Auntie Mame

Dennis, Patrick. Auntie Mame. NY: Little, Brown, 1953. 204 pages. (Historical Fiction)

The main characters of Auntie Mame are Patrick Dennis himself, his eccentric aunt, Mame, and his aunt’s Japanese servant, Ito. When young Patrick suffers the loss of his father, he is sent off to be raised by his outlandish yet loveable Auntie Mame. The 1920’s to about the 1950’s mark the whimsical adventures of Patrick and Mame, as Patrick grows up. The final and overall problem for Patrick is that quirky Mame has taken to finding ladies as candidates for Patrick as wife wise. After defeating a trio of beautiful but arrogant goldiggers, he finally marries Pegeen Ryan, a statuesque redhead with sharp wit. Other interesting things that are good to know are that Auntie Mame did get married, but her husband was kicked in the head by a horse and died, leaving her extremely filthy rich. ( No, she didn’t marry him for his money.*sigh*)

I love this book and all of its characters. I have read it at least three times and I never get bored of it. Patrick Dennis is actually a false name too; it’s not the author’s name. (Not given for safety reasons)

Reviewed by: JackSparrow136

Rakkety Tam

Jacques, Brian. Rakkety Tam. Canada:Philomel Books, 2004. 372 pages. (Fantasy Series)

Step into the pages of a book with a country that has talking animals, fighting squirrels, hares, and badgers, trecherous wolverines, and a massive abbey with red brick walls. The book,Rakkety Tam, takes place in this country. It is about a feisty young squirrel named Rakkety Tam McBurl(also known as Tam). He is on a mission with his friend Doogy Plumm and a grou of fighting hares called the Long Patrol. They embark on their journey seeking Gulo the Savage and his crew of deadly vermine. They want to stop them from killing innocent creatures. Gulo is after his brother who he does not know is dead, and the Walking Stone which will give him the power to govern the icy northern lands. Gulo and his savage horde believe that his brother and the stone are hidden inside Redwall Abbey. When Tam and his Group reach Mossflower Wood, they gang up with the creatures of Redwall Abbey and set out to put a stop to Gulo's ways once and for all.

When you read this book, you will find yourself in one of the most adventerous and gruesome tales ever told. I really liked this book because of the battles, adventures, and interesting stories told. This book is so well written, that once you begin reading it, you can never put it down. I felt very excited and anxeous when I read this and I really wanted to knw what happened in the end after I started reading.

Reviewed by: Lesh

Fortune's Journey

Coville, Bruce. Fortune's Journey. NY: Bridge Water Paperbacks, 1997. 255 pages. (Historical Fiction)

This story is about a sixteen-year-old girl named Fortune and her traveling theater group called The Plunkett’s Players that venture west during the Gold Rush in 1853. The group consists of Aaron, a seventeen-year-old actor with a big attitude; Walter, the tallest and most kind hearted man Fortune has ever met; Mr. Patchett, the artistic director for The Plunkett’s Players; Edmund Wallach who had been abandoned by another troupe and then picked up by The Plunkett’s Players; and Mrs. Watson, a widowed woman with a big secret. This story takes place all the way from the East Coast to the shining city of San Francisco. Fortune must get the troupe to San Francisco safely, but on the way she encounters love with a boy named Jamie who eventually joins the troupe. Fortune and the troupe join a wagon train that is going to San Francisco. Near the end of the book, the troupe faces a horrible disease. Everyone except Fortune and Mr. Patchett gets this disease. Amazingly everyone except for one person beats the odds against one of the most deadly diseases of that time. But who doesn’t survive? You will find out if you read this wonderful book.

If I were to give this book a couple words to describe it they would be “mind-catcher.” This is a book that will make you want to read it.

Reviewed by: FizzyJunior31

Searching For David’s Heart

Bennett, Cherie. Searching For David’s Heart. NY: Scholastic, 1998. 220 pages. (Fiction)

The main characters in this book are David, Sam, and Darcy. David is Darcy’s brother and also one of her closest friends, and Sam is Darcy’s best friend. Sam likes to call himself “The Great Samdini” because he believes that he is as great as his idol magician, Houdini. This story takes place in many places, but the main place would probably be Darcy’s house. The problem that Darcy and Sam face is that David gets a new girlfriend, and forgets about Darcy (at least that’s how it seems to her.). Then on the night of Darcy’s birthday, Darcy and David get into a huge fight. Darcy is in such anger that she sprints into the street, and David is chasing after her. When all of a sudden, David dies a tragic death. He died by having a car hit him while running across the street to chase after Darcy. But amazingly, his heart is perfectly fine. So the family decides to donate his heart to another family. Darcy wants to solve it by tracking down the family that has his heart, just so she knows that somewhere, he is still alive. Some other interesting things that happened in this novel were that, while looking for David’s heart, Darcy and Sam find themselves in crazy situations, like sleeping on a trailer with a mule named Daisy, and sleeping on truck that is delivering furniture to Florida.

I would completely and totally recommend this book to a reader. I loved it and it grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go. I couldn’t stop reading it. The action in there and the miracles that are being written about were just beautiful. I almost cried and I never cry when it comes to books. I would give this book 10 out of 10.

Reviewed by: Garfield3

Holes

Sachar, Louis. Holes. NY: 1998. 233 Pages. (Fiction / Humor)

When Stanley Yelnats gets accused of stealing a shoe from Clyde Livingstone, he has a choice: go to jail or go to Camp Green Lake. His family, who are very poor, send Stanley to Camp Green Lake, a camp for delinquents. When he gets there, after a nine-hour trip, he realizes that there is no lake in Camp Green Lake. Neither is there any fun. The boys have to work from very early in the morning until they finish a hole that is five feet wide and five feet deep. In this nightmare, Stanley must make the right friends and choices, but also to find out who the mysterious warden is and what she is searching for.

I think that this book was very well written because it had just the right amount of suspense and mystery, mixed with a touch of irony and humor. It also speaks out for many causes such as racism, while keeping you interested in the book. For all these reasons, and more, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes to read.

Reviewed by: ToastedOats