From the very first day of seventh grade, Holling Hoodhood is sure of one thing: His teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates his guts. And she's out to get him. After all, she makes him read Shakespeare, and what could be worse than that? And its not like his life could get any worse, right? But between evil rats, bullies, chalky pastries, a sister who hates him, and a ridiculous costume, Shakespeare might not be so bad after all. And the more he learns to appreciate the world and people around him, the more he realizes, Mrs. Baker isn't all that bad either....

Gilly Hopkins is going to her third foster family in a year, and before that... well, you don't want to know. But that's all fine with her, as long as she's in charge. When she wants to do well in school, she surges past everyone else in her grade, and when she wants to hand in blank sheets of paper she hands in blank sheets of paper. And Gilly is an expert at getting people to hate her- including her foster parents. But when she moves in with the strange Trotter family and starts a new school- nothing goes as she plans. And her last hope is to pull off a quick escape to her mother in California. But even that doesn't go as planned. And the Great Gilly Hopkins learns that it's okay to love other people, and life doesn't always work out the way it's supposed to- and that's okay.

Dewey Kerrigan doesn’t exactly fit in. She builds radios and gadgets out of junk, and one of her legs is shorter than the other, so she walks funny. But she doesn’t really care. All she needs- and wants- is her father, a brilliant scientist who is off working on some secret government project. So when Dewey finally gets to go live with her father, she is excited, even though no one will tell her where she is going to live. Dewey arrives at the hill, where scientists from all over the country have gathered to work on a top secret government gadget to stop the war. Dewey loves that she is surrounded by geniuses, lives close to the dump for collecting junk, and best of all, lives with her father. And then there’s Suze, who longs to be accepted with other kids at the Hill, and makes fun of Dewey to gain favor. But Suze and Dewey have a lot more in common than they might think, and soon their friendship blossoms. And in the midst of a crisis and sorrow, who better to be there than a friend? I loved the way the author was able to make me feel sympathy for the character’s emotions and situation, and I couldn’t put the book down.

Dewey Kerrigan doesn’t exactly fit in. She builds radios and gadgets out of junk, and one of her legs is shorter than the other, so she walks funny. But she doesn’t really care. All she needs- and wants- is her father, a brilliant scientist who is off working on some secret government project. So when Dewey finally gets to go live with her father, she is excited, even though no one will tell her where she is going to live. Dewey arrives at the hill, where scientists from all over the country have gathered to work on a top secret government gadget to stop the war. Dewey loves that she is surrounded by geniuses, lives close to the dump for collecting junk, and best of all, lives with her father. And then there’s Suze, who longs to be accepted with other kids at the Hill, and makes fun of Dewey to gain favor. But Suze and Dewey have a lot more in common than they might think, and soon their friendship blossoms. And in the midst of a crisis and sorrow, who better to be there than a friend? I loved the way the author was able to make me feel sympathy for the character’s emotions and situation, and I couldn’t put the book down.

Another interesting Easter tradition: In the country of Honduras, the people celebrate Samana Santa, which is Spanish for, Holy Week. This the week before Easter. Samana Santa is kind of like a spring break, with a vacation from school and work, and celebrating with family and friends. They end Samana Santa by getting up early to watch the sunrise on Easter morning which signifies the start of the third day and Jesus' resurrection.

I really like animals, but adorable animals are 100 times better. And I think my three sisters (and MAYBE my three brothers) would REALLY like this. I'm pretty sure it would make my youngest sister scream, because she does that when she's really excited. Thanks for this opportunity and congratulations to all the future winners (I hope I'm one of them).

Yeah I have to admit I'm mostly entering for my younger sisters, because they would really REALLY enjoy this.