The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Series)

In The Lightning Thief you follow around Demigod son of Poseidon, Percy Jackson, as he goes through Camp Half-Blood, camp for Demigods like Percy. Along the way, his father is blamed for stealing Zeus' Lightning bolt, and decides to set out to find it, along with his Best Friends, Grover Underwood, a Satyr and Lord of the Wild, and Annabeth, the Demi-goddess daughter of Athena. He faces many challenges along the way, like meeting his Uncle's Zeus and Hades. This is a book for anyone who likes Mythology, like myself. I would defiantly recommend this for people who have yet to read it!

Reviewed by Katlyn ~ 8th Grade

Lexile 740

Divergent by Veronica Roth

You might have heard about this book, or have seen the movie. You might know the main character by heart. You may say your Dauntless, Erudite, Candor, Amity, or just Abnegation. That's right I'm talking about a bestseller called Divergent. Divergent is book that makes you want to cry, laugh, gasp, or just have you speechless. Maybe all these feelings at once. It's a wonderful and enchanting series that will have you begging for more. Thank goodness it's more than one book. Actually it's a series.

I recommend this book to specifically 3 types of people. I recommend this to Dauntless people, people who like action and gore and fun. I recommend this to Candor people, people who honestly just want a really good book. The last type of person I would recommend this to is Abnegation people, people who will give up the book when they are finished reading so they can give it to their friends! 

I think the book is WAY better than the movie because the book gives so much technicality and details. I think that this book is definitely a page turner and that you will fall in love with it. If you just try it I KNOW you will like it. So join in. Become Dauntless, Amity, Candor, Erudite, or Abnegation. You won’t regret reading the book.

Reviewed by Yinka ~ 7th Grade

Lexile 700

Book Fair Promotional Video - Spring 2014

Dread Locks by Neal Shusterman (Dark Fusion Series)

Dreadlocks by Neal Shusterman was amazing! I give it two thumbs UP! I believe this because I don’t think anyone else could ever give such a spin on a classic Greek Mythology story, ever! It matched all the facts that they give us in a mythology book. This is why I give the book Dreadlocks by Neal Shusterman a huge thumbs up! The book’s genre is mythology fiction. The reason I believe it is that genre is because it tells a spin off on the tale of Medusa.


The book Dreadlocks by Neal Shusterman is about a boy named Parker that is 15 and encounters and interacts with a 15 year girl named Tara. Who is actually over 1,000 years old! She has this effect on people that is very strange. And how they met is ever stranger. They met in Parkers bedroom! She gave the idea to Parker that nothing is yours! So she slept there, kinda like Goldie Locks. And the way she turns people to stone is way more creepier. When she meets people she stares at them (this is how she does it) after that she takes off her shades and gives them a look. A few hours after that happens they get paler, weaker, drink a lot of milk, and they eat dirt! After this goes on for about a week they turn to ... STONE! But Parker doesn’t quite notice until he got the gift to turn people into stone from her.


This book was so interesting for me. [Spoiler Alert] I liked the conflict in the story when Parker was so hungry to turn something living to stone, that he actually turned on this best friend and turned him into stone! After this happens his best friend later gets sick and eventually ... dies.

The book was also a definite page turner. The reason I believe this is because it gave such detail and a lot of events and conflicts. Also because every chapter was a fresh start. The chapter were short , so I read about 6 chapters a day and I finished the book in 3 days.


I would recommend this book to people who love mythology and love to read spin offs. I would recommend it to these people because this book is a pretty cool spin off Medusa’s life, also because it talks a lot about her life in ancient Greek. I would read more books like this because it just seems more interesting than the books I use to read and because it is a series s I can continue reading these type of books.

Reviewed by Yinka ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 710

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

This book is about 3 kids who one of them is determined to get unwind, but later one he changed dramatically. The other 2 team up to avoid unwinding. Risa, Connor, and Lev are now AWOL unwinds. Which is a crime. Read this book if you want to know what happens to Lev, Risa, and Connor. I think this a really GOOD book. Once you start reading it you will never want to put it down. I recommend this book to readers who like adventurous characters.

Reviewed by Jailine ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 740

Close to Famous by Joan Bauer

The book Close to Famous is an AWESOME book! The author is so good at what she does. She gives so much passion in the book, that you would believe that her life is like that, and that you ... yourself was actually in the story.The genre of this book would probably be Realistic Fiction. The reason I believe this is because the book gives such an essence of realism and such. I would recommend this book for anyone! I mean if you have dreams this is definitely the book to read about pursing your dreams and not letting anyone get in the way of it, even if some things are hard to overcome to complete your dream. I would be severely amazed if anyone did not like this book. It is an amazing book with so much potential and realism in it. I loved this book and I hope you love it too! It really taught me some life lessons that are really essential to life and it really does give you some hope that your dreams will soon come true. I hope you read it very soon!

Reviewed by Yinka ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 540

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Wonder by R.J. Palacio is a great book! This book is about a boy named August (Auggie) he has a severe deformity in his face and he just first stared going to school (5th grade). In the beginning he was worried about entering a real school cause he didn't go to a public school before. Three kids show Auggie around school. Auggie goes to the first day of school and he is very scared because he doesn't know how people will react when they see his face. Many things happen in this book. First he has friends and then he doesn't. In this book there are different chapters talking about how they feel about Auggie being in there life. In school he has a lot of problems because of his deformity the kids in school would be really mean to him. This story is gonna sure make you feel sad, happy, mad, etc. But this book not everyone is mean to August! If you want to know how August life goes you should really read this book its a really good book! I recommend this book to kids who are sacred to enter middle school. I recommend this book to people who think that they look ugly and worry to much about how they look for school.

Reviewed by Mili ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 790

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck by Jeff Kinney (Series Book 8)

I thought that the book was a amazing book. This book was filled with twist and turns you will never guess, so if you assume something will happen you will have to be pretty lucky to guess what it is. Also I liked how the book included many new characters to learn about and to see what affects they will have on greg heffleys life. This book also includes many new crazy things that will happen to greg. I also liked how long this book was, so for me this book wasn't to long and it wasn't to short so I read it at the speed that I thought was good for me. Another thing that I liked about the book was the story line, the story of what greg heffley is doing is fun, funny, nail biting, and scary so you have mixed feelings about the book and the characters. So if you want to read a book that is a book about different things and that will give you mixed feelings then I would recommend this book.

Reviewed by a 6th Grader

Lexile 1020

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a Mainstream School. He had been home schooled in till now he is going to Mainstream School. But he is being made fun of just because of his face. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep in New york city. And his mom does not want him to go to school but his dad wants him to go. I think the genre is Realistic Fiction. I RECOMMENDED AGE: 8-12 or older. I like this book because it's fun and sad at the same time. I think the type of person that would enjoy this book is every one R.I.P DAISY.

Reviewed by Jonathan

Lexile 790

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck by Jeff Kinney (Series Book 8)

This book is a boy named Greg. And he has a friend named Rowely and they tried to get lucky and they failed. Then my reaction was surprised. Then a long time ago Greg had a grandma that he loved and then she died and she had a diamond ring that was hers and then Greg found out that his mom was hiding a stash of teddy bears in her closet that Greg had in his childhood. Then Greg found a magic 8 ball. I recommend this book for grades 4th-8th. Read The book to find out what Greg does next.

Reviewed by Kevin ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 1020

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney (Series Book 7)

For Greg Heffley ''Valentines Day'' is drawing near as well as his school's annual ''Valentines Day Dance'' He knows who he wants to take, but things don't go so according to plan... I like this book cause the problems he gets into are just...um...yep. It was a very funny book, it actually made me literally laugh out loud. I would recommend this to people who think Valentines Day is a joke. So if you like reading and especially if you don't like reading this is the book for you!

Reviewed by Julian ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 1060

New Dinos: The Latest Finds! the Coolest Dinosaur Discoveries! by Shelley Tanaka

I would recommend this book to people that like the past. In this book you learn about new dinos and more about them like speed and agility.I read this book and loved it because it had info of dinos that i didn't know either they did this and that.

Reviewed by Jamie ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 1190

Now by Morris Gleitzman, Series Book 2

then is a really good book. it is the second book out of three. it is a story of a boy named felix and his best friend zelda. They are Jewish and world war 2 is going on. in the first book felix found zelda and protected her. now felix new that he had to keep her safe so they looked for parents to keep them safe. but it wasn't as easy as i thought it would be. i think every one should read this book its amazing.

Reviewed by Nikolas

Lexile 610

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

This book was the best book ever that i read. This book is about a boy who is deformed and he is just starting his first time ever going to school. His name is Augest/ Auggie. He went to the school for a tour. There was three students that are in the same grade in the school. There names were Julian, Charlotte and Jack. Then when the first day of school has something bad happened with one of the kids that Auggie went with. The genre is non-fiction. It is a wonderful book that you can read about a boy who is deformed and something bad happened.

Reviewed by Emma

Lexile 790

It's Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder

Its Raining Cupcakes is about a girl named Alice that moved with her mom. She moved because her mom dose not have enough money to pay for her shop. So she moved and her and her mom went and opened a cupcake shop. She missed her friends, but she makes new friends. What she dose want to know is that her friends from here are only friends with her because she owns a cupcake shop. When she finds out she throughs a fit and almost leaves. So there is a lot of drama but you have to read it to figure out. I recommend this book to people who like drama or people from 5th grade to 7th grade.

Reviewed by Nicole

Lexile 640

Dancing on the Edge by Han Nolan

This book is really good, I really liked it. I liked the part when the girl named Miracle was in the hospital and was getting crazy because bad things happened to her parents. They named her Miracle because when her mom was pregnant an ambulance hit her and she died, they took her mom to a hospital and the baby survived. I would recommend this book to 6th grade- 9th grade students. I think it is an awesome book to read.

Reviewed by Marisol ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 850

Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess by Rachel Renee Russell, Series Book 4

The book is a girl named Nikki who writes in her diary to tell us about her life.
I like this book because it tells the life of a girl that goes to Middle School. Her life is going around and around. Her enemy Mackenzie Hollister who makes her feel bad. Also Nikki has a little sister who makes her life miserable by saying things about Nikki. The genre is Realistic Fiction. I recommend this book too Mostly girls in 5th grade to 8th grade.

Reviewed by Vanessa ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 750

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

This book is fiction cause what happened to this girl can really happen to someone. This book is about a girl that wants to be a normal 6th grader but one day she tripped and fell and something happened to her two front teeth. She goes through pain, embarrassing head gear and on and off braces. She has many friends but it turns out that they are really friendly to her. Her "Friends" find out that she likes a boy and they make her ware things that she would never wear. They made her ware a mini skirt, a tight shirt and put a lot of makeup on and then they laughed at her witch made her sad and mad. One day that she goes to the dentist they find out that she doesn't need the head gear and braces any more. Read the book to find out why she doesn't need the head gear and braces. I would recommend this book to girls because there is lots of drama and its funny. I enjoyed this book because it was funny and it's something that could really happen.

Reviewed by Mia ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 410

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

This book is super good the main character is Raina she is just a normal girl in San Francisco. Her life is normal in till on day something terrible happens to her she thinks her life his ruined and now that she starring 7th grades it get worst but not that worst?? she to one of her class when then this boy that is only in 6th grade he ............. i wont wanna ruined the surprise..?. Then after her accident every day she goes to .... you should read the book!!!!! it get worst and worst whit a lot of pain so after that then the years go buy she is in 8th grade and well her friend are canid of mean to her and she thinks her life is not cool but any way thing get a little crazy around the book. I really recommend the book for all grade it real good and the most important i learned about this book and you well also know is to remember to smile and this book is a GRAPHIC NOVEL.

Reviewed by Nory ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 410

The Son of Neptune, by Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus, Book 2

The Son Of Neptune is about Percy Jackson and 2 people going on a quest to the ancient lands far from the gods to retrieve their Cohort's Eagle, free Thanatos, and weapons that were stolen a long time ago. Percy Jackson lost his memory because of Hera, she erased his memory and sent him to the Roman camp. The Legion accepts him and is taken to a quest by Frank and Hazel. They had to finish the quest before The Feast of Fortuna because that's when the giant, Polybotes, and his army attacks. The genre of this book is fiction because of giants, harpies, skeletons and a whole lot of whacky stuff. I enjoyed this book because of the deadline pushed them to go and discover unique things. I recommend this book for people who like Greek and Roman Mythology.

Reviewed by Christian ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 640

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney (Series Book 4)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is a realistic fiction novel. This book is about a middle school boy named Greg Heffley. Greg is not having exactly the best summer of his life. His dad got their family a new dog. If you're thinking that this is a really good thing think again because this new dog is causing a lot of problems. Greg's family is making him go to the town pool and to top it all off he owes Rowley's dad a lot of money for all of the smoothies that Rowley and him ordered at the country club. I really enjoyed reading this book for many reasons. This book is a really funny book I guarantee you that you will have a lot of fun reading this book and it is very short and easy to read.

Reviewed by Ana ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 1010

The Importance of John F. Kennedy by Michael V. Uschan

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29,1917 shortly after the united states entered world war I. The Kennedys moved to Bronxsville, New York when John was only ten years old when John was nine he played football. He graduated in 1935 65th out of 110 students. John F Kennedy served in the Navy where he took command of the motor torpedo boats PT- 109 and PT-59 from 1941-1945. He was the thirty-fifth president of the United States who served from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Events during his presidency were Cuban missile crisis, project Apollo and the building of the Berlin Wall. i learned about John F Kennedy and that he was a good man. I think he was brave and accomplished a lot.

Reviewed by Rian ~ 6th Grade

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck by Jeff Kinney (Series, Book 8)

In this book Hard Luck It is about a boy named Greg he finds his mom sister wedding ring was put in egg and he finds it, he doesn't tell his mom or dad. His mom aunt and her kids stay over. Greg has to sleep in his brother's room. The kids sleep in Greg's room, Greg hides the wedding ring in his brother's room. His family goes to dinner for Easter and he had to sit with her aunts kids or sit with a different girl that's his cousin. He sits by his cousin and he didn't see her for a long time. His friend Rowley is dating a girl named Abigail. And when he sees them in the cafeteria, they are sitting in the couple table. Greg was taking the pictures for the yearbook. He wanted to know who was the cutest couple. [SPOILER ALERT!!] It was Rowley and Abigail. I thought this book was a good book to read and I would recommend this book to people who like funny books.

Reviewed by Sabina ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 1020

Red Rider's Hood By Neal Shusterman ~ Dark Fusion Series, Book 2

The genre is fiction. I enjoyed this book because there was a conflict between the main character and two sides that do not agree with each other. I like this part in the book where the main character is convincing the leader of the wolf pack to move out of town. I think someone who enjoys fiction on werewolves and hunters would enjoy this book.

Reviewed by Skyler ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 760

Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata

In this book you will read about a dog named Cracker that is being sent off to fight in a war in Vietnam. Cracker gets put with her handler Rick. They will go through many adventures together and save many lives. At first Cracker didn't like anybody and was a very aggressive dog. She wouldn't let anyone near her. This is a historical fiction book and i would recommend it from grade levels 6-8. In this book I learned to never give up on somebody even if they have already given up on you. I think you should read this book if you enjoy an adventure book and a book that will keep you at the edge of your seat.

Reviewed by Samantha ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 730

Torn by Margaret Peterson Haddix ~ The Missing Series, Book 4

This scientific fiction is (mainly) about Jonah and Katherine traveling through time to save the history voyage of Henry Hudson, Canada in 1611. Their friends, Andrea, Brendan, Antonio, and JB are trapped in 1600 in Roanoke Island. Well, JB's name is not really JB, but Jonah and Katherine nick named him as that name because he was dressed like a Janitor Boy when they first met him before. JB is a time officer, but his most trusted projectionist (time traveler who predict what will happen in any time, and "project" means "predict" in this case), Second had decided to change the past to make more sense, but that made time mess up as well as the old travelers had. Jonah is an adopted brother of Katherine, he feels responsibility towards his sister, and shows some brave actions throughout the time (Also a missing child from unknown history). Katherine is Jonah's sister who love to time travel and have adventures, but she always shows caring towards her older brother (not adopted). 

When they arrived at Henry Hudson's ship, Jonah had to wear a costume of John Hudson (Henry Hudson,s son). The costume was bulletproof and stab proof, so that made Jonah feel more comforted. He was cheered at finding out that he would only have to pretend to be wild-haired, frostbitten, pockmarked, gap-toothed and disgustingly scarred. Even his voice sounded like John Hudson, because there was voice modification software in the teeth overlays, so even Katherine couldn't believe that Jonah was in there trying to act like John Hudson. As soon as they heard some footsteps, JB had made Katherine turn invisible, so no one can see her except Jonah, because only time travelers are able to see invisible travelers. But the time had gone all wrong, and the tracers had vanished (tracers are ghostly clone that appears when people or some objects are not in the right place, but only time travelers are able to find them, they also shows how original time should work for the characters that are messed up). Now Jonah and Katherine are totally by themselves, without the tracers and JB leading them. 

At the middle of the journey, a mysterious crew named Abacuk Prickett had made Jonah to make difficulty through his actions, but somehow Jonah thought he had met him before, somewhere. The history they remember is drastically different from what they're experiencing. Jonah and Katherine struggle to unravel the mysteries of 1611 and the Hudson Passage before their only future they've ever known is lost forever. This book changed my way of thinking about the Hudson Passage, and the harshness of the struggle to survive the frozen seas and brutal conditions aboard the ship. This book might explain a little about the possibilities of time traveling, and how dangerous it might be. But it will be a great book to learn some histories while enjoying the struggles and the adventures that flows throughout the story. This book is enjoyable, even though you might have not read the first three series yet, but it could be good for someone who couldn't focus in social studies class! If you want to know what will happen to their future, and how Jonah and Katherine will solve through travels of struggles and the mystery of Abacuk Prickett, as well as the mystery of the Hudson Passage, try to find out with your cleverness of reading!

Reviewed by Sumika ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 720

The Properties of Water by Hannah Roberts McKinnon

In the story The Properties of Water thirteen year old Lace and her older sister Marni loved to swim and were pretty great at it too. The sisters once shared everything. Living in her older sisters shadow was sometimes hard for Lace because their was no escaping Marni's beauty, intelligence, and humor. All of that changed one very sad summer afternoon. The accident takes Lace's mom and older sister away from her leaving her with her dad. As summer passes by can Lace return to the water? The very thing that tore her family apart? Read the book to find out!

Reviewed by Danyela ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 1210