Tag Archives: friendship

Holes by Louis Sachar

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Image result for holesStanley Yelnats is under a derogatory curse. And it starts with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and it was passed down to the generations ever since. Being accused of larceny, Stanley has been sent to this boy detention center to dig holes that need to be exactly five feet wide and five feet deep.

I liked this book because it combines fun elements and thrilling details together. Imagine in a vast desert devoid of water and digging holes is all I do every single day would definitely suck my marrow out of my bones before I even start. Especially when Stanley didn’t actually steal the shoes, but socializing with rattlesnakes and lizards would prove that this is an inhumane place for unordinary humans. And, I am an ordinary person.

Titled by the name Camp Green Lake with no lakes really twitches my nose and my even my nerves are amused by this. Stanley also met all sorts of companions with unique names like Zeroni, Theodore, and Ignor. But there is something for Stanley to excavate beneath the holes that will surely force your consciousness out of your corporal body for a while.

-April L.

Holes by Louis Sachar is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive. 

Bridge To Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

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Jesse Aarons lives in a big family with four sisters and being the only boy pulls him down sometimes. But he never would have imagined that there would be a girl named Leslie Burke beating him in a foot race, becoming his class’ fastest runner. His confession of this fact led to the starting point of their relationships as chums.

As friends, Leslie and Jesse create an imaginary place to hide from the troubles of the world. There is a narrow rivulet in between the two worlds, sometimes when it’s raining the water roared and raved its intensity with the thunder and the rainwater never really got mollified. During sunny days, the singing water just lets it’s tender skirt trickle along the moist shore, showing happiness and relaxation with the caressing of the soothing sunlight. A decrepit rope connected the two of them as they created an imaginary bridge to the Kingdom Of Terabithia.

There were fewer things in the modern society compared to this magical kingdom. Ogres, fairies, and trees that can extend its flexible branches and help people are components that fall under this natural shield. The first thing after school isn’t homework anymore, but to implement their duty as queen and king to patrol in their own kingdom with the guard dog Prince, Jess and Leslie were inseparable.

It wasn’t until when Jess’s dream came true that he went to this art museum with his music teacher Ms. Edmunds, unaware that tragedy strikes while he is away. A miracle could happen, only so that Jess could be salvaged immediately from the interminable guilt.

-April L.

The Bridge to Terebithia by Katherine Paterson is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. 

Auggie and Me: Three Wonder Stories by R. J. Palacio

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When Wonder, a heartwarming, soul-touching novel by R. J. Palacio, made its way onto the bestseller shelves and into the lives of readers, there was no doubt that more adventures in the world of Wonder would be just as deep and thought-provoking. With Auggie and Me, R. J Palacio brings three more Wonder stories following Julian, Charlotte and Christopher and how August Pullman touched their lives.

Originally separate ebooks, The Julian Chapter, Shingling and Pluto have now been compiled into one enthralling companion to Wonder: Auggie and Me.

As a reader, I really love how R. J. Palacio gives you each of these character’s perspectives on their experiences with Auggie. The wonderful thing about these stories is that they become each character’s own. Although Auggie is a key component to each of the stories, you also get insight into each of these character’s lives. I think it is very important to read Auggie and Me after reading Wonder not only because it may give some spoilers or some inferences which would be more appreciated if you read Wonder, but also because it shows you these three character’s point of view and in some cases justifies or makes you understand questionable actions the characters carried out in Wonder. However, Auggie and Me could also be a great book separate from Wonder, as it does create whole new stories centering around three different characters.

Auggie and Me is definitely a must-read for fans of Wonder who want to read more about or redeem the characters of Wonder. Or it could even be for someone just looking for a heartwarming read that will leave them turing pages until their eyes meet the last words R. J. Palacio left on the page.

-Elina T.

Auggie & Me by R. J. Palacio is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. 

Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck

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Image result for tortilla flatThis story is set in a place called Tortilla Flat in Monterey, California. It’s about five men that are paisanos (compatriots). They are Danny, Pilon, Pablo, Jesus Maria, and Pirate. These men are attracted to money and content with being friends with each other, they all walk their own bitter life path.

Danny was an heir who inherited two huge houses from his grandpa and invited his friend Pilon to stay. Through his innocence, Pilon’s rent money is postponed but he accidentally burns the house down. To cover compensation, the other men introduced earlier joined the group, but still, nobody offered rent money to Danny. And amazingly, Danny never mentioned the money to his astute tenants.

In real life, we all know that if you don’t pay the money, the next day you will be finding yourself without a house. Such a character like Danny really doesn’t exist at all in our brutal society. This book to me mainly molded the variety of personalities beneath the harsh satin of this world, but we all have similarities with each other: we are gullible to our friends and we all have greediness hidden within us for the cravings of money and wealth.

-April L

Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.

Stepping on the Cracks by Mary Downing Hahn

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Let me just say, this book was a lot better than I originally thought it would be. I usually don’t read WWII novels, I am more into the Civil War myself, so this was a different kind of read for me. But let me tell you it was worth it because it had me hooked after the first sentence.

In this book, Margaret and her best friend Elizabeth find a hut in the woods. At first, Margaret is scared to go into it, but with prompting, Margaret goes in. It turns out that Gordy (the class bully) is hiding his brother, a deserter, in the hut. To keep the secret, Gordy attempts to blackmail Margaret and Elizabeth. Along the way they get into many hardships, but they find a way through it.

The cool thing about this novel is that even though it is a children’s book, it isn’t written like one. This is the perfect book for a child to read because it is all very easy to understand and it is very intriguing. However, an adult would enjoy this book just as much as a child. The way the author portrays everything it is obvious she must have witnessed it. In my personal opinion, everyone should read this book. It doesn’t matter if you don’t think you would like it, just trust me, you will.

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

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Turtles all the Way Down, a novel by John Green, tells the story of a teenage girl named Aza who struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder. After one day becoming involved in the search for a fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, she is reunited with an old childhood friend: who happens to be the aforementioned billionaire’s son. Despite the search for Pickett taking the spotlight as the guiding force of this powerful novel, the resulting work of fiction depicts a battle with mental illness sharpened by author’s personal struggles with OCD.

As Aza balances her fear of the human microbe, school, a budding relationship, and a criminal hunt, she begins to discover that in her own struggles, she has withdrawn from the world around her. The entire work highlights the value of life, much in the way past John Green novels tend to do. However, Turtles all the Way Down stands out from the rest of Green’s work. It obviously rings with his unique writing style and emotionally moving qualities, but also coursing through the veins of this work is a level of authenticity that makes it relatable to our very human nature.

As a personal fan of John Green, I came across this book expecting it to be incredible. I was not let down in the slightest. I could talk about the character development that enriches the plot of the story. I could talk for hours about how the comic elements of this novel are balanced with sharp, relatable reality in a way that triggers emotion within the darkest recesses of your brain, even as the main character discusses Star Wars fanfiction. I could even talk about how despite the obvious focal point of the novel being a criminal investigation, every other element of the novel becomes a tapestry of woven word and plot, with each string tugging and guiding the next into forming a textile of humor and sadness. But I digress. Simply, this book is a must read anyone who wants to read a funny, emotional, page turner of a novel.

-Mirabella S.

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive. 

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

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Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally is truly rare. How many books do you know that contain a female football player? I can only think of one (other than this one). Boy does this book hook you in. It starts off during a football game. This is Jordan’s senior year of high school so she wants to do her best as captain so her dream college (Alabama) will take notice of her as the football player she is, and not just as a female. All of the players on her team respect her for who she is, a really great football player. But her and Henry are best friends. So much so that they have sleepover’s together and they sleep in the same bed, head to toe.

“Later that night, Henry slept over at our house. He has always stayed in Mike’s room, but in the middle of the night, Henry sneaked into my bed because he’s had a horrible dream he’s been eaten by a whale.
He’s stayed in my room ever since.”

But during Jordan’s senior year, a new player comes named ‘Ty’ and he wants to be quarterback just as much as Jordan does. But Jordan feels something towards Ty, that she has never felt before. Eventually she starts dating Ty but it just doesn’t feel right to her. She starts thinking back to Henry.

“All those nights of sharing a bed
All those times he put an arm around me
All the things he’s done to make my happy
…encouraging me to give Ty a chance
He must really love me if he’ll watch me date another guy just to ensure I’m happy”

Eventually Henry and Jordan get into a fight and stop talking. Jordan’s dad talks to her

“Jordan, he’s loved you forever. It’s obvious. Have you not seen how he stares at you?”

You will need to read the book to figure out the ending though. All in all, I thought this was a super sweet book and I thought that both Henry and Ty were great people.

Unfortunately this book is not available at the Mission Viejo Library, but it is available through the OCPL system.

-Skylar N.

Candy by Kevin Brooks

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I read this book cover to cover in a day, I happened to find it at the library without even knowing it existed. From the start I was hooked.

The intensity and suspense throughout the entire book kept me on my toes. The book follows teenage musician, Joe who meets a mysterious girl named Candy. He soon discovers Candy is a drug addict and a prostitute.

I one hundred percent recommend this book. It was so intriguing and I was surprised by how fast I read it. This book was one of those books where after I read it, I just had to sit back and reflect. Even after finishing I couldn’t stop thinking about it. This book was definitely one to re read, so if you haven’t already read this book, I can almost promise you you’ll love it!!

-Kyndle W.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

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My English teacher assigned Of Mice and Men book to my whole grade to read. When I first opened the book i felt like this would be a good book and it was.

After reading a little into the first chapter I was very excited about what would happen next. Will George and Lennie’s dream ever come true and will Lennie ever get to tend the rabbits?. These are questions I asked myself after reading about migrant workers George Milton and Lennie Small.

Then I progressed to the middle of the story where things started to heat up. I was beginning to like the story even more and developed an unending love that wouldn’t stop until the book ended.

The ending of the book was really shocking to a lot of people in different ways. Some people might have had there jaw still hanging from suspense. Others maybe very confused about what happened.

My evaluation of the book is a completely outstanding 10/10. John Steinbeck really knew how to make you feel about the lives of these migrant workers. Steinbeck used many literary tools in the story such as foreshadowing, symbolism, and of course alliteration. These where used in the story because, without such vocabulary we might not have accurately pictured the lives of the migrant workers in real life.

In general the whole idea of the book was the American Dream. Think about it: George and Lennie’s dream was to be there own boss. There was also many other migrant workers who wanted this dream too. I strongly recommend this book to anyone in general.

-Max U.

John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available for download from Overdrive. 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

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There are the people who drive fast in a residential area, even when signs directly forbid it. There are the new families moving in, one of whom backs up his trailer into Ove’s mailbox. There is a starving cat that won’t leave.

In his old age, Ove is lonely and just wants to be left alone to die in peace. But no one will leave the stingy, Saab-driving man alone.

Throughout the course of the novel, Ove has a profound influence on his neighbors and his resident’s association. And those in his neighborhood prove to Ove that the world is just not done with him quite yet. Ove teaches his neighbors, and the readers, that one person can have an outstanding impact on the lives of others.

A Man Called Ove is incredibly deep. The book is more of an adult novel than what I am used to reading, but the story is so real and down to earth that I would recommend it to anyone. My favorite part was seeing Ove secretly change, though he continued to refute that fact to the rest of the world. Behind his guarded attitude is a heart-wrenching story that the neighbors take years to discover, but when they do, it is extremely touching. If you’ve never read this book, please do. It’s definitely worth your time.

– Leila S., 12th grade

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive and Hoopla.