by: Justine Rendal

Review done by:

Elana T

Grade 6

Van Antwerp Middle School

Niskayuna, NY

A Very Personal Computer was about a boy whose life just wasnít going the way he wanted it to. For example, he had a crush on this really popular girl. He never thought in the world that she liked him too. He was too scared to ask her out. He thought she probably already had a boyfriend.

One day, he went to the computer lab in school to look up something on one of the spelling games. It came up on the screen. He was about to start using it, when someone, or something said, "Hello." Pollard, the boy, was very curious, but he looked back at the screen anyway. "Hello, Pollard. How are you?" he said again. Pollard asked where this thing or person was.

"Iím right here," said the voice. He looked at the computer and realized that there was no one in the room. It took him a while, but he finally noticed that the computer was talking! Pollard didnít believe it, but he finally thought it was an every-day thing.

Pollard got to be closer and closer friends with the computer. The computer gave Pollard the answers to his homework, and he actually got Pollard a date with that girl he really liked.

In the end, Pollard finds out that everyone in the school knew about the computer, but no one knew that anyone else knew about it. Pollard felt a little ridiculous about the computer, now that he knew that everyone knew about it. He had felt like a king before, because he knew about a talking computer, but now he felt like an average kid again. I think he liked it better that way.