Al Capone Does My Shirts

Al Capone Does My Shirts  By Gennifer Chokdenko

**** 5/5 stars  Historical Fiction

This book was very interesting. It is about a boy named Matthew "Moose" Flanagan. Moose lives on Alcatraz Island because his dad was offered a job there.  Moose gets involved in a series of events some involving Piper Williams, the warden's daughter and his sister Natalie, who isn't right in the head. Moose really wants to live a normal life away from Alcatraz and everything else on it, but Alcatraz is far from normal.

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life  By Wendy Mass

***** 5/5 stars  Fiction

What I really liked about this book was that at one point in the story it seemed believable but fantastical at the same time. This book begins when Jeremy Fink  receives a box from his dead dad. The box claims to hold the meaning of life, and the only way to open without destroying what's inside is to use the keys. Only problem is that the keys are missing. There is a deadline to open it: Jeremy's birthday. That is in a month. One month to find 4 keys that could be anywhere. Will Jeremy be able to do it?

Skellig

Skellig  By David Almond

**** 4/5 stars Fantasy

When Michael moves into a new house, formerly owned by Ernie Myers, he is pretty miserable. His parents are continuously worried about his horribly sick baby sister and their garage is such a wreck his parents won't let him go in it. Michael goes into the garage anyway.  There, he finds bugs, broken furniture, mice, and a man. The man says he is nobody, nothing, he just wants to die.  

I really liked how the writer, David Almond, hooked everything together. The things that were happening in Michael's life are all connected, from the man he finds in his garage, to what he is learning in school, to what the next door neighbor's interests are.  What I didn't like was how some questions weren't answered.

So B. It

So B. It   By Sarah Weeks

**** 4/5 stars  Fiction

I listened to this book on tape.  That is probably why I rated this book 4 stars. I think listening to books on tape aren't as fun as actually reading them. What I did like about this book is that it was exciting and realistic. This book is about a girl named Heidi. Heidi's mom is not quite right in the head. She can only say 23 words. One of the words in soof. It drives Heidi crazy to not know what is means so one day she leaves her apartment in Reno to go to Liberty, New York where the answers lie.

Smells Like Dog

Smells Like Dog  By Suzanne Selfors

***** 4/5 stars  Fiction

When  Homer Pudding's Uncle Drake, a treasure hunter, dies he inherits only 1 thing, a droopy, clumsy, lazy, dog. All of his uncle's other possessions are missing. Homer doesn't think that seems right. What happened to his uncle's treasure hunting maps? Is it true that his uncle was eaten by a tortoise? And why does Homer's dog have a coin with L.O.S.T. on it? Into The City Homer plunges, leaving his country home behind, to find the truth about the mystery his uncle left behind.

The Giver

The Giver  By Lois Lowry

**** 4/5 stars   Science Fiction

I rated this book 4 stars because I heard this as an audio book instead of reading it. The story was really good though. Jonas lives in a perfect world. No pain, no hunger, no color, no sadness, nothing that is unique. Everything is the same, perfect, but when Jonas is selected as the receiver of memories he realizes that his world is not perfect -- in fact, it could be dangerous.

The Westing Games

The Westing Game  By Ellen Raskin

*** 3/5 stars  Mystery

I rated this book 3 stars because I didn't get the solution. It was well written and interesting until the characters started to find the solution. Maybe I didn't read it carefully enough.  Anyway, it is about 16 people who all live in the same apartment building. They are all called to the reading of Sam W. Westing's will. The will says that Sam Westing was murdered and in order to find out who did it, the 16 people have to play a game called the Westing Games. The 16 players are paired up with partners that Sam Westing selected and are given 8 clues per pair.   The answer to the game is the murderer.  The one who wins gets the 200 million dollar inheritance!