Annie's Book Review

 Artemis Fowl

Author: Eoin Colfer
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Place and year of publication: New York, NY 2001
Number of pages: 280
Where I found the book: My home

Story Review

The book I read was Artemis Fowl. This story takes place in Ireland around 2001. A young boy named Artemis Fowl - the youngest of a long line of evil masterminds - and his trained body guard Butler have a keen interest in fairies and their rare gold. They decide to hunt down a fairy and take one hostage. Beneath the earth, fairies are free and have their own rules and technology but an elf named Holly Short had run out of magic and had to take the full moon ritual to regain it. Holly short was an elf working for the LEPrecon underground. But her job had taken over her life and she was filled with stress. Her over-demanding boss named Julius Root had too high of expectations and looked down on her because she was a girl. Holly had also caused life threatening accidents and was not trusted by her commanding officer. She tried all that she could to regain his trust and her good standing at her job.

When Holly went to regain her magic above ground, Artemis Fowl caught her and took her hostage. Holly Short was the unfortunate fairy who slipped into the hands of the evil boy Artemis Fowl. Artemis drugged the poor elf and she was forced to tell the secrets of the fairies and their underworld. They blackmailed her and tried to confuse her, but Holly's fellow LEPrecon soldiers and retrieval group tried all that they could to save Holly. In a battle of technology and fairy weaponry, the outcome that now every fairy dreaded was to be. The final battle takes place between the two world of the fairies and the humans, each fighting for rare fairy gold.

Christian Perspective

This book wasn’t written in a Christian perspective and there were no indications of a different religion used by the characters in the book. I think that since there was so much conflict, they could have turned to God to help them with their issues instead of using conflict to fix it. My personal thoughts on the religious point of view was that it involved magic and the conflict was the heart of the book. Without the conflict, the book would have been extremely boring.

My Thoughts

I chose this book because I am a huge fan of fantasy books. I thought the book was well written and had a lot of detail that made it better. It was interesting when the author described the workings of each of the two worlds. They existed in the same realm but had no knowledge of each other. It was a harmonious existence. Then, when the two worlds became aware of each other, they fell into conflict over the resources that one of the two held. 

This book reminds me that we are one culture in a world of many cultures. We often don't understand or are conscious of the differences between us and them. The message I came away with from Artemis Fowl is that we are a selfish people who are only concerned with our own well-being. When we focus only on ourselves and what we want and feel we need, we ignore the needs of others and can often cause great harm.

Usually the books I read I choose to fit my interests, so I don’t have any dislikes about the book. I liked the amount of detail that the author gave. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes action and enjoys reading fantasy because it provides a great deal of both of those things.

Tortured for Christ

Tortured for Christ

Author: Richard Wurmbrand

Publisher: The Voice of the Martyrs, Inc.

Place and year of publication: Bartlesville, OK 1976

Number of pages: 157

Where I found the book: My house

Story Review

This story is about a man named Richard Wurmbrand. It took place in Romania and the story began in the year 1944. Richard had grown up as an orphan with a family in Romania. His life was bitter and plain with no religion. He was an atheist and simply refused to believe in Christ, but still something drew him to churches and their services on Sundays. He had a great interest in religion and wanted to know more. He spoke to a pastor and the pastor gave him a bible. Richard read it and accepted Christ into his heart. His burning passion for Christ grew and he became a pastor of his own church, but soon after, the communists came into Romania and set up a political system known as Marxism (a form of communism), which didn’t allow for much religious or political freedom. Communists took over Romania and replaced Christian pastors with spies because they didn’t want anyone believing in Christ. Richard simply could not become a spy. He founded a long line of churches known as the underground church. They did everything to convert people to Christianity, but their actions had a consequence. Torture, which explains the title “Tortured for Christ”. If they were caught in these acts, they were taken to jail and beaten, but they did not care. Their love of God had grown so strong that it did not matter.

Christian Perspective

This book was definitely Christian, as the title indicates. Christ was applied to all aspects of their life even in the worst times they prayed and never doubted God. Their strength came from God and they were internally strong even when they were physically weak. In jail or on the streets they had no fear. This was admirable and the most I can say for this is that they never feared, were always strong, and had hope.

My thoughts

I chose this book because I had to do a biography, and I really wanted to read something Christian. I thought this book was amazing! I have to say that Richard gave me hope for spreading Christ. I have no need to fear because this is an obvious representation that God is always with you. This man was admirable and I love the way his problems were handled. I have to say that there was nothing that I disliked about the book. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to read a really interesting story about

Annie's Book Review

Title- Halo: Contact Harvest- Part I

Author- Joseph Staten

Publisher- Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

Place and year of publication- 2007 New York City

Pages- 139

Where I found it- At home

Story Review

The title of this book highlights the overall storyline of both the books and the games. The Halo’s (after which this book is named) are the ultimate weapons of mass destruction, built by an ancient race of aliens long ago who mysteriously disappeared.

This story takes place on a planet called Harvest in the year 2524 and focus’s not on the Halo’s but on the beginning of a conflict with another alien entity known as The Covenant. Harvest is a small planet that produces food for the Earth colonies across the galaxy.
The story starts off by us being introduced to a young staff sergeant named Avery Johnson. Avery works for the UNSC (United Nations Space Command). The UNSC was formed in the 22^nd century as an overseer of the United Nations military operations in space. The books and games focus on war. War because at the time, the UNSC soldiers were fighting against a rebellion called the I Insurrectionists.The Insurrectionists only rebelled because they were against the government. They didn’t like the way they were being controlled.

This book also has the theme of war because of the conflict between the UNSC and The Covenant.

Christian Perspective

This book was not written in a Christian way, but there are biblical references.

Just as the story of Noah’s Ark, there is a similar story in this book. The Ark in this book is a place that can protect anything from the mass destruction of the Halo’s. The Halos job is to wipe out any sentient life. Just as Noah’s ark saved him and others from the flood, the ark in this book saves whoever is inside it from the Halo’s which when activated destroy a parasite called The Flood.

My thoughts

I chose this book because I love the video game Halo. Also I was looking for a good book to read and this became my number one choice after it was recommended to me by my brother. I rate this book very high because I think the

author wrote it very well. It has a great background to it. There was truly nothing that I disliked about the book. It is my kind of book and something I enjoy reading so I have no objections. I would recommend this book to anyone who has played the game Halo on the Xbox. This book doesn’t actually tell the same story as the game. It goes back father so that you can have a good idea of what happened before Avery Johnson got involved with the Covenant war.

Convincing Paragraph

Having a sharp object can mean the difference between life and death when trying to survive. A sharp object is important because it can be useful in many situations – it enables you to be resourceful. For example, in the movie Cast Away, Chuck wouldn’t have been able to cut open the coconut if he didn’t have the rock with the sharp edge. In The Hatchet, Brian was able to complete almost all of his life-saving tasks with the hatchet. You can’t cut down a tree with your bare hands! In daily life we have so many things that are essential to our lives, but machines make most objects. When you are in the wilderness, you need to be creative and use what is around you. Having a sharp tool enables you to make better use of your environment. That is why having a sharp object is the most important tool of survival.

Annie's Book Review

Walk Two Moons

Author- Sharon Creech

Publisher- Scholastic Inc.

Place and year of publication- New York, 1994

Number of pages- 280

Where I found it- I own it

The title of the book shows a main event in the book. It is a piece of a message from a mysterious character called the “potential lunatic.” This book is about a girl named Salamanca Tree Hiddle, nicknamed Sal. She lives with her mother and father on an old farm in Bybanks, Kentucky. Unexpectedly, her mother leaves to Lewiston, Idaho with no warning. This devastates Sal and her father and, as a result of this situation, her father does not want to stay on the farm. Her father decides to take her to Euclid, Ohio three hundred miles from Bybanks. This makes Salamanca very upset. Her father takes her to a mysterious woman named Margret in Euclid. And now she has to live in Euclid with her father.

Later on, Sal decides to go on a 2000 mile trip with her grandparents to Lewiston, Idaho They are going to find her mother for her birthday, in hopes to bring her back home and reunite the family. The day they got in the car to leave, she begins to tell her grandparents the story of Phoebe Winterbottom.

Phoebe is a peculiar girl that Salamanca met in school. They became good friends. Just as Sal’s mother disappears, Phoebe’s mother disappears as well. Phoebe goes to drastic measures to find her mother. She finds more messages and more clues along the way. But something strange happens. Phoebe begins to find strange messages from who she believes is, a “potential lunatic.” Will Sal bring her mother back? Will Phoebe find her mother? The story is full of excitement.

The story of Phoebe and the 2000 mile trip with Sal jumps back and forth. This makes the story more exciting and gives it more variety and suspense.

Christian Perspective

I don’t think that this book is made to be a Christian story. I think it focuses on adventure. Though it didn’t say anything against God, I think they could have changed the story to have God play a part in the lives of the main characters. Phoebe and Sal could have been praying about the situation asking for answers, but that may not keep the adventure in the story. It would calm down the situation and make it a lot less dramatic.

My thoughts

I chose this book because it was recommended to me by many people. I liked the book because it had a lot of variety. It had two stories at the same time - the one of Phoebe and the one with the trip to Idaho. This kept you on the look out for what happens next. It also adds excitement to the story when Phoebe gets the messages from the “potential lunatic.” You can decide what you think the message means because it doesn’t tell you anything about the person. There wasn’t anything I didn’t like about the story because I’m an eager reader. I would recommend this book to someone with an imaginative, adventurous mind because it is an adventure story and it lets you imagine what’s going to happen next before you read it.

Annie’s Spelling Word Story

Once upon a time in America, there was a chancellor named Ben. Ben was weird and seemed like he had conscience. It was noticeable but he did not care. He lived in a beige house covered in graffiti. His favourite meal was a quesadilla with teriyaki sauce, which makes me nauseous when I think about it. He enjoyed making ceramics. He owned an heirloom, but he did not know what to do with it. He had much debt and tried to put a lien on it, also hoping to sell it. What he wanted to do with it was an odyssey. The heirloom was nice and many people wanted to monopolize it. The people were a nuisance. They formed an allegiance and wanted to disentangle the situation. The people were reluctant and thought it was necessary to precede and interfere, hoping to incriminate the chancellor with no formidable defense. Ben tried to be mediocre and neutral, despite his unwieldy lifestyle. Finally, he decided that he has had enough. It was definite. He needed and army. He called the colonel. Ben asked for his accompaniment. The colonel immediately tried to recede from the invitation but his lack of discipline turned him into an accidental villain. The colonel left behind his memorabilia of miniature galleon’s. It was a beneficial phenomenon that the colonel left it behind, because he was strangely attracted to it. Not even something centrifugal could part him from it. Anyways, the colonel and chancellor met up at his house. They immediately got to work making a plan. Unfortunately the allegiance wanted the heirloom now and broke into the house. Ben and the colonel ran into the basement. They had nothing to block the door and thought that they might have to forfeit. Then, Ben had an idea. He went to the closet, opened it, and a ton of things fell out. Ben had a cache of unnecessary miscellaneous things. They took out a vacuum and stuck it under the doorknob. Now, none of this would have happened if Ben had gone to the counsel but he thought he was too vulnerable. Ever since Ben was a sophomore he had been getting in trouble, sent to counsel too many times. Anyways, Ben had a 100 year old painting that the colonel wanted to use as a barricade. It was important to him but he was courteous and gave it to the colonel to use. After the two of them had made every obstacle possible they anxiously tried to sort out this fiscal. Their connection with the government was deficient. They could not do anything so they left the basement and tried to create an allusion to lead the mob away. Ben and the colonel tried to disguise themselves so they could watch the news outside. They noticed that the parliament was in a time of distress and the mob became cynical. It distracted them from the situation with the heirloom. Now that the mob was distracted, Ben and the colonel had a chance to run. They went to different places. The colonel stayed in hiding and Ben decided to emigrate to Australia.

The End

I am a Taxi

Author- Deborah Ellis

Number of pages- 208

Publisher- Groundwood

Place published- Toronto Berkeley 2007

Where I found the book- Christian Heritage Library

The book I decided to read is called “I am a Taxi.” The title of the book tells the story of the main character in these few words. What he does for a living and what keeps him going. This book is about a 12 year old boy named Diego who lives in Cochabamba, Bolivia with his parents and younger sister. His mother and father were falsely accused of being in possession of drugs.

His mother, his younger sister Corina and he all live in the San Sebastián Woman’s Prison in a cell on the second floor. His father lives in the San Sebastián Men's Prison. His family was poor and struggled to pay the cell rent.

Diego worked as a taxi delivering messages and packages for other inmates in the prison. His friend Mando persuades Diego to leave his family for two weeks to work for the men. Mando and Diego leave with the men hoping for money, little did they know these men were criminals. Next thing they know, Diego is deep in a jungle in Bolivia stomping in cocaine pits.

Diego and Mando didn’t like the work and decided to run away. Unfortunately, while Mando and Diego try to escape, an incident happens with Mando.

It strikes Diego that he will never see his friend again. He runs away from camp. He runs far enough that he ends up in a cocoa leaf field and meets a girl named Bonita. Her family helps him with food and shelter and provides comfort for him to rest and carry on with life.

This book is full of action and is an exciting read.

Christian Perspective

I don't think this book was made to be Christian but Christianity could easily be added to the book. The 2 main characters in the book got into trouble and should have prayed for God to help them. Their problems could have been easily solved with the help of God. If this book was christian i think that when Diego finds rest in the end of the book, its like he has found rest in the arms of God.

Your Thoughts

I think this book was an awesome read. It kept me on the edge of my seat.

I liked how the entire book didn't have only one main topic, but changed throughout the book. That way it keeps the book exciting and different.

I would recommend this book to readers who like action stories. It will keep people wondering what will happen next. Also people who want to know more about this particular subject can read the sequel and expand on their knowledge