Loot

LOOT

How to Steal a Fortune

               By Maxine P.

This book by Jude Watson is so good! It is about a boy named March McQuinn whose dad, Alfie, is an infamous jewel thief. One night Alfie falls from a roof and dies. His last words are to March, “Find jewels.” March soon learns that his dad is not talking about booty, he’s talking about Jules, the twin sister March never knew he had.

But right when they find each other they are sent to an awful orphanage. They run away along with two other kids from the orphanage. They learn that if they steal seven specific moonstones they get seven million dollars. Who wouldn’t want seven million? Watch out, there are wild kids on the loose and a crime spree coming…   (That last sentence is from the back of the book).

      This book is very, very good. On the back of the book it says it appeals to 4^th-7^th graders and I guess I agree. It is not that violent or anything. If you read it, it just makes you go “wow.” I highly recommend it for anyone that likes good stories.

The Stranger Next Door

The Stranger Next Door

By Logan W.

          When a new neighbor moves next door, Alex’s life gets a little harder. 12-year-old Rocky and his family have to move due to an “unknown” reason.  Alex tries to make Rocky feel at home, welcoming him to shoot hoops or play with toys but almost all the time Rocky ignores both Alex and his little brother, Benjie.  Rocky’s first day at school turns out bad and bullies harass him.  Afterwards, a life-changing disaster happens, and who is to blame?

          The Stranger Next Door is an amazing book written by an author from Washington and by Pete the Cat, who shows up in the book too. The book has a great story line mixed with a little bit of mystery, action, and “red, white and blue monster monkeys.”

          The book can be found at the school and Federal Way libraries and is for ages 9-13. The book is written by Peg Kehret and Pete the Cat.

The Dark Hills Divide

The Dark Hills Divide

By Sawyer H.

Alexi Daily wonders what is behind the wall that protects the cities that she lives in. But one day Warvold, her best friend, and her are walking through the city. Then when he suddenly dies it releases an ancient and evil magic that can destroy the land Elyon forever.

Next she finds a way out and meets a dwarf named Yipes. He leads Alexia to a pond with a glowing stone in the middle. She swims down and grabs it then when she swims back up she can speak to animals.

It’s up to Alexia to save the Land of Elyon. With only this, ”You must destroy what you have built before midnight…” if you want to find out more you will have to read the book. This book is great for 3^rd grade and up, I absolutely loved it. This is a fantasy with talking animals, plotting schemes and saving the land!

Albrek's Tomb

Albrek’s Tomb

A book review by Dan S.

Albrek’s Tomb is the third book from the Adventurers Wanted series, topping the previous two books Slathbog’s Gold, and The Horn of Moran. The book is great if you liked the Perseus Jackson or Gods of Olympus series. The book has many twists and turns, a fast paced plot, and hooks your attention easily. This is a great book for 4-8^th grade students, and also good for young adults. It will completely blow you away, and is just undeniably happy at the end. The book, for once, is not to be judged by its title.

In the book, Alexander Taylor and his friends go on a quest to find the ring of searching. The dwarf mines of Thraxon were drying up, and the kingdom was losing its money. Albrek, a dwarf prince, had taken the ring of searching to find new mines. He had never come back from the journey, 2,000 years ago, (400 to humans, essentially.) to the Isle of Bones, the Lost Mountains, and the Golden Rocks. He had a party of 500 dwarves with him, to deposit a third or so per place. The ring of searching would be in Albrek’s tomb, hence the title of the story. On the way, the party, led by Alex’s friend Thrang, would face many trials yet to come.

There still was a small amount of sadness to the story, a tragedy on the isle of bones, a necromancer at the lost mountains, and a Thunderbird at the golden rocks. Alex and his friends, Katrina Dayyed among them, would face other trials, including the empty tower. He passed through many towns, and gets challenged harder than ever before.

So, this is a great book for 4-8^th graders, and possibly young adults. It has a fast pace plot, and gets your attention. So many things happen, and the plot repeatedly twists.  It has a great ending; undeniably it is a happy ending. It is also the third book in the Adventurers Wanted series. So, if you like other similar series, then get reading!

NERDS

NERDS

By Michael Buckley

Review by: Madeline S.

This book is thrilling with nonstop action. N.E.R.D.S.: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society is the first book in the NERD series; there are five books so far. I think that this book is for people 7-13 years old.

This book is about a group of fifth grade kids who are secret agents. They attend Nathan Hale Elementary school in Arlington, Virginia, where they are constantly picked on for being nerds. How can they put up with this? Because they lead exciting secret lives!

Each member of the team has a weakness that is turned into a super power. With this super power they are given code names such as Gluestick. Every day the team disappears from class. Where do they go? Jackson Jones wants to find out. This book focuses on Jackson Jones, the newest team member. He joined the team accidentally and the other team members hate him at once. Will the school bully/popular kid/star quarterback Jackson Jones ever be included in this incredible team? Will Jackson ever figure out why the team hates him so much? And what weakness could Jackson possibly have? In addition to dealing with school bullies, the team has to save the world, this time from the evil Dr. Jigsaw. Will the team be able to defeat his evil plans? Find out in this book!

The Lightning Thief

                           Review by: Maddie S.

This is an adventure book and I think that there is not one part where you will want to stop reading. It was very tense and the action never ends.

This book is about a twelve year old boy named Percy Jackson. It begins with Percy attending a boarding school with his best friend Grover Underwood. Percy is on probation and is worried about being kicked out of his sixth school in six years. By the end of the school year, Percy is not invited back to the school. While on vacation with his mom, his troubles continue. He and his mom are in a horrible accident, after which he ends up at a summer camp called Camp Half Blood. There he learns that the Greek gods are real and that there are people called half bloods who are half mortal and half god. At the camp, Percy is offered a quest to retrieve one of the god’s weapons that has been stolen. He takes Grover and another camper named Annabeth Chase along with him. On their quest, they travel throughout the United States fighting different mythical monsters. Will they find the stolen object and will they ever discover who the thief is?  

I think that this book is for ages 8-12 and parents. I suggest reading the book when you have a few hours of uninterrupted time. The author of this book is Rick Riordan.

This book was very, very exciting and it is very well written.  There are five books in the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians.  The Greek and Roman adventures continue in a second series, Heroes of Olympus. You can find them all in the school library. 

THE GIVER

By Griffin H.

Jonas is a normal boy in a normal city, where seemingly nothing goes on. There is no crime, no war, no fear, or any memories of pain. Every year that someone turns twelve, they are assigned a job.

The world goes on, oblivious to whatever happens around them, and the Giver is the one who holds all the memories of love, pain, and even death, and Jonas is singled out to become his student, to pass on the memories of real life outside of the city.

This is an amazingly well- written story with an imagination to match. This book’s descriptive properties make you feel as if you were in the story itself, with Jonas, during his rapidly changing lifestyle in a seemingly unchanging city. The book about his life, his family, and even possibly his escape from the city.

I would recommend The Giver to students in grades 4 and up. It’s a great read and won the Newberry Award for a good reason.

The Horn of Moran

A review by Dan S.

         This is the sequel to the book Slathbog’s Gold, and it is even stranger than the last book to the series, but by far not the last. The Horn of Moran is a great book and should definitely not be misjudged. It is great, but is not recommended until 10+ years old. It should be read after Slathbog’s Gold, but no later if you like it.

          So, it’s Alex’s second adventure, and he is very glad for it. Thus, when he finds out that a friend is leading it, he quickly joins. Upon joining, he meets two new people, Sindar and Val. Along the adventure, he goes through quite a few cities, and not very many were exciting. Eventually, he gets to the tower.

          At the tower, while everyone is asleep, Val enchants the rest of his party, but fails on Alex and Sindar. So Alex has to face Val, and the evil that possessed him. While victorious, he is only given three and a half hours. After he wins, he goes up to the top and collects the horn, and then hastily leaves.

          So this is a very good book, and so if you liked the prequel to The Horn of Moran, then you will like this book too. So, what are you waiting for? Get reading!

The Ear the Eye and the Arm

The Ear the Eye and the Arm

by Nancy Farmer

Book Review by Logan W.

I was searching through the library computer when The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm, by Nancy Farmer, caught my eye.  This Newberry Honor Book was an exciting mix of sci-fi and fantasy, full of action.  The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm is for ages 9 and up, and gets better and better as the book goes through. 

Set in futuristic Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, powerful General Matsika has pushed the bad guys out of the city.   But General Matsika’s three children, Tendai, Rita and Kuda, sneak out of the house and get kidnapped by his enemies.  Their parents call in the strangest detectives in Harare, Ear, Eye, and Arm, but the children stay out of their reach.

The story is told from Tendai’s view as the kids go to toxic wastelands and flourishing ancient villages while they try to escape.  The book is always exciting and funny as the kids work together to figure out solutions.  There are many plots that take place in one book, and it’s a story that seems to never end.  

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

By Maxine

This book is really good. It is about a girl who has to fight to survive!

In more detail, it is about another community in the future and this one has twelve districts that are really poor and one dominant Capitol that is really rich. To keep the districts in line the Capitol randomly chooses one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen from each district to compete in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. There are virtually no rules in this Hunger Games except that the last survivor wins and lives a life of worship and glory. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen from district 12 is selected and put with the other contestants in a very large outdoor arena in the woods filled with appropriate weapons and left to live or die. Katniss chooses to live and fight for what’s right!

In the arena, Katniss faces many horrors, such as bees as big as scorpions, brutal fighters, the torture of making a friend and then watching her die. But Katniss has something the others don’t. And she will use it to her advantage.

 Suzanne Collins tells the story of Katniss with refined detail and purpose and overall it made a great book even if the plot is a little disturbing. The Hunger Games is the first book in the Hunger Games Trilogy and the second one is really good too as is the third one so far(I am still reading it).This book is a bit bloody and not exactly what you would call “school appropriate” so I think it is best for fifth grade and up plus some kids might not be allowed to read it, your parents might want to read it first. But if you are allowed to read it, you should definitely go for it. It is available at the Seabury Middle School if you are interested. May your pages forever turn in happiness.

Joshua Dread

Joshua Dread  ̶  The Dominion Key –

By Logan w.

Joshua Dread The Dominion Key is a great book for Second Grade To Fifth, and with a lot of close escapes, good story line, plus good humor, I think that the book is amazing at all levels of interest.

          In Sheepsdale Sixth Grade Joshua Dread is in trouble against a long ago enemy, Vex, who tries to imprison Joshua and his friends. But when the young superheroes are attacked, do they protect themselves, or will the group fall to the malicious super villain? When they try to hide in their new school the plan doesn't work out.

Hilarious, funny Joshua Dread is a perfect book for grades second To sixth, with many surprises and conflict.

          Joshua Dread is available at the King County Library And Amazon Prime.

One Choice Can Transform You

(Divergent)

By: Maxine P.

The book Divergent by Veronica Roth was so good; I could not stop reading it! It’s about a girl who has to choose where she belongs and goes through a process to fit in and prove her bravery(it’s a lot better than that sentence just made it sound).

               In more detail, it’s about a community in the future where the people are divided into five factions (Dauntless values courage, Abnegation values selflessness, Amity values peace, Erudite values intelligence, Candor values the truth) and when you reach a certain age you have to choose which one you will spend the rest of your life in. Most people have one faction they are cut out for but very occasionally someone comes along that can fit into multiple factions. That is called being Divergent. If you are Divergent it is dangerous if the government finds out because it means your brain is wired differently and that is bad. The main character, Tris, is Divergent and chooses a daring life in Dauntless over a quiet life in Abnegation with her family and goes through a somewhat violent initiation. She faces many fears, such as zombie apocalypse (of a sort), public humiliation, and jumping off a building on a vertical zipline, and she struggles to overcome those fears. Then her life falls apart with a war between factions but I really do not want to give away the ending.

The book combines adventure, romance and dystopian fiction all in exquisite detail. It is the first in a trilogy but I have not read the others yet. It is one of the best books I have ever read and I highly recommend it. I think it is best for fifth grade and up, there is violence and it doesn’t seem like the best interest level for little kids. It is available at the Seabury middle school if you are interested in reading it. May your pages forever turn in happiness. 

Rainbow Magic

Rainbow

Magic

The Music Fairies

Reviewed by: Maddie S.

This book I think would be good for girls ages 5-7. It is around 65 pages long. It is a very exciting book with a magical fairy land, evil goblins, two girls and stolen things. Will the girls and a fairy be able to get the lost things back? Sadie the saxophone fairy burst out in a mist of pale blue sparkles! She wore a green-and-blue ruffled dress, with a glittery sweater around her shoulders, sparkly blue knee-high boots, and a matching headband.

This book is by Daisy Meadows and the tiles in the series are  Poppy the Piano Fairy, Ellie the Guitar Fairy, Fiona the Flute Fairy, Danni the Drum Fairy, Maya the Harp Fairy, Vitoria the Violin Fairy, and Sadie the Saxophone Fairy. In each one they try to get an object from the evil goblins.

  This book I think would be a good read for girls ages 5-7 and would be a just for fun book!

Slathbog’s Gold

Slathbog’s Gold

By M. L. Forman

Reviewed by Dan S.

            Grade 4 and up. This is an amazing book and the first of a series. It goes to great depth to explain the characters and the scenery is amazing! It kept me on the edge of my seat and I could not put it down until I finished. It is so amazing it’s hard to put into words; it just has an unbelievable plot. Great adventure/fiction book!

            So basically what happens in the book is Alex, the main character of the book, is walking down the street when he walks by a bookstore. There is a small sign in the door that says: “adventurers wanted”. He looks around to see if anyone saw the sign and when he looked back at the sign to see if he missed anything, it had changed to “adventurers wanted; apply within”. He blinked, surprised that it had changed. He looked closely, but there was no mechanism to switch the sign! He looked back at the sign and this time it said: “adventurers wanted; apply within, reasonable prices!” He wondered how it was doing this, and went inside what looked like him to a bookstore.

            Inside, he was surprised once again, to find only a few tables and a couple couches. There was no shelves, no books, just the tables and couches. There was a person there, and he decided to ask him. The man introduced himself as Mr. Clutter, and Alex introduced himself. Then Mr. Clutter asked him a lot of questions and wrote them down on an “adventurers contract”. He was surprised because just a while ago he was wishing for a different life.

            Alex goes on a quest with some others, (Halfling, dwarfs, elf) and defeats Slathbog the red who has been causing trouble. He also faces a 3 legged troll, and some bandits. He finds a “magic” sword named “Moon slayer”. The other members of the party are Bregnest, Halfdan, Thrang, Tayo, Skeld, Andy and Arconn.

            So yeah, good book overall and I recommend reading it at 9 or 10 years old. Yeah, just go read it! C’mon, what you waiting for? 

Bomb

Bomb; THE RACE TO BUILD AND STEAL THE WORLDS MOST POWERFUL WEAPON 

By: Griffin H.

Author: Steve Sheinkin 

Ages 9+

An enticing book, very well written, taking after real people that had studied to build the world’s first atomic bomb.

Robert Oppenheimer, physics professor and teacher at Harvard, had no interest at all in World War II, until one day a German scientist named Otto Hahn discovered that when uranium protons and neutrons collide, they split apart, causing them to release a small amount of energy into the air.

This small discovery caused a huge arms race to build a bomb so powerful it could wipe out whole cities; scientists all over the world were rushed to offices to build this weapon of mass destruction.

Though it isn’t all about the scientists, soviet spies and Norwegian freedom fighters like Knut Haukelid and Harry Gold spice up this adventure of how the first atomic bomb was built and “distributed” to Hiroshima, Japan.

This book is very interesting, good to read before you go to sleep, and some funny stories about what happened to a lot of the characters! The book is very fast-paced with surprisingly barely any violence at all.