Flippers and Fins by Tessa Miller is an awesome book about how humans are inspired by nature to make useful new inventions. The book is about different products we have today that are being improved and things that are being worked on. There are parts about fish inspired boats, whale inspired wind turbines, shark inspired swimsuits and cephalopod inspired camouflage. There were boats made in the shape of fish to help them go faster. Bumps were put on wind turbines to help them spin faster. A new type of fabric was designed to be like shark skin and allow people to swim faster. New camouflage is being made to work like cephalopods such as Octopi and change colors. This book has many features including a table of contents, fullpage pictures, an index, a page of websites to get more information from and a glossary. This book is written very well making it very easy to read. All the information is thorough, well explained and easy to understand. If you like to read about innovative ideas and new inventions I would highly recommend this book to you.

Review by Janelle

“‘I want you to start at the beginning. The whole story’” the book starts out as a reporter is asking Travis about his experience in the intense life threatening situation. The book, Survivor Diaries: Overboard! by Terry Lynn Johnson is the telling of a boy, Travis, who got thrown off of a boat with another girl, Marina, while out on the water, off the coast of Washington state. The two have to get to shore and survive until they are found and rescued again. The story is filled to the brim with interesting survival information and other fun and useful facts. It’s a fun, shorter, adventure read. I would recommend it to beginning adventure readers. It is a rare, fun mix of informational and entertaining. There are a few black and white illustrations scattered throughout the 84-page story. After the story ends, there is a section with very useful survival tips for tough situations that you might not know how to handle. It includes things like hypothermia and dehydration for situations that you can’t always predict. This book is included in a series, “Survivor Diaries,” along with one other book so far. Overall, this book is very fun and informational and I would definitely recommend it to a younger level reader. Recommended.

Review by Viveka

The book Death Eaters by Kelly Milner Halls is a detailed book about the life and death of all living things and the complicated genius way that our home planet earth cycles the bodies. It’s a very interesting book that is full of interesting facts and bright pictures. The book is not really a positive one, and it’s not for readers who can’t handle the idea of death, but the delivery of the information is intriguing. This book is very real and factual but it’s a good story with a ton of great features. This book has many diagrams and extra information boxes and it also has links for more information to read. I liked this book, I thought it was interesting and was very engaging for the reader. The book was bright and the pages were easy to follow along. It’s a good book for students of a certain level of maturity, good for middle schoolers. It’s very informative and helps develop appreciation for our home planet and its natural cycles that keeps this whole world and all living things balanced.

Review by Jesse

Skeleton Tree by Kim Ventrella is about a 12 year old boy named Stanly. He was experiencing an average day in his backyard until he found a white plant sticking out of the dirt in the garden. At least he thought it was a plant. This white plant looked like the tip of a finger. He struggles to keep the bone a secret from his parents and especially his 7 year old sister, Miren. Stanly was wondering if he found a real human body or a new species of vegetation. The cover of the book was vibrant and had many things to say. I loved the way each and every character was described. Each moment in the book was described thoroughly. I enjoyed every second of it. The beginning started out strong and the ending touched my heart. I’d recommend this book to any young reader who enjoys a story full of happiness with a hint of sadness.

Review by Adalie

“The Distance Between Us” Young Readers Edition is a story written by Reyna Grande based on the author’s memories about her family’s life in Mexico and also, as the illegal immigrant in their dream country, USA.

This story describes Reyna’s feelings and experiences through her childhood. Reyna remembers that her father moved to the US for a job and makes money for his dream house, that he planned to build for his family in Mexico. She knows her father just by framed picture and calls him “the man behind the glass”. Reyna always keeps it with her, as something that is very special for her. When Reyna Grande was 4 years old, her mom moved to USA, to help their father to earn money. Her mother left Reyna, Mago and Carlos, her older sister and  brother, to live with their unfriendly, strict and sometimes cruel grandparents. After that, her 11 years old sister, Mago, was like their mother, who tries to carry and protect Reina and Carlos, as much as she can. Even, as the time passes and they escape with their father to the United States, these children face with other troubles that makes their lives unforgettable.

This book could be divided in two main parts: one is about Reyna’s life in poverty in Iguala, Mexico; and another is about their life in California with her father, but without their mother.

The saddest parts of this book are describing of  Reyna’s hard life of poverty, her heartbreaking thoughts, as the child, who is faced with it. And as for me, as a mom, it was hard to read how Reyna loves and misses both parents,and has a wish to reunite and be just a part of her own big and real family: a mom, a dad and their four children.

This book “The Distance Between Us” should be interesting for young readers and also for adults, who are interesting about Reyna Grande’s life and the challenges of immigration.

Review by Marianna

Afghanistan is a country with a deep and amazing culture and past, in the book ¨Afghanistan Enchantment of the World¨ by Ruth Bjorklund, you can learn all about it. This book goes over many things including average modern life in Afghanistan, Geography, Natural resources, animals, Afghanistan history, Afghanistan’s government the multiple people and languages and their inspirations on media. From literature, TV, art, and more. It also includes their clothing. Music, foods and drinks, sports and holidays. There’s much to be learned from this book and it helps give an insight into the lives of Afghanistan people. It has very colorful pictures and helps depict their culture and lives better. This book is pretty big and may not be for everyone. But if you’re interesting in Afghanistan and its people and culture then I highly suggest this book. It has loads of information and all in one place, it gives an amazing picture of Afghanistan. It also adds treasures of Afghanistan and that gives even more insight into Afghanistan people.

Review by Natalie

The book Avalanche dog heroes by Elizabeth Rusch is about heroic dogs who train their whole lives to search and rescue when an avalanche comes. Elizabeth Rusch’s story follows one border collie named Piper through her years of training in the service. This book also educates you on the danger of avalanches and how important these little heroes are. This book is great. It is engaging with a multitude of interesting and high quality photos that further explain the information. It is full of illustrations and side boxes littered with further information that help you to understand and follow along with the book. There are many special features such as guides and further informational links. This book is a great read for students because it’s easy to read and follow along with, but very informational and useful. It stirs emotion and helps you to relate to the characters and understand the importance of these special heroes and why we should appreciate them. I would definitely read this book again, its worth buying.

Review by Jessie

What do you think it would be like to lie about your whole life, only to find out that you’ve been wrong the entire time? The book Witchtown by Cory Putman Oakes is an amazing book that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It shows that family is something that you choose, not something that you are born into. When Macie and her mother Aubra move to Witchtown to steal their fortune and erase the minds of the residents, as they have done to many witch havens in the past, Macie is faced with a new problem. She is taught to believe that she is a Void, someone who can’t channel elements and can’t do magic. Her mother is a Natural, the most powerful type of witch, but she is hiding something from Macie that may turn her whole world upside down. Macie faces tough new friendships, a pyromaniac poltergeist, and running her own business. But the biggest she problem she faces is her mother, who has been stealing more than just money. She doesn’t face her alone, Macie has the help of her friends who work relentlessly to defeat her mother who has a plan bigger than breaking into vaults. The setting of the book and the writing technique that conveys it was almost magical. The characters change and grow throughout the book and do act like their age group. In the book it goes between what’s happening currently and Macie’s past with a boy named Rafe. The slow trickle of information throughout the book gives this book a great sense of suspense. This element of suspense is also relevant with the main story line, as plot points are slowly hinted at and built up to, leaving you wondering what is going to happen next. I was also pleasantly surprised by the use of LGBT themes, as there is a lesbian couple who owns a bakery and helps Macie through her problems with the poltergeist. The conflict is interesting and is solved in such a satisfying way, with an ending that you will have to find out for yourself! I recommend this book if you enjoy suspense, mystery, family, and bit of romance.

Review by Alison

Surviving the mountain by M.Weber is a non-fiction book.It was a good book. This book talked about certain mountains and how they are dangerous if you climb them. It also talked about a lot of people that climbed certain mountains and what they did on their journey. This book is good because the people’s journeys and the facts are interesting. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy climbing mountains and who are interested in learning about new things. I recommend this book I would rate this book a three out of five.

Review by Hunter

The book Urban Legends: Close Encounters by C.M. Johnson is a eye catching book about the history of aliens, what they did to the earth, and their interactions with earthlings. I like the book because I like supernatural and mysteries.I love a good mystery to solve. The author gives details about the events of supernatural with evidence for and against, vocabulary words and definitions, pictures and captions, and allows reader to draw their own conclusions and opinions. I recommend this book it to people who like supernatural things of the world, history and aliens. For people who think the government is hiding information about the supernatural, they should read this book. I give the book five star out of five stars.

Review by Rylie