If you don’t believe in God and that he can do things to change people life this wont be a book for you to read. There is a part in the book where Don Piper comes alive after he gets hit by a truck and dies as all this is happening he is in Heaven getting to the gates where all the Angles are greeting him and welcoming him in as another angle. As they singing and pray to God and it say in the book that it was like a party in heaven and it was bright. Another part that have to go with if you don’t believe in God is that on every chapter in the story has a bible verse that you have to read to understand where he coming from. After all this happened and Don Piper gets his life back together and starts to heal he had relived what God has done in his life. Don Piper changes his life so that he can tell people how God did things in his life. This is the reason why I say if you don’t like things about God and you don’t believe that he can do this there is no point in reading this book and wasting your time.

This book is good because it gets in to deal tails about the crash and how heaven looks. Around the third chapter of the book is when he died and he is at the gates of heaven he say that heaven is bright and it is the most beautiful thing that have never seen in his life, the angles where singing they had the most beautiful voice that made others want to singing as there reached the gates. As he was walking in the gates he seen family, friends that help him when they went on him ups and downs. H was is haven but as the pastor sat there and prayed for him he began coming back to life but the thing was as he was coming alive he was singing like an angle. When Don Pipers was fully healed he became a pastor he told his story many times heaven is a grate place to live after your life on earth because the way it is the way angles treat you the way they act everything about them.

If you are in to God and want to learn a lil more about him get your head in to this book and read it and begin to believe because God is good and with out him no one can really do anything. These are real life things that are happening now in are days.

In conclusion This book by Don Piper’s 90 minutes in heaven is a book that will get you hooked and make you want to read more because of the action and detail it tells I would love for everyone in this class to read it to see if it changes are view on live. I rate this book a five cause i got in to it and it connects to something that happened to someone in my life. God is real believe in him he can work.

Tish is a teenage girl, who happens to write  in her school journal, Because she don’t have anyone to talk personally to. Tish likes to write when she is having trouble at home. Its almost like a hobby to her. Tish becomes comfortable writing because, she feels that she can write all her thoughts and feeling without anybody knowing about it. Tish dad comes back home after being gone for about 2 years. when her dad returned, he came back like he was never gone, he brought things fr them, and for mat birthday he brought mat the new game system that came out. she wished that is was better off when he wasn’t around. Tish kept thinking to herself that hes going to make things worse that what it already is. So at this point Tish is sad, and angry. She Kept thinking to herself, “its crazy how dad was gone for so long and yet we’ve never heard of him since, and till now he wants to return?”. Before Tish dad came home her little brother Matt didn’t knew who was his father, and their mom is depressed. Tish was the only one in the house who realized that. “I can connect to her situation, and why she feels the way she feels. She sad and angry inside shes really disappointed in her mom and little brother mat for accepting heir dad back home. and i found the passage interesting because it relates to real life event’s”

Tish and her family is poor. Shes the only one in her household who actually works, Since her mom don’t. Tish works at a fast food Restaurant called “burger boy”, she don’t get paid the best but its worth working for, in her position. Her mom don’t seem to help out as much. All her mom do is sit in that same rocking chair everyday when Tish comes home from school. Not only is she lazy, but irresponsible. Tish takes care of her little brother mat and takes him out to eat at “burger boy” where she works, whenever she has enough money left over. or when he did something good in school. Tish life is Tough, especially at her age. Shes too young to be having so many responsibility. “I like the way the author write, because it brings an images of how its like for her. I also think to myself of how she must feel as if she was a real person. That had me even more interested in the book.”

Tish got a lot going on in her life. So she writes everything in her journal, it takes out her anger, stress, and sadness. Everyday from school she writes on her journal and talks about what happen specifically. After awhile she gets use to writing in her journal, Tish ends up actually liking writing. Tish feels as if someone is listening to her and understands all her problems when she writes in her journal. So it all started in her English class, when everybody is assigned a notebook. For extra points they have to write entries about anything. Mrs.Dunphrey, the English teacher collects them, and if you don’t want her to read the journal entry, at the top of the page write don’t read. Tish on the other hand, Always marks her entry’s that way. She never let the teacher read not one entry, unless she’s making it up, just to stop hearing the teacher complain about her not letting the teacher not read her entry’s. Tish feels as though, if she let he teacher read her entry then shes afraid that she is going to tell everybody that shes having problems at home. “The whole book is based on these journal entry’s that Tish is writing, its Interesting to me because of how the book is setup that way and it makes me want to read more”

A teenage girl name Tish she writes her daily life on a school journal because, she don’t have anybody to personally talk too. Tish writes  on her spare of time, or whenever she’s alone. As time flies Tish become comfortable writing in her journal just to speak her mind on a sheet of paper about her day’s

This is a good book that gives great detail on whats going on. It makes you feel as if your one of the characters. It get’s into Ashley and Zach’s relationship an explains their thoughts. Like when Zach runs away you feel the anger that he’s feeling. Doesn’t make you bored, it keeps you alert and ready for what will happen next.

Other people may give Reaction a push to the side, because it’s a small book that talks about one main topic through out the whole story. It doesn’t give a verity of events. Sticks to Ashley and Zach’s decisions for the baby and how their going to care for it, if they keep it.Even though it’s small an talks about one main topic Lesley Choyce choose to do that so you would really understand whats going on between Ashley an Zach, the main characters.

A teenage couple that made the wrong decision. Does that  catch your attention? Well if so then this will definitely be a good book for you. Reaction is about a high school couple that goes to a party and full’s around. You can find out what the have to deal with now, once you pick up Reaction and read it for yourself.

This book is a four out of five stars. I didn’t rate Reaction a solid five because the ending leaves you wondering what happens. But other then that Reaction is a wonderful book. With a great story line.

For people that don’t enjoy card games All In isn’t for them.Some people may like the ending of books to surprise them, but All In  gives away the ending early on in the book. Next, some people might like this book because of the characters in the book. The characters in the book are like the kids in schools now a days. There are trouble makers, teacher’s pets and class clowns .Monique Polak is very detailed with characters in my book creating different personalities making it easier for you to relate to them.

Meanwhile, All In is a hard book to follow the story line because some chapters jump around from place to place. The author makes the reader assume that certain things happen and may not have really happen . The book wasn’t believable cause the author wrote somethings that couldn’t really have happen in real life. `Young teens and Adults like poker, but I wouldn’t recommend this book because it was confusing. I rate this book a 2.5 out of 5 because the book jumped around from part to part and not very detailed.

Russell is dog sledding across the frozen tundra when he comes upon a pregnant Eskimo woman being attacked by a polar bear and he defeats the bear. I would recommend this book because it has lots of adventure.

Dog Song is a good book because it has lots of adventure by Russell dogsleds across the frozen tundra because of his dreams taking him half way across the earth from his in Alaska.

However, people wouldn’t like this book because it has lots of slow parts and it go’s slowly. The story is slow because in the beginning and to the middle of it, the setting or plot never changes. When he goes to oogrucks house to talk about his weird dreams.

Another reason, people would absolutely love this book is because it has lots of action packed passages like while he is dog sledding across the frozen northern tundra with a group of people and while he’s doing that. He rescues a woman from a polar bear.

In conclusion, I think that it would be a wonderful book for the people that like mysterious and adventurous type of books. I would give this book a four because it can be slow at times but its still action packed. The book is good for all ages but people should be a little older to understand the story.

Death may not be easy. Corbin learns this the hard way when he finds out his best-friend, Darius, passes away in a hospital. In Riley Park by Diane Tullson, the reader will have a blast trying to figure out who murdered Darius and experience a BIG twist!

People who are into the CSI or Law and Order genre, would definitely enjoy reading this book. Although the length of this book is super small, anyone would pick this book off the shelf. This book counts up to 162 pages and 10 chapters. The chapters go about 10 pages. The chapters go fairly quickly.

Maybe some people might think the ending of this book is disappointing, if I was the author I would of ended it differently. It ended with something I didn’t expect to happen. I was hoping someone would die, or maybe a miracle, or something more catching, that would’ve left me thinking later on. As much as I didn’t like the ending, the author left it so maybe a sequel will follow?

Now, the major action in this book is the park scene! That part made this book about 1,000 times better! Corbin and Darius went to a bon-fire party at Riley Park. Later in the night, Corbin and Darius were alone after everyone left. They were drunk when 2 to 3 guys came and jumped them. One of the guys brought a steel pipe and beat Darius with hit. Corbin left with scratches and a cut open head, Darius sadly didn’t make it. That whole scene is packed with action and makes the reader feel like they’re RIGHT THERE! That scene made a major impact on the ending of the book.

Finally, people who like action, mystery, suspense, would love this book. Mostly appropriate for ages 14 and over due to violence and modern urban life subject matter. I highly recommend this book! I rate this book 4.5 stars out of 5.

One time while I was riding on the ambulance we got a call for a cardiac arrest, the additional was a 53 year old male unconscious and not breathing. As we get on scene, we go in and check out the patient, he was DOA (dead on arrival). We go back to the rig and get the stretcher and as we are bringing the patient out his arm falls off of his lap and gets stuck in the doorway, and the EMT I was with said “I TOLD YOU TOO KEEP YOU ARM IN THE STRETCHER!” A similar event happened in the book. so i would recommend this book to all MATURE readers and all adults that are in the emergency services!

A Paramedics Story  is a great book because it is FULL of action. a great example of action is when they beat the fire department to a vehicle fire and that is a rare occurrence. As the fire engine trails the ambulance, the ambulance wins the race to the vehicle fire.

One bad point of this book is that immature people couldn’t read this book. the book requires mature readers because they use a lot of adult language, and the scene descriptions require maturity. For instance the ambulance gets dispatched to an injured person class 1 (class 1 means lights and sirens). The additional is a 23 year old male with his P**** stuck in his zipper.

This book makes you feel like your driving the ambulance. “behind me i hear his enraged voice of, WHAT THE F***!” “ I vaulted on the running board of the rig and hollered at JoAnn to drive before i could close the doors, peeling rubber and spitting debris as we roar up the street!”

Graysons style of writing make you want to read more by writing in 1st person. Putting it in 1st person makes you feel like your in the action!

Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen is mainly about how to make the person   feel good about themselves, to  improve their thinking, and  the way they live. It is to influence those who not only want to change their life  but to give insight in how he or she will change their thinking. This book teaches those who read it to live a positive life and not speak negative about their situations or circumstances. It also tells about what they say in life it can, and will happen if they  believe it. Many people don’t realize why so many problems are going on in their life, well its because of the word they speak day by day. The words we speak determines our future. It doesn’t matter what we say, well thats my opinion. It does matter because our  life can become in ruins if  we don’t think about what we saying. Those that are against God, or not into spiritual  books then they would not like it. Many people today don’t believe in God because they think it is un-cool  or don’t want to be rejected by their peers. The truth is we can overcome those words. We  may think  that God never answers pray, or don’t think he will prosper  us in all that we  do. He can and will prosper us if we ask him too. It doesn’t matter who we  are or what background we  are from, if we  believe in him he can change  our life for the better and will do more than we  can ask. This book gives insight to how we  can motivate  our thinking and the way we  look at ourselves. In this book it tells us how to speak to our problems and they will go. It also tells us  what words we  should and should no say. “What we think in our heart we will become.” Your Best Life Now was great, overall  I think those who would like it are those who are into spiritual books that improve  our lives. I would give this book a rating of a five out of five , because of the content and information that it covers. I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it, because if we  want to live a prosperous and positive life then this book is for them. The book is geared mostly toward adults, but has information that would be helpful for high school and college students.

Random bursts of smoke are being noticed in the sky, but people never thought this would be signs of extraterrestrial life heading towards Earth. A metal cylinder then lands on Earth and it draws attention as well as the attention of the narrator. Eventually, the martians exit the cylinder and kill a few people with what seems to be a heat ray. Now there are two cylinders and the military is sent to monitor them. The narrator escapes the town with his wife to find shelter with his cousin in Leatherhead. The martians are just destroying everything with their heat ray so, the narrator heads to London with an abandoned army man. Then, the focus changes to the narrator’s brother and his attempt to escape London via boat. The narrator arrives in London and gets trapped in a house with the curate he has been traveling with due to a cylinder crashing into the house. The curate makes to much noise and suffers death by the martians. The narrator leaves the house after 15 days and finds London to be completely abandoned. Then, all of a sudden the martians just stop moving. It turns out the martians had no defense of Earth’s bacteria. The narrator and his wife are reconciled and fear of another attack still remains. The War of the Worlds is the book that first started the thought of extraterrestrial life forms. In the mid 90’s, there was a scare of alien life forms attacking Earth because The War of the Worlds was read on the radio. The author does a great job with painting a vivid picture by using a lot of detail. The only downfall of this book is that the beginning is very slow. It takes forever for the story to really start. Also, the way the author writes is weird because it is from his perspective. Also, when the focus changes to the narrators brother is kind of irrelevant and unnecessary, but it added a different point of view. The favorite part for the reader was when the martians first attacked with their heat rays. It was not what was expected. This book should be read because it is what started the speculation of greater intelligence on other planets. For a person into science fiction it would be a five out of five and a must read. For everyone else, a three out of five would be an appropriate rating.

The book Halo:Ghost of Onyx was written by Eric Nylund. This book takes place far into the future, year 2545. The story begins with 300 super soldiers called Spartan-3’s who are apparently in a covenant fueling station. They have been assigned the task to destroy said facility. During the beginning of the raid, some spartan-3’s die but the remaining spartan-3’s continue to advance and managed to reach their target. Unfortunately during the process of destroying the station, it unexpectedly exploded and killed all but 2 spartan-3’s. The story then goes back 14 years before the unfortunate event in the planet Victoria where a spartan-2 team called Blue team were sent to recover nuclear warheads. They were then captured by the opposing forces but was later saved by a character named Kurt Ambrose. After this event, a meeting is held that focused on a new program called spartan-3 program. This program would continue to produce the same Spartans except they were cheaper to produce. This program was to take place in planet Onyx and would be managed by Kurt. Kurt then modifies the Spartan-3s after 2 of his team are killed. After a few years have past, planet Onyx is suddenly attacked by sentinels after the chief destroys Halo. Help then comes and a long battle ensues which results in a discovery of a “shield world”.

Halo: Ghost of Onyx was an action packed book filled with interesting characters. The books introduction instantly captures the readers attention with detailed descriptions of what was happening. Beyond the introduction, non-stop action filled battles and events unfold in which all are, nonetheless,descriptive and detailed. Though this book may seem easy to read at first, it becomes challenging to understand if the reader has not read the other books. My favorite scene from the book would have to be the battle in Onyx when help came. This event was so full of action that the reader will have a hard time putting the book down. My favorite character would have to be Kurt Ambrose. This would be because he was a very good and friendly leader. His ability to sense dangers helped him save Blue team when they were captured. People should read this book only if they are interested in knowing the full story of the Halo series. If one is interested in knowing the full story, then he/she should read the other books before reading Ghost of Onyx to fully understand the story. My rating for this book would have to be 3. This would be because I did not fully understand the plot because I have not read the other books.

I choose this book because The Warriors movie is my favorite movie. After seeing the movie, I already had a picture in my mind of what everything would look like and how things would turn out. In the book, Dewey is my favorite character because I can related to him the most. He was laid back, and did not look for trouble most of the time. My favorite scene from the book was when the police raided the meeting in the beginning. I can just picture the mass chaos of everybody running in all directions and in the middle of it all, a deadly gunshot. The only thing I did not like, is how the movie and the book are different. They are not that different though, the biggest difference was the main characters and gangs. People should read this book if they absolutely love the movie. You do not need to read the book first in order to better understand the movie. I would give this book a 4 out of 5 only because I like the movie’s characters better than the book’s character’s. This story is a hit or miss with people, either you will love it, or hate it.

McCaffrey, Ann. Dragonquest. New York: Ballantine Books,  1978. Print.

It has been seven turns(Pern’s equivalent of years) since Lessa brought the ‘oldtimers’ forward in time to fight the thread. Thread is a mindless creature which eats any organic material it touches, and can only be destroyed by fire. Now the thread has been falling out of pattern causing a lot of problems for the dragon riders that must protect the land. The oldtimers are against F’lar and Lessa’s idea to send a dragon and rider to each Hold so that they can hear when the thread falls as soon as possible.While F’lar is trying to figure out a way to appease the oldtimers and still be able to hear of the thread falls, F’nor discovers newly hatched firelizards. These firelizards are a lot like the dragons but in miniature. F’nor manages to impress one and takes it home. F’lar realizes that if they can train the firelizards then they would be a great form of communication between the Holds and the Weyrs. Soon many of the Lords of the Holds are given firelizard eggs. While trying to set up a good form of communication, F’lar is also trying to find a way to eliminate thread for ever. In the southern part of Pern, F’lar discovers grubs that seem to eat the thread and brings them to the northern part. Many of the people of Pern did not agree to the idea of the grubs even though they were very efficient. Another idea that popped up was the idea of going to the Red Star, the origin of all the thread, and eliminating it there, but F’lar was not too fond of that idea. Later in the book F’nor, on a whim, actually gets to the Red Star. He discovers that it is impossible for them to even survive on the Red Star and just makes it back alive. After this the people begin to accept the idea of the grubs.

This book was excellent, it was really good at pulling the reader in. While there where a lot of major points in the book, and many of them happening at the same time, the book was fairly easy to follow. The beginning was also a little slow, since the author had to describe how the different weyrs and holds interacted with each other. It was also nice how the author would change characters throughout the book to show what they were doing and how they interacted. If she were to write with only one characters perspective half of the book would be lost.  There where also a lot of allusions to another book in the series, which, if the reader is reading the books in the order of publication, were a little confusing, but fit in with the story very well. The ending did seem a little rushed, but it was still a pretty good ending. Over all this was a great book.

Most important, Brian’s Winter is a good because its a short easy read book.Brian’s Winter only has seventeen chapters and has 131 pages. One example is because Gary Paulsen does not use hard vocabulary. Page 78 is a good example for easy vocab when he shoots a moose with his bow. Gary Paulsen used easy vocabulary in Brian’s Winter to make this a good short easy read book.

Then, Brian’s Winter can be a boring book because Brian is the only person in this book. In my book Brian is by himself which that makes the book have less dialogue. The only parts that have dialogue are when Brian talks to himself or to an animal. The author wrote Brian’s Winter with less dialogue which he makes up for it with more action.

Finally, Brian’s Winter is a good book for showing survival. In Brian’s Winter the character Brian as to learn how to survive. One example of him trying to survive is when he shoots a huge moose and a whitetail buck with his bow. Gray Paulsen is good at showing how Brian survives like when he shoots the moose and a whitetail deer for food to eat.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves the great outdoor. Also the age I would recommend is from 12 to young adults. I would recommend this book because its an short easy read book. I would give rate this book a 4 out of 5 because the book doesn’t have much dialogue.

Black Hawk Down is such a great book because of the way Mark Bowden creates the action. Private 1st class Blackburn falls out of the Black Hawk as it jerked to get the rope off of a car. As the Black Hawk hovers over the streets of Mogadishu, the soldiers use the rope the to glide down to enter the battle. Matt Eversman shouted on the radio, “Man Down, WE NEED TO EXTRACT HIM ASAP!” Blackburn was unconscious with blood coming from his ears, nose and gargling blood in his mouth. Mark Bowden creates action by using quotation marks, exclamation points and capitalization. He also explains how bad the situation is when the soldiers have to try and extract Blackburn to the convoy without getting anyone else shot or hurt.

The reader might complain that some chapters are way too short. Some chapters are one to two paragraphs long but the chapter ends with the reader wondering what is going to happen next. The chapters leave the reader hanging at the part that makes one wonder and switches to another scene. The good thing is that it picks up later in the book where the reader stopped before. If people like chapters that leave you wondering what is going to happen next, than this is a great book for the reader. After every chapter it always makes one wonder what is going to happen next so it makes us want to keep on reading the book.

Black Hawk Down is a great book because of the way Mark Bowden describes the scene. When he describes Mogadishu as a slightly orange color. It smelled and tasted like dust mixed with the odor of gunpowder. And also when Blackburn falls out of the Black Hawk he describes how Blackburn was gargling his blood and that it looked like every bone in his body was shattered. Mark Bowden creates and describes everything very well that makes it feel like we are actually in the battle.

I would recommend Black Hawk Down to anyone who likes military stories and books with a lot of action, suspense and description. This book is kind of a sad book because of the soldiers that died. Black Hawk Down would be appropriate for older and mature people because of all the language and violence that goes on in the book. I would definitely recommend this book. I would rate this book a five out of five because of all the action and suspense that takes place.

By: James Patterson

This book really grabs your attention when one finds out the flock is staying at a F.B.I. agents house after Fang got hurt by Ari in the beginning. I think the second book of Maximum Ride School’s Out Forever by James Patterson is better than the first book, The Angel Experiment. First, this book is very action packed keeps you are on the edge of your seat. Example is when Fang beat Ari up possibly to death. After he plummeted down into the woods he wasn’t seen again. This keeps you on the edge of your seat because one doesn’t know if Ari is dead or alive, until later in the book.

Second, this book is very long! Example this book has 141 chapters and a total of 394 pages. However the chapters are three to four pages each which makes the book read  really fast.

Third, I love the parts when Max tells the flock something that there facial expressions change right after she tells them. Example is when Max and her new boyfriend kissed in the front of Anne’s house after they had ice cream. Max told the flock she had got her first kiss. After Max was done the whole flock was speechless for a few minutes.  Fang’s expression changed along with the rest of the groups expressions.

In conclusion, I recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy books and likes a fast pasted book. This book is for anyone thirteen and up. I do recommend this book for someone to read. I give this five stars out of five stars because of how action packed and fast pasted this book is.

The book I am going to talk about is called Reform Your World by  Ryan cook. This book simply talks about how the reader can “Understand Your Past To Change Your Future.” I really think this is a great book to read, because it has many quotes from reformers around the world and through history. It also talks about those who took charge and action to change the world around them, like Martin Luther King Jr., Fredrick Douglas, Mother Teresa, Eleanor Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, and,  Abraham Lincoln.

Reform Your World is an interesting book to read because it shows different events that have happened in history. One example is when he talks about Fredrick Douglas. He was a great man in history. He had changed his life and the world he was in by writing a journal called “The North Star” to help with the cause of en-slaved blacks who were trying to get freedom. One quote that Fredrick had professed is  “ If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground,they want rain without thunder and lightning”. This example explains how real life characters can change their future and the futures of the generations after them. If you take action you will be able to change your life too for the better.

This book shows how others had changed their world around them. When Ryan was in   a German bookstore during a trip to Germany, he had looked at some books and since he could not read German he looked at the pictures. He was in the city square and as he looked in the book he pictured the Nazi youth that Hitler had controlled to kill people and fight. In that moment Ryan had realized the heart of a dreamer. That is when he wanted to changed the world. This talks about how he started as a reformer to change his life.

In many books they have disturbing or crucial parts in them this is one that has both great, happy parts, and then some parts that are crucial to our society and make you want to do something about it. During the life of Adolf Hitler he had taken children to become part of his concentration camps, and make them fight, and worship him in ways that are crucial to peoples lives. He was a man with evil thoughts, and he would do things that would harm those around him. The example explains the life of Adolf Hitler but also it talks about a specific historical event that affected many people. This could also be a good affect as well, because it shows people what not to do in the future and to act on what is right and how they can live a wonderful life of peace and happiness instead of misery and heartache.

Overall I believe this book is a great tool to use to change the world. If many people come together, take action in what they believe, and go forth and do what they know is right, and stop believing lies that they hear people say then they will be able to take their life to the next level. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to change their lifestyle of living and go forth and have a life of peace and happiness. I also believe that this is a book filled with words that are inspiring and life changing. It is a great book and I would rate this book a 5 out of 5, because of the content that it covers and all of the great quotes that he provides to illustrate the  topic of each chapter.

“He’s always been there for her,now he may be gone forever.” I recommend FANG By James Patterson to everyone because it has a lot of action, it gets more people to read the book and it gets more interesting towards the middle of the book.

This book is really good because of all the action with the erasers and the doctors who are trying to attack the flock. They have so many different ways to hurt an eraser or do whatever they think is right. An example is when they take a blender and chop up things or use anything that they can find to fight off the erasers. The Max Ride series will hook readers because of all the action happening or that has happened to the flock in their days of life.

Secondly, I don’t like when there is no one left in the flock to be in charge except for Angel and she’s not that good of a leader. Max gets kicked out of the flock and then she goes to Los Vegas,and after that Fang follows her and they all leave on their own to go different places. They don’t come back together until Angel and the rest of the flock get into a fight with the erasers.

The third reason Fang is a good book is because its all fun and scary at the same time. The flock has fun until they have to fight the erasers since they have to fight them at the Grand Canyon until all the erasers are gone for now. They see it as fun and scary to fight the erasers and do whatever. Its scary because they don’t know what is going to happen next in their life.

Everyone would like this book,and its appropriate for all ages. I give FANG 3 stars because its really good for people to read,and it tell you how they are looking for their parents.  Also what they are going to do next when they find them. They are also wondering what is going to happen to them when the parents recognize who they are, or how life is going to go once they are with their families again.

I did like the cover of the book because It was really photography to me and very pretty. The front cover of the book is really colorful. The only two colors that pop out are green and pink. It has pretty flowers on the front cover of the book. The cover is really pretty. I liked it because It looked very springy and summery. I love spring and summer. I also liked it because their was flowers on the cover. I also liked the outfit the girl was wearing. I would probably wear that too.

The story really hooked me when Natalie and Ben got married. It really bothered me when they got married because they’re still in high school. Another thing that bothered me was that they got married way before they had the baby. Also her and Ben live in an apartment together and they had a huge fight in the story because of his drinking problems and Kim had to come over and had a big talk with Nat about Ben. It really shocked me that they got married right away. It was really unexpected because It was right in the beginning of the story.

My favorite character in this story I read is Kim. Kim is the main character in this story. She’s my favorite because she’s always there for Natalie. She gives Natalie so much advice. She’s just basically a great best friend to her. She’s even more and more there for Natalie because she’s pregnant. The author that made this character named Kim really inspiring and very lovable because she seems like such a great best friend to Nat. Teenagers would definitely like this book. They would because It’s about a teen that obviously had unprotected sex and got pregnant. This is a definitely an appropriate book for teens because It teaches them a lesson to not have sex at a very young age because then you’ll most likely have a really hard times in your teens years. I do recommend this book because It’s a really good book for teens and It’s also sad for Natalie because she’s pregnant. I would give this book 5 out of 5 because It was a really good book to me and I think others will enjoy reading it!

Willow as you might of guessed is the main character, shes a high school student that  struggles with her new life, with no parents. Things got shaky, people in school where making fun of Willow, talking behind her back. They knew her as the girl who killed her parents. These voices from all the students where overwhelming to Willow, so she began to cut. This may scare some readers away and throw the book down and never look at it again. Just because Willow deals with her emotions differently then others doesn’t mean the book is scary or anything it just gives the reader  an opportunity to feel Willows pain, and to see if she’ll ever get better or if she’ll never gets’ feel the way she did before her parents death.

The book gets’ happier along the way so keep reading. Willow meets’ an

amazing guy, funny thing is that’s his name. Guy, they met in the library which is where Willow works’. Willow and Guy share things’ that they probably would have never of thought to tell someone. What is special about Guy, and what makes Willow fall for him is that when he finds out about her cutting addiction he never leaves her side. I thought that was a miracle, i felt so happy for Willow and i got existed for her, because she might actually feel a spark of happiness again.

Willow is an amazing book that gives off great detail that makes you feel like your in the book. The emotions of Willow are very well described that anyone might just wanna cry or smile while reading this book. It’s a great feeling, it’s nothing to frighten the reader from reading this book. But yet again things get a little boring when they drag things on. Like when Guy found out about Willows addiction of cutting, she was scared he would tell her brother, and they dragged on about if he was going to tell her brother or not. Other then those moments Willow is a GREAT book that i recommend reading.

I liked this book because it was filled with detail and it taught me something. It taught me that everyone is dealing with something and all they might need is someone to love them or just be there for them. Like how Willow met Guy it lite her up in side just like a candle lighting up a dark room.  I would recommend willow to seventh graders and up, because I think they would be the ones who would understand and be mature to enough to read this book. Willow is a book that deals with real life situations, so the reader will be able to relate to some of the events going on in the book Willow. I give Willow a solid five stars i chose that ratting because I didn’t want it to end, since it was so good. It was easy to understand but not to easy just right. Feeling like your in the book made a great in packed, I felt like I was in there because the detail was so clear. I’ll tell you that the ending is AMAZING, so read this book to see what I’m talking about.

So Not Happening is worth reading because Jenny B Jones comes with mystery. When Bella is on a story with the “brotherhood of the football team, two of the football players have been gone missing for a while. She found out they have died from an accident. Jenny B Jones leaves me wanting to know what happen to the players.

So Not Happening is kind of slow in the beginning. In the beginning it tells me how she is packing and she isn’t happy about the move. She will miss her friends and New York City. When you get through the first 3 chapters it starts to get more interesting. It also tells me a little bit of the background.

So Not Happening has a lot of action in the middle. Bella finds out the two were killed and wants to find out more. She is in a log cabin with a psycho that has, a hand gun and some pills. She gets drugged and is forced to write a suicide letter to her mom. At the end of the chapter she gets shot but is still alive. The action makes you want to read more! How is she going to get away? What’s going to happen next?

Teenagers would like this book because it will relate to you. You might have a divorced family, going to drugs to solve the problem, and even drama happening. Action and mystery all in this book. For teenagers and above love this book. I and students give this 5 stars.

“ The awakened and knowing say: body I’m entirely, and nothing else; and soul is only a word for something about the body”. This quote is about Marya and her disease. I think that the is o.k because it tells you how you can become anorexia and bulimia,so I like it so I can find out more.

Wasted is a good book,it is about a e memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia. The author experiences  Anorexia and Bulimia because people are making fun of her for her weight. Also, she stops eating and gets really skinny. She starts using drugs and having sex because she does not like herself. The author gives a first person account of anorexia and bulimia. She gives the reader a one on one personal account that helps the reader connect with her and her disease.

It keeps you on the edge of your seats! It keeps you on your seat because it starts out easy and then it starts to twist and turn.So it is really suspenseful. She starts to do drugs to help her loose weight and she has sex I guess to fit in and to make money. Also, so she can buy drugs by the money that she gets after selling herself.

I think it is stupid because you obviously don’t care about your health or body. If you don’t eat, you are not health.Also, if you do drugs you are destroying your body, and if you have sex all the time then you might be getting diseases by other people. It took her 14 years to realize that she did not have to this for everyone to like her.

In conclusion, I think that people of all ages would like this book. But, although there is swearing in it so 12- and older. I recommend this as a book because sometimes in the book there are parts you might want to see in a movie.I rate this book a 4 out of 5.Lastly the reason why I rate this a 4 out of 5 because I didn’t like the swearing but her story was great!

I like this book because it has very vivid characters. The way Margret writs the book is great because she gives the characters stand out gives them there own personality and they never think the same way twice.The way she does this is by telling you what the characters are thinking and showing how they react differently than one another  Like chip has a high and mighty attitude when he finds out hes a prince.  Johan is a great basketball player and is smart, Katherine can go from tom boy to girly girl in an instant, and Alex is more a thinker but is good at basket ball as well.

Next the book has about 300pages its a good sized book. its a fast read and always has your attention (it confused you or not) but if it doesn’t confuse you you will like the book. Its a fast read and its interesting because it talks about how time travel could work.

Last this book has a great plot with good detail. The plot is they must go back in time and help Chip and Alex fix time so they don’t die and it dose not change the future in a negative way, but this is harder than it sounds because they don’t know how the future is going to be when they do something. The way she does this is by jumping right into the story and intriguing you with scientific facts like king Richards wife and friends. Its so interesting you wont wanna put it down.

I think kids 10 n older would like this book because of the future point of view in it. Id give this book a 4 out of five if you read the first book but if you just jump into this book id give it a 2 out of five this book can not stand by itself it needs the first book. Its good but disappointing compared with her shadow  children series.

Some readers may not like this book because there are some nasty gut wrenching scenes and some bad language in it. One nasty scene is when Jamie smith got shot in the thigh and it was so deep that when the medics tired saving him the blood shot and spurted there faces and the room. The medics could see the inside of his leg.The nasty scenes are gory and bloody I understand why readers may not like it. People should know that with out these parts the story would not be a true story like it actually is. These scenes paint a picture in your head to make the readers feel like there actually there. I think people should see past it and enjoy a great true story about war.

Mark Bowden does a great job on making you feel like your there. When the soldier gets hit by a rocket in the convoy it felt like you were right next to him when Mark puts it into play. It feels like the way  it would be in the in the movie and real life. In the beginning a soldier named Black burn fell out of the chopper, and the sounds of the chopper going chug chug chug and Eversman yelling GO! GO! GO! makes it feel like your in that chopper with them.

This is any entertaining book because it has a lot of action packed into short suspenseful chapters. Each morning after Mr.Simmons, the main character, awakes, he has coffee then climbs aboard his motorcycle and drives around town carrying his AK-47, searching for people to kill. The mystery and suspense is in not knowing who his next victim will be. Sometimes he walks up to people ad stabs them, then walks away like nothing happened. Most of his targets seem to be nervous, cautious townspeople who are on guard because of him. The reader never knows for sure when, where, or who he will strike next. These examples explain how the reader is entertained and on edge because he/she never knows when Mr.Simmons will kill again. Because the chapters are so short, it seems like the action happens more quickly and it doesn’t take for ever to get to an exciting part.

The Right Man would be a better book if it was not quite as long and if the author would give more detailed descriptions of the characters. I would have a better understanding of the book if I had more information about Mr.Simmons and what drives him to murder strangers. The author never really explains Mr.Simmons motivation or the source of his anger. I would like to know why he does what he does. Better character descriptions would help readers understand the reason for Mr.Simmons violence, and a shorter book would be less intimidating to reluctant readers.

Other ways Mark Watson keeps the reader interested is by creating cliffhangers and by supplying story details that explain scenes. At the end of several chapters situations arise that leave the reader wondering what will happen in the following chapter. Although the description of Mr.Simmons is skimpy, the author does give lots of details about various scenes in the book. In one scene, the police show up at Mr.Simmons door, yell orders at him and then kick in the door. This left me wondering if Simmons would be arrested, shoot his way out of the situation, or escape out the back of his house. The scene was tense and exciting

Readers that enjoy excitement, suspense, and action will love this book. However, I don’t think anyone under high school age should read it because of the violence and explicit language. I rate this book a 4.5 out of 5 because it kept my attention throughout the entire book. I was never bored. If character descriptions had more details, I would have rated The Right Man 5 out of 5 stars.

One example “ Amy screamed and jumped. The horse let out a shriek as a cracking noise echoed through the tunnel, straight in front of them a tree started to fall, Marion violently stepped on the brakes, but the tires failed to grip on to the flooded surface. The truck skidded down the road, straight in to the path of the falling tree.”

Lauren Brooke tells details in the characters conversation. She describes their facial expressions and explains clearly what is happening. Readers need to be aware this series there is over 18 books.

If the reader doesn’t like to read lot or barley. I wouldn’t recommend this series, however it makes it easier to get through the books, because the books aren’t very long they’re usually only a 150 to 170 pages long. I am currently on the 8th book and i’ve got through them fairly quickly. Lauren Brooke again does a good job of develop all her characters especially Amy the main character. Another example “Amy let her breathe out slowly. She realized she was trembling, the horses distress had been so overwhelming. “Thanks,” she said shakily. “ if you hadn’t been here -” “Hey-” Ty stepped forward and touched her arm. “I’m always here, Amy. You know that.”

In Heartland almost every book it switches up characters. It tells what happens to them and what their doing and saying. The series is a attention grabber somehow it makes you feel like your in the book and feel what the characters feel. People that like horses, drama, and romance would like this series. I would recommend to ages 13 and older. I also think this series would be really cool as a movie. I would  rate this series 5 stars.

Firstly, Fang is a good book because its edge of seat suspense. When Fang was shot down by Dr. Chu and Angel, he dies so Angel sens a radar threw her head to Max and the flock saying, “Fang needs you”! so the flock arrives knocking tons of doctors down fighting them while Max visits Fang. This book is full of edge of seat suspense because its flooded with irony. Angel turning her back on the flock, coming to the rescue the flock. Or if Fang is going to die or not.

Secondly, This book reads very quickly and hooks more at every chapter. When Max was watching the steam fade away on the mirror and she saw a glimpse of a eraser in her reflection. She knew that they have been retired and did not exist, she fell back in horror. This hooks you into the next chapter because the erasers have retired and were no longer attacking the flock. So when Max sees a reflection of one instead of her own face, you just want to keep on reading.

Thirdly, James Patterson includes great detailed adjectives to create a action movie in your head. “Now! I screamed, as the flock shot down to the desert like fired bullets. Aiming for three black things that could cause death. The three black dots grew as I soared down to the dry earth. They raised their toothpick guns and bullets quickly swam around us like rain. Then I folded in my wings, and cut threw the air ‘till I could see the whites of there eyes, swung my feet in front of me, and pile drove then all in the back.” This strike is a great scene I can picture into a movie. Max soaring to the ground to attack the three black figures. Its easy to picture the bullets being shot up at max and the flock.

I highly recommend this book to all ages. If you crave action and edge of seat suspense, than Fang is more than perfect. This was the best novel I have ever read, and I never read one so quickly.  I rate this book 5/5 stars because I’m sure you will Laugh, smile, feel sad and find your self on the edge of your seat as much as I did.

First Overdrive has a lot of excitement in the book. An example of this is that Jack street raced a kid named Luke and Luke had crashed in to another car and jack and Mick drove away but Luke’s car was smashed in to a big SUV. This makes it exciting because you just wanna know whats going to happen next and to see if Jack will get caught for street racing.

Second one thing I didn’t like about the book was that there was a lot of drama going on. An example of this is that Jack and Mick are just fighting about if they should go and tell the police what happened and why. But Jack is feeling bad about the whole thing. In Overdrive I just didn’t like the drama Jack was experiencing. Because Jack wanted to tall the police but didn’t wanna get in trouble. Even though I didn’t like the drama it not like you will never have it in high school.

Third this book really bring out jacks feelings. Jack feels really guilty because Luke is in a coma and that lady Luke crashed in to was pregnant. He just feels like the hole thing is his fault. I like this part because every one has a concuss and since Jack was involved with the race he thinks that every thing should be blamed on him.

In conclusion kids who are just getting there driving license would prob like this book. I would give this book 9/10 because I didn’t like the drama and I thought it needed to have more info about the car crash. Yes I would recommend this book to readers who like cars and racing and who like high school drama.

Fiction and horror lovers, Cirque Du Freak readers, or those who just love to read, you will not like Killers of the Dawn but love it. People should read this book because it is fast paced, action packed, and will leave readers hungry for more!

First reason why anyone would want to read this novel is because of the way Darren describes the scene. His detailed and first person point of view puts the reader in his shoes. One of the scenes in the book even has a little hint of irony(only if you read the second (Cirque Du Freak). Also, the mind blowing turn of events that happen in this is phenomenal. Especially at the end. Although I am not going to reveal the entire end, but one of the major characters dies. Not only that, but the person their hunting for (the vampeneze lord) turns out to be just a decoy. The real person that they are looking for… lets just say that it will make readers say “I did not see that coming”.

Reason why you would like this book number 2: It has got action! That’s right, action. People may have read books with action in it, but the action in this book is.. well… pretty cool! (At least cooler then most books I have read with action). It’s got all your favorite characters from the previous books fighting against the dreaded vampeneze in a war known as the war of scars. From plain old gun carnage to battles with mid-evil axes and swords, the action in this book will have you truly entertained.

However, some people might also see the downside in Killers of the Dawn. The intro and basically all the mid-parts to end have no intention on answering some questions: Why are they hunting this vampeneze lord? who are vampeneze and why are they bitter enemies? Questions like that unanswered will have the reader confused unless you read the previous books. (but some people might not want to go through all the trouble to read all the previous ones). Besides that factor people will ignore those questions being unanswered and focus on the awesomeness of this book.

I would recommend this book to lots of people, Mostly from pre-teen to adults. Also to those who love horror, fantasy fiction, or have read the previous Cirque Du Freak series will love this book. I would highly recommend reading this book because it’s got action, suspense and and a plot if twists that will leave the reader begging for more.

Breathless is a good book because it has lots of adventures in it. They snorkel at the reef and also in caves. They snorkel with schools of fish and around coral. To me that sounds like an adventure. Snorkeling in caves and in the reef is very adventurous  because it is exploring the water and they don’t know whats going to happen.

Even though this book is , it has some negative things also,the book can be boring at parts. In Breathless, Beverly works at her uncles surf shop and those parts are very boring because she talks about her self working. Taking about working is very boring. She also doesn’t get that much customers. But sometimes when customers actually come in, the customer and Bev have some good snorkeling conversations. Breathless is a good book because it has lots of wildlife and nature in it. While they are snorkeling they snorkel with schools of fish and with sharks and eels. They swim with huge 10 feet sharks and long eels that look very ugly. The schools of fish are also very fun for them to swim with. Sharks and eels are animals you don’t see everyday so people think its exciting that they get to see those animals.

This book is very appropriate and would be for all ages would like this book. I rate this book 4 out of 5 because this book, Breathless is a good book. I did not give this book a 5 because parts in the book can get boring.

Some people may enjoy this book because it is quite short. It only has 148 pages and 6 chapters. Also because it is only 6 chapters it is easy for the reader to think that their going through the book quickly. Which makes you wanna keep reading.

Some people may also say this is more of a hunters book. Most of this book takes place out doors and in the woods where he is always hunting and fishing. It is really good for people who hunt nd fish because they can relate to the book. It also has alot to do with survival and learning to make do with the things around you.

This book has alot of action in it as well. Gray Paulsen gets attacked by a moose when he was on a dog sleid and eating by mosquitos. Not only did he get hit by a moose, but all different kinds of animals. In some of the incidents it is very funny.

This book is clearly for people who like action, are out doories, and like to laugh.

Cohen, Leonard. Book of Longing. New York: Harper Collins, 2006. Print.

Book of Longing is a collection of poems by Canadian poet, novelist, and singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen.There are a total of 167 poems that had never been seen before, most of them being written during his time as a monk on Mount Baldy or from his stay in India. Some of the poems that are in the book have been turned into lyrics for the albums Ten New Songs (2001) and Dear Heather (2004). Even though Cohen does not follow a certain form and his style varies quite often, his poems were all very similar in small ways. He doesn’t stay strictly with short poems (some being only two lines) and has long ones as well (some being two pages). The topics that his poems deal with are slightly controversial, some dealing with sex and drugs, but there are some which are amusing (Butter Dish).

I would give Book of Longing a rating of five stars out of five. It is an excellent collection of poetry; it’s very well written and contains humor as well as more serious matter. It won’t be hard to pick at least one poem out of the 167 that is interesting in one way or another.

Edgar Allan Poe. Ten Great Mysteries by Edgar Allan Poe. Scholastic Trade, 1993

I really liked this book it is all about sports and I am a sports guy. This book was written By Arnold Adoff and the title of it is Sports Pages. It was written in 1986. There really is not a lot that I disliked besides the way he writes his lines they can often be a structured a little bit confusing. If you do not like sports i do not recommend this book to you but if you do like sports then you will really like this book. This book is about all sports so you will get to read about a little bit of everything. And i overall really liked this book and I would give it 4 stars out of 5. I did have 3 favorite poems. The first one would of been “these knees”. The reason I liked this poem was because it does a great job of describing pains athletes feel after games. The second poem would be “catcher”. I liked that poem because I was a catcher and it does a good job describing the position. And the last one I liked was called “my left foot is always near the bag”. It does a great job of talking about playing first base. And it includes a lot about the position.

I focused on three different poets in my book (Enter names here) but the one that stood out to me most was Bob Dylan. I knew he is/was a song writer but I wasn’t aware that he wrote poetry as well. I loved how he used a lot of repetition in his writing it just makes the meaning seem so much stronger than what it would be if he didn’t use it at all. Another thing that is really impressive is how Bob Dylan can really capture what’s going on in the “stories” he wrote. He makes it seem like you’re the main character in his poetry you can really get a sense of where he’s coming from and the emotion streaming through the characters blood. I also really liked how his stanzas were really long compared to the other authors I was studying. I’m not sure why but I like reading long poems I feel like those poems have more effort and time put into them since they’re so long. The only thing I didn’t like about his poetry was that all of it sounded kind of the same and after awhile of analyzing them eventually they got really boring to read as well as write about. I would recommend this book to future students because it has different types of poetry located in it and i feel like everyone needs a little variety so they can experience the different types of poetry. Lastly, I would rate this book a(n) 8 out of 10 because some of the poems were boring but they were still really well done.

This book is good because you are always wondering what is going to happen next.  One part in the story that leaves you hanging is when Chris thinks he is going to die.  He decides he might want to kill himself  instead of suffering.  While reading the book, you are always wondered if Chris will get rescued, get frost bite and lose a leg, or die.

This book is suspenseful because it shows what his dad and brother are doing to find him, and you are always wondering when and how they will rescue him.

This book is very boring at parts.  A quarter of this book is boring because most of the time Chris is trapped under the snow.  Chris would pass the time by talking to himself and counting the days until he was rescued. This book is good because it has a lot of wildlife and it shows that Chris has special survival skills.  There are birds, wolves, foxes and the peace and quiet of the wilderness.  One survival skill was eating 3 dead birds raw from shooting them before the avalanche.  Chris ate snow to quench his thirst and to stay hydrated.  If you like books with wildlife and nature in it, this book is for you.

First, Leftovers is a good book because it’s a mystery. “To Sarah, a picture is worth a thousand tears.” Those pictures that Sarah’s dad took when she was little. When Sarah’s mom found the pictures after her dad died are the mystery behind the whole book because the book doesn’t say what the pictures are about until the very end of the book. I had to keep reading. I enjoyed every page of the book. If anyone who like mystery would like this book.

Second, someone would say that the personality’s of the characters really don’t fit with their lifestyles they have in the book. Sarah has to many secrets to keep and she doesn’t know who to tell until it was too late and now everyone knows. Sarah has many secrets and she doesn’t know what to do about them. In the beginning of the book Sarah seemed like the girl with no secrets and worry free well in reality she has this huge secret and she doesn’t know who to trust about it thats why she kept it a secret so that no one would judge her. When Sarah goes to this concert with her boyfriend Sullivan, she was going to ditch him and go to the restaurant and find the pictures but her mom already found them before she did and now she doesn’t know what to do.

Another reason this book is a good book because Heather Waldorf made the relationships in the book very interesting. Sarah has been abused her whole life. Sarah finds a boyfriend named Sullivan. Also, Sarah finds Sullivan during the camp and they fall in love. She also tries to trust her friends. In the beginning of the book Sarah didn’t seem the dark and secretive type but Heather Waldorf changed the characters personality’s that in the middle and a little in the end that Sarah is all secretive and all dark.

In conclusion, this book Leftovers by Heather Waldorf was a good book. This book is for teenagers. This is a romantic and a mystery book. I would give this book five stars in a rating. The book is good because it is true about teenager life’s. These days you need to know who to trust and who to tell your secrets to. Then make sure that they don’t tell anyone or you could end up as Leftovers.

Son of the Mob is such a great book because of the  way Gordon Korman made it so action packed. A good example, when Vince is at Kendras house Vince an Kendra are at kendras house alone an Kendras dad came home and vince ran in the bedroom an jumped out the window and landed on the deck roof, Then grabbed the rain spout and slid down to a hard landing on the ground but still didn’t stop running. That all happened in one paragraph which makes it so action packed. On the other hand the reader doesn’t like to read books about gangs.

The book isn’t all about just gangs, threres a father son relation between Vince and his father, also theres a romance part with Vince and his girlfriend Kendra. Theres only one gang in the book but  its a very big gang who buys, sells,  an steals. The name of the gang is The vending machine business, the reason  is to cover themselves  from getting caught .

Finally The style of writing Gordon Korman uses makes it more understandable the book don’t hop around a lot witch makes it easier to understand. The book focuses on one character at a time Then when the setting changes it lets you know a example would be, vinces dad is a considered trustworthy guy. it introduces another paragraph saying now tommy is telling people on the street they wont get ripped off.

I would definitely recommend this book to a teenage kid. You would need to be into mafia to like this book. Theres also a lot of acton in this book.I would Definitely recommend this book. I liked the book a lot. I would rate this book a 4.5 out of 5 because of the slower parts.

Mary Beth Chapman tells her life in great detail. One event is the funeral for her little girl. It felt like I was actually there listening to everyones speeches. After that I got to see her in a pink outfit and a pretty bow and sparkly shoes laying in the coffin. I can really picture this in my mind as I kept reading.

People may not like this book because it has a lot of sadness. The family has to go to the funeral shop to pick out a coffin for their little girl who died. They must figure out where and how to burry her and are constantly reminded of her. Even though this is a sad book, at the end it gets happy. People understand that a sad book is boring and depressing but when I started this book, it will get happier than ever!

Something about this book is that it’s sometimes makes me laugh. They have a dog that jumped on the bed, to the counter and got her birth control pills. Luckily it was just one or the dog would be sick. No dog would do that and when she found out he did that her reaction was funny and priceless. Breaks my heart, makes me laugh, and maybe even cry.

15 years old and over say “ This book is a good book. Even if it makes me cry.” I think this book is a rating of 5 stars. it has comedy and heart breaker events but people will relate to the book.

It has history in the book, so if people like history they’ll like this book. He’s trying to get his students to understand the Nazi’s and getting them to understand The Wave’s motto, “Strength Through Discipline, Strength Through Community”. “But is history destined to repeats itself?” It’s a true story, so if people like true stories, they’ll like this book and there’s a lot of historic in the book.

Some people may not like this book because it deals with school and their learning about The Wave. In the book the history class learns about The Wave. They also have a football team for the school in the book, also they had a school rally for The Wave that Laurie didn’t want to go to. Even though it’s about school, theirs more to it then going to school. It has drama, romance, and more.

People might like this book because the characters are the interesting. Laurie is the main character in the story. Mr.Ross/Ben is the history teacher that teaches about The Wave to his students. Mr. and Mrs. Sauanders are Laurie’s parents. Amy is Laurie’s best friend and David is Laurie’s boyfriend that breaks up with her during the story. Laurie doesn’t like that her teacher is teaching them about the Nazis and she’s fighting over it and telling her classmates that they shouldn’t obey the rules and  The Wave. David is Laurie’s boyfriend, but he breaks up with her because she called him stupid because he obeys the rules in history class and likes The Wave, so yeah she can do better. The conflict explains why the characters are interesting.

This book isn’t for like elementary students or middle school students because they wouldn’t really understand it, maybe middle schoolers. Definitely high school students but students that would like history books or out of school books, they’d like this book The Wave. Yes, I would recommend this book because when I was reading this book it was kinda boring at first, but then when I got to the middle of the book I understood it and I thought it was pretty good, so it took me sometime to understand it and like it. Rate 1-5=3, I didn’t give it a 5 but I gave it a 3 because it wasn’t such a great book and amazing like the other books I read, that’s why I gave the book The Wave a 3.

This book contains over 20 short stories composed by Edgar Allan Poe during his lifetime. Some of his most famous works like “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Fall of the House of Usher” are included in the collection as well. In the story “The Spectacles,” a young man falls in love with a woman, who is a widow. At first, she denies his affections, but eventually gives in. Since the young man has an eye problem, he will not wear spectacles because it would ruin his good looks. However, his love convinces him to wear them if she is to marry him. After putting the spectacles on, he learns a lesson in true beauty. The next story I enjoyed was “Some Passages in The Life of a Lion”. This was a more humorous story that Poe had written, using everyday phrases and interesting fantastical details. This short story follows a character who wants to study Nosology, which is the study of noses. He tells people along the way of his career choice and he experiences mixed views. It is a story that contains comical characters and an important lesson in following your dreams. The last story that I loved is “The Tell-Tale Heart”. This story is told from the point of view of a maniac. Throughout the story, he tells the reader about how he murdered and innocent man, and he tries to defend himself, saying that he isn’t a maniac because of the way he plans the whole murder out. It’s a great story, and I feel all Poe fans should read this.

This book was a lot of fun to read in my opinion. I am a huge Poe fan, and this collection showed me how talented he was as a writer. For instance, he structured his stories by having his characters talk to the reader and he gave good descriptions of his settings and characters. Also, he really picked interesting topics to write about, and I feel that his stories were played out like horror movies because of his subject matter and the way he wrote the stories. What did not work for me was the fact that he would write long descriptions of people or a place. Even though description is needed in a story, I feel only a paragraph is needed to get a picture in the mind of the reader. Also, sometimes he would write in a different language and some of the stories did not contain footnotes. If he included footnotes, this would help the reader understand what he was talking about or describing in the paragraph. In some of his stories, Poe also used a lot of dialogue in a few of the stories in the collection. Sometimes a statement by a certain character ends up being a few paragraphs long, and it ends up boring the reader by the end of the dialogue. I feel that maybe he should have broken up his long dialogues and included an action from the scenery or from a character.

All in all, this book deserves 4 stars. It has a great amount of mystery as well as suspense, and this collection shows Poe fans how much his writing was overlooked during his lifetime.I recommend this book to Poe fans or fans of R.L Stine because the content is similar to his storytelling.

I read Bolts of Melody by Emily Dickinson. This book contained a wide variety of poems, both short and long. Her poems are some of the deepest poems that i have had the pleasure of reading. They really made me think. They had wonderful metaphors that took a little bit of rereading to comprehend. Her poetic way of explaining the world around us was just beautiful to say the least. She used a few words throughout that might be a little controversial given the time period in which they were wrote. The poems were arranged by general topics and as you read through you will notice more specific poem topics. One downside to the book was that her poems aren’t titled. It was slightly easier to navigate through the poems but not as easy to refer back to the poems. Also, some of the poems were difficult to get a meaning from. There were several that made no sense to me whatsoever. Overall it was a great book and an inspiring collection of poetry. I highly recommend reading this book if you are interested in reading or writing poetry. I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

Summary:

Nine Horses is written by poet Billy Collins. His poems are inspired by his own personal experiences, which turn ordinary events into enjoyable poems. Collins has the ability to find beauty in simplicity. Each poem gives the reader a certain feeling, some warm and others leaving the reader feeling incomplete. Billy Collins does a sensational job of finding balance between his own personal needs and the readers expectations.

Evaluation:

Billy Collin’s poetry is very unique when comparing it to other writers. He tends to write his poetry about nature and his own personal experiences. Collins has an amazing ability to turn ordinary events into enjoyable poems. I feel that Billy Collins does a sensational job of setting the scene and pulling the reader into his writing. I also like the way he styles his writing, it has a sort of flow and rhythm to it that makes reading his poems enjoyable. Several poems stood out to me in Collins book Nine Horses. I really enjoyed “Litany”, “Rooms”, and “The Return Of The Key”, mainly because of the topic, but the imagery in these poems really made them come alive. The titles Collins uses for each of his poems are straightforward and tell the reader exactly what the poem is about. He adds a lot of humor into his writing, however I didn’t exactly pick that up until I heard him actually recite his poetry online. Billy Collins does a sensational job of using his own experiences and at the same time he meets the readers expectations. I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good story, because each of his poems are an adventure.

I had a lot of fun reading and analyzing the works in this book. These short stories written by David Sedaris are all very humorous anecdotes about his past. Some of the chapters that stuck out to me include one about his inability in adapting to computers, his troubles in dealing with a very stubborn character, and, my favorite, a story in which he describes his childhood dilemma of having a lisp. This is where instead of just fixing the problem and developing his speech, he just developed his vocabulary and completely avoided using the “s” sound. Although some of his humor can be credited to the very wacky things that have happened to him, his main talent is his ability to use the perfect vocabulary and wording for every situation. He never repeats a word in the same paragraph, let alone the same page. I found this to be a very useful tool, keeping the piece from seeming repetitive or boring. I could barely find anything that I didn’t like in these stories, and I enjoyed reading them a lot. I’d recommend this book to anyone with an open mind and a strong sense of humor. I’d give this book five stars.

The book that I chose was an extremely antiquated version of The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll. Although this book had everything from his short stories, to longer stories to poetry, I used on small section to reference. I used his poetry section to complete the assignment. Most of Carroll’s poetry was very similar. He almost always used punctuation on the end of his lines to create end-stop. Carroll always used rhyme and syllable count, all of his poems flow. One of the most favored poems is “The Walrus and the Carpenter”. “The Walrus and the Carpenter” Is one of Carroll’s longer poems with 108 lines. The poem has consistent rhyme and flows incredibly well. While some may say that this poem is just a silly nonsense poem about a walking, talking walrus and a bunch of little oysters, you could also argue that it has an underlying meaning to it. It could be trying to say that you should never walk away with strangers because you have a very high chance of getting hurt. Another poem that was very interesting was “My Fairy” written in 1845. This poem talks about what the speaker desires, and his/her “fairy” always tell him/her that he/she “mustn’t” do whatever it is that they will. Although the poem is short, it is very entertaining, it keeps you thinking, and engaged. The poems in this book were very enjoyable and I had much fun reading them. I recommend everyone read Lewis Carroll, he is very entertaining, a little bit silly and funny. Although, I would not recommend carrying around the 25 pound, sixty year old book that is The Complete Collection of Lewis Carroll. You can go online and look up his poetry in much more convenient manner. Overall Lewis Carroll gets a 8 out of 10, he is very interesting, but because of the time period, some of his work is extraneous to read.

The book Mother Love by Rita Dove, consisted of poems with several different topics. The poems I appreciated the most were Heroes, Mother Love, and Missing. These poems kept me interested with eye catching plots in which the characters were trying to solve problems. Rita Dove tends to use a lot of personification, metaphors and similes. She also uses fantastic imagery and descriptive language. I was not a fan of the way Rita structured her poems. They were very confusing to follow which made it hard to enjoy. She also incorporated the French language into some of her poems and did not reference what these terms meant. However, I enjoyed her strong imagery and attention grabbing stories. I would rate this book a 6 out of 10 because of some of the poems being hard to follow. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in poetry; especially for those who enjoy picking apart poems and finding their true meanings.

Battle Heroes is such a good book because every new chapter is about a different soldier or action packed story. One example is when a soldier was riding in a humvee and a RPG struck it and went into him without exploding!  Another example is when one soldier risked his life to save another soldier who’s leg was wounded by an AK-47. The reason why the new chapters are good is because all of them have a new soldier ready to report for duty.

Some might say this book is to gory. One example of a gory part is when AK47 rounds nearly cut off a soldiers leg “ As Ruske picked him up by the legs and Segraves by the arms to carry him to a more secure area, Syed’s  left leg folded and he let out a scream”  “ Holy smokes” said Ruske “The bullets nearly cut off your leg!” Even though this book ha some gore, it Is still a great well told story about are troops who put there lives at risk. So people need to just read and see past the gore. War is not always pleasant.

Mostly all the chapters you read are fully action packed and short. One example is in a five page chapter when a soldier was running in the night trying to find and bring back a wounded teammate. The cool part is that he had NVGS, witch are night vision goggles. The reason why these chapters are so awesome is because it makes you actually there. I like how Allan Zullo  uses all this action in one short chapter

This book is for teens and adults because little kids would not get war because there so small, also the content would maybe terrify them. I strongly recommend this book, I would give it five out of five stars because i really like war, read this book if you do to.

This story is about a young man named Ivan, who is late to work because he is too afraid to shave 15 minutes off by walking threw a path in the cemetery. So two unceremonious and blunt men named William, the daring, active, and aggressive one. And Frank, the father of William is sleepy, and slow, take it in a opportunity to dare the man three gold coins to walk into the cemetery and plant a sword into the frozen ground. The poor man could not resist the gold. For the gold promised great wealth. The man met with the other men at twelve o’clock midnight.

Ivan said” Yes frank, I will cross the cemetery.” He was submerged in a huge winter coat that swept the ground. Ivan took the sword and walked to the tallest tomb and slammed the sword down with all his might.  Ivan was trapped; he could not move. William and his father Frank searched the cemetery the next morning to see if he did it, and they found him dead, with the sword sticking threw his thick winter coat.

Impact is a very unique book because of the way Fannie Staufer makes wise choices in what stories to include in her books. The book 50 Short stories is a full of quick, short amusing stories because Fannie Staufer puts perfect stories together that have exciting, frighting, and depressing stories. However, a drawback from this book is the stories are only 2-5 pages long.

Impact has a very blah cover because of its old copyright date of 1986. The cover is a faded beige color with a faded navy blue stripe through the center. All the  authors are listed on the cover in a big arrow facing the right side. Although the cover is rather ugly, once you read a few of stories from this book you will learn the hard way to never judge a book by its cover.

The book is a excellent 5-10 minute time killer. If you are waiting to be served at a restaurant or waiting in a waiting room of some sort, this book is a more than perfect choice for you. The story, “Path Through The Cemetery”  was about humor and stupidity all in three pages. Adults should read this book because they could be looking for short, quick stories to read.

I recommend this strongly because it is a excellent choice for adults on the go and for teachers to read aloud I gave this book a 3and1/2 out of five because its full of short stories and its not for kids because of the bad language and due to some mature stories.

Fallen Angels is a good book because how the book makes me wonder whats going to happen next after every chapter. An example is when the soldiers come back to the camp after a patrol and found a shard of metal in Jenkins chest. Blood was poring over Jenkins wound and spraying out of his body. His face was white and the chapter ends with Jenkins taking his last breaths. Jenkins and Perry just met at the replacement  company and they have been walking and talking for hours and then just hours later he see’s him dead in a black bag.

Walter Dean Myers keeps me wondering when Jenkins is laying down bleeding when his face turns white and him taking his last breaths. Some people might complain that the chapters are too long. The chapters are about 12-20 pages long but every chapter has action and suspense so its hard to put the book down. Readers need to know that the chapters are long because if I really like the chapter than I can read more about it instead of short chapters. Short chapters can switch scene’s but Fallen Angels sometimes stays in one scene and following one character.

I like this book because I can picture the whole story in my mind. An example is when Perry and his buddies are giving canned food away to Vietnamese women and children. A Vietnamese women came up to Peewee and asked him if he wanted rice, he took it and ate it. After he ate it, Peewee got the runs. Walter Dean Myers writes very well that i can picture the scene in my head. He doesn’t use huge words and he explains the scene very well. He also doesn’t switch scenes when something is about to happen.

I recommend this book to people who like to read military books. Also people who like a lot of action would like this book. This book would be appropriate for older and mature people because of the language. I strongly recommend this book. I would rate this book a 5 out of 5.

Imagine being stranded on a desert island and have no way to get help or contact anybody. I thank people should read this book Island Book Three: Escape because it is a good adventure book. In one part the castaways are crossing the island and they give a good description of the way the island looks. The way Gordon Korman makes it feel like you’re there with the castaways on the island. They talk about all the vegetation on the island. The castaways are going through the island and the way they described it is like the castaways are taking a separate adventure, out of the whole adventure just to get to the other side of the island. A reason why the reader should not read this book is because if people are looking for a book with action this is not a book for that reader. The reason why is because most of the book is the castaways hiding on the other side of the island from the smugglers.  So there is not too much action in the book. The castaways are not doing much through out the book but getting food and waiting for rescue that the castaways thought would come. That is why I think someone looking for a book with action this is not a book for that someone. Another reason the reader would like this book is because it is a short book. The book is only a 128 page’s long, compared to some other books this is a short book. If the reader does not like reading, this is a good book to read. The book is not too long which is good because it is kind of a slow read, meaning that when reading this book it goes through the scenes slowly. But because it is a short book it balances it self out. People that like short adventure books would like this book. I think that this book would be appropriate for all ages. I would rate this book a 4 because it was a slow story line but it was also a short book. The reason I would not give it a 5 because at the end of the book it started to skip between characters and the chapters. I would keep leaving me in suspence.

With all of her techniques in mind, Dickinson does a good job of keeping the reader in her interest. Dickinson fulfills the mind of a poet by supporting her poetry with intense visuals and topics. A great example of one of her strongest poems is “I had been hungry all the years”. This poem captures outstanding visuals along with hidden meanings. Dickinson’s poetry has a way of flowing to the readers ears. With all of the visuals, rhyme and meter that attract the reader, some of her antiquated words tend to confuse the reader and lose the flow of the poem. Overall the book scored a four out of five.

Dickinson, Emily. I’m Nobody! Who are you? Editor: Mesmer, Edric S. Broadway, New York, NY. 2002 Scholastic Inc.

This book of poetry is mostly about life in  Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Beirut, Lebanon. Lynn Fetterolf is a foreigner and she often writes about the sights that are common in those places such as a butcher cutting and selling meat and the bazaar vendors. She also writes about the harsh realities of war being glorified quite a bit and exaggerated to be glamorous.

I found this collection of poetry to be particularly interesting. I very much liked how she portrayed war through the eyes of the frightened people forced to be underground/indoors. She was very realistic. I also liked that she described the sights and smells common in her living area. It makes me almost feel like I was there. The only part I disliked was the fact that she sometimes used Arabian words. However, she explained what the words meant.

Lynn Fetterolf did not conform to any sort of term for poetry types or characteristics that we learned about in class. She did not use any rhyme scheme whatsoever. She did not use synesthesia. The only terms used in class that could be applied to the poetry was visual imagery. She used a very wide variety of words to describe even the simplest of things.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about war. Lynn Fetterolf portrays war in a very realistic manner through the eyes of a foreigner and a poet.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

In the “Maximum Ride The Angel Experiment” by James Patterson there’s a lot of fighting between the flock and the erasers which grasps your attention.  I’m a teenager that is uninterested in books, but this book got my attention with all the action. This is a really good book because it’s an action book and it’s about having a family. would want to read The Angel experiment because it has a whole lot of action. The part when Max is flying and goes down to the floor to help a girl named Ella from some bullies. She fights them and gets shot. Then she gets out of there quick but one of the guy’s shoots their gun and actually hits Max on the shoulder and her wing. James Patterson creates the action by putting parts that involves fighting with the erasers throughout the novel. Some people may not enjoy reading this book because it keeps skipping around. In one chapter it talks about Max getting shot and running through the woods. Then in the next chapter it talks about how Iggy and Gasman find Fang and Nudge in a cave. James Patterson illustrates this by starting one chapter and in the next chapter putting another story line. Yet , it does make the book feel like it’s making the book go faster and you don’t get a chance to actually read the book and understand it well. People would like this book because the chapters are very short chapters. This book has short chapters that it don’t give that much information about what’s going on the story. James Patterson made this book because some people might like action books and the good thing about this book is that  it has short chapters and it is easy to read and it would be much easier book to read even if it has more than 100 to 200 pages or more than 100 chapters. I think any age would like this book because it’s an action book and if you like action I  recommend you to read this book. Yes I would recommend anybody this book because if you like action books this could be a good book for anybody. And I would rate this book a 5 because it’s a really good book with all action.

I think Waves is a really good book, because it is suspenseful. Her brother was going to find her and there she was on  a rock in the Waves. It gives suspense, because it makes someone wonder what will happen next. Waves is a really a great book, it helps if your family likes going to the beach.

Next some people may think this is a long book, but some might not care and read it. A lot of people say its to long of a book, because Waves is 325 pages. They can see that Waves is a thick book so they don’t read it much. The readers should know that there are long stories, but its all in sections. It is easy to read and before you know your at so many pages being done.

This book is really good,and it makes someone keep thinking on whats going to happen. Hal her brother took there little sister into a house that they found,and did not have a good feeling. They are also seeing if charley made the fire or not. Nobody knows what is going to happen next……..

WARNING not acceptable for all ages 12 and up only a lot of cursing. I would give Waves a 5 also i would recommend this book, because its really good for people who love the beach. Its also because it helps realize what anyone can or could be going through by some type of relation, by relating to some one in the family could go through.

Isaac Asimov’s Nightfall was one of the earlier short stories he submitted in his writing career. The book Nightfall and Other Stories is a collection of the short stories that Asimov wrote, each with a science fiction theme incorporated into them. Each story was something new and interesting each time a new one was read. For example, the story What If- was a look at a couple’s life that seems to be monotonous and dull. They question the reason why they married each other, and a man appears and shows them what if the husband had married his wife’s friend.

Two things good about the stories started with the language of the book. The writing style of Asimov is undoubtedly intellectual, yet his writing can be understood by most people when it is read. Some of the stories also have a futuristic feel to them even though some have been written between 40 and 60 years ago. Also, the dystopia theme behind Nightfall gave the combination of a disaster story and a apocalyptic mood behind all that happened due to the conversations between the characters. The book contained nothing that could be considered negative unless people would have a problem with short stories Asimov submitted to Playboy, and even then, the stories weren’t inappropriate.

This book is a reflection of Curtis “ 50 Cent “ Jackson’s life. It starts out with him explaining his childhood, he lived at his grandparents house with his aunts and uncles. His mother died at a young age due to her business in drug dealing. She always had cash and decently nice things for her and Curtis when she visited or when she took him to live with her for a short while. His uncles had him go and pick up cocaine for them from a cousin down the road. This was his first real encounter with drugs, he saw that all the hustlers had nice things so he wanted t get in the game. His cousin Brian helped him out and got him started with a few bags of coke on consignment and told him to pay $100 and any extra was his. He then begins telling of his childhood from twelve and up, he was selling coke then learned to make crack and began to hustle as hard as he could. He got arrested at school and then three weeks later the police found ten ounces of crack cocaine, heroin, and guns in his cooking apartment. He managed to go to a shock treatment boot camp and only served six months there. The rest of the book is about him making money then eventually getting into the rap game. He left behind the drugs for his new life and as a result was shot nine times in 2000 but survived to rap about later. The book was well written and looked into the hardships of Queens New York in the 1980s during the crack epidemic, how the kids adapted to their surroundings and began to make drugs and money flow through their hands, they turned their dream into a reality although some may say it was a nightmare instead. The book was overall good and didn’t really have any bad parts. The best scene in the book would have to be when 50 cent beat up Ja Rule and his associates. The best character was 50 cents grandfather, in one scene Curtis is hiding in his grandparents attic after a police chase and his grandfather chases the cops out of his house while threatening to kick their butts. The book was 4 out of 5 because it was hard to put down and very real.

The book Nine Horses is a collection of poems by Billy Collins. I have picked three poems from this book that I enjoyed the most, they are “No Time”, “Absence”, and “Drawing”. In the poem “No Time” Collins talks about how he is in his car going past the cemetery that his parents are buried at and that he imagines that his father would rise out of his grave and stare at him with a look of disapproval, then he imagines that his mother telling his father calmly to lie down. In the poem “Absence” Collins describes that he is in a city and he sees next to a park bench a chess board with a white knight on it sitting alone. He imagines that maybe he other pieces of the chess set are probably on another chess board and feeling uneasy about a salt shaker taking the place of the knight that Collins sees. He imagines that they all are waiting until the knight reappears to his place on the chess board and move on the board with its distinct motion of moving forward and then moving sideways. The same way that he was making the knight move on his palm. In the poem “Drawing” Collins talks about how a drawing that he sees and he describes the drawing in a very descriptive way and gives the reader a very good image of what he is seeing. He goes int describing the background, the different elements in the drawing and even what kind of paper it’s written on.

I really liked how Collins was able to take different every day scenes that most people wouldn’t even consider interesting and make them into a poem. Like for example in one of his poems he talks about a dead groundhog on the road and depicts it as something other than a dead animal. Some things in the poems that I didn’t like were that his poems didn’t seem to all have the same type of theme or rhythm to them. He also only explains in one poem what the title of the books name is and why it is named the way it is. In the collection of poems Collins seems to set a certain pattern for each poem such as end rhyme or stanza length. I also found it interesting how in the poem “No Time” Collins uses the stanzas themselves as a visual image by making them appear side by side like graves. I would recommend this book to anyone who is familiar with poetry. I found the book hard to read at first because I was not very familiar with poetry, but as I learned more I was able to get a better understanding for what the poems were trying to say to the readers. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate this book at a 7. I think that it is a decent book to read if you are well acquainted with poetry, but for beginners I would say that they should find a more structured book to read.

The thing that I liked most about this book was it was a mystery throughout the whole book and I enjoy those kinds of books. Especially when they have to do with crimes, which this one is. What I didn’t like about this book was how after a murder scene would happen the author would get into so much detail about it like describing all the times it happened and who was where and it began to bore me and I would lose interest until the next murder scene would begin to come. My favorite scene from this book was when the killings happened because those were the parts I was most interested in and really paid attention to. My favorite character in the book would have to be the Zodiac because he was the most interesting person in it and I enjoyed his parts in the book. I wouldn’t really recommend this book to many people only for those who enjoy reading about mystery murders. I would rate this book a three out of five just because a lot of the parts bored me and I just wanted to fast forward through it.

Nicholas Sparks has written many books over the years the most resent, The Lucky One. The book is about a man by the name of Logan Thibault a member of the United States Marine Corp. In one of his many tours in Iraq he found a picture of a woman who know one had claimed so he kept in on him in his wallet through all 5 years of combat. Many years after leaving the Marines he met up with an old buddy of his who said right before he died that the photo was his lucky charm that saved there lives through out the war. His friend victor told Logan that he owed the girl something so he walked from Colorado to Hampton, North Carolina with his dog Zeus, where he met Beth the women in the photo. He began to work for Beth’s grandmother at a dog kennel and feel in love with Beth, her son Ben, and the grandmother. Logan Thibault had a run in with Ben’s father that ended up saving Ben’s life, because of the photograph of his mother that Logan gave up to help save Ben. Beth then believes that the photo indeed is a lucky charm. Some may say this book is very touching in many ways. This book had a wonderful story line and was easy to fallow but did not make the reader feel bord. The ending of this book could have been written a lot better. It was a good ending but it could have had more detail and lasted more then a few pages like the rest of the book. A reader would say that the most frustrating part of the entire book would have been toward the end when Ben ran out of the house. Nicholas Sparks could have gave more of a story to this particualar scene. The best part in the eyes of a reader, may have been when Logan confessed to Beth that he had a photo of her with him for 5 years and he came to find her because in his eyes he owed her something, and not the fact that he was obsessed with her. This was very intense but well written. This is yet a touching but twisted love story that Nicholas Sparks has written. Any one who is looking for a good reading book that likes a good story with a hint of a love story kind of mixed in would be rated the best pick.

Beach Road is about a young 18 or 19 year old kid named Dante Halleyville who gets framed and arrested in East Hampton, NY for murdering three other people. He is a basketball player whose future pro career and life will be brought to a screeching halt if he is convicted. Dante asks an old friend of his to be his lawyer. Enter Tom Dunleavy. Tom truly believes that Dante is innocent and knows that the kid had no motive so he sets out to prove Dante’s innocence with the help of top law firm lawyer, and ex-girlfriend, Kate Costello. Kate and Tom work furiously trying to find evidence to prove Dante’s innocence even though most of the town thinks that Dante is guilty and hate them for representing him. Tom and Kate think that the three guys might have been killed in a drug deal gone wrong once they find out that the three were involved with drugs. Tom and Kate manage to cast enough doubt on the evidence that the jury does not convict Dante of any of the murders. Tom and Kate are instant heroes until a cop on the case of another murdered boy finds out that Tom was the one who killed all three guys and the other boy.

The book Beach Road was really well written. It was a good suspense novel with constant surprises. This was good because it was not boring and predictable. The ending was not the best, however, and was, therefore, frustrating. It leaves a person with mixed feelings about the book since the ending is so surprising as to almost ruin the rest of the book. One thing that was unusual and a little annoying was that all of the chapters were about three pages long. It just did not seem really necessary although some people might like that. The best scene of the book was the trial. It causes a person to be on the edge of their seat, hoping for a happy ending. It lets the reader, also, be almost like one of the jury since they get to read the evidence and position presented by the prosecution and the defense. The best character in the book has to be Dante. He is such and innocent and childlike character and the reader can’t help but fall in love with him. This book is worth reading but is not really a must read. On a scale of 1 to 5 it would be a 3.

Who Moved My Cheese is a story of two mice, Sniff and Scurry, and two people, Hem and Haw.  The story takes place in a cheese maze. In the beginning of the book Scurry, Sniff, Hem, and Haw all start out at the beginning of the cheese maze.  Everyday they search for cheese.  One day they find a large amount of cheese at cheese station C. They all believe that the cheese supply is enough to last them a life time so everyday they go to it.  Hem and Haw begin to take it for granted.  One day to cheese disappears from cheese station C.  Sniff and Scurry immediately except it and move on eagerly to find new cheese.  While Hem and Haw sit around and complain about why the cheese is gone because they feel entitled and they have built their lives around that cheese source.  They are afraid of change and afraid of the unknown.  They hope that the cheese will come back but do nothing about it.  After days go by, Hem realizes that he need to move on, so he leaves his friend to find new cheese.  Along the the way he leaves a trail for his friend to follow but doubts he ever will.  Hem eventually finds cheese station N, which has more and better cheese than cheese station C.  He learns how to do what Scurry and Sniff did from the start.

Who Moved My Cheese is a story that is used to describe different out looks on life and how to deal with change.  The story uses a cheese maze, two mice, and two people to get the author’s point across.  Even though the book may have been slightly corny or cheesy, it was good because the author really did a good job of getting his point across.  I like the book because it simplifies the best way to handle change and just life in general.  The best scene in the book is when Hem realizes that he has to move on and find new cheese just like Sniff and Scurry.  Everyone should read this book.  It shows a way that everyone should deal with change and would be help anyone with a job or even in school.  This book gets a four out of five because it can be a little corny but it does and good job of getting the authors message across.

The Outsiders is a fiction book about a fourteen year old “greaser”, or also known as a ‘hood. After losing his parents, Ponyboy lives with just his two older brothers, Darry and Soda, who take care of him. Him and his brothers are in a gang which is in a seemingly everlasting battle against the “socs”, or socials. Ponyboy and his friend Johnny get in a confrontation with the socs and Johnny ends up stabbing one to death and they run away. They decide to return home and turn themselves in and somewhere along the way end up saving children from a burning church. Johnny gets hurt in the church and ends up dying the night of the big greaser-soc rumble. Ponyboy gets a concussion from the rumble and wakes up a few days later. After waking up, he patches up some bad feelings toward Darry and it turns out that he will be able to stay with his brothers after the court acquitted him of murder. He takes in all that happens and starts to write about this past experience in his English paper, which turns out to be the book.

The Outsiders is a very inspirational book, although fictional. It was more than just an action book about a war between gangs. After reading the book, Nick Weidinger really liked how the story progressed and how it ended, although Johnny died. He saw that there is corruption between classes like the rich and poor. Nick feels that the author was very successful in showing how Ponyboy felt differently than a lot of his friends, which seemed to be a moral of the story. One thing he did not like about the story is that he never found out if the battle between the greasers and socs ended, or at least slowed down. His favorite scene was when Johnny and Ponyboy saved the kids from the fire because he probably would have done the same thing. People should read this book because it is the tale of a young boy who seems to be in a place that he does not belong and how he makes it through a tough time in his life. Nick would give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Hunt for The Red October begins with captain of the Soviet typhoon class submarine The Red October leaving port for test missions. The captain named Marko Ramius is a highly respected man in the Soviet Union’s Navy but has his own agenda on this mission. In order to deploy his own mission to sail to Cuba undetected by Americans and show his superiority, Ramius kills Ivan Putin who is second in command and responsible for communication with the soviet union officials overseeing the mission. Ramius then writes his own letter to the Soviet Union telling them what he intends to do and that he is serious. Once the letter reaches Soviet Officials, other Soviet subs are sent to sin the Red October. In the U. S., CIA agent and writer Jack Ryan realizes what is going to happen and what Ramius is planning. He works with the USS Dallas, an American Attack submarine, in order to stop the Red October and Ramius. Eventually Ryan and the Dallas convince Ramius to work with them and Ramius turns the Red October over to The captain of the Dallas and Ryan. But a fight occurs between one of the crew of the Red October who wants to blow up the sub. Eventually, Ryan regained control of the ship and sailed it back to the states after taking a hit from a soviet attack sub and sinking the same sub.

Response: The Hunt for The Red October is a wonderful novel that anyone who is interested in the military should read. Although the book is a bit long, it has a very interesting and exciting story line that hooks the reader right from the beginning. The plot of the book is very interesting and includes several battles between the soviet and U.S. Navies. The only thing wrong with the book is that it is too lengthy and in some cases goes way of track from he original story line. The most exiting scene in the book happens towards the end where Ramius steers the Red October directly into the path of a missile that was shot at him by another soviet sub. This book is for anyone interested in military stories or anyone who simply likes a good action story. The Hunt for the Red October is worthy of a four star rating because it is a great novel but not everyone would be interested in it.

Ellie was a high end District Attorney defending the “guilty”. When she first set foot on the Fisher’s farm, never did she think she would be spending the next eight weeks living there to defend an 18 year old accused of murder. Over those weeks she learned lessons and facts that where all new to her and then coming back to court to explain how the Amish work was just another challenge. By the end, Ellie was not just Katie Fishers lawyer; she was part of the family and family help each other no matter what because it would be a sin not to. When Ellie finds out she is pregnant with her long time lover Dr. Cooper, Katie does all she can to keep her healthy when they believe she is going to miscarry. During this time, the jury had been concluding a verdict for five days since the end of court. Before the jury came back, a deal was made; Katie would wear a security bracelet limiting her for a year and just when Ellie thought it was all over, the piece of the puzzle they had been looking for all along was discovered.

The book “Plain Truth” was an excellent book that keeps the readers wondering what is going to happen next. Just from reading the summary on the back of the book could make anyone want to read all 400 pages. It’s an entangling book and it is hard put down, even with the controversial story line of the Amish background and the laws in the real world all colliding in court. Learning to read short bits and pieces of German was distracting yet an important part of the culture of the family in the story. Finding out that the main character, Ellie, is pregnant was a good twist in the book knowing she was defending someone who had “murdered” her own child. Readers should want to pick up this book because of its outstanding ability to catch the audiences attention and the story line alone is breath taking; a 9 on a scale from one to ten, ten being the best.

Young, William P. The Shack. Newbury Park, CA: Windblown Media, 2007. Print.

The book that was read is called, The Shack. In this book it takes readers through a suspenseful journey of love, heartbreak, darkness, anger, laughter, smiles, and above all, inspiration. From the start of this book, a guy by the name of Mackenzie Allen Phillip’s, also known as Mack, receives a small note in the mail that brings him back to terrible memories that can never be forgotten. These memories, were of a certain family trip that he took with three of his five children, Kate, Josh, and Missy. Mack wanted to do this without his wife, Nannette (Nan). During the vacation, their youngest child, Missy, was abducted and the continuous search for her led those to a shack in the middle of nowhere, where they found a bloody mess and Missy’s dress inside. The Note that Mack received told him to go back to the Shack, and there he was faced with God in all different forms, where a relationship was created. Here, he could finally begin to make sense of everything that has happened in his life; the good and the bad, and this has changed him as a person.

The Shack had a lot of moments that readers could choose to like, but the tragic portion of the book where Missy was abducted can be the most appealing to people even though it is completely devastating. This part is liked because no one really wants to read a book if there is not suspense because how else would it catch most of the readers’ attention? One frustrating part of the book that can really make a person dislike it, is the feeling of confusion by the words and conversations with God that are throughout the book. This is frustrating because one can almost feel like they need to catch up on the religious background of Bible to be able to comprehend what is going on. A scene from the book that is really capturing is the scene where Mack and his children stop at Mutnomah Falls on their way to their vacation spot. This is a great scene because Mack tells a story about why the Falls have formed there, and it just shows their last real, heartfelt bonding time before everything goes downhill. People should read this book because it definitely can help those who have been through tragic moments, be able to see the light again and regain their faith in God. This book is without a doubt a 5.

The story of The Girls is a fiction novel written by Lori Lansens. It is written in diary/journal form by the two main characters of the novel, Rose and Ruby Darlen. They are the oldest surviving craniopagus twins in the world, and after learning they have a brain aneurysm and only a few months to live, they start to write this book for others to read after they die. In the beginning of The Girls both Rose and Ruby write about their birth and childhood, after deciding that the book should be written chronologically. They tell stories that shaped their childhood and give a lot of background information on where they grew up and events that changed them. In the middle of the book, the girls write primarily about their family (mostly their “mom” and “dad”; Aunt Lovey and Uncle Stash) and how much they helped them become independent despite their situation. At the end of this book, both Rose and Ruby talk about their declining health and the ways that they are preparing for their death. They wrap up the book by each writing their own “goodbye” to the reader.

This book will leave its reader feeling many different emotions; sadness, joy, empathy, fulfillment and satisfaction. It is written in such a way that whoever reads it feel like two of their best friends are writing letters to them. Both of “the girls” have such a different writing style that the reader does not get bored by the writing style. After finishing this book, one feels like they are mourning the loss of their closest friends. The most frustrating part for the reader would be that too much of their story is focused on their “parents” past and history, when one just wants to know Rose and Ruby’s story. Ruby is the character that most readers will automatically connect with and love, just because of her easy-going writing style and “I’m-holding-nothing-back” attitude. Rose’s writing style is more poetic and very much like a classic writer. People should read this book because it will encourage them to accept their flaws, whatever they are, and make the most of out them. The rating for this book is 5 stars for it’s ability to keep the reading both entertained and connected with the story the entire way through the book.

The book Friday Night Lights is about the season of the 1988 Permian High School football team in Odessa, Texas. The beginning chapters are about the history of the town of Odessa and the obsession of high school football that every one that lives in Odessa has. Gary Gaines, the head football coach of Permian, introduces his top players at a “Watermelon feed” held by the school’s booster club but particularly favors his star player Boobie Miles. Boobie was a tremendous athlete who was suppose to lead the Permian Panthers all the way to the state championship. Unfortunately all his hopes and dreams of a great senior season come to an end after a horrific knee injury. Mike Winchell, the quarterback, battles self-confidence issues and insecurity as the weight of the team’s success falls on his shoulders after Boobie’s injury. He prevails through the pressure and becomes an unsung hero of the team. Brian Chavez is the next player profiled in the book out of the six players that are profiled through out the book. Chavez is a very intelligent Mexican American who has dreams of graduating from Harvard as a lawyer; Chavez represents the little bit of good still left in the crooked football town. Ivory Christian, the hard nose middle linebacker, is a devasting hitter on the field but a gentle religious man off the field. Ivory had dreams of becoming a Baptist minister, he was the only player on the entire team to receive a division 1 scholarship. Don Billingsley, the tailback, is trying to fill his father’s shoes who was an all-star for Permian in the 60’s. Billingsley seems more focused on drinking, fighting, and women then he does football which leads to many altercations between him and his father. The team faces many obstacles such as racism during games, losing games, bad parties, and trying to win approval from the town. The team prevails and makes it to the semi-final of the state championship. They lose to Dallas-Carter and most of the senior players profiled are devasted that high school football is suddenly over but at the same time they realize it’s now time to move on with their lives.

The book was really enjoyable and easy to get in to. Out of 5 stars the book gets 3.5. People should read this book because it gives a perfect example of how most towns in Texas are when it comes to high school football. The way an entire town rallies behind a group of fifty to sixty football players barely sixteen or seventeen years old is an amazing thing to watch if you have never experienced it. The uninteresting parts in the book in my opinion was the beginning chapters that explained the background of the town, the history was pretty boring and slow. The best part of the book in my opinion was the entire section when H.G. Bissinger profiled tight end Brian Chavez. Chavez’s story was the most moving to read because he was a good kid living in a bad town. Chavez wanted to go to Harvard to become a lawyer and that is exactly what he did, the crooked teachers changing grades and racist fans did not stand in the way of his dream. He had a goal in my mind and never lost sight of what he wanted to become.

J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is the first part of 3 books following The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Fellowship of the Ring about a group of heroes on a quest to destroy an evil Ring that contains the power of the Dark Lord Sauron. The story begin in the Shire with a young hobbit named Frodo Baggins, that receives a ring from his Uncle Biblo Baggins. A powerful wizard and friend of the hobbits, Gandalf tells Frodo that it is the One Ring of power that Sauron seeks and that it must be destroyed. With that, Frodo, Gandalf, and a few of his companions embark on a quest to take the ring away from the Shire. They travel through forests and small towns, constantly being attacked and searched for by Sauron’s servants. After reaching the Elvish city of Rivendell, a fellowship is formed to aid Frodo in his quest. The nine of them, including Frodo, now seek the fiery pits of Mount Doom to destroy the ring of power that threatens the world.

J.R.R. Tolkien was truly a gifted writer and certainly poured everything he had into his trilogy. The vast amount of detail and lore created by J.R.R. vividly creates the world in the book. It is easy to appreciate the way his work was written and it makes it easy to visualize whats happening. The large scale battles and even small skirmishes keep the book interesting and keep the reader wanting more. The book is extremely detailed but that made it frustrating at times. There are parts of the book that go into the ring’s past and the deep lore of the story made it difficult to follow at times. The battle between Gandalf and a fiery demon named Barlog in the Mines of Moria was an exciting and epic part of the book. Gandalf is truly an awesome character, that not only is immensely powerful but also calm and collected, always having a solution to whatever problem that confronts him. Tolkien’s classic trilogy has brought about movies, multiple reprints of his books and countless amounts of merchandise. He books are claimed to be some of the best that the fantasy genre has to offer. 4 out of 5 stars.

Teach me dives right into the middle of an incredulous story of a young woman and her English teacher’s twisted, forbidden love. It’s Carolina “Nine” Livingston’s senior year, and she is as passionate and focused on her future as ever before. Then as she enters her English class things take a turn as she is instantly attracted to Mr. Mann, her new English Teacher. He is a poet, a thinker, and could not be more attractive. Their relationship grows slowly, and then Mr. Mann reaches out to her and they dive into a hidden love that is lit with intimacy and desire. Right when Nine thinks that this is her forever, that being with Mr. Mann is what the rest of her life looks like, Mr. Mann shuts Nine out and tells her that this relationship is over. All of this throws Nine into a psychotic rage that has her change into a new person. Instead of being focused on school, and her future, she focuses on finding out why Mr. Mann stopped loving her. The book was broken up so that it read as Nine’s thoughts, but not in a short and choppy fashion. This allowed one to really understand how Nine felt throughout the book. Teach Me starts in the middle of its story and some find this hard to follow. The author did a great job of flowing back to the start by having Nine recap how her story started, and how she got to where she now stood and what would happen next. Nine was so distracted by Mr. Mann that her only friend, Schuyler was forgotten, but he played a significant role in Teach Me. Schuyler loved Nine and did not understand why she was acting the was she was. Once he found out the truth of what was going on he stuck by her. Schuyler is a prime example of a true friend. If girls like love stories then they would enjoy this book. This book is rated three out of five because it is good for girls, but not all girls like love stories, so here is only a focused group that would be interested in it.

The book Someone Like You is written by Sarah Dessen. It is a teen novel about love and troubles one faces throughout high school. The story starts off with the main character, Halley, who is at summer camp. Hally receives an urgent call from her best friend, Scarlett, whose boyfriend, Michael Sherwood, had died in a motorcycle accident. Since she was at a sisterhood camp, her psychiatrist mother was reluctant to bring her home from camp. As the summer dies down, many people start to get over Michael’s death. Once school is into full swing, Scarlett discovers that she is pregnant. This obviously causes problems, because the baby is Michael Sherwood’s. Since Marion, Scarlett’s mom, was a teen mom, telling her was a very difficult task. Marion insisted that Scarlett get an abortion. When they go to the clinic, Scarlett chickens out and decides that she wants to keep the baby. Throughout all of this, Halley has a new boy in her life who was Michael’s best friend. Scarlett calls Macon and Halley to come pick her up. When Halley’s mom found out that she skipped school, she told Marion about everything that had happened. Since Halley’s mom is the counselor, she helps Marion and Scarlett come to a decision on keeping the baby but also keeping adoption in mind. Macon and Halley’s fling continues to grow stronger, slowly causing Halley and her mother to grow apart. Halley gets caught sneaking out with Macon, causing her to get grounded. Although, when her grandmother becomes ill, her mother goes to stay with her making Halley more free. In May, Halley and Scarlett prepare for prom. Halley is forced by her mother to go with her nerdy ex-boyfriend. He shows up to the prom drunk and rips Halley’s dress. During the prom, Scarlett goes into labor. Macon gives Halley Scarlett a ride to the hospital where Scarlett has a baby girl named, Grace Halley. This was a great book. It is definitely based towards teens, but anyone could read it and get some sort of enjoyment out of it. One good thing about that book was how fluid it was. The transitions were very smooth and the story was always intriguing. The author used many different techniques to keep a reader drawn in. One thing that was not as good, was the ending. It was somewhat abrupt and short. The best scene from the book was the scene of Scarlett having the baby. It was well described and showed a significant meaning. Halley was definitely the best character, because she was the most transformed throughout the book. Many readers could possibly relate to her in many ways. Teens should especially read this book, because it has many good lessons. If a teenager were to read this, it would probably have a four out of five rating. For everyone else, it would probably be a two out of five rating.

Between Sundays is a phenomenal story about the life of a professional football player and a foster child. This foster child named Cory was put into the care of his mother’s best friend Megan after she passed away. Nobody else knows except for Cory that Aaron is his father. Aaron and a few other players go down to a youth center where Megan and Cory go all the time. Aaron takes a liking to her and tries to get to know her better. Cory eventually gives Aaron a few letters written by his mother before she passed away explaining the situation about Cory. When Aaron finds out that it is true that Cory was his son he goes through struggles on and off the field. With the help of a good friend Aaron makes it through his football season becoming Superbowl champion and he gets a better life with his son Cory and Megan. Between Sundays is an excellent novel to read. It easily captures the struggles of foster care in America for both the parents and the children. This novel illustrates that anybody can make it through anything no matter the situation. Even with all of the stressful situations Aaron was put through he still did not give up. Karen Kingsbury did an outstanding job writing this novel on a life-changing experience. She has even written many other novels including one involving 9-11 called One Tuesday Morning.

All Quiet On The Western Front is a book about a couple of graduates who are urged by their German teacher to join the German Army and fight in the war. The main character Paul Baumer and his classmates also his best friends enlist in the Army and have no idea what they are getting themselves into. They hear so many stories and have o many ideas of how war is but they all have no idea what’s waiting for them.  They all go to boot camp and really find out who they really are and how as they are physically and mentally tested. A little later in the book they are sent to war where they see things that words cant describe. They are all still to young as war takes a harsh toll on them. Throughout the book you see the transformation of the boys as they turn into men. The war kills some of Baumer’s close buddies and depression and sadness seeps into his body. Paul goes through things he never imagined and See’s things he wishes he could take back. Through all the chaos, Baumer finds himself surviving and going home due to his sick mother. His mother eventually passes away while Baumer is still on leave at home. He returns to the war near the end of the book were he realizes the war isn’t the same. The enemy has become more smarter which makes them more deadlier. Paul Baumer dies from a bullet wound on the western front and that’s where the book ends. I liked how the author took you through the transformation Paul being Just a graduate to a hardcore fighting warrior on the front lines of war. I also liked that the author allowed the readers to picture what was going on inside the minds of these soldiers. Every detail was vivid and clear and had a great lesson to them. I didn’t like when Paul went home to visit his mother because the book wasn’t as action packed at this part like the rest of the book. My favorite part o the book would have to be were Paul looks into the eyes of an enemy and realizes his enemy is just like him. He has a family and he is a human being  who has feelings ,emotions and dreams just like everyone else does. This is the part of the book where Paul realizes that war is a game, and there all just pieces fighting in it until it is his turn to die. This moment Paul gets into his worse state of depression which soon after leads to his death. People who are interested in military or war itself should definitely read this book. I would rate this book a 4.5 out of 5. A great ,interesting book to pick up.

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Found. New York: Simon & Schuster  for Young Readers, 2008. Print.

Jonah and Chip may have seemed like your average teenagers, but they are apparently anything but that. As they are going through their lives going to school and everything else. One day Jonah gets a letter in the mail saying he is “one of the missing”. He thinks this is just a prank from someone at school. He than begins to think different as Chip now has gotten this letter. They let it go for a couple weeks like it is just a prank or something of the sort. Jonah is an adopted child, but Chip is not according to his parents. One day Chip finds out that he is adopted. So they then proceed to snoop around and find information about Chip. When they find this number that is involved with adoption agency that he was adopted from. So they decide to call this number and find out who he is, they get nothing. Jonah and Chip are very interested to find out were these letters came from. They get this call from some guy at the adoption agency to have a meeting with Jonah and his parents. They go to this meeting and find out some very important information, they got list of numbers and names that was on a paper. They proceeded to call this number to find out information. Then after awhile they received another letter but this time it was from someone named Angela, the note said to meet her at the library so they could talk. They go to this meeting and find out some very interesting information. That Jonah and chip are not even from this century.

This book was a very interesting book and always kept you on your feet. It was one like no other with twists that you would never seen or guess coming. The only bad thing about this book is that it is long but even than it does not really matter cause the book is so good you do not even notice.It just keeps you wanting to read more and more and never put the book down. The best scene in this book is when all the missing children are in the cave and they are trying to decide there fate in rather going back in time or going to the future. They have to battle with the adults over this certain device. The best character in this book has to be Katherine since she is always in there business and she is not even involved in it. She just helps out with everything and it turns out for the best of them that she came along. There is no reason to really read this book. Besides the fact that it is a very good book and if you like science fiction you will love this book. The rating that this book should receive is four out of five stars.

The book Halo:Ghost of Onyx was written by Eric Nylund. This book takes place far into the future, year 2545. The story begins with 300 super soldiers called Spartan-3’s who are apparently in a covenant fueling station. They have been assigned the task to destroy said facility. During the beginning of the raid, some spartan-3’s die but the remaining spartan-3’s continue to advance and managed to reach their target. Unfortunately during the process of destroying the station, it unexpectedly exploded and killed all but 2 spartan-3’s. The story then goes back 14 years before the unfortunate event in the planet Victoria where a spartan-2 team called Blue team were sent to recover nuclear warheads. They were then captured by the opposing forces but was later saved by a character named Kurt Ambrose. After this event, a meeting is held that focused on a new program called spartan-3 program. This program would continue to produce the same Spartans except they were cheaper to produce. This program was to take place in planet Onyx and would be managed by Kurt. Kurt then modifies the Spartan-3s after 2 of his team are killed. After a few years have past, planet Onyx is suddenly attacked by sentinels after the chief destroys Halo. Help then comes and a long battle ensues which results in a discovery of a “shield world”.

Halo:Ghost of Onyx was an action packed book filled with interesting characters. The books introduction instantly captures the readers attention with detailed descriptions of what was happening. Beyond the introduction, non-stop action filled battles and events unfold in which all are, nonetheless,descriptive and detailed. Though this book may seem easy to read at first, it becomes challenging to understand if the reader has not read the other books. My favorite scene from the book would have to be the battle in Onyx when help came. This event was so full of action that the reader will have a hard time putting the book down. My favorite character would have to be Kurt Ambrose. This would be because he was a very good and friendly leader. His ability to sense dangers helped him save Blue team when they were captured. People should read this book only if they are interested in knowing the full story of the Halo series. If one is interested in knowing the full story, then he/she should read the other books before reading Ghost of Onyx to fully understand the story. My rating for this book would have to be 3. This would be because I did not fully understand the plot because I have not read the other books.

The book The Witness starts with a murder in the town’s mall.  Officer Luke Granger interviewed the only eye witness, Amy, and finds that she has been running from a man for 5 years.  Amy took account numbers form her boyfriend to turn them into the authority because they contained enormous bets.  The story continues 3 years later with a rich man by the name of Henry dying.   His nephew Daniel and the and his daughters, Marie and Tracey Griffin inherit about $30 million.  Marie and Tracey had no clue Henry was their father.  Chief Luke Granger assigned Officers Conner and Marsh to be their escorts and keep them safe.  Amy comes back and they find that she is the third Griffin sister that was thought to be dead for 8 years.  The sisters meet again ,but they are cautioned because people are still out to kill Amy.  Luke keeps her safe with an retired Officer Caroline.  Luke and Amy start to fall in love throughout the book.  There are 2 murders that are linked to Henry and the sisters and Tracey gets shot.  They find the killer was a reporter, Kevin Sykes, that is Henry’s son.

The plot line in The Witness was good because it kept  moving.  It had a lot of twists and turns that kept one constantly thinking of past events and predicting.  the middle of the book though seemed to drag on when the Officers and the sisters would have casual conversations.  It was frustrating to read closer to the end and nothing was happening with the murder cases.  All of the Griffin sisters were interesting in their own way.  I felt that the author did a great job portraying a good representation of how 3 sisters would interact especially when Marie and Tracey got to see Amy for the first time in 8 years.  Dee Henderson did a great job showing the emotion between the sisters.  She also showed how the oldest sister has authority even though the youngest wants something.  People should read this book because it’s a romance tied into a murder mystery and a bit of religion mixed in as well.  This book would deserve a 3 star rating because it had a good plot, but slowed in the middle.

What I liked about the book was that it was descriptive when it got down to the characters, I loved when they would talk about Luke’s grandfather because they made him look like he was kind of an old stubborn man who was only concerned with picking cotton. Things that were a bit frustrating was how long some chapters would be and it wouldn’t be talking about much. My favorite scene in the book was the first chapter where Luke meets Tally. He cant keep his eyes off her and thinks she’s a little dumb but very attractive. She is to old for him though. People should just read this book for enjoyment, that’s about it. If you like stories about dreams then this is a good book. I rate this book about a four only because Luke doesn’t really live his dream, but he and his parents do say goodbye to the farm and head off to Chicago with a quick stop through St. Louis where Luke hopes to one day play ball.

The book Pet Cemetery by Stephen King was about a family that moved up to Maine. The members in the family are Louis the husband and father, Rachel the wife and mother, their two children, Ellie and Gage, and Ellie’s cat Church. When the family moves to Maine they find out they live on a busy road where trucks fly by. They then meet their neighbor Jud who Louis has always been friends with.  Jud then shows Louis about a cemetery where all the kids bury their dead pets. Louis was traumatized by a dead patient and then walks up to the cemetery with the dead patent’s corpse and is warned about the graveyard. The cat Church then gets run over at thanksgiving. Louis buries the cat in the cemetery. The cat then comes back and is a bit more ornery than it was before and smells dead. The son Gage was then run over by a car while playing in the street. Louis gets his corpse from the regular graveyard and brings it up to the pet cemetery where things come back to life. Gage then comes back possessed and Kills Jud and Rachel. Louis then kills Church and Gage and buries Rachel in the cemetery. Rachel comes back and the book ends.

I really liked the horror elements of this book. It almost seemed as though it was real at parts. It was probably one of the creepiest books I’ve ever read before. One thing I really did not like about this book was that it did not finish the ending after Rachel came back. I was disappointed when the book ended there. I would have to say that my favorite character was the cat Church. The cat really seemed to bring out the creepiness in the book and that’s what made him such a good character in my opinion. My favorite scene was at the very end. It was when Louis walked into Jud’s house with the morphine needles, finds Jud and Rachel dead, and stabs the possessed Gage with a needle and kills him. The scene was very creepy and very action packed. People should read this book if they want to be awake all night or if they would like to be severely creeped out. I would give this book a five out of five because it was the spookiest thing I’ve ever read.

White, novel number 3 in Ted Dekker’s Circle Trilogy, begging 13 years after Justin’s sacrifice. The Forest Guard members that had drowned in the blood of Elyon and escaped the forest have formed “The Circle”. They live in the desert while the horde populate the seven forests. One night, Waref leads an invasion on the circle and captures Thomas and takes him into the Forest. Woref parades his capture to Qurong, the leader of the hoard, and Chelise, Qurong’s daughter, who Woref is in love with. The albinos are thrown in dungeons, but Thomas manages to get Chelise let him read from the books of historys, which Chelise had already had a fascination with. Chelise begs for Thomas’s execution to be replaced with her servant’s. He falls in love with her, and her with him. Eventually, Thomas, Chelise, and the other Circle members escape to the desert. Woref leads another invasion and captures 24 Circle members, and kills 10 others. Thomas exchanges his life for the the other 24 Circle members lives. Chelise goes with Thomas. Thomas is tortured and beaten, to renounce his love for Chelise, or she will be killed. Thomas does, for the thought of her dieing without drowning in Elyon’s blood was unbearable, but after knocking himself out immediately after, to rid himself of his pain, he decides not to go through with it. Woref bursts with anger and slams Chelise into a wall and hits her in the face. Thomas, Chelise, and Woref are all sentanced to drowning in the hoards tainted, muddy lake. The Circle finds and follows a portion of the lake that had not been emptied after Justin’s (son of Elyon) death. They dig until they hit a spring of the red water, and channel it into the lake where Thomas and Chelise would be drowned in. Thomas and Chelise are sent to the depths, when the water turns to red, and Chelise witnesses Justin’s power. Qurong allows Thomas, Chelise, and the other albinos safe passage out of the forest. The Circle is waiting for them as they leave the forest. In the other reality, Thomas manages to send Carlos, the assasin that had killed Thomas three times before, into the reality in the desert. Also, Conflicts with Israel, France, and the U.S. heat as the Raison Strain is still a threat, and still no antivirus has been found. Monique discovers that the cure to the disease is in Thomas’s blood, but all 12 pints of his blood to be able to create wide spread vaccine. Thomas agrees, but requires that he dreams first. He dreams of him, Chelise, and his two friends arranging their marriages.

One of the biggest things that was enjoyable about this book is that at the end of every chapter, or even every page, it felt as though the reader is compelled to keep reading to find what would happen next. There was almost always that feeling of suspense that kept me interested in the book. Also, Ted Dekkers originality and plot, though a bit difficult to follow at times, was great. It was a very interesting and epic story, between both realities. One of the things that wasn’t so great was that the plot did get a little hard to follow, but that is topical of any books, or movies that are about split realities or dreams. The reader could find them self to be almost dread the parts of the book about president day reality. The other reality with “The Circle” and the hoard was very interesting. People should read this book because it is very interesting, and opens your mind. Though it would be highly recommend reading “Black” and “Red” in that order first, otherwise you aren’t going to understand what is going on at all. Overall, this book gets an 8.5.

Twisted is a good book for young adults to read, those in high schools. They can relate to the setting and the over all story. Because the story is high school related it was easy to read through and get my own opinion on the story. Although it is not real it’s easy to relate to. The importance level is not very high because it’s more of a book written for entertainment, which it serves it’s purpose in my opinion. Tyler was a good character for young adults to relate to and even learn from. On a level of 1 to 5 I would place it at a 3, because it is not one of the greatest books I have ever read but it was enjoyable and because it was sent in a high school scene and I was able to relate helped a lot.

Justice starts out in the town of Bannet with Sam Burrack and his assistant Maria confronting the cowhands at the local saloon and end up killing them all when they draw their guns on Sam. The reason that they went in to confront then was to see if they knew anything about the missing stagecoach, they admitted it in their drunken rage before they drew their guns and said they were part of the Half Moon Gang. When Sam and Maria go to find the stage it has been run off the side of a cliff but did not fall to the bottom of the valley but is being held just of the edge of the cliff and they hear a little girl crying inside of the stage and they try and rescue her before the stage falls of the edge. In the meantime Doss Edding and the rest of his Half Moon Gang are getting ready to rob the Cottonwood Bank.Matthew Edding the Father of Doss a wealthy land owner and rancher starts trying to stop his son before he gets arrested and gun by Sam and the rest of the Lawman in the country with the help of Jesse Tiggs a former member of the Half Moon Gang.(Cotton)

Justice is a good book that is well written. The sequence of events goes along a timeline but jumps back and forth between the different groups the whole time and is confusing at some points if the book is not read straight through.The best scenes in the book are the scene at the very beginning of the book and the scene where Jesse Tiggs and Sam Burrack face off after the hanging. These scenes are both interesting because they have a lot of action in them and that is what a lot of people that read westerns are looking for. In the book the best character is Sam Burrack because he is the one that is like an outlaw but he is holding up the law in the territory. He is a very smart man with a innate sense of what is going to or could happen next and is always prepared even if it does not go the way he plans.  This book is probably a 4 out of five stars because it is a great book with that is action filled even when you don’t expect it.

Published by Grand Central Publishing in 2006, Dear John is a romance novel written by Nicholas Sparks, an American author. Sparks has written over 13 novels including A Walk to Remember and The Notebook. Dear John takes place from 2000 to 2006, mostly in North Carolina. Split into parts one, two, and three, this book begins with John Tyree, the main character, home on leave from the army. He stumbles across a girl named Savannah Lynn Curtis at the beach while he is temporarily home. The two quickly fall in love. Realizing he must return overseas, they continue their relationship through calls and letters. This is how the book came to be titled Dear John. The love Savannah and John shared was full of fiery passion, but could not withstand being apart for so long; they soon broke up. After going their separate ways and battling with social difficulties as well as family member’s physical conditions, it was a struggle for the two to attempt reconciliation of their previously shared feelings when reunited later in life. Also, in 2010, a major motion picture was produced, based on Sparks’ bestselling novel.

Dear John was an emotion-provoking book that left the biggest surprise for the last page.  The way Nicholas Sparks exemplified and narrated John Tyree’s perspective throughout, allowed a lot of visual imagery to form in a person’s mind and feel like they were actually present while the events were occurring. From a teenager’s perspective, this book was very relatable to life, and the lessons John learned were applicable as well as highly noteworthy. His change in maturity as well as his view on life throughout the book added to its reality and set up a good premise for reading between the lines since it did not directly say these things. The best scene in Dear John was when John and his father finally came to terms on their differences and were confident in their relationship as well as themselves personally. This book earns four out of five stars, because despite being a “sappy” love story, it had important life lessons incorporated. The only negative aspect of Dear John would be the ending; it was rather disappointing and not what was originally expected.

The novel takes place in Kentucky in the year 1964. Dr. David Henry and Norah met in a department store, and were shortly married and having children. The only problem was Norah gave birth to twins, one perfectly healthy boy and a girl with Down’s syndrome. While Norah was unconscious from the drugs given to her during labor, Dr. Henry gave the baby girl to a nurse telling her to take the girl, Phoebe, to an institution. Dr. Henry then told Norah she had given birth to twins, a boy and girl, but the girl was dead. The nurse, Caroline, ended up leaving Kentucky with Phoebe and beginning a new life. Norah and her son, Paul, go through most of their lives not knowing of their daughter/sister. The novel is told from two different positions, the Henry family’s side and Caroline and Phoebe’s side. The book bounces back and forth between the two, explaining the relational struggles one has with another. Caroline finds a man, Al, and they get married. Norah and David’s lack of communication and weakening feelings for each other lead from affairs to divorce, when David has a heart attack and dies. Caroline hears this news and decides to take Phoebe to Norah and Paul so they can learn the truth and meet their daughter and sister.
This was a phenomenal book. The author uses vivid words to describe every little thing in the novel. The reader is truly able to have a movie playing in their head as they read. The book’s plot was very well thought out and pieced together. There were twists and turns and unpredictable scenes which made the book impossible to put down. The most dramatic part of the novel is when Caroline informs Norah of Phoebe and how she is, in fact, still alive. The author explains each character’s thoughts of the situation and keeps the reader wanting more. For a teenage reader, they are more able to connect to Paul, and how he handles situations growing up such as fitting in, parents fighting and divorcing, and dealing with loss. People should read this book because it focuses on a wide variety of family issues and how life was in the 1960’s to the 1980’s. This novel deserves a 4.5 out of 5 star rating. The reader will always be entertained; there are no slow spots or dull moments.

Paris. That word alone conveys an image of romantic men and women wearing black and white stripped shirts and a beret with a cig caressing their lips, sidewalk cafes, brass and copper fountains soaring twenty feet high, and stucco and carrara marble facades around every corner with the house names Chanel, YSL, and Louis Vuitton barring the front door covered in a 24 caret gold leaf finish. This french romanticism captures the cliche American view of the french culture from 1695 to 1995 where Adam, his wife, and their child left the hustle and bustle of New York City Time Square for the serene districts of Paris, France. Adam begins to live his life as a typical overweight tourist with his light hearted views of the French culture, history, and the politics bringing an understanding to the reader. Within a few short weeks, the city of love turns into another Big Apple living the not-so-hot lifestyle while he attempts to raise a child and care for a wife, realizing that living in a foreign land isn’t too different from taking the first baby steps into parenthood. Both sport new language, new sets of rules to obey, and routines that spike their mindset as they begin to live the true life of Frenchmen. Living day by day, they begin to mesh together the enchanted moments with the beyond ordinary obstacles they face throughout this 322 page book.

The way the words are written throughout the pages mesmerizes the reader in a way that the reader cannot put the book down. Readers that are “Frenchies” are definitely the targeted audience. This is a must read book because, not only does the reader learn a lot of factual information about France as a country, but the reader also enjoys a non fictional story to captivate the readers mind. On a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best, this book would receive a 3.5-4. Although the book has a story that has a great outline, some of the facts that are in throughout the book are more general. Knowing a lot of information about France, more detail on the culture and history is missed. Adding more background information regarding France and its culture would help the reader connect some of the dots if the reader does not know French as a second language.

Novalee Nation is only 17 and she is seven months pregnant. At the beginning of the

story she is on her way to California with her boyfriend Willie Jack Pickens. She is alone and the

only person she has to depend on is her boyfriend, and he is the least bit kind to her. They make

a stop at a Wal-Mart in Oklahoma for Novalee to use the bathroom and when she comes back

out to meet her boyfriends she realizes she has been left stranded, with only seven dollars, in

the middle of no where. Novalee than begins to secretly live in the Wal-Mart, where she spends

her every waking moment. After two months of living in the Wal-Mart, Novalee gives birth to

her daughter Americus. To say that Novalee was scared is an understatement. She is alone and

has no idea what to do. She befriends a lady named Sister Husband who takes her and Americus

in to her home and clothes and feeds them. Novalee does her share around the house to try and

make up for not paying for rent. She eventually is encouraged by another dear friend, Sam

Walton to pursue her love of photography; which in turn helps her to start bringing in some

money for her and her daughter. Novalee has to fight throughout the whole book to take care of

her and her daughter, but by the end of the story she learns what true friendship really is and

what it means to be a fighter!

This story has a a good message of love and friendship. The fight of Novalee Nation is

one of extreme determination and faith. It is very interesting and helps the reader to think about

life from a different perspective. The best scene from this book is when Novalee gives birth to

her daughter. She is forced to trust complete strangers and in turn this leads to her developing

three deep friendships with people she never thought would accept her as their friend. The book

can become a little slow towards the middle, but if the reader stays strong in their reading, they

will realize what a great novel they read. This book is not meant for all people. Young men may

not enjoy it as much as women. The book is useful in encouraging people to be strong and

determined in whatever they set their mind to. If this book could be rated overall it would be

given a four star rating for its level of interest and the strong message behind it.

Summary Wintergirls is a book about eighteen year old Lia. Lia is an anorexic, and her best friend Cassie was bulimic. Cassie dies at the very start of the book but when one continues to read, you learn much more about Cassie and the friendship that her and Lia had. The night that Cassie died, she called Lia 33 times but Lia did not pick up her phone. Because of this, Lia feels like it was her fault that Cassie died and she could have prevented it from happening if she would have picked up. Lia feels haunted by Cassie and sees her ghost throughout the story. Lia’s parents are divorced and her dad remarried Jennifer. At the beginning of the story, she lives with Jennifer, her dad and her step sister Emma, whom she loves very much. However, her mom feels that Lia needs to move back in with her and Lia does not agree. Lia struggles with her friend’s death, her dysfunctional family, her anorexia, and thoughts of where she is going in life. While reading, one sees the thoughts of an anorexic teenager and how one feels when they reach a very dark time in their life.

Response This book had a very dark and creepy feel to it. It’s that kind of book that draws one in and it makes one eager to read on and continue the story. The way that it is written really gives one insight to the mind of an anorexic girl. The parts of the book that were a little annoying was when Lia read web blogs on the computer. The blogs were bothersome because the blogs were encouraging anorexia and bulimia. One might find themselves annoyed with Lia and how dramatized the book is. Near the end of the book, Lia sees Cassie’s ghost and realizes she wants to live. That is a very significant part of the book. It was great to read that Lia finally wanted to get her life together. A character that was an enjoyable part of the book was Elijah. He  is entertaining and did not allow his problems to overcome him. If someone enjoys reading about teenage girl problems, this is a great read for them. It allows one to peer into the mind of an anorexic and one may be able to relate to this book. This book receives a three rating because it keeps one wanting to read more, but it seems to be over dramatized at some parts.

Fahrenheit 451 is a novel set in the future.  It starts out with the main character, Guy Montag, coming home from work.  He is a fireman, however, a firemen’s job in this novel is to find and burn all hidden books.  Books are banned in this society because they were proven to be offending to certain races.  Guy Montag was on his way home one night and ran in to a girl named Clarisse.  She was different than the typical people Montag knew.  She was creative and completely independent.  She shows Montag how important reading is and Montag starts to believe that books are a necessity.  Montag then goes to a friend of his named Faber.  Faber is an old English teacher.  Together they start a plan to reprint books and destroy the jobs of firemen.  Towards the end, Montag’s wife turns him in to the police for reading and then she leaves him.  Montag is forced to burn down his own house and go to jail.  However, he escapes the police and runs out of town.  In the end he joins the “Book People”.  They plan to regenerate all of the books and change the banned books law. Overall, the book was boring.  It drug on for awhile and was not that exciting.  The book started to get better once Montag was being chased by the cops.  Other then that chase the novel was very slow. The best seen from the book was when Montag had to burn down his house.  That would have been a hard thing to do and soon after the chase began.  Montag was the best character, because he was the most interesting.  There were little details on the other characters.  People should read this book if they just enjoy reading.  There is no significance to this book except for enjoyment.  The novel earned a two on a scale of five.  The overall plot and storyline was poor.

90 Minutes in Heaven is a story that is about Don Piper’s car accident and his experience in Heaven. In the beginning of the book, Piper starts off by explaining the day of his accident.  As Piper was entering the narrow bridge in the fog, a tractor trailer came and they collided head on. The truck driver was fine although Piper was not. All of his limbs were broken except his right arm and his left leg was barley attached. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Dick Onerecker [a minister] drove by and wanted to pray for Piper. The police officer said that it is a waste of time since he is gone. Onerecker prayed and was surprised to find that the “dead man” was singing. He sprang from the seat and told the paramedics to come quick since he is alive; even though they did not believe Onerecker at first.

Next, he explained his wonderful time in Heaven and heard beautiful music. When he arrived, several late family members came up to him to talk which he loved. After he came back to Earth, he kept asking God why he was brought back to suffer since his injuries were severe. He really wanted to die so he could go back to Heaven. As he was recovering, he realized the reason why he was brought back. It was to tell others his enlightening story. He got hundreds of people to become believers after hearing his story. He is now happy to be alive but he longs to go back to that beautiful place.

The student’s favorite part is that Piper was able to survive his experience and tell others what Heaven was like. It is so unique since this sort of thing does not happen often. The student’s favorite scene from this book would have to be when Piper was in Heaven. It was neat hearing about all his encounters with late family members and his thoughts. It is also good to know that Heaven is 100% peaceful and he noticed that he did not worry at all while he was there. The student’s other favorite scene was when Onerecker prayed that Piper would have no internal injuries or brain damage. The ER doctors were shocked that Piper only suffered broken limbs, cuts and bruises. After being slammed by the truck, it would look like he would have serious internal injuries.

People should read this book to learn about Heaven to hear what it is going to be like. People who do not believe in God should especially read this book since it may make them become a believer just like all the people that did from talking to Piper. This book should have five out of five stars.

The book Dolores Claiborne started out with a woman by the name of Vera Donovan. Mrs Donovan is married to a man and is the proud mother of a daughter and two sons. Not long after her marriage she discovers that her lovely husband is not what he seemed to be. He beats her and abuses her and was discovered later to be doing the same to his daughter.  Vera finds a job working as a housemaid for the notorious Dolores Claiborne in her mansion. After a number of years the two become very close friends and Vera found herself venting to Mrs. Claiborne who planted the idea of killing Vera’s husband in her head. After working up much courage, Vera finally found it in her to do away with the no good abuser, getting him boozed up, she led him to the old well behind their house where she pushed him in. Although she was never accused of the crime by officials, her neighbors were not too keen about letting her get away with murder. After several years has passed, Vera found herself still working for Dolores Claiborne, but as Dolores continued to get older, her mind seemed to leave her. One day Vera heard her screaming about “dust bunnies” and when she went to help her, Mrs Donovan found her at the foot of the stairs dead. Since Vera was the only friend she had, Dolores left her 13 million dollars in her will. Naturally the towns people thought that she was getting away with two murders now. Dolores Claiborne is the story of Vera Donovan’s life as she tells it to police of how she murdered her husband but how her hands were clean from the death of Dolores Claiborne. This book, although extremely slow in the beginning captured my attention and for some reason i was unable to put it down. It was slow in the sense that the main parts of the book were spaced out and in between there was meaningless pieces of information. Stephen King made you grow attached to the characters and almost brought them to life in your imagination, giving you a sense of sorrow when one passed away. My favorite character was Vera Donovan because of her witty sense of humor and outlook of life. My favorite scene from the book is when the author described the feeling that Vera Donovan had after murdering her husband, although sadistic, it was humorous in a certain light. I don’t feel as though this book is a must read for everyone, rather just an interesting book to read if you have nothing better to do. I would rate it a three out of five.

Shepard, Sara. Heartless. New York: Alloy Entertainment, 2010. Print.

Heartless is the seventh book of the eight Pretty Little Liar series written by Sara Shepard. The beginning starts off in the same scene as the last book ended. The series is about four teenage girls with very dramatic lives in an upper-class region outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The girls, Hanna, Emily, Spencer, and Aria all lost their fifth best friend the last day of seventh grade and found her body three years later. The four girls left grew apart because their friend who was murdered, Ali, was the only one who really brought all them together and was basically the only thing that they had in common. Each chapter is about each girl and tells the story through her eyes. After the body was found each of them started to find mysterious notes, messages, and pictures that a stalker was sending them which contained secret information only the girl who died knew which brought all the girls back together to figure out not only who this stalker was, but who Ali’s killer was and even questions whether it was actually her body. The stalker knew the truth, however, made the girls go through appalling drama in order to put the pieces of this wild puzzle together. Each girl has her own secrets as well including every possible dilemma a teenage girl could even imagine going through and their stalker does whatever he or she can to threaten the lives of the chaotic and vulnerable teens with the secrets they are trying to hide from everyone.

This series is marvelously written and the author undoubtedly put a lot of time and thought into the plot of the book and how to make all the twists and turns come together to meet at a specific point. This is an eight series book that tells a single story that takes place over the course of about two and a half years. Some of the books take place in a week, while others it’s a year later. What really makes these books unique is the way the chapters are set up. Each chapter tells the story of the lives of each girl from her own perspective so a chapter will end with a cliffhanger about one of the girls’ and the reader has to wait three chapters until that character is brought up again to finish her situation but at the same time all three of the other chapters are leaving the reader hanging with their drama. There is something so intense about these girls’ lives that make the reader become each character and want to know what is going to happen next. This isn’t a book for anyone, guys would probably never pick up this series but even a girl who isn’t into drama can enjoy this series, it is secretive, suspenseful and a murder mystery as well and while the theme is set up to be a girly, dramatic, fictional story of rich, stupid, snobby girls it becomes a whole new world that no one would want to live in which just makes it all the more fun. It would get 5 stars for a teenage girl who enjoys fiction books, but a 2 for anyone else because the story doesn’t end until the eighth book so once one starts reading it is like it’s never ending which is either really great or could be painful.

Agatha Christie starts off ‘And Then There Were None’ with giving the reader an insight into the characters thoughts and what they are thinking of when they all receive letters to come to this mysterious island that many speculate a famous film star has bought. The author lets the reader know that each visitor coming to the island has a mysterious past which foreshadows what they are gonig to encounter on the island. At The end of the first chapter, Mr. Blore, a former detective is told on a train to the island by an old man that a storm is coming and the day of judgement is near. After all the guests arrive at the island they gather in a room where they hear a recording that accuses each of them of committing a murder. after awhile of talking and confusion as to what to do, Tony Marston, one of the guests, chokes on poisoned whiskey and dies. frightened by this they all retreat to their rooms and Vera Claythorne realizes a suspicious comparison between Mr. Marstons death and a nursery rhyme, ten little indians that is hung in the room. From here on out the guests realize that the killings so far have been carried out according to the nursery rhyme. By the end of the story all the guests have been killed and the police find a letter from Judge wargrave explaining that he killed all of the guests and himself because he wanted to punish them.

This book was very entertaining throughout its entirety. The flow of the story is very well thought through. Agatha Christie is a very mysterious writer in this book; she keeps the story very suspenseful once the guests reach the island. She uses The statement that the man says to Mr. Blore to in a way let the reader know that something drastic was going to happen. At certain parts in the book the dialogue was tough to follow because of the many characters but it did not totally ruin the book. The Judge was not my favorite character but he was one of the more interesting characters in the fact that Agatha Christie really does a good job in making his way of killing the guests very unique. I have never heard of a killer using a nursery rhyme as a plan or a guideline to kill his victims. I would not say that this book has any importance for a specific reason but if you are into mystery suspense this has plenty of that. on a scale of one to five i would rate it a three.

A 19 year old, wealthy college student, Travis Wayne, goes to Hawaii for summer break in search of a good time. Just when he thinks everything is good and nothing can go wrong, a tragedy occurs that he can’t quite shake off and move on, it haunts him in his dreams throughout the story. Because of this he drops out of college and flees back home. He then falls back into his care-free, old habits: drinking, smoking, snorting cocaine, hooking up with girls, and partying all the time because he desperately wants to forget what happened in Hawaii. In the mist of all this, Travis is still in love with his ex girlfriend, Laura, his little sister, Vanessa, who’s only 14, starts doing drugs and partying with people who are way older than her, and his so called “best friend”, Cliff, ends up betraying him in an abundance of ways and has a serious heroine problem. Travis develops a conscience, realizes that the old things he used to do are not as important as they used to be, and tries desperately to turn his life around.

Exit here by Jason Myers, is an extremely realistic book. It definitely hit the nail on the head of how a lot of teenagers/young adults act and spend a good bit of their time doing. This book was well-written and heavily detailed. The only thing that was irritating about this book was how it was such a long read, it could have been about 200 pages shorter if there wasn’t so much detail. There wasn’t really a scene that was the best out of the whole book. The whole entire book itself was the best part. The best character out of this book was Travis. He may seem like he’s just like all of his friends, stupid and care-free, but he does try to turn it all around. Though nothing entirely changes, the effort he put forth, the changes he undergoes, and the different things he comes to realize is what made him the best character. Young adults and older adults alike should definitely look into reading this book. It’ll give the older adults an idea of what goes on in the young adult world and young adults can learn about some of the consequence of their choices, hopefully before they occur in their own lives. Out of five stars I would rate this book a four because of the level of profanity but it depends on how much a person can handle.

The book is about how the author (Shane Claiborne), who lived in Tennessee, found God and

lived for God and became homeless so God could work through him. Shane became an ambassador

for Christ in the slums of North Philadelphia. He was living a “normal” Christian life he did everything

that was fun like going to youth festivals and was just living the way he wanted to, but Jesus, he

said “wrecked my life,” he used to be “cool” but now after he met Jesus he found out there is no such

thing as a “cool Christian.” After that he was thinking about going to Eastern University and his parents

said, “If God wants you to go north for College than he can pay for it.” He got a full scholarship to

Eastern in Pennsylvania. When Shane was in the summer of his junior year in college he had went to

help Mother Theresa out in India, he went to help the people in the mission that Mother Theresa had

started. Then he had gone to Iraq to be in between the fighting, help the Iraqis and the soldiers. When

he was going back home from Iraq he and the people he went with were in a three car caravan and his

car was the last in the caravan and they were losing sight of the other two cars they were going like 80

mph. Then the tire exploded and the car spun out of control and went into a ditch and rolled over to

its side. They had managed to get everyone out of the car with minor injuries except for two people.

Shane had thought it would take a while to get a ride from anyone because they are American and

the Iraqis do not like America, but within two minutes someone had pulled over and taken them into

their car and they took them to the nearest town and dropped them off. When they got back there

was a woman who had said, “How dare you be so careless with your life and put your mother through

that? Jesus would point his finger at you and say ‘You should not have been so careless with your life’”

(Claiborne 254). Philadelphia made some laws that were anti-homeless like you could not sleep on

the sidewalks you could not ask for money, and you could not publicly distribute food. “Ironically the

reason for many of these laws was [for a park called] Love Park which is a historic site in Philly known

as a great place for skateboarding (which was also made illegal).” He went to jail a few times living for

Christ, breaking unjust laws and just laws in the eyes of the court system. This book is very deep and

life changing. I would highly recommend it to someone who wants something more in life and does not

want to just go down the “stream” of life and not experience everything.

My reaction to this book can be summed up in one word, but it would do the book a disservice,

and that word is “wow”. There are so many things that I want to talk about but it is so long and I cannot

hit everything I want to hit so just read it, it will really change your life and you will not look at your life

the same way and you will not look at the world the same way again.

Asher, Jay. Thirteen Reasons Why.London England: Penguin Books Ltd ,2007. Print.

At the beginning of the book Hannah sends out tapes to the thirteen people that made her end her life and the thirteen reasons why. The tapes are mostly about this boy Clay. Clay is someone who had a crush on Hannah for a while and is one of the thirteen people to receive the tapes. Clay spends a lot of his  time listening to these tapes and follows the tapes around to each site where Hannah is describing at that moment. Clay constantly asked why he was one of the people to get these tapes, what did he ever do to Hannah that made her want to end her life? While these tapes are playing and Hannah talks about some of the thirteen people it’s questioned, where are the parents? She seems to have little connection with her parents during this book.  Hannah didn’t kill herself for the attenion she wanted to stop being hurt by all these people. Hannah was a new girl to this town and rumors started to spread quickly about her. She was put on a hott or not list. When Clay and Hannah were at a party talking things got out of hand and it made Hanna’s descion to end her life easier. My thought on the book Thirteen reasons Why, are that people should watch how they treat others and what they say. Because the people she thought she could trust or were her friends hurt her, she came to the conclusion to end her life. It’s not common to hear stories like this today, but you never know how someone will react to the way you treat them or if it’ll do what happened to Hannah, end their life. My thought on this topic ( suicide) is that it is very serious and people shouldn’t be rude to others just to fit in cause you never know how the person will react or if you’ll need their help one day and they might not be there when you need them most.

The book was overall a great book. It is interesting how similar the book is to 1984 and equilibrium, so that there is something to compare it to. The thing that was best about the book is that it was comparable to real life and it had many metaphors. The scenes that were most interesting was when the old lady stayed with her books in the burning house with the conversation afterword, and when Guy burns the captain and flees. Clarisse was a very interesting to me because she was relatable. However, the author should not have  killed her off. This just seemed to be unnecessary drama when the reader actually gets connected with the character. Though it is understandable that the author did it so that it would push Guy over the edge, she was an interesting character. This book would most likely be rated a five out of five and deserves to be read by many people.

Nineteen Minutes is about a a boy, Peter Houghton, who is relentlessly bullied from the time he was in kindergarten.  Peter was seventeen years old with the body of a six year old.  So he was a prime target for bullies.  He could be labeled as a loner in high school, but he did have a friend though, Josie Cormier, who would stand up for him in elementary school.  Josie was the daughter of the town judge.  One day Josie joined the “popular” crowd and forgot all about Peter.  Then one day Peter finally snaps and brings a gun to school.  He shoots his peers and teachers and just about anybody who got in his way.  When Peter went to trial the judge on his case was Josie’s mom, Alex Cormier.  Alex does not want to take the case because her daughter was part of the shooting and did not want that to influence her decision of innocent or guilty.  Throughout the whole story Alex is juggling between her job as a judge and her responsibility of being a supportive mother who had a daughter witness something horrible. The thing that readers will enjoy most about this book is the amount of detail that Jodi Picoult goes into.  She really makes sure that readers know everything there is to know about the characters.  She really makes them seem like real people and that this even actually happened.  The book also was great because it would switch every chapter to a new perspective from a character, one chapter would be Josie talking, next would be Peter, then Alex.  It really kept the reader on the fence about which side they wanted to be on.  Parts of the book that might be boring to some readers would be the extent of detail the Picoult goes into.  It’s not that she rambles, she is just very extreme with the amount of detail.  My favorite character from the book is Josie.  She has a very sweet personality and means the best from whatever she does.  She does not purposely hurt people but she just wants to be accepted as a “cool” kid and finds herself really questioning if what she’s doing is right.  People should read this book if they need something to do.  Reading Jodi Picoult books is way better than watching tv if one does not have anything to do. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Midnighters is a blend of fantasy, action, mystery, and horror that takes place in the fictional town of Bixby, Oklahoma. Jessica Day, the new girl in Bixby, becomes one of a small group of teens with special abilities and powers. Rex, Dess, Melissa, and Jonathan help her understand Bixby’s mysteries. As a midnighter, Jessica can live in the secret 25th hour known only to the group, in which all time freezes around the 5 teens. In this secret hour, Jessica encounters the monsterous creatures that also inhabit the “blue time”, darklings. Her arrival sparks unusual aggression from the creatures, and the midnighters are desperate to discover why. As Jessica learns the rules and science of the secret hour, the threat of the darklings becomes more and more apparent. The midnighters embark on a dangerous mission into the darklings’ treading ground to learn Jessica’s power and use it before the monsters destroy the newcomer. This book was more interesting with every new page. The original ideas and concepts made it not only exciting but thought-provoking. Westerfeld crafts a mysterious story filled with questions that will make the reader ponder and imagine beyond the text. With the exception of a few complex and overwhelming passages, the story flows very well and teens will easily relate to it. Perhaps the most interesting character is Melissa, a telepath who can sense thoughts, see into the minds of others and even taste emotions. Every scene with her is fascinating and each gives you a new look at how everything and everyone affects her. This book is beneficial not only to the imaginative but to those who like a sense of realism. The characters portrayed have realistic conflicts and realistic interactions, unlike the idealistic dream-teams that have become the norm in most fantasies.

Annotated Bibliography

This book “THE SEA OF MONSTERS” is the second book in the “PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS” series by Rick Riordan. It stars off with Percy “the main character” dreaming about his friend Grover being chased by a mysteries monster. Grover is a “stayr” which is a half goat half human and one of Percy’s main friends.  He wakes up and tells his mother about the dream and this startles her. She then tells him that it is not safe to go to camp this year. Percy loves going to camp “Half- Blood” which is a camp for the sons and daughters of the Greek Gods. He argued with his mother and she said that they would talk about why he can’t go when he gets home that day from school. Percy had only one friend at school he was a child like “only in mind” giant named Tyson. Little did he relies that he is in for a big surprise, Tyson is Percy’s brother. That day he angers a school bully and his new really big and smelly “friend.” Unfortunately for Percy and Tyson these guys are monsters, and they mean business. The bully and his new friends tell Percy that they will get him in gym class. Percy was very nervous because today was doge ball day. The bully and his friends were waiting for Percy and Tyson in gym class were an epic battle between the monsters, Percy, and Tyson.  Then Percy’s other best friend came to help him and Tyson her name was Annabeth “the daughter of Athena.”  This is when they travel to camp Half-Blood were they find out all is not well. They need to save the camp first from the monster bronze bulls that are terrorizing the camp when they arrived. Thalia’s tree has been poisoned and the boundary at camp is weakening and has let monsters in the camp. Chiron “the camp director” has been blamed for this unspeakable act. Percy and his friends set out on a quest from there to save the camp and get the “golden fleece”  which is the only thing that can save Thalia’s tree and Chiron’s good name.They have no idea what will be in store for them.

Riordan, Rick. The Sea of Monsters. New York: Scholastic, 2006. Print. Percy Jackson and the                          Olympians.

The best part of this book would have to be the amazing descriptions the author uses in telling the story. The worst part about reading this book would have to be all the mistakes in the editing of this book. This was frustrating because it would cause you to stumble through the book which to me makes the book not as good as it could have been. That really was the only problem in the book. The best scene in this book was the battle between the Cyclopes Polyphemus and Tyson. It was the best scene because Tyson was saving the heroes and it showed how much he had grown since the story had begun. The best character in this story was Percy the main character because he grew the most during the story.  People should read this book because it is a combination of history and today. This story is well written and great. This book is easily a four out of five stars.

Thirteen Reasons Why, written by Jay Asher, was about a girl who killed herself and recorded herself on cassette tapes. Hannah Baker had committed suicide by taking sleeping pills. On the tapes is all the people and events that caused her to commit suicide; all the people who ruined her life in less than four years. The tapes were to be passed around to thirteen different people; the people that contributed to her misery. The character who had the tapes at the time was a boy in her English class, Clay Jenson. Clay found that each of the tapes was addressed to two different people; one person per side. All Clay had to do was listen to all the tapes, find out who was on the tapes and what they did, find out why he was on a tape, and then mail the thirteen tapes to the next person. The tapes went in chronological order, starting in ninth grade and then ending a few weeks before she committed suicide.

What I Thought of the Book…

It amazing how this was Mr. Asher’s first book and he did such a phenomenal job. At first, it was really stupid. The reasons why Hannah killed herself seemed really dumb. For example, her first kiss is what started it and she should have gotten over it a lot quicker than what she did. Another example was when she was put on the hot or not list. She was put on the hot side and voted “best ass of Freshman class”; she had no reason to complain. But a guy smacked her butt in a store when he was talking to a guy and it was understandable that she was upset with the unwanted contact but not really that she was on the hot side. It’s easy to understand how she felt throughout the book. She felt trapped and confused and it’s so easy to relate to that. But she didn’t need to kill herself. It was decent that the publisher (or writer, not sure which) included a help hot line if a reader was contemplating suicide. This book gets a five star rating.

Angel of Mercy is about an 18 year old girl named Heather that just graduated High school and is on her way to Africa for a missions trip or three months.  The first part of the book is about her journey on he way to Africa on the ship.  While on the ship she meets a boy named Ian and they begin to like each other.  The middle of the book is about the different things and people she faces while in Africa.  She thinks it was a mistake to come on this missions trip because she thinks she can not handle all of the sick people and sad things she has had to witness.  Ian helps threw out the book and makes her believe in herself.  Ian flies to Kampala to rescue a baby with a cleft pallet from there because things in Kampala were getting bad with the Tutsi’s and Hutu’s.  Ian ends up dying so Heather flies to Kampala to try and rescue the baby herself.  She does rescue the baby and reunites her with her older sister Kia.  The second book that continues this story is going to involve Heathers mother, who is a plastic surgeon, coming down to Africa to fix the babies cleft pallet. This book was a good book but the other books by Lurlene McDaniel were better.  The book was good because McDaniel was very detailed and it felt like being part of the book.  Reasons to dislike the book were that it was so different from the other books she had written.  It was a disapointment because all of her other books were about a teenage girl getting some kind of cancer and her journey through it.  This book was nothing like that so it was harder to stay interested while reading.  The best scene in the book was the Thanksgiving dinner scene in Africa.  All the people on the missions trip had a Thanksgiving dinner with an African family/orphanage and everyone had to contribute and bring something to the feast.  It was so detailed and funny to read that all the people on the missions trip brought things like Oreos, peanut butter, and candy corn because that was all they had.  People should read this because it helps realize how much everyone in the United States have and other places like Africa do not have.  This book would be rated a 3 for someone that has never read a book by Lurlene McDaniel but it was 2 for someone that has read 19 of her other books.

Summary:

Two boys who get in a car accident and Charlie the oldest gets shocked back to life when his little brother Sam and Oscar their beagle passed away. It has now been thirteen years since the accident and since then everyday Charlie goes to the clearing in the forest and plays catch at sundown everyday with his brother, who is now a spirit. If Charlie would ever break his promise and not go, Sam would “move on”. Charlie meets Tess and starts to fall in love when he figures out she is like Sam. She is in the “middle”, her boat caught fire when sailing, now she is dieing. Charlie finds Tess but breaks his promise with Sam. Tess comes out of her coma and Charlie is not remembered by her but they get the chance to start over with there relationship.

Response: The author did a nice job with the whole storyline of this book and how the author tells the story through words on a page. The author did a really good job of catching the reader by telling them something that they want to know more about but then dragging it one through pages and pages to get the reader to keep reading. By doing this it really draws interest to the reader and gets the to read more and enjoy it more. People should just read this book for enjoyment because it is a good, catching the reader book. The only part of this book that is not the best is when to author jumps from the story of Charlie and the story about Tess could get a little confusing for some people that have a hard time following the story. This book is about a four because it is not a must read book but it is a very good book to read if the reader has an interest in this kind of reading.

Let It Snow is a series of three stories about holiday romances. The first story, Jubilee Express starts off with the character Jubilee. She has just had her holiday ruined because her parents were arrested on Christmas eve for being involved in a Flobie Santa Village rampage. They send her to her Grandmas on a train because everything else is shut down due to the horrible snowstorm outside. She is forced to give up her plans with her boyfriend Noah. Jubilee meets a boy named Jeb on the awful train ride who keeps her company and tells her how he is trying to get to his girlfriend. The train breaks down and Jubilee gets off and walks to the Waffle house to keep warm. A boy named Stuart arrives and convinces her to come to his house for the night to sleep. They walk miles in the storm and when they get to his house his mother takes good care of her. Jubilee realises that Noah has not given her any attention and Stuart tells her about how his previous girlfriend cheated on him. They get very close with each other and eventually share a kiss. The next story is called A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle. The main characters JP, Duke, and Tobin who are friends, spending their Christmas eve together. They receive a call from their friend Keun who works at the Waffle house. He demands they find a way there to assist him in entertaining the train load of cheerleaders that are stuck there. They face many troubles while trying to get to the Waffle house but they do succeed. Tobin attempts to talk to the cheerleaders when he sees Duke run outside. He goes out to comfort her and they end up confessing their love to each other. The third Story, Patron Saint of Pigs, starts off with three girlfriends, Dorrie, Tegan, and Addie. Addie has just broken up with her boyfriend of almost one year. She sends this boy Jeb an email apologizing about kissing Charlie. She asks him to meet her at Starbucks on Christmas eve at 3 o’ clock but he does not show. She goes to work the next morning and meets a sweet boy Stuart from school with his new girlfriend, followed by a boy Tobin and his new girlfriend Angie (aka Duke). Tobin gives her a message from Jeb saying that he got delayed and he is coming. She knew exactly what he meant and seconds later Jeb came through the door. They decided to be together and it ended up being a good Christmas after all for everyone.

Let It Snow is very good at keeping the reader interested. By containing three different books, the reader gets to start new stories throughout but at the end it links the stories together. It may be hard for the reader to realize that the stories are linked together. It may be hard for the reader to get into the book at first because many of the big events occur at the end of the three stories. Many readers may enjoy the sections of the book when the characters interact at a very intense level. People should read this book because it is entertaining and may get readers in the spirit of Christmas if they read it around the holidays. This book deserves a four star rating because even though it keeps the reader entertained, it may not be a book that a male reader would enjoy.

The Lone Survivor is a story about 4 Navy SEALS that descended on  a mission to capture a notorious al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden. The Navy SEALS are the highest rank in the armed forces and only elite few are tough enough to make it.  In the beginning of the the book Marcus describes all the hardships in the course to becoming a navy seal and the extreme intensity of boot camp and hell week. It’s hard too imagine any man enduring all the trials they had to go through. The goal is to prepare them for the most unimaginable situations they could possibly encounter while being a navy seal. In a class of 120 men only an estimated 10 will be physically and mentally strong enough to become a Navy SEAL. The story continues when Marcus and three of his fellow navy seals Mikey, Danny and Axe were appointed by President Bush for a special mission. These men were selected because they were considered the very best.Their mission was to ascend in to the mountains on the Palestinian border in search of Osama bin Laden.

The best part of the book was when the men were under heavy fire from the Taliban army made of 80 to 100 men and were blown off of a 30 foot cliff by an rpg (rocket propelled grenade).  By some miracle Marcus’s gun always seemed to fall directly with him landing right by his side even after falling and rolling down a 100 foot hillside.  All the while the charge from the Taliban continued full force but the four men would never surrender. They fought until the bitter end. In the end the men would be side by side fighting for their lives against the overpowering Taliban army. Ultimately Mikey, Danny and Axe fall victim to the Taliban but only after a supreme fight to the end. All three of them suffered multiple gun shot wounds before they died and Marcus was then left as the lone survivor. Severely wounded and dehydrated, Marcus used his training to survive for seven days before being found by Afghanistan villagers who gave him shelter and medical attention. He moved from hut to hut for weeks hidden from the Taliban so he could heal physically. The mental healing and anguish would take much longer; maybe a lifetime. Marcus was eventually rescued by the Green Beret.This book is a 5 on the must read scale.  It’s a moving story of how four young men risked their lives to track down the man responsible for  911 and other terrorist attacks. It’s terrifying, but at the same time it’s great to read about the bravery and camaraderie between four friends who would give up their lives for the good of our country.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

King, Stephen. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. Scribner, 1999. 219. Print.

Trisha McFarland goes on a hiking trip with her mother, Quilla, and brother, Pete. On the drive there, Pete and Quilla start bickering. They are still arguing during the hike, so Trisha decides to fall back to find a place to go to the bathroom. She goes off the path so nobody can see her, but she ends up losing her family in the process and gets lost deeper in the woods. Her mother and brother end up going back to the car and calling the police to send out a search party, but nobody ends up going off the path too far where Trisha would end up being. Hours turn into days for Trisha and she starts having many hallucinations from being cold, hungry, and disoriented. More days pass and Trisha ends up frightened that she will never find a way out of the woods. She comes down with pneumonia from being wet from the rain. At the end of the book someone ends up finding Trisha unconscious, but she is “stuck” in her own world, still lost in the woods. She finally gains consciousness and wakes in a hospital with her family around her. The way Stephen King set up time in the book was awkward and confusing. From the time Trisha originally became lost, to when people started looking for her took up about 100 pages in the book. It seemed like Trisha was lost for a couple days, when it was only a couple hours.  It was difficult to figure out how long Trisha was actually lost in the woods. Stephen King only had about four characters throughout the whole book. And the main character was Trisha. It was interesting how he didn’t have Trisha interact much with the rest of the characters but herself until she woke up in the hospital. He really made her character seem like she was really alone. The best part of the book was the way Stephen King made Trisha have several hallucinations; it keeps the reader wondering if the hallucinations were real or not, or whether the whole book was just a dream. The book is about 3.5-4 stars only because the beginning is long. If people like suspension and mysteries, it is a fantastic book.

Hunter, Autumn and Summer all have different stories about their lives and come together in the end. Hunters was was adopted by his grandparents when he was born. He works at a radio station and has a girlfriend named Nikki. The most exciting thing that happened to him in the book was that he met his biological father Brendan.  After this encounter happened Hunter started talking to his dad more often about life and asking for advice. Autumn has never knew who her mother was until one day her father Trey decided to take her to Carson City to meet her.  She has moved around living in different cities with her Aunt Cora and grandfather. Summer moved from foster home to foster home and in between she was able to live with her dad when he was not in jail. The only time Summer was able to have a conversation with her dad was when he was drinking. In the end Hunter, Summer and Autumn have the same mother named Kristina but each have different fathers. Their mother has never been there for any of her kids because she has been taken over by the monster called Meth since she was a teenager.

The reader liked this book because it was interesting hearing each characters story and how they all ended up meeting each other in the end. The thing the reader did not like about was how the book was structured. It was hard in the beginning for the reader to follow who was talking at the time. The good part was that there is a sequence of which character is next.  The readers favorite character was Autumn or Hunter because they seemed mellow and not doing irrational things. Summer seemed more like Kristina which can be bad. The readers favorite seen was when Hunter, Summer and Autumn all met on Christmas day. It was like a big family gathering for the first time. People should read this book because it is a good story to read to get away from reality. The reader rated this book a five out of five.

Melody Carlson’s book, Payback: A Novel, involves a high school senior with a gift. Samantha McGregor is the main character and adopts the role of a “super teen” with her dreams and visions of the future. Besides the fact that Sam works undercover for the FBI sometimes, she is a typical tomboy teenager. Olivia, the fashion expert, is Sam’s best friend. Conrad is Sam’s skeptical but loving boyfriend. They are the most important people in Sam’s life because her unconcerned mother is only interested in her boyfriend. When Sam’s latest dream involves a shooting at a high school prom, and another of a male teenager getting relentlessly bullied, she immediately notifies Detective Ebony. Ebony fills in Sam on the terrorist’s threats they have been receiving hinting at harming teenagers. They disregard the vision of the male and attend proms in search of the terrorists. In the end, Fairmount High School student, Brandon, decides to pay back the kids who have bullied him over the years by ending their lives at a senior prom. Brandon is shot by police and Sam is devastated because none the students felt bad for him even though they have driven him mad by their torment.

This book was thrilling and thought-provoking because of the way the plot was presented. At the end of each chapter, something dramatic would occur and the reader would not have the will to put the book down due to curiosity. Although the book was written to make a reader feel excitement and suspense, it could also evoke feelings of sorrow. Brandon was the outcast, and the kids were harsh and beat him up on a daily basis. It was frustrating at the end of the book when Brandon was killed, because no one took the time to feel guilty. The best scene of the book was after Brandon was killed and the FBI tried to cheer Sam up by explaining that even though Brandon was not a hero, his death resembled Jesus Christ’s. People should read this book because it was mind-blowing and requires extensive pondering about what it would be like to be in some one’s shoes who is less fortunate. The book would be given five stars because of the meaning behind it and the way it relates to God.

This story starts out with the main character Kim, a senior in high school, finding out that her best friend Nat is pregnant. Kim is very shocked when she finds out that her friend Nat has decided to get married to the guy that had gotten her pregnant. Kim tries to persuade her that this is a bad idea, but Nat does not listen. A few months after the wedding Nat and her husband are having marital issues. Her husband started to go out with his friends after work and get drunk at a bar. This causes Nat so much trouble that Kim comes in and tells her that she has to leave him and have her come stay at her house. Nat decides to leave and go with Kim. On Christmas the baby girl is born and is given to a lovely couple that will make sure that she has everything she needs to succeed and live a happy life. By the end of the book Nat returns to school and Kim meets her biological mother who is from Korea. Then at graduation Kim gives an amazing speech about how friends are really an important asset to have when it comes to succeeding in life.

In this book Kim was really supportive at times when her friends needed it the most. This showed that in times of trouble her friends could always count on her to be there.The most memorable scene from the book was when Nat was having her baby on Christmas day. It would be so cool to have a birthday on Christmas. Another memorable part in the book was when Nat had decided to put her baby up for adoption so that the child could have a better life. These parts of the book were memorable because the baby was born on Christmas and it was memorable due to the fact that Nat gave her baby up to adoption so that it could have a better life. People should read this book because it kind of gives an inside look on how one small detail out of life can change the person forever. This book would get a rating of five because the book showed what true friendship was all about and how supportive friends can be when a crisis occurs.

In Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, Barbara Ehrenreich told about her personal day to day life as she went undercover in order to see if people can really get by on the low wages of today. She started out her quest in Key West, Florida to find a job and a place to live. She described her days of being a waitress and even a housekeeper. While struggling to juggle two different jobs, she became overwhelmed and ended her days in Florida. Barbara’s next stop was Maine, where she took a weekly job as a maid, and a weekend dietary aid at a retirement home. After carrying around a backpack vacuum, scrubbing toilets, and getting a terrible rash, Barbara’s days in Maine are ended as she learns how tiring and and degrading it is to be a maid. Her next, and final stop is in Minnesota, where she starts out bird-sitting for a friend of a friend. After realizing her fright of birds, Barbara goes job hunting and gets two job interviews. After attending two orientations, Barbara takes a job at Wal-Mart where she realizes that “the great thing about shopping, for most of these women, is that here they get to behave like brats, ignoring the bawling babies in their carts, tossing things around for someone else to pick up” (177). After living in run-down motels, and urging Wal-Mart to be a union, Barbara ends her experiment and ends the book evaluating everything she did and learned. This book was a useful source in talking about the near poverty conditions of the low-wage workforce. After the author experiencing these conditions first hand, she was able to describe everything from the people she met, and their housing and family circumstances, to the places she worked themselves, and her employers. After writing over twenty books, and many of them being New York Times best sellers, Barbara Ehrenreich is a credible author of her non-fiction writings. Leaving barely any experience out, Barbara told about her headaches, stained clothes, cramped living, and how to dust a bookshelf, giving reliable information about the employment opportunities she has had. The topics given in the book were very helpful in proving how terrible low wages for hard work are, giving information for a great research paper.

Delores left her husband after years of marriage looking for inspiration, and took her daughter Calliope along for the ride.  Now Cal and her mother travel from one Renaissance Faire to another so that Delores can work as a wench in the evenings and sell her handmade jewelry by day. The problem: each time they move the mother and daughter pack what they can fit into an old two-door Datsun. Cal is becoming tired of forcing her whole life into the hatch of an already tiny and crowded car. With each move she leaves behind belongings, friends and memories. Eventually she forms a shell around herself and makes a point of not getting close to anyone in each new location. At one Faire however, Calliope gets a job at a barbecue stand where she meets Abel and Elliot. Her and Elliot’s relationship along with Abel’s fatherly behavior spark Cal to stand up to her mother and refuse to leave another home behind.

Although the book was a bit of an easy-read, the relationships and tensions between the characters pull readers through to the very last page. One scene stuck out as the best and most frustrating moment between Cal and her mother, but in order to preserve the small amount of suspense, the reader will have to find out the details for themselves. Despite the storyline, this book would be interesting to people with any family background. The plot contains romance, and conflict, but by the end all of the characters find what they were looking for. Cal’s story deserves four stars for its ability to grab the readers attention and hold on to it.

Yates begins his book by describing the classical art of memory and how Simonides was most likely the person who invented the art. He then goes on to describe how the Greeks used the art of memory and how they divided it into two parts, artificial and natural. The Greeks also believed that memory was connected to the soul. “Memory belongs to the same part of the soul as the imagination; it is a collection of mental pictures from sense impressions but with a time element added, for the mental images of memory are not from perception of things present but of things past” (Yates 33). This is a great way to describe what memory was believed to be back then.  Yates then goes on to describe some rules about the art of memory that where set up by Thomas Aquinas. He then talks about a memory theatre that was set up by Camillo. This theatre was very impressive and held a lot of information in it. Next he describes three different art’s of memory; Lullism, Brunian, and Ramist. Each of the three were very similar in nature, but at the same time were very different. Next Yates shows how Fludd’s idea for a memory theatre could have been an influence on the building of the Globe theatre. Fludd believed in using real places to use as memory places. Yates ends the book by talking about a man named Leibniz, who was attempting to combine the art of memory and the scientific method to create a universal calculus. This universal calculus could be used to solve any problem. Unfortunately Leibniz died before he could finish his work.

This book was very interesting in the way it took the reader down the road the art of memory. Yates did a great job in describing how each person he talked about contributed to the art as well as how they all related to each other. He also does a good job in describing how different each persons art of memory where. It was also interesting how the Ramist memory was the only one not to include images in their art of memory; it also seemed like the hardest memory system to use. It seems it would be better to use one of the other memory systems that uses images to help the memory stay. Movement seems like it would also help in memorization, like how Lull incorporated movement into his memory system. All the memory systems are very useful in the art of memory but it seems like Lull’s memory system would be the best.

Nicholas Sparks’, novel Dear John is a story about two people falling in love. The main characters , John Tyree and Savannah Lynn Curtis meet in Charleston North Carolina. He is from Wilmington and is a surfer, army boy, on leave for some time in the summer. She, from Lenoir, is a college student, in Charleston to do community service work. Throughout the beginning of the book, which along with the rest of it is in Johns point of view, we read the story of how they fall in love. In the beginning it is the fun things they do and how they spend their time together. When the middle of the book comes is when they face their struggles with John being in the army. He is stationed in Germany and had to go to Iraq. While he was there the story told us of some struggles he was facing, meanwhile, he and Savannah wrote letters to each other. In one letter, Savannah breaks up with John telling him she found someone else. Towards the end of the book they begin to re-connect. They both know that she is married and nothing can happen between them. John says his goodbyes to Savannah and lets her continue to live her life. An enjoyable part of this book was the overall story, and waiting to find out how it was going to end. One part that was frustrating was the end of the book. After seeing the movie and comparing it to the end of the book it was frusrating to see the difference. In the book John Tyree is the best character because it is in his point of view so there is a better understanding of him then anybody else. If someone saw the movie then they should definatly read this book. To rate this book out of five, it is a four.

Michael Lewis came out of college with degrees from Princeton and the London School of Economics.  He landed a job with Salomon Brother as a bond salesman.  At the time Salomon Brother was the best bond trading investment bank on Wall Street and one of the premier investment firms.  As a bond salesman Lewis made millions of dollars for the firm.  He gives an insiders account of Wall Street’s greed and deception in era of unprecedented wealth and fortune.  Until the eventual collapse of his firm from unchecked expansion and risk taking.

“One hand, one million dollars, no tears.”  (John Gutfreund. 14)

This book was a very useful source.  It gave a great insiders account of the greed and deception no Wall Street as well as a lot of insight into the inner workings of an investment bank.  Both of these topic are very important and supportive of the thieis.  The book was written by Michael Lewis who has degrees from Princeton and the London School of Economics and it is endorsed by multiple credible sources and authors.

Flanagan, John. Ranger’s Apprentice: The Kings of Clonmel. Australia: Philomel Books, 2010. Print.

The book, Ranger’s Apprentice: The Kings of Clonmel, is about a Ranger, Halt, and his former apprentice, Will. Their journey in this book forces them to save a neighboring kingdom from a new religious based cult. This cult travels from village to village, gaining followers and taking over kingdoms without a fight. The King of this kingdom happens to be Halt’s twin brother, but he is certain that his brother is out for his throne, along with the other Kings in Clonmel. He is sceptical that Halt is lying so as to gain his rightful spot on the throne, so Halt and Will devise a plan that allows Halt to play the roll of king while no one knows. They must stop the cult before they gain enough followers to overthrow the King and make him useless. But Halt, Will, and their good friend Horace decide to fight legend with legend. They counter the cult’s god with the ‘Sunrise Warrior’, who was suppose to come in a true time of need in Clonmel to restore peace and order. So with Horace as the ‘Sunrise Warrior’, they hold a trial by combat to settle the matter once and for all, in a winner take all, loser leaves style. I liked the book because of the way Flanagan details the major events, such as the trial by combat towards the end. He does a great job of putting in all the information you want to hear, and the information you need to paint a perfect image in your head, while leaving out the details that would slow the story down. One thing I personally dislike, is the way he switches topics, chapter by chapter, right as one character is getting into the thick of something. It is a great style of writing, because it makes you continue to read to find out more. My favorite scene was the trial by combat scene towards the end, because Flanagan goes through every aspect of the fight. He walks through the preparation by Horace at the beginning, and builds up the climax around the fight, as it happens. My favorite character is Will because of the way he has progressed through all 8 books. People should read this book if they like excitement the entire way through a book, and if they like the fantasy aspect of a book. I would give the book a 5 out of 5 because of how the author put the story together; it was smooth flowing, easy to read, and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

In Barbara Ehrenreich’s, Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America, low class living is described at first hand. Barbara becomes interested in the decreasing economy in America. In order to get the full experience, she decides to move herself into a low class environment. Since her area was so wealthy, Barbara had to move to a town outside of Key West. She applied to many hotels and restaurants. Although she struggled to find jobs, her main problem was finding jobs that could support her necessities. Barbara ends up working in a Hotel-Restaurant and she lives in a trailer home. After several months of working at Hearthside, Barbara got an idea of how much of a toll the recession puts on a small town. After learning about her area, Barbara decides to relocate to Maine, where she finds that it is also difficult to find a job. The rent in Maine ends up being more than it was in the suburbs of Key West. Therefore, Barbara was forced to stay in a Hotel 6 until she finds an apartment. When she finally finds a suitable apartment, it is the size of a small room. Barbara mentions, “strip off my uniform in the kitchen- the bathroom being too small for both a person and her discarded clothes”(Ehrenreich 85). While in Maine, Barbara works in a nursing home and a cleaning business. Surprisingly, many of her co-workers in Maine are struggling more than those in Key West. Barbara’s last destination is Minnesota where she works at a Wal-Mart. This is hard for her because she was used to working in food business. At Wal-Mart there were many scenarios that Barbara struggled to get through. Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America, is a very extraordinary book. Many people like this book because it shows what is going on today in America. It is a fact that many people are struggling to find jobs throughout the country. The increase of unemployment is extreme. Although the statistics are important, Ehrenreich points out the underlying problems. Many people do not realize how difficult it is to live with only a minimum wage salary. This recession does not only affect jobs, it also affects millions of lives. Since Barbara wrote this book as a journal of some sort, it is likely to say that this source is reliable. Although she changed names for privacy reasons, every story was true. The topics that she mentions are also very popular and believable subjects. Ehrenreich wrote 21 non-fiction books and 1 fictional novel. She is a very popular activist. People would agree that she is a strong minded individual. The way she describes her experience is very intricate and realistic. Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America is a very inspiring story.

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. New York: Penguin Group, 1965. Print.

The nonfiction book, The Rape of Nanking, was about the perspective of the Japanese soldiers, Chinese civilians and soldiers, and the foreign army officers from Europe about the systematic killings of the people of Nanking. It started talking of the history of the Japanese culture and how ruthless they were towards their enemies, and the series of events that eventually led to the Japanese occupation of Nanking. She also stated that the Japanese showed no remorse to their enemies whatsoever. Chang told the stories of people interviewed who had a first hand encounter with the mass murder and torture of Nanking. They shared information about what life was really like when the Japanese had Nanking under their control. For those lucky souls who made it into the safety zones, life was a bit easier but not much. The Japanese would break into the safety zone and kidnap people and take them back into the Japanese occupation. When this happened, the unsung heroes of the safety zones, who were usually foreign diplomats or army officers, formed gangs and went into the Japanese territory and fought to free their prisoners. This was at a cost however, they were usually beat badly. After the Japanese left, they left a permanent impression on the Chinese that the people of China will never forget.

New York: New American Library, 2010. print.

The book Home Team is the story of the 2009-2010 New Orleans Saints through the eyes of the head coach Sean Payton. Payton describes the horror he sees when he visits New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina on his coaching interview. He is skeptical to say the least when deciding to take the New Orleans job since he would have to take a broken down team without a home field to play on and have to move his family from the nice suburbia of Dallas, Texas to the disaster zone of New Orleans. He thankfully accepts the challenge of the New Orleans Saints and makes unspeakable progress with the team and the region in such little time.  His off season acquirement, Reggie Bush and Drew Brees, made the most noise of his first year with the team and ultimately returned hope and faith to the city of New Orleans. The Saints finally made it to the Super Bowl in 2010 and won which would normally be unheard of if somebody were to mention this to a long time Saints fan. The Super Bowl victory brought unnameable amounts of happiness, hope, faith, and relief to the whole entire city of New Orleans when the whole country counted them out. The beloved sign of thank you from the people of New Orleans to the Saints was a fan sign made by a hardcore Saints fan and New Orleans resident, that read “ THANK YOU, Cause Its So Much More Than Football”.

The story is an extremely interesting story if you followed the Saints in 2009-2010. The way Sean Payton tells the journey he and his team went through is inspiring and makes you a fan of the team if you weren’t before. The hardships that everyone in New Orleans faced during Hurricane Katrina made the Super Bowl victory that much more sweeter bringing hope and faith to a depleting region.

This book is about an third string NFL player for Cleveland named Rick. The Browns are playing in the AFC Championship game. To Rick surprise he actually gets in the game. Once he is in the game he throws and interception to give away the win. He is humiliated and in need for a team to play on, but nobody wants Rick on their team. He soon finds himself off to Italy to play for the Parma Panthers. The team is very excited to have an NFL quarterback on their team. They feel that this is the year to win the Italian Superbowl. Little did they know at the beginning of the season but all of their hard work would payoff and they would win the Italian Superbowl for the first time ever. Italy brings him a new team, coach and an unexpected romance. Every teammate of Rick’s is so friendly and the coach is great. This is something Rick was not used to. He also was not used to being the first string quarterback. He had a very important role for the Panthers. Rick is in for a lot more than he thinks but he finds out it is all for the best in the football story with a spin of love.

Playing For Pizza is a great story that balances the story about a determined football team and a romance. The feel of Italy that Grisham provides is incredible. The feeling of actually being in Italy is unique. The Parma Panthers are a great team who welcome Rick and created friendships with him, something he did not have in the NFL. The team works hard together to make a run in the playoffs and eventually win the Superbowl. This a something that all of the Italian men on the Panthers have dreamed about.  Livvy, Rick’s lover, is a spunky young girl who is in love with Italy. Together they explore different parts of Italy which allows a picture to be created by the way each city is described. The food of Italy is also another descriptive part of the story. Each detail about the food leaves the reader’s mouth watering. This book is a great story line with very realistic details of Italy. People should read this book to get a feel of Italy. This book deserves a 5 stars because it is a great story and very intriguing.

Along for the Ride tells the story of Auden, an intelligent and mature 18 year-old, just graduated from high school and ready to begin college as soon as summer ends. She decides to go visit the beach town of Colby, where her father, step-mother, and new baby sister live. After leaving her egotistical mother, who can be a bit overwhelming to deal with, Auden tries to reconnect with her father hoping that maybe he had changed with the coming of a new wife and baby. Being so immersed in his book that he has been writing for what seems like ages, he doesn’t seem to have the time to spend with his daughter or even his new wife, Heidi. Auden takes a job doing the bookkeeping at Heidi’s boardwalk boutique, Clementine’s. After being forced to be around other girls, she finally begins to make friends after 18 years and realize what all she has been missing while being so absorbed into academics. Being mostly nocturnal, after hanging out with her new friends, Auden mostly drives around or reads, until she meets Eli, who also does not sleep at night. Together, they make every long summer night in to some summer adventure. While Auden learns new things, like riding a bike, and tries to get back her childhood, Eli copes with the death of his best friend. Sarah Dessen seems to always get a story to be just right. Along for the Ride is inspirational when read. It encourages you to appreciate life and love more, and to enjoy it while it lasts, since life is just a big ride full of twists and turns. Any book like that is hard not to love. The best scene in the book is when Eli takes Auden on their first night adventure together. She goes from being bored every night, drinking watery coffee at a local diner, to eating pie while waiting for laundry to be done, or shopping for light bulbs and avoiding the crazies. Eli was the best thing to ever happen to Auden, and without him guiding her to realize what all she has missed out on, they would not have been able to help each other and finally be happy. People should read this book because given a rating 5/5 stars, it gives you a whole understanding to life, and how its okay to have a little fun once in a while.

Summery: Freakonomics is based around the outcomes of using incentives, the hidden side of the economy, and the reasons why things are the way they are and how it got to be that way. Abortion and death rates played a major role in crime decrease. A woman who didn’t want her child because of various reasons, wanted an abortion. When she requested to get abortion, she was told that it was illegal. She believed that this was unfair and decided to take her case to court. Abortion was then legalized. Also, death rates seemed to increase. These two factors contributed to crime decrease because of population decrease. On the topic of incentives, a man accidentally created an economic experiment. This man’s name was Feldman. He would pass out bagels to all his co-workers, eventually word spread, and before he knew it he was delivering bagels to every other company. He discovered that the amount of bagels be delivered was so tremendous that he was no longer able to afford them on his own. The result was that he set out donation boxes but people ended up steeling from them. He discovered by using different boxes that he got people to steel less and less. On the other hand crack stole; crack stole many lives. “Who cared if crack killed the neighborhood?” (Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, 113), as a crack leader would say. Crack leaders make more money then architects. They make $66 an hour, about $100,000 a year. The economy has so many hidden sides its ridiculous. Stephan and Steven further explain this in the book Freakonomics.

Reaction: This book is intriguing and definitely hits the main points as to why the government and economic system is the way it is. It uncovers hidden secrets to lies that we’ve heard and the authors explain the truths to counteract what the public has heard. The whole purpose of the book is to teach people a more abstract way to think about things.

Summary:

In this book, Harry Potter has started a new year at Hogwarts. But before he even thinks about school, he is forced to go on the run with his two best friends from Hogwarts, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger after the wedding they were at was crashed by Death Eaters. They also had to complete a mission Prof. Dumbledore had left Harry to do: destroy all the Horcruxes The Dark Lord, Voldemort, had made (a total of 7).On the run, the three encounter problems on the way. First they discover the story behind the Deathly Hallows, which was about three objects that Death had made for three brothers who sought to overcome death. They got side tracked into really finding the Hallows when they also were looking for the Horcruxes. The three had also learned that Hogwarts was being run by the new Headmaster, Severus Snape, who is a Death Eater that had spied for Dumbledore while teaching at Hogwarts. Eventually, Harry, Ron and Hermione make it back to Hogwarts to find that Voldemort is there waiting for Harry and that the fight at Hogwarts is about to begin.

What was liked about the book was all the action that was going on and all the vivid detail that was there. From that detail, it felt like the things they were doing and trying to find the Hallows and the Horcruxes was real and doing so right along with them. One thing that was disliked was that was the epilogue. For some reason, it did not really seem to fit the end of the book. It tells of the lives of the characters nineteen years later. Another thing that was disliked was that a lot of the characters died. Not going to name who, so there are not any spoilers for anyone who has not read the book, but some of the characters that were liked died. One favorite part of the book was when Harry goes and finds Voldemort in the forest and the rest of the battle within Hogwarts. This part of the book is the most suspenseful part in the book because reading this part, putting the book down was impossible! To keep reading it was essential at that point. People who enjoy reading fiction books with suspense in it like this book should definitely read it. Of course, it is very helpful to read the series in numerical order first. But after those books, definitely read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The rating for this book would be a definite 5 out of 5 stars.

The summary of Why Kids Kill is all about the psychological state of mind these kids were in when they committed this horrific crime.  Each chapter would go into detail about different kinds or types of school shooters (psychopathic, psychotic, narcissistic, delusion, schizophrenics, etc.).  In the beginning of the book the author gave ten names of the most remembered school shootings.  The book would also talk about the home lives of the shooters, which surprisingly were mostly “normal”.  At the end of the book, the author talked about how fantasy played a role in the shootings.  Since most of these boys were computer geeks, they were well familiarized with computer programing and gaming, one kid particularly made his own online game site.  And based from his video game, he lived out his fantasy life in real life.  The most common thread between all the shooters is that they did not believe that they were accepted anywhere, school especially.  “…but in the world of high school social life, “coolness” carries a powerful status too” (Langman 34).

“We have figured out the art of time bombs before hand, we will set hundreds of them around hoses, roads, bridges, buildings and gas stations, anything that will cause damage and chaos…It’ll be like LA riots, the Oklahoma bombing, WWII, Vietnam…all mixed together.  Maybe we will even start a little rebellion or revolution to screw things up as much as we can….If by some weird luck me and V survive and escape we will move to some island somewhere or maybe Mexico, New Zealand or some exotic place where Americans can’ get us.  If there isn’t such a place, then we will hijack a hell of a lot of bombs and crash a plane into NYC with us inside firing away as we go down.  Just something to cause more devastation.” -Eric Harris, Columbine Shooter

Reaction after reading this book is pure shell shock.  It saddens one to think that there are actual kids that could ever think of something this horrific to do when there are other ways to cope with problems.  Clearly one can not wrap one’s mind around the thought of planning an attack to kill other kids just because  feel you have no one to talk to.  Also takes me by surprise as how thorough and concise the shooters were.  They could go a whole year or more planning out the attack and not show any warning signs to parents or friends.  What else is very surprising is how most of the kids talked about in this book had “normal” home lives and had friends and got good grades in school.  The book also educates about the different types of psychological state if minds the ten different boys were in.

Musicophilia is one of the best psychology reference books of this time.  Oliver Sacks writes case studies about some of his patients and people that he has meet to show how music can help humans intellectually, emotionally, and physically. He explains the “Mozart Effect” and how it helps the minds of young children develop faster than children without music.  He also talks a lot about how music therapy helps people with diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Tourette’s Syndrome, Aphasia, William’s Syndrome, and Dementia.  Music therapy can help people with aphasia talk and  help Parkinson patients walk normally.  Music has a greater influence on people than what people realize.  “Music forms a significant and, on a whole, pleasant part of life of most of us-not only external music, music we hear in our ears, but internal music, music that plays in our heads” (Sacks, p32).  Music is everywhere around us and Oliver Sacks discusses the connection music has to us in everyday life. The whole book is case studies of Oliver Sacks’s patients and psychologists’ opinions and theories about music based on these studies.  Oliver Sacks is a physician, a neurology and psychiatry professor, and an author of best selling books Awakening and The Mind’s Eye. This book helped to support that music is too important to cut out of school’s curriculum. Musicophilia has helped explain how the brain processes music and how music can influence the lives of everyone around us.  Music connects with our emotions and brings people together to dance and sing as a whole.  In schools, being in the chorus, band, orchestra, or any other music class can help the students come together. Musicophilia has shown the great importance of music and that it is a necessity that most of us could not live without.

Christopher Sandford,the author  KURT COBAIN, describes who Kurt Cobain was when he killed himself. Then moves on to speculate as to the reasons why he killed himself. He talks about his(Kurt’s) patients divorce, and how he was affected by it. The author gives detailed accounts of Cobain’s life and the many mishap’s with in it. It also goes in to great detail about his drug habits, and his love for music. He shares the incredible music of Kurt Cobain; how he was able to create a new sound and when it  became a world sensation.

This book is a useful source because it dealt with the subject at hand; drug’s destroying Kurt Cobain’s life. The book showed light on the tragedy that was Cobain’s life. This also helped shape the argument in the sense that it tells all about his drug use. This book is a great source because the author interviewed his family and friends to get a good feel for who he was on a personal level. This book showed how Cobain hated fame and the person he had become. He thought he had become a fake, or a poser. the author tells the reader all about his music career, the highs and lows.

In Barbara Ehrenreich’s, Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America, low class living is described at first hand. Barbara becomes interested in the decreasing economy in America. In order to get the full experience, she decides to move herself into a low class environment. Since her area was so wealthy, Barbara had to move to a town outside of Key West. She applied to many hotels and restaurants. Although she struggled to find jobs, her main problem was finding jobs that could support her necessities. Barbara ends up working in a Hotel-Restaurant and she lives in a trailer home. After several months of working at Hearthside, Barbara got an idea of how much of a toll the recession puts on a small town. After learning about her area, Barbara decides to relocate to Maine, where she finds that it is also difficult to find a job. The rent in Maine ends up being more than it was in the suburbs of Key West. Therefore, Barbara was forced to stay in a Hotel 6 until she finds an apartment. When she finally finds a suitable apartment, it is the size of a small room. Barbara mentions, “strip off my uniform in the kitchen- the bathroom being too small for both a person and her discarded clothes”(Ehrenreich 85). While in Maine, Barbara works in a nursing home and a cleaning business. Surprisingly, many of her co-workers in Maine are struggling more than those in Key West. Barbara’s last destination is Minnesota where she works at a Wal-Mart. This is hard for her because she was used to working in food business. At Wal-Mart there were many scenarios that Barbara struggled to get through. Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America, is a very extraordinary book. Many people like this book because it shows what is going on today in America. It is a fact that many people are struggling to find jobs throughout the country. The increase of unemployment is extreme. Although the statistics are important, Ehrenreich points out the underlying problems. Many people do not realize how difficult it is to live with only a minimum wage salary. This recession does not only affect jobs, it also affects millions of lives. Since Barbara wrote this book as a journal of some sort, it is likely to say that this source is reliable. Although she changed names for privacy reasons, every story was true. The topics that she mentions are also very popular and believable subjects. Ehrenreich wrote 21 non-fiction books and 1 fictional novel. She is a very popular activist. People would agree that she is a strong minded individual. The way she describes her experience is very intricate and realistic. Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America is a very inspiring story.

The nonfiction novel written by Jonathon Kozol, Rachel and Her Children, was written as a sequence of personal stories told by homeless people, explaining how their lives took a wrong turn toward the streets. The author, Jonathon Kozol, states “The use of the unrestricted term “the homeless”, is in some ways misleading.”(Kozol,92.) This was brought up because the government funds for hotels for the “homeless” to live in. Kozol also illustrates what a government funded hotel would look like, and why they are so unsafe for people. A girl named Rachel was mentioned most throughout the book, because her story was the most compelling. It was apparent that out of all the other people, Rachel felt the deepest depression for the life she led. It tortured Rachel’s soul that she had lost everything and when she could not provide food for her children, they made the choice to steal food from grocery stores. Rachel prayed and cried every night to God that the government wouldn’t take her children away from her, leaving her with nothing but her guilt. Other stories consisted of loss, disease, and death which led to the loss of homes and everything they held dear. The book also compared and contrasted a girl named Kim, to Rachel. Kim showed a different side to homeless life. This novel was a definite wake-up call to reality. The book states that part of the reason the issue of homeless people is so large is because it is not regarded as an important one. There was a only a mild concern for the homeless because its not a hot new topic. It was obvious  that what the government did offer the homeless was surely not top-notch; however, not truly recognized how bad conditions really were for them. The fact that the dirtiness of a government funded hotel can lead to disease appalls many people. It’s also known that some homeless people resorted to stealing, yet no one takes into consideration the consequences and stress it created on their families. This relates back to the fact that no one takes this seriously. The book gives facts that makes a person realize that more action needs to be taken by the government and others to help the homeless. If simple things were taken care of, such as making a hotel sanitary, the potential of decreasing the amount of homeless people could greatly increase.

The book Black Like Me is a book about racism. This book takes place in the 50s. A man named John Griffin decides to go down into the south and get his skin dyed black temporarily. John encountered every type of behavior a black man at that time would. He had to be afraid of the same things that the black people of that time were. Griffin reflects on all the mistreatment he is put through simply because of his skin color and goes on to reveal that it is not him that they hate, but his skin color. He tries as hard as he can not to take all the racist behavior personally, but as the month goes on it really eats at him. People would even invoke their religion into the racism they spewed at Griffin. It is later stated in the book that “ ‘Every fool in error can find a passage of scripture to back him up”.  Later, after the month is over, he goes back to his family and does very many interviews for his book and is confronted by white racists. This book really opened up eyes to the injustice of the American past. This book represents one of the few things this country is not proud of. It really makes one appreciate the tolerance and cooperation we have in today’s society. It’s almost hard to believe The United States has come so far in such a short amount of time. Society should be very glad that people can put any sort of prejudice down in The United States. Americans should be proud to live in a country where racism does not have a hospitable environment. Citizens should be happy to see Americans could put past their differences and work together as one nation.

Insatiable consists of the stories of four girls and a variety of eating disorders they face. The characters, Jessica, Samantha, and Hannah suffer from low weight. They either refuse to eat at all, eat profusely and then make themselves throw up, or barely eat and find other hobbies such as cleaning to occupy themselves. The character Phoebe suffers from the opposite. She is overweight and has to deal with the nagging of her father to lose it. These high school girls experience shame, fear and confusion of which forces them to use or refuse food to make themselves feel tranquil and in control of their stressful lives. They feel as if, “Food is like that horrible villain that won’t die even after you shoot it over and over again”(Eliot 265). A few of the girls and some other characters attend group therapy together and help each other through daily setbacks. In the end, they all improve in some aspect and become more comfortable with themselves.

This book would be a good for any teen suffering some type of eating disorder. The author makes the book both informative and interesting. It teaches the many symptoms this disorder may involve such as always feeling the need to accomplish something. After Jessica’s death, I realized that teens do not understand the danger of starving themselves and how in denial parents and friends can be with a person in this condition.  This book gives an image that gets you feeling for the characters. It makes you wonder if other teens put this much thought into food and their bodies. My only complaint about Insatiable is that it skips around to all the stories and becomes hard to follow who the author is talking about at certain points. The book is full of true facts but at times the stories became non believable. All in all, I loved the book because of its strong imagery and factual information.

The main ideas portrayed in The Land That Feeds Us are; the ways that agriculture got its start in all the different parts of America, All the different industries and how they came to where they were at then, and how different things changed as time went on in different parts of America. There are many places in the book that show that agriculture has had point that it could not be better and then points that it seemed it could not get any worse, but through it all the farmers that could stuck with it. Helping keep the food that we eat at a healthy supply for those who work for it. “Farmers have had to learn to cope with adversity. There are always storm clouds of one kind or another on the farm horizon.There had been bad years before and there will be bad years again.”(378) This source is a very reliable source if you are looking for facts about different parts of agricultural history, but for more current information this is not the book that would be the most helpful. The information in this book is a credible source for the information that is talked about because Hart had first hand experience or talked to someone with first hand experience with every topic portrayed in the book. The research that would pertain to this book would be topics about the history of agriculture and how little events and changes can make a big change in the industries of an area.

The book, The Last Lecture, was a written form of the lecture that Randy Pausch gave; his last lecture ever given . In this book, he mentioned right off the bat that he had pancreatic cancer and was going to die in a few months. Despite the fact that he was dying, he still was strong and wanted to live his life to the fullest. “All right. That is what it is. We can’t change it. We just have to decide how we’ll respond. We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand” ( Pausch,17). He was asked to give a lecture at Carnegie Mellon, where he worked as a professor in Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, and Design. This lecture was given to have people listen to his accomplished dreams, lost dreams, happy times, tough times; his life story in all its reality. He titled his lecture “Really Achieving Your Dreams,” but it was a head-fake (mind trick) to make the audience believe that is what they were really learning about, while they were actually learning how to live their lives the right way. He did this by giving examples from his life to show them that all their dreams can come true with persistence, ambition, and hard work; not luck. Randy’s ultimate inspiration for giving this lecture, was his kids, so they would remember him after he is gone. Reading this book, was honestly really inspiring. The life lessons that Randy learned throughout his whole life and the way that he learned them were very unique and insightful. All throughout the book, Randy opened up and told a lot of personal aspects of his life and it was so awesome to actually feel like a relative or friend to him because of those factors. Envy, adulation, joy, sadness, and madness; all those feelings were built up inside while in the process of reading the book. Not once was there a moment of boredom while reading because there was always something different happening, lessons to be learned, or adventures to get lost in. It was a blessing to be able to have the chance to read this book and be introduced to a person such as Randy, even though it was not a real meeting. Randy is ultimately a great inspiration because of how he lived his life, achieved his dreams, and how he kept living with a positive attitude even though he knew he was going to die soon and leave his family. This is definitely a book that people need to read. They would be able to look at life in a new way and in all essence, be changed forever.

Kristina Wandzilak had family issues that led into her drug and alcohol problems. She had good grades and was a wonderful swimmer for the school swim team, but she ruined that when she started dating a guy named Ben, who was big into drugs.  Kristina ran away from her house and left treatment every time her parents tried to get her help. Living off the streets, caused many troubles and health issues for Kristina.The street forced her to put herself into treatment. Wandzilak said at one point in her book, “I wanted to take a hot shower and wash him away, but I had nowhere to go.” She stayed in treatment for three months. She sobered up at the treatment center and left to live in a van. She got a job and went to take college classes at the local college in her town. She now is a drug interventionist, helping addicts and their families, like others helped her. Kristina has her own T.V show and is now married with two wonderful children.

The book The Lost Years, relates to the research topic of treatment centers for drug addicts. When many people first read the book, they have a completely different outlook on drug addicts after treatment. A lot of people think the most severe addicts would continue to be addicts after treatment; this was not the case in the book. Kristina completely surprised the readers of the book. The information in the book was very reliable; it stated exactly what Kristina went through. The book started at the time of her addiction and went through to tell her full recovery. In the book Kristina’s mother says how this effected her life and her families. I think this is a very credible source that one could use in a research paper, because Kristina Wandzilak is now a professional addiction interventionist. She runs a center called Full Circle Intervention and hosts a T.V. show, all of which may be helpful for the research paper on addicts and treatment.

“A black man told me that the only way a white man could hope to understand anything about this reality was to wake up some morning in a black man’s skin.” This comment from a Negro man is what led John Griffin to conduct an experiment to see how Negro’s were treated in the south. Before conducting the experiment John met with the FBI and had told them what his experiment had in store. This was of no use to him when he was informed that they had no jurisdiction on his experiment. After meeting with the FBI John was advised by his doctor that he might get killed if anyone had found out about his intentions with the experiment. After changing the color of his skin, John had left the house he was staying at and moved to a motel in the deep south. John then continues his experiment and he sees the real side of both the black and white people. At the conclusion of his experiment John understands why both blacks and whites do not understand each other.

The book black like me has helped me see another side of America in the late 1950’s. To start off I tried thinking about segregation which led to racism and ultimately the topic of my research paper inner city schools and how they do not get the funding they deserve. My book somewhat pertains to my topic because Negro’s sometimes did not get the necessities that they needed to survive. This would be the same case for the inner city schools not having money for necessities that they need for the school to be able to stay running. For one of my sources I would like to use some of the quotes in the book and help tie the segregation in with how or why the inner city schools need more  funding.

The book Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich is a first-class look into the lives of the working poor. The author herself volunteered months out of her life to being an actual working class citizen in three major cities in the United States. With only $1500 cash in hand, a few outfits, bare necessities, and her laptop, Ehrenreich took on each city for a few weeks at a time and had to start over at every location, making a new identity for herself to remain undercover. The following quote perfectly summarizes what the author realized at the end of the experiment; “To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone else”. Ehrenreich participated in this experiment and wrote this book to educate everyone about the working poor so that we would not look down on them or think of them as lazy, but rather be appreciative of them for taking on the jobs we would never want, and for  making our lives easier.

This book definitely changes opinions about the homeless and the lower class. Those who have read this book now have more respect for the working poor and do not automatically assume someone is lazy if they live in low-income housing developments or have to use food stamps. Yes, some people do abuse our country’s welfare system, but most truly do need the government’s help to get off of the streets and to be able to eat. Most are under the mindset that if homeless people just got jobs they could lead normal lives, but after reading Nickel and Dimed they definitely do not think that anymore. This book also makes its’ readers feel very appreciative of what they do have. Nickel and Dimed greatly impacts our country’s view of the working poor, and has softened many people’s hearts towards those they used to think were just lazy and did not want to work. The author, Barbara Ehrenreich, provided reliable, unbiased information about the working poor. After each day out on the workforce she would write down everything that had happened that day, leaving nothing out. She censored nothing and because of that, everyone who reads this book has great insight into the lifestyles of the working poor.

Summary Food Fight was a book about the inside story of  the Food Industry and how it contributes to the obesity crisis that America is undergoing. Not only, did this book inform about the crisis, but it also talked about ways that we can fight the obesity problem throughout America. Although the Food Industry was a main problem, this book listed many other factors that has effected America and made it so obese. A big factor that it mentioned was the actual environment that we live in. The environment has definitely affected people’s choices on what they eat and where they eat. Examples would be commercialism making unhealthy food look really tasty and appealing, and also all of the fast food restaurants that create easy access to unhealthy food. Not only does the environment provide access to many unhealthy food choices, but it has made many Americans live inactive lives. Jobs today mostly include a lot of sitting and stationary work. while children watch more TV, play more video games and sit on the computer more than the past. This book pointed out how important this issue is and why it must be helped.

Response I thought that Food Fight was a good book if you are a really health conscience person. If you really don’t care health and nutrition, this book may bore you because that is what it focuses on most. It can be pretty bland when listing facts and statistics, but at the same time, a lot of the facts are very interesting. For example, a direct quote from the book states “In the United States, obesity now contributes more to chronic illness and health care costs than does smoking.” Because I’m not really interested in economics, when the book talked about the economics of the food industry, it really didn’t interest me either. But I found most of the book interesting because health is something that I am somewhat concerned about. Especially when the book talks about childhood obesity because I really don’t think that children should be so overweight. I feel that we do need to help the obesity problem somehow.  Also, when the book talked about different case studies and talked about the environment effecting how people act, I was very interested because psychology is something that I am interested in and the environment affecting behavior, has a lot to do with Psychology. It was an alright book.

In Beautiful Boy, David talks about his sons addiction and drug use. His son Nic is addicted to methamphetamine and heroin, a drug combination referred to as a speed ball. The book takes you through a sad tale about Nic’s and his own hardships. David pays for expensive rehabs and treatment centers but Nic always seems to relapse and start using again. He has multiple opportunities to attend college which he attempts but always screws up, and hes had plenty of jobs he just walked away from after going on another drug binge. ” I’m so thin and frail, Dont care, want another rail” (Sheff 9).  His father David writes about the times hes laid awake at night wondering and waiting on Nic or a call from the police or even the hospital. It soon becomes his addiction to get Nic clean or to help him, his own health starts to deteriorate because hes so caught up in thoughts about his boys safety. All through out the book David refers to all the help they’ve given Nic but hes always seems to cave in under his depression after awhile and begin his drug use once more, causing David and his family great duress. Eventually there is a happy ending and Nic has met a “clean” girl and is living sober and his father finally got his Beautiful Boy back. The book is useful in the aspect of facts on Meth and its effects. It also is very helpful for those that deal with problems such as Davids, dealing with the grief and sorrow of a loved one who is addicted to something. It talks a lot about different rehabs and treatment centers, so it ties into my thesis quite well. David also writes a lot about talking directly with experts on the physical and mental problems Meth causes. David writes well and is a published journalist in multiple famous magazines and newspapers such as, New York Journal, Playboy, and many others.

Jose starts his novel, Juiced, by giving his honest opinion on steroids.  He explains that steroids are acceptable in sports as long as they are used in moderation.  Canseco always had a poor attitude towards baseball, but when his mom passed away he promised he would become the best athlete no matter what it took.  Canseco started using steroids before he went in to the Majors.  His first year he was nominated “Rookie of the Year”.  He only got better from this point on.  He was making a lot of money and meeting new people.  He even had a chance to hang out with Madonna.  Throughout his career, Canseco kept his steroid use a secret.  Canseco said that the media only caught him once with steroids.  This lost him a million dollar contract with Pepsi.  Canseco described himself as the godfather of steroids in baseball.  He said he introduced a lot of players to the drug and they all improved.  Canseco was forced out of baseball by the owners.  They could not have Canseco spreading steroids around anymore.  They sent a message to everyone by getting rid of Canseco. Overall, Juiced, was a very informative novel.  Personally,  I did not agree with most of the things Canseco said.  I strongly disagreed with him when he said he thought steroids were acceptable in sports.  Also,  I found it unfair that Canseco earned awards and made so much money while he was using steroids.  Canseco’s stats were boosted up because of his performance enhancing drug.  I can not believe Canseco introduced so many new players to steroids.  The owners were right in forcing Canseco out of the game.  This showed all the other players using steroids that it could happen to them as well.  Without Canseco, steroids may have never really impacted baseball.

Tom Lemmings, famous high school football analyst, is recognized for finding the main character, Michael Oher. After having a life surrounded by numerous brothers and sisters and an alcoholic mother who doesn’t care for him, he is given a second chance at having a successful life. Michael is taken to the rich white part of Memphis in order to receive a christian education. The Tuohys knew of Michael’s existence, but never did anything. One day, Mrs. Tuohy encounters Michael walking to the gym in the seek of warmth, so she decides to take him in. When shown his bedroom, Michael said “‘That’s my bed?’…‘This is the first time I ever had my own bed’” (Lewis 88). Michael is now considered the number one lineman in the country. Michael takes his high school team to a state title. The only major problem they face is Michael’s GPA. He had no previous schooling, so he struggled in school. The Tuohys hire a private tutor for Michael who helps him get his GPA up to NCAA standards. Michael then declares that he will be attending Ole Miss. Other college coaches pursuing Michael accuse the Tuohys of taking in Michael just for the better of the Ole Miss football program because they are major Ole Miss fans. Michael attends Ole Miss and starts his freshman year. After a teammate of Michael’s makes inappropriate comments about his family, Michael thrashes out at the kid and in the process injures a toddler. Michael runs away from police forces and eventually turns himself in. The Blind Side is a true story turned into phenomenal book that is heart warming for all. The author does a great job of describing the scenarios the main character faces, making it seem as if the reader was actually there. The one thing people can grasp from this book is that everyone was created equal and race does not matter. The Tuohy family turned Michael’s life around and turned it into a success. Also, the idea of anybody being able to do anything desired is expressed by the author. This is a credible source; the author uses many quotes and interviews with people from the novel. The only flaw with the book is that Michael Lewis uses a lot of side stories that are irrelevant to the main story line. He does this to explain what a left tackle is and why that position is so important to the game of football. Instead of going on these bland side stories, allusions and footnotes could be used in place of these extraneous side stories. Overall, The Blind Side is an easy read that should certainly be read by anyone who finds enjoyment in reading.

The book is mainly about the outbreak of Ebola virus in Reston, Washington. Throughout the book, characters who are connected to the outbreak are introduced. A number of them are victims of Ebola who died from it, and most of them were people who worked in the military as scientists. The virus itself is also described throughout the book. Where it originated, how it kills its hosts, the other types of Ebola, and how it infects and spreads from species to species are described in great detail throughout the book. The book explains how people from the past dealt with the outbreaks that happened up to the outbreak in Reston. The book also explains the procedures that were taken by people to prevent and contain the spread of Ebola.

Overall, I thought that this book was very interesting and at the same time very informative. I felt that all the information- what Ebola was, the types of Ebola virus, etc.- will help me in the future. I liked how in-depth the book was towards the symptoms of the virus. The way the author described everything also appealed to me because he used words that encourages the mind to imagine in order to understand the description. The detailed information about the characters, whether they were main characters or not, were uninteresting to me mainly because I thought some of the information were unnecessary. However, some parts of the book such as the many death scenes shocked me because of how detailed and graphic they were. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning about diseases.

In Eat Pray Love Liz has been through a rough divorce and is trying to get her life back on track to were she wants it. She decides to travel for a year in three different countries, Italy, India, and Indonesia (about a month in each country). When she arrives in Italy she teaches herself to speak Italian. She meets many new people on her travel that help her through her depression for not only her divorce but also he love for David, who she just ended a rough relationship with. She moves onto India and starts meditation to help her relax and is told that “you gotta stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone oughtta be”. Liz finally went off to Bali, Indonesia where she was on the search for a medicine man that she met two years ago. She starts crushing on someone that she just met named Felipe. They start to spend everyday and night together. Felipe and Liz decide to take a boat trip to an island where they will spend sometime together. Thinking this relationship will not workout because he lives in Bali and she lives in New York. Felipe ends up coming up with the idea to continue there relationship by building a life together that’s somehow divided between America, Australia, Brazil and Bali.

Liz thinking that her life is never going to change. That she is going to be a depressed person the rest of her life. She takes charge of her life and lets people help. By her doing this it showed that taking medication is not the only source of fixing depression. By people exploring the world and seeing new things around them is a good way for them to just get away and leave what happend behind, literally. This book really showed what people go through in real life and how it is not easy to cope with depression, but it is possible. It not only was and interesting book of her travel around three countries but it was informational with the aspect of depression and divorce and what happens in some peoples everyday lives. Parts of this book would help with research on depression, divorce, or even traveling around the world and learning new languages.

The first part of Addicted to Life and Death is all about the struggles and accomplishments it took for Janice Ballenger to become a volunteer EMT and Deputy Coroner.  ”My definition of a volunteer means giving freely and unselfishly of your own time without any expectations of money or payment of any kind”(Ballenger 34).The middle of the book (and most of the book) is all about the most memorable accidents she witnessed and had to work or volunteer at.  Through out the book she was explaining how she felt during some specific accidents and how she and other fellow EMT’s and Coroners overcame their emotional problems resulting the accidents.  The last part of the book was all about the Amish school girls being killed at the Nickle Mines on October 2nd and how Ballenger felt while being at the scene of the crime and how it played a huge part in her everyday life for a long while. In fact, Addicted to Life and Death started out as Ballengers personal journal until a friend suggested she publish it. Addicted to Life and Death was an all around good book. It was not the best book ever written because the author did not have a specific thing she was talking about. She jumped from accident to accident very fast; it was hard to tell when she moved onto a new accident or event.  It could have been better if it was mostly about the Nickle Mine shootings with the Amish girls because that was the most exciting part of the book.  Reading about different car accidents and suicides were interesting to because everything written in the book had happen in Lancaster or near it and.  People living in Pennsylvania may remember some of the incidences that were told in the book.

“The Demon In The Freezer ” was a very interesting book to read, though also a frightening one. Richard Preston writes a compelling book about small pox and anthrax, and of their history and potential of becoming a biological weapon. Though one of the main topics in the book is about the last remaining two known samples of small pox that have been, and are still being kept in Atlanta and Moscow, even after smallpox has been eliminated from nature.This subject has sparked controversy between scientists. Some feel that it is idiotic and suicidal to continue testing with smallpox, and others feel that there is still always a potential threat of smallpox being used as a biological weapon in the future, and we must continue testing to be prepared. “Smallpox was all over the world thirty years ago. It Could be anywhere today. It’s not hard to keep back a little bit of smallpox is a freezer.” Chinese DNA of vaccinia virus expert says.

“We could start an arms race over smallpox, and the thinking would go ‘You could be bioengineering smallpox, so I’m going to bioengineer a smallpox, as well. ‘I don’t think it would be hard to bioengineer smallpox,” he went on “My virologist friends are always bioengineering viruses. I could see a bioengineered strain of smallpox getting into a terrorist’s hands and that’s my fear. And then when we got a terrorist attack with smallpox, and the smallpox doesn’t respond to the vaccine, we’re in trouble.” an assistant in the erradicating smallpox says. The book presents two sides of the matter, and leaves the reader much to think about and consider.

Claiborne, Shane. The Irresistible Revolution. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006. Print.

The book is about how the author (Shane Claiborne), who lived in Tennessee, found God and lived for God and became homeless so God could work through him.  Shane became an ambassador for Christ in the slums of North Philadelphia.  He was living a “normal” Christian life he did everything that was fun like going to youth festivals and was just living the way he wanted to, but Jesus, he said “wrecked my life,” he used to be “cool” but now after he met Jesus he found out there is no such thing as a “cool Christian.”  After that he was thinking about going to Eastern University and his parents said, “If God wants you to go north for College than he can pay for it.”  He got a full scholarship to Eastern in Pennsylvania.  When Shane was in the summer of his junior year in college he had went to help Mother Theresa out in India, he went to help the people in the mission that Mother Theresa had started.  Then he had gone to Iraq to be in between the fighting, help the Iraqis and the soldiers.  When he was going back home from Iraq he and the people he went with were in a three car caravan and his car was the last in the caravan and they were losing sight of the other two cars they were going like 80 mph.  Then the tire exploded and the car spun out of control and went into a ditch and rolled over to its side.  They had managed to get everyone out of the car with minor injuries except for two people.  Shane had thought it would take a while to get a ride from anyone because they are American and the Iraqis do not like America, but within two minutes someone had pulled over and taken them into their car and they took them to the nearest town and dropped them off.  When they got back there was a woman who had said, “How dare you be so careless with your life and put your mother through that?  Jesus would point his finger at you and say ‘You should not have been so careless with your life’” (Claiborne 254).  Philadelphia made some laws that were anti-homeless like you could not sleep on the sidewalks you could not ask for money, and you could not publicly distribute food.  “Ironically the reason for many of these laws was [for a park called] Love Park which is a historic site in Philly known as a great place for skateboarding (which was also made illegal).”  He went to jail a few times living for Christ, breaking unjust laws and just laws in the eyes of the court system.  This book is very deep and life changing.  I would highly recommend it to someone who wants something more in life and does not want to just go down the “stream” of life and not experience everything.

My reaction to this book can be summed up in one word, but it would do the book a disservice, and that word is “wow”.  There are so many things that I want to talk about but it is so long and I cannot hit everything I want to hit so just read it, it will really change your life and you will not look at your life the same way and you will not look at the world the same way again.

SUMMARY: Surprise! It’s not about Facebook Strategy – It’s About Facebook History. Reading the first few pages drew in the attention that this wasn’t like other books with Facebook in the name; there were no how-to tips, no strategy recommendations, and no discussion about how to use Facebook. This book was the history of Facebook – Mark Zuckerberg, a student at Harvard University, with the help of his friends, his idea and vision about changing the world by connecting people to each other soared. This book is perfect for those that used or are familiar with networks such as Friendster, LinkedIn or Plaxo. Interviews with Zuckerberg and his inner circle were woven together to create a story written in a way that makes one feel like it’s just them and David sharing drinks in a coffee shop while he gives you the behind-the-scenes story of companies that have been used for years. The amount of research, interview time and commitment that went into this book is impressive. In his acknowledgments section and reporting for the book section he reveals how committed everyone from Facebook was: especially Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook Effect is a phenomenal summer or anytime read. This is a great book to read as a novel. Kirpatrick wrote, “Being CEO in a company is a lot different than being college roommates with someone” (128). The book is written in a way that many found themselves imagining themselves right there with Mark Zuckerberg and his college buds in their dorm room programming and bringing Facebook to life making it a company with over 500 million users. The mouth gapes while reading realizing that Zuckerberg wasn’t in this for money or fame or fashion, but for a dream and a vision of doing something really BIG.

REACTION:

When the book arrived, the glitzy cover catches the eye which has the familiar

Facebook default profile icon silhouette in a silver reflective paper that puts the reader’s face on the cover when looked at head on. David Kirkpatrick was the senior editor for Internet and Technology for Fortune Magazine. While there he’d written stories about Apple, IBM, Intel and Microsoft which is why this book resembles “Pirates of Silicon Valley” – the story of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. The Facebook Effect is the inside story of how Facebook became what it is today with personal interviews with Mark Zuckerberg and his roommates verbatim. Simon & Schuster Inc. published this non-fiction selection, which is a division of CBS Corporation. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin, and Harper Collins. This book has a lot of valuable resources to prove the thesis pertaining to Facebook that is in the market for B2B have direct quotes from Mark Zuckerberg and his team, along with the information written by Kirpatrick who has the inside scoop about networking and the key how to run a successful business.

Publishing. 1997. Print.

Bus America, a book about a rebellious redneck who sets out to discover the true

America. Quay Hanna grew up in Strasburg, a little town in Pennsylvania. He was tired

of the small town people and wanted to discover what was out there! Throughout his

journey he met many different individuals. Each one impacted him in a different way. He

was challenged to rethink his views on racism, his religious beliefs, and his overall

attitude toward people in general. Each bus trip presented new situations, some

exciting, some scary and some just plain miserable. He didn’t set out thinking he would

be a changed man after this adventure was all said and done, but little did he know that

this journey would mean more to him than just a little trip across America! “In that

moment, I realized I had seen and experienced more in my nine weeks than more

people will in a lifetime. I began to understand the weight of the trip and the changes in

my life. I thought the journey was ending, but it had just begun. I left Strasburg to see

what American was really like. Learning about American, though, taught me about

myself. Who I am and who I am becoming will never cease until I am in my grave. Just

as I challenged myself on this trip, I will need to continue challenging myself at every

phase of life if I want to make the most of it. For now though, I had come home a

successful traveler. A wiser individual. A new man…And the adventure continues…”

(171) He didn’t allow his journey to stop after the bus trip. Everyday he strives to

discover something new about himself and the individuals around him.

This book is definitely one that will keep some one’s attention. It feels like you are

part of the story. Having a personal relationship with Quay Hanna helped me to see the

book from a different perspective. This man is one of great ambition. He doesn’t let

anything stop him from going the extra mile. He challenges his beliefs and actions by

getting other people’s perspective. Throughout his journey across America, it was

intriguing with how much the strangers he met impacted his personal life. He didn’t just

sit on the bus and let life pass him by; he made the most of each bus trip. At the end of

the story he realizes how much his view on racism has changed. He doesn’t see people

by the color of their skin, but by the character of their heart. He has come to view the

world in a more positive way. Bus America is an inspirational book, and many people

could benefit from taking the time to read the story of Quay Hanna.

This book was mainly about a 20 year old guy that went out into the wild in Alaska to live off the land. His name was Chris McCandless. After graduating college at Emory, Chris emptied his bank account and took to the road. He drove his car out to Nevada where he ditched it and began hitchhiking around the west coast. He eventually wound up back in South Dakota working for Wayne Westerberg. He left for Alaska on April 15. Chris was dropped of at the edge of Denali National Park in Alaska and walked off into the bush. He hiked to an old abandoned bus in the woods and decided to stay there. He spent his time hunting, collecting edible plants and reading books. He ended up being poisoned by mold on some seeds that he ate. This was the cause of his death. “At long last he was unencumbered, emancipated from the stifling world of his parents and peers, a world of abstraction and security and material excess, a world in which he felt grievously cut off from the raw throb of existence” (Krakauer 22). Chris met a lot of people on his travels and had positive impacts on their lives. He disliked materialism and loved the challenge of surviving in the wilderness on his own.

This was a really good book. Because Chris disliked material things and had a deep appreciation for nature and this pertains to materialism today and people’s disrespect for nature. This book also discussed others like Chris who went out into the wild and lived off the land. It was important to read about others who shared Chris’s views because it let the reader know that Chris was not one lone nut. The information is reliable because the author, Jon Krakauer, took the time to talk to family, childhood friends, and people that Chris met along his journey in order to gain insight into what Chris was really like. Krakauer also read letters, postcards, and Chris’s journal for more about his journey and ideas. Krakauer even flipped through books that Chris had been reading, writing and highlighting in. Krakauer did a pretty good job of staying on topic even though the book jumped around a lot talking about the other kids like Chris and Krakauer’s own experiences. Krakauer has been published before; he has several other books out.

When James first arrives at the Residential Drug and Alcohol Treatment Facility, he wants nothing to do with anyone and is immediately breaking the rules. Along with being told he can’t talk to Lilly, a girl he found himself falling in love with, James faces a plethora of challenges. It couldn’t be a worse time for James as his parents come to the clinic for group therapy and his doctors are constantly worried about his progress in the facility. Having dreams, night after night, where he is surrounded by an overabundance of bottles of alcohol and drugs on the table doesn’t help his situation either. As the story continues, James’s life takes a turn; he begins to make friends and his opinions change. Lilly and, his right hand man, Leonard seem to be making an impression on James as he starts to help others and make better decisions. By the end of the book, James starts to see who he really is and wants to improve his life, starting with doing time in the Ohio State Prison. “Unlike most of the other crayons, Black has hardly been used. People probably avoid Black because it isn’t a happy color, and in here any form of happiness, even something as base as the color of a crayon, is coveted” (Frey 200). The book A Million Little Pieces forms many arguments between the use of drugs and alcohol. The main character is faced with this challenge throughout the entire book and eventually sets himself on a better path to cleaning up his life. The topic never changes in the novel; the main goal of erasing alcohol and drugs from someones life is held high to the very end. The book shows weakness, strength, and the dispute between right and wrong. By the end, this novel shows one mans struggle to banish his problems from within as he prepares himself to be the person he knows he can be.

Many people know Stephen Colbert as that witty news host on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report.” However, what most people do not know–at least those that do not watch the show–is that Colbert “dictated” his own book, officially documenting his views on the world into text form. As always, Colbert upholds his well-known conservative point of view, and at times takes those views and opinions to the extreme. From the American family to Science, Colbert covers a wide variety of topics that concern most Americans today. It needs to be noted that this book is not for readers who take things personally. However, whether the reader is looking for a good laugh or looking for somebody who shares his/her extremely conservative views, this book is a great read and definitely worth any amount of money spent on it. To be perfectly honest, this book is not the most credible book available. In fact, it is quite possibly the least credible book out there. However, it does provoke the reader into thinking about many critical problems in America today. Therefore, it is a good book to read when looking for research ideas and possible conversation topics. There might be a slight grammatical error in his “Science Glossary.” He is referring to the constellations when he writes, “So let’s take some of these constellations make something we care about.” It would seem that he meant to write, “So let’s take some of these constellations and make something we care about.” However, it could have been intended to be written that way. For example, the title is an intended grammatical error. Some of the statistics given by Colbert are not reliable, and Colbert makes it a point to let the reader know that. Nonetheless, even without proof to back his claims up, he stays on topic and makes very good transitions. It was a New York Times #1 Bestseller, and was publish by Grand Central Publishing. Not only that, but it was awarded the “Stephen T. Colbert Award For The Literary Excellence.” If that doesn’t express credibility, nothing does. That being said, this is the first book written solely by this author.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiography, which means it is written by Maya Angelou about Maya Angelou. More specifically, this nonfiction book is about the author’s struggles as a young, African-American girl who faces discrimination in each new place she calls home. She feels like an outcast, especially after an incident with a Mr. Freeman. Maya continues to grow however, physically and mentally and realizes that everyday knowledge is more valuable than useless facts or beautiful features. She fights for a job and establishes herself as a strong, working girl. Questions still cross her mind about her maturity and status as a women, and with one simple mistake, Maya finds herself with a child to raise. She worries that she will fail as a caregiver for the infant until her own mother tells her, “You don’t have to think about doing the right thing. If you’re for the right thing, then you do it without thinking.” I would recommend this book as a novel and not as a nonfiction reading. The story of Maya’s life is more insightful than it is informational. It shows a side of discrimination against African-Americans long after the time of slavery. Her life is not tragic, but simply a collection of unfortunate events that many people have struggled through in their lifetime.

“In a few seconds everything changed” (Feinstein 214). John Feinstein’s, The Punch, revisits those few seconds that occurred on December 9th, 1977 between the Los Angeles Laker’s Kermit Washington and the Houston Rockets Rudy Tomjanovich. The two teams were off to poor starts in their seasons and they both had aspirations to win this match up. The Laker’s pressed to win this game because of the fact that they got off to a bad start in the pacific division. The Rockets also had ambition to win this game because facing the Laker’s was the start of a three game road trip. This game was another routine game in the 1977-1978 season until the second half when Kermit Punched Rudy Tomjanovich. In a matter of a few seconds the lives of these men would change drastically. John Feinstein retells the accounts of both Rudy and Kermit and their trials and tribulations and triumphs after the events that occurred on December 9th, 1977.

The author’s writing style for this book made it very much enjoyable. It is very interesting the way this book is structured. The author starts off telling of the night the horrific event occurred then he switches gears to lighten the mood, and tells of the background of the two men, Kermit and Rudy. John Feinstein then proceeds to gradually lead the background of Rudy and Kermit’s lives back towards the event that changed their lives. His style reminds one of watching a movie where it starts of with what the ending will be then it gives background to how it gets to that ending and makes sense of what the opening scene was about and that is what the author does in this book. This book overall was very enjoyable and athletes of any sport can relate to it in multiple ways. All athletes should read this book because it really makes one think twice about getting in a fight during a sporting event. It makes a person realize that if he makes a bad choice it has the potential to haunt him the rest of his life.

In, The O’ Reilly Factor: For Kids, Bill O’ Reilly brings up a variety of topics that are issues in the USA today.While giving his opinions for a child’s view, he explores each topic thoroughly and even gives an example of a personal experience for each. Of all the topics covered a few stood out as major ones: Drugs(including alcohol and smoking), Health, and Death. Teenagers doing drugs is a big deal. Whether it be the smoking, alcohol or actual legal or illegal drugs, O’ Reilly approaches the subject with a very closed mind, he himself has never drank or tried any type of drug. Granted he has been around it at the worst and has seen the way it messes up lives. Nobody as to experience it to know the damage it can cause in the end. Health seems like another major topic. If a person has poor health their most likely not happy, they could be unhappy with the way they look or how others perceive them. Any goon can eat a carrot and do a few sit-ups, but it takes hard work to keep that going throughout a lifetime. It is defiantly hard to stay away from all the goodies but O’ Reilly encourages us to think of the benefits in the future. Another important topic and world wide issue, is Death. O’ Reilly at one point says “ We know that we will die. We can’t change that”( O’ Reilly 168). Yes, that is a depressing thought, but it is the truth. O’ Reilly addresses that everybody is having the same exact thoughts, yet nobody has answer. People always wonder about ‘what comes next’ and O’ Reilly thinks they need to stop. Thinking about all the what ifs of dieing only keep you from truly living. This book, The O’ Reilly Factor For Kids, is a useful source in that it covers a different range of topics to choose from. It pertains to my thesis statement because O ‘Reilly wrote a chapter about drugs. I narrowed down that topic to prescription drugs and how they are becoming more relevant for teens. Although my thesis was inspired by that topic, I can’t take much info from the book unless it’s a broader quote. This book is a very reliable source because O’ Reilly gives an input on each subject but also gives real life examples for each, that shows hoe relevant these topics are to our world.

Bigelow, Bob, Tom Moroney, and Linda Hall. Just Let the Kids Play: How to Stop Other Adults from Ruining Your Child’s Fun and Success in Youth Sports. Florida: Health Communications Inc., 2001. Print

The book Just Let the Kids Play gives a strong argument of how parents get too involved in the youth sports their children play in. The book provides ways to prevent and fix the problems that parents bring to the sporting events. The author also explains the reasons why the kids leave the sport so soon and preventive ways to keep the kids longer. The information is helpful to starting or reshaping a youth sports community in any area, and allows more kids to play. The majority of the programs aim to eliminate too much competition at a young age, eliminate team cuts and travel teams to ensure athletes stay in the sport longer.

In the book Just Let the Kids Play, the author’s main point of view was centered mainly on the topic of keeping kids healthy, mentally and physically in sports. The book instead of providing facts and past health issues, was based mostly on opinions. The authors used opinions and their sporting experiences to show places for improvement, instead of medical facts or real life events of kids in sports. The book would have been more convincing if the author included real facts.

The quote that was found to be the most interesting was “The new owner of the New York Yankees, George Steinbrenner, had paid $10 million for the entire team in 1973” (Lewis 4). The thing is that, the the majority of MLB players get paid more than that. The Oakland A’s were the one of lowest payroll teams during the current season. They had a payroll of $41,942,665, but they also finished first in the American league west. The A’s were lead by General Manager who went about managing a club very different than your average owner. Billy Bean the A’s GM did not have a high payroll so he had to make due with what he had. He was very good at manipulating other GM’s so he could get the players he wanted. He would take players that nobody else would want and make starts out of them. The A’s ended up losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Twins in the playoffs. They just didn’t have what it takes to be a team in the postseason.

This book is a very good source for the thesis topic of how the amount of money affects the way a baseball franchise competes. The book helps with the fact that the team that had the lowest payroll in the league finished first which shows it just doesn’t take money but, it also takes talent and good coaching. But it also shows that the teams with low payrolls cant make it in the playoffs since the teams with low payrolls didn’t go far. The information in this book is very reliable cause everything that is stated in the book is backed up with solid evidence from the stats of the seasons and money salaries of the teams. The author stays on topic the whole time setting and using different examples in the book, all of which are very good. Micheal Lewis is a successful author and a publisher of many more books. Overall this book would be very helpful to anyone using the thesis statement about how money affects a baseball franchise.

At the beginning of the book Lori’s character is introduced, she could be

described as someone who is very upfront, and inconsiderate. When she goes to her

first boy girl party she starts to worry about her body image. Lori and her family go away

on a trip and because she’s mad that she has to go Lori refuses to eat her food. When

the family returns from the trip Lori is still not eating. This becomes a problem because

now Lori is on a very strict diet and workouts all the time. Her worry about food intake

takes a toll when she wont even listen to the doctors. Because Lori has lost so much

weight she is eventually put into the hospital where she seeks medical help. Being in the

hospital Lori only loses more weight instead of gaining the weight back. Her mental

state of mind gets bad; to the point where she thinks of a way to kill her self, leading her

to cut herself in hopes of bleeding to death. Her plan falls through when she is caught in

the act of cutting her stomach . “I wish I was that beautiful”, Lori states. Through out the

book Lori used to say that often whenever she saw someones appearance she wanted.

One day Lori looks into a mirror and realizes how thin her figure is and decides that she

no longer will follow her diet. She is then released from the hospital and she continues

to gain her weight back, slowly, but surely.

This book helped me shape my argument because it goes to prove that people

do reflect there decisions off of society. Lori was influenced because the people around

her were so involved in their body image, it made Lori focused on hers. This book is a

perfect example of how society influences people to look better because Lori used

sources that were in stores, libraries and her friends. After reading Stick Figure my

opinion has changed on the topic because this book is a good example how magazines

and books can really change someones thought on something just by publishing it. The

book may not be something used as a medical source or historical fact but it is a

sources that could be used for a good example. After reading Stick Figure along with

other books that deal with body image, it can be argued that there are different types of

eating problems, which can lead to a good argument in the research project.

Nickel and Dimed is a superb look into the lives of hard-working Americans. Studs Terkel, the author of Working, stated that “She [Barbara] has accomplished what no contemporary writer has even attempted-to be that ‘nobody’ who barely subsists on her essential labors(Ehrenreich).” Barbara decides that someone who wants to write about how it is to survive in America on low-paying jobs should try it for themselves. That’s exactly what she did. Barbara went to various places of the country getting low-wage jobs and searching for affordable places to live. She goes from Key West in Florida, to Portland, Maine, then to Minneapolis, Minnesota. She gets jobs ranging from waitress to house cleaning to racking up clothing. Some places were easily affordable for her to live at, but some places were unsuccessful. Barbara did her best in trying to survive in America on low-wage jobs. Barbara gave up her “good life” and learned first-hand how it is to be nickel and dimed in America. Nickel and Dimed is a brilliant novel on surviving in America with low-wage jobs. Barbara did her research the best way to do it; she went out on her own and lived the life of a poor, working class woman. All throughout the book she stayed on topic and gave concrete, credible information. While Barbara was working these low-wage jobs she would always write any essential information necessary to write Nickel and Dimed so that her information would be as accurate as possible. Barbara has even written many other novels, including the New York Times bestseller The Worst Years of Our Lives.

The main argument of this book is “The everyday interactions that get under the Skin of Blacks and Whites” The book talks about the views of both blacks and whites on racism, and what made someone racist, or what classified someone as a specific race, and who were the racist ones. It gives the reader a feel for what type of stereotype is going on in the world.  The book explains in broad detail of the simplicity that “There’s no way to know what’s going on in peoples minds” Williams, Lena (265).

This book opens the eyes of many in society today, we are all racist in some shape or form. Is this done on purpose or are we just so use to it that we don’t even realize that we are doing it? This book helps explain exactly that. “we may be racist; we just try not to show it in public.” Williams, Lena (257). The argument is stated very clearly; though it would depend on how the reader interprets the view on stereotype and racism. This book is an excellent source for writing a paper, it has a two sided view and has excellent qoutes that relate to the topic. The book is written with evidence, views from others including a few things she the author experienced and observed through her life time. Each chapter is logically written and easy to follow. This author was a journalist veteran of The New York Times. She was published by Harcourt, Inc.

The Blind Side tells the story of an astounding football player named Michael Oher, who grew up in a ‘hood in Memphis, Tennessee and spent most of his time shooting basketball by himself. As he grew up, he wanted to become the next Michael Jordan. His mom never took care of him and he jumped from orphanage to orphanage and ended up with one of his coaches in a white part of Memphis but left home because he felt unwanted. Admitted due to pity, Michael started going to school at a white Christrian school. He started playing football because of how big he was and he got good. An opposing coach would say that their team’s “whole goal was to keep Michael Oher from blocking more than one person” (Lewis) 161. Eventually one of his coaches started letting Michael live with him because he spent many nights with no place to sleep. They grew together and eventually his coach adopted him and helped him get his grades on track. Soon after he became legible to enter the NCAA, football coaches came knocking on his door. The story ends with Michael deciding to go to Ole Miss because that is where his new family had gone. The story of Michael Oher almost seems fictional because he was thrown opportunities that many kids in his situation would not have encountered. Many people thought Michael was dumb but I always thought he was shy and did not show his intelligence. He was the reverse of many students that plan to go to college and play a sport. He had the skill and the scholarship lined up, but he did not have the grades. All of the effort he made to make it into the NCAA was an amazing push and proved he was capable of doing so. Michael’s coach, Sean, and his wife, Leigh Anne, were the biggest influence on Michael’s life. Barely knowing him, they let him stay at their house and soon adopted him. They pushed him in school and on the football field. They were his only sense of support and may have been the only reason Michael got off the streets of Memphis. Michael Oher would go on to start on the Ole Miss football team and continue to learn his role at left tackle.

Schlosser begins the book by giving the history of fast food restaurants. The fast food industry started out in Orange County California. McDonald’s was the first fast food restaurant to develop the Speedee Service System since they wished for cheap and fast production. After the history, Schlosser leads into behind the scenes facts. He discovered that fast food restaurants tend to not follow the child labor laws and the fast food industry in known for dangerous jobs. One out of three people who work at meat packaging plants and slaughterhouses get hurt on the job. Schlosser also discovered that meat packing plants are unsanitary. “About 75% of the cattle in the USA were routinely fed livestock wastes — the rendered remains of dead sheep and dead cattle — until August of 1997” (Schlosser, 202). A child got E.Coli poisoning and the meat was traced back to the Monfort plant in Greeley, Colorado. The fast food industry figured that consumers didn’t care much about their health so they use the cheapest ingredients which usually has no nutritional value. More customers were attracted to purchasing fast food when the portion sizes increased. This tactic became relevant because more customers continued to demand more fast food, thus causing obesity. Schlosser found out that it quickly caught on throughout America, and later spread to overseas.

Eric Schlosser is an award winning journalist and did a great job using specific examples throughout the book that backed up the facts. The information is reliable since there is  bibliography in the back of the book that supports the evidence. The information is considered credible since Houghton Mifflin Company published it. Houghton Mifflin Company is well known for publishing text books for all ages.

In the Inner city of Coney Island, New York there is a lot of crime and poverty. For the students at Abraham Lincoln High School, which was once considered one of the top academic school in New York, the only way out of that situation for an American boy is a basketball scholarship. Because most of the students parents are jobless and  support there family off welfare they do not have the money to send there children off to college. The Last Shot talks about four boys who live in Coney Island and go to Abraham Lincoln that play on the varsity basketball team. They want to make it out of the city where most teens there age end up in the streets to drugs and crimes. One of the students that the book talks about is Tchaka. Tchaka and his mother along with his sister moved to Jamaica Queens to simply get out of the ghetto and away from the crime. In order for him to stay in school at Abraham Lincoln he takes three subways and a city bus to school. He was six foot eight and had a amazing post game. There were so many colleges looking at him. “The ultimate reward of making the varsity squad arrives in the form of the dozens of college coaches who visit Lincoln” (15). This is a great book to read. Darcy Frey started to write this book the summer of 1991. He spent several months with the team from Abraham Lincoln and one of the players she followed was Stephon Marbury, who played for the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks before playing in China. Some of the players that he followed around were not so lucky. For instance, Tchaka Shipp never got a scholarship and had manual labor making 8.50 and hour. Another player Darryle Flicking, who’s name is changed in the book to Russell Thomas, lost his scholarship to Temple University because he could not get over a 700 on his SAT to be eligible to play. He then became homeless and was his by an Amtrak train and was killed.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is a psychologist who has done decades of research on positive aspects of human experience and total involvement with life, which he calls flow. Csikszentmihalyi has been published in many newspaper articles and is the author of multiple psychological books. His theories and principles allow individuals to learn tips on making their lives more enjoyable and get the most out of any experience, even if the experience is commonly identified as boring or meaningless. Mihaly expresses his research on what many people from all over the world describe “happiness” to be. He uses these examples to show how materialistic items, which most people describe as the main contribution to an individuals happiness, does not in fact produce flow. Objects do not allow a person to truly feel better about themselves and their life, but how they are used can provide enjoyment. His theories mainly work with the attention paid to consciousness, and how to become completely in control of ones thoughts to keep order in the consciousness. “Whenever information disrupts consciousness by threatening its goals, we have a condition of inner disorder, or psychic entropy, a disorganization of the self that impairs its effectiveness. Prolonged experiences of this kind can weaken one’s self to the point that it is no longer able to invest attention and pursue its goals”(Csikszentmihalyi, page 37). Understanding and appreciating any obstacles thrown at us mentally and emotionally will help improve the quality of life and that is what Csikszentmihalyi with his research identifies in Flow. The research recorded in Flow helps the reader understand not only Csikszentmihalyi’s view of optimal experience, but also personal stories from a random selection of individuals all over the world. These chosen people describe situations where they have experienced flow or negative situations where there was little or no control over consciousness, allowing a connection to be made to the reader’s own life and when these situations occur. The existence of flow is unique in every body and this book does not provide a recipe for ‘being happy,’ but attacks the sources which cause disruption in the consciousness and how to overcome this anxiety. The detail in which Csikszentmihalyi presents his data is very inspiring for the reader to want to achieve this optimal experience and he clearly illustrates how and when this does and does not occur.

Carol Simontacchi, a board-certified clinical nutritionist and professional member of the International and American Associations of Clinical Nutritionists, used data collected from a variety of sources to challenge this thought: the food Americans eat is a main cause of their mental and physical conditions. Simontacchi proved her speculations through a variety of strong supports in personal studies from her Nutrition Counseling Office and the information she derived from the FDA, CSPI and other national organizations. Topics covered in The Crazy Makers included included how food effects the baby brain, child brain, teenage brain, adult brain, and autistic brain. The negative effects were proved to be result of food additives or harmful chemicals and the lack of essential minerals and nutrients. Throughout the research that was compiled, all the negative effects and insufficiencies were recorded. The documented detrimental behavioral aspects, cognitive aspects, and emotional aspects of people’s lives (at all ages and conditions) provide strong arguments for a future debate. The author curtailed her piece into one simple quote: “Our food is, quite literally, driving us crazy” (Simontacchi 7).

The Crazy Makers is a useful source for a research paper due to the excessive and minuscule details expressing the main ideas. The chapters that are solely based on teenagers and their diets proved that insufficient food intake has produced many negative effects on the brain. Depression, self-inflicting pain, and other cognitive challenges were the main ones that continued to reappear in other sections of the book too. Simontacchi’s studies support a previously created thesis statement, enabling the future research paper to be more strongly represented. Simmontacchi’s compilation of data was based on her research from credible sources: government and national organizations and articles from reliable authors. Therefore, the author’s studies can be considered plausible. Simontacchi has published five other books on health related topics, reinforcing her as a respectable source. Lastly, the chronological order found in The Crazy Makers helps make it an easy read, as well as assisting the reader in retaining the information systematically.

George Mills was a football star from Omaha, Nebraska. He was recruited by the University of Nebraska football team, and he goes on to commit to the University of Nebraska on a scholarship. During Georges first year on the football team at Nebraska he does not get any playing time. During his sophomore year he was placed n the roster as a red-shirt which gave him an extra year of eligibility. In that same year George makes the trip, with the team to the Orange Bowl. The next year George’s coaches expect him to play more, but George tries to quit before the season starts. He then realizes his mistake and asks to rejoin the team. In George’s fourth year, Nebraska makes the Cotton Bowl and George played a key role on the team. In George’s fifth and final year he starts and plays very well. Nebraska made the Fiesta Bowl that year, which was a disappointment. The goal was to make the national championship but it was not achieved. At the end of George’s fifth season he realizes how big Nebraska football was in his life and how much he will miss Nebraska football. George summed up college football in a few sentences. “Playing college football was like getting shot out of a cannon. The flight varies for each player; some go high some go low, but in the end, everyone comes down to earth with only an intense memory of what it was like” (Mills 234).

Although this is Mills’ first publication, it is still a good source that holds information pertaining to the thesis statement. Mills talks about his injuries and how they affected him. Often times he would return before he was fully healed, which relates to the thesis statement, because both deal with the issue of returning to sports from an injury too early. This books logical order makes it an easy read that is credible and easy to retain information from.

This story is about a young boy and his struggle with autism. He first gets diagnosed with autism at the age of three. To cope with his autism, Wills and his mom go to the fish store and purchase a huge aquarium. Wills’ mother throughout the book gets a new pet for the family after Wills’ has a problem such as, a bad therapy session, a bad time with a friend, or a big breakdown in the grocery store. Wills has trouble in preschool, so his parents decide to look for a private school for him to attend. Wills is turned away from some schools because he is autistic. They find a school that seems perfect and Wills gets accepted in. At first he struggles, but the school gets an aid for Wills and he immediately starts to do better. At Christmas if his Kindergarten year, the family gets a dog. Wills names the golden retriever Cowboy. Little did the family know, but Cowboy would forever change their lives. Cowboy made Wills a new person. She helped Wills with is autism and gave him the strength to make friends, talk to people, and do activities on his own. Wills’ parents also formed a bond with Cowboy. As time went on, Cowboy in countered some skin problems. She would get big patches of inflamed skin and have flakes of skin the size of quarters. She had to bathed for her skin conditions. She later is then diagnosed with Lupus. Cowboy doesn’t have much more time to live. The doctor reports, “Unfortunately, about forty percent of dogs with SLE die within one year of diagnosis” (Halloway 217). She continues to change the family lives but, at the age of three she passes when she won’t eat or drink. Cowboy will always hold an important spot in Wills’ heart forever.

Cowboy and Wills is not only an unforgettable story, but also a useful source to autism. This book gave insight to the reader to allow them to learn facts about autism and information on how it can affect a family and a person. The book gave direct examples of what happens when a child has autism and the struggles that come along with having autism. The author of Cowboy and Wills is writing about a true story. It is about her family and her son who suffers from autism. The author knows first hand, what it is like to have a child with autism and she does a great job describing certain circumstances that the family and Wills comes across.

Everything Bad Is Good For You is a book that explains how popular culture such as video games, TV, Films, and the internet is making the people smarter. He uses scientific data to explain his ideas such as accumulated IQ scores and charts to support his arguments. The strongest point that he makes is, “Think of the cognitive labor and play that your average ten-year-old would have experienced outside of school a hundred years ago: reading books when they were available, playing with simple toys, improvising neighborhood games like stick-ball and kick the can, and most of all doing household chores or even working as a child-laborer. Compare that to the cultural and technological mastery of a ten-year-old today: following dozens of professional sports teams; shifting effortlessly form phone to IM to e-mail in communicating with friends; probing and telescoping through immense virtual worlds; adopting and troubleshooting new media technologies without flinching.(144-145)” This quote sums up all of the points he was trying to make in the earlier pages and connects them to real life examples. An example of a chart that he uses is when he is comparing the relationships in the show Dallas from the 50’s and the show 24 of today. The show Dallas has about 12 relationships with about 7 that are close relationships. 24 has about 27 relationships that have a significant role in the story with about 14 close relationships and 4 families. This is a great example of the sleeper curve. The author uses the sleeper curve as a main argument in the book which is an increase in complexity in the newer generation of technology from older TV shows and films. At the end, he goes on saying the bad things about pop culture, how they are addicting and how you shouldn’t get to wrapped up in it.

China as a country has expanded at an unbelievably rapid pace over the last decade. They are almost entirely different now than they were 30 years ago. Around that time China was still experimenting with different political structures. Under the Mao Zedong as their dictator, they first experimented with communism. Communism led to the vast majority of the population living in poverty and complete fear day to day. People were executed and tortured at the governments will for close to twenty years. In 1993 things changed for the Chinese. The then Socialist government began to explore new ways of governing the country in effort to curb their countries economic slump. China started in essence “playing our game”. They opened their doors to the outside world for the first time in nearly a century. China’s government started outsourcing their businesses and turning local companies into publicly traded companies. These companies entered stock markets such as the New York stock exchange. Outside companies were also bringing their businesses to and building plants there which created thousands of job opportunities for the people of China. Essentially China had become a democratic country with free market capitalist values although they kept the title of Socialist. Even though China is growing at an astounding rate, their growth is no threat to the U.S. because of the fact that they have yet to master our game. They still have many flaws their industries. Overall, China’s rise is impressive, but not detrimental to the United States.

Response: This book was sort of a relief. Today’s media all focuses on how China makes everything and that they as a country are expected to pass the United States economically. What the media fails to mention though is that even though things are made in china, the profit made of of that product is still pocketed by the American company the produces the product. The media usually doesn’t go into detail about how many internal problems the Chinese industry has. One thing that was interesting was how China was able to grow so quickly by using the U.S. as a model for industry. China began to participate in trading and associating with foreign businesses which led to an increase in economic output. Ultimately China still has a lot to learn about industry and capitalism. Thankfully China won’t be taking over any countries anytime soon. As a source this book wold be good for any type of research on Chinese economics.

The book Sybil, by Flora Rheta Schreber, is about the life of a woman by the name of Sybil Dorsett. This woman, Sybil Dorsett, had developed sixteen different personalities and she had been studied by a psychiatrist named Dr. Wilbur. Sybil came to Dr. Wilbur because she kept “blacking out” and she just wanted to know what was wrong. Dr. Wilbur had studied Sybil for a few years to try and determine, first, how many different personalities there were. The second thing Dr. Wilbur wanted to determine was what had caused Sybil to create all these different personalities.

Dr. Wilbur found that Sybil was a deeply disturbed girl who suffered abuse from her mother as a child. Her mother’s beatings, or “punishments,” as she called them, were so brutal that Sybil had to come up with different personalities in order to cope with what she was going through.

Mrs. Dorsett, Sybil’s mother, had problems of her own, but it was simply no excuse to harm her daughter. She molested other children she was supposed to babysit and make sure no harm came to them. Throughout the book, the author reported that Mrs. Dorsett was simply unfit to mother anyone. In fact, Mrs. Dorsett had several  miscarriages, and that could have helped her down the crazy person path.

Meanwhile, her father just seemed to stand by and pretend to not know what was going on behind closed doors. He would ask Sybil about some marks on her arms or legs or whatever was wrong, but usually she made something up and he wouldn’t bother asking further questions.

There are few works as inspiring and surreal as Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture. A brilliant professor at Carnegie Melon University, Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. With only a few short months left to live, he writes a last lecture to pass on his knowledge to the world, his students, and his children whom he wont live to raise. He compiles a list of experiences from his childhood to after he recieved his diagnosis, each one backed by a tip on how to lead a happier and more fulfilling life. As he prepares this lecture, he must also prepare his wife and kids for life without him. The book is rich with humor, sadness, and wisdom that will benefit the young and old. Randy conveys his valuable messages through stories of his life, all the while showing the reader that every minute on Earth is one to appreciate. “We can’t change the cards we’re dealt, only how we play the hand.” -Randy Pausch I deeply admire Pausch’s optimism and courage. The Last Lecture made me think about my own life and how I live it, and I’ve already adjusted a few little things about myself. This book further strengthened my belief that the smallest moments in life can be critical, and to take anything for granted can set you up to fail. Pausch certainly lived a very eventful life, and I doubt I will have as many note-worthy experiences as he did. But if I apply his advice to my own dreams and ambitions, perhaps I will be remembered by as many people as him. I can especially connect with his “brick wall” metaphor; I have my share of obstacles and I do whatever it takes to overcome them. I found the book to be a great stress reliever because it made difficult situations seem insignificant. I was also surprised to discover that Randy and I shared much in common, and we went about things in very similar ways. I would recommend this book to anyone determined to reach their childhood dreams.

The book Tweak is about a guy named Nic Sheff going through life living on all kinds of drugs like crack, cocaine, heroin and crystal meth. He explains the feeling of getting high by saying, “…I couldn’t just stop. That sounds like a cop-out, but it’s the truth. It’s like I’m being help captive by some insatiable monster that will not let me stop. All my values, all my beliefs, everything I care about, they all go away the moment I get high. There is a sort of insanity that takes over” ( Sheff 10). Nic would be sober for awhile and then new and old friends would enter into his life and he would start using again. When he was on drugs, he was not apart of his family’s life.  Nic would spend all his money on drugs instead on food or bills. The main person that had a bad influence on Nic throughout the book was an older woman named Zelda. Nic liked being with her because he saved her from her ex-husband. Nic is only happy when Zelda is happy and that is very rare. In the end, Nic’s parents made a decision for him to go back into rehab in Arizona. Nic always said that he has done twelve step programs and went into rehab so many times that nothing changes. This time at the Safe Passage Center, Nic turned into a whole different person finally loving himself and life. Everyone who is an addict of has been sober and lived a life like Nics should read this book. Tweak has shown me the true side of what drug addicts look and behave like. I don’t know how anyone can live how Nic used to. Insecurities play a big role in why people turn to drugs. Being high takes all the worries away inside but after its gone, everything builds up on top again. I figured Nic would be clean in the end but it was good to hear how he went about getting through life.

The premise of Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation: The Darkside of the All-American Meal is to discuss the story of the past, the present and the future of the fast food industry. Many different topics are covered in the book, including how the industries affect the world, how each of the restaurants work, and how the food that people find so delicious is actually made. The author also meets with numerous people that have worked in or have been apart of the fast food industry. He listens to their stories, their tragedies, and their successes. He examines all of the many things that make the fast food industry what it is today. The good, the bad, and the ugly are all brought to light for everyone to see. The fast food industry is seen from every angle. Even the parts they don’t want you to see. Eric says in one sentence, “I’ve written this book out of the belief that people should know what lies behind the shiny, happy surface of every fast food transaction” (Schlosser 10).

Eric Schlosser does a fantastic job covering and discussing every part of what makes the fast food industry what it is today. Although fast food is wrapped with controversy, Eric is unbiased and shows evidence of both good and bad components of the industry. The evidence presented is also very specific and tells of personal experiences, in factories, on ranches, and inside multiple restaurants. Though this is Schlosser’s first book, he has been a very successful journalist and has won many awards for his previous articles. His information is credible and powerfully detailed. The book does an amazing job of bringing everything about the fast food industry to light.

John Griffin had always wanted to know what it would be like to become a negro in the deep south. He started his experiment and was shocked by the way he looked because he resembled nothing of what he use to look like.  Griffin had spent a total of 6 weeks being someone he was not. Throughout this experiment he realized how hard it was to just check into a hotel or get a ride on the bus or just walk down the streets of New Orleans. Everywhere he goes, he experiences difficulties and insults. he was treated with no respect by whites and some blacks as well.  It was impossible for Griffin to find a job, or even a restroom that blacks are allowed to use. He then travels from New Orleans to Deep South Mississippi where he experiences even more harassment then he did in New Orleans. Griffin then is depressed of life as a black man, he stops taking his medication and lightens his skin back to his normal color. He returns home to his family and writes his article, which gets published in March 1960. After the articles get recognized, Griffin is called to do interviews with television shows and news magazines. The story of his amazing experience quickly spreads around the world. This source I think will be helpful because it does have a lot of information that will be useful when writing my research project. This source will also help me shape my argument throughout my paper because my argument has to deal with seeing the struggles through someone elses eyes who usually don’t go through this daily like other people do. I can also use this source in my paper because it has good examples on what I am talking about in my thesis statement and that will help me support my writing throughout the paper.

A country that possesses the power of oil, is generally doomed to have a total destruction of its political, social, and environmental qualities of life. Crude World goes in to specifics of this “resource-curse” and how countries deal–or do not deal–with the consequences of its money-producing oil. The oil explorers, the oil workers, and the leaders of the countries who have the oil all run in the same corrupt circle. Peter Maas states in this book, “Oil was a violence-inducing intoxicant for the people who lived atop it as well as the foreigners who desired it” (Maas 164). With oil comes impoverishment, destruction, death, and chaos for all who come in contact with it. To counter all the negativity in the book, it is stressed at the end that the entire world needs to “get off” of oil, and instead use renewable resources. This would improve countries that are suffering from the resource-curse that oil brings.

Peter Maas, who has written numerous news articles for papers such as The New York Times Magazine and The Washington Post, and has reported from all around the world, has a well-rounded knowledge to be able to write Crude World. This book was a definite eye-opener. From the corruption that goes on in countries, to realizing that countries go to war over oil, this book makes the mind soar through the absurdness of what one is reading. Crude World should be a huge advocate for the reason the world needs to use renewable resources. Renewable resources are better for sustaining a good society, for keeping the earth healthy, and creating less corruption, which in turn would build better nations that are free from the burden of crude.

Summary With Quote: The book Stiff by Mary Roach discusses the many different ways that human bodies that are dedicated to science, known as cadavers, are used for scientific studies. The author did much research into the topic and visited many different places to meet many different people. Mary Roach did a amazing job at describing not only the mental process of the people working with these dead bodies, but also the very worth while uses they are put to. She begins by describing how relaxed and comfortable the scientists and surgeons who are working with the cadavers appear, “John Cavanaugh calls down that there’s more pizza upstairs, and the three of us, Deb, Matt Mason, and I, leave the dead man by himself. It feels a little rude.”(101)Roach. This quote seems to sum up the feeling of ease that Mrs. Roach wrote Stiff. Her writing was not limited to only the feelings of people though, it also contained extremely interesting information regarding the occupations of these people. Some of them were practicing surgeons, some injury analysts, and some history professors. Each of the individuals had valuable information to share with the author regarding the use of deceased humans.

Response:

I enjoyed very much this book by Mary Roach. I found that she wrote with such a convincing humor that i caught myself smiling as i read. Each of the chapters in the book contained very interesting and intriguing information that struck me as very reliable, and knowing that she has published other pieces was also convincing.. When first opening the book and scanning the first chapter i was sure that i was going to be thoroughly uninterested and disgusted with its contents. As the book progressed however i found that i was utterly intrigued and could not bring myself to put the book down. Every chapter was filled with a new way that human cadavers could be used to further the knowledge of scientists and/or save the lives of those whom are still living. I found upon finishing the book that my original reaction of the book was far from how i felt when completing it. I was actually so interested that i was hoping to somehow contact the author  and was considering even dedicating my body to science. I believe this is due to the fact that the Mary Roach wrote with such a convincing manner that it just made this act seem perfectly logical.

We Beat The Streets is a New York times best seller and i think it’s and inspiring story that everyone should read. The author wrote the book with short chapters which make it easy to read. The book gives a great message of how you can be anything you want to be. It’s shows that with dedication and hope will lead to success. We Beat The Streets is a great book that keeps you interested the whole time.  I give the book a Four out of Five and i think its a good book for anyone to read.

Ana’s Story focuses on a seventeen year old girl, Ana, living with HIV. Ana’s mother died from AIDS when Ana was only three. Ana and her sister moved in with their grandmother, after their father was no longer able to support them. While living with her grandmother and her grandmother’s boyfriend, Ana was abused. Ana and her teacher tried to get Ana out of the home and adopted by a friend, but when that failed, the lawyer sent Ana to a reform center. Ana gets moved to another center, but this one is a home for adults living with HIV/AIDS. In Ana’s “experience, people with HIV/AIDS were not welcomed anywhere. But they were welcomed here” (Bush, 146). Ana met and began talking with a boy named Berto. One night, they had unprotected sex, causing Ana to become pregnant. Ana was told that when the baby was born, she couldn’t live in the home anymore. Ana gave birth to a baby girl and named her Beatriz. Berto got admitted to the hospital due to a bad infection in his hip. Ana’s feeling for Berto began to change and they broke up. Ana met some new friends while on a walk with Beatriz. They introduced Ana to a boy named Guillermo. Guillermo became very interested in Ana and her baby. He was so interested he went out and got a job so he could help Ana pay for all the costs of Beatriz. Ana and Guillermo began to date, but Ana told herself that she wouldn’t get intimate with him until he knew about her HIV, and even then, they would take things slow.

Ana’s Story: A Journey of Hope was a good read, and will help me write my research paper. It gave me a different view on how people live in other parts of the world. This book could have many different topics for a research paper, such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, child abuse, and teenage pregnancy. The information in this book is very reliable because The author, Jenna Bush, worked one-on-one with Ana through UNICEF in Latin America, and after returning home wrote the book on Ana’s life. Ana told her story to Jenna, and Jenna wrote the book so people have a better understanding of how some people live. This book runs through Ana’s life events from birth to her current age. The book is set up logically, telling Ana’s story in chronological order, but with flashbacks. This is the only book that Bush has written.

Summary: The topic of the book is about a rare virus that is found in Africa in the 1980’s. A man by the name of Richard Preston wrote this book to tell the true story about the different strains of the Marburg and Ebola viruses. The author interviewed people who had encountered what the virus looked like while it destroyed people and animals, and then based his book off of the information that he researched and from his interviews. He then went into detail of how the virus started in Africa and then contracted into some monkeys that then went to the U.S. He tells the stories of various people who suffered and died from the virus and that of the people and himself who were brave enough to research and look at the effects of what the virus did to the monkeys and the people.

Evaluation: The author, Richard Preston, is not a doctor or professor, but is the first person to receive the award “Centers for Disease Controls Champion of Prevention”. In order to get the information needed to write his books, he goes into the towns and cities and writes down notes in a notebook. He conducts his own interviews with other people to find out what they know and what they have to say about the topic that is being researched. The author has publish a few books before, such as The boat of Dreams, First Light, American Steel, The Demon in the Freezer, The Cobra Event, The Hot Zone, The Wild Trees, and his latest book Mr. Preston is working on, Panic in Level 4. This book, The Hot Zone, does not pertain to my research topic. I used to think that I would be able to research the topic of the Ebola virus, but I changed my mind to something different.

Source:

http://richardpreston.net/about-richard-preston

Chicken Soup for the Teenage soul II is a book of shirt shorties from various authors. They are true stories about what teenagers have experience through their life. The book is split up into eight main categories. They are: On Relationships, On Friendship, On Love and Kindness, Tough Stuff, On Family, Learning Lessons, Making a difference, and Growing Up. In the On Friendship the is a story “The right thing” about someone who had a friend struggling through life and struggling through an eating disorder. She had gone to her school counselor about it and she was so afraid that her friend would be mad that she told but her friend thanked her for telling and caring. There was a story in the Tough Stuff called “It happened to me” about a girl who’s sister was diagnosed with cancer and had to have her eye removed or she would die. In the On Relationships “Davids Smile” is a story about a girl who fell in love with a guy named David but then one day he was gone and the girl didn’t know what to do without him. In the story she said that she learned more from David than any other guy. These stories are very heart-warming stories that I think anyone would enjoy reading.

Stephanie and John have selected these stories to share from peers that may help them cope with a personal experience and to let them know that everyone experiences something tragic in their lifetime. Throughout this collection of short stories, teens express emotion through their stories with topics such as: friends, fitting in, love, challenges, family, heroes, loss, and memories. Many stories were filled with deep meaning and the teens who wrote the stories had a strong connection to their story. I personally thought that this book was a great collection of personal life experiences from teens all over the nation. One story that stuck out the most was “Just Like a Movie” by Erik Bernstein because it was a story about a person and their family who’s house got invaded one night. They were shoved into a trunk of a car and the little brother was kidnapped. The way the author described the actions of the kidnapper and the way he portrayed the fear throughout the story made this story extraordinary. As well as the plot of the story wasn’t something that would happen to a regular person. Another story that stuck out was “Christmas Cookies” by Helen Comber, but this story stuck out for the opposite reason. I liked this story because it was a traditionally warming story about a grandmother with cancer loses her battle soon after Christmas, which made the next Christmas difficult to deal with because no one’s cookies could compare to their grandmother’s. One story I felt didn’t belong in this collection was, “Happy Valentine’s Day” by Jason Dunlap because it was a story that didn’t have much emotion. The narrator would never see the girl, he said he loved, again because they just met a ski resort. Overall the collection of stories were put together very well by Stephanie and John Meyer.

I read the book Thrillers Chillers & Killers edited by Helen Hoke. The book contained stories that someone would probably consider horror stories. None of the stories really had anything to do with each other, but each story was something new and kept me intrigued. Although none of the stories had the same content they all were in the same genre, which I would consider either mystery or horror. Each story had it’s own characters, with a new scene and a new plot and story line. I really enjoyed the book. I enjoyed the fact that all the stories didn’t really go together, it kept me entertained and wanted to keep reading to see what the next story was going to be about. Although some of the stories were left as cliff-hangers I still enjoyed them. Some of the stories didn’t interest me at all though, they seemed to drag on and didn’t really have much of a mystery or thrill to them. But all in all  I really enjoyed the book and I would reccommend reading it if you are in to this type of story.

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. New York, NY: MTV Books, 1999. Print.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower describes the life of a high school freshman and the struggles and drama involved. The main character, Charlie, begins his freshman year and has trouble fitting in. He is a wallflower, a somewhat socially awkward teenager. He is quiet and has little to no friends. Charlie has problems controlling his emotions and becomes overly upset over certain issues, though always maintains a relaxed mind. In the beginning, Charlie tells of his friend Michael who committed suicide; and he cannot stop crying.

Chbosky explains the endeavors of high school life from Charlie’s perspective. Charlie does not represent a typical high school freshman, especially with his working mind. The Perks of Being a Wallflower explores the curiosity and situations involving culture, relationships, suicide, drugs, and sex.

The infamous book Twilight, by Stephanie Myer, has an extremely complex storyline. Twilight falls under a science fiction/romance category, making great use of emotions and mythical creatures (i.e. Vampires) throughout the course of the novel. Twilight is obviously a fiction novel focused around the connection between a ‘normal’ teen-aged girl and a not-so normal Vampire. There are many ups and downs throughout the book between the characters making the plot quite interesting and somewhat unique. The story begins with the main character, Bella, moving in with her dad in Forks, Washington. The weather is almost always overcast, which is a crucial fact to know when analyzing the plot. Bella is quickly introduced to her new school where she meets the person who will change her life forever; Edward Cullen. The instant Edward is ‘introduced’ to Bella, he is immediately overpowered by her scent; thus, attracted to her. Overtime, Bella and Edward become well acquainted and the both fall in love with one another. This love is looked down upon by the Cullen family because they are all secretly (civilized) vampires; Bella is not. The conflict begins when Forks is unexpectedly under a mysterious attack by an unknown animal. This “animal” turns out to be another small group of rouge vampires on the prowl for human blood. Bella quickly becomes the target for their clan due to her irresistible scent. James, one of the rouge vampires, makes it his duty to track down and hunt Bella. Once he has chosen his victim he will not stop until he tracks them down and tastes their blood. He leads her to a dance studio located in phoenix AZ where Bella had previously taken lessons as a young girl. She is quickly confronted and attacked by James in the studio. In no time, James is suddenly ambushed by members of the Cullen family and killed so he can never do harm to Bella again. The story ends at the Prom dance for their high school in Forks, but with obvious hints of a sequel (in this case, 3 more). Even though I’m not a huge reader, I thought the Twilight book was very well written and professionally put together. The storyline was extremely expansive, which kept my attention. Some parts I believe were over-emphasized, such as the romance scenes. I’m not much for romance in novels, so this was quite annoying at times. The main plot of the story was more important to me than the drama provoked by Bella and Edward. To me, It doesn’t seem Edward is in “love” with Bella, just that he is physically attracted to her in the sense that her unique human scent is the cause for the initial attraction (which it was). Things changed as the story progressed, but such as unlikely event most likely would not workout in real life (if any of it were possible). Overall, I would recommend Twilight to anyone who likes to read. It is full of sci-fi related material, romance (though I’m not much for it), and action, making it one of the better reads out there. The popularity of Twilight is not a surprise; it truly is one of the best (new-age) fiction/sci-fi novels on the market today.

From reading this book I have realized that there are a lot of things in this world that are not fare or that need changed. Wether this is a person who does everything right but just can not get a break or a person that just needs a kick start to get there life going. This book has a very interesting plot and it is easy to see that everything was well thought out. This is because there are so many different parts of the story that are all happening at the same time, yet it still flows and is easy to follow. Another neat thing about this book is how there are diary entries weaved into the story. This is cool because it allows the reader to see what is happening from the characters eyes. Over all I would say this is a very good book and am glad that I read it. I would most deffinetly refer this book to a friend.

The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide is made up of six stories and centers on several characters: Ford Prefect, Arthur Dent, Tricia McMillan, and Zaphod Beeblebrox. Ford is an alien who writes for a company that creates an electronic guide about everything in the universe, and he has a brother, Zaphod, who is the president of the galaxy. Arthur, who is friends with Ford, and Tricia are from Earth and met at a party before Tricia decides to go with Zaphod to space. After aliens called Vogons blow up the Earth, Arthur and Ford escape to meet up with Tricia and Zaphod. They set out to find the answer to life, the universe, and everything. Through their adventures they contemplate their own existence while avoiding the Vogans, traveling through space and time, meeting odd people, and going to alternate universes. Random occurrences and statistical anomalies also occur on their journeys that lead the characters to their next problem or place. Occasionally the characters will return to Earth, which was re-built or in another universe, to try and settle down only to leave again due to random occurrences. In an alternate universe where the Earth was not re-built, Ford discovers that the company he works for is under new management and is developing a new guide. He ends up stealing the guide and then has it stolen from him by Arthur’s daughter, Random, who only exists in this alternate universe and not the original. She learns from the guide that the Earth exists in the original universe, and the guide takes her their while alternate Ford and Arthur go after her. Once in the other universe, Ford, Tricia, and Arthur meet their alternate selves right before the guide destroys the Earth. Vogans in the alternate universe had created the new guide and enabled it to manipulate its user into taking it to the original universe to destroy the Earth. These stories are for anyone with an open mind, because much of what happens just happens without a reason or happens because of “dumb luck.”  For example, the one character, Ford, jumped off a building at the same time a hover car ejected its drier so that Ford landed harmlessly in the car. This is one of the main reasons I liked the book so much and made it hard to put the book down. It was great to have a story where it was entirely unpredictable on what would happen next. It is much more than a Sci-Fi book but rather a comedy, and every page had its own bit of humor. There is very little techno talk, but instead the author uses made up terms such as Life-O-Matic for the life support. Although, one aspect of the book that I did not like was that sometimes the story got a little confusing. If a part got confusing I needed to back up a few pages and re-read the chapter. One instance where this occurred is when the book went into alternate universes without giving clear notice. Overall it is an excellent read for someone looking for a good laugh and has the time to read it.

Martin, George R. R. Dreamsongs Volume 1. New York: Bantam Dell, 2007.

The short works of fiction in Martin’s first volume of his earlier work encompasses a variety of genres.  Ranging from science fiction and fantasy to horror and romance, this volume shows Martin’s talent across all aspects of storytelling.  Most readers today know Martin as a fantasy writer because of his epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire. Before he started working on the series, Martin was primarily a science fiction writer.  One of the short works in this volume, The Second Kind of Loneliness, is about a man trapped in the reaches of deep space, alone with no one to communicate with. This story is a prime example of Martin’s earlier writing, showing the deep emotion that jumps out of the pages and into the reader’s skin, and still managing to be short and having a simple plot, but with a deep meaning.  The following is a piece from The Second Kind of Loneliness, “It’s the loneliness of people trapped within themselves.  The loneliness of people who have said the wrong thing so often that they don’t have the courage to say anything anymore.” (Martin 110)  This quote is an example of the deep meanings found in Martin’s earlier work.  Before A Song of Ice and Fire, Martin was known as a short story author who wrote in the realm of science fiction and a little in other genres.  No matter what, Martin is a grand storyteller and his stories are fit for any avid reader of fiction. This book is a useful source because it contains a variety of stories, which means it satiates the hunger for a variety of readers.  Even though the bulk of the book is comprised if science fiction, Dreamsongs contains three fantasy stories and six horror stories.  There are also two novellas within the book, A Song for Lya and Nightflyers. If some readers prefer reading longer works that are more than just 20-30 pages, than they have two decently sized novellas to engross themselves in.  I have not encountered any grammatical errors in this short story collection.  George R. R. Martin, full time writer, never ceases to amaze his readers with his work.  Besides the four books in the Song of Ice and Fire series (and he’s writing the fifth book), Martin has published other novels including Dying of the Light, Fevre Dream, The Armageddon Rag, and volume 2 of this short story collection.  Martin has come far as a writer, he only gets better with each book.

Mark Twain didn’t name the character, and he didn’t bore me with so much description. He used a decent amount of dialog and I actually read the story word for word from start to finish.

This book was a collection of short stories and poems written by people who either lived or witnessed the events. The stories and poems were centered around things that events problems for everyday teenagers such as, drugs, divorce, death, ect. This was a leisurely read. It was mainly focused on grabbing a teenage audience, but some adults may enjoy this book as well because, although they are stories written by teens about teens, they were discussing big topics that anyone could be interested by. The stories read like fiction pieces, so the book was much easier to read. It just kept the reader interested at all times.
This was a reliable source to find out about ow the tough things in life really happen. It was just telling the true stories of what really happens to you when you get mixed up in drugs, or that people don’t always get saved from committing suicide. It showed that sometimes bad things do happen in life, and it’s not at all how the movies portray them because sometimes it doesn’t have a happy ending. The information provided through these stories is very reliable because these were actual events that the authors either witnessed or lived through. The only thing that may make them unreliable is if they forgot something and improvised, or if they decided to leave pieces out because they were too personal. The chicken soup collection is huge. Apparently these books have been credible before and should most likely still be credible for this book as well.

Gears of War: Aspho Fields follows Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, long time friends and squad mates. The story takes place on a planet similar to Earth called Sera. The book covers the events between the first Gears of War game and the second as well as providing flashbacks to the Pendulum Wars. The Pendulum Wars is the war that happened before Emergence Day between the Coalition of Ordered Governments and the Union of Independent Republics. The reason for the Pendulum Wars was the discovery of Imulsion. It was cheap to produce and many countries fought over it. In order to get the Imulsion, people had to drill into the ground. This is where the Locust, the aliens living underground, lived. This caused Emergence Day, the day when the Locust came to the surface, to happen. In the story, Marcus, Dom and their squad are made aware of a possible Locust attack and are sent to stop it. While this is going on, Dom continually asks Marcus and Bernie, the female sniper that they meet, questions about his brother’s death in the Pendulum Wars. Flashbacks happen and show Marcus, Dom, and his brother Carlos at a young age preparing to go into battle. The story follows them up until the point where Carlos dies and Dom is told the details about it in the present time.

The book really helps fill in the plot holes from the first game and is an excellent lead up to the second game. I would recommend this book only to fans of the series as they will enjoy this book. Anybody else should consider playing the game first before hand or else they’ll be very confused.

“Something That Needs Nothing” was the most heartbreaking short story I have ever read. It is about two best friends. One is the narrator and the other is named Pip. They have grown up together and the narrator is madly in love with Pip. Unfortunately, Pip does not view the narrator as a love interest. The story starts out with them moving into a new apartment in Portland, OR. They are from a poor background so they have no source of income. The narrator has the idea of putting an add out for a wealthy woman seeking women. They are flooded with phone calls and eventually find one adventurous old woman named Eleanor. Eventually, Pip becomes uncomfortable with their risque lifestyle and leaves the narrator alone. This is ironic because the narrator only became a prostitute to get Pip jealous. After several weeks of staying in bed, withering away, the narrator decides to get a job at a local business called Mr. Peeps. She would put on a wig and dance for strangers behind a glass window for cash. One day a customer was waiting for her outside in the parking lot and this frightened the narrator so she called Pip for a ride. She didn’t realize that she was still wearing the wig until Pip started showing an interest in her. Pip eventually starts to pick her up everyday and then make love to her on a daily basis. The narrator eventually begins to suspect that the wig is the reason for Pip’s sudden interest in her so she decides not to wear it one day. On this day, Pip doesn’t pay attention to her and takes her home right away. This broke the narrators heart because she realized that Pip doesn’t actually love her as the person she is but as her stripper persona. If found this realization to be so heartbreaking and unbearably realistic.

I thought that this book was really good. It was not as good as some of the other books, but it was still really good. What I liked most about the book was the expansion on what seemed to be minor characters. All six of the bounty hunters have had a large impact on the Star Wars Universe. My favorite story was about Fett. Me being the fanatic that I am having a good back story for a character is always a good thing. We didn’t get the entire back story, but there was a nice chunk of back story. That is why I liked this book. It really was a fact-finder book for fanatics, but I think any Star Wars fans that read would really enjoy this book.

The fiction book Glass by Ellen Hopkins, is about a girl named Kristina who is hooked on the drug “Crank”(ice, meth, ”the monster“). Though out the book she goes though a lot. She had gone to live with her dad for the summer in the book Crank. While staying at her dads, she feel in love with a boy who introduced her to crank. At the end of the summer, she went back home to live with her mom and step-dad. She did not go home by herself. She had gotten pregnant, and she had a little boy named Hunter. Hunter was taken away from her by her mother. Her mom said that she was not doing what she needed for him. Kristina was in drugs pretty deep. When she was high she did not go by the name Kristina, she went by Bri. Her parents were really scared of what happened to her and they did not know what was going on. Until they finally caught her. She would ask her mom for money to get stuff for the baby and she would really use it for drugs. It was to the point where they did not trust her anymore and they just would not give her money. She was forced to get a job and she did not stay at that long. Through out the entire story it is just the road through hell for Kristina and her family. She wants to get away from the monster, but she just can not find a way to escape.

The book Glass was a fantastic book, and I would recommend it to anyone. Through out the entire story, I thought about how someone could go though something like Kristina went through. It not only had to have been hard for her, but for her family. Her mom had to take care of her grandson like it was her own son because her daughter was too wrapped up in drugs. I felt like I had known Kristina all my life. The story just told so much about her. That was one of the reasons why I liked it so much. Another reason why I liked it so much was the fact that when I started reading it I could not put it down.

John Grafton edited Great Ghost Stories as a way to take some classic ghost stories from England  and America between 1864 and 1912.  He edited these ghost stories to his liking from humorous stories to bone chilling ghost stories. A variety of different authors have written these stories but Grafton enjoyed them so much, he had to edit them. His book has no main point but is just a collection of great ghost stories. These short stories paint pictures in your mind very well. He uses the technique of showing and not telling very well.

John Grafton’s book Great ghost Stories is a very useful source if you enjoy, old and descriptive short stories. It’s a great collection of short stories, from scary ones to humorous. Grafton edits these stories and gives them different endings and adds detail not added before. One of the most classic stories in this collection of short stories is “The Monkey’s Paw” This is a bone chilling story originally written by W.W. Jacobs and has great imagery and keeps you intrigued the entire time. These stories are relativity easy to understand if you can get around the old 19^th century language used.

The fiction piece Crispin takes place in 1377 under the feudal system. The main character in the story is known as Asta’s son his whole life until later he finds out that his real name was Crispin at birth. Crispin is a 13 years old boy when the adventure of his life takes place. The adventure started when his mother died and that’s where things started to go down hill. Shortly after his mother dies Crispin, or Asta’s son at the time, is accused of stealing from the Lord Furnival’s house. He is accused by the steward, John Aycliffe, who has always had bad blood with Crispin. While the accusations are taking place his only friend, the priest, is murdered. Before he died the priest told Asta’s son that his real name was Crispin from birth, which he never had known. When he was accused the steward announced him as a wolf head, which means that if anyone sees him that they can kill him, this forced him to go on the run. When he is on the run he meets a jester named Bear who befriends him. On the run Crispin stays at a tavern where he meets Widow Daventry who tells him that he is the son of Lord Furnival. After leaving the tavern Crispin had another run in with the steward, but got away. Bear, trying to help Crispin is captured and taken to Lord Furnival’s Palace. Crispin then went to the Palace to try and rescue Bear, but has another run in with the steward on the way. Crispin gave the steward the cross of lead that his mother gave him in change to keep his life and to set Bear free as well. After Bear is released the steward turns on their agreement and turns against Bear and Crispin, but before the steward is successful he is killed by Bear. Crispin and Bear then ran from the palace and got away.

This book although amusing was definitely at a younger reading level which I did not see as I picked up this book. I do not believe that this source would be useful in the sense that it is very fictional and does not resemble much of what you’d think of the feudal system. The story gave somewhat of a background of the feudal system, but I do not believe that it was very realistic. This book was very interesting and kept me reading it. The reliability of information in the book I believe is almost non existent because there were not many facts or useful information stated though out the book and the things that were stated were far fetched. Overall I did like the book though, I thought that it was a great adventure that would have made an even better movie. The dark and gloomy theme of the book I believe would have set a great storyline for a motion picture. I do not believe that this book would be useful for any research projects or anything of that nature because of its highly fictional background. Crispin as a character was an interesting person although somewhat of a dull personality the things that he did though out the story is what made him a well rounded character as well as his decision making. The author, AVI, I believe had fun when writing this book because of its far fetched nature it seems as if it would be fun to write.

This book was about Supervisory Special Agent Pierce Quincy, who works for the FBI. In the beginning of the book his daughter Mandy was in a ca accident. The toxic report had shown that Mandy had been drinking, but Quincy and his ex-wife Bethie had their doubts because she had been going to an AA group for her drinking problem. Their suspicion was right because Mandy had met someone at AA who had convinced her to drink the night she decided to drive home, with the man in the car with her they got in a head on accident running over an early morning walker and his dog, hitting a telephone pole. Only one of them was wearing a seat-belt and that was the man. Mandy was out on life support and kept alive for almost a year. When it was finally time to pull the plug, Quincy decided he wanted the accident investigated. He asked an old friend named Rainie who was a PI (Privet Investigator). Rainie took the job and began investigating. She first looked over the police reports and found that the report said the seat-belt was non operational. Not liking what she read in the reports she tracked down the officer who had been first on the accident. Meanwhile in Philadelphia where Bethie Quincy’s ex wife lives was meeting someone new for the first time. A man by the name of Tristan Shandling. The only problem was their was no one who existed by that name. Tristan got Bethis attention by saying that he hand received an organ transplant from Mandy, this instantly made her feel a connection with him. After a few dates one night they went back to her house. That night she found out that he was a man that Quincy had put in jail. She was brutally murdered that night in her home. Kimberley had met a man as her professor at the university she attended. He was her mentor and she told him everything, he was an accomplice to the man in the other family members life’s. Soon Quincy, Kimberley and Rainie were together. Hiding from this man. In the end they shot the man.

I choose to read this book because of the cover, as well as the title “The Next Accident” it just sounds interesting. The book was exactly what I was expecting. A mystery. Their was lots of suspense which I enjoyed as well as it keeping me interested the entire way through. May favorite part about the book was the climax. Every little piece of information that was given out in the book had a specific use for it in the end. I liked the end because you found out that the same guy that was working with all three of the women in the family the mother and two daughters who were both in their twenties was the same person. Not only did he meet each and everyone of their needs he transformed himself in to someone that would be their ideal perfect match. Not always in a romantically way though. For the youngest daughter Kimberley he was her mentor. With them all being with being all intertwined as one without each of them knowing. Not all at the same time though. The beginning started off a little too slow for me. Personal having someone go around and investigate a car accident isn’t the best read in the world. The characters also all interested me in their own way. Each had their own unique personality. They were also explain as if you knew them inside and out, the book was very well put together. The writers writing style I enjoyed. The vocabulary in the book was not extremely hard but not too simple either. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read a suspenseful investigation.

Summary

In the book Football’s Best Short Stories it mainly displays the different situations that happen while being a part of the sport of football. The main arguments throughout the book are probably the fact that football is not good for a person and there are many mind games involved in the sport. I would say this book is mostly about the many stressful yet rewarding parts of football and life.

Evaluation

This was a very useful source.  This novel provided me with many different aspects of football that I may have not experienced myself.  I enjoyed many of the positive stories because it made me think about how much i love this sport and how much passion is involved with all who play it.  The negative short stories within this novel also helped me relate to hardships within this sport and give sympathy to those who have had unfortunate experiences with this sport.  Since there are many authors who wrote for this book, some have published their own books with more detailed experiences or individual characters.  Many of the authors within this novel have also had their short stories published in other works of literature.

This book is the story of a girl named Ivy that had never really been the cool girl. Her friends tried to convince her to go out with the star of the swim team, Tristan, but she was very unsure about it. What she did not know was that he has noticed her and wanted to get to know her too. Tristan and Ivy started to become friends when he offered to give her swimming lesson. Ivy did not want to because she was deathly afraid of the water, but she decided to try to overcome her fear. Tristan was a very good teacher and in no time Ivy was swimming in water like a fish. Then one day Ivy decided to tell Tristan why she was so afraid of the water and that she believes in angels. Ivy believed that an angel had saved her from drowning when she was throw in a pool when she was little. Tristan was very surprised by this story but still wanted to be with Ivy. Then things start to become stressful between Ivy and Tristan. Ivy’s stepbrother’s mother had committed suicide and Ivy felt that it was her job to help him get through it. That meant that she had less time to spend with Tristan. They came very close to breaking up but they didn’t. Then Tristan planed a special night for them. He took Ivy to the river to watch the sunset. Then Tristan had planned to take Ivy to dinner but something wasn’t right. On the way to the restaurant Tristan couldn’t get the car to stop and hit a deer. Tristan was killed instantly and Ivy only got a few bumps and bruises. Tristan came back as an angel and it was his job to get Ivy to believe in angels again so that he could tell her that the accident was not an accident at all.

I think that this book had a very good plot. It was a story line like I had never read before. It put a different spin on the way you think of love and angels. One of my favorite parts of the book when was Ivy and Tristan first started their swimming lessons together. The author described the scenes very well and made you feel like you were learning to swim with the characters. It was a very calming and relaxing part of the book, it made you want to fall in love like Ivy and Tristan were. I also liked how the author described what the angels looked to the people who believed in them and how Tristan could communicate with Ivy through other people. What I did not like was that some of the events that occurred were very unclear and not explained very well. For example in one scene the author said that Gregory had kissed Ivy but it did not seem like it was out of love or affection but dislike. A few events that occurred were was very unclear and left many details for you to figure out. However, overall I liked this book and how the author made you feel like you knew the characters personally.

The book Dreamland by Sarah Dessen is about a girl named Caitlin and her life living in a dreamland. Caitlin is trying to live a normal life after her sister had run away from home on Caitlin’s sixteenth birthday. Caitlin’s sister, Cass, was the star child. Cass played sports and got accepted into Yale. After Cass had ran away Caitlin’s family was in a panic and Caitlin had figured out a way to keep everyone’s mind off of it. Caitlin and her friend had tried out for the cheer-leading team and they both made it. Caitlin knows her mom would be very happy about that. Caitlin’s mom was so excited about that news and she already was thinking of things to do for the team to help out. Even though no one noticed it but once she made the team Caitlin started to change. One night she was at a party with all of the cheerleaders and football players. There at the party there was a football player there that liked her and wanted to date her. She kept thinking about it because that is what everyone expected out of her, that is what all of the cheerleaders did was date football players. As soon as she was ready about to answer the guy, someone had walked through the door. To Caitlin this guy was the dreamiest guy to her. She had seen him around before. This dreamy guy was everything that a cheerleader did not date. He did drugs, smoked cigarettes, and got into a lot of trouble. His name was Rodgerson. Caitlin, of course chose him over the football player. She loved hanging around him and everytime she was with him she felt like she was in dreamland. With Cass being gone and everything Rodgerson had kept Caitlin’s mind off of Cass. Everything was perfect and just like that Rodgerson snapped.  Caitlin had not met Rodgerson for once because her friend needed her. That was not acceptable to him, when they met up later that night he started yelling at her and slapped her right across the face.  After that Caitlin’s life had changed drastically.  Caitlin had started to close everyone out. Now if she did something wrong she knew she would get punished. So she was very careful with the things that she did.  Caitlin also had to live each day with the big bruises and tried to hide them. After lying about the bruises and what she was doing she was getting paranoid about everything. But one day her friend Rina had enough she knew she had been closing her out and wanted to hang out with her and Rina did not give her an option, Caitlin had to hang out with her. Caitlin knew she had to hang out with Rodgerson that day, Catlin freaked out the whole time she was with Rina, and Caitlin was calling Rodgerson to tell him where she had been. Knowing in her mind that if had to wait at her house for him then he would have to get punished. Finally Caitlin got home and Rodgerson was waiting out side for her. She walks over to his car and gets in he slaps her then punches her knocks her out of the car. He gets out and starts freaking out on her, knowing that there was a party going on with Caitlin’s family and all of the neighbors, he starts kicking her telling her to get up. A neighbor was watching the whole thing and called Caitlin’s mom and the police. The police showed up and arrested him and Caitlin went to a rehab center to get better from all of the pain she had gone through those couple of months. She now knew that her dreamland was very far-gone. Rodgerson had to do community service on the weekdays and goes to jail on the weekends. After all the pain she had gone through she had gotten better and now is living in a new dreamland one without Rodgerson.

Dreamland was a good book and it had touched me in many ways. In the book there were some parts that were really slow. For example, when ever her friend Rina talks she always goes into detail about everything and it gets boring after awhile. The book got really hard to read when Rodgerson started hitting Caitlin. At some points when he abused her I almost started crying. It was hard for me to read how she had no one to go to tell someone what was happening. Cass was the person that she had gone to for everything and she was no where to be found. I could tell that she was so lost and was hiding from the world. In the book it was also frustrating me sometimes of how Caitlin never told anyone about what he was doing to her. I am just glad that someone finally called the cops on him in the end.  The book always kept me wanting to read more and that is the kind of books that I like to read. There were a lot of events that kept the book interesting.  I was getting scared at the end because there was only a couple of pages left and Rodgerson still had not gotten caught from abusing her and I thought it would have been a bad ending. But in the end it had a happy ending. In the end of the book I was happy to she that her sister came back to see Caitlin. It was the perfect ending for a book.

MLA:

Dessen, Sarah. Dreamland. New York: Speak, 2000. Print.

One of the themes that connected stories in this collection was a love triangle situation.  In “Blood-Burning Moon” by Jean Toomer, both an African-American man and a white man were in love with an African-American woman.   Their love triangle was a major source of conflict and eventually caused both to die.  “The Other Woman” by Sherwood Anderson also demonstrates this theme.  In this story, a married man, who cheated on his fiancé the week before the wedding, thinks to himself as the story concludes, “For a moment [tonight] I will again feel myself holding her close.  I will think that for an hour I was closer to her than I have ever been to anyone else.  Then I will think of the time when I will be as close as that to my wife” (44).  “The Golden Honeymoon” by Ring Lardner is yet another example of the love triangle theme.  An old couple moved to Florida for the winter and ran into the wife’s ex-fiancé.  The two old men compete over cards, checkers, and horseshoes to prove their worth.

This collection of short stories was definitely useful to read.  The book was interesting because it offered a wide variety of subjects, lengths, and authors.  The collection was certainly a reliable and worthwhile compilation of famous authors’ works.  Some stories were more action-filled than others, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of them and found it easy to appreciate the value of literature.

This book is about a 19-year-old cabdriver, Ed, who thinks he is worth nothing.  His mom believes he is going to turn out like his father was: a drunk and good for nothing, and that is exactly the path Ed is heading down. He has his three best friends: Audrey, Marv, and Ritchey. Ed is completely in love with his best friend Audrey, but she does not want love from anybody.  Ed, at the beginning, thinks of himself as bad at everything and the only thing he has is his 17-year-old dog that he loves to death. The book starts out with Ed and his friends at a bank and it is in the process of getting robbed.  Somehow, Ed finds the courage to stop the bank robber and the momentarily the town sees him as a hero.  From there, Ed starts to receive random playing cards in the mail, each giving either names or clues of people. The people, as it turns out, are the ones that need help in some sort of way.  The way that Ed helps them is either good or bad and does not only have an impact on those individuals but it also has an effect on how Ed thinks of himself and where he is going in life.  The things in the book are either very emotional and it grips the reader or it is just plain hilarious and makes one laugh. The topics that are covered are helping others, love, and having confidence.  The question is: Who is sending him these cards/“messages”?

Out of all the books that I have read, this one is my favorite.  I have read it at least three or four times already and enjoy it more and more every time I read it.  The first time that I read it, I did not like the beginning because it just starts out of nowhere at a bank and it is being robbed.  I had to reread it five times before I could grasp what was going on and the importance of it.  The whole point of the book comes back to the bank robbery at the beginning, and it is so awesome how it plays out.  The book draws you in emotionally because it shows you how Ed puts up with so much crap throughout his life starting when he was a child.  His father was a drunk and his mom always treated him bad emotionally.  Ed works long hours illegally cab-driving with his best friend Audrey, who he is hopelessly in love with, but she has a hard time loving people and therefore dates guys for only one reason: sex.  Somebody unknown knows Ed.  They know almost everything about him.  They start sending him playing cards in the mail and he has to “deliver” some sort of message to that person.  The whole idea of that and the people he helps in the book and how he helps them really drew me into the story and into Ed’s life.  I would rate this book a 10 out of 10 no doubt.

Summary

The story takes place during the Middle Ages, in the 14^th century. Thirteen year old Judith of Nesscliff is betrothed to the old, disgusting, Lord Norbert by her Step-Father, Lord Walter. At her betrothal feast, she meets Robin, a Minstrel from the King’s Minstrels. The duo have a wonderful conversation about music but is interrupted by Lord Norbert. The next day, her step-father produces a pair of pipes the minstrel left for her wedding present. Later on that day she plays it and discovers it doesn’t sound right and discovers a slip of paper in one of the pipes reading, “If you see a boy with musical talent, send him to me and we (the Minstrels) will take care of him.” Judith decides to run away, much to the despair of her sister, Elinor. Elinor finally relents and cuts Judith’s hair, finds clothes, and food for Judith’s journey. She also gives her some jewelry to sell and a few pennies. Judith then renames herself Jude, after the nickname her Father gave her, “my little merry Jude”. She takes one of Lord Norbert’s horses, Sheba, and leaves. During her run, she meets a woman named Goodwife Middy, who immediately knows Jude is a girl, and stays a t her home. Middy produces three packages of herbs Jude will need on her journey; a powder to clean water, a powder to keep her well, and powder to give her advantage over a foe of Jude’s which won’t kill the person, but weaken them. Jude promises to use them. On her way out she sees her Uncle’s falcon and brings it down with a stone and wipes up the blood and cares for the injured bird. She hears her uncle call for the bird more than her. She remembers the birds name is Percival. She sends Sheba back with a bloodied cloth signifying she was “dead”.

She finally stays at a tavern/boarding house one night and meets Smithy, the local blacksmith. That night she sees someone trying to get into her room. She leaves at dawn the next morning and is attacked by Smithy. She pulls out a knife she brought along and attempts to protect herself but Percival tries to kill Smithy like any piece of prey. Smithy knocks Jude unconscious and steals her extra pair of breeches, the garnet bracelet Elinor gave Jude, and the coins. A local farmer finds Jude after the robbery and helps her onto his cart and takes him to the village he lives in. When Jude comes to, the farmer, William Langley reveals that he works for Lionel and Lady Gwynna, who is a good friend of Jude’s from her days in the abby she attended. Jude then sends a letter to Lionel and his wife saying she is Lord Stephan, sister of Lady Judith. Gwynna knows this is impossible because she knows Stephan is dead, but does not tell her husband. The couple invites Jude into their home and introduces her to Christina, sister of Lionel. Christina is extremely attached to Stephan because he is younger than she (Stephan says he’s eleven and she is fifteen). Stephen knows that Christina is in love with her character and acts uninterested in her, making Christina even more attached to Jude. Christina finally purchases a love potion from Agnes, daughter of a local witch, and gives it to Stephan. What Christina doesn’t know is that it won’t work as Agnes’s mother refused to make the potion and so Agnes made a counterfeit potion. The potion doesn’t work and so Christina tries to seduce him, but finds out that Stephan is a girl. She leaves horrified. Stephan quickly dresses and wakens Gwynna and informs her of Christina’s discovery. Gwynna sends Stephan to the pantry and tells her to leave at dawn when the drawbridge is lowered. She leaves with one of the abbots and stays at an abby and reunites with Smithy and dumps the potion for weakening an opponent in his ale. Smithy falls ill and she leaves.

Jude finally arrives at the King’s Minstrels Palace and is quickly deemed worthy to be taught. She is the teacher’s pet she is that good. One boy is extremely jealous of Jude and constantly picks on her. His name is Gilbert. She reunites with Robin who quickly recognizes Judith. During her stay Robin leaves and returns to announce his leave of the Minstrels. His oldest brother died and now he needs to run his family’s manor. She wishes him well late that night and admits that she also is leaving because it is hard to conceal she is a girl. Robin invites her to live with him and his family instead of being a barmaid of something. She accepts and then he proposes to her. She also accepts and the duo leaves in the morning.

Reader’s Response to the Book

I really enjoyed this book, but it seemed geared more toward middle schoolers due to the length and the fact that is was fairly easy to read. I picked this book because the cover caught my eye; a girl with a short haircut with a pair of pipes and a falcon on her shoulder. The book was very suspenseful and made the reader want to continue reading. There were times I was thinking, “Marriage at thirteen? That’s so wrong!” but then I remembered this was during the Middle Ages. Everything was weird back then. Judith was very courageous for abandoning her betrothed in order to pursue her love of music. My favorite part of the entire book was when Christina was pursuing “Stephen” using her feminine charm in music, looks, and her dresses, but to no avail. During the chapters I was wondering how in the world Judith was going to escape the persistent beauty. I knew Christina was insane in trying to seduce “Stephen” but finally she crawled into his bed and learned the truth; her ‘love interest’ was a female.

Ironically, my favorite character would have to be Judith’s love interest, Robin. He knew that girls were only used for having children and to entertain their husbands, yet he persuaded her to leave her home and come to a Palace of only men in order to learn music from the best musicians in England. When Judith arrived he immediately recognized her through her men’s clothes and short haircut and seemed very pleased she had decided to pursue her love of music. When he has to leave to take on the position of Lord at his parents estate, he is sadden to hear Judith was debating to leave because it was getting hard for her to cover her sex. At that time, he was already smitten as he admitted that to Judith after he proposed to her, “I’ve loved you since I first saw you, at that awful betrothal banquet. I could barely contain myself from slaying that disgusting old man you were supposed to wed,” (243).

As stated earlier, this book is more likely geared for grades 6-8, so I don’t know why it was shelved in our high school library. This book is not geared for elementary students because of some PG-13 content. It would also not be the best book for high schoolers because of the fact that is an easy read.

This book starts off telling about Lacy’s past and the murder of her mother. Lacy is a young women who has encountered many struggles throughout her life. She is thrown another obstacle when her childhood friend is killed in a drunk driving accident. Her best friend leaves her 11 year old daughter in Lacy’s custody. After Lacy and Mackenzie spend a few more days in Phoenix, Mackenzie moves back to Kiss River, North Carolina with Lacy. Lacy tries very hard to play in the role of motherhood but at first things are very rocky with Mackenzie. Lacy and Mackenzie live in the “keeper’s house,” which use to be the light house keepers house, with Lacy’s brother, Clay, Clay’s wife, Gina, and their daughter, Rani. Although Lacy has a boyfriend, the man she believes to be Mackenzie’s father, Bobby, moves into the keeper’s house and she falls in love with him. Lacy eventually discovers that Rick, her boyfriend, is actually her mother’s murder’s son. Rick was just trying to get Lacy to forgive his father because Zachary is up for parole. After finding all of this out, Mackenzie gets attacked by one of the dogs that Clay is training. Lacy risks her life to save the poor girl. Bobby comes just as Lacy begins to pass out, the dog still attacking her. Bobby kills  the dog and saves Lacy’s life. As Lacy heals, Bobby and her figure out Mackenzie is actually Clay’s daughter. Bobby agrees to still act like Mackenzie’s father until she is older. As the book ends, Lacy and Mackenzie are moving into a townhouse and Bobby is moving into the other half. Clay, Gina, and Rani are moving too so the keeper’s house can be made into a museum.

This book was overall a very good book. It had a very fast past setting and kept you on your toes most of the time. I found it very interesting how alike Lacy and her mother were since normally girls do turn into their mom. I felt as though I could relate to Lacy in a way which helped to draw me into the book. It was sad to see all these different things happen to Lacy, after she had already gone through so much. It was hard to believe that Rick really wasn’t the genuine guy he acted like he was, which caused me to dislike him. It was a very big suprise to learn he was gay though since he was so romantic towards Lacy. When Gina was telling Lacy about how Lacy and Rick are good together, I had to laugh since he turned out to be worst the bad-boy Bobby. I enjoyed seeing how much Bobby and Lacy changed from childhood until now and also seeing the similarities. It was fun to see how much Bobby had changed and watch as his love for Mackenzie and Lacy grew. As soon as Mackenzie asked to go into the dog pen, I knew she was going to get hurt but Lacy rescuing her was definitely a turning point in their relationship. The end seemed to come very fast after that but the beginning kind of drug on. The book was a very easy fun book to read and it could probably keep any girl or women entertained.

Kaden Norris, a 15-year old from Dysart, Iowa, has his life flipped upside down when his older brother and role model, Kenny, is brutally murdered while serving as a marine in Iraq.  Not long after Kenny’s death, Kaden receives a pre-written letter from him.  In the letter, Kenny shares several secrets about the war, and explains to Kaden that he had been reading the book Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, and that it had helped him to get through the war emotionally.  Kenny described how amazing of an author Chuck was and recommended that Kaden should go out to San Francisco to visit their cousin James, a semi-famous author, for a week, and then go to a reading by Chuck at the end of the week.  Kaden felt it was a necessity to go out and fulfill his brother’s dream of seeing Chuck read.  So, Kaden packed his bags and left his gorgeous girlfriend, dysfunctional family, and morals and home, and headed out to San Francisco to the insane party that his cousin called life.  In San Francisco, Kaden is introduced to beautiful girls, amazing music, drugs, sex, and a whole different kind of living.  He is appalled by the way that James treats his beautiful girlfriend, Caralie, and everyone else that he comes in contact with.  Throughout the insane week, Kaden learns several secrets about his family that will change his life forever.  The end of the book will have the reader wondering what happens next.

I, personally, loved this book, and would recommend it to anyone at least 16 years or older.  I would recommend this book to an older, more mature audience, because there is a lot of talk about drug use, sex, and has a lot of vulgar language.  The whole story and everything that happened in the story was very detailed, and it was very easy to picture every event that took place throughout the book.  I loved how the author explained everything so vividly, and made it possible to apply all five senses to the story.  I can’t really say that I have a favorite character, just because I like pretty much all of them.  I didn’t necessarily like how they acted, but I loved how the author made each character have a distinct sense of confidence in everything they did.  My favorite part in the whole book is when Kaden describes his last night before he went out to San Francisco.  He explained the whole entire evening in as much detail as possible, and the emotion poured out of the page.  One thing that I didn’t like all that much, was how the author repeated a lot of words.  The word “rad” was used a lot, and I found it almost annoying.  I wish that the author would come out with a sequel to The Mission, because he leaves the reader hanging at the end, and its hard to tell what happens.  If the Jason Myers doesn’t come out with a sequel, I hope he continues to write books, because he is an amazing author.

Ever and her family were in a car accident, and they all were killed.  A boy named Damen discovered Ever and brought her back to life by making her an immortal.  She later found out that Damen was hundreds of years old, and they had met and fallen in love in several of her other lives, but each time she was killed.  The person that kept killing her was Damen’s ex-wife, Drina.  Finally, Ever killed Drina for good. When Ever and Damen went to school one day, they met a new student named Roman.  Almost everybody, including Damen, liked him.  Despite his appealing personality and good looks, Ever knew there was something off about him.  Damen did not notice though because he started to act very strange.  Immortals never get headaches, clammy, or sweaty, and Damen started to show all of those symptoms.  Ever knew Damen’s strange behavior had to do with Roman, but she did not have any evidence to prove it.  One night, after a play that Ever, Damen, and the rest of their friends had to attend because their one friend, Miles, was the star, Ever and Damen were supposed to hang out.  But Damen left, and Ever had no idea why.  The next day he did not acknowledge her, and he started to flirt with Ever’s enemy, Stacia.  Ever finally found that the only possible cause for his strange behavior was the red drink he always had in his hand had to have been poisoned; the one drink they both needed.  Damen never taught her how to make the drink, but she knew she had to switch all of the bottles he currently had with new ones.  She went to an old friend for help.  Their solution was to go to summerland, the place where the dead and the immortals can go to and manifest anything they want.  When she was there, she met very odd twins that said they would help her find answers.  She finally found an old building that held records.  She first looked into Damen’s past, which he would never share with her.  She did discover the recipe for the red drink, but she also found that she could go back in time and be with her family again. When she gathered all of the ingredients she needed for the drink, she made her friend in charge of finishing it because it would take about three days since they needed the light of a blue moon.  Ever knew she wanted to go back with her family, but she still had to make sure Damen would survive which seemed hard because he was getting weaker every second.  When Ever went back in time, she did not remember anything about Damen or the life she had.  She was with her family again for sometime, but all of a sudden she was told she had to go back.  When she returned, she found Roman in the house where Damen was supposed to be with her friend.  Ever found that Roman was a rogue immortal after all, and he told her that he wanted to destroy Damen because he destroyed Drina who he loved.  Ever told him the truth, and they rushed to save Damen.  However, when they arrived, Ever found one of the twins in the room with Damen, and she had put a spell around them so Roman could not get to Damen and hurt him.  Roman tried to make Ever believe that he wanted to help, and she had to put her blood in the drink he had to cure Damen.  She did, and she broke the circle.  The twin screamed in horror because Roman had tricked Ever.  The drink he gave her to give to Damen had actually made it so that they could never touch again.  Damen woke up and was fine, but she could not bare to tell him that she made a mistake, and they would not be able to touch each other for the rest of their lives which was all eternity.

All these short stories in the book Tripping Over The Lunch Lady and other short stories were a great book to read. It did have easier dialogue and text through out the book. I would say it was a 6th grade reading level or so. This book had great stories in each chapter. The unique idea of this book is about a couple of kids stories that all relate to each other because they go to the same school. Most of the children’s stories in this book were some original and some were quit unpredictable. One that was original was called, “Tripping Over the lunch lady”, which was the just chapter to one story in the book. It was about a boy named Spot Jinx. He had an inspiration to be a professional square dancer like his mother. So in this story he introduces square dancing to gym class instead of dodge ball. So with a little bit of bumps and bruises and breaking his best friend, Victoria’s arm, he made it optional to take it in gym. Everyone in school loved it and loved him for being the maker of such a fun sport. Another example of how this book had unpredictable stories was a story called, “How I Got My English-A.” This story has quite interesting dialogue because the words on the pages are incorrect spelling and most are words that sound like the word but is not spelled right. I really loved this story because of the different text and the story had more realistic feelings to it. In this story the girl named Pokey is a favorite student of an English teacher named, Miss. Michelle. Pokey is not her real name but through out the story they just refer to her as Pokey. Everyday she stayed after school, and a robber broke into the elementary school and held Pokey and Miss. Michelle hostage. The robber wanted Pokey to write a letter to the public and tell them that they were in danger and the robber wanted 1 million dollars. So Pokey writes a letter, but it was hilarious because the letter she wrote didn’t look like a lugit letter. So the robber was going to kill them until Miss. Michelle convinced him not to make a sin like this because of the young children. Unpredictably the robber and Miss. Michelle got married! Then Pokey would have to keep their secret.

Over all, this book is recommendable to anyone that likes to read a simple story that likes to have some twists but not completely excitable. It is kind of kiddish so be prepared. It had a different out looks in children and their own experiences in school that fascinated me. The only thing I did not really care for was how short it was. I really wish it had more children to tell about their stories. Also, I rather have the grades a little high up, like in Middle School or even High School. So it keeps me more interested through out the book.

This story is about a kid named Maurice “ Reese” Anderson.

He is in a juvenile facility called Progress. He got stuck there for trying to steal some prescription pads from a doctor’s office for a drug dealer. In Progress, Reese befriends an off centered boy that goes by the name Toon, “ … he didn’t look like a regular kid – he had a round face and big glasses like cartoon character,” (Myers 13). Reese is involved with a work program so he can try and be released earlier than his set due date. While Reese helps out at a retirement home called Evergreen; Reese finds and old man (Mr. Hooft) who he finds interesting and talks, helps out when he’s there. He has to go to Evergreen 10 times a month and over that time Reese and Mr. Hooft become close friends and share there life stories together. Reese actually learns a lot more about life from Mr. Hooft than he thought His only thought is not to screw up and get out of Progress. But when gang members are thrown into the jail, Reese ends up defending his friend Toon and gets a strike and cut a break at the same time. His warden, Mr. Cintron, blames the whole fight on the gang member that goes by the name Cobo. Reese then continues to try to stay off the radar and do good to get out while in juvi.  While on under and close eye, a new inmate called “ King Kong” is put into Progress. Once again Reese ends up defending a friend from the violent life within a jail. After his fight with King Kong, Reese is yet again lectured and yelled at by his warden by how the he continuously tries to help Reese but he keeps screwing up. Then one day Reese is taken into the city and is questioned by two detectives. They are trying to pin a man’s death on him and put 20 extra years onto his sentence. Also Willis, Reese’s younger brother, is starting to get into the thug life. Over a weekend, Reese had time to think about what the detectives had talk to him about and they would come for him Monday. Monday rolls on by and Reese is freaking out on when the detectives will come for him ad then his corrupt prison guard, Mr. Pugh then tells him that they are not going to take him or bother him anymore. That he was not a suspect in the case anymore. Eventually with good behavior Reese gets out of Progress and goes back to his family. He plan on working to help pay for his sister, Icy to go to college when she graduates from high school.

Personally I liked the book. The plot of an inner city kid in juvi is very realistic. And all the problems and issues Reese has to deal with while he is in the jail. His motivation is to just help his younger sister which I find honorable and noble. I really enjoyed reading the parts when Reese went to the retirement home and had his talks with Mr. Hooft. I thought Mr. Hooft taught Reese a lot about life how Reese should act when he gets out. I found all the characters in the book to be very real. I enjoyed the one character called “ Toon”. He is an Indonesian kid and his parents are always disappointed with him and always consider him a failure compared to his older brother. He even tried to kill himself the night before he was going to be let out cause he did want to deal with his parents. But at the same time I found the book to be stereotypical about inner city kids and getting into trouble with the law. The author even wrote the characters dialogue in slang. I like the struggles the main character went through and how he progressed in life through it all. I would give the book a 4 out of 5 because of the story line and how the author makes the story seem like it could be real.

Gary Paulson edited this book “Shelf Life” to give readers a wide variety of short stories. Through out this book there is ten short stories about witches, people living on Mars, two best friends that argue, etc. In one of the stories Gary Paulson writes about how a little boy gets a mowing job at an old ladies house and turns out that she is a witch. Also that the witch helps the boy with the problem he has at school and that is studying. Another story is about a small little girl who lives with her mom while her dad is in jail. The little girl then finds out was that the mom was sending the dad clues that made an escape plan to get him out of jail.

I thought that this book was all right. Some of the stories I didn’t get into because they where boring. It didn’t really hook me in and I could care less about them. I don’t like reading about the same stuff that happens every day. One of the stories is about two girls get into a fight and then become friends again. When I read I wont to read something that is different. There is some stories in this book o liked because they where different from the others. The way the stories were written was really good. The text was not too hard and it wasn’t too easy. Any one could pick this book up and read it. There was hardly any big words in the text that would make you stop and think what they are trying say.

Jon Scieszka took short stories that guys have wrote over the years and made a collection with them. There aren’t just short stories, but art in the book also that guys have drawn over the years. There are also comic strips in the book. The stories are about anything and everything. Some stories are about each individual author’s life, experiences, adventures, and much more. There is one story called “My Superpowers” by Dan Greenburg and he writes about his favorite autographed Cubs baseball hat. A gang of bullies would take this hat from him almost everyday and play keep away from him, but one day he was walking with a girl when they did it. He got so upset that he attacked them and scared them off. He even got to kiss the girl. Now he is an author that has written a series of books and he uses a character like his bully in his stories. Another story called “The Follower” by Jack Gantos is about himself and how he like a kid named Frankie Pagoda. Frankie would do stupid stunts like ride his bike off the roof of the house and get launched by a bent tree. These were never Frankie’s ideas, but his brother Gary. The author was so interred by this that he wanted to play with Frankie even though his mother warned him not to. The author ended up dislocating his fingers and spraining his shoulder. After an insane stunt that Gary has Frankie do and ends him up in the hospital, Gary was put into a special program. There’s an ironic ending because after a couple of weeks the author wanted Gary back.

The stories in the collection were very entertaining. After I read the first story I wanted to read the seconded to see what it was about. Most of the stories in this collection made me laugh, because they are actual things guys think of and do. My favorite story would have to be The Follower because even when something may hurt a guy we still continue to do that same thing for some unknown reason. Is it because we enjoy pain or is it just the adrenaline rush we get? I don’t think anyone will ever understand guys. Guys don’t even understand guys. I also enjoyed the artwork the book had. Most of the artwork was from when they were young and then they redid it when they were older and they put them side by side to compare them. This is really a book that guys would enjoy to read. The stories were very interesting and the reader could usually connect to them. I would probably give this collection of short stories a 5 out of 5 because I enjoyed almost every story.

This collection of short stories focuses around Black Americans and their experiences in life. Some of the stories are humorous and deal with childhood experiences. In the story “Mama’s Missionary Money” Chester Himes tells a tale of little Lemuel spends all of his mothers missionary money and lies about stealing it. “I’m gonna beat the truth into you…Gonna beat out the devil” (Clarke 175). His mother exclaims this while hitting him over the backside. Lemuel escapes her grasp and dances around yelling, “Dat ol’ Devil gone, Ma” (Clarke 175). This also gives reference to the strong southern accents that ring out through out this collection. But along with the funny experiences are the stories of the trials and troubles the Black Americans have faced as well. “The last I remember of him…was the look of sad reproach that will remain with me until I meet him face to face again” (Clarke 7). In “The Lynching of Jube Benson”, Dunbar paints a vivid picture of a friendship of black and white man, and the unfair prosecution of an innocent black man. Its narrated in first person my the white man, he talks about his friendship with Jube, his black slave, but when his wife is raped and murdered and her dying words are “black” and Jube isn’t around he jumps to conclusions. The stories are heart felt and thick with feelings.

By reading this collection writers can learn from the vivid, strong feelings of these writers and use it in their own work. The visuals the authors paint are prime examples of “show don’t tell” and great examples of short stories to analyze and learn from. The thick southern taste, and strong emotions are what make readers come back for more.

This book is split into different sections, it has Self acceptance, Drugs and alcohol, Family matters, Suicide, Tragedy, Abuse, Courage, Learning difficult lessons, Eating disorders and depression, Death and dying, and Growing up. The book consists of short stories and poems from kids that have gone through these things. Some of the stories have been fictionalized, but they are all true stories. The authors range in age, and are from both men and women. There are also tips on how to deal with certain situations in the book. One story that I really liked was called “The last song for Christy.” The story is about a boy that looses his sister to drugs. He talks about her being arrested when he was a kid, and says how she was clean for 10 years and then overdoses one night. This story shows that even though someone is clean, that doesn’t mean that they can’t fall back. Another story that I really liked was called, “I never knew.” It’s about a girl, and her best friend kills herself. Her best friend was popular, and a fun person to be around, but she didn’t know that her friend was being sexually abused by her dad. This story shocked me, even if someone is our best friend, there are things going on that you may not know about. One last story that I really liked was called, “Building bridges.” It’s about a girl that went to Columbine High school. She was in the building at the time of the shooting, and she talks about hiding, and hearing the gun shots. It gives a first person perspective about what happened that day. It is a story of hope, and uncertainty. She talks about how you should live each day as if it will be our last because you don’t know what will happen that day. There were no stories that I didn’t like; I thought they were all good, and they all have a moral in them. They are stories of letting go, but not forgetting.

The title of my book was called,  “Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul III,” by Lia Gay, Zan Gaudioso, Rebeccca Woolf, and Sarah Bercot. The book is about a number of different of different topics.  Some of these topics consist of love, relationships, break ups, family, friends, and wisdom.  This book is  a great book to read for both sexes.  It has a lot of good stories though out the book that can really help someone deal with a problem they are having.  The reader can then get a feel for how the author dealt with his or her problem.  The book also includes multiple inspirational quotes and poems before and after chapters.  One very good short story was called, “Crush.”  It was about a girl who has had a big crush on this guy for a very long time but never had the guts to ask him out.  One day she finally got the nerve to ask him out and he just turned her down.  She was so upset and heart broken.  She asked her friend why it had to hurt so bad and the friends replied, “If getting your heart broken wasn’t supposed to hurt, they wouldn’t call it a crush then.”  This story can relate to a lot of young girls and boys who experience crush after crush of disappointment and rejection. Everyone has gotten their heart broken at least once in their lives. All of these stories are  creditable because they are all short stories and quotes that are sent in by young teenagers or adults that have experienced them.  At the end of each short story, quote, and/or poem, the author’s name is listed giving them credit for the book.  The goal of this book was for teenagers and young adults to have a book to read that have stories about everyday problems people face as they grow up and how to deal with them. These stories really pertained to me because I could relate to a lot of the stories, good or bad.  It gives the reader a feel for the book and an understanding that you are not the only one that is going through a rough time.  I do recommend this book from anyone ages 14 and up.  Especially teens who are just entering high school and are having a rough time adjusting to the new school and experience.

More Taste Barries for Teens is a book of collections of short stories and poems written by teens and made for teens. All of the stories are categorized into eight parts which include; Embarrassing but Funny Moments, Friends Pizza for Life, Bing Friends with the Face in The Mirror, Love in Our Lives, Expressions of Love, My greatest and Fears, Tough Stuff,and Faith at Work in our Lives. Each part begins with a page of a quote then “a word from the authors” which is basically an introduction to exactly what you are about to read and how these stories came about or where they got the idea. This book is a collection which means that it is just one book in many of the Taste Barries for Teens series. The stories in the book are stories about real life incidents and how the characters handled these incidents and what they learned from them, it’s more like an inspirational book in the sense of the stories, not in the way it was written.    As a teenager I feel that these books hold certain comforting aspects to them, when I was younger and I had an emotion I didn’t really understand I would just pick up a book and get lost in it, but one day I picked up a book like this one and there was a story in it that fit exactly what I was feeling. These books pave the way for teens to be teens and to laugh about or talk about their teen awkward moments and issues with other people who are going through the same things. They are just stories that heal the soul when you feel alone like no one else understands. Something’s can just never be explained but some how stories that portray what you’re feeling help explain better. The book was easy to read the white pages made the words seem larger which made them easier to read and better to understand. I feel like the fact that the stories and poems were written by teenagers played a part in the vocabulary that was used. It wasn’t very broad and the reading level was not as high as the books that i normally read. Which could be a factor that helps everyone understand these books but also not really take the book seriously.

The book Forever is based on a group of high schoolers and their senior year.  Throughout the book they are followed by love, temptations, and peer pressure.  The main characters in this book are Kath, Michael, Erica, and Artie.  This group of friends are faced with decisions that may change their future.  Kath is a senior and is very close with her family.  She also has a younger sister who is thirteen years old.  In the beginning of the book she is single and goes to a fondue party with her friend Erica.  There she meets a boy named Michael.  She shows no interest in Michael, but the next day Michael and her hang out together.  Erica and Kath have been friends since freshman year and have stayed close, unlike the rest of the friends they used to hang out with.  Erica and Artie begin to hang out and they seem to be more best friends.  Artie is is faced with the decision of finding out if he is homosexual or not.  As Kath and Michael begin to date they are faced with difficult decisions.  They each applied to different colleges that are no where near eachother.  As senior year comes to an end Kath and Michael go off to different far away summer jobs.  Writing letters did not seem to be enough for the two of them.  At the summer camp Kath was working at she found a guy she was attracted to.  Michael decided he wanted to just drop by her camp a week early and see how she was doing because her grandfather had just passed and she didn’t respond to Michael’s letter.  He found out about Theo, the other guy, and ran out on Kath.  Erica and Artie also separated.  She ended things with him, and a few days later he tried to commit suicide.  He was then able to get the help he needed. I really enjoyed reading this book because I thought she made it personal to those who are in high school and are facing some of the same struggles.  Even if they are not, she still makes it interesting to read about because it’s realistic.  The beginning of the book was pretty slow and it took some time getting into.  I really wanted to read more about the families, because to me that is a big part on how the child turns out.  I wanted to learn more of the reasoning behind their actions.  Judy Blume did however spend a lot of time writing about Kath’s family, including her grandparents as well.  The struggles Kath faced with her family is some that could be a possibility for some readers.  I really enjoyed reading Judy Blume’s book, because even though I’m persnally not facing the same struggles as Kath, Michael, Artie, or Erica, I stil understod what they were going through because the author makes you feel as though you are one of the characters.  Reading about different characters and gathering their views on different topics really opened my eyes of others as well.  I didn’t agree with all of their decision, but by reading this book I was ble to focus on their consequences of their choices.  Even if i persnally would never do or act like these characters.  This is not a book that just certain people could connect to.  I think that specifically high school students could have the greatest connection considering it is written about them.

The book that I read for the Fire Side Book Chats was Twilight. Twilight starts off with Bella Swan moving to Forks, Washington to live with her dad, Charlie, for a while. When she gets to Forks it is totally different then her hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. Bella goes to high school worried that she would not fit in like in Phoenix. But when she gets there everyone finds her interesting. She quickly makes friends with a lot of people. Then she meets Edward Cullen, a mysterious, beautiful, pale skinned guy that seems to ignore her at first. Finally Edward talks to Bella and they seem to connected instantly. Bella meets Jacob Black who tells her a story about Vampires and Wolfs. She begins to become curious about Edward. Edward seems to be following Bella. Bella goes to Port Angeles with her friends and almost gets hurt by some older guys. But Edward comes out of know where and saves her. Edward tells Bella about his life and he says that he is a vampire. He can read minds, run with super speed, and he never needs to sleep. Bella and Edward fall in love and Edward wants to protect her. Edward takes her to a baseball game with his family and they run into their enemies, Victoria and James who are also vampires. James wants to kill Bella so the Cullen families must try to save her. Alice and Jasper, Edwards family take Bella away so that Carlise, Edwards adopted father and Edward try to hunt James and Victoria. James tricks Belle into coming to an old ballet studio to kill her. He hurts her and is about to kill her when the Cullens come to save her. Edward must suck the venom from Bella’s body where James bit her. She ends up badly injuried but alive. Bella asks Edward to change her into a vampire too but he says no. I decided to read Twilight because I saw the movie and I enjoyed it. I also picked it because many different people recommended it to me. Twilight is a book that I would read because I like to read entertaining book. At first I did not read it right away because I did not really like the fantasy part of the book. I did enjoy this book because the plot was interesting and the fantasy part was good. Stephenie Meyer is a very entertaining author who knows how to get people to feel the emotions she is writing about. I think I will read the next book in the series, which is called New Moon. I would give this book a five because it is a great story.

This Lullaby is a fictional story that shows the true side effects of abandonment. Remy is 18 years old and about to leave for college. Her famous father not only left her, but also her brother, Chris, and their mother, Barbara when she was very young, and died soon after writing a song about how he abandoned them. Throughout this story not only do signs of Remy’s abandonment trauma surface, but her mothers as well. Remy deals with her father leaving by taking control of her family and everything else in her life. She does this by setting rules and regulations for herself, and by planning and making decisions for her mother. Barbara deals with her husband leaving her by depending on everyone around her to take care of her and by writing Romantic novels. She goes through husbands the way kids go through candy. After having to be the one to delegate everything for both her friends and her family all her life, Remy is finally looking forward to being set free. She has an entire fund, which was set aside by lawyers after her father died, to pay for her college tuition at Princeton. There is just one thing holding her back. She meets this boy named Dexter, by chance, and he immediately is determined to find out what Remy Starr is all about. Dexter plays in a band called the truth squad, and most of the time Remy and Dexter spend together is centered around the band’s weekly gig at “The Spot”, which is an 18 or older night club. Sooner or later Remy and Dexter fall in love, and after spending her entire life living by her set rules, regulations, and standards for how long she can be with any one boyfriend, Remy is stumped: Dexter did not fit into the plan. She now has to break away from everything that she has known, learn how to trust, and deal with her past. Aside from her family, Remy has a very solid group of friends, Lissa, Jess, and Chloe, who have all known and supported each other since the beginning of high school. Remy ends up going off to college and after a brief breakup decides to stay with Dexter because some people in life are worth the risk. She is still in contact with her friends, her brother gets engaged, and her mother finds out that she has been cheated on by the man she was hoping would be her last husband. Barbara decides to deal with this set back in a positive way by starting to take care of herself, and seeing her mother finally able to stand on her own gives Remy strength. The story begins with a cynical message that “People weren’t meant to be together forever”, but there is a lot of time between now and forever. This book really helped me as a young reader to think about long term and short term commitment’s. There don’t always have to be rules, because a lot of what happens in life are things that we didn’t plan for or we crossed lines that weren’t meant to be crossed: those often are the best things in our lives. Even though this was more of a love story, the author’s heart was in the right place with the message she was trying to send to her readers. And even though I personally don’t really get into romantic books, I got into this one because of how strong the personalities of the characters were. The main characters Dexter and Remy were the most entertaining to me with their awkward and unique conversations. Their ways of communicating were very reserved, and I decided that sometimes not blurting out exactly what you feel when you feel it isn’t always a bad thing. Reading this book was both helpful and enjoyable to me in finding out what type of commitments I do and don’t want. The even greater message that i derived from this book was that sometimes you have to take risks in life, and if you don’t your only holding yourself back.

This book that goes by the name Eclipse is a continuation off of the following book New Moon, that book followed by Twilight. These books all are apart of The Twilight Saga. This book starts off with a letter that was written from a character named Jacob. This being the young man from the first two volumes, that is secretly in love Bella, but now wants her to know how he truly feels for her. This letter stating that he misses her and as well doesn’t want their friendship to change. But as Bella is showing some of these feelings for Jacob, she as well has the relationship with her passionate lover by the name of Edward (a vampire belonging to the Cullen Family). As Bella has to choose between her friendship with Bella, and her relationship with Edward, new vampires in town interrogate the hometown that Bella, Jacob, and Edward live in by the name of Forks in Seattle. This bringing a new problem to the table, not only does Bella have to make the decision of her friendship relationship, the new question of marriage from Edward, but also keeping herself and her family safe from the new vampires after her now, while making the decision of when she will be turned into a vampire herself. The three of them Bella, Edward, and Jacob must come together and decide weather their personal lives are more important then taking care of the problem that pertains newly bread vampires attacking the city of Forks.

Overall I felt this book was well written, filled with action, romance at times, detail of things that had actually happened that may not have been explained before in previous movies or books.  The book as well has some humorous lines that make the reader laugh from time to time to keep the reader interested and keep reading. I also feel that my favorite character would have to be Edward, due to the fact he shows passion towards Bella, and not only towards her but protecting the society and family of Bella Swan. While Jacob becomes eager at times and jumping the gun when it comes to Bella, Edward remains calm at all times and is willing to work a plan out. If the question ever comes up from a friend or anyone at that matter, “ Should I read Eclipse or any of the Twilight series?” I would indeed respond yes it is a wonderful book to pertain the mind to, and I as well feel that the maturity level needed for this book would be higher middle school age and up. Due to the many aspects listed before that is found in this reading, with some of the scenes in the book containing fighting and violence. Eclipse would indeed earn a five star rating, and was as well one of the best fiction books I have ever read. I as well plan to read the final book of the series by the name of “Breaking Dawn.”

The story starts out with getting introduced to two characters that live in two totally different worlds. Molly lives in Los Angeles where she has a pretty easy life. She has down to earth friends,which some are rich, and could not ask for more. Charlie live in Boulder, Colorado. He has two moms and is kind of the dork, but also the hunk at school. They both are surprised that they will be moving into each others house for the summer. The house switch is a typical thing that happens in this book. It is an easy swap because one of Charlie’s moms is a co-worker with Molly’s new dad. They are both taken by surprise and at first hesitated to go. Molly’s trip is for her mom’s honeymoon and Charlie’s family just wants to go on vacation. Their relationship starts out all based online. Charlie knows what Molly looks like only by pictures on her walls, but Molly has no idea of what Charlie looks like. They are always talking via email and instant message. As their online relationship develops Charlie realizes that he is beginning to fall in love with Molly. He realizes this because he begins to hangout with her best friend Celeste. Charlie begins to get closer and closer to Celeste and realizes all he can think  about is Molly. Molly starts to feel the same feeling for Charlie but can not figure what these feelings are because she has never felt this feeling before. Molly and Charlie get the chance to meet up with each before the summer ends. Charlie makes a huge mistake and could ruin the chances of ever having a relationship with Molly. Charlie goes out one night with Celeste and ends up drinking. Molly’s other friend Rina sees Charlie with Celeste and catches them kiss at the local karaoke bar. Rina tells Molly the next day what she saw and Molly becomes devastated.  Molly and Charlie’s relationship is strained by this.  As the summer comes to a close and they have to head back to their homes, Charlie surprises Molly and goes to her house to meet her. Molly realizes right then and there that she is in love with him and can not get over how she feels. The story ends with his surprise visit and Molly forgiving Charlie for his actions. Overall I thought this book was pretty good. The only thing I did not like about the book was the ending. I felt that it left you hanging and anticipating of what is gonna happen next.  It could show other things to strain their relationship to see if their relationship will actually work long distance. The book could also show more events that would happen along the way. I think there should be a follow up to this book to show what happens to their relationship. The books shows great detail and plots out a good love story. My favorite part about the book was the ending because Charlie and Molly were actually able to meet. During the whole book I was anticipating if they were actually gonna meet and it happened. I also like how it portrays their relationship and its all online and long distance. This makes it prove that long distance relationships can work and you do not have to see a person to fall in love with them. I felt that it was weird in Molly’s perspective that she listens to Charlie about everyhing, and believes everything she tells him. She has never met the guy and already trusts him. The cutest thing about this relationship is that he tells her that she can do anything, that the sky is the limit and she begins to believe in herself.  Overall out of a ten I would rate this book a eight. I would rate it this because I feel it leaves you hanging and could just had a little more excitement to the book and their relationship.

Myers wrote the book Fallen Angels to show how life was during the Vietnam War and what really happened when our soldiers were over there. Richie Perry, the main character, signs up for the army after high school because his family could not afford college.  On the plane ride over to Vietnam, Perry meets a guy named Peewee Gates who becomes his best friend.  Myers shows how the soldiers have to live in the jungle lifestyle.  Perry came into Vietnam with an injury profile on his knees.  He hopes that the profile will get him into an office instead of out in combat.  However, his commander states that he is mobile enough to shoot a weapon.  Perry starts to question why they were over there fighting in the first place.  He writes letters to his mother and younger brother Kenny back home but never tells them the truth about how life really is in Vietnam.  Perry’s squad used to just go out on patrol looking for Vietcong so that they could know where they are.  The Lieutenant would often lie about the number of men they killed in battle to make it seem like they are over there for a reason.  At times they would only go out and kill one or two Cong a day.  Perry later witnesses his platoon leader, Lieutenant Carroll die in action.   As Perry searches for meaning in the war, he also searches for his own sense of self. After his platoon leader dies in battle, they get a new Lieutenant named Sergeant Dongan, who is a racist.  Being an African American, Perry is put in the most dangerous positions in war.  Perry and Peewee later get injured and their medical profile is finally processed: they both ride home on the same plane to their homes.

“Perry struggles to unravel his motivations for enlisting in the army, wondering whether his reason was a selfless one, based on the desire to earn money to provide for Kenny, or a selfish one—simply to escape from the hard life he faced in Harlem, New York.”  I really enjoyed Walter Dean Myers story Fallen Angels, because it makes the reader feel as if they are actually in Vietnam trying to survive.  The author did a very good job using descriptive words to define life in the war.  I thought all the characters were each unique in their own way but shared the same view on the war.  I thought the plot of the story was overall good.  The story had a happy ending for the characters: Both Perry and Peewee got to fly home to their families in the end after getting wounded in battle.  I think Myers did a good job with each of the characters in the story as well.  Most of the people came from the city and could not afford to go to college.  Perry often referred Vietnam to life in Harlem, New York back in the states.  His family often struggled through life because Perry’s father left them.  No one was there to support his family accept for his mom.  So Perry had to try and make money wherever he could to help support.  I think the story is a great example of how the war really was in Vietnam.  People struggling to survive and asking themselves why they were over there in the first place.

The book I read was called I am David by Anne Holm. The book is about a boy named David who has spent his entire twelve-year life in a concentration camp in Eastern Europe. The book starts off with David escaping the concentration camp with the help of a fellow captive, and he attempts to go to a free country where “they” wont find him and take him away again. Since David grew up in a concentration camp, he doesn’t understand anything of the outside world, and he struggles to cope with the changes. Throughout David’s journey, he struggles to make money to buy food, and has the constant fear that every one is bad. As David struggles along his way to get to Denmark, he overhears someone talking about a God, and how he has helped him throughout his life. David picks up on this, and decides that will be his god also. He makes prayers to “the god of green pastures, and still waters” for help on his journey.  In one point of the book, David thinks that he has to do something to prove god that he can return the favors. He then saved a girl who was about to die in a burning shed. He later found out the girls name was Maria, and that there family was very grateful to David, and allowed David to stay at their house for some time. David later leaves to go find his mother in Denmark. David managed to get to Denmark, and shortly after arriving there he managed to find his mothers house. His mother took one look as him and said, David…My son David.”

I thought the book was very good. I liked how the book was about David’s adventure to be free, and then surprisingly met his mother. I also liked how the book went into detail about David’s struggles in each city, and how he had to find his own way to get to Denmark, where later he would be reunited with his mother. For example: David would struggle everyday in order to find work so he would have money to buy bread everyday. I also liked how David was a character who was a very wise boy, and lived through so much in only his twelve-years of living. Even though he is only twelve-years old, he knows how to survive on his own very well. What I didn’t like about the book was that it was slow at time between his travels to each city. I also didn’t like how the book would sometimes skip weeks ahead in just a couple sentences. This happened various times throughout the book, including the whole season of winter where he had stayed at a angry farmers barn. I would rate this book four stars out of five.

The Notebook is a novel which revolves around young love and romance with a twist of a tragedy as well.  The book starts of at the local fair.  Noah Calhoun is hanging out with a group of friends when he spots Allie Nelson.  She is on a date with another guy and he is instantly in love and does anything he can to get her to go out.  When he finally does, they go to a movie and dance in the middle of the streets.  The two immediately fall in love with one another.  They spend each and everyday of that summer.  Noah has lived in North Carolina his whole life, born and raised while Allie and her family just visit during the summer months in their summer home.  Allie comes from a very wealthy family; her dad is rich and her mother is proper. Noah and his father live in an old home in the woods and are dirt poor.  The difference in each other’s backgrounds only makes them love more.  One night, Allie and Noah were out together, and their friends came screaming and yelling that the police were looking for Allie and she needed to get home.  Her parents had gotten worried and sent the cops out to find her.  Her mother, father and herself got into a huge fight about Noah.  Her mother said things about how he was white trash and has no money, and her father said that this was just a summer love and it means nothing.  Noah of course overheard the whole thing and began to leave when Allie ran after him.  He kissed her and began to drive away, but as he did Allie chased after him and they began to fight.  She did not understand why he wanted to go and he did not understand why a beautiful, wealthy young girl with her whole life to do whatever she wanted, wanted with a dirty old mill worker like Noah.  The next morning, Allie woke up to find all of her thins packed and loaded into the car to go home.  Her parents had decided it would be best for them to leave a few weeks earlier than planned.  She was so upset, and when she went to find Noah at work and tell him he was not there.  He was on a job where he needed to drive.  She told Fin, his best friend, to tell Noah that she was so sorry and she loved him and to write her everyday. Twelve years later Allie was engaged to the richest man in New York, Lon Hamilton.  They were perfect for each other, but Allie couldn’t help still think about Noah from time to time.  Allie was wedding dress shopping with her mother and some friends when she noticed a familiar face in the newspaper; it was Noah Calhoun.  He had rebuilt the old farm house that they had dreamed about doing, painted white with blue shutters, a wrap around porch and a master bed room with a deck that over looked the river.  It was beautiful, and all of Allies feelings for Noah were back.  She told Lon that she needed to get away from wedding plans and go to spend a weekend for herself shopping and drinking wine, but she really was going to find Noah.  When she got the the newly built house she got out of the car and found Noah in the barn, scruffy beard and dirty from working.  They both froze and looked at each other.  She stayed for dinner and they talked all night.  The next morning when she returned to the house, he took her out in the river to show her the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, the river was flooded with swans.  On their way back it began to rain hard.  They finally made it home and started fighting.  Before she had left him the first time, she told him to write her everyday and she did not receive a single letter.  Noah was furious because he wrote her every single day for a year, 365 letters and he didn’t understand how she could not have gotten them.  “It wasn’t over for me Noah!” screamed Allie and he Noah replied, “It wasn’t over for me either, and it still aint’ over!” he then grabbed her and kissed her.  They later found out that her mother had hid all of the letters from her to protect her, and she broke off her engagement with Lon and married Noah.  They grew old together and had three children.  Later on in life, Allie was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and admitted into a nursing home.  Noah loved her that much, that he refused to let her live there alone, so he moved in with her.  Each and every day when he would wake up, he would find Allie, introduce himself and read her the Notebook, which was their life story and by the end of the day she would remember.  She would remember how they met and how they ended, and later how they married and had a family and a wonderful life together.  One night after hours, Noah snuck into Allie’s room and she remembered him.  They fell asleep together in her bed and neither woke up the next morning.  They rested in peace from then on.

This is my favorite book.  This book is a good story about how fate can really be true.  Allie and Noah fell in love at 17, and when they were reconnected twelve years later, they were instantly in love. This book does not connect to me, but I love it because it talks about heartbreak, and romance all at the same time.  My favorite part of the story is when Allie goes back to North Carolina to visit Noah, and they go out on the river.  He takes her far out on the water to show her the white covered water full of swans.  He had a loaf of bread and she fed the birds and pet them and just watched them swim through the water.  When they come back to the house due the rain, they had a moment that changed the whole story forever.  They began yelling at each other because Allie never got any of the letters that Noah sent to her after she left.  After that he grabbed her and kissed her romantically in the rain and it made their lives different.  She left her fiance who I didn’t like for her anyway, and I am glad that her and Noah got married.  The end of the story is my least favorite part of the book because one night when Noah is reading their life story, The Notebook, and Allie suddenly does not know who she is talking to, and dancing with.  She starts yelling and screaming and crying and it broke Noah’s heart.  But when they end up falling asleep and passing away together, that was a sweet yet sad ending to the book.

Into the Wild is the story of Chris McCandless who dropped everything, his friends, his family, all his belongings, to go on his great Alaskan adventure. Before he took his leave, Chris had graduated from Emory University with honors and had a good life. Once he leaves he give and abundant amount of money that he has in his bank account to charity. As he hitchhikes across the nation to Alaska, he meets and encounters some pretty interesting characters. All told of his new found friends told him he was unprepared and under equipped for the wilderness of Alaska. Chris’s stubbornness ultimately leads to his death of starvation on an abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail in Alaska

Into The Wild was a book that held my attention. Through out the book I loved the true and genuine interactions Chris McCandless had with so many people on his way to Alaska. The was book in my opinion was a little boring in the parts where Chris was just traveling by himself and didn’t have any interactions with other people. My favorite part though was when Chris meet Wayne Westerberg, it seemed like Chris made the biggest impact to Westerberg while Chris worked for Westerberg on a combine mill. “‘You could tell right away that Alex was intelligent,’ Westerberg reflects, draining his third drink. ‘He read a lot. Used a lot of big words…Sometimes he tried too hard to make sense of the world, to figure out why people were bad to each other so often.”‘ Chapter 3, pg. 18. In the end I would give this book a 4 out of 5

Emily Dickinson is a great poet. In this book of her poetry she wrote some very meaningful poems about life, love and many other things. Her one poem on page 16 about surgeons has so much meaning and is so true when saying they have to be careful because they have someone else’s life in their hands. She did use rhyming in some of her poems. I feel that in some of the poems she used rhyming that she didn’t really use any specific rhyme scheme. Her use of imagery was amazing. With some of her poems I could see what was going on and I could feel the emotion of the poem. Her pieces were short, sweet, and to the point which for some readers is a good thing.

The point of Freakonomics is to make the reader look at economic related ideas from a different perspective. Throughout the book there are different ideas that are relative to our daily lives. The chapter what do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? The book explains incentives involvement with people. Each chapter talks about a different topic and breaks down the situational to you and goes on to tell you the flip side of every idea on the topic. Freackonomics also informs the reader how powerful it is to know things that other people do not, which is explains in the chapter the Ku Klux Klan and real-estate agents. This chapter begins by informing you about  how most of the Klan’s power lied in the 1940s and after World War II, a man named Kennedy leads to the Klan’s ultimate downfall by exposing many of its secrets.The chapter goes on to explain how real-estate agents know a lot more than the average joe when it comes to selling houses but thats pretty obvious. What makes it important is to know when they sell a house they go for the price that would best benefit the agent. When the chapter explains about real-estate agents and there infamous knowledge that we rely on to sell our homes he brings in the connection it has to Kennedy and the knowledge he had to obtain to over throw the Ku Klux Klan.

Freakonomics opened my eyes to a whole new view about the economy that people usually would see. The book also helped me have new ideas to further pressure my topic of my research essay on the economy. It’s interesting to know that this book has made it possible for a lot of people to get information of all kinds, since the information is now in hand for everyone just by reading it. This obviously let people be more informed, especially about products and services economically related. also while reading about asymmetric information I thought about the very important from my point of view, since it talks about the importance of information in all ways of life and particularly how information means power.

The book Nickel and Dimed: on (not) getting by in America is about the author Barbara Ehrenreich putting herself in the low wage work force for one year. She explores how hard it is to find a job and live in poverty. Throughout the book Barbara has multiple jobs at one time, yet still not able to live comfortably. She discovers that wages are too low as well as rent and other necessities are too high. Starting in Key West, Florida Barbara finds a job working in a restaurant as a waitress as well as working in the hotel that t is connected to as a maid. Next Barbara moves on to Portland, Main taking a bus and finding an apartment as well as two jobs; The Merry Maids and the Woodcrest Residential Facility where Barbara worked at over the weekend. Next Barbara moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota her last place of occupation. Their she felt defeated and had found no apartment she confided in living in a hotel room. She took one job while in Minnesota at Wal-Mart. The last chapter in this book is about statistics, salaries and her personal thoughts on the experience.

I personally liked the book very much. The author’s writing style is very favorable and easy to understand. The whole concept of the book was very interesting. Not many people put themselves in a situation similar to this and then write about it. This book was very realistic and tackles some of the issues that are going on today like minimum wage. The author is very credible for what she did, surviving a year, out of her comfort zone and away from family is a very hard this to do. This book makes people aware of issues that are going on. Issues like poverty and government aid as well as low wages. I would recommend this book to anyone.

“The definition of courage is: the quality of spirit that enables one to encourage danger with firmness and without fear,” states Lance Armstrong on page 266 in the book, It’s not About the Bike, My Journey Back to Life.  He feels that everything he has ever been through in his life has made him a strong and sensible person.  Also if you have a dream, don’t  let anything, not even a near death experience keep you from getting to your goal.  Lance begins the book by talking about his childhood, and how is mother Linda had him at a very young age.  As the book continues he discusses how he became a cyclist and triathalonist.  At 25 his life was just at the peek of his career when he became sick.  “I have Cancer, I am 25, why would I have Cancer?” (Armstrong,12).  From then on his life was different due to Chemotherapy which he received four rounds of (about 4 months) for 5 days straight.  Lance beat the cancer and the effects of Chemo and after some time off, got back on his bike.  His goal his whole life was to win the Tour de’ France.  After several months of intense training, he won.  Shortly after his triumphant win, he and his wife Kristen decided to have a baby.  On  the 12^th of October, 1999, Lance’s son Luke David Armstrong was born, with complications but like his father was a fighter and was ok in the end.  “Pain is temporary.  It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day or a year but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place” (Armstrong, 269).

Schlosser’s main point through out the entire book it that the fast food chains have changed the United States in a negative way. He begins by talking about the founders of the fast food restaurants and the start of the fast food way of life. Schlosser gives many examples in Fast Food Nation about how the owners created their fortunes. Schlosser shows the change in the American lifestyle by the quote “What had begun as a series of small, regional businesses became a fast food industry, a major component of the American economy” (Schlosser 25). He adds details about every aspect of the fast food chain like how the food is made, how the chains are expanded, and all of the illnesses that are caused through fast food. A section of Fast Food Nation describes the negative effects the fast food chains have on the workforce. It describes the working conditions and the salaries in the restaurants and also in the slaughterhouses and factories that start the process of making fast food.

Fast Food Nation was an informational book that really describes the hidden details of the growth of the fast food chains. Schlosser is very one sided and he does not really talk about the positive impacts the chains have on the United States. The book was easy to read and it was interesting for the most part. Fast Food Nation did get a little boring and almost repetitive in some parts. This is a good source to use to describe the effects it has on the workforce all over the world. Schlosser really changes the way I feel about fast food. It points at problems that are important but that were never addressed before.

E.E. Cummings 100 Selected Poems is a collection of some of his most well known and poems.  Among these highly praised poems is “Buffalo Bill’s,” “a man who had fallen among thieves,” “i sing of Olaf glad and big, and “somewhere i have never traveled,gladly beyond.”  Throughout the book, it is quite evident that Cummings has many trademarks to his poems.  Some of these include no capitalization, unless it is a name or has some significance to the poem, putting no spaces between words, using slang words, and formatting his poems in a way that guides the reader’s eye through the poem in a way that is relevant to the poem. Many of Cummings’ poems are about love, spring, childhood, and dreams, and while reading the poems, the reader feels a sense of nostalgia.  Cummings’ work has no specific rhyme scheme throughout, and some of the poems often contain more than one type of rhyme, or no rhyme at all.  In most poems, the most significant point in the poem generally falls in the last stanza, which is almost always different from the rest of the poem, in terms of formatting and rhyme scheme.

Company, 1999.

Billy Collins is an amazing poet. His book the, “ Questions About Angels”, has greatly impacted on my thinking. It made me realize how to look at the world though a poet’s eyes and write it down on paper.  Every detail Collins’s used to describe, simple things or effects he has encountered, was astonishing. Most of his book is about simple things, like one poem is an event about: “ Going out of cigarettes” and how he compares the rush of deprived nicotine running through his body. Also how he can escape from the world by ‘”Calming the bees within”’. Another poem to share is simple called: “ The Man on the Moon”, which describes the ‘face’ on a full moon if you look really hard at it. He talks about his childhood, saying he was frightened of the man In the moon, Then towards the end of his poem, he explains the moon brought back old memories and how he is friends with the man in the moon for lighting his way through the dark mountains.

I personally thought this book was nice, it had a nice flow to it and wasn’t hard to understand for me. Other poetry books I have looked- upon just haven’t had the same simple but creative words as Billy Collins used. I will keep looking for his books and using him as my guide to make my own unique poetry.

A Child Called “It” is a true story about a young boy who has been abused almost his whole childhood by his mother. When he was a baby up until five years old, his life was golden and he had the life of any ordinary spoiled child. His mother would buy him toys, hold him in her arms, and feed him endless amounts of food until he was satisfied and full. His family would go on vacations and savor the memories. When he turned six, his mother began to drink and her mood and attitude altered quickly, which made her a new person. The new person she became was someone totally different from Dave’s old mother. She now developed hatred toward David and began abusing him in many ways. His mother would burn, punch, kick, starve, neglect and poison David. He was no longer a part of the family and was named “It.” He was not allowed to communicate with others in the family, and was told to live in the garage and not to come out unless he was told to. There were times in the book where his mother would lighten up and give David a break from all the abuse, but it didn’t take long for her to change back and keep hurting him. This book tells the story of the child’s courage to survive, what he did, and how he nurtured his body back to health.

This book made me feel bad for David and all that he had to go through over his lifetime. I can’t imagine how upset and betrayed he must have felt after his mother went from loving to abusing in five years. Throughout the book I had the same question running through my head, why is his mother abusing him? Why didn’t she abuse his brother or try to kill them? I believe the abuse was formed from his mothers alcohol addiction; however, it still doesn’t make sense that she only abused David. It’s sad to know that any mother could abuse their child in any way. David wasn’t only physically abused but mentally abused also. He now has a scar for life, deep within and all over his skin. One thing that bothered me about David’s story, was that his father nor grandmother did anything to help him. They all knew the situation he was in , but they all feared his mother. If they would have just called the police or taken David away from his home then he would have never seen his mother again and he would be safe. This book made me realize how bad some children live when it comes to their parents abusing them, and how lucky I am to have a loving family. The book also rises awareness of child abuse.

Millersville: Middle Relief Publishing, 1997. Print.

Bus America Revolution of a Redneck, is a real life story about Quay Hanna’s bus trip across America. He decides that he wants to go on a journey across America but he doesn’t know how his family will take it. They actually weren’t that disappointed about it when he told them. He started his journey and headed down to Atlanta Georgia. During his trip he stopped in many different states and visited a lot of old friends and family. He also met a lot of new friends along the way. But one thing that was really important in this book was that Quay had to face a lot of things that made him very uncomfortable. He had to sit with black people on the bus and even witnessed a gang shooting in Dallas Texas. This was all new for a country boy from Strasburg, Pa. He didn’t give up and even continued his journey after that. Quay learned a lot and even changed as a person through this trip. He went from being a racist country boy who wore jeans, boots and a Copenhagen hat, to a man how values everything in life and to him it no longer mattered the color of their skin.

Bus America was a very useful source. It showed how someone can get over being racist all because of a journey. It is a pure example of what it takes to over come racism. This book didn’t really change my view, but I was able to view it from someone else view point. It was a very on topic book and was easy to understand and read. It’s crazy how a faculty member from Penn Manor High School wrote this book.

Against Medical Advice was a sad story about a child living with Tourette’s Syndrome. The book, written by James Patterson and the little boys father was told from the boy, Cory, view on his life living with Tourettes. Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological disease where a person has involuntary tics. A person with Tourette’s usually twitches different body parts or has vocal tics, where they either shout profanity or say words or phrases over and over. Those people cannot help the tics or stop it from happening, although many times can be worse then others due to their surroundings. The book tells Cory’s life all through his childhood. Starting at a young age and having to deal with school. Teachers and classmates could not understand why Cory was doing that as well as his parents not knowing what was going on at first. At the time of Cory’s childhood not many doctors knew what Tourette’s syndrome was or even how to treat it.  Patterson told how Cory did in high school and how he had to go to many separate schools because of how he was treated in public schools. Many of the alternative schools were for kids with mental issues or even some had behavioral problems. Friedman’s input helped capture how Cory felt through all of this because Friedman was there with Cory all the way through his life with Tourette’s. This book was a great book for kids to learn more about living with Tourette’s. If someone read this book they would learn how hard it is for children to go to school with it. Not many people understand much about tourette’s therefore they make fun or stare at a person with it. This source is useful because it gives much info on the different schools that Cory went to. It show that public school is the best fit for Cory because it makes him feel like a regular kid and not feel too much different because of this disease. This will help to say that the other schools that Cory went to makes him feel different. It makes me stand with my thesis because children with tourette’s should live as normally as possible, and putting them in different schools will not help them. Hal Friedman helping with the book was very beneficial because it helped see more into Cory’s Tourette’s.

David Pelzer was very young when he first started to be abused by his mother.  One day David’s teachers noticed the bruises on his arms and decided to take action.  With the help of Ms. Gold, a social worker, David was placed in foster care.  At first, David wanted the attention of the other children, so he stole food and was very hyper.  When David went to live with Mr. and Mrs. Catanze, his mother brought the bike he got to ride twice when he was young.  David decided to do chores around the house to make some money to fix his bike.  He was taught responsibility.  David and the one teenage boy that also lived with the Catanzes’ got into a fight, so Rudy and Lilian Catanze took David to a psychiatrist, but that did not help David.  When David was at school, he met a boy that decided to start a fire in a teacher’s room.  Even though David actually just tried to put out the fire, he was blamed for starting the fire, and Rudy took David to a juvenile hall where later on he had to go to several times.  David moved from foster home to foster home for a while.  At one home, some of the neighbors accepted him and tried to teach him manners.  David ended up moving again, but to a home he was at before.  David got his act together and went into the Air Force. The author is credible because the book was published by the Health Communications, Inc.  The book is reliable because the author shows examples of how abuse affected him throughout his life.  The author also involved accounts from other children that were put into foster care.  The book provided many details and background information on abuse so it was useful.  Some of the facts Dave Pelzer stated are helpful for a thesis for the research paper.  In the book, Dave says about how he moved to many different foster homes and would not stay in one home for very long.  Dave also says how he would not go to school for periods of time, and when he was in school, he would not pay attention very much.  The information that Dave Pelzer provides helps to form the question: Are foster homes actually better than the child’s original home?  The book provides many details supporting the idea that foster homes may not necessarily be better than the original home because the child is not always in school which affects the child’s future and intelligence.  The book also shows that moving to many different homes hurts the relationships the child has with other people.  Overall, the book was very good, but sad because of how Dave was treated.