So B. It

In the beginning of this book Heidi was happy. She lived with her Mama and Bernadette, her neighbor. Her mother was mentally challenged and only knew 23 words. Heidi loved her mom and Bernie. Then in the middle of the book, Heidi starts to want to know about her past, so she bought a bus ticket to Liberty, New York. In Liberty, there is a place called Hilltop Home and according to an old camera Heidi found in the junk draw, was where her mother used to live. Heidi didn't know anybody else in the entire world besides Bernie and Mama, Bernie had AP-a fear of going outside so Heidi never went outside until she was old enough to go alone. So Heidi wanted to find out about her past, when was her birthday, who was her grandparent, who was her dad, and most importantly...what was soof? Soof was a word that her mother often said, and Heidi wanted to know what it was. When Bernie found out about the ticket to Liberty, she was fuming. Heidi was only 12 and her mother was afraid of buses, and Liberty was halfway across the country, because they lived in Reno, Nevada. Bernie realized that nothing was going to stop Heidi from going so she let her. When Heidi finally arrived, she got to Hilltop Home and they would not talk to her, Thurman Hill refused. Luckily, the secretary Ruby and her husband decided to take Heidi in until she left. Bernie kept calling through out her stay and kept telling her to come home, because Heidi's mother and her needed her. Then the next day when she came back to Hilltop Home she found out that her father was Elliot, Thurman Hill's son, and he too was a gust at Hilltop Home. Heidi also found out that her mother's real name was Sophia Lynne DeMuth, not So B. It, the name that she called herself. Mama's mother was named Diane DeMuth, and she was hit by a bus, that was why Mama was afraid of them. It turns out that Diane conned Thurman Hill into letting Sophia stay in Hilltop Home for free, and when he found out that she was pregnant, he paid a small fortune to go away and never come back. That was why when he saw Heidi he wouldn't talk to her, he thought that her grandmother sent her to get more money from him. Then Ruby got a disturbing call from Bernie, Mama was dead. She died in er sleep while she was having a bad headache. That was when Heidi found out what soof was, it was Mama's word for love.


I really liked this book, in some spots I cried and in other parts smiled. I didn't like how slow it was in the beginning and how fast it was at the end, I thought that the author should space it out more. Also in some spots it was very confusing. Overall, I would give this book two thumbs up!


The main character in this book was Heidi. I would describe Heidi as adventurous and daring. I am 12 too, and I don't think that I could have taken a bus across the country all by myself. Another word that I would describe Heidi as would be curious. She rode a three day bus trip across the country mainly just to find out the meaning of a four letter word...soof. I wish I could be more like Heidi, but I'm happy that I know who I am and my mom is still alive.


Two reading strategies that I used while reading this book was making connections, and visualization. When Heidi described the beautiful plant in the corner of the office, I pictured a big tree with gorgeous flowers hanging down from it. I could also picture another trunk that wrapped around the other trunk. I made a book to life connection because, when they described Hilltop Home, I pictured something that looked like my old doctors office. So I saw in my mind all the events in this book going on in the doctors office.


Sarah Weeks, the author of this book, was also the author of... Jumping The Scratch, and 40 other books that I had just typed and they all accidentally got deleted, and there was no way for me to get them back. You can see a list of her books at http://sarahweeks.com/books.htm

Secret Silent Screams

In the beginning Marti's best friend Barry died. The police believed that Barry killed himself, when Marti knows he didn't. So she went to the police to tell them what she knew to prove that Barry was murdered. The police officer didn't believe her so Marti got mad and tried to investigate herself. Then one day on her way home from school, Marti saw a gray van following her, and she was scared to death. Then she finds out that the gun that Barry used to kill himself was actually Charlie's. They used it for their dance in the talent show and no one knew about the gun except. Charlie, Barry, Tony, or Thad...or so they thought. One day Marti was sitting in Literacy Class and Thad's brother Emmet asked her to copy something down for him. She happily did but she didn't realize what he was really doing. Emmet's bother Thad was in jail, because of Charlie, Tony and Barry. Thad was trying to convince them to rob a bank, but they refused. So one day, Thad took their gun and robbed a jewelry store. Barry, Thad, Charlie and Tony were a part of a group called the Cuatros, they thought that they were best friends. But, when Thad went to court he tried to get them to lie under oath. The remaining Cuatros ended up testifying against him, that is how Thad went to jail. The day after Emmet had asked Marti to copy something down for him she saw Tony doing it for him too, but Tony's said, "I do not fear death any longer, when the hounds of spring are on winter's traces." And that was where Marti interrupted them. That is when she realized what it really was, a fake suicide note. It was Emmet!!!!!!! He did the same thing to Barry...and Marti. When Marti got home that day, she found the notes that she copied for Emmet the previous day, "I warmed both my hands before the fire of life, it sinks and I am ready to depart." Marti froze, and when she turned around Emmet was there, with the Cuatros' gun. He told her his plans, and they were to kill Barry, her, Charlie, and Tony because of what they did to his brother. Then Marti knocked him out with a lamp and then the police came. Emmet was arrested and no one else died!

I thought that this book was good, it was boring in some parts but I still liked it. It was very suspenseful in some parts, so it kept me wanting to read it. I liked how the author of the book was so descriptive of everything, I always have tons of questions at the end of books, but not this one. I didn't like how the story was setup, like I thought that the end should have been more in the middle. Other wise, I really recommend this book to people that love mysteries.

The main character of this book was Marti, and she was very curious. She always wanted to know everything. She also seemed like she couldn't control her emotions. Marti also seemed like a softy on the inside and tough on the outside. People also believed that she was crazy because they thought that she just couldn't let go that Barry committed suicide.

Two reading strategies that I used while reading this book were one, visualization and two, making book to book connections. One thing that I visualized while reading this book was Barry's room when Marti was describing it, I felt like I was really there. On thing in this book that I made connections to was when people thought that she was crazy when she said that Barry didn't kill himself. I made a connection to the book Down a Dark Hall because in that book people thought that Kit was crazy because she saw people sometimes when she was walking the halls, she also saw her dad right when he died to say goodbye. Those were the two reading strategies that I used while reading this book.

The author of this book, Joan Lowery Nixion also wrote were, The Haunting, Search for the Shadowman, Name of the Game was Murder, The Other Side of Dark, The Weekend was Murder, Making of a Writer, Caught in the ACT, The Ghosts of Now, The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore, and The Dark and Deadly Pool.

Down a Dark Hall

In the beginning of the story, Kit's mom and her step dad Dan were going on their honeymoon, so Kit was going to a all girls boarding school for 2 months while her parents were in Europe. Kit signed up to go to Blackwood School for Girls, when they first arrived at Blackwood, one word came into Kit's head...evil. After Kit's parents leave her there, things start to get weird, only four girls were accepted. All the girls have one thing in common, they have ESP. The book, they all find out that they are all a part of a "evil" project, the professors are using their ESP to transport dead gifted people like artists and poets while dreaming. The girls are writing the works of art that they never had enough time to complete. Kit and her new friends do not except this concept, all except Lynda. The girls find out one stormy night that after a month or two, their work would start to get bad. This would happen because bad artist, poets, etc. would start to come into their body's. That stormy night they also find out that the girls in all of the schools ran by the Madame, were closed because every person that went there either committed suicide trying to escape, or were in a mental institution. so to escape, the girls set the building on fire and escape, Kit almost didn't make it out the first time, but she finally did in the end.

I thought that this book was good, it wasn't the best but I liked it. I would recommend this book to someone that likes supernatural mystery books.I think that the book didn't really have a point to it. One thing that I liked about this book was that it was long. I really like long books because I never want them to end (if they are good books.) So that was my thoughts about this book.

The characters in this book were mostly rebellious. Kit hated everything that they were doing to her. Sandy was also rebellious, but she was more of a follower of Kit than an individual person. Ruth liked everything that was going on, she thought that it was a great idea until Madame told the girls about the suicides and mental institution. Lynda was basically out of it, she stayed in her room and painted all day. So her soul was almost gone before they escaped.

Two reading strategies that I used while reading this book was visualization and making connections. I visualized Kit's dorm room, everything covered in red velvet. I made a book to life connection when I visualized Blackwood School for Girls just like my best friend Brianna's house. Those were some of the reading strategies that I used while reading this book.

The author, Lois Duncan, was a very good author in my view because I liked the style that she writes in. Some more books that Lois Duncan wrote are Song of the Circus, On the Edge, Trapped, Gallows Hill, Physic Connections, Don 't Look Behind You, Birthday Moon, The Twisted Widow, Locked in Time, The Third Eye, Terrible Tails of the Happy Days School, Stranger with My Face, Daughters of Eve, Summer of Fear, Killing Mr. Griffin, I Know What You Did Last Summer, A Gift of Magic, Hotel for Dogs, They Never Came Home, Five Were Missing, Ransom, Who Killed My Daughter, My Growth as a Writer, and How To Write and Sell Your Personal Experiences.

Tangerine

In the beginning of this book, Paul's family actually seemed normal. He had a brother, a mom and a dad. When I started to read more into the book I found out that Erik, (the brother) was hiding something, his dad was obsessed with Erik and he didn't care about anyone else. I learned that Paul's mom loved houses, she wanted everything to be perfect, very Perice and sequential...that was for you Mrs. Woodman! Paul, was sick of living in his brother's shadow and he also knew that Eric had something to do with his mysterious glasses. Everyone told him that he "looked into a solar eclipse without any eye protection and was now partially blind," but Paul is almost positive that was not what happened. Near the middle of the book, Paul started to go to Lake Windsor Downs Middle School, until one day when a huge sinkhole appeared and destroyed half of the school. The options were to either go to Tangerine Middle School or still go to Lake Windsor Downs Middle School, but have school from 1-6, Paul decided to go to Tangerine Middle School instead. Paul joined the soccer team and really liked it, meanwhile, Erik shared the stardom on the football field with their amazing quarterback Antonie Thomas. In the end, Erik went to jail for robbing peoples houses and his dad was crushed, the Erik Fisher Football dream was no longer in existence. Paul finally found out about his blindness, by having a flashback...it was Erik! Erik and is friend spray painted his eyes gray because he wouldn't do something for him. I really liked the end!


There were a lot of characters in this book, it was very hard to keep track of them all, but some of the main ones were... Paul, Paul's mom, Paul's dad, Erik, Joey Costello, Mike Costello, Antonie Thomas, and Arther. My favorite out of all of these people is Antonie Thomas, because he inspires people everywhere with his will to tell the truth. I didn't mention Joey and Mike Costello in this, but they were very important in this book. Mike was dead by the middle of the book, he was struck by lighting, but he was referred to many times. Joey Costello was Mike's younger brother and Paul's best friend.


I really like how Edward Bloor made this book sort of science fiction and regular fiction. I liked this because I don't really like science fiction books, but this book was really good because it was about a normal person with weird things happening to them. I didn't like how there were so many flashbacks and characters in this book, but other wise...I LOVE IT!!


Two reading startigies that I used while reading this book were visualization and I made connections. When Paul described his house, I saw it exactly how he described it. One thing that I made connections with was that I made a book to life connection. Paul's neighborhood was alot like my grandma's. She lives in Florida too and lives in a development. That was how I used my reading startigies with this book.


Some more books by Edward Bloor are Story Time, Crusader, London Calling, and Taken. I have not gotten a chance to read any of these books yet, but I hope I can in the future.

Stealed With A Diss

In the beginning of this book, The Pretty Committee wins "The Alfa Room", they are so exited, and know that it will be all theirs next year. To ruin all of that, Massie makes a deal with Skye that she would get Chris Albeley to ask her to her costume party. That was before they found out about ESP. Apparently, they Briarwood boys take a class that they reveal their deepest secrets, and there is a hidden camera in that room. The Pretty Committee sneaks in during science, and uses it to find dates to Skye's party. Claire and Massie find out some secrets about them that they would have rather not known. Cam, (Claire's boyfriend) is talking about some Nikki person and Claire thinks that he is cheating on her. Derrington, (Massie's boyfriend) has a huge problem with Massie... he thinks that she is immature, when she thinks he is immature. In the end of the book, everyone breaks up, except Alicia. ESP did not help them at all, it ruined them. The only thing that did work out was they got Chris Albeley to date Skye, before they found out that she didn't like him anymore.

The theme of this book is drama, because almost everything that goes on in this book develops a problem. All of the problems are boy related, and that causes lots of drama between friends. That is why I think that the main theme of this book is drama.

One conflict that they needed to solve was that they needed to get Skye a date to her costume party. At the time Skye really liked Chris Albeley, but apparently, Chris liked Massie. It was really hard for them to get him with Skye because Chris thought that he was Massie's date. To solve the problem, Massie ditched Chris right in front of Skye and then Skye dissed him and walked away. Skye found Massie, Claire, Alicia, Kristen and Dylan and told them thanks for trying, but she didn't like Chris anymore. So it took months of planning , and there was never anything to plan in the end.

They're are four main characters in my book, and they make up the Pretty Committee. There is Massie, Alicia, Kristen, Dylan and Claire. They are the most popular people in the seventh grade, and soon to be eight grade. They are all stuck up rich people that live in Westchester, and are mean to everyone else for their own sick pleasure. I don't know what it is, but I just love these characters!

One thing that I love about Lisi Harrison's writing, is that I can never put down any of her books, they are so good. She always paints a great mental picture in my head whenever I read one of her books. She is also good at knowing exactly how our lives are right now, and is almost exactly right about what goes on in our heads.

Some things that I hate about her books, is that she always finds something mean to say to another character, even ones in the Pretty Committee. Other than that, I love everything about this book.

One reading strategy that I used while reading this book was visualization. I can always picture something in my head in every seen, it was like a never-ending movie. I also used a book to life connection, because my friends and I always tease each other, just like in the book.

The author of this book is Lisi Harrison, and she also wrote The Clique, Best Friends For Never, Revenge of the Wannabes, Invasion of the Boy Snatchers, The Pretty Committee Strikes Back, Dial L For Loser, and Breakfast at Tiffany's. This is my favorite series, and one of my favorite authors!

Romiette and Julio

In the beginning of this book, Romiette and Julio were living two separate lives. Romiette was almost popular, had allot of friends, and was loved by everyone. Julio was the new kid in school, so he was very unpopular. One thing that they shared was that they are good-looking. In the middle of the book, they sort of become one person, because they both develop the same social status and the same friends...and in some ways that is not a good thing. The gangs in their school start to threaten them because Romiette is black and Julio is Hispanic. The gangs don't like them being boyfriend and girlfriend, so they threaten them with murder. Romiette and Julio have to come up with a plan to show the gang that hanging out with someone different then you are is not a bad thing.

There are two main characters in this book, and they are Romiette and Julio. Romiette has a really spunky, can-be-hyper, play-it-cool personality. Julio is a rebel, he is shy, but he is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in. I think that they complete each other, and their best friends are like soul mates. Destiny and Ben have almost the exact same personality.

I really like this book because, I don't get board of it and want to put it down. I also like how she tells the story from two points of view, Romiette's and Julio's. I also like how she does not use cliff-hangers...I hate it when authors do that. This author made this book have to deal with what some people have to deal with today, and also made it into a romance novel. Some things that I don't like about this book, is how they have to use gangs, because gangs make me feel weird when I think about them, because I've never actually seen one. I also don't like it when the author describes the puppy named Taco, because I hate Julio, and all the ways he uses Spanish. I don't know why, because I understand what he says but I like it when people speak English.

One reading habit that I used was to visualize. Every single seen, I can see in my head. I can see all of the purple hooded freaks getting out of their car in unison. It makes me scared to think about them. Another strategy that I made a connection to the book Romeo and Juliet. It is almost the same story line, except instead of mad family members there is angry gang members.

The author of Romiette and Julio, Sharon M. Draper is also the author of Tears of a Tiger, The Battle of Jericho, Darkness Before Dawn, Double Dutch and Forged by Fire. I like how she really paints a picture in your mind, she is a really good author!

Ida B

In the beginning of Ida B, Ida B was sweet, and thought that her job and goal in life was to take care of nature. Ida B loved to talk to trees, the brook, and the wind. Ida B gave every tree in her family's apple orchard a name. Ida B said that Viola was the kindest, and Paulie T was the worst. Then one day none of the trees would talk to her, and that is when Ida B knew that something was up. A while later, Ida B finally got Viola to talk to her. Viola said it was nothing, and the wind was spreading bad rumors about her. Then Paulie T shouted out that the wind had said that trouble was coming.
Ida B did not take it to mind that the tree named Paulie T said that, because he wasn't on her favorite list. Then, Ida B started to think, she kept thinking about what Paulie T had said, and went to the old, wise tree. When Ida B got there, she asked the tree if Paulie T was lying, and the tree said that he wasn't, and to watch out.
A couple of weeks later, Ida B found out that her mom had a lump, but this lump was not just any lump, it was cancer. Ida B really didn't mind that her mom had cancer, Ida B thought that the cancer would just go away, but it didn't. After Ida B's mom's hair started to fall out, and she started having to make daily trips to the hospital, Ida B started to worry. Then to top it all off, Ida B's dad told her that they would have to sell some of the orchard to pay the hospital bills. Ida B was mortified. To make it even worse... She had to go back to school. You see, Ida B was being home-schooled, because she HATED elementary school, and since her parents hated it to, they started to home school her. Ida B LOVED being home schooled, and that was all about to change. That is when it happened. Ida B's heart turned into solid stone. She was just so overwhelmed with all of these changes. She decided to never show any sort of emoting again. Ida B stopped talking to trees, and taking care of the Earth. She felt horrible, (even though she did not show it) about selling the land... They cut down tons of trees! That is also when Ida B stared to give up. At school Ida B pretended to hate everyone. To be honest, she actually liked it there, that is when she stared to read.

After Ida b read he first book in front of the class, she stopped being mean. The book that she read was the key to defrosting her solid cold heart. All after that, everything started to get better again, she stared to start talking to trees again, and start showing some emotion. Her mom recovered from her cancer, and everything was perfect again. Ida B was given her own mini orchard, she loved life just as much as she did in the beginning.

I would say that Ida B is the main character of this book because the book is being seen through her eyes. Ida B is mostly and normally a high-spirited, bubbly little girl. Ida B is also very smart and does well in home-school. In another part of the book Ida B is an I-hate-my-life, depressed little girl. She is like two different characters.

I like the was that Ida B is so friendly to people in the first part of the book. She seems really polite, and a never-talk-out of-turn kind of girl. Ida B is like the perfect child. She always wants to play outside, and obey her parents. That is something that I really like about her in the book.
One thing that I don't like in this book is when she is mean and unfriendly to everyone in the book. I would at least be nice to the people in my class, so I could have some friends. It just bothers me how she is mean to everyone that is trying to be very nice to her.

A strategy that I used while I was reading during this book was visualization. I can picture in my head Ida B running through the orchard happy and care-free. That picture makes me want to be just like her. Another strategy that I used was a book to life connection. I thought about how I would do what she did when I was younger. Things like climb trees and always being outside.

Katherine Hannigan was the author of Ida B and it was the only book she has ever written and published. I personally think that she should write more because she is an excellent writer and I love this book.