Julia's Book Review

Title: The gifted

Author: Terri Blackstock

Publisher: W Publishing Group

Place& year of publication: United States & year of 2002

Number of pages: 137

Where you found the book: the public library

Story Review

       Tiffany Kramer, Josh Canfield, and Mo are three normal high-school sophomores. They don’t have the best friendship, but they knew little about each other from a youth group. It was in the summer, when they were taking pictures for their school’s year book, and there was an earthquake. They tried to escape, but it was too late and they got stuck under the ground. Tiffany hurt her eyes from the glasses of the windows, Josh injured his leg and Mo hurt his lungs and his voice from the smoke of the fire. Yet they were all hurt, and weren’t able to see each other, they found each other’s hands and prayed to God. They were all scared, but they relied on God and each other. At first they were afraid that they’ll never see their families and friends again, but they trusted God, and kept praying. They waited for many hours until they finally heard a voice. God answered their prayers and they got rescued! They immediately moved to a hospital, but there were too many patients waiting that they couldn’t get their surgeries done. Tiffany was so worried that she’ll never be able to see, Josh was afraid that he’ll never be able to use his left leg, and Mo was scared that he’ll never be able to speak. All they got was an IV shot from a nurse to give them less pain, and they all fell asleep in the hospital. The next day God performed miracles on all three of them. Tiffany who couldn’t see a thing, was able to see better than without her glasses, Josh, whose leg was crushed, could run faster than before, and Mo, who couldn’t speak a word, could shout so loud that the people in the hospital started to get annoyed with him. They were so thankful to God, and they promised to God that they’ll use their lives to serve others and to spread His words, but not only God healed them, but he gave them gifts and this is why the title of this book is called “The gifted”. God gave them gifts so that they could do His works and use their gifts to show others who Jesus is. Tiffany could see other people’s pasts through visions with her eyes, Josh could run and find those who needed healings in their lives and Mo could speak like a preacher and knew the scriptures that he didn’t even read before. They all realized that this was all God’s plan and that they now are a team to spread God’s word. Josh would find people that need healings in their lives, and Tiffany would find out what was wrong with their lives through her visions and tell Mo, and Mo would go up to them and speak to them about Jesus. Sometimes they got scared to go up to the people, but they gave courage to each other. And one day they lost their gifts and their gifts suddenly stopped. Tiffany wasn’t able to visions anymore, Josh couldn’t run and find those who needed healings, and Mo who spoke all the time about Jesus, didn’t speak a lot. They all wondered why the gifts suddenly stopped. Did God take away their gifts? Did they sin against God?

Christian Perspective

         In my opinion, this book is written in a Christian perspective. God defiantly had plans for all three of them, and he wanted them to spread his word through Tiffany, Josh, and Mo. When they got stuck under the ground, they prayed and relied on each other even though they weren’t able to see each other from the darkness and were all badly hurt and wounded. At first, they thought no one would rescue them, but God and they gave strength and courage to each other. By rescuing them, God showed them that he didn’t forsake them but had amazing plans in their lives. As Christians, we should learn that even if it feels like the end of the world, God has amazing plans for our lives and that he’ll never forsake us. Tiffany, Josh, and Mo kept praying and kept trusting God, so in the end, not only He saved them but He healed them and gave them the privilege to share their experiences with God.

Your Thoughts

   I enjoyed this book, because each end of the chapter was convincing to the next chapter. This book not only had adventures but I liked how the book was written by a Christian author. I also enjoyed it because there were events that I wasn’t expecting, and you could picture the scenes in the book. I choose this book because the story sounded engaging and I like realistic fiction. In this book, I learned that God has bigger plans than what we expect, and that He’ll never leave us. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventures, and to anyone who is interested in Christian books because you can learn a lot from this book and gain knowledge about God and friendships.

Kourtney's Book Review

Information:

Title: Follow the Elephant

Author: Beryl Young

Publisher: Ronsdale Press

Place & Year of Publication: British Columbia, 2010

Number of Pages: 243

Where I Found the Book: School library

Story Review:

It hasn’t even been a year since Ben Leeson’s dad died, and Ben tries to forget about it by playing computer games 24/7. So going on a trip to a foreign country with your grandma for 2 weeks is a great idea, right? Wrong! The last thing Ben wants to do is hang out with his grandma. But his mother thinks differently, she thinks it would be a great idea! So, off he goes. But this isn’t just some fun trip for tourism; it’s to find his grandma’s old pen pal Shanti, who she hasn’t heard from in 50 years, who lives in India.

When they arrive in Dehli, India their hopes are high. But they end up going on a “scavenger hunt” for Shanti all over (literally) India. Along the way they meet some people who become very good friends. Like Padam and Madhu, their cab drivers. Ben and his grandma also do some sightseeing. Such as the Taj Mahal, lots of different temples, and elephants, which are Ben’s favourite!

Ben feels like he has a connection with the elephants and he becomes very interested in Ganesh, a god with the body of a boy but the head of an elephant. Ganesh listens to children and helps them. Ben admires Ganesh very much and he asks Ganesh for help throughout their trip.

But will Ganesh answer Ben? Will they find Shanti, or are they on some wild goose chase? Even if they don’t find Shanti, Ben feels like he’s learned something. And it’s that dying is part of life so he shouldn’t be angry about it and there are just some things in life that can’t be explained.

There’s a theme of adventure throughout the whole book as Ben and his grandma search for Shanti. The book is titled “Follow the Elephant” because they feel like they’ve been following the elephant (Ganesh) everywhere they’ve gone in India and like he’s been helping them.

Christian Perspective:

Throughout the book Ben tries to figure out what happens after death. He hears of reincarnation as he travels through India but he’s not sure if it’s real or not. There are some other Hindu beliefs mentioned in this book and it’s interesting to learn what other people believe. I learned that Christians, and other religions, need to respect other religions beliefs even if they don’t believe in them. Everyone has a right to believe in whatever they want and if you’ve grown up with a certain belief it can be hard to accept something else. Ben never really makes a decision as to what happens after death but he does realize that his dad is everywhere around him. He can see him in different things, such as people. So he doesn’t have to worry about forgetting him.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and it gave some very interesting facts about India and some beliefs of other religions. I couldn’t put the book down. I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next in the story. I chose this book because it sounded like a really good book and I like learning about other religions and cultures. I’d recommend this book to someone who likes adventure and realistic fiction because this book is both, and to someone who wants to learn about India because the book gives detailed facts about India throughout the story. 

The Two Sisters Of Bamarre By Olivia

Title: The Two Princesses From Bamarre
Author: Gail Carson Levine
Place And Year Of Publication: New York, 2001
Number Of Pages: 241
Where You Found The Book: School Library

Story Review:

Princesses Addie and Meryl live together in their beautiful castle in Bamarre with their father, who is very distant from them, many maids and servants, and their good friend Bella. Princess Addie is very timid and scared of alot things. Meryl on the other hand is brave, daring, and wants to go out and slay ogors and dragons, but Addie made Meryl promise that she would stay and protect her until Addie got married and moved away. There had aways been a dark plague in the land called the Grey Death, the plague made you very weak until the victim fell into a deep sleep for eleven days, then woke for three days with a high fever, then died. But their was a cure, the legend has it that when the weak found courage, and rain fell over Bamarre, then the plague would be gone, or people say that Dragons and fairies knew another cure. The main characters in this book are Addie, Meryl, Bella, and Rhys, the young sorcerer who lived at the castle. The themes in this book are an adventurous,  risk taking, and romance. This book is called The Two Princesses From Bamarre because Addie and Meryl, two princesses, live in Bamarre.

When Princess Addie finds out that her old house maid had caught the plague, she told her to fight the plague and not let the plague get to her. Her house maid went back to her home town where she stayed until the Grey Death took her life. Rhys, their sorcerer showed Addie, Meryl, and Bella some magic tricks, and gave them gifts. In return the girls decided to give him a gift as well, and Meryl recited a part from Drault, a legend of a brave hero who slayed dragons. While she was reciting, she started panting and had to sit down. They all brought her inside to bed because they thought it must be a cold. When Milton, their doctor, checked her out, it was certain, she had the Grey Death. Addie was devastated and weeped for hours. When Addie's father found out, he brought together an army of fifteen men and set off, a little while later Addie found out that her father was returning with nothing, she decided she had to go on her own and find the cure. Bella, Milton, and Rhys gave her gifts to help her and Rhys accompanied her part of the way. While she was searching she ran  into ogors, griffins, and dragons. Time is running out, will she be able to find the cure in time?


Christian Perspective:

This book was written in Medieval Times and so there was a lot of magic, sorcery, and witchcraft, so I don't think this book was written in a christian perspective. The book of Drualt was almost like their bible because they carried it around, reciting things from it that would help them get through rough times, just as we use verses in the bible to help us. Princess Addie acted like a christian should because she loved her sister so much that she was willing to go into the unknown forest and search for the cure, which could mean death. Rhys and Addie are in love and they want to get married, but since Rhys is a Sorcerer, he has rules against it. They decide to get married which goes against the sorcerer rule, but I don't think that is a bad thing and I think since they love each other it is okay.



Your Thoughts:

I really didn't want to have to read this book because it looked boring and I usually hate fantasies, but this book changed my mind about fantasies. It was a pretty good book, even though I didn't particularly like the ending. I really liked Addie's character and how she would do anything for her sister, even if it meant dying. I also liked how two very different people can overcome their differences and live happily ever after. I would recommend this book to people who like fantasies, romance, and the medieval times.

Each Little Bird That Sings

Each Little Bird That Sings

Title:  Each Little Bird That Sings

Author:  Deborah Wiles

Publisher:  Scholastic Inc.

Place and year of publication:  New York, September, 2006

Number of pages: 247

Where I found this book: School’s Library

Summary:

In the town of Snap finger, Mississippi, there is a funeral home called Snowberger’s funeral. This story is about Comfort, the 2^nd youngest member of the snowberger family. She has seen death more than two hundred times, to the point that she became used to it.

Everybody was shocked after Comfort’s great-great- aunt Florentine death. So they started to prepare for her funeral.  Suddenly, her best friend Declaration turned super mean. She made fun of Comfort with her new  friends; Tiffany and Kristen. A fuming fight forms between Declaration and Comfort when Comfort’s mom asks Declaration to babysit Peach. As most of you don’t know Peach is Comfort’s cousin and she would do anything be away from him, in other words she hates him.

When the funeral day came, Declaration, Comfort, and Peach walked to the cemetery. Then, Declaration purposely scared peach and he ran towards the Creek. Comfort and Dismay ran after Peach to get him back. He fell into the creek and while she was saving him she lost her balance and fell into the creek. They were drowning. Comfort sacrificed her dog( who she loves the most) to save her cousin who she hates. Finally her dad comes and saves them. What happens to Comfort and Declaration’s friendship? Does Comfort start to appreciate her cousin Peach?

I think the author named this book “Each Little Bird That Sings” because a death is like a storm in anybody’s life, and you have to learn that just like every storm it will pass. After each storm every little bird sings. The theme of this book is mainly about death and how to handle it.

Christian Perspective:

I think this book is written in Christian perspective. The reason I think this because they have dealt with problems in a Godly way. God says to love your enemies. Comfort did exactly the same. She sacrificed her dog for a person she doesn’t like that much. One thing I think Comfort should have done was to forgive Declaration because God says we should forgive others because God forgive us for all the bad things we have done.

My Thoughts:

I really loved this book. It was depressing sometimes but it also had really good morals in it. One of the things I loved what Comfort’s uncle said “we live to serve.” This is really important to me because it tells me that it is our job to serve God and we can do it however we like; for example sports, art, music, acting, etc.  Another thing I loved about this book was how Comfort hated Peach but after the fight at the cemetery they were becoming good friends. She started to appreciate him and his differences. I chose to read this book because I have heard about this book and people told me that it’s a good book. If I could recommend this book to somebody, I would recommend it to a person who likes reading realistic fiction books. 

HAVE A LITTLE FAITH

Title: Have A Little Faith
Author: Mitch Albom
Publisher: Hyperion
Place and year of publication: New York, 2009
Number of pages:  249
Where I found the book: At home

Faith, the foundation of every belief and the center of every day life is the theme of the book " Have A Little Faith". The true story begins with the journey of the author, Mitch Albom, to write the eulogy of his Jewish rabbi, when he discovers the true meaning of religion. The title "Have A Little Faith" is a calling to people of all nations, tongues and races to see beyond everyday life and believe in the power of faith.

" Will you do my eulogy?" was how it all began. To Mitch Albom, a sports reporter, it was a big surprise. To go back to his New Jersey temple and speak about the "Man of God"  that he barely knew was a huge task. But one that he can't refuse either. So, he decides that it is time for him to know Albert Lewis [ his rabbi ] as a friend and not as the figure of Judaism that he long abandoned. To Mitch, Judaism was a religion of long rituals and conservative life that he did't need. He was fine and healthy, rising the social ladder with a thriving career and making money. What else did he need? God?

Yet eight years later it's 2008, and he is still meeting with the rabbi. He had become his friend. Albert Lewis no longer reminded him of his childhood memories in the synagoge. Mitch saw the man in a new light. No longer as a man of religious authority that he saw on Saturdays. The meetings with Albert changed his life and perspective on Jewish faith and opened his eyes to other faiths too. In fact, he even met another man of faith like Albert Lewis called Pastor Covington. Henry Covington wasn't your average church leader. He accepted Christ behind a garbage can in a New York alley begging for God's mercy from the drug dealers who were out to kill him. But when Mitch saw the peace and love in Albert's and Henry's hearts something deep down changed in his life, something that he never had experienced before.

A year later, as he stood in the synagoge in memory of Albert Lewis, he realized what this journey had taught him. The value of his life isn't tied to his materialistic accomplishments, but to making this world a better place. After seeing Albert Lewis and meeting Henry Covington he regretted all the times that he didn't appreciate his own faith. The times when he walked away from his culture, his heritage, and most of all when he walked away from God. But this time he learned his lesson well, he wasn't going to leave God again. Both of these men had left the world a better place than it was before them, and for that their legacy of love and faith will live on.

Christian Perspective:

In my opinion, this book is not written from a Christian perspective, but from a Jewish perspective. Mitch Albom uses his Jewish background throughout the book to convey his ideas. Most of the conversations with Albert Lewis recorded in the book included a lot of Jewish morals and ideas. But, Mitch Albom himself acted in a Christ-like manner by trying to help Pastor Covington's church and by being at Albert's side until the end.

My Thoughts:

 This book is incredible. I enjoyed reading every chapter and connecting with the author's thoughts and ideas very much. I was amazed to discover that some of the Jewish ideas conveyed in the book are similar in a way to Christian beliefs. I was also impressed to see that the author talked about the way Christ had changed the life of Henry Covington eventhough he personally did not believe in Jesus. Even more, I  like the fact that Mitch Albom wrote this book from an open-minded perspective, and  did not judge the beliefs of others. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in faith and religion, since it provides a great variety of ideas and perspectives that really are worth looking at no matter what you believe in.

Elena's Book Review

Slave Girl 

Title:  Slave Girl
Author:  Jackie French
Number of pages:  279
Publisher:  Harper Collins
Date and Place of publication:  United States, 2005
Where I found the book:  In Coles, Brandon's local bookstore

Story Review

To Hekja and her mother, life in their village is difficult, but safe. Hekja's mother, and her young dog Snarf, are all she has left. Hekja's father died while collecting eggs on the cliff.  his fall was incredibly steep and his back shattered into pieces. Every one knows that it's dangerous, but gulls eggs are one of the village's  main food staples. Hekja's father was a singer, no one clapped after one of his song's for they had so much meaning and truth that it left the village speechless. And that's all that Hekja had in common with her father; they could both sing the night away. 

When Hekja is sent, along with all the other young girls,  up the mountain to mind the cattle, her only comfort is her weak little snarf. All he is good at though is rolling around in fresh cow patches, and howling along to Hekja's  songs. The girls up on the mountain have no respect for Hekja. She and her mother had always just barely made it through the winter. Slowly but surely they hear Hekja sing songs alone in the moonlit night and give Hekja more than just respect: they give her their trust. 

Snarf begins to grow more and more, and eventually learns to hunt not only for himself, but the girls as well.  In fact he no longer limps, and just barely reaches Hekja's lower thigh, instead he almost reaches  her shoulders; already larger then any of the village dogs. He was smarter than most people as well, and could smell danger days before any one could even see it. But Snarf only obeyed Hekja, and never dreamed of leaving her side. 

"Ships", cried Hekja, " come quickly". Snarf was barking ferociously. "We have to warn the village" Hekja gasped '"it could be danger" . "Probably just traders. Oh I do hope they have brought fabric, I mean just look at my dress", cried Reena one of the chiefs daughters. "Vikings"whispered Hekja," just look at the size of those boats". Snarf and Hekja were gone before any of the girl's could stop them. She had feet as fast as deer and as swift as the current, but she knew, once she reached the village, that it was too late. People lay motionless on the ground, white washed faces, and blood drenched clothing.
Hekja and Snarf ran quickly and quietly. If they were seen,  they would be caught, if they were caught, they would be killed. Hekja hesitated before entering her home. There was no blood upon the floor, but her mother was not to be found. "Run!", screamed Hekja's mother. Hekja twirled around. Every thing was a blur. Some one, at least twice her size, plunged there sword into her mother's heart. It was a man Hekja realized, and he had just killed her mother. Hekja ran, she ran faster than the wind, faster than she ever imagined she could run. And then she heard him. The man who killed her mother was after her. He was fast Hekja thought, but she could out run him. Snarf bounded at her heals. Then Hekja felt some thing slice into the back of her knee. " Finnbogi, your getting old" laughed a tall woman. Hekja realized that the female viking had stopped her with the edge of her sword. They had caught her she realized, but they had not killed her. "Freydis" gasped the man to the woman," that girl must have feet like ravens". But Freydis just laughed, "keep her, she would be a good messenger!"

Hekja's journey begins as a thrall (slave), and meets Freydis' brother, Lief Erickson. Freydis comes to trust Hekja, and rely on snarf to smell out ice bergs that could easily wipe out the ship. Lief's thrall Hikki is also a runner, and is the only one, other than Snarf, that she can talk to. He understands how much she misses her village even though they get ten times more to eat under the vikings authority. Hekja soon becomes very close to Freydis, and once they reach Greenland (the vikings current settlement), she begins her job as a messenger; running to deliver messages.
She meets Snorri, a Norseman who singing reminds her of her father. Hekja finds that Snorri is singing about her, not as a thrall, but a princess. Hekja is very fond of Snorri, but even though she is very admired by Freydis, her master, she is still just a thrall, and Hikki keeps reminding her that. Hikki begins to despise Snorri because he plans to marry Hekja. Although Hekja thinks of Hikki more as a brother.

One cold day in Greenland, Freydis launches an expedition. Freydis wants to follow in her father's foot steps. He was the man who founded Greenland. Lief decides to journey with his sister, but when Freydis' father dies, Lief is forced to take his place as chief. Leaving Freydis with less then half of the men who originally planned on coming because they just couldn't trust, let alone follow a woman.
So they begin their journey to Finland. When they arrive they are greeted by skraelings (the viking word for native strangers), and begin peacefully trading with them. The land is beautiful to Hekja, and every thing is so calm. But then the skraelings attack. The Vikings were prepared, but the skraelings have an advantage, they have bows. Swords and axes are all fine for battle, but not when you are a great distance away.Snorri is badly wounded, and Hikki is killed. All this is to much for Hekja. She and Freydis charge after the enemy, and scare them away. Hekja doesn't waste one precious second, she rushes to Snorri's side. her relationship with him becomes so strong, that she never leaves his side. He and Hekja marry and travel to Snorri's home land. After mourning the death of Hikki, she can no longer stay in Finland. And although she knows she with miss Freydis,she agrees to leave. Together they visit Hekja's village and find that the girls on the mountain lived as well as quite a few of the other villagers.
Hekja and Snorri sing together about Freedom and the gift of courage that Freydis gave.

My thoughts

I did enjoy reading this book and the story was well thought up, twisting the truth just a tiny bit. However the author's writing was hard to get used to. It was very choppy, although that may have been the authors intention. I do prefer to read books with more of a flow, but once you adapted it was definitely a 'page turner' type of book. The book's main theme was freedom. Hekja is captured as a thrall, but eventually Freydis adopts Hekja as her own daughter. The book was given its title based on the capture of Hekja, and the journey she must endure to gain her freedom. I recommend this book to any history readers, and also those of you who like a lot of action because, yes, there is quite a bit of violence in this story.

Christian Perspective

Although this book wasn't written from a Christian perspective, there were several things in it that made me feel closer to God's heart. Like, for instance, when Hekja is told to stay in the mountain where she's safe, but choose to run and warn the village. It's amazing how God can use something so ordinary (like a sentence in a book), and make it into something extraordinary.  This story taught me that no matter how much sorrow your eyes have seen, God will always strengthen you. Yes, it might seem scary at the time, but once you've gotten through whatever it is that's troubling you, all that time spent afraid will soon fade into nothing. And all you are left with is a heart full of gratitude. 

Summit Series ’72

Richard Brignall

Publishers: James Lorimar & company Ltd.

Place and year of Publication: Toronto 2011.

This book contains of 151 pages.

I found this book in the chs library

The reason why the books is called the summit series ’72 is because in the summit series ’72 Canada had eight games that put Canada on top of the hockey world. These games took place in Moscow and a little in Europe. The team Canada hockey players were Brad Park, Paul Henderson, Winger j.p. parise, tony esopsito and ken Dryden there coach was named Sinden. The Canadians at first was the world’s greatest hockey team ever but all of Canada knew that already so they didn’t pay attention to them instead they watched the NHL (Nation Hockey League) while Canada was busy with the NHL. The Russian hockey team was being assembled soon when the Russian team was ready the time came when Russia was to face Canada but no Canadian was caring after the the game the people all over Canada were surprised that Canada lost. So Canada was no long top of the hockey world. Soon Canadians gathered NHL players and formed a hockey team. The team players did not know each other so when they faced Russia they lost and became 4^TH place Canadians hated their own hockey team. But then the team practiced together and then when the summit series began the where playing against Russia. They played against them many times but in the final game they won and Canada was back on top.

Christian perspective

The thing I saw in this book is that the Canadian hockey team had perseverance and they will win them and faith they will win even if their own country goes against them. I recommend this book to any Christian because it teaches a lot of things

My thoughts

I recommend this book to people who love hockey or love the Canadian hockey team I think it’s a good because it’s easy to read and its is clear and the book has a good story line.