Let's Get Ready to Rummmbbbllleeee!

Well, the votes are cast and the writing is on the wall. The 7H1s spent the past two classes presenting, persuading, and throwing the occasional proverbial SMACK! In a rather surprising bout of books, brains, and brawn (not really) a few underdogs came out of the woodwork and will be throwing down in the second round.

The second round contenders for 7H1 are as follows:

Counting by 7s vs. Maze Runner

And Then There Were None vs. The Hobbit

So go forth and make these champion cat boxers proud!

Round 1 Complete for Thomson's Terrors!

The first round has been completed!

After a rousing first round of presentations by 7B, the winners have been decided, and the losing books went through their rightful defenestration.

The first round included trailers, cookies, debate, discussion, arguing with group members like old married couples, voting, glitter, and streamer explosions, as all presentations should have! The groups did well to represent their novels, and fought their best battle to have them move on.

Here are the winners, and the books that are moving on to Round 2. The Final Four.

I Am Number Four defeats Divergent. Big of a surprise here!
The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B defeats Freak the Mighty.
Airborne defeats Murder on the Orient Express in the closest vote of the first round. One vote difference!
Malice defeats Stargirl.

The books have been chosen for Round 2. Let the battle continue.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn-Eve Hritzuk

   This is a story about a boy, Huck, who travels down the Mississippi River with a runaway slave named Jim. On their travels, they come across two gentlemen. The two gentlemen travel along with Huck and Jim, trying to fool people from the different villages they pass into giving the four some of their money.  Throughout the story, Huck and Jim experience many adventures and meet many memorable characters. They develop a deep and unusual friendship that tests their loyalty to each other.

What I liked about this book:
I liked that the book had characters with funny personalities and I enjoyed reading the climax because I thought it was very intriguing and well done. There were also humorous parts that I found entertaining as well.

What I would change about this book:
To be honest, I didn't really love this book because it was a bit confusing, and some parts carried on a lot and got boring. So I would change the parts that carried on and make it less confusing so the book would be  suitable for a larger audience.

A Tale Dark And Grimm.....Taylor

          In this creative spin on eight other Grimm fairy tales, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own fairy tale and learn the true story behind all of the bread crumbs and edible houses. They encounter many horrifying things such as witches, warlocks, dragons, and the devil himself. As Hansel and Gretel go on these treacherous adventures they will learn to control their own destiny, as well as their "happily ever after"
       
           I love how the author incorporated Hansel and Gretel into eight other Grimm fairy tales.
       
          There isn't much that i would change about this book but if i had to change one thing it would be how the author interrupts the story and would warn you about the events that were about to occur. I really like how he does this but he provides a lot of unnecessary information that is way off topic. Overall i really enjoyed this book.

Millers book !!!!!!!!:)

The book I read was The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B, written by Teresa Toten.
The book is about a boy named Adam Ross who had OCD. He goes to "group" to get help with his mental health issues. The book shows that there are a lot of people who have mental health issues but try their best to hide it from others so they seem "normal."
I loved the book overall!! :)  I thought it wasn't going to be my type of book at all. I really enjoyed the book because it had different themes to it like some suspense, love, action, and humor. The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B was a amazing read because I could relate to parts of the book. NOT THE OCD PART THOUGH!  :)
I would change the part about whatever happens to Adam and Robyn in the end!
Do they ever meet again? Do they still love each other?

I would strongly recommend the book to kids in junior high, high school and especially people with OCD and mental health issues. They are no different then us at all! :)

The maze runner - jackson vinci

Thomas wakes up in pitch black he can't remember anything, not his age not his parents or even his last name. After what seems like hours light appears above him and staring down at him is a bunch of teenage boys; Thomas has arrived at the Glade. The Glade is a very mysterious place it is a perfect square surrounded by tall stone walls. At first Thomas thinks the glade weird , then he figures out what's on the outside. A huge Maze, a Maze that has been unsolved for two years.A day after thomas arrives someone else arrives at the glade and thomas soon figures out that everything is going to change

My favourite part of this book was, the whole book because it was nearly impossible to put down. The Maze Runner is one of my favourite books ever.

One thing that i would change about the Maze Runner is, at the end a certain character dies i would change the book so he survives.

The Hobbit – Summary

By: Jaque Lae >:D
 

Once upon a time, the Kingdom of Erebor in the Lonely Mountain was taken from the dwarfs by the evil dragon Smaug. One day, the young Hobbit Bilbo Baggins is visited by the wizard Gandalf the Grey and 12 homeless dwarfs led by their king Thorin. They set out on a journey to reclaim their city Erebor and the treasures inside the mountain. Bilbo joins the 13 dwarves and the wizard Gandalf in an unexpected journey through dangerous lands of the Middle-Earth where they have to fight against Trolls, Orcs and other mystical creatures. Bilbo also meets this indistinctive creature Gollum who’s lost his prize possession (a magic ring) Bilbo later on finds it before encountering Gollum. This magic ring contains the power to make you go invisible while wearing, not to mention it comes very handy when Bilbo enters the mountain of treasure (the Lonely Mountain) and tries to reason with Smaug the dragon. Later on in the story Smaug departs from the mountain but not for long… He visits the lakeside town under a couple miles away from the mountain to do a little destruction as a warning sign to the dwarves not to come again. But all things did not go so well for Smaug…


I really liked this book because of the amount of action their is and how they described the scene really well!

One thing i would change is how the author tells the story in third person not in first that way you can really imagine yourself being right their watching the whole thing.

"Hobbit Hole Magic" The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein

   As Bilbo Baggins is having tea in his Hobbit hole, he would have never thought that thirteen dwarves and a wizard would arrive knocking at his door, saying he was the burglar for a very terrific adventure. Bilbo and his friends embark on a perilous journey in an attempt to recover the dwarves homeland. Toughing though dark caves, spider infested forests, and even meeting a peculiar creature named Gollum, that had a very powerful ring, which Bilbo obtained. The strange group end up being face to face with a dragon named Smaug, guarding the dwarves riches, and their homes.

  I think that The Hobbit was an amazing book, including tons of action, lots of interesting words. I think that the voice is a bit strange to me, as the author describes the story in third-person, rather than through Bilbo's eyes. But overall The Hobbit is a must read, and is a very well written book.

-Tom Hammond

Counting by 7s - Maddy

Counting By Sevens is a phenomenal book. It begin with Willow Chance a twelve year old girl whose life starts  to unfold as her parents tragically pass away.Willow is very un-ordinary 12 year old who has the mind of a genius, she is obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions. With some help from her new friends Mai,Quang-ha,Dell Duke,Pattie and the taxi driver (who thinks she is his angel) together they try to fix her broke heart and end up helping in a better way.

I love this book but I find the book very hard to follow. The dialog is extraordinary but I think its a little to much for our age group.I also find that it changes subjects a lot for example,the author talks about one person ad then jumps to another. I personally like stories that stay to one plot line in the present tense , so it all depends on how you like your books to be written.

I really enjoy this book but I think it would be perfect if you were in grade 8 or 9 and understood more,but if  you like sad touches to a story this book is perfect for you.

wonder -aaliyah jomha

For the first round of junior smack down I read the book "Wonder" by R.J Palacio. This novel was about a young boy name August Pullman (also known as Auggie). August was born with a rare facial deformity that in some ways socially separated him from the outside world. Due to multiple surgeries and trips to the hospital, August was homeschooled for all his elementary school years. Now that Auggie is older his family decides it would be best for him to attend middle school. This book shows how August enrolls in his new school, and his struggle for acceptance. What's interesting about this book is that its separated into multiple sections showing different perspectives, and I quite enjoyed that. This story gives you an amazing insight on how you should treat others and how your words and actions can affect someone tremendously. What I would've changed about this book was the ending. It was very basic and predictable. I would recommend this book for people who enjoy easy nonfictional reads, and books that involve real problems, and situations that are occurring today. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and overall, it is a great life teaching story.
-Aaliyah Jomha

And Then There Were None-Parker Myschuk

     The book and then there were none is a murder mystery written by Agatha Christie and is about 10 people stuck on an Island called solider island. They all revived invitations to come to the island and after they got there strange deaths started occurring.
     This book is by far one of my favorite books that I have ever read. This book always had me sucked in and it was hard to put it down because of how exiting the book was. I found that the begging of the book was not as interesting because it was not filled with excitement until page 50 but in the begging the author did such a fantastic job in going deeply in depth with describing all the characters.
     I enjoyed the book and then there were none because it was always a surprise as to what was going to happen next. The only thing I would have changed is it have a little more background on Mrs. Rogers because she seemed kind of blank because she didn't have much of a background. my favorite part of the book was when the first death occurred because it was a total shock. This is one of my favourite books I have ever read and I would recommend to people who are into mystery and are in for a couple good suprises.

Wonder By Selena Sembaluk

         Wonder is a charming novel written by R.J Palacio. This captivating book tells the story of August (Auggie) Pullman. He was born with a facial deformity and despite all the surgeries, his face still looks extraordinary. Auggie used to be home schooled but his parents decided that it`s time he goes to a public school. He`s enrolled for fifth grade at Beecher Prep, which is full of many new people. This book addresses the points of view on August`s life by himself, his sister, his classmates, etc. The story tells of true friendship and being proud of who you are. It shows how August has to make his classmates understand that on the inside, he`s just like them.
          I love this book because it pulls you into the story. The author does this by creating very well developed characters. Along with the classmates, I can create my own opinion on August. This heart-warming book also makes you step into August`s shoes.
         What I would change about this book is the wording of it. Personally, I would like to see more elaborate words used and an overall higher reading level. This book was probably meant for younger audiences (ages 9-11), so it would be a joyful read for them. In my opinion, the ending was predictable and rushed. 
          If you like books that dig their way deep into your heart and make you have mixed emotions, this novel is perfect for you.
-Selena

Jacob's Review of Counting by 7's 

        Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan, is a book that toys with your emotions. Young genius Willow Chance loses her parents in a tragic accident.  Willow's heart broke into a million pieces. She was an orphan and they had been the only people who loved her for who she was. She is forced to stay with her closest friend Mai. Mai lives in a garage behind a nail polish store her mother owns. 

       There is a subplot to this book where Willow hires a taxi driver and the taxi driver winds up thinking she is his guardian angel. This book is heart wrenching, funny, and touching. This was an outstanding book and I hope you read it, too.                

        What I disliked about this book is that the ending was very predictable. This book is aimed for a younger audience around grades 6-8. One thing I would have changed is I would have went into more detail about what Willow's house looked like.

      

The Runner of The Maze-"Maze Runner"-by will mel.

The mysterious elevator is where it all starts where Thomas knows about the world and his fisrst name but, everything else he dosn't know like his parents. He then arives at the Glade, witch is just basically a giat maze, and the elevator doors get pulled  open. He then realizes that he and the other Gladers don't know how they got there. The next day the first ever girl in Glade history arives and delivers a message... 
The more Thomas was there the more unsolvable the maze seems.

I realy liked this book because each chapter leaves me hanging and just wants you to keep reading and it was very well writen. It was meant for Grade 7-9 and I would shouldgest reading it.

One thing that i would change is the ending is the "END OF BOOK ONE" because it is pretty obvious.



                                                              -will      

It's All A Game, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card- Liam

Ender Wiggin, the third in a family of child geniuses, is selected by international military forces to save the world from destruction. I really enjoyed the book, not because Ender is the smartest six year old kid to walk on planet Earth, but because it’s all up to him to save the world from  an alien race nicknamed the “buggers”. It was really interesting that Ender wore a unique monitor that allowed the heads of the military to see and feel things as Ender did. As a result, Ender was then chosen to go to an elite military school in space, far away from Earth, to practice strategies and skills to fight in the predicted war with the “buggers”.  I liked how I could visualize the children battling against each other, using laser guns that would freeze anyone who was hit, and wearing epic uniforms. If I were the author I would have given the “buggers” a better way of communicating to humans that they did not want to go to war again.

What would it be like to Wonder "what if" everyday? Wonder- By Jessica Stiegelmar

WONDER…….


Wonder is a an amazing book written by R.J. Palacio published February 2012. This book is about August Pullman an 10 year old boy, but he isn't the average 10 year old. Auggie was born with a face deformity. This story will take you into the eyes of August and his friends and family. Auggie has been home schooled until now. He is about to begin grade five at Brecher Prep elementary. You know how it is when you are the new kid but August isn't just the new kid. You will see his struggles and choices Auggie faces, but do you think he can prove to the other kids he is normal on the inside but a little different on the outside?While reading this book it helped me think about others and try to put myself in their shoes.   Happy reading :)

Jessica

Counting by 7s- Amy C

Counting by 7s is a un-describable book about the life of a girl named Willow Chance when her whole world falls apart in the course of an afternoon. This child genius goes on an adventure of picking her life up after everything is gone. Along the way she meets Dell Duke and his counselling system of the Strange (categorising kids who need help), Mai who soon becomes her best friend, Quang-Ha (Mai's extremely weird brother), Pattie/Dung Nguyen (Mai and Quang-Ha's mom), and last but not  least Jario Hernandez (a taxi driver that sees Willow as his angel).

Through Willows passions: Counting by 7s, diagnosing medical diseases, and plants hosts her self up into a new version of herself, it is both amazing and sad. Her friends help and through the journey they encounter many problems although she can't face the fact that her parents are now dead and her councillor (for the first time in his life) has some hope she struggles through to the end. I liked this book because it puts you in the perspective of the character Willow Chance and carries you through the book almost as if you were in her shoes. I recommend this book to readers who like drama novels and life stories; however if you are a person who gets lost easily this book is the slightest bit disjointed through to the end and might not be the best for you.

Huckleberry Finn can never be proper enough according to the widow Douglas. Under her care it was hard to be himself, but it was much better then what life used to be with his abusive father. One day Huck's father returns, and kidnapped Huck back into his grasp once again. After tough days of living alongside the drunken man and his abuse, Huck decides to get away from the nasty hold of his father. He joins together with runaway slave Jim, and they head down the Mississippi river, hoping for Jim to reach freedom. Huckleberry reunites with his fellow best friend Tom Sawyer. While trying to reach freedom at last Huckleberry, Tom and Jim find unexpected trouble in every corner, from gunfights to robberies, to bloodhounds, it is quite the risky path to take. Will Huck and Tom ever carry Jim to freedom, or will Jim be faced with more trouble than he is already in?

What I liked about this book:
I really liked how in depth Mark Twain got in the book. I could really picture what was going on, the details were very accurately described. It was very easy to follow along and made me want to read more.

What would I change about this book?
There was a lot of slang in this book and sometimes it was hard to follow along with some of the characters. I also wish that Mark Twain would have described the characters better. I had to picture the Characters in my own way, and i didn't know much about the character's personality. (ex. I thought Huckleberry Finn was black until the end of the book.) So i wish that Mark Twain would have described the characters better.

Freak The Mighty

Freak The Mighty

Plot outline: This book’s plot outline is about Kevin and Maxwell’s  unique friendship of growing to depend on each other and there many misadventures they have in there town, such as returning an old lady’s purse, slaying dragons and rescuing fair maidens.

Something I liked about the book: I liked how well the author described Kevin and Maxwell's personality and physical traits.

One thing I would change about the book: I would change the ending of the book because it is quite sad.

By: Bennett

A World where we are AIRBORNE be Wade Sigurdson

A World where we are AIRBORNE

by Wade Sigurdson 7B

A peaceful blimp ride on the Aurora from Lionsgate city to Sydney,  Australia all goes terribly wrong when the legendary pirate Captain Szpirglas boards the Aurora and loots all her valuables. After Szpirglas leaves a terrible storm ship wrecks the Aurora on an unknown and uncharted island. There cabin boy Matt Cruise (main character) follows Miss Kate de Vries on an adventure to discover a new secret and end up having to fight to get everyone off the island.

The thing that I liked most about this novel was how masterfully author Kenneth Oppel took a bunch of technologies from different eras to make a world of skies. This is a world where the only way to travel and be social is to ride the majestic balloons that surf the winds.

If I were the author of this book, the one thing I would change about this story is having a greater focus of time. If Kenneth Oppel had focused more on the time I would be able to envision the tale better. What year was it when the story took place?    

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn -Logan Schultz

Huckleberry Finn is a young boy who found a lot of money with his friend Tom Sawyer in one of Mark Twain previous novels "The adventures of Tom Sawyer" and Huckleberry does not really want his cut so he gives it to man called Judge Thatcher. But Huckleberry's good-for-nothing Father wants it all. So his father a man that does not care about his own child decides he is going to take Huckleberry to his house in the woods and keep him there at all times. But one day Huckleberry had  dreamt up a great plan to escape without anyone wondering how he did it.

I enjoy reading  this novel but it was not the kind of book I usually read, but I still liked it. I would recomed this book to people with a liking for adventure novels with not a whole lot of action. It is also a hard read because they use a lot of older slang like "sumf'n" and "dasn't" they also use "by-and-by" a lot aswell. There is also some language that could be offencive to certain readers.

If I could change any thing in the book I would change all the slang to the closest non-slang word there is. I would change that because it really interrupted the book because i would stop and wonder what the word meant. That is all I would change, other than that the book is great.

 

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien - Owen 7H1

          This book tells the story of the journey of a hobbit, named Bilbo Baggins, and 13 dwarves named Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Fili, Kili, Bombur, Balin, Dwalin, Dori, Ori, Nori, and Thorin Oakenshield, to recover the stolen dwarven treasure from the dragon, Smaug.  The book begins when Bilbo is visited by a wizard named Gandalf.  They chatted about an adventure, but Bilbo wasn't interested.  Gandalf leaves and makes a mark on Bilbo's door.  The next day the dwarves start arriving, as if they were invited.  The home-loving Bilbo surprises himself when he joins the dwarves as a burglar.  The journey is dangerous and Bilbo wishes he hadn't come several times.  With the help of a special ring Bilbo finds, he gains the respect of the dwarves and finds his courage when the group encounters  hungry trolls, vicious wargs, evil goblins, giant spiders, wood elves, and finally, the greedy dragon, Smaug.


         My favorite parts of the book were the encounter with the dim-witted trolls, the unique characters, the character detail, and how the author put maps and illustrations showing where the group was on their journey.


          The only thing I would have changed was that the book had a slow start with the dwarves talking.  Other than that, this book had no flaws that I could see.


          I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy and action type books.

The Maze Runner - Matthew Robertson

The Maze Runner is a young adult science fiction book written by James Dashner. The story begins when a young boy named Thomas wakes up in a metal box elevator called "the lift",  remembering only his first name. He had no knowledge of his past, his friends or his family. And Thomas was not alone. There were fifty to sixty other young teenage Gladers who welcomed him into what they called the Glade, which was surrounded by a gigantic maze. Every thirty days a new boy was delivered to "the lift" from the Creators (the ones that built the maze). The maze was a gigantic puzzle with huge stone walls that moved every night. The Gladers were trying to solve the mystery of the maze to find their way home. So they assigned "Runners" to run the entire maze and create maps of it.

While Thomas was in the Glade, he decided to be a "runner".  This was a very dangerous job because of the monstrous Grievers that protected the maze. But, the longer Thomas was there, it seemed like the maze was becoming unsolvable. If only Thomas could find a way to get the dark secrets out of his mind.

I really enjoyed this book because it was filled with non-stop action. At the end of each chapter, there was a cliff hanger, making it so you never wanted to stop reading. The book was very suspenseful and had you wondering what would happen next.  One thing I loved was how you could really visualize what the characters and the maze looked like based on the details and descriptions used by the author. I could also identify with the characters and their feelings. Personally, the best part of the book was the ending and how it kept me wanting more. As a result, I have already started the second book of the series.

Overall, I wouldn't change anything. The book was very well written and I was really entertained by this thrilling book, The Maze Runner.

Welcome to the Maze ~ by: Kennedy M.

             For this bracket of the Junior Smackdown I have chosen to read The Maze Runner by: James Dashner. Personally I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was one of the best books I have ever read. The Maze Runner is about a teenage boy named Thomas, who woke up enclosed in a metal box leading him up to the glade, not knowing anything except his own name. Thomas was sent to the glade, just like all the other boys, for one purpose. That one purpose is to try and escape the maze surrounding the large stone expanse that the gladers call home. As long as anyone can remember, every night the stone walls close, and every morning they open all the same. The gladers were expecting Thomas to arrive, because every month a 'newbie' is sent up in the box. But a day after Thomas's arrival, another person was sent up. A girl. All the gladers had assigned jobs, but Thomas only wanted one, the runner. Thomas and the gladers go through a tough journey to find a way home, including fighting the vicious beasts that live in the maze called grievers. The gladers always thought that solving the maze was their ticket out of there. But the maze is seeming more and more unsolvable. 

            This is the perfect book for people who enjoy action-packed, fast-paced stories. I wouldn't change a single thing about this book other than some of the wording that's a little hard to understand.

Murder On The Orient Express - Dani California :)

The Orient Express, was full of passengers. They all were boarding for the 3 day trip. There wasn't a person missing, every spot was filled and everyone was on the train. 
Unexpectedly the train, was stuck in a snow bank, and they didn't know how long they would be there. 
At about one o'clock in the morning a man is murdered. They next day, we discover that Mr. Ratchett was stabbed mutable times. 
All the crew and passengers, are confused as to who has done this homicide. As you read the book Agatha will drop hints to who the murderer could be, but then completely through you off of your guess. At the end, you find out who committed the crime. 
Trust me, you'll be shocked. That pretty much sums up the book. 



The book was very good, it is a great mystery novel. If you are into shows like 48 Hours Mystery, Mystery Detectives, Forensic Files etc. This is the book for you, although it's a difficult read. I would re comes this book to an advanced reader because it has a lot of description and it doesn't exactly make sense through out the novel. If I could change something about the book, I would change how the book is written. Agatha uses words that aren't used very often in this century. Saying that, it might be hard to understand or to comprehend. So, if that's a struggle for you. Maybe try a different book. 
I really liked how I was guessing the whole time. The author makes you think its someone and 2 chapters later you think it's someone else. I thought it was about 7 different people throughout the entire book. I loved that part of the book, it's so intriguing to keep reading! This book is amazing, and so worth reading!  

-Danielle ❤️

The Camp Fire Story That Is Dark and Grimm - By Ethan Brkin

  This book is the grimm, but true story of Hansel and Gretel. Travel with Hansel and Gretel as they run into eight other gory fairytales. Hansel and Gretel leave their home because their parents do something so cruel to them that Hansel and Gretel had leave for their own well-being. So the two of them set of on a journey to find a better family.

        

   Some of the many things I enjoyed about this book was the suspense for the reader. The author created suspense by always making the reader believe it was the end of the story, however, there was always more twists and turns to come. I also liked how the author didn't add one extra fairy tale but added eight extra fairytales within the book. There were multiple stories within the same book for the reader to get their thrills from. 

  If I had to change a couple things in this book, I would change how the author continue to tell the reader "The End"(p 15) because it kept on interrupting the story when it was getting to the very important parts in the book. I would also consider changing how the author would state "Are there any small children in the room? If so, it would be best if we just let them think this really is the end of the story and hurried them off to bed."(p 16)  I found this really annoying because it interrupted the eagerness within the story line and the author would do this multiple times within the book.  

``The Maze Runner`` - Riley Carr

        The Maze Runner is about a teenage boy who one day awakens in a mysterious elevator with no memory of anything other than his own name: Thomas. After having left the elevator behind he learns that hes not the only one with no memory of their past. He is in a place called The Glade, and all of the Gladers have the same problem: None of them no how they got to The Glade or how to leave it. The following day a girl arrives in The Glade: The first girl in Glade history. She delivers to them a message from the creators; the people responsible for the creation of The Glade. The Glade is surrounded by a maze and they've always figured that solving the maze is the way home. But its starting to seem as if the maze is unsolvable. 
   
       If you enjoy fast-paced novels with plenty of action and a handful of suspense on every page then this is definitely the book for you. 
      My favorite part has to be the last FIVE or so chapters because they were in my opinion the best part of the entire book.

  I would've changed almost nothing mind a few parts that were just a bit confusing.  

  

J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit -Graham-

    This book follows a 50 year old hobbit named Bilbo Baggins as he goes on an unplanned and unexpected adventure with 13 dwarves and the famous wizard Gandalf the Grey. One day, mid spring while Bilbo was in the middle of his daily routine, Gandalf along with 13 dwarves showed up on his doorstep and they told him that he would be their burglar on their quest to kill a dragon named Smaug. They wanted to kill the dragon to retrieve the arkenstone and so once again Thorin Oakenshield (one of the dwarves) could be king under the mountain. Bilbo was very respectable and was not very fond of adventures so at first, he declined, but after some negotiation, Bilbo decided he didn't want to pass up the opportunity.
   One thing I loved about the book was that it was not at all predictable. You thought for sure that one thing was going to happen, but then boom, left turn and something completely different happens. That makes the book intense and suspenseful. Along with being intense and suspenseful the book is very well written. It really paints a picture in your head and makes you feel like you are there with Bilbo on his adventure.
   There is not much I would change about The Hobbit, but no book is perfect, and this is no exception. If I were the author, I probably would not have put in the songs. They don't provide much to the plot and they're so frequent. They're so unimportant that not a single song appears in the movies. Now granted, the movies are not a very good source because the movies are very different from the book, but its still something to note.

   Thats what I thought of The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien -Graham-

"May the hair on your toes never fall out!" THE HOBBIT

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit...     

Bilbo Baggins never expected to be whisked out of his cozy hobbit hole, persuaded to embark on a perilous adventure with the wise wizard Gandalf and a band of thirteen vengeful dwarves.
Travelling across the lands of Middle-earth towards the threatening Lonely Mountain, where a bountiful treasure hoard lies protected by the fearsome dragon, Smaug. Bilbo discovers that there is more to life than living in a hobbit hole. Through marvelous meadows, winding mountain passes, eerie caves and haunted forests, the group must overcome challenges and find their courage because their most dangerous task is at the end of the journey. Along the way, Bilbo finds the hero inside himself, saves the dwarves many times and surprises himself, for he did not know he was capable of brave feats. As Gandalf said at the beginning,

"There is more to him than meets the eye."

Filled with thrilling escapades, captivating, cunning moments and heroic action, you will find yourself enticed to read more by J.R.R. Tolkien!

One feature I enjoyed about The Hobbit was the exceptional character development! Bilbo started out as a timid little hobbit, who was frightened at the idea of an adventure in a place that he does not know. Throughout the book though, Bilbo Baggins found that he was dauntless in the face of danger.

One aspect I would change would be the beginning of the novel, for it is really quite sluggish and did not capture my interest immediately but I assure you that it is a sterling read if you stick with it!

By: Kiah Vail  7H2

Haunted Forest of Mirkwood

Map of Middle-earth

     

                                          

                                  

"And Then There Were None"..but me(Clarie)! -By Agatha Christie

Ten strangers are drawn to the famous mansion on Soldier Island off Devon Coast, by someone none of them have met. Their host, U.N Owen, never shows up. When a recording they listen to on the first night accuses each guest of having a murderous past, they slowly open up about their stories. Being hunted down by the ideas in an old poem, and their paranoia growing, will anyone survive their unknown killer? Or will there be none?

That is my little teaser of the book, ”And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie.  I hope this will be sufficient bait to hook you on the idea of this murder mystery, which is probably one of the best I have ever read!  Perfect for those people who love a puzzle and don't mind some spine tingling ideas to bring them along.

My favourite part:  I love how the author made the story line so complex and peppered with unexpected events.  I would not have been able to come up with that storyline in all of my born days! I just can't stop thinking about all the planning it would take to do that.

If I could change something as the author:  I would definitely get rid of some of the old-style language. I’d find it hard to understand at times and I did have to ponder on what was meant. It somewhat took away from the whole experience. Not to mention, it took about 50 pages for the storyline to pick up speed. You really need to push through to get to the juicy stuff, but once you're there you wont stop.

The Maze Runner By Zac Raesler

      The Maze Runner is about a boy named Thomas who wakes up in an elevator and can only remember his name. He can't remember anything else,where he came from, who his parents are or what happened before he woke up. When he gets out of the elevator he finds himself in the glade. The other gladers are just like Thomas, they have no memories of their life before the glade.The glade is surrounded by a maze, and each day Thomas and the gladers try to solve the mystery of the maze and hopefully find a way out of the glade.

    I really liked this book, the ending left me wanting more and I can't wait for the next two books in this series. The whole book was non stop action and it left me on the edge of my seat.

   One thing I really liked about the book was that the characters were really well developed and I could really see the person in my head. I didn't find anything that I would change because it was a very good novel.  I would suggest this book to people if they like suspenseful, quick and just a really good book overall.

Ender's Game...Maya

Ender’s game is a very futuristic novel about a boys journey to rapid rise to adulthood and more importantly changing the world. Ender’s parents were one of the lucky parents who weren't limited to only having two children, they were allowed to have three, of course the third child was Ender. Being a third is the most forgotten person. Ender struggled through this having to prove himself against most kids. He was always the hardest worked kid and most challenged due to his intelligence. Commanders put him through procedures that could ruin his life of make him a Victorian. Can Ender be a Victorian?

It was a bit challenging to understand many battle scenes because of how much action happened at once, and if I were the author I would slow them down a bit. I found that I’d always get lost. Another thing I didn't like was how Peter had changed from a bully who skinned his brother squirrels to a nice guy who wanted to improve the world, but his siblings still thought of him as a bully. They should have recognized how Peter tried to become a better person.

I Loved the book because on every page there's so much action and it always kept me interested. I also loved how there was a background story, for ex: Locke and Demosthenes, which were Ender’s sister and brother who wanted to become journalists that would improve the world. It was also cool how Valentine described how people will treat Ender. For ex : "Peter, you're 12 years old. I'm ten. They have a word for people our age. They call us children and treat us like mice.

I'd love to hear all your comments!!