The book the Girl Who Survived is a girl's true story about surviving the Holocaust. The Holocaust is when Adolf Hitler tired to destroy all Jewish people in Europe. Eleven year old Bronia risked her life to keep her family alive and healthy during the war. She smuggled goods to trade for food.Then Bronia and her sisters were deported to Auschwitz II - Birkenau concentration camp and with courage and the help of strangers Bronia became one of the youngest survivors. The main problem is that Bronia Mila and two younger sisters are sent to a concentration camp. On the day they arrived Bronia and her two younger sisters were sent to the left which means they were going to be murdered in gas chambers. Bronia decides to take the risk and she moves to the right with her older sister Mila which means she gets to live she then realizes that she had sent her younger sisters to die alone will she ever see anyone from her family again. 

The Raft (Write Something)

The Raft is a story where this 16 or 17 year old girl crashes down in the middle of the ocean. She was left alone in her apartment when she decided that she wanted to go back to her parents house. Her name is Robie and she was visiting  her aunt's house for a week or two. Robie had a tragic event where a homeless man grabbed her hair in the middle of the night and left her scared and terrified. So again she decided to go back to her parent house, she travels in a plane. The plane has a problem with how much weight the plane can handle in order to fly. She and the other people on that plane heard noises and the alarms were so loud that they were all panicking and the plane went straight down the water. There was a emergency float, she survived and one other person. Her only sort of food to survived was a bag of skittles. Robie and the other person who survived ( I forgot his name) slept and didn't say much to each other because he was in shock. But after awhile He worked up starting talking to each other and closing. That was the last thing I remembered about this book which for me is miracle that I read because I'm not to found about books but this one had my eyes open the whole time. If you want a book that is interesting and want to see what happens at the end (pick it up).

Asanti- Semester 1 SSR Blog Post

During the first semester, I was able to read two books. Of the two books, I will be discussing
The Trash Bag Murderer by Tony Stewart. In the true crime biography, Tony Stewart talks about
the life of a serial killer named Patrick Kearney. The book was relatively short, having around
180 pages with a big font. Stewart knew Patrick since he was a young child. Patrick Kearney killed
more than 30 people and molested each one of his victims. Even though he had done all of this, he
never got the death penalty, only because he confessed to most of his killings. When I first started
reading it, I was interested because the book details how a man was able to get away with so many
killings for so long. Patrick Kearney had a 180 IQ and was able to outsmart the police. Then as I
kept reading it, I got tired of reading about all the killings, especially when Tony talks about how
Kearney killed then raped little boys. I would recommend this book to people who like reading true
crime books. Not everyone would be able to stomach the contents in this book. It was an interesting
read because I have never read a true crime before, but I doubt I will read one willingly again.

1st Semester SSR BLOG

One of the books I read last semester is "Lincoln's Graves Robbers" by Steve Sheinkin. This book is a 214-page novel. This was based on real story. The book is about a gang of robbers who want to steal Lincoln to get their leader back because he is in prison. He went to prison because he was a counterfeiter, he was using fake money to buy things. there a detective who is friend of Lincoln's son, this detective named Tyrrell who suspects that there a gang that are trying to rob Lincoln's Body, but his ignored by his boss because they think he is acting up because he has always been closed to Lincoln's family.
I liked this book because the action in this true crime thriller alternates among the conspirators, the Secret service agents on their trail, and the undercover double agent moving back and forth between the two groups. Along the way, get a glimpse into the inner workings of counterfeiting, graves robbing, detective work, and the early days of the secret service. The plot move toward a wild climax as robbers and lawn-men converge at Lincoln's tomb on election night, 1879.
what I would like to change about this book is one of the character, Tyrell because he is trying to track down the counterfeiter, but he is mostly stopped by his boss because this case involved Tyrell's friend, who is Lincoln's son. To solve this case Tyrell doesn't get much help from his boss or the other detectives. In other word I would've liked to see this characters having more resources to track down the Lincoln's graves robbers.

I don’t know I’m doing this right but  what sup everyone my name is angel and I’m going talk about
“Riding with the hells angel” a fiction book by Kerrie Droban  . That talks about drugs trafficking in Tijuana ,to  California. The city of Los Angeles . Back in the 1960 the  biker were so big They had fake police members involved to help them  escape or to cover up. The biker cause many death and was a serious  gang that inspired more people to do the same.   But Kerrie Droban the author was  a uneducated person. I still wonder how he manage to write such a story  it has  four hundred and
Fifty five pages long but the good thing is they gave you good picture or quotes  that you could  help you refresh’s anytimes   Riding  with the hell angels was more like a documentary  a mysterious crime  book and that make you stop and think.  In today’s world  how smart these people were
In my opinion the book was very interesting it help me keep focus in class  even though Im. Not a strong reader  I would highly recommend this book. if  you interested about two poor. uneducated self made.   brother who made fortune  of dollars.  It also talk about how they laugh about Getting away with the crimes  due to there  intelligence. It all started how a good bike gang went down hill and cause thousands of death  which cause the 70 s  have a huge drug ,break out . Their  work led to the shocking 2003 bust in which AFT agents  arrested fifty people and seized 650  gun 30.000 round of ammunition and more than 100 explosives item not including grenades and naplam
Not to mention kerrie Droban was a criminal defense attorney who coauthored the capital appeal state
The book first talk about the author who  she was ,and what’s she did as a kid. than goes back in time like a Flashback  or something talking about the bikers  , and the crimes of these. biker gang

J. Jiyacharoen - Semester 1 SSR Blog Post

     An interesting book that I've read during the first semester is Playground is a book written by Curtis James Jackson III or better known as the rapper 50 Cent. It is a 340 page book with the genre of realistic fictional novel.

     This book follows the main character "Butterball". Butterball is a black, overweight student in middle school who struggles with keeping his life together. His family is not well off, and he suffers from lack of attention from both of his parents as they are divorced. He spends most of his time alone as his mother is busy pursing her dream of becoming a nurse while his father is busy chasing women. The story follows him as he is a juvenile that learns to cope with his emotions and his background with the help of therapist, Liza.

     What hooked me into this book was the emotions that could be felt from the characters, and I wanted to see what would become of Butterball as I pitied him for being a loner. It was interesting to see Butterball's interactions with other people and the slang he uses. Him talking to Liza and opening up to her were some of my favorite moments in the book as it was quite humorous. I felt connected to him in a way as his emotions sometimes get the best of him, which clouds his reasoning many times especially when it involved his love interest. Butterball is a very dynamic character that has amazed me with his growth and his life choices.

     Throughout the story, it was awesome to see Butterball learning better morals and learning to be more considerate of others. If I were to change something about the book, I would like to add a part where he reconciles with his friend Maurice, whom he beats up in the beginning. 

A Game of Thrones Book Review

     The book I read and thoroughly enjoyed was A Game of Thrones, an 807 page novel By George R.R. Martin.  The story takes place in a World split into two parts, Westeros and Essos.  Each chapter in the book follows the perspective of a different character, giving you many different point of views.  The book makes it clear however that the true main protagonists are the Stark family as well as the Targaryan Siblings.  These two families are on Westeros and Esssos respectively, and are faced with multiple challenges among their travels.  The first main trouble that is encountered by the Stark family would be the attack on young Bran Stark, the prince of the Stark household.  When climbing along the towers and holdfasts in Winterfell, his home castle, he had witnessed something he shouldn't have, and was pushed from the high tower and sent into a coma once landing.  They had repeatedly attempted to assassinate young Bran in his comatose state because of fear that he might know something that could usurp the crown, but all assassination attempts fail.  However, when Bran does wake up he does not remember anything that took place before the fall.

     A second perspective can be viewed from Daenerys' eyes, all the way in Essos.  Daenerys is the daughter of the old Targaryan king, before the now king waged a rebellion and murdered him.  She was forced into hiding in Essos and is working on Gathering up an army for her brother to assist him in becoming king.  In order to do so she was forced into marriage with a barbaric ruler of a tribe in order to gain his army.  The trouble begins when Daenerys learns that she has more power than her now wimpy and abusive brother, and also begins to love her new husband.  This ends in her brother's demise and she ends up ruling the tribe alongside her husband.

     Daenerys is easily my favorite character.  Her character development shows her evolve from a weak, easily manipulated individual to becoming the strong leader she is at the end of the book.  She deals with so many shortcomings and bounces back from them so easily that it's hard to not admire her.  She was pushed around, forced into marriage, witnessed multiple deaths and adapted to a barbaric culture unknown to her, and still reigned as their queen on top of all the shortcomings.

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

"Highly Illogical Behavior" by John Corey Whaley is a fictional story that follows the life of two high school students, an overachiever named Lisa Praytor, and an agoraphobe named Solomon Reed.  The story is told in Solomon's point of view in every odd numbered chapter, and is told in Lisa's point of view in every even numbered chapter. 

Solomon's chapters illustrate his experiences with agoraphobia, or the fear of places and situations that might cause panic, helplessness, or embarrassment.  After an embarrassing meltdown in front of the school, Solomon Reed made a decision to never leave home.  Since then, Solomon hasn't left his house in 3 years, 2 months, and a day.  At home, he had more control over his anxiety and was comfortable, and he did not plan to leave anytime soon.

Enter Lisa Praytor, an intelligent, high-achieving high school junior whose dream is to the 2nd best psychology program in the US.  In order to earn a scholarship to her program of choice, she needs to write an essay about her experience with mental illness. She remembers Solomon, and his meltdown from middle school, and decides she can find and cure him, resulting in the best story and essay that the program has ever seen.

Witty, funny, and bittersweet, this coming-of-age story realistically illustrates teenagers and their interactions.  The story was truly captivating due to its interesting character development and the ability to relate with its characters.  Solomon's crippling anxiety and agoraphobia are treated seriously, but through his quirky personality, we get to see that people with mental illness aren't defined by their issues.  There are twists and turns that the author throws in later in the book that keep the story interesting and raises the reader's curiosity.  All in all, this book makes for a sweet and entertaining read, and has become one of my favorites. 

A Date with Death

A Date with Death: The Secret Life of the Accused “Craigslist Killer” by Michele McPhee. Basically the genre of the book is true crime. This book has 282 pages. Michele published the book on May 25, 2010. The book that I read was very interesting, it’s basically about this main character Philip and how he gets accused of killing women and stealing from them and being arrested because of it. And in my opinion, the story was somewhat predictable but since the story was really great, you would not really mind the predictions that turns out right. Also, If I were to change one thing in the story, that would be when one of the characters got busted but instead of stopping what he’s doing and turning himself in, he continues with pursuing the wrong decisions which affects his relationship with everyone and even his school. Things could’ve ended well if he chose the right thing.
One thing that I liked about this book is when one of the characters, Megan did not give up even though many people are angry with her because of her relationship with one of the Philip. The two met in a med school and that was when they became closer and that was when their story started. The only thing that I do not like about this book was that he did not stop killing people even though the news said that the police started the investigation about women’s dying but at the same time this makes the book interesting and it kept the readers going. 

Harry Potter And The Cursed Child // SSR 1st semester blog

A book I read last semester was “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” written by  J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne. The genre of the book is Fantasy, Adventure, Drama, Science, and Fiction. The total amount of pages in the book is 328. So this book was really entertaining to read because it alway caught my attention. The plot of the book is that all the characters from the Harry Potter book series are all adults now and they have children that attend Hogwarts and secret prophecy is happening behind the scenes. The two main characters of the story are Harry Potter's youngest son and Draco Malfoy's son. There were so many unexpected turns in the story that I didn't expect to be honest and made me want to read more and more. I just love how the book was written. It just kept me interested until the last page and you get that feeling when you end something but you really want there to be more since you are so invested in it.            

"Die Young With Me" SSR Blog Post

In the autobiography "Die Young With Me" by Rob Rufus, the story of a pair of twins and their journey through the world of punk rock is told in a very eye catching and exciting manner. Set in the 1980s, the twins, Rob (the narrator) and Nat, begin their love for punk and the community that comes with it. In order to become more deeply involved in this passion of theirs, they decide to start a band in their basement that actually becomes a quick sensation in their small Virginia town. After making a name for themselves, they finally get offered a chance to perform at a huge national event; however, things quickly take a turn for the worst after Rob is diagnosed with a rare and advanced form of lung cancer that completely hinders his ability to continue. Now, with his dreams crushed and a very difficult battle ahead of him, Rob must face the harsh reality of his disease, a reality that makes him question if he'll make it out alive, and if he does, who will still be by his side?

Coming from someone who has never in their life been interested in punk rock or anything remotely similar, this book actually gave me a huge amount of enjoyment, despite the foreign environment. I really just grabbed any book off of the shelf and quickly thought I should choose another when I first started reading, but soon it was hard to take my eyes off the pages. The story is told in such a way that engulfs the mind of the reader and has you dive headfirst into the world that is punk rock. I believe it was a great read because of the fact that the author and his life was so different from mine that it allowed me to imagine what it would be like in someone completely different's shoes. I loved the emotion in this book, in which there was plenty, and how relatable yet unrelatable many of their situations were. Even if you're like me and have no interest or any idea about punk rock, I would very much suggest this as your next read because you may enjoy it just as much as I did.

SSR 1st semester blog

My book that I read for the first semester was called “ The Wednesday wars “ by Gary D. Schmidt. What this book was about what that there are two classes you either belong to, either upper class or bottom class. The main character holling hoodhood who was now a seventh grader attending Camilo Junior High spent everything single Wednesday afternoons with his teacher mrs.baker. Holling and his sister need to be on their best behavior because their dads business depends on it. He got on the wrong foot with mrs.baker especially since she was making his read Shakespeare , holling not knowing why but he did it because he knew how important it was to his dad and the family business. He spent every afternoon Wednesday with her reading Shakespeare or helping her with her pet rats. Soon he started to realize why and that was because she had trusted him and she was teaching him lessons about life and such forth. I recommend reading this book because it went from this junior high kid not to wanting to come every Wednesday but started to and started learning from it and why it was important. It teaches you that something may not always be easy in the beginning or why something happeneds but later on either started to enjoy it or seeing the purpose behind it.

The Duff

During the past semester, I read “The Duff" by Kody Keplinger, which is 320 pages long. The genre of the book is young adult fiction. This novel is about a young teenage girl named Bianca. She’s not just an ordinary teenager, she doesn’t love to party like friends, nor she doesn’t like to talk to boys. She is considered a Duff, which means “designated fat friend”.  A jock named Wesley named her that, because she is the least pretty one of her group of friends Throughout the book, Bianca does have some issues with Wesley. Even though she doesn’t like Wesely, her actions get out of control and she begins to have feelings for him. I enjoyed this book because it was something different than any other teenage love story, it was funny and sweet. It was for sure one of those books you can’t let go of. There are so many intense moments in each chapter, which kept me amused. I felt connected to the book because, I am the same age as the main character, so I have a lot of stuff to relate to her high school experiences. The major points were predictable throughout the book. The writing was simplistic and the characters were static, the only ones that did change were Wesely and Binaca. So far I loved this book, so I wouldn't change anything. If you like drama and romance, I highly recommend this book!

"A time to kill" 1st Semester SSR blog

The book that I read from the first semester is “A time to kill” by John Grisham a 1988 novel, the genre of the novel is Fiction, Mystery, Legal thriller, Legal Story and has a total of 515 pages. It is about crime and racism. The story of the book begins when two men named Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Willard raped a ten-year-old black girl Tonya Hailey, they brutally tortured her and throw her off into the bridge but luckily she survived, she suffered a lot of injuries around her body. Sheriff Ozzie Walls, the only black sheriff in their town arrested the two suspects with his sidekick. The suspect, and the victim faced a trial about their issue, and days later as Cobb the suspect leaves the courtroom , Carl Lee Hailey, Tonya’s father, went to janitor’s closet and kills the suspect using an illegally obtained M-16 rifle. Thirty-two-year-old Jake Brigance, a white lawyer rehearsing out of a performance firm in the community of Clanton, to speak to Carl Lee. Early on, Jake and his family starts getting threatening phone calls from white network individuals who would prefer not to see Carl Lee cleared. The dangers in the long run grow into hatred. Jake sends his significant other and girl away to remain with family until the finishes. Critics like A Time to Kill. Grisham specialized in matters for a long time, and the legit scenes demonstrate realness and accuracy with respect to the manner in which legal counselors experience a criminal preliminary. The tale was later adjusted into a significant film, which additionally got positive surveys.
I suggest reading this book, because at the beginning of the book it already shows the thrill and some issues of the story which interest me and gives me preference reading the whole story.

“True worship in the demonstrations of the spirit” B.R. Hicks

The book I read this semester is called “True worship in the demonstrations of the spirit” by B.R. Hicks. This is a short book of 113 pages but I can say she’s a detailed writer, B.R. Hicks is so informative and passionate about the truth she shares. This is a Christian book that goes into depth about what the real biblical textual evidence says about the demonstrations of the Holy Spirit. She mentions how in prayer when lifting your heart can also be shown as lifting your hands which is a demonstration of internal/ external surrender to God. She numbers the many demonstrations of the spirit in Roman numerals. She also includes dancing in the spirit, leaping in the spirit, weeping, shaking and others as well. This book really showed me exactly what it is titled and goes into details where in the Bible are the verses that show where these demonstrations have came up many times.

The Book Thief

The book I’m reading is called “The Book Thief by Markus Zusak it’s a very interesting book to read it’s amazed me whenever we do SSR. This book is about a girl named Liesel in World War 2 she confiscates books learns how to read and she is most comfortable using words she also has a brother named Max they work together to escape from the Jews to survive and not being punished in slavery or etc. They are the only ones survived World war 2. This amazed me to go on with the story because it’s getting really intense whether they do survive or not it’s over 500 pages and this will take me a while to finish. During World War 2 there parents died in the war but they only survived that feels depressing because they lost their love of their lives to protect them. I will continue reading it until I actually finished because it’s really good to see what happens next.

The girl in the blue coat by Monica Hesse

One of the book I read last semester is “the girl in the blue coat” by Monica Hesse and it is a 301 page book. The genre of this book is mystery and historical fiction.This book is about a teenager named Hannekke   in 1943 who lived in Amsterdam Netherlands. Hannekke spends most of her day selling black market goods to those who can pay for it to keep her parents and herself fed. Her nights hiding the true nature of her work from concerned parents, and every waking moment mourning after her boyfriend, who was killed on the Dutch when Germans invaded which she had felt guilty for pushing him to join the war at the time. After one of Hanneke customers to search for a 15 year old Jewish girl named Mirjam who has vanished from the secret room without a trace. At first, Hannekke refuses to have anything to do with Mrs.jannsen and her dilemma but she later is drawn to the mystery of the disappearance of the Jewish girl…

At first this book seems boring but reading more it gets more and more interesting I would recommend this book to people who are interested in the war and the Jewish and Nazi party overall very good book. 

The book that I read was called T.H.U.G in other words the hate u give. The book was based on a girl named star she was the main character and she had two other brothers. The book was based on star and how she battled racism an police brutality. 

Star lived in the hood and went to school In suburbs along with her other siblings. She had two different life’s and friends. Star was had a friend named Khalil. She had saw Khalil at a party that her friends begged her to go to. The party ended up getting shot up. Khalil offered be a ride home. They pulled over and were listening to music and once they pulled off a police officer pulled them over. Star did what her dad taught her to do which was put her hands on top of the sun viser. The officer asked khalil to step out the car. Khalil stepped out and was not serious about the situation he reached in the car and the officer shot him. Star ran out the car to help him and the officer yelled “where’s the gun” and star yelled back “what gun”. 

During the past semester I read a book called We Were Liars by E.Lockhart. This novel is about a girl named Cadence Sinclair who lives her life without knowing what happened during a summer vacation. One of her biggest obstacles is having to be what her mother wants her to be, a Sinclair. This  involves living without being able to show emotion or weakness. The Sinclairs were born expected to be as perfect as possible. Even though at moments Cadence feels tired of her own life, she keeps on pushing through not being able to express herself. She goes through many obstacles but seems to survive each one of them. Her love life does plays a huge role in being able to distract her from her problems. She is a strong character with the ability to show strength in times of hardship and expected weakness. The main character Cadence has truly impacted me because she demonstrated the strength needed to get through tough times through out the novel. Cadence is very relatable and inspiring because she like everyone else suffers for reasons that are common in today's world, such as a divorce. In cases like this children who have parents going through a separation are going through a very harsh moment of their life witnessing the people they love the most no longer share a connection and be together anymore. With a divorce a family is broken and this most times is not easy for a kid to understand or get used to. In addition, Cadence has to put on an act and hide her true self to be by her mother's family. I can connect to this because sometimes as normal growing teenagers we dont see eye to eye and dont always want the same things. Although the decisions by parents are oftenly made with love and for our best interest, we feel we need to develop independence and live our own lives filled with our own desires.

Semester 1 SSR Blog

One book that I chose was “I Have Lost My Way” by Gayle Forman. It is very similar to the story/movie ‘If I Stay’ which it is very emotional story same as the story that I choose. The total page that I read was 368 pages. A powerful display of empathy and friendship, around the time that Freya loses her voice while recording her debut album, Harun is making plans to run away from home to find the boy that he loves, and Nathaniel is arriving in New York City after a family tragedy leaves him isolated on the outskirts of Washington state. After the three of them collide in Central Park, they slowly reveal the parts of their past that they haven't been able to confront, and together, they find their way back to who they're supposed to be. Told over the course of a single day from three different perspectives. 

Gayle Forman's newest novel about the power of friendship and being true to who you are is filled with the elegant prose that her fans have come to know and love. The story takes place over the course of one day and is broken up with flashbacks that reveal how Freya, Harun and Nathaniel have all lost something important to them. Freya, a rising popstar, has just lost her voice. Harun has lost the love of his life. Nathaniel has lost the most important person to him, his father. The teens are brought together after a series of strange events, and although each character’s background differs dramatically from the others, their shared feelings of grief bind them together in a strange and powerful way.

SSR BLOG

One of the books I read on the first semester is titled WHEN. The author to this book is Victoria Laurie, it is a 327 page book. This book was published by Disney Hyperion on January 15, 2015. The genres of this book are crime, mystery, thriller, and young adult. Maddie Fynn is a shy junior in high school, frightening and strange intuitive ability. She visualizes a unique digits gliding above everyone's foreheads. Her latest memory are marked numbers, but it takes her father's death for Maddie and her family that it was mysterious numbers are actually date of births, dates, and deaths everyone has. Maddie's mother was an alcoholic and used her ability to make extra cash, then Maddie identifies the quickly getting closer to one of the young client's young son's death death because her power lets her see when someone is about to die. She cant offer any more insight. Maddie then entangled in a homocide investigation, and young people diapper and are later found killed. A suspect for the investigation, a target for the murderer, and attracting the attention of a mysterious young admirer who is connected to all of it. Maddie' s whole existence is about to be turned upside down. Did I feel connected? Yes, this story is very interesting I swear overtime I opened the book i didn't want to stop reading it. How was the writing? The writing was easy to understand. If i were to change anything about this book it would be to add more character's with more powers to have make it more interesting and to get the readers to more hooked up with the different things that are happening. If i were to rate this book it would be a 9 out of 10 because this is probably like the first time i actually read since like elementary school. The whole story was just great and for me to actually like it then it's a must read. I used to think it was useless until we actually had to do a SSR thing on our notebooks. If it weren't for the I would probably not even do anything.

Murder on a lonely road

Murder on a lonely road

by George Pawlaczyk and Beth Hundsdorfer

Jackie Jones, a popular teen beauty queen from rural Missouri, was raped and beaten in the middle of the night.Everyone knew that the local rich kid playboy type was guilty but there was no proof. Murder on a Lonely Road describes the 25 year law enforcement to gather evidence to prove what everyone knew.As the missing young women plie up, the case grows colder. Are the police on the right track, or have they missed the real murderer by focusing all of their attention on the most obvious suspect?

Beth and George are experienced reporters, familiar to people in southern Illinois for their wonderful reporting on criminal justice issues.The police were on the right track and did not find out who actually took the girls and killed them so no one was left behind.

could of been way better with much less details. story would jump around into different years. they finally got their man, but could not get him on all the women they think he killed. you would think the police had enough on gerry carnahan, to get him ,it seems to me gerry just has way too much money to get off from the murder charges. hopefully at some point he will be charged, he should be.

Rules of Civility

   “Rules of civility,” by Amor Towles is a nonfiction novel. The book is set in the 1930s through the 1960s with three main characters who draw you in. Katey and Eve are two young women who cruise the streets of New York looking for wealth and success when a young man named Tinker waltz into their lives changing everything. 

   After the three of them meet on New Year’s Day they all befriend each other and within the first few chapters we can see that Tinker is a well-off young man living his best life in New York.Tinker takes these two women to many fancy restaurants where they are captivated and quite intrigued by Tinkers life and how he got there.There was also a concealed romance between Tinker and Katey but Eve called,“dibs” first. Unfortunately while Tinker was driving home with the girls a milk truck hit his car and left Eve’s face completely disfigured. The cute trio was no more as Tinker felt uncontrollably guilty for the accident which ultimately precipitates him to stay by Eve’s side for the majority of the novel.

   In the beginning of this novel, it was a wonderful read making me the reader want more. As it got to the main chapters it got boring or shall I say stagnant as I found myself reading semi pointless pages. The only question I had was whether Katey and Tinker were to be in a relationship after Eve’s car accident. Later on in the novel it was finally revealed. Even though my question was quite prolonged I really enjoyed this novel and recommend it to those who enjoy the 1930’s. 

Death Catchers Review

Last semester I read The Death catchers by Jennifer Anne Kogler which was 352 pages long. The genre of the book is fantasy fiction / paranormal fiction. In this book the main characters, in a way, have a power. It's a blessing and a curse. They can see when someone is going to die because their name shows up on their wrists in bright red. I usually don't like fictional books, however, this one had a pretty good story line that keeps you hooked. I would suggest reading this book if you don't usually like fictional books because this may change your mind.

Hey Everyone:

The book I read was called Insurgent by Veronica Roth, and it has 526 pages in it. This book is part of the Divergent Series. In this book they are the run from someone who has caused the city a lot of damage. One of the main characters is on the search to find out why her parents sacrificed their life. Whilst on the run they encounter many challenges and even unravel secrets from the past. Its an amazing book to read after reading Divergent, I highly suggest this book series.

Looking For Alaska by John Green | SSR

In John Green's young adult fiction novel, Looking For Alaska, Miles Halter has an unusual obsession with people's last words. Miles transfers to a boarding school, Culver Creek High-School, where he meets a group of strange misfit friends, one of them being Alaska Young, who introduces him to new hobbies and experiences. At his new school, he seeks the "Great Perhaps" and believes that there is something more for him.

One important theme of this book is the meaning of life. Throughout the book, Miles uses people's last words to define their meaning of life while searching for his own with the help of his friends. This book is about growing up and being introduced to real world problems. At the end of the book Miles faces a huge issue which would define his meaning of life.

"Entropy increases, things fall apart," is my favorite quote from this book. Entropy is the measure of disorder; therefore, if there is an abundance of entropy, things will fall apart. This quote is very important to the overall theme of the book, which I believe is growing up and the meaning of life. There are many great quotes that John Green writes in this book.

Looking For Alaska is one of John Green's best novels. If you have read Green's other novels, you would definitely enjoy this one! I highly recommend this book because it is completely unpredictable and interesting. This is easily my favorite book.

If you read Looking For Alaska, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

The Hate U Give By Angie Thomas

One of the books I read for first semester is called The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and is a 473 page novel. In this Young Adult novel, it presents  sixteen year old named Starr Carter who considers herself living in two different worlds: Garden Heights, a poor ghetto black neighborhood and Williamson Prep, a suburban prep school she attends. The unsteady balance between the two worlds is broken into pieces when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil, at the hands of a police officer. When Khalil’s death makes national headlines on the news many people, including Starr’s best friends in school accuse him of being a drug dealer and a gangbanger.     As protestors fill the streets in Garden Heights, everyone asks the mystery question “What happened that night?” And the only person that has the answer is Starr. But Starr has to be mindul of her actions because it can destroy her the community and could put her life in danger.    What I really loved about this book is that it contains very powerful messages. It helped me change the way I look at society today. Despite there being conflict with the law, it also dives deep in the community as well.        Another thing I loved about the book is how Starr’s family resembles almost like my family. We’re a close-knit family that overcomes challenges and always have one another’s back.

E. Ricasata - Semester 1 SSR Blog Post

One of the books I read for the first semester is titled Steelheart, the first book of the series The Reckoners, by Brandon Sanderson, which is a 386-page novel. In this sci-fi novel, it presents a world in which the appearance of a giant red star known as Calamity gave random people superpowers and near invincibility, turning them into Epics. The protagonist, David, lives in Newcago run by Steelheart and struggles to trust the Epics due to a tragic event involving his father. As a result, he spends his entire life studying them and participating in a secret resistance, the Reckoners, in an attempt to end the rule of the Epics.

What kept me glued to the book is the author's attention to details and sharpness in action scenes. Throughout the book, there are many different fighting scenes between the Reckoners and the Epics, and Sanderson did well keeping the readers intrigued as every twist and turn leaves readers guessing right up until the end (boo cliffhangers). It was also fun because Sanderson allows the audience to participate in the story by making them work out certain aspects of the Epics, such as their weaknesses and history. Then when the book finally reveals these details, I can't help but laugh at my wild theories. Also, even though the book includes super-powered villains, their names (Pink Pinkness and Deathpointer) were comical, brightening up the dark theme of the novel. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys marvel like stories.

One thing I would change about this book is the depth of David's character. His character is a typical teenager in that he is a nerd, lacks a sense of humor, and not particularly smooth around girls. However, he is also a deeply disordered teenager who is armed to the bone and equipped to kill, which is disturbing as he is eighteen years old. The fact that he is violent and does what his mind wants might influence readers (young adults) to idolize him, and become ruthless. As it is a series, the following book will presumably explore more of David, especially after the ending.  

conning harvard- julie zauzmer

Adam Wheeler is a student that committed fraud all the way to college after high school. Harvard was his dream. His acceptance was a success, however after trying to steal $45,000 in scholarships he had been caught for plagiarism on an essay and has taken into further consequences.

this book has 240 pages.

and genre is mystery.

The book has alot of scary plot twists making you wonder what is going to happen next, writing was simplistic

if i wanted to change the book i would make it longer because its the only book i liked.

Ugale- Semester 1 SSR Blog Post

Hi, folks!

I hope you enjoyed reading the books you've committed to for Independent Reading so far. Here's your first SSR check-in:

Step 1: Create a new POST in which you review one of the two books that you read for the first semester. If you read more than two books this semester, you can choose any of them to review. In your review, be sure to clearly state the title, author, genre, and total page number of the book. Then, summarize a bit of the plot (but don't give away the major spoilers!) to give us some context. Next, discuss what you liked or didn't like about this book.

• Feel free to use these questions to help guide you, but don't feel tied to simply answering them: How was the main character? Did you feel connected? Were the major plot points predictable? How was the writing? Poetic? Simplistic? Were the characters dynamic or static? Did that hurt or help the story? If you were to change anything about the book, what would it be? 

Step 2: Once other classmates have posted their reviews, COMMENT on two other reviews. (Be sure to read the comments on your review as well and engage in conversations as necessary.)

As always, your post should be around 250 words and your comments should be at least a few meaningful sentences.

NO PLAGIARIZING!

DUE DATES
One original post: Thursday, January 23rd
Two comments: Tuesday, January 28th

Hamlet full text with footnotes

Here is the full text of Hamlet with footnotes, if you find yourself needing to revisit the text outside of class.
Hamlet full text with footnotes