Week 16 Reading (Winter Break)

            

           "Divergent" by Veronica Roth, and "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline

            Hello everyone! It’s been a while (for most of you) since I've talked to you. I've been in England/New York for a while, and there hasn't been any Wi-Fi for me to look at the blog with. I've read Divergent and Ready Player One over the break and they were both very good sci-fi books. Let’s start with Divergent- I read this to finally catch up with society. If you read my previous blog about the first half of the book you will find that I really enjoyed this, and it lived up to the expectations that everyone has set for it. The ending is very good, so I will definitely read the following two in the series in time.

             Ready Player one is the book that Kam suggested to us before the break started, and different from Divergent I will probably need to explain this one more. It is set in the future, where a lot of things has gone wrong for the human population. The planet is in the third stage of the great recession, and more than half of the population is without food. War is constant, and the environment is of course screwed up. The only thing for most people that makes life worth living is a Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) named the OASIS. There is a lot of history that goes with the OASIS, but what is important to the plot is that James Halliday (the game’s creator) died. When the died, he left behind his multi-billion dollar fortune and the ownership OASIS game itself, but he did not simply leave it for his relatives (he didn't have any), he created a huge hunt that was filled with puzzles and games that only can be solved by people determined to know everything about Halliday’s life.

             So, after that huge ramble (I apologize), I largely recommend both of these books to anyone that like sci-fi books.         

Week 15 Reading

       "Divergent," by Veronica Roth
       I finally decided to keep up with the culture of the class and read this book. I only read half of it, because again my life decided to be crazy and not allow me any time to read this weekend. It definitely lived up to the expectations that everyone has given it, and it hooked me very quickly, but I'm not sure why. Even though most fiction books these days are about teenage girls in a distopian world : ), this seemed to stand out to me.
       It probably wouldn't be necessary to describe what it is about, but anyway, it is about a sixteen-year-old girl who lives in the far future, in a city which is divided into five factions to prevent war. The five factions are Abnegation (selflessness), Candor (honesty), Dauntless (courage), Amity (peace), and Erudite (knowledge). Tris, is in Abnegation, until she is sixteen when she has to choose what faction she will be in for the rest of her life. There is a test to see which one fit each person best, but when she takes it the results are inconclusive. This is called Divergence. She is then told that being Divergent is very dangerous.

       I will continue to read Divergent over the break, and I might start to read Ready Player One.      

Week 14 Reading

         "The Edge Chronicles: Beyond the Deepwoods" by Chris Riddell, and Paul Stewart
         This is an interesting book- I didn't actually like it as much as I thought I would. It was a very low reading level, yet it was sort of hard for me to read because I couldn't get hooked on to it at all. Being a low reading level, I think it might be better for younger kids, but at times it was kind of cool (me liking fantasy books). Something I noticed about it, is that it was making up this huge unknown world, much like the Lord of the Rings, but it doesn't captivate you the way LOTR does.That might be because the Lord of the Rings was written a very long time ago, so the writing style is different to us these days which makes it seem old and otherworldly, while the Edge Chronicles was written in the past ten years, so it doesn't have that vibe.
     
         But before I start careening off track- as you probably remember from Gavin's Book Talk, it's about a boy names Twig who lives in a world called "The Edge," and goes on an adventure into the Deepwoods to find out about his history. It is an okay fantasy book, yet I didn't particularly like it, but if you like fantasy books I would recommend trying it.

         Next week I will read Divergent      

Week 13 Reading

          "The Pact" by George Jenkins, Samson Davis, and Rameck Hunt.
          This is a very inspiring book. The only reason why it isn't on my top ten list is unfortunately, because it is nonfiction, and there isn't a significant plot. Other than that, the story told by the three young men is interesting and amazing. While they are children and teenagers, they have to face the choice of following their peers into drug-hustling and killing, or try to complete high school and make something significant out of their lives. They all meet in the freshman year, and after becoming friends, decide to make the famous 'Pact' and try to find their way through high school, into college, and maybe even medical school.
           Everyone should read this book, and even if most of the kids in the class aren't faced with the same challenges, it shows that no matter what goal you set for yourself, it is possible to get there. 
     

Free Verse Poem

                   Crack of Thunder and Martin Luther King Jr.

The young man leaned against the rail with both hands, a cigarette between his pointer and middle finger. I wonder how long he was planing to stay at the dinky two-story hotel. His eyes squinted and lips pursed as he pondered the future of his people. I wonder if he was preparing his next speech. An advocate and a leader. I wonder if he thought so. He lifts the cigarette to his mouth, and breaths the tobacco and smoke into his lungs, blows out, and watches the smoke curl around itself in the air. I wonder when he started smoking. He strokes his black mustache with his hand, his eyes still squinted. I wonder if he knows. A crack of thunder rings out on a sunny day. He surly knows now. Hundreds of lives drastically changed by a simple crack of thunder. Despite anything, he will always have a dream. 

Well, I could say, that I have a dream, that one day you will wonder too.    

Week 12 Reading

        "The Pact" by Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt.
        So far, "The Pact" is a very interesting book. Even without reading the end yet, it is an amazing story of friendship and perseverance, told from the three perspectives of Sam, George, and Rameck. It is the story of these young boys who have to grow up in a hostile environment, with gunshots being as frequent as insects, and drug hustlers on every corner. Not only was it a surprise that they survived unscathed, completed high school, and later decided to go to college, Sam, George, and Rameck wanted to become doctors. Unfortunately, the writing style does bug me a little bit. If you don't care about books that don't have a distinguished plot, than this book is amazing, but since this is a non-fiction story, there isn't much of a set-out plot.
         Everyone in the class can definitely read this, but if books dealing with drugs, muggings, and murder makes you uncomfortable, I wouldn't recommend reading this book. I still think you all should read this book, because it is an influential book and a great display of human spirit and a little luck along the way.
   

Week 11 Reading

          "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" by John Boyne.
          First of all, I have wanted to read this book for so many years, I heard about it when I was in John's Class, and I only now got around to reading it. Nine-year-old Bruno is a German Boy who lived in Berlin, but one day came home from school and saw all of his things were getting packed up by the house maid, even the things that weren't anyone else's business. His father was high-ranked in the German Government during WWII, and has to be moved to a horrible three-story house on the countryside. At the New house, Bruno could not stop looking through his window, at a large fence with many people in striped pajamas working, living, and crying.
          This is a very good book, and the writing style is interesting and perfect for the story. It is quite a quick read, shorter than most of the books we are reading this year, but is stilla memorable novel that everyone should read.
          Next week I am read "The Pact." 

Week 10 Reading

                 "Golden Boy" by Tara Sullivan
      This week I read the second half of Golden Boy, and it is a very fun, scary, and well-written book. Habo is an albino Boy living with his family in Tanzania, and no one knows why he is white. some think he is a demon, others think he is the child of one of the tourist that come on Safaris. His family is forced to leave their village and travel to Mwanza where his mother's sister lives. When the are in Mwanza, after a turn of events, Habo is forced to travel alone across the country.
      The reading level isn't that high, but it is a relatively long book, almost getting to 350 pages. this could be a one week book, but if you read my earlier post, my life wants to be crazy so it took me two weeks. I would recommend this for people that like survival adventure books, and if you like to read about things that happen in real life.
       Next week I will read "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"
 

Week 9 Reading

            This week I read Golden Boy, and it is definitely a very nice well-written and gripping book. I have read the first half of it so I am sure I haven't gotten into all of the intensity. As Linda said, it is about an albino boy named Habo (short for Dhahabo which means gold) living in Tanzania with his family. They are forced to move out of their farm and they start to make their way to his mother's sister's house in a bigger village or city.
            Many things happen when they get there and before. This is a quick read, but my life wants to be crazy these weeks so I could only get half way. It is almost 400 pages, and again I highly recommend it.
           
             I will continue reading Golden Boy this week.

Week 8 Reading

            "The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss
            This week I read The History of Love, and it is the book that Cam started to read to us a while ago before lunch. As you might have remembered, Nicole Krauss is an amazing writer, and throughout the whole book there were amazing examples of her work. It starts out being about an old man, Leopold Gursky, then switches to a 15 year old girl named Alma Singer.
            There lives intertwine in amazing ways, and the story is completely aw-inspiring. I personally think it isn't such a easy book while being a normal length, but it might be easier for others at around 252 pages.  

Week Seven Reading

"Okay for Now" by Gary Schmidt:
                  In this weeks book reading I read "Okay for Now," which is connected to "The Wednesday Wars" but not totally a sequel. It is told from the view of Doug Swieteck in the late 1960's, a seventh-grader who has an abusive father, and mostly hates being near his family (besides his mom who is sweet and nurturing) because of it. The story continues with school and meeting a friend named Lil' Spice (a girl), who get him a job at her dad's shop. I have like Gary Schmidt's books, because his writing style is fun and interesting at the same time.
                  It is a seemingly easy read, but it is about three-hundred-sixty pages, so for some people it might a two week book. If you have read the Wednesday Wars (I would recommend this book) you would know what genera it is (maybe drama, but it is  mostly just 'life').
                  Next week I will read "The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss   

Week 5 Reading

"Eleanor and Park" by Rainbow Rowell
              This is very well written book about two teenagers who happen to sit next to each other on the bus to school. They soon get a close relationship formed around comic books and punk rock, which turns into more. They are both misfits in school and at home, and they can relate to each other in many ways. It is sort of a drama but there isn't much of genera that it fits in ( maybe romance). It is somewhat of an easy read, but I thought it had an amazing way of telling the story and I recommend it.
              Next week I will read "Okay for Now."    

Week Four Book

              This week I read Forgive me Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick. This is very intense and depressing book, and I actually do not recommend this book for many people in our class. It talks about very mature subjects and there seems to be at least four bad words (real bad words) per page. Despite the heavy topics, it is actually a very well-written and interesting book. It is an easy reading level for it is in the mind of a seven-teen year old that talks mostly the same as kids these days, and I found I could not put the book down.
          Next week I will read Eleanore and Park. 

Week Three Book Reading

See You at Harry's, By Jo Knowles

              I cant really explain what kind of genera this book is, but it is basically drama. It is 320 pages long, and most people can read it fairly easily because though it is not a adventure book, I found that I could not put it down. like everyone else who has read it- it made me cry. It is about a girl named Fern in a small town who feels that no one notices her, and her dad is always trying to get more business for their family-owned ice cream store. I loved this book and I'm sure almost everyone that reads it will like it. the writing style is very captivating, I've also always liked books that make you feel emotion (Of Mice and Men, The Clockwork Three) and this book makes you feel so much it's heartbreaking.
        
             This Week I will read Forgive me Leonard Peacock.

Reading for the Week of Sept. 3-Sept. 8

"Ender's Game" by Oresen Scott Card
               This book is about a boy named Ender in the far future on an earth that has been attacked by aliens (a.k.a. Buggers). The military is taking children from earth when they are around six to a battle school in space where they are trained to become commanders readying for the next attack. Ender of course gets taken up and the book explores what happens in the school. It is a science fiction book that is very intriguing and interesting. It is not an extremely easy read, and at 388 pages it could be considered a two-week book.

             


             To be Read List:
1) See you at Harry's
2) Forgive me Leonard Peacock
3) Divergent
4) Eleanor and Park
5) The Night Circus
6) Outliers
7) The Secret Life of Bees
8) Outsiders

Nate's Profile and Top Three Books

Hi Max's Class,
I normally like to read historical fiction novels or science fiction. I basically like all sorts of fiction (I also like to write it) because I think it is really fun to make up new worlds and see what other worlds people have come up with. Examples of historical fiction books would be books about people at the time of a war or an 'outstanding' event in history. I also think books are cool when you don't know much at all about the surrounding but it focuses on one or a small group of people.

Top Three Books:

• The Clockwork Three: This is about three kids (12-14 years old) that are forced to work together to find what each of them need in their life.
• Of Mice and Men: This book is about two friends (George and Lenny) traveling together looking for work.
• Daniel X: This is a fun read about a teenager with special powers who is an Alien Hunter and protects Earth from extra-terrestrials.