Unremembered by Jessica Brody

During the course of this year, I read a book called Unremembered by Jessica Brody. In the beginning of the story, a girl, supposedly named Violet had been found drifting in the Pacific Ocean, where a plane had crashed. When she was found, she was taken to the hospital right away. Everybody thought that she’d been on that plane. But how come she had been the only survivor, with no injuries whatsoever, except that she had lost all her memory and now has amnesia. Violet doesn’t know her name, so everybody calls her “Violet”, because she has purple eyes. 

She also doesn’t know her age, but she was tested and the doctors have proved that she is a 16 year old teenage girl. She doesn’t know who her family is, doesn’t know where she’s from, and she practically doesn’t know anything about the world or herself, but she can speak all sorts of languages, knows how to solve really complicated math problems, and runs faster than… anything! 

While she was in the hospital, the doctors were trying to find out who her family was, but nobody claimed that they knew her. One of the nurses told Violet that some families came in and out saying that they knew her, but when they were interviewed they knew nothing about the LOCKET. So after a while she was sent to live with a foster family, Heather (mom), Scott (dad), and Cody (brother). Something strange that kept happening was that Violet kept seeing this unknown boy who claimed to know her. He started to tell her a lot of things that explained most of the things Violet was questioning. He told her things about the locket, Violet's real name, and he also said that they were in love. 

READ THE BOOK TO FIND OUT! To conclude, I thought that this book was AMAZING. It was great. I loved the entire series! (Unremembered, Unforgotten, and Unchanged). I would totally recommend this book to anybody who likes a little bit of science fiction, mystery, and romance. Overall, I thought that this book was great and that anybody would enjoy it!

Reviewed by Erica ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 610

Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer

One Kid, A Perfect Murder, A Faceless Witness. I was really enticed and interested. It was awesome. I would really like to recommend it to people it is a who dun- it book that's funny and interesting.

Reviewed by Joshua ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 790

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (book 1) by Ransom Riggs

Jacob Portman believed he had a normal life until a great tragedy happens. He then has to go to Wales to discover his grandfather's hidden past. Little does he know that the stories he was told as a kid were real the whole time. A mysterious orphanage that serves as the home for many peculiar children. Children who can levitate or control fire with their hands. 

Once he arrives at the island he learns that the orphanage is destroyed due to the bomb attacks during the holocaust. Then during one of his search missions into the house he finds proof that the kids that used to live in the house might still be alive. Thrust into a world full of wonder, he must decide whether he stays with the peculiar children or return to his "normal" life back home. 

This book is well written and full of mystery. It constantly kept me on my seat asking what would happen next. The book is full of creepy, but amazing vintage pictures. The one thing that I felt disappointed about was the lack of scary moments. The book took more of a whimsical and fun turn then I had expected. I still think this book is good due to the fact that the author wove a story out of a bunch of random pictures. I found this to be really creative and new. I recommend this book to anyone whose interested in fantasy and mystery books.

Reviewed by Daniel ~ 8th Grade

Lexile 890

Timmy Failure We Meet Again by Stephan Pastis

Timmy is a middle schooler with a polar bear as his best friend. Their hobby is being detectives and solving mysteries around their community. For example, one time they had to catch the thief that stole his classmate Carl’s bag of candy. Within that same school, Timmy has a friend called Rollo. Their relationship is a love-hate kind. Timmy gets jealous of his good grades. One day, their class got assigned a nature project. Basically, they had to collect rare objects like flowers, sticks, or leaves and present their origin to the class. The teacher paired Timmy with “the beast” also known as Corina Corina. Timmy hates her, because she’s his rival detective. He doesn't like the competition she gives him due to her high quality detective gadgets, but he’s glad that she ended up doing all the work for the project. 

On an infamous afternoon, Rollo was helping his teacher clean his classroom when he stumbled upon an old pile of papers from a previous class. In the pile he found a report that had an A+++ on the paper. After he read it, he realized that it was the same nature project his teacher assigned to the class the previous day. Seeing a selfish opportunity, Rollo took the paper from the pile and left. A week passed until the teachers realized that the “Miracle Report” was stolen. The principal thought that it was Timmy, and he called him into his office for an interrogation. In reality, Timmy was innocent. By the time the school went on a camping field trip, the rumor of the stolen report had all the students trying to find the report themselves and claim it as their own for a good grade. Timmy was determined to find out who the real thief was, although he also wanted the report for himself. Meanwhile, Corrina Corrina also tried to find the report but just to turn it in to her teacher. 

[Spoiler ALERT]

On the second night in the woods, Timmy went to the bathroom because he couldn't sleep. He saw Rollo there with the miracle report in his hands. Rollo was freaking out at the trouble he has caused for himself and the whole school. Before Timmy could react, another student walked in and stole it from Rollo’s hands. Immediately, from fear, Rollo ran into the woods. Timmy and Corrina Corrina, who was spying on the boys, ran after Rollo for answers. Unfortunately, Rollo ran into a tree and fell unconscious to the ground. Corrina Corrina and Timmy sat in a log beside him to talk and share an awkward kiss. Back at school, the current thief tried claiming the “Miracle Report” as his own, but obviously got caught. At the end, the miracle report got returned, Corrina Corrina shared her credit for the project with Timmy, and Rollo ended up with his first ever B grade.

Reviewed by Anthony ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 480 

Famous Last Words by Katie Alender

This book grabbed my attention with the front cover. A girl is lying on a bed looking at the reflection of the ghost that haunts her house. In this story, a girl named Willa moves in with her stepfather Jonathan, a famous movie director. Willa’s mom and him got married and moved to Los Angeles. The night they moved in Jonathan tells Willa and her mom about the Hollywood Killer that’s terrorizing their town. The Killer reenacts murder scenes from famous movies. But he does not just murder anyone, he murders actresses – and all his victims so far were the same age as Willa. In this murder mystery Willa meets Wyatt a super-smart guy that does not like her. When she ends up with his personal notebook, she finds out a big secret. Along with all this, she has to deal with the ghost that was murdered in her new house. When Willa is in danger she has to confront the ghost. Her best friend Marnie goes missing, and Willa finds the most important information, which puts her at a huge risk of being the next victim. In Famous Last Words, Willa can’t trust anyone but herself and Wyatt, who she soon befriends. If you love murder books or suspense books, then you’ll love Famous Last Words. The genre is mystery and suspense.

Reviewed by Amy ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 660

Vanishing Act by John Feinstein

In the book Vanishing Act by John Feinstein, the main characters Stevie Thompson and Susan Carol Anderson are back together to solve another mystery, this time at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. Susan Carol is attending the U.S. Open to report for her local newspaper in North Carolina. Susan Carol invites Stevie to stay at her uncle’s apartment and attend the U.S. Open with her. They are having a lot of fun watching the tennis tournament until a famous tennis player named Nadia Symanova disappears while walking to her first match. Everywhere there is panicking and confusion within the tournament and media. Stevie and Susan Carol, with the help of some adult reporters, try to find out what is happening. They look at the tournament brackets to see who would benefit most from Symanova being out of the tournament. After a couple days, Symanova returns healthy and fine and claims she was kidnapped. Stevie and Susan Carol find this a bit strange. With time running out before a big match, Stevie and Susan Carol are trying to find out what is going on and what Symanova and her parents aren't telling everyone.

The reason I am sharing this book with you is I really enjoyed it and it had a great plot and it was very interesting. This book kept my attention and made me want to read more every time I picked it up. The genre of this book is mystery. I think if you like mysteries and fast-paced books with lots of action, you will love this book. I would also recommend reading Last Shot also by John Feinstein because this is the book where you first meet Stevie and Susan Carol.

Reviewed by Gavin ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 760

Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac

The book I'm presenting is called Skeleton Man. The author is Joseph Bruchac. The genre is horror. This book is about a mysterious disappearance of this girls parents named Molly, and she is forced to live with her so-called “uncle”. Her “uncle” has a very strange house and she always gets locked in her room at night. She starts to have these dreams about the skeleton man story that her dad use to tell her. She gets help from her teacher when she starts to get paranoid. But she doesn't tell the school about getting help from a rabbit that she saved in her dreams.

Every morning Molly is forced to eat breakfast that her “uncle” makes her. But every day that she eats she feels weird and falls asleep quickly. Most mornings she takes the food in a Tupperware and while she’s waiting for the school bus she dumps the food down the sewers. One day she got home from school and her uncle wasn't home and she went to her room but she saw her uncle's office room door open. He usually doesn't leave the door open but this time he did, so Molly went in and saw cameras that were hooked up on the front door, back door and her room door. That night she saw her uncle in his “tool shed” and she was going to run away but she went inside the tool shed.

You'll have to read the book to find out what's in the tool shed.

Reviewed by Chase ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 730

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney

This book is about a girl named Janie Johnson. She has been missing since she was 3. She disappeared in New Jersey this is how she found out that she was kidnapped. One day she was at lunch and she just stole her friend's milk and drank it. Then she just looks at the missing child picture and sees herself there but that was when she was 3 and she is 15 now. She tells her friends but nobody believes her but then she tells her neighbor/friend Reeve and he does. Reeve and Janie don’t want this to be true. 

[SPOILER ALERT]

But then Janie and Reeve start figuring out clue after clue after clue and their world starts crashing around them until finally they find out it is true she was kidnapped but not by Mr. and Mrs. Johnson but by their daughter Hannah a cruel vicious criminal. The main characters in this book are the Janie Reeve and Janie's “parents”. The theme of this book is you should be happy with what you have and don’t take advantage of anything. I recommend this book to everybody except for parents.

Reviewed by Hadeel ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 660

Dead Girls Don't Write Letters by Gail Giles

Sunny Reynolds, is the most bravest and most curious girl I have read about. This is a fiction book on Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters by Gail Giles. This is about a girl named Sunny, with things getting a little better until she got a letter from her dead sister. That more or less ruined her day. Let me tell you how this whole thing begins. When Sunny’s older sister, Jazz, ran away to New York, Sunny was secretly relived. Everyone loved Jazz,  talked about Jazz, wished they could be Jazz’s friend. Jazz was perfect and Sunny was... well not Jazz. Then Jazz’s apartment burn down tragically, and Jazz was presumed dead. Sunny’s family, already broken by divorce. While the dad’s drinking is sky high, and mom’s depression hits rock bottom. And Sunny’s left to cope with it all. Then Sunny found a letter in the mail from Jazz saying she is fine and coming home. But how? Jazz is dead, isn't she? Read the book to find out!  I enjoyed this book because I liked the suspense and how mysterious it was. I think the theme was that, you don’t need to be someone else to be noticed. Be who you are, not who the world wants you to be; don’t try to be someone else. Be yourself  because everyone else is already taken. I recommend this book to people who feel self conscious about themselves.

Reviewed by Jasmine ~ 6th Grade 

Lexile 550

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

This is a really great and unique book. The story is surely one you’ll never forget. There were eight people invited to an island and two people were the workers. They were all asked to come by an unknown person, Mr.Owen. They thought that he and his wife were rich because it was told that a millionaire bought the island and made the mansion. Unfortunately they were wrong and they were wrong about his plans too. In each bedroom there is a children’s nursery rhyme. What the guests didn’t know is that one by one they would be killed guided by the nursery rhyme. All they know is the murderer is one of them. Stuck on island with no way out, they are doomed to face their fate. Sadly they won’t ever know who was the person that had killed them all. One main reason why I enjoyed this book is because Agatha Christie doesn’t tell you who the murderer was. You’ll need to be smart enough to figure it out yourself. If you think you are clever enough to find out the motive and who the murderer is, then I strongly recommend this book.

Reviewed by an 8th Grader

Lexile 570

The View From The Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts,

This book is about a secret murderer that killed Mrs. Calloway pushing her out of the window and catching her self on a strap of the binoculars she was wearing. Hanging on the cherry tree Rob was right in front of her watching as she dies slowly. They try to figure out who the murderer was with the evidence Rob saw. The murderer is trying to get the information from Rob because he wants to know if he is in trouble. Rob still doesn't know who the murderer is yet. At the end Rob thinks the murderer is...

Read it yourself to find the murderer of Mrs. Calloway.

Reviewed by Kassandra ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 770

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events ~ Bk. 1)

If you want to read a book that starts with "Once Upon a Time" and has a happy ending then you are reading the wrong book. The bad events get straight to the point, while the Baudelaire Orphans Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are at the beach, a close friend from their parents comes and tells them the worst news ever, their parents and their mansion burned from a fire! Now after they moved in with a unknown cousin from possibly their fathers side. They arrive at the neighborhood and they notice the most beautiful, big house in the neighborhood, but as always that is just there next door neighbor's house. Sadly the house they will be living in is old, dark and scary and even to make things even more creepy there are eyes carved everywhere in the house. Count Olaf their official legal guardian who they are staying with is a tall and skinny man with a unpleasant face. After time passes they are trying to get used to the uncomfortable house while only sharing ONE bed for the three of them. [SPOILER ALERT!!!] They realize how rude, mean, and dangerous Olaf can be, the oldest sibling Violet gets their family's riches as soon as she is of age. Soon they found out that Count Olaf wants the riches from Violet, but the only way he can do that is by marrying her. Olaf has the worlds dirtiest plan, but not if the middle child Klaus has to do with it. Will count Olaf get the riches from Violet or will he fail?

Reviewed by K. T. D. ~ 6th Grade

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Student Book Review:

This is a great book about three children's lives that are filled with misery and woe. There life starts out this way when they receive bad news from there bank accountant who informs them that their beloved parents died in a fire. But not only their parents were gone what was also left behind in the fire was there belongings their home but most of all their happiness.But how ever they did have their enormous fortune that they will be able to use once the eldest becomes of age. Soon after they are sent to a evil man named Count Olaf. Count Olaf is up to no good once the orphans realize he is after their fortune. This book has a bunch of crazy twists that continue through out the story. And also a unexpected scheme that Count Olaf has planned that involves a marriage! Will Count Olaf get away with this? Please check out this wonderful book to find out.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. And trust me I am not a big fan of reading but I couldn't put this book down! I was up all night reading chapter after chapter just to see what happens next. I would recommend this book to grades fifth through eighth. If you are interested check it out you won't regret it!

Reviewed by Kaitlynne ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 1010