Click by Kayla Miller

Click is an amazing graphic novel by Kayla Miller. Fifth grader Olive has an amazing life, she is smart, funny and has loads of friends. Her family is great too! Her mom takes care of little Olive and her brother, Simon constantly, she loves them both very much. Molly is Olive’s aunt, she lives very close to their house so she visits often, both Olive and Aunt Molly connect very well, that's why Olive loves to hang out with her. One day at school Olive’s teacher announced that they had a chance to be in the Variety Show, a talent show for the fifth graders. Olive was so excited to be in it but when everyone started forming acts for the show, no one asked Olive to be in their group, this made Olive feel left out. Now she needs to find a way to feel included in the show even if being in her friends acts were not an option.

I loved this book because it keeps you on the edge of your seat. For example, on page 58 it says; “I tried to talk to mom about it and she was saying she wanted to call Emily's mom about it but I don't want to have to ask to be included, I want someone to want me in their group.” This is a very intense part of the book and Click is filled with many more moments like this. Some of my favorite characters in this book are Aunt Molly and Olive. I like them because they are so funny and relatable! For example, when Olive was feeling sad Aunt Molly started telling funny and relatable stories to Olive to make her feel better.

Overall I really loved this book. I would rate it a 4.5 out of 5 because it is so relatable! If you like funny, colorful graphic novels that keep you on the edge of your seat, you will love this book! I recommend Click to kids from 3rd grade to 7th grade. I hope you enjoy it!

Review by Sadie B.

Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi

Emily is the main character of this book. Early in this book her father dies from a car crash and Emily, Navin, and her mom move to a different house. In that house she finds a Necklace that has special powers. Her mom gets poisoned later in the book and Emily and Navin go to find a cure, and they find that an elf is following them.

My favorite parts of the story are when Emily finds her great grandpa and a big house, because it shows a big house and a lot of robots in the scene.

I would recommend this book for ages 8-13.

Review by Alex E.

Aesop's Fables: The Hare And The Tortoise

Aesop’s Fables: The Hare And The Tortoise is a fantasy fable. The characters are a hare and a tortoise. Its theme is about doing your best.

I did like it, because the theme was about trying your very best. Another theme is about not letting teasing put you down. When the hare teased the tortoise about how slow he was, he calmly replied: "Then we shall have a race, to see."

If you like short stories with talking animals and clear morals, you might like this short story.

Review by Anaya G.

The Werewolf of Fever Swamp by R.L. Stine

Grady has just moved into a small neighborhood in Florida. His parents are scientists. They moved there because of an experiment with swamp deer. His sister on the other hand (Emily) was not happy because her boyfriend (Martian) wasn't there. Every night Grady hears loud howls deep in the swamp in his backyard. What could it be?

I really liked this book. Number one is that it has a lot of action. For example, in the book “the creature jumped on Grady and bit deep into his shoulder.” another reason I give it a 10/10 is because it has tons of suspense. Like one time, there where many suspects for who the creature was. But no one really knew.

If you like suspense and action and horror (but not too scary) you will love this book.
It has a very interesting plot and will always keeping you on the edge of your seat.
You will always want to read more because there are so many twists and turns all throughout this book.

Review by Elias J.

Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder

 

Jinny lived on the island for as long as she could remember. There could only be 9 at a time on the island, so said the rhyme. “Nine on an island, orphans all. Any more and the sky might fall.” But when the time came for her to go, she stayed. And that brought disastrous consequences.

Jinny is a caring, young girl who has too much stress and responsibility for her own good. She is kind, caring (as mentioned before), and just needs a break from being in charge.
Orphan Island is a rich, poignant book that will pull your heartstrings and make you think about the value of other people. Jinny is the new eldest on the island, due to her friend Deen leaving. She cares for a young child named Ess, who had recently landed on the island.

As one who likes mystery and fiction, I loved the book. The richness and diversity of the characters added to the already great world in which the orphans live. The unknown of the sea is symbolic of death, fear, and calm. As well, the descriptions of the objects were detailed and full, such as: “The stars blazing in the night sky as usual blurred as Jinny ran across the beach.” The flow of the story was impeccable, especially when Jinny had a turning point and decided to leave. “Somewhere out there, beyond the boat, was more. Jinny couldn’t see it yet, but the alternative was too awful to imagine.

If you like mystery, fantasy, and realistic fiction, you will treasure this book! It has a great mix of all 3 genres, and happens to be one of the best blends I’ve seen. For example, the blur between a normal island and a magical one is perfect. I give this book 5/5 stars and recommend this book to everyone, but especially to the aforementioned.

Review by Jackson P.

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

The characters that are in the book are Dad, Professor Steg, The milk and green globby things. When the father of two children, a boy and a girl, goes out to buy milk he takes a long time to get milk and travels to different worlds with other beings and a threat of being held captive there. The theme of the book is the importance of keeping promises and not panicking when confronted with different people.

I really enjoyed reading the book. It was funny and weird. Yes, I loved this book. My favorite part was when he saw the UFO in the sky. And the parts where he meets people that he has never thought of. My favorite character was the dad because he wasn't scared of any of the people that he saw and talked to.

You would love this book if you like to adventure and see different kinds of creatures and different kinds of people. It is weird and funny and maybe scary sometimes.

Review by Joseph C. 

Baby-sitters Little Sister by Katy Farina

 

Little 7 year old Karen and her brother Andrew love playing together, especially with their big family. You see Karen's mom and dad are divorced so in one house she has a BIG family and the next week she's at a chill area with a lot less people. Life’s good but there's one big problem when Karen is at her dad's house she always spies on the neighbor and thinks she's a witch whose name is apparently “Morbitta destiny” in Karen's mind. Her family keeps telling her that the neighbor is not a witch but Karen kept thinking she was and spied...ALOT. Karen had her best friend Hannie who would always reluctantly agree even when she knew they would get in trouble. On the other hand Andrew would just do his own thing. Oh and boo-boo Karen’s cat is pretty chill and cute! Karen is getting more skeptical of her neighbor and decides to prove once in for all that the neighbor is actually a witch…

I really like this book, especially boo boo and Karen Of course! I liked that this book was about 1 main thing, and not like different problems so I can connect with the one problem. I also like how in the beginning it explains all the characters and explains what the book is about a little. “I’m lucky because my little brother, Andrew and I have two families!” I also like Karen's personality. As in the book I love how Karen gets scared for the smallest little things. “Maybe morbida destina wants to turn me into a cat!”
“You will be Witchy witch and I'll be Samantha Twitchit. Now let's make up some witch rhymes” Karen says. This book is also like a witch book. “It's gray and chilly, the wind is blowing, and look at that full moon!”...... “It's a good time for witching,” Karen says.

I would recommend this book to 9-10 year old's because it is a nice and easy graphic novel so If you like graphic novels then this is the book for you, although it is targeted for younger children Overall this book was a great read and I rate it 4 I took out 1 point because it was a little short for me but it's good overall.

Review by Aishani N.