The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe has plenty of thrills and chills that get increasingly scary as the book progresses. It also looks at the social relationships that affect Gabe as he tries to make friends at his new school. The ending is surprising. I kept thinking it was going to change, and was saddened when it ended the way it did. Gabriel Ashe is a fast moving horror story that you will enjoy if you like scary stories!
When Gabe moves to a new town, he easily makes friends with his neighbor, Seth. Seth invites Gabe to play a game- a make believe game where they are princes and are fighting the Hunter- a monster who steals children. But then scary things begin to happen and Gabe thinks Seth is the one responsible. Gabe wants to quit the game. Unfortunately, it appears that the Hunter is real and he’s out to get Seth and Gabe.
The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe has plenty of thrills and chills that get increasingly scary as the book progresses. It also looks at the social relationships that affect Gabe as he tries to make friends at his new school. The ending is surprising. I kept thinking it was going to change, and was saddened when it ended the way it did. Gabriel Ashe is a fast moving horror story that you will enjoy if you like scary stories!
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From the publisher: An astonishing civil rights story from Newbery Honor winner and National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin. On July 17, 1944, a massive explosion rocked the segregated Navy base at Port Chicago, California, killing more than 300 sailors who were at the docks, critically injuring off-duty men in their bunks, and shattering windows up to a mile away. On August 9th, 244 men refused to go back to work until unsafe and unfair conditions at the docks were addressed. When the dust settled, fifty were charged with mutiny, facing decades in jail and even execution. This is a fascinating story of the prejudice that faced black men and women in America's armed forces during World War II, and a nuanced look at those who gave their lives in service of a country where they lacked the most basic rights. This book tells an interesting story that I had never heard of. I enjoyed the author’s use of actual testimony straight from the court case. It makes it feel like you are in the courtroom watching the case unfold. It’s so sad seeing how African Americans were treated in the military at this time. I hope that this book will be able to raise awareness of the case and verdict and that the men will be able to get a pardon so that their families will be able to have some vindication. The author includes extensive back matter citing the sources he used while writing the book. An interesting non-fiction read. “But you’d never be like Aubrey,” I say. “Yeah, but just in case. Send me a signal. Like a secret message.” “What kind of message?” I imagine holding a giant sign that says DON’T BE LIKE THAT. “Something. I don’t know. Make it big. Something that really gets my attention.” I shrug, “Okay.” “Like, in a major way. Make it serious.” I say, simply,” Sure, it’s a deal.” Suzy never though that her best friend, Franny, would turn out like Aubrey, one of the popular girls at school. But when the girls enter middle school, their friendship begins to slip away. And then one day Franny does something that makes Suzy realize it is time to give a sign, a big sign, to let Franny know that she has changed. Only it doesn’t go the way Suzy has planned. And then Franny goes on a trip and drowns- before Suzy ever has a chance to make things rights. Now Suzy has to deal with the repercussions of her actions as she tries to make sense of Franny’s death. How do you say goodbye? Franny is going to have to figure it out. The writing in this book is beautiful. It alternates between flashbacks that tell Franny and Suzy’s story to the present time of Suzy dealing with the death of her best friend. Suzy tries to understand what happened to Franny and thinks if she can explain why it happened, then she will be able to make sense of it all. It is really about a girl trying to connect with people- her friends, her class mates, her family- and the struggles she has as she tries to do that. I highly recommend this book to those who have enjoyed books like Counting by 7s and who like to read Realistic Fiction. The author, Stuart Gibbs, is coming to visit Bryant on Friday, October 9, from 10:30-11:30! Mr. Gibbs writes fabulous mystery novels that are also humorous. He has several series of books. To find out more about him and his books, visit his website at http://stuartgibbs.com/ We are going to be having a book club lunch on Thursday, October 8! You will sign up in the library, I will give you the book to read, and then you will come and talk to other readers about the book. It is going to be a great time! I hope you will join us! From the publisher: The Boundless, the greatest train ever built, is on its maiden voyage across the country, and first-class passenger Will Everett is about to embark on the adventure of his life! When Will ends up in possession of the key to a train car containing priceless treasures, he becomes the target of sinister figures from his past. In order to survive, Will must join a traveling circus, enlisting the aid of Mr. Dorian, the ringmaster and leader of the troupe, and Maren, a girl his age who is an expert escape artist. With villains fast on their heels, can Will and Maren reach Will’s father and save The Boundless before someone winds up dead? I enjoyed reading this book. There was a lot of adventure as Will tries to avoid the Brakemen that are trying to get him. There’s also a little romance as Will is smitten with Maren and the whole problem begins because Will is trying to find Maren. The descriptions of different cars on the Boundless are crazy- a movie theater on a train? I don’t know if that is really possible. There was a little weirdness in the fact that there was a Sasquatch at the beginning of the novel who is captured and then becomes part of the circus, but later escapes. Maybe because it’s set in Canada and the Sasquatch legends are big there? One of my favorite parts was seeing the differences in the train cars as Will moves from the cars where the colonists were to 3rd class to 2nd class and up the train. It’s hard to imagine people having to travel in the conditions described in the colonists’ cars. Overall, this book is an historical adventure with a little bit of magic and legend sprinkled in. Give it a try! When Kara was a young girl her mother was convicted of the worst crime of all…magic. Now Kara and her younger brother, Taff, are outcasts in their village because of their mother’s crime. One day a strange bird lures Kara into the forbidden forest, the Thickety, where she finds a book that she believes once belonged to her mother. The book allows Kara to perform spells, but as she performs more spells, a strange darkness takes over Kara making it hard for her to eat or sleep because all she can think about is doing more magic. When Kara finds out what she believes about her mother is a lie, her world begins to unravel. This is a dark book about the effect that power can have on people and it has a cliffhanger ending that will leave you dying for the next book in the series. Buzz kill! I always love a good strong female lead and buzz kill definitely has one. Senior Millie Ostermeyer’s world is turned upside down when she discovers the dead body of her high school’s football coach. And everyone is a suspect. Could the murderer be Chase Albright, the new, elusive, high school quarterback star? Or is it Viv, the psychotic cheerleader and Millie’s arch nemesis? When Millie’s dad becomes the prime suspect, Millie knows that it’s up to her to solve the case and clear his name. Armed with Nancy Drew books and advice from her local librarian, Millie heads out to gather clues and get to the bottom of the case. But what she uncovers is a LOT more than she bargained for! If you like mysteries with a little humor and romance, then you will enjoy reading buzz kill! I have started reading the Lone Star books for 2015-2016 and they are fabulous! I am so excited for you to start checking these out and reading them so I can talk to you about it! Here's an introduction to the first one I read: Proxy by Alex London. “Syd’s mind still reeled. Something in his blood made him dangerous to these executives. They were more concerned with killing him than they were with their own children. He didn’t like mattering that much to men like them. He didn’t like mattering at all. He longed for the carefully constructed anonymity, the world of not mattering to anyone that he’d spent a lifetime building and seen crumble in only a day. He wanted it back.” It all started when Syd was four. He was pulled from his bed in the middle of the night and beat. He didn’t know why. It continued every couple of months. As Syd grew older he found out that he was a proxy- a person who takes on the debts of a patron. Whenever his patron does something wrong, Syd is punished in his stead. Syd decides he is going to pay his time and get out of the system, but then his patron does something really wrong, and Syd is given an additional 17 years of time. Syd decides he is getting out, no matter what the cost. The rules say a patron and a proxy should never meet, but when Syd comes face-to-face with his patron it sets events into motion that will change both of their lives forever. If you like action and adventure, you will enjoy this Sci-Fi thriller about how “Some Debts Cannot Be Repaid!” The book fair is coming to Bryant Middle School. Check out the link below to see our schedule and to browse the books we will be selling.
Book Fair Website Colin Fischer is not your ordinary high school freshman. He has Asperger’s- a syndrome that makes it hard for him to pick up on social clues. To help Colin relate to other people, he has emotion flash cards that allow him to figure out what people are feeling and a notebook to record all his thoughts and feelings. Now Colin has a mystery to solve. A gun went off in the school cafeteria and the school suspects that Wayne, a classmate who has bullied Colin for years, did it, but Colin knows it’s not true. Colin must put the clues together to prove that Wayne is innocent, before it’s too late. The authors, Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz, include engaging features such as Colin’s journal entries, side notes that provide more in-depth facts for parts of the story, and emotions in all caps (“MALICE” “SUPRISED.”) These features help the reader get inside the head of Colin Fischer. If you like a good mystery, especially with one that has such an interesting, different character as Colin Fischer, you will love Colin Fischer, one of our 2014-2015 Lone Star Books. |
Mrs. DeJongLibrarian, Avid reader, Reality tv lover, Runner, Philadelphia Eagles fan Archives
February 2016
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