The Reading Nook

Jack Shaevitz

12/15

English A
In You Don’t Know Me by David Klass there are many elements that make it a young adult book. The book is written in first person which is one of the elements. The main character of this book is John who is a teenager that has many problems in his life. Many of his problems are typical problems of a teenager. For example, he likes a girl, but she does not like him back. Another problem some teenagers go through is abuse. John is abused by his father which is not most teenagers have to go through, but there are definitely some that are abused. John also becomes much more mature by the end of the book. At the beginning of the book he did not care about his academics. At the end of the book he tried much harder in school. Also in this book there are themes that make it qualify as a young adult. One theme is alienation. John throughout the book is a outcast and he does not fit in. The other theme in the book is abuse. John’s father abuses John. This is a major theme in this book. You Don’t Know Me has many themes and elements that make it a young adult book.

You don’t know Me by David Klass is a book that I would only rate as only being OK. The main character, John, was very hard for me to relate to because he seemed a little bit ‘weird.’ For example, he was very bad at playing his tuba and made up a tall tale involving a unhappy frog and a princess. He also has many different nicknames for his teachers. For Ms. Gabriel he calls her Ms. Garlic Breath or Ms. Moonface. He also calls his school the anti-school and his math class anti-math. This was one of the reasons why I did not like the book. Another reason was the themes in this book One theme was abuse. I could not relate to this at all which made me dislike this book. John also had a very uncaring mother who was not involved in his life. My mother on the other hand cares a lot about my life. The last reason I disliked the book is that John does not fit in at school. I fit in and have many friends unlike John. I could not relate to the main character and that is why I disliked this book.

Jenna Borenstein

I read Black And White, by Paul Volponi. This book is a 185 page novel about two boys who grew up as best friends and they share the name Black and White. They have this name because Eddie is white and Marcus is black. They do everything together and have no problems until they start doing stickups and getting into trouble. The stickups cause issues that are hard for Eddie and Marcus to go through. Black and White is definitely a young adult genre because the protagonists who are Eddie and Marcus both tell the story from each of their perspectives, the main characters are teenagers, and the teenagers use curse words. Another element that make this book young adult is that the main characters do not tell their parents about the stickups, so they try to resolve their problems independently. The main characters mature by the end of the novel because they realize that committing stickups is wrong leading them to become self aware of their actions. Black and White do not have any racial problems until the middle of the book and the characters have to learn to deal with the situation. Paul Volponi’s writing drew me into the story and the lessons touched me.

I loved Black and White because it is a story about teenagers who get themselves into trouble but at the end, they realized that they did the wrong thing. I enjoyed reading Black and White because when the book was not talking about the character’s problems, it was talking about basketball and teenage situations at school. I highly recommend this book for all types of readers because it has sad parts, happy parts, sport related parts, and regular teen issues mixed in!

Witch Baby, by Francesca Lia Block is about Witch Baby, a teenage girl living in Los Angeles, who has grown up being the pariah in her family and searches to find her identity. Witch Baby is a young adult book for several reasons; because of the theme and because it is short. Witch Baby is very independent and can take care of herself - since she has no friends other than her family, she learns how to amuse herself. This 103-page novel therefore has a main character that is trying to solve her own troubles and problems… she’s no longer a child. Some people may argue that Witch Baby is not a young adult novel, as the story is told in the 3rd person and does not contain teenage dialogue. Also, Witch Baby sometimes sounds like a little kid, and other times she sounds like Luna Lovegood from The Harry Potter Series (she seems a little crazy!). For example, she likes to go around saying bad things about people and telling all of their secrets. In the end though, this novel is a young adult book because of the emotional journey that Witch Baby makes. In addition to being independent, throughout the book she becomes more mature, self aware and responsible. She makes up for everything that she has done wrong.

Witch Baby is so exciting that I couldn’t put it down. It is an easy read, written in simple language that even a younger kid could understand. The characters, including Witch Baby, are very interesting because they all have unique names and are complicated people. One of the main themes in this book is that Witch Baby has to struggle as an outcast – she is very unusual and feels misunderstood. I like this book because even though Witch Baby is different from anyone I have ever met, I liked her. Particularly, I enjoyed learning about how she solved her own problems. Like many teenagers, she feels her family doesn’t understand her. Even though she may not know it, her family still loves her and tries to pay attention to her. This made me read the book with a huge smile. Out of all the genre books I have read so far, Witch Baby was by far my favorite.

Hope was here, by Joan Bauer, is a book about a teenage girl named Hope, and her problems and challenges as she moves from New York to a small town in Wisconsin. The main character is a teenager, and the book in written in first-person narration, which qualifies it as a Young Adult Book. The title, Hope was here, indicates that Hope leaves her mark wherever she goes. She has lived in four or five states in the past eight years. She leaves her mark on her old homes by writing “hope was here” on the side of the building. When she arrives at her new home town, Mulhoney, Wisconsin, Hope had many challenges immediately thrust upon her. However, she is an intelligent and quite mature, as she had been a mother-less waitress since her early teens. Hope steps into the new challenges tries her best to solve them. By the end of the book, Hope becomes more mature and realizes she can be the “hope” that the people of her town need.

There were a few aspects of Hope was here that I thought were well thought out and made me want to read more. Hope meets many challenges in the book, but not like other kid’s challenges. Hope has to overcome many things at once, such as trying to get a cancer-fighting man the job as Mulhoney’s mayor, and trying to find out who and where her father is. Hope also goes through many changes throughout the book, which I liked because it helps show the development of the charcter without losing the reader’s interest. Another aspect I liked about the book was that Hope was a normal girl, there was nothing really special about her. She was extremely smart or a gifted athlete, yet she was still able to solve problems and help her town. I also liked how there were occasional twists in the book, things that I did not expect. Sometimes the chapter ended with a cliffhanger, which made me want to read it even more. Overall, I thought that Joan Bauer is an excellent writer and her book Hope was here was very interesting and fun to read.

-Lucy R. P.

I read Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, which is a great Young Adult book. The main character, whose name is Liz, is a teenager(fifteen). The author does a good job perceiving what Liz would feel like as a teen who has just died. Liz has many conflicts such as: trying to fit it in a world of adults, dealing with the fact that she will never grow up, and getting over the fact that she has lost her family and friends. She is also maturing because she is dating a boy for the first time. Liz is immensely sad in the beginning of the book about not being able to lead her life on earth. She does what ever she wants, and she spends all of her grandmothers money on watching her family and friends. She is amazingly self centered, but by the end of the book she has learned her lesson. She is much nicer to everyone, and she matures just like most main characters in YA books do. Another theme is trying to belong. In a world that is mostly old people Liz has a hard time fitting in. She struggles to keep the couple of friends that she has made with the other people her age through out the book. In many YA books the main character is an outsider. This was very much the case with Liz, but by the middle of the book she had established some good friends. Although the setting of the book was unusual, I thought that Elsewhere was the definition of a Young Adult book.

I thought Elsewhere was very good book. The setting was unique, and the plot was very interesting. The characters were very deep and fun to hear about. The author established their personality very well, so I felt that I knew them. The setting was the thing that made this book for me. It was original, and creative. I am sure lots of people think about what happens when we die, and this book provided a great answer to that question. The plot was very fast paced and interesting. There were a couple of climaxes and lots of action in between, which made it a very exciting book. The language of this book was very nice. The author used descriptive words that really relayed a message about what she was trying to say. There was great vocabulary, and the sentences were well put together. The Author used words that a teenager would use, and the use of those words made the characters come alive even more realistically. The book Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin provided a unique and compelling read for me, and it was a great book.

“Rules of Survival”, by Nancy Werlin is a thrilling and compelling story told in the first-person perspective of a teenage boy named Matthew Walsh. Matt has to cope everyday with the fearsome and abusive monster that is his mother, Nikki. Because his dad left them a while ago, Matt has to be a father figure to his two younger sisters as well as a son in the hands of his belligerent mother. Although this story is in the form of a journal entry intended for his youngest sister, Matt vividly describes his daily encounters with his unpredictable mother. This is easily a YA book because the story is in the mindset of a teenager. By the end of the book, Matthew has changed from a scrawny and timid little boy to a muscular teenager who stood up against his mother and protected his sisters. The book at times makes the reader uncomfortable, and really portrays the psychological aspects of the story. Like many themes in YA books, Matt must overcome the many obstacles he faces.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book for many reasons. Nancy Werlin wrote beautifully in the book, and her writing style really keeps the reader riveted. The dangers that Matt faces keeps the story exciting and intense. The reader never knows what will happen next, and what will tick Nikki off next. The graphic details that Werlin puts in her writing makes the reader feel as if he is in the center of the story, and experiencing the events rather than reading about them. The part I loved best about the “Surviving” was when Matt makes that crucial change and realizes that he is stronger than his mother. He discovers that all along, it was only fear that prevented him from overpowering her.

In the Brooklyn Bridge, by Fred Berman; on a day in 1903, fourteen-year-old Joseph Michtom’s life changed drastically when his parents who were Russian immigrants, created the first teddy bear. No longer did the family gather together. Joseph couldn’t even play stickball with the guys. No longer were the children of the house able to get away from watching their 2 year old brother. When it was summer vacation, Joseph wanted to travel to Coney Island, but he had to work. So, he complained and fell in deep love, love at first sight. He wished that everything would go back to normal, not to be special in school, he hoped, he wished.

This book is a beautifully written YA book that will pull you into the story. Fred, Berman used a perfect Brooklyn and Yiddish language. It fulfills almost all the elements of a YA book but the protagonist at the beginning is an un-mature, dependent boy. The themes are; deeper understanding of society, social problems at home and with love, and finally alienation from his usual group. I loved this book very much and it pulled me in faster that styrofoam being sucked into a tornado. This book’s description was amazing and made me feel what he felt and see what Joseph saw. However, like all fine books, their are flaws. There are few flaws but I disliked the plot because there wasn’t a solid idea of what they were doing, there was no thrill of adventure compared to other YA books. This book seems to be written with lovers, and people who like calm, un-thrilling books. Although it was astounding in its descripive powers, I think that this book failed to suck me into the plot-line and life of the character.

Dylan Freeman
English C
4/16/08

Slaughterhouse-Five

Title: Slaughterhouse-Five
Author: Kurt Vonnegut
Original Language: English
Original Publish Date: 1969
Setting: This book takes place throughout many different places and times jumping around dates throughout the main character life (around the time of WWII), all over Germany, U.S.A., and Tralfamadore (a 4th dimensional planet which he is taken to when abducted by aliens).
Main Characters:

The Narrator of this story is Kurt Vonnegut as a veteran after the end of WWII writing about the war and one of his friends stories.

Billy Pilgrim, the protagonist, is an optometrist with a dull but safe marriage. His hometown is in Ilium, New York and throughout the story he travels through different points in his life. Billy was drafted as a young boy and became a prisoner of war almost immediately. Also at another point in his life he was abducted by aliens and taken to a planet called Tralfamadore and put in a Zoo.

Valencia, Billy’s overweight wife and mother to Billy’s two children Robert and Barbera Pilgrim.

Tralfamadorians, the aliens who abduct Billy and teach him about the fourth dimension and time.

Monatan Wildhack, a pornographic actor who is also abducted by the Tralfamadorians and studied by them in the same “room” (simulation of Earth).

Plot Summary: The narrator in this book is Kurt Vonnegut who is a war veteran writing a war novel about a friend of his in the war, Billy Pilgrim. Billy Pilgrim is an aspiring optometrist in Ilium, New York and goes to an optometry school. Billy’s father is killed in a hunting accident just before Billy was sent to Belgium in WWII and he was captured almost immediately. Just before the Germans capture Billy he becomes “unsuck in time” and sees a vision of his whole life. The POWs are then taken to another camp in Germany and are hosted by a group of English men who had been captured earlier in the war. Billy starts to time travel more often now. They are then taken by railway boxcar to Dresden and stored in a Slaughterhouse which was originally used for pigs. One night forces come and carpet bomb the city killing everyone one in it except for the americans who were stuck in the air tight slaughterhouse. Billy returns home and goes back to finish optometry school. Billy checks himself into a veterans mental hospital and is introduced to the writer Kilgoure Trout by a fellow patient. After his reccuperration he gets married to Valencia Merble and they have two children together. The night after Billy’s daughter’s wedding, Billy sneeks away to New York to go on a radio talk show and tell everyone about his abdution by the Tralfamadorians. Billy then goes to an optometry meeting but his plane crashes in Vermont and everyone on the plane was killed except for him. He is then operated on because he had brain damage, in a Vermont hospital. On her way up to the hospital, Valencia crashes her car and drives off with a broken tailpipe. When she reaches the hospital she fainted and died one hour later from carbon monoxide poisoning. Billy then tape records what he predicts his death will be because he has seen it many times in his numerous time travels.

1. What is the name of the planet that Billy Pilgrim is taken to?
a. Tralfamadore

2. What is Billy’s wife’s name?
a. Valencia

3. Who is the narrator of the story?
a. Kurt Vonnegut

4. Who kills Billy?
a.Paul Lazzaro

5. What is the name of the actress who was captured by the Tralfamadorians?
a. Montana Wildhack

Kaori Nagase
English C, Classics Assignment
April 16, 2008

Title: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Author: Betty Smith

Original Language: English

Original Publish Date: 1943

Setting: Pre – World – War I. Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City.

Main Characters:
∑ Francie – A very serious girl who understands most of the things that are going on around her, even the troubles of her parents. She is very kind and benevolent to her family members (especially her father who she loves the most.), but is not liked very much by her school classmates. Considers Neeley her true friend.
∑ Neeley (Cornelius) – A boy who is excited by many things in life, Mama’s favorite because he is a boy.
∑ Mama – Francie and Neeley’s mother, Katie Nolan. A very frugal lady who really loves her husband, Johnnie. She is used to a very simple life, most of which is actually pretty harsh in terms of hunger and living conditions. She is a determined woman who works her hardest all of the time. Favors Neeley over Francie. She is a janitor at the local public school before she stops working. Then she becomes a janitor for her building.
∑ Papa – Francie and Neeley’s father, Johnny Nolan. A severe alchoholic who gets fired at the beginning of the book, and then thereafter does not have a permanent job.

Plot Summary:

     Francie comes from a typical poor family with her in a cramped apartment. She lives a typical life in Brooklyn, but she is not the average girl. She has a very special trait that not many young girls have: she is hungry for knowledge. She reads books, and tries to listen in on any conversations she can listen to. Since her favorite pastime is reading, she does not have any friends at school (although she loves school); her only friend is her brother Neeley. Just like she loves Neeley as a friend and a brother, she loves her father the best out of her whole family. Unfortunately, Johnny is a sever drunkard and dies in the middle of the book. This leaves Francie’s family lost and confused, also making them realize that they are in dire need of money. Katie decides to take Francie out of school and get her a job with a good salary, and afterwards the Nolans start leading a much easier life. Francie also decides to try out for college, and although she has not had a complete education, she qualifies. Although part of this lucky turn came from Francie’s intelligence, many parts of it come from her strict but benevolent mother, her favorite Aunt Sissy, and her beloved father although he is dead. Towards the end of the book, Francie takes up a full-time job, and at first she is regarded as a inexperienced and bad buissiness-woman, she quickly is promoted to a very high position. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is the amazing story of Francie Nolan, her supporting family, and Francie’s life as she grows up.

 Q: What is the last name of the owner of the bar that Johnny used to go to?
A: McGarrity
 

 Q: Which one does Katie prefer: Francie or Neeley?
 A: Neeley

 
 Q: How many children does Katie have?
 A: Three
 

 Q: What is Aunt Sissy’s problem?
 A: That she always gives birth to a stillborn.

Q: What was Johnny’s job before he got fired?
A: A school janitor.

Q: Did Aunt Sissy ever have a baby?
A: She adopted one secretly without telling her husband.
    

Title: The Time Machine
Author: H.G. Wells
Original Language: English
Original Publishing Year: 1895
Setting: This book takes place in London, England. There is no time period given, but part of the book also takes place in 802,710 AD. This part of the book also takes place in London.
Characters: The main character of the book has no actual name, but is called The Time Traveller, by the narrator. He is a scientist and is probably about somewhere between 50-60 years old. He has a group of men who come to his house to listen to his idea, and one of them is the narrator. Later in the book, The Time Traveller encounters people called Eloi and he meets a girl of the Eloi named Weena.

Plot Summary: The Time Traveller had a group of men at his house. He is talking to them about his idea that time, is the fourth dimension. These men are very skeptical of this, so The Time Traveller shows them a very small machine that looks like a clock. It is a mini-time machine and he shows them that it disappeared into thin air after he turned it on. The men are quite amazed, and next, he shows them his real time machine, that he will use, himself. The next day, the men go to The Time Traveller’s house, but he is not there. He arrives and tells the men about his journey on his time machine. For the most part, the rest of the book is about The Time Traveller’s stay in London in the year 802,701 AD. So The Time Traveller arrives and encounters these very frail people, who call themselves Eloi. He explores the place where the Eloi live and returns back to the site of the time machine, but it is no longer there. He sees a statue and thinks that it is in the statue’s pedestal. He tries to open it, but it does not open and he is frustrated. The night comes and he sees these creatures that look like apes; the Eloi call these creatures Morlocks. He discovers that the Morlocks live underground. He next finds a female member of the Eloi drowning; her name is Weena. Weena and The Time Traveller befriend each other, and together they go to where the Morlocks live. They do this to try to get The Time Traveller’s time machine back. Weena and The Time Traveller are chased out of the Morlocks’ “world” by the Morlocks. Very frightened, they travel to the Palace of Green Porcelain. That night, as The Time Traveller is evading the Morlocks, he accidentally starts a fire in a wood. Most of the Morlocks are killed, but Weena dies too. Finally, The Time Traveller goes back to the statue, and the pedestal is already pried open. He quickly fixes the machine before the Morlocks attack him; he gets away and goes further into the future. The Time Traveller continues in the future and makes a few more stops. After this, he returns back into the year he started in, and goes back into the future, once more.

Questions:

1. Q: Who are the Eloi?
A: The Eloi are very small and frail, futuristic people.

2. Q: What is the Time Traveller’s theory?
A: His theory is that there is a Fourth Dimention.

3. Q: What is the name of the girl the Time Traveller befriends?
A: Her name is Weena.

4. Q: What year did the Time Traveller travel to?
A: 802,701 AD.

5. Q: What was the Time Traveller’s problem when he wanted to leave the Eloi?
A: His machine dissappeared and he could not locate it.

Maria Emily Lovett
English A, Karp

Title: The Hound of Baskervilles
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Original Language: English
Original Publishing Year: 1902

Main Characters:
Sherlock Holmes: A detective with amazing deduction skills.

Watson: Sherlock Holmes’ assistant. He goes with Sir Henry to Devonshire.

Sir Charles Baskerville: The old Barron of Baskerville Hall. He recently died in the moor by his house.

Sir Henry Baskerville: Sir Charles’ Heir to Baskerville Hall.

Mr. and Ms. Barrymore: The butler and Maid of Baskerville hall.

Dr. Mortimer: A doctor and good friend of Sir Charles. He acquires Sherlock Holmes in order to solve the Mystery behind Sir Charles’ death.

Mr. and Mrs. Stapleton: A brother and sister, who live in Devonshire.
The Hound of Baskerville: The Baskerville family curse, which was started by Hugo Baskerville when he kidnapped a women. The hound is a hellish monster the haunts the Moor.

Setting: Late 19th Century, London, and Devonshire

When Dr. Mortimer’s good friend, Sir Charles Baskerville, is found dead in the moor, he goes to London to acquires the help of Sherlock. He explains to Sherlock Holmes that a ghost hound has always haunted the Baskerville family ever since the mistakes of Hugo Baskerville, who imprisoned a woman. Dr. Mortimer also mentions that the death of Sir Charles was caused by shock and near his dead body there were the footprints of a massive hound. Although he explains this situation to Homes, he does not ask him to solve the case, but instead wonders what he should do with the new heir, Sir Henry. Holmes becomes intrigued by the case tells Dr. Mortimer to take Sir Henry to Baskerville Hall. He also asks Watson to accompany them and to always stay with and guard Sir Henry. When they reach Devonshire, they meet several suspects, Mr. and Mrs. Barrymore and Mr. and Ms. Stapleton. They also learn that a recently escaped convict is hiding in the area. After events unfold, Watson notices several suspicious actions. Barrymore always carries a light to the window at night and leaves the house, Mr. Stapleton gets very upset when his sister is with Sir Henry, and long howl is often heard from the moor. Eventually, Watson and Sir Henry follow Barrymore and learn from his wife that the escaped convict is her brother. They were helping him hide and brought food to him every night after signaling him with a light from the window. They also learn of another suspect who lives within the moor. Later, Barrymore tells them about a letter, which he found partially burned in the fireplace. The letter told Sir Charles to meet L. Lyons on moor at the time of his death. Watson later learns that the writer of the letter was Laura Lyons, a friend of Sir Charles. After learning this, Watson visits Laura. She tells him that the other man living in the moor is Sherlock Holmes. He meets with Holmes. Holmes tells him that the murderer is Mr. Stapleton, who actually is another Baskerville. Stapleton wanted to murder Sir Henry with a vicious hound in order to gain his rightful ownership to Baskerville Hall and to make it seem like the Hound of Baskerville kill him. .At the end of the book Stapleton tries to kill Sir Henry, but fails. Once again, Sherlock Holmes solves the case!

1. Q: Who introduces the murder to Sherlock Holmes?
A: Dr. Mortimer

2. Q: What item did Holms’ and Watson’s early visitor leave?
A. A Cane

3. Q: How many Boots were stolen form Sir Henry?
A: 2

4: Q: What was the real relationship between Mr. and Ms. Stapleton?
A: They were married

5. Q: Who was the owner of the hound that scared Sir Charles and almost killed Sir Henry?
A: Mr. Stapleton

The Three Musketeers

Author: Alexandre Dumas
Original Language: French
Original Pub. Date: 1844

Setting: The book is set in the early 17th century and takes place in England and France, mostly Paris and London.

Main Characters: d’Artagnan, the main character, is a young Frenchman who wishes to serve the King in the musketeers. He meets three friends: Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, who are all King’s musketeers. M. de Treville is the captain of the King’s musketeers. The Queen of France, Cardinal Richelieu of France (who has two main henchman and a host of guards), and the Duke of Buckingham, who is having an affair with the queen, are all also main characters.

D’Artagnan, a young Gascon, sets out from his home with a letter of introduction to find M. de Treville, the captain of the King’s musketeers in Paris, and enlist in the musketeers, who act as soldiers and guards for the King of France. The Cardinal de Richelieu also has his own guards patrolling Paris, and both groups regularly duel in the street. On his way, d’Artagnan has a mishap with a stranger, who steals his letter of introduction. D’Artagnan is crestfallen, but continues on to Paris. While in the office of M. de Treville, d’Artagnan accidentally offends three other musketeers, who each challenge him to a duel on the same day. This does not work out, and the four men quickly become friends after many duels with the Cardinal’s guards. In Paris, d’Artagnan meets and falls in love with a seamstress who works for the Queen of France. While d’Artagnan is trying to get close to her, he learns of her kidnapping. This tumbles him up in a secret meeting between the Queen and the Duke of Buckingham, her lover. The Cardinal hears about this, and d’Artagnan is set out on a mission back to London to get rid of any evidence of the love affair before the Cardinal can prove it and destroy the Queen’s honor. He completes his quest, and gains a place in another troupe of guards. He meets Milady DeWinter, the Cardinal’s right-hand seductress/spy, and tricks her into giving him information. D’Artagnan and his friends follow the king to the siege of a French town called La Rochelle, one of the last Protestant strongholds. While here, Milady makes many attempts on d’Artagnan’s life, and she sets out to England to assassinate the Duke of Buckingham. She is successful, and returns to a convent in France, where d’Artagnan’s lover also happens to be. She is killed by Milady. The four friends track Milady to a riverside cottage, where they kill her for all of the awful deeds she has done. D’Artagnan and his friends are commended for doing this, and D’Artagnan receives the rank of lieutenant in the musketeers. His friends all retire and pursue their separate interests.

Questions:

1. What part of France is d’Artagnan from?
A: Gascony

2. What is another name that Milady DeWinter goes by?
A: The comtesse de La Fere

3.What is the name of d’Artagnan’s lackey (servant)?
A: Planchet

4. What is the Queen’s real name?
A: Anne d’Autriche

5. What is Aramis’ life ambitions?
A: To be more involved in religion

Title: Call of the Wild
Author: Jack London
Original Language: English
Setting: Santa Clara Valley, Yukon, Northern Canada and Alaska. Takes place during the gold rush of the Yukon

Characters: Buck, the main character and the only one who is consistent throughout the book; Judge Miller, Buck’s original owner; The man in the red sweater, a character with a small part who is incredibly important because he brings Buck into the reality of vicious life; Perrault, a Canadian government worker who buys buck for a dog sled team; Francois, his helper; Buck also passes through the hands o many other owners until he gets to John Thornton; John Thornton is a benevolent dog owner who owns Buck for a long time and is wonderful until his death.

Plot summary: Buck is a dog living the good life in the Santa Clara Valley at Judge Miller’s house when he is kidnapped by one of his master’s gardeners. The man sells him to another man who brings him to the man in the red sweater. The man in the red sweater gives Buck a violent beating that puts him in his place and teaches him that no matter what he will always be beaten by man. Buck is then sold to a man named Perrault who recognizes him as an incredible dog and treats him well. Buck joins several other dogs on the team and then they go on to take government dispatches around Canada. Buck strikes up a rivalry with a vicious dog named Spitz whom he eventually fights, with Buck emerging as the winner. Buck Travels for months passing through the hands of several owners who treat him fine until he is sold to a group of 3. This group consisting of a woman named Mercedes, her brother, and her husband are entirely incompetent and know nothing of how to treat dogs. To make matters worse, the team has just set a record and is entirely exhausted. The group entirely overloads the sled, makes it top-heavy and fails to give the dogs rest. When they finally make it on the trail, they over-feed the dogs, which means that they end up under-feeding them later. The dogs start dieing from exhaustion and starvation until only a few are left. They get to the camp of a man named John Thornton who is a gold prospector who got frostbite and had to wait all winter until his partners came back to get him with the spring thaw. They stop in the camp and when they try and go again buck refuses to get up. They whip him then beat him then beat him more until John Thornton intervenes. He tells them that it is clear that he is unable to go on. What’s more is that there is no way that they will be able to cross the ice with the team and all their gear. The family ignores him but finally decide that buck is useless and leave him. They go off and promptly fall into the water, sled and all and are never seen again. John Thornton nurses buck back to health and they develop a good relationship. Buck eventually grows to worship him like a god and is willing to do anything for him. When John’s partners rescue them they go to travel down the river. During this journey, Buck saves John’s life. John gets stuck in the water but buck jumps out and saves him. When they get to a town men in the bar are boasting about their dogs and John says that buck could pull a thousand pounds. He is forced to place a bet on it and, amazingly, buck manages it. This provides a lot of funding for their journey and they are able to go on their way. They team goes in search of a lost gold mine but instead find a stream that is entirely saturated with gold. They stay their getting rich. While the prospectors are stocking up on gold, Buck has a lot of free time. He begins to experience a tug at his heart the London calls “The call of the wild.” It is first introduced to buck through an encounter with a wild wolf. The call gets stronger and eventually leads buck to hunt and kill a moose. When he gets back to camp he finds it taken over by Indians who have killed all three prospectors. Buck, realizing that they have killed his beloved John Thornton, attacks them with no thought for his own safety he kills several and wounds several more before they retreat. After confirming John’s death, Buck realizes that there is nothing left to tie him to man and becomes the wild leader of the wolf pack.

Questions:

Q: What type of death does Buck save John Thornton from?
A: Drowning

Q: What occupation does John Thornton have?
A: Gold Prospector

Q: What agency does Perrault work for?
A: the Canadian government

Q: What type of breed is Buck?
A: A Saint Bernard (his father) and Scotch shepherd (his mother) Mix

Q: What occupation does buck fill throughout the book?
A: He is a dog in a dog sled team.

Q: What type of weather do they work under?
A: Usually sub-zero temperatures and snow.

Title: Our Town
Author: Thornton Wilder
Original Language: English
Originally Published in: 1938*
Setting: A small town, Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire from 1901-1913

Characters: Stage Manager- a man who is distant from the town but still knows everyone’s business and life. Not only does he break through the fourth wall, constantly communicating with the audience, but he also has relationships with the members of Grover’s Corners. He is the narrator for the play. Mrs. Webb- a woman in the town. She is the mother of Emily Webb- a young girl who grows up during the course of the play. She goes from being in high school, to getting married. Emily’s father, Mr. Charles Webb- is the editor of the town’s newspaper. Mrs. Gibbs- is another woman in town. She is the mother of a boy named George Gibbs. George also grows as the play progresses. He is the same age as Emily. George’s father, Dr. Frank Gibbs- is the doctor in the small New Hampshire town. He is a serious man. He takes care of his family, but being the only doctor in town he is often very busy. There are many other characters but the plot line mainly revolves around these two families.

Plot Summary: Act one; entitled “Daily Life” begins with the Stage Manager on an empty stage. He begins to set up the stage and talks with the audience. After a conversation and a brief tour of the town, people begin to enter and have regular conversations. The audience goes unnoticed to everyone, except the Stage Manager. Reflecting the title, the audience views the regular, normal, everyday, daily life of the citizens of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire. The year is 1901. After the audience gets a good idea of life in the small town, and understands the gossip, the curtain closes. Act two, “ Love and Marriage”, takes place in 1904. Everyone has aged by three years. There have been births and deaths. The most important, main focus of this act is when George and Emily get married. George and Emily reflect on their past and are stressed, and also very excited to be married. George confesses that he does not want to be married but he loves Emily. They discussed their future and decided to still get married. The Curtain closes again and then opens. This time, act three, nine years have passed, and it is the year 1913. The stage is set up with chairs and the people on them are dead. Many of the people died old, but soon Emily joins. She just died in childbirth. Although many of the dead people warn Emily not to, she finds out that she is able to relive parts of her life. Emily sees George at her grave crying and wants to tell him to live life. This play summarizes life in three simple acts. Each act portrays a different stage in life and depicts it through the lifestyles of each member in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire.

*-This is a play and therefore the original date is the date in which it was first performed

Q When and where do Emily and George discover that they love each other?
A Junior year of high school at an ice cream parlor.

Q What is Emily’s epiphany after she dies?
A “Doesn’t anyone ever realize life while they live it? Every, every minute?”

Q Who is Rebecca?
A George’s little sister

Q What type of day does Mrs. Gibbs suggest for Emily to relive?
A An insignificant one

Q How many years pass between acts?
A Three between the first and second. Nine between the second and third.

Title: Fahrenheit 451
Author: Ray Bradbury
Original Language: English
Original Publication Date: 1953

Setting: This story takes place in the future in a big city in America.

Main Characters: The main character is Guy Montag, someone who burns books for a living. His antagonists include the chief fireman, Beatty; his wife, Matilda who Guy feels he has lost connection with and Clarisse, someone who is very different from the rest of the community.

Plot Summary: In a future where ignorance is definitely bliss, in an anti-intellectual world, Guy Montag is a fireman, book burner, until on his way home from work he meets a mysterious girl, Clarisse. This girl is extraordinarily different from everyone else in the city. She has a thirst for knowledge, and unlike everyone else, stops to smell the flowers, taste the rain and get a sense of the world. When Guy meets her, all of the trouble begins as he starts questioning burning books and why knowledge is such a bad idea. He does not show up for work after stealing books to read. As he lies in bed creating for himself a bigger need to know what is inside the books, his fire-captain comes over to visit him. Sensing that Guy is starting to think that burning books is an extremely bad idea, he attempts to convince Guy that there is nothing in books that people need to know and that every fireman at one point in his life wants to know what is inside books, but Guy will get over it soon. Guy remembers a former professor, Farber and senses that Farber might be able to help him out with the anxiety and troubles he is facing. Farber can indeed and together they plot to learn more about the world. Guy is reported for owning books and immediately chased away from the city. He is able to hide until he runs into men who also find his need to know more. Watching the innocent city that he resided in what seems like years ago burn down, Montag finds that these men have all memorized parts of books hoping to save what was unnecessarily taken from them. They realize that since the city is burning down, they will need to start a new one.

5 Questions:
What is a parlor?
A room with a brainwashing TV on three screens.

What is the duty of a fireman?
To burn illegal books.

What subject is Farber a former professor of?
English.

In what century does this story take place?
21st

What poem does Guy Montag read to his wife, Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowels?
“Dover Beach”

Title: Les Miserables
Author: Victor Hugo
Original Language: French
Originally Published in: 1862
Setting: Montfermeil, Montreuil-sur-Mer, and Paris – all located in France.
Characters: Jean Valjean, Cosette, Marius Pontmercy, Fantine, Javert, Enjolras, Thenardiers (and Eponine)

Plot Summary: Ex-convict, Jean Valjean, who has been imprisoned in Toulon for nineteen after stealing a loaf of bread and attempting numerous escapes, visits the diocese of Digne as an outcast. Spending the night at the house of the diocese’s bishop, Valjean tries to steal the household’s silverware, and being caught by the police, is not taken into arrest but given a second chance and a pair of silver candlesticks by the bishop. Valjean undergoes a personal transformation and moves to the town of Montreuil-sur-Mer, were he opens up an incredibly successful factory, betters the lives of everyone within the vicinity, and eventually becomes the major. Meanwhile, a poor grisette (working-class French woman), Fantine, with a father-less child, Cosette, is employed at Valjean’s factory with her daughter in the care of two unscrupulous innkeepers – the Thenardiers. As one of the other workers at the factory discovers that Fantine had a child out of wedlock, she is fired. Unable to pay the enormous funds the Thenardiers ask of her for her child’s care without her job at the factory, Fantine ends up selling her two front teeth and most of her hair, eventually stooping to prostitution to keep her child from being tossed out into the streets. When a man puts snow down her back one winter and Fantine attacks him, she is arrested by Javert, a policeman who has been tracking Valjean for years (as he committed several other petty crimes before completely reforming to morally correct ways). Valjean – who is major under the name Medeleine – believes Fantine’s story about her child and the Thenardiers, and he excuses Javert from his post. All is well, until Fantine develops tuberculosis and another man, named Champmathieu is arrested as Jean Valjean. Unable to continue to live as major while another man is jailed under his name, Valjean turns himself in, promising Fantine, on her deathbed, that he will find and raise her daughter. Fantine dies and Valjean is arrested, until years later, by chance, he survives an accident but is presumed dead. Using this opportunity to travel to Paris and retrieve Cosette from the Thenardiers, the two live happily in Paris, first at a convent where Cosette receives an education, and later in several different households around the city – reserved from society as much as possible to reduce the risk of running into Javert or anyone else who would recognize Valjean - until Cosette is in her mid-teens. It is then that Cosette falls in love with a young revolutionist, named Marius Pontmercy, gazing at each other in the city’s garden, Luxembourg. They later exchange vows unbeknownst to Valjean, and Marius asks his grandfather for permission to marry as Cosette tells him that Valjean wants them to move to London. His grandfather, having a turbulent relationship Marius, does not offer his blessings upon the marriage. Believing that Marius will never see Cosette again, as he cannot marry her and cannot follow her to London, he joins the revolutionaries, who are setting barricades and fighting the Nation Guard. Jean Valjean also joins the fray, and is offered a chance to execute Javert – who is caught spying on the revolutionaries for the police. Jean Valjean spares him, however, and attempts to carry Marius – who was brutally wounded during the battle – to his grandfather’s house via the sewers of Paris. Javert catches and arrests him, though he allows Valjean to return Marius to his grandfather. However, Javert finds that he cannot arrest Valjean, because doing so would truly be immoral – as he owed Valjean his life. Thus, being unable to live as a breaker of legal laws, though he would be holding his own moral rules, Javert commits suicide. Marius’ grandfather has a change of heart, rediscovering his affections for his grandson, and allows him to marry Cosette. The two wed, and after several issues concerning Jean Valjean’s identity (being unable to live in the household of his son-in-law and daughter as a liar, he divulges his secret to Marius, who – for some period of time – decides to restrict his access to Cosette) he dies of old age and the book comes to an end.

Q: How does Jean Valjean die?
A: Of old age.

Q: Does Marius ever kiss Eponine? Does Cosette find out?
A: Yes, Marius kisses Eponine’s forehead after she dies. No, Cosette never finds out.

Q: What does “les miserables” (the title) refer to?
A: The poorest of the poor, those who truly have nothing. (The phrase is used in a comparison between those who are extremely poor, but have some substance and those who are the “les miserables”, those who can be found truly starving, huddled in the darkness on the verge of oblivion.)

Q: Who kills Javert?
A: Javert commits suicide.

Q: Who wrote the lyrics to the musical that is based on Les Miserables?
A: Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil

Your character descriptions could have used a little more details, letting the readers know that Jo is a Tom-boy, Beth is gentle, Meg is motherly, and Amy is hot-tempered, for example.
Little Women:
Louisa May Alcott
English
Originally Published in: 1868
Setting: Boston Massachusetts. American Civil War.
Characters: The four protagonists are Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March. In the beginning of the book, vain Meg is sixteen, tom-boyish Jo is fifteen, sweet, kind Beth is thirteen, and hot-tempered and spoiled Amy is twelve. They live with their mother, Mrs. March, and cook, Hannah; their father is away, working for the war. There is also next-door neighbor Mr. Laurence, his grandson Theodore, who likes to be called Laurie, and the four girl’s old Aunt March.
Plot Summary: Christmas is coming and the Meg, Jo, and Amy are complaining about how it is no fun to be poor and that they wish they could have presents. All four girls decide to get presents for their mother because they each have a little money. When Christmas comes but they give their Christmas breakfast to a poor family. Their kind-hearted neighbor hears of this act and sends them a wonderful lunch. They meet Laurie and soon become good friends with him. The four girls and Laurie learn many lessons as they get through the year. One day Laurie takes the March girls and some of his friends from England to a picnic where Meg meets Laurie’s tutor Mr. Brooke. Shortly after that the Marches receive a telegram saying that Mr. March is ill and Mrs. March should come at once. While she is gone, the four sister try very hard to do all their mother’s work. However, only Beth continues to visit the poor family, the Hummels, and she catches scarlet fever from one of the sick children. She gets much worse and Mrs. March is called to return to her when Mr. March is recovering. Finally, Beth is well again, but she is weakened for life. Three years later, and beginning the second section of the book, Meg and Mr. Brooke get married and later have twins. Jo began writing and made a good amount of money for the family, including Mr. March who returned. Soon Amy goes around the world with Aunt March to expand her artistic talent. Jo discovers that Laurie loves her and she goes to work in New York to protect them both from each other’s quick tempers if they got married. This breaks Laurie’s heart and he goes to Europe where he gets over Jo and meets Amy, who was there at the time. They later fall in love and get married. In New York, Jo meets Mr. Bhaer, a German man, whom she admires and finally marries. Sadly, Beth dies from being so weak, but her family is glad that she will no longer suffer.
Questions and Answers:
Q: What are Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy, and Laurie’s actual names. (Their first names)
A: Margaret, Josephine, Elizabeth, Amelia, and Theodore
Q: Why did Amy go with Aunt March as opposed to Jo?
A: Jo said things, which made Aunt March not want to take her.
Q: What is Mr. Brooke’s first name?
A: John
Q: What did the March girls decide to do in the very beginning of the story that they continued, both consciously and unconsciously, to do throughout the whole book?
A: Play Pilgrims
Q: Why does Laurie like to be called Laurie instead of Theodore?
A: People call him Teddy, which he does not like.

Matthew Barton
April 16, 2008
English B
Karp

Library Classics Assignment

Title: Rebecca
Author: Daphne Du Maurier
Original Language: English
Original Publishing Date: 1938
Setting: Begins in Monte Carlo, most of the action takes place at Manderley, an estate in the English country side, some of the action takes place in London, probably in Victorian times.

Characters:
The Heroine: Is the main character. She remains nameless throughout the book, but is referred to as Mrs. De Winter. She is shy and in the beginning of the story lower class. She is the narrator and protagonist
Maxim De Winter: Older cultured and proper Englishman. Owner of Manderley. Very mysterious and a widower. He is currently married to the second Mrs. De Winter
Rebecca: The late Mrs. De Winter and former mistress of Manderley. Current ghost of Manderley
Mrs. Danvers: Sinister housekeeper of Manderley, fiercely devoted to the late Rebecca
Jack Favell: Rebecca’s cousin, alcoholic, Rebecca’s lover
Frank Crawley: Maxim’s kind, loyal overseer, good friend and mentor to the heroine
Beatrice: Maxim’s sister
Giles: Beatrice’s husband
Mrs. Van Hopper: former employer of heroine. Quite the fashionista
Ben: retarded man who lives in the boathouse on the beach. He knows and sees a lot and befriends the heroine
Frith: kind butler
Clarice: maid
Jasper: the dog

Plot Summary:
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier is a riveting and suspenseful love story that you will not be able to put down. Through the imagery and darkness of the book, the story will stick in the readers mind forever.
The story is told from the point of view of a nameless heroine. Throughout the book the reader never discovers her name. In the beginning of the book, the narrator is in a hotel room with her husband and she begins the book with the line: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…” She tells that she and her husband are traveling from place to place in Europe since Manderley does not exist anymore. The real story begins with the heroine and Mrs. Van Hopper at a fancy ball where they meet Maxim De Winter in Monte Carlo. The heroine is a companion to Mrs. Van Hopper. Maxim Proposes marriage to her and takes her to Manderley. A dark cloud lies over Manderley since Rebecca, the perfect woman and wife, died a year earlier. Everyone loved her, which makes the heroine feel uneasy. She feels that she can never be the Mrs. De Winter Rebecca was. Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, makes matters worse for the new Mrs. De Winter. Mrs. Danvers was very loyal to Rebecca and would not let anyone replace her. Maxim holds the Annual Grande Costume Ball, and Mrs. Danvers tells the heroine what to wear. This turns out to be a disaster. This was the same costume Rebecca wore to her last costume ball. The Heroine feels that Maxim does not love her anymore and Mrs. Danvers almost convinces her to kill herself, but this evil act is interrupted by discovery of a ship sinking. This leads to finding Rebecca’s boat. They find her body locked in a cabin—NOT SUICIDE!? Maxim tells her the truth that Rebecca was evil and had affairs with many men including her cousin Jack Favell. Maxim asks Rebecca for a divorce and she says no, but she says that she is pregnant with Jack’s child. Mazim shoots her and puts her in a boat and makes holes and it sinks. The heroine’s marriage is saved by this epiphany, but Maxim is in danger of prison. Part of this investigation of Maxim leads to them visiting Dr. Baker in London, the same doctor that saw Rebecca the day she died. It turns out that she was not pregnant and in fact had cancer, which provided her motive for her suicide. She actually wanted Maxim to kill her, but Maxim was off the hook. The heroine and Maxim drive home to Manderley, a bit awestruck and get a call that Mrs. Danvers is missing. They drive up to the house and the house is in flames.

Questions and Answers:
1. What famous filmmaker made a movie version of Rebecca?
Alfred Hitchcock
2. What is the name of the doctor Rebecca saw in London the day she died?
Dr. Baker
3. What was the name of the heroine’s favorite dog at Manderley and what type of dog was he?
Jasper, the spaniel.
4. What does Ravel call Mrs. Danvers?
Danny
5. What is the name of he valley on the Manderley property that has a stream running through a bed of azaleas and opens up to the beach?
The Happy Valley

Title: The Time Machine
Author: H.G. Wells
Original Language: English
Original Published in: 1895
Setting: England, near the Thames River, possibly 1895. The future. 30,000,00 years in the future.
Characters: The main character goes by the Time Traveler; he creates a machine to go through time. Weena is an Eloi, who he meets in the future.

Plot Summary:
The time traveler sits around a table with few men. He explains he has created a machine to travel through time. One week later, these men join him for dinner. He had arrived late, looking disheveled and hungry from his last expedition. He explains he had been to the year 802,701. As he landed on this planet, he noticed the inhabitants watching him. These creatures had large eyes, curly hair, and thin red lips. He also noticed no differentiating signs between genders. These people accept him, give him fruit and show him around. Later that day he returns to the spot where he landed, but the machine was not there. He believed the creatures were too small and weak to take this machine elsewhere. As he thought, he rescued a Creature named Weena. As the story went on they began to have a romantic relationship. On his fourth morning, as he woke up, he found two big eyes staring him in the face. He finds this “thing” to look like an ape. As he begins to study him more, the “thing” runs down a well to an underground society. He later learns this creature from underground was a Morlock and the people above ground are Eloi. Later on he wants to learn more so he goes down a well, but is attacked by Morlocks. He nearly escaped using his matches to ward them off. While sleeping the Morlocks attacked him and brought him to the pedestal of a giant white sphinx, where he found his time machine to be. The Morlocks attacked him, but the Time Traveler nearly escaped to the future. As he skipped through time, the sun became redder and bigger. He was then attacked by a giant crab. Then he traveled 30,000,000 years into the future. The only life he found was a giant black blob with tentacles. He finally traveled back to his time. He told the dinner guests this story, but they did not believe him. He promised to make another expedition in the light of day and to bring back evidence. This promise was broken and the Time Traveler never came back.

What is the name of the Eloi he encounters?
Answer: Weena

What is the name of the underground society?
Answer: The Morlocks

When he landed in the future, what did the Eloi give the Time Traveler to eat?
Answer: A strange fruit

What is H.G. Wells real name?
Herbert George Wells

Title: The Wind in the Willows
Author: Kenneth Grahame
Original Language: English
Originally Published: 1908
Setting: The Wild Wood, The memory of Kenneth Grahme’s Childhood
Characters: The main character is Toad, a wealthy, and hubris toad. Toad is never satisfied with one thing so he always tries something different. Mole was a kind soul. He had always been burrowing under ground and when summer came around the corner he came out from the earth. Water Rat, a clever yet kind rat, was the first person Mole met. Badger had a fondness for children all though it never really showed. Badger seemed to always be stubborn and strict yet he was the balance of: Toad, Mole, Water Rat, and himself.

Plot Summary: It was just the start of summer and the grass was green and the flowers were blooming and Mole was in his home busily cleaning and scouring his house. Mole then decided to seize the wonderful day before it could end so he jumped out of his hole and began to merrily stroll. After a while of walking around Mole ran into Water Rat. Mole and Water Rat introduced themselves and decided to take a float on Rat’s boat. After traveling down the glistening water that flowed in the river. Rat and mole decided to sit down and have lunch. After talking for a while Mole had heard a lot about Toad and he wanted to meet him. So after many wonderful days with Rat they decided to go visit Toad at toad hall. Everybody seemed to be very fond of toad because he was a gentle, yet arrogant soul. Rat had explained to Mole about Toads many scattered interests, and how he could never be satisfied with one thing. So one day after meeting Toad, Toad decided to take a drive in someone’s motorcar. Toad didn’t seem to want to give up the motorcar. The people who owned the car noticed it wasn’t there and called the police. Sad and lonely toad was then locked up in a cell. While Toad was in jail Mole and Water Rat met Badger, a very interesting badger with many depths in his personality, some angry, sad, happy, caring, and stubborn. There was one girl who really liked Toad at the Jail, but her father didn’t approve of her being kind to him. Even though she wasn’t allowed to help Toad she let him escape by dressing up like her aunt, who was a washerwoman. After leaving the jail Toad ran into a train driver who was kind to him, a different washerwoman who was very mean, and a gypsy who exchanged money for Toad’s horse that he stole from the washerwoman. Finally Toad arrived back to Toad hall, but heard the grave news that little animals from the Wild Woods took over his house. Even though his friends were very angry with him, they worked together to win Toad Hall back. Finally after fighting all the little animals off Toad got his home back. Rat and Badger decided to make a party for Toad and his hall so they invited everybody they knew. Toad usually liked to read speeches about himself and sing songs about himself all because of his arrogance and hubris. So his three friends decided to tell Toad that he should be more modest at the party and he wasn’t allowed to sing songs or make speeches. Even though Toad was sad he behaved very well and listened to his friends. After their many ups and downs and adventures they all became well known through their home, and parents of young children would tell them about the Great Mr. Toad, the Gallant Water Rat, the Famous Mole, and the terrible grey badger who cared little about society, yet he was very fond of children.

Questions:

How did Toad change over the course of the book?

In the beginning Toad always boasted about himself and embelished any tale he told. With the help of his friends Toad became very modest, but he still had the same liveliness that he had before.

Do you think this book can be enjoyed by both adults and children?

Yes, I do because it is very magical and enjoyable for children, but it has sophisticated vocabulary and depth in the story for the grownups to enjoy.

Why did Kenneth Grahame write this book?

He wrote this book because he thouroughly enjoyed his magical childhood and he wanted to create a book of imagination so people could enjoy his imagination and childhood as much as he did.

Why was Badger an important character?

He was an important character because he held all the characters together and he was like the links between everybody because he understood everyone, he was a very paternal figure.

Was Toad treated fairly by his friends?

I think he was treated fairly because he wasn’t very considerate of his friends and his hubris overwhelmed him and made him forget about everyone else.

Josh Wasserman
4/16/08
English A

Title: The Killer Angels
Author: Michael Shaara
Original language: English
Original Publication: 1974
Setting: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Virginia.
Characters: General Robert E. Lee is one of the many brave men that fought for the confederate army. James Longstreet, one of the most important men in all of the civil war for his decisions and loyalty to Lee. Joshua L. Chamberlain, an officer in the union army who had enough moral strength to believe until the end that they would win. And finally John Buford, another officer who was sadly never awarded for his major part in the war.

Plot Summary: June 29, 1863, the Union Army and the Confederate Army are closing in on the small town of Gettysburg. Even at this time both sides knew this would be a defining moment in the war. The Union was only holding on by a string while the Confederates were one away from winning the war. Michael Shaara Gives the reader a soldier’s prospective through the whole entire battle whether it is Robert E. Lee or Joshua L. Chamberlain. When the armies meet they take over the town and fight for their cause. Many people die in this event, which cause the Confederates to retreat back to the south and become less of a threat. The importance of this fight for this war and for our nation is extremely important. Winning this battle let the Union have some hope for winning. In the end they win.

Q: Who is the winner of the battle?
A: The Union

Q: who wins the war?
A: The Union

Q: Where is Gettysburg?
A: Pennsylvania

Q: Is Joshua Chamberlain an Officer or general?
A: Officer

Title: Rebecca
Author: Daphne Du Maurier
Original Language: English
Originally Published in: 1938 in the United Kingdom
Setting: Originally Monte Carlo, but then Manderly (located on the English coast) for the remainder of the book as well as one trip to London, England. Though this is vaguely mentioned, it seems that it takes place in the same time period as when the book itself was being written (1938).
Characters: The protagonist is actually an unnamed narrator who eventually becomes known as Mrs. De Winter, who is a shy young woman searching for passion in what felt like an empty world. She marries a man named Mr. Maxim De Winter, who at is an extremely wealthy older man who owns a mansion known as Manderly located on the English Coast. However, he is a widower. His now dead wife named Rebecca was a stunning and once greatly admired woman, whose spirits still haunts Manderly and the new Mrs. De Winter’s conscious. Another character is their housekeeper Mrs. Danvers, whose loyalty to Rebecca remained firm even after Rebecca’s death. Mr. Jack Favell was Rebecca’s proud cousin who used alcohol to release himself from the stress of his life. Mr. Frank Crawley, who is a faithful friend to Maxim, quickly embraced and befriended Mrs. De Winter. Beatrice, Maxim’s sister, is an affable woman who has a distinct love for horses. Frith, the butler at Manderly, worked closely with Clarice, the protagonist’s maid. Colonel Julyan, the local magistrate, becomes extremely important in the book late in the plot, as does Baker, a London Doctor who treated Rebecca the day of her death. And the final character is the De Winter’s devoted spaniel named Jasper who seems to be the only character who shows great affection for both Mrs. De Winter and Rebecca.
Plot Summary: The book begins when our unknown narrator is in Monte Carlo, traveling on the job with her wealthy American employer, Mrs. Van Hopper. Here, she met Mr. Maxim De Winter, who was staying in the same hotel. The two immediately fell in love and began taking pointlessly spectacular drives together. After only a few weeks, Maxim proposed to our unknown narrator, who accepts with pleasure despite the warnings not to by her employer. Maxim whisked Mrs. De Winter off to his estate of Manderly where many unspoken mysteries began to reveal themselves. A year before, Maxim was married to a woman named Rebecca, who drowned in a cove near Manderly and her spirit continued to lurk throughout the halls of the estate. Mrs. De Winter became increasingly jealous of Rebecca, who was described to her by Rebecca’s still-faithful housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers. Rebecca was supposedly this extraordinary woman with absolutely breath-taking looks. However, Frank Crawley and Maxim’s sister, Beatrice became close to Mrs. De Winter and embraced her as their new friend. Feeling outdone by Rebecca, Mrs. De Winter pondered that Maxim was still in love with his former dead wife. Soon, the two host their annual costume ball at Manderly. But, as expected, disaster strikes and Mrs. De Winter is left without a dress so she is forced to wear one suggest to her by Mrs. Danvers. However, unknown to her, this was the dress that Rebecca had worn the previous year, which greatly upset and infuriated Maxim and convinced Mrs. De Winter that his love for Rebecca was still quite strong. The next day, Mrs. Danvers nags Mrs. De Winter about Rebecca’s marvelous charm. Fed up and confused, Mrs. De Winter bolts from the house and begins to run towards the same cove where Rebecca drowned. It is here that she found the remains of Rebecca’s ship as well as her body, which had washed ashore. Frightened, she returned home and confronted Maxim about what she found. It is then that Maxim was forced to reveal the truth about Rebecca: Rebecca, a cruel and malevolent woman, lived a secretive life where she had multiple affairs, including one with her cousin, Jack Favell. Maxim immediately demanded a divorce from her when he found out but she refused and told him that she was pregnant with Favell’s child. Enraged, Maxim shot her and sailed her out to the harbor to let her boat sink. Hearing this, Mrs. De Winter is rejuvenated and releases herself from Rebecca’s burden. Since Rebecca’s body was found, there was a trial about how she died and it was concluded that Rebecca’s death was suicide. However, Favell was certain that Maxim murdered her and pursued his theory, which he reported to Colonel Julyan. The two investigate to find that Rebecca went up to London to see Doctor Baker on the day of her death. Paying the Doctor a visit, Favell expects him to admit her pregnancy when in fact he explains hat Rebecca was dying of cancer and was infertile, meaning that she had previously lied to Maxim. This terminal illness was a motive for Rebecca’s alleged suicide, sparing Maxim from a painful confession. Mrs. De Winter and Maxim take a long drive back to Manderly and learn that Mrs. Danvers disappeared. As they near home, they find the mansion to be in flames, causing yet another problem for the couple when they finally thought they were relieved of stress. As the flames from the last place they could call home began to rise, the couple blankly stood there as the book comes to an end.
Questions (5):
Q: Which two characters still remain faithful to Rebecca at the end of the book?
A: Favell and Mrs. Danvers
Q: Why did Rebecca visit Doctor Baker?
A: Because she was dying of cancer, which means she was infertile.
Q: What did Mrs. De Winter do to upset Maxim at the costume ball?
A: She wore Rebecca’s old dress.
Q: In what location did Maxim and the future Mrs. De Winter meet?
A: Monte Carlo.
Q: What lie did Rebecca tell to really infuriate Maxim and partially contribute to why he killed her?
A: Rebecca said she was pregnant with Jack Favell’s baby, which was false as she had terminal cancer and was infertile.

This is an example of the assignment of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, based on a former entry from a student:

Title: A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
Original Language: English
Originally Published in: 1843
Setting: London, England. Victorian England: Christmas Present, Christmas Past, and Christmas Future.
Characters: The main character’s name is Ebenezer Scrooge, just known as Scrooge. Scrooge is a grumpy man who lives by himself and with no Christmas spirit. Tiny Tim, a little boy who is a cripple and would probably die without proper care or monetary support, is also an important character. Jacob Marley is Scrooge’s business partner who died years ago. Bob Cratcit is Scrooge’s clerk. There are also the three Christmas Ghosts.

Plot Summary: On Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy banker who despises the holiday cheers and anyone who is poor, receives a visit from the ghost of Jacob Marley, who was Scrooge’s partner before he died seven years ago. Marley was very greedy during his lifetime but he does not want Scrooge to turn out like he did so he comes to tell him that Scrooge will be visited by three spirits: The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present, and The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The three Ghosts show Scrooge his past, present, and future Christmases, and try to make him less greedy and more giving. One of the places/times he visits is his impoverished clerk Bob Cratchit’s house. There he sees Cratchit’s youngest son, Tiny Tim, a crippled boy with a generous loving heart. Even though the family has little, they have a lot of love and care for each other. Tiny Tim’s famous line is “God bless us, every one.” This scene of a poor family that maintains so much love and care for the world really touches Scrooge’s cold heart. Seeing his own funeral where no one will mourn his death also greatly affects him. In the end the Ghosts succeed in changing Scrooge and turning him into a loving, giving man with Christmas spirit.
Questions and Answers:

Q: What is Scrooge’s most famous quote when people wish him Merry Christmas at the beginning of the story?
A: Bah! Humbug.

Q: Who is Jacob Marley?
A: Ebenezer Scrooge’s dead business partner

Q: When was the story of A Christmas Carol taking place?
A: 19th Century England - 19th Century London - Victorian London

Q: What is the famous quote from Tiny Tim?
A: God Bless Us, Everyone.

Q: Who was Scrooge’s ex-fiancée?
A: Belle

Speak (I can’t figure out how to underline it), by Laurie Halse Anderson, is a 198-page novel told by an isolated, lonely and depressingly funny girl named Melinda Sordino. At first, this book revealed itself to be about a girl who was physically inable to speak, which was a little bit confusing. As the pages were being turned it occured to me that it was about a girl who refused to speak, which then immediately called out “YA BOOK YA BOOK”. Although the writing gives the idea that it is a journal, it is more like Melinda’s innermost thoughts as she navigates through Merryweather High, alone and friendless. Her narraration is filled with typical teenage slang. Speak is a typical YA book because it is about a girl with more problems than the average girl making her way through high school. Melinda has a dark secret lurking in her past that makes her more troubled than an average girl. Her narraration gets the reader to feel uncomfortable and awkward for Melinda, but it also keeps you hooked on reading the book. Like many other YA books, Melinda learns how to overcome her fears and come out of her protective shell, therefore becoming more mature.

I enjoyed this book for many different reasons. Since Melinda is so dark, her humor is more vicious and biting, which is a type of humor I like a lot. I learned from this book how powerful silence can be. Melinda’s silence and darkness not only pushes her only friend away but it also drives her parents to the edge. Melinda’s writing makes it feel like she was telling her own story, no author was behind it. This is something that Meg Cabot can also achieve, which makes it so intriguing and interesting. The best part of Speak was that the plot kept me captured even days after I finished the book and really made you think about Melinda’s troubled life.

-Alex Mayer

Annie on My Mind was a great young adult book. I really felt that it was a young adult book because it talks about sex and the sexuality of two girls, Annie and Liza, both seventeen. Annie and Liza become best friends from then on, but, as the story goes on, the girls discover that they are in love with each other and are lesbians, even though they did not want to face it. The worst part of it was when they were discovered making love in someone else’s house. Then they, especially Liza, had to face many homophobics, but even then they didn’t let anyone get in the way of their love. The story didn’t make me uncomfortable for the most part, but when Liza and Annie talked about the physical part of their love, it was kind of awkward because that’s sort of an awkward thing to talk about.

I liked Annie on My Mind because, in the end, Annie and Liza still loved each other, and they always would, no matter what happened. That part of the book was warm, and, in a way, inspiring. It’s like saying you can get through anything you want to, as long as you don’t give up. Liza and Anni never gave up on each other, and the label of being gay didn’t stop them. I also liked how Liza’s family supported her through the ordeal of having to face everyone and admit that she was lesbian, which in the ’80’s, which is when this book was written, wasn’t the most accepted thing. I thought that Liza’s younger brother, Chad, was very supportive towards her sister, even though the thought of Liza being lesbian scared him as much as it scared everyone else. Chad also suffered in school because his sister was lesbian. People went as far as beating him up for it. Other people, however, weren’t as accepting as Chad. The headmaster of Liza’s school took Liza to court for being lesbian, and Sally, Liza’s so-called friend backstabbed her. Annie’s side of the story on this was never told, since the book was from Liza’s perspective. Liza and Annie’s story can even be compared to things in life and even what may have happened in history because the basic theme of the book is to hold on until you reach your goal, and I love that the author was able to take such a simple theme and explain it in this way, as a story of two girls who are lesbian because not many people would see this theme to work that way. Nancy Garden proved people wrong by showing that the theme of the book isn’t biased against some people for what they are.

Make Lemonade is definitely a young adult book. It is only 200 pages long so it fits into the YA book standard. It was written in sixty-six chapters, each of which is written in a format similar to a poem. The story is told from the perspective of fourteen-year-old Verna LaVaughn, or just LaVaughn, who is the protagonist. LaVaughn has many traits that the main character in a typical young adult novel should have. These traits include LaVaughn taking matters into her own hands, becoming more self aware and responsible, and being an intelligent girl. Since LaVaughn is narrating, the writing also reflects her teenage speech, but she does not swear. Make Lemonade also deals with being an outcast, psychological challenges, and teenage pregnancy.

I really liked Make Lemonade because it is engrossing and funny. Each chapter is very short; the longest chapter is only eight pages. I think that some of the ideas in this book are very witty and give the plot a lot of feeling. I especially liked the title, but going into detail about why I like it would be giving too much away, so I will just say that it fits into the book very well. One of the things that I didn’t like about Make Lemonade was the fact that both of the most prominent characters had awful grammar. Another thing that I disliked was the way parts of the story were phrased. Sometimes LaVaughn would be explaining what was about to happen but take a long time to say what it is that she wanted to say. Overall, Make Lemonade was not the best book I have ever read but it certainly is one of the better YA novels I have read.

I went to a book store out on Long Island and I bought a book from their YA section called Miracle On 49th Street and this book in no way was a YA novel. Although the main character is a teenager, there is hardly any slang and no cursing. This book does not have much more in common to the list of what makes a YA novel. Molly, the main character, becomes more responsible, but not much more than that. Ashe has family conflicts with her “dad”, but no abuse. In the book there are friendships, but no sexual refrences. Miracle On 49th Street is clearly not a YA novel, yet it was a good book.

I enjoyed Miracle On 49th Street a lot because it is an appealing book for sports fans. I have read many Mike Lupica books and all of them have a same theme, a teenager with a conflict with friendships or parents. Most of the main characters are 12. The language they used was very clean and well spoken, as written from third person. Settings are very important to me because if there is a setting I cannot relate to I wouldn’t enjoy the book as much as somewhere familiar. The book Miracle On 49th Street is a very enjoyable book to read, and I suggest it to any basketball fans, especially to the Boston area.

The young adult book Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is about a girl named Melinda who at the beginning of her ninth grade school year has no friends at all. This book is a young adult book for a number of reasons. It is almost 200 pages long which is a typical length for a young adult book. The main character is a teenager who must deal with being raped and alienated by her peers. The main issues of the book are sexuality, teen friendships and identity which are common young adult book themes. Melinda tells the story from her perspective. Since Melinda’s parents are never at home and she has no more friends, she must handle her problems on her own. Since Melinda is the narrator, the book is written in the language of a teenager. There are curse words and slang.

I did not like the book Speak. Until you find out what happened to Melinda, which is halfway through the book, nothing really happens. I did not like the style of writing which is broken up frequently by headings that often state locations. I found this too choppy. Although YA books are supposed to be depressing, I thought this one was too sad because Melinda is so alone and it is so unfair the way she is alienated when she really was the victim. I didn’t find it pleasant to read. I did like Melinda’s character and I felt sorry for her. Even though I didn’t like this book, I would still recommend it to those who enjoy a depressing book.

Stuck In Neutral, by Terry Trueman does not meet most of the YA book standards. Although it is told through the prospective of Shawn McDaniel, a crippled teenager who cannot control his muscle movement, this is one of the only reasons why it may be considered a YA book. Because he is crippled, Shawn is an outcast from society. Stuck In Neutral does not have many of the defining characteristics of YA books. The main characteristic it is lacking is that most people cannot relate to the way Shawn feels in the story because he is crippled. In addition, Shawn is not in any way more mature by the end of the novel. However the dialogue does reflect teen speech, using some curse words and slang. Overall, this book barely shows characteristics of YA books.

Although the Terry Trueman had a good plot idea, in writing it is a little bit of a let down. The biggest let down in the whole story is undoubtedly the ending. Throughout the book Shawn is wondering if his father is trying to kill him. Shawn’s father would do this out of love. He believed that Shawn was in great pain during his life and wanted to be put out of his misery. The entire book is building up to his father’s decision to either kill him, or let him live in pain. But at the climax of the story, before his father decides the book is over. The only interesting part is when Shawn’s brother, Paul, gets into a fight and almost kills to boys for burning Shawn with a lighter. This is the only part of the story that has any action or anything interesting going on at all. On the whole, I thought this story had the potential to be good, but Terry Trueman just did not fulfill its potential.

Speak is a really good book. The main character, Melinda, is alienated. The story is told from her perspective in first person. She and her friends went to a party during the summer after eighth grade. She calls the police, and now her friends won’t talk to her. This book qualifies as a young adult book because Melinda’s problems are with other teenagers. Andy Evans attacked her, and now she is terrified of him. Her friends are gone, and no one likes her. This is a problem related to teenagers. What happens to Melinda throughout the school year is a high school experience. Because the book is narrated my Melinda, the writing style is that of a diary that could have been written by a ninth grader. It is simple but there are added comments that would not have been present in a normal book. The dialogue normal for teenagers. There are no deep problems or very long words. Speak has people talk about normal teenage problems such as rooms, clothing, and prom. While the school year stretches past, Melinda gets more and more quiet. Because she doesn’t speak, she is observant and sees a lot more of what is going on around her than everyone else does. Speak is fairly short, only about 200 pages, but there is still time for Melinda to resolve her problems with her friends and Andy Evans. Melinda argues with her parents, and when she has problems in school she takes them on by herself, because she has no friends. It takes Melinda the entire school year, but by the end of the book she has matured enough to handle her problems. The book ends on a cliff hanger, but it still leaves the reader satisfied.

I really liked the book Speak. I liked it because it really pulled me in. All through the book it hints at what happened at the party over the summer, but it never really tells you until halfway through. By the time I actually understood what had happened, I had made ties with the characters and wanted to read more to find out what happened to them. I like young adult books in general because they have interesting themes. The writing style is relaxed. It’s easier to read than some of the other books I read because you don’t need to read every single word to understand the sentences. The setting is typical high school, which is reflected by Melinda. Melinda is a person who people can relate to. I like Melinda because even though she has few friends, she can still comment on people. She is observant. I like the book because it gives a lot of details in the same way that I would have described it. I like the plot because it really pulled me in. I like mysteries, and the way the book was arranged I had to read more to find out what happened. Speak is a really good book.

Looking For Alaska by John Green is a rambunctious, fun, and interesting outlook on the life of ordinary teems, who have a few quirks here and there. He creates his characters in a way that the reader becomes one of the group. He explores ordinary life at Culver Creek Boarding School in Alabama and the people who live there. Although the story is the simple life of teens, many unexpected and very exciting, sad, and out-of-the-ordinary things happen.
This is definitely a young adult novel in every aspect. It is about the life of teens told through the perspective of the main character, Pudge (Miles Halter). The book explores many teenage problems that may arise and takes the reader on an unforgettable ride through “the labyrinth” of life to discover the “Great Perhaps”.
An outsider before attending Culver Creek Boarding School, Pudge quickly made friends with his roommate, “the Colonel”, the computer and rapping genius, Takumi, “his perfect girl friend” (according to Alaska), Lara, and, of course, the “Labyrinth” herself, Alaska Young. Pudge falls in love at first sight with the crazy, fun, insouciant Alaska. She is the “Great Perhaps” and what Pudge had searched for all of his life.
Throughout the book, the author touches upon different aspects that would be expected from a young adult novel. He explores the lives of teenagers and the events that affect them in many ways. The language used throughout the book is that of a teen; there is a lot of slang and cursing. Another young adult aspect of this book is that all the characters take matters into their own hands and then experience the effect they have on the world and struggle through hardships during the book. They discover how to work together and help each other in times of need and they become stronger and more mature because of it. On the other hand, they also discover the sadness that could arise in life and the fact that, if they make a mistake, it can affect their whole lives. As a result of this, they gain a different view with more perception on life. These themes cause readers to be uncomfortable and mostly unhappy during the reading of this book. It also causes them to look at their lives in a different way. The themes take readers to an unhappy and horrific death that will make them want to just put the book down and end it there. In the end, readers will realize that there is more of the story for a reason. It describes the tough times in a teen’s life while overcoming a tragedy and continuing life after such a thing like this.
This book is a thrilling young adult novel that takes the reader down different roads in “the labyrinth” of the characters’ lives and the troubles that arise in the search for the “Great Perhaps.” I would definitely recommend this book to anyone because it would touch every person in a different way. However, I do think that boys would enjoy it more because it is written mainly in a teenage boy’s perspective on life (which can get pretty ugly, if you ask me), but if any girl gives it a chance, they will love it too. This, I must say, is one of the best books I have ever read because it is different, yet simple. It is a different beast altogether, which throws you into the “Great Perhaps”, and mysteries of “the labyrinth” of life.

I definitely think that The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian a Young Adult book. The story is written in the first person from the point of view of Josh Swensen, a teenager. The book is only 219 pages, so it is very short. Josh definitely matures by the end of the book. The book also deals with escaping from society and being an outcast because Josh repeatedly goes to a secret place in the woods, and even fakes committing suicide to escape from the problems of society. The book also deals with political concerns, because Larry, Josh’s secret pseudonym, is attempting to stop people from buying unnecessary things from companies. The main character is also very smart. In conclusion, I think that The Gospel According to Larry is a great young adult book.
I liked The Gospel According to Larry because it was a very good book. The plot had many interesting and very surprising points, although the ending was somewhat disappointing. The plot was also very simple and easy to follow. The characters had very unique personalities. I also liked that it was a short book and most of it was very fast-paced. One of my favorite points was when Josh pretended to commit suicide because I think that he did it very well and it was a very original idea.

For my YA book, I read Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going. Fat Kid Rules the World is about a fat seventeen-year-old named Troy who doesn’t have any friends, is left out in school, and is very depressed. Then he meets Curt MacCrae, a legendary guitar player from the band, “The Smack Metal Puppets,” who is homeless, a junkie, and a school dropout. This is a YA book because it is told from the first person by Troy Billings, a seventeen-year-old fat kid. There are also many references to abuse of prescription drugs, and some sexual content. Also, during the book you see the main character, Troy, mature.
Two of the reasons I liked this book are its comedy and description. Throughout the book, Troy, the narrator, makes jokes about being fat and being skinny. The author also describes people’s appearances very well. At the beginning of the book, Troy describes in great detail how skinny and malnourished Curt looks. Also, K.L. Going really forms each character and gives a background for all of them. One thing I did not like about the book was how short the chapters were. As a reader, it is heard to jump around from scene to scene and understand the book completely. Fat Kid Rules the World is a good book with comedy, a lot of description, and a well rounded story that makes a reader want more.

     I have just finished reading Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen. This book is a YA book if I ever saw one. The main character, Cole Matthews, is a 14 year old boy, although he does age one year between parts one and two of the book. The book is narrated by the author, but sometimes it seems he is on Cole’s side, like as if it was from Cole’s point of view. The plot of the story relates more to Cole’s spiritual struggle within himself, rather than his juvenile delinquency. The curses in the book aren’t expressed, but there are moments when the text describes Cole’s cursing out of anger or confusion. Cole is very independent and he only changes once he realizes he can’t always do everything on his own. He is also pretty innovative when it comes to living in the wilderness. The book is actually 287 pages long, but the story keeps the reader hooked untill the end. Cole does try to solve his own problems, either with violence or deception, and that is what lands him in situations that he can’t find a way out of. The entire story is based on Cole’s struggle to resolve what he has brought upon himself and to heal and help heal from the wrongs he had committed in the past. Cole definitely matures by the end of the novel, and he finally accomplishes what his friends had been pushing him to do throughout the whole story. He realizes he is responsible for his own actions and his own resolve, and that only he can properly heal himself and those around him. There are some situations in the book that are hard to read, as they are violent, graphic, and deep. This story is awesome and it is, without a doubt, a YA book.

    I really liked this story. Although some parts may have been too deep and poetic for me to understand fully, it is still easy to see that the words have hidden meanings. Ilove the book because, not only does it constantly keep you guessing, but it entertains you as well. The story is told really well and it is perfect for a child of my age and older. The main characters are Cole, Edwin, Garvey, Peter Driscal, and the Spirit Bear. The theme of the story is redemption, and the fact that a person can always have a second chance to redeem themselves. The Spirit Bear helps Cole on his way to healing in unorthodox, but effective ways. The story takes place mostly in Minneapolis and a remote island in Southeast Alaska. All of these elements come together to make this story an incredible literary experience.

Edward Bloor’s Tangerine is a compelling young adult book. It follows most of the rules that categorize a YA book are included in this book. Paul, the main character, is in his teens and most of the characters in the book are teens. Also, Paul does not go to adults for help, but tries to solve things on his own. Paul also greatly matures over the course of the book. He learns a lot about himself, his brother, and people in general. Towards the end of the book Paul becomes much more outspoken than he was at the beginning of the book. Paul also experiences and observes different lifestyles and this observation, from one perspective, is a more interesting, important, and educational than his entire school year. Another thing that Bloor follows that is a theme in most young adult books is alienation and physical/emotional challenge. Paul is legally blind but can actually see. He wants to play soccer but is not permitted to do so because of his ‘disability.’ Throughout the book he has to try to overcome this. This is definitely a YA book and a good one at that.
I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to any young adult. The book is a light read which makes it easy to become enveloped in the plot. The plot is wonderful, enthralling, and highly complicated. It is not particularly easy to relate to my life but it is still captivating because of the many twists, turns, and the creativity of the author. This book has much more genuine tragedy than most books I read. There is the potential for tragedy in the setting and it fulfils this to the utmost. Another thing about this book is that Paul has a very intransigent state of mind that is quite gripping to read about. All in all this was a great book and a very entertaining read.

This book is defiantly a YA book because it has all the different aspects that a good YA book should have.  The story is apparently a real diary that was written by a teenage girl who has lots of different problems, mostly related to drugs.  The things in this book that makes it a YA book is that it talks about drugs, sex, death, peer pressure, Maturity, running away, and being an outcast.  The girl is introduced to drugs at a party and gets addicted to them.  She moves from her old school to a new town and a new school.  At first, she thinks that the new school is going to be wonderful because it would mean a new beginning and a new start.  Unfortunately for her, in the school she finds no friends and is a total outsider.  The whole book continues on and off like this, and is a bit confusing to follow.  This book is defiantly a YA book because it has a lot of complicated events and is quite deep.  

 I didn’t enjoy this book that much because it seemed a bit unrealistic.  The girl runs away two times and a lot dramatic things happen to her that seems quite unlikely.  I would probably like it more if it had a bit more action because it was also very slow.  The main character also thinks too much for her age.  For example: she thinks about marriage, and her future job and she is probably only 13 or 14.  It seems like she has her life figured out, and then at the end the book, apparently she committed suicide.  This book leaves a lot to your imagination, and is a good YA book, but personally, I didn’t enjoy it that much 

Ginger Bread was a very good book and I highly recommend it. The book defiantly qualifies itself as a young adult book though. Cyd Charisse, the inquisitive, spoiled, out-there main character, really makes the book young adult. In the book there is both a narrative and vocal voice. Cyd Charisse puts in her own thoughts like they are part of the dialogue. One thing that makes the book YA material is the language. There is cursing and a large amount of slang that was almost like an inside joke. The text sometimes contained so much weird slang that the book was actually hard to understand. Another aspect that made the book YA material was the fact that the author constantly made you feels uncomfortable, bringing up issues and stories that were teen issues. Cyd Charisse is definantly not a mature character in the beginning and I know you would expect to hear that that changes by the end of the book, but I don’t think it really does. Cyd Charisse is an independent person. She does not have a lot of friends besides here boyfriend Shrimp, her brothers and sister, Sugar Pie (An old lady) and her doll, Gingerbread who she communicates with telepathically. Overall, I think this is very much YA material.
I really liked this book. The fact that it is hard to sit still makes it exciting and interesting to read. Even though the book is from the perspective of a girl, I still was able to enjoy it. Throughout the book, the main feeling is not happiness, but it is not sadness either. It reminds me of real life experiences that a teenage girl might go through. There are happy, sad, exciting, depressing and freaky elements all together in one book. I loved this book, and I highly reccomend it.

          Fat Kid Rules the World, my YA novel, had many reasons why it definately should have been a YA novel.  One of the most obvious reasons why it was a YA novel was because of cursing.  Troy, the fat main character,  and all of his friends cursed a lot.  Many of the things that Troy, Curt (his semi-homeless skinny friend that he startes a punk band with), and Troy’s little brother Dayle (that is “jock” in school) said many inappropriate things that had different but related things.  These words I shall not use in this but be aware when reading this book!  Another inappropriate theme in this book are hormones in a teen ager’s body.  This subject on inappropriate things but it does not get out of hand. One of the other adult theme in this book is to addiction.  The two main charachters both have extremely unhealthy addictions. Troy has an eating disorder which is a bad thing, but not something parents should be worried about.  Curt, the other main character, has an addiction to over the counter and perscription antihistamines.  To explain how it gets people 11 and up would not have trouble with the subtle inappropriateness. Many actions that take place in this book illude to drug or suicide refrences.  Although they can be considered inappropriate, I belive that people are just worried that their younger children will get horrible ideas.  Those reasons that I just explained were probably why K. L. Going’s page turning novel “Fat Kid Rules the World” was put into the yong adult section.

          Through the exciting 183 page YA thriller, I and I would expect my piers that read this book, would agree that “Fat Kid Rules the World” was an excellent book. If I were to give this YA novel a letter grade, I would give it a B-.  One of the main reasons for giving this book a lower grade was because  K. L. Going over exadurated how much yong and older teens curse.  This problem became more and more self-evident as the story and the plot digressed.  The plot build-up of this book was beautifly constructed.  This resulted in one of the greatest posible plot for a book that was shaped around an outsider that feels so excluded and has the compultion to comit suicide. Just for an exaple of the excellent plot, at the climax, I read 70 pages in one sitting.  If K. L. Going had left out the excess cursing it definately would have been at least an A-.  I would recommend this book for all my male piers.

Jolly is only 17 years old, still very young. Yet while other girls her age are living their teenage years to the fullest, Jolly is single handedly caring for her two children: Jilly and Jeremy. LaVaughn is only 14 years old, younger than Jolly. She is smart and very much into her studies; she is poor so she needs a job to add to her fund that will help pay for college. Jolly needs a babysitter and is willing to pay while LaVaughn needs money. They are the perfect match. The book is written in LaVaughn’s point of view. She baby-sits Jilly (who is still in diapers) and Jeremy, who is a toddler. While most would criticize Jolly for having a second child after making the ‘mistake’ of having the first, LaVaughn is very understanding. Despite of the roach-infested dirty house, the low-paying jobs, and the poverty surrounded by her, LaVaughn becomes attached to this family. Throughout the book Jolly is dealing with both physical and psychological issues. LaVaughn is constantly trying to help Jolly get back on her feet. The first issue that is addressed is teenage pregnancy. Truthfully, when a lot of adults see a teenager with not one but two children, they seem shake their heads in a sort of disappointment, true they feel sorry for that teenager, but at the same time see her as ignorant for allowing herself to get pregnant twice. This puts Jolly in a sort of ‘outcast’ position to society. There are a lot of teenagers who have children in the world. In fact teenage pregnancy rates have increased, so this is not an unknown problem that is being addressed in this book. The second problem that is addressed is peer pressure, and teenage sex. In one of Jolly and LaVaughn’s fights Jolly yells at LaVaughn saying “You carry you schoolbooks like their some kind of Bibles, you go to your classes, you pass your tests, you smile all pretty to your teachers, is that gonna make you never get pregnant some guy gets you down where he wants you?” (132) Throughout the book it shows Jolly dealing with the ghosts of her pass, all of these bad memories of her children’s fathers who are not around. Jolly has trouble with this subject and always finds a way to escape them. Jolly often finds a way to push certain memories or problems out of her head. Part of her getting back on her feet makes her deal with these issues. Jolly s not smart and has trouble spelling and pronouncing words such as ‘capable’. The way she speaks is not a form of teenage slang. She speaks this way because she does not know any better. In the middle of the book Jolly’s boss tries to sexually harass her, and she defends herself by stabbing his hand with a pencil. She is then fired, and though an attempt to call the office to file a complaint, and not given justice. Yet another problem this book addresses. Jolly stops paying LaVaughn, but LaVaughn is still babysitting. With all of these problems, Jolly refuses to have public help, if fear of loosing her children Jolly is stuck. She tries to ignore all of these problems. Then LaVaughn gets involved beyond providing love, understanding, help, and an ear to listen. She gets Jolly enrolled in a ‘Mom’s Up’ program, which pays her to baby-sit. Jolly is continues this schooling at the end of the book. This book is definitely YA because it deals with teenage pregnancy, escapism, poverty, being and outcast, and injustice. It also shows how a teenager with so many problems reacts, which in this case is either denial or simply not thinking about these problems.

I liked this book, because despite the fact it is short and an easy-read it is extremely complicated. The characters are complicated in terms of their feelings and how they evolve. LaVaughn becomes more mature at the end than she already was. She begins to understand the feelings and actions of Jolly. This is what brought them so close. It is very nice to see how LaVaughn, though a child herself, took on a motherly role. How people could mature so quickly. I though this book was sweet, and really made me think. It made me think about how the current-day underage mothers must be going through. I also realized that one of the morals of the story is that out of the darkest and dirtiest corners, hope and love can sprout. The title of the book comes from LaVaughn giving Jeremy lemon seeds and putting them in a pot for Jeremy. He cares for the plant, and is hopeful that it will sprout. They went through many seeds before it actually did sprout. This shows that though it may take a while and much effort, anything is possible, and things can work out if you try hard enough. This book is sweet, and very enjoyable. �

This book is definatly YA. The themes and characters deal with pretty heavey topics. The protaganist is a teenager and he deals with many things. He is sent to prison and they give a detailed description about jail, about people being raped and beaten, fights. Also the Steve Harmon (The main character) learns about life. He realizes what being with the wrong crowd can do to you. He believes he is a monster and by the end he believes his innocence. He is being tried for murder and the pyschological traumas he goes through are astounding. He matures greatly by the end. One thing this book is definatly going after is what can happen if you do somehting really bad, whats some guys in jail are willing to do and how they try to accomplish them.

The Gospel According to Larry has most classifications that a YA cook should have. The main character, Josh Swenson who is the teenage narrating of the story, wants to change the world. Josh Swenson has an unknown identity, which leads him into taking maters into his own hands. By the end of the book josh becomes more mature and reveals his lies even though his timing was much to late. Throughout the book Josh considers deeply the idea of death and escapism, which makes the reader uncomfortable at times. Josh and Larry are both outcasts because they have created a whole new idea about thinking about the world, and way of living. The Gospel According to Larry contains all the elements for it to be considered a YA book.

I greatly enjoyed The Gospel According to Larry. I thought this book was very clever and exiting. In the begging you are a little confused by the note to reader, but by the end it concludes with a wonderful cliffhanger, which raps the book up. I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. I loved that this book included Sermon’s from Larry’s blog and pictures of Larry’s items. I thought the sermons gave you a good understanding of Josh. I loved the ending even thought it was predictable. I did want to know more about Josh’s new life, but the ending also let me imagine what came next. Josh lived a partially secret life, which made this book very interesting. It was also inspiring that one person changed the world for thousands of people in such a short period of time. This book is a quick read which I greatly recommend this book.

The Rifle does not qualify as a YA book. The only quality of a YA book that The Rifle contains is that it is under 250 pages. There are many main characters throughout the book, but none of them are teenagers. The several main characters are each of the individuals that owned the rifle. This book is not told from any of the main characters’ point of view; it is written in third person. The basic reason why The Rifle is not a YA book is that there are no teenagers in the book, and there is no teenage content. Since there are no teenagers, there is not any talk about maturation. The ways teenagers act gives them their own identity. The Rifle does not have any of these themes included in its text, so it should not be considered a YA novel.

Even though The Rifle does not quite fit into the category of a YA novel, it was still a pretty good book. I liked the beginning the most. The reason for this is that I loved how it went into such detail on how Cornish made the rifle. It was so interesting to read about how long it actually takes to make a rifle. I also loved that Gary Paulsen wrote the novel, so the reader would be eager to see how the rifle worked. This was my absolute favorite part of the book. After this part, I thought that the novel got worse, and worse as it went on. The rifle ended up traveling between too many different people, that the book was no longer interesting. I ended up being very disappointed after finishing the novel because I was expecting it to be better. I would not recommend this book because it gets very boring from the middle, to the end, even though it is only 106 pages. All in all, I thought that The Rifle is an okay book, at best, and is definitely not a YA book.

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff is a flawless example of a young adult book. It meets every standard from length to form and has most of the themes typically associated with young adult novels. The main character and narrator of the story, an independent, courageous Daisy, is a fifteen-year-old who is thrust into the middle of a bloody, third world war that is permanently destroying England, an intense, sexual relationship with her fourteen-year-old cousin, Edmund, and the care and responsibility of her cousin Piper’s life, as well as her own through gunfire and starvation. The beginning is mostly focused on Daisy’s transition from living with her father and dreaded step-mother in New York to being with her newly found family in England. This includes the issues of being a teenager, having an inappropriate relationship with Edmund, and gaining independence from parental authority. As the story goes on, these themes become less and less important, and sheer survival - both physically and psychologically - becomes the central focus as the fantastic dangers of possibility become a tangible reality. And by the end of the story, all these events both mature and heal some of Daisy’s personal issues, such as being anorexic. Rosoff’s use of language adequately expresses this. Throughout most of the book, her writing style imitates the flow of speech a quintessential teenager might use. In the last few chapters, which take place some time later, the grammar, punctuation, and structure of each sentence is by far more advanced than that of the rest of the book. This deeply enhances the contrast between Daisy’s first and second trip to England. The overall energy of the book - excluding the first few chapters - was extremely suspenseful and terrorizing, with the amount of death and destruction that takes place and yet, both astounding and healing, as Daisy and Piper push through with all their strength, trust, and love for each other. The book is 194 pages, making it reasonably sized for a young adult’s book. Ultimately, it is an inspiring, sorrowful, and beautifully crafted book, having a unique plot and still containing every element of a standard young adult book.

At first, I had many doubts about enjoying the book because of Rosoff’s style of writing. I found it hard not to notice and criticize the run-on length, grammatical errors, and lack of advanced vocabulary in each sentence, sometimes spanning the length of an entire paragraph. However, the more I read, the less I thought about the awkward, teenage voice of Rosoff, and the more I got caught up in the insightful, humorous mind of Daisy, acting and reacting to events in her joyful and chaotic environment. Though the heavy tragedy and violence of Daisy and Piper’s adventure was not exactly elating, the blissful beginning, inspirational journey, and satisfying ending was worth every moment of pain, hunger, and exhaustion the two girls went through. Personally, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is willing to bear the dark veil of death throughout the book for its rewards. In addition, though the book does not contain profane content, there are many mature themes that raise my recommendation to teenagers fourteen and older. Otherwise, I think it is an excellent book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Although it is a little longer than the average YA book, Keeper of the Night can be considered a YA book in many ways. One reason is because the story is told by the main character who is a teenager, Isabel. Her conflict is dealing with her family after her mother commits suicide by drinking too many sleeping pills. Isabel is very mature and handles the situation much better than her older brother who carves words on his wall and arm. She can act like an adult because she washes the wet sheets or blanket (due to her sister, Olivia) in the morning before anyone else can find out, and she also helps Olivia to get through her daily nightmare before going to the bathroom. She takes care of her own life as well as other peoples. Isabel, although already very mature, grows to be even more mature by the end of the book. She doesn’t want unfamiliar people to help her live her life and instead she wants to be able to take control of her own life, which shows her independence. In short, Keeper of the Night is a book that makes you think a lot, but doesn’t make you too uncomfortable, which defines it as a YA book.

Keeper of the Night is written in a form of very short paragraphs instead of chapters. Each page (sometimes more) is titled something new, and it talks about something different. When someone is confused, one thought cannot last for a very long time, and soon they think about something new. This is what the short paragraphs represent, which made it very easy to read. It was a different thought on the next page, which made sure that I didn’t get bored as I sometimes do when I read a very long chapter. Usually most books have chapters in a book, or the book is written from 2 points of view, and it switches back and forth, which just makes it confusing. But this is a very clear format. I would recommend it to people who don’t mind that it doesn’t have much humor, and like short books. This book doesn’t have any chilling events or suspensful (in a scary way) places for people who don’t like Horror or Suspense books. Although the main character is a girl, boys and girls alike can read it and enjoy it.

The Chocolate War, written by Robert Cormier, definitely is classified as a Young Adult book. Several of the elements and themes of a YA book listed on the assignment instruction page do apply to this novel. The main character, Jerry Renault, is a teenager, as are most of the other characters in the story. Events and problems in the plot are related to teenagers such as the problem that occurs to Goubert, or the Goober, when he causes the destruction of room nineteen and falls apart himself. Dialogue reflects teenage speech, including slang or curse words. Slang and Curse words are frequently used during the duration of the novel. The teenage main character is perceptive, mature, and intelligent. Jerry often thinks about his life, and about his father. This story does tend to make the reader uncomfortable, rather than happy, and thus challenges the reader’s minds and sensitivities. Throughout the book, the Vigils and other cruel characters take part in quite disturbing actions.

I enjoyed this book, although I did not love it. It started out slow, but it got more entertaining as the book went on. It was quite suspenseful at parts, especially at the fight that occurs near the ending of the book. It was actually a very interesting novel because of the way things suddenly happened. I also noticed how the writer, Robert Cormier, applied such detail to certain emotions. “He was swept with sadness, a sadness deep and penetrating, leaving him desolate like someone washed up on a beach, a lone survivor in a world full of strangers.” (131) He also uses foreshadowing to make the story have more tension. “The Goober couldn’t wait for the bell to ring.” (101) He also writes somewhat humorously during parts of the book. Overall, this book was written in an interesting manner, and I found it to be an entertaining read.

The Gospel According to Larry is definitely a YA book. It has all of the correct criteria. The main character, Josh, also known as Larry, is a teenager who matures throughout the course of the short book. Josh is the narrator and he is creating a life of lies for himself, as many teenagers would. He does not know whether he should admit to his lies, but he matures and figures out what he thinks is the right thing to do by the end of the book.

This was an interesting book. I did not love this book, even though it was unordinary. I was enjoying it as a pretty fast paced book until the end. The end was not very satisfying and there was more that could have happened when Josh decided to falsely commit suicide. I was definitetly looking forward to finding out a lot about what happened when Josh came back into society, but unfortunately this never happened. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of the book. The characters were well described and there was an extremely clear plot. The ending is the last thing someone reads, this greatly influences their opinion of a book, since this ending was not satisfying to me, my whole opinion of the book changed.

Over the last few weeks, I read Speak and Catalyst, both of which were written by Laurie Halse Anderson.  I enjoyed both of these books immensely.  I actually began by reading Speak and loved it so much that I began to read the Catalyst.  I think that both of these books qualified as Young Adult novels.  In both books, the main character was teenager.  Melinda Sorindo and Kate Malone were both in their mid-high school years.  But aside from just being teenagers, you could really tell that they were teenagers from their language, thoughts, and emotions.  Anderson really made it clear.  Both books are told from the first person.  The main character narrates both books.  I thought that that was really interesting.   Catalyst is narrated by Kate Malone, and so it is relatively upbeat.  Speak is far more downcast and depressed.  The best way I can describe it is by saying it was written ‘darkly’, for the main character, Melinda, who narrates it, is sad and downcast most of the time.  That, I think, is the benefit of having a first person story. The reader really gets a sense of the character.  The events in the plot of Speak are certainly teen-oriented.  Melinda deals with alcoholism, raping, and loneliness.  Kate goes through death, boy/girl relationships, family trouble, escapism, meeting challenges, and (not her own, but a friend’s) alienation.  Her mother is dead, and a two year old with whom she shares a special bond dies midway through the book, sending Kate spiraling into grief and misery.  Her boyfriend is a steadfast character throughout the book despite her mixed emotions about him.  Their fights make the story what it is and provide ups and downs in her social life.  Kate plays a ‘mother’ in this story in many ways.  She cares for her fourteen year old brother Toby like a mother, setting out his medications, packing his lunch, delivering his laundry, etc.  She reminds her father of appointments and ensures his punctuality more than once.  In a way, she is the maternal, organized figure that the story is lacking.  Her role often swaps from child to parent as she goes from helpless to helpful, but this situation is a family problem that helps Catalyst qualify as a young adult novel.  She finds escapism in the shape of running.  She escapes to her track shoes when she has something on her mind or is deeply emotional, as well as taking refuge in her ‘friend’ Teri’s house.  She meets challenges in the form of accepting an outcast girl as her friend when they are suddenly living in close quarters.  And she is constantly dealing with alienation.  Although she is relatively popular, she is constantly being pushed toward Teri, the typical outcast, the subject of lunchtime teasing.  She begins to think past stereotypes and lets herself into Teri’s life, tackling alienation.  In these ways, Catalyst is full of young adult themes.  Speak is equally as Young Adult.  Melinda deals with alcoholism.  It is alcoholism and peer pressure that trigger all her troubles, and her abhorrence to drinking in the book sets her apart from many of the other characters.  She escapes into the art room at her school whenever she can, making escapism one of the themes.  She channels her emotions into art, using that as her “escape” from the toughness of her everyday life.  Sexuality is one of the main parts of the book.  Andy Evans, an encounter at a party, rapes her.  She spends the rest of the following year letting these events rebound through her mind, constantly bringing herself back to them and fearing that it will happen again, which it does.  She is raped more than once, and this makes her incredibly afraid.  I would say that sexuality is one of the main themes of this novel.  She is constantly dealing with alienation.  The first thing the author says of Melinda is, “I am clanless…I am an outcast” (5).  This indicates that one of the main themes of the book is alienation, in contrast to the rich cliques of high school life that are portrayed throughout Speak.  In both books slang and curses are used constantly to depict moods and emotion.  This gives the book a casual feel and overall adds to its identity as a Young Adult book.  Both novels are short, less than 250 pages.  Speak is a very short book…a mere two hundred pages.  Catalyst is slightly longer, at two hundred thirty pages.  Either way, they are both relatively short, again, qualifying them as YA fiction.  I would certainly say that the main characters of both of these books are perceptive, mature, and intelligent.  Although it does not necessarily show through grades, their intelligence is shown through the mere observation and self awareness that they possess.  Kate Malone also tries to take matters into her own hands.  She is constantly controlling the household, and sorting out her problems with no help from other people.  It is completely unexpected when she finally turns to her boyfriend in tears, beseeching support.  Melinda is too shy and withdrawn into depression to truly try to deal with matters herself, but she often speculates on doing something alone, with no help from anyone else, thinking these thoughts with pride. Melinda CERTAINLY develops by the end of Speak.  To give an example…she starts out the book silent.  Totally silent.  She does not speak to anyone about anything.  In the middle of the book she begins to open up to new girl, Heather from Ohio.  By the end of the book, when her troubles are mentioned by her art teacher, she opens up completely showing total maturity, saying, “Let me tell you all about it,” (197).  This shows her complete maturity over the course of the book.  In Catalyst, Kate Malone stays relatively the same maturity-wise.  She begins the book very mature, academically and socially, and if anything, her maturity is brought down a notch after being rejected from MIT.  In that way, Speak qualifies as a young adult novel while Catalyst is not young adult in the field.  Both characters deal with peer pressure in a major way.  Melinda is peer pressured into not calling the police at an out-of-hand party.  Ultimately, she does call the police, violating the rules of peer pressure.  Peer pressure affects her as she tries to fit into society.  Kate Malone is affected by peer pressure when her friends will her not to accept social pariah Teri.  She goes against their peer pressure, however, and eventually creates a wonderful society in which Teri is accepted after eight years.  Both novels qualify as young adult for all the reasons above, and I adored both books.  I recommend Catalyst to anyone who likes something more eventful, while Speak is for people like me who like quiet, observational stories.  Either way, both are fantastic, and I strongly encourage people to read them.

Although they were written by the same author at the same time period in the same place, Anderson managed to keep each story distinct and did not let them smudge together.  I think that I liked these books as much as I did because of the realism they both entailed.  I tend to be more drawn to books with imaginable plots than books with high levels of fantasy and magic.  Speak and Catalyst were very realistic but not at any point dull.  The protagonist of each book was rich with attitude and character, and their lavish accounts of their own experiences were elaborate and exciting but completely believable and down-to-earth.  It is easier with me to connect with the characters when novels are written in this way, and I found myself drawn into both of these books.  Also, Anderson weaves her story grace and subtlety.  Many of the events in the novel are implied, not said, and the reader has to infer certain things.  Anderson writes her story with hints, not facts, giving the reader a certain amount of leeway to imagine the story.  I really liked this.  I found that, instead of passively reading, I was engaged in the story, thinking hard to connect all the events.  The protagonist of Speak is high school student Melinda Sorindo.  Depicted as slightly depressed and typically nonchalant about schoolwork, she has a rich character and well developed attitude.  Her observations acutely touched me.  I found that Anderson’s ability to develop the characters, especially Melinda and supporting character Heather, really made the story come alive.  She took the building blocks of the plot, which are the characters, and brought them to life by incorporating human feelings that some authors avoid in such a way that the reader could really emphasize with the character.  Literarily, the other thing I think Anderson did beautifully was writing from different perspectives.  Although the story is narrated by Melinda and all events are seen from her perspective, the other characters are talking verbally and through body language.  Anderson does an amazing job showing the differences between characters by the style and words she uses to write.  Part of what makes a great author is their ability to write in all different kinds of voices, and Anderson does these beautifully here.  There were many themes that brought this story to life.  Melinda battles with being raped and the fears that accompany it.  She deals with alienation to an extreme degree.  The author emphasized Melinda’s alienation and her reaction to it more than anything in the story.  Another theme in this book is meeting challenges.  Although she struggled with it at first, Melinda deftly meets her challenges at the end of the book.  Maturity, alienation, problem solving, and sexuality are all themes dealt with in Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak.  Catalyst was completely different.  Anderson’s sensitivity to characters and their different nature was steadfast here; again, she did a fantastic job.  The other thing that I really liked in this book was the way the author used pressure to her advantage.  In order to create a stressed effect, Anderson incorporated a deadline, a shortage of time, into her story to create a constant weight on the story and to keep it exciting even in dull moments, of which there were few.  Main character Kate Malone had the same rich and colorful attitude as Melinda Sorindo.  Although their personalities were completely opposite, Kate being upbeat and generally optimistic, while Melinda was depressed and silent throughout the novel, Anderson makes them both incredibly real, natural characters through their speech and body language.  Unlike Melinda, Kate has a compulsive urge to do well in school, which adds another pressure to the story.  Kate has a defined group of friends without whom she would be lost.  Kate has to adapt to many chances, some as drastic as death, during the story.  Anderson’s facility for language and using it to her advantage was just as evident in Catalyst as it was in Speak.  Escapism, romance, problem solving, and friendship are the main themes in this fantastic book.  I really loved Catalyst and Speak. To compare them, I would say that Catalyst was far more action-packed than Speak.  I would recommend Catalyst to anybody who is more into adventure, while Speak is more mellow and less exciting but just equally elaborate and enthralling.  I found it very interesting that both teenage girls who played the main character had ‘special’ activities that they used to relax, or outlets for anger, sadness, or emotion as a whole.  For Kate, that special activity was running.  Melinda used art.  Anderson emphasizes the importance of friends constantly throughout these two novels.  For Melinda, it is the lack thereof, and for Kate, it is the incredible benefits her friends provide for her.  They are both woven with a candid voice that is unafraid of tackling topics from which some authors shy.  Eventually, both girls have to stand up for what they believe in.  Through the fantastic literary devices, realistic themes, and lively characters, both Speak and Catalyst are must read books, in my opinion.  I truly got enthralled in them, and they pulled me away, just like I think a good book should. 

Black and White is pretty much a regular YA book. The book is about how being put into trouble with the law, or when the going gets rough, can really show where friends’ loyalties lie. The book switches between the points of view of two teenagers, Marcus Brown and Eddie Russo. Their problems begin when they accidentally shoot someone during a stickup, and it begins to tear them apart. The two boys try to handle this problem by themselves, but their lives slowly get worse and worse. This is a conflict that can be related to teenagers. There is some cursing throughout the book, and it is less than 200 pages long. By the end, I got the feeling that the boys learned their lesson. Surviving this challenge gives the feeling that the teenagers are more mature and less stupid by the end of the novel. The two main characters are also more responsible for their actions at the end of the book. Neither character seems especially astute or intelligent, though. This aspect also ties in to the theme of a coming of age. At the end, both of the teenagers have a better understanding of life: its unfairness and harsh stereotypes. This book definitely did not make me feel happy, in fact, it was very tragic to watch these two teenagers each be torn apart. This book also deals with racism. One of the teenagers is black, the other white. Changing the view between the two friends gives a different spin on things, especially stereotypes and the race of people introduced throughout the book. The conflict also leads to social discomfort in school and family strife. This book also betrays how this event changes the self-perception of the two teenagers. An important question they both ask themselves during the course of the book is: Am I a killer? This book was definitely a YA book despite a few characteristics of YA book that it lacks.

I did not especially like this book, but it had a intriguing plot and an interesting deeper meaning. This book was not very well written, as you would expect most books like this to be. This book was written more for its plot, conflict, and characters. Neither of the characters was very interesting, but it was a good literary device to switch between two points of view. The author did a good job of setting up a difficult conflict, and it was interesting to see how the main characters would react. Adding another whole aspect of the book was the basketball side. Both boys have dreams to be big stars, and this tragedy may be the turning point in their future careers. This book was very sporty, which didn’t really appeal to me, though. One thing that wasn’t very good was that the book came into a halt near the middle. I felt as though once the author set up the problem, he thought he could just use the situation of how it was ruining the boys over and over. I felt as though nothing was happening to advance the plot, and the book kept repeating itself. This book had a good, captivating plot but did not do a good job in other aspects, which made me think it was okay.

I read Forever by Judy Blume for my young adult book. I enjoyed it but I didn’t love it. It didn’t have a very good plot but it was a quick and easy read. It is about a girl named Katherine who falls in love with a guy named Michael and tells of their love story. It talks about how they miss eachother when they’re away and it explains the story of Katherine’s “first time”. Even though these two love eachother very much, it doesn’t work out when Katherine goes away and falls in love with a guy named Theo at her camp.
The story takes place in New York, in the 1990’s frmo the point of view of Katherine. Here is a list of the man characters.
Katherine: the main character. In highschool.
Michael: Katherines boyfriend. He is a senior.
Erica: she is a very small girl who is Katherines best friend.
Artie: Was sort of Erica’s boyfriend for a while but he told her he didn’t know whether he was gay or not and so when she got tired of waiting for him to find out she broke up with him. After this happenned Artie tried to commit-suicide by hanging himself from his shower curtain, fortunately the shower curtain broke and he got away with only a minor concussion.

Over the last few weeks, I read Speak and Catalyst, both of which were written by Laurie Halse Anderson. I enjoyed both of these books immensely. I actually began by reading Speak and loved it so much that I began to read the Catalyst. I think that both of these books qualified as Young Adult novels. In both books, the main character was teenager. Melinda Sorindo and Kate Malone were both in their mid-high school years. But aside from just being teenagers, you could really tell that they were teenagers from their language, thoughts, and emotions. Anderson really made it clear. Both books are told from the first person. The main character narrates both books. I thought that that was really interesting. Catalyst is narrated by Kate Malone, and so it is relatively upbeat. Speak is far more downcast and depressed. The best way I can describe it is by saying it was written ‘darkly’, for the main character, Melinda, who narrates it, is sad and downcast most of the time. That, I think, is the benefit of having a first person story. The reader really gets a sense of the character. The events in the plot of Speak are certainly teen-oriented. Melinda deals with alcoholism, raping, and loneliness. Kate goes through death, boy/girl relationships, family trouble, escapism, meeting challenges, and (not her own, but a friend’s) alienation. Her mother is dead, and a two year old with whom she shares a special bond dies midway through the book, sending Kate spiraling into grief and misery. Her boyfriend is a steadfast character throughout the book despite her mixed emotions about him. Their fights make the story what it is and provide ups and downs in her social life. Kate plays a ‘mother’ in this story in many ways. She cares for her fourteen year old brother Toby like a mother, setting out his medications, packing his lunch, delivering his laundry, etc. She reminds her father of appointments and ensures his punctuality more than once. In a way, she is the maternal, organized figure that the story is lacking. Her role often swaps from child to parent as she goes from helpless to helpful, but this situation is a family problem that helps Catalyst qualify as a young adult novel. She finds escapism in the shape of running. She escapes to her track shoes when she has something on her mind or is deeply emotional, as well as taking refuge in her ‘friend’ Teri’s house. She meets challenges in the form of accepting an outcast girl as her friend when they are suddenly living in close quarters. And she is constantly dealing with alienation. Although she is relatively popular, she is constantly being pushed toward Teri, the typical outcast, the subject of lunchtime teasing. She begins to think past stereotypes and lets herself into Teri’s life, tackling alienation. In these ways, Catalyst is full of young adult themes. Speak is equally as Young Adult. Melinda deals with alcoholism. It is alcoholism and peer pressure that trigger all her troubles, and her abhorrence to drinking in the book sets her apart from many of the other characters. She escapes into the art room at her school whenever she can, making escapism one of the themes. She channels her emotions into art, using that as her “escape” from the toughness of her everyday life. Sexuality is one of the main parts of the book. Andy Evans, an encounter at a party, rapes her. She spends the rest of the following year letting these events rebound through her mind, constantly bringing herself back to them and fearing that it will happen again, which it does. She is raped more than once, and this makes her incredibly afraid. I would say that sexuality is one of the main themes of this novel. She is constantly dealing with alienation. The first thing the author says of Melinda is, “I am clanless…I am an outcast” (5). This indicates that one of the main themes of the book is alienation, in contrast to the rich cliques of high school life that are portrayed throughout Speak. In both books slang and curses are used constantly to depict moods and emotion. This gives the book a casual feel and overall adds to its identity as a Young Adult book. Both novels are short, less than 250 pages. Speak is a very short book…a mere two hundred pages. Catalyst is slightly longer, at two hundred thirty pages. Either way, they are both relatively short, again, qualifying them as YA fiction. I would certainly say that the main characters of both of these books are perceptive, mature, and intelligent. Although it does not necessarily show through grades, their intelligence is shown through the mere observation and self awareness that they possess. Kate Malone also tries to take matters into her own hands. She is constantly controlling the household, and sorting out her problems with no help from other people. It is completely unexpected when she finally turns to her boyfriend in tears, beseeching support. Melinda is too shy and withdrawn into depression to truly try to deal with matters herself, but she often speculates on doing something alone, with no help from anyone else, thinking these thoughts with pride. Melinda CERTAINLY develops by the end of Speak. To give an example…she starts out the book silent. Totally silent. She does not speak to anyone about anything. In the middle of the book she begins to open up to new girl, Heather from Ohio. By the end of the book, when her troubles are mentioned by her art teacher, she opens up completely showing total maturity, saying, “Let me tell you all about it,” (197). This shows her complete maturity over the course of the book. In Catalyst, Kate Malone stays relatively the same maturity-wise. She begins the book very mature, academically and socially, and if anything, her maturity is brought down a notch after being rejected from MIT. In that way, Speak qualifies as a young adult novel while Catalyst is not young adult in the field. Both characters deal with peer pressure in a major way. Melinda is peer pressured into not calling the police at an out-of-hand party. Ultimately, she does call the police, violating the rules of peer pressure. Peer pressure affects her as she tries to fit into society. Kate Malone is affected by peer pressure when her friends will her not to accept social pariah Teri. She goes against their peer pressure, however, and eventually creates a wonderful society in which Teri is accepted after eight years. Both novels qualify as young adult for all the reasons above, and I adored both books. I recommend Catalyst to anyone who likes something more eventful, while Speak is for people like me who like quiet, observational stories. Either way, both are fantastic, and I strongly encourage people to read them.

Although they were written by the same author at the same time period in the same place, Anderson managed to keep each story distinct and did not let them smudge together. I think that I liked these books as much as I did because of the realism they both entailed. I tend to be more drawn to books with imaginable plots than books with high levels of fantasy and magic. Speak and Catalyst were very realistic but not at any point dull. The protagonist of each book was rich with attitude and character, and their lavish accounts of their own experiences were elaborate and exciting but completely believable and down-to-earth. It is easier with me to connect with the characters when novels are written in this way, and I found myself drawn into both of these books. Also, Anderson weaves her story grace and subtlety. Many of the events in the novel are implied, not said, and the reader has to infer certain things. Anderson writes her story with hints, not facts, giving the reader a certain amount of leeway to imagine the story. I really liked this. I found that, instead of passively reading, I was engaged in the story, thinking hard to connect all the events. The protagonist of Speak is high school student Melinda Sorindo. Depicted as slightly depressed and typically nonchalant about schoolwork, she has a rich character and well developed attitude. Her observations acutely touched me. I found that Anderson’s ability to develop the characters, especially Melinda and supporting character Heather, really made the story come alive. She took the building blocks of the plot, which are the characters, and brought them to life by incorporating human feelings that some authors avoid in such a way that the reader could really emphasize with the character. Literarily, the other thing I think Anderson did beautifully was writing from different perspectives. Although the story is narrated by Melinda and all events are seen from her perspective, the other characters are talking verbally and through body language. Anderson does an amazing job showing the differences between characters by the style and words she uses to write. Part of what makes a great author is their ability to write in all different kinds of voices, and Anderson does these beautifully here. There were many themes that brought this story to life. Melinda battles with being raped and the fears that accompany it. She deals with alienation to an extreme degree. The author emphasized Melinda’s alienation and her reaction to it more than anything in the story. Another theme in this book is meeting challenges. Although she struggled with it at first, Melinda deftly meets her challenges at the end of the book. Maturity, alienation, problem solving, and sexuality are all themes dealt with in Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak. Catalyst was completely different. Anderson’s sensitivity to characters and their different nature was steadfast here; again, she did a fantastic job. The other thing that I really liked in this book was the way the author used pressure to her advantage. In order to create a stressed effect, Anderson incorporated a deadline, a shortage of time, into her story to create a constant weight on the story and to keep it exciting even in dull moments, of which there were few. Main character Kate Malone had the same rich and colorful attitude as Melinda Sorindo. Although their personalities were completely opposite, Kate being upbeat and generally optimistic, while Melinda was depressed and silent throughout the novel, Anderson makes them both incredibly real, natural characters through their speech and body language. Unlike Melinda, Kate has a compulsive urge to do well in school, which adds another pressure to the story. Kate has a defined group of friends without whom she would be lost. Kate has to adapt to many chances, some as drastic as death, during the story. Anderson’s facility for language and using it to her advantage was just as evident in Catalyst as it was in Speak. Escapism, romance, problem solving, and friendship are the main themes in this fantastic book. I really loved Catalyst and Speak. To compare them, I would say that Catalyst was far more action-packed than Speak. I would recommend Catalyst to anybody who is more into adventure, while Speak is more mellow and less exciting but just equally elaborate and enthralling. I found it very interesting that both teenage girls who played the main character had ‘special’ activities that they used to relax, or outlets for anger, sadness, or emotion as a whole. For Kate, that special activity was running. Melinda used art. Anderson emphasizes the importance of friends constantly throughout these two novels. For Melinda, it is the lack thereof, and for Kate, it is the incredible benefits her friends provide for her. They are both woven with a candid voice that is unafraid of tackling topics from which some authors shy. Eventually, both girls have to stand up for what they believe in. Through the fantastic literary devices, realistic themes, and lively characters, both Speak and Catalyst are must read books, in my opinion. I truly got enthralled in them, and they pulled me away, just like I think a good book should.�