I am reading a book called "Speak" by Lauren Halse Anderson. The book is about a girl named Melinda who called the police at a party during the summer. Now her best friends won't talk to her and they hate her. She is hiding a secret that can't tell anyone. It's apparently about the party, but that's all I know. I'm at the part where there is a pep rally. A girl named Heather (who is the closest thing to a friend she has) drags her there. (No, not literally) A group of kids she is standing with notices her as the girl who called the police at the party.
So far, the book is okay. It's very negative and slow because Melinda kind of hates her life. The story is set in a high school, (Melinda is a freshman) but high school very different from middle school and hard to relate to. It's kind of hard to relate to what the character is going through in high school if you aren't in high school. The thing I like about this book is that the setting kind of starts off in a bad place for Melinda, but that leaves me thinking that she is going to do something or that something is going to happen that is going to change the story. Also, there are many un-answered questions that I have. The book started with two big questions that I want to be answered so bad that I am forced to keep reading. Those questions being... What happened at that party? and... What is her big secret? I've heard a few good recommendations for this book, so I hope it gets more interesting.
I commented on Moira's blog.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Eggs - By Jerry Spinelli
THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS! After I finished Nancy Drew, I read Eggs by Jerry Spinelli. I finished the book already. I thought it was very reputable. I thought it told a great story and the characters were very relate-able and believable. You could often feel what how the character felt. The only part I wasn't totally pleased with was the ending. I thought it would be more dramatic. David does learn something important and makes some pretty miraculous changes.
The story was about nine-year-old a boy named David who's mother died a year ago when she slipped on a wet floor and hit her head.This had a big effect on David. He thinks that if he never breaks a rule (to the exception of his grandma's rules) he can bring his mom back. He lives with his grandma and his dad comes home from work on the weekends. He is never kind to his grandma. The day before his mom died, he was going to see the sun rise. Because she died that day, he never got to see the sun rise with her. Now he has made an oath that he will never see the sun rise unless she comes back. I think that David's "obsession" with his mom is interesting and gives him more personality.
David doesn't have any friends. He doesn't want any until he meets a 13-year-old girl named Primrose. Primrose and him fight all the time, but they become good friends. I like their strong friendship and I think they learn a lot from each other. Primrose doesn't have a dad and she hates her mom. (She even bought a trailer and moved into the front yard to get away form her mom.) Primrose is the kind of character you love to hate. (But you don't hate her all the time.) I have to say I was often annoyed with how rude, grumpy, and negative she is, but she changes a lot too.
One day, Primrose and David see a man on television who waves to cars as they go by. The "waving man" stands in the middle of the intersection all day and waves.
I'm going to skip some minor parts in the book. Primrose and David have a huge fight at the end and don't talk to each other. I think this was probably good for them. (They needed some separation.)
After a while, David goes over to Primroses house and Primrose takes him to Philadelphia. I was a little confused. I didn't know why they were going or how they were going to get there. They walk there on the train tracks. They are really nice to each other and Primrose isn't grumpy. Primrose finally tells David that they are going to see the waving man "to see if it is real." (I think this means that he is actually there waving all the time.) If it is real, Primrose is going to ask him why he does waves.
At night, David reads books to Primrose and tells her stories. He reads her to sleep. I thought this was because Primrose has never had anyone read her to sleep and David knew how good it felt. In the morning, Primrose wakes David up early to show him a river. It's sun rise, so he closes his eyes and she leads to a a bridge going over a river. Then David decides to open his eyes and watch the sun rise with Primrose. I couldn't believe he did that! He promised never to watch the sun rise without his mother. I was happy he did that though. It showed that he trusted Primrose a lot. A little while later the police search party finds them and brings them home.
Primrose and David change a lot in this book. Primrose moves back in with her mom and David is always nice to his grandma. I thought the change in both of these characters was equally drastic, however I was hoping for a more eventful ending. I would have liked the ending to be something more dramatic, but it would be hard to make the ending perfect. I could either see it too dramatic or not dramatic enough. This ending wasn't that drastic, but I think that's better than having the ending be too drastic. I think the characters in this book have a lot ahead of them and are going to face many challenges in their life, but they will know how to overcome them because they learned something from each other. All in all I would rate this book a three and a half out of five and I do recommend it as a good book if you are looking for a book.
I commented on Presley's blog.
The story was about nine-year-old a boy named David who's mother died a year ago when she slipped on a wet floor and hit her head.This had a big effect on David. He thinks that if he never breaks a rule (to the exception of his grandma's rules) he can bring his mom back. He lives with his grandma and his dad comes home from work on the weekends. He is never kind to his grandma. The day before his mom died, he was going to see the sun rise. Because she died that day, he never got to see the sun rise with her. Now he has made an oath that he will never see the sun rise unless she comes back. I think that David's "obsession" with his mom is interesting and gives him more personality.
David doesn't have any friends. He doesn't want any until he meets a 13-year-old girl named Primrose. Primrose and him fight all the time, but they become good friends. I like their strong friendship and I think they learn a lot from each other. Primrose doesn't have a dad and she hates her mom. (She even bought a trailer and moved into the front yard to get away form her mom.) Primrose is the kind of character you love to hate. (But you don't hate her all the time.) I have to say I was often annoyed with how rude, grumpy, and negative she is, but she changes a lot too.
One day, Primrose and David see a man on television who waves to cars as they go by. The "waving man" stands in the middle of the intersection all day and waves.
I'm going to skip some minor parts in the book. Primrose and David have a huge fight at the end and don't talk to each other. I think this was probably good for them. (They needed some separation.)
After a while, David goes over to Primroses house and Primrose takes him to Philadelphia. I was a little confused. I didn't know why they were going or how they were going to get there. They walk there on the train tracks. They are really nice to each other and Primrose isn't grumpy. Primrose finally tells David that they are going to see the waving man "to see if it is real." (I think this means that he is actually there waving all the time.) If it is real, Primrose is going to ask him why he does waves.
At night, David reads books to Primrose and tells her stories. He reads her to sleep. I thought this was because Primrose has never had anyone read her to sleep and David knew how good it felt. In the morning, Primrose wakes David up early to show him a river. It's sun rise, so he closes his eyes and she leads to a a bridge going over a river. Then David decides to open his eyes and watch the sun rise with Primrose. I couldn't believe he did that! He promised never to watch the sun rise without his mother. I was happy he did that though. It showed that he trusted Primrose a lot. A little while later the police search party finds them and brings them home.
Primrose and David change a lot in this book. Primrose moves back in with her mom and David is always nice to his grandma. I thought the change in both of these characters was equally drastic, however I was hoping for a more eventful ending. I would have liked the ending to be something more dramatic, but it would be hard to make the ending perfect. I could either see it too dramatic or not dramatic enough. This ending wasn't that drastic, but I think that's better than having the ending be too drastic. I think the characters in this book have a lot ahead of them and are going to face many challenges in their life, but they will know how to overcome them because they learned something from each other. All in all I would rate this book a three and a half out of five and I do recommend it as a good book if you are looking for a book.
I commented on Presley's blog.
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