Hooray!

Today is my mom's birthday. Happy birthday Mom!!!!! Lots of love from your daughter. :)

Pix from: http://www.gifts2pinas.com/pictures/balloons/balloons14-big.jpg

I Want to go Home

Title: I Want to go Home


Author: Gordon Korman


Genre: Humor


Description: A sarcastic boy and his faithful sidekick hate the camp they have been forced to go to, and they take every opportunity to run away.

This isn't a real hard read. I don't have much to say about it. But sometimes when I am in the middle of several books that are really serious and have some major character development, I like to take a step back and read this funny story. Rudy Miller has calm, cool ways of devising brilliant plans to escape, and the reaction of his camp counselours just makes me laugh. It's a nice simple story and a quick read.

Picture from: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/k/gordon-korman/i-want-to-go-home.htm

By the way, there is one flaw in the cover of this book. In the story, Camp Algonkian Island (the camp that Rudy was sent to) is a boys' camp! So there should be no girls!

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Title: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (that's a mouthful)

Author: Mark Haddon

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Description: A dog is murdered on a dark night. Who did this? Why? What are all these strange secrets Christopher keeps uncovering about his family? Christopher is not your ordinary boy, but he must find out.

The voice in this book is really good. The story is in the point of view of an autistic child, so we get an insight on what his life is like, and with an interesting plot. For school, we were asked to read this and find out what we had in common with Christopher, then write a response. At first I was like, how am I ever going to find something in common between an autistic kid and an avid book reader? We live in different worlds, pretty much. So what did I make of it? Here is my response:

Probably like many others, I found very little in common with Christopher when reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time for the first time. After finishing the last page, I looked back, but I still couldn’t find much that we shared. Then I thought about not focusing on specifics, but the big picture. For example: we both have a color we don’t like. Mine is orange instead of yellow and brown, but it is a likeness. With this new idea in mind, I read the book once more, and found many more similarities than before.

First I found little things we had almost exactly in common. We both have a favorite color, and we both like Indian food. We both like puzzles because they are calming. I do a Sudoku when I want to relax, and Christopher does the puzzle Conway’s Soldiers when he is overwhelmed on the crowded train. We both don’t like being shouted at because we are scared of further consequences. These similarities were easy to find because we both liked (or disliked) the same thing for the same reason.

I looked deeper into the story and found things we both have done or liked or wanted, but for different reasons. Christopher likes math because it is stable. I like math because there is always a specific and straightforward formula to find the answer. Christopher doesn’t like lies like the ones they tell in proper novels. I don’t like lies like the ones they tell in scary alien movies. Christopher wants things in a nice order because it makes him feel safe. When he sees 4 red cars in a row, they are in a nice order, so that makes it a Good Day. I want things in a nice order because it is easier to find things. Sometimes I spend an afternoon picking up my room so that it is orderly, which makes me feel better. We have both snooped around like detectives. Christopher snooped around to find out why his father hated Mr. Shears. I snooped around to find cool new things, like my favorite dress from Kindergarten, which was stuffed into a rag box. Christopher writes a story about his experiences. I just write stories.

I can relate to Christopher in a few big points of his life as well. He learns his mother has supposedly had a heart attack. He isn’t very sad, just accepting. When I was much younger, my grandmother had a heart attack. I didn’t understand so I didn’t worry much, just accepted the fact. Then, Christopher finds some hidden letters in a box, addressed to him! I once found a box of letters too, but addressed to my great-grandmother from my great-grandfather. In both cases, the letters piqued our curiosity. Finally, Christopher decides to go live with his mother and travels to London and has an adventure on the London Underground. The tube sign is only too familiar to me. Just this summer, my aunt took me to London, and I know exactly what the Underground is like. We share a big experience.

From reading this book and writing this paper, I found out how I can share a great deal with someone I would have thought to be a complete stranger. From small dislikes to big events we will always remember, Christopher and I have a lot in common.

Picture from http://reeyah.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/the_curious_incident.jpg

Coraline

Title: Coraline


Author: Neil Gaiman


Genre: Adventure,


Description: Coraline wishes for more than what she has in her dull, much-less-than perfect world, and it seems her wish has been answered when she finds a small door hidden in her dreary apartment. But this door and the perfect world behind it are more creepy and frightening than they seem.


Wow. Creepy. Scary. Frightening. Fascinating.


Neil Gaiman really takes you away with this highly suspenseful and intriguing story. He hooks you and lays out the setting neatly. He clearly describes the wills and wants of his character, and adds a bit of mystery. All seems innocent until you realize the truth along with Coraline. But does she turn back? No. As the story becomes more fast-paced, you read, being pulled deeper and deeper with each thrilling sentence.At the creepiest part of the book, you have to give it to Coraline for bravery. Even though her parents are missing and she has nothing to go to but a dreaful and powerful other mother, she faces her enemy and does whatever it takes to find her parents and triumph. It gives you courage too. If she can do it, so can I. I couldn't put this awesome book down. After the story, I gave some thought to the question: If I were in Coraline's place, what would I do?

Everyone I talked to told me this book was really scary, and I might not like it. I would never tell anyone not to read this book. The scary parts were so exciting, and I read them eagerly. And if you are scared, don't worry. It will all turn out O.K. in the end.

The Willoughbys

Title: The Willoughbys


Author: Lois Lowry

Genre: Juvenile Fiction

Description: Four unhappy children wish to be orphans because they hate their parents, and and old grouch finds happiness again. I guess.


After some thought, I have found I do not know how to describe this book and its story. Maybe I could say it was random. Possibly undecided. A very simple story. The author had NO IDEA what she was doing.
Just kidding. But it is true that this book isn't the greatest piece of literature.

My first thought on this book was that it was sick and slightly racist. That sounds harsh, but what kind of kids wish their parents were dead so they could be orphans? What kind of parents name their twins the same name, then can't remember their other two children's names? Then the parents go on a vacation, leaving their kids behind and Put their House up For Sale. The trip turns out to be a perilous journey, and some fellow tourists die. And the parents say: 'It doesn't matter that they died, they were French." I mean, what kind of book is this?????? It is for children, right?? What is the book world coming to???? ....Okay, I'm calm now. But I don't understand why my sister likes this book. And one more thing. The oldest Willoughby child, Tim, is an absolute beast. For example, if his brothers and sisters don't do something absolutely right, he docks "points" off them. At the end of the day, he always has the most points, because he does everything perfectly. Ha ha. As an older sibling myself, I am appalled.



As I said before, I found the story random. One moment, you are learning about the aggravating Willoughby children and their horrible parents. Then, they find this abandoned baby on their doorstep. You may think this is a turning point for the Willoughbys, but it's not. Instead they shave the baby and dump it on somebody else's doorstep. Now it is time for the parents to go on their vacation. A nanny is being hired. There is this big fuss over the nanny, and you think, oh, this is going to be sort of like Mary Poppins! But think again. After that chapter, the nanny doesn't come up much, except when she makes cookies. Now enter another character, the old grouch. He finds the unwanted baby, and now the baby has to affect his life a little tiny bit, or otherwise, why have the baby in the story at all???

Book #1--Again

Being my first ever book review, my The True Meaning of Smekday review is pretty lame. I'm going to do this great book some justice right here.

Title: The True Meaning of Smekday

Author: Adam Rex

Genre: Adventure, Science Fiction

Description: Aliens envade Earth in 2013!! Join the Amazing Gratuity Tucci and her hilarious alien friend, J.Lo, on a journey you won't forget!

Anyway.

I laugh at what I just wrote, because the most distinguishable feature of the main character, Gratuity Tucci, is her voice. One of the most common things she does is go off topic then say, "Anyway." Adam Rex does a great job at the voices, and gives each character their own special way of speaking. J.Lo the alien's first language, Boovish, consists of strange sounds mixed together, like a Crying Baby Riding on a Duck with Its Mouth Full. Anyway. One of J.Lo's common English mistakes is saying 'for' or 'to' after the 5 w's. For example: Wherefor are you knowing it? or Whyfor is he exploring our car? He also confuses the word 'exploding' with 'exploring.' Not a good idea. Still, Gratuity and J.Lo make a hilarious combination with their distinct characters.

Not just the voices are great, but the plot. Aliens land, twice! They take up the entire U.S. and leave only one state for the entire human population! Find out what its really like, all through the eyes of an eleven -year-old girl whose mom was taken by the aliens! This same girl drives across America with her funny Boov sidekick and her cat! And get the first-hand story on how strange aliens can be! It can't get any better than that.

Even as an avid book reader, I only find a few books that really take me into their world. You always hear about books as being the doorway into different and amazing places. I'm not saying they aren't, but have you ever almost forgot where you were and belived yourself to be with the characters? With this one I laughed out loud and cautiously made my way across an alien-filled America with the two main characters.

This is a book you don't want to miss, seriously!!!!

Anyway.

Tangerine

Title: Tangerine

Author: Edward Bloor

Genre: Mystery, Adventure

Description: Moving to Tangerine, Florida, is not what it seems. This place used to be famous for it's Tangerine Groves. Now, as Paul Fisher finds out, there are more and more problems and danger resurfacing every day.

This book is definitely worth reading. It's very captivating, and the story holds onto you. You always want to read on, and you always are asking, "What's going to happen next?" The book has an air of suspense, although some parts are not really scary. Paul Fisher, the main character, becomes a soccer player on a great team. Being a soccer player, I find the games he plays as exciting as the suspicious crimes. You are astonished at how many things can go wrong in one place and in one lifetime, and you may think, "I am very lucky." How many times have you complained about a boring spot in a book? Never fear. In Tangerine, something is always happening. It may be drastic. It may be lightning. It may change your life. Okay, I'm exagerating, but you get the point. You won't be able to put this book down!