The Alchemyst: the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

First of all, Nicholas is pronounced NICK-oh-la not the other way, like Nicholas in kindergarten. The Alchemyst is about two people, Sophie and Josh. They accidentally stumble upon two ancient magicians battling over an ancient book. 

I can really relate to this book because it takes place in San Francisco and Mill Valley. (Woo-hoo!) This made me think about a lot of stuff. For example, Nicholas Flamel was so old that he knew William Shakespeare. In fact, he used the antagonist's characteristics for Prospero in the Tempest! 

 

The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch

The Last Apprentice Revenge of the Witch is the best "ghosty-ooh-scary-monster-flesh-ripping-evil-crazy" book that I've ever read .  A lot of those pointlessly scary violent books are just stupid and I'm just left there thinking, "Why did I just waste my time reading a pointlessly scary violent book that gave me nightmares and I didn't even give a darn. What the HECK!?" I sure have felt that way before. And then I think, "Why did I even keep reading it in the first place?"

But in Revenge of the Witch it's more like, "Ooh, scary, but what detail! I can actually pay a good amount of attention so that when people ask me 'Hey, have you read The Last Apprentice Revenge of the Witch? Cool! Did you like it?' I can say, ' Yeah, and I liked it so much that I didn't dunk my head in bucket of nails like I did the last time I read a really stupid scary violent book!' "

Human Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy

This book by Christopher Hart is an awesome book for people learning to draw realistically. Christopher Hart is a very flowing artist. He has a very wide variation of art from Manga to very detailed sophisticated art books. It's really fun drawing with his book in hand. It is helpful, and now I can draw better noses and man lips. I was always thinking " How long does it take him to draw this stuff ? ". ( Probably longer than whatever I guess ).

Eager

 EGR3 is a robot who was recently designed by a famous scientist, Dr. Ogden. He sends him to a family called the Bells who are very  old-fashioned and in need of a new robot to help out Grumps, their confused butler. I found this book interesting because the funny thing about EGR3 is that he can learn. Grumps is just a robot that's programmed to do whatever the Bell family wants him to do. That's why they named him Eager. Eager to learn, eager to help, eager to meet you. Most robots have to live by the robot laws like never hurt a human. But Eager is allowed to think himself and make his own choices. I thought of him as an infant born knowing how to think and walk. I also never knew that Eager was the first to a trilogy. It is one of my top  five books. It goes: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (Avi) , City of Light, City of Dark (Avi), 101 Ways to Bug Your Teacher (Lee Wardlaw) , 101 Ways to Bug You Parents (Lee Wardlaw), and then Eager (Helena Fox). I would rate this book an 8. 

His Dark Materials

His Dark Materials are the most confusing, scariest, saddest, weirdest, coolest, most magical books I have ever read. It's very weird to think about everyone having their soul outside of their body. Then, you think it's weird to meet someone that's normal. How strange is that? What I also think is really cool is that every magic thing I had heard about that was magic was in there. right now I am about 100 pages to finishing the Amber Spyglass, (the third book in the series) and I'm thinking about putting the book down. I'm really not enjoying it as much as I could if I understood it. I also wouldn't want to have someone with my same problem. So all those His Dark Materials readers: hold off on the Amber Spyglass unless you want it to be at it's best.                                           

this is for week of december 2nd

Strange Happenings

Strange Happenings is a five-part story by one of the best authors, Avi, who is well known for books like The true Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, City of light, City of Dark, and Pinky and Rye. (series). At times I found the book stupid, at certain points I found it depressing, and at times I found it good. I would rate Bored Tom a 3, Babette the Beautiful a 6+, Curious a 3+, the Shoemaker and the Old Scratch a 7-, and Simon an 8. Overall, this book was a 6-.

The Amber Spyglass

I am reading the Amber Spyglass, the epic conclusion to His Dark Materials, a trilogy about a girl named Lyra, and a boy named Will. It has a complicated story line, 

but most fifth graders could figure it out. I thought that the first book, the Golden Compass and this book were about the same rating, around 7+, which is good... but definitely very complicated and you HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION! If not, you will most likely lose your spot in your head. (I've had that and it is not fun, trust me). This a very interesting trilogy for ages 10 and over,

                                                  

And for all those Harry Potter readers, read this next.              

The Subtle Knife

I am reading the Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman. It is an interesting and complicated story from the series His Dark Materials, which includes the Golden Compass, another great book by Philip Pullman. The Subtle Knife is about a girl named Lyra, and a boy named Will, but Will is basically the main character, I think. The Subtle Knife is a magical blade that can cut through dimensions. But the point of the Subtle Knife to me was very complicated. I didn't know why the other bearers were chosen to carry the knife, and you don't even know why Will even is. I have many questions, even though I'm finished! This book, and His Dark Materials in general, would be an 8+.  

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

My name is Griffin Musser and I am reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
It's the best and saddest book.
I like it because I feel connected to it. I feel connected to it because I love books about action and magic. I also feel connected to it because it's also about life. The main character is Harry Potter, his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger. There's a mysterious Half-Blood Prince who is helping Harry in potions study, and giving him a list of made up spells.But the Prince is ruining Harry, Ron, and Hermoine's relationship. Also, it is very mysterious. Watch out for Snape.