The Host by Stephenie Meyer

The Host is an incredible book; my new favorite. It is science fiction, which I usually don't care for, but the book relates to the world we live in now. In the complex and detailed book, Earth has been invaded by souls. Humans become hosts for these enemies. Their minds are taken over by the souls who grasp their memories and use their bodies to continue their lives, but in a new world. Only a few humans remain; including Melanie. When Melanie is caught, a soul called Wanderer (the narrator) is put inside of her. When Wanderer tries to take over Melanie's mind, Melanie floods her with memories that she had with her love, Jared and her little brother, Jamie. Soon, Wanderer falls in love with these two boys too. Together, reading each others thoughts, Melanie and Wanderer set off in search of the two humans they hope are still human.

Unlike the dull characters in Stephenie Meyer's Twighlight saga, the characters in The Host are vibrant and very well distinguished. While reading, I felt like I was in this futuristic world that Meyer brilliantly created. I would recommend this book to anybody. It truly is amazing and you won't put it down.

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Baurmeister

I started and finished The School of Essential Ingredients in 3 days. I quite literally could not put it down and carried it everywhere. It's actually not classified as a teen or kids book, it's meant for adults (my mom's book club read it and I found it on our kitchen table!) but I still really enjoyed it.
Basically, what the book is about is a year of cooking classes at a restaurant called Lillian's, where 8 students learn how to cook, but in a very non-traditional way. Each student has taken the classes for a different reason. Throughout the book (there are 9 chapters not counting the epilogue and prologue) you read one chapter in the perspective of each student and learn the reasons behind their decision to take the classes.
My favorite thing about this book was everything seemed to be described the way one would describe food. Each word or description seemed like I was biting into some new dish; something unknown. The writing style is rich, and usually when a writing style is "rich" I always think of that sort of "Southern-twang" type of writing, but this was nothing like that. I can't think of any other way to describe it than, like I said, it was as if I was eating a really amazing new meal.
I would definitely recommend this book, except that it is an adult book, so not everyone would enjoy it. If anybody else has read it I'd LOVE to know what you thought!

The Immortal Life of Henritta Lacks

I am reading the book by Rebecca Skloot, the name of the book is the immortal life of henritta lacks. I don't really know how to classify this book, it isn't exactly a biography but it has some aspects of it. it tells the story from her current family member point of view and also how henritta herself may have lived it. this book is about a women, henritta lacks and her story of creating the first immortal human cells. Henritta is diagnosed with cervix cancer and scientists with out her consent cut some of it out and start to regrow the cells. these cells are still used today to help end cancer.

The Da Vinci Code

Overall, as much as it pains me to say this, I disliked the Da Vinci code. It pained me to say this because the Da Vinci code held such a great plot that gripped me tightly. I could not resist the temptation of the Da Vinci Code. It kept me up at night, tearing through the pages. However, one part of the Da Vinci Code seriously tapered its excitement: the backstories. Langdon, everytime he ascertained a fact, would dredge up a short story. That got very annoying. For example, Langdon recounted the tale of him teaching secrets of the Mona Lisa to prisoners. Although it was funny (and quite inappropriate, it was boring. It stultified me. It paused me in my reading. It was like eating a great meal and suddenly stumbling upon a terrible taste. Because of this, overall, I disliked the Da Vinci Code.

Bringing Down the House

I am a little further in the book, Bringing Down the House, so I think there is much more to say. As I said before, this is the book behind the movie, 21, and I am enjoying it very much. I love how Ben Mezrich shows these straight A MIT kids meeting up together. Then they go through the process and tests of learning how to count cards in black jack so they know the outcome of the hand. Then the MIT kids start going to casinos and doing what they do best. The interesting part about this particular story is that Ben Mezrich has his characters transform from crazy smart college students into Las Vegas hot shots. I would highly recommend this book to anybody but will warn that some part can get a little inappropriate.

How to Make a Bird

I am currently reading the book "How to make a Bird". The story is about a teenager by the name of Mannie. For a long time she has struggled with many family problems, but now she has had enough. Her mom and dad don't get along, and her mom is mentally crazy. She figures she has to leave, and start a new life. She hops on her bike and leaves her home, and the love of her life. The book, by Martine Murray, is a very quick read. It is the kind of book that gets the "point"across really fast. You can really believe the details happening in this book, and I think that is why I like it so much. It is a really good, inspiring book, and I advise teenagers to read it. I do not think that anyone older than 17 would like it, because it seems very childish. All in all, it is a really great book, and it is a quick read as well.

The Power of Six

I am reading the power of six by Pittacus Lore, this book is the sequel to I am number four. This book is about nine "kids" and their cepans who come from the planet Lorien. The rest of the planet had been killed by the Mogadoriens. Now the nine of them are on the run trying to blend in with the rest of the world and stay hidden from the Mogadoriens. The nine from Lorien each have numbers and the Mogadoriens can only kill them in order or if they are together. The story follows John Smith aka number 4 who is on the run with his best friend sam (who is just a normal kid), number six, and their "dog" Bernie Kosar who is really a creature from Lorien. It also follows Marina aka number seven. This book is very interesting and full of action, but it is also a little confusing. I think that it goes a little too slow and focuses on less important stuff. It is 416 pgs. but i think it could be cut down to at least 350. The author needs to spend more time explaining about the Mogadoriens (even though that was explained in the first book) and less about John and Marina's life. I would recommend this book to almost anyone it has love, action, betrayal, sadness, and action on every page. I gets a little long at some points but the action scenes make up for it. They have also made I am number four into a movie so if this does not sound like something you would read, the movie was amazing!

Moneyball

After seeing (and enjoying) the movie, “Moneyball” a few weeks ago, I decided to read the book that the movie was based on. The book is about the 2002 Oakland Athletics and their manager Billy Beane, and how he was able to build a team that could win over 100 games and make it to the playoffs on one of the MLB’s smallest budgets. I’m not too far through the book, but after seeing the movie and having a conversation with some people who have read the book, namely my dad, I have a pretty good knowledge of the story. As some people may know I’m a big baseball fan, and this book really captured my love of baseball. One thing I disagreed with the movie (I’m not sure about the book, because I haven’t gotten that far yet) was that, the movie made it seem as if the Athletics had no really good players during the 2002 season, but the fact is that they really did have several good players. I can understand that it was probably to make the movie more interesting and the story seem more extraordinary. In my opinion, the book makes an interesting topic out of something many consider boring, which is sports statistics. In closing, I am really enjoying the book, and I am excited to read more.

The Power of One

Now that I am over 200 pages into the book The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, I have decided to re assess it. Although it is filled with many vivid and descriptive scenes like none-other, it does have some problems. The largest however, is the length of the descriptions. The author enjoys going into every detail about the settings but delays the action. There are many anecdotes, some very entertaining, but I feel sometimes they just not add to the storyline. The description of the conflicts between the Afrikaaners and the English are enlightening to those of us who are not familiar with South Africa’s history, as well as the prejudices towards the Zulu population. The author admires their life perspective and contrasts it with the harsher European ways. This makes it worth reading. I am looking forward to meeting the conclusion of the character and how he deals with it.

Dead Beautiful

Renee is a normal teenage girl. Until on her 16th birthday she finds her parents dead in the woods, side by side with gauze in their mouth and coins around their body. She then is transered to the Gottfried Academy. Everything is ok. Then a string of murders, exactly like her parents occur, but strangely enough some of the kids come back to school within a week of being pronounced dead. This book revolves around Rene Descartes Seventh Meditation. With the meaning that matter can neither be created nor destroyed, there are Undead souls lingering. They are called undead because they died before their 21st birthday, which means they are still a kid. If the day the child dies a child is born at the exact same time, the undeads soul is given to that newborn. The undead then has 21 years before they die, and in that time if they find their soul and the person carrying it, they can steal it back and live as a human..making the other person become undead. This is the situation Dante Berlin(undead) and Renee(human) face. They fall in love, realize they have eachothers soul. Renee is willing to give it back so she will become undead and he will live again. But he isn't allowing it. Can true love last?

If I Stay

The book If I Stay is from the perspective of a girl who is in between life and death. She got into a very bad car accident and now she's looking back at her life and contemplating whether she will live or die. I'm only about half way through the book, but so far it has described her family members dying and she is the only one in her family who survived the terrible accident. I've asked myself some questions about the book like, why is she contemplating if she wants to die or life? Isn't it obvious that she wants to live, or does she want to die because of all of the pain she'll be in the rest of her life? In the beginning of the book it talked about her wonderful life, with her loving family and boyfriend, her acceptance to Julliard, and her love of music. Why would she want to throw all of that away? This book can be very sad at some parts, but so far I think it's very interesting and it makes me want to keep reading.

Steve Jobs

I am now reading SteveJobs, which is a book about steve job's life. It talkabout his childhood, and how many invention were created by him. It talks about him founding the apple computer company as well as being a revolutionary in the computer industry. I have just started to read this book. So far, I have learned that jobs biological parents gave him up for adoption. Paul and clara jobs were the ones who ended getting jobs. It actually turned out that the biological mother didnd't want these parents to have jobs, as they weren't college educated. I like how the author is very descriptive in terms of talking about jobs childhood. He clearly spendt a lot of time researching and talking with jobs. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in steve jobs, apple coputer comapny, or any other cuomptuers.

Father Mother God

While Finishing Father Mother God written by Lucia Ewing. With Lucia's mother JoAnn in the Hospital, JoAnn seems to be getting a little bit better because she's in a real hospital not a christian science hospital. Some of the doctors and nurses in the hospital area appauled at the state of JoAnn's health and that they have let her mother's can spread this far without doing anything! Lucia is struggling to realize this situation that her mother's in could have happened. Why did her parents become christian scientists? Could she have helped her mother sooner? Is it all her father's fault? Will it be hard for her now that her mother's side of the family will never forgive her father for what he has done? Lucia's grandmother, aunt Mary, and aunt Kay come to visit her in New Jersey. Lucia is scared that her mothers side of the family will be mad at her when they come to visit for keeping her mother's sickness a secret for so long. The visit went more smoothly than Lucia ever intended it to be. Lucia's father decides to go to a christian science confrence on the day of his wife's surgery. Lucia, Olivia, and Sherman are mortified that their father is not going to be at the hospital on the day of their mothers surgery, they have so many mixed emotions and don't know what to do. They're scared and nervous for their mother. More of Lucia's family comes to visit to support her mother, Lucia then discover more about her parents through stories from her relatives. The surgery confirms that the cancer has consumed her abdominal area but has not moved to JoAnn's brain yet. The doctor says that may JoAnn a 50% percent chance of living for six months.

Term Limits by Vince Flynn

Term Limits is a fantastic book written by the world famous author (from Minnesota!) Vince Flynn. He writes with an astonishing amount of detail that builds suspense and makes it seem as though the book isn't fictional. THe story is about a group of ex-marines that are disgusted with the way politics are handled in Washington D.C., so they carry out a series of assasinations that leave several of the most powerful politicians dead. With the country in panic, these marines send a message to news stations around the country stating that they will keep killing politicians until they see drastic changes in the U.S. political system. Even though the FBI and the CIA work tirelessly to stop these "terrorists" from killing again, no clues are found at any of the various crime scenes. Only a young Minnesotan Congressman, Michael O'Rourke, has any idea who these assassins could be, and he struggles with the decision of keeping the information to himself, or talking to the FBI and the CIA. The plot will literally make it impossible to stop reading. Even though the book is pretty long (610 pages) I promise that you will be entertained the entire time you are reading. My reaction to reading this book was surprise at how true it was about some aspects of politics, mainly corruption and the abundance of power in the hands of a few people. I feel that the book really showed two sides of the argument: why we should take action against corrupt politicians, and why we should just leave the political system alone, and not take drastic measures to force change. Overall, this book is a great read, and Vince Flynn has written many other similar books that I plan on reading, most likely over Winter Break.

The Boy In the Striped Pajamas

I am currently reading The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. I am not far into the book but from hints and hearing about it, I know it involves the Holocaust in the story as important to the plot. The story is being told from the standpoint of a nine-year-old boy named Bruno. I think it is interesting why the author chose to tell the story from a 9 year old who is not mature and doesn't understand the world. This is not like The Book Thief because in that book, Liesel at least has an understanding of the way things are in the world. This seems like it's more difficult to write from the standpoint of someone so ignorant on a topic so complex. In the book thief, at least, Death was wise and old. Here, it is first person with someone who is young and ignorant. I wonder what caused the writer to choose this way to write the book.

Chasing Orion

Chasing Orion was a very well written, but a kind of disturbing book. It was about a girl (Georgie) and her brother (Emmett) who moved in next door to a girl living in an iron lung, because she had polio. The book starts out very pleasant and light with Georgie trying to make friends and them both getting to know Phyllis, the girl in the iron lung, better. But then it becomes more disturbing. Phyllis starts dating Emmett and pretends to be in love with him but is only loving him to get him to help her commit suicide because she feels like she isn't truly alive. Georgie also sees that people treat Phyllis like nothing is wrong and that she is leading a fine life, which annoys her because she is not and pretending isn't going to make it happen. I was ok with this book because, besides the disturbing plot, parts of the story being told through Georgies nightmares and the story of the constellation Orion, and not much character development besides in Georgie and a little bit in Emmett, the author did a good job with what I think the book was about which was the question, is living in an iron lung really living and who gets to decide that? This book definitly isn't action packed but if you looking for a harder read, not necessarily in language or length, this is a pretty good book.

Outliers IR post Q2

Moodle IR Post #2

During this reading check, I was able to complete the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. We are so fascinated with successful people and assume their athletic ability or intelligence is natural. At the point we are exposed to these “outliers” rarely do we look at how they got to where they are. Mr. Gladwell took data on the top athletes, most successful business people and cultural backgrounds to demonstrate that there is a trend in the data or similarities. He showed things like birth date, family, birthplace, culture and class all made a difference on the success of individuals.

I think Mr. Gladwell was able to show a trend and I definitely believe that there is something to the data. However, you wonder what about the individuals that make it that would not be within the parameters or dates that he suggests. I have several hockey players I play with that birthdates are not within the norm of his data. I still believe hard work and ambition will help you achieve success and that you can create your own ability to be an “outlier”. I enjoyed the book and have decided as part or IR – Quarter 2 reading, I will continue with another one of Mr. Gladwell’s books. The next book I have started to read is The Tipping Point.

Catching Fire

A while ago I finished Hunger Games, and now I am about half way through the sequel Catching Fire. This book is very good so far. Thanks to the last book the characters are fully developed, so you can easily analyze the characters. This book is about how Katniss and Peeta have to pretend that they are in love to satisfy the game makers. Then the annual Hunger Games reaping comes around and this year its a Quarter Quell, and this year they're bringing in all the people who have previously won the games including Katniss and Peeta. So they have to go through the process of the Hunger Games all over again.

The Scorch Trials Cont.

I'm still reading The Scorch Trials by James Dashner. The Gladers have reached the city that they were trying to get to and found a group of savage-like "Cranks". They didn't really get along well with Minho and now their leader Jorge wants to cut of his fingers. After explaining their purposes The gladers formed am alliance with these cranks. Together they might be able to find a cure for the Flare and save the infected world. besides that we were introduced to this batch of new characters. Jorge is the leader of the cranks and doesn't really like to show mercy. Brenda who could be seen as second in-command seems to have taking quite a liking to Thomas. We've also seen Teresa again, but she didn't really do much this time, unlike in the first book where she had this huge role in escaping the maze. I personally don't know what i would do in this situation because i would prefer to not be in this situation. Overall this is still a good book, but like The Hunger Games it's just not as good as the first book, and it's also a little confusing at times just like Catching Fire.

The Girl Who Played With Fire

The Girl Who Played With Fire is quite unlike most books I have read. Though written primarily for adults, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Stieg Larsson's factual, but surprisingly descriptive writing, great characterization and voice, as well as gripping plot clearly have contributed to this book's success as a bestseller. The Girl Who Played With Fire is sequel to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and centers more around the most memorable character from the series, Lisbeth Salander, the misunderstood, ironically declared "incompetent", computer genius. I enjoyed T.G.W.P.W. Fire more than first book of its series because the story began and didn't stop until the very end unlike The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo where Larsson took a very long time to introduce his characters' and premise. In The Girl Who Played With Fire, Millenium magazine is about to publish the most shocking exposé on the sex trade in all of Switzerland's history but a shocking, triple murder has the exposé sliding to a halt. The stakes are heightened, Lisbeth's face is splashed across all the newspapers in Switzerland as the prime suspect in not one but three murders. Nobody knows where Lisbeth is, but Mikael Blomkivist, Millenium co-founder and financial journalist turned detective, is convinced of Salander's innocence. Throughout the book, Salander's murky past is revealed and she is forced to face it. Those parts especially were masterfully written and appealed to the audience emotionally. One problem I have with this novel is a few places which I considered a bit dry but other sections were downright amazing. All in all, I really couldn't put this book down until I saw the end of it and when I finished I was sorely tempted to run to Barnes and Noble then and there. Larsson did a very good job of progressing through the story by switching points of view to many characters instead of one or two. The result wasn't eclectic as one might think but instead added an interest and created a well-rounded piece. Because of Larsson's choice in writing sections from unlikable character's points of view, it made me react more strongly to what was happening and what they were saying. This book was extremely amazing but parts of the book had language that was strong and offensive and scenes that are frightening and mature, because of this, I would not recommend this to others until they are in high school. Though, this is not surprising as The Girl Who Played With Fire is written for adults. Overall, an amazing book and a series that is definitely worthwhile and written masterfully but is probably best if saved for the future.

Perseverance By Marc Trestman

Perseverance By Marc Trestman

If you are looking for a good non-fiction book about sports this is the book you should read. It is written by Marc Trestman (my Uncle) a current Head Coach for the two time defending champions Montreal Alouettes. This book tells the story of Marc Trestman how he persevered and got to where he is today. The book provides details of Marc's former jobs in the NFL as the, Running back coach of the Minnesota Vikings, the Quarterback coach in Tampa Bay, Offensive Coordinator of the Cleveland Browns, Offensive Coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers, Offensive Coordinator at Arizona, the Offensive Coordinator for the Oakland Raider (which made it to the Superbowl), the Assistant Head Coach in Miami. He also played quarterback for the University of Minnesota. He has also mentored quarterbacks such as Jake Locker, Sam Bradford and the recent superstar Tim Tebow. This book also has many details of what he would like to do in the future.

- Ryan

Spray

Spray By Harry Edge is a very interesting book, it involves a popular game as some call assassins. During this game there are about 100 or more players, you get a photo of your target and their name the goal is to find them and eliminate them/spray them with a water gun, then you get their target and so on. This game in the book is very scary because their are at least 500 people playing in a big city and they have to literally stalk them down until they can "shoot" them. It is a very disturbing book and I'm not sure if I will continue to read it. I would not recommend this book to people who are easily scared.

-Ryan

She is the Darkness

This story is a continuation of the Black Company series. This book follows the story of Murgen, the standardbearer of the company. The Black Company is fighting multiple enemies, even if they dont realize it. They are trying to conquer Longshadow, the last of the notorious shadow masters but they also have a goddess trying to bring on the end of the world. Kina, goddess of dealth and deception in the southern territories, comes to Murgen in his dreams, trying to tempt him. She also comes to Lady, who was used as a vessel to carry her new massiah. I find it really interesting that Kina only comes to these two characters, who are so completely different they almost never speak, except when it's about their dreams. I really enjoy how Cook, the author of the series, always has many subplots going on in the story and even connects the books in the series together, which I believe too few authors of series do. An instance of this is how he brought back many of the Ten Who Were Taken, which was the group of wizards that Lady controlled in her Northern Empire. Many authors would have just left them dead as they were believed to be but Cook brought them back which was a very interesting twist and leaves you wondering if more are still alive and about to join the story as a major player in the war.

The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

I've only read a couple of the pages in this book, but it's really good so far. Usually at the beginning of books, it takes a while to get into the real story and sometimes it can be really boring. But The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet was different. Right from the beginning it got to the point of the story. A chinese man has a kid and a wife. However, his wife was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. He's dealing with the passing of his wife, but he says it was actually a relief because while she was alive, she was miserable, it hurt everyone to see her suffering, and she couldn't do anything on her own. Now, the man is at the Panama Hotel around a crowd with a bunch of people and news reporters. They found a whole bunch of Japanese items that were covered in dust in the basement of the hotel. The hotel owner explained that she found the "belongings of 37 Japanese families who she presumed had been persecuted and taken away. Their belongings had been hidden and never recovered - a time capsule from the war years." Having that little "dilemma" at the beginning of the book made me want to keep reading it and find out more especially because of my background with living in Japan. I think this book is going to be very interesting.

David Sedaris, When You are Engulfed in Flames.

pgs 1-300/321

This is, as I have said before, a funny book. Before actually thoroughly reading this, I've read a couple of his stories here and there. I'm thinking of reading one of his other books, Holidays on Ice, as it is after all the holidays, and I think it would be a nice way to kill the spare time on the week before Christmas. I have noticed a pattern in all of his short stories, they all are about typically inaproprate subjects. It is as if he is not emberassed to write about any of these events, and enjoys making fun of himself.

If you are looking for a book for over the holidays, I would recommend this book if you're parents don't take a look inside after you've put it down. They would probably think "what in the world kind of book are my children reading," and restrict you from reading it until you're 15 at least. If you're parents don't mind at all what you're reading, than I'd definately recommend this book to you.

Witch and wizard

I recently read the last witch and wizard book by James Patterson. In the book, whisty and whit, the only ones with the power to defeat the evil ruler, the one who is the one. As the story progresses, whisty and whit find out more about their world around them, and how to defeat the one who is the one. Traveling through the dangerous overland and underland, they face many dangers along the way.

The most interesting character relationship in the story is the one between whit and his diseased girlfriend, Celia. He is able to see and interact with her in dreams and the underland, and almost commits suicide at one point to be with her. She also saves whit from dangerous creatures in the underland, even though it appears for a while that Whit might have a new girlfriend.

All in all, I though it was a pretty good book in a good series, and if you like fantasy books, you should read it.

Leaving Paradise

I have just read Leaving paradise by Simone Elkes. This has just turned into one of my favorite books. It is about a girl named Maggie who was run over and hit in the leg by a guy that she really liked named Caleb. They learn to become very good friends and start dating until Caleb leaves and Maggie finds out that it wasn't really Caleb it was her best friend and Caleb's little sister. I like this book because it talks about both views of the main characters, because it switches off narrating between characters. I definitely recommend it to my peers because the main characters are about our age and it is a very interesting book altogether.

I recently finished LA Candy, by Lauren Conrad. Although I enjoyed reading it, it did not have an ending. I know that there's a sequel, and many books end in a way that forces you to read the second. Personally, I do not like cliffhanger endings, especially ones that aren't written well. The novel simply ends with no resolution, which I suppose is a way to insure the purchase of the sequel. I prefer books that give me the answers, not series that eventually reveal all. The novel ends with Scarlet reading a note written by Jane, explaining that she and Madison had snuck to a condo in Mexico as to get away from "it all". This note has no significance, just an update on the whereabouts of Jane scribbled on the back of a Chinese carry-out bill. Although I enjoyed the first novel for the most part, I still cannot decide if I should read the second. It could very-well end in another cliffhanger, luring the reader to pick up the next book.

Farewell to Manzanar

Farewell to Manzanar is a book about a young girl, Jeanne, and her Japanese family that live in America during the second World War. Soon after the bombings of Pearl Harbor, Jeanne finds that she must grow up much quicker than she expected. When the family moves to hide in a new neighborhood, she faces prejudice and has difficulty making any friends in school. When her father is taken from the her by the FBI, with little explanation for his capture and no information about where they are taking him and for how long, she must hold together, especially as her mother grows older and weaker. When she moves to the camp, the family is forced to live in small cold huts, under poor conditions. However, she must make herself useful to help both repair the cabin, and to stay out of the way of her busy mother. She must not complain about the horrible food or the sand that often blows into her eyes at the camp. Jeanne must grow up.

This book has been very good and has been very informative so far. I honestly had no idea of how many thousands of people were crammed into these camps and how terrible and inhumane they truly were until reading this book. Anyone who likes Holocaust books like Night by Elie Wiesel, or anyone who enjoys history in general will like this book a great deal. However, even if you do not like either of these topics, I still strongly recommend this book because of the author's brilliant style of writing.

Catching Fire: continued

I am still reading Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. The way she rights the book is very suspenseful. She will have the story lead one way, but then switch when the reader won't expect it. One of the only laws the Hunger Games has is once a tribute has fought in the Hunger Games they are out of the reaping forever. This year it is the 75th Hunger Games and every 25 years something that the capital thinks is special happens. On the 50th Hunger Games the special change for that year was there would be double the amount of tributes in the rink, so instead of 24 tributes there where 48, and for the 75th Games it is the reaping will only contain the living winners of previous Hunger Games. Because district 12 has always been the underdog, there are only 3 living tributes, one girl, Katnis, and two boys, Peeta and Haymitch. Because of this the Tributes are Katnis and Peeta for the second year in a row. When the announcement was made Katnis thought it was a setup because President Snow want to get rid of Katnis and Peeta because their "love" is causing uprisings in the other districts. Now Peeta and Katnis are back in the Capital with the other winning tributes, waiting for the games to start again.

Forever Princess

Forever Princess is the 14th book in "The Princess Diaries", even though it is only called book 10. I haven't read all the books in this series though, only about four. It is written from the point of a princess, Mia, in her journal. She is the princess of Genovia, a made up principality in Europe. At first, she is a gawky awkward girl and not very princess-y at all! In this book, her ex-boyfriend has come back from Japan and it's really awkward between them. I think this book raises the question, what does it really mean to be a princess? Mia may not be the prettiest, smartest (she admits it) girl, but she always says the right things and is polite. She learns what it really is about to be a princess, it's not always sparkly tiaras and ballgowns, but being a good person. I wouldn't recommend this book unless you've read some of the main books (none of the 5 and 3/4 or 6 and 1/2s are that important to the plot..). Although some of the events confuse me, because Meg Cabot doesn't come back and re-explain what happened in previous books, one of the only flaws.

Uglies

I just finished the book The Uglies by Scott Westerfield. It is a futuristic book about a city where at the age of 16, you turn 'pretty'. The authorities get it into everyone's heads that before you turn 16, you are ugly. Everybody sees themselves as ugly, even if they are not. There is a rumor of a town called The Smoke, a town where uglies run away to if they don't want to be pretty. Where we live is not much like this, but it is. We think that being super skinny is pretty, when it's not. Girls all over the world starve themselves to look 'pretty'. But what is pretty? Do we only think someone is pretty because the media says they're pretty? We all are different. There is not any one person who is prettier, because everyone is beautiful in their own way. If you think you're ugly just because you don't look the model on the cover of Seventeen, then you're wrong. The girl on the cover puts on a lot of makeup, has had her hair done professionally, and you still want to look like her. Why do you want to look like someone else? Can't we just be happy looking the way we are, different than everyone else? We are all pretty in our own way. Sure, you don't have long straight, black, shiny hair, but you are tall. We all have something that makes us beautiful, even if it's your personality that makes you amazing.

Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz

This is a great book with the exception of an unrealistic start and it is about a boy named Alex Rider who goes on a mission to find out if a school is linked with the killing of two boy that where there. The book has gotten better and better since the start and is becoming more intresting as I continue to read. The style of writing is not my favorite but I do really like the plot so far and I liked the plot of the first one too. The Alex Rider series is a great series that is filled with adventures and suspenceful events that keep you on the edge of your seat. I recomend this series to anyone who likes books like what I described above or to people who have read the CHERUB series.

the outcasts

in the outcasts, Hal, the son of a dead warrior, is bullied by most of the other boys in his town. they bully him because he has a foreign mother. Unlike most boys in Scandia (basically scandanavia) Hal is smart and inventive, instead of strong and skilled at fighting and sports. Hal enjoys inventing new things that include a brand new design for a sail boat. He gains fame by sailing into the harbor with his new design. When something called brotherband training starts (a training program to make boys in to warriors) Hal is stuck in control of an outcast band of unchosen trainees. Hal quickly gets them working together as a team. in one part of the book, Hal's mentor/friend Thorn, who was Hal's dad's best friend before he died tells Hal that Tursgud, the leader of a clique of boys, he is tall, strong and feared, bullies Hal because he fears them. He also tells Hal that Tursgud fears him because he is a leader. Hal leads by his, inventiveness, and smartness, while Tursgud leads by his strength, and physical skill. Thorn tells Hal that eventually it will come to a head between Tursgud and Hal. if it does the two will get there by opposite directions.

The 5 People You Meet in Heaven

One of the most perplexing questions in human history is this; What happens after you die? Many writers have attempted at answering this question, but in my opinion, none have done better than this. In The 5 People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom explores the idea that when you get to heaven, you meet five people who's lives affected yours. They explain 5 lessons that help you understand puzzling things in your life. The book follows Eddie, an old war veteran with a bad leg who has been working as the head maintenance man at an old amusement park, and his trip along his 5 person path. The book also follows Eddie through his life, stopping on all of his birthdays, marking where he is on the road to heaven. I think the idea of the afterlife, with 5 people explaining things in your life to you was really interesting. Have you ever wondered why something happened and another thing didn't? Ever wonder if you will ever understand it? This book's idea is that those questions could be answered. It explains that every persons actions affect another persons life, and that lives are tied together like one super long piece of string. Although sad at times, this book was really meaningful to me because the author made me less afraid of death because it really is like taking a test without studying (life) and then going back and learning the answers to the questions you got wrong, or sort of wrong (after life). I would really suggest this book to anybody, probably 7th grade and up, sometimes serious topics. Albom's writing style is also very unique. I like it, therefore, I am reading his other novel, Tuesdays with Morrie, right now.

Under a War-Torn Sky part 2

When I left off of my last blog post, Henry had just fallen out of the sky with the most of his crew. Many of his crew members were shot down by German planes after they pulled their chutes, but Henry made it to the ground. When he lands, he is alone and in severe pain because he hit the ground very hard and may have fractured his ankle. Henry hobbles into the direction of the sunlight until he finds a dirt road to follow. The road leads him right into a small town with few pedestrians on the street. A bicyclist stops and helps Henry toward an old school building were he can rest and explains that Henry is in the German controlled part of France. He explains to Henry his hatred for the Germans and tells Henry he will help him get to neutral Switzerland. The man and one of his friends put Henry on a boat to Switzerland. The boatman carries Henry into a town and leaves him outside a hospital unconscious. He was found by two Red Cross nurses. When Henry wakes up, an American man is there to tell him what to do after he is let out of the hospital. He then leaves the hospital and is escorted by a Swiss guard onto a train. He is told to sneak off the train at a certain stop and is given instructions in creative ways to do so. He goes to a cafe in which he will pretend to be washing dishes as a disguise until another train leaves. On his way to get the next train, Henry is given a book that he should read on the train so that the next person in-charge of giving him instructions can recognize him and do so. So far this book is very exciting and I cannot wait for more.

The Space Odyssey Series (2001, 2010, 2061, 3001)

I just finished reading the Space Odyssey "trilogy" by Arthur C. Clarke, who said "any good trilogy has no more than 4 books". I was a bit skeptical that I would like them at first, but I read the first one in a night and finished the rest on the same schedule. I won't go into the plot for this post because over a thousand pages is a bit too much to write about, but the plot is really rather simple to understand, though at times there is a lot of changing locations. I would say that these books are realistic science fiction (if that even exists) and that each is a relatively short read at just under 300 pages. These books move fast with a good amount of smaller plots occurring, though these never really distract the reader from the main plot, but rather add to it and sometimes tweak it in small ways. The style of writing is rather light, with not too much gravity even in the saddest of parts. Interestingly enough, no death is written about in detail, and the number of deaths is kept to a minimum. This book is rather lighthearted, and I would recommend it to pretty much everyone because it is well-written, action packed, and easy to understand, even though the technology is completely new.

Taken

I just recently started the book Taken by Edward Bloor. The story is about a girl named Charity who has been kidnapped and is being held hostage in an ambulance. I think the author has done an exceptional job with the character development in the novel, especially considering the setting that has limited the amount of action in the plot. Bloor has been able to communicate the protagonist's personality through the way that she responds to the situation she is in as well as through the "flashbacks" that the character is constantly experiencing. As for the plot development, there hasn't been a great amount so far. As someone who personally likes action in a book I feel that the story is slightly slow right now. I am predicting that some time soon there will be a change in setting of the story, which will most likely help with the plot development. If it weren't for Bloor's great character development (and interesting personalities of his characters) I don't know if I would still be reading this book!

Life of Pi

I am currently reading Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. Not "pi" as in 3.14 etc, just for your information - this isn't a math book. I got this book a couple years ago and read a few pages - I considered those pages some of the boringest (yeah, I know it isn't a real word) literature I had ever read. However, I recently pulled the book off the shelf, trying to find one of the books in my collection that I never got around to reading. This book follows the life of a young man named Piscine Molitor Patel, or Pi. He grew up on his family's zoo, around animals and nature. His family moves from India to Canada in the book, a startling change. At first, with the scientific descriptions in the book, I thought this would be some very fancy-schmancy science-based novel. But then, as it went on, I doubted that. India, a cultural hub near the Middle East, is and was always near multiple religions - Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Pi is influenced by the differing religious views around him, as he talks to a priest, a pandit (a Hindu someone), and an Islamic mystic. As a teen, Pi follows all three religions - for example, for his birthday, he asks to be baptized and given a prayer mat. Yann Martel goes pretty deep into religion, an often controversial subject. However, the 123 pages of the book that' I've read (a bit over a fourth) is introduction - not too much character development. In the book, I am currently at a tense part where Pi and his friend are on a sinking boat filled with zoo animals, presumably from his zoo. I think that this is the only real drawback so far - 1/4 of the book was a mere introduction. However, Martel's descriptive writing style and deep ideas are appealing. If you like deep books that make you think, then I suggest you take a look at Life of Pi.