Courtney

 “I keep trying to find a way of becoming what I would so like to be, and what I could be if... there weren’t any other people living in this world”. __Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl__, by Anne Frank, is a non-fictional story about a teenage girl in hiding during World War II. Anne Frank was a young girl struggling as a Jew through World War II. Anne received a diary for her thirteenth birthday, just weeks before she went into hiding with her family. The Frank’s hid in a secret annex in Mr. Frank’s office building in Amsterdam. The family lived with close friends, the Vaan Dan’s and a local dentist named Mr. Dussel. The eight “family” members had to learn to live in hiding, living in fear constantly. They could only whisper until 5:30 in the evening because the workmen were there all day until that time. No one was allowed to use the wash closet until 5:30, either. For two years the group continued to hide like this until, on August 4, 1944, a group of Nazi’s barged in and discovered them.  After the eight of them were captured, they were taken to a concentration camp called Westerbork. In September, 1944, they were taken on a crowded freight train to Auschwitz, in Poland. Here men and women were separated. This was the last that Otto Frank saw of his family. In October, 1944, Anne, Margot and Mrs. Van Daan were among a group sent to Belsen, Germany. Mrs. Van Daan and Margot died in the Belsen Concentration Camp. Anne, who was already sick, sensed that her sister was gone and died of typhus a few days later. She was not yet sixteen. Mrs. Frank remained at the Auschwitz camp all alone, refusing to eat, and died on January 6, 1945. Mr. Van Daan was taken off to be gassed, and Mr. Dussel was sent back to Germany and died in the Neuengamme camp. When the SS abandoned Auschwitz, they took Peter Van Daan and Otto Frank. Peter was never heard from again but Otto survived long enough to be freed by the Russians.  This book tells a very sad and inspirational story about what times were like during the Holocaust. Anne Frank’s diary is a voice from her and so many others that died during the Holocaust. The records of her family’s life give everyone a better understanding of what she and so many other people had to experience. I was glued to this story and I tried to read it whenever I could. It made me think so much about what all of the Jews were experiencing during this time and how much they suffered just because of their religion. I also could not believe how harsh and cruel someone could be to another person. Just to think that someone could make another human being suffer like that, being starved, overworked and then killed in such a horrifying way, is just an awful feeling.  The problem in this tragic story is that during the Holocaust, the German’s wanted to make one “superior” race of people. They were determined to be the rulers and wipe out everyone that they considered to be “inferior” or not as good as they saw themselves. The German’s gathered up families that did not fit their standards and put them into many different camps and “disposed” of them. Millions were tortured and murdered. Another problem is that the people were so fearful that they did nothing to stop this crisis. This story taught me to never judge a person by his or her race, religion, language, etc. It also taught me to accept others that are different from me.  When Anne wrote this diary, she did not mean for it to become a book that would be read all around the world. She was just expressing her feelings and needed to talk to someone. Anne definitely connected with me. She was a young girl who loved to read and write and expressed her feelings through writing, like I do. She was my age and wanted to become an author. I would think that teenagers my age or older should read this story. I am not so sure if anyone younger than I would be able to handle the topic. Older people would love to read this inspiring diary because some of them may have lived through this time. I liked this book because it showed how a girl my age could make such a huge difference in the world just with a pen and a piece of paper. The story let me feel her emotions. “I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains”. Despite everything that was happening, Anne managed to still see the good in people.

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__The Outsiders__ by S.E Hinton =====

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 “When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home...” __The Outsiders__, by S.E. Hinton, is a fictional story about a young fourteen year old boy named Ponyboy Curtis, who lives in Oklahoma and belongs to a well known gang called the “Greasers”. The “Greasers” constantly fight against another gang called the “Socs”. Ponyboy lives with his two brothers, Darry and Sodapop. His parents died when he was little and ever since, Darry, the oldest brother, wasin charge of the family. There are many members in the “Greasers”. There are Ponyboy, his brothers, Dally, Two-bit, Steve and Johnny. One night, the Socs almost kill Ponyboy, so Johnny kills one of the Socs. After that, the two of them decide to run away together, so the cops won’t catch them. Dally helps them find an abandoned church where they could live. =====

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 After a week, Dally comes to visit the boys and they go out to lunch. The three of them decide to turn themselves in. Just when they are going back to the church, it catches on fire and there are many kids inside. Johnny and Ponyboy race inside and save the little kids, but when Johnny tries to get out of the church, something falls on him. Dally quickly gets him out and the three of them are rushed to the hospital. Johnny is in critical condition. He passes away a few days later. Dally can’t handle life without Johnny being there, so he basically kills himself. After that, the gang just isn’t the same. Ponyboy fails English in school because his mind is troubled. He needs to write a paper for school, in order to get his grade up, so he decides to write his story on everything that has happened. He begins his paper by saying, “When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home...” =====

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 This book was very interesting and intense. It was also very sad, which made me want to know what was going to happen next. My mind didn’t wander at all while reading __The Outsiders__. I had a lot of questions while reading this book, but they were always answered later on in the story. The plot was memorable because it may have applied to one of our real life experiences. It may have brought back many memories. It was hard to forget the kind of things that happened in this book. =====

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This book taught me to never give up no matter how bad things get. Even if you are going through a hard time, you can’t give up and let the problem rule your life. It showed me how to be independent and stand up for myself. I think this author accomplished everything that she was trying to do. This story definitely connected with me. I can relate to Ponyboy, completely. I have had many of my family members pass away and I know how hard that can be on some people. The characters connected with each other as well. These experiences brought them closer and made them more of a family. They actually started to understand each other. =====

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 There were many different surprises in the story and you never knew what would happen next. You would have to try and fill in the missing puzzle piece to each chapter. Some chapters would end with a cliffhanger and that made me want to keep reading. The dialogue was also very believable. This could have happened in real life. I would give this book five stars because of how interesting it was. Something new would happen in each chapter and I was literally glued to the book. I would recommend this book for anyone my age and older who like a good fight. It might relate to them and it will definitely get their attention. S.E Hinton grew up in Oklahoma and is still living there today. She started to write __The Outsiders__ when she was fifteen years old. She has always loved reading and writing and still does to this day =====

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__The Wave__ by Todd Strasser (summer reading)

__The Wave__ , by Todd Strasser, is a fictional novel about a school experiment at Gordon High School. When Gordon High’s history teacher, Ben Ross, shows his class a video involving Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, the class doesn’t quite understand what Mr. Ross is trying to teach them. Mr.Ross decides to do an experiment to show the kids what life was like for the Nazis. That experiment is called “The Wave.” He starts to teach the class about good posture and obedience. He makes the kids believe that everyone is equal and that they are a team. Soon enough, Ben Ross has the kids reciting a motto, which is “Strength Through Discipline, Strength Through Community, Strength Through Action.” He also has them giving a team salute. Soon, other people from other classes begin to go to Mr. Ross’s class, just to learn about The Wave. Laurie Sanders, a classmate from the original history class, starts to feel uncomfortable with the idea of The Wave. She thinks that the experiment is going too far. Students are actually starting to act like Nazis. It is starting to affect the whole school. Wave members are starting to mistreat non-wave members and everyone is going along with the idea. Another classmate named David Collins starts to realize that The Wave is beginning to take over the whole school, so Laurie and David decide to try to stop The Wave. Ben Ross also begins to get in trouble with parents, teachers and even the principal, so he too decides to stop the classroom experiment that is going too far. This book has a good lesson for everyone. I think the book is saying that it is okay for everyone to be equal, or be a team but sometimes you have to make your own decisions. Many of the kids did not think ahead before deciding to join The Wave and that had bad results. Those results made the plot memorable. The kids <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__made mistakes__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. Mistakes teach lessons and are not easily forgotten. The plot grabbed my attention and it made me feel like I was part of the story. The story created an image in my mind and I asked many questions. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I will definitely think about what this book was trying to tell me, in the near future. I think this author accomplished everything he was trying to do in this story. It is a wonderful book and I hope many other children and schools read it as well. There were many connections in the story. The characters connected with each other and they also connected with me. They all had a strong bond and had to relate to each other in order to be part of The Wave. I think the characters developed as people throughout this whole novel. In the beginning, they were “big shot” students who didn’t pay attention, but by the end, they were much more confident in their abilities. I can definitely relate to Laurie Sanders. I had all of the same opinions as her and thought the same about almost everything. She was also a very good role model in the story. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There were many surprises in this novel. Those were some of the things that kept me reading and kept me interested. Another thing that kept me reading was that some chapters would end with a cliffhanger. For example, the last line of chapter three is “Those two, she mumbled, making a fist.” That would make me want to discover what would happen next. The dialogue was also believable and very natural. I would give this book four stars because it was very good but, I still think it could have been a little better because I liked the other book more. It was very good and I will definitely read it more than once. I think middle school students and adults would enjoy reading this novel. It has a mature subject matter and I think they would relate to it. Some adults remember or were a part of World war II, during the Nazi rule, so they would make a big connection with the story. “Strength Through Discipline, Strength Through Community, Strength Through <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Action,” is a quote that best describes the book. That is also my favorite quote from the book. Todd Strasser is a very good author. Some of his other books are <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__Home Alone__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__Free Willy__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__Ferris Bueller’s Day Off__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. His very first book was <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__Angel Dust Blues__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. He continues to write stories today.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">__Thirteen Reasons Why__ by Jay Asher (summer reading)

<span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“You can’t stop the future. You can’t rewind the past. The only way to learn the secret...is to press play.” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__Thirteen Reasons Why__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, by Jay Asher, is a fictional novel about a young high-school student named Clay Jensen, who one day returns to his California home to find a package with his name on it. Inside, Clay discovers that there are many cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, a fellow classmate and crush of Clay’s, who just committed suicide in the past week. On these tapes are the thirteen reasons why she decided to kill herself. Clay also realizes that he is one of the reasons. As Hannah tells her story, Clay goes all over town following her directions and discovers the real reasons why she ended her life. No one had helped her, and it was too late now. The fact that no one knew what she had been going through made it impossible for them to help her anyway. <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> Towards the end, the tapes start to get emotional and Clay has to spend the night in Eisenhower Park, one of the first places that Hannah mentions. The day after he finishes listening to the tapes, Clay goes to school late, still only to find Hannah’s desk empty. Before going to his next class, he happens to see Skye, another classmate of his. She seems to have the reputation that Hannah had. She is also ignored by many people. Clay realizes that he wasn’t able to help Hannah, but maybe he can help Skye. In the end, it is the start of a new beginning, hopefully not to end in another tragedy. <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> This book was very interesting and serious. It was also very intense, which made it a lot easier to concentrate on the story. My mind didn’t wander at all while reading this story. It was a very good book and if there was a sequel, I would probably buy it. The plot was believable and very memorable. Many people commit suicide in their lives, so it could have been a true story. It was memorable because something like that is hard to forget. <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> This book taught me to never let anything bring me down. It also taught me that whatever happens, it can’t be bad enough to make me even have thoughts about ending my life. It showed me how to be independent and try to reach my goals, no matter how scared I might be. I think this author accomplished what he was trying to do. He definitely connected with me. He made me feel like I was part of the story. The characters on the tapes definitely all had something in common with each other too. After they all discovered that they were on the tapes, they found a connection with one another. I think the people on the tapes all grew a little as people. They all became better people. <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> There were also many surprises in the story. There were many missing pieces in the story. Those pieces kept me interested in the book. A lot of the chapters would end with a cliffhanger and that made me want to go into the next chapter, yet the same thing would happen. It would make me want to get one step closer to the end. The dialogue was also very believable. Everything is natural and it could definitely all happen in real life. I would give this book five stars because of how intense it was. It is probably my favorite book right now. I think this book would be good for anyone twelve and over. It would probably be of good use for teenagers mainly because some teenagers have this train of thought when they are upset. The intense subject matter might be too serious for anyone younger, though. I have never read anything like this before so it was a good change for me. Jay Asher grew up in California and he loves to write. I like this author because he is very unique and has original ideas. <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult (1st trimester reading)
=== “You don’t have to be someone because they’re perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they’re not.” Set in a small town in the U.S during current times, My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult, is a fictional novel about a girl with leukemia named Kate. Kate has been suffering with this disease since she was three years old. Kate also has a sister and a brother whose names are Anna and Jesse. Anna was born for one reason, so she could save her sister’s life. Anna has been donating organs and cells to her sister since she was only a month old. When Kate reaches sixteen years old, her parents want Anna to donate a kidney to her. After hearing this, Anna hires a lawyer and sues her parents for medical emancipation. She wants to make her own decisions about her body. If Anna doesn’t donate a kidney, Kate will die and the whole family will be torn apart. Jesse, Kate’s brother, has been dealing with his sister’s leukemia for years. His mom always pays attention to Kate and never any attention to Jesse. He always feels left out and not important. === === Campbell Alexander, Anna’s lawyer, knows how she feels about this whole thing. He has a disease that causes seizures and has a service dog that warns him and tells him where to go when he is about to have one. When the case finally goes to court, Anna’s mom and dad vote against the lawsuit. When the court asks Anna to be a witness, she spills everything. When Campbell asks her what her sister told her to do, Anna says that she asked her to kill her. It turns out that Kate doesn’t want her to donate a kidney. Apparently she is ready to die. In the end, Anna decides to give her sister the kidney, but she never has the time. On the way to see Kate, Campbell and Anna get into a car crash and Anna becomes brain dead. She dies that night, but Kate takes her everywhere she goes in her heart, even though she is gone. === === I think that this book has a good lesson for many people. The lesson is that sometimes it’s better to let go of something instead of holding on to it. When you don’t let go, you may be in more pain. It may be hard, but you have to try and just treasure all of your memories. It also teaches you to make your own decisions. If you don’t tell people what you want, then you might be forced into doing something that you really don’t want to do. Anna wasn’t sure what she wanted and she needed time to make up her mind. The plot really grabbed my attention and made me feel like I was in the story. Everything was so intense and made me want to read more. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I had tons of questions and images in my mind as I read through the story. === === I am going to think about everything that this book taught me. It taught me an important lesson and it told me how to deal with certain things. This author definitely accomplished everything that she was trying to say and do with this book. They even made it into a movie. I hope many other people read this book. It is very interesting and very intense. The characters definitely made a connection with me. The characters also had a special connection with each other. They all related to one another, too. Every character became a better person throughout this story. The mom and dad learned how to let go. Kate learned how to deal with her problems. Jesse learned how to control himself. Anna learned how to make her own decisions. In the beginning, they all had some work to do. I can relate to Anna. It is hard to let go of something and deal with these problems. I know what it feels like. I had my grandma’s death to deal with and in the beginning, I didn’t know how to at all, but by the end I had learned a lot and kept everything under control. === === There were many surprises in the story. I was surprised in almost every chapter. Something would happen that I wasn’t even thinking about. It made me want to continue the book and find out what was going to happen in the end. A lot of chapters ended in cliffhangers. I had no idea what was going to happen next. That is one of the reasons why I wanted to keep reading. For example, at the end of one chapter Anna says, “Wait, I have something to say.” That is where the chapter ends. The dialogue was also very believable. I would give this book five stars because it was very good and it was very intense. I love intense books. I will probably read this book way more than once. I think people in middle school and older would enjoy this book. It has inappropriate things and words in it. It has a mature subject matter and many people will be able to relate to it. My favorite quote from the book is “You don’t have to be someone because they’re perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they’re not.” I think this quote best describes the book because it says that you don’t have to be perfect. Kate wasn’t perfect, but everyone still loved her. Jodi Picoult is a great author and writes very good books. Some of her other books are Nineteen Minutes and Change of Heart. She is still writing today. ===