Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling

If you lke the Harry Potter series like I do, or action and adventure books, this is a book for you. In the world of muggles and wizards, there is a boy namd Harry Potter. He lives with his evil Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon and their greedy son, Dudley. Harry goes back to Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry, for his fourth year with the help of his friends. At Hogwarts, he finds out that they will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament. There are also two other schools that willl participate, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. He gets chosen for the tournament and has to complete three tasks. So read how Harry completes them. The writting style of the author is easy to understand. The book will always keep you in suspense and always make you think, what is next? The theme of the story is friendship always wins. -Ronak P.

The Boy Who Couldn't Die by William Sleator

THE BOY WHO COULDN'T DIE was about a boy whose friend died in an airplane crash. Ever since then, this boy, Ken, is terrified of dying. When he finds an ad in the local newspaper that simply says "Escape from Death," Ken has to go. He meets the crazy Cheri Buttercup, who claims that she can make Ken invulnerable from pain and death for the unbelievable price of fifty dollars. And it actually works. Ken can't get beaten up , burned, or cut. Even the sharks in the Caribbean where Ken goes for a family vacation can't harm him.

But there's a downside to being immortal, for Cherii Buttercup now controls him. In his dreams, his spirit is set loose on a killing rampage. Cheri can force Ken to do anything, as long as she has his spirit. And no one can stop Ken from doing these things, not even hmself.

I really liked this book because it was very suspenseful. It was filled with twists and turns that you would never expect to happen. I think that the message that the book really illustrates is that it is better to know everything about something, than something about everything. -Ashlyn T

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

This story is about a girl who is in love with a boy named Leo, but as the "weird" girl in school, it's hard to become even friends. During the book, she wears pioneer dresses and helps others daily. But when she cheers for the opposing team, she gets shunned, so she changes her name to the original Susan, and she tries to become popular. I liked this book because it illustrates how different and unique you can be. What part of this book that grabbed me was the cover. It was the picture of a star above a girl's head. This book was fantastic! -Melissa L

The Giant Rat Of Sumatra by Sid Fleischman

THE GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA is a very exciting book with a slew of devilish characters. The main character is called Shipwreck because he was pulled from one. He ends up overhearing a plot on the captain's life and throws it off track. When in a port in Mexico, the Captain declares the ship unsafe and makes everyone leave. Shipwreck becomes the captain's new right hand man because he saved him and because Mexico is at war with the U.S. over Texas and Shipwreck is American. The Captain buys land and settles down. He runs another merchant out of business because when the Captain was young he always used to beat him. They run into Lady Wildcat, a desert bandit, and end up fighting a duel with her. In the end, the Captain and Lady Wildcat fall in love and marry. If you want to know what happens to Shipwreck, read this book to find out. This book is very good and I could hardly put it down to even eat. It is full of suspense. It is a must read. - Joshua M.

The Gadget By Paul Zindel

THE GADGET by Paul Zindel deals with a base in Los Alamos, New Mexico. In this base, the atomic bomb is being developed.

The mood of the story starts out happy, with two cousins hanging out in London. However, the story takes a turn for the worse when Stephen, the main character, and his cousin are caught in the bombing that was taking place. The cousin dies, and Stephen moves to New Mexico to be with his father, one of the scientists creating the atomic bomb.

I especially like how the character develops. After his bombing experience, Stephen is afraid of heights. As the story progresses, he takes chances and forgets his fears to save his own life. The Gadget is a great World War II story. -Bruce H