Luca Swan Zogrotzki
8/31/15

Surrounded by Sharks by Michael Northrop

          The first book I read This summer was Surrounded by Sharks by Michael Northrop. One morning Davey Tsering wakes up in his hotel room for a tropical island island vacation with his family. That same morning he decides to leave his room without permission to have a quiet morning at the beach. Soon after his escape he decides to enter the water. The first most important part of the plot is when Davey leaves his hotel room. The second is when he decides to enter the water. Then third is when Drew Dobkins, a girl from Manchester notices Davey on the beach. This may not seem important, but trust me it is.

         This book connects to real life because it is showing you that you should use your common sense. If there is a " No Swimming" sign and you are about to swim don't do it. This book reminds me of a book called the Great Wide Sea by M.H Herlong because it is also about a kid lost at sea. I would recommend this book to realistic-fiction fans that like interesting yet simple plot lines. This book would be very interesting for people interested in this genre. It also has Mystery in it too. When Davey is lost, the people of the island use clues and hints to look for him. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone really.

Sisters - Sophia

"Sisters" by Raina Telgemeier  is an amazing graphic novel that I re-read over the summer filled with interesting characters, wonderful drawings and beautiful colors! "Sisters" is a true story about a girl who goes on a road trip and must get along with her sister for three weeks, they must learn to get along and when there car breaks down and they have to stay in the car for four hours while there mom and brother go to get a repair guy. This book reminds me of  book called "Jake & Lily" that I read over the summer as well. "Sisters" reminds me of "Jake & Lily" because in "Jake & Lily" they become more and more distant and in "Sisters" they are already super distant and they argue a lot. I would recommend this book to someone who has a younger sister/sibling and I would also recommend this book to someone who likes graphic novels.

Jake & Lily - Sophia

"Jake & Lily" by Jerry Spinelli  is a wonderful book about two twins who are not your every day twins. The twins (Jake and Lily) don't need to talk to communicate and every year on there birthday the mysteriously sleep walk to the train station were they where born. Jake and Lily are super close twins that do everything together but on there 12th birthday everything changes! Jake and Lily get there own rooms and while Jake finds some new friends to hang out with Lily struggles on making other friends and having a life without Jake in it. Jake and Lily become more and more distant and start loosing there special abilities, will they loose there powers for good or will they regain there powers on there birthday! I would recommend this book to someone who has a twin. I would also recommend this book to someone who likes two perspectives on a story and to someone who likes complex characters and brother and sister relationships.

Charlie Joe Jacksons Guide To Making Money.

           Charlie Joe Jackson loves money, but dosent have enough. So he desides to get a job. Turns out, Charlie Joe Jackson hates to work. Charlie Joe Jackson needs to find a job he can make money for somthing he wants to do. So he decides to make a dog walking buissness. Turns out, that didint go so well when the dogs went crazy and they got super dirty and then one of the dogs catches a gopher!

             Charlie Joe Jackson needs a different job, but he cant decide on one. All through Charlie Joe Jacksons freinds bar mitzvah, he thinks about what he wants to do for a job. Then, the next day he was with his freind and Charlie Joe Jackson decided he could make money by holding a bar mitzvah. But there was one problem, he wasint Jewish, so he decided to use a Ethiopian cerimony when a boy jmps over a cow he becomes a man, but Charlie Joe Jackson didint have a cow, so he had to jump over his dog.

              But then everything went crazy at the party. When Charlie Joe Jackson was about to jump the dog, the power went out! So everyone had to go downstairs to the basement and find the switch for the power on the fuse box, but Charlie Joe Jacksons dad had terrible handwriting, and they couldent find the switch. They all tried flipping everything, but the power wouldent come on!  Then the last switch they tried, the power came on! Everything was good, until they went back in the backyard, and turned out that they turned everything on. The sprinkiler system, the lights, the security system, Everything.

               The party went crazy, and everyone was wild and destroying things. But guess what happend? Charlie Joe Jacksons mm and dad came home! and they sent everyone home. Then Charlie Joe Jackson and his sister were grounded. And then all Charlie Joe Jacksons money was taken away.

                                                                   THE END

Because of Winn-Dixie - Sophia

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate Dicamillo is a fabulous, heart touching book about a girl who moves to a new town with her father and there she rescues a dog from grocery store called Winn-Dixie! Winn-Dixie and the girl (Opal) form a strong bind and go on lots of cool adventures and meet new people who are surprisingly very interesting. This book reminds me of a book called "Bud not Buddy" because Bud is on a big search to find his dad and in "Because of Winn-Dixie" Opal is always thinking about her mom and what she looked like and what her personality is like and where she went.  I would recommend this book to a dog lover or a cat lover who likes reading about dogs, I would also recommend this book to someone who likes realistic fiction and one main character but with lots of other important characters too!

Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King- Delilah

Delilah Bellamy
Summer Homework 
July 22, 2015

       What happens next? A simple question that we could wonder about forever. Next could mean two minutes, or two centuries. For Glory O'Brien, next means after high school. "Glory O"Brien's History of the Future" is a novel I read written by Printz Honor author A.S. King. Glory has lived almost all her life without her mother, knowing she will never be back. But that doesn't mean Glory's over her moms death, that doesn't mean she gets why her mom could have possibly wanted to die, leaving her and her father alone with huge problems of their own just now surfacing. High School is almost over and Glory has no plans, no options, and no friends. Of course there's Ellie, who thinks she's Glory's best friend. But that's really because Ellie's lived across the street forever and they're just used to hanging out together. It's complicated. After a strange night at one of Ellie's mom's infamous Star Parties, the two girls find themselves with a strange power that leaves them capable enough to be able to see pieces of people's infinite past and future. Glory gathers information from people watching at the mall and from studying the people around her. Soon she sees an unthinkable future ahead for humanity that terrifies yet amazes her at the same time. While uncovering some secrets about her home and her family life, Glory finds a special place her mother used to go and makes it her own. She starts recording the future, even though it looks like trouble  might be ahead for her family. 
       Glory O'Brien's History of the Future has a very unique plot that doesn't remind me of another book right away. Parts of the story however, relate to real life. Everyone has different family stories. No matter what, there's always secrets. Some may not be relevant anymore, some might not have even happened yet, but curiosity is always around. Glory's mother was very mysterious, which makes the reader want to learn more, read more. This book also reminds me of friendship struggles. Glory struggles with trust issues, and weather a routine really has to be set for ever. Glory O'Briens history of the future is a complex view on a girls anything but normal life. This is an amazing book that anyone who isn't just looking for a fun light read would enjoy. 

To all the Boys I've loved before by Jenny Han

The book " To All the Boys I've Loved before" by Jenny Han was one of the best romantic young-adult books I have ever read. The book is about a girl, Lara Jean, who keeps secret love letters for all the boys who she has ever had a crush on. She keeps those letters in her dead mom's hatbox. One day  they mysteriously get sent to all the boys, and everything gets out of hand. Lara Jean's sister Margot, is dating their neighbor, Josh, before she breaks up with him to go to college in Scotland. One of the letters get sent to Josh, and another to her former crush Peter and a lot of other people. Lara Jean still likes Josh, but doesn't want to admit it, so when Josh asks if she is dating anyone Lara Jean gets scared and just runs over to Peter who is coincidentally, standing across the hall and kisses him. It turns out that Peter is also wanting someone to fake being a boyfriend  because he wants to make another girl, Genevieve jealous. So Peter and Lara Jean start "fake dating". As Margot and Lara Jean are growing apart, Josh starts missing Margot, so he turns to Lara Jean for help. Soon Josh realizes that he likes Lara Jean and he kisses her. Lara Jean is going on a ski trip, with her class and Peter is also invited, and on that trip Lara Jean realizes that she likes Peter. The make out in the hot tub, and a classmate saw them and thought that they were having sex, so she spread the rumor to everyone that Lara Jean and Peter had sex. That makes Lara Jean extremely angry, so Peter and her have a fight. When Margot comes home for christmas, and finds out that Lara Jean kissed Josh, and that she's "dating" Peter she becomes extremely angry.  Margot also heres the rumor that she had sex with Peter, she is pissed. But of course they make up, and they become best friend sisters.
I think this book connects to high schoolers, and all the drama that goes on, and dating and jealousy. I would recommend this book to anyone who like YA books and romantic books. And anyone who is bored, just read this book.        

I Funny

One book I read this summer was "I Funny" by James Patterson. The book is about a kid named Jamie Grimm who has lost the use of his legs in a car crash that killed his parents and his sister. He has a bully for a older stepbrother. They live in Long Beach, Long Island NY. He is a comedian and everyone who he knows thinks he is funny. He enters a contest to see who is the funniest kid in Brooklyn.
This text relates to the world because people get bullied and find creative ways to beat bullies without using fists. Anybody who likes a good joke and a good and entertaining book will like this book.

Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix

August 27
Grace Kurtz
                                                                     Uprising

                "Uprising" tells the story of the hard working conditions of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and two girls Bella from Italy, Yetta from Russia who work at the factory and their friend Jane from New York that they meet during the strikes against the factory. Soon after both Bella and Jane find out depressing news about their families, they move in with Yetta and help her with the strike against the shirtwaist factory. Eventually, strike is over, Yetta and Bella go back to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and Jane finds a job as a sort of babysitter for the daughters of the owner of the factory, landing them all in the factory on the day of one of the biggest factory fires in history.
                 Since this is a Historical Fiction book, of course this relates to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and the fire. But it also is connected to the hard working conditions that many other immigrants went through as well. If you like Historical fiction or books were it is mostly hard to tell what will happen next, this is a good book to read. Otherwise, Don't.

The Blackwell Pages 2: Odin's Ravens

ODIN'S RAVENS

In the second installment of the Blackwell pages, Matt, Fen, Laurie, Reyna, Ray, and Baldwin continue on their journey to stop Ragnarok, this time with some better equipment. This book is a little more fast paced, with even more insane monsters. It has a fair amount of drama, and is definitely my favorite one so far.

The heroes find themselves much closer to their goal, but there are new challenges ahead. They all have to fight through many monsters, and some of them get hurt, physically and emotionally. With crazy twists, epic fights, and hilarious jokes, I recommend this book to anyone reading this post (read the first book first though).

 

-S. Dexter Dore

The Blackwell Pages 1: Loki's Wolves

LOKI'S WOLVES

 

 

This book is about 3 kids named Matt, Fen, and Laurie who are descendants of the Norse gods (Matt=thor Fen and Laurie=loki). When they learn Ragnarok (The end of the world) is coming, they are chosen to stop it. Armed with a magic necklace and some pretty cool spells, they must find the other descendants of the gods, Mjolnir (Thor's hammer), a shield, and some other magical stuff.

This book is a great read, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes magic! If you have read Percy Jackson, then you would love these books. It's well paced, full of action and crazy monsters, and also has some comedy as well. Plus, it's in a trilogy, so there is more!

 

-S. Dexter Dore

If You're Reading This, It's Too Late, By Pseudonymous Bosh

If You're Reading This, It's Too Late

 By Pseudonymous Bosh

"If You're Reading This, It's Too Late" is a compelling sequel to "The Name Of This Book Is Secret" that follows the lives of two members of the Terces Society, Cassandra, and Max- Earnest. Cassandra is a (Spoiler Alert!) Orphan survivalist who was dropped off on her mother's doorstep. Max- Earnest is a child from a divorced family. His life is split in half, as he does not want to prefer one parent over another. They find a special sphere that controls sound, and summon a strange homunculus (an artificial human) called Mister Cabbage Face. They then embark on a journey to protect the homunculus from The Masters Of The Midnight Sun, an evil alchemist group hellbent on finding out the notorious "secret", SOCK ❤︎ ROACHES, and even their classmate, Amber.
I definitely recommend this book, and "The Name Of This Book Is Secret" to anyone who likes mystery, sci- fi, and fantasy all jumbled up in one book. The end also contains magic tricks, the author giving himself an interview, and even a recipe for roasting villains. This series is written similarly to the "Mysterious Benedict Society" series.

This one summer

         This one summer is a book about a girl named Rose, every summer her family goes to a place called Awago Beach. Rose goes to visit her friend, and she finds that they both have changed.  Her friend, Windy is interested in different things, while Rose holds onto the memories of her younger years. They both are always together, despite their differences and conflict. Although they are growing up they are both still very mischievous. Sometimes this leads them into trouble. In one scene of the book the girls are bored and rent an X rated movie. Windy's mother comes home to find them under their blankets in terror.
             I enjoyed this book, the characters were both very relatable experimenting with things as they grow up. The characters are also very much like children, always interested in what their parents have hid from them. This book is relatable because similar to me, Rose also has a special place she visits every summer. The people in this place for her and for me, are changing as well. For Rose it is a land of happiness, sleeping late, and changes.

The Croc Ate My Homework

THE CROC ATE MY HOMEWORK

By: Stephan T. Pastis

 

              I just finished the Graphic novel The Croc Ate My Homework By: Stephan T. Pastis. In that book there is a Pig, a Mouse, a family of crocodiles, a Zebra, a Anteater, a family  of Lions, a Goat, and cat. The not so smart family of crocodiles doesn't catch much prey for themselves mostly living off takeout and junk food, butt that doesn't stop them from trying.
             
              The book The Croc Ate My Homework really connects to me because I feel like I have the same sense of humor as some of the characters in the book. Especially the mouse.
              
              Somebody who enjoys funny little animal comics, and has a sophisticated sense of humor would love this book! 

By: Liam nasvik Kastin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 







 



Luca Swan Zogrotzki
8/17/15

Max by Jennifer Li Shotz
*Warning: Spoiler Alert*

              The third book I have read this summer is Max by Jennifer Li Shotz, based on a screenplay by Boaz Yakin and Sheldon Lettich. This book's main characters are Justin Wincott and Max that live in a small town called Lufkin, Texas. Justin is a fourteen year old boy that had his older brother, Kyle enlist in the military and is killed in action. Justin isn't the  only one taking the loss hard though, Max ( Kyle's Military Bomb sniffing dog) also takes it hard too. When Kyle dies, this brings Justin and Max into a close bond like Kyle and Max always had. At first the Wincott family needs to adopt Max into their family because Max could only work with Kyle and he was too aggressive with other handlers. Although Max couldn't work with other handlers it doesn't mean he couldn't work with Justin. Somehow Max felt a connection with Justin, making him able to be normal and not in his mean, aggressive state with the help of his friend, Chuy and some training from His friends's cousin Carmen, who is practically a dog whisperer. Tyler ( Justin's friend from childhood) has just been sent home like Max because he was in the firefight that killed Kyle. He fakes getting shot so he can come home.  One of the most important parts of the plot is when Max gets adopted by Justin Because without Max it it wouldn't be the same book. The second most important part is when Justin finds Tyler selling guns because it really brings action to the story, with a high action chase though a forest. The third most important part of the plot is when Tyler and his Mexican buyers kidnap Justin's dad because it is the whole reason the whole action chase starts.
       
            This book connects to life because it shows that some people will do almost anything for money or riches. This book shows an example of this because when the Mexican buyers and Tyler sell the guns they could both get arrested and get in a to a lot of trouble or even hurt somebody. Tyler doesn't even think about the consequences, he just focuses on keeping the deal and getting more money. I would recommend this book to realistic fiction fans because it could happen in real life, but it is unlikely. This is a great book for realistic fiction fans. It has lots of action, drama, and a nice sad and joyful story line, almost all the things a realistic fiction fan would like. Just Saying, but it also has  movie now so I think you would like the book too. Ninety precent of the time the book is better than the movie.

Gibble the Epic (Pig by Roald Dahl)

                             I just finished reading a short story from The Collected SHORT STORIES of ROALD DAHL called "Pig." By Roald Dahl, of course. This short story is about a boy who's mother and father were shot by accident the first day he was born. No one in his family wanted to take care of the boy, Lexington, except for Aunt Glosspan. She was a vegetarian who cooked her own foods and lived in the mountains, and Lexington never came down from the mountain until he was 17 when Aunt Glosspan died. In that time Lexington had become a master vegetarian chef who was writing a chef book and his grandmother had left him a lot of money to deal with. In New York City Lexington went to a restaurant that served him meat. Unaware, Lexington ate it and loved it, finding out it was meat he thought his aunt just never got to try how good it was and needed it for his cookbook so he went to a meat packing place. He saw the way the factory killed pigs, but someone slipped a chain on his leg so he got dragged up and killed like all the other pigs. (Yes, that's actually how it ends)
                             This book connects to the real world because it shows how unaware people can be to animal cruelty sometimes. Personally, I don't like this story because of how it ends, but it has good values. Almost everyone in the world is like Lexington. Living on that mountain oblivious to the fact that animal cruelty is real and harsh. I won't go into the detail, but the end of the story describes exactly how they kill animals. People don't know, and even some vegetarians don't even know why they're vegetarians like Lexington. I recommend this to  people who aren't afraid of gore, and can handle kind of confusing stories. And are lovers of Roald Dahl.                    

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

The book The Impossible Knife of Memory, didn't look so appealing when I first saw it on the bookshelves of Barnes and Nobles. I brought it to sleep away camp, and as soon as I cracked it open, I got sucked in and transported to another world. The book is about a girl named Haley, and her dad, who is a war veteran from Iraq. They are always on the road, because Andy is always running away from the "demons" who are chasing him. Now they are back in the town where Andy grew up, for Haley to go back to school. Haley meets a boy named name Finn, where she can finally break free and be herself with him. But when Andy's Demon's resurface, worse than all other times Haley doesn't know what to do. Andy is hurting their dog, ripping their house apart, drinking heavily until blacking out. When Andy's old army buddies come back and try to get Andy back onto his feet. Then Haley's mom comes back from a long time ago, and that doesn't work out very well. After, a serious incident happens, Haley finally gets on her 2 feet, and takes charge things start to get better. Finn also helps Haley get help. Andy gets back on his medication, and the family finally stands tall.
I think this book connects to book Wintergirls because, in Wintergirls a girl's best friend dies, because they were doing a starving contest. Now wherever the girl goes, she is reminded of the memory of her friend, and her world starts falling apart. The two books share the same problem. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes realistic fiction, romance, and depressing books. You should totally read this book.

One book I read over the summer is "All the Wrong Questions" by Lemony Snicket. In the beginning of the book, Lemony Snicket receives a note from 's', telling him to meet him/her in the alley, right outside the bathroom window.  Lemony Snicket finds a woman named S. Theodora Markson, who drives him to this house, where a woman tells them to steal a statue from a house close by. They end up getting caught by the local police, but manage to escape safely. 

This book is connected to "the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle because they are both confusing. In "All the Wrong Questions", the woman who tells them to steal and return a statue, that was never hers, but you do not know that right away. In "the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", Holmes uses the power of observation and inference to figure out what people's jobs are and a lot of other things. Both of these books are very confusing. Any person who likes good and confusing mysteries will like this book. 

Catching Fire

            A book I read this summer was called "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins. The book is about a girl named Katniss Everdeen who won the hunger games the year before, which is where everyone chosen (a boy and a girl from each district) is brought together in a big arena and are forced to fight against each other to stay alive. The last one alive wins. They choose people by putting everyone's name between the ages of 12 and 18 and picking one of each gender randomly. For each 25 years there would be a different kind of hunger games. For the 75th one, 2 people who won from every 12 districts had to fight in the hunger games against each other. Many people from the districts were rebelling because of Katniss and her team mate from the hunger games, Peeta. They go in the arena and peeta, Katniss, and their new alliance Finnick find out the arena works like a clock, and at midnight a tree gets struck by lightning. The force field around them blows up because of Katniss firing an arrow into the force field right as the lightning struck the tree. They all end up in a hospital.
            This book is like the Warriors series. The clans/districts can be very hostile to each other. many people/cats die in the books. They both are living with the threat of death always nearby. I would recommend this book to whoever likes books with lots of action, because there is not a boring part in the book, it just always kept me excited. The book didn't seem to drag on. I liked this book.
            

Warriors: A Dangerous Path

            A book I read this summer was called "Warriors: A Dangerous Path" by Erin Hunter. This book was about a cat named Fireheart, the deputy of Thunderclan (a cat clan), who's old enemy Tigerstar (who was once the deputy of Thunderclan) was now the leader of Shadowclan (another cat clan). Bluestar Fireheart's leader, loses faith in her ancestors, and Tigerstar is looking for a way to hurt his old clan. Tigerstar leads a dog pack at least 5 times the cat's size into Thunderclan, as Thunderclan struggles to stay alive. Many secrets are revealed. 
            The book "A Dangerous Path" relates to the world, because there is a lot of hatred between Tigerstar and Thunderclan, after Tigerstar tried to kill Bluestar because he wanted to be leader. In the real world people sometimes kill for revenge or hatred. Both the clan cats and people today struggle to stay alive from lack of prey, or lack of money. Family is very important to the clan cats and to people in the real world, because in the clans, family and friends is the only thing they have to live for. Same with humans in the real world. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries, and books that are really sad, yet happy. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries because there are a lot of secrets in this book that are hard to figure out until they're revealed. The book is really sad because so many cats from most of the books die. It is nice because all of the cats can come together and rejoice, even in all of the hard times they have to face. This book is also for those who love cats because it gives you an idea of what cats think and how important things are to them.
            

The Girl Who Could Fly

            One book I read over the summer was "The Girl Who Could Fly" by Victoria Forester. The book was about a girl named Piper mcCloud who one day decided to jump off the roof to test if she could fly, and she succeeded. A while later she went to a 4th of July picnic, and even though her parents told her not to, Piper flew. Everyone around the world learned about piper so she had to go to a place where people with special powers went. Little did they know, piper and her new friends weren't only there to be safe from the outside world. 
            In "The Girl Who Could Fly", People who weren't normal (had special powers) would have to be confined to another place. In the real world, if we found a snake who sucked blood like vampires for example, we would be terrified and would want to exterminate them. people in both "The Girl Who Could Fly" and the real world don't want anything to do with people or things that are different and could possibly harm them, like vampire snakes or girls who can fly. I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever wanted to fly, or to whoever likes an action packed book with cliff hangers or twist endings. When the author was writing about the girl flying and what she saw, I could almost imagine myself in that position, just flying away from all of my troubles. It is a great book for people who want to fly because they can relate to the main character. It is also a good book for anyone who likes an action packed book with twist endings and cliff hangers, because this book has a lot of it. Overall, it was worth reading. 

The Fallen By Charlie Higson

This summer I read a book called, "The Fallen" by Charlie Higson. In this book there are many kids scattered around London after a zombie apocalypse has striked, and only kids under sixteen years of age will not catch the disease. This book is all about kids fighting to survive when almost everyone they've ever known has died. It is a really interesting book that has a lot of action. There is no main character, as it focuses on different groups of kids throughout the book. The kids make large groups so they all stand a chance against the "Zombies" they are fighting.

A connection I have to this book is "The Walking Dead", there is also a zombie apocalypse going on in that series which is very similar to what is going in "The Fallen" the only difference is that there are adults alive in "The Walking Dead." Another connection I had is that the people in the book are all around my age, so it is easy for me to follow along with the book in that sense. I recommend this book to people who like adventures, and to people who enjoy zombie apocalypses.

Maze Runner by James Dashner

This summer I read a book called "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner. This book was really great, it had one main character, his name is Thomas, and just like everyone else who is in the maze, he has lost all his memory of family and friends. These kids ranging from 12 to 18 were brought into the maze, not knowing anything about what was going on. All of the boys who were brought into the maze were very smart, but also very confused of why they were in the maze. Their purpose is to get out of the maze, which will later result in a good/bad situation.

When I read this book, I could not stop reading. I stopped interacting with my family just to read this book. This book made me think of so many different things in our world today, and things that could possibly happen to our environment. This book made me think a lot more than most books do. The fact that a sickness that could corrupt the world and they need to find a cure is so interesting to me! The people in the maze have no idea what the sickness is or where it is, but the book will let you figure it out on your own.

I connected this book to "The Hunger Games" because I really think that it brought the same feeling of surviving and fighting for your life into the book really deeply, it also brings in the violence that it had, and just like the maze runner kids died in horrible ways. There is  another connection with these two books that also has a difference. It is that there are people behind them being there, and people are controlling the environment that they are in. But in the Hunger Games there was really no good intention to them being there but there was a good intention in the Maze Runner. A more personal connection I made to the maze runner, is that the maze reminds me of running through the woods in Maine. I recommend this book, for people who like adventures, and can handle violence in the sense of death.

STARGIRL BY JERRY SPINELLI!!!!!

                      The book I read was Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. In this book, the very new small town of Mica, Arizona has a high school that is very normal, not exciting, and boring. No one comes to the school events, or shows any school support. Then everything changes when a girl named Stargirl Caraway comes in, sings Happy Birthday during lunch, plays her Ukelele, cheers for the other team during games, cheers randomly,  asks out-of-the-blue questions to the teachers, and wears the oddest clothes. She changes the school, and Leo Borlock likes her. But Leo needs her to be normal, for him, so his reputation doesn't become destroyed. He needs to choose if he wants the Stargirl he loves over his friends, or lose her.
                       This book connects with an issue in the old world, (If I know my history right) was when the Europeans came the Massachusetts/North America. They found Native Americans there, and categorized them as unusual, just like the students at Mica High categorized Stargirl as unusual. But then the Native Americans started helping the Europeans hunt and assimilate to the land, and they worked side by side as friends, just as Stargirl helped the school become more alive, and the students loved her. But then they started thinking Stargirl was a threat and unloyal to the school because she was supporting and helping other teams, and they finally noticed how odd and out of this world she was.  Just like the Europeans started taking land away from Native Americans because they thought their rituals were weird and unhelpful. Finally, in Stargirl, her boyfriend Leo wants her to be more normal so she can stay popular at Mica High, so she starts wearing normal clothes and calls herself by a normal name, and acts normal now.  The Europeans forced the Native Americans to take on their "European ways." Forced them to convert to christianity, raise and get food like them, so they didn't feel threatened and so they were all the same. I would recommend this to people who are lovers of High School stories, no not a story about high school drama with boys and girls dancing on the beach singing, but one about change and trust, not focused on love but the real main plot is about how this girl turns a dull school into a proud one.

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

The graphic novel Smile by Raina Telgemeier is one of the best graphic novels ever. The book is about a a girl Raina who is running and she falls and knocks her 2 front teeth out. For the next 5 years Raina goes trip after trip to the orthodontist, to get her 2 teeth fixed. surgery after surgery. She gets headgear, and fake teeth. During that time she is also going through friend drama, puberty, and family problems.
I think this book will connect to  everyone going through middle and high school, and the stresses and embarrassment. Maybe you don't have to severely injure your teeth, but this book will connect to you. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves graphic novels and drama.  

Fangirl By Rainbow Rowell

The book Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, was one of the most intriguing books I have ever read. The book grabbed me in as soon as I flipped to the first page. Fangirl is about a girl Cath, who is in college and part of a Fandom called Simon Snow. Cath spends her days typing on her Fan fiction account, to escape her daily stresses. Cath has a dad who is mentally unstable, so Cath is always worried about him especially after their mother left when Cath and her twin sister Wren were 11. Wren, Cath's twin sister who is the more extroverted one, decides to not be roommates for their Freshman year because, because she wants to break free and enjoy life. Wren also starts extremely disliking Simon Snow, and bullying Cath about her dedication to Simon Snow.  When this happens, Cath is left all alone, with only her and her roommate Regan and her ex boyfriend Levi. Wren also goes out to Frat parties every night, and drinks until she blacks out or needs Cath's help. Wren ignores Cath for 3/4 of the year.  Levi (Regan's exboyfriend) start falling in love, and life starts getting better for Cath. After a stay at the hospital for a mental breakdown, Cath's dad starts rebuilding his life. After an incident where Wren gets acohol poisoning, Wren is not allowed to drink anymore, and starts spending her days with Cath. But as the last book of Simon Snow comes out, Wren’s Fangirl side comes out. She is completely obsessed with the book and cries at the release.

I think this book would connect to people who are going through hard times, and people who are going into college. For people who are going through hard times, this book shows you about the times you are going through right now,and also that things do get better. And for people going into college, this is the life some of you are living. Going out every night, Young love and finding yourself. I would recommend this book to people who are interested in realistic fiction and love.   I loved this book.

The Giver

         



                                        The Giver by Louis Lowry is a book that is about the whole entire world of  a person named Jonas. In his world, there is nothing, no choices to make for his own sake , no fear that scares his life away, no pain that hurts. In most cases. His world is known as to be full of  people who are assigned a role in the community. He is able to explore his own world and everyone else world to really know what the world is about. When Jonas is twelve years old, he is singled out to a time to where he receives special training from a person called The Giver. The giver is someone who alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life to anyone. Usually throughout Jonas's life, he has been untold about his life ad his world, but now it's time for him to receive the truth of his life and the world. There is no turning back to what happened.
                 I just started reading the book and  I feel like this is the most best book I have ever read. It really had told me a lot about me being myself and to made me change and I feel like when I'm reading this book, it makes me think of me exploring the world by my own and meeting the giver. I feel like I would recommend this book to someone who wants to learn more about the world and for someone who wants to change their life.

big Nate strikes again!

 Big Nate strikes again!

By Lincoln Pierce 

When Nate was little his mother left him. He faced many struggles during his childhood. He was not very smart and kids picked on him. When he was in kindergarten, his dad did not have enough money to pay for a great school. As a result, he went to the same school from kindergarten to 6th grade.

Nate met Teddy and Francis when they were 3 years old. When Nate was in 3rd grade he went to summer school. That's when he started to hate school. They went to the same school and were classmates every single year. Francis was the smartest of the three while Teddy and Nate were not smart at all and both hated the same teachers. But there was one teacher they hated the most. her name was Ms. Godfrey. Nate was extremely rude to Ms. Godfrey which is why she hates him more than anything. she also hates Teddy but not as much.
     
         Big Nate is in 6th grade with his same buddies Francis and Teddy and a crush on a girl for years. Her name is Jenny. Nate was paired with the person he hates the most, Gina. they had to work together on a research paper together. Nate was so excited that he was the captain of the fleeceball team but not when he heard Gina was on his team! he had a lot homework which he never did. He goofed off in class a lot and got sent to the principals office about 15 times a year. he was getting bullied a lot by the coolest kid in the school, Randy Betancourt. Nate envied Randy because all of the girls liked him. Nate always tried but it never worked out.       

Pitchi Pitchi Pitch by Pink Hanamori

The book I read is about a girl whose name is Lucia. In this graphic novel Lucia is a mermaid princess that needs to find her pearl.  If she doesn’t, she can’t become an adult. While she tries to find her pearl, she falls in love with a human boy that she saved when she was younger. While she is with him she switches from mermaid to human form. Kaito, the one she loves, is in love with her in her human and her mermaid form but if she tells him she is a mermaid she will turn into sea foam.

            This book reminds me of one of my favorite show’s h2o just add water. It’s about three girls that are best friends and they go to a creepy island outside of Australia. These girls also are mermaids and don’t tell any one but their friend Louis. The similarities between these two are that both cant tell their secret and if they do something horrible will happen.

            I would recommend this book to someone who likes Japanese romance novels because it’s a love story about two middle schoolers.

blog by Maya Gatson 

Dragon Castle

                     Dragon Castle is a book about personally about Prince Rashko's problem. he finds out that his parents have disappeared and some creepy evil baron that is sitting outside his castle walls, but there is a secret hidden in the depths of the castle that no one is supposed to know about.

                   I just started reading the book and its cool. I recommend this book to someone who likes fantasy mystery books.

The Name Of This Book Is Secret

The Name Of This Book Is Secret

By Pseudonymous Bosh

In the first installment of of the secret series by Pseudonymous Bosh, Cassandra, a young survivalist, and Max-Earnest, a struggling young comedian find a case of peculiar viles, a magician's notebook, and a spa that provides eternal youth. They leave their small town and everyone they know and care about to save their classmate from a woman who never ages and her group of alchemists who intend to use synesthetic brains to gain immortality.
The writing style of "This Book Is Secret" is similar to "The Mysterious Benedict Society" (Which I also recommend). This book is great for people who like a good mystery with lots of fantasy elements. This book is great for sitting back and relaxing while reading.

Eleanor and park By Rainbow Rowell

         Eleanor and park is a story of two people living two completely different lives, in completely different houses, with completely different people. One day their paths cross and everything changes. This book is not your typical love story, but enters into an entirely different world one that is deeper more twisted and is faced with more challenges. Eleanor is considered uncool, no one likes her clothes or hair, she is constantly stared and judged by others. Park is a teenager, raised in a different house hold, only hurt by the ones who are mean to almost everyone. Eleanor and Park are at first uncomfortable, but things slowly change.
          I enjoyed this book because I found the characters relatable. This book is not your cliche love story, it proves that in the real world there are no happy ever afters, another relatable aspect. The characters have struggles with school, with their parents and often with their friends. These are all things that I can relate to. Eleanor and Park is a heart warming tale which left me in tears.
      Macy Russell Brown  

The Fall Of Five by Pittacus Lore

Luca Swan Zogrotzki
8/3/15 
                                                   The Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore

               
            The second book I read this summer is The Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore, the fourth book in the I Am Number Four series. One of the main characters is John Smith, an alien from planet Lorien who is currently on the run from an evil alien race called Mogadorians or Mogs for short. When John and the rest of the Loric get attacked on Lorien, he and the Garde ( Nine kids with special powers chosen by Loriens nine elders to leave Lorien and travel to Earth then come back years later to restore the destroyed planet) must leave Lorien and travel to Earth and go into hiding from the Mogs. John doesn't come alone on his journey to earth though. He also comes with the six Garde ( number One, Two, and Three are dead). He comes with the Ninth, the Eighth, the Seventh, the Fifth, (Ella Who is supposedly the tenth Garde), his friend Sam, his Girlfriend Sarah, Sam's dad (Malcolm), and himself (Number four). In this book they are mostly at number Nine's penthouse in Chicago, Illinois. One of the most important parts of the plot is when number Five betrays the Garde,  kills number Eight, and hurts Nine and Six because he believes the Mog's ways are better. This really effects the garde because it is a huge disappointment and it is one less Garde that have to fight back against the Mogs. The second most important part of the plot is when the Mogs attack nine's penthouse because they destroy the Garde's training facility, home, and all of their valuable technology. The third most important part of the plot is when Malcolm breaks Sam out of Mogadorian Captivity with his good Mogadorian friend Adam who has the powers of fallen number One. This part is one of the most important parts of the plot because it adds three more people to their team to help out saving Earth.

              This book connects to all of the books in the series because almost everything that happened during previous books has an effect on this book. This book does not only connect to it's previous books but it also connects to real life and offers a life lesson. This book shows you that even in the worst times of your life you should still try to keep going and power through it even if you want to give up. I know that this life lesson is in this book because when Five turns on the Garde and their friends they are still shaken up and disappointed by Five's betrayal, but they refuse to give up and die. They keep fighting and keep pushing themselves to survive and return to Lorien. I would really recommend this book to anyone that likes to read in general because all of the books in this series are amazing and keep you coming back for more! If you want to get specific though, I know science fiction fans will love to read this book because it has very good back stories on why the aliens came to Earth. Even if you are not a science fiction fan this book is just in the science fiction genre and it is an outstanding book, so i just recommended it to science fiction fans. Really in the end anyone interested in a good book, here is a book I guarantee you will love.This book has such an intriguing plot that you will never want to stop reading and if no one stops you, you will probably read as long as possible.

W.C Mack, Mathlete V.S Athlete

Owen and Russel are two very different twins. Owen loves basketball, and Russel loves math.
Then the new basketball coach recruits Russel for the team, even though he never played basketball! But Russel finds out he is a great player, and both twins make the team. But Owen finds himself not the star of the team anymore, and decides to not use teamwork, just so he can be the flashy star. Owns teamates get mad at him, and then when he does teamwork with his twin, the team gets really good.

I feel that this book connects to me very well, because I play basketball. Just like the twins in this book, and I like books I can relate to.

I would recommend this book to someone who is a athlete or a mathlete because people like books they can relate to. I would also reccomend this book to anyone because it was a fun story to read, and it had a lot of exitment in it.