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” 

The Selection

The Selection
By Kiera Cass
Reviewed by Amiya



16-year-old America lived in Illea where life was great. She and her family lived as artist and musicians ranked as 5. America secretly dated Aspen who was ranked a 6 even though her mother stressed her to marry a man of higher rank like her sister. At the end of every week, Aspen would meet America in her tree house in her backyard and talk about their week, when one day America surprised Aspen with a dinner she made using money she had saved up. Aspen got upset once he realized that he wouldn’t be able to care for and treat America the way she deserved so he broke up with her and encouraged her to enter The Selection which is a group of women 16-20 years old competing for Prince Maxon of Illea and the role of the princess.

 Even though mostly all the women in Illea enter to compete only 35 women will be drafted. As a surprise to America and her family, she is drafted. After a week of preparation for the palace went by America gathered at the town hall so that her town could wish her luck while there America spots Aspen holding another girl. Infuriated, America stormed off and got into the limo taking her to the palace when Aspen tried to stop her but he was too late. On the way to the palace, America meets friends like Marlee and Alice and automatic enemies like Celeste.

Once they arrived the competition began all the selected were getting makeovers manicures and pedicures and dyeing their hair and getting fitted for their dresses. When America's turn came she refused to let them cut or dye her natural red hair, put on any nail polish on and only agreed to lite mascara. Later that night America had a panic attack and ran to the royal garden when two guards stopped her until Prince Maxon demanded that the guards let her out from that moment on Maxon and America had a friendship. After hearing America's story Maxon agreed to let her stay until the last possible moment before he had to pick a princess so that her family will continue to get paid compensation. Maxon often picked America up from her room and took her on dates to discuss the other girls and their story to see if they are unfit and should be sent home or just to get to know her better.

 Over time Maxon began to gain feelings for America and one night while hanging out in America’s room he kissed her making her feel special until hearing gossip that he had kissed other girls as well, which made their friendship rocky. Once America finally feels like she has everything under control she finds out that Aspen her ex-boyfriend is a guard at the palace. Afraid to tell Maxon because of the threat he made to punish whoever hurt America she keeps his identity a secret. Not knowing the history between the two Maxon assigns Aspen to guard America’s door at night. A day later Aspen woke America up in the middle of the night and kissed her. Torn between Maxon and Aspen America must decide on who to chose and if she should leave the competition and be with her first love or stay and be with her new love to find out who America chooses read the book.

Strengths of this book are you never get tired of reading it because there's new drama luring you in. And it plays with your emotions making you hate certain characters but fall in love with other ones. I didn’t really feel like there was a weakness to this book but one may be the fact that there a lot of pages in the book and it’s the first book in a three book series and all the books have lots of pages.

In conclusion I think The Selection is a really good book and if you like romantic books or not you should read this book.

Ghost

Ghost
By Jason Reynolds
Reviewed by Shadow

Ghost is a new book by Jason Reynolds. I couldn’t stop reading it I was entranced within its pages, that’s how good it was. All kids that have been bullied, or made fun of, or just like to read. Jason Reynolds has wrote so many good books and they keep getting better. I hope you read this book.

This book is awesome it tells a story that is about a boy named Ghost that lives in a low class neighborhood with his mom trying to stay on the track team and no more altercations so no more trouble happens at school. Just going to school is a rough time for Ghost must be hard. Running for a track team competing with other runners and getting good grades at school, and staying out of trouble is work within itself. There is a character at the end that will leave you waiting for more. This is such a great book.

 Here are some the book’s strengths and weaknesses let me show you. The strengths are that the author paints a picture of what’s happening in the book. You can feel the emotions that Ghost is feeling with every page and the plot is so easy to find with a clear climax. The weaknesses of Ghost are that it has a cliffhanger at the end. The other weakness is that the book is not detailed enough.

So do you want to read this book I loved it I hope you do to. Ghost is cool and you will
love it. The author is keen when he writes a book it is awesome read it I promise it won’t let you
down you nose will be stuck in this book flip goes the pages. So are you going to read this book,
start reading now.

One Came Home

One Came Home
By Amy Timberlake
Reviewed by Simone

One Came Home by Amy Timberlake is about a girl named George Burkhardt’s older sister Agatha who goes missing after running off with a pack of “pigeoneres". A few weeks later a sheriff comes to town with an unidentifiable body who had on the exact same clothes as Agatha. So as everyone would they assumed that Agatha was dead or had been murdered, but not Georgie. She believes that her sister is still out there and is lost. She knows that this is a whole coincidence and that whoever is in that outfit isn't her sister. So Georgie goes on a search for her sister and to bring her back home. She may not be ready for the challenges she is going to face during this journey.

I don't really think that there are any pros and cons about this book except that I think Amy Timberlake should have made the story longer it would have been more exciting. And that there should have been more plot twists to make it even more amazing. One Came Home is an amazing book with a murder mystery type vibe. I advise everyone to read this book. I had a lot of fun reading it and finding out what happens at the end! I promise when you finish reading this book you'll overthink everything that you thought in the first place, but You'll have to read the book to find out!

 I really like this book and I would love to read more by Amy Timberlake she seems like an amazing author seeing how awesome this book was. In conclusion Like I said this book was great and everyone should read it. I don't know if there is a movie about this book, but if there isn't they should make one it would be great! Anyways that's all I have to say about this book and I can't wait to read more by Amy Timberlake!

Oh Yeah, Audrey!

Oh Yeah, Audrey!
By Tucker Shaw
Reviewed by Salaya

The book “Oh Yeah Audrey” is about a girl, Gemma Beasley, who is attempting to portray the part of Audrey Hepburn at the opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's. It’s 5:00 am and she is standing in front of Tiffany and Co. in New York. Gemma is wearing a long, silky, black gown, white gloves, three strands of pearls around her neck, and has a pastry and coffee in her hands. She traveled to New York with fellow bloggers from their blog “Oh Yeah, Audrey” to have a full day of being Audrey Hepburn. She soon meets a boy that wants to show her New York like how she’s seen it in the movies - all action packed and fun. Will Gemma go with the boy and experience New York or will she continue to be Audrey Hepburn?

The characters in this book are Gemma Beasley, Mrs.Beasley, Mr.Beasley, Trina, Bryan, Telly, and Dusty. Gemma Beasley is a 16-year-old girl whose desire is to become Audrey Hepburn. Mrs. Beasley is Gemma’s mom. She passed away because of cancer when Gemma was just 13 years old. Mr. Beasley is Gemma’s dad. Ever since his wife died, he has become the loneliest man alive. He reads a lot and stays in his house a lot. Trina is one of Gemma’s friends from their blog. She is a very outgoing person and loves clothes. Bryan is another one of Gemma’s friends Oh Yeah, Audrey By Tucker Shaw from the blog. Telly is another one of Gemma’s friends from the blog. She is also very outgoing as well as a party animal. Dusty is the mysterious boy that wants Gemma to explore New York with him.

I would rate this book an 8/10. I would rate this book an 8/10 because it’s a really fun book, but it has some parts in it that were kinda sad.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
by Alvin Schwartz
Reviewed by Rashad

The book I read is called “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” by Alvin Schwartz. This book is about all different types of scary stories that you can share with your family and friends all in one.

 One of my favorite scary stories this book tells is called the “The Walk.” “The Walk” is about a kids uncle walking with a creepy old man, the uncle looked at the man and the man looked at the uncle. The man was scared of the uncle and the uncle was scared of the man. They both continued to walk and stare at each in fright, the uncle and the man both walked into the woods and the uncle was terrified of... If you really want to know what happened in the rest of this story read it to find out.

Another scary story I enjoyed reading is called “The Girl who stood on a Grave.” “The Girl who stood on a grave” is about a group of girls and boys at a party, and there was a graveyard down the street and one of the boys from the group said you should never stand on a grave after dark. The girl from the group didn’t believe the boy so she challenged the boy to a bet for a dollar if she stands on top of the grave. The boy handed the girl a knife and told her to stick it in the grave, the girl stood on the grave and stuck the knife into the grave and she tried to leave but something was holding her back she tried to stick the grave again, again, and again and she still couldn’t move. She was filled with terror until she… Read the rest of the story to find out what happened next.

In conclusion, I feel like this story had no weaknesses only strengths. What really got me interested in this book was that there were so many hooked scary stories that I couldn’t keep my eyes off of I had to know what happened next. On a scale of 1-10, I would give this book a ten because I got so caught up in reading it like I was in the story. I would recommend this book to people who like to read about scary stories.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
By Ransom Riggs
Reviewed by Shyla

This book I read is about a teenager named Jake, When his beloved grandfather leaves Jake clues to a mystery that spans different worlds and times, he finds a magical place known as Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children. But the mystery and danger deepen as he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers - and their terrifying enemies. Ultimately, Jake discovers that only his own special peculiarity can save his new friends.

The book has very strange pictures on the cover and in the book. I liked how they describe the pictures before I even look at the images. The certain parts of the book made me very upset for many reasons, plus it was relatable to me in each chapter. There are so many things I love about this book. My favorite character from the first book is Jake, mostly because he is smart, serious, caring, and brave.

The weaknesses in the book were mostly when I knew something bad would happen in some parts, but it slowly describes every single detail making me impatient for what would happen next.

The strengths of the book were how well described the chapters were, and the creepy features they showed while reading. The characters were well made and perfect for the plot. The last thing is that the book is way better than the movie in my opinion.

I mostly recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy/drama. There are two more books after the first, so you can buy the whole collection just to see the whole story! If you like these books, I recommend you read Ransom Riggs other books. That’s all I really have to say about this wonderful book, I hope you enjoyed it!

Love and Gelato

Love and Gelato
by Jenna Evans Welch
Review by Elena

Jenna Evans Welch draws young teens into a reading fantasy in “Love and Gelato”. The author spent high school in Florence, Italy, so the details really come to life.

Sixteen year-old athlete, Lina, is spending a summer in Italy with her father, whom she’s never met. Her mother just died recently, so the last thing Lina wants to do is spend three months in a sunny, tourist-crowded place. While she is staying at her father’s residence in a cemetery, Sonia, the assistant superintendent of the cemetery, gives Lina her mother’s journal.

Lina reads it over the course of the time, while she meets Ren, short for Lorenzo, and becomes good friends with him. He shows her around Florence and she meets all of his friends. She also meets Thomas, a tall boy with a British accent who she has a huge crush on at first. When Lina and Ren discover a secret in her mother’s notebook, they rush to find out who Lina’s real father is. Turns out he was not what she thought he was, so they go home confused. Lina and Ren feel awkward because they both can’t figure each other on romance and relationship feelings.

Lina’s life is full of romance, relationship, and choice struggles. Lina thought Italy was just full of love and gelato, but she got much more than she bargained for. “Love and Gelato” is a great pick for ages 12 and up, and has a great plot. Read the book to discover the secret of the mysterious life of Lina’s mother and how it affected Lina’s life!