Stop Pretending

Sones, Sonya. Stop Pretending. NY: Harper Collins Inc.,1999. 148 pages. (Non-Fiction / Siblings)

“Cookie,” as her parents call her, is a very normal girl with a big sister to look up to until one Christmas Eve her older sister has a nervous breakdown. Her sister has to spend many months in a mental hospital. Everyday she goes to visit her sister and hopes that she will recognize her, but everyday her sister sees her as a complete stranger. In school Cookie has a hard time too because everyone makes fun of her. Then one day at school she finds someone who really doesn’t care if her sister is so sick that she doesn’t even remember her. John and Cookie grow to love each other and become the best of friends. I really recommend this book to other kids who have an older sister; this book is one of a kind.

Reviewed by: WillTurner136

Boy 2 Girl

Blacker, Terence. Boy 2 Girl. NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2004. 296 pages. (Humor / Fiction)

In this book the main characters are Matthew Burton (supposedly a popular kid), and Sam Lopez (Matt’s cousin). They are both 13 or 14. This book takes place in the suburbs of London. It also takes place in their public school. They are both in 8th grade. Their problem is that once Sam gets dressed up as a girl, it turns out that he makes a real great fake girl. Although when Sam’s father (Called Crash) got out of jail, he came looking for Sam, so to hide from his father, Sam had to stay dressed up as a girl. They solve this problem by beginning at a talent show. Sam was singing on stage with her (his) band “The Pandas”. When he was just about done with a song, he saw his dad. He stared for a while then started singing again. Another interesting part was when Sam pretended to go out with Matt and went to a sports game. In about the middle of the game, people went down on the field and started to fight and Sam decided to join them. I really liked this book. It was good and really interesting. It was funny too.

Reviewed by: ChickenNoodleSoup23

Heartland: Taking Chances

Brooke, Lauren. Heartland: Taking Chances. NewYork: Scholastic, 2001. 175 pages. (Fiction Series / Horses)

The book Heartland: Taking Chances is about a girl named Amy. She lives on a horse farm called Fairfield that cures abused and abandoned horses. Her mother died in a car crash and her father abandoned her. The farm ran into some problems with finances and barely got through them. Her sister hired a boy from another horse farm. When he got to Fairfield, he seemed nice but after a few weeks he wasn’t pulling his own weight around the farm, and he was an hour late to work two days in a row. Amy wants to confront him, but she thinks maybe he is still getting use to the new setting.

I selected the book Heartland by going to the library, seeing the book, and looking at it. At first, I didn’t like it, but then I thought it would be a good book to read because I have three horses.

Reviewed by: MarshmallowPeople

Ender’s Game

Card, Orson Scott. Ender’s Game. NY: Tor, 1994. 384 pages. (Sci-Fi Series)

Ender’s Game is about a boy who is the third child in his family, and he is teased a lot in school, and his brother isn’t so nice either. Ender is a very smart kid who gets chosen by Colonel Graff to be sent to a Battle School to help save the world from another Buggar attack (Buggars are an alien life form), but before he can battle, he has to train in zero gravity. He does very well in his training and makes a few friends along the way as well as a few enemies. Since he did so wel,l he was promoted to higher and higher ranks with him being the youngest in all the higher ranks. Then he does so well that he gets to go to a new commander school on the planet Eros. At this time, Ender really misses his family and hopes that he will be able to visit them soon.

I recommend this book to anyone who really enjoys sci-fi books with lots of action. This book is an action packed book that will cause you to not stop reading it. The writer, Orson Scott Card, uses great words to put you in the characters’ shoes. When I read this book, I felt as if I was the one facing all the same challenges Ender had to face. I hope you enjoy this book.

Reviewed by: Zezima

Because of Winn Dixie

DiCamillo, Kate. Because of Winn Dixie. NY: Scholastic Inc., 2000. 182 pages. (Fiction)

The main characters in this book are Winn-Dixie; India Opal Buloni, the preacher; Otis; Gloria Dump; Miss Franny Block; Amanda Wilkinson; Littmus Lozenges; Sweetie Pie; Gertrude; Stevie Dewberry; and Dunlap Dewberry. The story takes place at the Winn-Dixie Grocery Store, the church, the Dewberry’s house, Miss Franny’s library, India’s house, and Gloria Dump’s house. The problem that she faces is that she doesn’t get to see her mom because her mom moved out on her father and she wonders if she ever gets to see her mom again sometime soon. She might call her mom on the phone so that she knows where her mom has gone. India made friends with Miss Franny Block, and she told stories to India and to all her friends. She made friends with Gloria Dump, Stevie, and Dunlap Dewberry who thought that she ate dogs, but she is actually a very nice person. She also met a bird at the Winn-Dixie store and the parrot’s name is Gertrude.

Reviewed by: PineApple Express

Brian’s Return

Paulson, Gary. Brian’s Return. NY: Laurel Leaf, 2001. 285 pages. (Survival Series)

The book that I’m reading is called Brian’s Return. Brian is a 13 year old boy who decides to return back to the Canadian wilderness. He is trying to find a family he found before. Their names are the Smallhorns. Brian decides later on after searching a long time not to find them, so Brian says he will find them later. He has to survive in the wilderness alone for four months, so he makes a camp and keeps a journal, so he can give this to his psychiatrist who has been helping him. He writes everything that goes though the day. Brian starts his shelter- he does the same shelter as in Hatchet. Brian next goes out hunting and catches his first meal- a rabbit. He builds his fire and cooks his beautiful rabbit. He writes everything that happens today and goes to sleep.

Brian goes and looks for breakfast and he gets some water. He goes hunting and gets a rabbit. He bets that he can find something to go with his rabbit. He finds some berries. They are not gut cherries, they are raspberries, so he builds his fire and has breakfast. He writes in his journal about his day and goes to bed. If you want to know the rest, you will have to read the book. I thought this book was really good. I highly recommend this book to any readers who like survival books. This book makes me feel adventurous and exciting. This book is the best survival book I have read in a long time.

Reviewed by: Antwain