Elizabeth
BOOK NAME: So B. It
AUTHOR: Sarah Weeks
So B. It, by Sarah Weeks, is a touching, humorous, rather sad but all around great story that
would be a great summer reading choice. I first read this book a couple of years ago as an assignment
for English class, but it’s so good I’ve read it numerous times over the past few years for fun as well.
This novel is told from the perspective of 12 year old Heidi It, a good natured girl who lives with
her mentally disabled mother in Reno, Nevada. Bernadette, their caring but rather vertically challenged
neighbor who’s agoraphobic (basically, she’s afraid to go outside the house) looks after Heidi and is like
a second mother to her; even so Heidi has to take on many responsibilities to provide for the household
and take care of her mom.
However, when a strange word,”Soof”, a word that has often appeared in her mother’s limited
vocabulary begins to make her wonder about her mother’s history, Heidi sets out on a journey to
discover her mother’s unknown past and hopefully her mom’s parents. Along the way, Heidi runs into
many different people and gets caught in a variety of memorable situations, each one teaching her
lessons about life and bringing her closer to finding out who her mother is and where she came from.
Near the end of the book, something tragic occurs, and Heidi realizes that not only has she learned a lot
about her mom, but she has learned a lot about herself too.
This novel is very well written and a really sweet story. Although it is a little sad, it’s definitely
not a depressing or gloomy book and has many funny and lighthearted moments. I would recommend
this book to both guys and girls and though I think older tweens would enjoy it most, this novel has a
broad age range and I know young tweens and teenagers will like it as well. So, if you’re looking for a
really good book that is humorous and colorful but also touching and mysterious, then So B. It is the
book for you!
Want another opinion? Read Jordan’s review!
BOOK NAME: Under a War-Torn Sky
AUTHOR: L.M. Elliott
I was first assigned to read Under a War-Torn Sky by L.M. Elliott for English class and wasn’t sure if I would really like it, but it turned out to be a great book filled with suspense and adventure.
The book is set during WWII and focuses on the adventures of 19 year old Henry Forester, a lieutenant in the US air force who flies fighter planes and does missions over Europe. Everything is going pretty well and it looks like Henry will make it home until his plane gets shot to the ground by German troops and suddenly, Henry finds himself behind enemy lines. Relying on the mercy and selfless bravery of others, he starts to journey through Europe back to Great Britain, where he can hopefully board a boat and sail home. Along the way he encounters many different people, such as courageous Pierre, the eight year old who hides Henry away in his family’s barn to keep him safe from German soldiers, to feisty Claudette, the teenager who desperately wants to join the French Resistance and get revenge on the Nazis for killing her family. Through Henry’s adventures and countless brushes with danger, he learns some important life lessons both about himself and about others. Will Henry manage to stay alive and make it home to the US? You’ll just have to read the book and find out!
This book got me hooked right from the first page. Although its very action packed and fast paced, its also thoughtful and well written, (which isn’t always the case with some war books.) Anyway, I think both girls and boys would really enjoy this novel
(some of my friends who are guys read it and really liked it) but I would recommend it to kids twelve and older, since it can be a little violent. Under a War-Torn Sky is a great book packed with action and adventure and I know you will love it!
BOOK NAME: I’d Tell You I Love You, but Then I’d Have to Kill You
AUTHOR: Ally Carter
If you like books with lots of action, adventure, and most of all, girl power, then
you will love, I’d Tell You I Love You but Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter.
This novel rolls spies, romance, and friendship all together to create a story about
young women who have some very surprising talents.
15 year old Cammie Morgan is a sophmore at the Gallagher Academy for
Exceptional Young Women. From the outside, the school appears to be a just
another snooty, private school for rich, stuck up girls, but if you dodge all of
the lasers, sneak past the armed guards and don’t get caught on any of the 50
security cameras that surround the campus, you will discover that the Gallagher
Academy is actually a school for spies. Instead of learning basics about cells and
atoms in science class, Cammie and her friends are taught the latest in chemical
warfare. Instead of just having to learn one language, they have to be fluent in
fourteen, and instead of doing dodge ball or capture the flag in P.E., they learn
how to kill a man seven different ways with their bare hands. However, when
Cammie meets an ordinary boy who doesn’t know she’s a spy, she has no idea
how to express her true feelings about him without revealing her secret identity.
Sure, she may be able to crack CIA codes, take out someone twice her size, and
save the world from ruthless dictators, but can she handle a relationship with a
normal guy who can never know who she really is?
I loved this book and would definitely recommend giving it a chance. It’s a really
fun read with lots of suspense and drama but also with humor as well. Although
some boys might like it, it’s aimed towards a female audience and I think girls will
probably enjoy it more. So, if you want a humorous read full of action, romance,
and espionage, then I’d Tell You I Love You but Then I’d Have to Kill You is
definitely for you.
BOOK NAME: Skipping Christmas
AUTHOR: John Grisham
If you had the chance to skip Christmas, would you? Sure, it would mean not having to go to your siblings’ boring Christmas pageant, not getting sick on candy canes and fruit cake, and not having to pretend you’re thankful for the wacky presents your relatives send you, but wouldn’t you miss the Christmas tree? And the decorations and carolers? And not to mention, what would your family and friends think of you?
These are the types of questions Luther and Nora Krank are faced with when they suddenly decide to forgo the holidays in the novel, Skipping Christmas. With their only daughter leaving for a year to go teach children English in Peru, the Kranks are feeling pretty gloomy and don’t know if they are up to celebrating Christmas. In fact, Luther, who has never liked the holiday because of the all the stress and chaos it brings, proposes the plan of skipping altogether and going on a luxurious cruise instead. Although the idea at first seems crazy and Nora immediately vetoes it, the couple eventually comes around and they excitedly book their tickets for a Caribbean cruise, starting on Christmas day.
At first, Luther and Nora’s attempt to forgo everything that has to do with Christmas goes very smoothly and they begin to think that skipping the holidays will be easy. However, as they continue to refuse invitations to Christmas parties, turn down charities asking for donations to help give underprivileged kids presents, and go as far as to not decorate their house with Christmas lights, ultimately causing their neighborhood to lose the annual holiday decorations contest, they soon begin to be met with distaste from their neighbors. As the book goes on, that distaste grows into a full-fledged “war” between the neighborhood and the Kranks, the matter being over whether or not Luther and Nora are going to celebrate Christmas.
This novel is very amusing and will have you constantly laughing as you read it. I recommend it to preteens and young teenagers because it does contain some bad language (Luther utters the occasional swear word) and was originally aimed for an adult audience. Other than that, this book is very funny and entertaining and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
