Uglies

Uglies

by Scott Westerfeld

Science fiction, Fantasy

4

4

4

4

4

I liked this book, mostly because it happens in the future (I love books about the future). That's also why I said fantasy, not because there is time traveling or aliens. However, there are hover boards, and everybody gets one. The most interesting part was how it happened in the future and all of the little interesting details the author used to tell us that and things that they had, that we don't. They also referred to us as "rusties", because we used a lot of metal in our buildings. I think that it would be very interesting to live in the future, whether the future looked like this or something different (I'm betting on the hover boards, though). I would recommend this to anyone who likes reading about the future, and there is also some mystery and suspense in this book because Tally is uncovering the truth about her city. I like Tally and can relate to her because she likes sneaking out, solving problems and (usually) gets out of scrapes. I think the author those this title because the people in the cities are referred to as "uglies" before they turn sixteen and get the operation ( and turn to "pretties"). The cover is Tally peeking out behind a leaf. I think this might be either because she doesn't wan't to show her whole so-called ugly face, or because she's exploring and hiding. Contrast and Contradiction: "Go! Get your ugly face away from here!" (Tally's is acting differently, and rudely because she's mad at David and doesn't wan't to see him.)

"The town was paper, but the memories were not"

Paper Towns

by John Green

This book was awesome
You would like this book if you like Suspense
Review: Its a really good book with plot twists and turns. I think that the story is really good and really well developed. The most interesting is how the characters took a road trip based on clues. I would really have liked to be in the story with the characters or visit the places where they went. I really like Margo because she is mysterious, likes sneaking off and running away and is well liked by the people at school, although she doesn't necessarily like them or trust them. "Paper towns" is mentioned a few times in the story, under different circumstances. One is when Margo says that everything in their town is made made of paper, isn't real. "Paper houses, paper people. It's a paper town." And when Quentin is looking for Margo he looks in towns that were suppose to be build, but never were, "paper towns". There are also more things in the book that imply that "Paper Towns", is a really good title. There are several different covers, one where there's a thumb tack in a map, like in the book, and one where Margo and Quentin are standing side by side and her hair is blowing in his face. And one where there is a city made of paper just standing there (once again implying that it's a "paper town". I like all of them. Overall the book the is very good and the author is an amazing one, and I very much recommend this book to almost anyone. 
"For some people, those strings just snap." Quentin doesn't want Margo to be one of those people (aha moment). 
"The town was paper but the memories were not." 
(Just a warning, there isn't really a happy ending)

Безсердечне серце

Чорнильне серце 

Корнелія Функе

 

Чи вам коли-небудь хотілося потрапити у світ улюбленої книги? Я, наприклад, зачарована Поттеріаною. З того часу, як прочитала «Гаррі Поттера» (минулого літа), дуже сильно хочу потрапити у світ Джоан Ролінґ. Та, на жаль, у чарівні світи можна потрапити лише в книжках. Чи на щастя?..

Звичайні люди не можуть вчитувати себе в книжки чи вичитувати з улюблених історій героїв. А от для Мо і Меґі Фольхартів, яких створила Корнелія Функе, – це реальність.

Десять років тому Мо читав вголос книжку «Чорнильне серце» Феноліо. У той час, як він читав, зникли його дружина і два товсті коти, а замість них з’явилося троє чоловіків: Каприкорн, Баста і Вогнерукий. Мо вичитав їх із книги. І це погані новини, бо світ «Чорнильного серця» дуже відрізняється від нашого. Феї, кобольди, гіганти, скляні чоловічки, царі… І якби ж тільки це. Каприкорн – ватажок банди паліїв та убивць, а Баста – його улюбленець. На щастя, хоч Вогнерукий не поганий: він – усього лиш факір і заробляє на життя трюками з вогнем. У Чорнильному світі вогонь дружить з факіром.

Уся книжка «Чорнильне серце» (Корнелії Функе, не Феноліо) – про те, як Мо і Меґі борються з Каприкорном. Корнелія Функе, на відміну від Феноліо, написала не одну книгу про Чорнильний світ, а три. Я вже почала читати другу частину, яка називається «Чорнильна кров», і в ній Меґі з батьками потрапляють в книгу. Страшні пригоди не завжди закінчуються добре…

«Чорнильне серце» нагадало мені про іншу книжку, яку читала кілька років тому. Це – «Нескінченна історія» Міхаеля Енде. Там також є книга в книзі – з такою самою назвою («Нескінченна історія»). Атрею, так само, як і Мо, Меґі та Реза, потрапляє в історію, яку читає.

Мені здається, що «книга в книзі» – це гарна ідея, бо мені було б цікаво, якби це трапилося зі мною. А ще – це ніби ти читаєш кілька рівнів однієї книги.

Сподіваюся, що мій блог подобається вам і надихає вас. Сподіваюся, що ви читаєте ті книги, які я раджу (я ж намагаюся не розказувати всі секрети :). Так що чекайте нових відгуків!

До зустрічі, читачуни! :)

The Face on the milk carton

The Face On the Milk Carton

Caroline B Cooney

          I don’t know what you’re thinking after you’ve read the title. Maybe you’ve read ahead and are already deciding whether to read this book or not. Well there are 4 books about Janie, so if you decide you know enough from this story, you can just read the 2^nd, 3^rd or 4^th books.

          This book and this series are focusing on an ordinary 15-year-old named Janie. She has flouncy, wild red hair. Janie has ordinary parents that might be just a little bit overprotective. She has no brothers or sisters. She has two best friend named Adele and Sarah-Charlotte. She also has a crush on the boy-next-door, Reeve Shields. As the book proceeds Janie will date Reeve.

          One ordinary day, Janie is sitting in the school cafeteria. Janie is lactose intolerant, which means she can’t have dairy products. But she sees a MISSING picture of a little 3-year-old girl with red hair and tight pigtails, in a pink and white polka dotted dress. She was stolen at a shopping center in New Jersey. Her name is Jennie Spring. Janie remembers that dress with the pink and white polka dots.

          Later she finds a box in the attic with the name Hannah on it. No one in her family is named Hannah. And in that box is the dress with the pink-and-white polka dots. So who’s Hannah and are her parents that she loved all her life (or maybe not), kidnappers?

          Her parents realize that she’s found something and tell her, Hannah was their daughter, but when she was 16, she left and joined a religious cult. She never came back to her parents, until one day she showed up hand-in-hand with a little girl in a polka-dot-dress. Hannah says that this is her daughter Janie. She says that she won’t be able to raise her well within the cult, so take her, enjoy her.

          But something still doesn’t add up. The milk carton says that she was STOLEN from New Jersey. So are her parents still lying? Janie has very mixed feelings.

Janie doesn’t share this with anybody but Reeve, her new boyfriend. So one day, in Reeve’s jeep, they decide to skip school. They go to New Jersey and find the Springs’ address. They see two tall redheaded boys walk in. Janie remembers baby twins. She doesn’t want to believe her own memories. How could her loving parents be kidnappers?

Later, they put the story together. Hannah was going home to take a break from the cult and stopped a New Jersey shopping center. She saw a 3-year-old girl in a pink-and-white-polka-dot-dress who seemed to be pouting. She gave her ice cream and then took her for a ride… That’s how she ended up taking Janie (A. K. A. Jennie Spring) to her parents, the Johnsons. She said that it was her own daughter, you can be better parents, enjoy her. Enjoy her, oh how they did! Raised her like their own girl, tried so hard not to make a mistake, like they feared they did with Hannah. And now – Janie is calling New Jersey.

          My library doesn’t have the second book, so I started reading the third one, and from it I understood, that Janie went to live with her real family in New Jersey, behaved like a brat, treating them like scum and then went back to the Johnson’s. Now THAT is bad. If your little girl has been missing for twelve years, you’ve been worrying about her for twelve years, and when she is found, when she finally comes back to you, she says that she likes her other family and her other life better. Now, how would you feel? I mean, I understand Janie’s position, but she could at least respect them. She could at least TRY to be a good daughter…

Бути собою

«Давач»

Луїс Лоурі

The Giver 

Louis Lowry

Пам’ятаєте, я писала про «Голодні ігри» Сюзан Колінз? Ну, то ця книжка – теж антиутопія. Вона виграла багато всіляких різних нагород, але я про неї пишу не тому. Якщо чесно, то ця історія промає до глибини душі.
Спочатку здається, що світ Джонаса досконалий. Але насправді там немає ні спогадів, ні кольорів, ні почуттів. Кожного грудня відбувається церемонія, на якій змінюється вік дітей. Щороку дитині щось дарують або відбувається якась важлива зміна. Наприклад, у чотири і сім років малюкам дають курточки, в дев’ять – велосипед, а в дванадцять вони отримують роботу, яку виконують усе життя. Точніше, до того моменту, коли потрапляють у Будинок старих, де про них дбають аж до Відпущення (смерть).
Коли настає дванадцята Джонасова Церемонія, він дуже переживає, бо його кличуть останнім. Та йому доручають найпочеснішу роботу. Ця робота приносить біль. І від цього болю не можна приймати ліків. Такі правила.
Робота в Джонаса така: щодня він приходить до Давача і отримує спогади. Є погані спогади: біль, втрата, війна, жаль. Але є й хороші: любов, справжня сім’я, озера. Тепер Джонас бачить кольори, і йому це дуже подобається.
Якось Джонас із Давачем вигадали план: Давач передасть йому всі спогади мужності, і Джонас піде шукати Деінде, куди йдуть Відпущені. Та плани змінюються, коли вирішують відпустити Габріеля, хлопчика з особливими можливостями, у чомусь подібного до самого Джонаса. Джонас вирішує, що треба діяти негайно. Він бере Габріеля і їде. Коли він полишає громаду, всі його спогади лишаються людям. Давач допомагає їм давати раду зі спогадами, а Джонас починає чути музику…
Беріть приклад з Джонаса: треба бути чесним і добрим! І ти за покликом серця і часом навіть ризикувати заради щастя. Краще бути інакшим, але бути собою, ніж бути таким, як усі, і почуватися незручно.
Мені й раніше вчителі рекомендували цю книжку, але я кивала, і мені вилітало з голови. Та цього року моя вчителька, місіс Вайт, почала її нам читати. Ми прослухали всього лиш кілька розділів, але я зрозуміла, що книжка дуже цікава, і вирішила почитати її сама. І тепер раджу вам.

About Magic

Rose

Holly Webb

          Those of you who have kids or siblings that are 6-9 years old probably think that it is a book about a puppy or a kitty. But no, this book is about Rose, a ten-year-old orphan. Slowly this book gets more and more interesting. In a quite magical way.

Rose lives at St. Bridget’s Home for Abandoned Girls. She does not daydream about rich parents coming in to claim her and sweep her off her feet. She has reasons to think that her father was a soldier and that her family had something to do with fish.

Rose is very good at storytelling. One day, when she is telling her friend Maisie a made-up story about how Maisie got lost and ended up at the orphanage, her story comes to life. In pictures, that is. The girls can see Rose’s story on the side of an old brass tub. Maisie loves it, but Rose is scared, so she decides not to do it again.

The next day when the girls at St. Bridget’s are doing laundry a guest comes to the orphanage. She’s dressed in a black dress and has a nice hat on. She needs a girl 10-11 years old to be a maid. She asks Eliza, Ruth, Lucy and Rose. Eliza is twelve, Lucy doesn’t want to be a maid and Ruth does nothing but giggle, so Miss Bridges picks Rose. That’s the beginning of her new life…

          Rose thinks that she works for Miss Bridges but Miss Bridges surprises her – they both work for Mr. Fountain – the famous alchemist. Fountain works for the king and he is one of the few who can make gold. Soon Rose learns that none of the servants at the Fountain household like magic. They tolerate it, since it pays their paychecks, but nothing more. Rose wants to get her hands on a magic book, so she can figure out how to get rid of the pictures (the ones that come with her stories) because she doesn’t want to have anything to do with magic. She soon learns that Mr. Fountain lives with his seven-year-old daughter Isabella and his apprentice Freddie. After Rose works at the Fountain house for a week she gets an afternoon off to go visit the orphanage. She wanted to talk to Maisie, but her friend isn’t there. Miss Lockwood tells her that Maisie’s mother came for her. When she gets home, Rose realizes that something is terribly wrong – Miss Lockwood kept saying there were flies, when there weren’t any, Maisie left behind her locket – her most treasures possession, if she was rich now, why would she have a cheap locket in the first place, and when Maisie told the story – the story that Rose had made up – her mom was so happy that she REMEMBERED – but Rose made the story up!! Rose thinks that Maisie was stolen.

          Since Rose made friends with Freddie (Mr. Fountain’s apprentice) she decides to talk to him. Freddie decides that they need to scry. It means look for her in a mirror or something shiny. But when they scry that night, they only see darkness. She might be in a dark place, or it didn’t work. Gustavus, the smart, magical cat tells Rose and Freddie that it would work better if they had something of Maisie’s. So Rose and Freddie go to St. Bridget’s at night, to take Maisie’s locket. On the way there, they encounter a group of street boys, whose sister was also stolen. At first, the boys thought it was Rose and Freddie, but when they promise the boys to find their sister, they believed them. When they try to scry for Maisie with the locket, they still get blackness. Rose is starting to feel frustrated, but Gustavus (the cat, remember) suggests that they need to ask a different question. So Rose thinks, Maisie who stole you, and the face of Miss Sparrow, the lady who Mr. Fountain likes. Freddie is surprised. He says “Well, I didn’t like her, but I didn’t think she was a kidnapper”. Then Isabella, Mr. Fountain’s spoiled daughter finds them. She calms down and they make a plan – Isabella will be bait, Rose and Freddie will follow her and save all the kidnapped children and they win. Yay!

          But the plan does not go as planned. Sparrow spots Rose and Freddie, and brings them with. Now there is no one to save them except, maybe, Gustavus. But then all the children join happy memories and escape. Rose and Freddie stay behind to defeat Miss Sparrow. But will they be able to defeat such powerful magic? By themselves, no. But when they call up a mist monster (a creature that goes for the most powerful magic and fights it), they might have a chance. So, leaving Sparrow alone with the mist monster, they run.

          At the end, Rose will learn magic, too. Mr. Fountain is almost positive that Sparrow will come back, but he’s glad that they haven’t killed her, because it would have taken part of her soul. This is the first book in a series, so if you’re interested you can find the books right here.

Сучасна Русалонька

Русалонька із 7-В, або Прокляття роду Кулаківських

Марина Павленко

Я багато читала про серію Марини Павленко «Русалонька із 7-В», а тепер нарешті читаю самі книжки. От цікаво, вам подобаються детективи і всілякі заплутані історії? Мені – так. Якщо ж ви любите їх так, як я, то ця серія – для вас.

«Русалонька із 7-В, або Прокляття роду Кулаківських» – перша книжка з серії. Головна героїня – дівчина Софія, яка, так само як і я, не любить алгебри. Їй, так само як і мені, підсовують братика (у мене сестра, але то дрібниці). Книжка ж не про те. Софія закохана в однокласника Вадима Кулаківського. У роду Кулаківських – прокляття. Після того, як Гордій Кулаківський привласнив собі купу чужої землі, його і його рід прокляли – мовляв, матимеш гроші, але не матимеш щастя.

За допомогою фотографій, чарівної шафи, яка може переносити Софійку в часі, та коралів, які роблять дівчину невидимою у минулому, Софійка знімає з Вадима прокляття. Ще вона позбавляє себе нічних жахів, бо квартира знизу також була пов’язана з прокляттям Кулаківських. Ціла сім’я загинула під час грози – і в грозу чи при повні привиди змушені знову і знову переживати цю трагедію. Після того, як Софія у минулому врятувала родину Катрусі, двоюрідної прабабусі Вадима, кошмари в квартирі знизу припинилися.

Тепер Вадим вільний від прокляття. До нього з бабусею поприїжджали родичі, доля яких змінилася після того, як Софійка врятувала Катрусю, а Вадим їй вдячний, бо тато купив йому мотоцикл.

Коли я закінчила читати книжку, був вечір. Раптово почалася гроза. Ну як тут не злякатися? Саме за такої погоди у квартирі знизу з’являлася колись Катруся. Стало якось не по собі, та якось я заснула…

То що скажете? Цікаво? А це ж лише перша книжка. Друга – про привида, третя – про русалку, четверта – про лабіринт і пропажу картин. А про що п’ята – не скажу, бо щойно почала читати.

P.S. Якщо вам сподобалося те, що я написала, коментуйте, будь ласка! І, взагалі, коментуйте. Я хочу знати, що мої читачі думають про мої дописи, мій блог і про мене. Дуже дякую тим, хто коментує. І тим, хто читає також. До зустрічі!

An Enola Holmes Mystery

The case of the Missing Marques: an Enola Holmes Mystery

Nancy Springer

         Do any of you readers like Sherlock Holmes mysteries? Well, have you people heard that he has an older brother (just a tiny bit older) and a sister who is ten years younger than him? Well, by the way he does. His sister’s name is Enola, which, spelled backwards is alone. Do any of your names spelled backwards mean anything? I f yes then tell me what. If no, don’t worry. I’m Airam J.

        Enola’s mom leaves Ferdinand estate, where she lives with Enola, and their three servants. (Don’t worry about the servants, they are treated practically like family.) When Enola’s brothers find out, they come to the estate. Mycroft is confused because Enola’s mom wanted payment for butlers, maids, stable boys and seamstresses. When he finds none of the above at the estate he is very mad. Sherlock says that she wanted money for her escape. Enola can’t believe that her mother left. Then Sherlock leaves to go back to London and Mycroft wants to put Enola in a boarding school for young ladies. But Enola doesn’t want to wear a corset, bust enhancer and other things that I won’t mention here (you’re welcome gentlemen). She decides to escape. Her baggage—she hides in her ladies undergarments. When the carriage taking her to the boarding school stops at the graveyard, so she can supposedly say good-bye to her father, she takes her bike and escapes. She knows her brother, the legendary Sherlock Holmes, will be able to find her pretty easily, so she goes where her brothers will least expect her to go, to London, right under their noses. She meets up with another runaway – a boy who got really sick of his mom’s baby treatment. Together they escape from Squeaky and Cutter, two cutthroats. They pay a lady to hide them. Then Enola’s new friend (without even knowing it) distracts her brother. Enola escapes once again. Later she once again changes her image. She learns that her mother is with the gypsies. She plans to go find her in the Spring.

         This book is really good. I especially think that girls should read it. In fact, this next paragraph that I’m going to write is JUST for girls, so if you’re male, just skip it.

        Hey, ladies! I really think you should read this book. I mean, how many of you ever read a book, like a Sherlock Holmes mystery and think “Hey, what the heck, where are all the female characters?” I think that all the time. This book is really good and its about a girl!

        Okay, hi everybody. And now… drumroll please… bye everybody!

Girl Meets Ghost

Girl Meets Ghost

Lauren Barnholdt

If you had some kind of super-natural power, what would it be? Would it be flying, mind-reading, or invisibility? Or maybe it would be seeing ghosts! Well, you never know, that could become interesting, right? Maybe not.

Kendall Williams can see ghosts. For her, it’s natural. She’s been seeing them since she was a little kid, but when she was little, she just saw them. Now she helps them move on. She has to help them, or they won’t quit bugging her. And that could be a problem. When Daniela’s ghost pops up, Kendall couldn’t be more annoyed. Daniela was killed in a bus accident going to a gymnastics meet. The only things that she remembers are Jen and digging. And that doesn’t help very much. Kendall has to figure it out soon, because Daniela is getting restless.

But Kendall has other problems. She asked her crush, Brandon on a study date. Kyle, Brandon’s best friend and Ellie, Kendall’s best friend are coming too. Their date goes okay except for the part where Kendall’s dad comes to the mall to pick her up and is, like, really mad because 1) Kendall wasn’t supposed to be studying at the mall and 2) her dad didn’t know that she was studying with boys. But Brandon isn’t mad. He thinks that he, Kendall, Ellie and Kyle should all go to a movie together. Will Kendall be able to help Daniela and keep up her romance at the same time? Or will her boyfriend figure out that she can talk to ghosts and ditch her?

What? Yes? You think so? You sound so sure! Maybe you’re right. But if you want to find out for sure, read the book! I really liked it. Don’t think that it’s a childish book that will take up your time thought. I read it in less than two days. Think that you can beat that? Please comment if you read it or not and if you liked it or not. It’s a really fun book to read and if you don’t like it, you can always stop reading it! J

Tuesdays at the Castle

Tuesdays at the Castle

Jessica Day George

Are you the type of person who enjoys books about castles and princesses? Then this book is for you! Or are you the type of person that thinks that fairytale-type books are for little kids? Then this book is for you anyways! This book is for everybody! It’s fun, adventurous, and a great mystery! I know that that’s a lot of exclamation points, but this book really deserves it! It’s my all-time favorite!

Castle Glower can grow and change by itself. The people who live in it are :King Glower the seventy-ninth, his wife, who is the daughter of the Royal Wizard, and their four kids: Bran, who went to the College of Wizardry four years ago, Rolf, who is the heir to his throne, Delilah (Lilah), and Cecelia (Celie).

Celie’s parents went to get her older brother from the College of Wizardry. It’s time for them to come back but when the royal carriage does come back it’s speeding and the only person in it is Sergeant Avery. And he is hurt. He thinks that the king and the queen are dead. The Glower children are absolutely sure that their parents aren’t dead, but they still have to hold a funeral ceremony for their parents and a coronation ceremony for Rolf.

Sleyne’s neighboring kingdoms each sent a prince and a bunch of representatives. Cecelia thinks that Lulath of Grath isn’t so bad while she doesn’t like the warrior-like Prince Khelsh. She even soon finds out that he is planning to assassinate Rolf. Celie is wondering why the castle doesn’t kick him out like it does to people it doesn’t like.

Her dad’s Royal Council says that Rolf is too young to be king alone, so he has to rule under regency, which means that they practically get to tell him what to do! But that’s not even the worst part! The worst part is that now, Khelsh is part of the Royal Council too!

I know that I put a lot of suspense on you, but all I’m going to say is that… read the book to find out! Ha-ha just kidding! Well, not totally kidding. I WILL say that nobody dies except if you count Khelsh, who gets carried away by a griffon. Well, see ya! And don’t forget that that’s a Bookworm Promise:)! And if you don’t read it your house will turn on you and throw you out your chimney! Ha! But you really SHOULD read it though, or you’re going to miss out on one of the BEST books ever printed! Bye!

The Mysterious Benedict Society

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Trenton Lee Stewart

I know I usually start by saying something funny. But this time I’m just going to say this: The worst thing to do with people who trust you is to use their trust for your own purposes. As you read please keep this in mind. You’ll understand what I mean when I write about the second book.

“Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?” When this showed up in the newspaper a bunch of kids decided to take the tests. But in the end only four of them passed. Reynie Muldoon, being good at solving puzzles. Sticky Washington, because everything he read stuck in his head and he could remember it perfectly. Kate Wetherall for her physical ability. And last of all Constance Contraire for her natural stubbornness. All of them don’t have families (or in Sticky’s case are thought to be unwanted).

When Mr. Benedict brings them all together they become friends. His two assistants are Rhonda and Number Two, and their bodyguard is Milligan. Mr. Benedict explains that they are in danger and he needs their help. Then Constance is almost kidnapped and they have to rescue her.

Then they finally go on their mission. They have to disable the Whisperer – a wicked machine capable of transmitting thoughts into people’s minds through electronic devises and its inventor Ledroptha Curtain. This can only be done by children. Reynie and Sticky become “Messengers” and find out how Mr. Curtain uses children to send his messages. They sound something like this “The missing aren’t missing they’re only departed”, “Poison apples, poison worms, brush your teeth and kill the germs”, “The free Market Drill” and stuff like that.

Then they make sure that their session in the Whisperer is tomorrow, by putting chuck root in all the sweet and salty foods. Then when it came they called Kate and Constance up to the flag tower and defeated Mr. Curtain. Even though he got away they disabled the Whisperer. Three cheers for the Mysterious Benedict Society! Yay! Yay! Yay!

P.S. It turned out that Milligan was Kate’s father (he was kidnapped by Curtain and had amnesia), Reynie’s tutor and her mother adopted him, Mr. Benedict, Number Two, and Rhonda adopted Constance and they found out that Sticky’s parents were saying that he was better off without them, not them better off without him. Three cheers again Yay! Yay! Yay!

I would love to call this a bookworm promise, but I won’t for two reasons. #1 I don’t want to throw them around, #2 some of my friends didn’t like the book, so you might not either.

Now I am the BIGGGEST fan of The Society and I made up a twin for them. And another story. I’ll be writing this along with my book reports.                                          Key:

Maria = 80% Reynie and 20% Kate

Reyna = 80% Sticky and 20% Reynie

Mike = 80%Kate and 20% Constance

Cole = 80% Constance and 20% Sticky

This is told by Maria. The Mysterious Benedict Society and Dream Team Benedict met by a total coincidence that changed their lives. Here’s how it happened. Me and Reynie were called to meet Mr. Benedict at the same time. He probably forgot. Or otherwise this wasn’t a coincidence at all. But we became friends instantly. But that’s not even the most interesting part. Our parent guardians got married Mr. and Ms. Perumal, Milligan and Tomi, Mr. and Mrs. Benedict. And from two pairs of Washingtons become one pair of Washingtons! Amazing right? And we decided to move to IowaJ and to be neighbors. We were always together! Totally best friends! Oh and I forgot to mention – double enemy – Mr. and Mrs. Curtain. Our life was pretty peaceful. But one day… we were on a fishing trip and we saw Jackson and Jillson (Mr. Curtain’s former executives). They were scuba diving. This is a fishing spot, scuba diving isn’t permitted said Reynie.

I’LL CONTINUE LATER!

Three times lucky

Three Times Lucky
      Sheila Turnage

OK, hi! Sorry I haven’t written for so long. We moved! I had to pack, unpack and help around both houses. I was too tired to write. Oh by the way, if you are 5 years or under don’t read this without parent permission. All right, all right .Once upon a time… No?!! This is a seriously good book! Okay here we go.

I’ll begin with a story: A man and a lady were in love. They decided to go on a honeymoon; somehow the man went to Tupelo Landing and crashed.

Eleven years ago during a hurricane a man had a car crash by the river in Tupelo Landing. In the river he found a billboard with a baby tied to it. He named the baby Moses. Too bad he didn’t know that it was a girl. Since the man lost all of his memories people started calling him the Colonel. He lived with Miss Lana (the woman he once loved). They were like a mother and father to Mo. And Mo helped at their café.

Mo’s best friend was a boy named Dale. Mo searches for her ”Upstream Mother”. She sends messages in bottles. She also writes an autobiography called the Piggly Wiggly Chronicles.

Miss Lana often went to Charleston and brought Mo presents. One time she brought a scrapbook. It had pictures of her as a child, and her and Mo together. It also had a letter that the Colonel wrote. I can’t find the letter in the book, but here’s my favorite part:

“I’ll always love your mother for letting you go, Soldier, and you for holding on.

P.S. I’m sorry that I named you Moses. I didn’t know that you were a girl until it was too late.”

One day when Mo and Dale were working at the café a stranger came. His name was Detective Joe Starr. The next day the café’s crankiest customer Mr. Jesse turned up dead. Joe Starr was on the case. And he got two deputies to help him. But it was Mo who actually found the murder weapon.

Later, the Colonel leaves. He doesn’t call for 5 days, which is breaking the family rule – call every 3 days. On the sixth day Miss Lana is kidnapped. Mo thinks that one of the deputies that are helping Joe Starr is really her friend and understands her. But later she tries to shoot Mo and Dale and they find out that she was working with Slate, the dude that killed Jesse, and kidnapped Miss Lana and the Colonel. Starr makes them both go to jail.

At the end they find out that the Colonel was a lawyer (Which is kind of weird since he hates lawyers). Mo finds a bottle in the river and thinks that it’s from Upstream Mother. Really it’s just one of her own messages. But when Dale says “I’m sorry about that, Mo.” She says ”Thanks. Thanks for saying that Dale, but there is nothing to be sorry for, the Colonel and Miss Lana are my family. And I’m not looking for Upstream Mother anymore. I’m happy just the way things are!”

The End!

The Candymakers

The Candymakers

Wendy Mass

       This wonderful book is told by the four main characters Logan, Miles, Daisy, and Philip (not at the same time). This is a pretty long book, and so I am just briefly telling you about the book from each character’s point of view. Okay, maybe not so briefly. :) I'll start with Logan, then Miles, Daisy, and last Philip. But before I start here are two stories you might want to read.

When Logan was five and Life is Sweet still held the annual picnic and had tours, a boy came over with his dad (that boy was Philip) and so it happened that Philip (the boy) threw Logan a toy truck and Logan didn't catch it, so it landed in a vetch of (very hot) chocolate. Logan went in after it to get it. As he later explained for that one moment he forgot that it was very hot. That's how he got his scars. And that one moment made Philip very guilty.

One day Miles was out at the lake with his parents and he saw a swarm of bees go over to where a girl was sitting on the beach, the girl saw the bees and went into the water, and she never came out. She drowned.

Logan the Candymaker's son is finally old enough (12) to enter the annual candy contest. He was waiting for this for a long time! He is planning on submitting the Bubbletastic Chocorocet. It's supposed to turn from chocolate to gum and back again. Here's something about Logan, he was involved in an accident long ago, and has scars on his face and arms, but Logan doesn't seem to mind his scars. He and Miles become good friends. Later Miles even sleeps over and that's actually where adventures really begin...

The librarian at the public library said that this contest might help him get over it. In the car, on their way to the contest his mom warned him not to talk backwards to the other kids. When he got there he saw a girl sitting on the doorstep reading a book out loud. Which surprised him because his mom was always early so he always was the first kid there, especially at school. He had to wait about fifteen minutes in front of the school before some teacher or custodian came and unlocked it. So, he was surprised by the girl's presence, but he became even more surprised when she got up and started twirling. Then he introduced himself. Just then another boy arrived. He was in a suit and had a briefcase. When Miles started talking about the afterlife he started rolling his eyes. Then Logan came out of the factory.

Daisy is a spy. Her case right now is getting the Candymaker's secret ingredient. She has to enter the annual candy making contest to do that. And her "book" is actually something like Skype, but cooler. Daisy also has an earpiece so AJ, her handler can talk to her and she can talk to him when she is out of the boy's earshot. She also becomes Logan's friend and changes her case a little, she sabotages the ingredient. Or at least she tries to...

I'm not doing to write as much about Philip because you know everything, well almost. :) Philip's mom died when he was little. So he is growing up with his dad who is a sneaky businessman. Which is how he finds out that his dad has plans to take over the candy factory, and not in a very nice way! He also finds out that his mother told her dad to teach Philip about art, music, and love, but instead Philip's sneaky dad taught him about being sneaky, cheating on people, and winning every contest. So Philip's dad hired someone to steal the Candymaker's secret ingredient (can you guess who that is. :)) Philip understands what his dad's plans mean to Life is Sweet, so he decides to help Logan's family. He decides to steal the secret ingredient himself. By the way his dad said he won't try to take over the factory if Philip wins the contest.

On the day that Miles slept over Daisy and Philip were both trying to get to the secret ingredient. The boys were talking in the halls when they heard something. Then they flipped on the light and saw the people who they called friends. Philip told everybody about his dad's plan and Daisy explained about being a spy. Then they decided to help Philip win and save the factory. Even Logan agreed despite the dreams of winning the contest like his father and grandfather (founder of the candy factory). OK, I'll just make it short, Philip wins, and they become friends and candy makers.

B.T.W. (By The Way): when they heard Miles' story Daisy said that that girl was her and it was just part of her spy training. This made Miles extremely happy.

I hope that I have inspired you to read the book, and you better read it if you want to find out what the secret ingredient is!

Well, that's it for this time!