Cliffside Park Public Library

Title: Bud, Not Buddy

Author: Christopher Paul Curtis

Stars: 5

This book is about a kid, Bud, who is an orphan and goes on a great adventure - searching for his father during the Great Depression. Since Bud was a little kid, he had an idea that he knew who his dad was even though he never saw him! So, after Bud escapes from a horrible foster home, he goes on a state-wide journey to find his dad.

I would recommend this book to all my friends, because the story was very exciting all the way through! Bud decides to go and find his father, and nothing can stop him, not even fear or hunger. Sincerely, this is one of the best books I've ever read. Truly, a lovely story. The book dragged out for me at times but it was fantastic!

Y.D. Grade 8

Title: Keep Holding On

Author: Susane Colasanti

Stars: 5

This book is about a girl named Noelle who was being bullied ferociously all the time by a horrible group. She is very poor and her mom doesn’t care about her. Noelle is very tough, even though she is getting tortured on the inside. Even though she thinks that her school life is hopeless, she finds a few meaningful and true friends, advocates for herself and eventually finishes her school year really well.

I would recommend this book to anyone. I think the book was great. The main character could be really inspirational. This realistic novel is a deep story that will motivate readers to stay strong and never give up. 

Y.D. Grade 8

Title: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Author: John Boyne

Stars: 5

This book is about a little boy named Bruno, who had to move with his father, a German commander, and the rest of his family, during World War II. They moved to a place far away from his home, in Poland that Bruno calls “Out-With” (Auschwitz). In his new house, Bruno was completely isolated from the rest of the world, but he found a small window that let him see from the distance a large area with tiny cabins and many people dressed in what he believed were striped pajamas. One day, Bruno went to explore and met a Jewish boy, Shmuel, on the other side of the fence, wearing striped pajamas. They become best friends. I won’t reveal the end of the story. I would like only to say that the end will present two different perspectives of the same tragedy - one from a boy living outside of the concentration camp and one from a boy trapped within it.

The plot is written very well, with the climax being right at the end, and a steep fall from climax to ending. This historical fiction was a quick read for me because it was so interesting. Highly recommendable and very powerful.

Y.D. Grade 8

Title:  Jackpot

Author: Nic Stone

Stars: 4

This book is about a girl named Rico who is poor and lives in a bad neighborhood and she doesn’t have many friends. Rico works at a gas station and she sells two lottery tickets on Christmas to an old lady. But, the old lady gave one of them to her. Rico came home to her brother and mother and saw that the winning ticket is the one she sold to the little old lady! So, Rico goes on a wild goose chase to find the old lady.

The characters in the book were really good. Rico is street smart. Alexander, “Zan”, is also very smart and has charm. The plot was exciting; I was not expecting that ending at all! The story was really thrilling all the way through and it was also a pretty quick read. The book is a genre that I like - kids’ fiction.

Y.D. Grade 8

Title: Liar, Liar

Author: Gary Paulsen

Stars: 4

“Liar, Liar” is a book about a boy named Kevin who claims being amazing at lying and throughout this story, he explains his lying tactics. Kevin wants to date a girl named Tina, and he tries everything, including lying, to get in the same classes with her and to get to know her more. He finds himself constantly in some kind of trouble with his friends, family, and teachers. Kevin is very funny and provides his two cents on everything he does.

The plot was very funny and predictable. The book was exciting all the way through. I have read books like this one before, and this one ranks well among them. It was a quick read for me. I would recommend this book to my friends who like to read any books because who doesn’t love funny books? 

Y.D. Grade 8

Title: The Old Man and the Sea

Author: Ernest Hemingway

Stars: 4

The novel “The Old Man and the Sea” is about an old man, who is good friends with a boy called Manolin. Both are fishermen in a town near Havana, Cuba. Old Cuban fisherman, Santiago, is a teacher to the boy, who cherishes the old man very much. Santiago goes out fishing everyday, but he has not caught a fish for 84 days and, finally, he catches a huge fish. With all his great experience and might, Santiago struggles with the fish. The fish drags his boat, holding him at sea for a long time. Santiago shows his strength and resilience as he stays with the fish for three days and three nights!

The characters of the book are amazing; the old man is showing resilience and amazing discipline and the boy is very loyal. The plot inspired me to be tougher. The book dragged out for me. It was kind of a tough read as this novel was something new for me, and it prompted me to read more like it. I would recommend this novel to my friends who like reading fiction.   

Y.D. Grade 8

Title: Ghost

Author: Jason Reynolds

Stars: 5

“Ghost” is about a boy, Castle, (his nickname is Ghost), who is growing up in a rough neighborhood. He’s had a tough life in general. Ghost is a great character. He gets in fights a lot because kids tease him about where he lives and that he’s poor. Ghost, finally, finds something to do instead of going home and being bored: a track team. At first, he’s disgusted by the idea, then it grows on him and he joins the team. The rest of the book is about his time with the track team. 

I would recommend this great book to a friend as the plot of this story had me in love from the first page. I knew it was going to be a good book and the characters were really nice. Castle Crenshaw! Ghost was a quick read for me. I give 5 stars for this story! 

Y.D. Grade 8

Title: Animal Farm

Author: George Orwell

Stars: 4

Animal Farm is a book about animals that live on a farm and the farm owner, Mr. Jones, is irresponsible. The animals don't like Mr. Jones so they start a revolution and kick him out of his farm. They make a type of government named "Animalism" and they make the farm more fair to the animals. They hope to create equality, freedom and happiness for all. But the pigs who were in charge took advantage of the other animals. A pig named "Napoleon" was the most corrupt and wanted to keep everything for himself. Animal Farm is based off of the Russian Revolution and the characters are represented by animals and people that lived on farms. 

I would recommend this book to a friend because it is interesting and easy to read. I don't like how the characters are portrayed as animals because it makes the book have a lot of inaccuracies. It is an allegorical novella which is a new genre for me and I think it’s an okay genre. The book was exciting and fun to read. The only thing I really didn't like was how the book ends on a cliffhanger. 

T.H. Grade 8

Title: The Gathering Blue

Author: Lois Lowry

Stars: 5

This book is about a girl named Kira who was born with a twisted leg. She lives in a primitive society where people who can't work will die. Kira thought that her deformed leg would send her to the field: a place where dead, deformed, and seriously injured people are taken to die. Kira's mom refused to kill Kira but when her mom dies of an unknown illness, Kira needs to be judged by the Council of Guardians (their government) to see if she will die in the field or live in the society. But she is saved by her skill of embroidery (weaving patterns in cloth).

I would recommend this book to a friend because it is exciting and an interesting book to read. It was a quick read and it is connected to Lowry’s book- The Giver - which was an interesting book I liked. The book made me want to read more books like it because it was well written and I enjoyed reading it. I liked the plot of this book because it made you want to continue reading and had a lot of suspense.

T.H. Grade 8

Title: Where the Red Fern Grows

Author: Wilson Rawls

Stars: 5

"Where the Red Fern Grows" is a story about Billy's adventures with the dogs. Billy really wants to have two dogs. He saved enough money to get Old Dan and Little Ann by himself and trained them to be amazing hunting dogs. But tragedy happened and Billy needed to learn how to recover. .

I liked the characters; the family was very polite and nice to each other. The plot was amazing, it’s good for anyone. The setting is in the Ozarks and the author describes it very well. The book was exciting, and it was a quick read for me because I like it so much. I have read books about kids, and this one is one of the best.

Y.D. Grade 7

Title: The Rookie Bookie

Author: L. Jon Wertheim and Tobias Moskowitz

Stars: 4

The Rookie Bookie is a book about Mitch, a kid who loves sports, stats, and business. Mitch isn’t too good at making friends, because everyone thinks he’s weird as he likes this stuff. Even though Mitch likes sports, he isn’t good at them at all. He meets a girl (not his girlfriend as he’s pointed out viciously about 10 times in the book) and they hit it off from the beginning as they both love sports.

The plot was a little boring and slow, but I liked the book. The setting was in Indiana. It was a nice place to set the book in. The book wasn’t exactly exciting but it was a good one. The characters were detailed and very vivid, thanks to the author. This book was a very quick read for me. I love comedy and sports books. This one matches those interests perfectly.

Y.D. Grade 7

Title: Scrawl

Author: Mark Shulman

Stars: 4

This book is about Tod Munn, a bully, whose obligation in detention is to write what’s happening in his life over the course of two months. Life is good for him the first few weeks (or is it?), but then his usual money suppliers and targets stop giving him money and things of that sort. An act of vandalism lands him in detention, where Tod has to write in a journal. This reveals to the reader what goes on in Tod’s home life. He is funny, provides comical insight on anything and everything. In this tale of redemption, Tod’s detention sentence gives him a chance to figure out who he really is. 

Tod Munn, the main character, always sticks to his guns. The others, well, they’re backstabbing crooks only caring about themselves. The plot is above average, especially at the end (isn’t that how a book works anyway?). The setting isn’t identified, but it was a run-down neighborhood with hardship. For me, this book was a quick read, clocking out at about 230 pages. This book is from a genre that everyone loves, a funny lighthearted book and it ranks very highly on my list of funny books.

Y.D. Grade 7

Title: The Outsiders

Author: S.E. Hinton

Stars: 5

This book is about two rival groups of young adults that live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They come from different socioeconomic backgrounds. The "Greasers" are poorer and the "Socs" are wealthier.  The main character is "Greaser" Pony Boy. He lives with his two older brothers, having lost their parents in an accident. They are constantly attacked by the "Socs" for no reason. They end up in a fight with the "Socs" and a member of the "Socs" was killed in this fight. This event forced Pony Boy, his good friend Johnny and their "Greaser" group to go into hiding. I would recommend this book to a friend. The characters were interesting, as were their backstories. This book was exciting. It was a quick read and had an interesting plot. The book gives you an idea about some young adults’ lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the sixties.

T.H. Grade 8

Title: Treasure Island

Author: Robert Louis Stevenson

Stars: 5

This book is about a teenager, Jim Hawkins, who is going on a pure pirate adventure with sailors to an island that supposedly has a treasure. Jim is the center of all action and he encounters mutiny and a lot of bad people. He also finds some good people and some bad people that turned into good ones. All of Jim’s adventures are very stressful and very exciting.

The plot is straightforward, with a few bumps but mostly straightforward, predictable. Many characters are very obnoxious, cruel and very, very selfish. The setting is cool. Robert Louis Stevenson described it very colorfully, vividly and made everything sound better than it probably was. This book definitely dragged out for me, but that could be because the pages were huge! I love adventure books and I would recommend the novel to anyone who likes an adventure and characters that have fired the imaginations!

Y.D. Grade 7

Title: Stormbreaker (Alex Rider Series)

Author: Anthony Horowitz

Stars: 5

This book is about a 14 year old boy who lives in England. His parents passed away and he lives with his uncle. When Alex's Uncle Ian died, the police told Alex that his uncle died in a car crash. Alex knows that they lied to him because of the bullet holes in his uncle's car. When Alex gets the news that his uncle was a spy for MI-6, which is Britain's top secret intelligence agency, he is shocked. He is recruited by MI-6 to find the people responsible for his uncle's death and complete his uncle's last mission.  I would recommend this book to a friend because it is an exciting book with a lot of action and suspense. The characters are interesting, relatable and likable. This book is a quick read for me because of the action and cliffhangers. This book is an interesting genre for teenagers and adults. I liked the plot because it is very detailed and grabs your attention.

T.H. Grade 8

Title: Wonder

Author: R.J. Palacio

Stars: 5

This book is about a kid named Auggie. Auggie was previously home schooled and was nervous to start regular school at 5th grade. Auggie had many surgeries when he was little to help him survive and they left him with facial scars. When he arrives at school he meets a kid named Jack. Jack and Auggie become best friends, but a kid name Julian bullies Auggie. I would recommend this book to a friend because it is exciting and has a very good plot. It is from a good genre (fiction) and was a quick read. I liked the setting because it can be relatable for kids. This book had interesting characters with detailed back stories. It also teaches empathy and compassion. This book made me want to read more titles like it.

T.H. Grade 8

Title: Black Radishes

Author: Susan Lynn Meyer

Stars: 5

This book is about a Jewish kid in France during WWII named Gustave. He has to move from Paris to the southern countryside to escape the Nazis. He meets someone that works with the French resistance and helps them even though it is dangerous. After all, it was already dangerous to be Jewish and come back from Nazi controlled France. I would recommend this book to a friend because it was easy to read and interesting. It was a quick read and had a interesting plot and characters. The book was exciting and a new genre for me. 

T.H. Grade 8