Young Adult Literature

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Beauty by Robin McKinley
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Clique by Lisi Harrison
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
Feed by M.T. Anderson
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
Jake Reinvented by Gordon Korman
Kit's Wilderness by David Almond
A Little Piece of Ground by Elizabeth Laird
Prom by Laurie Halse Andrson
Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle
Shooter by Walter Dean Myers
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Uglies by Scott Westerfield
Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher

California

On Friday, we drove to Las Vegas where we stayed at the La Quinta next to Nellis Air Force Base. For dinner, we went to the pizzeria at Circus Circus and shopping at the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace, which are two traditions of ours.

On Saturday  we woke up and had breakfast at our hotel. We then drove to Costa Mesa, California. We stayed at the Hilton Hotel by the John Wayne Airport.  We ate at El Torito, which the best Mexican restaurant in California.

On Sunday, we went to the O.C. Swap Meet. After the swap meet, we went to church, which meets right next to the Newport Temple. For dinner, we ate at the Crab Cooker and then walked down the pier.

On Monday, we went to Disneyland. We went on Indiana Jones adventure, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Astro Blasters, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Mark Twain Riverboat, Storybook Land Canal Boats, and the Jungle Cruise. We ate lunch at the French Market in New Orleans square which has really good clam chowder in bread bowls. After we left the park, we walked through Downtown Disney. For dinner, we went to Taco Bell, before driving back up to Anaheim to our new hotel.

On Tuesday, we drove back to Las Vegas, with a stop at the Prymm Outlet Mall. We stayed at Circus Circus and went shopping at the new Town Square Mall and the Disney Outlet Store.

Norah Jones

A Little Piece of Ground

A Little Piece of Ground is the first book I've read by Elizabeth Laird. I have never lived outside of Utah, but I have traveled out of the country to the Caribbean and Mexico. This book gave me the sense that living in the Middle East is scary, because of the constant terrorism. The protagonist of the book is a 12 year old boy named Karim who lives in Palestine, during the Arab-Israeli conflict. This book reminded me of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, because of the child surrounded by war. Like Liesel in The Book Thief escapes by reading books, Karim escapes by playing soccer. He and his friends just want to play soccer, but they have a curfew based on the invading soldiers.

On page 61, Karim is silently screaming about the suicide bomber, calling him a "hero." When he is rooting for a suicide bomber, his sense of value for the human life is tarnished. Abu Fiesal tells Karim war "is not simple." Karim's actions show he doesn't understand the threat of war around him and gains a better understanding by the end of the book. He seems very unbalanced, but brave. I think the war would drive anyone crazy. I thought it was sweet of Karim to take care of the kittens in the field, and it was sad to read Ginger getting run over by a tank.

The book gave good insight into how the Iraqis feel about soldiers being in their country. I can understand the frustration Karim and his friends are feeling. The book's writing is slow paced, because the author was overly descriptive. The ending seemed flat, although it is reassuring that Karim's final words are "We'll survive," showing hope for the future.

Bunyan, Butler, Wilmot, and Dryden

             I have been reading John Dryden’s poems for my English class and he is so doom and gloom, constantly talking about judgement day, how justice will be passed who don’t follow the rulers or God.  His poems seem full of vengeance and they are depressing, because is he of the Puritan faith.

            John Bunyan is similar to John Dryden’s writing, but a little lighter.  He focuses on God’s wrath, but he also writes about God’s love.  Bunyan grew up poor and saw both sides of God equally, while Dryden grew up rich.

            Samuel Butler is a very visual writer.  He takes you through the scene is trying to set. 

John Wilmot is an anarchist, antireligious, and the most  risqué out of the four authors.    His writing is full of satire and not full of doom.  He was brave for questioning authority and making fun of people in charge. 

The Giver

The Giver is the second book I have read by Lois Lowry. I read her book, Number the Stars, when I was in Elementary school and it is one of my favorite books. When I started reading The Giver, I hoped it would be as good as Number the Stars and it met my expectations. 

The Giver is about a 12 year old boy named Jonas who lives in a society where there is no sex, no war, no pain, no aging, and no crime. Jonas is given the task of becoming the receiver of memories from the past, where there is currently no snow, sunlight, colors, or love. Jonas was a very believable twelve year old and I don't think he could have survived in this dystopia and be sane. I found the plot reminded me of The Tripod series by John Christopher and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, with all their teenage protagonists leaving a dystopian world for freedom. The writing is fast paced and I liked the open ending, which shows hope for happiness.

Jake, Reinvented

Jake, Reinvented is the first book I have read by Gordon Korman and I thought it was an okay story. The narrator is Rick, a senior in high school and football player. He tells us the story of Jake Garrett, a newcomer to his school who instantly becomes popular. Jake throws a party every week for his teammates on the football team. After two weeks, Jake is Rick's new BFF. Rick learns Jake used to be a nerdy math tutor for a girl named Didi, when he was a sophomore. Jake moved to a different school and reinvented persona, so Didi would go out with him. Didi does notice him but she already has a boyfriend. Her boyfriend Todd is jealous and tries to bring Jake down a notch. Through Jake, Rick realizes his true feelings for his friend Jennifer and realizes Todd is a jerk. The writing is fast paced, but the ending is flat. I wanted more development from these characters. This book teaches you can't expect happiness coming from other people.

Prom

Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson is about a senior in high school named Ashley, who could care less about Prom.  She is ready to move in with her drug dealing boyfriend and ready to leave high school behind.  When the math teacher steals all the money for prom, Ashley helps her best friend Natalia plan a new prom.  She is not allowed to attend because of too many disciplinary problems and library fines.  So, Ashley has to decided whether to stay home or sneak into a prom she worked hard to plan. 

Beauty

Beauty by Robin McKinley is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.  It focuses on how Beauty grows up with two sisters, Hope and Grace, and how they ended up involved with the beast.  The beast demands one of the daughters in return for their father picking a rose, and he sends Beauty to him, because the other two sisters are married.

Dreamland

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen is about a sixteen year old girl named Caitlin O’Koren.  Her sister runs off to New York City and leaves Caitlin devastated, with no contact.  Caitlin would rather live in her dreams than live for real during the day.  She starts dating an abusive drug dealer and is ignored by her parents.  She gets addicted to the drugs as well.

The Golden Compass

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman is a controversial book.  They say everyone has daemon attached to them, in the form of animal.  The villains are called Gobblers, who are people taking children to the North to separate them from their daemons. 

Historical Fiction

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz
• The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
• The Crucible by Arthur Miller
• The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
• 11/22/63 by Stephen King
• Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
• A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
• Kit's Wilderness by David Almond
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
• Pearl Harbor 1941 by Nancy Holder
• Sarah's Key by Tatianna De Rosnay
• Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
• The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
• The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
• Witch Child by Celia Rees
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Fantasy Reading List

Alice in Wonderland by Louis Carroll
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and The Beast by Robin McKinley
The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
Golden Compass
Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
Matched by Ally Condie
Miss Peregrines: Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
The Night Circus by Erin Morgestern
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L.F. Baum
Watership Down by Richard Adams
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Wicked by Gregory Maguire

The Kiesha'ra Series

The Kiesha’ra Series by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes is about two shape shifters, named Danica and Zane, who come from two enemy families.  They have to get married to bring peace to their kingdoms. 

True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

 True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi is an adventure story.  Charlotte reminds me of Elizabeth Swan in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.  Charlotte is young girl who has to sell on her father’s pirate ship from Europe to America.  She is heroine when the crew declares mutiny on the captain. 

Kit's Wilderness

 Kit’s Wilderness by David Almond is a fantasy adventure story.  Kit and his friends play a game called Death, where they take turns, pretending they are dead and have left their bodies.  After playing the game, Kit feels something supernatural and he starts seeing the ghosts of his ancestors who died in the mines.  

Into the Wild

Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst is a fantasy adventure book with a clever concept.  I love fairy tales.  The protagonist is 12 year old Julie who lives in a world where fairy tale creatures exist.  Her mother is Rapunzel, her grandmother is a witch, and her cat is Puss in Boots.  Her father is a prince who was killed helping Rapunzel escape the forest.  They have the seven dwarfs over to her house for dinner a lot.  The fairy tale creatures who have escaped the Wild, have to repeat their stories over and over because of a supernatural object.  Julie has to go rescue her family out of the Wild.

The Clique Series

 The Clique by Lisi Harrison is similar to its young adult predecessors such as Gossip Girl and The A-List.  All three series deal with mean girls.  This one doesn’t have the graphic language and sex the other two do.  This one is for middle school girls and how hard junior high is.  I was picked on a lot in junior high because this is the development stage between the maturity of a kid and the maturity of an adult. 

The Chocolate War

 The Chocolate War by Robert Comier definitely measures up to his other books, After the First Death and Tenderness.  Cormier has an interesting writing style and writes about problems other authors don’t dare to write about.  What starts out as a hazing ritual after refusing to sell fundraiser chocolates ends in a brutal beating.  I had to sell chocolates while I was in junior high and they weren’t very good so I doubt people would buy them if it wasn’t to support the school.  I liked how Jerry was able to stand his ground surrounded by peer pressure.  It made it seem like all the teachers at the school were menacing. 

Shooter

 Shooter by Walter Dean Myers is a very sad book about because of similar events that have happened at Columbine, Virginia Tech and even as close to us at Trolley Square in Salt Lake.  The book is very relatable and the characters are believable.  The ending shows us we need to help people overcome obstacles.