The Coffee Shop

Divergent by Veronica Roth

2012-01-16T11:15:00.000-08:00

I have just finished this book. It is so amazing! Set in future Chicago, we follow Beatrice Prior through the Choosing Ceremony, and into her unique destiny. Long ago, the leaders of this futuristic nation decided that in order to keep peace and prevent war, the people should be split in to five different factions: Abnegation- always helping others and literally never thinking of yourself

Candor- always telling the truth

Erudite-those who thirst and search for knowledge

Dauntless- the brave and courageous and daring

Amity- those who seek peace

Beatrice grew up in Abnegation. As hard as she tried, she never felt like she belonged. The grey baggy clothing, no makeup, always doing for others, it just never came naturally for her. When children turn sixteen, they take an aptitude test to determine what faction most suits them. When they enter the test, they are put through a simulation with different obstacles to test their tendencies. When Beatrice takes her test, her results are inconclusive and she is determined to be divergent. She then has to choose her faction without knowing what she really is. She chooses Dauntless and her life is forever changed. She goes through initiation and against all odds makes it through on top. Life is not as good as it seems however when Beatrice discovers that the Erudite are warring against the Abnegation and the Dauntless are meant to fight. Beatrice discovers the true meaning to being divergent and she helps save the day. This is one of the best books I've read in a while and I want you all to read it.

The Hunger Games by Susan Collins

2011-12-23T12:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, I am re-doing my Hunger Games post. I had forgotten how utterly amazing they were. I have been on Christmas break, as I am sure most of you are as well. In all of my spare time, I've been catching up on my reading as best as I can. I have finally reread The Hunger Games and can tell you they are so worth it. You follow Katniss Everdeen, a teenage girl and head of her family, as she competes in the 74th annual Hunger Games. She lives a life of poverty in District 12, one of the 13 districts set up by The Capitol, the all powerful government that rules what is left of North America sometime in the future. Her dad died when she was just a girl and her mom became nonexistent. Katniss had to fend for herself and her mother and younger sister Prim by hunting illegally with her best friend Gale in the woods. Every year The Capitol hosts The Hunger Games to show the people they are still in control. The Capitol hosts a ceremony in every district called the reaping to choose two tributes from districts 1-12 to compete in the games. District 13 is no longer existing because they were destroyed years ago. The 24 tributes are then put in to a giant arena to fight to the death for not only their lives but eternal glory and contentment. On the day of the reaping, Prim, Katniss' younger sister is chosen out of thousands of names to compete in the games. Frantically Katniss volunteers to go for her. Peeta Mellark, the son of the town baker is also chosen to compete and together they make their way into the games. They play the angle of being madly in love to make the people love them and help them out if the need be. As the games progress, tributes are killed and Katniss does her best not to die when she realizes that Peeta has been in love with her and helping her the entire time. She finds him nearly dead and nurses him back to help while all the districts watch on their televisions. It ends up being the two of them left and they are supposed to kill each other. In an act of defiance and and refusal to kill each other they threaten to eat poisoned berries to outsmart the Capitol. They are both declared winners and are whisked out of the arena. As they return home, Peeta is devoted to Katniss, but her feelings are conflicted over him and Gale. This book is perfect for boys and girls because boys will love the fighting and adventure, and the girls will wrestle with wether to pick Peeta or Gale. This is a must read for everyone.

The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder

2011-12-03T09:04:00.000-08:00

The Bridge of San Luis Rey follows Brother Juniper, a monk in Lima, through the lives of five individuals that were on the main bridge in Lima when it collapsed. He is trying to study their lives in the hope that he can explain that things happen for a reason. It also expresses some universal themes like true love and happiness. In all honesty, this book was very depressing but I did not feel very attached to the characters as they died because you only read about them for a brief moment. I don't think I would really recommend this book as a good read, however every book makes you a better reader and it is a classic.

Alas Babylon Pat Frank

2011-10-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

Alas Babylon is a book that I recently read for school. Contrary to what my past experiences have led me to believe, it was a pretty good book. It takes place in the small town of Fort Repose, Florida. Randy Bragg is retired from the army and, living off family money, is wasting away there. When his brother Mark gives him warning of an atomic bomb threat from Russia, he urges Randy to take immediate action. Mark's wife Helen and her two kids Ben Franklin and Peyton come to live with him. The bomb hits a few days later and life as everyone knows it changes drastically. No longer was there money, electricity, and government. It became a survival of the fittest type situation. Randy and his street form their own family to survive. The book focuses on their survival and adaptation to the new world. It is a good read and I would recommend it.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

2011-10-14T15:21:00.000-07:00

I am terribly sorry fellow readers. I have neglected this blog for a number of weeks now. I have been completely swamped in school work. Ok, I finally finished East of Eden. It was an absolutely amazing book. I would like to formally thank Nathan for his sound and appreciated advice. It took me a good while to finally finish it, but it was well worth it. East of Eden is basically the story of Cain and Abel. I didn't actually see the parallel until the very last page. It follows Adam Trask through his young life in to adult hood. He gets married and has two boys. He gets his heart broken and falls into a passive state. He befriends a few very influential men in his life that help him live. His two sons are the parallel Cain and Abel I mentioned earlier. All I can really say is that it is an amazing book. I did not think I would like it at all but it is officially on my list of favorite books. There are so many things to be derived from it. I do recommend it however, to an older audience. I think that you would enjoy it more if you were older, and also it has a little adult content in it. Please read this book, it is so good.

Update

2011-09-23T14:37:00.001-07:00

I realize that I don't typically post unless I am recommending a book or giving a review. However, since I am reading a rather large book at the moment, it is taking me longer to read and therefore I have not posted in a while. On that note, I wanted to let you all know that I am still alive and almost finished with Steinbeck.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck dedicated to Nathan Terrell

2011-08-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

Bonjour readers of the world. As you are all well aware of by now, I typically only do book reviews. However, it has been brought to my attention by a certain Thomas West that I needed to make a recommendation. So, I have decided to make my first book recommendation post. Nathan Terrell is an absolutely awesome and hilarious guy that I got to know over the summer. He has an avid love for books and spends much time reading. His most recent book was East of Eden by John Steinbeck. He was completely in love with it and could not put it down. It is a fantastic book that he suggested to me and some of my friends. He said it was one of his favorite books and we should all read it. So now me and a few friends are reading it. I wanted to pass on his recommendation to all of you. So please read it and let me know what you think.

The Chosen by Chaim Potok

2011-08-11T16:23:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, I am back from camp. I did not get eaten or killed. It was an absolutely amazing summer to say the least. Anyway, The Chosen by Chaim Potok is about two young jewish boys of different belief. Danny Saunders, from a very traditional, very uptight jewish background, first meets Reuven Malter, a more modern jew, while playing baseball against him. They become friends while Reuven is in the hospital after being hit in the eye with a baseball from Danny. The two of them remain friends throughout their childhood. Hitler is at large while the two best friends are in a jewish college. The campus is turned against each other with different beliefs about what should be done. At this time Danny and Reuven are forbidden to speak by Danny's father. They do not speak for two years until it is all over and they become friends again. This book really captures a great picture of love and true friendship through hard times. I will be honest, I did not think that I would like this book, but I actually quite enjoyed it. I recommend this book.

Camp Bound

2011-07-10T12:52:00.000-07:00

Ok everyone it's that time of year again. I get to pack up all my stuff and head up the mountain! It's time for Alpine!! Every summer I head to a christian camp for boys for a whole month. I won't be back until right before school starts. I will be reading while I'm there. Summer reading. Now I realize my absence will be a struggle for all of you. I know you all wait by the computer night and day for my riveting and exciting book posts. So I wish you all the best in handling your loss, but in the mean time, I'll be up on the mountain.

The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Zemon Davis

2011-07-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

The Return of Martin Guerre is a true account of a scandal that took place in France in the 1500s. In the little village of Artigat, a young man by the name of Martin Guerre gets married to a young girl by the name of Bertrande de Rols. Martin is unhappy in his life and steals grain from his father's stores. Well where they lived this was a big no no, so to speak. Martin ran away from home and was gone for many years. Well as it so happened, there was a man by the name of Arnaud du Tihl that apparently resembled Martin a great deal. Arnaud was told that by two men that knew Martin and he pretended that he was their long lost friend. Arnaud played his role well, learning all he needed to know through gossip and his friends. His step brother, however, knows it is not really him and takes him to court. Bertrande knows this also, but she likes Arnaud much better than Martin. Arnaud his forced in to court, and he recites everything that he and Bertrande memorized. He had almost won his case when a man with a wooden leg hobbles in and claims to be the real Martin. His leg was shot of in the time he spent in the army, and through a series of tests, was found to be the real Martin Guerre. Arnaud was put to death and everything was set right. This was a pretty interesting concept, but a terrible book. It was as though I was reading 125 pages of a text book. However, if I get an A on the paper I am writing on it, it will be worth it.

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

2011-07-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

Tuesdays with Morrie is a true and compelling story about a mans will to live and give despite a terminal disease. Morrie was an old proffesor diagnosed with ALS, a disease that will shut the body down very very slowly. It started with Morrie's legs and worked up his body until he could do nothing but talk and depend on others for everything. If that happened to most people, they would let the disease control there bodies and emotions. But not Morrie. He used all of his remaining time alive giving to people. One of his favorite and most promising students, Mitch, had lost contact with Morrie after college. But after he saw him on television and heard about his condition, he flew to see him. Morrie picked right back up with Mitch and continued to teach him in the ways of life. They would meet every Tuesday and Morrie would teach Mitch the meaning of life. As the weeks went by, Morrie's disease made him weaker and weaker yet he continued to give. He would receive hundreds of letters and visitors all telling him about their problems, and he would listen and give advice. Eventually the disease got to Morrie's lungs and he died. The amazing thing is that through everything he considered himself very fortunate. He was an amazing man and I definitely recommend this book. It is a pretty light read.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

2011-06-22T12:59:00.000-07:00

This book was recommended to me by Mrs. Frosty, an awesome lady from my church. I wasn't too sure about this book in the beginning but I ended up putting this on my imaginary list of best books ever. Louis Zamperini was a young boy growing up in Torrance California. He was the most horrible child imaginable. He stole, and fought, and wreaked havoc wherever he went. He became known as the terror of Torrance. When he was in high school, his brother Pete introduced him to running and became his coach. Louie was an amazing runner. He focused all his delinquent energy in to his new sport. He began breaking records and running with the best. Louie made it to the 1936 Olympics at age 19. Well WWII was just beginning and Louie signed up not knowing what was in store. He was assigned to a B-24 plane and he and his crew became brothers. They were sent out one hot Hawaiian day to rescue a fallen crew and their plane crashed while they were out in the ocean. Louie, Phil, and Mac were the only survivors. They were never rescued, and were left at the mercy of the ocean. Mac, in an act of terror, ate all of the provisions that they had left. They drifted in the ocean for 47 days, living off of birds, fish, sharks, and rainwater. Mac died sometime in the end of their sea voyage. After drifting for 2000 miles they landed on a Japanese island. They became POW and were in the Japanese possession for 2 1/2 years. They lost unbelievable amounts of weight, and went through an unimaginable amount of torture and humiliation. After the war, Phil and Louie were reunited after being separated sometime in their journey. Louie got married and became a sensation after being declared dead and surviving. Well all was not well within Louie. He was tormented by thoughts of POW camp and of one particular guard called "the bird". Louie became an alcoholic and drank away the war and his wife. As he got worse, they grew apart and he wouldn't stop drinking. Finally she drug him to a Billy Graham sermon, and he changed his life. Louie became a christian and dedicated his life to the Lord. He started a summer camp with his brother and became an inspirational speaker. He carried the torch for the Olympics multiple times and he raised a family. This book is a hard one to get through, but was one of my very favorites. I highly recommend this book.

Merlin the lost years, book 1 by T.A. Barron

2011-06-05T17:16:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting on the porch with my grandparents, I just came up from the beach, and I haven't been this excited about a book since I first read Harry Potter. I was in the bookstore with my twin KK and she picked this book out for me. A little unsure based on the cover, I tentatively opened it. Immediately I was completely sucked in and had vanished in to the land of Wales, and even more so in to the life a young boy named Emrys. His life starts when he is washed up on to the shores of Wales along with a strange woman. Not knowing his name or his entire childhood, this young boy of seven is lost. Five years later he and Branwen, the name of the strange woman claiming to be his mother, are in a small village. Emrys has these strange powers that are just beginning to emerge when a terrible accident forces them to flee. After recovering from the accident, he has to go in search of his past and his true identity. He sets afloat and lands in Fincayra, a land in between Earth and the heavens; a land he thought was from fairy tales. Well in search of his own past, he gets mixed up with a young sprightly girl named Rhia, a dwarf convinced he's a giant named Shim, and a merlin that he saved and now is forever his protector. The three of them with the help of others have to journey to the Shrouded Castle, an evil place full of horror that is killing the land and everyone in it in search for magical objects that will allow the king to have unlimited power. The power will really rest with an evil spirit named Rhita Gawr. Well Emrys gets thrust in the middle of this dilemma in this strange land. He falls in love with Rhia and when she is captured, goes after her right in to the castle. Emrys turns out to be the evil kings son. Near the point of death, Shim runs in to save the day, and in doing so fulfilled an old prophecy about giants dancing in the castle. Well the castle was destroyed, Emrys learns his past, and all seems well but the evil spirit Rhita Gawr is still out in the world. They have no idea where, but he and his friends are determined to find him and heal the land. I definitely recommend this book to everyone, it's amazing!

The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

2011-06-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis is the third book in the Chronicles of Narnia. Shasta, a young boy, was pushed to shore in a little row boat from somewhere in the world when he was just a baby. After landing near a fisherman's hut, he was taken in and raised by the fisherman named Arsheesh. When a Tarkaan came to their house for the night, he and Arsheesh bartered for a price to sell Shasta. Shasta figured out he wasn't the son of Arsheesh, but he was from the North, a place he always dreamed of going. Well as Shasta began to ponder his new life he started talking to the Tarkaan's horse. Naturally he didn't think the horse would respond, but it did! The horse named Bree said the Tarkaan was a bad man and that he himself wanted to get away to the North, to Narnia. So not having a true home and dreading his future, Shasta and Bree head for the North. On their daring journey, they meet Aravis, a young Tarkeena about Shasta's age also running away. She was to be married to a sixty year old man that she hated! She also had a talking horse, and together they go to Narnia. They had one big hiccup in their journey. While passing through the city of Tashbaan, Shasta is mistaken for a runaway Narnian prince. Aravis knows the only way to get through the city is to reveal herself, so she does that when she sees one of her royal friends. Both of them are taken to different palaces and learn valuable information. Shasta learns that queen Susan doesn't want to marry an evil prince in Tashbaan, so they will leave for Narnia in the night. He also hears a better way across the desert that separates Narnia from Tashbaan. Aravis learns that Prince Rabadash (the evil one that wants to marry Susan) is planning an attack on Narnia. Well they both get out of the palace eventually and then the race is on. They have to beat Rabadash across the desert to save Narnia. They reach a hermit and stop to recover after they were attacked by a lion on the way over. Shasta, however, has to keep going to warn the Narnians. He finally makes it and they go to battle and win. Shasta finds out that the prince he was mistaken for is really his twin brother. Shasta's real name is Cor and he is a prince. He has a father that is king and it was prophesied that he would save Narnia one day so he was kidnapped and sent away and landed at the fisherman's house. So, Prince Cor lived a happy life, married Aravis, and became King.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

2011-05-14T17:20:00.000-07:00

I read this book on recommendation from Becca Murdoch. I wasn't too sure how much I would like this book but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is about a sixteen year old boy named Holden Caulfield and his search in finding himself. At the beginning of the book he has just been kicked out of his third boarding school. It is not that he is stupid, but simply that he hates the schools he goes to. He is convinced the world is full of phonies, and he hates it. He gets on a bus and heads to New York for a few days before facing the music and seeing his parents. He doesn't do a whole lot of very monumental things in this book, he just sort of wanders around and thinks to himself. At the end of the book, he talks to one of his old teachers and is woken up to the reality of his life, that if he doesn't try he will crash and burn. As you can see, this book doesn't have a very prominent plot line. He pretty much walks around and tries to in to a sophisticated non-phony conversation with someone. I really liked this book and it really gets you to thinking about the people and world around you.

******this book is for mature readers, due to the cussing on every other sentence**********

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling.

2011-05-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter is an orphan boy living with his aunt Petunia, his uncle Vernon, and his fat cousin Dudley. Harry has been basically enslaved by his relatives his whole life. Almost eleven, he has lived with them since his parents died in a "car crash" when he was one. On his eleventh birthday, he receives his letter to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. As things fall in to place, he learns that he is a real wizard, and not only that, he is famous!! His parents were not killed in a car crash, but were murdered trying to save his life from the evil wizard Voldemort. Well he journeys to Diagon Alley to get his school things with Hagrid, the grounds keeper. Well he loads the train to Hogwarts and sits by a boy named Ron Weasley. They instantly hit it off and become instant friends. They are sorted in to the Gryffindor house and harry becomes the seeker for the quidditch team. It is like soccer in the sky on broomsticks. Several months in to the symester, a troll is let in to the castle and all the students are rushed to their rooms. All save for Hermione Granger, a little know it all brown noser. Well Ron and Harry go in to the bathroom to save her and defeat the troll by the skin of their teeth. Well as things go on, Harry is lead to believe that one of their evil teachers Snape, is going to steal the Sorcerer's stone, a stone that will allow the owner to live forever. He thinks Snape will give it to Voldemort to help him come back to power. So he Ron, and their new found friend Hermione, sneak out to keep that from happening. After going through many obstacles Harry finally makes it to the stone and Voldemort shows up to battle him. But this is Harry so obviously Harry defeats him and saves the day!! Snape turned out to be innocent but Harry is still not convinced. So Harry goes home a hero, and he will be back next year.

And Then There Were none by Agatha Christi

2011-05-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christi is one of my very favorite books. When I first started it I didn't really like it because I didn't really follow it. Once I kept reading, however, I couldn't put it down. It is about ten people who have never met that get to go to an island on a retreat. They all have one thing in common. They have in some way killed someone; but they did it within the confines of the law. When they arrive by boat, a storm is coming in and their is no way to leave. They all apparently had connections with the owner of the mansion, but they had never actually met them. Well things go pretty well at first until one of the guests is murdered. Well they are all thoroughly freaked out and cannot figure it out. Over the next few days, the guests are slowly killed one by one. No one can quit figure it out and they search every single possible square inch of the grounds. They begin to get more and more paranoid, and by the end of the weekend they are all dead... The police were completely baffled by the case as was I. They could never figure it out until they had found a message in a bottle by the real killer. After killing all the guests, the killer rigged a machine to look like they were also murdered. I absolutely loved this book. It was a little creepy, but I highly recommend this.

Harry Potter

2011-05-03T05:38:00.000-07:00

As you already know, I am probably the biggest Harry Potter fan ever created. I am hopelessly obsessed. Well I have decided to blog about all seven books of gold. I was going to do one big post, but I decided that they all deserve their own post. So get ready; here comes the seven best books ever written.

Harry Potter World!!

2011-03-30T19:11:00.000-07:00

I am gonna break from my normal format and post just pictures for this post. At request from some of my followers, I have decided to post some of my pictures from my trip. Think of it as a tribute to the greatest writer ever! J.K. Rowling. I love her

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent

2011-03-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

When the Burpo's are on a family vacation and their 3 year old son Colton gets sick, they think it is the routine flu. Little did they know, it would change their lives. After 5 days of throwing up and a stomach ache, they finally take Colton to the hospital and he is diagnosed with a ruptured appendix. With little hope for survival, the doctor's get to work on little Colton. He made it through with lots of prayer. Well a few weeks later he mentioned something about heaven. Slowly Colton told his parents that he traveled to heaven during his surgery and saw God and Jesus, and his grandfather and unborn sister that he had never been told about. I really can't do justice the full story, but I highly recommend it. It is a beautiful story that displays how strong a childlike faith is.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

2011-03-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

The Old Man and the Sea takes place in a small fishing village near Havana Cuba. It was set somewhere in the 1940's. Santiago, an old fisherman, has fished his entire life. He apprenticed a young boy, but after 84 days with no fish, his parents made him go to somewhere else. However, the boy still loved the old man. Well, on the 85th day of no fish, he heads out in to very deep water in his little skiff. He hooks a large fish and it begins to drag his boat out in to the ocean. The old man never loses his confidence and lets the fish take him. After two long days of steadily being pulled by a great marlin, it finally comes to the surface and he is able to harpoon it and kill it. He lashes it to his skiff and heads back home. Along the way the great marlin is eaten by sharks..... I know, the most anti-climatic book ever! Well, this book can be taken lightly as a dumb book, but it is definitely not! In fact, this book is meant to be unravelled and discussed. It has some deep meanings that I will be letting you figure out for yourself. Just a hint, think of Jesus when you read...

The Best Idea ever

2011-03-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

This post is just the thing all book lovers dream about! I was at Sundog bookstore over spring break, and found these t-shirts. They took the book covers from classic books and made them into shirts! I only took pictures of these two, but there were about 8 different shirts.

The Good Earth. by Pearl Buck

2011-03-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is an interesting post for me. I'll start by saying that we read this book in english and had a test on it about two months ago. But oddly enough, I finished the book last week. How is that possible???? Well, this book just did not interest me and I actually hated it. The only reason I finished it is because it is not in my will power to not finish a book. It starts out with a young farmer named Wang Lung. He is going to the great house of Hwang to get a bride, a.k.a a slave girl. He marries a woman named Olan, and they live a quiet poverty stricken farming life. When a famine breaks out, he moves his family to "the south" and they beg for money just to stay alive. Well after a few years, Wang and his sons, daughters, wife, and old father move back to their destroyed home. Wang sees that the great house of Hwang is falling apart and he buys part of their land for farming. After gaining a little wealth, he slowly but surely buys out all the land from the house of Hwang. As Wang's pocket change grows, so does his head. Being wealthy makes him arrogant and he ends up going to a prostitute every night and eventually buys her. As Wang's sons grow and they go to school they all become stuck up and cocky. Well life goes on and Wang never has peace because all his children and grandchildren, and their wives constantly fight. The book ends with some peace in his house, but he dies and old man with ill-behaved children and grandchildren running all over the place and spending money. So I don't recommend it just because it is a bad book, but it is a classic, so that is up to you. Also I got a 96 on the test just for the record.

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. by C.S. Lewis

2011-02-24T19:09:00.000-08:00

I'd like to start out by saying sorry that I haven't been posted in a while, I've been super busy. Ok, this book is the start of the adventures for the famous Pevensie children. It all starts for Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter when they are sent to a large mansion in the country to escape the war. A few days after they arrive, Lucy stumbles through a wardrobe and finds herself rather curiously in a snowy wood called Narnia. She then meets a faun called Tumnus and they have tea and become friends. Tumnus was supposed to turn her in to the White Witch but after having a change of heart, he helps her escape. As anyone who discovers a magical wood would, she quickly tells her brothers and sister and they don't believe her, as any logical person would. Well, Lucy doesn't give up and winds up back in Narnia and Edmund follows her. He meets the White Witch and accidentally tells her that Tumnus gave Lucy up. Once again Lucy tries to tell her siblings about Narnia and Edmund lies and says he didn't go. Well a few weeks later they have to hide from Mrs. Mrcready and the only open room is the wardrobe room. They jump in the wardrobe and stumble in to Narnia. After much apologizing they decide to visit Mr. Tumnus and find his door broken in and a note saying that he had been arrested by the queen. They set off to find him and along the way Edmund sneaks off to see the White Witch. He becomes her slave and now the Pevensies' have to save their brother too. It turns out that Aslan ( the creator of Narnia) was in Narnia and had come to help them. He sacrifices himself to save Edmund's life and Peter has to lead the Narnians in to battle. Aslan comes back to life during the battle because he was innocent and sacrificed himself for a traitor. Just when all hope is almost lost Aslan bursts in to battle with reinforcements freed from the White Witch's castle (including Tumnus). After wining the battle Peter, Susan, Lucy, and Edmund become the kings and queens of Narnia and rule for many years until while hunting they stumble back through the wardrobe as children once again. This story depicts Jesus coming to save us from our sins by dying on the cross for us. I commend C.S. Lewis for his amazing job depicting that picture. I recommend this book for all ages. Younger children will love the adventure, and older adults can understand the underlying symbolism. All in all a great book.

Looking For Alaska by John Green

2011-01-18T17:37:00.000-08:00

Miles Halter is a 16 year old friendless and lifeless boy who spends his time reading biographies and memorizing last words. The dying words of Francois Rabelais "I go to seek a great perhaps" inspire Miles to have an adventure, and he decides to go to Culver Creek boarding School where his dad went to see if he can find one. He ends up rooming with a boy called the Colonel and he is given the name pudge, a joke because he is so skinny. He becomes friends with Takumi, a rapping Japanese boy, Lara a funny Romanian, and Alaska, a completely unpredictable crazy and fun girl whom he falls in love with. After being thrown in the lake on his first night, he is quite literally thrust in to a war of pranks between the boarders and the "weekday warriors", the snotty kids that go home to mansions on the weekends. whilst at Culver Creek boarding school, he learns the inner workings of being at boarding school, the dos and don'ts. He grows particularly fond of Alaska, and they spend many hours together. Pudge gets in to a little trouble during the year, but he finally enjoys his life. One night after he and the Colonel and Alaska get drunk, Alaska realizes she forgot something, and begs Pudge and the Colonel to help her leave school. She storms off in a fury after kissing Pudge, and he and the Colonel set up a distraction for her to get away. Well, when they receive the news the next morning that she died in a car reck, they are totally devastated and realize her death is all their fault. They try their hardest to figure it out but to no avail, it's left up to you to decide. I have to say I absolutely loved this book. there was just something about it that made me not be able to put it down. I know this will sound crazy, but I especially liked the end when Alaska dies because minus the guilt, it was completely relatable for me. I think John Green did a fantastic job with this book, and it is one of the few books that I will read over and over again.
***I recommend this book to a mature teen to an adult, for sexual content and bad language***

The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

2011-01-03T17:53:00.000-08:00

The Magician's Nephew is the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. This book starts out in London, when a young boy named Digory Kirke befriends a young girl named Polly Plummer after he moves to live with his aunt and uncle, when his mother became seriously ill. Whilst exploring the attics between houses one day, they stumble into an attic that they thought was empty to find that it most definitely wasn't. It was a study where Digory's uncle, Andrew, practiced magic. Well, Uncle Andrew tricks Polly and Digory into taking a magic ring, and so their adventures begin. They awaken an evil queen, and they stumble into a world where a strange lion called Aslan seems to create a world from just his song, and animals seem to talk. Can they stop her from taking over the world? Can Digory save his mother? You have to read to find out. I highly recommend this book for all ages. For younger kids, this series makes a fabulous adventure book, and older readers can dog deeper into it and find the real meaning of this book. C.S. Lewis did a fantastic job in making this book resemble the way God created the earth and everyone in it. These books are in fact based on the bible just in case you didn't know.

The Chronicles of Narnia. By C.S. Lewis

2010-12-31T12:30:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow bookworms, in light of the new movie The Chronicles of Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, I have decided to reread all of the Narnia books. The books are relatively short and easy to read so I don't think it will be too hard. Therefore, I want you all to take up this challenge and try to reread them. It will be a great goal to set for the new year.

To Kill a Mockingbird. by Harper Lee

2010-12-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

This book is one that I read in my English class. It is about a family, the Finches, in the south in Maycomb Alabama living through the depression. Mr. Atticus Finch is a lawyer and he has two children Jem finch, and Jean Louise Finch, also known as Scout. In the summers, the children are joined by Dill Harris, their neighbor's nephew. Together the children fantasize and make up stories about the neighborhood haunted house and the recluse that lives there named Boo Radley. During the school year Scout and Jem find treasures from Boo in a tree by his house. While Scout and Jem are growing up their dad Mr. Atticus Finch is given the task of defending Tom Robinson, a black man, against Mayella Ewel, a white woman. As this was the 1930's in the south, defending Tom was not a noble thing to do. This book is a great read and a good discussion book. Many different themes can be drawn from this book such as racism is a terrible thing, and as a child grows up and is exposed to the world they become jaded and start to see things the way that the world sees them. I seriously recommend this book.

Brave New World. by Aldous Huxley

2010-12-02T18:50:00.000-08:00

This book is not a book made for a light read. In my opinion, this book should be read with a group of people, so you can discuss it. This is a book about a utopian society and a boy named Bernard Marx, trying to be break out of it. He doesn't enjoy his life at all until he takes a very beautiful girl named Lenina to a savage reserve, and brings back a savage named John home from his vacation. Everyone is automatically obsessed with him because he is a savage and he is totally different. Bernard thinks he is popular and loved until he realizes the truth. They only want him because they want him to get the savage to preform for them. They all love the savage, because he isn't from their society, and he isn't brain washed like they are. These people in the book are programmed from birth to think certain things. They are trained in their sleep and they don't make any decisions for themselves. John tries to change these people but he cannot. Eventually John and Bernard are moved to live on an island somewhere around the world because they are unhappy and therefore corrupting the utopian society. You see, the two of them thought for themselves and so they messed up the perfect society and they had to leave in order to keep the peace. It is a little strange because all of the people in this book are born from test tubes and they have no concept of marriage or family. This book does not have a very prominent plot, but it is a great discussion book. One of my avid followers, Tori Chancellor, read this book also, and we have discussed our likes and dislikes of this book. This book is probably better suited for teens and adults, strictly because the older you are, the more you can draw from this book, and the content involves some material not suited for younger readers.

The Man Who fell to Earth. by Walter Tevis

2010-12-01T18:38:00.000-08:00

My english teacher Mrs. Slawson actually recommended this book for me to read. This book is about an alien named Mr. Newton, and his journey to Earth, with a quest to save his planet, and possibly ours. Along the way he really only makes two friends, a poor lady named Betty Joe who saves his life, and a curious professor who becomes a close helper of Mr. Newton. Will this lone alien save two planets, or will it all come crashing down? You will have to read it to find out. This isn't my all time favorite book that I have ever read, but it is a good read.