Currently reading

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz.

I've got lots to read over Winter Break, so expect a lot of posts when you return in January!

Airman

Conor Broekhart has an obsession with flying. You can't blame him considering he was born in a hot air balloon. Ever since his birth he has been consumed with flying again. It is good luck that his father is the captain of the Saltee Sharpshooters and a good, trusted friend of the King. The King is also intrigued by flying. He makes sure that Conor receives lessons from his best friend, Victor, the Frenchman known as La Brosse. Conor and Victor are sure that their experiments will lead them to be the first to take flight. Suddenly, a plan to kill the king is unveiled and Conor is pegged a traitor and killer. He is banished to Little Saltee, where the prisoners, if still alive, are forced to dangerously mine for diamonds. There Conor plots how to escape and untarnish his name. To do so, he must take to the sky again. Will he manage to build his flying machine and escape the harsh prison? Will he make it back to the princess and explain to her what happened and profess his love for her? Read the book and find out!

Eoin (pronounced Owen) Colfer has written a really interesting book. Set in the late 1800s, the book is divided into three parts. I felt the first part dragged a little and it was hard for me to get hooked into the book. Once I was, I couldn't put the book down. I couldn't stop wondering how Conor might escape and take revenge on the king's real killer, the evil Marshall Bonvilain. If you like this book, you'll want to check out Eoin Colfer's other series, Artemis Fowl.

Ethan, Suspended

What would you do if you were forced to move to a new city, live with your grandparents, and go to a school where you don't fit in? Ethan Oppenheimer has to figure this out. He's been suspended from his nice school in Pennsylvania and forced to move to Washington D.C. and live with his grandparents. He soon finds out that the neighborhood his grandparents live in is nothing like his old neighborhood. He is required to wear a uniform to school and is the only white student there. How will he ever learn to fit in? Read the book to find out!

Pamela Ehrenberg has done a nice job creating an interesting situation for Ethan. His grandparents are old and frugal. He doesn't know how to interact with the inner city kids at school, his parents are separated, and his sister just left to go to college. Quite a few bumps along the road and a girl in the mix makes for a good entertaining read.

Games

Do you have an archenemy? Mick Sullivan and Boot Quinn do...each other! The two boys are in eighth grade and headed for trouble. It seems they are getting into fights all of the time. Finally, the new principal decides to handle things a little differently. He is making Boot and Mick spend and hour and a half each day playing games together! The two are placed in one room, with lots of games and no adults. Eventually they find themselves fighting...but over the attention of their classmates and a cute girl. Who will come out on top? And will the fighting ever end? Read to find out!

Games, by Carol Gorman, is a great read. The chapters alternate between the two guys and you really get to understand where both are coming from. I enjoyed it!

What I Saw and How I Lied

How far would you be willing to go to save your family? Would you be willing to lie, even if it means that you may never know the truth?

Evie Spooner is a 15 year old girl in the 1940's. World War II has just ended and things are looking up, especially for Evie. Her stepdad has come back and opened two booming appliance stores. Plus, he is taking the family to Florida for a vacation. Even better is the fact that while in Palm Beach, Evie meets Peter Coleridge-the most beautiful man she's ever seen. Turns out that Peter knew Joe, Evie's stepdad, in the war. Evie can't help falling for Peter, in spite of her beautiful mother and Joe's objections. Suddenly, a hurricane is about to hit and Peter, Joe, and her mother are boating. Who makes it back safely?

If you enjoy a good mystery that is a little predictable, than you'll like this book. Evie is a little on the silly and immature side, but you'll still like her by the end of the book. Let me know what you think!

39 Clues: Book 2 One False Note

If you read the first in this series, you'll like this one! Amy and Dan are back to continue the hunt for the 39 clues that will lead to untold fortune and power. This book takes their search to places like Paris, Austria, and Italy. Of course all the other Cahill family members are hot on their trails. Find out if Amy and Dan can get to the second clue before anyone else!

The concept for this series was written by Rick Riordan and Gordon Korman, two great authors! Each book in this series is written by a different author. There will be ten books in all. It is a great action adventure mystery. Check it out!

The London Eye Mystery

Do you like Ferris wheels? If you do, you'd love the London Eye! Built more like a bicycle wheel, the London Eye is a great tourist attraction. When Kat and Ted's aunt and cousin come to stay for a few days on their way to New York, they take them to the London Eye. While the cousins are waiting in line for tickets, a man approaches them and offers a free ticket. Salim jumps at the chance to jump to the head of the line and a free ticket. Kat and Ted decide to track his ride and wait for him at the exit. Trouble is that Salim never gets off the Eye. Will Salim return? Will Kat and Ted, with his funny brain, be able to figure it out before something else happens?

This second and last novel by Siobhan Dowd is a great read. If you liked Chasing Vermeer, The Wright 3, and The Calder Game, you'll like this book.

Peeled

Peeled takes place in Banesville, NY, a town known for growing apples. The town has had a rough couple of apple seasons but it looks like this year will turn around.

Hildy Biddle is a member of the local high school paper. She is always looking for a good story and the truth. When a local haunted house starts getting national publicity, Hildy and her friends question the facts and stories written by the local newspaper, "The Bee." Soon the town is being swarmed by ghost hunters and it is up to Hildy and her friends to peel away the skin and get to the core of the real story.

If you enjoy a good mystery and a good apple, you'll like this!

The Missing Girl

Ever felt like you are the odd man (or woman) out in your family? Well, that is the way Autumn feels in her family. Beauty is the bossy oldest, Mim is the quiet beauty of the family, Faithful (now called Stevie) is the loudmouth, and Fancy is the spoiled sister that needs protecting. One night when Poppy and Mommy tell the family that they can't afford to keep them all and Stevie must be lended out, Autumn gets upset. When Nathan comes to pick up Stevie, Autumn has to get out of the house. She walks until she realizes she doesn't know her way home. She finds a man outside and he offers her a map in his house. What Autumn doesn't know is the man has been watching the girls for months. He has become obsessed with them. He takes Autumn in the house and locks her in a small room. Will Autumn make it out of the house? What is the man going to do?

The Missing Girl by Norma Fox Mazer is CREEPY. The point of view changes often in this story alternating between all of the sisters and the man. Very well written and worth a read if you liked A Child Called It. Just don't expect to think of things the same again.

First Bookworm Entry

I will be reviewing middle school fiction and non-fiction books as I complete them. Until I finish the book I am currently reading, here is a list of books I've already read and recommend:

-Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse
-The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
-The Hunger Games
-Thirteen Reasons Why
-Chasing Vermeer, The Wright 3, and The Calder Game
-Uglies, Pretties, Specials, and Extras
-Airhead


There is a little something on this list for everyone.

What are some of the books you are reading?

Until the next entry-keep reading!
Ms. Z