Book Review: One Piece by Ben Abel

In Eiichiro Oda’s manga One Piece, as the Great Pirate Era dawns, Monkey D. Luffy sets out on an adventure to the Grand Line in order to find the treasure, the One Piece, left by Gold Roger, King of the Pirates. After eating a devil fruit that turns him into rubber, he begins his epic quest to find crewmates including a skilled swordsman, a thieving navigator, a cowardly sniper and a tough sous-chef. It will be a long road to success, fraught with danger, bravery, and devil fruit eating weirdos!

All in all, I thought that it was a great read with characters who could be hilariously stupid or dead serious. I would definitely recommend it if you like comics or manga. The plot is not overly complex in the beginning and the main characters are very one dimensional, so it’s perfect for a day when you are bored or too tired to process a lot of information. Then again, I read these on days when I’m excited, so… What are you waiting for? Start reading!!!

Book Review: My Lady Jane by Ava Babcock

Meet your heroes and heroines. King Edward the first of England. He’s 16 and dying, he’s been written off as a weak boy, incapable of ruling, even though he could be saved in the blink of an eye. Jane, a woman obsessed with books, who has no interest in marrying her peculiar betrothed, Gifford.  Gifford has a reputation of taking advantage of women, yet he disappears during the day and appears at night, for he’s an Edian, horse by day and man by night. Ridiculed by his family and friends, married off to Jane to secure an alliance. As our heroes and heroines dive into poison, bandits, and a beautiful Scottish girl, these teenagers must fight through love and death to save the king, and prevent further destruction of 16th century England.


My Lady Jane is historical fiction novel in our library. Based loosely on the events of this era, My Lady Jane dives into a gripping novel that has you wanting more. This book has everything. Comedy and treachery, treason and romance, My Lady Jane makes you feel like you're too fighting for your life against humans and Edians alike. I would give this book five stars because it makes you want to read it again and again. Currently it is on our shelves, waiting for you to read it.

Book Review: The Bad Queen by Marie Bolton

Marie Antoinette, archduchess of Austria, is the daughter of Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria. She is the youngest of the family and the last to married. Her ambitious mother plans to create an alliance with France through marriage and Marie Antoinette knows she is destined to become the wife of Louis-Auguste, the dauphin of France. But, the requirements to be the dauphine of France are high and Marie Antoinette must excel at them all is order to be betrothed. Marie Antoinette must not only look French and follow the French fashions, she must also learn to speak and comprehend French fluently, complete French dances with gracefulness, and play the popular French gambling games with skill. Guided by her strict, but loving mother Marie Antoinette must be transformed into a dauphin and a future queen of France. When the king sends an ambassador to asses Marie Antoinette, success and failure rests in her hands. Will she become the future queen of France? And, if so, at what cost?

 

The Bad Queen by Carolyn Meyers is written in Marie Antoinette's point of view and tells of her trials trying to become queen and then of the price she must pay afterwards.

The Body in the Woods Book Review by Ava Babcock

“My Parents wouldn’t let me go out if they knew there was a killer on the loose.”

Would you risk your life, to save someone else?

In April Henry’s The Body in the Woods, three outcasts, Ruby, Alexis and Nick, do that everyday after school. Welcome to Portland, Oregon, where the best thing you can do to guarantee yourself admission in college, is to join the Search and Rescue team. Meet Ruby, a outcast who was never really socially accepted. Nick, who’s father died in the Iraq war, now must keep up his legacy with SAR. Alexis, a sweet girl trying to cover up her mother’s current mental illness. While going on a search for an autistic man, the teens make a troubling discovery. A body. A girl their age. Dead. The autistic man has been found alive, but this is a whole different. And if they think the murders are going to stop.

They are Wrong.

The Body in the Woods can hardly be described by words. It has action, mystery, and tear-jerking moments with the main characters. The Body in the Woods is part of the Last Point Seen Mystery series. It is also a Book Madness book for our school library. The ending is spectacular, you’ll never guess who the murderer is. I would rate this awesome book 5 stars.

Cinder Book Review by Michelle Zhang

Cinder Book Review

By Michelle Zhang

Cinder, by author Marissa Meyer, is the first book in an exciting series, the Lunar Chronicles. Cinder is based off of a classic fairytale, Cinderella, and transformed into a sci-fi novel in which the world has been split into different empires through wars and the moon has been colonized.

Cinder is a cyborg teenager living in New Beijing (Asia has been transformed into an empire known as The Eastern Commonwealth) with her stepmother and two stepsisters, Pearl and Peony. She is a talented mechanic who works in the market with her android friend, Iko, fixing broken parts on machinery and androids that people bring to her. One day, Prince Kai of the Commonwealth comes to her when finding out she is supposedly the “best mechanic in New Beijing” to fix his personal android. Embarrassed of her cyborg identity, she hides her metal foot and agrees to attempt fixing Nainsi, the android. Meanwhile, on the streets, Letumosis, a disease with no known cause or cure is raging across the world, killing many, and there is a dispute between the ‘Earthens’ and the powerful mind-manipulating Lunars, who live on the moon. Cinder somehow gets tied in all the drama and the rest you’ll have to read to find out!

Following Cinder is the second book, Scarlet, and then Cress and the exciting ending, Winter. Stars Above and Fairest are accompanying stories told from different points of view through different periods of time. I highly recommend you read this series as it is one of my favorite books because it has so many amazingly realistic characters and a bunch of really unexpected plot twists.

Red Queen Review by Maggie Hayes

“I have finally learned my lesson, anyone can betray anyone”

                                                     Red Queen

How would you feel if the color of your blood decided your class? Either have special powers, or become a slave. How would you feel... if you were neither?

Mare is a normal Red Blood girl living under the rule of powerful Silvers. Her family, like most Reds, isn’t very rich. One day her family’s power box blows a fuse. Her dad can’t get it to turn back on, then Mare touches it and something happens. It turns back on, she thinks nothing of it at the time. But it is the key to her future.

Red Queen is an amazing book! I liked this book because it was adventurous and had lots of twists and turns. This is a must-read book, and it is also a Book Madness book. Victoria Aveyard did a great job of keeping me interested and enthralled. It was so good, and there was so much suspense that I couldn’t put the book down. I would rate this five out of five stars.   

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child Q and A

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Review/ Q and A

By: Melica Kemanian and Asher Jones

 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Q and A

 

Question: In general, what was the story about?

Answer: It’s mostly about Harry and his son, Albus: Harry’s life after Hogwarts, and  Albus’ Hogwarts life.

 

Q: Do you think it would be something J.K. Rowling would write herself in an eighth story or more fan-fiction?

A: I definitely think it was more of a fan-fiction because it’s just not really the way Harry thinks in the original seven stories, but then again I can’t know for sure if J.K. Rowling would or wouldn’t write something like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

 

Q: What makes this book any more than fan-fiction?

A: Well I think the fact that it was originally made as a play might have had something to do with the selling point, and seeing as it was published in a hardcover and selling in stores, unlike other fan-fictions.

 

Q: What was the best part in the book for you (with no spoilers)?

A: The best part is (for me) would probably be seeing them in an environment different than Hogwarts and a new responsibility for Harry and the others.

 

Q: What is the setting in the story; how is it different than Hogwarts?

A: Harry is now in London working in the Ministry of Magic. He no longer a student at Hogwarts and he has the responsibility of children and a position at the Ministry. He is in a real world environment and has to be more responsible altogether.

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Danah Alasmri

The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is a fairly typical all-girls school—that is, if every school teaches advanced martial arts in PE, chemistry always consists of the latest in chemical warfare, and everyone breaks CIA codes for extra credit in computer class. So in truth, while the Gallagher Academy might say it’s a school for geniuses, what they really mean is spies. But what happens when a Gallagher Girl falls for a boy who doesn’t have a name?

Cammie Morgan may be fluent in fourteen languages and is very capable of killing a man with a few pieces of uncooked spaghetti, but the Gallagher Academy hasn't prepared her for what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she’s an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, and track him through a mall without him ever being the wiser, but can she have a regular relationship with a regular boy who can never know the truth about her? Cammie may be an elite spy in training, but in her sophomore year, she’s doing something riskier than ever—she’s falling in love.

The Screaming Staircase (Book Review) by Serena Duncan

In the first book of a thrilling series, the reader is taken on a trip to London. Only, something is different.  The city of London is being plagued by an event known as The Problem.  For 40 years, all manner of specters, poltergeists, weeping maidens, and other types of ghosts have been attacking the city.  In this unnatural London, children are being born with a Talent, one that disappears with age.  These children have one or two of the following Talents: Listening, the ability to hear and/or converse with a ghost, Touch, the ability to feel the emotions of a ghost by holding an object precious to it, and Sight, the ability to see where something or someone has died.

The story follows Lucy Carlyle, a smart, confident girl and her companions, Anthony Lockwood and George.  After a case disastrously fails, the team is forced to help Sir John William Fairfax, the owner of Combe Carey Hall, one of the most haunted places in Great Britain.  Will the team survive the horrors of the Hall and the infamous Red Room, or will they perish like so many others before them?

The Running Dream (Book Review) by Ellen Held

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen 

A girl who loses her leg in a tragic accident is sad enough as it is, but a girl who loses her leg and can no longer do the one thing that makes her feel complete is even worse.

When sixteen year old Jessica loses her leg, she not only lost a limb, but also the one thing that mattered most to her: running.

This book was very inspiring and in my opinion very well written. It describes the hardships that both she and her family went through. Not only is the story inspiring but a nice story of friendship with her previous friends and a new friend named Rosa who has been in a  wheelchair her entire life.  

I would give this book five stars.

 

Image from amazon.com

 

Book Review by Waverly Huang

Call Me Hope is a book about a girl named Hope and the tons of troubles she has with her abusive mother.

Summary: Hope has been bullied for nearly her whole life, and the thing is-the bully is her mother. Everything Hope does is criticized and judged, she is yelled at and called names, and has also sometimes been publicly scolded at.

To cope with her verbally abusive mother, Hope makes a chart with points. Each time her mother calls her something or Hope holds her snappy remark, she earns a certain number of points. The prize for reaching the max amount of points? She doesn’t know. The pleasure of reaching the goal, I guess. Why her mother is like this? Hope doesn’t know. Yet.

Rating: I’d rate this a 4 out of 5 stars. I loved the book-with its number of plot twists and many likable characters; Hope is a girl of whom I can imagine some girls can relate to. I especially love the name Hope - it fits the plot perfectly. The only thing I disliked about the book was how it had a perfect ‘Happily Ever After’ ending. Life isn’t fair, and I think authors should really get that message through and into their work. All in all, Call Me Hope was a terrific read, and I recommend it!

If I Stay Book Review by Lauren Hildebrand

If I Stay by Gayle Forman is one of the best books I have ever read, it is a romantic, adventurous story and can be scary at times. If I had to give it a rating my rating would be 5/5 stars.  

    The story is about Mia. Mia has had a pretty good life she has a loving family, a good hearted, handsome, boyfriend, and she is an amazing cellist. Then suddenly her “perfect life” is turned upside down, Mia finds herself tangled in a decision between life and death. Will she stay with her boyfriend or go with her family.   

Maximum Ride Forever Book Review by Marie Bolton

Maximum Ride Forever by James Patterson is the 9th book in the Maximum Ride series.

The series is about Max and her friends: Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel. They were all stolen from their parents at birth to be part of an experiment at the School. Now they are half-human and half-bird… and some  of them have special powers. Max is really strong and fast and was chosen to save the world. Fang is really smart and loves Max. Dylan is strong and also loves Max as he was created to be her ‘perfect other half.’ Iggy is blind but can sense everything before the others; he is also really good at cooking. He and Gazzy love explosives. Angel, the youngest and a brother to Angel, can mind read and talk to fish. She has a talking pet dog named Total. Total was also part of the experiment: he can talk and is married to Akila, an unfortunately wingless dog. Nudge is also really talkative but is really good with technology, especially hacking into computers.

In Book 9, Max and her flock of friends (except for Dylan who has mysteriously disappeared) have survived the apocalypse planned by evil scientists. Most of the earth’s population did not  survive -- the majority of humans are dead, and only mutants were strong enough to survive the epidemic flu, floods, fires, and destructive storms prepared by the white-coats. The group leave their island and fly to Sydney, Australia, where they break into an office, looking for food. There they are cornered and attacked by Creyenas, strong hairless dogs who scar Nudge’s face and kill Akila. The flock then decides to split up. Fang flies to California to investigate the H-men (mutants) while Iggy and Gazzy search for survivors in Pennsylvania. Angel heads for Russia whereas Nudge, Total, and Max return to the island to find out if Max’s half-sister and mother are alive.

Will Fang discover anything about the H-men? Will Gazzy and Iggy find any survivors? What will Angel do in Russia? Will Nudge, Total, and Max find Max’s family? What has happened to Dylan? Will the flock survive if they are separated?

Read this action-filled novel - Maximum Ride by James Patterson - to find out!

 

I am Malala Book Summary by Lauren Hildebrand

Introduction:    

Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, Pakistan, she became an activist at a young age for girls education. When Malala grew in age the taliban threatened to kill her. October 9, 2012, Malala was riding home from school on the bus a gun man shot Malala right above the left eye.  Although Malala had to spend months in the hospital she recovered. A little over a year later Malala earned the Nobel Peace Prize.  Malala was the youngest person to earn the Nobel Peace Prize.

Speaking up

    When Malala was very little she loved school, and her passion for school made her realize that if she wanted girls to have an education she had to speak up.  Malala started blogging on BBC in early 2009, she blogged about how people were being treated by the Taliban. To hide Malala’s identity she used the false name Gul Makai, so Malala wouldn’t be hurt by the Taliban. However Malala was discovered to the blogger that year in December. As Malala grew older she started to speak out more and more against the Taliban, she showed up on TV, the news, and a lot of articles in magazines and newspapers.

Targeted by the Taliban:

    As Malala spoke out, the Taliban grew angry and so around the age of 14 Malala received a death threat from the Taliban.  You’d think Malala was scared and frightened, but infact she didn’t think the Taliban was so cold hearted to harm a child. Although, she wasn’t worried about her own safety, she was deeply concerned about her family’s security.

The Attack

On October 9, 2012 Malala was on her way home when the Taliban attacked her bus and shot her and two other friends of Malala. Near death Malala was sent to a hospital in Birmingham, England.

The Recovery:

    Once Malala woke up from her medically induced coma she had many surgeries including repair of a facial nerve to fix the paralyzed left side of her face. Although the fact that she was shot above the left eye she did not suffer any major brain damage.  In March 2013 she fully recovered and was able to go to school in Birmingham, England.

After The Recovery:

    After Malala recovered, Malala continued to speak out against the Taliban. She started the Malala Fund for children who weren’t able to attend to school and won the Nobel Peace Prize.  Malala was determined to get every single child in school and she will not stop trying until that happens.

Wonder Book Review by Jane Bolton

I recently finished the book Wonder by Raquel J. Palacio. It’s about August, who is no ordinary boy -- in appearance or in personality. People are afraid of August because of how he looks, and August has seen the disgusted faces of other students and heard their whispers about him. That’s what’s stopping August from going to school until the summer before middle school. At first, when his parents encourage him to start the new school year, he flatly refuses. As always, his parents let him have his way but August’s sister, Olivia, is not as compliant. Finally,  after a long argument with Olivia, he decides to school -- as long as he can quit when he wants.

Will August go to school for the whole year or will he quit right away? Will he make new friends or will the students treat him like a freak? Will he be able to keep up academically? Will August like school?


Read this funny yet touching novel to find out. You will turn pages late into the night to find out what happens. You’ll not only follow August through this new experience but, as the points of view switch from person to person, you’ll get to know August’s sister, her boyfriend, and August’s friend.  

 

Reader's Choice Book Rankings by Kueyoung Kim and Spenser McLaughlin

DISCLAIMER: These rankings are subjective, and may not reflect your opinion.

  1. Threatened, E. Schrefer

  2. Death by Toilet Paper, D. Gephart

  3. The Night Gardener, J. Auxier

  4. The Summer I Saved the World in 65 Days, M. Hurwitz

  5. Greenglass House, K. Milford

  6. Crossover, K. Alexander

  7. The Fourteenth Goldfish, J. Holm

  8. The Castle Behind Thorns, M. Haskell

  9. Storm Watcher, M. Snyder

  10. Stubby the War Dog, A. Bausum

  11. The Summer Experiment, C. Pelletier

  12. Courage has No Color, T. Stone

  13. Zane and the Hurricane, R. Philbrick

  14. Double Vision: Code Name 711, F.T. Bradley

  15. Wish, B. Bracken

H2O Book Review by Julia Genovese

I just finished reading the book H2O by Virginia Bergin. This book is about a time in the future when the rain becomes poisonous.  It’s a very good story about survival in an interesting apocalypse and a girl, Ruby, who has to live in it.  

The history of this rainfall is that a long time ago (in the future) an asteroid was hurtling towards earth.  They sent a missile and blew up the asteroid. Now, years later, the deadly bacteria living inside the asteroid for hundreds of years, is living in the clouds on earth.

Ruby is a high school aged girl living in a small town in the UK with her mother, step-father and her baby half-brother. She is a very typical teenager in most senses.  One night she goes to a party. The Dad of the boy comes home yelling at everyone to get in the house because ‘The rain is coming’ and ‘it’s in the rain’.  All the radio stations and T.V channels have the same message. It’s in the rain, and one drop will kill you.

The author writes about Ruby trying to survive at home, then later trying desperately to get to London.  Virginia talks about how there is no more usable water. She talks about the emotional trauma Ruby goes through and how she deals with it.

This book had me on the edge of my seat, combining survival, with the most unpredictable force of nature. Weather. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to get involved in a story. Although, make sure you have a strong stomach because there are graphic details of the effects of the rain that are quite cringe-worthy. All in all, this was a very good book and I can’t wait to read the sequel!

Image of Book Cover From Barnes and Noble. 

 

The Island of Dr. Libris Review by Adrita Talukder

Chris Grabenstein - the author of a great book that I love, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library. So when I was in the library, I was pretty surprised when I saw this book. If you’d read Escape from Mr.Lemoncello’s Library, you’d know it takes place in a library, and it involves books. Well, The Island of Dr.Libris doesn’t just involve books, it involves characters from the books.

Billy Gillfoyle is just your average 12 year old boy with a huge imagination and parents who are almost the complete opposite. Billy’s mom is a mathematician, and Billy’s dad produces commercials. And they don’t live together. One summer, Billy goes to spend the summer in a lakeside cottage that his mother had rented from Dr. Xiang Libris. There he meets his siblings Walter and Alyssa, and his soon to be enemy Nick Farkas. On the first day he’s there, his mom tells him that Dr. Libris has a library. Billy goes to explore the library and sees the glass case full of books his mom told him was locked up. Billy inspected the lock, and using what he had learned from books, Billy was able to find the key, which was something no one else had been able to do before. He opened the case and grabbed The Labors of Hercules. Upon opening it, Billy heard something. He kept on reading and realized the sounds he was hearing was the story. Billy rushed out, but he couldn’t see anything as it was night. The next day Billy went back to the library then went outside. He knew that there was an island nearby, so he took a rowboat to go there. The only problem was that Billy hadn’t ever been in a rowboat before. As he was struggling to get to the island something helped him. At the time he thought it was something mechanical, but he realized later that it was Poseidon. Billy got to the island, only to see two huge men battling. Billy was about to experience an adventure he had never imagined before…

I liked this book, so you might as well!

 

 

Image URL: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SxRgQvhOL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

    

 

The Night Gardener Review by Renee James

Yesterday, I finished reading The Night Gardener, a book I was pretty skeptical about before I read it. The book starts out by introducing two Irish orphans, Kip and Molly, whose parents had died on a lost ship.  After spending several weeks on the street, the older orphan, a girl named Molly, is desperate for a place to stay. She is very hopeful and happy when she hears that there is work to be done at the Windsor Estate. However, there are many strange rumours about the estate.

 

 

Kip, the younger orphan, isn’t very happy with Molly when she decides to go. Every time Molly asks a local for directions to the estate in the Sourwoods, they refuse to give them directions. Molly, frustrated, asks an old woman singing on the road for directions. Turns out this witch’s name is Hestern Kettle. Hester gives them directions, but makes them promise to give her a story about everything that happens at the estate. Molly is curious, but agrees without asking questions. Sure enough, they reach the estate. There is a tall dark tree guarding the house. As Molly looks closer, she realizes it’s not just guarding the house, it’s growing into the walls of the house. She ties up the horse and brings Kip to the door. She knocks, but no one answers the door. Instead, a little girl invited Molly in and Molly opens the door just enough to see the girl’s limp dark hair and dull dark eyes . . .

 

The Night Gardener would be great for you if you like fantasy and/or horror. It’s gets very suspenseful and scary. You’ll find yourself turning pages quicker than ever before.

 

Cover Image from http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515-OIxesNL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Out of My Mind Review by Hamna Ahmad

Out of My Mind is an outstanding book written by Sharon Draper.  It starts out as a girl named Melody, who was born with a disability.  Her body was stiff and that she couldn't move.  She has been stuck in her wheelchair all of her life. She can’t even talk! Melody gets  frustrated when she is not able to communicate with other people. Sometimes she can get out of control.  She is the smartest person in class and nobody knows!  Mrs.V is Melody's neighbor who has been helping and supporting Melody since she was 3 years old.  Finally, after years and years of waiting Melody gets to talk for the very first time! Well of course with the help of her new Medi-Talker.  The Medi-Talker speaks out words so Melody can communicate.  Soon, Melody's classmates get to know and understand her personality.   Shortly after, she gets to express her knowledge in front of everyone. How does she do this? Does it turn out to be a disaster?  You have to read the book to find out!

I personally thought Out of My Mind was a fantastic book.  I liked the plot and ideas, as well as all the different characters.  The author described things very well, however sometimes the book was slow and didn't go as fast as some other parts.  Overall, Out of My Mind was an amazing book, and it definitely is one of my favorites.  

Photo Credit: http://www.readerkidz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Out-of-My-Mind.jpg