Hey, I recently finished the Westing Game. I had read it before, but it was very confusing, so I decided to reread it. One thing I do like about it is that the author, Ellen Raskin always keeps you on your toes. You never know what is going to happen next. Also, you think Sam Westing is dead the whole book, but then he dies at the very end. It was definitely a hard book to make predictions on. My favorite character was Turtle because you thought she was just a little brat, but she turns out to be very smart and ends up being the won who wins. I thought it was a good book and I would recommend it, but you need to read it slow and make sure you understand it. This book deserved the Newbery Medal.

P. S. I commented on Sam's blog

Hey, I just finished reading another sports book, "Gym Candy," by Carl Deuker. It was a good book because it shows how some athletes get pulled into using steroids. In the book, Mick Johnson is a high school running back. He has skill, but he doesn't think he is strong enough, so in addition to lifting he starts to use steroids. I also liked how the book showed all of the down sides of steroids. They cause depression, change your body, and give even more problems after your career. This book showed how hard it is to be a running back without any performance enhancing drugs. Many players in the NFL take steroids because the NFL doesn't test for them. The depression proves to be very dangerous when Mick attempts to commit suicide. Finally, the book shows that friends can always be there for you. Drew (Mick's best friend) ends up being the one who saves Mick.

Hey, I just finished reading The Perfect Shot. It is about a boy named Brian. His girlfriend Amanda gets killed and the police suspect her father. I liked the way the author wrote it because he incorporated history. In the book Brian does a history project on a case where someone else got arrested for something he didn't do. I like Brian because he is always trying to do the right thing, but he realizes his mistakes. He blames himself for Amanda's death because he didn't let her play basketball with him. Also he is very determined to find the actual killer. As he does his history project, he learns form history and won't let it repeat itself. It is interesting how this book show how easy it is for history to repeat itself. This is a great mystery because you learn things along the way, but you never know what will happen next.