Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Summer Reading

Over the summer, you were asked to read at least two novels of your choice.

1) Briefly tell me what you read, including the titles and authors.
2) I want to know what you liked about the books, what you learned and, more importantly, what matters to you about the book's content? How does it resonate with you?
Please do not give me a summary; I care more about what you took away from the book.

*Make sure to adhere to proper conventions and proofread your response. If, for some reason, you did not read two novels, tell me about two novels you have read and enjoyed and answer the above.

30 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I like your scarf Ms.Comp

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  3. The books I read for the summer reading novels were Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Both of these books are written by J.K Rowling. I read these books because if the book is a series then I like to read it in order so they make more sense to me. One thing I liked about the books were they brought me memorize of when I first read the books when I was in second grade. These were my favorite books when I was younger and about the only ones I read. I also like the thought of the book because it’s very creative. Its not another book about a dog like Because of Winn-Dixie or Old Yeller. I learned for the book these books that anyone can be a hero.

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  4. Over the summer I read the books I am the Mission and Snitch. The author of I am the Mission was by Allen Zadoff, and the author of Snitch was Olivia Samms. What I liked the most about I am the Mission and Snitch was that they are both mysteries, and I love reading mystery styled books. What I learned from these two books was what it is like to be a teenage assassin and what it is like to be a teenage physic. What I really enjoyed about the content of both books was that they left you on the edge of your seat, and the content made you want to read more. I hope there will be a third book of Snitch because I would love to read more of the series and I can't wait for I am the Traitor to come out.

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  5. This summer, I read the books Maze Runner by James Dashner and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. The Maze Runner is about a bunch of teenage boys trying to escape a maze, and The Alchemist is about a young man trying to find his personal legend.
    What I liked about The Maze Runner, is that is a very unique book; I have never read anything quite like it. It kept me interested the whole time with new problems for the boys to solve. What I learned from the book is that friendship is one of the most important aspects of life. These boys created a community and with out eachother's trust and helping hand, they probably wouldn't have, well, I probably shouldn't tell you the ending. On the other hand, I didn't really like The Alchemist because I didn't really understand it. The book reffered to everybody as the boy, the young boy, the English boy, etc, so you didn't really know who was talking or who the narrator was talking about. Although I did take away an important life lesson from the book. You can't just survive and make a living, you have to LIVE life with excitement, adventure, and love.
    I definitely recommend The Maze Runner to anyone who loves adventure books!

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  7. The last novel I read was "Hopeless", written by Coleen Hoover. It's about the girl Hope who has never felt anything for a boy until she meets Dean Holder. But after some time their past begins to catch up with them... It's not the typical love story and that was exactly what I liked about that book. Furthermore, the protagonists are so well described that you can put yourself in their place very easily. A reason for this is the amazing writing style of the author which is so captivating and authentic that I couldn't put the book down until I finished it .
    It made me remember that you should live every moment because life can change so fast and if it does "knock you down forcing you to make a choice between giving in and remaining on the ground or wiping the dirt off and standing up even taller than you did before you were knocked down" it's your choice. Don't waste it!

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  8. The two novels I read over the Summer were Band of Brothers, by Stephen Ambrose and The Hound of Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Band of Brothers is about the 101st Airborne Division's, 506th Regiment's Easy Company, and their missions from D-Day to Hitler's Eagles Nest, as well as how it changed their personalities overtime. The Hound of Baskervilles is about the family Baskerville and the 'curse' upon the Baskerville family. Band of Brothers was the one I preferred of the two. Not only because of the fact that I'm fascinated with World War 2 warfare but it included the effects of the war on the psyche of the soldier and how when they served together they bonded in a way like non other. The Hound of Baskervilles didn't really touch on anything, but still was a good read. You really only read letters Dr. Watson sent to Sherlock the entire time and there was very little going on in the story or emotional standpoint from you as the reader. But still, good read

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  9. Over the summer, I read the The Isle of the lost by Melissa De La Cruz and The inventions of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. What I liked about the books is to never judge people just because of how they look. The main characters in the books have rough lives but they get a second chance in life to have a better life. I learned that just because of how they looked to never judge them until you get to know them better. That people who don’t look like they be trusting but once you can really get to know them they can be very trusting.

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  10. The two books I read over the summer were The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kid and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne. These books were both so wonderfully written and were very unique and different than anything else I have read. They had great themes, and I liked the morals each of the stories encompassed. The moral of The Secret Life of Bees was that the past may not be what it seems, and skin color does not matter when it comes to love. The moral of The Boy in Striped Pajamas was that you should stand up for what you believe in, and not just go with the crowd. I learned so much from these books and I'm very glad I read them. When I read these books, there were many moments when I was sad. The main protagonist in each of the novels was very relatable, so I felt as if I was in their shoes when something happened to them. These books were both very emotional, and it made the content very interesting and drama-filled. What I took away from these books was that not all historical themed books are boring, and that you should explore and try new genres of novels.

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  11. Over the summer I read The Nethergrim by Matthew Jobin and Catching Fire by Richard Wrangham. I liked The Nethergrim because of the feeling that it gave off. It helped me learn that friends are powerful together, and accept each other at most times. What mattered to me about the books content was how it gave me a mindset of reliance and helpfulness when reading it, which very much resonated with me. Catching Fire was a nonfiction story, and what I really liked about it was how much knowledge I got out of it. Having barely ever read a nonfiction book, I was surprised and excited about how much I learned about our ancestor’s history and the theory of evolution. I think the main thing that matters in Catching Fire is how you view the main argument of the book; as a made up theory, a knowledge-filled science lesson, or whatever else the reader thought about it. The idea of a new thought on how man evolved was a great idea for a book, I thought, and I am glad I read it.

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  12. Over the summer I read Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell, and Patrick Robinson and The Maze Runner by James Dashner. I truly appreciated reading both books, but I really took one or two life lessons from each. After reading Lone Survivor, the main lesson I took away is that no matter how tough the path to success or survival is, you need to give your all. I really liked reading the book because it is a true story, and that gives me a chance to try and put myself in that teams shoes. The part of Maze Runner that I really liked was the whole idea of being born into a puzzle, and seeing them try and work themselves out. The maze caused them to show great heart and courage. I thoroughly enjoyed both books, because they were great reads, and had an influence on the way I thought about life. I am happy with my choice for summer reading.

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  13. Over the summer I read Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell, and Patrick Robinson and The Maze Runner by James Dashner. I truly appreciated reading both books, but I really took one or two life lessons from each. After reading Lone Survivor, the main lesson I took away is that no matter how tough the path to success or survival is, you need to give your all. I really liked reading the book because it is a true story, and that gives me a chance to try and put myself in that teams shoes. The part of Maze Runner that I really liked was the whole idea of being born into a puzzle, and seeing them try and work themselves out. The maze caused them to show great heart and courage. I thoroughly enjoyed both books, because they were great reads, and had an influence on the way I thought about life. I am happy with my choice for summer reading.

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  14. Over the summer I read Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell, and Patrick Robinson and The Maze Runner by James Dashner. I truly appreciated reading both books, but I really took one or two life lessons from each. After reading Lone Survivor, the main lesson I took away is that no matter how tough the path to success or survival is, you need to give your all. I really liked reading the book because it is a true story, and that gives me a chance to try and put myself in that teams shoes. The part of Maze Runner that I really liked was the whole idea of being born into a puzzle, and seeing them try and work themselves out. The maze caused them to show great heart and courage. I thoroughly enjoyed both books, because they were great reads, and had an influence on the way I thought about life. I am happy with my choice for summer reading.

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  16. The two books that I read over the summer were Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell and Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen. I chose to read these two books because I like reading books about survival. Lone Survivor is one of my favorite books and I have read it a few times and have also seen the movie. After reading the book and watching the movie, I noticed the difference between them. The movie helps you visualize the hardship and gives you a feel of how hard it was for those four men. While I read the book this summer I kept thinking what might have happened if they didn’t release the men they captured. Would those three men that lost their lives still be here, or would they have completed their mission? I wanted to read Brian’s Winter because I really liked reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. After being in the Canadian Wilderness for months, Brian was able to not only survive, but thrive all alone. I liked this book because it was a touching story that made me want to read it again. After reading these two books, they have taught me that when times get tough, you need to do whatever you need to do to survive and that you should never give up.

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  17. The two books I read over the summer were The Maze Runner by James Dashner and Coach by Michael Lewis. I chose these books because I like to read books that pull the reader in and have some kind of lesson. The lesson I took away from the make runner was that when there's a large group of people with one problem, there always has to be that one person or people to step up and overcome the problem. The lesson I took away from coach was that none of the parents liked this coach until the end of the book because not only did those kids learn how to play baseball they also learned how to be good people,

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  18. Over this summer, I read I Had a Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story by Hank Aaron and Lonnie Wheeler, as well as The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. To begin, I Had a Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story, depicted the remarkable life and record-breaking season of Hank Aaron, one of the best baseball players ever to play the game. The one thing that really reached out to me was the amount of adversity he was faced with throughout his life, both on and off the field, but managed to battle through to accomplish his goals. Living in the time that he did, an African-American like himself was treated extremely unfairly and brutally. However, Hank Aaron still managed to hit the most homeruns of anybody ever to play Major League Baseball, even with countless articles of hate mail in his mail box and rude names being screamed at him from the stands. Hank Aaron’s incredible story and resiliency showed me how lucky I am, and how little my problems are compared to those of Hank Aaron’s, along with countless other African-Americans that lived during that time. I really enjoyed this story, and was extremely motivated by it as well.
    In addition, I read The Outsiders, which was a fictional novel about a boy named Ponyboy, who was one of the members in a small gang, that was essentially a group of brothers. This novel focuses on Ponyboy and the several different unexpected, unfathomable situations and events that occur. Among these are deaths, fights, fires, and more. This novel revealed to me a totally different time period and lifestyle than I am not accustomed to. Not only did I gain a knowledge of this time period, but I was also able to gain empathy and sympathy for the characters in the book, and establish a connection with them, which made the book much more engaging for me as the reader. One thing I really loved about this story was the brotherhood and love that the characters shared with one another. Even though they were all big tough guys, they had relationships that would last a lifetime for them, and I really respected that. This story also showed me that all people are basically good. Even if we see or hear about criminals robbing stores or whatever it may be, this story showed what happened behind the scenes with these kinds of people, and how they still have plenty of kindness and love in them. This classic novel taught me a lot, and it was a phenomenal book to read.

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  19. The two novels I read over the summer were The Dead by Charlie Higson and The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider. I chose to read these books because I'm interested in a certain type or way a book is but haven't figured out what type of gene, so my brother recommended The Dead to me which he was just finishing up reading, I like the way the author describes things in his books. With these descriptions you can paint a perfect image of everything in your head. Next, what I like about the Beginning of Everything is the story line. To me the story line is unlike any other book i have read, the author keeps the reader in their grasp the whole time.

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  20. The books I read over the summer were the Kill Order and The Scorch Trials both by James Dashner. The Scorch Trials and The Kill Order are both sequels to the hit book The Maze Runner. Both books are very good and The Scorch Trials is a very good lead up to the final book The Kill Order. I have high regards for this trilogy because unlike other trilogys the books don't just randomly add pieces and charcters like others trilogys have. The books do a good job of maintaining an overall theme throughout all three books which I really appreciated. I also loved how they wrapped up all three making you want to read the next one as soon as you can. If I had to recommend any books I would recommend these books for the reasons I explanied.

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  21. This summer I read two amazing books called the Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne and Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. What I liked about these books was that they are based on a true story. What I liked about the Boy in the Striped Pajamas was when the Jewish housekeeper, who was a doctor before the war, helped Bruno when he fell off his rope swing and bandaged him up even when he was not supposed to. I liked how the boy Bruno explored the woods and found a friend named Shmuel, who was in a prison camp near his house, and was the kid in the striped pajamas. From this book, I learned that you need to treat people the same no matter their race or religion. This book's content will stay with me because it will teach me to treat everyone the same. What I liked about Tuesdays with Morrie was how Mitch met every tuesday and talked about different aspects about life with Morrie. I liked the inspiration of their talks that they had. Also, I liked how Morrie overcame his disease and lived life to the fullest. I learned that not everyone will live a long wonderful life. When you're around people enjoy them while you can. This book's content will stay with me because it was a reminder to live life to the fullest and don’t waste your opportunities or time.

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  22. Over the summer, I read An Abundance of Kathrines and Looking For Alaska, both by John Green. What I liked about An Abundance of Kathrines was the idea of; Do I matter? Through the book, Colin is trying to figure out what makes him special, or why does he matter? I can relate to this book because I often wonder why I was put here on earth. This book also shows that there is always something more to what is on the surface, you just have to look for it. It also shows that people have to try something different and new, outside of their comfort zone. The other book I read was Looking For Alaska. What i got from this book is the idea of one persons life falling apart. I live a very privileged and lucky life, and this book let me have a Glance into what it will be like to loose somebody that I love. I am very fortunate to never have lost somebody that I love. I also learned to take risks but not to a point where it is dangerous. This book shows where some boundaries are.

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  23. Over the summer, I read Flush, by Carl Hiaasen and The Giver, by Lois Lowry. I really enjoyed both of these books. In fact, The Giver is now my favorite book. Both stories were based on a kid that has to think for himself and make his own decisions. All the choices they made will help me make my own judgements. Both boy’s in the books were about my age so all the interactions they made, I can relate to. Everything I do in high school, I can relate back to these books. I’m not usually a big reader, but I couldn’t take my eyes off these books.

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  24. This summer, I read the books “The House of Hades” and “The Hunger Games”. “The House of Hades”, by Rick Riordan was a story about 7 “demigods” (people who were half human and half god) who were obliged by a prophecy to save the world. “The Hunger Games” was about a young woman named Katniss and her partner, Peeta, who had to experience being in the Hunger Games, a ritual in which 30 children are chosen to fight and kill each other. I enjoyed “The House of Hades” because the author of the book used descriptive imagery to create an exciting and action-packed book. I thought the “The Hunger Games” was an exhilarating book because it used many levels of emotion to descriptively make it feel like the reader is viewing the story “in the main character’s shoes”. I learned from “The House of Hades” that anyone, no matter what age they are or how they look, have the potential to create or do something amazing. I learned from “The Hunger Games” to never give up no matter how difficult it is to complete an objective. Both of these books were extremely exciting and “kept me at the edge of my seat”.

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  25. This summer I read the books "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card, and "Odd Thomas" by Dean Koontz. While I read “Ender’s game” I like the way it made me feel like I was in this future society and it made me understand and sympathize with the main character’s underestimated ability to think out the losses and gains from an action extremely quickly and use that information to plan his next move. The story taught me that you can not win all the time and sometimes things don’t go your way. I’ll never forget the somewhat heartbreaking ending. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone but it really stuck with me the way he was still open after all that had happened. I liked the storyline of “odd Thomas”. I found it really interesting how not all the encounters with the undead were extremely serious and how they incorporated a lot of humor into the story when they could have let it be a normal serious paranormal mystery novel. This also had a moral that taught you that things never go perfect. Something that everyone must learn to make it in this world.. Again, like with “Ender’s Game” and most books I read the ending will stick with me the most. This book's ending was really tough to read because it lead you to a different understanding and then revealed the truth of what really happened. The real ending was tough to read and will stick with me forever.

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  26. This summer I read the books "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card, and "Odd Thomas" by Dean Koontz. While I read “Ender’s game” I like the way it made me feel like I was in this future society and it made me understand and sympathize with the main character’s underestimated ability to think out the losses and gains from an action extremely quickly and use that information to plan his next move. The story taught me that you can not win all the time and sometimes things don’t go your way. I’ll never forget the somewhat heartbreaking ending. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone but it really stuck with me the way he was still open after all that had happened. I liked the storyline of “odd Thomas”. I found it really interesting how not all the encounters with the undead were extremely serious and how they incorporated a lot of humor into the story when they could have let it be a normal serious paranormal mystery novel. This also had a moral that taught you that things never go perfect. Something that everyone must learn to make it in this world.. Again, like with “Ender’s Game” and most books I read the ending will stick with me the most. This book's ending was really tough to read because it lead you to a different understanding and then revealed the truth of what really happened. The real ending was tough to read and will stick with me forever.

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  27. This summer I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I loved both of them and I thought they were very inspiring. I loved The Help because it had multiple perspectives. The author didn't just choose one race to bash or support but instead took both perspectives into mind. The Help really made me think about how people, a lot of times, judge people by their appearance and don’t take the time to meet them because they have already made assumptions. It also made me think about standing up for others and doing what you think is right even if others judge you for it.
    When I was reading Uglies, it really challenged me to think about just how much I compare myself to others. Almost everybody compares their appearance to others to others, but it isn't the outside that really matters. Sure its nice to look pretty but, we shouldn't decide our importance on our beauty. Let our character do that.

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  28. Over the summer, I read Legend by Marie Lu and Insurgent by Veronica Roth. Both are dystopian books (my favorite genre) with suspense, a little bit of romance, family relationships, and a lot of action and adventure. Legend is about two 15-year olds fighting for different things, but in the end, it was the same. In Insurgent, after the simulation attack on the Abnegation, Tris and half of the Dauntless try to stop the Erudite from destroying the Abnegation and the factionless. I love how both books have a little bit of romance, but not too much. Both books so the characters struggles, and the times when they feel most alive.

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  29. The novels I read this summer were To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. and The Great Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald. I choose to read these books because the descriptions of the books intrigued me. I have also heard great things about both books. What I really liked about To Kill a Mockingbird is you hear things about one person being a monster and doing despicable things, but in the end you he proved their options wrong and was a hero. I learned from this that you can’t base your opinion on what others say about that person. I also learned about how racism in south was for people of all ages and the emotional toll it was for families. The meaning in this book stays with me because it has such powerful lessons people of all ages can take from. On the other hand, The Great Gatsby tells a heartbreaking story about trying to achieve the American dream and not giving up on the one love. What I liked about this twisted novel was it shows no matter how much you want something, sometimes it just doesn't happen. Also, no matter how much money you have or how big your parities are or the amount of friends you think they have it doesn't mean it real when it counts. This sticks with me because similar to To Kill a Mockingbird you can have an oipionn about someone but really but its not true. For Gatsby it was all just for show. Both these novels I would recommend to anyone who is looking to find insight on adulthood.

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  30. The two books I read over the summer were The House of Hades and The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan. I've always been a fan of Greek mythology, and any sort of literature that is fun to watch, read, or make. I think Rick Riordan is a genius the way he took Greek mythology and put it into our modern world, because it worked so well to the point where you think it could, though unlikely, be possible. Now, in the book House of Hades, Percy and Annabeth fall into Tartarus while trying to get the Athena's parthenos and are literally dying from just breathing the air, But they get through it with not only strength, will, and determination, but also by teamwork and trust. It takes teamwork for Annabeth and Percy to try and make it through Tartarus by themselves, but also takes trust because they have to trust that there friends on the surface will be there for them when they need them

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