Marika by Andrea Cheng Historical Fiction Review #1 * * * * Stars (Great!) I love how this book informs us of all the struggles and all the horrific things Jews had to go through during the Holocaust. This book tells of a young girl who writes in a journal of all her experiences as a Jew. The book reminds us that the world is a horrible place.
Leyla: The Black Tulip Girls of Many Lands series by Alev Lytle Craitier Historical Fiction Review #1 * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) I love how it portrays a young girl who tries to do right but instead puts herself in a place of slavery. As she goes through this, though, things start to get better. The suspense in this story was awesome! I love this book. I just wish the author made a … Read more
The Wish by Gail Carson Levine Realistic Fiction Review #1 * * * Stars (Pretty good) I liked this book because it shows what life can be like. It points out that not everyone is liked by others. There are some people who get secluded just because they are different. The world can be a mean place, but sometimes you just have to force yourself to think positive and deal with it. Be the best … Read more
Sink or Swim Whatever After #3 by Sarah Mlynowski Adventure Fantasy Review #1 * * * * Stars (Great!) Abby and Jonah go through the mirror again! This time they fall into the story of the Little Mermaid and it starts out in the water. When they finally swim to shore, they are in the Kingdom of Mustard (Prince Eric’s). When they try to find Ariel they take a painting of the prince and it … Read more
The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Arthur Owens gets in trouble with the law when he throws a brick at a trash-picking, presumably homeless man he sees around his neighborhood. He’s sent to a juvenile delinquent facility for several weeks and at his trial it comes out that the reason he attacked the man was because he saw him wearing his recently-passed-away dad’s hat (his … Read more
Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites Tennis Shoe Adventure series #1 by Christ Heimerdinger Adventure Mystery Review #1 * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) Jim Hawkins, Jennifer Hawkins, and Garth Plimpton are up for a big adventure. They travel to a cave following a trail that leads to a secret. They travel to an ancient world where they go through lots of breathtaking challenges. I definitely enjoyed this book. The history that I found from … Read more
If the Shoe Fits Whatever After #2 by Sarah Mlynowski Adventure Fantasy Review #1 * * * * Stars (Great!) When Abby and Jonah knock on the mirror (again!), this time they fall into Cinderella’s story!!! And when they are trying to help Cinderella find some kind of job to get out of her evil stepmother’s house, they try cleaning (she hates cleaning). That doesn’t work. They try sewing (she’s not very good at sewing). … Read more
Fairest of All Whatever After #1 by Sarah Mlynowski Adventure Fantasy Review #1 * * * * Stars (Great!) Abby, a girl who wants to be a judge when she grows up, has just moved!!! New school, new friends, and new everything! During nighttime when she finds her brother knocking at a giant mirror in the basement, she finds the purple mirror hissing! (It turned purple and then it sucks Abby and Jonah in!!!) When … Read more
Surfside Girls: The Secret of Danger Point Surfside Girls #1 by Kim Dwinell Graphic Novel Mystery Supernatural * * * * Stars (Great!) Samantha and Jade (both 12) discover an underwater cave at Danger Point, which has just been bought by a developer that wants to put up a big hotel. When Sam explores further, she meets a whole host of ghosts who want her help to protect the land. Jade can’t see the ghosts, … Read more
I Have Lived a Thousand Years by Livia Bitton Jackson Biography Nonfiction Review #1 * * * * Stars (Great!) This book was about a young Jewish girl trying to survive the Holocaust. It tells of the horrors that went on and gives a first-person, inside view of everything that went on while she was there with her mother. This book reminds us of how horrible man can be.