Hello my name is Carter. I will be presenting my
book City of Ashes for my book review. In this book Clary is a shadow hunter, a person who kills demons. Her father, Valentine, was a shadow hunter at one time but then he turned corrupt. In this book Clary and her newly introduced brother Jace have second thoughts of which side they really should be on.
I would suggest reading this book to all of my fellow classmates, but you obviously want to read the first book in the series first. I suggest this book to every person who enjoys unpredictable mythological novels. This is a great book because it has a good story line while still maintaining some humorous sections.
Kirkus reviews states that readers of urban fantasy will devour this deliciously overwrought adventure. The author of the twilight series quotes “ The Mortal Instruments series is a story that I would love to live in, Beautiful.”
Thank you for listening. I hope you all read this book.
Recommended by Carter Pins
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer
For the past 20 years A Child Called ”It” by Dave Pelzer has captivated many people around the world. It chronicles one of the most severe cases of child abuse in the state of California. It tells the amazing story of how Dave Pelzer was brutally beaten and starved by his unstable and alcoholic mother. A mother who would play tortuous and unpredictable games that left him almost dead. The only way to survive was to beat his mother in the games because his mother no longer considered him her son but a slave, a child that she called “It”. Read to find out how Dave beats his mom with his dreams of the outside world and his willpower to get out!
The follow up books in this series are equally engaging and remarkable. There are three more books that tell about his life. This book is recommended for readers of 14 years of age or mature readers. It has been rated five out of a possible five stars from the customers on the Barnes and Noble web-site. Anne Cohn-Donnelly commented that, “To know the torment of abuse and how the child willed himself to survive, read this compelling, spell-binding account. Jack Canfield stated, “A Child Called “It” was so riveting, neither I nor the staff could put it down! One’s life is forever changed after living through the eyes of A child Called “It”. One of the many disturbing quotes in this book is ,”SMACK! Mother hits me in the face, and I topple to the floor. I know better than to stand there and take the hit. I learned the hard way that she takes that as an act of defiance which means more hits, or worse of all, no food. I regain my posture and and dodge her looks, as she screams in my ear.” This quote and many others in this book are disturbing. I think this says that Dave is saying that he has been hit enough to know what to do when his mother hits him yet again. You don’t hit your kid because his hands were out of the sink for a millisecond. I could tell you how much I despise Dave’s mother but then you wouldn't have to read the book. This book is one of the best autobiographies I have ever read! I am pleading with you to read this book. It will open your eyes and make you question, “this really goes on in families across the U.S!!” You won’t believe what you read.
Recommended by Jenna Willer
The follow up books in this series are equally engaging and remarkable. There are three more books that tell about his life. This book is recommended for readers of 14 years of age or mature readers. It has been rated five out of a possible five stars from the customers on the Barnes and Noble web-site. Anne Cohn-Donnelly commented that, “To know the torment of abuse and how the child willed himself to survive, read this compelling, spell-binding account. Jack Canfield stated, “A Child Called “It” was so riveting, neither I nor the staff could put it down! One’s life is forever changed after living through the eyes of A child Called “It”. One of the many disturbing quotes in this book is ,”SMACK! Mother hits me in the face, and I topple to the floor. I know better than to stand there and take the hit. I learned the hard way that she takes that as an act of defiance which means more hits, or worse of all, no food. I regain my posture and and dodge her looks, as she screams in my ear.” This quote and many others in this book are disturbing. I think this says that Dave is saying that he has been hit enough to know what to do when his mother hits him yet again. You don’t hit your kid because his hands were out of the sink for a millisecond. I could tell you how much I despise Dave’s mother but then you wouldn't have to read the book. This book is one of the best autobiographies I have ever read! I am pleading with you to read this book. It will open your eyes and make you question, “this really goes on in families across the U.S!!” You won’t believe what you read.
Recommended by Jenna Willer
A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown
Hi! Today I will be talking to you about the book, A Piece of Cake by Cupacke Brown. This memoir is her first and only book. The book has not won any awards yet, but I think it definitely should. This book is about a girl named Cupcake Brown. When she is just 11 she wakes up to find her mom dead, she died from an epileptic seizure. She goes and lives with her dad. Her real dad left her mom when she was just a baby. Then her mom met another guy ( who is her step dad) they got married then separated. Her brother Larry lived with her dad and she lived with her mom. After the death of her mom the court had to review the custody of the kids. Then her real dad came back and said he wanted them, but he just wanted their money. He then put them in foster care.
That’s where her life fell apart. She was abused multiple ways in her foster home. She decided to run away. That was the first night she tried drugs and alcohol and turned her first trick. From there her life got worse and worse. She got into gangs more drugs and more alcohol and every bad thing you can think of. All before she was 20.
One of my favorite quotes from this book is “ I giggled to myself. Momma was just like me. She hated getting up in the morning, so she put the clock way across the room and turned it all the way up so it scare her awake in the morning.” This is one of the few happy parts of her life. The Chicago Sun Times says, “ Brown’s confessional memoir is one you can’t easily put down. Her life is nothing short of a miracle.” This book is appropriate for ages 14+ and is a very mature read. I found this book challenging to read.This book is similar to the Crank series by Ellen Hopkins and is similar in writing style.
You’ll have to read to find if she cleans up her life and what happens to her family.
Recommended by Meg Stecklein
That’s where her life fell apart. She was abused multiple ways in her foster home. She decided to run away. That was the first night she tried drugs and alcohol and turned her first trick. From there her life got worse and worse. She got into gangs more drugs and more alcohol and every bad thing you can think of. All before she was 20.
One of my favorite quotes from this book is “ I giggled to myself. Momma was just like me. She hated getting up in the morning, so she put the clock way across the room and turned it all the way up so it scare her awake in the morning.” This is one of the few happy parts of her life. The Chicago Sun Times says, “ Brown’s confessional memoir is one you can’t easily put down. Her life is nothing short of a miracle.” This book is appropriate for ages 14+ and is a very mature read. I found this book challenging to read.This book is similar to the Crank series by Ellen Hopkins and is similar in writing style.
You’ll have to read to find if she cleans up her life and what happens to her family.
Recommended by Meg Stecklein
The Help by Katheryn Stockett
I read the book, The Help, by Katheryn Stockett. The book centers around the writing of the book, “Help.” There are many characters in this book to describe but the two main ones are Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan and Aibleen Clark. Skeeter is a white woman who just returned from college with a degree in writing. Skeeter gets a job as a writer for the local newspaper. Aibleen is an African American lady who is the house-keeper for Skeeter’s friend, Miss Elizabeth Leefolt. Skeeter and Aibleen’s relationship starts when Skeeter gets a job at the “Jackson Journal” writing the “Miss Myrna” column, an article that gives tips on house-keeping. It doesn’t take long before Skeeter realizes that she doesn’t know a thing about housekeeping so she asks Aibleen to help her out with the column. Once Skeeter gets to know Aibleen a little better, she decides to ask Aibleen if she would help her out with the book. After a lot of convincing, Aibleen decides to do it. It took a lot of hard work and talking with other maids for Skeeter and Aibleen to finish the book. After a lot of prayer, they find out Mrs. Stien was going to publish it, but after it’s published, lots of problems occur. Will Aibleen be able to keep her job working for Miss Leefolt? Will anyone find out who the real authors of the book are?
This is hands down the best book I have ever read! Any time I wasn’t doing anything in the last month you would find me with the book in my hand trying to find out what was going to happen next. This 522 page book always kept me attached. There was always something new to look forward to no matter what part you were at. Like I said, there were many characters in this book. My least favorite was Miss Hilly Holbrook who was a friend of Skeeter’s for a while. Hilly is a horrible person and I never liked what she had to say. She thinks/thought that she knows everything and they only thing that matters is herself.
The recommended reading age for this book was not able to be found but I believe any young adult reader or over would enjoy this book. This is Stockett’s first and only book as of now. There are no awards that this book has won yet, but I bet there will be some to come in the future. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from this book, “You is smart. You is kind. You is important,” and “Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize we are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought.” I would compare this author to John M. Wolf who wrote Someone Named Eva because they both chose to write fiction stories about hard periods of time in history.
Kirkus Reviews says:
The relationships between white middle-class women and their black maids in Jackson, Miss., circa 1962, reflect larger issues of racial upheaval in Mississippi-native Stockett’s ambitious first novel. Still unmarried, to her mother’s dismay, recent Ole Miss graduate Skeeter returns to Jackson longing to be a serious writer. While playing bridge with her friends Hilly and Elizabeth, she asks Elizabeth’s seemingly docile maid Aibileen for housekeeping advice to fill the column she’s been hired to pen for a local paper. The two women begin what Skeeter considers a semi-friendship, but Aibileen, mourning her son’s recent death and devoted to Elizabeth’s neglected young daughter, is careful what she shares. Aibileen’s good friend Minnie, who works for Hilly’s increasingly senile mother, is less adept at playing the subservient game than Aibileen. When Hilly, an aggressively racist social climber, fires and then blackballs her for speaking too freely, Minnie’s audacious act of vengeance almost destroys her livelihood. Unlike oblivious Elizabeth and vicious Hilly, Skeeter is at the verge of enlightenment. Encouraged by a New York editor, she decides to write a book about the experience of black maids and enlists Aibileen’s help. For Skeeter the book is primarily a chance to prove herself as a writer. The stakes are much higher for the black women who put their lives on the line by telling their true stories. Although the exposé is published anonymously, the town’s social fabric is permanently torn. Stockett uses telling details to capture the era and does not shy from showing Skeeter’s dangerous naïveté. Skeeter’s narration is alive with complexity—her loyalty to her traditional Southern mother remains even after she learns why the beloved black maid who raised her has disappeared. In contrast, Stockett never truly gets inside Aibileen and Minnie’s heads (a risk the author acknowledges in her postscript). The scenes written in their voices verge on patronizing.
This genuine page-turner offers a whiff of white liberal self-congratulation that won’t hurt its appeal and probably spells big success.
“Set in the rural South of the 1960's, THE HELP is a startling, resonant portrait of the intertwined lives of women on opposite sides of the racial divide. Stockett's many gifts – a keen eye for character, a wicked sense of humor, the perfect timing of a natural born storyteller – shine as she evokes a time and place when black women were expected to help raise white babies, and yet could not use the same bathroom as their employers. Her characters, both white and black, are so fully fleshed they practically breathe – no stock villains or pious heroines here. I'm becoming an evangelist for The Help. Don't miss this wise and astonishing debut.”
–Joshilyn Jackson, Bestselling author of Gods in Alabama
I really, really hope you read this book!!
Recommended by Sarah Kluesner
This is hands down the best book I have ever read! Any time I wasn’t doing anything in the last month you would find me with the book in my hand trying to find out what was going to happen next. This 522 page book always kept me attached. There was always something new to look forward to no matter what part you were at. Like I said, there were many characters in this book. My least favorite was Miss Hilly Holbrook who was a friend of Skeeter’s for a while. Hilly is a horrible person and I never liked what she had to say. She thinks/thought that she knows everything and they only thing that matters is herself.
The recommended reading age for this book was not able to be found but I believe any young adult reader or over would enjoy this book. This is Stockett’s first and only book as of now. There are no awards that this book has won yet, but I bet there will be some to come in the future. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from this book, “You is smart. You is kind. You is important,” and “Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize we are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought.” I would compare this author to John M. Wolf who wrote Someone Named Eva because they both chose to write fiction stories about hard periods of time in history.
Kirkus Reviews says:
The relationships between white middle-class women and their black maids in Jackson, Miss., circa 1962, reflect larger issues of racial upheaval in Mississippi-native Stockett’s ambitious first novel. Still unmarried, to her mother’s dismay, recent Ole Miss graduate Skeeter returns to Jackson longing to be a serious writer. While playing bridge with her friends Hilly and Elizabeth, she asks Elizabeth’s seemingly docile maid Aibileen for housekeeping advice to fill the column she’s been hired to pen for a local paper. The two women begin what Skeeter considers a semi-friendship, but Aibileen, mourning her son’s recent death and devoted to Elizabeth’s neglected young daughter, is careful what she shares. Aibileen’s good friend Minnie, who works for Hilly’s increasingly senile mother, is less adept at playing the subservient game than Aibileen. When Hilly, an aggressively racist social climber, fires and then blackballs her for speaking too freely, Minnie’s audacious act of vengeance almost destroys her livelihood. Unlike oblivious Elizabeth and vicious Hilly, Skeeter is at the verge of enlightenment. Encouraged by a New York editor, she decides to write a book about the experience of black maids and enlists Aibileen’s help. For Skeeter the book is primarily a chance to prove herself as a writer. The stakes are much higher for the black women who put their lives on the line by telling their true stories. Although the exposé is published anonymously, the town’s social fabric is permanently torn. Stockett uses telling details to capture the era and does not shy from showing Skeeter’s dangerous naïveté. Skeeter’s narration is alive with complexity—her loyalty to her traditional Southern mother remains even after she learns why the beloved black maid who raised her has disappeared. In contrast, Stockett never truly gets inside Aibileen and Minnie’s heads (a risk the author acknowledges in her postscript). The scenes written in their voices verge on patronizing.
This genuine page-turner offers a whiff of white liberal self-congratulation that won’t hurt its appeal and probably spells big success.
“Set in the rural South of the 1960's, THE HELP is a startling, resonant portrait of the intertwined lives of women on opposite sides of the racial divide. Stockett's many gifts – a keen eye for character, a wicked sense of humor, the perfect timing of a natural born storyteller – shine as she evokes a time and place when black women were expected to help raise white babies, and yet could not use the same bathroom as their employers. Her characters, both white and black, are so fully fleshed they practically breathe – no stock villains or pious heroines here. I'm becoming an evangelist for The Help. Don't miss this wise and astonishing debut.”
–Joshilyn Jackson, Bestselling author of Gods in Alabama
I really, really hope you read this book!!
Recommended by Sarah Kluesner
Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti
Something Like Fate is a page turning, hard to set down book that captures the attention of girls ages 12 and up. Something like Fate by Susane Colasanti is about Lani and Erin who are best friends and how they have who have been like sisters forever. They always do everything together they are also curious about what their future holds and weather it’s told by a physic, by a palm reader, or even by a weekly horoscope they want to know. But when romance sparks between Erin and the Golden Boy Jason things get a little complicated. To Erin it’s the love of her life, she couldn’t be happier... but Jason on the other hand isn’t feeling it. When Erin goes away to camp for the summer, Lani and the Golden Boy have an undeniable connection that not even a physic can predict. They grow closer and closer over the summer, but one problem Jason and Erin are still dating and can only communicate only through letters, it makes it hard to tell the truth. Find out if Lani and the Golden Boy will continue their relationship and date. Or if Erin will put a stop to it. Also if the school will find out about Lani and Jason. If Erin and Lani will still be friends. And if their lives will be as predictable as it seems.
The School Library Journal has some remarks about the book “Colasanti turns a tired cliché–falling for your best friend's boyfriend–into an honest portrayal of romantic turmoil and backstabbing.” This book reminds me of the same writing as Sarah Dessen because I think it really relates to the reader. A book I would compare this to would be Two Way Street by Lauren Barnaholdt. I say this because the book is about two people who really want to be together but cant because of other people, who surround them.
A quote from this in-depth book is “You are bonded by a tragic event, but will be ripped apart by another.” This is when Lani and Erin get their palms read. When you get done reading the book it will make more sense. I also think that it’s weird how the physic can tell you what will happen in your life. A remark from The Critics is “[Something like Fate is] Credible and engaging character development… and interactions that spark just the right amount of tension to make this a romantic page-turner”
Some other entrancing books by Susane are Take Me There, Waiting for You, When It Happens. All of these books received great praise from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and VOYA. Something Like Fate has not won any awards. but hopefully soon will.(:
Recommended by Quinn Herbst
The School Library Journal has some remarks about the book “Colasanti turns a tired cliché–falling for your best friend's boyfriend–into an honest portrayal of romantic turmoil and backstabbing.” This book reminds me of the same writing as Sarah Dessen because I think it really relates to the reader. A book I would compare this to would be Two Way Street by Lauren Barnaholdt. I say this because the book is about two people who really want to be together but cant because of other people, who surround them.
A quote from this in-depth book is “You are bonded by a tragic event, but will be ripped apart by another.” This is when Lani and Erin get their palms read. When you get done reading the book it will make more sense. I also think that it’s weird how the physic can tell you what will happen in your life. A remark from The Critics is “[Something like Fate is] Credible and engaging character development… and interactions that spark just the right amount of tension to make this a romantic page-turner”
Some other entrancing books by Susane are Take Me There, Waiting for You, When It Happens. All of these books received great praise from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and VOYA. Something Like Fate has not won any awards. but hopefully soon will.(:
Recommended by Quinn Herbst
Can't Get There From Here by Todd Strasser
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live on the streets? Well, whether you have or haven’t I think all of you should read this book. It is called Can't Get There From Here by Todd Strasser. Todd Strasser has also written Boot Camp and Give A Boy A Gun. If you read this book, you will realize how hard it is to not have parents and have nowhere to go. In this book ‘Maybe’ is a teenage girl living on the streets, she lives with others though, A tribe of teens that have run away, been thrown away, abandoned, or abused. In the middle of a cold winter along comes a new addition. She is quickly added to the group. Maybe realized that Tears, the new addition to the tribe, is only about 12 years old. Soon the rest of the groups is slowly disappearing because of things like violence, addiction, and exposure. Since Tears is so young Maybe thinks she can help her get off the streets, but there is many dangers and risks! Will they be able to make it?
This 198 page book will not be put down to the end! It is recommended for young adult readers and I think it is neither a girl or boy book but a great read for everyone! Although this book has no real awards it got a 4.5 star rating from Amazon.com.
This is a great book, but you don't have to take my word for it! Kircus reviews say "A welcome addition to the slice of life genera in Y/A literature that may help to change some real lives" have fun reading!!!
Recommended by Emily Koetz
This 198 page book will not be put down to the end! It is recommended for young adult readers and I think it is neither a girl or boy book but a great read for everyone! Although this book has no real awards it got a 4.5 star rating from Amazon.com.
This is a great book, but you don't have to take my word for it! Kircus reviews say "A welcome addition to the slice of life genera in Y/A literature that may help to change some real lives" have fun reading!!!
Recommended by Emily Koetz
Deep Zone by Tim Green
I am doing my book review on Deep Zone by Tim Green. This 265 page book is the conclusion to the Football Genius Novels. In this thrilling story, Troy White and Ty Lewis meet in a 7 - on - 7 tournament at that’s being held at the Super Bowl between the Jets and the Falcons in Miami. Ty is a ball boy for the New York Jets, the team his brother Thane, or Tiger, as he is known by everyone else, plays for. In a game against the Baltimore Ravens, Thane is hurt in the final seconds of the game. While Ty is at the hospital with Thane, he sees a face on TV that gives him nightmares: the face of a man that ran a gambling operation for the notorious D’Amico crime family. Ty’s Uncle Gus had gambled with Lucy Catolone, the man in charge of the gambling, and lost big. Now, a few years later, Lucy and some of the D’Amicos are to appear in court with Gus being the star witness. Meanwhile Thane is recovering and Ty is under the protection of the FBI in case any of the D’Amico gang comes after him because of his connection with Gus. I seems that all is well as Ty and his seven-on-seven team win game after game and are headed for the tournament.
In Miami, Ty meets Troy, the “football genius” of the Atlanta Falcons, who is also with his team in the tournament. In the beginning Troy and Ty don’t get along because Ty seems interested in Tate McGreer, Troy’s friend. One night, Troy thinks that he and Thane are being followed. The excitement builds as Ty, Thane, and Tate go on a tour through the Everglades to see alligators. They go past a haunted fishcamp and on the way back they get drenched by poaring rain. Back at the hotel, Ty sees the killer who is part of the D’Amico gang. Throughout the tournament, both Ty’s and Troy’s teams keep winning until both make it to the championship game. Then the unexpected happens the night before. Troy thinks he sees his dad and runs after him. Ty sees everything play out before his eyes and goes after Troy. Then Ty is jumped on by two of the D’Amico gang members and kidnapped and taken with Troy and his dad to the fishcamp. Ty texts Tate and tells her where they are at and she comes to the rescue. While escaping, they are all caught and taken back. Later on, Troy’s dad frees all three kid, but Troy breaks his ankle during the escape. The kids are safely returned and Troy’s dad leaves without another word.
In this highly acclaimed and suspenseful novel, you will witness experience after horrifying and exciting experience. I think this would be a great book for any football fanatic. Deep Zone has not received any rewards and recommended reading age is 8-12. Kirkus reviews says, “NFL insider Green brings together his two heroes—Ty and Troy—in this gridiron mystery focused on teen football phenoms.” Joy Held says, “Green is a master with a meaningful metaphor and writes the life and brains of 12-year-old boys really well. The series is a winner, and Deep Zone is one of the star players.” Some other books by Tim Green are Football Genius, Football Hero, Football Champ, The Big Time, Rivals, Baseball Great, and Best of the Best. If you like any books by Mike Lupica including The Underdogs and Million Dollar Throw you are sure to like Deep Zone. A quote from the book is “Ty didn’t react, but on the snap of the ball, he gave a head fake outside, then back inside. Moby’s hands shot out and struck Ty, but Ty had already turned sideways and started back out to the outside: the double fake. Moby’s blow glanced off Ty’s ribs, and Ty shot past the cornerback, racing straight down the sideline.” I highly recommend this book because you constantly are asking yourself questions. Who will win the tournament? What about the Super Bowl? What happens to Ty and Troy? Will the D’Amicos be arrested by the FBI? You have to read this gripping novel to find out.
Recommended by an 8th grader
In Miami, Ty meets Troy, the “football genius” of the Atlanta Falcons, who is also with his team in the tournament. In the beginning Troy and Ty don’t get along because Ty seems interested in Tate McGreer, Troy’s friend. One night, Troy thinks that he and Thane are being followed. The excitement builds as Ty, Thane, and Tate go on a tour through the Everglades to see alligators. They go past a haunted fishcamp and on the way back they get drenched by poaring rain. Back at the hotel, Ty sees the killer who is part of the D’Amico gang. Throughout the tournament, both Ty’s and Troy’s teams keep winning until both make it to the championship game. Then the unexpected happens the night before. Troy thinks he sees his dad and runs after him. Ty sees everything play out before his eyes and goes after Troy. Then Ty is jumped on by two of the D’Amico gang members and kidnapped and taken with Troy and his dad to the fishcamp. Ty texts Tate and tells her where they are at and she comes to the rescue. While escaping, they are all caught and taken back. Later on, Troy’s dad frees all three kid, but Troy breaks his ankle during the escape. The kids are safely returned and Troy’s dad leaves without another word.
In this highly acclaimed and suspenseful novel, you will witness experience after horrifying and exciting experience. I think this would be a great book for any football fanatic. Deep Zone has not received any rewards and recommended reading age is 8-12. Kirkus reviews says, “NFL insider Green brings together his two heroes—Ty and Troy—in this gridiron mystery focused on teen football phenoms.” Joy Held says, “Green is a master with a meaningful metaphor and writes the life and brains of 12-year-old boys really well. The series is a winner, and Deep Zone is one of the star players.” Some other books by Tim Green are Football Genius, Football Hero, Football Champ, The Big Time, Rivals, Baseball Great, and Best of the Best. If you like any books by Mike Lupica including The Underdogs and Million Dollar Throw you are sure to like Deep Zone. A quote from the book is “Ty didn’t react, but on the snap of the ball, he gave a head fake outside, then back inside. Moby’s hands shot out and struck Ty, but Ty had already turned sideways and started back out to the outside: the double fake. Moby’s blow glanced off Ty’s ribs, and Ty shot past the cornerback, racing straight down the sideline.” I highly recommend this book because you constantly are asking yourself questions. Who will win the tournament? What about the Super Bowl? What happens to Ty and Troy? Will the D’Amicos be arrested by the FBI? You have to read this gripping novel to find out.
Recommended by an 8th grader
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