Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

Eleven year old Turtle has moved to Key West, Florida, to live with her aunt, uncle and three cousins while her mother takes a job in New Jersey.  The year is 1935 and the country is suffering through the Great Depression with many people out of work and struggling to make a living.  Turtle joins the Diaper Gang - a group of boys who look after the babies in their neighborhood in exchange for candy, because no one has any money to give them.  Girls aren't allowed in the Diaper Gang, but when Turtle suggests the boys help her hunt for pirate treasure, they can't get in the boat fast enough.   

Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes

All is quiet in the simple neighborhood known as the "ninth ward" of the city of New Orleans in August, 2008, but Mama Ya-Ya senses that a powerful storm is approaching.  Mama Ya-Ya is a deeply spiritual woman who senses the changes in nature and believes in the power and the messages of her dreams.   She's brought up Lanesha since her mother died in childbirth and her relatives abandoned her.  Lanesha has the power to see ghosts who talk to her, even the ghost of her own mother in the bedroom upstairs.    One by one, neighbors leave their homes to find safety elsewhere, but Mama Ya-Ya refuses to leave.  Lanesha and her school friend TaShon ride out the storm with Mama Ya-Ya and their newly found pet, a dog named Spot.  When the storm dies down and the great flood threatens their house, Lanesha and TaShon must use every ounce of courage in order to survive.    

Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel

Have you ever thought that your brother or sister wasn't even human?  Do your siblings act like animals?  Ben Tomlin can relate to that - his half-brother doesn't just act like an animal, he IS an animal.  He's a chimpanzee who has been adopted by the Tomlin family as part of an experiment being run by Ben's parents who work for a university.  Ben isn't sure he wants his quiet life disturbed by an animal who quickly becomes a celebrity as he learns to communicate.  It isn't long before a special bond develops between Ben and Zan, with Ben becoming very protective of his first "brother".  When Zan's behavior becomes too difficult to manage, Ben's parents make a decision about a new life for Zan without taking into account Ben's close relationship with him.  Ben, disagreeing with their decision, takes matters into his own hands to save Zan.

FLIGHT

The book I want to review is FLIGHT.  It's the best comic book i've ever read.  It's basically a comic book full of other short comic books. I  say we should put it in the Library.   I stongly agree!

The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis

I am reading a book in reading class called The Watson's Go To Birmingham. The book is a really good book and I was wondering if I could make my book a book review. I want to tell people that the Watsons go to Birmingham is a very good book and that it is about a trip that the Watsons take to Birmingham, Alabama.  They are going to take the trip but then for some reason they end up not taking it and i don't know why they decided to not but i guess they did for some reason. This is a really good book but I haven't finished it yet and I am on chapter 8.  MC

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

The winner of the 2011 Newbery Medal, this novel is set in a small town of Manifest, Kansas in the 1930's.  After years of riding the rails along with her father as he looked for work during the Great Depression, Abilene is sent back to her father's hometown to stay with Pastor Shady Tucker.  Abilene is disappointed when she sees the town, an older and more tired version of the bustling town she had pictured.  When Abilene discovers a box of interesting items hidden away under  a floor board, her curiosity is peaked and she immediately sets out to discover the meaning of the items and the identity of the person who hid the box. She finds out that some townspeople are willing to talk about the past, others want their secrets to remain hidden.  Throughout the summer, she longs for a reunion with her father, as she and two new friends piece together secrets from the past.