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Post by Ben Osborn on Aug 8, 2013 14:20:05 GMT -5
For my last book review I am doing Lord of the Flies. I read this book early this summer but I didn't know I needed to use it on my book review. I was a part of your book club for this book so I didn't think about using it for these. Anyways, the title is Lord of then Flies and it was written by William Golding. This book is about a bunch of children who become stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere. This book explores human nature by showing how the children act, and they actually end up murdering a couple kids. The book explores a power struggle between Ralph, the "good" guy, and Jack, who has some bad intentions. Jack was always jealous of Ralph's leadership but he eventually turns all of the children against him. Ralph's main goal was to get rescued but all Jack wanted to do was hunt for wild hogs. I won't reveal the ending but it is a great book. I chose this book because my parents told me that it is a great book and a classic and I'm glad I did. It was a little slow at the beginning, but by the end I couldn't put it down. It really makes you look at your priorities and how you treat others. I would recommend this book to middle school and high school kids because younger kids wouldn't quite understand the imagery and symbolism that is a MAJOR part of this novel. It was a great read and I encourage you to check it out!
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Post by Celeste Beihl on Aug 8, 2013 18:08:44 GMT -5
The book I chose was The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Selznick. The book is about a boy who lives in the walls of a train station in Paris. He has been working on the clocks sense his father died in a fire; all he has left of him is his notebook and a broken automaton. He has been steeling parts from a toy maker at the station but one time he was caught and the old toymaker took his notebook and was going to burn it, so he fallowed him home and that’s when he met Isabelle and they become friends. Then when he returned to the toy stand the old man handed him a handkerchief full of ashes, Hugo cried at the sight of it. He later meets Isabelle in the library she tells him that the notebook was still in the house so Hugo kept going back to the stand till the old man gave him a broom and told him the work. One day while running away from the station inspector Isabelle’s necklace falls out of her jacket and it has and key on it Hugo tries to get her to let him see it but she is to smart and doesn’t. One day at the stand she gives him the notebook, he is happy. But he also stole the necklace from her at that point so when he gets the automaton fixed he puts the key in but before he can turn it Isabelle storms in and tackles him calling him a thief, so he explains and then she tells him the turn the key and when he does it starts to move but instead of writing it drew a picture of a moon with a face with rocket stuck in its eye a part from his father’s favorite movie but the funny thing is its signed with the old man’s name. the two fight over the paper until it rips and Isabelle runs of with her half Hugo chases her to the apartment where she opens the door then slams it on his hand. So the mom helps with his hurt hand and they ask her about the picture and she told them never show the old man the picture. While up stairs they check around and find a secret box high up when Isabelle gets it the legs of the chair snap and pictures fly everywhere as the old man and his wife enter the room when he sees the pictures he tries to rip them up and begins to cry. Later he figures out that this great filmmaker is Isabelle’s godfather (the old man) but she doesn’t believe him when he told her. But they devise a plan to help the old man by borrowing a projector from a friend and play some of his work they hear a loud noise and rush down stairs expecting the room to be trashed but he had moved all the furniture out of the way he tells them the story of why Isabelle is with them and why he has the toy booth now. And asks Hugo to bring the automaton. He tried steeling some milk from a seller but drops it and then is chased by the station inspector till he is caught and is in the jail sell in the office but then he was let go and then falls onto the tracks and saved by the inspector and arrested but then is saved by the old man and later is adopted by him and put on a special premier of the movie trip to the moon, a very beloved movie of lots of the characters. And they all lived happily ever after. i liked this book because you care for the characters and its exciting. i thought it was a well written book. if you like a good story line then you would like this book.
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Post by jordan cowan on Aug 9, 2013 18:44:28 GMT -5
The third book I read was To Kill A Mockingbird. It is a story about innocence, knowledge, prejudice and courage. In the beginning the main character, Scout, starts out to be a very immature child not knowing everything that was going on around her, as the story goes on she gains knowledge of these times by kids around her accusing her dad of being a "cupcake lover" which was a terrible insult back then. Her dad was being courageous because of a black man being falsely accused of raping a white girl. Her dad, Atticus, is a criminal defense attorney only doing his job and not judging this man. The line in the book "Shoot, all the blue jays you want, but remember its a sin to kill mockingbird" is referring to the black man in the story, Tom. He symbolizes a mockingbird because all mockingbirds do is sing for our enjoyment and stay out of harms way, so if you kill them its a sin. I chose this book because it is one of my moms favorite books and she highly recommended it for me. I loved this book. It gave me such a better understanding of what it was like when blacks and whites were not not civil. I think everyone will enjoy this book, it really makes you think. I don't necessarily like reading, but I read this book in 2 days.
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Post by Kayla Britten on Aug 9, 2013 22:48:50 GMT -5
For my final summer reading book I chose to read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It's a moving novel about a young girl's coming of age in the times of racism and prejudice. I chose this book because I heard a lot of good things about it and it just sounded interesting to me. I'm glad I chose it, too, because I really enjoyed it and I would definitely recommend it to just about anyone!
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Post by Ben Averyt on Aug 10, 2013 15:14:46 GMT -5
For my third and final book i read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest by Ken Kesey. this novel is a rather disturbing book about a man who was diagnosed with being insane, and he did not complain, because he would get out of doing time for crimes he committed. soon he finds himself in a ward of an insane asylum. this story goes through his daily life there. One of the most evident things in this novel is the conflict that he has with the ward's head nurse. He basically harasses the nurse throughout the entire novel. There are a lot of strengths in this book, such as the author immediately gripping you. or the fantastic detail. One of the best qualities i think there is in a book, is when you aren't able to put the book down, and this book was like that. i chose this book, because i knew that we had to read an "ap" level book, and my dad and i had been talking about the story line of this book, and it had really interested me, so when i saw that this was on the list for "ap" level books i immediately decided to read that book. i enjoyed this book big time. probably more than the other two books that i read this summer. i enjoyed it because it was a gripping story that you wanted to just continue reading, or at least i did. Someone who should consider reading this book would be someone who enjoys a rather weird book. It was a great book, and i highly recommend it.
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Post by Leslie Torres on Aug 10, 2013 21:35:07 GMT -5
For my final book I chose To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This book is about a girl named Jean Louis, also known as Scout. She lives with her father Atticus and her brother Jem. The book starts when she was six when a lot of racism was going on. Her father was a lawyer and he was helping a colored man named Tom Robinson, because he was accused of raping a nineteen year old white girl. Even though Tom was innocent, he was found guilty. While he was in prison he got killed. The nineteen year old girl's father, Bob threatened Atticus he would get him. In Halloween, when Jem and Scout were walking home someone attacked them. When someone took them home Jem's arm was broken and was pretty hurt. Nothing happened to Scout. The sheriff goes back to where the incident happened and found Bob dead under a tree. Everything settled after. Scout learns a few things about life and by the end of the book she feels grown up. I chose this book,because it was an AP level book and because I have heard some of my friends talk about it. I didn't think I would like this book, but I actually enjoyed a lot, because the narrator, Scout talked about the things around her and I could actually imagine it. I think people who like to read about the later days and how it use to be would enjoy this book.
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Post by sidnyprice on Aug 11, 2013 13:09:49 GMT -5
The first book I choose to read this summer was "The Hunger Games", by Suzanne Collins. The book is about a nation, with 13 districts and the capitol, called Panem. The capitol hosts an annual Hunger Games because the 13th district rebelled and performed acts of treason against the Capitol, there rebellion also caused in annihilation of there district. That treason caused that Hunger Games as a reminder to never mess with the Capitol and definitely do not make them look like a fool. In the Hunger Games kids and teens ages 12-18 are sent to the capitol to be prepared to fight for their lives in a "game" designed by the game-makers. The last one alive is crowned victor.
I choose this book because i saw the movie and it was good, I loved it. Then I thought, well, maybe the books are better, would give m more insight! I had thought that because i read the twilight books before I watched the movie and I thought the books were more detailed.
I enjoyed this book because The Hunger Games in the books are more detailed that the movie and I like that, it gave me more insight and Suzanne Collins did a wonderful job explaining things and giving things so many details, because I could picture almost everything. From the death scenes, to the romantic scenes of Peeta and Katniss, to the interviews before the games, it was all so well put together.
I think the people who like action, gore, fighting, and yet romances should read this book. This book isn't just a one thing drama, it has many other characteristics to it. you just have to red it to find out!
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Post by Adrianna Limon on Aug 11, 2013 22:57:20 GMT -5
My final report is on To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I chose this book because it was on the AP List, and I heard from several friends and family members that it is a wonderful story. To Kill A Mockingbird is set in the time of the 1930s and narrated by Scout Finch, daughter of Atticus Finch. At a young age Scout's mother passed making Atticus a single parent. He worked as a lawyer in Maycomb, Alabama. Scout and her brother Jem make friends with a neighbor named Dill. They all share a common interest on another neighbor named Boo Radley. Towards the middle of the book, Scout and Jem discover that their father is representing a black man, Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping and beating a white woman. Robinson is tried and convicted and in the time of the conviction Atticus inadvertently insults Bob Ewell who is the father of the accuser against Tom. Ewell seeks revenge on Atticus and his family. As the story comes to an end Tom Robinson is killed in an attempt to escape. Bob Ewell is found dead after he tries to kidnap Jem and Boo is the one who saves Scout and Jem from the attack. Atticus tells Jem that is a sin to kill a mockingbird and relates it that it was a sin to kill Tom Robinson. I enjoyed this book very much although it took a little while to get into. It opened my eyes to realize the tough life it was living in a racist and prejudice time. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an interesting and eye-opening story of life in the time of racism.
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Post by Jimmy Turner on Aug 12, 2013 12:41:58 GMT -5
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is about a group of Boys stuck on an island, and how they handle who is chief, what to do, and how they handle the challenges that come up. Ralph is the chief and he wants to keep a fire going so a ship can see it and rescue them. But Jack is tired of just gathering wood and makes a new group to hunt pigs. Jack takes most of Ralph's group to hunt, so many people left that Ralph couldn't keep his fire going. Mad, he confronts Jack and tries to make his point, he ends up getting attacked and when running away a fire gets started and a ship spots the smoke and rescues them.
I choose this book because I wanted to see what it was like and I could use it for the discussion. The end of the book was entertaining but the beginning was boring. If you like books that lead up to action then you may like this one.
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Post by Kayla Gallagher on Aug 12, 2013 13:32:10 GMT -5
For my third book I read a book called Ruined by Paula Morris. This book is about a 16 year old girl named Rebecca who lives in New York with her dad. When her dad gets sent to China for business Rebecca is sent to live with her aunt and young cousin in New Orleans. She soon finds out that life in New Orleans is very different than her life in New York. Her aunt's house is much smaller than her old apartment, everyone seems rude and mean to Rebecca because she is an outsider, and it seems that the only thing families care about is which family had been around longer. Then one night Rebecca sneaks into a cemetery when she sees a bunch of the girls from her school going there. It is then she meets a girl named Lisette who seems a little strange and mysterious. As she continues talking to this girl Rebecca finds out something very strange about Lisette. She has been dead for over 150 years, Lisette is a ghost. As Rebecca learns more about Lisette things in her life get very complicated, she finds out about a deadly curse that has been hurting a family for years, she meets a mysterious boy who seems to like her but she wonders if he has a hidden agenda, and she learns about her family past and how she plays a role in everything.
I chose this book because it looked really cool and it had been sitting on my shelf for a long time. :) I really enjoyed this book because it was a very suspenseful and had a lot of twists and turns in it. It was a fast read and I couldn't seem to put the book down. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes books that are just a little bit scary. It also had a lot about history in it so anyone that likes book with history would love this book. I really liked this book and found it was one of the best books I read this summer.
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jack
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Post by jack on Aug 12, 2013 14:02:14 GMT -5
I am doing a review on The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. This is a book about a group of boys that are stranded on an island together with no way off. Luckily for them, the are in no initial danger, although that soon changes. The boys elect Ralph as Chief, and their first action is to make a fire so they could be rescued. Although the small fire turns out of control quickly, burning part of the island. Tempers rise between the group as Jack, a hunter, kills a pig for meat. Although during the hunt for meat, he lets the signal fire out, and a boat was spotted far away.
Most of the boys are very happy to eat meat again, but Ralph was furious that he let the fire out, and in doing so, let go of a chance for rescue. Jack then decided to split up the group of boys. Eventually the band of boys with Ralph left to eat meat with Jack, and Ralph couldn't keep the fire going. In rage, he went to go talk with Jack. Although they had turned into savages and accidently killed his friend piggy. The remaining boys had gone off to hunt Ralph too at the end of this story, but the large fire that was created so he couldn't hide had signaled a boat that came and rescued the boys.
It's pretty Ironic that the boys tried to kill Ralph with fire, when he was the one who wanted to use it to help the boys get off the island. I personally liked the book, and I think most people ten or older would like it too. If you have read the hunger games, and enjoyed that book, you wouldn't mind reading this one either.
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jack
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Post by jack on Aug 12, 2013 14:02:29 GMT -5
I am doing a review on The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. This is a book about a group of boys that are stranded on an island together with no way off. Luckily for them, the are in no initial danger, although that soon changes. The boys elect Ralph as Chief, and their first action is to make a fire so they could be rescued. Although the small fire turns out of control quickly, burning part of the island. Tempers rise between the group as Jack, a hunter, kills a pig for meat. Although during the hunt for meat, he lets the signal fire out, and a boat was spotted far away.
Most of the boys are very happy to eat meat again, but Ralph was furious that he let the fire out, and in doing so, let go of a chance for rescue. Jack then decided to split up the group of boys. Eventually the band of boys with Ralph left to eat meat with Jack, and Ralph couldn't keep the fire going. In rage, he went to go talk with Jack. Although they had turned into savages and accidently killed his friend piggy. The remaining boys had gone off to hunt Ralph too at the end of this story, but the large fire that was created so he couldn't hide had signaled a boat that came and rescued the boys.
It's pretty Ironic that the boys tried to kill Ralph with fire, when he was the one who wanted to use it to help the boys get off the island. I personally liked the book, and I think most people ten or older would like it too. If you have read the hunger games, and enjoyed that book, you wouldn't mind reading this one either.
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Post by Ty Brown-Field on Aug 12, 2013 14:52:44 GMT -5
My second book review will be on Dan Brown's Inferno the fourth book in his Robert Langdon series. In this book Langdon, the main character, a Harvard professor of symbology finds himself in a hospital on the other side of the world with no recollection of how he got there. Langdon finds a vial in a secret pocket he never knew he had. The mysterious vial leads him on an epic hunt for answers in a world centered around a mysterious piece of literature, Dante's Inferno. I chose this book because I enjoy the series and have read all of the previous Robert Langdon books. I really found this book very entertaining because of the way the author mixes fiction with real facts making his stories feel very real. You would definitely enjoy Inferno if you are interested in mystery and adventure themes and especially if you like interesting facts. Although, I would only recommend this book if you have read the previous three books of the series. Overall I really enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the next one. I apologize for the delay, I was out of the country during the due date.
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Post by Rachel Schwarz on Aug 12, 2013 18:04:58 GMT -5
My third and final review is over Mr. Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
This book is basically a bunch of short stories about what happens to Huck Finn and his friends in his hometown and on the grand Mississippi River. The book starts out telling what Huck and his friends Tom Sawyer are doing after they have received six thousand dollars. There is a story behind this too, which tells me that in a previous book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, it tells a lot of the background of the boys because there is barely any telling of their background in this book. Huckm is living with the Widow Douglas and her sister Ms. Watson. Huck ends up being taken away from the Widow Douglas by his dad, who takes him to a cabin away from his hometown. Huck is trapped in the cabin while his father sells fish they catch and then uses the money to get drunk. After Huck fakes his death and escapes the cabin, he drifts down the Mississippi to Jackson's Island where he finds Jim, a runaway slave who was owned by Ms. Watson. So, Huck and Jim agree to sail down the Mississippi on a raft together, and then eventually get on a steamboat and head up to northern territory so Jim can be free. Huck and Jim have their struggles on the Mississippi being separated, trying to hide, and trying to figure out how far exactly are they from Cairo where they will head up river. One time Huck runs into two men running away from people and dogs hunting them down. The two men are frauds though. They lie to Huck and Jim, telling them that they are a duke and the king of England. So, the duke and king end up traveling with Huck and Jim, trying to fool farmers with shows that are not very good at all and saying that they are missionaries, pirates, or whatever suits them at the time. Huck and Jim get close to finally getting rid of them and somehow they catch back up to them. When Huck is finally about to get rid of them for good though, one of them has sold Jim for forty dollars and then pretty much just skipped town. So, Huck sets out to free Jim, and he ends up having to pretend to be a boy named Tom. Well, that Tom turns out to be Tom Sawyer, his best friend! Tom Sawyer then comes and joins Huck in his trying to free Jim. Tom ends up pretending to be his little brother to fool his aunt and uncle who are in control of Jim. Then, Tom and Huck start out on their plan to free Jim "the right way" according to Tom.
Well what happens to Huck, Tom, and Jim? I won't ruin that for anybody because that is the most interesting part. So, you will just have to read it to find out.
I chose this book for one thing because it was an AP level book and because it sounded like an interesting read.
I think this book was very interesting. Since Mark Twain lived in the 1800's this book is full of dialect that makes it harder to read, and it also has a lot of racial slang in it. I think it would have been higher up on my list of favorite books if it did not have the racial slang in it, but that is a part of the book that gives it character.
I think people who would like to know what life was sort of like in the 1800's would enjoy this book. There are a lot of things different between that time and now.
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Post by Christian Trent on Aug 12, 2013 19:56:02 GMT -5
The last book I read was The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. It is about a boy in India whose family owns a zoo. While growing up, this boy, Piscine (goes by Pi) Patel becomes very interested in religion. After doing some research, Pi, already being Hindu, becomes Christian and Muslim. After a tough decision, Pi's father decides that the family needs a new chance at life in Canada, so they pack up their bags as well as most of the zoo and board a cargo ship headed for Canada. In the middle of one of the restless nights on the ship, Pi hears a noise, and leaves his cabin to investigate. He discovers that they are in the middle of a storm, and a few of the crew members of the ship throw him into a lifeboat.As the lifeboat battles over the waves, Pi sees the boat and his family sinking to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. In the beginning of Pi's journey in the lifeboat, he was accompanied by a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, a rat, and a tiger. To keep this short, the hyena ends up killing and eating the zebra and the orangutan, and then the tiger kills the hyena and eats the rat. So it's just Pi and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker sailing the vast Pacific. The lifeboat was well prepared, and had many items that played a key role in Pi's survival, including quite a few crackers and lots of cans of water. By also picks up the art of fishing, as there was a fishing pole in with the supplies. Pi takes care of Richard Parker, mainly because he knows that if Richard Parker isn't fed, Pi will begin to look very delicious to the tiger. But, as Pi writes in his journal, he admits that he is grateful Richard Parker is with him. A violent storm bangs up Pi's small boat and destroys much of his hope. He has run out of food and water, and is to weak to fish so all he can do is hope for rain. It gets to a point where he can no longer even see. Richard Parker also becomes very weak. Pi accepts that he will die, and as he lays there waiting for it to happen, he converses with a voice that was Richard Parker's. Pi soon realizes this. But a few hour later, he hears a human voice, another person waiting to be rescued. After awhile of speaking, Richard Parker eats this man, much to Pi's horror and disappointment. Pi begins to grow stronger, and comes to a green island just made of algae. He finds that the algae was filled with refreshing water, and he stays here a week or so. Richard Parker and him both grow a lot stronger. Pi soon finds that this island turned deadly at night, and would consume anyone touching the algae, so he and Richard Parker leave, taking as much as they can from the island. Alas they land in Mexico, and Pi is saddened as he watches Richard Parker walk into the Mexican jungle without even turning back. Pi is found and taken to a hospital. A few days later two men come to ask him questions so they could find out the cause of the sinking of the ship. Pi tells them he doesn't know the cause of the sinking of the ship other than the storm, and he also tells what happened to him. They do not believe him about any of the animals, so he tells an alternate version where a sailor is the zebra, one of the ship
's cooks is the hyena, his mother is the orangutan, and he is the tiger. Pi Patel graduates college and starts a family of his own in Toronto.
I chose this book because I heard a lot about the movie, and people always say the the books are better than the movies. I enjoyed this book because it was very interesting all the way through, and I learned a lot more about animals, zoos, and Hinduism and Islam. I would recommend this story to anyone who would like to an inspirational adventure that really sparks the imagination.
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