A Long walk to Water

Book title- A long Walk to Water
Author-Linda Sue
Pages Read- 25 pgs

So, here we are again. Back in school reading books and posting about them. Let’s try and get back in the grove, shall we? SO the name of my book is “A long walk to water”. This book is written by Linda Sue Park; she took the experiences of Salva (main character) and put them in written form. Not only is the book good but it is also based on true fact. The story takes place in Africa, Sudan to be exact. The story start in the midst of a normal day, Salva goes to school and so on. The really nice thing coming up is that the book doesn’t start slow like most books, by the next few [ages you are already immersed in the fighting and fleeing from the rebels from North Sudan. They are the resistance group; they are fighting against the Southern Sudanese because of religious reasons. They don’t agree with the Muslim religion that the Southern Sudanese follow.   Thus they fight. Salva, in school gets in the middle of the fight and flees with others away from the battle, but there is something on his mind… His village and his relatives, “are they okay”?

ORR 1- Ship Breaker

Title: Ship Breaker

Author: Paolo Bacigalupi

Published by Little, Brown and Company

Copyright date: 2010

Pages: 323

Genre: Action, Suspense  

In the book I am reading, Ship Breaker, a teenage boy named Nailer is the main character. Nailer lives in the future, where instead of things being better, they are worst. The world has suffered since it has nearly ran out of petroleum oil. Nailer works for Bapi, who hires people to scavenge for metallic items and oil on ships from years ago that have been lost at sea. Nailer is a very persistent and hardworking boy. He always tries hard for everything he does. I know Nailer is hardworking and persistent because when he was scavenging a ship, he tried his best to crawl through small spaces and gather copper wiring. He also agreed to work extra hours to receive payment. When he fell into a pit of oil, he did not give up, he swam to the bottom, opened a latch and managed to save himself. 

Nailer, unfortunately has a very rough life. He works so hard a day, yet he barely makes quota. He has many obstacles he has to overcome. The first one is his mean boss, Bapi, who yells and insults the workers if they don’t do well. The Second is the selfishness and greed between his workmates. When he was stuck in an oil pit, Sloth, a workmate, decided to not save him and take the oil for herself. One last obstacle is how dangerous his job is. Crawling through small, rusted tube, which could collapse any second. 

Ship Breaker, is a very intense book. I definitely give it a very Favorable review. This book is especially good for people who like reading books about dystopia. This book has me flipping the pages on and on to find out what will happen next. An example is the oil pit. I never knew whether he would make it or not. I know this book will have a lot of good action because only fifty pages in and it already had a lot of action.

Hunger Games: Catching fire

Pages: 473

Pages read: 473

Author: Suzanne Collins

Genre: Fiction

In this book Katniss goes on a tour of all districts with Peeta, she needs to show that she is crazy in “love” with peeta to save her family from the antagonist: president snow. Instead she acts as a first spark to the rebellions happening in each district. But also becomes engaged to Peeta!

Few months later this years quarter quell is declared. A quarter quell is each 25 years of the hunger games, and each quarter quell has a slight change to the hunger games : 1^st quarter quell participants were elected, 2^nd quarter  quell 2 twice as more participants, 3d quarter quell………. Participants are chosen from the existing winners! That means katniss has to go through them again and with peeta, but this time only one winner is axepted. What will happen when the rebellion explodes, katniss being it’s symbol. Who will survive? What will happen to the people protecting Katniss and defying the Capitol?

The Hunger Games

Title: The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins

Number of Pages: 374

Genre: Science Fiction

Setting: The setting of The Hunger Games is mostly in the Hunger games Arena, but at the beginning the setting is in District 12 and then further on in the book moves on to the Capitol.

Main Characters: 
Katniss Everdeen:
A 16 year old girl who had to provide for her family ever since her father died. Her mother kinda went crazy after her father's death. She loves her little sister, Prim, more than anything. Katniss would hunt outside of the ' district ' were she is suppose to stay in. She goes out of the fenced area of her town to hunt with her longtime family friend, Gale. Later on it does reveal some intention of feeling for Gale from Katniss but it probably won't be revealed till the second book. Katniss is known in the book as: poor, determined, stubborn, doesn't smile often, doesn't trust people easily, suspicious and lovable.

Peeta Mellark: 

He is the son of a baker. His dad actually wanted to marry Katniss's mom long time ago, but ended up with a witch of a wife. Peeta had a crush on Katniss ever since he was little. One time when Katniss was hard on food cuz of her father's death Peeta being the son of a baker burned a piece of bread accidental that no one would want to buy. He got hit by his mom for it and was told to give it to the pigs but gave it to Katniss who was there instead. Peeta is entered into the hunger games ( all i can say it this arena were every district has to enter 2 kids. The hunger games is a survival test sort of). Peeta is a determined, strong, kind-hearted, and love crazy boy. In the huger games although he was competing against Katniss he did everything he could so she could win.

Plot:

There is a country in a future world called Panem, and it is located where North America used to be. There are 12 Districts in Panem, and they are all ruled by a harsh government; the Capitol. 74 years prior to the beginning of the book, Panem rebelled against the Capitol. There was a 13th District, but it was obliterated as an example to the other citizens of Panem; no one can defeat the Capitol. So, there is an annual televised event called the Hunger Games, where one girl and one boy from every district are chosen to be put into an outdoor arena and fight to the death. Whoever is the final one alive receives fame, fortune, and their district gets privileges rained upon them for the next year.

What has been so great about this book so far?

I love to read books that have to do with science fiction and romance and in this case its both...In this book I love the excitement, the love between Peeta and Katniss who are in the arena fighting to death! I also love the fact that the woman is the brave and talented winner. Usually its men that fight and win. The words are very powerful too, and the message. In this book the message is that if you want something even if its your life and love, you have to fight for it...you actually have to fight through life.

Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

I give this book a 100% Thumbs Up!

One Quote From The Book:

Caesar asks him if he has a girlfriend back home.

Peeta hesitates, then gives an unconvincing shake of his head.

“Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what’s her name?” says Caesar.

Peeta sighs. “Well, there is this one girl. I’ve had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I’m pretty sure she didn’t know I was alive until the reaping.”

Sounds of sympathy from the crowd. Unrequited love they can relate to.

“She have another fellow?” asks Caesar.

“I don’t know, but a lot of boys like her,” says Peeta.

“So, here’s what you do. You win, you go home. She can’t turn you down then, eh?” says Caesar encouragingly.

“I don’t think it’s going to work out. Winning . . . won’t help in my case,” says Peeta.

“Why ever not?” says Caesar, mystified.

Peeta blushes beet red and stammers out. “Because… because… she came here with me.”

the beasties

Title: the beasties
Author: William Sleator
Pages: 198
Genre: Horror
Pages read in total: 53

It does not say where in the world it happens, but it could be somewhere in the middle of U.S.A. It could take place now or ten years ago. The main characters are Doug and Colette. 

Doug will not believe Al and his stories about the Beasties that lives in the Northern woods. Doug and his family is just about to travel to the Northern woods. Doug is a bit scared, but he did not want to believe that the Beasties actually exist. 15 years old Doug and his 10 years old sister Colette discovers a secret door hidden in the grass, ten meters away from their house in the Northern woods. They open the door and they both jump into the hole underneath. As they walk through small tunnels, Colette hits a metal piece that locks the door. The only way out is to go forward through the tunnels.

Pretty much everything I have read up till now was really exiting and I am not the kind of person that reads a lot, but this book is one those where I can't stop.

I will rate this book a thumbs up, because it really catch my attention and I'm sure that many other people would like it too.

Al Capone does My Shirts

Pages: 54-154
Author: Gennifer Cholodenko
Genera: Historical-Fiction

        This story Al Capone does my Shirts is a book about a boy named Moose, his sister Nat, and his parents who moved to Alcatraz, the prison. His father had to find work so he is a guard and electrition there. Moose's sister Natalie has a mysterious problem, but Moose's parents don't tell him there is but they know he knows. She is ten forever. Moose was sucked into a girl named Pipers, project. She was the wardens daughter. The project was that they had students at their school pay to have the convicts wash their clothes, which they did. Eventually they got caught and they all got in a lot of heat. So far I really like this book. Before I would not really pick this book out of a bunch but it is interesting. I like how this book really sounds like it is coming from a twelve year old's head. For example I have one quote from the book, "It's embarrassing to spend all your time with a seven year old girl, but Jimmy is always fiddling with his mechanical devices, so what am I supposed to do?"  This is a thought that goes through many twelve year old kids heads.I also like the setting because I have never heard of a book in Alcatraz in the 1930's. I recommend this book to you.

Frozen in Time

                                    Frozen In Time

                                  Ali Sparkes

                           Pages Read: 57

              I started reading this book. It is about two kids, Ben and Rachel, who are brother and sister. They are spending their summer with their uncle, because their parents need to work. Their uncle is a scientist and he spends all the time in his lab. The worse thing is that for the past month it is raining non-stop. And to make things even worse, on TV there are only two black-and-white channels.

         But, then, one day a miracle happens. All of a sudden, the sun started to shine. This is what Ben and Rachel waited for a month. So, they flew straight out. They headed straight for a dam where they played before the rain started. When they arrived, they found something which had a shape of a wheel. They started to dig, and soon they found it was not a wheel because it is not so easy to turn. On one side, the numbers 1956 were written. After a couple of hours of digging, they succeeded to turn the wheel and something unexpected happened. The wheel opened and left a whole in the ground..

    After a lot of thinking, the two kids decided to enter the whole. They followed the corridors that were in the darkness. At one moment they heard a voice repeatedly saying:

“You are entering a secure zone. If you are contaminated, turn back now”

      After this, Ben and Rachel got even more scared. Soon, they found out there was no reason to be scared. They entered a well done room and on one table they found a tape recorder and the voice was coming from it.

  They soon found out it was not only one room, but a whole house. When they entered one room, they both screamed. In that room, there were two glass coffins and in each one of them a dead kid. One boy and one girl. Ben and Rachel started panicking at this point. But, Rachel’s next move is going to scare them even more. In between the two coffins, there was a red button. She pressed it. All of a sudden, the coffins started to open accompanied by spooky hissing sounds. Ben and Rachel went for the exit, but the doors locked.

   When the two turned around to see what was going on with the coffins. Rachel fainted. The coffins were empty and in front of them stood the two figures which were lying in the coffins a minute ago.

    It was even more scarier when they began to tell Ben and Rachel what happened to them. Their dad, a genius, grounded them, and they had to spend a week in this coffin. But then Ben realized something. It was not a week. It was 50 years. The numbers which are written in front of the entrance, 1956, is actually the year. When Freddy and Poly, the kids from the coffin, they were shocked and curious why did their dad leave them in the small space for 50 years.

Will Freddy and Polly get used to the world like it is now? For both you and me to find out, I have to read on and you to wait for my next post.