Book, TV, and Movie Reviews

I had a lot of these and I tried to pick out just the ones from this term, but there might be a few from before still in here.

Book Reviews:

Fantasy Fiction Novels:

1) Where The Mountain Meets The Moon is an amazing novel by Grace Lin about a girl named Minli who goes on a search for “The Man Of The Moon”; a man who has a book that says everything about everything that has ever happened or is going to happen to anyone. It has a lot of Chinese myths and beliefs in it and it is one of my favorite novels. It also has really nice drawings. I recommend it for anyone who is capable of reading a novel.

Violence/scariness *****

Romance *****

By Rhiannon, 11


2) Ice by Bonita Forsyth. This is actually the first book in The Chronicles of Mineria. It is the only one of the books in the series that I have read but it was amazing. The story is about a 17 year old boy named Jonathan and his rabbit Sunny who get pulled to the mystical world of Mineria through a gazing globe they find in their garden. In Mineria every creature living there is somehow evolved from an insect. This book is pretty gory at some parts but it wasn't too bad. The Chronicles of Mineria only have two books out so far; Ice and Fire, but the author is right now working on the third book which will be called Air. I would recommend the book Ice for ages 11+.

Violence/Scariness *****

Romance *****

By Rhiannon, 11

Non­-Fantasy Fiction Novels:

1. Watership down by Richard Adams. This is a lovely book about rabbits who escape their warren because they sense danger coming. They set out to find a place to make a new warren. It is a slightly thick book so it will take a while to read. There are many rabbit fights in the book so this book may not be appropriate for very young readers. Even though it has violent parts this is a beautiful and well written book. I highly recommend it for ages 9+.

Violence/scariness *****

Romance *****

By Rhiannon, 11


2. The School Story by Andrew Clements. This is a wonderful story about a sixth grade girl who writes a novel. Then she tries to get it published by pretending to be an adult with the help of one friend. It doesn't help that her mother is the editor and keeps talking about the story to the girl without knowing that she wrote it. I loved this book but I don't know if everyone would because I love writing books and story's and I don't know if many people do. I would recommend this book for any writing enthusiast ages 7+

Violence/Scariness *****

Romance *****

By Rhiannon, 11


3. One Dog And His Boy is a spectacular book by Eva Ibbotson about a boy who loves dogs. In the story the boy thinks he's getting a dog for his birthday, but his parents fool him and rent a dog for the weekend, making him think the dog was to keep. When he arrived home from school and the dog was gone, he set out on a journey to find it. This is an amazing book and I recommend it for ages 8+.

Violence/scariness *****

Romance *****

By Rhiannon, 11


4. Touchblue is a book by Cynthia Lord about a family who takes in a teen-aged foster child named Aaron a 13 year old boy who is very glum and doesn't get along with them very well. The main character is named Tess. The family who takes in Aaron are lobster hunters and live on a very small island. This is a really great book and the story is amazing. I would suggest this book for ages 9+.

Violence/Scariness *****
Romance *****

By Rhiannon, 11

5. A Day of Signs and Wonders is a book by Kit Pearson about Emily Carr and Kathleen O'rielly when they were kids. It is a beautiful book and it all takes place in one day. In the book Emily is 9 years old and Kathleen is 13 years old.I would rate this ages 8+.

Violence/Scariness *****
Romance ***** 

By Rhiannon, 12




Movie Reviews:

Fantasy Fiction:
 

The Secret of Roan Inish by John Sayles is a story about a girl named Fiona who is searching for her younger brother, Jamie. This movie mixes an Irish legend into a realistic story. It is a very beautiful movie. In the movie Fiona's family had a cradle for Jamie when he was a baby. The cradle was sitting on the beach and the tide came in and washed it away. Seals carried the cradle with Jamie in it an island called Roan Inish (Island of the Seals) where the seals raised him. Jamie's family does not know that Jamie is safe, though. Fiona sees Jamie one day a couple years after the seals had stolen him and tries to bring him back, but he runs away. Then she starts looking for him. This movie is amazing and I highly recommend that you watch it. It is great for all ages.

Violence/Scariness *****

Romance *****

By Rhiannon, 11

My Neighbor Totoro by Hayao Miyazaki is a story about two kids who move to a new neighborhood. The younger of the two kids dreams about a big cat/troll creature named Totoro. She goes looking for the creature later, but she can't find it. The children's mother is sick in the hospital and eventually the younger kid gets lost. This is a really good movie and I really recommend watching it. I think it is good for all ages.

Violence/Scariness *****
Romance *****

By Rhiannon, 12

TV Show Reviews:

Reality TV:

 The Voice is a TV show about singing. First there are the blind auditions where people sing to the coaches (Who are famous singers). The coaches have their backs turned to the person auditioning and if they want the person on their team they turn their chair around. Once all the coaches teams are full they have the battles where people are grouped into pairs and each pair sings a song. Whoever the pair's coach likes the best gets to stay on the show and the other person is eliminated. After that there are the knockout rounds where people are grouped into pairs again but this time each person gets to sing a song on their own. Whoever does least well is eliminated. Last come the live rounds where every person performs their own song each week and people can vote on who did best. One or two people get eliminated each week until one person is left. This show has some inappropriate language. One thing I really like about The Voice is that the coaches are always friendly to the contestants. I think it is fine for all ages but it is probably more interesting for ages about 7+.

Violence/Scariness *****

Romance *****

By Rhiannon, 11