Breathe a Ghost Story

McNish, Cliff. Breathe a Ghost Story. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books, 2006. 261 pages. (Horror / Mystery)

I read a book, Breathe a Ghost Story, about a boy named Jack; his mother, Sarah; and five ghosts: The Ghost Mother, Ann, Oliver, Charlie, and Gwyneth. The story starts with Jack moving into an old farm house after the death of his father. His mother wanted him away from all the problems of the past. After living in the house for a few days, he began to realize that they were not alone in the house. This story takes you through what happened between Jack, his mother, and all the ghosts while living together. Someone may not be the same after living in this house.

I really liked this book because it put you on the edge of your seat, I didn’t want to stop reading it. I recommend this book to anyone who loves ghost or spooky stories. I didn’t really have a favorite character, but my least favorite character is the Ghost Mother. She was mean to Jack’s mother and very protective over Jack.

Reviewed by: PunkyGnome666

Breadwinner

Ellis, Deborah. Breadwinner. Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, 2000. 170 pages. (Historical Fiction)

The main character of Breadwinner is Parvana, and it takes place in Afghanistan. The main problem of the story is that Parvana mom and dad were both highly educated people with degrees. Then, the Taliban came to power and everything in their lives changed. There father was taken away from their family but only men could work and the only man is there father. So Parvana dresses up as a boy to go to work. She has too buy the food to because only men could purchase it. What do you think will happen in the story? I would recommend this book to any one. It was fun, exciting, and takes my breath away every time something new happened!!! I think anyone with a craving for a sad love story with a thrilling twist should read this story. It has all three in one.

Reviewed by: Rockem!Sockem!Robot!

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

Brewer, Heather. The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod. New York: Scholastic Inc. 2007. 180 pages. (Vampire Series)

Vlad is just your normal eight grade student, except for one thing, he’s a vampire! With the help of his worst friend, Henry, who he bit when he was eight years old, and his guardian, Nelly, he manages to lead a pretty normal life. Unlike a regular vampire, Vlad drinks blood bags that Nelly brings home from her job at the hospital and from raw meat. He has a huge crush on Meradith, a girl his class, but is too shy to ask her out because he is constantly picked on by the school’s bullies, Bill and Tom, and has become known as the school’s Goth kid. He feels like he has his life fairly under control until his English teacher, John Craig, mysteriously disappears and is replaced by Mr. Otis who seems to be quite interested in Vlad. At the same time, Vlad is also trying to better understand his powers, but he cannot find anything that can help him. His parents both died in a house fire when he was young, and he doesn’t know that there are any other vampires. Will he be able to master his powers? Who is Mr. Otis? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

This book was very enjoyable read. It had a plethora of characters, an appropriate setting, and an excellent plot. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries and laughable characters. I love how the author was able to turn a scary and serious subject into a funny junior high story. If you can remember a time when you didn’t feel like you “fit in” with the crowd or felt like no one understood you than this is the book for you. Let’s just hope you’re not a vampire.

Reviewed by: the helpful purple butterfly

The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones

Riordan, Rick. The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones. NY: Scholastic, 2008. 220 pages. (Mystery)

The main characters of this book are Dan and Amy Cahill, part of a vast family tree in which the members from both past and present have shaped history. This story took place in three different places: Boston, Paris, and Vienna, Austria. Dan and Amy faced a multitude of problems from the start. They went to their grandmother’s funeral not aware what was about to happen: they were given a choice of whether to get their $1,000,000 inheritance or to undertake a perilous journey around the world to seek out the Cahill family treasure which would make them the most powerful Cahill of all. They choose the journey which has many problems which they solve by doing this one thing… Don’t trust anyone!!!

I felt this novel was very suspenseful with a great intimacy between the characters and the reader. It is suspenseful and exciting because it ended in a different character almost every two chapters. It ended in a cliffhanger which made me want the next book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery, suspense, or anyone who just likes books that make you just want to keep reading on and on.

Reviewed By: TheBlueHairCommitee

Breaking Dawn

Meyer, Stephanie. Breaking Dawn. New York: Little, Brown Company, 2008. 754 pages. (Fantasy Series / Vampires)

In this fourth and final book of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, things are not what they seem. Bella, Edward, and the Cullens are back in a rich novel full of twists and turns. Edward and Bella have an almost perfect wedding, but during their honeymoon, an unforeseen problem is introduced- Bella is pregnant, but this is no normal baby. Through Jacob Black’s eyes, you see the baby grow at an extremely fast rate, nearly killing Bella by starvation. Finally the problem is worked out, but just in time for another bigger one, the baby’s unscheduled birth. Bella is literally torn apart by this and Edward has no choice but to plunge his venom into her. After Bella wakes, she sees her baby girl, Renesmee. At the same time, she discovers that Jacob and Renesmee’s fates are twisted together in a way she didn’t think possible: Jacob imprinted on Renesmee. But even that impossible idea is nothing to the fact that Renesmee has been seen and mistaken for an illegal vampire child. The informer has gone to the Volturi- the vampire control center in Italy that holds the vampire rules- and now there’s no turning back. Newly turned vampire Bella, Edward, Renesmee, the Cullens, vampire friends, and the human people of Forks have all been sentenced to die…


As with the other books in this series, I absolutely loved this book. The multiple plots kept the story moving, and I liked that the book was done in three different point of views; part one Bella as a human, Jacob, and finishing with Bella as a vampire. I would recommend this book to anyone into the Twilight series, vampire stories, love stories, or thrillers; this book is a perfect mix.


Reviewed by: funkeyzebras19

Barbaro

Mickle Fraser, Shelly. Barbaro. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, 2007. 147 pages. (Non-Fiction)

I love animals and most of all horses, so I saw that tragic end to Barbaro's career and followed him to the sad point of his to life, the end. I think it is good for everyone who worked or was connected to this amazing horse let it all out and tell the story of Barbaro's life. This is a book that will make you cry if you have a true and loving heart.

Barbaro (also name of book) was bread to be a champion and everyone said he would be the one to take his place among the Triple Crown winners. But this horse born to run and be a champion, all changed in one heart wrenching moment that would change his life. America's horse was not racing to be a champion but was now fighting for his life.

Reviewed by: naturegrl

Emily of New Moon

Montgomery, L.M.. Emily of New Moon. NY: Harper & Row, publishers, Inc. 339 pages. (Historical Fiction)

Emily Starr was never as lonely as she was until her father died. After her father past away, she had to go live with her mother’s stuck up relatives at New Moon Farm. She thought she wouldn’t like it there because dealing with strict Aunt Elizabeth can be tough. At New Moon, she finds things she likes, like Cousin Jimmy’s garden, the forgotten house, and Lofty John’s bush, but the biggest change is when she goes to school and makes friends. At school, she meets Teddy, who loves to draw; Perry, who is New Moon’s hired farm boy; and Ilse, who is a tomboy with a bad temper. With all these friends and fascinating excitement and exploring to do, Emily might just consider herself Emily of New Moon.

Emily of New Moon is a good book I recommend it to anyone who likes sadness mixed with still a lot of excitement. Emily had a hard time when her father passed away. Even though he wasn’t there to comfort her she still found ways to face her challenges at New Moon Farm.

Reviewed by: GinnieGirl

Dragon’s Bait

Vande Velde, Vivian. Dragon’s Bait. Orlando: Magic Carpet Books, 1992. 196 pages. (Fantasy)

The main characters are of Dragon’s Bait Alys was a girl from Saint Toby’s a very hard working girl at that, and selendrile is the dragon that was going to eat her but he was not interested in Alys. The novel takes place in Saint Toby’s, Griswold, and Green Barrel Inn. They both wanted revenge on the person that turned Alys in. Alys was sentenced to death and tied to a pole to be eaten by the dragon, Selendrile, for being a witch. There is one event that struck my eye: Alys had to cut her hair and act like a boy, but the witch realized that she was a girl because her fake boy voice.

I am very likely to read another book by this author because she described every detail fully, She wrote that Selendrile, the dragon, first appeared out of nowhere. Also the great details how its mane was such a lush color of gold. I would also recommend this to a parent because they both like a good fiction book even though they may not know it.

Reviewed by: 90210

The Sledding Hill

Crutcher, Chris. The Sledding Hill. NY: Harper Tempest, 2005. 230 pages . (General Fiction)

The main character in the book is Eddie Proffit, who is 14, and starts out with a family of three. The story takes place in Bear Creek, Minnesota in the middle of the winter in the twentieth century. The problem he faces is that his dad just died from being near an exploding tire. In the same month, his best friend kicked some sheetrock and he died, too. Eddie has trouble with the loss of his friend and his father and gets sad about the deaths. I thought it was interesting in the book when his dad started to haunt Eddie and the spirit was in Eddie’s closet. Another event that I thought was interesting was that Billy’s spirit came back and started to talk to Eddie.

I would read another book by this author because the books he writes seem very interesting. He made things (Like Eddie’s best friend) come back that I thought would ever happen. Some of the books he has written sound like they are movies I know. Those movies that I know are very action packed, so he would probably make them even more action packed as books.

Reviewed by: oldpartner587