Steven

 Monster Book Review

The name of the book that I read for the first trimester is called Monster by Walter Dean Myers. The genre of my book was probably suspense because it leaves you hanging at points in the story and you are always wondering if he will be guilty or not. The main theme is an accusation that leads to a boy named Steve Harmon being taken into custody. He is accused of being the lookout for a robbery and murder in his neighborhood. The book is one big trial and throughout it new witnesses and accusations are brought up in the case and the boy named Steve Harmon decides to make a movie about the trial and his life throughout it. It all starts with the simple words “Monster” coming from the prosecutors lips.

 I think the book tells a very good story because it really grabs your attention. Someone who just looked at the cover would think that it’s another trial about a crime in a relatively destitute neighborhood. When you get deeper into the book you realize that it is much more than that. It was a very memorable and forced plot because they make sure you understand what is going on but they also leave you hanging at points. I will be honest at some points during the story it was a little hard to concentrate on the plot because of all the “directors notes” in the book.

 The book takes place in Harlem, New York in a fairly poor neighborhood in 1999. I think that the setting helps make the story exciting because it is in an area that has been known for crime. The setting also plays a very important role for the reader and the characters because it in a way notifies the reader that is a place known for crime but it isn’t just any ordinary crime in this case. It helps with the theme because the theme is a boy who was seen at the scene of a crime and people keep tying him to it and he is expected of the crime because of his background. The problem or conflict is the fact that he is being tried and accused for something that he didn’t do. I think that the author fully accomplished what they set out to do and told the story very well.

The characters really connect with the reader because everyone who reads it has been accused of something they haven’t done before and that’s how Steve feels. I think Steve develops during the story because he really starts to realize the importance and significance of family and friends. He also sees life in a completely different perspective because hes seen life from the bottom of the pile. There were various surprises in the story that kept me interested such as how the prosecutions side completely fell apart and how Steve’s dad really doesn’t interact with him because he barely knows him anymore. There weren’t chapters in the book, there were Steve’s notes that separated the sections of the story. A lot of those notes ended with cliffhangers about the trial. The dialogue was very believable at first I actually thought it was a true story but later found out that it was a fiction but I believe that it was written very well.

 Overall I thought it was a good, well written, full bodied book. I would recommend this to teens that have gotten in a lot of trouble before which is probably all of them. I say this because you can relate to Steve and his situation. You can also see what it’s like to be in even bigger trouble when you see it through another person’s eyes. I also thinks that parents might enjoy this book so that can see things from a kid’s perspective. I would give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.      []

American Born Chinese Book Review

For this trimester I read an interesting graphic novel on racism from the viewpoint of an American born Chinese man. The authors name is Gene Luen Yang and I believe that this book is to show what it feels like to be foreign in a new place. It represents how confusing and scary things can be in a new place. It also shows what foreign people hear about stereotypes and prejudices and what ignorant people think of them. The genre of American Born Chinese is a graphic novel and fiction. This book really showed me the point of view of the “new kid” and taught me how hard it was to try and fit in.

I believe the plot tells a very good yet slightly confusing story. I say this because it is hard to follow three different stories at once. The plot is a very believable and forced one because the author touches on a lot of key elements of racism and discrimination. For me, it was an easy read because it was a graphic novel but I found it hard to concentrate on the plot. Again, this is because there were three different stories. There wasn’t just one specific setting because there were three different stories that all intertwined at the end to make sense of it all. The settings for all of the stories, even though they were different, did not really effect the plot at all. It did not enhance or take away from the story. The only possible way it could have enhanced the first story was because it was not in Asia, where Wei Chen's family originated. Again, I don’t believe that the setting effected the story at all, it did not make it exciting or boring.

 The Conflict is interesting and is hard to find because some people may think that it is the fact that he can not be with “his love” which is a girl that goes to his school. I believe the conflict actually is that Wei Chen won’t accept his nationality and just wants to fit in with the majority. He needed to realize who he was and where he was from because if you don’t know who you are life can be extremely confusing. The book taught me how badly it hurts to be made fun of for something you can’t help. It also taught me to be proud of what and who you are and no one else should damage your respect for yourself. The author definitely accomplished what he set out to do because I think what he tried to accomplish was to show how hard it is to be different.

<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;"> The characters connected with me and each other because they were there for each other when they needed help. The characters definitely develop during the story. What mainly developed was the characters’ maturity and understanding of consequences. There were many interesting surprises in the story that made me want to keep reading. Some of the chapters ended with cliffhangers and some were the complete opposite as in explaining what just happened or what will happen. I thought the dialogue was very good and extremely believable because it even incorporated grammar mistakes and speech mistakes that an actual human would make. I would rate this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars and I would recommend it to anyone over,or of the age of 13.

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 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The ** **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Catcher in the Rye Book Review **

<span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; 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;">The book Catcher in the Rye is written by a man named J. D. Salinger. It is a very interesting book to read because of its plot line and characters. It was a very controversial book because of its contents yet it seemed easy to connect with because I am also a teenager. The main theme of the book is a boy who is really lost in his emotions and tries to find some sort of answer to all of his problems by exploring the city and trying new things. Some of these things however are illegal. It really makes you think why Holden would ever want to be “the catcher in the rye.”

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I think the book tells a good story that is actually very odd. Some teenagers might say that they’ve never thought about running away or trying the things that Holden tried but I believe that most teens have. The plot is very forced because the author does not leave out any details whether they are necessary or not. The plot is also very memorable and believable because like I said before it is easy to believe that a teenage kid would do this. My mind did wander a little bit during the book when he wasn’t doing anything important and it became a little hard to concentrate.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The story takes place in Pennsylvania in the 1950’s and I don’t think that the location adds or takes away from the story. The setting also doesn’t really play an important role in the story for anyone. The Theme/conflict of the book is a search for self, similar to the book “Alice in Wonderland”. The book taught me that no one is perfect and the journey to finding who you truly are can be a complicated one. The author definitely accomplished what they set out to do which was teach a moral lesson about searching for who you are.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I didn’t really connect with Holden because we have two very different personalities. An example of this would be I think smoking is disgusting while he seems to enjoy it very much (this is only one example). I don’t think that Holden actually finds his true self but I do think he develops throughout the story. Like I said before none of the characters are like me so I find it hard to connect with them. There were many surprises in the story that kept me interested but there were also many parts in the story that bored me. Also, only some of the chapters ended with cliffhangers. The dialogue was very believable because it sounded like a teenage boy talking and wanting things. I would give this book a 4 out of 5 stars and I did like it very much but the occasional boredom put me off. **



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