Refugee

Refugee

 The book Refugee follows three different stories about kids trying to find refuge in other countries. They are leaving because their countries aren't safe because of conflict, and these stories are all based on real historical events. Here is some information:

Story one: Joseph. His story is focused on the World War One era. His family being Jews, has to escape the Nazis as they are trying to flee to Cuba. His father has just gotten out of concentration camp and has a limited time to leave the country.They board the M.S. Saint Louis in hopes of escaping to Cuba, but something is different about his father. He is traumatized from concentration camp and is acting crazy. Will they make it?

Story two: Isabel. Her story is set in 1994 when there is a lot of food shortage in Cuba. People are rioting and when her father gets injured, they know it's finally time to flee to the states. Isabel's neighbor has been secretly building a boat to try to sail to the U.S. She confronts them and asks if her family may join, but has to trade her beloved trumpet for gasoline. They set sail, but the boat is unstable and leaks, and with her mother expecting a baby soon the tension grows. Will they make it?

Story three: Mahmoud. His story is set in Syria from 2015 to the present day. People's houses are getting bombed and people getting killed. Mahmoud is in his apartment doing homework when a bomb flies down and hits their home. After finding each other, they all agree they need to leave. They start traveling and have to cross many different states and countries with near death encounters all along the way, while trying to find their way to Germany. Will they make it?

 

Wild Wings

  If you found an endangered bird near your house, what would you do? In this page turning book, Callum befriends a girl named Iona, who everyone thinks of as a nutter, and they discover an osprey on his farm. The book takes twists and turns on the osprey (which they eventually name Iris) 's journey. Will they save the osprey and her family, or will they're fate end up at the market? This book went by real fast for me, I found myself reading 40-60 pages a day! I especially liked that this book took place in Scotland, one of my favorite countries. This book made me think about my mom and how glad I should be that she mostly works from home and I get to see her everyday, because in this book Iona never ever sees her mom, and then something terrible happens to Iona (read the book to find out!). My favorite part of the book was when Callum and his friends raised a bunch of money so Jeneba could get her legs fixed and be able to walk again. It was heart-melting. I think this book is for ages 10+, it's a little hard to understand. I would recommend this book to people who love kind-of sad books but turn out to be bittersweet (or just a happy ending). The lesson I learned from this book was, "When you have lost (something), why not gain from it?"
  Here are the questions we asked at book club (borrowed from the book Guide to Father Son Book Clubs:

1. Iona says, "People are like rivers. You've got to learn to look beneath the surface, to see what lies deeper in." How do you do that?

2. Callum's friends said unkind things about Iona. Why do you think he agreed with them? What do you think you would do?

3. At a certain point, Callum can't stand listening to Rob talk badly about Iona and punches him in the face. Why do you think he resorts to punching him instead of talking or yelling back?

4. What do you think of how Jeneba's village worked together to help find Iris? How did that inspire Callum and his town?

5.There are so many different relationships to think about in this book: friendship, parents, siblings, adult friends (like Hamish), and your town/village. What did you learn about relationships from this book?

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

The Miscalculations of...Lightning Girl!

 Miscalculations was a book about an extremely OCD math whiz named Lucy Callahan. When she was younger she was struck by lightning and because she was holding a metal fence she suffered brain damage. She got Acquired Savant Syndrome (which basically means she's a genius when it comes to math.)  Lucy is home-schooled until seventh grade while spending most of her time on a math website. Everything changes when Lucy's Nana announces that she wants her to go to middle school like everyone else even though she's much more academically advanced. Lucy protests, but it's no use. She finally gives up, but vows to never tell anyone that she's a math genius.

Uglies

Our book club book for February was Uglies. Written by Scott Westerfeld, Uglies is a book full of adventure, fun, danger, and love for family and friends.

Tally lives in the future where everything is given to them by the city. In the future people are divided into groups based on your age, and your looks. Children called “littlies” and are supposed to be cute. Used as an insult, teenagers up to the age of sixteen are known as “uglies.” At age sixteen, uglies are supposed to have a surgery that makes them pretty. When Tally meets Shay --a girl who wants to remain ugly-- she is exposed to a world called the Smoke where she doesn't have to be a "pretty" or an "ugly", Tally could just be Tally and people could just be themselves. But of course like any story, there are bad guys called the Special Circumstances who don't want people to like the way they look. The Special Circustances are determined to find the Smoke and it is all up to Tally to keep the location of the Smoke a secret.

I would give Uglies a 4 out of 5 stars rating. I thought that the book was fun and excting to read but I think that the author could have shortened the amount of detail in Tally's adventure to the Smoke. Here are our questions for this book!:

Question 1: To keep up her fake reputation, in the Smoke, Tally had to lie over and over again. How did you feel whan she was doing that? Have you ever been in a situation similar to this?

Question 2: Tally's adventures in Uglies were big and dangerous. What, for you, was one of the most exiting arts to read about? Why?

Question 3: Scott westerfeld was very detailed with his writing. While reading the book Uglies, we were left only with our imagination. What did you imagine.

Question 4: When the special circumstances comes to destroy the smoke, Shay is mad at Tally. If you were Shay, would your reactions be any different? 

Question 5: The Rusty civilization collapsed because of there dependence on oil and gasoline. In what way is your life dependent on oil and gasoline? How easily would you survive if it all dissappeared one day?

Fresh Ink

  Thirteen amazing authors. One editor. And a publisher. That's all you need too get a perfect anthology.
  Edited by Lamar Giles, Fresh Ink is a stunning anthology filled with inspiring stories and life lessons to tell. It was a good read. It was confusing, I do have to say, but it was technically a teen read. This book has a lot of lessons, such as be who you are, don't be afraid, and saying goodbye is one of the hardest things in the world. I can apply these lessons to my life with everyday things, like "be who you are" could tell me not to fit in and to be different if I have to (unique). And "saying goodbye" like when your friend is moving away and you may not ever see them again. These lessons were realistic because of the examples I just gave.
  I recommend this book if you like anthologies and friendships. My favorite story was the script called "TAGS" about the dead guys. It was weird, yes, but sooooooo good still. This book made me think about my writing career. I am a creative writer (at LaVilla Middle School of the Arts), so I should be thinking about what I want to do later on (IN MY LIIIIIIFE). I think that this book is either a 12+ or a 13+.

The Midwife's Apprentice

The Midwife's Apprentice is an award winning book written by Karen Cushman. The book is set in the Middle Ages and begins with a girl sleeping on a dung pile with no home. A midwife in need of an apprentice ends up taking her in, but it isn't that easy. The midwife is constantly abusing her verbally and shows no love whatsoever towards the girl or her job. When the girl makes a terrible mistake trying to help a woman birth a baby, that is the last straw.

 No one was a really huge fan of the book. There were some good parts here and there, but it was pretty dreary over all. It was our last book club of the year so we also had our annual throw down. We selected 10 books out of 14. We have a good selection for the coming year and we are all looking forward to our 4th year of book club.

Brown Girl Dreaming

    Do you have a thing for peoms? Well, I do and that is why Brown Girl Dreaming was the perfect book for me. Jaqualine Woodson is the author of Brown Girl Dreaming, an autobiography written in verse that tells about the childhood of an African American girl growing up in the 1960s. The book tells all about Woodson's hardships and acomplishments as a child and as a young teen and makes you really feel the mood of the book. 

    Jacqueline, named after her father Jack, was born in Ohio, in 1963 as the youngest of three children. She was born during the Civil Rights Movement and soon after to Jacqueline’s birth and the birth of her sister Odella, her Mama lost her brother, Odell.  Mama and Jack fight often, eventually causing Mama to move to the home of her parents, bringing her three kids with her. Jaqueline grows up in Greenville, North Carolina and learns the importance of family and of her education. Writing poems along the way, Jaqueline decides that she wants to be a writer and soon even her teacher notices her writing! Can you guess where that got her? Exactly! The author of this book, and a well known author altogether!

    I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars because I think that Jaqueline Woodson did a fantastic job writing a book in verse which I can assume would be pretty hard. Everyone really liked this book and I loved the parts that left me wondering. I hope you like and enjoy the book too!