September: Click On Me To Post Your Review!!!!

[Ms. Flagg]

Paragraph 1: Summarize the text without giving away the ending. In your summary, make sure to identify the genre, protagonist, antagonist, setting, and the primary conflict. This paragraph should be a MINIMUM of five sentences.

Paragraph 2: Reflection (should be a minimum of six sentences)
Answer at least TWO of the following questions:
1.) Did you like/dislike this book? Why/why not?
2.) Did you make any personal connections to the text? Explain.
3.) To whom would you recommend this text? Why?
4.) What advice would you give to the author? What questions do you have?
5.) How does this book compare to others you have read by the same author?
6.) How does this book compare to others you have read in the same genre?
7.) What was the most aspect of the text? Character development? The setting? The kind of conflict?
8.) Create your own interesting question!

Here's a model of an exemplar review:

“The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help.” This quote opens Walter Dean Myers's intense text, Monster, a work of realistic fiction that takes place in New York City during the 1990s. Using journal entries and scripts, the novel tells the story of Steve Harmon, a sixteen year-old accused of being an accessory in the robbery of a convenience store and the murder of its owner. Feeling alienated from society, Steve is forced to reflect upon his own character to determine whether he is in fact the monster that much of society believes him to be. Talented and intelligent, the once aspiring film-maker is now a resident of the Manhattan Detention Center. Dealing with the pressure of disappointing his parents and failing as a role model to his brother Jerry, Steve uses writing to cope with the fear during the murder trial, as he faces the reality of a life behind bars.

Overall, I thought Monster to be an amazing journey. Steve faces many of the same problems that many teens do today. Not only does Steve endure pressure from neighborhood delinquents, but he also struggles with deciding what kind of man he wants to be. Is having strong moral character more important than maintaining his image and proving to people that he has, as the delinquent Bobo phrases it, "heart." Therefore, I would recommend this book my students, for it might encourage them to think twice before making a choice they know to be wrong. Because I think he understands teens so well, I would recommend to Myers that he writes more novels with female protagonists. Girls face many of the same issues as boys, yet novels often portray them as superficial or dramatic. I believe that he his themes about standing up for yourself and resisting peer pressure would also resonate with them and serve as an inspiration for positive decision making. Bottom line, whether his books are geared for boys or girls, teens or adults, Walter Dean Myers's engaging writing style, inspiring themes, and realistic conflicts continue to cause his readers to deeply reflect about the choices they make in deciding what kind of person they ultimately want to be.

[Ms. Flagg]

Delandre:

Sharpshooter is about a man named Ivan who always dreamed of fighting in war, just like his father did in World War ll, dreamed of fighting for his country, but the last war in the world he was expecting to fight in was the Vietnam War. Now Ivan must face hiding in jungles and to defend his country.

I enjoyed this book because I am a guy who likes real or fictional stories about history, and since the Vietnam War was one of the important parts of American History, so that's why I enjoyed this book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories about war or who likes history.

[Ms. Flagg]

Sammy's Review:

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson, is a fictional novel about a kid named Rafe Kathchadorian who deals with a lot of problems during his 6th grade year. Most of the book takes place at Hills Village Middle School. Throughout his year, he meets a guy named Miller, who appears to be the antagonist of the story. Miller bullies Rafe every chance he gets. There are many conflicts in the story. These conflicts deal with consequences characters face because of their actions. The primary conflict of the story focuses on Rafe and a consequence he faces for breaking too many rules.

Overall, I really like this book. I like it because it has a lot of suspense and interesting moments. For example, there are many arguments in the story. I never knew what to expect when these arguments happened, or what to expect later on. I enjoy this kind of suspense. It keeps me at the edge of my seat. The most aspect of the text is character development. During the story, Rafe’s problems get from bad to worse. As this happens, he starts to realize that he does not have to do bad things to become popular.

[Ms. Flagg]

Tommy's Review:

Search for safety by John Lagan tells a story about a young man named Ben Mckee.ben hates the news that he hears.One day at breakfast his mother Geneva told her son Ben that she would be leaving. From aunt fays to move across town cause bens mother is getting married to a man she doesn't know that much and she hasn't been going on dates with him that much. Larry is hateful and violent. First night there is a new house and bens mom is at work and it is only Ben and Larry and Larry tells Ben to go upstairs but Ben doesn't want to go and Ben runs to the stairs and Larry catches him and kicks him in the back and his legs just to prove Ben he is serious.

Search for safety by John Lagan there is no escape for Ben McKee for weeks had bruises all over his body he lied to the teachers and his new friends at bluford high school. But the trouble of home is not going away he has to do something.

I liked the book because it was interesting how Ben had to deal with these problems and handle it.
I did not make any personal connections on this book
I would recommend this text to I don't know
What I give advice to the author is to keep up with the series of bluford high school

This book compared to others I read before is that this one has more connections with the main character

[Ms. Flagg]

Brooke's Review:

The book Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead is a fantasy/romance/sci-fi and the protagonist's is Rose Hathaway and Lissa Dragomir. The antagonist is Victor, Ms.Kirova , Mia and Natalie.Rose Hathaway does all she can do to keep her best friend Lissa safe. Lissa is a vampire and Rose thinks its her job to protect Lissa from the Strigoi. Rose and Lissa ran away and lived a normal life. These men were assigned to find them to take them back to the academy especially Lissa since she's the princess. Rose and Lissa ran away because they felt like they weren't safe at the academy. Rose and Dimitri which is the actual guardian of Lissa have a connection but Dimitri is a little bit old for her. Lissa has four powers which is four elements: fire, air, water, earth and she also heal people and animals since she's the princess.Victor which is Lissa's uncle, he is old and sick so he threatened to do bad things to Lissa if she doesn't heal him.She had to heal him because he kept on hurting her. Natalie, her daughter was sent to hang out with them by her father but to really figure out what their secrets.

At first, I thought the book was really boring but then once I got in the middle of book, I got really interested. The movie is a lot like the book. I would recommend to this to girls that love watching a mix of drama, action, comedy and romance because I feel like girls have more intrest than boys in this type of book in my opinion. This book is filled with lots of facts about vampires which I didn't even know most about before reading this book. This book taught me a lot of things and lessons that I would need in the future.

[Ms. Flagg]

Besa's Post:

In the book crazy by Amy reed is about two friends Izzy and Conor they are always emailing each other. And Conor likes izzy but it seems that izzy is never gonna like Conor. Izzy is a really bossy person like she bosses Conor around and always yells at him and tells him what to do. Conor is very calm while izzy is just crazy. soon Conor realizes that the way he has feelings for izzy she isn't gonna ever feel the same for him.

Yes I did like the book because I like to read romance books and once I started to read it I really liked it and I'm enjoying it. Who I would recommend this book to is someone who likes romance or someone who needs a good book to read so I recommend crazy by Amy reed. I didn't really have any connections to the book but I feel like I'm like the character izzy because she reminds me of how I am because I'm like her in a way like sometimes I can be bossy. I would describe the character Izzy as a mean character because she's always mean to Conor and he's so nice to her. I think that the setting of this book mostly took place at home because the characters would always be writing emails to each other. The way this book is compared to other Romance books is there's like a problem between the characters but like towards the end they figure out the problem.

[William]

In the book The Séance a girl named Lauren is asked to attend a Seance,at first she is reluctant but after much pestering and pleading even claiming that it will be fun,she finally agree's.
Yes I enjoy the book because I like the genre that fall in between horror and mystery and once i started reading The seance I was hooked.I didn't have connections to the book because since its a fantasy horror there really isn't anything to compare to.
I would recommend this book to suspense horror loving readers because its worth your time.
The seance is definity a 'dark magic' kind of book that I dont usually pick up,but after reading the first few pages I grew a liking to this book.
Lauren is a jealous girl who wish's that she could be more popular,look better,have boys fall for her,etc
The setting of the book takes place In school,At Laurens house and at the house of the seance.A way this book is comparable to other horror books because it has a suspense killing plot that gets you to think for ex 'Whos the real killer' Why did he do that'.

[Ms. Flagg]

Jeremy's Review:

This book is about a old man named Moire and he has a disease that he can die from. While he is getting sicker one of his students named Mich comes and visits him every tuesday and they talk about life and lessens.So when ever Mich comes over he brings Moire some food and fruit because he can't walk because of his sickness.THe lessons that they talk about help Mich because some of the stories that Moire tell are about his life and some mistakes that he made,so that Mich doesn't make the same mistakes.Moire isn't the only one telling stories. Mich tells stories about his life and how is his life so far. It is actually a pretty good book.

[Ms. Flagg]

Farhan's Review:

In the book Slam it is about a kid nicknamed Slam because in basketball he slams the ball out of their hands. It is also when he had to give up the second favorite thing he liked to do because he was failing in school so he had to give up art and he was also endanger of having to give up basketball because he was still failing.

Slam is in tough times right now because his grandma is sick and his mom is crying that she will lose her and that he changed schools so he doesn't have a lot of friends. Also Slam has to play against another basketball team and that he is the only good player in his team. For example he faced another guy in the try out and slam beat him with no problem. This shows that the team depends on him. Another example is that a he was told that the school lost in every basketball game and they haven't won once and he was the only good player they had. This also shows that slam will have to cover a lot of ground and that he will have to be the leader of the team.

[Adam]

In All Quiet On The Western Front Paul Baumer has to go through unfortunate deaths. He and his friends from school are fighting in World War 1. The first ambush was in the trenches and one of his best friends die in front of his eyes. The enemy threw gas bombs in the trenches and Paul survives, but his friend does not. Paul later realizes that there is no true meaning of war, and its dumb. Sometimes war is quiet.

All quiet on the western front is one of the best books I have ever read. It is great because it shows the thoughts of a solider in WW1. It also shows that death can be good in war sometimes. It also shows the German culture and how they act. I can also picture how the trenches and how it looked when the english dropped the gas bombs on them. Erich Marie Remarque does a great job in description. I would recommend this to people who love realistic fiction. It shows the life of a solider, and how they feel about the war. The main charater really describes te other characters with great vocabulary. All together you should really read this book!

[Noah]

In the book "Percy Jackson The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan Percy has weird encounters with monsters and discovers he's a half-blood. Zeus's lighting bolt goes missing and he's a suspect. Percy's friends Annabeth and Grover go with him to find the missing lightning bolt, but they have ten days. Percy encounters tough enemies and Gods that he has to fight.Percy must find who stole the lightning bolt and bring it to Mount Olympus.

Overall, I liked this book and it was enjoyable, and had some suspense, and fantasy. I like this book since it has great qualities, a hook, and it's interesting since it's about something you wouldn't really expect. I would recommend this book to people who like fantasy, and is interested in stories that are interesting, and about something you wouldn't expect. The series of Percy Jackson is like watching a movie. You can picture what's happening in the book which makes it more interesting. In conclusion Percy Jackson really makes you think what's going to happen next, or why is this happening? Which makes you want to keep reading until you reach the conclusion/end of the book/series.

[Christian]

Alex Rider Eagle Strike by Anthony Horowitz is about Alex Rider and that he is on the beach and he recognized a evil mastermind from the past and trying to see what is up for the mi6. Also Alex is on his own without the government because he is on his vacation with his girlfriend. The book takes place on the beach (most part). The genre of the book is a fiction/Adventure. The primary subject is to see what is up with the evil mastermind.

If i had to give this book a rating I will give it a 4 star rating because I think it could of been better. This genre can relate to other same genre I read because it has some action. This book can relate to other books the author had made because there are mystery book and the Eagle Strike is a mystery book. If I could give the author an advice it will be to put a little more action in the book. My question to the author is why did you start making Alex Rider books? I recommend this book to Noah because I think he is into mystery books. I know that because I think his book is a mystery book as well.

[Ekram]

The book Fire Within is a book that shows a mystery, action, and great adventure.
It starts with a guy named David who found a place to stay, he moved into a house that the owner lives in. The owners name is Liz, and has a daughter named Lucy. They both liked dragons, They make sculptures of it that is always around the house somewhere in each room. One time David got suspicious of these dragons like if they where real. He was close of finding out, but not that close. Lucy tried not to make him find out and try to distract him. Overall, Lucy found away to keep him out finding out about the dragons but she cant do it forever.

This book would be rated a 4 out of a 5, because it didn't show as much action and as much thriller. This book was good and great but I thought that it would be better and show more dragons than it showed in the book. I would recommend this book to a friend because it shows a nice and funny begening and middle but not as much end.
But if you like thriller and mystery you would like this book a lot that you would rate this book a 5 out a 5.

[Alexa]

"You don't get to choose who hurts you in this world but you do have some say in who hurts you"-The Fault In Our Stars
The book "the fault in our stars" is about a 16 year old girl named Hazel that has cancer. She is living a very dull and boring life as the book said she is "letting cancer take over her life." Her mom makes her go to support group so she can make friends and be a teenager. So she goes, not because she likes it there, but because she want to make her parents happy. One day of horrible support group she meets Augustus Waters. They had a very special connection when he talked about oblivion and how he was scared of it; and she decided to respond to it and say that oblivion is inevitable and that you should be scared of it, because one day all of us are going to be dead anyway. After support group he asks her to go to his house after and watch a movie. They were inseparable ever since I don't want to give to much away but if you like it so far, you should read it!!!
I rate this book a 5 out of 5 because it is amazing. there are twists and turns and sorrow and joy. It is not so much a "boy" book but it all depends on what you like to read. I recommend this book for people levels W,X,and Y. I hope you have time to read this book! Enjoy!

[Salomon]

In Cirque The Freak Tunnels Of Blood there is a kid named Darren Shan and he has became a vampire for stealing a vampire spider and has to learn to become a vampire because that is all he can do. Darren meets different people when he was there and learns to get along with everyone there at the circus. Latter on in the story Darren goes on a journey to the city to hunt down a evil that lurks. Darren goes With Mr. Creplsley (Darrens teacher) and evra the snake boy.

Cirque Du Freak Tunnels Of Blood was a great book. I have been enjoying this book while I read this book about how Darren has become a vampire and helps Mr. creplsly. This book was a great book because it shows how Darren works as a vampire and helps Mr. creplsley with his work. I would recommend this book to my brother because he would likes to read fiction books. This book shows that how suspensful this book could be.

[Amaya]

"Go Ask Alice" a realistic fiction story about a girl named Alice. Alice just turned 16. An innocent girl with her well family and well education. She stays over at her grandparents for the summer and she thinks it will be dreadful time at her grandparents place. Thats when her friend leads her to come to a "fun party" but little did Alice know how scary the party would end up leading to LSD in her drink. After that one LSD shot Alice took her life has been spiraling apart. Shes been addicted to different drugs and her new life she has now has taken all of her innocence...and her life.

I liked this book because i liked how Alices life was so dramatic and sad and happy at times it felt like i was experiencing the same things Alice was experiencing. The conflict Alice was having was fighting herself to avoid drugs but she needed more than her helping herself out she needed rehab and good friends to support her. She developed a good character into a bad character with all the things she had done to herself. i found a lot of connections in the book like when she started hanging out with the wrong groups and got involved in the bad activities. Also when her parents trusted her and she broke it just like me when i stayed out really late. compared to other books i read i think this one is the most vulgar and graphic book ive read yet about this one teen and her twisted life.

[Jared]

The book I have read is "Defriended" by Ruth B, the book genre is an action, mystery, and horror book. The main character, Jason, finds the perfect girl on the Internet name Lacy. Lacy and Jason talk everyday to each other but the problem is that lacy doesn't ever want to meet Jason in person. Jason is kind of suspicious about lacy not meeting him so he goes out and tries to find out information about her but so discovers something he wish that he could have not .


In my own opinion I thought this book was a really fascinating book. I thought this because the character or author really kept me on the edge and always kept me thinking about what is going to happen next. For example the character always ended the chapter with a question to ask yourself questions and left you with a mystery to figure out yourself. I would like to recommend this book to someone who can handle the fact that the characters will always keep you on your toes and who can think or predict what will happen next because at one point something is normal and then something happens out of now where.

[Brooke]

In the book, Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, Jessica loses her leg in a accident while she was running a marathon. Her friend, Lucy was also involved but she died in the accident. Jessica was feeling so stressed that she almost got addicted to these pain killers. Fiona, her best friend helps as possible to help Jessica get back to her life. Jessica meets Rosa and Rosa has a condition but they both don't let it get between their friendship. Rosa helps Jessica with her math since she was struggling with it. To pay Rosa back, Jessica pushes a wheelchair with sandbags with Rosa and puts on a big marathon. Rosa doesn't get a lot of attention so Jessica thought that this would help.

I like this book because there's a lot of lessons learned. The friendship especially is so strong in the book. This book reminds of me and my friends because in the story, they are there for each other through every step of the way. They pushed Jessica to not give up on her dream of being a runner just because she doesn't have her leg. I would recommend this book to people that have gave up on something because I think that once they read this book, they are going to want to never give up again.

[Sammy]

“Once again Armpit was holding a shovel, only now he was getting paid for it, seven dollars and sixty-five cents an hour.” This quote opens Louis Sachar’s comical text, Small Steps, a work of realistic fiction that takes place in Austin, Texas, two years after Armpit’s release from Camp Green Lake. The novel tells the story of Theodore "Armpit" Johnson, who is living in Austin, Texas trying to turn his life around by digging holes and caring for his neighbor Ginny McDonald, a ten-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. The title of the novel reflects the goals Armpit has set for himself upon returning to Austin. He has set himself five goals. Or as he likes to call them, his five small steps. His steps are to graduate from high school, get a job, save his money, avoid situations that might turn violent, and to lose the name Armpit.

Overall, the novel, Small Steps, is enjoyable and funny. The situations that happen in Armpit’s life create many humorous moments. I enjoy comical texts because they are entertaining, and make me laugh, which makes the story more interesting for me and makes me pay more attention to what is going on.

The text allowed me to make personal connections to discussions that have taken place in many of my classes this year. Since the first week of school, my teachers have been talking to my classmates and I about the goals we want to set ourselves for the school year. These goals will help us focus in school so that we can pass the 8th grade and be prepared for high school. For example, my social studies teacher gave us a project, which was due last week, titled, Time Capsule Project. We had to include drawings, pictures, and other information that describes who we are now and what is in our world today. In my time capsule envelope, I included a list of five goals I set for myself. Armpit and I both share the same number of goals. My goals are to participate more in my classes, try my best in test and quizzes, not procrastinate, be more social, and to work hard on understanding what I am reading.

[Adam]

All together the book Percy Jackson And The Olympians was amazing. This is a fiction book and the protagonist is Percy Jackson. It mostly takes place in camp half blood. And basically he is accused of stealing Zeuss thunder bolt. He goes on an adventure with his two friends Annabeth and Grover. They all cheat death and go through breathtaking moments together.

The most aspect of the text was how Percy got the idea that he is special and he is a demigod. In the begining he does not know why people are watching him. And later starts to develop the idea that he has to get the thunderbolt back to Zeus or a war will break out. So he politly asks his friends to help him and they all say yes. And later realizes that he is meant to be living in camp half blood and goes there every summer for safety.

Rick Riordan what inspired you to make this book? Was it beacuse you love Greek Mythology like me, or you just thought of an interseting book that has so many plot twists and it came out of the blue. When you make your next series you should really have less characters because it sometimes cunfuses me who's who. Also you should hav better words than said because it gets boring saying it in my head so many times. And lastly where do you origin from becuase I think that could have and affect on the books you make?

[Adam]

I loved The Sea Of Monsters. It introduced two new characters Thalia and Tyson. Tyson is a cyclops and later becomes Percy's brother. He was claimed by Poseidon. At first Percy was embarrassed because his brother was large and different. They went through a lot in middles school, and Percy a lot of the time would stand up for him. Nobody mortal could see him as a cyclops. All they knew was he lived on the streets and his home was a refrigerator box. Later they try to stop Luke from destroying camp half blood and they had a stand up fight with each other.

I could make connections to this book. One time I had to stand up for my friend named Carl. These kids were making fun of him because he dribbled differently than everybody else. So they kept calling him carry. To me was pretty stupid, so he sprinted at one kid named Alex and kneed him in the stomach. Thats what I think Percy wanted to do when he was in school, and they were calling Tyson names.

I feel like this book was better than the other one Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I think this because in the first one we were just starting to get to know Percy. But in the second one we saw his personality and how he acts towards fighting and helping his friends. The author Rick Riordan really brought out Percy's thoughts about the prophecy and how it could be him or Thalia in it. And how he thinks that he could be the savior of Mount Olympus. It was a phenomenal book and you should enjoy it too!