"The Maze Runner" By James Dashner

The Maze Runner is probably the best series/book that I have read. The series has recently had a new addition, "The Fever Code". I am going to do a review on that also, but I haven't read it yet. This book was very detailed. It was about a boy named Thomas who mysteriously arrived in this maze filled with teenage boys that had started a fort. Every day the maze doors open and close and big monsters come out. They are part natural, part mechanical. The kill and bring havoc. One day Thomas goes into the maze and gets "stung" by a robot. He either dies or lives, but that is for you to find out.

This is the summary from the book: Thomas, a teenager, arrives in a glade at the center of a giant labyrinth. Like the other youths dumped there before him, he has no memory of his previous life. Thomas quickly becomes part of the group and soon after demonstrates a unique perspective that scores him a promotion to Runner status -- those who patrol the always-changing maze to find an escape route. Together with Teresa, the only female, Thomas tries to convince his cohorts that he knows a way out.

I highly recommend reading this book because I loved reading it. I also recommend reading the other books in the series. If you are adventurous, watch the movies.

"The Hunger Games" By Suzanne Collins

A little over a year ago I read the Hunger Games because a friend recommended it to me. I read the back of the book and I thought that the book had a pretty good plot line. I gave the book a try and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

It is a little slow start to the book but once you get into it, the book really has an enjoyable rhythm to it. It started off with Katniss meeting Peeta and then Katniss goes into the hunger games. When I first read about the actual games, I thought that they were crazy and just a full on death trap, which it technically is. The books really held my attention and I enjoyed every minute of reading the book. The second book starts with Katniss on the victory tour with Peeta and Katniss ends up getting a little “surprise” at the end. The third book was my favorite because it was full of action and introduced tons of new characters that I grew to really like. The last few chapters featured multiple cliff hangers and those were what really made me wonder why there isn’t a fourth one. I especially liked the last chapter because it made you visualize Katniss’ future and decide for yourself what is in store for her. That is why I highly recommend reading this series. 

"The Dead Gentlemen" By Mathew Cody

This week I went to my neighborhood library and one of the books on display was “The Dead Gentlemen” by Mathew Cody. I read the summary and the book looked amazing. I am only a quarter of the way through and the book is full of action and suspense. The book switches between the early 1900s to the modern day 21^st century. The book is pretty hard to put down and I have been told by teachers to stop reading during class. The book grabs your attention from the very first page and maintains that strong hold throughout the book, or at least to where I am. This guy named Pseudonymous Bosch wrote a review on the back cover that says “Attention, thieves, scoundrels, and fearless adventurers! This book is for you. From the underground lairs of monsters and trolls to the underwater ruins of ancient civilizations, The Dead Gentlemen will take you everywhere you ever wanted to go – and more than a few places you never imagined. Read it now. Read it fast. Before some well-meaning person snatches it away.”

 The reason that he talks about thieves is because the main character started out life as a thief. You might be wondering what the real summary is so here it is: “Nineteenth-century orphan Tommy Learner didn’t realize what he was getting himself into when he stole a mechanical bird from the Dead Gentleman himself. The bird, nicknamed Merlin, led him straight to the Explorer’s Society. More than simply aimless wanderers, the Explorer’s Society has the ability to travel between multiple worlds and increase their vast knowledge. The society, though, is beginning to crumble as the Dead Gentleman is slowly conquering each world one by one. He is headed to Earth next, and no punk street orphan or flimsy mechanical bird can stop him.

Twenty-first-century Jezebel Lemon’s only adventure seems to come in the form of watching her artist father work on the large mural in her room. All that changes, however, once she decides to go exploring her large apartment building’s basement. There she discovers the ghost, or something like it, of a boy named Tommy Learner. The next thing she knows, she’s been transported not only in the past, but also to a strange new world inhabited with dinosaurs. Jezebel isn’t sure what happened, so she looks at Tommy for a lot of answers in between running from dinosaurs and the local inhabitants. Thoughts of getting home are dashed once the Dead Gentleman appears, and he’s taken a strong interest in Jezebel.

Reluctantly, Tommy and Jezebel agree to work together, and thus the three simple ideas of childhood are brought to fruition. Tommy and Jezebel must explore different worlds in order to figure out how to stop the Dead Gentleman from bringing to life all the monsters that lurk in the dark corners of closets. If they don’t, then the world will be forever changed as they know it. Present and past collide in order to save the future. I really hope that you decide to read this book because I am really enjoying it!

      

"The Unknowns" By Benedict Carey

Last week I read a very interesting novel titled “The Unknowns”, written by Benedict Carey. It is about two kids that live on a trashed out island full of trailer homes. One of the biggest energy companies in the world is stationed under the island. The book has many twists and turns but finishes off with one of the best written cliff hangers that I have ever read. This is the summary from inside the book: In a trailer park called Adjacent, next to the Folsom Energy Plant, people have started to vanish, and no one seems to care. At first Lady Di and her best friend, Tom Jones, barely notice the disappearances—until their beloved math tutor, Mrs. Clarke, is abducted, too. Mrs. Clarke has left them clues in the form of math equations that lead them all over the trailer park, through hidden tunnels under “Mount Trashmore,” and into the Folsom Energy Plant itself, where Lady Di and Tom Jones and a gang of other misfits uncover the sordid truth about what’s really happening there. The book is 260 pages and all 260 pages truly succeed at capturing your interest.

Spring Break

Everybody loves spring break. Some adults get off work while others sit in offices working. Nearly every child gets out of school for one of the best breaks of the year. Kids get to hang out with each other even more. It’s not like we don’t see each other enough at school!

It is a truly important time of the school year because kids get to spend a week with their family. Some families work late and the kids can’t bond with their parents, and now during the break they can spend time together! It is also important because kids can do fun activities that they can’t normally do during school weeks.

In my opinion one of the best ways to spend spring break is to read books and chill out. I have done that nearly every spring break, but this year I am going to do something else. My mom, brother and sister are going to spend the week in Austin with some of our relatives and I am going to work at our house with my dad. He is really into developing our home and doing cool landscaping things, so during the break we are going to build a deck/bench on one side of our pool. He is going to hopefully finish it by the end of the month. We still need to set the foundation and buy a bunch of wood. We are most likely going to stain and sand it ourselves but I don’t know if he wants to do the extra work. On Thursday we are going to drive down to Austin and meet them for a few days and drive back by Sunday afternoon.

Spring break is really important to me because I like the extra week of relaxing and doing fun activities. I really couldn’t imagine what I would do If spring break was “cancelled”. I would probably be driven mentally insane. I bet that the kids of America would raid the white house and demand to have the break back. The world would probably collapse on itself if spring break were to be canceled.

Please comment below on what you are going to do for spring break. J

About Me

I am Landon C. I am live in Texas and I am 12 years old. I am really interested in reading, bike riding, games and sports. I play baseball, soccer and lacrosse. I am on a select team for baseball and play for my middle school lacrosse team. I have played baseball since I was five and have really frown in skill. In my free-time I read, do homework, play X-Box, go outside, play with my siblings or help around the house. I really enjoy writing things. I have written one novel so far and I am really looking forward to writing blog entries.