Macbeth

By William Shakespeare

Macbeth is a wonderful bloody tale of royalty and deceit. Macbeth, who is a general in the Scottish army along with Banquo, has met three witches, who call Macbeth ‘The Thane of Clawdor’, and ‘The Thane of Glamis’ and ‘King Hereafter’. They tell of a prophecy that Banquo will beget kings, and then the witches vanish. Macbeth and his wife slay King Duncan, and Macbeth becomes the king. This book may be too complicated for some readers, for it was written in about 1606, and the way people speak, as one would imagine, has changed.

If you wish to broaden your vocabulary, or you are tired of predictable books, this book is perfect for you. Shakespeare has an excellent way with words, and the way people speak in Macbeth is like poetry, even with the simplest of phrases.

Vinyl Scratch

catching fire

March 13, 2012


Catching Fire is the second book in the Hunger Games series. The book is about how Katniss gets chosen to go into the Hunger Games for a second time. Normally this would be impossible since the gamemakers (the ones who make up the rules) decided that each person could only be in the games once. The only reason that Katniss goes to the games twice is that Catching Fire is about the 75th hunger games which is called a Quarter Quell. Every 25 years there is a Quarter Quell. When this happens the games have a special addition, one year each district had to choose two boys and two girls, instead of one person from each gender, to participate in the games. This time each district had to make a boy winner and girl winner go to the games and since Katniss was the only girl winner in district 12, she had to go. The cool thing about the winners going back to the games is that it makes it much harder to survive with or without allies. This also makes it a much more exciting book, because everyone has already won the games before.

I would strongly suggest that you read The Hunger Games first if you want to read Catching Fire. I would recommend this book to kids from 5th grade to adult because it really goes into detail about how some people die; in some places it is pretty gory.

The Story of Doctor Dolittle

Who doesn’t love a classic? No one. Doctor Dolittle is one of those amazing classics that will blow your mind. In his little town of Puddleby, Doctor Dolittle and his amazing pets go on a crazy adventure. They go through problems and sacrifices in the jungle and even more adventures along the way. But on the way back to Puddleby, things start to happen.



If you want to read some of the greatest classics like The Story of Doctor Dolittle, read this book by Hugh Lofting. Dab-Dab, Gub-Gub, Too-Too and of course the Doctor himself will be waiting for you to pick up the amazing book.

-Dave

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

     The Invention of Hugo Cabret is an amazing book about an orphan, Hugo, trying to survive in a Paris train station in the late nineteenth century. I would definitely suggest The Invention of Hugo Cabret to all; it has great characters and good descriptions that will have you wanting more. It is partly made up of charcoal drawings that help to really paint a picture in your head.

     Everything in Hugo’s world rotates around the automaton he found, but when the instructions to fix it are taken from him, his world is turned upside down, like the moving pictures he so loves.

     The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a must read, so you won’t be regretting it if you do, as it is a wonderful and heartwarming book.

-The Silver Crusade

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

“For the first time in so many years Willy Wonka is opening up his chocolate factory!” Young Charlie Bucket thought in amazement that Willy Wonka was finally opening up his chocolate factory! Charlie looked back at the TV again. “There are five golden tickets inside five ordinary Wonka bars. The winners will take a tour of the factory, and at the end of their day at the chocolate factory, will receive a lifetime’s supply of chocolate!” Charlie thought of getting a lifetime’s supply of chocolate. He and his family would finally stop starving! But, the tickets are slipping away. There is only one more golden ticket in the whole entire world. By now, Charlie’s belief turns into disbelief. Will Charlie’s dreams come true, or will they be shattered like glass?

I really enjoyed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory because there was nothing sad or bad in it. This book can really cheer you up when you read about Charlie Bucket’s cheery spirit. For all you candy lovers out there, this is the book for you. When everyone that got the golden tickets went into the candy room, my mouth started to water. Roald Dahl really makes your mouth water and can make you happy while reading this book. I would recommend this book to all that enjoy reading a happy read and people who love candy.

-Mankind

Glory Be

Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood is a good book, but not the kind of book you would say ‘wow’ to. The book is set in 1964, and even though it didn’t say it at first or write it on the back, Augusta Scattergood kept giving you hints. She wrote so many hints that it kept you wondering and wondering.
Though the first half of the book wasn’t that exciting, Augusta Scattergood constantly kept you wondering so that it was almost impossible to put the book down. I recommend this book to everyone, especially to people that enjoy historic fiction. From a sister who changed a lot, a weird girl from up north that wears black socks with sandals, to a queer boy that is a “negro” and likes Glory’s sister, this book will keep you thinking and wondering.

-Serendipity_3

Do Not Pass Go

Do Not Pass Go

Do Not Pass Go, by Kirpatrick Hill, is not a book I’ll soon forget. It’s a touching and very realistic story of a boy named Deet trying to cope with the fact that his father is in jail for drug use. Before I read this book, I looked at jail as a place where hardened criminals go. But I think the author was trying to get across the fact that everybody in jail has a story. Deet’s father was a kind person before he went to jail, and he makes friends with several people in jail, while Deet makes friends with the people on the other side of the bars. I will say that no large events actually happen after Deet’s father goes to jail, just changes inside Deet. This book is a great read, not too long either. I would not, however, recommend it to action fans because they will be bored. This is not a boring book itself, but it does not have the fast-paced excitement of most children’s books today. This is quite a touching book, and will change the way you look at jail and convicts.



-Eulalia!

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid  series is all about Greg Heffley who wants to change his personality in school from nerdy to cool. Greg’s best friend, Rowley Jefferson, gets in the way of everything with his comic strip “zoo-wee-momma.” Greg thought it was the most humiliating, and embarrassing thing he’d ever done.  Greg Heffley is your normal 6^th Grade firebrand in a local middle school who has to face problems such as Rowley acting like a kid in his first year of middle school, Greg having a crush on Holly Hills, the most popular girl in school, and Greg and Rowley get into some of the biggest fights in the summer.  I recommend this book to everybody because it’s a comedian kid series that’ll rock your socks off, and because Jeff Kinney’s one of the best-selling authors alive.

-Jeff Kinney

The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief

If you love Greek Mythology, then you’re going to love this book, The Lightning Thief,by Rick Riordan. The main character is young Percy Jackson who is a demigod. Being a demigod means you’re always in danger of being killed by monsters. When that starts to happen, there’s only one place to go, Camp Half-Blood, a special camp where demigods are trained to fight monsters and even go on quests. If you like humor, adventure, and Greek Mythology, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians  series is for you. I’d recommend this series of books to people new to Greek Mythology.

-Phillies34