Mrs. Barlow

STOP! THIS IS A LIFE OR DEATH EMERGENCY! PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE! Okay, now that I have your attention and you know this is serious business, I just read a spectacular book that blew my mind! Interested now? I thought so! Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse is one of the most deep and thought out books I've ever read; very emotional. This book is not a regular for most people, it wasn't my first choice either. It's genre is historical fiction. Believe it or not my little brother recommended it to me and I'd have to give it five stars! I really enjoyed this book and can gladly see myself and other readers looking to read more books like it and/or by the same author. This book is based on a true story. Hesse writes Out of the Dust in first person, allowing Billie Jo Kelby, the protagonist, or main character, to describe her life from the winter of 1934 thought the fall of 1935. Billie Jo describes her desolate internal and external landscape with a searing, brutal honesty. She narrates, in unfolding glimpses of story, a tale of death, destruction, dust, and the search for redemption. This incredible book is very much related to Come on Rain, by Karen Hasse! Karen Hasse didn't actually write Out of the Dust until three years after her trip to Colorado, when she'd already started writing Come on Rain. I'd recommend this book to girls and boys, anyone interested in historic fiction! To conclude, if you haven't already done so, read Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, you won't regret it!

A robotic Cinderella!?!? What? The book ​ C inder ​ b y Marissa Meyer is about a robotic  Cinderella. Overall, I would rate this book a 5 out 5. You would like this book if you like broken  fairy tales. This is a fantasy book that can rival ​ H arry Potter​ .        This book is the beginning of a series that shows the main characters, Cinder, struggles.  This book is set in the future after WWIV. Just from that one sentence, you can tell that there  has been some disagreement between the countries. There has been a plague spreading  through the Eastern Commonwealth, the place that Cinder lives. The king has caught the  plague and is about to die. The prince is not ready to become a king yet. The prince came to  Cinder, the best mechanic in the commonwealth, to ask her to fix one of his androids. He jokes  around and says that there is important information that will help kill the plague. Even though he  was disguised, she still recognized him because of her cyborg eyes. This is a broken fairy tale  because in the book, she goes to a ball and meets the prince, but it goes all wrong because their are people there that want to kill her. That is not a happy ending like in the real Cinderella.  Another example of this book being a broken fairy tale is that there are cyborgs, and  hovercrafts, and a plague that is killing everyone! This book has all of this and still manages to  incorporate a Cinderella theme. This book is kind of like ​ L eviathan​   if you have ever read that  book. They both have other worldly inventions, but ​ C inder​   is set in the future while ​ L eviathan​   is  set in the past. They both have people who are pretending to be other people. This is a great  book and you will not be disappointed if you read this book

Margo and Quentin are just getting to know each other, but little does Quentin know, he might never see her again. Paper Towns by John Green is a mysterious realistic fiction book that will have your eyes glued to the pages. I really enjoyed this book and think it is a great read for people of all ages. A solid ten out of ten would have to be rewarded for this amazing story. The book begins with describing a boy, Quentin, who has feelings for a girl, Margo. Margo is different, she is special, adventurous, not basic, just plain different. So different that she broke into Quentin’s bedroom at one a.m. and took him on the journey of his life up until six a.m. where he was back in bed pretending like nothing ever happened, which was hard for him considering he had broke into three people's houses and drove to SeaWorld. However, hoping he and Margo could finally be friends, he goes to school and finds that Margo isn't there. He thought nothing of it until she didn't show up for the rest of the week, and the week after that, and the week after that. Now it's up to Radar and Ben, Quentin’s best friends, and Quentin to find her and it takes more than you would think. Some reasons I believe that this book is great is because it is mysterious. You know just as much as Quentin does which makes it suspenseful. Also the clues she is leaving makes you want to spend time figuring them out as well. For example the highlighting, if you don't know what that is, then read the book to find out! Something that this story reminds me of is another work by Green which is The Fault in Our Stars which reminds me of this because of the boy and girl relationship that resembles friendship turned to love. If you enjoy other books by John Green I would recommend this one to you. Some other books written by John Green include Looking for Alaska, The Fault in Our Stars, Let it Snow, and much more. He tends to write dramatic and realistic scenarios that can appeal to people who like adventure and drama. Overall, with my past reviews you can see that I give an honest opinion about the books I review, and with Paper Towns I would give a strong ten out of ten because of the fun tale, exciting plot, and mysterious rising action. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a good read.

Ever thought of reading Divergent? An honest opinion from a science fiction reader is here to help for a review. Divergent by Veronica Roth, published on April 25, 2011, is a great science fiction packed book for some, but for others it might be boring book thinking it is a waste of time. This book is great if you love science fiction, even if you don't, it is still a great book because some parts of the book it can be compared to in the real world very easily. Divergent is a science fiction book although it does not have too much fictional elements like most science fiction books, making it easier to understand. I would rate this book 4.5 stars out of 5 because although I might not like the story, I think the book would be a great book for others. Divergent is a book taking place in a city where there are five factions, each faction describing a personality people have in common that are in the faction. Beatrice or Tris, however is part of three factions, Erudite Abnegation and Dauntless, making her divergent. Being divergent is rare in the city. Beatrice joins dauntless and renames to Tris later on in the book, she later on meets Tobias or “Four” and become good friends, they both are also divergent, later on in the book they fight together from a zombie apocalypse. Tris fights through obstacles throughout the book sometimes alongside Tobias, protecting themselves from the chaos other factions cause by fighting each other. The setting is around modern time and takes place in Chicago. The book was not enjoyable at times because some parts of the book last long, for example, the book would take too much ch time on one problem or main idea of the story. The book can be related to the Maze Runner because they are both fighting for the same idea, survival. The author Veronica Roth had an amazing success with the trilogy of Divergent and is a college student. I have read many science fiction books before, along with realistic fiction, many of which I enjoyed and the reviews on the books were close to my reviews. A type of reader that might enjoy this book is someone who read and enjoyed The Hunger Games because the problems they are facing. The factions from Divergent can relate to the districts in The Hunger Games.

Imagine being kidnapped by accident. That's what happens to Wren,  one of the main characters in the book ​Hidden​. ​Hidden​ is a realistic  fiction book written by Helen Frost. In the book ​Hidden​, Wren Abbott is  a 8 year old girl who gets kidnapped by Darra Monson’s father. The  kidnapping was an accident but it left both the girls with many  questions for each other. A couple years both Darra and Wren meet at  a camp. Both girls starting answering each other's questions and  revealing the truths. This book is amazing. It is written from both  Wren’s and Darra’s point of view, which makes the book more  interesting. I would rate it four out of five stars. The type of readers  who would like this book would be readers who like books about  friendship and suspense. Helen Frost has also written many other  books like ​Keesha’s House​ and ​Diamond Willow.

One day, a red kayak sinks in a river. People think that it was just an accident, or was it? I rate the realistic fiction book Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings five stars. I couldn't put the book down. This book is about is about a boy named Brady who sees a red kayak on the river on a really windy and rainy day, and later regrets not yelling to tell them to come back, even if they didn't hear him. Then, he gets pulled out of school so he can help his dad look for the boat that had sunk a few hours earlier. They find out soon that there was a lot of damage done. Brady works for the lady that was in the boat during the summer and one day finds a clue that might lead to cause of why the boat had sunk. This story takes place in Maryland during an entire year. Brady and the other main characters really develop during this story. Brady starts to realize really important things in life and how important it is to tell the truth. This book is a really good book because it shows readers how important is is to go with your gut feeling. In the beginning of the book, Brady makes a decision to not follow his gut feeling and it impacts the rest of the book. This book is nothing like anything else I have every read or watched. This book is meant for people of all ages and genders. I enjoy reading many books a month and think about many key points in the book like characters, setting, and plot. Priscilla Cummings had written at least 23 books including The Journey Back, Blindsided, and A Face First. Overall, this book was so good.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live on the streets? Being a thief and robber, fighting to survive and have the military out to catch you? Nowhere to live, nobody to trust, your on your own. This happens in Legend by Marie Lu. This is an amazing book where Day fights to survive to help his family while the military tries to catch him. In the story, Day is a runaway child that has been fighting to survive. He failed a test when he was ten and had to be killed but he escaped before they killed him. Day is out robbing for not just himself but for Tess and his family. Tess is a twelve year old girl that is very experienced with medical related things. She helps Day and makes sure he is okay whenever he finishes robbing anything. Day found Tess on the streets and Tess joined him. While the military is out to get Day, a girl named June Iparis is also out to get him. She works for Commander Jameson, the head of the military and she is out to get Day for one reason, revenge. When Day was attempting to rob a hospital for medicine, Day had done something to June's brother Metias. June is out to hunt for Day while he is fighting to survive and hide in the shadows. I really enjoyed this book for the suspense that was put into by the author. You would always want to turn the page and see what happens next because you never know. In other books, you can usually guess what will happen next but the author did such a good job of making creative parts to the book that you would never expect. This book is related to Swindle because of the suspense and how you would always want to turn the page. Both main characters in the book are getting revenge on somebody while somebody is out to stop them. Marie Lu is young adult writer and she is most known for her Legend series. She is a dystopian writer set in the future involving military. She has written Prodigy and Champion, the series for Legend. She has also just started a new series called The Young Elites. A person that would enjoy this book is somebody that is okay with violence. This book includes lots of mystery behind every character and lots of suspense. A boy or girl would enjoy this book.

One day, a red kayak sinks in a river. People think that it was just an accident, or was it? I rate the realistic fiction book Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings five stars. I couldn't put the book down. This book is about is about a boy named Brady who sees a red kayak on the river on a really windy and rainy day, and later regrets not yelling to tell them to come back, even if they didn't hear him. Then, he gets pulled out of school so he can help his dad look for the boat that had sunk a few hours earlier. They find out soon that there was a lot of damage done. Brady works for the lady that was in the boat during the summer and one day finds a clue that might lead to cause of why the boat had sunk. This story takes place in Maryland during an entire year. Brady and the other main characters really develop during this story. Brady starts to realize really important things in life and how important it is to tell the truth. This book is a really good book because it shows readers how important is is to go with your gut feeling. In the beginning of the book, Brady makes a decision to not follow his gut feeling and it impacts the rest of the book. This book is nothing like anything else I have every read or watched. This book is meant for people of all ages and genders. I enjoy reading many books a month and think about many key points in the book like characters, setting, and plot. Priscilla Cummings had written at least 23 books including The Journey Back, Blindsided, and A Face First. Overall, this book was so good.

Imagine having this one fear in your life. Not any ordinary fear, not some scary story. A reality. Imagine not being able to sleep at night or do anything you used to do before it happened. Imagine having the eyes of a killer stuck in your memory. Imagine having to change your identity, and have every law force looking after him, yet you know they aren't any closer to finding him. For eighteen year-old Ivy Jensen, this is her life. The story, Welcome to the Dark House, by Laurie Faria Stolarz, is an amazing book with twists and turns around every corner. If I could rate this book 10/5 stars, I would. After reading this, it is now my all time favorite book of the horror genre. The plot build up leaves anyone reading on the edge of their seats, and horror fanatics everywhere would absolutely adore this. The cleverly put in details affecting the course of the story absolutely blow my mind. Unless you're paying real close attention to a small detail, something that a character said that wasn't acknowledged, or even the way a character said something, you can be really confused by the reasoning of a certain way a scene was played out. It blows my mind that certain writers can not only create a horror story, but they can input clues and mysterious identities without giving too much away. It was made to almost sound like you were watching a horror show, yet something was just off about it. The different vantage points from each of the characters helps a lot with the character development, as it is hard to know a character based off of one person's vantage point. The book begins with a backstory. Ivy Jensen was only twelve years old. She lived with her mother and father in a happy little home, and life was happy for the family until one night. Ivy awakened to screams down the hall. They were from her parents. The sound of struggle seemed to go on for hours, until it finally silenced. Music from a cliché horror movie started to play. The killer was on the move, and he revealed his eyes only to Ivy, before uttering the lag words she heard him say before letting her run down the stairs to call the cops, “Good morning Princess.” There was no trace of him when the police arrived. Except her name wasn't Ivy. She had to change her name. Her family. Her life. One day she got an email from a junk mail site that sent her ads on the regular. The email was from a horror story director named Justin Blake, and one of his famous stories called “The Dark House”. Except, this time she felt different. The email was asking for participants to enter in their nightmares, and they would be flown out to a place to film this movie remediation of “The Dark House”. She reluctantly sent one in, thinking it would help her see horror as entertainment. She was chosen along with six other people, as the story tells different parts in different points of views, for each of the participants. When everyone gets to the Dark House Hotel, everything seems fine. However, the story gets really odd when one of the people goes missing. There's a message left in the closet of her room, saying, “Get out before it's too late”. The others take it as a joke, especially one of the horror fanatic contestants Garth. The story shows many different examples of foreshadowing. I believe that this helps a lot with having the story put together at the end. For example, the text has all of the contestants share their nightmares with each other, going into great detail about each one of their experiences. The author wouldn't put so much focus on these if it didn't have some effect throughout the story. Through each of the viewpoints, the reader can see what the character is going through. For example, when the text is in the viewpoint of one of the characters, Shayla, it says, “Having spent the last nine years at four different boarding schools, I've had my fair share of abrupt transitions and seen some nasty cases of homesickness. My best friend Dara included.” This text example has some serious foreshadowing as to what might happen to Shayla throughout the story. I would recommend reading the story to find out exactly what happens to each character, as it is more interesting finding out for yourself. Another reason I really enjoy this book is because of the character development. For example, when the text explains one of the characters, Shayla, through Frankie’s point of view, “There was this really cute girl next to me, and I mean really cute. Her thick rimmed black glasses and cute black pulled back hair was adorable. She introduced herself to Parker, not that she really needed an introduction from how much she was already saying.” Even from that small section out of the whole book, the reader has a good idea of who exactly Shayla is. We learn a lot about her personality, including how she is perky and likes to talk a lot. The main reason I like this is because the author has specific traits for certain characters to symbolize their fate or destiny in the book. This book really is a good example of the horror genre. Unlike other cheap films and books that approach horror in a cheap and short way, I believe that Stolarz did an amazing job taking her time with developing the characters and plot from scratch. The amount of time it must have taken to actually put together a well thought out novel with small details and characters that all have reason, is unimaginable. From doing some research on the author, it seems as if she is well known for her works in the horror genre, including many books that had fans literally raging for more sequels. Also, it explains how she got a degree in creative writing, further supporting my idea that she was very creative in coming up with clues and characters for this book. I have seen and read many horror books and movies, and pieces that don't use the mystery clue features that are usually connected with that genre, tend to not be that interesting. These books and movies are definitely unlike Stolarz’s work. A type of reader who would enjoy this book is a reader who definitely loves horror and mystery. The types of books that let you piece it together even before the problem is solved using clues. The whole story is based around horror, so it's hard to enjoy this book a lot if you aren't a fan of it. Overall, this is an amazing book and I definitely recommend it for horror or mystery fanatics.

Looking for a good book to read? Well Saving Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea is an amazing book to read. I give it 5 out of 5 stars. Saving Mr. Terupt is a realistic fiction book that is set in the students current middle school that they are attending and Snow Hill School in Mr. Terupt's classroom. This book is told from 7 different characters points of view. Saving Mr. Terupt is the 3rd book in the series. In comparison to Mr. Terupt Falls Again, the 2nd book in the series, the stories involve the same characters, Jeffery, Anna, Alexia, Peter, Luke, Jessica, and Danielle. Also, the 2 book's setting and story are different. This book shows an amazing relationship that students can have with a teacher that means a lot to them. For example in the text it says, " It was time for more drastic measures. There was no way I was allowing this to happen. These people had made a mistake." This shows that they have a strong relationship because it shows that when the results came in and Mr. Terupt was going to loose his job they were prepared to do anything it takes to get it back. This book is about a group of friends that suffer through multiple challenges along the book. For example, a big fight they had with each other, trying to save their favorite teacher and much more. Although, they might suffer through a lot of challenges, they also have a lot of fun moments too. Like, the "Everything Fair", planing their campaigns in Mr. Terupt's classroom and much more. If you liked Because of Mr. Terupt or Mr. Terupt Falls Again, then you would like this one too. I would recommend reading the books in order so, you would have a better understanding of the plots and relationships between the characters. Someone that would like this book are mostly students and kids ages between 10-14 years old because I think that they would relate more.