Reviews written by Maarten Vlaar

HALF BROTHER by Kenneth Oppel was a fairly enjoyable middle grade read. The novel takes place in the 1970s, and is about a boy, Ben, whose parents adopt a chimpanzee and will raise him as if he were human. Now, this isn’t any old random adoption....

For some reason, I’ve always had an affinity for the 1960’s. If the internet and TIVO had been around, I think the 60s would be the perfect time to live. You had the Vietnam War protests going on. Watergate. Women’s Rights. Norman Morrison. LDS. ...

I’m sorry, but I tried to like DESTROY ALL CARS but could not. And I must first start out by saying that I did not finish the book. I stopped on page one hundred, nearly half of the novel. Now, the last one hundred and eighteen pages may be the...

Before I actually begin with the review, I must stress that it will be full of spoilers for WHITE CAT. If you haven't read WHITE CAT and plan to, you might want to stop reading. I would hate to ruin it for you, but so much of WHITE CAT...

Noah Garrett has just lost both parents to smallpox. He has no brothers or sisters. And has no grandparents to take care of him. It is 1944. The country is well into World War II, and none of his neighbors have the resources to take in...

ZOMBIES VS. UNICORNS might be my favorite read of 2010. I first should say that I am a sucker for the short story form. I love using them as a teaching tool with my eighth graders. I am able to cover some of the major topics they...

In John Bladeks ROLL UP THE STREETS, Jake Machetor as his sister calls him, Jakey moves with his family to a small town smack dab in the middle of the school year. This, of course, is not an easy transition for a sixth grader. But what makes this...

Music is magic as Jimi Hendrix once said, and so is this book. Even the title is amazing, SOUNDS LIKE A RAINBOW. How brilliant is that? I love the image it evokes. I have to be honest in saying that I am...

I SURVIVED SHARK ATTACKS 1916 has been hugely popular since arriving in my classroom last month. It's fairly short, always a plus with reluctant readers. Students have been talking to each other about it. But most of all, it's good. Chet Roscow is a ten year...

I heard the name Carrie Ryan probably a year ago. Since hearing her name and before reading her work, I assumed she wrote zombie stories from what I've heard about her. But to call THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH simply a zombie story, I think, would be...

THE JAGUAR STONES: MIDDLEWORLD is about a fourteen year old boy named Max Murphy whose parents are archeologists who are experts on the ancient Mayans. Shortly into Max's summer vacation, his parents disappear while on assignment in San Xavier, a country the authors, J & P Voelkel, based on...