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Fever 1793 Fever 1793, takes place at Pennsylvania, in 1793 (hence the title, Fever 1793). It’s about a 14-year old girl named Mattie Cook, who’s mother runs a coffeehouse. Mattie, tired of listening to her mother, has many plans to turn the coffeehouse into an upscale establishment, one of the finest in Pennsylvania. All those plans are shattered though, when a Yellow Fever epidemic breaks out in the city. Those who do not flee to the country are trapped in the city, sitting ducks to fever, robbers, and starvation. When the rest of her family goes to stay with some cousins in the country, Mattie’s life becomes a living nightmare and a struggle to survive. Fever 1793 was a good book, as far as historical fiction goes. It was informative, and had a catchy plot. It was also very cliché, and had a very happily-ever-after ending. Out of 10 stars, I’d give Fever 1793 a 6. |
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Title: The Shakespeare
Stealer The Shakespeare Stealer is about a young orphan named Widge. Because of his rare ability to write in a unique shorthanded code, he is sent to steal Shakespeare’s Hamlet by his master, a rival playwright. He sneaks into the Globe theatre, and is taken in by his fellow actors. In the end, Widge has to decide where his loyalties lie, with his master and the large reward that he will get for retrieving the play, or his new friends. The Shakespeare Stealer is a catchy story, very improbable, but fun to read. All of the ends are conveniently wrapped up by the last page, so all you're left wondering is ‘What horribly interesting adventure will Widge have next?’; a nice start for the sequel. Out of 10 stars, I’d give this book a 6. |
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Title: The Chosen This book is about two Jewish boys
who live about five blocks from each other their whole lives.
They live very different lifestyles, though. Danny Sanders belongs
to a very orthodox Hasidic group. Reuven Malthers is a conservative
Jew but lives an American teenage life as well. Their schools
play each other and by accident Danny hits Reuven in the eye
while pitching to him. From that accident they begin to see
each cother more and eventually build a friendship even though
they are really different. |
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Title:
An Acquaintance with Darkness An Acquaintance with Darkness by Ann Rinaldi is about Emily Bransby, a 14-year old girl living in Washington DC at the time that President Lincoln was assassinated. Her mother has just died and her best friend’s mother is jailed for taking a part in Lincoln’s murder. Because her father is also dead, Emily is forced to live with her mother’s hated brother, Valentine, who is a doctor with a secret. Emily has to decide how much she’s willing to risk for her law-breaking uncle. An Acquaintance with Darkness was a good book, well written with a good plot. Despite what you may have heard about historical fiction, it actually isn’t as boring as it could be. Out of 10 stars, I’d give this book a 7. |
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Title: My Brother,
My Sister, and I My Brother, My Sister and I is an autobiography and is the sequel to So Far from the Bamboo Grove. It’s about how the main character Yoko, her brother and sister try to survive together during World War II. They are all in search of their father after their mother’s death. They are framed for a murder and try to prove their innocence. After an incident at the building where they were living, they stay at the hospital because of the older sister’s injuries. My Brother, My Sister and I shows the hardships of surviving for those who are less fortunate. |
More Reviews in alphabetical order by author |
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Shadrach's Crossing The book Shadrach's Crossing is about a boy named Shad who tries to stop Kinlow, a powerful man, from smuggling illegal goods into his island in 1932. As a result of this smuggling, the islanders' lives are put to danger. This is a great adventurous novel. What I liked in the book was that Shad would never give up trying even though he was getting into trouble. What I didn't like was that Shad's friend would not try to stop Kinlow with him. |
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The Bear and the Dragon This story unfolds when China goes to war with Russia. Its main characters are Jack Ryan, prez of the USA, Hugo Chavez, CIA agent, and many more. As usual in Tom Clancy novels, the books began with many stories, completely random. However, as the story progresses, the story lines come together for a dramatic ending. Clancy's books are awesome, you can't put them down. I recommend this book for any war reading enthusiast (ages 14+). |
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My Brother Sam is Dead My Brother Sam is Dead educates and entertains at the same time. This book is set against the backdrop of the American Revolution. It gives facts about what everyday life was like in the colonies. Although the story takes place in the 1770's the conflicts still apply to life today. The main character's family is torn. His father is a loyalist, while his brother is a soldier in the Continental Army. This is like life today when part of your family wants you to do something, while the other half wants you to do something else. For instance one parent might want you to be a lawyer, while the other might want you to be a doctor. He also has to live the life of a child of a single parent (his father is captured and dies). This is a must read for everyone. |
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My Brother Sam is Dead My Brother Sam is Dead is a book that everybody should read. It is well written, and a well-plotted book. It is about history of a war and how a family struggles to survive through it with a son in the war. It tells about death, loves lost, and family struggles, all in one book. It has a tragic ending and a good beginning that everyone will enjoy. |
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The Power of One This is a really good book for young adults. It is about a young student boxer in South Africa during WWII. |
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The Watsons Go To Birmingham This book takes place in 1963 -- during the civil rights movement. Kenny Watson is a 4th grader at Clark Elementary School in Flint, Michigan. The beginning of the book is about his life at home and school: his older brother's problems and punishments, the teasing at school, the cold of winter, and his sister Joetta's dinosaur games. The excitement starts when there is a phone call from Grandma Sands down in Birmingham, Alabama. Mother announces to the family that they will be taking a trip down to Birmingham during the summer and that Byron, Kenny's older brother, will stay with Grandma Sands for the whole summer to be disciplined. After arriving in Birmingham, the children have adventures that will change their lives forever. This book is a "must-read" and has become one of my favorites. |
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An Episode of Sparrows I've read Rumer Godden most of my life, yet An Episode of Sparrows is the first book of hers that shows the talented writer of adult books she is. She has created a tale of love, hate, joy, and pain. The story takes place in London at the turn of the century; this setting makes the story interesting and different. The story follows an abandoned child, Lovejoy, whose selfish mother leaves her with a poor, yet kind family. Lovejoy feels misplaced, and to fill that gap in her life starts a garden. Even though I don't like Lovejoy's character, I'm fascinated by it. Lovejoy is a mean, negative character, yet she knows what she wants and is determined to get it. With little to start with Lovejoy collects knowlege and materials and creates her garden and her life. Lovejoy's determination and cleverness makes this the great book it is. |
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Out of the Dust Out of the Dust is a novel about Billie Jo, a girl who lives in the panhandle of Oklahoma. It seems that her life gets worse and worse. She has to live through the dust storms that spoil the wheat crop. When her mother is giving birth to Billie Jo's brother, he dies shortly after as well as her mother. Her father is quiet for a time after, and Billie Jo has noone to talk to. She is a strong character, and shows that even through the worst, you can survive. Karen Hesse did this book in a different form. She wrote the book like poetry lines, except they do not rhyme. This adds a strong feeling to the book. It is simple, yet powerful. I liked this about the book. |
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On the Road In On the Road, Jack Kerouac uses the stories of different road trips to describe a uniquely positive attitude toward life. The novel is narrated by Sal Paradise, a writer who lives in the New York area. Sal tells us about the several road trips he took during the late 1940's and early 1950's. He makes detailed and perceptive observations about the people and places he sees. He introduces many funny characters that take part in his adventures. The most important person Sal talks about is Dean Moriarty, a crazy young man who is always moving about (whether it is for better or worse). Dean embodies the attitude that Sal is trying to depict: Dean is always excited and feels the need to share his every thought with the people around him. Furthermore, Dean is never satisfied staying in one place or relationship; he always seeks something different and is always eager to experience new things. Despite the many bad situations he gets himself into, Dean always has a positive outlook on the future. Finally Dean is a madman on the wheel, recklessly tearing across thousands of miles of highway on mere whims. In terms of giving a picture of the spirit Dean represents, On the Road is a complete success. Reading this book gives you a true sense of what many people must have felt at that time: the urge to live freely without fearing the future or looking back. However, Kerouac could have accomplished that goal with a more compact book. Sal's observations do not add up to a final conclusion in plot, so there is a sense of the book being somewhat unfinished at the end. Although there is no significant plot resolution, the positive feeling you get at the end of the book makes up for it. |
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The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye is a deep story. It's about a young black girl who prays for blue eyes so that she can be pretty. The Bluest Eye makes people think twice about what true beauty is. Pecola makes a wish to have blue eyes, which makes her worry about her appearance. She worries that there might be someone with bluer eyes. "Suppose my eyes aren't blue enough . . ." She thinks her only friend will stop speaking to her if her eyes aren't blue enough. The eyes also made her conceited. "Oh yes . . . My blue eyes. Prettier than the sky." The Bluest Eye makes people think twice about what true beauty is. Changing our appearence to suit other's appeal indicates low self-esteem. The Bluest Eye is an excellent book that should be read because it shows the things that people will do to satisfy others expectations. |
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A Day no Pigs Would Die A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck has been one of my favorite books and I recommend this book to students or anybody to read. This book is about a boy and his father living on a farm in Vermont. The boy's father's job is to slaughter pigs and prepare them as food. The farm that they is own is having a very hard time and the family has to work together. And the boy has to go through difficulties. He has to go to school but has no money for clothes or extras. And after school he has to work on the farm, so he has little time for friends and he gets alienated. This book has deep emotions and it tells how life is hard and unfair. Also, unlike the other school recommended books, this book has great humor, which makes the reader want to keep reading |
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The Chosen The Chosen, by Chaim Potok, is the best book I have every read. The book takes place in Brooklyn, New York, after the Second World War. It is about two Jewish boys, one Hasidic and one Orthodox, coming of age. One is trying to make sense out of the teachings of Judaism and the aftermath of the war. The other is seeking more and more knowledge that's forbidden by his religion and looking for the reason for his father's lack of communication with him. The book is also about the extraordinary friendship they have, started coincidentally by a baseball game, built up as they help each other, and shaken by their political and religious opposition views. I like this book so much because it has an unexpected ending that stops the struggles of both people as well as the downfall of their friendship. |
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The Serpent Garden Judith Merkle Riley is a professor at Claremont McKenna College and she deftly incorporates her extensive historical knowledge with an engaging plot in the novel The Serpent Garden. The work of fiction takes place during the reign of the young King Henry VIII in the midst of the bustle and clamor that was, and indeed is, London. The story unfolds around a naive Flemish woman named Susanna whose reality is suddenly changed by the deaths of her parents, the murder of her adulterous husband, and the loss of a child while giving birth. After suffering through the shock of these ordeals, Susanna transforms from an obedient, submissive wife to a competent, ambitious and street smart lady who must practice her father's art of miniature portrait painting in order to support her servant companion, Nan, and herself. Quickly, a complicated scenario ensues as Susanna's buried husband's diabolical pursuits ensnare her in the grips of some of England's most powerful forces. A surprisingly intricate weave of history and fiction as well as a highly readable tale, The Serpent Garden imparts a compelling narrative and draws upon qualities such as lust for power, sustaining hope and the ability to endure that are timeless. |
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An Acquaintance with Darkness Emily is a normal 14-year-old girl living in the 1860s. Then, Lincoln is killed, and Emily's best friend's mother is accused of helping the conspirators and is taken to jail. Meanwhile, Emily accuses her uncle of being a body snatcher and of lying to her. Is he? Read the book and find out. |
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