Sunday, August 18, 2013

Summer Reading Assignment

You were asked by Mrs. Pramenko (our principal) to read two books for the summer. As Honors students, I anticipate that you read more than two. I already know that you have read Lord of the Flies. What other books did you read this summer? Did you like them? Would you recommend them? Be sure to use proper punctuation, grammar and capitalization, as this blog not only reflects our class and me, but also AHS.

59 comments:

  1. This summer I read books I would have never read this summer. The first book I read was called All Creatures Great and Small. This book is about a new vet who is learning the ropes of this hard profession. I started the book in March but I didn't finish it because of the length but I decided to finish it this summer and I did. The next book I read was The Absoulutly True Diary of a Part-Time Indian which is about an indian from a reservation who wants a better education and life for himself. At first it's hard for him but then the kids start to accept him. I also started a series called Pretty Little Liars which is about four girls and what happens to them when one of their friends goes missing. I would recommend the first two books but the other books are for girls. Overall this summer really expanded my reading interests.

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  2. This summer I read numerous books that have gotten me back into reading. The first book I read was called Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment. This book is about a group of genetically modified kids who have wings trying to keep away from their past life in the evil lab where they were created. The book is the first in the Maximum Ride series and it is full of action and adventure for everyone out there that loves those kinds of books. The second book I read was the first in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. It is called The Lightning Thief. This is about a young troubled boy discovering that the Greek gods of are still around and that he is a demigod: half human, half god. In the first book many different demigod friends of his help him retrieve Zeus’s stolen master bolt from the kingdom of Hades in the Underworld. This series is also a very action packed series and it will educate you on the ancient Greek gods. This summer reading assignment has helped me really get back into reading, and I would recommend both of these great series of books to anyone.

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  3. This summer I read several great books. Two of them were CHERUB and Ender's Game. Cherub is about an English boy named James who's mother has recently died from alcohol mixed with drugs. At the orphanage he is recruited to the secret British undercover spy agency for kids, called CHERUB. He goes through basic training as well as his first mission. Ender's Game takes place in the future, after two bugger or alein attacks nearly destroyed Earth. Ender, when he is six. Little does he know they are trying to make him into the greatest commander ever in existence. He goes through several difficult stages in life in battle school and commander school. He then takes over the fleet and attacks the bugger homeworld. I'm glad I read these novels this summer because it has expanded my interests and gave me more books to read, like the entire CHERUB series. Ender's Game is also being made into a movie. I highly recommend both books to anyone who can read.

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  5. During this summer I wasn't focused on reading at all. I figured that because I'm slow reader it wasn't that important. But then came the postcard from Mrs.Pramenko that required students to read two books and so I was forced to read. My primary choice of books was one my sister has been urging me to read since forever Ender's Game. To me it was a book with too many words and too many pages until I began reading. Ender is a boy that lives in an era where aliens had attacked and to prevent another catastrophic attack from the buggers humans found that select children could think strategy in war. Through out the book Ender faces challenges that he must face because a whole entire race depends on him. Ender is definitely a book to consider not only because it has won awards, but because of the action, suspense, and conflict. The release of the movie is coming out soon and its better to read the book then compare to the movie because of the inexplicable detail that Orson Card weaved through out the book. This book has no compare and during summer it was the action I needed

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  6. During the summer I read more then 2 books but my favorites were Sons of Adam and The Illustrated Man. Sons of Adam is about two boys who are raised together and go off to war. It describes the obstacles they face and there adventures as oilmen. The Illustrated man is about a man who gets tattooed by a witch and they shift to show what the people are doing in the tattoos. The book goes into great detail explaining what each tattoo does. Both of these books are great for summer reading, I highly recommend them.

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  7. During the summer I read many amazing books but if I had to pick a favorite it would be "The Selection". "The Selection is about a girl named America who gets enrolled in The Selection, this is a group of girls in which the prince has to narrow down to one to be his princess.America is only staying at the palace to stay away from her ex-boyfriend Aspen and provide for her family. America has to adjust to the lifestyles of the palace ,but some events make it hard. I absolutely loved this book I could not put it down it has a twit of action,romance, and comedy which make it perfect. I would highly recommend this book to any girl looking for a love story.

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  8. To expand my vocabulary, keep up my good habits, and prepare for high school, I read three books over the summer. The first book I decided to dig into was The Notebook. Although I have never seen the movie, I wanted to read this book because I always find the book to be better than the movie. After I finished reading however, I realized the movie didn’t have much to beat. The book was O.K., nothing special or unique about it. Personally, I would not recommend this book, nevertheless, the novel did have some intricate vocabulary which I appreciated. I read Uglies to keep up my good habits. Overall the book was creative and I really enjoyed the unexpected turns of events that happened throughout the book. I definitely would recommend this book because of the fact that it isn't a difficult read. Anyone of any age can soak up this great read. I am still working on Pillars of the Earth as my third novel. I initially decided to read this book to prepare myself for high school. It is a 900 page book recommended to me by a friend. So far it is amazing! Although it is quite mature, it is beautifully written and I would surely recommend this novel to anyone over the age of 13.

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  9. Over the summer I read great books! My favorite by far was Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. I couldn't put it down! It was filled with mystery and romance! Something unexpected always seemed to happen! So entertaining! I also read Dark Flame by Alyson Noel. This book is a part of The Immortal series, one that I am in love with! I would totally recommend these books to everyone who loves a love story with twists and turns! Things I would like to improve for myself this year would be spelling and staying focused on what I'm doing when I am using my computer.

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  10. At the suggestion of several peers, this summer I picked up a copy of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. Whatever I might have been expecting when I brought it home from the book store, what I read was a thousand times better. I had heard many great things about John Green's books before, but The Fault in Our Stars was the first one I actually read and I was not disappointed. It's best described as inspirational and more than a little angsty, with a point of view and characters very much different from anything I've read before. It's one of those books that I don't think I will ever forget, and as far as the question of whether I would recommend it... I think that everyone should read it, just as everyone should read To Kill a Mockingbird at some point in their life.

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  11. This summer, I was incredibly busy, but not even this can keep me from reading. Over the summer I read three books;Nathaniel Hawthorne`s The Scarlet Letter, After by Amy Efaw,and Incarceron by Catherine Fisher.I loved all three of these books, and would definitely recommend anyone to read them. Each one of these books has such a unique and interesting storyline. The Scarlet Letter is the story of a young woman who is charged with adultery, and forced to wear a large red A on all of her clothing. After is about a young teen who gives birth to her child and leaves him in a dumpster outside of her apartment.The book mainly follows her court case and imprisonment. Incarceron is about a prison that no one can get into or out of, and both are separate worlds.The book follows the story of a boy inside who believes he can get out. All three books are full of adventure and fun, but are not for the faint of heart.

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  12. This summer I read only two books. One of which included Lord of the Flies. The other book I read was Once, by Anna Carey. This is the second book of the Eve trilogy. The first book sets up the trilogy with Eve, who is a student in a New America boarding school. Her mother has died and she doesn’t know who her father is. They are told that once they graduate they will be sent to a trade school which turns out to be a prison. She then runs away with Arden, another girl who has figured out New America's plans for them. This is where she meets Caleb. In the second book, Eve is being hunted by the New America King, because after school she was to be shipped to his palace. They finally catch up to her. She then is notified that she is the King's daughter, and is to be betrothed to a man in the Sand City. The only problem is she loves Caleb. I know I wasn't asked to write a summary, but I feel like the whole plot, and all the conflicts and resolutions, are my favorite part. This book sounds at first like its on a one way track right to where you expected it to be going. Of course until you get there and it goes in a totally different direction, like a runaway train. Ultimately I ended up loving this book. The first couple chapters were a struggle, and once Eve learned that she was the king’s daughter it made the book a little awkward again. But the end of the book wrapped everything up, making you want the next book to come out even faster. This book is for people with a certain taste. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. It is an after the apocalypse book, which bothered me at first, but turned out to be a great read. If this is your genre then you will love Once and Eve.

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  14. Over the summer I read My Sister's Keeper, and Between the Shades of Gray. My Sister's Keeper and Between the Shades of Gray are heart shattering novels each with different concepts that are equally saddening and important.
    My Sister's Keeper is about a sweet girl : Anna; her personality and character building making her seem innocent and almost oblivious, is suing for the rights to her own body. Anna’s older sister, Kate is sick with leukemia (cancer). Anna was created for the sole purpose of keeping her sister alive; she donates blood, white blood cells, stem cells, and anything Kate needs, which now happens to be a kidney. Through the progression of the book you get a look at each of the characters twisted lives; Anna’s older brother- Jesse, Anna’s mom- Sarah, Anna’s dad- Brian, Anna’s lawyer- Alexander, Kate, Anna, and Anna’s Guardian ad litem- Julia. There are ample amounts of plot twist making the book surprising, interesting, and page turning. I highly recommend this written work.
    Between the Shades of Gray is a book that really gets to the heart. It’s relatable to- in a way- because the main character, Lina is a fifteen year old girl. The time setting is 1941; Lina, her brother, and her mother are suddenly taken from their home in Lithuania. Her father hasn't returned home in a couple days and it’s been implied that he has been taken too. Shipped off to a work camp the horrors ensue for this family and the many others that have been whisked away on this small, cramped train car. Love blossoms, horror is constantly in the lives of all, and an ever present thought about how these people; these human beings manage to carry on. This novel shows the ties of family, and separated love, the strength of hope, and how to break an innocent soul; a truly beautiful and terrible book all in one is a must read.

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  15. This summer i read two book books, including "Lord of The Flies." The other book I read was "Flipped" by Wendelin Van Draanen. This book is based in the 1990's with two 7th graders named Julie Baker and Bryce Losky. Throughout the book, these two are discovering their feelings towards each other and discovering more about their family and who their real friends are. I really enjoyed book because although it's just a cute love story on the surface, there is so much underneath that. It tells a story of their families and friends, and you discover how much these things mean to them. I would absolutely recommend this book because of how much both characters develop throughout the book.We learn about their family lives, but also about their feelings towards each other.

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  16. Over this past summer I choose to read two very exciting and excellent novels. The first, Oblivion, written by my favorite author, the one and only Anthony Horowitz, is the fifth and last book in the The Power of Five Series. (Reading the other four books is not required to understand this one.) The idea of this story is that there are five special children on the earth known as Gatekeepers and their sole purpose is to save the world from the upcoming, inevitable apocalypse. You follow them as they try to meet up and defeat the evil forces. The classic sci-fi novel Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card was the second book I read this summer break. This book was so amazing that I read it in four days (FOUR DAYS!) and that good for me considering I’m not the fastest reader in the world. Ender’s Game is about a little boy, nicknamed Ender, who is recruited and shipped off to battle school to save the human race from aliens. The reader follows Ender’s journey on the road to becoming a legend. Both of them are arguably the best stories I have ever read and they are highly recommended by yours truly.

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  17. Over the summer I read Of Mice and Men by, John Steinbeck. I didn’t have any expectations before I started this book so the plot was very surprising. It is unlike any other that I have previously read in the way that the dialogue drove the story and the characters. This story follows George, a small and witty guy, and Lennie, a huge, clumsy man that would never hurt a fly (intentionally.) George and Lennie are laborers looking to find a job that can provide enough money to buy a small piece of land. Keeping a job long enough to do this becomes difficult. This book is a heartbreaking tale that proves that even though friendship can make a difference in any person's life it may not be enough to change the course of things. I ended up really liking the book and I would recommend it to anybody that doesn’t mind depressing books.

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  18. This summer I read the Daniel X series, Paladin Prophecy, and Football.

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  19. All of these books were great reads. Both Paladin Prophecy and the Daniel X books were amazing science fiction books if that is what you are interested in. The Football Genius book is a great fiction book that a lot of sports players can relate, which is why I thought this book was an outstanding read

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  20. I also read the Power of Five Series except for the final book. All four of the previous books leading up to the final book are incredible and action packed. Other books that I read include The Hidden City, Incarceron, and The Return of the Elgens.

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  21. Over the course of the 2013 summer, i read a few books. I don't read as often as I used to, which is kind of disappointing. However, the books i did read were awesome! I read the Maze Runner series. All three books that is. This series is about a group of kids who are put into a testing lab after a wolrdwide epidemic. The books show how the kids break free from the lab and realize what is going on in the reald world. I would recommend these novels to anybody, regardless of gender.

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  22. This summer I read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, about a young hobbit named Bilbo Baggins who prefers a quiet and comfortable lifestyle, who journeys through Middle Earth accompanied by Gandalf, a great wizard, and 13 dwarfs to retrieve their gold stolen by the great dragon Smaug. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is about Katniss, the provider of her family, volunteers to participate in the Hunger Games, where children from 13 districts send children to kill each other in heated combat. Katniss only cares about protecting her sister from the games and will do anything to make it out alive. I thoroughly enjoyed both novels and recommend them to anyone who enjoys action, adventure, and a solid story line.

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  23. I read the Number One Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. It is about a lady detective, the only one in Botswana. She solves her customers' mysteries, including one in which a young child has been kidnapped. I would recommend this book because it is written in a simple and peaceful tone, and parts of it are suspenseful.

    I also read Private Games by James Patterson. It is about a group of people who want to destroy the 2012 London Olympics, because they believe that corruption and abuse of the system have obscured the original Greek Olympic ideals. They accomplish this by killing players and coaches in sophisticated ways. The protagonists have to try to save the Olympics. I would definitely recommend this book. It is enthralling and conveys a message about people's resilience.

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  24. Over the summer, I read many books. Ranging from realistic fiction and short stories to science fiction and fantasy novels, almost all of these books were absolutely fantastic reads. Several that stand out among the rest are Jurassic Park by Micheal Crichton, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Though these books are very different, both in context and writing style, they are great books nevertheless. I would recommend Jurassic Park to someone who enjoys a gory account of an event meant to be spectacular and enchanted falls to pieces when a man choose to be greedy. Seriously, it's pretty gory. As for Of Mice and Men, I'd suggest it to a person that likes the slower, more relaxed kind of book with a sad ending. Finally, someone who likes a simple story with complex meaning hidden within the virtues of children. I think more people should read these books, as I found them to be absolutely wonderful over my summer break.

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  25. This summer, along with Lord of the Flies, I read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The title at first is mis-leading, it almost sounded like a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book or something like that, but as it turns out it was a very good book.
    It was about a kid named Junior who grew up on a indian reservation in Spokane, Washington. Trapped inside a community with others like him. It is like a city within a city; schools, buildings, shops, homes, etc. One day he decides to make a hard choice and go to a white kid school outside the reservation, because of better education and better sports teams. He's willing to risk it all whether that means not fitting in, or even being ridiculed.
    This book is a true story and I really found it inspiring to learn about Juniors life and all of the hard times even though it pays off in the end.

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  26. This summer I read My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult and Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. I recommend reading My sister's Keeper at any time. It is such an easy read and anyone will enjoy it. It is about a girl who gets Leukemia at age two. Later the parents find out she needs blood from a downer but unfortunately neither her parents or brother have the same blood type. The parents end up having another baby just so that child can give blood to Kate. When the youngest girl, Anna, is old enough to understand why she was born she does not like it. She ends up hiring a lawyer to fight for her own life. This book keeps you going and is never boring. As soon as I started reading it, I loved it! My Sister's Keeper is such a great story line and taught me a lot about Leukemia.

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  27. This summer I read both The Serpents Shadow by Rick Riordan and Prey by Michael Crichton. The Serpents Shadow was the conclusion to the Kane Chronicles series. A series that takes place in a world where the Egyptian gods are real. In the Serpents Shadow brother and sister Carter and Sadie must work with ancient gods and previously rival magicians to defeat the god of chaos himself. Seth. Its a book written for a younger age group but still a very entertaining read. But compared to the other books in the Kane Chronicle series it was only satisfactory seemed rushed and didn't go as in depth in the final battle as I would have liked. Yet I would still recommend the Kane Chronicles for it is an entertaining read for anyone between 9 and 99.
    The other book I read was the science fiction novel Prey by Michael Crichton(author of Jurassic park). When his wife is acting strangely stay at home dad and computer geek Jack Foreman suspects that she is having an affair. While the in truth she's been working on something much more dangerous. Nanobots with the ability to evolve with their environment, which turn on their creators. An exciting read, Prey's fast pace and enigmatic story line drew the reader in and made the book impossible to put down. Though the science in the book wasn't exactly believable Prey opened your eyes up to the dangers that can come from messing with nature.

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  28. This summer I read only one other book because in the summer I am the epitome of a social butterfly. The book I read was Great Gatsby, which some upper class men told me I will be reading next year…but despite what they said about it being a boring book I actually quite liked it. I liked the way people spoke in the book and thought a lot of the dialogue was interesting because sometimes you had to dig deeper for the meaning of what everyone was saying. I would recommend it to other students, partly because then next year you'll be ahead and will know the storyline better, but also because the book itself really makes you think about true friendship and love and who will really be there for you.

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  29. Over the summer, I read two equally captivating and satisfying books. I found that I was able to escape the rigors of the school year in both of these books, as the type of reading I enjoy is the type in which I can clear my mind of everything except the plot of the book. The first one I immersed myself in was School Spirits, by Rachel Hawkins. Though a fairly easy read, I found myself reading for hours on end, unable to put it down. The book is about a girl named Izzy Brannick, whose family has dated back for centuries fighting evil spirits such as ghosts or witches, who finds herself, having been homeschooled all her life, in an equally challenging situation – her first day of high school. Her mother enrolls her in the school to investigate a ghost that has been haunting the school and causing mischief. As she tries to survive high school drama and destroy the ghost, she makes friends and lives a new experience that may change her future. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it, though it is written from a teenage girl’s perspective. The second book, a story with a highly intricate and twisted plot, was called Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier. As Mrs. De Winter weds the charming and wealthy Maxim De Winter, and struggles with the mansion’s housekeeper, an admirer of the previous Mrs. De Winter, she uncovers secrets that may jeopardize their future together. When his former wife’s body is discovered, she later discerns the reasons for Max murdering his former wife, whom he grew to despise. He had shot his past wife and made her death appear as though she drowned on her beloved boat. This read I also strongly recommend to those who enjoy thrillers and mysteries.

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  30. This summer I read two great books. One was "Beastly" by Alex Flinn and the other was "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin.
    "Beastly" is about a beautiful, popular, boy who talks down and bullies everyone around him, even his friends. He purposefully asks a girl to prom and then ditches her just to embarrass her. Unfortunately for him, she's a witch. She changes his appearance to match his personality, beastly. The rest of the story is about him trying to find a way to change himself back. I would highly recommend this book, however I don't think boys would enjoy reading it.
    The other book I read, "Burning Blue," is also about a popular girl. She was the most beautiful girl in the school and someone sprayed acid on her face and burned her. And unlikely friend aids her as she tries to figure out who burned her. The conclusion will surprise you. I also highly recommend this book. It's not really about the drama of high school or any of that, it is just mainly them solving the mystery.

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  31. This past summer, I read many books. Not including Lord of the Flies, I read the Hunger Games Trilogy, the Summer series, and The Truth About Forever.
    The Hunger Games Trilogy is a futuristic post-apocalyptic story where the country of Panem thrives. Originally, Panem had thirteen districts to provide the nation, and more importantly the Capitol, with materials. Each district produces something different, however most all of them are very poor. District 13, the producers of nuclear weapons, rebelled against the unfair ways of the Capitol. After they were defeated, to prevent another rebellion the government created the Hunger Games. Each year the districts will give up two tributes, one male and one female, between the ages of 12-18 to fight to the death in an arena. The year of the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen volunteers in place of her 12 year-old sister who was called as the female tribute of District 12. The male tribute who will accompany her to the Games is, the boy who once saved her life, Peeta Mellark. After Peeta proclaims his love for her in the annual tribute interviews, Katniss must discover her own feelings, accidentally rebelling against the Capitol in an act to save both of their lives. The second and third book continue her story, as Katniss is forced to face who she is amidst a rebellion she did not intend to ignite.
    I also read the heart-throbbing series, The Summer series. These books, beginning with The Summer I Turned Pretty, is about a 16 year-old girl who goes by the name of Belly. Each year Belly, her mother, and her brother, Steven, drive to beach house where they spend the summer with her mother's life-time best friend and cancer-survivor, Susannah, as well as her two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. For as long as Belly could remember, she had been desperately in love with Conrad, who never paid her any attention if he could help it. Then, this summer though, he looked at her as though she was beautiful; he actually cared about what she did. As the summer continued, not only did Belly start learning that Conrad did indeed care about her, but Jeremiah did too. To complicate things more, Susannah's cancer is back and is growing faster than ever. As the series continues you see Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah deal with their feelings and trying to ease Susannah however they can, even if it means breaking their own hearts.
    The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen is about Macy Queen, a teenage girl whose ultimate goal in life is to be perfect. Ever since her father died, Macy strived to be a better daughter to her mother than her sister had been. Macy wanted to live a life that was safe. This summer though, Macy's class-president, community server, hard-working, genius boyfriend, Jason is at Brain Camp. She had believed her summer would include studying for the SAT's and helping her mother sell houses. That was before Jason broke up with her over email because she said she loved him. That was before she met the Wish crew. The Wish crew is the staff of Wish Catering. When Macy firsts meets them at one of her mother's business parties, they are unorganized, spastic, and by all definitions of the word, unique. Macy ends up making herself again. She learns to take chances, and that it's okay not to be perfect. Although she finds herself with the help of all her friends at Wish, one person in particular made the difference in her dull life. Wes. Wes is the nephew of the owner of Wish catering and he too has a parent that passed away. Wes has a past. He teaches her how to live again, but it is impossible to know how long that will last.
    The Hunger Games Trilogy, the Summer series, and The Truth About Forever are all phenomenal books written in different styles. These are by far some of my favorite books. I would most certainly recommend them to any reader looking for significant books that will be loved for ages.

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  32. After much consideration I came to the conclusion that the two best novels I read this summer were The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan. The Alchemist has recently become my all time favorite novel. The main character, Santiago, was a young shepherd who gave up everything he knew (including his much beloved sheep) to start over. After repeated dreams of good fortune he went off in search of a treasure. He traveled to far off places and met many fascinating people along the way including a king, a gypsy, and an alchemist. All three characters direct Santiago to his destination and made way for adventures that the boy didn’t know were possible. When I first heard of this book I was not interested, treasure hunts just sounded childish! But it took me on a journey that has honestly changed my life for the better. The second book I read, Unspoken, was more on the fantasy side. It was about a girl named Kami who had grown up with an imaginary friend called Jared. As she grew up she kept her non-existent friend despite countless therapy sessions. In need of a new start her family moves to a town where a mysterious boy appears, with the name Jared. What happens when Kami’s childhood friend becomes a real person? Why do they have this connection? Together Kami and Jared dig deeper to find more than they ever could have imagined. Unspoken is a part mystery, part adventure, part romance with characters that anyone would fall in love with. I am very excited for the second book in the series to come out this fall! Both books have brought me to new places and let my imagination run free.

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  33. Over the course of the summer I read Lord of the Flies, 13 Reasons Why, and Looking for Alaska. Looking for Alaska is truly one of the most thought provoking deep book that I have ever read. It is written by John Green. In this story story there is a metaphorical labyrinth, love triangle, crazy pranks, and issues with drinking. All of these things add up in an unpredictable way that will make any young adult addict fall in love with every sentence. I would recommend this book to everyone in the world who is mature enough to read about fairly inappropriate and very deep concepts. This book changed my life, because I realized how lucky I truly am. The second book I read was 13 Reasons Why written by Jay Asher. This was one of those books that makes you watch your every act, and think before you speak. The snowball effect is a theme in this book, and it shows that every negative action that you do, every small thing that you change for the worst, has a punishment. Hannah Baker committed suicide the night before this book takes place. She recorded her story on tapes and mailed them out to the people that ruined her life. They have to listen to what she says, and their lives are forever changed. Everyone who reads this book also goes through a life changing for the better. Now every time I am about to say something rude, I think about Hannah Baker. Both of these books were outstanding and I hope that everyone reading this is able to grow from these books as much as I did.

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  34. This summer I read The Car by Gary Paulsen. I actually liked this book because it was fun to read, interesting, and just kept me looking forward to the next page. I actually have really come to like Gary Paulsen!

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  35. Over the summer I read multiple books. One was The Hobbit by Tolkien and another was Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
    The Hobbit is the prequel to Lord of the Rings, and is about the journey of Bilbo Baggins when he finds the Ring. Bilbo finds himself going on an adventure which he has not prepared for, and which he does not have the slightest clue of what it will be like. I would recommend this book to people who like adventure and fantasy books.
    Brave New World is a book about the "stable" world that Earth has become in the future. Children are bred and brainwashed until they grow up into adults. As they are growing up, they are put into a certain social class and taught to be happy about the class they are in. This book doesn't have much of a story, so it seems dull to many people. I would only recommend this book to people who are interested in what a "stable" world would be like, because there is barely any action.

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  36. This summer I obviously read Lord of the Flies by William Golding and moderately enjoyed it though I had trouble with the constant arguing in the book. I also started reading the Hunger Games series which I was surprised by as I didn't think it would start out as it did. When it started out. I thought it was about of a different world or place were this stuff was current, but I soon realized it was about the future, even though I didn't know until a bit into the book because of how they live which almost sounds like the past. I would recommend either of these books to people who fiction and thinking of different or crazy scenarios.

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  37. After receiving the summer reading list this summer I read several fantastic books yet found myself entranced with The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.
    The Book Thief captivated my attention in every way imaginable. Creatively, the narrator was Death itself, and the book took place appropriately during the Holocaust where a little girl named Liesel Meminger lives with her foster parents in a small German town. Throughout the book Death gives insight as to the general horrors of his "life time career" while describing different experiences in which he sees young Liesel and her experiences growing older in Nazi Germany; however, she always manages to escape his grasp despite her numerous close encounters. After a tragedy occurs in Liesel's life, Death finds her life story written in a small leather bound book which he finds himself reading over and over as his grotesque job weighs heavily on him. The Book Thief is Liesel Meminger and Death's stories during the most horrific years known to man, and I would recommend the book to anyone who is interested in historical fiction and an amazingly well written book. I found this to be the best book I have ever read and recommend it to everyone as an amazing read.
    Along with the Book Thief, I read the Secret Life of Bees which contains the story of a young white girl and her black maid attempting to escape the clutches of segregation. After an incident that lands the maid, Rosaleen, beaten, broken, and in jail, young Lily Owens forms a plan to escape her abusive father with Rosaleen and attempt to find who her dead mother really was. With only a signed honey jar label and a few dollars, Rosaleen and Lily escape from the jail and make their way to August, May and June's house who are all African American. Lily and Rosaleen lie about their past yet become part of the family as they stay with the three sisters and adopt their ways of living. However, one day the truth slips, and Lily comes to realize the contents of her past and the pathway to her future. I recommend this book to all who are interested in the segregation era, for I found several connections to historical references throughout the book which kept me interested.
    Overall, I loved both these books and consider them both extremely well written and perfect reads for anyone interested in historical fiction.

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  38. This summer besides reading Lord of The Flies, I read Turn Coat by Jim Butcher. It is the 11 installment of the Dresden Files. As it is the 11 book I don't wanna give too much away if someone did wanna read this fantastic book series. This particular one is how the main character, Harry Dresden a wizard living in modern times, like an older more riske verson of Harry Potter, is asked help out a man named Morgan. He and Morgan don't really see eye to eye but Harry agrees to help anyway as he is over all good person. Of course there is much more to it then that. More often then not there are 2-3 different conflicts that arise thorough out the story. Starting with the main one that in turn adds more problems for the wizard. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel as the 10 books before set an great tone and over all likable plot lines each time. This installment got deeper into what makes Harry Dresden tick, mostly in a vague sense. I would definatly recommend this series. It is full of action, it really makes you engaged with having bits and pieces of more mature themes and words. The discription of the magical worlds and creatures is outstanding. The series as well as this particular book over all is just a great read that is sure to please any reader. There is something in it for everyone.

    Keely Scheffler

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  39. This summer I read A Soldier's Heart and Sunrise Over Fallujah besides the book The Lord of the Flies. My favorite book that I read this summer was A Soldier's Heart by Gary Paulsen. This book was about a 16 year old boy who enlists into the Union Army in the Civil war and his experience there. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a Civil War enthusiast or History enthusiast because of the large amount of historical Civil war content in this book. The second book I read was Sunrise over Fallujah. This book was based on a guy named Robin and his experience in the Iraqi conflict. I liked this book ,although I found it boring in some parts, I would still recommend this to anyone who would want to learn more about the conflict.

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  40. This summer I read two books excluding Lord of The flies. The first I read was World War Z. I enjoyed World War Z quite a bit, I was intrigued through out the novel. World War Z is a collection of fictional interviews recounting the horrors of the Zombie War. The accounts are based off a decade war between the humans and zombies. The book was broken down into different sections of major events that happened through out the war. In these major events a few people are interviewed and asked to recollect what happened to them. Through out the story there is quite a bit of dramatic irony because of course the reader knows what zombies are. But it was written so you had to piece together the story. It wasn't like an adventure novel where you get one persons point of view, but you got many points of view. I was engaged throughout this book and would recommend it to anyone who are interested in an apocalyptic style book.

    This summer I also read the first installment of the Hunger Games trilogy. The story follows a girl named Katniss who lives in the poor district 12. Every year the Hunger Games take place where 24 tributes are randomly selected at the reaping, then they fight to the death in the actual games. The Games started when the 13 districts tried to rebel against the capital in order to take over. The rebelling districts were unsuccessful and as a show of the capitols power they blew up district 13. The Hunger Games are held in order to show that the Capitol is in charge of the 12 districts. Katniss' sister Prim is chosen to be a tribute from district 12 in the Hunger Games. Katniss volunteers for her sister as her sister is very young and would most likely get killed. The book is about Katniss' struggles in the Hunger games. Will she come out alive? You will have to read to find out. I would recommend the Hunger Games for anybody.

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  41. Over my summer I read and annotated my assignment Lord of the Flies. Along side my homework, I listened to two books on tape in the car rides on my camping trips. The first book I read was Rowan Hood, written by Nancy Springer. It is about a girl named Rosemary who's mother Celandine was a healer, and her father was Robin Hood, though Robin Hood himself did not know. Her mother is suddenly killed by Nottingham's men. Rosemary goes out in search for her father disguised as a boy named Rowan. I loved this book and would recommend this book to almost anyone. Its not particularly hard to read and the story line is easy to follow. It is just a light, fun story to read. The second book I read was Gild Joyce: The Ladies of the Lake written by Jennifer Allison. Gilda is a psychic investigator who has been offered a scholarship at Our Ladies of Sorrow school for girls. The only reason she accepts the scholarship is because there is a mystery, a murder and a haunting, and she wants to get to the bottom of it. This book was OK. It was a little slow and there was no definite ending. I would maybe recommend it to a girl, probably not a guy, unless they really want to read about girls and they're "wonderful" world of problems and cliques.

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  43. Setting Lord of the Flies aside, this summer I also read Miss Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs and The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris.
    I'll start with Miss Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children. This book is about a boy named Jacob who used to be told all kinds of tall tales about children with special characteristics by his grandfather. After a tragedy, Jacob comes to find that these "tall tales" might not be fake, and that the peculiar children might still be alive.
    To be honest, I judged this book by its cover. I saw a creepy picture of a little girl and I thought "Sounds like my kind of book.". And at first, I thought it was my kind of book! However, once I realized I had read bout 150 pages and the plot hadn't changed AT ALL, I knew that this was just one of those books that has a slow start (A really slow start). After the most boring 200 pages of my life, I came to find that all the boring facts that were pointless to me, had led up to an amazing, climatic twist. Overall, if you want to read this book you need to be dedicated, and you need to keep in mind that all these boring chapters lead up to a great story!

    Moving on to my next book, Silence of the Lambs. This novel is about an FBI agent named Clarice Starling who is given the task of finding a missing woman to save her from a psychopathic serial killer who skins his victims, "Buffalo Bill". In order to get a better insight into the mind of the killer, she must interview another psychopath named Hannibal Lecter (former psychiatrist). However, Dr.Hannibal is also very manipulative. Since it takes one to know one, Clarice Starling uses Dr.Hannibal to help locate the killer.
    Reading Silence of the Lambs was a challenge for me. I loved the story line and I love stories about murder, but the wording threw me off. I understand that authors want to use descriptive words and that this book may have been for someone more mature than me, but wow! I've been in advanced all my life and I still didn't know what half the words in this book meant! Besides that, I absolutely LOVED this book. It got off to a good start (unlike Miss Peregrines) and the ending was perfect. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in mental illnesses and murder mysteries.

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  44. Besides Lord of the Flies, this summer I also read Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth as well as Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck. The first two are part of a trilogy about a future society after World War III. Basically, after the war, the survivors grouped together and formed five groups, or 'factions'. Each faction values a different trait, depending on what the founders of the faction thought caused the war. There is Candor, which values honesty, Amity, harmony and peace, Abnegation, selflessness, Dauntless, fearless, and Erudite, which values knowledge. At the age of sixteen, every teenager takes a test to show them which faction they would best belong in. A few days later, there is the Choosing Ceremony in which they choose the faction that they would like to spend the rest of their life in. Insurgent is a continuation of this story, and the third book comes out in October! They are also working on a movie that will come out sometime this spring! I LOVED these books and highly recommend them for anybody, and hope you enjoy them as much as I did! My third read was Travels with Charlie, a novel by John Steinbeck. This book is pretty much a record of his journey through America as he tries to connect with the country he writes so many loved novels about. He writes about culture, society, the fascinating way of life of Americans. His journey is truly insightful and is another highly recommended read!

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  45. During the summer I had the pleasure of reading two great books, The Help by Kathryn Stockett and The Saint by Dan Abnett. The help was a very interesting book that portrayed the perspective of African American house keepers in the 60's. The book was very descriptive because it went into through detail of how there was still a racial barrier between two cultures. There were many main characters, but probably the most important character and her name was Aibileen and she was one of the maids. She worked for the Leefolt and this is were the book kicks off. One of Mrs. Leefolts friend known as Skeeter or Eugenia. Skeeter had developed a plan to start making the Americans see the error of their way. Her plan was to publish a book with a bunch of stories from maids. Of course this is no easy task because humans do not like the unknown or the foreign. Skeeter had to be very careful with this book otherwise she be deemed an out cast or worse. There were many great parts of this book that I do not want to spoil, but I defiantly enjoyed it. The second novel was The Saint by Dan Abnett. This book is part of a huge series and this particulate novel was following the a group of marines of this times period of the year 40k. This time period is filled with darkness and war and like many other concepts humanity is on the edge of extinction. The Saint goes through some of the many gruesome tasks the Marines had to do in order to continue protecting the many worlds still standing. The author had a very interesting way of writing because it made you feel like you were part of the battle field even when you did not want to be. There many different themes, but one of my favorite theme was about if humanity sticks together as one than we are a lot stronger. The books title is seen towards the end of the book where the Marines find a cretin girl on a very poverty stricken world and she proclaims she is a saint. At first there was some skepticism,but later it is very appertain that she is in fact the saint. The marines then go through a very long way in order to protect her. The Saint is a very excellent and so was the the Help

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  46. This summer I read 2 great books by Geoff Herbach. They were books 2 and 3 in a series."Nothing Special" is the second book in the series. In it high school football star Felton Reinstein upsets those he is closest to. His little brother ends up running away to Florida and Felton has to go save him. The third book in the series is called "I'm With Stupid" and brings you through the journey of the last half of Felton's senior year of high school. He has to announce his college choice on national television and upsets the whole state of Wisconsin in doing so. Felton doesn't cope well with stress and makes some bad choices. He is threatened to be suspended by his track coach. He eventually finds appreciation in his family and friends and pulls through his senior year of high school. I would recommend these books to anyone who enjoys sports books!

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  47. This summer, I read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This book had some of the best descriptions I have ever seen. It's really a shame that Fitzgerald died of a heart attack in his forties, because I would have read all of his books. The setting was in the 1920's in New York. The main character, Nick Carraway, moves to New York where he meets a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby. Gatsby throws an enormous party every weekend that is open for anyone to come. As Nick gets closer to Gatsby, he realizes why he throws the parties and who Gatsby really is. It has an ending you would not want to miss. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a wonderful book that flows well together and has a very exciting climax and conclusion.

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  48. This summer I read two phenomenal books, Eve and Adam by Katherine Applegate and The Revenge of the Girl with the Great personality. Eve and Adam was a book about a girl named Eve whose mother owns a multi-billion dollar bio lab. After a car accident Eve is sent to recover at her mother's lab like home and hospital. But something is off, after only a few days Eve's shattered leg is able to be walked on and barely hurts at all. During her time in the lab Eve meets a boy named Solo who lives there. Solo helps Eve discover the secret of why she has healed so fast. It's because Eve is one of her mother's own lab mutations. Also during Eve's stay in the lab her mother has asked her to start a genetics project while creating the perfect boy, Adam. In this book, Eve discovers so many things about herself, her mother, and her father's mysterious death also linked with the deaths of Solo's parents. I would recommend this book for most teenage girl's because it is very exciting and slightly romantic at the same time. The second book I read, The Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality, was also a fantastic read.This book is about a girl named Lexi who is funny, smart, and popular but she is never told she is pretty. Plus her sister is a typical 7 year old toddlers and tiaras stereotype with the bratty attitude and all. But Lexi is sick of never having a boyfriend. She's sick of having her family's money spent on worthless pageants. She's sick of her mom taking her for granted especially after she does all she can to keep her family from getting foreclosed. But once Lexi decides to start wearing nicer clothes and a little bit of makeup, everyone's attitude changes towards and she's done with it all being a sick joke. I would definitely recommend this book to anybody. It is a very good book with many different lessons you can learn from.

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  49. For summer reading, I read Tuesdays with Morrie and Lord of the Flies. Because we will be going over Lord of the Flies in class, I will only be discussing Tuesdays with Morrie. Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story written by Mitch Albom; he wrote it as a memoir for his old college professor, Morrie Schwartz. It is told from Mitch’s perspective and he tells the story about his professor who had fallen ill with ALS. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, stands for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is a disease of the nerve cells, starting in the brain or spinal column. This awful disease paralyses body parts over a long period of time and eventually it will get to the lungs and stop the ablility to breathe. When Mr. Albom was in college, he looked up to Morrie Schwartz and enjoyed his classes. Morrie’s classes were different, homework was never assigned, and the part of the class that was graded were questions that required deep thought and soul searching. Mitch found a deep connection with Morrie and they became fast friends. When Mitch graduated, he promised to stay in touch with Morrie, but that promise soon fell through the cracks as Mitch became quite busy and caught up in his own life. He would think about good old Professor Schwartz every now and then, but was never able to pick of the phone and call his friend. One night, he saw a Nightline episode and it was about Morrie Schwartz; Mitch found out that his old professor and good friend has became very sick with ALS and would die soon. As would any human being with a heart, Mitch automatically felt guilty that he had not kept his promise to stay in touch, so he called Morrie to set up a time to meet. Mitch flew out to West Newton, Massachusetts from his home in Michigan. From that Tuesday on, Mitch made the journey to visit the beloved professor in his decaying health. Each day they talked about different topics, but Morrie focused on coming to terms with dying. Dying is a part of living and to have lived a full life you must die. Because he had ALS he would die slowly and he took that time to reflect on his life and help others with their life issues. Tuesdays with Morrie is literally a life changing book and I would recommend it to anyone who asked about it.

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  50. This summer one book I read was Shogun by James Clavell. The basic story is bout an English man, Captain Blackthorne who finds himself stranded in Japan after his ship crashes there during a storm. Throughout the book, you get an inside perspective on Japanese culture in the early 1600's. I found it interesting how vastly different it was from our own today. Then the Japanese seemed to value their honor over life itself. Along with that, you get a look at a civil war brewing between to fictitious Japanese warlords: Lord Ishido, and Lord Toranaga. This throws yet another twist to the story. This was one of my favorite books, and I would recommend it to anyone willing to sit through all one thousand two hundred pages of it.

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  51. his summer, I read multiple books, so many I can't even count. Some were so unappealing to me I couldn’t finish them, but there were some that I thoroughly enjoyed. I read a variety of books, all different genres, and I enjoy a lot of them. Historical fiction is one of my favorites, and one of the books I read brought that into play in the slightest bit, but also had amazing writing, characters and surprise twists.
    The first book I’ve mentioned is Hourglass by Myra McEntire. As soon as I finished this book (which was about 3 hours after I started) I had to keep it under my bed for a while because every night I would glance at it and have to read the end again, it was so shocking (trying so hard not to give a spoiler). The main character, Emerson Cole, is a headstrong young seventeen year old who sees people from the past at every threshold she walks across. I enjoyed Emerson’s character, although she is a typical protagonist with a best friend sidekick, Lily. Emerson is beautiful, fit, and smart, which would make for a boring character, except for the fact that because of her visions, she is known as ‘mental’, so she struggles with friendship. When she meets Michael Weaver, he turns her whole world upside down, but there is an obvious connection. I like romantic novels, but this one could’ve used a little more subtlety. I knew from the beginning that they were ‘made for each other’ and could see where their relationship was heading. No surprises there. One of my favorite characters was Dru, Emerson’s sister-in-law. She’s supportive, encouraging, and ingenuitive, and I wish I could have seen more of her.I read this book cover to cover, enjoying the thrilling mystery and plot twists over and over again. I would give this book 4 stars, and recommend it to readers who need a bit of excitement.
    Another book I read this summer was the last book of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, The Return of The King. This book was amazing, although is at a high difficulty level. But a warning- I may or may not have been influenced by some of my (somewhat biased) family and friends. I loved the trilogy and The Hobbit, but it takes awhile to get used to J.R.R. Tolkien's writing style. He has massive adventures and hilarious jokes layered and hidden throughout his writing, you just have to look for them. The plotline and characters of the books are consistent and well thought through. One thing I disliked was the end, it seemed to ramble on and on until the characters were old. I think I would've skipped multiple years until the characters left, and in the back, with all the appendixes, put what happened to them. I did enjoy Smeagol and Gollum bantering back and forth throughout the books, I think it is very symbolic of what we ourselves do with our subconscious. I would recommend this book to someone who is looking for a hard read, but can analyze and follow lengthy writing well.
    These are only two of the books I read this summer, so if you’re looking for something to read, I’d be happy to help!

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  52. This summer, two of the books I read were The Fault In Our Stars by John Green and Divergent by Veronica Roth. Even though they were completely different from the other in topic and genre, I still enjoyed each one very much. The Fault In Our Stars is a sad book for the most part, however there still is a fair amount of comedy, and themes such as love and loss as the main character, Hazel Grace Lancaster, goes through her battle with cancer. Divergent is about a girl, Beatrice, or as she later goes by, “Tris”, and how she struggles to discover her past and who she is and will become while living in a dystopian society far into the future. I really did enjoy these books and would recommend them to everyone, as I think that everyone would find them enjoyable and interesting.

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  53. This summer I read Divergent, by Veronica Roth. I tought it was going to be pretty girly, since it was written from a female perspective but it was actually really good! It is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the only separation of people is by their personalities. They chose five personalities that they thought would bring peace to the world. A test is used to divide the civilions into factions that value a specifc personalities. The factions are Abnegation, the selfless, Amity, the peaceful, Candor, the honest, Dauntless, the brave, and Erudite, the intelligent. The story is centered around a 16-year old girl named Beatrice Prior, raised in Abnigation. when they turn 16, they must take the aptitude test which recomends the faction that they shound choose. But in the end it is the citizen that chooses where they want to go, stay with their family, or join another faction. Beatrice takes the test and ends up getting the results of Divergent, which means that she doesnt belong in just one faction. It is rare and she is told that she can’t tell anybody about it. She where she ends up choosing Dauntless, after her brother chose Erudite. This is a huge disapointment for her family, and with the already high tensions between Abnegation and Erudite, it shows poor upraising of children. As Beatrice begins her initiation she changes her name to Tris, to let go of her past life. She must now compete with the other initiates to make into Dauntless, and not end up factionless, the greatest disgrace a person could have.
    This book is truly amazing and I couldnt put it down for 2 days until I finished. The author does a great job of leaving clif hangers to keep you reading. It is around 400 pafges but that will seem like nothing as you read. The writing style is very creative and entertaining. I recomend this book to anyone who is wants a good book to just sit down with and enjoy.

    Connor Babbs

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  55. This summer other than the required book,Lord of the Flies, one of the books that I have read was The Hobbit. The Hobbit was an excellently written book about a hobbit who went on a dangerous adventure with thirteen dwarves, and a wizard to try and reclaim the riches that a dragon took from the dwarves. This book was really good and I would recommend it to people who like adventure books or anyone just looking for something good to read. The other book I read this summer was A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah and now that school has started I realize that I will be reading it again but that's not a problem because I really enjoyed that book. It was great story of perseverance and I would recommend it to everyone because it is something that everyone should read (and I know you would recommend it considering that it is one of the books that we will be reading this year)This summer I read three great books that I would recommend to anyone looking for something good to read.

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  56. Over the summer I read two books, Whatever Happened to Goodbye and Safe Haven. Safe Haven is about a young girl who decides that she needs to start over in life, so she moves to a tiny town, Southport, NC. She meets a guy and slowly gets to know him and his children. She is a very reserved person because of her past but she begins to open up herself to him because he makes her feel safe. It is a book that I would recommend to any young lady that loves romantic novels. It is a romantic novels that keeps you reading, wishing, and waiting for something to happen. The other book that I read was Whatever Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen. Sarah is such an amazing young adult author and I just cannot stay away from her books. This particular book was about a young lady named McClean who moved around with her father to a ton of different places. IN each and every place that she had lived in she was someone different whether it was Liz, Eliza, or Elizabeth. Finally she found one town where she could just be McClean. She also met a boy named Dave. Along the way she began to reestablish her relationship with her mother that so dramatically ended during her parents divorce. This book made me cry once or twice and I am NOT a person to normally cry during a book. I would recommend this to anyone who feels like they need to be someone that they are not to it in. Also to the people that just want a fantastic book to read with just the perfect amount of romance.

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  57. Aside from Lord of the Flies, I read “I Funny” by James Paterson and “Will Grayson Will Grayson” by David Levithan. Both books were enjoyable to read. I would only recommend “I Funny” because that book was kept my attention throughout the whole book. In the other book, “Will Grayson Will Grayson”, there were parts that were boring. It was difficult to read for long periods of time without dozing off.

    The book “I Funny” is about a boy who is in a wheel chair. He lives with his aunt and uncle and has a special gift when it comes to humor. Jamie Grim is the main character who lost his legs and his family in a car accident. Jamie works the cash register at a diner owned by a different uncle. Jamie was known by his friends and the customers at the diner to be a jokester. One day Jamie’s uncle told Jamie about the funniest kid contest. His uncle wanted Jamie to enter the contest but Jaime was nervous and didn’t want to. When the contest finally came around, Jaime went to the contest without telling anyone. Not only did he win that contest but he advanced and was asked to perform at the next contest. Before the next contest, people heard about Jamie’s win. Unfortunately not everyone was a fan of Jamie’s success. Steve Kosgrov was not only the school’s bully but also Jamie’s cousin who lived in the same house with him. Steve told Jamie the judges only voted for him since he was disabled. Jamie was encouraged by his friends to continue with his comedy routine. Soon Jamie was in the world’s funniest kid contest finals. Jamie would be known as the world’s funniest kid.

    “Will Grayson Will Grayson” is two stories in one. The first Will Grayson is a happy student in Chicago with two good friends named Tiny and Jane. Will is part of a musical that Tiny writes and directs. The musical is a story about Tiny life as a gay student. Near the end of the book Will begins to date his friend Jane.

    The other Will Grayson is a dark student from Ohio. He has a friend named Maura. Will does not share very much with Maura. Maura creates an online identity named Isaac so that Will can open up. Ohio Will Grayson is gay and begins an online relationship with Isaac. One day Will decides he wants to meet Isaac. Maura sets up a meeting in Chicago. Once in Chicago, Ohio Will Grayson meets Chicago Will Grayson. Maura then calls Ohio Will Grayson and tells him that she created Isaac just to get closer to him. Ohio Will Grayson is upset but is comforted by Tiny. The two begin dating each other.

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  58. Along with "The Lord of the Flies," I read a nonfiction book called "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom. This was a very enjoyable and inspiring story that I would actually recommend for everyone to read.

    "Tuesdays with Morrie" is about a loved college professor who develops ALS in his sixties. ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, which is a degenerative neurological disease that in essence slowly paralyzes organs and muscles inside of the unfortunate person. The worst part about ALS for Morrie is that even though he could barely move his head at the end of his life, he could still feel excruciating pain throughout his entire body. The inspiring part about this book is that Morrie does not focus on his pain or his inabilities; he almost always focuses on the good in life and dedicates the last few years of his life to helping other people through the power of words. A well-known broadcast journalist, Ted Koppel, even comes to his house to do a few interviews with him.

    The bulk of the story takes place when the author, a former student of Morrie's, goes to visit him every Tuesday. They talk about life, living it to the fullest, focusing on the good, spending time with family, and many other important life lessons. Mitch and Morrie continue the relationship they began when Morrie was Mitch's professor and develop an even deeper bond. Their talks help Mitch focus on what is really important in life. He learns to spend more time with his wife, and he becomes a very happy person.

    Mitch Albom's story, "Tuesday's with Morrie," was a great book, and I recommend it to all.

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  59. This summer I read Fat Kid Rules the World and Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

    Fat Kid Rules the World: Troy Billings, 6'1 and weighing 296 pounds, is contemplating suicide when a homeless former student from Troy's school, Curt McCrae, intervenes. McCrae tells Troy that he saved his life, now he owes him a favor, so he insists that they start a band together with Troy playing drums. The only problem is that Troy can't play drums.
    Together, Curt and Troy create the band Rage/Tectonic. Although unable to play drums, he goes right into practicing for an upcoming gig. In the process, Troy finds self-confidence and acceptance while realizing he is desperately trying to save Curt's life from drug addiction and abuse.

    Wicked: The novel is a political, social, and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil and takes place in The Land of Oz, in the years leading to Dorothy's arrival. The story centers on Elphaba, the misunderstood green-skinned girl who grows up to become the notorious Wicked Witch of the West. Gregory Maguire fashioned the name of Elphaba from the initials of Lyman Frank Baum, L-F-B. The story is divided into five different sections based on the plot location. There is also a prologue where Elphaba is spying on Dorothy and her friends, hearing their gossip about her.

    I would definitely recommend both of these books. They were awesome. Wicked raises disturbing questions of the true nature of evil while Fat Kid Rules the World is a sad but ultimately of unlikely friends helping each other out.

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