Ky Mehler blog

Kyle Mehler
6/21/13
Ms favuli
day 1

The book i read was the kid who only hit homers by Matt Christopher. This was a short but interesting book to read. Its about baseball and how this kid only hits home runs. At first,he tries out for his baseball team and he does a very bad job and does not make it but then this guy that only Sylvester could see came up too him and had a good conversation. The main character in this book would have to be either Sylvester or the imaginary dude that he thinks is real and everyone else should see him. This book was interesting because i like sports and its a sports book so it wasn't that bad that it was short. The man ends up the reason why he can hit so many home runs because at the end when the man disappears at the end of the book, Sylvester last game he ends up getting his first strike out.

  During the beginning of the book, that's when he was introduced to Mr baruth at the baseball fields. After that part, the book was really interesting and i did enjoy it because it was all about baseball and not something boring that dose not catch my eye and also because it was all about finding out who this guy is because no one could see him but Sylvester and about baseball and it would give specific details throughout chapters about the baseball games so i never got bored with the book. One part that i enjoyed about the book is when Sylvester went to baseball try outs not thinking he would get completely rejected. Then that man Mr baruth comes over to Sylvester and talks to him. He tells him that he wants to help him learn how to play baseball. Sylvester took his help and went to try out next try out but coach wouldn't let him but Sylvester went anyway and when they saw him bomb a home run and catch a fly ball, they reconsidered him to play on the team. Also i like the part when the coach wouldn't really let him be in the line up. He would bat 9 and play outfield every time. But then he comes up to bat and with a crack of the bat he swings and the ball goes flying out of the park. Those are my favorite parts because no one thought this kid who stunk the other day in practice bomb a home run in his first game and then from there he was doing the same thing every game. He never got struck out. I liked this book because i used to play baseball and i would enjoy a book about sports or baseball better then i would a love story or adventure story as well.

  I would recommend this book to people who either love to read and love sports books or to people who don't like to read like me and just pick a book that is short and about something i enjoy. I also recommend this book to like kids who don't maybe read to good or just interested in reading. Also if you like the author or any other sports and wanted to try a different sports book then you should read this one because its easy to read,its short for people who aren't fluent about reading and who are a slow reader. I enjoyed this book for the same reason because i don't like to read but i had to so i chose a book that looked easy and that was short so i could be successful and get it done. I enjoyed this book alot and i hope the people who chose to read this feels the same way i do about the book and hopefully can get better at reading since its a short and easy worded book. I enjoyed the book and hope you do as well.

Richy Fonseca's Book Review

Richy Fonseca
6/18/13

Book Review Of Ted & Me

       My book that I read this semester was Ted & Me by Dan Gutman. It is a book about a boy that plays baseball and has a gift. The gift is that he has the power to travel back in time by using baseball cards. So the FBI found out about him and they wanted him to go back in time and stop Pearl Harbor of every happening by finding the President of the United States in 1941. So the FBI gave him a Ted Williams card and it was made in 1941. That was Ted Williams best year because that was the year he hit .406 and that is the bests of all time. The FBI said that that was the best person to help the boy on his mission.
       I liked a lot of things about this book. One thing that I liked about the book was that it was about baseball and about Ted Williams who was on my favorite baseball a long time ago. Another thing it was cool that in the book they talked about a lot of things how Ted did before games to prepare for games. I think that was cool because I learned that the night before he cleans his bat so he can take one once of weight off his bat so he can swing faster. Another thing he did was that he did pull ups and push ups every day even if he had a game or not because he wanted to get stronger. When they were going fishing Ted taught the boy how to swing a bat on the boat. That was a good part because I loved how he taught him how to bat he did not even take a swing of a bat just from questions that the boy answered made Ted know how to teach him and told him that he was doing every thing wrong. I liked this book because I play baseball and it had a lot of useful information and had a good story to go with it.
       I recommend this book to anyone who likes baseball or any thing to do with Ted Williams. I think the age group for this book should be 11 and up because it as a good story for kids, but for any one that knows about Ted Williams they would love the book. I would rate this book 4 stars on a scale of 1-4 stars. I think that because I enjoyed reading this book and I do not like reading that much, but I did like this one. I think this book would be good for a lot of people that like any thing about or know any thing about baseball because there are not a lot a fantasy books that are about baseball and this is one of them so people should read this great book.
 

Dennis Pannetons reveiw of S.E. Hiltons Rumble Fish

Rumble Fish is a story by S.E. Hilton about a boy named Rusty James that is a hard nose gang member. He's a fourteen year old drop out that fights all the time. His one true aspiration in life is to be as feared as his older brother Motor Cycle boy. His brother wants nothing more than to abandon his tough guy role and leave his town to move to the coast to relax for the rest of his life but has an internal conflict that keeps him coming back evrytime he goes. Rusty lives with his father and brother in a rundown apartment.

I liked how this book vividly described all of the fights and connected with the reader by using extremely descriptive vocabulary. I was a little disappointed with some of the story line, not all of it made sense. Overall it was a decent book, just a few minor issues. This book reminded me of the Outsiders, S.E. Hilton wrote both books. They both are written the same way and have similar story lines. Both stories are written about gang members that get into a lot of trouble.

I give this book three out of four stars because it is a well written book but at times hard to remain focus and the transition to back in time from the beginning was not really presented as well as it should have, which made it hard to follow. I think this book is best for 13-16 year old students that enjoy reading gang related violence. I also think this book is written like any other S.E. Hilton book so anyone that really enjoys her work would find this book entertaining. I don't think this book would be enjoyable for any adult that likes mature writing styles because this book uses an abundance of various slang terms that many people, including myself might find hard to follow. In conclusion, aside from the slang and the confusing transition this book is well written and worth reading because the author is very good at expressing all ideas on paper and keeping the story line in place.

   

Brianna Serio

6/19/13

                                                                     Pretty Little Liars

The book I read was Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard. When a friend goes missing , a group of girls get a mysterious text from "A" their lives will begin to crumble. They try to figure out who this is and why "A" is doing this to them. The main characters in this book are Emily, Spencer, Hannah, and Aria.I absolutely love this book. I chose this because I watch the show and love it. I have heard the book is much different than the show; it is! I definitely recommend this to teens around 14 to 189 especially girls). I would give this 4 and a half stars because it keeps me on the edge, which makes me want to read more and more, though sometimes it dragged scenarios on. Overall I love this book and recommend teen girls to go and pick this up right now! I feel very strongly about this book. I think there is a bigger range of girl viewers, but guys would love this too! It has romance in it, suspense, mystery, and everything in between! 

Michelle Stacey

Block 4 Day 2

6-17-13

Book Review 2

Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers

Book Review

Recently I read the book Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers. This book was an amazing book. I am so happy I picked this book to read because it really kept me interested and I did not want it to ever end. In this book there was a teenage girl named Eddie Reeves. Recently her dad passed away because he committed suicide. Her dad was an artist and was always so happy so when he passed away no one knew why or what would have lead him to do this to himself. Eddie was determined to figure out why her dad did this. Ever since her husband's death, Eddie’s mom was extremely depressed. To lighten the mood in the house Eddie’s mom invited her best friend to stay with them until they got their happiness back. Since Eddie did not like like her moms friend she would leave the house and hang out with her best friend Milo. Sadly, Milos ex girlfriend came back into town and they have no time to spend with each other. Since Eddie had nowhere else to go she went to her fathers old studio. When she was there she met a boy named Culler. Since they both had the same question about her fathers death, Eddie and Culler went on a long trip to find out answers on his death. This book was amazing. I really loved it. There was nothing I would change about it. The whole thing was perfect, beginning middle and end. My favorite part was the ending because it was a complete plot twist that no one would expect. Anyone who likes teen books or dramatic book would love this book. Most teenage girls would love this book. I personally rate it as a perfect ten because it kept my interest the whole time. Fall for Anything is an amazing book with a lot of unexpected twists.

Kayla Martin  

            The book that I read this semester is called The Witch Catcher by: Mary Downing Hahn. The Witch Catcher is about a little girl named Jen whose great uncle gave his mansion to her father. So they go out and move into this huge house that has all of her father’s great uncles stuff in it and its all pretty much paintings and artifacts. Jen's father has a girlfriend her named Maura and she’s suspected to be a witch but Jens father doesn't believe her. So Jen fallows her to work one day and finds a bunch of these glass bulbs which are called WITCH CATCHER and Maura buys them off of people because legend says they used to use them back in the day to catch witches. Jen went into the Tower and found one and liked it so much that she hid it from Maura her father and everyone else. But one day Mr. A came over and that was when he hypnotized Jen and she went upstairs to get it and her cat Tinker broke it. So the next day Jen went outside and in the bush was a witch green and wearing rangy clothes. After that an amazing thing happened that changed Jens life forever….

            The one thing I liked about this book was that it was mystery based and I love mysteries. Another thing I loved the characters and how Jens personality was. I liked that Maura was so secretive. I also liked how it always made me wonder what was next and it made me jump out of my skin because of the times Jen went into the tower knowing that it could fall at any time. I didn't like how it ended it made me really mad that I won’t read another book by her ever. I didn't like how it didn't answer some of my questions and how it stated stuff but you never heard about what happened after. If you ask me its just like the harry potter books it never answers your questions but it keeps you standing and jumping out of your skin. But the movies are always good and never leave you out.

            I recommend this book to 10 and 11 year old only if they can read on their grade levels it not 13 year old  I wouldn't recommend it to anyone younger because it talks about witches and what they were back then and it might scare little ones. And it is a hard book to read because it has a lot of challenging words and that’s coming from a 9^th grader. I recommend this book to people who like mystery and like to have that feeling that you can’t stop reading it. I would give this good four stars only because its hard to read at some points and it had a very bad ending to the book which was annoying. 

Madelyn Grasso

Block 4

June ,17 ,2013

How The Garcia Girls lost Their Accents.

The Book Review

1.) The book i read is calle How The Garcia Girls lost Their Accents.  The author is Julia Alvarez.  

2.) The story is about four sisters Clara the oldest, Yolanda, Sandra, and the youngest Sofia from Dominican Republic growing up in America.  Each daughter has there own problem they have to deal with.  They spent their child years in the Dominican Republic and their college years in America. They are looking back from when they were younger and revisiting their stories.  There father gets intruobke with the secret police and try to help him.  

3.) I like That the story tells different things about each of the sisters.  It tells you about what all the sisters are like and all the different expenses they have in America.  I do not like how it jumps around to all the sisters in a random story.  It confuses me when it jumps to different places.  My favorite part was when

4.)I would recommend this book for people that have good imaginations.  This book would be good for teens and adults.  People from 15 to 40s would like it.  It would be a fun read for people that enjoy books that have stories inside the story.  This is more of a challenge read.  I rate this book three stars.

5.) This book is a good read.  Sometimes things and be a bit confusing but if you can pick things up fast it would be a good book to read.  If you are someone that has move to America you could really relate to this book.             

MONSTER
Walter Dean Myers
The stories is about a kid whose life may be on the line for something that he did not even do. Now its up to him and his lawyer to get  him out of jail. before he goes crazy.Monster , as he is known in jail. Writes daily in his book about the struggles he is having throughout the time he is in jail. he is either the victim or criminal in this situation of the killing that he occurred in. Bobo, James king another victim of the crime scene is known for blaming monster as the true victim. The mystery is who, is gonna get out? The thing that I really liked about this book was that it seemed so realistic. I though it was actually happening by every page that I flipped. The best part of the book was when Steve got freed from jail and went back to his life with his mom.
I recommend this book to any teens over the age of 14 or older.This book to me was a 4 because with every page made me more excited to read and it keeps you going so you can find out the ending. That's why I really like this book because it kept me reading. Until the end which I never do. For anyone who is interested in reading a mystery of the best source come and get monster because it will keep you on your toes until the book is over. Ill tell you now, you will not want to stop READING.

IF I DIE IN THE COMBAT  ZONE BOX ME UP AND SHIP ME HOME BY TIM O'BRIEN

               This book is about a young solider that was drafted into the army during the Vietnam war. In the book they call him O'Brien. He tries to escape from the war by going to Canada but he gets sick the day before his escape. He ends up in the war and goes through everything tear able things like raids and killing. He sees people being killed and he hates being there. Half of him wants him to escape his duty and the other half wants him to stay and fight for his country. He wants to honor his country so he stays and fights. 

               My favorite part of the book was when he gets into fire fights with the enemies because i love the action parts. The action parts in the book are the best they give detail to what going on. I also like the part when he tries to escape but gets sick. I think this part is funny. 

                If you are in books about war and action this book is great for you. I would recommend this book to ages 14 and up because there are some gory parts in the book. I would rate this book a 4 because i like hearing stories about wars and action.

Rat Life by Tedd Arnold

 Connor Burke

Book Summary

A boy named Todd is really addicted to reading and writing. His teacher loves reading his stories. His family is intense sometimes. Todd lives with his family in a motel and he writes stories about UFO’s and aliens. Thats the only way that he can amuse his friends.  He tries to find a job at his local drive-in theater. He gets the job and his boss, Rat, can be a cool guy at times but the other times he can be a weird and Todd sometimes questions him. Rat has already seen quite a lot of things in his life. Rat has shown him some things and Todd is always thinking about the dead body in the river and no matter what it keeps on going back to Rat. Todd starts to think that the dead corpse in the river is all Rats fault.

Drive By book review

       

       The book that I read was Drive By, by Lynne Ewing. This books main character is a kid named Tito. His brother is killed in a drive by, right in front of Tito and his sister Mina. His sister was traumatized.Tito is struggling to find out if his brother was in a gang or not. While he is trying to figure it all out he constantly goes to Big Molly's Diner. The book comes to a surprising end with a cliff hanger.

       I like how this book had good details and had a good storyline. I would have like for the book to be longer and give more details about what happened at the end. I think my favorite part is when he finds out who the killer was and what he does to stop them. I think I can connect this to a movie I watched one time about a kid who died in a drive by.

       I would recommend this if you like mystery or realistic fiction. I would also recommend this if you like seeing a young kid become a hero. I would recommend this book to any kid from ages 10-16. On a scale from one to four I would give this book a three. I think the only reason I would give it a three and not a four is because of the ending and how it ends to fast. Overall this was a good book and I think if you are looking for a quick read.

     

 Kyle Gagne
June 18, 2013
Reading Writing Workshop
Block 4 Day 1

The book I read during this term was If I Should Die Before I wake by Han Nolan. If I die Before I wake is a fictional book about a girl who starts off in a ghetto and then got moved to a death camp where she tells her story and survival through the holocaust during World War Two. It gives you a firsthand look at what happened during the war and what it was like to have to get through the holocaust and the death camps. It is not about an actual person but while you reading it you feel that you are actually with them and you start to know how they felt when this happened. After an accident Hilary’s mind set changes and she thinks that she is a girl named Chana who is in the camps struggling to get by.

This book was a very confusing book at some points, but I do feel that it does describe the Holocaust and what happened very well from a first person point of view. I don’t like how the author starts off as Hilary starts off as a very mean person who just downright hates Jews and wants them gone and then when the accident happens she somehow thinks that she is a Jewish girl in a Nazi Death camp. Almost the whole book I thought that Chana and Hilary were two different people. Not the same person. The way the book ends is very confusing. At the beginning there is a clear cut definition between the two girls and they are the exact opposite. If the ending hadn't ended the way it did by Chana remembering what happened I think that it would have been a much better book.

If I had to recommend this book to anyone I would recommend it for the people who love to read and learn new things about history and the holocaust and also World War Two. It’s a good read for anyone who likes history. It’s a little difficult to understand at some points (especially the end) but I think the way the author does a very exceptional job on explaining what happened and making me feel like I’m there. The age group I would recommend this book is about 13 and on because there are some points where it talks about things in great detail and it might be a little disturbing for little kids. I would give this book four out of five stars because I feel it has very good descriptions in it but the ending is not expected and got me a little annoyed at the book. This is one of the best if not the best fictional book I have ever read and I would recommend it to anyone.

Review on Linger by Maggie Stiefvater_Brenda Chaves

Book review #2 Brenda Chaves

Linger

Maggie Stiefvater

Linger is the second book in the series. Linger introduces a new character Cole and he finds his way to the other main characters, Sam, Grace, and Isabel. Cole is on his new journey figuring who is is and what he will do with his life. He liked the feeling of freedom from being a wolf. He forced himself to change but when he thought about it he couldn't. He was found by Sam in the shed behind Sam’s house. Sam’s first impression towards him was rude and unfriendly. Sam started not to like him at all because of how Cole acted as if he only cared for himself. Cole questions Sam about a secret that he knows Sam has been hiding but goes too far. Cole and Isabel meet. They had a connection similar when Sam and Grace met. They started talking as though they had feelings for each other but never admitted. That starts to change when Isabel who Cole really is. Sam and Grace couldn't believe who Cole really was either but was able to take it in and accept him for the person they met. Grace and Isabel began to become closer as friends. Sam’s and Graces relationship became even more closer due from a little time of separation that they were forced to have. Grace experiences a sickness that not even the doctors could figure out. But Grace had an idea on what the sickness might be. The sickness becomes worse after days without having Sam by her side. Cole figures out Grace’s sickness and everything changes.

What I liked about this book was how Cole was introduced as a new character. He really brought out some of the other characters personalities and how they are. I also liked how the separation of Grace and Sam because I liked seeing their love get stronger. What I did not like about the book was how it wasn't as page turning as the first book Shiver. It was more of a slower pace on action and interest that I had. I wasn't expecting much because of how the first book ending but did not expect they way Linger went. I didn't like the relationship with Cole and Isabel because I felt like it didn't fit with the book I think they should have been better off as friends. Their connection was a whole like Sam’s and Grace which made me dislike Cole’s and Isabel’s because of how they were. Also I didn't like the relationship with Isabel and her parents from when Isabel met Cole.

I recommend this book to people who like to differ differ aspects in stories. To people who like fantasy, who like the first book Shiver. Also to people who like to keep up with series. An age group that the book would be for would be 13-15 year because of some strong vocabulary and of interest. I give the book Linger a 2 out of 5 stars because of how interesting it was. Also because of how I expected more from Maggie to make it even better than the first book Shiver.

Overall, I do think readers will enjoy this book based on their interests. It has fantasy, drama, action, and romance all in one. From my experience the ending did bring a spark in me that I would enjoy the third book Forever. But I would be more excited and looking forward to the third one if Linger came out more exciting and not a dull. Better than the first book. If I knew how unexciting Linger was I would have read another book.

Who Are You? By Joan Lowery Nixon

The book I read was Who Are You? By Joan Lowery Nixon.In this book the main character Kristi Evans found out that she has a stalker that has pictures of her, the stalkers name is Mr. Merson. Kristi tries to find out why he is stalking her and what does he what with her, whenever shes home only she would go visit Mr. Merson in the hospital becasue he got shot and injured. When her parents and the police finds out that she sneaks out of the hospital to visit Mr. Merson at the hospital they get mad at her because the police already made an appointment for her and her family to go visit him and talk to him. The police tells her to stop going to the hospital to visit him but that doesnt stop her from going to the hospital and visiting him. In order for her to go to the hospital she has to tell her parents that she is going to her friends house. She does go to her friends house but she takes her friend to the hospital with her and the friend stays in the car while Kristi goes into the hospital. Kristi has to pretend to be with another family in order to get into the hospital to meet and talk to Mr. Merson. She saves his life sometimes and more into the book they become friends so she can get more evidence why he is stalker her.

The thing I liked about the book was that each book ended with a cliff hanger and it involves a lot of myster and I like myster bookd. There wasn't anything I didn't like about the book. I really enjoyed the book a lot, this book I think its for teens so 13 and older, on a scale from 1-4 I would rate it a 4 beacause its such a good book to read and I love it. 

I think teens should read this book because its such a good book and if you like books with cliff hangers then get this book!

Trapped, by Alyssa Fulton

   
   The name of the book that I read is Trapped and the author is Michael Northrop. The book is about these kids, Scott, Elijah, Les, Jason, Julie, and Pete all stayed after school. Where they go to school, Tattawa High School, is in the middle of pretty much nowhere. They all stay after school when a big snow storm is about to hit. They're trapped (hence the name of the book) in the school with a teacher. When the teacher leaves to go and get help, he never comes back. The kids are now on there own for survival. 
  
   What I liked about this book is the characters and how they all react differently to this situation. I like the idea of having kids taking care of themselves when they are in really big help. Like getting locked in the basement or locked out of the house or getting trapped in a house, in a snowstorm. 
  
     I made a connection to The Maze Runner, when they are all stuck in this one area (the school) where there are no adults, and the kids have to fend for themselves, until someone or until they find a way out. 

    I recommend this book to anyone who likes survival and adventure. Thirteen through fifteen years olds will be able to read this book. I give this book two stars because I felt like that there was stuff missing. Like arguments, maybe some more fights, the characters didn't really try to find a way out of the school, until it was later in the book. And it was kinda boring at some parts and it felt like it really slow at parts too. That's when you could tell the author was trying to make the reader not fall asleep because the main character (Scott) was talking or thinking or narrating the story.  I didn't really like the story as much as I thought I was, but if you want to try it, go ahead. I'm just warning you that some parts may seem a bit boring.