Midnight Rider by Joan Hiatt Harlow

Midnight Rider by Joan Hiatt Harlow is a story about a girl named Hannah who’s aunt sends her to the General’s mansion to be a servant. While Hannah is there she discovers her horse Promise with another owner. It turns out her aunt sold her horse to a rich family’s son, Will. Hannah’s father gave her the horse when she was four. He always kept that promise that she would get a horse. A few years later her mother and father died of smallpox. Hannah was forced to live with her aunt. Her aunt was the one who sent her to be a servant to the General. While she was there she found out she would be the General’s Niece’s chambermaid.

  

My book reminds me of the book Because of Winn-Dixie because of the problems both of the girls run into. My book also reminds me of the time I found a cat and I kept it with out my dad knowing. My favorite part of the book is when Hannah finds Gypsy, her kitty and loses him and goes through trouble to find him.

 cakes14

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier is a book that may just come back to haunt you. It is one of the 2016 RICBA nominees. The author also wrote Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes. The Night Gardener is the story of Molly and Kip, two Irish children adrift in England. Molly, as the older sibling feels the responsibility of taking care of her disabled younger brother. She has found work for them at the home of the Windsors, Molly will work as a maid and Kip as the gardener. What they find when they get to the Windsor home is not what they expected. The Windsor family members are pale and gaunt. There seems to be something wrong with them. A giant tree grows next to the house and it's roots are everywhere, even in the very walls of the house. Is the tree magic? Is it good or evil? Late at night, when you're trying to sleep and you hear the rustle of leaves on the wind you'll think of this book. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick was an exciting book to read. This historical fiction book will definitely appeal to students who love adventure and are war buffs. Philbrick writes a lively tale about Homer, whose older brother Harold is illegally sworn into the Union Army by their crabby Uncle. Homer runs away to find his brother and bring him home. I really like Homer's personality. He is quite the storyteller and it's funny when he misleads the adults he encounters on his quest. As entertaining as this book was, it actually takes the Civil War battle scenes to an intense level. Be prepared to have your heart gallop along for the ride!                                                                                                                                    
Reviewed by Mrs. Castro                                                                                                                    

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz is one of the 2013 Newbery Honor Books.  I would call this a "dark" book, best for sixth grade readers.  Two very poor, orphaned children named Lizzie Rose and Parsefall are taken in and taught how to work puppets by a man named Grisini.  They go to the home of a rich girl named Clara Wintermute to perform a puppet show for her birthday party.  Shortly after the party, Clara is missing.  Although Grisini's apartment is searched, there is no sign of Clara.  Parsefall and Lizzie Rose become involved in the search for Clara and make a surprising discovery on her whereabouts.  Can they save her before it's too late?   I love books about magic and evil witches.  This book is a page turner and definitely deserves it's place as one of the year's best books.

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

One of this year's Newbery Honor books, Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage is a great mystery.  The story is about a young girl named Mo, short for Moses because she was found as a baby floating on a river after a hurricane.  Luckily, she is taken in by Miss Lana and the Colonel, a man who lost his memory due to a car accident during the hurricane.  She spends her time looking for her "Upstream Mother", but is side-tracked from her search when a stranger turns up at her family's diner.  The stranger is Detective Starr, who is trying to solve a murder that happened in a nearby town.  Unfortunately, the next person that is murdered is Mr. Jesse, a patron of the diner, and now the story really starts rolling.  Read along as Mo and her best friend Dale start gathering clues to help solve the mystery and protect their families from danger.

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage is an amazing book! It is about two kids named Dale and Mo. Just on an average day for the two kids they figure out that someone in their small town in North Carolina has been murdered. As they try to figure out who the murderer is, a mysterious man comes to solve the murder mystery. Read the book to find out who will really solve the crime first. I haven't really read lots of mystery books but my mom and I sometimes watch mystery shows and they kind of remind me of this book, because of the mysterious murders.

What I really like about the book is you don't know what is going to happen next. At one moment you may think that you know who the murderer is, but the next thing that happens may change your guess about who is the murderer. Once you read this book you'll know why I love it so much!    

Reviewed By: Sunset Baller

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

This book is amazing!  I would totally recommend it any day of the week.  It drops you right in Venice, Italy with Prosper and Bo, two runaway orphans.  They only ran away because of their mother’s stories of Venice.  They join up with the Thief Lord and his gang.  The Thief Lord and gang steal items from the rich to make money to survive, but Prosper does not feel right.  Their Aunt sends a famous detective after them.  Secrets can be dangerous.  The book is edge of your seat exciting!  You will learn something you never would guess about the Thief Lord.  If you liked Harry Potter, you will like this book.  Can you handle it?

Reviewed by Cupcake333

Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin

Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin is one of the 2012 Newbery honor books.  It has illustrations that remind me of the Hugo Cabret book.  For those of you looking for a quick read, this is a good one.  The book takes place in Russia during the time of Stalin.  This was a very dangerous time to live in Russia when many people were locked up and executed by the government.  Sasha, the boy in the story has to face life without a mother, and the imprisonment of his father.  The story is very gripping and moves the reader quickly through Sasha's tough and frightening times.

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech

The main characters in The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech are Zola and Eugenia.  They meet and Eugenia finds out she is an angel.  This story takes place in 1919 and some people can’t afford to take care of their kids so they put them in an orphanage or up for adoption.  Zola is on the way to the tower called Montagnola and sees an orphan and she really wants to help.   When Zola and Eugenia find the orphan she is homeless and on the side of the road.  The theme of this book is that you should be a good person and help people in need.  This book is interesting and exciting.  I saw a movie on Disney Channel and in it there was a girl who was sent to an orphanage.  The mother of the house wouldn’t let them have any toys and she hated Christmas.  The little girl had a figurine that her mother gave her and the house mother threw it in the fire.  I would recommend this book but it was not for me, because I kind of thought it was boring.  

By ILOVEYA99<3

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

This awesome book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, is a non-stop adventure of a boy named Hugo who lives in the walls of a train station. This is an exciting and thrilling story about how a little boy has to live alone with no family.  His father died from a fire and when the uncle took Hugo in, the uncle disappeared. So Hugo now lives alone and fixes clocks to stay hidden. But Hugo needs to fix an automaton (robot) because he thinks the automaton will write him a message that comes from his father. This story involves a little girl and an old grumpy man that will lead to the secrets of this mysterious automaton.

Reviewed by Alligator123

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick is very good.  It is about a boy named Hugo who lives in the 1930’s as an orphan. In the beginning of the book it becomes very interesting because Hugo goes through a lot of bad stuff.  One thing is that his dad dies in a fire so he lives with his uncle and his uncle goes out one day and never returns. If you like sad and interesting books, I would recommend this book.

Reviewed by Biker420

The Invention of Hugo Cabret  is not only a good book, but it’s a fast easy read!  This book has pictures which make the book different than all the other books.  It also makes this book unique.  Don’t worry, this book has lots of pages with words too.  The Invention Of Hugo Cabret has a mystery with a twist! Also unexpected things happen.  Hugo always loved to work on clocks with his father but then something happens to their relationship.  Hugo learns how to provide for himself.  This is a realistic fiction book and it is fantastic!  I looked up the movies that Papa George made and they are real! 

Reviewed by benji1299

Ghosts of Mercy Manor by Betty Ren Wright

If you are looking for a book that is mysterious, scary, and exciting, Ghosts of Mercy Manor by Betty Ren Wright is the right book for you.  Gwen lives in a foster home.  She is being moved from home to home, and has no permanent home.   But one day she gets moved to the Mercy family and she is sure she will not like them.   Just when she starts to like the family, something happens.   I can’t tell you what, because if you want to know, read the book :p  No one believes her and she is forced to leave.   This book reminds me of two books, one called Gilly Hopkins and the other, Deep, dark and dangerous, because there is an orphan that’s trying to tell a story and no one believes her.  I love ghost books!  One of the main reasons I would read this book is it’s thrilling to read.  If you like to get scared and be chilled, this is a perfect match for you. 

Reviewed  by: Gymnastics101 

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

The Boxcar Children is a mystery book about four orphan children.  They are all alone with no home and no one to rely on, and nowhere to go except to their grandfather.  They have never met him and they think he will not like them. The children think he will not like them because before their parents died their grandfather did not like their mother. The children, Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny all cherish and immensely care about each other.  Since they have nowhere to go, they find a nearby bakery to sleep at overnight.  After the rest of the children fall asleep, Jessie and Benny overhear the baker talking to the baker’s wife. They are discussing taking away Benny and sending him to a children’s home and making Henry, Jessie, and Violet work at the bakery.  The children will never leave one another behind.  The children get a tiny bit of sleep and then run away overnight, so they will all be together and no one will be separated and nothing will come between their extremely close family.  How will they stay safe, healthy, and find any shelter?  If you would like to find out how they can accomplish these huge goals all alone, you should definitely read this book!  Also this book took place in the United States past when people rode horse and buggy or train, so by reading this you might also find out some awesome things about the olden days!

This review was written by: Jdrewbiebs        

Happy Birthday, Samantha! by Valerie Tripp

The genre of this story is historical fiction.  The main character is Samantha, and yes, I do like her. This book is interesting. In the book they are celebrating Samantha’s birthday. They are outside at Samantha’s mansion, when Eddie, the boy next door, ruins the ice cream by putting salt in it.  Samantha’s family makes it up to her by taking her to a famous ice cream shop in New York City.  You’ll have to read the book to find out all the adventures they have in New York.

Reviewed by Cupcake13

The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall

The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Mary Downing Hahn is a historical fiction story. It has three main characters. They are Florence, Sophia, and James. This story is about a girl named Sophia who used to live with her uncle, but one day she died. It starts off a long time ago in the nineteenth century in London.  Florence is an orphan. Her uncle finally takes Florence to live with him. After she arrived she was walking around looking for her room, when suddenly in the hall she felt like someone was watching her…..! What comes next?!  After I finished this book I felt like I wanted to read it all over again and again! I hope you want to do the same. Mary Downing Hanhn is a great author.  She wrote other good books, like Deep, Dark and Dangerous. That’s my second favorite book! The reason why I chose this book is because I love ghost stories.  Even though they don’t frighten me this book might frighten you!!! My two favorite characters are Florence and Sophia. Who are yours!? Tell me what you think about this book by just reading my post on this blog! Remember this book might not be in your school library, but it should be in the public library. J

Written by, Bieber125