Psat Vocab

Review by Julia : An effective concept that supersedes memorizing wordlists

So finally Kaplan came out with their version of learning SAT vocabulary in context of a book. Like its similar counterparts,"Tooth and Nail" and Barron's "Simon's Saga", this book tries to help students learn vocaulary in a 'novel' way. I think learning words through reading is an effective way to build an great vocabulary and easier than memorizing word lists.The story is about a high-school student named Will who lives next to an abandoned mansion supposedly haunted by the town hero Algernon McAllister. Will had an incident involving the mansion when he was young and is terrified by the thought of it. Soon enough, a historian and his daughter move next door and strange events start happening. It up to Will and his new neighbor Laura to figure how the mystery of the mansion, and uncover the truth behind the recent chaos in their quiant town.The author effectively integrates the SAT words into the book and there is a glossary of all the words in the back. I enjoyed this book and learning the words in context , but I think Kaplan could of done a better job of instilling the words into the reader's mind. Like in Simon's Saga, at the end of each chapter every SAT word was defined and there were exercises involving the words. I think this really helped me learn words most effectively. But in "The Ring of McAllister" there are no excercises, and you have to flip back and forth to the glossary to look up words. This can be a pain after a while.Overall, I like the concept of this book, but I think it could of done a better job of making the reader remember the words with exercises and definitions right at the end of the chapter.

Review by Good Student : Plain AMAZING!!!

This is an amazing story. I personally think people shouldn't just read this book for its educational value. I agree it serves its purpose rather well. It teached me the vocabulary and improved my skill of using context clues. The only problem was the glossary in the back. But what was the reason it was so helpful?

The main reason was because of the amazing story. The only reason people would want to keep reading was because of its great plot. It has an amazing combination of horror and mystery. It expresses a great deal of problems a person could face in a life. Totally worth every penny I paid for it. I surely suggest this book to everyone not only looking to improve their vocabulary, but also trying to read a good book. I only hope that Mr. Marantz would write more books. Plain AMAZING!!!

Review by student : The Ring of McAllister

The Ring of McAllister is a very good book written by Robert Marantz. A mystery that is filled with over one thousand vocabulary words that must be known for students taking the SAT test, has a glossary with the words highlighted so that the reader learns the words while reading the text.

The Ring of McAllister is a mystery that took place in a very small town called Red Fork. The main Characters are seventeen year old high school students that are just starting their summer vacation as their junior year just ended. The characters names are Will, Katie, Ty, Laura, and Dr. Perez, which is Laura's father. There are a couple of others but they weren't really main characters.

Will, Katie, and Ty have been best friends for years. There is a mansion next door to Will's house known as Stone Manor. In Stone Manor years ago, a man named McAllister lived there and was killed and disappeared. Everyone that lived in the house after McAllister bad things happened to. A young girl named Laura Perez moves into Stone Manor with her father, Dr. Perez. Strange things start happening like her falling down the stairs, but they figured that it was just a coincidence or bad luck. But when Dr. Perez suddenly disappears, that's when the fun begins.....