84 thoughts on “Blog #77 – What did you read this summer?”

1. Joan L September 17, 2015 at 9:28 pm

   Over the summer I read a lot some mangas some novels but I’ve written an essay on “Paper Towns,” and writing it was pointless so I’ll get some use out of it here. “Paper Towns,” by John green is about a group of teenagers who go out to find a friend of theirs, Margo, that just up and disappeared one day. Quentin, the main character, was the last to see her before she left. Right before Margo left she took Quentin out on a grand adventure right some wrongs, wrong some rights and do a lot of breaking and then entering, but not breaking and entering. Margo always was having these amazing to good to be true adventures and these master plans that could impress a federal agency.
   Margo’s plan required 3 whole catfish, wrapped separately, Veet (It’s for shaving your legs only you don’t need a razor it’s with all the girly cosmetic stuff), Vaseline, a six-pack of Mountain Dew, a dozen tulips, a bottle of water, tissues, a can of blue spray paint, and a steering wheel lock; and the plan was to be executed at the dead of night. The plan was revenge against the people who had betrayed her and anyone Quentin wanted to get at, and then going to Sea World. The first and second was her ex-boyfriend who had cheated on her with one of her best-friends, the third was her second best friend. Margo left a cat fish at each of their houses with a note that read, “Your friendship with Margo, it sleeps with the fishes.” Victim one, the ex-boyfriend Jase, was at Becca’s house, the backstabber, and having a party at which the both of them where “doing to do.” Margo found Jase’s car and locked the steering wheel and keep the key but he never locks the doors to his car so it was just entering. Then they went to Becca’s house stole Jase’s clothes took a picture of him practically naked and then left one of the catfish in Becca’s room. Spray painted “M,”on the side of her house along with the message. Then they were gone as the passed Jase Quentin felt a little bad for him and threw his polo at him which Margo yelled at him for. Next up was Karin she was left the tulips and an apology for calling her names when she told her that Jase was cheating on her. Then they hit Jase’s house ran around the back and Margo hurled a catfish through his bedroom window spray painted her signature M and message and they were gone just as soon as they got there. Third victim Lacey, ex-best friend number 2, she slipped into through the sun roof of Lacey’s car left a catfish under the driver’s seat spray painted her M and message and left. To Quentin’s surprise he was to pick the next victim though he really didn’t hold grudges but someone came to mind. Quentin choose a guy who had bullied him since the day they met in the third grade and now their seniors in high school, Chuck. They pulled up to his house climbed in through Chuck’s open window and covered his left eyebrow with Veet and then covered all the door knobs in his house with Vaseline. Margo then took the inside of her shirt pressed it against Chuck’s Veeted eyebrow and then in one quick motion his left eyebrow was no longer on his face. Quentin and Margo then made their quick escape through the window, Margo spray painted her M and then they left as Chuck struggled to chase after them.
   Margo’s next mission was to break into Sea World, she had already broken into Disney World, and Universal Studios, but she hadn’t managed to break into Sea World yet. It was around two in the morning now they parked by the concession stands and then made their way around the outside of the building, around a moat which later they crossed. Before they had crossed Margo was bitten by a snake which Quentin rushed to try and suck the poison out of the wound but it turns out a garden snake had bitten her so she wasn’t too much danger. The two then proceeded to find their way in were caught and then let off the hook because Margo had convinced the guard with a kiss and twenty bucks. They then slow danced for a bit and made their way out of the building and headed to the tallest building in town she called the Bean Stalk. The bean stalk was on the other side of town and took them thirty minutes to get there. Margo was friends with the security guard so they where let in and climbed the steps to the top of the building. She talked about how Orlando was made of paper how everyone there was made of paper that all over America there were paper towns and how she wanted to do something with her life she wanted to find herself and she had planned on doing so right after she dropped Quentin off though she didn’t tell him that.
   The book was really about identity and how even though Margo seemed perfect in every way possible she still left and was unhappy that she was made of paper too and wanted to change that. Quentin was raised by psychologists so he’s a pretty level headed dude through his adventure with Margo he was worried about getting in trouble or getting caught because he had a plan for his future and how he wanted everything to go but he loosened up and started to have fun. Ben and Radar two of his friends that tag along with him to go find Margo along with Lacey who had no idea what she did wrong because she really didn’t know anything about Jase cheating on Margo. Margo had disappeared before but this time it was permanent though she had always left clues before she did and that’s what they followed to find her on some cross road in New York.
2. Rachel Berg September 17, 2015 at 9:32 pm

   During the summer this year I did not have much time for reading because I went to camp but, I got the enjoyable experience of reading Paper Towns by John Green. This book has so many components to it that I really liked. This book was about a teenager, Quinton, who grew up next store to the most popular girl in high school, Margo Roth Spiegelman. They were best friends when they were younger and played all of the time, but then grew apart. Quinton has this huge Crush on her and is too scared to admit it or even talk to her. One Mysterious night Margo wakes Quinton up to go on an adventure. Margo has just recently found out that her boyfriend had been cheating on her with her best friend. Later that night Margo and Quinton get revenge on everyone in Margo’s friend group that has gone behind her back or lied to her. When the night is over the each go to bed and next day Margo does not show up for school, and it is like this the next two weeks. Quinton is very worried so he follows sets of clues to find her. He travels from place to place with his friends and it ends up being an amazing experience for all of them. SPOILER ALERT: They eventually find her with a whole new look; she is in an empty barn writing in her diary. Margo explains herself to Quinton and they go there own paths. I loved the essence of mystery in the novel but I thought there should have been more to the ending. Overall, Paper Towns was a intriguing and great book that I loved reading.
3. Victoria A. September 17, 2015 at 9:38 pm

   I personally love reading, I enjoy the escape you can have from present life as you jump into a new world. My family belongs to the Baldwin Public Library and every time we go I leave with at least five books. One of my favorite books that I accomplished this summer was The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. The main character’s original name is Missy and she grew up in a small town in Kentucky with just her mother. Unlike most of the other teens her age Missy didn’t want to get pregnant young and work on a farm all her life; she wanted to complete her high school career and leave this small town and make something of herself. While in her small town to keep herself busy she worked at analyzing blood cells in her local hospital. After graduating and resigning from her job she changed her name to Taylor and left Kentucky in her car. She just kept driving until her tire axel was busted and she pulled over to get it fixed. While stopping she went inside to the nearby diner, while she was there a Native American woman gave her a baby and told her to leave, Taylor couldn’t just abandon the baby like this lady just had so she took off. While stopping at a hotel she learned that the little girl had been molested and severely abused. Because Taylor didn’t know the little girl’s name she decided to call her Turtle because she clung on to you so tightly just like the turtles did back at home. Turtle and Taylor continued on their journey until they stopped in Tucson, Arizona and started their lives together. I love this book because it shows that there is always someone out in the world who has it worse than you at any particular moment. Taylor takes every curveball thrown at her and turns it into a homerun. This book also gives me hope that every bad situation can be changed into a good one.
4. Derrick Lockhart September 17, 2015 at 9:40 pm

   Book Description: The future of U.S.

   I don’t read much, but when I do, I go to Jay Asher. There’s just something about the way he can connect to a teenager that is just ASHtonishing (get it). But really I have always loved his writings and collaborations with other authors. One of his two most successful books was Thirteen Reasons Why. He wrote this book awhile back with Debra Wiseman in 2007 so it truly is a gem. So the book is about a Junior in high school named Clay Jensen. He’s pretty quiet and shy but has friends that weren’t. (I’m pretty sure that Asher made it so that he was quiet but wasn’t a total nerd) So Clay is minding his business doing homework when he gets a knock on his door. When he goes to answer it, he finds a box of cassette tapes with a particular set of instructions. On the tapes was Hannah Baker, a girl in his class that had recently committed suicide. The instructions said to listen to the tapes in order and he would find out the 13 reasons why she killed herself (thus the name). Here’s the thing, the tapes are only sent to the people who are one of the reasons…… and if they aren’t passed on like the instructions also say she will release the second set of tapes that she recorded to the press, which will eventually lead to the police (which for some of the “reasons” isn’t good). The suspense in this book is clear, why is shy, quiet Clay getting the tapes and how is a dead Hannah calling the shots? Clay finds this out as he’s listening to the tapes. I won’t reveal ALL the reasons but just some of the ones that stood out to me. One of the reasons she killed herself was because she lost her privacy. She had recently invited a “friend” over because of an important project. While she was over her and Hannah found out that a boy who lives fairly close had been peeping on her. They set him up and caught him red handed when he was watching. Although her partner found this hilarious, Hannah felt as if this was just one more of a reason to kill herself. If she can’t have any privacy in her own home than what privacy does she have? Another important reason for why she killed herself was because she felt used. The “highschooljock” had his eyes on her and even though she wasn’t interested she let him “use” her the night of this party. She knew what it was and what he was doing but because she did it because of the thirtieth reason. Finally, at the end of the book, Clay finds out why he was chosen as the thirtieth reason. Hannah let what happened night of the party right after Clay had kissed her. He kissed her, got scared and left. The last and final reason why she killed herself was because she loved Clay and Clay loved her; but he was too shy to ever make a move. In the book they had other interactions but he never made it official. She was holding into that one hope, that one last reason to live but finally she realized that it was never gonna happen. This was a wonderful creation by the talented Jay Asher and I highly recommend it to all young adults. Enjoy it.
5. Aldo Buttazzoni September 17, 2015 at 9:40 pm

   When I was younger I used to love reading and read all the time, but as I grew older It got harder and harder for me to make the time to get into a good book. Throughout my years In school I’ve read many books and even though I don’t read as many books as I used to I still have never stopped reading one, the bible. I would consider myself a religious person and reading the bible is very important to me. I love reading the bible because I think it teaches me a lot and it helps me grow in my relationship with god and makes me very happy to read. In school and in life in general I have always had a tough time focusing and not getting distracted but when I read the bible I always feel like I’m focused and really connected with the text. Apart from the obvious religious aspect of the book, I really enjoy the stories in the book. I think they’re very interesting and intricate and they all tie together which I like. I also love reading comic books and graphic novels so naturally I have n illustrated bible, which I think is kind of cool. Speaking of comic books, I read a few this summer and recently including the incredible hulk, captain America Reborn, Spider Man comics, the green lantern, Marvel Tales, The Fall of the Mutants X Factor, Iceman and Angel, and The Green Arrow. I love comic books because the illustrations are so cool and illustrating and drawing and art are things I admire very much. And now that I have an audience I’d like to add that I think DC comics have better recent adaptation comic books than Marvel, but overall I like Marvel better just because of their history and older books.
6. Joe B September 17, 2015 at 9:46 pm

   Over the summer I read Paper Towns by John Green. This was an absolutely outstanding read. The main character in this book was Quentin; just your average slightly pessimistic high school senior boy who hated prom. For the most part, he had a very normal life and a few close friends and he was just trying to get out of high school with decent grades. However one night his ordinary life became a little bit more exciting. His long-lost friend Margo, jumped into his room through his window and asked Q if he could drive her around so that she could get revenge on all of her friends who had wronged her. They spent the night recklessly disturbing the peace and getting vengeance on all of Margo’s foes. Just a few days later after the mayhem occurred, Margo had vanished. This made Q wonder about her whereabouts and he wanted to dig deeper and find out who she really was. At first, Quentin had suspected she had fled somewhere to commit suicide. He was very wrong. After unraveling a series of clues, Q had come to the realization that she had not left to harm herself, she had planned to run away to New York! Q ended up going to New York to find her on a half-day road trip, thinking that he was going to save her. Only when he found her he realized that she had not intended to be caught, he just looked had enough to find her. All around, this novel was an amazing thriller and mystery and I recommend it to everyone.
7. Kristen Harvey September 17, 2015 at 9:59 pm

   This summer I read many books, I enjoyed all of them, but my favorite would have to be Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin. It was an amazing read. It was about a young women named Elizabeth Bennet. The book takes place in early 19th century England. Elizabeth is one of five daughters of the Bennet family, they did not have a lot of money and their mothers only thoughts were on getting her daughters married. Then one day Mr. Bingley a rich single man hosted a ball at his new estate. There Mr. Bingley fell for Jane Bennet Elizabeth’s older sister. They also met Mr. Darcy a friend of Mr. Bingley’s who was much richer than Mr. Bingley but not as nice. In the beginning Elizabeth did not like Mr. Bingley, she believed that he was stuck up and rude. After the ball the cousin of the Bennet girls, Mr. Collins a clergyman, came to visit because he was the heir to the Bennet family property. Mrs. Bennet helped him to choose Elizabeth as a wife. But Elizabeth was not interested in him, he was boring, awkward, and always talked about his pardoned Lady Catherine de Bourgh. He proposed to Elizabeth but she declined, the next week he asked Elizabeth’s friend and neighbor instead. Another important character is Mr. Wickham, a soldier who was very charming to Lizzy (Elizabeth) and has an interesting past with Mr. Darcy. Later Lizzy goes to visit Mr. and Mrs. Collins, where she meets the infamous Lady Catherine de Bourgh and observes her uppity behavior. She also ran into Mr. Darcy, who she was not happy to see because she had heard that any possible happiness her sister Jane could have found with Mr. Bingley was ruined by Mr. Darcy. But then he proposed to her and she was outraged, he had offended her on her inferior birth. She was also mad about what he had done to her sister and how in the past he had cheated Mr. Wickham out of money. Then Lizzy begins to slowly realize that she really loves him, beginning with his letter explaining how Mr. Wickham was a horrible man. This fact was then proved by the tragic innocent in which Mr. Wickham, and the youngest Bennet sister Lydia, run away together almost ruining the family, until Mr. Darcy stepped in and paid Wickham to marry Lydia. Further proving that Lizzy had been prejudice against Mr. Darcy, but her pride was still blinding her to her true feelings. But when she realized that he had been wrong about Jane and Mr. Bingley and brought them back together, she addressed her true feelings. The book ends with Mr. Darcy proposing to Lizzy and she accepted.
8. chandlerallred September 17, 2015 at 10:12 pm

   Over the summer, I read A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors, just because the way he writes and his stories are always very interesting. He has a really unique style that’s both full of humor and information. A Walk in the Woods is a story about Bill Bryson when he sets out to hike the Appalachian Trail. He brings his friend, Stephen Katz, with him. Katz was an old friend who he had sort of lost contact with, and Katz was also overweight and a recovering alcoholic who seemed completely underprepared for the journey. As they hike the trail however, they end up becoming close friends once again. Along the way Bill learns many lessons and has tons of memorable experiences. He makes friends with a lady, named Mary Ellen, and along the path who he thinks is the most annoying person to ever walk the planet. Among the list of irritating things she does, she has a habit of equalizing her ears every couple minutes for no reason at all. They have many difficult trials and challenges, but they overcome all of them. Bill said he became very lean and fit because all he did all day every day was walk. The way Bill describes moose also made me laugh more than I think I ever have from reading a book. After hiking for quite a while and realizing that they had barely completed any of it, they end up skipping a huge portion of the trail and restarting further up north. Bill returns later to hike small segments of it.
9. Frances V.W. September 17, 2015 at 10:13 pm

   A book that I read over the summer and into the school year that I really enjoyed was ‘Dragon Age: The Masked Empire’ by Patrick Weekes, based off of a series of video games (of which Patrick Weekes is a senior writer for). ‘The Masked Empire’ tells the story of the Empress of the fictional country of ‘Orlais’, which is heavily based off a France, and her struggle to prevent her cousin, Gaspard, from stealing her throne. Though there are several interesting topics presented in this book (slavery/racism, clash of cultures etc. etc.) what really caught my eye was the relationship between Empress Celene and her servant Briala, their very much romantic relationship, though it’s extremely toxic and definitely not something to look up to, provides sorely needed representation for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Patrick Weekes, who is openly gay, knew what he was doing when writing this book because not only does it showcase a lesbian relationship, but also an imperfect one. Most popular homosexual relationships in the media are virtually perfect, and usually one of the love interests die at the end; in ‘The Masked Empire’ the opposite is true, Briala and Celene’s relationship is tested often and Celene is extremely manipulative. I’m glad that Weekes decided to include this relationship in his book because if the only representation the LGBTQ+ community receives are overused, cardboard cut-outs of the ‘perfect relationship’ we will have no idea how to identify or escape a manipulative and toxic one. All-in-all I believe that ‘Dragon Age: The Masked Empire’ is a very well written book that brings up several interesting topics in a fantasy setting, and includes much needed representation of LGBTQ+ relationships, though it may be confusing without a-little research into the games I would definitely recommended it.
10. Bianca G September 17, 2015 at 10:18 pm

    The Alchemist
    Book Review 
    by Bianca Gutierrez

    The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is, to put it plainly, stunning. The philosophical nature of the book offers a refreshing world view. Unlike other philosophy’s  that are wordy or difficult to comprehend, The Alchemist is told in a fable-like fashion that could translate to any language and be enjoyed by anyone. 
    The Alchemist follows the story of a young shepherd named Santiago and his journey to Egypt in search of treasure. The book deals with themes of destiny and personal legends. You would think that tale’s emphasis on following your dreams and listening to your heart would be tired and over done, but on the contrary, The Alchemist brings a new look to those themes that you think you know. An aspect of the text that might be off-putting to some people is the manner of which the story is told. The lack of explanation might be confusing to the casual reader, but I personally found it to be beautiful and succinct, perfectly reflecting the nature of the story being told.
    The book this appealing in both an emotional and logical way. The Alchemist does more than tell a compelling story, it makes you think. Think about your life, your destiny, your place in the universe, and what the universe has in store for you. It’s also an emotional story. The trials that Santiago encounters aren’t relatable in the way that the reader can relate based on incident, but I think we all relate to the feelings that Santiago feels on his journey. Feelings like betrayal, falling in love, failure, fear, success. These are the staples of life, and the way the alchemist chooses to deal with them is not only enjoyable but also can be learned from. Santiago as a character is very close to my heart, because I think we’ve all been Santiago (or will be) at some point in our lives. In over our head, or having crushing feelings of regret and the courage to move forward. In this way Santiago is not a strange boy from a strange land, but a familiar face. When Santiago realizes that he has been fooled by a thief in Africa he feels greatly discouraged and thinks about giving up, but in time he gets prospective and comes to see it as a part of his journey. We’ve all felt this sense of discouragement when we experience trials, and in this way Santiago is real. We relate to his struggles and we want to see him succeed.
    The story of the alchemist is not a lengthy, hard to understand study like some philosophies of our day, but instead a simplistic yet beautiful story about having the courage to follow your personal legend. I highly recommend it to anyone in search of a little enlightenment, or simply a good book.    
11. Ian Herdegen September 17, 2015 at 10:22 pm

    This Summer I’ve been very busy with rowing. Because I go down to Belle Isle twice a day, I am not left with much time, or energy, to read. I did, however, watch many movies over the Summer, one of them being “The Maze Runner.” I thought well of the movie so I figured “Why not try the book?” The story centers around Thomas, a kid who awakens in an elevator with no memory of the past. When the elevator reaches the surface, Thomas is greeted by a bunch of other kids, who also don’t have their memories, trying to survive inside the walled area called the Glade. Outside of the Glade is a huge, self-changing maze, protected by creatures called Grievers. Nobody who has went in at night has came out alive. It is up to Thomas to find the way out and what world lies beyond the maze. I don’t want to spoil the book, as it is only 6 years old and the movie is only 1 year old. I actually liked the book a lot more than the movie, which is usually something that would be completely unheard-of for me to say. In my opinion, the movie had terrible acting and several scenes that did not seam like things real people would do. The book was much better with character development than the movie. Thomas was welcomed into the group the first night in the movie with a bonfire, whereas in the book the “Gladers” (as they were called) where a lot meaner and made Thomas uncomfortable in the terrifying situation he was in. I was entertained by both the book and the movie, but if you would like to fully enjoy both, I recommend watching the movie first because if you read the book first then it will make the movie’s timeline seam very condensed.
12. jacob smith September 17, 2015 at 10:24 pm

    This summer I read the Outliers and another and in my opinion far more interesting book called How To Clone A Mammoth by Beth Shapiro. How to clone a mammoth is a basic look into the potential benefits and dangers of the resurrection of a species through science. Furthermore the book looks at techniques and possible reactions to bringing an extinct species back to life. The possible negative affects include unnecessary animal suffering, the possibility of accidentally resurrecting a dangerous pathogen alongside the animal and the fact that once an animal is resurrected it will have nowhere to go but into a lab. However there are already projects set up in Siberia that are designed to return the prehistoric mega fauna back into its old habitat thus restoring the biological productiveness of the grassland. The animals that would need to be brought back would be the wooly mammoth and prehistoric bison and horse. I personally believe that this is a foolish idea for a few reasons, the first being that ecosystems are far too complex for us to anticipate one action let alone allowing multiple new species back into their old habitat thousands of years after they had died out. Another reason is that unless we are able to mass produce an animal with no living cells back there will not be enough animals to create a functional wild population because there will not be a proper way for them to lean the social and biological habits of their ancestors that we are incapable of accurately predicting. The positives of species resurrection are better scientific research, restoration of recently unbalanced ecosystems caused by an extinction and better understanding of past extinctions. I enjoyed the book very much despite a great deal of biological knowledge assumed on the part of the reader.
13. Olivia S. September 17, 2015 at 10:36 pm

    This summer, I read two books, both by the world-renowned author, John Green. I read Looking For Alaska and Paper Towns. Personally, I liked Paper Towns more than Looking for Alaska. In Paper Towns, a boy named Quentin realizes his love for his life-long neighbor, Margo, after a nighttime adventure together. Q’s world turn around when the next morning, Margo goes missing. He immediately accepts that it is his destiny to find Margo; he goes searching for clues in Margo’s room. A Walt Whitman poem that seems to be strategically highlighted leads Q to a side of Orlando he’s never seen before. In just a matter of time, his life turns completely upside down while he is trying to find Margo. He misses out on fun parties and even prom just to find the one he loves.
    A wonderful aspect of the book is the author, John Green, keeps the story interesting by providing three different definitions for the phrase “paper towns”, each unique to the plot of the story. The first definition of a paper town is given by Margo, where she says that Orlando is an example of one: a city that is flimsy and planned from above. The second definition, which comes into play when Quentin is searching for Margo, is: an abandoned subdivision that was started but was never finished. Quentin looks in abandoned subdivisions for Margo quite frequently, but he runs out of luck. The third and final definition is presented towards the end of the great search for Margo: a fake town put on maps to prevent copyright infringement from the mapmakers. This definition is the most crucial, being that Q eventually finds Margo (sorry about the spoiler) in one of the “paper towns” related to the third definition, a city called Agloe, NY.
    Overall, this book was fantastic and was always full of suspense. I really enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone. This book definitely made my summer more fun and interesting!
14. Marcus Powell September 17, 2015 at 10:44 pm

    I love reading but this summer I only read one book because it’s hard for me to find a good book to grab my attention. The book I read this summer was Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. This book was absolutely amazing and it made you feel like you were in the characters shoes. I related to some parts to the book because the characters are in high school with the same mentality as we do. If you are rebellious and know your tech then this book is for you. The main character, Marcus, hated the school he attended because of the security that kept watching everywhere he went whether it was at home or school to him being with his closest friends playing an international scavenger hunt but suddenly a terrorist attack occurred near he and his friends were. He and his were escaping the attack but they were mistaken to be the terrorists and from that day forward their lives will never be the same. This is a trilogy that I will start to read in my free time to see what happens next. The way this book captures you as you read is why I love this book. It’s similar but reversed perspective, Big Brother (1984) by George Orwell, which is based off of the government and how it surveillanced the citizens is reversed in Little Brother when the citizens watch the government and fights against it. If you love books about coming of age and defying people that are trying to hold you down like The Hunger Games or Defiant then this book is for you. Even though it’s not as Dystopian as those books, this book hits home because these events can happen to any regular person at the right place, at the wrong time. I highly recommend reading this Novel and the other two.
15. Janae G September 17, 2015 at 10:46 pm

    Over the summer I read the novel “Little Brother” by the author Doctorow. I’m not very big on using books as a way to pass time, or something to entertain me, but this book did just about that which is sort of unusual. I feel like the author is familiar with hacking since the novel is so well written based on the knowledge of it. The novel is written in 17 year old Marcus Yallow’s perspective (main character) who goes by the name/code “w1n5t0n”. He’s a student attending Chavez High School in San Fran California. He is a geek when it comes to technology who enjoys hacking phones, computers, and creating gadgets during his spare time. Him and his friends all take part in an Internet-based scavenger hunt game while skipping school, it’s one of those games where groups compete against other groups and find clue after clue connecting dots to a mystery. During their scavenger hunt there’s a terrorists attack taking place at the well known Bay Bridge. Like every one else in town the four friends panic while one friend gets stabbed. Because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time, and also the high tech they carried on them, they are seen as the terrorists and are taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The teens were held on an island no one is familiar with and three out of the four of them are released within three days of interrogation. Darryl, the friend held captive, is Marcuses main motive to fight back against DHS. When he reaches home he’s paranoid that the people who interrogated him did something to all of his tech and the author gives a pretty detailed how-to lesson on finding hidden cameras in Marcuses room, under the impression they’ll be watching his every move. One thing that stands out in the novel is standing up for yourself and what you believe, which is pretty much displayed through Marcus and through the book.
16. Emma Lucken September 17, 2015 at 10:50 pm

    This summer I read a book called It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini. The book is centered on a boy named Craig Gilner who goes to an elite Manhattan high school. His whole life before high school he focused on simply getting into the school, never thinking about what would happen when he was there. Soon he is well into his high school career and sinking fast. He never realized that he would have to do much more than study to keep up and everywhere around him are people who are excelling during the school day and out in the real world. Craig soon becomes depressed and one night decides to take his own life. Shocking himself with this decision, Craig calls a suicide hotline and checks himself into the hospital. There, he meets a wide range of eccentric characters that help Craig to embrace who he really is. The story focuses on Craig’s journey to recovery and paints mental illnesses in a whole new light. The author, Ned Vizzini, struggled with depression and he wrote this book while he was in a psychiatric ward and is based on his real life experiences. This book was interesting because it was very real, nothing was hidden or glossed over, and it portrayed the ups and downs of someone struggling with mental illnesses in a harsh light that really made the book interesting. The wide range of characters also added color to the book and it was interesting to see that many types of people are struggling with the same disease, depression. I would recommend this book to anyone because it really makes you appreciate what you have and it helps you to understand what some people struggle with on an everyday basis.
17. Claire B September 17, 2015 at 11:09 pm

    I personally really enjoy reading and love diving into an interesting plot with intricate characters. This summer I found myself at the library getting new books a lot, and reading while on vacation. One book I really enjoyed was “The Conspiracy of Us” by Maggie Hall. The main character in this book is named Avery West, a normal girl who has to move around a lot for her mom’s work because her father left while she was young. At her prom, Avery has a startling encounter with a boy she has been crushing on and another mysterious boy who randomly came to their school’s prom. After learning the true identity of both the teenage boy, Avery soon finds herself on a plane to Paris by the end of the night. By morning time, she is completely wrapped up in the activities of a mysterious group called the Circle of Twelve, twelve families that apparently run the world. Avery has to deal with a prophecy that leads to her, accepting the truth about these families, and trying to digest the fact that she is somehow related to one of the twelve families through her estranged father. She travels all over the world trying escape danger and find clues about the newest prophecy with the two teenage boys, Stellan and Jack by her side. Of course, being a normal teenage girl, Avery has deal with having feelings towards one (sometimes both) of the two boys. But while moving throughout Istanbul, Paris, and Minnesota, she has encounters that no normal girl would ever experience. From breaking into the Hagia Sophia to a murder in Prada, she is forced to deal with things she never thought she would have to. I thought this book did an amazing job of relating cool elements of history, specifically Alexander the Great and Napoleon, to this really modern, worldly plot. It makes you think about how the world could actually be run, and how history may have actually happened. By the end of the book, you might find yourself believing in the conspiracy.
18. Ben uzorka September 17, 2015 at 11:33 pm

    This summer I read one book not counting my summer reading book for English. I read The Maze Runner. This book is a fictions and action books. Also the book has a movie, and I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it to any one who enjoys reading action books.
    The Maze Runner is about a young boy named Thomas who was put into the maze (A huge stone maze which was created to test the people in it called the Gladers). As Thomas gets adjusted to the maze he soon try’s to find his work specialization, and for some reason he was connected to the runners. The runners were the most dangerous job in the maze because as the left deeper into the maze a deadly monster would appear, and it was called the Greaver. As Thomas grew more and more attached to the maze he soon became a runner, but it was short lived. His first job to scout the maze with his master was horrible, they were not able to got back to the glad in time and the doors closed and they were trapped in the maze with the Greavers. Soon the Gladers saw that they did not make it back so they assumed they were dead because that is what happens if you get locked out of the Glade. Then the next morning came and the Gladers where surprised to see Both Thomas and his master alive. As to not spoil the rest of this interesting action thriller I will end here, but I highly recommend that you read this book.
19. Nathan Campbell September 18, 2015 at 12:12 am

    I practically read every night before I go to bed and I just love to read in general. Over the summer a book by an American author that really stood out to me was Of Mice and Men by John Steinback. The book center around two characters George and Lennie who are Ranch Hands traveling across the countryside looking for work. One because good work was hard to find and two because anything they did find Lennie screwed up and got them in trouble. The characters of Lennie and George are a quirky couple. Lennie is a very simple man he is very strong and because he has no control over it he often breaks or kills things on accident. He has an obsession with anything soft and he will hold on and grab it if he gets scared this creates many problems for George. George is pretty much Lennie’s caretaker he watches him and tries to get a good life for then both of them as they travel. The story begins with Lennie and George having just been chased out of a ranch because of Lennie and a run in with a girl in a dress that Lennie accidentally startled. They reach a new ranch eventually and I really don’t want to spoil the book because it really is a great read. One of the highlights of my summer was seeing how this author masterfully closed out his book making this in my mind a classic read.
20. Stephanie Green September 18, 2015 at 12:27 am

    My summer, although filled with debating and playing tag with elementary school students, did allow for some time to read another John Green book, Paper Towns. In Paper Towns, Quientin’s(Q) senior year is coming to a close, and even after all these years, never got over his “miracle,” living next to, and being childhood friends, with Margo Roth Spiegelman. Even though he had two kind and hilarious friends, Ben and Radar, he always seemed to come back to Margo, until Margo came back to him. One night, her alluring self crawls into Q’s bedroom window, asking him to be the runaway driver as she plots revenge on her now ex-boyfriend for cheating on her. They spend this entire night on their mission to complete 13 revengeful tasks on Margo’s ex and her friends, while getting the bonding experience that Q always wanted. As their long night ended with some deep conversations and a dance together, Q was sure that it would be different. This truth claim is what changed him.
    Q goes to school that morning, and Margo is nowhere to be found. He arrives home to discover his parents, Margo’s parents, and a police officer that reveal to him that Margo went missing. He quickly becomes determined to find her, trying to piece together clues in far-fetched locations, including poems and addresses. Ben, Radar, and Q consume a lot of time the first couple of weeks looking for her, but soon her being loss isn’t “big news” anymore, and Q is the only one doing time consuming searches and analysis of clues to find her. His discoveries lead to an intriguing ending that is too good to sum up.
    I particularly enjoyed Q’s frustration mixed in throughout the book, as I am intrigued with reading about other people’s pain and frustrations, as it enlightens me on what could soon happen to me in the future, but also makes me feel ungrateful for getting frustrated at little things such as test scores and helps to motivate me to go to 7:30 service the upcoming Sunday to show thanks for the things I do have. I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to a well-known, quality read. It is not as typical as one may perceive it to be.
21. Tassia Zaryckyj September 18, 2015 at 4:36 am

    This Summer I focused on learning more about my culture’s history. I read articles, books, and short stories of what life was like in Ukraine hundreds of years ago to recent times. I am quite interested in knowing how my ancestors lived and big events that occurred such as wars/genocides and famines. My favorite book was by an author Mariya Deyko and it is called Kobzar. It is about how life was like through the Holodomor, a genocide in Ukraine. In 1928, Stalin, the Russian president, introduces a program of agricultural collectivization that forces farmers to give up their private land, equipment and livestock, and join state owned, factory-like collective farms. Stalin decides that collective farms would not only feed the industrial workers in the cities but could also provide a good amount of grain to be sold abroad, with the money used to finance his industrialization plans. But farmers refuse to listen to Stalin. In 1929, many Ukrainians still refuse to join collective farms. Over the period of collectivization, land, livestock, and other property are confiscated, and entire families are evicted. Close to half a million people in Ukraine are dragged from their homes, packed into trains, and shipped to remote, uninhabited areas such as Siberia where they are left, often without food or shelter. Many people especially children, die on the way or soon after arriving. Then in the year of 1932 the catastrophic Holodomor begins. Starvation becomes widespread. In the summer of 1932, a law is passed that calls for the arrest or execution of any person, even a child, found taking as little as a few stalks of wheat or any possible food item from the fields where he worked. Voucher systems are put in, and military blockades are all around many Ukrainian villages preventing the transport of food into the villages and the hungry people from leaving in search of food. Young activists from other Soviet regions are brought in to sweep through the villages and confiscate any food they find and all from the farmers. People have no food at all and are starving to death. Starvation drove the Ukrainian peasants insane. People turned to anything they could find that remotely resembled food, such as weeds, leaves, tree bark and insects. During the Holodomor seven to ten million Ukrainians suffered and died painfully.
22. Ashley Stewart September 18, 2015 at 6:38 am

    During the summer I read SEVERAL books. From mystery to romance and horror to fantasy. However, one book that certainly stood out to me, was ZOO by James Patterson. (Yes! ZOO the one that became a CBS series this previous summer) Zoo was about Jackson Oz, a dropout genius biologist from Columbia University. Oz didn’t care that he dropped out, because he planned to save the world. Oz put fourth his time, effort, and knowledge into his theory, H.A.C (Human. Animal. Conflict). Oz, with the help of some of his father’s past notes, noticed bizarre changes in our animal friends. Over time they were becoming more abundant, abnormally, and being aggressive towards humans. Animal attacks started from just common animals like raccoons and bears to family domesticated pets. To make the crisis even better, everyone (higher up biologists/authorities) thought Oz was just some crazy drop-out lunatic. However, Jackson Oz was not the one to succumb to their criticism and foolishness. Disregarding those who doubted him and H.A.C, Oz had gathered his own H.A.C workers and supporters. Together, they discussed international, national, and state attacks to try and find out what was happening.
    Along Oz’s chaotic adventure to try and literally save human kind from an animal epidemic, he also fell in love (might I note a little too fast). Oz met Chloe Tousignant a French ecologist/biologist, from École Polytechnique, who arrived to Africa to study the odd rapid increase in bird migration. They first encountered one another in Africa where Oz was investigating a village that was slaughtered by lions. After he saved himself from a group of bloodthirsty male lions, Oz rescued Chloe from a float of crocodiles. Not your typical first date story… With the help of Chloe and footage of Oz’s friend being savagely attacked by the group of male lions (this was abnormal since several dominant males were working together with no lionesses) higher scientists, ecologists, and biologists began to believe in H.A.C. So far, some would guess, “Oh YAY Oz will save the day now! The human race will be OK!”, and they would be completely wrong. James Patterson, a genius in mystery/action (in my opinion)) left me in complete dismay at the end of every chapter. Just like in a roller coaster you have ups and downs however, Patterson changes the ride and soon it becomes the Raptor mixed with the Wicked Twister from Cedar Point. I TOTALLY enjoyed this book, because it was predictable at the end, but the book contained a compilation of factors that could give you various endings. I couldn’t put the book down, even though I did sometimes for the crazy, awesome, and gruesome details. Also, I love how real the book was. I literally reviewed all of my biology/science in this book. The sense of reality in the book truly disturbed me, because it made you wonder: Could H.A.C really happen? How will our President/authorities/officials react if this crisis occurred? Has H.A.C already slowly begun?
    When I heard that ZOO would become a television series, I was so stoked and a little confused at how all of this mayhem could be displayed on a TV screen…(Yes this book was that twisted and unique to ask that). Sadly, I missed the first airing on June 30, due to reading the book lol. Anyhow, I plan one day (not during the busy weeks of school) to sit down and binge watch the whole first season and compare it to the book. Though really I may just be yelling at the TV how they screwed up all the details, characters, and key points like one of those crazed Hunger Games and Maze Runner fans. If you’ve never heard of ZOO by James Patterson PLEASE!!! READ!!! IT!!! I recommend this to fellow bookworms who love adventure, science fiction, mystery, and horror/thriller.

    * WARNING IF YOU GET DISGUSTED/SICK EASILY DON’T READ THIS BOOK*

    LE FIN
23. Michael Homer September 18, 2015 at 6:47 am

    I usually don’t like to read books, but occasionally I find that one book that really interests me and I can’t put it down until if finish it. This summer I read a book called Fallen Angels. This book is about a seventeen year old boy named Richie Perry. He just graduated high school and couldn’t afford college. As a replacement for college he signs up for the army where he gets shipped off to Vietnam. As soon as he arrives in Vietnam he befriends two men named Peewee and Jenkins. All three of them are assigned to the same squad. During his journey through the Vietnam War he has to deal with some challenges, such as the death of his friend Jenkins who died on their first patrol by a land mine. After a few deaths of soldiers in Perry’s squad he searches for the meaning of this war. He also asks himself what he will do when he returns to his life back at home. Perry is wounded in battle and gets sent to a hospital. When the hospital confirmed his health status he had wondered how he was going to rejoin his squad in the war. For a second he had thought about escaping from the army. Although he was scared he decided it would be the proper thing to go back to the war. Perry and his squad embark on a highly dangerous mission. After a few mistakes a fight breaks out and leaves Perry and Peewee wounded on the battle field. They get brought to a hospital where they tell them that their wounds are serious enough for them to go home. Peewee and Perry fly home on the same plane along with caskets of dead soldiers. I extremely enjoyed reading this book over the summer.
24. Natalia M September 18, 2015 at 6:58 am

    My favorite book that I read over the summer was “The Naturals” by Jennifer Barnes. I loved the quick pace of the story and the way the book was set up; half from the main character’s view and half from a killer’s perspective. The story is about The Naturals, a group of teenagers who all have gifts such as reading people or emotions, telling when someone is lying, or remembering huge amounts of information at a glance. It begins when a 17 year-old named Cassie, who can tell who you are and what you want just by looking at you, is recruited by the FBI to move across the country and join the Naturals Program. In the program, the five kids practice their unique skills by solving cold cases. Just when you think it’s going to be a story of outcast teens bonding together in their special little school or a love triangle, the story switches to the point of view of someone who is clearly crazy- thinking to themselves about their next kill. Soon the plot thickens as the Natural’s dark pasts come out and a string of murders leads towards Cassie’s new home. The book keeps you on your toes with lots of plot twists and complex characters. You try to keep up with the young geniuses and connect the clues leading to the killer yourself. The ending of the book does an amazing job of wrapping everything up and left me with my mouth open in amazement when everything fell into place. I definitely recommend this book!!!
25. Christian Zeitvogel September 18, 2015 at 6:59 am

    *Spoiler Alert! Most of the plot is revealed in this synopsis!*
    This summer, I had the pleasure of reading Thomas Harris’ iconic horror thriller, The Silence of the Lambs. This novel takes place mainly in Quantico, VA and the Baltimore area of the 1980’s. Clarice Starling, a trainee at the FBI Academy in Quantico, is selected to attempt to penetrate the mind of Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Lector was a psychiatrist who went rogue and became a cunning, psychopathic cannibal.
    “A census taker tried to quantify me once. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a big Amarone. Go back to school, little Starling (Harris 24).”
    Once he was caught by detective Graham (Red Dragon) he was declared insane and institutionalized in a max security asylum in Baltimore. A large part of the novel is set in the perspective of Hannibal the Cannibal, allowing the reader to view the demented psyche of the serial killer. With his encounters with Clarice, Lecter always wields the control of the conversation through his omniscient and unsettling intimidation, also portraying Lecter’s cravings to feed his ego as well as Starling’s fear from the lack of experience in the field.
    Jack Crawford, one of the lead detectives of Behavioral Science at Quantico, recruits Clarice for field training in the horrific “Buffalo Bill” serial murder investigation. Named after a bad joke from Kansas homicide, the perpetrator was named Buffalo Bill after he abducted, murdered, and removed large portions of the skin from three women. They were abducted from and dumped in several states.
    The novel paces itself on a countdown. Starling is in a race against time to apprehend the killer since he soon abducts his fourth victim, the daughter of a congresswoman in Tennessee, and could end her life any time. The murderer’s name is Jame Gumb. He is middle-aged, tall, dirty blond, blue eyes, and a transsexual, or at least he believes so. He was denied a sex change procedure since he failed to pass any of the required personality tests administered at the clinics. Because of this, Gumb is determined to keep his delusion alive by trying to turn himself into a female. He captures larger women, keeps them prisoner while starving them, keeps good maintenance of their skin, and then kills them once they’ve lost enough weight. Next, he harvest their skin and attempts to sew his own female body suit
    “’Take it off and wash yourself all over, or else you’ll get the hose.’ And an aside to the dog as the voice faded, ‘Yes it will, won’t it, Darlingheart, yes it will (Harris 155).”’
    The novel also has symbolism with the idea of “changing” or “evolving”. One of Jame’s signatures with all his victims is the insertion of an Acherontia Lachesis or “Death’s- Head” moth larvae in their mouths. Just like the moth goes through metamorphosis and changes, the killer’s motives are better understood as it revolves around his covet to change his identity.
26. Elizabeth September 18, 2015 at 7:12 am

    Over the summer I read a series (which is still being written or is almost done) by Marissa Meyer. The series is called The Lunar Chronicles, and the first book is called Cinder. I loved reading this series and can’t wait to get my hands on the next book. This book is based off of the story Cinderella, but is set in futuristic new Beijing. Linh Cinder, the protagonist, is a mechanic in the local open market. Cinder lives with her stepmother and her two stepsisters in a small apartment outside of the downtown area. Cinder is discriminated and treated horribly by her stepmother for she is a cyborg. All cyborgs are treated as a lesser human in their world.

    The society that they live in is a monarchy with Emperor Rikan as their current leader. The Eastern Commonwealth, their society, is in danger of the Lunars. Lunars are a sub race of humans who live on the moon, but can manipulate humans into thinking, seeing or doing anything they wish. They manipulate the bioelectricity around them to make this possible. Queen Levana is the Lunars’ ruler. She is threatening war against Earth if the Eastern Commonwealth does not create an alliance with them through marriage. Emperor Rikan has a son, Prince Kai, who is supposed to seal the alliance. If they do go through with the marriage alliance Queen Levana will try and take over the rest of the world.

    Throughout the city people are afraid of two things: Lunars and the plague. The plague is a deadly sickness where your fingernails turn blue and you bruise easily. Dr. Erland is conducting a draft where people are used to find a cure for the plague. Cinder’s stepmother volunteers her for the draft and this is how she meets Prince Kai.

    I loved this series and don’t want to say more because i believe that you should read this series.
27. Lindsay Hafen September 18, 2015 at 7:17 am

    Over the summer, one of the books I read was Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. It is a biography of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic athlete and World War 2 Prisoner of War in Japan. It started from when and where he was born, through his childhood, and how he started running. Louis struggled with being bullied, nearly expelled, and alcohol before he started running. His brother Pete saved him from expulsion and had him join the track team, where he became one of and then the best runner. He was one of the top choices for winning the 5000 meter event, and had a fast finishing lap that allowed him to meet Adolf Hitler. He joined the Air Force later and had his plane died over the ocean. He and two of his friends survived the crash, one of whom later died on the raft. They were taken prisoner by the Japanese and remained in captivity for nearly two years before the end of the war. During the time he was a prisoner, he was singled out and abused to a great extent. After he returned, home, he had PTSD that was very bad and almost resulted in his marriage ending. After going to see a preacher, he became a Christian and eventually forgave the men who held him captive in Japan and abused him for those two years as a prisoner. The main abuser, The Bird, refused to see him after he had asked. Louis ran with the torch in the Tokyo Olympics many years later. He died in June 2014.
28. wallie September 18, 2015 at 7:24 am

    One of the books I read this summer is called The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It’s about the life of a normal teenager that turns out to be not so normal after all. The basis of the story is Charlie, the main character, is him writing letters to his unknown friend who always listens to him. He writes this friend because his life is a swirl of confusion and mistakes and terrible discoveries. What you don’t know in the beginning is that Charlie acts and talks differently because of his childhood. Having his aunt die on his birthday because she was driving to get him a second present, Charlie has always blamed himself for her death. But as he writes letters and reads books and experiences high school with friends who drink and smoke, he is able to figure out the reasons why his brain is ticking differently. While visiting and talking to a psychologist, it is uncovered that Charlie was molested by this aunt he loved so much. The story leading to this discover is a rocky road of friendships through The Rocky Horror Picture Show and secret santa parties and skipping class to smoke and ordering pie at Big Boy. Charlie isn’t necessarily the most average student, but his freshman year turns out to be not so average in an amazing way. I really REALLY recommend that you read this book if you haven’t. It is one of my all time favorites (behind The Book Thief of course). It’s also a book I can really relate to emotionally, which makes the book even harder to put down.
29. Piper Meloche September 18, 2015 at 7:30 am

    After considering for a long while about what books I read over the summer and which were worthy of this blogpost, I made my decision: I can’t decide. So I decided to go with option two, a book I read in the past year. I was a little late to hop on the boat for this book, but don’t feel like that had a big effect on me liking it so much. That book would be The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. One of the most intriguing aspect of this book is the book is narrated by an unlikely character, Death. The book paints death as a sort of omniscient master of the universe which is not only adds to the intrigue of the story, but also does what any good book should do: make you look at YOUR life and even if just for a split second, re-examine the very beliefs that you live on. Death follows a young woman named Lisel during world war 2 in Germany through adoption, learning to read, learning to love to read, and eventually a tragic loss of her own. At the beginning of the story we find Lisel meeting her new parents, and even though it took some time, we find her beginning to care for them as if they were her real mother and father. She meets friends, makes enemies, and try’s to adjust to life in her new home. Then everything stops in her world, a family friend, who just so happened to be a Jew named Max, told the family that he needed to hide to them. This, although a surprise to Lisel was not one to her parents. Her father made a deal with Max’s father to keep him safe whenever he needed it, and boy did Max need it. This didn’t seem to stress the little girl as much as it should have though, she became friends with the Jewish man who was hiding in their damp basement. It’s only after he leaves that problems really begin.
30. Patrick S. September 18, 2015 at 8:27 am

    I read a solid number of books over this past summer, especially Stephen King, but my favorite by far was The Long Walk. The Long Walk follows a boy named Raymond Garraty, one of the 100 participants of the walk, the walk is a group of 100 teenage applicants who will walk day and night, maintaining a speed of at least four miles per hour, the boys start the walk in upstate Maine and could take them all the way down to the southern tip of Florida. The boys walk, some quit along the way, and when they quit, well… they buy their ticket, because as it says, the ultimate competition is one when the loser is killed. They walk as long as it takes until there is only one, and that one is granted his ultimate wishes. The story follows Garraty as he develops friends and enemies amongst his fellow walkers.
    The Long Walk is not one of your typical bloody, gorey, graphic Stephen King books, the book is a good read for all readers, even those who hate scary books, because this is not a scary book, it gives a rush strictly through suspense. Follow along in Garratys footsteps as he performs the most traumatic, exhausting, challenging, exhilarating competition he could ever participate in, at just 16. The Long Walk is a test of human strength, will, and drive, so follow Raymond Garraty as he pushes himself to the limit for the prize, but more so, to survive.
31. London McMurray September 18, 2015 at 3:37 pm

    Something I read this summer that I enjoyed was Pretty Girl-13. This book keeps you guessing and always interested. This book was about a girl that went to camp annually with her friends, but at the age of 13 she was kidnapped. Three years later she was returned back at the end of her street and her life was never the same. During the period she was kidnapped, she developed a multiple personality to survive her kidnapping. Throughout the book she learns how to deal with her personality and uncover the truth of her kidnapping.
    I liked this book because it deals with a lot of situations people deal with today. For an example a lot of people deal with multiple personality disorders, kidnappings, peer pressure, and feelings of being lost and it was just really nice to see how someone goes through all of these real world scenarios.

    Another book that I read this summer is Tangled Threads: A Hmong Girl Story. This book was inspirational and gave a lot of insight on immigrants and their story. This book is about a girl name Mai, who is a refugee originally from Laos but spent 10 years in Thailand after her home was bombed with poisonous gas. After 10 years in a refugee camp, Mai and her grandmother are sent to America to live with her cousins who moved there prior to. Mai and her grandmother spend weeks through multiple trainings and workshops to prove that their capable of fitting into an American society. Once they finally reach America, Mai learns to embrace new values while still remembering her heritage
32. dllope September 20, 2015 at 2:27 pm

    My summer was a very busy one- when I wasn’t at football, I was probably eating or sleeping- but my mom read a quick read for her book club and recommended it to me- it was called “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio, about a young 5th grader named August “auggie” Pullman. August was a kid living in the upper east side of NYC. A kid that loved star wars, loved to read, played on his Xbox all the time- a normal kid like you and I were in the past- except for one thing…he had an extreme deformity in his face. As a child, he went through thirteen surgeries to fix most things wrong, but he remained with the general deformities- the name to describe the syndrome he was born with is unpronounceable and unfathomable. It was hard for him to grow up because many people were uncomfortable with how he looked, and to others, he was seen as a target.
    “Whatever you imagine, it’s probably worse” (Pullman, 3)
    The book is about him switching to a private school after having been homeschooled his whole life. the book is about his quiet transformation.
    From bullies, to family issues, friends old and new, this is a book I would definitely recommend to someone else. It wouldn’t take longer than about an hour, anyways.
33. Zander Gjurashaj October 7, 2015 at 7:02 pm

    The book I read this summer was Edgar Allen poe’s the raven. This book is about The unnamed narrator is wearily perusing an old book one bleak December night when he hears a tapping at the door to his room. He tells himself that it is merely a visitor, and he awaits tomorrow because he cannot find release in his sorrow over the death of Lenore. The rustling curtains frighten him, but he decides that it must be some late visitor and, going to the door, he asks for forgiveness from the visitor because he had been napping. However, when he opens the door, he sees and hears nothing except the word “Lenore,” an echo of his own words.

    Returning to his room, he again hears a tapping and reasons that it was probably the wind outside his window. When he opens the window, however, a raven enters and promptly perches “upon a bust of Pallas” above his door. Its grave appearance amuses the narrator, who asks it for its names. The raven responds, “Nevermore.” He does not understand the reply, but the raven says nothing else until the narrator predicts aloud that it will leave him tomorrow like the rest of his friends. Then the bird again says, “Nevermore.”
34. Mia T October 16, 2015 at 8:17 am

    This summer I read The Fault in Our Stars, By John Green. It is about a girl named Hazel Grace Lancaster. Hazel has lung cancer, and has had it for awhile now. She is taking a medicine that does not work for most people but is luckily stopping her cancer from growing. Hazels parents think she is depressed because she has cancer and doesn’t really go out, so they make her go to a meeting (almost like AA but for cancer fighters and survivors) in the “heart of Jesus” which is actually a basement of a church. There she meets Augustus and his friend Isaac. Isaac has cancer in his eyes and will soon have a surgery that will get rid of it, but make him permanently blind. Hazel begins to have eyes for Augustus, and he for hazel. Augustus pulls out a pack of cigarettes as they are leaving and sticks one in his mouth. Hazel was extremely disappointed and somewhat mad that he would smoke after having cancer, especially because he was flirting with someone who has lung cancer. He explains to her that it is a metaphor and then invites her over for a movie, which ends up being the start of their beautiful relationship. It isn’t all up though. Hazel didn’t want Augustus to fall in love with her because she believed she was going to die soon. Her medicine never really helped, but just stopped the cancer from spreading. She was very shocked to find out Augustus now had cancer again. Hazel doesn’t take the news well. She ends up having to do something she would have never imagined to do. In The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green, Hazel and Augustus’ beautiful relationship soon turns in to a beautiful tragedy.