This week, I read the next part of "The Red Pyramid". It was very exciting. The one part that really surprised me was when Sadie's cat "Muffin" transformed into Bast*, a goddess with the head of a cat. Bast fought some serpent-like kind of monsters inside of a museum who were trying to kill Carter and Sadie. Meanwhile, Carter and Sadie met a girl named Zia who just appeared in the museum which I think is just plain odd. Zia is a magician who can do all kinds of tricks, like opening locked doors. I think that Zia and Bast will help Carter and Sadie to stay alive, and to find their Dad. I think that the author is building a team of characters that we will see in the series.

*Bast(et) click on the link to find out more!

Egyptian gods and goddesses

We're starting a list of gods and goddesses from The Red Pyramid. This might be a handy reference!

This is the order that each god or goddess appears in the book.

Osiris-God of the dead, married to Isis.

Bast(et)-Protective goddess with the head of a cat.

Horus-God of the sky, son of Osiris and Isis.

Isis-Protective goddess who used her magic to cure people in need. married to Osiris.

Set(h)-The god of chaos.

Click on the names to find out about them.

This week i started The red pyramid. So far a lot of very important things happened. One thing was when Carter and Sadie (the main characters) dad summoned the death god by blowing up the Rosetta stone. Then after that, the death god put their dad in a coffin and made him disappear. Another thing is that Carter and Sadie got deported to the USA because of what their dad did. The other important thing that we know about is that Carter and Sadie's mom died. I think that it is a really good book, and I can't wait to keep reading!

This week I finished Uglies. I think that it was a very predictable and unpredictable ending. It was predictable like when Tally becomes pretty in the very end. It was unpredictable when Shay becomes pretty, because Shay ran away because she didn't want to become pretty. I really liked the book, and I would definitely recommend this book to someone, or recommend it to a teacher for next years summer reading list, because it helps kids get a great idea on what middle school will be like.

Scott Westerfeld's discussion questions

Jack, here's the link to the author's 10 discussion questions:

http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/books/uglies/uglies-discussion-questions/

I'm interested to see which one you pick! -Tegan

This week I read through page 339. In this part of the book, Tally

went into the smoke to try to find Shay and turn her in. In the smoke, Tally met David. Shay got mad at Tally when she activated the locket. then Tally hid the locket, and was ordered to go get it. But instead of getting the locket, Tally stole and escaped on a hoverboard.

This week I read to page 186 in Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. The book so far was very exciting. Tally's friend Shay ran away, and the doctors told Tally that if she didn't go look for Shay then she would never become pretty. So then Tally went to find Shay. Shay is in a place called "The Smoke", and Tally is looking for her. I think it was a little greedy for Tally to go find Shay on Tally's part because then she is betraying Shay to get something she wants. I was left in the same situation one time. I had to sacrifice one friendship to do the right thing. but in the end, I think that Tally and Shay will be friends again, like me and my friend.

Started Uglies

Jack-- feel free to edit this post so it is in your own words! I wanted to make sure we don't lose what you told me about your reading, so I am posting what we discussed.

You read Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies" through page 84. So far, you're really liking the book. We have met main characters Tally and Shay, and we have determined that the book is set in the future (at least 100 years in the future, according to the time clue on page 13).

Last week, I asked you to pay particular attention to page 42 and the chapter "Facing the Future." You made the connection to the special effects photos you took using the photo booth on your computer. In the book, Tally and Shay use a mirror special effect to create a perfectly symmetrical face for Shay. This perfect symmetry is part of what makes all the post-operation pretties so "pretty." Tally and Shay's experimentation with technology kind of worked like yours did-- but Tally was using it to see what Shay might actually look like after the operation. I think it's a relief that there are no cyclops Jack, big-eyed Jack, perfectly symmetrical Jack, or conjoined twin Jacks in our future! -Tegan

This week read he first 84 pages of Uglies. I am really enjoying it. So far, my favorite part of the book was when Tally and Shay were trying on their pretty faces using a mirror. I was taking pictures of myself like that on my computer the other day and I turned on the mirror effect so I looked like the people in the book.

This week I finished Where the Red Fern Grows. The last couple of chapters are very sad and suspenseful. Billy and his dogs made a very big accomplishment, but in the end it was very sad, but I would still recommend it.

This week I read chapters 7-14. A lot of exciting things happened in this part of the book. The main event that happened was wen Reuben bet Billy $2.00 that him and his dogs couldn't catch the ghost coon. The ghost coon is a coon that is very wise and tricky. Billy and his dogs did not kill the coon, but Reuben's dog, and Billy's dog started to fight, Reuben's dog was losing, so Reuben tried to kill Billy's dogs with an ax, but accidentally killed himself. I think that Reuben's death was very sudden.

Today I read chapters 4-6. The main thing that happened in the book was when Billy went and got his dogs. He had saved up for two whole years. Billy had to go from his house in the Ozark Mountains to Kentucky to get his dogs. He walked. It took him a day. I couldn't imagine doing that. But, if I wanted something that badly, like my baseball bat, I would walk for a whole day to get it. I only had to save for 7 weeks. Even though 7 weeks felt like a long time, it was nothing compared to 2 years.

Today I started reading Where the Red Fern Grows. I read chapters 1-3. In the second chapter, I had a connection: When Billy was saving up for his dogs, I thought about how I am saving up for a new baseball bat. Billy felt very eager to get his dogs, and I a feeling the same way about getting my baseball bat. After I started reading my book today, it felt like I was returning to the world of Where the Red Fern Grows in the Ozark mountains of Oklahoma all over again. The Ozark mountains run through Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. They are very different compared to the Cascades. The Cascades (Where i live) have volcanoes, and the Ozarks don't.

First Post

We're starting our summer reading!