Do you like to read books about the Holocaust? This book, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne is gripping and powerful. The ending will rip your heart out!
Did you know it's also a currently showing movie?
http://www.film.com/movies/the-boy-in-striped-pajamas/15481268
Check it out today!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Book Review by Chance Norton
**** stars
This book by Anne Rice, Interview with the Vampire: a novel, is an engaging read that makes the reader truly care for what happens to the main characters. Yet because it is a book about vampires whose lives so transcend that of the everyday man, there are few real characters in this book, few that survive for more than a chapter.
The four characters that Anna Rice focuses on throughout this novel are Louis from colonial New Orleans, Lestat whose origins are undefined, Armand the wise and ancient leader, and Claudia the child vampire. The story weaves the tale of their lives through several hundred years of betrayals, infighting, death, and above all, a unique perspective on human life as only someone detached from it can see. The story gives an eerie look at what a vampire must do to survive as the world around him grows different from the colonial time that they knew to the time of automobiles and electricity. The most interesting thing to me though was the examination of what a vampire would have to do to simply go unnoticed in the world. Things we do everyday and never think about, things like traveling or eating. This book answers how a vampire would travel by boat from the Americas to the European continent and how they would make people think that they do normal things such as drink and eat in human company.
Overall this book is a great read especially when accompanied by the movie with Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas and Kirsten Dunst.
This book by Anne Rice, Interview with the Vampire: a novel, is an engaging read that makes the reader truly care for what happens to the main characters. Yet because it is a book about vampires whose lives so transcend that of the everyday man, there are few real characters in this book, few that survive for more than a chapter.
The four characters that Anna Rice focuses on throughout this novel are Louis from colonial New Orleans, Lestat whose origins are undefined, Armand the wise and ancient leader, and Claudia the child vampire. The story weaves the tale of their lives through several hundred years of betrayals, infighting, death, and above all, a unique perspective on human life as only someone detached from it can see. The story gives an eerie look at what a vampire must do to survive as the world around him grows different from the colonial time that they knew to the time of automobiles and electricity. The most interesting thing to me though was the examination of what a vampire would have to do to simply go unnoticed in the world. Things we do everyday and never think about, things like traveling or eating. This book answers how a vampire would travel by boat from the Americas to the European continent and how they would make people think that they do normal things such as drink and eat in human company.
Overall this book is a great read especially when accompanied by the movie with Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas and Kirsten Dunst.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
And still more new books!
These just in for your reading enjoyment...
Nation by Terry Pratchett
"When much is taken, something is returned." Do you like Lord of the Flies? This book should interest you.
Refugess on an island confront the aftermath of catastrophe. As they struggle to survive, they "defy ancestral spirits, challenge death, and uncover a long-hidden secret that literally turns the world upside down."
Do you enjoy a good autobiography/memoir? This one will blow you away!
A Long Way Gone - Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
The author tells his story -- at the age of 12, he fled rebels and by age 13 was picked up by the government army and pumped full of drugs, trained to kill and to survive in Sierra Leone.
Here's one for fans of fables, fairy tales and myths -- it's a retelling of the Rumplestiltskin story but set in a woolen mill on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution. Charlotte Miller has a chance to save her family's woolen mill after the death of her father. But at what cost? She strikes a bargain with the mysterious Jack Spinner.....a debut novel by Elizabeth Bunce: A Curse Dark as Gold.
Want a quick, easy read? 145th Street -- a collection of short stories by popular author Walter Dean Meyers might be just what you're looking for. "One street. One block. Ten unforgettable tales."
Nation by Terry Pratchett
"When much is taken, something is returned." Do you like Lord of the Flies? This book should interest you.
Refugess on an island confront the aftermath of catastrophe. As they struggle to survive, they "defy ancestral spirits, challenge death, and uncover a long-hidden secret that literally turns the world upside down."
Do you enjoy a good autobiography/memoir? This one will blow you away!
A Long Way Gone - Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
The author tells his story -- at the age of 12, he fled rebels and by age 13 was picked up by the government army and pumped full of drugs, trained to kill and to survive in Sierra Leone.
Here's one for fans of fables, fairy tales and myths -- it's a retelling of the Rumplestiltskin story but set in a woolen mill on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution. Charlotte Miller has a chance to save her family's woolen mill after the death of her father. But at what cost? She strikes a bargain with the mysterious Jack Spinner.....a debut novel by Elizabeth Bunce: A Curse Dark as Gold.
Want a quick, easy read? 145th Street -- a collection of short stories by popular author Walter Dean Meyers might be just what you're looking for. "One street. One block. Ten unforgettable tales."
Monday, November 17, 2008
4 stars
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
This book might change the way you deal with friends and classmates.....
Have you ever found an unexpected package on your doorstep? How exciting to get a surprise, right? Well, for Clay Jensen, this package isn't what he hoped it would be. When he opens it, he finds cassette tapes and a note. The really scary thing is that these tapes have been left for him by a dead girl, Hannah, who committed suicide just a few weeks ago. Pills, they said. But why did she kill herself? She explains who is responsible for what she has done -- in her own words on the tapes, she gives 13 reasons why -- and they all have names. Despite being horrified at what he might hear about himself and the others on the tapes, he forces himself to listen to them. Along the way, following the map included with the recordings, he finds himself both excused and also held accountable. What Clay hears that night changes him forever. Recommended!
This book might change the way you deal with friends and classmates.....
Have you ever found an unexpected package on your doorstep? How exciting to get a surprise, right? Well, for Clay Jensen, this package isn't what he hoped it would be. When he opens it, he finds cassette tapes and a note. The really scary thing is that these tapes have been left for him by a dead girl, Hannah, who committed suicide just a few weeks ago. Pills, they said. But why did she kill herself? She explains who is responsible for what she has done -- in her own words on the tapes, she gives 13 reasons why -- and they all have names. Despite being horrified at what he might hear about himself and the others on the tapes, he forces himself to listen to them. Along the way, following the map included with the recordings, he finds himself both excused and also held accountable. What Clay hears that night changes him forever. Recommended!
Friday, November 14, 2008
New Books!!
These just in at your O'Hara High School Library....
The Host by Stephenie Meyer. This is not part of the Twilight series but I think you'll like it. Look for a review coming soon.
Check this out -- a graphic novel for those who like comic books. This one is named by TIME Magazine as one of the best 100 novels. Watchmen by Alan Moore. Be the first to review this one.
A new one by an award winning author: Impossible by Nancy Werlin. "Lucy has nine months to break an ancient curse in order to save both herself and her unborn daughter.
Inspired by the ballad “Scarborough Fair,” this riveting novel combines suspense, fantasy, and romance for an intensely page-turning and masterfully original tale."
The Host by Stephenie Meyer. This is not part of the Twilight series but I think you'll like it. Look for a review coming soon.
Check this out -- a graphic novel for those who like comic books. This one is named by TIME Magazine as one of the best 100 novels. Watchmen by Alan Moore. Be the first to review this one.
A new one by an award winning author: Impossible by Nancy Werlin. "Lucy has nine months to break an ancient curse in order to save both herself and her unborn daughter.
Inspired by the ballad “Scarborough Fair,” this riveting novel combines suspense, fantasy, and romance for an intensely page-turning and masterfully original tale."
Thursday, November 6, 2008
What a beautiful book!
4 stars........Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
I had picked this book up a couple of times in the last 2 weeks but always set it aside to read something else. Finally I opened it and began - then I could not put it down! I immediately fell in love with the main character, Marcelo, who has some type of cognitive disorder in the autism/Asperger’s spectrum. But this book is NOT about the neurobiological condition, but about the HUMAN condition.
Marcelo, age 17, is going to be a senior in high school. He has lived a somewhat coddled and sheltered life – living in a tree house next to the family home and going to a special school for children with disabilities. His father asks that he work the summer at his law firm in order to learn more about the “real world” and about the skills and abilities Marcelo will need for his future. Marcelo hesitantly agrees, knowing that the deal was that if he should do well, he will be permitted to return to his special school versus having to attend the public high school in the fall. Marcelo starts his job, meets his boss Jasmine and learns to make small talk, work and interact with the other employees in the firm, including the son of his father’s partner – a playboy with a bad attitude and poor ethics.
In the course of the story, Marcelo learns some secrets about himself, his father, and about a lawsuit in progress that show him that all people are not completely good and that the world is not black and white. His special obsession is religion and there is a lot of spiritual discussion in the book which at times went on a little long, but Marcelo does learn how to differentiate within shades of gray to make a very momentous decision that will change his outlook and his life. Recommend: BUY IT!
I had picked this book up a couple of times in the last 2 weeks but always set it aside to read something else. Finally I opened it and began - then I could not put it down! I immediately fell in love with the main character, Marcelo, who has some type of cognitive disorder in the autism/Asperger’s spectrum. But this book is NOT about the neurobiological condition, but about the HUMAN condition.
Marcelo, age 17, is going to be a senior in high school. He has lived a somewhat coddled and sheltered life – living in a tree house next to the family home and going to a special school for children with disabilities. His father asks that he work the summer at his law firm in order to learn more about the “real world” and about the skills and abilities Marcelo will need for his future. Marcelo hesitantly agrees, knowing that the deal was that if he should do well, he will be permitted to return to his special school versus having to attend the public high school in the fall. Marcelo starts his job, meets his boss Jasmine and learns to make small talk, work and interact with the other employees in the firm, including the son of his father’s partner – a playboy with a bad attitude and poor ethics.
In the course of the story, Marcelo learns some secrets about himself, his father, and about a lawsuit in progress that show him that all people are not completely good and that the world is not black and white. His special obsession is religion and there is a lot of spiritual discussion in the book which at times went on a little long, but Marcelo does learn how to differentiate within shades of gray to make a very momentous decision that will change his outlook and his life. Recommend: BUY IT!
Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
3 stars: There's a vampire in my head...........
I'm a bit surprised by all the negative reviews. I found the book rather interesting and unusual. At least with this story, you know right away it's fantasy - not like with some teen books that are supposed to be realistic and yet are not. I don't read much in the way of vampire and shape-shifter lore, so I was trying to figure out what different types of powers the various characters had and to discern what was going on from the beginning. The changes in time, characters, and place were at times a bit confusing.
Erin, aged 16, has spent most of her years in and out of mental hospitals and diagnosed with schizophrenia and dangerous behavior. She has recently had a flash of memories of being in another person's body in another place and time. The concept of severe schizophrenia being due to something otherworldly was a unique one. The characters were a bit flat, and unlike other reviewers, I wanted to know more about the life and times of the vampire and her consort rather than about modern day Erin and Sassy. The one thing I would want included or added to make this book better would be MORE INFORMATION. It seemed to end rather rapidly with all the history and detail not fully explained. Although this book will probably not be gobbled up like the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer or Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz, I would think about buying this one for the school library.
The Twilight Collection (Twilight);
Blue Bloods (Blue Bloods Novel)
Masquerade (A Blue Bloods Novel) (Blue Bloods Novel)
Blue Bloods 3: Revelations;
I'm a bit surprised by all the negative reviews. I found the book rather interesting and unusual. At least with this story, you know right away it's fantasy - not like with some teen books that are supposed to be realistic and yet are not. I don't read much in the way of vampire and shape-shifter lore, so I was trying to figure out what different types of powers the various characters had and to discern what was going on from the beginning. The changes in time, characters, and place were at times a bit confusing.
Erin, aged 16, has spent most of her years in and out of mental hospitals and diagnosed with schizophrenia and dangerous behavior. She has recently had a flash of memories of being in another person's body in another place and time. The concept of severe schizophrenia being due to something otherworldly was a unique one. The characters were a bit flat, and unlike other reviewers, I wanted to know more about the life and times of the vampire and her consort rather than about modern day Erin and Sassy. The one thing I would want included or added to make this book better would be MORE INFORMATION. It seemed to end rather rapidly with all the history and detail not fully explained. Although this book will probably not be gobbled up like the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer or Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz, I would think about buying this one for the school library.
The Twilight Collection (Twilight);
Blue Bloods (Blue Bloods Novel)
Masquerade (A Blue Bloods Novel) (Blue Bloods Novel)
Blue Bloods 3: Revelations;
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Don't fall for an illusion......
3 Stars for Paper Towns by John Green
Once again, I seem to have a minority opinion about a book. The plot: male teen (Quentin) obsessed (infatuated) with next door neighbor (Margo Roth Spiegelman) goes through incredible lengths to find her after she disappears. He believes he finds clues that she has left for HIM so that he alone will be able to track her down and “rescue” her. He enlists the help of his friends in this search; all the while worried about this girl he has never had a relationship with beyond a grade school friendship.
Although the teens in the story did, at times, act like typical high school seniors, exhibit teen humor and antics -- the entire scenario was implausible and did not reflect the emotions, activities, and obsessions typical of any 17 year old boy I've ever seen. I checked out my thoughts on this with Chance -- a fairly typical 17 year old soccer player who also found it difficult to believe the male character's actions and motivations. This book did not ring true on the most fundamental levels - it was pretty unrealistic and sort of pathetic that this boy fancies himself on a noble quest and sees himself as a hero, ultimately, hopefully to her. Unrequited teen infatuation, angst, drama, a car trip -- all of it hard to swallow.
The novel started off to be entertaining but then it seemed to dwindle into tediousness. The overly long focus on the words and analysis of Leaves of Grass, and the plodding and painstaking descriptions of all the search attempts left me bored and impatient. Many times I just wanted it all to be over with and was tempted to just read the ending. I kept going hoping that the conclusion would be so astounding as to redeem the rest of the filler. It didn't. The last few chapters were just ……..completely unbelievable. I did learn something very interesting that I did not know, and that was the definition and explanation of the term “Paper Town.”
The morals of this story: Stop imagining positive qualities and characteristics of people you don't really know. They aren't worth it. Get to know the real person and see people how they really are, not the way you want them to be. Do not fall for an illusion.
Recommendation: Borrow, don't buy.
The Lovely Bones Movie
Here's a link to cast list for upcoming movie of The Lovely Bones. Great discussion on Friday at the meeting! Can't wait to see this movie.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380510/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380510/
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