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Tuesday, July 14, 2009
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Movie:Tranformers: Revenge of the Fallen
The summer thriller following the enormous success of the first "Transformers" movie directed by Michael Bay, "Revenge of the Fallen" continues the volatile life of Sam Wicky. Sam is going to college soon, but his "normal life" is interrupted as Optimus Prime needs his help again. The Decepticons, it seems, are plotting to annihilate all the Autobots, revive Megatron, and discover the secret location of a great machine that an ancient Prime built for collecting energy for the Allspark by destroying suns. The last Prime, who is the master of Megatron, is determined to activate this machine to destroy all life on Earth. Sam, Mikaela, and the others must stop them by finding the Matrix of Leadership in order to revive Optimus. This movie wasn't as good as the first one, mainly because there were a lot of loopholes, and the parts that were supposed to represent humor were miscalculated, and turned out to make me feel awkward. However, I will admit that Hasbro did an exceptional job of making the transformers, especially when the transform from machines to their true forms. A profusion of history between the interaction of Transformers and humans was revealed in this film, which I thought was quite interesting.
All right, everyone, gather 'round the storyteller who goes by the name of J.K. Rowling, who will permeate the "Half-Blood Prince" to you. To be frank, this movie was quite mediocre. The plot line was average, but the directors left out many major portions of the book, such as the skirmish between the Hogwarts students and the Death Eaters, and the funeral of Albus Dumbledore. However, there was a significant increase in how the number of scenes that were humorous, such as when Ron is drugged by the love potion, and other numerous parts. I was sort of disappointed that Ginny and Harry didn't kiss more, but I surmise that they may have deleted a few romantic scenes because the movie is rated PG. Overall, I still much prefer the book to the movie, because the film was edging toward a rating of C than a B.
Recently, I returned to the invaluable treasure of author Clive Cussler, who is the father and a trail blazer of adventure thriller novels. to my pleasure and surprise, I discovered that his celebrated "Dirk Pitt" books are very good, even better than when I started reading these irresistable classics this year. In "Atlantis Found", Dirk Pitt must find out and stymie the sinister plot of the Wolf family, a enigmatic family whose ties to the escaped Nazis are unknown to most of the world. Except Pitt. What was first a ludicrous plan that involved a comet that an ancient people known as the Amenes predicted was going to strike Earth in 2001 turned out to be a hoax. The real plot is to destroy part of the Antartic shelf so that the Earth would not be stable, causing a change in the poles and therfore also creating worldwide calamities. I loved this book because it contains one of the most exciting storylines that I have ever put my eyes on, and the parts in which elite fighting forces, such as the Marin Recon and Navy SEALs, stop the evil doers just in time. Everyone should read this because Cussler has an extremely rare ability to convince the reader to read more and more...
Theme- this story shows that you can do anything when you get the right information and the right people.
Characters
Sherry- the main character, she gets most of the information to solve the mystery.
Sherry’s mom- a ghost who was a former policewoman, right now she lived in the ghost realm.
Junie- Sherry’s best friend she also helps Sherry to solve the mystery.
Josh- someone that Sherry has a crush on, in the end he helps too.
Paula (the ruler)-a woman who is one of Sherry’s teachers at school, she married Sherry’s dad.
Sherry’s grandpa- a wren that also lives in the ghost realm he helps to solve the mystery.
Amber- a teenage girl who is Junie’s cousin she drives Junie and Sherry around in San Diego.
Kendra- a woman who works at the zoo who wants to save the rhinos.
Gary- a poacher who tires to kill the rhinos, but acts like her is a zoo keeper.
The old people- one of the people who are paying the poacher to kill the rhinos so that they can use the horn for some cure for Alzheimer’s, but are acting like rhino lovers.
Chef- a man who is also paying the poacher to kill the rhinos for one of his dishes.
Setting- this story mostly takes place in San Francisco, California.
Plot- Sherry had to go to San Francisco during her dad and step mom’s honeymoon. At first, but then when her mother called to her as a ghost and told her that she needed her help or she would be banned from the ghost realm, Sherry had another plan for her Spring Break. Junie and amber end up coming to after thinking it over sherry finally tells Junie about her mission. Junie thinks that Sherry is crazy and gets angry. Sherry continues on the mission on her own. Later on, Junie Is convinced in a supernatural way the Sherry is telling the truth. Josh is also visiting San Diego and in the end helps. At the end of the story, the three of them solve the mystery and save the rhinos.
Love, Ruby Lavender By Deborah Wiles Theme- this story shows how people can change over a point of difference in their lives. It also tells how the most odd of people can make the best relationships. It also tells how sometimes you can get the wrong idea about something and judge it right away. This books shows that everyone has problems but he or she may never get over it the same way. Characters-Ruby Lavender- a red haired country girl form Halleluiah, Mississippi who loves adventure and loves her grandma more than a best friend. She is strong and persistent to get her way. Miss Eula- Ruby Lavender’s grandma. She loves Ruby like a best friend and likes to look for the good in people. She is gentle but strong and loves pink.
Evelyn Lavender- Ruby’s mother. She experiments with vegetables from her garden and reports them to the newspaper. She is small kind and gentle.
Miss Mattie- One of ruby’s Aunts. She runs the General Store beside the bus station. She is strong tough and firm, but inside she is kind.
Mary Jane Lander- ruby’s rival at the beginning of the story. A pompous girl who is too full of herself and has many siblings.
Mr. and Mrs. Ishee- they are known as Tater and Tot. They are a very jolly and upbeat couple. They just moved to Ruby’s neighborhood. Mr. Ishee is ruby’s new teacher.
Dove Ishee- the Ishee’s niece who was visiting them for the summer. She is very calm kind and upbeat. She becomes friends with Mary Jane and Ruby. She is interested in anthropology.
Setting- the story takes place in Halleluiah, Mississippi. Plot- Ruby Lavender, a girl from Halleluiah, Mississippi is very close to her grandma, Miss Eula. Her grandma then has to leave to Hawaii, to visit her new granddaughter. Ruby is very upset about her grandmother leaving and is angry about the other granddaughter replacing her. Back at Mississippi, Ruby is on her own. However, her and her grandma still keep in touch by sending letters to each other. Bu that is not enough Mary Jane, a girl Ruby’s age is bullying Ruby more than ever now that her grandmother is gone. So, Ruby is left alone forced by miss Mattie to sweep the general Store every afternoon. However, things start to get exciting when one of the guinea hens that Miss Eula and Ruby robbed from the Slaughter House lays three eggs. Later more news hits when someone else is buying the chicken farm and their niece is visiting them for the summer so Ruby ha someone to play with. When Ruby was just starting to make friends with the Ishees, Mary Jane comes in and ruins everything. During the rehearsal of the county play that Mary Jane starred in Ruby brought one of the chickens over, and it got excited and accidentally got paint spilled all over Mary Jane’s head. One night when Dove Ishee and Ruby were taking care of the chickens, Mary Jane threw rocks at Ruby and killed two of the chicken’s eggs. The whole town rushed over and Ruby was too angry with Mary Jane to forgive her. The next day was the county play Dove and Ruby went to the Lake where Ruby’s grandpa and Mary Jane’s dad died. They sat on the bridge together and talked until Dove left to see Mary Jane in the play. When Mary Jane went over to apologize Ruby couldn’t take it anymore, she yelled at Mary Jane until she left. When Ruby finally decided to go to the play Mary Jane has a wig on to cover her blue hair, it was about it fall oh and it did. Mary Jane was embarrassed in front of everyone. Ruby then forgetting what Mary Jane did, comes, saves Mary Jane by adlibbing and, saves the show, and in the process, makes friends with Mary Jane. But then …she discovers that her grandmother is back.
Theme- The theme of this story is to be yourself no mater what people think or say about you.
Characters
Nikki- the main character of the story, the girl who owns the diary.
Chloe and Zoey- two of Nikki’s best friends. In the beginning of the story, Nikki hated them.
Mackenzie- a girl that Nikki really disliked throughout the story, made Nikki’s life miserable.
Brandon- a boy that Nikki liked but never noticed Nikki until the middle of the story.
Brianna- Nikki’s little sister, she is very annoying.
Setting- the story takes place from the events that were written in Nikki’s diary.
Plot- Nikki at first was friendless and lonely in school; it became even worse when Mackenzie’s locker was right beside hers. She was even causing trouble for Nikki by hanging around Brandon. Just when Nikki’s life was getting even worse, instead of buying Nikki a new cell phone, her mom bought her a notebook Her life continued getting worse. But after getting new friends and getting to know Brandon Nikki faced great times but they were soon ruined by Mackenzie. But in the end Nikki wins.
Theme- This story tells that you can always do things when you have enough information and believe in yourself no matter what others say.
Characters Fern Verdant- the main character, at the beginning of the story she hates plants and is angry about how her parents are botanists.
Mr. Verdant – the father of Fern, he is very concerned and busy most of the time.
Mrs. Verdant- Fern’s mother, she is a very kind and beautiful woman, she goes around the world to save plants.
Mr. and Mrs. Hurbrsie- an evil couple who do things and work under the hand of Mr. Sagwalla.
Dr. Von Svenson- a woman who works at an insane child facility, and also works under the hand of Mr. Sagwalla.
Mr. Sagwalla- an evil man who has corporations that destroy nature.
Grandma- Fern’s grandma, she lives in France.
Francesca- a friend of Fern’s who fern helps to escape out of the child insanity facility.
Anthony- the brother of Francesca who owns a boat.
Setting- the setting takes place in mostly an abandoned islands and the ocean.
Plot- fern verdant and her botanist parents move to Ohio for her father to study a fern that he had discovered. Fern is angry with her parents for making her move and for paying so much attention. When Fern’s mother, Lily has to go on a business trip abroad, Fern is angry at her mother. Soon Fern and her father, Olivier discover that Lily was reported dead. It takes months for Fern and her father to get over the loss. At this time Fern turns 13 and finds her new power of talking and communicating with plants, she also finds out that her mother had it too but if they told anyone about their powers they would lose t right away. The plants have sent her a message about her mother, that her mother had been taken to an island . But when her father catches her talking to a tree, he sends her to NITPIC, a facility for insane children, run by an awful woman named Dr. Von Svenson. Fern soon escapes with the help of some willow trees nearby and also helps a girl named Francesca. Later on, fern meets Francesca and her brother Anthony at sea on a boat. Anthony and the other orphans on the boat and even Francesca start to suspect her because she talks to the Silver Rose petal on their ship. Dr. Von Svenson had put a tracking device in Fern’s backpack and had been following her the whole time. soon captured Fern and set the Anthony’s ship to flames. On Dr. Von Svenson’s ship Fern persuades the doctor’s henchmen to work for her, but all doesn’t turn well when the doctor hypnotizes them back and Fern takes one of the doctor’s gadgets and jumps off of the ship. Fern then wakes up on a island for being rescued by seaweed. She befriends a palm tree and uses the doctor’s gadget to get back to the ship. On the ship she is driven to the island where her mother is and attempts to save her mother but is stopped by Mr. Sagwalla. He injects a truth serum into lily and she tells about her power, but with the help of the plants Mr. Sagwalla is destroyed. Fern uses a forgetting serum on her mother so that she could forget everything.
Once again, the grandmaster of American adventure novels has astounded me with his incredible knack to tell stories of Dirk Pitt. In this particular novel, a huge cruise ship named the "Emerald Dolphin" is destroyed by a mysterious fire in which the fire extinguishers had no effect on it at all (they malfunctioned for some reason). Most of the passengers and crew survive, thanks to a nearby NUMA vessel that Pitt was coincidentally assigned to, but the extermination of the luxury liner still reaks of a deliberate strike. Dirk Pitt has to figure out who intentionally destroyed the cruise liner, and why they did it in the first place. The primary suspect is Curtis Merlin Zale, the president of the Cerebus coporation, who wanted the sercret formula of a super oil that a passenger, Dr. Elmore Egan, possessed while vacationing with his daughter, Kelly. Zale is utterly ruthless; he wants to monopolize his company, who is North America's biggest oil producer, and to take control over the U.S. government by bringing outcry to foreign oil. His plan almost works, but is stymied just in time by law enforcement and Pitt....but with sacrifices as well. I love the Clive Cussler novels so much because they want the reader to just keep on reading. Whenever I am accentuated to commit to something else, there is always a muddled and ambiguous air of ambivalence because I do not want to pause my book. I really have no idea how he does it, but he definitely knows what he is doing. I think that every teen and adult should considerably attempt to read his books, because once you start, there is absolutely no end to it.
"Everyday" is an exemplary piano piece written and performed by Carly Comando. It delights an invigorating yet subtle emotion that dwells deep inside humans, and with the release of this archaic feeling, one feels as if they are being transported to a realm of peace and serenity, far different from the chaos of the modern world. I first heard this on NBA commercials, and immediately afterwards, convinced myself to search for it until I find it. I discovered it on iTunes a few weeks ago, and I listen to it as much as I can, because it amenably and mysteriously inspires me to do great things in both basketball and life. Carly Comando should truly write more of these, although none might equal the might of "Everyday". People who want to unwind at the end of a calamity-filled day should definitely buy this song because I can guarantee you that is will soothe you like the most wonderful dulcet you have ever heard.
Theme-This story shows that you can survive the most drastic of things, go through the most amazing adventures, and still save the day no matter how old you are.
Characters
Bird McGill- the main character of the story, a very adventurous girl who loves her father.
Mr. McGill- Bird’s father; is a pilot in the air force.
Mrs. McGill- a firm and concerned woman who disapproves of bird’s flying of planes.
Margaret McGill- Bird’s older sister, who cares too much about her appearance.
Alvin McGill- Bird’s older brother who loves to play.
Kenji-a Japanese boy who ended up being Bird’ friend in the middle of the story.
Uncle Tomoto- Kenji’s uncle who takes care of Kenji.
Deputy Steyer- the deputy of the town who usually gets bird out of trouble.
Lieutenant Peppel- a boy who was training in the army air force who liked Margaret.
Pastor- the man who said mass at Bird’s church.
Farley Peck- a bully to Bid and Kenji at school.
Mr. Peck- a man who backed out of the war and was the father to Farley until he is killed.
Setting- the story mostly took place in 1941 Geneso, Rhode Island.
Plot- Bird and her father and together they fly her father’s plane in their backyard. But soon Bird’s father has to leave to go to the army and Bird is devastated. It is a few months after Pearl Harbor and a new boy named Kenji comes to Bird’s school. Everyone is suspicious of him because he is Japanese. Farley, the bully wont leave him alone. Even Bird doesn’t like him until he saves her from drowning that is when they became friends. Not soon after their friendship do they discover a spy in town and find that Mr. Peck, farley’s father was killed and only Bird saw who killed him. The man tried to grab Bird but she bit him in the arm leaving him with a scar. That same night the town factory exploded. A dew days later bird’s father was found to be dead. Uncle Tomoto was framed for everything, just because he was Japanese, but Bird and Kenji knew he didn’t do anything. Bird soon discovered that it was Deputy Steyer, even though the pastor also had a scar also. She was taken captive by the deputy but soon escaped. With the help of Farley she stole one of Lieutenant Peppel’s uniforms while he and Margaret were swimming in the lake. After being chased by the lieutenant, he finally decided to fly over to where Deputy Steyer was going.. to kill the president. In the middle of the flight the lieutenant was blinded by an oil spill in the plane, so Bird ended up having to fly and land the plane. And after a hard journey and with the help of Kenji Bird stopped the deputy and saved the town. The town soon found out that the deputy was part of a secret German society that formed after the Holocaust. And a celebration was made for the heroes. During the after party, Bird slept and dreamed of her father.
Molly a ,10 year old girl, lived off the streets of London, ever since her mother died.Since she had no other way of surviving,she started to pickpocket, until the day she was caught,sent to trial,and sentenced to go to America.There was a Jewish family there who bought her in New York since Molly was Jewish.From there she experienced a lot from loosing a 3 year old, named Rachel, to running away, to helping an over abused slave run away.Through out the whole story except for the end Molly never thought that she could belong somewhere. I liked that all the good things in the book happened because of Molly's screw up.
This story is about a 14 year old girl named,Niki Maxwell who goes through he most amazing school year and writes in all down in a diary given to her by her mom, a diary that she didn't even want in the first place.I like this book because it isn't fake like a lot of teen school books are.And I like the part when the mean girl cries because she lost the art contest.
This book is about a girl named Addie Ann Pickett starts the civil right movement,saves here uncle from a bad trial and death,and saves her brother, by telling the story about how her father was killed.I like the part when Addie Ann's brother got into a fight.
Book:The Big Bahzooley Sam Kellow the main character of the book wins a contest that he didn't want to enter in the fist place, helps his mom find her missing client who was suppose to by her painting, with some of the prize money that he had gotten from winning the contest,and from the his family were never broke again.All because of Sam's curiosity.
Calvin Coconut- Trouble Magnet By Graham Salisbury
Theme- this story shows that if you try to make the most out of everything and not ignore your responsibilities then you can get yourself out of trouble.
Characters
Calvin- the main character no matter what he does he still ends up in alt of trouble.
Maya and Julio-two of Calvin’s friends
Tito- a bully to Calvin.
Darci- Calvin’s little sister.
Mrs. Coconut- Calvin’s busy mom who encourages Calvin to live up to responsibility.
Willy- a new boy from California who becomes friends with Calvin.
Ledward- a nice man who is Mrs. Coconut’s boyfriend.
Stella- the daughter of one of Mrs. Coconut’s friends who is staying over at their house.
Mr. Purdy- Calvin’s fourth grade teacher.
Setting- this story takes place in a summer in Hawaii.
Plot- It is coming to the end of summer and Calvin Coconut and his friends are going to 4th grade it sounds okay until Calvin finds out that he has to move out of his room to make space for a girl who will be staying over at his house. Calvin has to move to the bug infested storage room. In the storage room, Calvin finds a centipede and brings it to meet your teacher day, this causes trouble at school. There he meets his nice teacher Mr. Purdy who used to be in the army. He introduces Willy a new boy in the class, and for a treat he let’s them go to an outside restaurant for lunch. There, Calvin gets himself into more trouble by starting a food fight. After having to stay after school, Calvin bumps into Tito, causing Tito into spilling juice all over himself. After school Tito and his friends for hours, but Calvin makes it home just in time. That afternoon Stella comes and she doesn’t seem that friendly to Calvin. The next morning, since Calvin forgot to fix the lock on his old room, Stella was locked inside, after many attempts to open the door, Stella had to come out through the window. As Calvin came outside to see, Tito was climbing over the fence to beat up Calvin, but as soon as he saw Stella, he forgot about the clobbering and acted out as a friend to Calvin, so that he could hook him up with Stella. This made Stella even more furious at Calvin. But near the end of the story, Stella began to understand what Calvin was going through and becomes nice to Calvin. Calvin’s mother is also proud of him for beginning to take responsibility.
Theme- this story shows that if you really, really want something and you work hard to get it, no matter what is in your way you will get it.
Characters
Charlotte (Charlie)- the main character of the story who wants to get rid of her fairy.
Rochelle- one of Charlie’s best friends.
Stefan (Steffi)- a boy that Charlie has a crush on and is friends with her; he is also a new kid in school.
Fioenze- a girl who all the girls in the school hated until the end of the story, when Charlie becomes friends with her.
Danders Anders-a boy who at the beginning of the story made Charlie get in his car to get a good parking space.
Setting- the story takes place in a future town called New Avalon.
Plot- Charlie has a parking fairy. She absolutely hates it because people make her get into their cars so that they can always get the perfect parking spot. For almost two months, Charlie has been avoiding car rides because she is trying to get rid of her fairy. She is jealous of her best friend Rochelle, because she has a shopping fairy and is even more jealous of a girl in her school named Fiorenze, who has an any-boy- your-age- will-like-you fairy. A new boy named Stefan comes to the school, and is very friendly towards Charlie, but is immediately whisked away from her by Fiorenze’s fairy whenever he sees her. Later on in the story Charlie finds out that Fiorenze is suffering from her fairy also, and Fio’s mother, who is a famous fairy professor has done nothing to help her. So when Fio and Charlie switch fairies, they end up switching problems. Now not just Stefan likes Charlie, but all the boys now do. Instead of Danders chasing Charlie, he is chasing Fio. Charlie and Fio deeply regret this and seek a way to get rid of their fries. After facing a dangerous situation and having a life or death experience, the girl’s fairies are gone! And with the help of Fio’s mother, Charlie gets a brand new fairy that she loves.
Theme- this story shows that you can find adventure and magic if you just know what you are looking for.
Characters
Emma-one of the main characters she is the youngest of the group.
Henry- the brother of Emma, also one of the main characters.
Roy- the friend of Henry’s and is the same age as him,, he is the brother of Susan.
Susan- the oldest of the group and the one in charge.
Lily- a woman who is a librarian and loves dogs and children, and being different.
Bernice- a dog that the children rescue from one of their adventures.
Merlin- a magician and wizard who the children encountered in one of their adventures.
Setting- this story mostly takes place in a field where a big stonewall is.
Plot- Emma has learned to ride her bike, and wants to ride somewhere. Henry, Roy and Susan finally agree to it and they ride until they see a field and a bid stonewall. In the dust, Henry finds a key and the group finds a keyhole that the key goes to. With the key, he unlocks the keyhole, but nothing happens. Disappointed the group sits down with their backs on the wall wishing that they could have a root beer float at Annabell’s diner and in no time the wall takes them there. Soon after, the group discovers the magic of the wall and that you could only wish to be in or at a building. So one at a time, they all wished to go somewhere. Emma was first, she wished to go to Arthur’s castle, and there they met Merlin and her gave them each a potion to see their futures for a while. On Henry’s turn, they met Blackbeard’s son the worst pirate ever who turned out to be a man who loved to read and couldn’t even grow a beard. On Roy’s turn, they visited their town during the cowboy days. There the rescued a criminal’s dog and named her Bernice. And on Susan’s turn, they went to New York where Susan bonded with her friend again and they all went to the Carnival in New York. But they were brought back to reality when they had no idea where to keep Bernice but Lily’s house but she was much too busy. So Susan came up with the idea to bring her to Merlin. When Merlin accepted the dog, he zapped everyone including himself to the wall and told them that they had finished their adventure and had solved their own problem and that they would face more adventures that are magical after the wall was gone because they now knew what to look for. And with that, he zapped the wall away and headed off walking, maybe to begin his own adventure.
One of the many serenely masterful adventure novels written by Grand Master Clive Cussler, "Black Wind" introduces the reader to a terrifying new aspect that has only commenced haunting the human race in the last century: biological warfare. Starring Dirk Pitt's children, Summer and Dirk, Jr., the fraternal twins discover 2 dead Coast Guradsmen and later ascertain that they were killed by smallpox. Smallpox was an inrxorably deadly disease in the late 20th Century, immediately becoming fatal if it enters a person's body, as there is no definite vaccine for it once the immune system is met with it. A Korean business tycoon wants to forcefully unite the Korean Pennisula, only that is should be governed according to the North. His grizzled veterans of assualt teams hijack numerous commercial shipping freights, and ultimately want to launch a rocket that would kill nearly all of Los Angeles. It will not destroy by force, however. Hidden in the rocket are 8capsules filled with chimera, or a combination of viruses. Mixed with HIV cells and smallpox, the chimera, named after the three-headed dog in Greek mythology, can wipe out nearly all of LA. The NUMA people must stymie it, or the majority of the world will fall into a deep well of anarchy. This book wasn't as exciting as the others, but I applaud it for its creative plot that only a person such as Clive Cussler can think of. I recommend that teenage boys read this, as there is a myriad of information about the military, and other various facts that could possibily endanger the human species.
Clear and Present Danger is one of Clancy's famous Jack Ryan stories. In this one, Ryan has recently been promoted to Deputy Director of Intelligence for the CIA. The whole thing starts when the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter sets out to find the missing ship of a local Alabama businessman and his family. When they find the ship, they find two armed Hispanic men, lots of drugs, and even more blood. The men on the now-found ship had been hired by the family as crewmen for the little family vacation. What happened is obvious; they killed the whole family, dumped the bodies, and started heading towards Mexico to smuggle the drugs. This is just another strike of the increasingly powerful Colombian drug cartel. By now, the top people in Washington have decided that enough is enough. The FBI begins investigating the "Pirate Case," as the investigation of the family's murder is known. When the investigation takes some surprising turns, the man who was the target of the murder isn't as innocent as he appeared. Resulting from the investigation, the bureau turns up $700 million in assets when they discover that the victim was part of an international money laundering operation. Meanwhile, the president, his national security adviser, and the directors of the CIA and FBI begin Operation Showboat as well as several operations involved with it. Operation Showboat is a massive, CIA-led operation that would send four squads of the best, highest-trained light-infantry soldiers in the Army into the mountains of Colombia. Their mission is to destroy cocaine processing sites throughout the mountains. Supporting this operation is Eagle Eye. Eagle Eye consists of a radar plan and an F-14 Tomcat and its pilot, who particularly hates drug runners because some of them killed his mother. His mission is to catch incoming planes carrying drug and to stop them by either forcing them to land at an airstrip with law enforcement agents waiting or eliminate it. As this operation continues successfully, another character comes into play, former Cuban intelligence Colonel Felix Cortez. He has abandoned Cuba to work for the cartel as their security adviser. He travels to Washington to gather information about American operations against the cartel when he finds out that the FBI director is traveling to Colombia to meet with the Colombian attorney general. Cortez reports this to his boss, and el Jefe (the Boss) promptly orders his men to destroy the director's car and everyone in it, including the ambassador to the country, FBI Director Jacobs, the administrator of the DEA, the driver, and an FBI security detail. Enraged, the U.S. president calls a meeting in which he tells the AG, the director of the CIA, and the deputy director of operations for the CIA that the cartel represents a "Clear and present danger to the United States." He tells them that the gloves need to come off. Jack Ryan is being kept out of the loop of this operation for reasons unknown. Cortez goes on to undermine the National Security Adviser and gets him to shut down Showboat, leaving the light infantrymen in the jungle with no support or radio communications as they retreat from strong oncoming cartel forces. Obviously, from Ryan's position, you can assume that Ryan must be incredibly smart, more so since he isn't even 40. Ryan knows that he is out of the loop, so he takes matters into his own hands. When he figures that there is a huge chance that the op was shut down, he enlists help from one of the agency's best men, who is also involved with the op, and works to save the soldiers in the mountains. This is one of the best books I have ever read, and I highly recommend it for anyone 7th grade and up. Read the book before you watch the Harrison Ford movie because they are both great, but also really different. This was an awesome book by one of the best and biggest authors around, Tom Clancy. ***** 5 stars -W
Though not pertaining to the famous "Dirk Pitt" novels, "Skeleton Coast" has a contingency with Juan Cabrillo, the captain of an esoteric ship named the "Oregon". Clive Cussler has done it again: now, he centralizes the main storyline upton the giant shoulders of Juan Cabrillo and the "Oregon". The ship, though, is anything by ordinary. Disguised as an archaic container whose past witnessed its carrying of lumber acorss the Atlantic Ocean, the actual inside is brimming with the lastest military technology, as well as some of the finest luxuries that money can buy. She has enough firepower to take on half of the world's navies, a helipad, 2 submersibles, and a crew consisting of former CIA and Secret Service agents. Named the Corporation, the "Oregon" is known by very few people, and is privately hired to take on missions. In "Skeleton Coast", Juan and his crew are delivering AK-47's and other commendable weapons to the Congolese Revolutionary Army, the rebel army led by Samuel Makambo, the despotic leader who is attempting to overthrow the current Congolese government. In exchange for these weapons, the "Oregon" will be given 20 blood diamonds, but hidden inside the AK's are detectors that can reveal the wherabouts of Makambo. However, the plan goes awry, as the enemy tries to double-cross the crew, and they escape just in time. Later, as another person who happens to be looking for a lost treasure ship, Sloane is attacked by callous mercenaries, hired to protect something under the ocean. As she is rescued by Juan, they team together, and they immediately become involved in each other's plans. As the story moves along, the anathema, Daniel Singer, who is an ecoterrorist, will capture hundreds of oil rigs in Angolan waters, cna dump them out, and by harnessing a new kind of slime that can make oil gooey, the oil will evaporate, and with hurricane season around the corner, Singer wants the hurricane to hit the Eastern United States and unleah a toxic torrent, making everybody extremely frightened, but most appositely, aware that they must stop polluting the environment, which is Singer's ultimate goal. Can Juan stop this madman before his fanatic plan is pulled off??? I liked this novel very much because it superbly introduced me to the "Oregon" and her crew, in which I greatly admire, as much as I like reading about Dirk Pitt. I find that Clive Cussler has the greatest aptitude in the world for writing best-selling adventure novels, and that "Skeleton Coast" is an exemplary quintessence of that. I think that teenage boys should definitely read the Clive Cussler books becuase every one of them is incapcitated with beautiful women, high-tech military technology, the most arbitrary evildoers ever imagined, heart-pounding moments, and many other characteristics that will be thoroughly enjoyed.
Book: Superman: Godfall Authors: Michael Turner, Joe Kelly, Talent Caldwell, Jason Garder, and Peter Steigerwald
I really had an apokryphal clue about what to expect while opening the graphic novel. What I received was an aberration from what my mind assumed. In "Superman: Godfall", the Man of Steel somehow returns to his native planet, Krypton, and is immediately chased by alien gangs who want freedom from the Citizens Patrol Corps (CPC). Superman inadverdently shoots fire from his eyes, sending one of the extraterrestrials flying into a building, and then also freezes a man and his son into ice sculptures. The CPC think that he is a murderer, so they track him down. Superman is helped by his alien yet dazzling wife, Lyla, and then, when they are in a secure compound, Lyla somehow merges her husband with her. After that, she goes to Metropolis, and the reason for that is also unknown. This was the very first time that I had read a Superman graphic novel, so the events, it seemed, occurred very randomly and out of order. I had a myriad of questions at the end of the story, and almost none of them were answered. I still haven't figured out how Superman was transferred back to Krypton, or why his wife Lyla went to Metropolis. The storyline was extremely confusing to me, and I abhorred the fact that I couldn't fit all the puzzle pieces together. However, the illustrations were very masterfully drawn, and the women were absolutely stunning. The drawings, in my opinion, controlled most of my attention. I think that teenage boys who like seeing great drawings and who want to read classic comics should read this book. Girls will most likely not like it because the plotline is very masculine-like, and that they'd get bored of all the continuous fighting after a short while.
Book: Batman: Year One authors: Frank Miller, Richmond Lewis, and David Mazzucchelli
In this particular graphic novel contains the origins of how Bruce Wayne came to be the Dark Knight. I am more familiar with Batman than with Superman, so I understood the meaning of the plot more, and I enjoyed reading it. The story centers around a new detective named James (Jim) Gordon who comes to Gotham City to work for the Gotham Police Department. He hates his job, his life, but mostly the city because he deeply regrets that he dragged his pregnant wife, Barbara, to this wretched sewer of a city. He tracks down many criminals while also arresting them under very tight circumstances. At the same time, Bruce Wayne wants to stop all the evil surrounding Gotham, so he decides to become Batman. Though he captures many bad guys, the cops think that he himself should be put in a penetiary, all except for Jim Gordon. The main problem arises as the relationship between the Dark Knight and the official law enforcement people strains to the point of snapping it apart. The drawings in this graphic novel weren't as exemplary as the ones in "Superman:Godfall", but I thought that the storyline was a lot better. The plot really showed me the innumerably dirty flaws of Gotham City, though I already had an ambivalently clear idea of the filth. I'd say that boys should read these Batman novels. They really are not bad.
This particular Harry Potter movie was pretty good. I thought that the movie followed the actual book quite nicely, the directors leaving nothing of pertinence out of the film. A few of the scenes, including Harry's skirmish with the basilisk, was very tense, and I thought that the actors preformed very well in that specific scene. Albus Dumbledore, however, wasn't as good as I thought. His beard, though I know that it is fake, didn't seem to convince me that it was real. The parts in which Harry and his friends discover the bloodied messages on the walls of Hogwarts was a little frightening, which was good. Overall, a good film for people of all ages to enjoy. Good job, Brits.
Book: Batman: Death & the City Author (Writer): Paul Dini
This graphic novel of Batman was, by far, the best one I have read so far. Fighting against staggering odds, and finding dead-ends at every propos corner, the Dark Knight is almost overwhelmed by his anathemas, such as Scarface, the Terrible Trio, and, of course, the Joker. Although the plotlines were not followed correctly in comparison to the previous Batman novel in which I read, the stories were very well-written, and the art was spectacular. I felt that after reading this book, that I would definitely like to read more about the incredible stories of the Batman. In my opinion, boys should read this particular graphic novel. Nevertheless, girls can try it all they want, especially the ones who admire cartoon drawings created on a master scale. The stories in this one were very intriguing, with a few of them being well-developed cliffhangers, and with Batman having to find unlikely allies, which I thought was quite brilliant.
In Year 3 of Hogwarts, Sirius Black, a prisoner of the deathly wizard fortress known as Azkaban, has escaped from the torturous building situated in the North Sea. Many of the wizarding world are extremely apprehensive, but none other than the famous Harry Potter. Hermonie Granger and Ron Weasley, Harry's best friends, are worried for him because they believe that Black will return to Hogwarts and kill The Boy Who Lived. As the plot moves along smoothly in comparison to the storyline of the book, the trio finally realize that Sirius is innocent after all, and that is was Peter Pettigrew who actually betryaed Lily and James Potter to Lord Voldemort. I thought that this movie was also very good because it palpably followed the novel itself, and that the music was fantastic. Buckbeak, the hippogriff, and Professor Lupin's werewolf form, were superbly created using the most advanced kind of digital technology to really make them look convincingly real. The main actors played their roles very well, but especially Hermonie, who, I could tell, was really into her part. Overall, I'd say that this movie is for kids 10 years and up. There are a few scary scenes, such as when the Dementors attack.
In the 4th Harry Potter movie, Hogwarts, along with 2 other foreign schools, are chosen for a legendary tournament known as the Triwizard Cup. Whoever wins this will gain eternal glory, but many have died while competing in this bloody duel. There are only supposed to be 3 people chosen (one for each school), but Harry is mysteriously chosen by the Goblet of Fire. Left with no choice, Harry must compete in the tournament, and with it comes fellow students taunting him, and the other bullcrap that follows thereafter. The rest of the story bascially follows the book, but while meandering through the maze, there was supposed to be a sphinx that gave Harry a riddle to solve in order to touch the cup. This was excluded and replaced with howling winds, and I abhorred that particular part. Other than that, though, this movie is definitely my favorite Harry Potter film to date, because it is so precise and so masterfully created with all the intense drama superbly shown on the big screen. I'd say that kids 10 years old and up should watch this film.
Man, this film took up almost 3 hours of my life! It followed the book's plotline, that's for sure, but to be frank, I did not enjoy watching this specific movie. In the "Order of the Phoenix", Harry learns that a new kind of defense called the Order of the Phoenix has been re-activiated and is chosen to fight the Death Eaters. The Order consists of Aurors (the counterparts of Voldemort's followers), and, of course, the trio, Hermonie, Ron, and Harry. Sirius Black is back, telling Harry that Voldemort is searching for something, something that he didn't have 14 years ago when terror beckoned at his feet. It turns that he's looking for a prophecy in the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries. This prophecy is to tell whether Harry will die or not. A huge battle then ensues, but the Aurors get there just in time, fending off the Death Eaters before they kill Harry and his friends. The story and film adaptation was good, but I'm still confused at the Department of Myserties. Why is it filled with all the prophecies? Who made them in the first place? And why doesn't the Ministry have more control over this scandalous floor? None of these were answered to the extent of my needing of them, but after Year 5, the Department of Mysteries is virtually a forgotten memory. I felt that while both reading the book watching the film, J.K. Rowling lingered over the entire course of the plot. I still liked it, but it could be compressed. I'd recommend that children 11+ should watch this. There is some gore in the film...
Book: The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (graphic novel) Author: Stephen King Graphic novel writers: Robin Furth, Peter Furth, Jae Lee, and Richard Isanove
"The Gunslinger Born" was really confusing at first, ameliorated a little bit in terms of the welter, but only became more hysterically scratch-your-head in the end. The plot is about a young teenage boy named Roland who wants to become a gunslinger, just like his father. A gunslinger is synonomous to an elite law enforcement officer, though in their world, crime easily persists over justice. Roland and his friends travel to the "east" to spy on the henchman of the guinslingers' anathema, John Farson, who is said that only Satan is more evil than him. Farson wants to retreive oil from abandoned oil rigs and use them to power "Old World" machines, one of which is a heavy-duty tank. Roland and his mates meet trouble at almost every turn, and they have had to seriously maim some to survive. While maintaing vigilance over the land, Roland meets a beautiful lady named Susan Delgado, who, against her and her deceased father's will, will marry Mayor Thorin, the mayor in which the suspicious activities the gunslingers are watching over. They eventually make love, but Susan is captured by Farson's henchman before the young guns can rescue her. What will Roland & Co. do in order to stop Farson's plan to make the devastating machines work? How will they rescue Susan, and can they, with so much on their plates??? I admit that the plot in which Mr. King brilliantly created is, well, quite brilliant in its quintessence, but it was very confusing at first. There was a group called the "Afilliation", and I had no idea of whether they were the good guys or not until the middle of the book (they were good). In addition to that, there was a lot of bloody scenes perfumed with gore anc carnage, much more than I'd expected and preferred. I'll admit that the story itself was pretty interesting, but that it took a while to understand what was really happening. I think that people 13+ should read this graphic novel and the actual book. Just get used to it, is my advice, and soon you'll be caught right in the action!
Book: X-Men & Black Panther: Wild Kingdom Writers: Peter Milligan and Reginald Hudlin
It has been an infinitely long time since I read anything about X-Men. After reading this particular graphic novel about them, however, I must that that their adevntures are quite interesting and creative, in large part to the legendary Stan Lee. In "Wild Kingdom", mutants of vicious animals suddenly emerge in the fictional country Waganda. The African nation's capitalist despot has just been overthrown, but now is living in a state of anarchy. The X-Men come here to investigate the various mishappenings, the most prominent of them being a Pulitzer prize-winning reporter who was eaten by a monstrous crocodile. The benevolent mutants eventually come to an abandoned factory where they meet the Black Panther, a king of another nation bordering Waganda. All of them soon learn that a mad scientist named Dr. Paine is behind all the chaos. The doctor genetically mutates humans and animals alike, and though he was supposed to have died, he bribed the Wagandan government into letting him take humans without consequence. He callously makes mutants, such as giant crocodiles and gorillas, but because he knew that the X-Men would eventually come and attempt to capture him, he injects himself with a substance that lets him gain control of the powers of the mutants that he touches. With this sort of weapon, how will the X-Men defeat him??? I thought that the story was all right. I was a little surprised that one of the X-Men, a black woman, was worshipped as a goddess to the Africans, which startled me quite a bit. The drawings were all right, but some of them weren't world-class, as I'd expected them to be as they are about a creation of Stan Lee. I'd recommend that children 12+ should read this.
Book: Wrath of the Titans: Issues 1-3 Author: Ray Harryhausen
"Wrath of the Titans" basically is deviated from ancient Greek myths, only that they are made into graphic novel form. In these 3 specific issues, the story is about a son of Olympus named Perseus whose son is captured by Thetis and Hera. The baby boy is kidnapped by the 2 goddesses because they are angry at Zeus, who commands that every deity prepare a gift for the munchkin. Perseus goes on a long quest to find his recently-born boy, and must overcome a myriad of obstacles, such as killing the one-eyed ogre, battling a hydra, and the such. He gets help from his comrades and even a Titan, and he almost succumbs to death while being eaten alive by vultures. He eventually rescues the baby, but also released a Titan from the Cave of Onyx in the process. For now, his kingdom of Argos is safe, but the Titans are reawakened... The author depicted the godessess as wearing almost no clothing, which I thought was cool but inapropriate at the same time. The story sounded very Greek mythology-like to me the moment I read the first page, with all the monsters, gods, and legendary babies being born, and the such. The art was all-right; I had no particular favorite in the 3 issues. Kids 12+ should read this.
Book: Tomb Raider: Chasing Shangri-La Authors:Jurgens; Tan; Park; Sibal; Smith
The "Tomb Raider" series are about a beautiful woman named Lara Croft who is a professional treasure hunter. In this particular series, she goes to find the eternal city of Shangri-La, searches for the lost treasure of Christopher Columbus, and rescues a professor from the living dead. A sidekick named Chase Carver tags along, but is killed while fending off skeletons that protected the treasure of Columbus. The stories, I thought, were pretty good, and well-thought of. The art was excellent, I'll definitely say. There were some really well-drawn pictures of Lara, some that only individuals should find out for themselve. Overall, I liked the graphic novel very much. Kids 12+ should read this.
Enya is an Irish artist who has sold the second-most albums in which a person is Irish, only behind the well-known rock band U2. She originally participated in her family's band, Clannad, which is also pretty famous in the land of the leprecaun. "Only Time" is her greatest hit, in my opinion, because it combines a fole-like melody, coupled with a soothingly goddess-like voice, and when all that blends in, you've got one heckuva song! This song calms my nerves when I need it most, and was frequently shown to my ears when I was just a wee little lad. Everyone should give this song a try, because it really is exemplary.
Album: Stevie Wonder: The Definitive Collection Artist: Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder is a wonder in my eyes. He is legally blind, yet became one of the most famous and popular artists of the 20th Century. He is able to play the piano and harmonica, which, in my eyes, would be nearly impossible for someone of ordinary quality to attain. By listening to this definitive collection of his greatest songs, I can feel his determination that saddled him into becoming a world-class artist. My favorite songs in this particular album are "Supersticious" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You". Both are very well-written songs, and the bass line in the former is quite awesome. The latter is more of a soothing love song, one that I loved first when I was a little kid and still do. I think that there's something for everyone when it comes to Stevie Wonder. After all, it's a wonder, these songs in which he created.
Book: Naruto: Volume 2 Art and Story: Masahi Kishimoto
Naruto is a young ninja whose ultimate aspiration is to become the hokage, or leader, of his village. Though he is far from being the strongest of his comrades, Sasuke and Sakura, his will and determination are second to none. An evil spirit, the 9 Tailed Fox, is trapped inside Naruto's body; it was placed there by a previous hokage who sacrificed his own life so that the demon wouldn't wreck havoc on the natural world. In this particular volume of "Naruto", the protagonist, along with his comrades and sensei, Kakashi, are called in to protect a bridgebuilder named Tazuna, who is about to commence his journey to his native country. Though the apprentices aren't expecting anything especially perilous, they are thrown into danger by an elite ninja named Zabuza, who is very well-known for silently killing his enemies. The assassin wants to kill Tazuna to protect the economic interests of his employer, a despot who is attempting to start his own architecture empire. How will Naruto and the others fight their way out of this situation now? I liked watching the cartoon "Naruto", and naturally, I was curious to see if the manga novels were equally as good as the show. My answer is:yes! This volume had a ton of funny scenes, with the characters' faces being all messed up in a humorous sort of way. The art was pretty good, at least better than average, and the story itself provided me with a companion for one hour. I recommend that children 12+ should read "Naruto". Though it may make you laugh until tears stream down your face, there are a few bloody scenes where a myriad of carnage is visible.
Book: Zombiepowder: Volume 1 Story and Art: Tite Kubo
The "Zombiepowder" manga novels focus on the legendary quintessence called, well, Zombiepowder. One can find this mirage-like substance only if one possesses all 12 of the "Rings of the Dead". Whoever comes in contact with Zombiepowder will gain eternal life, and also gain the ability to raise the dead. Elwood was a knife-thrower caught in a life of crime until he meets Gamma Akutabi, a class "S" criminal, who has a 6-foot chainsaw and whose right hand is made of metal. Gamma is looking for Zombiepowder, and Elwood is caught in the action. The young lad decides to tag along with the warrior, and they immediately encounter various gangs also looking for the Rings of the Dead. As the odd duo journey through the world, they are caught by someone named C.T. Smith, who happens to be Gamma's partner in disguise. Locked in a cell, they eventually escape with the help of Smith, but now face the leader of the criminal organization, Calder. With a deadly attack that killed all of his previous enemies, how can Gamma win??? I like the story because it was creatively thought up of, and Gamma is definitely one of the funniest manga characters I've ever read about. His temper and patience is short, but nevertheless, he is one of the greatest swordfighters and fighters in the world. With his metal right hand, he is capable of catching bullets, and wield an ancient swordfighting technique in which only 32 people have ever mastered. Elwood is also an interesting person, because he's around my age, but he is an excellent knife thrower, which, I should say so myself, is a very dangerous hobby. I'd recommend that people 12+ read this book. There contains very few profanity, but the number of killing scenes skyrockets to God knows where.
Book: Zombiepowder: Volume 3 Story and Art: Tite Kubo
In the second volume of "Zombiepowder", Gamma is still facing Calder, and eventually cuts him to pieces. They discover that Calder is actually a very aged man, only to have this disguised by an anti-aging potion to make him look like a young girl. Gamma also manages to rescue the prisoners of the gang, and he, along with Smith and Elwood, venture to the next town to find the Ring of the Dead. Enter Stage 2, Wolfina, an 18-year old journalist who exposes the cruelty of many major criminal gangs. She is extremely attractive, with a curvy body, and a 40-inch bust. She accidentally falls on Gamma as she is trying to escape from a gang, and they meet up. Later, metal man discovers that Wolfina's brother, Emilio, who is in the hospital, has the Ring of the Dead, which is situated in the brain. The reader finds out that when one comes into contact with a Ring, it tries to kill that person to suck the life energy out of the unfortunate victim. Wolfina gets her sleeping brother out of the hospital, but is stopped by Balmunk, an extremely dangerous magician with his own circus. Now that she's alone, and Gamma can't protect him, how will she fare? I like Wolfina very much because she's really hot. The author definitely did a great job drawing her out. The art overall was good as well. Children 12+ should read this series of manga novels.
Book: Zombiepowder: Volume 3 Story and Art: Tite Kubo
The bloody battle continues as Wolfina tries to save her brother, Emilio, from the tricks of Balmunk the magician. Gamma gets to her just in time to save all three of them, but not must face the trickster. I was very surprised at the unsually large number of tricks Balmunk was capable of doing. Gamma eventually defeats all of the obstacles, but Balmunk escapes alive. Meanwhile, Smith and Elwood are also facing their respective enemies, henchmen of Balmunk. Smith toys with his opponent, an excellent knife thrower, and finally uses his incredible speed to cut her to sawdust. Elwood is facing a fire-breathing dude, and after getting burned several times, he burns his opponent himself, but spares him at the last minute. Gamma manages to force Balmunk to focus his attention to him rather than Emilio, but now Wolfina must fight a giant, fat lady, who is as large as Godzilla. Who will ultimately win in this war of wills and wits? This novel was pretty much the same as the other "Zombiepowder" novels. Good art, good story, and a lot of close-calls. I'd say that kids 12+ should read this.
Book: Zombiepowder: Volume 4 Story and Art: Tite Kubo
The story continues with the everlasting battle between Gamma and Balmunk, Wolfina and the fat lady. Gamma seriously wounds the magician, but Balmunk manages to escape before the final blow. While he's dealing with that, Wolfina kicks the fat lady's butt, so much that she's got bruises all over her opponent's body. With the help of Gamma, Emilio is saved. Later, as everyone recovers from that night's shock, a messenger named Angells takes all of them to Gemini Labortory, where its malicious doctor, Nazna Gemini, will operate on Emilio to have his Ring of the Dead surigcally removed from his brain. To pay as a price, however, Wolfina must sacrifice her body as a guinea pig to Dr. Gemini. Will the operation be successful? And what will happen to Wolfina??? Gamma was really funny in this story, and so was Wolfina. They quarrel a lot becaue the former doesn't like the latter's cooking, among other conflicting things. Everything else was basically the same as the other "Zombiepowder" novels. Kids 12+ should read thse manga novels.
The bridgeduilder, Tazuna, has finally reached his home. His grandson, Inari, however, is far from happy to see him; in fact, it looks like the young lad is eternally miserable. Kakashi orders his junior ninjas to climb trees vertically by focusing their chakra on their feet, which is also the most difficult place to foucs one's chakra. Naruto can't do it at first, but he eventually gets the hang of it. Meanwhile, Sasuke is already a master of it, and the two become sort of rivals of each other. One day, however, Zabuza returns, along with his incredibly skilled partner, Haku. They come to destroy the bridge, and Sasuke has to battle Haku, while Kakashi battles Zabuza. Will the protagonists overcome this strong of an adversity? Naruto just went wild in this book, and Sasuke was a very calculating person. I liked the story, and the anime adaptation for it was also pretty good. Readers of 12+ should read the Naruto series.
Book: Naruto:Volume 4 Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Naruto's fury is out of control, as the sight of his (severely) wounded comrade Sasuke released the spirit of the 9-tailed fox upon his body. Trashing Haku's mirrors to bits, Naruto is about to kill the young virtuoso, but Haku evades...to get in the way of Kakashi's death blow that was originally aimed for Zabuza. Haku immediately dies upon impact, but the latter is more fortunate, though his injuries are too many to count. Just then, Gato, the evil businessman, shows up with a huge number of street criminals. Left with no choice, the ninjas defeat all of them, and the town, plus the bridge, is ultimately saved. As Kakashi and his team return to their native village, the youngsters meet a team from the desert. One of them, Garra, is extremely mysterious and quite frightening as well, as he has come back from all of his missions without a scratch. Team 7 is about to discover that they have to take an exam in order to become journeyman ninja, the next level of being a shinobi. How will the 3 fare in this? I liked the ending of the battle scene in the early parts of the book, because Zabuza at least showed some kindness to his slave, Haku, for all that he has done for him. Garra is a little scary to me, but that's only because I witness his numerous killings of opponents in the later manga novels on television. I liked the art, of course, and the author did a good job of building suspense up until the end of the novel, in which he thoroughly convinces the reader to read Volume 4. Readers 12+ should read the Naruto manga novels.
Book: Naruto:Volume 5 Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
The exams for journeyman ninja have finally commenced! The test is divided into 2 parts, and unfortunately, the first part is in a classroom setting. The 150 or so ninja that showed up to take it are given very cruel testing rules. The rules are so bent in a way that the teachers want you to cheat. The questions, in reality, are not the most pertinent, but rather the sinseis are testing who has the highest ability to decipher secrets within secrets, and whose mind is the sharpest and can hear things others cannot. After a grueling exam, Naruto and his teammates pass, but now Round 2 comes into play. The remaining contestant are lead to Training Ground #44, or the Forest of Death. Each team is handed a scroll, an Earth scroll or a Heaven scroll. The objective is to reach the tower that is situated in the center of the forest with both scrolls, which means that half of the teams will be wiped out by the time it ends. The time limit is 5 days, but if any one of your teammates dies, you are automatically disqualified. Lots of people have died in the forest, so how will Naruto and his friends fare??? This particular "Naruto" novel is better than the others. When I read the part about the junior ninjas taking the test, the rules were very cleverly thought up of. They are so ambivalent and contradictory to each other that it's almost a lose-lose situation. Readers 12+ should read these kinds of manga novels.
This is not part of a series and was written as a stand alone by Cussler. I really liked this book because it was a detective story. The main character, Isaac Bell, is a detective working on tracking down the elusive Butcher Bandit, a bank robber who murders all the witnesses. This is set back in 1906 and Bell is trying to track him and his mysterious accomplice to their hideout. This is a great book and everyone that likes Clive Cussler will love this book. Instead of in most Clive Cussler’s books where there is a flash back this has a flash forward at the beginning. I really enjoyed this story and was hanging onto the edge of my seat reading it.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Iron Man
This movie is really good. The main character is head of a weapons manufacturing company when he is kidnapped and forced to build a rocket system for terrorists to wreak havoc with. Instead he builds a suit of armor with lots of gadgets in it and breaks out of the enemy camp, goes out into the desert and is rescued. When he gets back his co associate, the won who was working with the terrorists tries to kick him out. The hero responds by building a new suit after the last was destroyed and trying to save the world after a couple incidents. It all ends with a massive battle of brains against brawn. I really enjoyed this movie which I watched at the library lock in.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Edith Hamilton mythology Author: Edith Hamilton
This is a collection of myths about the Greek and Roman Gods with a short piece on Norse Mythology. I really liked the stories even though there weren’t any ones I hadn’t seen before. In the Mountain Brook School system you use this book a lot and refer to it on projects for anything from English to Science. The tales include the birth of the gods and stories like the Trojan War. I really enjoy this book and know everyone else will also.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: The Lake House
This is a movie about two people who live in the same house and communicate through a magic mailbox. They fall in love and decide to meet each other in the future. I thought that it was a pretty boring movie, not a lot of action, and it made me fall asleep. I don’t usually fall asleep in movies and maybe that tells something about this movie. We got it off Netflix where it has a 3.5 we gave it a one. There isn’t that much to tell that was good about it except the fact the acting was okay.
Title: Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone Author: J.K. Rowling
This is the first Harry Potter where Harry learns he is a wizard and goes to Hogwarts. He has an interesting year at the end of which he is confronted with the task of stopping one of the teachers from getting their hands on a stone that makes them live forever. Harry thinks Snape is after the stone but meets an unexpected person at the end. This is a good book and I think everyone will enjoy it. The best part about this book is the fact it is part of a series.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Taggerung Author: Brian Jacques
This is my favorite Redwall book. It starts out with a young otter being born and then kidnapped by vermin, the bad animals (rats, foxes, stoats...). The otter grows up to be a big strong otter and is called the Taggerung, the one that would lead the vermin to victory. However the otter realizes he isn't like them and runs away. This is the story of his adventures in Mossflower. I really liked this book and I know everyone else will also.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M
Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Author: J.K. Rowling
The second installment is as good as the first. Harry is in his second year at Hogwarts and people are being turned to stone. Also someone is writing mysterious messages on the walls. All this leads to the climax when Harry finds Tom Riddle’s diary and learns the Chamber of Secrets has been opened again. I really liked this and thought the Defense Against the Dark-Arts teacher made it funnier. Everyone will enjoy another action packed book about Harry Potter.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Doomwyte Author: Brian Jacques
This is a good Redwall book about a mysterious group of birds and snakes. There is one head bird with a snake advisor. They worship their idol which had eyes made of diamonds before someone stole them. The Redwallers go on a quest to find them and use them as bargaining chips if necessary. The minions of the bird king are the Doomwytes, glowing balls that lead travelers to their death. Read how the Redwallers defend their Abbey from the beasts. This was an okay book but not the best one I have read.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Author: J.K. Rowling
Another great book, this one about Harry’s third year at Hogwarts, will be loved by everyone. The infamous prison of Azkaban has housed many criminals and none have escaped until now, Sirius Black. People have reason to believe he will go after Harry and they try to protect him. In the end their efforts fail. Everyone will like this book which is full of action and spells. I liked this book especially the end so I think everyone will enjoy it.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Mossflower Author: Brian Jacques
This is the first Redwall book and is about when the creatures come to Mossflower and have to fight off the vermin who control the castle. This is one of the better ones with Martin the Warrior and his friends. They try to get rid of Tsarmina, the wildcat who rules the castle, and her evil minions. It all boils down to their big battle at the end and lots of trickery by the wildcat. Everyone will like this book with its dynamic characters and the action. I really liked this book.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M
Title: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Demigod files Author: Rick Riordan
This is a short book set between the third and fourth books and it doesn’t have very many stories in it. There are three stories in it along with a couple interviews of people but I didn’t think it was very interesting. There are also drawings of the people but they are so bad that it is funny. This would be a good book if the material in it is used in the fourth book but I haven’t read it so I don’t know. It wasn’t that bad of a book though, in one story he is looking for Ares’ war chariot and another is about a bronze dragon.
Title: Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
This was a good book even though I am still not sure which towers would be the two in it. This is the second book of the series and it is about the adventures of the company after they split apart. Frodo and Sam go to Mordor and everyone else fights the Orcs. I thought the writing style was confusing at first but I got used to it. This is a good book and everyone will enjoy it.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Treasure of Kahn Author: Clive Cussler
This is a great book about Dirk Pitt’s kids going on their own adventures and they try to stop an oil tycoon from taking over China’s oil supply. They find out he is really obsessed with Genghis Khan and his palace, Xanthus. He even created his own Mongol world. As they learn more about him they find a lost treasure in his possession. This is a good book and I like though not as much as the original Dirk Pitt books. Everyone will like the suspense in this book as the Pitts unravel the clues to this conspiracy.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Inca Gold Author: Clive Cussler
This book is about a group of Indians who paddle into an inland sea leaving all there gold in a mountain guarded by a stone monster. Dirk Pitt is in Peru when his rescue group, saving some professors stuck in a sacrificial pit, is attacked. He learns of the treasure and races against time combated by a massive smuggling empire in a race to discover the hidden gold. Everyone will like this book with its action-filled pages.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Atlantis Found Author: Clive Cussler
This book is about the discovery of some mysterious black skulls that are so perfect that modern day scientists can't replicate the results. The skulls are found in rooms that are supposed to predict some cataclysmic event. As Dirk Pitt becomes entangled in this mystery he finds another group that has known about the skull's secret message and is trying to use it to take over the world. Can Dirk Pitt save the day, of course he can. I really enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to everyone.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: The Hobbit Author: J. R. R. Tolkein
This is the first book in the series and I really liked it. This book is about Frodo starting off and his journey until he runs away from the company to go on his quest with only Sam. I love this series and thought it was a good start to it. You learn about Frodo starting on the adventure and the people he meets.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Star Wars: Episode One: The Phantom Menace
This is the start to the star wars movies even though it is the fourth movie they made. As they escort Queen Amidala from Naboo, her home planet that is under attack, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn are forced down on Tatooine. There they have found a new Jedi on more powerful than master Yoda. After returning to Coruscant Anakin’s Jedi life begins but he is suddenly caught up in the war over Naboo and a strange new Sith lord. This is a really good movie and everyone will love it.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Star Wars: Episode Two: Attack of the Clones
This is the second movie in the Star Wars saga about Anakin as a now older Jedi Apprentice. He must choose whether he wants to go by the Jedi code or to go with his heart. As the Clone Wars begin Yoda has to fight Count Dooku to stop him from escaping to aid the Sith. I really liked this movie and think everyone else will also.
This is a good movie about an outlaw named Josey Wales who is an Ex-Confederate soldier hunted by the US army. He tries to leave his warring ways by joining an old settler and falling in love with her daughter. In the end he has to fight when his old enemy comes hunting him down. This was a good movie but I thought it was really old fashioned. Everyone should watch this movie though if they like old westerns.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Prey Author: Michael Crichton
This is a good book but not for those "A couple French fries short of a Happy Meal"(quote from the book). The book is really complicated and involves computer codes and nano technology. Jack, a laid off computer programmer, is the main character and his wife is working on a top secret nanotechnology project. She starts to get really weird and Jack decides to check out why when he is hired as a consultant for the project. He soon learns Ricky, the project manager is hiding things from him. They investigate why a swarm of nanoparticles has developed and is now killing everything around the project base. All is not what it seems in this really fast paced novel by Crichton. I really liked this book.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Saving Sarah Cain
This is a very weird movie about a newspaper syndicist who is having trouble thinking of stuff to write. Her sister dies and because she is the last remaining relative she has to adopt them or have them sent away. She decided to take them except there is only one problem, they are Amish. Sarah is thinking of marrying when in come five Amish kids to shake up her life. She decides to write about them in her article but keep their identities anonymous. The press soon finds out where they are and she is forced to tell them she has been writing about them and they get mad and go back home. From there she tries to rebuild her life but in the end she needs them. This is a good story but a little slow.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Miss Marple: They do it with mirrors
This is a old fashioned detective movie where an old lady, miss Marple, solves all the mysteries. In this story a man is found shot and the suspected killer is a mentally ill Mr. Edgar Lawson. The story unravels in a youth correctional facility where the man Edgar was supposedly trying to kill is the principal. The police try to pin the crime on Edgar but miss Marple isn't so sure. This is an okay movie but it is really slow at parts.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M
Title: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Last Olympian Author: Rick Riordan
This is a good book even though it didn't incorporate the Demigod Files into it. Percy has to save Olympus from the approaching army of monsters. He also gets told the prophecy and has to fulfill it. I liked this book and know everyone else will also.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Walle
I thought this was a really good movie even though my dad didn't like it because no one talked the entire time except to say wwwaaaaallllllleeeeeeeeeeee or eeeeeeeeevaaaaaa. Those are the only words the robots say in the entire movie but the characters act really funny and and the plot is good. I enjoyed the characters most of all, the captain who overcomes his weight problem, Walle surrounded by all these new things, and Eve learning there is more to life than being a robot. I liked this movie and know everyone else will also.
This was a good movie even though it wasn't what I had thought the movie would be like. I had thought from the commercials that he went into his stories but instead his stories came to him. I thought it could have been a little bit more kid friendly b/c it had things like sir butt-kiss which I didn't like. This was a good movie overall where the main character tells stories to his niece and nephew and they become real. Everyone will like this movie and I know I did.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope
This was the first star wars movie made but the fourth in the series. Luke Skywalker learns he is a Jedi and goes with Ben Kenobi to save the galaxy and destroy the Death Star. Along the way he meets Princess Leia, a captive leader of the Rebellion. He also meets Han Solo and Chewbacca, the owners of the Millennium Falcon, and the key to destroying the Death Star. This is a good movie and everyone will like it, we have the entire collection.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Star Wars Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back
In this movie, the second star wars made but the fifth in the series, Luke Skywalker fights at Hoth to defend the Rebel fleet under attack from the Imperial forces. Then he goes to train with Yoda in the Dagobah swamps where he lives. He is called away though when his friends are trapped in Cloud City by the evil Darth Vader. Find out how it happens in this great movie by George Lucas. I really enjoyed it and have the entire collection.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Star Wars Episode 6: The Return of the Jedi
This is a great movie produced by George Lucas and everyone will enjoy it. Even though it is episode 6 it is the third movie in the series to come out. Luke and Leia go to free Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt who has him frozen in carbonite. After rescuing him they go to the forests of Endor to shut down the shield for the Death Star. In the final battle to destroy the Empire who will win, the evil forces of the Sith or Luke who is still trying to bring his father to the light. I enjoyed this movie even though the graphics were bad and I know everyone else will also.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Evelyn
This is an Irish movie about a man, Desmond Doyle, who has his kids taken away when his wife leaves. He goes all through different courts trying to get them back. In the end he even brings it to the supreme court in hopes of getting his children back and the press acts like he is a hero. This is a true story and many families were reunited after the case. This story was very legalish which made it kind of boring but it was okay. My dad didn't fall asleep which is a suprise.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe
This is the first movie in the chronicles of Narnia even though it is the second one in the series. Peter, Lucy, Susan, Edmund discover a secret passageway into the magical land of Narnia, in a wardrobe where they are staying. Then they fight the White Witch who wants to take over all of Narnia. Things aren't going so well when one of their own turns to the dark side. With a little magical help the tides change in the end. This was a good movie and it was kind of true to the book, more than most movies are.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe Author: C. S. Lewis
This is the second book in the chronicles of Narnia even though it is the first one written. Peter, Lucy, Susan, Edmund discover a magical portal to Narnia, in a wardrobe. They then are engaged in fighting the White Witch who wants to take over all of Narnia until one of their own turns to the dark side. This was a good book and there isn't much bad to say about it.
This was not a PG movie but even if it was family friendly I wouldn't have liked. This movie is about a couple and their dog, Marley. As they juggle kids, work, and the dog problems arise. There are some funny parts but it wasn't worth the watch. All in all this is just another dumb dog movie.
Rating: ** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Faith Rewarded
This is the DVD version of the historic win by the Red Sox in 2004. Featuring the complete World Series on tape with NESN commentaries this is the way to watch the best team in baseball. Prepare to "Reverse the Curse" with the redsox as they take down the Cardinals in the World Series Championship. This is a video 86 years in the making.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Hot Rocks 1964-1971[Disc 1] Artist: Rolling Stones
Featuring songs like "Get Off of My Cloud" and "Under My Thumb" it is a no-brainer everyone likes this album. My favorite song on here is "Get Off of My Cloud" but the others are really good as well. Anyone that loves the Stones will enjoys this album, and I know for sure I did.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Simarillion Author: J. R. R. Tolkein
This was a really long book and it went sort of slow. I liked some of the stories but others were the exact copies of stories from other book Tolkein wrote. I liked reading it but I wouldn't want to read it again. Anyone that read Lord of the Rings or plans to should read it though to learn what happens before the Rings.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Eye of the Tiger Artist: Survivor
This is a one-hit-wonder and the only good song is Eye of the Tiger. I have this song on my iPod but I listened to the complete disc on a record player. Eye of the Tiger is also the theme song for Rocky 3. I liked this song but the rest of the album wasn't as good.
Rating: *** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Author: J. K. Rowling
This is the last Harry Potter book and I thought it was really good. Harry must find the rest of the Horcruxes and also find three new items, the hallows. These are three items some brothers got from Death and they are a wand stronger than all others, a stone that could raise the dead, and a cloak of absolute invisibility. Everyone will like the exciting end to this story.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Street Survivors Artist: Lynrd Skynrd
This was a pretty good album though not the best. The best song was Sweet Home Alabama followed by I Never Dreamed. If you like Lynrd Skynrd this is a good album to have and even if you don't you will like it. I listenedto the record of it which is its original format.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Fahrenheit 451 Author: Ray Bradbury
This is possibly the most evil book I have ever read. The main character is a fireman, he burns books not puts out fires, when he starts reading books and saving some of them. Well his fire chief doesn't like this and it is illegal to have books so he has to hide them but is found out. This book was terrible with things like people burning each other and the fireman's wife running over cats and dogs to relax. I really disliked this book I had to read for 7th grade adv. English.
Rating: * Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Lord of the flies Author: William Golding
This was another one of those sadistic twisted books where the people go crazy and kill each other. This bunch of kids get stuck on an island and try and establish dominance and chaos ensues. I had to read this for 9th grade adv. English and I am sure there is a deeper meaning but I thought this was another horrible book.
This was a British movie about two kids who find a bag full of millions of Pounds just days before the conversion to Euros. It follows their stories as they try and spend all the money before it isn’t worth anything. One kid wants to give it to the poor while the other wants to spend it all. I enjoyed this movie even though there was one inappropriate part. Everyone will enjoy this movie.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Beverly Hills Chihuahua
This was a funny movie about a Chihuahua who gets stuck in Mexico and her fight for survival. She comes from a really pampered lifestyle and when she is dumped on the streets of Mexico she has to rely on the help of a German shepherd to get back. The ending is really cheesy though.
Rating:***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: the Stranger tr. by Matthew Ward Author: Albert Dumas
This book reminded me a lot of the Pearl because it was so short and it left you feeling you were missing something. It had a really abrupt ending and you don't know what happened to the guy afterwards. The main character, referred to as I, is living his life but not really doing much else. He ends up killing a man and being caught. The story takes a while to get to the point and then ends abruptly, the only good topic in it was the finality of the judicial machine and whether that was good or not. I didn't really like this book.
Rating: ** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: The Pearl Author: John Steinbeck
This was a really short book but it had a lot of material. The main character is a pearl diver who finds a massive pearl and when he goes to sell it the buyers won't give him a fair price and misery follows his every move. His house is burned and he is chased from town by people after the Pearl. I didn't really like this book because it was so violent but I had to read it for adv. English. People who appreciate books with deeper meanings might like this book but I didn't.
Rating: ** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: The Da Vinci Code Author: Dan Brown
This was a good book but the secret documents the Priory of Sion were protecting were kind of weird. I liked the National Treasure sort of quest to find the answers. When the head members of a secret society are murdered Robert Langdon and the daughter of one of the members have to solve the clues that are left behind they travel all over Paris while being hunted by the police and a crazy cult. I liked this books action but not the idea it portrayed.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo Author: Obert Skye
This is a book about a kid who as a miserable life until he learns that he has to save Foo, this magical dream world. He goes on a quest with Clover, a little magical animal, Winter, a girl with the ability to freeze things, and Geth, the rightful ruler of Foo who got turned into a toothpick. They have to save the world from an evil dream guy so on and so on. I liked this book, it probably wasn’t the best but it was okay. The guy came to our school in 5th grade or so. Everyone will like the first book in this series and the rest also.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: The Thief Lord Author: Cornelia Funke
This is a good book set in Venice which is about two brothers who run away from their aunt and fall in with a bunch of street kids. They are provided for by the Thief Lord, a boy with a dark secret. When the brothers are tracked down by a detective they take on a special job and are dragged into the mysterious past of Venice. I liked this book and this author has a lot of books that are good but this one stands out.
Title: Twilight Zone Radio Dramas: Lateness of the Hour
Don't ask me why they named it this but the story is about a girl in an all to perfect world. Her dad has created a perfect house and tries to keep her in but she doesn't want to stay. This was a fun story to try and guess what would happen next. It wasn't the most exciting story but it was good. We got it from the livrary and listened to it on the way back from the beach.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Twilight Zone radio drama: The Jungle
This was a creepy story especially since you couldn't see what was happening. The main charachter, Robert, is an engineer working on a complex in East Africa when the witch doctor curses him and then he enters the Twilight Zone. He is back in New York but he and his wife start going crazy. Everyone who likes the Twilight Zone will like this.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Tatooine ghost Author: Troy Denning
This was an interesting story about a secret code of the Republic being hidden in a painting. Thinking it would be easy to buy when it goes on auction Han and Leia Solo go to buy it, only one catch being the Empire is there also. Things escalate as the painting is stolen and everyone flies all over Tatooine to recover it. I liked this book and know everyone else will like it also.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Betrayal Author: Aaron Alston
I thought this movie was like Swiss Cheese, so many important details are missing. The Correllians wage war on the new GA (Galactic Army) and now everyone has to pick sides. Han Solo and Leia try to stop the war along with Luke and the Jedi. The most obvious hole in the story was there was a spy and in the end you never find out who it is. Some people may like this book but I didn't.
Rating: * Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: The Last Juror Author: John Grisham
I thought at first this was going to be a really boring book but it turned out to be a good one. The main character, Willey, owns the local newspaper when a big murder takes place and sleepy little Clanton is roused into a state of excitement. The story is about all the adventures of the newspaper and its owner. This is a good book and everyone will enjoy it.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Transformers Revenge of the Fallen
This was an okay movie, I haven't seen the first one yet but I think I will watch it after this. The main character finds a shard of some transformer cube that starts bringing robots to life. When he starts seeing symbols a transformer decodes them and tells them they have to find a key to a device that will destroy the planet. I liked this movie even though it was a little too violent.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: And Then There Were None or Ten Little Indians Author: Agatha Christie
This was a good book about ten people who get invited to an island and then are murdered one by one. At first they think it is another person who is killing them but they search the island and then realize the murderer is one of them. Everyone will enjoy this mystery by one of the best authors in the business.
Have you ever dreamed that what you read would come alive. In this book it does happen and it isn't so great when you are stuck in a book that doesn't have a happy ending. In Inkheart the main character goes into a book with no happy ending to find her mother. I liked this book especially the end. Anyone who likes a good fantasy book will like this book.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Dragon Rider Author: Cornelia Funke
This is a book about a dragon, Firedrake, a boy, Ben, a talking cat thing called Sorrel. Together they have to find a safe place for the dragons to hide. Dragons have been trying to avoid humans and find a place to live and now Ben must find a place for them to live forever. Also a hidden enemy arises who hunts dragons that must be stopped. I liked this book that I got from a program at the library and still have. Everyone will enjoy this book.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: People of Sparks Author: Jeanne DuPrau
I read this book because the City of Ember was so good but I didn't like it as much. The people of Ember, the underground city, come into the world and meet the people of Sparks. They don't get along well and now it is up to Doon and Lina to help everyone cooperate. I didn't like this book as much as the City of Ember.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: the City of Ember Author:Jeanne DuPrau
This is a book about an underground city named Ember. The builders of it decided to leave a message in a box to tell everyone to come back into the real world, well they accidentaly don't get the message and the whole city is starting to run out of supplies and it is up to Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow to save it and lead them into the real world. I read this book for English in 6th grade and many other times. Everyone will enjoy this riveting series.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: the Floating Island Author: Elizabeth Haydon
This book is about a kid from a long line of famous ship builders who decides he doesn't want to build ships but to sail them. When he is chosen to do the Inspection of the ship, where he sails the ship and sees if it works, he realizes his dreams may come true. I liked this book, I got it from one of the Teen programs and still have it. Everyone will enjoy this narrative of Ven's journies.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Little Pilgrim's Progress Author: Helen L. Taylor
This is a book about a little boy named Pilgrim who decides he wants to go to Heaven and goes on this long journey to get there. It is a journey that represents our difficulties except his are tangible. Everyone in the story is named after what their like ex. Hypocrite is a Hypocrite and Prophet is a Prophet. I liked this book and I read it at camp once. Everyone will enjoy Pilgrim's struggles to get to heaven and see his mom.
This is one of those creepy books about aliens coming to Earth and killing everyone. A cylinder containing aliens comes from Mars with the intent of destroying everyone and everything. The Aliens use heat rays and black poison smoke to kill people and if they are still alive they suck their blood. I thought this book was a little gory but it wasn't as bad as today's stuff. I thought it also had a pretty bad ending but I guess there was no other way the humans would win. Everyone should read this classic story by a famous author. Prepare for the war of the worlds.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Lady Friday Author: Garth Nix
This is the fifth book in the Keys to the Kingdom where Arthur has to find the fifth key before the piper and Saturday. He touches this transfer plate and is sent to the Scriptorioum where the Key is supposed to be and instantly is caught up in a battle. Things just get more confusing from there. I thought this book was really confusing and just not as good as the others.
Rating: *** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Sir Thursday Author: Garth Nix
This is my favorite Keys to the Kingdom book yet. Arthur wants to go home but can't because a Nithling, a creature made from Nothing, is in the world acting like him. Minutes later he is drafted into the army of the kingdom and has to stop Nithlings from taking over. I liked this book because it had a lot of strategy in it. Everyone will enjoy this series.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Grim Tuesday Author: Garth Nix
The Will from the first book calls Arthur to tell him that Tuesday has taken control of Monday's house and now Arthur must stop him. He goes to the Far Reaches where he is mistaken for a slave working in the mines and taken into the mines. He finds some friends and then they break into Tuesday's house to save the Will and Key. I liked this book but it wasn't the best in the series.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Mister Monday Author: Garth Nix
This is the first book in the Keys to the Kingdom series and it is really good. Arthur starts seeing things around his town. When he finds one of the two keys that controll Monday. The story progresses as various people working for Monday try and take the key and then Arthur goes off to get the other key from Monday. I liked this story and the rest of the series is good also.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Drowned Wednesday Author: Garth Nix
This is the third book where Arthur finds himself taken into the Border Sea by a ship. He has to recover the part of the will and then the key also. He meets Drowned Wednesday who is a levithian meaning she eats humongous amounts of food because the other days cursed her when she didn't want to be bad. This is a good book and everyone will enjoy it.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: the Silver Spoon Author: Edwin Gilbert
This was one of the most disappointing books I have ever read, you expected good things to happen but they never did. Grace Anders, a reporter for a magazine comes to document the life of the Gowdens of Glenway. As she learns more about them she finds lots of dark secrets that lurk just below the surface. This book had a really disappointing ending but the plot was pretty good. Everyone should read this but don't get your hopes up that everything will go well.
This is a story about a little quiet boy who wants to be a knight but isn't really cut out for it. When his father thinks there is no hope for him he sends him to a monastery to live out his life as a monk. The boy, Stephen, absolutely hates it and he runs away. Luckily he finds a wise knight and becomes a squire and later on a knight. He looks back thinking about how far he has come and the courage he has gained. The rest of the story is his finding a squire and the problems that arise. I liked this book and I thought it showed how you needed to have courage to do what you dream of. Everyone will enjoy this story just like I did.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Dragonquest Author: Donita K. Paul
This is the second book in a series about a dragonkeeper who must save the dragons from an evil warlock trying to take over the world. She becomes a wizards apprentice but is mentored by another older boy she finds annoying. The story is about her quest to free the dragons from the warlocks control. I thought this was an okay book, it didn't have that much going on and all the characters were really weird. I got it from one of the Teen programs so I still have it but it isn't one of my favorite books.
Rating: *** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: the man who knew too little
This is one of the funniest movies I have seen lately and everyone will enjoy it. Wallace Ritchie, a video store clerk, goes to London to celebrate his birthday and his brother who has an important business meeting sends him to an audience participation theatre where he accidentally gets caught up in a KGB plot. I really liked this movie because of all the mistakes that Ritchie makes which confuse his enemies. Everyone will enjoy this mostly family friendly movie.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Harry Potter and the Halfblood-prince
I liked this movie a lot and thought that Ron did the best acting job of all. He looked really convincing when he took the love potion. This was the sixth year at Hogwarts and the last for Harry. This is when he learns about the Horcruxes and Slughorn is potions master. I really liked this movie and think everyone else will also.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Shatterpoint Author: Matthew Stover
This was an okay book but it dragged on forever. Mace Windu goes to his home planet, Haruun Kal, to find out what has happened to one of his students who has disappeared into the jungle. He finds out that the jungle is more sinister than he had thought. I thought the author emphasized on the jungle a little too much because he said the same thing over and over again. I also thought some of Mace Windu's stunts were a little ridiculous. Overall this was a good book but it needed to be a little shorter.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Holes Author: Louis Sachar
This is the story of a boy, falsely accused of a crime, who is given a choice between prison or a camp. He chooses the camp where he is then forced to dig holes each day. He finds out one day what they are really looking for when they dig and the story progresses from there. I liked this book and thought it had a good plot. Everyone will enjoy this story about a kid stuck in the desert who is there soley to dig holes.
Title: A giant step for Mankind Author: Woody Allen
I thought this was a very weird book. It starts out with a guy choking in a restaurant and somebody saves him with the Heimlich maneuver. Then the guy sitting with him goes on about finding a diary of one of three scientists who were working on a cure for choking. It tells about their account of the research and they had really stupid ideas. It had one of those crummy endings that didn't relate to the story at all. I didn't like this book because there was no point to it at all. It was just a weird made up story about three crazy scientists. The only good thing was it was funny at parts.
Rating: ** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: The oracles of Delphi Keep Author: Victoria Laurie
This was an interesting book about a young boy and girl who find a secret cavern in the cliffs of Dover where they live that has ancient Greek writing all over it. When they find a mysterious silver box with a prophecy from hundreds of years ago their lives are changed forever. I liked this book, which I got from the library, and apparently it is the first in a series so I will be sure to read the rest of the series as soon as it comes out. My favorite part of this book was you could really feel the suspense as they were about to do something like walk into a secret tunnel. Everyone will enjoy this book.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: the Fellowship of the ring Author: J. R. R. Tolkein
This is the first book in the lord of the rings trilogy and it is an awesome start to one of the best trilogies ever. In the beginning Bilbo Baginns is having his 111 birthday party and he suddenly disappears at the end. Gandalf, a wizard of incredible power, finds him at his house and discovers that he has the Ring, a powerful magic ring made by the Dark Lord Sauron. Gandalf makes him give the ring to his adopted son Frodo who has to embark on a difficult quest to save middle earth. This book details the first part of his journey from the Shire to the breaking of the Company, the group he travels with. I really liked this book and think everyone should experience Tolkein's masterful writing.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: A Wrinkle in Time Author: Madeleine L'Engle
This was a really good book about Meg Murry and her brother Charles who wake up in the middle of the night to find a stranger at their door. The stranger proceeds to tell them about tesseracts or wrinkles in time. Then they are launched into a quest to rescue there long lost father from the depths of space. I liked this book and know everyone else will also. It is a little bit more scientific than most books but I liked it all the same.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: A Wind in the Door Author: Madeleine L'Engle
This is a book by the author of a Wrinkle in time. It may not have been as good as its famous predecessor but it was a good read. It starts out with a little boy named Charles who is getting bullied in school and his sister goes to the principal to get help for him. When she arrives home she is informed by her brother that there are "dragons" in the backyard. Then she and two companions are taken into space by the two beings who are quite different from dragons, very much stranger in fact. This book had a little bit loser of a plot and wasn't as straightforward as a Wrinkle in Time. I liked it but thought it could have been a little bit more interesting.
Title: City of the Beasts tr by Margaret Sayers Peden Author: Isabel Allende
This is a good book about a boy named Alexander Cold who goes on a trip to the Amazon to find a giant beast named well the Beast. He goes with his grandmother and an international geographic expedition and they discover there's more to the jungle than just trees and plants. I liked this book and I didn't notice until later the book was originally written in Spanish. The book is really interesting and it keeps you waiting for the next surprise. Everyone will enjoy this book.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry Author: Mildred D. Taylor
This was an okay book about a black girl in the rural south. The story is about her life and that of her community under the oppression of the whites. I thought this book was a good portrayal of what life must have been like back then and it did a good job of showing Cassie Logan's, the girl, feelings as they struggle to survive. This was required reading when I was in 6th grade and everyone read it.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Nothing but the truth Author: Avi
This is a good book about a boy, Phillip, who gets in trouble for singing along with the national anthem. When he is sent to the principal by his teacher for what he calls being patriotic or was he just being a nuisance. This disturbance changes everything at his school and causes problems even Phillip is affected by. I thought this was a pretty good book and it was interesting how the problem escalated to all over the community and beyond. I think practically that wouldn't happen but it is a good story.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Andromeda strain Author: Michael Crichton
This is a really interesting book about a team of specialists called in to stop a virus from outer space. A whole town was wiped out by the virus and it is up to them to save the world from the virus. I liked this book and like all of Crichton’s books it is an excellent story. Everyone should read this book.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Cirque de freak: the vampire's assistant Author: Darren Shan
This is a book about the adventures of Darren Shan, a half-blood vampire and his adventures with his mentor a full vampire. They travel around looking for somewhere safe to stay and they find the circus of freaks. This book is about their adventures there. This is part of a series, but from what I have heard from other people I can guess it is a little too crazy for me. I liked this book but I don't think it was incredibly good or engaging. This is just a so-so book in my opinion.
Rating: *** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Star Trek: The Captain’s daughter Author: Peter David
This is a good book about a landing party from the Enterprise on a planet where things go suddenly wrong. One of the crewmembers suddenly turns savage and the commanding officer is forced to kill her before she kills them. He notifies her father that she was killed and her father Captain Sulu comes to investigate. He goes to the desert planet and is suddenly caught up in a race to find what happened to his daughter. I really liked this story and it had a little part that was like "the man who knew too little" because he thought it was a game. I liked this book and I think everyone else will enjoy it even thought it may be a little too sci-fi-ish for some peoples taste.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: So you want to be a wizard Author: Diane Duane
This is a good story about a boy and a girl who find a book called "so you want to be a wizard". Then they are taken on an adventure to learn about their powers. They have too fight against another alternate dark world and its creatures. I thought this was an okay book but it wasn't that interesting. It had a good plot but it wasn't a good story. This is not a book I would recommend to anyone because it wasn't really exciting.
Title: Kalahari typing school for men Author: Alexander Mcall Smith
This is a good book about a detective agency and the adventures of the owner Mma Raotswe. I liked this book but I was surprised when I read it and it wasn't a detective mystery but a novel about a detective agency. I liked how the book was sort of old school and like Miss Marple. It was about two ladies but I still liked it. Everyone will enjoy this classic story about a down to earth detective agency.
Rating: ***** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Con Air
This was a good movie about an ex-ranger who is on a plane full of convicts when they take over the plane. The convicts are trying to get out of the united states and the police are chasing them everywhere. The main character has been pardoned and wants to go home but the convicts take over the plane he is on and he won't leave his friend. I liked this movie especially the bunny rabbit. One part I didn't like was this creepy guy who just sort of talked about how everyone is crazy.
Rating: **** Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Malice Domestic book 5 Author: Phyllis A. Whitney
This is an anthology of mystery stories but I didn't think they were that good. Some of the stories were good but overall the stories were pretty boring and pointless. Also they weren't very long and so the plot didn't develop much. Some people will like this book but I didn't really because the stories weren't that great. I don't think I would recommend this book to anyone.
Rating: * Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Journey to the center of the earth
This was a really unrealistic movie about Trevor, Shaun, and Hannah, three people trapped in a cave and they go through a series of tunnels to find the center of the Earth. This was a movie I don't think I would choose to see again but if it was on I would watch it. The main thing was the computer generated scenery. I thought that it was annoying that they wouldn't use real places.
Theme- this story shows that you don’t have to fit in on earth to belong in your heart.
Characters
Elin Jean- the main character of the story, she is half Selkie and half human.
Elin’s fither- a very proud, pompous, and stubborn man.
Elin’s mither- a beautiful woman who is a Selkie.
Tam McCauldron- a gypsy traveler who made fun of Elin but secretly liked her.
Arnfin- a Selkie who protects Elin while she is under the sea.
Arl Teller- the head Selkie who told stories to the other Selkies to help to solve their problems.
Red and Black- two of Elin’s aunts who were the sisters of Elin’s mither who helped to guide her when she was under the sea.
Elin’s grandpa- a very stubborn man who loves Elin.
Setting- this story mostly took place on an island and in the ocean around it.
Plot- Elin Jean was a girl who was half Selkie and half human, but she didn’t know it. Her parents had held this secret away from her for all of her life. Elin was made fun of whenever she went out the door because of the webs in between her fingers. But one day Tam talked to her and she talked back, and he began to like Elin, despite her webs. That night after Elin had a dream, the Selkies in the sea were calling to her from the sea to find something, her mother’s Selkie skins that her father had stole from her mother on the Midsummer’s eve when all of the Selkies come on the beach to shed their skins and dance before returning to the ocean. Elin ended up giving her mother’s skins back to her and before her mother left she gave Elin the power to breath underwater and to be a Selkie. After being under the sea for one year with the other Selkies, she returned to land as a Selkie and found Tam. Together they stopped the killing of the Selkies, and on Midsummer’s Eve, Elin found out that her mother was the Arl Teller and that she was destined to be the next Arl Teller if she chose to. Elin has to make a decision between the land with Tam or the sea with the Selkies.
a boy named Jerry moves to a new to a new town.So far he hates it and thinks that it is small.But day while walking past the museum, Jerry attempts to befriend a girl and her little brother. But instead the girl yells at him and magically walks through the wall of the museum. When Jerry's class visits the museum, Jerry discovers that the girl and her little brother are ghosts. After revisiting the museum after reading a note that told him to come to the museum, Jerry befriends the two ghosts. During this time Jerry finds out that the two ghosts(Edward and Mattie)have an insane uncle who has replaced Edward and Mattie's lives with electricity from one of his experiments. Jerry and his friends defeat their uncle. Just as Jerry was really starting to like them.Edward and Mattie reunited with their parents in heaven, and leave Jerry with nothing but a message behind.
Book: Naruto:Volume 6 Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
So far, Naruto and his team have suffered no injuries. Some of the other teams, however, are not as fortunate as they are. The ninjas who watch over this part of the exam discover something very shocking: they find a dead team whose faces have been wiped clean, as if their nose, eyes, and mouth were never there. Anko, the leader, suspects that some evildoers may have been imposters and secretly gotten into the forest of death. She goes to look or a mysterious person named Orochimaru, who is known to have caused destruction in the past. She finds him, but is seriously wounded in the process, and thus, has no capability to capture him. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, meanwhile, find a vicious team from the Village of Hidden Sound, who are out to kill Sasuke for some unknown purpose. Rock Lee comes to help them, but is knocked down, and Naruto also fainted. Left with no one but herself, Sakura must defend her teammates. Will she survive this orderal, or will Naruto never become Hokage of his village? The battle between Naruto & Co. and the Sound ninjas was very intense. There seemed to be no odds that Sasuke and his entire team would be slaughtered, but the author did a clever job of giving hope to a hopeless situation. The art was fine, but the story was definitely very well thought of. Readers 12+ should read this book.
Stars:**** Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 7 Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
With the assistance of another team, Naruto and his friends are given a little more time for them to battle the Sound ninjas. Suddenly, Sasuke wakes up, and a powerful, dark charka comes into being with it. It seems that while Lord Orochimaru defeated Sasuke, he licked the junior ninja on the neck to infuse him with the dark powers that will eventually make him become a dead person. However, for right now, Sasuke uses this terrifyingly new power to blast the Sound ninjas into bits, so much that they give up their Heaven scroll and retreat. Now that the major skirmish is over, though, the ninjas are severely wounded, and it takes them a few days to recover. Another ninja named Kabuto helps them make it to the tower that is situated in the center of the forest of death. Though they do not see it, Kabuto and his team are actually also working for Lord Orochimaru, who is planning something very sinister for Sasuke…can the young lad survive his dark but awesome powers??? This book wasn’t as exciting as the other novels that preceded it, but at least it made the forest of death ordeal finished. There was nothing really special about it, so I really can’t say anything that really stood out for me. Readers 12+ should read this book.
Book:Naruto:Volume 10 Story and Art:Masashi Kishimoto
The third part of the exams have started, and are almost ending: ninjas fight each other, with the victor coming out to advance to the final part. This story mainly focuses on Rock Lee and Gaara, the mysterious ninja who has incredible yet little-known powers that manipulate sand very well. Lee gives it all he has, showing unbelievable speed, and even comes to the point of injuring Gaara (nobody’s ever done that before), but it too weakened to defeat his anathema. He opens the 8 gates inside his body, which are points that limit a person’s charka from overflowing. With all of those open, he is as powerful as a hokage, but still fails to succeed in beating Gaara. Lee’s mentor, Might Guy, steps in the way just in time so that Gaara can’t kill him, but Rock is so severely injured that the doctors say he can’t ever beomce a ninja. The show must go on, however! The remaining ninjas find out that their final part of the exam is a month away, and it is a tournament. You don’t have to be the winner to become a journeyman ninja, but still, you and opponent will try everything to get to know your fighting style more. Sasuke faces Gaara, and Naruto faces this blind kid…The latter gets a mentor, and so does the former. Will they ultimately prevail in this duel of wits??? Readers 12+ should read this book.
Stars:*** Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 11 Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Though Naruto’s tutor is knocked out, the sage who made him unconscious in the first place replaces him as his tutor. They still work on Naruto’s ability to walk on water, but the sage wishes to tap into the hidden charka of the 9-tailed demon fox that is sealed inside of the boy’s body. After several attempts to make him reveal that power, the sage is left with no choice but to push Naruto form a cliff. Desperate, the lad finally summons the charka of the demon and safely lands. At the same time, the 3rd Hokage fears that Orichimaru has already gained total control over Sasuke. Kakashi tells him not to worry, but he is apprehensive nevertheless. The truth about Gaara is also revealed in another scene: Gaara was trying to kill Rock Lee in the hospital, and spills out the beans about his past to Naruto and another guy. Might Guy, Lee’s master, is there to stop it all, but now Nartuo is feeling worried. The day finally comes when the final exam commences. All of the contestants are there except for Sasuke. Even Lord Kazakage, the village leader of the Village of the Hidden Sand, has appeared, among several elite ninjas. First up: Naruto vs. Neji!! Readers 12+ should read this book. There really wasn’t any high type of action in this novel, but I found that Gaara’s past was pretty interesting to acquire. Other than that, there’s nothing very special or unique about this book.
Book: Naruto:Volume 12 Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Naruto is about to face Neji, who comes from the legendary Hyuga clan. They battle very intensively for some time, but then Naruto runs out of charka. Neji then explains to Naruto about how everyone’s destiny is sealed at their births, but Naruto proves this wrong. He summons the charka of the 9-tailed demon fox, and beats the stuffing out of his opponent. Later, Neji’s uncle comes into his hospital room to tell him about how Neji’s fathers really died. All this time, Neji thought that his father sacrificed himself so that his uncle might live..but his father actually did it voluntarily! Sasuke doesn’t show up for his match, but the time is extended because almost all of the shinobi leaders and lords came here to see Sasuke fight Gaara. Will they show up in time??? I really liked Naruto’s determination in this book. He showed a lot of courage by not listening to his opponent’s words, but really believed in himself, which, as the proctor muttered to himself, can change one’s destiny. I like reading about that kind of inspirational scenes, so this book was one of the better ones. Readers 12+ should read this book.
Stars:**** Initials:S.Y
Book: Naruto:Volume 13 Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Finally, the time has come! Gaara is more than ready to challenge and kill Sasuke, yet the Uchiha heir hasn’t even arrive yet. At the last moment, though, Sasuke, along with Kakashi, swirls from a cyclone and emerges into the arena. The two junior ninja fight to the death, each using his chakra to the maximum limit. It seems that Sasuke has the upper hand at the present moment, but at the last jiffy, “Operation Destroy Konoha” commences. Lord Kazekage kidnaps Lord Hokage and creates an impenetrable web of barriers. He puts the knife to the Lord’s throat, but Hokage escapes from his anathema’s grasp just in time. Other minions of Orochimaru, who was disguised as Lord Kazakage, instantly appear and raze the village. The tournament is immediately cancelled, and all Shinobi are called into battle. Sasuke chases after Gaara, and Naruto chases after Sasuke. Who will win in this decisive mini-war? Will Orochimaru finally triumph over his former mentor, the Third Hokage? The surprise invasion by Orochimaru and his fighters really shocked me quite a bit. I find it this unlikely that the Sound ninja love to cheat this unfairly this much. It seems like they have courage at all, but rather, only bravado. Sure, their plan works, but what are their values in life? Do they have the right moralities, or do they live by killing other compatriots? I think that this battle may reflect the inhumanity of man to another man. Just another thought, that’s all. It may be a rather pertinent connection later in my life…
Book: Naruto:Volume 16 Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
The invasion of Lord Orochimaru has finally ceased.. . . but not without heavy losses on both sides. The Third Hokage is murdered by his former pupil, but before he traveled to the afterlife, he placed a curse on Orochimaru’s arms that disable his using of jutsu. This was to protect others from his dark powers. The ninjas, including Naruto, pay tribute to their fallen village leader. Before that, however, it should be noted that Naruto finally defeated Gaara in the ultimate demonic war. Gaara, it seems, finally realized the importance of caring about other people, and finds his life philosophy palpably at fault. 2 ninjas from the so-called Akatskui organization arrive in the village to seek out Naruto. In reality, they have no need of the boy, but rather what’s inside him: the 9-tailed demon fox. The sage takes the lad under his arms, and they go to another village. The 2 ninjas are Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, both level-S criminals. Itachi is Sasuke’s older brother, and the younger’s mission in life is to kill his older bro, who slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan. Even though Naruto, along with his mentor, escape to another village, Itachi finds him. What will happen to him??? I appreciated the part that Gaara finally understood the pertinence of being kind and caring to others, and that killing for the heck of it is very wrong. When I finished reading this novel, I was really worried about Naruto’s life, and I think that the author made an excellent cliffhanger.
Stars:**** Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 17 Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
There comes a stalemate into being as Naruto is against Itachi and Kisame. The sage arrives in just the nick of time, though, and manages to fend them off. Sasuke comes too, and at the sight of his man-killing brother, he immediately becomes enraged and tries to kill his older sibling. He miserably fails, however, and Might Guy comes to take him to the hospital in the native village. The sage and Naruto are now trying to find a legendary medic specialist named Tsunade, who the sage wants her to become the 5th Hokage. Lady Tsunade is the granddaughter of the 1st Hokage, but she always seems depressed for a reason the reader does know not. Orochimaru is also seeking her out, wanting her to heal his damaged arms. What side will the Lady be on? I thought that this story was all right. It was pretty interesting when the sage taught Naruto this extremely powerful A-class attack that only the sage and the 4th Hokage have ever mastered. Naruto looks pretty successful, but can he really master this difficult of an attack? Readers 12+ should read the “Naruto” manga novels.
Book: Naruto:Volume 18 Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Naruto isn’t even close to mastering the attack that the sage taught him, yet form his incredible work ethic and determination, he is confident that he’ll do it in perfect form one day. Orochimaru meets Tsunade, and tells her that if she can heal his arms, he’ll bring back Dan and Nawabi back to life. Those 2 that were just mentioned were the 2 most important people in Tsunade’s life, with one being her younger brother, the young being her lover. She has one week to make a choice. Stricken with conflict, will she make the right one? And can Naruto and the sage stop her in not meeting the evil snake man??? This novel was kind of slow, because there was no substantial action in the story. There were more negotiations that the fighting I got used to in the earlier novels. I love Naruto’s determination when affronted with obstacles. It inspires me to be the same way, although not as troublesome, and definitely not as stupid, as him!
Stars:*** Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 19 Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Tsunade, by drugging the sage earlier last night, manages to confront Orochimaru. She “agrees” to her opponent’s wish, but is stopped by Kabuto because she actually was attempting to kill the killer of the 4th Hokage. The sage and Naruto arrive then, and an all-out shinobi war ensues. Can Naruto use his newfound attack to help save Tsunade? Or will all the benevolent people perish in under the arms of Lord Orochimaru? I thought that the battle was quite good to read, because it was interesting and well-thought of. That took most part of the book, anyway. Readers 12+ should read this book.
Stars:**** Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 22 Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Sasuke is finally persuaded by Lord Orochimaru to fulfill his ultimate wish. The Uchiha boy leaves Konoha village in the dead of night, but Sakura manages to catch up to him. She begs him to not go because then she’ll become extremely lonely, but Sasuke somehow makes her fall asleep, and goes to find some of Orochimaru’s fighters who are escorting him to their leader’s place. The next day, Shikimaru is ordered by the 5th Hokage to gather up a team to chase Sasuke, who was reported missing since last night. The natural leader gathers Naruto, Choji, Neji, and Shino, and they immediately start tracking the Sound ninja. However, as they venture into the forest, they find the dead bodies of 2 Shinobi. It seems that these Sound freaks are no mere ordinary fighters…how will the youngsters ever stop Lord Orochimaru’s plan from successding, and rescue Sasuke at the same time? Choji was chosen to fight an extremely powerful ninja in order to give the others time to chase after Sasuke. He was very courageous, much more than I thought he’d be, if being judged by his aesthetics. I liked how he showed bravery in front of an extremely hostile opponent, one much more powerful than himself. The author did a good job of creating the mysterious reason of why Sasuke left the village in the first place…one that is unknown to the reader. Readers 12+ should read the “Naruto” manga novels.
Book: Naruto:Volume 22 Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Choji, after his epic battle with the formidable Sound ninja, sacrifices his life to kill his opponent and protect his comrades from further harm. As the others are traveling along, they encounter yet another Sound ninja, one much more powerful than the previous one. Neji steps in to volunteer to fight him. The book mainly focuses around the battle that Neji is involved in, and the reader finds out about many of his abilities, such as having a 360-degree vision, X-ray vision, and some other incredible sight knacks. Meanwhile, Lord Orochimaru’s plan is revealed: he wants to transfer himself to Sasuke’s body to not only gain the usage of his jutsu, but to also gain the glorious power of the Uchiha plan. Will Neji help his comrades? Can Orochimaru’s plan really work? There wasn’t anything special about this particular manga novel. To be frank, the battle between Neji and the Sound ninja wasn’t as exciting as I thought it’d be. I wonder if Orochimaru’s plan is really going to work, though. It sounds like there needs to be some life sacrifices, or something of extreme jutsu. Readers 12+ should read this book, and the “Naruto” manga novel series.
Stars:*** Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto: Volume 23 Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
The ninja battles within the depths of the forests are still permeating throughout the trees, with leaves and even numerous amounts of trees being destroyed. Shikimaru, the leader of the original squad that was sent to retrieve Sasuke, is still fighting a deadly ninja whose flute-playing abilities allow her to totally control 2 massive ogres. Meanwhile, Naruto battles the mysteriously powerful Kimmaro, known to be nearly invincible in the art of war. No matter what the 2 comrades do to their opponents, nothing just seems to palpably work. How will Naruto and Shikimaru climb out of this big of a hole…alive? The author did a brilliant job of maximizing the suspense of Naruto and Shikimaru’s battle until the reader was almost convinced that they would cry mercy at their opponents’ feet. However, he also does a masterful job of saving his main characters’ tailbones by instituting some sort of ally in the last second. I liked that very much, and the ending of this particular manga novel was especially cliffhanger-like, the best I’ve seen in the “Naruto” novels so far. Readers 12+ should read this book.
Book: Naruto:Volume 24 Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
The battles seem to be over…the winner is clearly seen after all the dust and rubble. However, at the last possible moment, Kankuro, Gaara, and Temari, a team from the Hidden Village of Sound, come to their rivals’ aid. Rock Lee also escapes from the tentacles of Konoha Hospital to go assist Naruto. The protagonist is given time to chase after Sasuke, which he does with Godspeed. Temari, by using her gargantuan fan, demolishes an entire section of the forest, and kills Shikimaru’s opponent at the same time. Kankuro assists Shino by using a little-known form of puppet-style jutsu, and kills his opponents…magically, in a way. Lee fights the mysterious Kimmaro, but is taken down in little time. Fortunately, Gaara is there to help. Will all of this aid help Naruto save Sasuke from coming to Lord Orochimaru? This story was pretty average. One of the bright points about this was Shikimaru’s genius ability at tactical strategy, which I admire. Other than that, though, the landscape looks pretty barren..Readers 12+ should read the “Naruto” manga novels.
Stars:*** Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 27 Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Naruto and the others all returned alive to the village of Konohagature, but their mission was a failure. They did not succeed in capturing Sasuke, and Naruto feels especially guilty because he promised Sakura that he would bring him home. The original team composing of those 3 ninjas is now disbanded; Sakura becomes an apprentice of the 5th Hokage, and Naruto goes to train with the sage. The story is pretty much over; there’s really nothing more to it. In the second portion of the book, there is a chronicle of Kakashi’s mysterious past. I thought that that was at least pretty interesting worth finding out. Other than that, this novel was an average one in the “Naruto” epic. Readers 12+ should read these manga novels.
Book (Magazine): ESPN the Magazine, July 27th, 2009 edition Author: ESPN writers
This particular issue of “ESPN the Magazine” was the longest I have ever read, but its contents are not as plausible as one ordinary fellow might think. There was an enormous number of pages devoted to fantasy football and X Games 15, both of which I abhor quite a bit. There wasn’t anything new about the NBA, but I can’t really blame the writers for doing that because it’s the offseason right now. Overall, this edition was very mediocre, partly because there were too many articles about sports that I had no interest in, and partly because the reading became tedious after a while.
Stars:** Initials:S.Y.
Album: Court and Speak Artist: Joni Mitchell
The songs in this particular album are derived from a style whose attributes are linked to a blend of jazz and the pop genre. Joni Mitchell has a pretty good voice, but one of the main flaws is that she sometimes sings too many words in too little time. My favorite songs in this album are “Free Man in Paris” and “Court and Speak” Both of these songs have good-sounding tunes, and the songs can aid in the relaxation for the listener. Mitchell also incorporates a profusion of piano playing in a jazz kind of way, which I like very much. Most of the songs are about love. This album should be listened by people 10+, though teenagers other than me may not appeal to it.
Stars:*** Initials:S.Y.
Album: Crescent Artist: John Coltrane
John Coltrane is widely regarded as one of the catalysts for the advancement and development of jazz and its overall popularity. He practiced this album for many months, and the result is a maestro-like blend of legendary jazz music that takes the soul and mind for a gently soothing ride. Most of these songs are relatively slow, but that makes it so much more relaxing. Coltrane mostly stars himself as the main soloist, but there are also quite a number of piano solos and even an entire song called “The Drum Thing”. That, and “Crescent”, are definitely my favorite songs from this album. This album is appropriate for listeners of all ages, form young bucks to old farts. Long live the legend of John Coltrane!!!
Bob Dylan is very well-known for his songs being centered around Christian values. This album is no different, and I think that it was crafted very well. My favorite songs are “Gotta Serve Somebody” and “When He Returns”. All of these songs actually make perfect sense to me, unlike most of the other songs in the modern music industry. “Gotta Serve Somebody” reminds all of us that no matter how high of a class we are in, there is always someone above us, presumably, God. “When He Returns” talks about the return of Jesus Christ, and combines Dylan’s folk-like voice, sage lyrics, and a lovely piano too accompany all of it. I like this album very much I am a devoted Christian, and the lessons you learn from these songs can help you live a better life and be a better Christian. This album can listened to by people of all ages.
Stars:**** Initials:S.Y.
Album: Brahms: Symphony #2, Haydn Variations Artist: Herbert von Karajan
I liked this classic album because there were an equal number of lively and melancholy music. The introductory songs were definitely played in some minor scales, but as the album progresses, the pieces fill the listener with vital energy, and a sense of liveliness to it as well. I had no particular favorite piece in this song, because it’s so hard to distinguish the differences among them! No, I’m kidding, I prefer the spirit-filled songs over the wistful ones. The director of the Berlin Orchestra did a very fine job of conducting, because each not was very gracefully placed at the right spot and played with emotion more overwhelming than I could have imagined. I think that this album is only listened by more urbane and refined people, but everybody can at least enjoy some part of it.
Album: Skip, Hop, and Wobble Artists: Jerry Douglas, Edgar Meyer, and Russ Barenberg
The trio of artists in this album composed very beautiful pieces that sound like the best country, front-porch music I have ever heard and witnessed. The songs are very lively, and no one messed up at all in any of the songs, or so that I could not have heard it. The songs are very good, using a sophisticated sound arrangement and producing something that really can’t be classified into any specific genre. All of these songs were very well-written, and I liked all of them very much. It’s not everyday that you get to love every song in an entire album. Everyone will like this album, because the songs can connect to one’s spiritual self. Very, very good, guys!!! Well done!!!
Stars:***** Initials:S.Y.
Album: 8:30 Artist: Weather Report
This album is very peculiar. It is listed as being classified in the jazz genre, but it’s a very different type of jazz that I have never been shown to much. The band starts out by playing some slow melody, and then gradually develop the song until the tempo is just a hair short of the speed of light. It seems to me that the guitarists are playing jazz with guitars meant for heavy rock, not a peaceful type of music, the complete opposite of death metal my favorite song is “Birdland” because the drummer in it uses the bass drum very effectively and more frequently than any of the other jazz drummers I have heard and loved, such as Elvin Jones and Joe “Philly” Jones. I think that there is something for everyone in this album. Good job, Weather Report!!!
Stars:*** Initials:S.Y.
Book: Fahrenheit 451 Author: Ray Bradbury
This book was horrible. The story was set in the future, with firemen burning books for some weird reason. The plot dragged on for what seemed like centuries, and the ending was abysmal, too. Overall, I didn’t get the meaning of the book, and I’d advise everyone to stay away from this book.
Stars:* Initials:S.Y.
Book: Eragon Author: Christopher Paolini
“Eragon” is about a boy named Eragon who one days hatches a dragon egg. The ruler of his land, Galbatorwiz, wants to kill all people who possess dragons. Left with no choice, Eragon escapes his village with a mentor named Brom and they must find a safe place for them to train before the evil king finds them. I liked this book very much because it was exciting and written in a good way. Teenagers should read this book.
Stars:***** Initials:S.Y.
Book: ESPN the Magazine, August 10th, 2009 edition Author: ESPN writers
This particular edition of ESPN the Mag was a lot shorter than the preious edition, but it contained a lot more interesting articles. There were stories about the Detroit Lions, Usain Bolt, and other sports stuff that I liked to read about. Serious sports fans should definitely subscribe to this.
A girl named Kayley has to work n the farm after her father, (who was one of the knights of the round table)died trying to protect King Aurthur from the evil knight of the round table,Ruber.Kayley's mother is captured by Ruber and forced to help him with his evil plans or Kayley would die.Kayley secretly escapes to the Forbidden Forest where she will look for the sword Excalibur and return it to the king. In the Forbidden Forest, Kayley meets a blind hermit, named Garret and he helps her on her quest. Later on they meet a not-so-ferocious two-headed dragon who also help on the quest.When they are almost to Camelot,Garret is left behind because, he feels that he will not belong in Camelot, and Kayley is later captured. the two-headed dragon rushed back to Garret and convinced him to come and help. Meanwhile, Kayley has escaped, but she doesn't get to tell the knights in time and Ruber gets into the castle. while Ruber fought King Aurthur, Kayley and garret swoop in and save the king and defeat Ruber.Garret and Kayley are knighted.
A hockey team in a city are really bad at playing, and their old coach quits. A new coach comes in, but the team doesn't really like him and they tease him and give him a hard time. The new coach invites another boy from one of their rival teams and gets a boy off of the streets and calls this new team the Mighty Ducks. There are many problems that the team goes through but in the end, the Mighty Ducks win the championships.
A dog and a cat live across the street from each other and dislike each other as much as their owners hate each other. The only person who could ever bring them together was the man neighbor's daughter. After accidentally delaying the little girl's Christmas list, with the help of Nick(the dog),Noel(the cat)go on a quest to deliver the list to Santa, Meanwhile when the pets were gone the owners and the little girl got worried and set out to look for them. Nick and Noel did fail their quest, but found out the true meaning of Christmas. The two owners found their pets and later on got married.
Whenever the people are gone two dolls and their stuffed animal friends come to life. Raggedy Ann and Andy are on a quest to save Christmas, they are zapped to the North Pole to return all of the Christmas presents to Santa from and evil villain who stole Santa's sleigh. They then find the true meaning of friendship and save Christmas just in Home and make it back home before the humans come home.
A fox and a dog are best friends, they say that they will never be parted and will always be friends forever. But when the dog has to leave with his master, to become a hunting dog, their relationship changes. When the dog has returned, he is no longer a friend to the fox because he has been trained to hunt foxes. The fox's owner lets it out into the wild about the same time the dog is supposed to go hunting. In the woods when the fox is caught by the dog and is about to be shot, the dog shows a little of his old friendship and let's the fox go. The dog and the fox never see each other again when the fox goes out on its own to learn the ways of being wild.
The recent president is doing bad things to the country and cheating on his wife. That night, the president has a stroke, and is replaced by a look alike president named Dave. As president, Dave does things to really help the country, and him and the first lady fall in love. When the real president dies Dave has to fake his death and be replaced by the real president.
In a very hot town for the first time in a long time, it snows. A girl and her friends are having a great day in the snow, until the snow plow man starts to ruin everything. The girl and her friends plot ways to defeat the snow plow man while her brother has an adventure of his own. Soon the whole neighborhood of kids come together and defeat the snow plow man and the snow day is saved.
A boy named Moguly and a girl named Kitty are good friends. In a raid Moguly's father is killed and Moguly is separated from the rest of the group into the wilderness all by himself. Moguly is found and raised by a wolf pack and discovers the hidden gold treasure of the rain forest. Years later Kitty and her classmates are learning a lesson about the same part of the rain forest the Moguly lives in and they meet again. Kitty soon realizes who Moguly is and brings him to her home in India and teaches him English. There are problems between Kitty's fiance and Moguly. Kitty and Moguly soon fall in love, this aggitates Kitty's fiance. Moguly and Kitty run away from her home into the rain forest. There, they are captured by Kitty's fiance and his hunting crew. Moguly is forced to show Kitty's fiance the treasures of the rain forest. At the last minute, Kitty and Moguly escape and Kitty's fiance is killed.
A boy named Willie is all alone and has no friends. For his birthday Willy's parents get him a dog (Skip). The dog becomes very popular and Willy and the whole town develop a love for him. Willy and his dog and some newly found friends have many adventures together. When Willy grows up and goes to college his dog dies but its memory still goes through Willy's heart.
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Movie:Tranformers: Revenge of the Fallen
The summer thriller following the enormous success of the first "Transformers" movie directed by Michael Bay, "Revenge of the Fallen" continues the volatile life of Sam Wicky. Sam is going to college soon, but his "normal life" is interrupted as Optimus Prime needs his help again. The Decepticons, it seems, are plotting to annihilate all the Autobots, revive Megatron, and discover the secret location of a great machine that an ancient Prime built for collecting energy for the Allspark by destroying suns. The last Prime, who is the master of Megatron, is determined to activate this machine to destroy all life on Earth. Sam, Mikaela, and the others must stop them by finding the Matrix of Leadership in order to revive Optimus.
This movie wasn't as good as the first one, mainly because there were a lot of loopholes, and the parts that were supposed to represent humor were miscalculated, and turned out to make me feel awkward. However, I will admit that Hasbro did an exceptional job of making the transformers, especially when the transform from machines to their true forms. A profusion of history between the interaction of Transformers and humans was revealed in this film, which I thought was quite interesting.
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Movie:Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
All right, everyone, gather 'round the storyteller who goes by the name of J.K. Rowling, who will permeate the "Half-Blood Prince" to you.
To be frank, this movie was quite mediocre. The plot line was average, but the directors left out many major portions of the book, such as the skirmish between the Hogwarts students and the Death Eaters, and the funeral of Albus Dumbledore. However, there was a significant increase in how the number of scenes that were humorous, such as when Ron is drugged by the love potion, and other numerous parts. I was sort of disappointed that Ginny and Harry didn't kiss more, but I surmise that they may have deleted a few romantic scenes because the movie is rated PG. Overall, I still much prefer the book to the movie, because the film was edging toward a rating of C than a B.
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Book:Atlantis found
Author:Clive Cussler
Recently, I returned to the invaluable treasure of author Clive Cussler, who is the father and a trail blazer of adventure thriller novels. to my pleasure and surprise, I discovered that his celebrated "Dirk Pitt" books are very good, even better than when I started reading these irresistable classics this year.
In "Atlantis Found", Dirk Pitt must find out and stymie the sinister plot of the Wolf family, a enigmatic family whose ties to the escaped Nazis are unknown to most of the world. Except Pitt. What was first a ludicrous plan that involved a comet that an ancient people known as the Amenes predicted was going to strike Earth in 2001 turned out to be a hoax. The real plot is to destroy part of the Antartic shelf so that the Earth would not be stable, causing a change in the poles and therfore also creating worldwide calamities.
I loved this book because it contains one of the most exciting storylines that I have ever put my eyes on, and the parts in which elite fighting forces, such as the Marin Recon and Navy SEALs, stop the evil doers just in time. Everyone should read this because Cussler has an extremely rare ability to convince the reader to read more and more...
Stars:*****
Initials:S.Y.
I So Don’t Do Mysteries
By Barrie Summy
Theme- this story shows that you can do anything when you get the right information and the right people.
Characters
Sherry- the main character, she gets most of the information to solve the mystery.
Sherry’s mom- a ghost who was a former policewoman, right now she lived in the ghost realm.
Junie- Sherry’s best friend she also helps Sherry to solve the mystery.
Josh- someone that Sherry has a crush on, in the end he helps too.
Paula (the ruler)-a woman who is one of Sherry’s teachers at school, she married Sherry’s dad.
Sherry’s grandpa- a wren that also lives in the ghost realm he helps to solve the mystery.
Amber- a teenage girl who is Junie’s cousin she drives Junie and Sherry around in San Diego.
Kendra- a woman who works at the zoo who wants to save the rhinos.
Gary- a poacher who tires to kill the rhinos, but acts like her is a zoo keeper.
The old people- one of the people who are paying the poacher to kill the rhinos so that they can use the horn for some cure for Alzheimer’s, but are acting like rhino lovers.
Chef- a man who is also paying the poacher to kill the rhinos for one of his dishes.
Setting- this story mostly takes place in San Francisco, California.
Plot- Sherry had to go to San Francisco during her dad and step mom’s honeymoon. At first, but then when her mother called to her as a ghost and told her that she needed her help or she would be banned from the ghost realm, Sherry had another plan for her Spring Break. Junie and amber end up coming to after thinking it over sherry finally tells Junie about her mission. Junie thinks that Sherry is crazy and gets angry. Sherry continues on the mission on her own. Later on, Junie Is convinced in a supernatural way the Sherry is telling the truth. Josh is also visiting San Diego and in the end helps. At the end of the story, the three of them solve the mystery and save the rhinos.
Love, Ruby Lavender
By Deborah Wiles
Theme- this story shows how people can change over a point of difference in their lives. It also tells how the most odd of people can make the best relationships. It also tells how sometimes you can get the wrong idea about something and judge it right away. This books shows that everyone has problems but he or she may never get over it the same way.
Characters-Ruby Lavender- a red haired country girl form Halleluiah, Mississippi who loves adventure and loves her grandma more than a best friend. She is strong and persistent to get her way.
Miss Eula- Ruby Lavender’s grandma. She loves Ruby like a best friend and likes to look for the good in people. She is gentle but strong and loves pink.
Evelyn Lavender- Ruby’s mother. She experiments with vegetables from her garden and reports them to the newspaper. She is small kind and gentle.
Miss Mattie- One of ruby’s Aunts. She runs the General Store beside the bus station. She is strong tough and firm, but inside she is kind.
Mary Jane Lander- ruby’s rival at the beginning of the story. A pompous girl who is too full of herself and has many siblings.
Mr. and Mrs. Ishee- they are known as Tater and Tot. They are a very jolly and upbeat couple. They just moved to Ruby’s neighborhood. Mr. Ishee is ruby’s new teacher.
Dove Ishee- the Ishee’s niece who was visiting them for the summer. She is very calm kind and upbeat. She becomes friends with Mary Jane and Ruby. She is interested in anthropology.
Setting- the story takes place in Halleluiah, Mississippi.
Plot- Ruby Lavender, a girl from Halleluiah, Mississippi is very close to her grandma, Miss Eula. Her grandma then has to leave to Hawaii, to visit her new granddaughter. Ruby is very upset about her grandmother leaving and is angry about the other granddaughter replacing her. Back at Mississippi, Ruby is on her own. However, her and her grandma still keep in touch by sending letters to each other. Bu that is not enough Mary Jane, a girl Ruby’s age is bullying Ruby more than ever now that her grandmother is gone. So, Ruby is left alone forced by miss Mattie to sweep the general Store every afternoon. However, things start to get exciting when one of the guinea hens that Miss Eula and Ruby robbed from the Slaughter House lays three eggs. Later more news hits when someone else is buying the chicken farm and their niece is visiting them for the summer so Ruby ha someone to play with. When Ruby was just starting to make friends with the Ishees, Mary Jane comes in and ruins everything. During the rehearsal of the county play that Mary Jane starred in Ruby brought one of the chickens over, and it got excited and accidentally got paint spilled all over Mary Jane’s head. One night when Dove Ishee and Ruby were taking care of the chickens, Mary Jane threw rocks at Ruby and killed two of the chicken’s eggs. The whole town rushed over and Ruby was too angry with Mary Jane to forgive her. The next day was the county play Dove and Ruby went to the Lake where Ruby’s grandpa and Mary Jane’s dad died. They sat on the bridge together and talked until Dove left to see Mary Jane in the play. When Mary Jane went over to apologize Ruby couldn’t take it anymore, she yelled at Mary Jane until she left. When Ruby finally decided to go to the play Mary Jane has a wig on to cover her blue hair, it was about it fall oh and it did. Mary Jane was embarrassed in front of everyone. Ruby then forgetting what Mary Jane did, comes, saves Mary Jane by adlibbing and, saves the show, and in the process, makes friends with Mary Jane. But then …she discovers that her grandmother is back.
Dork Diaries
By Rachel Rene Russell
Theme- The theme of this story is to be yourself no mater what people think or say about you.
Characters
Nikki- the main character of the story, the girl who owns the diary.
Chloe and Zoey- two of Nikki’s best friends. In the beginning of the story, Nikki hated them.
Mackenzie- a girl that Nikki really disliked throughout the story, made Nikki’s life miserable.
Brandon- a boy that Nikki liked but never noticed Nikki until the middle of the story.
Brianna- Nikki’s little sister, she is very annoying.
Setting- the story takes place from the events that were written in Nikki’s diary.
Plot- Nikki at first was friendless and lonely in school; it became even worse when Mackenzie’s locker was right beside hers. She was even causing trouble for Nikki by hanging around Brandon. Just when Nikki’s life was getting even worse, instead of buying Nikki a new cell phone, her mom bought her a notebook Her life continued getting worse. But after getting new friends and getting to know Brandon Nikki faced great times but they were soon ruined by Mackenzie. But in the end Nikki wins.
Fern Verdant and the Silver Rose
By Dianna Leszczynski
Theme- This story tells that you can always do things when you have enough information and believe in yourself no matter what others say.
Characters
Fern Verdant- the main character, at the beginning of the story she hates plants and is angry about how her parents are botanists.
Mr. Verdant – the father of Fern, he is very concerned and busy most of the time.
Mrs. Verdant- Fern’s mother, she is a very kind and beautiful woman, she goes around the world to save plants.
Mr. and Mrs. Hurbrsie- an evil couple who do things and work under the hand of Mr. Sagwalla.
Dr. Von Svenson- a woman who works at an insane child facility, and also works under the hand of Mr. Sagwalla.
Mr. Sagwalla- an evil man who has corporations that destroy nature.
Grandma- Fern’s grandma, she lives in France.
Francesca- a friend of Fern’s who fern helps to escape out of the child insanity facility.
Anthony- the brother of Francesca who owns a boat.
Setting- the setting takes place in mostly an abandoned islands and the ocean.
Plot- fern verdant and her botanist parents move to Ohio for her father to study a fern that he had discovered. Fern is angry with her parents for making her move and for paying so much attention. When Fern’s mother, Lily has to go on a business trip abroad, Fern is angry at her mother. Soon Fern and her father, Olivier discover that Lily was reported dead. It takes months for Fern and her father to get over the loss. At this time Fern turns 13 and finds her new power of talking and communicating with plants, she also finds out that her mother had it too but if they told anyone about their powers they would lose t right away. The plants have sent her a message about her mother, that her mother had been taken to an island . But when her father catches her talking to a tree, he sends her to NITPIC, a facility for insane children, run by an awful woman named Dr. Von Svenson. Fern soon escapes with the help of some willow trees nearby and also helps a girl named Francesca. Later on, fern meets Francesca and her brother Anthony at sea on a boat. Anthony and the other orphans on the boat and even Francesca start to suspect her because she talks to the Silver Rose petal on their ship. Dr. Von Svenson had put a tracking device in Fern’s backpack and had been following her the whole time. soon captured Fern and set the Anthony’s ship to flames. On Dr. Von Svenson’s ship Fern persuades the doctor’s henchmen to work for her, but all doesn’t turn well when the doctor hypnotizes them back and Fern takes one of the doctor’s gadgets and jumps off of the ship. Fern then wakes up on a island for being rescued by seaweed. She befriends a palm tree and uses the doctor’s gadget to get back to the ship. On the ship she is driven to the island where her mother is and attempts to save her mother but is stopped by Mr. Sagwalla. He injects a truth serum into lily and she tells about her power, but with the help of the plants Mr. Sagwalla is destroyed. Fern uses a forgetting serum on her mother so that she could forget everything.
Book: Valhalla Rising
Author:Clive Cussler
Once again, the grandmaster of American adventure novels has astounded me with his incredible knack to tell stories of Dirk Pitt. In this particular novel, a huge cruise ship named the "Emerald Dolphin" is destroyed by a mysterious fire in which the fire extinguishers had no effect on it at all (they malfunctioned for some reason). Most of the passengers and crew survive, thanks to a nearby NUMA vessel that Pitt was coincidentally assigned to, but the extermination of the luxury liner still reaks of a deliberate strike. Dirk Pitt has to figure out who intentionally destroyed the cruise liner, and why they did it in the first place. The primary suspect is Curtis Merlin Zale, the president of the Cerebus coporation, who wanted the sercret formula of a super oil that a passenger, Dr. Elmore Egan, possessed while vacationing with his daughter, Kelly. Zale is utterly ruthless; he wants to monopolize his company, who is North America's biggest oil producer, and to take control over the U.S. government by bringing outcry to foreign oil. His plan almost works, but is stymied just in time by law enforcement and Pitt....but with sacrifices as well.
I love the Clive Cussler novels so much because they want the reader to just keep on reading. Whenever I am accentuated to commit to something else, there is always a muddled and ambiguous air of ambivalence because I do not want to pause my book. I really have no idea how he does it, but he definitely knows what he is doing. I think that every teen and adult should considerably attempt to read his books, because once you start, there is absolutely no end to it.
Stars:*****
Initials:S.Y.
Album: Everyday (Single Version)
Artist: Carly Comando
"Everyday" is an exemplary piano piece written and performed by Carly Comando. It delights an invigorating yet subtle emotion that dwells deep inside humans, and with the release of this archaic feeling, one feels as if they are being transported to a realm of peace and serenity, far different from the chaos of the modern world. I first heard this on NBA commercials, and immediately afterwards, convinced myself to search for it until I find it. I discovered it on iTunes a few weeks ago, and I listen to it as much as I can, because it amenably and mysteriously inspires me to do great things in both basketball and life. Carly Comando should truly write more of these, although none might equal the might of "Everyday".
People who want to unwind at the end of a calamity-filled day should definitely buy this song because I can guarantee you that is will soothe you like the most wonderful dulcet you have ever heard.
Stars:*****
Initials:S.Y.
Born to Fly
By Michael McConnell
Theme-This story shows that you can survive the most drastic of things, go through the most amazing adventures, and still save the day no matter how old you are.
Characters
Bird McGill- the main character of the story, a very adventurous girl who loves her father.
Mr. McGill- Bird’s father; is a pilot in the air force.
Mrs. McGill- a firm and concerned woman who disapproves of bird’s flying of planes.
Margaret McGill- Bird’s older sister, who cares too much about her appearance.
Alvin McGill- Bird’s older brother who loves to play.
Kenji-a Japanese boy who ended up being Bird’ friend in the middle of the story.
Uncle Tomoto- Kenji’s uncle who takes care of Kenji.
Deputy Steyer- the deputy of the town who usually gets bird out of trouble.
Lieutenant Peppel- a boy who was training in the army air force who liked Margaret.
Pastor- the man who said mass at Bird’s church.
Farley Peck- a bully to Bid and Kenji at school.
Mr. Peck- a man who backed out of the war and was the father to Farley until he is killed.
Setting- the story mostly took place in 1941 Geneso, Rhode Island.
Plot- Bird and her father and together they fly her father’s plane in their backyard. But soon Bird’s father has to leave to go to the army and Bird is devastated. It is a few months after Pearl Harbor and a new boy named Kenji comes to Bird’s school. Everyone is suspicious of him because he is Japanese. Farley, the bully wont leave him alone. Even Bird doesn’t like him until he saves her from drowning that is when they became friends. Not soon after their friendship do they discover a spy in town and find that Mr. Peck, farley’s father was killed and only Bird saw who killed him. The man tried to grab Bird but she bit him in the arm leaving him with a scar. That same night the town factory exploded. A dew days later bird’s father was found to be dead. Uncle Tomoto was framed for everything, just because he was Japanese, but Bird and Kenji knew he didn’t do anything. Bird soon discovered that it was Deputy Steyer, even though the pastor also had a scar also. She was taken captive by the deputy but soon escaped. With the help of Farley she stole one of Lieutenant Peppel’s uniforms while he and Margaret were swimming in the lake. After being chased by the lieutenant, he finally decided to fly over to where Deputy Steyer was going.. to kill the president.
In the middle of the flight the lieutenant was blinded by an oil spill in the plane, so Bird ended up having to fly and land the plane. And after a hard journey and with the help of Kenji Bird stopped the deputy and saved the town. The town soon found out that the deputy was part of a secret German society that formed after the Holocaust. And a celebration was made for the heroes. During the after party, Bird slept and dreamed of her father.
Book:A Pickpocket's Tale
Molly a ,10 year old girl, lived off the streets of London, ever since her mother died.Since she had no other way of surviving,she started to pickpocket, until the day she was caught,sent to trial,and sentenced to go to America.There was a Jewish family there who bought her in New York since Molly was Jewish.From there she experienced a lot from loosing a 3 year old, named Rachel, to running away, to helping an over abused slave run away.Through out the whole story except for the end Molly never thought that she could belong somewhere. I liked that all the good things in the book happened because of Molly's screw up.
Book:Dork Diaries
This story is about a 14 year old girl named,Niki Maxwell who goes through he most amazing school year and writes in all down in a diary given to her by her mom, a diary that she didn't even want in the first place.I like this book because it isn't fake like a lot of teen school books are.And I like the part when the mean girl cries because she lost the art contest.
Book:A Thousand Never Evers
This book is about a girl named Addie Ann Pickett starts the civil right movement,saves here uncle from a bad trial and death,and saves her brother, by telling the story about how her father was killed.I like the part when Addie Ann's brother got into a fight.
Book:The Big Bahzooley
Sam Kellow the main character of the book wins a contest that he didn't want to enter in the fist place, helps his mom find her missing client who was suppose to by her painting, with some of the prize money that he had gotten from winning the contest,and from the his family were never broke again.All because of Sam's curiosity.
Calvin Coconut- Trouble Magnet
By Graham Salisbury
Theme- this story shows that if you try to make the most out of everything and not ignore your responsibilities then you can get yourself out of trouble.
Characters
Calvin- the main character no matter what he does he still ends up in alt of trouble.
Maya and Julio-two of Calvin’s friends
Tito- a bully to Calvin.
Darci- Calvin’s little sister.
Mrs. Coconut- Calvin’s busy mom who encourages Calvin to live up to responsibility.
Willy- a new boy from California who becomes friends with Calvin.
Ledward- a nice man who is Mrs. Coconut’s boyfriend.
Stella- the daughter of one of Mrs. Coconut’s friends who is staying over at their house.
Mr. Purdy- Calvin’s fourth grade teacher.
Setting- this story takes place in a summer in Hawaii.
Plot- It is coming to the end of summer and Calvin Coconut and his friends are going to 4th grade it sounds okay until Calvin finds out that he has to move out of his room to make space for a girl who will be staying over at his house. Calvin has to move to the bug infested storage room. In the storage room, Calvin finds a centipede and brings it to meet your teacher day, this causes trouble at school. There he meets his nice teacher Mr. Purdy who used to be in the army. He introduces Willy a new boy in the class, and for a treat he let’s them go to an outside restaurant for lunch. There, Calvin gets himself into more trouble by starting a food fight. After having to stay after school, Calvin bumps into Tito, causing Tito into spilling juice all over himself. After school Tito and his friends for hours, but Calvin makes it home just in time. That afternoon Stella comes and she doesn’t seem that friendly to Calvin. The next morning, since Calvin forgot to fix the lock on his old room, Stella was locked inside, after many attempts to open the door, Stella had to come out through the window. As Calvin came outside to see, Tito was climbing over the fence to beat up Calvin, but as soon as he saw Stella, he forgot about the clobbering and acted out as a friend to Calvin, so that he could hook him up with Stella. This made Stella even more furious at Calvin. But near the end of the story, Stella began to understand what Calvin was going through and becomes nice to Calvin. Calvin’s mother is also proud of him for beginning to take responsibility.
How to Ditch Your Fairy
By Justine Larbalestier
Theme- this story shows that if you really, really want something and you work hard to get it, no matter what is in your way you will get it.
Characters
Charlotte (Charlie)- the main character of the story who wants to get rid of her fairy.
Rochelle- one of Charlie’s best friends.
Stefan (Steffi)- a boy that Charlie has a crush on and is friends with her; he is also a new kid in school.
Fioenze- a girl who all the girls in the school hated until the end of the story, when Charlie becomes friends with her.
Danders Anders-a boy who at the beginning of the story made Charlie get in his car to get a good parking space.
Setting- the story takes place in a future town called New Avalon.
Plot- Charlie has a parking fairy. She absolutely hates it because people make her get into their cars so that they can always get the perfect parking spot. For almost two months, Charlie has been avoiding car rides because she is trying to get rid of her fairy. She is jealous of her best friend Rochelle, because she has a shopping fairy and is even more jealous of a girl in her school named Fiorenze, who has an any-boy- your-age- will-like-you fairy. A new boy named Stefan comes to the school, and is very friendly towards Charlie, but is immediately whisked away from her by Fiorenze’s fairy whenever he sees her. Later on in the story Charlie finds out that Fiorenze is suffering from her fairy also, and Fio’s mother, who is a famous fairy professor has done nothing to help her. So when Fio and Charlie switch fairies, they end up switching problems. Now not just Stefan likes Charlie, but all the boys now do. Instead of Danders chasing Charlie, he is chasing Fio. Charlie and Fio deeply regret this and seek a way to get rid of their fries. After facing a dangerous situation and having a life or death experience, the girl’s fairies are gone! And with the help of Fio’s mother, Charlie gets a brand new fairy that she loves.
Any Which Wall
By Laurel Snyder
Theme- this story shows that you can find adventure and magic if you just know what you are looking for.
Characters
Emma-one of the main characters she is the youngest of the group.
Henry- the brother of Emma, also one of the main characters.
Roy- the friend of Henry’s and is the same age as him,, he is the brother of Susan.
Susan- the oldest of the group and the one in charge.
Lily- a woman who is a librarian and loves dogs and children, and being different.
Bernice- a dog that the children rescue from one of their adventures.
Merlin- a magician and wizard who the children encountered in one of their adventures.
Setting- this story mostly takes place in a field where a big stonewall is.
Plot- Emma has learned to ride her bike, and wants to ride somewhere. Henry, Roy and Susan finally agree to it and they ride until they see a field and a bid stonewall. In the dust, Henry finds a key and the group finds a keyhole that the key goes to. With the key, he unlocks the keyhole, but nothing happens. Disappointed the group sits down with their backs on the wall wishing that they could have a root beer float at Annabell’s diner and in no time the wall takes them there. Soon after, the group discovers the magic of the wall and that you could only wish to be in or at a building. So one at a time, they all wished to go somewhere. Emma was first, she wished to go to Arthur’s castle, and there they met Merlin and her gave them each a potion to see their futures for a while. On Henry’s turn, they met Blackbeard’s son the worst pirate ever who turned out to be a man who loved to read and couldn’t even grow a beard. On Roy’s turn, they visited their town during the cowboy days. There the rescued a criminal’s dog and named her Bernice. And on Susan’s turn, they went to New York where Susan bonded with her friend again and they all went to the Carnival in New York. But they were brought back to reality when they had no idea where to keep Bernice but Lily’s house but she was much too busy. So Susan came up with the idea to bring her to Merlin. When Merlin accepted the dog, he zapped everyone including himself to the wall and told them that they had finished their adventure and had solved their own problem and that they would face more adventures that are magical after the wall was gone because they now knew what to look for. And with that, he zapped the wall away and headed off walking, maybe to begin his own adventure.
Book: Black Wind
Author: Clive Cussler
One of the many serenely masterful adventure novels written by Grand Master Clive Cussler, "Black Wind" introduces the reader to a terrifying new aspect that has only commenced haunting the human race in the last century: biological warfare. Starring Dirk Pitt's children, Summer and Dirk, Jr., the fraternal twins discover 2 dead Coast Guradsmen and later ascertain that they were killed by smallpox. Smallpox was an inrxorably deadly disease in the late 20th Century, immediately becoming fatal if it enters a person's body, as there is no definite vaccine for it once the immune system is met with it. A Korean business tycoon wants to forcefully unite the Korean Pennisula, only that is should be governed according to the North. His grizzled veterans of assualt teams hijack numerous commercial shipping freights, and ultimately want to launch a rocket that would kill nearly all of Los Angeles. It will not destroy by force, however. Hidden in the rocket are 8capsules filled with chimera, or a combination of viruses. Mixed with HIV cells and smallpox, the chimera, named after the three-headed dog in Greek mythology, can wipe out nearly all of LA. The NUMA people must stymie it, or the majority of the world will fall into a deep well of anarchy.
This book wasn't as exciting as the others, but I applaud it for its creative plot that only a person such as Clive Cussler can think of. I recommend that teenage boys read this, as there is a myriad of information about the military, and other various facts that could possibily endanger the human species.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Clear and Present Danger
Author: Tom Clancy
Clear and Present Danger is one of Clancy's famous Jack Ryan stories. In this one, Ryan has recently been promoted to Deputy Director of Intelligence for the CIA. The whole thing starts when the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter sets out to find the missing ship of a local Alabama businessman and his family. When they find the ship, they find two armed Hispanic men, lots of drugs, and even more blood. The men on the now-found ship had been hired by the family as crewmen for the little family vacation. What happened is obvious; they killed the whole family, dumped the bodies, and started heading towards Mexico to smuggle the drugs. This is just another strike of the increasingly powerful Colombian drug cartel. By now, the top people in Washington have decided that enough is enough. The FBI begins investigating the "Pirate Case," as the investigation of the family's murder is known. When the investigation takes some surprising turns, the man who was the target of the murder isn't as innocent as he appeared. Resulting from the investigation, the bureau turns up $700 million in assets when they discover that the victim was part of an international money laundering operation. Meanwhile, the president, his national security adviser, and the directors of the CIA and FBI begin Operation Showboat as well as several operations involved with it. Operation Showboat is a massive, CIA-led operation that would send four squads of the best, highest-trained light-infantry soldiers in the Army into the mountains of Colombia. Their mission is to destroy cocaine processing sites throughout the mountains. Supporting this operation is Eagle Eye. Eagle Eye consists of a radar plan and an F-14 Tomcat and its pilot, who particularly hates drug runners because some of them killed his mother. His mission is to catch incoming planes carrying drug and to stop them by either forcing them to land at an airstrip with law enforcement agents waiting or eliminate it. As this operation continues successfully, another character comes into play, former Cuban intelligence Colonel Felix Cortez. He has abandoned Cuba to work for the cartel as their security adviser. He travels to Washington to gather information about American operations against the cartel when he finds out that the FBI director is traveling to Colombia to meet with the Colombian attorney general. Cortez reports this to his boss, and el Jefe (the Boss) promptly orders his men to destroy the director's car and everyone in it, including the ambassador to the country, FBI Director Jacobs, the administrator of the DEA, the driver, and an FBI security detail. Enraged, the U.S. president calls a meeting in which he tells the AG, the director of the CIA, and the deputy director of operations for the CIA that the cartel represents a "Clear and present danger to the United States." He tells them that the gloves need to come off. Jack Ryan is being kept out of the loop of this operation for reasons unknown. Cortez goes on to undermine the National Security Adviser and gets him to shut down Showboat, leaving the light infantrymen in the jungle with no support or radio communications as they retreat from strong oncoming cartel forces. Obviously, from Ryan's position, you can assume that Ryan must be incredibly smart, more so since he isn't even 40. Ryan knows that he is out of the loop, so he takes matters into his own hands. When he figures that there is a huge chance that the op was shut down, he enlists help from one of the agency's best men, who is also involved with the op, and works to save the soldiers in the mountains. This is one of the best books I have ever read, and I highly recommend it for anyone 7th grade and up. Read the book before you watch the Harrison Ford movie because they are both great, but also really different. This was an awesome book by one of the best and biggest authors around, Tom Clancy.
***** 5 stars
-W
Book: Skeleton Coast
Author: Clive Cussler
Though not pertaining to the famous "Dirk Pitt" novels, "Skeleton Coast" has a contingency with Juan Cabrillo, the captain of an esoteric ship named the "Oregon". Clive Cussler has done it again: now, he centralizes the main storyline upton the giant shoulders of Juan Cabrillo and the "Oregon". The ship, though, is anything by ordinary. Disguised as an archaic container whose past witnessed its carrying of lumber acorss the Atlantic Ocean, the actual inside is brimming with the lastest military technology, as well as some of the finest luxuries that money can buy. She has enough firepower to take on half of the world's navies, a helipad, 2 submersibles, and a crew consisting of former CIA and Secret Service agents. Named the Corporation, the "Oregon" is known by very few people, and is privately hired to take on missions.
In "Skeleton Coast", Juan and his crew are delivering AK-47's and other commendable weapons to the Congolese Revolutionary Army, the rebel army led by Samuel Makambo, the despotic leader who is attempting to overthrow the current Congolese government. In exchange for these weapons, the "Oregon" will be given 20 blood diamonds, but hidden inside the AK's are detectors that can reveal the wherabouts of Makambo. However, the plan goes awry, as the enemy tries to double-cross the crew, and they escape just in time. Later, as another person who happens to be looking for a lost treasure ship, Sloane is attacked by callous mercenaries, hired to protect something under the ocean. As she is rescued by Juan, they team together, and they immediately become involved in each other's plans. As the story moves along, the anathema, Daniel Singer, who is an ecoterrorist, will capture hundreds of oil rigs in Angolan waters, cna dump them out, and by harnessing a new kind of slime that can make oil gooey, the oil will evaporate, and with hurricane season around the corner, Singer wants the hurricane to hit the Eastern United States and unleah a toxic torrent, making everybody extremely frightened, but most appositely, aware that they must stop polluting the environment, which is Singer's ultimate goal. Can Juan stop this madman before his fanatic plan is pulled off???
I liked this novel very much because it superbly introduced me to the "Oregon" and her crew, in which I greatly admire, as much as I like reading about Dirk Pitt. I find that Clive Cussler has the greatest aptitude in the world for writing best-selling adventure novels, and that "Skeleton Coast" is an exemplary quintessence of that.
I think that teenage boys should definitely read the Clive Cussler books becuase every one of them is incapcitated with beautiful women, high-tech military technology, the most arbitrary evildoers ever imagined, heart-pounding moments, and many other characteristics that will be thoroughly enjoyed.
Stars:*****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Superman: Godfall
Authors: Michael Turner, Joe Kelly, Talent Caldwell, Jason Garder, and Peter Steigerwald
I really had an apokryphal clue about what to expect while opening the graphic novel. What I received was an aberration from what my mind assumed. In "Superman: Godfall", the Man of Steel somehow returns to his native planet, Krypton, and is immediately chased by alien gangs who want freedom from the Citizens Patrol Corps (CPC). Superman inadverdently shoots fire from his eyes, sending one of the extraterrestrials flying into a building, and then also freezes a man and his son into ice sculptures. The CPC think that he is a murderer, so they track him down. Superman is helped by his alien yet dazzling wife, Lyla, and then, when they are in a secure compound, Lyla somehow merges her husband with her. After that, she goes to Metropolis, and the reason for that is also unknown.
This was the very first time that I had read a Superman graphic novel, so the events, it seemed, occurred very randomly and out of order. I had a myriad of questions at the end of the story, and almost none of them were answered. I still haven't figured out how Superman was transferred back to Krypton, or why his wife Lyla went to Metropolis. The storyline was extremely confusing to me, and I abhorred the fact that I couldn't fit all the puzzle pieces together. However, the illustrations were very masterfully drawn, and the women were absolutely stunning. The drawings, in my opinion, controlled most of my attention.
I think that teenage boys who like seeing great drawings and who want to read classic comics should read this book. Girls will most likely not like it because the plotline is very masculine-like, and that they'd get bored of all the continuous fighting after a short while.
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Batman: Year One
authors: Frank Miller, Richmond Lewis, and David Mazzucchelli
In this particular graphic novel contains the origins of how Bruce Wayne came to be the Dark Knight. I am more familiar with Batman than with Superman, so I understood the meaning of the plot more, and I enjoyed reading it. The story centers around a new detective named James (Jim) Gordon who comes to Gotham City to work for the Gotham Police Department. He hates his job, his life, but mostly the city because he deeply regrets that he dragged his pregnant wife, Barbara, to this wretched sewer of a city. He tracks down many criminals while also arresting them under very tight circumstances. At the same time, Bruce Wayne wants to stop all the evil surrounding Gotham, so he decides to become Batman. Though he captures many bad guys, the cops think that he himself should be put in a penetiary, all except for Jim Gordon. The main problem arises as the relationship between the Dark Knight and the official law enforcement people strains to the point of snapping it apart.
The drawings in this graphic novel weren't as exemplary as the ones in "Superman:Godfall", but I thought that the storyline was a lot better. The plot really showed me the innumerably dirty flaws of Gotham City, though I already had an ambivalently clear idea of the filth. I'd say that boys should read these Batman novels. They really are not bad.
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Movie: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
This particular Harry Potter movie was pretty good. I thought that the movie followed the actual book quite nicely, the directors leaving nothing of pertinence out of the film. A few of the scenes, including Harry's skirmish with the basilisk, was very tense, and I thought that the actors preformed very well in that specific scene. Albus Dumbledore, however, wasn't as good as I thought. His beard, though I know that it is fake, didn't seem to convince me that it was real. The parts in which Harry and his friends discover the bloodied messages on the walls of Hogwarts was a little frightening, which was good. Overall, a good film for people of all ages to enjoy. Good job, Brits.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Batman: Death & the City
Author (Writer): Paul Dini
This graphic novel of Batman was, by far, the best one I have read so far. Fighting against staggering odds, and finding dead-ends at every propos corner, the Dark Knight is almost overwhelmed by his anathemas, such as Scarface, the Terrible Trio, and, of course, the Joker. Although the plotlines were not followed correctly in comparison to the previous Batman novel in which I read, the stories were very well-written, and the art was spectacular. I felt that after reading this book, that I would definitely like to read more about the incredible stories of the Batman.
In my opinion, boys should read this particular graphic novel. Nevertheless, girls can try it all they want, especially the ones who admire cartoon drawings created on a master scale. The stories in this one were very intriguing, with a few of them being well-developed cliffhangers, and with Batman having to find unlikely allies, which I thought was quite brilliant.
Stars:*****
Initials:S.Y.
Movie: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
In Year 3 of Hogwarts, Sirius Black, a prisoner of the deathly wizard fortress known as Azkaban, has escaped from the torturous building situated in the North Sea. Many of the wizarding world are extremely apprehensive, but none other than the famous Harry Potter. Hermonie Granger and Ron Weasley, Harry's best friends, are worried for him because they believe that Black will return to Hogwarts and kill The Boy Who Lived. As the plot moves along smoothly in comparison to the storyline of the book, the trio finally realize that Sirius is innocent after all, and that is was Peter Pettigrew who actually betryaed Lily and James Potter to Lord Voldemort.
I thought that this movie was also very good because it palpably followed the novel itself, and that the music was fantastic. Buckbeak, the hippogriff, and Professor Lupin's werewolf form, were superbly created using the most advanced kind of digital technology to really make them look convincingly real. The main actors played their roles very well, but especially Hermonie, who, I could tell, was really into her part. Overall, I'd say that this movie is for kids 10 years and up. There are a few scary scenes, such as when the Dementors attack.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Movie: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
In the 4th Harry Potter movie, Hogwarts, along with 2 other foreign schools, are chosen for a legendary tournament known as the Triwizard Cup. Whoever wins this will gain eternal glory, but many have died while competing in this bloody duel. There are only supposed to be 3 people chosen (one for each school), but Harry is mysteriously chosen by the Goblet of Fire. Left with no choice, Harry must compete in the tournament, and with it comes fellow students taunting him, and the other bullcrap that follows thereafter. The rest of the story bascially follows the book, but while meandering through the maze, there was supposed to be a sphinx that gave Harry a riddle to solve in order to touch the cup. This was excluded and replaced with howling winds, and I abhorred that particular part. Other than that, though, this movie is definitely my favorite Harry Potter film to date, because it is so precise and so masterfully created with all the intense drama superbly shown on the big screen.
I'd say that kids 10 years old and up should watch this film.
Stars:*****
Initials:S.Y.
Movie: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Man, this film took up almost 3 hours of my life! It followed the book's plotline, that's for sure, but to be frank, I did not enjoy watching this specific movie.
In the "Order of the Phoenix", Harry learns that a new kind of defense called the Order of the Phoenix has been re-activiated and is chosen to fight the Death Eaters. The Order consists of Aurors (the counterparts of Voldemort's followers), and, of course, the trio, Hermonie, Ron, and Harry. Sirius Black is back, telling Harry that Voldemort is searching for something, something that he didn't have 14 years ago when terror beckoned at his feet. It turns that he's looking for a prophecy in the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries. This prophecy is to tell whether Harry will die or not. A huge battle then ensues, but the Aurors get there just in time, fending off the Death Eaters before they kill Harry and his friends.
The story and film adaptation was good, but I'm still confused at the Department of Myserties. Why is it filled with all the prophecies? Who made them in the first place? And why doesn't the Ministry have more control over this scandalous floor? None of these were answered to the extent of my needing of them, but after Year 5, the Department of Mysteries is virtually a forgotten memory.
I felt that while both reading the book watching the film, J.K. Rowling lingered over the entire course of the plot. I still liked it, but it could be compressed. I'd recommend that children 11+ should watch this. There is some gore in the film...
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Book: The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (graphic novel)
Author: Stephen King
Graphic novel writers: Robin Furth, Peter Furth, Jae Lee, and Richard Isanove
"The Gunslinger Born" was really confusing at first, ameliorated a little bit in terms of the welter, but only became more hysterically scratch-your-head in the end.
The plot is about a young teenage boy named Roland who wants to become a gunslinger, just like his father. A gunslinger is synonomous to an elite law enforcement officer, though in their world, crime easily persists over justice. Roland and his friends travel to the "east" to spy on the henchman of the guinslingers' anathema, John Farson, who is said that only Satan is more evil than him. Farson wants to retreive oil from abandoned oil rigs and use them to power "Old World" machines, one of which is a heavy-duty tank. Roland and his mates meet trouble at almost every turn, and they have had to seriously maim some to survive. While maintaing vigilance over the land, Roland meets a beautiful lady named Susan Delgado, who, against her and her deceased father's will, will marry Mayor Thorin, the mayor in which the suspicious activities the gunslingers are watching over. They eventually make love, but Susan is captured by Farson's henchman before the young guns can rescue her. What will Roland & Co. do in order to stop Farson's plan to make the devastating machines work? How will they rescue Susan, and can they, with so much on their plates???
I admit that the plot in which Mr. King brilliantly created is, well, quite brilliant in its quintessence, but it was very confusing at first. There was a group called the "Afilliation", and I had no idea of whether they were the good guys or not until the middle of the book (they were good). In addition to that, there was a lot of bloody scenes perfumed with gore anc carnage, much more than I'd expected and preferred. I'll admit that the story itself was pretty interesting, but that it took a while to understand what was really happening.
I think that people 13+ should read this graphic novel and the actual book. Just get used to it, is my advice, and soon you'll be caught right in the action!
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Book: X-Men & Black Panther: Wild Kingdom
Writers: Peter Milligan and Reginald Hudlin
It has been an infinitely long time since I read anything about X-Men. After reading this particular graphic novel about them, however, I must that that their adevntures are quite interesting and creative, in large part to the legendary Stan Lee.
In "Wild Kingdom", mutants of vicious animals suddenly emerge in the fictional country Waganda. The African nation's capitalist despot has just been overthrown, but now is living in a state of anarchy. The X-Men come here to investigate the various mishappenings, the most prominent of them being a Pulitzer prize-winning reporter who was eaten by a monstrous crocodile. The benevolent mutants eventually come to an abandoned factory where they meet the Black Panther, a king of another nation bordering Waganda. All of them soon learn that a mad scientist named Dr. Paine is behind all the chaos. The doctor genetically mutates humans and animals alike, and though he was supposed to have died, he bribed the Wagandan government into letting him take humans without consequence. He callously makes mutants, such as giant crocodiles and gorillas, but because he knew that the X-Men would eventually come and attempt to capture him, he injects himself with a substance that lets him gain control of the powers of the mutants that he touches. With this sort of weapon, how will the X-Men defeat him???
I thought that the story was all right. I was a little surprised that one of the X-Men, a black woman, was worshipped as a goddess to the Africans, which startled me quite a bit. The drawings were all right, but some of them weren't world-class, as I'd expected them to be as they are about a creation of Stan Lee. I'd recommend that children 12+ should read this.
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Wrath of the Titans: Issues 1-3
Author: Ray Harryhausen
"Wrath of the Titans" basically is deviated from ancient Greek myths, only that they are made into graphic novel form. In these 3 specific issues, the story is about a son of Olympus named Perseus whose son is captured by Thetis and Hera. The baby boy is kidnapped by the 2 goddesses because they are angry at Zeus, who commands that every deity prepare a gift for the munchkin. Perseus goes on a long quest to find his recently-born boy, and must overcome a myriad of obstacles, such as killing the one-eyed ogre, battling a hydra, and the such. He gets help from his comrades and even a Titan, and he almost succumbs to death while being eaten alive by vultures. He eventually rescues the baby, but also released a Titan from the Cave of Onyx in the process. For now, his kingdom of Argos is safe, but the Titans are reawakened...
The author depicted the godessess as wearing almost no clothing, which I thought was cool but inapropriate at the same time. The story sounded very Greek mythology-like to me the moment I read the first page, with all the monsters, gods, and legendary babies being born, and the such. The art was all-right; I had no particular favorite in the 3 issues. Kids 12+ should read this.
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Tomb Raider: Chasing Shangri-La
Authors:Jurgens; Tan; Park; Sibal; Smith
The "Tomb Raider" series are about a beautiful woman named Lara Croft who is a professional treasure hunter. In this particular series, she goes to find the eternal city of Shangri-La, searches for the lost treasure of Christopher Columbus, and rescues a professor from the living dead. A sidekick named Chase Carver tags along, but is killed while fending off skeletons that protected the treasure of Columbus.
The stories, I thought, were pretty good, and well-thought of. The art was excellent, I'll definitely say. There were some really well-drawn pictures of Lara, some that only individuals should find out for themselve. Overall, I liked the graphic novel very much. Kids 12+ should read this.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Album: Only Time (Single Version)
Artist: Enya
Enya is an Irish artist who has sold the second-most albums in which a person is Irish, only behind the well-known rock band U2. She originally participated in her family's band, Clannad, which is also pretty famous in the land of the leprecaun. "Only Time" is her greatest hit, in my opinion, because it combines a fole-like melody, coupled with a soothingly goddess-like voice, and when all that blends in, you've got one heckuva song! This song calms my nerves when I need it most, and was frequently shown to my ears when I was just a wee little lad. Everyone should give this song a try, because it really is exemplary.
Stars:*****
Initials:S.Y.
Album: Les Choristes
Artist: Les Choristes
I first heard these choir performances while watching a movie in my French class, a particularly great film called "The Choir". It won a ton of Academy and Golden Globe awards the year it came to the big screen (in the 1980's). When I heard these songs, I immediately fell in love with them, and searched all over for them on the Internet, until I finally found it and bought it on iTunes. The songs are sung in a traditional choir-style type of singing. They are absolutely astounding, just the dulcet voices pitching to a heavenly-like sound that surprises the heart into peace. My favorite songs are "La Nuit" and "Caresse sur L'océan". Even though they are sung in French, I can understand most of the words and also interpret the meanings of ces chansons. I think that people of all ages should listen to these songs, because, simply to put, they are brilliant.
Stars:******
Initials:S.Y.
Album: Stevie Wonder: The Definitive Collection
Artist: Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder is a wonder in my eyes. He is legally blind, yet became one of the most famous and popular artists of the 20th Century. He is able to play the piano and harmonica, which, in my eyes, would be nearly impossible for someone of ordinary quality to attain. By listening to this definitive collection of his greatest songs, I can feel his determination that saddled him into becoming a world-class artist.
My favorite songs in this particular album are "Supersticious" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You". Both are very well-written songs, and the bass line in the former is quite awesome. The latter is more of a soothing love song, one that I loved first when I was a little kid and still do. I think that there's something for everyone when it comes to Stevie Wonder. After all, it's a wonder, these songs in which he created.
Stars:*****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto: Volume 2
Art and Story: Masahi Kishimoto
Naruto is a young ninja whose ultimate aspiration is to become the hokage, or leader, of his village. Though he is far from being the strongest of his comrades, Sasuke and Sakura, his will and determination are second to none. An evil spirit, the 9 Tailed Fox, is trapped inside Naruto's body; it was placed there by a previous hokage who sacrificed his own life so that the demon wouldn't wreck havoc on the natural world.
In this particular volume of "Naruto", the protagonist, along with his comrades and sensei, Kakashi, are called in to protect a bridgebuilder named Tazuna, who is about to commence his journey to his native country. Though the apprentices aren't expecting anything especially perilous, they are thrown into danger by an elite ninja named Zabuza, who is very well-known for silently killing his enemies. The assassin wants to kill Tazuna to protect the economic interests of his employer, a despot who is attempting to start his own architecture empire. How will Naruto and the others fight their way out of this situation now?
I liked watching the cartoon "Naruto", and naturally, I was curious to see if the manga novels were equally as good as the show. My answer is:yes! This volume had a ton of funny scenes, with the characters' faces being all messed up in a humorous sort of way. The art was pretty good, at least better than average, and the story itself provided me with a companion for one hour. I recommend that children 12+ should read "Naruto". Though it may make you laugh until tears stream down your face, there are a few bloody scenes where a myriad of carnage is visible.
Stars:*****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Zombiepowder: Volume 1
Story and Art: Tite Kubo
The "Zombiepowder" manga novels focus on the legendary quintessence called, well, Zombiepowder. One can find this mirage-like substance only if one possesses all 12 of the "Rings of the Dead". Whoever comes in contact with Zombiepowder will gain eternal life, and also gain the ability to raise the dead.
Elwood was a knife-thrower caught in a life of crime until he meets Gamma Akutabi, a class "S" criminal, who has a 6-foot chainsaw and whose right hand is made of metal. Gamma is looking for Zombiepowder, and Elwood is caught in the action. The young lad decides to tag along with the warrior, and they immediately encounter various gangs also looking for the Rings of the Dead. As the odd duo journey through the world, they are caught by someone named C.T. Smith, who happens to be Gamma's partner in disguise. Locked in a cell, they eventually escape with the help of Smith, but now face the leader of the criminal organization, Calder. With a deadly attack that killed all of his previous enemies, how can Gamma win???
I like the story because it was creatively thought up of, and Gamma is definitely one of the funniest manga characters I've ever read about. His temper and patience is short, but nevertheless, he is one of the greatest swordfighters and fighters in the world. With his metal right hand, he is capable of catching bullets, and wield an ancient swordfighting technique in which only 32 people have ever mastered. Elwood is also an interesting person, because he's around my age, but he is an excellent knife thrower, which, I should say so myself, is a very dangerous hobby. I'd recommend that people 12+ read this book. There contains very few profanity, but the number of killing scenes skyrockets to God knows where.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Zombiepowder: Volume 3
Story and Art: Tite Kubo
In the second volume of "Zombiepowder", Gamma is still facing Calder, and eventually cuts him to pieces. They discover that Calder is actually a very aged man, only to have this disguised by an anti-aging potion to make him look like a young girl. Gamma also manages to rescue the prisoners of the gang, and he, along with Smith and Elwood, venture to the next town to find the Ring of the Dead.
Enter Stage 2, Wolfina, an 18-year old journalist who exposes the cruelty of many major criminal gangs. She is extremely attractive, with a curvy body, and a 40-inch bust. She accidentally falls on Gamma as she is trying to escape from a gang, and they meet up. Later, metal man discovers that Wolfina's brother, Emilio, who is in the hospital, has the Ring of the Dead, which is situated in the brain. The reader finds out that when one comes into contact with a Ring, it tries to kill that person to suck the life energy out of the unfortunate victim. Wolfina gets her sleeping brother out of the hospital, but is stopped by Balmunk, an extremely dangerous magician with his own circus. Now that she's alone, and Gamma can't protect him, how will she fare?
I like Wolfina very much because she's really hot. The author definitely did a great job drawing her out. The art overall was good as well. Children 12+ should read this series of manga novels.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Zombiepowder: Volume 3
Story and Art: Tite Kubo
The bloody battle continues as Wolfina tries to save her brother, Emilio, from the tricks of Balmunk the magician. Gamma gets to her just in time to save all three of them, but not must face the trickster. I was very surprised at the unsually large number of tricks Balmunk was capable of doing. Gamma eventually defeats all of the obstacles, but Balmunk escapes alive. Meanwhile, Smith and Elwood are also facing their respective enemies, henchmen of Balmunk. Smith toys with his opponent, an excellent knife thrower, and finally uses his incredible speed to cut her to sawdust. Elwood is facing a fire-breathing dude, and after getting burned several times, he burns his opponent himself, but spares him at the last minute.
Gamma manages to force Balmunk to focus his attention to him rather than Emilio, but now Wolfina must fight a giant, fat lady, who is as large as Godzilla. Who will ultimately win in this war of wills and wits?
This novel was pretty much the same as the other "Zombiepowder" novels. Good art, good story, and a lot of close-calls. I'd say that kids 12+ should read this.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Zombiepowder: Volume 4
Story and Art: Tite Kubo
The story continues with the everlasting battle between Gamma and Balmunk, Wolfina and the fat lady. Gamma seriously wounds the magician, but Balmunk manages to escape before the final blow. While he's dealing with that, Wolfina kicks the fat lady's butt, so much that she's got bruises all over her opponent's body. With the help of Gamma, Emilio is saved. Later, as everyone recovers from that night's shock, a messenger named Angells takes all of them to Gemini Labortory, where its malicious doctor, Nazna Gemini, will operate on Emilio to have his Ring of the Dead surigcally removed from his brain. To pay as a price, however, Wolfina must sacrifice her body as a guinea pig to Dr. Gemini. Will the operation be successful? And what will happen to Wolfina???
Gamma was really funny in this story, and so was Wolfina. They quarrel a lot becaue the former doesn't like the latter's cooking, among other conflicting things. Everything else was basically the same as the other "Zombiepowder" novels. Kids 12+ should read thse manga novels.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto: Volume 3
Author: Masashi Kishmimoto
The bridgeduilder, Tazuna, has finally reached his home. His grandson, Inari, however, is far from happy to see him; in fact, it looks like the young lad is eternally miserable. Kakashi orders his junior ninjas to climb trees vertically by focusing their chakra on their feet, which is also the most difficult place to foucs one's chakra. Naruto can't do it at first, but he eventually gets the hang of it. Meanwhile, Sasuke is already a master of it, and the two become sort of rivals of each other. One day, however, Zabuza returns, along with his incredibly skilled partner, Haku. They come to destroy the bridge, and Sasuke has to battle Haku, while Kakashi battles Zabuza. Will the protagonists overcome this strong of an adversity?
Naruto just went wild in this book, and Sasuke was a very calculating person. I liked the story, and the anime adaptation for it was also pretty good. Readers of 12+ should read the Naruto series.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 4
Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Naruto's fury is out of control, as the sight of his (severely) wounded comrade Sasuke released the spirit of the 9-tailed fox upon his body. Trashing Haku's mirrors to bits, Naruto is about to kill the young virtuoso, but Haku evades...to get in the way of Kakashi's death blow that was originally aimed for Zabuza. Haku immediately dies upon impact, but the latter is more fortunate, though his injuries are too many to count. Just then, Gato, the evil businessman, shows up with a huge number of street criminals. Left with no choice, the ninjas defeat all of them, and the town, plus the bridge, is ultimately saved.
As Kakashi and his team return to their native village, the youngsters meet a team from the desert. One of them, Garra, is extremely mysterious and quite frightening as well, as he has come back from all of his missions without a scratch. Team 7 is about to discover that they have to take an exam in order to become journeyman ninja, the next level of being a shinobi. How will the 3 fare in this?
I liked the ending of the battle scene in the early parts of the book, because Zabuza at least showed some kindness to his slave, Haku, for all that he has done for him. Garra is a little scary to me, but that's only because I witness his numerous killings of opponents in the later manga novels on television. I liked the art, of course, and the author did a good job of building suspense up until the end of the novel, in which he thoroughly convinces the reader to read Volume 4. Readers 12+ should read the Naruto manga novels.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 5
Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
The exams for journeyman ninja have finally commenced! The test is divided into 2 parts, and unfortunately, the first part is in a classroom setting. The 150 or so ninja that showed up to take it are given very cruel testing rules. The rules are so bent in a way that the teachers want you to cheat. The questions, in reality, are not the most pertinent, but rather the sinseis are testing who has the highest ability to decipher secrets within secrets, and whose mind is the sharpest and can hear things others cannot. After a grueling exam, Naruto and his teammates pass, but now Round 2 comes into play. The remaining contestant are lead to Training Ground #44, or the Forest of Death. Each team is handed a scroll, an Earth scroll or a Heaven scroll. The objective is to reach the tower that is situated in the center of the forest with both scrolls, which means that half of the teams will be wiped out by the time it ends. The time limit is 5 days, but if any one of your teammates dies, you are automatically disqualified. Lots of people have died in the forest, so how will Naruto and his friends fare???
This particular "Naruto" novel is better than the others. When I read the part about the junior ninjas taking the test, the rules were very cleverly thought up of. They are so ambivalent and contradictory to each other that it's almost a lose-lose situation. Readers 12+ should read these kinds of manga novels.
Stars:*****
Initials:S.Y.
Title: The Chase
Author: Clive Cussler
This is not part of a series and was written as a stand alone by Cussler. I really liked this book because it was a detective story. The main character, Isaac Bell, is a detective working on tracking down the elusive Butcher Bandit, a bank robber who murders all the witnesses. This is set back in 1906 and Bell is trying to track him and his mysterious accomplice to their hideout. This is a great book and everyone that likes Clive Cussler will love this book. Instead of in most Clive Cussler’s books where there is a flash back this has a flash forward at the beginning. I really enjoyed this story and was hanging onto the edge of my seat reading it.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Iron Man
This movie is really good. The main character is head of a weapons manufacturing company when he is kidnapped and forced to build a rocket system for terrorists to wreak havoc with. Instead he builds a suit of armor with lots of gadgets in it and breaks out of the enemy camp, goes out into the desert and is rescued. When he gets back his co associate, the won who was working with the terrorists tries to kick him out. The hero responds by building a new suit after the last was destroyed and trying to save the world after a couple incidents. It all ends with a massive battle of brains against brawn. I really enjoyed this movie which I watched at the library lock in.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Edith Hamilton mythology
Author: Edith Hamilton
This is a collection of myths about the Greek and Roman Gods with a short piece on Norse Mythology. I really liked the stories even though there weren’t any ones I hadn’t seen before. In the Mountain Brook School system you use this book a lot and refer to it on projects for anything from English to Science. The tales include the birth of the gods and stories like the Trojan War. I really enjoy this book and know everyone else will also.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: The Lake House
This is a movie about two people who live in the same house and communicate through a magic mailbox. They fall in love and decide to meet each other in the future. I thought that it was a pretty boring movie, not a lot of action, and it made me fall asleep. I don’t usually fall asleep in movies and maybe that tells something about this movie. We got it off Netflix where it has a 3.5 we gave it a one. There isn’t that much to tell that was good about it except the fact the acting was okay.
Rating: *
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone
Author: J.K. Rowling
This is the first Harry Potter where Harry learns he is a wizard and goes to Hogwarts. He has an interesting year at the end of which he is confronted with the task of stopping one of the teachers from getting their hands on a stone that makes them live forever. Harry thinks Snape is after the stone but meets an unexpected person at the end. This is a good book and I think everyone will enjoy it. The best part about this book is the fact it is part of a series.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Taggerung
Author: Brian Jacques
This is my favorite Redwall book. It starts out with a young otter being born and then kidnapped by vermin, the bad animals (rats, foxes, stoats...). The otter grows up to be a big strong otter and is called the Taggerung, the one that would lead the vermin to victory. However the otter realizes he isn't like them and runs away. This is the story of his adventures in Mossflower. I really liked this book and I know everyone else will also.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M
Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Author: J.K. Rowling
The second installment is as good as the first. Harry is in his second year at Hogwarts and people are being turned to stone. Also someone is writing mysterious messages on the walls. All this leads to the climax when Harry finds Tom Riddle’s diary and learns the Chamber of Secrets has been opened again. I really liked this and thought the Defense Against the Dark-Arts teacher made it funnier. Everyone will enjoy another action packed book about Harry Potter.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Doomwyte
Author: Brian Jacques
This is a good Redwall book about a mysterious group of birds and snakes. There is one head bird with a snake advisor. They worship their idol which had eyes made of diamonds before someone stole them. The Redwallers go on a quest to find them and use them as bargaining chips if necessary. The minions of the bird king are the Doomwytes, glowing balls that lead travelers to their death. Read how the Redwallers defend their Abbey from the beasts. This was an okay book but not the best one I have read.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Author: J.K. Rowling
Another great book, this one about Harry’s third year at Hogwarts, will be loved by everyone. The infamous prison of Azkaban has housed many criminals and none have escaped until now, Sirius Black. People have reason to believe he will go after Harry and they try to protect him. In the end their efforts fail. Everyone will like this book which is full of action and spells. I liked this book especially the end so I think everyone will enjoy it.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Mossflower
Author: Brian Jacques
This is the first Redwall book and is about when the creatures come to Mossflower and have to fight off the vermin who control the castle. This is one of the better ones with Martin the Warrior and his friends. They try to get rid of Tsarmina, the wildcat who rules the castle, and her evil minions. It all boils down to their big battle at the end and lots of trickery by the wildcat. Everyone will like this book with its dynamic characters and the action. I really liked this book.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M
Title: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Demigod files
Author: Rick Riordan
This is a short book set between the third and fourth books and it doesn’t have very many stories in it. There are three stories in it along with a couple interviews of people but I didn’t think it was very interesting. There are also drawings of the people but they are so bad that it is funny. This would be a good book if the material in it is used in the fourth book but I haven’t read it so I don’t know. It wasn’t that bad of a book though, in one story he is looking for Ares’ war chariot and another is about a bronze dragon.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers
Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
This was a good book even though I am still not sure which towers would be the two in it. This is the second book of the series and it is about the adventures of the company after they split apart. Frodo and Sam go to Mordor and everyone else fights the Orcs. I thought the writing style was confusing at first but I got used to it. This is a good book and everyone will enjoy it.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Treasure of Kahn
Author: Clive Cussler
This is a great book about Dirk Pitt’s kids going on their own adventures and they try to stop an oil tycoon from taking over China’s oil supply. They find out he is really obsessed with Genghis Khan and his palace, Xanthus. He even created his own Mongol world. As they learn more about him they find a lost treasure in his possession. This is a good book and I like though not as much as the original Dirk Pitt books. Everyone will like the suspense in this book as the Pitts unravel the clues to this conspiracy.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Inca Gold
Author: Clive Cussler
This book is about a group of Indians who paddle into an inland sea leaving all there gold in a mountain guarded by a stone monster. Dirk Pitt is in Peru when his rescue group, saving some professors stuck in a sacrificial pit, is attacked. He learns of the treasure and races against time combated by a massive smuggling empire in a race to discover the hidden gold. Everyone will like this book with its action-filled pages.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Atlantis Found
Author: Clive Cussler
This book is about the discovery of some mysterious black skulls that are so perfect that modern day scientists can't replicate the results. The skulls are found in rooms that are supposed to predict some cataclysmic event. As Dirk Pitt becomes entangled in this mystery he finds another group that has known about the skull's secret message and is trying to use it to take over the world. Can Dirk Pitt save the day, of course he can. I really enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to everyone.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: The Hobbit
Author: J. R. R. Tolkein
This is the first book in the series and I really liked it. This book is about Frodo starting off and his journey until he runs away from the company to go on his quest with only Sam. I love this series and thought it was a good start to it. You learn about Frodo starting on the adventure and the people he meets.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Star Wars: Episode One: The Phantom Menace
This is the start to the star wars movies even though it is the fourth movie they made. As they escort Queen Amidala from Naboo, her home planet that is under attack, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn are forced down on Tatooine. There they have found a new Jedi on more powerful than master Yoda. After returning to Coruscant Anakin’s Jedi life begins but he is suddenly caught up in the war over Naboo and a strange new Sith lord. This is a really good movie and everyone will love it.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Star Wars: Episode Two: Attack of the Clones
This is the second movie in the Star Wars saga about Anakin as a now older Jedi Apprentice. He must choose whether he wants to go by the Jedi code or to go with his heart. As the Clone Wars begin Yoda has to fight Count Dooku to stop him from escaping to aid the Sith. I really liked this movie and think everyone else will also.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: The Outlaw Josey Wales
This is a good movie about an outlaw named Josey Wales who is an Ex-Confederate soldier hunted by the US army. He tries to leave his warring ways by joining an old settler and falling in love with her daughter. In the end he has to fight when his old enemy comes hunting him down. This was a good movie but I thought it was really old fashioned. Everyone should watch this movie though if they like old westerns.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Prey
Author: Michael Crichton
This is a good book but not for those "A couple French fries short of a Happy Meal"(quote from the book). The book is really complicated and involves computer codes and nano technology. Jack, a laid off computer programmer, is the main character and his wife is working on a top secret nanotechnology project. She starts to get really weird and Jack decides to check out why when he is hired as a consultant for the project. He soon learns Ricky, the project manager is hiding things from him. They investigate why a swarm of nanoparticles has developed and is now killing everything around the project base. All is not what it seems in this really fast paced novel by Crichton. I really liked this book.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Saving Sarah Cain
This is a very weird movie about a newspaper syndicist who is having trouble thinking of stuff to write. Her sister dies and because she is the last remaining relative she has to adopt them or have them sent away. She decided to take them except there is only one problem, they are Amish. Sarah is thinking of marrying when in come five Amish kids to shake up her life. She decides to write about them in her article but keep their identities anonymous. The press soon finds out where they are and she is forced to tell them she has been writing about them and they get mad and go back home. From there she tries to rebuild her life but in the end she needs them. This is a good story but a little slow.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Miss Marple: They do it with mirrors
This is a old fashioned detective movie where an old lady, miss Marple, solves all the mysteries. In this story a man is found shot and the suspected killer is a mentally ill Mr. Edgar Lawson. The story unravels in a youth correctional facility where the man Edgar was supposedly trying to kill is the principal. The police try to pin the crime on Edgar but miss Marple isn't so sure. This is an okay movie but it is really slow at parts.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M
Title: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Last Olympian
Author: Rick Riordan
This is a good book even though it didn't incorporate the Demigod Files into it. Percy has to save Olympus from the approaching army of monsters. He also gets told the prophecy and has to fulfill it. I liked this book and know everyone else will also.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Walle
I thought this was a really good movie even though my dad didn't like it because no one talked the entire time except to say wwwaaaaallllllleeeeeeeeeeee or eeeeeeeeevaaaaaa. Those are the only words the robots say in the entire movie but the characters act really funny and and the plot is good. I enjoyed the characters most of all, the captain who overcomes his weight problem, Walle surrounded by all these new things, and Eve learning there is more to life than being a robot. I liked this movie and know everyone else will also.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: bedtime stories
This was a good movie even though it wasn't what I had thought the movie would be like. I had thought from the commercials that he went into his stories but instead his stories came to him. I thought it could have been a little bit more kid friendly b/c it had things like sir butt-kiss which I didn't like. This was a good movie overall where the main character tells stories to his niece and nephew and they become real. Everyone will like this movie and I know I did.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope
This was the first star wars movie made but the fourth in the series. Luke Skywalker learns he is a Jedi and goes with Ben Kenobi to save the galaxy and destroy the Death Star. Along the way he meets Princess Leia, a captive leader of the Rebellion. He also meets Han Solo and Chewbacca, the owners of the Millennium Falcon, and the key to destroying the Death Star. This is a good movie and everyone will like it, we have the entire collection.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Star Wars Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back
In this movie, the second star wars made but the fifth in the series, Luke Skywalker fights at Hoth to defend the Rebel fleet under attack from the Imperial forces. Then he goes to train with Yoda in the Dagobah swamps where he lives. He is called away though when his friends are trapped in Cloud City by the evil Darth Vader. Find out how it happens in this great movie by George Lucas. I really enjoyed it and have the entire collection.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Star Wars Episode 6: The Return of the Jedi
This is a great movie produced by George Lucas and everyone will enjoy it. Even though it is episode 6 it is the third movie in the series to come out. Luke and Leia go to free Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt who has him frozen in carbonite. After rescuing him they go to the forests of Endor to shut down the shield for the Death Star. In the final battle to destroy the Empire who will win, the evil forces of the Sith or Luke who is still trying to bring his father to the light. I enjoyed this movie even though the graphics were bad and I know everyone else will also.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Evelyn
This is an Irish movie about a man, Desmond Doyle, who has his kids taken away when his wife leaves. He goes all through different courts trying to get them back. In the end he even brings it to the supreme court in hopes of getting his children back and the press acts like he is a hero. This is a true story and many families were reunited after the case. This story was very legalish which made it kind of boring but it was okay. My dad didn't fall asleep which is a suprise.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe
This is the first movie in the chronicles of Narnia even though it is the second one in the series. Peter, Lucy, Susan, Edmund discover a secret passageway into the magical land of Narnia, in a wardrobe where they are staying. Then they fight the White Witch who wants to take over all of Narnia. Things aren't going so well when one of their own turns to the dark side. With a little magical help the tides change in the end. This was a good movie and it was kind of true to the book, more than most movies are.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe
Author: C. S. Lewis
This is the second book in the chronicles of Narnia even though it is the first one written. Peter, Lucy, Susan, Edmund discover a magical portal to Narnia, in a wardrobe. They then are engaged in fighting the White Witch who wants to take over all of Narnia until one of their own turns to the dark side. This was a good book and there isn't much bad to say about it.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Marley and Me
This was not a PG movie but even if it was family friendly I wouldn't have liked. This movie is about a couple and their dog, Marley. As they juggle kids, work, and the dog problems arise. There are some funny parts but it wasn't worth the watch. All in all this is just another dumb dog movie.
Rating: **
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Faith Rewarded
This is the DVD version of the historic win by the Red Sox in 2004. Featuring the complete World Series on tape with NESN commentaries this is the way to watch the best team in baseball. Prepare to "Reverse the Curse" with the redsox as they take down the Cardinals in the World Series Championship. This is a video 86 years in the making.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Hot Rocks 1964-1971[Disc 1]
Artist: Rolling Stones
Featuring songs like "Get Off of My Cloud" and "Under My Thumb" it is a no-brainer everyone likes this album. My favorite song on here is "Get Off of My Cloud" but the others are really good as well. Anyone that loves the Stones will enjoys this album, and I know for sure I did.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Simarillion
Author: J. R. R. Tolkein
This was a really long book and it went sort of slow. I liked some of the stories but others were the exact copies of stories from other book Tolkein wrote. I liked reading it but I wouldn't want to read it again. Anyone that read Lord of the Rings or plans to should read it though to learn what happens before the Rings.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Eye of the Tiger
Artist: Survivor
This is a one-hit-wonder and the only good song is Eye of the Tiger. I have this song on my iPod but I listened to the complete disc on a record player. Eye of the Tiger is also the theme song for Rocky 3. I liked this song but the rest of the album wasn't as good.
Rating: ***
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Author: J. K. Rowling
This is the last Harry Potter book and I thought it was really good. Harry must find the rest of the Horcruxes and also find three new items, the hallows. These are three items some brothers got from Death and they are a wand stronger than all others, a stone that could raise the dead, and a cloak of absolute invisibility. Everyone will like the exciting end to this story.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Street Survivors
Artist: Lynrd Skynrd
This was a pretty good album though not the best. The best song was Sweet Home Alabama followed by I Never Dreamed. If you like Lynrd Skynrd this is a good album to have and even if you don't you will like it. I listenedto the record of it which is its original format.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Fahrenheit 451
Author: Ray Bradbury
This is possibly the most evil book I have ever read. The main character is a fireman, he burns books not puts out fires, when he starts reading books and saving some of them. Well his fire chief doesn't like this and it is illegal to have books so he has to hide them but is found out. This book was terrible with things like people burning each other and the fireman's wife running over cats and dogs to relax. I really disliked this book I had to read for 7th grade adv. English.
Rating: *
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Lord of the flies
Author: William Golding
This was another one of those sadistic twisted books where the people go crazy and kill each other. This bunch of kids get stuck on an island and try and establish dominance and chaos ensues. I had to read this for 9th grade adv. English and I am sure there is a deeper meaning but I thought this was another horrible book.
Rating: *
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Millions
This was a British movie about two kids who find a bag full of millions of Pounds just days before the conversion to Euros. It follows their stories as they try and spend all the money before it isn’t worth anything. One kid wants to give it to the poor while the other wants to spend it all. I enjoyed this movie even though there was one inappropriate part. Everyone will enjoy this movie.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Beverly Hills Chihuahua
This was a funny movie about a Chihuahua who gets stuck in Mexico and her fight for survival. She comes from a really pampered lifestyle and when she is dumped on the streets of Mexico she has to rely on the help of a German shepherd to get back. The ending is really cheesy though.
Rating:*****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: the Stranger tr. by Matthew Ward
Author: Albert Dumas
This book reminded me a lot of the Pearl because it was so short and it left you feeling you were missing something. It had a really abrupt ending and you don't know what happened to the guy afterwards. The main character, referred to as I, is living his life but not really doing much else. He ends up killing a man and being caught. The story takes a while to get to the point and then ends abruptly, the only good topic in it was the finality of the judicial machine and whether that was good or not. I didn't really like this book.
Rating: **
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: The Pearl
Author: John Steinbeck
This was a really short book but it had a lot of material. The main character is a pearl diver who finds a massive pearl and when he goes to sell it the buyers won't give him a fair price and misery follows his every move. His house is burned and he is chased from town by people after the Pearl. I didn't really like this book because it was so violent but I had to read it for adv. English. People who appreciate books with deeper meanings might like this book but I didn't.
Rating: **
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Author: Dan Brown
This was a good book but the secret documents the Priory of Sion were protecting were kind of weird. I liked the National Treasure sort of quest to find the answers. When the head members of a secret society are murdered Robert Langdon and the daughter of one of the members have to solve the clues that are left behind they travel all over Paris while being hunted by the police and a crazy cult. I liked this books action but not the idea it portrayed.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo
Author: Obert Skye
This is a book about a kid who as a miserable life until he learns that he has to save Foo, this magical dream world. He goes on a quest with Clover, a little magical animal, Winter, a girl with the ability to freeze things, and Geth, the rightful ruler of Foo who got turned into a toothpick. They have to save the world from an evil dream guy so on and so on. I liked this book, it probably wasn’t the best but it was okay. The guy came to our school in 5th grade or so. Everyone will like the first book in this series and the rest also.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: The Thief Lord
Author: Cornelia Funke
This is a good book set in Venice which is about two brothers who run away from their aunt and fall in with a bunch of street kids. They are provided for by the Thief Lord, a boy with a dark secret. When the brothers are tracked down by a detective they take on a special job and are dragged into the mysterious past of Venice. I liked this book and this author has a lot of books that are good but this one stands out.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Twilight Zone Radio Dramas: Lateness of the Hour
Don't ask me why they named it this but the story is about a girl in an all to perfect world. Her dad has created a perfect house and tries to keep her in but she doesn't want to stay. This was a fun story to try and guess what would happen next. It wasn't the most exciting story but it was good. We got it from the livrary and listened to it on the way back from the beach.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Twilight Zone radio drama: The Jungle
This was a creepy story especially since you couldn't see what was happening. The main charachter, Robert, is an engineer working on a complex in East Africa when the witch doctor curses him and then he enters the Twilight Zone. He is back in New York but he and his wife start going crazy. Everyone who likes the Twilight Zone will like this.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Tatooine ghost
Author: Troy Denning
This was an interesting story about a secret code of the Republic being hidden in a painting. Thinking it would be easy to buy when it goes on auction Han and Leia Solo go to buy it, only one catch being the Empire is there also. Things escalate as the painting is stolen and everyone flies all over Tatooine to recover it. I liked this book and know everyone else will like it also.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Betrayal
Author: Aaron Alston
I thought this movie was like Swiss Cheese, so many important details are missing. The Correllians wage war on the new GA (Galactic Army) and now everyone has to pick sides. Han Solo and Leia try to stop the war along with Luke and the Jedi. The most obvious hole in the story was there was a spy and in the end you never find out who it is. Some people may like this book but I didn't.
Rating: *
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: The Last Juror
Author: John Grisham
I thought at first this was going to be a really boring book but it turned out to be a good one. The main character, Willey, owns the local newspaper when a big murder takes place and sleepy little Clanton is roused into a state of excitement. The story is about all the adventures of the newspaper and its owner. This is a good book and everyone will enjoy it.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Transformers Revenge of the Fallen
This was an okay movie, I haven't seen the first one yet but I think I will watch it after this. The main character finds a shard of some transformer cube that starts bringing robots to life. When he starts seeing symbols a transformer decodes them and tells them they have to find a key to a device that will destroy the planet. I liked this movie even though it was a little too violent.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: And Then There Were None or Ten Little Indians
Author: Agatha Christie
This was a good book about ten people who get invited to an island and then are murdered one by one. At first they think it is another person who is killing them but they search the island and then realize the murderer is one of them. Everyone will enjoy this mystery by one of the best authors in the business.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Inkheart
Author: Cornelia Funke
Have you ever dreamed that what you read would come alive. In this book it does happen and it isn't so great when you are stuck in a book that doesn't have a happy ending. In Inkheart the main character goes into a book with no happy ending to find her mother. I liked this book especially the end. Anyone who likes a good fantasy book will like this book.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Dragon Rider
Author: Cornelia Funke
This is a book about a dragon, Firedrake, a boy, Ben, a talking cat thing called Sorrel. Together they have to find a safe place for the dragons to hide. Dragons have been trying to avoid humans and find a place to live and now Ben must find a place for them to live forever. Also a hidden enemy arises who hunts dragons that must be stopped. I liked this book that I got from a program at the library and still have. Everyone will enjoy this book.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: People of Sparks
Author: Jeanne DuPrau
I read this book because the City of Ember was so good but I didn't like it as much. The people of Ember, the underground city, come into the world and meet the people of Sparks. They don't get along well and now it is up to Doon and Lina to help everyone cooperate. I didn't like this book as much as the City of Ember.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: the City of Ember
Author:Jeanne DuPrau
This is a book about an underground city named Ember. The builders of it decided to leave a message in a box to tell everyone to come back into the real world, well they accidentaly don't get the message and the whole city is starting to run out of supplies and it is up to Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow to save it and lead them into the real world. I read this book for English in 6th grade and many other times. Everyone will enjoy this riveting series.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: the Floating Island
Author: Elizabeth Haydon
This book is about a kid from a long line of famous ship builders who decides he doesn't want to build ships but to sail them. When he is chosen to do the Inspection of the ship, where he sails the ship and sees if it works, he realizes his dreams may come true. I liked this book, I got it from one of the Teen programs and still have it. Everyone will enjoy this narrative of Ven's journies.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Little Pilgrim's Progress
Author: Helen L. Taylor
This is a book about a little boy named Pilgrim who decides he wants to go to Heaven and goes on this long journey to get there. It is a journey that represents our difficulties except his are tangible. Everyone in the story is named after what their like ex. Hypocrite is a Hypocrite and Prophet is a Prophet. I liked this book and I read it at camp once. Everyone will enjoy Pilgrim's struggles to get to heaven and see his mom.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: War of the Worlds
Author: H. G. Wells
This is one of those creepy books about aliens coming to Earth and killing everyone. A cylinder containing aliens comes from Mars with the intent of destroying everyone and everything. The Aliens use heat rays and black poison smoke to kill people and if they are still alive they suck their blood. I thought this book was a little gory but it wasn't as bad as today's stuff. I thought it also had a pretty bad ending but I guess there was no other way the humans would win. Everyone should read this classic story by a famous author. Prepare for the war of the worlds.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Lady Friday
Author: Garth Nix
This is the fifth book in the Keys to the Kingdom where Arthur has to find the fifth key before the piper and Saturday. He touches this transfer plate and is sent to the Scriptorioum where the Key is supposed to be and instantly is caught up in a battle. Things just get more confusing from there. I thought this book was really confusing and just not as good as the others.
Rating: ***
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Sir Thursday
Author: Garth Nix
This is my favorite Keys to the Kingdom book yet. Arthur wants to go home but can't because a Nithling, a creature made from Nothing, is in the world acting like him. Minutes later he is drafted into the army of the kingdom and has to stop Nithlings from taking over. I liked this book because it had a lot of strategy in it. Everyone will enjoy this series.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Grim Tuesday
Author: Garth Nix
The Will from the first book calls Arthur to tell him that Tuesday has taken control of Monday's house and now Arthur must stop him. He goes to the Far Reaches where he is mistaken for a slave working in the mines and taken into the mines. He finds some friends and then they break into Tuesday's house to save the Will and Key. I liked this book but it wasn't the best in the series.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Mister Monday
Author: Garth Nix
This is the first book in the Keys to the Kingdom series and it is really good. Arthur starts seeing things around his town. When he finds one of the two keys that controll Monday. The story progresses as various people working for Monday try and take the key and then Arthur goes off to get the other key from Monday. I liked this story and the rest of the series is good also.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Drowned Wednesday
Author: Garth Nix
This is the third book where Arthur finds himself taken into the Border Sea by a ship. He has to recover the part of the will and then the key also. He meets Drowned Wednesday who is a levithian meaning she eats humongous amounts of food because the other days cursed her when she didn't want to be bad. This is a good book and everyone will enjoy it.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: the Silver Spoon
Author: Edwin Gilbert
This was one of the most disappointing books I have ever read, you expected good things to happen but they never did. Grace Anders, a reporter for a magazine comes to document the life of the Gowdens of Glenway. As she learns more about them she finds lots of dark secrets that lurk just below the surface. This book had a really disappointing ending but the plot was pretty good. Everyone should read this but don't get your hopes up that everything will go well.
Rating: **
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: One is One
Author: Barbara Leonie Pickard
This is a story about a little quiet boy who wants to be a knight but isn't really cut out for it. When his father thinks there is no hope for him he sends him to a monastery to live out his life as a monk. The boy, Stephen, absolutely hates it and he runs away. Luckily he finds a wise knight and becomes a squire and later on a knight. He looks back thinking about how far he has come and the courage he has gained. The rest of the story is his finding a squire and the problems that arise. I liked this book and I thought it showed how you needed to have courage to do what you dream of. Everyone will enjoy this story just like I did.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Dragonquest
Author: Donita K. Paul
This is the second book in a series about a dragonkeeper who must save the dragons from an evil warlock trying to take over the world. She becomes a wizards apprentice but is mentored by another older boy she finds annoying. The story is about her quest to free the dragons from the warlocks control. I thought this was an okay book, it didn't have that much going on and all the characters were really weird. I got it from one of the Teen programs so I still have it but it isn't one of my favorite books.
Rating: ***
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: the man who knew too little
This is one of the funniest movies I have seen lately and everyone will enjoy it. Wallace Ritchie, a video store clerk, goes to London to celebrate his birthday and his brother who has an important business meeting sends him to an audience participation theatre where he accidentally gets caught up in a KGB plot. I really liked this movie because of all the mistakes that Ritchie makes which confuse his enemies. Everyone will enjoy this mostly family friendly movie.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Harry Potter and the Halfblood-prince
I liked this movie a lot and thought that Ron did the best acting job of all. He looked really convincing when he took the love potion. This was the sixth year at Hogwarts and the last for Harry. This is when he learns about the Horcruxes and Slughorn is potions master. I really liked this movie and think everyone else will also.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Shatterpoint
Author: Matthew Stover
This was an okay book but it dragged on forever. Mace Windu goes to his home planet, Haruun Kal, to find out what has happened to one of his students who has disappeared into the jungle. He finds out that the jungle is more sinister than he had thought. I thought the author emphasized on the jungle a little too much because he said the same thing over and over again. I also thought some of Mace Windu's stunts were a little ridiculous. Overall this was a good book but it needed to be a little shorter.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Holes
Author: Louis Sachar
This is the story of a boy, falsely accused of a crime, who is given a choice between prison or a camp. He chooses the camp where he is then forced to dig holes each day. He finds out one day what they are really looking for when they dig and the story progresses from there. I liked this book and thought it had a good plot. Everyone will enjoy this story about a kid stuck in the desert who is there soley to dig holes.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: A giant step for Mankind
Author: Woody Allen
I thought this was a very weird book. It starts out with a guy choking in a restaurant and somebody saves him with the Heimlich maneuver. Then the guy sitting with him goes on about finding a diary of one of three scientists who were working on a cure for choking. It tells about their account of the research and they had really stupid ideas. It had one of those crummy endings that didn't relate to the story at all. I didn't like this book because there was no point to it at all. It was just a weird made up story about three crazy scientists. The only good thing was it was funny at parts.
Rating: **
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: The oracles of Delphi Keep
Author: Victoria Laurie
This was an interesting book about a young boy and girl who find a secret cavern in the cliffs of Dover where they live that has ancient Greek writing all over it. When they find a mysterious silver box with a prophecy from hundreds of years ago their lives are changed forever. I liked this book, which I got from the library, and apparently it is the first in a series so I will be sure to read the rest of the series as soon as it comes out. My favorite part of this book was you could really feel the suspense as they were about to do something like walk into a secret tunnel. Everyone will enjoy this book.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: the Fellowship of the ring
Author: J. R. R. Tolkein
This is the first book in the lord of the rings trilogy and it is an awesome start to one of the best trilogies ever. In the beginning Bilbo Baginns is having his 111 birthday party and he suddenly disappears at the end. Gandalf, a wizard of incredible power, finds him at his house and discovers that he has the Ring, a powerful magic ring made by the Dark Lord Sauron. Gandalf makes him give the ring to his adopted son Frodo who has to embark on a difficult quest to save middle earth. This book details the first part of his journey from the Shire to the breaking of the Company, the group he travels with. I really liked this book and think everyone should experience Tolkein's masterful writing.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: A Wrinkle in Time
Author: Madeleine L'Engle
This was a really good book about Meg Murry and her brother Charles who wake up in the middle of the night to find a stranger at their door. The stranger proceeds to tell them about tesseracts or wrinkles in time. Then they are launched into a quest to rescue there long lost father from the depths of space. I liked this book and know everyone else will also. It is a little bit more scientific than most books but I liked it all the same.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: A Wind in the Door
Author: Madeleine L'Engle
This is a book by the author of a Wrinkle in time. It may not have been as good as its famous predecessor but it was a good read. It starts out with a little boy named Charles who is getting bullied in school and his sister goes to the principal to get help for him. When she arrives home she is informed by her brother that there are "dragons" in the backyard. Then she and two companions are taken into space by the two beings who are quite different from dragons, very much stranger in fact. This book had a little bit loser of a plot and wasn't as straightforward as a Wrinkle in Time. I liked it but thought it could have been a little bit more interesting.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: City of the Beasts tr by Margaret Sayers Peden
Author: Isabel Allende
This is a good book about a boy named Alexander Cold who goes on a trip to the Amazon to find a giant beast named well the Beast. He goes with his grandmother and an international geographic expedition and they discover there's more to the jungle than just trees and plants. I liked this book and I didn't notice until later the book was originally written in Spanish. The book is really interesting and it keeps you waiting for the next surprise. Everyone will enjoy this book.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
Author: Mildred D. Taylor
This was an okay book about a black girl in the rural south. The story is about her life and that of her community under the oppression of the whites. I thought this book was a good portrayal of what life must have been like back then and it did a good job of showing Cassie Logan's, the girl, feelings as they struggle to survive. This was required reading when I was in 6th grade and everyone read it.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Nothing but the truth
Author: Avi
This is a good book about a boy, Phillip, who gets in trouble for singing along with the national anthem. When he is sent to the principal by his teacher for what he calls being patriotic or was he just being a nuisance. This disturbance changes everything at his school and causes problems even Phillip is affected by. I thought this was a pretty good book and it was interesting how the problem escalated to all over the community and beyond. I think practically that wouldn't happen but it is a good story.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Andromeda strain
Author: Michael Crichton
This is a really interesting book about a team of specialists called in to stop a virus from outer space. A whole town was wiped out by the virus and it is up to them to save the world from the virus. I liked this book and like all of Crichton’s books it is an excellent story. Everyone should read this book.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Cirque de freak: the vampire's assistant
Author: Darren Shan
This is a book about the adventures of Darren Shan, a half-blood vampire and his adventures with his mentor a full vampire. They travel around looking for somewhere safe to stay and they find the circus of freaks. This book is about their adventures there. This is part of a series, but from what I have heard from other people I can guess it is a little too crazy for me. I liked this book but I don't think it was incredibly good or engaging. This is just a so-so book in my opinion.
Rating: ***
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Star Trek: The Captain’s daughter
Author: Peter David
This is a good book about a landing party from the Enterprise on a planet where things go suddenly wrong. One of the crewmembers suddenly turns savage and the commanding officer is forced to kill her before she kills them. He notifies her father that she was killed and her father Captain Sulu comes to investigate. He goes to the desert planet and is suddenly caught up in a race to find what happened to his daughter. I really liked this story and it had a little part that was like "the man who knew too little" because he thought it was a game. I liked this book and I think everyone else will enjoy it even thought it may be a little too sci-fi-ish for some peoples taste.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: So you want to be a wizard
Author: Diane Duane
This is a good story about a boy and a girl who find a book called "so you want to be a wizard". Then they are taken on an adventure to learn about their powers. They have too fight against another alternate dark world and its creatures. I thought this was an okay book but it wasn't that interesting. It had a good plot but it wasn't a good story. This is not a book I would recommend to anyone because it wasn't really exciting.
Rating: **
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Kalahari typing school for men
Author: Alexander Mcall Smith
This is a good book about a detective agency and the adventures of the owner Mma Raotswe. I liked this book but I was surprised when I read it and it wasn't a detective mystery but a novel about a detective agency. I liked how the book was sort of old school and like Miss Marple. It was about two ladies but I still liked it. Everyone will enjoy this classic story about a down to earth detective agency.
Rating: *****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Con Air
This was a good movie about an ex-ranger who is on a plane full of convicts when they take over the plane. The convicts are trying to get out of the united states and the police are chasing them everywhere. The main character has been pardoned and wants to go home but the convicts take over the plane he is on and he won't leave his friend. I liked this movie especially the bunny rabbit. One part I didn't like was this creepy guy who just sort of talked about how everyone is crazy.
Rating: ****
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Malice Domestic book 5
Author: Phyllis A. Whitney
This is an anthology of mystery stories but I didn't think they were that good. Some of the stories were good but overall the stories were pretty boring and pointless. Also they weren't very long and so the plot didn't develop much. Some people will like this book but I didn't really because the stories weren't that great. I don't think I would recommend this book to anyone.
Rating: *
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Title: Journey to the center of the earth
This was a really unrealistic movie about Trevor, Shaun, and Hannah, three people trapped in a cave and they go through a series of tunnels to find the center of the Earth. This was a movie I don't think I would choose to see again but if it was on I would watch it. The main thing was the computer generated scenery. I thought that it was annoying that they wouldn't use real places.
Rating: **
Posted by Jeremiah M.
Selkie Girl
By Laurie Brooks
Theme- this story shows that you don’t have to fit in on earth to belong in your heart.
Characters
Elin Jean- the main character of the story, she is half Selkie and half human.
Elin’s fither- a very proud, pompous, and stubborn man.
Elin’s mither- a beautiful woman who is a Selkie.
Tam McCauldron- a gypsy traveler who made fun of Elin but secretly liked her.
Arnfin- a Selkie who protects Elin while she is under the sea.
Arl Teller- the head Selkie who told stories to the other Selkies to help to solve their problems.
Red and Black- two of Elin’s aunts who were the sisters of Elin’s mither who helped to guide her when she was under the sea.
Elin’s grandpa- a very stubborn man who loves Elin.
Setting- this story mostly took place on an island and in the ocean around it.
Plot- Elin Jean was a girl who was half Selkie and half human, but she didn’t know it. Her parents had held this secret away from her for all of her life. Elin was made fun of whenever she went out the door because of the webs in between her fingers. But one day Tam talked to her and she talked back, and he began to like Elin, despite her webs. That night after Elin had a dream, the Selkies in the sea were calling to her from the sea to find something, her mother’s Selkie skins that her father had stole from her mother on the Midsummer’s eve when all of the Selkies come on the beach to shed their skins and dance before returning to the ocean. Elin ended up giving her mother’s skins back to her and before her mother left she gave Elin the power to breath underwater and to be a Selkie. After being under the sea for one year with the other Selkies, she returned to land as a Selkie and found Tam. Together they stopped the killing of the Selkies, and on Midsummer’s Eve, Elin found out that her mother was the Arl Teller and that she was destined to be the next Arl Teller if she chose to. Elin has to make a decision between the land with Tam or the sea with the Selkies.
Jerry's Ghosts
by Sarah Sargent
a boy named Jerry moves to a new to a new town.So far he hates it and thinks that it is small.But day while walking past the museum, Jerry attempts to befriend a girl and her little brother. But instead the girl yells at him and magically walks through the wall of the museum. When Jerry's class visits the museum, Jerry discovers that the girl and her little brother are ghosts. After revisiting the museum after reading a note that told him to come to the museum, Jerry befriends the two ghosts. During this time Jerry finds out that the two ghosts(Edward and Mattie)have an insane uncle who has replaced Edward and Mattie's lives with electricity from one of his experiments. Jerry and his friends defeat their uncle. Just as Jerry was really starting to like them.Edward and Mattie reunited with their parents in heaven, and leave Jerry with nothing but a message behind.
Book: Naruto:Volume 6
Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
So far, Naruto and his team have suffered no injuries. Some of the other teams, however, are not as fortunate as they are. The ninjas who watch over this part of the exam discover something very shocking: they find a dead team whose faces have been wiped clean, as if their nose, eyes, and mouth were never there. Anko, the leader, suspects that some evildoers may have been imposters and secretly gotten into the forest of death. She goes to look or a mysterious person named Orochimaru, who is known to have caused destruction in the past. She finds him, but is seriously wounded in the process, and thus, has no capability to capture him. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, meanwhile, find a vicious team from the Village of Hidden Sound, who are out to kill Sasuke for some unknown purpose. Rock Lee comes to help them, but is knocked down, and Naruto also fainted. Left with no one but herself, Sakura must defend her teammates. Will she survive this orderal, or will Naruto never become Hokage of his village?
The battle between Naruto & Co. and the Sound ninjas was very intense. There seemed to be no odds that Sasuke and his entire team would be slaughtered, but the author did a clever job of giving hope to a hopeless situation. The art was fine, but the story was definitely very well thought of. Readers 12+ should read this book.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 7
Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
With the assistance of another team, Naruto and his friends are given a little more time for them to battle the Sound ninjas. Suddenly, Sasuke wakes up, and a powerful, dark charka comes into being with it. It seems that while Lord Orochimaru defeated Sasuke, he licked the junior ninja on the neck to infuse him with the dark powers that will eventually make him become a dead person. However, for right now, Sasuke uses this terrifyingly new power to blast the Sound ninjas into bits, so much that they give up their Heaven scroll and retreat. Now that the major skirmish is over, though, the ninjas are severely wounded, and it takes them a few days to recover. Another ninja named Kabuto helps them make it to the tower that is situated in the center of the forest of death. Though they do not see it, Kabuto and his team are actually also working for Lord Orochimaru, who is planning something very sinister for Sasuke…can the young lad survive his dark but awesome powers???
This book wasn’t as exciting as the other novels that preceded it, but at least it made the forest of death ordeal finished. There was nothing really special about it, so I really can’t say anything that really stood out for me. Readers 12+ should read this book.
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Book:Naruto:Volume 10
Story and Art:Masashi Kishimoto
The third part of the exams have started, and are almost ending: ninjas fight each other, with the victor coming out to advance to the final part. This story mainly focuses on Rock Lee and Gaara, the mysterious ninja who has incredible yet little-known powers that manipulate sand very well. Lee gives it all he has, showing unbelievable speed, and even comes to the point of injuring Gaara (nobody’s ever done that before), but it too weakened to defeat his anathema. He opens the 8 gates inside his body, which are points that limit a person’s charka from overflowing. With all of those open, he is as powerful as a hokage, but still fails to succeed in beating Gaara. Lee’s mentor, Might Guy, steps in the way just in time so that Gaara can’t kill him, but Rock is so severely injured that the doctors say he can’t ever beomce a ninja. The show must go on, however! The remaining ninjas find out that their final part of the exam is a month away, and it is a tournament. You don’t have to be the winner to become a journeyman ninja, but still, you and opponent will try everything to get to know your fighting style more. Sasuke faces Gaara, and Naruto faces this blind kid…The latter gets a mentor, and so does the former. Will they ultimately prevail in this duel of wits???
Readers 12+ should read this book.
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 11
Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Though Naruto’s tutor is knocked out, the sage who made him unconscious in the first place replaces him as his tutor. They still work on Naruto’s ability to walk on water, but the sage wishes to tap into the hidden charka of the 9-tailed demon fox that is sealed inside of the boy’s body. After several attempts to make him reveal that power, the sage is left with no choice but to push Naruto form a cliff. Desperate, the lad finally summons the charka of the demon and safely lands. At the same time, the 3rd Hokage fears that Orichimaru has already gained total control over Sasuke. Kakashi tells him not to worry, but he is apprehensive nevertheless. The truth about Gaara is also revealed in another scene: Gaara was trying to kill Rock Lee in the hospital, and spills out the beans about his past to Naruto and another guy. Might Guy, Lee’s master, is there to stop it all, but now Nartuo is feeling worried.
The day finally comes when the final exam commences. All of the contestants are there except for Sasuke. Even Lord Kazakage, the village leader of the Village of the Hidden Sand, has appeared, among several elite ninjas. First up: Naruto vs. Neji!!
Readers 12+ should read this book. There really wasn’t any high type of action in this novel, but I found that Gaara’s past was pretty interesting to acquire. Other than that, there’s nothing very special or unique about this book.
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 12
Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Naruto is about to face Neji, who comes from the legendary Hyuga clan. They battle very intensively for some time, but then Naruto runs out of charka. Neji then explains to Naruto about how everyone’s destiny is sealed at their births, but Naruto proves this wrong. He summons the charka of the 9-tailed demon fox, and beats the stuffing out of his opponent. Later, Neji’s uncle comes into his hospital room to tell him about how Neji’s fathers really died. All this time, Neji thought that his father sacrificed himself so that his uncle might live..but his father actually did it voluntarily! Sasuke doesn’t show up for his match, but the time is extended because almost all of the shinobi leaders and lords came here to see Sasuke fight Gaara. Will they show up in time???
I really liked Naruto’s determination in this book. He showed a lot of courage by not listening to his opponent’s words, but really believed in himself, which, as the proctor muttered to himself, can change one’s destiny. I like reading about that kind of inspirational scenes, so this book was one of the better ones. Readers 12+ should read this book.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y
Book: Naruto:Volume 13
Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Finally, the time has come! Gaara is more than ready to challenge and kill Sasuke, yet the Uchiha heir hasn’t even arrive yet. At the last moment, though, Sasuke, along with Kakashi, swirls from a cyclone and emerges into the arena. The two junior ninja fight to the death, each using his chakra to the maximum limit. It seems that Sasuke has the upper hand at the present moment, but at the last jiffy, “Operation Destroy Konoha” commences. Lord Kazekage kidnaps Lord Hokage and creates an impenetrable web of barriers. He puts the knife to the Lord’s throat, but Hokage escapes from his anathema’s grasp just in time. Other minions of Orochimaru, who was disguised as Lord Kazakage, instantly appear and raze the village. The tournament is immediately cancelled, and all Shinobi are called into battle. Sasuke chases after Gaara, and Naruto chases after Sasuke. Who will win in this decisive mini-war? Will Orochimaru finally triumph over his former mentor, the Third Hokage?
The surprise invasion by Orochimaru and his fighters really shocked me quite a bit. I find it this unlikely that the Sound ninja love to cheat this unfairly this much. It seems like they have courage at all, but rather, only bravado. Sure, their plan works, but what are their values in life? Do they have the right moralities, or do they live by killing other compatriots? I think that this battle may reflect the inhumanity of man to another man. Just another thought, that’s all. It may be a rather pertinent connection later in my life…
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 16
Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
The invasion of Lord Orochimaru has finally ceased.. . . but not without heavy losses on both sides. The Third Hokage is murdered by his former pupil, but before he traveled to the afterlife, he placed a curse on Orochimaru’s arms that disable his using of jutsu. This was to protect others from his dark powers. The ninjas, including Naruto, pay tribute to their fallen village leader. Before that, however, it should be noted that Naruto finally defeated Gaara in the ultimate demonic war. Gaara, it seems, finally realized the importance of caring about other people, and finds his life philosophy palpably at fault.
2 ninjas from the so-called Akatskui organization arrive in the village to seek out Naruto. In reality, they have no need of the boy, but rather what’s inside him: the 9-tailed demon fox. The sage takes the lad under his arms, and they go to another village. The 2 ninjas are Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, both level-S criminals. Itachi is Sasuke’s older brother, and the younger’s mission in life is to kill his older bro, who slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan.
Even though Naruto, along with his mentor, escape to another village, Itachi finds him. What will happen to him???
I appreciated the part that Gaara finally understood the pertinence of being kind and caring to others, and that killing for the heck of it is very wrong. When I finished reading this novel, I was really worried about Naruto’s life, and I think that the author made an excellent cliffhanger.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 17
Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
There comes a stalemate into being as Naruto is against Itachi and Kisame. The sage arrives in just the nick of time, though, and manages to fend them off. Sasuke comes too, and at the sight of his man-killing brother, he immediately becomes enraged and tries to kill his older sibling. He miserably fails, however, and Might Guy comes to take him to the hospital in the native village. The sage and Naruto are now trying to find a legendary medic specialist named Tsunade, who the sage wants her to become the 5th Hokage. Lady Tsunade is the granddaughter of the 1st Hokage, but she always seems depressed for a reason the reader does know not. Orochimaru is also seeking her out, wanting her to heal his damaged arms. What side will the Lady be on?
I thought that this story was all right. It was pretty interesting when the sage taught Naruto this extremely powerful A-class attack that only the sage and the 4th Hokage have ever mastered. Naruto looks pretty successful, but can he really master this difficult of an attack? Readers 12+ should read the “Naruto” manga novels.
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 18
Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Naruto isn’t even close to mastering the attack that the sage taught him, yet form his incredible work ethic and determination, he is confident that he’ll do it in perfect form one day. Orochimaru meets Tsunade, and tells her that if she can heal his arms, he’ll bring back Dan and Nawabi back to life. Those 2 that were just mentioned were the 2 most important people in Tsunade’s life, with one being her younger brother, the young being her lover. She has one week to make a choice. Stricken with conflict, will she make the right one? And can Naruto and the sage stop her in not meeting the evil snake man???
This novel was kind of slow, because there was no substantial action in the story. There were more negotiations that the fighting I got used to in the earlier novels. I love Naruto’s determination when affronted with obstacles. It inspires me to be the same way, although not as troublesome, and definitely not as stupid, as him!
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 19
Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Tsunade, by drugging the sage earlier last night, manages to confront Orochimaru. She “agrees” to her opponent’s wish, but is stopped by Kabuto because she actually was attempting to kill the killer of the 4th Hokage. The sage and Naruto arrive then, and an all-out shinobi war ensues. Can Naruto use his newfound attack to help save Tsunade? Or will all the benevolent people perish in under the arms of Lord Orochimaru?
I thought that the battle was quite good to read, because it was interesting and well-thought of. That took most part of the book, anyway. Readers 12+ should read this book.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 22
Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Sasuke is finally persuaded by Lord Orochimaru to fulfill his ultimate wish. The Uchiha boy leaves Konoha village in the dead of night, but Sakura manages to catch up to him. She begs him to not go because then she’ll become extremely lonely, but Sasuke somehow makes her fall asleep, and goes to find some of Orochimaru’s fighters who are escorting him to their leader’s place. The next day, Shikimaru is ordered by the 5th Hokage to gather up a team to chase Sasuke, who was reported missing since last night. The natural leader gathers Naruto, Choji, Neji, and Shino, and they immediately start tracking the Sound ninja. However, as they venture into the forest, they find the dead bodies of 2 Shinobi. It seems that these Sound freaks are no mere ordinary fighters…how will the youngsters ever stop Lord Orochimaru’s plan from successding, and rescue Sasuke at the same time?
Choji was chosen to fight an extremely powerful ninja in order to give the others time to chase after Sasuke. He was very courageous, much more than I thought he’d be, if being judged by his aesthetics. I liked how he showed bravery in front of an extremely hostile opponent, one much more powerful than himself. The author did a good job of creating the mysterious reason of why Sasuke left the village in the first place…one that is unknown to the reader. Readers 12+ should read the “Naruto” manga novels.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 22
Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Choji, after his epic battle with the formidable Sound ninja, sacrifices his life to kill his opponent and protect his comrades from further harm. As the others are traveling along, they encounter yet another Sound ninja, one much more powerful than the previous one. Neji steps in to volunteer to fight him. The book mainly focuses around the battle that Neji is involved in, and the reader finds out about many of his abilities, such as having a 360-degree vision, X-ray vision, and some other incredible sight knacks. Meanwhile, Lord Orochimaru’s plan is revealed: he wants to transfer himself to Sasuke’s body to not only gain the usage of his jutsu, but to also gain the glorious power of the Uchiha plan. Will Neji help his comrades? Can Orochimaru’s plan really work?
There wasn’t anything special about this particular manga novel. To be frank, the battle between Neji and the Sound ninja wasn’t as exciting as I thought it’d be. I wonder if Orochimaru’s plan is really going to work, though. It sounds like there needs to be some life sacrifices, or something of extreme jutsu. Readers 12+ should read this book, and the “Naruto” manga novel series.
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto: Volume 23
Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
The ninja battles within the depths of the forests are still permeating throughout the trees, with leaves and even numerous amounts of trees being destroyed. Shikimaru, the leader of the original squad that was sent to retrieve Sasuke, is still fighting a deadly ninja whose flute-playing abilities allow her to totally control 2 massive ogres. Meanwhile, Naruto battles the mysteriously powerful Kimmaro, known to be nearly invincible in the art of war. No matter what the 2 comrades do to their opponents, nothing just seems to palpably work. How will Naruto and Shikimaru climb out of this big of a hole…alive?
The author did a brilliant job of maximizing the suspense of Naruto and Shikimaru’s battle until the reader was almost convinced that they would cry mercy at their opponents’ feet. However, he also does a masterful job of saving his main characters’ tailbones by instituting some sort of ally in the last second. I liked that very much, and the ending of this particular manga novel was especially cliffhanger-like, the best I’ve seen in the “Naruto” novels so far. Readers 12+ should read this book.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 24
Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
The battles seem to be over…the winner is clearly seen after all the dust and rubble. However, at the last possible moment, Kankuro, Gaara, and Temari, a team from the Hidden Village of Sound, come to their rivals’ aid. Rock Lee also escapes from the tentacles of Konoha Hospital to go assist Naruto. The protagonist is given time to chase after Sasuke, which he does with Godspeed. Temari, by using her gargantuan fan, demolishes an entire section of the forest, and kills Shikimaru’s opponent at the same time. Kankuro assists Shino by using a little-known form of puppet-style jutsu, and kills his opponents…magically, in a way. Lee fights the mysterious Kimmaro, but is taken down in little time. Fortunately, Gaara is there to help. Will all of this aid help Naruto save Sasuke from coming to Lord Orochimaru?
This story was pretty average. One of the bright points about this was Shikimaru’s genius ability at tactical strategy, which I admire. Other than that, though, the landscape looks pretty barren..Readers 12+ should read the “Naruto” manga novels.
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Naruto:Volume 27
Story and Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Naruto and the others all returned alive to the village of Konohagature, but their mission was a failure. They did not succeed in capturing Sasuke, and Naruto feels especially guilty because he promised Sakura that he would bring him home. The original team composing of those 3 ninjas is now disbanded; Sakura becomes an apprentice of the 5th Hokage, and Naruto goes to train with the sage. The story is pretty much over; there’s really nothing more to it. In the second portion of the book, there is a chronicle of Kakashi’s mysterious past. I thought that that was at least pretty interesting worth finding out. Other than that, this novel was an average one in the “Naruto” epic. Readers 12+ should read these manga novels.
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Book (Magazine): ESPN the Magazine, July 27th, 2009 edition
Author: ESPN writers
This particular issue of “ESPN the Magazine” was the longest I have ever read, but its contents are not as plausible as one ordinary fellow might think. There was an enormous number of pages devoted to fantasy football and X Games 15, both of which I abhor quite a bit. There wasn’t anything new about the NBA, but I can’t really blame the writers for doing that because it’s the offseason right now. Overall, this edition was very mediocre, partly because there were too many articles about sports that I had no interest in, and partly because the reading became tedious after a while.
Stars:**
Initials:S.Y.
Album: Court and Speak
Artist: Joni Mitchell
The songs in this particular album are derived from a style whose attributes are linked to a blend of jazz and the pop genre. Joni Mitchell has a pretty good voice, but one of the main flaws is that she sometimes sings too many words in too little time. My favorite songs in this album are “Free Man in Paris” and “Court and Speak” Both of these songs have good-sounding tunes, and the songs can aid in the relaxation for the listener. Mitchell also incorporates a profusion of piano playing in a jazz kind of way, which I like very much. Most of the songs are about love. This album should be listened by people 10+, though teenagers other than me may not appeal to it.
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Album: Crescent
Artist: John Coltrane
John Coltrane is widely regarded as one of the catalysts for the advancement and development of jazz and its overall popularity. He practiced this album for many months, and the result is a maestro-like blend of legendary jazz music that takes the soul and mind for a gently soothing ride. Most of these songs are relatively slow, but that makes it so much more relaxing. Coltrane mostly stars himself as the main soloist, but there are also quite a number of piano solos and even an entire song called “The Drum Thing”. That, and “Crescent”, are definitely my favorite songs from this album. This album is appropriate for listeners of all ages, form young bucks to old farts. Long live the legend of John Coltrane!!!
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Album: Slow Train Coming
Artist: Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is very well-known for his songs being centered around Christian values. This album is no different, and I think that it was crafted very well. My favorite songs are “Gotta Serve Somebody” and “When He Returns”. All of these songs actually make perfect sense to me, unlike most of the other songs in the modern music industry. “Gotta Serve Somebody” reminds all of us that no matter how high of a class we are in, there is always someone above us, presumably, God. “When He Returns” talks about the return of Jesus Christ, and combines Dylan’s folk-like voice, sage lyrics, and a lovely piano too accompany all of it. I like this album very much I am a devoted Christian, and the lessons you learn from these songs can help you live a better life and be a better Christian. This album can listened to by people of all ages.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Album: Brahms: Symphony #2, Haydn Variations
Artist: Herbert von Karajan
I liked this classic album because there were an equal number of lively and melancholy music. The introductory songs were definitely played in some minor scales, but as the album progresses, the pieces fill the listener with vital energy, and a sense of liveliness to it as well. I had no particular favorite piece in this song, because it’s so hard to distinguish the differences among them! No, I’m kidding, I prefer the spirit-filled songs over the wistful ones. The director of the Berlin Orchestra did a very fine job of conducting, because each not was very gracefully placed at the right spot and played with emotion more overwhelming than I could have imagined. I think that this album is only listened by more urbane and refined people, but everybody can at least enjoy some part of it.
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Album: Skip, Hop, and Wobble
Artists: Jerry Douglas, Edgar Meyer, and Russ Barenberg
The trio of artists in this album composed very beautiful pieces that sound like the best country, front-porch music I have ever heard and witnessed. The songs are very lively, and no one messed up at all in any of the songs, or so that I could not have heard it. The songs are very good, using a sophisticated sound arrangement and producing something that really can’t be classified into any specific genre. All of these songs were very well-written, and I liked all of them very much. It’s not everyday that you get to love every song in an entire album. Everyone will like this album, because the songs can connect to one’s spiritual self. Very, very good, guys!!! Well done!!!
Stars:*****
Initials:S.Y.
Album: 8:30
Artist: Weather Report
This album is very peculiar. It is listed as being classified in the jazz genre, but it’s a very different type of jazz that I have never been shown to much. The band starts out by playing some slow melody, and then gradually develop the song until the tempo is just a hair short of the speed of light. It seems to me that the guitarists are playing jazz with guitars meant for heavy rock, not a peaceful type of music, the complete opposite of death metal my favorite song is “Birdland” because the drummer in it uses the bass drum very effectively and more frequently than any of the other jazz drummers I have heard and loved, such as Elvin Jones and Joe “Philly” Jones. I think that there is something for everyone in this album. Good job, Weather Report!!!
Stars:***
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Fahrenheit 451
Author: Ray Bradbury
This book was horrible. The story was set in the future, with firemen burning books for some weird reason. The plot dragged on for what seemed like centuries, and the ending was abysmal, too. Overall, I didn’t get the meaning of the book, and I’d advise everyone to stay away from this book.
Stars:*
Initials:S.Y.
Book: Eragon
Author: Christopher Paolini
“Eragon” is about a boy named Eragon who one days hatches a dragon egg. The ruler of his land, Galbatorwiz, wants to kill all people who possess dragons. Left with no choice, Eragon escapes his village with a mentor named Brom and they must find a safe place for them to train before the evil king finds them.
I liked this book very much because it was exciting and written in a good way. Teenagers should read this book.
Stars:*****
Initials:S.Y.
Book: ESPN the Magazine, August 10th, 2009 edition
Author: ESPN writers
This particular edition of ESPN the Mag was a lot shorter than the preious edition, but it contained a lot more interesting articles. There were stories about the Detroit Lions, Usain Bolt, and other sports stuff that I liked to read about. Serious sports fans should definitely subscribe to this.
Stars:****
Initials:S.Y.
Movie-Quest for Camelot
A girl named Kayley has to work n the farm after her father, (who was one of the knights of the round table)died trying to protect King Aurthur from the evil knight of the round table,Ruber.Kayley's mother is captured by Ruber and forced to help him with his evil plans or Kayley would die.Kayley secretly escapes to the Forbidden Forest where she will look for the sword Excalibur and return it to the king. In the Forbidden Forest, Kayley meets a blind hermit, named Garret and he helps her on her quest. Later on they meet a not-so-ferocious two-headed dragon who also help on the quest.When they are almost to Camelot,Garret is left behind because, he feels that he will not belong in Camelot, and Kayley is later captured. the two-headed dragon rushed back to Garret and convinced him to come and help. Meanwhile, Kayley has escaped, but she doesn't get to tell the knights in time and Ruber gets into the castle. while Ruber fought King Aurthur, Kayley and garret swoop in and save the king and defeat Ruber.Garret and Kayley are knighted.
Movie-The Mighty Ducks
A hockey team in a city are really bad at playing, and their old coach quits. A new coach comes in, but the team doesn't really like him and they tease him and give him a hard time. The new coach invites another boy from one of their rival teams and gets a boy off of the streets and calls this new team the Mighty Ducks. There are many problems that the team goes through but in the end, the Mighty Ducks win the championships.
Movie-Nick and Noel
A dog and a cat live across the street from each other and dislike each other as much as their owners hate each other. The only person who could ever bring them together was the man neighbor's daughter. After accidentally delaying the little girl's Christmas list, with the help of Nick(the dog),Noel(the cat)go on a quest to deliver the list to Santa, Meanwhile when the pets were gone the owners and the little girl got worried and set out to look for them. Nick and Noel did fail their quest, but found out the true meaning of Christmas. The two owners found their pets and later on got married.
Movie-The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy
Whenever the people are gone two dolls and their stuffed animal friends come to life. Raggedy Ann and Andy are on a quest to save Christmas, they are zapped to the North Pole to return all of the Christmas presents to Santa from and evil villain who stole Santa's sleigh. They then find the true meaning of friendship and save Christmas just in Home and make it back home before the humans come home.
Movie-The Fox and the Hound
A fox and a dog are best friends, they say that they will never be parted and will always be friends forever. But when the dog has to leave with his master, to become a hunting dog, their relationship changes. When the dog has returned, he is no longer a friend to the fox because he has been trained to hunt foxes. The fox's owner lets it out into the wild about the same time the dog is supposed to go hunting. In the woods when the fox is caught by the dog and is about to be shot, the dog shows a little of his old friendship and let's the fox go. The dog and the fox never see each other again when the fox goes out on its own to learn the ways of being wild.
Movie-Dave
The recent president is doing bad things to the country and cheating on his wife. That night, the president has a stroke, and is replaced by a look alike president named Dave. As president, Dave does things to really help the country, and him and the first lady fall in love. When the real president dies Dave has to fake his death and be replaced by the real president.
Movie-Snow Day
In a very hot town for the first time in a long time, it snows. A girl and her friends are having a great day in the snow, until the snow plow man starts to ruin everything. The girl and her friends plot ways to defeat the snow plow man while her brother has an adventure of his own. Soon the whole neighborhood of kids come together and defeat the snow plow man and the snow day is saved.
Movie- Jungle Book
A boy named Moguly and a girl named Kitty are good friends. In a raid Moguly's father is killed and Moguly is separated from the rest of the group into the wilderness all by himself. Moguly is found and raised by a wolf pack and discovers the hidden gold treasure of the rain forest. Years later Kitty and her classmates are learning a lesson about the same part of the rain forest the Moguly lives in and they meet again. Kitty soon realizes who Moguly is and brings him to her home in India and teaches him English. There are problems between Kitty's fiance and Moguly. Kitty and Moguly soon fall in love, this aggitates Kitty's fiance. Moguly and Kitty run away from her home into the rain forest. There, they are captured by Kitty's fiance and his hunting crew. Moguly is forced to show Kitty's fiance the treasures of the rain forest. At the last minute, Kitty and Moguly escape and Kitty's fiance is killed.
Movie- My Dog Skip
A boy named Willie is all alone and has no friends. For his birthday Willy's parents get him a dog (Skip). The dog becomes very popular and Willy and the whole town develop a love for him. Willy and his dog and some newly found friends have many adventures together. When Willy grows up and goes to college his dog dies but its memory still goes through Willy's heart.
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