. He thinks of himself as more important than the other gladers, which isn’t true. They all play an equal part in ensuring survival for everyone. Then, he gives up way too easily when he still has a chance. For example, when he was trapped out the glade at night, he broke down and lost hope. Thomas was suggesting ideas, but Minho quickly shot them down saying that it would never work and that they were done for. It seems like he doesn’t like anybody except Thomas for saving his life. When he got in an argument with Gally (keeper), he beat him up just because things got tense. Violence is never the answer.   

6.     My prediction is that the gladers will make it out of the maze. Thomas has found an impassable cliff out of the maze. You can tell by the way Thomas describes the stars in the sky that he is going to come back and search for a safer way out. To continue with, all of these weird things happening after Thomas came foreshadows that things are changes, hopefully for the best. People who have gone through the changing (slim memory recovery after being stung by a griever) say that Thomas is bad news. Even Alby told this to Thomas after he went through the changing. Finally, I know that this is a series, so they have to get out of the maze to continue with the story. You have to jump over the first hurtle to get to the second one.                       

Oliver Morton

Oliver Morton

Scorpia

Anthony Horowitz

Realistic Fiction

Just Right

231

1. In the book Scorpia, by Anthony Horowitz the main character is Alex Rider. Alex is a teenager who is also a spy for the British Intelligence Agency MI6. Alex has realized that his dad works for a bad organization called Scorpia. Scorpia hired Alex's dad to be an assassin for them and now Alex is working for them. Alex then went to an island near Italy called Malagosto. He trained there with Scorpia for a week and then was sent to kill his friend from MI6 Mrs.Jones. He then goes to England to kill her. The organization Scorpia attacks a soccer team and kills the whole team while Alex gets into England. Then all of a sudden Alex goes to kill Mrs. Jones but actually shoots a glass window that he didn't see. He then gets arrested by MI6. Will Alex escape and go back to Scorpia or will he help MI6.

2. So far the book has had a lot of detail. I have really liked the book so far and I can't wait to finish it. The detail in this book has been amazing. Horowitz really does a good job of describing everything going on in this book. Explaining all of the agencies and the guns and weapons and gadgets in this book is very complicated and I really enjoy how Horowitz has written many facts about them. The detail also really helps you understand what is going on easier.

3. I think the theme in this book is good vs evil. I think this because in the book there are two sides against each other. Scorpia is going to destroy the world for money and MI6 is going to try to stop them. Alex is kind of on the bad side at this point because he tries to kill Mrs.Jones. I don't know who will win in this "game". Will it be good or evil?

4. My favorite character in this book so far is Alex Rider. He is my favorite character because he has the most going on with him. Alex is always doing something new and that makes him a very interesting character. He also is always in the action. It seems to be so cool to be a spy. I know it is dangerous because Alex constantly gets injured but I would like to try it.

5. My least favorite character is Nile. Nile is an assassin for Scorpia and he tries to kill Alex multiple times. Nile is nice to Alex when Alex is working for Scorpia but Alex double crosses Nile and that makes Nile want to kill him. Then Nile kind of becomes annoying.

6.  What I think is going to happen is that Alex is going to escape and go back to Scorpia. I want him to go back to MI6 first though because Scorpia is planning to oil thousands of Schoolchildren and I want Alex to stop that. Then I think that there will be an all out war between Scorpia and MI6. Hopefully MI6 will win and save the children.

Hank Reinhart

Hank Reinhart
Parrot In The Oven
Victor Martinez
Realistic Fiction
Just Right
Just Finished

1. I have just finished the book Parrot In The Oven by Victor Martinez. In the end the book got to its main plot which is when Manny joins a gang. All Manny wants is respect and joining a gang is the way to do it. After he finishes fighting the gang which was the ignisation to join, Manny for the first time feels happy in the book, and the gang is meeting tomorrow. The next day it is bad weather so Manny tells his mom he will be playing baseball even though he gave up on that dream of becoming a pro at it. He sneaks over to his gang which is waiting outside the mall. Everyone is really cold and come up with ideas of what to do. Their gang leader shrugs all of the ideas off and goes home to watch TV with his girlfriend. Soon his friend Frankie says they should go home, but Eddie who is the punk of the gang decides to stay. He also convinces Manny to stay with him even though he and his friend Frankie know there will be trouble. As Frankie and the other gang member walk away Eddie and Manny head to the mall. After browsing for a while, Eddie out of nowhere jumps a woman and takes her purse. Manny chases after Eddie startled as the woman calls the police. Manny keeps saying to Eddie slow down but he won't listen. They start to arrive where Frankie and his friend went, and Manny meets this newspaper guy he saw before. The guy says to let him go and Manny does. The police show up and the woman points out Manny to the officer. But the newspaper guy tells the cop Eddie went that way, and the cop forgets about Manny. Manny goes home and finds his sisters sleeping together so he sits on a chair in the living room. Then it hits Manny that this tranquility is all he ever wanted.
2. I thought this book was a very good read. One reason is that there were multiple plots. Instead of there being the main plot, every chapte had its own plot which made the story kind of like little stories in each chapter. I've nevr read anything like it before. Also I thought the author wrote the book very well. He got a National Book Award for this. I think he got that because of the detailed scenes in the book. At times the book got boring and hard to read because of all the detail. Overall though the book would be harder to understand without all the detail. Also the characters played ahuge role. I thought the author described what they would be like in this part of the world. He also put them in the right places at the right time so it made the book better. The author mad ethis a very good read.
3. My theme was hardship. Hardship played a big role in this book especially to Manny. It first starts wth Manny's family. They cause lot of problems for him becuase they ask him to do evrything, or they just beat up on him. One character who gives Manny a really hard time is his dad. His dad is very abusive and always gets on Manny's nerves. For example his father says Manny is ungrateful and is lazy. But his father is the one who is ungrateful to the family because he wastes all their money and can't find a job. Manny also faces hardship because he tries to get respect. He goes out for the school boxing team which is a huge thing, but instead is the water boy. At a dance he tries to get a girls attention, but instead gets kicked out of the party becuase know one knew him. And when he tries to join the gang, they beat him up for the gang ingnitiation.
4. My favorite character was Manny. I liked Manny for many reasons. One is that he delt with everything thrown against him. He would just shrug it off and keep trying to do what he had to do. He also was a helpful person. No matter what he was going to do, he would go help whoever needed it and then get right back to work. He gained a lot of respect that way. And as the story went on he started to stand up for himself and din't let anyone push him around. This adds to the fact that he deals with hardship in a good way. I don't normally like main characters, but in this case I liked Manny a lot.
5. My least favorite character choice changed form Manny's dad to Eddie. Eddie was just like Manny's dad in a way that he would push people around. He was also mean to Msnny. He didn't want Manny in the gang at the first place so he would always bea up on him. and would try to get him kicked out. One way he did this is when he stole the woman's purse. That was an example of Eddie trying to kick out Manny. Eddie also effected Manny's sister Magda. He used to be her boyfriend, but he dumped her and Magda was so depressed that for the rest of the book she just stayed in her room. Eddie was also punk. Whatever he suggested for the gang to do was to jump someone and take their money. I don't think Manny liked that so he tried to stay away from Eddie.
6.  I thought I got the ending spot on. The blurb in he book said that Manny would join again, so when I got to the part where there were 50 pages left I kinda knew what would happen. I also excpected Manny to get in trouble because right when they mentioned Eddie I knew there was going to be trouble. What I didn't see coming was that Manny didn't get noticed and taken in by the cops. ice Manny is very honest I thought he would tell the cop what happened, but instead just kept his mouth shut.

Scott Hackney

Scott Hackney

The Return of the King

J.R.R. Tolkien

Fantasy

Challenge

185

1. I am at the part where the book has just moved to the point of view has moved to Frodo and Sam. Before the book moved to the point of view of Frodo and Sam Aragorn and his kin had to go into a cave to look for the King of the Dead. They are looking for him because they need the support of his men in the upcoming battle. As they enter the cave many of the horses don’t want to follow their riders because they know that many dark creatures lurk in the dark. After searching for a while they finally find the rock that brings back the King of the Dead and his troops. When they ride out of the cave and into the nearby villages all of the villagers run out of their house because they know the legend of the King of the Dead. Next the book switches to Merry’s point of view. He is with the riders of Rohan, and they have just gotten back from their ride from Isengard. After coming back from the ride they are preparing to leave to ride to Gondor to help in the upcoming battle just like Aragorn is.

2. This book gives plenty of detail, even in places that I thought that no extra detail could be put in the author puts more in. This is one of the reasons why this book is so challenging. If the author put less detail into the book I think it would be a quicker read and easier to understand. The author uses lots of detail from all the other books to connect the three books, which make the books confusing at times. That also makes the book more challenging then others that I have read. I also think the detail makes this book a classic. The detail that the author uses makes the book very easy to remember. If it wasn’t for the detail I think that the book wouldn’t be around today, it makes it very easy to remember.

3. One of the themes of the book is good vs. evil. This theme is very big through out the book; this is because the book is based on good vs. evil. The whole plot of the book is how Middle Earth overcomes the evil of Mordor and Sauron. Since the theme is the plot of the story it really stood out for me. The characters also mention how evil Sauron is and how many dark creatures are working for Sauron. Also when the book changes to a different characters point of view they are always trying to help make the world free of less evil creatures.

4. I think my favorite character in the book is Aragorn; he is always leading the group no matter how big or how small. He is also a natural born leader. He is also is afraid of nothing; many times he is the one who leader the group into a dangerous cave or place. When many people wouldn’t go places Aragorn will go them without a second thought. One example of his is when he goes to find the King of the Dead; Aragorn is the first person to make it through the cave alive. Many of his companions have second thoughts about going through the cave but not Aragorn. He is the one who leads them through and finds the King of the Dead and all of his soldiers.

5. My least favorite character is Sauron; he is the one who is making all the other countries in Middle Earth get destroyed by war. Many of them don’t have an army to defend themselves against Sauron and vast amount of soldiers. He is also making many people die, as a result families are being separated and villages are being burned to the ground. Sauron is also getting people to change sides and turn against their own country. One example of this is Saruman, he turned against the other wizards and decoded he would join forces with Sauron.  

6. What I think will happen next is Sam will have to go find Frodo who in the last book was taken away by orcs. He will have to find him or Sauron will capture him and all hope will be lost. If Sam doesn’t find Frodo then Sauron will be reunited with the ring that will make him the most powerful man in Middle Earth. I also think that Aragorn and the riders of Rohan will come to Gondor to help Gondor with the defense of Gondor. I also think if they don’t make it on time then Gondor will be taken and the rest of Middle Earth will be defenseless against the power of Sauron.     

 

Caroline Bennett

Caroline Bennett
Breaking Pointe 
Miriam Wenger-Landis
Novel
Just Right
p. 146

1) Right now in Breaking Pointe, by Miriam Wenger-Landis, Anna's world is changing very fast. Ethan has just come back from working for two years in Switzerland. Ethan is Anna's boyfriend. Right before he left Anna gave him her number and promised to be waiting for him in Los Angeles when he got back. Now that he is back, things in Anna's life have gotten even more complicated. She is a professional dancer at Los Angeles Ballet Theater, or LABT. She has to dance long hours every day which leaves little time for a social life. Ethan understands this and promises that they can see each other as much or as little as Anna would like. To add to her normal hectic schedule, Anna has rehearsal for a principle role. A principle role is the highest role a dancer can get. Most principle roles are reserved for the older dancers, so since it's Anna's first year in the company it is a surprise. Even thought Anna knows the role is a huge opportunity and responsibility, she struggles committing to it completely because she wants to spend more time with Ethan.
2) I am really enjoying this book so far. It is the sequel to Girl in Motion, I really liked that book so I had high expectations for Breaking Pointe. I think one of the things that makes this book so good is that the author was a dancer and used many of her personal experiences to write the book. Since she experienced going through a ballet theater, she knows what is realistic and unrealistic and can write a book about ballet that is believable. The book isn't action filled or fast paced but there is a lot of drama, which I like. There are a lot of emotions between characters and they aren't always nice to one another. I feel this adds to the plot in a positive way. I think most of characters are people that you could meet in real life, thats how much depth they have to them. A lot of how much you like a book depends on how real the characters seem, so I think the author really improved her book by making the characters real. The only other book I've read by this author is the book before this one in the series, but I will definitely look for her other books.
3) One of the themes that stood out to me in the book so far is Power of Tradition. Ballet is very traditional and ballerinas are expected to act, look and behave a certain way. One way is through the execution of the elements they are required to preform. But the way that stood out to me was in the way they look. Ballerinas are expected to be very thin. Companies sometimes put pressure on their dancers to fit the body type they are looking for. Companies push their dancers to be as thin as possible even if that affects their health. If ballet was a new idea and someone was telling people they must look a certain way and give them unhealthy ways to look that way, people would probably protest. It is because ballet is a tradition that no one pushes to change it. Its is the power of tradition that has kept ballet alive for so long. Anna, the narrator, talks a lot about the company pushing people who are already very thin to lose more weight. She also expresses wonder as to why no one is outraged at the way ballet theaters and companies treat there dancers. The answer, again,  is power of tradition.
4) My favorite character is Anna. I think Anna has a really great personality. She is very determined and works very hard at ballet. I really admire those qualities in her. She is also very kind to everyone and never tries to start any trouble at the company which seems to be a very rare quality at LABT. I've started to like Anna even more in the more recent parts of the book because she is changing a little bit. In a way, she is becoming more human. Her whole life has been about dance and now that she has met Ethan she is realizing that there is more to life than dance. She is experiencing more things outside of the dance studio which I think helped me relate to her more.
5) My least favorite character is Hillary. Hillary also appeared in the first book in the series, when Anna and her are both at School of Ballet New York, or SBNY. Hillary was one of Anna's biggest competitors, and her roommate. When they were rooming together Hillary did some very mean things to Anna to try and sabotage her life and ballet career. Part of the reason I don't like her is because of the things she did in the first book, but she has also been very sneaky in Breaking Pointe. For a while, Hillary was pretending to be nice to Anna but then she made a few jokes about stealing Ethan from Anna. However, I'm not so sure Hillary was completely kidding. I feel like Hillary will be back to her mean ways again soon.
6) I have a few predictions about what will happen next in the book. I think Hillary will try and get Ethan away from Anna so she can date him. I think this because she really hates seeing Anna happy in any way, and she also expressed to Anna that she likes Ethan. I think since everything is going so well for Anna in her ballet career that something bad must happen that stops her from doing ballet. If only temporarily. I also think that Anna will become a great ballerina because she has already gotten a huge part and she is very young.

Alex Dombrowski

Alex Dombrowski

A Series of Unfortunate Events #2: The Reptile Room

Lemony Snicket

Fantasy

Holiday

51

 

                                                                                                   

1.      The Baudelaire children have finally gotten away from Count Olaf and are now moving into a new home. When the three, Violet, Klaus and Sunny, arrive they noticed a that the bushes where carved into snakes. Also they notice what a nice house their new care-taker has. When they finally meet him, he introduces himself to them as Uncle Monty. Montgomery offers them some cake as soon as they arrive and welcomes them. The Baudelaire’s find out he is a herpetologist (someone who studies snakes and other reptiles.) This explains why there are pictures of snakes all around his house. Uncle Monty tells them how he is going to take them to Peru to look for new species of reptiles. The kids get excited because their “father” is really looking forward to having them live with him. Also he gives them each their own room to sleep in unlike Olaf who gave them one room and only one bed. As they are preparing to go to Peru, Uncle Monty’s new assistant arrives at the house. The kids welcome him uneasily and soon realize the sketchy figure is Count Olaf. He threatens them not to say anything to Uncle Monty about him.

2.      I have really enjoyed the book so far. it is entertaining and Snicket has an interesting style of writing. He sometimes defines words in the paragraph after they are used and cuts away from the story to say something that will spoil part of the book. For example, he says Uncle Monty is going to be killed before you have any thought of him being killed. I also think the characters are interesting he makes. The bad guy (Count Olaf) a gross man who is stick like and has shiny eyes. This makes everything thing he does creepy you imagine him actually doing it. I also found it great how Snicket brings Olaf back. It makes the book much more exciting because you can almost know what to expect from him. Overall, this book is quite enjoyable to read.

3.      I think the theme is desire to escape, I think it’s this because the Baudelaire’s are always trying to get away from Olaf. In the first book the finally did get away from him and know he has returned to try to steal their fortune again. The children even say they are happy with Uncle Monty and are starting to feel happy again after their parents’ deaths. Count Olaf arriving has made them scared and now they want to get away from him. Since Snicket says Uncle Monty is going to get killed I know the theme will carry out more throughout the whole book. As long as Olaf is there the Baudelaire’s will want to get away from him.

4.      I really like Uncle Monty. He is really nice to the orphans and wants them to be involved in his life. He takes much better care of them then Olaf did, he does this by not making them work extremely hard, giving them their own rooms and taking them with him when he travels. Montgomery wants the children to experience all the things he does when he is tracking reptiles and I like that about him. In addition, he has a very cool job. He gets to travel around the world and catch different types of reptiles, and then he brings them back and puts them in the “reptile room,” which is a place where he keeps all of his specimens. Uncle Monty’s traits make him my favorite character and I will be sad to see him die.

5.      Count Olaf is my least favorite character. He is a nasty, gross man. All he wants is to take the Baudelaire’s great fortune. He failed in the first book and he comes back pretending to be Uncle Monty’s assistant. Olaf has never tried to be nice to the kids. After being at the house for less than five minutes, he threatens to cut off Violets toe if she doesn’t call him Stephan. Even though he hasn’t had a large part in this book yet, I know he will because he was so evil to the children in the first book. Everything about Count Olaf makes him a horrible man.

6.      I think the Baudelaire’s will tell Uncle Monty that “Stephan” is actually Olaf but he won’t believe them. Then when all of them are in Peru Olaf will kill Uncle Monty but make it look like an accident. He will probably get him bit by a venomous snake that will kill him. This means the children won’t have someone to look over them, therefore they will have to live with Count Olaf again.