The Son of Neptune- Rick Riordan

In school, for my November book project, the theme was fantasy  So I picked The Son of Neptune it is the second book in the series. It took my 22 days to read, so have some spare time. Percy has just lost his memory and can't remember anything, except Annabeth. He only remembers bits and pieces. He is sent on a quest to Alaska and hopes to get his memory back.
The first book is The Lost Hero, the third is The Mark of Athena, and to come in October 2013 is The House of Hades.  This book is 52 chapters long, but really good!

-Regan

The Missing

Calvin and I discovered a series recently called The Missing, by Margaret Peterson Haddix.  There are currently 5 in a planned series of 7 books.  I am not going to tell you anything about them because I personally loved going in totally blind and wondering what in the world was going on!  They are adventure and history and science fiction all rolled into one.  The first book was especially well done, but Calvin has read all five and found them all very exciting, and I have enjoyed the two I've read so far. 

They are upper elementary/middle school books with a brother and sister as main characters, so really for boys or girls.

Franny Billingsley

A friend recommended the book Chime by Franny Billingsley, so I read it on my solo flight across the country for Rachel's wedding.  Honestly, if she hadn't said it was worth reading, I might have given up after the first few dozen pages.  The narrator, Briony, is intense and the world the author creates is strange and bleak, but my friend was completely right.  It was so worth pressing on.  Briony grew on me and I adored her sister, Rose, with her "I prefer" and her paper cuttings.  And Eldric?  Well, let's just say I would have had a serious crush on him as a teenager. :)  (Note:  there are a few curse words in it :( )

So I found two of her other books at the library:  Well Wished and The Folk Keeper.  The latter is more like Chime, with a strong, almost abrasive main character who is struggling to figure out who she really is.  The former is for a slightly younger audience.  Nuria is only 12 and she is adorable.  She lives with her grandfather in a little village with a magic well. 

In all three, Billingsley uses the same mix of fantasy in a realistic setting which I loved.  All three were worth reading.

The Gemma Doyle series is for older girls who know a little about Victorian England but it is a trilogy about a highschool age girl facing problems both normal and non-normal.  I loved it!  The books are long but fun read.

The Magic Bicycle

John finds a bike at the dump. The bike was called Spirit Flyer. He fixes the bike and soon discovers it flies.
Sometimes he comes upon a black snake with a white circled X on it's chest. John visits his grandfather and learns more about the Spirit Flyer. My favorite part is when John rescues his family on the Spirit Flyer.

Ian

The Princess Academy : By Shannon Hale

It's about a girl that live in a small town on a hill, that is forced to go to a princess academy, meets new friends, and learns secrets that could change her live. I suggest it for people that like adventure books. There is also a squeal to it called : palace of stone.

Regan

Dump Trucks by Linda D. Williams

My book is non-fiction. One fact about dump trucks is that some have tires that are bigger than people! I like that dump trucks are mighty machines. One thing I learned is that some dump trucks are off-road dump trucks because they are bigger than the lines on a road. Dump trucks can drive on uneven ground. Dump trucks can carry the weight of many elephants. There are 21 pages.

Caleb

Trains by Matt Doeden

Trains drive on railroad tracks. Train engines and train cars have metal wheels. A locomotive is the engine of a train. Trains have very loud whistles to warn people that a train is coming. People can use a train to get to a place farther from your home than you can get to in a car in one day. They can eat and sleep on the train.

Levi

The Everafter War by Michael Buckley

The Everafter War is book 7 in 9 books. Everafters are fairy-tale characters, such as Snow White. In this book, Everafters are fighting. Bad Everafters are called the Scarlet Hand. Very few Everafters are good.
My favorite part is when the soldiers come back with Prince Charming on their shoulders, because they destoryed an important place for the Scarlet Hand. I would suggest starting at the begging with book one:
The Fairy-Tale Detectives.

Ian

Make a Wish, Honey Bear! by Marcus Pfister

written by Levi

My favrit chritr is Honey Bear. I like this book becus it is about birthdays. All his friends came. It has 24 pajis.

Garbage Trucks by Terri DeGazelle

Written by Caleb:

My book is true (non-fiction). I learned that the back of garbage trucks lift up to dump out the garbage at the landfill. I like this book because it has a recycling truck in it. I like the packing panel because it pulls the garbage to the back of the truck so more garbage can get put in. It has 21 pages.

Henrietta's War, Joyce Dennys

This is a fictionalized series of letters, written by a woman on the homefront in WWII England to a childhood friend serving in the military.  It is hilarious!  I loved the main character's voice.  She includes little illustrations with most of the letters which are also fun.  The author does a great job of balancing the seriousness of the situation - the fear of invasion, the deprivations, the loss - with the quirkiness of normal people stuck in extraordinary circumstances.  Well worth a read.

Thirteen Reasons Why, Jay Asher

This is a book about suicide.  The main character, if you can call her that, leaves behind cassette tapes explaining why she committed suicide, so as the reader, you go through the experience of one of her listeners, hearing her whole story. 

I had mixed feelings about the book.  It did make me think about how important it is to be kind and to be aware of what others around you might be going through. At the same time, the burden of guilt was placed on kids who were mean to her or adults who didn't "do enough" to help her, even though they didn't know what was going on.  The consequences, especially for her family, weren't really dealt with either.  I'm not a huge fan.

Hunger Games

This was so sad! But I have to say that I really enjoyed reading it. There was this political intrigue that was believable. It was well written and had a very Shakespearian feel for me, it reminded me of the end of Hamlet where everyone dies. Brace yourself if you're going to read it though, just know ahead of time it is tragic. I don't think I'll be ready to handle the sequel for a while.

Dark Life

This is by Kat Falls and it is awesome! I just finished and I want to read it again. It is set in the future when global warming has diminished land significantly. It is sort of a mystery about a boy living in a community that is located at the bottom of the ocean and a "topside" girl who is looking for her brother.