Schools Books

the broken sky series is the best series of books i have ever read. i mean ever! there are scenes that almost make me cry and then ones that make me smile and laugh to myself. if you want to try out a one of a kind fantasy action sci-fiction novel this one will beat all the others hands down. if you like this book you most likely will like the pendragon series

This is the best book in the world.It is so action packed and has alot of adventure.It is great. I have never read a book that I wanted to read 2 3 four tiomes over. Its the greatest.

If ever I thought this series was childish, those doubts are gone. Broken Sky deals with issues like racism, rebellion, and the redemptive power of love in a way that blows other supposedly child-oriented books out of the water. As a high schooler, I can sincerely say that age has nothing to do with the enjoyment of these books. Although Book 1 gets off to a slow start, by half way through I had been drawn deep into Kia and Ryushi's remarkable world. This series serves up humor and death in equal portions, making you smile and sob in the same chapter. The mind-blowing conclusion to Book 6 had me nearly in tears...and I can't wait to read the next installment. I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes a good, exciting, thoughtful read.

This is an amazing book with questions and actions surrounding each and every character. This book kicks off with Ryushi and Whist continuing their adventure toward Ryushi's double-crossing, tratior brother, Takami's, keep. However, Since Takami is the Thane of the province of Maar, he is well protected. The path is even more treacherous when Whist, who is extremely untrustworthy himself, betrays Ryushi and Ryushi ends up in a one-on-one duel with his brother. However, it seems as if Aurin, the Princess of Kirin Taq, does not paticularly like Takami, and Ryushi ends up in Aurin's clutches when he becomes prisoner in Fane Araq, the princesses fortress. Meanwhile, Kia, Hochi, Gerdi, Jaan, and Peliqua are waiting for a decison from the Koth Taraan. In the end, Kia is faced with a trial of will which if she wins, can begin to shift the balance of the battle. Hochi, however, is busy trying to discover the meaning of Tachaa's present, which mean Broken Sky, or "divison with the eventual hope of unity." Things become very hectic and bizarre as in this book you discover more of the strange land of Kirin Taq, Princess Aurin, the Koth Taraan and the Keriags. This book is the best and will make you get up and get the 6th as fast as you can.

This is one great book, but don't read it unless you've read 1-4, because you need the info from those books so your not too confused. Ryushi, along with Whist, continues his quest for revenge on his brother, Takami, for betraying Parakka and killing his father. Ryushi wants revenge, but he is not blinded by it, and he is being very careful, espesially since the untrustworthy and dangerous Whist is leading the way. But it turns out that Ryushi isn't careful enough, and he soon finds himself a prisoner of Takami. But, strangely enough, Ryushi gets what he wants: a one-on-one battle with Takami without either of them using spirit stones. But will Takami play fair? Meanwhile, in the unclaimed lands, Kia and the others await an answer from the Koth Taraan on if they will help, Hochi tries do discover the true meaning of broken sky. All the Koth Macquai told them was that it meant "divion with the eventual hope of unity." The Parakkans discover that one of them will have to take a test to find if the Koth Taraan will help or not. Kia rises to the challange immediatly. She is told soon after that it will be a challange of charactor, and that she will discover new information. But what does this mean...

CDB! (Stories to Go!)

I was very excited to find this book for my grandbaby. We had great fun with it when her aunts were small. Who would have thought back then that William Stieg invented 'text speak'. I even stumped my youngest daughter with NQ!

I ordered this since my sister received it and thought it was a great book. Unfortunately, this copy does not come with the answers. Look for the hard cover version, that has the answers in the back.

This book is as intriguing and entertaining was it was 25+ years ago when I read it to my children. As an educator, I discovered this book to be a source of entertainment and challenge to my children as well as a wonderful tool to help my students as they struggle with reading skills. I recently purchased it again for my grandchildren since my copy was misplaced over the years...and they love it as their mother when she was their age.
Buy it and use...it will help dust off the gray matter and delay alzehemier. :)

smart! adorable! unexpected! (the book, not my kids...)
This book really has us rolling in laughter. My sons (ages 4 and 6) and I have been playing with an electronic toy: push a letter and the thing says the letter's name. We had been using it to make word sounds -- pressing U R A Q T for "you are a cutie" and so forth. When I saw this book I just had to get it. It is amazingly clever -- and to think it was written in 1968. It's fresh, not at all dated. My sons are very good readers for their respective ages, but it is definitely appropriate for them. I had to explain a phrase or two (they didn't know the word "ecstacy" when they saw X-T-C) but otherwise it was totally on their level. I still crack up reading it, and I've read it at least ten times. The watercolor illustrations are perfect. Stieg conveys a lot of emotion and expression with just a few brush strokes. When a boy sees someone with a lollipop and tells him "I N-V U," you can see the envy.
I won't mind if my kids want to read this one again and again. I M N X-T-C 2!

This book helped me learn to read when i was 3 years old. As long as you know the alphabet you can read this book, which makes it perfect for children who are learning to read.

Cool Stuff they should teach in school is a guide to jobs, people skills, goals, and money for young adults written by two normal teenagers. This book covers everything from trying to figure out what you want to do with your life and how your attitude actually determine how successful you'll be through how to make a good impression and what not to do during a job interview to how to manage your money and how to make your savings work for you.

I loved the conversational style of this book as well as the straightforward no punches pulled advice. I also liked the colourful Cool Stuff quotes and 2K tips. This is the advice your best friend would give you if he could. Cool Stuff they should teach in school will make a really great gift for any teenager or young adult needing just a little bit of nudge to start their future on the right track.

great book for anyone feeling lost as far as what they want to do with their lives. It makes it really easy to understand all the financial stuff in today's world. I used some of the people skills they have written about and noticed improvemnt.

this book = miracle

From the standpoint of intent, scope & substance, this wonderful book is exactly similar to 'The Power of Focus for College Students' by Andrew Hewitt & Luc D'Adabie. I have reviewed this latter book earlier.

The 'Cool Stuff' book is apparently targetted at high school students (& graduates). The 'Power of Focus' book is targetted at high school graduates & college students, even though the delineation is really not an issue. The earlier book is written by two brothers during their late teen years, in 2004. The latter book, which has been published one year later, is written by two university graduates in their early twenties. This book is also an extension of the earlier 'The Power of Focus' by Les Hewitt, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, which is obviously targeted at adult professionals.

Essentially, the 'Cool Stuff' book is designed to help students GET REAL...to help them face a multitude of challenges as they grow from teens to young adults & while they move into the real world. The abundant information in this book are packed into bite-sized nuggets, illustrated with zany graphics.

Whereas, the 'Power of Focus' book is more sober of the two books, with abundant information, as well as inspiring stories, packed into nine focusing strategies. Tactically, it has been designed to help high school graduates & college freshmen in finding fulfilling career pathways.

While the 'Cool Stuff'book has a more light-hearted approach, both books generally help to answer these critical questions:

- why 70% of graduates are unhappy & disillusioned within five years of leaving college?
- what 3% of Yale students do that lead them to become wealthier than the other 97% combined?

One interesting point: The entrepreneurial flair of the authors of both books is exemplified by their own respective websites: namely ccolstuffmedia & focusedstudent, which continue to promote their books, seminars & workshops & other stuff.

One last point: The 'Power of Focus' book has a seemingly subtle & yet direct slant towards 'GET RICH' partly because of its association with Donald Trump...so it's also designed to help you build the financial future you so desire.

To sum up my review, both books are really great stuff! If you are a high school student or college freshman, I strongly urge you to go & get a copy to read & to learn how to maximise your high school - & college - experience & also how to deal with a rapdily changing world out there!

I picked up this book this week-end TO "BROWSE" and found myself into the book one hour later, still reading. WOW!!! I sure wish there would have been a book like this for my age group.But, I'm learning a thing or two even now with reading Kent and Kyle's book. This book is a must for any family with teens, pre-teens or adults still wanting to grow. I'm going to buy a copy for our church library, too. What an inspiration this book is-----for everyone! Thanks for writing it.

I am 17, and this book was so inspirational. I feel like I am ahead of the game, and that I will be able to face challenges in life no matter what they are. This is also a great book because it was written by guys about my age, so I totally understand what they are talking about, because they went through the same stuff I am. This book is awesome.

"Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy" is the awesome sequal to "I'd Tell You I Love You but than I'd Have to Kill You" both featureing Cammie Morgan in Ally Carters books.
Cammie finds her and her friends wondering why one of the corridors of the school is shut off to students. So, like good spys, they investigate.
They find the corridor stocked with stuff for students dorms.
Meanwhile Cammie's mom, headmistress of Gallagher Acadamy, shows Cammie a picture of her dad, who died while on a mission. In the picture he's with Mr.Soloman (who works a Gallagher now) and Mr.Soloman's shirt says BLACKTHORNE BOYS.
Cammie might of found out about another spy school for boys, has she.
All together add some romantic scenes, with another boy and Josh (Cammie's old boyfriend), Cammie's bra almost coming off, and the school almost closing and you have a really good story from Ally Carter.

Hope this review helps!!!!!
-Lainy-
ps. i spelled my name wrong when i created my account. How dumb!!!!!!

I liked this much better than the first book in these series. One reason being that I found the love interest much more interesting than Josh. Josh (from the first one) seemed too normal too me, and I feel like in a spy book, the love interest should be mysterious and cooler than the 'average guy'. Zach definitely had all these characteristics, with a cynical humor to boot. :) I also liked the fact that the spy situations seemed more real because the students weren't aware of what was real and what was a test.

This book was really good. One of my friends read the first book and said it was good, and said that I should read it. I thought that it would be really girly, but its not, although it is a great book for those who want a girly teen book as well. The sequel is no different. There is drama, action, friendship, and boys. Overall, a really great book.

In "Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy" is Josh still Cammie's boyfriend? Or is Zach her new boyfriend? Or are we supposed to find out in the 3rd?

So... We are back at the Gallagher Academy, a secret spy school for girls, and we are reunited with all together almost-perfect spy, Cammie Morgan. Cammie's mother is the school principal, her father died on a secret mission, and a new teacher (Mr. Solomon) seems to be a little too familiar with Cammie's family. We start out the book with Cammie being tested to make sure that she will stay away and not communicate with "The Subject" aka Josh. Through the begining of the book we are taking part in weird happenings at the academy and then we are trying to find out what BLACKTHORNE really is. Once we find out that Blackthorne is a secret spy school for BOYS (thanks to Cammie's EXCELENT spywork) we also find out that the Blackthorne boys are coming to Gallagher and we don't know if they are there to stay. Cammie is introduced to a Blackthorne boy named Zach who seems to take a very strong interest in Cammie and becomes VERY suspicious. Cammie runs into Josh on a mission with Zach and leads him to believe that Zach is her Boyfriend. Bex, Liz and Massie all come back and are better friends then ever! Altogether, in the end of the day... it's a TRUE spy ending that you don't want to miss out on. Will Cammie be with Zach again? Will Cammie go back to Josh? Does Josh REALLY not remember Cammie's BIGGEST secret? We won't know FOR SURE unless we read this and it still keeps us guessing and waiting for Gallagher Girls book three to come out! Have fun!
I loved this book and i hope everyone else will too! Be sure to read it, the worst that will happen is that you won't like it ( yeah right!) and you can just put it down! This book deserves its five stars! I was worried that it wouldn't be as good as the first book but i was proven wrong! For ANY age.
I hope you enjoyed my review! Check out my others!
<3 tAyLoR

Dark Sunshine is my FAVORITE of all the books. It's action packed to say the least. Sam goes riding and see horse rustlers trying to trap wild horses to sell for dog food. They use a judas horse (Dark Sunshine) to lead the horses into a trap. The Phantom manges to save most of his herd but when the rustlers leave to take the three horses they caught to the auction or wherever, they leave Dark Sunshine! Sam takes Dark Sunshine, who's terrfied of humans back to River Bend. You also meet the first HARP girl, Mikki in this book. It's defintely my favorite!

If I said there really was a phantom stallion would you believe me? Well I read a book by Terri Farley, Phantom Stallion 3: Dark Sunshine. The phantom stallion has a wonderful wild herd. Sam once owned the phantom however after a fatal accident the beautiful stallion became wild. I say the phantom is not much in the third book because a buckskin is in trouble, because there are humans catching wild horses with the buckskin horse as bait. How can Sam save the buckskin, the phantom and his herd?
Anyone can tell that Sam lived on a ranch because she used to own the phantom, but now she owns a different horse named Ace. The ranch she lives on is called River Bend Ranch. After Sam came back from San Francisco so she could heal from her fatal fall she pronounced, "It is good to be home." In the, Phantom Stallion 3: Dark Sunshine, Sam reminds me of the three girls in, Avalon. Just like Sam helped catch a member of the humans using the buckskin to catch the wild horses. After Sam caught one member of the rustlers things got a little better around the ranch.
This is a great book and I would recommend it to girls ten and up. They also should be horse crazy, because this book is the third in a series of twenty-five books so far. This Series was recommended to me by a friend, because she knew that I am horse crazy. This whole series is fiction. Phantom Stallion 3: Dark Sunshine is 232 pages long. I am sure if you read this book you will love it, along with the phantom.

Dark Sunshine is my favorite horse! Everything about her intriges(sp?) me! This book will leave you wanting for more after every chapter. Never has there been a more exciting series for all ages. I recommend this series for all the horse loving people out there. This has changed me life by revealing the cruelty towards horses and making me want to help the mustanges live in the wild with out the fear of humans.

This book was really amazing in the way that it kept you on the edge of your seat and had several other stories going on besides the one that's written on the back, although the plots come to gether at the end. The main idea in this Phantom Stallion book is that Samantha finds a horse that has been mistreated by horse rustlers and she must rehabilitate it. It was so nice seeing a horse working its way through recovery. It was really nice. Another problem is that Brynna has Started working on the HARP program with a really bratty girl named Mikki. Brynna also acts strange with Sam's dad. This book was great! If you like adventure and a little bit of mystery this book is for you!

As with all the books in the Phantom Stallion series, this one is enjoyable and fun. Farley is very down-to-earth and it shows in her writing style. I, too, found myself annoyed at Bryanna Olson for acting you-know-how with Wyatt Forster :]. All in all, it's a great read for the horse lover's soul!

The book was really good. At times it can get slightly boring and slow, but Crutcher always brings things back up to pace again.
It's written very, very well, and the ending wraps it up nicely. Few parts are predictable, having many surprises throughout.
I would definitely recommend it.

If you have ever read the book A Walk to Remember, or even watched the movie, then you know the feeling that you get when you find out that your favorite character is dying. Intense sadness; anger; desire for change; hope that it's not true; and then finally, you just give up. You know it's true, but in the end it doesn't make it any more bearable.

In Deadline, you know from the very beginning that Ben Wolf is going to die. It is inevitable... even on the front cover it says it. The evidence is everywhere. But, since it's introduced so early in the story, you don't really think about it as more than a plot point.

So, what would you do if you were going to die? Well, I'm sure there are different answers for different people, but I know Ben's answers. He wants to make a difference. He wants to stick out. He wants to live life to the fullest; and he does. He goes out for football, despite the fact that he weighs less than a hundred and thirty pounds. He befriends the town drunk. He starts arguments in class, trying to get people to think about life and the way things are. And he finally gets the guts to ask out that perfect girl he's had a crush on.

And throughout all of this, he is the only person (besides his doctor and his therapist) who knows that he's dying. But obviously he can't keep it that way.

This book was truly amazing. It's a real page turner, from the very first sentence. Chris Crutcher isn't one to waste words; he doesn't write anything that doesn't mean something to the story, so this book isn't full of pointless banter. It has feeling. It has meaning. I can truly connect to the characters in a deep way. I felt like there was just the right amount of sarcastic humor and life messages to make this a really enjoyable book; you will laugh, you will cry... and you will also fall in love with this book.

Deadline, written by Chris Crutcher, is the story of high school student, Ben Wolf. At the beginning of his senior year, he is diagnosed with a terminal illness, and is told that he has one year left to live. He decides to live his final year to the fullest, by eating right, joining the football team, and going out with the girl of his dreams. Ben forgoes treatment, and keeps is illness a secret from his friends and family. But he soon finds out that he isn't the only one keeping secrets, and that keeping his may be harder than he thought.
I really liked how real this book was, apart from the not getting treatment for a disease part. It shows real situations and how real people react to them. When someone injures themselves, they don't just sit there and say nothing. They might say a few things that you wouldn't say in front of your mom, but that's how it is in everyday life.
I didn't care for how fast the least half of the book went. The majority of the action takes place in the beginning, and once you reach a certain point, the book just flies by. I also wasn't much for the football scenes. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed like if you read one, you read them all.

Chris did it again. Other writers may dive into the pool with grace, but nobody makes a definitive splash like Crutcher. It isn't about looking pretty--it is about getting wet. You should be warned--buy some Kleenex before you read this book. You will experience every form of tear your body produces as you slide through several emotions at once with each page you turn. His newest wise-cracking protagonist, Ben Wolf, will break your heart, turn your soul, and tickle your brain!

I am a middle school teacher and read this book over the holiday break. I really enjoyed it but would recommend it for high school-aged readers. There is some cursing and references to sex, which I'm not saying is bad. As a teacher, I just know I'd have some unhappy parents to deal with if I assigned this to my 6th graders (although they would have really enjoyed the story). Great themes of loyalty, friendship, and courage.

This book is one of my favourites out the whole series. Unlike alot of readers, I really like Alisa - I think she adds a strange kind of innocence to the books that instead of being annoying is quite good - it adds some light for a change. Even though the way in which she finds out about being a half witch is very repeative and simliar (and a bit cheesy) to how Morgan found out she was an adopted blood witch, i still liked it because like I said, I like Alisa and the innocence and light she adds to the story. I think it was a very good idea to have Alisa save the day rather than Morgan for a change. I think that it was a good idea of Cate Tiernan's to have the spotlight shared by two characters because she has avoided the irritating predictable problem some books suffer from where there is always one heroic character who saves the day every time. This time, it is alot more varied.

So this book, eclipse, is really good! It shares the point of view with Morgan who is ususally the narrator, and Alisa, who you haven't heard from. Alisa's relationship with Morgan is that she is Morgan's little sister Mary K.'s best friend (getting a little Jerry Springer...) anyhow, Alisa is a blood witch. Mordan's killer father, Ciaran McEwan is trying to destroy Widows Vale with the *ominous music* DARK WAVE! Morgan finds Ciaran and her boyfriend, Hunter, stripps his magick. But the dark Wave is still coming! Will they be able to stop it in time? *FORESHADOWING*

I purchased the Sweep series for my 13 year old daughter in the hopes that maybe she would read. "She hated to read." Well I was amazed, and could not get her to go to sleep, as she would spend the whole night, with a night-light on reading these books. She enjoyed them so much, and could not stop talking first about Cal and then Hunter, that I had to see what all the fuss was about.
Well after two weeks, a book a day, for a girl who hated to read, it sparked my curiosity, so I started reading, and was surprised to find out how enjoyable a Teen book about Teen Witches could be. I am not really into Wicca, but these books are really enjoyable. I am on my fifth book, and my daughter read each twice, and is know on the Circle of Three Series. I have to highly recommend these books to those parents who can not get their daughters to read. These are excellent stories, full of fantasy, horror, and fun.

over here in the uk sweep is called WICCA. i am a wiican and 14 and im a beginner and i do like these books. it is fantasy wicca but it is buult over fact.
if u want real wicca after u have read these books check out silver ravenwolf, starhawk, dorothy morisson etc.
These books are great 2 read even if ure not wiccan they are action packed.
this book in particular is probably one of the best and at the time of writing this is the latest one published in the UK but i know the other 2 plus super edition will be even better.

Morgan is back and so is Alisa. For those who don't remember, Alisa is the girl who is scared by Morgan because strange telekinetic things happen when they are together and she feels Morgan is unable to control her power.

One day, at practical magic, Morgan picks up a Book Of Shadows from the seventies. This is actually on we have seen excerpts from in a previous book. But when Alisa is visiting Mary K. (Morgans younger sister), she steals the book.

The book winds up revealing things about Alisa's family and just who Alisa is. As Alisa begins to deal with her situation, she gets caught up with Morgan, Hunter and Hunter's father as a new and serious danger threatens them and much of Widow's Vale.

The story switches back and forth from Morgan's point of view to Alisa's. There are no excerpts starting each chapter, but there are some interesting quotes. A good book that seems to really move the series towards a conclusion.

On a side note, does anyone else thing the town should change its name to Widowers Vale? Morgan, Alisa and Hunter are all missing mothers. Plenty of widowers and no widows.

This is the perfect book for anyone going to school to teach English or already teaching. I wish I had discovered this before I started. It has valuable information in it.

This book was recommended to me by many people--professors in my master's degree program and English teachers. I borrowed a copy and I knew right away I had to have my own. This book has it all--sound theory and excellent examples of practical techniques in action. It even discusses how to get a job. The portions on class room instruction were especially interesting to me because I see discussion as the most important thing that happens in an English class. This book is The Book to get if you're going to teach English (especially high school English). I have enjoyed all of Burke's books and I hope there are more to come.

This is a really good book with lots of great information and good ideas for teachers both new and experienced. However, you'll have to get by his "look at me" pompousness and the many errors. It looks like Mr. Burke decided to edit the book himself, as he's so good at what he does. While I'm sure he is a really great teacher, all writers need a really great editor. The deficiencies can be overlooked because of the variety of quality information. Putting his picture on both the front and back of the book was a bit overdone, though...

Full of Jim Burke's years of experience and his insightful ideas. The writing is very personal, entertaining, and truthful.

This book is very comprehensive in providing all that is valuable in teaching English and Language Arts. I used it has my second resource to prepare me to take the TEXES #117 ELAR 4-8 state exam. I plan on using it to guide me in lesson plan design.

A warm, endearing story set during the time of World War II. The characters are well developed and the story is a reaffirmation of the good in people. A simple, yet memorable tale.

I don't how Hollywood missed this as excellent material for a movie. Disney, are you reading?

While at a garage sale this summer with my granddaughter, we came across some of the early Trixie Belden books, and I bought them for my g/d, after she promised to lend them to me when she was finished. I enjoyed them so much, even tho' they were "children's" books, that I started browsing Amazon for other books I had enjoyed in grade school.
The Four Story Mistake was one of them, and sure enough, Amazon had it available. I ordered it, got it in 3 days, and read it that night. Gosh, the memories that brings back. Very fun story. I intend to order the other books in this series, and continue browsing for other childhood favorites. It kinda varies the reading experience, plus is a nice walk down memory lane.

The series of stories starring the Mellandys was one of my faves as a child and now my daughter loves it as well!

This is Enright's second book in the Melendy family quartet, after The Saturdays. In this installment, the Melendy family (Mona, Rush, Randy, Oliver, Father, Cuffy, Willy Sloper, and dog Isaac) move from New York to a big house in the country called the Four-Story Mistake. Times are a bit tough, because World War II is going on, and they don't have a lot of money. But the house, and the 30 acre grounds, and the local village, prove to be paradise for kids.

One of the things I like best about Elizabeth Enright's books is that she knows what kids will find fun and cool, and she sprinkles her books liberally with the right stuff: caves and hollow trees, a window-lined cupola on the roof, brooks, ice skates, secret rooms, picnics, and tree-houses, to name a few highlights.

The other thing that strikes me on re-reading The Four-Story Mistake is Elizabeth Enright's wonderful writing. She offers paragraph after paragraph filled with dead-on little truths and humorous moments. She shares characters who feel like real people. Randy, the younger Melendy daughter, is my favorite (and one of my cool girls) but the rest of the family is lovable, too. I can especially identify with Randy's joy in finding out that her new bedroom has a window seat, where she can "curl up and read, just like a girl in a bookplate." Here's an example of the dialog from Chapter One:

""That suitcase looks as if it were laughing out loud," Randy said.
"Oh, stop being whimsical," snapped Rush."

I also love Oliver who, at seven, thinks that a damp basement room filled with old books is paradise, and knows that it will be more special if he keeps it a secret. He's this sturdy, determined little kid. When he learns to skate or ride a bike he just plods on through, trying until he can accomplish his new task. Rush, the older brother, is a boy's boy, always wanting to be outdoors, running with his dog, building tree-houses. But he's a piano prodigy, too, and a vigilant watcher of his sister Mona (a budding actress), making sure that she doesn't get a swelled head. Mona is a bit too overtly feminine for my taste, but she still shows moments of coolness. Near the end of the book, Mona is the one to suggest a late night summer visit to the brook with Randy and Rush.

There's not much of a plot to this book. It's more a series of small adventures, and the story of a family adjusting to a new home. But there are dozens of perfect little scenes that bring a smile, or a tear, to your eye. Oliver's exploration of the basement, and Enright's description of the basement's smell and atmosphere, reminded me exactly of the garage basement in my childhood home. The Christmas chapter made me cry. The family is just so happy! There's snow and carols and anticipation and making gifts for each other, and being okay with having fewer presents this year because of the war, and knowing that they're lucky to be together. I can't explain it, exactly. Soppy sentimentalism, I guess. But it made me cry. In a good way.

I'm so glad that I spent this time re-visiting the Melendy family. I loved them when I was a child, and I'm happy to report that, if anything, I love them even more now. If you have a couple of hours to spare, and you could use some laughter and warmth, I highly recommend this series. But start with the first book, The Saturdays.

This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on June 16th, 2006.

"The Four-Story Mistake" is the second book in the Melendy quartet, and it's my favorite of the four. In a complete change of scene, Elizabeth Enright moves the Melendys out of their New York City brownstone and transports them to a marvelous old house in the country that has so much character, it seems like a personality in its own right.

Picking up from the early autumn after the summer that ends "The Saturdays", when the story opens, the three oldest Melendy children are desolated because their father has bought a house in the country without so much as a hint to any of them. After a rainy, boring train ride to the country, they take a taxi from the station to their new home, and what they find wins them over almost immediately. Enright describes a house any child would love to live in, big and white and square with a mansard roof, fireplaces and window seats, deep dormer windows and a cupola on top, a little square glass tower with four floor-to-ceiling windows, one facing in each direction. The house is called the Four-Story Mistake because the builder inadvertently left off a story while constructing it, and stuck the cupola up on top to compensate.

Once they're settled in their new home, adventures abound: Rush discovers they have a brook with a waterfall running through their property. Mrs. Oliphant, their devoted family friend, donates her ancient automobile called "the Motor" for transportation to school, and surprises them with four bicycles in the back seat. Randy manages to ride her new bike into the back of a bus, is taken to the traffic cop's home to recuperate, and finds the policeman and his wife have a pet alligator in their bathtub. Rush builds a treehouse and gets trapped in it in the middle of a howling thunderstorm. The children discover a secret room nailed up on the top floor of their home, furnished only with a life-size portrait of a mysterious young girl named Clarinda. They give a Christmas show for their friends and neighbors, to which Mrs. Oliphant brings five guests, one of them a radio producer; he's so impressed with Mona's acting talent that she's offered a part in a radio serial. Randy improbably discovers a diamond stuck to a caddis house in the brook. And Mona attends her first dance at school. Who wouldn't want to be part of this family?

The children are engaging characters, totally alive and doing every waking minute. When they're not physically active, they're reading, studying, drawing, painting, writing poems and plays, playing the piano, composing music and just thinking. Like all children, they get into trouble from time to time, but they care deeply for each other and their caretakers. In a preface to her book, Enright says somewhat wistfully that the Melendys are the family she would have like to have had. Perhaps that's what makes them seem so completely believable. We almost wish they were ours as well.

Enright is a born storyteller; her writing style is refreshingly free of preaching and moralizing. She respects her readers and never talks down to them. She tells her story mostly through Randy's eyes, but all of the children get equal play in the book. The adults in the family, Father, Cuffy and the handyman Willie Sloper, are benevolent authority figures who encourage the children to learn and explore, while imposing reasonable limits when necessary. Enright was a talented illustrator, and her pen-and-ink drawings, usually one full page drawing for most chapters, bring out each child's characteristics. We see Mona dressing up for her part in the show, Rush climbing down a tree, Randy in the cupola, her favorite room in the house, and placid Oliver, lost in a pile of old books he's just discovered in the cellar.

"The Four-Story Mistake" is highly recommended for youngsters between 9 and 12, as much for its fun and adventures as for its simple and timeless values of close-knit family life.

Judy Lind

One of the best books I have ever read, period. The dialogue was update and very thoughtful. The references used were amazing and fit in perfectly well. The coming-out, self-acceptance, and love story were also of high cailbur. Definitely worth a look.

like in previous reviews from alex sanchez's books, I have been struggling with my sexuality for quite some time now but after reading this i felt so much better. i go to a christian school and have christian friends and i am a christian (duh). After reading i felt so much better about myself and truly believed that God made me the way I am and will use me in some way. It's a great book and has unexpected turns. You also get really into the characters and are actually arguing with the book(on what you want your characters to do). Also, it talks about Bible stories from a different point of view and makes you really think about other Bible stories involving homosexuality. All in all, you should read this book; it will make you feel better about yourself and you will become sure on what you believe in and teaches you to stand up for what's right.

I just finished reading the newest book by Alex Sanchez, The God Box. I absolutely love this book. The book tells the story of a high school senior dealing with coming to terms with his sexuality, and then reconsiling that with his faith, and what his church has tought him about homosexuality.

Sanchez does an excellent job of taking many of the passages used by many religious leaders to condemn homoseuality, and find fault with the logic that is used. While it is not as indepth as the books published on the subject, he does an excelent job of telling the gist of it. He also offers the books that he used at the end of the book, so you can look into them further if youa re really interested in looking at a scholarly take on the subject.

Even though the book is written with the intent to help young teens reconslie their sexuality with Christinaty, there is very little demonizing of the religious people in the book. Even those characters, who are homophobic and anti-gay, are not portrayed as a completely evil and vile people. They are treated with dignity. While those characters are charactures of the religious fundamentalists that are seen on television, like Dr. James Dobson, they are not at all portrayed to be like the Rev. Fred Phelps.

This is an extremely well written book, and keeps in line with all of Alex Sanchez's other writing. I highly encourage anyone of any age to read not only this book, but all of his other books as well. They are all definitely well worth the time, and maybe you'll learn a little something as well.

I just finished "The God Box" and I can hardly believe what I just read. I didn't know that books about gay Christian teens existed (except possibly to condemn them or guilt them into trying to change). If I had read this book as a teen, I can't begin to imagine the ways it would have comforted me; made me feel like I wasn't alone. There is no doubt in my mind that this book will save lives and open eyes. Thank you Alex Sanchez!

I have read all previous Alex Sanchez novels. While I enjoyed those, with their vividly drawn characters and believable story lines, I think this new work of his ventured into a new territory. Always a delicate matter, the tension between sexuality and religion is adeptly handled. With sensitivity, Sanchez reveals to the readers a character torn between his faith and what he knows to be his true self. The pain and despondency that he experiences when his prayers are not answered can be felt from the pages. Yet in the end, hope triumphs and one is left with a satisfaction that this young man has finally found love and peace.