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Stolen Children

Stolen Children

By Peg Kehret

Stolen Children by Peg Kehret is one of my new favorite books. Top 5 maybe. The story is realistic fiction. In the story the main character, Amy, is babysitting for the Edgerton's. The Edgerton’s are very orderly. On Amy’s first day of work after she sets Kendra to sleep, she accidentally falls asleep by the pool. While she is sleeping, two guys with a gun show up and kidnap Kendra. Amy wakes up in time to find Kendra in the back of the car. Amy then runs in the house to call the police. One of the guys points a gun at Amy, then kidnaps her too. I wonder why Amy doesn’t signal anything to the people they pass on the freeway. I really liked the part where Amy and Kendra “ran away”. I think that Amy shouldn’t have stayed where she was when she heard the car. She should have grabbed Kendra and ran. Then, when she knew for sure that they were being chased she should camoflage themselves. I have Also read Abandoned also by Peg Kehret. It was also a very good book my brother tried to steal both of the books. (He only succeeded in stealing one). I think that it is a book most people should read. I typically HATE mysteries. I picked up that one and couldn’t put it down. It was so suspenseful. Go Peg Kehret!

The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking: Book One

The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking: Book One

By Patrick Ness

3 stars--I normally don't read much YA (young adult) fiction, but I decided to give this book a try, since I'm normally a very picky reader and I want to try stepping out of my comfort zone. Before getting this from the library, I read multiple warnings about violence and cursing in the book, but I went ahead and borrowed The Knife of Never Letting Go anyway. So, I liked it to an extent, but it wasn't my favorite. First off, the plot didn't really have a structure. Everything was all over the place--there was just so much happening at once that sometimes, I couldn't make sense of anything. Maybe the author did that on purpose to have more action. I don't know. Then there's the main character, Todd. He acts like he has MAJOR anger issues--he randomly starts yelling at people who help him, he throws tantrums, and he KILLS an innocent non-human fisherman just because of a battle between his hometown and the fisherman's species. I get that Todd has been through a lot--his mother died from a terrible plague, and many of his friends die throughout the story too--but that's not an excuse for him to act the way he does. He takes out his anger on other people too often, too much. I didn't see any character development in him--he remains brash and annoying throughout the story. There wasn't much of a single, huge climax. The whole book was jam-packed with enough action to have like, five climaxes. I guess the ending could have been a climax if it had been written differently, but the plot had just...deflated by that time. It's like, the characters did so much hard work to fight for what they believed in, why can't they get an ending where they're all alive and happy, for at least a little bit of time? But no, this is dystopian YA, people. That means we can't have ANYTHING remotely happy in the entire book! Instead, let's make the main characters walk into a trap and have one of them on the brink of death by the end. It's the one thing I don't like about YA. Also, the violence (I guess I should have paid more attention to those warnings). I'm no stranger to how violent YA books can get sometimes, but this was just...extreme. It's like an every-man-for-himself situation, where everyone tries to survive, each with their own vicious ways. There's so much brutal fighting that I actually skipped a page or two, just so I wouldn't have to read about so much graphic violence. However, there were some aspects of The Knife of Never Letting Go that I enjoyed. There were many twists and turns throughout the book, which was amazing. I love those stories where you THINK you absolutely know what's going to happen next...but then, BOOM! Something totally different from what you were imagining happens. it's so unpredictable. All the characters were really flawed and human, and I liked Mayor Prentiss as the bad guy--he's so cunning and cruel, he makes the perfect villain. I'll admit, I am probably going to read the next book in the series...but only because this one left off on a cliffhanger (the one thing every reader absolutely LOATHES). So that's another trip to the library for me. :)

Children of the River

Children of the River

By Linda Crew

nac

I loved this book! It was heartwarming and a powerful reminder of the tragedies of the Vietnam war, and the realness of what it was like to be a Cambodian refugee in America. The story shows the struggles of Sundara, a Cambodian girl who had to flee with her uncle and aunt's family to escape the tragedies of the Vietnam war. Now living a new life in America, Sundara is trying to be a proper Cambodian girl and push away the grief of her lost family and the child that died in her arms. And one day against all odds, Sundara falls in love with an American boy, and she wonders how she will ever be able to follow the Cambodian way of waiting for an arranged marriage when she feels so powerfully drawn to him. Sundara has little hope for a happy ending, but she's willing to try and get one, even if it means going against her family's age-old customs. And even in the midst of war, there is joy and good news on the horizon.

The Odd Squad, Bully Bait (An Odd Squad Book)

The Odd Squad, Bully Bait (An Odd Squad Book)

By Michael Fry

The funniest parts of this book were: having to crawl through a vent system to find a stuffed animal and sitting next to a cat while eating tuna. The most exciting part was when someone went through a window just like a spy.

Recipe for Trouble: The Cupcake Club

Recipe for Trouble: The Cupcake Club

By Sheryl Berk, Carrie Berk

This is an adventure so sweet you might need to go to the dentist after. Lexi Poole, member of PLC (Peace, Love and Cupcakes) comes back from a summer with her aunt in NYC. As school starts, her drama class decides to put on the production Romeo and Juliette. She gets the part of Juliette, even though she is shy, but the worst part is her all time crush got the part of Romeo!

Toy Story 3 Best Friends Book and Magnetic Buddy (Disney Toy Story Buddy)

Toy Story 3 Best Friends Book and Magnetic Buddy (Disney Toy Story Buddy)

By Chip Lovitt, Disney

I have watched the Toy Story 3 movie but I did not know that there was a Toy Story 3 book that is really cool

I Love My New Toy! (An Elephant and Piggie Book)

I Love My New Toy! (An Elephant and Piggie Book)

By Mo Willems

I the beginning piggie got a new toy he was so ictcided. in the middle elephant broke piggie s toy and piggie was mad and sad. in the end elephant and piggie were crying and the sqirl fixd the toy it was funny because piggie and elephant were crying

The Secret School

The Secret School

By Avi

This is only THE greatest book ever. OK, so there's this girl named Ida. She absolutely loves school(which I can relate to). Anyways, the teacher's mother gets sick, so the school has to close. Which means Ida and her best friend Tom don't get to take their exams, so they can't go into high school the next year. Going to high school means everything to Ida, and she just has to take that exam. To her, the world would probably be over if she didn't go to high school. So then Tom has this brilliant idea: Ida could become the teacher. Ida hates the idea at first but then, she and her fellow classmates take a vote of Ida should be the teacher so then they voted her in. But they have to keep the school a secret. One day, a school inspection person comes in, and figures out about the school. She agrees to keep the school a secret, but the children all have to take the exams since Ida is not a certified teacher. So then one of the students, the one that is the troublemaker, hadn't come to school in a while so she went to see him. The boy's father then tells the school board about the secret school. But then the boy walks to Ida's house to tell her about the school board meeting (which, by the way, she wasn't supposed to know about) and she goes to the meeting. She stands up for the school and they decide that it couldn't do any harm to let them continue the school until the exams. They do, so then after everybody takes the exams and everyone except the troublemaker passes. But Ida still isn't sure that she'll be able to go to high school because her family has to have enough money for her to board somewhere. But then the inspection lady says she will let Ida stay at her house for free. So Ida and Tom go to high school and all is well. Ravi is such a great writer. I read The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle but The Secret School was so much better.

One Direction: Where We Are: Our Band, Our Story: 100% Official

One Direction: Where We Are: Our Band, Our Story: 100% Official

By One Direction

I REALLY love 1D!!!!!! They made my life so much better. Harry is my favorite!!! He is kind, sympathetic, and very deep. He is much more than he appears to be. People may put him into categories depending on what he looks like but his personality is so much more than that. There is more to him than what others see. He cares a lot- sometimes, a bit too much. But he secretly has little patience for most people. He is not vein but he tries to point out things about himself that he likes even though there may be a lot he doesn't like. He appears to be shy and awkward but can be very loud and outgoing mostly around friends or with a best friend. He likes music from a wide range of styles and can't really put his music taste into any one category. I love this book too lol

Not If I Can Help It

Not If I Can Help It

By Carolyn Mackler

this book is amazing it has a grate dill of friendship with Willa and Ruby and some amazing hardships to overcome just to see that she can be happy with her new mom!!!!!(Ruby's mom)

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