I and Me Grammar

1. My friends and I went to PIM to watch a new movie.

2. Making my bed is a chore for my sister and me.

3. My family and I paid for the tickets to watch a ventriloquist perform.

4. "Why didn't you do your homework?" Mr. Hughes asked Sara and me.

5. My brother and I screamed-we were in mortal danger!!!

6. The sweetness of the vanilla scented candle overwhelmed my classmates and me.

Princess of Gossip

by Sabrina Bryan & Julia DeVillers

*****

Avery is stressed! She'd just moved to L.A., and she's a total nobody with no friends. All her friends back home are not texting, chatting, or calling her. Life in L.A.'s really boring-until now! Avery learns about a talented singer named Marisa, and she starts a blog in MySpace for Marisa and people love it! People are visiting Marisa's page and leaving positive comments! And BAM! Avery is mistaken for Marisa's assistant, and is invited to a launch party with all the famous celebrities! There, she snaps a photo of two celebrities as a couple! Avery sees this as juicy gossip, and makes a gossip blog, her identity shown as the Princess of Gossip. People reads this gossip blog, and it's a huge hit! Suddenly, Avery is super famous, and is determined as a music industry insider by the people. 

Avery gets free dresses, phone, makeup, spa gift certificates, chocolate... everything, because of her Princess of Gossip blog! And then, the hot nephew of one of the famous designers asks Avery out because she was wearing his uncle's clothes, and Avery falls for it! She hosts a beach party using the gift certificate delivered to her to host a beach party at a luxury hotel, when the hotel managers and the officers come over to find the Princess of Gossip, to see a teenage party! Then the Princess of Gossip's identity is revealed! Uh-oh. Avery is in major trouble, and to make it worse, the photos and the gossip she had written was a fauxmance-meaning, fake romance! It was all fake! Avery is hated from many people, but she saves her reputation by Marisa's blog! At a on-line party Avery made to apologize to people, Marisa comes and announces that the blog made fourteen hundred dollars for charity! Avery is saved!

The best part of this book was at the on-line party, when Marisa came as a surprise and gave the party her private concert! It would be so awesome to have a singer give a concert at your party! And, I liked it because Avery has a happy ending! She is saved by Marisa, who comes up to the stage and announces the news. Then the concert begins, and all the avatars that represented the people at the party, started going wild! The tech part was cool too, because they used this satellite connection for Marisa to go to the party herself, using her picture. It would be cool to have a on-line party like Avery did.      

Princess Diaries #2

by Meg Cabot

*****

Mia Thermopolis is back! With more problems! Her mother is pregnant with her Algebra teacher's baby! And now they're going to get married! And she takes a interview with 24/7, a TV program and sounds like a total idiot, gets one of her teachers in trouble, and makes people think her school's some crazy out-of-control schools! How could Mia be so stupid?And worst of all, her grandmother's getting involved in her mother's wedding, and it's getting out of control! First, her grandmother invites the Thermopolis grandmother and grandfather, and invites celebrities and kings and queens all over the world, to Mia's mother's wedding, when Mia's mother only wanted a small, simple wedding! Oh boy, this is getting big. Oh, boy.

The best part was the wedding, because there was this surprise, of Mia's mother and her algebra teacher not showing up. It was also the best part because it was the first time that her grandmother wasn't so fierce and in-control! She was actually embarrassed!!! And, I liked that part because it was a wedding with celebrities for the guests! If that was my wedding, I'd faint right before my eyes because, it's so cool having celebrities for guests, and you're the center of attention, and the celebrities are congratulating you, they're sending presents to you, and they're doing something for you, unlike the usual times, when people do things for them. 

Matilda

by Roald Dahl

*****

Matilda Wormwood is a brilliant 5-year old, who is a genius. She can do any multiplications in her head like lightning, and she reads adult books written by Charles Dickens. But most of all, Matilda has the power to move things with her eyes and mind. She can make glass tip over, lift pots and other things. Matilda is simply amazing.

Matilda has a kindergarten teacher named Miss Honey, who is very poor and lives in a cottage with practically nothing, but she's a woman who's very kind and thoughtful. Matilda learns that the principal of the kindergarten she's going to, is the aunt of Miss Honey. But Miss Trunchbull(The principal) is just a nightmare! She grabs a girl with pigtails and flings her over the fence, and she locks children up in a small space with glass pieces and nails sticking out. And she learns that, Miss Trunchbull stole Miss Honey's house, Miss Honey's wages and every cent of Miss Honey's rightful money. Matilda decides she has to do something. She practices that magic power of hers for a long time, and finally she is able to do it anytime, anywhere, with anything. So when Miss Trunchbull comes over to her class, Matilda pretends she is Miss Honey's dead father and writes a creepy message for Miss Trunchbull using the magic eye power. The threat works, and the next day, Miss Honey gets back her rightful possessions.

The best part was when Matilda wrote the creepy message to Miss Trunchbull while she came over. It was so cool, because the chalk just floated up and wrote a message. It was freaky at the same time, because I knew that is was Matilda, but for Miss Trunchbull, it must've been scary because actually, Miss Trunchbull killed Miss Honey's father, so it must've been terrifying for her. If that happened to me(Which will never happen because I won't murder anybody.) I would go crazy because of fright. And, I envy Matilda. Matilda's so perfect, so special and great. I would be over the moon if I had Matilda's brain and powers. 

 

Characterization

Meg Cabot is the author of the Princess Diaries series. Mia Thermopolis is the main protagonist in the series, and she has some pretty interesting personalities and life.

Mia has low self-esteem, and she cares a lot about her looks. Mia thinks she is a freak, and at a part she says,"I know I am hideous, and all of that,". Which explains that Mia herself thinks that she is hideous and ugly. And she also thinks that she's too tall, and that her feet her huge. Mia wants to look like her mother, who is very pretty.

The most main problem in Mia's life is that she's a princess, and not just any kind of princess, she's a princess that 's worth three hundred million dollars! Mia has a lot to deal with when she's a princess. On her diary, she writes that she "Can't go anywhere without a bodyguard, and I must maintain neutral opinion on important topics such as the meat industry and smoking and the Taliban, and have to take princess lessons with grandma." In the first book, she practically goes crazy when she learns that she's a princess, and she was totally stressed and worried about being a princess.

Mia loves animals a lot, and she's a vegetarian. And when she grows up, she knows she has to rule Genovia but she wants to work for Greenpeace, and save baby seals and whales. For instance, she says "...but really, it's ridiculous how scared that dog is of me. And I love animals!". She especially cares a lot for her pet cat named Fat Louie.

I think Meg Cabot described Mia pretty well, about her being the regular teenage girl who has the same problems as normal people such as hating and flunking Algebra, sitting at the reject table and getting the evil eyes from popular cheerleaders. I like how Meg Cabot characterized Mia, with her not being all posh even though she's a royalty.

Dial L for Loser

by Lisi Harrison

*****

The Pretty Committee(Massie, Dylan, Alicia, Kristen and Claire) are off to Hollywood to audition for the new teen blockbuster, Dial L for Loser! They're going for the part of a loser, and Massie can't imagine a better actress than her. But when she actually auditions, Claire gets the part! Claire, the actual loser in the real social life back in Westchester! And now Claire is so famous, she gets free designer clothes and have interviews with famous magazines while Massie has to just sit and stare. Claire's the mini celebrity, and Massie can't just sit while her alpha seat is taken. Massie is jealous, and she'll just do anything to torment Claire. 

The best part was when Massie, Alicia and Claire auditioned for the play, because right before the audition, Massie and Alicia played a trick on Claire and Claire had this huge water stain on her T-shirt, and she had a total loser haircut. The result was really surprising, because Massie was the usual alpha, the usual popular, pretty girl. And I think it would be so cool, you being a loser and then bam! You're some celebrity who meets the most popular people on Earth. I thought that was really cool, and I would definitely trade spots with Claire, when she got picked for the movie.  

Revenge of the Wannabes

by Lisi Harrison

*****

This book was about Massie, Dylan, Alicia, Kristen and Claire(A.k.a. The Pretty Committee). But now Alicia's just plain tired of Massie being the alpha, she wants to start her own clique. So she makes a clique with one of her dance class friends, and is now on a fight with Massie. Massie paints a mural saying mean things about Alicia, and Alicia is totally on revenge, but things keep twisting. Massie gets herself for modeling for Teen Vogue when Alicia was actually the only one, and Massie swipes the dress Alicia wanted to buy for the shoot, right before the actual shoot! And Alicia has to decide if she would keep her clique, or apologize and go back in The Pretty Committee.

The best part was at the very end, where everybody got in a huge fight with each other in the set. This was also the part where Massie and Alicia made up. Everybody was like crazy, stuffing fake snow in each other's face, actually hitting and pinching, and throwing the fake present boxes near the Christmas tree. I liked this part because in words, it was totally hilarious. 8 girls going crazy with fake snow, destroying the set and making a complete chaos. I couldn't imagine it, and it was really funny, just reading the words and thinking about it.  

What Holly Heard

by R.L.Stine

***

Mei Kamata's parents are sensible doctors, and they approve sensible people. But Mei has a not-so-sensible boyfriend named Noah, which the Kamatas disapprove. Mei holds a party and there, Dr. Kamata banns Mei from meeting Noah. The next day, a girl named Holly accidentally hears Mei and Noah talking about killing her Mom so they could meet together. And then Mrs. Kamata is found dead, next morning. Holly and her best friends Ruth and Miriam suspects it's Mei and Noah. The next day, Noah looks at Holly with such hateful, cold eyes and Holly's afraid. And the next day, Holly was found dead. There were bloody notebooks in Ruth's bag, with horror poems. Miriam is getting freaked out. Was it really Mei and Noah?

Then Miriam goes over to Ruth's house and discovers dead hamsters and an another poem. When Ruth goes over to call the police, Miriam discovers a bloody hammer and a bloody T-shirt in Ruth's closet. Miriam discovers that is was Ruth all along, and Ruth tries to kill Miriam to dispose the evidence, but fails.

The most scariest part was when Miriam found Holly's body. Miriam was having a phone call with Holly, when Holly was unexpectedly cut off. Miriam went over to investigate, to see Holly's body. Her green eyes were rolled back, her body was pale and lifeless, and her favorite blue scarf was tightly wrapped around her neck, choking her. It was scary and uneasy to forget. Ruth had choked her, with Holly's scarf. She choked her until Holly was completely dead. It was a complet horror moment, and if this book was made into a movie, this part would be like the highlight/scariest moment.  

The Princess Diaries

By Meg Cabot

****

This book is about a ordinary teenage girl named Mia, who is actually the heir to the next throne of Genovia!!! Mia's life is pretty tangled, she has so much to deal with! 

1. Her mother is dating her Algebra teacher-Yuck!

2. She is failing Algebra

3. She has to take princess lessons with her grandma-Ugh!

4. She has to deal with everybody staring at her while a bodyguard trails around her-embarrassing much?

5. She's fighting with her best friend

6. She has social problems-including dates for dances

Mia is stressed and worried about her life, but she balances it out. She earns herself a D for Algebra, she makes up with her friend and she handles with the date problem!

My favorite part was when Mia spends the night at Lily's house after the dance, because finally, Mia is happy! This was the part when all the good stuff happened to Mia. I thought this book had a really interesting subject of being a royalty, and I want to try the second book. 

Sealed with a Diss

By Lisi Harrison

*****

This book is about 5 girls named Massie, Alicia, Dylan, Kristen and Claire. This year, they finally get hold of the secret legendary room at OCD(Octavian Country Day School)! And voila! The room is filled with cool clothes, makeup and a Starbucks espresso machine, but most of all...a T.V. and camera system that allows them to see what boys are actually thinking! 

But they have a little challenge before they can actually use the room for themselves! First they all have to find suitable dates for the eighth grade alpha Skye Hamilton's costume party, and Massie has to convince her old crush, Chris Abeley to like the eighth grade alpha, Skye Hamilton!

My favorite part was when they first visited the secret room and learned about the system that allowed them to see the boys' mind becuase I thought it was really cool how the system worked, and that you could read somebody's mind! I wish I had something like that, not to read necessarily boys' mind but my family's mind!! 

Earthquake

A 7.3 earthquake hit Indonesia on September 2nd. In Indonesia, earthquakes happen pretty often because Indoensia is in the Ring of Fire, where the plates underneath gets a lot of pressure, which leads to volcanoes and earthquakes. Although there was no landslide because of the flat landscape of Indonesia, there was a tsunami warning. Indonesia is surrounded by water, so if an earthquake hit Indonesia, there are certain chances that a tsunami might happen. Although people were really surprised by the sudden earthquake, there were signs that an earthquake could happen. For instance, before the earthquake happened, a big snake came out from its underground shelter. Why? The animals could predict the earthquake coming, so the snake came out, trying to escape.

A lot of people got hurt, or even died because of this earthquake. There are a lot of tall buildings in Indonesia, and when the earthquake hit, the buildings were damaged, and things like chandeliers or objects on shelves fell down and broke, possibly hurting somebody. There were also some cracks on the walls too. There were especially a lot of damage at the Kampung village near the epicenter.