Swindle by Gordon Korman

A Review by Matthew C.

Swindle by Gordon Korman is about a boy named Griffin (AKA The Man with the Plan) who plans a night at a decrepit old house with his friends but finds that they all were “busy.” When no one shows up, he goes exploring as his shrimpy accomplice Ben sleeps (later found to be a sickness). He finds a rare baseball card worth a lot of money. He turns it in a store but quickly finds it’s worth was lower than his hopes. Later he sees the storeowner on TV with his baseball card claiming it was worth over a million dollars. Being the man with the plan, he puts together a team of allies and one enemy to side step the obtacles including a high tech security system and take back the card.

I enjoy this book because of its ability to create a very solid image in my mind and its funny humor. I recommend this book to Gordan Korman fans. My favorite part was taking back the card. This book has received many praises. I give it a two thumbs up.

The White Giraffe By Lauren St. John

A Review by Valentina

The White Giraffe was an exciting book about girl named Martin. Martin is a daring, courageous, eager 11 year old girl. She lives in England and then has to move to Capetown South Africa after her parents died in a fire. Then she has to go live with her grandmother who she has never met before. She also finds that what she dreams about happens to her. She has been hearing stories about the white giraffe and she doesn’t know if he is real or not. Then later in the story Martin’s grandmother finds out that Martin keeps on sneaking out to meet the white giraffe. She finds out that the white giraffe is in deep danger.

I like this book because of the cliff hangers because it makes me always want to keep on reading. My favorite part is when martin tries to ride the giraffe. I think Lauren St. John is a very detailed writer. I give this book a 9. I recommend this book to girls who like animals and legends.     

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

A Review by Oscar

Percy Jackson and the Olympians the lightning thief by Rick Riordan is a book filled with Greek mythology. This story takes place in New York. There is a high school dropout who has been in a lot of schools - one of his excuses was, I didn’t aim for the school bus.  He was expelled from all of the schools. His name is Percy Jackson and his best friend Grover follows him every where.  My favorite part is when he is training at camp half-blood, which is a special camp for people who are half god half mortal. He figures out he is Poseiden, God of the Seas, son. So he goes on a quest to find the  Zeus’s master bolt which was stolen. Percy and his friends Annabeth and Grover need to get it back by the summer solstice or else there is war. This high school dropout is good and funny the whole time.

I love this book because of the humor (the table of contents is my favorite page). It is filled with monsters, friends and funniness best of all is the twist at the end. Some things are so unexpected. He is my favorite author and I bet you will get hooked too. I give this book 5 out of 5. It is also the first in the series.  I recommend this book to anyone who needs or has a sense of humor and all action adventure lovers.

Swindle By Gordan Korman

A Review by Nik

Ben and Griffin are best friends.  They find something in this house schedule for destruction. It was an old Babe Ruth baseball card.  They sold it to a shop owner for one hundred dollars.  When the boys left, the owner called the TV news and said it is worth one million dollars. The boys formed a group to get the million dollar prize back. They came up with a plan of a life time. The plan was to get the card back. 

I liked this book because it was a really good book. My favorite part was when they tried to get the prize back. Sequels to this book are Zoo Break and Framed. I think Swindle should get a Newberry award. I rate it ten out of ten. I recommend it to people who like mysteries and action.

The Million Dollar Shot by Dan Gutman

A Review by Max

The author of the million dollar shot is Dan Gutman. This book is about a 12 year old boy whose names is Eddie Ball and he lives in a trailer park in New Jersey. He is not a confident kid who thinks he cannot make a chance-of-a-lifetime to make a free throw shot at a basketball game. I like this book because I like to read about sports and contests. My favorite part of this book is when Eddie doesn’t tell you if he makes it or not. I think Dan Gutman is a really detailed writer, and a funny writer too. I rate this book a 9 out of 10 because Dan doesn’t tell you most of Eddies feelings. I recommend this book to most basketball players and boys.

This book is about a kid whose name is Edie ball who has a chance of a life time to make a free throw at a basketball game. I like this book because Eddie wants to make the shot and he likes to practice and get better. I rate this book a 9 out of 10. My favorite part of this book is when Eddie doesn’t tell you if he makes the shot or not.    

Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursu

A Review by Grace

Shadow thief is an amazing book I have read it a bunch of times.  It is awesome! It gets you on the edge of your seat! I think anyone who likes fantasy and adventure will like this book. The main characters are Charlotte Meilswetski   and her cousin Zee. One day Charlotte was walking home and there was a pale man watching her.   Then, there was a black cat that kept following her.  So she takes the cat home. When she gets home, her overprotective mother is home looking at her in astonishment because she has a tattered looking cat in her arms.  A few hours later Zeke comes over because  so many people are getting very sick in England so his parents sent him to Minnesota. The story takes place in Mall of America, her house, and some other places in Minnesota. A few weeks later, the shadow thief comes after Zeke and since he has special blood the shadow thief takes over and it up to save the world. My favorite part of the book is when Zee gets kidnapped by the shadow thief.

This book is my favorite book I have ever read before. I think anyone who likes fantasy and adventure will like this book. I hope that you read this book.  If you like this one, you will want to read the to others called Siren Song and Immortal fire.          

Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

A Review by Emma

Kira-Kira is by Cynthia Kadohata. Kira-Kira is the Japanese word for glittery.  Katie’s (the main character) favorite word is Kira-Kira. This story takes place inside and outside. Her family is poor and needs to find a house. She has an older sister, Lynn, and a little brother, Sammy. Lynn has a very bad disease that might cause her to die. Sammy, who Katie thinks is perfect, has an accident and needs to be taken to a hospital. Her mom works all day and overtime if possible. Her dad works all day and all night. So when her parents are home they are always tired and cranky but Katie reminds them everything is still kira-Kira.

I think this book is great because it’s very detailed. It’s not too long and not too short.  When I read this book I felt like I was actually there when every event happened. There was also a lot of expecting events every so often. This book is one of my favorite books. It also won a Newbery Honor. My favorite part was when Katie and Lynn are lying in the middle of the street.

I would recommend this book to girls. It’s a very wonderful book.