Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald

This was a book based on a true story about a young woman growing up in Pakistan, and how hard of a life she had. For her 25th birthday, her parents bought her a one way ticket to America (after getting her Visa approved), and figured this was the chance of a lifetime for her to finally become a U.S. citizen. Tammy was her name, and her sister also got a one way ticket when she was Tammy's age and married a man within 90 days which automatically made her a U.S. citizen. Once Tammy moved to America, she realized how different the cultures were, and some things she would never dream of doing back in Pakistan, were things Americans didnt think twice about. Tammy's sister enrolled her in a class of foreign students, and that is where she met her first and only friends in America. Tammy and her family had one thing on their mind, she had to marry within 90 days or her visa would expire and she would be forced to return to Pakistan, where she would never get this opportunity again. Her sister and brother-in-law set her up with several religious Pakistanian men, but not one did a thing for her. There was a man, Kerk, who would talk to her everyday on her way to her class, and day after day they secretly fell more and more in love. It was 2 days before her visa would expire, and Kerk finally popped the question, aware of her situation, and she got to stay in America, forever!

Travels by Michael Crichton

So I haven’t gotten that far into this book (a little less than two-thirds), but it is a very easy read and I’m pretty sure that if I have the time I could finish it in three days. This book is basically an autobiography of Michael Crichton, the creator of Jurassic Park. It chronicles his journey from being a med school student to being the writer/director that he is now. Crichton is an exceptional writer and knows how to keep the reader interested, using interesting facts and humor, which is why I like this book. In the very first sentence, Crichton surprises you when he says, “It is not easy to cut through a human head with a hacksaw.” Weird right?
Even though the book is titled “Travels”, I haven’t actually gotten to that part of his life yet. All that I’ve read about so far involves his life as a med school student at Harvard and his life after graduation. During his time at Harvard, he periodically wrote little screenplays and novels (one of them about the Harvard medical school). He began to lose focus on med school and wanted to pursue a career in writing. However, he was too far in his studies to quit, so he finished med school and moved to Hollywood. Throughout his life, he meets many strange characters and gets involved in silly situations. I don’t want to give any of these away, so you’ll just have to read them to find out. However, I will say that those situations get a little crazy when he moves into his Hollywood apartment. I really enjoy this book so far and I recommend it to everyone.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

This book is a comedy and drama that takes place in England. It is about a young 15 year old boy, Christopher Boone, who has autism and lives with his father. He begins writing a story after he finds out the local neighborhood dog was killed. He starts investigating the dog's death and as he goes about it his investigation takes a wrong turn. In the beginning of the story, Christopher's mother is supposedly dead, as told by his father. As he looks for clues about the dog's death, Christopher finds letters from his mother. He begins to read them and his father catches him one day. They argue and in the night, Christopher leaves to live with his mother.
Christopher learns that his father killed the dog when he found out his mother was cheating on him with the dog's owner. The story continues and things eventually go back to normal and Christopher ends up going back home. This story is a great one and it kept me on my toes the whole time. I would definitely recommend this book to all audiences.

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler

This book that I recently started is about a middle-aged travel writer Macon Leary who is on the brink of disaster, finds himself alone and miserable. Called The Accidental Tourist, this book centers on the difficulties of family relationships. This writer named Macon Leary, is the main character who has had a troubled life. Not only had his son died from a freakish shot in a fast-food restaurant, but also his wife, Sarah, has left him. As a career, Macon writes guidebooks for travelers going to anywhere across the country. And lucky for him he gets to travel to these neat places to find and write reviews of hotel rooms, restaurants and scenery. From finding the restaurants that serve the best American food or seeing what hotel is not only cheap, but also livable. He also had an encounter with the dog veterinarian who was acting pretty flirting towards Macon as he was actually trying to hurry and drop off his dog to head to the airport. So maybe some fireworks may go off between them when he comes back for his dog. It also seems like he definitely has feelings for his wife, Sarah who has maybe moved on. Her and Macon had a quite long conversation over the phone the other day. Sarah made the call to see if he was home to pick up some of her things, but the conversation lead into something more. Macon was trying to see how she was doing without him, and see how she was doing with the whole separation thing. But the conversation quickly turned into an argument. Especially, after he was telling her just how filthy everything is now around his apartment, and how filthy the place as become. I can’t wait to read the rest!

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

This book is really good! At times it can be a little bit slow moving. There are parts where I got kind of bored, but overall I really thought that it was an intriguing book that was different than any book I have read before.

This book is written from the point of view of a young boy named Reuben Land. Reuben has an older brother, Davy, and a younger sister, Swede. Reuben's father, Jeremiah, is a man of God and always puts his trust in God first. Throughout Reuben's life, he has realized that miracles often seem to occur while Jeremiah is around. During one such event, Reuben believed that he saw Jeremiah walking on nothing but air.

Davy and Jeremiah are forced to confront two boys that are Davy's age who attempted to molest Davy's girlfriend and kidnapped Swede. Eventually, the two boys break into the Land's house in the middle of the night, where Davy shoots and kills both boys. Davy is brought into jail and then court, but soon escapes from both places and goes missing. Because of this, Jeremiah is devastated and the Land family soon decides to go looking for Davy.

Meanwhile, there is police investigator on Davy's trail who also follows the Land family in attempts to locate Davy. As the Land family travels across the country, Swede writes a story with characters that represent certain characters in her actual life. Swede struggles with writing this story, as it seems she does not want to end the story the wrong way, for fear of her family, and Davy's story ending the wrong way.

As time goes on, Reuben is forced to choose between his loyalty to his brother and to what would be thought of as the right thing to do. Reuben is confronted with new people, new ideas, and lots of fear as he faces some of the hardest decisions he has ever encountered. As the story concludes, Reuben is forced to mature through certain events and eventually he begins to understand things about his brother and the life he has chosen that he could not see before.

This book shows a unique view on differentiating between right and wrong and keeps you entertained along the way. It is definitely a book I would recommend for an compelling read.

Jumper by Steven Gould

This is one of my favorite books! Now, I read this at the end of the last school year, but recently when I found out it was going to be a motion picture in January (i think), I just had to read it again!

What makes a good book great, in my opinion, is that it makes you not only change your emotions inside, but that there is so much that you have to express it! This how this book made me feel; I was jumping out of my seat, so excited, smile on my face, telling people how great this book is. Now, that might've just been me...

This book is about a boy Davy who finds out at a young age that he has the gift of teleportation. However, he discovers this when he was in a state of helplessness. His father, drunk and agressive, was about once again beat his son (just because he didn't mow the lawn..), but all of a sudden he found himself in his local library. Scared, he didn't really understand what happened, but all he knew was that he wasn't going to go back home. He ran away, hoping to go to New York, a place his family once enjoyed visiting together. Unfortunately, one of the truckers he hitched a ride with, hundreds of miles away from home, stopped at a truck stop with other truckers and was almost raped until he again found himself in his hometown library.

The library acts as his haven, Davy's safe hideout. Davy was an avid reader; it kept him not focused on his present problems. I found this quite interesting because as he was getting lost in his world of books, I was getting lost in this one.

Davy finally finds his way to New York and has trouble getting work because of many reasons including he was underage at the time and he had no type of identification or social security number. So he comes up with a brilliant plan to rob a bank! He can only transport places he's been, so he had to go to a bank and look inside a vault. I don't want to give away much, but I can say he was successful!

There are so many funny parts in the book, where Davy finds ways to mess with people by teleporting a person to the other side of the globe and events similar to that one.

Now, I don't think I really justified how good this book is, and I've never really been good at that, but I do think that most of you would enjoy this well-written book!
I'm also in the middle of the sequel, Reflex, which is also very entertaining.


-stephanie

The Cellar of Horror "The story of Gary Heidnik" by Ken Englade

First of all this book is crazy! Right away the story begins by placing you with Gary's first victim. You follow the women's intense, disgusting, and terrifying ordeal throughout the entire book. But the author does break up the story by giving you background information about Gary, like what his childhood was like, and why he was the man he was.

I found it very interesting that he only kidnapped, mentally challenged black women. For part of his life, he lived with his mother and black step-father. So that's just what he considered himself. But he was indeed a White man. Anyways, he picks up these women, some of them were friends of his, others prostitutes, and he would take them back to his place. That's where things got crazy! Let's put it this way; he kidnapped women in hopes of having them start his own little community in the basement. They would have his children and they would live happily ever after together. However, his treatment towards the girls, prevented his ultimate goal. The women were beaten, tortured, raped on a daily basis, and chained naked in his basement. He wanted to leave behind children in this world, but according to Ken Englade, "rape, toruture and cannibilism was his legacy." I don't want to spoil anything for you, so if you're interested in reading this book, I promise you will not be disappointed.


F.Y.I.
One of his girlfriends names was Jewel. I thought that was funny. =]

Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin♦

For starters I loved this book. It's one of those drama filled novels that has you up till the wee hours of the morning because you just cant put it down. This book tells the story of Rachel, a young attorney living and working in Manhattan. Up until her thirtieth birthday, Rachel has been this very wholesome do everything by the book kind of girl until her best friend Darcy throws her a birthday party.

After way too many drinks Rachel does the most unspeakable, most scandalous thing she could possibly do. She ends up in bed with Darcy's fiance. The two try to put that one night fling behind them until they both realize they have genuine feelings for each other.

As Darcy's wedding approaches Rachel realizes she has to make a choice between her lifelong friend and the man she's helplessly in love with. Rachel discovers that the line between right and wrong becomes very blurry when it comes to matters of the heart and sometimes you have to sacrifice everything in order to gain true happiness.

The book takes an interesting turn proving that Rachel is not the only one partaking in deceit and betrayal. This is definitely a novel that will have you laughing, crying and well entertained.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The protagonist of this depressing novel of Plath's is Esther Greenwood, the detached college student from Boston. In the beginning of the book, we find Esther interning for a fashion magazine in New York; her summer stay is described in chapters that are interjected with quick memories of Esther's. She stays with eleven other girls in an all-women's hotel, and has two main friends: Doreen the partier and Betsey the polite friend. Esther has some crazy experiences, including drinking too much, thinking too much, regurgitating too much, and working too much.
Esther's life seems great; she could marry Buddy Willard-the handsome, smart, family-oriented gentleman she has dated for a while, and she seems to have a successful career at her hands. Plath doesn't show Esther in this great light though; rather she brings forth a character with inexperience, doubtfulness, and lack of self-knowledge. Esther is constantly questioning the many paths she could take and gets all out of sorts when things go unplanned.
After leaving New York, Esther returns home and finds herself stuck in the suburbs that she grew up in; this part of the book is a turning point because at first, Esther seems too insightful to belong in the city that never sleeps, but when she goes home to the quiet neighborhood, she’s even more desperate to find something more to life. As a reader, I thought from the beginning that Esther was crazy, and when she stopped functioning like a normal person, I wasn’t surprised. The following suicide attempts only plunge deeper into the realm of insanity and depression, and as if understanding Esther before wasn’t difficult, trying to relate to her post-nervous breakdown was quite a task.
Plath’s memoir is definitely interesting in account of the deep voice that Esther thinks with and shares. The author’s ability to translate the true feelings into words that I could comprehend and imagine proves her legitimacy.
I’d recommend The Bell Jar to the artsy, deep people that have a secret thirst for insight into the world of depression and confusion. It’s not like any other book I have given the chance to read, but I enjoyed its uniqueness nevertheless.

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Jhumpa Lahiri is one of the best authors I know because of her talent of capturing the audience’s heart through her extensive, yet light descriptions of her characters. The Namesake, a New York Times Bestseller is an amazing story that highlights the Gangulis’ will power to face the struggles in a foreign land away from Calcutta, India. When Ashoke Ganguli got on a train to visit his grandfather, an unexpected event and person was going to change him forever. Ashoke met Ghosh, a Bengali businessman, who told him to explore the world outside of Calcutta. A bomb exploded on the train. He was thrown out of the train, he laid helpless on the ground in a chilly night. He clutched a wad of paper and alarmed the rescuers that he was still alive. Ashoke was relieved and owed his life to Gogol. After that, his legs were paralyzed and when he recovered he promised himself that he would travel and experience life far away from Calcutta. Ashoke married Ashima and they were expecting their first child. Ashoke gave Gogol as his son’s name, the name of the author who saved his life.

How Gogol got his name is an exciting part in the first few chapters of the book. I recommend this book because it’s interesting! How Ashima copes with the struggles in a foreign land and how the name Gogol will test his courage. You will also discover the interesting love relationships Gogol will have and many more to find out. Check this book out! It was a pleasure to read. It is captivating to find out how each character will deal and balance their life that is impacted with their Indian culture, and the American culture they assimilated to.

For One More Day by Mitch Albom

“I yelled a good bye into the gathering. The group yelled back, “So long…Bye…Good luck…” I heard my mother’s voice last, above the others: “Love you, Char...” the door shut mid-sentence. And I never saw her again.” Throughout this book Mitch Albom uses tiny attention grabbers at the end of his chapters such as this to lure you into the next chapter. I consider this book to be truly amazing. It reminds you of those around you and sometimes how much we tend to forget about those that we love. It’s funny that while I was reading this book we are studying the value of life because to begin with, the book starts off with the main character, Charley, trying to commit suicide. He sees his life as totally worthless and not worth living. He is divorced and has a daughter who recently got married and the only reason he knew was because she sent him pictures of the ceremony. On receiving this letter from his daughter he mentally breaks down, feeling that he is of no concern to anyone, considering he wasn’t invited to his own daughter’s wedding. Eventually, Charley comes into contact with his deceased mother and she helps show him how delicate life is by showing him examples of his past. In the meantime she also tells stories of her life and things that she has realized ever since her passing that helped her realize the meaning of life. By far I consider this the best out of the prior books Albom has written. It was literally a book I could not put down it was like and adventure turning from page to page because you never knew what was going to happen.

Stuart a Life backwards by Alexander Masters

This book, I bought it without knowing what kind of literature it would be. When I was going towards the cashier, I saw the bestseller section and by looking though the covers, this book cover was most eye-catching to me. But once I opened the book, I kind of regret about the thoughtless purchase I made. But it was not a bad book, it just contained words that I didn’t understand and I saw many good reviews about this book.

Main character in this book is Stuart, who used to be drug addict homeless, and he met the author, Alexander Masters, on the streets by chance. When Masters was passing by the streets in Cambridge, Stuart got caught in his eyes. His home-made tattoo, which was an 'F' word, seven of his teeth missing, and his poor look was enough to catch Masters' eyes. When the author bent down to hear what Stuart was mumbling, he became interested about the world that homeless were living in.

Stuart’s suicidal side changed 180 degrees after he meets the author. He wanted go live ordinary life free from drugs and homeless life. He registers himself for council housing list, enters the program to quit heroine, and struggles to be out from the street community.

Stuart’s struggle and the author’s help to make him get back in to the society isn’t just an ordinary story. Even though I did not understand the whole story, I laughed on some parts of the story and it was hilarious. History about Stuart is just amazing and it is a total different world from ours. I saw many good reviews about this book and I recommend it to the ones who like interesting biographies.

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

This novel is the story of a young woman named Taylor Greer and her “adopted” baby she has named Turtle. But “Taylor” isn’t her original name. The name she was given when she was born is Marietta Greer. She decided that she wanted to change her name when she left the small town of Pittman Kentucky. A fresh start would allow her a new name. She worked at the Pittman County Hospital for five and a half years and while working there, she helped her mom out with the bills and saved for a car – her ticket out of town. She bought a ’55 Volkswagen bug with no windows, no back seat, and no starter. Since a name is not something you pick for yourself, she decided to let the gas tank decide. The name of the town she stopped in would be her name – Taylorville. While driving through Cherokee nation, she stopped at a diner to get some coffee and a burger. When she was going back out to her car, a woman tapped on her windshield. The woman went around to the other side of the car, unwrapped the blanket she was wrapped in, and wrapped in around the baby, just before she put it in Taylor’s car.
“Take the baby,” she said.
“Where do you want me to take it?”
“Just take it.”
“Is this your kid?”
“My dead sister’s.”
“Are you saying you want to give me this child?”
“Yes.”
Taylor decides to name the baby Turtle because of her clinginess and quietness, which reminds her of the mud turtles in Kentucky. Taylor believes the child is around the age of three, but still does not talk.
The story goes on, following the pair through the new beginnings of both of their lives – their relationships, hard times, and heart aches.

This book was put onto my booklist when Mrs. Fletcher brought in her books to the classroom. She had mentioned that many people have started the book and not finished it, so I was a little skeptical of it, but I added it anyways. My mom had actually read the book and gave it to me, so I gave it a shot, and absolutely loved it. It starts off a little slow, but definitely picks up. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

"Little Women" is a famous classic novel that everyone just loves. I remember reading this book when I was in elementary school not quite getting the whole story. When I went to Borders to get some books to read, I saw this book on the shelf and I automatically grabbed it and bought it. If you ask me to describe the color of this book, I will say it is pink because beginning to the end, story is very calm, soothing, and loving. Once I get hold of this book, I just sink into the novel and imagine what is happening in the book. Alcott provides great imagery which you will love.

Main characters in this book are four March girls, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. They live with their mom and his father is away to the Civil War. Each girl has unique personalities of their own. Meg is very ladylike, Jo is very tall and boyish, Beth had peaceful expression and timid voice, and Amy is the youngest of four who is a very good artist. Although March family is very poor, they don't lose their happiness even though the girls lament about their poverty. Each of them experience different adventures of their own and shares them every night before sleep.

During the New Year's party, Meg and Jo, the eldest ones, goes to the party of Meg's wealthy friend and Jo meets Laurie, hidden boy in Laurence’s house next to Marches'. They share stories about their life and they become friends. When she shared the story to the other girls, they became interested about the "Laurence Boy."

Later, their father comes back and daughters are scattered to other countries to accomplish their dreams and goals. But sadly, Marches counter tragedy of losing one of their beloved family members.

I suggest this book especially to females because males probably wouldn't enjoy reading about girls’ gossips and their little adventures. I recommend it to the ones that enjoy reading about quiet and simple but dramatic books that has little twist and tragedy.

Deogratias by J.P. Stassen

Once you pick up the graphic novel Deogratias by J.P. Stassen you will not be able to put it down. Now, I realize that it sounds like a cliche and many people say it but it definately rings true with this book. I was sitting at a boring office for five hours while my mother was in a meeting and my laptop ran out of battery. The only thing I had in my backpack was the novel Deogratias, so I started reading it; and from the beginning to the end you just want to read the next page. The main charcter in the book, Deogratias, is a young boy living in Africa during the genocides in the 1990s. He has many struggles in his life: living in a catholic missionary, dealing with the Tutsi and Hutu fighting, and wooing the girl he likes. One problem with the girl is that she is a Tutsi and he is a Hutu. Everything seems to be going good until the other Hutu in the village become apart of the rebellion and pressure Deogratias into joining them. Many of the Tutsi during the genocide were killed by the Hutu, so one can see the conflict that Deogratias faces. The novel's storytelling goes from present to flashbacks that Deogratias has. The illustrations are impeccable and enhance the story by really helping you get an idea of what is happening. If you enjoyed the movies Hotel Rwanda and Blood Diamond there is no doubt in my mind that you will absolutely love this graphic novel.

Candide or "Optimism" by Voltaire

Candide is a satire written by the philosopher Voltaire during the enlightenment. The story begins with the ever innocent Candide who lives in the castle of the baron Thunder-ten-tronckh in the German town of Westphalia. Candide is the son of the baron's sister and is in love with the barons daughter Cunegonde. The other characters of the story are the castles tutor Pangloss, the maid Paquette, the old lady, Martin, and Cacambo. Pangloss is a great philosopher who teaches his students Cunegonde, Candide, and Paquette that the place they live in is "the best of all possible worlds". But the story begins with the baron catching Candide kissing his daughter Cunegonde and he then banishes Candide. The castle is then destroyed by the Bulgar army and everyone is killed accept Candide. This sets Candide of on his travels only to find out that his love is not dead so he goes halfway around the world to find her. The rest of the story is all plot based on his travels until the end where Candide is reunited with Cunegonde, Pangloss, and Paquette and they live on a farm happily ever after. The story was very confusing and it was almost all plot to me. Ms. Fletcher told me that there is more to it and you have to analyze it more. She alsosaid that you'll read it in college so if you can wait till then. I would only recommend it to those up for the challenge.

Boomsday by Christopher Buckley

Imagine a world where an angry blogger has proposed a bill suggesting that the government give Baby Boomers incentives to kill themselves by age 70 to improve our ever-failing Social Security system.
Christopher Buckley enters the world of Cassandra Devine. Starting out in the book as a high school senior, Devine aspires to attend Yale. Once accepted, she finds out her father has spent her tuition money to start up his own dotcom business. After finding out this absurd information, her father suggests that she joins the army due to the fact that she can't attend another college now. She accepts. It doesn't work out.
Ten years later, Devine becomes a part of the "PR" world and hosts a blog on the side dedicated to Social Security reform. After reeling from life and dealing with her 'Boomer' father, she proposes this crazy bill suggesting Baby Boomers off themselves, pardon me, I meant "Voluntary Transitioning" as Devine has coined it. Devine is finally turning into the leader of the younger generation to go against those slacker, worthless, pot-smoking Boomers who happen to be eating up the taxpayers (our generation's) money in Social Security and other expenditures. Through this "Modest Proposal," Devine hopes to raise awareness of the growing epidemic by getting a Senator to back it up in Congress.
Throughout the book we are introduced to very unique characters who represent the U.S. government, a self-centered Senator from Massachusetts, a devious, swearing President, a pro-life preacher, and a few more crazies added to the bunch. All who share hilarious, witty banter with one another from the amazing, satirical mind of Christopher Buckley.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone, it was a real pleasure to read. And if you ever saw the movie "Thank You for Smoking," it just so happens that movie is based on another one of Buckley's books, so if you liked the movie, I recommend looking up Buckley and his other works.

Contact, by Carl Sagen

This book is about how the world would react if evidence of extra-terrestrial life was actually found. The story is told through the eyes of the main character Ellie who is a scientist specialized in radio astronomy, and is the first to come across a message emitted from a star called Vega. At first all the signal seems to be is a broadcast of prime numbers, latter the scientists figure out that underneath the layer of prime numbers is a television signal from the 1930s. They know that the star is twenty-five light-years away, meaning that it would take about fifty years to send a radio signal back and forth from the star, so the signal is taken to be a greetings saying that we know you’re out there. Eventually the scientists find another layer of message layered under the transmission in another language that is thought to be the blue-prints to build machine.
Now much of the story is about the characters discussing different theological beliefs, the possible motives of these aliens for sending the message, and how the human species might appear to them. I found the book to be slow going and actually regretted not flipping through many unnecessary parts of the story. In the book Contact only about 15 out of the 434 pages were about actual contact with the alien Vegans.
Although I felt that the book was drawn out, I found some of the author’s thoughts about another world’s perspective of humanity original and interesting, and enjoyed analyzing the poetic quotes of famous authors that were presented at the beginning of each chapter. In the end the way the author reveals his optimism that man-kind will find its place in the universe is moving and inspiring.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

I read this book in ninth grade and even did a whole book report on it. I decided to read it all over again because I saw the previews for the movie coming out this month. By the way, I suggest you read the book after you see the movie. The book begins with Lyra and her daemon living at Jordan college. There they meet her uncle Arsiel and discover he is traveling north where witch clans and armored bears rule, to do research on Dust. Lyra's best friend, Roger, is kidnapped by the Gobblers along with several other children. Lyra is determined to rescue him and goes away with a lady named Mrs. Coulter in hopes of traveling north and saving Roger. Before Lyra left the college a professor gave her the golden compass and made her promise to never let anyone know she is in possession of it. The compass has the power to tell the truth and give you the answer to any question you ask it. Once Lyra is in the home of Mrs. Coulter she discovers that Mrs. Coulter is behind all the kidnappings of children and runs away. Lyra joins a family of gyptians and forms a plan to go north, hire an armored bear for protection, save the children and once in for all discover what Dust is. The two sequels to this book are: The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spy Glass.

The Bell Jar, by Silvia Plath

In this story/memoir, Silvia Plath tells a story of a young woman starting out ahead in life and soon finds herself going mad. As a young writer in New York, her stay gradually starts to get worse as she slowly starts to get more and more depressed. She is young, attractive and smart but soon has a breakdown and attempts suicide. As she fails at her many attempts, she is soon placed into a mental hospital for immediate care. This opens her eyes and she finally sees what she has become.
Plath's book is written in a very unsophisticated style. While reading about the life of Esther Greenwood, it is like you are the little voice in the back of her mind. You sympathize for Esther as she goes through a rough state of depression. While reading, I wanted to jump in and let her know she had a lot going for her and suicide should be out of the question.
After reading this book, I saw it as a stepping stone that, although may be hard to believe many have to leap over. Any person can lead a normal, healthy successful life, but it can suddenly take a sharp turn in a world that is unimaginable to me. What made it more accomplishing was Plath's choice to write about the uncommon mind of a suicidal woman getting through a life alternating situation who had trouble asking for help. This was a fast, easy, enjoyable book and I would recommend it to anyone willing to take the time to sit down and read.

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, by Lorna Landvik

I finished this book last month and have reread it twice since. It quickly made it's way to my "Top 5 Fave Books of All Time" list. This novel intertwines the lives of five women, uniquely different in their own ways. These women are held together through laughter, desserts, strong coffee (and even stronger alcolholic beverages), and a book club they affectionately named "Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons." There's Faith, a mother of twins, who hopes the secret of her past won't make a reappearance; brazen Audrey, "resident sex-queen" who believes anything is possible with the right outfit and attitude; Merit, the shy, perfect homemaker living through the demands of her abusive husband; Kari, the matriarchial type in the group who believes the best gifts appear after the worst of times; and finally, Slip, the tiny woman with a "spitfire" attitude and courageous soul. Their book club, also known as AHEB, is the lifeline for these women during the trials and tribulations of their adult lives. The book is set in a suburban neighborhood, much like those we live in today, ranging from the 1960s to the 1990s. Landvik fills this novel with humor, sarcasm, real-life romance (and by that I mean the idea of romance we as teenagers can relate to), and heartfelt memories from the lives of women throughout the past four decades. Through these five women, Landvik creates a story of timeless energy and ideals. I have to say, my favorite part of the story is when the five women decide to try marijuana for the first time. I don't think I've ever laughed as hard as I did when I read those precious pages of truth and first-time experiences. Landvik represents women of all times through these five women. I honestly don't think this book could have possibly been written any better. This is a must-read for all women because it's filled with female strength and empowerment.

Frontline of Discovery: Science of the Brink of Tomorrow

This is another great publication from National Geographic. As the title says, this book is about major breakthroughs in recent technology. I should start off by telling you NOT to read this book unless you're into stuff like how composite materials are constructed, different kinds of cancer, REM sleep....I read this more for the medical part, which it deviates from after the first few chapters. I love the medical field, and I hate fiction, so I wanted to read something that was easy enough to understand but still had pleanty of good information. This was also at a used booksale for 50 cents, and anything under a buck can't be beat. This book loses some credibility too, because it's about 10 years old. Some of the medical devices it talks about are a little out dated, but not by much.

Notice how I said that "I" hate fiction. Now by no means am I trying to down fictional literature, it's just that I don't believe in spending so much time getting to know fake people in a made up story. Which is kind of ironic, because I love film. I was talking to Patricia awhile ago about this, and she said something along the lines of "There are somethings that can only be taught through reading about the experiences of others, rather than facts." I agree with that to an extent. If you wanted to know more about mountain climbing for instance, you'd probably do best reading a Jon Krakauer book. Remember that name? You should. We read one one his books in 10th grade. I should also mention that he is a NONFICTION writer, which is exactly the point I am trying to make. Anything you can learn from a fiction book, you can probably learn the same thing from a nonfiction book.

The only fiction books that really stick out to me at all are the ones that are either (a) notorious for having some kind of extreme content, or (b) have made a huge social impact. That's why I always like hearing Ms. Fletcher talk about her stash of "banned books". Those are the ones I find appealing.

But hey, that's just me.

Teacher Man, by Frank McCourt

I believe this book is one that all teachers can find a way to relate to. Like McCourt's other books it's a memoir of a part of his life. It starts off with the beginning of his teaching career at McKee Vocational and Technical High School in New York City. He talked about how difficult it was to connect with students in his class due to their lack of interest, and how easy it was for first-year teacher to lose their jobs. McCourt was able to find a way to talk about another part of his life through another story. What I mean is he informed readers about his experiences through dialogues. From his classroom he talked about his experiences working on the docks, in high school and college classrooms, the education he received and how you took whatever work you could to earn a living. He talked about his college classes and exams he took in order to get his teaching credentials, but overall this book told the story of how his thirty-years of teaching helped him become a great writer. I thought this book was interesting, but at times I did get bored. This book showed difficulties many people face when striving to become a teacher, and how many difficulties teachers face everyday with their students. It was interesting to see everything in the classroom from the teacher's perspective, and it helped me gain a different respect for teachers. Now I realize how difficult it is for them to stand in front of hundreds of kids every day, and how every year they start from the same place. You don't realize how much time and effort teachers put into their jobs, or how much bravery and patience it takes to try and get their students involved in the classroom. My favorite part the book was advice he had given to a substitute teacher, and that was to find what you love and do it. I enjoyed reading this book and I would definitely recommend it to people interested in becoming a teacher and anyone that enjoys reading memoirs.

The Man in My Basement by Walter Mosley

The Man in My Basement is a mysterious and weird novel set in Sag Harbor, New York. The main character is Charles Blakley, a young black man who lives by himself in a huge house that he inherited from his mother. Charles has no job, and barely any money, so he relies on family and friends to pay his mortgage. He has tried countless numbers of times to get a job, but his last employer has black listed his name in the city, so it is basically impossible for Charles to get a job. So when a middle aged man by the name of Anniston Bennet offered to rent out Charles basement, the possibility of receiving money sounded good to Charles. But when Mr. Bennet finally revealed to Charles what he wanted to do in his basement, Charles starts to wonder if renting out his basement to this stranger was a good idea.
I'm half way into the book and so far I like it. The beginning starts out slow. I feel that the author was taking too much time to set the scene for the book. You have to wait until part 2 for Mr. Bennet to actually move into Charles basement. Besides that the story is great, Walter Mosley’s characters are raw and honest which really adds to the story. The story gets better and deeper way into the book. The way this book is written you can see it eventually being turned into a full feature film. The characters are intriguing and the plot is mysterious and thought-provoking. This is a great book and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a different type of story than what they are used to.

Killing Britney, by Sean Olin

I am almost done with this mystery, but so far, I have had trouble putting it down. It is extremely interesting and has definitely caught my attention.
Britney Johnson is the main character of the novel. At the beginning of her high school career, she was a total "freak and geek" kind of person. But after her mother's death, she somehow transformed herself to becoming one of the most popular girls in school, otherwise known as "the hockey wives", since her and her four friends all date popular athletes of the hockey team. Though she now lives a life of reputation and fame, her world changes when tragedy strikes everything she touches. First, it was her mother, who died by drowning on a family rafting trip a few years ago. Now, death is haunting her again. Ricky, her super-star, hockey-playing boyfriend, is killed in a hit and run. Then, a Johnson family friend is murdered. Next, her best friend Melissa's life is taken away. Britney begins to feel that she is responsible for the deaths of all of her friends, realizing that all their deaths are related and that she is going to be next. But who would be so jealous of her fabulous life that they would want to take her life?
I am very eager to see how the book ends. Having read more than half of this book, I am left with three possible suspects of who I think the killer is. My first guess is Bobby Plumley, the ex-friend of Britney who is absolutely in love with her, and infuriated with her new popularity. Then there's Mr. Ed Johnson, Britney's father, whose shotgun was found in the closest of one of the victims, which can easily connect him. Lastly is Adam Saft, Mr. Johnson's friend's child. Ed took him in a little while ago, and ever since he has arrived, tragedy has struck.
This book is extremely interesting. I would definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy a mystery. :]

Human Life Calculator

Here is the link to the Human Life Calculator.

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

This story starts off with one of the two main characters his name is Inman (Played by Jude Law) he has been shot during a battle in the Civil War. He decides to flee the war in the very first chapter knowing that there will be men out there hunting him down. Inman travels all the way towards Cold Mountain to live with the women that he loves, Ada (played by Nicole Kidman) whom he hadn't seen since he last kissed her before the war. In the mean time Ada has been learning how to live the hard way ever since her father's death. With the help of Ruby (Rene Zellweger), who was sent to Ada by a friendly neighbor, Ada learns how to look after the land. Iman meets many people on his way back to Cold Mountain like a corrupt preacher, a goat lady, a widow of the war, and bounty hunters. What I liked most about the book was the way that Charles Frazier writes it. Although there was times when I was extremely frustrated I still feel that the book was written beautifully. What I really liked was that after every chapter it was like I was starting a new book all over again because the book switches between the stories of Ada and Inman every other chapter making the reader feel as if they are starting new. At the end of every chapter I was kind of annoyed with the switches because I got so into the story of Ada or the story of Inman and I didn't want to see what the other half was up to, but after a page into the new chapter I was very interested with the other half. I reccomend this book to all readers because it's full of excitement that everyone will like as well as a touch of romance due to the whole reason as to why Inman goes to Cold Mountain in the first place.

Dear G- Spot by: Zane

Well, i want to first begin by letting everyone know that I know that Zane can be very sexual and "different", but i would like to state that this book was a little different from her others.
Dear G-Spot was meant to inhform the reader, the book was full of emails that her fans have sent to Zane. the emails were filled with the questions of their deepest thoughts, on many occasion the spouse or lover in question may not have known that the person had even contacted Zane. There were questions from sex education to the act itself. Zane answered the questions to the best of ability, she gave advice to those in question, despair, desperation, and anything else you can possibly think of. I would recommned this book to anyone of age, meaning, anyone in high school or in higher education. I recommend it to the mature ones who can very much handle what this educated woman is trying to say. I found Dear G-Spot to be very appealing and interesting, maybe you will too.

Three Weeks with My Brother, by Nicholas and Micah Sparks

This book is very interesting! It isn't a romance like other Nicholas Sparks novels, it is a memoir of his life. The book is written in a fashion that jumps back and forth from this trip around the world he took with his brother and stories from his childhood all the way up to his present life. I was amazed to read some of these tales he shares of his life. His life is definitely worth reading about. Some events that he wrote about are similar to books that he has written. It is interesting to hear about the real story and how it gave him the idea to write a book about that event. I found myself frequently laughing while reading this book, and sometimes wanting to cry. After a while I got kind of bored reading about all of the places they went on their three week trip but it was still interesting, I just couldn't wait for him to start telling about his childhood again. It is one of those books that make you feel refreshed after reading, like you figured out where a piece of the puzzle to life fits. Reading about these two brothers being there for each other and being able to reminisce about all of these stages in their lives made me wish I had a sibling. It is a great book for a leisure read. :)

Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov

I am reading Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. This novel is very controversial because it deals with child sexuality. It is not necessarily pornography, but it is one of those so-called “dirty books.” These days, the title “Lolita” is used to describe seductive young girls, but “Lolita” is actually a nickname for Dolores Haze, one of the main characters. This is a hard book because the author utilizes figures of speech a lot. I am not sure if I understand the story. Here is what I have read so far.
This novel is narrated by Humbert. Humbert is born in Paris. He later moves to the United States. There, he rents a room from a widow named Charlotte Haze. He is attracted to her twelve-year-old daughter, Dolores Haze. (Humbert is obsessed with young girls and he refers to those attractive young girls as “nymphets.” I assume that the word “nymphet” is derived from “nymphomania” or “nympholepsy.”) Dolores reminds Humbert of Annabel, the love of his life. (Annabel dies of typhus and Humbert lives very miserable life until he meets Dolores.) Charlotte, Dolores’ mother is interested in Humbert, but he is interested in Dolores. Charlotte asks Humbert to marry her and Humbert agrees to marry her on purpose to make Dolores his stepdaughter. Somehow Charlotte finds out about Humbert’s plan and decides to leave him…
I was really looking forward to reading this novel because of its controversial subject, but this novel was nothing like I imagined it would be. I like how the narrator tells the story. It is like reading someone’s diary. Some parts are hard to understand, but this novel is very interesting.

This novel is not suitable for underage…

Blocked at MHS/Watch at home: a Vision of Students Today