Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25

By: Richard Paul Evans

     Ever since Michael was born he was more than just an ordinary kid.  Not only was he born with Tourette Syndrome but he has had electric powers for as long as he can remember.  Everything changes when he finds out that a girl in his grade,Taylor Ridley, may have the same type of powers.  The weirdest part is Taylor and his birthdays are really close together and they were born in the same hospital.  They begin looking at the hospitals records to see if that may be the link to their special powers.  As soon as they start investigating a peculiar school known as the Elgen Academy takes certain interest in the two teenagers.  Every goes down hill when Taylor and Micheal's mom are kidnapped.  Micheal will do anything to get them back even if that means risking his own life.

      The book suggests that the human race needs to be improved.  There are certain aspects of the world that should be changed but this book basically says that we should knock down the whole empire we have created and start a new with human 2.0.   It shows what happens when people are brainwashed and put into seclusion for so long they just lose all humanity they might have ever had.  It also shows us that our views on society really do shape who we are.  Not only that even the way we grow up and where we grow up effects who we are as a person.  Learning everything about this really makes you take a step back and evaluate the world today and look closely at the events that made you who you are today.

     I find the book very interesting because it's really the first of it's kind to be done.  Never before has there been electric children put into literature.  It's highly entertaining because there is a lot of action.  While there might be a few dull moments, in my opinion, the story always picks back up and gets even better with twists you never saw coming.  The book leaves off at a good place but it has that suspenseful feeling that if you don't get the next book you might just die.  I personally cannot wait to get my hands on the second book.

     I really did love this book and I'd recommend it to anyone.  It's just your typical children's book of our age.  Overall I give it an A.

...Her plans to Maximize fun, avoid distaster, and (possibly) save the world!!

    BEST BOOK EVER!! This book is written by: Katherine Hannigan. She is such an awesome children's author! She is really good at bringing real life situations that seem to be overlooked, to the readers realization. This book is a fictional and a realistic one. The main purpose of this book is to have you take a step back and really come to realize that terrible things really do happen in life and it can effect you in many ways.
     Alright, lets get to the good stuff! So this book is from a 1st person point-of-view. It follows the life of a girl named Ida B Applewood who claims that "There is never enough time for fun(pg 3)." Ida would be in the fourth grade, but she is home-schooled. Ida is home-schooled because she tried going to school in kindergarten and it just wasn't working for her, so her parents decided to try home-schooling. Ida has many "friends," her backyard is an orchard and so there are many trees and a stream that goes though it. So she talks to the trees, all of them have names, the stream even has a name. Those are her friends. She claims that they talk back and that if you're quiet you can feel them speak to you. Well a turn of events is making a change of plans, Ida's mom gets cancer and Ida has to start going back to school. Ida HATES school. So she decides that she is going to have a "bad" heart and completely rebel and shove everybody out of her life. Family, "friends", and all the people that she will come into contact with at school. Her policy is no friends, classmates, parents, or teachers. The question is, will she be able to pull out of this awful trance that she has gotten herself into? Will she continue to be mean and have a sad depressing life? Well that is up to you to go pick this amazing 246 page book with 32 chapters inside and read what this 4th grade girl has to go through.
     This book was definitely one that I will never put in the attic! It really helped me to really try and look out and try to help people that look like they are having a bad day, because you never know what that person is going through and they might just need someone consistent to check on them everyday. Maybe they don't have support at home, or they just need some lifting up. This book was definitely one that was a fun read and very exciting. It was exciting and fun because of the way Ida talks and just the funny things that she says and the way she thinks. I will give this book a big fat A+!

The Wizard of Oz

 
The first thing you need to know about the Wizard of Oz book is that it is much different than the movie. Instead of a cheesy, classic with musical numbers. The book is more a fairytale like adventure. The story begins with Dorothy and her trusty dog Toto living a dull life on a Kansas farm. When a cyclone takes her and Toto away, they arrive in a strange land known as Oz. When her house accidentally kills the Wicked Witch of the East she meets the Munchkins, the good witch of the North, and takes the dead witch's silver shoes. She is directly by the Munchkins to go to see the Great Oz in the emerald city. On her journey she meets a scarecrow, a tin man, and a cowardly lion who come with her on her journey. When they reach they Emerald City, they plead the Great Oz for their desires. He says that if they slay the Wicked Witch of The West they may have their wishes granted. The companions go to the West and are taking prisoners by the witch. Dorothy manages to destroy her and free the land of the West. They travel back to the Emerald City have their wishes granted (somewhat). Only Dorothy's wish is not granted. So she travels to the South to find the good witch that lives there. With the witch's help, Dorothy returns to Kansas.

I thought that this book was great! Its a lot different from the movie and some of the characters are brilliant. It is a classic book and the author himself said that he wanted this book to be a modern fantasy like the Grimm fairy tales. Also the details in this book are incredible my personal favorite is when the dreary landscape of Kansas is being described.