# data[].attributes.body
Many have listened to or read about stories consisting of creatures such as elves, goblins, wizards, and fairies as children. Many were passed down from story-teller to story-teller before being recorded in books. Some stories became more popular than others. Such as Cinderella, The Frog Prince, Hansel and Gretal, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstilskins, Sleeping Beauty, and last but not least Snow White. These stories have tested time and time again. Leaving a special place in children and adults alike with countless retellings being, well, retold. In recent years, many have taken these old stories and put a new spin on what a fairy tale is.

However, where did it all start? Where did these stories originate from? Look no further to The Brothers Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales. A six hundred and fifty paged book containing a compilation of original fairy tales collected and written by Jacob Grimm and Wilheim Grimm.

The two brothers were born in the town Hanau in Hesse-Cassel, now modern day German. In 1796, their father and mother passed away, leaving Jacob to take care of Wilheim and the rest of their siblings. After attending high school in Kassel, they followed their father's footsteps by studying law at the University of Marburg. There, he met the poet Clemens Brentano. Brentana had asked the boys to help him in his quest of finding folk songs and poetry. This was the beginning of their interest in homeland, heritage, and native German oral tradition.

However, their form of higher education didn’t last for long. they were unable to receive state aid and stipends. This led them to be faced with humiliations trying to scrape a solid education. Due to the entirety of the German Kingdom of Westphalia becoming under the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign, Jacob Grimm had to quit his quest for a higher education to come back home and support his family. Being recommended by the royal secretary, Jacob became the librarian of the new king’s royal library. Wilhelm later applied and got the job as librarians as well. Here, they were able to spend hours studying and searching for stories, poems, and songs. It was here where they decided to collect fairy tales and share them with the world. And in 1812, that dream came true with the release of The Grimm Brothers Complete Fairy Tales.

The Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales was a huge success. Not only becoming popular, but influencing countless people across the world to create their own fairy tales. These stories have survived time itself. However, what has made the Grimm Brothers Complete Fairy Tale so well looked upon?

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Grimm Brothers Fairy Tale, the  Grimm Brothers Complete Fairy Tale is a compilation of multiple stories regarding magic, old kingdoms, and fantastical creatures. However, I think many don’t realize the original stories, in comparison to the Disney retellings of these fairy tales are very different. While many of Disney's retellings have character development, structures, and happy endings. The original stories themselves are a lot more quirky, odd, and much more darker than what recent retellings such as Disney. Many involve the main characters that are hard to relate to. Not to mention, many of their actions are odd and hard to justify their actions. Rarely do they reach a happy ending and when they do reach a happy ending, it isn’t without a little morbidity strewn throughout the story.

In order to showcase the oddities and dark nature of these stories, I’ll be analyzing two stories in depth. Since there are over a hundred of stories in the Grimm Brothers Complete Fairy Tale, it would be impossible to describe each and every one. Only onestories stood out to me the most: Fowler’s Fowl.

Fowler’s Fowl stood out to me the most because of its absolute absurdity. It was so dark that it left such a lasting impression. The Fowler’s Fowl is about a wizard who takes the form of a poor man. He would beg from house to house in order to kidnap pretty girls.

The story begins with the wizard appearing at the door of a man who had three pretty daughters. During this encounter, the wizard had taken the appearance of a beggar who carries a basket on his back. In “need” of food, the eldest sister gives him a piece of bread. Now, here is where it gets strange (as if it wasn’t strange enough): the man just simply touches the eldest sister and she is forced to jump into the basket. He takes her to his home and keeps her locked up promising a happy life and anything she desires. A couple days later, he unknowingly tests the girl. “ I must journey forth, and leave you alone for a short time; there are the keys of the house; you may go everywhere and look at everything except in one room, which this little key here opens, and I forbid you to go there in pain of death...Preserve the egg carefully for me, and carry it continually about with you, for a great misfortune would arise from the loss of it.”

Strange, right? It’s understandable as to why he has one room kept unavailable -he’s clearly hiding something, but what? What is hard to wrap my head around is the need to carry the egg when and wherever. When the wizard leaves, the eldest sister opens the forbidden. And what does she find? A basin full of blood stood in the middle surrounded by dead bodies, body parts and a wooden block with an axe. Terrified and shocked, she drops the egg she was carrying around into the basin. Unable to wash away the blood from the egg, the wizard was able to tell that the eldest sister had been in the forbidden room. That day, the eldest sister meant the same fate as those bodies in the forbidden room. Like I said, a very dark story. It still baffles me to this day that these were meant for children.

With his first victim out of the way, he moves to the second sister. Using the same method to kidnap the second as he did the eldest, it’s frustrating to watch the second sister meet the same fate as her elder sister. She goes through the forbidden door and gets caught and killed. Like? If the same beggar shows up at your door, the last person you saw with your eldest sister, wouldn’t you show a sliver of caution? Not to mention, if you’re inside the same house as your sister’s kidnapper and your sister is not there? I feel like you could come up with a very solid conclusion as to what happened to your eldest sister but I guess not. I was very frustrated at the lack of brain these characters had.

Fortunately for the sisters and my sake, the third sister is clever. Or at least clever in the book’s eyes. When the wizard comes for the third sister and tests her just as he did her older sisters. Instead of bringing the egg with her around the house, she places it somewhere safe and out of harm's way. She enters the forbidden room, she sees her sister murdered and cut into more than one piece. And she comes up with the reasonable solution to her sister’s death. What is it? Why, it’s simply to just put the pieces of their bodies back together and they’ll come back to life! Miraculously, it works. I don’t know how but it works.

With her sisters saved, she hides them in a little chamber where the wizard cannot find them. When the wizard returns, he finds no evidence of the third sister going through the forbidden door. She had passed his test. And so, the wizard says, “You have stood the test, you shall now be my bride.” The third sister compiles but not with a few rules of her own. In order for them to be wed, he must bring gold to her mother and father in a basket on his back. With the wizard in agreement, the third sister sneaks her sisters into the basket.

Due to the fact that they are two grown humans in a basket, it’s not exactly light. The wizard struggles to carry the basket back to the sister’s home due to its weight. Whenever he would sit to take a break, the sisters in the basket would chant, “I am looking through my little window, and I see that you are resting. Will you go on directly?” The wizard, for some reason, believed it to be his soon to be fiance calling from his window and he would continue on his journey. When they finally arrive at the sister’s home, the two older sisters escape from the basket to get help for their younger sister stuck at the wizard’s house and prepared for the wedding.

At the wizard’s house, she sends invites to the wizard’s friends for the wedding. During this time, she skull and dressed it up to look like her. And by disguising the skull as her, I basically mean she just put flowers on the skull in hopes to make it look like her. When she was done creating the decoy, the third sister opened a barrel of honey and rolled herself in some feathers to make her look like a bird? Instead of an amalgamation of honey and feather, she took form a wondrous bird...Sure, alright. With her disguised as a bird, the wizard’s friends couldn’t tell she was the bride of the wedding and escaped from the wizard’s house.

When the wizard arrives back at his house, he sees the skull on the second floor and assumes it to be his fiance. He goes and greets his lovely skull “fiance.” While distracted, the older sisters brought help. In order for no one to escape, they lock the door and set fire to the house. This is the end of the story.

The Grimm Brothers Fairy Tale is full of strange stories such as the Fowler’s Fowl. The plots are the opposite of self-aware.  While this is a book full of magic and fairies, the stories don’t set up its concepts or rule of what you can and cannot do. Concepts such as bringing back someone from the dead in stories like Fowler’s Fowl. It isn’t established in the story that is a valuable solution until the need for it shows up. There are many times where characters use absurd tactics in order to benefit them outta of thin air. This creates a lack of self-awareness that takes you out of the story.

There are very little themes or lessons the stories actually tell. You’re more likely to be along for the ride than learning valuable lessons from each story. It’s very hard to immerse yourself. It doesn’t help that none of the characters have personalities, traits, or goals that are more than what meets the eye. They’re given very little time to actually develop the characters and their beliefs and goals. They’re simply chess pieces on the board of what is a story. The characters are to relate to and it’s hard to root for a character that you can’t sympathize.

I wouldn’t recommend this book unless you are alright reading a fever dream. Not to mention, the stories become repetitive and therefore start to get really boring halfway through. Due to the fact that it is a collection of short stories, there is also nothing to keep you hooked. These stories have already made a lasting impact due to countless retelling and movies made from The Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales. However, I don't think these stories are worth the amount of hype they get. The retelling from Disney and other companies, honestly, does a much better job of creating a more immersive story with more developed characters. The characters are hard to relate to, the plots have no consistency, and there is a lack of self awareness that makes you wonder whether what you're reading is real. You’re honestly better off watching the Disney retelling of The Grimm Brother Fairy Tale.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Must Read Mystery Book: The Guest List	                                 The Guest List, an mysterious book, came out on February 20, 2020. The book contains 340 wonderful pages by Lucy Foley. The author, Lucey Foley, is a fictional writer who went to study English Literature at Durham University and University College London. She also wrote The Book of Lost and The Invitation; she tends to write fictional books. Her most known book is The Guest List. Reese Witherspoon discovered The Guest List and chose it to be on her Reese’s Book Club. She quotes on Facebook, “If you love a great page-turner-that-keeps-you-guessing-till-the-end book… this is a must read!”. The Guest List The Guest List includes multiple perspectives about the murder mystery wedding on a remote Irish island. The book starts off slow with the introduction of the characters-- Aoife the wedding planner, Jules the bride, Hannah the plus-one, Johnno the best man, and Olivia the bridesmaid. It later leads into the history of all the characters and how they all have a secret. The killer is revealed at the very end and the person who ended up mysteriously dead. It keeps readers guessing who has done the horrible crime and why. All the characters are connected somehow from their past. New York Times says, “‘In ''The Guest List,'' she shows readers what can go wrong when worlds collide in a distant and hard-to-escape place.”The text can excite readers to keep on reading or either confuse readers about the plot and the characters. It’s good to see different perspectives; however if you should pay attention closely in order to avoid confusion. It’s a good idea to pay attention to detail in the plot and when the characters change point of view. The book is certainly worth reading, especially if somebody enjoy mysteries. This book made a huge impression on me and Reese Witherspoon. Everybody loves a who-dun-it book and try to figure out who the true killer is. It can be exciting and lead readers to keep on reading more and more. This book is different than other mystery books due to the multiple perspectives.Also New York Times quotes, “This murder mystery revolves around a wedding, which may be the key to its popularity with the socially distanced set.” The readers can see how suspenseful and exhibiting the book can really be. Works Cited Egan, Elisabeth. "Missing Weddings? Lucy Foley's Sinister Best Seller Will Cheer You Up." The New York Times Book Review, 23 Aug. 2020, p. 20(L). Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A633286514/LitRC?u=gran34254&sid=LitRC&xid=76f80d80. Accessed 13 Apr. 2021.FOLEY, LUCY. GUEST LIST: a Novel. NIELSEN BOOKDATA, 2021.

# data[].attributes.subject
The Must Read Mystery Book: The Guest List	                                 The Guest List, an mysterious book, came out on February 20, 2020. The book contains 340 wonderful pages by Lucy Foley. The author, Lucey Foley, is a fictional writer who went to study English Literature at Durham University and University College London. She also wrote The Book of Lost and The Invitation; she tends to write fictional books. Her most known book is The Guest List. Reese Witherspoon discovered The Guest List and chose it to be on her Reese’s Book Club. She quotes on Facebook, “If you love a great page-turner-that-keeps-you-guessing-till-the-end book… this is a must read!”. The Guest List The Guest List includes multiple perspectives about the murder mystery wedding on a remote Irish island. The book starts off slow with the introduction of the characters-- Aoife the wedding planner, Jules the bride, Hannah the plus-one, Johnno the best man, and Olivia the bridesmaid. It later leads into the history of all the characters and how they all have a secret. The killer is revealed at the very end and the person who ended up mysteriously dead. It keeps readers guessing who has done the horrible crime and why. All the characters are connected somehow from their past. New York Times says, “‘In ''The Guest List,'' she shows readers what can go wrong when worlds collide in a distant and hard-to-escape place.”The text can excite readers to keep on reading or either confuse readers about the plot and the characters. It’s good to see different perspectives; however if you should pay attention closely in order to avoid confusion. It’s a good idea to pay attention to detail in the plot and when the characters change point of view. The book is certainly worth reading, especially if somebody enjoy mysteries. This book made a huge impression on me and Reese Witherspoon. Everybody loves a who-dun-it book and try to figure out who the true killer is. It can be exciting and lead readers to keep on reading more and more. This book is different than other mystery books due to the multiple perspectives.Also New York Times quotes, “This murder mystery revolves around a wedding, which may be the key to its popularity with the socially distanced set.” The readers can see how suspenseful and exhibiting the book can really be. Works Cited Egan, Elisabeth. "Missing Weddings? Lucy Foley's Sinister Best Seller Will Cheer You Up." The New York Times Book Review, 23 Aug. 2020, p. 20(L). Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A633286514/LitRC?u=gran34254&sid=LitRC&xid=76f80d80. Accessed 13 Apr. 2021.FOLEY, LUCY. GUEST LIST: a Novel. NIELSEN BOOKDATA, 2021.

# data[].attributes.headline
I really enjoyed Shutter Island. It is a horrifying and ominous story, a perfect read for a gloomy, rainy, day. A couple U.S. Marshals by the names of Edward Daniels and Charles Aule are tasked to find a criminally insane murderer, Rachel Solando, a housewife who had drowned her children, who had escaped the psychiatric ward on Shutter Island. 	To make it even more dramatic, dark, ominous, Dennis Lehane added a great addition to the story, which was the hurricane approaching and passing through the island. Of course Edward “Teddy” Daniels did not just come to find Rachel Solando, but to also even out the score with the arsonist who killed his wife that resided on Shutter Island.	A thing that I really enjoyed about the novel was the amount of twists and turns it took throughout Teddy’s time on the island. At times it felt confusing and I didn’t know what side to believe, but I actually loved that aspect of the book making me think deep and pick my side.I really loved Teddy as the bad boy protagonist, and the elements of his character far more in the novel. The novel had far more time to build that backstory for him compared to the movie. Although, I really enjoy Leonardo DiCaprio’s as Teddy and think he was the perfect fit for the character. Teddy was a man who had many demons, and I appreciated how the novel goes into them more than the movie, while I still enjoyed Leonardo’s adaptation of him. The book I would have to say is a much slower story, but the movie features more faster-paced somewhat feeling thriller with more scares I would say. Overall between the movie and the book, I would say it’s more of a pick your poison, but I would recommend watching and reading both and say they were both great confidently.

# data[].attributes.subject
I really enjoyed Shutter Island. It is a horrifying and ominous story, a perfect read for a gloomy, rainy, day. A couple U.S. Marshals by the names of Edward Daniels and Charles Aule are tasked to find a criminally insane murderer, Rachel Solando, a housewife who had drowned her children, who had escaped the psychiatric ward on Shutter Island. 	To make it even more dramatic, dark, ominous, Dennis Lehane added a great addition to the story, which was the hurricane approaching and passing through the island. Of course Edward “Teddy” Daniels did not just come to find Rachel Solando, but to also even out the score with the arsonist who killed his wife that resided on Shutter Island.	A thing that I really enjoyed about the novel was the amount of twists and turns it took throughout Teddy’s time on the island. At times it felt confusing and I didn’t know what side to believe, but I actually loved that aspect of the book making me think deep and pick my side.I really loved Teddy as the bad boy protagonist, and the elements of his character far more in the novel. The novel had far more time to build that backstory for him compared to the movie. Although, I really enjoy Leonardo DiCaprio’s as Teddy and think he was the perfect fit for the character. Teddy was a man who had many demons, and I appreciated how the novel goes into them more than the movie, while I still enjoyed Leonardo’s adaptation of him. The book I would have to say is a much slower story, but the movie features more faster-paced somewhat feeling thriller with more scares I would say. Overall between the movie and the book, I would say it’s more of a pick your poison, but I would recommend watching and reading both and say they were both great confidently.

# data[].attributes.headline
This out of the box romantic thriller Random Hearts, written by American novelist, Warren Adler, was published in 1984. Random Hearts is his eighth book to be published; containing only 267 pages, it’s a solid mid-length novel with a creative plot. Born December 16, 1927, Warren Adler spent his early years attending Brooklyn Technical High School. He later enrolled at New York University; it was here that he majored in English literature. It was here that he decided to study creative writing under his freshman English Professor. After concluding his studies at New York University he started his career writing for various news outlets. While the Korean war began, he served in the US Army; his early stories were included in the weekly publications sent out by the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. “During his lifetime, Adler authored over fifty published novels, plays, poems and essays, and more than a hundred short stories” (Warren Adler 1). Random Hearts begins by introducing the first pair of main characters, Lily Davis and Orson Simpson. This story takes place in Washington, D.C during the winter time. It’s a cold snowy night when Lily and Orson meet at the airport. Upon arriving at the airport, the two meet and begin discussing their trip they had been planning to Miami. It’s here in the story that Adler gives some exposition about the two. Both are married to different people. Lily is married to Edward Davis and Orson is married to Vivien Simpson. The two had met on a plane ride one time; they fell in love at first sight. After their first meet, the two would begin a life of lies, going on trips together, cheating on their partners. The strange couple discuss how nervous they are about their trip and all the repercussions of revealing their relationship to their significant others. Their flight had been delayed due to the snow so their nerves had time to eat at them. Eventually they board their flight to Miami. Just as their nerves begin to calm, the plane begins to lift off. Shortly after, the plane begins to lose altitude, it crashes into the Potomac River. As the story continues, Adler starts giving more backstory to the pair's spouses and how their lives eventually intertwine. Random Hearts is a well rounded novel that’s worth the read. His use of descriptive wording really helped to draw me in as I was reading. I could really feel the tension in the air or the somberness that washed over various scenes. Some readers may find the story a bit slow paced and drawn out. Adler takes a lot of time diving into the finer details of the characters nuances and how their individual personalities to give the story a more captivating feeling. To conclude, I felt the execution of the story was done very well. Having different chapters delegated to talk about certain characters was stylistically refreshing. Although I may have misgivings about the use of different romance tropes and cliches, I’d say the novel is worth the read.  Especially if you're a fan of romantic-thriller stories. 

# data[].attributes.subject
This out of the box romantic thriller Random Hearts, written by American novelist, Warren Adler, was published in 1984. Random Hearts is his eighth book to be published; containing only 267 pages, it’s a solid mid-length novel with a creative plot. Born December 16, 1927, Warren Adler spent his early years attending Brooklyn Technical High School. He later enrolled at New York University; it was here that he majored in English literature. It was here that he decided to study creative writing under his freshman English Professor. After concluding his studies at New York University he started his career writing for various news outlets. While the Korean war began, he served in the US Army; his early stories were included in the weekly publications sent out by the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. “During his lifetime, Adler authored over fifty published novels, plays, poems and essays, and more than a hundred short stories” (Warren Adler 1). Random Hearts begins by introducing the first pair of main characters, Lily Davis and Orson Simpson. This story takes place in Washington, D.C during the winter time. It’s a cold snowy night when Lily and Orson meet at the airport. Upon arriving at the airport, the two meet and begin discussing their trip they had been planning to Miami. It’s here in the story that Adler gives some exposition about the two. Both are married to different people. Lily is married to Edward Davis and Orson is married to Vivien Simpson. The two had met on a plane ride one time; they fell in love at first sight. After their first meet, the two would begin a life of lies, going on trips together, cheating on their partners. The strange couple discuss how nervous they are about their trip and all the repercussions of revealing their relationship to their significant others. Their flight had been delayed due to the snow so their nerves had time to eat at them. Eventually they board their flight to Miami. Just as their nerves begin to calm, the plane begins to lift off. Shortly after, the plane begins to lose altitude, it crashes into the Potomac River. As the story continues, Adler starts giving more backstory to the pair's spouses and how their lives eventually intertwine. Random Hearts is a well rounded novel that’s worth the read. His use of descriptive wording really helped to draw me in as I was reading. I could really feel the tension in the air or the somberness that washed over various scenes. Some readers may find the story a bit slow paced and drawn out. Adler takes a lot of time diving into the finer details of the characters nuances and how their individual personalities to give the story a more captivating feeling. To conclude, I felt the execution of the story was done very well. Having different chapters delegated to talk about certain characters was stylistically refreshing. Although I may have misgivings about the use of different romance tropes and cliches, I’d say the novel is worth the read.  Especially if you're a fan of romantic-thriller stories. 

# data[].attributes.body
Madrid, Spain in the heat of summer was the setting for young Daniel Mathewson’s adventures. Daniel, an ambitious photographer from Texas, took it upon himself to photograph the tragedy and complications of living in communist Spain. He’s the son of an oil tycoon and arrived in Spain with his family in the mid 1900’s to make a business deal with Generalissimo Franco, the dictator of Spain. His destiny is to take over the oil business, his dream is to become a photojournalist and travel the world. The family is staying in the lavish Madrid Castellano Hilton, a castle converted to a hotel. Daniel immediately takes notice of a young woman working there by the name of Ana. Ana’s parents were murdered under Franco’s regime for teaching values that went against Franco’s ideologies. Their death left Ana, her sister Julia, her brother Rafa, and another orphan by the name of Fuga, to fend for themselves. Julia, to support the family, turned to sewing costumes for matadores, Ana started working at the hotel, Rafa became a butcher and grave digger, and Fuga worked with his best friend Rafa as a gravedigger. The narration switches between that of Daniels, Ana’s, Rafa’s, and Purification. Purification or Puri as she is referred to by her cousin Ana, is a curious nun working in an orphanage. Puri cares for each of the children that she raises and she believes that all of the children that are in the orphanage have been abandoned, that is until she starts digging her nose into where it doesn’t belong. She reads letters to the orphanage from frantic parents claiming that they had given birth to a healthy child but later the doctor said that their child had died. She discovered thousands of letters. Julia had given birth to twin girls, one of them was weak and born sick. Julia received that child but was told the other had died, Puri suspects a conspiracy that involves the very orphanage that she dearly loves. Back at the Madrid Castellano Hilton Daniel and Ana are growing closer which is a dangerous position for Ana to be in. She, as a woman, is not allowed to be alone with him for more than a minute. Ana’s entire family is being watched by Franco’s Goons, also known as the Crow’s. Ana must choose between her own protection or following her heart. Purification must choose between doing what's right or what is expected of her. Daniel must choose between his passion for photography or his duty in the family business. This story is filled with twists and turns, heart warming friendships and catastrophic losses.

The Fountains of Silence, a historical fiction novel written by Ruta Sepetyes was written with the purpose of showing the tremendous suffering of the lower class during the reign of  Generalissimo Franco. Sepetys has the ability in all of her novels to create characters that each have a compelling nature. One can’t help but care for the character that she writes into existence. Alexander Alter, a writer for the New York Times, wrote a review on Ruta Sepetys book Salt to the Sea, “A 15-year-old Polish girl without papers; a fearless 21-year-old Lithuanian nurse with a dark secret; a Prussian teenager smuggling a precious work of art; and a young German soldier.” Alter was talking about the diversity in character that the book included. The point is, if Sepetys can write from the perspective of a Hitler loving German soldier and still make the readers feel a connection to that character then it makes sense that all of the characters she writes about have such layers and complexities.

After I had finished reading the book I felt for a time satisfied. That was until I realized that I had to say goodbye to Ana, Daniel, Puri, Rafa, Julia, and Fuga. There stories were ones that I was completely enthralled in for more than a month. For that time I felt their anguish, I shared their celebration, and I understood their fears. I found myself wanting to see the Castellano Hilton and the packed streets of Madrid sweeting under the prying eyes of an oppressive regime. I longed to have a conversation with sweet, loving Ana and sarcastic, caring Daniel. Ruta is quoted in an interview with Everdeen Mason from the Washington Post saying, “I rely really heavily on that testimony because it has an emotional authenticity to it.” Since all of Sepetys stories are based on real life testimonies, like Ruta says, there is more emotion to the story.

I would recommend this masterfully written book to everyone. History is an important part of this world and hearing the stories of the hardships people go through helps build compassion, even if the story being told didn’t happen. 1936 Generalissimo Franco came to power and Spain fell to his will. There were millions of families just like Ana’s that were suffering and this book, along with Sepetys many others, give history a connection to the people who went through it. Ruta Sepetys’ use of imagery along with her captivating plot and enchanting characters make her historical fiction novels the best I’ve ever read.

Works Cited

Alter, Alexandra. "Ruta Sepetys." New York Times, 14 June 2016, p. C5(L). Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A455033674/OVIC?u=gran34254&sid=OVIC&xid=ef4b9ff2. Accessed 21 Apr. 2021.

Mason, Everdeen. "Ruta Sepetys's one-woman mission to unearth secret histories." Washingtonpost.com, 6 Aug. 2016. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A460045104/OVIC?u=gran34254&sid=OVIC&xid=f76393db. Accessed 22 Apr. 2021.

# data[].attributes.body
All American Murder, a biography surrounding the life and death of Aaron Hernandez, is written by James Patterson. Patterson brought his past experience in writing historical novels and other young adult stories when writing this book, depicting Hernandez’s life with stark detail from start to finish. Written in 2019 and at 357 pages long, I was able to live the life that Hernandez did, being able to picture every scene from the book with ease, even if it is not completely accurate.

Aaron Hernandez and his brother grew up in a football household, one where they both showed promise. With his huge build, Aaron became a monster, on the field and off, signing with the New England Patriots. But with Aaron’s father passing away during his high school years, Aaron lost not only a father figure but his support. As time would go on he would slowly lose his mental health, growing worse and worse as time went on, with seemingly no end in site. He learned to hide the pain he was going through to his teammates, as well as the public, only to crumble in front of others for no apparent reason.

Hernandez’s story progresses through many different conflicts and stages. The theme of support comes up often, as the question is brought up; whether or not Hernandez would become the person he did if his father hadn’t died, or if he had some other form of support. D.J., his brother, as well as Shayanna, his wife, are suggested as some people that might’ve had an impact, but ultimately could not bring Aaron back to his former state. Another theme prevalent throughout the book was the effect of drugs and loss. Aaron made connections after losing his father that led to a mass consumption of weed, as well as other intoxicants. His love for drugs landed him a great friend in Odin Lloyd, who ended up being murdered.

As I read through Aaron’s story, I was able to understand his life completely. Being able to empathize with the loss of a father early in one’s life, I could better understand why Aaron became so paranoid; he lost someone who was arguably the most important person in his life. Losing someone like that can lead to worries regarding other possible scenarios. Patterson started a chapter with this sentence, “The formation of Aaron Hernandez’s mask began at home, in a cottage on Greystone Avenue (17).” This one sentence struck me as I reread the first few paragraphs, as it foreshadowed much of what would happen as time went on. Aaron had grown protective of those he wanted in his life, and whenever they started to back off, Aaron would panic. Eventually his continued paranoia would harm him too often for those around him to help, as it would soon become obvious.

Though I do not usually take time out of my day to read non-fiction, this book exceeded my expectations. I appreciated the amount of time that was taken at every phase of Hernandez’s life, with me being able to see his life altogether, not just the end of his life. Patterson understood that what happened early in his life changed him for good, and his writing reflected an empathetic recapturing of what he did. As Alison Cromie of Booklist would say, Patterson has “an accurate eye for real people”, through his lifetime experiences with those around him. I would recommend this book to young adults and older, as this book discusses grimmer topics, as well as describing a few murder scenes.

Works Cited

Patterson, James. All-American Murder: the Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez, the Superstar Whose Life Ended on Murderers' Row. Grand Central Publishing, 2019.

"Newsmaker: James Patterson." American Libraries, vol. 46, no. 6, 2015, p. 29. Gale In Context: High School, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A417737210/GPS?u=gran34254&sid=GPS&xid=fba83614. Accessed 14 Apr. 2021.

"James Patterson." Authors and Artists for Young Adults, vol. 25, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: Biography, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1603000344/GPS?u=gran34254&sid=GPS&xid=e7aed421. Accessed 14 Apr. 2021.

# data[].attributes.body
Reviewed by: Hannah DeHaan
Book: Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World

Author: Bob Goff

Genre: Religious/Memoir

Released: May 1st, 2012

Awards: New York Times Best Seller

Love Does, written and told from the eyes of Bob Goff, is a light-hearted and entertaining book surrounding stories from the author’s life. Bob Goff is known for his crazy life experiences and is someone to look up to. After becoming a lawyer and opening up his own firm, he has also started a non-profit called Restore International that helps kids with human rights and education in developing countries such as Uganda. According to North Carolina´s States News Service, ¨Restore has worked with Uganda's judiciary in bringing over 200 cases to trial, as well as pursuing justice, intervention, and education for at-risk women and children in Uganda, India, and Somalia¨ . Uncoincidentally, he is also the honorary Ugandan consul. Bob has three children and is married to Maria Goff.

If everyone treated life the way Bob Goff does, our world would be full of gumdrops and rainbows. For example, Goff encouraged each of his children to get in contact with leaders from around the world, to ¨hang out¨ and be friends. He also-- when not getting into law school right away-- sat in front of the dean´s office everyday until finally, they let him in. Another adventure was taking a sailboat out to sea, with five other guys and little to no experience, to race other boats to Hawaii. He had a stranger´s engagement hosted at his house, he pursued his wife for three years before she said yes to a date, and he claimed Tom Sawyer Island at Disney World to be his ¨office¨. Each whimsy anecdote Goff tells points to a truth from God. His main takeaway from all of his experiences is that love does. Love is action. Love pursues.

I would recommend this to anyone interested in an easy pleasurable read. The humorous yet down-to-earth stories of this good man are worth consideration. Each story will make one reflect on one´s own life. Bob Goff makes life seem so fun-- everyone should try to live like Bob.

Works Cited

Goff, Bob. Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World.

Nelson, 2012.

"MEDIA ADVISORY: BOB GOFF, AUTHOR OF 'LOVE DOES,' TO SPEAK AT WAKE

FOREST FEB. 8." States News Service, 23 Jan. 2015. Gale In Context: Biography,link.gale.com/apps/doc/A398575239/GPS?u=gran34254&sid=GPS&xid=ef0da1bb. Accessed 18 Apr. 2021.

# data[].attributes.headline
Stephen King’s horror novel IT What is published on September 15th, 1986 with a whopping 1,138 pages. Introducing us to the famous killer clown we all know and the loveable loser club, King gives readers a reason to not put down his massive book. Later on, this book got a movie adaptation in 1990, and another in 2017 with a second part coming by later in 2019. This massive book explores true friendship, growing up, and childhood in a way that no other book can.king's IT starts off in the setting of Derry, Maine in 1957. Georgie, one of our seven main characters' brothers, is outside in the drizzle in a yellow slicker playing with a toy boat. A few minutes later when his boat drops down a sewer drain, we are introduced to the terrifying antagonist of the story. “There were yellow eyes in there: The sort of eyes he had always imagined but never actually seen down in the basement. It’s an animal, he thought incoherently, that’s all it is, some animal, maybe a house cat that got stuck down there—Still, he was ready to run—would run in a second or two, when his mental switchboard head out with the shock those two shiny yellow eyes had given him.” This well-known scene by many leads into the 27-year story that is known as IT. This story isn’t just about killer clowns and supernaturals, it’s also about seven bullied kids and their ever-growing friendship. Within this story, we see Beverly, a young girl with an abusive father, Richie, A boy who tries to hide his suffering with humor, Eddie, an asthmatic boy, Bill, who lost his little brother, Stan, A Jewish boy that loves birds, Mike, who lost his parents, and Ben, who’s on the bigger side and gets bullied constantly. With these seven together, calling themselves losers club, they embark on a journey to defeat the evil clown Pennywise who is terrorizing their town.IT is definitely one of my favorite books from Stephen King’s collection. From the relatable bullied kids to the horrifying monsters depicted, this book gives me both goosebumps, like most of his stories do, while also a heartwarming smile. King tends to have a way with words in most of his stories, Tanaya Gold explains how King’s books can be so scary. “The supernatural element is not the dread part of his fiction; this is what makes it palatable because King, essentially, writes fairy tales. The real horror is domestic, as it is in life, always.” but Stephen King doesn’t just depict horror and monsters inside of IT, it goes into detail about just how precious friendship truly can be and how long it can last. Overall, I would have to give this book an 8 out of 10. While the meaning and imagery in this book is outstanding, there are some things that I am not a fan of. Others, including myself, believe that king could’ve shortened this book. Oftentimes, king would explain an object or a setting in much detail. Most of the time, this works well in understanding what’s happening, but king would go into detail for a couple of pages just on one topic. Another problem that I had with this book was the time skips. King would go from one time to another and often this would be confusing. Most likely, I would have to go back and reread the last pages of the original time just to remember it was going on.With those two cons, there’s also a scene in the book that many, and myself, believe was too graphic and not needed in the book. I Don’t want to spoil the story, all I can say is that this scene includes all seven of the kids and was very disturbing. Many say that this graphic scene ruined the whole book for them.King shows us in this book that he’s one of the masters of blending together childhood and Horrific supernatural beings. This balance is what kept many readers on their toes and eager to read more.  While This story may be problematic in some scenes, King shows that he’s not afraid of this. He shows us our childhood fears you would rather not remember, exploiting them on his pages for us to get goosebumps from. We might now remember what we were afraid of, but king shows us that the kids of the loser club are not afraid and will not back down.

# data[].attributes.subject
Stephen King’s horror novel IT What is published on September 15th, 1986 with a whopping 1,138 pages. Introducing us to the famous killer clown we all know and the loveable loser club, King gives readers a reason to not put down his massive book. Later on, this book got a movie adaptation in 1990, and another in 2017 with a second part coming by later in 2019. This massive book explores true friendship, growing up, and childhood in a way that no other book can.king's IT starts off in the setting of Derry, Maine in 1957. Georgie, one of our seven main characters' brothers, is outside in the drizzle in a yellow slicker playing with a toy boat. A few minutes later when his boat drops down a sewer drain, we are introduced to the terrifying antagonist of the story. “There were yellow eyes in there: The sort of eyes he had always imagined but never actually seen down in the basement. It’s an animal, he thought incoherently, that’s all it is, some animal, maybe a house cat that got stuck down there—Still, he was ready to run—would run in a second or two, when his mental switchboard head out with the shock those two shiny yellow eyes had given him.” This well-known scene by many leads into the 27-year story that is known as IT. This story isn’t just about killer clowns and supernaturals, it’s also about seven bullied kids and their ever-growing friendship. Within this story, we see Beverly, a young girl with an abusive father, Richie, A boy who tries to hide his suffering with humor, Eddie, an asthmatic boy, Bill, who lost his little brother, Stan, A Jewish boy that loves birds, Mike, who lost his parents, and Ben, who’s on the bigger side and gets bullied constantly. With these seven together, calling themselves losers club, they embark on a journey to defeat the evil clown Pennywise who is terrorizing their town.IT is definitely one of my favorite books from Stephen King’s collection. From the relatable bullied kids to the horrifying monsters depicted, this book gives me both goosebumps, like most of his stories do, while also a heartwarming smile. King tends to have a way with words in most of his stories, Tanaya Gold explains how King’s books can be so scary. “The supernatural element is not the dread part of his fiction; this is what makes it palatable because King, essentially, writes fairy tales. The real horror is domestic, as it is in life, always.” but Stephen King doesn’t just depict horror and monsters inside of IT, it goes into detail about just how precious friendship truly can be and how long it can last. Overall, I would have to give this book an 8 out of 10. While the meaning and imagery in this book is outstanding, there are some things that I am not a fan of. Others, including myself, believe that king could’ve shortened this book. Oftentimes, king would explain an object or a setting in much detail. Most of the time, this works well in understanding what’s happening, but king would go into detail for a couple of pages just on one topic. Another problem that I had with this book was the time skips. King would go from one time to another and often this would be confusing. Most likely, I would have to go back and reread the last pages of the original time just to remember it was going on.With those two cons, there’s also a scene in the book that many, and myself, believe was too graphic and not needed in the book. I Don’t want to spoil the story, all I can say is that this scene includes all seven of the kids and was very disturbing. Many say that this graphic scene ruined the whole book for them.King shows us in this book that he’s one of the masters of blending together childhood and Horrific supernatural beings. This balance is what kept many readers on their toes and eager to read more.  While This story may be problematic in some scenes, King shows that he’s not afraid of this. He shows us our childhood fears you would rather not remember, exploiting them on his pages for us to get goosebumps from. We might now remember what we were afraid of, but king shows us that the kids of the loser club are not afraid and will not back down.

# data[].attributes.body
On the cold nights in Holt, Colorado, when the day comes to an end, and Addie Moore lays in bed; her body surrenders as her mind races a thousand miles an hour. She thinks about her past life and how lonely she is every night and day. Across the street from Addie lives Louis Waters. He and Addie had been neighbors for the past 40 years. They were both married, whose spouses had passed, and both with children. One night Addie walked across the street, knocked on Louis's door, and gave him a proposition. Our Souls at Night, written by Kent Haruf, is a potent, bittersweet yet uplifting romance novel about a man and a woman in declining years who come together to ease their thoughts at night. With 192 pages, they unravel their secrets, passions, regrets, and hopes connecting in a way never before. At the age of 71, Kent Haruf passed away due to complications of a lung disease he had suffered. The summer before Haruf died, he had written Our Souls at Night. After his passing, his wife, Cathy Haruf, had finished the copy editing, and with the help of Kent's publisher, they released the book in May of 2015. Not only is the novel touching and moving it gives readers a different view of life.

"I wonder if you would consider coming to my house sometime to sleep with me" (Haruf 5). Take into account that the proposal Addie offered was not for a sexual relationship, but a relationship between two friends that wanted the same thing: to cure the lonely feeling. For the last 40 years, Louis and Addie didn't have more than nodding interactions, resulting in Louis being caught off guard by her motion. He thinks about it - nothing happens right away- soon enough, they spend every night together. Yet throughout the whole arrangement, they never cuddled or touched; they laid beside one another and talked. They share their failures, sorrows, accomplishments, and long-lost dreams. However, aside from their dreams, hopes, and sorrows Addie and Louis had one thing in common: damaged children. Both of their children had experienced past trauma that was caused by their parents resulting in the way they live today. The deeper Addie and Louis got into their relationship, a certain someone did not approve, someone who was dear and near to the heart of Addie Moore.

In September of 2017, Our Souls at Night movie was produced. After reading the book and then watching the movie, I noticed some similarities and differences. They both followed the same story plot, however, in the book when Jamie comes to stay with Addie, Louis and Jamie bond over mice that had nested in Louis’s yard. But in the movie, they bond over a train set that Louis stored in his attic from when Holly his daughter was a child. One thing I didn’t like about the movie was that there were no transitions from sense to sense, in a way it was choppy. While reading the book, I could feel the sparks fly between Addie and Louis, but in the movie,  the chemistry wasn't there. The book moved me to want to keep reading more and more to find out the secrets they were going to reveal to each other every night.

Our Souls at Night is slow and silent. The littlest details revealed the biggest secrets. If I were to choose between the movie and the book, I would choose the book. It has much more characteristics and brings more events to life compared to the film. I do recommend the book to readers who love reading romance with real-life situations involved as well. In the end, the past is what separates the two of them, Addie Moore and Louis Waters deserve to live happily just like the rest of the world.

# data[].attributes.body
Tripwire by Lee Child was originally published on April 15, 1999 and is 559 pages long. This novel is the third installment of the popular action/adventure book series titled “Jack Reacher”, although it is pertinent to keep in mind that these novels are not a continuous storyline and are barely connected. It’s completely fine to read the first installment and then skip to the seventh installment and the reader won’t find themselves lost in a multitude of missing details. The author, Lee Child, was born on October 29, 1954 in Coventry, England. Child attended Sheffield University to study law. However, Child had no intention of pursuing a career in law. His real passion was cinema and he spent a large amount of his time during college in the school theatre. He did graduate with a bachelors in Law but pursued a career in television. Soon after that, he found his calling, writing novels.

The plot of Tripwire revolves around the usual protagonist, Jack Reacher along with side character Jodie Garber. Reacher is minding his own business in Florida when a private investigator named Costello comes looking for him. Being apprehensive at first, Reacher hides his identity only to find Costello dead the next day. Feeling responsible for the death of a man he didn’t know, Reacher vows to find out why someone would hire a private investigator to find him. As he follows the clues, it launches him into an adventure far beyond anything he anticipated. Hook Hobie is quickly established as the main villain in the story, “ ‘They call me Hook Hobie’, he said. He sat there with his face rigid and the hook held up like an object for examination. Stone swallowed and tried to recover his composure. Wondered if he should offer his left hand instead.” Jack Reacher has to figure out how exactly he is connected to the information he’s chasing. A lot of this book also focuses on the fallout of the Vietnam war, some 25 years later.

Overall, I thought this book was very well written and kept me in constant suspense. Child certainly has a knack for creating action and thrills through words, it never slows down. Another thing about Child and this particular novel, the facts and accuracy of what he writes is always impressive. For example, being able to go into great detail -- about military procedures involving Huey Helicopters during the Vietnam War -- to the point where even the most uneducated reader can instantly comprehend is amazing. He truly makes the reader feel as if they’re inside the head of an ex-military policeman. This excerpt demonstrates Child’s ability to walk the reader through a situation; “There was a fire”, Reacher said. “How can you tell?” Asked Newman, like the teacher he always was. “The bones are calcinated,” Reacher said. “At least most of them are.” “Calcinated?” Newman repeated. Reacher nodded and went back fifteen years to his textbooks. “The organic components burned off, leaving only the inorganic compounds behind. Burning leaves the bones smaller, whiter, veined, brittle, and eroded.”  As for the plot, I found it very interesting. It starts out going one way and then makes an abrupt turn and heads in the complete opposite direction. To make it even more crazy, the true reveal is left in suspense until the very end. Hook Hobie is a really well written villain, the brutality and violent nature of the character is conveyed right away and you really do end up dreading him. The stakes are kept very high because of the simultaneous storytelling that Child does so well. On the one hand Reacher is chasing after a trail that will eventually lead to Hobie, while Hobie himself is performing a risky business transaction. The reader gets a sense that these two will eventually meet which builds up anticipation.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves action adventure stories. This novel is about as good as you will get from that genre. Child is a fantastic author and really puts you in the story. Any of the Jack Reacher books are great and Tripwire is no exception, it keeps you guessing until the very end and never lets up. Some might say it’s a reused formula from it’s two predecessors, but I think Child makes all the right tweaks to keep the story fresh while recycling a lot of the same themes. Even if you aren’t a fan of this type of book, I urge you to at least give it a try. I believe that Child’s writing style can pull readers in that wouldn;t necessarily be interested in this type of novel.

# data[].attributes.body
The fairly new book--We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach--published in 2015 is a young adult contemporary novel. The author is a Brooklyn-based novelist, musician, and screenwriter. Wallach lives in Los Angeles, where he continues to write books, movies, and tv shows to afford his leisure activities such as spin class, and kombucha. We All Looked Up is becoming a more popular book every day, with everyone loving all 370 pages it contains. An online review from The Hollins Critic stated, “Remember that 80’s classic, The Breakfast Club? This book is the 2015 version, only there is no Saturday detention; there’s an apocalypse.” Unfortunately, there is to be no series for this novel, but other books written by Tommy Wallach that may have some connection.

Wallach chose to take a nontraditional approach to his novel, having the perspective switch each chapter between the four main characters--Andy, Peter, Anita, and Eliza. Each character with their own fate, but fate that changes when Ardor-- an asteroid is coming for Earth in two months. A sixty-six percent chance that everything will be wiped out, but with this sixty-six percent comes to an alliance between others. Wallach wrote, “Or would it be a second chance? Eliza held tight to her friends, laughing, and felt a pair of hands land soft as feathers on her shoulders, like the hands of a ghost, laughing and laughing as Ardor swept along its fated course, laughing and through the laughter, praying”(Wallach 370). Three high schoolers wait; standing together to see what fate brings, while the “ghost” of another is there, supporting. You will want to read this book to see whose fate was not determined by the asteroid.

One noticeable thing throughout the novel was the characters. Each character played a certain stereotype of a high school student--athlete, outcast, nerd, and slacker/druggie. The choice of the roles each character played made the storyline more believable and relatable. Peter, the athlete, was beginning to question a lot at the time of Ardor. A conversation occurred, “‘How do you know if you're choosing wrong?’ ‘You tell me. Do you think it's better to fail at something worthwhile, or to succeed at something meaningless’”(Wallach 12). The setting of the book was something someone could feel inside of, especially high school readers. Wallach made the setting something almost every person could relate to, being in high school. Being able to feel inside of the story and setting made the book come to life more, and enhanced the storyline. The novel somewhat ended how I expected it to. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but once you begin reading everyone has the same expectation of the end of the book. Except the author left us with an uncertain answer, one we will just have to assume we were right about what occurs.

Life is uncertain and unpredictable. One can never know when their last day on Earth will be, and if the life they lived had meaning, or if it was a waste. Tommy Wallach gives his audience a sense of what that may be like. This young adult, contemporary novel not only is a story about something that may happen someday, but a story others may relate to in other ways. Wallach produced a book that will leave a lasting impression on every single reader, especially ones who had an experience with high school. The stereotypes exist, the division, but this book shows how people, in this case, an athlete, outcast, nerd, and slacker/druggie came together in hard times. Labels are only labels. So if life is unassuming at the moment, or one just wants a glimpse into if life were to end, I highly recommend reading this book.

# data[].attributes.body
The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Science Fiction

Published on October 6, 2009

374 pages

The Maze Runner by James Dashner is the first book in The New York Times Bestselling Series, and it is the most popular one in the series. James Dashner was born in 1972 in Austell and attended college at Brigham Young University in Utah. His Major in college was finance before he decided to become a full time writer.

Thomas, the main character in the novel, wakes up in a box only remembering his name and nothing else. He looks up to see about 40 other teenagers staring at him as if he is a zoo animal. Thomas finds out that he is now going to be living on a farm in the middle of a giant maze. Everyone has their own job on what they call the Glade; there are farmers, there are cooks, and there are runners. The runners are the people that run through the maze throughout the entire day trying to map it out so everyone can escape. The hardest part is that every night, the walls of the maze move, creating new paths and different dead ends. Thomas is very curious, so he was eager to know what was inside the maze. He knew he was going to be the one to solve the maze. One night, one of the runners named Minho never came back from running the maze. Everyone stood by the door to the maze hoping he was going to get back before the doors closed. “Thomas knew he had no choice. He moved. Forward. He squeezed past the connecting rods at the last second and stepped into the maze”(Dashner 112). Thomas’s brave act instantly got everyone's respect considering that no one has ever survived a night in the maze before. At night, giant robotic spiders called Grievers enter the maze making sure that no one is in it. Thomas and Minho had to fight for their lives with no weapons in order to survive the night.

The Maze Runner is a high quality novel that always keeps the reader involved. “Dashner offers up a dark and gripping tale of survival set in a world where teenagers fight for their lives on a daily basis”(Publishers Weekly). One issue the audience might have with the book is the lack of character development. Dashner was so focused on packing the book with action that he missed a lot of the little things. People also could say that this book is very confusing at times. There are moments where there are so many things happening all at the same time, and it can be hard to understand exactly what is going on.

The Maze Runner is a thrilling, fun read that can be enjoyed by pretty much anyone. The ending of the book is very surprising, and makes the audience create their own thoughts about our own world. Go out and read this puzzling book to find out what happens.

Works Cited

Dashner, James. The Maze Runner. Delacorte Press, 2009.

"The Maze Runner." Publishers Weekly, vol. 256, no. 38, 21 Sept. 2009, p. 59. Gale In

Context: High School,