Mixed
Media
April 2002
Welcome to this site
In this issue:
Book Reviews, Music and Poetry
Andi Davis will do anything to get away from her dysfunctional family. She has a seemingly mental unstable mother and a father who is verbally abusive, so she joins the army. Thinking the army school at West Point will be paradise compared with her life, Andi's hopes are soon shattered on arrival. She is treated brutally by her upperclassmen cadets, and finds out she is one of only two girls in the entire platoon. As Andi slowly adjusts to her life at West Point, she sees things are not what they appear to be. The harsh treatment from the cadets has reason behind it and she finds her strength in the West Point track team; but is this enough to keep her from dropping out like many others? I enjoyed this book for the most part, although the ending didn't really have any closure in it. Sometimes the detailed pictures of army life got a little boring, but I would give this book two of four stars.
Reviewed by: Alicia Mattox
The Book of the
Dun Cow
By: Walter Wangerin
Chauntecleer the rooster enjoys his life as master of his own coop. One night
however, a miserable dog howls beyond its walls. Soon the hens' eggs are stolen
and eaten. These events may seem important to Chauntecleer, but they are only
the beginning of the turmoil that lays ahead. Meanwhile, trapped beneath the
earth, the creature Wyrm plots his release and the destruction of the cosmos.
To the north of Chauntecleer's coop the evil monster of Cockatrice is ruling
his land to the breaking point. Soon Chauntecleer is no longer able to ignore
the outside world and must summon an army to battle Wyrm and his minions.
This book had great characters, a great plot, a great beginning, a great middle,
and a really great end. Then battle scenes could get a bit gory, but other than
that, I can't find anything wrong with this book. Fantasy fans, especially those
who enjoy animal-themed stories really should read this. Five out of five stars!
Reviewed by: Kelsi Lindblad
A Child Called
"It"
By: Dave Pelzer
A Child Called "It" is the story of one of the worst child abuse cases in California, told by the victim, Dave Pelzer. For the first few years of his life, everything was perfect. He had loving parents and two brothers. They did everything as a family and his mother was a picture-perfect stay-at-home mom, until the day everything changed. His mother began changing. When his father was away, she would punish him and tell him he was a "bad boy". The punishments kept getting worse, and his father just stood there and watched. Finally, teachers at his school realized he was being abused and got the police involved.
Reviewed by: Emily Fisher
Conversation Song
by: Jaclyn Sanders
Dream
of a world
where time slows by,
men on mounted dragons fly,
golden wingtips brush the sky.
The silver menace downward falls,
colored sparkles heed the call,
and flame between the mountain walls.
In the Hold I sing this song,
while riders dodge the whole Pass long,
a price to pay if you move wrong.
On skybroom wood the flit wings gleam,
and lighting strums the strings it seems,
no one knows quite what it means.
My bronze and I take to the sky,
the baleful eye of red to fly,
and fight until we win
or die.
Remember hearts can be true,
Abstraction in blue.
Dark Secrets
by: Willo Davis Roberts
This book is about a girl named Lisa. Lisa has an older brother named Sam
who has moved out and has a roommate named Buea, and Lisa also has a younger
brother named Mickey. Sam has gotten a job as a caretaker for a rich man who
has a huge mansion. But this man is going to be gone for a long time and he
needed a caretaker to keep kids from breaking into the mansion, so he hired
Sam. Sam invited Lisa and Mickey to come too. Sam even let Lisa invite her new
friend Jill, and Sam had Buea coming too. So Sam, Mickey, Lisa, Jill, and Buea
were all going to have a great summer in a huge mansion. But when they got there,
it was different than what they thought-dangerously different. Someone they
never saw was going through their things, there were strange noises, and footsteps
that weren't theirs. Then Sam disappears. When they find him outside by the
old barn, unconscious, they just want to go home but cannot because Sam needs
to go to a hospital and they cannot leave the house when Sam is being paid to
watch it. Well, Lisa thought, Sam is being paid to make sure that kids don't
break in and steal stuff , but they never said anything about making sure a
man with a gun didn't break in. So now what is Lisa going to do when the gun
is pointed at her? If you would like to know, read this book to find out.
` I thought this book was pretty good. It sort of dragged in the middle, but
it got better. I hope everyone decides to read this book because I enjoyed it
and maybe you will too. 4 out of 5 stars.
Reviewed by: Danielle Barajas
Don't
Tell
By: Elizabeth Chandler
Seven years ago, Lauren's mother, the wife of a senator, died in a town called Wisteria. Everyone said it was just an accident. Lauren has finally returned to the home of her godmother and her godmother's children. But something is wrong. Nora, 16 years old, is acting crazy. Holly is as calm and cool as ever. Aunt Jule is friendly but lashes out at Lauren now and then. When Lauren meets up with Nick, an old friend, he's really friendly, but a few days later turns on her. Also someone is trying to kill Lauren. Was her mother murdered? Is Lauren next? Read this book to find out.
Reviewed by: Emily Fisher
The
Enemy Close By
By: Amanda Barajas
There was a girl named Jenny who was twelve and lived in a fancy house with
her father and her brother who was eight. Her father and her brother went out
to get some ice cream around 8:00 p.m. She didn't remember seeing their car
leave. Jenny had a cold so she didn't want to go. She was watching TV when she
had a creepy feeling that someone was watching her. But every time she looked
around, no one was there. When she was done watching TV, she decided to take
a shower. When Jenny got out the mirror was all foggy. But something caught
her eye-it was her name written on the mirror. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable
so she decided to go to her neighbor's house
As she left her house, she saw her car in the driveway. She wondered why her
dad and brother hadn't left but she guessed they must have just gotten back.
She decided to go up to the car and surprise them. She snuck up to the car window
and said "Boo!" Then she started to panic because of what she saw.
It was her father and brother sitting there dead! She started to back up not
knowing what to do, and bumped into something or someone. She whipped around
to find…her neighbor, Mr. Tank.
With relief, she said, "Oh, thank goodness it's you Mr. Tank, you won't
believe what I just saw."
"Yes, I do," he said with an evil smile that sent chills down her
back. Without thinking, she ran back into her house before he could grab her.
She heard him running after her. As she ran she grabbed her wireless phone and
ran upstairs into her room. She climbed to the top bunk bed and opened a little
door in the ceiling that went to the attic. She climbed in, then closed the
attic door. She looked through a crack in the floor of the attic so that she
could see what was going on below in her room. Then Mr. Tank entered the room
and started looking around. Jenny dialed 911 and told them what happened and
where she was. She looked through the crack again only to find Mr. Tank was
gone. So she looked through the little attic window outside and saw Mr. Tank
walking away. He turned around and saw her looking through the little attic
window and started running back to the house. Jenny got out of the attic and
was looking for a new hiding place as Mr. Tank ran in. He grabbed her and dragged
her all the way back outside next to their car. Then he grabbed her by the neck
and said, "You're going to die with your family."
Just then the police cars started coming around the corner. Mr. Tank threw her
to the ground and when she got up he was gone. When the police stopped in front
of her house, they got out of their cars and told her everything was going to
be all right. They let her sit in one of their police cars while they inspected
the house. She was relieved to be safe. But that all changed when the person
in the driver's seat turned around, because it was…Mr. Tank!
The End
Fire Bringer
By: David Clement-Davies
For a general description of this book, think Watership Down with deer. The
deer Drail has taken over the herd and ensured that he will stay leader by removing
Anlach, the season where deer fight for leadership. Now Drail plans to unite
all deer into a massive army to destroy all other animals. The ancient prophecy
speaks of a stag with a white oak mark on his forehead who will set all deer
free. Rannoch, who bears this mark, is born on the night his father is murdered.Rannoch
must now live in a world of danger and hatred.
This book showed a lot of complexity and thought. By the end you sort of know
the traditions and cultures of the deer which is pretty neat. This book switches
through time, but other than that it is wonderful. If you're a fan of animal
fantasies then check this one out. 5 out of 5 stars,
Reviewed By: Kelsi Lindblad
Ghosts
of Colonial Williamsburg Volumes 1 and 2.
Have you ever wondered if any restless spirits lurk in the large, old houses
of Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, and Plantation Row? Many people
would answer "YES!" to this question after reading these books. Ghosts
of Colonial Williamsburg Vol. 1 features far fewer cases, but is still very
good. Ghosts of Colonial Williamsburg Vol. 2 features expansions on previous
tales, as well as many many new stories. Also Ghosts of Colonial Williamsburg
Vol. 2 has more photographic evidence. Although some may scoff, how else can
you explain the pulsating ball of fire at Bacon's Castle or the strangest series
of Christmas pictures (included!) I have ever seen?
These books always do its best to give the history of the house or area, but
sometimes it gets a little tedious to read three pages of history before getting
to the actual haunting parts. Although the author usually backed up these stories
with many believeable witnesses, sometimes I think he relies on too few people
to verify their experiences. Over all I would recommend this to those fond of
ghost stories especially those who have been to Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown,
Jamestown, or Plantation Row, or is planning to visit one of these places. 4
stars out of 5 stars.
Reviewed By: Kelsi Lindblad
In the Middle
of the Night
By: Danielle Barajas
Once there was a girl named Alley. She was 13 years old. Alley hated going
to sleep because she always had bad dreams. She always woke up sweating in the
middle of the night from the dream. She would go to her bathroom down the hall
and wash her face with cold water then look at herself in the mirror to make
sure she was still alive. It seemed like a childish thing to do but she couldn't
help it. So tonight, as always, she slowly slid onto her waterbed and under
the covers, not looking forward to the nightmare. She looked at the ceiling
as she tried to go to sleep, looking at the lines of light from the moon seeping
through her shades. And then she dozed off
As always the dream started. This time she was in a small room that was closing
in on her. She tried everything to get out but failed, and woke up as the walls
started to crush her. She sat up breathing hard making sure she was still in
her own bed. Relieved that she was not in another nightmare she slid out of
bed and headed for the bathroom.
When she got there she turned on the light and washed her face with cold water
from the sink. Then she looked at herself in the mirror making sure she was
still alive. As she looked in the mirror, she noticed that the shadows from
the hall were moving. And then the shadow of a man emerged from the darkness.
Alley whipped around and saw nothing. Her eyes must have been playing tricks
on her. She turned to the mirror again and saw the shadow of the man still there.
This time she turned slowly to the hall only to see nothing once again. So she
turned to herself again to see the man shadow was gone. Good, she thought, I
knew there wasn't really a shadow in the hall.
She then turned off the bathroom light and stepped into the hall for the long
journey to her room. One step at a time, she told herself, as she thought of
the shadow. Then something touched her. She whipped around only to see darkness.
"Who's there?" Alley said out loud. No answer. Scared, she ran back
to her room and jumped into bed and under the covers. Only Alley doesn't know
that running into her room will not save her. When Alley thought it was safe
she started to doze off again. Then her eyes shot open as she listened to the
quiet but unmistakable sound of footsteps in the hall. The footsteps got closer
and closer until she could tell they were in her room. The footsteps came right
up to her bed. Alley could hear heavy breathing from the unwanted person in
her room. With all the guts she had, she jumped out of bed, surprising the intruder.
She hit him, which made him fall on her bed. Then she ran for the bathroom as
she heard someone thundering after her. Before someone could grab her, she closed
the door and locked it. Then she turned on the light and sat down not knowing
what to do. She sat there until light was pouring through the window. Then she
got up thinking it was safe, unlocked and opened the door, and raced to her
parents; room. But when she got there, she saw a nicely made bed with no one
in sight and no sign her parents had ever been there. Then she noticed the word
"Hi!" written on the wall with a black crayon, as someone grabbed
her shoulder….
The End
The
Kidnappers
By: Willo Davis Roberts
This book is about a boy named Joey. He was hiding from Willy Groves, who
was after him because he accidentally punched him in the nose. So Joey hid inside
a foyer watching Willy wait for his ride. Normally Joey would be out there waiting
for his ride but Willy would beat him up, so he waited in the hiding spot. He
watched Willy, hoping Willy's ride would come soon, but instead a different
car drove up and two men jumped out and grabbed Willy, stuffed him in the back
of the car and drove off! Totally shocked, Joey came out of the foyer and looked
at the place where Willy had been standing. Had Joey just witnessed a kidnapping?
Did the kidnappers know he saw them? Were they after him too now? As Joey gets
more and more into this mess telling people about it and nobody believing him,
he gets himself into a deadly position. If you'd like to know what happens read
this book to find out. You'll be surprised at what happens.
I thought this book was great but it wasn't as scary as I hoped but all in all
it was pretty cool. And I hope you guys will read it. Four out of five stars.
Reviewed by: Amanda Barajas
Long ago, when the Roman Empire was at its peak, Jewish people were persecuted. A group of about 1,000 Jews took refuge on Masada, a supposedly impregnable fortress. All of the other Jewish fortresses had fallen to the Romans. The remaining Jews thought Masada was safe. They had abundant food and water. Then the Romans appeared and the battle began. Read this book to find out the outcome of this great battle.
Reviewed by: Emily Fisher
None of the kids selected to attend camp Ravenwyng have any idea what they're
in for. Sure, the counselors are a little strange, but they canoe and make lanyards
like any other camp. Then they learn that they are, in fact, magickers, an ancient
but almost extinct race. Although they are elated at first, the mood changes
when they hear of the mana (magical energy) storm which threatens the camp and
the sinister Dark Hand, a group which hunts magickers. In the end, the entire
camp is caught up in a race to find the iron gate which will divert the storm
to another world.
I really enjoyed this book. The plot was interesting, and there was plenty of
humor. The characters were probably the best because they were very vivid and
believable. This is a great book for any fantasy fan. 4.5 stars.
Reviewed by: Kelsi Lindblad
If you knew me, you would know that my whole life revolves around music, mainly
punk and ska. Most people normally try to spare themselves the torture of listening
to bad music, but sometimes somebody will buy you a CD that you can't return
for some odd reason, so you listen to it. I've tried to listen to a few different
CDs and I have divided them into groups. Good, bad, and eh. The purpose of this
is to get an opinion on a CD you might be thinking of buying.
Here are my lists. In them you will find, in this order, the music type, the
group and CD title, and why I thought it was good or bad.**Disclaimer** These
are MY opinions and I don't really expect you to agree with them.
Good
~Ska; Less than Jake - Losing Streak; I like ska, if you do then you'll like
Less than Jake
~Punk w/ some ska; NoFX- Punk in Drublic; I'm not exactly sure why I like NoFX,
I just do
~Various; Warped Tour 2001; There are lots of different bands and music styles
~ "Grunge" Rock; Nirvana- Bleach: Nirvana's a REALLY good band, admit
it. Plus, the guitar in "Love Buzz" is awesome
~Popish Rocky/Punk; Good Charlotte-Good Charlotte; The lyrics are good, and
the music. They took the beginning of "East Coast Anthem" out of a
Clash handbook
Eh…
~Alternative; Dashboard Confessional; I really like the CD, but if you like
happy songs, DON'T listen to this.
~Alternative; Jimmy Eat World- Jimmy Eat World; Again, I really liked this CD
but some of the songs are really similar, but then again some are REALLY different.
~Rock; Linkin Park- Hybrid Theory; If you don't like being depressed don't listen
to this, Linkin Park is really depressing.
Bad (no offense if you like these)
~Pop Punk/Rock, New Found Glory- New Found Glory; NFG isn't original enough
for me, and they sound really feminine.
~Light Alternative; Five For Fighting- America Town; It's too mellow, my sister
describes it as "sounding like elevator music"
~Christian Rock (sorta); Creed- Human Clay; all of the songs sound the same.
I can't even tell the difference between "Higher" and "With Arms
Wide Open" until the chorus.
Nightmare
in Space
By: Danielle Barajas
My name is Molly. I am 14 years old. I live in a space station with my dad,
Jeremy. My mom had passed away a year ago from an unknown sickness. It is the
year 3003. The mission for our space station is to train cats to get rock samples
from the planet Jupiter. We're using cats because there aren't enough chimpanzees
to go around to all 200 space stations. Anyway, we also have scientists on our
space station trying also to find a cure for the sickness my mom had died from.
And now the scientists think they have what they need to cure this sickness
and they're going to do the test on 100 cats since we have 300 on this space
station. They were going to do the big test tonight at 9:00 and I'm not allowed
to go because I am too young. Oh well, I thought, who'd want to see someone
give a shot to a poor animal. When 9:00 came I waited by the door of the huge
room they were having the test done in so the minute someone came out I could
ask them what was happening. Then as I waited there I heard a crash and a huge
breaking of glass. Then the door of the room opened fast and people came running
out of it screaming. So I ran not knowing what was going on, only knowing that
something dangerous was behind us.
"What's going on?" I yelled to the man I was running next to.
"Something went wrong-killer cats!" he screamed.
Oh no, I thought, but kept on running, hoping my dad was okay. Then I saw a
man lifting people up into the ceiling telling them to crawl through the tunnels
to the pod room and get out of here. I ran toward him and he lifted me up too,
telling me the same thing. I followed the people trying to keep up. But I lost
them. But I kept on crawling until I came to an intersection, and I didn't know
which way to go. So I just went right not knowing I was going the wrong way.
I heard hissing and meowing ahead so I crawled to the noises and looked through
a crack in the tunnel down into someone's quarters, there were cats everywhere
trashing the place. Then they looked up and saw me.
They smell me! I thought. I started to crawl as fast as I could, then my knee
hit something and split it open. I rolled over on my back holding my knee moaning.
I heard scratching under me as the cats tried to get up into the tunnel. I'd
better start moving, I thought, and started to crawl again only painfully this
time. Then a cat crashed up into the tunnel in front of me and I stared into
the face of a vicious cat.
The End
The Seeing
Stone
By: Kevin Crossley-Holland
Arthur DeCaldicot, second son of Sir John DeCaldicot, has a secret. Merlin,
a family friend, entrusted him with a palm-sized obsidian and told him not to
tell anyone about it. If he did, the stone would lose its powers. But Arthur
has no idea what the stone does, because Merlin described it to him in riddles.
Arthur smuggles the stone into his writing room, a cold drafty room where nobody
else goes. Every once in a while he goes to his writing room and peers into
his stone. It shows him bits and pieces of the lives of King Uther and his son,
Arthur, who bears a deep resemblance to Arthur DeCaldicot. As he continues to
look in on the story in the stone, Arthur realizes how similar the events are
that take place in his life to the events in the other Arthur's life. Is the
stone trying to tell Arthur something?
I really like this book. It was the first book of a trilogy. I give it five
out of five stars.
Reviewed by: Emily Fisher
Tree of Bells
By: Jean Thesman
This book is the sequel to The Ornament Tree. Bonnie is embarking on a dangerous journey to try to improve her chances for getting into medical school. But only Clare knows where she is going. Meanwhile, Clare, Aunt Winnie, and Grandmother stumble across a young boy who is being abused. His father makes him work and hits him if he makes a mistake. Grandmother and Winnie run the Neighborhood House, an organization that reaches out to the poor. They try to help the little boy, Jackie, but he wants nothing to do with them. Read this book to find out about the outcome of Bonnie's trip and what happens to Jackie.
Reviewed by: Emily Fisher
User
Unfriendly
By: Vivian Van Velde
This is a story about a kid, his friends and his mom playing a virtual reality
game. The story starts out with the main character, Arvin Hareky the elf warrior
of the clan, in a barn as he realizes that the computer conditioning has kicked
in. Computer conditioning is when the virtual reality game gives you the information
you need and helps you along by making you more certain of your way-like putting
your foot on the head of the one you just killed to pull him off your sword.
At first he would ask where to go but then goes to the Inn Rassmussen. Rassmussen
is the name of the virtual reality company and in these games to start out you
must find Rassmenssen whether your treasure is an object, person, place or thing.
There Arvin meets up with the rest of the group of kids and adult that have
gathered to play this virtual reality game in their character forms. There is
Nocona, a skilled ranger, chief of the Comanche Indians, and a very levelheaded
and quiet person. There is Robin Hood, king of Sherwood Forest and accomplished
thief, and Maid Marian, a swordsman of "unsurpassed" ability. Arvin
thinks that they are stuck together by an invisible strand of super glue. In
the real world they are boyfriend and girlfriend. There is Feordin Macewielder,
an African-American dwarf and, as his name states, a macewielder, son of Feordin
Sturdyaxe, grandson of Feordin Boldheart, brother to…oh never mind. There
is Thea Greenleaf, of the Green Meadow clan, who uphold a rivalry with the Silver
Mountain clan, Harek's/Arvin's clan. There is Brunhild of the sisterhood of
the sword, a halfling warrioress. There is Cornelius the wizard, who loves to
show off his wizardly skills. Abbott Simon, a cleric, is also part of the group.
And finally there is Felice, a gypsy thief who also happens to be Arvin's mom.
After everyone is introduced, the adventure formally starts and they're off.
Along the way there are problems from werewolves to orcs and goblins to some
other, more technical problems. Since the game was pirated by Cornelius in real
life, they start to find technical problems and ones that are thought to be
but might not be.
I really liked this book. It had a lot of great plot twists and although it
was sometimes a little predictable, I really enjoyed it. I recommend this book
to anyone who likes a fantasy that can be funny and serious too. Overall this
was a great book.
Reviewed by: Angie Bice
Walk Two Moons
By: Sharon Creech
Salamanca Tree Hiddle is traveling with her grandparents. They are trying
to drive the same road as Salamanca's mother did on the trip from which she
never returned. Salamanca is a little nervous because her grandparents just
seem to attract trouble. To pass the time, Salamanca is relating the tale of
Pheobe Winterbottom. What Salamanca doesn't tell is why she is compelled to
tell Pheobe's story. She believes that behind Pheobe's story her own is hiding.
When I got bored one day, I decided to pull this one off of my "favorites"
shelf and read it again. It was quite as good as I remembered. The duel-plot
arrangement could get a little confusing, but other than that, I can't find
anything wrong with it! This is one realistic fiction book that really shines.
The story was believable and animated, and the characters very well developed.
I also found the ending very touching. I would recommend this to anyone. *****(5)
out of *****(5) stars.
Reviewed by: Kelsi Lindblad
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
