Demiana's Book Review On "The Royal Diaries (Elizabeth I)

The Royal Diaries (Elizabeth I)
Author: Kathryn Lasky
Published by Scholastic
In 555 Broadway, New York, NY, USA, year 1995
The book is 237 pages long
Found in Christian Heritage School’s Library

Story Review

Who could’ve she been from the inside? The one who brought unto us the Elizabethan Age! Did she go through torture as a child, or lifelong happiness? The one, who changed the future of England, was once seen as nothing but a shadow, Elizabeth. As a child, Elizabeth was skilled with needlework, and knowing many languages. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII, and his second wife Anne Boleyn, who was known in England as a “witch”. Elizabeth was later on, known as the Virgin Queen, as she never agreed to marry, because of her father who had six wives, two of them he beheaded, and two of them he divorced! This book is a brilliant piece written as a royal diary of the childhood of Elizabeth I, hence the title, “The Royal Diaries (Elizabeth I)” with true historical notes at the end of the book to complete the events.

In England, 1544, Elizabeth received a diary as a gift from her governess Kat. That is where she poured out her pain, secrets, and most important events on paper. The first thing she emphasized was her feeling of being invisible. First reason is because her father would exile her whenever he was unpleased with her. Another thing is the fact that she shall never rule, because she is third in line to the throne. Finally, how people look at her as half witch, because of her mother whom Henry VIII beheaded. Of course, her father was pleased with her sometimes, and still loved her, and so did Kat, and her good friend Robin. Years passed by, and things didn’t change from there.

And just as Elizabeth was waiting for her life to become more interesting, things instead started becoming very strange, and poison took place! The duchess of Lexford was poisoned. Elizabeth thought that it could’ve been her own sister, Mary, in the plan, because the duchess was getting in the way of Mary’s marriage plans! As all this chaos affected everyone in the palace, things get worse for Elizabeth, as Mary finds out about her diary that she has hidden! Back in the day that would’ve been a big deal, as she wrote how she truly felt about certain people in the diary that she would never say to anyone if she wanted to keep her life! As all this takes place everyone is waiting anxiously to find out if Edward will rule, or not, because his father, Henry VIII is terribly ill!

And it came upon them as the darkest hour, King Henry VIII dies! Of course now Edward becomes King, and rules by the guidance of his advisors, as he is still very young! Elizabeth from that point on was going through her hardest times. She would trade her life of royalty, but also of pain, and torture for a bird’s life! As she writes the last thing in her diary, “Would I trade my title for a bird’s life, a palace for a nest a realm for the sky?” Did Mary ever reveal her? Or rather did Elizabeth blame her sister for the poisoning of the duchess of Lexford, and announced it? How will Elizabeth ever rule? What is ahead of her before victory, as she discovers her destiny? The answer is in the book.

Christian Perspective

This book was written in a Christian perspective, because all the characters are Christian in the book. However there were many actions that were not Christ-like what so ever. For example, Henry divorcing two wives, beheading two, and exiling his daughter! Also, Elizabeth made terrible assumptions, and blamed her sister for poisoning the duchess! I think that if they were truly Christians, not just by name they would’ve had a lot less conflict in the family, and I also wonder how much the story would’ve changed if that was the case.

My Thoughts

I personally admire this book. It is a historical fiction written from the perspective of a royal victim. Because this book was written in the first person, it is easier to understand what Elizabeth really felt like in the book. It is an everyday journal in which you can find what might’ve been the inner feelings, and thoughts of Elizabeth I! I strongly recommend this book to history lovers, mystery lovers, and those who are interested in knowing what royals had to go through, because of their uneasy life. If you are one of those people, you won’t be able to put this book down!

Firewing

FireWing

By Kenneth Oppel

Published by Harper Trophy Canada

Published in Ontario, Canada in 2002

285 pages

I found this book in the school library

Story Review

Griffin is a young silver wing bat. He and his friend Luna try and steal fire and there is an accident. After, Griffin gets sucked down into the underworld. Now Shade, Griffins father, has to save him. But something else is trying to find Griffin, something Shade hoped he would never see again...

Shade meets Yorick, Nemo, and Java, three bats that he meets in the underworld who are trying to get to the tree – a magical tree in the underworld that gives life to whoever enters it, but they don’t know if it even exists…

Legend says that the living can’t survive long in the underworld and since griffin glows with life (literally) and all the dead bats want to take it for themselves. Can Griffin and Shade make it back to the upper world or will a deadly foe take their life first?

The title of the book, FireWing, has to do with Griffin and Luna stealing fire and the accident.

Christian Perspective

This book was not written in a Christian perspective. But most of the characters dealt with situations somewhat Christ-like. When the accident happened – if they were Christians- they could have prayed. There were lots of times where they could have prayed. Some bats attacked others because of their beliefs. Instead of fighting they should have respected each other’s beliefs.

My Thoughts

I loved this book. It was suspenseful, thrilling, and it also has nice, calm parts. It had great description and you could see everything well. I liked the way the author switched between characters every chapter so you could see the story from all the main characters perspectives. I would recommend this book to someone who likes suspense, adventure, and some mystery.

Meredith’s Book Report, October 24, 2011 - The boy who came back from heaven

Information:

Title: The boy who came back from heaven

Author: Kevin & Alex Malarkey

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers

Place and year of publication: Carol Stream, Illinois, 2010

Number of pages: 232

Where you found the book: I heard about it from my Oma

Story Review:

Kevin Malarkey and his son, Alex, were involved in a terrible car crash in 2004 on their way home from church. Luckily Kevin wasn’t hurt; but Alex, only six at the time, suffered severely and was paralyzed from the neck down. It seemed completely impossible that he would survive, but God had other plans.

The doctor told Alex’s parents, Beth and Kevin, that in the unlikely case of Alex surviving he would not have normal brain function, would never breathe on his own, would never move on his own below his neck, would never be able to swallow food, and would never be able to talk. That’s a lot of “never’s,” but Beth simply told the doctor, “You are wrong.” She believed that God would show His mercy on Alex and would fully heal him. Even though his head was detached from his spine, she believed that God would perform a supernatural miracle, and that God had a special plan for her son on this earth.

Two months after the accident, Alex came out of his coma and returned to Ohio. He had an unbelievable story to tell because in those two months, Alex had been in heaven and had experienced absolutely incredible things. This book is about the amazing journey of a young boy and the unimaginable encounters with God that he experienced.

This book will show you just how magnificent God is and what amazing things He can do. It will teach you that God hears you when you pray and that it is important to listen to what God is trying to say to you. When you read this book, you can’t help but wonder about things beyond earth, and it will give you new ideas on heaven, angels, and the power of God.

Christian Perspective:

The boy who came back from heaven was written from a Christian perspective, and Christ-like behaviour is reflected. In the book, the authors are going through a huge struggle, and although Kevin Malarkey admits to sometimes losing his temper and getting frustrated, I think that for the most part Alex’s family dealt with the issue in a Godly way. This book often talks about prayer, and how much prayer affected them by strengthening and comforting them. This book affected me as a Christian by showing me that God really does hear me when I talk to Him, and that I can have a personal relationship with Jesus Himself. It inspired me and made me think a lot about some of the ideas that were presented.

Personal Thoughts:

I thought this book was very powerful, and it really got me thinking a little bit more about the spiritual realm. I like how the point of this book isn’t to convince you of anything but rather to share with you an amazing experience exactly how it happened. I also really liked how the authors gave the glory to God and didn’t put the focus on themselves by pointing out that they are just ordinary people like you and me. One thing I would have liked was if there was more to read from Alex and his personal experiences in heaven as I found that the book was a little more focused on the dad’s perspective. I would not only recommend this book to Christians who are seeking a closer relationship with God and who have questions about heavenly things, but also to nonbelievers to get them thinking about spiritual matters and what knowing God can do in their lives. If you haven’t read this book already, I would really encourage you to! It’s a truly amazing story that will show you what faith can do.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Lightening Thief

AUTHOR - Rick Riordan

PUBLISHER- Scholastic

PLACE AND YEAR OF PUBLICATION- New York , NY 2006

NUMBER OF PAGES- 375

WHERE I FOUND THE BOOK- Christian Heritage School Library

The title of the book is important because it highlights one of the main labels that the main character Percy is seen as by the gods. It also highlights Percy's relation to the Olympians and their influence on the story.Perseus Jackson is a demigod , his mother is a mortal and his father is Poseidon the god of the sea. He lives in New York with his mother. He has a lot of academic and social problems.He doesn't know who his father is , until one summer when his mother had to take him to Camp Half-blood which is for demigods.There they are attacked and his mother is captured by Hades.There he meets Annabeth and Luke , learns sword fighting , and Poseidon declares him as his son.

At Camp Half-blood , Percy accepts a quest to find Zeus' stolen Lightening bolt, because Zeus is accusing Poseidon's son of stealing the bolt. But he didn't steal it and everyone assumes that Hades stole it for revenge. So Percy and his friends Annabeth and Grover journey to the Underworld, to return the master bolt to Olympus before the Summer Solstice or else a war between the gods would start. On their way , they are attacked by various monsters sent by various gods. When he reaches the Underworld and discovers that Hades didn't steal the Bolt. But the Helm of Darkness which belongs to Hades was stolen from him , but he kept it a secret. Hades accuses Percy of stealing both objects . Then Percy realizes he was tricked by the god Ares into carrying the Master Bolt to the Underworld. Percy makes a deal with Hades , that he would find the Helm of Darkness in exchange of keeping the Master Bolt.

Ares challenges Percy to a fight and Percy conquers and gets the Helm of Darkness back from him. Then he gives it back to Hades , and Hades returns Percy's mother. Next, Percy goes to Manhattan Empire State Building , where Mount Olympus is located on the highest floor invisible to all mortals. Over there Zeus receives his Lightening Bolt and Percy meets his father Poseidon for the first time.

Percy returns to spend the rest of the summer in Camp Half-blood, where he discovers who the true thief of the Master Bolt and the Helm of Darkness are. It is his friend who stole them on orders from Kronos , who is trying to regain his power. After he stole Ares caught him , and decided to frame Percy as thief instead. Then deceive Percy into carrying it to Tartarus where Kronos could destroy all the gods. He then attempts to kill Percy. But Percy survives. What he does after that to stop the true thief and the battle between gods and titans remains a mystery for you to discover.

CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE:

As a Christian , I would say that the book was not written in a Christian perspective. This is because the book is centred around Greek mythology , wars and battles. Perseus Jackson the main character , displays some Christ-like values by endangering his own life to protect his companions. As well as , bringing peace to the Olympians and stopping a war from destroying the world. In my opinion , a more Christian way to deal with Percy's step dad was to send him away , instead of turning him to stone.

MY THOUGHTS:

In my perspective , this book is great. It has a lot of action and a mythological theme , that make the book extremely exciting . It shows the power of friendship and the importance of family no matter who or what they are. I had so much fun reading the book. One of the things I enjoyed reading the most about is the connection the characters have to each other , to the theme of the book and the world around them. I would recommend this book to any reader who is interested in reading about Greek mythology , fiction or monsters.

Welcome & Rubric

Welcome to The 78 CHELA, a place to hang out online and talk about stuff ELA related. Some of you are probably wondering about the blogs name. The 78 stands for grade 7 & 8 and CHELA is an acronym standing for Christian Heritage English Language Arts; so together the name stands for The Grade 7 & 8 Christian Heritage ELA Blog. The word Chela in the English language also has the meaning of religious student or disciple. I thought that was meaningful for us as here at CHS because we are seeking to be a student of Jesus, or his modern day disciple.

Below is a copy of the book review rubric. I'm excited to see what the class has been reading in the past month.

Blog away!

Mr. Funk