All the Answers by Kate Messner

     Ava Anderson is a normal girl. She has an extremely smart brother, a sister who adores name tags, a grandma who loves praying, a dad that's always thinking of world-famous stuff, and a mom.

     Ava is good in math. She studies, and prepares, and remembers all the formulas. But when she brings a stubby blue pencil to school to answer her math test, she hears a voice that no one else hears. And the voice. . . tells her all the answers she needs!

     When Ava shares this with Sophie, Ava's best friend, they start answering their classmates' answers, tell other people when the shoes they love will go on sale, and who has a crush on who. But little does Ava know that this stubby blue pencil can bring about great danger, in knowing the future. And because of that, Ava will have to face the fact that one of her family members has cancer, and another will die.

     At first, I thought that All The Answers by Kate Messner wasn't a very good read since I think that Messner just thought of the sentence, "What if your pencil had all the answers?". I'm just saying that she could have gone deeper into that, like "What if a bunny had a magic pencil that was as big as a car?". I do have to say that the story has a "Fairly-Odd Parents" kind of vibe, but even if the story's like that, middle schoolers will love this because of the highs and lows in Ava's life, which will they be able to relate to. It also tells middle schoolers that they aren't alone in what they go through, so there isn't any reason to be too stressed out. Studying can be hard, parents can fight, friends can get mad, but that doesn't mean that there isn't anything good about it. 

      If you always always read books that include adventures in other dimensions, or wizards, princesses, and kids with super powers, and want to take a break from all that thrill and danger, I can say that All the Answers by Kate Messner will be the perfect fit, especially if you're in middle school. 

Rating: O  O  O  O  O

Suggested Age of Readers: 8+

Genre/s: Fantasy, Magical Realism, Fiction, Family

*Book Review

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About the Author

Kate Messner

     Kate Messner is an award-winning author, TED 2012 speaker, and former middle school English teacher. Her books for kids include THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.,SUGAR AND ICE, and EYE OF THE STORM (Walker/Bloomsbury Dec. 2010) the MARTY MCGUIRE series (Scholastic), SEA MONSTER'S FIRST DAY, and OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW (Chronicle, Books). Kate also wrote SPITFIRE and CHAMPLAIN AND THE SILENT ONE, both Lake Champlain historical novels published by North Country Books.

     Kate lives with her family on Lake Champlain, where she loves to read, write, hike, swing on birch trees, and eat chocolate. She also hangs out in various places online. 

Description of Author text Credits: www.goodreads.com

Kate Messner photo from Google Images

All The Answers book cover photo from www.goodreads.com

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

      Ebenezer Scrooge treats Christmas as nothing. He is an old, cold-hearted man. "Bah, Humbug!" he'd say. What good is making other people smile and be happy for no reason? What good is helping the poor and homeless just because of a Christmas day?

     But one night, when Scrooge gets home from work, he hears a mysterious sound. And it's no other than Jacob Marley, his business partner who has been dead for seen years. He talks to Scrooge, and says that he will be haunted by three ghosts (The Ghost of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Yet to Come), because of not believing in Christmas. 

     With A Christmas Carol, you'll definitely feel the true meaning of Christmas all around you, even if your only sitting in the couch under the winter snow. Here are some things you should take note of. 

-Though A Christmas Carol is a very good read, you should also know that the language and spelling is a bit old, and though it is also wonderfully written, I don't think that children will understand the context very much because according to my friend's twelve year old daughter, she fell asleep during some parts since she couldn't understand the words much, but she still loved it. 

-If you've got a child who doesn't want to read this because of the three Christmas ghosts, know that the three ghosts of Christmas aren't very scary. The two Christmas ghosts seem friendly, but the ghost of Christmas yet to come is quite grim and dark, but I think with a little guidance or so, a nine year old wouldn't be very afraid.

-If you're like Scrooge, be off! Kiddding! So, one more thing you should know that if you are like Scrooge or if you know someone like him, A Christmas Carol will be a good read because of its multiple messages and lessons about Christmas Spirit.

Rating: O  O  O  O  O

Suggested Age of Readers: 8+

Genre/s: Classics, Fiction, Holiday (Christmas), Literature, Fantasy

*Book Review

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About the Author

     

Charles Dickens

     A prolific 19th Century author of short stories, plays, novellas, novels, fiction and non-fiction; during his lifetime Dickens became known the world over for his remarkable characters, his mastery of prose in the telling of their lives, and his depictions of the social classes, morals and values of his times. Some considered him the spokesman for the poor, for he definitely brought much awareness to their plight, the downtrodden and the have-nots. He had his share of critics, like Virginia Woolf and Henry James, but also many admirers, even into the 21st Century.

Description of Author text Credits: www.goodreads.com