Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Summer Reading

Over the summer, you were asked to read at least two novels of your choice. 1) Briefly tell me what you read, including the titles and authors. 2) I want to know what you liked about the books, what you learned and, more importantly, what matters to you about the book's content.

*Make sure to adhere to proper conventions and proofread your response. If, for some reason, you did not read two novels, tell me about two novels you have read and answer the above

30 comments:

  1. This summer, I read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares. I really liked how this book divided the chapters between the four main characters, Lena, Bridget, Carmen and Tibby. This book is now one of my favorites. I am so glad I got a chance to read it before high school because it really changed the way I think about simple things. Little things, like how the magic of a pair of old blue jeans brought four very different girls together. This book is a coming of age story and it made me laugh and cry. I really enjoyed it.
    The second book I read this summer was Uglies, by Scott Westerfeild. The book takes place in the future when anyone normal is ugly. I liked this book because it was so different than anything I have ever read. I became addicted to this series of books. I also learned a lot from reading this book. I learned that good looks and outside beauty isn’t everything. it’s the inside that counts the most. Now, when I meet people I don’t judge them by the clothes they wear or how they look. I look for the inner personality and their character. Scott Westerfeild is definitely an author to look out for.

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  2. Over the summer I read Masquerade and Revalations the second and third book out of the Blue Bloods Series by Melisa De La Cruz. Masquerade was one of the best books i've ever read. The story made me want to keep reading keeping me up until two or three in the morning. This book is about a girl named Schuyler Van Alen who finds out that shes a Blue Blood Vampire. Her life is planed out by her past life and when she falls in love with a boy named Jack Force she finds out that she can never be with him because hes already planned to be bonded with his twin Mimi Force. Even though he promises her he can break it she finds out that he really cant break it. Revalations on the other hand was very slow, it continued this story and i was very bored. Schuyler finds out that Oliver her best friend is the one that shes ment to be with and that if Jack Force breaks the bond with Mimi Force that Jack Forces soul will die. I learned that life doesnt always go in the direction you want it to but it always falls into place if your a good person. This book matters to me because the emotions of the characters are easily read and while reading i felt their emotions. Although the first and third book were very slow it was all worth it in the end.

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  3. Mrs. Comp, I came from Douglas County and I wasn't told to read two novels, but I did join a reading program for my public library and I read a total of sixteen hours. The book I read was Star Wars Republic Commando Hard Contact by Karen Traviss. The book was amazing. It was fairly confusing at first but after I reread the confusing parts it all made sense and became very action packed. The author did a very good job at describing scenes and making the reader visualize a picture of certain parts in the book which is why I loved it so much. The book was also very suspenseful and kept me interested. From this book I learned that you can find friendship almost anywhere you go, even in the most unexpected places. Reading this book made me think about suspenseful and action packed books in a whole different point of view. There was violence, foreshadowing, suspense, and action at every corner. The author made me visualize a picture in my head that made me feel as if I was in the book watching the characters perform their parts from the book with my own eyes. Overall, I was very pleased with this book and I'm glad that had the chance to read it.

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  4. Over the summer i read several books. One of which was "The Thief Lord" By Cornelia Funke. It is about a group of children living in venice Italy. The book starts with two orphans, Prosper and Bo running away from there Aunt and Uncle. They flee to venice where there mom said was a magical place and anyone can live there.I learned that if you are given a bad lot in life you can still find a life that makes you happy. I found the story great it was very easy to read however and i finished it in little time. I wanted more of a challenge however so i read "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. This book was more challenging and i found it a fun read. I was slightly dissapointed with how predictable the book was due to it being so famous you can piece the story together fairly easily. I thought it funny how much vampires have been changed. They have gone from an evil man plotting to take over London, to teenageers that glow in the sun going out with normal people trying to find love. From this book i learned that you must go to the extreme to protect those around you. This book did keep me reading it and it was a good summer read.

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  5. Over the summer I read two very interesting but weird books. The first one I read was Artemis Fowl. Artemis is a criminal mastermind who is trying to steal the fairy gold. Holly Short works for the LEPrecon unit. She is flying around looking for a place to get her magic back when Artemis kidnaps her. Many people try to save Holly but fail. Holly regains her magic and goes to fight Artemis. To escape, Holly makes a deal with him for half of her gold. I learned from both books that sometimes to do something you need to cooperate with your enemies.
    I also read the sequel, The Arctic Incident. Holly needs Artemis to help her because someone is supplying weapons to their enemies and in exchange they will help him find his father. They have a battle with the Goblins and they are losing so they escape on a train. Meanwhile back at the labs, Foaly finds out that it’s Cudeon committing treason. They get off the train, and go get Cudeon. They get back the weapons and then head to rescue his father. Artemis surprises the man who kidnaps his father and tricks him with some money. They happily get his father and the weapons back.

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  6. Over the summer, I read two books. The first book I read is called, Josh Hamilton: Beyond Belief by Josh Hamilton. Josh Hamilton: Beyond Belief is about Texas Rangers Center-fielder Josh Hamilton, who overcame the power from struggling with family problems cocaine and alcohol addiction. In this book I liked, when Josh talks about when he hit 28 home runs in the 2008 State Farm Home Run Derby. I learned that Josh Hamilton stayed clean (not using drugs or drinking alcohol) for a decade. This book matters to me because I want to grow up and be a professional baseball player. I would want to be able to make the right choices by not having a drug or alcohol addiction.

    The second book I read is called, Holding at Third by Jane Zinnen. In this book, it tells the story about a kid named Matt who moves to another part of Ohio with his Mom, older brother Tom, and himself because Tom is sick with bone marrow cancer. When Matt leaves his old team in his old town, he feels bad that he has to leave his old team behind. Than all of a sudden Matt has to play on a terrible in Ohio who has a losing season every year. I learned that Matt doesn't want to visit his brother in the hospital, since his brother has cancer. This book matters to me because young baseball players should always go visit their siblings in the hospital if they have cancer or are sick instead of just playing baseball and not visiting your siblings in the hospital at all.

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  7. 1. I read Bratfest at Tiffany’s by Lisi Harrison and I also read Speak by Lauri Halse Anderson.
    2. I liked the lessons that the books taught me. I learned that it does not matter what others think of you but it matters how you feel about yourself and finally what matters to me about the content was just be your self that is all that matters

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  8. The novels I read over the summer were IT’S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE by Lance Armstrong and DOWNRIVER by Will Hobbs. I chose these books because I enjoy books about survival and biographies. DOWNRIVER is about a group of kids who were sent to camp in the woods with a guide. The kids all take off without the guide and without a map to raft down the Grand Canyon alone. They all survive, the guide catches up to them and gets them home safely. I learned to never underestimate the power of fast moving, deep water. One thing that matters most about that book is that you should never run away from guidance and authority and think you can do everything on your own.
    IT’S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE is a biography of what happened to Lance Armstrong before and after his cancer. His life is inspirational. I felt that the book reiterated to me that being close to my family is important and no matter what might be against me, never give up.

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  9. Over the summer I read Enders Game by Orson Scott Card.which I thought was an amazing book. The story is about a kid named Ender who lives in the future where the earth has almost been destroyed by aliens twice and how Ender is supposed to stop it from happening again.I like this book because the story of the author made is incredible and the ending is unpredictable.

    The second book I read was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rolling.this book the Final installmentof the Harry Potter saga by Harry Potter trying to hunt down the remaining horcruxes. I like this book because of a fan Harry potter it was a great ending to seven books.

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  11. This summer I read three novels this summer. I read the lord of the rings series. all three were amazing. having never seen the films, I started with a clean slate, only knowing the stories basic outline. they are about the struggle of frodo baggins, a hobbit who was adopted by the mysteriously rich bilbo baggins. frodo inherits a ring that seems to corrupt all those who wear it, when the powerful wizard and friend of the bagginses realizes that what frodo is carrying is the one true ring, the source of the dark lord sauron's power, he sends frodo on an epic quest to destroy it. i really enjoyed the books, and i plan to see the films, though im told that they dont quite measure up to the quality of their literary counterparts.

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  12. *As I posted I noticed I accidentally put down "this summer I read three novels this summer." when I meant to say "this summer I read three novels."

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  13. Over the summer I read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. This book was pretty good and it was definitely somewhat different from the movie. Twilight is about this girl named Bella who moves to this small town called Forks. During her fist day of school she meets this one guy who seems a little different to her. As she gets to meet this guy she learns more and more about him and begins to think that he is a vampire. Well it then turns out that her suspicions are right and he is a vampire but not the kind of vampire that you and I would think of. I really enjoyed this book because it has a happy ending.

    The second book I read this summer was The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. This book is about four best friends that find these pair of pants that mysteriously fit them all. Throughout the summer the girls would pass the pants along and tell how the pants would impact their life in some way. I really enjoyed this book because I thought it shared a great message and that was of how God works through things such as a pair of pants and bring people closer together and meet new people.

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  14. 1) Over this summer the two books I read were "Peter and the Starcatchers" by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson and "The City of Ember" by Jeanne Duprau.
    2) "The City of Ember" is a mysterious and adventurous book about a city that thinks they make up the whole world. The city is running out of lights and supplies so they think they will all soon die. So a girl named Lina and her friend Doon need to find a way out of the city. The book was only fair. It didn't live up to my expectations however, it was enjoyable for the most part. It was like eating half of a meal leaving you only partially satisfied. It had some good adventurous and mysterious parts but that didn't make up for its lack of spirit and edge. On the other hand "Peter and the Starcatchers" which is the prequel to the amazing "Peter Pan" was brilliant. The book was a perfect mixture of adventure, mystery, love, and comedy. It always kept me on the edge of my seat. It was so interesting mostly because you got to discover how Peter becomes Peter Pan.

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  15. I only read one book over the summer, "American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America's Pastime" by Teri Thompson (Author), Nathaniel Vinton (Author), Michael O'Keeffe and Christian Red (Author). I liked learning about Roger Clemens's career and how he trained. In my opinion, the most important thing about the content involved not taking steroids. If you were to get caught, you could get suspended from baseball, or worse, not get inducted into the Hall of Fame. While reading the book, I realized it is a privilege to play in the MLB and people that use steroids, didn't deserve that privilege.

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  16. I read the whole entire book series Maximum Ride, by James Patterson, several times over. I chose these books because I love to read books with adventure, action, romance, and drama. Like MAXIUM RIDE. These are all 5 of the max series,
    1. Angel experiment.
    2. Schools out forever.
    3. Saving the world and other extreme sports
    4. Finnal warning.
    5. MAX
    My favorite is book #5
    i liked about the book was you don’t have to be superman to save the world. That anyone can be a voice or a hero. Mr. James. Really made that a huge part of the book.

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  17. The two novels I read over the summer were My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picault, and Marchlands by Karla Kuban.
    My Sister's Keeper was an AMAZING book! It was filled with sadness, and laughter, and the power of family. Basically it was about a girl named Anna who was born as a "designer baby" for her sister Kate. Ever since she was born, Anna served as a donor for Kate who had cancer. She was always in the hospital going through surgery after surgery. She had finally had enough of not having a say, and decided to file a lawsuit against her own parents. The story changes points of views from every character, and goes through the trials and the life they all live. I disliked the end however, when Anna finally wins the trial, and is going to visit her sister in the hospital. On the way she is killed in a car crash, and so her sister got her kidney, and the one who was suppoosed to live ends up dying. It is a wonderful story of how love conquers all, and teaches the value of family to who all who read it.

    The second book I read, Marchlands, was about Sophie, a young girl growing up on a ranch. Her dad left when she was four, and she has yearned for his story her whole life. She calls her grandmother every now and then, even though she has been forbidden to do so, and learns a little of the secret. She has 3 friends, Demetrio, the ranch hand and father of her unborn baby, Edwina, the neighbors grandaughter, and her horse Pablo. She struggles every day to try to uncover the secret of her father, but her mother resists. When she is hurt after falling off Pablo because of a mountain lion, her mother finds out about her pregnancy, and fires Demetrio and has Pablo shot. Sophie is left with no one but Edwina, and together they run to where her grandmother says her father lives. The story teaches to be honest, to learn from your mistakes, and to keep your friends close because they will stand by you even when your family has turned their back.

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  18. The book I read were Feed by m.t. Anderson and Sucker Puncher by Ray banks.

    The book is about how the Internet has turned into the Feednet. Feednet is a computer network which allows the brains of American citizens directly connected by an implanted computer chip called a "Feed". In the book about 73 percent of Americans have it their brain. It has taken over privacy and allows corporations to look into their thoughts. In this book I got connected to the characters and that was a reason why I liked it to. And I learned that I don’t want worry about the past or future and to live life to my fullest ability.
    The second book I read this summer was Sucker Punch. This book was pretty funny I thought it had some crude humor so that was good. It was about an ex-boxer, ex-convict hero named Callum Innes. In this novel, Cal gets released from his probation officer. Cal is also has a drug habit due to injuries suffered in the past. He’s managed to hang onto a position at Paulo’s gym where he sweeps floors and works out with young boxers. It’s hard and work and Cal takes it seriously. He also takes his friendship with Paulo seriously, so when a criminal acquaintance of Cal’s puts in an appearance at the gym to sell drugs and Paulo beats him up, Cal get interested. I like this book because it was really funny. It taught me that bad guys can be good.

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  19. 2. Over the summer I read Flags of my fathers and Code talkers these two books were about the same thing but from two different points of view. For example in Flags of Our Fathers there was a group of men that roes the flag of America on the japans’ island and how hard and emotional it truly was. And in Code talkers its an native solider how they used his language to make a code that no one could understand besides him and his native culture. And this book meant so much too me because of how they both tie in together for the same purpose for our safety and peace.

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  20. This summer I read many books, one of which was the 4th book “The Battle of the Labyrinth” from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. The series features Percy, a boy who discovers that his father is Poseidon and is foretold by an oracle that he will make a choice on his 16th birthday that will determine the fate of the world.

    In this particular book he has to prevent the Titan Lord Kronos, who is the antagonist in the series, from entering Camp Halfblood, the only safe place for halfbloods such as himself to stay. Percy soon discovers that the Titan Lord has found out how to navigate the labyrinth using Ariadne's string, and can then easily gain access into the camp. He then joins his friends in a quest to search for the mysterious Daedalus who is the only one who can stop Kronos. After successfully overcoming many trechorus traps and riddles, they find him just in time for him to collapse the labrynth and save the camp.

    Soon after I read this, I realized that the 5th and final book by Rick Riordan named “The Last Olympian” had come out. After buying it, I spent the rest of the summer finishing it’s 800 pages. In this book, Percy finds out that Kronos is planning to attack Mount Olympus, which now resides on top of the Empire State Building. After Percy realizes this, he learns the gods are away from Olympus, attacking Typhoon, the father of all monsters, meaning that Percy is the only one left to defend Olympus. He then spends time gathering allies and campers to protect it. As they are fighting to save Olympus they realize the Titan’s weakness. Percy then defeats the Titan Lord and saves the world.

    Some of the things that I really enjoyed about this series were facts such as: I learned a lot of Greek mythology, I became a better reader, and the ending had an unsuspecting twist to it. I felt that it was well written enough that I could envision the story in my mind while reading.

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  21. This summer I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. This was a very interesting book to me because it gave a perspective on life that was very different. Most of the book was about personal legends and how everyone and everything has a personal legend. A personal legend is something that is your dream to fulfill in your lifetime. Most people though think their dreams are impossible as they grow up from being a child. The book is about a man relizing his personal legend and learning his true meaning in life.

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  22. Over the summer, I read Ann Brashares', The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, about four young women brought together by an enchanted pair of blue jeans. I enjoyed this book because it shows that it is important to have good friends that will be there to walk you through the challenges in life. As I read the book, I found it hard to put down. It is a book that you can relate to because each character has her own struggles.

    The second book I read this summer, was My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult. What I really enjoyed about this book was how it was written from many perspectives. It tackles the moral issue of conceiving a child to save another. By reading this book, it forced me to consider the implications of both sides. I enjoyed reading this book because it made me think of something I would not have thought about otherwise. It also reminded me of what a great life we live.

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  23. Over the summer I read the trilogy “Inkheart”, “Inkspell”, and the beginning of “Inkdeath”. All three of the books are by Cornelia Funke. The books are about a girl named Maggie and her father being able to read characters out of books. It got them into very unpleasant situations.
    What I personally liked about the three books was that they always kept me reading. You could let your imagination run free with the way she described even the simplest of things. The books were lengthy but easy to read and well worth the time spent.

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  24. During the summer, I never received any notifications instructing me to read any books but I did hear about it from a friend. I decided it would be better if I at least re-read one of my favorite books, so I read “The Lightning Thief” by author Rick Riordan. If I remember correctly I first read this book in 5th grade and quickly fell in love with the series. The book and series follows Percy Jackson a demi-god (an offspring of a god and a human) who went through many battles throughout the first book including battling Medusa, the Minotaur and many other mythological Greek creatures. I liked this book because of how it mixes modern times and Greek mythology in such a creative way. I learned a lot about mythology form these books and for a brief period I was obsessed with Greek mythology looking up creatures on the internet, renting stories from the library among other things. I didn’t get a chance to read a 2nd book during the summer, but I have read every book in the series except the last one which I do own but have not read yet. I hope to finish it very soon.

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  25. 1) The first book I read was The White Gates by Bonnie Ratmthun and the second book I read was Project Sweet Life by Brent Hartinge.
    2) The first thing I liked about The White Gates was that it was about snowboarding in Colorado, which I love to do and I understood the characters really well. What I learned was how not to make friends and also how to loss them really easily. I liked the book because I could compare it to my own life by moving and having to make new friends. In the book Project Sweet Life I liked it a lot because it was about a few friends that needed to get jobs that they didn’t want to get and so they didn’t and they had to fake it all summer. I learned that it’s not always easy or most worth taking a short cut and slacking off on something that will affect you in the long run! I also learned a lot about myself slacking off and trying to make things to fun for myself and not working hard enough.

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  26. Over the summer I read a book called “Maximum Ride”. This series is by James Patterson. I find them very interesting; they are about six kids who have wings. It might sound weird and funny but when you read them you start to get to know the characters and what they are going though. The scientists who genetically enhanced them to have the wings are now out to get the kids because they don’t want people to know about them. In these books I learned the impertinence of family, one of the little girls gets kidnapped and they do all they can to get her back and because they know that leaving her is not an option, they succeed. I know how much I need my family for the little things like helping me with my math homework and the bigger things like giving me a home to live in. And for that I am thankful.

    The second Book that I read was “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”. It was written by J.K. Rowling who is my favorite author. This is because I love how she had to use so much imagination to put the books together. In the sixth book (the one I read) Harry learns hoe to deal with the loss of a very good friend. I believe that books who also demonstrate lessons in life are really great because you are getting the entertainment and you are also learning important values in life.

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  27. During the summer the first book i read was Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. This book is about a strong and almost forbidden love between a vampire (Edward) and a human girl (Bella). The book shows the strong connection between the two and the consequences that follow their relationship. I liked this book because it was like nothing I have ever read and i could never put it down once i started reading. It was written so well, you could make a mental picture of every scene in the book. I learned from this book that love is very strong and you have to go for what you want. The content of this book was important to me because it had an important message in it and was a very compelling story that kept me begging for more when i was done with it.

    The second book i read was the sequel to Twilight, which is New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. This book follows Bella, when Edward leaves her for her own safety. This book isn't based on love as much as Twilight had. New Moon has more action in it and has a lot of suspense, which I liked about it. Once Edward left you could almost feel how detached Bella was feeling. Stephenie also focused on characters from the last book and made them more known and showed what part they would play in the next few books of the saga. I learned about the other important characters like Jacob Black as he plays the werewolf in the rest of the series. The content of this book was just as compelling as Twilight and it mattered to me that they introduced so many new character that would play a big part in the next couple books in the series.

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  28. The first book I read this summer was Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. This book is a thrilling and exciting tale about a vampire family and their existance among people, one inparticular, named Bella Swan. As you go throught the book, you watch from Bella's point of view of the troubles and romances of being with a vampire. I loved loved loved this book because the author made this story so mezmorizing and hard to put down.

    I also read the sequel to this book, New Moon, also by Stephanie Meyer. This story comtinues on the hardships of the dangerous love between Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. The setting of the story and voice of the sorty was so amazing it was probably the best book I've read. I can honestly tell you every girl in america wishes boys were like this in real life, including me.

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  29. 1. Over the summer I decided to read the J.R Tolkien Series. I ended with the Children Of hurin and Thought It was amazing. I then read the Cirque Du Freak series and find Darren Shan to be one of the best young-adult writers of the 21st century. His last book, The sons of destiny was full of plot and excitement! I was on youtube yesterday and finally saw the redband trailer for the cirque du freak movie. Its a bit like A series of unfortunate events because it is the story of the first three books put together and then created into A movie. I sure hope it's going to be good!

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  30. 1) This summer I read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This book was about a family going through a period of time where racism was at a high. A young black man was acused of raping a young lady, and even with profound evidence of his innocence, he was still convicted of the crime and sentenced because the jury didn't like his dark skin color.
    2) I liked this book because it did a wonderful job recreating the situation as it would have happened back then. It gave me a great feeling of how bad rasicm was back then. I liked how the book brought my emotion out and had me feeling worried and sad about parts of the story. I already knew that blacks were treated bad but this book made me realize how bad it really was. This book made me oppose racism more stongly than if I hadn't read it.

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