Welcome to your first day of class!! If you are in Good (the school for princes, princesses and all manner of kind folk) you will learn what it truly means to be heroes. If you are in Evil...well you can figure that one out on your own.
Sophie thinks that with her pink dresses, sweet smile, and blonde hair, she will be a shoe-in for the school of Good. Agatha, her best friend, would rather sit in her dark, dungeon of a bedroom than socialize with anyone. They seem to fit the exact stereotype for Good and Evil. But when they arrive, a terrible mix up happens, and they are sent to the wrong schools.
Is this all some terrible accident? Or is this the first step in finding out who really is good and who really is evil?
This book is an excellent, fast paced read. I would recommend this book for high-school aged students, based on content (after all, there is a whole school devoted to being evil. When they say Evil, it is really EVIL and frankly kind of unnecessary with the amount of time they spend learning about maiming and harming cute animals.)
Grade Level: 5.1
The most wonderful news has come to the ears of the mother of the Bennet Daughters: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia. A young gentleman will be renting a large manor who is fabulously wealth and, of course, single. Mrs. Bennet is exceedingly desperate to marry of each of her daughters as not let them become burden upon society. Little does she know that with all of her meddling wiles, Mrs. Bennet could not conceive the events which were to follow Mr. Bingley's coming.
Jane, the eldest, develops a certain fondness for Mr. Bingley right away. Love at first sight seems very real to Jane. She confides in her sister Elizabeth, who has a very different view of love. Upon meeting Mr. Bingley for the first time, the also happen to meet his dear friend, Mr. Darcy. He seems sour; brooding even and wants very little to do with the things of this world which are enjoyable. Upon meeting, he insults Elizabeth who swears that she will never understand why such an arrogant and unpleasant man could exist.
Thought to be one of Austen's finest novels,Pride and Prejudice is certainly among the most well known. And while character development is present in all of her novels, this one in particular I believe has the most drastic changes and some of the most relate-able characters.
Grade Level: 12.0
Interest Level: 8.0-12.0
As poor Percy Jackson struggles through school (and does something rather embarrassing to his math teacher) he begins to suspect that his life is not what it seems. He discovers that his lifelong reading and attention troubles are all signs that he is a half-blood-a child of the Greek gods. After training, Percy and the gang go on a quest to recover Zeus' lost thunderbolt and stop a war between the fickle gods. Along the way, where modern life and mythology intersect to create both humor and excitement, Percy will come to know his father Poseidon, rescue his mother, and discover that he has what it takes to be a hero. Ultimately, Percy learns to trust his friends and his abilities and to choose love over despair. -Scholastic Review
This is such a great beginning to a series!! Riordan is a master of creating reading appeal to children (and adults!!). The Lightning Thief is the first book of the Olympian series, and has earned all of the hype. Truly an excellent novel; one which stays true to its mythological backgrounds. I appreciate when fiction is accurate when portraying concepts taken from Ancient mythologies. This novel is informative as well as a load of fun!
Grade Level: 4.7-4.9
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis is one of my all-time FAVORITES. If you are familliar with the Narnia stories, you are already aware of the drastic transformation that each child goes through with each visit to Narnia. And for good reason! Epic battles, trying sibling rivalry, and, of course, Aslan!! Whenever we spend time with God, we are drastically changed for the better. I LOVE this series, and especailly this novel.
Edmund, Lucy and their boisterous (and awful) cousin Eustace are pulled into Narnia throught he painting of a ship (soooo cool!!) to aid Prince Caspian in his recent plight. They join forces with Caspian and traverse the great Eastern Ocean. Caspian swore an oath to Aslan that he would find and bring home the 7 missing lords from the outlying islands who had been banished during Caspian's Uncle's tyrannical reign.
This novel is a fantasy classic for many reasons!! Heroism, epic adventures and leadership combine forces to create this amazing novel.
Grade Level: 5.9-6.1
Eleven-year-old Clara Dooley has no friends. She has never seen past the boundaries of the household she resides in, due to a heart defect she developed as a child. Her mother is the keeper of the Glendoveer Mansion, where they live in relative quiet. The aviary outside, however, is usually far from silent. How much trouble could a pack of old performance birds be?
Slowly, Clara's well-kept life begins to unravel. The details surrounding this old mansion are constantly elusive. Clara goes in search of answers about the mysterious deaths of the Glendoveer children, and finds out more than she bargained for.
This novel is extremely well-done. I would recommend it for middle grade ages, due to some scary content. This is, after all, a murder mystery.
Grade Level: 4.7
Cathy is a lively, free-spirited young girl who loves her father very much. She comes from a well-to-do family, yet has little desire to be the 'lady' everyone thinks she will become. After returning home from a long journey, her father brings them back a very unique gift: a boy named Heathcliff. At first she is unsure what to make of this gypsy child in her home. Later Cathy begins to love him like her own brother Hindley. As they grow up, Cathy sends all of her time with Heathcliff, running wildly around the moors and fields. As Cathy grow into an adult, she desperately tries to hold onto the wild side of her youth, and Heathcliff.
One night, after being attacked my dogs, Cathy is forced to stay in the home of Edgar Linton, a kind man who is absolutely in love with her. She tries to push him away, but decides to let her wild side disparate instead, and conforms to the norms of society. Heathcliff, however, does not change, and despises Cathy for leaving him and turning away from the old life.
This one of my All-Time favorites. I read this novel every so often whenever the weather is properly cloudy and grim.
Grade Level: 11.3
Coraline has a booooring life. She doesn't have ANY fun; just sits inside all day imagining what life would be like with a better family. Then one day, Coraline finds an old door. Yet when she opens it, there is only a wall!!. Later that night, she discovers the wall behind the door is gone and has revealed an alternate world. Her 'other' family' is everything she wants, even though they have buttons for eyes. Little does she know the horror that awaits her.
Gaiman is an excellent writer and has many very prominent novels to his name. His style is very unique, and draws kids in to the whimsical nature of his stories.
Grade Level: 5.1
Quite a melancholy masterpiece! While the cover may try to fool you into thinking this is a silly children's book, it is far from that!! This is one of my all-time favorite novels.
Lady Amalthea is the last of her kind, and by some strange happenstance, she is turned into a human. She goes through intense depression after realizing her own mortality (Unicorns are immortal, in case you didn't know) and also learns how vain she was as an immortal. Slowly, Amalthea learns how to be compassionate, caring, and eventually, how to love.
This novel is excellently done, and filled with vivid imagery.
Grade Level: 6.2
The Tuck family has a unique problem: they cannot die. To some facing death, this would be wonderful. To them...well we simply have to read to find out!! Given eternal life after drinking from a spring in the forest, the Tuck family does their best to stay out of sight. Yet, when unsuspecting Winnie Foster runs away from home, their secret runs the risk of being exposed.
Winnie starts to think living forever seems like a good idea. But when a man shows up who seems to know about them, the Tuck family must protect the well from being sold to others to make money.
Grade Level: 5.0
In the thrilling sequel to novel Storybound, the King is missing, and Una and her friends are desperate to find a way to defeat the Enemy that is threatening all of the land of Story. Little do they know, Una has more at stake than anyone else. In an epic turn of events, the Muses of Story are back. Are they truly evil? Or have the leaders been lying to the people? Truth will out, as the saying goes, and of course, poor Una is caught in the middle.
Is she willing to risk the lives of her friends to regain a lost childhood? Or will she abandon her family and save Story?
Grade Level: 5.1
