The Hunger Games (continued)

In my last blog post about the Hunger Games, I left off where Primrose (Katniss' little sister) was picked from the glass ball. But since Katniss knows that her sister would not survive in the fighting, she steps up as a volunteer and takes her sister's place. The boy tribute picked in her district was Peeta Mellark, a boy that helped her once when her family was starving. She has a flashback, remembering that Peeta is the 'boy with the bread'. Peetas father is a baker, and he owns the districts bakery for people who can afford bread. It was in the winter when Katniss, her mom, and Prim were starving because this was before Katniss had her bow and learned to hunt down game. They were buying food before but their food ran out, and Katniss couldn't get a job. Katniss was outside the bakery when Peeta came out without a word, and tossed her two loaves of bread. Katniss then ran home to feed her family. Now it was the hunger games, and she had to kill him. Or did she? You'll find out if you read this book. Peeta is a new character in the middle of the book, and I really like his laid- back, funny personality. Suzanne Collins has cliff hangers and surprises at every turn. That is why she keeps me reading. I am now on the second book, Catching Fire. Like the first book, from the beginning, it has pulled me in. For those who haven't already read this series, please do. You're doing yourself a favor because it is so entertaining!!

Best Friends by Jacqueline Wilson

If you have ever had or have a best friend who you love spending time with and been though so much together, you can relate to this book very well.
The book I picked to write about is called Best Friends. I picked up this book when a friend recommended it. The characters all have very distinctive personalities, and the author describes the characters in a way where you know exactly what they like and what they are like. This book is about two girls named Gemma and Alice. They have been best friends forever, despite their differences. Gemma is a tomboy, and Alice is sort of a girly girl. But when Alice has to move to Scotland, the girls try to run away. They put on disguises and try to get a train fare to London. Since they have known each other since they were born, they cannot stand being apart and not seeing each other every day. There are many ups and downs in this book, so I would recommend this to anyone who likes books that have conflicts here and there. Also, if you like books with really interesting and intruiging characters, definietely read this. I loved it from the first chapter, and it kept pulling me in with many cliff hangers, really good characters, and a well-written and thought out plot. I have not read any other books by Jacqueline Wilson, but I will since I read this book and a bunch of people have recommended books by her. Read it!!
~Margot H.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Right now I am reading the Hunger Games. It has been pulling me in since the beginning of the book and is very descriptive. I think the characters all have very interesting personality traits. Panem, the only country left in the world, is what is left of the ruins of North America. The 12 Districts aren't very nice, and mostly everybody is poor. Katniss Everdeen is the main character, and she has a sister named Primrose. They go to the annual Reaping Day, which is where all of the people in all 12 Districts (the country is divided into 12 districts) go to their district's square and each kid puts a slip of paper with their name on it in a glass ball.

Depending on each kid's age, they put in a certain amount of paper slips. Reaping Day is to see who will fight in the Hunger Games, the annual fight to the death between 1 boy and 1 girl from each district. If you read this book, you will see who gets picked. So far, this book has been perfectly paced, meaning no slow parts or too fast parts. I think the plot is very creative and well thought out. I have not read any other books by Suzanne Collins, but I definitely will because she is an amazing author. There are many puzzle pieces you have to put together along the way, and so far I have been doing that (even though I recently picked up this book). This genre is sort of mystery-action, a favorite genre of mine (another reason I love this book so far!)

I would recommend this to anyone who loves a greatly plotted and well written book. The Hunger Games is part of a trilogy, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Read them!!!!

Thee Cups of Tea

The book I chose is called Three Cups of Tea. I chose this book because it is a true story about helping people in need. The main character is a man named Greg Mortenson who helps these people. The story is set in Pakistan. Greg begins to climb K2 in honor of his younger sister, Christa, who died recently. He plans to reach the summit of the mountain and place Christa's treasured necklace at the top. But when another member of his climbing group gets sick, they have to turn around. On the way back, Greg becomes lost in the mountains of Pakistan. He wanders into a poor village, and there the village chief and people take him in. He sees that the children don't even have a school, and most of the classes don't even have teachers. The kids have to find material like sticks and write their lessons in the dirt. After seeing all of this, Greg promises to return and build a school for the children. Over the next decade, Greg kept his promise to return and helped build more than sixty schools for Pakistan children. He became close especially with the chief from that village he wandered into, and with all the other children and people he met along the way. That is why the book is called Three Cups of Tea: "With the first cup of tea you are a stranger. With the second... A friend. With the third cup of tea, you are family." I loved the people Greg meets in this book because all of them are kind, warm, welcoming and especially grateful. If you want to know more about Greg's amazing journey, I guess you'll have to read this book!

Finally by Wendy Mass

This book is called Finally. It is the sequel to 11 birthdays, which was also really good. I read this book because I had just turned 12 and I wanted to see what it was like for this character to turn 12 since she has been wanting to grow up for so long. This book is about a girl named Rory Swenson who has been waiting her whole life to turn twelve. That's because every time she asks her parents for something like a cell phone, staying home alone, wearing makeup, etc. they always tell her "when you're 12, when you're 12". Her twelfth birthday is coming up, and she's got a whole list of things to do and get when she's 12 called her Finally checklist. When her twelfth birthday finally arrives, she gets a cell phone, stays home alone, and wears makeup but some of these things on her finally checklist turn out not so well. She learns that wanting to grow up so fast may not be what she thinks it should be. But don't worry, this book is definitely fun, funny and full of surprises! I loved it because it was so well-written from the beginning and leaves small cliff hangers which kept me reading. I personally like first person books more than third person books because you can really have a sense of what the main character is feeling and see their perspective. So if you are one for interesting, first person books, definitely pick up this book. It's so good!!

Blog Assignment #1

The book is called The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler. It is fantasy/adventure, which is my favorite genre. It is the first book in the Emily Windsnap series. My friend at where I figure skate gave the series to me, and I thought the cover looked interesting. So I started reading it and I LOVED IT! I think the characters are really interesting because each of them has a distinct personality and play a big role in the books. My favorite character is probably Millie, who is Emily's mom's best friend. You can tell by the way she talks and acts that she is a fun-loving, outgoing person.

When I read this, I could not put it down it was so good! This is why: It's about a girl named Emily Windsnap who finds out she's half mermaid when she goes into the water on the first day of swim class in seventh grade. Her whole life, she had never been immersed in water. Her mom was very picky about pollution in the water and how dirty it could be. When she gets in the water, her tail starts to form, and when she gets out, her legs come back. Emily also finds out why she's a mermaid, and the whole underwater mer/seaworld. Her dad is a merman, and her mom is a human; which makes her half and half.

I would say that there are no boring bits because it is light, adventure packed, funny, and well-written. It is also in first-person, so you can understand what the main character (Emily) is feeling. If you are a person for creative, adventurous, funny, and a bit of mysterious books, the Emily Windsnap series is right for you. I haven't read other books by Liz Kessler other than the series, but I will definetely look for more books by her. She is such a good author! I read books because I always feel the need for a good story, whether it's action/adventure or fantasy/fiction. And I love a bit of mystery too, like in the Emily Windsnap books (especially the first one.) I would totally recommend this book to anyone who loves light, imaginative stories. Such a good book!!

~Margot H.