The Roar by Emma Clayton

King Alexander Jelly James Felix Feltner Harrison Barnes III Jr

6-11-13

Humanities AM

Book Trailer

The Roar

In the future, things aren’t the same. The Plague has terrorized humans into hiding behind The Wall. The Wall means safety, away from the dangerous Outside. Inside of London, animals are dead and The Plague is non-existent. Every human in the world is behind The Wall, and guarded with utmost importance. The city is dirty, fresh food is gold. The  poor live in nothing but flooded, moldy broken-down shacks underneath the fairy-palace in the sky.... every day seems mundane and gray, but one day something is different. Mika can’t find his twin, Ellie. They’re different than other children, mutants even. Bullied and harassed, life isn’t so great. But one day, a new game comes to London, sponsored by the government. Pod Fighter is the biggest that anyone has ever heard of... the greatest game ever made. At least, you think it’s a game...

I loved this book. Emma Clayton’s  Futuristic Sci-Fi Action blew me away. This book reminded me of Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, however it was not as steam-punk as much Future Dystopia.   From the Arcade to London to the Sky, everything flowed and excited me until the very last sentence.

HONORABLE MENTION BIBLIOGRAPHY

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld bookyurt.com

Divergent by Veronica Roth pettuselem.blogspot.com

Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez

Book Review: Before We Were Free

Reviewed By: Kaitlin T.

A world with no privacy; no democracy; no mercy; just a cruel dictator with levels of cruelty never seen anywhere else. This is the Dominican Republic in the 1960’s. Imagine being a 12 year old girl during this time of horror. Now imagine all that horror in addition to your cousins moving to America, your house being searched, your dad getting in trouble, your uncle going into hiding, and your sister having to leave the country. All that horror, all that sadness, all the confusion and all the mysteries in one book; that book is called Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez.

This book was so amazing. I know it takes a lot to make a teenager grateful for what they have, but this book accomplished just that. I had no idea that a girl about my age could go through so much and still be brave. Her dad was taken from her to go to a cruel jail that not many people come out alive from and she still stayed strong. When she and her mom had to go into hiding, she still stayed strong. When her sister left the country to avoid the dictator’s so-called love toward her and she still stayed strong. This made me feel for her, I always would say to myself, “What would I do if I was in her position?” and I would always end up thinking, “I don’t know”. But this girl actually put thought into her next move; every choice was a one of life or death. I compared some current issues in my life to hers and it made me realize that I have an awesome life. For this reason I think that this book opened my eyes to see that you only live once, (yolo), so at least try to make your life better, it is better to die trying than to have died giving up.

Honorable Mentions

• “Jane” by April Lindner
• “No Strings Attached” by Judy Blundell

“Gathering Blue” by Lois Lowry

Lovely by Allison Liddelle

Calla Chaiyaruk
June 13, 2013
Red
Book review.                                                                              
 

Have you ever felt like there was no hope for you, and wanted to give up your life? That's all Alice thinks and feels every day in the story, Lovely, by Allison Liddelle. In the book, Lovely, Alice is the main character who lives in the present. Alice has all these feelings of no hope and always having to cut herself and commit suicide. The conflict in the story is, well, her life; her abusive father and the fact her own mother won't even stand up for her own daughter.

Alice's character reminds me a bit of myself, and how we both think of our self image and how sometimes we both can be insecure. The author really makes me as a reader think about how Alice feels and how we would feel to be In her shoes. Alice as a character is full of talent,but allows people to only see her in pain, because she doesn't want to let people know how she feels and to burden them.

Honorable mentions
Some girls are, by Courtney Summers
Number the stars, by Lois Lowry
Breaking Dawn, by Stephanie Meyer
Timeless, by Pamela Diana King

One Misssissippi By Mark Childress

Reviewed by: Julie D.T.

The Musgrove family is going through rough times. Their moving trailer blows up as well as all their belongings.  They move to Mississippi, into an almost empty house and only a few sets of clothes. A few months after being in Mississippi, the family begins to settle in. Jeff Musgrove finds a friend by the name of Tom Cousins. His Dad finds a job and they move into a new house near a Drive-In Movie Theater.  Jeff and Tom both find prom dates; Jeff noticed a beautiful girl name Arnita Beecham whom is the first African girl to win prom queen in the history of their school.  After a tragic accident Arntia and Jeff become very close friends and good things keep on happening, until the boys secrets get out. Read more to find out Jeff’s story of moving to Mississippi.

I enjoyed this book because many occurrences took place during the story, and it was a fast paced book. The author did a great job adding things that actually happen in a teen’s life to the book.  I could not put the book down, and always needed to know what happened next, due to every page being a cliff hanger.  I would highly recommend this book to any young adult reader.

           The book, One Mississippi, taught me to always speak the truth and not lie about crimes.  This is because Jeff and Tom committed crimes which lead up to many horrible things happening.  Instead of waiting for the last minute to come clean and face the truth, tell someone what you have done, so you can find help and not cause more problems to happen. Those are just one of the many things this great book taught me. 

Honorable Mentions:

The World, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets

Johnny Tremain

I Know What You Did Last Summer By Lois Duncan

I Know What You Did Last Summer    By: Lois Duncan
Reviewed by: Kerri T.

I read the attention catching book, I Know What You Did Last Summer.  It’s about a girl named Julie and her boyfriend named Ray, also Helen and her boyfriend named Barry. One summer there driving home from a party and they were a little drunk and probably shouldn't have been driving, but they turned a corner and hit a little boy named David on a bike! They all panicked, David was just laying there, they didn't know whether to call the cops or not...and they didn't because Ray was old enough to go to jail, because he was the oldest. Then they drove away.
A year later Julie gets a letter in the mail that says “I know what you did last summer.” Should they be scared? Did someone find out?
I liked this book because, it’s a mystery and scary book and I really enjoy those kinds of books. A theme that really helps me understand this book better is DUI (driving under the influence).

HONORABLE MENTION:
Wonder
Hunger Games
Holes
Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone

I Know What You Did Last Summer By Lois Duncan

I Know What You Did Last Summer    By: Lois Duncan
Reviewed by: Kerri T.

I read the attention catching book, I Know What You Did Last Summer.  It’s about a girl named Julie and her boyfriend named Ray, also Helen and her boyfriend named Barry. One summer there driving home from a party and they were a little drunk and probably shouldn't have been driving, but they turned a corner and hit a little boy named David on a bike! They all panicked, David was just laying there, they didn't know weather to call the cops or not...and they didn't because Ray was old enough to go to jail, because he was the oldest. Then they drove away.
A year later Julie gets a letter in the mail that says “I know what you did last summer.” Should they be scared? Did someone find out?
I liked this book because, it’s a mystery and scary book and I really enjoy those kinds of books. A theme that really helps me understand this book better is DUI (driving under the influence).

HONORABLE MENTION:
Wonder
Hunger Games
Holes
Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone

Wonder R.J. Palacio

Reviewed by- Jacquie F

           How would you feel if you walked into a public place and everyone just stares at you? Or you are a kid at the playground and all the other kids run away from you because they are scared of you?

A fifth grader named August has never been to public school. His facial deformities have been keeping him from going to public school and many other public places. He feels and acts just like any other typical kid but when he goes out in public that all changes. He gets stared at and when he goes to the playground with other kids they run away from him. But, this year was going to be different, for better or for good. August was going to public school.

This book is about August and his struggle to find his “group”, and face bullies in his first year of public school. It is told from multiple people’s point of view including August, his sister Via and a few kids in his grade.

I liked this book a lot because it was told from multiple points of views. When the other did this it helped me understand everyone’s thoughts. It also helped me realize everything typical kids take for granted. It wasn’t even as if he had Autism or Cerebral Palsy or anything along those lines. He only had a few facial deformities and that affects a person so much. I know a lot about special needs and how it affects peoples social lives and daily activities because my mom works at a special needs school but it never occurred to me that something as simple as a facial deformity would affect someone’s social life so much.

Honorable Mention-

Out of My Mind By: Sharon M. Draper