Liar & Spy

Liar & Spy is a book about an 11 year old boy named Georges, who meets a 12 year old self appointed 'spy' and loner named Safer as the teacher of 'spy club'. Life is tough for Georges because his mom works long double-shifts, his dad got laid off, and because he gets bullied a lot at school, (largely due to his name). So he is happy to have Safer as a friend, but some of the spy assignments Safer gives him seem very extreme, and fake.

The book offers a perspective on many things such as bullying and becoming united against bullies, characteristics of different people, life after losing jobs, and so on.

The one primary flaw I find with the book is that towards the end, the whole spy club part lost it's importance even though that was the main idea of the book at first.

My rating: 6 out of 10

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

        Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a 5-book series written by Rick Riordan. The series centers around a normal boy from New York, named Percy Jackson. Well, kind of normal he really can't concentrate on any work and isn't that smart. On the other hand, he's never seen his dad before. His mom always tells him that he'll see him someday. Well it turns out that Percy's father is actually Poseidon, the Greek god of The Ocean. Soon, he ends up in a camp of over 60 demigods ( half immortal - half mortal people) like him. He gets trained with things like fighting greek monsters, and surviving in tough conditions.

        Throughout the series, he gets sent on many quests and meets friends like Annabeth (a daughter of Athena), Grover ( a Satyr a half human -  half goat), Thalia ( daughter of Zeus and) , and Nico (son of Hades). He defats many monsters with them and ultimately gets faced with the challenge of defeating Kronos and his Titans!

      The first book in the series is called The Lightning Thief. The second is called The Sea of Monsters. The third book is called The Titan's curse, and the fourth book is called The Battle of the Labyrinth. The fifth and final book, where he faces the Titans, is called The Last Olympian. 

         While reading these books, you will become an expert on Greek mythology. An other good thing is that Rick Riordan incorporates lots of geography in his books, since Percy and his friends have quests in different places across The United States. When I first started to read this, I really couldn't stop and I kept on going. This is a very good read and I hope you try it.

My series rating: 9 out of 10

By The Way:

There is another series by Rick Riordan called

The Heroes of Olympus which is a continuation

of Percy Jackson. So far, there are 3 books.

Theodore Boone

         
Theodore Boone is a series written by John Grisham. John Grisham usually writes books for adults, (in the legal thriller genre). However, he started just this one series, for kids. The series centers around a 13 year old boy, named Theodore Boone. He is very interested in the law, and wants to be a lawyer or a judge when he grows up. In fact, everyone in his family is a lawyer.
     
   So far, there  are 3 books in the series. In the first book, The Kid Lawyer, Theo gets vital information that could change the course of a big murder trial that was going on in his town. In the second book, The Abduction, Theo's friend, April, goes missing and everyone things that she's kidnapped, and he tries to find her. In the third book, The Accused, Theo finds stolen items from an electronics store in his school locker. Someone is trying to frame him! He tries to find out who, did it, and why.
     
 The book gives a good perspective about law, and the different aspects of it. Murder, burglaries, divorces, missed mortgages - resulting in foreclosures, drunk driving, etc. It also gives a perspective about how tough life can be for some people.

My Series Rating: 8+ out of 10

Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes are a collection of mystery stories about a detective named Sherlock Holmes. After hearing all the facts about a crime(including things that others consider pointless), seeing evidence, and going to the crime scene, Holmes pictures all the possibilities. Who did it, and how? Holmes does all this in his mind, using "simple" deduction to piece the pieces together. Sometimes, he sets up a trap to capture the criminals. He is aided by a doctor, Dr.Watson in all of his mysteries.

When I first started reading this, I found it boring, and confusing. Soon, it got interesting, and now, I'm hooked on. For anyone who is interested in mysteries, these are the ultimate stories in that genre. Out of all the stories in Sherlock Holmes, some I recommend are The Speckled Band, The Sign of the Four,  The Hound of the Baskervilles, and The Six Napoleons.

The books are usually sold as a one book with some of the best among all the stories, however, you can also get them as a one book with the full collection shown below.     

My rating: 9 out of 10

Shooting Kabul

Shooting Kabul is a book about Fadi, an Afghan boy who loses his sister and lives with the guilt that it's his fault. The family moves to California because of the Taliban. In the book, the family adjusts to life in the US. Soon, the happenings of 9/11 unfold and Fadi faces racial discrimination at school. The book shows how hard it was after 9/11 for innocent people.

Throughout the book, Fadi looks for every possible chance to find his sister. When he finds out that  there is a photography competition, (with a trip to India for the first place winner), he tries really hard to win it. 

The book talks about having friendships with kids from different backgrounds. The book also gives a good perspective about how there are educated people in Afghanistan who want to help their country get better. 
I also liked the book because it gives a different perspective related to something bad that happened in  recent history.

My rating: 9 out of 10

Kira-Kira

My take:

Kira-kira is a book about the life of two Japanese girls who live some time in the 1950's. In the beginning, they live in Iowa but later their family moves to Georgia since both parents get a job at a hatchery. Lynn, the older sister sees everything in the world as Kira Kira, ("glittering" in Japanese). Lynn is a great inspiration for Katie, the younger sister. Lynn sees everything in the world as Kira Kira, ("glittering" in Japanese). Later in the book, Lynn gets lymphoma and life gets tough. The author shows how hard it is for her and the whole family. The book shows the emotions of many different types of people and deals with things like friendship, some racial discrimination, tough jobs and working conditions(like working at a hatchery), being laid off, etc. In the whole, this is a very well written book and a must read for any child. 

My Rating: 8 out of 10


In case you didn't know:

Lymphoma is a type of cancer.

Dear Mr. Henshaw

My Take:

Dear Mr. Henshaw is a book about a young boy who writes letters to his favorite author. The author shows how a young boy's mind is, how a young boy writes, and the mixed feelings of having divorced parents. I find a few flaws in the book, such as the fact that none of the the author's replies are shown in the book, so you don't get the context of the boy's next letter. However, the book gives a good perspective of different people's lives.

My rating: 3 out of 10

The Whipping Boy

My Take:

The Whipping Boy is a book about a Whipping boy and a prince. The author very well portrays how easy life is for the Prince and how tough it is for the whipping boy and other commoners. The author does a good job of showing what a prince's thoughts are like, and also what the whipping boy's thoughts are like. Also, the book shows how people in medieval times lived. The two highwaymen who took the boys hostage did not have very good characters though.

My rating: 5 out of 10


In case you were wondering:

In the medieval times, some kings had laws that the prince was not to be
whipped, slapped, beaten, etc. What they did is to bring a common boy, and whip him whenever the prince misbehaved.

Bridge to Terabithia

My Take:

Bridge to Terabithia is a book about friendship.  The two main characters, Jess Aaron, and Leslie Burke are both very imaginative kids and create a kingdom called Terabithia. The book is a good combination of regular life - school, friendship, family, etc. and also of kids imagination. However, I do 

not think that the author gives you the feel of being in the kingdom.

Actually at first, I expected that Terabithia would either actually be a real kingdom that magically appears, or that it would all be a dream. It turned out that Jess and Leslie pretended that Terabithia existed. They use a dog as a guardian, a rope to swing onto as the entrance to Terabithia, and making a "castle" out of wooden boards. 

My rating: 6 out of 10