Book Review: Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

Out of My Mind 
by Sharon M. Draper
Release Date: March 9th, 2010
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Format: Paperback, 295 pages
Source: JMMS Library
ISBN: 978-14169-71702
Get a Copy: 
       Barnes and Nobles
       Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there's no delete button. She's the smartest kid in her whole school—but no one knows it. Most people—her teachers and doctors included—don't think she's capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows . . . but she can't, because Melody can't talk. She can't walk. She can't write. Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind—that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. At last Melody has a voice . . . but not everyone around her is ready to hear it.

From multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner Sharon M. Draper comes a story full of heartache and hope. Get ready to meet a girl whose voice you'll never, ever forget.

Cindy's Review: I already talked about this book in one of the other CYRM nominee book reviews. For starters this book was a really well-written, deep book about the feeling of others and not exactly normal everyday people who have the privilege of everything. 

I honestly cried in this book. LOL. I think I cry in every book, but this book was true and deep. 

The Cover:

The cover maybe simple, but just like the book, it has deep meaning into it. The main character, Emma is just the goldfish flying out of the jar: Without water the goldfish can't live, it will need help. Emma also needs help doing things, just like that helpless goldfish flying out of the jar.

The Characters/Plot: 

Emma have this mental illness that causes her not able to control herself. Even though Emma can't do simple things like eat by herself or go to the bathroom by herself, Emma is actually really smart. She has photographic memory and she understands what is going on. 

But not being able to talk is the worst thing to Emma. When Emma finally gets a Medi-talker which she can use to talk, people finds out amazingly how smart Emma is. In fact, she's the only one in the whole school to get all the questions for the Genius school competition thing (I forgot the name, sorry)

But would the normal kids except her for who is truly inside, or how she is on the outside?

The Extra:

Even though I seriously loved this book and all that.. UGH!!! IT'S SO HARD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN BOOKS!!!  I'm gonna still have to go for another book. ;((( Sorry...

And like I feel like my reviews are so short. How do I make them longer? Omg. Really. I can chat......or not. SO this book.....I recommend it to people who wants to learn more about.......okay. I can't do this. Omg. This is awkward. I promise my next one would be really long? Okay? PROMISE!!

Rating: (1-10): 8.5

Happy Reading~ 

Book Review: The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt

The Things a Brother Knows 
by Dana Reinhardt
Release Date: September 13th, 2011
Publisher: Ember
Format: Paperback, 256 pages
Source: John Muir Middle School Library
ISBN: 978-03758-44560
Get a Copy: 
      Barnes and Nobles
      Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Levi's older brother Boaz returns from fighting with the Marines in the Middle East. He's safe. Levi's family has waited three long years for this. But Boaz is no longer the brother Levi thought he knew. Even if nobody else wants to see it, Levi can tell that Boaz has changed; something's wrong. When Boaz announces he's off to hike the Appalachian Trail, Levi knows he's lying. He's heading somewhere else. So Levi follows, determined to understand who his brother was, what he's been through, and how to bring him home again.

Cindy's Review: The Things a Brother Knows is another one of the CYRM 2013 nominee. This is in the Young Adult section competing against Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl and Matched by Ally Condie. I honestly think it won't win due to how famous and popular Beautiful Creatures and Matched is. It's a battle between those two books. Personally, who would I choose? Hmmm. Even though I like the Beautiful Creatures series better than Matched and I think Matched isn't the best written book ever, I think I'll still choose Matched for the Young Adult section. 

The Cover: 
The cover is okay to me. The only comment I made about it that Levi in the cover does not look 5'9" or was it 5'11"? I forgot.

The Characters/Plot: 
Levi - Levi is 17, almost 18 when his brother, Boaz who is perfect and popular came back from the army. When Boaz came back, he changed completely and was quiet all the time. One day Boaz packed and started to take a walking trip to Washington D.C. 

Levi thought there was something wrong with Boaz, so Levi also decides to go follow Boaz. Together they walked across the country to Washington D.C. 

The ending was kind of sad. I actually cried. LOL. 

The Extras: 
I think this book was kind of boring compared to the other two books. Even though there is some romance, I just don't seem to connect with this book. ;(

Parpar = butterfly    

So if you want to read my review for Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1), here it is: 
http://bookaholicfaggots.blogspot.com/2012/09/book-review-beautiful-creatures-by-kami.html

And if you want Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles #2) review:
http://bookaholicfaggots.blogspot.com/2012/09/book-review-beautiful-darkness-by-kami.html

And the Beautiful Chaos (Caster Chronicles #3) review: 
http://bookaholicfaggots.blogspot.com/2012/10/book-review-beautiful-chaos-by-kami.html

And lastly Beautiful Redemption (Caster Chronicles #4) review: 
http://bookaholicfaggots.blogspot.com/2013/01/book-review-beautiful-redemption-by.html

Okay. I dunno why just advertised Beautiful Creatures series so much. LOL.

Oh. And I don't have a review of Matched on my blog because I read that book all the way back in sixth grade and I didn't have a blog yet back then. LOL. 

The Rating:
(1-10): 7.5

Happy Reading~

Book Review: Invisible Lines by Mary Amato

Invisible Lines 
by Mary Amato 
Release Date: November 24th, 2009
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Format: Paperback, 299 pages
Source: John Muir Middle School Library
ISBN: 978-16068-40108
Get a Copy: 
      Barnes and Nobles
      Amazon

Goodreads Summary: If there’s one thing I’m good at it’s making people laugh because when I’m standing up I’m what you call a stand-up comedian, and when I’m sitting down, I’m just plain funny.  
 
Trevor is just plain funny, and he’s lucky he is. Because this year he needs a sense of humor. Moving to a new home is hard enough—the sign reads hedley gardens, but everyone calls these projects deadly gardens. And the move to a fancy new school is even harder—all the kids from Deadly Gardens seem to be in the same classes and keep to themselves, but somehow Trevor’s ended up in an advanced science class with kids who seem to have everything, and know everything, including how to please their strange new teacher.

Someone else might just give up, but Trevor has plans. This is going to be his year.  And he is going to use whatever he has, do whatever it takes, to make it at this new school. He may not have what these other kids have, but Trevor knows he’s got some stuff to show. No one is better at juggling in soccer, and he knows he can draw—he calls himself the Graffiti Guy. 

But Xander, a star in the classroom and on the soccer field, has other plans for Trevor. He doesn’t like anyone trespassing on his turf and begins to sabotage Trevor at every opportunity. Who is going to believe Trevor over the school star? Is there any way that Trevor can achieve his goals against a guy who is as good at bullying as he is at everything else he does?

Book Review:  This is another one of the CYRM nominees. This book is going against Wild Things and Out of My Mind. I'm having a hard time choosing between Out of My Mind and this book. Both is very well-written. And both is very written very deeply. But I think I would choose this book despite everything. It connects to me the most. Even though Out of My Mind connects to me a lot too, I didn't cry as much in that book. Yeah. I grade how connected I am to a book by my crying. LOL. Jk. 

The Cover:

I think this book cover is really bright an eye-catchy. And I totally get how it connects to the story.

The Characters/Plot: 

The main character is named Trevor Musgrove. He is an awesome artist and plays soccer really well. He's pretty cool as a person. But the only thing that holds him back is that his family is poor. His mother is a single mother who also have two more kids. Trevor has one little brother whose five and a little sister whose two.

Trevor had just moved to another new place even worse than the last place he lived in. This new apartment is called Deadly Gardens where all the poor kids in his school lived. Trying to have a new start, Trevor tries to blend in with the popular, rich kids. He fits in all right. He;s pretty funny, he's cool, and he's talented. But he has to hide how poor he is. 

Immediately, Trevor begins to hang out with the most popular boys in the school, Xander and Langley. Langley pretty cool and awesome despite how rich he is. If I was in the book, I"ll probably start liking Langley. 

Everything was cool when Trevor begins to show others his skills. Of course other people were like "Cool You're better than Xander!" And Xander who is the conceited, soccer star got jealous of Trevor and does his best to bring Trevor down.

In the end, Xander almost succeeded, but with his wits, Trevor outwits Xander without making Xander more mad at him. 

And you're probably wondering what the heck there is to cry about in this book. Well, I was crying because of Trevor's argument with his mom. It's just sad. Okay. Or maybe I cry too easily. 

The Extras: 

So yeah. I'm choosing this book for the Middle School section!

And just in case you want to see the CYRM list, here it is: http://californiayoungreadermedal.org/Nominees2012-2013.pdf

The Rating: (1-10): 9

Happy Reading~

Book Review: Wild Things by Clay Carmichael

Wild Things 
by Clay Carmichael
Release Date: May 1st, 2009
Publisher: Front Street
Format: Hardcover, 241 pages
Source: John Muir Middle School Library
ISBN: 978-15907-86277
Get a Copy: 
      Barnes and Nobles
      Amazon

Goodreads Summary: A headstrong girl. A stray cat. A wild boy. A man who plays with fire. Eleven-year-old Zoe trusts no one. Her father left before she was born. At the death of her irresponsible mother, Zoe goes to live with her uncle, former surgeon and famed metal sculptor Dr. Henry Royster. She's sure Henry will fail her as everyone else has. Reclusive since his wife's death, Henry takes Zoe to Sugar Hill, North Carolina, where he welds sculptures as stormy as his moods. Zoe and Henry have much in common: brains, fiery and creative natures, and badly broken hearts. Zoe confronts small-town prejudice with a quick temper. She warms to Henry's odd but devoted friends, meets a mysterious teenage boy living wild in the neighboring woods, and works to win the trust of a feral cat while struggling to trust in anyone herself. In this ALA Notable Children's Book and "Kirkus Reviews "Best Children's Book of the Year, Zoe's questing spirit leads her to uncover the wild boy's identity, lay bare a local lie, and begin to understand the true power of Henry's art. Then one decisive night, she and the boy risk everything in a reckless act of heroism. 
"I'd hoped for better, Henry's being a heart doctor. A job like that, you'd think he might actually have a heart.
As usual, I pushed the cart down the aisle myself, taking what I needed off the shelves, the new grown-up as useless as those before him. Negative help, as Mama's friend Manny used to say, negative being less than none. No big deal. Grocery shopping and I were old friends, along with toilet scrubbing, vacuuming, and wash.
Said grown-up--my before-last-Monday-never-heard-of Uncle Henry--trailed behind, ... alternating between keeping five or six paces back like I was contagious and breathing down my neck in the unlikely event I needed him for something. I wondered why he'd claimed me at all.

Cindy's Summary: This book is one of the California Young Reader Medal's 2012-2013's nominees. My school participates in this annual event every year. And every year, I participate too. This year is my last year to be able to participate in so I'm definitely reading all 12 books. ;)

I read this book like a month ago. How am I supposed to remember? I barely surpassed the mini quiz given to prove that you read the book. Good thing I know the librarian who grades those quizzes. Man...um, I'll try my best though.

The Cover:

Hmmm. Okay a cat. I kept on calling this book Wild Cats because the cover had a cat on it. Omg. At least I got the Wild part. 

The Characters/Plot: 

Hmmm. This has like two main characters and a few side characters. This book is told from two POV's. One is the girl, the main character of the book, Zoe. Zoe's dad either left her or he died when Zoe was young or something. Her mom have some kind of bipolar disease thing. Or heart cancer. I forgot. Just something that made her die. Zoe was then sent off to live with her uncle, Henry. 

Henry and Zoe have kind of similar personalities, but Zoe doesn't exactly appreciate him.

The second POV is told by the cat, who is a wild cat who sees all the thing that happens with Zoe and all that. Zoe named this wild cat Mr. C'mere. This cat have quite a strong point of view. LOL.

The Extras:

Since I haven't having time to review books so I have like 6 more books waiting for a review. How am I supposed to remember everything? LOL. 

Well. I apologize for this short uninteresting review. 

The Rate: (1-10) 7.5

Happy Reading~