How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier

How to Ditch Your Fairy

Justine Larbalestier

Bloomsbury

2009

I think this book is 5 out of 10 because it was really, really cheesy. This book is about a girl in a world where everyone has fairies that help them out with things.  The girl, Charlie, has a fairy that helps her park or a “parking-fairy” who gives her or the car she’s riding in the best parking spot available. Charlie hates this fairy and spends the whole book trying to get a new one. The book was really predictable. I would read this to a 9 to 10 year old but no older then that because it would just be too easy and not very entertaining. This is a child’s book not a teen book. 

Reviewed by Anna 8^th grade

Crimson Thread by Suzanne Weyn

Crimson Thread
Suzanne Weyn
Simon Pulse
2008

Crimson Thread is a remake of the classic fairytale Rumplestiltskin.  This version takes place in 1880, and the princess is actually an Irish immigrant named Bertie trying to make ends meet and help support her family.  Her father likes to embellish his stories and presents her as an amazing seamstress to his employer – the owner of a very large textile company.  When her father promises that she can create a beautiful dress in one night, Bertie thinks all is lost.  However, she is saved by a dark handsome stranger named Ray – someone she’s heard she should steer clear of.  When Bertie asks how she can repay him, he asks for her first-born child.  As time goes on, Bertie will find out just how serious Ray is.  Suzanne Weyn has created a wonderful story that is similar enough to the original but different enough to be compelling and interesting.  The strength of her characters and the mystery of Ray keep the reader turning pages wondering what will happen next.
Reviewed by the Librarian, 100th Grade

Flip by Martyn Bedford

Flip

Martyn Bedford

Wendy Lamb Books

2011

This book was awesome!  It’s the story of Alex who, one morning, wakes up inside Phillip “Flip” Garamond’s body.  He doesn’t know how he got there, but his body is in a coma and he’s not sure if the switch is permanent or if there is a way for him to return to his body.  Living someone else’s life is extremely complicated and as Alex tries to figure out if he should stay Flip or return to Alex he continually gets himself in trouble and can’t seem to keep his emotions or actions in check.  Eventually he meets someone who has had the same experience, which helps, but when he learns that his family (Alex’s) is thinking about removing life support, he is faced with a very difficult choice – figure out a way to return to his own body or spend the rest of his life as Flip.  I really enjoyed this book – it made me think about what makes my life good and what annoys me about life.  I wouldn’t give it a ten out of ten because it was a little slow in certain parts, but overall I liked the idea, the plot and the resolution.  I’d give it a nine out of ten.

Reviewed by the Librarian 100th Grade

Blank Confession by Pete Hautman

Blank Confession

Pete Hautman

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

2010

This book is about a boy named Shayne Blank. He walked into the police station and confessed to the murder of a high school boy. Why did he kill him? How could he kill him? Detective Rawls asks himself, but as Shayne tell his story and as the truth is comes out Detective Rawls is forced to see that Shayne might be more than the shy new kid in town. But how much more?  I would rank this book a 7 of 10 because the ending was not very good, it seemed like he wanted to add too much to the book.

Reviewed by Anna 8th Grade

Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt

Okay For Now
Gary D. Schmidt
Clarion Books
2011

I give this book a ten out of ten.  This book is about a boy name Doug who has a Joe Pepitone New York Yankees baseball cap, but not for long because someone took it and traded for a pack of cigarettes and then drove a car with no top and now it’s in a gutter somewhere. Then Doug’s dad gets fired and his “fast hand” gives Doug a black eye, and they have to move. They ended up in a town called Marysville where he will start an adventure that you will have to read this book to find out what happens. Happy reading!!!

Reviewed by Wade 7th Grade

The Girl in the Green Sweater by Krystyna Chiger and Daniel Paisner

The Girl in the Green Sweater

By Krystyna Chiger and Daniel Paisner
St. Martin's Press
2008

I would give this book an eight out of ten for a hard life story told with a positive twist. This book is a true life story about a little girl and her journey to live through the Holocaust. In this book Krystyna goes from a life of riches and nice things to a life in the German ghetto to life underground in a filthy sewer. She did all of this with her family to live to see another day, but the reader will keep reading to see how and if her family will actually make it.

Reviewed by Anna 8th Grade

The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara

The Bite of the Mango

Mariatu Kamara with the help of Susan McClelland

Annick Press

2008

I would rate this book a 9 out of 10 for its inspiration. This book is an autobiography about the life of Mariatu. She was a 12 year old girl living in African Village where she lived a nice childhood surrounded by her loved ones. Then one fateful day she was told to go get food from a nearby village. When she got there rebels, some no older than poor Mariatu herself, attacked. One of the many things that happened that day was the cutting off of both of Mariatu’s hands. Miraculously she survived, but that was the beginning of an unimaginable journey from the African refugee camp to the streets of London to a new home in Canada.

Reviewed by Anna 8 grade