The Lightning Thief By: Rick Riordan

Review By Julie Moy Leong

Roarrr!!! The monster races toward a boy, charging like a raging bull. The boy, named Percy, faces many more monsters than just that Minotaur, a bull-man. In the book, Percy discovers he’s half human and half god, or a Demigod. He goes on a quest to find something that was stolen from the gods to try to restore the peace among the Big Three: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades.

Percy is a very brave fellow, but he sometimes doesn’t use his head. I think he’ll make a great Hero after he gets some training done. If you like myths about the Greek gods and also a bit of the present, this book is for you. But if you just like a good story with a touch of magic, you’ll just have to read it to find out.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodie Picoult

Review by Jaime Horwitz

It only takes nineteen minutes for a school shooting to happen.

Travel Team by Mike Lupica

Review by Robert Lee

He was a superstar who didn’t make the basketball travel team he had made for the past two years because he was too short. Danny Walker was a twelve year old star point guard and a son of a former NBA player, Richie Walker. In the story, Danny and Richie are doing everything for each other. After the result is announced, Richie forms a new travel team, the Warriors, just for his son, and Danny does everything to keep his dad happy. They haven’t spent times together for a long time, so this is a pivotal to get to know each other through basketball, their common language. Even though the Warriors were struggling, Danny didn’t quit. He’s not going to waste his second opportunity and let everyone down, especially his dad. Soon, Danny starts to step up and inspire his teammates. No matter how bad his team is, Danny believes in his teammates.

I really enjoyed reading this book because there were a lot of conflicts, but most importantly, I liked how Danny, the main character, worked so hard to prove his skill. I think the theme of the story is that you should never give up no matter how bad the situation is. By reading this book, readers will learn why they shouldn’t give up easily. Danny is about to show how he changes his chaotic situation into a Cinderella story… Just like The Mighty Ducks, this book is about accepting the challenges and overcoming the adversities. Also, the book shows that anything can happen if you endeavor.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by: Ann Brashares

Review by: Kelly Budish

What would you do if you and your best friends were separated for a whole summer? You would probably be afraid that you would lose touch. In the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, by Ann Brashares, Bridget, Lena, Tibby, and Carmen are faced with this situation. Lena is jetting off to Greece while Bridget is heading for Mexico. Carmen is visiting her dad in South Carolina while Tibby is stuck at home working at Wallman’s. When everything seemed hopeless, these four girls came upon a pair of magical jeans that Carmen had bought at the local thrift store. What made these jeans so ‘magical’ was that they fit all four girls perfectly. That’s when they decided to share them throughout the summer. They decided this because they believed that the Pants would remind them of each other while they were apart. Along with sharing the Pants, they wrote letters to each other about the exciting events that occurred while wearing the Pants. If you’re looking for a good book about friendship, this is the one. I couldn’t put this book down; it was so good. It will make you laugh and cry as you read about these four girls’ journeys. If you’ve seen the movie, then you will definitely love the book. In my opinion, the book is better than the movie. And the best part is if you finish this book and love it, there are three more books following it.

Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult

Reviewed by Haley Levinson

Imagine growing up thinking your mom had died in a car accident when you were a young child and then finding out she was alive and you were kidnapped. In the book Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult the main character, Delia Hopkins a.k.a Bethany Matthews, was told some shocking, life-changing news. She was eating dinner with her daughter and when there was a rapid knocking at the door. She saw that it was the police, and she was praying that her soon-to-be husband, Eric, wasn’t in danger. When they asked for her dad she sighed of relief, not knowing that she would be better off having it be about Eric. They take her father and accuse him of kidnapping someone by the name of Bethany Matthews. She starts having these dreams that recall some lost memories from her childhood that seems too real to ignore. Piece by piece the story of her life begins to unravel. When she attends her father’s trials, the nightmares of her past that were kept hidden for so long all come out changing her life, as she knows it.

This book is full of suspense. You won’t be able to put it down. I enjoyed this book because the events in it seemed like they were actually happening. It drags you in, making you feel like you are actually there experiencing the pain and excitement with the characters. It has many good lessons, and it is very enjoyable. If you like a good thrilling book, you will be sure to love this. If you liked any of Jodi Picoult’s other books, this one is right up there with the rest of them. Even though they have different concepts, they all relate in some way.

Could you imagine huge battles with mystical creatures, humans and
monsters that have never been heard of. The battle is fought between

Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Reviewed by: Dannie Kray

Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli is such a different book. Stargirl is not like any girl I’ve heard of before. Of course she has her quirks, but she is loving and kind. This unusual girl meets many strange people along her way, but she will not forget about her true love, Leo. Leo now lives in Arizona, while Stargirl lives in Pennsylvania. She misses him dearly. The book is about her writing him a letter, which she must decide whether to send or not, about how her life is without him. She encounters a little girl, Dootsie; a Harlem of girls; Perry who she likes; Alvina and Margie, who both work in a donut shop an Betty Lou who has agoraphobia. Stargirl decides not to use clocks in her house but to use a solar calendar on Calendar Hill. Every Thursday she goes up to Calendar Hill and marks where the sun hits on the grass. Later, she waits for the winter solstice. She throws a big party, and it is a huge hit. She is trying to decide whether or not to send Leo this long letter and I think her decision is very smart.

To me, this book means that even though people can be unusual, they can still have good friends and have a good time. She makes me feel like you can do whatever you set your mind to. Reach for your goals. Dare to be different. All these sayings are relayed through Stargirl. And they are all in the book! If you’re looking for a funny but serious read, check out Love, Stargirl! It’s a good novel with some funny parts. If you enjoy this, you will also enjoy any other book by Jerry Spinelli because he writes about a variety of funny and serious topics. Even though each book is different, in the end, they all have the same meaning.

Review by Reuben Rier

Bang, something could “strike” at anytime. This book
is so interesting and not a single moment is boring.
It is about a young boy and his father who never agree
on anything. His dad is trying to make him, his son
Barry into his own mirror image of himself, “ Mom he
wants to make me in his image.” He plays baseball
even though he doesn’t like it, but because of his
dad. His dad is on the board of education at school
and the teachers went on strike because of curriculum
changes and money issues everything was downhill
between him and his father. Him and his friends got to
miss sum school, but at the beginning he believed his
dads side, but then listened to the teachers and made
their story his own. Then there was one day when the
teachers and board met and that was the only day of
peace in Barry’s family. All the characters were well
structured and to me it felt like they all had real
emotions. I learned that you should always stay in
school and if you don’t like something just tell your
parents. To me the theme was, kids will always get
into arguments and disagreements with their family,
but there will be one day when there wont be and you
should take advantage of that. I would recommend this
book to be part of the schools curriculum and I would
also recommend another book that is like this. It is
called the series of unfortunate events by lemony
snicket.

Review by Frank Zhao

The “Life of Pi “by Yann Martel is an amazing book! The book is about a
boy named Pi and his Bengal Tiger, Richard Parker, living out in the seas
for 227 days. The book is told from Pi’s point of view. The book was
written when the author Yann Martel, actually met Pi in a restaurant in
Pondicherry, India. Since Pi is a religious boy, he goes up to Yann, and
tells Yann that his story will make him believe in God. This book will
definitely make you believe in God from the beginning of the book to the
end. The book is about miracles happening. The book will teach you many
available lessons though out life such as living is the best part of life.
I found this book extremely enjoyable and funny! A funny part would be
when the three religious figures goes up to him and asks him to choose a
religion. Well, the religion he chooses will be revealed in this book.
The book is mainly about him trying to find himself. I learned that the
best part of life is living though this book. An example would be when he
is on the boat, and he sees some strange pictures. These strange pictures
will later help me, which gives him hope to live on. Pi always wants die
to due there is no comfort on the boat, besides Richard Parker. He later
learns to live with this problem. The author’s ability to make a funny
book out of something so serious gives you another reason to read this
book. An example would be when Pi is trying to kill the tiger. He
actually goes thinking through six plans to kill the tiger, at the end he
chose plan six. Like the movie Castaway, if this book was to be turned
into a movie it would make an excellent movie. After the first few pages,
you will be asking yourself: “Who am I?”. If you enjoyed books such as
Pendragon or another adventure books, then this book is for you.

Review by Danny Gottlieb

I read the book Velocity, By: Dean Koontz. It is about a man named Billy. He is in his upper thirties and works at a bar. Billy is a normal guy. He has a many friends but his life was turned upside down after his wife passed away. Ever since then, he has been in a depressed mood and has just been anxious for something good to happen to him. One day after work, Billy went back to his car to find a note lying on his windshield. It said “If you don’t show this to the police, I will kill a young school teacher. If you get the police involved I will kill an old woman in charity work.” Billy thought this was simply a prank a co-worker made. But, the next day when he found out a young teacher from a near by town was murdered, he was freaked. Billy keeps on receiving more and more notes and has to keep on making decisions based on who he thinks should live and who shouldn’t. Billy also, wants to find out who the murderer is and stop this killer from ever murdering people again.

I loved this book. The main character Billy was perfect for his role. Just because of his life crisis and his attitude. He’s a young man who is depressed and just sick with his life and then something happens giving him reason to live. The theme of this book teaches us a very good lesson. Never trust anyone but yourself. You never know who will betray you. This can help everyone because of all the murders and rapists there are today. Who knows, your next-door neighbor might not be the person you think they are. This book would be a great movie. I can already imagine this book being a movie because there are so many movies like it right now. A serial killer, who leaves notes making his victims make a choice/play a game. If you liked the movie Saw, then I’m sure you will love this mystery/horror serial murder novel! Velocity, By: Dean Koontz is a great book, I am sure you will have a fun time readings this novel!