Horns and Wrinkles

Horns and Wrinkles
By Joseph Helgerson
Reviewed by Claire



This is an interesting book about a 12-year-old girl named Claire and her adventure along the magical Mississippi River in order to save her cousin Duke and her family

The story starts when Claire’s cousin Duke stole her pet turtle and dangle her over a bridge over the Mississippi River. Duke is a bully, no one likes a bully. What happened to Duke was unexpected. An old lady sitting on a boat saved Claire when Duke dropped her over the bridge by sprinkling some powder on her which Claire started to float and landed safely on the old lady’s boat. At the same time, something horrible happened to Duke that his nose turned into a rhino’s horn.

 The old lady tells Claire that the river is actually a spell that bullies will be turned into rhinos. The only way to fix the spell is going through an act of true kindness. Claire tried to fix Duke, but Duke won’t listen to her furthermore. Duke run away from her with three river trolls telling “why are his parents turned to stone?” Claire is determined to save her cousin and her family.

Claire finds out that the only way to change her family back to normal is to find the rock feather that belongs to the river trolls. On the other hand, the river trolls need her help to find the shooting star to trade for the talking crickets to bring backs the missing fathers. Claire took the adventure with Duke and the river trolls to the mines of the rock troll named Bodacious Deepthink in the underground mines. Claire find out not only with the help of the old lady and her brother, she finds 28 rhinos in the fight with the rock trolls. All the rhinos showed their courage and unselfishness to the rock trolls and turned back to kids. Claire has her family back including her lost relatives. Who would have known that Duke was a river troll instead of a kid?

 This book is full of wild imagination and unexpected terms. This is also a book that can teach us life lessons of being truly kind to your friends and family. I really enjoyed reading about all the adventures of naughty kid, river and rock trolls, and fairies.

As Brave As You

As Brave As You
By Jason Reynolds
Reviewed by Anaiya



A boy named Genie and his brother, Ernie, are going to go visit their grandparents for a month in West Virginia. Their parents were taking a trip to Jamaica. Genie thought maybe it was because his mom and dad were having problems. Ernie already knew what to expect but Genie didn’t. He was still a baby when he first met them.

 When they got there, Genie was wondering why his Grandpop was wearing sunglasses inside the house.Grandpa told him that he was blind. Ernie of course, already knew that.Grandma was perfectly ok,she wasn’t ill or anything . But Genie realized that his dad and Grandpa were having issues.Dad had barely talked to Grandpa. His mom said hello and went upstairs and started unpacking the boys clothes.

The next morning his mom and dad were going back to Brooklyn (which is where they live) to get to pack up for Jamacia.Everyone said their goodbyes and they left. Genie then wanted to get to know Grandpa so he started asking questions. The others questions, he wrote down because he wanted to look them up online. Time flew by fast because it was time to go to bed.

 The next day, Grandma woke them up bright and early. Breakfast was already ready because she wakes up with the sun. After they ate, they went outside to help Grandma pick some peas.Around lunch, they went back outside to play with the dog, Samantha. They saw a girl down the hill and went to go talk to her. Her name was Tess and she knew their grandparents. Tess became friends with Genie and Ernie. Genie knew that Ernie liked Tess and Tess liked him.

A few days later, it was Ernie’s birthday.Grandpa said that Ernie was going to become a man (which meant Ernie was about to learn how to shoot). Ernie didn’t want to learn how to shoot. He didn’t think needed to learn how to shoot. He thought he was letting Grandpa down so he decided to lean anyway. Genie was excited for Ernie but Ernie wasn’t excited at all. Grandpa told Ernie the rules and showed him how to shoot it. When Ernie pulled the trigger and the kickback hit him in the mouth. It knocked two of his teeth out and chipped the third one.

Grandma had rushed him right to the hospital. They put the two teeth right in, but the third one had to be fixed by a dentist. Will Ernie and Genie’s parents be happy about this when they come back from their trip? Who do you think will fix Ernie’s fixed tooth? Will Ernie forgive Grandpa for asking him to shoot a gun? You have to read the story.

Drama

Drama
By Raina Telgemeier
Reviewed by Mirainda


                                                         
Drama is a fantastic graphic novel written about a girl named Callie. It is written very nicely and the illustrator is amazing.

The book starts out with Matt, Callie, and Greg. When Greg takes Callie to the park they kiss and it changes everything, because she’s liked him for forever. When they’re at school Greg acts like it never happened, and won’t even really talk to her.

Callie is a part of stage crew at her school and they are producing a show, The Moon Over the Mississippi. While she’s putting up posters she meets Justin and Jesse. Justin wants to be in the show, and Jesse is his twin brother, he does his homework and tries to blend in with the crowd. 

Callie loves hanging out with Jesse, they like all the same things they even go to bookstores together. After all this Callie and Jesse have to watch the tryouts for the show and Callie wants Jesse to audition, so she auditions terribly to let Jesse know it’s okay, and not to be scared.

Then the cast lists came up. Justin got a part, but it wasn’t the lead so he was sad. Then there were rehearsals, dress rehearsals, fittings, learning songs and lines. Then, Finally the shows! Over the past few days Callie realized that she liked Jesse, and she wanted him to ask her to the dance that was being held after the last show.

The shows went very good, but the last one was the most memorable. West and Bonnie are a couple inside and outside of the show, but after act 1 West broke up with Bonnie, therefore she wouldn’t go out on the stage. Jesse knew all the lines of the show because he’s known it since he was small, so he put on that dress and went out as Bonnie and did amazing.

Then, Jesse comes to the after party and asks Callie to go to the dance with him. The dance went well until Jesse went to the bathroom and never came back. Callie eventually caught him outside talking to West. Then Jesse had to explain to Callie that he’s gay.

After all of this Callie bumped into Greg, and he took her to the park, Again. And leans in to try to kiss her. Will she kiss him back? Will she fix things with Jesse? Read the book to find out!

Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry
By Eric Braun
Reviewed by Ethan



Stephen Curry is an All-Time Star basketball player. He struggles a lot during his high-school and youth years. He improved on a lot of his challenges by working hard over the years. Now he is rising above to the top. No one took Stephen serious. He never gave up even when he wanted to.

 Stephen Curry had a lot of challenges. Colleges were not giving Stephen a chance. Colleges were saying he was too skinny and tiny. Stephen couldn’t shoot or dribble. He practiced and practiced and still was getting challenges.

Practicing every day with his dad helped. Stephen gets better at a lot of things. He was still to short. He got accepted to a team eventually. Stephen was the leader of the team and was known for 3-pointers.

Stephen got to the NBA and was very excited. He was the NBA’s most valuable player. He was the second highest basketball player. He couldn’t defeat Lebron James. He’s a very popular and hard-working player. Stephen was known for making his three-pointers for the Warriors.

 Stephen is a very unflagging person that never gave up when he wanted to. He loves what he does and now he is something big. He got mad when he didn’t get accepted but he kept striving for the big spot. He came a very long way from youth to adulthood. What I liked about this book is that it encourages people not to give up in life. Even when you are going through hard times giving up isn’t going to get you anywhere but failure. That’s the unique thing about the story. That’s what life’s all about it sets us up for mistakes so we can learn and improve on those things. That’s what I got out of this story about Stephen Curry.

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
By Carolyn Keene
Reviewed by Brooke




Nancy is a teenaged sleuth, that has been recently investigating the house of Twin Elms, which belongs to a friend of Nancy, Helen. The house had recent reports of missing items, like food, jewelry, and silverware. Meanwhile, Nancy’s father has recently gone missing, and Nancy is too busy to do both at once, so she notifies the police. Will Nancy every find out the mystery of Twin Elms? Will her father ever be found? Read the book to find out.

This book was a good book because it was filled with suspense(well, enough suspense). It also seemed very realistic. It wasn’t like,”And then the magical sparkle pony, came down from the sky, and ate all of the cherry donuts.” It was very lifelike, and it was almost like the book was a not-very-boring biography.

Things I didn’t really like about the book: One, this book is older, and it didn’t have as much suspense as stuff nowadays would. Two, It was kind of predictable. It was kind of obvious some stuff was going to happen. And Three: The setting. It doesn’t make clear when it takes place, and where it takes place (city wise).

Other than that stuff, I agree that this was a pretty good book. I’ve played the video-game version on my DS, so I was pretty familiar with the plot. Some stuff was changed though. But, anyway, I hope you enjoy the book if you read it.

Awkward

Awkward
By Svetlana Chmakova
Reviewed by Alice



Awkward is one of those books that tells the story of a regular middle school life. So, Penelope is a new student who immediately embarrasses herself by falling over and making a fool of herself. The person who fell with her by the trip tries to help pick up her stuff, but as embarrassed she tells him to go away because of how she made a fool of herself. Couple weeks went by and she wants to apologize to him but is busy with her club trying to get a table for the Annual School Fair Club. The reason for this is that their seat is taken by the rival club the science club.

Soon, a later the clubs have a competition of which class deserves the table for The Club Fair, but what a surprise the boy who she pushed ( named Jaime) is in the science club. She is caught in the middle on who side to take, she knows both sides are not as bad as they may seem. Will she ever apologize, will she help the art club or even the science club, find out in Awkward.

What I liked

I liked how it shows how Peppi ( Penelope has a nick which is Peppi ) has trouble trying to confront Jaime because, of how it portrays Peppi as a social awkward girl. Also, my favorite character had to be Peppi’s friend Maribella because I can’t tell you cause that will reach spoiler territory. May favorite part was when a couple of bullies stole something from her she told them to stop reading and when they continued she screamed very loud.

What I didn’t like

Ok, I like this book a lot but, there's one thing that I wish they add more of. Some of the characters weren’t that important, for example a nerd in the art club does something, but not a whole lot. I wanted to have a little more characters but some of the characters that were basically important have their own sequel to Awkward.

The Advocate

The Advocate
By Bill Mesce Jr and Steven G. Szilagyi
Reviewed by Leila



Harry Voss, an American Major and lawyer working overseas in England is appointed by the Judge advocate's office to handle a case, which was an American plane having been shot down by one of its mates. As the crippled plane fell, the pilot who is shooting attacks the cottage of an old man and his wife, who are known as the Greshams. Harry is told to keep the case a secret, and as he gathers information from people who knew the suspect and victim, he cannot tell them why he is asking. Unfortunately, some people find out more than they should, while others are strictly sworn to silence. Harry is faced with the fact that everything seems so complicated while the case seems to be open and shut at the exact same time.

 The author has written a fiction book taking place in World War Two, and is also a mystery, involving what the speaker has learned from the main character Harry Voss. The story has a lot of details concerning Harry’s surroundings, the personalities of the people he interacts with and the thoughts he has concerning the case of O'Connell’s death. The authors thoroughly explain the background of the suspect, along with the backgrounds of the ones who died, to give some idea as to what led them to enlist in the army.

The authors have made some parts of the novel in first person, with the speaker talking about how he acquired the information, from Harry Voss, but for most of the story, the speaker's name is not said. In addition, there is a man who is often referred to as The Master or Himself, and his name is not spoken for most of the story. I would have liked for these characters to have been identified a bit sooner, but leaving them unknown for most of the time can engage readers to keep reading in order to find out who these men are.

As a result, I would rate this book 4.5 stars, because it is detailed, suspenseful, and engaging. The Advocate is a great combination of WWII and a murder mystery

Dork Diaries

Dork Diaries
By Rachel Renee Russell
Reviewed by Jade

The book I read was a fiction book called Dork Diaries. The book was about how the main character Nicki and how she would survive her new school year. She started a new school which had her with mixed feelings because a new school meant new friends and new teachers. Starting a new school is not always easy for a kid, especially when you’re trying to fit in.

Her first day of school didn’t turn out that great, in fact as she became known in the school she was bullied by another student who was popular, her name was Mackenzie. Being bullied made Nicki feel angry at times, but she was able to make new friends. Their names were Zoey and Chloe. They made her feel comfortable at school. Nicki also fell in love with a guy at school named Brandon. It was a secret because nobody in the school knew except for herself and her two best friends Chloe and Zoey.

This book has many strengths because many kids can relate to going to a new school. I like the author’s ideas of talking about the many different adversities new students face when going to a new school. I think the older you are the harder it is to adjust to a new school.  I wouldn’t say that there were any weaknesses because I liked pretty much everything in the book. I liked the characters and their personalities, the setting and the funny things in the book.

This book was a good choice for me to read because it reminded me of my first day of school when I first came to SCPA in second grade. I would recommend this book if you like books that include lots of drama, but also for many kids that have gone through what Nicki experienced going to a new school

One Came Home

One Came Home
by Amy Timberlake
Reviewed by Leila

Georgina Burkhart lives in Placid Wisconsin in the year of 1871, the time of pigeoners. Her sister Agatha has run off with the pigeoners, ones who hunt the passenger pigeons. After a some time, Sheriff McCabe returns to Placid, with a body that is wearing Agatha’s dress. Her mother identifies the body saying that it was her daughter. Everyone else agrees that Agatha Burkhart is dead, except Georgie. Refusing to accept what is laid before her Georgie sets out to find the truth about her sister, facing unimaginable adversities on her journey.

The author has written a historical fiction about the time of the pigeoners on the western frontier. Her narrative is rich in details and all loose ends are tied in her writing. Her story keeps your wanting to read more. Many middle school novels are not on the subject of the time of the passenger pigeons nesting in 1871, but Timberlake uses her words to make the uncommon subject a source of interest.

Using many sources, her book alone is a good source of information about the passenger pigeon nesting, and she has a note about her sources in the back of the book. However, the author was not able to get information about what the reactions of the people were in specification to the nesting in 1871. This book also shows the main character having a flashback of events leading up to the present, and the author could have made these flashbacks shorter, but Timberlake is quite descriptive in her writing, which doesn't take too much away from the book itself.

Overall, One Came Home is a strong piece of writing: it has a unique motif, uses strong descriptive writing, and makes sure the reader does not want to put it down. An excellent read for anyone looking for something a bit different.

The Baby-sitters Club

The Baby-sitters Club
By Ann M. Martin and Raina Telgemeier
Reviewed by Trinity



The book I decided to read for my November reading was, The Baby-Sitters Club by Raina Telgemeier based on the novel by Anna M. Martin. This is a story about 4 girls. Kristy Thomas, the president of the babysitting club. Claudia Kishi and she is the Vice President of the club. Mary Anne Spier and she is the secretary. Stacy McGill, who is the treasurer of the group. The story takes place in a town called Stoney Brooke and the setting is present day. The club was formed when Kristy and Mary Anne had to babysit. Kristy’s mom asked her to watch her boyfriend’s kids because none of her siblings would agree to babysit. This is when a light bulb went off for Kristy. So, Kristy called a meeting with Mary Anne and Claudie’s about forming a club. During their meeting, they decided they need another member and that is when they decided to ask Stacy to join the group.

Stacy moved from New York but readers learn that Stacy is not telling the truth about why she moved to Stoney Brooke from New York. In fact, the readers learn that none of the girls are telling the truth!

I rate the Baby-Sitter Club 10 stars out of 10. The reason I give the book such a high rating because the story has a lot of twist and turns. The storyline leaves the readers on the edge of their seats.

The book also showed me that you do not have to be a certain age, to form a club or start your own business. You can achieve this goal at any age

One of the lessons I learned from reading the book, do not automatically make a judgment about the person and their personality. You should never just automatically dislike someone, you should at least give them a chance.

 After reading this graphic novel, I would place this book on the recommendation list for 7th graders. The book shows that age should not limit your ability to start your own business or club, you can do this at any age. The Baby-Sitter Club is the first novel out of a series.

Dawn and the Impossible Three

Dawn and the Impossible Three
By Ann M. Martin and Gale Galligan
Reviewed by Madeline



Dawn and the Impossible Three is a new book in a series of graphic novels called The Baby-Sitters Club. Gale Galligan has created an amazing new style of art for the Baby-Sitters Club (the BSC) and brand new book.

The three kids Dawn Shafer (the newest member of the BSC) regularly sits for are always messy. Their mom never has time to talk to Dawn and the kids are quite a handful. Dawn is also having issues accepting that there is a slightly irresponsible soon-to-be member of the Club.

 When Dawn meets the kids for the first time she has to find a way to clean the house and get control over the kids and somehow take care of other needs for the household, all at the same time. She is a kind person and is tough enough to make it through the challenges she’s going to face while working with them. The kids she sits for (Suzi, Marnie, and Buddy) share a bond with Dawn.

Like Raina Telgemeier (the creator of the other Baby-Sitters Club graphic novels) says, “Gale is a brilliant cartoonist and fans are in for a treat.” I bet everyone else who reads this book will really enjoy that too.

 The BSC itself is at the center of the story, and each member has a role to play: Dawn is the alternate officer and the newest and kindest of the Club, Kristy is the president, Claudia is the vice president, Mary Anne is the secretary, and Stacey is the treasurer. Also, the kids that Dawn sits for are Suzi, a kind little girl, Buddy her older brother, and little baby Marnie (she is very sweet and is allergic to chocolate). And last but definitely not at all least is the upcoming newest member of the BSC, Mallory Pike, a sitter who is still a little bit of a diamond in the rough.

Gale has created a brilliant story, with a good plot and amazing characters. In the end, in addition to the the excellent characters, the amazing cartoon work and interesting plot make it one of the best graphic novels I have ever read, and it will be for a while. You really should read this book, but if you can, you should definitely check out the other four BSC books first: Kristy’s Great Idea, The Truth About Stacey, Mary Anne Saves the Day, and Claudia and Mean Janine. There is a lot of plot that occurs before this book’s story begins.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down
By Jeff Kinney
Reviewed by Jamie



The book I read was Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down by Jeff Kinney. The main character/narrator is Greg Heffley. He has a mom, a dad, and two brothers named Manny and Rodrick. He also has a friend named Rowley who he does a lot of crazy things with.

This book is about how Halloween is in a couple of weeks and the Heffleys decorated the house for Halloween. A lot of geese were in the town being very aggressive towards people and the geese destroyed the Heffleys’ jack o’lanterns. At Greg’s school, there’s a Balloon Brigade where people lift balloons in the air and when they land somewhere, whoever finds the balloon has to send it back and say how far it traveled. The person whose balloon goes the farthest gets a prize, which is a whole jar of candy corn. The person who found the balloon came to Greg’s house to return it and they sort of hung out but it was pretty awkward. On Halloween Mariana Mendoza had a party, and her parties are legendary, and all the students in the band were invited so Greg joined the band. If you want to know more about the book, read it to find out what happens.

The strengths of this book are that a lot of people have heard of the Diary of a Wimpy
Kid series and like to read it, this book appeals to many people, and it is pretty funny. A
weakness of this book is that it’s kind of short but not too short.

In conclusion, it’s a pretty great book. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read a book that is comedic. I would rate this book a five out of five stars because it’s very humorous and it is a well-known series of books.

When Things Come Back

When Things Come Back
by John Corey Whaley
Reviewed by Ani



The novel Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley is about a boy named Cullen Witter. This wonderful story’s setting was about twenty years ago (around 2000) in Lily, Arkansas. While Cullen is living his “normal” life, a professor comes to Lily and makes a big fuss about “rediscovering” an extinct bird, the Lazarus Woodpecker, which hadn’t been seen since around 1940. A couple of weeks after the Lazarus bird is found, Cullen’s brother named Gabriel suddenly disappears. Meanwhile, a very religious man who is going to college enters the story. He is roommates with another student named Cabot Searcy. This mysterious man is told by his father that he is doing things wrong religiously, and has trouble dealing with his conflict with his father. He decided to kill himself on Christmas Day by jumping off of a bell tower. Meanwhile, Cullen and his family are doing everything they can do to find Gabriel.

 As the story progresses, scenes alternate between Cullen’s family’s search for Gabriel and Cabot Searcy’s life. The reader discovers more about Cullen’s character, including the fact that he doubts the existence of the Lazarus woodpecker. As Cullen thinks more about his brother, his loses the ability to recall Gabriel’s face. But still, when Cullen is alone, Gabriel is all he can think about. Meanwhile, Cabot marries Cullen’s ex-girlfriend, who then leaves Cabot to return home, which happens to be Lilly, Arkansas. Cabot follows her, leaving campus to resolve the problems in their relationship. The story unfolds with a few twists and turns that keep the reader turning pages.

Whaley creates a well-developed (and a little confusing) book. The story alternates between present day and points in the past at times, and that takes a little getting used to. It is a well-written book, although it was probably written for a slightly older audience. It did, however, keep me on the edge of my seat. I would definitely recommend this book (probably for teens 14 and older). I was able to work through the confusing moments, though, and interested slightly younger readers can probably follow the story. I give the book 4 out of 5 stars for its quality storyline. However, I wish the author had made the alternating time periods more obvious.

The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give
By Angie Thomas
Reviewed by Claire



I read the book, “The Hate You Give,” by Angie Thomas. It was one of the best books I have ever read. It was very well written. The book had lots of emotions and feelings. It is a long book, but it is so worth reading. I would recommend this book to anyone who is over the age of 12.

The book is about a black girl, Star who goes through lots of emotional states. She saw one of her best friends get shot, by a white police officer. She was the only one who saw it happen. The police officer claims many things about that night and they were not true. She doesn’t go to school in her neighborhood so that she would get a better education. She also is one of the two black kids in her grade, which of course makes everything hard. Her boyfriend is white, Chris, which makes her dad very mad. It also makes Star question if she should be with him. Star goes through many ups and downs and hard times in her life. Read the book to find out everything that happens to her.

The book is excellent and I would even read it again. Sadly the book is inappropriate and shouldn’t be read by anyone under twelve, but it is an amazing book and everyone should read it. It hits you in the heart and makes you really think about what these characters are going through. It is a sad, heartfelt, emotional book, full of twists and turns.

I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars. It is very recommended from me. I think even non-readers could read this book and love it. It is sad, happy, and plain out amazing! If you haven’t read it go now and get it fast.

Speak

Speak
by Laurie Halse Anderson
Reviewed by Jayla



Melinda Sordino is a very quiet 9th-grade freshman at Merryweather High School in Central New York. She was once a popular girl with lots of friends, but now she is an outcast. At an end of the summer party, she calls the cops and they bust the place after she is attacked by IT, now no one talks to her, or even is willing to listen to her side of the story. This year IT is back and continues to taunt her, which makes her afraid and her will to speak lessens. Her only friend was the talkative new girl from Ohio, you would think that with her having a chatty friend it would encourage her to speak up more often, but as time goes by Melinda becomes more and more quiet, practically to the point of silence.

One reason I like this book is because of how effortlessly funny it is. Even though it doesn't directly tell a joke, it’s still humous because of the situations that occur. For instance, in one part of the book, it says that she was invited by Heather (the new girl from Ohio), to go to her house. Melinda, who doesn't have many friends and doesn't want to lose this one agrees to come over. While she is their Heather is going on and on about the new club she had joined (the Martha’s) and Melinda was sitting there picking lint balls off her shirt. Melinda says that when she is talking to heather all she has to do is say “that's not fair”, “I totally can relate” even when she can't and occasionally nod her head. It’s funny to me that the friend, in this case, is totally oblivious to the fact that Melinda is not listening to her and could care less about her situation.

Another thing I like about the book is that it teaches people to always speak up for yourself, especially when something as traumatizing as what happened to Melinda is going on. In the book and even the movie, I think it's a great example of how things are when she didn't talk about her problem. In the book and movie, they show Melinda as a very quiet girl who basically is excluded from the joy that should be experienced in someone's freshman year. I also would like to say that I think the movie is a good representation of the book, and that Kristen Stewart did a great job portraying Melinda’s part.

This book is written in a way that is suspenseful in a sense. In the book, you don't know what Melinda called the cops for until the end and then you understand why she was so scared of IT. In my opinion, it's like a mystery. The way that it has layers and explains why Melinda is so distant, and not your ordinary teen. The way it's layered is backward, what I mean by this is that it firsts talks about how things are after the summer, instead of talking about what caused her to change so abruptly. Then, towards the end, it tells more about the party and what occurred that led up to her calling the cop.

In conclusion, I think that Speak is an amazing book. I think that it gives you a good look into someone else’s life, and their experience. Though the book's topic is a very sensitive one, Speak explains it in a way that helps the victim to overcome. In the end, everything turns out alright, she learned to accept what happened. “IT happened. There is no avoiding it, no forgetting. No running away, or flying, or burying, or hiding”