Summer Reading: Upcoming 6th Graders Thoughts

Dear Upcoming 6th Graders:

I hope that you are all enjoying your summer vacation. I have had some time to travel, move to a new apartment, and enjoy reading new novels. I hope that each of you have had a chance to get started on the summer reading list! I look forward to hearing from you over the next few weeks! Here are three book reviews that I have already recieved:


I just finished the book Small Steps by Louis Sachar. Small Steps is the follow up to Holes. I don’t think you need to read Holes to be able to understand Small Steps, but it helps.

The book is about a teenager named Theodore (aka Armpit), by the way, he got his nickname in Holes when a scorpion stung him in his arm and the pain traveled to his armpit. After getting released from Camp Green Lake, Armpit gets a job digging for Raincreek Irrigation and Landscaping. Everything seems to be going well when Armpit’s friend X-ray from Camp Green Lake (who if you ask me is a little insane) comes up with a scam to make lots of money and asks Armpit to tag along.

This book has a lot of unexpected turns, and a bit of violence at the end. I think it is a pretty good book. I’ll let you know I am a harsh critic.

-Samson



My name is Isabel. I have a sister named Ruth. We are slaves. Our parents died and our new owner is taking us to live in New York. Our owners are very mean. They are the Lockton's.
Mr.Lockton had guests over. I overheard them talking about something really bad. Mr.Lockton gave money to his friends to bribe troops in order to kill there enemy. I told my friend Curzon about the plan because his owner is part of the army.The army came and arrested Mr.Lockton. He soon returned because they let him out. He then had his friends over again and planned something different. One of his friends said to capture George Washington to kill the enemy. If not, George Washington won't let them kill the enemy. Thomas Hickey was the one who came up with the idea and got hanged and killed.
One day I found out Mrs.Lockton sold Ruth! I ran to the man in charge and told him everything. I got tricked. Curzon said that he would help me but he locked me behind bars. When I woke up in the morning, I wasn't in jail. I was in my neighbor Lady Seymour's house. She rescued me. I wanted to stay with her, but I had to go back to the Lockton's house. I don't want to, but I have to.
Lady Seymour needs more slaves. I was sent to live with her until a war came. A fire was burning the house down! Part of a wall fell on Lady Seymour when she was trying to get out. I grabbed her and ran to the Lockton's house. It's now double the work because Lady Seymour is living there!
After the war, Curzon got locked in jail! He is a rebel, and people took the rebels and threw them in jail. He was in the war, and shot a couple people. It is winter and nobody in the jail would give him a blanket or anything. I helped him as much as I could and brought leftover dishes to feed him. When I got out of the prison one day, a man asked me to be his messenger. I said yes. When I went inside, Mrs.Lockton smacked me with corn and said she saw me talking to a guy who she said was the enemy. For my punishment, she locked me in a potato bin. I had to try to get out. I pushed and kicked until I got out. When I did, I ran to a map, and found where Ruth is. Mrs.Lockton said she's at Nevis. I got everything, and went to the jail to get Curzon to help me find Ruth. I had to lie to the prisoners because that was the only way to get him out. When we were out, we ran to a boat, climbed on and sailed way. When we find Ruth, I'll be so happy because I will see her and I'm not a slave. But we'll have to wait

-Mikayla




Small Steps by Louis Sachar
Reviewed by Tige Anderson

Small Steps is a companion book to Holes by Louis Sachar. It is not a sequel to Holes because it has a different main character. Small Steps is about Armpit, another boy who was at Camp Greenlake in Holes.

In Small Steps Armpit is no longer at Camp Greenlake, but he is still digging holes—but this time he’s getting paid because he is doing lawn care. Armpit has saved up a lot of money, but then his friend X-Ray (another boy from Camp Greenlake) thinks of a way to get even more money—by scalping concert tickets. Armpit doesn’t think this is a really good idea, but he does it anyway because the money tempts him.

Small Steps also tells the story of Kaira DeLeon, a pop singer who doesn’t want to be famous anymore. Even though she likes to sing, she wants to have a more regular life. Armpit and X-Ray are trying to scalp tickets to her concert.

Overall, I think Small Steps was a very good book. The story was interesting and the characters were good. My favorite character was Armpit because he was trying to go on the right path even though that was hard for him to do because his life was challenging. One other thing I liked about Armpit was his friendship with Ginny, his neighbor who has cerebral palsy. Their friendship is strong and that was good for both of them. It was interesting how the author was able to bring the stories of Armpit, X-Ray, Kaira, and Ginny all together. Louis Sacher also did this in Holes so this is one of the things he does the best—tying the story together.

-Tige