What We Saw at Night by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Name: Naorin Hossain Grade Level: 11
Title & Author: What We Saw at Night by Jacquelyn Mitchard
Impression: Good
Recommend: Yes

Favorite Part: My favorite part is when Allie first catches a glimpse of the possible murder in the apartment because that instigates all the action and crime in the book.
Favorite Character: My favorite character was Juliet because she is such a mysterious character. I love the motto she lives by: Everybody dies but not everybody really lives. She lives on the edge of danger but there is a lot she keeps hidden inside of her that leads her to cross the line with danger.
Summary: Allie, Rob, and Juliet suffer from XP - a skin disease that prevents them from going out in the sun. Basically, they are children of the night. One day while enjoying their new hobby - parkour - Allie sees what appears to be a murder through a window. When she goes to the police about this, they don't find anything and she is almost killed in an accident by the man she thinks is the murderer. So begins the fight to save herself and her best friend Juliet who appears to have mysterious ties to this man.

Goal! The Dream Begins by Robert Rigby

Goal! The Dream Begins by Robert Rigby

Impression: I think this book was amusing. I really liked every single part of this book. One of the reason I really liked this book is because it can teach me a life lesson. This book taught me one lesson; never give up on my dreams no matter what. I hope when you read this book you think the same.

Recommend: I would definitely recommend this book. I recommend this book to people that like soccer, and to people that know how hard it is to accomplish a dream. This book inspires people to try to achieve their goals; anyone who reads this book will not be disappointed with it.

Favorite part: In the book Goal! The Dream Begins by Robert Rigby, my favorite part of the story is when Santiago’s grandmother, Mercedes, gives Santiago his tickets to fly to London. In the book, it said that Santiago was an illegal immigrant, because of this Mercedes gave Santiago three tickets; one train ticket to go to San Diego from Los Angeles, second ticket was a bus ticket to Mexico City so he could fly to London legally, and the third a plane ticket to London. From this point on is where Santiago’s dream begins and he will do anything to achieve it, no matter how arduous it is.

Favorite character: In the book Goal! The Dream Begins by Robert Rigby, my favorite character was the main character, Santiago Munez. In the book, I read Santiago went through a lot of difficult situations that put in danger his dream of becoming a professional soccer player, after everything that occurred to Santiago, he never gave up, he followed his heart, he knew exactly where he was supposed to be, it’s green and it has goalposts at each end. This character’s personality shows determination; this is one of the main reasons why Santiago Munez is my favorite characters and one of my idols.

Summary: Santiago, a young Mexican American, has always been a soccer freak; his father believes that Santiago should take over the successful family landscaping business, but Santiago knows what he wants to do. Santiago will fight to the end until his dream comes true, this becomes much more easier when a Scottish scout, Glen, gets Santiago a trail with Newcastle United, will he be able to make his dream come true?

Written by: Alejandro P. an 8th grader at Secaucus Middle School

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

The book "The Knife of Never Letting Go" is the first book of "Chaos Walking". It is a Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction for young adult. It is written by Patrick Ness and it has 496 pages.

Prenisstown is one of the settlements in the New World. Every man in this world can hear each other's Noise, which is the men's thoughts. It is impossible for men to have secrets in the town. Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown who will become a man in a month. He and his dog Manchee finds an area of complete silence when they were have a walk. They find out that there is a secret in the town that everyone was trying to hide from Todd. And Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

Favorite Parts:

Todd fled with a girl named Viola Eade whom he met at the beginning of the journey. In the middle of the story Todd and Viola fled to another settlement in the New World and met Ben, one of Todd's adoptive parents. Ben, who was always trying to protect his son and has been looking for Todd ever since he fled Prentisstown. Ben told Todd he would sacrifice himself to give them more time to run and Todd was very sad about that. But Todd and Viola continued. While they were running away, Viola heard sadness in Todd's Noise.

Favorite Quotes:

She steps up close to me. "Do you think you're the only person who's lost someone?" she says in a dangerous whisper, “Do you forget that my parents are dead, too?"

........

“All I’ve got now is you," she says, her voice still angry. "And all you've got now is me. And I'm mad Ben left, too, and I'm mad my parents died and I'm mad we ever thought of coming to this planet in the first place but that's how it is and it sucks that it's just us but we can't do anything about it."

........

Her voice softens but only a little. “Ben’s gone and Manchee's gone and my mother and father are gone," she says. "And I hate all of that. I hate it .But we're almost at the end of the road. We're almost there. And if you don't give up, I don' give up."

I love this part because it is very moving and I can feel Todd and Viola grow up once they are losing someone who loves them. They stay stronger and it makes them have more courage to face the problems they meet.

Recommend: I recommend this book to anyone who likes science fiction or adventure stories. If you love a story that is about finding the truth while running for your lives, then this book will be a good choice.

Written by Yue H., grade 8 (Secaucus Middle School student)

Finally (Willow Falls #2) by Wendy Mass

What did you read?
This book is by Wendy Mass. It has 296 pages and his funny.he is okay when she calls. For example,Rory's best friend is like her mom. She always asks her mother if I don't really like the ending much.

What is it about:    
Rory Swenson has been waiting her whole life to turn twelve.She has a list to prove it.Whenever Rory asks her parents for something they always say when you're twelve. This story is about growing up even when the universe seems to be telling you to wait.

Favorite Part:
My favorite part was when Rory was babystting an "innocent" girl. The girl was turning the clock back every time Rory went to the bathroom so the girl wouldn't go to sleep at 8:30.

Recommendation:  I recommend this book to anyone who likes realistic fiction and mystery in one book mixed together.

Written by Zara K. of Huber Street School            

The Selection by Keira Cass

The Selection by Keira Cass

The Selection is a dystopian teen book about red-headed girl named America Singer who is one of 35 girls selected to compete for a chance at love with Prince Maxon.

I repeat… America is one of 35 girls who is selected to compete for a chance at love with Prince Maxon.

 Does this sound familiar at all to anyone?

 The story to me seemed divided into sections. We first learn that people and their families are broken up into classes. Their class pretty much defines their income, what they can eat, where they can live and who they marry.  In order to move up in class you either have to be extremely lucky, exile yourself from your family and friends and hope someone offers you a higher ranking job (maybe? I don’t remember 100%), marry someone in a higher class, or get selected to marry a prince.

 So, America’s life isn’t perfect and funny – her name reflects her talent. Besides that – she doesn’t think she’s pretty when in fact people are “stunned” by her beauty.  She is in love with her lower section/class boyfriend Aspen whom her family will never allow her to marry or be with. Despite a strict curfew, America sneaks off into the night with food for Aspen and they cuddle.

 Aspen, of course, feels uncomfortable taking America’s food since her family really doesn’t have that much extra money and they end up fighting when he encourages her to try out for a chance of being selected as one of Prince Maxon’s girls.

Anyway –long story – short version: America decides to ditch her rags and get dolled up for the competition to win Prince Maxon’s heart. 

Cass’s novel is a quick read for those looking for a love story and great imagery! 

Original Post: http://splyouths.tumblr.com/post/31271901868/the-selection-by-keira-cass

Guest Post: Mrs. G - Secaucus School Librarian

Name: Mrs. G   Title & Author:  Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin

What was your impression of this book?:  Good

Would you recommend this book to a friend: Yes  

What was your favorite part?

The most interesting part for me happened when 10 year-old, Sasha, after a very trying day, physically and emotionally passes out and has a conversation with Stalin’s nose.

Who was your favorite character? Why?

By far, my favorite character was 10 year-old Sasha, but coming in for a strong second, his classmate, Vovka.

Write a small summary (without giving away the ending)

Ten-year-old Sasha Zaichik has done nothing but dream of becoming a Young Pioneer in Comrade Stalin young communist party. But after two very trying days, he discovers that maybe everything he knew about the Soviet government was all a bunch of lies. 

Additional feedback (optional)                                     

Breaking Stalin’s Nose caught my attention, I love titles; however, working as a school librarian I am confused as to what age group Eugene Yelchin is targeting? Sasha’s life changing experience had me glued to the book. It teaches communism, and Stalin’s cleansing in a nut shell. It is a very simple for 6th to 9th graders. If a 1st grader to 4th, came home with this book, as a parent I might be upset. First, I don’t think they would get the message, and second it was kind of scary. When I received this book for my collection it was cataloged as juvenile fiction, I cataloged it as YA. YA is more age appropriate. I also passed the book on to a 7th grade teacher who utilizes Youtube, among other contemporary approaches to teach communism. It is a good book with excellent illustrations. 

Pandora's Key (Book 1 of the Key Trilogy) by Nancy Richardson Fischer

Pandora's Key (Book 1 of the Key Trilogy)

by Nancy Richardson Fischer

Book Review By: Jessie,  Grade: 7