Marcelo in the Real World

Marcelo in the Real World

Fransisco X. Stork

Arthur A. Levine Books, 2009

Fiction

ISBN: 0545054745

320 pages

Synopsis

Marcelo Sandoval hears music no one else can hear–part of the autism-like impairment no doctor has been able to identify–and he’s always attended a special school where his differences have been protected. But the summer after his junior year, his father demands that Marcelo work in his law firm’s mailroom in order to experience “the real world.” There Marcelo meets Jasmine, his beautiful and surprising coworker, and Wendell, the son of another partner in the firm.

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Posted in 2009, Best Of, Classroom, English/Reading, Fiction (non-fantasy), Geography/Culture, Recommended, Religious/Mythology, Reviews, Social Commentary | No Comments »

Fire

Fire (Book 2, Graceling series)

Kristen Cashore

Dial, 2009

Fantasy Fiction

ISBN: 0803734611

480 pages

Synopsis

She is the last of her kind…
It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. In King City, the young King Nash is clinging to the throne, while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. War is coming. And the mountains and forest are filled with spies and thieves. This is where Fire lives, a girl whose beauty is impossibly irresistible and who can control the minds of everyone around her.

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Posted in 2009, Best Of, Fantasy/Science Fiction, Ignite Imagination, Recommended, Reviews, Series | No Comments »

The Hobbit – Reviewing Classics

Overall Rating: ☆ Rating:0 Fraction:0☆ Rating:0 Fraction:0☆ Rating:0 Fraction:0☆ Rating:0 Fraction:0☆ Rating:0 Fraction:00%
The Hobbit
J.R.R. Tolkein
George Allen & Unwin, 1937
Fantasy
ISBN: 0618968636
320 pages

Synopsis

Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit, is a peaceful sort of cozy hole in the Shire, a place where adventures are uncommon and rather unwanted. So when the wizard Gandalf whisks him away on a treasure hunting expedition with a troop of rowdy dwarves, he’s not entirely thrilled. Encountering ruthless trolls, beastly orcs, gigantic spiders, and hungry wolves, Bilbo discovers within himself astonishing strength and courage. And at the ultimate confrontation with the fearsome dragon Smaug, the hobbit will brave the dangers of dark and dragon fire alone and unaided.

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Posted in Award Winners, Best Of, Classics, Classroom, English/Reading, Fantasy/Science Fiction, Recommended, Religious/Mythology, Reviews, Series | No Comments »

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma

Overall Rating: ★ Rating:77 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.85 Fraction:3.85★ Rating:77 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.85 Fraction:3.85★ Rating:77 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.85 Fraction:3.85½ Rating:77 Star Piece:0.85 Fraction:3.85☆ Rating:77 Fraction:3.8577%
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s DilemmaTrenton Lee Stewart

Little, Brown Young Readers, 2009

Fantasy Fiction

ISBN: 0316045527

400 pages

Synopsis

Join the Mysterious Benedict Society as Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance embark on a daring new adventure that threatens to force them apart from their families, friends, and even each other. When an unexplained blackout engulfs Stonetown, the foursome must unravel clues relating to a nefarious new plot, while their search for answers brings them closer to danger than ever before.

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The Eyes of a King

Overall Rating: ★ Rating:82 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.1 Fraction:4.1★ Rating:82 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.1 Fraction:4.1★ Rating:82 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.1 Fraction:4.1★ Rating:82 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.1 Fraction:4.1☆ Rating:82 Fraction:4.182%
The Eyes of a King (The Last Descendants, Book 1)

Catherine Banner

Random House, 2008

Fantasy

ISBN: 0375838767

448 pages

Synopsis

Fifteen-year-old Leo North’s prospects in life are limited. He reluctantly attends military school because that’s what most boys do in Malonia. He grudgingly lives with his pious, fearful grandmother and looks after his young brother, Stirling. He resists his innate powers because those who demonstrate any sort of magical ability are considered enemies of the state. But when he finds a blank book in the snow, his typical indifference melts away. From the very first moment he touches the book, he senses its strange power.

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The Shadow Project

Overall Rating: ★ Rating:70 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.5 Fraction:3.5★ Rating:70 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.5 Fraction:3.5★ Rating:70 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.5 Fraction:3.5½ Rating:70 Star Piece:0.5 Fraction:3.5☆ Rating:70 Fraction:3.570%
The Shadow Project
Herbie Brennan
Balzer + Bray, 2009
Sci Fi/Fantasy
ISBN: 0061756423
368 pages

Synopsis

Danny Lipman is a thief . . . until one night he robs the wrong house. He inadvertently breaks into the headquarters of the Shadow Project, a secret government organization where teenage spies are trained to leave their bodies, using astral projection to travel around the world on deadly missions.

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Pretty Bad Things

Overall Rating: ★ Rating:59 Fullstar:2 Star Piece:0.95 Fraction:2.95★ Rating:59 Fullstar:2 Star Piece:0.95 Fraction:2.95½ Rating:59 Star Piece:0.95 Fraction:2.95☆ Rating:59 Fraction:2.95☆ Rating:59 Fraction:2.9559%
Pretty Bad Things
C.J Skuse
Chicken House, 2010
Fiction
ISBN: 1906427259
272 pages

Synopsis

Sixteen-year old twins in Candy-Store crime spree. Twins, Paisley and Beau Argent are in the headlines again. Last time, they were the ‘wonder twins’, when as six-year-olds they were found alive in woods after three days missing following their mother’s death -three days spent looking for their dad.

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