The Other Boleyn Girl

I just finished reading The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory. This book is about two sisters Mary and Anne, who are in the kings court (Henry VIII) They become his mistresses only to give him a son and to get to the throne so they can become the wealthiest family in all of England. Mary gives him a son but Anne steals his affections... He marries Anne and she becomes queen, but she thinks the King can not give her a boy after three stillborns and two miscarriages. So she sleeps with her brother and a "monster child" is born, meaning a deformed child, she is later tried for treason and beheaded on the account of adultrey

The Invaders

This quarter i am reading a book called the invaders by John Flanagan. it's the second book in a series about a group of boys who live in a place that's basically viking territory. they won a competition against all odds and were trusted with protecting their country's greatest treasure for one night. they failed. the object called the Andomal was stolen by a group of basically pirates. the boys were to be exiled, shamed, and punished, but they escaped chasing the Andomal in hope of recovering it, along with a one-armed war veteran named thorn. once they left a huge storm broke out and they barely made it to a sheltered bay. where they are now.

Mockingjay

For my last book of the year I read Suzanne Collins’ Mockingjay. While this book lacked a lot of the action the first two had I still found it entertaining. Katniss’s struggle through becoming the mockingjay and wanting so desperetly to go to war was encouraging. While she was deemed too important, she still proved to District 13 she was willing to make a difference. As I said above, the one thing I would change would be to make it more action-packed. There really are not very many scenes that include action but the ones that have it are so vivid. Collins paints a image of a battlefield with soldiers and bombings so well I can almost see it. Overall I would highly suggest this series to any reader and to read through to the last book.

The Knife of Never Letting Go (#3)

I have still continued to read The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. The book lags on a bit but there is always suspense that Ness creates that makes me want to keep reading. Throughout the book there are continuously new characters added. Most of them are described well, but they are all a bit strange. It is a violent book with gruesome details, some of which Ness leaves out to create more suspense. It's sad because the main character, Todd, sacrifices his dog, Manchee, for his friend, Viola. The scenery is pretty descriptive and I have a clear image of what I'm reading in my mind as I read the book. There are two more books after the first, so I hope to finish the first soon and continue reading the next two throughout the summer!

The Armchair Economist

I recently read the book The Armchair Economist by Steve E. Landsburg. The book is a collection of essays that explain the logic of economics can be applied to everyday situations. Topics like pricing, sales taxes, deficits, pros and cons of taxes, football, courtship are illustrated in an very easy to understand style. One story that really stuck out to me was one explaining the concept of incentives. This short story showed both meanings of incentives, the positive ones, promoting good actions, and bad ones, promoting harmful actions.. One such example of these incentives is the seatbelt. While it appears to be a life saving piece of genius, its existence actually causes almost twice as many automobile accidents as before law required it. The thinking behind this is that if drivers thought of driving as a very dangerous action, they would be very careful, trying to limit as many risks as possible. But the addition of the seatbelt has caused many drivers to think of driving as a more casual and harmless everyday factor. This in turn causes them to be more reckless and take more risks that end up in crashes.

            The author uses many other examples like this to show his points in a very clear way. He also uses a plethora of analogies to illustrate the situation to the reader in a way that persuades them to his perspective, much like we did in our speeches. Even though this would seem to be a very dry read, the author implements clever logic, humor, and irony to keep the reader interested. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for some interesting non-fiction that is not only fun to read, but will also teach you some valuable lessons.

Taken

I am reading the book Taken by Edward Bloor. It is set in a rich area of Florida called the Highlands in the year 2035. In this time kidnapping is a large industry in the U.S, and the rich people live in highly secure areas and all have body guards and helicopters, but still many kids are still taken. The main character, Charity, lives with her dad who created a bronzer that keeps you tan for a whole year and her step mom who runs a TV program. The scene switches from her in the back of the kidnappers ambulance to her on Christmas eve trying to think of good thoughts and not to panic. It is a little hard to follow and you don't know if it is her in the flash back or real life. I wish they would explain Charity's situate better all you know about her is that she's rich and was kidnapped. I am almost half way done with the book and i don't think they are going to reveal much more about her life. I really like the book as of now, it is very intense because apparently her kidnapping is not a normal one. I want to know how it is not normal and what the kidnapper wants, other than money. It is a really hard book to put down especially when there is a very good part. The sensory details are very good, at points you feel like you are in the ambulance with Charity wondering if you will get out alive. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes upbeat intense, thrilling books. I'm very excited to finish the book and find out what happens to Charity.

Ender's Game (second post)

I had forgotten about this book, which is called Ender's Game, for a lengthy period of time. But, I happened to stumble across it recently and decided to finish it. The story is set in the distant future, and the main character is Ender. He is a young boy who lives with his mother, father, brother, and sister. He also happens to be a child genius. In fact, both of his older siblings are child geniuses, as well. But, only Ender is chosen to be a potential savior of Earth. This enrages Peter, Ender's older brother. Earth is at war with the "buggers," an alien race that has tried to destroy Earth before and nearly succeded. Several top army officials decided to recruit these child geniuses to attend a special school, which they simply call "Battle School." It is a place where war is simulated and the children learn to become military masterminds. Ender quickly becomes the star student there, and it quite possibly Earth's last hope at surving. Ender was really sad to leave his home, too, because he especially loved his sister. Ender thinks about her a lot as he trudges through the difficult program. In the end, Ender completes the final test by completing the simulated battle and destroying the alien homeworld. But, Ender's superiors did not tell him that the simulation was actually real, and that Ender had just destroyed an entire race of living things. Ender is enraged by this, and ends up leaving the planet, along with his sister to form a new colony out in space.

I didn't like this book all too much. It was very confusing at some parts, and often lacked the necessary description to understand what was taking place. The concept of the main plot was fascinating, but it wasn't described well enough, and I couldn't enjoy this style of writing. I thought, for the most part, that the author did a nice job of letting the readers get to know the main character. As the reader, I really got an accurate picture in my mind of who Ender really is, and what he felt like. For example, I could feel his pain after having to leave home to go to a rigorous school in which he was always depressed and lonely. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book because of its writing style, but the concept of the story itself was interesting, to say the least.

Dune

I am currently reading Dune by Frank Herbert. It is a science fiction book set in the far future. In this future, humans have long ago left Earth for other planets in the universe and are currently divided in a feudal system with political power divided between the Emperor and the Landsraad, which is made up of many Great Houses, or royal families. The main character is Paul Atreides, whose father is Duke of the House Atreides of the Landsraad. Their family has just been given the desert planet of Arrakis by the Emperor, kicking out their arch enemies, the Harkonnen family, who had ruled the planet for 80 years. When Paul and his family arrive on Arrakis, the planet's native people, called Fremen, hail Paul as a prophet predicted by their religion. Soon afterward, the Harkonnens invade the planet with the secret help of the Emperor, killing Paul's father and forcing Paul and his mother to flee into the desert, where they find shelter among the Fremen.
The fictional world of Dune, particularly the religions and political system, is very detailed and complex and can be a little confusing at times. Still, the book is exciting and very well-written and overall I would highly recommend it.

Between

A few nights ago I started reading Between by Jessica Warman, realizing that it had been sitting on my bookshelf unread since my post-birthday book run.

I was a little skeptical at first, having only picked out the book because it had an appealing cover, not having bothered to read the description, however so far I'm enjoying it and I'm almost done. The premise of Between is that Elizabeth Valchar, who has the most seemingly perfect lifestyle, wakes up in the middle of the night to hear a thumping on the side of the boat she's in. Her friends seem to not notice the noise, and she walks outside onto the deck by herself to find her own dead body floating in the ocean. Liz soon finds out that she is dead and the only other person who can see her is a former highschool peer of hers who died a year back, Alex. She also realizes that she has almost no memories of her entire life or how she came to die. Through the course of the book Liz and Alex try to discover Liz's past, both in what kind of a person she was as well as the cause of her drowning.

What I've really liked about this book so far is the uniqueness of the plot and character development. Warman makes Liz out to have been a horrible person when she was living, the kind of protaginist I would never have wanted to read about. However in death as Liz experiences her memories for a second time as well as sees how her friends and family are coping she begins to realize what she's done wrong and why she turned out to be the vain, shallow person she had become. She uses Alex as a means to apologize for her wrongs, as he was one of the people she had bullied. Speaking on the topic of Alex, the one thing I would like to see more of as I read the last 100 pages of this book is more focus on Alex's character. I know that the book is about Liz, however supposedly Alex had been hanging around by himself for a year until Liz came. I want to know how that changed him, as well as how Alex is going about retrieving his own memories. Of the few scenes we've had so far where Liz has been allowed to see from Alex's perspective, I've really enjoyed them and I would like to get a little more back story for him.

I'm really excited to continue reading this book!

Geekspeak

For the last book of the year I decided to read a book that my friend had suggested that I read, so when I agreed he gave me his copy of the book. I read GeekSpeak by Dr. Graham Tattersall. It is a very interesting book, I didn't think I would like it considering most of it is very hard equations that you would almost never use unless you had a lot of free time, like finding out how much engery is wasted in a car (about 60%). Or finding out how big your vocabulary is. Even though it is a little weird I have really enjoyed the book and recommend that anyone who is interested in math or is looking for a funny book (Dr. Tattersall is very humorous) should go and read GeekSpeak!

Blood Fever 2

I have finished reading the book Blood Fever by Charlie Higson. This book is amazing, filled with action and mystery. The adventures of young James Bond the epic man behind every spy show or movie ever known. I will not give away the end of the book because it is the best part but I will say that James finds something out that will forever changehis way of thinking. Also while searching for the person that killed his family and friends James discovers who the mastermind is behing all of the crazy things that have been happenig to him. I think that this a great book for people who love action and mystery especially people who like espionage and other things like it.

Steve Jobs

     This book continues to amaze me with Jobs's very strange personality. The book most recently discussed how jobs likes to control almost everything in his life, including how consumers use Apple computers. For example, Jobs had special screws and tools make, so that the macintosh couldn't be opened by consumers. That way, Jobs would have control of the users' experience. He wanted it that way so they wouldn't change what was, in his mind, a masterpiece that no one could come close to achieving. He also had limited peripheral ports (port to attach accessories to modify the computers performance), so that the consumer couldn't add very much to the computer. He wanted them to enjoy it how it was. He hated the idea that a consumer could change all of his hard work and do whatever they wanted with it. That is the main reason Jobs created a nearly impossible to open case, and created limited accessory support. It's amazing that someone that is so confident (and cocky), so self centered, and someone that doesn't care a lot about other people opinion's was so successful in life.
     Again, Walter Isaacson does an amazing job writing about Steve Jobs. He includes so many details, that at first, seem unimportant. However, Isaacson integrates these seemingly irrelevant details with the story to give you the deepest understanding of Jobs's personality possible. The details make the story interesting, and give you a sense of how unique Jobs was as a person. The writing style makes it very engaging, because Walter Isaacson balances conflict, tension, and success. This makes it exciting, but also enjoyable as a reader. Furthermore, he uses many technical details (computer terms) to describe the work that was done at Apple. For me, it makes the text much more interesting. I love learning about and hearing about all the different elements of a computer, and how they work together. In my mind, Walter Isaacson balances technical elements, conflict, success, and descriptions of Jobs's personality to create a one of a kind book. I would recommend this book to anyone who like Steve Jobs, Apple, or computer science.

Everwild

I read Everwild. Everwild is the sequel to Everlost, a book I read a long time ago. However, with nothing to do, I just decided to read this. First, here is some introduction: Everlost is a place located in the living world where spirits go who didn't make it to the "light." In Everlost, the spirits, or afterlights, can see people in the living world but people in the living world can't see them. In Everwild, war has been waged on Everlost by Mary Hightower. She wants to cage the kids in Everlost forever, but Nick won't allow it; he wants to help kids get to the light. The book is marvelously constructed as the first part of the book revolves around the kids' success. Nick successfully persuades the Ripper, someone who can take objects from the real world into Everlost for use of afterlights, and as a result conjures up a stockpile of weapons. In addition, he successfully musters up an army of fierce African warriors, except trained with guns. As a result, these warriors are endowed with both heart and strength. Meanwhile Allie befriends skinjackers like herself and falls in love with Milos, the leader of the skinjacker gang. But the second part shifts in quality; the battle between Mary and Nick occurs, with Mary leading an army of 800 people while Nick only possesses an army of 400 people. They brutally slaughered (afterlights can't die, but they can be wounded) and thrown down a hole into the center of the world where they will live forever.
I loved this book for many reasons. I relished the sense of irony. When it zoomed in on Nick while he was mustering up an army, it seemed as if Nick would win because he had weapons and he had soldiers. However, in the battle, he was destroyed by Mary's soldiers. As it was sad and depressing, the sense of irony was delicious. Also, it left off at a very suspenseful part, where Milos had imprisoned Allie's soul inside a body of a pig and where Nick had been reduced to what Mary called a 'golem'.
I recommend this book to people who like fantasy books. However, to read this book, you must first read Everlost the first book in the series. This book has a enormously different plot and quality; the quality is lighter as the story is about Nick and Allie discovering the world of Everlost.

Dragon

The series, five ancestors, which I had written my previous blog about, has come to a close. The final installment follows the eldest monk, Long, the dragon kung fu master, and his path to his destiny. Tonglong, the general and southern warlord, has kidnapped the emperor, and plans to bring him to the forbidden city and make himself emperor. The emperors body guard meets Long, and decides that they should trick everyone into believing that Long was the emperor by bringing him to the forbidden city. This is to lower Tonglong's power rate, because people wouldnt believe that he actually had the emperor. Long then meets up with his cousin Ying, the master eagle/dragon kung fu monk, and together they stop and kill Tonglong, and save the emperor. I really love how Jeff Stone brought the series to a close. I also really like how you can tell that this wasn't his plan all along, and that he added strong new characters like Laoshu, little mouse, and wrote a book about Ying. He had originally planed to only write five books, but ended up writting seven and I really enjoy that he was flexible and let his thoughts carry him to a new and exciting place. All in all I would highly recomend this book to anyone who wants an interesting read, but read the rest of the series first!

Shadow Divers

Yesterday, I finished reading Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson. This book is a true story about two American ship wreck divers who discover a U-boat and who then have to identify it, though based on their research, there should never have been a U-boat there in the first place, never mind one which crashed. Though the book centers around the discovery and identification of the U-boat, it also provides a very large amount of background information about the most important characters in the story, including a bit about some of the crew members who died. This really added to the story because it made people understand the struggles that the Germans, and all men for that matter, face when going into war. Also, the book gave enough information about scuba diving so you can really understand the risks that the divers were taking to get some identifying object. In fact, at the end of the book when they have already determined which U-boat they are searching in, they are still willing to do crazy things, one of which is one of the original divers unstrapping his scuba tank to get into the electric motor room, where they do find the identification tag for U-869, the U-boat which their research indicated. Overall, this is a very well written book and a great story to have in print. I would recommend this book to almost everyone, but I am certain that history people will really enjoy it.

Countdown

I've just started reading Countdown by Deborah Wiles and its been a really good book so far. This book is set in the time period of the Cold War, right before the Cuban Missile Crisis. The main character, Franny's, dad is in the military, her uncle was in the military, and alot of the people around her are in the military. One thing I really like about this book that sets it apart from other books I've read is that every few chapters there are a few pages of pictures and quotes from the time period the book is set in. It is a really effective way of drawing you into the story and making you feel part of the time period. Also every few chapters there is the lifestory of an important person at the time that comes up in the story. It really makes you understand parts of the story and it gives you insight into some of the important people at that time. Since I've just started the book I don't know much about character developement but the characters have alot of potential. I think Franny feel the way alot of 11 year old girls do but is in a very unique situation. I'm really look forward to finishing this book.

Nasdaq May Be on the Hook for Facebook Trading Glitches

I recently read the article called Nasdaq May Be on the Hook for Facebook Trading Glitches by Charlie Gasparino. This article was brought to my attention because all of the problems that happened last friday affected my dad's work. On friday 20% Facebook became a public company meaning the general public can start to purchase shares of stock in the company. Facebook decided to use Nasdaq as a system rather then NYSE. Because it was such a large amount of shares and such companies such as Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Royal Bank of Canada, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan. Since it was such a huge deal and there was more information then there was space to hold the information the system crashed and shut off for about 30 minutes. They still aren't sure what happened with all of the stocks being sold and bought. Facebook becoming 20% public was such a huge deal that hopefully it will help our economy as a nation overall.

The Art Of Racing in the Rain

I just finished reading The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.  Throughout the book there are many different situations that pop up in Denny's life. For example Enzo had been right all along, Eve hit her head and had to go to the hospital, when she got there they found a tumor in her head. From then on it was a continuous struggle with Eve. While all this is going on Denny is going through a lot of legal troubles, Eves parents are fighting for full custody of Zoë and Eves cousin is charging Denny of something he did not do. By the end of the book everything ends up going Denny's way, he keeps custody of Zoë and Eve's cousin drops the charges. Denny ends up getting a really good job offer in Italy and takes it. Throughout the book Enzo talks about how dog is the stage before human, and God decides once a dog dies if they are ready to become a human, if they are that dog keeps the same traits and always finds his way back to his owner. At the end of the book Enzo had to be put down, but when Denny got to Italy he met a man named Enzo. He had very similar traits to both Denny and Enzo and that showed how much a dog can really love his owner.

Top Gear- May 2012 (final)

In this final blog post of my 8th grade career (thank goodness) I read through another magazine. In this issue of top gear magazine, we see an exclusive photo shoot with some of the most recent metal coming out of Detroit. The rebirth of the V10 powerhouse that is the Dodge Viper. 8.4 liters of 640 bhp 600lb ft torque in a V10 monster. Not only this but now you can drive it! Well... sort of; you can now drive it via a DLC on Forza Motorsport 4 and the sound of the thing is amazing. Another thing is that, the guys in England asked themselves, "What is the best coupé on the market? The Porsche 911, the Jaguar XKR-S or the Nissan GTR?" This was the battle of the ages that I had thought about since I was 12. It was interesting to watch it unfold and get to the conclusion that it was the Nissan. Overall, a nice 150 pages of reading that sucked me right into it. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am exited to see the material they bring out next month.

Cannery Row

Moodle Entry:

May 20, 2012

Pages 1-192- Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

For my last independent reading, I chose a short story “Cannery Row” by John Steinbeck.  The book setting is in Monterey California.  The plot of the story is the unfortunate luck of several groups within a community- “row” that are faced with violence, poor living conditions and harsh conditions in the world.  The main characters are Mack and his friends, Doc and Lee Chong. 

Although fictional, this story does have realistic parts that are happening in today’s world.  We take for grant it the easy lives we live.   I somewhat enjoyed the story but would not list this as one of my favorite books I have read.  The author would write about things occurring that did not have a direct correlation to the main plot, so sometimes it was hard as a reader to understand the writers direction. 

This is my third John Steinbeck book that I have read.  All three (Mice to Men- my favoirte, The Grapes  of Wrath and Cannary Row).  All stories take place in a setting in California.  I googled Mr. Steinbeck to understand his history.  He was born in California and was exposed to migrant workers, lived through the great depression and had struggles in his own life.  I believe that the novels that I have read so far try to have us appreciate how good we have it and what the real world is like.  

Unbroken Part 3 (final)

I recently finished the book Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand. Louie has faced near-death experiences, harsh beatings and starvation already, but the hardships aren't over yet. The Bird and the other Japanese are even more brutal now that the Allies are starting to shift the momentum over to their side, and a lot of the anger is taken out on the POWs. Finally, the atomic bombs come, the war ends, and the POWs are rescued by the air force, who take Phil back home to his loved ones for the first time in years. He gets many medals and recognitions, even being a torchbearer in a few Olympics, and get married, but falls into a deep state of depression, from which he succumbs to alcohol and other bad habits. These problems isolate himself from the world, and even his wife wants to leave him now. But, in a spectacular turn of events, he switches from alcohol to christianity, and becomes healthy and himself again. He lives for over ninety years, and in his latter years, could still be found doing physical activity. I think this shows how bad alcoholism can be, just like in the book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and how good it can be to get rid of it, just like Louie does. This book has definitely been one of my favorite biographies I have ever read, and an overall amazing true story and book. I think everyone should read this book, as it will change the way you think about POWs and the hardships of war.

Mocking Jay

I have just finished reader Mocking Jay by Suzann Collins. I haft to say it was a great book but still not the best. I still feel that the first was the best by far. In this book I feel that there were a few things that were left unsolved. One of Them is at the very ending of the book when Katniss was going to shoot President Snow. I'm am still trying to figured out why Katniss shot president Coin when she was suppose to shoot Snow. When I first read over Katniss shooting President Coin I was thought I had miss read it, because then it says that Snow begins to laugh when I thought that she had shot him. So I kept on reading over it really confused, so I read on to see if it will unfold. The story kind of touches on it but I am still confused about it. Another unsolved multistory is also towards then end, when the hovercrafts drop napalm bombs on all those kids and kill Prim. When Katniss goes to talk with Snow, he tells her that those bombs were not dropped by him, because if he had any hovercrafts left he would have flown off in them. But that still dose not make sense of why president coin would drop them.

The Last Song

I recently read The Last Song written by Nicholas Sparks. This book is about a girl named Ronnie. Ronnie is very... edgy I guess. She doesn't exactly like her parents very much. Her parents are divorced, and one summer her and her younger brother have to go stay in North Carolina with her dad who they don't exactly like. The first couple days it's hard for Ronnie to be with her dad but she then grows to love him and have a meaningful bonding relationship. Ronnie meets this young man named Will who she falls in love with. Ronnie and Will's family are complete opposites. Ronnie's family is not proper at all and isn't very wealthy, and Will's family is very proper and wealthy. Will's sister is getting married so Ronnie goes to the wedding, it's very hard for her at this wedding with the issues of her friends pushing against her and the pressure of her being perfect for Will's family. Ronnie's dad is working on a stainglass window for a church that had burnt down from Will's friends although Ronnie's dad Steve thinks that it was his fault. Ronnie goes on the beach one day and see's sea turtle eggs, the eggs meant a lot to her. One night her and Will sleep on the beach to protect the eggs the night that they are supposed to hatch. They protect the eggs from many animals trying to eat them. The eggs hatch in the morning and go towards the sea, Steve and Ronnie's brother come out  of the house to look at them. On their way out Steve collapses, Ronnie and her brother soon realize that their dad didn't want to tell them that he was sick. This book is a very heartwarming, yet said book about the relationships that Ronnie has with many people in her life. Ronnie is pressured into doing many things, yet is still a strong young. The relationship that her and Will have together is very strong. They do many things for eachother to help them through their own lives. Although they may get in some fights, Will and Ronnie stick up for eachother, and do anything that they can for the other. This book is an easy read and I recommend it to people that love a good story with many different kinds of heartwarming relationships between family, friends, and animals.

CHERUB: Maximum Security

I recently started the third CHERUB book. It starts out with Lauren and one of her friends during her training. After that it is showed that James and his friends are bowling. When one of them insults his friend Gabrielle a fight is started. The kids are brought back to campus and are given a punishment. They are told that they have to go on a recruitment mission; however James is given the option of going on a more dangerous mission. He decides to take the dangerous mission instead of the recruitment mission. During this mission he has to break out the son of someone who is selling weapons to terrorist so that he can get on the inside. He is to be paired up with Dave, a rather looked-up to agent. When they get to the prison trouble ensues and Dave is thrown into "The Hole". When he is taken out of the hole it turns out that he has a blood clot so he is taken out of the mission. James decides that he can finish the mission on his own. He gets Curtis, his target broken out of jail. That is about how far i got. I like how the book switches between Lauren doing her training and James going through his life. I would say that of the first three books this is the worst. That doesn't mean that this isn't a good book, it's just not as good as the first two.

The Color of Water

I am currently reading a book titled The Color of Water by James McBride.  It is a memoir told from the point of view of the author and his mother.  Every other chapter is written from the point of view of the author remembering his childhood.  The other chapters are the results of interviews that the author had with his mother telling the story of her own childhood.  This book is very interesting.  It is written by a black man about his white mother.  He never got to know his mother and her background as a child.  He was one of 14 kids and his only alone time with his mother was their daily walks to and from the bus stop.  Whenever he asked her about herself and her background she would give him some sort of vague answer.  Now that McBride is an adult he is finally learning things about his mother's past for the first time.  This true story really made me think about what it would be like to not really know much about the people closest to your life.  I don't want to give away anything about McBride's mother's background except to say that it is surprising and unusual especially given her decision to join the black community as an adult.  This book shows both McBride's and his mother's racial struggles, when as a young boy he recognizes that his mother is different from all the other mothers in the neighborhood.  The title of the book comes from a question that McBride asked his mother when he was a child.  On the way home from church one day he asked his mother what color God was.  She answered confidently, "God is the color of water."

The Last Song

I read another Nicholas Sparks book called The Last Song. It's about a girl named Ronnie who spends the summer at the dads beach house. At the beginning, she's a teenager who wants nothing to do with her parents because of their divorce. She takes out her anger on being rebellious. However, throughout the story she matures and decides to reconnect with her father and let different people into her life. The summer turns from being awful to a time of loving life. When the news hits about Ronnie's dad getting cancer, Ronnie regrets not having a stable relationship with her father. The Last Song is a really intense book that grabs your attention and gets you curious to know what will happen in Ronnie's life. I would definitely recommend it. It has a really good lesson about not having regrets and holding grudges on people because you never know when you might lose them.

Uglies and Warriors Don't Cry

            For my reading this quarter, I continued reading the book Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. As I kept on reading this book it continued to amaze me. This book has overall been one of the best books that I have been reading recently. I especially like this book because of its fantasy peace. I love how the characters live in a different world where everything is so unlike earth. This does not only have a good story, but just the idea of the world that the characters live in dumbfounds me every time I turn the page. Although there are good things about this book there are also things that I don’t really like. I wish that the author would go more into detail with why the world thinks once you’re “pretty” that you get all of these privileges. I also wish that Scott Westerfeld would explain how long this make believe world has been segregating the citizens by pretty and ugly. I am so into this book and will continue to enjoy it.

            During this time period I also read a couple chapters of Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattilo Beals. I checked out this book from Mrs. Green a while ago and haven’t gotten the chance to read it until now. This book is placed during the time of segregation and the unfair treatment of African Americans. This true story is about the integration of the Little Rock nine, who were nine, brave African Americans transferring to an all white school. So far I have read about one of the nine African Americans, and what she faced when she first pulled up to the Little Rock high school. Right as she pulled up cops and military officers were stationed all around the school. She also describes rioters protesting against the integration. She recalls the rioters throwing rocks at her and chasing her away from the high school. This book is very interesting and sad. I will continue reading and enjoying this book.

Gone With the Wind

I am still in the midst of Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Scarlet is still going through her days as a very young widow with her baby. She doesn't really seem to love her child, maybe because she didn't really love her husband at any point. No other character in the book seems to realize that she married Charles Hamilton not for love but because Ashley was getting married, except for Rhet Butler. Rhet is a man with not the best of reputations, but Scarlet is still intrigued by him. She danced with him at the charity ball, which she got many bad looks for since she was still supost to be in mourning for Charles. This book really shows how a person cannot be changed, even through a war where most men in her life are dying, Scarlet is still the same girl.

Insurgent

Insurgent

Veronica Roth’s gripping debut novel, Divergent, hit the shelves May 2011 and since then, readers have had few complaints since. Recently, I read the sequel, Insurgent.

Much like renowned author, J.K. Rowling, Veronica Roth crafts a complex, alternate world and, smartly, grounds it with a sense of reality. As in reality, nothing in Insurgent is “black and white”, which I think further differentiates Insurgent from other teen novels or a comic book feeling. Though the book’s premise was enough alone to grab the attention of the bookworm and the reluctant reader alike, Roth makes Insurgent into more than another teen novel. Insurgent is filled with stunningly original characters that leap off the page. Each character is not crafted, but born. Especially in books like Insurgent, characters can become too clearly defined and verge upon stereotypical, which is not the case. In Insurgent, we glimpse each character’s hopes, fears, regrets, emotions, and independent styles, which further enrich Divergent. Throughout Insurgent, Roth raises questions about loyalty, belonging, values, ethics, society, decisions, and trust. To me, the book possesses a wonderful dynamicity.

However, I thought that the book could have been more balanced. At times, the reading could be hard to follow because so much was happening at once. As a result, the writing sometimes verged on choppy and the novel could flow a little better.

            Overall, I enjoyed the novel immensely and would recommend it to anyone looking for an exciting read with a highly original premise but is not put-off by a complicated plot.

The Broker

Recently I read the book The Broker by John Grisham I really liked this book. It is about a Broker who was one of the most powerful men on wall street until he gets busted for insider trading. He goes to jail and then gets thrown out into the middle of a new culture. I thought that this book was very interesting. I learned every day of what he went through and how he was being watched by the government and killed. I also watched as he learned a new culture. at the end of the book he escapes from the governments grasp and into the free world. I think that most of John Grisham's books have a format that they run. I think that this one definitely followed the format and was very similair to some of his other books. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes Grisham Novels.

A Girl of the Limberlost

A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter was published in 1919. At first, that was a major turnoff. The language was funny, and some of the ideas were strange.

The plot, however, was great. It starts with a girl named Elnora (example of how it really was written in 1919!), and she lives with her mom. Her dad drowned in a swampy pond next to their house, and since his death, her mom, Kate, has fallen apart. Elnora's life is full of neglect, no mother, and poverty. They live in a great big house, but the taxes are big and they have no cash for extras. Elnora wants to break away and go to school in town. She collects moths, and this turns into a major plot point.

The book is long, and the author takes plenty of time to develop the story. At first, the book was slow moving, as it just illustrated Elnora's life. As more things started to happen, the book turned for the better.

True Grit

I just started the book True Grit by Charles Portis, which tells the story of a 14-year-old girl in Arkansas named Mattie Ross, during the 1800s.  This book jumps into the action right away, describing how Mattie's father was savagely murdered by a poor thief by the name of Tom Chaney, who then fled into Indian Territory to hide among the other fleeing criminals.  With two younger siblings and a mother who can't take care of what needs to be done, Mattie finds herself having to travel alone to the nearest city, to accompany a federal marshall into Indian Territory to avenge her father.  She has to threaten, bargain, and fight her way into getting a horse, help the lawsuit against Tom be established, find a marshall for the task, and follow him into dangerous territories armed only with her father's old pistol.  Despite the fact that everyone tells her she cannot go with the marshalls, being only a young girl, she courageously follows them, determined to finish the job.  So far, the marshalls and Mattie have just crossed the border into Indian Territory, and are trying to decide which way to head.  This book so far has been filled with very interesting characters, from the stubborn girl, to the drunk old marshall Rooster Cogburn, who's language is always riddled with curses.  I have enjoyed the remarkably fast pace of the book, and the action that takes place even before any of the characters are in any real danger.  From what I've read, I would recommend this to most readers, as it is a very enjoyable and exciting story, that teaches a lot about life in the 1800s.

Paris My Sweet

I've recently finished the book Paris My Sweet. This is an autobiography about Amy Thomas, the author. It focuses on her decision of leaving her hometown, New York City, to live in her dream city, Paris. When she's offered to leave Manhattan to write ads for Louis Vuitton in Paris, she faces hard choices in this switch. Although she has always absolutely loved everything French, including pastries and the wonderful difference cultures between NYC and Paris, she also loves her hometown, and she doesn't want to turn her back on it. This book really showed me that there's always two sides to every situation in life. I learned how by exploring different places in the world, you can find who you truly are and what is important to you in life. I recommend this book to anyone. Amy Thomas's passion for life is incredible, and makes you want to keep reading about her adventurous journeys between Manhattan and Paris.

The Second World War Volume II

I recently read The Second World War Volume II by Winston Churchill and the Editors of Life. As it might sound, this book is a non-fiction book written about the second half of World War II. After the Second World War, Life magazine wanted to make a great tome about such an important event - but they wanted to make it even more important by having an important figure who was alive during that period write it (with their assistance). This figure turned out to be Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War II. This book starts at Stalingrad and ends at the creation of the Iron Curtain in Europe, packed with quotes and wonderful photos and paintings along the way. I won't really mention the content of the book in any greater detail, because a) WWII is a massive event and writing about it even in great vagueness would take a long time and b) one can just Wikipedia it. Churchill writes about both major and minor battles, as well as about victories and defeats on all sides and nations - he doesn't write the book simply about Britain and America, which is a shortcoming in several books that I've read. Churchill has a way of making what would normally be just a dull history textbook into something palatable, something delectable. Possibly what adds to this could be the fact that he brings his own experiences into it, such as major conferences with the other leaders, which would not be present in an ordinary history book. However, this book is not for everyone. If you enjoy history and/or World War II, you'll love this book like nobody's business. Unfortunately, if you don't fit the above categories, you probably will find this book dull. All in all, I really enjoyed this book and hope to find the first volume as well.

Vampirates

This story is about twins named Grace and Connor, during the beginning of the book their father dies and

they are about to be orphans before they run off to their boat during a storm. But since there is a storm the

boat crashes, and they both float off in different directions. Connor gets picked up by pirates and Grace

gets picked up by vampires. This is an interesting book but it is also stupid, I would not recommend this

book.

Solitary

I am currently reading Solitary by Alexander Smith. I recently finished the first book in his series, which I really enjoyed, and was reluctant to continue the series because I didn't want to abandon it right after such a great start. Anyhow, I decided to try it despite the fact that I dislike reading series and unfortunately regret that choice. I believe that Smith should've stopped after the first book and given it a bit more closure. In my blog post about Lockdown I discuss how the book was action packed the whole way through and how much I enjoyed the authors unpredictable writing style. In his second book, the setting really limits how fast the plot can develop and also makes it a bit more predictable. Don't get me wrong, the first book is still amazing and I definitely recommend it, but I suggest when you finish it you STOP! I think the reason I'm still reading this book is because of the protagonist. Alex, whom I have come to be fond of, keeps my attention through his thoughts, dreams, and hallucinations even while in a constrained setting. Overall, Solitary isn't great but I still recommend reading the first book in the series and stopping after that.

Airhead

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be someone else for a change? In a book I read recently, Airhead by Meg Cabot, a girl named Em Watts actually does get that chance. Except, she doesn't want it. Em and her friend Christopher (who she likes) go to the opening of a Stark Megastore. Stark is like a mall, except it's one store, with a huge book shop, a store like target, a department store, and restaurants. However, they wipe out huge numbers of small businesses in order to build these megastores in every neighborhood. So, anyways, they are at the opening, and the Faces of Stark, a model named Niki Howard and a rockstar named Gabriel Luna, are there. Also there, however, are gang members from their neighborhood trying to destroy it. Anyways, a huge plasma TV lands on Em and the next thing she knows she is waking up in a hospital a month later, as Nikki. She had gotten a brain transplant because Nikki Howard had "collapsed" and gone brain dead at the exact same time. Coincidence? So Em wakes up, and she has to resume Nikki's life because she's living in Nikki's body. Em is a gamer. Not a model. The people at Stark (who funded the several million dollar surgery) force her and her immediate family to declare Em Watts dead, hold a funeral for her, and Em now has to continue Nikki's life as the Face of Stark, or else her parents will pay 2 million dollars and go to jail. Instead of that, Stark says that Nikki suffered from amnesia and doesn't remember anything from before the accident. This covers all of the problems with her not knowing anything about Nikki, modeling, etc. But what if you had to go from a non-athletic video-game-loving girl to a super attractive, extremely busy model, who has no known family, dropped out of high school and has million dollar paying photo shoots daily?  Well, you have to read the book to find out.

But the idea of having a brain transplant is so unique. Meg Cabot has two very opposite characters become one, which is strange, but fits very well. So well in fact, that sometimes it's hard to find the Em down under. I really like the idea, and it was carried out pretty well, however, there isn't really a main problem in this book, the problems don't come until later in the series. The books continue with Being Nikki, and Runaway.

Girl in the Arena

Girl in the Arena seemed, at first, like it is a take on the Hunger Games. It is quite opposite of that. The GSA, Gladiator Sports Association, is a group of people who take 2 gladiators into the arena to fight to death for entertainment. This is where it differs from The Hunger Games. The 2 men (women fight too, but not to death) enter the arena for themselves. Nothing bad has happened to America, we're now just a messed up society. The main character, Lynie, was born to a gladiator father and has had 6 more, thus making her mom a "gladiator wife." Every time her father dies, Allison (the mom) remarries so as to not lose money. However, when Lynie's 7th father dies in the arena, her mom can't remarry any more. Lynie has 2 options: Marry her father's murderer; or fight to death against him in the arena. She grows to like this man, Uber, and doesn't know what to do. She could marry him and spend the rest of her life under cameras as she watches husband after husband die. The other option is no better: possibly cut her life short as the whole world watches. Her mother commits suicide then, leaving Lynie and her disabled brother Thad to fend for themselves.

Tiger

The book Tiger, by Jeff Stone, is set in ancient China. Fu, the eleven year old tiger kung fu master, and his four brothers are monks at a kung fu temple. That is, until it is destroyed by their former brother Ying, and his army newly equiped with qiangs, an early pistol. Fu and his brothers are scattered to the winds to find the truth about all their pasts and find a way to change the new emperors heart and make him a better man. Fu travels to a small village nearby, but gets into some trouble when he deafens the son of the Governer.
This is the first book of a series of 7, and each one is written from the point of view of a master of kung fu: Tiger, Monkey, Snake, Crane, Eagle, Mouse, and Dragon. I really enjoy how he focuses on one character, moving the main story along, but then goes back in the next book to fill in the details that were missed by the previous character or characters. I would strongly recomend this series, even though it isn't the hardest read, because it has a great story and a great message.

Vector Prime

Since i'm a nerd. i still read Star Wars books. this particular book is set 25 years after Star Wars: a New Hope or 21 years after Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. it is about a race of beings that enter the galaxy from another one, trying to take over the galaxy. They, The Yuuzhan Vong, hate machines and technology. instead, they rely on biological technology that they grow. when using much of this stuff they enter a symbiotic relationship with the object, or connect to it. sort of like they do in Avatar with their tails. this book is just the beginning of their invasion and the first wave is forced back by Luke, Han, Leia, their kids and friends. but more are to come and the New Republics politicians are unwilling to give aid to the Jedi. the Most important thing about the book is that Chewbacca dies. He dies because he was helping to get people and Anakin, Han and Leia's youngest son, to safety on the Millennium Falcon. he dies when the Yuuzhan Vong smashed a planet's moon into it's planet.

Triskellion

I've only read the first few chapters of Triskellion by Will Peterson but it seems really good. So far the plot has been kind of creepy but very interesting. It starts with the kids when they were alot younger, feeling pain about their parents divorce. Since divorce is so common in America these days, that is probably an experience alot of kids can relate to. Then when they arrive in Triskellion, after their parents send them away to live with their grandmother for the summer, there is no one there to greet them. They finally find an old bike and a map but when they get to the village no one is there but creepy things are happening, one of the wierdest is Adam (the younger brother) being randomly punched by two people who just appear out of nowhere. When he wakes back up, the town is full of happy and smiling people. I stopped reading at the part when they arrive at their grandmothers house but I'm excited to read the rest. The only complaint I would have so far is that the relationship between the siblings is very fake. They have alot of inside jokes, are super happy with each other all the time, and know each other in and out. Well some of this is true about siblings the book only shows a perfect sibling relationship which kind of takes away some of the realism about the characters. However so far it has been a really good book.

Uglies By: Scott Westerfeld

            I just recently started reading the book Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. This book starts off with a unique world. In this world before you turn the age of sixteen you are considered an ugly and when you're sixteen you turn from ugly to pretty. Once you're turned "pretty" your life is considered easy and the expectations are low. In this world everyone can't wait to turn sixteen. The book starts off with the main character (who I assume to be based on the first couple chapters) Tally who is going to turn sixteen in a couple of weeks. Tally is SUPER excited to turn into a pretty and fantasizes of a world with lower expectations, and better treatment. She is also jealous that the pretties get to live wonderful lives when she thinks her life isn’t ideal. Tally can’t think of a reason why she wouldn’t want to be ugly until she makes a new friend one day, who’s name is Shay. Shay is different and Tally likes that about her, until Shay reveals that she doesn’t want to be pretty. She would rather live life on the “outside” of the world. Tally still has her heart set on being “pretty.” I really like this book so far. I like it because it’s unlike anything that I have ever read before. The idea of a world like the one described in the story is so different and unlike the one we actually live. I am not that far in the book but I am so excited to continue reading and figure out what happens to Tally and her new friend Shay.

Poirot Investigates

I am in the process of finishing Poirot Investigates, by Agatha Christie.  This book is a collection of short mysteries, each one involving the unusual murder of an important person.  Hercule Poirot, a short Belgian detective with a very curly mustache and a small hat, is always called upon to use his almost magic powers of observation and deduction to solve the cases.  Each of the stories are different and each involve very interesting and peculiar characters, whether it is an overweight lady who mysteriously talks with no one and lives by herself outside of town, or a strong young man who is very reluctant to give any information to the police, and threatens to beat them.  Each of the mysteries is also crafted in unbelievable detail, which is really quite incredible as you will see when you read one of them.  The murders are always very creative and make for extremely good stories.  In fact, Christie's mysteries are so well written and so creative I have never been able to successfully guess who the murderer was, even up until the end of the story.  However, Poirot then satisfies me with a logical and sensible explanation as to how he arrived at the culprit, and I am amazed out how much sense it makes to me, and how clever it all is.  I would recommend these stories to anybody, as they are short, to the point, but also very engaging.

Blood fever

I am reading Blood fever by Charlie Higson  it is the second book in the James bond series. In this book James bond is still young around our age. He is at a base for other spies. He is very excited for summer vacation at his cousins house. Then he learns that the base that his is currently residing at has many secrets and his cousins house gets raided and then he sets out to find out who did it. He believes that an ancient Roman society that was thought to be non-existant is behind it and a millionare is suspected to be the leader. Thus book is action pacted and filled with amazing fights.

The Notebook

I am currently reading The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks it is about the summer romance between Noah and Allie. During the summer of their late teens, Allie and Noah meet and fall in love. Spending all of their spare time with eachother and sneaking out to gain more, when the summer ends Allie and Noah agree to continue their relationship from different cities. Noah pledges to write her everyday. Allie comes from a wealthy upper class family whereas Noah comes from a poor lower class family. Allie's family doesn't approve of her dating Noah, and when they return to their hometown Allie's mom collects all the letters that Noah writes to Allie and keeps them from Allie in hope that she will forget about him and move on. Allie is heartbroken, and Noah can't understand why she won't respond after writing her everyday for two years straight he sends one last goodbye letter. Years later she returns before she is getting married and has a second chance at rekindling the romance between Noah and herself.

Steve Jobs

     This book continues to amaze me. I am absolutely fascinated at how strange Steve Jobs is, but how successful he was, as well as how normal he appeared to be onstage during keynote presentations. This portion of the book talks a lot about Jobs's "reality distortion field" as well as his need for perfection. Many of Jobs's employees/co-workers found that Jobs could distort reality. For example, if Jobs wanted something to be smaller, he would tell them it had to be smaller. He wouldn't take no for an answer, even from a genius engineer. Jobs could distort reality so that something could happen, even if it was impossible/nearly impossible. Although the size of what Jobs wanted to be smaller didn't satisfy his original requests, generally it improved in such a way that Jobs agreed that it was ok. Jobs, in addition to distorting reality, loved perfection. Not only did Jobs want the outside of the computer to look great, he wanted the inside of the computer to be beautiful. If parts of the computer weren't arranged "beautifully" inside the computer, Jobs didn't approve. Another example is the window design on the computers (windows as in digital windows floating above the desktop). Jobs didn't want the windows to be perfect rectangles, that is, windows that had 90˚angles. Instead, he wanted to have rectangular windows with curved edges. Jobs argued that many ordinary objects, such as tables, had round edges, but were rectangular. Although combining circular graphics patterns with rectangles would be a challenging task, Jobs had to have it done. With some brilliant engineers, the task was complete. Jobs had a third strange thing about him. That strange aspect about Jobs was that he liked to "borrow" ideas. If you told Jobs about an idea, he usually criticized it at first. Then, perhaps, a week later he would come up to you and tell you your exact idea as if it was his own. When you said it wasn't his idea, he totally denied it. As you can see, Jobs had many strange aspects about him, but perhaps some of these aspects led him to be such a successful business man.
     Walter Isaacson does a great job telling the story of Steve Jobs. He does a great job of getting everyone's side of the story, including employees that Jobs cherished, hated, and even those that Jobs fired. Walter Isaacson also talks very technically about the elements of a computer, and what Jobs wanted to change to make it better. I really appreciate that, because I have a strong interest in computer science. In all, Walter Isaacson does a great job combining social problems/tentions at Apple, as well as the computer science problems/elements, to create a wonderful and addicting story. As always, I would recommend this book to anyone that is interested in Steve Jobs, Apple computer company, and/or computer science.