Middle School artwork by Mathena Chan

CriticsThe criticsHannah Epstein Me, Myself and I KK Panda Bath and Body Works Mama Newt www.briarcliffmanorlibrary.org, Vol. 11, Issue 2, April 2016 Triple Sunshine Legolas Hugs4theworld Book Dolphin The rating system NYR ALL THE WAY Jinx chez cream chezcake123 Meet the Critics on Page 10

Excellent Good Okay Bad Horrible In this issue The Martian · Lockwood and Co. - The Screaming Staircase · The Kill Order · Maus I · Poached · The Zodiac Legacy · The Six · Braincamp · Shakespeare’s Secret · Keeper of Lost Cities · Critics · Shakespeare’s Secret · There You’ll Find Me · Blue Neigbourhood · Rubick’s Club · The Princess, The Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy · Undertale · Gravity Falls · Heroes · The Black Cauldron · Castle of Llyr · Cinder · Twilight Zone · Interstellar · Gulliver’s Travels · Star Wars 7 · One · Skulduggery Pleasant · Shakespeare’s Secret · Kung Fury Part 2 · Twilight · · Crossy Road · Because of Mr. Terupt · Vampire Kisses · Eleanor & Park · Matched · We are SO Crashing your Bar Mitzvah · The Maze Runner · Into the Wild · Finding Audrey · Sorry · Bud, Not Buddy · Chains · The Book of Three · Ghostopolis The opinions expressed in the reviews are not necessarily the opinion of the Library. The appropriateness of the materials reviewed is not for the Public Library to determine and the students are encouraged to review whatever they’d like— therefore, we encourage parents to be involved in and be aware of their children’s book, movie, television, gaming, internet and music choices. All non-original images are property of their various copyright owners. The Martian Lockwood & Co. #1: The Screaming By Andy Weir Staircase Critic: Triple By Jonathan Stroud The Martian is fun to read. It’s Critic: Hannah Epstein also fun to watch. The book is This is a mystery book about a first person, it’s about Mars, girl named Lucy and two boys and it’s sciency. I like first named Lockwood and George. person narrative, space, and These kids can see ghosts. science. It’s good. Now, I will They are a kid version of Ghost share with you some of the plot. Mark Watney Busters without adult supervi- and 5 other astronauts (that it would take too sion. They are on this really long to list so I won’t tell you, but rest assured, long mission to stop the killer of Annie Ward. A they have personalities) are on a Mars mission man who wanted to get rid of Lockwood and Co named Ares III, where they are supposed to stay asked them on a mission to destroy them. The for a month. However, 6 (or 19 if you are watch- man is Annie Ward’s killer. The case is called The ing the movie) days into the trip, a storm comes Screaming Staircase and the Red Room. The last and the team has to evacuate the planet on a ghost busting group who tried this case died. Will rocket. Everyone escapes but Watney, who is im- they die or will they solve the Red Room and the paled with a satellite and presumed dead. But Screaming Staircase? Rating: he’s not! Everyone thinks he’s dead though, so he’s completely alone with limited supplies. To survive, Mark has to use his brain to make water, The Kill Order grow food, and try to contact NASA. The movie is great, but there are some parts in the book that By James Dashner aren’t in the movie that I really wanted to see. If Critic: Mama Newt you’re deaf, read teh book, if you’re illiterate, Brilliant author James Dashner watch the movie, if you can see both just see it or has done it again with this next read it! Also, there’s some language in both. Dis- addition to the Maze Runner regard the first 2 sentences of the book as well. I series. The Kill Order is a pre- wish I could talk about this book more but I am quel to the first book, and out literally out of paper :( Rating: takes place right after the Sun Flares. Mark and Trina were together when it Maus I happened. Afterwards, they meet Alec, a war vet- By Art Spiegelman eran and “old bear,” Lana, and the 3 Stooges (as Alec calls them) Darrel, Misty and the Toad. After Critic: Sunshine finally finding peace after the Earth was ravenged Maus is a dark story that was by the Sun Flares. Some people in hazmat suits fly the first to really develop the in on bergs (giant, metal planes) and shoot pople graphic novel genre. The au- with poison-filled darts. Whoops! Party over! thor’s father tells his tale as a This spread a deadly disease called the Flare, and Holocaust survivor, but the as times goes on it takes longer to kill those who story also tells a side-story of have it. Probably need to shut up before I spoil how this information was ob- the entire book chapter by chapter, so READ IT! tained. I will warn you, though, the topics covered Trust me. Rating: may be sensitive to some people so read it at your own emotional risk. Rating:

Poached named Sigma is trying to kill all living things on earth. Adam and the 5 other machines try to kill By Stuart Gibbs Sigma. Will they succeed? Rating: Critic: Legolas Poached is a book about twelve year old Teddy Fitzroy Brain Camp who has been framed for the By Susan Kim kidnapping of Kazoo the Koala. There are two types of people Critic: Hannah Epstein in this book: the people who This is a graphic novel about believe Teddy and the people who believe Marge. two kids who go to a camp Marge is the overweight, I mean really overweight, where they become “normal.” head of zoo security who holds an enormous It turns out that the counselers grudge on Teddy and immediately blames him for plant weird bird eggs in kids’ the kidnapping. Teddy does some snooping heads. Then kids have to around the zoo and discovers things are not at all “hatch” the birds from their mouths. Two kids what they seem. Teddy figures out that uh-oh I’ve know how to stop the hatching. Will they stop said too much! R-read the book to uh f-find out!? the hatching? Read to find out! Rating: Rating:

Shakespeare’s Secret The Zodiac Legacy By Elise Broach By Stan Lee Critic: Bath and Body Works Critic: Jinx It’s hard moving. Hero moved to a house with her sister The Zodiac Legacy is Beatrice and figures out that AMAZING Like Percy her house might have a dia- Jackson? Like Magic? Like mond. She meets this boy the Chinese Zodiac? If you named Danny and Danny tries like at least two of those, then to help her find the diamond. read this book! Steven is an ordinary boy (Don’t To figure out if they find the dimond, read this most books start like that?) on a trip to Hong book. Rating: Kong. The museum tour guide is suspisous, so Steven follows her when she slips away. He finds some magical pools of energy, where Maxwell is trying to absorb all of the Zodiac energy. (crazy Critics idea, man!) When he tries to absorb the tiger, it Club goes to Steven instead. The rest of the powers fly Critic: Book Dolphin free to find new hosts. This is Steven’s attempt to find the others, and if you like action, READ THIS If you like to read and review books, Critics is the BOOK! Rating: club for you. You can review books while eating snacks and talking to your friends. We meet the first Thursday of every month at school after The Six school, and the third Tuesday every month at 6:45 pm at Briarcliff Manor Public Library. This is one By Mark Alpert of my favorite clubs! Critic: Book Dolphin This book is a MUST READ! It is about a boy named Adam who is about to die. To save him and five others who are dying, they transfer their brains into machines. This book takes place in Keeper of the Lost Cities (music album) By Shannon Messenger Critic: Jinx Critic: Sunshine Sophie Foster is an ordinary Blue Neighbourhood is an in- child, who has a photographic credible collection of music by memory. Until a Australian/South African mysterious… jogger shows up. YouTube star (and singer) Troye Sivan. At only 20 He tells her that she is none years old, he has 3.7 million subscribers. His oth- other than an elf. Not like the er albums were Tryxe and Wild, if you want to Lord of the Ringers. But elves that have a special check these out, but his most recent and my cur- ability. Sophie, though, is shrouded with mystery. rent favorite is Blue Neighbourhood. Some of the For starters, she has an impenetrable mind, so no biggest songs in this album are Suburbia, Youth, telphats (telephatic people) can read her mind. Heaven, and Talk Me Down. If you haven’t heard Even the strongest one ever (besides her). And it yet, what are you waiting for? Start listening! that’s just the beginning. The first book was the Rating: best, the rest are just repetitive and annoying (but I’m only on the 3rd). However, read the first book, and if you want to take the challenge, read the Undertale rest. Rating:

Video game Critic: Mama Newt Undertale? What’s that? Oh, well, its only the Shakespeare’s Secret BEST GAME EVER!!!! (Well, at least one of them :) ) By Elise Broach Enticing storyline, lovable characters, emotional Critic: Chezcream moments, all mixed in with humor and lots of puns (of course). For hundreds of years, humans This is a book about a girl and monsters have been enemies. When a young named Hero that went to a human falls into the world of monsters (literally), new school in 6th grade and well maybe I shouldn’t give too much away...All I gets made fun of; and it turns can say is don’t get too attached to goat mom. out that she is living in a Oh, and don’t mess with Papyrus. You’ll have a house with a diamond. Will bad time. Rating: she find it? Will she not? Read the book to find out. Rating:

There You’ll Find Me By Jenny B. Jones Critic: KK Panda There You’ll Find Me is about a girl named Finley Sinclair who’s brother recently died. She finds his diary and decides to find everything he wrote about so that she can write a song. While searching, she finds a guy named Beckett Rush and the entire story is about how she finds what she is looking for. This is an extremely good book and I recom- mend you read it. Rating: Gravity Falls The Castle of Llyr TV Show on Disney XD By Lloyd Alexandar Critic: Sunshine Critic: Hannah Epstein Dipper and Mabel Pines, 12- This is the third book of the year-old fraternal twins, are Chronicles of Prydain. When sent for the summer to their the princess goes to the castle, Great Uncle Stan in Gravity to become an enchantress, she Falls., a tourist attraction. suddenly becomes missing. Almost immediately, Dipper Tara, Gurgi, Fflewddur, and finds a journal, which leads to actual magical ele- Prince Rhun go looking for her. Prince Rhun is a ments and creatures throughout Gravity Falls. weird prince, who gets lost often. He always starts Meanwhile, Mabel eats glitter-covered pizza in by saing “Hullo Hullo.” Will they find the prin- sweaters and plays with her pig Waddles. It may cess? Read the book to find out! Rating: seem like a simple mystery story, but don’t skip season one. Once you finish, it gets much weird- er. I’d tell you to trust me, but in Gravity Falls, you Cinder can trust no one. Rating:

By Marissa Meyer Heroes Critic: Book Dolphin TV Show (NBC show on I REALLY dislike dystopian Netflix) books, and I love this book. Critic: Legolas Cinder is about an adopted Where do I even start. No lit- cyborg mechanic who has a erally, there are way too many mean stepmother and two step story arcs to talk about. From sisters (yes this is along the plot line of Cinderella). people who can absorb pow- There is a deadly plague going around and the ers to people who can conduct emperor has it. Prince Kai, the emperor’s son has electricity. This show has to become the emperor when his father dies. something for everyone. Scifi, mystery, romance Cinder “volunteers” to get tested for the cure for and so on. Well….shwat are you waiting for jump the plague. It turns out that Cinder is immune to on the couch and NETFLIX (or check out the sea- the plague. With a major plot twist, things turn sons on dvd from the library). Rating: out to be the exact opposite of what you think. I can’t wait to read Scarlet (the sequel). Rating:

The Black Cauldron The Twilight Zone By Lloyd Alexander Critic: Hannah Epstein TV Show from the 1959-64 The second book in the Critic: NYR ALL THE WAY Chronicles of Prydain series The Twilight Zone is a TV was scary for me when I was series from 1959-1964 that is a weird mix of hor- 4. Now, IT WAS AWESOME! I ror, science-fiction, romance, drama, action, and loved it. A dangerous caul- comedy. It has many interesting characters who dron has to be destroyed. almost always get into a situation that always Taran, Gurgi, Fflewddur, and more are trying to ends up in a sticky, mysterious, or suspenseful destroy it. Will they destroy the cauldron? Read ending. The director, Rod Serling, always had a to find out! Rating: meaning at the end that you really have to unravel to really understand it. Overall, it is an amazing series. Rating: Interstellar written in poem form, and you will find yourself in her shoes—and probably also crying. But read Movie rated: PG-13 it—it is a beautifully written story. Rating: Critic: Sunshine This movie may not have sur- passed my expectations, but Star Wars VII it was definitely beyond Movie rated PG-13 “good.” Mr. Cooper, acted by Matthew McConaughy, owns Critic: Triple a farm with some of the last Spoilers!! Spoiler Alert! ***IF crops on Earth. The world is running out of re- YOU’RE 1 OF THE NEGATIVE 4 sources, and a “ghost” gives him and his family PEOPLE WHO HASN’T SEEN directions to a mysterious organization. He is ulti- THIS MOVIE, YOU ARE LITER- mately recruited to go through a wormhole to ALLY BREAKING PHYSICS AND another galaxy. On one of these planets where IT CAN’T BE POSSIBLE FOR Cooper and three others are being sent, an hour YOU TO EXIST*** So….Star Wars. It’s good. lasts decades for those outside of the atmosphere. You’ve got the 2 new people, and you got the old Cooper watches his family’s life pass in days ones. It’s amazing that they got all the old actors through one-way video messages in this heart- back. But anyways, it’s just more Star Wars. Also breaking must-watch movie. Rating: * Han Solo dies. Yeah that happens. You’d think they wouldn’t kill a fan favorite, but they did. Also it’s pretty funny. :) ***I WARNED YOU!!!** Rat- Gulliver’s Travels ing:

Movie rated: PG Critic: Hannah Epstein *(ok, this is the last time I’m warning you) Even though the movie is a bit weird at some parts, the movie is OK at the end. From bad parts Skulduggery Pleasant at the beginning to OK parts of By Derek Landy the end, this movie gets better and better during the middle. Critic: Book Dolphin The middle is funny, but weird. I suggest you see Skulduggery Pleasant is a skel- the movie now. Rating: eton detective who can throw fire, manipulate air, and con- One jure water. A 12-year-old girl Stephanie Edgely’s uncle just died. She meets By Sarah Crossan Skulduggery and learns how to use his magic. Critic: Me Myself & I Turns out that Stephanie’s dead uncle had a key One is really touching story that led to a scepter that made the person who about conjoined twin girls, held it all-powerful. An already all-powerful villan sharing one pair of legs. It is named Serpine is after the scepter. Can Skuldug- written through the eyes of gery and Stephanie beat him to the scepter? With one of the twins, and as she a major plot twist, this is a book you cannot resist. goes through really hard My friend recommended this book to me, and I times at school and within her must say, it was good! Read it. Rating: family. She faces judgement from her peers, but she also makes close friends. She vowed to her sister to never love a guy, but she suddenly finds herself breaking that vow. When she discovers that something tragic might happen, she makes a sacrifice, changing her life forever. This book is

Shakespeare’s Secret By Elise Broach Critic: Hannah Epstein I know that people do not like ELA books, but this one is amazing. Only two peolpe in Degrassi: Next my class read this book, and I Generation am one. This book is a mys- tery. If you like mystery and TV Show adventure, read this book. A girl finds out about a Critic: KK Panda diamond. She wants to find it. Will she find it? Degrassi is a show that has Read to find out. Rating: been going on lots of genera- tions. The first episode aired in the 1970s. My favorite Kung Fury Degrassi is Degrassi: Next Generation, which started in 2001. There have Movie Not Rated been 14 seasons and now the 15th season is on Critic: Triple Netflix. The show is about friends that go through REVIEW PART 2 middle school and high school. The cast is continuously changing, but it is an amazing show I know I said “Just don’t” but because the actors are amazing and a lot of things just do! This movie is for all of that happen in these shows happen in real life. you Sharknado fans! For maxi- Rating: mum enjoyment watch this one with friends. Also, Triceracop. : |

Rating: Crossy Road Game App Twilight Critic: Bath and Body Works By Stephenie Meyer You are something trying to cross the road but you have to be careful and have a steady tempo. Critic: KK Panda There are trains, cars, and lily pads you have to Twilight is an AMAZING jump on to cross some rivers and if you do some- book. It’s about a girl named thing wrong your character might be done. It’s Bella who falls in love with a good because you have to try things to survive. vampire, Edward. She also Rating: befriends a werewolf named

Jacob. At one point, it feels like nothing about Bella’s life was normal. This book has drama, Into the Wild violence, and lots of romance. If you like all these things, then I assure you that you’ll love this book. By Sarah Durst Rating: Critic: chezcream This book is about a girl that has vines underneath her bed and it was called The Wild and it always took her right shoe and she was stuck with only the left one. Her mom is Rapunzel. I liked this book and you will too! Read the book to find out what happens next! Rating: because it has some drama. Rating: Mr. Terupt Falls Again

By Rob Buyea Eleanor & Park Critic: NYR ALL THE WAY By Rainbow Rowell This book is good if you like to Critic: Sunshine read “realistic” fiction. This book is about a whole “gang” This cliché-like teenage romance begins in 1986. which consists of seven kids It seems predictable: antisocial Asian kids meets who had a really strong bond strange red head girl at 16 years with their previous teacher, old. Nobody likes the girl, Elea- Mr. Terupt. Mr. Terupt was really fortunate to stay nor, even the boy, Park. Howev- with them next year in sixth grade, but the gang er, he slowly realizes he likes her. was moving to junior high, and are all really upset But not everything is normal. because Mr. Terupt wasn’t going to be with them. You soon realize that Eleanor is Then, something very tragic happens to Mr. poor, has three younger siblings, Terupt and one member of the gang comes up and has a butally abusive step with an ingenious idea, but there is only one father. Park, meanwhile, has a problem: Will Mr. Terupt make it through his rude father and a stuck-up problem or not? Also, will the gang survive “perfect” mother. With heart-melting details and through seventh grade without their teacher? an underestimating cover, this is by far one of my This book leaves you in suspense. This is why I favorite books! Rating: absolutely love this book. Rating: Matched By Ally Condie Vampire Kisses Critic: Book Dolphin By Ellen Schreiber Read this book if you want to Critic: Hannah Epstein know about a girl who lives in This book is great. There the future and her problems. are a bit older parts, but the Matched is about a girl named other parts make you on the Cassie. She gets “matched” edge of your seat. It is with a boy named Alexander about a girl wanting to be a but there turns out to be a glitch on his memo vampire. When vampires come into town the girl, card (a card that had all of a person’s info on it) Raven, falls for the vampire, Alexander. She loves and a boy named Ky’s picture briefly appears. In- Alexander so much. Will they start to date? Read stead of ignoring anything that isn’t her business this book to find out. (Ask parent for guide of Cassie falls for Ky and gets herself and her family words.) Rating: in a big mess. Unless you want to waste your time, don’t read this book. Rating:

Bud Not Buddy Ghostopolis By Christpher Paul Curtis By Doug TenNapel Critic: Bath and Body Works Critic: chezcake123 He’s at an orphanage called the Home and he hears that This book is absolutely amaz- ing! It’s so suspenseful and he is going to a foster home. He goes to the foster home adventurous. It’s about a boy and gets beat up by a boy and then gets locked in that got taken into the after- world and people from “Earth.” a shed with a hornet’s nest. He meets this girl and it ends up as a kiss. Bud decides to go to a To hear more go and get it at the library. guy who he thinks is his father. I liked this book Rating: Chains Finding Audrey By Laurie Halse Anderson By Sophie Kinsella Critic: NYR ALL THE WAY Critic: Sunshine Chains is a book about a girl Audrey is an average fourteen slave named Isabel. She has a -year-old girl, or so you’d sister named Ruth that she think. She has social anxiety, has to protect. There is a lot general anxiety, and depres- of danger with the American sive episodes. She wears dark Revolution. This book is glasses constantly and had to AWESOME, but is a big historical fiction book. leave school...but why? She has to deal with her There is nothing else to say. Just read the book! insane, obsessive mother, her computer-addicted Rating: brother, her dad who refuses to grow up, her four -year-old simple brother, and those outside of her confort zone. It may sound like a cliché type of Sorry teenage drama, but trust me, it is beyond my abil- Song by Justin Bieber ity to put into words how much I loved it. Rating: Critic: Hannah Epstein

This song was so good. Me and my friend listen to it all We Are So Crashing the time. We listen to the sped up version. I do Your Bar Mitzvah not like Justin Bieber, but it was the BEST. Down- load and listen to “Sorry” by Justin Bieber. By Fiona Rosenbloom Rating: Critic: Jinx Stacy is a girl who went with her best friend to a summer The Maze Runner camp to learn how to be By James Dashner cool. When they go back, Critic: Mama Newt everything changes, and their third best friend abandons them. A cute boy named Otis catches This book. All the smiles, all Stacy’s attention while his boss (cute boy #2) is the feels, all the tears put into handing out Bar Mitzvah invitations. These invita- my reading of this book. I tions happen to be good necklaces (real gold). couldn’t think of anything When Stacy’s best friend #3 who abandoned her better to lock myself in my gets invited and the two others don’t, big prob- room with and read for hours. lems arise. The rest of the book is the drama that I’M IN LOVE!!! The attachment to the characters is comes with what the two betrayed friends do: so strong it feels personal, and the plot is so en- crash the bar mitzvah. Overall, ok. Rating: gaging you feel your own adrenaline as Thomas and Minho run from greivers. It’s like a mix of Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games, and Lost. The Book of Three Thomas arrives in a dark metal box to a place called the Glade. He has no memory, no idea By Lloyd Alexander what’s going on, and just like everyone else, no Critic: Hannah Epstein way out. He’s the new “Greenie,” the new boy sent there, only one every month. Then, some- This book is so good. Every chapter left thing weird happens—a girl. She arrives only one me on a cliff hanger. I never wanted to day after Thomas and everything changes. For put it down. It is about a boy on a mis- the worse….Rating: sion to kill somebody. Will he succeed? Read The Book of Three to find out. Rating: Meet the Critics chezcream123 I’m nice and I Me, Myself and I like cheesecake and puppies I am Sam. Sam I Legolas and my besties Hannah, am. JK my name’s If you think I’m Stephanie and Claudi and I not Sam. I am perfect...I am! love to read!!! Myself not Yourself because that just doesn’t Triple Book Dolphin make sense. Anyway, I am just one of the billions of people on I’m Triple, the video-game I love books, but I this earth. Yup. playing, bad pun-making guy am not a book who spends most of worm. I am a book Bath and Body Works his time well… dolphin. Loves to go shopping. playing video games and chez cream making bad puns. I also My name is like drawing smiley faces Claudia. I love animals. I like graphic novels. Jinx I am Jinxed. I have the worst luck ever. Literally. Except for finding this club, and my awesome friends. Oh, and I Hannah Epstein LOVE peanut butter and cheesecake. And brussel sprouts. I love hockey. And books. And…..well, you get the point. I love the Islanders! KK Panda Sunshine Let’s Go NYI! I love pandas and Yes, the Mama Newt penguins. My name is favorite kind of Never. Stop. Running. ironic. book is fantasy. Or... Reading!! Books = life, Maze Runner = soul, fandoms = spirit. NYRALLTHEWAY My name is Hugs4theworld Michael. The Love everyone, hug everyone. When Rangers are being a human is too hard...time to be a amazing and will be forever unicorn. for all eternity. Let’s go Rangers! 9