Overall, John Green utilizes vivid imagery and complex word choice, along with rhetorical questions and phrases regarding life and its inherent fragility. In my opinion, this aids in bolstering the likability of the book, which, of course, I thoroughly enjoyed. In short, I believe that anyone who enjoys romance stories, and doesn’t mind a dash of angst here and there, would likely enjoy “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green.

St. Augustine was an early Christian who lived during the time of the Roman Empire. During his early years he followed pagan religions, but later in life he committed himself to Catholicism and became one of the greatest men in the history of the Christian Church. His book of confessions is an autobiography, in a sense because he goes through his entire life story, but it is a lot different than other autobiographies because the entire book is meant to be a confession to God.

My favorite aspect of the book is Augustine’s mother. She was a very devout Christian and always a steady rock for him. For his entire life, she literally never stopped praying for his conversion until her unceasing prayers were finally answered. She is an amazing symbol of steadfast love, devotion to God, and persistence. 

The point of view that Augustine wrote the book in is unique since it is prayer. He writes directly to God using second person archaic pronouns constantly. This adds an effect of reverence, but also intimacy because one could make some parts his or her own prayer.

Main conflict of the book is Augustine versus his human nature. The whole plot is him finding truth. In the first book Augustine discusses how the sins he committed during his childhood were not working hard and not obeying his parents. Later he confesses his sins of lust during his teenage years and the sin of theft. He became a great scholar and studied rhetoric but did not honor God with his gift. He became enthralled with tragedies and gladiators. Eventually, however, he learned what really matters in life through many trials.

I like the book because it had good moral messages and was well written. I disliked how hard it was to read and that it was often tedious to understand. I would recommend it to someone with a high reading level, who likes old books, and is interested in Christianity.

This book was written by a environmentalist for the environmentalists, and is very laser focused on how to make, in his opinion the world an environmentally a better place. Personally I believe Mr. Melville’s writing seemed closed off and targeting only one specific audience which is nature lovers. It felt as though he was not open to other people’s ways or views and very critical towards people who were not near the same “save the world” level. This book had a unique style to it.  It was almost like a autobiography graphy but only a portion of Mr. Melville’s life but also very informational throughout it all. I would recommend this book to readers who are interested in figuring out new ways to preserve the environment, and are interested in having a vegetable oil run car. 

The style of this novel is very intriguing because it is six adventures (the jungle, high seas, Sahara Desert, Mt. Everest, Deep Waters and Outer Space) and each chapter is a new biome with a collection of survivors of extreme accidents in these harsh environments, along with his personal experience. The content of this book is very scientific and goes into gory detail with each operation or struggle of survival. Personally this book helped me out for some of my other  medical type classes because it talks about the body systems and how they are affected during fight or flight situations, but along with that it is was also very interesting to read and  left me wondering  if I could have survived in these situations. I would recommend this book to someone that doesn’t mind reading gory details, and is interested in either medicine, adventuring, or the human body and how it responds under extreme pressure. 

Eval: So far, I’ve enjoyed reading this book for the plot and detail. Although at some points it’s not really a page turner, the plot and character development is apparent and intriguing. Seeing how Harry develops in his thinking makes the book more fun to read as it continues. Giving context outside of just the one book, Order of the Phoenix ties a lot of things into, and sets up many plot points for past and future books in the series. So many key events give reason to why this book is so crucial to the series, even if it may seem excessive in length. I would recommend this book to anyone continuing in the Harry Potter series, but would strongly discourage anyone to read this book first, or outside of the series.

I would say if you like long fiction book that you can read for a long time and not get bored of it I would recommend this book, and if you like a 7 part series and a very interesting story line I recommend this book. I would recommend this book to people that would like to learn a lot of new words and like to read for many hours on end. Also if you like mystery fiction style books I would recommend Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K Rowling.

I liked this book very much. The content of the book was perfect for the story of a struggling teenager growing up. The first person narration of the book makes the story better. I liked this book because of the comedy aspect of the story. I also liked it because of the story that is being told. The types of readers who would like this book are the ones who are looking for a laugh and the ones who enjoyed The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. This is a truly great story.  By Jake Larson

            In The Rifle by Gary Paulsen there is a lot of suspense. It starts off when a gunsmith named Cornish McManis started making a special rifle. He then realizes how accurate it is and realizes the value of it.  This rifle is the most accurate at this time period. Then a guy named John Byam wants the gun very bad because of its accuracy. They then agree that John Byam will trade him a years worth of pelts for the gun. Later in the story John finds himself in a rebel with the British which later led the American Revolution. Since the gun is so accurate he ends up defeating off British officers and becomes a legend. He then later dies and his rifle is gave to a woman named Sarah who has no clue what value the rifle holds. She stored it in her attic for decades until a gun collector named Tim Harrow buys the gun from her at a gun show.  Tim Harrow then trades it to a man named Harv Kline where is stays hung above his fireplace for the rest of the guns life. This is a very interesting book if you like guns, war, and constant action of not knowing what’s going to happen next. 

           I recommend The Rifle to anyone that likes guns or gunsmithing. This book had a lot of suspense and always kept me wondering what will happen next. 

I found this book to be very enjoyable. The author displayed the brutal fighting conditions of the war, and how little the Americans had compared to the British. The author did a wonderful job showing the view of the war from both sides of the conflict. I would have liked the author to focus a little more on the implications the war had on the British, but the book was very well written and put together.

I recommend this book for history lovers, or someone trying to learn more about American history. This also a book to be enjoyed by fans of Bill O’Reilly’s Killing series. 

      I would recommend this book for most people, but if your not into action, adventure, and government agents don’t read this.  Overall it was a fast read that was addictive and never had a dull moment. 

    When the kids get to Hogwarts, they find out about the Tri-Wizarding tournament, and everyone is excited.. Until they find out that you have to be 17 years of age to be accepted. Fred and George Weasley try to get past this with an aging potion but their attempts are throttled and they become much older than anticipated. When the names are eventually announced from each school it is Cedric Diggory, Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacour, and…. Harry Potter? Everyone accuses him of cheating and putting it in there himself but then they come to the conclusion that someone is trying to hurt him and he will not let that happen.

    Harry starts preparing for the competition, and Hagrid invites him on a walk, which turns into a secret sneak peek of the first task. Dragons. Harry starts preparing a summoning spell to get his broomstick once the competition starts, THE SPELL ACTUALLY WORKS! Harry Starts the competition ahead, tied with Krum in points. 

           Hermione, throughout, has been working on right for elves, naming her club S.P.E.W. This gets Harry and Ron another way to pick on her, but she’s very committed to getting these house elves their rights. 

           To prepare for the second task, Harry was given a clue in the form of a giant golden egg. Cedric gives him a hint to listen to the screams it emits in the bath, and gives him permission to use the prefect restroom to do so. When Harry listens to it, it says a poem and he figured out that he needs to find merpeople in the lake outside of Hogwarts. He receives a gillyweed which, when eaten, gives him gills that let him breathe underwater. When he gets to the bottom of the lake, Ron, Hermione, and Cho Chang are down there waiting to be saved. Harry hesitates for a long time deciding who to save and how to save them, even though his only responsibility was to save Ron. Even though he finished slightly out of the time limit, he still received a good amount of points and is still in the lead.

          After the briefing of the third task, Harry went for a walk with Krum, where Krum asked him if he and Hermione were a thing at all. Harry responded no, and it was over from there. Until, they saw Crouch and asked him what was up because he seemed to be acting weird. He talked normally to a tree but once they tried to talk to him he would stutter and ramble about how it was his fault and he needed dumbledore. The professors responded accordingly.

That’s through page 599.

I liked the creativity of the author and way the world is different than in the real world. The main part of the story is on an airship which is my favorite part of the book. Lallo thought of something that isn’t invented yet and put it into his story as a main piece. Also I liked how he changed the world so that people couldn’t live on the ground because of the fog. Instead of picking something like a zombie apocalypse he made the story better by choosing a different story line. People who like steampunk would really enjoy this book because of the flying ships. 

One reason why I loved this book was how simple yet interesting it was.  The book contained different aspects of different genres.  There was mystery involved with Mr. Rochester’s secrets, comedy with everyone’s witty comments, and romance with Jane and Mr. Rochester’s relationship.  I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in variety and likes plot twists. 

Anybody who likes sports books should definitely read this book.It has good mix of story and stats which is really interesting. I really liked this book because it incorporated other sports I didn’t know much about. I also enjoyed it because it was always action packed.

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I do think Max was a great book to read. It was filled with factual places in the special forces and had a protective guard dog. If your looking for something filled with action some facts and very good plot this book is great. The book is in Justin's view so the outsiders seeing this happen won't be acknowledged

2. Overall, the book was great to read. The story itself gave me many emotions. Sad, happy, angry, and everything you can imagine to be honest. This book is a true emotional rollercoaster. I definitely enjoyed reading this book. I choose this book because I find love stories to be very cute. Especially young love stories, they give me a feeling of satisfaction when I read these type of stories, and I don’t really know why. I was kinda in the same situation as both Eleanor and Park. I guess I could say the only issue I had with the book, was that some of the parts were very unrealistic, but I would kinda imagine that from a love story book. 

3. I don’t recommend this book to all audiences, because I understand some people wouldn’t enjoy this book. But for people who are looking for romantic love story books, then I highly recommend this book. Especially if your looking for young love romantic books, this is definitely one to go find. Overall, this book was very cute to read. I loved it. 

In short, it's a great book for people who like Sport Stories.  Also, if you like fiction and crazy events that really make you think or try to guess what is going to happen next.  I personally liked Tangerine because I love soccer and sports, and this book is so unpredictable and a fun read because so many out of the ordinary things occur.

Quarter 2 SSR Project

Ms. Mahoney

1-12-18

Hit Squad

James Heneghan

        In the novel, Hit Squad by James Heneghan, the setting takes place at Grandview High School.  Grandview High is more of a wealthier school; however, there are kids from Creekside High School who are starting to transfer to Grandview.  The kids from Creekside are not as wealthy and popular as Grandview kids.  Mickey is the main character who switched from Creekside to attend Grandview High.  Since there is a difference in the popularity and wealth from the two different schools, there is also a huge bullying problem at Grandview High.  Another main character, Birgit, proposed a solution to the bullying conflict.  She proposed that a group of students start a “hit squad.”  This group of kids would go after the kids that were bullying others.  Throughout the novel, the members of the hit squad go on adventurous missions in order to eliminate bullying at their school.  

    The narration of this novel is 3rd person singular.  The only instances where “I” is used, is in the direct quotes from the characters.  This novel is a fast paced, adventurous story.  I really liked how there was so much action and suspense associated with the story.  For example, the author, James Heneghan, creates many suspenseful situations in a quick amount of time with smooth transitions.  Students that enjoy action/adventure and suspense will definitely enjoy reading this novel and I strongly encourage them to give this novel a try. 

           Could wizards, witches, and magic be real like the people today? If you believe so then you’ll love this. Even though Harry Potter lived with the aunt and uncle he hated, and fought through 6 hard years of going to Wizarding school at Hogwarts, and being made fun of by his guardians, he stuck through it all and became a very powerful wizard at a young age. The book starts out at this house on Private Drive late in the night where he has fallen asleep waiting for Dumbledore to come pick him up. Later on, Harry finds out that he will be having private lessons with Dumbledore and soon finds out that he will not be able to pursue his dreams of being an Auror..or will he? As time goes on, Christmas comes around and he finds that one of his friends have been cursed and will not return for a long time. To wrap it up, Dumbledore and Harry go on a journey to find at Horcrux and when they do they fly back to the castle to find there is a battle going on, and that Draco Malfoy has let Death Eaters into the castle to kill Dumbledore, and they do succeed on killing him and getting away, and it turned out that the Horcrux was a fake (Rowling 1-652).

     What I liked about Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is that it has a variety of ways that things could work out for you or change in an instant like in real life and that the way it is written will make you want to read the whole series in just a week.

    I would recommend it for people who like to read fiction books or sci-fi books because it really stands out for me and I love to read fiction books.

                                 Lee - Routt county sheriff 

Setting:   Modern day - Ski Resort - Routt Co. Colorado

        Jesse Parker, a Denver police detective, returns home to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to relieve stress by working the ski hills for the winter.  His plans change however, when a skier is found dead on the ski lift.  Throughout the book he works with his old partner, and town sheriff, Lee Torrens to catch this killer.  He soon finds that he has been dragged back into the world of murder and crime that he thought he had left behind.  The killer is found to be using a “jigger” as his weapon, after he drops it off the lift after an attempted murder.  The jigger is a spring loaded blade in a metal cylinder housing.  When the trigger is hit, the spring shoots the blade forward going through anything in its path.  He killed 4 people with the jigger before he lost it.  After rumors went around about the killing spree at the resort, both the people and the resort crew were much more hesitant.  The way he would kill is to wait for one person to get on the lift by themselves and at the last second, ski up and ride up with them.  After a while, the staff only let groups of 1 or 3 on the lifts.  No two people could go together unless they knew each other.  He figured out this rule pretty fast.  He followed a resort employee home one night and killed him in his house.  He then stole his uniform and showed up on the hills as an “employee”.  No one ever thought twice about letting a worker ride up with one other person on the lift.  As for his killings, there was no obvious motive for Lee and Jesse to follow.  There was no pattern whatsoever in his killings.  They were simply random.  Once the press found out about it the first reporter to cover it was Jesse’s ex-wife.  She gave a positive report saying they had it under control, which made the killer mad since he had them totally confused.  After that, his next target was now Abby, the reporter and Jesse’s ex-wife.  She was headed to the airport for her flight home. He picked her up in a “taxi” and kidnapped her.  By this time Jesse and Lee had figured this out and were on the trail.  He took her up to the top of the mountain on a snowmobile, trying to outrun the deputy.  At the top of the mountain, he almost has Jesse beat, Jesse being stuck and the killer having a gun to his head.  Lee finally catches up with them and saves both Jesse and Abby.  Jesse’s brains and Lee’s ability to get stuff done saved the ski resort from total chaos.  I recommend this book to anyone who likes detective and action books.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes tense stories.  That is why the hunt for the Red October is a good book.

I thought the book was interesting because it creates a suspense on what is actually going on in that town. I would recommend this book for people who like a story that is kinda creepy.

This book was enjoyable to read because of the creativity and originality of the author, and the fast paced adventure which the author depicted. Tolkien’s ability to create an entire language and world was mind blowing to me, and I think it testaments to how much effort and thought he put into writing this masterpiece. The fast pace of the novel made it both exciting and tense, depending on how the author timed events throughout the story. One example of this was when the company was hiding in the castle from Smaug, the dragon who took control of the castle and the hoard of treasure which he hid within it, ravages the land around the castle in search of the company. Both the pace and originality of this novel made it unable for me to put down, as well as the skill with which the author sets the mood, and leaves the reader wanting more with each page. I think readers who are almost teenagers or teenagers would greatly enjoy this book, because I as a child of that age felt a love of adventure, and I think Tolkien really brings that element of excitement and adventure to the fore in this wonder of a book. I think anyone who feels at all interested in fiction, adventure, or a thrilling story should read this book, because this novel is one of the best of each of those categories in my opinion, and others should experience the wonder, excitement, and thrilling adventure of this book just as I did. 

While reading the memoir, there were several moments where I had to stop and collect my thoughts.  One of which was when Jeannette, now in college, tells her professor that some people choose to be poor.  Her professor disagrees and attempts to debate with her, but Jeannette retreats in order to escape attention.  This brought up that one can never truly know the extent of another person’s own experience and past sufferings.  There was also a moment where Jeannette is bullied by a black girl from school, but after helping out another child the girl befriends Jeannette.  Several years later, the girl is arrested for stabbing her stepfather to death, who is implied to have raped the young girl.  This brought up the overall theme of child poverty and abuse, and the effect it can have on children.  I enjoyed the book, and it opened my eyes to the issue of poverty and its prevalence in America.  I would recommend this novel to anyone who wants to read about poverty, or just anyone looking for a good book to sit down and read before bed.

Hillary Clinton has an interesting writing style and deep content that would interest any political activist. Of course, this book was an act of catharsis and carries a relatable writing style. Clearly, one can sense her frustrations with America and herself as well as the worries she has for the United States. Certainly, within the pages one will find what policies Clinton wanted to put in place as well as her personal beliefs on human rights and other topics relating to such things. Personally, I enjoyed both of these aspects of her writing. I would recommend this book to any political activist who needs inspiration or Liberal that needs peace of mind. In addition, I would recommend this book to any conservative that wants a better understanding of the democratic agenda. This book is a wonderful documentation of Hillary Clinton’s thoughts and beliefs. 

    This book without a doubt was one of my favorite reads as it has many qualities that I enjoy in a book. It includes action, mystery and just a good story in general. The author's pace in writing this book definitely did not feel rushed or was slow. It had a good pace in when things should’ve happened and when things shouldn't have. The narration was third person omniscient and I really enjoyed how I got to know what and how everyone was feeling and what their thoughts were in certain scenes. As the book progresses I realized how easy it was for someone to be manipulated and mistrusted. I felt as I would’ve sided with Ralph and tried to do anything in my power to being rescued. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys action, adventure and mystery as this book really gets to what you would do in certain situations. At first when I picked this book I was hesitant as I was told this book was not a good read. My feelings toward this book or anything in general changed as I should try something before I judge it.

    

 

Evaluation: The novel Feed was a good book in my opinion. It had a really great and original plot, and the main characters were very unique. The pacing was also pretty good. This book is also a good representation of futuristic society and the average American’s dependency on technology. I also enjoyed the futuristic dialect that many of the characters used, because it made the book feel more modern. There weren’t many flaws in Feed, but if I were to define one, it would be that it this book was hard to get into at the beginning and took a while before anything extremely interesting happened. While it has its flaws, Feed remains a solid novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Recommendation: I feel that Feed is a book that would appeal to many readers. The book takes place in a dystopian society, so fans of The Giver and Divergent would enjoy this read. The book also has its fair share of romance, so people interested in stories involving romance should give it a try. Themes of satire and the impact of technology on society are also present. Finally, I would also recommend this book to any fan of sci-fi or futuristic novels. However, this book is rather explicit and tragic, so I would not recommend Feed to anybody who is not interested in any of the qualities outlined above. Overall, I would recommend the novel to any matured reader with an interest in explicit, satirical, or romantic books.

 

 
 

       I recommend the book Woods Runner to anyone that likes to be outdoors and that enjoys adventure. I thought this book was very entertaining and always excited to see what would happen next.

 
I really enjoyed the narration because it was easy for me to understand; I also really liked the context because it was written in such a way that I didn’t want to stop reading. I would recommend this book to people that like to spend their time outdoors and in the wilderness.

The book Avalanche Pass by John Flanagan takes place in Utah at a ski resort in the middle of nowhere. After recovering from a serious injury the previous ski season, Jessie, the main character, is back and ready to ski. One morning while Jessie was out skiing, the resort and roughly 100 guests and employees were taken hostage by an unknown terror group. Jessie, being an undercover cop, discovered the terrorists were holding the guests hostage at the resort when he saw a bus full of many guests leaving the resort and a charge set off by the terrorists buried the bus by an avalanche. He went to his car to get his gun and phone. He devised a plan to try to defeat the terrorists which included sneaking inside and speaking to a hostage who happened to be an ex-marine. Jessie called the police and warned them about what was happening at the resort. He told them not to come or all the guests would be killed because the terrorists had machine guns and missiles. They surrounded the resort at a distance and attempted negotiating with the terrorists but that did not work. At the same time, two of the hostages overtook a few of the terrorists, grabbed their guns and barricaded themselves in the gym. This distracted the other terrorists and created a perfect time for the police and marines to storm the building and defeat the terrorists. 

I enjoyed this book because it was full of action and seemed like a more realistic hostage situation because not everyone lived. By having a person on the inside helping Jessie to defeat the terrorists, this made the story more exciting. 

I recommend this book to people who enjoy action, danger and the unexpected