What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know

The book I am reading right know is titled What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know. Robin, the main character is basically the school bullies' punching bag. Since kindergarten, he has always been the victim of bullying. He talks about how he is even bullied by the "nerds" of the school. Now a freshman, Robin has a girlfriend who just happens to be one of the most popular girls of the school. The title comes in to play when he realizes his girlfriend's life is spinning upside down. By dating him she is now a victim of bullying too. Right now in the book, Robin has just gotten into an argument with Sophie about how she is ashamed in being with him.

I really like this book because it is entirely written in poems and each poem can stand alone and is written beautifully. I also like this book because the author is very good at writing humor! I laugh so much when reading this book! It is a great book because you get attached to Robin, when he is sad, you feel sad. When he is angry, you can feel that anger. And when he cracks a joke you can't help but laugh.

Hunger Games

As I start to end the hunger games I realize why this book so loved and known by all. At the start of the book I was a bit skeptical about the meaning and over all message that the book was trying to send the reader. As I dove deeper and deeper into the book I started to become in touch and understanding of the characters. Each character has something new to offer the story. As the book goes on the meaning of family really seems to be a reacquiring issue in the book. With me having an older sister myself I sort of expected that she would take the lace of her sister in the hunger games. This was when I first started to get more interested in the book. I started relating it into my life and putting my self in the situations and wondering were I would end up. After a while I realized that even though this book may be fantasy there are realistic problems that teenagers and children can face ever day. Without giving too much away id like to say that this book has taught me a lot about perseverance. Its taught that great work equals great success

Enders Game

I recently read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card; this book revolved around a apocoliptic earth, where Buggers have threatened mankind. Though 2 kids is the limit in this futuristic world, Ender Wiggin is born. Valentine and Peter, his older siblings were almost perfect; the government gave permsion for Ender to be born in the vain hope that he will be Earth's savior. Ender is six years old when taken and whisked away to Battle School. This is where the young, exceptional children go to prepare for the war against the Buggers. Psycologial barriers are tested, as well as physical ones at Battle School, where Ender must go through a great many challenges in order to stay.

I like Ender's Game for many reasons. Its writing combines complex characters and a twisting, turning plot that brings your eyes hunting for the next word. It is a special, one-of-a-kind book that had me laughing, crying and cheering for Ender as he gought to make a life for himself, define a perpouse for living. Orson Scott Card makes exquisite characters come to life through a serries of mind-blowing events. Its a fantastic book I highly recomend to anyone who loves humor, smart-alec characters, futuristic fighting or a intergalactic war in a race to save mankind/

Time Riders

I have just finished the book Time Riders by Alex Scarrow. The plot is about three teens that were saved right before their deaths to protect the world from people that mix-up time. They have to overcome many obstacles along the way including being left in the past and almost starving to death. This book was absolutely phenomenal! Besides teaching me about history and what could have happened if history was changed in a certain way, it also had great morels and lessons. Including "we learn from the past, so we will not repeat it, and never if you ever get a chance to mess with time don't because the outcome may not always be better, or as you wanted it to be, even though it may be bad now." I would give the book a 10 out of 10 because of its amazing descriptiveness and the suspense the book creates. I was literally biting my finger nails. I also love the way it is written because it jumps back and forth from different times. Oh, you may also learn some history while reading it, the history involves WWII and the Titanic. Once you have read this book I would suggest you read the next in the series because I am guessing it will be good too.

Devious

The book Devious by Cecily von Ziegsar is an It Girl novel. In this installment to the addicting series, the Dean of the school is replaced with a new Dean, and the new Dean has two children; Isla and Isaac. Sweet Jenny Humphrey quickly takes liking to Isaac, and troublesome Tinsley immediately agrees with even crazier Isla. Isla and Tinsley are never up to any good, and at a secret party in the dean's house, Isla breaks the stain glass and then blames it on Tinsley. I think this manipulation between the two girls is because of them both willing to do anything for a good time but then never wanting to take responsibilities for what they do. This book is getting more and more addictive with each chapter and I can't wait to see what happens.

End of Seabiscuit

I recently finished Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. It was a great story, Seabiscuit was a race horse during the great depression who drew ridiculous crowds to his races. In what is considered to be on of the most famous sporting events of all time, a 1v1 race between Seabiscuit and his rival War Admiral. Seabiscuit was a huge underdog despite his many accomplishments. Over 70,000 people were in the stadium where the race was run and thousands more on the nearest rooftops and lamposts, just trying to get a glimpse of the race. Plus there was millions tuned in on their radios. Seabiscuit one the race not by his speed but by his heart. They were both incredibly fast horses, but Seabiscuit's injured jockey, Red Pollard, said so himself, and he sure was right. Red had been replaced by the Iceman, George Woolf, one of the greatest jockey's of all time. The horses were dead even for the majority, but both were winded towards the end. Seabiscuit refused to lose he would not slow down and he one the race by about ten lengths (which is some horse racing distance that I never figured out what it translated to in feet.) This book made me appreciate horse racing much more, previous to this story I had always considered horse racing to hardly even be a sport, but now I see how fit jockey's actually have to be and how they are the athletes who actually give more for their sport than any other athletes. It was truly a great book and I recommend it to anyone.

Brisingr

I am now reading Brisingr by Christopher Paolini, the book is the third in the Inheritance Trilogy, I had read the first two a few years ago and really liked them, but never got around to this one. So thus far the main character Eragon and his dragon Saphira, with Eragon's cousin Roran have ventured into an evil and dark structure known has Helgrind. In hear they hope to free Roran's fianceé, Katrina. They also hope to kill the Raazac, beetle like warriors who killed Garroth, Roran's father and Eragon's uncle, but he was like his father, as Eragon never lived with his real father. They also hoped to kill the Lethrblaka, who are the Raazacs parents. They are like big, ugly horses with wings. They succeeded in doing all these things, but they also found Sloan, Katrina's evil father who betrayed Roran to the Raazac. Eragon kills Sloan when he finds him blind in his prison cell, but he just tells the others that he found him dead. Thus far it is a great book.

I.O.S.F.of C.S.Lewis: 2nd Post

I have just started chapter four in my book, and it is about another one of C.S. Lewis’s books of which I have not read …yet. In the beginning of his chapters, Kilby has long summaries of the books, highlighting the connections that he has found. I think I may want to read this book, after all is said and done, because it seems pretty interesting. The chapter is about the book The Everlasting Incorrigibles, I haven’t gotten to the analyzing part of the chapter yet, but I like C.S. Lewis’s style so far for the way he writes out his characters, and plot.

I think that another of C.S. Lewis’s books will be my next Independent Reading Book, because I still need more pages. Any suggestions for a book? I happen to prefer fantasy, or parallel universes with political/science fiction, because it is like stepping into another world. Although, I am not closed to another genre. I think I may finish this book over the weekend. So I’m looking forward to buckling down to do some serious reading!

With Basketball season starting and everything, I’m getting concerned that I may not be able to read like last quarter. This is something I will overcome.

I am currently halfway through with the book Dash and Lilly's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohen and David Levithan. This is a lighthearted novel with a twist of romance. Lilly has hid a book in a library and it is left for anyone who has the time to open it. It gives clear directions on what to write and where to put it. The lucky person to accept the challenge would soon be Dash. Both teenagers continue to write back and fourth in the notebook talking on a deeper more personal level. Although they have never met I can really feel the connection between the two characters. Both learn more about themselves through what they write to each other. I predict that they will at one point meet and share an extremely deep understanding and love for each other. I really like how the authors choose to keep it extremely hilarious while they help find what the real meaning of life is. It gives two different points of view on anything and everything. Two word birds are now on the quest to finding meaning and reaching their goals, hopefully together.

Tangerine-Nick Washuta

Over the past few weeks I have been reading Tangerine by Edward Bloor and stopped reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (I read a total of 217 pages in that book for this quarter-but take away 65 from last quarter=152 for this quarter) In Tangerine I am 67 pages in the book so far, and it has been a great book so far.

In Tangerine the book is based around the Fisher family. The main character is Paul, a soccer goalie; his parents, and his superstar-football player brother; Erik. The first scene of the book takes place in his Texas; when Paul and his mom are packing it up. They were moving from Texas to Florida. Florida, to them seems like it is hiding something. They wander why there is so much smoke there and even end up calling the fire department. The man who showed up was, I would say, in his twenties. He replied and answered their question with “muck fires,” but still left them wandering what that meant. Oh yeah, and did I mention that Paul does not like Erik because pretty much he gets all the attention.

The next thing to cover is school. He and his brother were attending Lake Windsor High School and Middle School. On the first day of school Paul is classified as an IEP-a person with bad eyesight who needs a guide to act as his “own eyes,” but denies the fact that he has bad eyesight and goes back to class. After a few days of school Paul has soccer tryouts where he is informed that everyone makes the team, but only half will play. By the end of the tryouts-or practice-he knows he will be the starting goaltender on the team. The last main part that happens is that Mike Costello gets struck by lightning and dies. But not only that, Erik gets a whole new reputation from Paul, when saw Erik and his friend making fun of Mike’s death.

Wintergirls

Lia had a best friend named Cassie, a girl who she met when Cassie moved in across the street in second grade. The summer between their fifth and sixth grade, Cassie began dealing with bulimia to become thinner. By eighth grade, both Cassie and Lia shared a goal of being the thinnest girls in their class. Cassie and Lia had a contest to see who could be the thinnest. Lia was hospitalized to treat her eating disorder during their junior year of high school. Nine months later Cassie was found dead in a motel. The cause of death was unknown at first but an autopsy showed that she died from boerhaave syndrom. Lia, getting a message from a motel employee named Elijah, who told her to come to the motel to meet him, went to the scene of where her ex-best friend died. When she met and saw Elijah, he didn't know who she was, so she told him she was her step-sister Emma. At Cassie's wake, they meet again and finally, at Cassie's funeral, he learns the truth of her name after Lia's mom finds her. During this time, Lia's weight drops from 101 pounds to 93 pounds, though she has rigged her family's bathroom scale so that her parents believe she weighs more. After her father gets back from his trip, and tells Lia she is moving in with her mom, since she isn't working with them, she goes into the bathroom and cuts deep into her skin, from her hand all the way to her brain. Her step-mother Jennifer and step-sister Emma find her and take her to the hospital, after that, she is supposed to live with her mother, Dr. Chloe Marrigan. Dr. Marrigan feeds her and doesn't leave her side without having someone else watch her.

Man vs. Beast

For this post, I am posting about the new book I started literally this afternoon, a book with the name Man Vs. Beast. This is the sixth book of the CHERUB series, and I must say, the first five pages were enough to reel me in easily. It starts off with the story of a boy named Andy, living with his brother and his mom in a poor suburb. His mom works three jobs, and one of them includes working at an animal lab, to test products on animals. But unfortunately, this is her only option to work at, for the other jobs, she isn't qualified for. Andy is a unorganized sort of slob, which is kind of like me, while his brother is a straight A organized dude, like some other people I know. Then, one day, their mother was walking to her car when she was spray painted on her eyes, blinding her for life. The suspect are men who are like PETA, but a more radical and responsive version of them. These men attacked Andy's mom because her job at the animal lab, so they basically hated her. This really set up what the story was going to be about. The way that it said what was going to happen before it went to the main character, James, really made me want to read on and see how James would react to his potential mission, probably entering the PETA thing, and cracking it down, one by one. I'm very excited to keep reading.

Before I Die

          I am currently reading the book Before I Die by Jenny Downham. The book is about a girl named, Tessa, who has diagnosed with cancer about four years ago. A little bit ago the doctors told Tessa she didn't have much time to live. Instead of sitting around and moping all day Tessa wants to live life and not die until March when she will be 17. She creates a bucket things of all the things she wants to do before she dies. Somethings she wants to do is try drugs and go one whole day saying yes to everything people ask her to do. So far Tessa has done the two I have just mentioned. During the story so far Tessa has had to go to the doctors to get a serious of test done. She describes the hospital as a place where she spends her time dying she also says she can't remember each nurse that she has all are nice to her, but the faces all blur together. Tessa really doesn't care about her life any more and gets thrills from putting herself at risk and I think that she is going to get very injured  and that may even lead to her death. I like this book so far, but feel like I know what is going to happen in the end. I feel lucky to not have to be tested on continuously.This book is a very classic idea for a story but I hope it will be unique.

Water For Elephants 2

I am still reading Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. By this point, I am pretty sure that the genre is realistic fiction. Also, I have come to the conclusion that the time period is not the 50's, but the early 40's. At the circus, (when Jacob is 25) Jacob had to kill Marlena's (his boss, August's, wife) horse because it was very ill. Many of the animals were being malnourished because Uncle Al (owner of the circus) spent a lot of money on buying performers from a different circus. One of those purchases from another circus was an elephant. At first, everyone was so excited that they finally got one, but then August found at that the elephant was really dumb and could hardly do any tricks. At that point, August put Jacob in charge of taking care of the elephant. Things are starting to get tense between August, Marlena, and Jacob. Jacob loves Marlena and I'm quite positive that Marlena loves him back, but obviously she is married to August. August often loses his temper about the dumbest things, and many times, Marlena is subject to his wrath. In other words, she is being beaten by August, but for some reason Marlena is willing to live with it. Meanwhile, "old Jacob" (90-ish)" is being visited by his family and they are taking him to the circus. Truthfully, my words do not give this story justice. The plot may sound childish in the way I describe it, but trust me it is an AMAZING book!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

Since my last post, I have finished Lord of The Flies (271 pages I think), Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (183 pages), The Invention of Hugo Cabret (533 pages), The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (274 pages), and Fruits Basket (7+ books of manga so far, so I'm not counting page numbers; my guilty pleasure).

An adult historical fiction book I have finished recently, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, has been on the New York Times Bestseller list. The whole book is written in the form of many letters, and takes place during World War Two. The Germans have taken control of Guernsey Island during the war. Juliet, a current popular author, has gotten letters from the Guernsey literary an Potato Peel Pie Society from Guernsey Island. The whole literary society started when two men are caught after curfew, eating a pig feast in secret (because pigs and other food was taken away from the islanders.) Soon, Elizabeth comes to the rescue and explains they were just finished discussing books. Soon as Juliet discovers the story of Guernsey and is introduced to many wonderful people living there, she goes to visit. Through her visit, she finds out about a vivacious lady named Elizabeth. She takes care of Elizabeth's daughter Kit while there, and ends up falling in love. Although Elizabeth isn't an active character int he story, you discover her along with Juliet.

I absolutely loved this book, and finished this book in one day. Although it is an adult book, it is appropriate for mature readers as there is no inappropriate content in it. It is truly a heartwarming and quirky story, and it is quite unique. I would recommend this book to readers who are looking for a more challenging yet interesting read.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Since my last post of Ashes, Ashes I have been trying to find another good book that I could read. It took me like a month to find this book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Unfortunately I have only got about 50 pages into the book when I told Ms. Swearingen and she told me that I had to stop because we would read this book later in the school yard. At this point I was bummed because for the most part, the first 100 pages were AMAZING!!! This has got to be one of the top 10 books I have ever read. This book was mainly about a girl, nicknamed Scout, her brother, Jem, and her new friend Dill. I haven't gotten very far into the book, but so far the main plot in the book was that these three friends were trying to get a supposedly very mean and angry person to come out of his house (Radley). That's about all I know of this book, but so far it's very good and I like it a lot. You guys will enjoy this book when you read it later on in the year.

The Invisible Man

Currently I am reading The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells. I just started the book so I am not very far in. However, based on the summary at the back it is about a scientist who turns himself invisible in a science experiment, but goes mad when he can't go back and make himself visible again. So far at my part in the book a mysterious man checks in to an inn covered head to toe so that no part of his skin is exposed. He acts strangely around others and prefers to be alone. The few people that have seen or heard about him are angry at his seemingly rude behavior.

The Invisible Man was written in 1897, so some of the language is odd, and can be hard to follow at times. However, one of the things that I liked was that Wells used a lot of creative foreshadowing in the first few pages of the book. This isn't the regular type of book that I usually read, being that it was written over 100 years ago, but I am really enjoying Wells' writing style and am eager to read more.

Make Lemonade

I just started reading the novel Make Lemonade, a novel by Virginia Euwer Wolff. Make Lemonade is a story about a seventeen year old girl named Jolly. Jolly has two children named Jilly and Jeremy. She is a single teenage mother who can't spell, and doesn't have much of a job. She knows she can't take care of Jilly and Jeremy all by herself, so she posts a "Babysitter Needed" sign on the high school bulletin board. A fourteen year old, Verna LaVaughn is the only one who applies for the job. Verna LaVaughn lives with her mom. She is working very hard in school and saving up for college. Verna had the idea to apply for this babysitting job to add onto her savings for college, and do her homework while the kids are sleeping. Verna got what she had hoped, the approval of her mother to take the job, and she got accepted by Jolly on the first visit to her house. She is doing this hard job while she she tries to maintain her grades to get into college. At first, this works out alright, but soon Jolly is taking extra time at work without giving Verna a notice about it, and Verna ends up having to stay the night at Jolly's house with Jilly and Jeremy, and skip a day of school, waiting for Jolly to return from work. Meanwhile, Verna's grades are going under the bust, and moved quickly from straight A's to C's. Jolly soon returned back home from work injured and scraped all over her face. Verna is struggling to maintain her high level of grades, the same time she is taking care of this poor family.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

I recently finished the first book in the Harry Potter series. I have seen all of the movies and have been addicted to them ever since I first watched them. After I read the first book, I immediately wanted to read the second. As good as the movies are, the book provides much more detail and information than the movie ever did. It was a lot of fun to read the book after I've watched the movie because then while I am reading the book, I can visualize what the characters and setting looks like.

In the beginning of the first book of the series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, it mainly introduces the characters to you. My favorite character is Hermione Granger because she reminds me of myself. She is very outgoing, smart, and a great friend to Harry and Ron.

Harry Potter finds out he is a wizard for the first time. He has never played a game while flying on a broom stick, worn a cloak of invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped to hatch a dragon. All Harry is familiar with is the boring muggle life with his horrible step-parents and their terrible son. All of this changes when he receives a letter from an unknown owl. In this message is an invitation to a world so magnificent and magical, it doesn't sound real. He finds great friends, sports, and magic everywhere he goes.

Harry goes through an interesting adventure with his friends in order to destroy the sorcerer's stone, and keep it from the dark side. Throughout this magical adventure, Harry defeated Lord Voldemort, and saved Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Johnny get your gun

The book i am reading is titled "Johnny get your gun". this book is about ww1 and discusses the struggle a family goes through in the war. It starts out sort of conserved and quiet but farther into the book, they start describe how the war was actually happening and they describe "play by play" war scenes that can get pretty gory. I personally am not into blood but it is extra credit in Steve social studies and i wish there was a better option but anyway............, the book has a lot of nasty scenic which am not allowed to describe to but i ams sure you might be coming up with your own imaginary scenes, that i assure you are nowhere close to the way the book describe. well, thats it bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Specials

In Specials, the third book in the Uglies series, Tally Youngblood becomes a Special Circumstances agent. With every bone replaced with ceramic ones, and monofilament muscles that can stop an arrow in it’s’ track, Shay and Tally have become the ultimate fighting weapons. Together, the two girls embark on a mission to destroy New Smoke, home to the Smokies. Smokies live outside the city lines; some are born into the Smoke, while others are recruited from neighboring cities. Before, the Smokies were non-violent and used only rudimentary tools to survive in the wilderness. In Specials, they have acquired control of a city, created pills to release the Pretties, pretty, oblivious, light-headed party goers from their odd, waking-dream of life. Tally’s mission is to stop them from distributing the dangerous drugs, after her boyfriends’ brain was slowly eroded by the nanos in the pill. Tally’s affections are tangled up however when she comes face-to-face with an ex-boyfriend, the distributer of the drug. Loyalties are tested, lines drawn and secrets spilled in Specials. It’s a really good book, fabulously written and a plot that is continued through Specials. I highly admire Scott Westerfields’ work and recommend this took to anyone who enjoys a good sci-fi, romance, action-filled novel; this is the way to go.

Born at Midnight

I am reading Born at Midnight, by C.C. Hunter, which is the first book in the Shadow Falls series. So far, Kylie Galen found out that her parents are getting a divorce, her grandma died, and her creepy stalker can't be seen by anyone other than her. Oh, and her best friend might be pregnant. So when Kylie's mom said that her therapist, Dr. Day has recommended that she go to this camp that she believes will "help her" Kylie has no choice but to get on the bus, and go to Shadow Falls. She meets some pretty weird people on the bus, like a boy who can change the color of his eyes, a girl who has dyed her hair lime green, black, and pink, and who carries a mysterious toad that just disappears, and another girl who has unusually pale skin, and wears big sunglasses to cover her eyes. Then she finds out from her new therapist at the camp, Holiday, that she has special powers being able to see ghosts, and that's why she's been sent to the camp.

I am reading the book, Seabiscuit: The American Ledgand by Laura Hillenbrand. The book is about Seabiscuit, a horse who is small, stocky, sleeps a lot, and has bad knees. But as it turns out, he is insanly fast, you just need the right way to train him. His trainer is a man named Tom Smith, a man who doesn't talk much, loves horses, and hates the press. Seabiscuits owner is a man named Howard, and he loves the press. His rider is a man named Pollerd. Right now Sea biscuit is about to face the dreaded War-Admiral.Sadly, Pollard got his leg broken, and his good friend George Wolf had to ride him.

Scorpia

The book i read i read and finish is Scorpia. It is a story about a 13 year old boy name Alex Rider and he is taken by a Spying Agency name Scorpia and put in a training camp. As Alex wonders through camp he learns from his families path which could be lie or the truth but no one will know unless you finish the book. Anyways, as Alex trains anger starts to build against Mrs. Jones who works for M16 who is supposedly the bad guys in this book. Anyways Alex is sent out on his first mission as an assassin to kill Mrs. Jones but something happens and Alex ends up staying with M16 and learning the other side of the story about his families past and does not know who to believe so he is confused and ends up picking M16 hoping it is the right choice because Scorpia is planning a massive attack on thousands of children but no one can stop them but Alex. Alex being the 13 year old boy does the best he can and ifyou read the book you learn about what he does and does he succeed. I personally recommend this book!

The book that i read is titled Rash by Pete Hautman. The book is was about a boy name Bo Marsten and his fake computer friend of artificial intelligence named Bork. In the story, a school wide rash breaks out and Bo is to blame with his first victim, Karlos Mink, even thought Karlos put on a cream that gave him the rash himself. They had already gotten into a lot of fights with each other that had some eyebrows already raised. After their last encounter Bo was sent to a McDonald processing plant where he made pizzas. By the way, they live in the United State of a Safer America USSA. In the USSA, football is illegal but in the processing plant he goes to, the warden authorizes football and it becomes one plant vs. another, the Coca-Cola processing plant. After the game, Bo is let go because bork gave himself real smarts to be a lawyer. When Bo gets back home he tries to break the school running record.

before i fall

I have finished the book Jane and I am now reading the book Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. It’s about a girl who dies but keeps reliving the day that she died for one whole week. It’s up to her how she can save others and herself. The main character’s name is Samantha Kingston. She’s got the looks, popularity and the school’s hottest guys following at her feet. She could care less about school and her grades. Sam would much rather go out to drink and party. In the book, Sam has a group of best friends. Their names are Elody, Lindsay and Ally. They do everything the same every single day. Pull up to school, blasting the same music and always get the last lower level parking spot. After Sam dies she keeps waking up the next morning on the same day, Friday, February 12^th. Each day that she does this, she decides to change one more thing than she did the day before. Usually she chooses to help someone. This person’s name is Juliet. She is always being teased and made fun of for no particular reason. Everyone in school just doesn’t like her. Sam realizes that she should have stuck up for Juliet when she could of. So far I believe that this book is all about having no regrets and not going with the crowd because you’re pressured into it.

The Hunger Games

I have just finished reading The Hunger Games by Susan Collins. It was absolutely amazing! It had my full attention the whole time, and I could not stop reading it. It was about 375 pages, so you would need to read another book as well to meet the 500 page requirement. Other than that I can find no flaws, or uninteresting parts through out the book. It was manly about a pair of teenagers form a district in their country who had to fight 22 other kids from the other 11 districts. They are trying to stop the capital from killing other children in the hunger games. The book shows that sometimes a government can not just help the people, but actually hurt the people instead. Will they survive or be destroyed before they can win The Hunger Games? That will be for you to find out yourself. There are 2 other books to the series, which I haven't read yet. Both I am guessing they are just as good if not better then this one. I would give this book a 9.5 out of 10.

The Night Circus

The Night Circus, by Eric Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is a book unlike any other. Written with incredible grace, the book follows the journeys of two young magicians, Marco and Celia. Marco, with his shyness and powers as a illusionist, and Celia, the young daughter of Prospero the Enchanter are competing in a game. With a circus cloaked in black, white, and every shade in between as the backdrop, Celia and Marco compete with each other through a series of constructing tents, filled with wonder and magic. The story begins at their youth, then explains the process of their training. I highly recommend this book because it has been written with extreme thought and beautiful craftmanship. The plot is that of their lives, and though the circus journeys around the world as a ‘circus’, the two stay in love though out. This book shows just how deep true love is, and how truly magical it can be.

Awake at Dawn

I just finished reading a book called Awake at Dawn, by C.C. Hunter. It was about a girl named Kylie Galen, who found out that she wasn't like any other human. She has the ability to talk to the dead, and see them too. She thought she was the only one in the world that was different from all the other humans. Until she found Shadow Falls Camp, a place for supernaturals, like herself, that didn't have anywhere to live or were in danger where they live. She quickly befriends Madison, a witch, and Della, a vampire. As Kylie embarks on a dangerous journey to find out what she really is, she comes across the spirit of her late father, David. The one that she thought could answer all her questions. But she soon finds out that her father was adopted, and he too, was puzzled as to what they are. Kylie also gets stuck between two boys, Lucas, a werewolf, and Derek, a half fairy. But when Lucas leaves camp with another werewolf, Kylie feels like she is by herself, because Derek is acting strange.

The It Girl

I am currently reading a series called The It Girl. It is about students at a boarding school called Waverly Academy. It follows different characters and everyone's stories come together. There is a lot of fighting and scheming and it is really fun to hear everyone's side of the story and what they feel like is going on. Waverly students are referred to as Owls, and each chapter is a "rule" about what a good Waverly Owl does. It is so fun because the rules show what the chapter will be about and are always very creative.

Water For Elephants

I am currently reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. This book goes in and out of two different time periods in a man's life. This man's name is Jacob Jankowski and at the start of the book he is 90 years old and about 20 pages in he becomes 25 years old. The writing is really descriptive. Jacob's 90 year old self is living in a nursing home and he is bored out of his mind. He was diagnosed with depression and got in a "fight" with another elderly man at the nursing home. His 25 year old self dropped out of college (Cornell in fact) because his parents got in a tragic car accident and died. He soon found himself on a circus train, The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. He gets a small job as the veterinarian for the animals and has a small crush on the circus leaders' wife. I am not quite sure, but I think this book is set in the 1950's (as his 25 year old self). I'm really excited to keep reading this book because I am not quite able to identify the genre yet. It seems that it is realistic fiction right now, but I have a feeling there is more to this book.

Right now, I am reading the book The Lone Survivor, by Marcus Luttrel. It is a first person account of a Navy SEAL operation redwing, in which many lives were lost. In the beginning, the book focuses on describing the Navy SEAL, at what it takes to become one. The life of the narrator, is somewhat what you would expect from a Navy SEAL, Marcus Luttrel and his twin brother Morgan, lived on a ranch in Texas. They were taught to swim and scuba dive by their father at a very young age. Also, they wrestled alligators and chased water moccasins in nearby swamps. I thought that that was very interesting, because that is what I would have expected, just really tough guys. They both trained to become Navy SEALs at a very young age and actually went into real training long before they were going to do the tests. The book describes SEALs as the toughest, smartest, most honorable people. The book picks up when a few SEALs are riding in a large military cargo plane bound for Afghanistan, where their mission would begin. Overall, the book is very fun to read, and is also engaing.

Brandon Boyd-Hunger Games

I have recently started reading the Hunger Games mainly because of how popular it is and its high praise. Almost all of the examples Ms. Post gives about a book she uses the hunger games and always talks about it, so I took her advice and started to read it. So far I am really impressed with the book, at first I expected it to not be as good as people say it is like most books are, but I think it is really interesting and unique. The book is set in the future, people are divided into districts and it is very hard to survive. There is a tournament hosted every year and people are picked out of a hat to go. Basically you need to survive by yourself and you are against all of the other kids in the games. This genre or type of book I find fascinating the kind of gloomy, futurist survival always keeps me reading and the survival aspect kind of reminds me of the Lord of the Flies. It took me a couple of pages to find out the gender of the main character which I thought was weird and I wonder if anyone else had that happen to them. Right now I am really enjoying the book and it is a page turner that I hope I will love throughout every page.

Nick Washuta- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Over the past few weeks I have been reading harry potter and the goblet of fire. I am one hundred and ninety three pages into the book and still love it. It is still very interesting and I would recommend it to all you.

So far Harry Potter has been at the Quidditch world cup with the Weasley family and Hermione. He has met bagman and crouch and got to know them very well.  They were the announcers who got them the tickets to the Quidditch Cup. Pretty much what happen was; they were in their tents when they heard the bell ring… it was time. They walked through the forest eager to get to their seats. They got some of the best and most expensive tickets in the stadium. They got the "box" seats of the Quidditch world cup, AKA the announcer’s seats. They were stationed way up at the top they were able to see the entire field. Harry, Hermione, and Ron, were all using the toys they got from the concession stands with a great deal of happiness. They were using their Omnioculars (magic binoculars where you can pause, replay, fast forward, and zoom in and out). It was all going well until Harry’s “enemy” shows up; Draco Malfoy. The Malfoy family greets Mr. Weasley as he did back, while Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Draco get into a little scrum. Just a moment later Bagman and Crouch too out their wand and pointed them at their throats, and said “Ludos.” They were able to make their voices extremely loud then started announcing the teams’ players. Not too long after the ref on the field yelled: 3, 2, 1, GO!! The match had started.

The book has been great so far and has kept me hooked… you should definitely read it.

Confessions of a Stud/ Wintergirls

I just finished the book Confessions of a Stud by John Foley. That book is about his little life stories that you can compare to your life now. The stories are about his family, social life, school and nythign else. The irony to this book is that he was not a stud at all, bu he liked to think he was. I really enjoyed that book and hope to read more by him. The book I am just starting is called Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. I chose this book because it closeley relates to my speech topic. This book is about two best friends, Lia and Cassie, who are both fighting anorexia. But, Cassie dies. Lia's mom is busy saving lives and her father is away in bussiness. Her stepmother is clueless. Lia keeps talleing herself to stay strong, control herself and loose weight. If she keeps loosing weight, she herself could die too.

Parallel Worlds

Currently I am reading Parallel Worlds by Michio Kaku, who is a theoretical physicist. It is basically a non-fiction book about anything and everything related to the mysteries of our universe. It is specifically focused though on the relatively new discoveries made by scientists in the last 50 to 100 years regarding quantum theory and string theory. It also highlights the history about how these theories were created, and how pretty much all of modern physics started from Einstein's breakthrough theory of relativity. The book was published in 2004, so a couple of minor things are outdated because the field has progressed so rapidly since then.
Now I know that some of the material sounds complicated, but its really not, because the author does a very good job of explaining very complex concepts in simplistic language, and using lots of easy to understand analogies. I would recommend this book to anyone who has wondered, "Why can't we travel faster than the speed of light?" or, "It is possible to travel back in time or teleport?" I have always been fascinated with the answers to these types of questions and more importantly the "why" behind them and have been loving this book.

The Hunger games

So far the hunger games has been an exciting and fun book to read. I really like that book is all about kids our age. Its Also a new and exciting concept for a book. The book has taken a very diffrent aproach on what the world and our society could be come. Although this book is fiction i feel as though the concepts and feelings in the book are very much realistic. This is a very diffrent book then i am used to reading. I usually read more suspense full and mystery book. So far in the book im at the point where they are all in time swear and the crowd is cheering because she desided to take the place of her sister. This moment in the book was very cute to me! Especially because i do have and older sister and i would do this for her in a heart beat and vice versa. I desided to read this book after the constint talk about it and the constant praise i have heard from my friends. I'm glad i chose this book to read, but i'm just sad that i waited till know. This book has so far been exciting and deffinetly and edge of your chair book.

CHERUB: Divine Madness

For my independent reading book, I am reading the 5th book of the CHERUB series: Divine Madness. In this book, our old hero James Adams is sent on a mission that includes finding out more about a terrorist organization called Help Earth. Help Earth's goals are to eliminate all of the wealthy mean people that own things that hurt the environment. This time, they plan to bomb a plane full of CEOs of oil companies. But to find out how to prove that the people helping Help Earth are guilty of homicide, they must get to know and hack into the people supporting Help Earth, an organization of people who call themselves the Survivors. The Survivors believe that the world will end soon because of nuclear war, so they built a huge ark in the Australian outback. James's mission will to go into schools around the world to get trained as a Elite Corp, so he can live on the ark to hack into their database. He has to make friends with the kids at the school and the ark, and then find papers or documents that prove that the Survivors are helping Help Earth. Unfortunately for James, he doesn't know the high risk of this mission, the fact that he wont be able to pull out at any moment, he might be far from friends, and he wont have any contact to his buddies back home in England.

The book I'm reading is called Perter and the shadow thieves, and it's about Peter who has the ability to fly because he handled the star stuff, and he needs to save his friend molly from a man who is trying to kidnap her to get her dad to tell her were the star stuff is. Peter has a fairy Tinkerbell but only he can understand her. The evil guys are Captain Stach, an evil pirate, Captain Nezzer, another evil pirate, and Omba, a weird thing that can take control of your shadow, and then take control of you. Peter is stuck going to molly's house right now after escaping from a jail. But Omba is already at Molly's house.

I am currently reading The Total Outdoorsman Manual by T. Edward Nickens and the editors of Field and Stream. This book seemed perfect for me when I first saw it, it includes tons of facts, tips and stories about hunting, fishing, camping and survival. If you love the outdoors I would highly recommend this book to you. The forward at the beginning of the book actually seemed like something I would have been proud to write. It relates to the life of hunters and fishermen like the author knows who you are. One thing I love about the book is that it can be picked up for 30 seconds and you have already learned something, there isn’t much of a main plot since it is non-fiction. This is great because you don’t have to recall previous readings to understand. I am going to be honest, if you aren’t interested in hunting, fishing, camping or survival I wouldn’t recommend this book. So far I have been very satisfied with my choice of non-fiction. If you haven’t tried non-fiction I would strongly consider it. I am planning on finishing this book and then possibly going back to a chapter book or just try another non-fiction.

Terrier

Im currently reading the book Terrier by Tamora Pierce. It is part of the Beka Cooper series. It is about a young girl living in the renaissance era. She wants to be part of the Dogs. They are a group of law enforces organized by the government. Its been her dream for as long as she can remember. The only problem is proving herself. She is a very very shy girl. She cant help turning away or looking down when she is being talked to. Not only this but two of the most famed Dogs in the Lower City are her assigned mentors. She also has a secret, a secret that people would not understand if they found out. She can hear the whispers of the dead from pigeons. There has been a terrible murder of a young boy. But the boy is one of the grandson of one of the biggest crime associated people of the Lower City, so who would kill this boy? It is up to the Dogs to find out! They find her and whispers ghastly secrets of murders and sudden deaths. How will she be accepted by her peers and her mentors? And most important of all will they find out who is behind this murder? I think that this is a really good book. Its good for people who are into female fighters and role models.

Best of The Best

I just finished the book Best of The Best by Tim Green. It's about this boy who's parents are breaking up. His dad met this realistate agent and they've been going out ever since. He hates his dad's girlfriend. He also plays baseball. He goes to The little league world series with his team. Too make matters worse he ends rooming with his dad's girlfriend's son (who he ends up punching in the face.) He and his friend Jaden discover that the agent's ex-husband is trying to take all of the main character's dad's money. To stop them, Jaden steals a very important contract. I'm not going to give away the ending though. If you like spoorts books I would recomend this bok to you.

Seabiscuit

The book that I am currently reading is Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand. The story is about a racehorse during the 1930-40's. Seabiscuit was owned by Charles Howard and was trained by Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons and Tom Smith. Seabiscuit was a horse who was considered a less than ideal horse for successful racing, and he was very lazy, but later on he became a very successful horse and one of the most loved of all time. Horse racing was very popular in this time period and Seabiscuit was a symbol of hope and overcoming all odds to thrive and be successful.

Ashes, Ashes (continued)

For the start of this quarter I have finished the book Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggari. I really liked this book, but in the middle I had to take about a week break because it just dragged on for what seemed like forever. But when I started reading the book again it took me no time to finish it. I liked this book because it was very action pact, and it would probably be fairly realistic if our world would come to an end where only 1% of the population lived and "Sweepers" were combing the streets looking for survivors to do who knows what with.

After the plague and the melting of the polar ice caps, Lucy went off on her own to attempt to live by herself. She didn't care how many survivors were left; all she cared about was that she was surviving. Then, when a pack of hunting dogs came to feast on her, a boy named Aiden comes and rescues her. This was the first contact with any other living human she has had in months. The dialogue was actually kind of funny, because she didn't know how to respond and she was just very awkward. So, due to the contact with Aiden, he persuades Lucy to join his camp of survivors. This might be looking up for Lucy, but just as that happens a series of bad things happens for Lucy. A horrible flu has come because of the birds and the "Sweepers" are becoming more desperate to find people (Lucy).

I also think that I found out where the title Ashes, Ashes comes from. I hope everybody knows the song "Ring around the Rosie".

Ring around the Rosie.

A Pocket full of Posies.

Ashes, Ashes.

We all fall down.

I think that this song is some sort of metaphor to the book. I think that the first two lines show like a peaceful world because Ring around the Rosie maybe means like a wedding ring (happiness and joy). Then the second phrase says "A pocket full of Posies," and posies are like a banquet of flowers. Then of course the phrase "Ashes, Ashes," which of course means destruction or catastrophe. And then the ending "We all fall down," which could mean that everyone is dying or maybe buildings are crumbling, there are many different ways to interpret this song. So this song basically goes from happy to death (sad) in 4 short phrases. That relates to the book in a lot of ways. Therefore that could be where the book's title came from.

The Help

Currently I am reading the book The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. Although I am not very far I really have enjoyed reading it so far. The book, so far, is from the view points of Aibileen, Minny and, Skeeter. Aibileen and Minny are both African American maids working for white families, whil Skeeter is a white woman who is a writer. These ladies all live in the same town and their lives all connect in a way. Aibileen is Minny's very good friend. Skeeter asks Aibileen for help when writing her newpaper articles. I think that Skeeter and Minny well create a connection later in the book. Currently the book is on the topic of bathrooms for the help. I feel that the help should not have to have their own segregated bathrooms, but back then that's how things were. This book is a very good example of how life was back then. I think that all the characters will be connected in some way that affects how African Americans are treated. I am really loooking forward to reading the rest of it.

Lord of the Flies

I am currently on page 239 in Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. This book is a classic, and was published in 1954.

This book starts off with boys (no adults) of all different ages ending up on an island because of a plane crash. The main character, Ralph, gathers the boys by blowing a conch. From then on rules were set, but over time people challenged Ralph, and the boys grew more restless and violent.

The very first thing set in stone is to always have a fire burning, so that the smoke can signal any ship passing by to rescue them. This in itself creates many problems as it seems like only Ralph wants to be rescued compared to the other boys. This creates conflicts such as the fire going out, and other boys questioning why there is a fire. Even as the story goes on, Ralph begins to question his main purpose on the island. This shows how much the boys stray from their beginning goals, and how on their own they can change their state of mind.

This book simulates society, how people rise to power, and the beginning intentions. Much similar to Animal Farm, you witness an innocent intention turn into a bad situation. I find this book very fascinating because the boys civilized nature soon turns into something representing a savage.

I recommend this book to mature readers who are interested in classics, or would like an interesting read.

I. of S. in the fiction of C.S.L.

So, the book I am reading is Images of Salvation in the fiction of C.S. Lewis. I know, it is has really long title, which is why I didn’t write it out. It was recommended to me by the person who actually is lending it to me, he is a friend from church who had seen me reading the Chronicles of Narnia around the church building, and did not think I knew some of the connections between the books and the Bible, which was not true (or at least that was what I thought). Carrying on, I took the book gracefully, and started reading. Fortunately, I have been surprised by my overlooking of some very interesting facts that have popped up just thus far, and I now can see that it is a great follow up book that will test my reading in depth of the books I have already read in the chronicles.
Right now, at this moment, I am at the part where the author, named Clyde Kilby, is explaining some connections between the book: The Horse and His Boy, and finding God. It is very insightful, and interesting!

Reading check

The book I read was called Chase by Jessie Haas. It was about a young boy named Phin who lived in an Irish town in 1880. His mom died and his dad left for the war and never came back. He lives with a girl who loved his mother. he gets blamed for a murder he didn't commit. He escapes on a train, and hides in a rail car, then he try to run i the woods, but he is being tracked by a privet eye. he has know idea how the guy keeps finding him, but he keeps running. He stumbles into a small farm, and steals some food and a jacket. In the morning, the find him, and he has to run. The guy keeps tracking him, and Phin finds out the guy trained his house to track him. Phin close lines him with a rope, and the guy gets badly hurt. Phin brings him back to the barn he stole stuff from, and a few days later Phin has to face the guy who accused him. he tells the guy about how wages are about to be cut and a bunch of people are about to be executed, and he lets Phin go.

November and Her Mother

November and her mother seem to have a lot in common. From the way they react to situations to their personalities, one might use the expression,” The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” When November shares with her mother she is pregnant she seems to go through the same emotions November does, first denial and then of course deep depression. November’s mom was already on the edge; having a child who is mentally challenged (November’s younger brother) November’s news was the push it needed. One thing her mother does that November didn’t even think about was tell her about the cost and responsible of having a child. Now as stressed as her mother is, November has a mental break down. After her break down her mother turns on the one thing that helps HER calm down, JAZZ MUSIC. November didn’t understand before her pregnancy, why her mother loved jazz so much. In this moment she realizes jazz helps ease the pain inside. November explains jazz as a magical tool that helps erase some f the pain by playing it out through instruments. When she meets up with Olivia and hears her explain how music relates to life, November feels as though she just might be able to handle being a parent

November and Her Mother

November and her mother seem to have a lot in common. From the way they react to situations to their personalities, one might use the expression,” The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” When November shares with her mother she is pregnant she seems to go through the same emotions November does, first denial and then of course deep depression. November’s mom was already on the edge; having a child who is mentally challenged (November’s younger brother) November’s news was the push it needed. One thing her mother does that November didn’t even think about was tell her about the cost and responsible of having a child. Now as stressed as her mother is, November has a mental break down. After her break down her mother turns on the one thing that helps HER calm down, JAZZ MUSIC. November didn’t understand before her pregnancy, why her mother loved jazz so much. In this moment she realizes jazz helps ease the pain inside. November explains jazz as a magical tool that helps erase some f the pain by playing it out through instruments. When she meets up with Olivia and hears her explain how music relates to life, November feels as though she just might be able to handle being a parent

Son Of Neptune

Son Of Neptune
Rick Riordan

    The story of adventurous children heading out to save the world. When i mean the world, its the world. The famous character Percy Jackson has made a new appearance as a Roman demigod and has learned the new ways of the Roman gods and names. He befriends 2 camp members who are not at their best at camp and both have a story of which is interesting. As Percy makes is way to camp he has issues, the monsters he kills just keep coming back and he has no clue and on top of that, he remembers nothing from his past, he only remembers Annabeth and hopes to see her again. When he gets to camp the camp is shocked to see that Percy just killed a monster with a wave bigger than a house, all they can say is 'wow'.


    A couple days into camp Percy and his 2 friends and the rest of camp are welcomes by the god Ares (Greek name) Mars (Roman name). His friend is claimed by Mars as his son and given a gifted weapon and then given the task of stopping the giant that is rising in Alaska and with Mother Earth waking to rule and destroy the world. Mars says that Frank (Percy's Friend) is to take Percy with him and one more person of his choice. As the three demigods head out to save the world they befriend a harpy name Ella and Percy slowly remembers his past.


    I really recommend this book for the adventure lovers. This is a good start of Rick Riordan's new series and has many good twist and and spins in this story.

November Blues

The book November Blues by Sharon Mills Draper is about a teenager named November. November was always known for her good grades until junior year when she meets Josh. Josh being such a class clown helps her loosen up and smile. Josh seems to be the perfect boyfriend for November, but as almost expected, her grades begin to slip. Now senior year Josh dies and November soon realizes she is pregnant with Josh's baby. Not knowing what to do or how to tell her mother, November falls into a somewhat deep depression. She begins to loose her beautiful figure and go through some of the symptoms of pregnancy and is force to tell her mother. Her mother is disappointed and hurt that November did not tell her sooner. Now to late for an abortion, November decides she will keep the baby. As the baby grows and her baby bumps she go’s from being popular to the one most talked about and made fun of. That is when Jericho(Josh’s cousin) and a new friend Olivia seem to swoop in and if not save the day, ease the pain that November is going through.

The book I read is called The Son of Neptune, and it's author is by Rick Riordan. It's about a boy named Percy, who's half god half human. His dad is Neptune, and he doesn't remember who his mom is. In fact, the goddess Juno made him forget everything of his old life. He ends up at a roman camp for half human half gods, or halfbloods called Camp Jupiter. After making friends with Frank Zhang, and Hazel Levesque, he finds out he must go on a quest to free the god Thanatos. Because without him, the dead can come back to life. all the know is that he is being held in Alaska. The journey there, and they have to fight wind spirits, fight and make friends with the amazons, but they finally make it there. The they find the giant Alyceonus is guarding him. They have to find him and Frank must break the bonds with his life stick. They defeat him, and then Percy gets his memory back, and they team up with camp half blood, the other camp.

Harry potter and the Goblet of Fire

Over the past few weeks I have finished reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (435 pages) and I have started reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I am 70 pages into my second book. Both of these books are great and hard to put down once you start reading them. The Harry Potter series is one of my favorites because there are so many twists and turns keeping you on the edge of your seat.

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry learns that his godfather is Sirius Black who was never trying to kill Harry. His goal was to protect him from Peter Pettigrew, who was Ron’s mouse. While this is the ending of the story, the plot develops and takes the reader along many different paths. Harry gets a surprise Christmas Gift, a Firebolt, from an anonymous sender. Hermione thinks the Firebolt is cursed and as a friend, she wants to keep him safe. So Hermione has the Firebolt checked out and it was okay. Later, Harry learns the Firebolt was sent from Sirius Black. Harry used his invisibility cloak to sneak to Hogsmeade for the day. He met up with Hermione and Ron as they ventured around to different stores like Honeydukes for candy and Three Broomsticks for their favorite Butter Beer drink. These two snippets are a small part of everything going on at Hogwarts in Harry’s third year of school.

As I started reading the 4^th book in the series, Harry is once again back at the Dursleys’ house for summer break. This book is called Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. As with the others, the 4^th book refers to Harry’s 4^th year in Hogwarts School of Wizardry. Dudley, Harry’s muggle cousin, is now on a diet, because he is overweight. He is very grumpy. Because Dudley is on a diet, everyone in the family, including Harry, has to be on a diet. Harry, as always, gets treated like he doesn’t exist. He finally has a little hope to be happy this summer when an invitation comes from his good friend Ron to go to the Quidditch World cup with him and his family. Harry is thrilled. This is only the beginning!