Billy the Kid Is Not Crazy by S.F. Guerra

Have you ever finished reading a book and felt sad because you weren’t ready to say good-bye to the characters?  That’s how I feel about Billy the Kid is Not Crazy.  First of all I should admit that the main reason I chose to read this book is that it is a 2013 book.  The cover didn’t grab me.  I paged through the book and actually worried it would be just another realistic fiction novel with the basic plot line:  character gets in trouble, gets out of trouble, life goes on as usual.  Thankfully, I ignored my first impressions and dove in, and quickly came to love Billy March and his family.

Billy is your typical fifth grader.  He has lots of energy, a vivid imagination that tends to take over whenever he gets bored (which in his case happens frequently).  Unfortunately for Billy the lines between imagination and reality tend to blur a little too often which causes friction between Billy, his parents and other adults like his teacher, especially when Billy ends up damaging something in the process.  Finally his parents have had enough.  Billy is afraid they want to send him away, but they have other plans.

I think many readers will easily be able to connect with Billy no matter what their age.  How many of us remember being grounded for what seemed like forever?  As Billy puts it, “That’s what being a kid is like:  you have two permanent police officers watching you all the time, even when you’re going to the bathroom.”  As a parent myself, I also found myself connecting with Billy’s parents, they’re busy, frustrated and just trying to figure out how to keep Billy from constantly getting into trouble.  But I also found myself wishing they would stop and just listen to Billy for once!  He’s so creative and has such a great imagination; they were completely missing out because they were too concerned with trying to make him fit their definition of good behavior.

Finally, watch out for the end of the book.  My favorite chapter was easily chapter 15.  It’s a roller coaster chapter filled with emotion that leaves you breathless.  Yes I did go back and read it twice!

Nonfiction Video Book Chat: Cars!!

David, Aaron and Luke share books on three on their favorite cars:

Video Book Chat: Ruined

Jada reviews Ruined by Paula Morris.

Video Book Chat: Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library!

Claire and Angie review Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library

The Screaming Staircase/ by:Jonathan Stroud

                                    Book Recommendation

                Do ghosts really exist? Lucy, Lockwood, and George are agents. They face dangers that they might never come back from. They earn their living by solving cases in London. They are hired to solve the case of a strange activity in a house. Lucy and Lockwood go to check it out and barely make it out alive. They are hired to solve another case much more dangerous than any case they have ever solved. Will the young agents survive the horrors of this deadly mansion? Could the two cases be related? Nobody has ever come out of the mansion alive after knowing its secrets!

               The main characters are Lucy, Lockwood, and George. Lucy meets up with the two boys when she leaves her home after a horrible incident. Sh starts looking for a job when she arrives in London. She sees the sign that says that an agency has been looking for an agent about her age. She goes for an interview and they hire her to join their agency. Lucy, Lockwood, and George are soon caught up in a dangerous case that could cost them their lives.

               I would recommend this book because it has very good description of the characters and the setting. The author leaves you hanging so that you want to read more. It includes adventures that the three young agents go through together and the cases they solve. It also has dangers that await to be discovered by the young agents that are unimaginable even in your wildest dreams.   

               I would recommend this book to readers who like to read fantasy, adventure,and mystery books. If you like this book you might be interested in reading the next book once its published.                             

By: Kiranpreet K.

Listening for Lucca by Suzanne LaFluer

Mock Newbery Club member Claire shares her review of Listening for Lucca with Angie and Jada (filming).

Odessa Again. by.Dana Reinhardt

 The book I am reading is called Odessa Again, it's interesting.   Odessa is my favorite character because she is nice and she seemed interesting.   The part part I like in this book is when Odessa is trying out dresses for her dad's wedding.   My favorite quote from this book is, '' Don't be impulsive make it matter THINK!!!   This is  the question I would ask the the author, how did you you come up with all the characters? 

          
 I would recommend this book for ages 10 and up. The genre of this book is a fantasy because it talks about going back in time in the story. At first when you start reading this book it seems not interesting but when you're in the middle of the book it will be interesting. 

            

  I would recommend this book for the Newbery award book because is full of adventures and it's full of excitement. I hope you get a chance to read this book.

                    Thanks for reading my blog hope you enjoyed it bye. 

          

                                       By. Annie !!!!!!