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The Wave
By Todd Strasser

The Wave  by Todd Strasser is a true story about the students of Gordon High who become participants in a experiment that goes too far.  Ben Ross, their teacher as well as the wave’s leader, has no idea how far his “little experiment” has gone.  All Ben wanted to do is show his senior history class why Adolf Hitler had so much power.  The experiment gets out of hand when the wave goes from his class to the whole school and the students that don’t want to join are harassed.  “She really was blowing it out of proportion, wasn’t she?  It really was just a fad, wasn’t it?”  Laurie Saunders has just realized that the wave isn’t that good.  Soon after, David Collins realizes the same.  Can they stop the wave before it goes to far?  The author of this book put it together wonderfully!  He explains with such ease and the ending comes together so well.  If you enjoy reading true stories or are just looking for a good book, then go to the library and get a copy of The Wave.

Liz
7th Grader
Worthington, OH

The book The Car by Gary Pulsen is about a teenage boy who was abandoned by his parents and goes on a journey to reach his uncle.  When Terry finds out that he is alone, he decides to build a car out of his dad’s old car kit.  When it is finished, Terry goes from Cleveland, Ohio to Port land, Oregon to find his  distant uncle.  He had never driven before and ends up having to teach himself.  Along the way he meets an extraordinary man named Waylon.  Waylon ends up helping Terry to “learn about life”.  “’The quality of mercy is not strain’d; it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath.   It is twice blessed.  It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.’  And Terry opened his eyes for the first view of Waylon Jackson.”  That quote is about the first time that Terry met Waylon.  The scripture that Waylon is quoting is by Shakspere.
I thought that the author did a good job of describing things but I didn't like how the book just left you hanging.  If you like cars or working on cars, this book is for you.  It describes a lot in detail about how cars work and how to fix them.

Greg
7th Grade
Worthington, OH

The Car
Gary Paulsen

The book The Car by Gary Pulsen is about a teenage boy who was abandoned by his parents and goes on a journey to reach his uncle.  When Terry finds out that he is alone, he decides to build a car out of his dad’s old car kit.  When it is finished, Terry goes from Cleveland, Ohio to Port land, Oregon to find his  distant uncle.  He had never driven before and ends up having to teach himself.  Along the way he meets an extraordinary man named Waylon.  Waylon ends up helping Terry to “learn about life”.  “’The quality of mercy is not strain’d; it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath.   It is twice blessed.  It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.’  And Terry opened his eyes for the first view of Waylon Jackson.”  That quote is about the first time that Terry met Waylon.  The scripture that Waylon is quoting is by Shakspere.
I thought that the author did a good job of describing things but I didn't like how the book just left you hanging.  If you like cars or working on cars, this book is for you.  It describes a lot in detail about how cars work and how to fix them.

Greg
7th Grader
Worthington, OH

The  Car  by the author Gary Paulsen is an exciting adventure about a teenage boy named Terry who has been abandoned by his parents. His father, an overworked mechanic leaves behind a car kit in the garage. “Tell your mother I’m not coming back-I’ve got all my stuff, or everything I want. I’m sick of the whole thing.” (Paulsen 9) Terry’s father says. Terry pokes around at the car kit a little, and  soon he finds himself building the car called “Cat” alone in the garage. Soon enough, the car is built and Terry is on his way to Oregon seeking an uncle he hardly knows. Terry learns very quickly how to drive this car. On his way out West Terry picks up a very strange war veteran named Waylon. He teaches him many things about the world, and life. The two of them pick up one of Waylon’s war buddies on the way. They visit many people and places on thier journey. The story ends when the two men get into a fight and the police come. I think the author did an extremely good job on the whole story-except the ending. The story ends too suddenly! I wanted to know what happened next. I would rocommend this book to anyone who likes cars or somebody with a like for suspense.

Marshall
7th Grader
Worthington, OH

Twink, by John Neufeld, is a true story about a young girl who was born handicapped but discovers the joy that life has to bring.  After being handicapped since birth, Twink developed a disease that is very deadly.  She has an operation that saves her life, but a few days later, she finds out that the operation cost her her eyesight.  She is very grateful for her life and praise to God every morning for the day that is dawning.   “ Twink was crushed.  She had to be.  But she soared afterward...”   I think this quote showed how much courage or bravery Twink really has.  The author of Twink I felt rushed the ending a little bit.  I wish he would have explained a little more about what Twink’s future was going to be after the book ended.  I believe that if you like to read about people who have a disability that they learn to deal with, that you would enjoy this book.

Chelsea
7th Grade
Worthington, OH

Isaac
7th Grader
Worthington, OH

Durable Goods, by Elizabeth Berg, was about a young girl going through life with her abusive father and trying to deal with the death of her mother.  The only two people who seem to care for her are her best friend , Cherylanne, and her older sister, Diana.  Their father tells them they are moving.  Katie and Diana can’t handle the abuse so they run away with Diana’s boyfriend, Dickie.  Katie decides she can’t go on when they get half way to Mexico and she calls Cherylanne.  Her father comes to get her with their new puppy along with him.  They return home and move in three days.  Unlike Diana, Katie finally gets through to her father and live with no abuse.  “For a moment I see him as someone other than my father, and he seems so curious to me, and sad, like an animal wrongly tied up.”  I think the author means that the softer side of him was showing for a moment.  I really enjoyed reading this book but I think it could have been a little more exciting.  This story is mainly about dealing with life.  If you like books about life and dealing with life, then I highly recommend this book.

Kyla
7th Grader
Worthington, OH

Benjamin
7th Grader
Worthington, OH

Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg is a novel about a young girl who lost her mother and is trying to help and understand her father’s feelings and grief.   Katie, the main character, has a father who is in the military and her family has to move quite often.  Her mother died, and her father misses her very much and is having a  lot of trouble raising his two daughters.  He is definitely not a mother and does not know how to handle the things that happen to girls.  Katie and her older sister have been trying to deal with his anger and frustration toward the loss of their mother for a long time and can’t take it any more. They decide to run away.   Elizabeth Berg did a great job writing this book; it was exciting, interesting, and fun to read.  In the end it didn’t seem like she really finished the book; it seemed like everything went back to how it was before.  After an interesting or exciting part, it went dull then exciting then dull.  It needs to stay interesting throughout the book.  I recommend this book for girls who want to read about how it is to live without a mother, or have the experience of living without a mother.

Lynsey
7th Grader
Worthington, OH

Alice the Brave is by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. It is about a girl named Alice McKinley who faces many of the problems teenage girls confront. In this particular book Alice is afraid of deep water, but by the end of the summer Alice overcomes her fear. Alice’s mom died when she was four years old of Leukemia. She lives with her dad and her brother Lester who is twenty-one. She doesn’t have anyone to talk to about personal things besides her two best friends Pamela and Elizabeth, but Pamela and Elizabeth are pretty much clueless about them also, so Alice has to call her Aunt Sally long distance in Chicago. Aunt Sally is a little paranoid though. The biggest problem Alice had was her fear of deep water and all of her friends are going to spend most of their summer swimming at Mark Stedmeister’s pool. Alice trys to make up excuses of why she can’t go in the pool , but after a big incident at the pool, Alice learns to swim, with some assistance of Lester and goes back and shows all of friends she indeed can swim. This was a wonderful book and I would recommend it to anyone who likes to read books that are humorous, realistic, and about adolescense.

Lea
7th Grader
Worthington, OH

Kyle
7th Grader
Worthington, OH

Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen is a funny boyish story.The main character and the farm boy Harris have a great time and many adventures on the small farm. The main character has no true home because his parents have drinking problems and he has to leave. When he comes to a small farm, he finds a weird family. Harris always cusses and has far out ideas, Louie, the farm hand eats faster than lightning, and Harris’ sister slaps him all the time. On one adventure Harris and the main character play cowboys, Harris uses a real shotgun while riding a horse. Needless to say Harris sees stars. this book is great if you like funny adventures. The author did great on the adventures, but if you don’t like foul langauge, read carefully, Harris loves to cuss!

Nick
7th Grader
Worthington, OH