The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Back/Inside Cover:
Hilariously picaresque, epic in scope, alive with the poetry and vigor of the American people, Mark Twain's story about ayoung boy and his journey down the Mississippi was the first great novel to speak in a truly American voice. Influencing subsequent generations of writers-from Sherwood Anderson to Twain's fellow Missourian T.S. Eliot, from Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner to J.D. Salinger-Huckleberry Finn, like the river that flows through its pages, is one of the great sources that nourished and still nourish the literature of America.



My Thoughts:
This was an okay book. I think it's kind of overrated to be honest. I mean, I read it without annotating and that kinda sorta helped make it better, but really, it's only an okay book. There are definitely other books I could've, scratch that, wanted to fill my time reading instead.

Reccomendations for...:
Middle school/high school students looking to read books that would look good on highschool/college applications. It looks impressive that you read it on your own, not only in the classroom.

Price, genre, publisher, info.:
US $5.95
CAN $6.95
Fiction
Bantam Classic
http://www.bantamdell.com/

The New Policeman by Kate Thompson

Back/Inside Cover:

Winner of both the Whitbread Children's Book Award and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize

Who knows where the time goes?
There never seems to be enough time in Kinvara, or anywhere else in Ireland for that matter. When J.J.'s mother says that what she really wants for her birthday is more time in her day, J.J. decides to find her some. But how can he find time for her, when he barely has enough time to keep up with school and his music? And where will he get time to find out if the shocking rumor is true-that his great-grandfather was a murderer?
It seems as though J.J.'s given himself an impossible task. But then a neighbor reveals a secret to him-there is a place where time stands still. J.J. realizes he's the only person who can make the journey, but to do so he'll have to vanish from his own life.
And when J.J. disappers from the village, enter the new policeman...

"There is something hallucinatory, if not delirious, about this stylish, magical book." --The Guardian

My Thoughts:
This was an entertaining novel that made me smile and sometimes laugh while reading. The idea of a parallel world existing, especially one where our socks dissapear to, is funny to imagine and will captivate anyone who picks it up to read. The twist at the end is concieled very well until the author finally reveals it. Also, it is ever so slightly predictable; at the same time there are secrets that seem to drop into the book without any preconcieved thought to the possibility of the event happening! Idk, it's a good book that for once, wasn't 100% predictable, and that has to be my favorite quality about this book :)

Reccommendations for...:
Mmmm, I'd say even older elementary school kids could read this. I only found it in highschool, but it has an easy vocabulary and the plot line isn't hard to follow. Boy + magical land + a couple more things = good novel.

Price, genre, publisher, info.:
US $8.99
CAN $11.25
Fiction
HarperCollins Publishers