5 comments about The Moves Make the Man (Newbery Honor Book).

1. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R27IIIMZ10VEEZ This is me and clare discussing the book The Moves Make the Man by Bruce Brooks



2. Children are taught that they should tell the truth, no matter what. But is that how things really are? There's truth, and there's diplomacy. How much of truth is in diplomacy, and vice versa? What if a child isn't taught diplomacy? Does that make his world black and white?
   
   That seems to be the case for Bix Rivers, since he went from complete honesty to complete dishonesty after realizing that complete honesty doesn't always work. He doesn't understand that sometimes you have to fumble through the gray areas in order to get to where you're going. Jerome Foxworthy tries to explain it to him, but Bix just doesn't get it.
   
   I admire Bruce Brooks for bringing such intriguing questions to kids, and doing it through a fun and interesting story.



3. The first thing this book has going for it is its narrator. Jerome is bright and witty. He is a black kid in junior high school who lives with his mother and two brothers. We learn that Jerome has some tough things in his life. First of all, he has no father; his father died so long ago, Jerome doesn't even remember him. Second, Jerome is so smart he is in a bunch of accelerated classes that set him aside from his friends. Third of all, this year the all-white high school has decided to start the integration process by adding a single black student--Jerome. It seems like this book could be about how hard Jerome's life is, but it's not. Jerome mentions these things, but he doesn't see any of them as setbacks. He is confident enough about himself that nothing seems to faze him. He is free to write this book about his best friend, Bix.
   
   Bix is a boy Jerome meets when he goes to this new high school. Jerome had admired his baseball-playing skills over the summer, but he didn't know who this boy was. Jerome, as a fantastic basketball player, admired the pure athletic ability and grace that he saw in Bix. When the two boys end up as the only guys in a home economics class, they begin to bond a little bit.
   
   Bix is strange to Jerome. He is concerned with not lying, and the sheer thought of lying seems to bother him a great deal. When he asks Jerome to teach him to play basketball, a foreign sport to him, Jerome finds him a fast learner--except when it comes to moves, to faking someone out. That's just too much like lying for Bix. He says that he could beat someone with the pure game, and not have to pull any of the fancy moves Jerome tries to teach him. But will he be able to stick to that when it really counts?
   
   I loved Jerome's voice. He was honest and funny, and he accepted who and what he was without complaining about his situation. I didn't like that the end of the story was unresolved. I wasn't sure how to react to Bix's stepfather, and that bothered me. I wasn't sure if he was the bad guy or not.



4. I was very surprised that a lot of peole thought that this book was bad.I thought that the book was gripping but I guess that is just my oppinion. Even though the book had absolutley nothing to do with basketball I still thought it was a pretty good book. But not as good as 5 stars



5. This is an awesome book for anyone. Pick up the book and you won't put it down. This is a journey of friends, sports, and all the other stuff that goes on in a 7th graders life. However this is different. This is a story of a boy who runs away because his father is a couch potato and his mother drinks. I recomend this book to all and I mean all ages over 9

5 comments about Diary of an Anorexic Girl.

1. Great book, well written, easy to read. Perhaps outside my age bracket, however still informative and enjoyable.



2. Morgan Menzie's efforts in putting words to her eating disorder are heroic. I flew threw the book in only a few days and was drawn in by the diary style of the book. The story was simple and ordinary. A little too ordinary, however. Although I understand that the story was, for the most part, a true story, I found it hard to buy into the reality of the main character developing an eating disorder. Yes, "Blythe" was rejected by boys and had trouble making friends, but really... that would drive someone to anorexia? For a more sympathetic read, try Wasted by Marya Hornbacher, or Loss and Found by Karen Flyer. Both of these memoirs are far more believable and compelling stories of adolescent angst and eating disorders.



3. After reading Wasted, I made the mistake of assuming that this story would be just as satisfying to read. However, I felt that I was reading a diary of an immature teenage girl who really had nothing to discuss. There was nothing spectacular about this book. It's just about a girl wasting her time. The 'climax' points are vague and I felt that I was outside looking in and not getting a clear picture of what was going on inside this girl's mind.



4. When i first saw this book at my local public library
   i thought "that looks like a really weird book" and only people who have or have expirienced anorexia read books like this one.
   But the next time i went to the library i saw it again and decided to give it a second chance..
   What do you know i couldn't put it down it was such a great book!
   Blythe is an exceptional character who's struggle with anorexia felt so real.
   This book needs to be known because hundreds of teenage girls have this disease and this book will help them in a way.
   I give this book 5 stars!



5. This book was not about what I thought it would be. She barely talks about having an eating disorder. Its more about her life with her friends, family, and school, which is fine, but thats what most teen books are about. I think that The Best Little Girl in the World gives a better understanding of what having an eating disorder means.

5 comments about What Hearts (Laura Geringer Books).

1. When Asa was seven years old, he came home from first grade, ready to impress his mother and father with what he had done on the last day of school. Instead of finding them inside and ready to listen, his mother was outside with a suitcase and their house was cleaned out. She explained that she and his father were getting a divorce and he was leaving with her that day. They flew to meet up with her high school sweetheart, who immediately disliked Asa. Asa, for his part, immediately disliked his future stepfather, too.
   
   At nine, Asa was experienced at changing schools and making friends. Most of his classmates liked him, but he joined the class partway through the year when everyone was already matched up with partners or groups for the talent show to be presented to the rest of the school and the students' parents. One boy, Joel, offers to let Asa recite a poem with him, but when Asa reads the poem he hates it and convinces Joel to do another poem with him. The problem is that Joel is not very smart and can't seem to be able to memorize the new poem.
   
   When he is eleven, Asa discovers baseball and finally is able to have something that connects him to his stepfather, who is suspicious of Asa's love of reading and the amount of time he spends by himself.
   
   At twelve, Asa realizes he is in love with a girl in his class and he struggles with how to let her know how he feels. At the same time, he watches his mother struggle with depression. Will Asa's family ever be normal like it was when he was a child?
   
   I liked the snippets of important times in Asa's life instead of focusing on one year or another more limited time frame. Asa was a very interesting character, because he was so bright and able to get along with other kids so well, but he was unable to win over his stepfather. I liked, though, that Asa was always true to himself, despite the consequences.
   
   I couldn't believe that any mother would let her new husband be so consistently mean to her child for so long. I also didn't like that Asa's real father was never mentioned. I thought he should have had at least a little impact on Asa's life, whether it was because he was in Asa's life or because he wasn't.



2. I love this book!!! It was a little sad though. When he graduated the first grade he was so happy but whenever he told someone about it they did not seem to care. Then he moved ten times before he was eleven. His stepfather was so mean to him!!! Especially when he hit him with the baseball when they were practicing! My favorite part was when the love of his life gave him to candy hearts that said "I love you".



3. This is Chan Il's book review not mine
   
   This is a book about a boy named Asa. It is written by Bruce Brooks. This book doesn't seem to be one of the best books that Bruce Brooks wrote, though most of his books got at least 4-stars from readers.
   I thought this book was about sports, which was what the librarian said, but sports wasn't the main thing in the book. There are many characters like his mother, father, and his stepfather but it mainly draws his life from his first grade to his fifth grade.
   Asa's parents get divorced when he was in his first grade and his mother marries a man from her university, called Dave. Asa doesn't really like his mother going out with another man but he couldn't do anything about it. As the time goes, Asa seems to get along quite well with Dave but I still think that Asa didn't like Dave from the start.
   One of the other things that this book deals with is Asa's first love. As this boy goes to school, he starts to like a pretty and brainy girl named Jean in his school. In the middle of the book, Asa says to her that he likes her but she doesn't answer. But at the Valentine Day, Jean gives Asa a candy saying `I love you I love you' on the candy wrapper.
   This book manages to talk about his parents and his first love at the same time which really makes this a 5star book to me. I want to recommend this book to anyone who has the opportunity to do so.



4. This is a book about a boy named Asa. It is written by Bruce Brooks. This book doesn't seem to be one of the best books that Bruce Brooks wrote, though most of his books got at least 4-stars from readers.
   I thought this book was about sports, which was what the librarian said, but sports wasn't the main thing in the book. There are many characters like his mother, father, and his stepfather but it mainly draws his life from his first grade to his fifth grade.
   Asa's parents get divorced when he was in his first grade and his mother marries a man from her university, called Dave. Asa doesn't really like his mother going out with another man but he couldn't do anything about it. As the time goes, Asa seems to get along quite well with Dave but I still think that Asa didn't like Dave from the start.
   One of the other things that this book deals with is Asa's first love. As this boy goes to school, he starts to like a pretty and brainy girl named Jean in his school. In the middle of the book, Asa says to her that he likes her but she doesn't answer. But at the Valentine Day, Jean gives Asa a candy saying `I love you I love you' on the candy wrapper.
   This book manages to talk about his parents and his first love at the same time which really makes this a 5star book to me. I want to recommend this book to anyone who has the opportunity to do so.



5. This book is about a boy named Asa who is in 1st grade and this book is full of excitment and adventure.He has all straight A's on his report card unlike me.His mom is having a devorse with his dad and he doesn't want that to happen. His mom is going out with someone and Asa doesn't like that. This book was great because it had lots of things to think about. What kind of things you might go through in your younger ages with divorses and other crises in life. In conclusion this was a good book and their is no other book like it.

5 comments about Double Dutch (Aladdin Fiction).

1. Sharon Draper has done another great job in authoring this book. I am so glad to see this book a perfect match for middle schoolers. It is not too old for 6th graders or too young for 8th graders. I don't have to worry about language or inappropriate scenes, either...what a relief! It does deal with an older student being a non-reader plus the tensions of dealing with a natural disaster and even throws in dealing with divorce. That is done in an extremely healthy way. I would recommend this as a class novel, small groups, or individual students (or adults!).



2. Double Dutch is all about secrets and friendship and fear, and overall I found it a good read. I loved the characters (especially Yolanda) and I liked the story line, but the novel lacked some of the emotional depth that other teen novels I've been reading have had. Still a good read but also a little disappointing.



3. I've heard much good about Draper and saw this book had alot of copies in our school library (who probably has about 1 or 2 or at the most 3 copies of each book) and thought maybe it's good. I'm not disappointed with it but wouldn't go around saying its the best book in the world and will never recommend it to any of my friends (who wouldn't like it) but many people would enjoy it and it does have a good story line and plot so I'm not putting it down because I enjoyed it but you have to be the right person



4. I love this book. This is a great book. The main character is Delia. She has a big secret that no one no's about. She has been keeping it to herself for many years now. She's scared to tell others. The setting takes place in a high school in Miss. Benson's classroom. Sometimes in the gym competing or practicing other jump roping. The point of view is Delia that's telling the story. First, Delia found a paper on a pole, it had a picture of Randy's dad. She didn't no what it was about so she hid it from him. When Randy was cleaning the gym he found the paper. He got mad at Delia. At the end she finally told him that she couldn't read. Delia and her mom went out to dinner after the competition and she told her. She told Delia why she didn't she say anything sooner and that she was going to do everything that was possible to get her the help she needed to learn how to read. Randy has a crush on Delia, he protects her, his nice, and caring. This book is about Delia not knowing how to read and how she got threw competing in the nationals.



5. The main characters of this book are Delia,Randy, and Yolanda.Delia is a smart, nice, pretty, athletic young lady.Randy is a active, smart, and has a crush on Delia.Yolanda is active,pretty,and a liar(who lies about pretty much everything).
   The setting of this book is in present day, around the 2000's. It is in a high school(during school hours) in miss.benson's classroom. It also takes place in the gymnasium where they jump rope.
   The conflict of the book is that Delia doesn't know how to read. She didn't tell anyone except yolanda. She didnt want to tell anyone because she thought that it would interfere in her double dutch tournament and so she wanted to wait to tell her mother. So after the tournament she told her mother and randy and her mother told her she was going to get help.
   The plot of the story is they practiced for double dutch everyday after school in the gymnasium. There is a BIG reading test coming up and Delia is really scared because she doesn't know how to read. The test is before the double dutch competition and she is scared that she wont pass the test and she will get kicked out of double dutch. Then out of no where a big twin tornadoes attack and the school messes up big time and school is cancelled until it gets fixed. So that means no test. Then it is the double dutch competition the win and she tells her mother and randy.
   The theme is "Once in a blue moon not telling the truth can come in handy. But still lieing is really bad."
   The point of view is second person. Second person is close to first person because the with "you" is replacing the "I".

5 comments about Priscilla Superstar!.

1. My oldest girls (6 and 3) love this book. It's written in rhyme, has clever pictures, and a great story. Priscilla might not have the lead part, but she still feels like a superstar.



2. Priscilla is adorable and so are her books! My daughter 4)asks for this book quite often and it is one of her favorties.



3. Both my six and three-year-old daughters love this book. We read it almost everyday. Priscilla gives us the giggles!



4. My daughters, 3 and 5, and I absolutely adore Priscilla. The illustrations are adorable, and the text is written in really clever verse. The Hobbies are the 21st century's version of Dr. Suess. We especially love "Priscilla Superstar!" The underlying themes of the book are very valuable" "Hard work and practice / That's what it takes! / And don't be afraid / To make some mistakes!" And "She felt like a STAR! / And if that's how you feel, / Than that's what you are!" I use this story as an example whenever my kids need to be reminded that anything that's worth learning takes effort.



5. I loved this book when I first read it. However my daughter is only 1 and 1/2 and doesn't find it very interesting yet. She likes pages that have some sort of touch and feel aspect to them or animals. I ended up making up a song as I read the pages to her and she loved it.

5 comments about My Life as a Smashed Burrito With Extra Hot Sauce (The Incredible Worlds of Wally McDoogle #1).

1. All the Wally McDoogle series are great reads to put before upper elementary kids' eyes. Wally, er, Bill Myers, has a wild imagination that he lets run free in this series! Each book addresses some problem or weakness pretty common to most of us, and then Myers has Wally take it to an extreme to make a point. Wally wants to be a writer, so part of each book is his writing a superhero story, usually science fiction, with events based on what just happened to him, only turning out the way he wished it had instead of reality. But even Wally's reality can be pretty far out. A large bully is after Wally at summer camp, and then he ends up in a canoe on a river with the guy, and they both learn lessons about fear, trust, and God. It is hard to turn the pages fast enough when you are laughing that hard!



2. This is what our 11 year old son says about this book:
   The entire Wallymcdoogle series are the funniest books I have ever read. This book was no exception. I laughed the whole time. The greatest part is that the book teaches a good lesson about wisdom. The fun starts the second you open the book, and doesn't stop until the last word. I say if you wanna laugh and learn a lesson buy this book today!!



3. Review by Jill Williamson
   
   Twelve-year-old Wally McDoogle dreams about a lot of things. Being a writer, being a superhero, writing about a superhero. He has never dreamed of going to camp, but his father signs him up, insisting it will make him a real man. Incidentally, being a real man is another thing Wally's never dreamed about...
   
   Yet Wally gets dropped off at the bus, but before he even makes it to Camp Wahkah Wahkah (or Camp Whacko as Wally calls it) he finds himself pressed against the roof of the bus by Gary the Gorilla with peanut butter and jelly dripping from his nose. Yes, it's true. Wally is a dork-oid, which really isn't so bad as long as you aren't the target of Gary the Gorilla and his Goons. Unfortunately, Wally is.
   
   What a funny story. Wally has a great sense of humor and I found myself laughing out loud. Here and there we are also entertained with the book Wally is writing about Mutant Man McDoogle, a superhero who is in a battle with a suspiciously familiar villain named Dr. Ghastly the Gorilla. I highly recommend this one for younger teens looking for adventure and a big smile.



4. I love all the books in this series. They are funny and easy to read and each book is a story in itself. I am collecting them all and have read about 10 or so. This is a great book for grades 4-6.



5. These books are awesome.They have adventure and humor. That's just what I like in a book. They have really influnenced my Christian life. Everyone should read this series!

5 comments about Danger Zone (Point Signature).

1. Danger Zone is a good book. Jimmy Doyle the main character got invited to play on a teen dream team for the U.S.A. Jimmy left his mom, sisters, and girlfriend behind to play basketball in Italy with kids his age from all over. The book had good adventure. First, Jimmy was in a fight between him and his teammate, Augustus. Later on the games got more intense. The author did a great job describing the games. Later on after one game there was a threat and left the teen dream team in danger. Thats where the title fits in. The zone was at the last game when Jimmy and Augustus were scoring and know one could stop them. During that game you wanted to keep reading. The book was very well written.



2. I first bought this book at a book fair when i was in the sixth grade. I am now 21 and still read this book at least once a year. Though I have matured and moved onto to other more advanced readings, I still find David Klass' Danger Zone as my favorite book. As well as having great details enabling you to really envision the basketball games, he gives a great view of life and the great differences in cultures and races both near and far. I greatly recommend this book to any reader no matter what the age. FIVE STARS



3. Danger Zone, by David Klass, is a story about seventeen year old, basketball star, Jimmy Doyle, who lives in Minnesota. He saves the day by making his spectacular and wild three point shots. One day two coaches from the USA Olympic basketball team invites Jimmy to play for the team in Italy. At first he turned down the offer, but later he accepted it.
   
   When they got to Italy, fans started being racist and hating the "Dream Team USA" because of the color of their skin. The trouble then started when a German who claimed to be a "Nazi", posted a death threat on the local Roman newspaper. Now the team must watch their every step and move or else they will get killed.
   
   Told from Jimmy Doyle's point of view, this story will be an action packed and fast paced adventure for readers of all ages.



4. A white basketball player Jimmy Doyle from Granham , Minnesota is the best player in the area. He is so good that he gets invited to play on the American Dream Team that gets to play in Europe against other countries. Once he is on the team he soon realizes that the team is mostly black and some of his black teammates don't like that Jimmy is on the team. But the biggest problem for the team is the racism and prejudice that they face from the people in Europe. The people are saying hateful things to the black players and the players face bigotry throughout the whole time. And Jimmy who thought that the Dream Team would be all about playing basketball but soon realizes that it is actually about the hatred of his black teammates. So now Jimmy and his teammates have to find a way to get through this together.
   I really liked this book a lot. It talks about a lot of important issues that people go through and people like me and you need to read about. I haven't really seen a lot of books that talk about these kinds of things and I like the fact that this book took it there. The only thing that I didn't like about this book is that in some of the prejudice parts they went a little overboard in some parts. But actually it might of not of been overboard to some people but it really depends on how you look at it. To find out if this book was overboard of just right you need to read this book.



5. Do you know what it is like to be in the zone? Jimmy Doyle is a small-town hero in Granham, Minnesota, but he wonders if he can play at the top. When he is invited to play in an international tournament in Italy, he must choose to stay at home and help in the family store, or to go and play in the chance of a lifetime. Jimmy feels that he must stay at home and help his family, but he ends up going anyway with his family's support. He flies out to Los Angeles and meets the other nine teammates for the first time. Some arguments between Jimmy and his teammates occur before they fly out to Italy. The team dominates the competition until a death threat from psychotic terrorists force the team into hiding. David Klass's novel Danger Zone, published in 1996, tries to tell the reader about bad race relations and judging without basis can be a bad thing for all people.
   In Danger Zone, there is a great deal of assumption others done by the American team. Augustus LeMay, a monstrous all around basketball star, believes that Jimmy only got onto the team because he is a white boy. Augustus says "I just don't have patience for having to put a rich, white boy, who couldn't last five minutes in our city, on our team." Also, Jimmy assumes that L.A. is a nice place because of the places that he was taken to, not being shown the slums and the poor portions of L.A. Augustus shows Jimmy the slums that he comes from to show how hard that he had it. Then, the team flies to Rome and they also assume that Rome is a nice place. Then they receive a death threat and realize that Rome isn't as nice a place outside of what they had seen. Later in the book Augustus realizes that Jimmy is an okay guy and starts to be less hostile towards him but the two still don't get along well.
   Another theme in Danger Zone is how race can get in the way of a team. Augustus and Jimmy don't get along at first. This is because Jimmy is white. Augustus thinks that Jimmy can never be as good as his cousin, Devonne Saunders, because he's white. Then, Ray, the team joker, gives Jimmy the nickname snowman. Jimmy assumes means that he is cold like a snowman because he's from Minnesota, but the other teammates realize that it is because he is white. Augustus and the team finally realize that Jimmy is an okay guy and a good player.
   Danger Zone does a superb job at telling the reader about race relations and judging done by most people. The author hid this message, and yet he still did extremely well in getting his points across. He accomplished his ideas and still made such a good story that makes the reader want more and more. I personally was devastated when I lost my copy of the book. I had to read it so much that I borrowed the book from my Classmates and teachers. Most people can read this book and get something out of it, I know that I did. Overall I would have to give this book a 9 out of 10.

5 comments about Baseball Great.

1. My main disappointment is that this is supposed to be for the under 14 readers. It is not. I wish that authors would quit making 10-12yo kids into adults.



2. My ten year old son loves this series of books. He is not really interested in sports, but loves to read these books.



3. Having grown up in the 60s with many bullies and some tough times in school, a great love of baseball at a time when Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, "Yogi" and all the greats played the game then and we kids would play baseball every weekend during the summer and dream of getting to the minors, let alone the majors... this book took me back in time as well as any a time machine could. It brought back the emotions, the bumps and bruises (both physical and phycological) and memories of growing up to me in a book that really draws the reader in right off in the very first chapter. I was not familiar with Tim Green until I read this wonderful book. Having researched his background, bio and his other books, I'm certainly delighted to be familiar with his name now! This book is about growing up, about dreams many kids have to aspire and be like our (sports) heros and of a parent that many of us have/had that wanted us to achieve more and have a better quality of life then they did, and who at the time we were kids, seemed quite harsh and tough with us until years later (gratefully) when we realized they had done it all to help us back then. A great book is one you have a hard time putting down, allows your mind to perfectly picture, like a movie, what the author wants you to see and hear and like a good movie, jerks your emotions and often brings back a moment in the past or an emotion or feeling that you'd thought you'd forgotten forever! While this book seems oriented for younger readers, it is still a book any parent would enjoy reading as well. This book would in fact make a great movie (many movies originated from a book!!), it's simple at best for a general theme and yet there's an interweaved and in-depth plot that brings in many components as would real life. Well done and worth the price you pay for this book. If you have an aspiring baseball player, a sports fan or a motivated "dreamer" in the household, this is one book they must read. Parents; This book is for you to read too!



4. A star defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons, Tim. Green played Little League baseball for a number of years before changing his focus to football. As of now he has worked as an NFL analyst for FOX Sports and an NFL commentator for National Public Radio. He knows what he writes about as many have seen in Football Genius and Football Hero - the same may certainly be said of Baseball Great, which is gauged for young readers ages 8 -12.
   
   Green begins his story with young Josh wondering why when something really good happens, something else comes along to spoil it. Kids his age have probably wondered the same thing numerous times. However, chances are what they consider a spoiler may not be as dramatic as what faces Josh.
   
   Josh is happy playing baseball with his school team. Not only happy but optimistic as a new girl from Texas, Jaden Neidermeyer, is the school reporter, and she has big plans for the team, even to calling him the school's best hope for a first ever citywide championship. But then Josh's Dad intervenes by taking him off the school team and signing him with Coach Rocky Valentine's youth championship team. Undoubtedly, this was well meant but it doesn't turn out to be a good move after all.
   
   The other kids on Valentine's team are not only older but tougher, a rough bunch. Josh doesn't really fit in with them for countless reasons including possible steroid use.
   
   What price a championship? Young readers will not only enjoy this exciting story but may find they have much to think about as they examine their own standards.
   
   - Gail Cooke



5. The story is about a 12 year old who is very good for his middle school team so much so that the school newspaper says he's the star. Then his dad, a former baseball player himself, takes Josh off the school team and puts him on a traveling team.
   
   The coach of the traveling team gives steriods to the other kids and they try to make Josh eat the "gym candy" as well. There's a short but nasty fight in a public bathroom, a bunch of 12 year olds are talking about making out, it's all just too unbelievable. I have boys in this age group and on baseball teams and there's no way parents would go for this kind of behavior. And most boys at 12 cringe when you mention anything about girls, they still have cooties.
   
   Now if it was 14-15 year olds, it might be a different story. But anyway, it's an easy read. My 12 year old didn't finish it because he didn't get the stuff about steroids or girls and it made him uncomfortable, so don't give as a gift to a young boy. I'd pass on this one.

5 comments about Ice Magic (Matt Christopher Sports Series).

1. I think the book Ice Magic was a great book because hockey and magic in one book is an extremely smart idea. My three favorite things are hockey and magic and reading, so I knew the book Ice Magic was right for me just by looking at the title.



2. Ice Magic is a book about Pie Pennelli who plays hockey, but has oversized skates. Terry Mason is his other problem because when he falls on the ice, and misses a play Terry Mason always yells at him. His nieghbors found this toy hockey that they think is magic because whenever they play the game that is what happens in Pie's real game the next day. Terry teases Pie about how they think that the toy hockey game is magic. In the last couple of toy hockey games bad things are going to happen to Pie. In his last game of the season Pie's neighbors warn him that the second period is going to be bad. In the second period Pie's skates fall apart, and Terry's cat jumps onto the ice in the second period. When Pie's neighbors found the toy hockey game, a note was attached to it that said," Beware what happens on a real rink first, Repeats here not, for fate, Promises that, as true as bubbles burst, The magic will dissipate" which that whatever happens on a real rink first it will happen on this rink too, and then the magic will be gone. When Terry came over to the twins house he brought his cat and the cat jumped onto the toy hockey game, and that was the sign that the magic was now gone. by Aaron Havard



3. This sports book by the prolific Christopher is a bit unusual in that it combines action in hockey with the uncertainty of magic. Pie Pennelli is a young hockey player with a problem; his skates are too large, slowing him down on the ice. His brother was a hockey player so he is wearing the skates that his brother used. Jody and Jolie are his friends and they have an indoor hockey game that is unusual. When they play it, the events of their game become the actual events of Pie's game.
   While Pie has some moments on the ice, he also fails on occasion, facts always pointed out by his teammate Terry. Over time, the problems between Pie and Terry boil over, but they eventually patch things up and begin to play together outside the hockey arena. When Terry's cat wanders out on the ice during a game and then jumps on the indoor game, the magic spell is broken and there is no longer a correlation between what happens in the indoor game and on the ice.
   This is not one of the better sports books by Matt Christopher; it is convoluted and occasionally disjointed. The combination of magic and hockey is not well integrated; everything is closed up at the end in a sudden manner without a climactic event or situation.



4. My name is Greg I read a book call Ice Magic it was about hockey and kid name pie and hell like magic .he though a hockey game was magic. Also what happen in his toy game will happen in pie hockey game .A kid on pie team all ways made fun of him .his team was ok but they lost a of game by one point .at the end of the book the kid that would make fun of hi becomes his friend. I like this book because it about hockey and I like to play hockey.



5. Dan, 6th grader in Maine
   
   Matt Christopher's Ice Magic is about Pie Pennelli and a magic hockey game his friends find in there basement.
   This is a exciting book that i would recommend to kids 8 to 10. I give this book 3 stars because I think it is for younger readers. It was still a pretty good book to read, but it was a very easy book to read.
   I would read another one of Matt Christophers books but I would look for a more challenging book from this author.

5 comments about Girl in the Arena.

1. This girl is only in the arena for about five minutes. The overall frame of the story is a good one, playing out our violent societal tendencies to the "nth" degree by positing that gladiatorial combat to the death has become a new sport. Of course this being America the entity in charge is interested in as much advertising and as much profit as possible, and exploits its gladiators and their families and cheats them too. The writing and dialogue are sharp and this book had great potential. Unfortunately the whole set-up for the story is completely implausible (something about how some arcane rule of gladiatorial combat requires a gladiator to marry any girl whose bracelet he accidentally picks up) and there's no clear sense of how the protagonist intends to get out of her dilemma. In the end, other than the deus ex machina that (once again implausibly) appears in the arena, she resolves it primarily the way most Americans do, by hiring a lawyer. This could have been a truly great book but ended up merely good.



2. Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines
   
   Girl in the Arena is an interesting take on where today's violence-ridden society could lead. It is about a young lady, Lyn, 16, who is the daughter of a "neo-gladiator." In this society fighting to the death in arenas is a common sport; in fact it's a way of life for a lot of people. There are specific rules for the competitions, their competitors, and the families of the competitors. One of the rules forces Lyn to grow up very quickly when she ends up engaged to be married to her father's killer.
   
   There is plenty of fighting and blood in the book, but the plot is more than just that. Ms. Haines doesn't focus too much on the fighting, but instead focuses on how that fighting affects the different characters of the book. There are places that the reader is left open mouthed at the gall of the GSA (Gladiator Sports Association). They run the lives of all those involved in the Gladiator lifestyle. They make promises they don't keep and enjoy the pain of their gladiators. For example, in one fight, the gladiator's parents come out into the arena armed to fight their own son, all set up by the GSA.
   
   I really liked Lyn, because she's extremely strong. I also liked that by the end of the book you are rooting for both Lyn, and Uber (the gladiator who killed Lyn's father). Ms. Haines doesn't make him out to be a bad guy, but more a guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's very sweet and understanding to Lyn and quite a gentleman. The ending turns out semi-well, but I won't tell you more than that. This one is worth the read, I'll give it 3.5 stars, because it made me cry in places, and it was a little hard to get into the story.



3. I wish this book had been around when I was a teen. The character of Lyn is a terrific hero for girls and boys. The writing is remarkably imaginative, the characters intriguing, and the dystopian world a bit intimidating. I love the humor as well.



4. I have really conflicted feelings about this book. I was expecting some cheap Hunger Games rip-off, but it wasn't like that at all.
   
   This book is about Lyn, who has had seven gladiator fathers, due to her mothers career as a Glad wife. As a substitute to war, and entire Glad culture has arose, blood sport being just as common as football. Lyn's life is ruled by bylaws put forth by the Gladiator Sports Association. It is these bylaws that say she is required, through a chain of unfortunate events, to marry Uber, the warrior who defeated her seventh father in the arena. Rather than give in to these demands, she proposes an alternative: fighting him in the arena.
   
   Initially, I thought I wasn't going to like this. At first it was because I thought it was a rip-off. Then it was because the writing and formatting was odd and distracting. And then it was because I realized that the action would be slow-coming. But then, about half-way through the book, I realized I kinda liked it. Lyn, the narrator was endearing, and the writing was starting to grow on me. I stopped with the exectations and just went with the flow. By the end, I didn't hate it as much as I did to start with.
   
   The writing is not typical of a young-adult book, and that threw me off for a while. I appreciated that the author was doing something different. And I shall warn everyone right now, this book has no quotation marks. This drove me insane to begin with, and I was frustrated with the author. I mean, why couldn't she use quotation marks like a normal author? But in no time, I didn't even realize the difference.
   
   I liked Lyn. She was endearing. She wasn't a Mary Sue, yet she wasn't a stereotypical bad-ass robot. I understood her motives. But I did not understand her brother. Her little brother, who is autistic, is also supposedly a prophet/oracle. I thought this book was set in an alternative now. I don't get the whole mysticism thing. And I also didn't get how they had things like You Tube still, but also virtual living machines that can create a functioning virtual being. But I did like the whole history of GSA. That does seem odd enough to be true.
   
   Don't expect a hardcore thrilling action novel. Despite being about violence, this book had very little action. Lyn wasn't even in the arena until the final pages. I think this is misleading on the marketer's part. This book is way more contemplative than it sounds. I got bored in some places, but I was overall absorbed.
   
   I am still confused about my feeling for this book, so I apologize for the possible wishy-washiness of this review. I can see how some people hate it, some people love it. It's an odd little book.



5. My first thought when I read this book was that it was a Hunger Games knockoff. Not that that's a bad thing, I loved that book. But, this was definitely a different type of gladiator book.
   
   I really liked the culture that Lise Haines created in this book. Many of the things that exist in our society today were present in this book but with a much more cruel and violent twist. For instance, the paparazzi were hounding those involved in the fights, but they were so aggressive in their pursuits that people died. Like Hunger Games, I was left feeling like the society in Girl in the Arena was just one step away from our own.
   
   Lyn was a great female protagonist. She was smart and really looked out for herself. Even though she was hardened by the many tragic experiences in her life, I really loved the way she took care of her younger brother. Especially given the weird relationship that she had with her mother.
   
   At first I wasn't very impressed by the way that the book began. The writing was fine, but the format was a little weird. After the first chapter though, it's explained and it made a lot more sense. It still wasn't really comfortable to read, but maybe that was the point...
   
   Overall a wonderful book especially for those that like dystopia.