UglyFish Bookclub

Reviewed by: Sabrina

Have you ever seen something no one else has? That’s what happened to August. He was almost the only person to see everything differently.

August Brown just moved from Vermont to Washington D.C. with his mother and he didn’t really like it. But one day, he discovers a place called Pineapple Place, and soon discovers that the people there are only visible to him. As he has fun with the children he meets, he gets strange looks from grown ups. At the same time, is he sure the fun will last forever?

What I liked was the fact that August was with people like him. Me and August are similar because I’m the one who usually sees things differently. My favorite part was when August discovered Pineapple Place because he knew that he would finally connect with someone.

I thought the writing was really cool because the author really showed how each of the characters felt when something happened. She explained everything so detailed, I could see everything in my mind.

During the whole time, Pineapple Place changes August’s whole life because April and the others showed him that fun was anything. Then Pineapple Place moves and the rest is a mystery to August…

Thanks to Sabrina for an excellent, personal review of this book. We can’t wait to read it, because we live near Washington DC, and everyone loves a book set near home!

Reviewed by: Raquel

How would you feel if all of your dolls were alive? Well, for Nora and her sister Kate, that’s how things are. But the exciting part is that they don’t know their dolls are alive! Their doll, Annabelle is the most special. But what happens when Annabelle’s auntie disappears all of the sudden? Go on an adventure with Annabelle and her family and friends to go find Auntie Sarah.

In the book, “The Doll People,” Annabelle’s auntie goes missing! Is she in the house, is she outside, where is she? These are the questions that had been going through Annabelle’s head ever since her auntie had disappeared. While Annabelle had been trying to figure out what had happened, she ended up finding something that told a lot of things about the disappearance of her auntie, but she didn’t tell anyone because she wanted to be the only one who knew. Annabelle didn’t look too strong until a friend came along to help her. Can Annabelle find her auntie without letting the humans know that she is alive? Or will she get trapped and go to permanent doll state?

My favorite part of the book was at the end because at the beginning, she didn’t believe in herself too much. I thought the author’s writing was good because she wrote an exciting mystery, but there were some parts where you really laughed. And I liked how at the end of a chapter it left you hanging so you just HAD to read the next chapter to find out what happened!

Reviewed by: Rose

Do you like mystery? Well in this book there’s a lot of it!

This girl Sammy loves binoculars, she can’t use them but that doesn’t stop her from looking at the Heavenly Hotel across the street.

Sammy is a girl who lives in an apartment with her grandma, who she calls “Grams.” Her mom is in Hollywood looking for a job. Nobody really knows she lives with her Grams. Every time someone knocks at the door she hides. This girl Sammy loves to use her binoculars, but Grams won’t let her. She should have listened to Grams, now she’s in trouble! To find out how Sammy solves this problem, pick up this book and read.

Sammy and I are a lot alike because I would also take the same risks even if it meant getting in trouble. I love to use my binoculars, and I love an adventure.

What I like about this book is that right in the middle there are little funny words and funny figures of speech like a girl at her school being poked in the butt with a pin.

Sammy is close to finding out who is the thief. She does crazy things to find out who it is. She hides in a bush and puts some money on the sidewalk to see if the man will take it. Now read and find out who is the thief, you’ll be surprised who.

Thank you Rose for such a lively review. We can’t wait to find out who the thief is!

Have YOU read this book? Tell us what you think, but don’t give away the ending!

Reviewed by: Shark

Peter and the Starcatchers is about a boy named Peter (it’s kind of the beginning of Peter Pan) who becomes a…Hey!  Why should I tell you?  You should read about it yourself!  I think you’ve already guessed what he becomes but I’m still not going to tell you.

In the book, Peter is in England and he is a leader of a small group of boys, because he is the oldest (even though he doesn’t really know how old he is).  He claims himself to be the leader also because he can spit the furthest.  He and his group are a bunch of orphans (orphans means kids that don’t have parents) and they are put on a ship called the ‘Never Land,’ on their way to Rundoon, to serve the terrible King Zarboff the Third.  On their way, Peter discovers a mysterious trunk and tries to find out what is in it.  At the same time, a girl named Molly is trying to stop him and his friend Alf from finding out (even though Molly is sort of Peter’s friend).  Also, Black Stache, a PIRATE, is after a trunk.  Once Black Stache finds out that the trunk he wants is on the ‘Never Land,’ a bad storm is already coming, the worst he’s seen in his years sailing the seven seas.This book is written in a funny way, and there is a lot of action–almost too much!  I can see in my head like I am right there in the middle of the action because the descriptions are so good.  Some parts of the book are scary, like when Peter gets thrown overboard by the first mate.  I took this book to school for silent reading and read it four or five times.  The first time I read it, it took me like two weeks.

Seema’s note to parents:  This is a terrific book, I love Dave Barry.  Buy it and then wrestle it out of their little hands and read it yourself!