The Giver

This book is about a very interesting boy named Jonas. In Jonas's community, there are no feelings, no hunger, no inequalities, and no pain. Everything is created to be equal. Every family unit is uniform and ordered according to the community leaders. Each member of the community is given their profession when they turn twelve. Jonas is selected to become the receiver of memory. As he trains with the Giver, he realizes the truth of the community he lives in. The people of the community do not get to feel love, true happiness, or any of the god qualities of life. On the other hand, they do not feel any of the negative aspects either. They live in a colorless society. Those who do not live up to the standards of this Utopian society are quickly "released". Jonas later finds out that this release process is equivalent to that of death. He decides that it is up to him to return what has been taken from the members of the community. With the help of the Giver, Jonas escapes from the community which will result in the release of all memories to the community. I liked this book because it expressed the true feelings of people. I used the techniques of visualization and determining the importance. This book was written by Lois Lowry.

'The Gold Cadillac

One day as Lois and her sister Wilma are playing outside, they see their father driving an all gold Cadillac. Such a car was considered for only rich people and they were filled with excitement as he drove into the driveway. When their father opened the door he shouted, " Go get your mother and I will tell you all about it"
Lois and her sister couldn’t have run faster, they went into the house and through the kitchen where their mother was. When they told her about the new car she had an astonished look on her face and refused to come out. Lois and Wilma were really surprised why their mom wouldn’t come to see the car, but they were too eager to see it for themselves that they ran outside without anymore questions.
The whole block came outside to see the car, and standing next to it looking very proud was their dad. Immediately Lois and Wilma went for a ride, the car had such a smooth ride and great look. Finally when they returned home, their mom was standing outside with an angry look on her face.
"What is wrong" said our father " It’s brand new"
"What was the problem with our old car, it was working fine." said our mother
"We both agreed that the money would be used to buy a home in a better neighborhood she said.
She then went inside the house looking angrier than before. My father had puzzled look on his face but went inside to talk to his wife. Lois was very confused and couldn’t understand why their mother did not enjoy the car as much as they did.
The next day all the uncle’s and aunts came and visited them. When they saw the Cadillac and heard that mother would not ride in it, they were all shocked. Father did not seem that happy anymore about his new car and decided to take it down south to visit his parents. The whole family was shocked to hear him say that, they all new that when the white people down south see a colored person driving an expensive car, he will end up in big trouble. They all tried too talk him out of it but he already had his mind sat. It was his car and he felt he could drive it wherever he pleased. Mama decided that she had no choice but accompany her husband, even if it means driving in the new Cadillac. On there way down there, they got stopped by the police twice and were accused of stealing the car. When they finally made it to their grandparents house, their father decided it was best to sell the car, get the mercury back, and save up for a new house. With this decision, everybody was happy, and even though Lois missed the Cadillac, now they can be a closer family

Looser

The main character is Donald Zinkoff. He prefers to be called Zinkoff. Zinkoff starts out as a little 6 year old, starting his first year of grade school. He tries the best he can. Zinkoff even walks to school all by himself; a hour before school even starts. He loves school so much. Zinkoff raises his hand at every question, even though he knows he is going to get it wrong. His first grade teacher doesn't see anything wrong in Zinkoff. Although he is a bit unusual. He laughs at silly word, such as Jabip, of course every young kid would, except Zinkoff doesn't stop laughing. All the kids at school knows him as the boy who laughs a lot.Ask he grows older, he acts different then the rest of the kids. He doesn't seem to notice that he still acts like a 6 year old, but the other kids do. They tease him a lot and whisper behind his back. But still, Zinkoff takes no notice, he actually thinks its fun! School gets harder for Zinkoff. The kids are mean, and so are the teachers. The teachers aren't as nice to him as his kindergarten teacher was, Zinkoff wonders why. When field day comes along, Zinkoff doesn't do as well as the other kids on his team, causing his team to lose. They start calling him a loser and telling him he's slow. He friend Andrew (who he met when he was younger) moves away. But when Zinkoff is in 6th grade he meets up with Andrew again, but Andrew doesn't want to be friends. Zinkoff face the same problems again, like bullying and being called names.Zinkoff wants to change all this by helping to find a lost girl. He spend more than 5 hours looking for her out in the freezing cold. He is terribly cold, but he keeps going. A snow plow-er finally finds him and brings him home. As it turns out, the little girl was found a little while after she was lost and all the searchers that were looking for the little girl, were looking for him.Zinkoff is six in the beginig of the book. He is a happy go-lucky kid. He enjoys school very much. He loves his kindergarten teacher and the kids there. As he gets older during the book he acts the same as a six year old. He is oblivious to the teasing the other kids give him. When he is around 8 or 9 he finally realizes that he is a loser. But in the end, Zinkoff over comes all the teasing as kids start to accept him as who he is.I loved this book because it made you feel sad at times, but happy at others. The author described the way Zinkoff was feeling throughout the book. He explained what Zinkoff was thinking. I love details and descriptions so I loved this book. Although it was not my favorite book, I loved the way Jerry Spinelli wrote it.The strategy I used was visualizing. I use this strategy because it lets you picture the plot and story the way you want it to look like. I love to visualize the way the character look and the scenery looks.

Where the Red Fern Grows.

In Where the Red Fern Grows, Billy, the main character grew up in the Ozark Mountains on a little farm with his parents and three younger sisters. What Billy wants most in this world is a pair of coonhound dogs. He asks his parents for a pair of hunting hounds, but since the family is poor, all his father can offer him is a farm Collie from next door's Farm. Billy than becomes sick because he wants the dogs so bad. Then he decides to earn the dogs himself after finding a magazine with a section that advertised dogs for sale. The magazine was left behind by fisherman. On the bank where they fish, Billy makes a prayer to got to help him get his dogs. Billy does odd jobs and sells food and bait to the fishermen to earn money. After two years, he earns enough, and his grandfather orders the dogs. After traveling all the way to Tahlequah, Billy manages to get his pups and names them Old Dan and Little Ann after the two names he saw carved in a nearby tree.When hunting season comes, Billy is very excited and immediately starts out. His dogs rustle up a "coon", or raccoon and manage to chase it up the tallest tree in the forest, a sycamore. He knows that if he doesn't get the coon out of the tree his dogs won't trust him any more. He sets to work chopping down the tree. After a couple of days, the tree still hasn't fallen, and he is ready to give up. Billy then prays to God to help him bring down the tree. After this prayer, a strange wind blows the tree down without even rustling the branches of other nearby trees. His dogs get the raccoon and Billy decides that the wind was an act of God.
Billy goes out hunting almost every night. That winter, the price of coon skins is high due to a surge in popularity of their fur in the use of coats. He brings the skins to his Grandfather's store to be sold. Together, he and Old Dan and Little Ann perform some amazing feats hunting coons in the Ozarks and earn local fame. Then Grandpa enters Billy into a championship raccoon hunt, pitting Billy against grown men and the finest hounds in all the country. When they go hunting the first time, the pair of hounds tree three coons, qualifying them for the final round. During the final round, the pair tree one coon before a blizzard comes up. Billy, his father, Grandpa, and the judge lose track of the dogs. Finally, after half the night, they find them circling a tree in a hurry. Billy's father chops down the tree and three coons come running out. The dogs dispatch two of them, but the third gets away. They need one more coon to win the championship, but since the blizzard is still going on Billy does not want his dogs to chase the coon for fear of them freezing. However, against his wishes, the dogs chase the coon. Billy and the rest of the company wait out the blizzard . In the morning, the hunters discover the two dogs covered with ice unceasingly running around a tree. All the hunters help Billy melt the ice off his dogs. Then they watch as the trio take care of the last coon. Billy, Old Dan, and Little Ann win the hunt and receive the championship gold cup as well as a jackpot. With the money that Billy's hounds have earned, his parents have saved up enough for Billy's family to move to Tulsa, Oklahoma. This has been his mother's dream for a long time, since she wants the children to have a proper edjucation . He takes his hounds out one evening and encounters a mountain lion , which the hounds fight to protect Billy. Billy helps them by swinging his axe at the cat. Old Dan receives a gash across the stomach among other wounds. Old Dan dies from the severe injuries and loss of blood at their home. With her companion gone, Little Ann loses her will to live and she dies lying by his grave. Billy visits their grave one last time before he is about to go. When he sees the grave a sacred red fern grows over both their graves. It was said that only an angel could plant the seed of a red fern. The whole family is in awe of this rare and unique plant, and they carry the memory of the red fern with them to town. Billy never returns to the Ozarks but in his memories, he will always be with his dogs.

The Catcher in the Rye

Holden Caulfield, the main character in my book , had no idea where his life was going. After getting kicked out of Pencey, a boys prep school, Holden decides it is time to go back to the city where he had once grew up. Being that Pencey is the Fifth school Holden has been kicked out of, he chose he will wait until Wednesday to tell his parents about the news. In the city, Holden is able to see life for what it really is. While analyzing the city raging about him, Holden's attention is captured by a child walking in the street "singing and humming." Realizing that the child is singing the familiar tune, "If a body meet a body, comin' through the rye," Holden then says that he feels "not so depressed.". During the 24 hour time period in the city Holden realizes that his life so far has been full of phonies. He is able to see that all people of accomplished in this world is creating a better image of themselves, and refuses to live that way. Basically his sister Phoebe is who he cares about most, to him she is one of the few people who is able to see the real Holden inside him. Phoebe once questioned him regarding what he would like to do when he gets older, Holden replies, "Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around--nobody big, I mean--except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff--I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going. I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be." I really wonder what Holden means by this, but somehow I think it must guide him down the line in life.

The Orphan Of Ellis Island

Dominic Cantori has spent most of his life in foster care. When a guide asks Dominic's fifth-grade class to talk about their families during a field trip to Ellis Island, the boy is embarrassed because he has no heritage to discuss, and hides in a storage closet where he promptly falls asleep. Waking after the museum is closed, he panics until the prerecorded voice of one of the exhibits soothes him back to sleep. When he wakes again, he finds himself in Italy in 1908. He is befriended by three orphan brothers who are waiting for sponsors to pay their passage to America. Dominic becomes part of their adventures and gains a new sense of family. When one of the brothers dies tragically, Dominic accompanies the other two to America and discovers that the boys may actually be related to him in more than just spirit. It turns out that they are really are his anscestors and now Dominic knows where he came from.

Pink and Say

Fifteen-year-old Sheldon Curtis has been left for dead on a civil war battlefield somewhere in Georgia. He's got a bullet in his leg, but he's still alive. Pinkus Aylee, A black soldier, also about fifteen, who has been separated from his unit, comes across Sheldon and carries, coaxes and drags him home, where Pinkus' mother, Moe Moe Bay, nurses him back to health. During his stay with Pink and his mother, Sheldon, who is called Say for short, confesses that he was deserting when he was shot and Pink talks him into rejoining the war when he heals. Pink has no choice, because the war is about his freedom. Also during his recovery, Say is surprised to see that Pink can read. He cannot, but he tells Pink and Moe Moe Bay that he once shook hands with Abe Lincoln and in a brilliant piece of artwork, Ms. Polacco shows us the two African Americans touching the had that once touched the hand of Abe Lincoln. Say recovers, but just before they're about to leave to rejoin the war, Mauraders come. Moe Moe Bay hides the two boys in her root celler, telling them that they won't want anything to do with an old black woman, then she leads them away from the cabin. Sadly then kill her. After burying her, Pink and Say start out to find their units, but are captured by the Confederates. They are sent to Andersonville, a horrid prison built to house ten thousand, but which held thirty thousand. Pink and Say are separated after they're imprisoned and in a touching drawing Ms. Polacco shows us Pink touching the hand that touched the hand of Abe Lincoln one last time. When Sheldon is released several months later he weighs only 78 pounds. Pinkus was hanged and his body thrown into a lime pit. Sheldon lived to die an old man, as Moe Moe Bay said he would.

Romiette and Julio

Romiette is a high school student who has lived her entire life in Cincinnati. She is black and lives with her parents, who are both successful--her father as a news reporter on television and her mother as a store owner. Romiette has never had a real boyfriend, but then she meets Julio online one afternoon. Julio has just moved to Cincinnati from Texas, and he hates it, especially the cold weather, which he never had back home in Texas. His parents wanted to leave to get away from the gangs that were running rampant in Julio's school. Unfortunately, the gangs in Cincinnati are just as bad, especially the Devildogs, a black gang at Romiette and Julio's school. When Romi and Julio talk online enough to realize they are going to the same school, they decide to meet for lunch one day. The two of them really hit it off; there is a definite spark between them that makes them want to spend all of their free time together. The Devildog gang doesn't like it, though. They don't want one of the pretty black girls at their school associating with a Hispanic boy. They threaten Romi and Julio and try to make them stop seeing each other. Romi and Julio don't know what they can do, but then they come up with a plan to secretly videotape the threats and bring that tape to the news, to expose this gang. When they put the plan into action things go terribly wrong and soon they get taken hostage by the devil dogs and end up being thrown into a pit. Luckily though, they were found and the reason why they lived was because there bodies kept each other alive.

No one Here Get's Out Alive

My book describes the life of James Morrison, an amazing poet, singer and film director, who inspired and changed the music of today. Moving around from place to place, Jim as young child was always interested in books and literature. At an early age he was able to understand the work of some of the most famous poets in history. He later attended college at UCLA where he studied theater, film, and cinematography. During his stay at collage he broke off from his entire family and had little or no contact. This where the idea of starting a band came to him, and immediately he went and got a couple of people together who he thought were interested. Everyone thought he was crazy, they had no idea of his singing abilities and doubted him completely. Jim finally got together his new band, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, guitarist Robby Kreiger and of course vocalist Jim Morrison. They called themselves THE DOORS. Jim dropped out of college so he can dedicate more tome to his band. He used most of his poetry in his songs and immediately they became huge hits. The band was a regular performer at a night club in West Hollywood called "Whiskey a go go". Soon THE DOORS publicity spread and they started performing at concerts. Then when things couldn’t get any better, the Doors released there hit song "Light my Fire". This song made number one on the charts and everyone was listening to it. Jim then met a girl named Pamela Courson and right away fell in love with her. Then one day during a concert in Miami, Jim was incredibly drunk and was being accused of exposing himself on stage. He was then arrested and put on trial. The trial lasted for months and took away a lot of Jim’s ability to write songs and perform. Places wouldn’t even allow The Doors to put on a show because of what they thought happened in Miami. Finally after a seven month trial, Jim was found innocent. After all the aggravation and stress that went on during the trial, Jim and his girlfriend Pamela decided to go to Paris. This time finally gave jim a chance to write music and put out a new album with the rest of The Doors. Then Morrison’s life took a sudden turn as he started heavily drinking again. He wasn’t the same person and suddenly stopped writing music. Then one day, the rest of the band and there manager, Bill Siddons heard a rumor that Jim was dead. Occasionally a rumor on behalf of Jim’s death would spread and each time Jim would have to clarify it saying that he was alive. Bill didn’t know if it was true or not but felt it wasn’t likely. Then the fallowing day, Bill received a call from Jim’s girlfriend Pamela telling him to come to Paris right away. Bill didn’t know what to expect and got the first flight he could get to Paris. When he reached the apartment there was a sealed coffin and a certificate pronouncing Jim dead.
To this day it his a mystery how jim died. No autopsy was conducted and nobody except Pamela saw what happened that night. Bill Siddons knew nothing other then the call he received and the rest of the band was in total shock. Three years later Pamela died taking the secret to her grave. It is one mystery that no one will ever know.

Come As you Are(Story of Nirvana)

Kurt Cobain always had a unstoppable passion for music. Even as a little kid, art was his number one interest and could never go without his favorite Beatles and Led Zeppelin albums. When he was twelve and got his first real guitar, he taught himself how to play and in days could play difficult jams like "Stairway to Heaven".Since Kurt grew up in small town Aberdeen Washington, music wasn’t a big thing. Kurt had to look all over town to get albums and songs he wanted and finally wanted to hear the sound of punk rock. He would play on his guitar what he thought it sounded like punk rock. " A lot of screaming and heavy riffs" He thought. It turns out that he wasn’t far off. When he got his hands on a punk rock album, he like the sound of it. It took him a while to get used to the difference between them and the Beatles but he like the message punk rock gave. Kurt never fit in and never wanted to. He felt nobody had the same interests as him and he should be his own person and not act like everyone else all the time. The divorce of Kurt’s parents really took a tole on him and soon he was moving from one parent to the other. He started smoking pot and going to lots of parties. He tried starting a band several times but no one wanted to seem as devoted as he did. Finally at a party he discovered Chris Novoslic who later becomes the base player for Nirvana. Chris and Kurt decide to make a band and find a drummer. In the meantime, Kurt has some difficulties at home and is forced to move out onto the streets. He still made coming and setting up rehearsals for the new band his number one priority. He made sure every Saturday he had a gig or a party for his new band Nirvana to preform at. It was very hard for Kurt and Cris to find the ri
ght drummer for the band. Nirvana probably had six drummers before they later find David Grohl. Nirvana’s last drummer Chad quit the band and Kurt was on the lookout for a new drummer. They saw Dave preform at gig with a small time band Scream. Right away Nirvana’s manager and Kurt wanted Dave in the band. His hard hitting style matched what Kurt was looking for. Dave accepted the request to be in the band and said he saw Nirvana preformed several times and liked there image. Soon Nirvana recorder there hit album "Nevermind" which also include there hit song "Smells like Teen Spirit". The record was selling over 400,000 a week and was more of a success then planed. They toured a lot all over the U.S. and in the U.K. and earned a lot of fans every step of the way. Kurt later meets a women named Courtney Love. He immediately falls in love with Courtney and they decide to get married. Things were going great for the band until Kurt began doing Heroin. Kurt had these excruciating pains in his stomach that no doctor can cure. The pain got so bad at times that he would cry for days. It began making touring miserable not only for him but for the other members of the band. Heroin was a way to escape the pain and it soon became a daily habit. When Courtney gives birth to Frances Cobain, Vanity Fair published an article that changes everything for the image of the Cobain’s. It sates, that Courtney elegedly took heroin while she was pregnant. This false article opened up a battle for the Custody of there child Frances. As it turns out, child services also got involved and were determined not to let Kurt and Courtney have custody of there child. The Cobains lost visitation rights of there child until later on when they finally won a case to prove Courtney did not take drugs while pregnant. Nirvana later produced the album Utero. It was an album that the band really enjoyed making. Finally on April 8th 1994, Kurt was Found dead in the spare rooms of his Lake Washington home. The death caused a dramatic sorrow amongst Kurt’s Friends and Family especially Dave and Chris. The three shared a bond in music that will live on forever. Kurt’s music playing abilities will always be recognized at the highest extent. And in the end, the music will live on forever.

Holes

Stanley Yelnats is a boy who’s family didn’t always have good luck. Since his great great grandfather, his entire family had a curse on them which brought them lots of trouble. When the book starts out Stanley gets hit with a pair of shoes, little did he know they were Clyde Livingston shoes, a famous baseball player. Then when Stanley was on his way home, he was stopped by the police and arrested. Even though he was Innocent, when he went to trial he was found guilty and sentenced to Camp Green Lake. Camp Green Lake was a place that seemed like torture to Stanely. Each day he had to wake up extremely early and dig holes. Then when Stanely's besty friend Zero runs away into the desert, Stanley goes after him and ends up in big trouble. Without food nor water, him and Zero end up climing a mountain that looks like gods thumb. At the top they find water and onions to eat. As much of miracle this seems Stanely then relizes that the treasure that he was after is in one of the holes he once dug. Him and zerp find the hole, get the treasure and manage to shut down Camp Green Lake

Hatchet

Hatchet is the story of one boy's survival between nature and himself. Brian Robeson is 13 years old and trying to cope with his parents' recent divorce. Brian thinks he knows the reason behind his parents divorce, but holds it inside like his own internal punishment. He has seen what he wasn't supposed to see -- his mother and a strange man kissing. Shortly thereafter, his mother demanded a divorce from his father. When the story starts, Brian is on his way to visit his father in northern Canada Just prior to boarding a single-engine plane, Brian receives a present from his mother - a hatchet with a leather holder. He takes it from her after she insists that he wear it on his belt . He would never guess how important that hatchet would become to his survival. Then as Brian faces many challenges and hardships during his time in the wild, he realizes that he still has a chance to be saved. By going into the crashed plane and getting the survival pack from the cockpit, Brian then is able to get a transmitter to send out a signal so htat people can come and rescue him. In the end, Brian was saved and the knowledge he took back from this adventure will be with him forever.

Darkness Before Dawn

-----This book takes place with a girl named Keisha recovering from the death ofher ex-boyfriend Andy. Keisha has dealt with a lot of pain in her life and she was looking for someone who can compfort her and make her feel better. When her first year of being a senor began, she was greeted by a collage stufent named Jonathan Hathaway. Jonathan was the princibles son and was also a volunteer assistant teacher at the school, Keisha immediatly fell in love with him. Jonathan was a unlike any boy she has ever met, unlike the tippical high school guy, Jonathan was safisticated, charming, and romantic. He would take Keisha to the theater, museum and the mountains. Keisha's parents were concerned with her relationship with a guy that was about three years older than her, but they tried to make an exeption because this was the firts time in a while they saw there daughter realy happy. Than during the school dance Jonathan wanted to take Keisha out to dinner. He took her to his appartment where like always was his charming self. This time though, when she bagan to feel tired and worried to be at his appartment this late at night, he refused to take her home. After she was practicaly screaming at him, she ran to the door. He stopped her in her tracks and he cornered her to a wall. He held a nife to her head and threatened her to get in bed with him. With all her might she managed to the knife out of his hand and scratched him accross the face. She was able to leave the appertment, although her jacket and shoes were still left behind. Without anyone in site, she passsed out on the snow. Luckily someone found her and she alerted her parents. After the incident Keisha faced a time of depression but with help from her friends, she managed to be just fine. At the end of the year Keisha gave the speech at graduation, she knew she has succeded in the end.

-------Kiesha is a one of a kind girl, she smart and pretty but she is also very sensetive.In her life she has dealt with a lot of pain, but she has the determination to overcome whatever comes her way.

-------Jonathan Hathaway is no more than a self-centered jerk. He has no respect for anyone but himself and he has caused a lot of people a great deal of pain. He might not know how this will effect him now, but he will in the future.

--------I feel that this book was a great way to end this series. Even though each character at, at least one time has dealt with a alot of hurt and pain, they know to make the best of what they got and to never give up. The message that Keisha has left us with at the end of her speech was inspiring to not only the other characters in the book, but the reader as well.

--------In this book i used a lot of infrencing. The characters are like real people so i am able to make infrences based on what i hear in real life. I just knew there was something creepy about Jonathon Hathaway. The way he was intrested in such a young girl just wasn't right, plus the wasn't any other way of the book having a problem.

-------Sharon M. Draper is a great author who writes about social issues that go on in scociety today. She gives the reader a sence of reality for what troubles you may face as time goes on. Her characters come to life and by the second chapter, it seems like you know them personally

Forged by Fire

-------Gerald never had an easy childhood, when he was three his mom Monique, had a drug problem and often abused and didn't care for him. One day while Gerald was in the house alone, he was playing with one of his mom's lighters when the house suddenly caught fire. Helplessly, Garald was consumed by the smoke and flames and was brought to a nearby hospital. His mom was sentenced to jail and he was taken in by his aunt Queen. There he was brought up just the way every boy should, until his ninth birthday finally arrived. His mom who he hasn't seen in six years, just came out of jail and was coming to visit him. Gerald reluctantly decided to see his mom only to meet her new boyfriend Jordan, and his new sister Angel. Suddenly his mom asked him to live with them and he couldn't of said no sooner. He disliked his mom completely and her new boyfriend scared him to death. Then while Gerald was alone in the house with Angel and Aunt Queen, Aunt Queen had a heart attack and died. This obviously upset Gerald very much but to his surprise he was back to living with his mom, and this time a new father and sister. Gerald was proud of his mom for being able to give up drugs, but disliked the fact that Jordan often drank and hit Angel . Angel and Gerald were very close, Gerald was the only person Angel could talk to and he tried to protect her as much as possible. Soon Jordan's drinking got worse and worse and he started getting violent towards Gerald, Angel and even Monique. Then one day when Gerald was coming home from school he knew something did not seem right , all the blinds were down and it was pitch black. Frightened, he went to Angel's room and what he saw was not a pretty sight. Jordan was sexually abusing Angel. Over the next few days Gerald was really worried for Angel. He wanted to know what happened but Angel would not tell him, she knew Jordan would hurt him if she told him. Jordan id not stop sexually abusing Angel and Gerald wanted to tell someone about it. The next day at school he approached Mr. Washington while he was dropping off his son Robbie. Mr. Washington was always active with the school and came to every basketball game, to Gerald he was like the father he never had. Gerald decided to tell Mr.Washington about what Jordan was doing to Angel, he took Gerald and alerted the police. Gerald and Angel both testified against Jordan but Monique refused to believe the truth and was silent the entire time. Jordan was sentenced to prison for four years. Everything was going well for Gerald and Angel, they were finally having a life and were making new friends. Then one day after a basketball game, Gerald walked into the apartment only to find Jordan sitting right in front of him. Just as things were going fine, Jordan had to show up and Gerald was not happy about it at all. Monique was thrilled to have Jordan back, but Angel was not good at all. She screamed and vomited after seeing him standing in the house. Angel refused to live there and each day was a challenge for both of them. After Gerald told Mr. Washington, he suggested that him and Angel sleep at there house most of the time so Angel doesn't have to worry about Jordan. Gerald was surprised to see that Jordan had a decent job and not at all used violent behavior or drank extensively, he still remained suspicious though. A few day's after Jordan's arrival Monique was hit by a car. This frightened Angel and Gerald because if anything happened to her all they will have is Jordan. She was fine, but she said the doctor prescribed her some pills. Over the next few days Monique did not seem herself. She watched t.v all day long and was often dazed and confused. Gerald thinks that since Monique is hurt, it is just another way for her to start doing drugs again, which Gerald was not happy about so he flushed those pills down the toilet. Then it all started again, when Angel came home from school she was alone and was making hot dogs. Then before she knew it, Jordan was behind her and he was drunk. She tried to escape his grasp but she wasn't strong enough, and he brought her to her bedroom.
Then without realizing it, the cooking hot dogs started a fire and within minutes the whole house was catching fire. Jordan was to busy to realize anything. Gerald could see the smoke from the apartment window and rushed there as fast as he could. When he burst open the door he rushed to Angel's room where he found her laying unconscious. Jordan didn't see him come in and was caught off guard by Gerald's punch. Gerald ran to his sister as Jordan ran to the front door to try to escape. He picked her up and as he was making is way out of the apartment, all the smoke was covering the exit. He didn't know where to go and it was getting harder and harder to breath. Then as he was starting to drift from consciousness he tripped on something and landed at the front door. As he made it out, Monique was running towards them and was so relieved they were OK. Gerald And Angel were both fine but Jordan died in the fire, he was the one Gerald tripped on that led him top the front door. Hopefully this is the start of a new beginning
------------Gerald is brave and strong kid. He is extremely protective of his younger sister and is very caring and friendly. I give Gerald a lot of credit for being so optomistic and positive, his life has been full of bad times but he always looks at the good ones.
------------Angel is a very determained and sensitive girl. She's small and thin, but when she want's someything she'll make sure she get's it.
------------This book is my favorite of all the books in the series. It made me think how fortunate i am to live without having to worry like Gerald had to. I admired his care for his sister and friends.
------------In this book i used a lot of infrencing. The characters are like real people so i am able to make infrences based on what i hear in real life. When Jordan was released from prison i just knew he would harm Angel again, a man like that neve changes, sure enoough he did.
-------------Sharon M. Draper is a great author who writes about social issues that go on in scociety today. She gives the reader a sence of reality for what troubles you may face as time goes on. Her characters come to life and by the second chapter, it seems like you know them personally

Maus

--------Maus is a comic book that explains a dreadful time in history where six million Jews were killed, this book share's a Jewish man's life in the Holocaust. The begins with Arte Spiegelman asking his father about writing a book about his times in Poland during the Holocaust. Every day Arte learns more and more about his father, whether it was him in hiding or him making an escape from the Nazis, Arte was intrigued with what went on at those times. Finally he learned how his dad made it to America and was free from any communism.
---------Arte has always been concerned with his dad and has always been interested in writing. When his mother died he faced a time of depression but he felt it was necessary for him and the whole world to hear about his parents life in Poland during World War 2.
---------Valdek is a very determined and unselfish person. During the Holocaust, he was always optimistic about him being someday free no matter what the circumstances were. His family always comes first and it was his goal to make sure him and his wife survive this terrible time. He never took things for granted and everything special in life was his to treasure.
--------This book helped me see how the Holocaust effected people then and now. The book gave me a sense of thankfulness and pride that i am able to live in a country so wonderful and be fortunate enough to be free in expressing what i believe in.
--------Art Spiegelman used great illustration and detail to explain his father's story in the Holocaust. The comic book form used in this book was very interesting and set an image for the reader to see what time's back then were like.
-------In this book i used a lot of inferencing to help me understand and to help me realize plans that Valdek and others used to escape the Germans. In the book it mentioned Valdek going on a train to escape from Poland, i already knew that there was Germans waiting to put him in jail, sure enough when the train stopped officers began arresting any Jews located in the train.

Thirteen

My book Thirteen, is a Horror book filled with many stories that are frightening and exiting. Each story is written by a different author, Christopher Pike, R.L. Stine, A. Bates, D.E. Athkins, Lael Littke and Pat Windsor. They are just a few of the authors who contributed to this book.
One of the stories that a choose to wright about is "The Spell" written by R.L Stine.
It starts off with this girl Jennifer who hangs out with her five friends all the time. She is a nice girl, smart and has a sense of humor but what she doesn’t have is the ability to protect her and her friends for what is about to come upon them.
One nice day her and her friend s were outside when she noticed Chad getting picked on again by Marty. To her it was the same old thing, she new Chad’s a little weird and Marty is always teasing him for it. Although Chad never said anything or stood up for himself she knew it hurt him deeply yet she just stood there and watched and laughed like the others. Even though Chad was part of the group he had a different relationship towards everybody then they did, he was probably closest with Jennifer the most and she was aware of that. She always tried her best to make him feel like he fit in but she knew it was pointless, he had no self-esteem.
Time past and Chad began to hang out with them less and less. He began having an interest in Hypnosis which just gave them more of a chance to make fun of him, but he remained stuck in his attack reading old books that no one has read for the past century. I get the impression Jennifer felt bad for him but didn’t want to be the only one saying something about it so she remained silent.
Chad finally decided to hang out with them, they ate dinner at an Italian restaurant and everyone especially Chad was having a good time. It was just like old times until Chad pulled out his hypnosis watch and began trying to hypnotize them, like always Marty and them teased him, they did not feel a any bit different .Everyone except Marty went to Chad’s house that night, Marty couldn’t make it because of his knew job at the restaurant near where they live. Every time someone made a gesture that they were about to leave he made them stay by telling them a joke or giving them something more to eat, Jennifer new he was acting a bit strange. He kept them passed dark and had them take a walk, everyone didn’t mind and went along visit. Within the first several blocks Mark stopped and starred at Pete and Molly who were with them at the time. He then ordered them to walk right in the middle of the busy road standing before them on their left. To Jennifer’s surprise they walked into the middle of the road showing no emotion or hesitation. Jennifer was confused and speechless, she stood there calling out her friends name and begging them to come back. she was practically soaked with tears. Cars dodged and beeped at them as they swerved past there still bodies. Jennifer begged Chad to do something but he ignored her and was pleased by the way Molly and Pete did as they were told to do. Chad then ordered them to come back, both Molly and Pete seemed to not remember a thing.
Once they got back to the house Molly and Pete left leaving Jennifer and Chad alone. Chad then explained what happened just now, he said when they were at the restaurant he really did hypnotize them. He said he just ordered Pete and Molly to kill Marty tonight as he goes outside to take out the trash at his new job. Jennifer was speechless, how could someone she new almost all her life to such a horrible thing. Then Chad then asked her to come with him too watch Marty’s death. Out of fear she went with him, not knowing what might happen to her if she doesn’t. As she approached the ally of the restaurant she looked down only to find her good friend Marty in a puddle of blood. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing she ran home, tears fled down her face and just as she stepped into the doorway the phone began to ring. She hesitantly picked it up only to hear Chad’s voice. He whispered as he spoke his very last words to her, "your next". Is all she heard.
It just goes to show you, be carful who your friends are.

The Austere Academy ( Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 5)

The three Baudelaire orphans attend for the first time there new home, Prufrock Preparatory School. They can only hope that this place will be there home for a good amount of time. The school looked gloomy and sad with its tombstone shaped buildings, dull landscape and nobody in sight. Especially with the words "Memento Mori" over the school building in which Klaus the middle orphan interpreted to be "everyone dies". Still the orphans tried to remain optimistic and exited about finally getting the opportunity to go to school and get a proper education. The three children fallowed there social workers orders and went straight to Vice Principle Nero’s office. There first reaction was one that many would agree with, Vice principle Nero had very strict rules, unfair punishments and no tolerance for any kind of misbehaving. The three orphans didn’t know if they would have a pleasant time here after all. At lunch the three orphans were not at all greeted very well by there peers. The whole school practically chanted numerous remarks and the orphans were not welcome to sit at any table of their choosing. One girl named Carmelita Spats was particular the most obnoxious and continuously made fun of the orphans in every possible way she could think of. Finally right before the orphans were neck high in embarrassment and humiliation they were very relieved to hear the voices of two students sticking up for them. The Quagmire triplets allowed Klaus Sunny and Violet to sit with them. As the lunch period progressed they found that they had a lot in common. Like the Baudelaire orphans the Quagmire triplets also are orphans and have lost there brother and parents in a fire. They immediately were surprised to learn that they have the same interests and taste, the Baudelaire orphans finally made friends. Things were going pretty well until the Baudelaire orphans met their new gym teacher, Coach Genghis. Without any hesitation each child new it was Count Olaf in a disguise. The orphans tried to figure out what Olaf’s plan this time was to capture them but none of them could figure anything out. The Quagmire triplets tried to help as well but they had no experience in Count Olaf’s evil plans and they didn’t know where to start. One day at lunch the Baudelaire orphans were approached by Carmelita Spats. She seemed to be in a good mood as she told the orphans they were expected to go see Coach Genghis at the field right after school. The orphans were extremely worried for they did not know what will happen to them. That evening they showed up at the field and pretended they didn’t know that Coach Genghis was really Count Olaf. He surprisingly only made the orphans run lots and lots of laps around the field until they could not run no more, they were extremely exhausted. Coach Genghis made the orphans run every day, the children were extremely tired and could not pay attention in school any longer. Finally Vice Principle Nero found out about the orphans lack of effort towards there classes and wanted them to take a final exam that will determine if the orphans should be expelled from the school and sent to Coach Genghis for tutoring. Nero obviously didn’t know about the orphans running activity with Count Olaf so he didn’t know that was the reason why they were so tired. The Baudelaire siblings were extremely worried and turned to the Quagmire triplets for help. They now knew Olaf’s plan, if he got them expelled he could take the fortune away from them. The orphans had a plan to disguise the Quagmire triplets as themselves and have them run laps with Coach Genghis as Klaus and Violet study real hard so they don’t fail the exam and get expelled. They thought it was fool proof. Violet and Klaus studied very hard and were now by far ready to take the quiz, they just didn’t know how the Quagmire triplets are doing. Right as they began taking the Quiz Coach Genghis came in holding the Quagmire’s disguises. The Baudelaire’s were shocked to see there plan fail and did not know what kind of trouble there friends were in. After the Orphans finally convinced vice principle Nero that Coach Genghis is really Count Olaf he runs out of the building into a car parked on the corner of the field. Inside the Car are the Quagmire triplets screaming for help. The orphans try to run after them but it’s too late, they got away. Count Olaf once again has escaped and will probably be back again.

------------Klaus is known for his great interests in books and reading. Whenever the Baudelaire orphans were in trouble and needed to figure something out, Klaus would always remember something from what he had read to help them.

------------Violet is the oldest sibling the Baudelaire family. She is highly gifted when it comes to inventing things and is very clever. She is brave and eager and she will always try to help you if you are in need.

-------------This book i didn't really enjoy as much as the others. It was frustrating to see how stubborn the characters were, such as Principle Nero and the social worker because they paid no attention to the orphans what so ever.

--------------In this book, determining importance is a key strategy in helping you understand the book more. Lemony Snicket has a tendency to explain every little thing and i personally feel it is totally irrelevant from the story and is extremely annoying.

--------------Lemony Snicket is a very humorous and creative author who ads his personal experiences into the book. When you read one of his books you always know what a word means because he often explains it several times. I feel that when i read the book it feels like i am reading a dictionary and i end up skipping whatever he has to say.

Tears of a Tiger

Andy Jackson has it all, the looks, girls, and an amazing talent to play basketball. After his basketball team, the Tigers, have an easy defeat at an away game, Andy and his buddies, Robbie Washington, Tyrone and B.J. celebrate and start drinking. Before long they are so drunk they could hardly walk . Without thinking, Andy and the boys decide to drive back home. Within seconds on the road, Andy lost control of the car. The car began spinning out of control and finally came to a rest upside down. Andy managed to get out of the car with only a few minor injuries, but as he turned around he saw his best friend, Robbie, burned to death with the remains of the car. Luckily Tyrone and B.J. made it out safely, but Andy was still in shock from what he had just seen.Robbie’s death affected the whole school, after all, he was the captain of the Tigers basketball team, but Andy had the most trouble recovering from the accident. It was normal that a kid would feel horrible about being responsible for his best friends death, but Andy keeps on blaming himself for what had happened. He knew Rob for so long that they were like brothers, all the good times they shared are just kept reminding Andy about what he had done. He can’t stop feeling guilty and it kept getting harder and harder for Andy to deal with his feelings. He doesn’t have family that he can talk to and express his emotions. His dad is always at work and his mom doesn’t seem to care like she should, they both seem to not see how bad Andy is dealing with the stress and loss.
B.J. and Tyrone are really worried about Andy, they notice every day he is becoming more and more depressed. Andy has a hard time telling people about his feelings and can’t seem to get the courage to ask people for help. Andy isn’t the same and they want there old friend back. Over the next few days, Andy begins feeling worse and worse. He suddenly begins having dreams about Robbie in his sleep. In one of his dreams, Robbie asks Andy to die so he would not feel lonely in heaven. The dream really effect’s Andy and living life is a challenge for him every day.
One day after school Andy and his girlfriend Keisha get into a fight, Keisha was really important to Andy. She would make him feel better and was able to understand the pain he was feeling. Now he had no one, and his life is falling to pieces right before his own eyes. Andy couldn't’t take it any more. That evening he went upstairs to his bedroom and took a moment to realize that each day of his life was just getting worse. The pain was just building up inside him. As he held his fathers rifle in his hands, he made up his mind what he had to do. In an instant he pulled the trigger and ended his suffering.As the news of Andy’s suicide spread throughout the school, Andy was thought of totally differently. His talents were forgotten and all that he was remembered by was his death.
------------Andy is a very athletic and talented boy, but sometimes he has trouble expressing and dealing with his emotions. In the book he refused to except help from others and this is what led to his unfortunate suicide.
------------Keisha, in my opinion, is the only one who could understand what Andy was going through. She's sensitive, kind, and thoughtful and if Andy realized that sooner, his future could have been changed.
-----------When you read this book, you have a sense of reality for what goes on in the world today. I felt that when i read this book, i knew Andy and the Trouble he was facing. Unlike many books who deal with the issues that teenagers today face, this one particularly helped me see how Andy reacted with his problems towards others. How his parents, friends and girlfriend saw Andy was all different, but because each one had a different relationship with him, that the author made it noticeable for the reader to see.
-----------In this book having a mental image helped me understand and have a better concept of the book. Sharon M. Draper uses a lot of good details to describe senes such as the car accident that killed Andy. During this scene i was able to have a clear image of the car going up in flames with Andy sitting in the front seat.
-----------Sharon M. Draper is a great author who writes about social issues that go on in scociety today. She gives the reader a sence of reality for what troubles you may face as time goes on. Her characters come to life and by the second chapter, it seems like you know them personally