Hex Hall

 Hex Hall

 Daisy F.

    "Hex Hall" by Rachel Hawkins was an outstanding!!! Once you start reading this book you will not be able to put the book down. What makes this book amazing is all the twists in the book. You believe it will end in one way but it will in a completely different way. You soon then feel a way towards the characters towards the book.
    The part everyone loves to know is what was the book about. In general, the book s about a 16 year old girl who has to transfer to a different school. When I mean different I mean completely different! That school is called Hecate Hall but they call it Hex Hall for short She is transferred to Hecate Hall which is filled with faeries, werewolves, witches, warlocks, shape shifters. Although there is a vampire at her school, whom she becomes friends with. She has been sent there because of a spell mishap. There she learns a few things along the way meanwhile she is at that school. 
    "Hex Hall" has a few main characters. The most important character would most definitely be a 16 year old girl named Sophie. She is also know as Sophia, either one goes. Then you have her friend named Jenna. Jenna is a vampire and there are not many of her kind in the school. You also have the coven of witches. In that coven there are three girls names Elodie, Anna, and Chaston. You also have Ms. Casnof who is the director/ principle of the school. Ms. Casnof is also a witch. Lastly, you have Archer. Archer is a warlock (male witch) and has an interesting part towards the end. You do also have some other characters along the way but they will be revealed throughout the book.
    "Hex Hall" is a fast read and I would really recommend it to anyone who likes to read. This is one of those book that will make you picture and image of what is happening throughout the book. I love the book and i believe that the author is going to make a series out of this book and I would most definitely read it. Do read this book it is amazing. Please comment if you have read the book or don't comment at all, either one is good!

Night

By Elie Wiesel

Review by Edan

            

            I have read many books in my life about the holocaust and have learned more than the average person about the subject. My grandfather is a holocaust survivor, and although I never got to meet him, I have learned his story. Most people do not have a clear understanding of the holocaust and we are losing the actual people who survived it. The only way to keep the information going around, and people seeing what happened to those who suffered is to publish books about them. Night is a story about an individual child who tells his story of survival in the holocaust. This book is an amazing and informative book which shows the hardships from the beginning.

            Elie is a young 13 year old boy who spent his childhood in the small town of Sighet in Transylvania. He is taken, along with his family, to concentration camp where he loses everything. The story catches everything a child would have gone through. All the catastrophic events that occurred to him vary from family, to labor, health, etc. This captures Elie’s story of the holocaust and has a true ending. Nothing was hidden about the holocaust in the book, such as the gruesome descriptions of the crematory, the screaming and smell of the camp.

            It is impossible to know the complete feeling that the Jews went through during the holocaust, and only those who have gone through the event can understand it. This book gives a clear explanation and has the many facts that occurred during the holocaust, whether it happened to him, or someone in his unit. No one can enjoy a book about on this topic, but I admit the book was interesting to read and made you feel like you were there. The book is descriptive, informative, and is meaningful. The book is an amazing capture of the story of a child through the holocaust and I highly recommend reading this book. 

The Book of Spells: A Private Prequel

Book Review of The Book of Spells: A Private Prequel

By: Ron

New York Times Bestselling author Kate Brian keeps you on the edge of your seat as she writes The Book of Spells: A Private Prequel. The book is a thrilling mystery novel of a girl who suddenly learns she has supernatural powers. The book follows Eliza and her friends through their lives at the Billings School for girls, an institution meant to prepare girls for the life they have ahead of themselves. Instead of another typically dull year, Eliza and her ten friends discover that magic is not just in fairy tales. With surprise endings, twists, and turns you will not want to put this book down, I certainly did not.

Eliza is a relatable character. Most of us know what it is like to be pressured by our parents. Imagine having so much pressure that you are forced to go to a school you hate and follow in your sister's footsteps.  This book also shows that ten completely different girls can get along. From rich families to girls who are athletic, it relates to real life and that sometimes we are put in situations that are not pleasant but we have to make the best of them. I enjoyed reading this book because it is relatable, but it is also unpredictable. The author shows us how history repeats itself in a tempting way that leaves you in awe. This book will keep you wanting more as well as waiting to find out how magic can take an unexpected toll on these character's lives. 

CA Read-a-Thon: Alina

Being a girl is … TOUGH

Especially when you’re me,
I’m Alina and my life is really tough.
It starts from boyfriends,
Friends, family & a whole lot more
I love my friends, but they piss me off sometimes …
They lie to my other friends, gossiping
And growing up is the worst.

The magazine I read talked about all the things about girls …
I felt really connected.
Because it talked about giving up on yourself,
And other things …
So be proud of who you are
Like I am.
Life is too short to hate it.
- Alina <3

The Curse of King Tut

This book The Curse of King Tut is, as the title says, about the supposed curse of King Tut. There are many deaths supposedly caused by the curse. All the deaths were of people who had something to do with the tomb. The first death attributed to the curse was that of George Herbert, Lord of Carnarvon. He started studying Egyptology while recovering from a nearly fatal car accident. He wanted to find a great tomb but was a poor archaeologist so he started financing the digs of Howard Carter. For five years Carter found nothing but a few ancient jars with Tut's name. Carter was convinced that Tut had been buried in the Valley of Kings after the discovery. Lord Carnarvon however was discouraged and told Carter he might stop financing the dig. Carter convinced him to finance it for one more season. Finally, on November 3, 1922 Howard found a tomb near that of Ramses IV. Layout of King Tut's Tomb http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/king-tut-tomb-1.gif Two weeks after sent a telegram to Lord Carnarvon in England he arrived. On November 24 Carter's workers cleared the debris from the entrance . Carter eventually saw the name Tutankhamen imprinted on the plastered doorway. The tomb was found nearly intact. They opened the tomb and entered the antechamber and found hundreds of ancient treasures. It took nearly 10 years to get all the treasures out because they needed careful handeling and care. Lord Carnarvon in Egypt http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Carnarvon.jpg Right after the opening of the tomb Lord Carnarvon went to Cairo to meet with the head of Egypt's Antiquities Service. On the way there he was bitten by a mosquito. The bite got infected and he fell ill with a high fever. He died on April 15, 1923. Other people who's deaths were attributed to the curse were those of George Jay Gould who took a tour of Tut's tomb. Another strange death was that of the Antiquites Service head, Mohammed Ibraham who died after getting hit by a car. Another notable death was that of Richard Bethell's father. Richard was Lord Carnarvon's secretary. His father committed suicide and while he was being taken to a crematorium his hearse struck and killed an 8 year old boy. For many years people have been looking for explanations for these deaths. Some suggest Egyptian magic. A notable explanation is that the Egyptians placed poisons in the tomb. The poison could have infected the items inside. That can explain the deaths of people who handled the artifacts but never even went to Egypt. These poisons could have been anything from quicksilver to arsenic. But many still believe it was the Pharaohs' curse. King Tut's Burial Mask http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/tutankhamun-golden-mask.jpg

Girl In a Cage

Ms. Bennett
6th Grade English
Room 14

"Girl In a Cage" by Jane Yolen is about the young daughter of Robert
Bruce, heir to the throne of Scotland, during the English reign of
King Edward the "Longshanks". Anyone who has seen the movie
"Braveheart" knows about the trouble between Scotland and England
during the early 1300's. The story picks up after Wallace's death and
is seen through the eyes of Robert's daughter, Marjorie, who is
growing up a princess to a country constantly under the threat of
invasion by the English. Told in flashbacks after she is taken
hostage and locked in a cage by by King Edward as bait for her
powerful father, she reveals to herself and to the people who come to
know her what it truly means to be a princess.

I loved this book not only because the characters were beautifully
written but because the historical reality of Marjorie's situation was
truly chilling. Jane Yolen kept me in suspense, wondering whether she
would be rescued or murdered by her father's greatest enemy.

Treasure Island

Dominic English period 2 One of the most interesting books that I have had the pleasure to read is Treasure Island by Robert Louise Stevenson. I was given this book to read by a seventh grade English teacher as an assignment. At first I was not excited that I had to read this book because the English dialect was difficult to understand. But once I started reading it I was lured by the conflict between characters and excitement throughout the story. I selected this book for this book review because it is an interesting and fun read that I would recommend to other students in middle school. The story is very detailed and it described in detail each characters identity. The two main characters in Treasure Island are Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver. The story goes deep into the relationship between these two characters describing a very complex love-hate relationship. In the story Long John befriends young Jim Hawkins all along plotting to betray his companion to get what he is looking for. In the story Long John Silver is a courageous man with one leg and a parrot on one shoulder, but he is a pirate none the less willing to do or say anything for his own survival, who had previously served on the notorious Captain Flints Ship. On the other hand, Jim Hawkins is a young boy troubled by the recent death of his father. Jim is also courageous and wiling to do whatever it takes for whatever is right in his mind. Long John and Jim are brought together by one thing their desire for treasure but in this search for treasure is a complicated relationship between the two that will draw any reader to the book. "He was plainly blind, for he tapped before him with a stick, and wore a great green shade over his eyes and nose; and he was hunched, as if with age or weakness, and wore a huge old tattered sea cloak with a hood, that made him appear positively deformed. I never saw in my life a more dreadful-looking figure" (Ch. III, pp. 28-29). This quote is a descriptive of Pew the blind beggar from Jim's perspective. I feel that it is importance because it shows the level of descriptiveness used throughout the book. Also this descriptiveness is what would draw most readers to this book, because it allows the reader to have a deep understanding of each character and scenario as if you knew them or were in the scene yourself. My rating systems has one apple as being the lowest rated reading material and meaning you should not read the book. Two apples means that it is an okay rated book and you might be interested in reading it. Three apples means that the book is a must read book for everyone. I chose apples as my rating system because Jim Hawkins is in the apple barrel hiding when he discovers that Long John Silver and his crew of pirates are going to try to take over the ship they are traveling on. Treasure Island is definitely a three apple. I recommend this book to everyone. It was interesting, fun to read, and it captures the reader and as the reader I wanted to read more. The plot and the conflict between characters captured me. In addition, I feel that this book allows you to understand the physical traits of the character and as much as their emotional traits. I really felt that I was inside each character. I feel that anyone who reads this book can draw these characters on paper because of the high level of detail. Reading this book was like being in the story yourself. It captured my imagination and I think it will capture any reader's imagination. I recommend this book to all audiences as it is a classic must read for everyone. The only warning I have is that the dialect is different but don't shy away from it because it helps the reader get into character, and it makes the storyline more interesting and fun to read.