The Giver

Anthony

English, Period 2

September 15, 2009

 

 

The book that I chose to write a review on was The Giver.  The Giver is written by Lois Lowry, also the author of Gossamer. I read this book because it was a mandatory book to read in Ms. Bedrossian's class (my seventh grade English teacher). I didn't choose to read this book, but after I read it, I loved it. I loved it so much that I read most of Lowry's books.
            The Giver is about a young boy named Jonas who lives in a futuristic community where everything is very well organized and planned. There's a curfew that everyone needs to follow. If you have a "special dream", the elders give you a pill so that you're normal like everyone else. The parents are arranged together and their children come from donors at the hospital. When kids arrive at a certain age, they go through a ceremony to receive what jobs they will be perform for the rest of your life. If adults get to old, the elders tell everyone that they will be leaving the community (because it is surrounded by a gate) but in reality, the doctors are injecting them with a poison to rid of them. So  Jonas gets the job as a receiver, a person who goes to the Giver (an old, wise man that was a receiver, but now gives memories) to receive memories from the past ages. As Jonas receives more and more memories, he decides to leave the community because of some disturbing memories that show what truly happens in the community. He leaves with his little brother, Gabriel.

            "6. Except for illness or injury unrelated to your training, do not apply for any medication. (9.32)". This was a rule in the community. I chose this quote because it shows how strict the rules were. Even the most organized and safest community had its downfalls. The whole community and no feelings towards each other. You could be an elder and still get injected with poison to be "released". So if you were dying of some disease, no medication would be given to you because it doesn't have to do with your training as the job you're getting.

            If I was to rate this book I would give it    . I chose these icons (happy face mask covering a sad face, if you can't see the image) because in the book, everyone needed to act a certain way. If they didn't "go with the flow", pills were given to them to straighten their attitude. I thought that the citizens were secretly crestfallen at the fact that they needed to be treated for their own behavior. That's why I chose icons of a glad mask that was covering up the real identity of the people, depressed.

            In my opinion, this book was the most mind-blowing book I have ever read. I saw the world in a new perspective and I started to enjoy reading. If you read this book, I guarantee that you will be hooked on it and want to read more books in this genre. You should read The Giver because it's a book that will open your eyes to the joy of reading. Secondly, this book is very unique because it doesn't happen in the present, but in a possible future for us. Finally, this book is very interesting and detailed that you could get a picture in your mind about the scene that you're reading. I would recommend this book for seventh grade and up, but for the ones who want a challenge. This book makes you think. Lower grades won't comprehend the concepts being told and how to look at the point of views.

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From: Tony Arenas <tonyarenas@rocketmail.com>
To: blaircarroll.millikanreads@blogger.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 11:21:43 PM
Subject: Ms. Huff Blog Assignment

this is my blog project for ms. huff's class

Sudden Death

Parker



  The book I read was Sudden Death by David Rosenfelt. I selected this book because it is a murder mystery and because it has to do with football and the NY Giants who are my favorite football team. I knew that this was a good book to read because the story sounded good and it had some things in it that interested me. I have read books by this author before and have liked them. I also heard that it was a good book and I like to read mysteries.
  This book was about a defense attorney named Andy Carpenter who is hired by Kenny Schilling, the star running back for the NY Giants, after he barricaded himself inside his house with the dead body of Troy Preston, a Jets football player. Kenny says he was set up and believes Andy Carpenter can help him dig himself out of the big hole he's in. Kenny has lost his job and image and the only person he has to help him is Andy who has some personal problems of his own but tries his best to figure out the case which is not easy. There were some suprising twist and turns but the end was a shocker. It was funny at times, suspenseful, interesting and sad. There was a lot of detail included about each event that happened in the book. It lives up to it's good reputation..
  "If my mother were alive she would say 'whatever happens, it's all for the best.' I never believed it when she used to say it, and I don't believe it now." I chose this because I agree with him and things don't always happen for the best. It depends on the choices you make and the situation your in. If you make a bad choice than it wasn't for the best and your future is not going to be the best. It is important in the story because he's always proving his mother wrong and the case he is investigating didn't happen for the best. In the end when the investigation is over, this saying comes in to hand as the best did not happen for Kenny and Andy, in fact the worse that could of happened happens.
    Since this book has to do with football, I made my rating icon a football. My rating scale is out 5 footballs, 1 being the worst and 5 being the best. I would give this book 4 out of 5 footballs. It was a good book, one of the best I've read but not the greatest ever.
                                          
I would recommend this book to a friend.. This book was a good read and had a very interesting detailed story. It was easy to relate to and very funny. It was realistic and suspenseful. There were a bunch of stories going on at once not just one, which made the book more interesting and not boring. I would recommend this to most guys the age of 12 to 30 because I think most guys would like this book and would be able to relate to it in some way.  Warning: There is some bad language, sexual thoughts and a descriptions of a dead body. All in all, this book was really good and a must read.  
              

Pendragon

Rizwan Per.6, English September 16, 2009               The book I chose was Pendragon: The Merchant of Death by D.J. Machale. I selected this book in the sixth grade for a book report. I chose it because I was told that it was a good book. This is why I had chosen it.           The book is about a character named Bobby Pendragon and him saving different worlds called territories. Him and his uncle go to a territory called Denduron to save it from the evil Saint Dane. They have to stop him from destroying peace or the territory disappears. The main theme about this book is fiction. This would be a great book to read if you enjoy reading.           When Bobby said, "They were going to kill her" it changed the story. The reason this quote is important was because they had to make sure Osa's death wasn't in vain. Thanks to this they had to make sure they save the territory from Saint Dane. Also because of what had happened they made a plan. This is why it had been important.           I had chosen a door as my rating system because in Pendragon they go through doors to reach a territory. My rating system is out of five. In my rating system five is the best and one being the worst. This is how my rating system is.           The reason you have to read this book is because it won't be a waste of time. A reason I would recommend this book is because you won't regret reading this piece of literature. People who are really into reading fiction will be glued to this book. After you have read it you will be glad that you decided to read this. I would recommend this to readers who are 11 and up. The reason why is because there are a few violent parts in the book.

Battle of the Labyrinth

Amir            

 

I Chose the book the Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan for my blog.  I chose this book because it is the final book of my favorite series, Percy Jackson & the Olympians. I wanted to chose another book in the series but this one was the best in my opinion so I chose this one.

The main character is Percy Jackson who in book 1 finds out he is a demi-God, that means either his mother of father is a god. His father is Posidon. In the third book he finds out that when he becomes 16 he will either choose to destroy or save Olympia. In this book he becomes 16 and there's a huge war between the Titans, their God, Kronos, and the Gods of Olympia. There is an amazing amount of realistic information about Greek mythology so it is a must read for anyone studying mythology.

"You are right as long as the Labyrinth is here, your enemies can use it, which is why the Labyrinth cannot continue" This is a very important quote because the enemies would use the Labyrinth to their advantage so it would have to be destroyed. The only problem is thatDaedalus's life is bound to the Labyrinth. He accepted his fate and allowed the Lord of the Undead to take his soul therefore destroying the Labyrinth.

In my rating system I used Roman short swords. I  chose this because Percy uses a golden short sword, riptide. This book in my opinion got a 5/5 rating

 

This book is great for anyone who loves mythology, is taking Roman history, or anyone who loves a thrilling book you cant put down. This book is for 12 and up due to the violence content. All and all it is an amazing book.