Why To Start A Blog

Do your parents (or yourself, even!) need convincing for you to start a blog? If so, here’s a list of reasons that might change their minds and maybe yours:

It helps writings skills

It’s a good way to show your talent

You don’t have to share exactly who you are so you don’t have to worry about people in your school criticizing you

It’s a good way to improve grammar skills because there’s no spellcheck 

It’s a great learning experience

It’s an awesome way to apply what you’ve learned through your school years

It boosts self esteem 

It’s really easy to stay safe on your blog 

It’s how people get “discovered” by writers, agents, talent scouts, publishers, and so on

You can learn to voice your opinion in a safe and non hurtful way

It can help other people with book reports, drawing, writing…

It increases your knowledge of the internet 

It boosts your knowledge of software

It helps you learn responsibility 

Remember, your parents get the FINAL SAY, so don’t go sneaking around and blogging under the covers. I’m sure they have good reasons why.

Do you have anything to add? If so, please type it in the comments, ’cause I’d LOVE to hear from you all!

Leap

Well, here it is. My first fiction story post. Hope you all like it!:

Drew looked at me desperately. “Do something!”

I glanced down. A huge chasm loomed before my feet. I could hear ghostly wails of anguish far down below. Chills bit my spine. “Me? I’m only thirteen! You’re fifteen!! You’re a master wizard! Surely you can help instead of me!!”

He looked at me and I knew the truth.

“How could you?” I shrieked. I clawed his arms, leaving four bright red oozing gashes. “You lied to me! You said you could do magic! You said that people IDOLIZED you back in Camwell!”

Drew winced. “I was young and foolish. I… I wanted a place to call home. My mother died of pneumonia when I was five. My father was burned at the stake when people accused him of witchcraft. At age seven I became an orphan who traveled the world in secret.”

“So you didn’t live in Camwell your whole life. I should have known.”

“Isobel! Let me explain. When I saw the wizard academy, I thought I might actually posses magic. After all, my father did. So I applied, and Professor let me in. When I found out I didn’t have magic, I didn’t think anyone would mind.”

“If you didn’t think anyone would care, why didn’t you tell Professor? Or me?” I asked, infuriated and hurt. This boy, who I had known for since he was ten and grown to love, had deceived me for five whole years. “When we escape this terrible monster and go back to the academy, I am going to WRING your neck and rip out your-”

“Shh.” Drew lifted his finger to my lips. It took much effort not to bite his hand off. “I love you and I always will. Now go and save the world for me. I know you can.”

With those final words, he gently pressed his lips against mine and vanished into the shadows.

Just a few yards away, the beast roared. He was getting closer to me. I was getting closer to being his midnight snack. Great. Just great.

My insides felt mangled and twisted. What had become of the Drew I knew? Was his name even Drew? Or was it another tale? Why do I still even like him?

His final words lingered in my mind. “I love you and I always will. Now go and save the world for me. I know you can.”

“I love you, too,” I whispered into the darkness. And then I leapt.

The Great Trouble

Hey guys! Do you remember what day June 9th is?

That’s right! No, not Christmas. It’s when I’m posting my top ten summer reads list! And the start of this blog’s summer season! So, make sure to look out for that post!

I’ve been procrastinating long enough. Time to start blogging.

The book I chose was called The Great Trouble. It actually takes place in London during 1854. The main character, Eel, is hiding from his stepfather, Fisheye Bill Tyler and is stuck as a “mudlark” who fishes around in the river and stuff for things to sell. Not such a great life, but at least it’s livable and he has friends.

But then…………………gasp!……………………………….. THE BLUE DEATH STRIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE BLUE (oH WAIT. I’M STILL ON CAPS LOCKS. oOPS.)

Okay, that’s better.

The blue death is also known as cholera. It turns your skin blue. Ew.

When this deadly plague happens, everyone thinks it’s caused by poison air, (yeah, I know, its a weird idea, but hey. That was like what, around 200 years ago?) but Dr. John Snow, whom Eel works for, has other ideas. He thinks that the blue death is caused by poison in the Broad Street Pump’s water. If he can get everyone to believe this, the pump’s handle can be taken off and no one can use it anymore.

The problem? Out of ALL the pumps, Broad Street’s water is the clearest and best tasting, so people would be a tad skeptical.

I can totally understand that. I mean, imagine this: Some random guy walks up to you and says “Hey. See that old lady over there? The toothless one who’s always smiling and giving kids candy, less than 4 ft tall, smells like lavender, donated 1,000 dollars to the “Cure Cancer Foundation,” and always has a pink Beauty and the Beast T shirt on? She’ kills people!

Eel knows Dr. Snow’s right and he HAS to help convince other people to stop drinking from that pump before the whole neighborhood dies out. But can he and John collect enough evidence before it’s too late? Will Fisheye kidnap Eel? Only time will tell.

I thought that The Great Trouble was awesome and realistic historical fiction. It’s one of the best historical fiction books I’ve ever read and is absolutely a five star read.

Probably 6th to 8th graders would enjoy this.

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I would like to thank all of you who liked, followed, and even just looked at my blog. This wouldn’t be possible without you!

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-Isabelle 🙂

The Top Ten Summer Reads of 2015

Hey guys! On June 9th, 2015, I’ll be publishing a list of books to read this summer, so watch out for it!

Paige By Paige

No school today! Yes!

Anyway, the reason I haven’t been reviewing that much is because my parents are having/going to SO MANY PARTIES. Don’t get me wrong, I love parties and all, but I’m really tired and I still have a party to go to today.

So, the book I’m reviewing today is called Paige By Paige and is a graphic novel.

Basically, there’s this girl named Paige Turner (her parents are writers) and she has a sketchbook. Her family moves to the city, and Paige is trying to adjust to everything.

Paige used to be a quiet, shy redhead who played the “everything is perfect and I’m so happy” game with her perfectionist mom. But now, she isn’t so sure if she wants to be that girl anymore.

Paige realizes she doesn’t and becomes more of a rebel and finds some awesome friends. They are:

Longo: A former artist with a sense of humor.

Jules: Longo’s sister and a singer and songwriter.

Gabe: Quiet boy who sort of lives inside his head. He also writes, and is someone Paige can confide in.

Her sketchbook helps her “discover” herself, and move along in her struggle of this new life.

That’s really all that the book is about.

Paige By Paige had SOME romance, but was really just focused on Paige, herself.

Besides the regular graphics that display the main characters and what they’re saying, you also get to see inside of Paige’s sketchbook, which is a totally different (but cool!) style of drawing.

Paige By Paige is BY FAR the mot creative book I’ve ever read, and totally deserves 5 stars. And if any of you 6th, 7th, or 8th grader are reading this review, Paige By Paige is great for those grades.

Pinned

Pinned. At first I thought it meant “pinned” as in Pintrest, but it actually means 2 things:

a) Wrestling (well, at least RELATED to wrestling)

b) The name of a future restaurant (or is it bakery?)

Well, now I know!

Pinned is about a girl named Autumn and a boy named Adonis.

Adonis is a 9th grader who was born without legs. He loves to read and is a top student. I sorta think that that got to his head and made him a snob. Adonis may not be able to wrestle himself, but he is the wrestling team manager.

Autumn is a 9th grader who loves to bake. She is also the star wrestler on her school team-the only female wrestler, in fact, (Go, Autumn!) which can be frustrating. Her BFF is Peaches, (not the fruit) and she has a huge crush on Adonis.

Only problem?

Adonis HATES Autumn.

She gets super low grades because of a learning disability and is STALKING him, practically. Just got off the van to school? Autumn is totally there. Spilled a drink? Guess who happens to be next to you! Trying to PEACFULLY study in the library? Not with Autumn, you won’t.

If I were Adonis, I would be more concerned about the stalker part than the fact that she may ruin my rep with her grades.

Yet Autumn still loves Adonis after he disses her and calls her stupid, practically, in front of everyone. As I was reading this, I was thinking, GOSH! HOW CAN SHE LIKE SUCH A JERK?!

After a while, Adonis can stand being in a room with Autumn without going ballistic, which is good. Both start to be friendly and Adonis finally revels the truth behind a painful incident (including Peaches) that dubbed him “weak disabled guy who fell in a pond and almost drowned.”

And obviously, *spoiler alert!* the two opposites fall in love (well, Autumn was already in love, so let’s just say Adonis fell in love) and live sort of happily ever after. The end.

The story of a stalker and her stalkee was pretty awesome and entertaining. So, 5 stars and grades 6 to 8.

When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me is actually a very confusing book to understand. I had to read certain parts several times. This is what I got out of it:

Setting: Late 1970’s

Miranda: Main character. Been receiving notes saying that someone is coming to save Miranda’s friend’s life.

Miranda’s Mom: Training to compete in The $20000 Pyramid, a game show where she can win money. Lives with Miranda in a run down, roach infested apartment.

Richard: Miranda’s Mom’s boyfriend. Has one leg longer than the other.

Sal: Miranda’s ex- best friend. Shunned her after some random kid punched him in the stomach.

Marcos: Boy who punched Sal. Actually a very nice kid. Interested in time travel.

The Laughing Man: Crazy guy who sleeps under his mailbox.

Annemarie: Miranda’s new friend. Used to hang out with Julia.

Julia: Slightly snobbish girl. Used to hang out with Annemarie. Doesn’t like Miranda.

Colin: Works with Annemarie and Miranda at a shop.

Jimmy: The not-so-nice employer of Colin, Annemarie, and Miranda.

Problem: Who is sending the notes? Why is Sal shutting Miranda out? Will Miranda’s mom win her much needed money? Who stole from Jimmy’s bank? Who is the laughing man? Will the person sending the letters save Miranda’s friend?

I actually LOVED When You Reach Me. It was a great mystery book with just a touch of magic.

Due to it’s complex manner, When You Reach Me is appropriate for 6th to 8th graders and deserves 5 stars.

My Life as a Gamer

I guess it’s back to Derek Fallon again. Oh well.

Where should I start? Oh, yeah. Like My Life as a Joke (see the review!) My Life as a Gamer has these cute little cartoons illustrating vocab words in the margins.

NO! I just got pen on my leg! And my wrist. Don’t ask how, okay? I don’t know how! These things just happen to me!

Yeah, so in My Life as a Gamer, Derek gets an offer from Global Games to test video games! Obviously, he says yes. Who WOULDN’T say yes?! Well, I guess I would, but the MAJORITY of kids would say yes.

The bad news is that:

a) State testing is coming up. (I feel Derek’s pain.)

b) Derek is getting a new reading tutor named Hannah. She’s practically a DRILL SERGEANT!!!

c) Derek’s father is out of a job and going absolutely NUTS. He even put seahorse bathroom wallpaper in the kitchen.

When Derek and his friends enter the world of Arctic Ninja, things aren’t as fun as they seem First of all, there is READING involved. (Carly, Derek’s friend and potential girlfriend, is a genius, so she doesn’t mind, but Derek does! After, all, he has as reading disability, so I don’t blame him!) Second of all, Derek is being left in the dust by his other friends and Carly as they beat him in Arctic Ninja. Ouch.

But there IS a plus side. El Cid, number one play station player in the ENTIRE WORLD is testing games with Derek. No one knows his identity, which is hidden behind a bulky gold space helmet.

Everyone thinks El Cid is unbeatable – until Carly and Derek beat him! Hannah challenges this, and Derek ends up spilling all the PRIVATE and TOP SECRET details about Arctic Ninja, which hasn’t come out yet.

Derek doesn’t think twice about blabbing. But when he finds out someone posted all the details of Arctic Ninja, he starts to wonder if Hannah told.

Tashjian executed this story well with some humor and a touch of awkward romance. Overall, My Life as a Gamer was pretty good but somewhat too slow-paced for me.

4 stars, grades 3 to 6.

A Slightly Wrinkled Girl