Review: Ambition's Not An Awful Word by Zack Zage

Ambition's Not An Awful Word by Zack Zage.

Ivy Court Press
Publication Date: March 2012
List Price: $16.95
ISBN-13: 9780983607823

Review: "Oh, the moon left you this message 'It's ok to dream.'" This is a quote from the book I will be reviewing today which is Ambition's Not an Awful Word written by Zack Zage. It is a relatively short poetry book, and although I honestly didn't really like this book, I respect it and love this book's moral.

Ambition's Not an Awful Word starts with a boy in class , Zack Zage, who has just been asked the question; "What do you want to be when you grow up?" The boy loves this subject and had answers various answers in a speech. Here are two pages from the book Ambition's Not an Awful Word. "If I were an artist, the critics all would flip. The bigs at New York's MOMA would cry, 'This guy's really hip.' From musicians by Picasso and the night skies of Van Gogh, to Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, and ME, a one man show. 'Oh your canvas is no Pollock. It is just a muddy mess.' Our teacher, Mrs. Grundy, thinks it's awful, more or less. 'You had better stick with finger paint, rubber stamps, and glue. 'Cause all that junk that you call are is really double doo.'" Now you're probably thinking, "Hey! What just happened? It just went completely from ambition to putdowns!" Well, yeah, that's what just happened. I can't really explain why, but he just puts himself down in all of his ambitious thoughts. This happens on every page. He'll be all excited about a career and on the next page thinks of every single possible letdown there is to that job. This is one of the main reasons I don't really love this book. In another page, he says he could be a banker; and a very successful one too. But then, on the next page, he says he'll go to jail because he would be so bad. Again, I think that is a big letdown. However, the end does make up for the rest of the book. The boy's mother does in the end teach the boy a lesson - and it's a very valuable lesson too.

I recommend Ambition's Not an Awful Wordto parents reading this book as a story to younger kids anytime. It is not as interesting to older kids, but it does have a more sophisticated vocabulary. That is why I recommend it to parents reading to their kids. It also teaches a great lesson, which that is thinking you will be successful later on in life is very good for you. It encourages you to do better. In the end, although I did not particularly love the book, it does have a valuable lesson.

Review written by Dylan (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Ivy Court Press for providing a copy of Ambition's Not An Awful Word for this review.

Have you read Ambition's Not An Awful Word? How would you rate it?

Review: Roots and Blues: A Celebration by Arnold Adoff

Roots and Blues: A Celebration by Arnold Adoff.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: January 2011
List Price: $17.99
ISBN-13: 9780547235547

Review: Culture isn't always the most interesting thing to read about, right? That's what I thought until I read Roots and Blues by Arnold Adoff. He really writes in an interesting way. This book is a collection of poems that relates what life was like for African Americans that worked on massive plantations. Since when did culture and social studies get so interesting?

Roots and Blues is a series of poems that relates what life was like for African Americans during the time where they were forced to do manual labor on plantations. It mixes their feelings through their music created during this time period and historical evidence on what was going on around that time period. In the beginning, the African people live in their native land. They're then put on the chain gang and brought to America. In America, they live under extremely harsh conditions, as described through the poems. African Americans invent a new style of music to convey their feelings, called the blues. They communicated their feelings through their music and others actually understood their thoughts. Soon, fabulous musicians appeared, some of which are still popular today. The blues brought people together and unified the African Americans through a time of terror and hate.

The author, Arnold Adoff, does a wonderful job of mysteriously conveying the feelings that the African Americans probably experienced during the time period discussed in the book. Through poems, he hints at what they felt and how they expressed their feelings through a new style of music called the blues. It leaves the reader trying to decode the words that are said. The author opens up paths of interpretation that the reader can follow. You can interpret it different ways, which makes the book fun to read. The author does a phenomenal job of writing this story. He shows heaps of enthusiasm through his writing. I like how the author communicates the feelings of the African American people through poems. By doing this, it helps the reader understand information in a fun and exciting way. Roots and Blues is an excellent book, and Adoff writes with exceptional experience and makes reading worthwhile. I rate this book five out of five possible stars.

Review written by Colleen (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing a copy of Roots and Blues: A Celebration for this review.

Have you read Roots and Blues: A Celebration? How would you rate it?

Book Review: Orchards by Holly Thompson

Orchards
by Holly Thompson
Non-series

Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
ISBN-10: 0-385-73977-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-385-73977-1
Publication Date: February, 2011
List Price: $17.99

Review: Imagine if one of your classmates commits suicide, and you know you are part of the reason she did so. Next thing you know, you are being shipped off to your cousin's house in Japan… far away from your home. Orchards tells this story. In beautiful poetry, Orchards also tells the story of how everyone else who is wrapped up in this same situation decides how to handle their regret and sorrow for the classmate who committed suicide. The main character, Kara Goldberg, faces many problems of her own while tending her cousin's orange groves. Orchards is a novel written by Holly Thompson that will keep you wanting to read more. If you enjoy tragedies, this is the type of book for you.

To begin, a terrible tragedy takes place in Kara's hometown. One of Kara's classmates commits suicide, and Kara believes she and her friends may be the cause. Kara's parents believe that in order for Kara to reflect on her behavior, she should be sent far away from her home to Japan for the summer and tend her families orange groves with her cousins, aunt and uncle. As the summer moves along, Kara discovers more about her relatives, Japan, and the village's culture. During this, Kara learns how to live with the pain and guilt. Just when Kara begins to forget about the tragedy back home, something one of her friends does sends her right back to the beginning. Guilt is constantly hanging over her head, and never- ending thoughts of the tragedy take place. A spectacular ending wraps up the book perfectly, leaving you wanting more.

Overall, Orchards is a wonderful book with only a one negative point. The story begins at a very slow- moving pace, but sets the scene very nicely. You may think that because Orchards is written in beautiful poetry that it makes it harder to read and follow along, but there is no dramatic difference. This is what makes Orchards unique from most of the other books I have read in the past. Also, I love how you can almost feel the main characters pain because her thoughts are of Ruth (the girl who committed suicide) and what she could have done differently to prevent this from happening. For example, one of the poems is

if you had told me
what you told Jake
if Jake had told Lisa
what you'd told him
if you had told Jake
what to tell Lisa
if Lisa had told us
I want to think the texts and chats
would have ended and
we would have listened
would have understood.

I also love how the thoughts of the girl who commits suicide begin to disappear as the book goes on. And you can see how Kara changes, how she begins to forget the tragedy. One other thing that makes Orchards a fantastic book is that you can see how Kara's opinion changes about Japan, and how this experience changed her life. Orchards is a lovely book.

I give Orchards by Holly Thompson four stars, because of the slow- moving beginning.

Review written by Abby (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Random House for providing a copy of Orchards for this review.

Have you read Orchards? How would you rate it?

Book Review: Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems About Love by Pat Mora

Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems About Love
by Pat Mora
Non-series

Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN-10: 0375-84375--2
ISBN-13: 978-0375-84375-4
Publication Date: January, 2010
List Price: $15.99

Review: From love to make ups and break ups, Pat Mora has included every thing that a kid could feel when they are in love. Dizzy in Your Eyes is a book of poems that are all about the feelings a teenager could possibly have while in love or healing a broken heart.

Dizzy in Your Eyes is a book of poems about love. Some are pretty confusing but the others are simply classic and loving. My favorite poem is called "Mirrors". It is about beauty. Her grandma tells her she is beautiful, but she doesn’t see it. Pat mixes humor and feelings into one book. A funny poem is called "To-Do List". It states humorous things he will do over the weekend without the worry of people laughing. Some of the poems are in Spanish or half in Spanish. One of the few confusing poems is called "First Time". It says:

whizz! You jumped and squeezed my arm,
your eyes squinched,
     tense with fear
when the loud bark sank its teeth
     into your neck
as the pickup whizzed by.

We stood there not speaking,
     Grateful
in the autumn wind
that we were safe,
     together.
Maybe the driver thought we were wimps
     as he sped by, laughing, mouth open.
Two teens scared of a bark.
     I didn’t move
your hand warmed mine
     for the first time.

From break ups to make ups this book has it all!

Honestly, I loved this book. It really related to me. It made me really think about my life and some of it even made me think of my life and how amazing it is through the thick and thin. Due to the vocabulary I would say this book is for ages 11 and up. This book was a little confusing because of the wording and the fact that some of it is in Spanish. I give this book a four out of five star review. Dizzy in Your Eyes has almost everything a teen could feel.

Review written by Sara (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Random House for providing a copy of Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems About Love for this review.

Have you read Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems About Love? How would you rate it?