Monday, November 16, 2009

BOOK REVIEW: Forever reviewed by K. Perry


Judy Blume is a famous author who has written many novels. One of her books, Forever, tells of the ultimate love/tradegy. Foever tells of a girl's confusion. The main character believes she is in love with a boy named Michael. However, this love is tempted when she leaves for the summer. I like that Judy Blume wrote about very honest characters and didn't try to fake anything. She wanted people to understand how Katherine really felt about Michael and how he felt about her.

I really like the book because I was interested in it from the very beginning. My attention was toward the book the whole time because of the constant involvement of all the characters and the events that took place. Forever is an interesting book that I would recommend to anyone and especially girls who love romantic books.

BOOK REVIEW: Sisters of the Sword reviewed by T. Estrada


Sisters of the Sword is a very good book with a lot of twists and turns. The book was written by Maya Snow in 2008 and was a pretty well known book. She has also written two follow up books to Sisters of the Sword, Chasing the Secret and Journey through Fire. Her books are filled with exciting twists and turns that will leave you wanting more until the very end.

The first book in the trilogy, Sisters of the Sword, is about a young girl named Kimi whose father is the Jito of the land. One day her uncle comes to visit and kills her father and everyone else close to her heart. By the end of the battle, the only people alive are her brother, mother and sister. Together Kimi and her sister set out towards Master Goku's school to train to fight as samurais. Since girls are not allowed to be samuaris, they have to disguise themselves as boys. Will Kimi and her sister be able to defeat her uncle and his people? Find out by reading the book...

BOOK REVIEW: How Do I Love Thee reviewed by R. Camarillo


Lurlene McDaniel is genius. She combined three great love stories into one really good book. The first story deals with a boy who falls madly in love with a girl who is allergic to the sun. Some circumstances lead her to fall asleep in the sun, which puts her life in danger. The second story is about a girl who can't choose between two brothers whom she loves. When one brother who she dated her freshman year, returns with a disease while she is dating the other brother, Lana must make a choice between the two brothers. The last story is about a a girl with a heart condition who meets a male nurse who she falls in love with. All three stories have a tragic element to them, but all three are really great stories. Highly recommended.

BOOK REVIEW: The Book Thief reviewed by Ms. Kellar


The Book Thief is set in Germany during the time of Hitler's reign. It is a story about a girl named Leisel Meminger who is taken to live with strangers because her mother cannot afford her. On the way to her new home her little brother dies which starts a series of events in Leisel's life that help shape her life. At her brother's funeral she steals her first book. Throughout the story, Leisel finds solace in taking books, learning to read, and spending time going through books with her new father. The Book Thief explores the feelings of the Germans who were not on board with Hitler's plan or with annhilating the Jews. While I felt the book started out slowly, and I had a hard time getting through the first half of the book, I truly loved the rest of the book and was glad that I stuck with it. Leisel's story is both sad and triumphant and altogether very touching. The story is told by death, which adds an interesting touch. I would recommend this book to anyone, but be warned, you have to stick with it for awhile before it gets really interesting.

BOOK REVIEW: Twisted reviewed by Ms. Kellar


Twisted is a fast-paced novel about a high school boy who can't seem to keep himself out of trouble - even when he's innocent. After working custodian detail for a past bad deed, Tyler has really matured physcially, and he starts to get noticed by girls for the first time. When he catches the eye of Bethany, the most popular girl in school, Tyler can't believe it. He feels like he's the luckiest guy in school until some naked photos of Bethany show up and Tyler is blamed for it. Struggling to get people to believe him, including his teachers, friends, and family, Tyler faces jail time, school suspension, and complete rejection from everyone in his life. Twisted is a great novel for people who easily get bored with most books. There never seems to be a dull moment in Twisted.

BOOK REVIEW: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants reviewed by Andrea Delossantos


The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is about four girls share a pair of pants that seems to bring them good luck. They create 10 rules about what to do when wearing the pants. The jeans are used to keep them in touch with one another as they all go off to different places over the summer. While all they are apart, all four girls experience life, love, and loss. I would recommend this book because its funny, sad, about friendship and about finding out about themselves. It is a book that you will always remember.

Friday, November 13, 2009

BOOK REVIEW: Healing Foods: A Practical Guide to Key Foods for Good Health reviewed by Lance M.




Are you interested in your health? If so, Healing Foods is a great read for you. This book, by Miriam Polunin, is interesting in the sense that it gives you insight into nearly everything you eat. You can look inside, find what you're planning to eat today, and figure out whether it's good or bad for you. You can find out what individual ingredients do for you nutritionally, and how the things tyou are eating will affect you in the long run. For example, by merely looking at the coer you are informed that shellfish support the immune system, ginger stimulates circulation, and broccoli raises cancer resistence.

The first part of the book gives historical insight on food, demonstrating how food was used as medicine in the old days. The next section presents a person's basic diet. It lists the main food groups and what each conssits of. The next section deals with with ways to improve your health. It shows you the diverse parts of your body's living system and the ways you can affect each one by your daily intake of food.
The last part, and one of the most interesting, is the seciton containing recipes. It lists recipes, sorted by course, and the nutritional value of each. The recipes are tasty-looking and provide the reader with a sense of hunger.

After flipping thorugh the recipes you'll definitely be hungry and itching to eat away at each page. It's a great book for cooks who want to maintain a slim figure. You'll learn the basic vlaues of foods and the different ways you can stay healthy. I highly recommend this book, and promise you'll enjoy reading it.

BOOK REVIEW: Back-Up Quarterback reviewed by Lance C.


Back-Up Quarterback by Eleanor Robins is a book that grabs young readers' attention. It is a story about a small town high school football player named Dan who worked hard for three years to earn the quarterback slot on the football team. Just when Dan thinks he has the position locked up, a new guy moves to town to challenge Dan's role. Knowing that the new guy, Clay, is better than Dan at the quarterback position, Dan must decide what is more important - the team or himself. This book is an outstanding tale of a guy who sacrificed his own wishes for a greater team goal. It shows that doing the right thing will pay off in the end.