Starting ANOTHER Series

I started the book, The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau which is the first book in the City of Ember book series. In the book the City of Ember they used to have a unlimited supply of everything but they recently have been running out of items. One of those items is light bulbs so the blackouts are becoming more common and the lights for bed go out at 9:00. In this world a kid goes to school until they are 12 and then they are assigned a job. Lina Mayfleet wants the job of messenger but instead gets the job of Pipeworks worker. Doon Harrow gets job of messenger but wants Pipeworks worker- so they switch.
Since I just started the book I am not very far in and so far I don't know if I like the book. It is moving really slowly and so far not much as happened since around the first chapter when Lina and Doon switch jobs. I don't know if this world is in the past or the future because they don't have trees or grass or the technology we have now but it doesn't seem like it was in the past because it is a different world. I haven't read much but will definitely finish it.

Halfway Through

 I am halfway through the book The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman and so far it's great. I was so excited to return to Lyra because she is a character that I really connect to. So far in I really like the way that the two worlds, the regular world that we live in and the new world that Lyra and Will both discovered. Will is a boy from our world that discovers the world that Lyra entered through the bridge her father built, but Will discovers it through a sort of window in the air that is mostly invisible. Lyra and Will feed off each other well and I can see them becoming close in the future of the book. I also really like the reactions of the characters off other characters from the different worlds. For example, when Lyra first met Will she assumed that his daemon was inside him after discovering he did not have a daemon. The children from the new world also reacted well towards Lyra and Will after discovering they were also from different worlds. I really liked that because the children from the new world are not big characters at all but Phillip Pullman still makes them have a reaction and fills them out as if they were big characters even though they aren't. So far I really like this book and can't wait to finish it and then read the next one!

Haunting

I just finished the book Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. This book is incredibly haunting and was unlike anything I had ever read before. The book was about a teenage girl, Lia, and her descent into anorexia. Throughout the book Lia hallucinates that her childhood friend Cassie is visiting her, even though at the start of the book Cassie is found dead.
I have never read anything like this book before. The way that Lia was becoming anorexic and wanting to be so skinny she could disappear was frightening. At night Lia would see Cassie and wake up "breathing dirt and clay" but it would just be the sheet pressed over her face. I always thought that anorexia was more emotionally and physically clear, like "If I am skinny I am pretty" and "Skinny is beautiful" but it wasn't. Lia's mind became seriously disturbed and the way she saw everything was unreal. In TV shows that I have seen sometimes the anorexia is mostly only body and striving to be better but seems unrealistic. The girls in the shows just don't eat but none of the emotional and haunting things I found in Wintergirls is there. I really liked this book and thought it was good and opened my eyes to help me see how real and scary anorexia and other eating disorders really are.

Great Start

I just finished the first book in the His Dark Materials series (the Golden Compass series) which is The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman and I really liked it. The book is about Lyra Belacque and her journey with gyptians, politicians, scholars and many more. In the book every human has a daemon, an shape shifting (though it chooses one form when you become an adult) animal who is with you at all times, that you cannot part, that is connected to you and is your soul.
I thought the book was amazing. Since Lyra is my age (only a little younger) it was easy to connect to her and her journey. The book was  fast paced which I liked but it didn't feel rushed. I really liked the concept of worlds in the book as well. Lyra was living in our world but since all humans had daemons it was not  really our world. I think that made the book easy to connect to as well because it was different but the same. I also  thought that the book brought some really great connections to the real world. The Gobblers snatched children and "cut" a child and their daemon apart. In the real world rebel leaders take kids away from their families and make them child soldiers, or in the girls cases make them into sex slaves. I thought the book was great and connected really well to the real world

BEST. BOOK. EVER.

I just finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and it was the BEST BOOK EVER. The book is about Charlie in high school and his life with his new friends that he makes, Sam and Patrick along with others. The whole book is written through letters to an anonymous "friend" from Charlie as he observes the world he lives in. The book is very hard to explain because it is so good and reading it is an experience and I think it is probably a different experience for every person. I could not put this book down and read it in 3 days. Throughout the book you become very attached to Charlie and hurt when he hurts, feels infinite when he does, and wants to hug him when he cries. Charlie is such an emotional person so I could really connect to his innocence and thought that the writing overall was amazing. Charlies letters are so intimate and don't leave things out like some books  written in letter form. Totally, I love love love this book and highly recommend it to kids in our grade.

Not So Great

I just finished the book Marked by P.C. and Kristen Cast, which is the first in the House of Night series. Zooey is "marked" by the Tracker to become a fledgling vampyre. Once she is marked she goes to the House of Night, where she learns lessons related to vampyres and all of the classes are at night. Once a fledgling is "marked" they get a mark on their forehead, which is filled in with color once they go through the "change." The "change" is the process that a fledgling goes through to become an adult vampyre, and then their mark expands. However, Zooey is different and her mark is colored in already and she is a special fledgling from the start.
I really felt like I have read this kind of book before. The ideas are good but all books are about how the main character is special and meant for something more, and vampires are written about a lot in much the same way. This was the kind of book that I liked well enough and is fun to read but is clearly not great quality writing or anything like that. However, it was a fun read so if you are looking for something light to read over the summer by the pool, this could be the book for you.

Just the Beginning

         I just started the book Snobs by Julian Fellowes, who also created the show Downton Abbey. The book is hard and it is not action or anything like that so there is not a lot going on in the book. There is a story, told by the main character who is an actor, and his friendship with Edith Lavery. Edith is dating Charles the Earl of Broughton who she recently got engaged to. Although there is the story, a lot of the book is about English ways and manners. A lot of it is focused on how people want very badly to be high in society and how they climb the social ladder to get there. I am not very far into the book but I think that Edith will maybe realize that there isn't a very strong connection between here and Charles but she wants to be high in society just like everyone else.
         One thing that I think is strange is that considering what life was like back then compared to now, there is a big difference. Nowadays, when people get married its because they are in love (most of the time.) Back then people got married because it was the thing to do, to gain money, to be higher up in society. When you think about it, there are some people like that now too, but you don't see it very often. I find this a very interesting difference. I think that it changed because of the technology and differences in society.

Blast From the Past

!WARNING!
IF YOU HAVE NOT READ HARRY POTTER THIS HAS A SPOILER
     I am re-reading Harry Potter and The Sorcerers Stone which is number 1 in the series. If you have not read the series, it is about a boy named Harry Potter who discovers his destiny Harrys parents died when he young by the evil wizard Voldemort, who tried to kill Harry as well but miraculously survived and now everyone in the wizarding world knows about Harry. Harry thought he was just a normal boy but finds out that he is a wizard part of a magical, wonderful world. Harry goes to the wizard school Hogwarts where he learns the game of Quidditch but that he must study hard to succeed.
     I love the Harry Potter series and read them a while ago but had nothing to read so I decided to re read the first one. I didn't realize how good the writing is. J.K. Rowling really describes what is happening really well, so that you feel like you are there adventuring with Hermione, Ron, and Harry. I can connect to the writing with the lessons that we learn in ELA. I also can connect because although Harry is a wizard he is my age in the first book so you can connect to what he is feeling. Altogether I love the series, Harry Potter, and recommend the book to kids of all ages!

Finished!

I finished my last summer reading book, "From Baghdad, With Love." The book is about Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman (who wrote the book with Melinda Roth) and his time in the most recent war in Iraq. In 2004 Jay finds a little puppy who they name Lava, after the Lava Dogs, (a group of US Marine Corps.) Slowly Jay falls in love with Lava and begins on a mission to rescue the dog. The mission lasts until 2005 when the book ends. I really enjoyed the book because I love animals and this is a really heartwarming story but is also non-fiction which is not what I am used to and like. The book was also insanely sad when the authors described what general life was like in Iraq. It really showed me how terrible the war really was which is something you always say you understand but really don't. This book brought me closer to understanding how sad and devastating the war is. The end of the book was also really rewarding and I altogether loved the story. I strongly recommend this book if you like non-fiction, especially when it has a stronger story and plot line.