Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

It all starts off with Jeremy receiving a mysterious package containing a box from his dead father; it was delivered by his dad's friend. Engraved on the bottom of the box it says to be opened on Jeremy's 13th Birthday and that it contains the meaning of life. The box is locked, but the keys are not included.

Jeremy and his best friend, Lizzy, go through many obstacles to find four keys to open the box. During their adventures they get into a little trouble and are served community service as punishment. They must help a man by the name of Mr. Oswald transfer pawned items from his possession to the rightful owners. The two meet many interesting people and situations along the way.

This is a book with many twists and turns. In order to not give away all the secrets and fun this book holds, I will leave you with encouragement to read Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass.

I give this book 10 Bananas!

A Mango Shaped Space

Mia has always been a little bit different. How may you ask? She sees colors for every letter. Not in her head but every where she goes. If she reads a book, she'll see colors instead of black and white paper. When somebody talks, Mia will have a color for every letter in her head. If she hears something, geometric shapes will appear all around her and absorb her with colors and shapes everywhere.

Mia has always thought since she was a little girl that every one sees colors and shapes like her, until third grade she found out nobody else did. Her parents just found out about Mia and she is now in seventh grade.

Things have gotten worse. She finds out that she has a disease that nobody has heard of, and people start treating her differently at school. They ask her what color their names are and tell her she should be put in a class for special kids. To top it off she has trouble in math and gets horrible grades. All because of this her best friend starts to fade away from her.

Can Mia resolve this color seeing? Will she and her friend come back together? Will Mia start to be treated like a normal human? Find out by reading A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass.

I give this book 8 Bananas!

The Mysterious Benedict Society

This book starts off with an interesting ad in the paper stating that if you are gifted that you should come test for special opportunities. So many kids come and they find out that the test is harder than they had thought. And it is not just one test, it is three tests.

Once the tests were finally over four kids had passed the test. The four kids were introduced to a man named Mr. Benedict. He sent them off to an institute to investigate on a mysterious man named Mr. Curtain. He was taking kids thoughts an programming them all over the world and making people irritated. The kids get all caught up in trying not to be caught as spies, and trying to act like normal kids who come for learning in this gifted program. That was not as easy as they had thought.

They come across many obstacles and close calls. A thrilling book that I dare you to put down. It is full of mystery, suspense, and things that are not normal in the real world.

Do the kids make it out alive from the institute? Can they help out Mr. Benedict? Can Mr. Benedict and the children stop Mr. Curtain? Read The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart to find out.

I give this book 10 Bananas!!

Once Upon a Marigold #1 and #2

Once Upon a Marigold: Christopher is a young prince boy unloved. So on a walk he ran away to then encounter a troll named Ed. He lived with him in his beautiful cave for years. Chris (Ed later finds out) is head over heals for Princess Marigold. He watches her through his telescope all the time. When he grew up Ed let him go out to find a job. He finds his job at the castle to find out the Queen is meaner than he ever expected and that Marigold is in danger and so is the King.
Does Marigold and the king escape the danger? Will Chris and Marigold get together? Read Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris to find out.

Twice Upon a Marigold: Everyone thought that they saw the last of Queen Olympia. They were wrong. She came back even more mad than when she left and King Swithbert is in more danger than he had been. He was accused of something and put in the dungeon to which Marigold and Chris plan something against her and hope with all there heart that it will work and won't get in trouble. Will the plan work? Will Swithbert become safe? Read Twice Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris to find out.

I give this series 10 bananas!!

Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: Danger Over Seas

Nancy Drew: Nancy went to Rome with her two best friends (Bess and George )who happen to be cousins. They all came with Bess and George's Great Aunt. They were expecting a normal vacation without any crimes, but they were wrong. One nice day in Rome Bess got pick pocketed! They caught the theft and got back the wallet but a weird story went with it. The theft had no memory of who she was and how she got to Rome! Can Nancy Drew Figure out this crazy mystery?

The Hardy Boys: Frank and Joe are normal teenage boys but they work for a secret spy agency called ATAC. This time the agency has sent them to Rome as archeologists. The reason why was because there was this young student working at the dig and stole ancient things from the site. And sold them online . He got caught, but the Hardy Boys can't get him to tell if anyone was in on it with him. They suspected his girl friend Caitlin. So they boys are to find out who was in on it and if possible find Caitlin. Can they solve this unsolved mystery?

Read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: Danger Over Seas by Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon to find out.

I give this book 9 bananas.
(Mild violence)

Nancy Drew Mystery Triology

Book 1 Secret Identity: Nancy Drew just came back from a recent case in N.Y when a girl was being harassed online on a new virtual game called BetterLife and off line too! On the game kids were writing nasty e-mails to her and doing horrible things to her virtual character. Then when she goes to school people are mean to her. She even stayed home a couple of times. So in order to stop the madness Nancy has to build her own character.

Can Nancy get to the bottom of this and stop it? Who is behind all of this? And why would they want to harass this girl? Read Secret Identity by Carolyne Keene to find out!

Book 2 Identity Theft: Right after the first case was solved Nancy started getting bad e-mails! Someone had hacked into her account and made her character say some really bad things to her friend. People were making characters that looked like people she knew so she would go somewhere but was being tricked. And people were pretending to be her friends. It was horrible!!!!

Who is behind all of this and why would they do this to Nancy? Read Identity Theft by Carolyn Keene to find out!

Book 3 Identity Reveled: Now that Nancy found out who was behind some of the harassing she still did not know who was hacking into her account. Now the person has put her dads case files on line for every one to see. Also the person is blackmailing her friends to do things to her. Even her boyfriend. In the end the person who is behind all of this is no one you would expect!

Read Identity Reveled by Carolyn Keene to find out!

I give this Series 10 Bananas!

The Cupid Chronicles

The main characters beloved library is being closed down for no reason. So she and her friends decide to help raise money to save the library by mostly holding dances. Throughout the book Willa and her friends face challenges. It might be getting harder, but Willa will not give up.

What challenges do they face? Do they save the library?

Read The Cupid Chronicles by Coleen Murtagh Paratore to find out!

I give this book 4 bananas.

The Winning Stroke

It all starts when Jerry was playing baseball. He slid into base when a huge outfielder landed on his leg and broke it. Jerry was in a cast for forever, so he could not play baseball for a long time either! His rehab teacher suggested to do swimming to help his leg heal. Jerry reluctantly said he would.

After doing his 30min exercises he left the pool but then he saw the swim team and thought it would be fun to watch. Later that week he started to watch even more! He started practicing with the team. The coach said he was really good with his crawl stroke. So he started thinking about joining the team.

Will he join? If he does join, how will he do?

Read The Winning Stroke by Matt Christopher to find out.

I give this book 7 bananas.

Every Soul a Star

This book showcases three kids each with their own personality. Ally,Bree, and Jack. They all come to one place to see the most amazing thing they have ever seen. A full eclipse. Here is a little bit about their adventure.

Ally: Ally lives with her Mom, Dad, and brother on a star campsite where people come to camp out and star gaze and look at space. It is a very busy place, but when the eclipse viewers come, it becomes more busy than ever!

Bree: A very pretty girl who has very smart space genius parents and sister. She has always wanted to be a model and never wanted to leave civilization. But that all changes when they move to a place where she thought she would never survive at all.

Jack: He is not the best student in school, so he has to go to summer school. Then his teacher calls him saying that if he wants to get out of summer school, he can go with him to see an eclipse and help him with a project.

How will the eclipse go? Will Bree survive at this place she is moving to? What is the project?

Read Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass to find out!

I give this book 10 bananas!

Hooray!

I'm back!! I am peeled from my banana cover and ready to write my reviews! Summer break is just around the corner, so I promise that I will definitely have spare time over the summer to give you more frequent reviews. Also, I will be reading a lot this summer because I am doing a reading program through my community library that will keep me reading all summer long! I am so excited!!

If you want to keep up to date on my blog posts, I welcome you to be a Follower of my blog!! I would enjoy that!

Thanks for hanging around my banana tree while you waited for me to get back!

Happy Reading!!

Indian in the Cupboard

Can you imagine waking up on your the day after your birthday to find your favorite present is now alive? This is exactly what happened to the main character, Omri, in this book. He put the toy Indian in a cupboard that his brother gave him for his birthday. He locked the cupboard before going to bed, and some how every thing that was in the cupboard came alive. The Indian was very small, but very big with heart and brains.

Omri was very surprised that such a small person who was from a toy, could be as smart as a real Indian. He had fun watching the Indian make log houses out of other toys, and Omri made things for him too. He was having so much fun! But eventually, he and his friend got too carried away and things started to happen that were not so good.

What went wrong? What could the boys have done that turned the excitement into something bad? Will they be able to change their ways?

Read Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks to find out.

I give this book 7 bananas!

Once Upon a Curse

This is book #3 in the series of the Frog Princess (which is book #1 and Dragon's Breath is #2, but I have not read that one). Emma is now on another mission to reverse the curse set upon her family a long time ago. She wants to go to her Aunt, but that is difficult because her Aunt touched a flower and became evil.

She decides to find a way to go back in time when the curse was set. She wants to find out who gave the curse and what they said; and possibly find a way to reverse the curse herself. Her lovely prince decides to go with her along with her best friend, a bat named Lil.

The three go through an amazing adventure together meeting up with her relatives and trying to keep the secret that they are from the future. For if they found out, she and her friends could change a lot, and not for the better!

Can they travel far back enough in time? Will they meet the curse maker? Will they be able to find the cure they need to release her Aunt back to good?

Read Once Upon a Curse by E.D. Baker to find out.

I give this book 9 Bananas.

Frog Princess

Once there was a princess named Emma who was not a very graceful princess. Her family was given a curse that when the next girl in their family turned 16, they could not touch another flower or they would become very mean and ugly.

One day, Emma was walking through the woods and came upon a frog who talked to her and said that he was under a spell and needed a princess to kiss him. After a few minutes of debating and thinking, she kissed him. But the curse was not broken, and instead, SHE turned into a frog. She was furious, but the frog said he did not know what it would work out that way. So, the Frog Princess hoped to her Aunt, who was a well known witch, for some advice and help.

What went wrong? Can they reverse the curse? How and what needs to be done to change the princess and prince back to being humans?

Read Frog Princess by E.D. Baker to find out.

I give this book 8 Bananas.

Four Truths and a Lie

Scarlett is the main character of this book and she is sent off to an all-girls boarding school because of the embarrassment that her dad caused her at her other school. Her mother agreed that she could leave and go to a new school where her mom's friend was the principal.

In English class, the teacher assigns Pen Pals to the class of girls from the boys boarding school! Scarlett, boy crazy and all, was very excited until the boy she was assigned to started playing the game she did not like the most; Four Truths and a Lie. In the game, the boy would give her one statement at a time, and she was to figure out if the statement was a truth, or a lie. In the end, there would be four truths, and one lie.

She was playing along, until it started to get dangerous. She was getting into a lot of trouble and the principal warned her that she might have to leave the school. Scarlett began to get very worried and upset why this boy was playing this game with her. She had to find a way to stop.

Can she stop him? What is his motivation? Does Scarlett end up staying at the girls' boarding school? Read Four Truths and a Lie by Lauren Barnholdt to find out.

I give this book 7 Bananas.

Sisters Eight: Books 1-4

In Annie's Adventures (book #1), it all starts. One night on New Year's Eve, Mommy went for Egg Nog and Daddy went for wood for the fire ... and they never came back. The Octuplet girls searched the house and outdoors, but could not find them. But they did find a note in the wall from a stranger that the girls had each a power and gift. The girls had to find out what their gifts and powers were in order to find their parents. Annie starts the series off in an amazing adventure in trying to find her power. What will be her power? How will she find it? Read Annie's Adventures by Lauren Baratz-Logsted to find out.

Now that Annie's power and gifts are known, it is now up to Durinda in Durinda's Dangers (book #2) to have the spotlight. The girls have noticed a creepy neighbor is very mysterious since their parents have disappeared. They suspected that she crept into their house while they were gone one day and they thought she stole something. It is up to Durinda's power to stop the suspicious neighbor. Can they figure out what the neighbor is up to? Can they stop her? Read Durinda's Dangers by Lauren Baratz-Logsted to find out.

In book #3, Georgia's Greatness, the girls get suspicious guest teacher at school. She is very happy and nothing like their mean, old, strict teacher. They practically have recess all day and fun activities throughout. The girls are both excited and curious. One day the girls didn't have any one to pick them up after school, so the teacher offered to take them home. But instead, she captured them and took them to her own house. Who is this mystery guest teacher? And will they get out? It is up to Georgiea's wonderful power to end this craziness. Read Georgia's Greatness by Lauren Baratz-Logsted to find out.

Finally, in book #4, Jackie's Jokes, there is a horrible day that every parent dreads. It is tax day! Some man called the house and wanted to have the taxes turned in right away, because the dad is overdue on his taxes. But because the dad is still missing, the girls in a rush call their best friend, Pete The Mechanic, to help them. It is up to Jackie and her speedy power to help save the day (with Pete's help, of course). How will she save the day? Will they be able to pay the taxes with out being caught? Read Jackie's Jokes by Lauren Baratz-Logsted to find out.

I give this series 9 Bananas.

Main Street #7: Keeping Secrets

In this book Flora, Nicki, Olivia, and Ruby are all sad that their favorite neighbors the Willets moved out. But that all changed when they got their new neighbors. There was a girl, named Willow, that was the same age as Flora, Nicki, Olivia, and a younger brother that was Ruby's age. Willow seemed nice, but there was something about her that just didn't seem right. It felt like she was trying to hide something about her family.

Her mother was acting very weird; she had odd traditions and was not like a normal mother. This confused and sparked the girls' curiosity about Willow. As the story unfolds, many unforeseen events take place. It is a book that will boggle your mind with curiosity and you will not want to put it down.

What is Willow trying to hide? Will the girls ever find out? Will the girls end up being friends with Willow, or are they just too scared?

Read Keeping Secrets by Ann M. Martin to find out these answers.

I give this book 10 Bananas!!!

11 Birthdays

This book starts when a little girl named Amanda and little boy named Leo were born on the same day. Their parents met while they were looking at their precious babies in the bassinet window of the hospital. There was an old lady who was very well known in their town and said, "It was very special that they were born on the same day. They must always celebrate their birthdays together." The parents politely agreed, but doubted that it would ever happen.

Sure enough a year later the parents, completely unplanned, met at the bouncy place that they both reserved on the same day for the childrens' 1st birthday parties! They shared the room and became friends. From then on, they did share their birthday parties together.

One year, Amanda and Leo got into a big fight and stopped being friends. So, Amanda had the worst birthday party ever, while Leo had a fantastic party. The next morning, it was Amanda's birthday all over again. Was this a joke? Amanda was not sure.

Was she dreaming? Was it a practical joke that friends and family were playing on her the next day? Will it keep happening?

Read 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass to find out.

I give this book 10 Bananas!!

Busy

Sorry that I have not been writing for a while. I have been busy with school, break, and just being plain busy. I promise to write more often now that things are slowing down. The books I will be writing about soon are, Main Street #7, Sisters eight #1, 2, 3, and4, Four Truths and a lie, Frog Princess,and Indian in the cupboard. Keep reading to hear my reviews on these great books!

The Music of Dolphins.

This book is about a girl who has been in a plane crash. She survived, yet the rest of the crew and passengers did not. Dolphins who lived in the sea where the plane crash happened rescued the lost little girl. A a mother dolphin who did not have a baby of her own, took the lost girl into her own hands and fed her the baby dolphin milk and taught her how to hunt and become a real dolphin.

A couple years later, the girl was like as human dolphin until the most heart breaking thing happened to the girl! Rescue workers were doing there daily rounds when they spotted a little girl sitting on the beach. She looked not healthy and was very dirty. They were able to catch her and bring her to the hospital were a doctor taught her everything a human girl her age should know. From letters to words to numbers. The doctor also wanted to learn dolphin talk.

There was so much hope for the little girl. Yet she wanted to go home, not the home she lived in before the crash, but the one where she new the most. The sea.

Will she get back home to the sea? Will she stay at the hospital learning words forever ? Or will she go live with relatives that she is related to?

Read The Music of Dolphins by Karen Hesse to find out!
I give this book 8 bananas!

Looking for Bapu

In this book, Anu and his grandfather are walking through the woods bird watching. They sit there a while , then it starts to rain! They realize that they better get home. So they are walking home when Bapu (grandfather) falls face first and won't get up! Anu tries to talk to him and to get Bapu to respond to him, but he never does. That is when Anu starts to get really worried and regrets that he did not take his cell phone with him! So he runs home and calls 911, because what else could he do? His parents are not home.

Later, at the hospital, he finds out some very sad news. Bapu is gone. He got a very bad, deep stroke while they were bird watching. Anu did not go to school for a while after that. Kids from school came to give him cards and things to help him feel better. A number of friends came over with huge cookies. His mom asked if Anu could go to a friend's house after school, because no one would be home at his own house. They of course said yes, and that is where he got the idea of becoming a holy man to bring Bapu back.

The first day he went back to school he went to his neighbors house after school. Izzy the girl who lives there is home schooled and loves old things. When he decides to become a holy man, she helps him through the things she can help him with like the researching.

Will Anu really become a holy man? If he does, will Bapu come back? How does he become a holy man, and what does he have to do?

Read Looking for Bapu by Anjali Banerjee to find out!
I give this book 8 bananas!

My Name is Sally Little Song

In this book Sally May is a slave. Born a slave and always will be a slave. She lives with her Pa, Mama, and her brother Abraham. The family's job usually stays outside like picked cotton wood and grinding corn. If it was raining, sometimes they would have the women come in to work, while the men worked out side.

Sally's family was not the only family working there, a few other men, women and kids worked with them. One day Joshua one of the house workers who is a friend of thiers came over to talk with Pa. Sally was very curious to see what they were talking about so she snuck out of bed and listened. He said that Sally May,Abraham, June July,l'il Pete,and Lucinda will be sent off to another piece of land owned by some one else. Then they started talking about some Indians that would keep them safe.

Joshua left and Sally ran back to bed. Pa came back and told them that they would be running away tomorrow night to an Indian tribe that will keep them safe. But in order to get there, they would have to cross a swamp with crocodiles. Sally remembered what the master does if they get caught and Sally was scared...

Do they make it across the swamp? Do they get caught? Does the tribe keep them safe?

Read My Name is Sally Little Song by Brenda Woods to find out!

I give this book 6 bananas. I do not recommend this book to kids younger than 9.

Archers Quest

One day, Kevin was in his room 'doing' his history homework when he heard a THUD! Then he saw a arrow thrown at him! He turned around to see a strange man crouched in the corner of his room with another arrow loaded in his bow! The man claimed to be Koh Chu-Mung but he would like to be called Archer. He wants to be called that because he was a king in his home in Korea and a very skilled archer.

Kevin was very surprised with a man in his room that was loaded with a bow and arrows. Kevin took Archer down stairs to the computer to look up who he was. The results were that he was born in 55 b.c and was a king.It also said that he was a skillful archer. Kevin knew that he needed to get him back, but how?

Archer also knew he was not at home because everything was very different. Archer asked if it was the year of the tiger and Kevin said that it was and the next day was the year of the rabbit! Archer said that he needed to get home that day because he was born in the year of the tiger and the magic wouldn't work unless he returns home in the year of the tiger! That made Kevin very nervous because that would not give him much time!

Will Archer make it in time? How does he get back? Is he really Koh Chu-Mung? How did he get there? Read Archers Quest By Linda Sue Park to find out!

I give this book 9 bananas.

The Homework Machine

In this book three kids who don't like any of the same things form a group. No one would suspect that they would ever be friends. They got in big trouble because of their friendship. How, may you ask? Two Words. HOMEWORK MACHINE.

Now I know it may seem impossible to have a homework machine but that is not true. It is possible, but complicated. Brenton, the smart kid in class, made a homework machine and no one knew, until Sam the new kid, asked a question about how he always got A+'s on homework. Brenton told him about the homework machine.

Two other girls, one a slacker and the other a teachers pet, over heard the conversation and went to see what it was all about. Brenton told them to come over to his house so he could prove it to them. So they agreed.

Is the machine real? Does it work? Why did a smart kid invent it? How do they get in trouble? Read The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman to find out!

I give this book 8 bananas!