Prepare to have your mind blown. Rock n’ Roll Soldier is a unique, true, memoir about Dean Kohler’s service in the Vietnam War during which he starts a rock band, gets some chicks, and even records a single. This is a book that made me look at music in a different life-changing way. I no longer see it as a way to entertain people, but as a way to lift their spirits and let them sink into it. All that Kohler had to do while fighting the Viet Cong forces in Qui Nhon. The effort described in the book was surprising and entertaining to me and I congratulate Kohler for his great efforts and loyalty.
Anyone who loves music and warfare will love this book, though it has some mild language and some weird moments that the little kiddies wouldn’t understand. Also, the plot will have some gaps unless you know about the Vietnam War. At first, I wondered why Kohler had a Vietnamese girlfriend when they were attacking Vietnam, but then I looked it up and found out they were supporting southern Vietnam whilst fighting northern Vietnam.
I like the fact that something that actually happened turned out to look so much like a fictional story. However, I think the Author’s Note would be much better labeled “Prologue” because it seemed more like a prologue than an author’s note, because I didn’t know what was happening because I skipped the Author’s Note. But it was a very good book which was very well put together, and not only taught me the power of music but also how humanity can work together to build skyscrapers, form an organized society, and even play rock bands in warzones. This book restored my faith in humanity, as well as taught me the true meaning of music.
The Encyclopedia Of Me is written from the point of view of “Tink” Isadora Aaron-Martin, a 12-year-old girl from the outskirts of New York, New York. It takes you through her friend troubles, boy drama and shows you the hardships of having an autistic brother, while sorting it alphabetically and in the layout of a proper encyclopedia. This book gives you the definition of friendship, loyalty, and love. It is an amazing book for 10-14 year old girls though I wouldn’t recommend it for a guy because it’s a walk in a girl’s shoes and probably wouldn’t make much sense. Overall, The Encyclopedia of Me is an exhilarating, funny and captivating novel that left me begging for more.
Author: James Dashner
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication date: August 28, 2012
Reviewer: Benny (12)
Rating: 4 Cheeseburgers
This is the soon-to-be first book of a series called "Infinity Ring". It's about a couple of kids named Dak and Sera that discover that Dak's parents have been working on a top-secret experiment: A handheld time-space wormhole device known as the Infinity Ring (or you could just call it a pocket time machine, whatever works). Dak and Sera can't keep it a secret, and it appears to be key for a group called the Historians to fix history which has apparently been broken. Now it's up to Dak and Sera to fix history with a teenager called Riq, so a rival group called the SQ doesn't gain power in the future (or present?).
Much like the 39 clues, this is a collaborative series done by several authors, with an online game that goes along with the book. I think that the book has some sudden introductions. You kinda have to figure everything out mid-book. I didn't even know what the SQ was until, like, Chapter 15. Aside from that, it was an interesting book that I bet is the beginning of a great series. Time travel kinda confuses me, though. If Dak and Sera fix the future, then there won't be a broken past to begin with, therefore they won't come back to the past to fix it because there's nothing wrong with it, but then it would have to remain broken, and the cycle goes on and on. Still, the plot is interesting. I've read 10 of the 39 clues books and they've each had their own "flavor" so I bet these books will be like that too.
Book: Planet Tad
Author: Tim Carvell
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication date: May 18, 2012
Reviewer: Ben (11)
Rating: 4 4/5 Cheeseburgers
This book is, very, very, VERY funny. In this book, Tad, a middle-school boy, who blogs every day. He blogs about his family, his friends, about school and about everything that happens to him. Tad has a very funny way of looking at the world and can make even the most ordinary things sound hilarious. Very soon after I started I could not put the book down AT ALL. I read the whole thing in one night! This book is very funny and I congratulate the author on an amazing book that is worthy of many more people reading it.
My rating for this amazing book is 4.8/5, because I would like to see a little more book and a little less blog. Well that is all my own opinion and if I were some one else I would rate it 5/5.
Good work, Tim Carvell.
[Editor's note: This book is such a favorite among our reviewers (and their moms!) that our ARC is starting to look like it was chewed by wolves. One mom even asked the local comic book store to order a case, since they would make such great go-to birthday gifts. Good work, Tim Carvell, indeed!]
Shadow and Bone takes place in an alternate Russia, called Ravka. There are rifles and serfs and a king, like in normal turn-of-the-century Russia, but also a group of nobles, called Grisha, who have psychic/magic powers. Depending on what type of Grisha they are, they can bend metal and forge things, create/move water or fire, or kill people. With their minds. There’s also a very powerful, just-beneath-the-King Grisha called the Darkling, who has the power to summon darkness/shadow. Years ago, the Black Heretic (the first darkling) used his magical powers to summon up a dark cloud, the Shadow Fold, filled with evil creatures called volcra. When it was created, it killed everyone inside, turning farmland filled with people into a wasteland. Shadow and Bone tells the story of Alina Starkov, who is discovered to be the Sun
Summoner, someone with very rare Grisha powers (summoning light) and who has the capability, in theory, of destroying the Shadow Fold.
The book is really well written: it’s got some darkness to it, but it’s not super disturbing like the Hunger Games. There’s a love triangle, but it’s well done and not over the top, and the characters are interesting, so it doesn’t make you want to go to the dentist or anything.
The best part is Alina Starkov herself. She’s skinny, and not glamorous or beautiful, and she starts off not knowing she has magical powers, but she’s a great character, because she doesn’t let anyone give her a hard time. At one point, after she’s taken to the king’s palace to show her powers to the nobles, she’s woken up to be made “presentable”. However, she doesn’t know that’s why she’s being woken up, and the servants expect her to just go along with this. Instead of cooperating and asking bewildered questions along the way, she stops, refuses to let them do anything, and when she’s told that there’s not enough time, says “Make time! I’ve covered almost two hundred miles on horseback. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a week, and I’ve nearly been killed twice. So before I do anything else, you’re going to have to
tell me who you are and why it’s so very important…” Which is awesome.
I would definitely recommend this book to kids around age 9 or higher… there’s a slightly graphic kissing/make out scene and at an earlier, unrelated point someone gets cut in half. However, if you don’t care about that stuff, it’s definitely interesting to read. I would give it 4 ½ cheeseburgers.
The Hunger Games is a book about a girl named Katniss Everdeen, who is taken to be a tribute in the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games takes place in the future, where instead of states there are 12 Districts. Years before the book happens, there were 13 districts, and they rebelled against the Capitol, who rules them. District 13 was destroyed, and the Capitol’s way of punishment for the rest of the districts is the Hunger Games. One girl and one boy between the age of 12 and 18 are chosen from each district to participate in the Hunger Games.
All of the kids go to an arena to fight to the death until there is only one kid left. Their district gets food and gifts from the capitol, while the other districts are almost starving. This is a great book which will keep you reading it until 3:00 in the morning. I really loved it because Katniss is awesome and can use a bow and arrows, and the story is always interesting. My rating is 4 and a half cheeseburgers, because I really, really, really liked it, but it might be kind of depressing for a lot of people. Even so, you should read it too.
Title: Happenstance Found (Books of Umber)
Author: P. W. Catanese
Publisher: Aladdin
Publication date: January 2009
Reviewer: Shira (11)
Rating: 4 1/2 Cheeseburgers
Happenstance is a boy with strange abilities. With no past and no memories, he is found by the amazing Lord Umber and taken under Umber's protection in a medieval world.
Happenstance was found with a letter from a mysterious creature named WN. It tells Umber that Happenstance, will see abilities arising. Strange ablilities like his amazing green eyes that can see future, past and what could be along, with amazing night vision. His legs are capable of propelling him 7 feet or higher in the air, and his mind always curious.
On top of Hap's numerous questions like, "Where am I? What am I?" and "Why am I so strange?" there is a creature, an eye hunter, named Occo, who is hunting Hap for his all-seeing eyes.
Happenstance gets the help of Umber's bodyguard and friend, Oates, Umber's archiver, Sophie, a small man Umber rescued from a mean noble, Thimble,and the librarian Smudge. And with Smudge's help he discovers that he is something called a "Meddler". A creature, small in numbers, that can bend history and future to its will.
<Editor's note: The paragraph below contains spoilers. If you want to read it, highlight the text!>
After a fight with Occo and defeating the creature, Umber shows Hap his secret. A secret that he has kept to himself for 10 years. "Project Reboot". This was a project in Umbers' world (Our 21st century) in case the world were to have a global cotastrophy. He helped collect info about everything in his world on a computer in case this were to happen.
Eventually it did. Umber was still collecting the information needed when the catastrophy became reality. He was knocked out and woke in Hap's world. The world he lives in to this day.
Follow Hap, as he and his friends discover new and interesting abilities and fight new monsters hunting Happenstance the Meddler.
I've been reading this book called Tunnels by authors Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams. It's an incredible book about a boy named Will, who discovers an amazing world below ground. His family is a crazy mix of people. His mom is lazy, his sister is bossy and cleans all day, and his dad keeps to himself.
His dad disappears without a trace. Things start to get weird and Will and his friend Chester find themselves running from sinister, pale men called Styx. When they find a strange tunnel in Will's house the boys set off on a wild adventure. This book has a big steam-punk influence as well as a firm sense of adventure.
Tunnels is an awesome book that once you pick up you won't want to put down. Will is curious and uses his head, but in this book you don't see much of Chester. The Styx are creepy and sinister and I felt like I was really being chased by them. Digging tunnels like Will and Chester would be really fun. A one-of-a-kind read, Tunnels is an amazing book.
My book review is on The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, and I think it's pretty good. It's about four princes who were booted out of their kingdoms and rejected by their princesses for various reasons, and have to save their kingdoms from a plot that threatens to destroy them all. These princes all have their own problems. Prince Frederic, the one who got Cinderella, is a pampered wimp who is too boring for the adventorous princess. Prince Gustav is a big brute who tends to rush in the battle without even ASSESSING THE SITUATION AND KNOWING WHAT'S GOING ON. Prince Liam is actually pretty normal and smart, but the problem was that Sleeping Beauty was a huge jerk and spread terrible rumors about her when he didn't want to marry her... because she was a jerk. Finally, Prince Duncan is just plain weird.
Things the princes have to deal with outside the kingdoms are bandits, trolls, a dragon, and an evil witch who's trying to take over the kingdoms. They even have to fight the king of bandits (who's ten years old). On their journey, they learn to work as a team and become heroes.
In conclusion, The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom was a pretty good read, although towards the end it got sort of crazy and didn't make a whole lot of sence to me. I give it a rating of 4 cheeseburgers.
This is another good book, but the thing about it is, the kind of thing where almost none of this book makes sense until you read it over a couple of times, and think more and more about what the heck every little sentence means.
Everything else about the book is good. The unexpected plot, the good characters, and I really like the main character, Seamus Hinkle’s situation at school, what he does about it (accidentally killing his substitute teacher by throwing an apple at her) and what his punishment is for doing so (going to a reform school that happens to be a top-secret high tech facility training kids to be professional troublemakers) and how he handles it (painting the school and many teachers with a paintball gun, torching a carousel, haunting his history teacher’s midnight jog, scaring the crap out of his music teacher during his bathroom break, and not to mention blowing up his gym teacher.)
Anyone who likes mystery, weird schools, or pullin’ pranks on your teacher will love this book, which will come out on April 24. Find it in a book store near you!
