The Amulet of Samarkand

Title: The Amulet of Samarkand

Author: Jonathan Stroud

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, a little Humor

Description: In this story, a very young magician named Nathaniel gets caught in the whirlwind of revenge and summons up an extremely powerful djinni named Bartimaeus. As the story goes on, his act of revenge turns into a much bigger problem and he must thwart a dastardly plot!

Isn't thwart a great word?

The Amulet of Samarkand is a captivating story, and the point of view of the character Bartimaeus is witty and full of life. You first hear of Bartimaeus’ humor when he tells of one of his previous summons: “One magician demanded I show him an image of the love of his life. I rustled up a mirror” (7). Comments like this will have you laughing through the whole book. Scattered through the pages are small footnotes. They are sometimes funny comments, other times pieces of information. He tells you that a Horla is “a power subclass of djinn. To a human, Horlas appear as shadowy apparitions that cause madness and disease; to other djinni, they radiate a malicious aura that saps our essence” (246). Bartimaeus is a tricky and unpredictable character, so you never know what will happen next. He makes surprising transformations. He says, “She stretched out a hand. As she did so I opened my mouth very, very slowly. Then she reached for the chain round my neck. In an instant, I was a Nile crocodile with jaws agape” (48). The Amulet of Samarkand will capture you attention with its story, but most of all with its witty character Bartimaeus who will keep you informed and on your toes. Happy reading!

P.S. This was a paragraph I wrote for school. I don't remember what score I got on it though.

Harry Potter--what we have to say about one of the world's most famous books

Title: Harry Potter!!

Author: J.K. Rowling

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, and a bit of Romance

Description: Harry Potter is an extremely famous wizard, but he doesn't know it. He lives with his mean aunt and uncle and his extremely fat cousin. Until he goes away to Hogwarts, a well-known wizarding school. Thus begins the amazing adventure of Harry Potter.

My sister and I have collected most of the Harry Potter books on tape. Jim Dale is an amazing reader. Did you know he does more than 40 different voices in all the books? Anyway, we've listened to the tape so often I wanted to say a few things about characters, favorite parts, and general observations. There are so many things to fidn in the amazing world of Harry Potter.

Harry Potter. The main character. First of all, it's amazing how you can see the character development. We listened to the fourth book, then the second. I really saw a change in how Harry looks at the wizarding world and challenges ahead. At my school last year, there was a Harry vs. Twilight thing. Twilight argued Harry never grew up. I totally disagree. (Harry won, by the way. Twilight died out this year but Harry lives!!) In the first book, he's new to being a wizard and all the characters are being brought into the story. In the fourth, especially after the turning point, characters views really defined and the story really starts to shape up and get more serious. Although my sister and I often say Harry needs some anger management classes in the fifth book. Really Harry, shouting at your best friends isn't going to help.

It always amazing me in series how the author can tie events in the first book right into the last of all. Harry Potter is carefully planned out from beginning to end. In the fourth book. Voldemort explains all about his life for the past 13 years and it matches up exactly with everything that's happened to Harry. I guess that's the way all large series should be, but I really notice it in this one. In the sixth book, Harry hides a book under a bust of a wizard, and puts a tiara on top to make it more distinguishable. In the seventh book, the tiara turns out to be a major piece of the story. When I read the seventh, I instantly made the connection to the sixth.

I've noticed a plot pattern that holds for the first six books at least. The seventh is different. But it goes like this: Harry starts out at Dursleys. He goes away from Dursleys. He goes to school. Something strange happens at school. Suspense builds. Harry begins to figure out why strange things are happening. Climax is at the almost end of the book, where Harry must fight a large battle alone. The beginning of the battle sometimes includes companions to help him. Harry wins. School ends. Harry goes back to the Dursleys. The End. If you look at it like a plot line, there is almost no falling action, but goes straight from Climax to Conclusion, like this. In the seventh book, there seems to be a million climaxes up to a HUGE one at the end.

Snape and Malfoy. I feel so sorry for Malfoy. When you learn about the trouble he's going through in the sixth and seventh book, it makes you feel so sorry for him. Looking back, he's never shown much kindness to Harry Ron and Hermione (HRH), but they were always mean to him every chance they got too. Malfoy doesn't have many friends and his whole family is Dark Wizards. He doesn't have a lot of options for a great future. And he's a bit of a wimp. Snape is the same. Harry and Snape hate each other from the moment they meet, and Harry doesn't realize the truth until the very end. Harry always thinks Snape is behind every Dark thing at Hogwarts (Snape, or Malfoy, or some Death Eater) and he is ALWAYS wrong. You'd think Dumbledore would get impatient with him always jumping to conclusions. I recently read To Kill a Mockingbird, and one of the lessons was, you never truly know someone until you walk around in their skin. Harry never does this. Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater might be his motto. Snape is very complex and a really good character.

Sometimes Harry and Ron can be so misunderstanding. It's aggravating. When Harry can't understand Cho's feeling, Hermione explains, but Ron and Harry still don't get it. Again, in the third book they don't think about Hermione at all when they ignore her for a long time.

Why are Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle known by their last names, but almost no other characters are (except the teachers)? That's something thats been bugging me. Even Malfoy calls Crabbe 'Crabbe' and Goyle 'Goyle', even though they are his best friends. Harry doesn't call Hermione, 'Granger' or Ron 'Weasley'. There's too many Weasleys to call him that anyway. You could be calling Ron, Fred, George, Percy, or Ginny.

If you haven't read the seventh book, you may not want to read this part, if you are the kind of person who doesn't like the ending told to you before you read it. I have a friend who got really mad at someone else for telling her who died at the end of the book. It was a week long feud. Anyway.

Why do Ron and Hermione get married? They argue through all the books, and Harry often says he can't stand them bickering at each other all the time. Ron shows no interest in Hermione until she goes out with some other guy and same with Hermione. They aren't really great friends. Hermione seems like an outsider so often. In the third book, Ron and Harry don't talk to her for a long time because something that wasn't her fault. I can't remember his words exactly, but my dad said it was because that's how it was supposed to come out. I mean, who else could Ron and Hermione marry? If they married complete strangers that would be weird, right? They were meant to be a match even though they hate each other through most o f the books. In the end, every one's part of the Weasley family. Harry marries Ginny, and Hermione marries Ron. Hearing of the continued lives of these four people gets me curious. What happened to Fred and George? What about Hagrid? All the characters that were meaningful in the stories seem to have died or disappeared. It's a bit depressing when you think about it. Harry's kids have completely non-original names. Imagine being named Albus Severus Potter. Honestly, as Ron would say.
You may read beyond this point.

So those are our thoughts on the immensely popular, Harry Potter Series. Thank you. The End.

(I just hit spell check and all the character's names have big red underlining under them.)

The Name of the Wind--first impressions

Title: The Name of the Wind

Author: Patrick Rothfuss

Genre: Some adventure

Description:

I guess its not fair to criticize this book too much as I haven't finished yet, but it's a big book with small print, so here are my first impressions.

I have some complaints.

First of all, the main story is about a man who is usually described as having red hair and who has had a supposedly amazing past full of great and terrible things he wants to hide. One day a scribe finds him and decides to write his story.
Sounds exciting, doesn't it?
Not really.
They take a long time to get to the story of his terrible past, and pages are wasted where the scribe and the man are trying to find times for the man to tell his story. They do not introduce his "real" character until too late. You first know this man as someone with red hair who runs a bar. He shows up a bit more as the story goes on, but I thought that was just because he runs the only bar in town. I could hardly remember his name. then all of a sudden he seems to be a main character and Iam trying to figure out the importance of this man who-I-can't-remember-the-name-of. I learn he is a powerful character with a dark and mysterious past. But by now I just know him as the random bar-man and even as he tells his story, I wonder, Who the heck is this person?? Why am I reading about him? That's what I don't like about it. You are reading this story about a person you don't even know. His story doesn't seem important, and I haven't gotten to the good bits yet. So why read on? But I'm going to try to plod through because the librarian at school picked it out for me and really wants to know what I think of it. It's probably way overdue by now.

I wasn't too impressed with the writing. That's part of it. An attack happens on the road, a mysterious one that is supposed to inspire fear and excitement, but I found it boring. The event itself would be exciting, but it is too drawn out. You get kind of excited, but want to move on with the story. Everything was drawn out that way. The prologue gives a haunting message, "It was the patient, cut-flower sound of a man waiting to die" (1). [we learned all about citations in school this week. My teachers would be proud of me] Anyway, the sentence hooks you in, but after 2 or 3 pages of gossiping men in a bar, you forget about it and aren't very curious anymore because it doesn't seem to be talked about anytime soon. Not every book starts out with a bang, but it really didn't seem like this one was going anywhere. They talk to much. I like a balanced amount of action and dialogue. This has too much dialogue. Sometimes I have know idea what they are talking about. For instance, what is a mounting board? They talk about it for 2 pages in Chapter 3. I guess I'll have to look it up.

A thing about the names. They are odd names, like Kvothe, Skarpi, and Bast, and I have trouble keeping them in my head and sometimes lose track of who is talking. Kvothe has several names, which complicates things further.

My first impressions weren't great, but isn't there a saying that you can't count on first impressions? I 'm actually looking forward to reading on to see if I can get to any really good bits in this book, then that review will come. I still have to find out what the name of the wind has to do with anything. Ta-ta!

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.

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!

The Last Dog on Earth!!

Title: The Last Dog on Earth

Author: Daniel Ehrenhaft

Genre: Adventure,

Description: A mysterious dog disease is gripping the state of Oregon, sending people into a frenzy! Logan Moore must protect his pooch, and must find a way to return the world to how it once normally was.

Cool Stuff: This book won 3rd place in the Division II 2008 Maud Hart Lovelace Awards. It totally should've gotten first.

Rating: *****! Seriously.

Alright, so it is kind of a lame description. It's good to be back and writing again, but I am a little out of practice. But trust me, this is an awesome, AWESOME book, and trust me, (again) I know a good book when I see one. I love the word pooch.

Anyway--there are tons of good things about this book. It rates in my top 5 favorite books.

To start, this story has an excellent hook. A couple, actually. The first is a strange, life or death situation, about a dog attack on another dog. It's sad, but gripping. Then it changes to a different location, and a little insert in the form of an incident report. It's a report of another dog attack, and this brings the same creepy hook. With these two first stories, you really want to know what's happening to these dogs. Not in a bad, impatient way, but you're interested. Hooked, actually. You can learn a good thing or two or three about hooks from this author.

The first time I read this book, I got blown over by the feeling. That's why I thought it deserved the Maud hart Lovelace Award. Don't strange dog attacks sound creepy? Well, it doesn't just sound creepy, it feels creepy. The story is written with three views. One, a little she-pup in a wolf pack being overcome by a sickness. Two, a strange teenage boy who hates a lot of things. Three, an unsocial, retired professor who lives in the peace and quiet with his dog companion. With the she-pup, you feel her terror as she runs for her life from the pack, the sickness filling her senses, driving her forward. With the boy, you feel his annoyance, and you are annoyed at the same things as him. With the professor, you feel his disregard for people, and his enjoyment with his dog. As the story progresses, you feel and understand their realization of this sickness, and of the urgency and the danger.

The story is written in an appealing way as well. Among the chapters, which include the different views of the two people and animal, you have news articles, statements between different people of authority, email exchanges, interviews/news articles, so you actually get more than three views. these also show what is going on outside the world of the main character that helps bring the story to life.

Once you get this book started, you won't be able to put it down!!

Lights, Camera--Action!!!!!

Title: Stormbreaker

Author: Anthony Horowitz

Genre: Mystery, High ADVENTURE!!

Description: A 14 year old boy becomes a spy.

WARNING: those of you who are weak of heart, be careful when reading this book. This is one of the most action-packed books I have ever read, and I was constantly kept on my toes as the character performed numerous highly dangerous acts. At the start of the book, it is actually fairly low key, but then the main character (Alex) starts learning lots of startling information very fast, and things really speed up. I mean really speed up. Alex gets into to one dangerous situation after another, and you can't put the book down for fear that next time you pick it up, Alex finally will have gone too far and he will be dead. Even at the very end, when you think, Oh, this is the happy ending, and then they hit you with one last gripping scene. One may say it is a little too much, and yes, that is probably true. There is a lot of tension and suspense and high adventure and mystery and all that, but there isn't a lot of character development or some rest time in between all of Alex's tight situations. And because there isn't a lot of time for you to get to know the character, I do admit I momentarily forgot his name while writing this review. I did enjoy most of this book, and I could hardly put it down. I haven't read a book like that in a while. So if you would like something chock full of adventure and mystery and suspense, go check out Stormbreaker from your local library!

HP5

Title: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter 5, for short)

Author: J. K. Rowling

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure

Description: Harry is back for the 5th time!! In this book, Harry faces explusion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, then battles with an evil Ministry Affiliate while forming a secret army under her nose, then finally faces Voldemort and his Death Eaters in intense combat!! It's filled with excitement, don't miss it!

I just had to throw that last comment in there. This is probably my favorite of the 7 Harry Potter books, 1) because it is full of action, and if there is anything I can't stand, it is a boring book where nothing happens. This is not true in Harry Potter 5. It is full of excitement just from the beginning. and 2) it has Dolores Umbridge in it! I don't like her, but she is a super evil villain, and where would the story be without her? If Harry lived happily throughout the whole book, you could sleep while you read it. Anyway, Umbridge also adds to the action part. She keeps the story alive in her own wicked ways.

The almost best part of this book (in my opinion) has to do with Fred and George, the Weasley twins. They turn on such a fabulous show of tricks, mischief, pranks and more; it is so entertaining! J.K. Rowling put some nice effort into creating the Weasley twins. Go Fred and George! May the fun go on forever!

Now, I often think the character Harry has a couple of flaws. At the beginning of the story, he is stuck at his aunt and uncle's house, and is feeling a little annoyed, but really wants to see his best friends. So when he sees them, he yells at them for 5 minutes for having a good time together without him, completely ignoring whatever they have to say. Then he loses his temper repeatedly throughout the book. Maybe he should take some anger management classes.

Book #1

Title: The True Meaning of Smekday

Author: Adam Rex

Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure

Description: This book is about an 11-year-old girl named Gratuity Tucci (nicknamed Tip) who lives in the United States, 2013. Like we have predicted, things are different in the future. Mainly, Earth has been taken over by the Boov, who are eight-legged aliens with weird eating habits. Earth now bears the name of Smekland. Everyone in America is being herded into one state: Florida. Gratuity skips taking the rocketpods there and decides to drive (which she learned how to do after her mother was abducted by the aliens.) On her journey, she meets a Boov named J.Lo. J.Lo is on the run, and the two soon form a team. Together, (in Gratuity's amazing floating car Slushious) they search for Gratuity's mom, discover the secret of Happy Mouse Kingdom, meet some fascinating characters, and finally conquer the threat of another more serious alien invasion.

I just have to say one more thing. If you haven't read The True Meaning of Smekday, go out to your nearest library/bookstore and get it ASAP!!