Hidden Talents by David Lubar

Hidden Talents is a book filled with jubilation and delirium. Although it's science fiction, it makes you feel like you're actually there. It hooks you from the beginning and holds your attention all the way through to the last page. Martin, a child that was kicked out of basically every school, now ends up in Edgeview Alternative School, a school for juvenile delinquents and trouble makers. There, he has to overcome his ability to see inside other's minds and make anger overcome them. He and his friends all have different special talents. Besides them, nobody else knows. To find out if Martin and the others survive Edgeview you must read the book!

I would definetly recommend this book! It can be enjoyed by any gender. It's also a Battle of the Books book. This book is for anyone who enjoys getting in trouble, action, or a mystery. It kept us on the edge of our seats the entire time and we laughed out loud. A great book for partner reading.

Bella and Lauren- 7th graders

Hidden Talents by David Lubar

Hidden Talents was one of the most entertaining book I have ever read. This book was about thirteen-year-old Martin Anderson, who gets kicked out of every school he has tried to go to because of his trash-talking. He is transfered to Edgeview Alternative School for delinquents and misfits. He meets a group of weird friends and discovers something very interesting about each one of them.

I loved this book from the very start because it is comical and mysterious at the same time. In order to understand each part, you have to read on. I loved it, and maybe you will too!

Tatyana M.
Grade 7

Stones in Water By Donna Jo Napoli

How would you react if you snuck off to see a movie one afternoon and never went home? Instead you are taken to a forced labor camp and made to build runways and holding pens for the Nazis. In Stones and Water, this happens to Roberto, his brother, and his two friends, Samuel and Memo. The boys have to eat raw eggs and sleep outside in harsh winter weather. When they are caught, they are sent to northern Ukraine in the middle of the winter. It is there that they escape but not before one of them DIES. Then he has to attempt to get home to Italy and narrowly avoid dangers along the way home.

This is a fine Holocaust book.I would recommend this book to anyone who loves war novels. This is a Battle of the Books book. In my opinion, this is a book for boys.


Sean M. -8th grader

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

How would you like to be the son of a god and a mortal? Well, Percy Jackson is a normal kid living a normal life in New York, until the field trip. He is a 12 year old boy expelled from so many schools he can't even keep track. He lives with his mother and his stepfather, Gabe, and they hate each other. Percy can't even understand why his mother even married him. Anyways, while he is at the museum he is attacked by one of the Kindly Ones, Hade's henchmen. From then on , some lightning fast events turn Percy's life upside-down. Now, he will have to embark on a daring quest with two friends to bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus, and if he fails, and he will unleash the fury of the Gods on the world.

I loved this book because it is part fiction, part science fiction. This book has so many unpredictable twists and turns, you'll never know where this book is headed. Also, this book has so much tension, you'll be unable to put this book down until you learn what has become of the trio, and by then, a new twist would have occurred! Also, this is a Battle of the Books book.

Jeffrey
8th grade

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

Things Not Seen is a book about fifteen-year-old Bobby Phillips waking up one morning and not being able to see himself in the mirror. He’s not blind like you would normally expect, he is just plain invisible. Follow Bobby on a strange adventure as he and his family try to restore him to his original being before time runs out when you read Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements.

We loved this book and it made you think about if his problem could happen. Andrew Clements made his characters and plot seem very realistic and fascinating. It made you feel like you were actually in Bobby's shoes. If you want a book that is full of surprises and adventure, then pick up Things Not Seen. A lot of people have read it because it is a Battle of the Books book this year.

By Rachel and Kaitelyn- 8th grade

Esperanza Rising- Pam Muñoz Ryan

Imagine being the daughter of a wealthy man. Suddenly one devastating loss destroys your future life as a rich person. Esperanza Rising is about a wealthy girl who lives on a ranch in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Her father owns acres and acres of farm land and many servants. But on the day before Esperanza's thirteenth birthday, her father was murdered by bandits. The father's greedy stepbrothers proposed a marriage to Esperanza's mother so that he could get her influence. Esperanza's mother and herself run away to a Mexican Immigrant camp to live. Now Esperanza has to get use to a life without servants as one by one, events start to unravel and things might become worse.

This book has suspense in the most unusual places as emotions pour out of you. This book is historical fiction and is for everyone.

Joyce, Olivia 7 grade
Battle of the Books

Magyk by Angie Sage

One night the seventh son of the seventh son is born. Being a wizard himself, Silas know that his son is prophesied to be the greatest wizard of all time. After his son is born Silas goes out and happens to find a baby girl with violet eyes. When Marcia, the extraordinary wizard, tells him to tell no one that he has found her he agrees to keep it a secret. When he comes home he is shocked to find his son has died. Thinking carefully he decides to tell everyone, but his wife, that the baby girl is his child and no one else suspects a thing. 10 years pass and the girl, Jenna has been told that she is really the princess of the kingdom by Marcia. Scared for her life Silas sends Jenna to a secret place with a few relatives and she is able to escape from the Custodians who are trying to take her life, as they took her mothers. along the way they find a boy who was named in the army he was in, Boy 412 with a mysterious past. Together they face the custodians learning some secrets on the way about life and Maygk.

I enjoyed this book a lot. The plot is original and keeps you on your toes. The character are so so real and have a way of connecting with you. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes anything magic related and/or something that is witty and adventurous. Being neither a boy or girl book this is for the reader who loves to read.

The City of Ember By Jeanne DuPrau

An underground city? You say, impossible. Tell that to Dean, Poppy, and Lina, three adventurous children who are unhappy with their life...in the City of Ember. There, they pick jobs to tell them what to do for the rest of their life. Dean is a messenger, his best friend, Lina's, dream job. Lina on the other hand has Dean's dream job, a underground mechanic. They think they are doomed to a miserable life, not knowing that a single piece of paper can lead them to a whole new world for a whole new beginning.

On a scale of 1-10, I rate this book a 15. It has everything an amazing book needs, an abundance of detail, adventure, suspense, and excitement. For anyone who loves science fiction or fiction in general, this is a great book. And even if you don't prefer any certain genre, no need to search any further, this is the book!



Joanna- 8th grade

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

On Tuesday in February in Chicago Illinois, what if you disappeared? What if your parents couldn't help you? And what if you couldn't become normal anymore? Well, Bobby Phillips experienced all of that. His best friend is a blind girl and her family try to help him. Bobby acts likes like a spy to steal something. One day, the State Department of Children and Family Services searches his house and can't find Bobby. Is the end for Bobby's chances of being normal?

This is one of the best science fiction books that's required for Battle of the Books. Everyone should read this book including all boys and girls. This book includes everything you would want to read. This book is for all readers.

So B. It by Sarah Weeks

In So B. It, all 11 year old Heidi knew nothing about her past, except she had a mother and possibly a grandmother. Her mother was mentally disabled and was unable to care for Heidi as an infant. So they found themselves on Bernadette's doorstep when Heidi was a week old. They started off as neighbors, then a door found in Bernadette's house combined the two apartments. Heidi had too many questions and too few answers. Finding an old roll of film, developed into pictures added a few more answers yet many more questions. The questions and one of her mother's unknown words, soof, send her to Hilltop Home in New York. At different times Heidi's mother would say "Soof,".Some questions become unexpected answers to Heidi, who only knew her last name as It.

I loved So B. It. Any realistic fiction person would love it. I loved how Heidi had questions and searched for answers, yet her answers were and weren't what she expected. I really liked how it ended. I liked how Heidi got her answers yet I didn't like how she had to deal with other truths.

Christina K. Grade 7

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass

Four keys? In one month? No way! That is what Jeremy Fink thinks when he receives a package with his mother's name on it. He is thirteen in one month and is enjoying the thrills and chills of summer. His friend Lizzie, being the way she is, opens the package to find newspapers from five years ago,a letter, and more importantly a box. The box is from his father who has been dead for five years. He made it for him knowing he would be dead and wanted to give it to him on his thirteenth birthday. Engraved on the box is, "the meaning of life". There are four keyholes, but no keys to open it. The letter explains that the friend who kept the box has misplaced them. Now, Jeremy and Lizzie are on a mission to find the keys before his birthday.
This Battle of the Books book has kept me on the edge of my seat. Events pop up that you would least expect and there is non-stop action. This book is for people who love an adventure in a book and who like to think outside of the box. The book is a mystery, however, there are other genres mixed in. The vivid description is amazing and the way she writes if fantastic.

Madi- 7th grader

Jack's Run by Roland Smith

12 year old Jack has gotten used to running from his father's former employer, a powerful drug lord, Alonzo Aznar, who has eyes and ears everywhere. Previously, in Elko, Colorado, Jack's family was blown and Aznar attacked, forcing Jack's Family to flee.
Afterwards, while living in California, Jack's sister blows their cover and they are kidnapped. Secretly flown to a plantation somewhere in South America. Jack and his sister must flee from the drug lord while trying to shut down his operation for good.

This battle of book was amazing!!! It was very fast paced and full of action. The characters are all fleshed out despite the fact that the book is the sequel to Zach's Lie. Although, if you don't read many fast paced books this one may be hard to follow, some plot points happen very fast. Also, it is a sequel so there are still some important points that can only be gleamed from reading the previous books. All and all, it was a very good book for anyone who reads fast paced action stories.

Mike S- 8th grader

Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Matilda Cook is not like other girls of her time in the year of 1793. She works hard in her family's coffeehouse with her widowed mother and instead of doing her chores, she often daydreams about turning her family's business into the best Philadelphia has ever seen. But then, the fever broke out. The disease is spreading quickly, and everyday the corpses are piling up. Soon her mother catches the fever, and she has to find a way to survive the most horrifying epidemic in her life.

In my opinion, this book would be great for any avid reader. If you think that you hate anything related to history, then this is the book for you. It incorporates the genre of adventurous fiction smoothly into accurate historical facts. Never again will you be bored from a history related book. And to Battle of the Book members, this is a great novel for questions.

Tiffany, a 7th grader