Summer Reading Program Reviews

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Nory Ryan’s Song by Patricia Reilly Giff

I read Nory Ryan’s Song. It was much better than I expected. It takes place in Ireland during Gorta Mor, the great hunger of 1845 – 1852. Nory and her family live in Maidin Bay, Ireland, a small town that has never been as populated since as it was during the great hunger. Nory is an eleven-year-old girl who was not very brave before the great hunger. She reminds me of Hope from Hope’s Crossing. Both were not brave at the beginning, but towards the end their bravery made them stand out among others. The other main character is Anna, the older and wiser town healer. She had no one to pass her knowledge on to until Nory owed her a favor, so she worked it off and as they worked they became friends. The plot of this story is like a train. If you take one part out it still works. There are two big problems and one far-off solution. One problem is that there is no food because the potatoes went black. Also they had to pay rent and if they didn’t pay right away the English would take their goods and the only food they had. But after so long without paying, they’d be kicked out of their house. One of the few choices was to move to America. So Nory’s family slowly moved to Brooklyn, New York, to solve the problem of no food or money. But Anna, her dearest friend, decided to stay in Ireland in her warm house with her loving dog. This is a great book because now when I say, “I’m Irish,” I know why I’m in America. I will suggest it to every girl that loves history and a sad, loving story that shows what it means to be a good friend. Review by Shauna

Girl of the Moment by Lizabeth Zindel

“It’s amazing how one summer can change your life forever.” Lily is exasperated when her summer internship at the Museum of Modern Art is canceled, but her summer lights up again when her dad meets an old college friend who finds her an internship with teenage celebrity Sabrina Snow. Lily thinks her future life is going to be glamour, fun and parties, but once she starts her internship, she finds that being Sabrina Snow is not easy, and neither is being her sidekick. With dozens of commands to obey, millions of fan letters to reply to, lots of lists to make, and more than a few parties to plan, Lily discovers the ups and downs of Hollywood life. But there are still quite a few embarrassing but funny mishaps occurring in this star summer. When Lily is sucked into stardom life, she needs to find a clever way to get out of it… Girl of the Moment is a good book for middle-aged children readers who want to get a glimpse of a teenage actress’s life. It is a romantic book filled with funny mistakes, decorated goody bags, and lots of exaggerated magazine articles. The age range of this book should be ages 12-up because of the overfilled romance and some of the words they use. So if you like books with a lot of mishaps, fun, flirting, parties, and famous people, Girl of the Moment is a good book for you. So read Girl of the Moment now!!!!!!! Review by Anusha

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

A boy whose brain works on a different operating system pieces together the challenging mystery of where his lost cousin is. Wow! This book is fantastic. It tkes you around London while you learn weather terms and about the Coriolis Effect. It really describes characters like the main character Ted. It always tells you what he’s thinking in his different operating-system brain. The London Eye Mystery is puzzling and a great book. Review by Jordan

Another Summer Reading Program Review

The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet by Erin Dionne

8th grader Hamlet Kennedy does not have your average life.  She has a genius 7-year-old sister that is in her 8th grade class and she has Shakespeare-obsessed parents.  Dezzie (her genius sister) is ruining her life!  Hamlet is failing pre-algebra and it doesn’t help that Dezzie is “tutoring” Hamlet’s secret crush, Carter.  In English, their Shakespeare unit is just starting, and when Mrs. Wimple asks Hamlet to read aloud to the class from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, she finds an unwanted talent.  Hamlet gets assigned the lead role in the Shakespeare play, and trying to hide it from her parents isn’t working.  Especially when Mrs. Wimple invites them in to teach the class about Shakespeare.  Find out what happens to Hamlet by reading the book!  Review by Caitlin

Reviews from the Summer Reading Program

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Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

I read Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli.  I picked this book because the cover intrigued me --simple but powerful.  A plain yellow star with a green stick-figure girl.  This story is very interesting.  It is about what you would do for someone you love and how doing something for someone else will help you in the end.  I thought Stargirl would be about a popular girl who was always the center of attention, but it turned out to be a book about the ups and downs of friendship.  Stargirl Caraway is strange, but in a good way. She is strange because she looks through newspapers to find out birthdays, weddings, deaths, etc.  Sometimes when she is learning something, she breaks down and acts like a little kid.  Leo Borlock is shy and outgoing –he stands out in the crowd by his actions, and only opens up to certain people.  This book takes place in modern-day Mica, Arizona, located in the middle of a desert.  It was an amazing book.  You can tell that Jerry Spinelli spent a lot of time on the characters.  The way they acted and the way they connect flowed perfectly.  I wouldn’t change one thing, because if you change something it wouldn’t sound as good as it did before.  I would recommend this book to anyone who is sick and tired of the same thing every day.  Even though you’re not in Mica, Jerry Spinelli makes you feel like you are.  I can’t wait to read the sequel to this book.  Review by Shauna

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

A girl in New York City starts receiving many strange notes.  She starts to think that writing back is the only way to save her friend’s life.  But when Disaster strikes, she thinks it’s too late.  This book is very mild.  The characters never really leave the city and it’s more about the main character making new friends than solving the mystery.  The book had really short chapters that were about 3 pages long, which was nice.  I thought When You Reach Me was very mild, but an okay book.  Review by Jordan

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

I did not like this book.  I was originally attracted to the idea of a teenager’s point of view with a “Groundhog Day” type of plot.  However, it just made me feel like I was reading a mess of a life happening over and over again with no change.  Samantha was an annoying person, and the fact that we had to read about her stupid mistakes repeatedly while she didn’t have a clue what she did wrong was excruciating.  The rest of the characters were not a joy to read about either.  They were mostly drunks, drug users, or just plain selfish.  Yes, there were the exceptiosn of Juliet and Kent, but the main character and her group almost destroyed them both.  The book was tiring to read because there was almost no pause in the constant drama that filled their “typical” high school life.  The author tried to make the ways Samantha spent her death day dramatically different to keep the audience interested, but I was just tired of it by the second death day.  There were a few good moments in the book, but that was about it.  This was a decent debut book, but even though the author is aiming for the teenage audience, she doesn’t need to dramatize everything.  Teenagers are meant to read between the lines.  Review by Hillary