Escamilla Reads

*This book review was written for a MLS course at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Holm, Jennifer L. and Holm, Matthew. (2017). LIGHT, CAMERA, MIDDLE SCHOOL! (BABYMOUSE: TALES FROM THE LOCKER). New York, NY: Random House Children’s Books. ISBN 9780399554384 PLOT SUMMARY Babymouse feels that her middle school life is just like a movie. So, it only makes since that when it comes time to sign up for activities, she decides to join film club. All she wants to do is stand out; therefore, she becomes the film club’s movie director and script writer in order to help her reach that goal. However, along the way, Babymouse tries so hard to reach her fame, that she begins to not only lose herself, but also her friends who were helping her out with the movie. Will Babymouse realize that she wrong and that her friends were an essential part to making this movie debut? Or will she continue to her stardom all by herself? CRITICAL ANALYSIS One major conflict Babymouse went through was consta...

*This book review was written for a MLS course at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Telgemeier, Raina. (2010). SMILE. New York, NY: Graphix. ISBN 9780545132060 PLOT SUMMARY It all started in sixth grade when Raina was racing some of her friends and accidentally fell and knocked out some of her front teeth. She was going to get braces eventually, but because of this incident, Raina had to go through various orthodontic procedures in order to get her teeth back to normal. As if this wasn’t enough, Raina also has to juggle other problems as time progresses, such as drama with “friends”, boy crushes, and just simply fitting in with everyone else. CRITICAL ANALYSIS It is known that many middle and high school students go through self-image dilemmas. Because of this, how they look becomes their main priority, making it easy for them to overlook the other necessary and important issues in life. Raina’s journey in  Smile began when she was in sixth grade. With her braces and other...

*This book review was written for a MLS course at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Gaiman, Neil. (2008). THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. Ill. by Dave McKean. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 9780060530938 PLOT SUMMARY Nobody “Bod” Owens lives at a graveyard with many other ghosts. The thing is, he is not dead. He is the only living resident, for he was taken in by some of the graveyard’s inhabitants whenever he escaped his house as a baby. A man named Jack killed his whole family, and he was determined to find Bod and kill him too. In order to protect him, the ghosts allowed Bod to be raised there and be away from the living outside world. As time goes on, Bod begins to question his different worlds, and it becomes even more dangerous for him to leave the graveyard and uncover the mysteries from his past. CRITICAL ANALYSIS The Graveyard Book is definitely a thriller from the beginning. A knife is being described, and the readers can immediately infer that a murder (or murders...

*This book review was written for a MLS course at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Alexander, Kwame. (2014). THE CROSSOVER. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780544107717 PLOT SUMMARY Josh and Jordan Bell are twins and the star athletes on their middle school basketball team. They get their talent from their dad, who use to be a professional basketball player back in the days. Life seems to be going by so well, that is until Jordan starts dating a girl and begins to forget about Josh and even leave him behind at times. At the same time, his dad is sick and is prone to having heart attacks. With all this stress and feeling like a loner, Josh doesn’t know what to do, especially since everything use to only just be about basketball and winning. CRITICAL ANALYSIS First of all,  The Crossover is beautifully written in verse. This makes the whole story’s plot more poetic and emotional. It starts off with Josh Bell believing that things are going so smoothly for his...

*This book review was written for a MLS course at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Yelchin, Eugene. (2011). BREAKING STALIN’S NOSE. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 9780805092165 PLOT SUMMARY The time was finally near. Sasha Zaichik was going to soon officially be a part of the Soviet Young Pioneers. However, things started to go wrong right before the big moment, including his Communist father being arrested. He is confused of the events that follow because of this event, for he thought that his leader, Stalin, was definitely going to help him out of his problems. Sasha now has a choice to make. Is he going to continue on and still become a Soviet Young Pioneer, or is he going to choose a different path instead? CRITICAL ANALYSIS In  Breaking Stalin’ s Nose,  it is evident that children trust the system, especially Sasha. He is only a child, so of course he is going with the flow of how things are done. Communism is the only thi...

*This book review was written for a MLS course at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Holm, Jennifer L. (2006). PENNY FROM HEAVEN. New York, NY: Random House Children’s Books. ISBN 9780375836893 PLOT SUMMARY It’s after World War II, and Penny is  a young girl who makes sure that she spends enough time with both sides of her family in New Jersey. Her father passed away a while back, leaving her currently living with her mother and her maternal grandparents. However, she is fairly close to her dad’s Italian side of the family, especially her cousin Frankie and Uncle Dominic. She has different family expectations from both sides, which sometimes causes several problems. It wasn’t until Penny accidentally gets hurts  and placed in the hospital when she finds out the truth about the separation of the families and how her father’s death happened. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Penny from Heaven  heavily stresses the importance of family, especially in a...

*This book review was written for a MLS course at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Cushman, Karen. (1995). THE MIDWIFE’S APPRENTICE. New York, NY:  Clarion Books. ISBN 9780395692295 PLOT SUMMARY In medieval England, Brat is a young and homeless girl who has no hope for both her present and future.  Jane, the village’s midwife, sees Brat struggling to stay alive and then hires the poor girl as her apprentice. With this job, Brat slowly gains an identity for herself. She eventually changes her name to “Alyce” and studies the midwife’s practices in order to learn how to do the job herself. The one thing she still lacks is confidence. After failing to help a woman with a delivery, Alyce runs away and gets another job to escape her embarrassment of failure. However, Alyce soon realizes that in her heart, she would love to eventually be a midwife, and it was going to take practice and going through various obstacles in order to get there. C...

*This book review was written for a MLS course at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Erdrich, Louise. (2005). THE GAME OF SILENCE. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 9780064410298 PLOT SUMMARY On an island in Lake Superior, Omakayas and her family embrace their home and all their fellow Ojibwe friends and family members within it. One day in 1850, another tribe shows up to their island due to them being forced  to relocate by the “chimookomanag” (white people). It was then that Omakayas and the Ojibwe realized that they were expected to do the same thing. Their home was going to eventually get left behind and lost to these settlers, so with caution and preparation, the tribe decides that they need each other now more than ever. CRITICAL ANALYSIS In  The Game of Silence , Louise Erdrich does an excellent job in representing how a community always works together in a time in need. For example, when the other tribe relocates to the O...