Marvin Redpost: Kidnapped at Birth?

Sometimes rainy days drive you insane. You can't decide which of the over read books on the shelf to read. I chose Marvin Redpost: Kidnapped at Birth? by Lois Sachar. I very much regret this decision. The title pretty much sums up the book. You may know Sachar as the author of the beloved novel Holes. Holes is a much deeper and infinitely more humorous story than Marvin Redpost. Marvin Redpost is meant to appeal to a younger audience than Holes, however, the language is horrid and the plot is immature. In my opinion Louis just wanted to finish this story therefore within the last few pages there lies a nasty surprise.

Summer of the Monkeys

A couple of weeks ago, I partook in a bookclub that had an affinity for outdoorsy books- the club had just completed My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George, which was awful. But I never had dreamed that they would select the horrendous book they did next.

I knew that I would hate Summer of the Monkeys purely from the cover. Firstly, the title is dreary and boring. Second, the picture shows a boy with a conceited face peering over a grassy hill to a tree hollow where a bunch of monkeys are frolicking. A bluetick hound is pawing the dirt by the pinch-faced boy.

I think this cover basically tells what this whole books is about: this boy, Jay Berry, trying to catch some monkeys. The monkeys escaped from a circus, and there is a reward of two dollars per monkey and one hundred dollars for the big chimpanzee, Jimbo.  Jimbo is uncommonly smart, and makes Jay Berry look like an idiot a good percentage of the time by attacking him, stealing his britches, getting him drunk, and a bunch of ridiculous stuff like that.

Also, if Jay Berry even catches the monkeys, he has to decide if he wants to heal his disabled sister, Daisy, who has a twisted leg, or if he wants to get a pony and .22 rifle. There is an obvious choice, which he predictably takes.

There is also a lot of rubbish added about a fairy circle.

This book is horrendous, boring, and blandly written. Do not read it.

Scumble by Ingrid Law

      Imagine dreading your thirteenth birthday. For most families turning thirteen is a big deal, and a very exciting day but not for the Beaumont family. When a child in the Bueamont family turns thirteen they develop a "savvy." Ledge Beaumont's part of the family is expected to travel west to their family ranch just five days after Ledge's thirteenth birthday. When Ledge's birthday comes with great anticipation and then leaves again without anything exploding or a short power outage, the family, still nervous, starts the long drive west. It isn't far into their journey when events start to happen that change their drive.
      I would definitely recommend Scumble by Ingrid Law. I would call it a book that includes the whole package, meaning that  it has a very developed plot and characters whose feelings and emotions are well described.   

          ~Leaf