Nicole

=My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult (Summer Reading) =

 My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult is a heartwarming story about a disease that changes a family’s life, and forces them to make unthinkable decisions. The struggle of what is right and what you want makes this book impossible to put down. Anna Fitzgerald is the sister of the girl with leukemia. That’s what she has been her whole life, until she decides to stand up for herself. Her sister Kate Fitzgerald has had leukemia since she was very young. She has been fighting, but now, at the age of 16, there is only one thing left that could keep her alive, Anna’s kidney. Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate; Anna was born to save Kate’s life. Anna spends as much time as Kate does in the hospital, and has given everything she can to Kate. Anna isn’t sick, but she should be. Finally, Anna puts her foot down and makes a life changing decision. As the Fitzgerald’s gets closer to their trail date in court, Anna questions why she is making these choices. Does she really want Kate to die? But would she be willing to give up her kidney? Or is she just doing this so that for once in her life, she can be noticed? This story kept me glued the whole time, and there were some huge surprises. I would recommend this book to anyone over the age of 12, particularly girls. I really enjoyed this book, but there were some long boring points. I cried and laughed and got angry, because this book is very emotional and you get very attached. You start to put yourself into their situation and ask yourself what you would do, which made the book very interesting for me. This book was amazingly written, in perspective of a different character in each chapter, and sometimes going back in time. The change of perspective keeps you thinking the whole time. I give this book 4 out of 5 because it was fantastic and kept me glued, but was a little too depressing at some points. In conclusion this book is a great read that makes you question yourself and keeps you on your toes the whole time. []

=The Red Kayak, Priscilla Cummings (Summer Reading) =

The Red Kayak by Pricilla Cummings is an amazing book where a 13 year old boy must choose between his best friends and what in the back of his head, he knows is right. He must question himself, and his friends, leave behind the tragedy of the past, and come out telling the truth. Brady Parks is a 13 year old boy who lives with his mother and father on a river. In a storm, Brady heroically saves a young neighbor from the icy grasps of the river. The boy soon dies though, and Brady questions if that earlier that morning he could have stopped the family from going out on the river into the strong current. The neighbors split up and Brady finds himself working for the woman who still lives there. Brady finds a shocking secret that changes everything. He keeps the secret to himself, but inside he is questioning what is right, and what would happen to his lifelong best friends, Digger and JT if he did tell. In Brady’s search for the courage to do the right thing, the book ends with you glued to the pages to see what happens to the boys who got caught up in their anger, which resulted in death. I thought this book was a fantastic read. I would suggest it to boys and girls from the ages of 13 to 15. I really enjoyed this book because of the back to back cliff hangers, and the question of what would you do, the right thing, or keep quiet for the sake of your friends. I thought this book was very well thought out, and you could easily relate to the character’s feelings. I would give this book a 5, it was worth the read. In conclusion this book is sad, scary, surprising, relative, and happy, an all around great book.

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**The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (Trimester 1)**

 The Lovely Bones, the story of a tragedy that tears a family, and town apart. Susie Salmon was raped and murdered by a neighbor. Her father figures out who the killer is, but has no proof besides the feeling in his gut. You get to watch the family struggle to stay together and how they are affected. Her friends, and the town are also changed by the murder. As life goes on, more secrets come out and more tragedies for Susie's loved ones. This book kept me on my toes the whole time, and was an amazing read. This book was honestly one of the best books I have ever read. In the beginning, I was very suprised with the amout of detail that was included. This book kept me thinking the whole time, and you could really feel for certain characters. You could put yourself in the person's shoes and think about what you would have done in that situation or how you would have felt. Now, i dont feel as comfortable around certain people that i dont know as well. As silly as it seems, this book was an awakening to me that things like this do happen to ordinary people that are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are terrible people out there and i think this book will make the readers more careful.  This book sucked you and and kept you wondering the whole time. I would give it a 4 out of 5 because i think it took too long to get to the point, and there were some slow points. I would recommended this book to anyone over the age of 12 because it is a really important thing to know about, but it also may be too inappropriate or scary for younger children. This book was detailed, and was on a topic that we need to be more aware about. I loved this book, and think its a great read.

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==**Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare (Trimester 2)** ==

==<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Romeo and Juliet is a story of blinding love that is forbidden because of war. The Capulets and Montagues are Romeo and Juliet's families, they are both very rich and powerful, and hate each other. A young depressed Romeo one night goes to a dinner at the other family's house. As he is dancing, he is paired with the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. They talk, dance, and by the end of the night are in love. Romeo and Juliet's struggle to be together progresses through the book. This tragic love story has a twisted and unexpected ending. == ==<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I really enjoyed this book, and it was very different then how I thought it would be. The beginning was slow, but the plot slowly picked up. As the story continued, you got more and more attached to certain characters. I think since the book or play was originally in old English, when it was translated to nowadays English, some of the meaning did not translate as much and some of the emotion wasn't there. I would give this book a 4 out of 5. I would give it this because the book was really interesting, and was nothing like I imagined it to be, but there were also some very slow parts that were boring and confusing. I would recommend this book to girls in 8th grade and up. I would suggest this to only girls because its a love story, and I would say 8th grade and up because the story is a little hard to grasp at times, but it is a classic story that all girls should know. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and thought it was amazingly creative and different. ==

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__Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West__ by Gregory Maguire was a book that grabbed you by the collar and pulled you into the adventure. Everyone knows the story of The Wizard of Oz and Dorothy’s adventures through Oz, but no one knows the story behind the Wicked Witch and all of her evil. This story starts out with the feared green girl whom was misunderstood and just tried to fit in. She had to battle for her parent’s love and soon grew up to be the Wicked Witch of the West. This book questioned your morals and what was truly good and evil. This story takes place in the land of Oz. The book begins with the birth of the green girl named Elphaba. Soon her father leaves them on a tour of the world, and her mother makes a new friend. Her mother becomes pregnant again and fears that this baby will be born green. The baby is certainly not green, but she has no arms. As alphabet continues to grow, and her father favors her sister more and more as she seems to become more and more like him. The story goes on with Elphaba going to school, finding love, and soon becoming the Wicked Witch. Gregory Maguire did a good job with the story as a whole, but it was very slow in some parts. The book was split up into five different sections depending on where the story was taking place, each section with the name of the place that it was. The story was very good and interesting in the beginning and end, but some of the middle parts were very boring. I would give this book a four out of five because the overall story was amazing, but it was a little bit too long for me. I would recommend it to anyone 13 or older because there are some parts that are very mature. Also, I think that girls would like this book better because it questions friendships and love. Wicked was a sad, thrilling, interesting story that made you question your beliefs in good and evil. []