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Easy Read
The book Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen is about a girl who lost her father and is now trying to find herself and who she really is. She starts out to be meticulous and careful in life but by the end lives life with more of a free spirit. The book was well written. The story was smooth and easy to follow along; the organization was on point. However, for someone looking for a plot twist or something surprising to happen, this is not the book for you. Although I thought that it was a nice, relaxing read, I found myself guessing at what was going to happen next and to my dissapointment, was right. In other words, it was predictable. Overall, it was well written but a bit predictable.
In the name of science...
This was a very well written and thought provoking book. Ben's parents are both researchers and they bring in an addition to the family. It is a baby gorilla that they call "Zan". Over time, Ben becomes very close to Zan and he considers him a brother. Zan is being observed to see if he can learn language and he is treated like a human such as having him wear clothing. The research team is teaching Zan ASL (American Sign Language). On the surface, it appears like the treatment of the gorilla is "fair". However, as the story progresses the reader is confronted with the ethical implications of what is going on. This was fascinating because these types of experiments were going on in the '70s and I don't think the "common person" really thought about what was happening. Zan, indeed, ends up becoming much more than an "animal". Simultaneously, Ben is coming into his adolescence and he is trying to get attention from a girl at school by being "methodical". Again, this seems tame on the surface but when you realize how calculating he is being you begin to question his strategy. This book is hopeful and sad about how we try to control others. I highly recommend this book.
Tremendous
Bluefish is the fourth book by Wisconsin author Pat Schmatz (rhymes with jots, not cats) who was born in Amherst, WI.
This book is an introduction to two main characters. Travis is new at the middle school. Velveeta, confident and individualistic, attends the same middle school. Inherently, both of them are lonely. Travis is a lover of the outdoors whereas Velveeta has a penchant for colorful scarves.
Travis is suffering from the loss of his dog and Velveeta is sad about the death of a good friend. This is one of many parallels they share. However, Travis has a deep-seated secret that is thwarting his ability to succeed.
A special teacher and a special librarian help Travis and Velveeta out. Other adults are described, flaws and all, which make for a realistic portrait of life. The dialogue in this book resonates, too.
The symbol of bluefish begins as derogatory and evolves into a triumphant emblem of empowerment!
This enjoyable and uplifting read leaves the reader grateful for friendship and hopeful. During the course of the novel, a gamut of feelings is tapped which is a satisfying growth experience. An appreciation for literacy is also achieved with this story.
Praise goes to Pat for her sensitive writing style. Her ability to express the middle school mindset, in particular, and humanity, in general, is to be lauded.
The Help
Recently, I read The Help, and I couldn't get over how much I love this book. I feel like even the movie was pretty well adapted. It's about three different women, going through three different lives, and how all their lives are intertwined. It's Jackson, Mississippi in the 60's, and in case you didn't know that was still a very tender time in the South. Miss Skeeter is a white woman figuring out how bad it really is for the two of several maids she is interviewing, Minny and Aibileen. There's a lot of happy moments, but there's quite a few sad ones too. 5/5 stars for this book, always.
Figuring out love
Ooh, another Sarah Dessen book, I liked this! Remy is the protagonist and she will be leaving for college in the fall so she decides to undertake a summer romance with Dexter. Things stupidly fall apart for them so toward the end of the book when they get realigned it is terrific. Remy is carefully watching relationships around her. Her mother is a romance writer who has been married several times and is currently married to a bozo. Her brother has a girlfriend who has "changed" him but also can be controlling. And her friends are in assorted stages of dysfunction! It is no wonder Remy is grappling with how this all works. The title refers to a song that her father wrote for her when she was born and that song became a "one-hit wonder". Then her father died so this is the only connection she has to him. Dexter is in a band and is unknowing about the story behind the song. His band does a rendition of it...you will have to read the book to see how "This Lullaby" all comes together!
This book gets a C+ from me
3rd book in a series. The storyline is awesome. It's supposed to be an epic love story between a fallen angel and a girl reincarnated over and over again. However, the girl is foolish and always getting into trouble so her guy has to rescue her. Too 1800's anti-independence for me.
This book is a smack to reality.
Follow Tar, Gemma and the rest of their friends as they cope with family issues, drugs, love and each other. This book is a smack in the face! I really hope whoever reads it enjoys it. It was a little confusing at first but then I got what the book was really about.
In the Time of the Butterflies
The novel begins with the recollections of Dede, the fourth and surviving sister, who fears abandoning her routines and her husband to join the movement. Alvarez also offers the perspectives of the other sisters: brave and outspoken Minerva, the family's political ringleader; pious Patria, who forsakes her faith to join her sisters after witnessing the atrocities of the tyranny; and the baby sister, sensitive Maria Teresa, who, in a series of diaries, chronicles her allegiance to Minerva and the physical and spiritual anguish of prison life. I absolutely love this books, it's one of my favorites, and I actually found it accidentally when I was walking through the library. It's based on the real Butterflies, but the story is pretty much all fiction. 5/5 Stars, just because it's exciting, sad, and funny, and it really makes you think about how easy we all have it.
Across the Universe, but nothing to do with the Beatles.
Amy has a decision to make. This decision isn’t something as simple as what to get for lunch or even what she wants to do after high school. This choice will change her future entirely with no going back. Earth is running out of resources. There has been a new planet found that can provide what the people of Earth need to survive. The catch is that it takes 300 years to travel to this planet. Once there, a government will have to be set up to run the planet. In order for this to work, government officials and biology experts must be recruited to be frozen for three centuries in order to reach the new world and help their home. Amy doesn’t work for the military or in a natural science field, but her parents both do. She is nonessential to the mission. Her decision is to choose whether she should leave her home, her friends, her boyfriend, and everything she knows behind. She must do this in order to stay with her parents.
Read more»Spent Every Extra Second I Had Reading!
Set in a future post-apocalyptic world, society has discovered a cure for all the problems of today. The root of every problem: love, or amor deliria nervosa (so called in the future society). When a citizen turns 18, they undergo an operation to make them not love at all. They are paired with a mate and lead boring lives with no real emotion except honor for their society. Lena is like any other girl at 17 - wanting to get her operation to lead her perfect, happy, little life. This all changes when she meets Alex, though. He makes her feel things that she has never felt before - things that are illegal in her society.This book exposes the truth of love and just how precious it is to life.
The author, Lauren Oliver, does a great job of keeping the reader guessing up until the very end (which is very realistic and a nice change from the fairytale ending of so many other books today). Delirium is the right edges of fun, sadness, happiness, fright, and danger. It far exceeded my expectations! Definitely one of my new favorite books!
