Gingersnap

Gingersnap

by Patricia Reilly Giff

Wendy Lamb Books, January 8, 2013

About the book:

Jayna is very devastated when she find out her brother, Rob, has been called out to war. Before Rob leaves, he tells Jayna about a mysterious blue recipe book that might connect Jayna to her grandmother. She spends limited time with a lady that Rob has arranged Jayna stay with. But Jayna can not control how curious she is about the blue recipe book. She ends up in New York, with her bag and a turtle, plus a ghostly voice. Read about Jayna’s adventure in Gingersnap.

Rating:

I was VERY excited when I started reading this book, because one of my favorite authors, Patricia Reilly Giff, had written this book. I knew that this book would hold an adventure inside it. Even though I finished this book in one day, I was very pleased with it. I mean if there’s ANY kind of a ghost in a story, I’m reading it. This book might be good for 3rd graders and possibly 4th graders. I would rate this book 4.5/5 stars. --SS

The Path of Names

The Path of Names 

by Ari Goelman

Arthur A. Levine, on shelves May 2013

SHORT SUMMARY: Meet Dahlia, your average thirteen-year old. Well, she’s not that normal… Dahlia can see ghosts, likes math, and loves magic. Her parents make her go to her brothers’ Jewish camp during the summer, bo-ring! Dahlia gets a little frightened at first, the place brings bad memories, and the little girls lurking around her cabin aren’t very helpful. Read this book to find out the adventures Dahlia goes through. Everyone should read this book!!

WHAT I LIKED BEST ABOUT THIS BOOK: This was totally awesome!! Dahlia was a fun character, and I felt like I was in the book! Be careful though, reading this at night might be a little scarier then you think… Don’t underestimate the things the characters will do (Taylor Swift lyric). The ending was really surprising, but I also kind of expected it.

SOMETHING ELSE I WANT TO ADD ABOUT THE RELIGION IN THIS BOOK: I was checking out some of the other Dispatch Readers' Kidbog posts about this book. I have to admit: you can’t ignore the fact that Dahlia is Jewish and all that. When I was younger, I learned that the Jews and Muslims had this big war. Now they don’t get along and they are supposed to hate each other, stuff like that. What I'm trying to say is that religion is a part of this book, but it doesn't have to take over the whole story. --S.