Review of "The Trumpet of the Swan" by E.B. White

Review of The Trumpet of the Swan by Alana Gerdes, student at Bradley Beach Elementary School

A trumpeter swan without a voice is a tragic thing.There can be nothing worse! But for Louis, it is his life. The Trumpet of the Swan, a classic children’s novel by E.B White, is a fine fiction book about Louis, a trumpeter swan, and his struggle to find a voice. 

In this book, the main characters are Louis, the determined swan without a voice; his encouraging parents; and Sam the kind-natured boy who helps Louis. Sam lives relatively close to Louis’s peaceful home pond in the spring and summer. In the spring and summer, Sam and his dad go camping near Louis’s home pond. Once Louis finds his mate his children will be raised there too!

This book has many major plot events including when Louis found his mate, Serena. The first major plot  event was the private conversation between Louis and his father to find out if Louis really does have a hidden voice. At that moment, Louis’s father discovers that Louis truly could not trumpet like the other swans. After that, the family flies to their new home and Louis runs away to find Sam. 

Once Louis finds Sam, he tells him he wants to go to school to learn to read and write. Miraculously, Louis learns to read and write, but to his dismay the other trumpeter swans couldn’t understand his writing. Then he sees Serena  and he knows that they are two halves of the same heart. But poor Louis can’t get her attention. Shortly after that, Louis’s father knows he has to help his son. So, he sets off to town to get a trumpet for his son. With a bang and a crash, Louis’s father broke into a music store and stole a trumpet. When he returned, the family heard about his stealing and felt bad. Then Louis learned to play the trumpet, found Sam, and got a job at camp Kookoookoos to make money to pay of the stolen trumpet. 

I recommend this award-winning book to all readers for its interesting plot -- with twists and turns -- and its beautiful descriptions.

Here is one example: “A long word,' he thought, 'is really no harder than a short one. I'll just copy one letter at a time, and pretty soon it will be finished. Besides, my life is a catastrophe. It's a catastrophe to be without a voice.'" 

In conclusion, The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B White is an amazing book that everyone should read. It is a true classic. Like John Updike, an author, said, “We are lucky to have this book.” 

Review of "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth

Review of Allegiant  By Kiliko Lowe, seventh grader at Bradley Beach Elementary School

Veronica Roth’s Allegiant is the third book in a series about a sixteen year old Dauntless girl named Tris Prior. Tris has been in a revolution, has been in jail twice, and has danced with death countless times. Now that she’s outside and away from the fence that contained her family for generations, she will do whatever it takes to find out the truth.

    Allegiant takes place in multiple settings: Erudite compound, Abnegation compound, and  Dauntless compound, which are all inside the Chicago experiment. The Chicago experiment is a program by the Bureau of Genetic Welfare to monitor people who live in factions inside the fence. Abnegation, Erudite, Candor, Dauntless, and Amity are all the different Factions. The Bureau of Genetic Welfare controls people who are Genetically disabled (GD). The book also takes place at The Fringe, the rundown section of the United States which contains all the genetically disabled people from experiments that failed in the past.

    The main character in this book is Beatrice (Tris) Prior. She was born in Abnegation and later switched to Dauntless. But she  is Divergent. Divergence is where you can resist things such as the truth serum or simulations. You are also qualified to join all the factions based on your aptitude results. In the first book Divergent,  there was a Civil War because of that. Tris is extremely stubborn and doesn't like being talked to condescendingly. Tobias (Four) Eaton is Tris’s boyfriend. He was born in Abnegation and later switched to Dauntless. Tobias was thought to be divergent in the test because he could resist Simulations. He later finds out in the Bureau that he is not actually Divergent. Four is a very independent person. He never asks for help. So being with Tris is tough for him because he is very independent and Tris never wants to be in the dark. 

    The Factions have just finished a war. The Divergent were being killed off by Jeanie Matthews, and her assistant Caleb (Tris’s brother). The factions were able to stop her and the new leader is Evelyn (Tobias’s Mother) a factionless woman. Tris does not like being in the fence and wants to leave, but doesn't know how. A group called the Allegiant confront Tris and say that the can't take her and whoever else she wants outside the fence. They are able to escape outside of the fence and they come across the Bureau of Genetic Welfare.The Bureau treats Genetically Disabled (GD) people and Genetically Pure (GP) people differently. They believe that GP’s are better than GD’s. The Bureau started to realize that the Chicago experiment- where Tris and Tobias came from- started to fail so they decided that they were going to erase the minds of everyone in the experiment. Tris wasn’t about to let this happen so she decided that she was going to get a group to try and stop the Bureau from erasing the minds of all their loved ones by erasing the minds of the experimenters. 

In order to do this Caleb is going to go on a suicide mission to get the memory serum out of the weapons lab. Tobias, Christina, and Peter are going to go inside the city, to try and resolve the problems that were happening inside. Tris and Matthew are going to escort Caleb to the weapons lab. When it comes time to carry out the plan, Caleb is caught by guards, Tris takes off running towards the weapons lab in an attempt to get the memory serum. And ... well you will just have to read the book to find out what happens next.

   

 I found this book and the entire series amazing. There were lots of twists, and I felt like I was a part of the book, inside the experiment fighting the same battles as Tris did. This book is meant for teenagers, because they can relate to the feelings and experiences of Tris and Tobias. This book is for people who feel like they don’t belong, or who are just trying to find a place for themselves in this world.

Review of "The Hallowed Ones" by Laura Bickle

Review of The Hallowed Ones  By Annalise Giuliano, eighth grader at Bradley Beach Elementary School

In the action-packed book The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle, Katie, a teenage Amish girl, is on the verge of adulthood, ready to partake in Rumspringa with friends and her boyfriend Elijah.  Rumspringa is the time in Amish life when teenagers are free to experience non-Amish culture before officially joining the church. But before Rumspringa arrives, Katie’s safe world starts to crumble. It begins with a fiery helicopter crash in the cornfields, followed by rumors of massive unrest and the disappearance of huge numbers of people all over the world. Something is out there. It is killing people without faith; and it is bloodthirsty.

The main characters in this book are the narrator Katie; Elijah, the boy Katie is planning to marry; Alex, a boy Katie found outside the Amish gate; Joseph and Seth, Elijah’s brothers who go missing; Katie’s loving but stern parents; Ginger Parsall, an English woman who gets trapped inside the Amish gate when the world goes haywire; Katie’s sister Sarah; The Hexmeister, who listens to and helps Katie; and the Elders who run the Amish community, including the stubborn and ignorant Bishop who puts the community in danger.

I found The Hallowed Ones to be a fast read that was  impossible to put down due to the suspense of seeing which characters would and would not survive in this new world. I would recommend this book to teenage girls who enjoy futuristic stories that are set in a post-apocalypse world.  I give this book a five-star rating, and I am really looking forward to reading the sequel. 

Review of "Ashes" by Isla J. Bick

Review of Ashes  By Annalise Giuliano, eighth grader at Bradley Beach Elementary School

How would you feel if you were out hiking one day enjoying the beautiful wilderness in Michigan, when all of a sudden you feel a zap like a laser scorching your brain?  After you pick yourself off the ground and wipe the blood off of your face, you come to realize that whatever zapped your brain killed a good part of the population and turned the young people into flesh-eating zombies.

This is what happened to the main character Alex in Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick. Alex is one of the “lucky” few who survived the electromagnetic pulse unharmed. She embarks on a journey to find closure for her parents’ deaths and to come to peace with the fact that she has an inoperable, terminal brain tumor. Along the way, she meets an angry, eight year old girl named Ellie, and her dog Mina, the only link to Ellie’s father, a soldier who died in action. The two struggle to survive in this new world where people have turned into the top predator, no electronic devices work, and food is scarce. Alex and Ellie are saved from a pack of wild dogs and a zombie by a young soldier named Tom, who is also running from traumatic events in his  past. The trio join together to form a type of family. On their journey, they face killer zombies and untrustworthy humans that cause them to be separated against their will.

I found Ashes to be an awesome book and a fast read. It was difficult to put the book down since it was very exciting and suspenseful. Each chapter seemed to end with a cliffhanger that was not always answered until the next chapter. The characters in the story were put through many hardships, obstacles, and emotional losses which helped to make the book riveting. This book was a coming of age novel that effectively included elements of science fiction and the apocalypse. The target audience for this book are boys and girls, ages 13 and over who enjoy horror and suspense novels. I would give this book five stars. I cannot wait to see what the sequels bring!

Please tell us what you think

We are very interested in what you think of the books you get from your library. So interested that we came up with a scheme to make it easier to share your views. We call it book reviews, Bradley style. 

We have been pasting stickers into new books  

like this 

that ask you describe the book you just read in one word. 

It is surprisingly hard to do. (True confessions: I cheated on my first one and used two words :) It's also causes you to pause and think about what you've just read in a very interesting way. 

Here are a few one-word reviews: 

• George Washington's Secret Six (Kilmeade): Illuminating
• Horns (Hill): Macabre
• Humans of New York (Stanton): Beautiful  
• Leaders Eat Last (Sinek): Inspiring  
• The Lowland (Lahiri): Gorgeous 
• Ten Years in the Tub (Hornby): Wide-ranging
• The Way of All Fish (Grimes): Boring
• What If... (MacLaine): Shirley makes us think!

We hope you'll join in book reviews, Bradley style. 

If you would like to write a longer review, please email to to sharlene@bradleybeachlibrary.org or drop it off at the desk. 

We want to know what you think!

More Brief Book Reviews!

There were some great reads in this bunch!

1. The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen Year Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida: This is a quick read and, more importantly, a touching insight into the world of an individual who has been diagnosed as autistic. While it is hailed as a must-read for those whose lives have been touched by autism, it also serves to facilitate understanding and acceptance for those who have no experience with this disorder. Higashida's thought process isn't always coherent, but this is revealing in itself. 

2. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender: Bender is a master at marrying the depressingly mundane and the absolutely outrageous,which I thoroughly enjoy. With that being said, this is a quirky novel and will not be well-received by everyone. Bender beautifully captures the unique bonds between a family burdened by highly unusual abilities as well as standard, run-of-the-mill familial issues. The plot is slow and occasionally seems nonexistent, and the lack of quotation marks might drive some mad. 

3. Rape: A Love Story by Joyce Carol Oates: Teena Macguire and her daughter, Bethie, are violently attacked by a group of men on their way home through the park one fateful summer night. Through Teena and Bethie's story, Oates highlights the stigma of rape as well as the glaring flaws in the justice system. Like most of her work, this novel will make you uncomfortable with its raw portrayal of humanity.

4. Wonder by R. J. Palacio: Auggie is about to start fifth grade at a new school. He's your average, Star Wars-loving ten year old boy except for one thing- Auggie was born with a severe facial deformity. This is a sweet, uplifting story about acceptance that is told from a variety of different perspectives.

5. Horns by Joe Hill: This is my favorite book of 2013 (even though it was published in 2010). Hill tells us the story of Ignatius Perrish, a young man who is suspected of the rape and brutal murder of his girlfriend, Merrin Williams. Alienated from his former friends and townspeople who are convinced of his guilt, Perrish falls into a deep depression only to awaken one morning with a pair of horns growing from his temples. These horns give him the power to learn the darkest secrets and desires of anyone with whom he comes into contact. Perrish decides to use his terrible new power to exact his revenge and to find out who is responsible for Merrin's death. The premise is intriguing even if the jury is still out on what it all means. 

6. The Good House by Ann Leary: A pleasant enough read about an alcoholic Realtor, Hildy Good, who is coping with her disease while struggling to extract herself from a toxic, scandalous relationship between two mutual friends. 

7. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell: Dare I say it? I liked Rowell's version of teenage romance better than John Green's in The Fault in Our Stars. Eleanor and Park are two misfit teens who find comfort and joy in one another especially as Eleanor's world crumbles around her. This book is charming. 

8. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman: Oh, Neil Gaiman, how could I have overlooked you for so long? This is an odd and wonderful story about a man who is allowed a glimpse at something terrible and beautiful as a child. Gaiman seamlessly merges childhood innocence and old knowledge, which is telling in itself. This is a thin novel that is lush with ideas. Just read it already!

Happy Tuesday!

Sharlene Edwards, Program Director

Four Sentence Book Reviews

Here are some titles that I've recently picked up:

1. Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple: Semple is a quick-witted satirist,which makes the overall tone of this novel delightful. She stocks her story with eccentric characters whose relationships with themselves and with others are complex, but, even after Bee's mother goes missing, Semple manages to keep the mood light. The format of the book is unique in that it is a series of exchanges in various formats between a handful of different characters. The ending of the book feels a bit rushed but will satisfy readers who prefer neat resolutions.

2. The Kill Room by Jeffrey Deaver: This is part of the Lincoln Rhyme series, but it can be read as a standalone novel. This is a dense, intricate mystery, which means that it can be a slow read at times. Some of the murder details are gruesome and might disturb individuals with a weak stomach. The ending is chock full of twists and turns- Deaver will keep you guessing until the last page.

3. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green: A tearjerker about a terminally ill teen who falls in love. Green's adolescent characters use poetic language and may seem larger than life, which can be difficult to swallow, but, all in all, Green tells a beautiful story about love, loss, and hope. While you may forget the plot over time, you won't forget lines like, "I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once." Also, there is something to be said about a writer who makes you want to read a non-existent book that is a favorite of one of his fictional characters.

4. Sleepers by Lorenzo Carcaterra: Based on a true story (purportedly), the brutality and injustices exposed by Carcaterra will haunt you. The courses of four best friends' lives are changed forever the day that they enter Wilkinson Home for Boys where they endure torture- both physically and psychologically. This is a horrifying and touching story of four broken men who come together to take the law into their own hands.

5. The Execution of Noa P. Singleton by Elizabeth L. Silver: Noa P. Singleton is on death row and, as her story unfolds, you'll debate not her innocence but her motivation. By the end of the novel, you'll be preoccupied with the following question: with whom should the guilt rest? The best aspect: an unreliable narrator. My one gripe: Silver's use of metaphor borders on excessive.

6. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black: Black's take on what the world might look like if vampires existed is an interesting and original one albeit with the requisite vampire/human love story thrown into the mix. The characters' motivations in this book are hard to pinpoint at times, and the back-story concerning the creation of coldtowns (towns of debauchery in which vampires and humans are quarantined to their delight) is more than a little unconvincing. The plot drags often throughout the four hundred and nineteen pages.With that being said, I wouldn't be surprised if Hollywood snatches this one right up.

7. I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella: This is a fun, humorous read about a somewhat frivolous, well-intentioned young woman, Poppy Wyatt, who misplaces her engagement ring. You'll fall in love with Poppy and laugh out loud at her frequent social blunders. There is never a dull moment in Kinsella's storytelling despite the predictability of the plot. Plus, a little romance never hurt anyone.

8. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick: Today is Leonard Peacock's 18th birthday. It is also the day that he will kill his best friend, Asher Beal, and then himself. Even with the knowledge of his neglectful upbringing and personal torment, Leonard can be a difficult character to sympathize with because of his "uber" condescending attitude, but, throughout the novel, Quick humanizes him by bringing several people into Leonard's life that offer him solace. Leonard's story is a reminder that one person can change someone's life- both for the worse and for the better.

If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! : )

Sharlene Edwards
Program Director