Houghton Mifflin Publication Date: January 1900 List Price: $16.99 ISBN-13: 9780618959617
Review: Are you in the mood for a sweet, haunting story about a young girl overcoming loss? Then Nothing But Blue by Lisa Jahn-Clough is the right book for you. This story will lift your heart up about humanity and the different kind of people in this world.
Along the way she meets a telepathic dog-named shadow that becomes her companion. She feels down a lot so she names her self-blue. She comes across a lot of people in a journey to a home that she barely remembers. Some of the people are good people and some people are bad but over all you are left with a good feeling of people. Her story slowly unfolds until you finally find out what happened to her.
Overall I think Nothing But Blue is a good book that tells a strong story about a young girl. I would give this book a 4 out of 5 stars because it was just a happy book when you got to the end of it. Although it started out a little slow in the beginning and you don't really know what is going on, later in the book it speeds up and you understand everything.
Review written by Morgan (6th grade student).
We would like to thank Houghton Mifflin for providing a copy of Nothing But Blue for this review.
Have you read Nothing But Blue? How would you rate it?
Philomel Books Publication Date: June 2013 List Price: $17.99 ISBN-13: 9780399257766
Review: What if the only person you could trust is the person who is trying to kill your friend? That is exactly what Proxy by Alex London is about. Sydney is a proxy to one of the most well known accountant's son, Knox, who is the patron of Sydney. Everything that Knox does wrong or bad, and the punishment is then forced upon Sydney. So when Knox gets into a car crash with a girl named Marie, all debts are over and it's a life for a lifeÉ Or is it?
Marie is a "cause girl" which means that she is fighting for a cause. That cause is to change the whole proxy/patron system into something where everyone is equal. This is an unbelievably dangerous task to change what everyone knows to be true. Eventually, they realize that Sydney is the key to ending the social system that they know. They also figure out the key is in his blood, but Sydney isn't the only person with the blood running through his veins. One of them must dieÉ who is the other person that holds the key to changing the system? And who will die to change the lives of everyone else?
Proxy by Alex London is honestly one of the most inspiring and amazing books I have ever read. While taking place in a confusing, technological futuristic time, London captivates really ties everything together at the end, ending with a suspenseful and fortifying ending that no one would have expected. Although everyone would enjoy the story line, the language and central plot is best suited to middle school readers and above. London captivates readers with the conflict of "good v. evil" and the enticing topic of a dystopian futuristic life involving technology combined with the past and of what happens today, slavery. While incorporating the often problems found in poverty and the privileges of living in the upper city part of state, I found myself imagining a city like Los Angeles. I often found myself comparing the life of the past, present, and what the future might be like. London keeps you guessing and you don't completely get the answer until the end, which then brings up more questions, so this makes you literally unable to put the book down. Through all the happiness, desperation, and tears I had, I regret nothing. Proxy really makes you not take things for granted and appreciate the way life is now, also making you want to take good care of the future to make sure the world never has to go through the things that Sydney, Marie, and Knox have to go through everyday. I give Proxy 5 stars and two thumbs hoping Proxy will fly off of shelves in June of 2013.
Review written by Abby (6th grade student).
We would like to thank Random House for providing a copy of Proxy for this review.
Marcela Mariz Publication Date: August 2012 List Price: $11.99 ISBN-13: 9780985808433
Review: Have you ever wanted to live on a perfect planet? Well, so did Albert, Ruth, their parents, and their dog Soap from The Chosen of Gaia, written by M. Mariz. The family gets extremely close to reaching that perfect planet. But is it really that perfect after all?
Albert and Ruth are twins and live with their mom, dad, and dog, Soap. They are a close family and eventually have to come to a decision once they face two options. Albert has a dream that comes true and a man named Julius visits them to say that they have been chosen - chosen to go to a new "perfect" planet away from Earth. They decide to go and they are told that they have 30 days to decide whether or not they want to return to Earth or stay on planet Gaia. Though they go through rough patches, the family begins to love the planet and decides to stay there. All is well until Victor, the father, and his friend, George are framed for breaking into the president's home and stealing important documents. When the president is found dead from a heart attack, suspicion surrounds George's family. While trying to redeem their family name and innocence, find the real culprit and a little love along the way, the family just might make it throughÉ or will they?
The Chosen of Gaia is a decent book. I wouldn't have been impressed if I had to buy the book but would have happily gotten it from the library. It's a great science-fiction book with little romance and lots of mystery and suspense. Although the end is engaging, it takes awhile for the book to interest the reader. I found not interested in continuing the book, but once I reached the last 50 pages, I sped through them. The Chosen of Gaia's audience would be 10 to 14 year olds since all of the content is appropriate for that age group, but it does have difficult concept to comprehend and wouldn't be a great book to share with immature minds. Overall, I give The Chosen of Gaia three stars because the ending almost makes up for the dull start and middle. I just wish Mariz made sure to have an interesting beginning and middle to match the end.
Review written by Abby (6th grade student).
We would like to thank JKS Communications for providing a copy of The Chosen of Gaia for this review.
Have you read The Chosen of Gaia? How would you rate it?
From Fail to Win! Gadgets and Inventions by Neil Morris. A From Fail to Win! Learning from Bad Ideas Book.
Raintree Freestyle Publication Date: January 2011 List Price: $33.99 ISBN-13: 9781410939098
Review: Do you like stories that that tell you about history and the future? If you do, then this is the book for you. In the book, From Fail to Win: Gadgets and Inventions by Neil Morris, it shows how scientists can fail or win.
In the book, From Fail to Win: Gadgets and Inventions, there is an invention made by Thomas Edison - concrete furniture. Edison believed that people would like concrete furniture and other concrete items. But, the author shows how Edison's idea failed since people felt that concrete furniture would be uncomfortable and too expensive. Therefore Thomas Edison sold all of the concrete to a company to make something else.
Also in the book, the author mentions an invention made by a phone company which was called the videophone. This phone was originally introduced by AT&T as a phone that allowed the callers to see one another while they were speaking. This was a fail because it was an expensive phone. But, maybe it was an invention that was simply ahead of its time. Find out what other inventions were made that were never released by reading the book From Fail to Win: Gadgets and Inventions.
This book taught me that even the smartest of scientists can create a failure. After reading From Fail to Win: Gadgets and Inventions, I learned about many cool inventions that I would have never known about; I really enjoyed this book. Even though it's a small book, I recommend it to any one that likes a book with awesome inventions. It is a perfect book for libraries and schools and even your home bookshelf.
Review written by Eric (6th grade student).
We would like to thank Media Masters Publicity for providing a copy of From Fail to Win! Gadgets and Inventions for this review.
Have you read From Fail to Win! Gadgets and Inventions? How would you rate it?
2:32 AM by Emily Ford. The first book of The Djinn Master's Legacy.
Amazon Digital Services Publication Date: May 2012 List Price: $5.99 ISBN-13: B0077276KG
Review: Paranormal activity can be very fascinating. There are many different crazy events, objects, and even people. You hear about vampires and werewolves all the time, but you don't hear about genies very often, do you? Genies are an incredible subject to read about. I read all about genies in the remarkable book 2:32 a.m. by Emily Ford.
Catherine and her family have recently moved to California. One night, she has a strange dream about a man sitting on the edge of her bed. He makes her feel calm, not afraid. She wakes up at 2:32 a.m. Later, the man she dreamed about tells her that he is a genie, and has been a genie for over 400 years. He is looking for somebody to transfer his powers to. He has picked her. Cat doesn't know if she should accept his legacy or not. Finally, she decides to accept it. During the process of gaining his powers, an evil genie named Valentine plans to steal the power. Cat successfully gains all his power and destroys Valentine. Meanwhile, she has problems with her boyfriend, Tom, and another genie named Rolf.
This book is okay. It has a very interesting plot, but there are some inappropriate parts. I think this book should be for ages 13 and up. The problem is, anybody over 13 might not like the book as much because they are older and would want to read books with plots that are meant for their age. Not a book about genies. I give 2:32 a.m. 2 stars. I did like how this book is organized, and I liked the action parts. This book has a lot of parts with Catherine going out partying with her friends, and those sections are not very attention grabbing. I could not relate with the main character at all because she is much older than me, which means that an older reader might connect better and overall enjoy the book more - as long as they enjoy genies. All in all, I did not enjoy this book, but a different reader might.
Review written by Lilia (6th grade student).
We would like to thank JKS Communications for providing a copy of 2:32 AM for this review.
Random House Books for Young Readers Publication Date: January 2012 List Price: $14.99 ISBN-13: 9780375869952
Review: Oddfellow's Orphanage is a charming, whimsical book for ages 4 to 8 and 20 to 100. The main character is Delia, a newly acquired orphan to very unusual orphanage. This surprisingly happy book is written by Emily Winfield Martin and published by Random House Children's Books.
Oddfellow's Orphanage follows Delia on her adventures at her new orphanage. Oddfellow's Orphanage is not your typical orphanage and the orphans are unique too. Delia is fascinated to meet her fellow orphans who include a boy with an onion head, a girl with tattoos, and a hedgehog. There is even a family of dancing bears that lives there, too! Delia herself doesn't speak but is given a notebook she wears on a string around her neck to communicate. While at the orphanage, the children receive an unusual education taking classes like fairytale studies and cryptozoology. Along with her new friends, Delia goes to places such as an amazing circus and on adventures like exciting monster hunting. They also celebrate the holidays together like Christmas and New Year's Eve. Every chapter shows them growing as individuals and also as a newly formed "family."
I absolutely loved this book. On a scale of one to five, I would give it a five. The illustrations included in this book are beautiful. I also liked how every chapter started by explaining one person in the orphanage until you learned the backstory of every character. During each chapter, there is some kind of adventure or mystery like in one chapter when Ollie, the onion head boy, thinks he might join the circus and leave his friends. This mystery and others like it kept me addicted to the story which I liked. My only problem with the story is that it isn't longer! A story about a group of orphans could easily be sad, and I was pleased that this story was such a happy one. Even though the children have lost their own families, they have found a new family with each other.
Review written by Justin (6th grade student).
We would like to thank Random House for providing a copy of Oddfellow's Orphanage for this review.
Have you read Oddfellow's Orphanage? How would you rate it?
Play it Loud! The Rebellious History of Music by Sara Gilbert. A Pop Culture Revolutions Book.
Compass Point Books Publication Date: January 2010 List Price: $33.32 ISBN-13: 9780756542436
Review: POW! WHAAM! Ring ring! These are the sounds of music. Intricate, beautiful, intriguing music. Music has been a huge impact on the world. It has made marks in history throughout society, government, and other worldly issues. Play It Loud! The Rebellious History of Music by Sara Gilbert goes into depth about how much music has done for the world. It talks about many different artists and groups of people who have made history and music by speaking or singing for what they believe in publicly. People like Elvis Presley and Joan Baez did their own thing, no matter if people agreed with them or not. Music did so much for everyone in the world and let so many people let go of their emotions and feelings and this book made that very clear.
Play It Loud! is a very interesting, great, and informative book. It gives accurate accounts that made me think "Wow, that's so true! I can see how much music did for people!" It let me realize that music really is a wonderful thing with so many prospects. The fact that there are so many examples of artists who for example spoke out against wars or just doing what you want and ignoring the nay-sayers was amazing, because I knew then that not just a couple of people are using music's power to send an important message, many were joining in on the movement. In the book, each section telling of a certain artist or genre transitioned smoothly into the next because many had a similar subject or message. Each chapter could be related to the previous or next and was definitely readable. Not to mention how relatable the book was. Play It Loud! Features artists who went through tough times in their childhood and because of the high poverty level in bigger cities in modern times, many teenagers could probably relate to the artists. The fact that I understood and related to almost everything music has done that was mentioned in the book makes me believe even further that the book will be interesting to many. Next, on top of the fact that such useful, detailed information is included in this fabulous book, it's very interesting. Most preteens-teens are very interested in music, lots of kids spend most of their free time on their iPods and listening to the radio, and music is a very popular thing in recent times. Since so many kids enjoy music, many would be interested in learning more about how it has developed and what it has done for the world. Altogether, Play it Loud! is a fabulous book that is very interesting, descriptive, and relatable! It drew me in and kept my attention! I'm very glad that I had the chance to read this great non-fiction book and would definitely read it again!
Watch a book trailer created by the student reviewer, below:
Review written by Savannah (6th grade student).
We would like to thank Media Masters Publicity for providing a copy of Play it Loud! The Rebellious History of Music for this review.
Have you read Play it Loud! The Rebellious History of Music? How would you rate it?
