BHS is a YALSA Library this year! The students of the Book Club are reading Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs) of books before they are available for sale! Then OUR students will review these books and help select the top 10 Young Adult Books of the year! We are one of 15 clubs in the country and the ONLY high school in Illinois reviewing for YALSA!
I Love My Librarians!!!
Friday, April 04, 2008
Lovi's Classes Give you Their Recommendations!
For some tips on GREAT books to read, checkout the books that Ms. Lovi's classes are recommending!Click on the cover to find the book at BHS!
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Hawk Occupation: Skateboarder
Written by Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk is a remarkable person. He has endured many hardships in his life in order to become one of the most popular athletes on the planet. The book Hawk Occupation: Skateboarder is written by Hawk himself and gives a fantastic look into the life of a legend. The book takes place in many places but is most consistently set in southern California near San Diego. Even from the beginning, the author grips the reader with his descriptive humor. For example, one of the first lines in the book is a great example of the books many humorous lines. “I pull myself up, wobble a bit on my just learning to walk legs, and pick up my red metal car. I lock the center of her aged shoulders in my crosshairs. She’s turned her back on me, fatal mistake. I couldn’t have wished for more. I aim, cock my arm back, and fire. My red car shoots across the room and finds the target.” As you can see, Mr. Hawk’s writing style is very unique and is often laugh out loud funny. You learn early that Tony was a rebellious child who was always energetic and caused a large amount of chaos anywhere he went. The only thing that calmed him was skateboarding which he discovered from his older brother, Steve. From there, a fascinating journey of an early teenager becoming a professional skateboarder begins. The book is long, over 300 pages and is filled with detailed stories from his life. It almost feels like Tony Hawk is talking to you because his writing style is so engaging and funny. Thus, it is hard to put this book down even there is no real conflict or plot. I cannot say anything bad about this book; it has the entertainment value of a high value comedy movie. I would recommend it to anybody who enjoys skateboarding or wants to read something interesting and funny.
In the book Right Behind You by Gale Giles, Kip and his father live a poor life in Alaska until nine-year-old Kip, in a jealous rage, sets a neighboring boy on fire, who is only seven, which kills him. Put in a psychiatric hospital for criminal juveniles, he is released four and a half years later and moves to Indiana with his father and new stepmother. The house that they now live in is nice, small, but big enough for a family of three. The area around them is nice and well preserved. Kip and his family assume new identities (Kip now goes by Wade). As Wade, who is by all accounts observant, articulate and intelligent, struggles with his horrible past and finding his place in the outside world, he becomes a star swimmer at his new school in Indiana and even gets a girlfriend, who he nicknames "Absolutely Cutest." However, one drunken evening, Wade reveals his secret to his friends and soon after he and his family are forced to relocate once more, this time to Texas. There new house was a little smaller and had no grass. (The kind of house that Malcolm and his family live in, in the TV show Malcolm in the Middle) There he finds a special spirit in his new neighbor Sam, a beautiful girl who considers herself to be "damaged goods". This story explores, with sympathy and compassion, the nature of guilt and forgiveness. Giles quotes “Do you get to kill someone and say, ‘Oh, really sorry now,’ and everything is fine?” (He says in his biography) it is a question that goes through Kip’s mind throughout the story. Readers should be glued to Wade's story, hoping for his redemption. I believe readers of all kinds could read this book but mostly ages 13 and up. If you like stunning around the corner results that could determine the rest of the book; this book is most suitable for you. The thriller and excitement that is book compels makes the reader want to read the rest of the book and to find out what will happen to Kip and is family. How will he live the rest of his life? Will he burn more of his friends and go to prison for the rest of his life? Signed by: Dion Mrs. Lovi, 6th hour
In the book Criss Cross By John Steinbeck a number of events happens to Debbie and her friends over the year. Debbie is a high school girl who lives an average teenage life in a small town where nothing new ever happens to any of her friends, including her. Debbie makes a wish for herself after reading one of her sister’s magazines. As the year goes by Debbie starts to notice differences in her life and new things happening to her. While Debbie is noticing some different things in her life, her friend Hector is also noticing some new things with is life. Hector goes to a performance at a college with his sister and her friends, which he realizes after changes his whole outlook on life, himself, and the others around him. One big person Debbie meets along the way makes her realize that her life is like a puzzle, also known as her Buddha puzzle, and is starting to get put together through all the events in her life so far.
John Steinbeck uses creative methods in his writing such as talking about the lives of all of Debbie’s friends in multiple-perspectives. He uses creative ways of having all the characters blend in with one another’s stories’. The book got more entertaining and exciting towards the middle of the story when things really start happening to everyone. I personally thought the ending was not as great as it could have been, but the book over all was very good. The other does not give the book away as soon as you read and you need to read the whole book to figure how everything ends which I personally thought was great. This book is cute and funny, and I liked the book. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a story with more than one main character in the novel with a multi-perspective view and likes a book that doesn’t give the reader anything away.
Book Review By: Valerie, Mrs. Lovi’s 6th hour class
In the book PANIC! By Jeff Abbott, an exciting series of events happen to one young man. Evan Casher is a young 24 year old man who has just made many documentaries being seen around the world. He soon finds out, making documentaries is not going to be the main focus of his life any longer. It starts out with Evan waking up in his Houston, Texas apartment to a startling phone call from his mom. Although he drove all the way to Austin he did not know what was in store for him once he had opened his door. He was panicked as he saw his mother brutally murdered her kitchen floor and two men still in the house. Evan later encounters with a CIA agent, Gabriel, a tall bald man, that helps him out of danger for a period of time. When Evan learns to fight for himself, Jargo, and his son Dezz, try to track him down for files stolen from the CIA. They soon find out, Evan will only give the files away if he will get his kidnapped father and girlfriend back. As he runs away to Miami, to find his father, Evan begins to find out of his family history and how his parents were involved in such a monstrosity of events. When Evan finally puts his hidden life into the open, he has new identities to follow and new places to travel. He travels all the way to London to find more of the clues leading to the files needed. The events that happen throughout the story are little pieces being put together one by one in order to form a big picture in which is life truly began. This all ties back into one large mishap that had happened many years ago, but have been covered up many times due to identity changes. Having the many changes makes it hard for Evan to get the files to the right person and find out about an old family secret being kept hidden. At the end, Evan wonders if his life will ever be the same again. Jeff Abbott writes in a unique style for this thrilling and suspenseful book. The plot twists are intriguing by the way it turns the clues around so it always goes back to the same person. The suspenseful actions taking place help the plot become more interesting as the book continues on. The creativity and intensity makes the book all more interesting to read. I would recommend this book to those who like suspenseful, action, and thrilling types of books. If more than one main character and good description helps, then this would be a great book. Book Review by: Kalena, Mrs. Lovi’s 6th hour class
The Freedom Writers Diary by Zlata Filipovic is the amazing true story of strength, courage, and triumph of 150 students who face harsh surroundings. In the fall of 1994, in Room 203 at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, an idealistic teacher named Erin Gruwell faced her first group of students, who were considered and thought of as juvenile delinquents and who they believe that they were unsuitable of learning information that a “normal” student at their age would be learning. Also the life was too much from them to handle and could barley live to 16 and if lucky make it to graduation day but without graduating. The class was a mix of races and belief’s about peoples color. It was a diverse class of African-American, Latino, Vietnamese, and Caucasian students. The Latino’s and the Vietnamese were rivals at that school. And have been for a very long time. In the first few weeks of class, her students made it very clear, that they were not interested in what their teacher had to say, and made bets about how long she would last as a teacher in this society. It all stared with a drawing that the kids passed around of one of the African-American students. From that point on Erin Gruwell knew that these kids didn’t know about the history and how pictures that they drew as a joke weren’t a joke and turned into something more, just like the holocaust. Erin Gruwell was shocked to discover that many of her students had never heard of the Holocaust. When she asked how many in her class had been shot at, however, almost all of them raised their hands, and began lifting their shirts to show their scars. By taken her own time and money she forced her students to rethink their lives. As the students she began with, the Juvenile kids that no one wanted to even bother with. She altered them in aspiring students who thought about their actions outside of school and how it would affect their future. From the moment they named themselves the "Freedom Writers," the students of Room 203 changed from a group of uninterested, aggravated “pissed off” students to a closely knit, motivated family. I myself aren’t a enthusiastic reader, as I was reading I realized that I couldn’t put this book done. From all the action that the kids write about and their emotionals. It is a remarkable story of how these kids. Destined for horrible things. Probably murders and could have been killed already. Being transformed into people that know one thought they could. And a lot of them being the first to graduate from their family (Mason Mrs.Lovi’s 6th hour)
I read the book Traitor by Andy McNab and Robert Rigby. Danny was a 16 year old boy prepared to join the Special Air Services (SAS). But he did not know that his grandfather was a traitor to his country. His grandpa was a highly skilled SAS solider who had gone through many wars. When Danny had found out about this he was outraged and went on a search to find him. After days looking for him with the help of Danny’s friend Elena they found him. They did not get off on the right foot almost instantly they hated each other. But they had no time for an introduction since they were being followed by “the firm.” These people were looking for Frankie (Danny’s grandpa) because he was an escaped fugitive from a Colombian prison where he was being held. Once they got out of the clear Frankie tried to explain that he was not the Traitor. First off Danny thought that he was a total liar. But after a couple of days he realized that he was telling the truth. He found out that the real Traitor was George Finchman who was the leader of “the firm.” George had all planned it out when Frankie was in Colombia and George was in London he blamed Frankie for the blood money that he got from drugs. That made Frankie look like the real Traitor and that is why they were being followed so that the could kill Frankie and Danny because they both new the truth. Near the end Frankie was found and was taken to a secret base in the woods. Danny was determined to find Frankie because he knew he was innocent. Danny was risking his life and Elena’s life to save this man he only met a couple days ago. This was one of Danny’s best training for the SAS but you should read the book to see what happens to him and Frankie. This is one of the most action packed book I have ever read. I never wanted to put it down because I was always on my toes waiting to see what was around the corner. When you read this book you will find out a exhilarating ending. Taylor Mrs.Lovi 6th hour
“Simon Glass was easy to hate. I never knew exactly why, there was too much to pick from. I guess, really, we each hated him for a different reason, but we didn’t realize it until the day we killed him.” Before you know it, B’vale becomes unlike your typical high school. Shattering Glass by Gail Giles is an intense book that is like nothing you have read before. It begins with the description of Simon Glass. A boy who is easy to hate, being the school geek and everything that comes along with that label. Then it goes on to clarify what B’vale high school is like, and the somewhat new kid, Rob Haynes. From the perspective of Young Steward, you experience countless suspense filled encounters leading to the end of the book. Lance Ansley was known as the alpha wolf of the pack, that is until Rob enters the picture. One day Lance humiliates Simon like never before. Crossing the line, Rob realizes how much a jerk he really is, changing B’vale forever. Rob comes up with the absurd idea to make Simon popular. Can he do it? Is what everyone wondered. Gail Giles had an interesting, addicting way of writing this novel. Starting every chapter with a quote from a witness of the night Simon was killed, he leaves you anticipating for the ending. Which is one reason why this book is one you will never want to put down. I have never read a book quite like this before, another reason why I enjoyed it so much. The book tortures you by telling you the ending, but not how it happened, making you eager to finish. Filled with twists, this story is captivating and completely unexpected. Book review by Hadey 6th period
“About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Seconds, there was a part of him-and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be-that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.” Twilight by Stephanie Meyers, is written in a way that captures its audience on almost every page and keeps you wanting to read more. As portrayed on the first page, Bella Swan is an awkward, self-conscious seventeen year old who wants only to be accepted. She is from Phoenix, Arizona where she lives with her mother Renee. She decides to move in with her dad, Charlie, who lives in wet and rainy Forks, Seattle. She hopes to find a new beginning and not be the outcast she was at her out school back in Phoenix. There, she meets a boy named Edward Cullen. Bella is lured in by his mysteriousness and charm and is eager to find out his secret. After he saves Bella’s life from a swerving car on the icy school parking lot, she knows something is different about Edward, especially since just seconds before the collision he was all the way on the other side of the parking lot. This book captures all of your emotions perfectly and sucks you into to the depth of the characters emotions. It is an love story that will keep you wanting to read it over and over again. -Annabel
The book Desperation by Stephen King is a terrifying novel. There’s a place along Interstate 50 that some call the loneliest place on Earth. It’s known as Desperation, Nevada. It’s not a very nice place to live. It’s an even worse place to die. David Carver and his family are going on vacation. They get pulled over by a strange cop and get taken into the town of Desperation where they are put in jail. The cop had arrested a group of people. The cop is extremely evil and kills anything that moves. They escape and try to make it out of the town alive but there is something stopping them. The group finds refuge in a movie theater and come up with a plan to escape. They find out that each building is full of dead rotting people the cop has killed. The animals in the town are hungry for flesh. The evil is trying to overpower god. This is an amazing book. Once you start reading you won’t want to stop. Terror happens throughout it. A gory, gut-wrenching exercise in fear and paranoia Desperation is a fast-paced, heart pounding, horrothon that builds up to an exciting conclusion. It will haunt you long after you finish. I loved this book! It was one of the best books I’ve ever read. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a horrifying disgusting book. I would look forward to reading it. Welcome to Desperation. Greg
The book First Shot by Walter Sorrells was an amazing story for young adult readers in the school. Two years ago, David Crandall’s mother was murdered. There was little evidence, no witnesses, and no motive, the crime was left unsolved. Now a high school senior, David is unable to shake the sense that someone knows more than they’re letting on. His suspicion deepens as he uncovers clues to a shocking family secret involving fraud. But when he spies his father burying an old rifle in a deserted lot during a rainstorm, suspicion turns to fear. Was his own father the actual killer? This is not a good time for David to discover this either. He is competing for the most honorable achievement in the school. First Shot. First Shot is where the 10 best shooters in the school shoot at 10 different targets from 50 yards away and whoever has the best score wins the First Shot award. He is pressured to win this competition because all of his great grandfathers and even his own father has won this award. They have not only just one the award but they have always become the headmaster of the school. The book brings a certain excitement with it each time you pick it up. The story is a serious but humorous mystery that leaves you guessing the whole time. The farther you get into it the more anxious you are to knowing all of the secrets behind the novel. The magnificent novel has left on the edge of my seat the whole. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a great thriller with a combination of a mystery.
Jump-Man by James Valentine is about a boy named Jules Santorini, is pretty much your completely average thirteen year old. Except for the fact that Jules has frequent conversations with his brain and his brain actually talks back to him and that’s his only oddity. Other than that Jules is a normal kid. The girl Jules likes is Gen Corrigan. Gen is one of the popular girls at school and treats Jules like the new kid even though Jules and Gen used to be close friends before Jules moved away to be with his mom. Now he’s back and their relationship just isn’t the same. Now Theodore (Theo) is a boy from the year fifteen billion and seventy three. He wins this contest and gets a “timejump” to a new jump site. Well he ends up with the wrong “jump-man” and ends up appearing in Gen’s room right before Jules asks her on a date. Theo is just a normal boy…from the future who gets caught in “3 mil” (21st century). Theo comes with very interesting characteristics including hair that changes colors according to his mood like a chameleon, but comes off looking almost like a liquid rainbow. He speaks the one language they speak in the future; Speakish, English with some new words tossed in. His characteristics are almost nothing compared to his futuristic gadgets. His coat, knows everything, and like Jules’ brain, they talk. These three characters need to find a way to get Theo back home but for the time being they need to hide him and pass him off to the school as Jules’ cousin. Gen’s little sister Cynthia knows something is going down and she tries to find out what’s happening here. With Theo’s messed up Jump-Man and no way to get home, they run into some problems along the way including parents day at school and trouble with the principal and Gen’s mom on their tail along with Cynthia. It takes place in the 21st century, modern times in a regular American town. This Book did not actually interest me that much and didn’t really make me want to read anymore than I already did. I wouldn’t recommend this to people who don’t like reading outside of school or people who get bored easily. It was pretty predictable and not much action. It’s a creative book but not put together well and never really made me want to read on or tell myself anything was interesting. James Valentine did not do the best job with keeping me excited or “on the edge of my seat wanting more”. Michael 6th hour
Shattering Glass, a suspenseful, disturbing, nail-biting thriller. The characters in this novel are pugnacious people that “own” the hallways of the school. Coop, the football team linebacker, not to smart in the head but high ranked in the social system. Bob, the ladies man around town, but a little high tempered when someone gets on his nerves. Rob, last years transfer student but within seconds of stepping into school, every girl in was head over heels to get a hold of him. Lastly Simon Glass, the ultimate “textbook geek” who can’t seem to get a hold of a social calendar. Rob, the “leader” of the senior class, had an idea. An idea never thought of before. Their mission was to take Simon Glass and turn him into the most popular, powerful, jock of the school. They started with his appearance, working their way to how he “rolls” with the crowd. As soon as Glass warms up to civilization, there seems to be a spark in his eye, a spark that shows evil and misfortune. And when Simon discovers a dangerous secret, events darken. Thus leading to a cold, dark, future, that I would most definitely not refer to as a fairy tale ending. Giles uses quotes from random characters in the beginning of each chapter that leads you to a new and unexpected thought. Never knowing what to expect the future events to happen next. I am not someone to pick up a book and read, but once I began this book I couldn’t put it down. I would tell myself to finish the chapter, and put it down, but I had to continue to the next thrilling event. I believe this book is suitable for any reader, because it contains a rainbow of genres binding into a plethora of action and full of suspense and drama.
Thirsty By: M.T. Anderson In a world were there are vampires, it is hard to say the world is normal. A boy named Christopher leads a simple life with his friends near Peoria. A vampire was caught in the town Christopher lives in and was lynched. Like his friends he thought it was something cool to see and went with his brother. When a strange incident occurred the vampire singled out Christopher and gave him an evil stare. As the book goes on Christopher gets a thirst that he cannot quench. Christopher is then confronted with by a celestial being that explains a mission he must complete to cure him of his dark curse. Christopher must now choose his path to believe this man and fight to cure himself or sit back and be taken over. Unfortunately all doesn’t go as planned and Christopher is thrown into a crisis situation. Some strengths of this book were the way he portrays how badly the vampires are looked upon. The author writes in an informal text that is able to sew itself in with the characters personalities. The book showed few creative qualities and it was hard to imagine some of the characters because of the lack of description. This is a book that can be easily forgotten and put down to do other activities. It shows a little dramatic qualities and it has its exciting points. I did not enjoy this book some of the ideas were childish and bizarre. I was a little disappointed and was looking forward to reading this book at first. But after I got into the book I realized that it wasn’t that enjoyable. Although I didn’t like it so much it shows qualities that might intrigue a person who likes vampire stories Joe, Mrs. Lovi’s 6th hour
Cammie Morgan, in the book I’d tell you I love you, but then I’d have to kill you by Ally Carter, is an average teenage girl – if you call attending an all girls school for genius spies normal. Along with her mother being the head master of the school, and her father dying in a mission, she has had a tremendously hard life. But with her best friends Liz and Bex by her side, she believes anything is possible. One dark, gloomy evening while on a mission at the local town’s carnival, a boy notices her. For her whole life, she has always been called the Chameleon, so for him to even look at her makes her heart beat faster and faster. They engaged in conversation and sparks immediately flew, but the thing is, she can’t tell him about her life because she is sworn to secrecy by being a spy. She tells him that she is home schooled, has a cat named Suzie, and has lived all over the world. She leaves him there to run home, lightheaded, ecstatic, and her heart racing. From that point on, her mission was to see if dating, Josh would work. They would meet every weekend on the bench in town to see a movie or go to dinner. Cammie grew to like Josh, maybe even love him, but the thing is, he liked who he thought she was, not the real Cammie. He asked her to be his girlfriend and how could she say no? But then, Josh’s friend Dillon sees Cammie walking toward the Gallagher Academy, the school she attends to be a spy. Josh is shocked and hurt that Cammie lied to him, so he went there to find the truth. This book is full of love, action, adventure, and comedy. Ally Carter’s writing is very comical, detailed, and easy to follow. I would recommend it to any teenager or young adult looking for a relaxing read and something they would enjoy and maybe even relate to. Casey, Mrs. Lovi’s 7th Hour English
The book The Usual Rules by Joyce Maynard stars Wendy, a girl who has everything you could ever want: an amazing father, an inspiring step-dad, a caring mother, adorable little brother, and a good home. But this all changes on a devastating day that we all remember well, September 11, 2001. She sat in homeroom staring at her desk, and drawing pictures. Suddenly an announcement came over the speakers; Attention students and staff. Do not panic but we have just been informed that one of the twin towers had just been attacked and is slowly collapsing. Her heart was in her throat and she felt like she was going to throw up; her mother worked there. News then spread about the attack of the second building making Wendy’s heart beat faster than she ever knew it could. Thoughts sped through her mind: Where’s mom? Is she ok? Why did I say those mean, horrible things? Why did my wish come true? Earlier that morning she had an argument with her mother. Her step-dad was calming Wendy down when the most evil words she had ever said spilled from her mouth. “Yea, well sometimes I wish she’d just drop dead.” Now it was too late and she could never take back those words. Her step-father and younger brother arrived at the school and they rushed home. They kept the phone lines open and searched the hospitals all day. But there was never a call and no hospital had any record of her being there. At this exact moment in time Wendy’s whole life was flipped upside down because she knew her mother was dead. I believe that almost any reader would like this book. We were all affected by September 11th and can relate to the types of emotions that she feels in this book. The author’s writing is easy to follow and keeps you interested throughout. This book was an awakening of the harsh truth that you or a loved one could lose their life any day. angela- 7th hour Lovi, english
The novel Things Not Seen, by Andrew Clement, is a gripping story that will make it difficult for you to put it down. Like many other stories written by Andrew Clement, such as Frindle among others, Clement shows how and what people would do in frustrating and difficult situations. The story gets straight to the point when Bobby, a boy who feels ignored and somewhat invisible at school, wakes up one morning completely invisible; not blind, not dreaming, but just plain invisible. Most teens Bobby’s age would keep to themselves about their condition but Bobby goes straight to his paranoid stressful mother, and his father who is a physician, who is determined to solve his son’s confusing condition. He is sworn to secrecy about his invisibility but soon goes against his parents orders, and goes to a library in midwinter Chicago. Although invisibility can be thought of as fun, no one knows about him and it isn’t fun to be not noticed. He soon meets a girl named Alicia Von Dorn with whom he eventually confides his secret, who is blind and can’t judge him about anything. Things get even more difficult when his parents are in a car accident and hospitalized for several days, leaving Bobby on his own. But in this day and age a boy can't just disappear without first his school and then Child Protection and the police getting involved, suspecting that he has been the victim of some sort of crime. Clement shows how a person would live if something dramatic like this would happen. Alarmed that his condition might have his parents taken to jail, Bobby considers revealing himself to the world, but his parents stop him. Ultimately, to save Bobby's family and reclaim his life, Clement expresses creatively how Bobby and Alicia launch an investigation of their own, eventually discovering the truth behind Bobby's invisibility and a possible solution to his problem. Bobby must find a way to become visible again before his parents are arrested. Overall I believe this book had lots of interesting situations, yet some predicaments are a little farfetched and hard to believe. I guess I would have to recommend this book to any teen because teens can relate to Bobby. Kirkus reviews says it best saying, “A readable, thought-provoking tour de force, alive with stimulating ideas, hard choices, and young people discovering bright possibilities ahead.” Mike 7th Hour
My book was Homeboyz by Alan Lawrence Sitomer this book was full of action and criminal schemes. This book tells the story of Teddy Anderson’s attempt to get revenge against 0-1-0s for spraying his sister Tina with a round of bullets. Teddy Anderson the brother of Tina is 6ft muscular giant during the day but by night he is a computer criminal hacking into a various arrangement of websites and files. He finds himself in a mess of trouble with the law when during the act of his revenge he is ratted out by an Asian store owner. This leads to teddy being labeled as gangster thug charged with a handful of felonies. In jail to top off his criminal record he is labeled as a troublemaker another nail in the coffin that is Teddy’s future. But by the grace of god Teddy is released and is put into a program called G-PIP which is a gang prevention program. He is given a project of watching over a juvenile delinquent named Micah. Along with all of Teddy’s criminal problems he is also dealing with family problems. Such as fighting his brother not to mention his mom won’t even talk to him. Teddy is faced with many challenges. Will he be able to keep Micah out of the juvenile system, will even be able save himself. Teddy’s life may be down but he’s not out just yet. This book is mainly intended for the middle teen population. I would not recommend this book for a kid due to intense language, violence, and adult situations. This book was very well written it kept me on edge from the first page to the last period. My favorite lesson this book teaches is that kids need influence in their lives, real role models, but when that’s not there kids will be steered down a dark and scary path. So pick up Homeboyz it is wonderfully written and a great book.
If you are into football stories about hard, tough, disciplined, strong football teams, this book might just grab you by your eyes. In Bleachers, by John Grisham, a washed up All-American football quarterback, who ended his career with a knee injury his freshman year of college, Neely Crenshaw, comes back to his small southern hometown when he hears his high school football coach, Eddie Rake, can’t hold on to his own life much longer. Back when Neely was being coached by Rake, people rushed into the stadium every Friday night to see the team play; everyone would show up early and never leave before the end of the game. If you wore the High school football jacket, people looked at you like a legend, especially Neely. Not only did Neely come for a week for the occasion, so did all the other players that Rake coached. Throughout the week they gather together and talk about the great memories that they had playing for Rake. They talk about unbelievable games, brutal practice, the annually feared summer run, and life in general. However the book isn’t only about football stories. Neely also has some side goals that he wants to accomplish before he leaves, like meet up with his high school sweetheart who he hasn’t seen in 15 years. Sometimes the book does seem on the slow side, this isn’t a book filled with action and adventure, however the stories that are unheard of make up for that. One thing that I like about this book is that the idea is unique but the author is very easy to understand and follow throughout the book. The author had a good idea to write a football book about life after the amazing football days in high school. Most sports books or movies are about during the time of play. On the contrary, this was interesting because it had an entire new perspective on high school football. So if you like sports stories about an amazing team and challenges they faced. This book will make you think twice about going to your next hometown football game. -Brad 7th period Mrs. Lovi
Stephen King writes some interesting books. I read one of his books, Cell, a book that is intense from cover to cover. The story follows a man named Clay riddle, who recently was divorced. His wife and son, Johnny, lived in Maine and communicate often. Clay is an author and carries his art for his books everywhere he goes. It was a normal day in October when at 3 o’clock, the unimaginable happened. Everyone who uses a cell became insane. Everything starts going nuts when cars, planes, and boats crash in the confusion and hysteria. The phone lines barely work and is almost impossible for the authorities to help anyone. The police are left with no choice but to shoot the (crazies). But I doesn’t help much. Boston is burning and maybe the rest of the world. Amongst the hysteria, Clay meets up with a man named Tom. He is a small witty man who is very scared from the instances they go through. He owns a house that they can take refuge for a while when the madness continues. He also meets up with a fifteen year- old girl, Alice. She has been personally affected by the event when her own mother went crazy after using a cell phone. Amongst the madness, they encounter some of the people who had gone insane from using the cell phones. They stick together and try to get out of the city but are delayed by the crazies and are in danger all the time. This Book was great and always kept me interested. I recommend it to all readers that like intense books and like gore. I hope you enjoyed as much as I did.(John Mrs. Lovie 7th Hour)
Lone Survivor, the epic tale written by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson, is the eye witness account of Operation Red Wing and the lost Heroes of SEAL team 10. Although this story is full of glory, heroism, patriesm, and the kindness strangers, it is also a story of suffering, pain, and the greatest loss of life in SEAL team history. Marcus Luttrell is part of a four man sniper team. Each SEAL in the group is a one man killing machine. They are trained in sniping, hand to hand combat, and all of them are extremely smart. Him and is men are sent to Afghanistan to get Intel on a high ranking Taliban with close ties to Osama Bin Laden. On the SEALs journey to they stumble upon a group of goat herders. The SEALs are faced with a vital decision that will change these SEALs life for ever. Kill the goat herders, or let them go and risk them going to the Taliban. The decision is based on fear and fear along. Not the fear of the Taliban coming after them. The SEALs have all the confidence in the world that they could take on the Taliban. The fear was the media back home; they could be viewed as bad people. You will not find out if they let the herders go in this review. But it would result in the death of three seals and the men of the Alfa squad and echo platoons that died trying to save them. The story of the lost men in operation redwing of SEAL team 10 is a heart pounding, accelerating story of how the death of multiple SEALs occurred and why they should be remembered for serving there country. Nick- Lovi- 7th period-
Fake ID by Walter Sorrells is a very thrilling, exciting mystery. If you like suspenseful mysteries then you will love this book. This mystery is about a sixteen-year-old girl who has moved around with her mother ever since she was an infant. They have to change their identities every time they move to a new town. Right now she has moved into a small town in Alabama called High Hopes. She has tons of questions that her mother would never answer. She does not know what or who they are running from. She does not know who her father is or even know what her real name is. Her name now is Chastity Pureheart, for the time being. Allison Pureheart, her mother, loathes music. She thinks that it will bring bad luck. On Chass’s (Chastity) sixteenth birthday her mother disappears. After three days, the police find her mother’s car outside Addison Purvis’s old, abandoned house (Addison Purvis is her best friend’s father). They also found blood matching her mother’s DNA and a purse holding six ID cards all containing her mother’s picture, but all different names. Chass doubts that her mother is dead. She strongly believes that her mother has runaway again but only to protect her. Chass has only six days until she is to be put into a foster care program because she is still under aged. So she sets off to find her mother with Ben Purvis, her best friend and only friend. Ben is a very loving, caring teenager who really wants to help Chass. With the help of the sheriff’s daughter, will they be able to find her mother? After reading this book, I felt thoroughly satisfied. I loved how the author wrote and how much detail he gave. He didn’t give to much or too little. This was an awesome book that everyone should read. Kalene, Period 7
Arnold Spirit aka Junior isn’t your everyday reservation kid, with his oversized head to match his huge glasses, and his skinny body with huge hands and feet. He wasn’t the most normal looking kid you have ever seen, as you can tell, and at school he acted just the way looked; weird. To go along with his abnormalness is his best friend Rowdy. Rowdy is the meanest kid you might ever know or hear of, but he must have a soft spot in his heart for Junior. After all weak losers don’t necessarily get along with strong meat heads like Rowdy. After getting suspended from school and having his dog die, things weren’t going particularly the best for him at the moment. During his suspension Mr. P, his teacher comes to talk to him, and while talking to him, Mr. P tells him something very important in which he must do to save his reservation and friends. Mr. P says that he must leave; he must get off the reservation and go to another school where hope lives. Junior doesn’t really understand what Mr. P is trying to say and questions him. That’s when Mr. P brought up junior’s sister, Mary. Junior then understood. Junior had grown up seeing his sister be good at everything and then see her end up living in the basement. That’s when Junior decided it was the right thing to do. Mr. P believes the reservation is just a hopeless civilization and that Junior has enough hope to leave and save his reservation. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Read this book to find out the great journey Junior goes on to save his reservation and let hope live. This was a good book I recommend it to people who like to read realistic books with tons of humor. I would give Sherman Alexie’s book 4 out of 5 stars for his humor and creativity in his writing. -Greg 7th hour
The book Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac is filled with mystery and action that keeps you wanting to read more. This book is a great book for people who like adventure and that like hearing stories of the past. The main character, Kii Yazhi which means Little Boy, was sent to an English speaking school far away from his home to learn English, not knowing if he would ever see his family again. He was taken from his home in a Navajo town by his uncle. They traveled for miles so Kii Yazhi could help his people and his country. He was left with his belongings and other young Navajo boys and girls. What was kept from them is what they were there for. They were going to be trained to memorize codes for the American marines during World War 2. The lives of the American marines were sometimes dependant upon the Navajo “Code Talkers”, as they were later called. Kii Yazhi was yet to realize what was happening until months later when him and his fellow comrades were in combat and he lost one of his friends while trying to save other American marines. They were later forced to send codes through the jungles where the Japanese were ready to attack. Thousands of “code talkers” were murdered in their sleep or in action of sending the codes. They all later were told that they are allowed to go home once the last of the men were out of danger. They did not know what was yet to come their way though. They would soon come to wave their flag on foreign soil and reunited with their fellow comrades. This book is a great book and should be read by many more readers who enjoy these mysteries. I enjoyed it, and I think you will too.
He was an addict, a lover, and an artist. His name is Eric Clapton. Eric founded many classics that you may recognize today, Layla, Sunshine of your life, and you are wonderful tonight. This novel enlightens the upbringing of troubled children like Eric Clapton. Eric was bullied and messed with as a child and disowned by his own mother. Eric Clapton went on to do great things, such as the forming of the famous band Cream, with the hit single, I feel Free. Many struggles were addressed in this book when he became addicted to heroine and cocaine for almost a year. This book highlighted the problems of 60s, throughout all of Eric’s addictions and all of his problems. This book makes you want to keep reading and reading when you here about what will happen to Eric when he goes to rehab. Many events unfold in Eric’s life leading you to become more and more involved with the story. Eric writes in such a way that you could have been there, watching everything happen. Many climaxes occur in this novel, which is quite uncommon in an autobiography. I was never bored with this novel, because the author keeps you on the edge of your seat. Eric helps you become a very intelligent reader, as he pours more and more knowledge of history in the book. Throughout this book Eric teaches you about the fifties, sixties, and seventies. If you are a music fanatic like I am, you should really learn about this rock and roll legend who has helped shape the music we hear today.
I’m sure you’ve all heard about Michael Jordan, but many people do not know what happened to him from the time when he first retired to when he came back from retirement. The book Second Coming: The Strange Odyssey of Michael Jordan tells us Michael’s feelings, off-court experiences, and his reasons for both retiring and returning to the NBA, as well as what his teammates thought about the whole retirement. Aside from Jordan’s feelings as well as his teammates’ feelings, you can’t forget about the press and interviewers basically attacking Michael Jordan’s life. “I feel I’m at the high point in my career, and after the death of my father, it’s time I put basketball aside and rest,” Jordan had said in the press conference of his retirement. Of course, with the press hounding his life, it was impossible for him to rest. The book tells us why he returns to the league, and why things weren’t going his way away from the game of basketball. As a big fan and follower of Michael Jordan, there were still many moments of his life that I was unaware of, some funny, some dramatic. The author, Sam Smith, takes us behind the scenes with Michael; into the locker room, aboard the plane, and on the team bench. By reading this book, it has made me like Jordan even more, especially as a normal person rather than a basketball legend. Griffin- Mrs. Lovi-8th hour
Perce is an eighteen year old adventurer who is in Buenos Aires with his friend Billy. They had just been shipwrecked from their previous voyage together and are looking for a new job to work on a cruiser. They meet an officer on the ship Endurance, Mr. Greenstreet, who just fired two people for being drunk. He gives Billy the job and says Perce is too young. Perce feeling like he is more adventurous than Billy, decides to stowaway on the ship looking for an adventure of his lifetime. The captain of the ship Endurance name is Ernest Shackleton he is a famous British explorer making a second attempt at crossing the Antarctic. Having thousands of people wave them good bye from Buenos Aires they are feeling good about the adventure. Until they end up getting trapped in the Antarctic. Their boat surrounded and engulfed by ice with nowhere to go. The men tried to get it out but they had no chance because the ice was freezing on the boat faster than they could chop it off. They ended up evacuating the ship on three small life boats praying for their lives. They end up landing on the main land of the Antarctic and building huts with the lifeboats and eating penguin for months.
This book will take you to the edge of your seat while reading it. I really enjoyed this book because even if they were on the boat most of the time they were always doing something. Whether it was celebrating Christmas or hearing sailor’s stories about their life. This book kept me want to keep on reading and helped a lot when it came to having nothing better to do on an airplane ride or a rainy day. The chance to see if they survive is yours I don’t think you will be disappointed with this book.
“A Room with a View” written by E. M. Forster is about Lucy Honeychurch and her adventure in Rome. Lucy is a very reserved young British girl whose family is regarded as a very highly ranked back in London. Her mother sends her to Rome to become a “woman of the world” as she puts it. She is sent with her chaperone and cousin Miss Charlotte Bartlett. Charlotte being the shadow of how Lucy would become when she grows up, is very cautious of the beautiful young woman. They are both astounded when they were promised a room close together and with a lovely view and got neither. Charlotte becomes weary when Lucy meets her exact opposite in a handsome young man named George. George unlike Lucy is definitely not as wealthy, he does not have a political status to uphold, but he is free and very lively. Immediately he takes an interest in the proper young lady and begins to pursue her, even though she is repulsed by the every thought of him. Lucy’s family being extremely proper and George’s open, blunt, and alive. They conflict on every view point. Will George be able to win Lucy over or will there be just too many obstacles and keep them apart? Throughout the novel you will experience a roller coaster of emotions, happy, sad, angry and anxious to make you read till the end. E.M. Forster gives great descriptions of Italy and Lucy’s surroundings. She even does a great job contrasting the two families and showing their many differences. While reading this book you will never want to put it down. The author leaves you hanging and wanting more till the end. E. M. Forster was very creative pairing up these two very different characters and view points in the novel. I would recommend this novel to anyone looking for a romantic love story that leaves you mesmerized.
This is your classic bone-chilling, heart-stopping, downright terrifying story of the undead. This book is not for those who are light hearted. It is terrifying and has parts that could send your heart racing. In the beginning, you are introduced to a man named Jonathan Harker. He is being sent to Transylvania to help a lord of the area, Count Dracula, purchase a house and move to London. At first, the Count seems like the kind of man you think is very, very strong and very intelligent, nothing considered too life-threatening there. It is not until Jonathan figures out that he is being held prisoner (or at least, he thinks he is) that he realizes that his life is in danger. You find out his thoughts through the journal he keeps, like all of the other characters in the book. Anyone who has some basic knowledge of the story knows what else would happen, but I won’t tell anymore. After Jonathan leaves the story for a little bit we are introduced to Mina, his lover and her friend Lucy. I won’t spoil any more for you. There are some side stories in this book that tie into the main story. Some are happy, others are dark, terrifying, and will just keep you reading and reading until you figure out what happens in the end. The entire story is told though a collection of the characters’ journals. Every character has a journal in this book, except for not too important characters and Professor Van Helsing. This is a good way for the author to have written the book since it really gets you into each character’s head, so you aren’t really guessing anything about any of the characters. The write everything in their journals: thoughts, emotions, ideas, and basic information about what is happening around them. The book could really suck you in sometimes, but you can’t keep reading forever. The book is almost sort of semi-addicting, if there is such a term. You will also be left with some scenes in your head that will haunt you for years to come. What are you waiting for; read this handbook on how to kill a vampire. You might just save your life, well maybe
Alice Tully is your average everyday girl, she works in a coffee shop, has a boyfriend, a normal life. Yet every time she hears the name Jennifer Jones (JJ) a certain chill comes over her. JJ is known all through London as the little 10 year old girl, who murdered her best friend. She was released from prison 6 months ago, and Alice Tully had collected every newspaper that mentioned her name ever since then. There are only 4 people who know where exactly JJ is and Alice is one of them. Anne Cassidy created this flashback book too JJ’s complicated childhood with her prostitute mother and Alice Tully’s problems in present day. In Looking for JJ you’ll feel the sympathy for the former murder and experience the cringe that the murder gives to Alice. Anne Cassidy wrote with detail and was extremely precise, maybe even too much. There was much anticipation to find out exactly what happened when JJ killed her best friend. In my opinion it was too predictable, you knew what was going to happen from the start. There are much non-needed chapters that had absolutely nothing to do with the whole concept of the book. Cassidy was creative with the main idea of the book, yet she could have added a huge surprise too intrigue the readers even more. Cassidy has a very simple, sympathetic way of expressing the emotions that the characters experience. Although I knew what would occur, I enjoyed the imagery and changes that both characters went through in their lifetime. This book is about starting over and how a person can change after a horrendous crime that they did, if it’s even possible to make a clean slate. All in all I would recommend to an age of the older teen, beginning at age 15. In my opinion I would have rather have a read a different book. I enjoy books with happy endings, which Looking for JJ, does not have. Overall I would have read a book that offered more to the mind and not disappointed me.
In the memoir Lucky, Alice Sebold shares with us her story on how she was brutally raped as an eighteen year old on her college campus. The story starts off beginning with this very gruesome and violent act but proceeds on with her explaining her childhood. Continuing in the memoir, she sees her rapist six months after the tragic encounter and notifies the police which leads up to court hearings. Her friends have supported her 100 percent with helping her recover. Her parents on the other hand are trying but are not successfully coping with the news of their daughter’s rape. Alice is determined to win her court hearing and put the scum who altered her life behind bars. Though after her rapist pulls a few stunts, her changes of winning get slimmer by the minute. Sebold has a neat and creative way of writing that draws you in but in a different way that most other authors do. Her writing has an approach that is quite disturbing but still keeps you wanting to find out what happens next. She has written another book, The Lovely Bones that I also enjoyed a lot. During both her books I cried immensely that made me feel so bad for what was happening to these young women. I believe that any sort of rape and child molestation are terribly acts that we cannot unfortunately prevent. Alice Sebold’s Lucky leaves you in awe and amazement that still keeps you wondering how she can still live her life after her event that left her life in total chaos. The memoir is an enchanting story that is spellbinding that leaves you wanting more. -sammie Mrs. Lovi
“Don’t call me a fairy. We don’t like to be called fairies anymore. Once upon a time, fairy was a perfectly acceptable catchall for a variety of creatures, but now it has taken on too many associations. If you must give me a name, call me hobgoblin. Or better yet, I am a changeling.” Henry Day, a 7 year old boy, runs away from home into the dark forest near his home. There, he is kidnapped by a tribe of changelings. They name him Aniday. As each day goes by, Aniday fails to recall his true identity and form and craves to find out who he really is. In his place, a changeling, that has waited almost 100 years for this moment, obtains Henry’s form, clothes, and identity in order to live in the human world. The ‘new’ Henry Day adjusts to the new life and century, obsessively researching his true identity as a secret. Years have gone by and Henry is now married and even has a kid, named Edward, of his own. As his son grows up, Henry is haunted by nightmares that one day, Edward would be kidnapped and that one day, his wife, Tess, would find out who he really is. Both Aniday and Henry yearn to discover out who they really are. In The Stolen Child, Keith Donohue journeys through the life of two people that experience the interchanging lives between a fantasy world and reality one around the 1950s in New York. He writes in a somewhat challenging way that will make one’s mind think twice before concluding one’s own situation. Donohue reveals many restless secrets that clarify the true understanding of this novel. It is a novel that will make you think twice before doing anything reckless. -Grace Mrs. Lovi's 8th period
I Love You, Beth Cooper is not only the title of the novel but are the words that valedictorian Denis Cooverman said at his graduation speech. Denis Cooverman was a senior at Buffalo Grove High School. He was top valedictorian for his class and was chosen to say the graduation speech. His best friend Rich Munsch was down in the seats with all of the seniors very disappointed at Denis because Denis never confessed to Rich that he loved Beth Cooper. Beth Cooper was the head cheerleader of the varsity squad at Buffalo Grove High School. She was a very intimidating girl to Denis, which is why he never confessed that he liked her. Denis encounters many obstacles in the town of Buffalo Grove where he and Rich live. Denis lives more on the upper class level rather than Rich who mainly lives in the middle class with a beating father. In the book I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle has many surprises that shift you out of your seat. Denis encounters many problems that he has to over come. Beth Cooper has a boyfriend named Kevin. Kevin was an ex-marine and did not like Denis at all. Kevin heard when Denis said that he loved his girlfriend. Kevin was furious. During the story Kevin tries to make Denis live in sorrow in a one night adventure. I love You, Beth Cooper has a very high level of vocabulary in it. This book does drag on for a little of the book between the ending of the climax and resolution, so be prepared. On the other hand, this book is very amusing. Doyle did a very nice job in expressing the true emotions of Denis. Doyle creates a fantastic picture in your mind throughout the novel. I would recommend this book for readers of a high level. The vocabulary may be a little confusing for some people that are in a lower level of reading. I would give this book a 4 ½ out of 5 stars. Jeremy 6th hour
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Hawk Occupation: Skateboarder
Written by Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk is a remarkable person. He has endured many hardships in his life in order to become one of the most popular athletes on the planet. The book Hawk Occupation: Skateboarder is written by Hawk himself and gives a fantastic look into the life of a legend. The book takes place in many places but is most consistently set in southern California near San Diego. Even from the beginning, the author grips the reader with his descriptive humor. For example, one of the first lines in the book is a great example of the books many humorous lines. “I pull myself up, wobble a bit on my just learning to walk legs, and pick up my red metal car. I lock the center of her aged shoulders in my crosshairs. She’s turned her back on me, fatal mistake. I couldn’t have wished for more. I aim, cock my arm back, and fire. My red car shoots across the room and finds the target.” As you can see, Mr. Hawk’s writing style is very unique and is often laugh out loud funny. You learn early that Tony was a rebellious child who was always energetic and caused a large amount of chaos anywhere he went. The only thing that calmed him was skateboarding which he discovered from his older brother, Steve. From there, a fascinating journey of an early teenager becoming a professional skateboarder begins. The book is long, over 300 pages and is filled with detailed stories from his life. It almost feels like Tony Hawk is talking to you because his writing style is so engaging and funny. Thus, it is hard to put this book down even there is no real conflict or plot. I cannot say anything bad about this book; it has the entertainment value of a high value comedy movie. I would recommend it to anybody who enjoys skateboarding or wants to read something interesting and funny.
Michael, Mrs. Lovi’s 6th hour
In the book Right Behind You by Gale Giles, Kip and his father live a poor life in Alaska until nine-year-old Kip, in a jealous rage, sets a neighboring boy on fire, who is only seven, which kills him. Put in a psychiatric hospital for criminal juveniles, he is released four and a half years later and moves to Indiana with his father and new stepmother. The house that they now live in is nice, small, but big enough for a family of three. The area around them is nice and well preserved. Kip and his family assume new identities (Kip now goes by Wade). As Wade, who is by all accounts observant, articulate and intelligent, struggles with his horrible past and finding his place in the outside world, he becomes a star swimmer at his new school in Indiana and even gets a girlfriend, who he nicknames "Absolutely Cutest." However, one drunken evening, Wade reveals his secret to his friends and soon after he and his family are forced to relocate once more, this time to Texas. There new house was a little smaller and had no grass. (The kind of house that Malcolm and his family live in, in the TV show Malcolm in the Middle) There he finds a special spirit in his new neighbor Sam, a beautiful girl who considers herself to be "damaged goods". This story explores, with sympathy and compassion, the nature of guilt and forgiveness. Giles quotes “Do you get to kill someone and say, ‘Oh, really sorry now,’ and everything is fine?” (He says in his biography) it is a question that goes through Kip’s mind throughout the story. Readers should be glued to Wade's story, hoping for his redemption. I believe readers of all kinds could read this book but mostly ages 13 and up. If you like stunning around the corner results that could determine the rest of the book; this book is most suitable for you. The thriller and excitement that is book compels makes the reader want to read the rest of the book and to find out what will happen to Kip and is family. How will he live the rest of his life? Will he burn more of his friends and go to prison for the rest of his life?
Signed by: Dion
Mrs. Lovi, 6th hour
In the book Criss Cross By John Steinbeck a number of events happens to Debbie and her friends over the year. Debbie is a high school girl who lives an average teenage life in a small town where nothing new ever happens to any of her friends, including her. Debbie makes a wish for herself after reading one of her sister’s magazines. As the year goes by Debbie starts to notice differences in her life and new things happening to her. While Debbie is noticing some different things in her life, her friend Hector is also noticing some new things with is life. Hector goes to a performance at a college with his sister and her friends, which he realizes after changes his whole outlook on life, himself, and the others around him. One big person Debbie meets along the way makes her realize that her life is like a puzzle, also known as her Buddha puzzle, and is starting to get put together through all the events in her life so far.
John Steinbeck uses creative methods in his writing such as talking about the lives of all of Debbie’s friends in multiple-perspectives. He uses creative ways of having all the characters blend in with one another’s stories’. The book got more entertaining and exciting towards the middle of the story when things really start happening to everyone. I personally thought the ending was not as great as it could have been, but the book over all was very good. The other does not give the book away as soon as you read and you need to read the whole book to figure how everything ends which I personally thought was great. This book is cute and funny, and I liked the book. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a story with more than one main character in the novel with a multi-perspective view and likes a book that doesn’t give the reader anything away.
Book Review By: Valerie, Mrs. Lovi’s 6th hour class
In the book PANIC! By Jeff Abbott, an exciting series of events happen to one young man. Evan Casher is a young 24 year old man who has just made many documentaries being seen around the world. He soon finds out, making documentaries is not going to be the main focus of his life any longer. It starts out with Evan waking up in his Houston, Texas apartment to a startling phone call from his mom. Although he drove all the way to Austin he did not know what was in store for him once he had opened his door. He was panicked as he saw his mother brutally murdered her kitchen floor and two men still in the house. Evan later encounters with a CIA agent, Gabriel, a tall bald man, that helps him out of danger for a period of time. When Evan learns to fight for himself, Jargo, and his son Dezz, try to track him down for files stolen from the CIA. They soon find out, Evan will only give the files away if he will get his kidnapped father and girlfriend back.
As he runs away to Miami, to find his father, Evan begins to find out of his family history and how his parents were involved in such a monstrosity of events. When Evan finally puts his hidden life into the open, he has new identities to follow and new places to travel. He travels all the way to London to find more of the clues leading to the files needed. The events that happen throughout the story are little pieces being put together one by one in order to form a big picture in which is life truly began. This all ties back into one large mishap that had happened many years ago, but have been covered up many times due to identity changes. Having the many changes makes it hard for Evan to get the files to the right person and find out about an old family secret being kept hidden. At the end, Evan wonders if his life will ever be the same again.
Jeff Abbott writes in a unique style for this thrilling and suspenseful book. The plot twists are intriguing by the way it turns the clues around so it always goes back to the same person. The suspenseful actions taking place help the plot become more interesting as the book continues on. The creativity and intensity makes the book all more interesting to read. I would recommend this book to those who like suspenseful, action, and thrilling types of books. If more than one main character and good description helps, then this would be a great book.
Book Review by: Kalena, Mrs. Lovi’s 6th hour class
The Freedom Writers Diary by Zlata Filipovic is the amazing true story of strength, courage, and triumph of 150 students who face harsh surroundings. In the fall of 1994, in Room 203 at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, an idealistic teacher named Erin Gruwell faced her first group of students, who were considered and thought of as juvenile delinquents and who they believe that they were unsuitable of learning information that a “normal” student at their age would be learning. Also the life was too much from them to handle and could barley live to 16 and if lucky make it to graduation day but without graduating. The class was a mix of races and belief’s about peoples color. It was a diverse class of African-American, Latino, Vietnamese, and Caucasian students. The Latino’s and the Vietnamese were rivals at that school. And have been for a very long time. In the first few weeks of class, her students made it very clear, that they were not interested in what their teacher had to say, and made bets about how long she would last as a teacher in this society. It all stared with a drawing that the kids passed around of one of the African-American students. From that point on Erin Gruwell knew that these kids didn’t know about the history and how pictures that they drew as a joke weren’t a joke and turned into something more, just like the holocaust. Erin Gruwell was shocked to discover that many of her students had never heard of the Holocaust. When she asked how many in her class had been shot at, however, almost all of them raised their hands, and began lifting their shirts to show their scars. By taken her own time and money she forced her students to rethink their lives. As the students she began with, the Juvenile kids that no one wanted to even bother with. She altered them in aspiring students who thought about their actions outside of school and how it would affect their future. From the moment they named themselves the "Freedom Writers," the students of Room 203 changed from a group of uninterested, aggravated “pissed off” students to a closely knit, motivated family. I myself aren’t a enthusiastic reader, as I was reading I realized that I couldn’t put this book done. From all the action that the kids write about and
their emotionals. It is a remarkable story of how these kids. Destined for horrible things. Probably murders and could have been killed already. Being transformed into people that know one thought they could. And a lot of them being the first to graduate from their family (Mason Mrs.Lovi’s 6th hour)
I read the book Traitor by Andy McNab and Robert Rigby. Danny was a 16 year old boy prepared to join the Special Air Services (SAS). But he did not know that his grandfather was a traitor to his country. His grandpa was a highly skilled SAS solider who had gone through many wars. When Danny had found out about this he was outraged and went on a search to find him. After days looking for him with the help of Danny’s friend Elena they found him. They did not get off on the right foot almost instantly they hated each other. But they had no time for an introduction since they were being followed by “the firm.” These people were looking for Frankie (Danny’s grandpa) because he was an escaped fugitive from a Colombian prison where he was being held. Once they got out of the clear Frankie tried to explain that he was not the Traitor. First off Danny thought that he was a total liar. But after a couple of days he realized that he was telling the truth. He found out that the real Traitor was George Finchman who was the leader of “the firm.” George had all planned it out when Frankie was in Colombia and George was in London he blamed Frankie for the blood money that he got from drugs. That made Frankie look like the real Traitor and that is why they were being followed so that the could kill Frankie and Danny because they both new the truth. Near the end Frankie was found and was taken to a secret base in the woods. Danny was determined to find Frankie because he knew he was innocent. Danny was risking his life and Elena’s life to save this man he only met a couple days ago. This was one of Danny’s best training for the SAS but you should read the book to see what happens to him and Frankie.
This is one of the most action packed book I have ever read. I never wanted to put it down because I was always on my toes waiting to see what was around the corner. When you read this book you will find out a exhilarating ending.
Taylor Mrs.Lovi 6th hour
“Simon Glass was easy to hate. I never knew exactly why, there was too much to pick from. I guess, really, we each hated him for a different reason, but we didn’t realize it until the day we killed him.”
Before you know it, B’vale becomes unlike your typical high school. Shattering Glass by Gail Giles is an intense book that is like nothing you have read before. It begins with the description of Simon Glass. A boy who is easy to hate, being the school geek and everything that comes along with that label. Then it goes on to clarify what B’vale high school is like, and the somewhat new kid, Rob Haynes. From the perspective of Young Steward, you experience countless suspense filled encounters leading to the end of the book.
Lance Ansley was known as the alpha wolf of the pack, that is until Rob enters the picture. One day Lance humiliates Simon like never before. Crossing the line, Rob realizes how much a jerk he really is, changing B’vale forever. Rob comes up with the absurd idea to make Simon popular. Can he do it? Is what everyone wondered.
Gail Giles had an interesting, addicting way of writing this novel. Starting every chapter with a quote from a witness of the night Simon was killed, he leaves you anticipating for the ending. Which is one reason why this book is one you will never want to put down. I have never read a book quite like this before, another reason why I enjoyed it so much. The book tortures you by telling you the ending, but not how it happened, making you eager to finish. Filled with twists, this story is captivating and completely unexpected.
Book review by Hadey 6th period
“About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Seconds, there was a part of him-and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be-that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.”
Twilight by Stephanie Meyers, is written in a way that captures its audience on almost every page and keeps you wanting to read more. As portrayed on the first page, Bella Swan is an awkward, self-conscious seventeen year old who wants only to be accepted. She is from Phoenix, Arizona where she lives with her mother Renee. She decides to move in with her dad, Charlie, who lives in wet and rainy Forks, Seattle. She hopes to find a new beginning and not be the outcast she was at her out school back in Phoenix. There, she meets a boy named Edward Cullen. Bella is lured in by his mysteriousness and charm and is eager to find out his secret. After he saves Bella’s life from a swerving car on the icy school parking lot, she knows something is different about Edward, especially since just seconds before the collision he was all the way on the other side of the parking lot. This book captures all of your emotions perfectly and sucks you into to the depth of the characters emotions. It is an love story that will keep you wanting to read it over and over again.
-Annabel
The book Desperation by Stephen King is a terrifying novel. There’s a place along Interstate 50 that some call the loneliest place on Earth. It’s known as Desperation, Nevada. It’s not a very nice place to live. It’s an even worse place to die. David Carver and his family are going on vacation. They get pulled over by a strange cop and get taken into the town of Desperation where they are put in jail. The cop had arrested a group of people. The cop is extremely evil and kills anything that moves. They escape and try to make it out of the town alive but there is something stopping them. The group finds refuge in a movie theater and come up with a plan to escape. They find out that each building is full of dead rotting people the cop has killed. The animals in the town are hungry for flesh. The evil is trying to overpower god.
This is an amazing book. Once you start reading you won’t want to stop. Terror happens throughout it. A gory, gut-wrenching exercise in fear and paranoia Desperation is a fast-paced, heart pounding, horrothon that builds up to an exciting conclusion. It will haunt you long after you finish.
I loved this book! It was one of the best books I’ve ever read. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a horrifying disgusting book. I would look forward to reading it. Welcome to Desperation.
Greg
The book First Shot by Walter Sorrells was an amazing story for young adult readers in the school. Two years ago, David Crandall’s mother was murdered. There was little evidence, no witnesses, and no motive, the crime was left unsolved. Now a high school senior, David is unable to shake the sense that someone knows more than they’re letting on. His suspicion deepens as he uncovers clues to a shocking family secret involving fraud. But when he spies his father burying an old rifle in a deserted lot during a rainstorm, suspicion turns to fear. Was his own father the actual killer? This is not a good time for David to discover this either. He is competing for the most honorable achievement in the school. First Shot. First Shot is where the 10 best shooters in the school shoot at 10 different targets from 50 yards away and whoever has the best score wins the First Shot award. He is pressured to win this competition because all of his great grandfathers and even his own father has won this award. They have not only just one the award but they have always become the headmaster of the school. The book brings a certain excitement with it each time you pick it up. The story is a serious but humorous mystery that leaves you guessing the whole time. The farther you get into it the more anxious you are to knowing all of the secrets behind the novel. The magnificent novel has left on the edge of my seat the whole. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a great thriller with a combination of a mystery.
~Ray
Jump-Man by James Valentine is about a boy named Jules Santorini, is pretty much your completely average thirteen year old. Except for the fact that Jules has frequent conversations with his brain and his brain actually talks back to him and that’s his only oddity. Other than that Jules is a normal kid. The girl Jules likes is Gen Corrigan. Gen is one of the popular girls at school and treats Jules like the new kid even though Jules and Gen used to be close friends before Jules moved away to be with his mom. Now he’s back and their relationship just isn’t the same. Now Theodore (Theo) is a boy from the year fifteen billion and seventy three. He wins this contest and gets a “timejump” to a new jump site. Well he ends up with the wrong “jump-man” and ends up appearing in Gen’s room right before Jules asks her on a date. Theo is just a normal boy…from the future who gets caught in “3 mil” (21st century). Theo comes with very interesting characteristics including hair that changes colors according to his mood like a chameleon, but comes off looking almost like a liquid rainbow. He speaks the one language they speak in the future; Speakish, English with some new words tossed in. His characteristics are almost nothing compared to his futuristic gadgets. His coat, knows everything, and like Jules’ brain, they talk.
These three characters need to find a way to get Theo back home but for the time being they need to hide him and pass him off to the school as Jules’ cousin. Gen’s little sister Cynthia knows something is going down and she tries to find out what’s happening here. With Theo’s messed up Jump-Man and no way to get home, they run into some problems along the way including parents day at school and trouble with the principal and Gen’s mom on their tail along with Cynthia. It takes place in the 21st century, modern times in a regular American town.
This Book did not actually interest me that much and didn’t really make me want to read anymore than I already did. I wouldn’t recommend this to people who don’t like reading outside of school or people who get bored easily. It was pretty predictable and not much action. It’s a creative book but not put together well and never really made me want to read on or tell myself anything was interesting. James Valentine did not do the best job with keeping me excited or “on the edge of my seat wanting more”.
Michael 6th hour
Shattering Glass-Gail Giles
Shattering Glass, a suspenseful, disturbing, nail-biting thriller. The characters in this novel are pugnacious people that “own” the hallways of the school. Coop, the football team linebacker, not to smart in the head but high ranked in the social system. Bob, the ladies man around town, but a little high tempered when someone gets on his nerves. Rob, last years transfer student but within seconds of stepping into school, every girl in was head over heels to get a hold of him. Lastly Simon Glass, the ultimate “textbook geek” who can’t seem to get a hold of a social calendar. Rob, the “leader” of the senior class, had an idea. An idea never thought of before. Their mission was to take Simon Glass and turn him into the most popular, powerful, jock of the school. They started with his appearance, working their way to how he “rolls” with the crowd. As soon as Glass warms up to civilization, there seems to be a spark in his eye, a spark that shows evil and misfortune. And when Simon discovers a dangerous secret, events darken. Thus leading to a cold, dark, future, that I would most definitely not refer to as a fairy tale ending.
Giles uses quotes from random characters in the beginning of each chapter that leads you to a new and unexpected thought. Never knowing what to expect the future events to happen next. I am not someone to pick up a book and read, but once I began this book I couldn’t put it down. I would tell myself to finish the chapter, and put it down, but I had to continue to the next thrilling event. I believe this book is suitable for any reader, because it contains a rainbow of genres binding into a plethora of action and full of suspense and drama.
Caitlin-Per. 6
Thirsty
By: M.T. Anderson
In a world were there are vampires, it is hard to say the world is normal. A boy named Christopher leads a simple life with his friends near Peoria. A vampire was caught in the town Christopher lives in and was lynched. Like his friends he thought it was something cool to see and went with his brother. When a strange incident occurred the vampire singled out Christopher and gave him an evil stare. As the book goes on Christopher gets a thirst that he cannot quench. Christopher is then confronted with by a celestial being that explains a mission he must complete to cure him of his dark curse. Christopher must now choose his path to believe this man and fight to cure himself or sit back and be taken over. Unfortunately all doesn’t go as planned and Christopher is thrown into a crisis situation. Some strengths of this book were the way he portrays how badly the vampires are looked upon. The author writes in an informal text that is able to sew itself in with the characters personalities. The book showed few creative qualities and it was hard to imagine some of the characters because of the lack of description. This is a book that can be easily forgotten and put down to do other activities. It shows a little dramatic qualities and it has its exciting points. I did not enjoy this book some of the ideas were childish and bizarre. I was a little disappointed and was looking forward to reading this book at first. But after I got into the book I realized that it wasn’t that enjoyable. Although I didn’t like it so much it shows qualities that might intrigue a person who likes vampire stories
Joe, Mrs. Lovi’s 6th hour
Cammie Morgan, in the book I’d tell you I love you, but then I’d have to kill you by Ally Carter, is an average teenage girl – if you call attending an all girls school for genius spies normal. Along with her mother being the head master of the school, and her father dying in a mission, she has had a tremendously hard life. But with her best friends Liz and Bex by her side, she believes anything is possible.
One dark, gloomy evening while on a mission at the local town’s carnival, a boy notices her. For her whole life, she has always been called the Chameleon, so for him to even look at her makes her heart beat faster and faster. They engaged in conversation and sparks immediately flew, but the thing is, she can’t tell him about her life because she is sworn to secrecy by being a spy. She tells him that she is home schooled, has a cat named Suzie, and has lived all over the world. She leaves him there to run home, lightheaded, ecstatic, and her heart racing.
From that point on, her mission was to see if dating, Josh would work. They would meet every weekend on the bench in town to see a movie or go to dinner. Cammie grew to like Josh, maybe even love him, but the thing is, he liked who he thought she was, not the real Cammie. He asked her to be his girlfriend and how could she say no? But then, Josh’s friend Dillon sees Cammie walking toward the Gallagher Academy, the school she attends to be a spy. Josh is shocked and hurt that Cammie lied to him, so he went there to find the truth.
This book is full of love, action, adventure, and comedy. Ally Carter’s writing is very comical, detailed, and easy to follow. I would recommend it to any teenager or young adult looking for a relaxing read and something they would enjoy and maybe even relate to. Casey, Mrs. Lovi’s 7th Hour English
The book The Usual Rules by Joyce Maynard stars Wendy, a girl who has everything you could ever want: an amazing father, an inspiring step-dad, a caring mother, adorable little brother, and a good home. But this all changes on a devastating day that we all remember well, September 11, 2001. She sat in homeroom staring at her desk, and drawing pictures. Suddenly an announcement came over the speakers; Attention students and staff. Do not panic but we have just been informed that one of the twin towers had just been attacked and is slowly collapsing. Her heart was in her throat and she felt like she was going to throw up; her mother worked there. News then spread about the attack of the second building making Wendy’s heart beat faster than she ever knew it could. Thoughts sped through her mind: Where’s mom? Is she ok? Why did I say those mean, horrible things? Why did my wish come true?
Earlier that morning she had an argument with her mother. Her step-dad was calming Wendy down when the most evil words she had ever said spilled from her mouth. “Yea, well sometimes I wish she’d just drop dead.” Now it was too late and she could never take back those words.
Her step-father and younger brother arrived at the school and they rushed home. They kept the phone lines open and searched the hospitals all day. But there was never a call and no hospital had any record of her being there. At this exact moment in time Wendy’s whole life was flipped upside down because she knew her mother was dead.
I believe that almost any reader would like this book. We were all affected by September 11th and can relate to the types of emotions that she feels in this book. The author’s writing is easy to follow and keeps you interested throughout. This book was an awakening of the harsh truth that you or a loved one could lose their life any day.
angela- 7th hour Lovi, english
The novel Things Not Seen, by Andrew Clement, is a gripping story that will make it difficult for you to put it down. Like many other stories written by Andrew Clement, such as Frindle among others, Clement shows how and what people would do in frustrating and difficult situations. The story gets straight to the point when Bobby, a boy who feels ignored and somewhat invisible at school, wakes up one morning completely invisible; not blind, not dreaming, but just plain invisible. Most teens Bobby’s age would keep to themselves about their condition but Bobby goes straight to his paranoid stressful mother, and his father who is a physician, who is determined to solve his son’s confusing condition. He is sworn to secrecy about his invisibility but soon goes against his parents orders, and goes to a library in midwinter Chicago. Although invisibility can be thought of as fun, no one knows about him and it isn’t fun to be not noticed. He soon meets a girl named Alicia Von Dorn with whom he eventually confides his secret, who is blind and can’t judge him about anything. Things get even more difficult when his parents are in a car accident and hospitalized for several days, leaving Bobby on his own. But in this day and age a boy can't just disappear without first his school and then Child Protection and the police getting involved, suspecting that he has been the victim of some sort of crime. Clement shows how a person would live if something dramatic like this would happen. Alarmed that his condition might have his parents taken to jail, Bobby considers revealing himself to the world, but his parents stop him. Ultimately, to save Bobby's family and reclaim his life, Clement expresses creatively how Bobby and Alicia launch an investigation of their own, eventually discovering the truth behind Bobby's invisibility and a possible solution to his problem. Bobby must find a way to become visible again before his parents are arrested. Overall I believe this book had lots of interesting situations, yet some predicaments are a little farfetched and hard to believe. I guess I would have to recommend this book to any teen because teens can relate to Bobby. Kirkus reviews says it best saying, “A readable, thought-provoking tour de force, alive with stimulating ideas, hard choices, and young people discovering bright possibilities ahead.” Mike 7th Hour
My book was Homeboyz by Alan Lawrence Sitomer this book was full of action and criminal schemes. This book tells the story of Teddy Anderson’s attempt to get revenge against 0-1-0s for spraying his sister Tina with a round of bullets. Teddy Anderson the brother of Tina is 6ft muscular giant during the day but by night he is a computer criminal hacking into a various arrangement of websites and files. He finds himself in a mess of trouble with the law when during the act of his revenge he is ratted out by an Asian store owner. This leads to teddy being labeled as gangster thug charged with a handful of felonies. In jail to top off his criminal record he is labeled as a troublemaker another nail in the coffin that is Teddy’s future. But by the grace of god Teddy is released and is put into a program called G-PIP which is a gang prevention program. He is given a project of watching over a juvenile delinquent named Micah.
Along with all of Teddy’s criminal problems he is also dealing with family problems. Such as fighting his brother not to mention his mom won’t even talk to him. Teddy is faced with many challenges. Will he be able to keep Micah out of the juvenile system, will even be able save himself. Teddy’s life may be down but he’s not out just yet.
This book is mainly intended for the middle teen population. I would not recommend this book for a kid due to intense language, violence, and adult situations. This book was very well written it kept me on edge from the first page to the last period. My favorite lesson this book teaches is that kids need influence in their lives, real role models, but when that’s not there kids will be steered down a dark and scary path. So pick up Homeboyz it is wonderfully written and a great book.
-Sam
Lovi, 7th period
If you are into football stories about hard, tough, disciplined, strong football teams, this book might just grab you by your eyes. In Bleachers, by John Grisham, a washed up All-American football quarterback, who ended his career with a knee injury his freshman year of college, Neely Crenshaw, comes back to his small southern hometown when he hears his high school football coach, Eddie Rake, can’t hold on to his own life much longer. Back when Neely was being coached by Rake, people rushed into the stadium every Friday night to see the team play; everyone would show up early and never leave before the end of the game. If you wore the High school football jacket, people looked at you like a legend, especially Neely. Not only did Neely come for a week for the occasion, so did all the other players that Rake coached. Throughout the week they gather together and talk about the great memories that they had playing for Rake. They talk about unbelievable games, brutal practice, the annually feared summer run, and life in general. However the book isn’t only about football stories. Neely also has some side goals that he wants to accomplish before he leaves, like meet up with his high school sweetheart who he hasn’t seen in 15 years.
Sometimes the book does seem on the slow side, this isn’t a book filled with action and adventure, however the stories that are unheard of make up for that. One thing that I like about this book is that the idea is unique but the author is very easy to understand and follow throughout the book. The author had a good idea to write a football book about life after the amazing football days in high school. Most sports books or movies are about during the time of play. On the contrary, this was interesting because it had an entire new perspective on high school football. So if you like sports stories about an amazing team and challenges they faced. This book will make you think twice about going to your next hometown football game.
-Brad
7th period
Mrs. Lovi
Stephen King writes some interesting books. I read one of his books, Cell, a book that is intense from cover to cover. The story follows a man named Clay riddle, who recently was divorced. His wife and son, Johnny, lived in Maine and communicate often. Clay is an author and carries his art for his books everywhere he goes. It was a normal day in October when at 3 o’clock, the unimaginable happened.
Everyone who uses a cell became insane. Everything starts going nuts when cars, planes, and boats crash in the confusion and hysteria. The phone lines barely work and is almost impossible for the authorities to help anyone. The police are left with no choice but to shoot the (crazies). But I doesn’t help much. Boston is burning and maybe the rest of the world. Amongst the hysteria, Clay meets up with a man named Tom. He is a small witty man who is very scared from the instances they go through. He owns a house that they can take refuge for a while when the madness continues. He also meets up with a fifteen year- old girl, Alice. She has been personally affected by the event when her own mother went crazy after using a cell phone. Amongst the madness, they encounter some of the people who had gone insane from using the cell phones.
They stick together and try to get out of the city but are delayed by the crazies and are in danger all the time. This Book was great and always kept me interested. I recommend it to all readers that like intense books and like gore. I hope you enjoyed as much as I did.(John Mrs. Lovie 7th Hour)
Lone Survivor, the epic tale written by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson, is the eye witness account of Operation Red Wing and the lost Heroes of SEAL team 10. Although this story is full of glory, heroism, patriesm, and the kindness strangers, it is also a story of suffering, pain, and the greatest loss of life in SEAL team history. Marcus Luttrell is part of a four man sniper team. Each SEAL in the group is a one man killing machine. They are trained in sniping, hand to hand combat, and all of them are extremely smart. Him and is men are sent to Afghanistan to get Intel on a high ranking Taliban with close ties to Osama Bin Laden. On the SEALs journey to they stumble upon a group of goat herders. The SEALs are faced with a vital decision that will change these SEALs life for ever. Kill the goat herders, or let them go and risk them going to the Taliban. The decision is based on fear and fear along. Not the fear of the Taliban coming after them. The SEALs have all the confidence in the world that they could take on the Taliban. The fear was the media back home; they could be viewed as bad people. You will not find out if they let the herders go in this review. But it would result in the death of three seals and the men of the Alfa squad and echo platoons that died trying to save them. The story of the lost men in operation redwing of SEAL team 10 is a heart pounding, accelerating story of how the death of multiple SEALs occurred and why they should be remembered for serving there country.
Nick-
Lovi-
7th period-
Fake ID by Walter Sorrells is a very thrilling, exciting mystery. If you like suspenseful mysteries then you will love this book. This mystery is about a sixteen-year-old girl who has moved around with her mother ever since she was an infant. They have to change their identities every time they move to a new town. Right now she has moved into a small town in Alabama called High Hopes. She has tons of questions that her mother would never answer. She does not know what or who they are running from. She does not know who her father is or even know what her real name is. Her name now is Chastity Pureheart, for the time being.
Allison Pureheart, her mother, loathes music. She thinks that it will bring bad luck. On Chass’s (Chastity) sixteenth birthday her mother disappears. After three days, the police find her mother’s car outside Addison Purvis’s old, abandoned house (Addison Purvis is her best friend’s father). They also found blood matching her mother’s DNA and a purse holding six ID cards all containing her mother’s picture, but all different names.
Chass doubts that her mother is dead. She strongly believes that her mother has runaway again but only to protect her. Chass has only six days until she is to be put into a foster care program because she is still under aged. So she sets off to find her mother with Ben Purvis, her best friend and only friend. Ben is a very loving, caring teenager who really wants to help Chass. With the help of the sheriff’s daughter, will they be able to find her mother?
After reading this book, I felt thoroughly satisfied. I loved how the author wrote and how much detail he gave. He didn’t give to much or too little. This was an awesome book that everyone should read. Kalene, Period 7
Arnold Spirit aka Junior isn’t your everyday reservation kid, with his oversized head to match his huge glasses, and his skinny body with huge hands and feet. He wasn’t the most normal looking kid you have ever seen, as you can tell, and at school he acted just the way looked; weird. To go along with his abnormalness is his best friend Rowdy. Rowdy is the meanest kid you might ever know or hear of, but he must have a soft spot in his heart for Junior. After all weak losers don’t necessarily get along with strong meat heads like Rowdy. After getting suspended from school and having his dog die, things weren’t going particularly the best for him at the moment. During his suspension Mr. P, his teacher comes to talk to him, and while talking to him, Mr. P tells him something very important in which he must do to save his reservation and friends. Mr. P says that he must leave; he must get off the reservation and go to another school where hope lives. Junior doesn’t really understand what Mr. P is trying to say and questions him. That’s when Mr. P brought up junior’s sister, Mary. Junior then understood. Junior had grown up seeing his sister be good at everything and then see her end up living in the basement. That’s when Junior decided it was the right thing to do. Mr. P believes the reservation is just a hopeless civilization and that Junior has enough hope to leave and save his reservation. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.
Read this book to find out the great journey Junior goes on to save his reservation and let hope live. This was a good book I recommend it to people who like to read realistic books with tons of humor. I would give Sherman Alexie’s book 4 out of 5 stars for his humor and creativity in his writing.
-Greg 7th hour
The book Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac is filled with mystery and action that keeps you wanting to read more. This book is a great book for people who like adventure and that like hearing stories of the past. The main character, Kii Yazhi which means Little Boy, was sent to an English speaking school far away from his home to learn English, not knowing if he would ever see his family again. He was taken from his home in a Navajo town by his uncle. They traveled for miles so Kii Yazhi could help his people and his country. He was left with his belongings and other young Navajo boys and girls. What was kept from them is what they were there for. They were going to be trained to memorize codes for the American marines during World War 2. The lives of the American marines were sometimes dependant upon the Navajo “Code Talkers”, as they were later called. Kii Yazhi was yet to realize what was happening until months later when him and his fellow comrades were in combat and he lost one of his friends while trying to save other American marines. They were later forced to send codes through the jungles where the Japanese were ready to attack. Thousands of “code talkers” were murdered in their sleep or in action of sending the codes. They all later were told that they are allowed to go home once the last of the men were out of danger. They did not know what was yet to come their way though. They would soon come to wave their flag on foreign soil and reunited with their fellow comrades. This book is a great book and should be read by many more readers who enjoy these mysteries. I enjoyed it, and I think you will too.
Tyler 7th hour
Written by, Eric Clapton
He was an addict, a lover, and an artist. His name is Eric Clapton. Eric founded many classics that you may recognize today, Layla, Sunshine of your life, and you are wonderful tonight. This novel enlightens the upbringing of troubled children like Eric Clapton. Eric was bullied and messed with as a child and disowned by his own mother. Eric Clapton went on to do great things, such as the forming of the famous band Cream, with the hit single, I feel Free. Many struggles were addressed in this book when he became addicted to heroine and cocaine for almost a year.
This book highlighted the problems of 60s, throughout all of Eric’s addictions and all of his problems. This book makes you want to keep reading and reading when you here about what will happen to Eric when he goes to rehab. Many events unfold in Eric’s life leading you to become more and more involved with the story. Eric writes in such a way that you could have been there, watching everything happen. Many climaxes occur in this novel, which is quite uncommon in an autobiography. I was never bored with this novel, because the author keeps you on the edge of your seat. Eric helps you become a very intelligent reader, as he pours more and more knowledge of history in the book. Throughout this book Eric teaches you about the fifties, sixties, and seventies. If you are a music fanatic like I am, you should really learn about this rock and roll legend who has helped shape the music we hear today.
- Zak M. 8th hour
I’m sure you’ve all heard about Michael Jordan, but many people do not know what happened to him from the time when he first retired to when he came back from retirement. The book Second Coming: The Strange Odyssey of Michael Jordan tells us Michael’s feelings, off-court experiences, and his reasons for both retiring and returning to the NBA, as well as what his teammates thought about the whole retirement. Aside from Jordan’s feelings as well as his teammates’ feelings, you can’t forget about the press and interviewers basically attacking Michael Jordan’s life. “I feel I’m at the high point in my career, and after the death of my father, it’s time I put basketball aside and rest,” Jordan had said in the press conference of his retirement. Of course, with the press hounding his life, it was impossible for him to rest. The book tells us why he returns to the league, and why things weren’t going his way away from the game of basketball.
As a big fan and follower of Michael Jordan, there were still many moments of his life that I was unaware of, some funny, some dramatic. The author, Sam Smith, takes us behind the scenes with Michael; into the locker room, aboard the plane, and on the team bench. By reading this book, it has made me like Jordan even more, especially as a normal person rather than a basketball legend.
Griffin- Mrs. Lovi-8th hour
Shackleton’s Stowaway
By: Quinn Regan 8th hour
Perce is an eighteen year old adventurer who is in Buenos Aires with his friend Billy. They had just been shipwrecked from their previous voyage together and are looking for a new job to work on a cruiser. They meet an officer on the ship Endurance, Mr. Greenstreet, who just fired two people for being drunk. He gives Billy the job and says Perce is too young. Perce feeling like he is more adventurous than Billy, decides to stowaway on the ship looking for an adventure of his lifetime. The captain of the ship Endurance name is Ernest Shackleton he is a famous British explorer making a second attempt at crossing the Antarctic. Having thousands of people wave them good bye from Buenos Aires they are feeling good about the adventure. Until they end up getting trapped in the Antarctic. Their boat surrounded and engulfed by ice with nowhere to go. The men tried to get it out but they had no chance because the ice was freezing on the boat faster than they could chop it off. They ended up evacuating the ship on three small life boats praying for their lives. They end up landing on the main land of the Antarctic and building huts with the lifeboats and eating penguin for months.
This book will take you to the edge of your seat while reading it. I really enjoyed this book because even if they were on the boat most of the time they were always doing something. Whether it was celebrating Christmas or hearing sailor’s stories about their life. This book kept me want to keep on reading and helped a lot when it came to having nothing better to do on an airplane ride or a rainy day. The chance to see if they survive is yours I don’t think you will be disappointed with this book.
“A Room with a View” written by E. M. Forster is about Lucy Honeychurch and her adventure in Rome. Lucy is a very reserved young British girl whose family is regarded as a very highly ranked back in London. Her mother sends her to Rome to become a “woman of the world” as she puts it. She is sent with her chaperone and cousin Miss Charlotte Bartlett. Charlotte being the shadow of how Lucy would become when she grows up, is very cautious of the beautiful young woman. They are both astounded when they were promised a room close together and with a lovely view and got neither. Charlotte becomes weary when Lucy meets her exact opposite in a handsome young man named George.
George unlike Lucy is definitely not as wealthy, he does not have a political status to uphold, but he is free and very lively. Immediately he takes an interest in the proper young lady and begins to pursue her, even though she is repulsed by the every thought of him. Lucy’s family being extremely proper and George’s open, blunt, and alive. They conflict on every view point. Will George be able to win Lucy over or will there be just too many obstacles and keep them apart?
Throughout the novel you will experience a roller coaster of emotions, happy, sad, angry and anxious to make you read till the end. E.M. Forster gives great descriptions of Italy and Lucy’s surroundings. She even does a great job contrasting the two families and showing their many differences. While reading this book you will never want to put it down. The author leaves you hanging and wanting more till the end. E. M. Forster was very creative pairing up these two very different characters and view points in the novel. I would recommend this novel to anyone looking for a romantic love story that leaves you mesmerized.
-Shelby
8th hour
Mrs. Lovi
Mitch, 8th hour
Dracula, by Bram Stoker
This is your classic bone-chilling, heart-stopping, downright terrifying story of the undead. This book is not for those who are light hearted. It is terrifying and has parts that could send your heart racing. In the beginning, you are introduced to a man named Jonathan Harker. He is being sent to Transylvania to help a lord of the area, Count Dracula, purchase a house and move to London. At first, the Count seems like the kind of man you think is very, very strong and very intelligent, nothing considered too life-threatening there. It is not until Jonathan figures out that he is being held prisoner (or at least, he thinks he is) that he realizes that his life is in danger. You find out his thoughts through the journal he keeps, like all of the other characters in the book. Anyone who has some basic knowledge of the story knows what else would happen, but I won’t tell anymore. After Jonathan leaves the story for a little bit we are introduced to Mina, his lover and her friend Lucy. I won’t spoil any more for you. There are some side stories in this book that tie into the main story. Some are happy, others are dark, terrifying, and will just keep you reading and reading until you figure out what happens in the end.
The entire story is told though a collection of the characters’ journals. Every character has a journal in this book, except for not too important characters and Professor Van Helsing. This is a good way for the author to have written the book since it really gets you into each character’s head, so you aren’t really guessing anything about any of the characters. The write everything in their journals: thoughts, emotions, ideas, and basic information about what is happening around them. The book could really suck you in sometimes, but you can’t keep reading forever. The book is almost sort of semi-addicting, if there is such a term. You will also be left with some scenes in your head that will haunt you for years to come. What are you waiting for; read this handbook on how to kill a vampire. You might just save your life, well maybe
Alice Tully is your average everyday girl, she works in a coffee shop, has a boyfriend, a normal life. Yet every time she hears the name Jennifer Jones (JJ) a certain chill comes over her. JJ is known all through London as the little 10 year old girl, who murdered her best friend. She was released from prison 6 months ago, and Alice Tully had collected every newspaper that mentioned her name ever since then. There are only 4 people who know where exactly JJ is and Alice is one of them. Anne Cassidy created this flashback book too JJ’s complicated childhood with her prostitute mother and Alice Tully’s problems in present day. In Looking for JJ you’ll feel the sympathy for the former murder and experience the cringe that the murder gives to Alice.
Anne Cassidy wrote with detail and was extremely precise, maybe even too much. There was much anticipation to find out exactly what happened when JJ killed her best friend. In my opinion it was too predictable, you knew what was going to happen from the start. There are much non-needed chapters that had absolutely nothing to do with the whole concept of the book. Cassidy was creative with the main idea of the book, yet she could have added a huge surprise too intrigue the readers even more. Cassidy has a very simple, sympathetic way of expressing the emotions that the characters experience. Although I knew what would occur, I enjoyed the imagery and changes that both characters went through in their lifetime. This book is about starting over and how a person can change after a horrendous crime that they did, if it’s even possible to make a clean slate. All in all I would recommend to an age of the older teen, beginning at age 15. In my opinion I would have rather have a read a different book. I enjoy books with happy endings, which Looking for JJ, does not have. Overall I would have read a book that offered more to the mind and not disappointed me.
In the memoir Lucky, Alice Sebold shares with us her story on how she was brutally raped as an eighteen year old on her college campus. The story starts off beginning with this very gruesome and violent act but proceeds on with her explaining her childhood. Continuing in the memoir, she sees her rapist six months after the tragic encounter and notifies the police which leads up to court hearings. Her friends have supported her 100 percent with helping her recover. Her parents on the other hand are trying but are not successfully coping with the news of their daughter’s rape. Alice is determined to win her court hearing and put the scum who altered her life behind bars.
Though after her rapist pulls a few stunts, her changes of winning get slimmer by the minute.
Sebold has a neat and creative way of writing that draws you in but in a different way that most other authors do. Her writing has an approach that is quite disturbing but still keeps you wanting to find out what happens next. She has written another book, The Lovely Bones that I also enjoyed a lot. During both her books I cried immensely that made me feel so bad for what was happening to these young women. I believe that any sort of rape and child molestation are terribly acts that we cannot unfortunately prevent.
Alice Sebold’s Lucky leaves you in awe and amazement that still keeps you wondering how she can still live her life after her event that left her life in total chaos. The memoir is an enchanting story that is spellbinding that leaves you wanting more.
-sammie
Mrs. Lovi
“Don’t call me a fairy. We don’t like to be called fairies anymore. Once upon a time, fairy was a perfectly acceptable catchall for a variety of creatures, but now it has taken on too many associations. If you must give me a name, call me hobgoblin. Or better yet, I am a changeling.” Henry Day, a 7 year old boy, runs away from home into the dark forest near his home. There, he is kidnapped by a tribe of changelings. They name him Aniday. As each day goes by, Aniday fails to recall his true identity and form and craves to find out who he really is. In his place, a changeling, that has waited almost 100 years for this moment, obtains Henry’s form, clothes, and identity in order to live in the human world. The ‘new’ Henry Day adjusts to the new life and century, obsessively researching his true identity as a secret. Years have gone by and Henry is now married and even has a kid, named Edward, of his own. As his son grows up, Henry is haunted by nightmares that one day, Edward would be kidnapped and that one day, his wife, Tess, would find out who he really is. Both Aniday and Henry yearn to discover out who they really are.
In The Stolen Child, Keith Donohue journeys through the life of two people that experience the interchanging lives between a fantasy world and reality one around the 1950s in New York. He writes in a somewhat challenging way that will make one’s mind think twice before concluding one’s own situation. Donohue reveals many restless secrets that clarify the true understanding of this novel. It is a novel that will make you think twice before doing anything reckless.
-Grace
Mrs. Lovi's 8th period
I Love You, Beth Cooper is not only the title of the novel but are the words that valedictorian Denis Cooverman said at his graduation speech. Denis Cooverman was a senior at Buffalo Grove High School. He was top valedictorian for his class and was chosen to say the graduation speech. His best friend Rich Munsch was down in the seats with all of the seniors very disappointed at Denis because Denis never confessed to Rich that he loved Beth Cooper. Beth Cooper was the head cheerleader of the varsity squad at Buffalo Grove High School. She was a very intimidating girl to Denis, which is why he never confessed that he liked her. Denis encounters many obstacles in the town of Buffalo Grove where he and Rich live. Denis lives more on the upper class level rather than Rich who mainly lives in the middle class with a beating father.
In the book I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle has many surprises that shift you out of your seat. Denis encounters many problems that he has to over come. Beth Cooper has a boyfriend named Kevin. Kevin was an ex-marine and did not like Denis at all. Kevin heard when Denis said that he loved his girlfriend. Kevin was furious. During the story Kevin tries to make Denis live in sorrow in a one night adventure.
I love You, Beth Cooper has a very high level of vocabulary in it. This book does drag on for a little of the book between the ending of the climax and resolution, so be prepared. On the other hand, this book is very amusing. Doyle did a very nice job in expressing the true emotions of Denis. Doyle creates a fantastic picture in your mind throughout the novel. I would recommend this book for readers of a high level. The vocabulary may be a little confusing for some people that are in a lower level of reading. I would give this book a 4 ½ out of 5 stars. Jeremy 6th hour
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