Tag archives for Thieves
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BOOK NAME: The Schwa Was Here
AUTHOR: Neal Shusterman
Calvin Schwa, also known as “the Schwa,” is not invisible. He is just easy to overlook. He is a nobody, so much so that he might as well be part of the scenery. Even his own father cannot be particularly sure of his whereabouts. Some call this “The Schwa Effect”, a condition that renders one virtually invisible to all but the extremely observant. It is said that this effect is terminal, eventually causing the person to simply fade away.
Anthony “Antsy” Bonano barely even noticed The Schwa when they first met. Calvin seemed to blend in perfectly with his surroundings, virtually unnoticeable. Moreover, the Schwa had sat next to Antsy in class for a long time without Antsy ever noticing until that fateful day. Antsy decided to befriend his “invisible-ish” classmate and assist him with his unusual predicament. After doing extensive experimentation on the effectiveness of the Schwa Effect, Antsy had the “brilliant” idea to use the Schwa’s stealth as a profit generating opportunity. The two-some completed spying tasks as well as dares for the entertainment of the other students, as well as for cash.
All is not well, however. Antsy and the Schwa may have just accepted one triple-DOG-dare too many. Furthermore, the Schwa is having trouble coming to grips with his Schwa Effect. He feels as if he is fading away, and that one day, possibly in the very near future, he will cease to exist. There will be emotional pain, there will be cold hard truth, and there will be plenty of ferocious dogs…
This book was excellent. My favorite part was the author’s style of writing. The book was full of humorous lines and phrases. Sarcasm, jokes, puns, and idioms were all present in this book. Such sayings as, “He didn’t have a cow, he had a whole herd,” and “It smelled like something had died in there because it had smelled something else that had died in there,” were commonplace. I could not stop chuckling to myself, and some were good enough to read aloud to family members for more laughs. Even the titles of the chapters were funny. Behind all of the humor, the plot was excellent as well. There were many unexpected twists and turns, as well as several shocking events. I will not spoil these, so read the book. I have also read another book in the series, called “Antsy Does Time”, which was similar to this book in many ways. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story with plenty of laughs thrown in.
Want another opinion? Read Mairen’s review!
Posted by BOOK NAME: Museum of Thieves
AUTHOR: Lian Tanner
I haven’t read a book like this before. It is one of the weirdest that I’ve ever read. It’s about a girl named Goldie who lives in an over-protective city where all children are chained up so nothing bad can happen to them-that is if you don’t consider being chained up to be bad. On the day that Goldie was supposed to be released from her chains, the city learns that 20 children have been killed in a bombing outside the town. The city leaders then decide that Goldie and all other children shouldn’t be separated from their chains. Goldie becomes so mad that she escapes the city. She then discovers a museum and sneaks into the building, where she meets the museum’s four keepers, named Sinew, Olga Ciavolga, Herro Dan, and the boy Toadspit. They all teach Goldie how to pick locks, act like someone else, blend in with the background, and other sneaky skills. While there, she finds crazy rooms and learns that the museum and its rooms sometimes shift. When the so-called Guardians of the over-protective city inspect the museum, they nail down the walls so they can map and find Goldie. They take her and Toadspit back to the city, where the adventure continues.
This book is so unique and strange that it is definitely worth reading. I consider it to be one of my all-time favorites.
Posted by BOOK NAME: The Schwa Was Here
AUTHOR: Neal Shusterman
Anthony Bonano is just a normal kid – well, look beyond his weird nickname “Antsy” and he is. He lives in Brooklyn, New York and goes to school like any other teenager his age. But one day, his life changes when he and his two best friends, Howie and Ira, meet a boy named Calvin Schwa. Calvin, or “The Schwa” as he is known to most people, isn’t a normal kid. Not a lot of people notice him–that is, he seems to fade into the background a lot, and some people can’t even tell he is there. Antsy and his friends begin to document the “Schwa Effect,” to help Calvin stay in existence (he is worried that once no one notices him, he’ll just cease to exist). On one of their missions to prove the Schwa Effect, Calvin is challenged to sneak in to the neighborhood curmudgeon’s house and steal a dog bowl. The grumpy old man, Mr. Crawley, has 14 different Afghan hounds, and while Calvin is trying to take a bowl, he is caught. Antsy and Calvin have to work for Mr. Crawley to stop him from calling the police, and they have to walk the dogs every day as their punishment.
Just in case this wasn’t too much, Mr. Crawley’s granddaughter is coming to visit, and he has offered to pay Antsy to spend time with her. Antsy figures that there must be something horribly wrong with her – but there really isn’t: she’s just blind. Her quick wit and lovable attitude bring both Antsy and the Schwa to fall in love with her, which causes tension between the two.
My favorite part of this book was the Schwa’s collection of paperclips. He has a huge collection of different paperclips from different worldwide occurrences, and at one point in the story, he shows Antsy. Some people might think that it is weird, but I think it’s quite cool. He even has one from the Titanic! Anyway, this is a heartwarming and unique story that I would recommend to all readers. Neal Shusterman really did a great job with this novel.
Posted by BOOK NAME: Adam of the Road
AUTHOR: Elizabeth Janet Gray
Being a minstrel, Adam wanders the streets happily, doing cartwheels and bringing joy upon others. For years, Adam has done nothing but roam the streets with his red spaniel, Nick, and his minstrel father, Roger. When Adam’s father disappears and Nick gets stolen, Adam spends all his days looking for the two dearest things that belong to him. Roger and Nick.
I really enjoyed how the author described the scenery and how someone felt. I’d have to say my favorite character is Adam, the main character. The author just put so much personality into him. In this book, the “bad guy” was the man who stole Nick and I think I enjoyed having some amount of crime and mischief in the book.
Adam of the Road was a book I read for school. It isn’t a book that I’d read out of interest, though. I wouldn’t say that is a good book or a bad book. The reading level was too easy for me and the story seemed to drag. I think that it’d be interesting for a child of a younger age, but not so much for me.
BOOK NAME: Shepherd’s Quest: The Broken Key #1
AUTHOR: Brian Pratt
Chad Kelon and Riyan Borenson dreamed of nothing but adventures. They continuously tell each other stories of themselves rescuing fair ladies and defeating monstrous creatures. Then there was Bartholomew Agreani who is known as Bart. He is one of Riyan’s new friends and is handy with all sorts of tools used by thieves.
Accidentally, Riyan stumbles upon a cave which contained a few copper coins worth a lot of money. Unsure of what other treasures might remain deep in the cave Riyan informs Chad and Bart of his discovery leading to an adventure beyond their imaginations and their made-up stories. Along the way, the boys meet Kevik, a magic user. They have courage and bravery while they suffer the loss of many things, but they also benefit in the discoveries that they find.
When I read the summary on the back of the book and saw the cover I wanted to read this book. It seemed mysterious and maybe kind of scary. I read it to discover that it wasn’t scary at all. I think the vocabulary in this book is geared more for readers 10 and up. Shepherd’s Quest: The Broken Key # 1 is the first of three books. I found this book intriguing so I am going to read the other two in the series.
