Book Report: DYING TO MEET YOU #1

 This book is called ‘DYING TO MEET YOU’ Written by Kate Klise. It is about an author called Ignatius. B Grumply who wants to rent a house to write in for the summer. He needs to finish the thirteenth book in the Ghost Tamer series but he doesn’t want any children around him. After a few look throughs, he picks a house on 43 Old Cemetery Road and asks his editor to handle all his paperwork for him. Little does he know that a surprise will be waiting for him at the house. He moves into the house and finds that an 11 year old boy named Seymour and his cat, Shadow, live in that house too and have no intentions of leaving or sharing. (Seymour’s parents left him alone while they travelled to Europe and said they weren’t cut-out to be his parents.) Seymour makes up rumours about a ghost named Olive C Spencer who still lives in the house. But, are the rumours actually rumours??? Ignatius. B Grumply writes back to his editor and asks him to unsign the mess that he’d got into. When his editor can’t do that, Ignatius makes up a few rules that Seymour has to follow in the house. Seymour adds to the rules and the two are all fine. Ignatius has a really bad case of writer’s block. Seymour has his ghost friend, Olive, who plays on the piano and lives in the cupola. One night, Olive invites Seymour and Ignatius to dinner and Ignatius starts to think that Seymour is a genius because he thinks that Seymour coded an imaginary hand to scoop up spoonfuls of food and vanish into thin air. Was Seymour really a coding genius or is Olive really a ghost? Read the book to find out. All I will say now, is that after a few misunderstandings are cleared, Olive helps Ignatius write his 13th book in the series and Ignatius writes the full story with her. In the end, Ignatius buys the house and lives with his new family – Olive, Seymour, and not to mention Shadow the cat – happily ever after!

What I like about the book:

• I love the way the author tells a whole story just through letters . Olive and Ignatius talk to each other through letters that they send to Seymour! And the book is formatted as letters – how innovative is that?!
• I like how Kate Klise who is a real author writes about another author as a character in the book. It was annoying how Ignatius was so arrogant at first but then it is funny and happy how he opened up to Olive in the end.
• I like how the author makes simple but funny connection in the book, like, when she describes the address as 43 Old Cemetery Rd so readers know it’s haunted. She calls the cat ‘Shadow’ to state that he is mysterious and Ignatius is really grumpy at the start, therefore, his last name is Grumply.
• I like that Seymour was a really cool character with a lot of power and punch. He was somebody who stood up for what he believed in. I like that because most of my friends and I are like that.
• Fun time! Here is a little quiz for kids who have read the book:

1.   Which town is 43 Old Cemetery Road in?

2.   Who built the house?

3.   Who played the piano?

4.   What was the name of Ignatius’ editor?

5.    What was the name of the publisher?

6.   What was funny about the name of the publisher?

I WOULD GIVE THIS BOOK A 8 out of 10 rating!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING DYING TO MEET YOU #1!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON AMAZON FOR $5.99!

Book Report : MY SISTER LIVES ON THE MANTLEPIECE

This book is called ‘MY SISTER LIVES ON THE MANTELPIECE’ written by Annabel Pitcher. It is about a 10-year-old boy named Jamie who has two sisters. One sister died in a terrorist attack (allegedly led by some people who followed Islam) but Jamie doesn’t remember the incident. Her name was Rose. When he was 9 years old, Jamie’s mom left them and moved away. Jamie really tries to think of ways to get them back together. In the meantime, his other sister Jas supports him and takes care of him well. Jamie is very sad and shocked but Jas is more hurt because she left them on her birthday. Jamie is a very confused boy because he just doesn’t know why Jas and his dad can’t move past the death of his long-gone sister, Rose. Jamie’s dad is too sad to throw her ashes into the sea and Jas seems to miss Rose. Jamie always feels very irritated and jealous because when it’s Jamie’s birthday, his dad gives Rose who doesn’t even exist a piece of cake. It’s like another person is living with them even though she doesn’t actually exist. Jamie can’t make much sense of his surroundings until he makes a new Muslim friend who is like him. Her name is Sunya. She understands him and likes the things that he does. The two become close friends. Jamie spends time with Sunya and one night, his dad even offers her a ride without knowing that she is a Muslim. He starts to like Sunya. One fine Parents Night, when Jamie and his dad are about to leave, Sunya and her parents come in. They greet Jamie and his dad goes mental. He shouts, screams and abuses them. Sunya’s family is heartbroken. Jamie hates his dad for abusing his best friend, her religion and family. In the meantime, Jamie has an idea to bring his mom and dad back together. He and Jas enter the Britain’s Got Talent competition and Jas gets in but refuses the next round. Jamie’s mom came to watch but leaves almost after saying ‘hi’ and ‘how are you?’ Jamie suddenly realizes that his mom didn’t care about them and never did. He is shocked and sad. And to make it worse, when Jamie gets back from his audition, his cat, Roger has gone missing! Later, he finds Roger dead on the street. His heart pounds hard and aches. For the first time in five years, Jamie cries and oh boy! He cries a lot. Jamie now realizes why his dad couldn’t move past Rose’s death: Because it was too hard to let go and he loved her too much. When Jas and his dad find out, they support him but Jamie’s dad does something almost unbelievable. He takes the urn in which Rose’s ashes are and along with Jamie, empties them out and helps Jamie bury Roger. At last, Jamie’s dad shows empathy and also realizes that if he doesn’t empty his ashes and save his living family now, he will lose them too. He feels like he needs to support his son and get him to move past Roger’s death, too.

What I like about the book:

• I really like how Roger the cat plays a big role in the story. I am a cat lover and wondering how great it was that Roger played such a big role in the book.
• This book reminded me of The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time because; it is also about family issues and affairs. Look out for my review of the book in some time. 
• One of the more touching moments of the book is when Jas gives Jamie a Spider Man t-shirt but pretends its his mom who gave it because she didn’t want Jamie to have to handle a lot of things. He wears it all the time until he figures out that Jas gave it to him and he thanks her. He takes off the t-shirt and knowing that he needn’t care about his mom if she didn’t care about him, he becomes an entirely different human. He feels stronger, more courageous and he feels more grown up.
• Apart from the great writing, the author was trying to make a big point in the book. Jamie’s father puts all the blame on Muslims even though only a few people who happened to be Muslim had been responsible for the incident in which he lost Rose. The point that the author is making is that racism is a very bad thing and it is something that a lot of us do nowadays. It makes us abuse other people’s religions when, we ourselves, don’t know much about it. As the old proverb goes: Don’t judge books by their cover.

I WOULD GIVE THIS BOOK A 9 OUT OF 10 RATING!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING ‘MY SISTER LIVES ON THE MANTELPIECE’!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE $3.49!           

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON GUARDIAN BOOKSHOP FOR $10.76!                   

                                 

Book Report: JAKE IN SPACE!

This book is called, ‘JAKE IN SPACE: MOON ATTACK!’, written by Candice Lemon-Scott. It is about a boy named Jake who lives on the Future Earth. But, Jake doesn’t know how to drive his own space car and Jake’s parents, not being satisfied with driving him to school, send Jake to a remedial driving school. Jake doesn’t want to be there but he is forced to go and train on the moon. There, he finds a few good friends named Rory (who is from Mars), Henry (who is from Jupiter) and Milly and Skye (who are from Venus). Jake hates it in the remedial driving school but during his stay there, discovers a dangerous mystery! What could it be? By and by, Jake sees Henry sneaking out in the night and driving out on space without a spacesuit! Wait a second, only robots can do that! Could Henry be a robot? Milly, Skye, Rory and Jake follow Henry on space cars one night and land up on a platform. Henry seems to know that they followed him and reveals a secret. Read the book to find out what this is! Anyways, they realise that Henry has only come to remedial space school stop Gradock, the owner, from doing something bad. Shocked by this discovery, Jake presses a button which delays Henry’s solution. After tracking Jake and his friends, Gradock arrives at their platform and starts his launching! He is going to destroy the Moon and Earth! Jake and his friends hop into a space car and follow Gradock as he drives away. Jake manages to turn upside down and the friends run into Gradock’s spacecar. Skye uses Slooper Goo 2 to make sure that Gradock doesn’t escape and then Henry’s fake parents come and arrest him. Jake and his friends learn that Henry works in a space company like a space police spy. Henry was working on his new mission, gathering help from Jake and friends. Henry’s fake parents are actually officers from the space police station called CIA. After solving this intriguing mystery, Jake goes back to his Earth and is proud to know that he can drive his own space car. He gets an invitation to a Rocket Battle competition. Will he go or not? Read Jake in Space: Moon Attack and Jake in Space: Rocket Battles to find out!

What I liked about the book:

·    I really like Sci- fi books and this is a true sci- fi book. I loved the intense language and all the cool technology gadgets in the book. While reading this book I was seeing it like a film in my head with chasing music in it! I was very excited to read about the levers, buttons, space cars, suits, walkie talkie like gadgets and other things. Now I feel like driving a space car! I wonder if there are actually remedial space car driving schools in real life. That would be awesome!

·    In some parts of the story, I had goosebumps because the scene was intense and mysterious. Mystery and Sci-fi and two of my favorite genres. In my opinion, this story mixed the two genres really well. I knew when the mystery started and the sci-fi died down but I never knew when the interest in the story would end.

·    I like the idea of robots a lot. It adds an extra mystery to the story.

·    Books don’t normally have the start of the next book in the book itself. Of course most books have sneak peeks of the next book in the series but this is different. While ending the story with Jake going back home, it starts a new story with an invitation to a Rocket Battle competition.  

·    My librarian in school recommended this book to me and I think I know why. This book is a great story about friendship and it teaches folks like me some action language that is catchy, quirky and fast- paced. When I read this book, I knew I had to read it fast because the language itself tells you to read fast and the author’s writing is fast paced and quirky. 

·    Finally, fun time! Here are a few questions for people who have read the book or come back to this blog after you have read the book to answer the following:

1.   How did Gradock track Jake and his friends?

2.   How many questions did Jake get right on his Theory test?

3.   What does CIA stand for?

4.   What is Slooper goo?

5.   How do you let go of Slooper goo?

6.   Who is your favorite character in the story? Why?

I WOULD GIVE THIS BOOK A 9 OUT OF 10 RATING!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING, ‘JAKE IN SPACE: MOON ATTACK!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON AMAZON FOR $14.99!

Book Report: ROOM ON THE ROOF!

This book is called, ‘ ROOM ON THE ROOF’ written by Ruskin Bond. It is about an orphaned boy named Rusty who has no real family after his parents’ death. He is very lonely and sad and even though he lives with his guardian (Mr. John Harrison), he doesn’t feel at home. Rusty is going through several emotions; he is confused, obliged, helpless, lonely and sad.  He is confused because he is a young boy between the age of an adult and child and doesn’t know who to follow or what his future holds. He is obliged to follow the orders and rules of his guardian and dares not disobey him. He feels helpless because he knows that if he disobeys Mr. John, he will get caned. Rusty doesn’t have any real friends and he is so very lonely in his guardian’s house. Even though Rusty is half Indian, John doesn’t let Rusty near the bazaar for a reason : John thinks that Indians are very dirty and this story is written just after the British had ruled over India, so he must have felt more superior! One day, Rusty decides to get some fresh air and takes a walk while his guardian was away to Delhi. After walking through the forest, he stops in front of the bazaar and his mind is arguing with his instinct. His mind is saying, ‘Don’t go! You will get into trouble.’ but his instinct is saying, ‘Go! You have your own heart and mind. You don’t have to live under rules all the time.’ Rusty chooses to follow his instinct and steps into the bazaar. He has made a good choice. Up until now, Rusty doesn’t have any hope or confidence but then he meets a kind boy named Somi and makes friends with him. Somi and his friends become Rusty’s hope and confidence and Somi and Ranbir are really kind to Rusty. When Rusty returns home, he finds that his guardian has returned early and gets caned for going to the bazaar. The next day, he goes to play Holi with Ranbir and once again gets caned. Rusty now knows what he has to do. He starts to live his own life and runs away from his guardian’s house. Rusty finds Somi who supports him a lot. Slowly, from a confused boy, Rusty turns into a confident and independent young man! He gets a job teaching English to a boy named Kishen, in return for a tiny room on the roof and food. He finds a loving and fun family, his independence, and even finds his ‘first love’ in Kishen’s mother Meena. The story takes a turn, when he loses all his friends and his first love too. Now Rusty’s last source of confidence and hope has gone away and his lonely days return. Rusty spends his sad days looking out at the window and once again, plans to run away. He decides to go back to England but before doing so, he wants to say a last goodbye to his friends and finds Kishen who convinces him to change his mind about returning to the UK. Instead, the two walk away together to form their own new world and life without worrying about anything else.

What I like about the book:

• I like this book because it was written from a teenager’s perspective. The author was seventeen when he wrote this and the story was inspired by his own experiences when he lived in Dehra. He wrote this story because he too was feeling some of the emotions that Rusty was feeling in the story. And for that reason, he decided that he would never make any revisions so readers could understand how it feels to be seventeen.  (mentioned in the Introduction by Ruskin Bond himself)
• It was a great read because it has a lot of different emotions and I like the way Ruskin Bond has written it : a simple story made into such a touching and sad book.
• There were a few funny descriptions like when Ruskin Bond described a situation as, ‘When a butterfly landed on the missionary’s wife’s palatial bosom….’ I laughed a lot and when my mum read it, she also laughed.  
• After reading the Room on The Roof, I am looking forward to reading a few of Ruskin Bond’s other stories. I wonder why children of my generation don’t read more of his books. Here are some books I am interested in reading from his collection :  ‘Panther’s Moon and Other Stories’, ‘The Hidden Pool’, ‘Rusty goes to London’ etc..
• I think the author has explained an important message in this book. Rusty’s guardian seems to be a little racist, who chooses to live in India but not mix with the people there. I think if people live in a country, they should mix with the people and appreciate their culture.
• The lesson in this story for me is to remain open as Rusty was and to follow my instincts. If Rusty had not becomes friends with the people of the bazaar he would never have had all the wonderful experiences in the story.
• Ruskin Bond reminds me of Roald Dahl because they both use interesting language and really funny phrases to describe their characters and their stories. They both write simple but wonderful stories. Even though, Roald Dahl is more fantastical and Ruskin Bond’s stories feel like memoirs but presented as a story.

I WOULD GIVE THIS BOOK A 9 OUT OF 10 RATING!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING THE ROOM ON THE ROOF!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON AMAZON FOR $ 0.54 !

This book report was posted on The Guardian's site first.

Disclaimer: If you would like to read this book, I recommend that you ask your parents first.