Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Fiction

      I highly enjoyed this book because of the characters and most importantly, because of the ending. I feel that there are 5 things that I should cover so as a reader you are mentally prepared to fully embrace the amazingness of this book.

      The first thing is the plot. Code Name Verity takes place in England during World War 2 and is about two friends. One is a spy and the other is a pilot. We quickly learn that Verity, which is her code name, is a spy. While on a mission she is forced to abandon Maddie, the pilot, and is captured by the Gestapo when she looks the wrong way while crossing a street. Which leads to the second thing, the book is split into two parts. The first part is told by Verity and her narration is part of her confession to the Gestapo. Because I was not prepared for the switch between narrators, I was shocked because you become very attached to Verity and I didn’t feel that same attachment to Maddie the pilot, but both characters are very developed and enjoyable, it was just shocking at first. The third thing is almost the worst mistake I have ever made while reading a book. It is almost as bad as reading the last chapter, and that is I read the acknowledgements at the back of the book. It’s not really called the acknowledgements it’s really called the Author’s Debriefing, and in it a small thing is revealed which completely ruins the end of Verity’s narration and I really regret it. I believe that there was a very good chance that I could have cried if I hadn’t read the end. The fourth thing is the ending. At the end of the book either your heart will break and you will cry, or your mind will explode, or you will go into a coma similar to how I did and sit in the corner of your room hyperventilating. The plot is so carefully thought out, you don’t realize what is happening until everything is right in front of you, so it is very much like a puzzle, which is why I highly recommend reading the book several times, which is the fifth and final request. The first read should be solely for enjoyment, the second should be to notice the small details that you didn’t notice the first time. And then if you want, repeat Steps 1 and 2.   

Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska  By John Green

Fiction

Miles “Pudge” Halter, the main character in John Green’s Looking for Alaska spends most of his time obsessing about Alaska Young. Alaska is a classmate of his who is the gateway from his boring existence in Alabama to an exciting glamourous life at his new school, Culver Creek Boarding School. Pudge and his new group of friends spend the school year pranking and causing mischief, until something happens that changes everything.

In some schools, Looking for Alaska is banned because of a sexual scene, but if anything I think that the book should have been banned for its lack of strong female figures. John Green romanticizes the self-destructive Alaska whose only function is that of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Alaska is such an important part of the story, but her character is incredibly flat and one-dimensional. She doesn’t do anything except run around talking about how she wants to die. If this book is being taught in schools, most girls would want to be like Alaska, based on how Green idealizes her, which is why I suggest you to put this book back on the shelf with Bella from Twilight and where you keep the rest of your anti-Hermiones. 

Criss Cross

Criss Cross By Lynne Rae Perkins

***** 5/5 stars Historical Fiction

Debbie’ neighborhood is full of people. Each person has his or her own story.  Hector’s life is changing. Debbie wants something interesting to happen.   Lenny used to like to read encyclopedias for fun, but now he’s changed. Dan thinks that he is better than he really is. And Mrs. Bruning is a retired old woman who doesn’t know what to do with her life.  This book shows how the characters’ lives criss and cross and how one character’s actions influence another’s.

The characters in this book remind me a lot of kids in everyday life. The author wrote it in a very casual way so the kids were kids, but there was a bit of seriousness and a touch of melancholy under the surface of the writing.  I also thought that the way the characters’ actions influenced each other was a lot like a theory called the Butterfly Effect. It is a theory that says that a butterfly flapping its wings in China could cause a thunderstorm in the other half of the world. There was something similar to that in the book.
I really liked the book because of the style of the writing and the narrative structure of the story. I do wish, however, that the book had a thicker plot.

This book will appeal to readers who like a fun read, but probably not so much to people who like action books.

13 Gifts

13 Gifts   By Wendy Mass

***** 5/5 stars

When Tara Brennan breaks into school to steal a goat she is caught and punished (obviously). After a lot of discussion between Tara’s parents, they agree on a punishment--spend the summer in the small town of Willow Falls while Tara’s parents spend it in Madagascar studying lemurs. In Willow Falls, Tara quickly realizes strange things--it would be impossible not to. There are two friends who use blackboards to communicate, a girl who loses her phone at least every two months, and a strange woman with a duck-shaped birthmark on her cheek. That woman is the strangest of all. Tara needs to collect thirteen items for her before July 13, Tara’s birthday. If she doesn’t, the woman claims that Tara will lose her immortal soul and Tara does not want that.

13 Gifts is very well written. You won’t be able to put it down.

Firegirl

Firegirl  By Tony Abbott

**** 4/5 stars   Fiction
When Jessica Feeny steps into Tom's class she doesn't look like most of the kids there. She is badly burned from a fire she does not want to talk about. When Tom develops an unsteady friendship with Jessica, he understands what it means to be in her shoes. What makes this book interesting is the character Jessica Feeny. Most people don't know anyone who has suffered a trauma like that. Tony Abbott really explains what it is like to know a girl like Jessica and what it is like to be her.

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?

11 Birthdays

11 Birthdays  By Wendy Mass

**** 5/5 stars Fantasy

I really like Wendy Mass. I think she is a very good story teller. A year ago on her birthday Amanda over heard Leo say something behind her back. Now it is her birthday again and Amanda and Leo aren't having their birthday together for the first time. Leo is supposed to have a band, a giant lizard, and a hypnotist and Amanda is going to have an itchy costume. Amanda is very happy for her birthday to be over but the next day it is her birthday again, and again, and again. Amanda is really starting to get sick of this and she realizes that she must stop her birthday from repeating. Wendy Mass tells this book very well.

Swindle

Swindle  By Gordon Korman

***** 5/5 stars  Fiction

I like books that combine talents to make a gigantic plan. This book is mainly about plans.  Griffen Bing found a Babe Ruth card easily worth a million dollars, but S. Wendell Palomino swindled him out of the card. Griffen needs to get it back. No guard dog, security system, or nosy neighbor will get in the way.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas   By John Boyne  

**** 3/5 Historical Fiction

This book is very sad but otherwise very good.  It takes place in World War 2. Because of his dad's work a boy called Bruno moves to a place that he calls Out-With. Bruno likes to explore and one day he comes across a boy in striped pajamas but a fence separates them. If you don't like sad stories I don't think you will like this book. It is interesting because it is sad though.

Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder: Bubble in the Bathtub

Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder: Bubble in the Bathtub  By Jo Nesbo (There is supposed to be a sideways slash through the last O but that letter is not on my keyboard)

***** 5/5 stars  Fantasy

This is the 2nd book in a series. The first one is Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder and is also really good.  In this book, Doctor Proctor invents a time-traveling bathtub and goes back in time. He wants to marry a woman named Juliette. Juliette's dad wouldn't let her marry Doctor Proctor in the past and he wants to prevent that from happening.  Unfortunately, he can't get back to the present, so Lisa and Nilly travel around time to find him. This book is very funny. I couldn't put it down.