Max The Mighty

Philbrick, Rodman. Max The Mighty. NY: Scholastic, 1998. 176 pages. (General Fiction)

Meet Maxwell Kane: a six foot tall kid with the attention span of a chimpanzee. Even though Max was still trying to survive the thought in his head that his best friend Kevin, has died a painful death from an operation, he was going to have to deal with “the real world” and travel across America. Max found himself defending a young girl cruelly, nicknamed “Worm,” for her love of books. Worm’s step father who Max and Worm called “The Undertaker,” would always beat her and her mother. While The Undertaker was beating on her mother, Worm would read in the dark with her biological father’s miner hat that he gave her before he died in a mining accident. Somehow, Max got involved in Worm’s problem of and snatched her away to save her life.
Max was then blamed for abusing Worm. Max was a wanted man. Max must flee across America with Worm.

In search of truth, no matter where it leads. Max and worm travel to Montana, overcoming obstacles like the police and Sherriff Goodman. he will also meet some new friends like Hobo Joe, Dippie Hippie, Frank and Joanie. Can Max survive the wrath of “the real world”? Find out by reading Max the Mighty a book I give a ten out of ten. I give it this because this is the most dramatic sequel I’ve ever read. Also look out for more Rodman Philbrick books.

Reviewed by: Rick4Nascar47

I Want To Live

McDaniel, Lurlene. I Want To Live. Ohio: Darby Creek, 1987. 126 pages.

The book I choose to read was I Want to Live. Dawn one of the main characters has cancer and is trying to live an ordinary life but cant because of her cancer. Dawn’s family is a big part of this book. They support her in every choice that she has to make in her life also the nursing staff is a real comfort for dawn when her family is not there. This story takes place in and out of the hospital. Dawn faces the problem of being a kid and the sick kid that no one wants to hang out with or be near. She solves this problem by making friends that she can feel comfortable around, but when that happened Dawn only got miserable. Sandy her best friend that she had had cancer like her too and it took the toll on sandy and she died. When Dawn first met Sandy they went to a cancer camp for kids with cancer and now she goes annually but without Sandy. That makes her feel grotesque. This book ends in a very different way since it’s a series: they have you hanging by a thread when you end, so you have to get the next book out to read and find out what happens.

I would recommend this book because it has a very strong sense of what other kids go through who have cancer and it gives a feeling of shock when you hear that people your own age are dying, and you are still living. When I got to the part where Dawn was almost about to die, I was almost in tears listening to her brother crying, screaming, and punching the wall trying to get his anger out about the feelings that he had in his chest for what Dawn was going through. Remember all kids are alike even if they do have cancer. They still want to be treated the same way as healthy kids. That is what I have learned from reading this series of books.

Reviewed by: BrownieLover101

Tom Sawyer

Twain, Mark. Tom Sawyer. Racine: Whitman Publishing Company, 1944. 235 pages. (Adventure/Classic)

St. Petersburg was a serene little town, until Tom Sawyer came along. After his mother died when he was young, he was sent to live with his aunt Polly. Throughout his days in St. Petersburg, Tom became more and more mischievous. He skipped school, schemed kids out of their money, toys, and goods, and was one of the two generals in the Saturday army game. When Becky Thatcher arrived, he immediately fell for her. They started hanging out a lot and all seems well, but then through a twist of events too detailed to get into, she broke his heart, and he ran off, livid with the world. Luckily, his best friend, Joe Harper, knew just how to cheer him up by hanging out with Huckleberry Finn, the disgrace of the entire town. He slept in people’s sheds and on their doorsteps, smelt absolutely atrocious, had acquired a ghastly reputation among all the adults in town, and wore ratty old clothes. Of course, these are the kind of things that made him so popular with the kids. So one night, Tom and Huck decided to sneak out to the graveyard at midnight and end up witnessing Injun Joe kill a man. During the trial, he escaped, and they spent their next few days worried that Injun Joe would jump out and attack them at any moment. Their worrisome mood didn’t last for long because they, along with Joe Harper, decided to leave town and become pirates. They left in the night and soon had the entire town looking for them. One night, Tom snuck back to town and found out that there was going to be a funeral for them. One the day of the funeral, they all hid in the back of the church and at the end of their service, swaggered down the aisle to the sounds of relieved sighs and a warm greeting from their families. Later that year, Becky invited all the kids from the schoolhouse to a party in the giant cave near the town. Tom and Becky went off delving, got separated from the rest of the kids, and ended up getting lost deep inside the cave. Will Tom and Becky ever find a way out of the cave? Where is Injun Joe? Read and find out.

I absolutely loved this book! The fact that I never knew what was going to happen next made me enjoy it even more. The wide surfeit of characters also made for a truly great story. If you asked me to tell you my favorite character or part of the story, I’d just stare at you blankly until you figured out that I just couldn’t pick one. I’d recommend this book to anyone even if you’re a die-hard sci-fi, fantasy, sport, or whatever fan. Trust me, just try this book, and I’m sure you’ll love it!

Reviewed by the Helpful Purple Butterfly

Who is Stealing the 12 Days of Christmas?

Freeman, Martha. Who is Stealing the 12 Days of Christmas? New York: Holiday House, 2003. 200 pages. (Mystery)

Meet Alex Parakeet and Yasmeen Popp. Every December, their neighbors decorate their yards as the song, “The 12 Days of Christmas.” But this year, someone was trying to steal the decorations! Yasmeen and Alex decided to do some detective work after that. Alex’s mom is a detective, so Alex should be good at it, but he thinks it’s a waste of time. Alex has a cat, Luau, and he thinks his cat’s an ace detective because he was the first one to know about the stealing of the decorations. After Luau finished his morning ritual, he asked Alex for some food, jumped up on the windowsill, and looks out the window. He noticed that there were only five geese and not six. That’s how they figured out something was wrong. The next decoration that was missing was the partridge, which was actually a rubber ducky painted gold with a paper beak. The display was supposed to open that night! Do they go on with the show? Who is the perpetrator? Why is he or she stealing the 12 days of Christmas? Read Who is Stealing the 12 Days of Christmas? to find out.

I would really offer this book to anyone in the holiday spirit. This book is set around a Christmas carol, so it’s very holiday-themed. If you like the carol, "The 12 Days of Christmas", you will enjoy this book.

Reviewed by: SPC88

The Midnight Twins

Mitchard, Jacquelyn. The Midnight Twins. New York: Penguin Group, 2008. 235 pages. (Sci-Fi Series)

Each twin has new powers, but is that good or bad? Mallory and Meredith Brynn are born just two minutes apart, but in different years. Meredith was born at 11:59 PM and Mallory at 12:01 AM.

When they were only three years old Mallory got lost in the woods. Using their telepathy Meredith knew where her sister was and calmed her down. They also made up new words and used them throughout their lives. Their whole women’s side of the family is twins. The only other twin in the girl’s family is their Grandma Gwenny. Growing up in Ridgeline, New York Mallory and Meredith changed the town forever. One late night on New Year’s Eve (Mallory’s and Meredith’s thirteenth birthday) there were fireworks and then, just in their dreams could this occur, there was a fire. When they awoke in the hospital, Mallory and Meredith couldn’t communicate with each other using their telepathy like they usually could. This was the just beginning of things changing. One twin developed the power to see into the future, the other the past.

David, a friend of the girls, was in all their dreams. The only way to get them to stop is stop David from bringing bad and horrible things like setting their house on fire, trying to kill innocent people, and other terrible actions to their small town. Their powers keep getting in the way of their friendship. Mallory and Meredith would get angry at each other if one saw something happening and the other saw it differently. Grandma Gwenny was always there to help them through the tough times though. Gwenny has had much more terrible things happen to her and now knows how to deal with them. Her twin sister died when she was very young. Twins are very close, and if one twin is not there it’s like half of you is missing. Mallory and Meredith get into lots of trouble that somehow brings them back together.

I thought this book was very good, if you like a lot of things happening at once. The girls are often at different places and seeing different things. The author describes everything both of the girls do. I would like to read another book by this author because the book was very descriptive. When the author was describing some scenes you could see what was taking place in your head.

Reviewed by: Buddy2759

New Moon

Meyer, Stephanie. New Moon. NY: Little Brown and Company, 2006. 563 pages. (Fantasy Series / Vampires)

New Moon is on the best seller list because of its author, Stephanie Meyer. Isabella (Bella) Swan and Edward Cullen are in love. Unfortunately, Edward and his family are vampires. So he thinks it would be safer for Bella if he leaves his hometown, Forks, Washington, and leave Bella alone forever. Except that’s not the case. Because Bella is so upset about Edward leaving, she doesn’t do anything accept mope around. Then she starts hanging out with Jacob Black. This is bad for Bella because he turns into a werewolf. Then Edward’s sister, Alice, comes back to see Bella. She can see into the future as an extra sense, and sees Edward killing himself in Italy. Edward is so upset because Alice told him Bella went cliff diving, and he thought she tried to commit suicide. Edward is half way around the world, and he doesn’t have his phone. How will Bella and Alice stop him? Will it be too late?

I personally loved this book. It’s one of my favorites. I recommend New Moon to anyone who enjoys vampires, werewolves, action, and of course, romance. I think I’m most like the character Alice (Edward’s sister.) I think I’m most like her because she’s independent, she’s loving and caring, and is not afraid to stick up for herself. This is a book you could talk about with your parents because it is appropriate for teenagers, but probably not for little kids, age of 10 and under. It is more for teenager’s because it does have some foul language, but not a lot. It talks about things that have to deal with love and things that little kids might get scared of because of the vampires. My opinion is it is a good book, and you have to read it to find out what happens with Edward and Bella and all the family. Most importantly, what happens in Italy?

Reviewed By: PenguinLover12

Among the Hidden

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Among the Hidden. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1998.146 pages. (Sci-Fi Series)

In a future America lived a boy named Luke, a third child who has never talked to anyone other than his family: his mother, father, and two brothers Mathew and Mark. The problem that Luke faces was that he is an illegal third child. The government put down a law that there can only be two children in a family, and if Luke gets caught by the Population Police then he would be killed. He solves his problem be making the right chooses and talking to the right people. One of my favorite parts in the book is the climax. I never want to put the book down when I am at that part in the book because I want to know what happens next.

I think that I would recommend this book to anyone who doesn’t like to read a lot because I don’t, but this book changed that. I liked reading this book because it felt like you were actually in the book watching Luke’s adventures even though you are only reading a story. I would also recommend this book to anyone who likes to be surprised because this book has a lot of surprises.

Reviewed by: Kermit96

The Big Field

Lupica, Mike. The Big Field. New York: Philomel Books, 2008. 243 pages. (Sports Fiction)

This baseball book's characters are Hutch, which was the main character of the book; Cody, Hutch's best friend; Carl Hutchinson, Hutch’s dad; and Darryl, the self – centered shortstop that only thought about himself. If Hutch was the star of the game, he was very jealous. Hutch's old position was shortstop but when Darryl joined the team and took his place, he wasn't too happy, but he made some adjustments and became good at that position. Later in the book, Hutch and his team got to a crucial game in the tournament, and Hutch needed to come up big with two outs and no men on base. He hits a home run to win the game and of course Darryl was full of jealousy. Hutch's dad was emotionally detached. He never wanted to watch games with Hutch or play baseball with him, but when Hutch snuck down to the batting cage in a local town, he was surprised to find his father taking swings. Hutch's team finally made it to the championship game. In the ninth inning, Hutch’s dad told him to bunt. He got on base and Darryl steps up and hits a home run to win the game.

I liked this book because it told that no matter where you grow up, how you live, or where you play, you can always become the greatest. It is inspiring to anyone who likes baseball, and possibly plays. This author also wrote Heat, Travel Team, and Miracle on 49th Street which are great sports books. This book will make you cheer for Hutch and his team throughout the whole book.

Reviewed By: BlueHairCommity

Old Yeller

Gipson, Frank. Old Yeller. New York: Harper Collins, 1956.184 pages.

The story I just read is called Old Yeller. It is a story about a young boy who lived in Texas. His father left on a business trip and left his oldest son, Travis, in charge of the family while he was gone. Not long after his father left, Travis found a new companion: which was a yellow Labrador retriever. Travis thought the dog was a stray by the way he looked. He was an older dog at that, so Travis decided to call him Old Yeller. Old Yeller and Travis had good and bad times since then, but in the end, there was one major problem: Travis’s one and only companion, Old Yeller, got a very bad disease from an infected wolf. The only way to solve the problem was to……. One other interesting ,yet sad, part of the story was when Old Yeller tried to save Travis’s life by fighting a mean and vicious wild boar to protect Travis. Even though Old Yeller was saving Travis’s life, both Old Yeller and Travis got severely hurt and injured.

My favorite character is Travis because he is an animal lover just like me. I disliked the fact that the sick wolf attacked Old Yeller. One thing from the story has happened to me: my 9 year old dog died from a “cancer” and what happened to old yeller reminded me what happened to my dog. I would recommend this book to any one who likes a book with lots of good and enriched details. I would also recommend this book to my family because they love a good, long story about animals. I selected it because I have read this book before, and I loved it so much I had to read it again. I would read another book by Paul Gibson because he is a very persuasive writer, and that is why I love this book.

Reviewed by: LoudMouth