Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

This book was definitely not one of my favorite books that i have read this year. It was not a terrible plot but i did not find it to be very interesting. I am not completely finished with the book yet but i am a couple of chapters away and the book so far has not interested me. It is about a high school girl named Melinda Sordino. Melinda busted all of her friends by calling the police on a party. Once school starts Melinda has a very tough time. None of her old friends will even look at her, the entire school hates her. She hates going to school everyday and being ignored by everyone. To say the least, Melinda regrets what she did over the summer but knows their is not going back at this point. But their is something that Melinda is hiding from everyone, a secret about what actually happened the night of the party. The one thing i do like about the book is that it is suspenseful and this keeps me reading. Although it wasnt my favorite book, i would recommend to people who enjoy suspenseful books.

Tweak by Nic Sheff

I have recently completed Tweak. I thought this was one of, if not the best book i have read all year. It was extremely interesting and the kind of book that once you start reading, it is hard to put down. Thrughout the book, Nic is in and out of different rehabs across the country. He has a hard time putting up with everything but he knows that if he doesn't do anything, he probably won't live much longer. At some points in the novel, it seems as if Nic is giving up. But he then realizes that giving up in not an option. Finally at the end of the book, after staying at a different rehab facility for 2 months, his parents come to pick him up and he is allowed to leave. He hugs his parents and apologizes for everything he's done wrong and he says to himself, "I feel so to be exactly where I am," (319). This is what made the novel so inspiration. At the begining thankful it did not seem like their was much hope for Nic. He was constantly drinking, smoking pot, d0ing heroin, ecstasy, and crystal meth. But this novel shows that a person can truely achieve anything that they put their mind to...

Tweak by Nic Sheff

I am not too for into this book yet, based on what I have read and heard about this book, it seems very interesting. It is a memoir about a high school boy, Nic Sheff, who starts off in high school as what some would call a model student. Nic got good grades, he was athletic and he also had two younger siblings that looked up to him. But the story is about how his life completely changes around when Nic starts getting into drugs. Not just casual, he becomes addicted to drugs. He starts to fail classes, he no longer plays sports, and he is no longer the older brother that his two siblings look up to. As a matter a fact, he becomes a bad influence on his younger sibling and his parents are forced to kick him out of the house. This book makes me truely understand the effects of abusing drugs and how it can completely change a persons life around. What i like most about this book is that it is extremely powerful and realistic; this makes it that much more interesting to read.

Lord of the Flies (Conclusion to the book)

I thought the final chapter of the book was very interesting. Ralph's group fell apart with the exception of piggy and all of Jack's hunters became just like him- cruel and evil. At the end, all of the hunters go after Ralph, hoping to find him and most likely kill him. Ralph hides in a thicket and the boys are unable to get to him. Jack eventually lights the entire forest on fire hoping to get Ralph out. Ralph runs towards the beach and the hunters chase him. On the beach Ralph runs into a naval officer who says his ship spotted the fire on the island. The officer realizes what was going on and what the the boys were doing and was disgusted. He then asks, "how could a group of boys have lost all reverence for rules of civilization in so short a time?" This is coming from an adult naval officer who clearly deals with much violence in the world. He seems to be saddened and disgusted to see how these boys have become on the island. To me, this reveals a lot about human nature and the importance of society. It also shows the importance of having rules and regulations. When people are not guided by the rules of society, they feel that they can do whatever they want and in this case and example would be Jack turning savage.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding (3rd quater)

Later in the book, in chapter 5, Ralph is walking along the beach and he suddenly gets frustrated. He realizes that all the other boys are the island are not doing their jobs, not hunting, no building shelters. He blows the conch shell and calls a meeting. Ralph realizes that the boys society is slowly falling apart. He tries to fix it but is not really sure how. Shortly after, Ralph and Jack's group officially split. In a way i see this as a replica of real society. Ralph and his group, i believe, represent the good in society. While Jack and his group represent the evils of society. Most of the boys give in to the urge. Deep down, everyone could be evil. However, in society we try to cover up the evils that lurk within. In real society, certain rules and regulations guides us away from it. However, when there are no rules, as you can see with the boys on the island, people often give in to desire and temptation. In Lord of The Flies, joining Jack's group of the hunters represents giving in to these evil desires.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding (3rd quater)

I am at the start of this book and am trying to refresh my memory a bit after reading it in 9th grade. At the beginning, a group of young boys end up on an island after their plan crashes. The first thing they realize once on the island is that their are no other adults with them. Some of them seem to be happy about that, while others feel that without adults, they will not be able to get off the island. Even at the very beginning, the boys quickly figure out that they must establish some kind of order in their mini society. One boy named Ralph finds a conch shell on the island. Throughout the book, this conch represents power. The boys later if you have something to say, you must be holding the conch shell and cannot just yell things out. This is their way of creating order in their society. Ralph, one of the older boys on the island, is also voted to be leader over all the other boys on the island. Some people are happy about this, while others are not and feel it is unfair that Ralph gets to be leader.

I Know What You DId Last Summer by Louis Duncan

I finished the last book i was reading, Killing Mr. Griffin, and since i like Louis Duncan i decided to read another book by her. I am only just beginning I Know What You Did Last Summer, but so far it is good and makes me want to keep reading. Like the other book by Louis Duncan, it is also about a group of teenagers who accidently kill a mysterious man. They are horrified and don't know what to do. Instead of reporting it to the police, they dump the man in a river and pledge to never tell anyone about what they have done for as long as they live. That is where I am at as of right now. What i like most about Louis Duncan's style of writing is that it is very suspenseful. I like this because it keeps me engaged in the book and makes me want to keep reading. My predictions for the rest of this book is that the secret of the accidental killing will somehow get out. The teenagers will then be faced with an even bigger problem...

Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan

I really like Lois Duncan. I have read many other books of hers. My favorite by her was I know What You Did Last Summer. Which is why i chose this book because Lois Duncan is very good with thriller and suspense books. I am a couple chapters away from the end of the book and I do not feel that this was one of her best books. I felt that it was not bad to read and somewhat entertaining, however, like many other mediocre mystery book, too predictable. The plot of the book is that Susan and a couple of her friends plot out a "practical joke" on their english teacher, Mr. Griffin. None of them meant to actually kill them and when they did they did not know what to do. They chose to try and keep everything a secret and not let anyone ever find out about what happened. I still have the last few chapters to read so i am not completely sure of what the overall turn out of the book will be, but up to this point i feel everything that has happened i could have easily predicted. I do like Lois Duncan's style of writing, especially in other books of her. After this book i plan to read another book by her because i really enjoy reading mystery/suspense books.

"A Long Way Gone" By Ishmael Beah

Over the break i completed The Blind Side- which i highly recommend to any sports fan. I also re-read a book that i read last year, "A Long Way Gone" by Ishmael Beah. The reason I chose to re-read this book is because last year after i read it I decided it was one of the best book i had ever read and I do not remember everything that happened since it has been over a year since i last read it. This book is a memoir about a young boy named Ishmael Beah. He is living is Sierra Leone. At age 12 rebels come and attack his land. Slowly, he becomes seperated from all of his family. He becomes sure that he will most likely never see his family again, and after a year of running, he decides to fight in the government army at age 13. What made this book so good, and worth re-reading, was the detail that the author gives. When Ishmael is fighting in battles with the army the detail makes given makes it seem as if you are sitting their watching everything. Being that it is written by Ishmael himself, it is not hard to really understand how the character feels and the horrors that he went through. It is also a very sad and emotional book.