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BOOK REVIEWS
Our opinions on different books.
1. Twilight
By: Stephenie Meyer



Review by: P

You've probably heard of Twilight, the notorious book series where a human, Bella, meets Edward, a vampire....blah blah blah.
Anyways, here's what Twilight is all about.
17 year old Bella Swan moves from sunny, Phoenix Arizona to dull, cloudy, Forks Washington with her dad Charlie. (a real city in Washington). The beginning is pretty basic: Bella moves in, gets a really old 1950's Chevy, goes to school, meets some people, etc. But in the lunch room, Bella notices these outcasts sitting alone. The one who really stands out is actually Edward himself. At first, Bella has mixed feelings about Edward, and Edward treats Bella like dirt, but then, they get to know each other. Their friendship soon turns into a romance. Along the way, Bella finds out that Edward is a vampire. Edward tells Bella some things: for instance, he sparkles, drinks blood, etc. He also lives with his clan, the Cullens (not related to each other). Meet the head of the pack, Carlisle Cullen, a doctor, Esme, who is basically the matriarch, Alice, the quirky one, who has the power to see the future, and the one who is hard not to hate, Jasper, the slightly weird one, Emmet, the outrageous and strong one, and Rosalie, the snotty, pretty one who hates Bella. One cloudy afternoon, when the Cullens plus Bella are playing a whacky game of baseball, the Cullens sense danger coming. That danger would be a pack of bad vampires named James, Laurent, and Victoria. They try to protect Bella, but it's too late. They sense Bella, and they're off to destroy her dad Charlie. SPOILER:Bella gets mad at Charlie and decides to move back to Phoenix, only so the vampires will go after her
instead of Charlie. Bella, Jasper, and Alice go to Phoenix and stay in a hotel. Bella gets a call from her mom. James comes on the phone, telling Bella he's waiting at her dance studio. Bella heads out and goes to the dance studio, only to have a brawl with James. SPOILER:Bella gets bit by James, but it isn't fatal. Edward saves the day, Bella ends up in the hospital. SPOILER:The phone call was only a previous recording of her mom. SPOILER:James is killed by Edward. Bella and Edward go to prom...the end.

*a lot of romance in this book. Nothing too bad, just annoying*

MY REVIEW:
I understood that Twilight was terrible, so I was hesitant to read the book. I finally did, deciding what the heck. The book started out ok, but gradually got annoying. The actual plot was just an extra. Bella and Edward's romance felt fake, and they fought a lot. It was irritating. I think the character I hated most was-not Bella, wait for it!- EDWARD. He was SO ANNOYING. Any scene without Edward was good and easier to understand without all the vampire garbage. Bella was sort of a complainer, but ok for the most part. The battle with James was the best part, the hospital part left me unsatisfied, it was so hard to understand their complicated love. Whatever.

Basically, it's a story of teen first love--but on a darker note.

Final rating: 2 1/2 stars (out of 5)
By the way: See the cover page? Edward picking up the apple? It's not even in the book! Well, maybe it is. Maybe I skipped a page. Oh well. It was worth my skipping.

2. New Moon
By: Stephenie Myer




Review by: P

The story of Bella and Edward's undying love continues in the sequel that's just as bad as the first: NEW MOON.
The story begins on Bella's birthday. Alice planned a party for Bella, and Bella complains, but after some "romantic" convincing from Edward, Bella agrees. The party is pretty simple. Cake, presents. As Bella opens a present, she cuts her finger on the wrapping. Everything goes chaotic. One drop of blood really is the plot. SPOILER:Edward, not wanting to hurt Bella anymore, breaks up with her and moves away. Bella is heartbroken, but that won't stop her from moving on to another man. Meet Jacob, a macho guy who loves to tinker with cars...and who is also a year younger than Bella, but looks--and is--taller. Bella starts hanging out with Jacob, and everything is almost back to normal. SPOILER:Then, Jacob gets terribly sick. Bella soon finds out that Jacob is a wolf. Jacob isn't his usual, bubbly self, he's way meaner.
One day, Alice shows up. While Jacob is there. (Jacob doesn't get along with vampires because his tribe or whatever had a thing against vampires) Nothing goes well. Edward calls, and Jacob replies "he went to the funeral" (1. Charlie went to a friends funeral. 2. Bella jumped off a cliff earlier in the book, Edward found out somehow, and thought she died). Assuming that Bella died, Edward decides to reveal himself to all humans in Italy. Alice and Bella go to Italy, and Bella saves Edward just in time. However, it isn't over yet. They go to the Volturi (clan of evil-ish vampires)headquarters, where a series of events take place. Of course, they get out safely, have a talk about it after....the end.

MY REVIEW:
This book started out fairly entertaining. It got even better once Edward disappeared for a good portion of the book. Then, when they headed out to Italy, everything started to get confusing. For the whole Volturi thing, I was trying to stay focused, but I just couldn't, it was so boring. The whole talk between Edward and Bella at the end was probably the worst, in terms of confusing.
I expected more out of this book. By far, it was the worst book in the saga.
Final rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

3. Eclipse
By: Stephenie Meyer
Review by: P



One more month until graduation, and Bella isn't prepared at all. She doesn't want to go to college, but instead wants to turn into a vampire and live with Edward eternally. Through all the worries, a fresh worry is sweeping through the Seattle area: there have been unexplained murders going on, and no one knows who it is. Bella goes off to see Jacob, her good friend, but Edward isn't sure about that. Bella explains that Jacob and his crew would never hurt her, and she begins to see Jacob momentarily. Jacob lets it all out and tells Bella that he loves her, and wants her to choose him over Edward. But Bella tells him that Edward is the one, and nothing can draw them apart. Through all the love drama, Alice senses that Victoria, the evil vampire, has come back to Forks. Edward and Bella come to the conclusion that she is using newborn vampires for all the massacres. In order to bring down Victoria, the Cullens and the wolf pack join forces to defeat Victoria once and for all. Before the battle begins, Edward asks for Bella's hand in marriage in private. Bella almost reluctantly agrees. Days before the battle, Edward and Bella hike to the mountains to keep Bella safe from harm. They camp out there for a few nights, and Jacob joins them. Of course, some drama takes place. Bella soon realizes that she is also in love with Jacob. Victoria finds out where Edward and Bella are staying, and Edward must fight. SPOILER: in the end, Victoria is burned and killed. The Volturi appear and talk to the Cullens for a moment, and when the battle is finished, Bella talks to Jacob and says she loves him, but loves Edward more. In the end, Jacob flees for the forest, heartbroken.

My Review:
Eclipse is probably the best book out of the series, and that's saying something. The plot was simple and not too confusing (although there were some confusing elements to the book). The love triangle was sort of stupid, but I actually thought the battle between Victoria was great and well written. I am surprised that this was so good, and I'm disappointed that it's probably not what I can expect out of the final book in the saga: Breaking Dawn.
Final rating: 4/5 stars



THE BOOK THIEF
By: Markus Zusack



Review by: J
The cover might be pretty self-explanatory: a girl stealing books. Yes, that is what is about- partially. It also takes you through the lives of Liesel (the main character), her family, friend(s), and foes in Nazi Germany.
The Book Thief is a book that takes place in Germany during 1939 to about 1943, narrated by death. It starts out when Liesel realizes SPOILER ALERT!!! that her younger brother has died on the train to her new parents' house. Liesel's book thievery begins at the cemetery, where she picks up a book called "The Grave Digger's Handbook". Liesel travels to her new parents' house on Himmel Street and meets Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Rosa isn't the nicest, but Liesel becomes closer to Han throughout the book when she has many nightmares about her brother. Liesel also meets a new best friend named Rudy. Throughout the book, the characters realize how dangerous and powerful Nazi Germany is getting. It is also the height of Liesel's thievery- she starts stealing books at book burnings and even from the mayor's wife's library. The books help her read and write and also discover her love for reading and storytelling. Although books and storytelling may keep Liesel occupied during these tough times, she also has to keep a secret- that her family is hiding a Jew in the house. Near the end of the book, Himmel Street is no longer a safe place as there are many bombings. The end may be very surprising or shocking to readers.

MY ANALYSIS
The Book Thief was a very good book. Besides learning Liesel's story, I got to learn about life in Nazi Germany and how hard it was. It was all very realistic to me. However, some parts could be pretty sad or intense, and Rudy and Liesel would swear at each other- jokingly. There was this one part in the book where Liesel and Rudy decided to join a stealing club where they stole food, and the new leader (who replaced the old one) said some pretty inappropriate words to Rudy and Liesel, Rosa was also a bit abusive towards Liesel- verbally, but she also had a heart which made her likable. Most bad words were in German, but there would be a sidenote telling you what the word was translated. Some parts could be a little hard to understand but they could be caught onto quite easily. Overall, The Book Thief was a fantastic book and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good read.

Final rating: 6/10 stars
WARRIORS
By Erin Hunter

Review by:Brunnhilde




Warriors is a popular book series for kids about four Clans of cats living in the wild (the Clans are known as ThunderClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan, and WindClan). All the Clans follow a set of laws known as the warrior code. There are many books in it, and each series (each made up of six books that follow the next generation of cats) follows a particular storyline, mainly having to do with a prophecy given to the Clans by a cat "heaven" known as StarClan. The Clans have different ranks of cats in them: Kits (kittens who live in the nursery whose names end in "kit"), apprentices (young cats training to be warriors whose names end in "paw"), warriors (cats who hunt and protect the Clan), deputies (second-in-commands of the Clans who replace the leader after he/she dies), medicine cats (the "doctors" of the Clans who are skilled in using healing herbs and interpreting omens from StarClan; med. cats are forbidden to have mates and kits, for that would interfere with their work), leaders (leaders of the Clans who have nine lives given to them from StarClan; their names end in "star"), and elders (old, retired cats). It is an awesome, epic series, written by one of my favorite authors. There are many Warriors series, which include:Warriors, Warriors:The New Prophecy, Warriors:Power of Three, Warriors:Omen of the Stars, and the newest one, Warriors:Dawn of the Clans. I have read all of the books from each series except Dawn of the Clans. Here is the plot of each series:
WARRIORS:A curious kittypet (normal pet cat) named Rusty wanders into the forest one day, only to discover the world of the Clans. He is invited to join ThunderClan by Bluestar, leader of that Clan. He accepts the invitation, and joins ThunderClan. In some of the first books of this series, the following things happen: Rusty, now named Firepaw, helps ThunderClan capture ShadowClan's evil, cruel leader, Brokenstar, with the help of Yellowfang (ShadowClan's former medicine cat), some ShadowClan cats who have had enough of Brokenstar's tyranny, and Firepaw's Clanmates. Firepaw is promoted to the rank of a warrior, along with his best friend, Graypaw/Graystripe. Fireheart and Graystripe go on a journey and bring back WindClan (who were driven out by ShadowClan during the reign of Brokenstar), and during their time back home Graystripe falls in love with a RiverClan she-cat named Silverstream. Unfortunately, SPOILER Silverstream dies giving birth to Graystripe's kits, Featherkit and Stormkit, who are raised in RiverClan. Shortly after Fireheart exposes the treachery of the ThunderClan deputy, Tigerclaw (who killed Redtail, one of Bluestar's former deputies, plotted with Brokenstar to help him escape ThunderClan, and even tried to kill Bluestar herself), Graystripe moves to RiverClan to be with his kits and Fireheart is made ThunderClan deputy. In the last few books of the series, Bluestar has been mentally shaken by Tigerclaw's betrayal. Ticerclaw becomes allies with various rogues and sets up all kinds of traps to kill ThunderClan cats, including ambushing ThunderClan patrols and even luring a pack of killer cat-eating dogs into ThunderClan territory. Eventually, Bluestar's sanity returns during a battle with the dogs, SPOILER but just as it does she saves Fireheart from a dog by shoving the dog-and herself-into a gorge. Thus Fireheart/Firestar becomes ThunderClan leader. Meanwhile, ShadowClan's current leader, Nightstar, dies from sickness and is replaced by Tigerclaw/Tigerstar, who rebuilds a weak ShadowClan with amazing efficiency. Still wanting to rule the forest, Tigerstar makes RiverClan unite with ShadowClan and become TigerClan, and Tigerstar also brings a group of evil cats, BloodClan, into the forest to help him. Tigerstar is killed by the leader of BloodClan, Scourge, who wants the forest for himself, and Firestar gets the four Clans to unite, become LionClan, and fight against BloodClan in order to keep the forest for themselves. When BloodClan is finally driven out after Scourge and his deputy, Bone, are killed, Firestar has fulfilled a prophecy about him, (the prophecy is "Fire alone can save our Clan.") and peace is restored among the Clans.

WARRIORS:THE NEW PROPHECY:It's time for the next generation of cats to rise! A new prophecy has come, where SPOILER four cats from each Clan (although six went on the journey; the six include: Tigerstar's son, Brambleclaw of ThunderClan, Firestar's daughter, Squirrelpaw of ThunderClan, Graystripe's kits, Feathertail and Stormfur of RiverClan, Tigerstar's daughter, Tawnypelt of ShadowClan, and the son of a WindClan warrior named Ashfoot, the feisty apprentice Crowpaw) have been chosen to go on a journey to the sun-drown-place (the western ocean where the sun sets). So, without telling anyone (with the exception of Squirrelpaw's sister Leafpaw, the apprentice of Cinderpelt, the current ThunderClan med. cat), the six embark on a long journey towards where the sun sets. During their travels, they get lost in a huge Twolegplace (town), but an elderly, good-humored cat named Purdy helps them get out. Eventually, after many days of traveling, they get to the sun-drown-place and meet Midnight, a wise, friendly badger, who ANOTHER SPOILER warns them that humans are going to destroy the forest to make a new Thunderpath (road), and that upon returning home they should stand on the Great Rock, for a dying warrior will show the way to the Clans' new home. Meanwhile, giant monsters (cars, bulldozers, and other machines used by Twolegs/humans) have suddenly began to start churning up the earth and ripping out the trees back home-the destruction of the forest has begun. The cats soon begin on their journey back, but instead of going through the Twolegplace again they go through a giant (fictional) mountain range, where they encounter a strange group of cats who live in a cave behind a waterfall-these cats are called the Tribe of Rushing Water...and they have a prophecy to fulfill. They have been terrorized by a mountain lion named Sharptooth for countless moons, and their ancestors, the Tribe of Endless Hunting, have foretold that a silver cat will save them from Sharptooth. When the Clan cats finish staying there and try to leave, the Tribe forbids Stormfur from leaving, for they think he is the silver cat; but, days later, after the Clan cats agree to help the Tribe rather than run away with Stormfur, Sharptooth attacks, SPOILER and it is not Stormfur who kills Sharptooth but Feathertail, his silver-gray tabby sister, who brings a stalactite down on Sharptooth but dies from the fall in the process. Stormfur and Crowpaw (who loved Feathertail) are devastated. The next day, the Clan cats leave the mountains and then, over the course of more days, return home to find that by now prey is extremely scarce (most of it has left or been poisoned by humans) and the Clans (except for RiverClan, which is still untouched) are suffering horribly. The traveling cats get their leaders to go to Fourtrees (the place the Clans meet peacefully every full moon, but now the four great oaks that were once there have been chopped up) and stand on the Great Rock (a giant rock in the middle of the clearing), but no sign comes. While Firestar insists that the Clans must leave together, Blackstar (the ShadowClan leader) plans to move to the Twolegplace and Leopardstar (the RiverClan leader) doesn't want to leave. Days later, however, RiverClan begins to suffer from starvation too, and all four Clan leaders finally agree to leave together. The Clans make a long journey (with the help of the Tribe of Rushing Water when they cross the mountains) to their new home-the lake. Shortly after arriving, SPOILER Tallstar dies, but just before he does he changes his deputy from the tough warrior Mudclaw to Firestar's WindClan friend Onewhisker. Mudclaw and Brambleclaw's RiverClan half-brother Hawkfrost (another son of Tigerstar) lead a rebellion consisting of Mudclaw's supporters against Onestar and his supporters; ThunderClan helps Onestar, and Mudclaw is killed by a tree that is struck by lightning and falls on him. During the battle, Leafpaw is hit by fleeing ShadowClan warriors during the battle and nearly falls into the hollow ThunderClan now lives in; however, Crowfeather (Crowpaw was made a warrior during the journey through the mountains with the Clans) saves her from falling to her death and admits that he has fallen in love with her. Leafpaw confesses her love to him too, but also says "But I'm a medicine cat." The battle soon ends and Crowfeather is forced to return to his Clan. By now borders have been set among the Clans and soon Leafpaw finds a way for the medicine cats and leaders to communicate with StarClan-the Moonpool, a special place where if a cat drinks from the water and goes to sleep, he/she will meet StarClan in his/her dreams. Leafpaw is given her full name, Leafpool, at the Moonpool, and Onestar receives his nine lives. Meanwhile, Squirrelpaw (now Squirrelflight) has been suspicious of Brambleclaw despite her love for him-she has noticed that he trusts Hawkfrost, who she despises. She starts paying more attention to fellow warrior Ashfur to make Brambleclaw jealous, which starts a love traingle between the three. Leafpool has a romantic problem of her own-she and Crowfeather love each other deeply, but everything about their relationship is wrong and forbidden. Leafpool desperately confides in StarClan to give her advice on what to do, and they tell her to follow her heart. So she leaves the Clans with Crowfeather, only to bump into Midnight, who tells them that badgers are attacking the Clans because the area around the lake once belonged to them. Soon, guilt overwhelms the two cats, and they return to the Clans to help. The Clans drive out the badgers, but SPOILER Cinderpelt is killed and is reborn in the form of Cinderkit, one of Sorreltail's (a warrior who is Leafpool's best friend) kits. Crowfeather, who came to help ThunderClan, returns to his own Clan, knowing that deep down Leafpool chose her Clan over him and that their relationship was over. Later on, Leafpool has a dream where she is in a dark and dreary forest. She arrives in ThunderClan's original camp (not the new one) and sees Brambleclaw and Hawkfrost sitting by Tigerstar-who is teaching them his ways! Leafpool, like Squirrelflight, is suspicious of the ThunderClan deputy (note that Graystripe, the former deputy, was captured by Twolegs before the journey to their new home begun; Brambleclaw was eventually named the new deputy). During her dreams, Leafpool also receives a sinister prophecy: "Before there is peace, blood will spill blood, and the lake will run red." Brambleclaw, urged on by his father in his dreams, plots with Hawkfrost to take over the Clans; however, when Hawkfrost catches Firestar in a Twoleg animal trap and urges Brambleclaw to kill Firestar and become leader, SPOILER Brambleclaw's loyalty to his Clan wins out and he kills Hawkfrost to save Firestar. Squirrelflight and Leafpool, noticing the absence of their father and Brambleclaw, run into the forest and find Brambleclaw and Firestar-and Hawkfrost, who is lying on the lakeshore, blood pouring out of a wound in his neck and turning the lake red. Squirrelflight eagerly chooses Brambleclaw over Ashfur to be her mate, and Leafpool is relieved, knowing that peace has finally arrived.

WARRIORS:POWER OF THREE:A long time ago, SPOILER Firestar received a strange prophecy foretelling that three cats with the power of the stars in their paws, who are also Firestar's kin, will be born. Now, back in the present, the third generation of heroic cats has come-the Three. As the three cats grow up, they go through rough times, and rifts are driven deeply among the Clans. They soon learn about the prophecy about them, and also SPOILER that one of the Three isn't even part of it-a different cat is. Will they bring peace to the Clans, or death?

WARRIORS:OMEN OF THE STARS:The remaining two of the Three have finally found the third cat. As they go through even rougher times, SPOILER it turns out that the Dark Forest (cat "hell") is rising in power, and going to wage war with the Clans. The Three also learn that there is a fourth cat that they need in order to survive. In the end, the final battle comes, and the fourth cat, who is really SPOILER Firestar, defeats the leader of the Dark Forest, his dead rival Tigerstar. Firestar gives up his life in the process. Peace is restored, and the Clans live happily forevermore.

WARRIORS:DAWN OF THE CLANS:All I know about this is that it takes you back in time to the literal dawn of the Clans, and you learn how the Clans came to be.

My Review

I have been reading Warriors for a long time now, and I REALLY like it. The adventures of the cats are always epic, full of awesome battles, and there is a lot of suspense that keeps you reading. However, occasionally I found a spelling mistake in every few books or so, and in some of the books there was a lot of "waiting"-in other words, the main characters had to wait in suspense before something epic came or happened. All the suspense did cause me to get bored, but just before I would give up on reading Warriors something epic would happen that would make me keep reading. The stories are also quite unique and interesting, and are always full of action and adventure. Overall, this is a really good book series.
Final rating:4/5 stars
The Maze Runner
By James Dashner



Thomas doesn't know where the heck he is. The only thing he knows is is name: Thomas.
The story starts out as Thomas is being lifted into a world unknown to him. In time, he finds out he is stuck in a place called the Glade, where teen boys live. Thomas quickly meets a new friend, named Chuck. Other important people at the Glade include Newt, Alby and Gally. Everybody is really negative towards Thomas, as well as secretive. Thomas learns that there is a Maze outside of the Glade. In the Maze are deadly creatures called Grievers, who are half machine, half flesh. People who are stung by them have to be put under something called the Changing, which changes them forever. and that food and supplies are delivered every week.
Then, a girl is lifted into the Glade-the first-and last- girl ever. The girl is pretty weird, and babbles weird stuff. She is taken away for awhile. Through it all, the Runner (people who run the maze) leader Minho tells Thomas that Alby encountered a dead Griever. The next fay, Alby and Minho search for the dead Griever, and once they get back from the search, Alby has been hurt badly. Thomas runs through the Maze doors before they shut for the night. Minho, Thomas, and an unconscious Alby are left in the Maze for the night. Thomas discovers a Beetle Blad (a robotic, metal beetle) with the word
"WICKED" on it. Soon, Thomas is encountered by a Griever, and he manages to save Alby and himself. He meets up with Minho and they lead all the Grievers to the Cliff, which leads to nothingness. They all get back from the Maze, and Thomas is praised as well as hated by Glade members. Alby is put under the Cahnging. After serving a day in the Glade jail, Thomas becomes a Runner. Minho teaches him the basics, and they go out running. Thomas gets to meet the girl, who's name is Teresa. They also speak through each others minds. Thomas wakes up to find the usually sunny sky gray. Everyone is in chaos. The Maze doors are open, and don't close. Later on, Thomas is talking with Alby, who is accusing him of things he didn't do and also choking himself. Grievers enter the Glade, and SPOILER: Gally throws himself at the Griever, sacrificing himself. The next morning, everyone finds out that the Maps (Maps of the Maze so Runners can find a possible way out) were burned. However, Newt and Minho reveal that the actual Maps are safe. Thomas, Newt, Minho, and Teresa use the Maps to find clues on a way out. They discover a clue, but have no idea on how to use it. That same night, Thomas gets stung by a Griever on purpose so he can find out about his past and find some clues on how to get out during the Changing. Luckily, he does: That the Creators created them as a test. and an assortment of Gladers march out into the Maze to find the way out: Jump over the Cliff, go to the computer, and enter the code. When they get to the Griever Hole/Cliff, Grievers are waiting for them. SPOILER: Alby sacrifices himself, and Thomas, Teresa, and Chuck are the first to jump into the Griever Hole, the rest fighting off Grievers. They enter the Hole, and Thomas kills a Griever. The rest arrive, and Teresa punches in the Code. They go down a chute and enter a room. They find out that SPOILER: Gally is with the Creators, being controlled. He throws a knife at Thomas, and Chuck sacrifices himself, dying. Some armed people attack the Creators and save the remaining Gladers. A woman tells Thomas that he "will save everyone from the flare". They are taken to a building that is full of happiness, and face an uncertain future.

My Review:
I thought The Maze Runner was a fantastic book! It stood out from all the others and was really original. The chapters were short and could be finished quickly, and always kept me reading. The Maze Runner wasn't boring and kept me in suspense. I recommend this for people who are fans of dystopia, or any reader.

Rating: 5/5 stars



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