A Midsummer Nights Scream: August 17th

• Title: A Midsummer Nights Scream
• Author: R.L. Stine
• Genre: Horror/Paranormal
• AR Points: 7
• Page I am on: completed
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

A very strange yet attention-grabbing book! A Midsummer Nights Scream is a horror parody on the famous Shakespeare play: A Midsummer Nights Dream. We are introduced to this infamous haunted house that was the scene of a grisly accident, as multiple people filming a movie were killed one after the other. Years later, the house is revisited by a filming crew to reenact the deaths. As they begin to film the movie, the accidents start to happen one after the other. Can the group figure out what is going on and stop it before they are all killed?

Ashfall: August 8th

• Title: Ashfall
• Author: Mike Mullan
• Genre: Realistic Fiction
• AR Points: 15
• Page I am on: completed
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

A very different apocalypse novel. Why? Because of the genre of this story. Most apocalyptic stories take place outside of reality; they are interesting because they logically won't actually happen. This apocalyptic story is chilling because it is the exact opposite. The apocalypse in this novel is so haunting for the very fact that it is extremely possible and realistic. 

Ashfall is the fictional story of Alex, who finds himself in the midst of catastrophe when the super-volcano at Yellowstone erupts. Alex is in Cedar Falls, Iowa, thousands of miles away and yet this one event turns the world on its end (figuratively). Alex has to find his way across Iowa into Illinois to track down his parents, all the while clinging to survival. 

Cloaked: July 28th

Title: Cloaked

Author: Alex Flinn

Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tales

AR Points: 9

Page I am on: completed

Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

This is another book that has adaptions on classic fairy tales sprinkled throughout the book. Johnny works crazy hours to help his mom at their struggling family shoe repair shop when luck walks through the door in the form of an Alorian princess. She enlists his help in rescuing her brother who has been enchanted by an evil sorceress. Johnny goes on a quest filled with classic fairy tales motifs (talking animals, following directions exactly, etc.) to help out this princess in exchange for her solving their money problems.

Ungifted: July 20th

• Title: Ungifted
• Author: Gordan Korman
• Genre: Realistic Fiction
• AR Points: 8
• Page I am on: completed
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

Funny, funny book. We have Donovan, a typical trouble-maker who is widely known for always causing a ruckus. One of his pranks ends up going way too far and through a mix-up with the busy superintendent, Donovan is put on the list for the gifted academy instead of the punishment list. Donovan now has to fool everyone at this new school into believing he is a genius or else run the risk of alerting the superintendent's attention.

Bruiser - July 12th

• Title: Bruiser
• Author: Neal Shusterman
• Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
• AR Points: 10
• Page I am on: complete
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

This book is very intriguing and mysterious. One of the main characters, Tennyson, is a confrontational high schooler who most people consider a bully. However, he honestly does not see himself the same; all fights he gets into seem justified from his perspective. The conflict of the story arises when Tennyson finds out his little sister is dating a guy with less than respectable reputation. Yet again, we find out that this "reputation" is entirely incorrect. The poor guy has been labeled as something he definitely isn't because teenagers are cruel! Tennyson begins to change his tune about Brewster when he discovers why everyone calls him Bruiser. We discover that Brewster is covered in bruises. Tennyson becomes determined to find out what is really going on in Brewster's home life and this is where the mystery begins to unfold... This is no regular abuse case, something else is at play in this book.

13 Reasons Why: July 5th

• Title: 13 Reasons Why
• Author: Jay Asher
• AR Points: 9
• Page I am on: 125
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point
  
  

**Warning: This book covers a controversial topic.**This book has surprised me with how dramatically emotional it is; it really pulls at the heart strings. Clay, the main character, is normally going about his day in high school, trying to recover from a former crush's suicide when a haunting package arrives from that same girl. You can imagine his surprise and horror, what he must have felt like opening a package from a dead girl. In the box are 13 cassette tapes with 13 different stories connected to driving this girl to commit suicide. The book follows this poor guy, being entirely horrified by having to listen to their chilling tapes, reliving her death over and over. The book is phenomenal but definitely one that will cause an emotional response.