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The Tween Reads: June 2016 Part 1

The Tween Reads

As I’ve mentioned, my children are voracious readers. In Friday’s post I shared some of the books that my son had read in June.  My daughter, who recently turned 10, wanted to write on the blog.  I thought it would be fun for her to write reviews of her recent reads.  She reads several books a week and hopefully her reviews will help give you and your children some new book recommendations.  When applicable, I add my mom notes with my thoughts and opinions!  However, my daughter reads way too many books for me to keep up with her!  Stay tuned for next week’s Part 2 post for more of her June book reviews.

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Allie, First at Last by Angela Cervantes – Allie, First At Last is about a girl named Allie, who will do anything to earn a medal or trophy to put on her family’s trophy wall.  All of her siblings have earned trophies and medals.  Even her grandpa won a Congressional Medal of Honor.  Allie first tries winning the science fair and then tries to win the Trailblazer contest.  I liked, not loved this book.  It wasn’t the best book, but it shows true signs of friendship, hatred and understanding throughout the book.  Read the book to find out if she wins!

Mom’s notes:  Reading this book as an adult, I really enjoyed it.  Allie, the main character in this story is a fifth grader. Come September, my daughter will be entering 5th grade, which is what attracted me to put this book on hold for her in the first place.  Allie is Mexican American.  While this is not important to the story, it was refreshing to read a book with characters from a different background.  I also enjoyed that Allie became good friends with Victor, without any romantic connotations.  This book is recently published (March 2016) middle grade fiction book that I highly recommend.

*This book was borrowed from the library.

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Read All About It! (Dear Know it-all #1) by Rachel Wise – This book is about a girl named Sam Martone, a who works for the newspaper at her school. When she is asked to write the Dear Know it-all column, Sam is really excited and nervous.  Being the Dear Know it-all is a very special and secret job that states that the author of the column must not tell anyone. When Sam is asked to work with her crush, it is SO awkward. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to find out more on a girl who is super good at reporting and writing and who, in my opinion, is also clumsy.

*This book was borrowed from the library.

Pack of Dorks

Pack of Dorks by Beth Vrabel – This book is about a girl named Lucy who is 4th grade like I was. She goes through lots of troubles throughout the book  At one point, Lucy kissed Tom Lemmings and he gave her a ring.  But three days later he wants his ring back because he said Lucy wasn’t a good kisser.  Lucy’s mom has a baby named Molly.  Molly was born with Downs Syndrome.  It is a VERY hard time for Lucy, losing her best friend, having a new baby sister, not having a boyfriend anymore and having parents who are grumpy and tired all the time.  She feels like a dork now.  I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in adventure.

*This book was borrowed from the library.

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Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan – Save Me a Seat is about a Boy named Ravi [Rah-VEE] and a boy named Joe. Ravi came all the way from India and is vegetarian. Joe is a boy with special needs and is over-weight. When Ravi comes into Mrs. Beams 5th grade class, he thinks the class bully, Dillon Samreen is his friend, but he’s not.  In the end, Joe and Ravi become good friends. I give this book 4 stars because I think that this book is a nice book for bullying and friendship and it passes many messages.

Mom’s Notes:   I found this recently published (May 2016) middle grade fiction book to be just okay.  I enjoyed that the two main characters were boys, although the story itself is appropriate for both boys and girls.  Unfortunately, the friendship between Joe and Ravi really doesn’t form until the very end of the book, when they outwit Dillon, the bully.  I disliked that Dillon’s bullying wasn’t addressed at all in the book and he got away with his behavior.

*This book was borrowed from the library.

 

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