Books

__The Opposite of Invisible__ By: Liz Gallagher Best Friends Not Forever? Alice and Jewel (but teachers call him Julian) have been best friends since they were twelve. In High School, they don’t need anyone else because they both blend in. They are invisible. To Alice though, Jewel is the opposite of invisible. Alice is comfortable around Jewel that she can talk to him about almost anything. But, she can’t tell him she likes the popular Simon. Simon asks her to the school dance the same day Jewel kisses her for the first time. She can’t say no to Simon, but will it mean losing Jewel? Liz Gallagher is a former children’s book author. But, this is her first novel. She has worked on the Editorial Staff of //Highlights for Children//. She has always wanted to be a writer, but never thought it would be her career. “‘Some girls have journals. I talk to my poster.’ So begins The Opposite of Invisible, an absolute gem of a story.” was a review by Little Willow. Many people have treasured this wonderful novel by Liz. It has won Amazon’s top ten books (so far) of 2008. http://www.amazon.com/review/R21R08L7R0U800 http://www.lizgallagher.com/bio.html http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375841521

__Twilight__

Girl Falls in Love with a Vampire
=== Isabella Swan moves into Forks, Washington to live with her dad. This romantic Fantasy is about Bella and Edward. Edward is beautiful. Edward is in a group of beautiful teens. Bella falls in love with him. He loves her back, but he is a vampire. Bella learns their secret about how Carlisle saved them. Edward is having a hard time controlling the scent of her blood. At any moment, the intensity of their passion could drive him to kill her. ===

=== This book is on the eighth grade summer reading list. This book is mostly for girls though. This book was a New York Times editor’s choice, a Publishers Weekly best book of the year, an Amazon “Best Book of the Decade… So Far”, a Teen People “Hot List” pick, and an American Library Association “Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults” and “Top Ten Books for Reluctant Readers”. This book has a sequel, __New Moon__, and it has a sequel to that __Eclipse__. The sequel to __ Eclipse__ is __Breaking Dawn__, and is coming out in August 2, 2008. ===

=== Stephanie Meyer was chosen by booksellers as one of the “most promising new authors of 2005”. She started writing the book on June 2, 2003. She got the idea of the book from a vivid dream of a ordinary girl and a beautiful boy talking about how they were falling in love with each other and how he was attracted to the scent of her blood. This is all in Chapter 13, //Confessions//. ===

=== "The novel's danger-factor skyrockets as the excitement of secret love and hushed affection morphs into a terrifying race to stay alive. Realistic, subtle, succinct, and easy to follow, //Twilight// will have readers dying to sink their teeth into it." — //School Library Journal// (starred review) ===

“Propelled by suspense and romance in equal parts [this story] will keep readers madly flipping the pages of Meyer's tantalizing debut." — //Publishers Weekly// (starred review)

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__The Thief Lord__ By: Cornelia Funke

Two German brothers have run away!

Twelve-year-old Prosper (Prop) and five-year-old Boniface (Bo) have run away from home. Prosper loves his brother very much and doesn’t trust many people with him. Boniface loves his older brother and they are very close. Prosper and Bo lived with their Aunt Ester and Uncle Maximilian. Their mother had died few months ago, and so they had to live with their Aunt. They brothers have a horrible relationship with their Aunt and Uncle.

They went ran away because their Aunt Easter was going to keep Bo and send Prosper away because Bo was a very cute little boy. So they ran away to be to be together. They had to survive by living with a group of homeless kids. In the group they met a girl named Hornet.

[[image:043942089X_large.jpg width="253" height="376" align="right" caption="The Thief Lord book"]]
Hornet’s real name was Caterina. With meeting her, they met the mysterious Scipio, or the “Thief Lord”. He hides behind a black mask and at night steals from people’s homes and brings what he gets to the others. He helps all the orphans in the group survive in this old theatre called the Stella.

Scipio gets them items to sell to get money for food. After a while, the Thief Lord finds an envelope that says to steal a wooden wing. He gets himself and a lot of others in trouble. Also, a detective hired by Bo and Prosper’s Aunt is trying to find Bo. Then they figured out the truth about the Thief Lord.

“[A] radiant novel ... Today's young readers will probably love this book as they love the Harry Potter series, for its zany plot and well-defined characters ... splendid.” says the New York Times. This book is loved by many children and has also been turned into a movie. Cornelia Funke has written another book that is loved by many children, Inkheart. They are going to make a movie for this book in 2008.

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__Where the Red Fern Grows__ By: Wilson Rawls Boy works for two years to get hounds

Billy lives in the Ozark Mountains of Oklahoma. He tells a story of his childhood and about his dogs back when Billy was 10-years-old. He lives with his Papa, Mama, and three sisters. He wants two hounds that he can hunt with and catch raccoons. His family can’t afford them so Billy works for odd jobs for two whole years for the hounds. He only tells his Grandpa who helps him get the hounds.

When Billy gets the hounds, he names them Little Ann and Old Dan. Little Ann is a small intelligent female and Old Dan is a strong determined male dog. Together these dogs make a great team. No raccoon can outsmart them when they are together.

Grandpa signs Billy and his dogs up for a championship raccoon hunt. They killed three raccoons. Billy lost his dogs but found them half frozen chasing a fourth. When they kill that raccoon, they win the championship and get the jackpot of $300! Then Billy and his dogs run into a mountain lion. Billy survives after his dogs save him but, what about the dogs?

This book by Wilson Rawls is one of his best. Wilson said that the book—with one or two exceptions—is a portrait of his boyhood in dirt-poor Scraper, Oklahoma. He never liked books though. Not until he read __Call of the Wild__ by Jack London. After he read that book he dreamed of being a writer

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__Surviving the Applewhites__ By: Stephanie S. Tolan Jake has spiked up hair, all black clothing, and is 13 years old. He’s been bad since his parents got sent to jail. He lived in Rhode Island, but has moved to North Carolina to stay with his grandfather.

He has been thrown out of every school in Rhode Island. He went to one school in North Carolina, but got kicked out after 3 weeks. There is only one school that will take him in now, the Creative Academy. It’s a home school ran by the Applewhites.

From the four-year-old Destiny to the grandfather, Zedediah, they are all creative. They run the school more as a self-education opportunity. The almost teen, Ed, feels odd in the family, she likes organization instead of art and music and theatre. Her and Jake and paired in the family’s first experiment, cooperative education.

Ed and Jake have nothing in common though, except that they are both trying to survive the Applewhites//.//

Gretchen Husky Newwpaper Reporter

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__My Brother Sam is Dead__ By: Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier Sam Meeker told his family he was going to go to enlist in the Rebel army. His parents don’t like the idea, but his brother Tim loves that idea and is admiring his brother. Sam is going to try to steal his father’s gun to fight. Tim tells his brother he doesn’t want him to do that, but he can’t stop Sam from doing it. That night Sam and his father get into a fight and Sam runs away.

Tim goes and finds Sam in his hut where he is hiding out. He tries to talk Sam out of going to the war, but he doesn’t succeed. Sam’s girlfriend, Betsy Read, ask Tim which side he’s on. Tim can’t choose between his father and his brother. Sam leaves and Betsy tells Tim when Sam returns in several months.

Tim and his father go to visit their cousins. On the way there, they get stopped by “cowboys” or Rebel roadside terrorist. They don’t do anything to Tim or his father. But, on the way back, the same cowboys kidnap his father. Tim outsmarts them, and has to take the wagon of their family’s goods.

The troops come to Tim’s hometown. He watches as men and boys are killed. He doesn’t know who he is supporting. The Rebels stole his father, but the British and messing up his town. A couple of months later, Tim and Sam reunite. Sam tells Tim he is going to re-enlist. Tim disapproves, but he knows he cannot change Sam’s mind.

Tim and his mother hear news that his father has died on a prison ship. Tim becomes the man of the house. It is just him and his mother now. He has to decide what to do with eight cows him and his mother have received for paying the tavern goods. He thinks they should sell them for profit money, but he doesn’t know what to do. Sam tells Tim to get the meat and hide it before cattle theft, but Tim isn’t sure. Eventually, two men take the cattle, but when Sam runs out to stop them, he is framed for cattle theft. General Putman is going to kill Sam for what he has done, even though he is innocent. Tim and his mother talk to the Rebel officers, but they don’t listen.

Gretchen Husky Pawper News Reporter

[|Click Here] __The Giver__ By: Lois Lowry

Jonas was in a perfect world, a utopia. There was no pain, the elders tried to make it where everyone was the same, and there was no emotion. At the Ceremony of the Twelves, his job is to be the Receiver of the Memory. He can’t have medications for his job, he can’t try to be released, he can’t tell anyone about what happens in his job, and he can lie. He gets trained by the Giver. The Giver puts memories from before there was sameness.

[[image:the_giver.jpg align="right" caption="The Giver book"]]
Jonas’ family gets a little boy named Gabe to live with them. Since his father’s job is to take care of the new borns, the elders weren’t sure if Gabe was healthy enough to live in the community so he lives with Jonas’ family till they are sure if Gabe is healthy enough. Jonas and Gabe become really close.

Jonas learns about a lot of things. He learns about pain and suffering, and he learns about love and joy. But, no one in Jonas’ community feels pain and suffering so they don’t know the joy and happiness of life, and they don’t know about love and emotion so they can’t love him back. He realizes his community is all blank and that they can’t make their own choices and let everybody choose for them.

Jonas and the Giver become really close. Jonas doesn’t like how the community is and gets frustrated with it. He thinks the community should let the people choose things, have feelings, have different weather like snow, and see colors. Jonas decides that he is going to run away. The Giver prepares him for when he has to go. But, Jonas has to leave early and takes Gabe with him.

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[[image:outsiders.jpg align="right" caption="The Outsiders book"]]
= = __The Outsiders__ By: S. E. Hinton

Ponyboy, Sodapop, and Darry are three brothers who are in a group of poor teenage boys called the greasers. They all have hard lives and are always angry and unforgiving. They often fight with the socs. The socs are rich and wealthy. Ponyboy, the youngest, is shy, he makes good grades and likes to read and write. Sodapop, the middle child, is usually happy and is handsome. Darry, the oldest, takes care of the family (their parents died in a car crash). Dally and Johnny are also in the gang called the greasers. Dally is the oldest out of the greasers. He is the toughest too and likes to be a criminal. Johnny is shyer than Ponyboy. His parents abuse him and so he gets scared really easily. Johnny, Ponyboy, and Dally met two pretty girls, Cherry and Marcia. Ponyboy and Cherry are alike and have a good conversation. After awhile, they all run into the girl’s boyfriend, Bob. Ponyboy gets home really late. He and Darry get in this big fight and Ponyboy goes to the park with Johnny. They see Bob and his gang and they get into a huge fight. Bob tries to drown Ponyboy and Johnny stabs him to death.

Both of the boys try to run from the law so they don’t get in trouble. They go find Dally because they know he knows what they should do. Dally tells them to go to the old church and that he will send food to them and that he will get them when he thinks it’s safe. So they stay there for about a week or so.

When Dally comes to get them, Ponyboy and Johnny want to turn themselves in. But, the church catches fire and several small children get caught in it. The boys go and save the children. A piece of wood falls on Johnny’s back and breaks it. The boys go to the hospital. Ponyboy only had to stay a short time in the hospital. There is a huge fight between the greasers and the socs. The greasers win, but Johnny isn’t okay. He is still in the hospital. Read the book to find out what happens next.

Gretchen Husky Pawper News Reporter

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__The Anybodies__ By: N.E. Bode

Fern Drudger is trapped in world of dullness. Her parents are nothing like her. They only like toasters, sponges, and refrigerator magnets. Her parents say she has an "overactive dysfunction" (an imagination). Fern knows her and her parents are different.

One day Mary Curtain, the nurse who delivered her comes to her door in tears with the Bone (her real father). She said she’s made a horrible mistake. The nurse says she’s been switched at birth with a boy named Howard. They decide that they are going to swap their kids to see if they like it. So the Bone takes Fern and Howard stays with the Drudgers. Fern gets into the Bone’s old junk car with an adventure ahead for them.

Fern realizes that her summer is going to be nothing dull like it used to be. When she gets in the car, the Bone explains to her that he needs her help. He needs her to help him find the book, __The Art of Being an Anybody.__ He explains to her about the Miser and her mother and the Great Realdo (the best anybody ever). He tells her how her mother was an anybody. Anybodies are people who can hypnotize people into thinking they are different kinds of people and transform themselves into being different kinds of people too. But, her mother died when Fern was born. The Miser is a man that used to hang out with the Bone and Ferns mother, they were all best friends. When the Bone and Fern’s mother got married though, the Miser got mad. He got the Bone sent to jail. And now since they are trying to find the book, the Miser is trying to find it too.

Gretchen Husky Pawper News Reporter

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If you have any requests or questions, e-mail me at: gretchenlovesyou@gaggle.net