Saturday, July 21, 2018

Sophie Someone by Hayley Long

Sophie Something, by Hayley Long, begins off with a fourteen-year-old British-Belgian girl named Sophie Nieuwenleven. Her and her family prepare to leave the United Kingdom so they could all move to Belgium. While living in the city Brussels,she makes a new friend named Comet Kayembe and she can't figure why she left her old residence. Also,she realizes that there is something not right about her identity. So she looks back to her past such as when she was a little girl trying to pronounce her long last name or when she was an eleven-year-old attending the sixth grade.

I thought the book was pretty good. I kinda liked the part that the story would use random vocabulary to replace daily used items such as instead of the word "night",they use the word "nitrogen". I also liked where the story took place and when it had a really good climax. What I would have to say that I didn't like is the ending. Even if this book had a really good climax,I think that it should have a good ending with it too. Also,I didn't like the fact when they used French and possibly Dutch because if this were to be on a library's book shelf,the words should be in English since there are many people who don't understand on what the words would say. But overall I think that this was a good story. This would be a 4-star rating in total. Especially for the people who understand this type of language in the story.

Reviewed by Hannah Rachel, Grade 8
Downtown Central Library

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

 The Lord of The Rings written by J.R.R Tolkien is a loved story and had been adapted to movies and also bad sequels like the Hobbit. The Lord of The Rings involves a Hobbit named Frodo Baggins and his friend Samwise Gamgee and without sloping any of the book they own a very powerful ring that is wanted by many evil people and Samwise and Frodo have to do all they can to destroy the ring and keep it out of the hands of people that will do no good with it.

I personally did not like this book. I did not like story because I think in my opinion it took too much time introducing the plot of the story and it always kept adding characters that I personally did not care much for them. However the two best friends Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee I felt that they had a lot of chemistry together and worked well and a duo. I would recommend this story to people who like stories like Harry Potter buy I however did not like it very much.

Reviewed by AB, Grade 8
Grandview Library

Muchacho, by Louanne Johnson


The story Muchacho, by Louanne Johnsonis about a boy named Eddie who lives in New Mexico and goes to this poor school. He describes himself and the kids at his school as the unfortunate individuals who won't get very far in life. The kids who do advance themselves do it by selling drugs and hustling. Eddie thinks that an education is a waste until one of his teachers leaves. Usually this wouldn't bother him because so many teachers at his school were either fired or quit. The only difference was this teacher showed some compassion and partly inspired Eddie to be better. Eddie likes to read but keeps it a secret because bullies beat him up people book smart. Eddie meets this girl named Lupe who appreciates him for his knowlodege and trys to persuades him to want to go to college. Eddie promises his mother that he will graduate high school which makes her proud. Eddie trys to become succesful but he is constantly making the choice whether to fit in or do good in life. Some of his choices affect his journey

I found the story Muchacho a well written story about a boy on a journey to reach his full potential in life. I liked the message which was to not let your unfortunate circumstance affect your dreams. I thought that Eddie was an hard character to like because he always made bad choices whenever he was doing so well. Eddie was starting to empress his parents with his grades but then he blew it by helping his friend sell drugs. I personally liked Eddie's uncle who he has to live with temporary. His uncle was so calm and enjoyed living a simple life. I had fun with this book and partly inspired me to become more serious about my education.

Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 10
Montrose Library

Monday, July 16, 2018

The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner


The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulknertakes place in the 1900s. The book follows different members of the Compson family, and their downfall from rich to poor. The first section is told by Benjamin, a mentally challenged man. He is born mute, and doesn't have a sense of time. He talks about his bond between he and his sister, Caddy. She is the only one who gives him love and affection. The next section is written by Quentin, the only one who goes to Harvard. He is ashamed of his family, and most of all his sister. As Caddy grows up, she becomes promiscuous, and later becomes pregnant. Quentin is mentally affected by this, and he feels the downfall of his family the most. The last narration is told by Jason. His section tells of how he takes care of Caddy’s daughter, who is now 17. She is a rebellious teen, and he has to deal with her the same way he has to deal with Benjamin, the family’s 6 servants, and his own mother. The last part is a third person view following around the oldest servant of the family, Dilsey. 

At first, the book didn't appeal to me because it was nothing like I had read before. It was extremely complicated for me to read and I had a hard time understanding it. Benjamin triggered memories along his section, and it was like a puzzle, trying to weave through the writing. But as I read along, and read it for the second time, everything made sense. I started to appreciate Faulkner’s writing, and each detail mentioned before came later in the story. To this day, I don't know what the story's message is to the reader. It made me feel slightly bad for this declining family, and it seemed as if only trouble would occur to them.

Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 9
Downtown Central Library