Friday, February 13, 2009
The Game
Summary:If you like books with action and intensity, during basketball games this is the book for you. In this book there is a kid named Drew Lawson all he has dreamed of is going to the NBA and playing for some professional teams. As he grew up in a nice neighborhood, he would also go outside and shoot some hoops. Drew Lawson played in a league that was very competitive. He wasn’t all that good, but he was good enough to play for the team he was on. If you would enjoy basketball games and to be around all of your friends this book is a good book to read. Drew Lawson plays shooting guard for his local school team. The league they are in really good and their team is at least half way decent. In this book Drew Lawson gets in to trouble and has a hard time finding a way out of it. He is threatened to be kicked off his school basketball team, and his family is having a hard time dealing with the trouble he has been getting into lately. Later on in the book Drew Lawson is starting to clear up the conflict he has been getting into, and the team has him come back and play for them again. Then when they ask him to come back he accepts the offer, and then he leads them to the state finals games, and plays hard, and he plays well. Have the state finals he would walk away from the school basketball team a champion and he would all so be considered one of the best whoever has played for that great school basketball team. Drew Lawson Championship Most Valuable Player in that year. Now, he will always be remembering at that High School.Review:If I was to give this book a rating on how good it is. Judging on how the climax was, if the explosion was a good beginning, and if during the book characters were static or if they just stayed the same during the whole book. I would have to give the book at least 6 out of 10. Reason why I am rating the book so low is that the book didn’t really interest me, even know I love the game of basketball, the book didn’t really explain what was going on during like have of the book. When the book began it really surprised me how is started off. He was in the middle of a basketball game; I don’t know why they did not tell us what happened at the beginning of the story. So yeah was a problem with it that I did not like too much about it. Then after that the book was just kind of dull and void, it really never started to get going until it hit the end of the story then the book ended with that. The book was still good do not get me wrong, but it also kind of bored to sleep at some points, if you are a good reader and can keep along with pretty much every book I think you might like it. This book is very action packed at the end, because that’s when Drew Lawson starts to do more stuff, but he makes stupid mistakes in the process. The Game was a good read and I like how he always dreamed of playing in the NBA with Allen Iverson, Lebron James, and all of the other greats that were in the NBA. If you enjoy this kind of book check it .
The Game
Summary:If you like books with action and intensity, during basketball games this is the book for you. In this book there is a kid named Drew Lawson all he has dreamed of is going to the NBA and playing for some professional teams. As he grew up in a nice neighborhood, he would also go outside and shoot some hoops. Drew Lawson played in a league that was very competitive. He wasn’t all that good, but he was good enough to play for the team he was on. If you would enjoy basketball games and to be around all of your friends this book is a good book to read. Drew Lawson plays shooting guard for his local school team. The league they are in really good and their team is at least half way decent. In this book Drew Lawson gets in to trouble and has a hard time finding a way out of it. He is threatened to be kicked off his school basketball team, and his family is having a hard time dealing with the trouble he has been getting into lately. Later on in the book Drew Lawson is starting to clear up the conflict he has been getting into, and the team has him come back and play for them again. Then when they ask him to come back he accepts the offer, and then he leads them to the state finals games, and plays hard, and he plays well. Have the state finals he would walk away from the school basketball team a champion and he would all so be considered one of the best whoever has played for that great school basketball team. Drew Lawson Championship Most Valuable Player in that year. Now, he will always be remembering at that High School.Review:If I was to give this book a rating on how good it is. Judging on how the climax was, if the explosion was a good beginning, and if during the book characters were static or if they just stayed the same during the whole book. I would have to give the book at least 6 out of 10. Reason why I am rating the book so low is that the book didn’t really interest me, even know I love the game of basketball, the book didn’t really explain what was going on during like have of the book. When the book began it really surprised me how is started off. He was in the middle of a basketball game; I don’t know why they did not tell us what happened at the beginning of the story. So yeah was a problem with it that I did not like too much about it. Then after that the book was just kind of dull and void, it really never started to get going until it hit the end of the story then the book ended with that. The book was still good do not get me wrong, but it also kind of bored to sleep at some points, if you are a good reader and can keep along with pretty much every book I think you might like it. This book is very action packed at the end, because that’s when Drew Lawson starts to do more stuff, but he makes stupid mistakes in the process. The Game was a good read and I like how he always dreamed of playing in the NBA with Allen Iverson, Lebron James, and all of the other greats that were in the NBA. If you enjoy this kind of book check it .
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Summary:
My book, Halo – The Flood, is not written from one specific point-of-view. Parts of it show the Master Chief’s point of view; while other parts are viewed from the enemy’s side. This makes the book more realistic and interesting because all of points of view are connected to each other.
The Master Chief, or also known as John-117, is the last of his kind. He is a SPARTAN-II Commando, the last remaining member of SPARTAN-II program. He wears a suit that is called Powered Assault Armor or The MJOLNIR . When this suit is used it increases strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and enhances his ability to withstand more damage. This suit weighs 1,000 pounds and can only be worn by genetic and cybernetic enhanced soldiers. He performs dangerous and risky missions to defend the human race. The reason this is necessary is they are at war.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) interfaces with the Spartan’s abilities and is extremely helpful. It is used to analyze the enemy and learn more efficient ways to defeat them. It can connect to any type of computer system. Cortana, the human-like personality of AI, is in every way like a human wanting to learn and understand. She has become so intelligent that she understands the level of technology that the enemy possesses.
The enemy, known as the Covenant, wants to eliminate all human life in the galaxy. They include about seven different species including some of my favorites the Prophets, the Jackals, the Grunts, and the Elites. They control a large portion of the Milky Way Galaxy, but not including Earth’s portion. The covenant’s religion is based around the Halo rings, which were constructed by an ancient race called the Forerunners. These rings are suspected to be massive weapons and the humans, including Master Chief, are trying to find the control room before the Covenant seizes control of it.
Halo – The Flood is an action packed science fiction book that is based on the video game Halo: Combat Evolved. The Master Chief has encountered many tough situations involving the Covenant in which his combat intelligence has allowed him to win. He has killed thousands of Covenant warriors. While the Covenant know that the Master Chief is dangerous, they realize they need a way to stop him.
Review:
William C. Dietz uses an extraordinary way of showing descriptions within the book that allows the reader to get a feeling like you just can’t get enough. He tells the story of a specific alien and his struggle to kill the Master Chief. Because the book goes into more detail than the video game, the reader finds himself pulled into the story in order to find the outcome.
Science fiction is one of the most interesting forms of reading because it sparks the imagination and presents some scientific facts that are intriguing to those who enjoy science. In Halo – The Flood, the fact that it takes place 543 years into the future and the fact you are facing aliens from other world helps the reader’s imagination expand. If you enjoy reading science fiction books, you would fall in love with this one.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading different story lines in one book and all Halo fans around the world. If you have played the video game then read the book and most of your questions about the Halo game, will be answered. The end of the Halo video games are known to have a surprise ending, so I suspect that the same will happen in the second half of the book which I will finish next quarter. So stay tuned!
My book, Halo – The Flood, is not written from one specific point-of-view. Parts of it show the Master Chief’s point of view; while other parts are viewed from the enemy’s side. This makes the book more realistic and interesting because all of points of view are connected to each other.
The Master Chief, or also known as John-117, is the last of his kind. He is a SPARTAN-II Commando, the last remaining member of SPARTAN-II program. He wears a suit that is called Powered Assault Armor or The MJOLNIR . When this suit is used it increases strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and enhances his ability to withstand more damage. This suit weighs 1,000 pounds and can only be worn by genetic and cybernetic enhanced soldiers. He performs dangerous and risky missions to defend the human race. The reason this is necessary is they are at war.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) interfaces with the Spartan’s abilities and is extremely helpful. It is used to analyze the enemy and learn more efficient ways to defeat them. It can connect to any type of computer system. Cortana, the human-like personality of AI, is in every way like a human wanting to learn and understand. She has become so intelligent that she understands the level of technology that the enemy possesses.
The enemy, known as the Covenant, wants to eliminate all human life in the galaxy. They include about seven different species including some of my favorites the Prophets, the Jackals, the Grunts, and the Elites. They control a large portion of the Milky Way Galaxy, but not including Earth’s portion. The covenant’s religion is based around the Halo rings, which were constructed by an ancient race called the Forerunners. These rings are suspected to be massive weapons and the humans, including Master Chief, are trying to find the control room before the Covenant seizes control of it.
Halo – The Flood is an action packed science fiction book that is based on the video game Halo: Combat Evolved. The Master Chief has encountered many tough situations involving the Covenant in which his combat intelligence has allowed him to win. He has killed thousands of Covenant warriors. While the Covenant know that the Master Chief is dangerous, they realize they need a way to stop him.
Review:
William C. Dietz uses an extraordinary way of showing descriptions within the book that allows the reader to get a feeling like you just can’t get enough. He tells the story of a specific alien and his struggle to kill the Master Chief. Because the book goes into more detail than the video game, the reader finds himself pulled into the story in order to find the outcome.
Science fiction is one of the most interesting forms of reading because it sparks the imagination and presents some scientific facts that are intriguing to those who enjoy science. In Halo – The Flood, the fact that it takes place 543 years into the future and the fact you are facing aliens from other world helps the reader’s imagination expand. If you enjoy reading science fiction books, you would fall in love with this one.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading different story lines in one book and all Halo fans around the world. If you have played the video game then read the book and most of your questions about the Halo game, will be answered. The end of the Halo video games are known to have a surprise ending, so I suspect that the same will happen in the second half of the book which I will finish next quarter. So stay tuned!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Twilight Review
Twilight Review
Book by: Stephenie Meyer
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a very good book, mainly for the teenage eye. It is a love story with all of its drama, and it was just all around good. I really liked how I was really curious about what was going to happen next. It had me wanting to keep turning the pages until things would settle down. Twilight is a very romantic book because Bell and Edward are young teenagers in love; well at least Bella is. Edward is so mysterious, and it just makes you want to figure him out. I really liked how I could not predict what was going to happen next. Some books you can totally tell what is going to happen next, but with Twilight I was totally surprised. If you want to see the movie, I suggest reading the book first. I saw the movie first, and then when I was reading it, I had every clue of what was going to happen. There are little differences between the book and the movie, but I enjoyed the book a lot more. If you like love stories that have different surprises you will like this book. I know I really liked this book and I would recommend it to anyone who likes these kinds of books. I hope you decide to read Twilight as your next choice, it is a guaranteed good book.
Book by: Stephenie Meyer
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a very good book, mainly for the teenage eye. It is a love story with all of its drama, and it was just all around good. I really liked how I was really curious about what was going to happen next. It had me wanting to keep turning the pages until things would settle down. Twilight is a very romantic book because Bell and Edward are young teenagers in love; well at least Bella is. Edward is so mysterious, and it just makes you want to figure him out. I really liked how I could not predict what was going to happen next. Some books you can totally tell what is going to happen next, but with Twilight I was totally surprised. If you want to see the movie, I suggest reading the book first. I saw the movie first, and then when I was reading it, I had every clue of what was going to happen. There are little differences between the book and the movie, but I enjoyed the book a lot more. If you like love stories that have different surprises you will like this book. I know I really liked this book and I would recommend it to anyone who likes these kinds of books. I hope you decide to read Twilight as your next choice, it is a guaranteed good book.
Perfect by Natasha Friend
Summary for Perfect by Natasha Friend
Isabelle Lee was a normal 13 year old, she was happy with her nine year old sister, April, and her parents. She was happy with her friends, even though she wasn’t the most popular girl in school, she still loved it. Then, her dad died, this changed everything. One day after dinner Isabelle was in the bathroom and April just walked right in and saw her older sister, someone who should be a role model, puking her guts out. The first thing she knew was outside of an Eating Disorder and Body Image therapy Group Clinic. Her mom was the worst person to talk to about their lose, every night when April was asleep and Isabelle was supposed to be sleeping, their mom was crying, she used to be in nice clothing, makeup every day, out of bed, a job, and every since of her husband’s death she’s been in pajamas, no makeup, in bed 24/7, barely works, and always depressed, and worst of all she doesn’t want to talk about it, she keeps claiming “Everything is fine”. When Isabelle finally got into the group clinic she realized Ashley Brunam was there, the most perfect girl in the whole 8th grade, she had blonde hair, skinny, endless supply of friends, and surprising enough as it is, she was nice. After group, they starting talking, then after she knew it, she was always at Ashley’s house. She then realized that Ashley Burnam wasn’t perfect at all, Ashley’s parents were getting a divorce, so they were never home; this made it easier for Ashley to eat everything in the house and then puke it all up. Ashley was nowhere near perfect, she had an eating disorder, she cheated on homework, and her home life was going down the tubes. Isabelle was still going to Group, but she wasn’t improving at all, she then realized that hanging out with Ashley was the reason she wasn’t getting anywhere. Then, she stopped hanging out with her less and less and she improved more and more. She ended up being still good friends with Ashley, but just in school.
Review for Perfect by Natasha Friend
I loved reading Perfect; I thought it was a great story of a bulimic teenager going through some rough patches in her life. First, her dad died, then her sister turned ten changing everything, she loved April when she was nine, she was a cool, funny, sweet sister, then she turned into a monster, she was telling on Isabelle for every little thing she did. After a while Isabelle called her Ape-Face, because she lost so much respect for her little sister. Their dad wasn’t just a normal dad, they loved them more than anything so much more than anyone could love their dad, and the same with him. He cooked dinner every night, helped with homework, lit the candles for Hanukah, worked hard on everything, and made everyone happy. It took the girls and their mother four years to celebrate Hanukah again after his death. I loved the book because it talks about a girl who had anything she could possibly need, then as fast as a snap of the fingers, she lost it all, her sweet sister, her working mother, and her loving father. She met Ashley Burnam, a popular girl she’s practically wanted to “be” since fourth grade, in her therapy group. She started to spend time with her more and more and the first night she spent the night at Ashley’s house, both of the girls ate almost everything in the refrigerator, then puked everything back up again. Then came along Christmas and Hanukah, before Ashley went on her big ski trip to Aspen, she stopped at Isabelle’s house and gave her a little box, Isabelle was happy she got it, but knowing she would keep hanging out with Ashley and never change, she never opened the box because she needed that satisfaction to stay strong and not purge anymore. I loved this book not just because it was about a teenage girl who had an eating disorder, but the fact that she was strong enough to stay away from those troubles and go back to her normal old self.
Isabelle Lee was a normal 13 year old, she was happy with her nine year old sister, April, and her parents. She was happy with her friends, even though she wasn’t the most popular girl in school, she still loved it. Then, her dad died, this changed everything. One day after dinner Isabelle was in the bathroom and April just walked right in and saw her older sister, someone who should be a role model, puking her guts out. The first thing she knew was outside of an Eating Disorder and Body Image therapy Group Clinic. Her mom was the worst person to talk to about their lose, every night when April was asleep and Isabelle was supposed to be sleeping, their mom was crying, she used to be in nice clothing, makeup every day, out of bed, a job, and every since of her husband’s death she’s been in pajamas, no makeup, in bed 24/7, barely works, and always depressed, and worst of all she doesn’t want to talk about it, she keeps claiming “Everything is fine”. When Isabelle finally got into the group clinic she realized Ashley Brunam was there, the most perfect girl in the whole 8th grade, she had blonde hair, skinny, endless supply of friends, and surprising enough as it is, she was nice. After group, they starting talking, then after she knew it, she was always at Ashley’s house. She then realized that Ashley Burnam wasn’t perfect at all, Ashley’s parents were getting a divorce, so they were never home; this made it easier for Ashley to eat everything in the house and then puke it all up. Ashley was nowhere near perfect, she had an eating disorder, she cheated on homework, and her home life was going down the tubes. Isabelle was still going to Group, but she wasn’t improving at all, she then realized that hanging out with Ashley was the reason she wasn’t getting anywhere. Then, she stopped hanging out with her less and less and she improved more and more. She ended up being still good friends with Ashley, but just in school.
Review for Perfect by Natasha Friend
I loved reading Perfect; I thought it was a great story of a bulimic teenager going through some rough patches in her life. First, her dad died, then her sister turned ten changing everything, she loved April when she was nine, she was a cool, funny, sweet sister, then she turned into a monster, she was telling on Isabelle for every little thing she did. After a while Isabelle called her Ape-Face, because she lost so much respect for her little sister. Their dad wasn’t just a normal dad, they loved them more than anything so much more than anyone could love their dad, and the same with him. He cooked dinner every night, helped with homework, lit the candles for Hanukah, worked hard on everything, and made everyone happy. It took the girls and their mother four years to celebrate Hanukah again after his death. I loved the book because it talks about a girl who had anything she could possibly need, then as fast as a snap of the fingers, she lost it all, her sweet sister, her working mother, and her loving father. She met Ashley Burnam, a popular girl she’s practically wanted to “be” since fourth grade, in her therapy group. She started to spend time with her more and more and the first night she spent the night at Ashley’s house, both of the girls ate almost everything in the refrigerator, then puked everything back up again. Then came along Christmas and Hanukah, before Ashley went on her big ski trip to Aspen, she stopped at Isabelle’s house and gave her a little box, Isabelle was happy she got it, but knowing she would keep hanging out with Ashley and never change, she never opened the box because she needed that satisfaction to stay strong and not purge anymore. I loved this book not just because it was about a teenage girl who had an eating disorder, but the fact that she was strong enough to stay away from those troubles and go back to her normal old self.
Nick and Norah's infinite playlist
Summary:
Nick and Norah’s infinite playlist is sexy, romantic, funny, and daring. This story’s not your typical boy meets girl story. Well, it starts with boy meet girl but boy also asks girl to be his girlfriend for only five minutes, and surprisingly girl agrees. This boy, Nick is a great guy that doesn’t smoke, drink, or do drugs. But he does have a downfall Nick has a tendency to swear a lot. On the other hand this girl, Norah is a sweet, quiet girl that only knows Nick from the mix CD’s he gave his ex. Both characters Nick and Norah are heartbroken teens. And then with one kiss everything changes, their off together on a crazy, exciting adventure in New York City. This book has alternate chapters, where Nick and Norah tell their views about their adventures and just trying to recover from their relationships that they both have gotten broken up with, while trying to figure out who they really are, and just where the next great band will be playing next. Once I read this book I believed that there is such a thing as love at first sight, even if it is unintentional. I’m the kind of person where a book I read has to be interesting from the first page to the last. And this book was it. This was a great book I would recommend this book to anyone. Reading this book I wish I could find something as strong and passionate as Nick and Norah found in each other. So don’t let it, or them pass you by read this book. You’ll want to put this playlist on repeat
Nick and Norah’s infinite playlist is sexy, romantic, funny, and daring. This story’s not your typical boy meets girl story. Well, it starts with boy meet girl but boy also asks girl to be his girlfriend for only five minutes, and surprisingly girl agrees. This boy, Nick is a great guy that doesn’t smoke, drink, or do drugs. But he does have a downfall Nick has a tendency to swear a lot. On the other hand this girl, Norah is a sweet, quiet girl that only knows Nick from the mix CD’s he gave his ex. Both characters Nick and Norah are heartbroken teens. And then with one kiss everything changes, their off together on a crazy, exciting adventure in New York City. This book has alternate chapters, where Nick and Norah tell their views about their adventures and just trying to recover from their relationships that they both have gotten broken up with, while trying to figure out who they really are, and just where the next great band will be playing next. Once I read this book I believed that there is such a thing as love at first sight, even if it is unintentional. I’m the kind of person where a book I read has to be interesting from the first page to the last. And this book was it. This was a great book I would recommend this book to anyone. Reading this book I wish I could find something as strong and passionate as Nick and Norah found in each other. So don’t let it, or them pass you by read this book. You’ll want to put this playlist on repeat
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Summer Ball by Mike Lupica Summary by Sam Cavener
Danny Walker is from Middletown who goes to a basketball camp called Right Way for the summer. His friends get to go with him to Will and Ty. This is a camp where all the kids in the whole country that are talented enough get picked to go. He has a friend that he has known since they were little. It was a girl named Tess and Im pretty sure he has some sort of feelings towards her. But to be honest read the book and see what you think about the situation. In Right Way Camp he later meets new friends that traveled to get here like Tariq. When Danny gets there it starts off bad because he gets separated from his friends Will and Ty. Danny is not in the same cabin as them. In his cabin he meets a kid named Zach . He thinks that they have the same personalities as he does. He doesn’t want to be here to, so Danny helped him get comfortable. He meets his enemy in the tournament last year a kid named Rasheed. Rasheed has worse problems the his new basketball coach. This wasn’t what he thought it was for a camp. In the end off the book Danny meets new friends and improves his basketball skills in the meantime. Even though Danny is short for age he is still very talented. In the next book Travel Ball you can find out how he is doing in high school.
Review
If i were to rate this book from 1 to 10 and 10 being the best. I would give it a 9.I gave it an 9 because in some parts of the story there is holes. For example in the beginning of the book it doesnt talk a lot about how he did in eight grade. All it says is that his team was descent and he was the best player on the team. It talked a lot about how he was short and that got boaring. He was very scared when he went to the camp because he was short and the best players in the country. This made the book very interesting. It made me want to keep reading. There were many good parts to the book. I would recommened this book to a teenager that is interested in sports. Overall i enjoyed reading and i hope you will to.
Review of Elephants on Acid and Other Weird Experiments
By Alex Boese Review by Tarek Weber
I enjoyed Elephants on Acid and Other Weird Experiments. Elephants on Acid and Other Weird Experiments is by Alex Boese and is 266 pages long. It takes a long time to read, because it gets a little boring at times. If you read it little bits at a time it is very interesting. My favorite thing about this book is that you do not have to read it front to back, and you can skip little parts that are boring. The book is separated into 10 chapters. I have a few favorite experiments in this book. My favorite chapters are: Animal Tales, Sensorama, Bathroom Reading, and Total Recall.
My favorite experiment in Sensorama is The Mock-Tickle Machine, which talks about trying to tickle yourself, and what would happen if a robot tickled you. All of these experiments are weird and were only done out of curiosity. They do not have any practical uses. My favorite experiment from Animal Tales is where they see what happens when elephants are given the drug LSD. The first time the experiment was performed the elephant died. The second time the elephants ran around, made noises, and lived to tell the tale. In Bathroom Reading my favorite experiment is Fart-ology. Some researchers tested the average amount people fart a day, and later they tested the types of farts, the intensity of the smell, and the amount of gas released. It turns out guys release more gas when they fart, but girls smell worse. In Total Recall my favorite experiment is Electric Recall, because there is a picture of a brain and it is interesting. A surgeon touched parts of a patient’s brain with an electrode and it triggered different memories.
Elephants on Acid is a very interesting book that I would recommend to anyone who likes farts, or interesting experiments. There is a whole chapter on sex, so anyone who is embarrassed by those kinds of things should not read this book. This is an excellent book if you plan to write a review, or summary.
By Alex Boese Review by Tarek Weber
I enjoyed Elephants on Acid and Other Weird Experiments. Elephants on Acid and Other Weird Experiments is by Alex Boese and is 266 pages long. It takes a long time to read, because it gets a little boring at times. If you read it little bits at a time it is very interesting. My favorite thing about this book is that you do not have to read it front to back, and you can skip little parts that are boring. The book is separated into 10 chapters. I have a few favorite experiments in this book. My favorite chapters are: Animal Tales, Sensorama, Bathroom Reading, and Total Recall.
My favorite experiment in Sensorama is The Mock-Tickle Machine, which talks about trying to tickle yourself, and what would happen if a robot tickled you. All of these experiments are weird and were only done out of curiosity. They do not have any practical uses. My favorite experiment from Animal Tales is where they see what happens when elephants are given the drug LSD. The first time the experiment was performed the elephant died. The second time the elephants ran around, made noises, and lived to tell the tale. In Bathroom Reading my favorite experiment is Fart-ology. Some researchers tested the average amount people fart a day, and later they tested the types of farts, the intensity of the smell, and the amount of gas released. It turns out guys release more gas when they fart, but girls smell worse. In Total Recall my favorite experiment is Electric Recall, because there is a picture of a brain and it is interesting. A surgeon touched parts of a patient’s brain with an electrode and it triggered different memories.
Elephants on Acid is a very interesting book that I would recommend to anyone who likes farts, or interesting experiments. There is a whole chapter on sex, so anyone who is embarrassed by those kinds of things should not read this book. This is an excellent book if you plan to write a review, or summary.
Review/ Summery for Hound of Baskervilles
Lucas Golm
Summer of “Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of Baskervilles”
The story of “The Hound of Baskervilles” begins with an introduction of Sherlock Holmes and Sir Henry to his office. Sir Henry is facing a mystery involving a murder and a myth. He asked Detective Holmes to help him. Holmes agreed and began asking questions relating to the problem and the story of a hound killing one of Sir Henry’s great, great grandpas. The mystery was that the man who owned the property it happened at was literally scared to death by some giant evil hound and his heir to his property is in risk of the same fate. Sherlock Holmes being the great detective gets to work on figuring out the mystery knowing that the evil hell hound just doesn’t exactly fit modern explanations of death or reality for that matter.
Later Sir Wilson receives a message telling him to stay away from his own property or he may lose his life. Sherlock Holmes goes to work finding the font and newspaper it came from. The London Times. Further, Sir William is missing one of his new boots. Then one of his old ones. Sherlock Holmes sends Sir William off with his partner Dr. Mortimer while he’s “off on business”. They go and encounter some strange people and try to follow up with leads on a butler but come up empty. Mr. Stapledon was one person they met and he seemed friendly enough. His sister (who really turned out to be his wife) kept trying to warn the two men. Mr. Stapledon turned out to be the killer who wanted Sir Willaim away from there. He tied up his wife so she couldn’t’ warn him but Sherlock who was realy there the whole time spying on all of them figured out and stopped Mr. Stapledon and he died by drowning. Sherlock Holmes saved the day and solved the mystery once again.
Review
The book “Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Hound of the Baskervilles” was a great example of outstanding writing ability in the genre of Mystery. It displayed an ability to keep the reader locked in and focused on every detail of every sentence. I myself enjoyed the book thoroughly.
When I first picked it up I was slightly spectacle as I do like mysteries and I decided I would be a critic. I began reading it and it put me right into the scene. I started playing it out, although it was slightly corny with the whole “best detective in the world but it defiantly described vivid settings. It was getting late the first night I started reading it and I found myself not being able to put the book down. Every word Doyle (the author) wrote drew me in further and further. They were all intertwined mixing legends and myths with real circumstances and mysteries. It quickly and clearly described the main characters in the story and a gave you a quick opinion of them being whether they are the ones who are behind the story. I enjoyed reading descriptive part of the story.
My other favorite part would have been the story and plotline it’s self. I don’t know if the game “Clue” is based off of Sherlock Holmes Books, but it wouldn’t surprise me because the story keeps you guessing to the end. It introduced the actual killer as a innocent supersticous bug man who only wanted to warn the victim. It turned out him being the heartless man who thought up a clever plan to trick everyone. His sister/wife was his downfall. He told everyone that it was his sister but in reality it was his wife and she was trying to warn Sir William but her husband was intent on having him killed. Her husband tied her up to keep her from saying anything to his victims.
In the end Sherlock holmes managed to pull through while he was “bussy” he was realy spying on everything that was going on. He found the right person and the man ran away and was presumed drowned in the swamps. It was a good ending to a poor situation and mystery and a well thought out story.
Summer of “Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of Baskervilles”
The story of “The Hound of Baskervilles” begins with an introduction of Sherlock Holmes and Sir Henry to his office. Sir Henry is facing a mystery involving a murder and a myth. He asked Detective Holmes to help him. Holmes agreed and began asking questions relating to the problem and the story of a hound killing one of Sir Henry’s great, great grandpas. The mystery was that the man who owned the property it happened at was literally scared to death by some giant evil hound and his heir to his property is in risk of the same fate. Sherlock Holmes being the great detective gets to work on figuring out the mystery knowing that the evil hell hound just doesn’t exactly fit modern explanations of death or reality for that matter.
Later Sir Wilson receives a message telling him to stay away from his own property or he may lose his life. Sherlock Holmes goes to work finding the font and newspaper it came from. The London Times. Further, Sir William is missing one of his new boots. Then one of his old ones. Sherlock Holmes sends Sir William off with his partner Dr. Mortimer while he’s “off on business”. They go and encounter some strange people and try to follow up with leads on a butler but come up empty. Mr. Stapledon was one person they met and he seemed friendly enough. His sister (who really turned out to be his wife) kept trying to warn the two men. Mr. Stapledon turned out to be the killer who wanted Sir Willaim away from there. He tied up his wife so she couldn’t’ warn him but Sherlock who was realy there the whole time spying on all of them figured out and stopped Mr. Stapledon and he died by drowning. Sherlock Holmes saved the day and solved the mystery once again.
Review
The book “Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Hound of the Baskervilles” was a great example of outstanding writing ability in the genre of Mystery. It displayed an ability to keep the reader locked in and focused on every detail of every sentence. I myself enjoyed the book thoroughly.
When I first picked it up I was slightly spectacle as I do like mysteries and I decided I would be a critic. I began reading it and it put me right into the scene. I started playing it out, although it was slightly corny with the whole “best detective in the world but it defiantly described vivid settings. It was getting late the first night I started reading it and I found myself not being able to put the book down. Every word Doyle (the author) wrote drew me in further and further. They were all intertwined mixing legends and myths with real circumstances and mysteries. It quickly and clearly described the main characters in the story and a gave you a quick opinion of them being whether they are the ones who are behind the story. I enjoyed reading descriptive part of the story.
My other favorite part would have been the story and plotline it’s self. I don’t know if the game “Clue” is based off of Sherlock Holmes Books, but it wouldn’t surprise me because the story keeps you guessing to the end. It introduced the actual killer as a innocent supersticous bug man who only wanted to warn the victim. It turned out him being the heartless man who thought up a clever plan to trick everyone. His sister/wife was his downfall. He told everyone that it was his sister but in reality it was his wife and she was trying to warn Sir William but her husband was intent on having him killed. Her husband tied her up to keep her from saying anything to his victims.
In the end Sherlock holmes managed to pull through while he was “bussy” he was realy spying on everything that was going on. He found the right person and the man ran away and was presumed drowned in the swamps. It was a good ending to a poor situation and mystery and a well thought out story.
A Child Called It
Summary: David Pelzer writes about his childhood in this novel of a boy’s courage to survive. When David was a young boy, he was involved in one of the most brutal child abuse cases ever recorded in California. His father left him and his two brothers with his abusive, alcoholic mother. Pelzer was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable and alcoholic mother. His mother would play sick games leaving David almost dead. One of the most twisted “games” was to see how long David could stay on a lit stove without screaming. If he would scream, his mother would beat him. The luxury of food was no more than a few spoiled scraps from the garbage. The more twisted thing about his story is that no one on the outside world even suspected him getting abused or neglected. David finally figured out that the only way to survive was to learn how to play his mothers “games”. His only motive to survive was his dreams to find a loving family who would actually consider him as a son and not a slave. Later in the book, David’s principle, nurse, and teachers finally figure out what’s been going on in the Pelzer household. They don’t notify his mother that they know, but all of them are in on a plan to get David’s mother arrested. Whenever David would come to school, they would check him for marks, bruises, etc. and record them for any new ones they hadn’t seen. After about six months, they called the cops and they took David to a children’s crisis center to put him up for adoption.
Review: I thought this book was really good. This book can strongly relate to other peoples problems. I hate reading because it’s boring, but I didn’t want to put it down. The beginning of the book is kind of confusing because it starts off when the police save David Pelzer from his abusive and alcoholic mother. But in about the second or third chapter, it begins with him explaining about what his mother does to him. I can’t really explain why I liked this book, but I just did. It was probably the best book I have read. I heard there is a movie about the book, but I haven’t seen it. The most intense part of this book was when his mom put him on the stove and tried to see how long he could stay on it without screaming. The worst part of this “game” was when his mother beat him when he did scream. The sad parts about this book are that David always wants his father to come home because when his father is home, his mom doesn’t beat him. But his father left him when he was about 5 years old. But his father only goes to David’s house around holidays, and those still aren’t good days for David Pelzer. The best part of this book is when the cops come and rescue David. David gets placed into an adoption center and his mother gets arrested.
So B. It
Summary:
In the book So. B. It, there is a little girl, Heidi whose mother is autistic and her father “disappeared” from her mother’s life when her mom found out that she was pregnant. Heidi knows that her mother loves her even though at times, there life is really hard. With her mother being autistic she can’t get a good paying job. Their loving neighbor Bernadette plays a big role in Heidi and “Mamas” life. Bernadette finally taught Mama how to open cans but trying to teach her how to tie her shoes is going to be a big struggle. Mama knows 23 words, but one of them is “soof” and nobody can figure out what it means.
Heidi and her mother live in Reno which is a little town without much to do. One day Heidi takes her babysitting money down to the Laundromat, and get s lucky when she hits the “jackpot” on the slot machines. The money that she wins doesn’t cover their needs. Heidi always wondered how they ended up living next to Bernadette. Bernadette tells Heidi how her mother just appeared at the door to the apartment that they are now living in. “Mama” was unable to tell Bernadette what her babies name was. Bernadette said that Heidi was only one week old. So Bernadette takes “Mama” and Heidi under her wing and cares for them since “Mama” is autistic and cannot care for Heidi properly. Bernadette takes on the responsibility of pretty much taking care of two kids. Bernadette has to help Heidi with her homework and help “Mama” learn new things.
Heidi starts to wonder about mothers past and what the word “soof” means. Heidi would constantly keep asking Bernadette where her mother came from and Bernadette just changes the subject because she isn’t sure where “Mamma” came from. Heidi starts becoming more and more interested and one day she finds an old camera in a drawer and goes and gets the film developed. When Heidi gets the film back the pictures reveal some of her and her mothers past.
Review:
When I read the back of “So B. It”, I instantly wanted to read it. The fact that the book is something that could actually happen in real life is what made me want to read it. The way that the author Sarah Weeks told the story from the point of view of almost each character was really interesting. I thought that Heidi’s life would be more difficult than it actually is in the story because her mother is mentally disabled. I think that if Bernadette wouldn’t have found Heidi and her mom, they would both have died. Bernadette didn’t have to take them in and care for them but she did anyways. This book made me want to keep reading it because of the author’s word choice.
This book is something that could happen in real life. This book kept me interested because of the twists and turns in their lives. Heidi has it hard growing up living with an autistic mother, because her mom couldn’t help her with the things she needed help with she always had to rely on Bernadette.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read stories about real life situations. This story is about something that happens in real life. If you enjoy reading stories about real life situations this book is good for you. This book is kind of sad because of Heidi’s mothers disability and that her mom cant help Heidi with the things that she needs help with.
In the book So. B. It, there is a little girl, Heidi whose mother is autistic and her father “disappeared” from her mother’s life when her mom found out that she was pregnant. Heidi knows that her mother loves her even though at times, there life is really hard. With her mother being autistic she can’t get a good paying job. Their loving neighbor Bernadette plays a big role in Heidi and “Mamas” life. Bernadette finally taught Mama how to open cans but trying to teach her how to tie her shoes is going to be a big struggle. Mama knows 23 words, but one of them is “soof” and nobody can figure out what it means.
Heidi and her mother live in Reno which is a little town without much to do. One day Heidi takes her babysitting money down to the Laundromat, and get s lucky when she hits the “jackpot” on the slot machines. The money that she wins doesn’t cover their needs. Heidi always wondered how they ended up living next to Bernadette. Bernadette tells Heidi how her mother just appeared at the door to the apartment that they are now living in. “Mama” was unable to tell Bernadette what her babies name was. Bernadette said that Heidi was only one week old. So Bernadette takes “Mama” and Heidi under her wing and cares for them since “Mama” is autistic and cannot care for Heidi properly. Bernadette takes on the responsibility of pretty much taking care of two kids. Bernadette has to help Heidi with her homework and help “Mama” learn new things.
Heidi starts to wonder about mothers past and what the word “soof” means. Heidi would constantly keep asking Bernadette where her mother came from and Bernadette just changes the subject because she isn’t sure where “Mamma” came from. Heidi starts becoming more and more interested and one day she finds an old camera in a drawer and goes and gets the film developed. When Heidi gets the film back the pictures reveal some of her and her mothers past.
Review:
When I read the back of “So B. It”, I instantly wanted to read it. The fact that the book is something that could actually happen in real life is what made me want to read it. The way that the author Sarah Weeks told the story from the point of view of almost each character was really interesting. I thought that Heidi’s life would be more difficult than it actually is in the story because her mother is mentally disabled. I think that if Bernadette wouldn’t have found Heidi and her mom, they would both have died. Bernadette didn’t have to take them in and care for them but she did anyways. This book made me want to keep reading it because of the author’s word choice.
This book is something that could happen in real life. This book kept me interested because of the twists and turns in their lives. Heidi has it hard growing up living with an autistic mother, because her mom couldn’t help her with the things she needed help with she always had to rely on Bernadette.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read stories about real life situations. This story is about something that happens in real life. If you enjoy reading stories about real life situations this book is good for you. This book is kind of sad because of Heidi’s mothers disability and that her mom cant help Heidi with the things that she needs help with.
Twilight Summary
By: Sadie Peters
I read the book Twilight. It was a very good book, but the movie was not as good. It’s a story about a teenage girl named Bella. Her parents are divorced and she lives with her mom in Arizona. Her mom got remarried to a baseball player which involved a lot of traveling. Bella decided to move in with her dad in Forks, Washington. It was very rainy and dark in Forks, Washington and it was a very small town. Where everybody knows everybody. Bella’s dad was a sheriff and when she used to visit him when she was little; they spent a lot of at the local diner. When she comes to live with him, she insisted on cooking food for them. She started school there and meets a boy named Eric and he likes to show her around. Then she meets this other boy named Tyler and it turns into kind of a competition for who shows her around. Later on through the day she meets Jessica, and she sits with her and her friends at lunch. Jessica informs Bella on who everyone is, but Bella is most interested in the Cullen family. The Cullen family was a family of adopted children. And they all had very distinctive looks. They were very quiet and they had interests in each other. They never ate anything at lunch and always sat with just themselves. The one that girls go crazy over is Edward. The Cullen family are vampires. It all started with Mr. Cullen, he is a doctor. He started the family, and once you are bit you stay the same age for ever. So the Cullen family has been the same age for a while. Bella and Edward fall in love, but there are so many risks that Bella is taking by being with him. But she is willing to do anything.
twilight summary
Twilight is based on Isabella Swan, a normal girl and Edward Cullen, a vampire. Bella lives in Phoenix Arizona with her mom and her mom’s boyfriend. She decides to move to a gloomy little town called Forks with her dad after making many excuses not to move there. If that's not bad enough, she has to adjust to the town and make new friends.
Making friends wasn't too hard though. Everyone was very friendly. In the cafeteria a boy caught her eye, she was curious about him, it was Edward Cullen. His description was amazing, his pale soft skin, with those beautiful eyes, tall slender body, with light brown hair and a hint of blonde. Bella questioned her friend about him, she said he was an outsider, don't bother with him, he thinks he's too good for any of the girls here.
Bella has a class with Edward, but it seems like he can't stand to be in the same room as her, but eventually they build a friendship after he saves her from nearly being smashed by a speeding van. Even as Bella falls hopelessly and irrevocably in love with Edward, she still can’t figure out what makes him so different from everyone else besides his perfection. On a trip to the beach with her new friends she sees an old friend, Billy. Where he tells her the local legend of the "cold ones". It's a group of blood drinkers who don't hunt humans but are not welcome on Indian Territory because they are not trusted.
She finds out Edward is a vampire, not changing her view of him, because she loves him even if he is not human. Edwards’s whole family is vampires. Edward has been a vampire since world war one, he is forever 17 years old. Edwards love for Bella is torment and delight. It's a delight because he is madly in love with her and torment because her blood is like his personal brand of heroine.
Making friends wasn't too hard though. Everyone was very friendly. In the cafeteria a boy caught her eye, she was curious about him, it was Edward Cullen. His description was amazing, his pale soft skin, with those beautiful eyes, tall slender body, with light brown hair and a hint of blonde. Bella questioned her friend about him, she said he was an outsider, don't bother with him, he thinks he's too good for any of the girls here.
Bella has a class with Edward, but it seems like he can't stand to be in the same room as her, but eventually they build a friendship after he saves her from nearly being smashed by a speeding van. Even as Bella falls hopelessly and irrevocably in love with Edward, she still can’t figure out what makes him so different from everyone else besides his perfection. On a trip to the beach with her new friends she sees an old friend, Billy. Where he tells her the local legend of the "cold ones". It's a group of blood drinkers who don't hunt humans but are not welcome on Indian Territory because they are not trusted.
She finds out Edward is a vampire, not changing her view of him, because she loves him even if he is not human. Edwards’s whole family is vampires. Edward has been a vampire since world war one, he is forever 17 years old. Edwards love for Bella is torment and delight. It's a delight because he is madly in love with her and torment because her blood is like his personal brand of heroine.
The Boy Book
Summary
By: tarrah boston
I read The Boy Book, by E. Lockhart. It was the second book in the series of books. It was about this girl Ruby Oliver and all of her issues as a junior at Tate Prep High School. In the first book Roo(for short) had all the friends and the boyfriend until her best friend Kim took her boy friend and her friends away, she became a leper(not really popular). She had a few friends like Meghan who drove her to school. This year she had a few scramming with Angelo who was his mom’s best friend’s son. They went to different schools so it never really ended up working out. Meghan’s boyfriend went to Harvard for college and she ended up breaking up with him because of cheating suspicions. Roo’s old friends were moved on too except for Nora they became friends again after Kim left for Tokyo on a foreign exchange program. Noel was the boy that could sit at any table at lunch he had a lot of good friends but no real best friends. Until him and Roo started to become friends by looking out for Nora after a wild party. Once every year for a week in November the kids at Tate Prep High School go traveling for some relaxation, you get to pick where you want to go. So for high schooler’s it’s a pretty big deal where you are going. Roo picked Canoe Island, with out anyone else’s opinion in the situation. But when Kim’s ends up coming home from Tokyo yearly, things get a little messy. Can they become friends again? And can Roo try to enjoy her time on the relaxing trip?
I read The Boy Book, by E. Lockhart. It was the second book in the series of books. It was about this girl Ruby Oliver and all of her issues as a junior at Tate Prep High School. In the first book Roo(for short) had all the friends and the boyfriend until her best friend Kim took her boy friend and her friends away, she became a leper(not really popular). She had a few friends like Meghan who drove her to school. This year she had a few scramming with Angelo who was his mom’s best friend’s son. They went to different schools so it never really ended up working out. Meghan’s boyfriend went to Harvard for college and she ended up breaking up with him because of cheating suspicions. Roo’s old friends were moved on too except for Nora they became friends again after Kim left for Tokyo on a foreign exchange program. Noel was the boy that could sit at any table at lunch he had a lot of good friends but no real best friends. Until him and Roo started to become friends by looking out for Nora after a wild party. Once every year for a week in November the kids at Tate Prep High School go traveling for some relaxation, you get to pick where you want to go. So for high schooler’s it’s a pretty big deal where you are going. Roo picked Canoe Island, with out anyone else’s opinion in the situation. But when Kim’s ends up coming home from Tokyo yearly, things get a little messy. Can they become friends again? And can Roo try to enjoy her time on the relaxing trip?
Review
I thought The Boy Book was really good. I think that it dealt with issues that teenagers do now, popularity, boyfriends, and school. I thought E. Lockhart the writer of the Boy Book did a good job at understanding what teenagers really want to read about. This is the second book in the series of The Boy Friend List, books. I read the first one first and read it really fast just like I read this book. They are both around two hundred pages each. She’s coming out with two more books after this book relatively soon. I can’t wait until they come out to read about the new events happening in Ruby Oliver’s life. I enjoyed how all the characters were portrayed in the book. My favorite character was Noel because he had asthma, but never carried he inhaler with him anywhere because he wants to not live life with a bunch of restrictions, he just wants to live and not be afraid of things happening. During the book Ruby talks about her ex-boyfriend and how she misses him and how she hates her old best friend Kim because she stole him from her. I thought it was fun and interesting her ways of trying to get him to notice her again. At the beginning of every chapter she had an entry from the boy book, which her and her old friends wrote. They normally had something to do with what was coming up next. The boy book was Ruby and her old friends way of translating boys. I enjoyed every page of this book.
The book I read was Beanball. Luke Wallace was the main character. He was a 15 year old all around natural athlete. He played football, baseball, and basketball. In this book he was a baseball star. He played center field; He was the best in the league and was already being scouted by college teams. They called him Luke “Wizard’ Wallace. His team was one of the best teams. The only other team that they actually had competition with was there rival Compton. It was late in the season, and they were both playing to see who would be in 1st place. Luke Wallace was up to bat and Compton had their best pitcher on the mount. He could throw a 100 mph fast ball; they said it was his big league fastball. The Compton catcher set up inside and told him to throw a fastball. The ball came up and in on him and hit him straight in the jaw. Luke fell straight to the ground: He lays there motionless and silent. At this point know body knew if Luke was even alive. Luke is brought to the hospital. He had to have a variety amount of surgery on his face. He had the fear of losing his eye sight; His whole career is now in jeopardy. After all the surgeries it turns out that he lost his eye sight in one eye. His fans, friends and family all wondered if he would ever be able to play Center field like Luke used to. It turns out he has to take some time off of baseball. He just plays catch with his dad until he is ready to play baseball again. But once he gets used to only having one eye and can see the ball better he’s going to try baseball again.
Cobra Strike
By: Aaron Fincher
Roy Linden, a senior star athlete for the Johnstown Cobras, is happy because his team just got a new quarterback, Waymen Whitley, Roy’s best friend. The Cobras have a chance at having a winning season and maybe even a collage scholarship for Roy. Roy would love to focus football because he his so good at it but he comes upon a terrible secret that could change his life and his relationship with his new best friend.
Roy Linden is a senior high school football player and has a severe stuttering problem and can’t find a cure for it completely. But one thing that he does do to overcome his embarrassing problem is that he recites and memorizes Shakespeare’s poetry. When he does these sayings he doesn’t stutter at all and feels normal. Roy loves football so much because he doesn’t have to worry about stuttering and is a really good wide receiver and kick returner. In one of Roy’s home games he was ready to catch an opening kick off and is so good that he ran 101 yards back for the touchdown, they lost the game 49-7. But the rest of his team isn’t so good, and they haven’t won a game in a long time because their quarterback is really bad. Their Head Coach, Mr. Donaldson is old and is about to retire but Mr. coach Pitt is the exact opposite of Coach Donaldson, he is young and is a retired marine and is very harsh on the high school players, so they will do good.
But off the field he finds a big problem at his grandma’s house, he lives with granny because his parents died in a car crash when he was only eight. At his grandma’s house he finds that all her birds are dead in her back yard! This is because the water the birds were drinking is toxic. The Johnstown Cooperation is dumping harmful wastes in to the river that leads to his grandma’s way back in the deep forest. Roy immediately tells the reporter about it but he does nothing, he tells the health department but they also do nothing about it. Because Roy’s Grandma is the only one that lives back in the woods and the Johnstown Cooperation keeps on doing what they do because no one has found out before. The cooperation offers Roy’s grandma 3 million dollar to buy the land grandma wants to accept the money, but Roy says “Do you want do what is easy but wrong or what is right but hard?”
Roy and Waymen are trying to figure out a way to make the Johnstown Cooperation stop dumping waste products into the river and killing all of the animals in the forest. They must go over many obstacles and conquer them to do what is right.
I choose this picture because it represtes in the book how much the football team sucked before the new quarterback came.
Review
The book I read Cobra Strike by Sigmund Brouwer is a very good book. I like this book because it is about football and is also a mysterious, suspenseful kind of book. Roy Linden is the senior high school player but has a terrible stuttering problem and gets mad fun of a lot for it at Johnstown High School. His football team isn’t that great but Roy is defiantly good. He is wide receiver and a kick returner; also he is the fastest runner in the county. If his team won a couple of games he could probably get the college scholarship of his dreams at Notre Dame.
I recommend this book to people how really like to read about football. Also people who like to read mystery books and have a lot of action it. The book is about how all of Roy’s grandma’s birds are dying in her backyard, and the Johnstown Cooperation has a big part in it. The Cooperation is dumping toxic chemicals into the river and all of the animals are dying because of the chemicals in the water in the deep forest where she lives. The cooperation wants to buy the land from grandma for 3 million dollars, she wants so accept the money but Roy won’t let her.
I like this book because it’s a lot about football and teaches you some life skills. It teaches that there are no shortcuts in life. Whatever situation in your life that might seem easy probably will be wrong and whatever situation that would be hard probably is going to be right. I also like it because Roy is a strong person because he could easily give up on life because he gets mad fun off a lot but, he doesn’t, he keeps on doing what he thinks is right. Like save his grandma’s home and stop the cooperation from dumping harmful chemicals into the water, because Roy and Waymen are the only ones that know what they are doing.
"The burn Journals" by Brent Runyon
by: Brooke Austwicksummary:
I read the book “The burn journals”. The main character was named Brent Runyon. He was fourteen years old. One day at school, he lit a pack of matches on fire in the locker room. His hand was a giant ball of fire, so he threw it in the gym locker, to see everybody’s reactions. A gym shirt started on fire, and the gym teacher found it. Brent didn’t want to confess to it, because his parents thought very highly of him. If the teachers called them, his life would be over. So instead of causing his parent’s the hurt, he wanted to kill himself. Brent went home from school that day, drenched his bathrobe on fire, put it on, and lit a match. When he woke up, he was laying in a hospital bed with third-degree burns over 85 percent of his body. During the whole next year, he spent every day recovering in rehab facilities, and hospitals. Everyday he’d get up, and lay there all day. It wasn’t for months, until he could actually be removed from the bed. This story explains the journey of a eighth grade boy, and his adventure between depression, humiliation, and the first day of high school. He’d have to walk in with the guilt of the pain he’d caused not only himself, but everybody around him. Of course everybody had known what happened, he was just another overly depressed and emotional boy, who had nothing better on his hands to do, then to light himself on fire, and live with the pain. “The burn journals”, was a true story, written by an author named Brent Runyon, also known as the main character in the story.
review:
I enjoyed “the burn journal” very much. It’s a story based on depression that some kids our age go through every day. You learn about how Brent Runyon went through high school, and all the consequences he suffered from his stupid mistake. It was a story filled with a lot of emotions, and feelings. You read through therapy sessions, and learn about what each family members opinion and thoughts were on the situation. Not only is it a sad story, and a depressing story, but some part's are very exciting. There's part's of the story, where you think his life will never be what it was before, and your right. But he never gave up. Once he started getting better, he went out to the store, or to the movies, with his nurses, and parents. Eventually he recovers enough to go to a special school before he enters the regular high school. All the kid's that go that have some sort of problem, or drug addiction. He doesn't make friends their, but when he goes back to school, he still had all his friends who were there for him from the start. All though there's plenty of thing's he'll never be able to do, and plenty of things he might never be able to try, he lives with the consequences of suicide attempt. Overall this story is my favorite I've read so far. i recommend it.
picture: I chose a picture of matches, because that's what he uses to light himself on fire.
Soldier Boys
Summary
World War II has struck and the Japanese have just bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Two boys from opposing countries joined for the same purpose. They didn’t join for revenge or for money; they joined to prove that they were something. Spencer Morgan had just turned 16 and dropped out of high school. He lied about his age to join the American army. He then began training to be a paratrooper because he heard that there were men who became great heroes with little education. Dieter Hedrick was 17 and the Scharfuhrer, leader of his troop. When Dieter was 10, he was in the Hitler Youth and all of the other boys were 14 years old. Although Dieter was too young, he was still a member of the Jungvolt- the “Young People.” The boys were scared, but they were not afraid of getting killed by a bullet or an explosion from a grenade. They were afraid that the war would end too early so they would not get to prove themselves. The point of this novel is that the test of manhood is to devote your self to a cause, not just kill the opposing army for no reason.
Review
This book is great depending on how you look at it. It is about devoting yourself to helping out a cause. It’s not just about killing the enemy whether it would be the Germans or the Americans because you want to. I like the fact that each chapter alternates between the boys’ stories so you can see the war from their vantage points. It is tragic that over 60 million people died during World War II. I didn’t like the fact that the book wasn’t about getting to Hitler. The book was all about supporting a cause, but it isn’t about lying about your age to get into the military against your father’s orders. I also didn’t like that when there is something important coming up in the chapter, it would cut off and go to the next chapter. I would highly recommend this book to people who like war novels and World War II, but not for the violence or the fact that Hitler is dead now. I would not recommend it if you like action packed books or books that are all about killing for no reason, or if you don’t like World War II.
World War II has struck and the Japanese have just bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Two boys from opposing countries joined for the same purpose. They didn’t join for revenge or for money; they joined to prove that they were something. Spencer Morgan had just turned 16 and dropped out of high school. He lied about his age to join the American army. He then began training to be a paratrooper because he heard that there were men who became great heroes with little education. Dieter Hedrick was 17 and the Scharfuhrer, leader of his troop. When Dieter was 10, he was in the Hitler Youth and all of the other boys were 14 years old. Although Dieter was too young, he was still a member of the Jungvolt- the “Young People.” The boys were scared, but they were not afraid of getting killed by a bullet or an explosion from a grenade. They were afraid that the war would end too early so they would not get to prove themselves. The point of this novel is that the test of manhood is to devote your self to a cause, not just kill the opposing army for no reason.
Review
This book is great depending on how you look at it. It is about devoting yourself to helping out a cause. It’s not just about killing the enemy whether it would be the Germans or the Americans because you want to. I like the fact that each chapter alternates between the boys’ stories so you can see the war from their vantage points. It is tragic that over 60 million people died during World War II. I didn’t like the fact that the book wasn’t about getting to Hitler. The book was all about supporting a cause, but it isn’t about lying about your age to get into the military against your father’s orders. I also didn’t like that when there is something important coming up in the chapter, it would cut off and go to the next chapter. I would highly recommend this book to people who like war novels and World War II, but not for the violence or the fact that Hitler is dead now. I would not recommend it if you like action packed books or books that are all about killing for no reason, or if you don’t like World War II.
Burned
Summary:
In the book Burned, Ellen Hopkins book shows the life of Pattyn Scarlet Von Stratten. She is tired of the Mormon lifestyle and rebels against her family and the rules of her home and church. Her Dad spends most of his time drinking and being abusive towards his wife and children, while leaving her mother to take care of the household, like a servant. After she experiences a fight and breaks the girl’s nose along with a glass window, her family has had enough of her rebelling so they send her to live with her Aunt, out in the middle of nowhere, for the summer. While staying with her Aunt, she learns a ton of new things such as how to drive and also how to ride a horse. Also while there she meets the boy of her dreams named Ethan. And they fall in love. But when the summer ends all hell is raised loose. Pattyn is forced to go back to her old home. Leaving her with nothing but the locket Ethan leaves for her that represents there love. During her first week back her father shows aggression towards her and while this was all happening she had noticed a change in her menstruation pattern, which than she realized that she was pregnant. She calls up her man and tells him the news and they make plans to runaway together. While attempting to do so, they get into a car accident, when she wakes up; Pattyn finds out that both her lover and her developing baby both died tragically in the crash. In the end she says that "God could not be love because love was a corpse, and because she lost the love of her life, and the only thing remnant of him."(quote from book). She makes arrangements to kill the ones who made her life miserable, and also to kill herself.
Review:
In the book Burned I read by Ellen Hopkins. I thought it was a very good book and it caught my attention very quickly. The book was very interesting and I did not want to put it down. I also like the book because I could relate to the main character Pattyn. I think this book would be good for readers between the ages of 13 to 16, because in the book the character faces problems that teenagers between those ages can relate to. I also like this book because you can feel for the character and understand what she is feeling and going through. My favorite character was Ethan because he sounded like he would be a babe and a nice guy that I could fall for. I also liked him because he was kind hearted and truly loved Pattyn. I also liked that even though the book was fiction, it felt really real because in real life everything doesn’t always turn out like a fairy tail like the end of this book. The book itself was an excellent read and because of the book Burned I would like to read more of Ellen Hopkins books. The text of this book was very interesting. I liked how each page was written in a different style of poetry. This story has everything a book needs Happiness, Love, and Tragedy. I would love to see every reader read this wonderful pick.
Picture
I chose this picture because Ethan gave Pattyn a her a gold locket which represent their love.
Summary of Elephants on Acid and Other Weird Experiments
Summary of Elephants on Acid and Other Weird Experiments
By Alex Boese Summary by Tarek Weber
Elephants on Acid and Other Weird Experiments is by Alex Boese. It is a collection of strange experiments all organized by subject. There is a chapter on sense experiments, Frankenstein-like experiments, memory experiments, sleep experiments, animal experiments, a chapter titled: Mating Behavior, baby experiments, bathroom experiments, and there is a chapter of experiments that deals with death. There is also a chapter dealing with what cause a person to be good or, evil. This does not do any first hand recording of experiments. It only records what was already recorded, and it just takes information from many different sources and puts it in the same book. The book is about 266 pages. It is a book where you do not have to read the whole thing and you can also just skip over boring parts.
It has very interesting experiments in it. There is a section that describes a few fart experiments and I enjoyed it. The author mixes science facts with his opinions. The section describes an experiment where the average amount of flatulence was measured. The other experiment measured types, amount and intensity of farts. There is another experiment testing the popular myth that elephants never forget. It turns out that they can forget, but not for a very long time. The experiment dealt with patterns on food boxes. The same experiment was performed a year later and the elephant did well. In another experiment on psychology a 14 year old kid was tricked into remembering something that did not even happen. A researcher gathered details on his life and adjusted them to fit into a story about being lost in a mall, and with the familiar details the kid told the researcher a story about how he got lost in the mall. None of it ever happened though. The experiments in this book are real things, not just things done in some guy’s garage.
By Alex Boese Summary by Tarek Weber
Elephants on Acid and Other Weird Experiments is by Alex Boese. It is a collection of strange experiments all organized by subject. There is a chapter on sense experiments, Frankenstein-like experiments, memory experiments, sleep experiments, animal experiments, a chapter titled: Mating Behavior, baby experiments, bathroom experiments, and there is a chapter of experiments that deals with death. There is also a chapter dealing with what cause a person to be good or, evil. This does not do any first hand recording of experiments. It only records what was already recorded, and it just takes information from many different sources and puts it in the same book. The book is about 266 pages. It is a book where you do not have to read the whole thing and you can also just skip over boring parts.
It has very interesting experiments in it. There is a section that describes a few fart experiments and I enjoyed it. The author mixes science facts with his opinions. The section describes an experiment where the average amount of flatulence was measured. The other experiment measured types, amount and intensity of farts. There is another experiment testing the popular myth that elephants never forget. It turns out that they can forget, but not for a very long time. The experiment dealt with patterns on food boxes. The same experiment was performed a year later and the elephant did well. In another experiment on psychology a 14 year old kid was tricked into remembering something that did not even happen. A researcher gathered details on his life and adjusted them to fit into a story about being lost in a mall, and with the familiar details the kid told the researcher a story about how he got lost in the mall. None of it ever happened though. The experiments in this book are real things, not just things done in some guy’s garage.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Vegan Virgin Valentine by Carolyn Macker
Summary
Mara Valentine is the perfect straight A student senior, and in a close race with Travis Heart, her x-boyfriend, to become valedictorian. She is on the road to success and is accepted to Yale early. Her much older sister Aimee is a huge screw up that moves somewhere new every time she has a crazy idea for a new job or dream as she calls it but eventually gives up a and tries something new. Mara is desperate not to disappoint her parents as her sister did. Aimee’s 16 year old Daughter who only goes by V, is a trouble maker and gains a new bad habit everywhere she moves. Mara and V don’t get along and when Mara finds out V is moving in because Aimee is moving to Costa Rica to pursue her dream in cooking (but is actually pursuing a surfer dude). Mara is upset and starts acting out on her parents. Mara hates that V can read through her to her insecurities, and that V uses it to annoy her. One of the first things V does when she enters the new school was hooks up with Travis in the girls locker room. When Mara finds out she is pissed and on the verge of tears. Travis was the only reason she became a Vegan because she was obsessed with the thought of them being together she had to find something else to obsess over. She was so angry at V that she couldn’t stay in the house when she was around so to avoid her she would take long walks and stay longer at her job at the coffee shop. She soon came to realize that she had feelings for her twenty-two year old boss James but cannot get with him because her friend Claudia who also works with her had feeling for him and have since they started working together. On one of her walks to stay out of the house she finds herself in front of his apartment building at 11 at night. When she is inside she finds out he also likes her also when he kisses her. She ends up freaking out because she feels like a bad friend to her co worker and runs out. Soon after she finds out that the right thing may not make her happy so she starts to question whether what she thinks is right is really right. So she goes back to James and tells him she’s sorry and that she really likes him and so they end up dating. After that she ends up winning Valedictorian. She forgives V and they become close because V taught her that its not always about what’s right or doing what your told but following you heart.
Review
Vegan, Virgin, Valentine, is a wonderful story for girls and boys of all ages. It relates to teens because Mara and V experience problems that everyday teenagers face. Carolyn Mackler is and excellent writer and really shows it in this book. Carolyn Mackler has also written many other books. I chose this book because have read another book by this author and loved it. Another reason I chose this book was because of the title, I caught my attention right away. V also known as Vivienne was my absolute favorite character in this book. In the begging you knew her as this trashy, pot smoking, mean girl who loved to party, but as the story soon reviles that there is much more to her then that. She helps Mara out of her goody goody princess role and into more free and happier version. Through out the story you find out little by little why she does the things she does and why she stops. Mara also rubs off on V and gets her out of some of her bad habits. So in the end they both help each other into becoming better happier people. The book itself was very real even though it was a fiction. I know that many girls can relate to this kind of story. I think the novel was very interesting and could be funny in certain moments. One thing I noticed is that one of the messages in through out the story is live life the way you want to,and don’t hold on to things forever , get over it. The hole story was based on a young 17 year old girl, who was obsessed with being perfect and an overachiever who learns to get over it and get a life.
Picture
I chose this picture because the questin marks represent the decisions Mara and V face. They don't always know whats right and whats wrong.
Story of a Girl By: Sara Zarr
Story of a Girl
By: Sara Zarr
Summary:
Her name is Deanna Lambert, she is thirteen. Deanna’s story starts with a boy named Tommy Weber. He was seventeen, cute, and her brother’s friend. What more does a teenage girl want? Daren is her older brother and is extremely protective of her. He will never forgive himself for letting this happen to her. Tommy came over one day and it starts now. He is nothing but nice and sweet to Deanna. Tommy falls for her and she was so caught up with being cool she fell for him too. They start hanging out more and more. Tommy is older and more experienced and drinks and smokes pot. She thought she could handle herself but she was wrong. One night they went for a long drive and were out late. They were in Tommy’s Buick and they were high and drunk things started to get serious. They ended up in the back of the car having sex. Her dad found where his car was since she was gone long. He caught her and that’s when her life went down. It was Tommy’s last year of high school so of course he went and told everyone about them. He said she forced him to have sex and everyone pity’s Tommy now. Deanna is now looked at as a slut. She has but two friends. Sophomore year she decided to get a job. Her brother still looks after her. She gets a job at the local pizza place and her partner is no one other then Tommy. Things start to heat up again and her brother is too caught up with his girlfriend and their baby to notice. To make it worse when everything is going wrong again she kisses her best friends boyfriend while she was out of town and tried to steal him from her. Read this book if you want to know Deanna story.
Review:
Honestly I think this was a very good book and relates to some teenage girls. I’m not one to read but this book kept me reading and I think mostly fourteen to sixteen year old girls would enjoy. I chose this book in the first place because the name was very catchy, and the book cover was very colorful. This was the authors first book ever published, Sara Zarr, the author; I think did a wonderful job writing this book. The book is fiction and was not based off a true story; it was all imagination, though this sort of stuff does happen. Now, the reason I chose this picture to go with the book was because she looked very lonely and Deanna is very lonely. The girl in the picture looks helpless which Deanna is in a sort of way. She is neglected by her classmates and her father that she loves very much. This is because everyone thinks she’s a slut, even her own father. Her father can no longer look at his little girl after he caught her that night. Also, if you look at the picture it makes you wonder what happened to her. It goes perfect with the book, since when you read a story of a girl, the first thing that you think is what happened to her? I think Deanna was girl who just needed some guidance. She made a mistake and people should forgive her and listen to her side of the story for once. I do think what she did was wrong, but no one is perfect. I think the story had a good point to it by showing girls how you could ruin your life so fast but doing stupid things. People should think before they act and then act as what they think is right.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Zombie Blondes
Summary:
Any good zombie story or movie is always a reflection of American culture. Brian James keeps that in mind with his book Zombie Blondes. James takes the living-dead theme and applies it to a small-town high school, asking what would happen if a school were secretly controlled by zombies. The result isn’t as ridiculous as one might expect. Zombie Blondes turns out to be as much about fitting in, making friends, and being popular in a new school as it is about being chased by brain-eating ghouls.
Hannah’s dad is a former cop, but he snitched on another cop a few years back. That means that wherever Hannah and her dad move, trouble will follow. Hannah has moved from small town to small town, always the new kid in school. But when she arrives in Maplecrest, something seems different about this town. There are too many “For Sale” signs in the yards for one thing. There’s also a group of cheerleaders who rule the school who are just a little too pretty, a little too pale, and a little too perfect.
Hannah doesn’t fit in at all, and the cheerleaders (called the Death Squad) hate her. Plus, Lukas, the only kid who has been nice to her, keeps insisting that the town is overrun by zombies and the cheerleaders are keeping everyone brainwashed. But when the Death Squad girls change their mind and ask Hannah to join, she finds that the strange things are just beginning.
Faced with a choice between becoming popular (and possibly undead) and staying true to herself and her only real friend, Hannah gets more than she bargained for. After a slowly-building first half full of creepy atmosphere and disturbing hints, the action picks up as Hannah learns the truth about Maplecrest and its perfect little cheerleaders.
Any good zombie story or movie is always a reflection of American culture. Brian James keeps that in mind with his book Zombie Blondes. James takes the living-dead theme and applies it to a small-town high school, asking what would happen if a school were secretly controlled by zombies. The result isn’t as ridiculous as one might expect. Zombie Blondes turns out to be as much about fitting in, making friends, and being popular in a new school as it is about being chased by brain-eating ghouls.
Hannah’s dad is a former cop, but he snitched on another cop a few years back. That means that wherever Hannah and her dad move, trouble will follow. Hannah has moved from small town to small town, always the new kid in school. But when she arrives in Maplecrest, something seems different about this town. There are too many “For Sale” signs in the yards for one thing. There’s also a group of cheerleaders who rule the school who are just a little too pretty, a little too pale, and a little too perfect.
Hannah doesn’t fit in at all, and the cheerleaders (called the Death Squad) hate her. Plus, Lukas, the only kid who has been nice to her, keeps insisting that the town is overrun by zombies and the cheerleaders are keeping everyone brainwashed. But when the Death Squad girls change their mind and ask Hannah to join, she finds that the strange things are just beginning.
Faced with a choice between becoming popular (and possibly undead) and staying true to herself and her only real friend, Hannah gets more than she bargained for. After a slowly-building first half full of creepy atmosphere and disturbing hints, the action picks up as Hannah learns the truth about Maplecrest and its perfect little cheerleaders.
Review: The cover of this book instantly caught my eye with its creepy Barbie-doll image and catchy title. Of course, I’ll read anything with “Zombies” in the title. I was surprised to find that this book wasn’t full of blood and guts, although there is some of that, too. Applying the zombie theme to a high school setting reveals some interesting things about teenagers. Are kids raised on MTV, the Internet, and video games like a bunch of zombies? Don’t they all act, talk, and dress the same way? Are they just brain-dead slaves of popular culture? Doesn’t the media just brainwash kids by telling them what’s cool and how to act?
And what about issues of popularity and fitting in? Hannah feels so isolated when she moves to town that she would do almost anything to be one of the cool girls. I like this book because even though we can guess that the cheerleaders are really zombies who stay pretty by drinking blood, the first half starts out slowly and mysteriously. Hannah senses that something is weird, but she’s so worried about not having friends and how she looks to everyone else that she ignores the warning signs. Once she is invited to join the squad, Hannah treats her friend Lukas like crap even though she knows that he is her real friend and these girls might turn her into a monster. Sometimes being a teenager makes you do crazy things.
I also enjoyed the author’s style. Brian James is a grown man, but he writes like a sarcastic 16-year old who is tired of being the new kid in town. Hannah says, "I can usually pick out the popular kids soon after setting foot into a new school. The girls, anyway. They wear popularity like a uniform for everyone to see. From their hairstyles to their expensive shoes. Everything about them is torn from the glossy pages of the latest teen fashion magazines. Everything about them is perfect. At least on the outside, anyway." James uses short, choppy sentences to sound like Hannah might be complaining to the reader during lunch. Even though the ending is a little predictable (hint, what happens to the characters in most zombie movies?), the thing that kept me reading was Hannah’s voice. She explains her internal struggles of choosing popularity over friends in a way that sounds convincing. And that might be the scariest thing of all.
And what about issues of popularity and fitting in? Hannah feels so isolated when she moves to town that she would do almost anything to be one of the cool girls. I like this book because even though we can guess that the cheerleaders are really zombies who stay pretty by drinking blood, the first half starts out slowly and mysteriously. Hannah senses that something is weird, but she’s so worried about not having friends and how she looks to everyone else that she ignores the warning signs. Once she is invited to join the squad, Hannah treats her friend Lukas like crap even though she knows that he is her real friend and these girls might turn her into a monster. Sometimes being a teenager makes you do crazy things.
I also enjoyed the author’s style. Brian James is a grown man, but he writes like a sarcastic 16-year old who is tired of being the new kid in town. Hannah says, "I can usually pick out the popular kids soon after setting foot into a new school. The girls, anyway. They wear popularity like a uniform for everyone to see. From their hairstyles to their expensive shoes. Everything about them is torn from the glossy pages of the latest teen fashion magazines. Everything about them is perfect. At least on the outside, anyway." James uses short, choppy sentences to sound like Hannah might be complaining to the reader during lunch. Even though the ending is a little predictable (hint, what happens to the characters in most zombie movies?), the thing that kept me reading was Hannah’s voice. She explains her internal struggles of choosing popularity over friends in a way that sounds convincing. And that might be the scariest thing of all.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Welcome Aboard!
On this site, you'll post your summary and review for your second quarter independent reading. It's also a place to help you choose a book for your 3rd quarter independent reading. Check out the links on your left for some interesting sites. Not sure what to read next? You'll find loads of ideas.
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