Class Literature Books:
1. House on Mango Street:
In the book House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, a young girl by the name of Esperanza struggles with her identity and the difficult path life leads her. Esperanza begins as an insecure girl with surrounding troubles, but as the book progresses, Esperanza results as a mature and intelligent young lady. This piece takes us through the struggling road we have all been through in a time of our life.
2. Antigone:
Antigone is about a girl who decides to bury her brother after Creon, the king, decides that he his a traitor and should be permitted from the castle and thrown into the streets. Creon is continually told that his pride was blinding him and in the end he lost his wife, his son, and his son's wife (Antigone). I thought this story is a perfect example of how your pride can blind you, and destroy your life. It also taught an important theme for everyone to think about which is law versus moral beliefs.
3. Into the Wild
In the novel Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the main character, Chris McCandless leaves his home to go explore the Alaskan out back to search for "truth" of himself. 6 months later his body is found in a broken down bus on the Stampede Trail in Alaska. This book follows the travels of Chris McCandless and the different experiences he encounters. I found the storyline and plot was so interesting but the novel was poorly written at times. I really enjoyed the book overall, and found it to be extremely inspirational.
4. Outcasts United
Outcasts United by Warren St. John follows a group of refugees who yearn to do something they're passionate for soccer. A lady named Luma creates this dream through a program where she allows refugee boys to play on a club soccer team. The novel journeys through their experiences and how they became united as a team together. Throughout the novel, life lessons result in the Fugees' soccer experience.
Book Club:
1. Dear Zoe:
In the book Dear Zoe, by Phillip Beard, a young girl named Tess deals with the grief of losing her sister, Zoe, during 9/11. At times, I couldn't put the book down and at other times I just wanted to put the book down. However, the book was well written in a series of letters and cleverly thought out. The story followed the theme of overcoming her grief and moving forward.
2. Because of Romek:
Because if Romek is such a great and well written book. It was by far the most interesting because of the hard situations the main character, David had to live in. He lost all of his close family doing WWII because of the Nazi invasion in Poland. He escaped many near death experiences as well. The book was interesting and I could not put it down!
3. The Road:
The Road is a post-apocalyptic story by Cormac McCarthy about the journey of a father and son. They face many disturbing and sad situations but they keep going because of hope and the powerful love that they have for each other. This book shows that love is the most powerful thing out there and it will guide people home.It shows that no matter how bad things may seem, you must never quit and relent hope. I think this book is very difficult to understand and can be hard to handle in some time, it is better for the mature reader.
4. Sold:
Sold by Patricia McCormick is about a a girl who gets sold into prostitution. The novel travels through her experiences of pain and tough times to when she is finally rescued. This book was a different sort of book. I had never read such a thick, heartfelt book filled with such sorrow and pain. I enjoyed the book and it was extremely well written, but it was also a very hard novel to read.
5. Life of Pi:
In the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Pi, the son of a zookeeper, gets swung over by a boat carrying animals on a Japanese cargo ship, and finds himself trapped with nothing but a life boat and a bengal. They journey through survival together as they yearn to make it to land as a whole. However, in the beginning they slowly adpat to each other. They find the other as more an enemy as a friend. However, as the novel progresses they learn to love each other and need each other not just as friends, but to survive together.
6. Where the Heart is
Where the Heart is by Billie Letts travels through the life of Novalee Nation, a 17 year old teenage girl, who gets left behind by her boyfriend Willy Jack in yes, a Wal--Mart. She struggles to survives with her baby but eventually gets out. Her story is big and ends up being a drama heard around America. Evenutally her baby is born and Novalee and her baby Americus journey through life together. Three cruscial characters help discover her along the way: Moses Whitcotton, Benny Goodluck, and Sister Husband. Together with this three inspirations and her baby she travels through the idea of where the heart is.
1. House on Mango Street:
In the book House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, a young girl by the name of Esperanza struggles with her identity and the difficult path life leads her. Esperanza begins as an insecure girl with surrounding troubles, but as the book progresses, Esperanza results as a mature and intelligent young lady. This piece takes us through the struggling road we have all been through in a time of our life.
2. Antigone:
Antigone is about a girl who decides to bury her brother after Creon, the king, decides that he his a traitor and should be permitted from the castle and thrown into the streets. Creon is continually told that his pride was blinding him and in the end he lost his wife, his son, and his son's wife (Antigone). I thought this story is a perfect example of how your pride can blind you, and destroy your life. It also taught an important theme for everyone to think about which is law versus moral beliefs.
3. Into the Wild
In the novel Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the main character, Chris McCandless leaves his home to go explore the Alaskan out back to search for "truth" of himself. 6 months later his body is found in a broken down bus on the Stampede Trail in Alaska. This book follows the travels of Chris McCandless and the different experiences he encounters. I found the storyline and plot was so interesting but the novel was poorly written at times. I really enjoyed the book overall, and found it to be extremely inspirational.
4. Outcasts United
Outcasts United by Warren St. John follows a group of refugees who yearn to do something they're passionate for soccer. A lady named Luma creates this dream through a program where she allows refugee boys to play on a club soccer team. The novel journeys through their experiences and how they became united as a team together. Throughout the novel, life lessons result in the Fugees' soccer experience.
Book Club:
1. Dear Zoe:
In the book Dear Zoe, by Phillip Beard, a young girl named Tess deals with the grief of losing her sister, Zoe, during 9/11. At times, I couldn't put the book down and at other times I just wanted to put the book down. However, the book was well written in a series of letters and cleverly thought out. The story followed the theme of overcoming her grief and moving forward.
2. Because of Romek:
Because if Romek is such a great and well written book. It was by far the most interesting because of the hard situations the main character, David had to live in. He lost all of his close family doing WWII because of the Nazi invasion in Poland. He escaped many near death experiences as well. The book was interesting and I could not put it down!
3. The Road:
The Road is a post-apocalyptic story by Cormac McCarthy about the journey of a father and son. They face many disturbing and sad situations but they keep going because of hope and the powerful love that they have for each other. This book shows that love is the most powerful thing out there and it will guide people home.It shows that no matter how bad things may seem, you must never quit and relent hope. I think this book is very difficult to understand and can be hard to handle in some time, it is better for the mature reader.
4. Sold:
Sold by Patricia McCormick is about a a girl who gets sold into prostitution. The novel travels through her experiences of pain and tough times to when she is finally rescued. This book was a different sort of book. I had never read such a thick, heartfelt book filled with such sorrow and pain. I enjoyed the book and it was extremely well written, but it was also a very hard novel to read.
5. Life of Pi:
In the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Pi, the son of a zookeeper, gets swung over by a boat carrying animals on a Japanese cargo ship, and finds himself trapped with nothing but a life boat and a bengal. They journey through survival together as they yearn to make it to land as a whole. However, in the beginning they slowly adpat to each other. They find the other as more an enemy as a friend. However, as the novel progresses they learn to love each other and need each other not just as friends, but to survive together.
6. Where the Heart is
Where the Heart is by Billie Letts travels through the life of Novalee Nation, a 17 year old teenage girl, who gets left behind by her boyfriend Willy Jack in yes, a Wal--Mart. She struggles to survives with her baby but eventually gets out. Her story is big and ends up being a drama heard around America. Evenutally her baby is born and Novalee and her baby Americus journey through life together. Three cruscial characters help discover her along the way: Moses Whitcotton, Benny Goodluck, and Sister Husband. Together with this three inspirations and her baby she travels through the idea of where the heart is.