Student Book Review:

by: John Steinbeck

Review done by:

Julia
Grade 7
Van Antwerp Middle School
Niskayuna, NY

My favorite classic that I've read this year is Of Mice and Men. It's written by John Steinbeck. Of Mice and Men was a great book about two friends that had a dream to live in a big house on a farm. They were trying to save up as much money as possible by doing odd jobs. The two men were very different from each other. Lennie, the bigger of the two friends, was not very smart. Actually, he was very dumb. He was also very big. He was well built, but would never hurt a fly. He was very sweet. George was the smarter of the two. He made all of their decisions. Such as where they would go after they were fired from the jobs, and what jobs they were going to have wherever they went. He was very scrawny, and not too tall. George acted as Lennie's father. He would tell Lennie if he was doing something right or wrong, and what he could and couldn't have.

Lennie wasn't harmful, but he did stupid things without knowing what he had done. He liked to touch everything that he saw. For example, if he saw a pretty dress that looked soft, he would want to touch it. He would go right up to the girl and touch her dress. The girl would be alarmed and obviously afraid of Lennie. She would scream and cause a scene. One time, this exact thing happened to Lennie. The girl lied about it, and as a result, George and Lennie were then chased out of town. Lennie does many stupid things, such as this, throughout the book. He has to face the consequences of his actions. That's what makes this book so exciting.

I would definitely recommend this book. It was filled with excitement and sadness. It's the perfect recipe for a great book.

Student Book Review:

by: John Steinbeck

Review done by:

Aekta Shah
Grade 7
Van Antwerp Middle School
Niskayuna, NY

I have read a classic called Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck.
This novel, Of Mice and Men is about two men named George and Lennie. George is short tempered and Lennie is a calm, quiet man, though big in size who always gets in trouble. They both come to a ranch and are trying to get some money so that they can have a place of their own. On the ranch, they meet some workers and became friends with all of them except Curley. Curley is the boss's son who doesn't like big guys such as Lennie. When he sees Lennie, he starts picking on him. Curley thinks that Lennie will bully him so Curley wants to bully Lennie first. George has to get Lennie out of all the messes Lennie gets into.
This novel talks about friendship and dreams that can come true. The author has described the characters very well, as well as all the obstacles that George and Lennie go through to receive a place of their own. Lennie looks like the kind of guy who would harm anyone who is in his way, but he is actually scared of people like Curley and doesn't mean any harm.
If you would like to read a classic that you won't fall asleep in, I would recommend this novel. It is one of my favorites and I am sure you would enjoy it too.

Student Book Review:

by: John Stienbeck
Review done by:

Justin L
Grade 7
Van Antwerp Middle School
Niskayuna, NY

A great classic I read this year was Of Mice and Men. It was written by John Stienbeck.

Of Mice and Men is about two men named George and Lenny. George was the brains of the group, and Lenny who was big, strong and not that smart. George and Lenny had just been fired from their jobs. They were traveling to a new job which they would hopefully stay at for a good amount of time.

When they arrived there, they weren't welcomed very nicely. The other workers didn't feel that the new guys were any good. They thought that George was too small to be a good worker. They also thought that Lennie was too big and dumb. They might have also thought that Lennie might steal their jobs.

This book was very interesting. It showed how friends stick together and help each other out. It was also very interesting was when Lennie was in the barn petting the puppies. He was just being his big self when he accidentally pets the puppy a little too hard and kills it. Then, Curly's wife walked in and saw what Lennie had done. She started screaming and to get her to stop he shook her back and forth. Lennie didn't realize how strong he was and snapped her neck. This caused Lennie to run away and then something bad would happen. I choose this book as my favorite because it was showed how friendship continues through thick and thin.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wanted to have a fantastic read.

Student Book Review:

by: John Stienbeck

Review done by:

Conor Petter
Grade 7
Van Antwerp Middle School
Niskayuna, NY


A great classic I read was Of Mice and Men. It was a book written by John Stienbeck.
This book was about two men looking for a job on a ranch. One of the characters, Lennie, loved soft things like mice. Every time he would find a mouse in the field, he would squeeze it so hard, he would kill the mouse. The reason this happened is because he loved soft things, and because the mice were soft, he would squeeze them. He wouldn't know it because he was kind of slow in the head. On the other hand, he was extremely strong and would work like a maniac once he got started.
George was his best friend and promised him that as soon as they got enough money they were going to buy their own ranch and Lennie was going to be able tend the rabbits. Lennie was excited every time he heard about the new ranch they were going to have. Curly was always being mean to Lennie and George. One day, when Lennie went in to the barn to see the new born puppies, Curly's wife walked in. Lennie had an accident and that accident set the tone for the rest of the book.
The main plot of the book is Lennie and George are trying to get enough money to buy their own ranch and run their own ranch. They wanted to get their own animals and have other people work for them.
I liked the book and I would recommend this book to anyone at any age or reading level. It's a great book that you could never put down and has a lot of meaning to it.

Student Book Review:

by: John Steinbeck
Review done by:
Amanda S
Grade 6
Van Antwerp Middle School
Niskayuna, NY

One of the great classics I read this year was Of Mice and Men. It was written by John Steinbeck.
Of Mice and Men was a very interesting book. You could say it wasn't your every day normal type of book. It was about two men with a dream to own a barn, with rabbits. Their names were Lennie and George. Lennie was a tall and clumsy man. George was a short, dark, and swift, man. They were both retarded. George was always looking after Lennie because he was the smarter one. He didn't really like doing it. He would always threaten Lennie to not let him tend the rabbits if he was bad.
The main plot of the story took place at a little farm they worked at, to raise money, to get their dream. The managers son Curly (a small, greedy, and mean man) was always keeping an eye on George and Lennie. He didn't really like them. Curly didn't like any one except his wife. He loved his wife. To make a story short, at the end of the book Lennie gets in a lot of trouble and asks George for some help.
Some of the stuff I liked in the book was the vivid language. The author would make Lennie come to life with his voice. He would have slang words and talk like a real person. The author took George and made him also come to life, by the way he made him make realistic choices.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes to read.

Student Book Review:

by: John Steinbeck

Review done by:

Mike Murphy
Grade 6
Van Antwerp Middle School
Niskayuna, NY

One of the great books I read this year was called Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
It was a very sad and addicting story it was about two friends that traveled together going from job to job town to town trying to save money to buy their own house. That was their main goal in this story. The two men that traveled together were George and Lennie, but Lennie was different, almost retarded. He always seemed two be getting in trouble and getting George and him fired. He was also a very big and strong man George on the other hand was very small compared to Lennie .
Their most recent job was working at a ranch, but most of the men working there didn't like Lennie as much as they liked George. While they were there, they found another man named Candy who decided to work with them saving money. In return, he could live with them when they get their own land. One of the characters that had a bad personality was Curley. He was the owner's son. He had a very pretty wife and he always suspected she was cheating on him with the other men who worked there and he was always instigating fights with the other men who were working there. His wife frequently got tired of listening to Curley about how tuff he is and how she should stay inside so she often snuck out and talked to people.

One night George and a bunch of the other guys went into town and while they were gone Lennie went out to the barn to pet a couple of newborn puppies when Curleys wife came in and started a conversation with Lennie. Lennie said that he like soft things and she told him her hair was soft and he could feel it if he didn't mess it up so he grabbed it and as big and as strong as he was it scared her and she tryed to get away and scream Lennie didn't want anybody to hear so he shook her and he shook her he finally realized her neck was broken and she was laying there dead.
If you want to read a great book this is the one .

Student Book Review:

by: John Steinbeck

Review done by:

Aekta Shah
Grade 7
Van Antwerp Middle School
Niskayuna, NY

I have read a classic called Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck.
This novel, Of Mice and Men, is about two men named George and Lennie. George is short tempered; unlike Lennie who is a calm and quiet man, though, big in size who always gets in trouble. They both come to a ranch and are trying to get some money so that they can have a place of their own. On the ranch, they meet some workers and become friends with all of them except Curley. Curley, is the boss's son who doesn't like big guys such as Lennie. When he sees Lennie, he starts picking on him. Curley thinks that Lennie will bully him, so Curley wants to bully Lennie first. George has to get Lennie out of all the messes Lennie gets into.
This novel talks about friendship and dreams that can come true. The author has described the characters very well, as well as all the obstacles that George and Lennie go through to receive a place of their own. Lennie looks like the kind of guy who would harm anyone who is in his way, but he is actually scared of people like Curley and doesn't mean any harm.
If you would like to read a classic that you won't fall asleep in, I would recommend this novel. It is one of my favorites and I am sure you would enjoy it too.

Student Book Review:

by: John Steinbeck

Review done by:

Brennan F
Grade 7
Van Antwerp Middle School
Niskayuna, NY

A great classic I read this year was Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
This book was about two men trying to survive during the Great Depression. George, one of the two men, has a hard time getting and keeping a job. This is because he is responsible for his friend Lennie, a retarded man. Lennie usually gets George into trouble because he never thinks before he acts. George feels burdened by the responsibility of taking care of George, and often insults him and explains how happy he would be without him. But, luckily, Lennie and George get a job on a farm near Salinas. Everything is going smoothly at this farm, and the other men are quite friendly. Then, the George and Candy (the old one-armed swamper on the farm) come up with the idea of buying some land and creating a farm of their own. This is every low-class worker's dream, and the plan almost seems feasible. George knows of a nearby farm up for sale and Candy has some money saved up in the bank. If they put their money together and bargain a little, it might be possible. It seems almost too good to be true.
Then, one night, Lennie finally gets into trouble. Curly (the owner's son) has a wife who is always causing trouble and flirting with other men. When she meets him, she finds him strange and childish, but kind, in a simple sort of way. Lennie explains to her that he likes to touch soft, smooth things like silk or fur. So, Curly's wife allows him to touch her hair, and Lennie gets carried away, and something horrible happens...
This book was great. I enjoyed it because it showed how people sometimes take their friendships for granted, and how things don't always turn how you thought or hoped they would. Also, this book had a depressing, yet well written ending. I highly recommend this book.

Student Book Review:

by: John Steinbeck

Review done by:

Chris Frank
Grade 7
Van Antwerp Middle School
Niskayuna, NY

The book Of Mice and Men was one of the very interesting books that I read this year. It was written by John Steinbeck.
Of Mice and Men is about two men, George and Lennie. George is caring about Lennie because Lennie is not very bright. If you made fun of Lennie, George would blow his top. George is the smarter one of the two and mostly knows what he's doing and what he will be doing.
When George and Lennie find a job on the farm they come to more trouble, with Curly. Curly is one of those guys who thinks that he's the best and can treat everyone like they wont want to live anymore. Then there is Slim he's one of the guys who are kind and polite.
The book is mainly about the strength of friendship and the way two different people can relate so well.
I liked this book because of the strong emotions, I could feel the love between George and Lennie. They were well described characters and were great to read about. The only thing that I didn't like about Lennie and George, was that if Lennie made a mistake because of his stupidness George would sort of be on his back and George would stick up for Lennie if it were someone else doing the making fun of.
If you are interested in Of Mice and Men, then I highly recommend this book to you, and I hope you enjoy it if you decide to read this book.

Student Book Review:

by: John Stienbach

Review done by:

Connor T
Grade 7
Van Antwerp Middle School
Niskayuna, NY

One of the great classics I read this year was Of Mice and Men. This book was an interesting and entertaining book to read.
While reading this book, it was hard to put it down because the author kept me wondering what was going to happen next. Of Mice and Men is about two guys who are looking for work after being chased out of town.
Lenny is an average guy, but George on the other hand isn't as smart. They were chased out of town because George likes to touch soft things like velvet. One day when they were walking through town and George grabbed a girls dress, then when he let go she ran told people she was harassed.
Some things I enjoyed about this novel is how the author explained the characters in the ways of how they look, feel, and do. I found it interesting how the author explained the different moods that were in different scene in the book, It helped me see and figure out what was going on in the story more clearly.
This book was one of my favorite books I have read this year. If you are looking for an enjoyable novel to read I recommend this book to everyone.