Alex, The Life of a Child

Now, my mom is a huge fan of Frank Deford. He's a great sports writer and he wrote a book that touched me and my mom's heart! In fact, she liked this book so much, she named me after Frank Deford's daughter.

This book has made me shed tears so much. It's not fair that a little girl, around 8 years old, has to deal with this terrible ordeal. It's not fair that anybody has to. Frank Deford made me realize that people are not their disease, they are human being with feelings and opinions. Alex seemed to be the brightest, bubbliest girl. Her CF (Cystic Fibrosis) got to her before her life did. And that is horrible. I wish I can say that I know how Frank Deford feels, but I can't say that. I don't have children, my family doesn't have a horrible disease running through our veins.

This little girl, Alex, short for Alexandra, has a brother, Chris (short for Christian) saw her die in her bed, she was always a smart girl, she pronounced his name as "Tris" because that was how it was spelled. Her classmates made all these pictures for Alex when she died. The school raised the flag half up in her honor when she died. It brought tears to my eyes about how much people cared.

Now, I can't explain everything that I felt or read in this book, you'll have to read it yourself. Happy reading!

Partials by Dan Wells

This is by far one of my favorite books, although most books can be said to be so as well. 

Kira Walker, only a medical intern, works with the maternity field, hoping, praying that a baby will not die. Disease has run through the entire population of man kind, ninety nine point nine percent of the population to be exact. They all believe the Partials (warriors that look like men, walk like men, and talk like men) are to blame for this. During the middle of the Partial War was the disease released and they are no longer able to reproduce. Babies die soon after birth and their numbers are decimating. The Senate tries to figure out what to do.

Kira believes that the Partials have something do with this, that they might have a cure for this fatal RM. She decides to capture one with her friends. Of course, the Senate doesn't like this. If word spread out that they had a Partial, they would have a riot on their hands. But still, Kira goes and kidnaps a Partial with the name Samm. 

The Partials need the humans just as much and the humans need them. The Partials are dying. The Partials have expiration dates and they are dying one by one. They cannot reproduce. They're going extinct, just like the humans. Kira agrees to help, but she is now viewed is a traitor for helping this Partial to the Senate. She leaves, goes with her friends to help Samm. But something goes terribly amiss. Information discovered may change Kira's world forever. 

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

I have to admit, I haven't been on in awhile and my memory of all the books I have read over this period of time may need a little bit of jogging. 


The Fault In Our Stars is my second favorite book next to the Hunger Games trilogy (all of them, I consider as one book). It is a book about children with cancer, but it is not about the cancer, it is about them living their lives. Sure, none of the story may happen if none of them had cancer but that doesn't have to be the center of the book. 

Hazel Grace Lancaster, a young cancer survivor, meets Augustus Waters at this Support Group and Augustus is immediately in love with her, but Hazel holds back because she doesn't want to hurt him in anyway. She doesn't believe she'll live through her cancer much longer and that may be true, and it may not. Augustus doesn't see her point and still continues to love her. Every time Hazel went to the hospital, he would wait for her in the waiting room, even if she didn't want to see him. Hazel is just another fangirl of books, so when she has a favorite book, Augustus reads it.

Though there is this one book that brings them closer and closer. This is by far Hazel Grace's favorite book of all time. An Imperial Affliction. It is Hazel's dream to meet the author, for the book ends in the middle of a

She wants answers, so does Augustus, for he read the book as well. Augustus loves her so much, he would use his remaining Wish (a Cancer Perk as they put it) to take her to Amsterdam where the author lives.

Amsterdam is where a lot happens. Want to read more of this fabulous book? Go get it now! You won't be disappointed. 

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent is a phenomenal book that everybody would love. I find it very similar to The Hunger Games. Both books have a heroine that seems to be the lead of a war or a rebellion. Both books have a love interest (just Divergent does not a love triangle). Training to be a part of something is key in this book.

Beatrice gets tested to see which faction she belongs in. Her results were inconclusive, she's Divergent. Divergence is a threat to the city. To the Erudite. To the ones with power.

Beatrice Prior, or just Tris, chooses Dauntless (the faction that believes cowardice is the cause of most problems) over her old faction, Abnegation (the faction that believes selfishness is to be blamed for problems). Tris must be trained to become Dauntless by trainer Four, or Tobias. Tris falls in love with Tobias. 

Erudite (the faction that believes ignorance is to blame for problems) wants to overthrow Abnegation to gain control of the government. Tris must try to stop the Erudite before it is too late.

Read more in Divergent by Veronica Roth. This book is to come to the big screen March 2014. One choice can transform you. This is the first book out of three.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

You-Know-Who is back and Harry has to fight him once more. Voldemort has figured out how to use Harry's mind and how to show him what he wants him to see. Harry learns why Voldemort is so against him and that his friends will always fight for him.

In Little Whinging, trouble arises. Dementors come after Harry and Dudley. Harry saves Dudley but got a letter from the ministry about a court case due to underage wizardry. This case will determine whether Harry Potter shall go back to Hogwarts.

The ministry is always looking for an excuse to expel Harry from Hogwarts ever since his 4th year when he told everybody Voldemort is back. The ministry believes in what it wants to believe.

Harry is not expelled this year, due to Albus Dumbledore. 

After that incident, Harry is moved to Sirius Black's house. Number 12 Grimmauld Place. The Order of the Phoenix is located there. The Order of the Phoenix is an organization made by Albus Dumbledore used to destroy Voldemort.

When Ron, Hermione, and Harry return to Hogwarts, Harry is known as a big joke. People won't take him seriously due to the whole, "Voldemort coming back" business.

Dolores Umbridge is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She is from the ministry and will only teach them by reading. She later becomes head master and ruins the school.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron start this club where Harry can teach the Defense Against the Dark Arts called, "Dumbledore's Army." That's how Dumbledore got overthrown by Umbridge. They think he started an illegal club (Dolores had all these rules about how clubs need to approved).

Later, they head off (Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Harry, and Luna) because Harry thinks Voldemort has Sirius trapped there. But this was all just a big fat lie. Sirius was never there. Voldemort figured out how to use Harry's brain!

The Order gets involved, they have a battle against Voldemort. Sirius dies... and he vanished behind the black veil (the place where wizards go when they die).

Harry later learns that Trelawney made a prophecy about a boy born in late July who will overthrow the Dark Lord. And that boy was Harry Potter. "Both can't live while the other survives," is what the prophecy said. That's why Voldemort thinks he needs to destroy Harry.

What happens next? Read more in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Hogwarts will not only be home to those who live at Hogwarts, but for other schools this year as well. There will be the Durmstrang students and the Beauxbatons students. One student from each school will be competing in the Triwizard Tournament for eternal glory and a thousand galleon prize to the winner.

Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts, Viktor Krum from Durmstrang, and Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons will be competing because their names came out of the Goblet of Fire. The Goblet of Fire is used to select the Triwizard champions. When Harry Potter's name is shot out of the cup, something was wrong. Somebody wanted Harry dead. People can die in this tournament. 

The four champions must face battles with dragons, fight mermaids, and go through a deadly maze to reach the Triwizard cup. Cedric and Harry help each other a long the way with clues containing what will happen in the next round.

When Cedric and Harry reach the cup, the decide to grab it together so they both could win. But the cup is a portkey and it brings them right to Wormtail. The traitor that sold Harry's parents out to You-Know-Who. He immediately kills Cedric Diggory and captures Harry Potter. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is reborn.

What will happen next? Read more in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

I have read the third installment of the Harry Potter series. I must admit I enjoyed it! 

Sirius Black, the prisoner who escaped from Azkaban, is after Harry. People suspected he sold out James and Lily Potter to You- Know- Who! But did he really do it? Or was it Scabbers? That's right, I said Scabbers the rat, Ron's pet!

Harry ran away from the Dursley's and found himself traveling on the Night Bus. He sets out for the Leaky Cauldron. He stays there until they head out to the Hogwarts Express.

Ron, Hermione and Harry must face "The Grim." The Grim is the darkest, most powerful death omen.

Sirius Black and Professor Lupin know who the real culprit is. Peter Pettigrew! A.K.A. Scabbers. He sold out the Potters to the Dark Lord. But he will return to his master.

As Sirius Black, he is The Grim and he's also Harry's god-father. He will be punished for a crime he didn't commit. Harry and Hermione must find a way to save Sirius before it's too late. The Dementor's kiss will make him lose his soul.

Find out more in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling!  

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

I have finally gotten to reading the first Harry Potter book of the series written by J.K. Rowling. I thought it was a great book, really outstanding!

Harry Potter had no idea he was a wizard. He lived with the most ordinary people ever since his parents died when he was little.

But when he got this letter saying he's a wizard and can go to Hogwarts, he immediately joins!

Voldemort, the evil wizard who killed his parents, is a big threat. Even though he causes so little trouble until the end.

Quirrel is secretly  of Voldemort's workers. He's been trying to kill Harry ever since the first Quidditch match. Now he's after the Sorcerer's Stone for his master so he can live forever.

First, Harry and his best friends, Hermione and Ron, have to go through all these puzzles to get to the stone before Quirrel. But Harry didn't make it in time but he did recover the stone, nearly dying. Read more in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The second year Harry is facing at Hogwarts. Horrible, horrible things are happening. Dobby, Malfoy's house elf, warned Harry about these things but was not quite clear.

Since Quirrel was fired from his Defense Against the Dark Arts job, Gilderoy Lockhart took his place. Lockhart is a snooty booty who thinks only about his self and fame.

Voldemort is technically not in this book. Tom Marvalo Riddle is, though. He is the heir of Slytherin and has opened the Chamber of Secrets. He has released a creature so fowl that anyone who dares looks in it's eyes dies. Whenever you even glimpse at it, you become paralyzed of fear. No, this has happened before. Just ask the ghost in the girls bathroom, Moaning Myrtle. 

It's up to Harry to stop Riddle (A.K.A. Voldemort) from killing more people. 

I honestly enjoyed reading this! I'm glad I got into the Harry Potter series! But The Hunger Games will always live in my heart.

Eggs

Finally! I'm allowed to read other books! But there was one book I particularly enjoyed. Eggs by Jerry Spinelli. 

David lost his mother at the age of nine and is still suffering from his loss. He lives with his grandmother and his father in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, his father can only be home on weekends. For he owns a mall in Connecticut which is hundreds of miles away. Putting up with David's attitude, she holds her lip, telling herself it's from the "Sadness" as she calls it.

When David goes on an Easter egg hunt, he finds this girl up in a tree. He thinks she was dead so he calls the cops. When story time came up and David's grandmother was there, she was there. The thirteen year old girl that was in the tree.

Later, David found out her name was Primrose. She lives in a van and has a crazy mother that thinks she can predict the future. Her father abandoned her when she was a baby. She caries a photo of him everywhere she goes.

David finds out shocking secrets. They fought most of the time. Refrigerator John would break up the fights. Then one day, they went to the big city. Philadelphia. 

What happens next? Read more in Eggs by Jerry Spinelli!

Stargirl

If I  had the chance to read my other books, I would be reading Alex The Life of a Child by Frank DeFord but I am still being forced to read Jerry Spinelli books. I'm actually glad I read Stargirl. 

Leo and his friend, Kevin go the MAHS (Mica Academy High School). When Stargirl shows up, everything is flipped upside down! Stargirl has freckles on the bridge of her nose and wears long pioneer skirts. She strums her ukulele to sing people "Happy Birthday". Everyone just thinks she is crazy!

When Stargirl becomes a member on the cheer leading squad, she is automatically popular! People rampage the music stores in Arizona to get ukuleles and pet stores to buy rats like her pet, Cinnamon. At the highest point of her popularity, she decides she wants the other team to be happy as well, just like her team. She roots both teams and is kicked off the squad. 

On Hot Seat, Leo and Kevin's school TV show, Leo signed her up for an episode. On the show, people make fun of her, torment her, they made her into nothing. She is no longer popular. 

Leo and Stargirl fall in love and the shunning begins. No one will talk, look, or walk their way in school. Kevin is the only one who will talk to Leo. No one will talk to Stargirl except Leo and Dori (Stargirl's best friend).

Stargirl gets a vision that she will win this speaking contest for the state and that she will become popular when she wins. The problem is, when she won, no one celebrated her except Leo and Dori and a couple of teachers.

What will happen next? What will Stargirl do? Read more in Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli! (There is a sequel of Stargirl called Love Stargirl that I still need to read so tune in!)

Loser

Our school is having a whole unit on Jerry Spinelli and his books. So far, I have read Loser

Loser is about a young boy named Donald Zinkoff. The whole book shows Zinkoff going through 1st grade to 6th grade. 

Zinkoff was never good at many thinks. Handwriting, sports, etc. He loved school. On his first day, he brought a giant giraffe hat with him. He left early in the morning to get to school sometimes. In fact, all he wanted to do was go to school!

Later in the book, Zinkoff experiences field day. When he was little (before 4th grade) it was just a fun activity! We all know how field day is. When Donald reached 4th grade, it was a giant competition. Who was the fastest, the strongest, they all competed for those titles. Zinkoff was on the purple team a long with Hobin, the best athlete in school. When Zinkoff loses some games, he's immediately granted the name of loser. Loser. Loser. Loser.

How does Zinkoff deal with the rest of school? Just to let you know, another field day comes up! What will happen? Find out in "Loser" by Jerry Spinelli!

Bridge to Terabithia

Bridge to Terabithia is a book for children who love historical fiction and fantasy fiction. 


Back when a TV was pretty much all the technology they had, Katherine Paterson wrote a story about a young boy named Jess.

Jess has always been the fastest runner in the 5th grade. Well, that was before Leslie Burkes. Leslie was Jess's next door neighbor and they immediately became friends. They explored areas when Leslie suggested they have a special place. That's when Jess and Leslie swing on a magical rope to Terabithia. An imaginary place where dreams run wild!

Until Leslie died. All depression broke loose. Poor Jess.

Read more in Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson!

Diary of A Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel

Valentine's day is coming up and Jeff Kinney wrote another Wimpy Kid tale!

Greg Heffley has Rowley Jefferson run for a student council position and that position puts all of them in a position they don't wanna be in!

The Valentines Day dance is just a way to rack up some money for the school so they can buy fancy toilet paper. You know how school toilet paper is, right? Anyway, all the girls are treating like it's high school prom when it's actually a lame middle school dance.

Greg wants to get a date so he doesn't look like a loser. When Abigail agrees to with them as friends Greg realizes he's gonna need a ride and his mom is just going to embarrass him the whole way there. So he goes to Rowley's dad. Mr. Jefferson and Greg are not the most compatible. There was always this chill in the air. The only way to get Mr. Jefferson a ride there, they have to bring Rowley. 

Rowley got the chicken pocks and they were spreading like wildfire in the school. Greg couldn't let that stop them. So he grabbed Rowley and put a scarf and hat on him. They're ready to go!!!

Find out more in, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel" by Jeff Kinney!!

The Seer of Shadows

Avi has written this amazing book that goes back to the 1800's. Everyone believed in ghosts except the main character, Horace. That was before he took his first picture.

IT was a normal day down in New York. Business was slow as usual at Mr. Middleditch's photography building. When a young servant girl approaches Horace outside, she got a photography session for her master, Mrs. Fredrick Von Macht.

Mrs. Von Macht was in mourning of her dead daughter, Eleanora Von Macht. Mr. Middleditch had a devious mind and decided to put in a ghost image of the late Eleanora. He gave Horace a secret camera to hide under his jacket so he can take photos of the portraits of the the young daughter.

Each photo brought Eleanora closer. Pegg (the servant girl) said that Eleanora was abused, kept in a room with no accessories and no food. When a doctor was needed they never sent for one. Eleanora swore for revenge before she died.

Apparently she did get revenge on the Von Machts by setting her father's company on fire.

The photograph that Mr. Middleditch gave Mrs. Von Macht had two images of Eleanora. The first on is the one that Horace took and imprinted on to the picture. The second one had Eleanora looking at them angrily.

Revenge was to come soon.

Read more in "The Seer of Shadows" by Avi! 

Middle School: Get Me Out Of HERE!

Rafe is back and makes more trouble than ever before!

Rafe couldn't go to his art school because he moved to the city. His mother lost her job when Swifty's diner burned down, now, they live with her grandmother.

When Rafe makes his first human friend, he thinks he's just serving revenge to a couple of bullies. It's not that simple. Matty(the friend) steals from a museum. Rafe's friend is now a foe.

Did I mention that this is his art school friend? His teacher from his school got him into an art school in the big city.

How will Rafe survive middle school? Find out in, "Middle School: Get Me Out of HERE!"

Gregor and the Marks of Secret

Suzanne Collins fourth book of the Underland Chronicles, "Gregor and the Marks of Secret", is as splendid as the others.

Gregor finally is reunited with the Bane which he rescued in the second book. Now, it's time to kill him. He's dumping all the nibblers into a place where no one would be able to find them. Luxa, the twelve year old queen of Regalia, has declared wars on the gnawers for their act of greediness. The rats believe that the mice were the ones who started that plaque from the last book. They nibblers were all fine and dandy while rat pups died.

Gregor, Luxa, Hazard, Boots, Henry, Ares, Aurora, and a new bat named Thalia, all go on this journey to find the nibblers when Luxa found a mouse dead in an old children's room.

Before they left, Gregor noticed this symbol on the rock with the body. If only he knew that that was a mark of secret and it means death to those who seen it. How do I know this?? Hazard found the exact symbol in a cave where the nibblers were and said Frill (a giant lizard) taught him the marks of secret.


Will Gregor win this war? Will he tell Luxa he has feelings for her? Find out in Gregor and the Marks of Secret.

The Grimm Legacy

Would you (a) go to your sister's birthday party or (b)read the Grimm Legacy? Read the book

Magic may seem fun and mysterious but this author, Polly Shulman, showed that magic has consequences.

The Grimm brothers were fairy tale writers. When Elizabeth starts to work as a page at a repository, she learns that there is a collection of magical items. They're called the Grimm Collection. From Cinderella's slippers to a witch's broom, they have it all. 

Elizabeth, Marc, Anjali, and Aaron embark on a dangerous journey to take back the magic that is rightfully theirs. Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all? Or who takes the magic off the wall? Find out in the Grimm Legacy.

Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods

Gregor is back again in the third book, Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods. 

There is an evil plague starting in the Underland. It effects almost everybody who is a warmblood. 

WARMBLOOD NOW A BLOODBORNE DEATH
WILL ROB YOUR BODY OF ITS BREATH
MARK YOUR SKIN, AND SEAL YOUR FATE
THE UNDERLAND BECOMES A PLATE.

TURN AND TURN AND TURN AGAIN.
YOU SEE THE WHAT BUT NOT THE WHEN.
REMEDY AND WRONG ENTWINE,
AND SO THEY FORM A SINGLE VINE.

BRING THE WARRIOR FROM ABOVE
IF YET HIS HEART IS SWAYED BY LOVE.
BRING THE PRINCESS OR DESPAIR,
NO CRAWLERS CARE WITHOUT HER THERE.

TURN AND TURN AND TURN AGAIN.
YOU SEE THE WHAT BUT NOT THE WHEN.
REMEDY AND WRONG ENTWINE,
AND SO THEY FORM A SINGLE VINE

THOSE WHOSE BLOOD RUNS RED AND HOT 
MUST JOIN TO SEEK THE HEALING SPOT.
IN THE CRADLE FIND THE CURE
FOR THAT WHICH MAKES BLOOD IMPURE.

TURN AND TURN AND TURN AGAIN.
YOU SEE THE WHAT BUT NOT THE WHEN.
REMEDY AND WRONG ENTWINE,
AND SO THEY FORM A SINGLE VINE.

GNAWER, HUMAN, SET ASIDE
THE HATREDS THAT RESIDE INSIDE.
IF THE FLAMES OF WAR ARE FANNED,
ALL WARMBLOODS LOSE THE UNDERLAND.

TURN AND TURN AND TURN AGAIN.
YOU SEE THE WHAT BUT NOT THE WHEN.
REMEDY AND WRONG ENTWINE,
AND SO THEY FORM A SINGLE VINE.

The mom (Gregor's mom) wanted to go to the Underland this time and she comes. When a bat affected by the plague comes crashing to Regalia, a tick jumps off and bites the mom. She's infected. The rush her to the infirmary.

They go on a quest to find the cure. They go to the place where the plague first started centuries ago. Ripred, Mange, Temp, Lapblood go on this journey with Gregor to the jungle.

While they are in the jungle, they meet to people. Hamnet and Hazard. Hamnet is Luxa's uncle. Hazard is a halflander. A boy who came from a male Underlander and a female Overlander. He has bright green eyes instead of lavender and dark brown curls. The mother is dead.

Luxa, who has been missing for a few months, appears in this jungle. Hamnet mistakes her for his sister. His twin sister. The one who had Luxa and died with her husband while fighting rats.

Hamnet later dies of trying to rescue the cure from the cutters (ants). Hazard starts to cry. Luxa takes him in as her own brother. She takes him back to Regalia.

Read more in "Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods" by Suzanne Collins.

  

Fablehaven

"Fablehaven" (by Brandon Mull) is a fantasy book that would be great for kids who like Harry Potter.

This fantasy is about two kids named Kendra and Seth. They are brother and sister. These young kids are just normal. As ordinary as you can be. Until summer vacation.

Kendra and Seth Sorenson have to spend the week with Grandpa Sorenson while  their parents go to a cruise. They hardly even know the grandpa. They don't even remember what he looks like! Where's Grandma you ask? 

What Kendra and Seth do not know is that Grandpa Sorenson is the caretaker of a magical land called Fablehaven. A place where fairies, centaurs, nymphs, witches, and all other kinds of mythical creatures imaginable. Even dragons. To see them, you must drink special milk.

The grandpa tries to tell them by setting up a scavenger hunt. He leaves some keys for them to unlock. Seth doesn't care. Kendra's just... bored. She decides to use the keys. 

Once all the keys were used, there was a journal that said, "DRINK THE MILK". The milk she was told specifically not to drink. She makes Seth drink it. He sees fairies. Originally, they looked like bugs without the milk, but now, the are beautiful creatures.

Witch in the woods. Grandpa told them not to go in there but Seth was curious. He went.

The witch sits on a stump with her hands tied in ropes. She turned Grandma into a chicken long ago.

What trouble does this witch cause? Will Kendra and Seth beat the horrific witch? Why is she tied up? Read more in "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull.

Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls

A regular girl in fifth grade named Allie Finkle faces life dilemmas and decides to solve them with a rule book. She writes down these rules to make life easier. And trust me, she wishes her life was easier.

It all started when she moved. They moved into an unfinished house right next to a girl her age, Erica. The two immediately became friends. But when Allie starts school, things get complicated. 2 books later, a new girl comes and becomes her worst enemy. When a girl from her old school that hated Allie becomes friends with this new girl, there is trouble.

WILL ALLIE'S RULES HELP HER IN THE END? WILL ALLIE EVER SOLVE THE BULLY PROBLEM? FIND OUT MORE BY READING ALLIE FINKLE'S RULES FOR GIRLS.
  

Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane

This is the second book of The Underland Chronicles and Suzanne Collins has out done herself again. This time Gregor and Boots have to do the "Prophecy of Bane" instead of "Gray".

If Under Fell, If Over Leaped,
If Life Was Death, If Death Life Reaped,
Something Rises From The Gloom
To Make The Underland A Tomb.

Here It Scratching Down Below,
Rat Of Long Forgotten Snow,
Evil Cloaked In A Coat Of White
Will The Warrior Drain Your Light?

What Could Turn The Warrior Weak?
What Do Burning Gnawers Seek?
Just A Barely Speaking Pup
Who Holds The Land Of Under Up.

Die The Baby, Die His Heart,
Die His Most Essential Part.
Die The Peace That Ruled The Hour
Gnawers Have their Key To Power.

Since Gregor returned to the Overland, the mother glued the gate shut. How will he return? Apparently, there is a gate in Central Park. He figured it out because Temp took Boots while she was sledding. This must be important if Boots is kidnapped in the middle of Central Park in public.

Ripred, Ares, Luxa, Mareth, Boots, and Gregor are back and now they search for this snow white rat to kill. Then, unexpectedly, well, if I told you, why would you go out to read it?

Read more in "Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane" by Suzanne Collins.

Gregor the Overlander

Suzanne Collins wrote another book series before The Hunger Games. In fact, she was writing the last book of the Underland Chronicles while writing The Hunger Games. The first book to come in this fantastical series is "Gregor the Overlander".

This book is good for kids around nine to thirteen years-olds.

Gregor and his little sister, Boots, have been fatherless for 2 years. He mysteriously vanished of the surface of the Earth. When doing laundry, Boots falls through the gates to the Underland. Gregor follows.

Giant cockroaches, rats, spiders, and bats are seen here. Because of a poopy diaper (Boots is only 2), cockroaches take them into an arena to see the rebellious princess, Luxa. 

Later on, the royal family believes that Gregor is a part of the prophecy that will change the Underland forever. The Prophecy of Gray. 

"BEWARE, UNDERLANDERS, TIME HANGS BY A THREAD.
THE HUNTERS ARE HUNTED, WHITE WATER RUNS RED.
THE GNAWERS WILL STRIKE TO EXTINGUISH THE REST.
THE HOPE OF THE HOPELESS RESIDES IN A QUEST.

AN OVERLANDER WARRIOR, A SON OF THE SUN.
MAY BRING US BACK LIGHT, HE MAY BRING US BACK NONE.
BUT GATHER YOUR NEIGHBORS AND FOLLOW HIS CALL
OR RATS WILL MOST SURELY DEVOUR US ALL.

TWO OVER, TWO UNDER, OF ROYAL DESCENT,
TWO FLYERS, TWO CRAWLERS, TWO SPINNERS ASSENT.
ONE GNAWER AHEAD BESIDE AND ONE LOST UP AHEAD
AND EIGHT WILL BE LEFT WHEN WE COUNT UP THE DEAD

THE LAST WHO WILL DIE MUST DECIDE WHERE HE STANDS.
THE FATE OF THE EIGHT IS CONTAINED IN HIS HANDS
SO BID HIM TAKE CARE, BID HIM LOOK WHEN HE LEAPS,
AS LIFE MAY BE DEATH AND DEATH LIFE AGAIN REAPS"

Will Gregor survive the trip? Will they ever get home? Will they find their dad? Find out in "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins.

The Name of this Book is Secret

I'm not kidding. The name of this book is "The Nam of this Book is Secret". I don't know the author's real name. His name is a fake. It says it in his name. Pseudonym Bosch. 

There's a secret. What's worse than a secret is knowing there is a secret. Why am I not supposed to know? Who knows!

Cassandra and Max-Ernest (the author says these are fake names) go on an adventure with the symphony of smells to find out what this secret is. They'll have to get by some evil humans who lived for hundreds of years. 

There's an old magician with his twin brother
They've been sent to America by their mother
The circus was the answer, they did that instead
They have a strange disease 
That people do not know of
To get away, they must seize
But one is dead and other forgotten
(I wrote this myself to get a little intro)

Will Max-Ernest and Cassandra find out the secret (I know a secret! there are four more books in this series!)?
Do people know there is a secret worth finding?
Why do I always ask these questions? Find out more in "The Name o this Book is Secret" by Pseudonyms Bosch.  

Eight Keys

Eight Keys is a book that kids will love. Suzanne LaFleur is the author of this splendid text. 

Elise, the main character, and Franklin, her best friend, they journey through middle school. Elise doesn't live with her parents. Her parents, sadly, are dead. The mother died giving birth to her, the father died from a disease. 

Before the dad died, he wrote letters, all the way up to Elise's twelve birthday. She found a key with her name on it. Could it be to the eight doors at the top of the barn? Later, she finds seven more keys.

There is some trouble with school though. Sixth grade is a lot harder than Elise thought. There is this mean girl, Amanda, and this is the most popular girl, teases her, harms her, and squishes her lunch.

Elise can't even keep up with the school schedule and is overloaded with homework! Will Elise unlock herself? Will Elise make friends? Will she ever get up to date with school? Find out when you read Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur.

Mockingjay

    Third post, third book, Mockingjay, By Suzanne Collins. Reading level: Young Adult. The Final Book.

  Katniss has escaped the Hunger Games by blowing up the force field around the arena, now, District 12 no longer exists. Only charred remains of those who tried to flee. 

  Peeta was taken prisoner by the Capitol, along with the other tributes Johanna Mason and Enobaria. Katniss made it to District 13 with Finnick Odair and Beetee. Now, they are on a mission to bring down the Capitol.

  There are a few problems. They do rescue Peeta but not in time. The boy with bread, glowing with life, is now hijacked. All his memories of Katniss have been changed with tracker jacker venom, they are so terrifying, Peeta found her life-threatening. 

  For all you Gale lovers, you'll love this book the most. Most of the time he's in the book!

  Will Katniss bring back Peeta? Will she choose Gale? Will she choose Peeta? Will she bring down the Capitol?

Read more in "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins. The final book of The Hunger Games Trilogy. 

"May the odds be ever in your favor" ~Effie Trinket.

  
  

Catching Fire

 
This is my second post and I am viewing the second book of The Hunger Games Trilogy. Currently, they are filming the movie Catching Fire, but will they capture the drama of the book?
  
Suzanne Collins left off with Peeta and Katniss returning in the train station in the first book, The Hunger Games. Now, Katniss and Peeta are going on their victory tour.
  
There's just one little problem. The other districts were not convinced that their little act was love, but an act of defiance. If a girl can defy the Capitol, especially from twelve, why not do the same. Now, it's Peeta and Katniss's turn to subdue (soothe) the districts. Why would they? You ask. They are treated so poorly in 12. Personal threats were made on Katniss's best friend Gale and her family by President Snow, the ruler of Panem.

Uprisings were rumored in 8. Katniss now believes that there is a District 13 (they were killed off the map because they rebelled against their country)because of two women she found in the woods.

The card is drawn. The Quarter Quell card. Even the strongest of the strong cannot over come the Capitol. That's right. Katniss and Peeta are going back into the arena (or Haymitch, their mentor through the first Games). The deal was if you win, you're out of the reaping for good. Not this year.

Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. The arena's a clock. Every  hour, promising a new horror. Ticking away your life. Every second counts. Read more in "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins.

The Hunger Games

   Reading is not that boring once you take the time to read. And I'm not talking about a teacher forcing you to read for homework or for free time. If we don't want to read, why should they force us?
 This blog is all about books that I think kids that love to read would enjoy (girls particularly). I'm an eleven year old myself, but I love to read!

 The first book I would love to present to you is "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. When I say "hunger" I don't mean an eating contest.

A teenager from the twelve districts of Panem (the future, destroyed North America) will be sent to train in the arts of survival. Soon, they would fight to the death in a public arena.

Katniss Everdeen(the main character) lives in the Seam, the edge of District 12. Her father died when she was eleven. Now at sixteen, she has one little sister named Primrose (at age 12) and the world's ugliest cat, Buttercup.

At the reaping, they draw names for the tributes that go into the arena. One male, one female. When Primrose's name is picked, Katniss quickly takes her place as the first ever volunteer.

The male tribute's name is called. His name is Peeta Mellark. Katniss recalls a meeting with him when they were eleven. Shortly after Katniss's father's death.

The mother fell into a depression. They had so little money for the loss of the father, Katniss took head of the family. It was raining and they were slowly starving to death. She was scavenging the trash bins for food of the merchants. Peeta's mother chased her away. Soon after, Peeta burned some bread, and threw it to Katniss. A debt that can never be repaid.

When Peeta confesses his love for Peeta, Katniss realizes that this is all one big game and she has to play along to survive.

Later in the games, Katniss sets out to find Peeta. She nurses him back to health, they win the games. Peeta finds out she was acting. Game over.

Read more in "The Hunger Games" By Suzanne Collins