Night Of The Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury

Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2009

Dylan's scout troop has decided to go on a camping trip, and Dylan is pretty excited to go. until he remembers that Louie, an older boy is the newest member of the troop. Dylan has had a past run in with Louie and tries not to remember it when he finds out that Louie will be going on the trip.


Then a few days after the troop has set up a large earthquake (7.2 they found out later) scatters the troop in the early morning, and Dylan and Louie are forced to team up and help the rest of their troop to safety.


The most amazing part of this story is that it really happened to scout troop 77 in Hawaii. Although in the book nobody from their troop or the near-by camping horseback riders was killed, in the real event a passing fisherman (on his boat) was never found and one of the adult leaders was killed in a rock slide made by an aftershock.

Since this book was based on a real event, the author wrote the story just like the it but nobody died in his version. This book was written mostly from Dylan's point of view and he included a lot of dialogue from the other characters so you got to hear their experience too, not just Dylan's.

I liked this book even though Graham based it on a real event so, he I guess he didn't have to think up a lot of the story. The book was very vivid especially when the earthquake came it was like watching a movie inside of my head!

To Read Not to Read

Pop by Gordon Korman

Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2009

Marcus Jordan moves to a small town in the summer and doesn't know anybody there. Marcus wants to be on the football season this upcoming year, so he starts practicing in Three Alarm Park. While practicing, Marcus throws the ball really far, almost to the other side of the park. He suddenly sees something while walking to where the ball landed. It was a person! This guy was running towards Marcus and he just couldn't figure out why. Then when the man was close enough to see his face, Marcus realised that this man in fact had his ball! The man stopped in front of Marcus and explained himself to Marcus. After a few minutes of tossing the ball around the mysterious man said he had to go but would see Marcus tomorrow.

When school starts Marcus immediately navigates himself to the field where the tryouts are held. When he gets there he is told that not a lot of new people get onto the team because it is a very tight-knit group who play. In spite of this, he gets on the team, just not the place he wanted.

Marcus has being seeing Charlie a few times a week; he learned that the guy's name was Charlie when they went to the store together and Charlie didn't pay. After a few more weeks of training with Charlie, Marcus realises that he seems a bit odd. Whenever Marcus tries to talk about the last time they trained Charlie doesn't seem to remember.

Marcus goes on the computer and searches diseases that can happen to football players, because when Marcus is told of Charlie's name he remembers that he used to be a famous football player. Marcus finds a site that talks about some of the symptoms Charlie seems to have and finds out that Charlie has developed early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Charlie's family knows he has this disease but the rest of the town doesn't. When Marcus confronts Charlie's daughter at school about his disease she threatens him if he dares to tell anybody about it. Marcus drops the subject for a few weeks then goes and finds Charlie's old school buddy and tells him about what happened to him. Marcus had to tell Mac (Charlie's school buddy) about his disease because Charlie and Marcus were making trouble for one of the shop owners and Marcus was getting blamed for it because Charlie would just walk away.

Marcus and Mac also take Charlie to one of their school reunions when they hear that Charlie is going to get an award and will be put into the school's hall of fame. The only problem is that Marcus didn't tell Mac that he hadn't asked the family if he could take Charlie. The next thing they knew, they had lost Charlie in the excitement. The police found him and took Charlie and Marcus back to their town. Marcus was wondering why they were rushing back so he asked the police officer and he replied that the football team was losing and they had to get Marcus back home so that they could win the game.

Marcus was about to throw the ball to the end zone when out of the corner of his eye he saw Charlie walking towards the back of the bleachers. Marcus ran up the bleachers to Charlie but he was already standing on the bar at the back of the bleachers about to set the other team's Mascot hawk free. Marcus could see Charlie standing on the bar then Marcus blinked. When he opened his eyes again there was no charlie standing on the top of the bar. Marcus knew what had happened and ran down the bleachers and around the side to find Charlie while everybody else ran towards where he had been standing.

It was a small funeral for Charlie and some other famous football players even showed up when they heard the he had died. Even Charlie's son Troy was sort of nice to Marcus during the mourning at Charlie's house.

Gordan Korman wrote this book like a movie and made it feel like he was slowing it down when it came to serious parts but in the happy exciting parts, he wrote it like he was telling a story.

I felt that this book was truly telling both sides of the football world or any sport for that matter, that a sport can be fun and very fulfilling if you honestly love it but on the other side they can also be dangerous and a horrible experience if you don't really love it.

To Read  Not to Read

A Crooked Kind of Perfect By Linda Urban

Publisher: Harcourt Books
Copyright: 2007

Zoe has a dream of becoming a Prodigy in Piano, but that dream is shattered when her dad brings back a Perfectone D-60, a "wheeze-bag" as Zoe calls it. Zoe tells her dad that she is destined to play the piano but her dad just signs her up for "More with Les" musical lessons at a senior center. Zoe tries very hard at playing the organ, but finds it difficult and almost gives up.

This is a classic story of one girl trying ever so hard to fit in at school, when the worst thing happens. Zoe goes back to school after Christmas Break, all ready to pour her troubles and broken dreams onto her best friend, Emma Dent, when she sees it: her best friend Emma Dent not sitting at their regular table, but, sitting with Joella Tinstella! Zoe begins the long walk over to her so-called friend, but, to her dismay, Emma says: "Me and Joella are best friends now, but you can sit here until you find a new best friend if you want". Zoe, now friend-less and with no piano, has gone over to the "dork side".

After practicing with Mrs. Person, Zoe is told about the Perform-O-Rama. Zoe asks her mom if she can drive her to the event and she says yes, but a few days later on Zoe's birthday her mom calls home and tells Zoe's dad that she cannot drive Zoe anymore to the Perform-o-Rama. Zoe's dad says that he will drive her to the Perform-O-Rama instead of mom. At the Perform-O-Rama, Mrs. Person shows Zoe to Mona and her mom. Mona is another contestant at the Perform-O-Rama and tells Zoe everything she should expect at the show. The Perform-O-Rama lasts for two days, so on the second day Zoe's mom drives her.

Zoe and Mona become fast friends and once the show is over, they stay friends and Zoe even goes over to Mona's house.When Zoe gets home, she is surprised to find a beautiful cake for her belated birthday, that her dad and Wheeler made for her. (Wheeler is a boy that I forgot to mention earlier; he is the one who invited her to sit at the boy's table at lunch when Emma wouldn't). When Zoe finds out that Wheeler made the Marzipan Zoe holding a trophy, she thanks him profusely. Then her mom gives her the best birthday present ever...a piano! Zoe is ecstatic when she hears this and can't wait until it arrives the next day.
So in the end, Zoe gets two new friends, a piano, a fourth place trophy, and a crooked kind of perfect life.

I absolutely loved this book because it told a beliveable story that would probaly happen in real life and I'm sure everybody who reads it can relate to it somehow, be it losing a friend or having your one and only wish be ruined in one day.

Linda Urban Writes just like she is writing in a journal, and tells you day by day how Zoe's life gets worse or possibly better. I could never put this book down while I was reading. I was amost afraid of missing something really important that happened to poor Zoe.
Linda didn't try to slow the story down or speed it up, she just wrote it like it came and wasn't afraid to even put some humorus kids jokes in the story, e.g "The Dork Side..."

To Read Not to Read