Recommendations

Legend by marie lu

⅘ stars

Legend is the first book in the Legend trilogy. It has a fast-paced plot and lots of action, and its world is well-described. The main characters are Day, a wanted criminal, and June, a wealthy, prodigious girl. Legend takes place in the Republic, a dystopian society, and it alternates between Day and June’s perspectives. However, the book contains a lot of violence and has a similar maturity level as the later books of Harry Potter, so it’s not suitable for younger kids.

Movies to Watch & Books to Read in Autumn

By Evie & Alysa

Hocus Pocus 1 and 2

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Beetlejuice (PG-13)*

Witches

(book & a movie!)

Odds of Getting Even by Sheila Turnage

Pumpkin Heads by Faith Erin Hicks

Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling

Glori recommends....

P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

A great romance book to read this Valentine’s Day is P.S. I Like You by Kasie West. At the beginning of the book, Lily, the main character, is bored in chemistry and writes a song lyric on the desk. The next day, she comes to find the continuation of that lyric. For several days to come, she and her anonymous desk writer share personal info and become closer. But when Lily finds out who her anonymous desk writer is, she doesn’t know if she will have to reject her feelings after sharing everything. Be sure to check out this book to make your Valentine’s Day more exciting!

Lily B. recommends:

Harry Potter

The Harry Potter series is a 7 book series by J.K. Rowling. It is in around 70 different languages and has been made into 8 movies. It is about a young boy named Harry in England who finds out that he is a wizard and he goes to a wizardry school called Hogwarts. He is not like normal wizards though. When he was just one years old his parents were killed by the most powerful dark wizard of the time, and he somehow escaped with just a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. You get to watch Harry and his friends grow up, and fight the dark forces. It is one of the best series ever and everyone should read it.

Recommendations by Sol, Grade 8

Book Thief - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is narrated by the character Death where he tells the story of a young girl named Liesel, a child abandoned by her own mother. In Molching, Germany she is subjected to not just a new family but the horrors of World War II in Germany with the destruction of towns, Jewish shops, and a Jewish refugee living in her basement.

Counting by 7s - The book Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan introduces a twelve-year old genius, Willow Chance, and her struggles after her parents pass away in a car accident. Willow feels as though she is left alone in this world and her obsession with nature, diagnosing medical conditions, and her smartness aren’t welcomed at school.

A Long Walk To Water - A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park is based on two true stories that are told in different time periods: A girl living in Sudan in the year of 2008 and a boy in Sudan during 1985. The girl - Nya - starts her journey, starting from multiple trips to a pond and the boy - Salva - is a refugee searching for his family and a place to stay, enduring many hardships along the way.

Louisiana’s Way Home - The book Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo is about a journey of a girl named Lousiana Elefante where she is alerted with news that she is going to have to leave her home. Louisiana and her Granny intend on leaving forever and never coming back with Louisiana being separated from her friends. Even with a fate destined to her, she fights back and tries to find a way back home.

Pax by Sarah Pennypacker is based on a story of a boy - Peter - and a fox - Pax - who happens to be rescued after his family is killed. However, when Peter’s dad has to enlist in the war, Peter has to let Pax go, and throws Pax’s favorite toy into the woods. When Pax retrieves the toy from the wood, he finds that his owner had already left and abandoned him.

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt is based on Ally, known as a troublemaker that always ends up in a new school. By causing trouble, she is able to hide her inability to read. However, the new teacher, Mr. Daniels is able to see the bright and smart student underneath the troubles she makes.

The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley tells the story of a young girl named Ada who has a twisted foot. From this condition, she is never allowed to go outside by her mother who is worried of humiliation. However, she finds a life changing moment when her brother is sent to London to escape war and Ada secretly follows him.

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes is about a twelve year old boy named Jerome who is unexpectedly shot when his toy gun is mistaken as a threat. Throughout the book, it shows Jerome as a ghost and has to observe the devastation from his family and community of the unjust killing. As he has just turned into a ghost, he meets another ghost named Emmett Till.

Recommendations by Ashley, Grade 8

Eleanor and Park is a book about two totally different human beings that surprisingly become friends. Park comes from a loving, safe family whereas Eleanor comes from a family that contains dark secrets and haunts her to not have any thoughts that make her think that she deserves love.

Nevermoor: The Trails of Morrigan Crow is an amazingly written fantasy story that contains likeable characters and creative details. Morrigan Crow is a little girl who is living with a curse. She is supposed to die on the day she turns the age of eleven but her whole life changes when she cheats her way out of dying with the help of a man named Jupiter North.

Love and First Sight talks about how a 16 year old blind kid is given a chance to undergo a surgery which will give him sight. He accepts the surgery but then sees that the world is not all butterflies and rainbows like he thought.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer is a retelling of the classic fairytale, Cinderella. Cinder takes place in a futuristic earth with cyborgs. There is a plague that is moving quickly through the human population. Cinder is an extremely detailed science fiction story that will keep you reading.

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige is a young adult book that will definitely intrigue you starting from the first chapter. Amy Gum, a girl from Kansas, is swept up in a tornado and is landed in The Land of Oz. She soons figures out that Dorothy has taken over but she has very bad intentions. It’s up to Amy Gum and the friends she made to help save Oz from the Wicked Dorothy.

One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus Four students that are in after-school detention sadly witnessed the death of their fellow classmate. The police suspect the four students that were the nearest to the boy. The story is told by all four of the students’ perspectives.

Everyday by David Levithan. The main character in this book wakes up every morning as another person. The character does this everyday until they are woken up by the unexpected. They fall in love with a character named Rhiannon. This is a remarkable story about true love and finding yourself that everyone should try to get their hands on.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang This book shows how a little boy named Jim Wang just wants to be seen as an all-American boy in his school rather than a Chinese-American. This is a graphic novel.

Brown Girl Dreaming tells the story of a small girl and how she felt belonging in two places. The two places were New York and South Carolina. She states how different both of them were. This book also won the National Book Award.

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