Look In A Book

  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...

  Review: The Postmortal - A Unique Dystopia By: Dev Menghrajani 2/5/2021 The Postmortal by Drew Magary is yet another great dystopian read. What’s the unique twist to this dystopian novel? The cure to aging has been found, and everyone scrambles to get it, without thinking or caring about the consequences of it all. Magary predicts that this will be the demise of the world, as overpopulation and a lack of resources leads to utter chaos. The Postmortal doesn't just provide a unique viewpoint to society, but helps us realize the value of life and how important it is to make the most out of it. Focused in the late 2010s and skipping 10-20 years twice, The Postmortal focuses on the life of John Farrell, a young lawyer in New York City. John is your typical lawyer: wealthy and young. As soon as John hears of the new “cure” for aging, he rushes to get it. Soon after John gets the cure and realizes that he is trapped in his body forever, he is desperate for change. John spends t...

   Reviewed By: Anjana Menghrajani  First They Killed My Father is a breathtaking and heartbreaking memoir written by Loung Ung on her childhood journey. It is a must-read. Ung was only five years old when the Khmer Rouge (Communist Party) took over Cambodia in 1975.  The Khmer Rouge reigned over Cambodia for four years. When Ung and her family were forced out of their home in Phnom Penh, Ung faced many struggles such as surviving the training camp where she was sent to be a soldier, the treatment that she faced as a girl/women, and the bond that she had with her family that the Khmer Rouge soldiers tried to destroy.       Ung lived in Phnom Penh until she was five. She grew up as a privileged citizen and her father was part of the government. Her comfortable lifestyle is something often referred to, as she is receiving a good education and does not have chores because the cleaning lady does them, unlike many children. Because of this, the family ...

  By: Deepak Menghrajani Ellen Foster grew up in a household where she was always scared. Her mother was always sick and her father always drunk. Eventually both her parents passed away. The father is abusive and the parents do not have a good relationship. She refers to the rest of her family as either “dead or crazy.” She has one friend, Scarletta. She did not have a stable home life and a happy, normal childhood. It was only after she left the house that she started to get a more stable life and a therapist. Her childhood trauma impacts the ways she thinks and acts, as well as how she views life.       The book intertwines between the past and the present which I like. It shows the differences between her old life and her new life. It is clear that her new life is so much better and her life changes in her new life are filled with more protective factors. However, the old risk factors from her previous life still impact her. Since she keeps going back to...

       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...

  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...

Author: Josh Lieb  Review By: Dilan Mehta Josh Lieb has created a great book that kids of all ages will love.  The story is about a pudgy boy named Oliver Watson who is a genius and talks about how he is going to rule the world. The character is selfish and manipulates people to get what he wants. He has no sense of the consequences that his actions have and uses his powers for evil.  The book is in the first-person narrative of Oliver. Oliver runs several companies and is the third richest person in the world. (Later bumped down to fourth). He can't sign any contracts or do anything because he is a middle schooler, so he has Lionel Sheldrake, the bitter and wimpy minion. Sheldrake gets the money and brings it to Oliver, who stores it away until he can actually use it. Oliver is not popular, because he acts pathetic and dumb so people don't see his true identity. He has cameras and escape tunnels hidden throughout the school. And when his Dad challenges him t...

 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!