Student Book Reviews-2013 Muskrat 2.0 Project
Student book reviews are important in the high school library! I want to recruit YOU to be an official reviewer of the books available in the AHS collection.To determine if a title is in the library collection, go to the
online catalogue and conduct a title search.
Requirements
A good book review combines author information with an overview of the theme of the book. But you can't give away the ending or the "good parts". A great overview of the book review writing process can be found in this Scholastic Lesson:
How to Write a Book Review. Please use this as your writing guide. Don't forget the revise and edit process. Reviews with spelling errors can not be published. Use your spell checker!
Publishing
Your book review, once approved, will be published in two ways. First, respond to this post as a reader comment, copy and paste the review that you have written. Be sure to include your first name, last initial, and grade. After the review has been approved, I will transfer your comment to an actual blog post with the title of the book as the blog post title. You will then take the link to the blog post and create a QR code to place on the actual book found in the library collection. Students will then be able to use their iPads to read your book review when they are choosing a book. QR codes must be printed and on the AHS library book by the end of the first week of school. Happy reading!
6 comments:
Deadline by Chris Crutcher follows a high school senior through a year that's supposed to be full of joy, excitement, and anticipation, but instead gets turned upside down and heads in the complete opposite direction. Ben Wolf lives in a small town in Idaho where everybody knows everybody. Ben is small in stature, and his little brother Cody is his best friend. This story follows Ben through the journey of his senior year, which isn't all it was planned out to be after he gets diagnosed with a rare cancer during his sports physical before school starts.
What makes this book unique is what Ben decides to do after being diagnosed. Instead of accepting treatment for his illness, he decides to not only deny any treatment, but he also doesn't inform anybody of the disease. He doesn't want to tell his best friend, his brother, his family, or even his soon to be girlfriend. Since he is eighteen, the doctor isn't legally allowed to tell anybody about the illness either. Ben decides to live out his senior year to the fullest. Prior to his diagnosis, Ben was very focused and ready to take senior year seriously rather than goofing off. But, now he decides to be carefree, do things he has never done before, take risks, and just live the last year of his life to the fullest.
This book will make you laugh, and it also has the ability to make you cry. Ben is a very unique kid, and being diagnosed with cancer and deciding to put up literally no fight and just live his life out seems completely ridiculous at first. But throughout the novel, Ben's thinking behind his decision is made more clear and it becomes more understandable as Ben's personality develops. At some points, this book can be tough to read because of how real it is with the subject of death. But the lessons learned from this book are much completely worth reading through some tough parts.
Chris Crutcher is a best-selling author of eleven books who is known for writing powerful mixes of humor and tragedy, which is exactly what Deadline is. He was born in 1946 in Ohio, and he says that his novels are influenced by his experiences as a child, a family therapist, and a child protection advocate. Crutcher is one of the most frequently banned authors in North America, and this is something he considers an accomplishment. The reason his books are banned so often is because of his brutal honesty and authentic voice, just like what can be heard in Deadline.
I would recommend this book to anybody who enjoys tragedies and is able to read and handle difficult stories. This book will pull strings on your heart and at times, it can be very sad and scary. But that's what made me enjoy it so much. It was one of the realist novels I have ever read, with a first hand experience of a teenager who is faced with death at such a young age. It will inspire you to live your life to the fullest while you still have it. Although Ben Wolf is a fictional character, he can still serve as an inspiration to anybody who reads this story, and the lessons learned from this book are more powerful than you would think.
A Long Way Gone written by Ismael Beah is one of the toughest books I have ever had to read. Since it is a memoir, all the events that take place actually happened, and this is what makes it difficult. Following the life of Ishmael, who is a young boy at the time, this book tells the story of what it was like for him being a child solider during the war in Africa. The struggles that he faces are more challenging than any struggles most of us American children have faced or will have to face in our lives. This memoir tells the story of struggle and hope from Ishmael's point of view during the rough times he faced in Africa.
When Ismael's home town is invaded by soldiers, himself, his family, and his friends are forced to run. When Ismael loses his family, it's just him and his friends left to outrun the army and try to find a way to stay hidden so they won't have to join them. They can only run for so long though, and are eventually captured. This is when the real struggle begins.
Ismael represents strength, willpower, and courage throughout the whole story. His starts his journey as just a twelve year old boy, all alone, running from the army without any family and the few friends he does have, he eventually loses. After he is captured, he learns how to kill and feel no sympathy. How Ishmael changes for the worse is a huge eye-opener to readers. It shows what evil people can do to a person. Before Ishmael gets captured, he is a caring boy, who openly admits that he wouldn't ever be able to kill anybody. But, once he is in the army, these feelings change.
For readers who think they won't enjoy this book because they don't like learning about war and history, I can say that they are most likely wrong. I get very bored with war stories and history is my least favorite subject, but this book kept me interested the whole time. It isn't written just to show people what war was like, it's written to show people what actually happened to the soldiers. Ishmael tells the story through experience, and he shows how people can become evil, like he did himself. This book isn't very sensitive, and parts can be very graphic, but it does an amazing job of truly showing what life was like for these children and adults during this tough time in Africa, and how they recovered from the harsh things they had to go through, if they made it out alive.
Ismael, the author, was born in Sierra Leone in 1980. After his struggles as a child, he moved to the United States to finish his school, and how he does this is explained in his story. Here, he has spoken before many groups like the United Nations about children soldiers and the war. His story has changed many peoples lives, and he has become a symbol of hope.
I recommend this book to anybody who wants to learn more about other cultures and become more open-minded. As someone who has never read anything like this before, I can say that this book changed my views and helped me understand African culture, how bad things like this happened in their country, and how it affected and changed people. This book tells an amazing story about a courageous boy who escapes a life that seems to be inescapable. This is one of those books that once you start reading it, you have a hard time putting it down, and I give it five stars.
Where Things Come Back written by John Corey Whaley tells a story about a teenage boy whose life takes a turn for the worse at the beginning of the summer after he has graduated. Not only has he seen his first dead body after his cousin overdoses, but he also has to deal with the mysterious disappearance of his younger brother Gabriel Witter. On top of all this, Cullen Witter is awfully annoyed in his small town of Lily, Arkansas when some man claims that he has recently seen a rare bird that hasn’t been seen anywhere in the world for decades. This causes an outbreak of fame brought to this little town that should be focusing on the disappearance of his brother, but instead is focusing on the hunt for a bird.
Not only is this book about Cullen and the search for his brother, but the author also introduces a new character with a new story in the second chapter. This character is Benton Sage, a young, intelligent, and caring boy who is about to leave for a missionary trip for his church. While he is gone, Benton discovers who he really is, and when he comes back, he is considered a failure to his father, which causes his life and attitude to go downhill. He leaves home and starts a new life at college where he meets his best friend Cabot Searcy, who eventually becomes a very important character in the novel.
How these two stories relate is answered at the end of the novel, when the two seemingly distant stories collide. But, the events that take place in between are all relevant to determining this relationship. Lily is a small, boring, and uneventful town where everybody knows everybody. For this reason, these stories become easily connected. The emotions that can be felt when reading this novel range from sadness and confusion, with happiness, shock, and hope felt in between.
The structure of the novel may get confusing to some readers at times, since it goes back and forth between stories. At first, it may be hard to follow each story, but once the novel gets going and the stories start becoming more connected, it all will begin to make sense. The climax and ending will definitely catch every reader off guard, but then you’ll start asking yourself, how did I not see that coming?
John Corey Whaley grew up in Springhill, Louisiana, which is also a very small town, which may be why he decided to make this story take place in a small town as well. Where Things Come Back was the first novel he ever wrote; after teaching for five years and daydreaming every day about writing a novel, he finally decided to write one in 2011. He currently has another novel underway, and if it’s anything like his first one, there is no doubt that it will be successful.
I would recommend this book to any reader of any age. It is challenging because of the structure, but easy to comprehend. If you enjoy realistic fiction stories with drama, suspense, and mystery, Where Things Come Back is the book for you. This book will make you laugh, make you sad, confuse you, and surprise you, but this is what makes it so great. This book is definitely one of the best books I have ever read, and it is a good, interesting read for anybody.
The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green, tells the story of two teenagers with cancer: Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters. Hazel has terminal thyroid cancer with metastasis on her lungs, and Augustus Waters has osteosarcoma, and lost his leg to it. They meet through a Cancer Kid Support Group. They start seeing each other more, and they fall in love.
This book can bring all emotions, even ones you didn't know existed. Hazel and Augustus are so mature for their age that they could pass for adults. They don't talk their age, and they can have these beautiful long speeches and conversations. Augustus is also amazing because he is so brave. He could do anything, even with his cancer and one leg.
Anyone who has experience death can relate to The Fault in Our Stars. Not only can some people relate, but I believe all can. Anyone who has experience sadness, happiness, fear, or excitement can connect to any of the characters. I could relate to Hazel, because I worry a lot. Anybody who has experience death could relate to any of the characters.
The story takes place in Indianapolis, which is John Green's hometown. He chose Indianapolis because it is a very normal city, where normal things (like cancer) can happen to normal people (like Hazel and Gus.) I like how he used places he knew, like the Funky Bones statue. John also chose one of his favorite places, Amsterdam, to set the book in. Amsterdam is a drowning city, and Hazel is drowning because of her metastasis.
The main theme in The Fault in Our Stars is kind of obvious. Love triumphs over struggle. Hazel and Gus really do love each other so much, that they can forget their diseases to focus on the other person. I wish there were more people like them, because they are so caring and kind. I would recommend this book to every body. There isn't one person who shouldn't read it, because it teaches great life lessons, like not to give up when things are at the lowest point, because life can be a roller coaster that can only go up.
Jenna Stone 9th Grade....... Half Brother By Kenneth Oppel is about a young boy named Ben who has been the only child for 13 years and only had to live with his parents. Untill one day when Bens dad came home and said that he was part of a project called the Jennifer Project. Ben than realized that he was gonna be a brother but not any normal brother.
Bens brother is going to be a chimp named Zen. The point of the project is to see if a chimp can create mind skills of a human. Ben than has to love him and teach him sign language..Ben is actually the first to teach Zen sign language. He teaches him the sign for "hug".
Until one terrific thing happens, Zen is taken away.
Ben than has to face his fears. Over power the struggles he faces. He needs to determine how much he loves Zen. He needs to think of what he can do to get him back. How he's going to protect him.
I find that almost everyone can relate to this story. It has different details that get to everybody. People that are animal lovers can relate a lot. People who also like the kind of books that are challenging to figure out. Therefore I think its a good read for anyone.
I really like this book because it has a strong message. I also really like this book because most people think that just because it's a wild animal they're dangerous and you should stay away from them. This book stays away from that and proves to us that chimps are loving,bright, cuddly and can play around to and not always destructive.
I Would Recomened this book to any age or gender. If you love fiction books youll like this book. If you love animal related books you will definitely like this book. I think it gives a powerful message about life and growing up. It has lots of powerful lessons to.
Reading this book in Gemma’s point of view makes this book intriguing by the way she wraps her mind around the little details of everything. Jessica Sorensen makes Gemma have a sense of dry humor that made me laugh anyway. When Gemma started to feel emotions was when the book started to be a page turner. “But when I suddenly felt compelled to look up at him, I actually did. And boy was I in for a real shock. And I’m not talking about the emotional kind of shock. I’m talking about a literal shock.” Those few sentences reeled me in wondering to the extent why having never met someone before would make her feel not emotionally shocked but physically.
Alex and Aislin Avery were the new kids in school and were assigned to sit at Gemma’s table in Mr. Sterling’s astronomy class. Being with them every day gave Gemma more and more reason to start looking into her past. Alex and Aislin weren’t too secretive as to talk about Gemma without realizing she was around, that having the effect of dropping more hints for Gemma to realize something was up. Most of when Aislin had to transport herself, Alex and Gemma away from the yellow eyed figures that Aislin and Alex knew of as Death Walkers.
Sophia and Marco (Gemma’s grandparents) were starting to show feeling towards Gemma. Which she thought was odd, but even odder when Sophia had to keep denying that she cared when she started to ask Gemma meaningful questions and wondering what she was up to. Gemma was officially raged when Alex was over her house to work on an astronomy project and was downstairs having what sounded like a more heart filled conversation with Sophia until she realized they were talking about her. Not just the simple things about Gemma, the conversation that made more questions linger in Gemma’s head. “’You know the rules, Alex.” Sophia’s tone was razor-sharp. “So you should know better than to be getting close to her.”’ Especially this one when Alex went downstairs to leave it didn’t seem right for a ‘first meet’ conversation it had to mean they knew each other from what, Gemma hadn’t a clue.
Sorensen lives in Wyoming in the snowy mountains, and related her scenery in The Falling Star to a small town that is snowy and cold most of the year in Afton, CO. Some of her scenes from the book are up in the mountains of Colorado, where Alex takes Gemma when he offers to help her escape the boring effect of school. Jessica Sorensen has a family that she spends most of her time with, but when is not present with them she is reading and writing the novels I become attached to and make me feel for the characters.
The Fallen Star is not just a book, but a series I hope becomes movies. The pictures Sorensen draws in my mind not just of the characters, but the emotions shown on the characters and the feelings pouring off of them are just so vivid I could make a movie out of every little detail exposed. Sorensen has broken my heart over and over again by reading The Fallen Star, but also picked up every piece placing it back together with the happiness and love shown between the characters. I would recommend this book to any young adult or adult that was looking for a romance locked with the description of a Fantasy. I was replaying every scene in my head while writing this review. Jessica Sorensen did a wonderful job at writing this book, let alone this series.
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