Sherwood High School

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The Revenge of the Witch , from the series "The Last Apprentice", by Joseph Delaney.
Book reviewed by Johnathan Washington, Grade 12.
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: Five Stars (Highest Rating)
Comments: I thought this book was excellently written, well worded, and was very exciting to read. I also would read the next book.

 

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, by Charles C. Mann.
Book reviewed by Mr. Reiff, Sherwood High School Library Media Specialist.
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: Five Stars (Highest Rating)
Comments: Many of us were taught growing up that there were few Native Americans living in North, Central and South America when Europeans arrived, that they were primitive people, and that they lived in idyllic harmony with nature. In this book, Mr. Mann examines the writings of many archeologists, anthropologists, and others who have theorized about the pre-1492 Indians of the Western Hemisphere. He shows that these ancient Indians were probably much more populous than we have been taught they were, that they have been around a much longer time than originally thought, and that they actively changed and shaped their environment to a far greater degree than most have imagined. Besides offering many revealing facts about these peoples, this book demonstrates how important it is and always will be to always have scholarly writing in society. The author shows how earlier writers had some things right, some things wrong, and he pulls the facts together in a meaningful way so readers can gain a much clearer, and especially, more correct, understanding of the Native American cultures that existed before Columbus' discovery forever changed their existence.

 

Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld
Book reviewed by Gloria, Grade 10
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 5 Stars (Highest Rating)
Comments: The story is about a girl named Tally Youngblood. She meets a girl named Shay and becomes 16. Their friendship is shortlived, however. At the time a citizen turns 16, he or she must undergo an operation to become pretty. Shay runs away because of this. When Tally is about to do her operation, Special Circumstances comes in and says that she must turn in Shay in order to be pretty. Will she do it or not? This story takes place in an un-named city. The theme is friendship, and difficult choices, because Tally must make the choice of turning in Shay. The characters are Tally, Shay, her friend David, and the evil Dr. Cable. I think this is a really good book. It gives us an idea about the future and it also teaches us about friendship.

 

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
Book reviewed by Natalie, Grade 9
Genre: Vampire Romance
Rating: 5 Stars (Highest Rating)
Comments: Bella Swan is new at the high school in Folks. Everyone is friendly to her except for one guy, Edward Cullen. He sits at a table with his adopted family and they never socialize with anyone. No one bothers to try and get to know them because they are too odd. They are unhumanly gorgeous. They never eat their lunch. And Edward has a mysterious talent of appearing out of nowhere (which comes in handy when saving clumsy Bella). Unexpectedly, Bella finds herself falling in love with the curious Edward. When Bella finds out his secret, she finds her life is turned upside down.
This book is a romance novel with a really big twist. Even though I would not normally read this kind of romance book, I found myself unable to pull my nose out of it. The suspense was incredible and I felt as though I was in the book witnessing the whole tale.
This book is a must read for anyone with even a slight interest in romance. I do not think I can compliment it enough. The following books in the series, "New Moon" and "Eclipse" are also excellet books that continue the tale of Bella Swan and mix up her life even more.

 

First Test, by Tamora Pierce
Book reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 9
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5 Stars (Highest Rating)
Comments: This book is a book that shows how women can convince society of how capable they are of doing things. In this book the setting takes place in the medieval times and Keladry (main character) is the second lady knight. She shows the characters in the book how she is equal to or better than men. With her great work in being a page (first step to being a knight is being a page- 4 years) she makes many guy friends and helps overcome the bullying happening with the elder pages. Keladry begins to fall in love with one of her friends and also must overcome the many obstacles women have to face in their life. Will she be able to overcome the many obstacles of being a page? I got hooked to this book with its mix of themes and enticing journey of a woman. Also read the next three books to find out about her journey of being a squire (next step in preparing to being a Knight) and being a Knight.

 

Alanna, by Tamora Pierce
Book reviewed by Zorinda, Grade 9
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5 Stars (Highest Rating)
Comments: This book is very suspenseful and encourages the fact that if you try hard enough you can succeed. Alanna is a girl who pretends to be a boy (medieval times) and trains to become a knight. She has lots of friends, but is proven a little weaker than the others. She trains hard and finally proves herself worthy. She inspires me because she created her own little revolution against the laws of only men being able to be knights.

 

Do You Know the Monkey Man?, by Dori Hillestad Butler
Book reviewed by Mariela, Grade 11
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 5 Stars (Highest Rating)
Comments: This is a novel about a little girl who wants to find her sister and she isn't sure if she is alive or dead.