The Hobbit or There and Back Again

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

     The book I read this six weeks is called The Hobbit. It is written by J.R.R. Tolkien and it is the prequel to The Lord of the Rings series.  It is a fantasy book set in Middle Earth, a fictional world that consists of many races such as Humans, Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, Hobbits, Ents, Goblins, and many more. The plot is that the Dwarves want to take back their long lost home in the Lonely Mountain, which was taken by a dragon names Smaug. Gandalf, a wizard helps them along their way and sets Bilbo on his path to steal the Dwarvish stone of kingship, the Arkenstone, to the rightful ruler of the mountain, Thorin Oakensheild.

    The Hobbit is a third person book that shows the main character, Bilbo's thoughts but tells it from a narrator's perspective. The intended audience for this book is about 10-13 years of age. It is a fantasy book, which is good for me because it is my favorite genre of books. The author keeps my interested in the book by using lots of interesting words and by making the story an adventure after adventure. Rarely is there a part where they book it boring, and when there is, it isn't too long. J.R.R. Tolkien's  style of writing is very effective because it hooks the readers attention on about what will happen next. This is very effective when you are trying to get someone to read your book.

    The book affected me in a positive way. It is always nice to read a good book about someone or something overcoming a challenge. It changed some ideas I had about how ell the world treats other races today. In the world of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Middle Earth not all of the races get along nicely, some even, are at war. But when they are faced with a pressing matter, they all band together, which I wish could be said about our world. Because sooner or later, there is going to be a task that the whole world is going to have to team up on, whether it is defending ourselves from an alien race, or stopping an astriod from hitting the Earth, I don't know if we would al band together, or if the world would just be split up, like another world war. This book brought up lots of memories about reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy and watching the movies. 

    I think that this book was very well written and I would love to read it again. It goes along so well with the other books around the world of Middle Earth and it really puts the cherry on top of the series. It is a great prequel and I would recomend it for kids 8 and up. 

Ben Dworin

12/18/13

RATING: ***** 5/5   

   

    

The Warriors by Joseph Bruchac

The book I read is called "the Warriors" by: Joseph Bruchac, first copyright date 2003, realistic fiction, sports book. This book is about a young boy name Jake. Jake is an Iroquois lacrosse player that lives at a reservation with his mother. Jake is a very talented lacrosse player. Jake wants to go to a very prestigious private school that has an amazing lacrosse team. Jake gets excepted into the school and attends the school the next year. Jake does not fit in very well at the school because he is a native American that lived on a reservation for a very long time. To most he is an outcast, but Jake doesn't care to much. He is focused on lacrosse and only lacrosse. When the lacrosse season starts, he is ignored by everyone, except the coach. His talent is better than all of the other players but he still is ignored. Jake battles being an outcast throughout the story and in the end he succeeds. The overall theme of the book is to always work hard in anything you do, even if you don't fit in, you will come out successful.

This story is told in a way that I can see what Jake is doing from the words of someone, of third person point of view. He also uses forms of first person in the story to pull the reader into the story. Jake is accepted into a new school where he is not accepted because he is a Native American. He is ignored on the lacrosse team by everyone except the coach. He is the best player on the team but he is still not excepted. Jake feels as though he will never be accepted until coach puts him in for the first time. He plays very well and makes no errors. He is finally somewhat excepted by the team. All is well until the coach is shot by a shooter on campus. Throughout the story Jake constantly tries to be successful. The intended audience is probably ages 9-11. The general field or genre of the book would be sports realistic fiction. The book fits into me because I love lacrosse with all my heart. There is no sport I would rather play. This book is about lacrosse so, the fact that this book is about lacrosse made me instantly want to read it. The author kept me interested by including a lot of actual lacrosse game play. He described all of the moves and such Jake did while he was playing. The authors style is very ordinary, he lists the information and occasionally writes something interesting. Like most realistic fiction stories that involve sports.

This book affected me because the theme of work hard and be successful really changed my mind about a lot of things. I realized to be successful you have to work hard. Now lets be honest, this book didn't really completely change my mind about everything, but it did help me a little bit. It did bring up memories of books I have read in the past. Like "Head Case". That book was about lacrosse in Native American community's. The book really taught an important message that I will learn from and use for the rest of my life.

The story in this book is very creative and original. But it lacks the writing qualities other books have. The book is very boring and it does not catch my attention at any moment except the ending. I was very disappointed in the writing quality of Joseph Bruchac. I recommend this book to people that play lacrosse only. If you do not play lacrosse, you are wasting your time with this book.

Carver Skarnulis
11/17/13
RATING: 2/5

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

                                                                

     This six weeks I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This novel was published in 2008. Collins wrote this book in the voice of 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in the 12th district of a Panem in North America. This book captures the feelings Katniss begins to experience when her worst nightmare seems to become reality. Each year, two representatives from each twelve districts are chosen to fight to the death in an annual battle which is televised to each district. With the help of Katniss' new companion, Peeta Mellark, she is blessed with someone who can provide her with more strength and strategy than she already contains, and together they make a remarkable pair throughout this awful time for both of them. I think the overall theme of this book is the inequality between the poor and the rich. 

     The author tells the story in a first person point of view. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are both chosen to represent district twelve in the 74th Annual Hunger Games. During the Hunger Games they are given many challenges to overcome by the game makers, along with 22 other opponents to ally and kill. It is up to both Katniss and Peeta to find a way to keep them both alive throughout this brutal battle. The intended audience for this book is teenagers and adults any age who like action. The general genre of this book is science fiction because everything in this book involves science and the characters and events are all fictional. The author kept me interested in this book because she created a completely fictional event and incorporated many thoughts and feelings of the main protagonist throughout everything she was going through. This helps the reader stay involved in the whole plot of the story. 

     This book affected me by making me realize how fortunate the world is to not have to be dealing with this large amount of violence towards any ages at all times and that the government has not considered any kinds of these ideas. This book fits into my personal world view because it shows that if our government were to go into disagreement for a vast period of time in the future, no one would want that to result in fighting to the death. This book does not remind me of any books I have read in the past. 

     Overall, my thoughts on this book were that it is very well written and included many details no matter if the occurring event was a small or large part of the book. I think it is an enjoyable read, and I recommend it to any of my classmates.

Nicole Childress

12/18/13

****

The running dream by Wendelin Van Draanen

This six-weeks I read The Running Dream which is a fictional novel.  It was written by Wendelin Van Draanen and was published in January 2011. This book follows a 16-year-old named Jessica who loves running with all her heart. On the way to a track meet a bus accident occurs and leaves her with a stump instead of a leg, a huge hole in her heart and no hope that she will ever run again. However, throughout the book Jessica’s spirits rise when family and friends try to overcome every obstacle to be able to get her running again. I believe that the theme of the story is perseverance. Throughout the book Jessica is pushed to her limits when money and family issues get in the way of getting what she wants; however, she refuses to stop doing whatever she can to reach her goal of running again.

                This story is told from first person point of view. I believe this because Jessica is the narrator as the story goes along and uses words such as “I.” I think that the intended audience is preteens or teens due to the fact that the story is quite intense. Descriptions of how she must care for her wound and physical therapy after amputation are included and it is quite emotional. The genre of this book is Young Adult and I think the author sticks to this because once you read the book you can hear the pain in the way Jessica tells the story but if you think harder about it you will see that there was much more than just pain. The author keeps me interested by always making Jessica have a goal that’s she’s trying to reach so she always has something to overcome. I think the author’s style is affective for the intended audience because she uses words that are not extremely difficult and keeps it at a reasonable difficulty.

                The book affected me quite intensely. I may have cried once or twice but because my mother is a runner and had an accident like this, not with her leg, but still an accident, I felt like I related to this book on a much higher level. When I first glanced at the book it did not strike me as a meaningful, relatable read. I noticed that once I got farther into the book I caught myself thinking things such as “why do we take sure simple things such as being able to walk down and up the stairs for granted?” The book made me do a double take on things that come so easily to us but harder to people such as Jessica. However, this book did not really bring up memories that I have of other books or authors.

               
I give Draanen a huge round of applause of this work of art. It is not only a true tear jerker, but many people can relate to it on a more person level which is something amazing. I recommend this book to anyone who likes an inspirational story with much meaning behind it.

Emma Talbot

12/18/13

***** 5/5

The History of Rap Music: Cookie Lommel

The History of Rap Music

By: Cookie Lommel

Dylan Snelson

The History of Rap Music  by Cookie Lommel is a book telling all about how the music started, and what were its influences. The publication date of this book is January of 2001. There really is no general plot to the book because it is nonfiction. The book does go in chronological order. I think there really is no theme to the book because it is nonfiction.

                  The book is told by third person point of view, and the plot is about how rap started out as just small rhythmic chants to what we have today. Rap all started in 1984 with the Sugar hill Gangs hit song Rappers Delite,and in the late 1980's rapper developed to more gangster, and a east coast west coast battle. The intended audience is teens, and young adults how like to listen to rap music. The genre of the book is rap music, and you can tell by the title of the book. The author keeps you interested by not only giving you information on the music, but what went on behind the scenes. The authors style is to hit you with facts, but also give you some back story which I think would work for the intended audience.
             
                 This book affected me by making me realize more about rap music, and how it started. The book changed how I looked at rap because i always preferred west coast, but now i like both equally. This book changes my view on rap because it evolved from chanting to now being all about drugs, sex, and gangs. This book reminds me of the last outside of class book I read which is about the greatest rapper of all time. The book I read before is of course about non other then Tupac Shakur.

                 I really enjoyed reading this book because it was on a genre that I liked, and was interesting. I would recommend this book to a man by the name of Benjamin Kurio so he can find out more about rap music.

Dylan Snelson
12/18/13
RATING:6/5 ******
(Still not nearly as good as the book I read on Tupac.)

The Ranger's Apprentice: The Battle for Scandia

       

         The Ranger's Apprentice: The Battle for Scandia by John Flanagan is the book that I read this period. It is a fantasy book first copyrighted May 2006.  The Ranger's Apprentice is a series of books written over a span of 8 years. This is the fourth book in the series, which is about the Rangers helping the Scandians fight the Temujai. Halt goes to rescue Will and Evelyn but while doing that, he discovers that the Temujai are going to take over Scandia and then Araluen, so they have to be stopped. Halt and Will overcome other small problems throughout their adventure. The main theme of this book is about the hardships of Will's life that he goes through just to try to make his life "normal".

            This story is told in third person, and there are no narrators. The story follows the lead characters that are constantly on an adventure to get somewhere.  Anyone who likes a good fantasy-genre book would like The Ranger's Apprentice: The Battle for Scandia.  I believe this book would appeal to anyone from the age of one to one hundred and one. The characters and places are made up and there is the use of magic. As with the previous books in the series, the author keeps you interested by switching points of view every chapter and leaves you hanging at the end of the chapter. One chapter is focused on Will, and the next is focused on Halt. The author's style is casual, not too complicated, and can be easily read by anyone that enjoys fantasy.

            Because I read the previous books in the series and became hooked on the story lines, I just had to keep reading the books to find out what happens to the characters.  After reading this book, it makes me want to read the other books right now, and it changes my personal world view by making me see that it really is a small world after all. The book did entertain me, and this book reminded of was the other books in this series.

            This book is very creative. The way it is laid out makes you want to keep reading it, and amazes you, because there are some cliff hangers. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy.

Benjamin Zimmerman

12/18/2013

RATING:  *****/***** 5/5

Stargirl By: Jerry Spinelli

This six weeks I read Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli. Stargirl was copyrighted in 2000 and is a fictional novel. Stargirl also has a sequel called; Love, Stargirl. Stargirl features a strange and free-spirited girl whose name is Stargirl Caraway; she owns a rat named Cinnamon and is going to public school for the first time ever in her life. Although she’s a tenth grader, she especially catches the eye of eleventh grader, Leo Borlock. Leo and Stargirl have a strong relationship and share feelings for each other. In the middle of the story, Leo starts to lose feelings for Stargirl because everyone in the school is criticizing her for being herself.  Everyone she loves pulls away from her, so for a while she’s no longer Stargirl, she’s just Susan Caraway. In the end, Stargirl moves to Minnesota and Leo wishes that he had not tried to make Stargirl change. The overall theme of this book is to be yourself, no matter what.

            Stargirl is told in first-person from Leo’s perspective. The plot is mainly focused on how Stargirl, who thought she had her personality figured out, is now questioning it due to other people’s opinions. The intended audience is young girls and teens ranging from about 10 to 15 years old. The genre of this book is realistic fiction because although it’s a made up story, it focuses on real-life concepts and situations. I suspect Spinelli probably based some of his characters on real people. The author kept me interested because he created fascinating characters. The author’s style of writing is to pick a controversial topic and turn it into a real-life situation where the characters begin to question themselves. I think this is effective for the author’s intended audience because his intended audience include lots of people who are at a stage of life where they are meeting new people and experiencing new things which may make them question their abilities and personalities.

            This book affected me in a positive way, because I had read this book once before when I was younger and I didn’t really understand what the author was trying to express. Now that I have read it again, I understand that the author was trying to say “stay true to yourself”, which is a lesson that has helped me a lot in my life since then. This fits in with my own personal view on the world because throughout the years, I have watched as many of my friends have changed in ways I have not liked. Many of them have become meaner, and I don’t recognize them anymore, I know also that I have changed, because I’m afraid of what people will think of me if I act myself. We all experience something like this in our lives when we question our own personalities and start to think, “Am I good enough?” Stargirl reminds me of the book I read last six weeks called Perks of Being a Wallflower. They don’t have the same messages in them, but they both really connected with me and they both had a strong impact on my life.

I enjoyed this book because even though it is a fictional book, it connects with a lot of things that teenagers struggle with today. Although I enjoyed this book, I don’t consider it one of my favorites because I don’t feel it’s as “unique” as some of the other books I have read. I strongly recommend this book because even though this wasn’t my favorite book, I think it teaches a lesson that everybody should learn.

 

Madeline Jones

12/18/13

RATING: ****4/5

  

The Hunger Games

I recently read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This young-adult utopian fiction book is told from the point of view of 16 year old Katniss Everdeen. Every year, as punishment for rebelling against The Capitol, a highly advanced metropolis, exercises political control over the rest of the nation. The Hunger Games are an annual event in which one boy and one girl aged 12–18 from each of the twelve districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle to the death. Katniss ends up having to participate in this death trap.
            The story is told in first person, from Katniss's point of view. When Katniss's younger sister, Prim gets selected Katniss "volunteers" to take her place. Katniss and Peeta, the boy from the extremely poor, poverty ridden district 12, are quickly taken away to The Capital, where they will receive a week of training before entering the unknown arena where they fight until only one of 24 is alive. During the week in The Capital Peeta and Katniss, to Katniss's dismay, pretend to be in love so that both of them will get sponsors, people who donate money and supplies. In the arena Katniss proves to be a great huntress and forms allies with 12 year old Rue from District 11, when Rue tragically dies and a rule the both tributes as they are called from a single district can both win. This means the Katniss and Peeta who are in "love" can both make it. Then Katniss goes and finds an injured, almost-dead, Peeta and nurses him back to health. Then they take back the rule and expect Katniss and Peeta to fight. Instead they take poison berries and as soon as they eat them they change back the rules. Luckily Katniss and Peeta hadn't swallowed and they spit them out and they both survive. This book is targeted to young adults, but people of all ages read it. They author keeps you interested by twisting plot twists. It is very effective as most people can't put the book down.
            The Hunger Games is a very high quality book. It is written very well and keeps you very interested, even people who hate reading would enjoy this book. I think that this book should be a required read for kids and adults of all ages.\
Shelby DiSorbo
December 18, 2013
Rating****4/5