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.

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

As the book progresses, it begins to talk more about the life of Michael Oher, and how his football career began. Oher was a poor, homeless African American boy who is taking in by a wealthy white family. While in high school, a big-time recruiter happen to come by one of Oher's football films. He had no idea who he was, but he saw something that nobody else seemed to see in Michael Oher. This recruiter, Lemmings, went to visit thousands of high school prospects and had thousands more begging him to watch their films or meet with them. So, to say the least, he was busy. However we he saw this tape of Michael Oher he knew that he could not just let this kid slip by him; he was the first one to see that Michael Oher had a chance to play professional football.

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

This book is very interesting so far. The beginning of the book does not focus on the life of Michael Lewis and his football career. Instead it talks about before him, how the game of football evolved to become what it is today. It specifically talks about Lawrence Taylor and his career as a pro football player, and the impact he had on the rest of football. Lawrence Taylor used to play linebacker and was well-known for being a lunatic that did not seem to care about anything but getting to the quarterback, and hitting him as hard as he possibly could. He would tell anyone that he spoke to that he preferred to attack the quarterbacks "blindside" (the opposite side which the quarterback was looking). His logic for this was that if the QB doesn't see him coming, its only going to hurt more. Teams began to realize that if they couldn't stop Lawrence Taylor, it was very unlikely they could beat the Giants (the team Taylor played on in the 80's). So teams began to put a new type of player on the line of scrimmage, specifically on the side of the quarterback which became known as his blindside. This became known as the left tackle.

Crackback by John Coy

I completed this book last week. This was a terribly written book. It was a book about a football team, specifically one boy named Miles Manning, who knows they have a shot at winning states. In the last game, Miles make a play to win the game for his team by blocking the other teams field goal. Winning this game puts them in the state finals However, since his coach did not tell him to do this, he gets benched for the state finals' game. Not only was this book completely predictable, but it was also very poorly written. It was an easy read and I would not recommend this book to anyone of our age group.

Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger

I am nearing the end of this book. Boobies Miles was never able to heal 100%. He was so angry over this that he decided to quit the team. Being around football for him only made his own struggles worse. Boobie knew he was born to play football, however he also knew that he wouldn't ever get a chance to after his injury.

One of the main motif's throughout the book is racism. This seems to be an issue throughout the entire book. In the small of Odessa, Texas, racism was a large part of peoples every day lives. It almost seemed as if people were used to it and were able to ignore it. For the football team, which consisted of players of all different races and ethnicities, racism was a major struggle. It seems as if as the book goes, the team learns how to deal with these issues. They begin to set an example to the rest of the town, because no matter what race or skin color, in order to win they must all work together, and thats all that matters. The football teams helps to unite the people of this small town in Texas, and see past the racial issues, and see what really matters.

Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger

Boobie and his uncle go to the doctor after his knee injury during his scrimmage. They find out that his injury was more serious than both he and his trainer believed it to be. The doctor tells them that Boobie tore his ACL, and that their really is no way that Boobie will be able to play his senior year of football. Both Boobie and his uncle knew that not playing this year would completely destroy both of their dreams. Boobie's uncle is very emotional about this, he wants Boobie to make it to college as much as Boobie does which is why he is so upset. I think the main reason that Boobie and his uncle want it so bad is because they are living in a time and place were racism is still a very large issue. Being black at this time was very hard, and many times black people did not have many options. Which is why playing football would be a way for Boobie and his uncle to escape from it.