Monday, August 16, 2010

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.

31 comments:

  1. This summer I read two books, the first book was Wish, by Alexandra Bullen. The novel Wish was about a teenage girl, whose sister died. Ever since then she hadn't been doing to great. After she moved into her new house things started changing for her. She found 3 magical dresses, she soon learned when she put them on, and she could make one wish. When she tried on one of the dresses, her wish was that her sister would come back. So when she woke up the next morning, her sister was there! She was the only one that could see and hear her though. After that, her life majorly improved, her sister was able to help her through high school, make new friends, and even meet a new boy. I really liked this book because, the author was able to show the exact feelings of how the girl, and the whole family felt, after the sister’s death. Another thing I liked about this book is how it kind of showed me how important siblings really are, and how much harder life would be without them.
    The second book I read this summer was Chicken Noodle Soup for the Teenage Soul, by Jack Canfield. This book was really great because it had true, life stories that I could actually relate to. Being able to relate to a book definitely kept me more interested in it. This book gave great advice and incite on how to make and keep great friends, respecting your family, relationships with boys and many other miscellaneous stories.

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  2. I read two books, the first called Timeline by Micheal Crichton. It is about an organization that that trys to figure out a way to use timetravel to make money. They have a group of historians working to uncover the past so they know more about what to expect, but they never told the historians about the timeline part of the projesct though the professor of the historians has guessed ther is something more and he goes to confront this organization. While he is there he is told all about it and he even asked to try it out and he,being a historian, thought it was just to good to be true that he would be able to experience history first hand. When the rest of the historians get a letter asking that they come to headquarters, they immediatly start to worry about what happened. When they get there they are explained to about what happened and go on there journey to save the professor. This was a great book because it had a little bit of everything in it action, romance, suspense, ect. The most important thing I got from the book was that people arn't always who they seem to be.
    The second book I read was Watership Down, by Richard Adams. This a story of two rabbits who journey away from their warren with a group of others in an attempt to save them from what was surely going to be the destruction of the warren. During their journey they experience betrayal, danger, fear, and mistrust, but in the end they all make it throught. The two main thing i got from this book was to have some faith in your freinds and their is little that can't be done if you have faith in yourself.

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  3. I read two books this summer. The first was a book called Galahad: the comet's curse by Dom Testa. The story is about a comet that passes through the solar system and spreads a disease all over earth. The disease kills everyone over the age of eighteen. The scientists of earth plan to send 251 teenagers into space to try and find a new home planet. The ship leaves but the passengers are having small troubles. I liked this book because it was very dramatic and interesting. I learned that even when life gets stressful you must keep working to succeed.
    The second book I read was titled Inkspell by Cornelia Funke.Meggie and her father have aspecial power that allows them to read characters out of a book. This may seem like an awesome power but everytime someone comes out, someone has to go in. This creates a problem as meggie reads herself into a book and turns out to be stuck in a fairytale world. This book is interesting because it is a book about books. I learned that you have to trust your family in order to stay happy.

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  4. This summer I read two books. The first book was called Night by Elie Wiesel. This book was about the authors experience in the Nazi death camps. During his experiences he saw absolute evil. This was a very good book yet very sad. I enjoyed this book because I like to learn more about World War II. This makes me realize that everywhere in the world and no matter where you go you can't escape it.
    The second book i read was Marly & Me by John Grogan. This book is about John gets Marley as a puppy and he lives his life with him. I liked this book because i love dogs and i can really connect to the author. This booked showed me that your best friend can be anyone and anything.

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  5. Over the summer I read two books. The first book was I'd Tell You I Love You but Then I'd have to Kill You, by Ally Carter. It is about a girl named Cameron Morgan (a.k.a. Cammie) Cammie goes to Gallagher Academy a school for expectational girls. She is going into her fourth year there. This semester she gets a new room mate named Macey McHenry the Senators daughter. She has gone to many private schools and gotten expelled for many reasons. The headmistres Cammie's mom has to take her in when she finds out that Macey is a desendant of Gillian(Gilly) Galagher, the founder of the school. She is really excited because this year she gets to take Covert Operations with the cute teacher Joe Solomon. One night on a mission she runs into Josh. A normal boy who goes to the private school in town. Later that week she sneaks out of school to go see him. With the help of her best friends Rebecca Baxter(Bex), Elizabeth Sutton(Liz), and Macey Mchenrey she forms a relationship with Josh. Cammie has to lie about who she is to keep her identity. Cammie says she is home schooled( Galagher Academy has the reputation of stuckup rich people) and has a cat. Through the corse of the semester she lies to Josh. On the way in from town one day Josh's best friend Dillion sees Cammie walking Back to school with her friends. Dillion tells Josh and they try to sneak in to find out the truth. Later that night Josh and Cammie meet eachother and they break up. Cammie gets kidnapped by her teacher forher Co ops final. Josh's sees her and thinks it is a eal kidnapping. Josh barges in on her final and is eventually told the real secret. At the end of the book Josh says tell your mom thanks for the tea and the girls don't know if it is mind earasing tea or regualr.
    The second book I read was The Secret Life of Devon Delaney, by Lauren Barnholdt.Devon Delaney isn't unlike most kids her age. She's not aloud to wear makeup; she isn't part of the popular crowd, but she does have a great best friend, and she's got a crush on the most popular boy in school, Jared Bentley. The problem is, he doesn't know she's alive. Over the summer Devon and her sister get sent to their grandmothers for the summer, while their parents work out their issues.At her grandmothers house she desides to use her parents money to by a whole new wardrobe, and starts to wear make-up. Devon also befriends a girl named Lexi. At the end of the summer devon leaves to go back home. A week later Lexi moves to her town and goes to the same school. Devon has to convince Lexi she is popular and that she is dating Jared Bentley. Devon says they are secretley dating and no one is supposed to know except them. In the meantime Devon leves her best friend Mary out and falls for Jareds best friend Sam. The problem is Lexi accadently tells Kristen the most popular girl in school that Devon is secretly dating Jared. Kristen finds out all about Devon' lies and threatens to ell Lexi the truth or she would. Devon comes up with a brilliant plan. she tells Lexi her and Jared broke up, but its to late Kristen already tole Lexi the truth. Devon has to apologize to everyone including Sam, because he found out she was "dating" Jared when she said he like him. By the end of the book Devon and MAry become best friends with Lexi and her and Sam form a relashionship.

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  6. Over summer vacation I read two novels, Eclipse and Cross my Heart and Hope to Spy. When I read Eclipse by Stephanie Myer I was constantly in suspense. Throughout the book Stephanie Meyer used several forms of figurative language. Foreshadowing and similes are just two out of the many that were expressed frequently throughout her written work. The author used similes’ to illustrate the main character’s thoughts and actions creatively and with emotion. I enjoyed getting to know Bella on a deeper level. In the book the love life of Bella and Edward kept me engaged and eager to continue reading. The book starts out with Bella and Edward just getting back together shortly after a fiasco in Italy involving other vampires. Bella is caught in a love triangle between a werewolf, Jacob and Edward, a vampire. The book then continues on to where another vampire endangers Bella’s life, the vampires once again defend her but this time they team up with the werewolves and eventually conquer the enemy force. While reading this book I learned that love conquers all, if Edward hadn’t been so in love with Bella she would probably be dead.
    The second book I read over the summer was Cross my Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter. This is the second book in Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girl series. I thoroughly enjoyed relating to the life of Ally Carter’s main character, Cammie, who struggled through much of the same dilemmas as me. The only small difference is that Cammie attends a school for exceptional girls, or as she describes it, a school for spy girls. The girls are some of the greatest young spys, but to the world they are just wealthy girls attending a boarding school. In this specific book the girls are taken by surprise when a school of exceptional boys, from the Blackthore institute, pay a visit to their school. This book brings up the concept of trusting one another. Cammie struggles with who she can trust and how much she can trust them. Throughout the book I learned good friends are essential to succeeding in life. Both these books were entertaining and meaningful.

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  7. This summer i read two books. The first book i read was Alphas by Lisa Harrison. Alphas is a run off of Lisa Harrison's Clique novels. It is about four girls who are opposite, that all go to the same school that is especially for girls that have "alpha qualities". During their time, the four girls break almost every rule at the school, which includes not speaking to or seeing the only boys on the island where the school is. they all dont get caught until...read the next book in the series. This book gave me advice for making friend.
    The second book i read was Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard. This book is about four girls who best friend was mysteriously murdered. Through out the book, each girls gets texts from -A. None of the girls kno who -A is. -A practically runs the girls' lives, and -A, sees EVERYTHING. his book also gave me advice to keep your friends close but your enemies closer.

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  8. Over the summer, I read the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. All of the books were great!I was constantly reading them. The series is about a girl named Bella, who falls in love with a vampire named Edward. At first Edward only wants to drink Bellas blood, but his love overpowers the urge. Edward tries to convince Bella that he is to dangerous for her but she does not listen. After Edward accepts that he can not stay away from Bella, a "tracker" starts after Bella. Edward and his family do everything to protect her. Not only is Bella dealing with a crazed vampire,she is also finding out her best friend is a werewolve. A natural enemy to vampires. Bella has to try to deal with all these things going on in her life, and still not spill Edwards secret.
    I enjoyed all of these books, because of how detailed they were. When i started reading, I just could not stop! Every sentence is so detailed, it makes you feel as though you are in the book. After I had finished reading for the day, I could not stop thinking about what would happen next! The only problem about these books is I never wanted them to end! I truly enjoyed them, and would suggest them to just about anyone. They were great!

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  9. During the Summer Break I enjoyed being able to read two books, Erak's Ransom by John Flanagan, and the other, The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson. The reason I enjoyed this book was because I am into Medieval Fiction, and that is basically this book and the others in its Series, Rangers Apprentice. In this book I learned the importance of good friends and being able to trust that someone will pull through for you. In the book will, the main character, must find his horse who ran away in a sandstorm. This horse is his good friend and he must win a horse racing competition in order to win him back from the natives who captured the horse. He wins. His friends, who have been captured by Sand Raiders, must trust Will that he will arrive in time to save them from being put to death. He does. There were many more things I took away but those were the most dominant. When reading this book I am able to feel like I am able to see the book through his eyes. So that is pretty cool, because Will has all of these cool tricks up his sleeve and does stuff I wish I could do. In my second book Dangerous Days of Daniel X, I learned one very important thing; you don’t know what you got, until it’s gone. Daniel is an Alien Hunter whose Parents were killed at a very young age and who’s home planet, he’s an Alien himself too, was blown to bits. I was then able to relate to my own life in a smaller scale of what it would be like for me to lose stuff that is valuable to me, such as my parents or my house, and so on. I would feel very angry and feel like I needed to undo the wrong. Well that is exactly what Daniel feels like, so he tries to find the bad aliens that killed his Parents and blew up his home planet. I enjoy the fact that Daniel has sort of a bucket list; only difference is that it is a list of aliens that are on the top wanted list in the universe, which he plans to find, and kill. I am also a big Science-Fiction type of guy too, so aliens tend to be right in my area of enjoyment. These were some of the most extraordinary book I have ever read I would most definitely suggest them and would probably read them again in a couple of years.

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  10. Hmmmm... I read lots of books this summer, so I will just pick my favorites. One of the first was a book called Ark by Stephen Baxter. It was a very interesting novel set in a time where the ocean levels had risen until they were lapping at the shores of Colorado. It followed the desperate remnants of the American government, as the survivors attempted to build a massive ship called Ark One before the last of humanity was swallowed by the waves. I liked how the author pulled several decades into a cohesive storyline that was easy to follow, even though it spanned several lives. What mattered to me was how I kept being reminded throughout the book of how the terrible things that were happening could feasibly occur several years down the road, if we don’t start trying to stop leaving such a huge carbon footprint right now.
    Another book I read was one I’m sure that you have heard of. It was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling. That book was hands down one of the best and most interesting books I have ever read. I loved how Rowling made you really care for the characters. When @#!$ died, (I don’t know if you have read it yet, so I bleeped his name out.) I almost cried. Almost. I also liked how even after Ron and Harry had such a big fight in the middle of the book, Ron came back before the end. I think this really taught me something about the value of friendship, and how it can never be broken. You can stomp on it and throw it away, but true friends cannot stay apart for long. I read tons of books this summer, but these were definitely my favorites.

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  11. I read two books over the summer: Ligstick Apology by Jennifer Jabalay, and A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks.
    Lipstick Apology is about a teen girl named Emily, who's parents die in a plane crash. On the meal tray in the airplane, it said "Im sorry, Emily". Emily now has to live with her famous makeup artist aunt in New York. This is a very big transition for her. Her school is full of wealthy models. Her whole life changes. She has stress of finding what her mother ment by her mystery apology and also of becoming popular in this school. This book taught me to be myself and stay strong no matter how much I have on my shoulders on the time. I LOVED this book's contents because it was the first book in a long time that I have been able to really, really picture in my head. It was very descriptive and organized.
    A Walk To Remember is a love story about Landon Smith and Jamie Sullivan. Landon is a troublemaker teenager, while Jamie is a Christian sweetheart. Jamie wears skirts that flow to the ground and brown sweaters with her Bible every single day. When Landon does not have a homecoming dance, he decides to suck it up and ask Jamie (the last resort). When they go together, they end up having a GREAT time. Jamie asks him to be in the annual Beaufort Christmas play. He accepts, feeling guilty if he did not. Throughout the novel, they end up falling deeply in love. But then, when Jamie confesses that she has had leukemia for the past couple months and it is starting to take her life, Landon is devastated and lonely. A Walk To Remember's content was sappy and cheesey at some parts, but other than that, it was very descriptive and I could picture it as if it was a movie. This book taught me to live life to the fullest and also to be kind to everyone because you never know what the person next to you has/is going through.

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  12. Over summer break I was able to read two very good books, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. The book Percy Jackson is a fictional novel while The Secret Life of Bees is a more realistic fiction.

    I really enjoyed Percy Jackson because the author was able to incorporate the Greek Gods and Goddesses into a fun and unique adventure that kept you wanting to read more. In the book, the main character, Percy Jackson discovers that he is a Demigod (or a half-blood) meaning he is half God and half human. His father just so happens to be Poseidon, the God of the seas, one of the so-called “Big Three” (Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon). All his life Percy has felt that he was different from all the other kids, and he thinks its because he has ADHD and is dyslexic. However, when he discovers the truth about who he really is, everything changes and things take a twist towards the dangerous side. When Zeus’s master lightning bolt gets stolen, everyone is quick to blame Percy. So, he sets out on a dangerous quest to clear his name and prevent a huge war among the gods. This was a great adventure story, that kept you on edge while teaching you about ancient Greek history. I learned about a lot of the Greek Gods and Goddesses while reading this story.

    The Secret Life of Bees was an amazing novel that gave the reader insight into what racism was like in the South during the 1960s, by telling the story of a white girl’s quest for self-discovery with black step-in-mom. In the story the main character Lily Owens, a fourteen-year-old girl, comes from a very troubled childhood. When Lily was four years old she accidentally killed her mother Deborah, while trying to save her from her abusive father. The story describes her life growing up on a peach farm in South Carolina, where she feels very isolated and insecure. While there, a black woman named Rosaleen raises her and during the 60’s in the south, racism was a big issue. After Rosaleen is beaten and sent to jail by a group of racists Lily decided it was time for her leave with Rosaleen. Together they embark on a miraculous journey and are taken in by three black sisters who own a honey business. Lily ends up finding out what real love is about and she is able to finally stop blaming herself for her mother’s death. I really liked this novel because it was truly a great book about self-discovery and seeing people not by their skin color but as people. I learned that it doesn’t matter what you have done in the past having people that love you is truly life’s greatest gift.

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  13. This summer, I read a lot. Some of the books I read were The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and Come Back by Claire and Mia Fontaine; both very intriguing and very good.

    My favorite of the two was Come Back by Claire and Mia Fontaine. This story was about a teenage girl who was a straight A student at one of the top prep schools in the state whose life was changed by a new friend and drugs. The story tells how the mother and daughter struggle for years to make things right again, finding it more and more difficult as they go. I liked how this story is so easily relatable with it being about a mother and daughter; it shows a wide variety of family issues. I also appreciated how it showed both sides of the story, mother and daughter. It was a very intense, heartbreaking, wonderful story.

    The other book I read was, The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. This was a memoir about a family struggling to stay together. With a father who was an angry and destructive drunk and a mother who didn't want to raise a family, times were hard. The children did what they could to take care of themselves and while they did, adventures and excitement would take place everywhere. This book told a great story of a family who has many ups and downs. From reading this I learned, as a family, you always have to keep trying.

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  14. The first book I read was Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler. Clive Cussler books bring me in like a cat to a mouse. The plot of the book was about artifacts found that are later relating back to an ancient civilization thought to be a myth. This Clive Cussler is a Dirk Pit novel which is an interesting character because of his actions and dialects. But that’s not the main aspects that I enjoy of Clive Cussler’s books. Those aspects are his fantastic description of everything, and way to keep the reader hooked. He always describes everything to the fullest extent. From what the people look like to the technology and even their dinner selections. His word choice also keeps the reader hooked in a different way than most books. When someone reads his books they visualize what is probably going to happen next but if they keep reading a lot of times it changes.
    The second book I read over the summer was Medusa by Clive Cussler. Its plot is about this plague that can kill people in a day and the only possible cure may be in the jelly of the rare blue medusa jellyfish but then they suddenly disappear.

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  15. Over the summer, one book I read was Max, by James Patterson. The premise that having an additional quality with posative potential (wings and powers) was really interesting. I connected that to modern day cloning, because people believe that it will have a good outcome, but as shown in the book, it doesn’t always. Instead, they cannot live a normal life because they don’t have parents, don’t get an education, and are always on the run from danger and people wanting to experiment on them. I enjoyed the book a lot because it was written by an author who writes adult and young adult books; so it was more mature. It was refreshing taking a break from all the vampire fantasy books, because it still had action, suspense, and romance. It matters to me because it showed that more science isn’t always better science.
    Another book I read over the summer was When the Heart Cries, by Cindy Woodsmall. I learned a lot about the Amish lifestyle, which is incredibly interesting because it is so different from my lifestyle. While I read this book, I thought about the similarities between the Amish and Mormon communities; my family has many Mormon family friends. There are aspects of the communities that I admire, such as that they all look out for one another.

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  16. Over the summer I read two novels by the same author. Dean Koontz I really like his dark spooky writing style; however I read Watcher and lightning witch I thought were two of his least spooky books.

    Lightning was brilliant titan of terror with enough energy and suspense to grasp me in time and time again. Laura is just a child when her dad is killed and she is saved by a guardian. She spends much time in homes and foster care before she sees this secret guardian again. She grows up, marries, and has a son. Then a terrible turn in advents and she finds herself fleeing with her soon and her struggles to just begun. This book showed me what fighting back can do to prolong your life span. Never to roll over and give up, and what a mommy bear will do to protect her young.

    Watchers is a storey of love and destruction. An army vet comes across a dog that is loving, sweet, and has an astonishing intelligence. The dog can spell out words with scrabble pieces. Humans are always trying to create new weapons and they dog is one of two the escaped from a science lap on a military base. Both are dog with high intelligence and a pathological connection to each other. The second dog is a viscous man eater who is hunting his "brother". The vet. meets a woman who he quickly falls for. The book is about the adventures they face while in the crosshairs of the monster. I fell that this book is good against evil and demonstrates the deadly power of human creations.

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  17. This summer I read Percy Jackson and The Olympians the Lightning Thief and Percy Jackson and The Olympians the sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan. These books are about a young Half-Blood named Percy Jackson and his adventures. Percy is the son of Poseidon. Since Poseidon is one of the three powerful gods, Percy is more powerful than any of the other Half-Bloods. He is given a few extremely difficult tasks that if he failed would alter the future of the world. In this book I learned a ton of information about Ancient Mythology. I learned the names of important Greek gods and their powers. I loved reading this book because it was entertaining, funny, and it always made you want to read the next page. I found myself staying up countless hours reading these incredible books.

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  18. This summer I read two books called "Velocity" by Dean Koontz and "Holocaust" by Gerald Green. Velocity was a very interesting book thatwas packed with action and always kept me on the edge of my seat. Holocaust on the other handwas a good book but was also very sad because not only was it about many people dieing but it talked about specific peoples story. Overall they were both really good books and I highley recommend them to anyone and everyone.

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  19. The two books that I read this summer were "Stranger With My Face" by Lois Duncan and "Graceling" by Kristen Cashore. Stranger With My Face is about a seventeen year old girl named Laurie who thinks she has finally made it: She has the perfect boyfriend and a popular group of friends and seems like nothing can go wrong. But that all is about to change when her boyfriend swears she saw Laurie meeting another guy when she was home sick that day. When other unexplained sightings keep popping up Laurie is convinced she has a double. And when the mysterious figure claims to be her twin sister, Laurie pursues the matter further. She soon discovers that she was adopted at birth, although her her sister Lia was not. Instead of her living in a very privledged home like her sister she was bounced from foster home to foster home growing more bitter,more dangerous. Though Lia's body is confined, she still manages to see Lia through astral projection where she can project herself to wherever she wants, leaving her body behind. Lia soon starts to befriend her twin and teaches her how to project too. But when Laurie's friends start to get hurt she becomes afraid of Lia. One day when Laurie is "projecting" she finds out horrible truths about Lia, but when Laurie wants to return to her body she finds out that she cant. Lia took over her body, and now Laurie is slowly disappearing... Eventually her friend Jeff and her little sister Meg, suspect there is something wrong. One day Meg throws a necklace that is supposed to ward off evil spirits at Lia and leaves Laurie's body for good. Once Laurie returns she soon finds out that weeks later they found that Lia's body was no longer breathing, they cremated it. Although Lia's spirit still lingers, Laurie knows her twin will never harm anyone ever again.

    The book Graceling is about a girl named Katsa, who at the age of eight could kill a man with her bare hands. In the world of the seven kingdoms few people are born with graces-talents beyond the ordinary. Trained by her uncle, the king,to be who she thinks she is, a killer. They soon form a a group called the "Council" to help the helpless. One night on a secret mission for the kidnapping of King Tealiff and she unexpectedly runs into a Lienid. Katsa finds him intriguing because he is the only person who has challenged her with his "fighting" skills. She finds out after the rescue mission that the stranger "Prince Po" is King Tealiff's grandson. But Po isn't what everybody thinks he is. Katsa learns that his grace is to sense things around him and to read peoples minds. Throughout the book it shows an epic journey of them falling in love and how you learn to trust someone. But when Po's aunt and his ten year old cousin, Bitterblue, is in danger Katsa and Po set on a mission to rescue them.

    I really enjoyed both of these books because I think it shows you how much you need people in your life. How dependent you become on their trust, support and love. You don't really truly realize what you have until you've lost it and I think both of these books show it profusely.

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  20. This summer I read two novels, Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose, and Mickey Mantle My Favorite Summer 1956 by Mickey Mantle and Phil pepe. The first book I read Band of Brothers was about WW2 and the 101st airborn division who fought in it. This book tells you about the boot camp they had to go through to get to war and what the war was like. This book I liked how it showed you what the war was like and how hard it wa for them to go through. I really learned the difficulties of war and what the soldiers must go through. This is what matters to me because it really shows you WW2 in the perspective of the soldiers.The second book I read was Mickey Mantle My Favorite Summer 1956, This book I really enjoyed because it is telling you about MIckey's season when he hit for the triple crown( which is when a hitter in one season gets the most home runs the most RBI's and the best batting average.) In this season he also won the world series with the New York Yankee's and in that world series how history happened when Don Larson through a Perfect Game(This is the only time any one has every thrown one in the history of baseball.) I liked this book because its about baseball and I can really relate to it because I love the game. I learned about one of the best players in baseball and I really liked reading it. This matters to me because I love the game and learning about its history was very interesting to me.

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  22. This summer, I re-read Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I had read it before in fifth or sixth grade and liked it, but I wasn't sure I got the true meaning. The books are about a seemingly Utopian society, but as previous attempts at perfect civilizations have shown, free-thinking spirits will have different opinions on things, and fight with their lives to change them. That is why in this book, when you turn sixteen, you have a surgery to turn you "pretty". In the process, they give you brain lesions, which make you happy and obedient, but this part of the surgery is top secret, and only an elite group of "cruel pretties", called Special Circumstances (Specials) know about it. Tally Youngblood is the main character, and she starts out the book being an "ugly". After her friend Shay starts to figure out the truth about the surgery, Tally still secretly wants to become a pretty, for the popularity and chance to be reunited with her already pretty friend, Peris. In order to become pretty, the Specials (which she didn't even know existed), say that before she is allowed to become pretty, she must follow her friend Shay to The Rusty Ruins, where the rebel uglies who know the truth about the surgery, retreat to and live in secrecy, to activate a tracking device. Tally has decide whether or not to betray her friends. I think what Scott Westerfeld was doing a commentary on what could happen if the government got too much control over the people, and we had no idea what was going on. It also shows that whatever temptations are presented, like being "perfect", there will always be some people who refuse to go with the norm, and think for themselves. The overall moral of the story that spoke to me was that utopias can exist, up to a certain point, but somebody somewhere will finally stick up for what is right, no matter the consequences.

    Another book I read was Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard. The book is the story of four girls, struggling with the murder of their alpha leader, Ally. As the book progresses, they realize that they told her all of their secrets, but knew none of hers. The girls get harassed by somebody called "A" who seems to know all their secrets. What I got out of the book is how friendships are mutual. You can't trust people just because society tells you they are "cool". You have to make your own decisions and think for yourself.

    I really enjoyed both of these books, because although you can just look at them as a story and nothing else, you can also find a deeper seeded meaning. Both of these books have a lot to do with lying and manipulation, and it has really made me think of what the world would be like if everybody were just looking out for themselves, and in the process made me start caring about myself less, and looking out for others more.

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  25. The first book I read this summer was the DeVince Code, by Dan Brown. This fast paced mystery involved the Sons of Priory and the Holy Grail. That night there were four murders of individuals associated with the Sons of Priory. Professior Robert Landon was accused of one of the murders. Now, he has to prove his innocense before the true killers find the Holy Grail. Lucky for him he finds the granddaughter of the man he is accused of murdering. She helps him solve the solve the murder and unravel the secrets of her family. I learned to look past the literal meaning and indulge into the truth hidden within.
    The second book I read this summer was the "Theif Lord" by Cornelious Funk. This hair raising adventure takes place in Venice, Italy where two brothers, Prosper and Bo, go to escape their "evil" aunt. Once in Venice they find a band of homeless kids whose leader calls himself the "Theif Lord". This band of kids adopt Prosper and Bo to their family. They are soon put to a test by their aunt who hires a detective who digs deep to find them. It is important to know how important siblings are and that anyone can be your family.

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  26. The two books I read over summer break were "The Doorbell Rang" by Rex Stout, and "I, Alex Cross" by James Patterson. "The Doorbell Rang" was written in second person, by a detective's assistant. It started out as a rather intriguing, fast paced book, but after the first 100 pager, it slowed down and became an annoying book. What I enjoyed about it, though, was the fact that it was written through the assistant's mindset the whole time. This is different than most detective novels and it added an interesting spin on the whole thing. The fact that you never actually knew what the detective was thinking was fun because it allowed the reader to not know the outcome of the book until the very end. So, throughout all of the police and FBI chases, Stout only allowed the reader to know that the detective knew something was off or going wrong, but never what exactly. I think it would be fun to write a story like this but if I did, I wouldn't let it die half way through like Stout did.

    "I, Alex Cross," the second book I read, was a fantastic book. Every page added a new and different twist to the story. I love Patterson's writing for just this reason. All of his books are different, yet always fast paced and intriguing. The most shocking part of the story, for me, was when cross was going down the stairs to investigate a clashing noise he had heard in the middle of the night, coming from his kitchen. He made his way stealthily down the stairs, and found his grandmother, Nana, laying face down in front of the refrigerator. That whole chapter was a page-turner, and then it ended with them going to the hospital, not knowing whether or not she was okay. I both love and hate this about his writing style, but I continue reading his books none the less.

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  27. During the summer I read two books. One was A Walk to Remember By Nicholas sparks. This book told a story about a guy named Landon during his senior year falling in love with a girl who was unpopular and out of the ordinary named Jamie. Jamie spent her free time reading the bible and raising money to help an orphanage. Her father was the reverend at the town’s church. Landon was the average popular kid who couldn’t find a date to take to the school dance. So he asked Jamie to the dance and after word he helped her with the orphanage, school play and some other things. They grew closer and fell in love. This book was somewhat boring and drawn out to me entail the end when they fall and love, and she becomes sick. I learned that everyone can have a meaning in your life even the people you would least expect. This book matters to me because it shows not to take things or people for granted.

    The second book was called Rhymes with Witches by Lauren Myrade. This book is fictional. It started out with the main character Jane who dreams to be in the schools girls’ popular group which consists of one freshman, sophomore, junior and a senior. The group ends up liking her and Jane learns this group is different than most. That the reason the group’s members are so popular is because they steal the popularity of another person by taking something of that person’s. After a crazy series of events Jane ends up telling a girl outside the group about the groups secrets and loses her spot in the group to that girl. I learned that popularity isn’t worth hurting someone else. The most important part of this book was to treat others the way you want to be treated.

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  28. the two books i read over the summer was stormbreaker by anthony horowitz and house of the scropion by nancy farmer stormbreaker was a book in the alex rider series. it was about a plot to kill all british children with a diesese. i enjoyed it

    the second book i read was about the life of a human clone. it was a diary from his childhood to his teenage years.

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  29. Over the summer I read 2 novels. One of the novels I read was "Hatchet" by Gary Pulsen. In "Hatchet" a 14 year old boy was on his way to see his father who lived in Canada. The boys name was Brain. On a small plain driven by a single piolet. Brian was given a hatchet from his mother as a gift. As the plain flew over the Canadian forest the piolet had a heart attack and died, Brian was forced to amke a crash landind in a large lake. Brian luckly survied the crash but then faced the challenge of staying alive until he was rescued, wich ended up to be more than 2 months. After Brian survived the 2 months he remembered that there was always a survival kit in almost every plain. Brian had to dive back in the water were the plain had sunk and retrive the kit. In the kit Brian had found a rifle,food,and a emergancy signal-satalite. Brian turned on the signal but the signal didn't seem to work so he left it and continued to hunt for more food. After a couple more days a plain arrived and rescued Brian. the book keep you guesing on how Brian will survive.

    The second book I read over the summer was "The lightning Theif". The book is about how a young boy about 14-15 found out that he was half a god and half a human. After Percy (the name of the main charater), saw his mother die he had to go to a camp were kids and adults like him train their powers,the camp was also known as the half blood camp. The camp was called that because people like that were called half bloods. After a girl in the camp told Percy that the greek gods were at war (Zues,Posiden,and hades,) Percey had found out the reason for the war. The reason for the war was beacuse Zues had thought that Posiden had stolen his main lightning bolt,After that Zues was declaring war on Posiden, but as a matter of fact Hades had stolen it in order for them to fight and destroy each other so Hades could take over. Forcing Percy to find the lightning bolt. On his adventure Percy enconters msny other gods and hades demons on the way in witch try to stop Percy from finding the bolt. This book is extermly introsting and kept me reading.

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  30. Over the summer I read two books. I read Cracker, Cracker is a great book! It is a book About a German Shepard that is very loved by a family with just one little boy. Intil the family has to move, but Cracker cant go with them. So the family has to find the right home for Cracker. They find a home well, more like a place. So Cracker is now a war dog in training for the Vietnam War.


    The second book i read over the summer is The Lightning Theif. I liked the book, it was a very good book! I think i liked it alot more because i love greek books! but the main line of the story is that a boy named Percy finds out he is a demi-god and read about all of his storys in The Lightning Theif!

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