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Post by alyssavazquez on Aug 12, 2013 20:22:35 GMT -5
The last book I reviewed was Catching Fire written by Suzanne Collins. This book was AMAZING! This book is the second book of the Hunger Games books. The book takes place after the Hunger Games and she is back home. In this book Katniss is very confused. She does not know who to listen to. Should she listen to the president and marry Peeta or should she be with her best friend Gale? She is constantly going back and forth with that question. On top of all of that she has to deal with the president blaming her for uprisings in different districts. Then the 75th annual games begin and all of the winners from past games are being forced to play. During that time Peeta announces that he and Katniss are going to get married and Katniss is "Pregnant". Katniss and Peeta are back in the games trying to figure out how they are going to win this game. This book was a page turner and I can't wait until the movie comes out. I really wished that Katniss would just make up her mind and only like one guy, preferably PEETA! I chose this book because I had read the first book in the past and I wanted to continue the journey. I think that everyone should read this book it has excitement, love, mystery, and so much more that you will not be disappointed. I liked it so much that I have already reserved the next book to find out what is going to happen next. Trust me you would do the same if you read this book!
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Post by Rachel Parizek on Aug 13, 2013 19:51:20 GMT -5
When I was going through the book reviews, I noticed a lot of people had chosen to read Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher. I thought that since so many people had read it and given such great reviews, it had to be pretty good. This book tells the story of Hannah Baker and the many intertwined stories that led to her suicide. We read the story through Clay Jensen, who has had a crush on Hannah since she moved to their town. After a box of audiotapes appears on his front door, Clay walks through town, holding on to the last piece of Hannah he has left and journeying through her high school years with her. The emotions in this story are so amazingly captured in writing, and it reminds me of why I like reading so much more than I like watching movies. I really enjoyed Th1rteen R3asons Why because it's one of the books that really expresses the characters' feelings. I think this is a good book for anyone who likes sad, but deep and totally awesome novels.
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Post by Rachel Bornstein on Aug 13, 2013 20:01:28 GMT -5
Divergentby Veronica Roth In the dystopian world of Chicago, five factions are divided up among the area. Each faction has to do with a virtue: Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), and Erudite (the intelligent.) Every year, when a girl/boy turns 16 years of age, he/she must make the decision to choose to continue to live in their own faction they grew up in, or leave their family behind to join a new faction. The story focuses on the point of view of Beatrice Prior, an Abnegation born girl who lived in a place where everything is the same, nobody is better than another, a rather boring place to live. She struggles with the decision to choose between her family, or what she believes is right for her. However, one secret she was born with holds an ability to protect the ones whom she loves, or has the power to destroy her.
I chose this book, because it has been a recommendation for readers who loved The Hunger Games, which I LOVED. It focuses on a dystopia, and there can be some comparisons between this Divergent Trilogy, and The Hunger Games Trilogy.
I was really happy I decided to read this book. It was really long, but I probably got through at least 100 pages a day! I couldn't put it down. The character development and plot was really detailed, and I enjoyed every minute of it right down to the punctuation marks.
Anyone, probably 12 and up can enjoy this book. The concepts and ideas in this book are pretty intense, so it would be more understood by an older audience. Teen girls can relate to Beatrice when it comes to her developing interest in one of the other main characters, but the action is very intense, and the violence is very detailed. I have read the next book in the trilogy, Insurgent, and look forward to when the last book, Allegiant, comes out!
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Post by cookies on Aug 13, 2013 20:04:56 GMT -5
Ethan Cooksey
Title: Marley and Me
Author: John Grogan
The two main characters, John and Jenny have just gotten married and they were doing what everyone else does. They wanted to have kids but thought they would try it first with a dog. Jenny couldn't even keep a houseplant alive.
They went to a farm and bought a golden lab that they named Marley. They named him that after Bob Marley, John's favorite musician. He was a mess from the beginning.
He was sweet and funny but the first thunderstorm they found out that he was a nutcase when it came to thunderstorms.
The dog was crazy but loyal and kind. This book tells the story of his life from beginning to end. This story was really sad in the end.
To me the story was about loyalty and the responsibility of owning a dog. No matter what crazy dog you get. This book made me laugh. I listened to it on audiobook and read it during vacation. I didn't want to get out of the car when we got home because I was still reading it.
I recommend this book to everyone. The movie was really close to the book. In the book the author was talking about when he took Marley to the beach and the saltwater made Marley sick. He pooped in the water and they had to close the beach because it was in the water. That is a good description of Marley. All the stories the author told, about eating the wall to tearing up rugs were written so you could actually visualize what that dog did.
My favorite part of the book was when they took Marley home for the first time and it was a ginormous thunderstorm that kept John up all night. Marley ate the wall and tore up the garage and then got to start sleeping with his owners. One of my dogs is scared of thunderstorms so I understood what John was talking about.
The author really said it all when he said he that dogs could teach you all about life.
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Post by Holden McKee on Aug 13, 2013 20:26:33 GMT -5
I read The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger. This book is a boy named Holden Caulfield, his parents sent him to a really fancy school called Pencey in Pennsylvania. His parents sent them there because on the Add for it it showed kids playing Polo and studying, it also was a boarding School. When he got there he didn't see any Horses and it was a brilliant as his parents thought it was. Half way through around Christmas he had to go home because he was failing 4 classes. He was the manager of the fencing team and there was one teacher that he was very fond of his name was Mr. Spencer. Before Holden had to go home Mr. Spencer wrote him a letter that said come by my house to say good-bye. Holden has to wait a few days before he can return home but he gets very annoyed by Ackley, his neighbor and his roomate Stradler. Stradler went on a date with a girl that Holden use to date. When Stradler got back Holden started questioning what happened and Stradler got mad and beat up Holden so he had enough so he took a train home but stayed at a hotel so his mom wouldn't know that he is back home. When he checks into the hotel he sees a lot of messed things later he goes to a bar and met 3 girls that are older than him but they ditch him. Later Holden goes to his sisters school and he was saying that he is going home for good and she wanted to go with him but he wont let her then she followed him to to zoo and he let her ride the marigoroung and it made him cry. Holden stills has plans for school in the future.
I chose this book as my pre-Ap book and it was a good choice i recomend it to any one that likes Young adult type books.
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Post by holdenmckee on Aug 13, 2013 20:28:54 GMT -5
I read The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger. This book is a boy named Holden Caulfield, his parents sent him to a really fancy school called Pencey in Pennsylvania. His parents sent them there because on the Add for it it showed kids playing Polo and studying, it also was a boarding School. When he got there he didn't see any Horses and it was a brilliant as his parents thought it was. Half way through around Christmas he had to go home because he was failing 4 classes. He was the manager of the fencing team and there was one teacher that he was very fond of his name was Mr. Spencer. Before Holden had to go home Mr. Spencer wrote him a letter that said come by my house to say good-bye. Holden has to wait a few days before he can return home but he gets very annoyed by Ackley, his neighbor and his roomate Stradler. Stradler went on a date with a girl that Holden use to date. When Stradler got back Holden started questioning what happened and Stradler got mad and beat up Holden so he had enough so he took a train home but stayed at a hotel so his mom wouldn't know that he is back home. When he checks into the hotel he sees a lot of messed things later he goes to a bar and met 3 girls that are older than him but they ditch him. Later Holden goes to his sisters school and he was saying that he is going home for good and she wanted to go with him but he wont let her then she followed him to to zoo and he let her ride the marigoroung and it made him cry. Holden stills has plans for school in the future.
I chose this book as my pre-Ap book and it was a good choice i recomend it to any one that likes Young adult type books
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Post by Rachel Parizek on Aug 13, 2013 20:36:11 GMT -5
(again, I'm so sorry this is late!!)
For the book club, we read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I didn't know that we were supposed to write a review over here as well so now I'm doing that. This book has gained lots and lots of popularity as of late, and I had been meaning to read it. When I saw that there was a book club for it, I was really eager to join. This book is about Hazel Levesque oops, Lancaster, a seventeen year old girl with cancer, whose mother makes her go to a support group. Once at a meeting, she meets a boy named Augustus Waters, who had osteosarcoma but is (supposedly) all clear. After spending some time together, they begin on a rocky path towards a relationship. They travel to Amsterdam to meet the author of Hazel's favorite book, and there, she learns that Augustus' cancer has come back. I won't ruin the book for you if you haven't read it yet, but it is an amazing read. I definitely recommend it to a teenage audience. This book is amazing, and it's ridiculous how many emotions I felt while reading it. It's definitely one of the ones that put me at the verge of tears.
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Post by Jack Foster on Aug 13, 2013 21:59:01 GMT -5
For my final summer reading book I chose to read "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. I admit I did not enjoy reading this book but I like the message that the story was conveying. This book was really focused on a young girl who was growing up in hard times when the blacks and whites were not considered equal. This book really got me thinking about how tough it would have been growing up when racism was at its peak. The reason I read this book was because I had heard great things about it and my brother had told me it was a good book. I would recommend this book to a limited audience but I think most people should read it just for the moral value.
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Post by Will Hanby on Aug 13, 2013 23:30:38 GMT -5
The last book I read was "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. This story is set in a Soviet labor camp in the 1950's, and describes a single day of Ivan Denisovich Shukhov life as a prisoner. The story begins with Shukhov waking up sick in a freezing cold labor camp in Siberia. In fact, the prison guards report that the temperature is 30 degrees below freezing. For waking up late, Shukhov is sent to the guardhouse and forced to clean it. This task is considered minor punishment compared to other tasks forced upon Shukhov. After Shukhov leaves the guardhouse, he goes to the dispensary to report his illness. Since Shuknov didn't report his illness the night before he gets no sick time and must work regardless. The rest of the day mainly consists of Shukhov's squad, their allegiance to the squad leader, and the work that the prisoners must do. An example of the work Shukhov must do is construction work where the cold weather freezes the mortar used for bricklaying if not applied quickly enough. The author also provides several methods to how prisoners would survive at a labor camp in the Soviet Union. Most prisoners survive by the rule of "survival of the fittest." Shukhov is considered one of the hardest workers in the squad and is pretty well respected. At the end of the day, Shukhov is able to provide a few special services for Tsezar. Tsezar is a man who does office work, and is well known for the packages of food he receives from home. Shukhov is able to get a small share of Tsezar's packages by standing in lines for him. After this happens Shukhov describes his day as being productive and "almost happy." I chose to read this book because it was written in a period when the Soviet Union was pretty much a closed society where nobody knew what was really going on. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn describes the cruel and harsh conditions that many people lived in due to Stalin's rule over the Soviet Union. I also chose to read this book because I thought that this book had an interesting title. I would recommend this book to anybody wanting to read a good story about what life was really like in the Soviet Union.
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Post by Jacquelyn Hooper on Aug 14, 2013 18:40:22 GMT -5
For my AP book this summer, I chose to read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I chose to read this book because it had been recommended to me by various friends and former teachers. This novel is the story of a young girl nick-named "Scout" in Alabama in a time of extreme segregation. Scout's best friends are her brother "Jem", her father Atticus, her colored maid Calpurnia, and her friend/"permanent fiancé" Dill. Arthur "Boo" Radley is introduced as mysterious, evil neighbor of Jem and Scouts' who supposedly never leaves his house and prefers to dine on the neighborhood cats. At a later point in the story when Boo's wife dies, the children decide that he has surely killed her. However, their father Atticus later explains to them that Mrs. Radley had died of natural causes. Scout, Jem and Dill go on many adventures throughout the novel, and always seem to be getting into trouble. Their father Atticus is constantly being criticized for agreeing to defend a black man in court. Tom Robinson has been accused of raping Mayella, the daughter of Bob Ewell. The Ewells, even as they aren't the most respected of families, are still white, and in this town a white person's word is always taken above a black's. No matter how much name-calling and threats she may receive, Scout promises Atticus that she will control her temper. Finally, towards the end of the book, the trial finally takes place and despite all evidence suggesting that Tom is innocent, Atticus eventually loses the case. However, Bob Ewell swears to get his revenge on Atticus for disgracing him and his family for defending Tom. Tom escapes from prison, and is shot 17 times and killed. Despite this, a drunken Bob makes a point to come after Jem and Scout with a knife in the dark on their way home from a school Halloween play. Scout's ham costume protects her from harm, but Jem's arm in broken and he winds up unconscious. In the end, a mysterious man stabs and kills Bob Ewell, saving the lives of both Scout and Jem. He carries Jem home, and Scout follows cautiously behind. The doctor and town sheriff are called in, and they announce that Jem will be ok, and they will not press charges against the man who killed Bob. Scout doesn't recognize the man at first, but eventually comes to realize that he is none other than Boo Radley/Mr. Arthur himself. To be honest, this book had a very slow start. I couldn't keep my eyes open for the first couple of chapters. However, once I got into the real meat of the story (the trial of Tom Robinson) I was perplexed and simply couldn't put it down. If you are willing to get through a few chapters of boring in order to enjoy a suspenseful, thriving mystery, then you definitely fit into the audience demographic for this classic.
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Post by Emily Foisy on Aug 14, 2013 20:05:02 GMT -5
The book I chose to read was "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus, live in Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression. One summer, Scout and Jem meet a boy named Dill, and they act out stories together for fun. Over time, Dill becomes fascinated with the creepy house next door; the Radly Place, inhabited by Nathan Radly, and Arthur (Boo) Radly, who never leaves the house. When school starts, Scout an Jem find gifts left for them in a tree on the Radly property. Scout, Jem, and Dill continue to act out stories, and decide to act out the story of Boo Radly. Atticus sees them and ends it immediatly, telling them not to make judgements without reason. The three don't listen and on the last day of summer, they sneak onto the Radly property, and Jem loses his pants in attempted escape. When he returns to retrieve them, the pants are neatly hanging over the fence, waiting for him. Winter comes and Scout and Jem find more presents in the tree, and when a fire breaks loose, an unknown man slips a blanket onto scouts shoulders. She and Jem are sure it's Boo. Meanwhile, Atticus, being a lawyer, decides to daringly defend a black man, named Tom, and Scout and Jem get bullied for it. Tom is put into jail, and a mob comes when Atticus is visiting. Scout and Jem, after sneaking in, scare off the crowd with kindness. At Toms trial, Atticus gives undeniable proof that Tom is innocent, but the jury pleas guilty. He then goes to jail, and is shot by a guard. Bob Ewell, who was publicly embarrassed at the trial, seeks revenge and attacks Scout and Jem, but then Boo Radly saves them, and carries the injured Jem home. Scout can finally picture Boo as a human being, and uses these examples of kindness, and fairness in the rest of her life.
I chose this book because I have heard a lot of good things about it, and I thought it would be a good book.
It really was a very good book with a very good message, and I liked it a lot.
I think people who enjoy historical fiction would like this book because it has a lot of involvement with segregation, and the Great Depression.
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Post by Nick Tyler on Aug 14, 2013 20:15:14 GMT -5
The third book I read was the Ranger's Apprentice Book Nine Halt's Peril. Halt, Will and Horace are chasing Tennyson as he flees to Araluen. Tennyson has employed the Genovesans to take care of the group. Will and Halt head into the forest when they notice the Genovesans are there. They fight and Will takes down one of them. The other one grazes Halt with an arrow and flees. Halt treats the wound and the group travels on. Later Halt starts to hallucinate and faints. Will and Horace can't figure out what caused it. Finally they discover its the arrow wound. The arrow tip was poisoned. Will has to travel to Macindaw to find the healer Malcolm. Meanwhile Horace is looking after Halt as he is slowly dying. Will gets Malcolm back in time and Malcolm knows the antidote he just does not know which of the two flowers is used to make it. Will has to chase after the Geovesan to get the proper antidote. He captures him and brings him back to camp but he will not tell the proper antidote so Horace gets an idea. He takes one of his poisoned arrows and scrapes his leg and he becomes poisoned. He tells the proper antidote and Halt is saved. The Genovesan, who also received the antidote, tries to kill Horace and escape. He strangles Horace and is about to finish him and get away when Will stops him and fights him. Will has less skill with knives than the Genovesan so he uses trickery to kill him. The group resumes their chase of Tennyson. Can they stop him and the Outsiders? I chose this book because I read books 1-8 and it is a great series. This book was not the best book of the series but it was still a great book and lived up to the standards of the rest of them. I think the "young adults" section of the book store is where it belongs and I think that group would enjoy it.
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Post by Claire Gallagher on Aug 14, 2013 20:51:04 GMT -5
For my third book I chose Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. This book is about a girl named Lina who lives in Lithuania. It is June of 1941, Lina is getting ready to go to art school. She feels like she will finally feel normal. When all of the sudden one night someone knocks at their door. Soviet police storm into their house and demand the pack their things. They take Lina's father away somewhere else, tearing their family apart.
Lina, her mother, and her brother are thrown onto a crowed train car with millions of others. Along the way people die and Lina finds it hard to stay strong. When they finally stop they are forced to walk miles in a blizzard leading to hundreds of others death. When they figure out where they are being taken to, Siberia, Lina feels as if she will never see her father again. When they get to Siberia they are forced to work in the cold with little food and water. Lina fights to save the lives of her and the people around her. But she wonders if she can keep them all alive.
I chose this book because I love to read things about history. I love how this book is based on a true event and how it explains everyone's emotions and actions during that time. This book was one of my favorites by far. I love how it is so detailed. It never has a dull moment and it is a really good read. I would recommend this book to everyone no matter if you like reading about history or not. The story line of this book is fantastic and you can't go wrong by reading this book.
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Post by meganthele on Aug 14, 2013 21:29:12 GMT -5
Review of Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Over the course of the summer, looking through the other book reviews, I saw some very good reviews about Lord of the Flies and decided to try it out. I had heard about it before but wasn't too sure what it would be about. Honestly, I was surprised to find out that it was different than anything I had began to even wildly imagine. Overall, the book was very good and had a violent, but compelling twist to it towards the end. The beginning was slow moving and made it hard to get in to, but as the chapters moved on, it was much better. It was definitely a book that could peak interest with boys and girls, especially those who like mysterious, adventuresome, and slightly demented style books. Even though it is hard to read sometimes, I think that middle school kids could handle this, but it is definitely more for a high school and up reading level.
Lord of the Flies is basically about a group of English boys that find themselves on a strange, uninhabited island, after their plane had been shot down. They all end up finding each other on the island and attempt forming their own civilization and set of rules. Half of the time, they don't listen to their leader, Ralph, but instead they listen to the wild and crazy ideas of Jack, the choir leader. Jack is in a sense blood-thirsty...but with pigs. His personal mission is to hunt pigs for meat, instead of helping Ralph with his mission of maintaining a signal fire. Ralph hopes that by maintaining a signal fire, a passing ship could see the smoke and come rescue them. A few weeks into their time on the island, fear strikes the minds of many, and they begin saying there is a beast on the island. Not long after the first young boy talks about this, others start bringing forth claims of seeing a beast in the forest. With the opinion split between Ralph and Jack of how real this beast is, Jack decides to form his own settlement on the other part of the island, hoping to find and kill the beast. Chaos breaks out and some vicious events take place, taking many heart-wrenching and disastrous turns. It all comes down to who can survive and who could possibly lose their life on this mysterious and dangerous island.
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Post by Courtney on Aug 14, 2013 22:26:42 GMT -5
The book I chose to read for my third book this summer was My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. The story starts off with our main character, Anna Fitzgerald, narrating how things came to be for her in her life, and how (and why) her life was even created. We find out that Anna was a test tube baby, created to be a perfect match for her older sister, Kate, who has a rare kind of leukemia. The story progresses with Kate Many struggles hit the Fitzgerald household, one right after the other. From the moment Anna was born, she had been giving parts of herself to Kate, parts like bone marrow. Years go by like this, Anna giving and Kate receiving, until Anna decides she cannot take it anymore and refuses to give Kate one of her kidneys (as Kate's kidneys are starting to fail her). Anna takes on a lawsuit for medical emancipation-having already gotten a lawyer, Campbell Alexander, to help her sue her parents for the right to her own body. Sara Fitzgerald, Anna's mom, gets served the legal papers while at the hospital vising Kate. The case is then sent to court where they have to appear for a hearing. I chose this book because we had gotten a copy of it in eighth grade. I hadn't really heard about it until then, so I read it. I re-read this summer because I just love this book, it's an amazing read. My opinion of this book, if it isn't obvious already, is that I love it! It gets you thinking about all the "what-ifs" in life that are possible to happen to anyone. I think everyone would love this book, it really opens your eyes. I think both guys and girls would enjoy reading this book because its got family drama-which everyone has to deal with sometimes. |
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