Add a book review for others to see by following the format below.

Fill out the form found in the "Library - Allshare" folder on our network.   Write a review and save it as the book's title and your last name.   Place your review in the "Book Review" folder found in the "Library - Allshare" folder.  Mrs. Faber will then add it to this webpage after review!

 

Have fun reading everyone's reviews! 

 

Rating 1-5, with 5 being best

 

Title:  Brisingr

Author: Paolini, Christopher

Summary:  Eragon helps his brother to defeat the Razac and goes back to the Varden camp.  Then Nasdia sends him to the dwarfs to help him influence the people to elect a King sympathethic to the Varden cause.  Then Eragon goes to the elves where he gets a new riders sword.  Then he and Saphira go to help the Varden defeat a city with the help of Arga and elves.

Rating:  5

A. Bomers

 

Title:  Catching Katie

Author:  Hunter, Robin Lee

Summary:  This book is about a young woman named Katie who is committed to fighting for women's suffrage.  When she visits her hometown she is confronted with townfolk who dislike her and think that she has no right as woman to fight for rights.  She is also confronted with an old frien, Ben Rafferty, who sets out to win her heart.  Katie will have to decide between women's suffrage of love.

Rating: 2

E. Schipper

 

Title:  The Terrible Gift

Author:  Carlson, Rick and Stimeling, Gary

Summary:  This book talks about the advances that are being made in genetic medicine.  It also talks about the pros and cons of genetic medicine.  For example, will people drink mor if alcoholism and its effects can be cured.  The book also talks about how improvenemts in genetic medicine could lead to the creation of a superior race of humans.  It discussed the fact that as medicine becomes more and more businesslike, money will leterally equal life.  The whole point of the book is to inform a person about how advanced medicine is becoming. but still how evil it is.

Raiting:  5

Er. Schipper

 

Title:  Chains:  Seeds of America

Author:  Anderson, Laurie Halse

Summary:  Set during the Revolutionary War, Isabel (a slave girl) begins her fight for freedom.  Promised freedom upon the death from her master, it is suddenly taken away and she is sent to live with a cruel family in New York City.  Isabel is encouraged to spy on her owners who are loyal to the British, but changes her mind when she is promised freedom in exchange for her knowledge of plans of a British invasion.  Excellent book.

Rating:  5

Mrs. Faber

 

 

Title:  Nineteen Minutes

Author:  Picoult, Jodi

Summary:  Deals with the story of a boy who has been bullied by his classmates his whole life and feels the only way to deal with his rage is by shooting up the school.  This book definitely blurs the line between right and wrong.

Rating:  3

Mrs. Faber

 

Title:  Island of the World

Author:  O’Brien, Michael

Summary:  This is the story of a child born in Yugoslavia before World War II.  His country is torn apart by warring factions, eventually occupied by the Communist party.  When he is twelve years old, his entire world is destroyed and he begins a quest to regain his life, spiritually and physically.  This is a very emotionally charged book, profound and life changing in the lessons that it left me pondering over long after the book was done.

Rating:  5

Mrs. Faber

 

Title:  The Negotiator

Author:  Henderson, Dee

Summary:  This book is suspenseful and keeps you wondering the whol time.  You are given some information but you do not know the full story till the end.  My favorite character was Kate O'Malley.  She can defend herself and is very independent.  She risks her life everyday to save others.

Rating: 4

A. Bos

 

Title:  Cheaper by the Dozen

Author:  Gilbreth, Frank Bunker

Summary:  My favorite character was the Dad, Mr. Gilbreth.  Hi is a motion study expert and tries to apply it to his family.  He films the doctor while he is taking the kids' tonsils out and tries to tell him how he could decrease his movements.  Mr Gilbreth tried to teach his children as much as possible in a short amount of time.  He bought French records and made the children listen to them while in the bathroom.  He also covered the walls of their summer house in Morse Code.  Even though he seemed stern, he was a loving father.

Rating: 5

H. Lanning

  

Title:  Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Author:  MD Taylor

Summary:  My favorite character was Cassie.  She was the most brave of the children who always went and did the most daring stuff hoping she wouldn't get caught which didn't happen that much.  At nights she woud go otside to hear all the noises and fell into a patch of mud. So she went inside tochange her clothes quietly because she didn't want to awake Big Ma who slept in the same room.  I learned that whites treat blacks like dirt and how the blacks stand up for each other for the most part.  This has changed but some still are treated that way.

Rating: 3

B. Griffioen

 

Title:  The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Author:  Avi

Summary:  My favorite character was definitely Charlotte Doyle.  I like how she went from being ladylike to being a tomboy sailor, instead of being a tomboy and then becoming a lady, like most girls do.  My favorite part was probably when she climbed the ratlines of the SeaHawk.  I also liked it when she snuck out at the end to go sailing on the SeaHawk again.  It was interesting  to learn that the captain has the right to, as Zachariah put it, "judge, jury, and hangman in any case that came up at sea". 

Rating: 4

J. Koerner

 

Title:  Brisingr

Author:  Christopher Paolini

Summary:  My favorite character is Eragon because he can be so smart at times, but yet not know what he is doing.  The best part is the first battle/meeting between the two enemies.  The most interesting thing I learned was all the different spells used and the way they could just heal themselves or another person.

Rating: 5

B. Dykstra

 

Title:  Ward No, 6 and Other Stories

Author:  Anton Chekhov

Summary:  A compilation of some of the extensive collection of short stories by Chekhov, each one, in a simple but profound way used the nature of human beings, their hopes, dreams, sins, sorrows and triumphs of individuals.  In Ward No. 6 the most striking example of Chekhov’s skill and perception comes in a story entitled “The Student”.  A divinity student out shooting on a Good Friday afternoon is depressed by the dim weather.  He feels that life has always been full of misery and history itself is a collection of tragedies.   Then, as he walks he comes upon two widows by a fire in their garden.  He warms himself and being a divinity student and the day of Good Friday, tells the story of Peter’s denial of Jesus and the subsequent repentance.  The older widow cries and the younger appears troubled and the student realizes that history is not a smattering of troubled events.  It is an unbroken chain of events following one out of another; when he touched one end, the other quivered….The truth and beauty which had guided events in the garden had continued without interruption to this day.  Suddenly the students view of his home and family changes.  Life seemed to him enchanting, marvelous, and full of lofty meaning.

Rating: 4

J. Langerak

  

Title: Fallon

Author:  Louis L’amour

Summary:  This book is a typical Louis L’amour book with a twist at the end.  Macon Fallon decides to start a town as a way to cheat people out of money.  He works harder than most to make it a ggod town. In the end, he starts to like the town.  However, a gun battle ends his plans of riding away before everyone figures out that he is a fraud.  When he wakes up, the girl likes has arranged their wedding, which he is helpless to escape.

Rating: 5

T. Mingerink

 

Title:  The Squire’s Tale 

Author: Gerald Morris

Summary:  It’s about a boy who becomes a squire to the great Sir Gwain (before he becomes a knight of the Round Table).  The book is full of humor and lessons.  It is a fun and easy read about what makes a hero and a man.

Rating: 4

B. Prins

  

Title:  The Teeth of the Tiger 

Author:  Tom Clancy

Summary:  The book is about Homeland Security.  It’s about a secret organization that tries to hunt down terrorists before they attack.  The book goes from view to view from the U.S. agents of Hendley Associates to the Mexican drug lords to the Islamic terrorists.  It gives you an idea of how much power the government has.  My favorite characters are Brian and Dominic who are an FBI agent and a Marine, both chosen to be the field agents in the disposal of terrorists.

Rating: 4

K. Zwak

  

Title:  A Voice in the Wind 

Author:  Francine Rivers

Summary:  This novel, the first in Francine Rivers’ “Mark of the Lion” trilogy, features a young Jewish Christian, Hadassah, as its main character.  Hadassah, transported to Rome with other Jews who survived the devastation of Jerusalem c.70 A.D., becomes maid-servant to a rich, conniving young mistress in the home of the wealthy Valerian family.  The book does not spare the full picture of the decadence and debauchery of Roman life as Rome’s empire grows in size and sinfulness, and against that backdrop, the steadfast faith of this young Christian shines brightly.  I look forward to reading the next book.

Rating: 4

S. Looyenga

  

Title:  The Black Phantom of Ravenhurst 

Author:  W. G. Vandehulst

Summary:  The book was about a man that was sent to a castle that was taken over by bad people.  These people made all the farmers give them their grain and they barely had any to begin with.  They started a revolt and over-rode the castle and it all ended up good.  My favorite character was Peter.  When he found the old lady in the mill and he found the screeching sound, that was my favorite part.

Rating; 4

T. Kalsbeek

  

Title:  The Book Thief

Author;  Markus Zusak

Summary:  If not for the language this would be one of the top 10 books I have read. Liesel and Rudy are highly complex characters that find themselves tossed, turned, and torn in their voyage through adolescence, in war-torn Germany.  Their choices often result in a physical response as they struggle to be children and adults, to be free yet in a war, to have food and to share their last morsel and to protect the ones they love when all events are out of their control.  But through it all there is one ting that gives them hope, identity and a sense of worth:   Words.  And that is why Liesel becomes the “Book Thief”.

Rating: 4

S. Van Uffelen

 

 

Title:  A Child Called “It” 

Author:  Dave Pelzer

Summary:  The main character, David Pelzer, is my favorite character.  He was abused by his mother.  He was never given any food so he stole from his classmates.  The most interesting part is when he first tried to steal from a grocery store and was so nervous that he could not do it.  The best part was in fifth grade when the teacher reported the abuse and a police officer takes him away from his mother.

Rating: 4

C. Kingma

  

Title:  No Place for Magic

Author:  E. D. Baker

Summary:  My favorite character is Princess Esmeralda.  She is the Princess of Greater Greensward and also the Green Witch.  That means it is her responsibility to protect her kingdom with her magic from werewolves and invading enemies.  She can do a lot of cool things with her magic.  Her aunt and her grandmother make things difficult for her because they are under the family curse which turns them into a horrible hag if they touch a flower after they turn 16.  Emma breaks the curse.

Rating:  5

K. Jessup

  

Title:  Like Dandelion Dust

Author:  Karen Kingsbury

Summary:  This book is a about an adopted boy, Joey.  Joey was a boy who was adopted by Jack and Molly Campbell at birth.  At age five Joey was very attached to his adoptive parents.  His biological father, Rip, was released from prison and wanted his son.  His biological parents went to a judge and he said they could have him back because Rip’s signature was forged.  Joey visited his biological parents three times before Jack and Molly decided to disappear like dandelion dust.  Before they were going to disappear Jack and Molly were told they could keep Joey and so they went back to living a normal life.

Rating: 4

L. Koole

 

Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone        

Author: JK Rowling

Summary: Book was entertaining and suspenseful but glamorized the occult. Those who were not wizards or sorcerers were labeled “Muggles” and characterized as “ignorant", "mean", and overall "not with it”. The book also implied that magic, witchcraft and the like were great as long as used for good. I would not recommend it to a young audience.

Rating:  2

Mr. DeVries 

 

Title: Kite Runner 

Author: Khaled Hosseini     

 Summary: When I was first told this was an interesting book, I didn't believe it.  After all it was about Afghanistan!  But this was one of the best books I've read in a while.  It is about two boys coming of age just before their country is invaded by Russia. It follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant.  They are inseparable as children, telling stories and flying kites, until their relationship is changed forever. 

Rating:  5

Reviewed by Mrs. Faber

 

Title:  The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency 

Author:  Alexander McCall Smith    

Summary:  Set in Botswana, this book is a humorous look at a detective agency run by Mma Ramotswe, who helps people with problems in their lives.

Rating:  4

Reviewed by Mrs. Faber

  

  

Title: Cheaper by the Dozen

Author: Frank Gilbreth

Summary: Unfortunately I learned that I am more like the father in the book than I previously imagined. Trying to keep sanity, order, discipline and a spiritual nature to your home while notes are literally pounded out on the piano, strange smells are the results of your children’s shenanigans, and all your furniture becomes a playground set!  Exaggerated?  Maybe.  Realistic? Yes. A must read? Definitely.

Rating:    5

Mr. Van Uffelen

 

Title: My Life as a Doormat

Author: Rene Gutteridge

Summary: A very enjoyable read for both my wife and myself. In particular we appreciated the rich imagery and poignant examples to “real” everyday life and situations. Although the storyline was quite predictable, it remained a page-turner because of its superb writing and well-developed character. If you don’t mind laughing out loud, read this book!

Rating:   4

Mr. Van Uffelen 

 

Title: Bleachers

Author: John Grisham

Summary: My favorite character in this book was Neely Crenshaw. In this book he learns to forgive past mistakes. As his old football coach lays dying, Neely realizes he was wrong to ever hate him. Neely also asks forgiveness of his high school sweetheart, who’s heart he broke.

Rating: 2

M. VandenTop

  

 Title: The Man called Noon

Title:  Breaking Dawn 

Author:  Meyer, Stephanie

Summary:  This book is the last of the Twilight Saga.  It tells about a human and a vampire who fall in love.  Bella transforms into a vampire after she gives birth.  The head vampires almost cause a fight, but the peace loving vampire family stops it.

Rating: 5

L. Kamps

 

Title:  Skipping Christmas 

Author:  Grisham, John 

Summary:  One of the funny parts of the book is when every house on Hemlock Street puts up their decorations except the Kranks because they're not doing Christmas this year.  Instead they are taking a cruise.  It's a pretty funny book.

Rating:  4

A. Van Overloop

 

Title: House

Author:  Dekker, Ted and Peretti, Frank

Summary:  My favorite character in the book was Jack.  It takes him a long time to figure out that the house he is trapped in is a reflection of his own heart, and the only way to get out is to follow the girl, Susan.  The book has an underlying Christian theme that exhorts us to follow Christ in order to escape our own sinful heart.

Rating:  4

J. Holstege

 

Title:  Eclipse

Author:  Meyer, Stephanie

Summary:  Bella Swan is a typicle girl who has a vampire for a boyfriend and a werewolf as a best friend.  She needs them to protect herself from this other vampire who wants to get even with Edward for killing her spouse in a previous book.

Rating:  5

J. Hofman

 

Title:  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows

Author:  Rowling, JK

Summary:  My favorite part is at the end when you think that Harry has died and that Voldemort has won, but then you find out that Harry has relly defeated Voldemort.  Harry is my favorite character because he doesn't five up in his fights, and he keeps on through the end until it pays off.

Rating:  5

J. Hiemstra