"And in the middle of them,
with filthy body, matted hair, unwired nose, Ralph wept for the end of
innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the
true, wise friend called Piggy" (202).
Every school has the brainy kid, the
leader, the followers, the clown, and the level headed kid who tries to
geteveryone to think sensibly. What if
they were the only people around? Would their society be fun, good, strong, crazy?
Who would set the rules and uphold them? What if people didn't agree? With
everything to consider, it is a wonder adults get anything done.
Shipwrecked on an island, with no
adults to tell them what to do and how to act, 11 boys will be left to create
there own rules of society. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses.
They will have to work together to survive, but they are still children. So the
question remains, who would be the Lord
of the Flies?
“In a hole in the ground there lived
a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an
oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on
or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort” (Tolkien 3).
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit, who likes
nothing more than to tend his garden, smoke his pipe, and be left in peace.
Gandalf the Grey is a wizard, who likes nothing more to make sure justice is
served, Middle Earth is safe, and that people and creatures great and small are
a part of the world not just merely living in it.
When Gandalf enters into Bilbo
Baggins’ life, it will change it from a peaceful existence to an adventure
shared. He will share his adventures with 13 dwarves, on a mission to reclaim
their home, fight trolls, wargs, goblins, elves, dragons, and more. Bilbo’s
story of going “There and Back Again” will go beyond his life, into the lives
of others in Middle Earth yet to come.
Courtesy of Amazon.com
Click HERE to read the e-book.
Dr. Victor Frankenstein, creating
life one monster at a time.
Born to a wealthy Genevese family,
Victor was no stranger to the world. How the world worked inspired him, even
more so after meeting scientists who would show how the world around him was a
natural supporter of life. After suffering great loss, he would journey into
the world of medical science not to save life, but to bring it back from death.
Dr. Frankstein's story is vivid with
discovery, love, loss, fear, guilt, and how he will journey to destroy the monster
he created.
Courtesy of ObeyGiant
Click HERE to read the e-book.
No humans allowed, this is our farm, the "Animal Farm".
Manor Farm is your typical farm, there are cows, chickens, horses, dogs and
pigs. Mr. Jones is it's owner and works at farming the land and his stock, but
he is not the kindest of owners. The animals live in fear of being sold off for
meat or to be made into glue, so what though, they are animals after all.
Major, is an old pig, although even in his twelve years of age, he is a
"majestic-looking" and "benevolent" pig. He will organize
the animals in an uprising against their oppressor Mr. Jones. He will lead them
to a society that gives care, freedom, and fair treatment to all animals. But,
he will always be and act like a pig.
Will the animals find solace and freedom from tyranny in their newly formed
society?Or will Major only prove to be
an even greedier and crueler owner than the human? Can the world be made better
at "Animal Farm"?
Imagine your perfect day. In your
perfect day do you imagine a fish head in your dinner rations, having the job
of keeping the fire going while the others lay bricks in the snow and wind, or
getting two extra cigarettes toward the end of the day?
For Ivan Denisovich Shukhov today
was a perfect day for these things and more. A prisoner of a Siberian Gulag
camp in Russia, a prisoner rarely feels like it is there day. Some have been
there so long, they do not know what to do with themselves when they leave.
"The end of an unclouded day.
Almost a happy one. Just one of the 3,653 days of his sentence, from bell to
bell" (Solzhenitsyn 98).
Courtesy of Ms. Stimpson's 7th hour Language Arts Enrichment
So, what about teen
reading? I sat down with some teens ages 15-16 (sophomores in high school) to
talk about there reading habits and what they like or dislike about some of the
books that are out there.
Why do you read?
5 of them said they read for fun, while 13 of them said they
read if they have to, such as for a class assignment.
Some genres you like
to read...
“I like comedy.” –Alvaro C., age 16
“I like stories that
are true.” –Monic J., age 16
“I like fiction, like
fairy tales and fantasy and stuff.” –Andrea G., age 16
“Umm.. I got to think about this hold up, I’m not sure.
There are so many out there. I like to read a lot. Like emotional books.” –Selena
A., age 16
“Me, mystery.” –Andrea Z., age 15
Others mentioned were mystery, horror, suspense,
contemporary ("None of that old stuff." –Juan A., age 15) and
romance.
But, what about the
classics? What do you like or dislike about them?
“The hard thing about reading these stories, like Shakespeare,
is it's hard and really confusing language.” –Andrea G., age 16
“I read them to know how things were back then (in the
past).” –Monic J., age 16
“It just depends on the story.” –Juan A., age 15
“I love classics.” –Lauren A., age 16
“They are original.
They usually make movies out of it, and then they ruin it. Then you have to
read the book and people say the book is better than the movie…You’re basically
creating your own movie in your mind.” –Selena A., age 15
Any favorite classics?
Alice in Wonderland was talked about by Destiny T. (age 15),
Andrea G. (age 16), Lea M. (age 15), and Lauren A. (age 16).
“I like how the cat disappears...and the crazy old rabbit.” –Lea
M., age 15
“The red queen is cool...also the tea party.” –Andrea G.,
age 16
“My favorite part is when Alice freaks out because of the
cat disappearing.” –Destiny T., age 15
To Kill a Mockingbird was also given a mention by Juan A.
(age 15), she said, "It was good...Boo Radley stood out to me in the story
the most."
Other books were Wizard of Oz and The Scarlet Letter.
So, what do you look
for in a book?
“Interesting plot points.” –Monic J., age 16
“I like good authors. Good story line, and a nice cover.” –Selena
A., age 15
“I like it when we can watch the movie after (reading) the
book.” –Andrea G., age 16
“A good ending.” –Lauren A., age 16
“I don’t know.” –Andrea Z., age 15
What can reviewers do
to get your attention to read about a book?
“What grabs my attention is the back of the book.” –Destiny T., age 15
“Use good quotes.” –Juan A., age 15
“Tag lines, like with movies.” –Jose L., age 15
“Really what grabs my attention is the title of the book.” –Selena
A., age 15
Courtesy of Goodreads
Click HERE to see James Patterson's Facebook page.
Daniel
X is your typical teenage boy. He plays video games, is interested in sports,
and hunting the occasional alien hell bent of destroying the world.
“There
were hundreds of millions of GC games and consoles in the world. If the company
was able to just flick a switch and turn every player into an armed killer…
GAME OVER” (18)
So,
are you one of the millions out for the ultimate gamer experience? Or are you
going to save the planet with Daniel X?
“
‘Although, if you start to feel overstimulated…try some off-line games
too’…with that steel shutters dropped across the store windows, and two
security guards pulled out their sidearms and began blasting away. At me
(Daniel).” (175)
Daniel
X, saving the Earth, one alien created video game at a time.
