This is where you guys can post a comment/question based on the summer reading "chat" I gave you all in Mrs. Spradlin's class. Make sure you tell me WHO YOU ARE! I don't know you yet, so be specific - 1st & last names.
Also, feel free to check out some of the other comments from this year's 8th graders, especially the part about WHAT THEY WISH THEY HAD KNOWN. Their hints, tips, advice & warnings might be very useful to you! :)
I look forward to hearing from you!
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150 comments:
Hi Ms. McNeeley!
I was wondering, wat exactly is our essay on the Diaries of a Young Girl by Anne Frank supposed to be about? I was thinking about getting a headstart on writing the essay, when I realized I hadn't a clue what it is supposed to be about.
Thanks!
Hendley Landers
Hendley,
As ambitious as that is, I can't tell you. The essay has to be IN CLASS b/c I want to see EXACTLY what you are capable of without help from anyone. Plus, I haven't decided if I'm going to use the same topic from last year or if I'm going to change it. (I change things up a good bit from year to year, so I don't get bored!)
hi ms McNeely,
Googe here!!! haha didn't u no i would be here sooner rather than later... OK so I have already read two amazing books this summer and want to know about the review thing. Do we just summarize and comment or what???
Thanks,
Katie
aka Googe
Googe,
Look back at my other kids' responses... It's very casual. What did you think about it? Good, bad, ugly & why... You may want to give a brief summary so others have some understanding of what you're writing about. (BTW, be sure to write down your username & password. Lots of my kids forgot theirs last year & couldn't get back on to the blog.) Later!
Hi Ms, McNeeley
I am the infamous Morgan Maxwell! Two questions:
1. are we allowed to use our books and notes for the essay?
2. are we allowed to use cliff notes along with reading the book?
thanks,
morgan
I recently read the book Memoirs of a Geisha. This is a novel by Anthony Golden about a young Japanese girl form a fishing village who grows up to be one of the most successful geishas in Japan. For those of you who haven’t read the book a geisha is a VERY high class woman whose job is to entertain the wealthy men who come to Kyoto, but the word literally means artisan. I really enjoyed this book. It was one of those amazingly well written, resounding, life-changing books. Warning: there are a few explicit scenes.
-Katie Googe
Another amazing book I have read recently is Life as we Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. This is the one about the asteroid that crashes into the moon and knocks the moon out of orbit and closer to Earth. I suppose the intriguing part of this is that you never really think about how much would change on Earth if the moon was closer, but thinking about it the whole world would be out of wack. I really got into this book and kept looking outside to make sure that the moon was still there.
-Katie Googe
Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer, captures the reader's fears and because of this, it reels the reader in. This book is about an asteroid pushing the moon closer to the earth. Ergo, environmental conundrums began to "rise to the occasion". Because of the proximity of the moon to the earth and the problems that began to appear because of it, people started to get anything that they could ever need to live. As more problems arised, the more interesting the book became. This is a book with three-hundred and thirty-seven pages of unrelenting courage.
By: Nida Javaid
Morgan - Yes, you will be allowed to use your books and your notes. I would prefer you DON'T use Cliff Notes. I would rather your responses & opinions to the books were YOURS and YOURS ALONE!
Googe & Nida - Did y'all LOVE Life As We Knew It?? I know you only get 75-100 words here, so it's pretty hard to share your "enthusiasm," but I would like to know. I LOVED it!
Nida - Tell me more - even if it's beyond the required amount :) - about your thoughts/feelings on The Book Thief. What did you think about the way it was written?
The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak is a girl's journey through Hitler and his people's time against the Jews. Liesel Meminger (main character) doesn't set Hitler as a role model as others do. She takes books and has a Jew in her basement. She is a Book Thief. The Book Thief. This book is interesting in the way that the author writes the book. He has it set from Death's point of view. Sometimes it seemed that it wasn't Death telling the story because of the dialogue and detail in Liesel's story. Yet it was still a pleasure to read.
By:Nida Javaid
Life As We Knew It was a great book. The tone of the book carried into the tone of my life for some time after I read that book. By that I mean that anything they had to do to live or that they felt because of the predicament they were in, it seemed that I did or felt those things as well. That book had control over my life for a while.
- Nida Javaid
Ms/ McNeely, is it ok if I read Way Down Deep and write a review on that instead of a book on the reading list, or should I do the listed books>?
Hey -
Ok i am a bit less formal than nida dear. So i will just say right out life as we knew it was an AMAZING book, as was Geisha. I also read The Truth About Forever and that is my ALL TIME RECORD for most number of well written books in a row. Sadly it was broken a day or two later by none other than Anne Frank. 12 year old girls are not the most professional writers.
PS
I do agree with Nida.
That book had control over my LIFE.
At the end I had to start eating just because I knew that I had enough and wasn't going to starve.
And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie is a psychological thiller. It is the tale of a group of strangers invited to a strange mysterious island. They are each charged with murder and one by one they begin to die. The killer is amongst them and they must figure out who it is before it is too late. I enjoyed this novel because of its interesting writing style and unlike other mysteries it did not focus on one character thus giving the killer away. I encourage many others to read this awesome book. It will scare you to death!
-Brionna Hall
Hendley,
Way Down Deep seems fine. Go for it.
And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie, is one of the best mysteries I have ever read. This book was about ten ordinary people who got invited to a mysterious island by an unknown man. Once they arrive extremely unusual things begin to happen when one of their fellow visitors suddenly gets murdered. In the days following, one by one the remaining survivors get killed. The rest must figure out who the killer is before they end up dead too.
Although this book at times was VERY depressing, it's one of the best books I’ve read in 2008!
-Alex Dominicali
OK, thank Ms. McNeely!
Way Down Deep is about a little toddler who calls herself Ruby. One day she shows up on the steps of the town courthouse. No one knows where she came from or how she got there, and Ruby cant tell them, let alone being able to only barely say her name.
This was an amazing book about discory and being yourself, even if you don't know who you are. This book, I would recomend to most girls, and boys who like chick novels.
Ashes of Roses, by Mary Jane Auch, was an amazing story that took place during the height of New York immigration. The main character, Rose, came over from Ireland and now needs to support herself as well as her sister. When she is working, one day a fire suddenly starts. After narrowly escaping, Rose learns that her life is now more different than ever before. This fantastic book allowed me to step out of my realm of the usual genre that I read and truly feel as if I were with Rose in every step of her difficult journey.
-Hannah Dunn-Grandpre`
A Break With Charity, by Ann Rinaldi is an excellent book. It is a tale of historical fiction based on the Salem Witch Trials. I enjoyed this novel because it allowed you to feel as though you were their. You could feel the hate, evil, and dimenishing hope in the people of Salem. I enjoyed the author's writing style and how she stayed true to the real story of the trials as you can see in the Author's Note. I encourage others to read this amazing blend of fiction and history.
-Brionna Hall
Fahrenheit 451 was an amazing story. At first I thought it would be another boring grown-up book, but once I reached the middle, I couldn't stop! the main character, Guy Montag,is living a normal, fire-fighters life.For the age that he lives in, he burns illegal books.his life changes once he meets a strange girl who mysteriously dies a week later. Montag opens one of the books he was suppose to burn, and begins to question the fire-fighters way of life. he sees that his whole life had been empty. he didn't even love his wife!
Hi Ms. McNeeley,
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, is a fascinating story about an opinionated woman whose pursuit of happiness kept me turning pages. I loved this book because of Jane’s unique character, and the way that Bronte created her to be an independent woman. In many stories women, such as Cinderella, aren’t content until they find their true love. Jane does find her love, but she doesn’t sit in cinders to wait. I couldn’t tear myself away from Jane Eyre, and it’s my duty to recommend this book to people who enjoy stories of life-journeys and the people to be met along the way.
~Dory MacMillan
Gone With The Wind, by Margaret Mitchell is a long yet excellent book. It is a story of a young girl who moves to Atlanta due to her depression. There she sees the beginning of the Civil War. After the fall of Atlanta she returns to her plantation where she has neared starvation. The war ended but it turned this young spoiled, ruthless girl into a hard working girl. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to see how hard it was during the civil war and to anyone who has time to read it.
~Angie Jimenez Melendez
I read the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. At first I wasn't interested but that slowly changed. When Scout, Jem, and Dill decided to look into the Radley house's mysterious that's when I started to become intrigued. When Scout and Jem's father Atticus was given a case to defend a black man accused of rape I couldn't put the book down. I wanted to move on to the next page and see what would happen next in the case. Once I finished the book I was very confused because it ended directly after the climax leaving me wanting more and not knowing what exactly just happened. Overall, Really Good Book.
- Hudson Wilson
"the first boy to
post on the website"
Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte, is, without doubt, the most frustrating book I have ever read. I loved it, but characters in the book are so cruel, clueless, or love-struck. (Not that these are mutually exclusive!) I became so angry throughout the book, that I had to put it down and walk around. Heathcliff is horrific! And, Catherine is not worth his love! She is a headstrong, self-centered girl, who deserves to get her heart broken!And the rest of those characters-- Nelly Dean, a backstabber, indeed!, Cathy, who is good and pure, is the only decent character in this book. Though silly, she has a heart, which sustains both her father and the sickly, fearful Linton. This anger is what made me enjoy Wuthering Heights. Emily Bronte made the characters my life.
~Dory MacMillan
Life As We Knew It is a book about a young girl named Miranda who hears a warning that a meteor is going to hit the moon. At first Miranda thinks little of it,but when the meteor actually hits, bringing the moon closer to earth Miranda's life slowly changes. The supermarkets runs out of food, gas prices go up to ten dollars,and Miranda's family soon has to eat one meal a day in order to save food
This book captured Miranda's fear of being the last person on earth and losing everyone she ever cared about so well it made me feel like I was her.
-Denisse Saucedo
A Break With Charity is about a group of girls who felt too restricted and left out of the society. So to get some attention they accused people of witchcraft. These accusations lead to the hanging of many people. At some point the girls believed there own lies. I enjoyed this book because the author added real historical events and made me feel as if I were there. When reading this book it made me think of all the innocent people that were hanged. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn of a wicked past.
~ Angie Jimenez Melendez
Life as we knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer is another amazing book. What happens is a meteor hits the moon and pushes it closer to Earth. All of a sudden drastic changes happen to the weather and the entire world. Parts of the coast sink, extreme temperatures, and even a little flu can kill you. People begin stealing food and turning on each other. I love this book because it shows how something can change everything.
- Samantha Martin
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a fantastic book written from Deaths perspective. The setting is in Germany during the holocaust. Through this book it shows the hardship that both Germans and Jews suffered. Liesel, the main character, is not like most of the other people in Germany because she hates Hitler, likes the Jews that everyone else treats so badly, and ends up stealing from the wealthier people in town. One of the things she steals is books, which is how she becomes the book thief. The books she steals become and save her own life.
- Samantha Martin
Fahrenheit 451 is about a man named Guy Montag who burns illegal books for a living. On the way home Montag meets a seventeen year old girl named Clarisse who asks him if he is happy. At that point Montag realize that he is not happy with his life and is not in love with his wife anymore. Then Montag starts to read a book he was suppose to burn he starts to question if burning books is something that he wants to do.
The beginning of this book was boring and it made me think if I choose a good book to read but then once I read some more I loved it.
Throughout the Twilight series, the main character, Bella, continually suffers from varying degrees of emotional misfortune. Of course, this is what makes the books interesting and fun to read, but that doesn't detract from the fact that there are few situations in which Bella isn't feeling unease, depression, or a combination of the two. These emotions are usually caused by the absences of certain people, namely Edward and Jacob, and seem to suggest a trait of neediness in her personality.
Carver G.
Slow, confusing, and not interesting describe how I felt when I first started to read To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. As I got further along in the book I became more and more excited to get to the next page. This started when the Dill, Scout, and Jem brought up the Radley’s and their odd life and house. Continuing to when Atticus defended Mr. Robinson, who was accused of rape. As I read I felt as if my eyes were glued to the words on the pages. Unable to put down the book, I finished it thinking that it was a wonderful book.
Sophie Chen
From beginning to end I thought Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy to be an interesting book. The book describes the happenings of places other than Earth. The Author, Douglas Adams, has an ability to come up with the most out of this world names for his characters, which fits well with what he write about in this book. With all the new character popping up every page it got hard to keep track, I found myself flipping back many time to remind myself. In the end however the book defiantly delivered and now I understand why it a classic.
Sophie Chen =]
The next book I have read was Favorite Folktales from around the World. A woman named Jane Yolen edited the book. This book was chock full of every tale I had never heard of. I never knew so many different cultures could have made some wildly interesting stories like the ones I read. It was all fantasy of course, but I kept on thinking that those legends had actually happened. This book might be big, but its worth it to see the world’s stories pressed into one book!
Hi Ms. McNeeley and class! All of my favorite people are posting on your blog! I miss you guys so much and can't wait to share all of the books I've been reading with you guys.
Mrs. Hinger
Today I just finished reading Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals. This story takes place during 1957 when Melba Pattillo and nine other teenagers were chosen to intergrate to a high school in Little Rock called Central High School. I think that Warriors Don’t Cry was one of the best books I have ever read. When I started reading this book I thought it’s just another book, but when I got far into the book it explained all the struggles that Melba Pattillo went through. This book really made me think that Melba Pattillowent through getting attacked by sticks of dynamite, and acid sprayed in her eyes just so she can intergrate into Central High School. Now I understand why this is considered one of the greatest moments in history
Life as We Knew it, by Susan Beth Pfeffer takes place during an experience that I hope to never go through. The main character, Miranda, a sixteen year old girl, keeps her journal. It starts from the excitement of an asteroid hitting the moon, to the suffering with no electricity, water, heat, friends, and even family. The world was just a big bowl of chaos.
This book, at parts, made me fight off tears, while dying to keep turning the page. It was the weirdest combination of emotions ever, but it was the weirdest plot I've ever read.
Jack Elliott-Gower
Life As We Knew It is an incredibly captivating book. The story takes place in modern times, which makes it easy to relate to. In the beginning everything seems normal, but after the meteor hits the moon, the whole world changes. It was interesting to read how with each day there were new troubles in Miranda’s life. I enjoyed reading about how everyday tasks became difficult without items we often take for granted. With each page, the story became more exciting as I tried to figure out how she would survive in her new environment.
Melody Wauke
Hi Ms. McNeeley!!
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of the strangest book i have read lately. The author Douglas Adams has an out of the ordinary sense of humor that is not so much obvious but more intelligence. All though I had trouble keeping up with the odd names of planets and different characters, the captivating plot kept me reading. Normally I am not drawn to science fiction but I made an exception and found that I could enjoy it such as much as realistic fiction.
Hope your having a great summer!
Thananya Kerdpoka
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Book Thief is brilliantly written. It combined the perfect amount of suspence with a touch of humor to be intresting. The main charachter, Liesel, and her cohort, Rudy, find a joy in stealing, hence the name. While reading, you can really get an up close look at what it was like during the war for a Nazi. When reading The Diary of Anne Frank, you got to see what it is like to be a Jew. After comparing the two, their lifes are not that far apart. This was a wonderful book that kept you thinking while reading it.
Morgan Maxwell
A Break With Charity by Ann Rinaldi is a wonderfully written book that will keep your interest at the max. This book has everything you would want in it. From mysteries to romance and everything in between! Ann Rinaldi does a magnificent job writing this book and incorporating the setting. This book has the special power to almost memorize you so you never want to put it down! I look forward to reading more by her!
-Matthew Dellaria-
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, was a so-so book. It was slow starting and the action did not really kick in until well after the middle of the book. However, it is amazing that this book was written in 1950, but still has the futuristic qualities that fiction books today have. My feelings toward the book are not that great. The way that people have raved on about this book got me really pumped up. Then I read it. My advice, do not read it unless you have heard nothing about.
Morgan Maxwell
The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, is the tale of Esther Greenwood, an extremely gifted girl with a seemingly bright future, who slowly goes mad. The Bell Jar is suspense, mystery, and terror mixed together. Esther saw everything depressingly and I did not find that appealing but, as I read on, I began to notice good qualities in the book. This book made Esther’s breakdown seem natural, gave a great deal of description of places in the book, and thoroughly conveyed the emotions Esther was feeling. I truly enjoyed this book because it is unlike any I’ve ever read.
I read Eats, Shoots and Leaves some while ago. It‘s basically a grammar book, but it’s not the kind of boring grammar book you’d find, for example, as a school textbook. I was absolutely shocked at how much stupid people there were! I loved the book, mostly because of the humor that has been added in, which kept me laughing the whole time. Please spare the sticklers the trouble and use punctuation properly so they won’t have to kill you (or at least correct all your mistakes)!
oh anb btw this is egor romanenkov.
hey this is loran posey. i was just wondering if, in addition, to the summer reading assignments, if we have any other kind of tests or anything coming up on the first day of school.
because i do remember you mentioning something about that BE AS WAS WHERE BEEN BEING thing and that we were gonna have a test about it. were you serious? also, are there any other things ur gonna test us on? i just wanna be prepared
In Carson McCullers’, The Member of the Wedding, 12-year-old Frankie is determined to become a member of her older brother’s new family so she can leave her town. Her initiative is noted by the numerous conversations with the maid, and her 6-year-old cousin during dinner, as well as with herself. Adolescence played a role throughout the book, and watching her go through that kept me reading. While I warmed up to the book and began to enjoy it, the unfamiliar dialog and conversations Frankie had with herself bothered me.
-Emily Giglio
Hi Ms. McNeeley!
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury was an awesome book. I especially loved the middle because thats were the action begins to kick in. I like the way how the author describes how fireman use to help put out fires instead of provoking them. It makes me feel like i am in the book and have the same feeling the the character has.
Kyara Mejia
I have recently read The Da Vinci code by Dan Brown . I think that this is a really good. The author just goes in and put action and mystery in it. Through all the codes and mysteries i became ;one of the characters. I learn things i didn't know before. I could not put this book down and simply kept on reading until i finished it. In the end Dan Brown leaves the readers hanging as to what would happen next.
Kyara Mejia
This is Loran Posey. I read "The Book Thief". It took me a while to catch on to what was happening. I had to reread a lot of parts at the beginning but I started to get it. It was a very interesting book. I loved how Death told the story. I had never seen that before. Basically it was about this girl who lived with these "foster parents" I guess you could say. It takes place in Nazi Germany and talks about how she stole books from Nazi book burnings and how they hid a Jew in their basement. It was a pretty good book. It was pretty long but I liked it.
hey ms. mcNeely, i reread harry potter 7 just for fun this summer. can i add that to the list of books i read?
-loran posey
Hi Ms. McNeeley.
This is Aaliyah Hale.
Well I just finished reading the book "The Story of My Life" By: Helen Keller. This book was pretty interesting. I loved getting to know how she actually learned to understand that everything has a name. But I also connected with her on some level, when she was got frustrated at certain things she found out she couldn't do. As I said before this book is a VERY interesting read, but you need to be really into the book to actually like it.
- Aaliyah Hale
Lonesome Dove, written by Larry McMurtry, is an action packed novel with many different plot lines woven together. The book starts off with two longtime friends setting out to claim land in Montana. The many story lines made it difficult for me to keep up with everything going on but, eventually I was able to understand the story clearly. The story itself is very interesting and mind absorbing because of all the interesting characters and the crazy situations they get into. Because of that Lonesome Dove is now one of the best books I have ever read.
-Ariel Santillan
Interview With A Vampire is a truly remarkable work of literature. Told from the viewpoint of a newly created vampire named Louis, the story deals with him trying to find his place in life(or rather death). Not only is it philosophically interesting, dealing with matters of evil, ultimate purpose, and origin, but it also describes the main character's thoughts and feelings so vividly that their every pain and triumph is yours also. The ending itself is reason enough to read this book-- provocative and haunting, it is of the type where one must spend at least a few minutes pondering its genius.
Hiroshima, by John hersey, is in my opinion a journalistic masterpiece. This amazing book patches together the lives of the people of Hiroshima as if you were there! When you first pick up this book you are immediately thrown into the setting. John hersey also provides amazing details of the people of Hiroshima and how there life’s drastically changed on the fateful morning of August 8, 1945. This is one of the most true, historical, and knowledgeable Non-fiction book I have ever read!
-Matthew D.-
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
This is an amazing story told from the perspective of a high school junior. When an asteroid hits the moon the only thing Miranda is worried about is her homework, but she quickly learns that staying alive has to be her main priority. When floods, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes break out across the world and the number of meals she can eat is declining, Miranda can only hope that things will return to life as she knew it. When reading this book I was reminded of how the world can change in only an instant. The book completely controls you and once you start it, you won’t be able to stop.
-Hannah Dunn-Grandpre`
Watership Down, by Richard Adams, is a magical book placed in the present time but captured in the view of…rabbits. Don’t underestimate these furry little creatures! Richard Adams created a different image of these animals, he gave us the view of the animal kingdom at it’s best. The rabbit’s, under Hazel’s command, go through countless terrors and beast that humans would never think twice about! As Hazel and his friends jump through their journeys, Dandelion, the clan’s storyteller, tells us tales of the past when their great hero, El-ahrairah and his partner Rabscuttle raced through the lands of time.
By Maggie Songster (or Margaret)
I Love You Beth Cooper is an extremely enjoyable and funny book. The story begins when valedictorian Denis Cooverman proclaims his love for head cheerleader Beth Cooper, a girl he hardly knows, in front of their entire graduating class. As the book progresses, Denis learns more about Beth and relinquishing control over life. While the ending is not much to speak of, and the book itself is not exactly a classic, it is certainly worth reading for it's humor and true depiction of unrequited love.
The Joy Luck Club was a well written in dept novel. Amy Tan portrays the Chinese American experience through different characters. The novel switches narrators and explains each characters life as well as feelings on their situation. The novel was immensely touching but it dwells too much on the past then the present action. Since it spends too much time in the past I got confused of what was happening in the current events. The novel was poignant but slow and I do not recommend it for readers who come impatient with an unhurried story.
-Thananya Kerdpoka
Hi Ms. McNeeley!
Life as We Knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer is about a girl named Miranda who is living a normal teenage life. Then one day a large meteor hits the moon and knocks it closer to earth.
Tsunamis and earthquakes begin to rip across the world. Everyday after becomes a fight to survive for Miranda. With no food or supplies left to buy it only makes her life more challenging.
This was an amazing book that always kept me on my toes! I will never look at the moon the same way again.
-Alex Dominicali
Ashes of Roses tells the story of an Irish family that comes to America in the early 1900s. It is an extremely well written book that reveals how hard it was for foreigners in America at that time. The author, Mary Jane Auch, described the difficult lifestyle of Rose and her sister so well, it felt like I was there with them. The characters in this book have distinct personalities, which makes it easy to understand how they think. I finished the book very quickly because with every page, the story became more interesting.
Hey Ms Mcneely!!
This is Katie
I am just to Lazy to sign into my other gmail account so i am using this one. NOW!
I went to Ashford Mannor last night with Mattie J, and the Songsters and we saw "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
(yes i know the quotation marks are wrong, i am sorry)
ANYWAy!
I wanted to know what copy of the play you are going to have us read(don't we read it in 8th grade?) so i can read it while the story is still fresh!
Thanks
Googe
Googe,
Every copy should be the same, so it shouldn't matter which version you pick up. Personally, I like the versions where they give a lot of footnotes b/c they always explain things that I wouldn't normally understand as a 21st century American trying to read 16th century English!
Was the play any good? (Did you love Bottom?)
Hi Ms. McNeely!
I have a question:
Are we supposed to do 2 or 3 book comment posts?
Thanks!
Hendley Landers
Ms McNeely,
The play was amazing. I have a close guy freind who is into acting (i enjoy it too, but he's really good) and bottoom made me think of him. The version i saw had liek a 12 minute dying scene for bottom in the play. It was REALLY funny! I can't WAIT to read it! So you want us to read something like the "No Fear Shakespere" or something like the Folger's library?
Thanks!!!
The Call of the Wild by Jack London is one of the hardest books I've ever read. It is the adventure of a young dog named Buck. The plot was exciting and easy to follow, but the dialect was difficult to read. I enjoy seeing how Buck changed over the course of the book. Buck moves from living in luxury in the Santa Clara valley to fighting his way through the harsh, frozen Yukon. The change hasn't only been physical but also emotional. He morphs from the sweet, kind dog that loved walks, to a fierce competitor.
Hey Mrs. McNeeley,
I was writing my report on The Call of the Wild and I posted it and realized I forgot to put my name. So I thought I should tell you that it's mine.
Thanks,
Jack Elliott-Gower
Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss is a hilarious book, which, in my opinion is a cross between punctuation textbook and a joke book. The book starts by explaining the thoughts of a punctuation stickler. Then, as the author progresses through the novel, she talks about the uses of punctuation correctly and soon shows how people use punctuation today. I enjoyed how the author used billboards, text messages, and more to explain how punctuation is being “misused” without any notice. Nearly every page of this books make me laugh, not to mention it has been given a high rating by numerous English teachers.
-Subhodeep Choudhury
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The beginning of the book was not as captivating as I would have hoped. I was confused by how this fireman enjoyed creating fires and not putting them out. When I came to realize that in this futuristic setting firemen were paid to burn books then suddenly the story became intriguing. The book is about Guy Montag and how all his life he was taught to burn books. Later he realizes that books are not as dangerous as he was told. Overall I thought the book was very interesting.
~Hallie Javetz
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is a murder mystery about ten strangers banished to the infamous Indian Island by an unknown person, where curiously they began to be killed off one-by-one. I had never read a book like that and it turned out great. The suspense and mystery intrigued me and the characters themselves kept me questioning. I can’t wait to read more books like this one!
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a hilarious adventure story. Now this is almost a direct continuation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, both by Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). It’s a wonderful book, with countless events which would be the climaxes of many books. In it Huck sails down the Mississippi River with a runaway slave, Jim, after being kidnapped by his dad. I really recommend it to anyone who wants a hilarious adventure story.
Watership Down by Richard Adams is about rabbits who leave their warren. Hazel, who is the main character, has a brother named Fiver who starts having panic attacks and keeps telling Hazel somthing bad is going to happen to the warren. Nobody in the warren listens to Fiver except Hazel. Hazel takes Fiver to the Chief Rabbit but even he doesn't take him seriously. After increasingly bad pannic attacks, Hazel tries to convince as many rabbits as he can to leave the warren. After the group of rabbits leave, they face many hardships as they search for a new place to live.
Patrick Humphreys
Hendley - Do 2.
Katie - For now, without guidance, read a "No Fear" version. Having the translation helps a lot. If you can find a version that is translated AND still has the original footnoted, do that. AND KEEP IT for when we read A Midsummer.
I have to quick questions that I obviously don't know
1. Our we allowed to write a book review on a book that we picked our selves or does it have to be one from the brochure?
2. Our we allowed to have the Anne Frank book and notes for the essay?
-Harrison Boza
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is a mystery/suspense book. Ten strangers recieve strange letters inviting them to the mysterious Indian Island. They have no recolection of who the host inviting them to the island is, but in the letter he persuades each of them to come. After they get to the island things go horribly wrong as one by one they are killed. Anyone who loves mystery books should read this, and even if you don't, you should start with this one.
Hello Ms. McNeeley
The book I read was Remembered Death by Agatha Christie.
In Remembered Death, a birthday party was thrown for Rosemary. On that day Rosemary committed suicide. A year later Rosemary’s sister, Iris, was looking through Rosemary’s old things and found a love letter to a gentleman named Leopard, (who was not Rosemary’s husband). A day later George (Rosemary’s Husband) came and said he found a rather disturbing letter. The letter said “YOUR WIFE ROSEMARY WAS MURDERED”. Iris went back to the day Rosemary died and focused on the people sitting at the table with them, Ruth Lessing, Anthony Browne, Stephen Farraday, Alexandra Farraday and George Barton. So who killed Rosemary?
Antanay Goode
Hi, Ms. McNeeley
The book I recently read was Hickory Dickory Death by Agatha Christie.
In my book, Hickory Dickey Death, there was mysterious stealing going on. The secretary Ms Hubbard and the head lady, Ms. Nicoletis was a little concerned. Eventually, Ms. Hubbard called the police. Later, Celia Austin admitted to some of the stealing. Friends were surprised about Celia’s confession. They said she did not have the brains to do this. They didn’t know someone made her do it. Police found Celia dead a few days later, apparently suicide. Shortly after finding Celia, Ms. Nicholas and another student were found dead. Now they have more than theft on there hands; the have murder.
Antanay Goode
Hi Ms. McNeeley,
The book that I just had that pleasure of reading is The Titans Curse by Rick Riordan. It is a action/comedy about Greek Mythology in the present. Percy Jckson is the teenage main character of the series. He is also the son of Posidon. This is the thrid book out of four that are on shelves but a fifth book is on the way. I suggest this book to anyone who likes to be completely engulfed in a book. While I was reading this book I could not put it down. Riordan is a genius and I strongly suggest this book.
Another book that I have read this summer is The Alchlemyst by Micheal Scott. This book is slightly more on the fantasy side than any other style but it isnt restricted to it. It is about The immortal Nicholas Flamel and the book that he was assigned to protect over 600 years earlier. It is set in the present but much of the book is tied into the past. I suggest this book to people who enjoy reading about magic. It is a fun novel to read and it reaches out to many of the readers emotions. Great Read!
Hi Ms.Mcneeley!
I was blown away when I first read Fahrenheit 451! Even though it is a book for adults, the plot itself would be suitable for anyone who is willing to read it. Guy Montag, a fireman who lives in the future, has the important job for burning down the houses that treasure books in them (books are illegal in that time) Suddenly, Guy meets a strange girl and becomes friends with her, only to find out that she mysteriously dies about a week later. Crushed by this, Guy realizes that is life has been nothing but a lie.
-Maggie M. Songster
Hiya Ms.Mcneeley!
I have one question!
you see, i stupidly lost my folder (it's around my house somewhere...) but my sister still has hers! i was wondering if me and lois could share the folder, at least until i find mine or if i could make another one!
Maggie Songster
HEY Ms. MCNEELEY!!!
Yes, I too have read the book thief. In the The Book Thief, Death narrates the life of Liesel Meminger growing up with her foster parents on Himmel street. Death decides to "soften the blow" in many circumstances and tells us in advance the outcome of certain events. Even though I knew what was coming, I still ended the book with sweaty palms and a tear stained face. The Book Thief has earned a spot on two of my book lists, most amazing book ever and one of the select few that has made me cry!
hope ur summer has been good!
- Madison (or Mattie) Jasiulevicius
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
When the Earth is destroyed, Arthur and his alien friend Ford hitchhike through space. The author, Douglas Adams, is able to create lots of wierd character names. His creativity makes this book interesting and confusing. This book took me awhile to read because I had to re-read a lot. Mainly because there was so much going on throughout the entire book. I would recommend this to people who like to read slowly, but I think anyone could enjoy this book. It was definitely not what I expected, but overall it was a good book.
-Sarah Hoyt
Life as we knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer is the best book I’ve read yet! Long story short, it starts with an asteroid crashing into the moon, knocking the moon out of orbit, and closer to Earth. That created dramatic changes with our planet’s weather and its people. Especially the changes in an ordinary family as a result of the crash. I liked this book because of the science and survival parts. I disliked it in a way because the author continued more or less in the same way, after the crash. Never the less this book will be one of my all time favorite novels.
-Subhodeep Choudhury
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, was an excellent book. Told from the perspective of Death, it tells the story of a young girl, Liesel, growing up in Nazi Germany. Markus Zusak has a unique writing style, and his sarcastic tone kept me interested throughout the book. He makes the reader feel like they are watching Liesel with their own eyes. Eyes, that tear up along with hers. I highly reccomend you take the time to read this book. You won't regret it.
- Shari Armour.
Hi Ms. McNeeley.
I just finished reading "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings", By: Maya Angelou. This book really help me understand how things were when everybody was segregated. It tells you how she coped with being abandoned at an early age, by her parents, and how she coped with getting raped and being subjected to sexism and racism. This autobiography gets two thumbs up from me. I really stuck to this book and I'm not to big on reading. This was a great read and you ALL should read this.
-Aaliyah Hale
I read Farenhiet 451 and i thought that it was a very good book. It is set in the future in an American city. The main character is Guy Montag and he is a firefighter in which he actually starts fires instead of put them out by burining books.As you can see, books are banned.This book explains that in this futuristic city no one enjoys nature or is ever by themselves. In the book Guy ends up meeting a girl named Clariss. She starts to make Guy more curious as to what kind of world that he is living in. This book is written to where I couldn't stop reading it and I am not much of a reader. I think that Ray Bradbury did a great job. I really enjoyed this book.
- Chloe Hargrave
The book "To Kill a Mockingbird" was hard to understand at first, although a few parts were interesting in the beginning such as when Jem, Jean Louise, and Dill were playing Boo Radley and when they found this tree with a hole full of toys but the next day it was covered in cement because the tree was dying. Part two was really exciting to me because of the accusation of the man raping the girl. I would recommend this book to people who like mystery books.
-Josh Knight
I finished reading Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers. This story is about seventeen-year-old named Richard Perry who is chosen to go fight in Vietnam. When he gets the news that he will be fighting in war this sets his dream of going to collage, and fighting in Vietnam was his only way out of Harlem. This story combines history and a story teens would enjoy reading. This book also talks about losing close friends and family which is why teens can closely relate to this book.
Agatha Christie did an amazing job in writing And Then There Were None. It was an incredibly thrilling book, and I found it very near impossible to put down. It tells about a group of ten strangers that is invited to an island. One by one, they are accused of murder, and one by one, they are found dead. And Then There Were None was a completely unpredictable novel, and every chapter left me wanting more. This page-turning novel is a must-read for anyone that loves a mystery.
- Shari Armour
How to Kill a Mockingbird is a very interesting book. As Scout, Jem, and Dill embark in the mysteries of the infamous Radley House, Atticus, Scout and Jem's father, tkaes on a case for a black man. The plot takes place in a time in the south where racism and segregation are in their "high time." Atticus' case just keeps on taking turns for the worse, and Scout, Jem, and Dill are getting moremischevious than ever. Soon violence breaks out because of the case, and the kids are potetnially endangered.
I personally LOVE this book, as do my parents.(My parents almost named me after Scout, but we ended up naming my cat Scout.) I would recomend this book to anyonme who has patience, because this book takes so many twists and turn you may have to read back to get the whole of it. Most people, I would say, who like the mystery in a book, could get pretty into this book.
THanks!
Hendley
PS-
I see you next week! :)
Life As We Knew It was told by a high school girl named Miranda and in the book, an asteroid hits the moon and sends it out of orbit and it moves closer to the Earth. This causes many natural disasters like floods, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. All kinds of problems result from what happened. It was a pretty good book and I enjoyed reading it. It was creative and had an awesome plot.
-Loran Posey
“Animal Farm” is about animals that want to take over their farm. The idea was from a boar who dreamed about a rebellion to take over. The animals successfully take over and elect two leaders, Snowball and Napoleon. Seven commandments are made stating that animals cannot do things that humans do. Snowball gets expelled from the farm because Napoleon finds out that he is an ally with the humans. Gradually commandments change until there is one left: “all animals are equal but some are more equal than others”. This book holds my attention and was very exciting.
Robinson Crusoe by, Daniel Defoe,is the best adventure book I have read yet. It is about this boy named Robinson Crusoe. He and other members on the ship wrecked. He was the only survivor. He ends up on this abandon island with only a knife,one box of tobacco,and a . little thing. One Day he finds a human footprint in the sand. He sets off to search for that human. I enjoyed this book. Even though at sometimes it was hard to understand. But i guess it was because of when the book was made.
Eats, Shoots, and Leaves by Lynne Truss in my opinion was a waste of my time to read. The book was basically a grammar book that talked about and explained stuff I already know. One of the things I hated was her mini lessons that taught grammar I already know. Another thing I didn’t like about it was the quotes from magazines and newspapers that she corrected or made fun of. Over all I thought the entire book was stupid and boring.
This is William and I read The Water Is Wide by Pat Conroy. The book is about the author, a man who becomes a teacher at an island off the coast of South Carolina. The island has very few inhabitants and is very poor. The people who live there have lived there their whole lives, basically since slavery existed on the island. The kids that go to the school barely know how to count to three yet most of them are thirteen or fourteen. They thought their new teacher, Pat Conroy or as they called him, Conrack, was a joke.
I thought this book was interesting but the first three or four chapters were not very exciting. When the main character moves to the island to begin teaching the kids is when I wanted to read more. The kids were pretty funny and they were all likeable characters. This book was extremely well written and contained great description. It used a lot (see, I remembered "a lot" was two words heh heh hehh) of personification, similes, and metaphores to describe the children's reactions. Definitely a good book.
“Warriors Don’t Cry“ by Melba Pattillo Beals is an extraordinary bio about Melba Beals who helped integrate Central High School in Little Rock. As I read the book, it made me want to break down and cry. It talked about all the mental and physical abuse the children went through by their community. The only thing they wanted to do is get a better education. I don’t understand how they could target and be terrorized by the community when they are only little children. I am incredibly grateful that I can go to an integrated school and be accepted.
-Haven Bell
Hi, I'm Joshua Jones. I am one of your rising 8th graders.
"Eats Shoots and Leaves" is a book I did not expect to like but ended up enjoying it while learning at the same time. Lynne Truss did a good job teaching while still entertaining. She added a lot of humor and included quotes from other books. I got really hooked into it and could not put it down. Although the book is non-fiction she adds small storys that make you want to read on overall I really enjoyed this book.
This is Joshua Jones again. Sorry about the run-on on my other comment.
My other book is "Farenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury. This book had a weird tone to it. I could not realate to any of this book because it takes place in the future. The writer's style was a tad hard to understand. And I thought the storyline was weird. The book was about a man who goes crazy because he wants to understand books. I did not think that was very logical. At some parts the books was sad, hearing about how many people die in the future. Honestly, I did not enjoy this book.
I have no idea what I'm doing so here ya go. (That doesn't count as my 75-100 words I know)
The book I read was the "The Book Thief". First of all I would like to say I did not enjoy this book. I was very disappointed when I read the book because I had heard it was a great book. Stories that start off with something sad like a death I do not find appealing. For example in this book it begins with the death of her brother. Liesel is a poor main character that I do not beileve was developed very well. She needs to stand up to her step mother and forget her brother. Overall I did not enjoy this book.
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is about a man ,Victor Frankenstein, whose plan was to create the "perfect human" from other human’s body parts. This didn’t work out to well for him. Frankenstein’s "perfect human" was a hideous monster that was rejected by everyone. Out of anger the monster killed relatives of Frankenstein. This was a very interesting book. I did however find my mind wandering to completely off topic subjects because the book was at a boring part. I would recommend it only to people that don’t have a short attention span. – Gabriela Noriega
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is about a man ,Victor Frankenstein, whose plan was to create the "perfect human" from other human’s body parts. This didn’t work out to well for him. Frankenstein’s "perfect human" was a hideous monster that was rejected by everyone. Out of anger the monster killed relatives of Frankenstein. This was a very interesting book. I did however find my mind wandering to completely off topic subjects because the book was at a boring part. I would recommend it only to people that don’t have a short attention span. – Gabriela Noriega
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is an excellent book about eight people that are told to go to a mysterious Indian Island. All for different, unsuspected reasons. The first night at dinner they realize that they have no clue who the host is. Two of the eight people die that night, one from poisoned wine and one in her sleep. The remaining guests notice the similarities in these deaths to the one from the story “Ten Little Indians”. They begin to die one by one. I thought this was an amazing book that kept you thinking. I would recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries. – Gabriela Noriega
The Time Machine by H. G. Wells was an exciting book about an inventor who broke through to the fourth dimension. 4-D allows you to go back and forth through time at will. The story line centers on the inventor, a nameless traveler, who ventures into the future to discover the unknown. Along his journey, he encounters an Eloi named Weena. As they search to find the travelers missing time machine, they come across some unfortunate events. At times, I thought this book was a bit boring but overall I thought the author had a great writing style and I really enjoyed the book.
~Hallie Javetz
“Night “ by Elie Wiesel is a wonderful book about the holocaust around the 1940s. Reading this book made me fall in love and get interested in the holocaust. It is kind of weird to think you have it incredible miserable but when you read the “Night” it is a whole different story. See, Elie is a 12 year old boy that is glad to be Jewish and now has to change everything when the Germanys start deporting the Jews. It would be ruff living one way in an instance someone comes and take over. Everyone should read “Night”.
-Haven Bell
HI Ms. McNeely!
I read Watership down, it's about a group of rabbits, lead by Hazel, in pursuit of a new hillside to call home. This adventure begun when Fiver, Hazel's brother, was overcome by fear when he begun to break out into panic attacks, which was followed by a nightmare that lead him and his brother to console the Chief Rabbit. The Chief rabbit would not take heed to Fiver’s request to leave, so that lead the brothers to round up some followers and embark on their new journey. When I first saw Watership down I thought it would be a book about fluffy bunnies, but after reading it, I have realized the everyday troubles of the bunny.
- Madison (Mattie) Jasiulevicius
hey Ms. McNeeley!
1- sorry i spelled ur name wrong,
2- I am aware that my book reveiw is 16 letters over the limmit, iam sorry i just could not take out any words without it feeling incomplete. Plz dont be mad!
- mattie jasiulevicius
The Book I read was "And Then There Was None". The thing I do not enjoy about mystery stories is they are incredibly hard to follow. I was confused during servel parts of the book. The best part of the book to me are the characters. They were all well developed and compelx. All the characters were either convicted of murder or robbey. I have to say that is what made this particular book interesting. The book is very well written. I have to say the author was very good at writing a complex, interesting story that at the end came togather with an exciting ending.
The Second Time Around by Mary Higgins Clarke was one of the best mystery books I have ever read! The book was told from 3 points of view which made the book more interesting. The book is about a doctor named Nick Spencer who was close to finishing a vaccine that would both prevent and stop the growth of cancer cells. When Spencer’s plane crashed and his body was not found, I couldn’t stop reading until the end.
hello and welcome to my summary of a book named The Chosen by Chaim Potok. The book starts out with a Jewish boy named Reuven Matler playing a baseball game against another full Jewish team. the game some how turns in to a relgion battle when another Jewish boy named Danny saunders says that his team will kill Reuven's team.the main part of the game is when Reuven goes to pitch for Danny which makes Danny hit the ball straight at Reuven which breaks Reuven's glasses. When the glasses broke one big piece got stuck into Reuven's eye.The next part of the story is Reuven in the hospital after getting the glass out when Danny comes to visit him and tells Reuven that his is sorry and that in the game for some weird reason Danny wanted to kill Reuven. Reuven is very stocked when he hears this i mean wouldn't you be shocked if someone tells u that they wanted to kill u. later in the book Danny becomes Reuven's friend and tells Reuven alot of his sercets in life like one about going to the libary and getting recommendations from a man which turns out to be Reuven's father.this is where the book gets really good. After REuven gets home from the hospital everthing looks very new and beautiful.most of the rest of the book is about Danny and Reuven becoming great friends but after Reuven tells Danny's fathe(reb Saunders) about the libary and the books Danny becomes ordered by his dad t o not go there again so Danny gets mad at Reuven but forgives him later on there was a big turn in the book Danny is forbined by his father never to talk or to say any thing about Reuven. after 2 years
Danny breaks it and starts talking to Reuven again. At the end Reuven decides to become a rabbi and Danny goes to study psychology at columbia university. this is a amzain book i just love it.
- geore gaby
All Quiet on the Western Front is a magnifacant book. it is easy to sum up just by saying that this is the best ww1 book of all time. i loved it.All Quiet on the Western Front is written by Erich Maria Remarque. this book is about the german side of ww1. its a very detailed book with many main characters and minor characters. if u are a historian u most read this book. i will recommened it to anyone. this book is all about one main german solider and what he and his friends went though. the very best ww1 book every.
So glad to see so many comments here! I'm enjoying reading all your posts, but I haven't read them all yet! We're looking forward to seeing all you guys next week, so enjoy the last week of your summer!
Y'all remind your friends that they have about 6 & 1/2 hours to post & then.... :(
BTW, Loran, I want you to read NEW stuff, okay? I like to read old favorites, but it can't count toward your 25. (Sorry I missed that question from before.)
Maggie, I'll get you a new folder. No biggie.
Hi ms mcneely!
One of the books that I read was I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. The book was mostly about how Maya Angelou spent her life growing up as a child when places were still segregated. I found out a lot of interesting facts too. For an example, Maya Angelou's real name isn't really Maya Angelou. It’s Marguerite Johnson. So when I read that part of the book, I was surprised. Though this book used a lot of racial terms (which I am against) this book was one of the best books I have read and I loved it.
Hey you guys and Ms.Mcneeley, this is William again.
The second book I read was The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is the first novel in the Lord of the Rings Series. In the beginning there are many "rings of power" made by the elf lords that were kept secret until Sauran, an evil lord from the dark land of Mordor, created a more powerful ring that could control all of the other "rings of power". Sauran took over Middle Earth (the term used to describe their world) and became their supreme ruler. In a war to overtake Sauran the ring was cut from Sauran's finger and after many years found itself in the hands of a Hobbit named Frodo Baggins. Sauran was gaining power and sent out to find Frodo and the ring. When Frodo learns this he decides to go to the land of Mordor and destroy the ring.
This book was great. An amazing story and much better than the movie. After reading the Hobbit, which is also a good book, I really wanted to read The Lord of the Rings novels so I began this book and my face got stuck in the pages. I litereally couldn't stop reading, which is a strange feeling to me considering most of the time there is William repellant sprayed on the book. If you liked The Hobbit you would like The Fellowship of the Ring better. It had a great combination of adventure, action, and suspence. I would definately recommend this marvelous book.
HI MS MCNEELEY!!!!!!!!!!
I know i have already had my comments but....
I just finished Breaking Dawn
It was REALLY good
JUst wanted to share with all ya'll!
BYE!!!!
Katie Googe
One of the books I read this summer was called A Good Man is Hard to Find. It is about a family who is going on vacation to an area in Florida where a cerial killer who calls himself "The Misfit" is suspected to be heading. They meet up with him after expieriencing car trouble and after talking a bit with them he kills them all. I liked this book because you really get to know the characters. I also liked it because it is suspensful and a little sad.
-Ilaina Burns
The second book i read over summer break was called, The Call of the Wild by Jack London. It tells the story of how a dog called Buck was kidnapped from his happy, lazy life in California and forced to pull sleds hundreds of miles through Alaska. Buck was beaten with clubs, half starved, and torn apart by other dogs. This book makes you think in the dog's point of view and you realize how NOT to treat living animals. I liked this book because it protains (<--- thats a word right?) to the the things i like and once i started reading, i couldn't put it down.
The second book that I read was titled The Bluest Eye. It was about a girl named Pecola who wishes for one thing in life.she wishes that could have blue eyes.Not only so that she could fit in with the other kids in her class,but so that she could believe that she was really beautiful in life.Since everyone calls her ugly.Even her parents.This book was not really that good,mostly because it was confusing at most parts,and it was VERY depressing.
-Michy
The Call of the Wild by Jack London is a good book. The reason I like it is because it makes you question society in the fact that people can be so cruel to animals, but you are still able to enjoy the book. The main character Buck is a big St.. Bernard sheep dog who has a nice life until he is stolen from his home and used for dog sledding. He doesn’t live a good life and he is treated very badly and some times abused which makes him very aggressive and mean. He eventually kills many Yeehat Indians for killing his master. He ends up leading a pack of wolves and living a descent life.
-hudson wilson
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
One of the main characters, Victor, is the opposite of me. First of all, he's obsessed with science which is not my favorite.He loves creating things from human parts, but one day it turns bad. He created a monster that seeks revenge because Victor abandon him hoping that he would dissolve out of life. So now the monsters out to kill Victor's family and friends. Then he resides to his "adopted family" which he remains undetected for some months.I like how the author uses different narrators to see the story from different points of views. But most of all I enjoyed the suspense.
~ Jordan Mack ~
This is Jake Cona. I know your probably not going to give me any credit for this but since I didn’t have access to a computer to send this in time I decided to do it anyways.
I read Fahrenheit 451. It started off very slow but quickly interested me with the life of a future fireman. Ray Bradbury’s strange and government controlled characters remind me a lot of the book 1984 by George Orwell. The both take place in a negative utopian world where people might think that they are in control but the real “director” is the government. I recommend Fahrenheit 451 to anyone who thinks it interesting that some predictions in old books such as Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 actually come close to what we think is normal life.
-Jake
And here is my other late one. I didn’t have time to ask you if Cell by Stephen King would be okay. So if it is that would be good but if not, oh well.
Cell by Stephen King combines suspense, horror, and determination to make it one of Stephen Kings best novels yet! Clay is a man trapped in Boston while the the whole world starts to collapse and kill itself. The culprit: cell phones. A sound wave called the pulse gets sent threw the cell and the listener gets reduced to his or her basest nature, and even if you don’t have a cell phone you die because the “phoners” (name he gives for the crazy people) kill you 87. readers will have problems with picking up their cells after reading this.
And then there were none
And then there were none by Agatha Christie is one of the best mystery books I have ever read. It starts out with ten strangers that go to Indian Island for different reasons. At dinner they all realize they don't know the host. They begin to pool there information and one by one each guest begins to die. I thought this book was interesting because you never know waht is going to happen and after it does it seems obvious. I usually don't go for mystery books but now I'm going to start reading that genre a lot more. I would recommend this book to anyone.
-Sarah Hoyt
For one of my books, I read Fahrenheit 451. This one of the toughest books I've ever read. At first I didn't like it, because Ray Bradbury (the author) has a habit of going into great detail on the smallest of things. For example the main character Guy (that's his name) could look at a leaf or something and Bradbury could go on for almost a page explaining it. Except for that one detail I overall really liked this book.
- Daniel C.
Hi Ms. Mcneeley,
This is Kevin. One of the recent books that I have read was The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. Now after I finished this book, I did not really think much of it. I mean, I know it will be ten times as interesting when I learn about all of the history behind the book, but the beginning of the book was ok when she was talking about her school and how she got accepted into the primary school. But I should have known that if I had to live in a secret annex, it wouldn't be so thrilling.
Life As We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer.starts when a meteor hits the moon, pushing it closer to the earth, and causing catastrophes. Everyone’s life is affected by the incident, and Miranda writes the happenings in her diary. It is incredible Pfeffer wrote the story telling typical teenager’s and other worries caused by the catastrophes. I recommend this book for its imagination and reality because I think if this happened it would happen just like the book described.
-Vitoria Kuzolitz "sorry I'm late"
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie was a interesting book to read because I would never imagine the end of it. It was the best mystery book I’ve ever read and it is a book for all ages. After reading the book it was obvious and I thought “why didn’t I think of that before?”. Christie was very creative in this book, didn’t left any questions behind and while I read it didn’t want to stop.
-Vitoria Kuzolitz
Hi Ms. McNeeley,
I have read another book over the summer called Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. It is about a young boy named Pip whos parents were killed, and his big sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery, was held responsible to raise him to be as successful as her one day. So one day Pip decides to go visit his parents grave and he meets and escaped prisoner who threatens him to get him a file and some wittles or he promised that he would kill Pip. Pip went home and told his sister what had happened and she was furious. She decided to give his life a whole turn-a-round, and become a true gentlemen.
This summer I red, as suggeted, Life As We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer. This book is AMAZINGLY good. I found, even though the moon being 'attacked', as the author put it, is a far off thought for us, it was incredible how well the reader could connect to the main character, Miranda. I also found it wonderful how well, and how realisticly, the author described the disastrous results of the astroid-moon collision. It made me a little uneasy, thinking about how much could be changed if something like the collision happened in our life time.
-Maddi Lewis
Another great book i read, and also an entire series, was the third edition to the Gemma Doyle trilogy, The Sweet Far Thing, by Libba Bray. These books are amazing tales of unknown power in the Victorian Era, and every chapter holds a new surprise. I love how each character unravels into a more complex web in every book, and how, all though cliched, you really have to expect the unexpected in every twist and turn. The author did an amazing job with description and development, and I sincerely hope she writes more fantasy in the future.
In Life As We Knew It, an asteroid hits the moon and unexpectedly pushes the moon closer to Earth causing catastrophes everywhere. The beginning is fast paced and jumps right into the plot making it impossible to put down. Miranda, the narrator, and her family are put to the test when the human population is being wiped out. When it is too dangerous to even take a step outside Miranda is isolated from all her friends and even her own dad. Susan Beth Pfeffer did an excellent job of putting us right in the story, as if we were right there watching this all take place. Anyone who reads this book will not be disappointed.
Ann Lin
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is another classic following up Tom Sawyer. Huck's life is at stake when his alcoholic dad returns and makes Huck give up his new school and church life. But Huck, being the imaginative troublemaker he is, stubbornly disobeys his father. Angered, his father kidnaps Huck and locks him up in a suffocating cabin. Through Huck's struggles he meets Jim, a young slave looking for freedom, that is when Huck and Jim set off on an adventure to escape their horrid lives to live up to their expectations. But being free doesn't come easy, and trouble always follows. Huckleberry Finn is a classic that one must read in their lifetime. It is filled with excitement and will keep you entertained for hours.
Hi Ms. McNeely,
Another book i read is Kazik : Memoirs of a Warsaw Ghetto Fighter. Long title I know, but it is really a good book. It's about a village that get invaded by Germany during WWII, and how the villagers formed a resistance. I thought this was a great book to read right after reading The Diary of Anne Frank. Because it let's me see the different ways people dealt with the German invasions. This book goes in-depth on all the battles and struggles the resistance troops had to go through. Overall I really enjoyed reading this book.
Hi, Ms. McNeeley
I wanted to know what the Elizebethean (hope I spelled it right) was? You mentioned that it last about nine weeks, and is a tough assisnment, but by the comments and the other posts I have reade recently, have said it is fun and very exciting. What is it exactly?
Hi, Ms. McNeeley
I wanted to know what the Elizebethean (hope I spelled it right) was? You mentioned that it last about nine weeks, and is a tough assisnment, but by the comments and the other posts I have reade recently, have said it is fun and very exciting. What is it exactly?
Ansuman Mishra
I just finished reading the book North by Donna Jo Napoli. Thos book is about a 12-13 yearold boy named alvin, who wants to follow his heros fottsteps. His hero being Matthew henson, one of the men to arrive at the north pole. This book envoloves race as well, beacuse Alvin, and Matthew Henson are both black, and on Black, and on Black History Month, he decided to write a report on Henson.Aivin's mom is very protective, so he decided to run away from home, with little money, train tickets, and some food. on the train to Wasington D.C. he meets a grils who feeds him and supports him until Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. From there he stowaways on a train to the Baffin Islands. He is rescued from a near death experiance from hypothermia, and frobites from an artic intuit. The he escape to Elle mere Island to the north pole. Remember Alvin has no experiance in the North, so he has no experiance with polar bears, volves, volverine, and ect.. This an exciting book, and I recommend it to everyone.
Ansuman Mishra
Hello Ms. McNeeley,
I just finished the book: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by HARPER LEE...It was an AMMMMMAZING book!!!! The characters in the book used big vocabulary which made me use my CONTEXT CLUES skills so I could figure out what some of the words mean. I never wanted to put the book down...I mean that I would stay up late at night to read the book...I would definately recommend this book to other students because I believe that they would enjoy this book just as much as I did!!!!!! I would also love to see the movie and hopefully it will be as good as the book!!!!
A RISING 8th GRADER
SARABIA ROYAL
Well, upcoming eigth graders, the only thing you have to do is stay focused. Be polite and respectful and you and the teacher will be best friends. Also you will have much fun in language arts. You will learn a lot about Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth I and the Holocaust.
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