Mrs. Gish’s 7th grade Book Reviews

 Would you like to be hunted day and night by vicious Man-Dogs, or would you like to fight to the death not once but three times in a arena in front of thousands? This all happens to two couples who met at a boarding school owned by the government.

                In the book Winters End two girls left their boarding school to visit their consolers to deal with their problems. On their way they ran into two boys who they fell in love with instantly. They make plans to run away from the awful treatment at the school. On their adventure they learn how their parents were prominent leaders of a The Resistance, a group who plans to overthrow the government. Will they take control of the government? Will they all survive?

Winters End was an amazing book. I could not stop reading. It was a page turner the whole book because the author, Jean-Claude Mourlvat, kept you guessing throughout the entire book.  The ending was a total surprise to me. Also the characters seemed practically real. I could relate to almost all of them. They all share the same longing as I to make a difference in the world but they don’t know what. The characters all affected me somehow. Some made me feel sad others seemed to make me want too go out into to battle. In the end the book made me relies the importance of freedom and how its worth fighting for.

Reviewed by Mitchell L.

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Percy, Annabeth, and Grover almost lost their lives while fighting the all-powerful, Krypton. In this exciting, fourth book of the Percy Jackson series, Battle of the Labyrinth, Percy and his friends must go on a quest to try to get into the center of the Labyrinth. They must stop an evil person named Luke from reaching Daedalus’s workshop in the center of the maze. After reading this book, I feel that this one is my most favorite out of the other books in the series.

                One of the main conflicts is Percy trying to solve the tricks and puzzles of the maze during his quest. Also, a fortune teller named the Oracle, told Percy that his friends or he would not make it out of the Labyrinth alive. Another thing was that if Luke beat them there, he would be able to breach the borders of Percy’s magical camp called Camp Half-Blood. Then, soon after, Luke would attempt to take over Mount Olympus.

                This book has had an effect on me because now I would like to read the final book in the series. The next book is the final one. I think that Rick Riordan did a great job at describing the characters. He did this by saying how the characters looked, and how they acted. Also, he mentioned what they wore, and what their role in the story was. I would say that this story was a page-turner because every one of the chapters would end in a cliff-hanger. The suspense would always make me want to read the next chapter. Overall, I believe that everyone that likes reading should try to start reading the series.

Reviewed by Jesse S.

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Have you ever met a ghost that tried to kill their siblings?  Mary downing Hahn does a very good description of how a girl named Florence comes into The Crutchfield Hall. While she is there she gets possessed to by her dead cousin named Sophia, who later tries to use her until she later gets enough strength to kill her brother James. This book is a very good book for people who enjoy scary ghost books or who just really like the author Mary Downing Hahn and the way she describes the setting.

This book is about a girl named Florence who had just moved from Miss Medleycoate’s Home for Orphan Girls, to her Uncle’s house in London. In her Uncle’s house she comes upon her dead cousin Sophia who she has a scary relationship with, Florence also meets Sophia’s brother James who is scared and blames him for the causing of his sister’s death. While Florence is there she gets a strong brother and sisterly relationship even though they aren’t brother and sister. Then Sophia possessed her and then forces her to take the charm from behind James’s room door so she can come in a take James to finish business. Will Sophia kill James or will Florence be able to defeat Sophia and save James.

I loved this book because the author did an excellent job describing all the character’s quality and traits. This book was a page-turner because of the meticulous words describing all the things that were happening in the book. This book is a very good book for people who enjoy scary ghost books or who just really like the author Mary Downing Hahn and the way she describes the setting.

Reviewed by Sharon B.

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Would you like to ride in the back of a car that the person who wants you dead is driving?  How would you feel if death lay right below you?  Lemony Snicket, the author of The Carnivorous Carnival, does a fantastic job of making you feel that you’re right there with the Baudelaires.

This the ninth book in the Series of Unfortunate Events.  The series is about Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire.  Their parents died in a fire which is the first thing in a long line of sorrow. This book is about the three orphans winding up in the Caligari Carnival and look for answers.  Answers that seem impossible to find.

I love the way Lemony Snicket writes.  He starts off every chapter with an opinion or something about his personal experiences.  Also, he explains any phrases or big words that are hard to understand.  Although it was a good book, it wasn’t a page turner.  The chapters were very long.  It was almost difficult to read more than one chapter at a time.  I would recommend this book to people that can stop in the middle of a paragraph.  Then pick back up right where they left off.

In conclusion, I think it was a good book.  It was one of the best in the series.

Reviewed by Ryan S.

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“Don’t trust him, Robbie. Don’t trust him.”  This warning was given to Robbie by his grandpa, Old Da, just as Old Da was dying.  A Stranger Came Ashore by Mollie Hunter is a suspenseful story about Robbie’s adventure to save his sister.  This book contained a lot of action and was a page-turner.

            This novel began with a stranger coming ashore off of a wrecked ship on a stormy night.  The ship wrecked on an island in the Shetland Islands that lay north of Great Britain.  The stranger, named Finn Learson, says he was the only survivor of the wrecked ship.  He was very mysterious man who easily made the people on the island like him and trust him.  Robbie had felt that Finn wasn’t normal, then he received Old Da’s warning.

            This novel was very suspenseful and was a page-turner.  I enjoyed this genre because it was very exciting.  The author wrote a very action-packed book to keep the reader’s attention.  There was a cliff-hanger at the end of every chapter.  An example is, when Robbie found Finn Learson playing Robbie’s Father’s fiddle in the middle of the night.  There was a mysterious tune, so Robbie crept out of bed and followed the sound.  Robbie peeked into the den room and saw Finn playing the fiddle.  He was spotted and he sprinted back to bed and hid, ending the chapter.  Anyone who likes an adventure or a mystery book would enjoy this book because of the suspense and action.  I liked this book and would recommend it to anyone.

Reviewed by Stephen O.

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When Tara did the unthinkable, (she tried to steal the principal’s stuffed goat!) her parents sent her to Willow Falls. It’s a small town where her parents grew up. Weird things happen here…very weird things. When Tara gets herself in trouble she has to do a favor for Angelina, a store keeper in Willow Falls, so she won’t tell anybody what Tara really did. “In exchange for my silence, are you willing to work for me?” Angelina asked Tara. Her job was to find thirteen things and return them to Angelina before her thirteenth birthday. While she’s in Willow Falls she is introduced to some people who eventually become her friends. David, Rory, Amanda, and Leo help Tara find the things on this list. In this fantasy by Wendy Mass things get really exciting when she finds all of the items but, soon finds out she used the wrong list!

13 Gifts was very interesting to me because every time I thought things were starting to make sense something crazy happens and it gets it even more confusing than before. It keeps you on the edge of your seat until the end! One of the things that made it so suspenseful was that every chapter ended at an important part. For example, in one of the chapters Tara finds out that her mom did something terrible when she was younger and she was shocked and angry at her all at the same time. Then guess who showed up in Willow Falls that day? Tara’s parents! When the author described the characters I feel that she did a great job. After I finished the book I know that Tara was not very colorful. She didn’t have a lot of friends, but she didn’t care. She just goes with the flow. Emily, her cousin, is very bubbly and bright. She is very smart and one day wants to solve the world’s hardest problem. She stays up late at night trying to figure all the numbers in her head. Even if you don’t like fantasy books (or just books in general!) you will still love this book.

 Reviewed by Leah

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What if you lived on a farm and found out that you had an unwanted visitor that was a vampire?

I thought the book was good. Even though the book was on the childish side. I felt this book was on a second grade reading level and people can tell it was written for children way younger than me.

The thing I like about the book is the main character Tony just knew that the vacation they was going on was going to be boring. Tony’s parents’ idea of fun isn’t exactly Tony’s idea of fun. All the things his parents like to do are boring to him so when they told him that they were going on vacation he already knew it was going to be boring. Tony’s first day at the farm was exactly how he thought it would be boring until the sun went down. After that Tony found himself waiting for the sun to go down.

This book didn’t really have affect me in any type of way. It really seemed like a kids book to me and I didn’t really take anything from the book. Did I connect with the characters or events? Yes, I feel as if I kind of connected with Tony I didn’t really connect with any of the events. I feel I connected with Tony because I also think that most the events and vacations my parents pick are kind of boring. But other than that I didn’t really connect with anything, I felt the book was childish to my reading level. I very much so enjoyed the writing style. The book was written for children younger than me so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

 Reviewed by MonTierra

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How would you like to be lost in haunted woods    somewhere you have never been? And find out the thing that’s haunted your wife…is now haunting you                                        both on your way back home? The author of this book is Mary Pope Osborne. The characters are Lord Huldbrand, Undine, and the one haunting them, Kuhlhorn. It all starts when Huldbrand gets lost in the woods. He hears noises, such as laughter, and beautiful singing. If you like paranormal activity things, or things that just happen like that this book is made for you!

This book is about a king who gets lost in the woods. He hears noises like laughing and singing. He ends up on a beach where a family of three live. Huldbrand stays there for days, and days, and days. There’s a girl named Undine who is the fisherman’s “daughter”. Huldbrand likes her very much. When he sleeps near the fire one night he sees something out the window. It was a ghost that has be haunting Undine and her family for years now. Soon a few days after that Huldbrand and Undine end up getting married and going back home to his kingdom. On their way back they see it a few times but not a lot.  When they get there to his kingdom they had a big dinner and Huldbrand sees the figure on the balcony above the people. He gets worried when it disappears into the cabins where they slept. Just read the book if you want to know what else happens.

This book was kind of difficult to read. At some parts it was confusing to where I couldn’t understand some things. I did enjoy the genre of this book because it was fantasy and I enjoy those books A LOT. It was kind of a mystery too wondering where the ghost would end up next. It wasn’t boring nor tiring to read. It was kind of as page turner because in some chapters I wanted to keep going, and going. That’s how good it was. I say you would enjoy this book because I sure did. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books that make you have chills, and have your skin crawling.

Reviewed by Kyndra P

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Beatriz knew that the ninetieth floor was forbidden; this made her want to go even more. Knowing she must find her parents, she walks into a Forest in the Hallway. Gordon Smith did a great job of creating a suspenseful fantasy story. Overall, this was one of my favorites.

Beatriz’s parents have disappeared. Now in a peculiar forest, she travels to find her missing parents. Soon enough, she has new friends and is getting closer to her parents. Running into many crazy people, she learns who she really is. Reading this story, you may learn something too.

This book was definitely a page-turner. With plenty of suspense, I wanted to keep reading. Many times, Beatriz risked her life to find her parents. I had to keep reading. The author did a great job of describing the characters. I could make a clear picture of how they looked. I also understood how they acted. I understood their personalities. This book affected me when I found out that Beatriz parents were missing. It made me realize how I should value my time with loved ones. I was impressed by Gordon Smith.

Reviewed by Ashton B.

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The book I read was Ghosthunters and the Totally Moldy Baroness by Cornelia Funke.  The setting in this book is Gloomstone Castle. It is an old eerie castle. It even has a drawbridge and a mote.  The genre is fantasy. My opinion of this book is that it is good.

                The setting in this book is Gloomstone Castle. The major characters in this book are Tom, Hugo, and Hetty. The conflict in this book is that the team has to defeat a ghost. The Ghosthunters receive a cry for help from Mr. and Mrs. Worm. The team goes to the castle and is almost immediately haunted. They use a bunch of ghost hunting technology and find out it is a ghost with a bad past. There friend Hugo, which is a ghost, attempts to defeat the Baroness.

                My opinion of this book was good. I enjoyed this genre. I liked that it was a ghost hunting book and was very suspenseful. There were surprises in this story. One was when Hugo came and attacked the Baroness. People who like suspenseful ghost stories would like this book. Over all I liked this book. 

Reviewed by Reed P.

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