Look In A Book

  By: Dilan Mehta Ok, first off, I really like the Wimpy Kid Books. This post is not to say they are garbage. They are hilarious and unconventional, and millions of kids around the globe love reading about the hilarious antics of Greg Heffley. But I think the quality of the books are declining. Books 12-15 so far have not been as good as the other ones. One of the main reasons is the story isn't as good. The first 11 books are so are clever in story and character arc, and we see Greg in his daily, humorous life. You never know what to expect. But the newer books follow the same basic plot: Something happens that is supposed to be good, but things get complicated, and a bunch of crazy stuff happens. The one that is kind of an exception is the Meltdown, #13, but even that didn't have a story as good as the first ones. Another thing is that they aren't that funny anymore. I've noticed a lot of the jokes have been reused and there isn't a lot of witty, sarcastic humor w...

  Artemis Fowl - Review and Summary/Plot Synopsis (CONTAINS SPOILERS!!) By: Samvi Raj If you don't want any spoilers of the book, please only read the review. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy it! - REVIEW - I would recommend this book to people who love action, mysteries, and sci-fi. It is a great book with lovable characters, and you can learn a lot from it. This book is for very advanced readers, for it has many tricky words and things in it, however, if you are an advanced reader and are looking for a new book, this is the book for you! - SUMMARY/PLOT SYNOPSIS (very long) -      In the book, “Artemis Fowl,” by Eoin Colfer, a 12-year-old boy’s father, Artemis Fowl senior, has gone missing, and Artemis wants to restore his family’s legacy by getting fairy gold. The first step of this criminal mastermind’s plan is going to a fairy to get The Book, the thing that all fairies have, that stores all of their knowledge and history. Artemis tricks a drunk fairy into giving ...

 By: Annika Raj Ok, a couple of things, I wanted to let you know that this is the second book in a series and I'm writing about it because I forgot some of the details from the first book. Secondly, I haven't read the full book yet so I'm not sure of the ending.  DO YOU LIKE PERCY JACKSON? DO YOU LIKE RICK RIORDAN ONE OF THE GREATEST AUTHORS OF ALL TIME? DO YOU LIKE CRAZY MYTHOLOGY? Well then read the series, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard!  Magnus Chase is the story of a teenager named Magnus Chase who defeats a fire giant and dies...and then gets revived and goes to the Norse afterlife for heroes. He meets a plethora of wacky characters and he has to stop Ragnarok from happening by strengthening the chains that bound Fenris Wolf. These books focus on Norse Mythology, while The Kane Chronicles series focuses on Egyptian mythology and the Percy Jackson series and the Heroes of Olympus series focuses on Greek and Roman mythology.   (This is Magnus by the way...

  The Turnover By Mike Lupica By: Dilan Mehta Celebrated sports fiction author Mike Lupica tells a story of what's right, on the court and off.      Lucas Winston respects and loves his grandfather, Sam Winston. His dad died of cancer right after Lucas was born, so his Gramps is the closest thing  to a father he has. Lucas cares deeply about Gramps. They both love basketball, and that's familiar ground for them. Gramps coaches Lucas's sixth-grade basketball team, the Claremont Wolves, and Lucas loves it. Lucas and Ryan Moretti, his best friend, are both on the wolves, and Gramps is the best coach and knows the game inside-out. Gramps also frequently comes over for dinner with Lucas and his mom, and they watch basketball on TV. When Mr. Collin, his English teacher, tells them to write a biography about someone he admires, Lucas is pumped. He knows exactly who he's going to write about: Gramps. But Gramps is reluctant. He seems unsure and waves it off. He wants Lu...

       Framed by James Ponti is a great book! I love it a lot!! The title means both the definitions of framed.  It is like a framed painting or being accused of something you didn't do! It is a really good mystery. 12-year-old Florian Bates and his best friend Margaret try to solve the case of who stole paintings! I love the book Framed and you should read it as well. Bye, Vaibhavee

Warning: Post Contains Spoilers! Review By: Dilan Mehta This is a great book of Gordon Korman's that I have just read. It is about Eli, Amber, Malik, Hector, and Tori. Eli bikes to the edge of the city with his friend Randy, but suddenly gets very sick fast and has to get picked up by the mysterious Surety, the police force of Serenity. He stays in the hospital for a bit and then finds out that Randy is leaving Serenity. Serenity is where they live. It's supposed to be a perfect place to live. It's an ideal community, with no crimes, no poverty, no murders, etc. They value hard work and honesty. When Randy leaves, he's supposed to be going to help his grandparents on a farm. Later, when Eli finds a secret note that Randy left him, he says he's actually going to boarding school, and that something very screwy is going on in Serenity. And something is. Eli shows the note to his father, who has him take pills that make him forget about the note. Eli doesn't take th...

Author: James Patterson By: Dilan Mehta You've probably heard of James Patterson. He's an American author with TONS of books for kids and adults. Some of my personal favorites are Treasure Hunters, The Middle School series, Pottymouth, and Stoopid, I Funny, and more! He's also written a lot of adult books, including the acclaimed Alex Cross series and the President Is Missing. He's probably more known for his adult books, but if you search up James Patterson kid books, there are tons of good reads! He was born on March 22, 1947, and studied English at manhattan college. He then landed a job at an advertising agency, J. Walter Thompson Co., but later left to focus on writing. His first major book was a thriller and mystery called Along Came A Spider. After that, many more books followed. He won many awards. After learning his son did not like to read, he started making books for kids, tweens, teens, and young adults. His first book which was aimed at young adults was Max...

  The Next Great Paulie Fink By: Ali Benjamin Review By: Dilan Mehta Caitlyn Breen, who has just made the uncomfortable move with her mom to Vermont, leaving behind her friends,  discovers that her new school, The Mitchel School, isn't an actual school. It's an old dead guy's house. And there are only a few teachers. AND they do weird things like feed goats. Caitlyn's classmates each have unique personalities, one's really nice and obsessed with a reality TV show, one loves soccer, and one loves facts, and is always nervous. When Caitlyn shows up to school, things are very different for her. The kids don't act like how normal kids act. Caitlyn thinks there are a set of rules. And these rules are basic, and everyone is born knowing them, of what to do and what not to do. But when she learns about a legendary troublemaker named Paulie Fink, who has suddenly disappeared, and who no one can't stop talking about, Caitlyn has to wonder what's normal. She finds...

  Sorry I haven't posted in a while! Here are some of the books I have been reading to catch you up!  Dilan Mehta 1. Shoe Dog Phil Knight Shoe Dog is a memoir by the creator of Nike, Phil Knight. It's a poetic biography of how Nike, the sneaker empire, was founded. Phil had the idea in business school to import Japanese running shoes to the US. Nike's first original name was Blue Ribbon, and it started in Phil's parent's basement. It was later changed to Nike, inspired from Phil's trip around the world, when he saw the temple of the goddess of victory, Nike, in Greece. The Japanese company Onitsuka was working with Phil until problems started sprouting up, and Nike left Onitsuka. This was a great book and shows how much effort Nike took to become a success. From working with his old track coach, Bill Bowerman, to develop a new, advanced sneaker design, to rebounding from numerous problems, and finding a family, Phil Knights' story is one for the ages! 2.Cave...

Tired of the same old thing? Try these excellent writers, along with some of my favorite books that I read of theirs!  By: Dilan Mehta 1. Judy Blume Books: The Fudge series 2. David (Dav) Pilkey  Books: Captain Underpants, Dog Man, Ook and Gluk New Book: Dog Man Grime and Punishment 3. James Patterson Books: Middle School Series, I Funny, Treasure Hunters, Daniel X 4. Tom Angleberger Books: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, Fake Mustache, Rocket and Groot books 5. Roald Dahl Books: Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches 6. Gordon Korman Books: Restart, The Unteachables, Schooled, Ungifted, Swindle, Slacker, WhatsHisFace 7. J.K Rowling Books: Harry Potter series 8. Dan Gutman Books: My Weird School, The Genius Files, The Homework Machine 9. Eoin Colfer Books: Artemis Fowl series, Half Moon Investigations 10. Mike Lupica Books: Travel Team, Lone Stars, The Batboy, Fast Break 11. Carl Hiaas...

 By: Dilan Mehta Louis Sachar (pronounced sacker) is an award-winning Newbery honor author and acclaimed young adult mystery-comedy writer, with over 30 books! He is best known for his hilarious trilogy, Wayside School, and his bold and exciting mystery, Holes. Both I have read and were great.  These books have even been turned into movies!   Louis was born in East Meadow, New York on March 20, 1954. His dad worked on the 78th floor of the Empire State building, so Louis says   that was probably what inspired him for Wayside School.  Louis attended Antioch College in Ohio and after that, he helped at Hillside Elementary School, where in addition to taking care of the classrooms, he was the "yard teacher".  Once he graduated college in 1976, Louis decided to write a children's book, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, which took him 9 months, based on his experience at Hillside. The book was a success! He has been writing books ever since.  In ...

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler By:  E. L. Konigsburg Review By: Dilan Mehta This book has been celebrated as one of the top reads for children's literacy and won the John Newbery honor award. First published in 1967 by Atheneum, the book is wonderfully crafted. It is about a 12-year-old girl named Claudia who is intelligent and enthusiastic but is fussy and bossy. She is a leader and dramatic, and likes nice things and comfort, so when she thinks her parents don't treat her well and don't appreciate her, she runs away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. She brings along Jamie, one of her brothers, partly because Jamie has a lot of money because he saves wisely and cheats his friend Bruce at cards, which is needed. Jamie is careful with money and a cheapskate. He is also intelligent, level headed and has a strong sense of humor, shown throughout the book.  Once they arrive at the museum, they hatch p...

 Dragon Hoops                                         By: Gene Luen Yang Review By: Dilan Mehta This book hasn't even been published yet! I read a proof copy. Here is a summary.  In this book, Gene Luen Yang, the author, tells how he needed a new idea for a graphic novel. At the school that he teaches, all anyone can talk about is basketball. The Bishop O'Dowd Dragons, the men's basketball team, are inching closer and closer to the California State Championships. Gene wonders if this could be a good story. Gene hated sports when he was a kid, especially basketball. The other kids used to call him Stick because he was so skinny. This is why Gene is a little undecided about making a book that is all about basketball. But once he follows the Dragons around, goes to their games, cheers them on, hears their stories, talks to the coaches, and stays with them all the way, he re...

Author: Norton Juster Review By: Dilan Mehta Even though this book was originally published in 1961, it was still one of my favorite books. I originally had to read it for a school assignment and when I read the first sentence, I knew I was hooked.  The story is about a bored young boy named Milo, who doesn't think anything is worth doing. When he is in school he longs to be out and when he is out of school he longs to be in. One afternoon, though, he receives a mysterious tollbooth. Having nothing better to do, he drives through in his toy car and embarks on a great adventure with his two faithful companions to rescue the Kingdom of  Wisdom by finding the two exiled princesses, Rhyme and Reason. In the process, he makes new friends, visits astonishing places, defeats dreaded monsters and learns valuable life lessons along the way. Humorous, well written and inspiring, this week's read is a winner!