Entries Categorized as 'Review'
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Advanced Readers, Fiction, Incredibook!, Review
Tags:atheism, Bryan Davis, contemporary, joy, Sad
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Two fathers, one an atheist, the other a former pastor, must deal with the reality of death. This book explores how they respond to suffering, and how each of them is ministered to by a young girl’s passionate faith in God.
The story contained within these pages will not fail to move you. As Bryan Davis brings this touching narrative to a close, you will be hard put to keep your eyes from brimming with tears of sadness and joy. Curl up with this powerful book and discover why the angels dance — and come away with a desire to make them dance again.
Posted by Sarah
Categories: Adventure, All Ages, Historical Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Horses, Joanne Williamson
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After the death of his father, Uriah the Hittite journeys from his hometown and eventually comes to the hill country, where Barak and Deborah are mustering the tribes of Israel to fight against Sisera.
I was assigned to read this book for school. It was interesting enough to keep me reading, but it didn’t really grip me. Parts of it seemed a bit cliché, and the author seems to favor blatant foreshadowing. I categorized this book as all ages, but I would suggest using discretion as there is a lot of pagan gods and such in the story. Overall a relatively interesting book, but I think it could have been better.
Posted by Becca
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Arthur C. Bartlett, Bootleggers, Dogs, Good Read Aloud, Out of Print, Sled dogs
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More than anything, 16-year-old Peter Riggett wants to be considered a man, so he finds it an affront to his pride when his father won’t let him a buy a very good sled dog that was offered at a ridiculously cheap price. Mr. Riggett had good reason to be suspicious of the seller’s honesty, but he fails to tell Peter his reasons. Peter, frustrated by what he sees as unfair treatment by his father, runs away from home. Too proud, and secretly too ashamed, to go back home, Peter joins a group of men, finding out later that the men are rum-runners. Peter is finally thrown out of the group when he stands up to the leader, who is the man who tried to sell Peter the dog earlier. Feeling that he must redeem himself for his past actions, Peter joins two police officers and another man named Pewee Ledoux in the hopes of catching the gang he has just escaped.
There is much more to this book than can be put into a summary. It would make a good read-aloud, though some characters talk in broken English mixed with the occasional French that could be difficult to read out loud. The Runaway Dog Team is written in an late 1920s style, so there are a few places where the author gets a little wordy. Other than that, this is a great story of a self-centered boy learning to dump his pride and finding what it really means to grow to manhood.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Award Winner, imagination, Katharine Paterson, Quick Read, Sad
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Jess is surprised when Leslie, the new girl at his school, chooses him as her only friend. However, he is soon very happy to have met somebody who actually cares about his hobby of drawing and understands him. Together they “discover” the imaginary land of Terabithia and retreat there from all their problems. But how long can it last?
I found this one intriguing. It starts out as a slice-of-life story and a neat one at that. But about halfway through, with hardly any foreshadowing, the plot takes a turn you won’t expect (unless, like me, you had it ruined for you ahead of time). There’s definitely room for lots of discussion about the ending, which strikes me as sad for reasons the author didn’t quite intend.
Posted by Ruth
Categories: Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Animals, Gene Stratton-Porter, Limberlost
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Abandoned, crippled, and bearing no more of a name than “Freckles,” a young man takes upon himself the job of guarding the Limberlost forest. It’s a big task, requiring courage and stamina, but Mr. McLean, the boss of the lumber company, consents to give him a chance. During his work in the months to come, Freckles befriends the bird woman, an avid photographer, and he meets a beautiful girl whom he calls his swamp angel. But Black Jack the timber thief has his eye on several of the most valuable trees, and he will stop at nothing to steal them.
This is really quite a good book, and I’m afraid it gets overlooked more often than not. I love following Freckles’ journey as he learns to love the forest and the creatures that live there, and all the events which come about through his time there. Written in an older style (all the chapters are titled “In Which…”) but not short on adventure, Freckles is well worth reading. Give it a try, and prepare to be swept off to the Limberlost.
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