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.

The Book Thief

 The Book Thief   By Markus Zusak

***** 5/5 stars   Historical Fiction
At the beginning of WW II, Lisel is forced to live with foster parents. She also does not know how to read. As WW II progresses, Lisel discovers the power of words. She realizes that they can be used for good or evil.

Lisel reminds me of Katie from Kira-kira. Lisel is similar to Katie because she is very hopeful and she goes through a lot of hardship. Now that I think about it, Lisel also reminds me of Ling from Revolution is not a Dinner Party. Ling goes through hardship like Lisel and Katie. Both Lisel and Ling care a lot about others.

The Book Thief is sure to make an impact on your life.  At the very least, this book will make you see things differently.

Revolution is not a Dinner Party

Revolution is not a Dinner Party  By Ying Chang Compestine

***** 4/5 stars  Historical Fiction

The first sentence of this book is, "The summer of 1972, before I turned nine, danger began knocking on doors all over China." That sentence describes the whole book pretty well. Ling lives in China during the Cultural Revolution. The Revolution threatens Ling and her family's lives but they try to survive and avoid danger under the harsh rule of Chairman Mao.

            This book reminds me of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas , a story about a very naive boy growing up in World War II. Ling is very naive and isn't sure what is going on in parts of the book. This book also reminds me of North Korea. During the Cultural Revolution, China was very similar to North Korea in many ways.  They respected their leader in the same way, a lot of the people were starving, and the police could barge into someone's house at any time.

            Throughout this book, Ling overcomes challenges and hardships. She surprises the reader with strength that is unexpected in someone so small.

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Fellowship of the Ring  By J.R.R. Tolkien

*****5/5 stars  Fantasy

This may sound like a really boring book about people who talk in stilted accents and have odd names. I am going to tell the truth and the truth is that it is an interesting book, about oddly named people talking in stilted accents. Once you get used to the language the characters speak, it's easy to understand.

          

              The Fellowship of the Ring is about a hobbit (a very small person who loves food) named Frodo. Frodo was adopted by another hobbit named Bilbo. Bilbo owns a ring which turns him invisible when he puts it on. Eventually Bilbo leaves and Frodo becomes in charge of the ring. Frodo eventually discovers that the ring is dangerous and must be destroyed. The only way to do that is to go to Mordor, where evil creatures rule, and cast the ring into a fiery pit by Mt. Doom. So Frodo sets off, determined to bring the ring to Mordor and to end all evil.

            This book reminds me of Norse mythology and Harry Potter. The names sound Nordic and some characters in The Lord of the Rings are similar to the characters in Norse mythology. Lord of the Rings reminds me of Harry Potter because a lot of the events and characters are almost the same in both stories. (Yes, I know that Lord of the Rings was written first).

Silverwing

Silverwing  By Kenneth Oppel

***** 5/5 stars  Fantasy
When Shade, a Silverwing bat, is migrating south with his colony, he is swept away during a storm. He then embarks on a journey to find his colony again. On the journey, he encounters and discovers many things that amaze and surprise him, including the Promise that bats may be able to fly during the day. This book reminds me of The Wizard of Oz because both Shade and Dorothy are trying to get home. They both have interesting companions and they encounter things that they didn't think existed. Shade's cleverness and resourcefulness helps him through obstacles that try to prevent him from returning home. Though, like Dorothy, Shade eventually makes his way back home.

Animal Farm

Animal Farm  By George Orwell

**** 4/5 stars  Fantasy
Living on a farm in England,  the animals of Manor Farm have had enough of men. They have worked so hard and they hardly receive enough food. On the path to fairness, the animals overthrow the farmer and work to establish a farm of equality and justice. What made this book interesting was how the farm resembled a communist country. The rulers of the farm, the pigs, clearly state that no animal will sleep in a bed. Later, the pigs end up sleeping in the farmhouse's beds. They also say that no animal should drink alcohol. Eventually, the pigs drink many crates of alcohol. I just wrote a report on North Korea and I thought it was interesting how similar the farm was to North Korea.  North Korea's leader is greatly respected and the government tells the people lies. The pigs,too, had to be treated with utmost respect by the animals and the pigs fed the other animals lies. The only reason I gave this book 4 stars was the fact that its ending was unsatisfactory.

Yellow Star

Yellow Star  By Jennifer Roy

***** 5/5 stars  Nonfiction

This is a story about a Jewish girl, Syvia, during WWII. She lives in a ghetto in Lodz, Poland. Living in horrible conditions, Syvia, struggles throughout the war in the ghetto, waiting to be rescued and for the war to end. I normally don't like nonfiction, but this book was very intriguing and interesting. It was told in a sort of haunting way, so I couldn't put it down.