May 19, 2010

Shug

By Jenny Han

     It's the summer right before middle school for Annemarie. Boy drama has already begun. When she thinks she is starting to fall for Mark, her friend since she was little, everything goes crazy. When school starts Mark gets a girlfriend. Then jealousy sets in. While tutoring a boy in her class, she realizes she was chasing after the wrong person the entire time.


     This book gets a 3 out of 5 * * *

May 14, 2010

A Million Shades of Gray

By Cynthia Kadohata

     Y'Tin lives in a small village in South Vietnam with his family. At ten, he knew what he wanted to be when he grew up; He wanted to be an elephant handler. His family owned the smallest, but strongest elephant in the entire village. The elephant's name was Lady. Y'Tin and Lady were the best of friends. He never had to use the hook on her because she always listened. When the North Vietnamese attacked his village he was forced into the jungle to survive with his elephant.
     I give this book a 4 out of 5 * * * *

May 3, 2010

Shadow

By Jenny Moss

     In the farway kingdom of Deor, a fifteen-year-old girl lives as a shadow of Queen Audrey who is also fifteen. It was prophesied that the queen would die before her sixteenth birthday. That girl had no name, though everyone called her Shadow. She believed that Sir Kenway, a great knight from another kingdom was pledged to Queen Audrey as her betrothed. Queen Audrey was cruel to Shadow slapped her often. One night when the girls were sleeping, Shadow woke up to Queen Audrey thrashing about in her bed. Shadow thought nothing of it but when she awoke the next morning, Queen Audrey was dead. Her death started riots and uproars of whom will lead their kingdom. The only other heir was a man named Fryen. Though Eldred, the queen's advisor, thought differently.
     While spying on Fryen and Eldred, Shadow and Sir Kenway see Eldred be murdered by the man that was soon to rule the kingdom. Sir Kenway takes Shadow out of the kingdom up to a village and to an old witch, named Kendra. There Shadow finds her true identity and about the mother she never knew.

     This book gets a 5 out of 5 * * * * *
It was so amazing I could barely put it down to eat.

Code Orange

By Caroline B. Cooney

     Mitty was an average high schooler in New York City. As usual he hated school. His science teacher assigns a project on infectious diseases and Mitty chooses small pox. He looks through his mother's library and finds books about small pox epedemics. In one of the books was an envelope containing small poxs scabs. After picking them up and examining them closly, he puts them back. After doing more research he learns he might have just infected himself with small pox. Read about the dangers of Mitty's adventure with what started out as a science project.

     I am in love with Caroline B. Cooney's work. She is amazing.
I give this book a 5 out of 5 * * * * *

Diamonds in the Shadow

By Caroline B. Cooney

     When the Jared's parents volenteer to house a family of African refugees, crazy things start happening. They find out that the father has no hands and the daughter does not speak. They don't act like a family at all. The weirdest thing is the boxs full of dust that is said to be their grandfather's ashes. Now Jared wonders if this kind and thoughful refugee idea could put his family in danger.

     I give this book a 5 out of 5 * * * * *
I LOVED it!

Ten Things I Hate About Me

By Randa Abdel-Fattah

     Jamilah lives in Austrailia where everything is diverse but many people are racist. Jamilah lives a normal life in a Lebanese-Muslim family with brunette hair and brown eyes. At high school she is known as Jamie, a normal pure Austrailian with blonde hair and blue eyes, with the assistance of hair dye and contact lenses. She attends a religous school on the weekends and is in their band. When her band gets a chance to play at her tenth grade formal, she has to decide between revealing her secret or disappointing her friends.

     This book gets a 3 out of 5 * * *
It was good but the drama was, well drama. Nothing majorly exciting or heartbreaking.