8 Student Reviews

Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman 
reviewed by Andrew 

Son of the Mob is a great book. It is about a high school kid named Vince. Vince's dad is the boss of a mob. Vince wants nothing to do with it. One day he meets a girl named Kendra who is the daughter of an FBI agent. Of course they end up falling in love!

The reason I think this is a great book is because of how Vince keeps his dad a secret from Kendra. He does everything he can to keep it a secret. For example, he does not want the parents to have dinner together. Of course eventually she finds out that he is the son of a mob boss.

The School for the Insanely Gifted by Dan Elish 
reviewed by Andrew 

The School for the Insanely Gifted is a good book. This book contains ridiculous inventions and crazy schemes that somehow work out. The founder of the school of gifted kids is a fraud and a group of kids including Harkin, Cynthia, and Daphna set out to find out why. Daphna's mom had recently died in a plane crash, and unfortunately was never found.

I liked this book because of the inventions such as the top hat that has a computer where you can search the Web in your mind.

Over all this book was pretty enjoyable.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was an awesome story on television. In book form, it is absolutely banal. The whole book seems as if they took the script straight from the TV show and turned it into a book.

Buffy Summers is the "Chosen One". The Chosen One is a person who protects the world from evil by slaying the monsters that have managed to get into the human world. This book is a collection of three stories in which Buffy and her two friends, Willow and Xander, fight monsters and solve the mysteries of the underworld.

If you like the way the story sounds, I suggest watching the TV show rather than reading the book. In this case the show is better than the book!

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer 
reviewed by Jasmine 

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer is a mystery and fantasy book. The story starts out with the main character, Artemis Fowl, a child prodigy who stumps even the smartest of doctors. But there's a catch; Artemis Fowl believes in faeries. He is from a very rich family so he uses all of the resources he can to search for these faeries. At last he ends up in Ho Chi Minh City following a lead which said that there was a magical faerie healer there. Once he gets there he finds that the rumor was true! What will he do now?

Artemis Fowl has a somewhat weak storyline with strong characters. Almost the whole entire book rides on the characters. Overall it was an okay book.

Brainboy and the Deathmaster by Tor Seidler 
reviewed by Jasmine 

Brainboy and the Deathmaster by Tor Seidler is a sci-fi book. The story is about an orphan named Darryl Kirby. Darryl Kirby is extremely skillful when it comes to videogames. When a new version of his favorite game, Starmaster, comes out he begins to play it. But he notices that something is different. It's almost as if the game had a mind of its own...Brainboy and the Deathmaster is an average book when it comes to plot and storyline. Yet the book still manages to keep you hooked. Overall the book was an enjoyable and fun read.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis 
reviewed by Jake 

The book The Watsons go to Birmingham is based on a true story. In this book Kenneth Watson and his family go to Birmingham to meet their Grandma Sands. They are having so much fun with their Grandma until one day a terrible accident happens. You’ll have to read the book to find out. While at their Grandma's house Kenneth and his brother finally learn to get along. This is a great book for people who want to learn about a tragic event in the USA.

Librarians Note: The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was bombed almost exactly 50 years ago, on September 15, 1963. It was not an accident. The bombers were members of the United Klans of America. Four little girls, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Denise McNair, died.

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson 
reviewed by Jake 

In the book Forge a slave runs away from her owner and is on the run. On the way she meets a black soldier. They run away and join the army during the Revolutionary War. During the war, Curzon wonders if it is even worth fighting for the Americans because they are mistreating them. They have to survive a cold and harsh winter at Valley Forge, building their own house. All they have to eat were Firecakes. " Breakfast was Firecake and water. Dinner was Firecake and water.". I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Revolutionary War.

Theodore Boone: The Activist by John Grisham 
reviewed by Jake 

This is a very interesting book about a child lawyer. He is not really a lawyer but helps a lot of people win cases. He even found his own dog in animal court.

In this book Theo has to stop the government from tearing down over 50 private properties to build a big interstate. This interstate will pass right next to a school and will tear down new soccer fields that just cost 1 million dollars to build. His friends' property will also be torn down. Theo, his friend, and his dog get jumped by contractors. Theo is now determined to win this case. Read this book if you like mystery and law.