Other Award(s)

Roald Dahl's Matilda, is a good short read. The concept of a heroine rising to action is decently intriguing. However, the book feels very lackluster with its characters being so one dimensional. While the characters are great for its intended audience, creating some depth to characters can always benefit a novel. Overall, the book is great for younger reader and those looking for a short book that has a lot of fun packed into it.

Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio is about a girl named Peg who is diagnosed with polio. Polio (poliomyelitis) is a disease that causes paralysis. You can get it by consuming contaminated water and food or by contacting an infected person. Peg gets dragged away to the hospital without even getting to say goodbye to her family. For the next couple weeks Peg must take on not moving, feeding tubes, and physical therapy to get her muscles moving again. I really loved this book. It messed with my emotions the whole time. I was either balling my eyes out or smiling ear to ear. This was one of the best books I have ever read. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a nonfiction, emotion pulling, great book.

The Hunger Games is about a girl named Katniss who becomes a tribute in the hunger games. The hunger games is a battle royale. A battle royale is a game where two tributes from twelve districts fight for their lives to be the last person standing. The Hunger Games is a punishment because there was a rebellion. While being dragged off to prepare for battle, Katniss must process the thought of life or death.

This was one of the best books I have ever read. There was never a dull moment and it kept me intrigued the whole time. This book is full of adventure and definitely brought out some of my emotions such as, sadness, happiness, and anger. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great and fast book to read.

Keeper of the Lost Cities is about a girl named Sophie Foster who has never fit in with her family or classmates. One day Sophie learns that she is an elf and a very powerful one as well. Sophie is then taken to the Lost Cities where the other elves live. To keep her human family and herself safe, she must leave everything and begin her new life in the Lost Cities. Sophie is enrolled at Foxfire, a very prestigious elven school. There she must re-learn many things, and if that isn't enough, someone is out to get Sophie and the secrets hidden inside her mind. This book was really popular with my classmates in sixth grade. I have just now gotten a chance to read it and I really enjoyed the book. This is the first book in the series and the author ended the book with me wanting more. I personally think the book is well written. It took me on the adventure with Sophie in a different reality. Some names in the book such as the school name and things that were considered top secret had some really plain names compared to the characters names and names for stones or chemicals. Other than that, it was a really good book. This book may be better for older elementary or middle school readers, but if you're curious about reading it, I would give it a try. Don't let the size of it intimidate you.

Keeper of the Lost Cities is about a girl named Sophie Foster who has never fit in with her family or classmates. One day Sophie learns that she is an elf and a very powerful one as well. Sophie is then taken to the Lost Cities where the other elves live. To keep her human family and herself safe, she must leave everything and begin her new life in the Lost Cities. Sophie is enrolled at Foxfire, a very prestigious elven school. There she must re-learn many things, and if that isn't enough, someone is out to get Sophie and the secrets hidden inside her mind.

This book was really popular with my classmates in sixth grade. I have just now gotten a chance to read it and I really enjoyed the book. This is the first book in the series and the author ended the book with me wanting more. I personally think the book is well-written. It took me on the adventure with Sophie in a different reality. Some names in the book such as the school name and things that were considered top secret had some really plain names compared to the characters names and names for stones or chemicals. Other than that, it was a really good book. This book may be better for older elementary or middle school readers, but if you're curious about reading it, I would give it a try. Don't let the size of it intimidate you.

Frankly in Love by David Yoon tells the story of a Korean-American high school senior named Frank Li. Frank’s parents only have one rule when it comes to dating--date a Korean girl. But Frank finds himself in love with a white girl, and in a crazy attempt to hide their relationship from his parents, he teams up with his friend Joy Song to orchestrate a wild fake dating scheme. However, along the way, Frank finds himself wondering if he really knows what love is after all. I enjoyed reading this book. It was deeper than just a teenage love story. It held both the expectations of Korean parents for their kids and Frank trying to find his place, feeling neither Korean or American enough. Some of the character’s choices weren’t really the best and sometimes they can be extremely awkward, but overall it was still an enjoyable read. I recommend it not only for the romance but everything else it touches.

This book is incredible! Lone Survivor is the firsthand account of Marcus Luttrell, a Navy SEAL, who served in the Middle East. In an attempt to kill a notorious al Qaeda leader, Luttrell and his team are ambushed leaving him as the only survivor. Lone Survivor shows the courage, bravery, strength, and valor of Marcus Luttrell and every other Navy SEAL. This book is truly inspiring and will make you grateful for all of the US Armed Forces. I highly recommend this book for everyone.

Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban is about Harry’s 3rd year at Hogwarts. Along with friends Ron and Hermione, Harry investigates the case of Sirius Black, an escaped prisoner from Azkaban, the wizard prison. Sirius Black is believed to be one of Voldemort's allies, and he is the only wizard ever to escape Azkaban, so he is definitely powerful. Harry Potter then overhears that Sirius Black wants to kill him.

This book is full of creeps and chills, like in one part, the train to Hogwarts is stopped because of terrible flying things that can suck out your soul. Because of these soul-suckers, Harry almost dies, but in the end, Harry learns a lot about himself, his parents, and friends (both of his, and his parents’).

But this book is still full of interest. In a memorable moment, Harry Potter flies on a Hippogriff, which is a hybrid between a horse and eagle. In another part, The Prisoner of Azkaban goes from fantasy to sci-fi, because of time travel, where Harry goes back in time to save himself.

With the adventurous and scary parts in perfect balance, this book is a good read, and personally, it is my favorite book in the whole series.

Citra and Rowan have diverged into lawful and lawlessness. Since Citra was selected to become a scythe she began to glean with Scythe Curie meanwhile Rowan went off the grid. Though there had been rumors of a Scythe gleaning other Scythes, who became known as Scythe Lucifer. Fighting the corruption of the Scythedom in their own ways, Citra and Rowan continue to learn what the mortal age world was like.

This book is better than the first book, “Scythe” because the Thunderhead excerpts between chapters add more complexity and depth to the story. Also inmthe first book the perspective switches were a lot less climatic, both main characters were in relatively similar situations. In this book the different perspective adds more suspense to the book, and perspective. The side characters were not static in this book, a lot more about them is reveled in this book. “Thunderhead” also had good foreshadowing that was sometimes a bit too obvious. The main thing this book lacked like the first book of the series was detailed descriptions. It almost makes the book seem more like a movie because it’s all action. Overall though I would recommend it to those who read “Scythe” and want to continue the series since this book is better.

Hour of the Bees is about a girl, Carol, who has to spend the summer helping her grandpa, Serge, whom she's never met. Her grandpa suffers from Dementia, and wants "Carol-een-a" to learn about her roots. While Carol's older sister, Alta, is complaining, and her parents are trying to sell the farm house, she bonds with her grandfather over fairy-tales centered around a life-giving tree.

The storyline does progress a little slowly, and the supporting characters don't change or have a major impact on the plot, but despite the small imperfections, I did not regret reading this book! I liked how the ending was very unexpected and captivating, and how easy it was to bond with the main characters. I recommend this book to people of all ages. Thank you for reading :)!!