Post #4

Last week I read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I am not sure what genre it would be counted as because it does not count toward my forty books. The story takes place in present day as told by the main character Jacob Jankowski. He tells the story at the point of view of a 93 year old man reflecting on his past life. The story is about Jacob and how at age 23 he ran away from his life that unexpectedly turned upside down. There are dramatic twists that the reader would never have seen coming. The book caught my eye from page one, and within two days the 400 page story was down. I highly recommend it to anyone, although there a couple of explicit parts here and there it is astounding.
Water for Elephants has already come out in theaters, but in my opinion there were some miscasts here and there. I chose to recast Jacob, Marlena, August, and Uncle Al. For Jacob I chose Alex Pettyfer. He is a good looking young blonde with a lot of spunk and personality. Pettyfer also starred in the movie I Am Number Four where he played John. I chose Scarlett Johansson for Marlena because she fits her personality and beauty as described by Sara Gruen. The perfect August would have to be Billy Zane. I chose him based off his performance in Titanic. In the book August just absolutely makes your skin crawl because of the way he acts, which reminded me of Cal in Titanic. Finally, Uncle Al. who is not in the movie, would be Terry O'Quinn who played John Locke in the famous T.V. series Lost. His shady ways reminded exactly of Uncle Al.

Post #3

     Last week I read The Forest of Hands of Teeth written by Carrie Ryan. This doesn't count as a book towards my count, it was just a pleasure read. The story is about the life of a girl who lives her life looking through the rungs of the fence surrounding her villiage longing for the ocean. The fence is the only thing that stands between her people and the Unconsecrated, better known as zombies. The main character Mary has to decide what is more inportant to her: her survival or her home. One would have to read the story to find out where Mary winds up on her path to salvation. Songs:
1. I Will Survive- by Gloria Gaynor. I chose this song because throughout their journey Mary and her gang are doing their best to stay alive with their bodies just out of reach of the Unconsecrated.
2. My Heart Will Go On- by Celine Dion. If I explain the reasoning behind this song I would probably give away the entire book.
3. That Should Be Me- Justin Beiber (I am not a fan of his, but the song is perfect.) Throughout the story Mary encounters love troubles when she faces the realization that the man she loves marries her best friend.
4. Blink- Revive. I chose this final song because although the villiage is prepared for almost any situation, their world is turned upside down in the blink of an eye.
     The book is a thrilling page turner from start to finish. It is reccomended to mostly girls because of the lovie dovie content, but it is worth the read.

Post #2

Last week I read Witness written by Karen Hesse. It is classified within the category of informational. The story is about a little town that has been taken over by the Ku Klux Klan. The main characters, Leonara Sutter, a twelve year old African American, and Esther Hirsh, a young white girl, are introduced to the concept of racism. They experience all of the mean and unnecessary acts of the Ku Klux Klan. The story is told through their eyes along with other people in the town. I would like to meet Leonara Sutter because I want to know some of the things she was feeling during that specific point in time.

Questions I would ask her:

1. What was the hardest part about being an African American during this time?

¨       To me the hardest part was receiving threats toward me and my father from members of the Klan.

2. What were you feeling after you saved Esther from the train?

¨       At first I felt happiness, but after we received the letter that we had to leave town I felt terrified.

3. Who did you think you could trust the most?

¨       First my dad, second Sara Chickering, and third Esther.

4. What helped you to stay sane during all of your fear and sadness?

¨       Mostly my dad because he was always there for me, and when I needed comforting he always knew the right thing to say to make me feel better.

This book is recommended to anyone that likes short books, and needs a story for their informational category.

Post #1

A Little Princess is a Puffin Classis written by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The story is about a little girl named Sara Crewe. Her father, Captain Crewe, is her whole world, likewise she is his. Mrs. Crewe died giving birth to Sara, so they never knew each other. Everything changed when Sara came of an age when she had to be shipped to an all girl’s boarding school. She was very popular it was almost as if she was treated like a princess. Disaster struck when her father died, leaving her as a poor beggar.

In the story the characters could definitely be real people in real life. Back then there were probably many many families that had to send their girls to a boarding school for a proper education. Sara Crewe has all the qualities of an extraordinary young child wanting to be out exploring the world. Also, Becky, the servant, is realistic because people used to have servants in their home ranging from age 6 through age 27. (Just a guess..)

I have read 34 books so far this school year. I have recently finished True Grit written by Charles Portis. It is considered to be a classic novel at a little over 200 pages. The book is highly amusing not to mention really easy to read! My favorite book so far this year was definitely The Running Man, a science fiction novel written Stephen King. It's not scary like one would think coming from Stephen King. The book is about a man named Richard who goes on a game show to win an extravagant amount of money for his low-income poor family. To qualify one must go through a grueling application process filled with other poor dirty men and relentless policemen. Richard gets picked to be a running man, a highly dangerous task, and is very resentful. You have to read the story to find the outcome of Richard's ordeal.