tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15156300916159112662024-03-05T07:44:00.803-06:00Books, Reviews, and More!The Reading Ram's Book Blog, a book review blog written by and for middle school studentsThe Reading Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938750143940413277noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-41921537686122954702017-07-28T07:00:00.000-05:002017-07-28T07:00:22.255-05:00Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets Review and Literary Analysis<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Title: <span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Author: J.K. Rowling</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Pages: 341</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Genre: Fantasy </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Rating: 5/5 stars</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by Amy Pumm</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">J. K. Rowling's magnificent </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> teaches much more than how to transfigure animals into teacups and the adventures of the fishy new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, Professor Lockheart. In fact, the popular book teaches many important life lessons and controversial topics. Harry, forced to spend his summer holidays with his miserable aunt and uncle, gets a real shock when he gets a surprise visitor: Dobby the house-elf, who warns Harry Potter that if he returned to Hogwarts, terrible things were going to happen. Harry decides to ignore Dobby's warning and goes anyway, but at Hogwarts, there are strange and terrible things happening. Harry is suddenly hearing mysterious voices from inside the walls, Muggle-Born students are being attacked, and a message scrawled on the wall in blood puts everyone on their guard. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While readers may find many themes within the various plot twists and heart wrenching secrets, one theme is prominent throughout the book: Fear of differences creates discrimination. There were two main types of the theme: Fear of differences that people don’t understand, and fear of being different.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Rowling’s book </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the theme that discrimination is created by fear of differences is evident, particularly in the fear of being different.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Early in the book, when Harry is at the Dursley's having dinner he mentions the simple world ‘magic’, and the house erupts in panic. The Dursley’s scream and cower from the world, and Vernon goes so far as to punish Harry for his mistake of saying the forbidden word.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Mr. Dursley jumped to his feet, veins throbbing in his temples. ‘I meant ‘please’!’ said Harry quickly. ‘I didn’t mean -’ ‘WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU,’ thundered his uncle, spraying spit over the table, ‘ABOUT SAYING THE ‘M’ WORD IN OUR HOUSE?’”(2).</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Uncle Dursley’s response to Harry even mentioning the word “magic” shows how frightened Mr. Dursley was of Harry and the wizarding world. Because of his fear, Mr. Dursley bullies in an attempt to control a power that he doesn’t have and can’t understand. The root of his prejudice was clearly from fear of Harry’s differences - in other words his magical ability that the Dursley’s didn’t understand. Though,the Dursleys abuse of Harry is inexcusable, their fear of the wizarding world is justifiable. Many dark wizards such as Voldemort and the Death Eaters abuse their power and use it to not only harm wizards, but also non-wizards who had nothing to do with the wizarding world.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Later in the book, when Harry dueled Malfoy in the dueling club Lockheart set up, Harry said something in Parseltongue. Many people panicked and assumed that Harry was a bad wizard because he could speak in Parseltongue, even though he was really only trying to stop the snake from attacking Justin.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I heard you speaking Parseltongue,” said Ron. “Snake language. You could have been saying anything - it was creepy, you know -”(196). </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Parseltongue exemplifies the old saying that fear comes from lack of knowledge. At Hogwarts, everyone hears Harry saying things they don't understand, so they automatically assume the worst: that he's encouraging the snake to attack Justin Finch-Fletchley. But why do people consider Parseltongue an evil gift? Most likely because many of well known evil wizards </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">speak </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Parseltongue, but that doesn’t mean that everyone who is a Parseltongue is evil.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Soon after, Harry tries to find Justin to apologize that he scared him, and explain that all he was really doing was telling the snake not to attack. When he goes to the library trying to find Justin, he overhears a group of Hufflepuffs spreading rumors that he is a dark wizard.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He’s a parselmouth. Everyone knows that’s the mark of a dark wizard. Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself a serpent-tongue”(199).</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hogwarts fears Harry because he can do things that are different that they can’t understand, which makes him different so they react with prejudice and anger towards him by spreading rumors.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Taken as a whole, these examples illustrate that fear of differences that people don’t understand can lead to discrimination, which supports to my overall theme that fear of differences lead to prejudice.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As stated earlier, there are many examples of the theme fear of differences creates discrimination in </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">especially fear of being seen as different.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the beginning of the book, Harry accidentally goes to Knockturn alley instead of Diagon alley. He finds himself in a creepy looking shop and hears Mr. Malfoy and Draco entering the shop, so he hides. While Harry is hiding he overhears Draco talking badly about him but Mr. Malfoy stops Draco. Mr. Malfoy, who works at the ministry, doesn't want to be seen as different for not liking the hero Harry Potter</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“‘...everyone thinks he's so smart, wonderful Potter with his scar and his broomstick—’ ‘You have told me this at least a dozen times already,’ said Mr. Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son. ‘And I would remind you that it is not – prudent – to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark Lord disappear…’”(50).</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This conversation between Draco and Lucius Malfoy reveals that even powerful people are afraid of being different. Mr. Malfoy is clearly concerned about appearing socially correct. What his actual feelings about Harry might be doesn't really matter, because he doesn't want the ministry to think he’s different.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Later, Harry supposedly sets the snake on Justin Finch-Fletchy, he decides to go apologize for scaring him and explain that he was really just warding off the snake. He decides to go to the library to find Justin when he overhears a group of Hufflepuffs spreading rumors about him and calling him evil.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No one knows how he survived that attack by You-Know-Who … He should have been blasted into smithereens. Only a really powerful Dark wizard could have survived a curse like that ...That’s probably why You-Know-Who wanted to kill him in the first place. Didn’t want another Dark Lord competing with him. I wonder what other powers Potter’s been hiding?”(198).</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harry’s differences cause others to distance themselves from him because even he is different from the rest of the wizarding world. That’s significant because it’s already different itself.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The group of Hufflepuffs Harry overheard talking about him were explaining that Justin was afraid that Harry would do something to him ever since he told Harry that he was Muggle-born.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“...Justin's been waiting for something like this to happen ever since he let it slip to Potter that he was Muggle-born”(198).</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Justin had feared that people wouldn't like or persecute him because he was different - because he was Muggle-born. And he was right, despite the fact that it wasn't Harry that did it. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These examples show that fear of being different lead to prejudice, which connects to my overall theme that fear of differences create discrimination.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is not so different from the real world. In all truth, we are facing some of the same challenges of the book today, such as discrimination. This makes it even more important to truly learn and understand the theme that differences create discrimination. By doing so, we hopefully won’t make the same mistakes that the characters did in the book. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Others might claim that some of the characters in the book in fact did not make a mistake at all. As stated earlier, the Dursleys' fear of the wizardry world is justifiable. Many dark wizards such as Voldemort and the Death Eaters abuse their power and use it on innocent wizards and non-wizards who had nothing to do with the wizardry world. Because of this, it can be argued that fear of others isn’t bad at all, in fact it may even protect you from harm, alas it isn’t true. However, fear of others only creates more fear itself which leads to prejudice which will create violence if escalated far enough, which is exactly what we want to avoid.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Many people in the book experienced discrimination because of their differences, such as the mudbloods being persecuted for not being pure-blood or Harry, for being blamed for the terror at Hogwarts. Truthfully, the chaos at Hogwarts made things worse, people started placing blame wildly and blindly, particularly on anyone who was different from themselves, and who could do think they couldn’t even understand. This caused widespread panic, hatred and discrimination throughout the school. All and all, fear of other's differences and fear of being different yourself proved to be a difficult problem at Hogwarts. In </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and the real world, discrimination is caused because of people’s fear of differences. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I rate this book 5/5 due to it is one of my all-time favorite series and books!</span></span></div>
Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-87475541075954777572017-07-21T07:00:00.000-05:002017-07-21T07:01:06.175-05:00Steelheart Review<br />
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Title: "Steelheart"<br />
Author: Brando Sanderson<br />
Pages: 416<br />
Genre: Fantasy<br />
Rating: 5/5 stars<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">"Steelheart" is a fun adventurous series starter. The main character, David Charleston, is relatable and funny. The plot manages to be dark and serious, but keep its light-hearted core, and have a touch of mystery. If you don't relate to David, you'll sync up with one of the others. Tia, Abraham, Cody, Megan, and Prof are fun characters that work off each other wonderfully. The setting is dark and moody, with a sense of urgency. Follow the Reckoners through Newcago as they work to take down the tyrant Steelheart and his lackeys, Nightwielder, Firefight, and Conflux. They're up against the clock, and tensions run high, but the pace never lets up and the thrill runs through the whole book. A plot twist will leave you reeling with shock, and sudden emotional turns will make your tears stain the pages. The following two books, Firefight and Calamity, stick with this style. With a fun dystopian setting and crazy possibilities, "Steelheart" is an amazingly tense and an overall great book for everyone. I would rate it 5.5 stars, and I would read again!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8px;">Contributed by Artur Breternitz</span></span>Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-24680732612383236352017-07-14T07:00:00.000-05:002017-07-14T07:00:08.236-05:00Ask No Questions<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Title: <span style="font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Ask No Questions</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Author: <span style="font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Marina Budhos</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Pages: 159</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Realistic Fiction</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Rating: 4.5/5 stars</span><br />
<span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Ask Me No Questions" class="hidden-xs hidden-sm book-cover img-responsive" src="http://d28hgpri8am2if.cloudfront.net/book_images/cvr9781416949206_9781416949206_lg.jpg" data-src="//d28hgpri8am2if.cloudfront.net/book_images/cvr9781416949206_9781416949206_lg.jpg" title=""You forget. You forget you don't really exist here, that this isn't your home." Since emigrating from Bangladesh, fourteen-year-old Nadira and her..." /></span>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-fbdc685f-1560-4bac-f4b6-2528e77300f9"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The book is realistic fiction because it was based on something that could’ve happened in the time of 9/11. The story takes place in New York a little bit after the events of 9/11. The main character and her family are Muslims and as most Muslims in America at the time, they were discriminated and incriminated for nothing just because they were Muslims. The protagonist is Nadira, a 14 year old Muslim from Bangladesh with her family. She’s constantly compared to her prodigy of an older sister and is made fun of because of her weight. The biggest conflict she faces is when her father is detained at the Canadian border for having an expired visa card and being an illegal immigrant. Abba is Nadira’s and Aisha’s father, he’s funny and makes sure Nadira knows he’s proud of her every chance he gets. Then there’s Aisha, Nadira’s older sister who is the top of her class, classical straight A student who likes to bully her younger sister.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The theme in my book is; one person doesn’t represent a whole entire group of people. In the time of 9/11, all Muslims were viewed as terrorists, some people still think all Muslims are terrorists today. They were treated badly, and some were arrested for no reason. I like how brave Nadira was, she spoke in a courtroom in her father’s defense at 14 years old. I didn’t like how it didn’t show them being excluded by other groups, Nadira wasn’t bullied at schools, Aisha had college interviews. It seems like they were just an average completely American family except they weren’t. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I think the people who still think that Muslims are terrorists should read this book to understand the struggles they went through, or ask an adult Muslim what it was like to go to school as a known Muslim. I don’t feel it was fast enough, it was too slow for a book that was only 159 pages long, which is why I gave it 4.5 stars.</span></span>Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-35776745039527564382017-07-07T07:00:00.000-05:002017-07-07T07:00:20.609-05:00 The Beyonders Book Review<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="Image result for beyonders" class="irc_mi" height="393" src="http://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388338606i/8306745._UY475_SS475_.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="393" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Title: <i>The Beyonders</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Author: Brandon Mull</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pages: 450 pages</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Genre: Action/Adventure</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ratings: 4/5 stars</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">#1 <i>New York Times</i> Bestseller</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The setting of my book is a medieval world and it fits the storyline perfectly. Manly because it sets up the characters having to do quests for the people of the world. The main character’s name is Jason and his main objective is to get home. But along the way he meets another outsider just like him from earth named Rachel. Together they form a romantic relationship. The entire story starts out with Jason working at a zoo and he falls in the hippo cage while cleaning it. Instead of him dying though he gets transported to a new world. Once he was in the new world the first thing he found was a library with the keeper of all knowledge. The keeper told him that his way back was to kill the evil emperor by finding a word within the world and if said in his presence would kill him. He and Rachel soon find each other and set out on their quest to find the word. Then entire middle of the book is when they find the book and then they find the emperor. Jason took his opportunity and said the word in front of him but it didn't work. This was huge because once he said the word and was taken to a dungeon. At the dungeon one of his enemies from the past comes back to save him and then eventually tries to drown Jason while Jason trusts him. Instead of dying another portal opens up and Jason gets saved. During this time Jason changes his objective to getting home to getting back so he can kill his enemy. The theme of my book is to never give up. A really good example of this is at the start of the book Jason wanted to kill himself but didn't and found the library. One super good thing about this book is the way the author could keep your attention to the book. He did his by always adding a twist in the story as soon as it started to get boring. Another good example is the romance in the book he added to keep it different. One thing I didn't like however was sometimes he wouldn't explain a place or an animal in the weird world. Any time they would move to a different place he would give minimum explanation to what is looked like of what the people were like. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes books with action, adventure, fantasy, and a little bit of romance.</span></div>
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Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-59031139775927345522017-06-30T07:00:00.000-05:002017-06-30T07:00:11.232-05:00Variant Review<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Title: Variant</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Author: Robin Wells</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pages: 384 first edition hardback</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Genre: Sci-Fiction</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ratings: 4/5 stars</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This book takes place in Maxfield Academy. Maxfield is a private school, isolated in the mountains. But it is completely different than how you expect. The students have absolutely no contact with the outside world, including the fact that they have no calendars. Also the school is surrounded by a 12-foot wall, and beyond that a 12-foot fence. This adds to the creepy feeling of the school, and it sets up for most of the plot.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Benson Fisher is a new student at the school, and he soon finds Maxfield has many secrets. One of the main ones: There is no escape. Benson soon becomes determined to find out all of the school’s secrets, and this annoys many of the students including his roommate and friend, Mason. Now as Benson finds out more and more about the school, he distances himself from his friends more and more. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Suddenly his girlfriend, Jane, is killed by another student at the school, which shows him the biggest secret of the entire school. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One that nobody else knows. So now Benson must find proof to show all the other gangs the big secret. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once he does, a big group of 35 try to escape. But only 2 survive.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What I really liked about the book was just the overall writing of it . In that I mean that I love how all the subplots tie together, and that the characters are written so that you can never really trust anyone at anytime. This ties into the Theme. A possible theme I thought of for the book is : “Don’t trust unknowingly, because things can be different than they appear. But something I didn’t like about the book was that it is rather cliche. Even though all the plot twists were pretty original, you can pretty well predict when they are coming. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Contributed by Bernice Trapp</span></span></span>Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-29608312683650769592017-06-23T07:00:00.000-05:002017-06-23T07:00:08.751-05:00 Surviving the Applewhites Review<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Title: <span style="font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">Surviving the Applewhites </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Author: <span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stephanie S.Tolan</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Pages: 240 paperback</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Genre: Realistic Fiction</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Rating: 3.5/5 stars</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Award: New York Bestseller</span><br />
<b id="docs-internal-guid-b30b9125-111e-54cd-dc21-aa5be7d472a4" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I had a great journey being with the protagonist, Jake, and seeing him evolve from evil to good in this realistic fiction, but since I’m done with the book I actually feel relieved. It was a good story but I just couldn’t relate to any characters. I guess I’m biased toward my life but that's beside the point.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Starting from the beginning , the main protagonist is Jake. Not much is said about his past other than his parents went to jail he burned down down his school on purpose.Or did he? But back on topic that’s all that’s said about his backstory and it left me craving for more.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The main story was great though. The characters had relationship you cared for, but even though the Applewhites seemed like the same person with different interest they all had unique characteristics which make this book a great realistic fiction. All except for one. Ed Applewhite who is a strict girl who says she isn’t as creative as the Applewhites. But no matter how much he bothers her, she still treats Jake like a brother.And even though I couldn’t relate to the play, I could relate to the preparation and the behind the scenes they use to make their barn into a surprisingly successful theatre.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> So the worst thing about this book was at most times it was just plain boring for me to read.These sections seemed to take up a quarter of the book and were very unnecessary.Maybe these parts were supposed to represent the book’s theme family “The kid (Destiny) had began explaining to anyone who would listen that Jake was the "bestest brother in the whole wide world." Or the other theme friendship. "He had gone out to the woods, Winston (The Applewhite family's dog) tagging along loyally."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Which I would understand why they added it but they could’ve had the same affect on me without them. But in the end I enjoyed the book with all the excessive details and plot holes. I’d rate this book 3.5/5 stars. Really well written but not relatable to me. I would definitely recommend this to a friend. That is my opinion on "Surviving the Applewhites." </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Dontrell Thomas</span></span><br />
Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-70865702531173953062017-06-16T07:00:00.000-05:002017-06-16T07:00:13.570-05:00“Racing in the Rain; My Life as a Dog Review<br />
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Title: <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: underline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Racing in the Rain; My Life as a Dog”</span><br />
Author: <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Garth Stein</span><br />
Pages: 304 paperback<br />
Genre: Realistic Fiction<br />
Rating: 4/5 stars<br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-ea6c0699-111a-d8c2-d7c9-38cebd9f2a22"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Racing in the Rain; My Life as a Dog </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is a realistic fiction novel that is influenced by family, since the story revolves around a man’s broken family. The book takes place in an urban city during the lifetime of a dog named Enzo. This only allows him freedom in his owner’s apartment, and he has to do everyday things just like a normal dog has to do. The main protagonist is Enzo’s owner, a very skilled racer named Denny. Denny must face family hardships, bankruptcy, along with deaths of loved ones. Someone that he loved very much was his wife, Eve, who dies due to cancer. In the exposition Denny falls in love with Eve, and they have a child named Zoë. Since he is a racer, and his only way to get income are tournaments, he is constantly away from his family, even when Eve passes away. Because of this, Eve’s parents sue Denny for being a bad parent. Denny tries to find a lawyer, but uses all his money doing so. On the verge of bankruptcy, he loses all hope. The parents, Max and Trish, see the wrong they are doing to Denny, and realize that keeping a father and daughter apart is terrible. They call the trial off. A theme of this book is “family is the most important, no matter the cost.” This is from Denny’s perseverance and risking his money and job to get a lawyer, just to be with his daughter again. I love the point- of-view the author decides to use. Enzo. Since he is a dog, people talk near him without knowing he can interpret what they are saying. Like a fly on the wall. This is a tale of sadness and breaking through, finding hope and changing a family forever. Any fan of “The Fault in Our Stars” would love this book. Even so, I recommend it to everyone.</span></span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by Kevin Tan</span></span>Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-8946533925201463252017-06-09T07:00:00.000-05:002017-06-09T07:00:17.297-05:00 Earth Unaware Review<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Title: <span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Earth Unaware, The First Formic War</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Author: <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Orson Scott Card</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Pages: 352 (hard cover)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Genre: Sci-Fi</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Rating: 3/5 stars</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This book is science fiction because it takes place in a futuristic world where half the human population is born and spends their life on spaceships. Many of these ships spend long and uneventful months docked onto asteroids mining them for their resources. On board El Cavador, a mining spaceship, lives a teenage boy named Victor. Though he is only a teenager, the crew looks to him as their best engineer and a great leader. Throughout the novel, Victor is continuously put into dangerous situations and forced to make difficult choices that will permanently affect his life. </span></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">One day while Edimar, Victor's cousin, is on watch, she spots an unknown spaceships traveling at a speed no human technology could possibly reach. This sends a wave of panic throughout the ship, putting the ship's council in a awkward situation. They decided that the ship would stay put, but little did they know about another rising conflict. On board the Marhku, Lem Jukes and the crew have been looking for a space to test their “glaser.” Lem Jukes and his crew come up with a plan to get El Cavador off of the asteroid belt. During the raid the Marhku accidentally kills Victor’s uncle and disables the ship’s power and communication. It is now Victor’s responsibility to get the ship running, so they can reach the Italian ships. Victor is now realizing that he is going to have to become leader in order to save himself and the rest of the world. When they see the damage the alien ships have done, Victor volunteers himself to go on a seven month journey to Luna. All along, Victor is making choices and risking his life for the good of other people. Even in some of the most dangerous situations he continues to help as many people as he can. Helping people no matter the situation will lead to better things for yourself. This is a theme of this book because Victor continuously helps people out, and he ends up on Earth with a better life. He is locked up on a tiny ship for seven months just to warn the planet about the aliens coming. He could have easily been killed, but he persevered because he knew the world needed to know the aliens were coming.</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-efaaadb7-108a-dbaa-84d1-11276ed072ed"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I both like and disliked this book at times. I thought that it was slow and boring at times. Something I did like was the main character, Victor. In many ways he was similar to Ender Wiggin who I really liked. Another thing I found interesting was how the author made three completely different perspectives and then he brought them all together. In many ways it was like Ender’s’ Game, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes science fiction, and anyone who like Ender's Game would enjoy this book.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by: </span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Nick Stiebler</span></span>Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-83716453181334363432017-06-02T07:00:00.000-05:002017-06-02T07:00:29.393-05:00Stained<br />
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<img alt="Image result for Stained by Cheryl Rainfield pages" class="irc_mut i0cIlZ_nXh2A-HwpH6ZlgJaI" height="393" 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Title: <span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stained</span><br />
Author: Cheryl Rainfield<br />
Pages: 304<br />
Genre: Mystery<br />
Rating: 4/5 stars<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book is a jaw dropping mixture of mystery, heroism, friendship, and faith because Sarah Meadows is forced to discover things about herself she never knew. The action in this book mostly takes place in this strange house/room that Sarah cannot see because she is blindfolded. The setting affects the story because it makes it more mysterious and it makes the reader curious about where she is reading. Sarah Meadows was born with a port-wine stain on her face. She is kidnapped on her way home one day. Her main conflict is trying to escape the prison room/house she is being kept at. Nick, is Sarah’s friend from school. They are both outsiders. As the chapters rotate perspective, the author shows us how much Nick really cares for Sarah.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sarah Meadows was walking home from school one day, when Brian, Mr. Meadows’ co-worker, kidnaps Sarah. Sarah is blindfolded and has no idea where she was taken to. Is at a house? Or just a room with no bathroom or bed? She only has 4 senses to find out. Brian keeps Sarah there for a long time. She misses her family and has to find a way to escape. As time passes by, Sarah is getting used to living there even though she is still blindfolded, starving, and dirty. Meanwhile, Nick is trying everything he can to get Sarah back. Will he rescue her? Will Brian kill Sarah? Read the book to find out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The theme of this book is courage, hope, and love. I know this because Sarah has to find the courage she never knew she had to stand up for herself towards Brian. Even though Sarah think of giving up, she never gives up hope. Neither does Nick. Everyday Nick has hope Sarah will come back or that he will find her. What I liked about this book was that I didn’t know what was going to happen next. I liked the fact that my heart was beating really fast as I was reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. What I didn't like was that some things Sarah said was always talking about what it would be like if she escaped towards the middle of the book, and that got a little annoying. I would recommend this book to almost everyone above the age 13. Boy or girl. At first it might seem a little scary and harsh, but after all you will LOVE this book. </span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-40e90893-d957-69ea-4a4a-78331295abbf"><br /></span>Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-47229789656335770812017-05-26T07:00:00.000-05:002017-05-26T07:00:17.439-05:00Surviving the Applewhites Review<br />
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Title: <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">Surviving the Applewhites </span><br />
Author: <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stephanie S.Tolan</span><br />
Pages: 216<br />
Genre: Fiction<br />
Rating: 3.5/5 stars<br />
Awards: Newbery Medal<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Throughout the book ‘Surviving the Applewhites,I had a great journey being with the protagonist, Jake, and seeing him evolve from evil to good in this realistic fiction,but since I’m done with the book I actually feel relieved.It was a good story but I just couldn’t relate to any characters. I guess I’m biased toward my life but that's beside the point.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Starting from the beginning , the main protagonist is Jake. Not much is said about his past other than his parents went to jail he burned down down his school on purpose.Or did he? But back on topic that’s all that’s said about his backstory and it left me craving for more.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The main story was great though. The characters had relationship you cared for ,but even though the Applewhites seemed like the same person with different interest they all had unique characteristics which make this book a great realistic fiction. All except for one. ED Applewhite, who is a strict girl who says she isn’t as creative as the Applewhites. But no matter how much he bothers her, she still treats Jake like a brother.And even though I couldn’t relate to the play, I could relate to the preparation and the behind the scenes they use to make their barn into a surprisingly successful theatre.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">So the worst thing about this book was at most times it was just plain boring for me to read.These sections seemed to take up a quarter of the book and were very unnecessary.Maybe these parts were supposed to represent the book’s theme family “The kid (Destiny) had began explaining to anyone who would listen that Jake was the ‘bestest brother in the whole wide world”. Or the other theme friendship”He had gone out to the woods ,Winston (The Applewhites’ dog) tagging along loyally”.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Which I would understand why they added it but they could’ve had the same affect on me without them. But in the end I enjoyed the book with all the excessive details and plot holes. I’d rate this book 3.5/5 stars. Really well written but not relatable to me. I would definitely recommend this to a friend.That is my opinion on </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Surviving the Applewhites.</i></span></div>
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Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-84767914219035464922017-05-22T09:00:00.000-05:002017-05-22T09:00:16.406-05:00Summer Reading Programs!Hey readers! Summer is here (thankfully), and now is a great time to get signed up for the summer reading program in your area. There are free summer reading programs offered through the <a href="https://www.slpl.org/news/just-read-summer-reading-slpl/" target="_blank">City of St. Louis library system</a>, <a href="https://slcl.readsquared.com/" target="_blank">the St. Louis County library system</a>, and the <a href="http://www.youranswerplace.org/summerreading" target="_blank">St. Charles City-County Library district</a>.<br />
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Happy reading!<br />
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The Reading Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938750143940413277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-5902968675878098202017-05-19T07:00:00.000-05:002017-05-19T07:00:21.965-05:00“Racing in the Rain; My Life as a Dog<br />
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Title: <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Racing in the Rain; My Life as a Dog</span><br />
Author: Garth Stein<br />
Pages: 304 paperback<br />
Genre: Realistic-Fiction<br />
Rating: 5/5 stars<br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-ea6c0699-d8d9-1d03-43e3-54a2c77370f6"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Racing in the Rain; My Life as a Dog”</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a realistic fiction novel that is influenced by family, since the story revolves around a man’s broken family. The book takes place in an urban city during the lifetime of a dog named Enzo. This only allows him freedom in his owner’s apartment, and he has to do everyday things just like a normal dog has to do. The main protagonist is Enzo’s owner, a very skilled racer named Denny. Denny must face family hardships, bankruptcy, along with deaths of loved ones. Someone that he loved very much was his wife, Eve, who dies due to cancer. In the exposition Denny falls in love with Eve, and they have a child named Zoë. Since he is a racer, and his only way to get income are tournaments, he is constantly away from his family, even when Eve passes away. Because of this, Eve’s parents sue Denny for being a bad parent. Denny tries to find a lawyer, but uses all his money doing so. On the verge of bankruptcy, he loses all hope. The parents, Max and Trish, see the wrong they are doing to Denny, and realize that keeping a father and daughter apart is terrible. They call the trial off. A theme of this book is “family is the most important, no matter the cost.” This is from Denny’s perseverance and risking his money and job to get a lawyer, just to be with his daughter again. I love the point- of-view the author decides to use. Enzo. Since he is a dog, people talk near him without knowing he can interpret what they are saying. Like a fly on the wall. This is a tale of sadness and breaking through, finding hope and changing a family forever. Any fan of “The Fault in Our Stars” would love this book. Even so, I recommend it to everyone.</span></span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by: Kevin Tan, aka K-Tan</span></span>Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-58956751246775309382017-05-12T07:00:00.000-05:002017-05-12T07:00:08.453-05:00Mosquitoland <br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Title: <span style="font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mosquitoland </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Author: David Arnold</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pages: 352</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Adventure</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rating: 4/5 stars</span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-d696b9c0-d8d6-4997-94b2-595be2695edd"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Mosquitoland” by David Arnold is an adventurous and passionate book filled with mystery. It takes place all across America, (she’s on a road trip) in 2016. The protagonist, Mary Malone, found out her mother was very sick. She decided to run away and search for her mother. She gets into a little trouble on her run away to Cincinnati. Poncho Man, as Mary calls him, is on her bus. They stop for food, and Mary needs to use the restroom, but she gets followed in. Poncho Man follows her in and rapes her., Mary throws up on him and runs out. She decided not to press charges, as for she just wants to find her mom. Mary has a hard time after this, for example finding out her mother is very ill, getting raped, but the cherry to her sundae is getting into a bus crash and losing her friend. After she loses her friend Mary decides she has a new mission, finding Arlean’s brother (Arlean was Mary’s friend who was killed). Instead of getting on her next bus she runs to a nearby town, supposedly Arlean’s brother is working at a gas station there. After a couple nights under a bridge Mary meets a friend, who said he will help her find Arlean’s brother. Will Mary go look for mother or Arlean’s brother? The theme of my book is growing up. It’s about being on your own, making your own choices, and living life for you. My favorite part of this book is the adventure Mary takes to find her mother. She learns so many new life skills that help her. My least favorite part was when she got raped, no one deserves to be treated like that. Poncho man was a disgusting man, he haunted Mary three times later on in the book. I recommend this book for people who like adventure, passion, and mystery all in one. I also recommend it for kids ages 12 and up. It taught me a lot of good things for my future. I give Mosquitoland four stars , because at some points it was hard to follow, other than that it was really good. Mosquitoland by David Arnold inspired me to do better in the world. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Contributed by: Laura Swanson</span>Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-36016001031350454222017-05-05T07:00:00.000-05:002017-05-05T07:00:10.214-05:00 Earth Unaware Review<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Title: <span style="font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: center; text-indent: 48px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Earth Unaware</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Author: Orson Scott Card</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Pages: 368</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Genre: Sci -Fi</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ratings: 3/5 stars</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Earth Unaware, The first Formic War</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” is science fiction because it takes place in a futuristic world where half the human population is born and spends their life on spaceships. Many of these ships spend long and uneventful months docked onto asteroids mining them for their resources. On board El Cavador, a mining spaceship, lives a teenage boy named Victor. Though he is only a teenager, the crew looks to him as their best engineer and a great leader. Throughout the novel, Victor is continuously put into dangerous situations and forced to make difficult choices that will permanently affect his life. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One day while Edimar, Victor's cousin, is on watch, she spots an unknown spaceships traveling at a speed no human technology could possibly reach. This sends a wave of panic throughout the ship, putting the ship's council in a awkward situation. They decided that the ship would stay put, but little did they know about another rising conflict. On board the Marhku, Lem Jukes and the crew have been looking for a space to test their “glaser.” Lem Jukes and his crew come up with a plan to get El Cavador off of the asteroid belt. During the raid the Marhku accidently kills Victor’s uncle and disables the ship’s power and communication. It is now Victor’s responsibility to get the ship running, so they can reach the Italian ships. Victor is now realizing that he is going ot have to become leader in order to save himself and the rest of the world. When they see the damage the alien ships have done, Victor volunteers himself to go on a seven month journey to Luna. All along, Victor is making choices and risking his life for the good of other people. Even in some of the most dangerous situations he continues to help as many people as he can. Helping people no matter the situation will lead to better things for yourself. This is a theme of this book because Victor continuously helps people out, and he ends up on Earth with a better life. He is locked up on a tiny ship for seven months just to warn the planet about the aliens coming. He could have easily been killed, but he persevered because he knew the world needed to know the aliens were coming.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I both like and disliked this book at times. I thought that it was slow and boring at times. Something I did like was the main character, Victor. In many ways he was similar to Ender Wiggin, who I really liked. Another thing I found interesting was how the author made three completely different perspectives and then he brought them all together. In many ways it was like Ender’s’ Game, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes science fiction, and anyone who like Ender's Game would enjoy this book.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by: Nick Steibler</span></span></div>
Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-75846828871548079622017-04-28T15:09:00.000-05:002017-04-28T15:09:15.077-05:00 Dead Connection Review<br />
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<img alt="Image result for Dead Connection the book" class="irc_mut iGejA0shr6EE-HwpH6ZlgJaI" height="393" 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r7rTNwlSp43zlG7jt0Wd7GNpjNN/GNrDWPKCthxjEd43ugcrvaREQOi17Oopte2YNzC55C6FI4Wm2pTqA5iDGtuUoBmAp4p9Sviaoe7O5jaJqlrababi35GuHiJBdmN7gCwQHCK37wpvnKyRBNuYI9lon9juG1pqOoU6j6hLi9wkkuMnfb+y0TWRcOjOcUBoudRFQ1KeVrmgvzmnmzDLmJLsstkSSddoAD4bkzS+ekf3Whd2So0C4UKLWNdGcNm+WYIB38SzeKpw85QY2CZp9UK1E07IOE0MU5hfTx1EML3BrP0zKjmDMYaXEjxBX/AsJXz1O9e3EBzWhsUxSylucv8ACHG923m/oqrCYgEG8wSJ5OFjfeNPNX3Z/ieYuBfMHI4gHMwwCJty+6FxoJSstsX2epPZ3jZaf9lvzVZuvh30nkXaDyJ0P3F1d8RqGn4WVCTrJPrYeasauDGIpCs45agYQ4EgA8ien8qc+Kz0VKKbweW9vXNDGsYWkEtcSNzBvy8zZYqufsPbdbbteGkU7Q4E7khwAEGPf3WOxjRe2tlyIHUgvBMr6rwLIeo2yKrN5i6HqOEQNvutERc0DlIKV26YQmWKojq6Li7V0SRIBiY65RQFpQzG+JFBw0QSGRHh0IihBk25el0Pln0RFCmBEj8P+EqVUPjdhFNlpJRNFwDQdVCJkNjwwiMO2GgflklsekavsTQDnuzTkJuQemvVF9oagbiTlNgBBHQdLKu7FYvuKpBiLE+IDoIkqw7Q+N2dtxMTC0bKcVquPtnO3qlVg7sW42Oh3/ujMNx6pScKVJmZ5aS2pWf3VARsHXLnf8bfRVZrwwNHqpKNYwRqN2kSCORB1XTlG1gxRnTPROydOq7DnEV8T3rsRSpPyBrRTpyC7KyDJEPEkkk5fRAY9rKTwZac0S3SL2VT2fxraU5CWhzQ3u8x7tkT8rSfAPFoLWQ/En5nyDJKXCLTpjpzVWifEVG03Bj8NWeGyGVKAY9lRsy3MMwLHwYM2kTKl4dQeHOrOa6kHZQGOIc8MbOUvyWzEvdYEwAOsVuExmWPEQHOLRY3N5i3Q36LScI4iXk0nUy4tjYNgESIj5hZRqvZSafoZxLHhxayBYyT/byR1MUbse/OHNBkxbmNPyVScZptbVzNnK7mZObeeSbgsaGOBMxvt9dAErcOK07ZUHLmZbtrSyVQQ2GwcoJM9Nd1lMURlB0utH2rxJrVybQPEDMiDcb9NFnsU2fJcuDWDrxT4gVR0AISo0CP5RGKN+igqsn891piKmROKjKkjZMlMQlkVU2SXaullxGhbHixKmcRZQO1PmpGBCw0wmj1RjGxc6oXCttZE0ikTNOmGUhuYACIpGL80HEt6ImkSW7AjWwhIZoRb8LeBVbabERzv9YWs/Tl8iLRf0WM4OzNWYCefO+8fRencAovJdDM0jXWOq17RU26ObvMzSMM5oFSNgon8fwzRDqwYW1cpYW5iG5oNgJiBMmdfRW/aTg9TD1MzhZxQdDEFvywN9Bvqui/JYMMXxbsb+sp1H1HUaoewBnykENcc8gGJ0DbFHcEe3P4jHXkhK+Kc7WOthJiYnyk+6ZhzdEk6yDKXlgZX4XiAW5cZAa4ubFFpiZgEl3is4hX3BK1akameo2o6oQWv7sU4AbGUAEjWTM7rO8T42aFNlSrQqBpgEh1Mw4iYjNPP2XpvZAUK2GDKrWzYBpEPE+ITuHX2SnxQ1cike5r7OpjN/uvPsg6tBzSQffp6ra4nstlcDTeSAZAdcj13Wd7Sse15NRobb0I5mNUGpKLiy2msnnXFzFWoLG4nYTHLoqWu4HxEhF40eN4B/qsfsPRV2OZIAJvqTH8LkwSwdlPxRFXG9roR7UU8WA2hCPcnwFzBqpUY0UldqiKejLLsjrGy6m1jZJGhTJqvzFPaFyqPEfNJgvCBjYhFN1gpKb1BS1UzDultDosOo1STyjb+VYUmREjRBYBgy5jqfwoyiSZlZp94NcOshOEqhuIaRGhIHXW69a7EYpzTDnBoOsix9diF440nvWl0XOunnPovT+D4xz8lNoyiNZAzEaE+nkm7e+dX6MG7rkmWnxA4jSextMtl8yDyB6+i8y/SYao5z6j6T3Bzhle5vgDSQGhpNrCT5rT9pzUbUAeBpaNAOQVEcNhnXdQpEkkkmm0uJJkkkiV01F0qMDkrdkWGeyXMpmWiCIdmyzMtB5WmNpR2DbLgF1lDD02kUqbWl0TlEC28DzTcNEzsE2LwLl2At4VjDiadd7aJps8TKD6jhlkEAuhhHeCZm4BC3HAsPiGzisjRkd8rXl4czLJMloi8jRZSpxygwNfVdUpsdEF9KqBcTE5Ylel9l8VTdQFOZDjraC0iQT0PJJk66HxV9oteEdo21myW5C2M06XnQ7rGduqrnl3iLhBAMR5hv8AK0FfgbmZjTc0M5EW5TPNY/j2OOSpTdBZpmzTHTymFm10uDphrtWedtguqZr3IiTM6IfEWBMbp1EEyep9dd1HjpHKPpCwrujrLEQCrVPvfyQz3KWsbzpP2UDlpijNJjXlRuTiLprwmISyCtoknVUkaFNE9azj5pNPROr/ADFNZyQMaicOvMQCU5v0lMDtk+nrB3QDEGUicga3dWdBpa2Hcvqd/ogsGbjp0RpMze3+Fmm8muHVkVU/uMO35P8AdbbCYo5WuiBAggx5QsM4AuaJ316LeUMK/wDTsJEgj5hpa3onbf8AkRh3vVhOO4y2rSyOHiFg46nzVNQAbMieiixNEtPRcw+q6qSSOa5NvJK45jYR0CtMLw0wHTbfz5IbB0v3BrG8arZYKhSY3M5nONZnnqhnOug9PTvs8+xxxGIrUhVwlU4Fhzhn7YdUdlOR72ucDlv8lrazotpwfjNNocXUnAseModDSfCHSIJtePRVPHO0lJ1QgB7snhPd0X1A0jUOcwESOWoQzcW2o0OY4OadCPYiDcGdilxVjJS4mm43x19VsNBaw31vO6yPF67msdIhptP28keS8gWMbWsgu0uFqDDF5GUTvMkeSVuY1ptE03ymjFYU2cTzXcZTzA7CJhRYUggC/wDlSudB+y57wzsxyinqU4F+ah5IvEcjv9kG4rTHJknhnJUbiVJOyicUxC2Q1tEkq5skiQmXYZitVCFNi9VCChGEtHdTsNvuoaX+UmvieR2QPIxOiywdUTHmUcK1mj8/NFU4UAAndGsqAwb7JE45NWnLA4u8bZ2Oq9z+Hj2uwwzgHOSWy3YeGNOnLdeFm9ztf0Xp/ZPHFtFjM5EGZE6Hb7ItJXIz7j8mr7ccIpuY0gtaW2y6WOlgsDRwpZGYanUXWtwGKdVr+Ig+ZJkaXVjj+G0ou0gNMyOa3Rk44ZjempZRiW0n0zIPzWj6iyt+GjxZnTJtOwJ5BVdUZq1i4t2JEK14tVNOkxgFzcundG/SAji36M87ilKgBSq56bmeGO6quDotmY5jSHB2vO97o7g3DHVs9RrO7a5wPjhrzDQM5ZqC6wg3gCUGzHEgZSYve4ny5jqiuGcUAzOaczmuymZEEQYII6g+oV00VabPT+B8JFCiGOOY6mdPQFeX/E6i5mdxqZ2vJibR5DpzV7R7SPe6HmAepBFlle3eND6LWyTBOu8/mix68MWx+m02qMLhyYTn1pHkf8Ljjlt7oatUAEX2us9Wzo3SIMU+56WUDwpMRrAUYJunxVIzydshdqmlPcmORoSyGtoklWSRoWw/G6oYBF4wXQsIBg9qcDfQFMaVI3VUwkEUzaDvfTy+iJYIHpZCMiInkiGtJbv/AISpD4MJAtrc7LVdm6pNIXn7jofv6rJtb9FpOzFUZIA3v5jX+yrSdTTF7pXA9B4DXYW5TZxPzDWFp8S7KwyJbGioezWDa6HuEkaXOiveKZS3KDB2C0yfkJh8THUKLq1TwnK2Y2nRR8W/beGySOv9leUppeGAZ3Gs8lmuLAvdJN59U2Ltipqo/spxXqUy1jsNUeGgNDqZYWuaLAkFwLXRqNJR9PNlc5zAwvIOQEOyNADWhzhYusSYteLxKZUzNERZRhxKPiJciWVnO1Lycgnf5fuT7fRaFZbtJXBeBF733AFo90jcvxSGbZXMp6xtIPn0uhqzRHSdVNWZMiUPXbA3v91kidORBWJ9FCCpahE6qMp6M8uxpCjKe5NcEQtkNbRJdq6LiJAMs8aLlB5kbjEAgQbHNcpSVCFJmUZaZNSbKPbVJbGwIVfTdIhFUquyVND9NkrgYPn9Fadk6hFZwmxGn2IVSak2Kl4biQyq1x009dkCtZL1VcT1vs9xMscGTba8K+4piXxmaATtBC8+fUNnBEs4nUt4zbQHRbuCl5I58dXiuLLKk+q6rLjEbbeUJ3FqwzgwPzmqx+PLjf6KKrVlMUcgOeKJsTVnXZRi+6hBUrQiF3Y+V59xKtnrVHTaSB9hpstrxauGUXk2sQvPqOgWTXlbo2bWPsJqNP016/kqHEVCQGnkPonmp7boarUlZ4o2SaojMbj2URK7UcmlyekZ2xockVxIqwCKtoklWXESBZa4wIAqwxar3BAGzpSlNldBVkCMOb/kKdn2QtMwETh3wgkNgyWsLx+fmiHeTfmERiCDF7hQP5oIjJml4Rx85Axzcx5/zKs6XEWaGQeUdOcrANeQbFENxDgNdOd1HGS+LozuEZdo3LOL0tCDGx3Ponv4tSiwP3P0WHdjKh39IEfZO/Vvjl5dEDWp/ZlrTj+DbUuLUzzkXMaddSoqvHw2cona4j6ndYmpWJNyZQ7qhB1KJQm1TkynCKzRd8e4y6tDYyjlP3VXTQ9MyUQ3TzR1QcP0TD5fzdDu1RLXDLafzRBvN1Uexk8JELyuEpPXJTTOxLhXV0qFEFZcXay4iQD7LbFoI6o3F6oJAMY0rjUnG660qyiR2isuKUQxzmsZ+20My1PEZzNBzZtPEZt0toVWBIuOkmBttfoqoKzTUsLTNNrjGc4V9TLkPzh7gHl06wPp1QPC8C2rmDyGz4KZLgJqkEsF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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Dead Connection</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author: Charlie Price</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages: 225</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Mystery, Realistic-Fiction</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating: 4/5 stars</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book is a mystery book with a paranormal spin because high school cheerleader Nikki Parker is kidnapped, and no one knows who did it. Although, Murray Kiefer, who is able to communicate with the deceased, might just figure it out. This story takes place present tense in a small town. Robert Barry Compton does not like living in this town making him depressed and angry. This book tell the story through multiple perspectives by changing to a different character each chapter. We first meet Murray Kiefer he is a high schooler who is very antisocial and he can speak to the dead. Next, you meet Officer Gates who is in charge of finding out who kidnapped Nikki. Lastly, you get to know Robert Barry Compton., Robert witnessed Nikki’s kidnapping, but he is schizophrenic and has a hard time remembering things. Another important character is Officer Billup who is an alcohol addict and he has a strong hate towards Murray. The book starts off in a small town telling the story of each character and how Nikki Parker went missing.While Murray is in the cemetery, he starts to hear a new voice, one he didn’t recognize he starts searching and while doing so, he meets pearl the daughter of the caretaker. At first, Murray wants nothing to do with pearl he thinks she’s a cemetery brat, but he gets to know her and they turn out being close friends, he even told her he speaks to the dead. Pearl quickly became interested and the started finding out where the new voice was coming from. Once they found it, the voice turned out to be Nikki Parker the missing cheerleader. Murray and Pearl decided they should tell officer gates that they think Nikki is buried in the same grave as a man named Craddock. Surprisingly, Craddock was buried the same day Nikki went missing. Officer gates then tracks down the Craddock family. They live in a town called Chico. Nikki's kidnapper turned out to be her cousin, Gary Craddock. Gary Craddock was put in jail with a five hundred thousand dollar bail. The bail was paid and Gary was out of jail. Although Murray and pearl knew the voice was Nikki and that Gary was the one who had kidnapped her, no one ever dug up Craddock's grave to see if Nikki was there. I think that the theme of this book was that you shouldn’t make assumptions. For example, when officer gates first met Billup he thought that Billup kidnapped Nikki because he’s addicted to alcohol and he’s mean, but Billup turned out to be innocent.Also, Murray thought pearl was just a cemetery brat, but she was actually interested in how he could talk to the dead and they became best friends. One thing I really liked about this book was how it told the story from multiple perspectives. While reading you get to put the pieces together on who did it because you get clues from each character. One thing I didn’t like was how you could’ve never guessed it was her cousin. You really only get introduced to the cousin in the last few chapters. Overall, I really liked this book and anyone who likes mysteries and multiple plot twists will like this book. While reading the book my idea on who kidnapped Nikki kept changing because the narrator would make you think someone did it then prove that person innocent like Billup. I thoroughly enjoyed reading </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dead Connection.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by: Savanna Smith</span>Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-23072688825699942772017-04-21T15:02:00.000-05:002017-04-21T15:02:05.687-05:00Tina Fey Bossypants Review<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title: Tina Fey </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bossypants</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author: Tina Fey</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre:Biography, Non-Fiction</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages: 272</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ratings 4/5 stars</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In this book, Tina Fey talks all about her life from a young girl all the way to when she turns 40. The setting of the story changes all throughout the book as a young girl in Pennsylvania, to a middle aged women in New York City. The book transitions from the 1970’s to the 21st century. It is interesting to see how people's opinions and the way they act throughout the book changes as time goes by. Tina Fey is an independent comedy writer who faces the nasty comments that are said to her by strangers. Jeff Richmond, her husband, continuously encourages and inspires Tina Fey in her daily life. Her trouble with bullying, all started when she was a little girl. She was in kindergarten and was in the alley behind her house, when a strange man approached her and slashed her in the face. But her scar never stopped her from doing anything she wanted. She always knew she wanted to be in the acting business, so as a teenager she started doing improv classes and made some sketches that she acted out in front of people too. As she got older, Tina wasn’t performing anymore, but she still really wanted to be an actor. Somehow she landed an interview with Lorne Michaels, a television producer, and got the job. She started writing scripts for SNL and even acted on the show. Later in her television career, she started a show called </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">30 Rock</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and starred in it as the main character, Liz Lemon. At first her TV show wasn’t getting many viewers compared to the other hit TV shows in that time, but later as they got into further seasons of the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">30 Rock</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, it became more and more popular. The book finishes on Tina’s thoughts on a major decision that would change her life. The theme of this book, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bossypants</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, is to always stay strong. Tina never lets anybody bring her down, or bring down her confidence when smack talking about the huge scar on her face. Also when she gets e-mailed hurtful things multiple times a day, but she handles them like what they said didn’t even affect her at all. If she had let all of these things get to her she wouldn’t be this successful and do what she loves.</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-11533540-d8b3-cd0a-b858-d4c8262c63a0"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The book was very funny and interesting. Even if there was a dry spot in the book there would still be some part of me that wanted to keep on reading it, she would throw in a joke that made me completely forget how boring that part of the book was. Some of the jokes actually made me laugh out loud. It was a very fun and fast read, it kept you guessing what possibly could happen next. The only thing that I didn’t like about this book, was that I couldn’t relate to some of the stuff because I wasn’t alive in that time period that the book was set in at that moment. Like when she was writing about when she was a girl, some of the things she was talking about I had no idea what it was, because it was pertaining to that time period. I think that this book is mainly directed to women that are in their late 30’s and older. There are many feminine things that she talks about in this book that I don’t think that men will appreciate, and the women who are about her age will understand more of what she’s talking about than younger people. I guarantee you that you will love this book, no matter your age or gender.</span></span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by: Jessica Sheldon</span></span>Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-38803142405863998472017-04-14T14:57:00.000-05:002017-04-14T14:57:06.138-05:00 Maze Runner Series #3 book...The Death Cure <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Title: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maze Runner Series #3 - </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Death Cure </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-indent: 48px; white-space: pre-wrap;">James Dashner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages: 286</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Action-Adventure, Science-Fiction, Mysteries</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating: 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Awards: NYT Best selling series</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Maze Runner: Death Cure i</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">s just action packed. For example They use launchers to fight their way out of WICKED or run as fast as they can to run away from Cranks which are basically zombies.The setting takes place in the Scorch. The scorch is a very hot filled with sand place it’s full of cranks and the Flare, which is a deadly virus. It also takes place in USA (Denver) there is a society with people and protection of the Flare virus, and the WICKED complex. The scorch is very very dangerous. It's filled with infected cracks, In Denver there is just too much to heat. What i mean by that is that WICKED could be anywhere and they don't know who to trust there in Denver. Thomas was the protagonist. His main goal is to destroy WICKED. Which is also their main conflict. Another character is Newt; he's another friend of Thomas's who isn't immune to the Flare. Which means he can get the Flare, the deadly virus that attacks your brain and starts to make you go mad like a zombie. Previously in the Maze Runner.Thomas who was a test subject for WICKED. In case you were wondering WICKED is a covert organization, who do evil things to young adults and have evil motivations and will do anything to find a cure. They have done evil trials that caused a lot of Immunes to die.Before he was captured in after the Scorch he was doing a dangerous trial which was in a maze that changes every night with a dangerous creature. Some of them were stuck there for 2 years but Thomas lead the group out in 2 weeks after there little “Prison Break” that got them out of the Maze. They Figured out why there were there it was because they were part of the group that were immune to the flare. The Flare is a dangerous virus that slowly eats your brain. They hated Wicked and then they were captured by an unknown so called ally who hated WICKED, but Thomas knew something was up.He and his friend Minho found out they were WICKED and doing tests on teenagers like Thomas. So, then he escaped into the Scorch where all the infected Cracks were. But when they were safe from WICKED and the infected Teresa told Wicked where they were and captured Thomas and his friends. After that Rat man who was like a acting manager explained what Thomas was. He was immune to the Flare along with others and that they are very close to a cure. But Thomas couldn't trust them. So he decided to rebel against them with his friends. But he knew going out there would be dangerous because of the infected people who hate people like Thomas and the flare being on the loose and that the fact Newt can get the Flare easily. Thomas’s goal was to destroy and watch WICKED burn to the ground. After their other little “Prison Break” they found out they have mini chips in there heads that could control them, so Thomas and his friends go out to a ex-WICKED employee and ask if they could take the chip out. But he was a little late and WICKED were in control of Thomas. So Minho knocked him out and Hans the Ex-employee took out the chip off Thomas and Minho.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">When they got back to the plane they found a note that said: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“They got in somehow. They’re taking me to live with the other </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cranks. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Its for the best. Thanks for being my friends. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goodbye."</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thomas knew he had to save him. After all the sacrifices he had made for him. He asked everyone if they had any ideas. Jorge knew Newt was at a Crank Place and that all cities have a Crank Place. He goes and finds Newt going mad trying to break him out, but the problem is Thomas found another note saying, “if you see me kill me”. When they were escaping Newt was starting to turn into a crack because he’s not an immune. When he was turning, he told Thomas to shoot him and kill him. Thomas couldn't do it; he was his best friend he didn't want to give up on him. Newt begged him and didn't want to become one of them. So Thomas pulled the trigger and killed him. Thomas was going to do something to avenge. This is book is honestly amazing. You must read it. Its got this special hook to it and you just don’t want to stop reading. Like a T.V show for example something happens and the show ends. You're wondering what will happen next, but sadly you wait a week to see what happens next. The good news is you don't have to wait it's all in there. This book is fantastic astonishing and etc. I suggest you read this </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">series.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-733308388469311302017-04-07T07:00:00.000-05:002017-04-07T07:00:06.136-05:00Pretty Little Liars Review<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pretty Little Liars</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author: Sara Shepard</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages: 286</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Mystery, Realistic -Fiction</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating 5/5 stars</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pretty Little Liars is </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">r</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ealistic fiction because these girls are going through a normal high school life except </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">their</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> friend Alison is missing. Mystery because Alison DiLaurentis goes missing and the girls gets messages from this so called “A” who they don’t know who it is. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pretty Little Liars </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">takes place in Rosewood, Pennsylvania in present day. Rosewood is where Alison went missing and are trying to figure out Ali’s disappearance three years later. The four main characters are Aria Montgomery, Spencer Hastings, Emily Fields, and Hanna Marin. The girls are getting texts/messages about their past and present actions from this so called “A”. Alison DiLaurentis was the four girls best friend until she went missing.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It starts out with Ali going missing. Three years later Ali is still missing. Aria comes back to Rosewood from living in Iceland and finds a love interest at the bar Snookers, which they ended the day making out in the women’s bathroom. The guy’s name was Ezra Fitz which Aria finds out that Ezra is her english teacher. Spencer’s sister, Melissa, brings her new boyfriend, Wren, which later on in the book Spencer kisses him. This makes Melissa and Wren break up, which made the Hastings very upset. Emily mets a the new girl Maya who moved into the DiLaurentis’s old house. Maya and Emily become closer and then they kiss. This is why Emily and her boyfriend Ben break up. Emily also quits swimming which she was amazing at and her parents didn’t want her to. Hanna made a new friend Mona after the girls went their separate ways. Mona and Hanna do a lot of bad things shoplifting from high end stores like Tiffany’s and drinking. Hanna stole her ex-boyfriend Sean’s car and then she crashed, so Hanna was called to the station by the cop Wilden. Mona got in the car with Hanna, but she wasn’t sent to the station. Hanna’s mom took care of it by sleeping with Wilden. They found Alison’s body at the back of the old house. Later that week they went the funeral for Ali and after the funeral Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily all got the same text from A, which said it all, that A is still there and he/she still knows everything. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I liked how there was more detail than the show. Like how some chapters didn’t even happen in the show. Also, this book shows what the characters are going through which I liked. Last I liked that each chapter was a different girl’s and what they were going through and doing that day. There was nothing I didn’t like about this book. I recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery and/or realistic fiction. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who who watches or watched the show. It will change how you view the show. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">By: Rebecca Sachs</span></div>
Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-27617465801576361772017-03-31T07:00:00.000-05:002017-03-31T07:00:27.172-05:00Slayers Review<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Slayers</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">C.J. Hill</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Fiction, fantasy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages: 400</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating: 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Slayers </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is a fictional novel, set in a time when dragons are real and waiting to come back to the 201st century. In the our the main character, Tori has been afraid of dragons sense she was a little girl. It doesn't matter how much she tells herself they’re there, they are not real, the fear of dragons is always looming over her. It had all only been a silly fear, that is until Tori decides to attend a certain dragon themed camp. Soon She starts to worry that fears are becoming reality. Strange things keep happening to her. For one Tori was put in a special “ advanced are of the camp that was far away from the rest of the camp. It doesn't take her long to notice that the camper who are there are strange too. They are crazy athletic and can do things like hit the target with an arrow from 80 ft away, and shooting with their eyes closed. But while Tori is at the camp she makes new friends like Dirk and Jessie, two boys she met when she first got there that just so happened to be in the advanced camp with her. Unfortunately she also makes enemies while she's there one is a girl named Lilly who started hating her on sight. But Tori will face more relationship dilemmas when she has to figure out how she feels for Jesse and Dirk. Tori doesn't get time to sort out her feelings out before her world gets turned around. Finally, Tori finds out why her and the other campers are in the “advanced camp”. She and the other campers are slayer slayer are people who fight her biggest fear dragons. By now Tori's life has taken a total 360, with training to use her new found slayer skills and struggling to sort out her new found feeling for Dirk and Jesse you would think life would just give her a break. but instead of getting to relax things turn for the worst when a real dragon appears in their home town of Washington D.C. Unprepared and with little training,Tori has to join the fight against it. Will they defeat the dragons? Is there a trader among them? Who is this Ryker guy we keep hearing about? I would suggest this book to you if you enjoy comedy, adventure, and a little romance. I would also suggest that if you read this book read the prologue; its very important and will help you understand the book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Olivia Rhodes</span></div>
Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-64146999800376317272017-03-24T07:00:00.000-05:002017-03-28T15:57:06.162-05:00Peak Book Review<br />
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Title: Peak<br />
Author: Roland Smith<br />
Pages: 246<br />
Genre: Realistic fiction, Action<br />
Rating: 4/5 stars<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peak deals with a lot of suspenseful moments and actual facts. Peak isn't based on a true story. This book mainly takes place on the border of Nepal and Tibet where Mount Everest is located. The protagonist of the story is Peak Marcello a 14 year old boy that lives in New York with his mom and his stepfather. Peak gets into legal trouble and has to go live with his biological father for a while. When he gets to his father, he gets surprised by the fact that they’re gonna climb Mount Everest that’s where his main conflict comes into play he gets the opportunity to be the youngest person to climb the tallest mountain in the world, Mount Everest. Another important character is Peak’s biological dad, Josh. They really get to bond and learn about one and another with the expedition. The main theme in the book is persistency. Peak show persistency all throughout the book from beginning to the end of the book he understands that you have to set goals and try your hardest to accomplish those goals. I really enjoyed this book and would probably put it near the top of my list. I like how the book flowed and everything tied in together. I also liked all the detail Roland put into the book he clearly gave you a picture of what was going on. What I disliked was how peak and his dad really didn't do much together. He was a big part of the book but I feel like he could be incorporated more. People that would like this book are people who like action or adventure based books from a first person point of view. Peak is suitable for both genders. I would give this book a 4 out 5 stars I really enjoyed the story from beginning to the end packed with action and some suspense scattered all over. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by: </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jose Renteral-Pluma</span></div>
Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-51415329485866716382017-03-17T07:00:00.000-05:002017-03-17T07:00:12.341-05:00Heat Book ReviewTitle: Heat<br />
Author: Mike Lupica<br />
Genre: Action, Realistic Fiction<br />
Pages: 220<br />
Rating: 5/5 stars<br />
<img alt="Image result for heat by mike lupica" class="irc_mi" src="http://images.contentful.com/7h71s48744nc/4AR4xX1id1UPFaw1c9zMh0/6c0eb78b7bd50624771927f49861cc1f/heat-cover-image" height="393" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="262" /><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“H</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">eat</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a modern day, sporty, action-packed, adventurous fiction that is filled with the suspense of a talented tween fighting to become a star against all odds. Most of the book takes place in The Bronx, New York during the early 2000’s. Throughout the book, the main character, Michael Arroyo, is teased</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">because of his race and his homeland. Michael is a 12-year-old-boy, born and raised in Cuba for the first seven years of his life, but who now lives in New York. He is a baseball phenom and is known throughout The Bronx as the kid with the dream of making it to the Little League World Series.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Michael is confronted with numerous challenges, including abandonment, death, and opposition, that try to get in the way of his dream becoming a reality. Throughout the story, Michael develops a strong relationship with a girl named Ellie, who he is later surprised to learn has a close connection to the sport he loves the most.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just months after Michael moves to New York, his father, Papi, dies of a sudden heart attack. Michael is left to be cared for by his 17 year-old brother Carlos, who is not yet old enough to officially serve as his legal guardian. Papi’s death has a major impact on Michael and his future in baseball. Michael and Carlos must fend for themselves and keep the death of their father a secret, in order to avoid being sent to foster care or back to Cuba. Michael’s pitching is outstanding and teams begin to question his age, assuming that is the only explanation for his exceptional baseball skills. With no parents to vouch for him and unable to produce a birth certificate, Michael’s hopes of playing in the Little League World Series become grim. He is faced with the threat of being removed from the league. The climax of the book is when Ellie’s father is revealed and Michael learns that her father holds the key to his baseball future. This discovery is a turning point in the story. Soon after, Michael finds himself facing his biggest test yet, in an epic showdown against his team’s rival, the Giants, which comes down to the last pitch in a playoff game. The theme of the book “Heat” is to never give up, even when times are rough and the challenges seem overwhelming. Michael has to overcome the adversity of losing both a mother and a father. Just when he thinks things can’t get worse, Michael’s age is challenged and he is not able to do the one thing that he loves the most, play baseball. However, he never stops believing in his dream. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I like how the author told the story of a boy who made something out of nothing. Michael is one of the strongest and most courageous characters that I’ve ever met. This book taught me to never give up and that anything is possible when you work hard and dream big. Additionally, I could relate to Michael on many levels. Both he and I had dreams of going to the Little League World Series, and we were both scouted by many teams. I think any middle schooler between the ages of eleven and fourteen would be able to relate to and enjoy this book. I also think that adults can learn a lot from Michael about overcoming challenges and persevering. This book teaches a great life lesson, and therefore, would be a great choice for anyone that has or will face a major obstacle in their life. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I would give this book a 5 star review because I was able to relate so much with Michael and I enjoy reading about sports.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">By: Mason Player</span></div>
Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-16124620895094879222017-02-03T07:00:00.000-06:002017-03-29T08:41:55.722-05:00Foundation Book Review<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Foundation</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author: Isaac Asimov</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages: 559</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Fiction, Science-Fiction, Adventure</span></div>
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<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51RZ30jFyDL._SX304_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Awards: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> It won the one-time Hugo </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Award</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966 and more</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book is a mixture of science fiction and adventure. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Foundation</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> fits into the genre of science fiction because there is space travel between stars and atomic power used to make weapons and force-fields and other fascinating machines. The action of this book takes place on two planets: Terminus and Anacreon. Terminus is a tiny planet with little natural resources but one important thing: atomic power. Anacreon is a big planet with a powerful army. The story is set in the future. The setting affects the story because Terminus is a smaller world and Anacreon wants the atomic power that Terminus has, so naturally they want to attack Terminus using their bigger army. It also makes traveling more difficult because the characters must fly through space to reach other planets. The protagonist of the story is Salvor Hardin: the mayor of Terminus. He has two main conflicts: Anacreon and the Action Party. Anacreon is after the Foundation’s atomic power and they are threatening attack on Terminus, while the Action Party is calling for Hardin’s impeachment because he seems to be doing nothing about the conflict with Anacreon. Another important character is “High Priest Verisof”, who is Hardin’s ambassador to Anacreon. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The story starts off with the Action Party, an opposing political party, led by a man named Sermak, trying to convince Hardin to take action against Anacreon immediately before Anacreon attacks Terminus first. Verisof comes after the meeting with the Action Party and informs Hardin that King Lepold of Anacreon’s uncle, Prince Regent Wienis, is threatening to attack the Terminus unless it repairs a ship that is equivalent to half of Anacreon’s existing army. Wienis also convinces Lepold that attacking Terminus would mean a straight line to the throne for future generations. Meanwhile, the Action Party believes that Hardin is being paid by Anacreon to do nothing, and when Hardin leaves for Anacreon, they believe that he is receiving his payment. In reality, Hardin goes to Anacreon to set a counter for the Anacreon attack. After taking Hardin to his room and telling him that he has already sent an attack to Terminus, Wienis is caught off-guard when Hardin tells him of a counterstroke. Enraged, Wienis makes an attempt on Hardin’s life, and when even that fails, he commits suicide.</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0f0aca89-fa93-140f-25dc-4260667e4a23"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The theme of this story is that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. One example is that Hardin never made a violent move in winning the wear; he only used his cunning and trickery. Another example is that Prince Regent Wienis, the person that engineered all this violence, ends up committing suicide, showing that violence will only lead to a hard path. (H) I thoroughly enjoyed the double crossing and the many ulterior motives of the book. Whenever Hardin was seemingly cornered by his opponents, he must’ve been laughing internally as he explains his counter to them. Something that I didn’t like about the story was that whatever Hardin did; it resulted in his success and never his failure. I think it would make it more interesting if he failed and was caught once. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Anybody that enjoys science fiction, futuristic writing, and cunningness and trickery would enjoy reading this book. It is very futuristic and may take you a while to realize what is actually happening. Overall, this is a really great book and I would really recommend it to anyone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by Jeremy Ouyang</span>Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-86595613009265567482017-01-27T11:00:00.000-06:002017-03-29T08:42:37.809-05:00Heat<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Title: <span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heat</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author: Mike Lupica</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages: 220</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: fiction</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Awards: He has won many author awards; none for this book as of yet</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating: 5/5 stars</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book is a modern day, sporty, action-packed, adventurous fiction that is filled with the suspense of a talented tween fighting to become a star against all odds. Most of the book takes place in The Bronx, New York during the early 2000’s. Throughout the book, the main character, Michael Arroyo, is teased</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">because of his race and his homeland. MIchael is a 12 year old boy, born and raised in Cuba for the first seven years of his life, but who now lives in New York. He is a baseball phenom and is known throughout The Bronx as the kid with the dream of making it to the Little League World Series.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Michael is confronted with numerous challenges, including abandonment, death, and opposition, that try to get in the way of his dream becoming a reality. Throughout the story, Michael develops a strong relationship with a girl named Ellie, who he is later surprised to learn has a close connection to the sport he loves the most.</span></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-5a9997d1-fa99-fe45-5fc6-01a3a77e5c30"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just months after Michael moves to New York, his father, Papi, dies of a sudden heart attack. Michael is left to be cared for by his 17 year-old brother Carlos, who is not yet old enough to officially serve as his legal guardian. Papi’s death has a major impact on Michael and his future in baseball. Michael and Carlos must fend for themselves and keep the death of their father a secret, in order to avoid being sent to foster care or back to Cuba. Michael’s pitching is outstanding and teams begin to question his age, assuming that is the only explanation for his exceptional baseball skills. With no parents to vouch for him and unable to produce a birth certificate, Michael’s hopes of playing in the Little League World Series become grim. He is faced with the threat of being removed from the league. The climax of the book is when Ellie’s father is revealed and Michael learns that her father holds the key to his baseball future. This discovery is a turning point in the story. Soon after, Michael finds himself facing his biggest test yet, in an epic showdown against his team’s rival, the Giants, which comes down to the last pitch in a playoff game. The theme of the book “Heat” is to never give up, even when times are rough and the challenges seem overwhelming. Michael has to overcome the adversity of losing both a mother and a father. Just when he thinks things can’t get worse, Michael’s age is challenged and he is not able to do the one thing that he loves the most, play baseball. However, he never stops believing in his dream. </span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-5a9997d1-fa99-fe45-5fc6-01a3a77e5c30" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I like how the author told the story of a boy who made something out of nothing. Michael is one of the strongest and most courageous characters that I’ve ever met. This book taught me to never give up and that anything is possible when you work hard and dream big. Additionally, I could relate to Michael on many levels. Both he and I had dreams of going to the Little League World Series, and we were both scouted by many teams. I think any middle schooler between the ages of eleven and fourteen would be able to relate to and enjoy this book. I also think that adults can learn a lot from Michael about overcoming challenges and persevering. This book teaches a great life lesson, and therefore, would be a great choice for anyone that has or will face a major obstacle in their life. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I would give this book a 5 star review because I was able to relate so much with Michael and I enjoy reading about sports.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by: Mason Player</span></div>
</span>Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-65413611341762608882017-01-20T11:37:00.000-06:002017-02-01T11:37:55.508-06:00Peak<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title: "Peak"</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author: Roland Smith</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages: 246 paperback</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Realistic Fiction, Action</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Awards: None at this time</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating: 4/5 stars</span></span></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-9c232866-fabd-cab6-e128-74c7bd675a7e" style="font-weight: normal;"><img alt="Image result for peak by roland smith" class="irc_mut iDPmB2z8ugtI-HwpH6ZlgJaI" height="393" 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" 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<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book deals with a lot of suspenseful moments and actual facts. Peak isn't based on a true story. This book mainly takes place on the border of Nepal and Tibet where Mount Everest is located. The protagonist of the story is Peak Marcello, a 14 year old boy that lives in New York with his mom and his stepfather. Peak gets into legal trouble and has to go live with his biological father for a while. When he gets to his father, he gets surprised by the fact that they’re gonna climb Mount Everest that’s where his main conflict comes into play he gets the opportunity to be the youngest person to climb the tallest mountain in the world, Mount Everest. Another important character is Peak’s biological dad, Josh. They really get to bond and learn about one and another with the expedition. The main theme in the book is persistency. Peak show persistency all throughout the book from beginning to the end of the book he understands that you have to set goals and try your hardest to accomplish those goals. I really enjoyed this book and would probably put it near the top of my list. I like how the book flowed and everything tied in together. I also liked all the detail Roland put into the book he clearly gave you a picture of what was going on. What I disliked was how peak and his dad really didn't do much together. He was a big part of the book but I feel like he could be incorporated more. People that would like this book are people who like action or adventure based books from a first person point of view. Peak is suitable for both genders. I would give this book a 4 out 5 stars. I really enjoyed the story from beginning to the end packed with action and some suspense scattered all over. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jose Renteral-Pluma</span>Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515630091615911266.post-80523892856652583812017-01-06T10:47:00.000-06:002017-03-28T15:58:22.546-05:00Graceling<br />
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Title: Graceling<br />
Author: <span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 48px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kristin Cashore</span><br />
Pages: 471 (hard cover)<br />
Genre: Fiction, Dystopic<br />
Rating: 1/5 stars<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The book shows the main character, Katsa, going on a grandiose adventure, while throwing in some personal drama to spice things up. Graceling reminds me of Suzanne Collins’s, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hunger Games</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> trilogy. Except for the fact that Graceling take place in a medieval era with no technology, they have the same plot. The setting of the book affects the plot, because they can’t spread information, like we can today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Katsa is Graced with killing. Though she hasn’t killed in a long time, she is feared by many. She is faced with the task of taking down a ruthless king, with the help of The Council and its allies. On one of her missions for The Council, she meets a mysterious, who turn out to be a prince of the kingdom Katsa was in the process of helping. Po (the mysterious man) over time falls in love with Katsa, but he’s not the only one who has their sights on “The girl who can kill a man with her bare hands.” Bitterblue is a part of the royal family and the great mystery that is facing the 7 kingdoms. Though she is just a child, she will experience more than most will ever in their life times. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The books starts out with Katsa on a mission, for the infamous council, to save the grandfather Liend. While mid-rescue, Katsa runs into Po ( the mysterious man). After a successful mission, Katsa returns to her uncle Randa, who is oblivious of her work for the council, only to be confronted by none other than Po, a Liend Prince. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The raising action starts when, with Po’s help, Katsa break free for her tyrant uncle, in order to find out more grandfather's kidnapping. She end up uncovering a secret behind one of the most notorious king’s reign, a new found love interest, and plots for another kidnapping attempt.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The climax kept readers on the edge of their seats. First, Katsa has to save princess Bitterblue from being the next royal abduction. Then, they must escape over dangerous mountains, where they both almost lose their lives. After a few close run ins with death, Katsa (the killer of men) runs into one of the only people capable of killing her-- King Leck. She defeats him, like the heroic protagonist she is. Fighting mountain lions, saving princesses, and defeating kings; is there anything Katsa can’t do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The falling was just as eventful, but in many was less jaw-droppingly captivating. It was just a reintroduction to the character after all the life changing events in the climax. On that note, the resolution was just as anticlimactic, with the characters deciding that they were going to part ways. There was no epic goodbye, it was just over.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The theme of this book is: It’s not about what is on the outside, only what's on the inside. Everyone though Katsa was a monster because of her grace although Katsa is a nice person.</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-53075ab4-5445-ab2c-2c74-72f09baab33b"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I would not suggest this book to anyone. The book is extremely boring and has no real world connection. The book is a cliche Y.A. novel. This book is a worse version of the modern day </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hunger Games</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by Victoria Neal</span>Ms. Bancroft's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239927874022811530noreply@blogger.com0