Summer Writing : from Kyla, a 7th grader

My Book Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children 

By Kyla 

This book was quite compelling to me at first glance, and like all books, I’d hope it digs right into the action. Or at least give me something to read for, like a mind-blowing plot twist.

My father got this book for me last Christmas. At first, I wasn’t thrilled to read it, but I occasionally would read it, hoping that it would become interesting. The beginning of the book was quite a drag, in my opinion. It consisted of an analysis of the main character’s normal livelihood and how his grandfather who passed away used to tell him stories. (which I am not a fan of) So I put the book down for awhile. Finally, at the end of the school year, I decided to give it one more shot because it was one of the book options for summer reading and itt was quite convenient to pick it back up rather than buying another book.

I was forced to trudge though the humdrum beginning. Then, something marvelous happened! Once I finished the first 3 chapters or so, it got EXTREMELY intriguing.

The main character, Jacob, stumbled into an alternate dimension where one day, March 9th 1940, repeated over and over again in a constant loop. There in that dimension, he found the abode from his grandfather’s fables where a lady named Miss Peregrine (who has the ability to transform into a bird and create loops) would shelter peculiar children. The peculiar children had to fight evil wights, whose only purpose was to kill them and take over all the loops.

Jacob truly wanted to help, but he had his own conundrums. If Jacob settled in the loop, he wouldn’t be able to go back to his time and his parents would be worried sick. But if he returned to his time, his friends in the loop would perish and he, himself, would have more of a chance of passing outside of the loop.

At the end, Jacob’s peculiar friends persuaded his father to let Jacob reside in the loop with them. At first, Jacob’s father was hesitant, then he agreed, possibly because the day before, he got drunk and now he believed he was hallucinating. So together, Jacob and his peculiar friends stopped the wights from invading their loop. But during the process, their home was destroyed. So at the end, Jacob and the survivors set out to sea in three small boats, searching for a new home.

My favorite parts of the novel were when Jacob found out that he was in love with his grandfather’s ex, Emma. Since Emma lived in the loop all her life, she practically looked 16, and at the time, so was Jacob’s grandfather. I also like the part where Jacob and Emma were being chased by wights, so both of them hid in a barn. But when Jacob saw the wight trying to break in, he went out and slain the wight and saved Emma by hiding her in a sheep pen.

I loved how the book was filled with heroism, sacrifice, love, tense jump-scare moments, and fantasy. At the end, this book became one of my favorite books I ever read. (maybe in the Top 10) I’m glad I finished this book, and I’m glad I had to read if for school.

Summer Writing : from Michael, a 7th grader

Randall Munroe : Comics that ask "what if ? " from TED Talk 

by Michael 

Have you ever wondered how high a person can throw something, or the effects of having a moneyprinter on the world's economy ? Those sort of questions will be answered by cartoonist Randall Munroe in his popular book "What If?". 

"What If? by Randall Munroe is a book that answers absurd, hypothetical questions with legitimate answers or predictions. 

Randall Munroe answers these strange questions in great detail. Along with a whole lot of research he had to do. He also includes many humorous cartoons that relate to the question being asked. One example of this is on page 125 when he includes a cartoon of two people in a blizzard. One says that they will get frostbite if exposed to cold much longer. The other states that "A fever would cancel that out right ? Good thing I didn't get my flu shot". This cartoon is very funny because the question being asked is "If global warming puts us in danger through temperature rise, and super-volcanoes put us into the danger of global cooling, shouldn't those two dangers balance each other out?". 

The use of humorous and sarcastic cartoons is one of the reasons that I deeply enjoy this book. Those with a curious mind will find "What If?" a very enjoyable read. Personally, this books is one of my favorite books of all time. I highly recommend this book to everyone because of the book's crazy content and hilarious cartoons.

Summer Writing : from Alex, a 7th grader

Fishing Adventure

Essay #5 by Alex

I had gone to Lakeside Park with my dad to catch a trophy bass. During my fishing trip on the day before the Fourth of July, I learned many new fishing tricks such as how to tie knots on a lure. I also learned how to unhook a razor sharp teeth fish known as the pike. The day was very long and hot from sun up to sun down. My dad and I had a ball fishing all day and we were very happy at the end. My mom could not join us, but I still laughed and had fun with dad.

The day had started out a little bad due to all the boat activity at the lake. My dad had gotten peevish about the fact that people were disturbing the fish habitat and causing havoc. Luckily, we were able to find the fishing holes once we rowed to the other side of the lake. There were a multitude of bass in one spot and the fishes were very healthy, except for one that had a small leech inside the mouth. My dad caught many pikes and he was scared to lose his lure because the pikes have razor sharp teeth and the fish tries to bite the lure in half but instead it cuts the fishing line and takes the lure away. Many of the fish that we caught were big, but the pikes were much bigger than the bass. On the other hand, I had learned how to safely release a fish with pliers into the water without hurting the fish. I also showed my dad how to get his lure off a high branch by pulling from side to side to loosen the lure or break the branch off.

This fishing trip was one of the best ones yet this summer, besides the Rockland State Park adventure.  We had tons of fun catching and releasing fish all day and talking to each other about many different topics. My dad caught the biggest bass that we had ever reeled in at lakeside and he was able to take a photo of an ultimate size bass. This fishing trip was magnificent.

Student's Summer Writing Quest: Beatrice Writes About Music (a 7th grader)

Beatrice's summer writing:

Based on "Music at the speed of light is researchers' goal" from San Jose Mercury News.

As technology keeps growing, so does its audience. Musicians have been using technology as a way of collaborating to make music together. Although the internet is fast, it's just not fast enough. Musicians are frustrated because the human ear "perceives two sounds as simultaneous only if heard within 20 milliseconds of each other" (Krieger). Anything slower than that is like an echo. Even at the speed of light, there would be a 133 millisecond delay between two musicians on opposite sides on the planet. A team led by Brighton Godfrey is trying to find a way to minimize the delay time. Their Google-funded mission is called “Networking at the Speed of Light." This mission wouldn’t just help musicians; it would be a benefit to all who use the internet.

Student's Summer Writing Quest: Michael's Thoughts on Basketball (a 7th grader)

Michael's summer writing:

Based on "Satnam Singh becomes 1st Indian-born basketball player picked in NBA draft" from CNN report.

An interesting article I found this week was an article titled "Satnam Singh becomes 1st Indian-born basketball player picked in NBA draft." I chose this article because I enjoy basketball and the effects that one human can make on a whole nation. The article was about an Indian man named Satnam Singh, who grew up in a remote village in the Punjab province in India. Singh's country had almost no clue what basketball was until June 25, 2015! As a matter of fact, there were practically no basketball hoops in the whole province of Punjab! However, Singh's dad realized his potential and made him work hard at basketball. This eventually led him to enter the NBA. He was selected by the Dallas Mavericks on June 25 2015. Although Singh was the 52nd pick in the draft, the news soon reached India. Because of this event, millions of Indians took interest in basketball. This article is interesting because it explains a recent and important event in history: the spreading interest of basketball in India!