Aimee

** __The Red Kayak__  by Pricilla Cummings (summer reading)** __Red Kayak__  by Priscilla Cummings is a story about three teenagers who get themselves into trouble when a prank goes wrong. It’s a story that teaches you that in life everything has consequences, some worse than others. Brady and his two friends, J.T. and Digger get themselves into a bad situation when their anger with their neighbor goes too far and they drill holes in a new red kayak that their neighbors bought. Digger was the actual hole driller while J.T. stood guard. At this point Brady had already gone home, not wanting to be part in their actions. Not knowing what the worst possible outcome of their prank was they went on and drilled the holes. This resulted in Mrs. DiAngelo being injured and Ben DiAngelo being killed. This book was sad but pretty good. It made me think that when I do something that may not be a good idea could turn out to be a horrible idea with a horrible outcome. J.T. and Digger were sentenced to the custody of juvenile services for nine months, but that would never make up for the death a Ben DiAngelo who was just three years old. Brady would never forgive himself for not stopping J.T. and Digger from drilling holes in the red kayak and the guilt was eating at him and would probably for his whole life even though everyone told him that he wasn’t to blame. The story took place on the Chesapeake Bay which in the winter got very cold and rough. This contributed to Ben’s death as well. It was scary to think that something meant to be a harmless joke turned into the death of a three year old boy.  I had to rate this book one to five stars I would give it four stars. It was a pretty good book and I liked it because the characters were my age and it was easier to understand their story being their age. I think this book is good for really anyone. Even if you have a specific genre of books you like to read, I think you will like this book. It’s a pretty quick read and yet at the time you won’t want to stop reading it. Priscilla Cummings makes it easy to relate to the characters because they are just teenagers who aren’t really thinking about what they are doing until it’s over or until there is consequences.

**__And Then There Were None__  by: Agatha Christie **** (summer) ** M ** urder mysteries have always interested me and in __And Then There Were None__  by Agatha Christie I was never left bored. __And Then There Were None__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a story of ten strangers that are asked to an island by a billionaire who just bought an Island which only few people have been to. The only thing linking all of the strangers to each other were that they each took part or were the cause of a death of another person in some way. The ten strangers come to the island with the impression that they are being invited to be one of the first people to have stayed on the new island, but the person that invited them has other plans. One by one they are killed and with no one else on the island they come to the conclusion that it must be one of them who was the killer. This is a mystery/ thriller that will always keep you guessing to what happens next. ** <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: normal;">**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Agatha Christie is a great author with a true knack for writing mystery novels. Maybe this is why she earned the title “Queen of Crime.” It is hard to pick out parts in this story that were better than others because there was never a time in the whole story that i even debated putting it down. The nursery rhyme, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">//Ten Little Indian Boys// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which the plot of the story came from, was a great part to the book. It gave the reader something to base the story on and something to think about as the story progressed and the people kept being murdered. If you are someone who likes happy, predictable books then this is not the story for you. Agatha Christie keeps you guessing right up to the end of the book where even then you are left with questions. Thinking about skipping the epilogue? Don’t! This book keeps you guessing even after it’s over and as many questions that you will have the epilogue gives you more to wonder. ** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; white-space: normal;">**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If I had to rate this book one to five stars I would give it five stars. It kept me engaged yet confused, two things that don’t necessarily go together, but in this case they worked perfectly. I would suggest this book to anyone who loves a good murder mystery and who doesn't mind being confused and forced to question themselves. It taught me to think differently about things and to not always look at the most logical option, but to “think outside the box.” This book ended in a way that was both expected and in a complete shock. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> //The Ten Little Indian Boys// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">nursery rhyme I mentioned ended with the line “One little Indian boy left alone; He went and hanged himself and then there were none.” Just when the last person in the house thought that she was safe it was her conscience that killed her. I think that the end of the book was the best part because after reading the last sentence of the book I wanted, I needed to know more. ** <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"> ** __The Lovely Bones__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Alice Sebold  **

<span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"> Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is a story about a girl named Susie Salmon who is a fourteen year girl. She gets murdered by her quiet neighbor, Mr. Harvey. Mr. Harvey had killed several girls. Susie was raped and murdered and then cut up and put into a safe in Mr. Harvey’s basement. She was killed in an underground room that Mr. Harvey built that was in the middle of the corn field near her house. Her whole family falls apart after her murder. Her father is determined to find her killer. He is the first one to suspect Mr. Harvey as Susie’s murder. Lindsey, Susie’s sister, also believes that Mr. Harvey is her sister’s murderer.

<span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"> I really enjoyed this book. I liked it the most because of the way it was written. They way the story was planned out was perfect. Susie dieing in the beginning of the book then the rest of the story was about finding out who killed her and how to prove him guilty. The fact that it wasn’t just another murder story was good. It was told from Susie’s perspective. She wants to help her family find out who killed her. The story took place in Pennsylvania so it was cool to hear a story that was centered around where I live. This book made me feel like this could have really happened to anyone, and it can happen to anyone. It shows that you need to be very careful of who you trust. I don’t understand how anyone could do that to another person. Murder is something that can easily be made into stories, brings great sadness, and is very scary. I would give this book five stars because it was one of the best books I have read in a while. I would recommend it to anyone who likes murder mysteries, but not only that. It is also a story of great relationships and how murder can change an entire community.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"> Lord of the Flies __ by William Goldings is a book all about how a group of English school boys can turn against each other in life or death situations. A plane full of a large group of English school boys crashes on an island. Out of panic and fright, a leader is quickly established. A boy named Ralph is the leader of the camp and he summons all the other boys with a conch shell. The youngest of the children begin to have nightmares of a beast that one boy has claimed to have seen. On their quest to find the beast the stuble apon a dead parachuter, who they believe is the beast. The whole camp becomes scared and out of control. Rlph's former friend Jack goes on a rampage about how he should be leader. He then starts his own tribe which consists of most of the boys, excluding Ralph and his friend Piggy, Simon and the twins. everysingle boys on the island continues to fear that they won't be rescued. Soon the twins switch sides and Piggy and Simon are killed by Jack's tribe. Then the hunt is on for Ralph.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"> I enjoyed this book because it showed you how people act when they are in fear of something. Have you ever heard of the saying "desperate times come for desperate measures?" Well this book was the story behind that quote. In fear that they wouldn't be rescued and that everything they were doing was wrong, they turned against eachother. They did what they believed was the right decisions. The characters in this story are all so different that when they are stranded on the island together, what they chose to do made a great story. The author choose the perfect group of people to strand on an island together <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"> I would most deffinitly suggest this book to people that want to read not just an adventure story but a story in which a large group of boys decide when things go a bit wrong, to eliminate all obsticals that stand in their way. I would give this book a star rating of four. I enjoyed it alot, but it wasn't the absolute best book I have ever read. A part of this book that kept me very interested was when they found what they believed to be "the beast." This book was all about what happens in life or death situations and how friends can turn on friends. I feel as though some people may feel like they can relate to this book because they have friends that have turned on them. Sometimes it is easier to do what everyone else is doing, and to just "go with the flow," but what this story taught me was that what everyone is doing can be the wrong thing to do. For example when Jack's tribe was ganging up on Simon and killed him. Even though mostly all of the boys were beating Simon, it wasn't the right thing to do at all. 

<span style="background-color: #aaffaa; color: #008800; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; text-decoration: inherit; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px; margin: 0pt 0px; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> __The Catcher in the Rye__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by J. D. Salinger is about a boy, Holden Caulfield, who goes to Pencey Prep, a private school. Pencey was Holden’s fourth school because he has already failed out of three others. At Pencey, he was failing four out of five of his classes and has received notice that he is being expelled. Holden was to return to New York where his parents lived, but he went to New York early and stayed at hotel and tried to take in as much “New York life” as possible. Holden gets caught up in trouble and goes to meet his sister, Phoebe. Holden wants to run away for good. With the help of previous teachers and his sister will Holden stay in New York or start his life over? <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I enjoyed this book because it seemed like a real life story. Both boys and girls are trouble makers so reading a story about an excessive trouble making boy was interesting. It took me through his life and the measures he took to start over. He wanted to go home so badly, but when he got there a new beginning was all he was looking for. The book is told in a way that connects the readers to the characters. It makes you feel like you are taking the same journey that Holden is. <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I would rate this book three and a half stars out of five. It was pretty good, but it got slow at some parts. I would recommend it to people 14 and up because there were some things in it that were a bit hard to understand unless you had the knowledge of them. If you are into books about “real world” situations then you will love <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">__The Catcher in the Rye.__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> When Holden traveled to New York and spent nights alone in the hotel, you really got a sense of what was going on around him. He described what was happening in New York that he believed was odd. Overall this was a good book if you enjoy stories of trouble-making teens and real life experiences. http://www.amazon.com/Catcher-Rye-J-D-Salinger/dp/0316769487 <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">