Nancy Drew - Sabotage at Willow Woods

Nancy Drew – unofficial detective – is at Boylston to attend the parade and block party to celebrate the Boylston football team winning the state championship. She is with her best friends and buddies, Bess and George. They want to hear Carrie, George’s cousin, give her speech at the block party as she is running for the town council there. But after the speech, someone hands Carrie a threatening note telling her to stop her campaign. Soon after, other … disturbing things start to happen. Someone is out to sabotage Carrie’s campaign! After a few misleads Nancy Drew is again ready to get back on the case.

Will Nancy Drew will be able to catch the note writer before someone gets hurt or Carrie has to stop her campaign – for good?

Follow Nancy Drew’s adventures in this thrilling book written by Carolyn Keene as she tracks down a sinister criminal up to no good. As usual, Carolyn Keene puts drama, suspense and tension all in one story.

Searching for Candlestick Park

Because of money problems, Spencer Atwood and is mom have to move out of their rented house. They go to Spencer’s Aunt May. While leaving, Spencer can’t find Foxy, his cat, so they have to go without him. However, Spencer sneaks out at night and goes back to his old house and gets Foxy back. When Mama finds out, though, she tells him the “fool cat” has to go back. After Spencer’s pleading, she softens up an bit and tells him he would be able to keep Foxy until he finds a new home for him. After three days, Foxy goes to the pound.

Spencer does not want to give Foxy up, so he decides to run away. He thinks he should go to his dad, who works, Spencer believes, at Candlestick Park, for the San Fransisco Giants, his favorite baseball team. Will Spencer get there, all by himself with Foxy, on a bicycle? What will happen if he does?

Follow Spencer as he tries to reach Candlestick Park in this enthralling and funny novel by Peg Keheret. I would recommend this book for ages 9+. 

The Giving Tree

The Giving Tree is a really emotional book that is written by Shel Silverstien.

‘Once there was a tree…and she loved a little boy’ gives just the right start to a story about a boy and a tree, the giving tree. Every day the boy ate her apples, swung from her branches, and rested in her shade. But as the boy grew older, he began to want more and more from the tree. The tree gave everything it had to make the boy happy.

The beautiful illustrations add just the right touch to the smooth, flowing writing. The sadness and tender touch of the story make it an unforgettable tale, as do the page-size pictures.

Every child should have a copy of the giving tree, with its beautiful illustrations, touching tale, and wonderful characters.

A to Z Mysteries- The Kidnapped King

  

 A to Z Mysteries: The Kidnapped King is a great book that is written by Ron Roy. It is the 11^th book in the series.

   Sammi, the prince of Costra, a small island country in the Indian Ocean, has come to hide out with Dink’s family. His parents, the king and queen are kidnapped. He came there with Juan, his tutor.

   Sammi, Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose play touch football in Dink’s back garden. The next morning, Sammi is kidnapped, and the three friends don’t have a lot of time to figure out where he is!

   Join Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose as they search for clues in this funny, mysterious, and amazing adventure!

   I like this book because it is so funny, mysterious, and unexpected. It is also really easy to read. I think it could have been better if the author put in more space in the events and if he made getting to the solution a little bit harder. Overall, I think it is a really good book.

I would recommend this book to ages 8+.

The Heroes of Olympus - The Lost Hero

The Lost Hero is a great book by Rick Riordan. It is the first book in the second Camp-Half Blood series, The Heroes of Olympus. The first series is called Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

   Jason wakes up in a bus holding the hand of a girl he doesn’t know and going somewhere he doesn’t know where. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in that bus. Turns out he went to a school for ‘bad kids’ ( what did he do to end up THERE? ). His best friend is Leo, a guy who loves making stuff from scraps of metal and all. He apparently has a girlfriend called Piper, a girl he definitely hasn’t met before. 

   They are on a field trip to the Grand Canyon with Coach Hedge, the chaperone and a bunch of other kids from the school. Once they get there, a huge storm comes up and Coach Hedge gets taken away by a venti, a storm spirit. Then, a flying chariot comes and Piper, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to a camp.

   They then discover that the Greek gods that are in Greek Mythology are real and that the monsters are real too. A magical force called the Mist makes the mortals see only what they can decipher, not the truth. The gods sometimes have kids with mortals, kids that are called demigods, or half-bloods, half human, half god. They also discover that they are one of those kids; Piper being the Daughter of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, Leo was the Son of Hephaestus, God of Craftsmanship. And Jason was Son of Zeus, God of the Sky.

   The camp they were taken to, Camp Half-Blood is the only safe place for their kind, demigods, since monsters could not come through the magical barrier around the camp. 

   Soon they discovered that Hera, Queen of the Gods, had taken Jason’s memory and was now imprisoned. In order to get Jason’s memory back, they would have to rescue Hera and stop Gaea, Goddess of the Earth, from awakening. So, the three go on a quest to rescue Hera.

   Will they make it? Read the book to find out!

   I love this book. I like it because it holds a lot of mystery and action. It is also a great tool to learn Greek Mythology ( or at least a bit of it ). I recommend that you read the first series first, so it will make more sense to you. 

   I recommend this to ages 10+.

Percy Jackson and The Olympians - The Sea Of Monsters

The Sea of Monsters is the second book in the series Percy Jackson and The Olympians. It is written by Rick Riordan. I have already put the review for the first book on my blog. I think this whole thing will make more sense if you read at least the review on the first book first, but it's your choice.

First of all, you have to understand that in this book, the Greek gods are still alive. All that stuff that you see in Greek mythology is REAL in this book. There is also this magical thing called the Mist that stops mortals from seeing the real stuff like monsters and all and makes them see only what they can decipher.

The main character in this book is Percy Jackson, who is the son of  the Sea God, Poseidon. His friend and buddy is Annabeth, Daughter of Athena, Goddess of wisdom and war. This one of the many adventures they have together.

The Titan Lord, Kornos is emerging from the Depths of  Tartarus, the deepest pit in the Underworld. Luke, Percy's former friend and demigod, has joined Kornos and is now planning an attack on the Camp, Camp Half-Blood, the only safe place on Earth for demigods, since monsters are always hunting them down. Monsters can't get into Camp Half-Blood because of the magical borders that protect the Camp. The magical borders are powered by the spirit of Thalia, Daughter of Zeus, who is the fallen hero who gave her life to save her friends. As she died, her Father, Zeus, turned her into a pine tree to preserve her spirit. That tree powered the magical borders of the Camp and protected it. Luke poisoned the tree and so the magical borders failed. The borders weakened and monsters could get through. And to top it off, Percy discovers that his satyr friend, Grover, has been kidnapped by a giant Cyclops and has found the one thing that could save the whole camp, the Golden Fleece. The giant Cyclops wants to have Grover as his bride. Percy also discovers that a nice, baby Cyclops named Tyson is his half-brother.

Tyson, Percy, and Annabeth go on a quest to find the Fleece and save their friend. Can the three friends do it before it is too late? Or will Grover get married and the Camp get destroyed? Read the book to find out!

I love this book! I like it because Riordan creates a lot of suspense and keeps me hooked. I also love the way he describes stuff in a precise way and keeps it intense. He also doesn't forget to give us a good laugh once in a while!

I would recommend this to ages 10+. I also think you should read the first book, The Lightning Thief  before you start this one because stuff will make a lot of sense.

     

This Totally Bites!

 'This Totally Bites!' is the second book in the Poison Apple series. It is written by Ruth Ames. This Totally Bites is a great book for vampire lovers. 

It is about a girl, Emma-Rose. Her great-aunt, Margo is coming over to visit. One night, Emma- Rose accidentally discovers that her great-aunt is a vampire and doubts start creeping into her. Could SHE be a vampire too? After all, she likes grey weather and prefers to stay out of the sun. She also has trouble sleeping at night and prefers dark clothes over bright ones. She is pale with dark hair and has sharp incisors. She also hates the taste of garlic.

When she shares her doubts with her best friend, Gabby, whose parents are psychologists, she just has a 'reasonable explanation' for everything. Emma-Rose and Gabby have a big fight about it and are cross with each-other for days.

Can Emma-Rose get her friend back AND discover if she is a vampire or not? Read the book if you want to know!

I like this book because it is greatly written and holds quite a lot of suspense. I also like the vampire topic and the way that in this book, vampires are not 'undead', they don't sleep in coffins, and they are shortly, not as creepy as some legends or books say.

I totally recommend this book to readers who are too scared to read the real vampire books, but want a not-so-scary vampire book all the same.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Percy Jackson And The Olympians - The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief is a mystical, adventurous and simply fascinating book by Rick Riordan. This novel is about a 12-year-old kid named Percy Jackson.

Percy Jackson is in the 6^th grade. He always gets kicked out of school. And simply weird things keep happening to him. On a field trip to a museum, he accidentally vaporizes his pre-algebra teacher, Mrs. Dodds. This sets off a chain of events, leading him to discover all the Greek mythological gods and monsters are real, he is the son of a Greek god, and he is the primary suspect to have stolen Zeus's extremely powerful bolt of lightning. Along with his new friends, Percy has only 10 days to catch the true thief and return Zeus’s bolt to stop a huge and disastrous war. And all of that while battling monsters and avoiding traps along the way

I like this book because it is adventurous, mysterious and unique. I love the way Riordan slowly unravels the story while never letting the reader’s attention stray. This book keeps me hooked and makes me never want to stop reading it. I think the plot is simply fascinating. This book is a mystical masterpiece.

I recommend this book to readers age 10+.

 

My Year 2014

Mummies

‘Mummies’ is a nonfiction book written by Ron Knapp. It is all about mummies. You may have heard about Egyptian Mummies, but let me tell you anyway what mummies are. Mummies are (as it explains in this book) dead bodies that have been preserved for a long time. Mummies can be formed naturally or can be made on purpose. This book tells us about some of the most famous of these mummies. It tells us about what may have happened (based on the scientific theories) before they died. It also tells us how and when they were discovered. 

Ron Knapp tells all this in a way that makes it feel like a book all children will enjoy (you just have to get started). It is also filled with illustrations (which after seeing you will hopefully be able to sleep if you are not really frightened!).

I love this book because it feels so much like a book most children will enjoy and also because it has such a not-a-boring-textbook kind of feel to it. It also makes me see how fascinating the world of mummies (and basically history) is.

I recommend to anyone who can see a photo of a dead body without being half scared to death. You also need to have a certain interest in history or mummies to be able to really enjoy the book to its full extent.

Personally I think all children should be able to read and enjoy this wonderful book by Ron Knapp.