Getting Near to Baby

Getting Near to Baby
Audrey Couloumbis

*****

Willa Jo is up on the roof...again. Willa Jo and Little Sister always come up to the roof for a some time, but they won't tell Aunt Patty why. Aunt Patty is so strict, it seems to be the only way they could get away from her. Since Baby died, everything has been sad and lonely and because Dad left and Mom is far away, it seems like their family is broken up. Plus Little Sister won't speak because that is her way of showing loss. How can their family be so close yet so far away? I don't really have a favorite part in this book because all of it is really great. The story is about mourning, healing, and about situations in life. This is a really sweet book.

Gilda Joyce - The Ghost Sonata

Gilda Joyce - The Ghost Sonata

Jennifer Allison

*****

Gilda's best friend, Wendy Choy has just been selected to compete in a Young Virtuoso Piano Competition in Oxford, England. Gilda tags along as a page-turner, but once they get there, it was more than the competition that they focused on. Wendy keeps on getting unlucky tarot cards and hearing eerie compositions inside the apartment even though there is no piano. But strangest of all, she and Gilda have both encountered multiple ghost sightings! Is Oxford haunted? And what does the ghost want from them? My favorite part of the story is when Gilda and Julian go out to the graveyard and try to summon Charles Drummond, a boy of 14 who everyone is talking about. They get carried away and miss a treacle well with an important clue to the boy's past. If you are looking for a book that will keep you on your toes, this is the one!!

Darts

Maya Petersen
10-1-09
Personal Narrative

Darts

“You did WHAT?!”
“Sorry.”
“HOW?!”
“Well, we were playing and…I am really sorry Mom.”
“JUST TELL ME HOW IT HAPPENED?!”

Christmas happened. We just had to drive all the way to Darlington, South Carolina for me to cause an accident. Nyles, my little cousin, had come over to play with my sister and me.
“Hi. Cecily and I just got here and were waiting for you to come over.” I welcomed. “What do you want to do?”
“For a change, something fun.”
“What is your idea of fun?”
I am really sorry for asking that question.

He found that stupid Nerf gun in the closet. It was the kind of gun that had a pocket for 15 foamy suction-cup darts that really, I mean really, suck.
“What are we going to shoot at?” I asked.
“What else? The bathroom door!”
I hate to say this, but that was one of the most entertaining hours I have ever had in my life. We shot the peeling door, and when that got boring, shot the door when someone was inside of the bathroom. When Cecily got the worn-out swivel chair from the den, we got another fantastic idea.
“WAHOO!!” Nyles screeched.
We twisted down the rough wood hall in the swivel chair, Nyles and I equipped with guns, with Cecily pushing us. Screaming and hollering, we had a whale of a time. Until we got caught. We careened into the den, spinning and swirling. Laughing, I pulled the trigger. But at the wrong thing.

“It’s going for the computer! I have to stop it!” I screamed in panic. I leaped of the chair and chased after the speeding dart.
“Wait, Maya!” Nyles screamed as he jumped out after me. “I will catch it and save the day!”
He must have been having a bad day. He was trying so hard, but tripped over his own shoelaces. What was my sister doing to help? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! She had climbed into the chair and was sitting there, watching with her big brown eyes, absorbing the scene. Jumping in front of the dart, I shut my eyes, expecting to be hit.

“Maya!”
I cautiously opened one eye.
“You can open your eyes now! The dart hit the computer but it didn’t break.”
My eyes shot open and blinked in surprise.
“Really?”
“Really.” Nyles whispered in my ear. “Now all I have to do is pull it of the screen.” He shoved me out of the way and put his hands on the dart.
“No Nyles! WAIT! THAT CAN BREAK THE COMPUTER!!”
It was too late. He yanked, but the dart didn’t move. His eyebrows furrowed in frustration. He pulled again, but a little harder, but the dart wouldn’t budge.
“NYLES!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” I screamed.
“I AM TRYING TO GET THE DART OF THE COMPUTER!!” he shouted back.
With all of his strength, he jerked at the dart.
“WAIT!!!”
CRASH!!! The screen had completely shattered. Nyles had let go of the dart and it was rolling away under the couch. Broken wires and circuits were sparking and snapping. I was still holding the gun in my hand, completely in shock.

“MOMMY!! MAYA BROKE THE COMPUTER!!” Cecily screamed.
“I DID NOT, YOU LITTLE TWERP!” I fumed, completely confused.
My mom and my grandma came running in the room.

“MAYA PETERSEN!!! WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE COMPUTER!?” She rushed over and gently touched the frame as if it was her kid or something.
“NYLES, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS?” my grandma asked impatiently, eyeing us is disgust.
“No ma’am. I promise. Maya shot the dart and it broke the computer.” That little liar was good, because my mom believed him.
“MAYA, YOU ARE GROUNDED FOR THE REST OF THIS HAPPY LITTLE TRIP! GO TO YOUR ROOM RIGHT NOW!”

So I sat there, in my room, not going to dinner or coming out for breakfast the next day. I was too embarrassed. Surely my dad had heard the story now. Luckily and unluckily he was gone picking up pizza when I had the accident, but mom probably had explained the situation to him. I wonder if I will survive the rest of the trip.

Vocab Defenitions

1) seizure - a cramping of your muscles that can cause a lot of pain and can sometimes kill you

2) swarming - a large group of something that is moving in an unorganized way around or to a place

3) venture - to start something or to go on an adventure

4) dignity - to hold your head high, have self-respect, and to have good manners

5) knead - to press or mix something with your hands, most commonly dough

6) illuminating - to light up or a way for a cartoon figure to show that it has an idea

7) virility - males who are thought of as "manly", "really hot", or "sexy"

8) jittering - to be making small motions around a small area

9) Hispanic - a human being born in Spain or South America

10) trepidation - a feeling of fear but not yet panic

Savvy

Savvy

Ingrid Law

*****

Mibs Beaumont is about to turn thirteen. It is a really exciting thing for the Beaumont's because when you turn thirteen, you get your savvy. Mibs really wants a good savvy and has been praying for one all of her life, but when Papa gets in an accident, Mibs starts to pray for a savvy that will wake her unconcious father up. So she hops aboard a bus bound for Salina with her brothers Fish and Sampson and the preachers kids, Bobbi and Will Jr. But what happens when the bus goes the wrong way? How will she ever be able to save Papa now? 

My favorite part of the story is when Lill finds a motel open and books some rooms for everyone. Lill makes Bobbi and Mibs call their parents, and Bobbi has a plan. She starts off calling the boys room and talking to air, then walks over to the boys room as Mibs picks up and does such a freakishly good imitation of Mrs. Rosemary, that Lill thinks that she is actually talking to her! This is a great story about friendship and perseverence.

Pollyanna

Pollyanna

Eleanor H. Porter (adapted by Marion Leighton)

*****

Pollyanna Whittier's parents have died and has had to move in with her Aunt Polly. Aunt Polly has always been a person who would always do their duty, and now with a child in the house, Aunt Polly finds it really hard to do her duty. But Pollyanna has a secret weapon, a game that her father taught her to play. But when she gets in an accident and becomes paralyzed, it becomes almost to hard to play. And will the town play it with her? My favorite part of the story is when Pollyanna meets Mrs. Snow. Mrs. Snow has an illness and has to stay in bed all the time, and Pollyanna is the only one that comes to visit her, and every time she comes, she brings a little present or offers a service to the crippled lady. This is a sweet and heartwarming book.

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo

Alexander Dumas (adapted by Mitsu Yamamoto)

*****

Edmond Dantes is a young sailor who has just arrived home after a voyage. Mercedes, his girlfriend, is waiting for him to come home. But just as they were to get married, he was false accussed of being a loyal messenger for Napoleon and was sent to the Chateau d'If, an island prison off the coast of Marseilles, France! He rots in prison for 14 years and escapes, emerging as The Count of Monte Cristo, to get revenge on his enemies that put him in prison! My favorite part of the story is when Edmond becomes The Count and everyone obeys him because he has so much money. Jacopo, a former italian smuggler, becomes his companion and now, everyone respects them, and better yet, his enemies have no idea who he is! This is another great classic for readers just beginning to look into good books!

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde (adapted by Fern Siegel)

*****

Dorian Gray is a youthful man who has gotten a portrait done my Mr. Basil Hallward. But as soon he sees that his beauty will not last, he makes a dreadful wish that he will stay forever young and that the painting will grow old! Poor Dorian realizes his wish came true only too late and tries to repent, but can he? My favorite part of the story is when Basil comes to Dorian's estate and asks him to sit for him again, and Dorian refuses. So Basil offers to show the portrait in a London museum, and Dorian is shocked. He swears on his grave that if Basil displayed or even looked at the portrait, Dorian would never be his friend again. This is a really great classic for the young and old!

10 Vocab Sentences

1) The beautiful music from the orchestra overwhelmed the audience.

2) The skilled ventriloquist entertained us at the talent show.

3) It seems that the sky is almost as vast as space.

4) When people are perplexed, they most often have to scratch their heads or do something that will help them think.

5) The malicious villian, Count Olaf, desperatly wants the Baudelaire fortune.

6) When in a large empty room, bellowing is often the result of normal speaking.

7) I am often hanging idly around the house on the weekends.

8) I would be in mortal danger if the ski lift cable snapped.

9) I made a few blunders on my math test.

10) The wild, rampant waters of the flood swept over the city.