Friday, July 31, 2015

Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin


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Rain Reign
Author: Ann M. Martin
Lexile: 720
Length: 240 Pages
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Awards: None
Reading Ram Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5



                   Rose Howard loves homonyms, prime numbers, and following the rules. She loves homonyms so much, she even named her dog Rain (Reign) a homonym, and is delighted that her own name is a homonym. She lives in a small town, and her father work at the J&G Garage down the street. Her uncle also lives in town, and drives Rose to school every day. She's different from the other students at her school. She needs an aide. Nobody else in fifth grade does. One day, Rose learns of a gigantic hurricane that is going to hit right in her town. The night of the hurricane, while Rose is asleep, her father lets Rain out, but not back in. When she gets up in the morning Rain has vanished. Where is her precious dog? If she's even still alive!
                  This story was so sweet and well written, I really felt sorry for Rose when all the other kids in her class made fun of her and mocked her openly. Rose has autism, and she is treated differently by everyone else, even her father. The reason I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars was because whenever Rose was talking or thinking, the homonyms in the sentence were in parenthesis, and it was soooooooooooo annoying to read. So, it was still a really great book, but that part jsut bugged me a lot. You should really try this book out in your free time!!!!!!

Friday, July 24, 2015

Let It Snow by John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson


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Let It Snow
Author: John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson
Lexile: 730
Length: 352 Pages
Awards: None
Reading Ram Star Rating: 4.8 out of 5 Stars


         
                     Jubilee is on her way to visit her grandparents in Florida, her own parents are in jail because of a small dispute at a shop. Her parents lawyer next door shoved money in her hand, drove to the nearest train station, and sent her off. A huge snowstorm strikes, and the train is stranded in a small city, Gracetown. And it's the night before Christmas. Jubilee decides to explore,  because the train gets a lot colder as it shuts down to preserve heat and power. She meets a boy, Stuart. He is single, his girl just broke his heart. Maybe Jubilee will get a Christmas miracle after all...
                     Tobin is chillin' with his friends on Christmas Eve, which eventually turns into early Christmas morning. They get a call from another friend at a waffle house, telling them that a lot of cheerleaders are there, pretty cheerleaders. They start to head over, but the roads are so snowy from the huge storm, they barely make it. Tobin comes to realize that his friends are more important than any cheerleader. Especially the Duke, whose real name is Angie.
                     Addie has just broken up with her boyfriend Jeb, and it's their 1 year anniversary. She is wallowing in self pity. Her friends are trying to cheer her up, with few positive results. Addie works at the local Starbucks, and when she comes into work the day after Christmas, a true Christmas miracle happens.
                      I really loved this book. It was 3 different stories each by a different author. All of them were so good! And they had the same characters, and same kind of story, a big snow storm ruins their plans, so they had to make the best of it. Then at the end they all join together, and share their collective tales. The reason I gave it 4.8 out of 5 stars is that some of the the parts of the book were long and boring and too drawn out. But besides that it had amazing details and emotions. You should definitely try this book out in your free time.

Friday, July 17, 2015

The Help by Kathryn Stockett


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The Help
Author: Kathryn Stockett
Lexile: 730
Length: 464 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Awards: None
Reading Ram Star Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars



                              Skeeter Phelan is 24 years old. She lives in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960's. She still lives with her parents, and is unmarried, much to the dismay of her friends who all happen to be married. Skeeter went to college, and her dream is to one day be a famous writer. Little does she know that dream may be about to come true.
                              Aibileen Clark is an African American maid. She is in a group of maids called The Help. They all serve rich white woman and their families for low pay, and even lower treatment. Aibileen is on her 17th child. 17th. Child. Aibileen loves all of them, but knows deep inside that one day they will turn out like their parents, mean and racist. Aibileen and her friend Minnie, have just about had it with serving cruel white families. But they are too afraid to say anything, in fear of the KKK. And that they will be unemployed, with no more money to help their own families.
                              Maybe it was fate, or just plain luck that drew these women together. With the help of each other, Skeeter and Aibileen set off on a huge task, with the help of many other maids. One that could put them at risk forever. Or even kill them. But it has to be done. Because of them, the world knows the true life of The Help.
                               I loved this book sososososososososo much! It was so open, with such amazingly detailed sides of each story. The author perfectly portrayed the lives of each woman, with personal details, and such realistic events! I don't know how she did it, but Kathryn Stockett managed to accurately render the lives of actual people living in that time. It was incredible. I know it was fictional, but it felt so real! I think this may be my favorite book ever!! EVER!!! I would recommend this book to kids going into 8th grade or above, it was extremely inappropriate. But you should definitely try this book out in your free time, you won't regret it, I swear.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Chris Colfer Author Visit Review

               On Saturday July 11th, Chris Colfer made a special author visit to the St. Louis County Headquarters Library. There was a 20 minute Q&A, where we could ask him questions about him and the books. People were asking about movies for the books, how many books were going to be in the series, et cetera. It was a lot of fun, and everybody got a copy of his new book, Beyond the Kingdoms. It was a great chance to meet the author and get your book signed! It was so much fun, so keep looking for another chance to meet an author!


Friday, July 10, 2015

Matilda Bone by Karen Cushman


Hello Readers! This is another guest post from my friend S's Reads. I hope you enjoy!



Matilda Bone
Author: Karen Cushman
Lexile: 850
Length: 176 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Awards and Honors: Parent's Choice Silver Award
Arizona Young Reader's Master List
Maine Student Book Award Master List
Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year
American Bookseller " Pick of the Lists"
School Library Journal, Best Books of the Year
New York Public Library, 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
Rating: 4.3/5 stars

   Orphaned 13 year old Matilda has lived in a manor for the majority of her life. She was well taught by her guardian, Father Leufredus who lives in the large estate as well. Life in the manor is very pleasant for Matilda until Father Leufredus leaves to London leaving Matilda to become the assistant of Red Peg the Bonesetter. Matilda is very reluctant when she finds out that she will become an assistant to a Bonesetter. Matilda is very judgmental of Peg and her ways of life. She thinks that she is much more worthy of a higher position in life than the assistant to a Bonesetter. As each day goes by, Matilda learns more about life and herself through each experience. It's very interesting to watch Matilda grow through every chapter of Matilda Bone. She establishes friendships that could last a lifetime and truly shows that she really strives to do her best. 

     Personally, it was very interesting learning about what little knowledge that they had back in the 14th century. You realize how much knowledge we have accumulated over 700 years. I really enjoyed this book even though it is a short read. You definitely learn a lot about medicine and technology in the 14th century.Each character has it's own personality and style. I find their personalities and view points very interesting. I highly enjoyed this book through every chapter and recommend it to anyone who is looking for a short but good book to read.

Friday, July 3, 2015

Life of Pi by Yann Martel



Life of Pi
Author: Yann Martel
Lexile: 830
Length: 326 Pages
Genre: Action and Adventure
Awards: 2002 Man Booker Prize For Fiction
Reading Ram Star Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars



                          Piscine Molitor Patel is a sweet, God loving boy who lives in Pondicherry, India. He is more commonly called Pi. Pi Patel.  His father works in a zoo, so Pi naturally knows a lot about animals. He loves books and is an extremely bright boy. But he is not like other boys, he is Christian, Muslim, and Hindu all at the same time. One day, when Pi is 16, his family decides that it is safer to move to Canada then stay in India. They come along with a Japanese cargo ship, so they can transport their animals from the zoo with them. One lonely morning Pi wakes up in the cabin he and his brother, Ravi, share. Pi goes exploring up on the deck, only to find the ship is sinking. He makes for a lifeboat, gets on, only to find that there are 4 animals aboard with him. A zebra, hyena, orangutan, and the most dangerous, a bengal tiger. The tiger soon disposes of all but Pi. Pi must put his strength, vast knowledge of animals, and just plain survival skills to the test. Will he make it out alive, or will he become one of the sad stories of a boy lost at sea?
                          I really liked this book a lot, it was very well thought out and entertaining. Pi is such an interesting character, he is so different. The reason I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars was because the beginning was so boring. It didn't get interesting at ALL until about page 100 or so. I almost didn't finish it. But I am glad that I did. I would recommend this book to 8th grade and up. It is a little confusing at first, and you need to have learned some things before you read it. It is not inappropriate at all, but still I believe only 8th grade and up should read it. You should really consider this book for your free time.