MSMS Library

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is about a Harvard symbologist, Robert Langdon. Robert is in Paris for a business conference. He is awakened in the night by the Direction Centrale Police Judiciaire, the Judicial Police, it is like the US's FBI. Robert is the main suspect in the murder of Jacques Saunière, the curator of the Louvre. Although, Jacques's granddaughter Sophie, a cryptographer for the DCPJ believes that Langdon is innocent. Langdon is brought to the scene of the murder by the captain, Bezu Fache, to extract a confession. This is thwarted by Sophie's quick thinking. But they soon learn more. Sophie's grandfather was part of the secret organization, the Priory of Sion. The two of them quickly figure out what her grandfather was trying to tell her. The holy grail is real. The two of them quest for the grail but not without challenges. One of the conflicts is between Sophie & Langdon and The DCPJ, the Judicial Police can limit all of their money and resource

Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer, is about a trip to Mount Everest that a journalist took. It turned out to be the deadliest season in Mount Everest history. In one big storm, nine people were killed, and three more people were killed before the month was over. It is a very sad story, and it made me appreciate being alive. I also made a connection while reading this book, which was text to self. I remember our Winter Festival unit, in which we learned some basic survival skills. I'm not sure it would've helped at 29,600 feet, but it might've helped some. In short, it is a great book and I would give it a 5 out of 5. Review by Jonah, 8th Grade

“Rules,” by Cynthia Lord demonstrates how a girl with a brother who has autism manages with day-to-day struggles. In the beginning, her best friend who was very understanding of David moves away. Alone, Catherine faces the summer. When an elderly neighbor across the street moves away, Catherine hopes a new best friend would move in. In some ways she was lucky because Kristi is her age, but she automatically befriends Catherine’s enemy, Ryan. Meanwhile, Catherine has been visiting another new friend, Jason, when she tags along to go to occupational therapy with David. Jason is in a wheelchair and can’t talk, but he has a communication book. Catherine immediately starts helping him by talking to him and making him new words for his book. She finds herself in a much better situation than before, because Jason might just be the best friend she could ever ask for. A text to self connection that I can make is that I have had a couple of situations with friends moving away, but unlike Catheri

Einstein For Beginners is a well illustrated nonfiction book about the childhood and inventions of Albert Einstein. It has a combination of light-hearted cartoons and more difficult reading on the theorems and equations created by Einstein. This causes the book to fluctuate between light and heavy reading, allowing a person searching for either type of text to enjoy it. A good half of the book is devoted to covering the struggles of Einstein’s family during his early life in Germany. The remaining portion discusses Albert’s quest for knowledge and portions of his career as a scientist before digressing to explain Einstein’s theory of relativity in detail. I had always wanted some background information about Einstein’s e=mc 2  equation and this book gave me some of that knowledge. I did not understand most of the advanced mathematical material, but I caught the general gist of the explanation. Despite being a biographical novel, this book contained a central conflict because Einstein’

The 14th-Century Italian poet Dante Alighieri lived through dangerous and difficult times, yet he was able to write masterful works that were bold in their social commentary and luminous in their spiritual vision. Very little is known of Dante’s real-life daughter Antonia, but in Dante’s Daughter author Kimberley Heuston has combined careful research and rich imagining to produce an engaging fictional portrait of a smart, artistic, and brave young woman seeking to find herself when her home and family have been torn apart by exile, civil war, and social strife. In a believable and intimate voice, Heuston has Antonia tell of her journeys and struggles through the varied landscapes and cultures of pre-renaissance Italy, of her partings and reunions with her strong mother and her brilliant, wandering father. Unlike many books for young adults, Dante’s Daughter is not fast-paced or event-driven. Instead, it draws a quiet power from the vivid way it describes the sights, smells, textures,

In her book “The Shamer’s Daughter,” Lene Kaaberbol captivates the reader through the action and excitement in this thrilling tale. In this first book of “The Shamer Chronicles,” Dina Tonerre is called by a mysterious man to come to her mother after she leaves for the Dunark Castle. Through helping her mother and uncovering a disturbing mystery on the murder of three of the royal family, Dina learns the true meaning of family and realizes the good of being a shamer. Kaaberbol’s thrilling book will make it hard for even the least avid reader to put down. Reviewed by Molly, 8th Grade