The Secret of the Caves

This book is about two teenagers that solve mysteries. They are called the Hardy boys. This mystery is at the Honeycomb Caves, the city Rockaway, and Bayport. When they first find out was about the mystery Maddie Todd came to the Hardy’s because, her brother was kidnapped. They go to the honeycomb caves to try out Chet’s new metal detector. their first find was a pistol but, it wasn’t rusted at all, it looked new. Then they went to a local restaurant to discuss their findings. once they get to the restaurant they find that there is something fishy about the people working. The thing their friend noticed was that the language was not french they were speaking like they said they were. They find a hobbit that lived in a cave. He claimed that he was an ex marine and that his crew abandoned him. They thought it was odd that he lived in cave, so they explored it when he left and found a shotgun and several passageways that branched out along with one iron door. The Hardy’s dad who was also working on the case had herd the gun shot and called the police. The Hardy’s were in relief when the police got there. But the crooks weren’t about to give up to the police because they had stolen and buried too much. The rest is for you to find out

I would recommend this book to people who have hard times getting into a book like me. I love this series because, there is always something happening with all of the details its a new thing every chapter. What I think is amazing is how it all ties together in the end. There were several important details I couldn’t include for how slow of a typer I am. All in all it is a great book.

You can picture the characters very well, but then there is the authors picture which is different. Possibly your picture will be different than mine whether its modern in the past or future. It can take place when ever you want it to. You can picture in your head like what I do very often. I think it would be harder to follow if you can’t picture it. If you can’t take it slow and think about the book it would probably be impossible to fully understand the plot of the book.

Grant

Safely Home

Safely home is a story about two men. One of them is an American named Ben Fielding and the other is a Chinese man named Li Quan. Quan and Ben were roommates and best friends in college but once they graduated Harvard, they both went their separate ways. Li Quan went back to China and Ben stayed in America. Throughout the years they both changed a lot but in different ways, Ben became the manager of a big business and had a horrible family life. He was so wrapped up in his work that he never even thought of his old roomate…until he had to go to China for business! His boss suggested that he track Quan down and stay with him rather than putting the expense of a hotel room on Getz (the company) and so Ben started a search for Quan. He finally came up with an e-mail address that sounded right and he sent a message, telling about the urgent need for a place to stay. Quan replied. He was overjoyed to hear from Ben and he said that he could stay for as long as he needed! Ben, unfortunately, was not as enthusiastic about the trip, but he started packing and soon he was on his way to China. Once he got to Shanghai, he got a car and started on his way, following the directions from Quan. Not long after he had started driving did he leave the big city and civilization. He went along dirt roads and after a few hours, came to a small town. He was greeted by Quan who had not changed much except for he looked older and more worn. Ben met Quan’s family, his wife, Ming and his son, Shen. They were a nice family but they made Ben uncomfortable with the way they talked about God and asked about his family. He did not want his old friend to be disappointed in him so soon and so when Quan asked about the family. rather than telling about the divorce and the loss of his son, he just answered, “They are fine.” and left it at that.
Soon Ben was settled in but he was not used to the cramped quarters of the one room house, or cockroaches, or having to go outside with a flashlight in the middle of the night to use the bathroom! But more than the bugs and the hard floor, he did not know how to reply to their questions about his faith. He had abandoned his beliefs a long time ago, after the accident with his son and with work he did not have time for those type of nonsense things anyway so he tried as hard as he could to avoid the questions. Unfortunately for Ben, Quan noticed and next time they were alone, Ben shared about his family and son and work and how nothing just fit anymore. Quan was not disappointed as Ben had expected but he seemed to want to change Ben’s views. He invited Ben to come with them to their church on Sunday, this church was different than other churches though, it was an illegal house church. Ben did not want to get in trouble but Sunday morning came and he found himself with them on the way to do something highly illegal in the Chinese government. All went well but this experience did not change Ben. None of the odd cultured things that happened there even phased him until Quan got arrested! He was charged for distributing illegal Shenjiing (Bibles), which was a true charge, but he did not get a fair trial! Ben was horrified and angry and vowed that he would stay in China with Ming and Shen until he could pull enough strings to get Li Quan out of prison. This proved to be harder than it sounded. The Chinese government was firm about their laws and systems and they would not let Ben interfere. Another problem was that his boss did not want him using the business name so Ben was stuck trying to be a foreigner with no connections, trying to break through the Chinese government system! It was increasingly harder and more expensive to see Quan and Ben felt horrible not being able to do anything about the fact that he Safely home is a story about two men. One of them is an American named Ben Fielding and the other is a Chinese guy named Li Quan. Quan and Ben were roommates and best friends in college but once they graduated Harvard, they both went their separate ways. Li Quan went back to China and Ben stayed in America. Throughout the years they both changed a lot but in different ways, Ben became the manager of a big business and had a horrible family life. He was so wrapped up in his work that he never even thought of his old roomate…until he had to go to China for business! His boss suggested that he track Quan down and stay with him rather than putting the expense of a hotel room on Getz (the company) and so Ben started a search for Quan. He finally came up with an e-mail address that sounded right and he sent a message, telling about the urgent need for a place to stay. Quan replied. He was overjoyed to hear from Ben and he said that he could stay for as long as he needed! Ben, unfortunately, was not as enthusiastic about the trip, but he started packing and soon he was on his way to China. Once he got to Shanghai, he got a car and started on his way, following the directions from Quan. Not long after he had started driving did he leave the big city and civilization. He went along dirt roads and after a few hours, came to a small town. He was greeted by Quan who had not changed much except for he looked older and more worn. Ben met Quan’s family, his wife, Ming and his son, Shen. They were a nice family but they made Ben uncomfortable with the way they talked about God and asked about his family. He did not want his old friend to be disappointed in him so soon and so when Quan asked about the family. rather than telling about the divorce and the loss of his son, he just answered, “They are fine.” and left it at that.
Soon Ben was settled in but he was not used to the cramped quarters of the one room house, or cockroaches, or having to go outside with a flashlight in the middle of the night to use the bathroom! But more than the bugs and the hard floor, he did not know how to reply to their questions about his faith. He had abandoned his beliefs a long time ago, after the accident with his son and with work he did not have time for those type of nonsense things anyway so he tried as hard as he could to avoid the questions. Unfortunately for Ben, Quan noticed and next time they were alone, Ben shared about his family and son and work and how nothing just fit anymore. Quan was not disappointed as Ben had expected but he seemed to want to change Ben’s views. He invited Ben to come with them to their church on Sunday, this church was different than other churches though, it was an illegal house church. Ben did not want to get in trouble but Sunday morning came and he found himself with them on the way to do something highly illegal in the Chinese government. All went well but this experience did not change Ben. None of the odd cultured things that happened there even phased him until Quan got arrested! He was charged for distributing illegal Shenjiing (Bibles), which was a true charge, but he did not get a fair trial! Ben was horrified and angry and vowed that he would stay in China with Ming and Shen until he could pull enough strings to get Li Quan out of prison. This proved to be harder than it sounded. The Chinese government was firm about their laws and systems and they would not let Ben interfere. Another problem was that his boss did not want him using the business name so Ben was stuck trying to be a foreigner with no connections, trying to break through the Chinese government system! It was increasingly harder and more expensive to see Quan and Ben felt horrible not being able to do anything about the fact that he knew that Quan was being beaten severely.
Finally he decided that he needed to change. He had been asked to teach at a “underground” christian meeting and after easily 30 hours of teaching, he accepted christ.
Meanwhile, Quan was under interrogation in prison by the cruelest man that he had ever known. Quan was not giving him good answers and he was getting angry!
A week later Ben headed for home. He called his wife, telling her his whole story. Ben was saved through the most terrifying and horrible experience of his life. And that is not the end of his story or of the story of the next generation. Li Shen was not the head of a house illegally under God and he was going to have to be strong.
I would strongly recommend this book! It is really good and it teaches a lot of good lessons. I enjoyed it a lot and I would read it again and agiain! By: Maggie 2nd hour

The Castaways of The Flying Dutchman

One day a boy and his dog were swimming in the Ocean and A ship came by and took them aboard. Neb was taught how to cook but through harsh circumstances. Captain Vanderdecken hung two crewmen for trying to kill him in his sleep that same day. The ship was headed for Cape Horn. They tried to get past it but never could. Vanderdecken yelled at the gods and an angel came down and made it so that the ship’s crew and Vanderdecken were stuck to the ship for eternity. The angel spared the boy and his dog and sent them to the shore where they met a shepherd. The shepherd gave them food and kept them healthy. That night there was a storm and the shepherd tried to save one of his sheep and fell off the cliff. The angel told them when they heard a bell they had to move on. Then they traveled to the train station. Ned and Den changed their names to Ben and Ned and traveled on a train to Caverly. They arrived and walked around the town. They see a group of people hiding behind bushes. They were the Grange Gang. They were throwing rotten vegetables at Winnie’s house. Ned scared them away by baring his teeth and growling at them. Winnie came out and talked with them. She let them stay in her house for a few days as long as Ned kept the Grange Gang. The next day Ben reported the Grange Gang for trespassing at Winnie’s house. The police officer found the gang throwing rotten food at her house and locked them up. A week later the gang snuck out of the jail. The gang imediately went to Winnie’s house. Read the book to find out the ending.
I liked the book because it was full of action and excitement and always kept me guessing. It is a great book because of how easily you get drawn into reading it. I liked the book because it made me enjoy reading. I liked the book because it kept my interest. I liked the book because it showed me reading can be fun.
If you like Pirates of the Caribbean you will like this book. If you like stories of the Flying Dutchman you will love this book. This book is about a young boy who escaped from the Flying Dutchman and is forced to help people in need forever. This book is for all people who like Pirates of the Caribbean.

Nick F.

Gilmore Girls Like Mother, Like Daughter

 This book is based on the T.V. show Gilmore Girls. It is just a couple of the episodes out of order in this book. It’s about these to girls named Lorelai Gilmore, and Lorelai Gilmore (Rory). Lorelai got pregnant at age 16 and named her daughter Lorelai but they just call her Rory. Lorelai is now 32, and Rory is 16. They live in a small fictional town called Stars Hollow, Connecticut. At the beginning of the book Rory was going to Stars Hollow High but got into a school called Chilton which is in Hartford. Rory is very smart and has had a goal set to go to Harvard ever since she was little. Chilton will help get her there. Later on in the story she meets a new guy in town named Dean. She starts talking to him and they become friends. Later on Rory asks Dean to go to her school dance. Since Dean and Rory go to different schools she had to ask. When they went to the dance they stayed for a half an hour to an hour then left. They went back to Stars Hollow and Rory saw Mrs. Patty’s dance studio doors open. Rory thought she must have fortgotten to lock up. Dean and Rory go inside and look around at Mrs. Patty’s pictures. Then they sat on a bean bag chair and started reading the book Rory had in her purse. They fell asleep. At five thirty in the morning Mrs. Patty woke them up. Rory panicked and sprinted towards home. When she got home her grandmothers car was still there from the night before. She walks into the house and hears her mom, and grandma fighting. Rory’s grandma walks out of the house not seeing Rory and leaves. Lorelai starts yelling at Rory when she knew nothing happened because she trusted Rory. Rory and Lorelai stopped talking to eachother for a couple of days. For Rory’s grandparents Christmas party Lorelai was uninvited so Rory had to go alone. At the party Rory’s grandpa collapses’ to the ground. They were later in the Hospital. Lorelai comes to help out. They found out her grandpa was going to be okay.

I thought it was a good book. Reading the episodes and giving more details to the story from what was happening in the episodes. I liked how I could actually tell what the Characters were thinking and not just watching the T.V show wondering.

I would recommend this book to only girls because, it is a girls t.v. show. It’s a comedy/drama t.v. show for girls and the book is probably for girls too!

Kaitlin F.

Joni

The book that I read was called Joni. It is a non-fiction book about a girl that goes diving one day and ends up paralyzed from the shoulders down. It shows how she struggles through the time of partial recovery. She ends up only being able to use a little of her upper arms. Joni has to use her back muscles to move her arms the little amount that she can. She made the best of it though, she learned how to write using her teeth. She would hold the pen/ pencil in her mouth and write/ draw. It is also a very religious book, it talks a lot about how Joni knows that God will help her through it, and he does.

I really liked this book. It showed how hard it is for people when they get hurt. She kept saying how different it was to not be able to use he hands or walk and everything. I think Joni wrote the book really well. She gave just the right amount of details and everything. I think that she could have included less about all of her visits though. She told every conversation that she had when she was in the hospital. That is the one thing that I think wasn’t good about the book.

I would definitely recommend this book. I would recommend it to just about anyone. If they like reading about true stories and tragedies, this would be a good book for them. It would also be a good book for religious people. She brought up a lot of verses from the bible that helped her through the hard times. This book would be a good book for just about anyone. It isn’t a very difficult book so anyone would be able to understand it.

Courtney S.

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck

The book is about Joey and Mary Alice, brother and sister, who spent one week a summer with their Grandma Dowdel. They live in Chicago, and take the train in August every year to see their Grandma. The book happens in the years 1929-1942. They have an adventure every summer with their “crazy” Grandma. They see the oldest man in the county, make soap, have a dead guy in their house, steal a boat to fish, learn to drive, fly in a plane and many other crazy things. Joey is the oldest and is very curious about why his Grandma does the things she does. Mary Alice is the youngest and becomes more and more like their Grandma as the years pass.
One of the themes of this book is to help others whenever you can, even if that means doing it in an odd way. The kid’s Grandma is always scheming, but her schemes always turn out good for others. She never takes credit for the good work, but always lets others know when they are not doing right. She does this through words or trickery. When Ms. Effie Wilcox, a woman Joey always thought Grandma disliked, lost her home Grandma started a rumor that President and Mrs. Lincoln lived in her house and left some of their stuff. Then the residents of the town start a frenzy to buy the items. The banker asks if it was true, Grandma tricked him into giving her the house back with the mortgage paid to stop the rumor.
I really enjoyed this book. It is very funny. The Grandma is a great lady and so smart. The kids are likeable characters that always get willingly involved in their Grandma’s activities. If you love funny stories with crazy character, you will love this book.
Alexandra Z.

Let’s get started….

A lot of times dinner at my house is called “Jessie Surprise.” It means Jessie (Mrs. Fredricksen to you!) made up some random dinner with the stuff we had in the fridge. Usually it turns out really good because I’m a decent cook, thankyouverymuch. Once in a while we eat cereal and dump the dinner. This is kind of like that. I’ve never taught a blog before. I THINK it’s going to turn out great, but you never know. We’ll see what happens.

You don’t need to write a journal in class anymore, but you do need to write. We’re going to use this WordPress blogging site to write about the books you read independently. If you and/or your parents would prefer that you were not blogging online, that is completely fine. Just let me know and we’ll set you up with an offline method of discussing your books. [Parents....do you have questions or concerns? If so, email me.]

Remember, you still need to read 2 books a quarter. You need to read one non-fiction book per semester. The books should be appropriate for your reading level. Then you need to post to the blog blog about the book you read. I really don’t want to tell you what to write. Tell us about the book. Tell us if you liked it or not and why. Tell us about the plot (but don’t give away the ending or anything that we wouldn’t want to know ahead of time) and about the characters and maybe about the themes…bookish stuff like that.

Mostly, I want your blogs to be YOUR reaction to what you read. What did you think of it? What other literature can you connect it to? Who seems to be the intended audience? Who would or wouldn’t like this book?

If you read more than 4 books a semester, please blog about them. My hope is that other students turn to these blogs as a source of ideas and a place to be exposed to books they might not otherwise read. So if you are a voracious reader, we all want to hear about it!

I’m the manager of the blog. Your posts and comments have to be approved by me before they are published. No Shenanigans.

I hope this is kind of fun for all of you. Start reading! Now! Really…close your lid and go read.