Another one of those “short adventures” that I have finally gotten around to reading, Kidnapped doesn’t suffer from some of the attributes that I found irritating about Captains Courageous . Sure, some of my qualms with Captains Courageous came from the audiobook itself but Kidnapped managed to have an easy-to-understand narrator as well as some sound effects and music that added to the experience of the book. As for the book itself, Kidnapped is pretty basic despite its title being only a small fraction of its plot.

Even despite its short length, a lot happens in Kidnapped. Aside from the obvious kidnapping, many events transpired because of it, including escaping and returning home. Of course, partly because of the short length of the book, the action moves at a pretty quick pace that was sometimes difficult to follow (which may also be an artifact of the time when it was written). The language in this book was easy to understand and is appropriate for young boys who want to dip their toe in the wide world of reading.

Part of me almost wanted the plot to focus more on the kidnapping since that’s what I expected the book to be about. Of course, perhaps my preferences are tainted by modern literature and the almost over-explanation of situations and scenarios. Kidnapped does a lot, but if it went more in depth with a few of the main points, it could have been a little more fascinating. As it is, the kidnapping itself happens so quickly that the reader hardly has time to understand what has happened before the main character has escaped. A little more time spent in the midst of the kidnapping would have added some excellent tension to an already adequate book.

A good short story for all ages, I give Kidnapped 3.5 stars out of 5.

This is an amazing book! However, if you do not like the classic-book-writing style, this book might bore you out of your mind. You have been warned! But, if you don’t mind the style of writing, you will love this book! Besides from being a classic it is also a romance novel. I really enjoyed this book and I hope you will to!

Reviewer grade: 8th

They're attacking our vessel Captain! Those savages want to kill us!", "Leave me Conciel! Save yourself my friend!". No doubt these few short phrases from the amazing novel strikes great interest in your mind. 20,000 leagues under the sea is an Adventure Fiction novel written by Jules Verne, and is by far 1 of the best books I have ever read. Professor Aronnax and his faithful servant Consiel board american frigate Abraham Lincoln to embark on a long journey back to France. On the way though, they spot a creature, a monster unlike anyone has ever seen up until that point. After a fierce battle with that monster Pierre Aronnax, Consiel, and a Canadian Harpooner are thrown overboard their frigate lost in the middle of the Vast Atlantic.

Later refuge is found aboard a metal island... Wait? Metal Island? In the middle of the atlantic? Something isn't right. Alast Captain Nemo and his crew surface the mighty vessel and capture Aronnax and his companions.
Sometime later Pierre and his companions alike, awake in a small, pitch black room, not knowing what had happened, or what is about to. Want to find out what happens next? Well go and find this book for yourself! Getting stuck underneath an iceberg in the antarctic! Battling 1 of earths mightiest creatures! Experience the great suspense, action, and adventure this novel brings to you!

Reviewer: 9th Grade

Captains Courageous is one of those classics that I just haven’t read, for whatever reason. I got the sense it was about being at sea, probably in the same vein as Moby-Dick or Treasure Island. And yet, I don’t know if I could tell you what happened in this book. Sure, the main character was picked up by a fishing vessel, and eventually, they learned how to deal with the harsh job of being a fisherman, but that’s pretty much it. The series of fishing adventures seem to be loosely tied together, and the overarching plot was weak at best.

Part of me wonders if the audiobook version of this classic was to blame. Not only did the narrator have a bit of an accent, but she did all the different dialects of the various characters based on their ethnic origins. While I would usually love this attention to detail, more than half the time, I could hardly understand what was being said. Furthermore, the amount of sailing/fishing jargon this book had completely lost me at times, as I have no experience or knowledge of this profession to understand what the characters are talking about.

The two aspects I did enjoy as part of this audiobook were the songs and the length. While I likely would have just read the lyrics of these sea shanties in the book with no understanding of how the tune would go, the narrator sang these songs, thus allowing me to appreciate them more than just the words would have provided. Secondly, while I didn’t understand what was going on for most of the time I was listening to this audiobook, it was still a short book. Therefore, I didn’t waste too much time listening to this book and could move on to different books that much quicker.

A classic that probably hasn’t aged well with time, I give Captains Courageous 2.5 stars out of 5.

This book started off a bit slow and the vernacular was initially somewhat challenging to read, but once Janie meets Tea Cake the book explodes into a vivid account of life in the "muck." There were parts of the book that I couldn't put down. Hurston's prose is nothing short of voluptuous and the final paragraph was a triumph of the soul.

Lovely book. It moves slowly and gently and paints a dream-like portrait of life in the woods in the 1870s. Nothing really exciting happens, but that's the beauty of it.

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux is a beautiful, classic novel that has an extremely compelling story. The book is about a Parisian opera house that is “haunted” by a mysterious and alluring phantom. The phantom falls in love with soprano Christine Daaè which causes a ton of trouble for the opera house. It is a story about romance, obsession, suspense and mystery. The book was extremely interesting and thought provoking. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of classic literature or the Broadway musical. The story does go more into depth in Christine’s childhood and the phantom’s backstory. I also enjoyed the psychological suspense aspect of the story as well. This book was very detailed and at some points extremely complicated, which made that story even more interesting. There were some boring parts, but most of the time the book kept me engaged. This book is a somewhat hard book because of it’s old fashioned style of writing that may not appeal to the younger reader.
There is no swearing in this novel. Overall, I would recommend this to an older teen who has an interest in Broadway based stories.

The Outsiders is a beautiful coming of age story that I would recommend for everyone in middle school and high school. The book’s plot is about the rivalry between the Greasers and Socs (focusing on the Greasers). The Socs are the rich, popular kids while the Greasers are the poor, bad kids. The story is about social status, growing up, finding yourself, and rebellion.
Anyone in middle/high school can relate to this book in one way or another.
The problems discussed transcend time and are applicable to today’s teens.
I think it’s very hard to find a book about teenagers that is about real teenagers, not unrealistic heroes that are facing problems that we never face. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that type of book, but it was really nice to find a book that I could relate to. It makes you feel like you are not alone and that other people are struggling with similar issues.
What makes The Outsiders such an amazing book is the characters and their relationships. Each character is important and unique. They are all their own individuals and have complex backstories. They are all “real” people.
Everyone who reads this book can find at least one character they identify with. For example, Ponyboy is an amazing student who feels like he is under immense pressure. And Darry is struggling with the responsibility of taking care of his younger brothers. The book also focuses on the relationships between the characters. All of the Greasers view each other as family members. They are very protective and loving towards each other. The relationship between the Greasers and the Socs is very strained. Most members of each gang despise each other.
A flaw with the book is that the solutions to the plot’s problems seemed simplistic. The plot is all wrapped up in one big bow which doesn’t seem realistic. To be fair, S.E. Hilton wrote this book when she was in high school and that perspective undoubtedly played into this.
I would recommend this book for ages 10+. The book does contain some mild swearing (it’s not too bad). It also contains underage drinking and smoking. It is a fairly short book that was easy to read.
I would definitely recommend The Outsiders by S.E. Hilton because of it’s interesting plot, realistic characters, and relatable story of teenage angst.

Mobs-Dick, or The Whale by Herman Melville is a novel, in which the narrator, Ishmael, befriends Queequeg, a South Seas harpooner, and together they look for a whaling crew. Eventually, they join Captain Ahab aboard the Pequot.
Ishmael soon finds that Ahab had lost his leg and vessel to a powerful whale, who is called Moby-Dick. The captain and his crew sail around the world to hunt down the whale for revenge. The book does have a very deep and ambitious theme, as Herman Melville addresses many controversies throughout his writing, with subtle remarks. The characters and plot fit perfect together and everything is well developed with some sort of backstory. My only problem with this book is that it includes many useless and boring chapters. They don't add anything to the story, and while they attempt to bring up a deep topic, they completely and utterly fail to. Overall this book is decent and definitely aspires to be the "mighty book" that it's meant to be. I would recommend it to people who like high seas adventure novels.

Grade: 8

The book Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is about Marty Preston and his willingness to, in a sense, serve an abused dog. The dog is named Shiloh after he runs away to young Marty, after being abused by Judd Travers. He keeps the dog in secret for fear of being caught by his family or Judd.
Unlike other typical dog books or even movies, the book shows a very deep bond between Shiloh and Marty, in which Marty has to earn Shiloh by working for Judd. Every single character put into the book is well developed and plays some sort of part in the story. Several other conflicts, such as Marty's mother not wanting to keep secrets from her husband, arise, and they are all well though-out. Overall, the book is a very emotional book, and should be deeply felt by the reader. I would recommend the book to any sort of animal lover or people who like realistic fiction.

Grade: 8