When they all arrive, they look around wondering what they all did to be there. It turns out that they all had a fake cell phone placed in their backpacks that would put them all in detention that day. They are given their assignment by the teacher, Mr. Avery. Simon requests to get his water bottle that seems to be missing but Mr. Avery refuses and tells him to grab a cup and get a drink from the sink. He does as he is told and returns to his seat when the students all hear a loud bang and quickly go to the window to see what is going on. Two cars had crashed in the parking lot so Mr. Avery said he would go check on everybody to see if they were okay. Simon starts gagging and clawing at his throat so everyone turns around to help him. He asks for his epipen but no one can find it. Bronwyn goes to grab a teacher and Cooper goes to the nurse to get more epipens, only to find out that there were none in her office. 911 gets called and they arrive at the scene shortly thereafter. Everyone goes home only to find out that Simon passed on the way to the hospital. 

Investigations start to find out why Simon had an allergic reaction to the water. Nate, Bronwyn, Addy, and Cooper are all questioned about the events multiple times over the course of the few days. They all claimed they had nothing to do with it and that Simon simply started choking on his own. It is later revealed that the four students all had posts that Simon was waiting to post to his app about them. Now the police figure that they all have a motive if they were the ones that murdered Simon. Weeks and even months pass when all the people involved were given no clues to who it could be. Nate, the druggie who was already on probation seemed to be the most obvious one so the police arrested him after having barely any evidence against him. After about a week, he is released from jail because the detectives finally cracked the case. Who is the murderer? You will have to find out when you read: One Of Us Is Lying!

One highlight from the book was when the team finally cracked the case in the coffee shop that they were in because they could not only get the weight off of their shoulders but also free Nate from jail.

I think that it was probably one of the best books that I have read and it was very intriguing to read for me. There were a lot of ups and downs in it. It felt like every chapter there was a change in the plot and had me thinking that a different person was the killer. Overall I enjoyed this book and I am glad that I read it!

A moment that stood out to me was when the animals were so persistent to keep rebuilding their windmill. They started building the windmill towards the middle of the book then it got knocked down. It took them a bit of time, but eventually they rebuilt it even better only for it to be knocked down again. Then, they decided to rebuild it one more final time. Will it work? Will it fulfill their needs? Either way it shows how much the animals trusted their leader, Napoleon. It also shows that the animals were quite persistent and determined to have the windmill they hoped for. In conclusion, Animal Farm wasn’t my favorite book, but I still thought it was a good read. It helped me get a better grasp of the way a democracy and dictatorship work. I also got a better understanding of how a government can change with the different perspective used in Animal Farm. 

Montag has a revelation about what it means to think like a writer once he understands what it means to be a writer. He realizes that writers are very creative and imaginative, like Clarisse and then they organize and shape their thoughts on paper. As he tells Mildred, it dawns on him that "each of those books was written by a man.They had to be invented by a man. It must have taken a long time for a man to write them down.” For the majority of his adult life, he regarded books as merely physical objects, not the inner thoughts of mankind. Clarisse taught him that the books he was burning are the result of human effort. They represent a writer's entire life, including his or her worldview. Montag realized that by burning them, he is metaphorically burning writers like Clarisse. This revelation revealed how immoral his work was, prompting him to take a courageous stance against the burning of the books.

I agree and was happy to see that Montag finally realized burning books was immoral and wrong. Books are vital to our society because without books, we cannot gain knowledge. Just like how Guy Montag thinks about Authors and books at the end, I too agree that every piece of literature contains parts of the author's soul and by burning the books, you are burning a part of their soul. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury is showing the world how we must preserve books so that future generations can learn accurate accounts of history both from the past and present, but also see the world through the lens of different perspectives. 

The highlight of the story is how Xing Xing is stopped from living her dream because she needs to take care of her step-sister. Xing Xing is doing whatever her stepmother says hoping she won’t sell her as a slave. In need of food Xing Xing comes back with all the dead raccoons except for who she now cares for. Until she found out that the raccoon was blind and was biting off her two toes. Her mother blames the whole situation on Xing Xing and tells her to go find a doctor whom her sister wants a date with. Again her mother forgot about Xing Xing and only focused on her real daughter. The story ends in a complete surprise leaving Xing Xing a better priority. 

Bound by Napoli, Donna Jo, is amazing, making the reader want to read more. If you enjoy picturesque tales, and a hint of romance, then I can't recommend a different book. This story reminds me of the Cinderella story because she has the stepmother and the evil step-sister making her do all of the dirty work while the step-sister looks all clean and pretty. This book is not only a love story it has a historical aspect to it. You get a glimpse into Chinese history, of binding feet, prayer, tradition, and superstitions. If I had to make one complaint about this book, I would say the ending of the book seemed to be a bit rushed. It felt as if the author spent a lot of time writing it and just wanted it to be done. As an overall rating, I would give this book a 4.5/5. 

One event between Aza, the main character struggling with anxiety and OCD, and her best friend Daisy, really broke my heart. Aza discovered that one of Daisy’s fanfiction characters was based on her- and this character was worrisome, clumsy, and just overall written to be disliked. Daisy did this to release the frustration she felt with her best friend. 

Aza was hurt by this, as you would be when someone insults you because of what you can’t control. She wished she could just let go of these unwanted thoughts, just simply accept that her mind and body worked a certain way. But she couldn’t. That’s the thing about mental illness. You can’t just stop it.

Let’s say you suffered an injury, for example. It’s considered basic manners to let you rest, and take a break from school or work while you heal. And telling a hospital patient who’s fighting to breathe that they're weak and should just get up out of bed sounds ridiculous and rude, right? But what about when an injury isn’t visible? What about when nobody realizes that you’re hurting? What about when someone struggles with an illness all of the time? Where do those manners go? Where does that understanding go? Don’t they deserve the same respect and validation? Aza feared that the people around her all thought she was weak and selfish for always being in her thoughts. Does she deserve that?

 Out of all of the many amazing ways John Green expresses Aza’s challenges, one is my favorite:

I think this quote truly speaks for itself. 

John Green did a phenomenal job in writing Turtles All The Way Down. Mental illness literature is so important when done correctly. It shines a light on the things people struggling with mental illness have to deal with. It's important for all ages- especially teenagers in this day and age- to understand that they're not alone and that they can learn to heal and adapt to their environment.

Time :August19-26          

reading time:8 days

After watching the author: Eric lu

The absolutely true diary of a part time Indian to tell meThis work tells the story of a 14-year-old Indian boy named Arnold who fights against the world for his life. Arnold was born with hydrocephalus, and his appearance was unremarkable. Living on an Indian reservation, he was plagued by poverty, violence, and alcoholism by his family and people from an early age. In order to escape from this miserable place and to gain hope for a future life, he resolutely decided to transfer to a white school farther from home.The end for the book, I know some also proved that he succeeded in building a new image full of wisdom, courage and enterprising spirit from the stereotyped image of an Indian in the minds of white people. The new identity constructed by Arnold is neither Indian nor white, but a new hybrid identity. I like his courage, and his hard work. I want to learn from his strengths, although I won't be like him, but I will take it as my example.

Even though the book is about high school students, it is a great book for eighth graders who like realistic mysteries. The book also gives the reader an example of the value of friendship and working together to achieve a goal. Throughout the book, there are surprising events that are totally unexpected. You are constantly learning different details that affect the way you think the case will be solved. The story is so suspenseful that you cannot put the book down because you want to find out what will happen next. However, there is some mention of more mature topics that might be uncomfortable for some readers, although there are no detailed scenes involving these topics. Overall, One of Us is Lying is a gripping story that will make you want more from the author. 

 There are incredibly significant differences between her life and the lives of 13 year old girls living in our area today. When she was 13, her concerns revolved around where her next meal was coming from, and how to survive in a war-torn country and the Nazis who were hunting Jews so they could imprison them in concentration camps.  Today, we are fortunate that our lives are not filled with such horrors.  Today, the majority of 13 year old girls are concerned with their hair, nails, the next big social media star, etc. In contrast, it seems pretty mindless. 

One of the most important truths I’ve learned from this book is that we don’t actually need things like a TV or a smartphone in order to live our daily lives. Anne Franke spent two years in hiding from the Nazis before she passed away three weeks before the war ended. All she had was a peice of paper and a pencil. That was all she needed; she did’nt need to talk/post about her emotions on social media to solicit feedback from others. She didn’t intend for this diary to be released. She used her diary as a way of recording her emotions and thoughts.. 

Though these unchangeable democratic laws initially worked they soon lost their meaning as they were amended to suit Comrade Napoleon’s interests and his pig allies. When a leader learns he can dupe the lower ranks of animals on the farm who cannot read and take advantage of their simple unquestionable minds, equality no longer exists under the rule of a dictatorship. This type of behavior is constantly driven in our society to prey on the weak and take advantage of others especially, if one has the ability to get away with it. Freedom, hope and the possibility for the animals to have self-autonomy and equality without being under the rule of man becomes unrealistic as the piggist leaders rule on fear and intimidation which mimics the world we live in.

It is ironic how the plot becomes very relatable as the pigs adapt the characteristics of human behavior. This shows how societies are built on power, greed, manipulation and control. It only took one clever pig such as Napoleon to advance into a ruling tyrant as he sought his chance to undermine the weak and illiterate. He became unstoppable like so many historical leaders in our past and present as he lost his core principles, ethics and morality. In the newly created Animal Farm the thirst to rule becomes addicting. In this dictator’s mind, “the end justifies the means” as long as Napoleon held the ruling hand and was superior in command. Chaos and disorder unravel quickly and the grass does not always seem greener in the fight for autonomy between animal vs man.

One heroic character, Snowball, becomes most admirable in my mind as he tried to stand up to Napoleon. In my opinion, it was not a surprise that he was easily cast aside as a traitor. Moreover, when a superior is in charge and it takes only one to challenge the actions, how quickly they become destroyed. The underlying message in the classic is represented today as the fight for power and the never ending control over land, groups of people and the desire to reap monetary gain becomes a perpetual cycle. Desire for control and greed will always exist and to live in a harmonious peaceful world seems very unrealistic if the elites are to continue in power. The overall lesson is that we must remain hopeful and come together as a nation to try to create worlds of equality for all mankind and stand up to the Napoleon's in charge. 

Alex Cohen

In 1945 George Orwell wrote Animal Farm, a book that is still important today. In this book Animals become unhappy with their situation and want to change the rules on the farm and make their farm a place of equality and freedom. George Orwell really wrote about what was happening in the Soviet Union up to 1945. At the beginning of the Russian Revolution the Soviets were pure in their beliefs. Similar to the animals in the book, they wanted freedom from oppression and equality for everyone. We see the same beginning in Animal Farm, showing the true believers and followers in the beginning, and then showing the people/animals who used this to gain power. The final moment in the book stands out the most, because in the final moment the most powerful pigs and humans are celebrating all together while everybody else is in the same situation they were in at the beginning of the book.

I chose the final moment as the most important highlight because in it we see Napoleon the pig sitting at the head of the table. He is now a power hungry dictator who is celebrating with humans while walking on two legs. Napoleon reminds me of Joseph Stalin, the murderous dictator that ruled the Soviet Union from 1922-1953. Just like Stalin, Napoleon initially supported the change, but then manipulated and killed all his competition to gain power. Throughout the book there is a message to all animals saying “four legs is better than two legs”. At the end we start to see the pigs walking on two legs, and making a power grab with Napoleon in charge. In the final moment there is no difference between pigs and people. They are just both oppressors and they abused everybody else just like the Soviet Government was. 

In my opinion George Orwell was very clever because he chose to represent his views on communism by writing a story of animals and not human characters. This book can be used to educate young children about what works in society and what does not. In this book Orwell showed how flawed the communist society really is. He also shows that in revolutions things don't always end the way you think they will. I would recommend this book to other eighth graders. 

For my book I chose the novel Ender's Game. What I thought about the book was different from what I normally see in a book. This novel was very relatable since it was about a boy my age who had an ambition and followed it with a lot of passion. Ender went to battle school to fight against an alien race known as the buggers. His purpose was to lead their armies into victorious battles. He stood out at battle school but struggled with finding good friends whom he could trust and rely on. A highlight from this book was when everyone of his classmates in the war room called him small and picked on him but he showed his talent and determination and ended up defeating all of his competitors by a landslide. My opinion on this book for 8th graders is that I really enjoyed it and liked the elaborate storytelling. I liked how the author used elements of a person that are very relatable to the target audience. He used emotions and real world references to show problems and conflict. Overall I really enjoyed the summer reading of Ender’s Game and would recommend it to everyone above the age of 13 so that they can really comprehend and connect.

David's dad is the sheriff in town, this means that they are a highly respected and well known family. David also shares that it is just after the second world war and that means that all the men in the town that went to war just want to be with their families, this means that apart from the “drunks” there are not many people causing trouble in the county. The book is written with three main long chapters and an epilogue; this makes the chapters very long and it is not one of those books with short chapters with a hook at the end of them. Mostly all the characters are the Hayden family with a couple exceptions. This book is really hard to put down as the characters must overcome the fact that family is family and take their jobs seriously, when they find their housekeeper; Marie Little Soldier dead. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to relate to the main character and to someone who can take a couple of sexual words here and there. Also I would recommend this to anyone who likes realistic fiction, for example if you like fantasy and science fiction this is not the book for you.