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.

Book Report : QUINNY AND HOPPER

 This book is called ‘QUINNY AND HOPPER’ written by Adriana Brad Schanen. It is about two friends named Quinny and Hopper. Quinny is moving from New York to a place called Whisper Valley and doesn’t like it at all. She is moving with her parents and her two younger sisters named Piper and Cleo who are very annoying. Quinny doesn’t appreciate them much especially because Piper spies on her and Cleo licks her with her spit! Eeww! When Quinny reaches Whisper Valley, she finds a new friend named Hopper who is a quiet boy and is extremely shy at first but opens up later. Quinny’s personality is almost the complete opposite. She is a chatty, active and impulsive character. Even though the two are the total opposites, they still make a great team. Each one’s personality helps the other: Hopper’s cleverness helps Quinny learn new things and Quinny’s friendliness and activeness makes Hopper less shy. Together, the two have a lot of fun doing fun things like chasing and catching chickens etc.. Then, Quinny and Hopper both receive a letter telling them that their school is starting. Quinny is very excited but Hopper isn’t and claims that everything about their friendship will end. The reason he says this is because he doesn’t have any friends in school and thinks that Quinny won’t want to be his friend and would want to move on with her life. Quinny is shocked for a few days with Hopper’s new attitude but then forces herself to think that Hopper never even was her friend in the first place. As Hopper thinks she would, Quinny moves on with her life and chooses a wrong type of friend. They go to school and once again, Hopper is lonely. He sits on the staircase and reads his book. Meanwhile, Quinny and her new friend, Victoria, are playing and Victoria starts to be mean and bossy with Quinny but Quinny is helpless. On the other hand, Hopper has finally overcome his shyness and found a game that he likes. He becomes the new champion in a running game called Tag and even goes and tags Quinny because he feels like he wants to be her friend again and that he can sort a few things out. Quinny swirls around and argues with Hopper a little at first, but then finally starts to play with him. Victoria teases them and Quinny pushes her away. Quinny and Hopper are both very annoyed with Victoria and feel like paying her back for all the bossy things she does. They also feel glad and less confused because they are back together and have nothing to worry about regarding the safety of their friendship. Quinny tells Hopper that he should never think that she won’t be his friend because she will always with be with him. Their friendship starts to heal. Now, from an unsure and confused friendship, Quinny and Hopper have turned into a really strong friendship.

What I like about this book is:

• As soon as I picked ‘Quinny and Hopper’, I knew it would be a winner. From the first page, I could not stop reading it till the book was done.
• This book follows a simple story line: two friends, a problem, the friends are not good friends anymore and then something happens to make them realise the value of their friendship and they become friends again. It is a simple story line which turns into such an interesting book with 2 very different perspectives.
• One thing that I really liked about the book was how the author has organised and written the chapters. Each chapter is either called ‘Quinny’ or ‘Hopper’ and whichever name it is, that becomes the perspective it is written in. It was interesting to see both the views and the feel of the chapters is so different from each other. “Quinny” chapters are fast and as you read it, you will hear yourself go  fast. “Hopper” chapters feel more quiet and careful and you will notice it in the way the author writes.
• When I read ‘Quinny and Hopper’, I could relate to my real life because the story is like two friends of mine. One friend is trying to steal the other friend away from me but fortunately the friend keeps coming back! Being 8-12 is a difficult and confusing time I think and this book captures that well.
• I think the book has a great sense of humour and tragedy too. Humour, such as, there is a conversation in the book with Quinny and her dad and Quinny asks her dad why they even have her sisters and her dad says, “I know. We took them with us and I think we might have to stick with them.” LOL! And tragic too because at one point in the story, you really feel sorry for Hopper.
• Overall, it’s a very good book and is easy to understand. I would recommend it to ages 8-12 because they mostly have problems like these and can relate to it and even take a lesson from it.
• Finally, Fun quiz time! Here are a few questions for those who have read the book. Write your answers in the section below my report. Oh! and no cheating, alright? J  

1.  What are the names of Hopper’s bullying brothers?

2. What is Quinny’s full name?

3. Who is Mrs. Porridge?

4. How many teeth does Quinny have?

5. What does Hopper love and what is his room full of?

I WOULD GIVE THIS BOOK A 10 OUT 10 RATING!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING QUINNY AND HOPPER!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON AMAZON FOR $6.99!

Book Report : BALLET SHOES

This book is called BALLET SHOES, written by Noel Streatfeild. It is about 3 orphan girls who are adopted by a man named Matthew. The girls call him G.U.M for Great Uncle Matthew. Gum collects fossils and other things on his travels. Cook, Clara, Nana and Sylvia all live and work with him. After Gum gives the children to Nana for her to take care of, he leaves enough money for them for 5 years and goes away travelling for a very long time. The three girls, Pauline (the oldest), Petrova and Posy (the youngest) all have different dreams. Posy is a born dancer and Pauline is an actress. But sporty Petrova would rather study planes than do a pirouette because she is more interested in vehicles and how they work. Nana enrolls them into the academy called ‘The Academy of Dance and Stage Training’. Posy is very happy and so is Pauline but Petrova is very bored and so when she is free, takes her book of vehicles and studies it. Pauline acts in many different plays. Some include: Blue bird, A Midsummer Night’s dream and Richard the Third. Long ago, the Fossil family (Pauline, Petrova and Posy) made a vow to put their names in history books and they repeated this vow whenever it was each other’s birthday. One day, Pauline gets an invitation to go to Hollywood in America and Posy to train with a very famous male ballet dancer because some professional at each of their talents had seen them dance\act. Now they are getting one step closer to putting their names in history books! Petrova is the only one left without an invitation. Suddenly, Gum comes back and it happens to be that he is also very good at working with vehicles and studying them! Now, Petrova has something to look forward to. She and the other 2 girls make their last vows of putting their names into history books and then say their goodbyes. I wonder what they are going to do next!

What I like about this book:

·   It is an interesting book since it is written in 1936. And, it is pretty different from stories we have today. In those days, there weren’t any electronic gadgets, there were only typewriters! They had teatime etc. and followed a strict schedule and were demanded down in a strict way even if they were doing something important like homework. These days, we don’t say “OK everyday at 5:30 PM we will take a walk” right? In this book, Nana and the girls take walks everyday other than the days they are sick or not feeling well! Although it was very interesting reading it, I can’t imagine my life being that rigid. Can you?

·   The lesson that I found in the book is: follow your dreams! As each of the girls did. Made me think: if I had to be one of the three, I would be Pauline. I love acting but my second choice is definitely Petrova because she is sporty like me and even though I am not that interested in planes, I enjoyed reading about the engines and cars! If you had to choose, which one would you be?

I would give this a 7 out of 10 rating!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING BALLET SHOES!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE FOR $6.29 ON AMAZON OR HERE FOR £5.59 AT THE GUARDIAN BOOKSHOP

Book Report : DOLL BONES

This book is called DOLL BONES, written by Holly Black. It is about three kids named Poppy, Alice and Zach who love playing with dolls. But, the three are in middle school now and Zach’s dad is pushing Zach to join the basketball team and quit girls and dolls. Zach ignores his dad and doesn’t think that his dad will do anything until Zach’s dad throws away all Zach’s toys and gives Zach no choice. Zach quits playing with dolls but lies about the reason. Poppy and Alice continue playing but are suspicious about the reason Zach quit. Poppy and Alice are happy and continue playing until...  Poppy opens her eyes one night and declares that she is having dreams about a girl who is mysteriously murdered and is made into a doll because she is loved so much by her father. The doll desperately wants to be buried. This is the story of the doll: A few years ago there was a girl named Eleanor Kerchner and her father was a sculptor. Her father made all sorts of lovely things like vases and stuff but he loved Eleanor most and never wanted to see her die. But, one day Eleanor was mysteriously murdered and Eleanor’s father came to know. He was so sad that he decided that he was going to use her ashes and bones to make a doll representing Eleanor.  Poppy’s mum bought the doll years ago and never let anybody touch it. Poppy and her friends were scared of it for a while but they decided to add it to their game to make them less scared. The doll becomes the queen of the game and sits in her case watching over everything. But now Poppy takes it out and explains everything to Alice. Scared, they both wake Zach up and tell him about it. Zach agrees to help so long as the girls don’t talk about the reason he quit and they all start to East Liverpool, Ohio since that is the doll’s preference (to be buried). On the way to East Liverpool, Ohio, they have many adventures but I won’t tell you all. All I will say is ‘Watch out for the crazy man!’ Meanwhile, Alice starts to doubt Poppy and thinks that she made all of this up just to be bossy and to get them to do what she wants. It is only when people think that the doll is an actual person – for example, whenever the three go into restaurants, the managers ask if they need a table for 4 people and not three - that Alice realizes that everything was true and she makes up with Poppy. Spooky isn’t it?! I wonder why this happened to them? Has the doll possessed them with her looks and ash?’. Anyways, they land up in a library trying to find the place to bury the doll but somebody or someone takes the doll when they go to sleep and throws it away. The trio looks for her in the morning but the librarian finds them and makes them call their parents! Each child talks with their parent and is told to come back home. Only, the three still have sometime. Zach, Alice and Poppy split up to find the doll and Zach finds the doll in a dustbin and takes her back. Poppy is so happy and gives each of them a job. Alice looks for flowers, Poppy starts to say bye to the doll and Zach digs the grave. Straight after burying the doll, a few honks are heard and the book ends with the three friends walking, relieved, to their cars. The doll won’t trouble them forever now. Or... will it?!

What I like about the book is:

• The spookiness of it all. It made me have goose bumps! I wonder how Holly Black got the inspiration to write a story about a creepy doll.
• I admire Holly Black, she is such a good writer and like the language she uses. She really gets the reader (or me) involved.
• She makes some pretty interesting characters too. If you read The Spiderwick Chronicles you’ll see what I mean.
• When I finished reading Doll bones, I found myself writing a book literally based on Doll bones but just including different characters. I didn’t finish the book though (I thought it was copying so I didn’t continue).
• Actually, when I finished reading the book I felt a little scared every night because I thought that maybe the doll would come to me. That just proves that the author did a very good job in writing the story.
• One of the things that I also found interesting was the way she added in the secrets and made the story like a mysterious – like the part with the crazy man!
• One of my favorite parts was at the end when Zach asks Alice out and then they become ‘close friends’.

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

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING ‘DOLL BONES’! YOU CAN BUY IT HERE FOR $5.13 ON AMAZON OR HERE FOR £5.59 AT THE GUARDIAN BOOKSHOP

This review first appeared on the GuardianChildren's books site