Volume Eleven, Issue Two, April 2016

Middle
ork
artw
School
Critics
a
by M
a
then
Chan
The critics
Me, Myself and I
Bath and Body Works
Triple
Hannah Epstein
KK Panda
Mama Newt
www.briarcliffmanorlibrary.org, Vol. 11, Issue 2, April 2016
Sunshine
Legolas
Book Dolphin
Jinx
chezcake123
The rating system
Hugs4theworld
NYR ALL THE WAY
chez cream
Meet the Critics on Page 10
In this issue
Excellent
Good
Okay
Bad
Horrible
The Martian · Lockwood and Co. - The Screaming Staircase · The Kill Order · Maus I · Poached · The Zodiac Legacy · The Six ·
Braincamp · Shakespeare’s Secret · Keeper of Lost Cities · Critics · Shakespeare’s Secret · There You’ll Find Me · Blue Neigbourhood ·
Rubick’s Club · The Princess, The Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy · Undertale · Gravity Falls · Heroes · The Black Cauldron · Castle of Llyr ·
Cinder · Twilight Zone · Interstellar · Gulliver’s Travels · Star Wars 7 · One · Skulduggery Pleasant · Shakespeare’s Secret · Kung Fury
Part 2 · Twilight · Degrassi · Crossy Road · Because of Mr. Terupt · Vampire Kisses · Eleanor & Park · Matched · We are SO Crashing
your Bar Mitzvah · The Maze Runner · Into the Wild · Finding Audrey · Sorry · Bud, Not Buddy · Chains · The Book of Three ·
Ghostopolis
The opinions expressed in the reviews are not necessarily the opinion of the Library. The appropriateness of the materials
reviewed is not for the Public Library to determine and the students are encouraged to review whatever they’d like—
therefore, we encourage parents to be involved in and be aware of their children’s book, movie, television, gaming, internet
and music choices. All non-original images are property of their various copyright owners.
The Martian
By Andy Weir
Critic: Triple
The Martian is fun to read. It’s
also fun to watch. The book is
first person, it’s about Mars,
and it’s sciency. I like first
person narrative, space, and
science. It’s good. Now, I will
share with you some of the plot. Mark Watney
and 5 other astronauts (that it would take too
long to list so I won’t tell you, but rest assured,
they have personalities) are on a Mars mission
named Ares III, where they are supposed to stay
for a month. However, 6 (or 19 if you are watching the movie) days into the trip, a storm comes
and the team has to evacuate the planet on a
rocket. Everyone escapes but Watney, who is impaled with a satellite and presumed dead. But
he’s not! Everyone thinks he’s dead though, so
he’s completely alone with limited supplies. To
survive, Mark has to use his brain to make water,
grow food, and try to contact NASA. The movie is
great, but there are some parts in the book that
aren’t in the movie that I really wanted to see. If
you’re deaf, read teh book, if you’re illiterate,
watch the movie, if you can see both just see it or
read it! Also, there’s some language in both. Disregard the first 2 sentences of the book as well. I
wish I could talk about this book more but I am
out literally out of paper :( Rating:
Maus I
By Art Spiegelman
Critic: Sunshine
Maus is a dark story that was
the first to really develop the
graphic novel genre. The author’s father tells his tale as a
Holocaust survivor, but the
story also tells a side-story of
how this information was obtained. I will warn you, though, the topics covered
may be sensitive to some people so read it at your
own emotional risk. Rating:
Lockwood & Co. #1: The Screaming
Staircase
By Jonathan Stroud
Critic: Hannah Epstein
This is a mystery book about a
girl named Lucy and two boys
named Lockwood and George.
These kids can see ghosts.
They are a kid version of Ghost
Busters without adult supervision. They are on this really
long mission to stop the killer of Annie Ward. A
man who wanted to get rid of Lockwood and Co
asked them on a mission to destroy them. The
man is Annie Ward’s killer. The case is called The
Screaming Staircase and the Red Room. The last
ghost busting group who tried this case died. Will
they die or will they solve the Red Room and the
Screaming Staircase? Rating:
The Kill Order
By James Dashner
Critic: Mama Newt
Brilliant author James Dashner
has done it again with this next
addition to the Maze Runner
series. The Kill Order is a prequel to the first book, and
takes place right after the Sun
Flares. Mark and Trina were together when it
happened. Afterwards, they meet Alec, a war veteran and “old bear,” Lana, and the 3 Stooges (as
Alec calls them) Darrel, Misty and the Toad. After
finally finding peace after the Earth was ravenged
by the Sun Flares. Some people in hazmat suits fly
in on bergs (giant, metal planes) and shoot pople
with poison-filled darts. Whoops! Party over!
This spread a deadly disease called the Flare, and
as times goes on it takes longer to kill those who
have it. Probably need to shut up before I spoil
the entire book chapter by chapter, so READ IT!
Trust me. Rating:
Poached
By Stuart Gibbs
Critic: Legolas
Poached is a book about
twelve year old Teddy Fitzroy
who has been framed for the
kidnapping of Kazoo the Koala.
There are two types of people
in this book: the people who
believe Teddy and the people who believe Marge.
Marge is the overweight, I mean really overweight,
head of zoo security who holds an enormous
grudge on Teddy and immediately blames him for
the kidnapping. Teddy does some snooping
around the zoo and discovers things are not at all
what they seem. Teddy figures out that uh-oh I’ve
said too much! R-read the book to uh f-find out!?
Rating:
named Sigma is trying to kill all living things on
earth. Adam and the 5 other machines try to kill
Sigma. Will they succeed? Rating:
Brain Camp
By Susan Kim
Critic: Hannah Epstein
This is a graphic novel about
two kids who go to a camp
where they become “normal.”
It turns out that the counselers
plant weird bird eggs in kids’
heads. Then kids have to
“hatch” the birds from their mouths. Two kids
know how to stop the hatching. Will they stop
the hatching? Read to find out! Rating:
Shakespeare’s Secret
The Zodiac Legacy
By Stan Lee
Critic: Jinx
The Zodiac Legacy is
AMAZING Like Percy
Jackson? Like Magic? Like
the Chinese Zodiac? If you
like at least two of those, then
read this book! Steven is an ordinary boy (Don’t
most books start like that?) on a trip to Hong
Kong. The museum tour guide is suspisous, so
Steven follows her when she slips away. He finds
some magical pools of energy, where Maxwell is
trying to absorb all of the Zodiac energy. (crazy
idea, man!) When he tries to absorb the tiger, it
goes to Steven instead. The rest of the powers fly
free to find new hosts. This is Steven’s attempt to
find the others, and if you like action, READ THIS
BOOK! Rating:
The Six
By Mark Alpert
Critic: Book Dolphin
This book is a MUST READ! It is about a boy
named Adam who is about to die. To save him
and five others who are dying, they transfer their
brains into machines. This book takes place in
By Elise Broach
Critic: Bath and Body Works
It’s hard moving. Hero moved
to a house with her sister
Beatrice and figures out that
her house might have a diamond. She meets this boy
named Danny and Danny tries
to help her find the diamond.
To figure out if they find the dimond, read this
book. Rating:
Critics
Club
Critic: Book Dolphin
If you like to read and review books, Critics is the
club for you. You can review books while eating
snacks and talking to your friends. We meet the
first Thursday of every month at school after
school, and the third Tuesday every month at 6:45
pm at Briarcliff Manor Public Library. This is one
of my favorite clubs!
Keeper of the Lost
Cities
Blue Neighbourhood
By Shannon Messenger
Critic: Jinx
Critic: Sunshine
Sophie Foster is an ordinary
child, who has a photographic
memory. Until a
mysterious… jogger shows up.
He tells her that she is none
other than an elf. Not like the
Lord of the Ringers. But elves that have a special
ability. Sophie, though, is shrouded with mystery.
For starters, she has an impenetrable mind, so no
telphats (telephatic people) can read her mind.
Even the strongest one ever (besides her). And
that’s just the beginning. The first book was the
best, the rest are just repetitive and annoying (but
I’m only on the 3rd). However, read the first book,
and if you want to take the challenge, read the
rest. Rating:
Shakespeare’s Secret
By Elise Broach
Critic: Chezcream
This is a book about a girl
named Hero that went to a
new school in 6th grade and
gets made fun of; and it turns
out that she is living in a
house with a diamond. Will
she find it? Will she not? Read the book to find
out. Rating:
There You’ll Find Me
By Jenny B. Jones
Critic: KK Panda
There You’ll Find Me is about a
girl named Finley Sinclair who’s
brother recently died. She
finds his diary and decides to
find everything he wrote about
so that she can write a song. While searching, she
finds a guy named Beckett Rush and the entire
story is about how she finds what she is looking
for. This is an extremely good book and I recommend you read it. Rating:
Troye Sivan (music album)
Blue Neighbourhood is an incredible collection of music by
Australian/South African
YouTube star (and singer) Troye Sivan. At only 20
years old, he has 3.7 million subscribers. His other albums were Tryxe and Wild, if you want to
check these out, but his most recent and my current favorite is Blue Neighbourhood. Some of the
biggest songs in this album are Suburbia, Youth,
Heaven, and Talk Me Down. If you haven’t heard
it yet, what are you waiting for? Start listening!
Rating:
Undertale
Video game
Critic: Mama Newt
Undertale? What’s that? Oh, well, its only the
BEST GAME EVER!!!! (Well, at least one of them :) )
Enticing storyline, lovable characters, emotional
moments, all mixed in with humor and lots of
puns (of course). For hundreds of years, humans
and monsters have been enemies. When a young
human falls into the world of monsters (literally),
well maybe I shouldn’t give too much away...All I
can say is don’t get too attached to goat mom.
Oh, and don’t mess with Papyrus. You’ll have a
bad time. Rating:
Gravity Falls
The Castle of Llyr
TV Show on Disney XD
Critic: Sunshine
By Lloyd Alexandar
Critic: Hannah Epstein
Dipper and Mabel Pines, 12year-old fraternal twins, are
sent for the summer to their
Great Uncle Stan in Gravity
Falls., a tourist attraction.
Almost immediately, Dipper
finds a journal, which leads to actual magical elements and creatures throughout Gravity Falls.
Meanwhile, Mabel eats glitter-covered pizza in
sweaters and plays with her pig Waddles. It may
seem like a simple mystery story, but don’t skip
season one. Once you finish, it gets much weirder. I’d tell you to trust me, but in Gravity Falls, you
can trust no one. Rating:
This is the third book of the
Chronicles of Prydain. When
the princess goes to the castle,
to become an enchantress, she
suddenly becomes missing.
Tara, Gurgi, Fflewddur, and
Prince Rhun go looking for her. Prince Rhun is a
weird prince, who gets lost often. He always starts
by saing “Hullo Hullo.” Will they find the princess? Read the book to find out! Rating:
Heroes
TV Show (NBC show on
Netflix)
Critic: Legolas
Where do I even start. No literally, there are way too many
story arcs to talk about. From
people who can absorb powers to people who can conduct
electricity. This show has
something for everyone. Scifi, mystery, romance
and so on. Well….shwat are you waiting for jump
on the couch and NETFLIX (or check out the seasons on dvd from the library). Rating:
The Black Cauldron
By Lloyd Alexander
Critic: Hannah Epstein
The second book in the
Chronicles of Prydain series
was scary for me when I was
4. Now, IT WAS AWESOME! I
loved it. A dangerous cauldron has to be destroyed.
Taran, Gurgi, Fflewddur, and more are trying to
destroy it. Will they destroy the cauldron? Read
to find out! Rating:
Cinder
By Marissa Meyer
Critic: Book Dolphin
I REALLY dislike dystopian
books, and I love this book.
Cinder is about an adopted
cyborg mechanic who has a
mean stepmother and two step
sisters (yes this is along the plot line of Cinderella).
There is a deadly plague going around and the
emperor has it. Prince Kai, the emperor’s son has
to become the emperor when his father dies.
Cinder “volunteers” to get tested for the cure for
the plague. It turns out that Cinder is immune to
the plague. With a major plot twist, things turn
out to be the exact opposite of what you think. I
can’t wait to read Scarlet (the sequel). Rating:
The Twilight Zone
TV Show from the 1959-64
Critic: NYR ALL THE WAY
The Twilight Zone is a TV
series from 1959-1964 that is a weird mix of horror, science-fiction, romance, drama, action, and
comedy. It has many interesting characters who
almost always get into a situation that always
ends up in a sticky, mysterious, or suspenseful
ending. The director, Rod Serling, always had a
meaning at the end that you really have to unravel
to really understand it. Overall, it is an amazing
series. Rating:
Interstellar
written in poem form, and you will find yourself in
her shoes—and probably also crying. But read
it—it is a beautifully written story. Rating:
Movie rated: PG-13
Critic: Sunshine
This movie may not have surpassed my expectations, but
it was definitely beyond
“good.” Mr. Cooper, acted by
Matthew McConaughy, owns
a farm with some of the last
crops on Earth. The world is running out of resources, and a “ghost” gives him and his family
directions to a mysterious organization. He is ultimately recruited to go through a wormhole to
another galaxy. On one of these planets where
Cooper and three others are being sent, an hour
lasts decades for those outside of the atmosphere.
Cooper watches his family’s life pass in days
through one-way video messages in this heartbreaking must-watch movie. Rating:
Gulliver’s Travels
Movie rated: PG
Critic: Hannah Epstein
Even though the movie is a bit
weird at some parts, the movie is
OK at the end. From bad parts
at the beginning to OK parts of
the end, this movie gets better
and better during the middle.
The middle is funny, but weird. I suggest you see
the movie now. Rating:
One
By Sarah Crossan
Critic: Me Myself & I
One is really touching story
about conjoined twin girls,
sharing one pair of legs. It is
written through the eyes of
one of the twins, and as she
goes through really hard
times at school and within her
family. She faces judgement from her peers, but
she also makes close friends. She vowed to her
sister to never love a guy, but she suddenly finds
herself breaking that vow. When she discovers
that something tragic might happen, she makes a
sacrifice, changing her life forever. This book is
Star Wars VII
Movie rated PG-13
Critic: Triple
Spoilers!! Spoiler Alert! ***IF
YOU’RE 1 OF THE NEGATIVE 4
PEOPLE WHO HASN’T SEEN
THIS MOVIE, YOU ARE LITERALLY BREAKING PHYSICS AND
IT CAN’T BE POSSIBLE FOR
YOU TO EXIST*** So….Star Wars. It’s good.
You’ve got the 2 new people, and you got the old
ones. It’s amazing that they got all the old actors
back. But anyways, it’s just more Star Wars. Also
* Han Solo dies. Yeah that happens. You’d think
they wouldn’t kill a fan favorite, but they did. Also
it’s pretty funny. :) ***I WARNED YOU!!!** Rating:
*(ok, this is the last time I’m warning you)
Skulduggery Pleasant
By Derek Landy
Critic: Book Dolphin
Skulduggery Pleasant is a skeleton detective who can throw
fire, manipulate air, and conjure water. A 12-year-old girl
Stephanie Edgely’s uncle just died. She meets
Skulduggery and learns how to use his magic.
Turns out that Stephanie’s dead uncle had a key
that led to a scepter that made the person who
held it all-powerful. An already all-powerful villan
named Serpine is after the scepter. Can Skulduggery and Stephanie beat him to the scepter? With
a major plot twist, this is a book you cannot resist.
My friend recommended this book to me, and I
must say, it was good! Read it. Rating:
Shakespeare’s Secret
By Elise Broach
Critic: Hannah Epstein
I know that people do not like
ELA books, but this one is
amazing. Only two peolpe in
my class read this book, and I
am one. This book is a mystery. If you like mystery and
adventure, read this book. A girl finds out about a
diamond. She wants to find it. Will she find it?
Read to find out. Rating:
Kung Fury
Movie Not Rated
Critic: Triple
REVIEW PART 2
I know I said “Just don’t” but
just do! This movie is for all of
you Sharknado fans! For maximum enjoyment watch this one with friends. Also,
Triceracop. : |
Rating:
Degrassi: Next
Generation
TV Show
Critic: KK Panda
Degrassi is a show that has
been going on lots of generations. The first episode aired
in the 1970s. My favorite
Degrassi is Degrassi: Next
Generation, which started in 2001. There have
been 14 seasons and now the 15th season is on
Netflix. The show is about friends that go through
middle school and high school. The cast is
continuously changing, but it is an amazing show
because the actors are amazing and a lot of things
that happen in these shows happen in real life.
Rating:
Crossy Road
Game App
Twilight
By Stephenie Meyer
Critic: KK Panda
Twilight is an AMAZING
book. It’s about a girl named
Bella who falls in love with a
vampire, Edward. She also
befriends a werewolf named
Jacob. At one point, it feels like nothing about
Bella’s life was normal. This book has drama,
violence, and lots of romance. If you like all these
things, then I assure you that you’ll love this book.
Rating:
Critic: Bath and Body Works
You are something trying to cross the road but
you have to be careful and have a steady tempo.
There are trains, cars, and lily pads you have to
jump on to cross some rivers and if you do something wrong your character might be done. It’s
good because you have to try things to survive.
Rating:
Into the Wild
By Sarah Durst
Critic: chezcream
This book is about a girl that
has vines underneath her bed
and it was called The Wild and
it always took her right shoe
and she was stuck with only the left one. Her
mom is Rapunzel. I liked this book and you will
too! Read the book to find out what happens
next! Rating:
Mr. Terupt Falls Again
because it has some drama. Rating:
By Rob Buyea
Critic: NYR ALL THE WAY
Eleanor & Park
This book is good if you like to
read “realistic” fiction. This
book is about a whole “gang”
which consists of seven kids
who had a really strong bond
with their previous teacher,
Mr. Terupt. Mr. Terupt was really fortunate to stay
with them next year in sixth grade, but the gang
was moving to junior high, and are all really upset
because Mr. Terupt wasn’t going to be with them.
Then, something very tragic happens to Mr.
Terupt and one member of the gang comes up
with an ingenious idea, but there is only one
problem: Will Mr. Terupt make it through his
problem or not? Also, will the gang survive
through seventh grade without their teacher?
This book leaves you in suspense. This is why I
absolutely love this book. Rating:
This cliché-like teenage romance begins in 1986.
It seems predictable: antisocial Asian kids meets
strange red head girl at 16 years
old. Nobody likes the girl, Eleanor, even the boy, Park. However, he slowly realizes he likes her.
But not everything is normal.
You soon realize that Eleanor is
poor, has three younger siblings,
and has a butally abusive step
father. Park, meanwhile, has a
rude father and a stuck-up
“perfect” mother. With heart-melting details and
an underestimating cover, this is by far one of my
favorite books! Rating:
By Rainbow Rowell
Critic: Sunshine
Matched
Vampire Kisses
By Ellen Schreiber
Critic: Hannah Epstein
This book is great. There
are a bit older parts, but the
other parts make you on the
edge of your seat. It is
about a girl wanting to be a
vampire. When vampires come into town the girl,
Raven, falls for the vampire, Alexander. She loves
Alexander so much. Will they start to date? Read
this book to find out. (Ask parent for guide of
words.) Rating:
Bud Not Buddy
By Christpher Paul Curtis
Critic: Bath and Body Works
He’s at an orphanage called
the Home and he hears that
he is going to a foster home.
He goes to the foster home
and gets beat up by a boy and then gets locked in
a shed with a hornet’s nest. He meets this girl
and it ends up as a kiss. Bud decides to go to a
guy who he thinks is his father. I liked this book
By Ally Condie
Critic: Book Dolphin
Read this book if you want to
know about a girl who lives in
the future and her problems.
Matched is about a girl named
Cassie. She gets “matched”
with a boy named Alexander
but there turns out to be a glitch on his memo
card (a card that had all of a person’s info on it)
and a boy named Ky’s picture briefly appears. Instead of ignoring anything that isn’t her business
Cassie falls for Ky and gets herself and her family
in a big mess. Unless you want to waste your
time, don’t read this book. Rating:
Ghostopolis
By Doug TenNapel
Critic: chezcake123
This book is absolutely amazing! It’s so suspenseful and
adventurous. It’s about a boy
that got taken into the afterworld and people from “Earth.”
To hear more go and get it at the library.
Rating:
Chains
By Laurie Halse Anderson
Critic: NYR ALL THE WAY
Chains is a book about a girl
slave named Isabel. She has a
sister named Ruth that she
has to protect. There is a lot
of danger with the American
Revolution. This book is
AWESOME, but is a big historical fiction book.
There is nothing else to say. Just read the book!
Rating:
Sorry
Song by Justin Bieber
Critic: Hannah Epstein
This song was so good. Me
and my friend listen to it all
the time. We listen to the sped up version. I do
not like Justin Bieber, but it was the BEST. Download and listen to “Sorry” by Justin Bieber.
Rating:
The Maze Runner
By James Dashner
Critic: Mama Newt
This book. All the smiles, all
the feels, all the tears put into
my reading of this book. I
couldn’t think of anything
better to lock myself in my
room with and read for hours.
I’M IN LOVE!!! The attachment to the characters is
so strong it feels personal, and the plot is so engaging you feel your own adrenaline as Thomas
and Minho run from greivers. It’s like a mix of
Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games, and Lost.
Thomas arrives in a dark metal box to a place
called the Glade. He has no memory, no idea
what’s going on, and just like everyone else, no
way out. He’s the new “Greenie,” the new boy
sent there, only one every month. Then, something weird happens—a girl. She arrives only one
day after Thomas and everything changes. For
the worse….Rating:
Finding Audrey
By Sophie Kinsella
Critic: Sunshine
Audrey is an average fourteen
-year-old girl, or so you’d
think. She has social anxiety,
general anxiety, and depressive episodes. She wears dark
glasses constantly and had to
leave school...but why? She has to deal with her
insane, obsessive mother, her computer-addicted
brother, her dad who refuses to grow up, her four
-year-old simple brother, and those outside of her
confort zone. It may sound like a cliché type of
teenage drama, but trust me, it is beyond my ability to put into words how much I loved it.
Rating:
We Are So Crashing
Your Bar Mitzvah
By Fiona Rosenbloom
Critic: Jinx
Stacy is a girl who went with
her best friend to a summer
camp to learn how to be
cool. When they go back,
everything changes, and their third best friend
abandons them. A cute boy named Otis catches
Stacy’s attention while his boss (cute boy #2) is
handing out Bar Mitzvah invitations. These invitations happen to be good necklaces (real gold).
When Stacy’s best friend #3 who abandoned her
gets invited and the two others don’t, big problems arise. The rest of the book is the drama that
comes with what the two betrayed friends do:
crash the bar mitzvah. Overall, ok. Rating:
The Book of Three
By Lloyd Alexander
Critic: Hannah Epstein
This book is so good. Every chapter left
me on a cliff hanger. I never wanted to
put it down. It is about a boy on a mission to kill somebody. Will he succeed?
Read The Book of Three to find out.
Rating:
Meet the Critics
chezcream123
I’m nice and I
like cheesecake and puppies
and my besties Hannah,
Stephanie and Claudi and I
love to read!!!
Me, Myself and I
I am Sam. Sam I
am. JK my name’s
not Sam. I am
Myself not Yourself
because that just doesn’t
make sense. Anyway, I am just one
of the billions of people on
this earth. Yup.
Bath and Body Works
Loves to go shopping.
chez cream
My name is
Claudia. I love
animals. I like
graphic novels.
Legolas
If you think I’m
perfect...I am!
Triple
Book Dolphin
I’m Triple, the video-game
playing, bad pun-making guy
who spends most of
his time well…
playing video
games and
making bad
puns. I also
like drawing smiley faces
I love books, but I
am not a book
worm. I am a book
dolphin.
Jinx
Hannah Epstein
I love hockey.
I love the
Islanders!
Let’s Go NYI!
Mama Newt
Never. Stop. Running.
Or... Reading!! Books =
life, Maze Runner =
soul, fandoms = spirit.
I am Jinxed. I have the worst luck ever. Literally. Except
for finding this club, and my awesome friends. Oh, and I
LOVE peanut butter and cheesecake. And brussel sprouts.
And books. And…..well, you get the point.
KK Panda
Sunshine
I love pandas and
penguins. My
favorite kind of
book is fantasy.
Yes, the
name is
ironic.
NYRALLTHEWAY
My name is
Michael. The
Rangers are
amazing and will be forever
for all eternity. Let’s go
Rangers!
Hugs4theworld
Love everyone, hug everyone. When
being a human is too hard...time to be a
unicorn.
9