Mixed
Media
January 2001
Welcome to this site
In this issue:
Book Reviews, Music and Poetry
Escape
from Disaster (Antarctica, No 2)
By: Peter Lerangis
It's about 31 men and their 37 dogs. Their ship, called the mystery, is trapped in ice and then it sinks with most of their supplies. Now they have to battle the coldness, frostbite, and hunger. They also have to watch out for the beasts under the ice and thin ice. Can they overcome the fact that their breathing in the night may fail? Nobody thought they could survive. This is their story! It was one of the best books I read. I hope all of you guys will read it.
-Danielle Barajas
Arabian
Nights
By: Andrew Lang
Illustrated by: Vera Bock
Arabian Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern culture's fairy tales. There are famous ones, like Aladdin and His Lamp or Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. This collection is taken from a large selection of stories called One Thousand and One Nights. This book is very good, but the only thing I dislike is it is hard to read, because it's in old English. I give this book four out of five stars.
-Alicia Mattox
It's about a girl named Kit. Her dad had died a while ago. Her mom married a different man named Wayne. He got drunk a lot and Kit was fed up with it. One time when Wayne was drunk, he called her an animal. That hurt Kit's feelings very badly. So bad that she had gone to the mall by her self, stolen a gold bracelet, and gotten caught! She went through hard times and had to lie to her best friend Tracy. Kit had to do volunteer work at the Humane Society. She fell in love with one of the dogs there, and when that dog is put down, it breaks Kit's heart. Will her heart mend? Will Wayne keep on drinking? Will Tracy, her best friend, and Kit make up? Well read this book to find out! I thought it was the most wonderful book. It was so sad that it brought tears to my eyes. I think everyone should read it.
-Danielle Barajas
Favorite
Father Brown Stories
By: G. K. Chesterton
Father Brown is many things, but unintelligent is not one of them. He is a detective, disguised as a monk, that sometimes confuses even judges with his explanations of crimes. Favorite Father Brown Stories holds many short stories, containing Father Brown as the lead detective, which are very interesting. You always think something that is not the answer, switching from different theories every page, from start to finish. The intelligence of the stories is amazing and highly entertaining! There is usually at least one metaphor that I don't understand until the end of the story, but I have fun trying to understand. If you like short entertaining stories, then this is the perfect book for you!
-Russell Shirey
Fearless
#6 Payback
By: Francine Pascal
Fearless is a series about a girl named Gaia Moore, who was born without the fear gene. In #6, Payback, Gaia and her friend Mary go to a high school party. Gaia leaves early, before Mary even arrives. Mary walks in unnoticed during a conversation going on and finds out something she really doesn't want to know. She tries to ignore it, but tells Gaia about when she almost becomes a victim. Can Mary and Gaia expose these people before more girls fall victim to their horrible torture?
-Emily Fisher
Found is a story about a girl (Ren) who used to live in a living-work-unit with her mother. They are only aloud to have one child in this place unless they pay a tax. Ren's mother cannot afford to pay the tax, so she has to send Ren to a friend that does not live in this unit. Unfortunately, she doesn't get picked up by this person and is abandoned. She meets a boy and a girl, and all three soon become friends. They find a baby, but can they take care of the baby and themselves with only a few cans of food, a knife, and no medicine? This was a very good book and I recommend it for others!
-Katie Sutherland
Multiple
Choice
By: Janet Tashjian
Monica Devonis is a perfectionist. She spends most of her time obsessing over every little thing she says and does. Things are getting out of control. Monica decides to create a game called Multiple Choice. She thinks of four possible choices, picks a scrabble tile-A, B, C or D- and does that choice. She thinks that this will make her life more spontaneous, but everything goes wrong. Read about it in this book.
-Kathryn Shalek
My Brother
Made Me Do It
By: Peg Kehret
It's about a girl named "Julie Welsh", and for an assignment she had to write to a lady in Kansas, who never ever gets mail. Julie son finds out that she has a form of arthritis. Julie often gets in trouble because of her brother Frankie. Soon Julie's friend Sara has to run a "fun run". The "fun run" is to fun four miles to raise money for the new playground equipment. If everyone in the school enters, they get a free book for each kid; that means 312 free books for the school. And if Julie does not finish the race there will be no free books, and everyone in that school will hate her. So if you want to know if she makes it, read this book to find out. I thought it was a great book.
-Danielle Barajas
This book started out slow, but quickly built up speed. The story was about an orphan boy, who was left with his grandmother. He was taught and raised in a cave underneath a desert. The boy loved science, and during one of his many experiments, a strange man came toward him. Little did the boy know that this stranger was his dad, and that soon he would learn the secrets of a people from long ago: The secrets of creating worlds inside books. The boy soon finds out that his dad is actually an evil man that only cares about himself. He doesn't even care about the people on the worlds he's created. The boy creates a world of his own and try's to save all the people. The only way to do this, however, is to destroy his dad in his own world and risk losing his life and possibly every body else's. Will he succeed? Well it's no fun if I tell you the ending, so you're going to have to read it yourself.
-Brandon C. Barajas
The Fire
By: Caroline B. Cooney
This is a book about a girl named Christina. She is from an island, so she borders with the principal of the high school and the English teacher of the 7th grade. She knows some secrets about them that others in the town don't know. These include knowing that they have destroyed many other young girls and are trying to destroy her. She tries to fight back, but she loses a couple of times. She can't wait to go back home where nothing bad will happen. Will the evil win? Read this book to find out! This was a very good book and I recommend it for others.
-Katie Sutherland
The Great
American Elephant Chase
By: Gillian Cross
This book is about a boy named Tad, who joined a traveling circus to get away
from Mr. Jackson and Esther, which were people who did not treat him well. Tad
met a girl named Cissy, who worked there. Tad's job was to take care of the
great rare elephant named Kush. While the circus was traveling, they got into
a train crash. The only survivors were Tad, Cissy, and Kush. Tad, Cissy, and
Kush had a great adventure trying to get across the country to Cissy's aunt,
Ketty, Because they kept on having to escape from Mr. Jackson and Esther, who
were trying to steal Kosh, and get money. Will Tad, Cissy, and Kosh make it
to Ketty's? Will Mr. Jackson and Esther get their money? Read this to find out.
Even though this book has smaller and harder words than what I normally read,
I could not put it down. I think you all should read it!
-Amanda Barajas
Three Against
the Tide
By: D. Anne Love
It's about a girl named Sosanna. Her mom had died a while ago. She only has her dad and her two brothers, Neddie and Samuel. The war had been going on for a long time, but to Susanna it started when her father had to leave. They were going to stay with a lady down the street, but after their dad left, they got a message that the lady was too busy to take care of them. So now they had to take care of their slaves and their whole plantation; and of each other. Soon they get the message that the enemies were only forty miles from where they live. Will they get away in time? Read this book to find out. I thought it was a great book. A little boring in the beginning, but it gets good.
-Danielle Barajas
To
Kill A Mockingbird
By: Harper Lee
The book I did a review on was To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. It's the
story of irony and prejudice, of false ideas that people are brought up to believe,
but it is also the tale of two children, Scout and Jem Finch, and their childhood
and growth, both mentally and physically. It takes place in the 1940's in Maycomb,
Alabama. Scout and Jem are afraid of their neighbor Arthur "Boo" Radley,
because he has never come out of his house and because of all the rumors in
their neighborhood. The real reason Boo never leaves his house is because he
is mentally ill and very shy, but Scout and Jem think he's a monster and try
to think of ways to make him "come out" and to torment him. But then,
as the two children grow up, they began to see a new side of Boo as he does
some kind things for them, including saving Jem from being murdered (but that's
another story that you'll have to read the book to find out!). They see its
bad to persecute and to be prejudiced towards a kind man who has never done
anything to them. It would be like killing a mockingbird, which does nothing
but make sweet music.
This book had two excellent sub-plots, one concerning the African American people
being persecuted because they are black and one about the Jews in Germany, and
many other mini subplots. It starts out a bit slowly, but as you get to know
the characters, it gets more interesting, and the last chapters are full of
excitement and suspense. This book is a lesson in human nature, and a story
of innocence and childhood. I would recommend it to everyone, and will definitely
be reading it again.
-Anjali Modi
Shadow of
the Dragon
By: Sherry Garland
Danny Vo is a typical teen. He has a best friend, a crush, and of course a family. Danny is Vietnamese and he doesn't like some of the traditional Vietnamese customs. He especially doesn't like that the oldest son has to decide a solution when there's a problem, even though he is the oldest son. One rainy day Danny's family picks up cousin Sang Le from the airport. Sang Le has been in a Vietnamese re-education camp since his parents died. Sang Le is very nice and promises to pay back Danny's family for all the expenses he's costing them, but he doesn't do it legally. Sang Le starts hanging out with a gang and skipping school. When it seems that everything is going wrong, Danny's crush, Tiffany Schultz, goes on a date with him. Danny wonders why Tiffany won't let him meet her brother. She says her brother doesn't like her going out with Danny. Danny's life gets even more complicated and something tragic happens in his family. This is a great book that teaches you not to hate.
-Alison Mroz
Special Thanks To:
Animated.gif(c)Kitty Roach
A Publication of the Young Adult Advisory
Board at the Farmington Community Libraries
© 2002 Farmington Community Library
