I read the Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. Its a really great book and its almost better then the movie. I really enjoyed it. It was a really great love story that had a lot of depth to it. I really wanted to (i did) just devour the book and I'm sad that its over. I recommend reading it before watching the movie because then you can compare. Its about a girl who goes down to south carolina for the summer to see her father and she ends up falling in love. The boy she loves has a secret though, one that will shatter both their relationship and her relationship with her father. Not only does this shake up her world, but the health of her father brings her summer to a screeching halt. Its a really heartbreaking book and the story is wonderful. I loved all of the characters.

Ghost Recon

The second book I have read this quarter was a book by Tom Clancy named Ghost Recon.

I had heard a lot about Tom Clancy's novels (mostly from boys) and decided to pick one up to read. This book was about a team of highly trained fighters and their missions. I have not really read a genre like this, a war shooter but I really enjoy this book. I recommend this book to anyone who likes government conspiracy or spy books because it is very similar to that genre.

The book was written in many different points of view which I really loved so I could see what was happening everywhere in the book. It was a very quick read and made me hope for a sequel which I am not aware of so far. But the way the author ended the book it made it seem as though the book/series was complete. After reading this book I have come to love the author so I will be reading more of his books in the future. Overall this was a great read and I hope some of you consider reading it.

Mockingjay

I have just finished reading the last book in the Hunger Games Series Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. It is a great ending to the series! Discard what I said earlier about giving it an 8.5 out of 10. It should be a 9.5 out of10! The ending is very dramatic, but I don't want to give it away so I will keep quiet. All you need to know is that this book is a must read. If you like suspense, action, adventure, horror, or post-apocalyptic book this is the book for you. The two main characters in the book are separated by two very different nations that are at war. Will the two main characters ever get each to other or will they be pulled apart in a war for justice and equality? I will let you find out when you read Mockingjay. This book has very good morals that will benefit you if you ever join politics. I hope you read it soon!

The First Part Last

The First Part Last written by Angela Johnson is about a teenaged father raising his daughter Feather. What makes this book joy interesting is that it flip-flops from the present to the past. As you read you find out about the struggle it is to balance school and parenting and also how his life was before and leading up to Feather's birth. The part that remains a mystery (or so far, I haven't finished yet) is why Boob's girlfriend (Feather's mother) is not in the picture. It seems as though you learn about everything else first like, how tagging (graffiti) helps him cope, why his parents are divorce, and evan about his "childhood." It frustrates me how I don't have a clue and keeps me wanting to know more. I also love how it's all in first person and I get to really "hear" his thoughts. I have read books in the past about teen-pregnancy but never from the father's point of view.

Warriors Don't Cry

Melba Pattillo Beals's memoir, Warriors Don't Cry. Is a great memoir. At first I was not too excited because of how long it is and thinking, " I already know what happened... and I know the end!" How I wrong I was. The way Melba describes events in great detail amazes me and kept me intrigued. I loved hearing about the Little Rock Nine meetings with the NAACP. I also cried at some parts because I could not believe the cruelty of some people. On top of that, in this memoir you learn a lot about Melba's personal pain and family struggle. She makes you feel what she was feeling by allowing you as a reader to read her diary from that time. I dont want to ruin the book for you, but the quote I think describes the book best is on page 57, " You're a warrior on the battlefield for your Lord. God's warriors don't cry. Cause they trust that he's always by their side. The women of this family don't break down in the face of trouble. We act with courage, and with God's help, we ship trouble right out." Melba's grandma gives her this advice after a particularly hard day. I love

this quote because it means so much to the Author and is what help her stay strong.

Rivals

I recently started a new book named Rivals by Tim Green. It's about a boy named Josh who is the star of his Little League baseball team. In the qualifying game to get into a Cooperstown tournament he gets hit in the face by a pitch causing him damage to his eye socket, and potencially costing him the tournament. He comes back to hit the game winnning homerun but needs surgery on his eye socket. The story is about how he and his team, The Titans, have to overcome dirty playing by other teams. Whether it's beanballs, or sliding spikes first into somebody, everyone the face is trying to take josh out and make it that much easier. to win the tournament. Not only that but if he wins the tournament, Josh's dad will get a Nike contract that will make his family's financial situation a lot easier. There house is in the danger of foreclosure because of the bad economy. Read the book to see if Josh can win the Cooperstown tournament.

Juliet Immortal

I have recently finished reading Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay. It is an amazing book with a highly griping plot. The main characters are Juliet and Romeo, but the twist is that they are in the 21st century. Juliet is in "heaven" so when she comes back in someone else's body she is there to help people fall in love, but when Romeo comes back in someone else's body it is to kill Juliet. The two must complete their goals without anyone learning their true identities. This is a romantic story, but parts of it are really exciting. I think that the books plot is like the plot of the real Romeo and Juliet. It is an added twist that one is now evil and one is now good. I think that the book really captures the true story of Romeo and Juliet, but in a way that makes it more easier to relate to. They both go to school and they both live in homes where they don't have the best life. The ending was unexpected, but it made the book even more exciting. The book is a perfect length because it doesn't drag on, but it has exciting plot twists and cliff hangers.

Before I Die

One of the books that I finished this quarter was Before I Die by Jenny Downham. This novel is extremely inspirational. It's about a girl named Tessa who has cancer and only has a few months to live. She writes a list of things she wants to do with the small amount of time that she has left. She struggles with countless medications that cause her rigorous side affects and numerous hospital visits. Throughout her journey she endures stressful relationships with her brother, father and her new boyfriend. Tessa is constantly motivating others around her. I truly think this is a book that is worth wild to read and explores things that aren't necessarily thought about on a daily basis. It has actually made me want to create my own list of things to do during my lifetime. I want to spend each day completing at least one thing on this list so that there will be no regrets. Downham does an amazing job of capturing the essance of what it is like to be on a time crunch. I would reccomend this book to pretty much anyone. It gives a new and exciting perspective and I believe that it's worth reading.

The Lord of flies was an absolutely amazing book. The begging started with a slow but promising start through out the book they theme and the overall tone of book stayed exciting. Even though the overall tone of the book was in some ways sort of dark and tragic , it made you want to read more. if your looking for a good read and something that you can snuggle up in the grass on warm spring day choose this book. In some ways this book is a lot like To Kill a Mockingbird. This is because innocence the ways in witch a human can bring terror to other humans a rises. As the end of the book can closer and closer you start in some ways merge a bond with the characters. I hope my fellow classmates will chooses to read this book in the near future

I am Legend

I have been reading I am legend. I watched the movie a year or two ago and I liked it. But I never read the book. So I picked it up. It was pretty good, written by Richard Matheson. It’s a classic last survivor post apocalyptic book but I didn’t mind the story line kept me interested. It is about one man who lives in a world where a disease has spread that turns people into zombie/vampires, These people only come out at night so he goes and hunts them down during the morning. His house is a stronghold he made so they can not get in a night, they know he is one of the last survivors and want to get him. Robert Neville, is not really the last one on the whole planet but one of the only ones. He is not trying to save himself because he is immune to the virus but they can still kill him with force. He is trying to kill all the vampires and at the same time he is trying to find a cure for the disease. He know he can never kill them all before his food supply runs out but he resolves to give his best effort until the end. I haven’t finished yet and am really excited to see what happens next.

The maze Runner, that is the book i am reading right now and i can't seem to put it down. the book has so much figurative language in it that it seem like poetry but with a action pack twist. i do agree that it is the most interesting but mind scrabling novel. I am not as i am as nnot as far as i hoped to be but if i read long and hard i am sure i will finish. So there are three characters, Thomas, Newt and Alby. Thomas is the main character and is new to the glade. the glade is he maze that changes everyday. every 30 days a new person arrives there. Newt is the doctor/ care giver to all of those that get bitten by the Grievers. the Grivers come out at night and "take care" of those runners that don't take care of themselves. The goal, everyday, is to go through the maze and figure out how it changes and whether there is a pattern that goes with it. Everytime they go out thought there is never the same patter or trail so it has been resolved thate it is impposible to get out.

The first book i read was called Shelter and it was about about a boy whose father was supposedly dead and whose mom was completely over protective and he just wanted to forget about his past this new upcoming school year. He has a scary neighbor who hasn't come out of their house in fifteen years and Sam (the boy) had something strange happen to him on the way to summer school. The old lady came out of her house and tells Sam that his dad wasn't dead, even he had been told he was dead for ten years. this stirred lots of curiosity in Sam's mind. Then, he meets a girl name Ema and he figure out his feeling for her, she is completely rude and snobby and thinks that because she is overweight, that everyone that talks to her is trying to make her feel equal. She doesn't really appreciate that. Sam has met another named Stephanie and she has become all of the world to him. she was nice, pretty and smart, he just couldn't get enough. This book is for the people who are looking for a realistic novel that they can relate to.

The Kite Runner- Nick Washuta

Over the past few weeks, I have read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini; the book was 370 pages, and a great book. I have also continued reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I was on page 130 when I stopped reading it, I have read to page 266. Both books were and are amazing. The Kite Runner is easily my new favorite book. After I Finish Harry Potter, I will start the sequel to The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns.

The Kite Runner, like I said, is by far my new favorite book. The book’s plot was crazy. It ends off with Amir, the main character, bringing Hassan’s (Amir’s best friend, his servant, was killed by Assef) child to America, and the story ends off with Amir running Hassan’s son’s kite, saying, “For you, a thousand times over,” exactly what Hassan said to Amir before he betrayed him.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is also a great book so far. In the story, so far, a ton has happened. Where I started reading again, was after the Quidditch World cup, when every tent in the stadium was burned down by wizards. The wizard council then goes crazy over what happened. The bad wizards were aiming to kill the muggles. Then the Harry, Hermione, and Ron start school and find out two other magic schools are joining them this year for the Tri Wizard Tournament.  The names picked for each school to compete in the tournament included a kid that was 17+ from each school, and somehow Harry potter, who wasn’t old enough to compete. The names were drawn from the goblet of fire, Harry didn’t put his name in and it still came out. It has been a great book so far an I can’t wait to finish.

Hunger Games and Fire From The Rock

Over the 3^rd quarter, I have read the last Hunger Games and Fire From The Rock. Both these books were influential, but in different ways. The Hunger Games was more of a book that I knew wasn’t real, but still had that “it could happen” affect. Fire From The Rock actually happened. I already wrote about the Hunger Games, so this post is more about Fire From The Rock. This book is about the integration of schools in Little Rock during 1957. This book is mellower and less harsh than other books about this event because this event was very very intense. The author made that clear, but didn’t go into as much detail, which I liked because otherwise it would have been to much for me to understand and be able to enjoy. I really liked this book and how Sharon M. Draper wrote it. It made my mind think about what happened and how our society was before everyone was “equal”. It impacted me by just the idea, then once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down! I recommended this book to people who enjoy actually just reading about history, or anything like that. I really love reading history, so it caught my eye, and I think that may other kids would enjoy this to.

The Lost Hero

After I finished Locked On by Tome Clancy and Mark Greaney, I started to read the Lost Hero by Rick Riordan. I had previously read the previous Percy Jackson series which features mainly Percy Jackson and Annabeth. But this is the sequel to that series. And it features mainly Jason instead of Percy Jackson. I believe that Hera (wife of Zeus) switched Percy Jackson and Jason because I think that she wants the two camps (Roman and Greek) to unite as one to fight against the Titans. This book is all about Jason, Piper, and Leo, who try to find out more about Jason's past because his memory has been wiped out. They're also about to go on a quest to find out more about Jason's past and where he came from. This book so far has been very exciting, and I believe that there is a book 2 to this new exciting series, and I'm pretty sure that book is about Percy Jackson, who I believe is in the Roman camp. So I'm excited to finish reading this book and start on a new one.

U.S.S. Seawolf

The U.S.S. Seawolf is by Patrick Robinson. The book is set in a future America, where there is a lot of weapons competition between countries, especially between the U.S. and China. The U.S. is preparing for war with China by producing new and deadly submarines, one of these new submarines is named the U.S.S. Seawolf, the most powerful ship in the united states navy. The chinese create a very powerful submarine comparable to the Seawolf, and the admiral Arnold Morgan cant take any chances with this new ship. he sends the U.S.S. Seawolf after the chinese submarine in hope of destroying it, but the opposite happens, the Seawolf is captured, and the crew is taken hostage, a large group of navy seals is sent to rescue them.

Love, Stargirl

This book is about a girl named Stargirl Caraway who just moved from Arizona. She loved Arizona and the format of the book is written in a letter to her boyfriend, Leo Borlock, who lives in Arizona. SHe tells him about Pennsylvania. Many people think she is a freak because she's home schooled, but she is able to stay happy because she makes "friends" around her house. Dootsie, a five-year-old,is actually a "human bean". In other words, Stargirl befriends a bean, which I find quite odd. Also, theres Margie. Margie loves donuts and she thinks every life lesson can be learned from a donut. Alvina, a spoiled snooty girl, turns out to be a very nice girl and she becomes friends with Stargirl. Finally there is Perry. Perry is a "rebel child" that steals many things around the house, however Stargirl begins to develop a crush on him. She also finds happiness on her favorite hill thats in the neighborhood. There, she makes a calendar out of spatulas and goes on milk runs with her dad. Towards the end of the book, Stargirl decides to throw a Winter Solstice party for her and all of her new friends. Love, Stargirl is a very quirky book that is sort of strange and over the top, but it was quick and somewhat fun read. There wasn't much of a plot, but much like TKM, all of the characters symbolized something other than what they physically were.

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

I think that many eighth grade girls would enjoy this book, because the concept is very interesting and the girls who have read it gave really good feedback. As much as I wanted to like this book, I didn't. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher is about a girl who commits suicide and has 13 tapes for 13 people that were related to her decision to kill herself. The narrator is Clay, who received these 13 tapes and the whole book is his experience reacting and listening to them. The first problem is that Clay was a person she liked, not a person she blamed her death on. I think the book would be so much more powerful if the narrator was reflecting in his/her mean actions towards Hannah Baker (the girl who dies), and deals with the guilt inside. Second of all, the book felt completely forced. I like the idea a lot, but the idea could've been realistically done. This boy Clay is crying and is a wreck and it seems like he loves Hannah, but it turns out he didn't really know her and just kissed her once. He talks about how amazing Hannah is, etc. I felt like it felt too fake because he never actually got to understand her, he never loved her, and he barely spent any time with her. He was throwing up, crying, feeling terrible throughout the whole time he listens to these tapes but all these feelings and actions are exaggerated and totally unrealistic. Also, it turns out that the reasons why Hannah killed herself isn't a legitimate reason. She talks about how she had friends, and how she lived a normal life. When little reasons came across like teasing or doing little acts of stalking, she took everything so personally and kills herself. Nothing big or drastic actually happens in her life, and it seemed like she was just going through the ups and downs of high school. That's why her death seemed so exaggerated also because the reason why she killed herself were small normal things.

I am incredibly frustrated with this book. But, I would recommend this book because I know lots of teen girls would love this book, and the book is quite popular.

The Deerslayer

The book I am currently reading is called The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper. It is part of the series called The Leather Stocking Tales. Though this book was written after The Last of the Mohicans, a very famous book and movie, the events take place before those in The Last of the Mohicans. The story starts out with the main character Natty and his friend Henry March wandering through the woods of upstate New York. The time period is 1740 and Natty and Hurry Harry as Henry is called by the local Deleware Indians are out hunting. Natty is lean, and agile and referred to as Deerslayer by Henry because of his exceptional skill with a rifle and at hunting. Hurry Harry stands about 6 foot 5 and is very strong. I have just started this book, but I can tell I am going to really enjoy it. I love historical fiction, but one thing is it is written in the way people spoke when this book was written which I believe was 1850. So the reader is required to do some interpreting of words as they are spelled much differently then they are nowadays.

I finished Runes of the North by Sigurd F. Olson and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book to my classmates. I actually enjoyed most of the book aside from times when it got on the boring side. I would say that it isn’t really a great fit if you don’t like the outdoors much. If you are interested in outdoors or in Native American history I would give it a try. One other thing to note about this book is that it is made up of short stories and not just one giant plot, this can be nice if one story isn’t interesting since you can simply skip some pages and keep reading without getting lost in the main plot like most other books I have read. After reading this book I wanted to find something with the same basic layout (smaller stories in one book). I asked a friend who recommended a book: Exploits and Adventures of Brigadier Gerard. I am a little over halfway through this book and it is about a man named Etienne Gerard who serves in the French Army. It has some humor worked into it but I would caution other readers that it was written in the late 1800s through the early 1900s so it can have a different writing style than most books today.

CHERUB: The Sleepwalker

As I can remember, this is the 8th book of the CHERUB series, a series about an organization located in rural England, that uses children to infiltrate terrorist and other crime organizations to break down what is going on, and eventually get them busted. But that's the cache, not many people would suspect children of spies and espionage. In this book, at page, I believe 100, quite a lot has happened for such a small amount of pages. So to start it, the book starts from the perspective of two children named Angus and Megan, both Scottish, with their mother Karen. Their family is on a flight from New York City to London, and during the flight, things go a bit wacko. First, Angus and Megan, both under 12 years of age, start fighting, but stop when the plane all of a sudden starts to hit some "turbulence" and does a barrel roll, but then smooths out again. Now everyone starts to freak out, and later, the plane starts to loose altitude and crashes into the ocean, killing everyone on board. But there is a strange occurrence that marks the significance of this crash, it is on the six year anniversary of 9-11. Then the point of view goes back to James Adams, our main character on the CHERUB campus. He has now become a more "punk" looking kid, wearing ripped clothing and such, and he has been assigned to do some over the weekend work to prepare for his future with he ex girlfriend, who would and could rip his guts out any time. But while James is walking to his job one day, he notices that CHERUB's last Head Director, a man named Mac, is at the campus for some reason. Now this shocked me a little, he's there because he's having a mental breakdown and can't live alone now, because his Daughter in Law and Grandchildren died in a plane crash in the Atlantic Ocean. Coincidence? Yes. So this is how far I am now, and the book has totally reeled me in.... I cannot wait to get back to it.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

I have just finished reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. Basically, it was about a boy named Oscar Schell who journeyed around New York City looking for the lock to a key that he had found. After his dad died in 9/11, he thought that his dad had left him this one last message. Besides this main plot, the story, through a series of letters, explains the life stories of Oscar's grandparents, a story that is moving enough to make a book out of itself. This book was more of a mystery than anything, because a lot of confusing and seemingly disconnected stories are revealed at the beginning, and then through small bits of information scattered throughout the story, everything comes together in the end. I thoroughly enjoyed trying to figure out the puzzle, and predicting what would come next. (although I was always wrong).
The story of Oscar is heartbreaking, and the one of his grandmother and grandfather even more so. This book revealed the hidden story in everybody's family, and carried an inspirational theme throughout. Especially the ending really got me thinking, as it did not wrap everything up as neatly as I thought it would. The best way to describe it would be as a sad "happily-ever-after." I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a moving, inspirational mystery told through the unique perspective of a young boy.