Magic Tree House Series

review by Caitee, 8th grade

There is a series of some 50 books, entitled the Magic Tree House and Merlin Missions, written by Mary Pope Osborne. Out of all the books, my favorite is book #32, The Winter of the Ice Wizard. In this book, Merlin has a mission for Jack and Anne(and their friends Teddy and Kathleen). Jack and Anne have to retrieve the Ice Wizard's missing eyeball. This book happens to be extremely adventurous. They run into danger,have to make some hard decisions, and in the beginning, they don't know(or have much of a clue) where to find the eye; except to go to the Norns. The 3 Norns weave lifes of people(such as the Ice Wizard, in the book) into trapystres. Jack, Anne, Teddy, and Kathleen have to some how get the Norns to reveal where the eye is hidden. This book, along with the series, is extremely magical. Though it is magical, it also teaches us lessons, such as loyalty, being truthful, and many more lessons that you will have to read and find. I enjoy reading this book series, even though i am "old". Right now, I am on book 29, I have been looking for this book for some number of years (literally). My mom just found book 29, I cannot wait to read it, and finish the series.

Click here to see if The Winter of the Ice Wizard is available or to reserve it.

Click here to see the rest of the series.

Guardians of Ga'hoole

Review by Caitee, 8th grade

There is a book series, Guardians of Ga'Hoole by Kathryn Lasky, that I have been reading all year. Initially, there are 15 books in the series, but Ms. Kathryn wrote a book entitled "A Guide to the Great Tree", and another, "Lost Tales of Ga'Hoole". This series begins with a young Barn Owl named Soren, going through his adventurous time trying to find the Great Tree, which is said to be a myth, other hard times, and a remarkable child and adulthood. Near the middle of the series, you read about Soren's nephew's lifehood, how Nyroc (A.K.A. Coryn, Soren's nephew) has a special ability, and his destiny that he has to discover. All of that is in between books 1 thru 7. In those books, there is much more than what I told, like wars, wolves, and more! Books 8 thru 11, each book is a legend about Hoole (you have to read to discover who Hoole is) and his journey to become the king of the owl kingdoms. I am only on book 13, and in a new beginning of another story, so I cannot tell you about books 12 thru 15, or the extra books that were written. Characters in the book: Soren, Glyfie, Twilight, Digger, Coryn, Ezlryb, Otelissa, Martin, Ruby, Eglantine, Madame Plonk, Mrs. P., Pelli, Primrose, Octavia, Octavia, and Doc Finebeak. There are MANY more characters, and things to tell how wonderful this series is. Read this book series!!!!!!

Click here to see the books in this series.

Halloween Pops

Teens made these Halloween pops at the library this week.

Twelfth Grade Kills

The book I chose, which is my favorite book is Twelfth Grade Kills by Heather Brewer. The characters are all well put together, except for Meredith. She's too much of a Mary Sue. For those who don't know what a Mary Sue is, it's a term used to describe a character that is too "perfect". The storyline is great, and it keeps the reader wanting more.

Note: Our library owns this book and others in the series. Click here to see if they are available or to reserve them.

Huckleberry Finn

Review by Bill, 11th grade

I dislike this book because it is slow and not funny at all.

Note: Our library owns this book. Click here to see if it is available or reserve it.

Running Out of Time

Review by Olivianna, 7th grade

I love the book, Running Out of Time, written by Margaret Haddix, because it is very suspenseful. It is about someone coming from a reserve and then coming into the 20th century. When I read it, I couldn't put it down!

Note: Our library owns this book. Click here to see if it is available or to reserve it.

Book Review: Swan

Review by Sierra, 10th grade

Swan is a Japanese graphic novel about a girl named Masumi who wishes to become a prima ballerina. However, she must over come many obstacles, including her fatal flaws and the great prodigies and rivals that stand in her way.

The series of Swan is full of competitions, unrequited love, and most importantly, Ballet.

The books are amazing to the artistic eye. Kyoko captures the grace and beauty of ballet, and multiplies it a hundred fold with anime stylized, but very accurate structure and anatomy for male and female characters.

To an artist, or someone who loves looking at drawings, they will be charmed at once by the pages of beautiful figures and graceful poses. Fans of Ballet will also enjoy this book, for the story shows and even tells you about many ballets, and the costumes and dancing that is drawn are very wonderful, and very accurate to the real deal.

Its flaws, however, probably make a lot of people turn from the book before they can really become hooked. These flaws include the over exaggerated eye lashes and flowing hair of the men, the rather intense use of shojo(manga for girls) sparkles/roses/fire, and the longer then normal dialogue. Manga(a form of Japanese Graphic Novels) is supposed to be carried not only by the dialogue, but also by the art. This book, though it's art is fantastic, can be somewhat confusing to someone who has just started reading Manga. Certain actions are not shown or explained very well(such as when a ballerina begins to falter), and one dramatized emotion can be confused with another(Such as amazement and awe that looks more like fear and dread).

The story is a soap opera, filled with fears, suspense and competition. This is not necessarily a flaw, but the listed things are so constant, that it can become very exhausting.

Aside from these flaws, the books are amazing to read, and to any hard core fan of Manga, this is a must read.

Note: Our library does not have this series, but you may request the books from another library through MeLCat here.