Once Upon A Curse by E.D. Baker

A long time ago I started this book but the first chapter kind of made me bored. After getting into the book, though, it was good.

This is a book about a Princess name Emma. She is the Green Witch, the protector of her kingdom. At the age of sixteen, all of the women in her family may not touch a flower for they have been cursed that when they do, all their beauty will disappear and they will become very, very mean. This has been in her family for generations, all dating back to her ancestor, Princess Hazel who was cursed by a fairy at her sixteenth birthday party. Emma is a week from her sixteenth birthday and after seeing the curse fall onto her aunt she is determined to find the cure before it's too late for her. This is the story of her adventure with Eadric, who she plans to marry and Li'l, her bat friend.

I would recommend this book to someone who likes fairy-tale stories and fantasy. This story certainly has it's fair share of dragons, fairies, magic and love. It was pretty good!

I would rate this book a 9/10 because it was pretty good but the introduction didn't hook me. Other than that, it was amazing and I was very pulled in.

-Flounder

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

I really liked this book. It was different. We got it from some family friends that know the author or something like that.

This is a book about Hattie. Hattie no longer has any parents and has lived her entire life moving around from one distant relative to another when they decide they no longer want her. One day she receives a letter in the mail from her Uncle who she has never met before and has recently past. He has left his plot of land under her name and if she chooses, she may go and try to own up to his claim in the time left on the claim. She decides to go. Life in Montana is different and challenging but hey, it's Hattie's life and she gets to live it however she so chooses.

I really liked this story which is about a real girl named Hattie. The entire time I read this book I thought Hattie was pronounced Hay-tee not Hat-tee and I mentioned it to my sister and she laughed at me.. Anyways it's a good book. People who like really rich plots might not be as interested because it's good and it has a good plot but it's also about a real girl so it goes at real life pace rather than super fast like book drama always goes.  I would probably recommend this book to someone who likes historical books and realistic books.

I would rate this book an 8.5/10 because it was really good but like I've already mentioned, it was at real life pace with is kind of slow and it's about real life things so there weren't like 10 million different sub-plots. Although I did cry the last 3 or so chapters, just heads up...

-Flounder

The Bridge of Peace by Cindy Woodsmall

This is the second in the Ada's House series. The first is The Hope of Refuge. This was also a really good book and I totally recommend it.

Gray Graber lives with his wife and son but his wife has been shutting out. Gray doesn't understand when or why the sudden change in his wife's attitude toward him occurred but they've been pulling apart ever since. Something has to be done about it. Gray and Elsie, his wife, start to work toward a better relationship, tragedy strikes. Lena Kauffman is the local school teacher. All her life she's been ashamed of her birthmark on her cheek and has had to take all the looks for it. She believes that no one will ever want to marry her and the only thing she can do is teach, which is something that she loves dearly. One of her students starts to play tricks on her in an attempt to get her fired or... worse. Gray and Lena have been friends since childhood and they have to find ways to work through their misfortunes, maybe even together.

I have to say that I liked this book but not as  much as the first. I really liked the characters and the relationship in the first book and I wasn't expecting this book to bring in a whole new batch of characters. For those of you who have read the first book, Cara and Ephraim aren't totally gone but the spotlight is less on them and more on the new characters.

I recommend reading the first book in the series because it was fantastic and if you've read that then you should read this one but I don't think you should skip the first book because it has all the best characters.

I rate this book a 8.5/10 because it wasn't as good as the first book but the writing was still great and I liked the ending.

-Flounder

The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall

This is another series by Woodsmall that I just love. I couldn't tell you who's on the cover because the character's descriptions don't perfectly fit the picture but I would guess the goal was for it to be Cara and Deborah?

Anyways the book is about a woman named Cara who has a young daughter named Lori. They're running away from Cara's stalker. Cara follows a resurfacing memory to the Amish community, Dry Lake. Only one Amish man shows Cara kindness, Ephraim Mast. But while Ephraim is doing what he believes to be right he is shunned by his community. Ephraim's sister Deborah is struggling, too, when her fiance starts shutting her and her soon-to-be-mother-in-law Ada out of his life.

I loved this book, it was absolutely fabulous. I guess I could have summarized it better but I think we should just let the book speak for itself. You may have noticed I'm reading all these books about Amish people by Cindy Woodsmall. It's because her writing is amazing and I like reading about Amish people, they're different and I kind of admire them.

I would totally rate this book 10/10 because it was absolutely fabulous! I would recommend the book to people who have liked the other Amish books I've reviewed. I would also recommend it to someone who wants to be really pulled in and anyone who wants to read something a little different. These books are amazing.

-Flounder

Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson

I just finished this book and I totally loved it! I couldn't put it down at all!

This is a book about a girl, Maia, who's parents have both died so she's sent to Manaus, Brazil to live with her distant family, the Carters, who are horrible people only wanting Maia for the fortune her parents had left her. Amidst all the horribleness of life with the Carters, Maia makes many friends including a child actor wishing of nothing but to return home, a mysterious Indian boy, and her governess.

I would recommend this book to anyone really interested in adventure. I'm such a romantic that even though this book doesn't really have any major or obvious romance, I kind of imagined it so I guess this would be good for romantic's as well. This is definitely a Cinderella type book, like not exactly but there's the character of the evil step mother and the step daughters, just not at all in the same sense. Read it to understand. I think everyone should really read this book, it was amazingly good.

I would rate this book 10/10 because I really can't think of anything wrong with it. I just kept reading and reading not wanting it to ever be over. Definitely read this book.

-Flounder

Privileged or How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls by Zoey Dean

On the book it says "A New Original Series Only on CW" so I'm assuming either this is a tv show or was written after one. So you probably won't read this because nowadays people like watching tv more. But if you're not that person, you should read this.

So, this book is about a girl about 21 years old named Megan who gets a job tutoring little rich snobby brat twins named Rose and Sage. Their grandmother is paying a huge sum of money every week and will pay an additional $75, 000 to pay off Megan's college loans if both twins make it into Duke University.

I really, really, really loved this book! But I would definitely recommend this book to more mature people. Probably late middle school to early high school and up because there are multiple sexual scenes and references as well as some swearing.

I would rate this book a 9/10 because there were some things I might change but the ending was great and the beginning really grabbed me as well as it having an amazing plot to it.

-Flounder

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

I was probably half way through this book and completely bored when my friend told me it was a true story and I was suddenly more interested. Let me just clear that up right now, it's not a true story. But it is pretty great. It took me two or three days to finish.

This is a book about a boy who's on a small plane with only the pilot for company. Well, to wrap up the first 30 pages or so, the driver dies, the plane crashes and the boy is stranded in the middle of nowhere. This is the story of how he adapts. 

I would recommend this book to people who like to camp or are interested in things which have to do with the woods and survival because that is much of what this has to do with. 

I would probably rate this book a 6.5/10. The only reason I kept reading it is so that I could review it. The ending was pretty good but for a long section of the book nothing really interesting happens. I guess that's all...

-Flounder

When the Soul Mends by Cindy Woodsmall

I did read this book last in the series like I was supposed to even though I read book 2 before book 1. I would recommend reading this series in order though, you get so much more respect for some of the different characters. You've just gotta read this series!

This is the 3rd book in the series, like I mentioned: the last. Hannah is just getting used to her life and actually starting to really appreciate it when she recieves a call from home, from Sarah, the sister she hadn't even missed. But everything at home is falling apart and it's because of something she started. She has to go back and patch things up. But will she ever truly be happy after seeing what she had done to her community?

This book was fabulous. It totally wrapped up the series. Throughout the entire series I rooted for different things to happen and in the end, nothing had gone how I had planned but I was very very very satisfied. I would recommend this book to like, EVERYONE! Probably over the age of 10, maybe even 12, but there is no such person as that of someone who is too old to read this book. It is timeless and amazing!

EVERYONE OUT THERE WHO IS READING THIS NEEDS TO GO READ THIS SERIES: Sisters of the Quilt!

I would rate this book a 9/10 because there were a lot of moments in the book that really frustrated me although that doesn't mean the writing or anything was bad, the book probably wouldn't be as good without them but I'm still grading it down because of them because they had made me super frustrated. The ending was super fabulous.

I would rate the entire series 10/10 because it was just fabulous and everyone should read it!

-Flounder

When the Morning Comes by Cindy Woodsmall

I just finished this book and I loved it. Looking at the bottom of the book I found that this is the second book in a series called Sisters of the Quilt. I didn't know that until then. I read this book without even knowing there was a first so that just shows that the author explained everything. Although after I read the first book, I think it would be better to read them in order.

This book is about Hannah Lapp who decides to run away from home. Her Old Order Amish community falls apart along with all her plans. This is the story of how she makes it in the Englishers world and how she finds love after her escape along with how things are doing in the community she came from in Owl's Perch, Pennsylvania.

I would recommend this to teenagers up because I don't believe that elementary school students should be reading about the more adult concepts such as rape. I know I made this book sound really dry and boring but it truly isn't. There's a lot of stuff going on for Hannah and her family back at home. Such as with her fiancee Paul, (Stereotypical question's start:) Will he ever get over her? And for an even bigger question, after Hannah's sister Sarah started going crazy, Matthew and Elle's relationship starts heading down a rough path and Luke and Mary trying to regain their relationship, will life in Owl's Perch ever be the same without Hannah? ...There, now it sounds a little more exciting. But I won't tell anybody answers and you're just going to have to read the book. (DO IT!!!!!!)

I would rate this book a 10/10 because I couldn't put it down. I wasn't really expecting the ending when it came but I liked it because it left it a ways open so you can decide for yourself how things turn out. Also the drama and life that went on couldn't have been any more well planned out.

READ THE BOOK FOLKS. THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I'VE EVER READ AND I HAVE NO DOUBT I WILL READ IT MANY TIMES TO COME.

-Flounder

When the Heart Cries by Cindy Woodsmall

This is the first book of an amazing series. I actually read this book after I had read the second book. I just had to read this after I had read the second book. This is a must-read series!

This book is about Hannah Lapp, an Old Order Amish girl, the oldest in her family. She becomes secretly engaged to a Mennonite man who has one more year of college until his graduation. They love each other and he has promised her that he will do whatever it takes to convince her father that he will take care of his daughter. But then the "Unmentionable" happens to Hannah. Around the same time, her brother and best friend get in a horse-and-buggy accident which leaves them in extensive care at the hospital. Hannah's life starts crashing down and this is her story.

I would recommend this book to more mature people because of some of the concepts. It has some broken romance. Also, it might make you cry because I certainly did.

I would rate this book 9.9/10 because I feel like it wasn't perfect, but it was still very amazing.

-Flounder

Eggs by Jerry Spinelli

I just read this book. I started it around 5 this after noon at finished around 7 so it' not too hard a read, it isn't teeny but it's not a week long book.

This is a book about a boy, David, who's only 9 years old. He's moved from Minnesota to live his grandmother who he's convinced he hates. His life has gone downhill. His mother has died. He refuses to follow any of his grandmother's rules. Instead, he follows every other rule that he could possibly think of in the hopes that his mother will come back to him. She died because someone had forgotten to put up the WET FLOOR! sign and she slipped and died. Since that person didn't follow a rule, he will try and follow all rules in hope to bring her back.He meets Primrose who hates her mother and doesn't have a father. They hate each other but are practically inseparable. An odd pair they make.

I have to say, I was the one in my family who my mom had bought this book for but I never really bothered reading it because I thought it looked boring. Now that I've actually read the book, it's not as bad as I had originally assumed. I would say I expected it to be really boring but then it wasn't and I even cried every few chapters.

I would recommend this book to people who are looking for a sweet, short book about a boy and a teenage girl.

I would rate this book 7.8/10 not because it was bad or anything like that at all. It's just that some of the things that happened were kind of weird or boring or something. I guess they made sense with what the author was trying to do but I still didn't exactly like some of the concepts. The ending was nice, I feel like it could have been a teensy bit better but that's okay.

-Flounder

Happy Late Mother's Day!

Hey guys, HAPPY LATE MOTHER'S DAY!
I hope you all did something special for your mother. They do a lot more than you may realize.
I realize now I didn't saying anything about Cinco de Mayo either so I guess I'm acknowledging that now.
Enjoy your lives!
-Flounder

My Mother The Cheerleader by Robert Sharenow

I read this book on a Wednesday because I stayed home sick still recovering from a fever. I have to say, some books I don't bother finishing but this one I did and that's really saying a lot.

This book was about a girl who lived with her mother who was, in fact, a cheerleader although not the type you would first assume. She was known as one of "The Cheerleaders" to the public world. "The Cheerleaders" was a group of women in the ninth ward of New Orleans who would stand outside the public school and shout insults at the one negro girl who was being sent to the "white" school as part of the acts of desegregation. This is the story of the girl, Louise, and her mother who work at an inn, Rooms on Desire, their home. And they have a very intriguing guest who influences their lives and will change them forever as well as the secrets that are revealed.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction because that's exactly what it is. It sort of has some romance in it and is probably a girl book but practically all of the books I read are considering I am a girl. This book might be more appropriate for middle school students and up or maybe even older elementary students.

I would rate this book an 8.6/10 because it was very good and entertaining enough for me to read it the entire way through while wanting to find out what happens next. Although it is not a 10/10 because some of the details and things that happened could have been better. In my opinion, the ending was good for the story which I usually think of books unless they're really boring or bad books. That's all.

-Flounder

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

I read this book on Tuesday when I was sick and stayed home from school. I have to say that it's different from a lot of the books I read and review. This book was a Pura Belpré Award Winner, a Jane Addams Children's Book Award Winner, a WIlla Catner Award Winner, an ALA Top Ten BEst Books for Young Adults, Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist and even more. So as you can see, this is a very good book.

This is a book about a girl name Esperanza who lives in Mexico with her mom, dad and Abuelita (grandmother) on their ranch. For reasons I won't tell you so as not to completely spoil the book, Esperanza and her mother have to escape Mexico with one of their servant's family and flee to California. This book is about Esperanza and her struggles adjusting to life on a Mexican labor camp.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about true issues and books about teenagers and struggles, not just about rich white girl troubles but about real people.

 Although this book won many awards, I would rate this book an 8.5/10 because I wasn't really very captured in the beginning of the book although once I got into it it started to get really good. Often times I was mad at Esperanza because she kept complaining and being rude although in her position I can understand how she would be very confused. Also, I got really attached to the character Miguel.

-Flounder

Kill You Last by Todd Strasser

Kill You Last is about a girl, Shelby, whose father becomes a prime suspect concerning the wherabouts of some missing girls after they each had a headshot taken by her father, a photographer. Life is getting really hard for Shelby and now she's not even sure who she can trust. And the main mystery is: what does her father have to do with these girls? And what happened to them, exactly?
I thought this was an amazing plot with great writing and I just loved it. It was a nice mystery that kept me wanting to find out what would happen next and there's even a big twist at the end. I would have never guessed it. The book wasn't actually all that scary though it sounds like it would be and though I usually find mystery a tad annoying, this wasn't.
It is also part of a "thrill-ology" but you don't need to read the other books. I didn't.
I highly suggest this to those who love a good mystery. Even if you just like a thin plot, the book's short so it'll be fine. Now if you don't like those little mystery books, try it anyway. I recommend it.
I'd rate this book a 10/10
~Mushu



I'm just going to flat out say it: this was a pretty good book but it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. It had like good writing and plot and all - I was totally hooked in the beginning and the ending was pretty good, too - but the Prologue or whatever was something that happened later in the book, so I was just getting pretty confused. Also, I felt like what happened to Gabriel was just overkill and that shouldn't have happened.

All in all I would rate this book a 8/10 because it was pretty good just that those extra things pushed it over the top and made it too much for one book. Also I would recommend this book to anyone who likes creepy books or horror or murder or stuff like that.

-Flounder

The Wedding Planner's Daughter by Coleen Murtagh Paratore

I read this entire book on Saturday. It's pretty short, only like 200 pages and fairly small sized.

This book is about a girl named Willafred (Willa for short) Havisham who is the wedding planner's daughter(I bet you didn't guess that). This is all the background info you get in like the first 3 chapters: Her dad was a poet and her mom fell in love head over sandals in love with him while her dad fell head over sneakers in love with her(that's what she says in the book, although not a direct quote). Everyone loved her dad. He worked across the pond and while he worked Willa's mom was planning the perfect wedding. Anyways, they got married and everything was perfect and then the next day her dad had gone to get a hot air balloon to fly in with her mom to their honeymoon. The hot air balloon didn't work and Willa's dad ended up going down in the harbor. But her mom still had Willa. Skipping to present day, Stella(her mom) is always afraid to fall in love and get hurt like she was when her husband died so Willa and Stella don't stay in the same place for over two years. They finally move back to Cape Cod where her grandmother lives and she has a whole bunch of friends and this is the story of her life there.

I really, really, really enjoyed this book. I had been looking through my bookshelf of books that my sister grew out of and lent me so I asked her which one she recommended and this was the one. At first I thought it was boring but once I got like 3 chapters in I was hooked and read it all the way through. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a short pleasurable read. That's what I was looking for when I read it and it was exactly what I got. I read it in the sunshine, I would recommend that too.

I would rate this book a 9/10 because it was really good and I liked it although it seemed like something I had read before and it was really short. Short and sweet, I guess.

-Flounder

Sarah Bishop by Scott O'Dell

I read this book for a project when I was in 4th grade so I don't remember all the details of the story.

I do remember that this is about a girl named Sarah Bishop and she has to run away to the woods, although I don't remember why. I remember that I worked on this project with my friend and both of us were really into it.

I would recommend this to people who like adventure books and kind of lonely books because there aren't all that many people in this book.

I think when I read it I would have rated the book high so something like a 8/10 or maybe an 8.5/10 but I can't really remember. Read it and fill me in. :)

-Flounder
p.s. sorry, I know that was super vague and short but I'll re-read it sometime I get the chance and then I can fill in all the gaps, deal? Deal.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I read this book directly after Catching Fire but had forgotten to write the review for both this book and Catching Fire. I have to add that I read each book in under 48 hours and I had a lot going on (i.e. school, homework, places to go, stuff to do). I liked this book; people kept saying it was the worst so I thought it was going to be super duper bad. But really what I think they meant was that the plot was upsetting, the writing was great it's just that you got mad at what was happening. It's nothing against the book, it's just the emotions you get. I really like how this book wrapped up the series and although the ending wasn't perfect for everyone, it was still an ending and not a cliff hanger.

This is the 3rd book in the series and I would recommend that you read the first two before you read this one. Spoiler for those of you reading book 1 and 2!!!!: This book is about District 13 and the rising revolution. This book is about Katniss as the mockingjay. I have to say that this book was really sad and made me cry. The ending had some parts that really upset me and made me mad but the epilogue made it kind of okay because I knew that in the end she was happy. 

I would really recommend this book to anyone who read the first two. I would recommend the whole series to anyone who likes romance, action and adventure. 

I would rate this book a 9/10 because I have to show you how I really appreciated the first two books and this is my way of expressing it. 

I would rate the series as a whole 9.5/10 because it was really well written and the plot was amazing and it was super wonderful but it also wasn't perfect, although this could really have been because I'm kind of grading the happiness of the plot along with the books themselves. This was an amazing series, I would recommend this to everyone. READ THIS SERIES!

-Flounder

Happy Easter!

Hey guys, it's Easter! I hope you all enjoy your holiday Sunday. Don't forget that it's not all about the eggs and the candy. This day is really about the risen Lord. Although you can enjoy the eggs and candy as well. Enjoy ;)

-Flounder

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

This book is the 2nd in The Hunger Games series. I read this directly after I read The Hunger Games because I had to find out what would happen next.

This book is about how Katniss and Peeta and Gale are all living in District 12. Katniss and Peeta have to go on tour again where they find out the dangers of kindness towards other districts. Then it is time for the next Hunger Games and they know that they will have to mentor kids from their district. But it's a Quarter Quell, the 75th Hunger Games, meaning that there will be a twist to this game. For the first Quarter Quell the tributes were voted on. The second Quarter Quell twice as many tributes were required. Well this year they learn that they will be selecting for the previous winners. Katniss has to return. She'll be fighting either Peeta or Haymitch. This doesn't look good for her.

I actually really enjoy this book. I would recommend reading The Hunger Games before you read Catching Fire but the plot is pretty much explained for you again in Catching Fire so if you don't read The Hunger Games you'll be alright.

I would rate this book a 9.5/10 because it was super duper good but the first book was still better and I have to express that someway.

-Flounder