I've only read a few books by Avi, but I've loved every one. Talk about someone who has a way with words! This author is able to paint realistic pictures of humans and their sufferings. Sad, gripping, and beautiful the story of an immigrant family in New York in the nineteenth-century will kee...
I am in fifth grade and I am reading this book for my AR reading. My fifth grade teacher gave me a goal of 20 points. I choose this book because it looked very interesting. I read the back of the book and the genre was mystery and drama, which are my favorite types of genres. I give this book a f...
What a fantastic young adult, historical fiction book. Not only does it do an excellent job of keeping true to the events and locations of the American Revolution but it also brilliantly weaves the fictional story of Sophia Calderwood into the history. Avi is spectacular at the thoughtshot so w...
I have yet to find an Avi novel that I have not enjoyed, and this one is no exception. I prefer historical fiction and this story of young Sophia Calderwood incorporates the essential mix of fact and invention. For a twelve-year-old girl, Sophia portrays great courage and maturity, as she is pl...
Do you like murder and mysteries and magic than this is the book for you. The setting takes place in Italy,1538 and the main character is Fabrizio a servant boy that is street smart and loyal to him master Mangus. Now Mangus is a magician who is displeased with Fabrizio's work but Fabrizio doesn'...
The book Murder at Midnight was a fascinating tale of adventure and mystery. This book was one of the best mystery books I have ever read. The book follows a magician named Magnus and his poor servant Fabrizio as they go to trial for the superstition of magic. They must prove there innocents by t...
It's been two or three weeks now since I finished this book and the series. If this story sticks with me much longer I'll be coming back and raising the ratings. The third book seemed to enhance the enjoyment of the whole series for me. Very good story; very well conceived and written. It's emoti...
I didn't like how Rye died, but it opened a whole new opportunity for an adventure. When poppy got caught by a bat, who thought Poppy was a moth, it made an even bigger adventure. but when Spruce went looking for Poppy, he discovered the fire that started on Bannock Hill! While he was hiding, he ...
I received this as a free download from Audiojukebox. Avi does a wonderful job of bringing to life the midwest of the late 1850s. It's also an interesting tale of the Colorado Gold Rush (Pike's Peak or Bust!) that most of us never learned a lot about.Early Whitcomb is a 14-year-old farm boy livin...
AVI2.0 Review: With warnings, gender changes, and a post script!I just dawned on me that the stupid plot revealing subtitle is there because Avi means for this book to be the start of a series, and a quick check shows that there is a sequel. Avi has a unique skill at flattening characters. Ever...
After being left alone for three days, twins Edmund and Sis have run out of what little food they have. Although they were under strict orders from their aunt to stay indoors, Edmund makes the decision to head out in search of food. Unfortunately, when he returns, he discovers his sister is nowhe...
Crispin: At the Edge of the World picks up right where its critically lauded predecessor left off, with Crispin and Bear fleeing after Crispin's noble sacrifice of his birthright as the lord's son in exchange for Bear's life, the man who had slowly morphed to become the type of father figure that...
Children become cats and birds, a once-invisible young woman pieces herself back together, and the identity of a mysterious baseball mascot is uncovered--all within this eclectic collection from master storyteller Avi. By turns chilling, ethereal, and surreal, these thought-provoking tales are su...
This would be a good older elementary/middle school read. The main character (Ida) is a fourteen year old girl who wants to be a teacher someday, but near the end of her eighth grade year, her teacher's mother becomes very sick, and her teacher has to leave to go take care of her mother. The scho...
In the continuing adventures of Monica Reads Poorly-Circulating Children’s Books To Find Out Why They’re Not Circulating, I picked up Don’t You Know There’s A War On?Final verdict: Meh.I feel kind of bad about it, to be honest! It’s not a bad book, I just don’t know what exactly to do with it. ...
Avon the snail has never had an adventure. And adventure, he has heard, is the key to a happy life. So with his new friend Edward the ant, Avon sets out on a journey to find the excitement his life has been missing.The travelers meet all manner of wise, weird, and intriguing creatures--including ...
The main character, Philip Mallory, is entering high school. He wants desperately to be on the track team, but he's not so interested in studying -- especially literature. Andhe's not about to read The Call of the Wild. Kid stuff. ('What can you say about a dog?') He's somewhat interested in girl...
I would recommend this story to my friends so much! This has to be my favorite book ever. I would recommend it because of the characters, events, and plot. Here are just some examples of these reasons;The first reason I would recommend this book has to be the characters. I love th characters in t...
It was in the year 1046, on a cold winter’s night, when a fog, thick as wool and dank as a dead man’s hand, crept up from the River Scrogg into the ancient town of Fulworth.So begins this fascinating fable. And a true fable it is, woven through with supernatural elements, talking animals, and ill...
The schoolmaster says nine-year-old Benjamin is the finest student he's ever seen-fit for more than farming; destined for great things someday But his father's grave illness brings Ben home,from school and compels him to strive forsomething great right now -- to do the one thing that will please ...
A boy, a rat, and an exterminator -- three players in a game of survival. Christmas vacation is supposed to be a blast. Or so Eric thinks. But with all his friends either sick in bed or out of town, Eric's getting more bored by the hour. Then he meets Anje Gabrail, exterminator. Anje's got al...
Maura O'Connell, 15, and her brother, Patrick, 12, escape Ireland's brutal poverty with only the belongings in their bundles and tickets for ocean passage. Sir Laurence Kirkle, 11, flees a life of privilege to seek justice. When fate brings them ogether, the three join forces in a daring scheme t...
This was so despite a family—mother, father, older brother, and sister—that loved him. As for school, his teachers treated him fairly; he did what he was supposed to do and received passable grades. But if you were to ask Tom what the future held for him, he would have replied that, other than ge...
I breakfasted and hurried to market for Mother. Happily, I had no papers to deliver for Father. Without further words to my stony-faced parents, I walked to number one Broadway. The city knew no grander building than the one known as the Archibald Kennedy house. A large two-story—plus attic—brick...
Mr. Bunderly had not tied them properly. Since we could not move without, I had to find them. When I did and yoked them up, I offered to tie up the oxen from then on. Afterward we went along a road of black mud. As we went, I kept wondering if Mr. Mawr had spoken to Mr. Bunderly and what he might...
Reluctantly, I took up the recorder, and with fingers like soft clay, tried to play. What came out were sorry, shallow squeaks. “You see,” I said, “I can’t do it.” I offered him back his pipe. Refusing, he railed at the top of his voice, threatening to inflict upon me ever...
But the muffin man, as well as the muffin he had given him, was long gone. Once he reached Euston Station, the boy thought, he would find warmth and food. He did not care what it cost; he would get some. But his exhaustion was growing. He was sore. He felt bouts of dizziness. The welt on his face...
Then I paused, took a deep breath, and tried to gain a full sense of where I was, how the land lay before me, and what I must do. I was in an area where the forest had almost ceased to be, though here and about stood random trees and low stubble. These few trees were not t...
Remembering that he had wanted to start searching for Patrick, he jumped up and looked about. Neither Mr. Grout nor Mr. Drabble was there. Wondering if they were in the lobby, he hurried downstairs. A fair number of men were sitting about smoking and talking, but there was no sign of his friends....
"It seems to me," said Edward, "that you won't have had a proper series of adventures unless you've gone through thick and thin." "Thick and thin what?" asked Avon. "Branches," replied Edward. "We've been on a thick branch; it's time we tried a thin one." So, very carefully, the two creatures mov...
Though I would have never found where they took us on my own, we did not go far. It was not a true dwelling in any sense I knew—rather, it was the crudest of shelters, a space between two boulders over which some boughs had been set to form a roof. A wall of wattle obscured the entryway with bush...
Lowering light hung heavy in the chilly air. When the bells of Saint Osyth’s rang for prime, they pealed with glum solemnity. Sybil, fascinated as much as she was fearful as to what Thorston might do, had kept watch all night. So had the two boys and Odo. But when the morn...
The second time he came, he was dead. Uncle Charlie was my mother’s uncle, an eighty-something bachelor who I saw only at Baltimore family gatherings: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. The men wore suits, button-down shirts, and ties. Uncle Charlie always came wearing a frayed checkered shirt,...