When Chase wakes up in the hospital, he doesn't remember much of anything. He doesn't remember that he fell off the roof. He doesn't remember who his friends or family are. He doesn't even remember his name. As he relearns who he is, he understands that most people have a strong reaction when they encounter him. Who was he? Can he be that person again, or should he even try? I love Gordon Korman and the way he develops these characters. Many authors try the different perspectives in their writing, but Korman pulls it off well. You can tell who is talking by what they say, and you almost don't need the chapter title to let you know. This book is not only full of humor but has a message for those who want to "restart" their lives. You can change. It is possible.
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Ian never thought he would have to go to reform school. After developing a good sense of how to stay out of sight and out of mind for the general school population and particularly bullies, he somehow finds himself blamed along with others for a serious prank against a new student. When he is sent to reform school, Ian has no idea how to handle the dance class, service projects, or an even larger number of bullies. Maybe he can get help from Thomas Edison (the late inventor with whom he occasionally speaks to in his head) or his new friends at reform school. This book was confusing at the beginning. With first-person point of view, Weinberger drops you in Ian's brain and hopes you can swim. The conversations with Thomas Edison were pretty strange, and it was hard at first to keep up with the characters. However, once you get into the book, it's a nice, light-hearted read, similar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Lina saw her life stretching before her like a beautiful dream. She would go to art school and really begin her life. That was before the Soviets knocked down her door and took her and her family to Siberia. Lina uses her art to hold on in the work camps where extreme cold and extreme brutality leave little room for beauty. But it's not just beauty she is sharing, there is also a code in her work. We hear so many stories of Hitler's cruelty, but we forget that Hitler was not the only dictator in history that killed so many. Stalin is one of those, and we were his ally in the World War II. Did we have any other choice? Can we rightly say the enemy of my enemy is my friend? We soon learned that we couldn't trust him, and the Cold War began. These gulag stories are some of the stories we don't hear, but we need to be reminded. Gabe spends the summer after he moves, making friends with Seth. The two of them played a game where they fought a creature known as the Hunter. When Gabe starts his new school, he realizes Seth is considered strange, and he has his own doubts about him. So when other starts teasing Seth, Gabe does nothing. But then he begins to realize that the Hunter may be more than just a game. I will admit to being put off by this book at first. They start with the imaginary world of the Hunter where Gabe and Seth have given themselves strange imaginary names. Once you get understand how the "Never" and "Now" sections work, the reading becomes a little easier. Then I was upset with Gabe for not sticking up for his friend, and the whole story itself was not that scary. However, if you are willing to stick it out, the ending made up for the rest of the book and will give you that creepy feeling you want from a scary story. When Chaya is sent away from home to avoid being sent on the train, she finds a place where she can more than just survive Nazi occupation. She can resist. Chaya becomes a courier, taking people away from the ghetto in hopes of survival. But she cannot save the ones she loves the most. When her resistance group, Akiva, plans a strike against the Nazis, she believes this will be their one chance to prove the Jewish people will not lie down and let the Nazis win. I cringe and yet feel the need to read books like this one. Chaya's story, based on actual events, makes it hard to read. How could people be so cruel to other humans? How does one lose their humanity? How does one look the other way? This is a hard read, but one that shows hope in the midst of darkness and friendship in the midst of fear. For those who appreciate Holocaust stories, this is not as dark as The Boy in the Striped Pajamas or The Diary of Anne Frank at the end, but there is a lot that will break your heart along the way. However, it is well worth the read. After his assassination in 1865, Abraham Lincoln was laid to rest in Springfield, Illinois. Most people know the story of Lincoln's murder as it shocked the nation after the Civil War. However, Lincoln's body was nearly stolen not once but twice, and this is the true story of that crime. I enjoyed Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James Swanson and was looking forward to a narrative nonfiction book like it. This was not as fast-paced as Chasing Lincoln's Killer, but it does pick up when it gets to the actual crime. The motive for the crime was important but seemed to take up a lot of the story. It was interesting to learn about the problems with counterfeiting in Civil War America and the start of the Secret Service, but the story of the actual crime was the major highlight of the book. If you are willing to stick it out, you will be rewarded with an interesting slice of history. This is from the Embassy Row series, and you will want to read All Fall Down and See How They Run before reading this review or this book. Grace now realizes that she is in a fight for her life. She is the lost princess of Adria, and there are people who would do anything to make sure that no one finds out. Grace realizes there are only a few people she can trust. Can she even trust the new love of her life, Alexei? I devoured this book. I love high-speed, romance thrillers. You never know which way it will turn out, who the good guys are, and what will happen with the turn of the next page. I enjoyed Ally Carter's Gallagher Girl series, but I think she left it hanging. This trilogy was a nice and not-so-neat way to wrap up a great series. Landon knows that he would perfect for the football team. His size alone would make him a great lineman, but one thing holds him back. He's deaf. With help from his friends and a few famous football players, Landon just might make the team and persevere. I love a good comeback story. I'm a sucker for true stories about real athletes who beat the odds, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand or the movies, Cinderella Man or Invincible. Tim Green's book is one of those. He also gives you a glimpse into what it might be like for someone who was deaf and wanted to play football. Green mentions two of his book fans who were deaf that he mirrored after Landon. What makes me even more of a fan of Tim Green is he calls reading "weightlighting for the brain." It not only makes you a better student but a "better, kinder" person. Molly knows her purpose as a dog is to take care of her girl, CJ. However, CJ's mother doesn't want a dog around, and CJ has to hide Molly to keep her from being found. How can Molly keep her girl safe when she isn't even allowed to be around? I had heard some great things about A Dog's Purpose and similar stories, but this was not my favorite. The characters, even Molly the dog, seem a little flat. The mother is also not the best of characters, and I dislike books where the parents do not care about their children. This is from the Embassy Row series, and you will want to read All Fall Down before reading this review or the book. Grace found out who killed her mother, but the truth did not solve her problems. The truth only made them worse. Her brother, Jamie, comes to visit her after everything else comes to light, and he brings one of his friends from West Point. However, an unlikely accident happens, and Grace doesn't know who to trust or who may still be trying to kill her. It's been a while since I finished this book, so I don't remember all the details. What I do remember is enjoying the fast pace, the twists in the plot line, and the secret that shocked me at the end just like the first book. If you think you know why all this is happening to Grace, you may just be surprised by the ending. I thoroughly enjoy a good surprise. |
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June 2021
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