Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

The book Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick is such a wonderful book. It has all the components to making a memorable story. It has amazing characters such as Nora, who is so likable it's crazy! And crazy spins that will make you re-read a chapter to make sure it's correct. 

The book is about a girl named Nora who comes to find that her new lab partner is not what he seems. He may act all cocky and cool but that really isn't the truth it's just a cover up. And what's going on with all these accidents that seem to point to Nora? Is someone after her? Is someone trying to kill her? 

Join Nora to figure out who's doing this, and what does this person want. Check out this book if you love great twists and fantasy novels. But mostly a romantic book that brings both the dark and the light to create a middle ground that is likable by both sides.

Reviewed by Yinka ~ 8th Grade

Lexile 640

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

This book is about a girl that runs away on her wedding day. Her name is Lia, and she runs away with her friend Pauline. She makes it to a village, were she meets Pauline's aunt, Berdi. They also meet some other people. Later on, two boys come into the Inn, and their names are, Kaden, the assassin who needs to kill Lia, and Rafe, the man Lia was supposed to marry. Lia falls in love with Rafe and Kaden, but then Kaden kidnaps Lia, and takes her away as his prisoner. 

I thought that this book was a very good book. It balanced romance, violence, and action. I would recommend this book to others, because it is very interesting, and it has a lot of suspense. Read the book to find out if Lia makes it out alive.

Reviewed by Anja ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 830

How to Survive a Sharknado by Andrew Shaffer

This is a very comedic book that teaches you about fake unnatural disasters that have been shown in movies and pop culture. It is based on the movie series Sharknado even including testimonies from the film's many characters. This book has various tips and trick to survive in the apocalyptic world we live in. It's of full information on things like Manticores and Stonados. 

I loved reading this book. It's a rather short and funny read. I recommend this to anyone who wants to read something more on the easy side. This was a great book that doesn't take itself to serious.

Reviewed by Daniel ~ 8th Grade

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

I think this is a good book for someone that hates their annoying older or younger siblings. In “Sisters,” the latest graphic memoir by Raina Telgemeier, it is the summer before high school and Raina is stuck between a squirrely little brother and a volatile younger sister in a van without air conditioning.  I think this book is very funny and shocking. I recommend this book to you and this book is also in a series Smile/Sisters/Drama.

Reviewed by Patricia ~ 7th Grade

Lexile 290

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter is a boy who was told that he was a wizard. When he was a little baby his parents were killed by a very evil wizard. He lived with his aunt and uncle. His room was very small because he slept in a tiny closet under the stairs. All of a sudden letters come in threw windows and doors and everywhere. He was invited to a place he had never dreamed of. He went to a school called Hogwarts. He met two friends. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasly. They stuck together and explored the school. They do many things like hatch a dragon egg, ride a broom stick for the first time and even befriend a giant. He finds not only friends, aerial sports and magic everywhere but a destiny that's been waiting for him. Only if Harry survives an encounter.

Reviewed by Zuzanna ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 880

Hachiko Waits by Leslea Newman

It's about a dog who got lost and he tried to find someone to help him which he had no luck and then this guy called master/professor took him and called him Hachiko in Chinese means the number 8 eight was professors lucky number that's why he called him that hachi did not know how to bark or throw a ball one day professor had to go to work and hachi sneaked out behind him and followed him to the train station and then hachi finally wanted to learn how to throw the ball and he did and professor left for his train and hachi stood there for hours waiting and 

[Spoiler Alert] 

professor had a heart attack and hachi STILL waited for hours then it became days then weeks lastly months i recommend this book to be in our school library.

Reviewed by Ashleigh ~ 7th Grade

Lexile 770

Tell Me by Joan Bauer

It is about a girl named Anna who feels powerless and scared. Due to her parents separation because of her father's anger, Anna is sent off to spend the summer with her grandma. While she works on making new friends and helping, she sees a girl being forced to do things that she does not want to like getting in to a car. When they go inside the car, the girl opens the door and tries to jump out though the women chases her and brings her back. Anna cares. She calls the police and has lots of headaches before the case is solved. Family problems are solved and her mom calls for her to come back, Anna cares about the girl and she tells her mom that she’s on a mission. Her mom talks to her grandma and she could stay for a month only.

Reviewed by Bhumi

Lexile 500

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

This book is awesome I recommend it to you!!!

If you like graphic novels this is the book you should read next. This book is related to me because I have a sister that is mean and we always fight. This is a very funny book if you have a sister this is going to remind you of all the things you fight about.

Reviewed by Lisette

Lexile 290

Rump by Liesl Shurtliff

In a magical tale where your name is your destiny twelve year old Rump finds a old spinning wheel belonging to his deceased mother. Then he discovers his gift of spinning straw in to Gold. As his only friend Red warns him his gift is dangerous he seems not to care. Each time he spins, he spins himself into a dangerous cures. Go on the adventure with Rump to see his destiny in this book Rump. I recommend this book to fairy tale lovers my reaction is heartwarming I think this book is a funny but still heartwarming tale on a wonderful story.

Reviewed by Reece ~ 7th Grade

Lexile 660

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (Series bk. 1)

This book is about an infection spreading throughout the whole world and there are villages with fences to keep the "unconsecrated" (unconsecrated are the zombies that if you get bitten you "Return" and turn into one.) out. No one knows if there are other villages, if there are more survivors. 

In the first book the main character is Mary and her father died or got bitten and her mother kind of went crazy. Her mom waits at the fence every day waiting for her husband to come back perfectly fine, but he never does. 

[SPOILER] 

So one day Mary is down by a river with her old friend Harry (who loves her, but she doesn't like him that way) and while she is down there her mom is by the fence and the alarm goes off. (The alarm only goes off if someone is bitten or a unconsecrated brakes loose and is in the village.) Mary runs to her mom and she is too late. 

If you love fast pace books this is defiantly that! This is also a little bit of romance. Mary loves Harry 's brother Travis. Harry Loves Mary. Travis starts to fall for Mary but is already named to his wife Cass, Mary's best friend. 

So I won't tell you anymore about the first book but let me tell you it's amazing so fast paced and the author rips your heart apart and puts it all back but still missing pieces. 

[SPOILER] 

The second book to the series is The Dead Tossed Waves it's about what Mary's life is like after she leaves the Village except you don't know who she is because the main character is different. But you eventually find out and all the pieces fit together. The last book ties all the series together you have to read them because if I start really getting into them then you wouldn't even have to read them!

Reviewed by Hannah ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 900

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey ~ The Movie Trailer - Jan 2016

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this series! I cannot wait for the movie and book three that comes out in May 2016. We have plenty of copies of The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey in the LRC. I highly recommend it if you like sci-fi, suspense, and lots of action. If you do read it let me know what you think by stopping by the LRC for a chat about the book, posting a book review, or commenting to this post. I look forward to hearing from you.

Posted by Mrs. Lopez ~ Librarian

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson

Forge is the sequel to "Chains". The author gives you the other main characters point of view. Again she does not disappoint the reader. I learned so much about a soldier's and a slave's life during this time period.

Reviewed by Mrs. Larson

Lexile 820

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

I cannot believe it took me so long to read this fascinating novel. I did not want to put it down. If you have not read it, treat yourself and read it. The novel will not disappoint.

Reviewed by Mrs. Larson

Lexile 780

The Clique by Lisi Harrison

What if you had to move into the queen bee of your school's house? Who hates you and doesn't even wanna talk to you. When Claire Lyons has to move into her Dad's best friend from high school's house. All the way from Orlando to New York City. Along with his wife and Bratty daughter Massie who constantly teases and bullies Claire. When all Claire wants to do is fit in and be Massie's friend. She is constantly rejected by Massie and her Friends. When she can't find friends due to bullying she finds Lanye Her new best friend. And if Claire can't be friends with Massie and Her clique she will find herself bulling Massie and trying to replace her Read the first book in The Clique Series.

Reviewed by a 7th Grader

Lexile 790

The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

If you love reading about world wars then here is a book about that, this book is how they treated people during the world war 2 when Hitler was a bad dictator, this book has animals instead of humans, the cats are the Nazi's the mice are the Jews and the pigs are the soldiers. I recommend this book to people that are interested to read a book that just tells you how they lived thru the holocaust and how the gas chambers looked liked this is a graphic novel it haves both of the books in one volume, part 1 and 2.

Reviewed by Raul ~ 7th Grade

El Deafo by Cece Bell

I read the book El Deafo. It is about a real story that happened to the author Cece Bell. It is about a young girl who gets meningitis. She soon is unable to hear. This book takes place in the 70's so science is not as advanced as now so she has to wear BIG hearing aids. Her journey is rough but she lives through it. Halfway through the book Cece came up with a nickname for herself named El Deafo. I liked this book because it is one of my favorite kind of books, a comic book! The author from Wonder, R. J. Palacio said "I love El Deafo! It's everything you could want in a book: funny and touching and oh so smart."


Reviewed by Allie ~ 6th Grade

Rebecca Caudill 2016 Book Trailers

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The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan ~ (Ranger's Apprentice: book 1)

Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan is the first book in a 12-book series (which I've read all of them so I know they whole thing). It all starts with an orphan boy named Will and his orphan friends Alyss, Jenny, and Horace. Choosing day is coming up. Now at this point your probably asking yourself "What's Choosing day is it like Harry Potter or something"? Well I'm glad you asked, Choosing day is a event in which every 15 year old chooses a class (or a job specifically) that will be with them for the rest of their lives. They have multiple classes but I'm gonna name a few. They have Courier, Ranger, Knight, and Cooker (or something like that).

I recommend you read the book to know what all these classes are because if I told you the definition of every class then we'd be here for hours. So let's just focus on two in particular, a Ranger and a Knight. A Knight is something every fantasy reader should know so I'm gonna skip that. A ranger is a very special force that specializes in planning wars and deadly assassinations. Now at first Will wants to be a Knight but he's too short and not strong enough. So he doesn't get chosen to that class. To make things worse no other teacher (or whatever they call them) wants Will. Then the Ranger Halt passes a note to Baron Arald. (Baron: A position before king or queen. Kinda the second most important person in a kingdom or Fief.)

Skipping ahead Will gets accepted as a Ranger and starts training. In order to stop you from getting bored I provide you with one last sentence. Just then as Will is training a storm's brewing as evil Morgarath is planning a war, and a deadly war for sure.

So that's about it there are HUGE bits and pieces I've missed out so be sure to read the first book. Also here's a quick note: The first book MAY be boring because it's introducing you to everything but as you read for book 2 beyond everything gets better. I don't think you should skip around between the books as that will confuse you. Thanks for reading and be sure to check out Ranger's Apprentice at the Grove JR High Library (In the fantasy section).

Reviewed by Conrad ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 920

I Am Number Four (book 1) by Pittacus Lore

I Am Number Four is an a amazing book where Four or John Smith is a alien from the planet Lorien. Nine of them came and three are dead. John and his guardian Henri hide from there enemy the Mogadorians that are trying to kill them.  John is in the process of developing his powers for example he can use his hands as flashlights or is fire/heat resistant. I would rate this book 9 out of 10. This is the first book of the series, Lorien Legacies and I look forward to reading the rest of the books.

Reviewed by Brendon ~ 8th Grade

Lexile 800

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

Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman

This book is about a girl named Lara. Lara just got told off on Facebook. She thought that Christian liked her, that he was finally going to ask her to his school's homecoming dance. It's been a long time since Lara's felt this bad, this depressed. She's worked really hard since starting high school to be happy and make new friends.

Bree used to be BBFs with overweight, depressed Lara in middle school, but constantly listening to Lara's problems got to be too much. Bree's secretly glad that Christian's pointed out Lara's flaws to the world. Lara's not nearly as great as everyone thinks.

After weeks of talking online, Lara thought she knew Christian, so what's with this sudden change? And where does he get off saying horrible things on her wall? Even worse, are they true? But no one realized just how far Christian's harsh comments would push Lara. Not even Bree.

As online life collides with real life, the truth starts to come together and the backlash is even more devastating than anyone could have imagined. I recommend this to people that like mystery because its interesting book and also grades 6-8 would like this book.

Reviewed by Amy ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 770

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 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney is about a boy named Greg and his family. In the story a big blizzard hits town and Greg’s dad might not even be home for Christmas. The genre is realistic fiction. I enjoyed this book because this book was really interesting to me. I recommend this book to people who like diary of the wimpy kid books.
In my opinion this is one of the best diary of a wimpy kid books.

Reviewed by Wiktor ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 1060

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

Emmy and The Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell

The book Emmy and The Incredible Shrinking Rat is about a girl whose parents recently inherited lots of money and a house (from a relative), and are now traveling all the time without Emmy. They don’t seem to want to be around their daughter anymore. Emmy’s nanny, Miss Barmy, tells Emmy that if she is a good girl, then her parents will love her and want to be around her more. Emmy tries very hard to be a good girl, but she is ignored by everyone except the class pet, the Rat. Ever since the rat bit Emmy she can hear him talk, and he is very sarcastic. So one day at school Emmy wrote a note, rolled it up tight and pushed it between the bars of the rat’s cage just as the bell rang. Emmy didn’t bother to make sure no one was looking at her, well because no one ever did. A boy in her class named Joe went up to Emmy and started to talk to her; but that was a first for Emmy because nobody talked to her. Anyway Joe finds out the rat can actually talk, and they get caught up in a conflict with Miss Barmy.Will Joe help Emmy with Miss Barmy? Will Emmy’s parents ever really notice her? Read the book to find out.

Reviewed by Jasmine ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 780

Goosebumps HorrorLand: Help! We Have Strange Powers! by R. L. Stine

Goosebumps Help? We Have Strange Powers

Jillian and Jackson are twins, yet they're quite different. Jillian is an athlete, while Jackson hates any kind of exercise. In one way they're alike: they despise the new kids at school. Nina and Artie Lerner are also twins, but they're bumbling, clueless, and just plain difficult to be around. So Jillian and Jackson are not exactly pleased when Nina and Artie show up at the movies, joining them and managing not only to ruin Jackson's new sweater but to get all four kids thrown out of the movie theater. And Jillian and Jackson don't even get to see the superhero movie they've been dying to catch.

Both Jillian and Jackson are in foul moods after they are ousted from the theater. But they perk up when they see a fortune teller's booth with a wooden fortune teller inside. They can't resist. They put a quarter in the slot, but the old fortune teller's hand doesn't reach the opening in the booth. So Jackson reaches way deep inside the booth, while Jillian pushes on his shoulders to extend his stretch. And that's when they get zapped with electricity --- so hard that Jillian actually bites her tongue. When they finally manage to recover, they read the fortune teller's card: "Welcome to HorrorLand."

The twins have no idea what that means, so they just forget about it --- until much later. Meanwhile, life continues for the twins, but it's not exactly the same. For one thing, they can't help but notice that Jillian can read everyone's mind (which means she's answering questions people are just thinking). Jackson can suddenly levitate objects, such as a bottle of syrup during breakfast along with a waffle or two. He even makes one of the school cafeteria chairs float in the air. The twins decide they need to figure out more about their newly acquired powers, although Jackson can't resist freezing the clock to avoid a quiz in class.
HELP! WE HAVE STRANGE POWERS! is another enjoyably frightening installment in the ever-so-creepy Goosebumps HorrorLand series, topped off with the expected invite to the scariest amusement park on earth. R.L. Stine manages to twist the plot in a totally unforeseen way and to inject some laugh-out-loud moments, while continuing his tradition of terror-filled tales. Fans of the series will also be happy to catch up with the characters from the previous episodes as they all strive to survive the fear-provoking events in HorrorLand: "Where Nightmares Come to Life!"

Reviewed by Michael ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 390

Dear Dumb Diary, Let's Pretend this Never Happened by Jim Benton

I read Lets Pretend this Never Happened from the Dear Dumb Diary Series. The genre of the book is Non-Fiction. This book was about a girl named Jamie, pretty much the class clown. While on the other hand there was a girl named Angeline, the most gorgeous popular girl in the school. Angeline was always better than Jamie and Jamie got jealous. One day Angeline turns "Not so gorgeous if your on her left side" and Jamie gets some revenge on her part. Angeline is always a step ahead of Jamie and her BFF Isabella and they were getting tired of it. Suddenly Angeline suddenly does something nice to Jamie and Isabella. This could possibly change their friendship all together. I recommend this book to anyone who likes humor and action. Once you start reading you cant stop, and as soon as you know it you are finished with the book!

Reviewed by Emily ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 1120

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

The title of this book is Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. The genre is non-fiction because it is a true story. The issue of this book is that Mitch's old professor has ALS. This caused them to meet every Tuesday to learn the meaning of life. Somethings he talks about are the world, feeling sorry for yourself, regrets, death, family, money, and marriage. After these conversations, Mitch changes the way he lives his life. I learned that you have to live life to the fullest while you can, always tell people your feelings, and let them know that you forgive them. I learned a lot from Morrie's lessons. On page 82, Morrie tells Mitch “Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.” I liked this book because, yes my mom encouraged me to read it, but I learned that there is more to life than I thought and it was a challenge for me because it is higher than my reading level. I would recommend this book to people who want to learn more about the meaning of life and to people who want to know how it feels to have ALS. I would also recommend this book to people who can relate to how it feels to have a special bond with someone.

Reviewed by Aaron ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 830

My Big Fat Zombie Gold Fish The Seaquel: The Seaquel by Mo O'Hara

There was one kid named Tom who had a pet goldfish named Frankie with a evil brother scientist named Mark. Tom rescued his pet goldfish from his big brother Mark's toxic scientist experiment by zapping him back to life with a battery and Frankie somehow became a BIG FAT ZOMBIE GOLDFISH with dangerous hypnotic powers. And now Tom and his family is going on for a annual family trip to the seaside. Until they heard a evil El on El bay. Will they ever get out of El bay before they all become a El snack? What I think about this book is that its funny and has lots of action.

Reviewed by Benicio ~ 6th Grade

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

The boy in the striped pajamas is about how a boy and his family move to a different town because his father was one of the soldiers for the Nazis. One day the boy named bruno was on a walk and he found a fence with a boy behind it. They talked to each other everyday but then a conflict happens and bruno wants to help him. Will bruno help the boy in striped pajamas.

Reviewed by Emily ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 1080

Graveyard Plot by Jason Strange

The book I read was the Graveyard Plot. In the first part of the book they have to go to their grandfather's house to clean it out because he went to a nursing home. When they were cleaning the house they found a picture of the grandpa with his friend before he disappeared. When they brought it up to the grandpa he freaked out because he went on a treasure hunt and the kids had the map where he lost his friend. 

[SPOILER ALERT]

The grandpa was freaking out because he went on in and he luckily got away but he lost his best friend. The grandpa’s grandson’s friend took him on the hunt. When the got in the graveyard an old lady caught them and realized that he was the grandson. But they didn’t listen and the friend ended up disappearing with the other friend that also disappeared.

Reviewed by James ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 410

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

Sisters by Raina Telgemeir

Sisters by Raina Telgemeir is about a girl called Raina, her sister Amara, and their little brother. They are going to a family meeting at their cousins’ house. There are three of them, Josh, Jeremy, and Lindsay. They thought very differently from Raina since they were already adults at age 20 to 30, while Raina is still 14. 

[SPOILER ALERT]

They stayed there for a week. Later on during the trip, the car broke down. Raina’s mom went with their little brother to get a tow truck while Raina and Amara stayed inside the truck. Then, all of a sudden, they found a snake! Amara grabbed it. Later, their mom came back to them and they went home.

Reviewed by Gabriel ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 290

I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii, 79 A. D. by Lauren Tarshis

The genre of this book is adventure and historical fiction. This book I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii, 79 A. D. is about a boy who has difficulty in escaping Mt. Vesuvius. His name is Marcus. Marcus used to be the slave of Linus Selius, a scientist, and his father, Tata, helped the man out with his studies. When the scientist died, Tata was sold, and Marcus' life at Festus' house in Pompeii became very difficult. Pompeii is seeing a lot of natural disturbances, and when there is great trembling in the marketplace it knocks an old lady down, Marcus helps her up. She warns him that disastrous times are coming and advises that he should "Follow the Hand of Mercury.” When Marcus sees gladiators coming into town and recognizes his father, he is determined to rescue his father from certain death. The disturbances, as well as the appearance of a horse the two are able to ride, make this escape possible, but Tata feels forced to go back to the town and let everyone know that the disaster is coming and that everyone should get away. The guards don't take the slaves seriously and their freedom is again in peril. Can the two survive not only the volcano but also the evil Festus? I would recommend this book to people who enjoy adventure and historical fiction.

Reviewed by Adriana ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 700

The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for Love of a Family by Dave Pelzer

The book The Lost Boy is about a boy named Dave Pelzer. He got taken away from his mom who abused him violently. He goes to foster homes in search for the perfect family that will take him into their home. But every time Dave went to a foster home the same story would just repeat over and over again. He would stay in a foster home for six months and then he would have to leave to another home. He spent years to find the perfect home, but every time he found one bad things would start to happen to him. Kids always teased him for how he looked and dressed, there also was this one time where a gang boy came and lit the class on fire. Dave was passing by the classroom and the boy asked him to help him and Dave did help, but then he did and the boy got up and ran. A little girl saw him and told a teacher and Dave didn't come home for two days. From the embarrassment and sadness, Dave later went to court to see what they were going to do to him. Years passed and he still hadn't found the correct foster home. When Dave turned 15, he found his perfect home. Dave worked and worked and worked... he would never stop. When Dave turned 18, he knew he would have to find his own home, pay his own bills, and work hard. When he turned 18 Dave left to figure out who he was and what he is going to do. This book made me realize that I should appreciate what I have because others don’t have what I have.

Reviewed by Geyli ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 720

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Recently I read a book called The Hunger Games: Catching Fire by: Suzanne Collins. The genre of this book is science fiction and action adventure. The main characters in this book are Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. The book is the sequel to the Hunger Games. The book is mainly about Katniss going back into the arena with Peeta and some new allies that join them. Katniss and Peeta are worried because this isn’t just a regular arena with regular teenagers fighting to the death, every 20 years President Snow (who is the president of Panem) hosts a special Hunger Games. This year, two previous victors from each district will fight to the death. What worries them is that they all are experienced fighters, and they’ve known each other for years, but since Katniss and Peeta are the newest victors, they don’t know anyone, and they are the first on everyone's hit list. I really enjoyed this book because I’m a huge Hunger Games fan, because their books are so easy to get wrapped up in. I recommend this book to everyone who likes action and adventure books, but also being one of those books that are so descriptive, that you feel like you’re watching a movie.

Reviewed by Cory ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 820

Black Anchor by Carl Bowen

This is a story about a team called Shadow Squadron that attacks a Chinese oil rig in the gulf of Mexico that's called Black Anchor. Strangely the oil rig was full of American mercenaries. On the oil rig there were also hostages being held at gunpoint. Shadow Squadron's objective was to neutralize all enemy hostiles and save all of the hostages. The Shadow Squadron team came in stealthy with suppressed machine guns and stealth suits. 

[SPOILER ALERT]

When they got in the oil rig they were caught a few minutes after entering in by mercenaries. After all of the gunfight they save most of the hostages and flew home in a sea hawk helicopter back to the nearest American military base. This story reminds me of a MW2 campaign mission. I'd recommend this book to people who like modern warfare. Not the video game but war now. I'd rate this book a 9 out of 10. The main characters were Cross, Yamashita, and Walken.

Reviewed by Alec ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 920

Unbroken: An Olympian's Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive by Laura Hillenbrand

The main character Louis Zamperini gets into a lot of trouble as a child and is also very good at running. He was so good at running he qualified to be in the Olympics. The Olympics got canceled because it was World War II. He joined the army and his plane crashed. He was stranded at sea on a lifeboat for 47 days. He was on the lifeboat with two other people, and one of them died. After that, he was picked up by the Japanese. He was taken to a prison camp. He was forced to work very hard. Also, he was tortured. Read the book to find out if he escapes the prison camp. I liked this book because it was very adventurous. The genre of this book is nonfiction. I learned a lot about Louie Zamperini's life in this biography. I would recommend this book to people in middle school who like adventures.

Reviewed by David ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 850

The Witches by Roald Dahl

The book I read was The Witches by Roald Dahl. This book is fiction. The problem of this story is the witches are getting rid of kids and they hate kids. I recommend this book to people who like fictional books and like the author Roald Dahl. Roald Dahl also had great books like The Twits, Matilda, The BFG and more he makes books so good once you read you will get attached to the book and you won't want to stop reading.

Reviewed by Megan ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 740

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

I Survived The Japanese Tsunami, 2011 by Lauren Tarshis

I Survived The Japanese Tsunami, 2011 by Lauren Tarshis is about the Japanese Tsunami that happened in 2011. Ben is the main character of this book and his unique quality is being brave during the book Ben brought out on how he was brave. I learned that tsunami’s are very dangerous and are very dangerous in a country that is used to a lot of tsunami’s. This book changed the way I see Japan, when I think about Japan I think of business. Also my dad’s company that he works at has an office in Japan so I think Japan is awesome and I never thought that such an important country can be destroyed now I know that country’s like Japan can get destroyed. The genre of this book is Historical Fiction. I enjoyed this book because it was about Japan and how a wave can destroy so much things. I recommend this book to people that like Japan, History, water, or disasters that happened on the world.

Reviewed by Kosta ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 650

10 Days: Anne Frank by David Colbert

Anne's story is how millions of people have come to understand the Holocaust. And other events that are too scary to think about. Anne Frank lives in the Netherlands when the Nazis were taking over Poland and Hungary. But a few months later the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. Anne has to fight her way through harsh laws for the Jews made by the German government. Then the Nazis gave the Franks a chilling letter that said "All who live in this house should pack there bags in be put on a train to work. "Then Anne and her family move in to a secret annex. Then for Anne's thirteenth b-day her family gave her a diary (that now is on display in the Smithsonian) where she writes about her chilling nights and her scary life. An ominous event threatens to expose the secret lives of Anne Frank and her family. Then Anne's worst fear comes true she and her family were betrayed to the Germans. The franks arrive at a Nazi slave labor camp, and they are given harsh punishments. When Anne gets separated Anne has no more protection by her father and by her self she enters the scary dark world of the Nazi camps. (The only one that survived in the Frank family was Edith Frank Anne frank's father because he fought for the Germans in world war 1.)

Reviewed by Daniel ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 980

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

Who Is Muhammad Ali? by James Buckley

This book is a non-fiction book about Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali was born on January 17, 1942 but since he was Christian his name was actually Cassius Clay. As a young boy He was a very fast runner. Back then he even raced the school bus! One day someone stole his bike and he went to the police to report that his bike was stolen. Ali said that he wanted to hurt who ever stole his bike. The police said that he had a gym where He could train to box. Ali was very good at boxing, he very fast on his feet. He won 28 amateur fights. When he joined pro boxing he beat heavyweight champion Sonny Liston to win the championship. Read the book to find out more about this amazing boxer!

Reviewed by Alfred ~ 6th Grade

Sea Demon by Carl Bowen

Sea Demon starts with Shadow Squadron going on a mission to save people. They have to be brave and daring to save people form the sea demon (a group of bad people). I recommend this to people who like suspense and adventure. You will be on the edge of your seat reading this book.

Review Jovanni ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 830

Diary Of the Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney

The book I read is Diary Of the Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney. Diary Of the Wimpy Kid: Dog Day is fiction. I liked this book because it was funny and it was suspenseful. The theme of the book is friendship because it always talks about how Greg and Rowley get into fights but in the end they make up. The issue in Diary of The Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is that Greg’s mom tells him to make new friends and Greg doesn't want to make new friends and Greg’s dad tells him he has to go outside because he plays video games all day. I recommend this book to boys and girls in 5th and 6th that like comedy and adventure.

Reviewed by Hugo ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 1010

The Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

The Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake is a mystery and horror book. Theseus Cassio Lowood is bothered by the feeling that Anna isn’t where she belongs. Throughout the book “Cas” sees Anna being tortured. Cas travels to London to get help from Gideon, one of his dad’s friends before he died.

[SPOILER ALERT]
A girl named Jestine was sent to replace Cas and take the knife that had been passed down to him. Jestine and Cas almost died saving Anna from the Obeahman. Cas released all of the ghosts within the Obeahman and Anna went to where she belonged. Cas then went to his body that was bleeding out on the floor. I recommend this book to people who like horror and mystery books.

Reviewed by Hailey ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 660

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

This book follows a teenage girl named Harper. She is the perfect student. She is class president and is basically the queen of the school. On the night of homecoming Harper's most anticipated night of the year, something happens. She goes to the bathroom to re- apply her lip gloss. While in the bathroom her school janitor runs in and has a stab wound to the chest. He then locks the door and tells Harper she is brave. He then takes off his disguise and gives Harper powers. She is now a Paladin. A protector. From then on it gets very good. 

This book kept me up very late every night and I definitely recommend it.

Reviewed by a 6th Grade Student

Lexile 780

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

This book is about a girl named Tris, running from faction to faction trying to build an alliance with all of them so at the end they all will attack Erudite. While they are traveling, Erudite are testing Divergent, they think they are the problem in the world, but they are wrong. 

Reviewed by Katie ~ 6th Grade

Lexile 710