Excellent Reads

FIRE Graceling Realm Book 2 by Kristin Cashore 528 pp. Firebird. $10.99. (Ages 12 and up) ISBN 9780142415917 Rating: 4 Stars     This book is about a monster that has lived in the ages of knights and princesses. The monster is a beautiful 18 year old girl called fire. She can control and read minds of humans and animals. She has never wanted to be a monster but her father, Carasel, has made her one of them. She has to live through the fact that she is a monster that is hated by everyone. Now, she is trusted by the kingdom of the dells to help save the kingdom from a war between three kingdoms. Will she save the kingdom or make it fall apart?     The book is like a history book. It talks about the past when the kingdoms of princess and princes ruled the land. But the author added some interesting character into the book. She has also added some animals that is celled monsters. Which is something regular kingdoms don't have.     ...

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo 146 minutes. Marvel Studios. (PG-13) See at IMDB Rating: 4 Stars     This is a new marvel movie. I like this movie, Its very fun and it has new characters . The genre is Fantasy/Science fiction film. The duration of the movie is 2 hours and 27 minutes. I wanted to watch it in the fist week it came out, but all the tickets were full in every cinema.     I like how the director of the movie added some new characters. These characters were from the other marvel movies. Like ant-man and spider man. It makes the movie really cool. And the personalities of the characters were the same as the original movie.     There is a lot of sarcasm in the movie, and it makes the movie more funny. It makes the fighting in the movie less serious. Even if there is violence I the movie its covered by the sarcasm.     I think the avengers are the villains. I know t...

CITY OF FALLEN ANGLES The Mortal Instruments Book 4 by Cassandra Clare 480 pp. Margaret K. McElderry Books. $13.99. (Ages 13 and up) ISBN 9781481455992 Rating: 4 Stars   This book is a start of an new adventure. The enemy has lost and a new one rises. I think it is a good idea the author made a new enemy. Now the book wont end!   I don't like how the author divides the book into many parts. It makes me think its a very large book and sometimes I get bored. It makes the book seems like a very very big book. And most pages are wasted for the page to say a new part and also the quote/poem the author has made.   In a new story there will be new characters. The villain in the book has lost now if the next villain will be bigger new characters will come. The are new characters now like Mia, Jorgan and other characters.   I don't like the part when a partner does not let the other one go in a fight because they don't want to lose them. Its like making a...

CITY OF GLASS The Mortal Instruments Book 3 by Cassandra Clare 592 pp. Margaret K. McElderry Books. $13.99. (Ages 13 and up) ISBN 9781481455985 Rating: 4 Stars    This is the 3rd book of the series. Its the best book out of the 1st and the 2nd because it is the book that has the war between Valentine and the Shadow hunters. When I started reading it it seems very messy. But in the end it all makes sense. Its ether between the valentine or the shadow hunters who wins.    From the first book until this book (the third book) the cover always has the text by Stephen Meyer.. looking at the cover of the book makes me think its the same book over and over again. I also think the text by Stephen Meyer should be in the back because most text by a famous author is in the back.    Valentine is a villain and also a father of 3 children. I don't understand him. Is he trying to use his children or does he really love his children? I think the author should explain more...

CITY OF ASHES The Mortal Instruments Book 2 by Cassandra Clare 512 pp. Margaret K. McElderry Books. $13.99. (Ages 13 and up) ISBN 9781481455978 Rating: 4 Stars   This is a type of book that mixes every type of book into one book . I would think it has everything. Like Action,romance,comedy all in one book. It is like other teen books like the Divergent series. It is one of those teen books that every teen enjoys reading. I also like the love story in the book. Clary and Jace is very sweet and caring, but I think they are a bit over protective.   I think the cover in the book has too much color and pictures. It kind of makes people think “what is really in the book?”. I think the illustrator should lessen the pictures and just have Clary and Jace or another main character. Most people like simple but charming covers.   The moral in this book is friendship and care. Everyone needs to learn how to care and to take care of their friendship. It is a very importa...

CITY OF BONES The Mortal Instruments Book 1 by Cassandra Clare 544 pp. Margaret K. McElderry Books. $13.99. (Ages 13 and up) ISBN 9781481455923 Rating: ? Stars    The story starts with a 15­ year old girl named, Clary Fray. She starts out as a perfectly normal teen with a best friend, Simon. Then everything turns upside down. Her mom disappears out of nowhere and she falls in love with a stranger that she saw murder a demon. I have seen this book resistantly in many book stores so I had a feeing I should read this book.   I think the book should have a different beginning. I am starting to be bored with the same start of stories, always starts with a normal person opening their past. Most teen books (ex. Divergent series, Harry potter, The pretties series, etc.) have the same beginning. I think the author should make it more exiting and different in the beginning, so it can attract the readers attention.   I think in this book there is too many p...

21 PROMS Edited by David Levithan and Daniel Ehrenhaft 304 pp. Push. $9.99. (Ages 12 and up) ISBN 9780545798679 Rating: 4 Stars    I love thinking about prom. It is so cool! Wearing Dresses, having a date, and dancing. It seems like a cool time! This book has many things about proms. It has times when the character does not have a date and tries to ruin the prom by casting a spell. There are ones that is scared of dancing and prom. Each story is made differently. Like there are some that is more a script than a story. There are some that is a Diary and lots more.    My favorite story is the story about this girl who started off without any dates, but ends up with 3 dates. I thought the story was very romantic. Especially the part when knows the truth about this boy who she thought bullied her.    Some stories are very disappointing. Some character hates prom, but in the end she is forced to go to prom. It just makes you feel angry.    I like...

SPECIALS The Uglies Series: Book 3 by Scott Westerfeld 400 pp. Simon & Schuster Childrens Books. £6.99. (Ages 11 and up) ISBN 9780857079152 Rating: 4 Stars    This is the third book of the Uglies series. Tally youngblood is a teen girl who before was a ugly. Her world was turned upside down. She has done what the Specials(the people who control the city)has told her to do. After her becoming a pretty she made a mistake and now she is forced to become a special. I really like imagining things in the book. That is the only reason i read books. When Tally changed i imagined how she would look like. She also has a Skintenna (A communication thing under the skin that can communicate with other specials)now which makes the book more cool. The author says that tally has been remade into a scary human.    Tally has been remade to a special called a cutter. A cutter is a younger and cooler type of special. The cutter group was lead by her best friend. Shay. After Tal...

Z FOR ZACHARIAH by Robert C. O'Brien 192 pp. Puffin. £6.99. (Ages 12 and up) ISBN 9780141300313 Rating: 4 Stars    I am reviewing a great book called Z for Zachariah. This is a book about a young lady that is alone in the world by her self because the radioactive waves in her country has killed everyone. She meets a man who is a scientist. She thinks the man is the person who has invented the radioactive wave. This Is a good old fashioned book. My dad used to read this when he was little.    A teen girl named Ann Burden, lives in the country side. She knows how to survive on her own. She owns her own farm, which means she can grow her own food and take care of her own animals! The most amazing part is, she knows how to cook, farm things, and she has a store that isn't owned by anyone anymore. It's really cool. I'm sure she can survive at that place for a long time.    This book has a many important meanings. Sometimes people do things that kills many ...

PRETTIES The Uglies Series: Book 2 by Scott Westerfeld 384 pp. Simon & Schuster Childrens Books. £6.99. (Ages 11 and up) ISBN 9780857079145 Rating: 4 Stars    This is the second book of the Uglies series. Tally youngblood is a teen girl who before was a ugly. Her world was turned upside down. She has done what the Specials(the people who control the city)has told her to do. Now she is a Pretty, her dream come true! Pretties is the best book i have ever read out of all the other series. It's the most interesting book i have ever read. It has the most important events. The story jumps to different events every page. So many events i cant stop reading it!    The Cuffs is like a regular prisoner cuff, but only one side. It records everything you say and you do. I think the Cuffs might not be the best idea. Its not so futuristic. Maybe the specials can make a detector in their blood. This will make the story more interesting. They will have to control some doctor to...

THE MARTIAN Directed by Ridley Scott. 142 minutes. 20th Century Fox. (PG-13) See at IMDB Rating: 4 Stars        This movie might me the best scientific movie ever. It's a story of a man called Mark Watney was left behind because the crew thought he was already dead when the storm arrived at their post. Now he needs to survive at the post with a little bit of supply to wait for someone to save him. Do you think he will survive?     I like the way mark lives in the post. A smart guy living in the middle of Mars? I don't think he will survive. But a Genius? yes.I like how he made the plants live. He is a botanist!     I rate this Movie 4 stars because it is a great movie.

ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S ME MARGARET by Judy Blume 192 pp. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. $9.99. (Ages 12 and up) ISBN 9781481409940 Rating: 4 Stars    Margaret is having a hard time after she moved to a new school. But now, she is settling in and meets new friends. She loves her friends but when they were having a great time one of her friends lied to her. She has also hurt someone just because of a gossip she heard. Will she ever make everything better?    I love the part when a boy thew a party at his house. Not a crazy teenagers party though. Just a fun party. There were many fights but they all were very happy. Nobody ever had that kind of parties at my school. I wish I could have those kinds of party. They sound so fun.    I hate the part when Margaret hurts a girls heart just because a little gossip. She didn't even know if the gossip was even true. May this be a lesson to everyone to not to ever listen to something even if you think its...

THE EARTH IS SINGING by Vanessa Curtis 336 pp. THE EARTH IS SINGING by Vanessa Curtis336 @Usborne @UsborneDigital http://bit.ly/1DBhh3J . £6.99. (Ages 14 and up) ISBN 9781409577447 Rating: 4 Stars     I will admit that I was actually rather surprised I liked this book, as it wasn’t my normal choice. Normally I read fantasy or sci-fi, not historical fiction based on real lives. I may have to change my usual agenda, though, as this book was fascinating, and there have also been a few other historical fiction books and biographies which I have enjoyed. Throughout this whole book I really felt like I could connect with the main character, Hanna, There were a few times when my heart clenched in fear for her and I smiled when she was happy.     This book is set in World War 2 in Germany, and is narrated by a 15-year-old Jewish Latvian called Hanna, whose father has been taken by the Russians. It starts off not too bad. Life is hard, but Hanna is sti...

BUFFALO SOLDIER by Tanya Landman 368 pp. Walker. £7.99. (Ages 14 and up) ISBN 9781406314595 Rating: 4 Stars     The book is about the times when American had slaves. The main characters are Charlotte and Abe (her horse), and the Indians they were fighting.     My favourite part is when she joins the army. My favourite character is Abe because she is an animal. My least favourite parts are when she falls in love and when her horse died. My least favourite character is the boss of the army.     I liked how there are not many books that show you how awful it is to be a slave. It is written so you know what her voice sounds like (her accent). That made it special.     Did we like this book? Yes and no. It was too intense for a child to finish, and the parent reading had to not read everything because there were swear words and very violent parts that the child did not want to hear. However, for a teenager or an ...

TERROR TOWN Elf Boy and Raven Girl Book 4 by Marcus Sedgwick illustrated by Pete Williamson 176 pp. Orion. £6.99. (Ages 8 and up) ISBN 9781444005271 Rating: 4 Stars      This book was set in a fantasy town called Terror Town where creatures like werewolves and zombies existed. The main characters were Elf Girl and Raven Boy whose real names were not revealed. They went to Terror Town to get the Singing Sword so that they could defeat the Goblin King.      I think this book is good for children who can read well but still like shorter books with pictures inside. This book definitely deserves four out of five stars.      Even though this book was for the most part just a funny and scary story, the main characters do grow on you. Eventually you begin to see that even though they act like they dislike each other, they are actually really good friends. A good thing about this book is that even if you haven't read th...

FIVE ON A TREASURE ISLAND The Famous Five book 1 by Enid Blyton 192 pp. Hachette Children's Books. £5.99. (Ages 8 and up) ISBN 9780340931592 Rating: 4 Stars     This was a brilliant kids mystery book. Enid Blyton has always been one of my favourite authors but this truly swept me away. As you read this book you truly begin to admire the children for their bravery and courage. Personally, my favourite character is George (short for Georgina) because she refuses to act like a girl and is even more of a boy than most real boys. I'm also a big tomboy so I feel like I can understand her the best. I also like Julian because he is so cheerful and makes everyone around him happy.     This book is about when Anne, Julian and Dick go to visit their cousin Georgina. Soon they learn that she hates being a girl and won't answer unless you call her George. After awhile they earn her friendship and she agrees to take them to her island with her dog Timoth...

MR MOLE AND THE MOST POWERFUL BEING IN THE WORLD by Andrew Fusek Peters and Polly Peters Illustrated by Didier Conrad 32 pp. International Baccalaureate Organization (UK) Ltd. $10.99. (Ages 5 and up) ISBN 9781906345884 Rating: 3.5 Stars This book review is about Mr Mole trying to find a smart husband for his daughter to marry. And the man Mr Mole wanted her to marry was in the sky, but every time they said no. I think 7 year old children in the Infants Years would like this book because I am 7 and I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed this book but it is a little boring because the same thing basically keeps happening, so I will give this book 3 and a half stars.

LILY ALONE By Jacqueline Wilson Illustrated by Nick Sharratt. 320 pp. Doubleday Children's Books. £12.99. (Ages 10 and up) ISBN 9780385618649 Rating: 4 Stars     I read this book because my friend recommended it to me. I am honoured to say that her mom knows Jacqueline Wilson. I myself actually sometimes feel like Lily.     This book is about a girl called Lily. One day her mom goes off with their may be future dad on holiday so they are left home alone. Poor Lily has to somehow get the house together before their mom comes back. Sadly with Baxter, Pixie, and Bliss always on the move that is nearly impossible. Just to make it worse they have a secret to hide: their mom has left them home alone.     I think ages nine to twelve should read this book because the language is for older readers but adults and teenagers would probably think the story was a bit childish. This book definitely deserves four stars because it wa...

MY SISTER LIVES ON THE MANTELPIECE By Annabel Pitcher 240 pages. Orion. £9.99 (Ages 11+) ISBN 9781444001839 Rating: 4 stars       This book informs you that even on the rainiest days of sadness the sun can always come out at the end of it.       Jamie and his family live in London. When his sister Rose is killed, the rest of the family move away. Unfortunately the parents start to fight so much that finally the mum goes to live with Nigel, a man who works with her. Due to this the two children only have a drunken dad to look after them. In Jamie's new school basically all the children are mean to him except for Sunya. However that bothers his dad because she's a Muslim and Muslims killed his sister. What happens when Sunya gets fed up with Jamie treating her so badly and stops being his friend? Will Jamie ever be able to fix their friendship again or will he not?       My favourite character...

THE BIG SNUGGLE-UP By Brian Patten Illustrated by Nicola Bayley 32 pages. Andersen Press Ltd. £10.99 (Ages 0+) ISBN 9781849392082 Rating: 4 Stars This book tells you about an old scarecrow and lots of animals in a house. It is about a scarecrow and nine animals going together in a house. First an old scarecrow and a mouse go in the house. Then a robin and a butterfly go into the house. After that a squirrel and a rabbit come into the house. Next a cat and a dog come into the house. Then a fawn, a lamb, and a donkey came into the house. Lastly a heron, a fox, and an owl came into the house. My favourite character is the dog. My favourite part is when the donkey comes in. I think the pictures are amazingly real. I think ages four and five should read this book. I think this book deserves four out of five stars. also on Guardian Children's Books Site (communicated by Agustinia ligabuei ; written by Bellusaurus sui )