Book Review: Smells Like Dog by Suzanne Selfors

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Satej B.

In the world of literature, there are so many authors out there. But, there are a few dozen authors who will blow your mind, and one of them is Suzanne Selfors. The way Suzanne writes is simply amazing. First, her books are a fusion between comedy and seriousness. Especially in Smells Like Dog.

This is definitely my favorite book written by her. In Smells Like Dog, Homer, who is a farm boy, gets a gift from Uncle Drake– a dog! Except, the dog doesn’t do anything. Really he does nothing. But, Uncle Dranke, before he died, left a dog to Homer, which he called his most treasured possession. So what should he do with it? The dog just doesn’t want to do anything at all.

Until… you’ll have to read the book to know.

Out of 5 I would rate this story a definite 5. Also, out of 5, I would rate the author a 6, because it is very hard to find a great author. Thanks for reading, and please give comments below!

-Satej B., 8th grade

Book Review with Music Pairings: The Left Behinds and The iPhone that Saved George Washington by David Potter

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Maya S.

The Left Behinds are three kids whose parents are too busy to spend time with them. So, they spend their Christmas with their Social Studies teacher at their New Jersey school. But things take a sharp turn when Brandon starts messing with a MacBook. While Mel and Bev are trying to stop him, their iPhones start acting up. A whirl and a pop later, they find themselves next to a weird guy that looks oddly like George Washington. And that’s not all. General Washington has a gunshot wound to the chest. They look at their surroundings and become aware of a barn with hay but no horses and a raging snowstorm outside. What just happened???

The Left Behinds: Brandon, Mel, and Bev go on a wild journey in time travel in 1771. No. Let me rephrase that. Mel goes on a wild journey to save history, while Bev and Brandon are held hostage by the Hessians. Right when this twist began, I thought of the Disney song, “Small World,” because it indicates that we do, in fact, have a small world after all. In this setting, I believe we have a small past, present, and future world. While these worlds cannot combine, the morals and lessons transcend the time periods.

As the story continues, Mel takes advice from Dr. Benjamin Franklin and rides across the river from Pennsylvania to New Jersey with the Continental Army through harsh winter storms. I was reminded of another song. “Carry On My Wayward Son” by Kansas because of the struggle to find peace. The song portrays General Washington’s effort to not rest until the colonies are safe from the Hessians. The army gains victory; however, Mel, Brandon, and Bev find themselves tangled in yet another incident. What will the Left Behinds do next?

I would rate this book a 9/10 for its historically credible story line, but I would have preferred the language to be less sarcastic. This review is from an advance reader copy, so be sure to check it out January 15, 2015!

Maya S., 7th grade

Book Review: No More Dead Dogs, by Gordon Korman

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Satej B.

Let me start off by saying: best book ever!

Wallace Wallace, (not a typo- that’s his name!) the most popular kid in school who is the football star, doesn’t tell lies… He has learned that lying is horrible; from his dad who lied on everything possible to Wallace, one of the big lies was that he was in the army. LIE! So that’s where Wallace learns not to lie from, so when Mr. Fogelman gives Wallace an assignment to read and give a book review about “Old Shep, My Pal” he writes this:

“Old Shep, My Pal by Zack Paris is the most boring book I’ve read in my entire life. I did not have a favorite character. I hated everyone equally. The most interesting part came on the last page where it said “The End”; this book couldn’t be any lousier if it came with a letter bomb. I would not recommend it to my worst enemy.”

Mr. Fogelman was enraged! How dare Wallace say that?! So after confronting Wallace, which ended in an argument, Mr. Fogelman gave a detention to Wallace where he would write a “proper’’ review, which meant he couldn’t play football until he was done with detention! And as everyone knows Wallace can’t say a lie! So how will Wallace be able to join football again…..?

And with that, something horrible keeps on happening to the school play… which Mr. Fogelman is the director; all eyes are on Wallace as the prime suspect. Nothing could be worse; the Giants are on a losing streak without Wallace! The team hates him, the drama club thinks he is the person who destroys the set of the play, and most of all how can he lie in his report!? You’ll have to read the book to find out what Wallace does…..

I would recommend this book to boy or girl ages 8-14. It’s an amazing read. Enjoy!

-Satej B., 8th grade

Book Review: Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Amanda D.

While browsing Sparknotes one night for help with homework, I was lured into the “fun section.” You know, the section where you can find information about celebrities, current events, and popular books. Well, I’m very glad I did, because there was an article on great books to read during the summer. Eleanor & Park was near the top of the list. The comments on the book were mostly positive, so I decided to give it a try.

Guys, this book is really, really good. It’s funny, exciting, and relatable on so many levels. Eleanor & Park follows the lives of two teenagers in high school as they go through all of the awkward stages of love.

It’s not a typical, boring, lovey-dovey type of love story, but rather it is raw and honest. Both Eleanor and Park struggle to find their respective places in the world, and both have issues with their parents (problems I think most teenagers can easily relate to).

The story is told in a dual-narrative style, with both Eleanor and Park sharing their opinions on the events taking place. I usually don’t like this type of narration because it can easily become repetitive and boring. However, Rowell manages to keep it fresh, without rehashing scenes that the reader already knows about. Overall, the book was very enjoyable to read, and I definitely recommend it!

-Amanda D., 12th grade

Book Review: I Even Funnier, by James Patterson

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Linna C.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! If you haven’t read I Funny, you may want to skip this for now…

In this sequel to I Funny, Jamie Grimm comes back with a bang.

After winning the competition for Planet’s Funniest Kid Comic in Long Island and in New York, next up is the competition in Boston. But before that, he still has to deal with Stevie Kosgrov, bully extraordinaire, and goes on a date with Gilda Gold to a movie theater. Joey Pierce and Jimmy Gaynor, Jamie’s best friends, come along as well. While at the theater, Gaynor treats all of them to popcorn, and lots of other things with cash that “his mother gave him.”

However, Kosgrov comes along and ruins everything, and Jamie and Pierce find out that Gaynor got the money from stealing out of people’s lockers. After all of this, Jamie goes to the competition in Boston. There, he gets trampled by one of his former idols and finds out that Judy, who came in second at the competition in New York, is back for round two. Does he win? Read more to find out!

I liked this book a lot, maybe even better than the first one! A few new characters are introduced, and as mentioned in my review of I Funny, there is a crossover for a few pages where Rafe Khatchadorian(Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life and others) meets Jamie Grimm! Also, there are slightly more jokes than in the first volume, and there are better jokes as well. Overall I would give this a 9.5 out of 10- not perfect, but fantastic all the same.

-Linna C., 7th grade

Play Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Danielle K.

Last month, I performed in my school’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I played the part of Puck, and as I know the majority of the script by heart, I decided to right a review on this whimsical and unusual play by Will Shakespeare.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a fantastical fairy-tale comedy that tells the story of four young lovers named Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius. Long story short, both the men love Hermia but Hermia only loves Lysander (and Helena loves Demetrius, who doesn’t love her in return). Hermia’s mother, however, feels that Hermia should marry Demetrius. When Lysander and Hermia decide to run away together in order to avoid this fate, they are followed by Demetrius who is followed by the faithful Helena. Upon observing Demetrius’ cruelty towards Helena, Oberon (the king of the fairies that live in a nearby forest) sends his servant, Puck, to put a spell on him to make him fall in love with Helena.

Unfortunately, Puck is revealed to be a careless (and also very mischievous) fairy and he accidentally puts the spell on the wrong man. From this point on, the story follows the amused Puck as he reluctantly sets off to correct his mistakes and restore peace to Athens and regularity to the lovers.

I was ecstatic when I found out that my drama class was going to be doing this play, and it proved to be just as fun as I thought it would be. Puck is a very unique and confusing fairy with a ton of dialogue, which made it fun (and challenging) to learn and play the character.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is very exciting. There are numerous unexpected plot twists and the characters are unique and strangely captivating. It is also a very good play/ book to have read to be able to reference in essays and whatnot. I recommend A Midsummer Night’s Dream to anyone who enjoys theatre, Shakespeare, or fantasy novels.

-Danielle K., 8th grade

Book Review: Matilda, by Roald Dahl

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Becka O.

If you were a super genius with super dumb parents, how would you deal with it? The book Matilda by Roald Dahl is all about how five year old Matilda deals with all the adults in her life that underestimate her and her amazing superpowers, and one adult who becomes her helpmeet.

As a general rule I LOVE Roald Dahl. His witty and creative writing always evokes a laugh out loud response. I find myself genuinely adoring the main character, detesting the notorious villain, and overall loving the world that Dahl creates. It’s a place I hate to leave when the book is over and excitedly anticipate when I crack open one of his books for at least the fifteenth time.

There have been movies and even Broadway musicals based on Matilda, the girl genius, but to me the book will always be magical. Just because it is there that I first envisioned the characters, the very world, that I could not visit myself and I’m sorry but movies will never do that for me. So read this book– and if you’ve read this book, read another Dahl book. If you haven’t read anything by Roald Dahl, I want you to head down to Barnes and Nobles and buy as many Roald Dahl books as possible. Now.

-Becka O., 8th grade

Book Review: It’s Kind of a Funny Story, by Ned Vizzini

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Sara S.

Ned Vizzini’s It’s Kind of a Funny Story is a novel about a teenage boy, Craig, who suffers from depression, and about his experiences in the mental hospital. Unlike most books about psychological issues, this story has a light, humorous vibe all throughout and gives the reader a positive view of life and their own experiences in general. Not once did I want to put this book down, and I even ended up finishing all up it in one sitting.

The book was based on the author’s own experiences in the mental hospital and his own hospitalization a couple years before the book was published. What I personally loved most about the book was how each character had their own interesting backstory and how much it was evident that the author put a lot of time into making each character truly special and unique.

For those of you who are interested, there is also a movie made after the book starring actors like Emma Roberts and Zach Galifinakis (although I highly recommend reading the book first). I recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of books like Girl Interrupted, Go Ask Alice, or Eat, Pray, Love.

-Sara S., 10th grade

Book Review: Goodbye, Rebel Blue by Shelley Coriell

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Nicole G.

Rebecca Blue, more commonly referred to as Rebel, is a loner. She is always in search of sea glass, dyes her hair blue, prefers not to wear shoes, and has a necklace made of shark teeth. She’s the kind of girl who gets detention. Once there, Rebel writes a bucket list alongside Kennedy Green, a perky girl going out of her way to be kind to everyone.

Rebel doesn’t believe they have anything in common, despite what their colorful last names might suggest. She might have forgotten their conversation completely… if Kennedy hadn’t died shortly thereafter. After several failed attempts to get rid of a dead girl’s bucket list, Rebel takes it upon herself to complete the final goals and aspirations of a do-gooder. Things she would never consider doing before.

What Rebel doesn’t expect was that the bucket list would change her. She discovers that she isn’t as alone as she once thought. Her aunt and uncle, her track star cousin, her pie baking friend, and maybe even that boy from the volunteer group– her whole perspective on life is turned upside down when she has to ask for help from these people, seeing the world a little more fully. Eventually, she finds the courage to follow her own dreams as well as Kennedy’s.

Rebel is a cool character and very true to herself. Even though she will never be “normal,” Rebel is more than the screw-up everyone thinks she is. She isn’t afraid to tell anyone how she feels, which gets her into some pretty laugh-out-loud situations. The story gets deeper further into the story, but it’s mostly about how helping others helps Rebel find herself. If you want a light, comical read, go ahead and give this book a try.

-Nicole G., 10th grade

Book Review: I Funny, by James Patterson

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Linna C.

I Funny stars a boy whose name is Jamie Grimm. His dream is to become the world’s greatest stand-up comic. Or, in his case, the world’s greatest sit-down comic. His legs are paralyzed, so he has to use a wheelchair. He doesn’t live with his own family- they died in a car accident- so instead he lives with the Smileys. Their name is really ironic, after all, they never smile, and they never laugh, so it’s impossible for Jamie to practice his jokes on them. And, even worse, there’s the threat of Stevie Kosgrov. He also lives with the Smileys, and he loves to pick on Jamie and beat him up.

Luckily, Jamie’s got friends that help him get back up and keep going, including his Uncle Frankie, who used to be a yo-yo champion and runs a diner, and Jamie’s best friends, Joey Gaynor and Jimmy Pierce.

This book is filled with jokes and is sure to make you laugh. I think it’s just amazing how James Patterson writes adult novels, young adult novels, and children’s books and still manages to make all of them great for that specific age group. I Funny is one of his children’s books, and is part of a side series to the Middle School series and in the sequel, I Even Funnier, (spoiler alert) there is actually a part in which Rafe Khachadorian meets Jamie Grimm! I can’t wait to find out if there is going to be a third book to this fantastic series!