MS Sunshine State 2018-2019 Bk 4

A Crack in the Sea by H.M. Bouwman

This book is for people who like it when history and fantasy come together. A Crack in the Sea is also for readers who like books with plenty of imagery. There are many characters and multiple plots to remember, so I would recommend keeping a notebook near by to write down what happens in each chapter if you typically have a hard time reading a complicated book.

What the Book's All About 

A Crack in the Sea is about three sets of siblings who's stories intertwine. One set is Pip and Kinchen. They are from the magical, "second world," that is home to the Islanders and Raftworlders. Pip can talk to fish, which is a skill that the leader of Raftworld needs. He wants to find a portal to the, "first world," so he and his people can escape the problem of overpopulation in Raftworld. Twins Venus and Swimmer are another pair. They are on a slave ship from Jamaica in 1781. They escape enslavement by finding a portal to the second world. The last siblings are Thang and Sang - brother and sister who try to escape post-war Vietnam via a small boat when pirates and a storm threaten their survival. Will Kinchen save Pip? Will Thang and Sang survive? How do Venus and Swimmer fit into the other siblings' stories?

Pip and Kinchen

• Islanders from the second world
• Raised by their adopted grandfather, Old Ren
• Pip can't recognize faces, causing his older sister, Kinchen to be overprotective
• Befriend former Raftworlder girl, Caesar

Thang and Sang

• From South Vietnam
• Escape with relatives
• Thang is a great story-teller
• His older sister, Sang, prides herself on her hair

Venus and Swimmer

• From 1781 Jamaica
• Twins
• Lead people to safety by using their gifts with water

MS Sunshine State 2018-2019 Bk 3

Click'd by Tamara Ireland Stone

Click'd is a book for those who are tech savvy or like books about friendship and coding. This book has quite a bit of drama, doesn't have much suspense, and is not necessarily a book a guy would like. I would classify Click'd as a book for 9-11 year-old girls. To add interest to the book, Stone inserted graphics such as text messages into the book.

What the Book's All About

Allie Navarro is a girl who loves to code computers. During the summer, she went to the CodeGirls summer camp and created a game called Click'd, which helps people make more friends by comparing the interests of a player with the interests of all the other of the people in the database. When the coding goes wrong and starts releasing private photos, it's up to Allie to fix the coding before the Games for Good (GFG) competition she's signed up for. This competition will help release Click'd into the public, while also giving her some personal perks. Unless Allie can fix the code in time, she may lose more than just her spot in GFG; she may lose her best friends. Can Allie fix the code? Will her teacher be disappointed if she can't? What if she has to delete all of the data she's collected?

Allie

• Coder
• Cares about friends
• Very competitive
• Creates Click'd

Nathan

• Allie's nemesis
• Creates, "Built,"
• Also in GFG 

   

MS Sunshine State 2018-2019 Bk 2

Ghost by  Jason Reynolds

This book is great for anyone interested in sports, has liked writing by Jason Reynolds in the past, or who needs a book to escape their own "ghosts" into. Readers who love this book will be delighted to find out that this is only the first book in a four-part series called, "Track". I know this is off track (I love puns!), but I was pleasantly surprised to read the first chapter where Castle's sunflower "addiction" (fed by "Mr. Charles") is introduced because I was eating sunflower seeds!

What the Book's All About

This book is about Castle "Ghost" Cranshaw, who is juggling school, a bully, being nice to his single mother, and trying not to think about his father, who is in prison. Ghost is naturally fast, and he thinks nothing of it until he shows up an experienced sprinter, who is part of the local track team. The Coach of the team sees potential in him but realizes Ghost must work on his technique. Coach convinces Castle to join the team, luring him with the promise of an increased skill in basketball. Ghost then struggles with his family's poverty and temptation. Will Castle overcome his struggles or will temptation win? Can Ghost meet Coach's expectations? Will Mr. Charles run out of sunflower seeds?

Castle

• Fast runner
• 7th Grader
• Loves sunflower seeds
• Contests with temptation

Otis "Coach" Brody

• Sees potential in Ghost
• Olympian Gold Medalist
• Has own personal problems
• Taxi Driver 
• Track Coach

Note: I wasn't a huge fan of this book, but I tried to objective about it, to allow others to have a good scope of what the book's about.

MS Sunshine State 2018-2019 Bk 1

Frogkisser by Garth Nix

This book is great for readers who like fairy-tales in a more modern writing style. The characters are very relate-able, and Nix laces the whole story with humor. From the first page, you're captivated and can't easily put the book down. I just bought another one of Nix's books, and I can't wait to read it!

What the Book's All About

Princess Anya is under the control of her kind stepmother's evil new husband, Duke Rikard. He plans to forcefully take over the small kingdom by using his sorcery.  Before he can do so, Anya promises her older sister, Morven, that she would find Morven's boyfriend (Prince Denholm), who was transformed into a frog by Rikard. Along the way, she finds that she's on no rescue trip. Aided by the talking royal dog, Ardent, Prince Denholm, and a boy who was turned into a newt, Anya is on a quest to save the kingdom. Will she defeat Duke Rikard? Will Denholm ever become human again? Will her Ardent ever stop his yapping?

Anya

• Princess
• Likes to read
• Brave
• Adventurous
• Kindhearted