Kids Books - Friendship

High school musical is a great kick-off! The main person trying to mess up Troy and Gabriella's love is Sharpay Evans, and she has a huge crush on Troy! But Sharpay realizes it's harder than she thinks. Will she get her guy, or will Troy stay with Gabriella? A great book, and a great movie! Would recommend it to ages 7 and up!

I’d heard about this book for a long time, and I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. For instance, what’s this “club,” a book club or something? Also, more importantly: would this book turn out to follow the same hackneyed patterns of Chinese American literature? But I started reading, and the book certainly starts with a scintillating opening chapter introducing the eponymous Joy Luck Club. At its core, this is a group of four elderly Chinese women who share stories, laugh, eat, and play mahjong. The group’s founding member has passed away suddenly, leaving her daughter confused and grieving. Asked to fill in for her mother at the mahjong table, she learns more about her already inscrutable mother and is given a difficult task. Instantly, I could see the author setting up a tone of sadness tempered with pangs of bitter, undeniable hope, something that wouldn’t disappear even when the plot started to drag a little. I could see the mature and layered writing. I read on, hooked, as the book described in distinct yet readable prose first the mothers’ difficult upbringings in China before World War II, then the daughters’ childhoods, next the continuation of the mothers’ stories, and finally the lives of both mother and daughter during the main timeframe. The book is divided into these sections, each introduced by a pithy, allegorical story. It cycles through each of the characters before returning. Gluing the story together is Jing-Mei Woo, whose personal tragedy and journey of self-discovery begin and end the book, but there’s such a huge detour that in the end it leaves the reader with a deep understanding of all the daughters and mothers connected to the Joy Luck Club. Amy Tan’s debut novel may have lost some relevancy for the newest generation of Chinese American readers, given the fact that she’s now about the same age as the mothers she writes about, but it’s not as bad as it seems. Even though the book is centered on Chinese-American families during the 90s, the themes are universal. There are seven narrators in this story, each with their own personality and life story. This increases the book’s scope at the expense of being a little overwhelming. Some fuzziness is natural, but the structure is clear enough if you don’t mind flipping backward a little bit. It’s come to my attention that people have protested about the stereotypical-leaning descriptions of the parents. If Amy Tan gives them these backstories showing that they are not the plump, eccentric people they appear to be, why make them exclaim “Wah!” or speak broken English? It was a bit discouraging reading about the vague Chinese superstitions that pop out of nowhere, inexplicable as the unintuitive romanization system she seems to employ only for Mandarin. If you do decide to read this book, you’ll have to accept this confusing phenomenon, and for me it was by no means a book-ruining flaw. Also, be warned that any discussion about the father-daughter relationship is basically nonexistent. To a degree that makes sense, because the book is meant to focus on the complex mother-daughter bond. You can’t eat pie and cake in the same meal and not expect to fall into a food coma. Then there are the slight issues with the plot, specifically the huge focus on the daughters’ marriage troubles: whether the marriage is going to fall apart, why it’s falling apart, if parental approval is going to be acquired. Jing-Mei is the only one free from this. While it’s useful to make a quick case study, and to see what the mothers have to say (which are surprisingly insightful), it didn’t hold my attention for long. These are some of the main complaints, but there are many more positive traits that I wholeheartedly believe outshine these problems. For any reader much of the appeal, why the book is “deep,” comes from the immense pathos of the struggles of the mothers in China, as well as the universally-relatable difficulties of communication between parent and child. I teared up a bit while reading this book, and I usually have quite a tolerance for that kind of thing. As a bonus, the symbolism is so layered, the characters’ motivations so multifaceted, that you really can have a rewarding discussion about the Joy Luck Club at a book club. You can also ponder its themes on your own, like I did. Is this book worth reading? Definitely. Does it invite deep thought and reflection? Yes, if you choose to do so. Does it encapsulate the entire experience of being Chinese American? It’s about 70% of the way there. Generally, The Joy Luck Club is well above average—miles above forgettable novels you flip through when you have nothing better to do—and really deserves its spot as a modern classic.

So wow, I'm really loving all the new things introduced in their next arc of the Wings of Fire series. This one takes place at the same time as the tenth book, and I definitely don't recommend trying to jump into the series here. You should definitely go back and read from the beginning. I also highly suggest you read the prequel, Darkstalker before you read this one. Now with that out of the way, I loved the new types of dragons brought into our journey through the world of Wings of Fire. They're all so cool and unique. I thought how we got the history of this Lost Continent was really well done, and you can see how over time the dynamics between the different types of dragons shifted and evolved along with the environment of the continent itself. I liked the characters a lot. Blue was sooo frustrating, but that's just how he is. I thought he went through a lot of growth in this physically and mentally which was awesome to see. Luna was a great sister character pushing Blue but not too hard. Cricket was a fun, eccentric character that asks all the questions I had while reading! I really liked all of the other characters as well, and Sundew actually made me laugh out loud as I was listening to the audiobook. There is some instalove in this which was kind of annoying, but I appreciated that the novel was self aware about it and kind of pokes fun of it using other characters. I'm pretty excited to see how the new dragonets will handle their situations going forward, because this new arc promises some awesome rebellion and personal growth. It was wonderful coming back to the series through fresh eyes. I certainly had fun exploring the world, as well as the new dragons, set up by the author. It was the best course of action to focus on three species of dragons in this new world as opposed to the six that were in the previous books, especially if we are going to bring the two continents together as hinted at in the end of the last book as well as the end of this book This series follows the wonderful pacing of the previous books, starting at a calm but curious beginning and immediately throwing you into the action. I certainly was never bored while reading the book. The characters were each unique in personality and I can tell that the author is trying to branch out their appearances to match their personalities I would say the only down side would be the protagonist. That doesn't seem like a good thing but I would say this critique is that the protagonist has a loose personality. We have the main things established for Blue: He follows rules, he doesn't want to fight and cause a scene, etc. but other than that we don't see until later how his personality falls in line with his belief (the author tries to make "following the rules" a personality but it isn't). I enjoyed seeing his character slowly coming into picture but I only wish that it was clear from the beginning so we could follow his growth better. This could also apply to the other characters but not as much. I would certainly recommend this book (I already have) because it is so much fun.

SPOILER ALERT!!! THis book is about a girl named Deja who lives with her siblings Raymond and Leda and her parents, Pop who never seems to get better and is scary when he`s mad and Ma in Avalon Family Residence which seems nice, but it isn`t. Everyone at Deja`s new school seems to know about 9/11 except Deja, besides the fact that she`s lived in Brooklyn basically her whole life. At her old school nobody wanted to be friends with Deja because her family is homeless so she is suprised when Sabeen and Ben want to be her friends. When Deja goes over to Ben`s house he shows her a video of 9/11. Oh, how did Deja never know about it. After some investigating, (looking through an old suitcase) Deja finds that her father survived 9/11. She`s shocked, how did she never put the pieces together before?

I just finished Wings of Fire, Escaping Peril, a fantasy by Tui T. Sutherland, for the eighth time (It's still awesome!) and Wings of Fire is the best series ever! It is about a SkyWing named Peril who is a firescales (meaning that her scales are as hot as fire so she is super dangerous) and was very loyal to Queen Scarlet of the SkyWings. Until she met Clay. In the first book she is a Scarlet loyalist but then Scarlet Imprisons Clay and his friends and she falls in love with Clay. This makes her realize how evil Scarlet is and how horribly she treats her prisoners. Anyway now, in the eighth book Peril is no longer loyal to Scarlet and will do anything that she could ever possibly do to protect Clay. After Scarlet threatens Jade Mountain Academy, Peril realizes that the only thing that Clay wants, the only thing that will make Clay feel like he and his friends are safe, even if he will never admit it, is for Queen Scarlet to be killed. So Peril sets out to find the missing Queen and to kill her. Peril’s plan was to kill Scarlet immediately, without letting Scarlet talk her out of it. But things don't quite go as planned…

Callie has a passion for theater. Even though she lacks singing skills and can't audition for her middle school's production of Moon over Mississippi, she's found her place as the set designer for the drama department's stage crew. Determined to create a Broadway-worthy set on a limited budget, she faces challenges such as her limited carpentry knowledge, declining ticket sales, and crew members struggling to collaborate. As if that's not enough, she also has to navigate the drama that unfolds both on and offstage once the actors are chosen. And to add to the chaos, two charming brothers enter the picture, making things even more complicated! What would happen next to Callie? Happy reading! ~ Victoria Ella

Nikki Maxwell has been doing everything she can to keep kids at school from knowing the truth about why she is at school-she's on a scholarship in exchange for her dad being the school's exterminator. Nikki is trying to avoid from having her friends, her not-so-friends, and her crush, Brendan from witnessing the huge roach on top of her dad's van. Now it looks like the secret might come out, and Nikki would stay up day and night to keep that from happening. Now when there is a school talent show coming up with a school scholarship as a prize, the timing seems perfect. Nikki loves performing (singing, dancing) and now she has to round up a bunch of friends to help her free her dad from his obligation(and free herself from her bad reputation)! Once again along with misunderstandings and Mackenzie's evil schemes, Nikki had to try to survive middle school.

Imagine you had magic abilities. The different kinds of magics in this book include flying, becoming an animal, going invisible, talking to animals, and making fire. The authors of Upside Down Magic are Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins. The setting of this book is Dunwittle Middle School and Nory’s Aunt Margo’s house. It takes place in present day. Nory is the protagonist, She can turn into different animals until her magic started to go wonky. Nory is a native american with poofy hair. The antagonist is mostly her power because she tries really hard to be normal when her magic goes wonky. One conflicted is Nory ends up goes away with her aunt that she barely knows. Norys aunt lives in a small town in a small house. They always eat pizza after school. Conflicted two is one of her friends are in danger and could be lost for ever. The turning point of the second conflict is Nory helps her friend by using her magic. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes stores on magic.

Ho Hum.... What do we have here? The BFG by Roald Dahl is a classic for a reason. So, let's start shall we? I really loved this book. The characters are full of love and are just AMAZING. But.... there is still something going on here. Even though the story was amazing and such, I felt a tad-bit of randomness. Because of that it knocked off one star. Still four stars, nothing to worry about. Now, now , now.... let's talk about the main characters- The BFG and Sophie. Their friendship is adorable. I felt that this was a message to love someone in the inside not the outside. I know what you're thinking, just spill it out...... awwwwww❤️ Anyway, to wrap this whole thing up, The BFG by Roald Dahl is just plain AWESOME! And hey, 4 stars is not that bad.

In the book “The Unwanteds” Alex and Aaron Stowe await their fates. In which there is a magical world named Artimé of magic, art, and singing. Yet still a dreary place called Quill where being creative is a death sentence. One can either be a Wanted in which one gets to go to a university, or be Necessary in which one is sent to do the chores, or one could be an Unwanted in which one is sent to their grave. Alexander and Aaron Stowe are thirteen and it is the day of Purge. Alex knows his chances of becoming a Wanted are limited because he has been seen drawing in the dirt before. Aaron thinks that he will become a Wanted. When they are separated Alex tries to get back to Aaron in the university, while Aaron has completely discarded Alex from his life. Who will get their way? Read the book to find out! This book was exciting, intense, and full of action. I didn't even want to put the book down. I gave this a five star rating because it was everything I liked.