Wringer

Hope you all are enjoying your summer reading:)


Wringer is about a boy who has just turned 10. But this is not relevant at the moment.


Every year, there is one day during the summer where the whole town of Waymer gets crates and crates of pigeons. They release them into the air, and shoot them to death. If there's one on the ground still hobbling about, it's the Wringer's job to put it out of its misery. A Wringer is someone who twists, or wrings, the bird's neck. This kills it instantly.


Before you turn your back on me, hold on. This is a great book.


Anyways, the main character, Palmer, has just turned 10. He has been dreading this day his entire life. When you turn 10, you become a Wringer. Palmer doesn't want to be a Wringer. Too bad for Palmer.


One day, Palmer hears a tapping sound coming from the window. He opens the window, and in walks in, like a regular human being on the street, a pigeon. Palmer becomes friends with the pigeon and keeps it, letting it in and out on occasion.


There's a problem, though.


His "friends" couldn't be more happy to be Wringers. They think it's stupid that Palmer is chickening out.


And it gets worse.


This book is very intriguing. But the cover isn't. Don't be alarmed by the cover, though. This is a really good book. I give this 7 out of 10 stars:)


-Jack:)

Informative (I am not)

Sorry guys...I realize I've been behind. We've had so much testing at school that I just didn't have the time to post. I apologize for that because I know that if you read this blog, you love to read as much as I do. :)

I've been reading tons of books lately, but I never posted. If there is one from the list that you WANT me to post about, I will be happy to re-read it and post about it.

Here's the list:
Beastly by Alex Flinn
The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
Wringer by Jerry Spinelli

And that's pretty much it. If I remember another book, I'll make sure it makes its way up here.

Thanks for all your support.

-Jack

(PS: I just realized the title sounds like Yoda!)

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Wings is about a girl named Laurel who moves to a new town. She starts developing this MASSIVE ZIT (I know what you're thinking: another prissy girl book) on her back. Eventually, it grows pretty large, but it doesn't stop there. She starts to sprout some sort of blossom out of the zit. She soon finds out she is a faerie and she has wings.

As the story continues,Laurel visits her old house and meets a very creepy person...she soon learns more about him and he becomes less creepy;)

This is such an interesting book, but I will say that this is a book for ages 13 and up because of, well, you know. I'm giving this a 7 out of 10 stars.

Next up: The Mysterious Benedict Society:)
Can't wait to read that.

Until then,
Jack

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver is about an twelve year-old named Jonas who is selected to be the new Receiver of Memory. This is a very important job that involves pleasure and pain. The Giver, Jonas' trainer, gives Jonas memories passed down from generation to generation. Some memories are pleasurable, like the memory of sunshine, and some are painful and gruesome, like a war scene.

As the book progressed, I could NOT put it down; it was that good. I'm giving this book 9 OUT OF 10 STARS!

Next book: The Mysterious Benedict Society

Until then,
Jack:)

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass

Jeremy Fink's idea of a perfect summer is learning a few magic tricks,  borrowing 8th grade textbooks to get a jump start on next year, an sleeping in as late as he wants. However, he soon finds out that his summer will be different.

One day, a mysterious package shows up at his house. The package contains a wooden box engraved:
JEREMY FINK
THE MEANING OF LIFE
The package also contains a letter from someone talking about how they are so sorry they lost the keys to the box.

See, the box isn't your ordinary box, with a keyhole. This box has four keyholes (for four different keys). If you try to saw the box open, it destroys the contents inside.

Jeremy will turn thirteen in a month, and it says to open the box then, on his thirteenth birthday. He has until then to find all the keys and open it on his thirteenth birthday.

This is a very interesting book. This author uses great comedy in her writing. I'm giving this book 8 out of 10 stars:)

Next books:
Wings by Aprilynne Pike
The Giver by Lois Lowry

PS: I'm still up for suggestions:)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I just finished this book at school...so I decided to review it.

The Hunger Games takes place in the future. North America has been destroyed, and Panem takes its place. The book is about a girl named Katniss who lives in Panem, in District 12. She has to fend for herself and her family that includes her twelve year old sister and Katniss' mother.

Each year, two tributes (children between the age of 12 and 18) are picked out of each district to compete in The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is an event that occurs each year where all 24 tributes from all 12 districts are put into an arena to fight to the death as people watch. This is the Capitol's way of telling the Districts that they are under complete control.

Katniss ends up being a tribute in the Games along with a boy she barely knows, and she is scared out of her mind about both the Games and him. She knows she doesn't have a good chance of winning. As the book progresses, Katniss develops feeling for the boy, Peeta, and when he is in danger, she helps him and they become a pair.

This has to be one of the books I recommend for you to read. I am giving it 9 out of 10 stars. This author is brilliant! She uses figurative language and exquisite words. Definitely a book to read.

I will warn you that at times, the book is extremely gruesome. If you're the kind of person who faints if you see blood, you might want to know that:)

This book is part of The Hunger Games series.

Books to Read Next?

I'd like you guys to tell me which books I should read next. The next review will be:
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass.
But after that,
I don't know what else to read.
So please give me some suggestions.

They need to be middle-school books.

So comment away!

The Cardturner by Louis Sachar

The Cardturner is about a young man named Alton who starts out his relationship with his uncle by simply turning his cards in his uncle's bridge (a form of card game) tournaments. Alton learns more and more about bridge, and he and his uncle start to bond. They compete in more and more bridge tournaments. Alton then meets Toni Castaneda, the daughter of his uncle's ex-wife. They start to bond, and start playing bridge games of their own. As the novel progresses, romance builds between Alton and Toni, and Alton's uncle gets even better than he was before in his bridge games.

I will say that I flipped through some pages because sometimes, it talked about how to play bridge and things like that. I'm giving this book 6 out of 10 stars because it did, in fact, get very slow at times.

Up next: Jeremy Fink and The Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass:)