Rachel

Rachel Yackel September 7, 2010

Holling Hoodhood spent most of his seventh grade year with a teacher he knows is out to get him, Mrs. Baker, in __The Wednesday Wars__ written by Gary Schmidt. On every Wednesday, while half of his class goes to Temple Beth-El and the other half goes to Saint Adelbert’s, he unfortunately has to stay with Mrs. Baker reading Shakespeare because he’s a Presbyterian unlike his friends. This book is an action-packed, humor filled, fiction book. __The Wednesday Wars__ took place in the years 1967 and 1968 on Long Island during the Vietnam War. The setting definitely helped to make the story exciting because the main events were happening simultaneously with the Vietnam War. Holling has one main problem in the book. That is Holling and his relationship with Mrs. Baker. Holling and Mrs. Baker disliked each other in the beginning. By spending so much time together every Wednesday, they grew to like each other more throughout the book. This book taught me that even if teachers look mean on the outside does not mean that they are mean on the inside. The author accomplished what he set out to do because he really wanted to make sure you understood that Mrs. Baker’s and Holling’s relationship changed completely by the ending. This book tells a good story about a seventh grade boy who has a pretty tough year. Although at some points in the book, I found myself wandering from the page. I enjoyed reading the really funny parts such as when he accidentally sprinkled chalk dust on to the perfectly delicious cream puffs or when he mistakenly let two red-eyed rats out on the loose. I didn’t like when he kept on repeating, “My teacher hates me” over and over. I got the point when he first said it. There were definitely surprises in the book such as whenever something went wrong with Holling, Mrs. Baker always had his back. Some chapters ended with cliff hangers that made me want to see what would happen in the next chapter, but others didn’t. I think that people who like a few jokes here and there would appreciate this book. I also think that people my age would find this an easy read. I liked __The Wednesday Wars__ mostly because all of the surprises that kept me reading and the humorous jokes in each chapter. This book reminds me of, __Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key__ by Jack Gantos because both of the books had humorous jokes and had the same writing style. Gary Schmidt is also the author of __Straw into Gold__, __Anson’s Way__, and __Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy__.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

This book gets three out of five stars is because I enjoyed the funny parts but there were boring chapters where I lost interest. Rachel Yackel September 7, 2010

Have you ever traveled around the world with only your dad and one suitcase for your whole life? Well, that’s how fourteen year old Carter Kane spent most of his life in __The Red Pyramid__ written by Rick Riodran. __The Red Pyramid__ was an action-packed fantasy novel about Egyptian gods, goddesses, and legends that supposedly have been living for eons. This book took place around the world, but it always ended up connecting back to Egypt and its secrets. This novel took place in modern time but made references to generations before the main characters. The author’s style made the book exciting. Most of the time, I found myself interested in the plot of the story. At some points in the book, I felt I should stop reading because it was so hard to understand. But, the story was so interesting, I didn’t want to not finish! The thing I liked most about __The Red Pyramid__ is that there were two narrators, so there were two different points of view. You read the story of Carter’s adventure and his sister Sadie’s. One thing I disliked about this book is that the characters would sometimes repeat the same events over and over. There were many problems in the book. The main one was that Carter and Sadie’s dad had been captured by a god named Set while he was trying to bring his wife, the children’s mother, back to life. Carter and Sadie had no idea their parents were Egyptian magicians. Neither did they know that there were gods inside of them, using them as hosts. They had to defeat Set in order to save their dad. This book taught me that even though most of Egypt is ancient history, it doesn’t mean that all of it is gone. The characters are connected because they worked together to solve problems. One character couldn’t possibly have solved the problem alone. Carter and Sadie developed through the book because at first they were shy characters, but they grew into being strong both mentally and physically. __<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 150%;">The Red Pyramid __<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 150%;"> had a couple surprises such as when a character disappeared and then all of the sudden came back. There were many cliffhangers throughout the book that made me want to read the next chapter to see what would happen next. I think that people who enjoy reading about adventure and the world’s history would really like __The Red Pyramid__. I think that people around my age wouldn’t find it difficult to understand. This book reminds me of The Percy Jackson Series, also written by Rick Riordan. The difference is that series was about the Greek mythology instead of being Egyptian gods.

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">My Rating of the book:

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">4 out of 5 stars <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">This book earned four stars. <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">It was very enjoyable, but not the best I have ever read.

__May Bird and The Ever After__ by Jodi Lynn Anderson Book Review Written by Rachel Yackel November 12, 2010

In the novel, __May Bird and The Ever After__ by Jodi Lynn Anderson, May Bird is just an ordinary ten year old girl who has only one friend, her cat. May lives in a deserted town called Briery Swamp with her mom and her hairless cat, Somber Kitty. In this well-written fiction book, May Bird is always playing in the woods next to her house and collecting strange items. One day she went deep in the woods, past the brier bushes and found a lake. May accidently fell into the cold black water and was yanked down with a pair of hands. She pulled herself up with all her might and made it out alive. Ever since she fell in the lake, ghosts have been appearing at her house, and no one seems to notice but her. She got so mad at her mom one night that she went into the woods and again fell in the lake, but this time for real. I definitely think that this book tells a great story. The reason I think this is because the author chose really interesting words to describe what she was trying to say. This book was so good that not once did I wander away from it or decide to put it down. I also really liked to visualize all the colorful sentences in my head. The main place where this took place was in The Ever After. The setting definitely made the book more exciting because in The Ever After that’s where the undead roam. The main problem throughout this book was once May entered the The Ever After through the “lake portal” she discovered that there was no way out of this mysterious world. In the book, there was an evil character called Bo Cleeviel, who she knew was out to get her. This book taught me that you should never judge someone by how they look. In the story, the character Pumpkin who was a ghost had a frightful appearance. May took him for granted before she got to know him. He actually turned out to be May’s guide throughout the book and friend. Yes, I think that the author, Jodi Lynn Anderson accomplished what she set out to do. I think that she wanted to get the point across that May really grew to like Pumpkin and understand him more. I think that the two characters May and Pumpkin, connected with each other in the book. The reason I think this is because May really had a lot of feelings for Pumpkin even though he was a ghost. Pumpkin and May got off at the wrong foot, so it took some time for May to adjust to Pumpkin. I think that May developed throughout the story. I think this because in the beginning she is a very shy person, but then she has to face her fears and discovers the real warrior inside of her. There were some surprises in the story. For example one of them was when May entered The Ever After. She discovered that she was still living, not dead like everyone else around her. She was considered a Live One in The Ever After. I think the author came up with a lot of interesting cliffhangers, which kept me interested. I think people that enjoy adventure and a very well thought out story would like this book a lot. This book was set for my level of reading, so people who are my age would find this an easier read. My personal opinion about this book is that I really enjoyed it and its style. I also liked how at the end May noticed that she does actually have true friends, even if they’re dead. Another book that Jodi Lynn Anderson wrote is called __Candyfloss__. They are similar because both of the main characters are very curious and interesting. The author of this book also wrote a sequel called __May Bird Among the Stars__ and the sequel to that, __May Bird Warrior Princess__. So if this book interests you, then you have two more to look forward to.

My Rating of the book: 5 out of 5 stars Here’s a link where you can find the book online: []

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__The House of the Scorpion__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By Nancy Farmer <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Book Review by Rachel Yackel

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In the book, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__The House of the Scorpion__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Nancy Farmer, Matt was a clone of the most powerful people in Opium, El Patron. This action-packed fiction novel was mostly about a clone, Matt, who was treated much differently from everyone else because of his appearance. Throughout his lifetime, Matt knew nothing about the world around him, but he was soon to find out much about it. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;">From my point of view, I think it told a great story. It had lots of action between the main characters It described all the major events with lots of detail. Most of all it told a good story about finding out who your true friends are. This book was extremely hard to put down. I thought to myself that I would read at least three chapters in one sitting, but I ended up reading seven. I did though wander off the page from time to time because sometimes there was so much detail it was hard to concentrate. This book takes place in a place in between Mexico and the United States called Opium. I would say that this book took place probably around present time. The setting really did help make the story exciting because the place where Matt lived had lots of open space filled with beautiful poppy fields. It also had disgusting cities where the eejits lived. The setting definitely plays an important role for the characters because most of the story described being outside most of the time. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The main problem for Matt was he didn’t know much about his life, so it was hard to trust people. Towards the end of the book, Matt discovered that all the people who he grew up trusting turned on him and became his mortal enemies. This book taught me to always trust your best friends the most, because at the end they’re always on your side no matter what. I think the author set out what she wanted to do, and I think she did a great job with it, too. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The two characters, Matt and Maria, connected with each other. Even though Matt was a clone, Maria still had sympathy for him. I think that Matt developed the most because he had to find all the pieces of his life and piece them together. Later in the book, he discovers who he truly is. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I think the best part in the book were the surprises. The reason I think that is because the surprises ar what keeps you interested in the story. Not all of the chapters ended with cliffhangers, but the chapters were filled with so many questions I kept on reading anyways. I’m pretty sure that kids who are my age wouldn’t find this book challenging to read. I also think anyone who loves adventure with a twist of a true meaning would really like this book. I really enjoyed reading this book because of the meaning and all the detail the author put in. This book doesn’t remind me of any other book. I thought it was very unique. The author, Nancy Farmer,also wrote the books, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__A Girl Named Disaster__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, and <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__Warm Place__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. I rate this book a five out five because, like I said before, of the tremendous detail the author put towards this book.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You can find this book on the Barnes and Noble website to either buy or just look at it: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__[]__ __ Up Close: Rachel Carson __ Written by Ellen Levine Book Review by Rachel Yackel

Rachel Carson was just one of those few extraordinary people that happen to live in our society. She brought so many important things to our attention, and I think that in the book __Up Close: Rachel Carson__ written by Ellen Levine really told you in depth what those things were. This novel is a biography on Rachel Carson’s life and what she did that was so effective to our world. Even though Rachel Carson started out as a shy soft-spoken person, she worked her way to become a noticeable out spoken person. I really enjoyed reading about Rachel’s life and how she has influenced so many other people. Rachel was an amazing person and she really surprised me on how she grew up in such a non-nature friendly area in Springdale, Pennsylvania and become to be such a fantastic environmentalist. Here and there did my mind wander off the page, but most of the time I was focused on the page that I was reading. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Rachel grew up in an area that was developing and using things that hurt the environment around her and her family in the 1900s. Despite the foggy air, Rachel spent most of her childhood out in the woods, discovering all kinds of plants and animals. Having the story take place in Springdale, Pennsylvania made it so much more interesting. The setting really played an important role for the characters mentioned in the book, including Rachel Carson herself. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The biggest problem for Rachel Carson was when she got out of college, she had to stay living with her two married siblings in an overcrowded house for a couple of years. This book taught me that even though someone may come from some tough times or places, doesn’t exactly mean that they will then has barely anything influence on the community. I think that Ellen Levine really did write a good biography on Rachel Carson and told Rachel Carson’s life in detail. In the beginning, she told everyone who was reading this that people in her life told her that she was meant to write about Rachel Carson's life. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Throughout the story there wasn’t too many surprises, but I was definitely ready to read ahead still. Sometimes the chapters ended with cliffhangers, keeping me really hooked onto the book. I would recommend this biography to kids around my age group and people who just want to learn about why Rachel Carson is so important to nature. I really liked reading this biography and if I had time, I would read it again. This reason I enjoyed reading this so much is because the author wrote in so much detail that I could picture what all of the characters and scenes looked like. Ellen Levine has also written the book, __Catch the Tiger by the Toe__ along with many other biographies for all ages to read. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">My rating of the book is: 4 out of 5 stars because I felt like Ellen Levine herself was reading this to me it was so realistic and detailed.

<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Link to get to book: []