The Mysterious Benedict Society

Sorry I haven't been writing lately. I just haven't gotten around to it. Sometimes the problem is that when I do have time, I'm doing something and don't think at all about my blog.
But enough of that! During the time that I haven't written, I was able to have to read The Mysterious Benedict Society. I've read it before, once, but when I read it only a few weeks ago, I realized that I know enjoy the book more than I ever have! It's about a boy named Reynard (Reynie is his nickname) Muldoon, who is a gifted child. He is an orphan, who stays in an orphanage, his tutor (Miss Perumal) coming by every day. Reynie meets three other gifted children, and they are expected to become a team. Someone is damaging the minds of people all over the world, without anybody realizing. The four children (all orphans, I might add) set out with a mission to try to find out more about the damaged minds.
This book is very well written (I was sad when the book ended [everybody gets sad when a book ends, but I was a little more sad than I normally would be], but I was willing to part with it), and I am looking forward to reading again after a long while.

I've gotten some more books from the library (Adventurers Wanted: Slathbog's Gold, My Diary From the Edge of the World, Capture the Flag, and Pillage) and I'm hoping that they'll be good. So far, Slathbog's Gold is great. But there is a possibility that I will end up not liking it. I've read one chapter of My Diary From the Edge of the World, and... well you can't tell after just one chapter, can you?
I've read Capture the Flag before (only once), and really liked it. Let's see if I still like it.
I have no idea about Pillage. It has a dragon on the cover. The title text is fancy. It's paper-back. (I don't know what to think about Pillage! Now I'm just writing stuff.) Yeah.

Sorry, I'm not in much of a writing mood right now. I'm just... in a weird mood. Hard to explain.
I hope you have a good week. I am. Have fun reading.  :|  :{  :}


P.S. Do you ever look back at something you've done, and think "Why did I do that?" or "I can't believe I did that!" or "I actually did that? It's hilarious!" or "Wow, I actually managed to write something that weird?"? Boy, have I. I've done that a million times.

- Maria

My Life on TV

I've finished My Life On TV, and I gotta tell you, I'm surprised at how much more I loved reading it than any other time I've read it! I really liked Sam's 'blog', I really liked the story, the characters (sort of), I just loved all of it!
Though, this last book (My Life On TV) wasn't nearly as good as the other two books. It was really good, but not as good.
In this book, Sam decides that she has to go to the extremes to keep her family happy and in the same house. Near the end of the book, Sam's all stressed out, with her plan to 'save' her family, and with the problem of being on the verge of loosing her best friend Olga. Things get rough for Sam in this book.
So, yes, I've read this series (okay, sequels) at least three times now (I was probably seven or eight when I finished reading the sequels for the first time), and really, I loved it way more than I've ever loved it!
Oh, something you might want to know. In the first book,, Sam's twelve (and her little kid family nickname Little Bit, is getting a little bit to little kid), in the second book, I think she's close to turning thirteen, and in the last book, I think she's a little bit close to being fourteen. Danni's around seventeen, and Olga's the same age as Sam (I guess you could call her Samantha).
After I've been reading these books, and Sam's 'blog', I sort of have a good idea of what her 'blog talk' is like. I actually think it's been rubbing off on me. It's kind of weird though, since Sam's not a real person. I don't know. I usually have tons of fun reading good books, and when I do, I... it's hard to explain. Let's just say that I act different around books (wow, that sounds really weird doesn't it?).

Thanks to my Grandma, I have lots of books that I'm going to try to find at the library (and read of course), which means more soon! :)

- Maria

The Fame Game and Me

I finished The Fame Game and Me a little bit ago. I'm surprised at how much more I like it, compared to when I read it before. I find myself enjoying Sam's 'blog' more then ever. I think more about how Sam feels, and what it would be like to be in Sam's shies. In this book, Sam and her family find something new, that leads them to England. They head out on a cruise, and by the time they head back, things have become so confusing, stressful and problematic that Sam doesn't think Danni can handle it. Oh, and since I started reading the next book, My Life on TV, I found out for sure that yes, Rose (Sam and Danni's mom) is Danni's manager. Sam really had an exciting, but stressful adventure in England. So, since I can't think of anything else to write about The Fame Game and Me, I'll just say (again) that I really like this series (well, book and two sequels, more like).

Sometimes I feel like I'm not giving enough of an idea of what the stories are like, but I don't really want to spoil the story (if you ever read any of them. I won't be offended if you don't). I guess it doesn't matter much to you, or much to me.
I wonder many people will being reading my blog in a year. Ten? Twenty? Four? I wonder how many exactly are reading right now. I also wonder how long I will keep writing these blog posts. Two years? Four? So many questions.
I like to look at my Mom's blog about our family, which she started in 2009. I love her writing, I love how long she's done it for, I love how many fun memories and pictures are in it. I love everything about it, and of course I can't help but hope that I grow up to have a blog exactly like hers. 
Oh, sometimes I just want to sleep for a long time, then wake up in the middle of the night, when everybody is asleep. I wish that when I wake up, the middle of the night will last for as long as a day would, and I would be the only one awake, eating food by myself for a lunch, and a breakfast, and just do stuff during the night. I know it's sort of weird, but that's what I think would be nice. Oh, well. Guess I'd better wrap it up now.

More soon!

- Maria

End of Fablehaven

As you can probably guess already, I have finished Fablehaven. This is going to be a short blog post, so be prepared for little words.

I know that when I read books and it gets to a really exciting part, sometimes, I admit, I quietly squeal to myself, which tells me that I kind of exaggerate over books. I also think that because I get excited over reading a book, I will get excited over  blogging about books (normally I don't think about my blog being a blog, but that's what it is, right?).  I'm going to try not to do that this time.

So, Fablehaven ended with a bang! Everything started to happen at once... and then it suddenly calmed down, and stopped. It got really exciting, and stayed that way for quite a while, but then, it got even more exciting. Just so you know, I don't think kids under nine should read Fablehaven. It's intense, and sometimes, people die (I think I am safe to say more than two times, but you only read about it happening to friends three times), and there are some battles. But, overall, I think that it's the best book I've read in my entire eleven-year-old life.

See, this last sentence wasn't in bold, it wasn't italicized, it wasn't underlined, IT WASN'T CAPITALIZED, and it didn't have exclamation marks (!!!!!).

But, whatever. What I'm trying to say, is that Fablehaven was awesome, I (like I always do) overreacted when I was getting near the end. Happy reading!



P.S. Sometimes, like my thoughts, I think that my sentences jump around, changing from this subject to that, making everyone confused. I know it's not really like that... but tell me if you think it is. :)

More soon!

- Maria 

The Moorchild

I finished the Moorchild yesterday too (in case you're wondering, the other book I'm referring to, I posted about today, the one about My Sister's a Pop Star). It's very interesting, and I think it needs a sequel. So the Moorchild is about Folk that live on the moor. The Folk are sort of like elves, or pixies. They trick the villagers that live below the moor; the village called Torskaal. One of the Folk (Moql'nkkn), can't do the tricks right, though. Moql's parents (the Folk have parents, but they never see them) aren't both Folk; one is Folk, but the other is human. Since Moql has some human in her, she's dangerous to the Folk. The Folk have to exchange her. The Moql grows up with humans, not knowing that she's a changeling from the Folk (she knew about the Folk, but just forgot over time). She grows up to be eleven, thinking that her name is Saaski, being teased by the other village children for looking different (and sometimes acting different). Poor Saaski (or Moql'nkkn) has to have an adventure, the villagers stealing glances and talking behind Saaski's back. It really is quite an adventure, both for the reader and the character. The author, Eloise McGraw, really made this book interesting. While reading, I bet that you'll feel sorry for Saaski (again, you could call her Moql), and all her troubles. This book will (could) delight anyone of any age. So happy reading for now! I will post again soon, I promise soon! :) 

- Maria

My Sister's a Pop Star

I surprised myself yesterday, when I finished My Sister's a Pop Star. I've never finished that book in one whole day, but I'm not that surprised. So, as you might have guessed already, I've read My Sister's a Pop Star before. Well, since I haven't read it since I was probably nine, I'd decided to read it again so that I could have the story refreshed in my mind for you (my readers). I was mildly surprised to find that I enjoyed the story more than I ever have in my life! I really felt sorry for the main character, Sam (Samantha), even though, of course, Sam isn't real. My Sister's a Pop Star, is about a girl (Sam) whose sister becomes a pop star (obviously). Sam keeps an online journal (or, you could call it a blog) and sometimes you see a blog post of Sam's in the book. I think it's fun that way. Sam is a likable girl; she does funny things, she likes horses, and she loves her family. Okay, so Sam is already tired of her sister (Danni) being gone all the time, and tired of her Mom (Rose) hanging up on Danni (sometimes they get mad at each other [I'm pretty sure, but not totally, that Rose is Danni's manager, not to mention mom. I wanted to find out exactly what Rose does in Danni's career, but I couldn't find it. Sorry!]), and tired of Robert Rubens (Robert is Danni's music agent. Sam is pretty sure that she and Robert are enemies) being around. But Sam is excited to think of her new house, a big one, that she, her mom, and Danni, are moving into, out of their apartment. But on moving day, Sam gets a surprise, which doesn't actually please her. The rest of the book is about her life getting tangled up with Danni's, and how almost every day ends in disaster. Sam learns how to adjust to her new life, even though it really is hard. She learns that some things she had thought before mattered about Danni, actually mattered more about Sam. The book really shows what the author, Kimberly Greene, thinks a twelve-year-old girl would think about her new life. It really had emotion in it, and a couple times, I felt so bad for Sam (keep in mind that I thought this was silly, since Sam isn't real), that I was close to wanting to cry, thinking about how I would feel if I were in Sam's position. There are three books in this series, though you won't find them like you would a series. They're more of sequels to each other. Here are the three books in order: My Sister's a Pop Star, The Fame Game and Me, and My Life on TV. I'm reading book two now, so you can expect another blog post about Sam (Well, okay, a blog post about The Fame Game and Me) soon! :)

 P.S. If you're a girl under the age of... maybe, maybe, thirteen, then (I'm sort of sure you could not like the book, but you could!) you'll like it. And I quote, from the review on the front of the first book: "Fun, fame and fiasco-you'll love it!" Girl Talk. (End quote.) 

- Maria

The begginning of the end

Thanks for your tips! And I like how you said that sometimes you look up the physical location and other things to help your imagination. I bet it would help mine too, if I did that. Maybe I will.

So this post is called The Beginning of the End, because I just started reading the last Fablehaven book. Book four, Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary, ended after revealing many surprising truths. They are betrayed once again, and someone they thought was an enemy, finally showed them that she isn't still an enemy. They risked lots, but barely succeeded.
The fifth book starts its action in the second chapter. They're welcomed by someone other than they expected, and as far as I have gotten, they're already starting to think about risks they might have to take.

I still haven't gotten to the last Janitors book, but I know for sure that the next time I go to the library, I bringing back lots of books to try. I have some in mind. And during the summer, I think I'll have an extra bunch of books by my side.

So happy reading to you, and thank you for reading.



 

- Maria

One more thing....

I know that it hasn't been that long since my last post, but I just wanted to stay up to date. I just finished Janitors books three and four: Curse of the Broomstaff, and Strike of the Sweepers. My guess is, that there's only five books.
These last two books have had a lot of action in them. It's not crazy full of action, but there's quite a bit. Almost every second you're biting your lip, and thinking, What's going to happen next? Janitors really gets interesting in these two books. New gadgets, and new powers make it more exciting. Things get tough, and they narrowly dodge the bad-guys. Spencer and Daisy learn lots, and become even more experienced with the 'special supplies' (I don't really want to say what kind of supplies they are, because I don't want to ruin the story for some readers, even thought the readers I know I have now, probably won't read these books). Yes, Janitors really gets exciting. If some of you are thinking about reading Janitors to some kids that are... maybe around six, then you should know that someone dies in the third book. I won't say who, though.
Anyways, I just wanted to get a quick post in, before I forget about it. If you're around eleven, and like books that full of action and fantasy, then Janitors might be good for you. If you don't care what you read, then I don't know. Let's just say, that if you're not over... fourteen, then you could possibly like it.



P.S. Sorry, Grandma. I haven't gotten the Rithmatist yet, but I'm trying. 

P.P.S. Fablehaven book two was great, along with book three. Book two is called: Rise of the Evening Star. Right now I'm reading Fablehaven book four, which is called: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary. There's also five Fablehaven books.  

- Maria