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 · Degrassi · 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 Blue Neighbourhood Troye Sivan (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).