Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Summer Reading Fun

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


Briefly tell me what you read, including titles and authors.  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.  Keep in mind we will begin independent reading next week; tell your classmates who you think would enjoy this book.  Use specifics about characters, setting, conflicts, action details, etc. to make your response meaningful and be sure to adhere to proper conventions and proofread your response.

If you enrolled belatedly and weren't aware of the summer reading, do the same with two books you have read.

I'll start...

This summer, I read many books, but two of my favorites were We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates and Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's.   My favorite of the two was the former, which I so enjoyed that while I was on vacation in Mexico, I took it to the beach, to the pool, and enjoyed it on my ocean-facing balcony.  The story details the tragedy of a family living in rural New York who, for all intents and purposes, seem to enjoy a perfect life.  When a serious tragedy strikes the teenage daughter of this family, it reels and destruction, in one way shape or form, ensues for all of the family's members.  I found it heart-breaking and gripping and really enjoyed Oates's style, as I always do.  I would recommend this book to anyone who can stomach a bit of tragedy before they reach the happy ending. 

I also enjoyed Capote's novel, which follows the story of a seemingly independent New York City woman whose eccentrities seem to make her romantic.  Capote, however, reveals that she is more of a tragic figure than she seems.  This is a great work for someone who enjoys a briefer piece of fiction and some delicious Capote prose.  I also found some of the thematic ideas, like the facade of the glamorous, meaningful.

78 comments:

  1. During the summer i read Ender's Game and the Maze Runner. I read Ender's Game because my dad told me it was really good. I thought the book was OK, it was a little short. The second book i read was the Maze Runner. That book was really good. You can't predict the ending, and it's full of suspense and action.

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  2. Over the summer I read a book called "Night Of The Hill Country." It was about a football player who lives in Oklahoma and he plays line backer and it is about his senor year and he has got to win his last game of the year a get 4 undefeated seasons in a row do they win read the book. I also read the book called pop it is about a QB that lives in Oklahoma and he is trying to get the starting position and he meets a person that could help him please read the book.

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  3. Over the summer i read a lot of books. One of my favorites was called Evernight by Claudia Gray. What i liked about this book was that there was action happening all the time, it never got boring. Also, i really got to know the characters. What i learned from this book was that sometimes to protect the ones that you love, you have to let them go. What matters to me about the books content is that there are secrets all around and you may not know it even though it is really obvious. A person who would enjoy this book is a person who likes books about vampires, mystery, and suspense. This book is about a girl named Bianca who was born a vampire and starts going to a new school for only vampires called Evernight. The year that she starts the school starts to let in human students in the school. While she is there she meets a boy named Lucas and they fall in love. But then she learns that he is actually a human and part of a clan that is taught to kill vampires. Resisting to drink his blood gets harder and harder the more she grows. There are a lot of conflicts in this book between the vampires and humans. Also, there are conflicts between Bianca and her parents. I really liked this book and I couldn't put it down. This book is the first book in the series of Evernight. I also read the two other books in the series, Stargazer and Hourglass. I would strongly recommend reading the other two books i this series because they just keep getting better each book. Another book that I really enjoyed reading over the summer is Sing Me to Sleep by Angela Morrison. What I liked about this book was that it was always surprising me, i never knew what was going to happen. Also, it gave me many emotions; it made me laugh, cry, and smile. What i learned from this book is that if you work really hard for something you will get it and feel really good about it. What matters to me about this book is that it is about singing and the love of music and it really spoke to me. You would enjoy this book if you like stories about love and transformation and slow, happy stories.This story is about a girl who was called "The Beast" in high school and she is in a church choir. When she gets a solo in her choir the girls in her choir decide to give her a complete makeover for the tour that they are going on. She posts her solo on line and a boy from a competing boys choir adds her on face book and starts talking to her. When they go to a different country she meets this boy and they start to really like each other. The live in different countries but they try to work it out. When the boy gets sick she gets really worried and stays with him in the hospital. This book was really good and I would definitely read it again. I read a lot of books but these two were by far my favorite out of all of them.

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  4. Over the summer i read a biography of Arnold Shwarzenegger

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  5. I read the Da Vinci code and Friday Night Lights. The Da Vinci code was good because it was full of mystery, action, and suspense. The story was also very fast paced. Friday Night Lights is a inspiration story about a black football player, and was a very uplifting story.

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  6. This summer I read the book The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. It was a really good story. I had seen the beginning of the movie and I wanted to know how it ended. The other book I read was A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks. I chose that book because I really liked The Notebook so i decided to choose a book by the same author. It was a little slow for the first 3 chapters but then it was a really fast read! They both had a lot of emotion in them but were very enjoyable.

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  7. Over the summer i read two book Eclipse and Breaking Dawn By Stephanie Myers. I read these books because I wanted to see the Eclipse movie and decided to read the books with it. I really enjoyed both of they books. Stephanie Myers is a great author and they are amazing books.

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  8. Over the summer I read The Prestige by Christopher Priest and The Music and Words of John Lennon. The prestige is about two competing magicians. The book was cool because it was written like a diary. The ending was interesting and it left me thinking. The Music and Words of John Lennon was great because I got to learn about John's past and how he became such a great musician and writer. The book taught me many interesting facts like his mother's name is Julia which explains the songs Mother and Julia.The lyrics of these songs made a lot more sense to me after I read this book. John was alone most of the time because his mother died and his father left him when he was young. The book explained some of the lyrics of his songs and why The Beatles went their separate ways. The song How Can You Sleep is about Paul McCartney. I am a really big fan of The Beatles so I really enjoyed this book. I recommend this book to any hardcore John Lennon fans.

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  10. Over the summer I read Eragon and Harry Potter: the sorcers's stone. My friend told me to read Eragon. It was boring at first, but ended up being very exciting towards the end. My brother recommended Harry Potter: the Sorcer's Stone. It was amazing! Such a good book.

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  11. During summer i read two really good books, "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Brian's Winter." Between these two books I enjoyed reading "Flags of Our Fathers" because my I love history, also a family member faught at this battle. I loved this book please read it u will enjoy it.

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  14. Over the summer i read two books, one called thirteen reasons why and i liked it a lot because it is a mystery book. And second i read new moon and i loved the thrill in the story it was really good!

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  17. Over the summer I read two books. I read My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult and A Soldiers Heart by Gary Paulsen. My Sisters Keeper was a great book. It is heart wrenching, upsetting, and loving, mixed in with a little dry humor and a few crazy twist at the end. I learned that family will do crazy things for other family members even if that means suing your own parents. The whole storyline and concept behind it is what made it important. I suggest this book to the majority of girls; guys could read it too though. The other book I read, A Soldiers Heart was a book based on a 15 year old boy who signs up to fight in the Civil War. I learned that things are never what they seem and they can be worse that what people make them out to be. People learn from bad things. This book was important because it allows people to see through the eyes of a soldier and be grateful for what they do have. I would recommend this book to any classmate who is interested in history.

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  18. Over the summer I read 2 books by Anthony Horowitz,Point Blank and Skeleton Key. Point Blank was very good from the start all the way to the finish. I hate reading but I really like these 2 books. I definately recomend them.

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  19. Over the summer I read "I Know why the caged bird sings" by Maya Angelou and Catch 22 by. I know why the caged bird sings is about a little black girl growing up in the south and all the problems she has to face because of it. It's actually a true story and I would recommend it to anyone who likes tragic memoir, or anyone who liked "To Kill a Mockingbird". Catch 22 is a difficult book both in topic and in reading skill, but it's very rewarding. It talks about serious topics like war and death but it’s so funny you're laughing all the way through. I would recommend it to anyone who has a good sense of irony and likes to laugh.

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  20. After reading the books " Twilight " and " Animal farm this was i learned that in these books their are alot of suspense full momments in these books . Twilight is about a vampire that falls in love with a human girl and fights to protect her from the many evil vampires. Animal farm is about a pig acting as stalin and taking over the farm while acting like a human making deals with them and taking over the farm , the animals fight for good .
    Jose Cancanon

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  22. This summer I read heart warming story: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue monk Kidd. At first I was bored with the book because of the extreme descriptions and detail of the most minor things. Not only did I struggle with that, also the story randomly stops in the middle of an interesting part and then continues almost a day later. I was extremely frustrated until I became used to it by the third or fourth chapter. The novel begins with a young girl named Lilly Owens. She struggles throughout the book to find more about her mother. Lilly's mom died when Lilly was a young child. Over the years her memory of her mother has faded and also, the memory what happened to her mother. Lilly eventually sets off for Tiburon, South Carolina with her stand-in mother Rosaleen to find out more about her mother. When Lilly arrives at a house her mother stayed in she starts a whole new life with three wild sisters: August, May, and June. Lilly soon discovers that you don’t need your biological mother to receive motherly love like she has believed for almost her whole life. Instead of finding her mother she finds three mothers.
    At the end of this book I was filled with emotion and confusion. I was emotional because I realized some pretty significant things in my reading myself just like the main character: Lilly. I was confused because the ending was bland and weak compared to the rest of the book. The ending simply didn’t fit. For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and its life lessons it had taught me.
    The second novel I read this summer was: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner- part of the twilight saga by the famous author Stephenie Meyer. It was interesting because it was a very different style of writing compared to Stephenie's usual way of writing, probably because it was a very different character. This book gives a different perspective of another. This other is Eclipse the third installment in the twilight saga. The main character- Bree Tanner takes the reader through a wild and mysterious ride. Bree Tanner was turned into a vampire for an army which she is unaware of until a few days until the battle takes place. She surrenders during the fight to her so called "enemy" which she later discovers isn’t an enemy at all but a friend. what really ends up hurting her are the volturi who end up killing her at the end of the book.

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  23. Over summer break, i read the last two books of "Cirque Du Freak" and i concluded the series. These 12 books in the series are my absolute favorite books and I'm glad I've had the chance to find them. The series was about a kid named Darren Shan who becomes a vampire at a traveling freak show. Darren decides he must leave his family and join the freak show because he can't face the consequences of going home. These books are about his adventure through life and what harsh problems he encounters. These are my favorite books and i would definitely suggest them to anyone who likes to read.

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  24. Over the summer I read The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Juger and Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. The Perfect Storm is based on a true story about 6 swordfisherman who embark on a dangerous journey late in the fishing season. On their journey the storm of the century is formed. Their problem is they have to go throught it to get back home. This book is great for anyone who likes fishing, history, romance, drama, and tradgedy. Into Thin Air is a true story about two guides, Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, who take two groups of people up Mt. Everest in 1996. Both groups have their own problems at first, but they haven't seen anything until a fierce storm moves in. This year was said to be the worst year in Everests history. I actually had the pleasure of interviewing one of the women on the expidition who talked about how amazing and terrifying it was. This book is great for anyone who loves adventure, drama, and suspense.

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  25. Over the summer i read two books. Jurassic Park by Micheal Criton and Watership Down by Richard Adams of the two my favorite was Jurassic Park. It is about a man who creates genetically made dinosaurs on his private island for a theme park! but you cant control a nature that you know nothing about.Anyone who loves action and a book full of suspenseful twists and turns would like this book. (Its not a lot like the movie) the second book that i read over the summer is Watership Down. this is about a warren (a group of rabbits) who feel that their home will be harmed. so the set out on a journey to find their new home. this book may not sound good considering it is about rabbits. but it is very interesting and can even be eerie at parts. it does offer action and some suspense. Animal lovers will also like it along with action people too.

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  27. Over the summer i read the book "Homeboyz" by Alan Sitomer. This was a great book. It's about this guy named teddy that lost his sister to a gang related shootdown. She wasn't even part of the gang. Teddy wants revenge..... Over all this book had to be the best book i've ever read!

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  28. Over the summer I read the Percy Jackson series which was a very good series. I especially enjoyed the books Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief which was all about Percy’s journey through finding out secrets about his father. His best friend, Grover, is a very funny character. He is a satyr which means half human, half goat.
    The second book I read this summer was also in the Percy Jackson series. It was called The Last Olympian. It is the last book in the series where Percy has to face tons of monsters that were trying to invade Olympus. I really enjoyed this book, but I would recommend reading the other books first.

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  29. This summer I read to books, "Catching Fire" and "Miracle on 49th Street". Catching Fire was the second book in the series The Hungar Games. In this book a girl named Katniss and a boy named Peeta are selected to battle in an arena against former winners of the Hungar Games. After the start of the Hungar Games it comes down to te final 8 including Katniss and Peeta and 3 of their allies. But suddenly a light flashes and Katniss and Petta are abducted from the aren...accept by different people. Katniss was taken by the allies and Peeta was taken by the capitol. Now that katniss is safe her main priority becomes Peeta and finding him. This book is full of suspense and action and I would definantly reccomend this book to you.

    The second book I read was Miracle on 49th Street. Miracle on 49th Street was about a girl named Molly Parker who was seperated from her dad as a young child and soon after her mpther dies she goes searching for her dad and after searching for him she finds him only to ddiscover that he is a basketball superstar. after many attempts and many fails to connect with her dad with help fron his servant Mattie she finally moves in with him. This book was recommended to me by a friend and I would definantly reccomend it to you.

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  32. over the summer i red give a boy a gun and cant get there from here cant get there from here is about homeless kids and was kinda boring give a boy a gun sucked the footers were all lies saying that its a bad thing to own a gun and that it is to easy to obtain a fire arm it also talks about how any people r killed by guns every year and that they r like a horrible thing and that its wrong how many people have guns i disagree guns dont kill people people kill people if we didnt have guns they would still kill just with diffrent wepons also when hand gun laws are more relaxed and it is easer to buy and carry one crime rates drop dramaticly it is agenst our constitution to take away our right to fire arms and that is what the corporations running our gouverment r tryin to do right now and any one who thinks that they are right they are antiamerican and dont have the right to b in our country people die it happens no one lives forever when they say how many people r killed wel look at our population out of all the billions of people that live on earth thousands dont make that uch of a differance maby back when there wasnt many people here then it would b a huge diffrence but with a greater population the ratio stays the same and thats true with almost everything

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  34. Over the summer I read Michael Jordan's 50 Greatest Games and Yoga for All of Us. The first book talked about Michael Jordan's greatest, games which most games were in the Playoffs, and a small section was on why he retired and came back.I would recommend this book to basketball fanatics. The Yoga for All of Us tought you certain breathing and stretching/yoga exercises. I think it was made more for elderly people but it could be good for people who are new to yoga.

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  35. Over the summer the best book i read would have to be "New Moon" from the Twilight series. The stereotypical person would say i am girly for liking it, but I ignore the rude remarks and stick with what i like. I liked this book a lot because it was suspenseful, romantic, and action packed. Over the course of the story, Bella falls out of love with her man, Edward, because he ends their relationship to protect Bella from his family. The fact that many people read it as well, made it even better to read. I could talk about it with my friends and even watch the movie to pick out my favorite parts of the book and compare them to the movie. It was indeed a long book but the fact that it was so great made the length almost invisible. Many parts of the book i could relate to because the storyline is creative and so is my imagination.
    -Brandon J

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  36. Over the summer i read Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. I very much enjoyed the adventure in this book. I was on the edge of my seat every page I read in this book. It was about a boy finding out his father was the god of the sea, Poseidon. The other book that I read over the summer was Black Hawk Down by Bowden. This was also an interesting book because it was so real. All the war drama in the book was extremely exciting. It was also a sad book because of the attachments that all the soldiers had to each other and broke everyones spirit greatly when one of them died. My favorite of two books was probably Black Hawk Down because it was more relatable to real life.
    -Kyle F

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  37. Over the summer I read two books, 'Pretty Little Liars' and its sequel 'flawless', both by Sarah Shepard. Both books are about a group of girls who were basically "controlled" by the so called leader of the group Alison Dilaurentis. After her disappearance, the rest of the group slowly spread apart. Three years later, during mid-high school, they begin receiving mysterious notes from someone using the name "A". A threatens to tell everyone about their secret, secrets in which only Alison knew about. So the girls get freaked out, but they try to figure out who A really is. In the book, they are not sure whether Alison is dead or not. Sooner or later, the group starts getting together again.

    I really liked these two books especially because I had no idea what the books were about. Better yet, no one spoiled it for me. These books were scandalous. I liked them. Books with twists are always good. Anyone who likes mystery (oh and who likes to laugh at drama) should enjoy this book like I did.

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  38. Over the summer I read two books.One of the books I read is called Drama High School:the fight by L.Divine.This book is about a girl named Jayd who just broke up with her boyfriend.It is time for school to start back and drama starts as soon as she walks right in the door.She finds out that her ex boyfriend's new girlfriend Trecee thinks Jayd is trying to steal back KJ.All Jayd wants to do is get through the year with no drama and to hang out with her girls.I like this book because it has to do with stuff that can go on in high school.


    The other book i read was called Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins.This book is about a half witch half mortal going to a magic school because she messed up with magic in the normal world.At her high school dance she made this nerdy girl's wish come true to get her dream guy to be her date.Once the wish came true she forgot to close the portal so all the problems started from. This was her last time that this incident would happen again because she has moved numerous times and this time here mom was done with it.Right as she gets to the school she is so close to get attacked by a werewolf but another warlock saves her.This is were here magical romance started.I like this book because it is like regular girl book with a twist on it.This is what grabs my attention in a book.

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  39. Over the summer i read Cut and Iron Man 2.Cut was recommended by my brother and it is a very bad book. All it talks about is a thirteen year old girl that has problems cutting herself.Iron Man 2 was okay and its about a man named Iven that is trying to out smart and kill tony stark and his inventions throughout the book.

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  40. Over the summer i read the books My sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult and and The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. My sister's Keeper was a fantastic book about about two sisters named Anna and Kate. Kate has been sick for more than half of her life with deadly leukemia and Anna has been right along her side through the whole process but not by just supporting kate, but by saving kate's life too often to count. Anna is a perfect match for kate's blood type, so unwilling she is dragged from surgery to surgery by their desperate mother to save her older sister's life. After years go by Anna starts to resist the surgeries more and more but her mother won't listen, so when she learns that the next step in saving Kate is giving up a kidney Anna imeadiately seeks a lawyer to help her become medically emancipated. Overall, this story is truly amazing. The author took me through a journey about sisterhood, bravery, secrets, and tragedy. I would definitely recommend this book to all readers who love stories with emotion and shocking endings.
    The Truth about forever was definitely different than My Sister's Keeper, but without a doubt it was a great story. It was about a high school girl named Macy who is desperately looking for perfection in her life, but that is hard when you are still grieving over your father's death and your mother is constantly working. It is summer for Macy, which means a summer job of course. When she finds a job at Wish Catering Macy's whole life starts to change for the better. She meets great new friends, a boy who really listens to her, But most importantly Macy learns that life shouldn't be perfect. She also leaned it's okay to be happy even though her dad is gone. This story was very heartwarming and I really enjoyed seeing Macy open herself up to a world she forgot was there. I would recommend this book because the author had a way of really describing the story vividly for the reader.

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  41. The two books I read over the summer were both part of the Maximum Ride series. I read the four first books a year back and I figured I might as well read the two newest ones over the summer.

    The first book, Max, was a pretty good book. I liked the action and the plot in that book. The second book, Fang, was even better. It was packed with adrenaline and excitement at each step as James Patterson (author) turns things around and creates great endings.

    What I like about these books is the storyline, and the concept of a bunch of special kids with wings that have all adventures regarding the attention of their fans, or of their enemies.

    I would definitely recommend this series to whoever likes a lot of action, romance, and a great twist to their stories.

    - Matt

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  42. I read more then two books but, I would like to focus on the two Science fiction novels that I read over the summer. The first book that I read is called "Super toys last all summer long" by Brian Aldiss. I was written in 1969 and has had a movie mad that is based on it. The movie is called A.I. Artificial Intelligence and was written by Stanley Kubrick and later after he died, was passed onto Steven Spielberg. But moving on the book is about David a kindergartener that also happens to be the robotic child of Monica and Henry Swinton which are both living in a overpopulated city in a ritzy apartment in the year 2104. David loves his mother Monica very much, but he is unsure of her loving him in return. Monica is the isolated trophy wife of Henry and she is very sad about her isolated life and her denial to have a real child. In this overpopulated future Henry works for a corporation that designs and builds humanoid robots and they had already created a robot who can love. This is our protagonist, David, the boy who's love is real but he is not. This book was a short story and was very interesting and ended on a bitter sweet note which was Monica and Henry getting approved to have a child. This made David very sad but he still got to stay with them.

    The next book that I read over the summer was called "The Minority Report" by Phillp K. Dick.
    It takes place in New york in the year 2054 and talks about how pre-crime which allows the manipulation of future crimes to be changed by the people in the department. The Pre-Cogs predict the crimes which are then sent to the computer displays for analyzation by John Anderton. John Anderton is the protagonist and is a unfit and very bald person but he is the creator of pre crime which he started in 2046 but, later on in the story he finds out that he is going to kill someone because that is depicted in the pre vision that he sees on the monitor. This persons name is General Leopold Kaplan which he kills at the end to keep pre crime from being destroyed. But the book is very interesting and I would recommend this to anybody who likes and enjoys Science Fiction.
    And those are both of my synopses.
    Enjoy! :)

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  43. This summer I read two books, " A Walk to Remember." and "Dear John." both by Nicholas Sparks. A walk to remember is about two young high school students, Jamie and Landon. Landon like many others picked on Jamie because of her high belief in god. One day Landon gets in trouble and is ordered to take theater class. Jamie soon clings to Landon and asks him to walk her home, feeling bad he does, every day. On one walk Jamie tells Landon not to fall in love with her and within a few months he does. The day Landon tells Jamie he loves her she tells him she has leukemia. Landon then marries Jamie on the day she dies.

    The second book I read Dear John is about a guy named John who is in the army. On one of his returning periods he goes to see his dad. During this time he meets a girl named Savannah when he dives into the ocean to rescue her purse. They hangout every day since they meet and they quickly fall in love. When John has to return back to his duties they leave one another with a heartfelt goodbye. Everyday they each write a letter to one another. Before long its time for John to return home for good, but when his crew members sign up for another term he does to. Savannah doesnt lie this at all,but says she understands. When the letters stop coming John stops going to visit Savannah or his father. One day John gets a call his father has passed away and when he goes to pack up his things he visits Savannah who is now married to her best friend earlier in the book. Her husband however is sick. After spending time with her and her husband he decides to sell the coin collection his dad and left him in his will. This money pays for Savannah's husband to get medical treatment which they didn't have money for. The book ends with john watching Savannah as she works outside making sure shes okay.

    These are both very good books and I'd recommend them to anyone who likes Nicholas Sparks.

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  44. Over the summer, I read three books. My two favorite were Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver. And The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. Both books were books I could not put down. In Before I Fall, the main character "dies" in a car accident but gets to relive her last living day seven times. During this time, she realizes what she needs to do, to fix, and to change. One of those things is saving somebody's life. I was reading this book 24/7. In The Truth About Forever, the main character is dealing with her dad passing away and learns how to get out of her shell. She finds out who she is, and learns how to defend herself, about romance,and to have fun. I enjoyed both of these books during the summer and I recommend them to any girl who likes stories they can relate to.

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  45. I read Black Hawk Down and Band of Brothers. They are both excellent books. Black Hawk Down is a book that is about something that acutely happened. Its about the Somalian War. Some Rangers and Delta force get trapped in a town where every one wants to kill them. Then 2 helicopters get shot down. Its about there struggle to survive until dawn when the relief column of NATO troops arrive and take them back to base. I like the different views in the book from the Somalians view to P[risoners]O[f]W[ar]'s and civilians view. In band of brothers its about the tour of duty the E company of the 506th want through the war in Europe during World War Two. They went through sadistic officers to being ordered against heavily defend potions with very few troops to the cold winters in Bastone with inadequate clothing. I believe this books are worth your time to read.

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  46. Over the summer I read the two books "Scales of Justice" and "Kings Cure". Both books are by Daniel Hood. They both were really good but "Kings Cure" was my favorite. It was about a man named Liam and his pet dragon Faniuall savings the kings live with a potion. And "Scales of Justice" is about a man named Liam and his pet dragon Faniuall going around solving crimes in the Kings courts. They were both really great books I recommend them to you.

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  47. Over the summer, I read the books High Rhulian and Ender's game. High Rhulian was a book by Brian Jaques. It is about a island ruled by an wildcat who has enslaved the native otters. A group of rebels, lead by Leatho Shellhound are trting desperately to free the slaves. But they need the leadership of a fabled Queen, the High Rhulian. It is a good book and I enjoyed it very much. Ender's Game is about a boy who is an outcast and is sent to a school to train boys to become commanders in an army. As he experiances the trials of the school, he meets new friends and new enemies. I liked it very much and I would recommed it.

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  48. Over the summer I read two books.The first one i read was called Tuesdays With Morrie. This book was about a student and a professor. The professor, Morrie, had a disease called Lou Gehrig disease. Every Tuesday the student, Mitch, and Morrie met and talked about something different every time. I wont ruin the end for you but I reccommend you read this book because it shows a building relationship between a student and professor. The second book I read was The Five People You Meet in Heaven. This book is about how a man named Eddie who works at an amusement park as a maintenance man, suddenly gets killed while doing his job. Throughout the book Eddie meets five different people in heaven. Each person he meets teaches him a different lesson and Eddie gets to see where and how he met this person. Eddie keeps wondering throughout the book if he killed this little girl, but in the end he does find out. I would also reccommend this book because its shows you how some people regret how they lived their life and wish they did something different with it so you should take chances and do what you want to do. It also kept me hooked because you never knew who Eddie was going to meet next.

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  49. The book I read for the summer reading goal is Jade Green by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. The book is about an orphaned 15-year-old girl who seeks shelter with her slightly-wealthy uncle who lives in South Carolina. One of the rules in her uncle's house is that the color green is not allowed at all in his house. Find out what happens when Judith Sparrow disobeys that rule and is haunted by the evil spirit of Jade Green, a young girl who committed suicide in Uncle Geoffrey's house a few years before.

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  50. I read The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom. It's about a guy named Eddie who saves a girl's life to risk his own. He finds himself in Heavon and meets five people that made the biggest impact in his life. I thought it was a great book. I'm really glad I chose to read that book! I also read the book Cut. It's about a girl whos cuts herself and has to go to a rehab hospital institution. She learns how to make friends and the right decisions. I don't remember the author but I thought that book had alot of details and explaining in it. Both of the books I ready were very detailed and good! I'm glad I chose the books I did.

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  51. Over the summer i read "They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky." By Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, and Benjamin Ajak.It was a great book about these three boys who lived in Sudan during a time of civil war. The book is about their jurney across the desert to Etheopia, and many different refugee camps. It is sad because their lives were so hard, they were constantly running from the fighting and many members of their family died. However overall it was a good book and i would recomend it.

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  52. This summer i read two fascinating books. The first book was Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Myer.Breaking Dawn is about a teenage girl named Bella who falls in love with a vampire and soon becomes one as well, but not before they have a half vampire baby.But this is not permitted in the vampire world and will cost them a hefty price,their lives! And they soon find themselves fighting not only for their lives, but for the live of their daughter as well.If you like action,vampires and romance I recommend this book.The second book i read was 47 by Walter Mosley.47 is about a young slave boy named 47 who meets an alien named tall John who teaches him the ways of his people and what he must do.But this encounter was no mistake turns out 47 was chosen to save the world from satin who plans on destroying the world,and the entire human race.But first 47 must go through hardships,and loss but most importantly learn what it really means to be free.

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  53. By the Arapahoe request of incoming freshmen to read two novels over summer, I read "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson and "Eclipse" by Stephan Meyer. "Eclipse" in my mind was not as interesting as "Speak", "Eclipse" was good but I was only reading it to finish the series and get one novel done easily. "Speak" had a strong message that spoke to me; Be careful and watch who you hang out with, the "IT" crowd isn't always the best option. The main character of the book "Speak", is Melinda a new freshman that was in the "IT" crowd, but that crowd made a bad decision, and Melinda was a big part of it. Melinda messed up everything right before she goes into high school, freshmen year. People who read this book will hopefully learn from her mistake, and no I will not tell you what that mistake was you have to read the book to find out.

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  54. One of the books that I read a book called Stotan. This book is about for people that are on swim team. They are all best in the state and they sign up for a very hard work out. This work out makes them become stotans. Towards the end of the book one of the four men gets cancer and they all have to help him fight through his cancer. This was one of my favorite books and I recommend this book to everyone.

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  55. Over summer break I read many books, one of them was Artemis Fowl. I really liked it because you can tell there is a "master plan" but it is reveled in stages, the most exciting being reveled last. I also read Uglies. A lot of people think it is a girl book because of the title, but it really isn't. It has hover boards and is futuristic. I really liked it because it is futuristic and I really like that type of book.

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  56. Over the summer I had read a couple of books, for one I read To Kill a Mockingbird. Even though reading is not my favorite thing I found reading this book a lot more enjoyable in the summer, this was mostly because I got to read it on my time and I was not rushed with deadlines and quizzes on it. After a while of reading it I forgot I even had to because I was enjoying it so much. On the other hand there were a lot of books this summer that I read a little bit of and just didn’t ever get into it, this seems to happen to me allot but if I get a good book I’ll never get out of it until it’s done. I also read the book “Holes” I didn’t exactly love this book but it also wasn’t terrible and was a really easy read. This is because I had seen the movie so I speed through the book already know what it was about but I found that the book and the movie have a lot of small things missing. Those were pretty much the only novels I read but I did get the chance to read instructional books on many things I also read a ton of magazines.

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  57. Over the summer I read Slam. I really enjoyed this book. It is about a teen that loves skateboarding and falls in love with a girl. He ends up and getting the girl pregnant and the book is about his life through the pregnancy. I would recommend this book to mainly boys

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  58. Over the summer I read Skeleton Key and Point Blank both by Anthony Horowitz. Point Blank was about Alex, a teenage spy who was told by his bosses to sneak into a school up in the Alps for rich people because some deaths were maybe associated with the school. Alex is left there and realizes this school is much worse than they thought and the owner is planning to take over the world. Alex has to find his way out. This book has a great ending. Next I read Skeleton Key which is also about teenage spy Alex and this time he is told to fly into an island down by the Florida Keys called Skeleton Key with two other adult spies and all Alex has to do is fly in acting as a son and then relax. Of course things don’t go as planned and his two "parents" get killed and Alex is found kidnapped with a man planning to blow up then take over the world!
    Both books have great endings and I definitely recommend both.

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  59. Over the summer I read Skeleton Key and Point Blank both by Anthony Horowitz. Point Blank was about Alex, a teenage spy who was told by his bosses to sneak into a school up in the Alps for rich people because some deaths were maybe associated with the school. Alex is left there and realizes this school is much worse than they thought and the owner is planning to take over the world. Alex has to find his way out. This book has a great ending. Next I read Skeleton Key which is also about teenage spy Alex and this time he is told to fly into an island down by the Florida Keys called Skeleton Key with two other adult spies and all Alex has to do is fly in acting as a son and then relax. Of course things don’t go as planned and his two "parents" get killed and Alex is found kidnapped with a man planning to blow up then take over the world!
    Both books have great endings and I definitely recommend both.

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  60. Over the summer I read "Thirteen Reasons Why" and "Uninvited".
    Thirteen Reasons Why was the story of a girl who committed suicide and left behind tapes explaining the reasons she did it. The tapes are listened to by all of the people who made an imprint on her life. It didn't matter if it was good or bad, they were on there. This book made me think a lot about how important and amazing my life is. I definitely recommend it to those of you wanting to take another look at life.

    Uninvited was about a girl who is talking to her dead ex boyfriend. Her ex had cheated on her and is now trying to make up for it by talking to her now. But she wont invite him in so they can talk because she isn't sure what the truth is anymore. So she tells him to go away and go away until she finally lets him in. This is a great book with some danger and mystery in the mix.

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  61. Over the summer I read the books My sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult and and The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. My sister's Keeper was a fantastic book about about two sisters named Anna and Kate. Kate has been sick for more than half of her life with deadly leukemia and Anna has been right along her side through the whole process but not by just supporting kate, but by saving kate's life too often to count. Anna is a perfect match for kate's blood type, so unwilling she is dragged from surgery to surgery by their desperate mother to save her older sister's life. After years go by Anna starts to resist the surgeries more and more but her mother won't listen, so when she learns that the next step in saving Kate is giving up a kidney Anna imeadiately seeks a lawyer to help her become medically emancipated. Overall, this story is truly amazing. The author took me through a journey about sisterhood, bravery, secrets, and tragedy. I would definitely recommend this book to all readers who love stories with emotion and shocking endings.

    The Truth about forever was definitely different than My Sister's Keeper, but without a doubt it was a great story. It was about a high school girl named Macy who is desperately looking for perfection in her life, but that is hard when you are still grieving over your father's death and your mother is constantly working. It is summer for Macy, which means a summer job of course. When she finds a job at Wish Catering Macy's whole life starts to change for the better. She meets great new friends, a boy who really listens to her, But most importantly Macy learns that life shouldn't be perfect. She also leaned it's okay to be happy even though her dad is gone. This story was very heartwarming and I really enjoyed seeing Macy open herself up to a world she forgot was there. I would recommend this book because the author had a way of really describing the story vividly for the reader.

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  62. Over the summer the best book I read would have to be "New Moon" from the Twilight series. The stereotypical person would say I am feminine for liking it, but I ignore the rude remarks and stick with what I like. I liked this book a lot because it was suspenseful, romantic, and action packed. Over the course of the story, Bella falls out of love with her man, Edward, because he ends their relationship to protect Bella from his family. The fact that many people read it as well, made it even better to read. I could talk about it with my friends and even watch the movie to pick out my favorite parts of the book and compare them to the movie. It was indeed a long book but the fact that it was so great made the length almost invisible. Many parts of the book I could relate to because the storyline is creative and so is my imagination. The other book that I read over the summer was not as good as "New Moon". It was called "Maniac McGee". That book was about a strange boy that was actually a fun person once he found a friend. The book just didn't excite me as much as the other. I did not find myself wanting to flip the page and read on at any point in the story.
    -Brandon J

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  63. This summer I read the final two books in Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight" saga. "Eclipse" and "Breaking Dawn". They are about Isabella Swan, and her interaction with her family, her vampire boyfreind, his family, the Voultary, and other vampires that want her dead. They are full of drama, love, acton, and suspense. They are great books that you will not be able to put down. They are great page turners. I can garentee they will keep you wanting more. they are long books, but they are a short read. they are incredible stories, and are now my personal favorite books.

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  64. Over the summer I read the man behind the joke and haunted golf. the man behind the joke is Jim Carrey's biography. It is very well written and I enjoyed learning about the man behind the joke. haunted golf is also a very detailed book. it was a quick read, but not because of its length! I had a very crazy feeling reading about what certain golfers see on the golf course and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a thriller book.

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  65. Over the summer i read two books, those books were City of Bones and The Host by stephoney myeres. Those are both great books the host especialy because its sorta a twist on alian invasion, were thier not there to kill all humans just to posess thier Boddies and fix this planet from all of the destructon we caused it its really a good book and i would recomend it to everyone.

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  66. This summer I read two books. The first book that I read was "Night of The Hill Country." it was about a kid that is the star linebacker and was getting ready to start there fourth undefeated season. it is a really good book. the other book that I read was "Seabiscuit." It is about a horse that had back leg problems. No horse owner wanted him. Read the book it is really good.

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  67. Over the summer I read The Lost Symbol and The Da Vinci Code, both the books were by Dan Brown. I have never read a mystery book, so these two were very enjoyable to me. My favorite of the two was The Lost Symbol. It was about a college professor, Robert Langdon, who is called by his old mentor's assistant to be a speaker at a meeting. Robert then went to D.C., where the meeting was taking place, but when he got there no one knew about the meeting. He then recieves a phone call that says that if he doesn't this magical object for the guy, he will kill Robert's mentor. So I suggest these books to any one who is really into mystery's and exciting novel's.

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  69. Over the summer I read a book by the name of "The Engligh Breakfast Murder" by Laura Childs. I really enjoyed this book because its an easy read, and you feel like you are really there with Theodosia, the main character, solving the murder of her old frind and stopping the killer from doing it agian. She is pushing the officer in charge, out of the picture unknowingly and ends up solving the crime. but if I reveal anything else it would not be worth reading the book. So if you enjoy solving mysteries and reading about a small time tea shop owner who dabbles in the art of solving those mysteries you should totally read this book.

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  70. Over the summer I read two fantastic books, one of which was the five people that you meet in heaven. This book was over all excellent, except for the part where the reading just cuts off and goes to a page where it talks about something that is not related to the story. The second book I read was black hawk down, this book is very similar to the movie which I watched after I read the book, the only difference about the book from the movie would be the book fillis in any missing information that the movie left out, and the book was much more graphic. All in all I would recommend both books to any type of reader, because I enjoyed both books and I do not even like fiction, but I liked the five people you meet in heaven and I like nonfiction and l loved the novel black hawk down.

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  71. over the summer I read Along for the ride by sara dessen. It was seriuosly the second best book i read. It is about a girl named auden, and when she moves to seaside with her dad and stepmom. The struggles start with the newborn baby, Thisbe. She is always wailing constanly. In the middle of the night is when auden's baby shift starts because she is an insomniac.Her night time adventures carry throughout the book quite well, until they really start getting interesting with the town charity case, Eli.Things start to heat up but you'll have to read the book to find out how steamy things get. Great book definite read.

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  75. For my summer reading I read a book by Michael Dantonio called Tin Cup Dreams and a book called Into Thin Air by John Krakauer.

    The book by Michael Dantonio was a very good book and it is about one of my dad's friends,Esteban Toledo. He was born in a small, poor town in Mexico where he had a tough life. He grew up in a home across from the Mexicali Country Club. He would swim across the river every day to get to the Club. He learned to play with found clubs that were too big or too small for him. He moved to the U.S with a friend of his mothers and started playing in tournaments as soon as he arrived. He finally made enough money to earn his PGA Tour playing card. Unfortunately he lost his card but was able to regain it later in life. It is a very good book and I would recommend it to anyone who likes sports or biographies. I admire his courage and dedication to the game.

    Into Thin Air is an exciting and dramatic true story about a journalist who traveled to the summit of Mt. Everest. It tells the story of all the people he met and the many life changing events that took place. The story is his day to day journal about the struggles and highlights of attempting such an amazing goal. I cheered for those who made it to the summit and I was saddened for those who never achieved their dream. It was a very good book and I would recommend it to everyone.

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  76. Over the summer i read two books the first was the host by stephanie myer it is a great book thats a first person account of an alien invasion from the alians perspective whos fighting the human race its a great book about perserverance.The second book is called marked by PC Cast.
    yes its another vampire noval but this time its about high schools who live normal lives but there is an anomoly that happens that they dont understand its called being "marked" meaning that youve been chosen to be a vampyre. the writer spells it vampyer when u are "marked " you have to go to "night" school where you learn how to be a vampyre its a good quick read its part of a series and wont ever finish this series.

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  77. this summer I read two books called If I Should Die Before I Wake by Han Nolan and The School For Dangerous Girls by Eliot Schrefer. If I Should Die before I Wake is actually my favorite book so this is not the first time I have read it. It's about a girl living in Germany during world war two who is very racist towards Jewish people. But that all changes when she gets into a motorcycle accident an is treated in a Jewish hospital. She kept fading in and out of an acomma. When she goes into the acoma she becomes a girl who is Jewish and has to go though what they went though. IT changed her whole perceptive in life.

    The second book I read was called The School for dangerous girls. It was a good book and very interesting. It was about a girl named Angela who hasn't made the best decisions in life. She had been living with her grandpa when something terrible happened to her grandfather. she is sent to live at the school for dangerous girls. when they get there they take away all of there belongings and put them in storage and give them new outfits they have to were. They kept them in looked rooms for a while and played lots of mind games with them. They treated the worse of the girls awful they would try to turn each of the girls against each other. The whole story they are fighting against the women running it but i thought it was a really good book

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  78. My last social dining experience was in my kitchen this morning. I popped in a bagel, creamed it with cream cheese, and ate it up like it was thanksgiving. I ate my bagel while my sister ate some cereal. Me and my sister didn't really have a conversation with each other due to the fact that we were not fully awake yet. I shared this experience with my sister because we both needed to eat breakfast to get us through the day. I was fine with eating with her, after all, she didn't really bug me because she was too tired. I would never want to share this experience with somebody i don't like. That would be a rough way to start out the day. I always like starting my day off on a good note with no fighting or hatred towards another person.

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