The following
book reviews have been submitted by Jordan students:
The Notebook
By Nicholas Sparks
Reviewed by Florence H.
Noah Calhoun and Allie Nelson were meant to be. They knew it
from the beginning. However, when wealthy Allie had to leave the
countryside where Noah lived, the two had no choice but to say
goodbye. More than a decade later, Noah came back from WWII and
was haunted by images of his once true love long ago. Meanwhile,
Allie was about to marry a wealthy lawyer, but couldn't stop thinking
about the man who stole her heart years ago. After more than a
decade, the two finally found each other again. Though Allie knew
she would soon be married, Noah and Allie just couldn't hold back
the love that was coming between them again…Thus, begins
the story of a love so enduring and deep it can turn a tragedy
into triumph, and may even have the power to create a miracle…
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Dancing in the Streets of Brooklyn
By April Lurne
Reviewed by Lucy M.
Thirteen-year-old Judy Strand spends her summers in Brooklyn
playing stickball, going on outings to Coney Island and her family
trip to the Catskills Mountains.
One day she finds adoption papers with her name on them. She asks
her mother and she finds out that the man she calls father isn't
her real father. Her real father was an alcoholic who left Judy
and her family making Judy's mother move to America from Norway.
Now Judy doesn't know how to act around her father and feels jumbled
up inside. Even being around Jacob doesn't make her feel better.
Judy really likes Jacob, it's just that Jacob's dad is an alcoholic
and it makes Judy nervous to be around him. But as bad things
happen to her friends and family she realizes that growing up
also mans forgiving.
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Pawing Through the Past
By Rita Mae Brown
Reviewed by Garret M.
Pawing Through the Past is the story of a small-town amateur
detective who is called upon to help solve a sinister crime. When
a series of murders rocks the small Virginia town of Crozet, the
local postmistress, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, with
the help of her faithful cat, must solve the mystery and unravel
the lies before more lives are lost.
Pawing Through the Past is a thoroughly enjoyable read. The dialogue
between Harry's cat, Mrs. Murphy, and her dog, Tee Tucker, adds
a nice touch to a great story. The writing also conveys a sense
of community and kinship among some of the residents of Crozet.
The reader can truly appreciate how close-knit the community is.
The plot is also not entirely focused on the mystery. The reader
learns of Harry's buying a new truck and taking a lodger in her
house. The romances of the town are not neglected either. Brown's
style draws the reader into the lives of the characters so that
the reader feels as though he is actually taking part in the story,
not just reading about it. Rita Mae Brown is a fabulous writer
of mystery, and Pawing Through the Past is one of the best mystery
novels I have ever read.
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The Curious Incident of a Dog in
the Nighttime
By Mark Haddom
Reviewed by Ahna R.
This is a novel about a boy who is autistic. In this book you
see everything from the view of an autistic child. He is told
by his father that his mother is dead, but he discovers a stash
of letters sent to him by her. He finds out that his mother is
in London and escapes from his house to go after her. He learns
that she ran off with a man and he gets very mad and disappointed
at both of his parents for lying and disrespecting him. This is
one of the best books I've ever read.
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Granny Torrelli Makes Soup
By Sharon Creech
Reviewed by Kristina X.
Granny Torrelli Makes Soup is a delightful two-thumbs-up book.
Main Character Rosie (twelve years old) and her blind neighbor,
Bailey, have been best friends since they can remember. But like
all friends, they don't always get along. However, with the patient
and calm Granny Torrelli around making recipes and telling childhood
stories, she knows how to make things normal again. This book
reminds us what's golden about life and friendship. I'd definitely
recommend this to peers my age!
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To Kill a Mockingbird
By Harper Lee (1960)
Reviewed by Alex M.
To Kill a Mockingbird is considered one of the greatest books
of the 20th Century, and I agree. This book is about a lawyer,
Atticus Finch, who represents African Americans before the Civil
Rights Movement. The story is told be Atticus Finch's daughter,
Scout, a six-year-old girl who worships him. Through the book,
Scout learns the important life lessons of racism and poverty,
that justice is not always triumphant, and it only takes one person
to stop evil. This story is really about a little girl who can
see the truth in people when no one else can.
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Things Not Seen
By Andrew Clements
Reviewed by Lori K.
Robert Phillips is your average teenage boy, except for one thing:
one morning he wakes up invisible! No one knows how it happened.
His parents keep it a family secret, but when he's out of school
for a month, Bobby's parents can hardly continue with saying that
Bobby has the flu. The school teachers think he's missing and
the police get involved. If Bobby can't reappear in five days,
his parents will get arrested for child abuse. Can he make it?
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Surviving the Applewhites
By Stephanie Tolan
Reviewed by Lizzie S.
Surviving the Applewhites is a great book about a kid on the
verge of becoming a juvenile delinquent. Jake Semple is getting
his last chance with the Applewhites before being sent to Juvenile
Hall. The Applewhites are a family of talented, indescribably
crazy artists. The story is told from two perspectives: E.D. Applewhite's
perspective (the only unartistic Applewhite) and Jake Semple's
perspective ( the blossoming juvenile delinquent). They are both
adolescents who have conflicting personalities. The story shows
how they navigate each other, learn to accept their individual
situations, and how, in the end, both become involved in a family
project that gives them a chance to do something they enjoy and
are good at. Surviving the Applewhites is a delightful story of
acceptance and change told with well-drawn, quirky characters
and plenty of humor. It is definitely a worthwhile read.
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Stormbreaker
By Anthony Horowitz
Reviewed by Cooper L.
Fourteen-year-old Alex Rider leads a perfectly normal life, until
his uncle Ian dies! When Alex is almost killed while investigating
his uncle's car, he finds out Ian Rider didn't die in a car crash
but was shot. Alex meets with a mysterious man named Alan Blunt
who tells him news that turns his world upside-down. His uncle
who he had been told was a banker all his life was really an agent
for Britain's Secret Intelligence Agency, M16. Alex is forced
to complete his uncle's last mission for M16. Alex must save England
and stop Herad Sayle from using stormbeakers (a type of high-speed
computer which triggers a deadly virus when turned on) against
the population of England. I would recommend this book to readers
who like a lot of action. It's a really good read!
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Jurassic Park
By Michael Crichton (1960)
Reviewed by Adam F.
When the large genetic engineering company InGen finds dinosaur
DNA in insects preserved in amber, they plan to make a major tourist
attraction. However, when Dr. Grant, Sarah Harding, and two children
visit the park and it malfunctions, they must survive in the wild
with vicious dinosaurs until help can come.
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Chasing Redbird
By Sharon Creech
Reviewed by Margaret K.
Chasing Redbird is an entrancing story about a girl named Vinny
from a large family. Vinny starts clearing an old trail that runs
behind her house to the neighboring town. While clearing the trail,
she remembers her Aunt Jessie and Cousin Rose, who are dead. She
finds a little house full of possessions that belonged to her
aunt and cousin. She also tried to figure out her mixed emotions
about a neighboring friend, Jake. I really enjoyed this book,
though I think there was too much about death in it.
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Taggerung by Brian Jacques
Reviewed by Chloe L.
I love all of Brian Jacques' books, but Taggerung is my favorite.
It has a really exciting plot and characters who each have their
own interesting personality. One of my favorite parts is when
Tagg (short for Taggerung) is reunited with his family. For many
seasons, his family had thought he was dead. When they are reunited,
it is happy and touching. Although the book had a little fighting,
none of it was bloody or gory. One part of Brian Jacques' books
that I really enjoy is how the story is told from multiple points
of view; we hear the side of both the heroes and the villains.
One of the only things that I didn't like was that the book went
on too long. However, I was still sorry when it ended.
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The
DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
Reviewed by Patrick L
The DaVinci Code, written by Dan Brown, is an excellent example
of a work of art discovered in a book. The mind boggling riddles
and intense moments are only two of the elements included in this
story, which make it impossible to put down. Before reading this
book, I despised mysteries, but now everything has changed. I
am now going to read a second book, Angels and Demons. I hope
everyone has the chance to read this sometime.
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Les
Miserables by Victor Hugo (1862)
Reviewed by Ryan F
Les Miserables is the timeless tale of Jean Valjean, an ex-convict
on the run from the heartless police inspector Javert. He is thrown
in with the young revolutionaries and street criminals in Paris
right at the beginning of the French Revolution. As his adopted
daughter, Cosette, falls in love with the young revolutionary,
you meet many timeless characters, including the noble Eponine
(my favorite character), brave Gavroche, the crafty Thenardier,
and the mournful Fantine. This is an amazing classic that was
impossible to put down.
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Chasing
Vermeer by Blue Balliett
Reviewed by Benjamin B
Chasing Vermeer is a mystery involving crime and art. Petra and
Calder are two 12-year-olds whose school teacher is involved in
the crime. Petra and Calder were both abnormal, and never were
really friends. Once Petra picks up a book about unexplainable
occurrences, weird things start to happen and they become friends.
There are all these weird coincidences, and all of a sudden they
find themselves in the middle of an international crime! The crime
was about the paintings of Vermeer who lived over a century ago.
After he died, someone decided to make replicas of his work and
said that Vermeer created them. No one knew about this until someone
in Petra's era noticed. This man decided to steal one of Vermeer's
paintings to receive attention. Once the spotlight was on him,
he made his point that all of Vermeer's paintings were not all
pained by Vermeer. Unfortunately, this man didn't give the painting
back, so Calder and Petra take it upon themselves to find out
where it is. A series of clues lead them to the painting, and
they solve the crime.
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Mariel
of Redwall by Brian Jacques (1991)
Reviewed by Leslie S
Tossed into the sea by an angry pirate, a young mouse named Mariel
wakes up on land with no memory of who she is. She lives at Redwall
Abbey until, one day, she remembers that her father was captured
by a rat called Gabool. Mariel sets out to rescue her father and
kill the rat who stole one of her father's most valuable possessions.
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White
Fang by Jack London (1905)
Reviewed by Haley V
White Fang was born in the wild north, and is one of five tiny
pups to survive. He solely depends on his mother, until he is
stolen out of the wild by an Indian and learns the way of mankind.
It is in the native's village that he learns to bristle, growl,
and snap at other dogs. Nothing, however, can prepare White Fang
for the cruel man who purchases him as a pit dog, and forces him
to fight with other animals. A man named Weedon Scott saves White
Fang froom this horrible fate, and he finally learns the meaning
of love.
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The
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahme (1908)
Reviewed by Patricia H
When shy, quiet Mole meets the friendly Water Rat, whose entire
life is the river, they become best friends. Mole learns of a
different life by the glorious river and meets many friends, including
the somewhat gruff and strict Badger who is always loyal to his
friends, and the greedy, vain, and wealthy Toad, who lives in
his own fantasy and is very conceited. The friends experience
many adventures together. They cure Toad of his undue love of
himself, travel over the river, climb through the freezing cold
of the Wild Wood, and a lot more. Whenever they need help, Badger
always takes them in with open arms and assists them with their
problems. This story shows how best friends stand by each other
through thick and thin.
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