Mrs. Sheskey's Summer Reads!

Deep and Dark and Dangerous!

Hannah

Deep and Dark and Dangerous

ISBN-13: 978-0-547-07

Mary Downing Hahn

Mystery

Have you ever found yourself wallowing in a mystery? Ali has, for sure. When Ali’s aunt, Darcie, comes by and asks Ali if she would like to come to the cottage with her and Darcie’s daughter, Emma, Ali’s mother suddenly starts to freak out. Earlier, Ali had found a torn picture of Aunt Darcie, Ali’s mother, and a strange girl who has been torn out. Later at the cottage, Ali sees Emma playing with a girl in a faded blue swimsuit. The girl’s name is Sissy and she is not very nice. Sissy influences Emma to do the meanest things. Who was the strange girl in the torn picture? Why didn’t Ali’s mother want Ali to go to the cottage? Why is Sissy making Emma do all these mean things? Little did Ali know, the cottage held the scariest mystery of all. Will anything ever be the same again?

This book is easily in my top five favorite books (and I’ve read a lot). I wouldn’t change anything in this book. There are many mysteries Ali needs to solve. This book I could not (and I mean could not) put down! The book is like a vortex, you enter the eerie Maine cottage with Emma, Ali, Sissy, and Darcie. Deep and Dark and Dangerous is filled with creepy mysteries and every turn of the page unlocks a clue to this frightening ghost story.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes to sit around the campfire and tell scary stories. I give this book 5 stars. This book has a great plot, and always keeps you entertained. 187 pages of pure mystery, starting on page 1. Happy reading! If you like Mary Downing Hahn check out these scary books: The Doll in the Garden, All the Lovely Bad Ones, and Wait till Helen Comes.

Chasing Lincoln's Killer!

Ben

Chasing Lincoln’s Killer

James L Swanson

ISBN:0-439-90354-8

Historical Fiction

“He cocked the hammer into firing position. His hand reached for the doorknob.” Follow John Wilkes Booth on his twelve-day journey as he assassinated President Lincoln. From Washington DC through Maryland and Virginia, he hid for twelve days. On his attempted escape from capture, he braved swamps and survived in a forest. All in the hope of avoiding capture from man hunters after him.

In April 9, 1865 the Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. The bloody Civil War was over! John Wilkes Booth, being mad at President Lincoln because President Lincoln freed the slaves, shot President Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre on Good Friday. John Wilkes Booth then escaped, and after some near captures, John Wilkes Booth left the United States and entered the remaining Confederate States (Southern States). I liked this book because it makes you feel like you are with John Wilkes Booth on his journey of betrayal. This book gives detailed information, like when John Booth crosses the Navy Yard Bridge and his sneaky lies. I enjoyed the part in the theatre; it is suspenseful as Booth gets ready to assassinate President Lincoln. The book does lack some information like what did Booth say when he was hiding in a forest? It would be very hard to find that now. It is written as if John Booth is speaking, so you can understand his character.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about President Lincoln or his assassin. This book makes you feel like you are really there. You learn John Booth’s inner thoughts. When John Booth was hiding in the woods, you feel like John Booth with little information about the outcome of assassination. In addition you feel the sadness of President Lincoln’s death, and learn about John Wilkes Booth’s plans to divide the Union.