A Child Called "It"

Annie Period 6 9/15/09     The title of the book I read is, A Child Called "It".  The author of this book is Dave Pelzer. Dave Pelzer is also the main character in the book. I actually selected this book because I took advice from a friend. I came up to my friend and asked her about a list of books that included children that were troubled while growing up. The first few words that came out of her mouth were the title of this book. I knew that I had to read at least the first chapter of the book to figure if I was interested in what it had to say. After reading the first chapter, I knew that it was the right book for me. This book was really inspiring and made me realize how lucky I am to have the life I have.  The main characters in this book are Dave Pelzer and his mother. This is a brutal story of a young boy who got abused every moment of his young childhood. Dave Pelzer was only a child when his alcoholic mother abused him. She made him do shocking things like forcing him to burn himself on the stove or things like barely feeding him. When she did feed him, she gave him frozen foods. Dave Pelzer spent every waking moment obeying his mother's ridiculous and mind-blowing demands. On top of all that she timed Dave on his chores. One day in particular, the family finished their dinner and Dave's mother called him up from the dirty and filthy basement he lived in so he can clean up after them. Dave's mom told him that he had 20 minutes to clean the entire bathroom. She told him that if he was one second late, she would kill him. After saying that, she got the knife and stabbed Dave with it. He was bleeding and all his mother did was put a towel over it. Dave's mother also stopped calling Dave his son; instead he was known as "the boy". Dave also had to do things like eat his own waste. One time, she made him clean the bathroom tub but she also placed a bucket filled with a mixture of Clorox and ammonia right next to him and locked the door. He used to torture and at times felt like he was about to cough up his intestines. This is why this is called one of the worst child abuse cases in U.S. history. Dave Pelzer, a child in need in desperate times, always prayed to the lord and tried to make the best out of the worst situations. He mentioned a quote in the book which reads: "I am the king". I think that this is a very empowering statement. He was not treated like a king at all but his positive attitude towards things made him the winner in his mind and in all of our minds as well. I think that having the courage to share his story itself is phenomenal but  to have the courage to survive this life was mind-throbbing. I can't feel the exact same pain that he has felt and I don't think that anyone else can either, but I feel so bad that no one was there when he needed someone to talk to or get advice from. I loved this book.  This is a New York Times Bestseller and I think that it deserves many awards of recognition. For my symbol I chose two hands reaching for each other. I think that this symbol represents courage and it also represents one child's courage to survive.   I gave this book  4 out of 4 stars because I think it is absolutely brilliant. It shows that people can express their emotions in so many different ways. Even though Dave went through all that, he now share's his story with the world and inspires people everywhere.     I would really recommend this book to a lot of people. I would specifically recommend this book to children ages 11 and up. The reason for this is because the book gives full detail of torture and abuse. I think that it would be inappropriate for young children to hear about them. I would recommend this book because children can see how lucky they are to live their everyday lives and feel thankful for what they have. I also think that this book shows that if people share their stories they can always relate to each other one way or the other. I truly think that people should know that the text or information in this book is really brutal and it's hard to get out of your head. I loved this book and I think you will like it too. This is not only a story of abuse, it is a story of one child's courage to survive.

James and the Giant Peach

Winston
English, Period 6
September 12, 2009
 

 Last summer I read a book called James and the Giant Peach by Roald
Dahl. I picked this book after reading The BFG also written by Roald
Dahl. I also went on to read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I
happened to like Roald Dahl's stories so much that I began reading all
the famous books that he had written during his career. The one that
happened to stand out to me was obviously James and the Giant Peach.
The main reason why I picked this book was because I enjoyed many
thrills and adventures that young James had encountered throughout the
book. I also enjoyed reading about the controversy that James's
friends, the centipede and the earthworm happened to share such as the
many arguments and the constant bickering. Personally, I really liked
how Roald Dahl expressed his humor and gore throughout this book.  

 The story of James and the Giant Peach began when an old man gives
poor little James a bag of green crystals and detailed instructions. He
tells James that many fortunes will await him if he performs the magic
spell correctly. At the moment, James was desperate for fortunes after
having to live with his smell, snot nosed aunts for nearly 3 long
years. As he's running back towards the house he accidently spills the
bag of magic crystals as he watches his fortunes sink away into the
soil. Just so happens that in a matter of seconds a peach magical
ly
appears on top of the peach tree that never happened to grow any
peaches. Moments later, the peach magically expands to the size of an
entire house. The following evening while James is outside cleaning the
lawn, he decides to explore the mega – sized peach. He happens to
locate an entrance on the south side of the peach. Once he enters, he
encounters the many creatures that just so happens to be mega – sized
insects. He meets many characters such as Centipede; who is a arrogant
jerk. He also meets Mrs. Spider and Ladybug who are absolutely kind and
loving. There is also Grasshopper who is very courteous and is a famous
musician. Last but not least, there's Earthworm who is stern and
controversial. James is welcomed and is soon is considered part of the
family. The next morning the peach is cut loose and James is off on an
adventure along with his new friends. From there, they encounter many
treacherous obstacles yet run by many amazing adventures. As you read
this book you will enter a story that includes courage, bravery, doubt,
curiosity and enthusiasm. You will also read about the many challenges
that the group face. One of the greatest obstacles that they face is
escaping a massive shark attack while stranded in the middle of the
ocean. It was a moment of risk, cooperation and teamwork. It was the
moment in the story where James and his friends had to remove all their
0Acontroversy to step up to the plate, to work together and to design a
well coordinated plan to save their lives. That was one of the many
challenges that stood out in the book.

 There was a point in the book where James mentioned that his life
finally had some purpose and meant something. He stated, '' I have
finally walked out the dark and shallowness in my once forgotten
life.'' This quote was the most important to me because I believed that
it was the turning point in young, adolescent James Henry Trotter's
life. I finally looked at his life in another perspective and in a
bright way. He finally realized that he had started a brand new life
away from his harsh, abusive aunts and now with his loving and free
spirited friends. It was also was a major turning point in the story
because James started being happy and began to think about living with
his friends forever. This idea enlightened him to the very ideas of
surviving the long dangerous journey and how to avoid disaster. I
believe that if James had been down in the gutters at the moment of
disaster he would of panicked and led his friends to the dark path of
demise. His new attitude toward life completely changed the way he
thought, acted and made decisions.

 According to my opinion I would rate James and the Giant Peach 5
peaches. I would use 5 peaches as being the best book and 1 peach=2
0for
being the worst. I used the peach rating system simply because the
peach was the main theme for the book. I would give 5 peaches because
it got my adrenaline pumping from the beginning of the book and I
believe it was such an intriguing novel. I absolutely loved it.  

 I would recommend this book to children 8-13 years old becomes of its
age appropriate reading level. I would also recommend this book because
it provides children with imagination and a hint of unexpected magic.
Last but not least, I thought the book was a thriller and lures
children's curiosity. My only warning is that there was strong dialogue
throughout the book inappropriate for younger children without parental
supervision and guidance.

-----Original Message-----
From: happywinston@aol.com
To: blaircarroll.millikanreads@blogger.com
Sent: Sat, Sep 12, 2009 11:22 pm
Subject: Book Review Blog - By Winston Liang

Dear Mrs. Carroll,

Please find attached my book review blog. Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Winston Liang

English, Period 6

Mrs. J Huff

When It happens

Mia 

Per. 4 English

September 17, 2009

     The title of my favorite novel is, When it happens. This book is written by Susane Colasanti. I had never even heard of this book before I started to read it. It had just been a regular day at the bookstore when I had been looking for a new book to read. I usually look for books that have interesting covers. When I picked up this book, it had two people on the cover hiding their faces behind a tree. One was a girl and the other was a guy who had a guitar with him. On the back of the book, it talked about two seniors who came to fall in love. Right then and there I knew this was going to be an amazing book. 

 

             The interesting thing is that, When it Happens is written in alternating points of view. It alternates between the two main characters, Sara and Tobey. Sara is very intelligent, organized and completely focused on getting into her first college of choice. In the beginning of the book, Sara starts to date the hottest guy in school. But she learns that the hottest guy in school, isn't always the nicest. Tobey, on the other hand, could really care less about school. His main interests are music and Sara. In the beginning, Tobey tries to get her attention by whatever means possible. He tries to get Sara's attention when he enters the Battle of the bands with his band, MindFlame. As the story goes on, Sara starts to wonder if she can keep her feelings from Tobey for much longer.

 

            The quote that really touched me and that I remembered the most from the book was, " And it feels like this missing part of me has finally been found." Most girls dream of the day that they believe they have found their true love. And I think that that quote says it all. That Sara, felt like Tobey was her missing piece. She was saying that nothing really mattered except that she was with him at that moment. She was saying that he made her feel complete, safe and relaxed. It is important to the story, because when both Tobey and Sara are thinking this, it changes the whole mood and feel of the story. It changes from just a story about these two friends to the beginning of a sweet, comical, love story.

 

             

 

 

            For the rating system, I chose to use music notes. I felt that through out the story, music really is something that connects everything together. I gave it four because of how funny and unpredictable the writing is. I also liked how Susane Colasanti really put detail into everything and it really seemed like you were reading into two seniors minds. I gave it four of five music notes due to how it was sort of slow in a few parts and it wouldn't interest every type of audience. But overall, I thought this book was phenomenal. I loved that they were small surprises at the most interesting times.

 

            Three reasons why I think someone should read this are that it is smart, funny, and very entertaining. It also isn't like any book I have ever read, and finally because I know a book is good when I never want it to end.  I would recommend this for people who are in the mood for a funny, romantic story. A book that will leave you off with a great feeling as you finish it. I would also not recommend this for children 13 and up, due to some sexual content and explicit language

Breaking Dawn

Lindsay English Per.6 September 13, 2009             The title of the book I am doing this report on is called Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer. It is the last book in the Twilight series. I read the first book and fell in love. I actually became obsessed. One book after the other. I finished the whole series in about 2 months. That's a record for me. I was so sad when it was over so I decided to read it again. I read it 2 times. This isn't a short book either. It is actually 754 pages long. It is probably one of the best books I have ever read.         The book is a love story between a vampire and a girl, (who is now a vampire). Now that Bella has Renesmee (who is half mortal, half vampire), the entire Volturi clan is coming to destroy the child. She is a threat to their secret. Bella has some extra supernatural powers too along with Edward and Alice. That power could save her daughter and the rest of the vampire clans from the Volturi coven. Her daughter has also got a power. It is a strange way of communicating. Jacob also makes peace with the vampires. Especially, Renesmee.         "When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you with no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give to your beloved, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?" That quote is my all time favorite. I chose this quote because it shows the audience what Bella is going through. She basically has to decide whether or not to give her life to her true love. That quote has a lot of power in its words. It also shows her frustration she has to go through to make this decision. That decision is basically the whole book.         I am going to rate this book on a scale of 1-5. 1 being bad and 5 being absolutely amazing. , , , , . Of course I have to give it 5 fangs. I rating it with fangs because when people see fangs they think of vampires, which this book is about.         I would recommend this book to a mature female teen audience. I am a mature teen and so are my friends and they loved the book. I would not recommend it to you kids because they are some sexual scenes and some violence. Guys didn't seem very into it but girls fell in love with Edward. This series of books captured the minds of so many people that anybody could read it and love it just as much as I did.

Number the Stars

Amanda

                                                                                    English Period 4

                                                                                    September 16, 2009 

For this book review blog, I chose to review the book Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. I selected this book because this is a book that interests me. Another reason why I chose this book was that once I read the back I wanted to keep on reading the book, so that is what caught my attention. I read this book because I have gotten many recommendations from friends and family and because it is a New Berry Award book, so it must be interesting.

In this book, there are two main characters. They are two girls around the age of ten who are best friends. Their names are Ellen and Annemarie. Their families have known each other for a long period of time. In the book the Holocaust was going on so it was dangerous everywhere. Annemarie was Christian, so her and her family were safe, but Ellen was Jewish, so her and her family were not safe. Ellen's parents left her to go to a safer location, so Ellen had to stay with Annemarie. (So she was safe.) Then Nazis found out she was there, so Ellen, Annemarie and her family left to a safer location. They all sneak away, but guess who finds out that they sneak away… Many more things happen in the book but to find out what happens you must read the book.

There are many quotes in this book but this specific quote very much stands out to me, "When the war ends." Mrs. Johansen said. This whole book is about war so when someone says when the war ends has a huge impact on the read like me. During a war when someone says that it means that they have, hope that the war will end soon but in reality the war might not end for a while or rarely it will end soon. That quote is very inspiring to me and probably to many other people who read this book. This quote is also important to the story because the book ends with a little bit of happy in it so that quote probably inspired the ending.

The rating system for this book will be from one star to five stars. Getting five stars means that it was an amazing book and that you should read it. If the book gets a one star that means that it wasn't the best book and it was not interesting. This book is going to be rated with stars from the title of the book, Number the Stars. I would say that this book receives five stars. The book was interesting, it had suspension, and once I started to read the book I could not put it down.                           &nbs p;                               

Number the Stars is a book to read when ever you get a chance. It is a book that you will never put down and you will love the book so much that you would want to read it a second time. I am recommending this book because it is suspenseful, it teaches you how life went with wars like this one, and the book has mystery in it. Therefore, if you are the type of person who likes to read about wars, like the Holocaust, and like reading mystery novels then this book is the book for you. WARNING: If you do not like reading about wars and sadness then you should not read this book!

 

Twilight

Sabrina Period 4 English September 12, 2009 Twilight                           I read the book Twilight by Stephanie Meyers. Twilight is a saga of four books. I selected this book because other people had read it and they liked it so I wanted to give it a shot. People made it seem very interesting. First my mom bought the second book for my sister or me to read so I wanted to read it, but since it was the second one it didn't make sense to so then my mom went out to buy the first one instead and it then made so much more sense to me. It was interesting.                 In Twilight the main characters are Bella Swan, Charlie Swan, Edward Cullen, Alice Cullen, Rosalie Hale, Carlisle Cullen, Emmett Cullen, Esme Cullen, Jasper Hale, and Jacob Black. Bella Swan moves to a small town named Forks to live with her dad Charlie. Everything is new for her, a new school, new friends, and a new guy.  Bella makes a friend named Jacob Black who's the son of Charlie's friend Billy. Later on the first day of school Bella meets a very mysterious guy named Edward Cullen and his whole family. She sees they are very pale and beautiful and something's different about them then other people.  In class Edward acted really weird a round her.  One day at the beach she starts talking to Jacob about the Cullen's and Jacob tells Bella that Edward is a vampire. Later on Bella was walking inside to school and a car got out of control because it slid a was about to crush Bella, and out of no where Edward pushed the car off and away from her. So now that they both know he is a vampire Edward and Bella hangout some more till other vampires try and kill Bella what will they do? In the book Bella said," it's not the end it's the beginning. I chose this as one of my favorite quotes because Edward was referring to how it can be dangerous dating a vampire and how it can be the end. But Bella refers to that as long as she's with Edward she will always feel safe.  To me this was a very romantic sweet quote, and I don't give up easily and this quote shows that. It is very empowering. I would rate this out of five and based on that I give it 4 out of 5. I gave it that because of its amazing details, the storyline of the book because when I read it I kept on wanting to read it, and for the point of view it was written in. This book was truly amazing. For those of you that seen the movie it is nothing like the movie. The movie just seems dumb, but the book is great.         I recommend you do read this book. I recommend you read this because it's a great story and mystery drama. Another reason is because it's such a reality but fantasy at the same time so it's really cool. Also it has great stories about each character. Warning may include some language but not much also very specific of kissing type of things.  Read this book you WILL love it.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

 

       This book I read is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which is written by J.K. Rowling. The reason why I selected this book is because I am a fan of Harry Potter books and that since this like a fantasy type of book I would imagine what goes on while reading. Plus this is like an action/adventure type book and that I like those types of books. But that is just one reason why I chose this book. I chose this book because since I read the two other books before this I just got to know what is going to happen in this one. As I started to read this book I just wanted to complete the book and not to stop right in the middle of it and start a new book, it is a very good book to read and I didn't put this book down until I completed it.. I selected this book because of all the adventures, the action as I read it, the mystery, and the fantasy it has, which is the type of book I like.

       In this book there are three main characters. Harry Potter, he is known for the scar on his forehead and when it is summer time he lives with Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and there son Dudley. They are his only living relatives and are very mean to him. His real parents are dead both of them were magical, so his parents was a witch and a wizard, but the family Harry is living with right now are muggles, humans with no magic powers. Hermione Granger, she is like the brains of the group. She is the one that knows more difficult spells. Ron Wesley is a clumsy boy who already broke his wand into two and has a really nice family. While at Hogwarts, where Harry goes to school, Harry is being hunted down by dementors, ghostly creatures that are the guardians of the prison of Azkaban. As I go through the story I read about a man named Sirius Black. He is responsible for killing 13 people with one curse. He is also Harry's godfather, but that that isn't the end yet. So if you want to find out more read the book.

       "What do when the worst is coming…"(Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, pg. 68). I chose this comment because Harry, Hermione, and Ron are getting into really bad troubles in the book as I read, especially Harry. This can actually relate to Harry because I've wondered what he will do when he is in a really bad situation, will he run or fight on. This quote is basically used throughout the story since Harry, Ron, and Hermione are getting into trouble like at the time of going to Hogwarts, as he was on the Hogwarts Express train a dementor showed up and I wondered what will he do the things get worse.. Another time that got worse was when he had to fight Sirius Black. 

       If was to rate this I would give it a 4 out 5 score . These are scars, which is the same scar on Harry's forehead from Voldermort, a very evil wizard responsible for the deaths of Harry's parents. How he got the scar is that when Harry was still a baby he wanted to kill him but survived.. So I used this kind of rating system based on the scar on Harry's forehead. The ratings were 1-5 and I chose 4 so it is a very good book to read all of it was excellent so I hope other will enjoy this to read. So when you people out there need a good book to read this that book.

       So this book has a rating of 4 out of 5 scars and that is very good and for the people who like mystery, action, and adventure books this is the one. One reason why others will want to read this is because this is like from 7 years of age to like above. This may have some violent content, but not to much. Good for Harry Potter fans just like me. There might be so comedy in this so if you need a laugh this is for you and again there is very little violence. Plus if you like magic this is the one. So enjoy this book and I am sure you will like it to. HAPPY READING !!!!

Rating:    

 

 

Marcus

 

English, Period 4

 

September 15, 2009