Awesome Books We've Read! (and some that are not so great) From the Middle School.
Blackjack: Dreaming of a Morgan Horse
by Ellen Feld
Submitted by Erin
Blackjack: Dreaming of a Morgan Horse, by Ellen Feld, is about a girl named Heather Brown meeting Chauncey Campbell, the owner of the Gallant Morgan Farm. Chauncey owns a lot of beautiful Morgans that show in lots of fancy places; Chauncey’s pride is Blackjack or Gallant Image (his show name). Blackjack is a three year old jet black Morgan stallion that is a beautiful saddle seat horse. Heather brown learns to ride Blackjack and was going to ride him in the Fertility show, the biggest Morgan horse show ever; it is held ever four years. Just when everything was set and ready Chauncey has a heart attack! In order to pay for the medical bills Chauncey has to sell all of his horses including Blackjack. But he couldn’t sell Rusty an old bay gelding who was Chauncey’s first Morgan at his farm; Heather was sad. But when Chauncey got better Heather and he went to go see Blackjack at a horseshow. Blackjack looked horrible and got excused from every class he went in because he would be very aggressive and kick at other horses. Read more of this great book to find out what Heather does about Blackjack’s predicament…
Frosty: The Adventures of a Morgan Horse
by Ellen Feld
Submitted by Erin
Frosty: the Adventures of a Morgan Horse by Ellen Feld is about Heather Brown buying a gray Morgan at an auction, and training it so the horse was rideable. Her good friend Laura, Chauncey's daughter, came back from college. Toward the end of the book Heather and Laura take a two-week trail ride in Vermont with Frosty and Rusty. One morning on the ride Heather got lost with Frosty in the woods. If it weren’t for Frosty’s loving and caring about her owner Heather so much Heather wouldn’t have gotten home safely. The pair was lost for seven days. If you love horses, read the book to find out what their ordeal was like.
Guts
by Gary Paulsen
In the autobiographical book Guts by Gary Paulson, he tells why he wrote the Brian Books. He talks about the moose attacks he has seen, and about hunting and killing his first animal, and first deer. He also talks about eating gross things like eyeballs, liver, and hearts. My favorite part of Guts was when he was stuck in the bog and a 12-point buck jumped on him, but he shot and killed it. If these topics sound appealing, you’ll love this book.
The Higher Power of Lucky
\by Susan Patron and Matt Phelan
Submitted by Rissa
One of books I have read recently is The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron and Matt Phelan, about this girl named Lucky trying to find her “higher power.” Her mother has died and her father doesn’t want her. So her father’s ex-wife, Bridgitt, comes to California from France to watch over Lucky. Lucky is nervous because she doesn’t want Bridgitt to leave, and then go to a foster home and give up her dog, HMS beagle. Lucky runs off, figuring that maybe if she’s gone for a week Bridgitt will love her more. Bridgitt finds where Lucky is and stays in California.
The Higher Power of Lucky was an okay book. It felt like it kept going on and on but only one or two parts were good. I don’t think I would read it again. The part in this book that I liked most was when Lucky ran away with her dog.
Bella at Midnight
By Diane Stanley
Submitted by Rissa
The other book that I have just finished was Bella At Midnight by Diane Stanley. Bella was born a knight’s daughter, but her mother died when she was born, so Edward, Bella’s father, sent her away for someone else to take care of her in a place where a Prince Guilian grew up. He visited Bella and they became friends. When Bella was older, she was sent back to her father. At that time there was a war going on in her father’s land, but there was a truce. The King wanted to break it when there was a wedding going on so all the soldiers would be drunk and the King would win but then Bella stopped it and was knighted and Bella and Guilian got married.
Bella At Midnight was a better book then The Higher Power of Lucky; I enjoyed reading it. I might consider reading Bella At Midnight again in a couple of years, but not too soon.
Megan Meade’s Guide to the McGowan Boys
By Kate Brian
Megan Meade’s Guide to the McGowan Boys, by Kate Brian is now my all time favorite book. In this narrative novel, told from Megan Meade’s point of view, Megan who is an “army brat” (both of her parents are in the army, and she has to move around a lot) is faced with a tough decision when her parents are transferred to South Korea. Megan has the option to either move to South Korea with her parents, or move into the McGowan’s house to finish her last two years of high school in the United States. Mr. McGowan is a close friend of Megan’s dad, whose family lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Megan decides to move from her Texas school to the McGowan’s school in Boston. Megan has trouble talking to boys, and when she finds out there are seven “brothers” in her new family she is nervous. It doesn’t help that she thinks she might just be in love with one of the brothers. This book is a very good read for teenage girls. It is also a good book for anyone who likes Sara Dessen’s books.
†The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy†
By: Douglas Adams
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy is a wonderfully imaginative book. It’s about a man named Arthur who lives in England during the 90’s. Luckily, his friend Ford brings him to meet up with a group of people in outer space just before the Earth gets blown up by a species of space aliens to make way for a new interstellar highway. While in outer space, Arthur and the group try to find the legendary planet of Magrathea, which has not been seen by anything in the past 10 million years. The legend of Magrathea is that it once was used to build custom planets.
This is a really crazy and funny book, which you will probably love if you are interested in science and humor.
