2nd Quarter Book Report: Part I
For your 2nd Quarter book report, you were asked to read a book that you would enjoy. Now it's time to tell the world just how much you liked this book. The goal here is to "sell" the book to the class by giving it a good review that makes them want to read it, too.
The first 70 points of your book report grade will involve writing a book review. Keep in mind that a book review is not a plot summary. Here are some guidelines that will remind you of the difference between a plot summary and a book review.
PLOT SUMMARY:
1. A plot summary includes information about the events in the story.
2. A plot summary introduces the reader to the characters and their significance to the plot.
3. A plot summary reveals the setting.
4. A plot summary explains the conflict.
5. A plot summary gives away the ending.
BOOK REVIEW:
1. A book review analyzes the motivation of the author. Why did he/she write this?
2. A book review critiques the author's style.
3. A book review explains the characters' motives.
4. A book review interprets the significance of the setting.
5. A book review reveals none of the plot, but mentions the conflict.
6. A book review gives a thumbs up or a thumbs down to the book.
(Of course, since your job is to make the class want to read this book, you will most certainly be giving your book a "thumbs up.")
Your book review should between 200 - 300 words. Be sure to proofread your work before posting, as spelling and grammar do count!
Part I of this book report is due no later than November 30. Stay tuned for Part II!
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The book I read was called Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café. I think the motivation of this book was telling you how meaningful little things could be. It is told in the perspective of a woman named Evelyn Couch, she is going through menopause, and having a rough time with her marriage. This novel tells us of her struggles through it and meeting this amazing 80 year old woman named Ninny Threadgoode who teaches her about life, love, and friendship.
The author of Friend Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café is Fannie Flagg. Her style of writing is very erratic; it jumps from Evelyn’s perspective to clippings from the Weems Weekly, which is Whistle Stop’s only Newspaper. It will then jump to flashbacks from Ninny’s memories. These flashbacks are told in numerous different character points of view. From Idgie’s, to Ruth’s, to Stump’s. It could be hard to understand at first but it falls into a routine of perspectives in each chapter.
I believe the motives behind Evelyn Couch’s character would be depression; she more or less is having a hard time with her life, realizing it’s not a fairy tale, and then Ninny is her savior almost. Ninny tells Evelyn of much harder times, during the Great Depression, and how even though everything seemed bad it wasn’t.
The novel is located in two different times. 1980’s Alabama and 1920’s Alabama. In Evelyn’s perspective the setting is at her house or the nursing home in Birmingham. During the recollections you see Whistle Stop as this worn down, dusty little town, sitting by a railroad workhouse. It’s the epitome of a small town, where everyone knows one another, and yet everyone has fun. In Evelyn’s point of view you see an urbanized city, in a life where you had to cater to your husband and do whatever he wanted you to.
A big conflict in this fantastic novel is learning how to deal with age, racism, and understanding life. Throughout the book Ninny teaches Evelyn many life lessons and morals, learning to love yourself the way you are no matter what anyone else thinks.
Overall this book gets huge thumbs up, five out of five stars. I would recommend this book to more sophisticated readers though as this book hits on very mature topics. It is a wonderful read, and hard to put down
--Emily F.
Mary Higgins Clark, by far my favorite author, and her novel “A Second Time Around” is by far my new favorite book. Every single page you turn is more suspenseful than the one before. If you’ve ever read a book by her, you know she writes suspenseful books, but this is by far the best one written. She brings out the simple, human factor of trust, and how it can really tear people apart. Suspense really holds my attention and she planed this book out beautifully, so even I can read it, without wanting to put it down. It shows she really writes for the pure entertainment of her readers, and that’s what makes her books amazing.
Early on, we get introduced to the disappearance of Nick Spencer. He is the head of a medical company called Gen-stone, who is trying to find a cure for cancer. Taking a flight to Puerto Rico, his plane crashed mysteriously and he went missing. Carley DeCarlo, a well-respected columnist for the Wall Street Weekly was asked to get to the bottom of Mr. Spencer’s disappearance. We also meet Mr. Spencer’s wife, Lynn. She is totally depressed because of the disappearance, but Ms. DeCarlo expects that she is just a part of this whole ‘disappearance’ of her husband, and that he’s just a scam-artist looking for money. Ironic to this situation, Mrs. Spencer is Carley’s stepsister, who she can hardly trust.
I couldn’t believe why Mr. Spencer would disappear, so I really can’t find the words for his motives. He is the head of a great company and he has a beautiful wife. What more can a man like him want?
The setting is quite jumped around a bit, which gets easier to interpret as the story progresses. The main setting helps the reader understand where Mr. Spencer left off in his business and what might have made him snap and become just a scam. This is not concluded until the end, but it’s just an opinion of Ms. DeCarlo.
This book is all based on a mutual level of trust and who should be believed and all. As Carley gets into the mind of Lynn Spencer, it is believed that Nick Spencer might be begging for money just by going missing. Trust is also the main spark of the whole Nick Spencer case, which made it part of the conflict.
Of course I give this book not just one, but two thumbs up. I absolutely love suspense and that’s why I enjoyed reading this. Any other author probably wouldn’t be able to write something to hold my attention span. If you love suspense and being on the edge, you should seriously pick this book up, and see if Mr. Spencer was just a scam artist.
- Lauren D.
Returning to one of my favorite authors, John Grisham, is always a pleasure. Having read several of his works before, picking up "The Summons" was as exciting as possible. Not straying from his genre, Grisham takes us into a story that revolves around the expected but untimely death of Judge Rueben Atlee of Clanton, Mississippi (located in the same county as Grisham's earlier masterpiece, "A Time to Kill"). Upon arriving in his father's Clanton home to discuss the estate, University of Virginia Law Professor Ray Atlee finds his father dead. The mystery thickens when three million dollars that clearly were not part of the Judge's court earnings are found in the home. The discovery thrusts Ray and his drug-ridden brother into a myriad of mysteries, threats, and crime to learn where the money came from and what is to be done with it.
Brothers Forrest and Ray Atlee are perfect foils to each other. Ray is the law professor that his father always dreamed of raising. Forrest was the star of Clanton Football until drugs swept him away. Their motives, actions, and secrets from each other are the core of the book's conflict. However, Grisham's genius use of characters does not stop there. Each new character introduced is another potential suspect for the person stalking and attacking Ray and his three million dollars. Not even the seventy-year old ex-love interest of the late judge goes without being painted as the potential antagonist in this Grisham-esque law classic.
Grisham sets a story that spreads across the entire East Coast of America, from the Hills of Pennsylvania to the Gulf Coast. Each locale in question is a great contrast to each of the others. Ray Atlee's Virginia home in the city of Charlottesville seems crowded and bustling compared to the quite Ford County life in Mississippi where the Judge called home. Transition between settings is smooth and actually key to the story, as opposed to turning the page and finding Ray on the other side of the Mason Dixon Line.
This is the fourth legal-thriller that I've picked up by Grisham, and I've taken two things away from this particular literary experience. The first is that Grisham is still the only man I know who can convince me of the honest intentions of Southern lawyers(or any for that matter). The second is that "The Summons" will soon be going from library rental to permanent fixture on my shelf, rightfully among Grisham's other legal masterpieces.
The book I chose for my book report was a quite interesting work of fiction called "Ingo". Overall, I'd say this book was an excellent work toward the mind of fantasy because of its amazing setting and grabbing topic. "Ingo" was written with intense creativity and imagination by Helen Dunmore. In writing "Ingo", Dunmore reaches out to the teenage dreamer and hooks them with the fascination and real possibility of an underwater world. In this well-crafted book the world of the sea comes alive, pulling the reader into a magical world; as the call of the sea pulls the main character Sapphire there too. As Sapphire grows up and deals with the loss of her father to the sea, she discovers a world unlike no other, and is determined to learn more about it. She will stop at nothing to follow the call of the sea to the beautiful blue world, and hopefully learn what happened to her father. Although most of the book takes place on land in Sapphire's home and town, the main focus is on the undersea world of Ingo. Sapphire has heard of Ingo only in stories told by her father when she was young; she never expected it to be a real place. The more and more time Sapphire is away from her father, the stronger the call of the sea becomes to her. The setting of this blue world is showing her who she really is and where she really belongs- the sea. With her mother wanting nothing to do with the sea and moving on from her father to her brother being called by the sea as well, Sapphire is torn between her family and the world of the Mer who have been calling to her. The decision of remaining on land or following the path to the sea rests in her hands. As she seeks the cause of her father's disappearance, Sapphire learns that there is much more to the story than she could have ever imagined...
"In a world without air, all you breathe is adventure" -Ingo
To those who enjoy an enticing fictional work, I recommend Ingo highly. It is the perfect book for the mind of a dreamer and one who seeks adventure and meaning. This book appealed to me in the way that it did because I am fascinated with the water and the world of the sea. In reading this book, not only did I gain knowledge and enjoyment, but I also gained a more open mind as to what could be hiding from us in the world. This book opened my mind to many more possibilities and chances to learn.
Angie C.
Recommended to me by my mother, the New York Times Bestseller The Secret Life of Bees made me laugh, think, and shed some tears here and there. Sue Monk Kidd knew what she was doing when she sat down to write this coming of age novel, a story of self-discovery, pain, beauty, comfort, and Black Madonna honey. The story centers around fourteen-year-old Lily Owens, her motivation being her hunger for information about and a connection to her dead mother: information that her father, T. Ray, is not willing to share. Along the way, Lily learns many things about her mother and herself, causing her to grow and mature in ways that she would not have expected.
Kidd has a creative style to her writing; at the beginning of each chapter is a quote from a book about bees, relating their way of life to that of humans (one of the characters, August, is a beekeeper), and comparing the roles in the parallel societies. She also uses her characters very well to contribute to the theme and conflicts in the story. The more prominent characters in the novel, Lily, T. Ray, Rosaleen, August, May, June, and Zach, have all experienced a lot of grief and pain, and they all deal with their pain differently, intensifying the conflicts, creating struggles for themselves, and adding an element of suspense for the readers.
The setting is a huge factor in the development of the conflicts and character motivations in this particular novel. The story takes place in 1964 in South Carolina, a setting in which the racial tension could be cut with a knife. Rosaleen, Lily’s “nanny,” if you will, is black, while Lily and her father are white. Lily’s curiosity about her mother, her mother’s Black Madonna picture with “Tiburon, S.C.” written on it, and awful abuse from her father cause her to be unhappy, and when Rosaleen gets beaten up and thrown in jail for attempting to register to vote, Lily decides that it is time for her and Rosaleen to find out about her mother (using the Black Madonna picture as a compass) firsthand.
I feel that the theme of the novel is that we can not change other people’s motives, that we can not stop them from abandoning us. Instead, it is sometimes necessary to “adopt” people to fill the void where certain family members are missing. Kidd ingeniously wrote her story in such a way that allowed us readers to make discoveries, laugh, and cry with Lily and the other characters. She is quite the talented author who knows how to weave pain, beauty, tenderness, bees, and the Blessed Mother into a poignantly beautiful tapestry called a novel. My next trip to the library will definitely involve typing her name into the computer search engine.
For this book report, I chose a dramatic and enticing novel entitled, The Opposite of Music, written by Janet Ruth Young. This story made me think of my supportive family, as well as being thankful to have them. The two things I enjoyed most about this book were the author’s writing style and compassion in the subject of family. In the story, the reader meets the narrator and protagonist, Billy Morrison, a teenage boy possessing wisdom far beyond his years. Billy survives his mediocre life with his passion for the arts, especially music. But, there is something distraught taking place when his father begins to act differently. He grows quiet, suffers from insomnia, and will no longer sing or play music. The conflict centers on Mr. Morrison’s battle with depression. But while Mr. Morrison is wearing thin to the core, his depression is taking a toll on the family, causing relationships to crumble.
Young’s writing style is not traditional, but unique in title selections as well as subjects (such as dialogue, personal problems the protagonist faces, and the overall conflict of the novel). Through her writing, I found she has a deep understanding into the world of family which most likely translates into her having a strong family base in her life. Due to this reason, this motivated her to write a book based upon a supportive family undergoing difficulties together. Billy takes us on a journey of his father’s shock treatments/therapies, personal struggles, and Billy’s unwillingness to let go of the past.
The setting, you could say is controversial, mostly because it is at the Morrison’s household or the hospital in their small town, Hawthorne. This novel, at tension-ridden times, can be fast-paced, causing the settings to change frequently. Because a hospital can be viewed as a scary place, the setting has a large impact on the reader’s interpretation of the story. Billy and his family must accompany Mr. Morrison at all times, making the house the standard setting for most of the story.
The Opposite of Music is a heartfelt story about an unconventional 15-year-old who truly is in tune with music as well as his family. The relationship expressed between Billy and his father is truly remarkable considering Mr. Morrison’s condition. This story showed the strengths and weaknesses of an average family attempting their way to recover a loved one and themselves. Not only does Mr. Morrison have his “good and bad days,” but Billy opens new doors into his world of creativity, music, and relationships with family and friends. The dedication of the Morrison family is astounding; whether it be Linda, Billy’s little sister, drowning the house with lemon juice as a “remedy” for Mr. Morrison’s depression, or Mrs. Morrison’s quirkiness, everything becomes clearer in the end because family will never leave your side during difficult times. This story will most definitely play on in my heart due to the fact that home is where the heart is, and family is home.
The book Skinny by Ibi Kaslik shows the wars teenagers deal with each and everyday. War with society. War with parents. War with siblings. War with yourself. It gives you a sense of what it feels like not being good enough for someone you really care about and the extremes you would go to to get them to even acknowledge you. Kaslik's writing expresses the lives of two totally different people. Giselle still grieves the loss of her father who seemed to have some sort of hatred towards her, while fighting a battle against anorexia. Holly, Giselle’s younger sister, is just trying to grow up on her own, but Giselle’s sickness affects everyone in the household as well as everyone who cares about her.
Kaslik writes only about what she knows. She researched day and night for medical information she could include in the book itself, and its just genius. Background researching prepared her for writing a book that was realistic to the point where you feel as if you are one of the characters, or at least to the point where you can relate to them in a way or two. Obstacles are put in our lives too show everyone we can overcome our worst fears, and Kaslik expresses that in Skinny.
“Acceleration” is a page turner; as you read, you to will find yourself not wanting to put it down. The author, Graham McNamee, gives us a bone-chilling thriller that leaves the reader reluctant to stop reading. You are first introduced to the main character, Duncan, a seventeen- year-old who is spending his summer working underground, literally, at the Lost and Found of the Toronto Transit System and trying to figure out ways to win his father’s approval after losing it when he is involved in a senseless burglary. When Duncan finds a brown leather- bound journal filled with newspaper clippings of fires and dead animals, the novel quickly heats up.
As Duncan continues to explore the journal, he realizes that he is probably dealing with a serial killer and with the help of his friends, Vin and Wayne, they hunt around and risk everything to find “Roach.” Sure, they try to involve the police, but Duncan can tell almost immediately that they are not taking the details of the journal seriously. Despite Duncan’s brief encounter with the wrong side of the law, he is basically a decent person who would like nothing better than to prove to his father and himself that he is a “good guy.” It may be a little crazy and a lot dangerous, but the reader can see why Duncan gets so involved with the journal and its writer. You can’t help but worry for him as he takes more and more risks to try to stop the killer.
If you enjoy novels with suspense and mystery, this is the book for you! McNamee keeps the action fast-paced. Besides the exciting plot, McNamee creates a likeable character in Duncan, a troubled, slightly apathetic teen in Wayne and a shy one in Vin.
I have read two out of three books written by Alice Sebold. The books I have read of her's, were a memoir with the title Lucky, and a novel I am using for this report,The Lovely Bones. While being incapable to put this novel down, we see the life that fourteen year old Susie Salmon has left behind after being brutally raped and murdered in a cornfield nearby the school, by an awkward, creepy neighbor. The author's motivation, I believe, comes from her own rape that had happened during her college years. As Sebold writes this novel, we see that Susie Salmon tells us the story in heaven, in the first person point of view. The story has a lot of symbolism, and irony, and the exerpt that shows the most irony to me, is the one that starts the book; "'Inside the snow globe on my father's desk, there was a penguin wearing a red-and-white-striped scarf. When I was little my father would pull me into his lap and reach for the snow globe. He would turn it over, letting all the snow collect on the top, then quickly invert it. The two of us watched the snow fall gently around the penguin. The penguin was alone in there, I thought, and I worried for him. When I told my father this, he said, "Don’t worry, Susie; he has a nice life. He's trapped in a perfect world."'" The irony here is that Susie is not trapped in a perfect world, she's trapped in heaven, while all of her loved ones are down on Earth.
I as a reader was unable to put down this novel. I have felt the feelings that each one of the characters has. I have cried, and I have laughed. I have also felt sorrowful for Susie’s family as her death has been taken harshly by each one of her family members and friends. Seeing the Salmon family doing separate things and going different ways, you truly feel the loss for another, and find grief in yourself as well. If you look back, and think about a loved one you may have lost, you develop feelings you would have never come across. As I have only read two of three books by Alive Sebold, she has not let me down one bit, and I suggest this book greatly to everyone who is up for a suspenseful and mesmerizing novel that they won’t want to put down. Two thumbs up in my mind! I can’t wait to read the third book she has written.
Holly M.
A harsh twist on reality, Scott Westerfeld's "Peeps" could be described as a novel full of excitement and adventure. Westerfeld goes above and beyond in this work of science-fiction, and really knows how to please a reader. As a long-time fan of his novels, I am inclined to inform you that this is one of the best out of his bunch. This is truly a work well-deserving of five stars.
Similar to other novels of his, Westerfeld's "Peeps" is a novel that adds a futuristic twist to the American government and the ignorance of those it controls. In it, we meet Cal, who some may describe as a vampire, more specifically a parasite positive, but best known as a peep. Being a carrier peep in modern day New York City, it is his responsibility to protect those who are not yet infected. Throughout, he must battle other blood thirsty peeps and the infected rats crawling the streets, his own parasite, and above all himself to do his job and keep the parasitic city and beyond under control.
It is a known fact that rats roam the streets and infest the subways of New York City. Westerfeld added ambiance to the story by setting it in the "Big Apple", being that rat bites are and have been one of the main sources of the contraction of the parrasite, dating all the way back to the era of the "Plague". He used what little we know about the government, added some fictional points to it, and went deeper to develope the plot.
Returning to his signature style, Scott Westerfeld creates vivid and interesting pictures through his imagination, but also leaves room for your own to prosper. He adds truth to this story by, in every other chapter, describing a real life parasite, what it does, and how it is caught. Following the last chapter of the novel, he wrote and "Afterword", which lists and describes remedies used to avoid these parasites, and a bibliography, listing his sources of the information presented and places you the reader can go to learn more about these little germs residing in your intestines, blood, etc. Westerfeld has outdone himself in yet another action-packed thriller, and is more than commendable of a two thumbs up!
-Arielle
Diane Chamberlain's book, The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes, was the most astounding book I've ever read. Literally from page one to page five hundred and twenty two, this novel was filled was suspense and action. Most of the book is told in the perspective of a sixteen year old girl named CeeCee Wilkes. Later on in the book, CeeCee Wilkes must ‘disappear’; therefore she changes her name to Eve. We also hear from a girl named Corrine for a couple of chapters, we don’t know who she is until the very end.
Diane Chamberlain's motivation is to make the reader realize the secrets people hide from one another. Sometimes it could be the smallest secret such as your age, but sometimes it could be more important (like CeeCee Wilke's secret).The story takes place mostly in a quiet neighborhood town in North Carolina, where everyone knows each other. This is the reason CeeCee Wilkes must change her identity, because being the nicest waitress at the local diner, everyone knows her. The setting is significant because when she goes underground, so she won’t get caught by the police, she moves to a busy city and moves in with a stranger. This is when she begins her life with a clean slate.
The author fills this book with foreshadowing, suspense, and flashbacks, and that’s why this novel is so interesting. This book is marvelously written and deserves more than just a thumbs up. If you want to read a nail-biter, than this is the book for you! Don’t you want to know… what CeeCee’s secret is? And more importantly, will she tell anyone?
The Rose Bride by Nancy Holder is a compelling retelling of a classic fairy tale, The White Bride and the Black Bride. Written in a style that weaves intricate details and griping emotions The Rose Bride is sure to captivate any one who has ever dreamed of being a royalty at any point in their life. Although the fairy tale is written more for females, no doubt, even males can find something to enjoy in this novel, especially the huge battle scene. Nancy Holder retold a classic fairy tale to bring more life and a new sense of vibrancy to the tale. The writing style is easy to comprehend but some how makes the reader feel the emotions felt by the four main characters, Rose, Desiree, Rodmilla, and Prince Henry. To add to the majesty of the traditional fairy tale setting, Nancy Holder sets this novel in France in the 1500s. When Rose is conflicted with an evil stepmother and sister shortly after her father’s death, her world is turned completely inside out. The best beloved of the goddess, Artemis, she is sent on a journey of love and to help turn a grieving prince and his failing kingdom into the happy and prosperous land it once was. Rose is swept away into a world of lies, deceit, love, and heart break to find out if what her mother had said in her last moments is true, that love will always prevail and make everything better. This novel is an excellent and heart warming tale that sweeps one away into the fanciful world where anything is possible, even being turned into a deer.
The Catcher in the Rye is a classic tale of the teen struggle between childhood and adulthood. J.D. Salinger wrote the novel in the first person narrative style was uncommon when it was published in the 1950’s. The author used very loose grammar and a lot of slang so that readers could connect with the main character, Holden, and the way that he was feeling. Salinger’s attentiveness to detail in the novel makes you feel as if you were there with Holden throughout the story. He mentions the names of streets and very minute details about various paraphernalia.
J.D. Salinger’s main motivation is to show the coming of age from childhood to adulthood through the eyes of an adolescent experiencing it. Holden is a rebellious teenager that refuses to conform to society and is very disturbed by the death of his brother Allie. He is a critic of society and stands against phoniness and hates almost everyone and everything that he sees. There is a red hunting hat that Holden wears to separate himself and feel different that symbolizes his non conformity.
Holden has failed out of his private school and this is far from the first time, so he skips the end of the semester and he holds himself up in a cheap hotel in New York. Failing out of school further represents his unwillingness to conform to standards. When he goes to New York you see his true personality and he feels freedom from the bonds of society.
I would give The Catcher in the Rye two thumbs up. It is one of the best books I’ve read and a great American Classic. The novel was written so well and in such great detail, I felt as if I were with Holden the whole time. I could easily relate to many of Holden’s problems and experiences because he is going through the same thing. ““Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.” Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it's a game, all right—I'll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren't any hot-shots, then what's a game about it? Nothing. No game.” This shows Holden’s personality and gift for insight. I can totally relate to this philosophy.
Dylan
The story that i read was called "The Bumblebee Flies Anyway", by Robert Cormier. I believe the reason why Cormier wrote this book was to emphasize the importance of friendship, and how it can get you through the toughest times. As you read this book you will realize how much of a role each character plays. For example, The main character, Barney Snow, arrives at a hospital where he meets teenaged kids with critical conditions. He creates a bond between several of them, helping them and they are also helping him. The story takes place in a hospital. A hospital represents healing and hope. This is significant because in a way Barney is giving his friends hope by becoming their friends, and always being there in their time of need. There are many conflicts in this book. I don't want to ruin the book for you, so i will tell you one of the most important conflicts is. The reason why he is in the hospital is because the doctors want to perform a surgery on Barney. The doctors are trying to remove Barney's short term memory. Does the surgery result in a success? Is Barney going to be alright? That's for you to find out. I would definitely recommend this book to other people to read. It is a great book because it contains many conflicts that are resolved in the end, and even me, a person who doesn't enjoy reading, liked this book. Overal, I give this book a thumbs up because the author kept me, as a reader, guessing and interested.
Life as We Knew It, written by Susan Beth Pfeffer, is a book of existence, death, love, and the extremities that Mother Nature can force you to encounter. Susan is a superb author, and uses her excellent imagination to provide readers with vivid descriptions. Written in the form of a diary, Susan takes you into the mind of sixteen year old Miranda, as she and her family struggle to overcome life’s greatest obstacle - survival. When a meteor strikes the moon with an unexpectedly great impact, no longer is the meaning of life overlooked. As each day passes, another few lives, and pounds, are lost. Fright has overwhelmed the entire population, and last resorts are now number one priorities. Death is even being considered; as such terrible hardships are too much to bear. Family connections are lost, along with loved one’s lives. Extreme weather conditions and natural disasters prevent many from continuing. Once disease strikes, all hope is lost. School is forever closed, and food shortage is world-wide. Will Miranda and her loving family make it through the “every-man-for-himself” nightmare? Find out for yourself, as Susan invites you to experience the suspense in the award-winning attention-keeper Life as We Knew It.
-Melani H.
Riveting, gripping, action-packed, and suspenseful are all reasons why Runner by Carl Deuker is a great story. Runner is a fast paced novel that is an easy and quick read, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t good. It is a very entertaining book, and once you start reading it you don’t want to stop. The author utilizes every page and every word to portray an important meaning. In other words Carl Deuker gets his point across very clearly. The main character of this story Chance is fueled by a determination to succeed due to his father’s inability to do so. Chance’s life seems to be much like many other American teenagers, he lives with his single father, and his mother walked out on them when he was a young boy. Chance’s father is a former Vietnam vet, and since his wife left he became a drunk. Also, in this story there is the fat man who provides Chance with an opportunity to become rich, and an opportunity to enter into the world of illegal bomb smuggling.
More importantly than the characters in this story is the setting. The author chose the Seattle, Washington area for the setting of this story, because it is the author’s hometown and he is very familiar with the area. Seattle is also a coastal state, which provides the perfect basis for illegal smuggling of drugs and explosives. Altogether Seattle is a pretty normal place, but where Chance and his father live is not so normal. They live on a boat, not just any boat but a sailboat that doesn’t even sail; it just sits at the dock day after day. Many kids Chance’s age don’t understand this, and he can’t really ever get the idea out about what his “home” really is. “ When kids hear I live on a boat, they picture a floating mansion outlined with strings of white Christmas lights like the one in the old movie Sleepless in Seattle.”(quote from Runner.)
After Chance’s father loses his job they are struggling to pay the moorage fees, and the electric bills, for the boat. So Chance needs to earn money to help out with the bills, and he receives this opportunity when the Fat man approaches him and offers him a job. Little does Chance know that this job can get him into a lot of trouble. At first the job is okay but it evolves into a problem that not only involves his boss but himself. This is where you become unable to put the book down, until the resolution of the conflict.
Overall I would give this book a thumbs up, and 5 stars. I would recommend it to all people, and especially to teenagers. If you enjoy a fast-paced easy read then you will love this book. Hurry to your book store, or local library and pick up a copy of Runner by Carl Deuker.
A novel of revenge, family, respect, money, drugs, sex, and violence. The novel I'm talking about is "Brotherly Love" by Pete Dexter. In this book they explain the rivalry between the Irish and the Italian mafia, and how, in a lot of ways, they have to work together. A Gotham City Effect, if you will. In this term I mean how different figures in Gotham City have to work together to capture Batman. The writing style he uses is very detailed and you can picture every thing that happens. Though he does jump around a lot, leaving you baffled a number of times through the story. Also, during some sections with dialogue he doesn't explain who is talking, which can get very confusing, especially when more than two people are in one scene. Which I believe is a huge flaw, because explaining who is talking is vital in third-person. As in all mobs, the motives for what they did were money, family, and respect. Even though at the end there was a huge plot twist at the end, which goes against all of that. The setting is well described in the story, it was Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love (hence the title), in the time of 1961-1991. A time where organized crime was thriving, especially in big cities such as Philadelphia and New York City, thus making it a great setting for the story. Even though this story is very controversial, especially because of the racism (which was normal in that time period) I would give it two-thumbs up. I finished reading this book in two days, which is very good for me, and I found at some points I couldn't put the book down. It draws you in from the first five pages, where the main characters sister is struck by a car then attacked by a dog, until the very last pages of the book, which ends with a hit on the main character. I highly recommend this book for people who like suspense, or violence, In other words, most teenagers.
-Rich S.
Ellen Hopkins, my all-time favorite author, is notorious for writing the disturbing reality of a teenage life. Hopkin's motivation for, Burned, was to empathize teenagers who struggle with religious purposes, boys, and family life. All through which, almost all of us young readers can seriously comprehend. This heartbreaking, dramatic story of a girl gone contumacious will leave you breathless.
Hopkins's style of writing relates to a poetic composition in which really captures her readers. She elucidates the characters' thoughts, feelings, and actions. Ellen Hopkins's unique sense of writing provides balance and authenticity to the story. Her ironic twist at the end of the novel is bone-crushing and powerful.
Pattyn Von Stratten, a high school student, battles her way through the existence of her religion, undertakes the nature of boys, and copes with an abusive, alcoholic father. Situations that occur in the story create tension in the family. Outraged by their daughter's decisions, Pattyn is sent away to live with her aunt.
There, in the depths of Nevada, she finds it to be a sanctuary for herself. She is finally accepted into a home that loves her, but soon discoveries she is to awake a sleeping giant.
I obviously give, Burned, two thumbs up for being so beautifully written and earth-shattering. It is a very dramatic, but fully accurate piece of literature. I've learned by reading this book to be true to myself and believe in nothing else but my own heart. I've learned that it is better to lead your own life than to have someone else lead it for you.
Anyone who is not blind and can read sufficiently should definitely check, Burned by Ellen Hopkins, out of the library. Trust me, you will be blown away!
--Cassie K.
The book I read was called "Life As It Comes" written by Anne-Laure Bondoux.I think the authors motivation of this story was to show how difficult life can be at times but we have to stay strong through it. The main character is Mado,a 15 year old year girl, who is forced to live with her immature 20 year old sister after their parents death. During their first summer vacation without their parents, Mado finds out that Patty, her immature 20 year old sister, is pregnant. Mado and Patty must face many obstacles during the summer like dealing with their parents death, falling in love and Patty's baby. The decisions that they will make will change their lives forever.This story is about the coming of age of both Patty and Mado.They are being forced to grow up whether they liked it or not.It is told through Mado point of view. The story is taking place somewhere in Europe during the summertime in a their families summer house.I would give this book a thumps up. This book was good but I wouldn't recommend it to younger people because it was about a little more mature subject.
Maureen B.
Thomas Harris wrote The Silence of the Lambs because he wants to show his audience that not all serial killers are the same vicious, barbaric, animalistic, crazy people you hear about or see in asylums. Hannibal Lecter is a very elegant, intellectual, cultured, well-mannered individual. After having a conversation with him, you would never think him to be a cannibal by his sophisticated and polite nature.
The author went into a lot of detail about how the characters felt in certain situations. In the meetings with the F.B.I. trainee Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter, the author would describe how she would feel when Hannibal dissected her past memories in their conversations. She would get welled up with emotion, but keep a strong cover so Hannibal wouldn’t sense her weakening in front of him and use that to his advantage. The author never went into too much detail, which kept the story interesting. The story had a nice pace, it wasn’t too slow or too fast. It was a little hard to understand at times, but it was generally easy to follow.
Clarice Starling’s motives were to free the captured Catherine Baker Martin from the crazed serial killer, Buffalo Bill. She thinks that if she frees Catherine, she will impress Jack Crawford, the head of Behavioral Science, so she can work for him and graduate from being a trainee. Buffalo Bill craves to be a woman, so he kills women and uses their skin to make a suit made out of their skin to resemble the body of a woman. Clarice goes to Hannibal Lecter for help, whose motives are none other than to get a transfer to another asylum and escape along the way.
The setting creates a good portion of the mood in the story. In the asylum, the author goes into detail about the cells and the inmates to add to the mysterious and creepy atmosphere. The setting goes into contrast with Hannibal Lecter because you would expect an asylum to be full of savage people, but then you meet Hannibal who is an intellectual person. They both compliment each other in the way that they are totally different.
The conflict was that Buffalo Bill had captured Catherine and was going to skin her. Clarice Starling had to find him in time to save Catherine from being killed and return her safely to her parents. Hannibal has all the details about Buffalo Bill and it is Clarice’s responsibility to get all the information from him. It’s almost a “battle” between Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling to get what they want from each other. Clarice wants information on Buffalo Bill while Hannibal Lecter wants a transfer so he can escape.
I give this book two thumbs up, I loved every page of it. It’s a very feminist book, too. Clarice is a “woman in a man’s world.” It was hard for her to be taken seriously being a woman trainee in the F.B.I. The men in the force treat her differently by giving her strange looks whenever she says something, not letting her into where she’s supposed to go, or just not taking her seriously. When she turned out to be the hero in the end, people had a whole new respect for her and she became and F.B.I agent. It opened up the minds of women that they can be just as good as men in anything they do. It’s a very powerful book for men and women alike. I would recommend it to anyone fourteen and older.
A young boy, who had stumbled across and incredible discovery. Christopher Paolini has composed an instant classic. Through the eyes of the young farmboy Eragon we are taken on the journey of a lifetime. He is sucked into a escape that beats all the odds and all of my possible beliefs. Eragon show's us how to trust are gut and trust are friends but nothing more.
Eragon had no way to escape his fate. His motives were true hearted. Eragon had no other decision to take flight and get out of his small village for bigger and better things. But what will the road lead ahead as he goes in blind as a bat. In this mystical realm in which they live sets the tone for all. He does not know what lies on the road ahead as well as he does not know what the next stop in the next city will hold for him and his dragon. The ever changing landscape shapes the every changing twists and turns life holds ahead for this rider known as Eragon.
Mr. Paolini uses an enticing vocabulary of words that are still at our level. And yet he has created his own language that is used in the book. Every word expands the mind and wants you to know more and more. Then eventually you will be hooked and never want to stop this masterpiece of a novel.
Eragon face's one to many conflicts for a young boy such as himself. The main conflict is inside of himself. With such a gift and power we can only wait to find out what path Eragon will choose on his journey. He can either join the forces of good, or ride with Galbatorix and those of evil.
If I could give this story a rating it would be two thumgs way up. I'll even throw my big toes in there for a total of four. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I would recommend this novel to readers of a novice to advanced level. This story can truely be enjoyed by everyone. Four out of four stars from me.
The book, A Message in a Bottle, by Nicholas Sparks is an endearing romantic story. It is very sentimental. The characters are real dealing with very real issues. Theresa, a woman living a faced paced life, sets out to find the writer of the message found in a bottle on the beach. This event, finding the bottle, changes her life forever. On her quest to find Garrett, she also finds out about herself. Garrett is a quiet man whose commitment to his ex wife Catherine's memory has stopped himself from finding true love again. The two come together and both find the courage to love again the second time around. The story kept my attention from the first page to the last, only interrupted by tears for the two characters in the story. Sparks created an imaginable world in his book, A Message in a Bottle. It is a wonderful book of self discovery courage and renewal. It shows that there is the possibilty of loving again, once one has lost their "one" true love. Sparks has achieved his goal of writing another heart wrenching story that all romance novel readers will thoroughly enjoy, I know I did.
Magnificent. Fabulous. An instant classic. These are just some word to describe one of the most well written books I or anyone on the planet Earth will every read. Licence to Kill by John Gardner. No other book ever written, or to ever be written, will measure up to the action, suspense, drama, or romance in this outstanding book. This book is an obvious two thumbs up. If I had more thumbs, I would but those thumbs up, too. If you have not read this book or are not planning on reading it, you should not be allowed to interact with the portion of the human race that has read it because for the simple reason that you are far less intelligent than them for neglecting this fine piece of literature.
As most people know, the book is based on the very popular James Bond, or 007, book collection. James Bond comes across many problems in this story, even with the Secret Service he works with. Agents are not supposed to be motivated by revenge, but after a horrific act of violence, he swears revenge. The author shows a great side of James Bond that you do not experience in the other books. The plot forces 007 to look past his duty to his country, and makes him connect with his inner emotions. This story is well written, but in dialogue that anyone can enjoy. This is why I give Licence to Kill by John Gardner a 2+ thumbs up.
"I Was A Non-Blonde Cheerleader" by Kieran Scott is one the best books I have ever read and is a personal favorite of mine. Scott's motive for this book was based off of her own high school experience of being the only brunette cheerleader on the squad. Scott gives the reader a fresh, comical and drama-filled new taste of what it's like to be cheering in the main character, Annisa Gobrowski's, shoes.
Scott's writing style is one made up of teenage love, school cheers, rival school prank wars, and drama that makes you want to keep reading more and more. Every cat-fight that occurred, and every house party that was thrown was described in detail. Maybe you'll even find out what ever happened to the girl who broke Tara's nose by "accident". Well, what are you waiting for? Go read the book already!
New girl Annisa's, motive in her new Florida high school (Sand Dune High), was to blend in with the crowd as much as possible. Moving six times in her 15 years, she was quite used to it. But on top of being the new girl, she was also the only brunette in the entire school (all of the former brunettes gave into the Herbel Essence Amazon Gold hair dye.) So much for trying to blend in with the crowd.
The setting of the story is one that is different than what Annisa was used to. Annisa moved from her birthplace (and also her favorite of the six places she lived) New Jersey, to the sunshine state of Florida. Starting over once again in a new school wasn't ever easy to Annisa, Especially since she was leaving everything that she knew in New Jersey, which included drastic season-change, her old cheerleading squad, and her best friend, Jordan.
Just like every other school Annisa went to, being on the cheerleading squad was her passion, and it also replaced her for being known as "the new girl". It was the main source of automatic popularity. But nothing is easy for a teenager in this place, right? Exactly. She wasn't going to fit in THAT easy in this new school.
I absolutely love this book and give it a double thumbs up! Any teen looking to read an up-beat and modern book, I definitely recommend this one to you. I already started up on the sequel and it's amazing! (I also am going to be picking the third book hopefully very soon :]).
-Carina D : )
November 30, 2008 10:45 PM
Brittany A
Tuesdays with Morrie is a heartwarming true-life tale of a middle-aged man and his relationship with an old, end-of-the-road nearing teacher named Morrie. Tuesdays, was written by Mitch Alblom who is no newcomer to writing novels. The story is about Mitch and his journey through life as he tries to find the things that are really important and what should really take up his time. Morrie was Mitch’s college professor who encouraged some of his best work, so it should be no surprise that Mitch has felt the need to pay tribute to his dear friend with this “final project”, as Morrie often referred to it. The setting of the story jumps around from the college days, to present time which only adds to the knowledge of how great of a relationship Morrie shared with Mitch. I truly loved this book. I, who am not at all an avid reader, fell in love with this touching novel the second I read the prologue. It really hits home and forces the readers to examine his or her, own life. I found myself often asking, “If I were to die today, would I be pleased with how my life has been?” It is seriously mandatory that your outlook on life is altered after reading this book and I think that all students, adults, elders, and whoever else should be forced to read this book. It truly “rocks your world”.
My book was 'The Fifth Horseman', a novel written by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. I have never heard of these authors before, nor have I read any of their previous works. But I can safely say that 'The Fifth Horseman' has been added to me 'Need to Read' list. The book is told in Omnicient point of view, and covers a time period in which a man named Muammar al-Quaddafi holds New York city hostage via a Hydrogen Bomb.
I believe that the authors wrote this book in response to political troubles between America, Libya, and Palestine. It's common knowledge that Libya and Palestine have always had problems and all-out warfare with each other, so it's no surprise people would write about such a possibility. Perhaps they were expressing their own fears through the people in the book.
The setting is New York City, for the most part, though it switches on occasion to France, and sometimes the Middle East. While there is such an ever-present danger in the book, it's interesting that it takes place in New York, an always assumed safe and prime example of the American way. And the book really shows the possibility of that security being shattered apart with the press of a button.
The Authors style is very good! It gives a very real and gritty feel to the entirety of the situation, leaving you frightened, frazzled, and bedazzled. It really gives you a horrible insight into what it's like on both sides of the fence, on the terrorist's side, and the World Leader's side, and the average civilian's side.
For the President of the United states, he is merely out to protect his country from the threat of destruction. He tries his very hardest to go the least conflicting route, proving to place him into highly difficult situations. For Quaddafi, it's all about revenge on the Palestinians for taking the Holy Land from them, and he's willing to massacre six-million lives in New York City to do it. It's that way with Kamal, the lead terrorist in the plot, but for others, like his sister Laila, they are actually hoping that they will settle on an agreement before the bomb can explode.
All in all, I give this book two thumbs way, way up! It's gritty, it's real, and it's terrifying. So terrifying in fact, that when the Presidant of France read it, he stopped selling Nuclear reactors to Libya.
-Alison F.
“Just Listen” by Sarah Dessen is an aspiring novel that relates to young teenage girls today. It interprets all the possible problems young ladies, such as myself, have to deal with whether we want to or not. Annabel Greene, the protagonist of this novel, is faced with many problems throughout the story because of a simple, but life-altering decision she made as a child. She chooses not to talk about it with anyone because she simply can’t. Although she really wants to, Annabel can’t seem to tell the truth about her biggest problem, so she chooses to not talk about it at all. I recommend this book to all teenage girls because it helps you decide what’s right and what’s wrong. This novel is definitely a thumbs up for me.
The author’s motivation in this story is to tell young girls, such as myself, that it’s okay to let things out and talk about the obstacles that we are facing. In fact, in doing so, it will help you to realize that you can solve these obstacles. You might not even need anybody’s help=2 0in solving a particular one either. Annabel Greene faces many problems in the story, but they all relate to one particular problem that happened when she met Sophie. Sophie changed Annabel’s whole life in one minute. For better or worse, that’s every reader’s own opinion. Considering I just told you Annabel’s problems started when she met Sophie, you would think the conflict is man vs. man, but really the conflict in this story is man vs. himself. After Annabel and Sophie had a falling out, Annabel told no one about it and couldn’t talk to anyone about it. That was the real problem she had faced in this amazing novel.
Although every part of this book was completely astounding, there was something I didn’t like about it. Throughout the story, the author would randomly bring up flashbacks that the main character encountered in. They were important and needed to understand the story, but at times, it would get a bit confusing. Annabel Greene was a unique individual. After that one party that caused her whole life to change, she went on lying without even knowing it. She didn’t realize all the little white lies she had told to everyone, especially her mother, until Owen Armstrong had told her at lunch that if you’re brushing the subject off when asked about it and you know it isn’t the correct answer, then you’re still lying to them. After this speech from Owen, she really tried not to lie anymore, but she couldn=E 2t do that with anyone, except him. She managed to always tell Owen the truth, no matter what they were talking about, up until that night at the club in Bendo when they had gone to a concert.
There are a lot of different settings in this story: the pool, the mall, Owen’s house, school, the wall outside the school at lunch, and there are a lot of different time frames. I think the most important setting, though, is Annabel’s house in the present. Her house is a very modern house and the whole front side of it is made of glass. Anybody passing by could see what was going on. On some nights, cars would slow down in front of it and look in to see “a very happy family eating dinner together” even though it was anything but that, most of the time.
--Zizi K.
For my book report, I read “From A Buick 8” by my favorite author Stephen King. Although this novel was rather long, it was highly enjoyable. As most books do, it took a little while for me to really invest in the story and get into it more. When I did, I was not disappointed by any means. The main conflict in this story is not so much between the main character and the car which essentially controls him, but more the conflict between the main character and himself. This book was as enjoyable a style as every Stephen King book. Even though it sometimes takes a while for the book to get going, if you pay attention to what’s going on, you find yourself continuing on. Usually with Stephen King’s style, he takes some time to make sure the reader fully understands the background of the character and what type of person they are. This helps you to get a first-hand description of what the characters are thinking and why they do what they do. This book is loaded with suspense, thrills, and terror, as with most Stephen King stories. In the story, you see exactly why the main character, Ned Wilcox, is drawn to the Buick Roadmaster. Ned is shown to be somewhat of a vulnerable person due to many tragedies and difficult times in his life which cause him to be easily influenced by the over-whelming power the car holds. All in all, this was an excellent story and would be enjoyable for not only a Stephen King fan, like myself, but any fan of a flat-out thriller. I definitely give this book a thumbs up.
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