El Deafo by Cece Bell

Reviewed by Maddie R.

El Deafo by Cece Bell is a very humorous and relatable book. El Deafo is about a little girl who becomes sick and loses her hearing. This is a heartwarming memoir about growing up different than everyone else. Going through this book I was very happy and I really enjoyed reading it. I would definitely recommend this graphic novel for tweens. After reading this book I felt much more aware of others who have a disability and that they're not that very different from anyone else. I absolutely loved this book and you will too!

Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz

Reviewed by Seungmin K.

Crocodile Tears is a horror book written by Anthony Horowitz. It is a thrilling and a adventurous book that I think everybody will like.

Alex Rider has spent his whole life being what he didn’t want to be: A seventh grade student who had to handle sniper wounds, fight a man one on one, and stop a world from blowing up into ashes. All this spy stuff was making him tired. While he was out of spy business for a while, He has a terrible accident. Alex doesn’t think it happened by accident.  Will he find out who caused the accident? Read to find out.

The Hero by Ron Woods

Reviewed by Nicholas Y.

The Hero by Ron Woods is about Jamie and his cousin Jerry building a raft during summer vacation. They avoid their neighbor Dennis, who gets bullied and picked on at school for various reasons, but eventually he finds out about the raft. When they finish the raft, they take it out for a spin but quickly get bored. They decide to go down to the sandbar where the current is slow, but strong. However, something bad happens, and there is no turning back…
The author does a great job of expressing the character’s feelings throughout the book, and you can vividly imagine every single step the characters are taking. However, there are some twists and turns that may surprise you, and the book doesn't really have the happiest ending. Overall, I would recommend this book if you are hungry for a great adventure novel.

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Reviewed by Eliza V.

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper is a heartfelt book, that takes you into Melody’s world immediately.

11 year old Melody is one of the smartest people in her school, but can’t show it. Melody is one of the kindest people in her school, but can’t show it. If you haven’t already guessed Melody has cerebral palsy, which means she is stuck in a pink wheelchair, and can’t talk. But, even though she can’t talk she definitely has personality to show. Sharon Draper shows exactly what’s on Melody’s mind. For instance: “By the way, there is nothing cute about a pink wheelchair. Pink doesn’t change a thing.” Sharon Draper makes you want to go inside the book and be Melody’s best friend. But, when she gets an assistant to help her at school, named Catherine, she finally can show how smart she is. Then things get crazier, Catherine helps Melody get a voice. But not many people want to hear it.

I would recommend this book to 4th through 7th grade. It is one of my favorites!

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book 2: The Hammer of Thor

Reviewed by Jason R.

Magnus Chase and his friends are enjoying life in Valhalla, the norse heaven afterlife still life thing with super muscles. They go on a suicide quest to find one of the most powerful weapons in the nine worlds, Thor's hammer, which he loses a lot. They fall into a trap set by the evil ‘god’, Loki who tries to steal another one of the most powerful weapons, and Thor’s hammer.

Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto

Reviewed by Steffan W.                  

Naruto (Volumes 2- 5)

Naruto is a manga series of books written by Masashi Kishimoto. It is a Japanese style graphic novel.

I like the way that it is written in volumes because it is easy to tell where you are if you have to stop then pick the book up another time. Naruto is a regular boy who wants to become a leaf village Shinobi (a member of his village's ninja army) and one day wants to become Hokage (ruler or king). But, he's not really normal. He has the nine-tailed demon fox spirit sealed inside of him. The huge fox attacked the village when Naruto was born and killed Naruto's family. To save the village, his father sealed nine tails inside of Naruto before his father died.

I like this book because lots of my friends read Naruto. It is a fun book to talk about with friends or family. There are exciting parts and talk parts.

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

Reviewed by Claire Z.

The Lost Hero is novel written by Rick Riordan. It is a funny fantasy fiction book filled with action that is very interesting!

This book is about three teenagers, Jason, Piper, and Leo, who are demigods. They go on a quest to save the goddess Hera, who, according to Jason, is “more annoying than that person that leaves a burning bag of dog turds on your doorstep.”

In this book, author Rick Riordan tells a humorous story from the perspectives of the three demigods, complete with their opinions, including Leo’s opinion: “Why can’t I have a hot, long lost sister?” The author also includes some funny aspects, including Leo, the tofu taco chef, and as Piper puts it, “His smile would make any teacher immediately plop him down at the front of the room.”

Even in life and death situations, Rick Riordan always manages to put a funny spin on it. He shows the the demigods aren’t perfect, and they have flaws, so they are very relatable.

Reviewed by Alex Z.

  The Lost Hero is a fantasy novel by Rick Riordan. A kid named Jason wakes up on a field trip in a school. Apparently, he has amnesia, and cannot remember his so called best friend Leo, or a girl he holds hands with named Piper. At first, nobody believes him, except for a suspicious teacher, Hedge. But when monsters attack on a skywalk on the Grand Canyon, Jason discovers he has a magical coin-weapon and that he can fly. After, they are brought to Camp Half-Blood and discover that their the children of gods. They then go on a quest to free the queen of the gods, rescue Piper’s dad, and discover Jason's mysterious past.

Reviewed by Neela R.

Percy Jackson and The Lost Hero is a fantasy adventure book by Rick Riordan. It is the first book in the second series of Percy Jackson and is a long but interesting book that is worth reading.

Jason is a new character who has no idea who he is, where he is, and what he’s doing there. In fact, according to Jason “his day was already going bad before he got electrocuted.”  The kids who claim that they’re his friends are not much help.

The story changes perspective every 2-3 chapters from Jason to his friends Piper and Leo. Around chapter 2 there’s a huge twist in the story and Jason, Piper, and Leo’s lives change dramatically.

The book may be long but it’s really interesting and is definitely worth reading.

The Music of Dolphins by Karen Hesse

Reviewed by Tamar M.

Mila was a ‘Dolphin Girl’ as they called her. She was found by researchers naked, then taken back to a lab to be studied. She was given a home by the doctors but did not like it. She starved herself and got sick. At the end, did she go back to the ocean? Read the book to find out. I really liked this book.

Wolves of the Beyond series by Kathryn Lasky

Reviewed by Beatrice H.

You should read the Wolves of The Beyond series by Kathryn Lasky. This series has six great books and who doesn’t love a good series?

 Wolves of The Beyond has some pictures, really detailed ones so you know what’s going on if you aren’t sure. This book has talking animals like a lot of other fantasy books out there like Warriors (by Erin Hunter), Wings of Fire (by Tui T. Sutherland), and The Guardians of Ga’Hoole series (also by Kathryn Lasky). In this book, the wolves have a made-up language which is pretty neat!

The Wolves of The Beyond series has perseverance,  if you like those kinds of books. In this series, Faolan is a wolf that was cast off to die, but then somehow he magically survived! Read this series to find out what happens next! (Review edited by Mrs. McLean)

Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare... by Darren Shan

Reviewed by Bruce W.

Cirque du Freak, written by Darren Shan, is an incredible book that is thrilling from beginning to end. It has tons of twists and turns that leaves you hungry for more. A Living Nightmare is the first book in a series of 12 titles.

Cirque Du Freak is about a boy named Darren Shan who is daring and curious. When one of Darren’s friends finds a special poster for a mysterious Freak Show, he and one of his friends go there to find out what the big deal about it is.  He finds out an unpleasant secret there that he wants no part in, but gets dragged into it by force.  Find out what happens when they meet a mysterious vampire there.  Is he willing to save a friend at any cost? Find out in the book Cirque Du Freak!   

The Cabin by Natasha Preston

Reviewed by Chloe G.

The Cabin is a outstanding book with an amazing author. The book has great details and is easy to read.

In the book, Mackenzie and her friends go to one of her “ex-friend’s” cabin because he thinks he owns the world. The next morning Mackenzie and her friends wake up to her best friend Courtney, and her boyfriend Josh, on the kitchen floor dead, murdered. Immediately they call the police. But when the police find that there was no forced entry, suspicions roll in. Now Mackenzie is determined to find the real killer and prove that it was not one of the five friends at the cabin.

The Cabin is just another sensation from author Natasha Preston. She has also wrote two other amazing thriller books:  Awake and The Cellar She is an amazing horror writer. I recommend this book teens, and young adults because of the language. I would rate this book a positive 5 stars. It is a amazing book and has an amazing author!     

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Reviewed by Jacob S.

The Hunger Games is an adventure novel by Suzanne Collins. I really liked this book and could not put it down because I just needed to know what happens next.

Katniss Everdeen is a 16 year old girl who has to work to get food for  her family in the poor district 12.  Every year the country of Panem has a reaping where 24 children get picked randomly to go into the hunger games which is a death match where 24 kids go in and only one comes out.

Katniss’ sister gets picked but Katniss knows she would never survive, so Katniss volunteers as a tribute. I love this book and think you should read it because it has something for everyone.  It has survival, romance, adventure and a little gore. One of my favorite things about this book is that I could not put it down because at the end of almost every chapter there is a cliffhanger.

I think you should read this book because it has something for everyone and there is a lot of cliffhangers. And that is why I rate this

book 5 stars out of 5.

Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi

Reviewed by Parker H.

This book Amulet is a good book to read if you like action and adventure.  It is a great graphic novel series.  In this book, you will get to know the main character, Emily while she gets to know her own story.  Throughout the whole series, you get to know more characters that will become very important to the whole story.  

Holes by Louis Sachar

Reviewed by Ganesh P.

Holes is a book written by Louis Sachar. It has won a John Newbery Medal. The genre is realistic fiction. This book is very good. It explains the story of an innocent person getting caught even though he did not do anything.

The book is about a person named Stanley Yelnats. He is very poor. He has a curse from his great grandfather. The curse had traveled down generations. A shoe falls from the sky. He is very happy because he is poor. He starts running. A police sees him running. He finds out that he was running with a famous runners shoe. He gets caught and sent to a juvenile camp. The story starts from there.

The book has a lot vivid descriptions. It feels like you are actually there. The book takes place in a desert. Here is a description of the desert and his feelings from the book.  The main character is very hard not to like. He is clever, cunning, and brave. He always does the right thing even though there is consequences. He is not scared of his enemy.

There are many twists and turns. It is a very enjoyable book. I rate this book 5 stars out of 5!