Book reviews from the Castilleja Middle School.
Women learning, Women reading
 By: Shannon Messenger
Book Review By: Olivia ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “I would rather be punished for making the right decision than live with the guilt of making the wrong one for the rest of my life.” Sophie Foster meets Fitz Vacker who tells her that she is a telepath, somebody who can read everyone’s thoughts. After learning to understand everything he told her, she has to go on adventures to save the human world from falling apart. In Keeper of the Lost Cities Sophie learns to be kind, have friends, and how to stay true to herself. Sophie Foster is a completely normal girl except for one thing. She is a twelve year old high school senior. When she meets Fitz Vacker and learns about his world, she questions everything she ever learned. When problems arise in the human world they have to go and fight for the balance that has been contained for years. This book shows perseverance, hope and friendship. I recommend this book for fantasy readers!
1 Comment
 ★★★★★
Book Review By Daniella “ ‘Would you say the trunk was big enough for, say...A body?’ ‘ Sure, I guess.’... ‘ I dunno. Tall. He had some kind of accent.’ Goldie Vance is a one of a kind detective. Goldie works at Crossed Palms Resort in Florida. She is the one to call on when something goes wrong. She is the detective of all detectives, and is ready to spring into action at any point in time. Later a priceless necklace goes missing, Goldie takes this as her chance to jump into action. After interviewing around the hotel for clues to where the necklace could have gone, she goes into a deep search to find the missing necklace. Questions arise when an old friend of Goldie’s sets a suspicion around her. Goldie’s father is the manager of the hotel, and after the risk of losing his job, Goldie wonders if she has gone too far. What happened to the necklace? Is there some kind of twist ending to the story? In this beautifully illustrated comic book we get the chance to take a look into the mastermind head, as we follow Goldie around her life in Florida. This is a quick read, which makes it impossible to stop reading! This is a terrific book for all ages! Parents can read aloud this book to younger children, while older kids can read this book in a flash of time. With the other book that are part of this series, you won’t want to stop reading! This book can also give us a glimpse at the genius ways this 16 year old girl solves the toughest mysteries. `  A Novel By: Sherman Alexie
Art By: Ellen Forney Genre: Fantasy ★★★★(4 stars) Inspired by the author's own experiences while growing up, this book tells the story of an Indian boy rising above the life he was expected to live. “And that a basketball game, even between two small schools in the middle of nowhere, can be a difference between being happy and being miserable for the rest of my life.” (pg.184) Born with a variety of medical problems Junior is picked on by everyone except his best friend. Due to his determination to receive a great education Junior leaves the rez to go to an all white school in the neighboring farm town. Even though the people of his tribe have labelled him as a traitor, Junior lives life with a ton of laughter and wit. This book is both heart wrenching and hilarious at the same time. While reading this sometimes I will catch myself laughing on the outside while my heart is breaking on the inside. This is an ABSOLUTELY wonderful book that will leave you with both laughs and tears. Review by Nia, 2023  Book Review by Margot S.
★★★★★ (5 stars) This book talks about five dragonets, stolen at birth from their homes and brought to live under a mountain to be trained to fulfill a mysterious prophecy. The prophecy says that they must end the Great War, which has been going on for 20 years. But not every dragon wants a destiny. Glory, one of these dragonets, was brought in by accident. Their trainers call her a mistake. One day, the dragons over hear the trainers saying they are going to kill Glory, since she wasn't supposed to be in the prophecy in the first place. The dragonets decide to escape early, although they were supposed to be released to fulfill the prophecy in two years. On the way they will run into dangers and problems, making it a challenge to survive. This book is a mix of fantasy and adventure. It's also a fiction book. This is by far the best book I have read, and I think anyone would like it. There are 10 books in this series, and a new book coming out soon. Although this is all one series, it seems as if it is split into multiple series. A quote from one of the book in the series is: "It was strange that a dragon who couldn't be hurt on the outside had so many ragged holes on the inside" "Every person has lots on ingredients to make them into what is a one-of-a-kind creation." ~  This coming of age novel is about being an outcast and discovering the meaning of family.
Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, who has a serious passion for plants, medical conditions, and takes comfort in counting by 7s. However, it is hard for her to bond and connect with anyone besides her parents. When a devastating tragedy occurs and both of her parents get killed in a car crash, is leaves Willow alone. Losing her parents propels her on a journey to find belonging, and pushes her through her troubles. This coming of age novel is recommended for fans of One for the Murphys, Brown Girl Dreaming, and A Mango- Shaped Space “Willow’s story is one of renewal, and her journey of rebuilding the ties that unite people as a family will stay in readers’ hearts long after the last page” -School Library Journal, starred review. Review by Caitlyn, 2024  “Needless to say, this is not a good Idea” -What If?
What If? ★★★★1/2 By Randall Munroe Review by Lila H What If? is a compilation of scientific answers to absurd questions Randall Munroe got on his blog. His answers are funny and he draws cartoons to go along with them. This is a science fiction book. I loved this book because the author has a great sense of humor and the answers were very interesting. He gets the questions from everyday people that submit them. Some questions are “What would happen if everyone in the world gathered in one spot and jumped” and “How much force power can Yoda output?” You will enjoy this book if you ever find yourself wondering about random things.  Book Review by Margot
★★★★☆(4 stars) “A remarkable book”- School Library Journal This book talks about a girl, Georgia McCoy, who has faced a lot of challenges in her life, such as her mother dying. Georgia is a good student. She likes art and drawing. But she is apparently on an “At Risk” list. The head of school gives her a diary to write in. Georgia doesn’t understand why she is on the “At Risk” list, but it may have to do with her mother dying. Meanwhile, Georgia has to deal with things like the fact that she only has one friend, and that her dad is depressed. This all changes the day she gets a membership to an art museum sent from “anonymous”. This is a great book and I would recommend to anybody who can read. This book is in the form of a poem, and is an easily understandable novel. “My heart will still ache sometimes. Maybe more often than not. I think it's possible to be healed without feeling whole." ~ This beautifully written novel by Monica Hesse is about a Dutch girl who has moments in peril, but remains resolute throughout during a dark time in WWII.
Hanneke regularly delivers black market goods to customers, and thinks of it as a small rebellion. However, she hides this illegal work from her parents. Meanwhile, she also mourns over her boyfriend who was killed on the Dutch front lines. One afternoon when Hanneke visits Ms. Jansen, she is expecting to hear that she wants kerosene. However, she is startled by the news that Ms. Jansen requests of her: she wants her to find a Jewish teenager that she has been secretly hiding in her house. Initially, Hanneke didn’t wish to fulfill the task, but she was ultimately drawn into the mystery. This award-winning historical fiction novel is recommended for fans of The Book Thief, Salt to the Sea, and Between Shades of Grey. “A beautiful combination of heartbreak, loss, young love, and hope.” -Kristin Hannah, #1 bestselling author of The Nightingale Review by Caitlyn, 2024 ★★★★★ Book review by Daniella  “It was 7 minutes after midnight. The dog was lying in the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs. Shears’s house. It’s eyes were closed. It looked as it if was running on its side, the way dogs run when they think they are chasing a cat in a dream. But the dog was not running or asleep. The dog was dead.”
Christopher Boone is 15 years old and lives in Swindon, England with his dad because his mom died 1 ½ years ago. He knows all the prime numbers up to 7,057. One night when he was taking a walk, he saw Wellington, the neighbors dog, but he was dead. Christopher is going to take his A level maths this year, but not before he finds out who killed Wellington. When he finds some strange letters one afternoon, he questions what really happened to his mom and what might have happened to Wellington. Are these mysteries related? And though a dark question, is he safe? In this amazing book by Mark Haddon, we take a peek at the life of a child with a mental disorder and the mastermind for solving this challenging mystery. This book has many plot twists that will make it impossible to stop reading! This tremendous book is great for all ages above 11! Though this book book side tracks occasionally, we get a great idea of the life of this boy, and along the way some ideas for solving this mystery!  “I read your email.” “What?” I look up. “Earlier. In the library. Not on purpose, obviously.” “You read my email?” - Simon Vs. The Homosapiens Agenda
Simon Vs. The Homosapiens Agenda By Becky Albertalli ★★★★★ No one knows Simon is gay, no one except blue, a boy at his school that he is emailing online. But when one of his classmates blackmails him with a screenshot of a email between him and blue, everything could change. Review by Lila This realistic fiction book starts out when Simon’s classmate Martin finds an email from him to someone with the screen name blue. He starts blackmailing Simon and things start to go south. Simon already has other things to worry about, like the high school musical and regular teenage problems. So when this happens, It follows Simons journey through high school and finding out who he is. I loved this book because It was very well written and the characters were relatable. You should read this book if you like realistic fiction books or coming of age stories. You might not like it if you normally read action packed books because this book has a slightly slower pace. |
Archives
January 2019
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed