13 Reasons Why - Winston Ware

“When you mess with one part of a person’s life, you’re messing with their entire life. Everything. . . affects everything.” Jay Asher expresses this very evidently all throughout his novel, 13 Reasons Why. In the story of a girl named Hannah who had committed suicide and creepily shipped cassette tapes to the 13 people who had caused her to kill herself. I’d recommend this book to anyone because of it’s expression of the things that we all think, because it tells a great story, and finally because it teaches many lessons.

First and foremost, I feel as if anyone can relate to the stories in the cassette tapes. The stories range from stalkers to teachers on her list of people that caused her to end her life. Although it’s in a cruel way to portray it Jay Asher really showed us how to be aware of how things add up. That’s something that all of us could learn and should be in tune with.

Secondly, the story itself is amazing to imagine about. Just think of what you would do if a package was sent to you from someone who had killed themselves. The though personally gives me chills.

No Country For Old Men

Calvin Schumacher

Mrs. Schieffelin

9/8/16

No Country For Old Men

Most times students read a story and have to complete a recommendation, they recommend the book whether they thought it was good or bad. Over the summer, I chose to read No Country for Old Men. Honestly, I was not thrilled with the choices I had. No Country For Old Men sounded like the best possible choice. Mrs. Schieffelin and my dad both recommended it. Before I read it, I did not expect to enjoy it. However, No Country For Old Men was phenomenal book. I would recommend it to anyone entering high school. No Country For Old Men is an intense, action fulfilled story. It keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times. It also is a clever book and I like the way they tie all the characters together. Lastly, I enjoyed this book because it does not have an obvious ending.

During the story, I was anxious on what would happen next. This is a great story to have the reader always guessing what will happen next. When Chigurh was chasing and attempting to kill Llewelyn made the book suspenseful. It made you route for Llewelyn. The story hooked you onto Llewellyn's side. The author made him seem like a protagonist even though he should not have been. Chigurh was the antagonist and the story allowed you to route against him.

In No Country For Old Men, each character is introduced separately, none of them are familiar with each other. After a turn of events they all become tied together in the same issue. The sheriff has to stop the controversy between Llewellyn and Chigurh. Llewellyn discovers money in an abandoned car with an almost dead Mexican Drug dealer in the car. He takes the money and knows what is ahead for him. He immediately tells his wife to go live her mother until he gets situated with the money. Immediately, he checks into a hotel. He knows someone will be after him. He is armed with guns. This is how his encounter with Chigurh comes about. Chigurh is after Llewellyn. The sheriff is trying to prevent any crime in his town.

Before and during every book I read I try to guess the ending. I guessed Llewellyn would end up escaping from Chigurh and live a happy life after. I expected Chigurh would have gotten caught by the Sheriff and locked up. However, I was wrong. The complete opposite happened. Llewellyn was killed by Chigurh who ended up being a cold blooded killer. Chigurh escaped and the Sheriff retired. This makes me enjoy the book much more. I strongly dislike book that I can guess the ending before I begin reading it.

To conclude, I loved No Country For Old Men and it is a great read. I would recommend it to anyone age appropriate. The reason it is called No Country For Old Men is because the Sheriff is an old man and he can no longer prevent crime.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child- Ethan Brown

          Have you ever felt like you live in the shadow of someone. Imagine living your whole life in the shadow of one of the greatest known people in the wizarding world. I personally wouldn't like it. This summer I read the book Harry Potter and the Cursed Child a screenplay written by J.K Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany.This book is an "add on" to the well known Harry Potter series. This book follows Harry Potter's children as well as Draco Malfoy's son as they attempt to save the life of Cedric Diggory when he died in the Tri-Wizard tournament 20 years before. They find themselves in a lot of trouble when they try to use a Time Turner hidden within the Ministry of Magic. Even though I did enjoy the book compared to the other stories within the Harry Potter series, I don’t believe that it was truly a good story. Here are three reasons why.

          The first reason is that the book is a bit repetitive. For me, reading a play was a different experience when it comes to reading. The characters interact with each other differently, and understanding the book was different when reading each characters name every time. Anyway, my first reason for not thinking that The Cursed Child was not a good story is that it was repetitive. During the book, a potion was used to make characters Scorpious and Albus look like Hermione and Ron. This is repetitive as 3 other books in the series use this “story” to solve the problem. This is a story because when it is found that Hermione is hiding the Time-Turner alongside the alliance of Harry Potter, children find that there is a different layer to her than may seem. Unlike the other books, I knew exactly what was going to happen and it was repetitive. I knew once the time turner was found, something was going to go wrong. When Scorpious travel back into time, and save Cedric along with Delphi Diggory, they are happy, but like every other book there is a twist. In turn, repetitiveness is never fun to read, see or think about making this the first reason I do not like the story.  

           Adding on to traveling with the time turner, the duo find themselves lost in time because the time turner only gives 5 minutes of traveling back in time. They decide to go back to present day to find out if they had in fact solved the issue and ended up swimming in the lake outside of Hogwarts; well only Scorpious does.  He is yet to be greeted by Dolores Umbridge, the headmaster during the fifth book who takes place of Dumbeldore after telling Harry to run a secret organization teaching students magic. She takes him out of the lake and he finds out that Voldemort is running the wizarding world and Harry Potter is dead. This means that Albus isn’t in existence which explains why Scorpious is the only one in the lake. He learns that by saving cedric, Voldemort kills Harry at the maze and therefore Voldemort isn’t killed in the seventh book. This shocked Scorpious and he learns that he must go back and fix it. My second reason is that the book is cheesy as a screenplay. I think that when you look at the story from a “distance” or a summary, it is the exact same as the other books as well as any other book you or I have ever read. To add on to the tacky story, he goes back and ends up just getting into more trouble, as expected. In all, I did enjoy the storyline, but the story within the story was tawdry, corny and just too predictable.

          The third and final reason why I believe this story to be “bad” is that the characters didn’t learn a lesson that is worth keeping. At the end of the story Albus is taught to always stick by his father for help and Scorpious is just hugged by his father. As a reader I was expecting more of a moral just like the other books and lots of other books in the world. The lesson I took away was that I shouldn’t trust anybody. For anybody reading the book this is not a lesson that should be taught. For me the story was also too abruptly stopped.

           In conclusion, I enjoyed reading the book. But for the three reasons being inferior thoughts, core morals being too brief and repetitiveness, I didn’t like the story that was told. Even for these reasons, I do recommend the book Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Engaged at all times - Justin Barron

Justin Barron

Maze Runner

Imagine being trapped in a Maze, in a maze that no one has ever found the exit to. Doesn’t seem too appealing does it? This summer I read a book called, The Maze Runner, written by James Dashner. The main character is this book, Thomas, is thrown into this maze with a loss of all of his memory. When he arrives at the maze he meets all of the people who live in the community. Immediately he is introduced to the background story of the maze. Thomas quickly learns that no one has ever gotten out of the maze and that no one plans to any time soon. In this book Thomas decides to push the limits of the community and the maze and attempts to escape. This is what makes this a good read. Seeing the characters develop, going through the conflicts, and really feeling like you are there is amazing. The author does a great job of making you feel like you are actually with Thomas in the maze.

In the beginning of this book Thomas is tossed into the maze as a scared young man. Over time he develops by becoming braver and stepping into the role of a “leader.” For example, Thomas is trapped in the metal cage and he is very scared, “Someone...help…me!” says Thomas on page three. This shows him at his “youngest” in this book. Youngest meaning, his least experienced. It did not take very long for Thomas to mature, in chapter sixteen Thomas displays his interest in exploration and pushing the limits. “Runner, he thought as he went on break. Just let me be a Runner. Once again he thought about how absurd it was that he wanted it so badly. But even though he didn't understand it, or where it came from, the desire was undeniable.” This is showing how quickly he has developed in only sixteen chapters. He has gone from a young boy who was terrified on his way up to the glade and now he is wanting to run out into a place where very few people come back alive. James Dashner puts us through Thomas’s development process, we have to experience the nervousness and the eagerness of Thomas throughout the entire book. Experiencing these emotions taps into the reader and this is what makes the Maze Runner a good read.

The main character in the book, Thomas, is put through many conflicts. The author does a great job of making us feel as if we are with Thomas through these conflicts. In chapter two Thomas is in a conflict with himself, he is fighting his emotions. “Different emotions battled for dominance in his mind and heart. Confusion. Curiosity. Panic. Fear. But laced through it all was the dark feeling of utter hopelessness, like the world had ended for him, had been wiped from his memory and replaced with something awful.” Reading this it really feels as if the reader themselves are feeling every single one of these emotions as well. The reader has to fight through each and every emotion with Thomas. The author does a great job of keeping the reader engaged in Thomas’s feelings. Keeping the reader engaged and interested is a part of what makes this book so fun to read.

As Thomas runs through the maze the reader themselves can really feel the presence of the maze. We can feel how terrifying it is running into a maze that few people come back from. In chapter twenty nine when he is inside the maze running this happens, “It shocked him when he realized he'd been running for almost an hour—the shadows of the walls ran long toward the east, and soon the sun would set for the night and the Doors would close. He had to get back. It only peripherally hit him then that without thinking he'd recognized the direction and the time. That his instincts were strong.” He has been inside the maze running for almost an hour, he had been running to his death for almost an hour. Now he had to get back to the Glade before the doors of the maze closed. Reading about Thomas running through the maze not knowing what is around each corner is great for the reader. It keeps their mind thinking at all times about the risks he is taking. Feeling the presence of the Maze as a reader is amazing, it actually feels as if you are running through it yourself.

After reading this book you realize how engaging it is. The author puts you through everything, from the beginning where Thomas first arrives at the Glade to the last moments of when he is escaping the maze. Reading about all the characters develop, seeing them fight through conflicts, and really feeling like you are there with the characters as they fight against the maze, is what makes this book a fantastic read. This book is perfect for any reader who likes to be entertained right from the get-go, the author grabs your attention immediately and never lets it go.  

High Fidelity is Worth Reading (and the movie's on Netflix)

The Secret Life of Bees - Vanessa Meikle

               Good stories are hard to find. Most books I read are either too boring, not a topic that is of interest to me, in a tense that I find hard to read, or have a writing style that I don't enjoy. One book I read this summer that fits the difficult criteria I have to be a good book is The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. Lily Owens, the protagonist, is my age; 14. She lives in South Carolina and has a father who abuses her and a caretaker named Rosaleen, who kind of fills in for tasks Lily's mother should have been there for, if she hadn't left Lily and Lily's father when she was little. Lily's life is filled with hectic racism of the South and getting in trouble with the police multiple times on her journey to find out more about her mother. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something written in an exciting, spunky style with a large vocabulary, something with an adventurous plot that never gets boring, and something that is short, sweet, and gets to the point.

               On page 79, Su Monk Kidd wrote a few lines that I loved and wanted to read over and over again."The rain had stopped and the sun glowed behind a bank of clouds. Pinewoods stretched beyond the honey house in every direction. I could make out beehives tucked under the trees in the distance, the tops of them postage stamps of white shine". The author goes on for a whole scene in the book describing the woods and scenery in this same way and style. these first few lines set the stage for a moment of quiet and peacefulness in the book. I love it when I have to look up words in a novel I am reading, because It means the words are new and interesting enough where I want to know more about them. A good book always has great description, writing style and an interesting vocabulary.

               To me, plot is 99% of the story. A book can have the best description in the world, great character development, or perfect writing style, but if the plot is boring, none of that matters. Whether a plot is "boring" or not depends on the reader and what their interests are, but I can assure you that anyone who reads The Secret Life Of Bees will love the plot. The time period, 1964, is a time where there is so much discrimination and so many other rules that are different from today, that it is thrilling to read because you never know what someone might get in trouble for, or who is going to think what about something.

               The Secret Life of Bees is about 300 pages long. I am definitely not saying a book needs to be on the shorter side to be good, but sometimes novels are too long and have much more detail than is needed. Sometimes that's good, but if you are looking for something short and sweet that gets straight to the point in an elegant way that pulls you in wanting to read more, this book does just that. Chapters are roughly 12 pages long. This is a perfect amount for lots of detail before having a fresh start at a new chapter,  but not so much that you doze off and have to read a few lines over again.

              There are a few smaller stories of less importance that are going on as the main plot matures.  One is the story of Lily and Zach. Lily starts to like Zach, but that leads to problems because of the time period and the fact that Lily is white and Zach is black. Even more problems come from this including one other character committing suicide.

               The Secret Life of Bees ends with Lily Owens finding out the truth about what happened to her mother, and comes to terms with that and with her father. She is finally able to make her dad realize that he shouldn't hurt her. She is his daughter, not his wife that left him, but his precious daughter who needs to be taken care of. It is one of the best books I have ever read because it has words that make me think, descriptive lines that make me want to read on forever, and isn't too short or too long, leaving me wanting more at the end.




               

To Kill A Mockingbird- Nicholas Choo

“There’s nothing better than a good story -Lauren Graham.” But what makes a good story? A good story is made up of different characteristics and traits that when combined makes a good story. In the case of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee it is the setting, character development, and life lessons. When the story takes place and how the characters change throughout the book are crucial to the book being a great story. But the most important of all is the lesson that is taken away from reading the book. Due to all of these traits being present in the book, it makes it a truly great story.

The setting of the book is one of the main reasons why To Kill a Mockingbird creates such a great story. The story is set in the early 1930s in a small town in the south called Maycomb, Alabama. Throughout this time period segregation and racism against people of color were present and taken advantage of. In addition, in the early 1930s The Great Depression was rampant which left many white and black people without jobs. Maycomb, being a small town in a desolate area was seriously affected by the depression. Without this whole setting, the story would be completely different due to the actions and situation that was present during this period in history. The setting allowed for Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white girl named Mayella Ewell, to be convicted although solid evidence was presented that he wasn’t guilty. "He looked oddly off balance, but it was not from the way he was standing. His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shriveled hand, and from as far away as the balcony I could see that it was no use to him" (Lee 248). This evidence from the text proves that Tom Robinson could have not harmed Mayella Ewell especially since the bruises on Mayella’s face were on the right side.  The story revolves around the time period and racism towards black people therefore, the setting is key to making this a good story.

 

The way that the characters change throughout the book contribute to making the book a great story. Jem is portrayed at the beginning of the book as a young boy who wants to play with his sister and friends. As the story progresses we see the Jem matures exponentially, we see an example of this when Atticus and Aunt Alexandra and discussing the Tom Robinson case and Jem threatens to hit Scout. “Now I mean it, Scout, you antagonize Aunty and I’ll spank you.” (Lee 156). This is demonstrates that he understands what is going on while Scout, is still a child and is naive to the situation. His maturity is most evidently displayed when Tom Robinson is convicted of rape and Jem is upset. He understands the case and the injustice that was placed upon Tom Robinson. The character development that takes place throughout the plot is one of the qualities that makes it a good story.

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” “Sir?” “until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 33). This quote from To Kill a Mockingbird  illustrates how the book isn’t only a good story, but changes the way we think in our minds. In the quote above, it teaches us to not make assumptions about another person until we can walk in that person's shoes. When Atticus Finch is saying this to his daughter, he isn’t only teaching her an important life lesson, but the person reading the book also. This is an example of a lesson that was learnt from the book. It also is one of the factors of what makes the book such a good story.

With the setting of the book in place while we see growth in characters throughout the story, it has shown how the two contrast to build a good plot. In addition, being able to take away a lesson after reading the book shows the significance the book reflects on readers. The setting, character development, and life lessons that To Kill a Mockingbird showed exemplifies the definition of a great story.   

Why a Story About Death and a German Girl is a Good Book

A good story to me requires seamless integration of good narration, character development and plot. The story needs to go somewhere, have a compelling main character who you like and are committed to, and has to face struggles that invest and engage the reader. The most important thing a book needs is a good narrator. How are we, the spectators of this tale being toured through this world tailored for us before our eyes? Having a powerful narrator, as well as a realistic protagonist, then supported through seamless integration of plot makes for a fabulous story. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak contains all of these necessary ingredients and is a book I would highly suggest reading.

The Book Thief’s strongest quality is its narrator, Death himself. The story follows death during the holocaust and a girl who sparks his interest, Liesel Meminger. When I began reading the book, I was introduced to death’s writing style, where he begins the novel with “First the colors. Then the humans. That's how I usually see things. Or at least, how I try.”(3) Right away, I was hit with poetry, and a wish to read more. As we read, we learn that death is very similar, to a regular human, the only differences being him living forever and having an ever important job, taking the souls to beyond. Death is at every tragedy, every accident, every time someone dies, death comes, takes them away, and then he's off to the next death. As this book takes place during WW2, death is busier than ever, taking the souls of both sides of the war. The way Death talks about, well death is similar to how a man would talk about his job. To death, it's just how he “lives”. When Death writes, he mixes a flow of very poetic, impartial literature and intersperses it with facts about the subject at hand. Death, our narrator is reciting the story of Liesel Meminger while adding in details that only he would have known. This leads to the “full” story being told of Liesel’s life.

Liesel Meminger is a different character than death, but just as complex and compelling. She is a German girl, and “The Book Thief” of this story. Liesel is a “pure” German, and gets to continue to live with her family through the Holocaust. Her Aunt and Uncle(especially her father in particular), are very against the Holocaust, but are very quiet about it, blending in with the rest of the Nazi Party. Her Uncle teaches her to always form her own ideas, and during her life with them, she lives as diverse a life as she can with them. While going to her brother’s funeral(he died on the train to their Aunt and Uncle), Liesel discovers a book on gravedigging. Not being able to read but still curious, she takes the book to her uncle the day after, and he secretly teaches her to read. Liesel steals a total of nine books, with others being given to her as gifts on christmases or birthdays. With every book, Liesel grows smarter, and her craving to read grows, even though it was highly illegal at the time. Liesel’s love for words lead her to stand up for what she believes in and even saves her life later in the book at the height of the plot.

The way Liesel’s story is told by Death often has him hint at the climax of the book, where Liesel’s entire village(except for her) due to her love of words. Halfway through the book, death hints at what happens, but so briefly that you just have to continue to read to learn what happened, and while you vaguely know where the story ends, you never truly know until you finish, and the sense of mystery created by these characters you are so invested in leads to a fantastic climax, which leaves you strangely satisfied, where here most books leave you wanting more.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson – Juanita Asapokhai

 

In the vast world of YA novels and literature written to illustrate the worst parts of the adolescent experience, from tackling mental illness and friendships to the normal chaos of high school made beautiful by flowery adjectives to depict the mundane, Laurie Halse Anderson maintains her rule as a queen in the sub genre within her second to most recent book, Wintergirls, published in 2009. Through Wintergirls, Anderson provides readers an authentic and personal perspective into the life and mind of a teenage girl battling anorexia as well as the conflicts surrounding her through striking narration, an accurate portrayal of the theme, and a keen use of descriptive language that leaves readers pondering the book long after it closes - all ingredients in the recipe for a brilliant story.

    Starting in the first chapter of the novel, we are introduced to the simple, quiet voice of Lia Marrigan – and almost immediately afterwards, we meet a different, bodiless one; a second voice often follows Lia’s own thoughts, written in lowercase letters (“you left her alone.” pg. 97). This is the voice of an unidentified individual that throughout the novel, readers come to know as her twisted memories, as well as her anorexia personified. It taunts and insults Lia, and works as the constant anchor preventing her from full recovery - it reminds her to keep skipping meals and filling herself up with water to trick weight scales, and it often sounds louder than Lia’s own voice.

    While the voice of anorexia spins restlessly at the bottom of her empty stomach, another voice(/person/apparition/ghost/figment of a distressed imagination) appears in the novel, only to serve the exact same purpose, keeping Lia stuck in her illness, in the form of her deceased bulimic best friend, Cassie Parrish. “ ‘You’re a wintergirl, Lia-Lia,” she tells her. “...Soon you’ll cross the border and be with me. I’m so stoked. I miss you wicked.’ ” (pg. 196)

    Still more, Lia’s other voice – the one that misses food like nothing else, the one that wants to eat, as demonstrated through thoughts like “I am so hungry I could gnaw off my right hand.” (pg. 27) – makes brief appearances in between, with a strikethrough line in every statement expressing her non-anorexic desires. Together, Cassie, Anorexia, Lia’s Other Voice, and the Lia that tells the story battle for control over her life throughout course of the entire novel.

“One bite, please, and then another and another, crust and cheese sausage sauce another and another empty is strong and invincible. ‘I already ate.’ ” (pg. 68)

“I am a healthy girl in a diner, and I can sip a little more hot chocolate. And this feels so good and…” (pg. 96)

    This unique narration promises to keep readers on their toes, as well as increasing their sympathy for Lia, who is at the mercy of these voices. For the majority of the novel, she even allows them to dictate her life. Readers can hear her own voice, see exactly how her brain works, while simultaneously hearing the voice of the forces she cannot touch countering her every move.

    This intense and emotional narrative also fosters the right mood for the story to delve into its central theme, mental health. Specifically: dealing with anorexia as a mental disorder, and eliminating the stigma of the illness being regarded as a strange habit.

    Lia begrudgingly attends sessions with a therapist, Dr. Nancy Parker. She avoids answering questions honestly to both her parents, step-mother, and Dr. Parker (“ ‘What words are in your head right now, Lia? Pissed. Pig. Hate….Jail. Coffin. Cut…. ‘My weight is fine. I can bring in Jennifer's stupid notebook if you want.’ ” pg.116 ), views the sessions as completely unnecessary (“The couch faces a floor-to-ceiling wall of books. They are filled with crap.” pg.113), despite how obvious it is to the readers that she is need of medical help, and hides herself from any eyes attempting to look into her deeper than the surface. However, she only responds this way to protect herself from her biggest fear.

  “The second time they locked me up admitted me for my own good,” she explains, “...Wreaths of pus-colored fat were suffocating my thighs...but they couldn’t see them. They said I had to get fatter.” (pgs. 189-190).

Her battle against her Real Enemy, weight, would be totally lost upon her return to the hospital.

    Through her inner dialogue, destructive behavior, and conversations, Anderson presents this very important theme in a painfully honest way, to the point where, while readers are fully aware of the extent of her situation, they can truly understand her mindset: The mindset of someone seriously struggling with an illness. Her incorporation of the theme leaves a lasting impression on its readers and their perceptions of anorexia and the toll it takes on sufferers.

    

    Finally, Wintergirls earns the title of a Good Story with its expert use of stunning language to ease readers into Lia’s world and reality. Lia’s descriptions place you right with her through every harrowing, horrible experience.

“...0.85 makes me want 0.75. To get there I’ll need to crack open my bones with silver mallet and dig out my marrow with a long-handled spoon.” (pg. 190),

   Here, the dire nature of Lia’s state is exemplified and described so acutely you can almost see it: the thin, spindly girl so close to nothing she’d have to swap organs to lose any more weight.

     Anderson also utilizes this talent best in the scenes with the Ghost of Cassie, which deeply affect Lia for days afterwards. “She pops the glass in her mouth and swallows it, then wipes her mouth with her hand, staining her fingers with wax and blood.” (pg. 88). Quotes like these – where her brain animates the dead body of her best friend –  emphasize Lia’s descent into something very near, if not genuine insanity. In every chapter, readers are taken down lower and lower with her.

 In conclusion, Wintergirls is a tale well-told. It includes the key elements of a good story exhibited throughout the entire novel: memorable narration, an engaging theme, and a stirring style of writing that sticks to the brains of all who are lucky enough to come across it.

Fahrenheit 451- Jenna Blocher

“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains” This quote, by Jean-Jaques Rousseau, perfectly describes Guy Montag’s mental and physical conflict in the book Fahrenheit 451. The novel, written by Ray Bradbury, is a fantastic story of a dystopian future. In this future, all books are banned. Firemen, instead of putting out fires, start them in homes where books have been found. The books are burned at 450 degrees fahrenheit. A fireman named Guy Montag picked up a book in a burning house, and suddenly his whole world changed. Fahrenheit 541 will change the outlook you have on everyday life.

There are many reasons that you should read this novel, and the first is that it's a classic. In 1953, when this book was published, it was during the early stage of the Cold War between the United States and Russia. Fahrenheit 541 displays communism at its worst. Although it's perceived as a dark novel, it has bright aspects of philosophy. There is a constant tug between good and evil, where hopefully good can prevail.

Today,  thanks to our Declaration of Independence, the government controls limited aspects of our lives. Reading this book will allow you to appreciate the government we have today. In Fahrenheit 541, the government won't allow people to have a simple object such as a book in their home. They want people to believe what they want them to believe. If they read a book, they would become knowledgeable. Not having books makes the society ignorant, and it's easier to control people when they're in the dark about what the world could be like.

Reading Fahrenheit 541 will change your entire perspective of books. People today read books for pleasure, and some people even see reading as a chore. But imagine if reading, or even owning a book, was considered one of the most heinous crimes. There would be no more imagination in everyday life. Not having books would prevent people from learning about the past. If you don't know about the past, it could ruin our future. History repeats itself.

I believe that learning is knowledge, and you gain knowledge by reading. Knowledge also gives you power. Power is one thing that the society in Fahrenheit 541 did not have. This novel was incredible and it taught me not to take everyday things for granted. I definetley suggest that you read it too.

Jack Marshall- The Cay

Jack Marshall

                                                                                                                       9/6/15

The Cay by Theodore Taylor is an excellent piece of Literature. It details Philip and Timothy’s struggle to survive on the cay and it demonstrates the unbreakable bond that is created between them. This is just one of the many reasons this book is a must read.

One example of how this is an interesting book is the plot or conflict. Philip lived in Curacao during World War II. The German submarines came so Philip and his Mom thought it would be best to leave for Virginia. Philip and his Mom leave on a ship called the S.S. Hato. The ship gets torpedoed, Phillip gets hit on the head while the ship is being evacuated. When Phillip wakes up he is on a raft with an old man named Timothy. Phillip becomes blind after he got hit in the head. Philip has to fish and survive with Timothy on the cay even with the loss of his vision. Phillip is there for several days before the storm hits. Timothy protects Philip but with his old age the storm took everything out of Timothy. The storm kills Timothy leaving Philip on the island with only a cat named Stew.  His odds of surviving were not in his favor. After catching fish, rebuilding his shelter, and a long fight for survival, a schooner came and reunited him with his family.

Another example why this is a fascinating book is the character development. It is not easy to be stuck on an island with a complete stranger. Phillip had some very strong thoughts about Timothy on their first days on the cay. Phillip calls Timothy an        “ugly black man” that can’t spell. This attitude came from the ideas that his Mom instilled in him about blacks. His mom earlier stated in the story “they are different” referring to the blacks in his village. This comment about blacks could have encouraged Phillip to think the same way. Even with this idea about black people, he develops a lot throughout his time on the cay. After Timothy dies, Phillip says “ Thank you Timothy…… take care of him, God, he was good to me.”  This character development makes for a moving story.

A third and final example of why this is an engaging book is the setting of the book.  The main setting of the story is at the cay, where Philip and Timothy fight to survive during hard times. It was very enjoyable for me to follow Phillip and Timothy’s fight to stay alive. There were problems on the cay, the biggest of which was Philip’s  blindness which made it hard for him to fish and navigate around the cay. It was also hard to build shelter for both Timothy and Philip. These problems in the book made it very suspenseful to see how or if they would survive. This book The Cay was very intriguing. I highly recommend it.

The Cay had very entertaining conflict, character development, and setting. This book shows the battle to stay alive through the toughest of times. This moving book shows the change for the better in many ways.

Angelina- The Lovely Bones

“ I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.” Susie Salmon states on page 5. In the novel, The Lovely Bones protagonist Susie Salmon is raped and murdered. A happy family with three children and two happily married parents soon become broken and more separated than ever. The author of this phenomenal book, Alice Seabold writes from Susie’s perspective in heaven. She begins to flash back upon her life, how it happened, what she would have changed and watches how everyone is coping. Susie doesn’t quite understand that she must leave her own life and she struggles throughout the book with this concept. The hardest part for Susie is watching her killer live his life normally making a mockery, fooling everyone and pretending he his sad and feels guilt for what has happened in this awful tragedy.  The novel, The Lovely Bones, has an amazing story line that is strong, keeps readers interested and never failed to make me stop reading. Out of every single book that I have read this is by far the favorite. Not only was this a great novel and had an excellent story but this novel is full of all kinds of emotions that kept me as well as many others reading.

Losing a loved one is never easy.  All of Susie’s family adjusted in different ways. Mr. Salmon, Susie’s father is her biggest fan. He gave her all that he had. The Salmon’s not being the wealthiest family out there still found a way to give their kids everything they needed and beyond. When Susie was killed her father had the hardest time accepting it. His endless amount of research and non stop persistency on Mr. Harvey made the novel that much better. If all you readers are interested in horror, but than an instant switch of beauty this novel is for you. A fathers love for his daughter is something you see often on a day to day basis. The author made her book connect to the real world immensely, which made the story line that much better. Mr. Salmon’s endless nights with little to no sleep in search for Susie was a result of not being able to let go and not being able to cope with his daughter being gone. Lindsey, Susie’s sister was strong headed and stubborn.  On page 31, while everyone is telling her how sorry they are for her loss she responds with, “ What is exactly is my loss?” She had refused to accept what people were telling her. Her brother Buckley was still just a young one, however as the novel went on and life without Susie went on he grew a sense of maturity. These characters demonstrate the difference on how each character reacts to this tragedy in different ways.

The book was not only a horror but then a sudden peak of beauty. It allowed us to hear from Susie and get inside her head after she had left Earth. Susie had a mind that was unique and not like the average fourteen year old girl. Susie feels guilty that she died and left the sadness on everyone. Page 31, “ I like to think I hadn’t robbed her of everything,” says Susie. This fourteen year old is more concerned on how she left her family and how much she hadn’t done everything she had once dreamed of. Eventually throughout the novel her siblings grow up and experience all new things she had not yet gotten the chance to experience. As the characters develop and grow up so does Susie, she accepts and come to terms with her death and that she will not be returning. 

All good things must come to an end, is a quote I hear often. This book definitely had some relation to that quote as I never wanted to stop reading, which is a sentence I never imagined I would say. However, to anybody searching for horror but at the same time a touch of beauty and innocence this novel is for you. Not only does it tell you about an awful murder, but lets the readers in to different peoples lives. What and how they think, characteristics and their mind sets. A quote from Elaina Richardson, O reads, “ Susie Salmon is one of the more captivating creations of recent fiction. Seabold has crafted a gripping tale of tragedy and grief… Part destructive story, part family story, party family drama, part meditation on what lies beyond, The Lovely Bones is a page turner in the most literary sense…. Nothing short of revelation. 

Serial killers often have a system, and preferred victim. Mr. Harvey seems to start of with young and then over time chose older and older women. Susie Salmon was fourteen when she was raped and murdered. The book, The Lovely Bones, is a story by the author, Alice Sebold, which tells the story of the family and friends of Susie and how they cope with the murder. This is a good story because the author creates an interesting plot that consists of the character developments and lack of them,  that occur after the tragic death of Susie, and how these changes pull each other together and push each other apart.

            Susie ascends into heaven stuck in her fourteen-year-old self-unable to age; the characteristic changes she experience are in her acceptance of parting from her family. In the beginning she is severely scarred from her traumatizing experience with Mr. Harvey and her inability to be with her family. “When the dead are done with the living, the living can go on to other things," Franny said. "What about the dead?" I asked. "Where do we go?”(145) Her family is moving on with their lives when Susie is in the beginning of hers. She tries to live through her younger sister Lindsey as a way of growing up and experiencing life. By living through her sister and sharing her story with the rest or Mr. Harvey’s victims she slowly heals and learns to let go of her life on earth, ““Each time I told my story, I lost a bit, the smallest drop of pain. It was that day that I knew I wanted to tell the story of my family. Because horror on Earth is real and it is every day. It is like a flower or like the sun; it cannot be contained.” (186) Here she realizes not only her pain, but also the pain of her family and friends. She sees the darkness of her demise, and the darkness of many others.  It is a dark realization but puts her on the path to healing. It is not until her younger sister gets engaged that she is able to leave the living and spend all her time with the dead.

            Susie who was not the only one who could not let go of her death. Susie’s father, Jack, was more focused on his deceased child then the ones still living. He was broken and unable to fix himself, pain overwhelmed him,” Every day he got up. Before sleep wore off, he was who he used to be. Then, as his consciousness woke, it was as if poison seeped in. At first he couldn’t even get up. He lay there under a heavy weight, But then only movement could save him, and he moved and he moved and he moved, no movement being enough to make up for it. The guilt on him, the hand of God pressing down on him saying, You were not there when your daughter

needed you.”(59) The poison on wrongly placed blame and grief consumed him thoughts and his days. This is something his wife, Abigail, could not live with. Abigal was a free spirit with ambitions and plans not available to her as a mother. So everyday she put on a mask and pretended to be a beautiful housewife, pretended to be living. She lived this way and then one of her children was brutally murdered. She lost not only Susie but her husband as well and she was incapable of living that way. Unable to hide how broken and twisted she was and so Abigail left in order to distance herself from the tragedy, but could not contain her loss, “If loss could be used as a measure of beauty in a woman, my mother had grown even more beautiful.”

             Both Lindsey and her little brother Buckley coped with Susie’s death and would go on to a life where pain was not necessarily the soul factor. Buckley became attached to his father, and Lindsey became strong, “Lindsey and Buckley had come to live their lives in direct proportion to what effect it would have on a fragile father.”(244) Buckley and Lindsey must support themselves; grow up fast in order to live.  By the end of the story Buckley is too young to fully understand who he will turn into. However, Lindsey finds her way to a future                    I watched my beautiful sister running . . . and I knew she was not running away from   or toward me. Like someone who has survived a gutshot, the wound had been closing, closing - braiding into a scar for eight long years.” (p. 242)She heals and her future is promising.

            This family creates and breaks bonds when Susie dies. The several different and interesting character developments display the different types of struggles all the characters face. The author displays how the stress caused some to snap, some to turn cold, and others to protect. It is powerful in its appeal to any family member because it captures the emotions of all of them.