Book Review: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Cabin Fever

Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Cabin Fever
Author: Jeff Kinney
Publisher: Amulet
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Pages: 217
Rating: 9/10

This book was based on three storms that hit New England, where Jeff Kinney lives. He was trapped inside of his house for the first storm, which was a blizzard. The second storm was Hurricane Irene. He was out of town when it hit, so all the flights got cancelled. The third storm caused Jeff Kinney’s house to lose all of its power. Also, they did not have running water.

In this book, Greg and Rowley are accused of a serious crime. It all started when Greg and Rowley started their own Holiday Bazaar to compete with their school’s bazaar. They tried to make it the best they could. When they finished, they tried to advertise it with neon green poster board. They taped it onto the brick wall of the school, but immediately it started raining and the dye leaked. It stained the brick wall. Then, somebody almost caught them for staining the brick wall, but they ran away panicked. While Greg thinks about the Graffiti, a blizzard hits. Nobody can get out of their houses and people are locked in for a while. That means Greg has to stay with his family with little food and water. Can Greg prove that he is innocent of the “crime,” and can Greg survive the blizzard with his family?

I thought this book was superb. I always like the humor Jeff Kinney writes in his books. They always crack me up. For example when Rowley said “Peas be with you” instead of “Peace be with you.” Also I like the way Jeff Kinney describes how Greg struggles with the problem he faces, like the poster board problem. I rated this book very high for many reasons, but the best reason was that Jeff Kinney used his resources and schema to write this book. It amazed me that from just one small idea you can create a whole book. The small idea which he expanded on was the three storms that hit. My last reason why I liked this book was because he included many important details and helped the reader understand the book.

I think this book is appropriate for ages seven through thirteen, because there is no violence and no blood, it is fun to read. I don’t think that adults would like to read it because it is childish for them and they probably wouldn’t get the jokes unless they really thought about it. Also, I would recommend this book for people who like realistic fiction and humor, because you will find yourself laughing at every page you read. I hope Jeff Kinney doesn’t stop writing this series! I liked this book very much and I hope you like it as much as I do!

　

　

Book Review: Hero by Mike Lupica

Title: Hero
Author: Mike Lupica
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 289
Rating: 9/10

What would you think a hero would look like? I would think that a super hero would be tall and have bulky muscles. Well, the hero of this book defies this image. He is a puny student, who never thought he had it in him. He was bullied all the time by gorillas, who would more likely fit the role of a hero.

Well it all started at a middle school, where Zach, a small boy, comes home to find his dad dead in a plane crash. He had worked for the president, but never specifically told Zach what he did. He had said it was top secret. Zach hadn’t believed it for one second. He thought that his dad's death was accidental. 

While everybody thought that his dad’s crash was accidental because there was no more fuel in the plane, Zach went to investigate. He stayed up during the night a long time just to find what had happened to his dad. One day he went to the place where his dad's plane had crashed. He saw an old man who told him about his dad. When his dad came home, for fun, he told Zach about these characters called the Bads. The Bads fought this hero. After Zach got attacked by some people he knew that the fantasy story that his dad told him about was real. His dad was the hero, and now they are after Zach. Can Zach prevent the Bads from destroying him?

The key characters of this book are Zach, Mr. Herbert, The Bads, and Kate. The most interesting character in this book is probably Zach. He is the main character and the super hero of this book. I think that Zach was a very good character in this book because he gave it suspense and flavor. One reason why I think that is because he gets beat up all the time, and he gets picked on. It is interesting to see how he evolves into a full fledged super hero. 

I think what gave Zach motivation on fighting the Bads and researching about his father, was his father's death. Zach is just an ordinary boy, but he has super powers, so besides that, I think he is just a regular boy. Also another main character in this book is Kate. Honestly I think creating Kate as a character was a complete waste of time. I know that the Hero has to have girlfriend, but seriously I think that he should have created a more developed character rather than what he had created in this book. Zach was a more interesting character than Kate. Mr. Herbert is another character in this book. The way you would probably describe him as is a stalker. For example, in the field where Zach’s father died he appears out of nowhere and starts talking about Zach’s life as if they were best friends.

The theme of this book is bravery. Bravery is the theme of this book because first of all, when the Bads try to hurt Kate (his friend) Zach does whatever it takes to keep the Bads from touching her. He hits them as many times as he can even if he does break a few bones. This is why I think Zach is brave. I think what this book says about the society is that it you should believe in yourself, which can also be noted as another theme. I think the only character who believed in this story was Zach.

I think that the people who would like reading this book would be people who liked watching Marvel movies like Superman or the Avengers. This is because in Hero there is actually a hero, who has super powers similar to Superman. Also people who like action will like this book because even at least half of this book there is Zach battling giants. I think that people who won’t like this book are people who read realistic fiction. This is because fantasy is imaginative for people who usually do not read anything related to made up stuff. Also, people who love non-fiction will despise and hate this book. The reason why I say this is because non-fiction is facts and fantasy is facts that are not true. They are like sworn enemies.

If you want to learn more about this book, you can go to Mike Lupica’s website, which is http://www.mikelupicabooks.com/hero_excerpt.html. Also if you want to know more about this author you can see facts about him on his spectacular website, http://www.mikelupicabooks.com/mikelupica.html. Some books that are similar to this book are listed here, http://www.rickriordan.com/home.aspx,    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Train_Your_Dragon. 

Book Review: The Whole Story of Half a Girl

Title: The Whole Story Of Half A Girl
Author: Veera Hiranandani
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Genre: realistic-fiction
Pages: 224
Rating: 9/10
Source : Netgalley

‘Then I get home. Mom’s face is all droopy-the way it looks when she’s upset. But she doesn’t say much. She just stirs and stirs something in a pot on the stove.’

This excerpt is from the book ‘The Whole Story Of Half A Girl’, and is thought by a girl named Sonia when she gets home from school. Sonia loves things the way they are, but things are changing- fast. And she’s faced with the problem of how to deal with all these problems - from making new friends, moving to another school, and her dad leaving - and still end on top.

Sonia’s living in a completely new world. With only one parent working, moving to from a private to a public school , and finding new friends there’s a lot that’s changing. Sonia’s fitting in, but worried that she might not be doing things the right way, and looking different with her half Jewish American and half Indian looks isn’t exactly the best way to fit in. Will Sonia find a way to figure out the turmoil that has become her life? And that no matter what happens, will her two halves always make her who she is?

My favorite character in this book is Sonia. Leaving her private school and going to what seems like a foreign new school - it’s a public school! - is hard enough without having to leave all of your old friends, and trying to find make new ones. And it doesn’t make it any easier when you have to decide from the cool popular “in” kids, and the other not popular students. And with her father who just lost his job, and feeling a little out of place, and then goes and just disappears, the problems just keep on mounting up, higher and higher.

I rated this book a 9 out of 10, because I felt that while this book was wonderful and it made me just feel like I was with Sonia, figuring out what she has to do to solve all of her school problems. I also enjoyed how that, when Sonia’s figuring out how to change her life, she has many conflicts with what she does, which to me, makes the story seem more interesting. The more conflicts, the merrier!

I also like how Mrs. Hirandandani wrote the book, having some small conflicts in the beginning, having them partially solved, and then laying a whole other bomb of surprising conflicts. It added some suspense to the story, making it quite enjoyable to read.

Will Sonia make it through the big move? Will she fit in and find the right friends? And all in all, will her family go back to normal, being the happy family they once were? Read the book, ‘The Whole Story Of Half A Girl’ by Veera Hiranandani.