Beswitched by Kate Saunders

             Flora Fox doesn't want to go to boarding school. She has to, though, because of a family emergency. On the train to her new boarding school, she falls into a deep, magical sleep, and has a very disturbing dream in which ghosts seem to talk to her.

            When she awakens, she discovers that she is in a different century, 1935, to be exact! A woman leads her off the train and into a car. She drives her to a school called St. Winifred's, and Flora is led to the headmistress's room to talk. She tries to explain to Miss Powers-Prout, but she won't hear a word of it. Then she is taken to her dorm, which, to her dismay, she must share with three other girls.

            She eventually makes friends with them, and they go on many adventures, and they tell Flora all about how they summoned her from the future, because of course they believed her when she told them that she was from the 21st century. They go through some hard times together, and Flora discovers the task she was sent to do.

            She is on the train back to her "family" from the '30s at the end of the term when she mysteriously falls into a deep sleep. . again! When she wakes up she is back in the 21 century! She wonders what has happened to her roommates from the past, and I cannot tell you the rest because I am sworn to secrecy! MWAH-HA-HA-HAAA!!!!!!!

          I recommend this book to anyone who loves a fast paced, hilarious, fantasy.

Saunders, Kate. Beswitched. (_____: Delacorte Books), 2011. ISBN 978-0385740753

Detectives in Togas

Everyone saw Rufus write ," Caius is a dumbbell" on his tablet in class. But when his fellow classmates see the same words written in red paint on the Temple of Minerva in his handwriting, they are confused. Rufus has never been the type to vandalize, so why would he do this? And why would he go into the classroom and tie up their teacher, steal some books, and lock him in a closet? The boys go to see Rufus (the teacher had canceled class because he was in pain) and he swore he didn't vandalize the temple or tie up their teacher. But if he didn't, then who did?

Rufus is taken to jail, accused of being a vandal, and when his cellmate gets freed, Rufus hands off this mysterious message to tell his friends: "Beware the red wolf in white sheep's clothing" The friends are mystified.  What does Rufus mean? When they finally figure it out, they are surprised at the outcome, and I was too! 

An unusually creative historical fiction book, this book tells the story of how life in Ancient Rome really was, from an 11 year old's perspective. It was also very descriptive, describing everything from togas to the wax tablets that they wrote on, and the clues and the suspense made it a definite page-turner, but the plot was pretty silly and absurd. I recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction or a good mystery.

Mr. Popper's Penguins

When Mr. Popper sends a letter to his hero, Admiral Drake the Antarctic explorer, he doesn't expect to receive a penguin in return. When he does, he knows just what to do because he reads books about the Antarctic and penguins every night when he comes home from his job as a house painter.

The surprise penguin arrives in the winter when Mr. Popper is off from work (house painters don't work in the wintertime). The family names their penguin Captain Cook because of the way he says, "Gook! Gook!"

The Popper family (which consists of Mr. and Mrs. Popper, Janie, and Bill)now has a problem; Captain Cook seems to be sick. They try everything, but nothing works. Then they start to suspect that Captain Cook is lonely, so they get another penguin from the aquarium to keep him company. Mr. Popper names the newcomer Greta. Greta and Captain Cook have ten children. Normally penguins only have two babies, and no penguin could fit ten eggs under her or him (Captain Cook takes turns sitting on eggs, too!).

When the baby penguins hatch, the Poppers fill the basement with ice and the twelve penguins toboggan and slide everywhere! Popper's Penguins become famous, and have an act with fake fighting and marches;Mrs. Popper plays piano for the act. They travel far and theaters everywhere want them to perform. After a season of performing, they are all tired out and decide that they have had the time of their lives and want to go back to the Popper house, but neither the penguins nor Mr. Popper stay at home for long. . . . READ THE BOOK!!!!!!!

I recommend this book for anyone who loves a wacky, amusing classic filled with humor.






Atwater, Richard and Florence. Mr. Popper's Penguins. (Boston: Little, Brown), 1938. ISBN 978-0316186469.

The Big Book of Girl Stuff

If you are looking for a Big Book of Boy Stuff, then you have come to the wrong blog post! This book, as you probably guessed, is all about girl stuff! Fashion, Girl Power, and Babysitting are some of the chapters in this fantabulous (fantabulous, if you don't know already, is a combination of fabulous and fantastic) book. It gives tips for creating your own fashion, and it is full of fun facts and good quotes in every chapter to make you laugh. It also gives cool tricks to try, like making a dollar bill ring and how to make a toothbrush bracelet. (Before you ask, no, I will not teach you how! You will just have to read the book just like anyone else!) 

If you are still looking for The Big Book of Boy Stuff (yes there is such a book) then check out your library or bookstore because it is by the same author and is probably equally amazing in a boy way!

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good, funny book that will joke around and explain how-to things. Oh, and to someone who likes to pull pranks because this book has a prank section!

King, Bart. The Big Book of Girl's Stuff. (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith), 2006. ISBN 978-1-58685-819-3. 

This Journal Belongs To Ratchet

J. Cavanaugh, Nancy. This Journal Belongs To Ratchet. (Illinois: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky). 978-1-4022-8106-8.

This Journal Belongs to Ratchet

Ratchet, whose real name is Rachel, hates to move. Every year or so she and her father move to a house called a “handyman special”, because her dad is a mechanic, and Ratchet helps fix cars with him. This means that they buy a house cheap, then fix it up by the end of the year and move again. This also means that she never gets a chance to make a friend, partly because she is home-schooled. So when this year they move again, Ratchet has to change something. She buys a new writing notebook, unlike the ones she usually has, scrounged from some yard sale.

     A boy named Hunter and his gang are always making fun of her but when they want to make go-carts for the go-cart race, Ratchet and her dad have to help the boys make their go-carts. Hunter starts being less of a beast and when the other boys make fun of her he stands up for her. Soon they are friends. She helps him remember how to build an engine and remember the names of the tools, because if the boys that Ratchets dad is teaching don’t pass the test that he has made for them, they won’t be able to participate in the go-cart race. And if the tree park gets torn down against Ratchet’s and her dad’s will, there will be no go-cart race. When Ratchet’s essay on why the tree park should be saved gets entered in the newspaper’s essay contest and she is the winner, will the tree park be saved?

     I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story with a touch of sadness and mystery.

Walk Two Moons

Of Lunatics and Kidnappers

         Salamanca, or Sal for short, misses her mother a lot. Her mother went on a trip to find her true self, but got killed in a bus accident before she arrived home. Now Sal's father has sold their farm and has “temporarily” moved to the city to date another woman, Mrs. Cadaver. Sal befriends the worrywart Phoebe, who always fears the worst to happen. But when Phoebe’s mother disappears and changes from sensible to flirtatious, Phoebe thinks the worst has happened. Sal tells Phoebe’s story to her grandparents while they drive the route that her mother took when she went to find her true self, of lunatics and kidnappers, of frozen dinners and mysterious notes, of old Mrs. Partridge and cholesterol. But Sal has two stories going on at once, the car trip story, and the story of Phoebe. Listen to the stories, laughing at the funny parts and crying at the sad parts. I recommend this book to people who love a book with a surprise ending.

Creech, Sharon. Walk Two Moons. (New York:HarperTrophy), 1994. 280, 978-0-06-440517-1

Lily B. on the Brink of Cool

Lily The Uncool-Can She Be Coolified?

         13-year-old Lily Blennerhasset has to go to a relation’s wedding. Her parents are very uncool, and when, the night before the wedding, she sees the only cool people in the room from her uncool family, she has to make friends with them. She does, and records all of her adventures with them in her journal, because her dream is to be an author. But after every adventure, she is the one who gets in trouble and not the cool Leblancs! When the Leblancs need to move to a hotel too expensive for them for two weeks, Lily kindly offers her family's small summerhouse. But the Blennerhassets need the house the next month, and when the Leblancs leave a mess in the house, Lily expects her parents to be mad at her. Instead of being mad, they explain the story of the Whites (read the book to find out who the Whites are)(hey, I'm not going to tell you!). Lily then understands why her parents do not approve of her friendship with the Leblancs. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a story of friendship, false and true.

Kimmel, Elizabeth Cody.  Lily B. on the Brink of Cool. (New York: HarperTrophy), 2003. ISBN 978-0-06-000588-7