Lyme Reads

In Breaking Dawn, the last book in the fictional Twilight saga there are 754 pages of suspense filled moments. The Cullens, a vampire family, is having a conflict of facing the Volturi who are a group of evil vampires who are enemies with the Cullens, and a war is on the line. This is one of the best books out of all four in the Twilight saga. Stephenie Meyer is the #1 author of the best selling Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn books. Breaking Dawn was published on August 2, 2008. In the book, Bella Swan, an 18 year old girl who is faced with the challenges of having a boyfriend that is a vampire, is one of the main characters along with Edward Cullen and Jacob Black. Edward and Bella have a strong relationship. Later on,  as their love develops and matures,  they decide to get married.

Edward and Bella’s love let them make it together through the whole story. Without this love, they wouldn’t be able to make any of the journeys that they do together. “Don’t be afraid,” I murmured. “We belong together.” I was abruptly overwhelmed by the truth of my own words. This moment was so perfect, so right, there was no way to doubt it. His arms wrapped around me, holding me against him…  It felt like every nerve ending in my body was a live wire. “Forever, ”he agreed.  In this part of the story, Bella and Edward are being enchanted by each other’s “magic.” They are deeply in love and want to stay together forever. This show the meaning of Edward and Bella’s relationship with each other. There is clearly nothing that can separate them. There love is what basically keeps them together through out the whole book.

In the story, Edward might lose Bella when she is giving birth. As I see it, this would be like losing my best friend. I have loved my best friend for my whole life, just like Bella and Edward love each other. If I lost the person who I most loved, the world would seem to disappear. I would drown in a world of emptiness. Everything would seem to go blank, nothing would be surrounding my life. Eventually, you may just have to get over it. For Edward and Jacob, Bella is a puzzle piece in both of their lives. If a piece of that puzzle is missing, the puzzle can not be completed. That means that the rest of their life may not be complete without Bella. And an  incomplete life is just as bad as no life at all.

H.E.

In Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult, published in 2002, there are 352 pages of  fictional suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat.  In many of her books, like My Sister’s Keeper, Jodi Picoult talks about difficult topics and adds an interesting twist to them.  Nina Frost, the main character in Perfect Match, is a child molestation prosecutor who is great at her job.  With a five year old child of her own, she thinks she knows exactly what she is doing.  When her child is sexually abused she is lost in a world of pain.  She doesn’t know if she should think like a prosecutor or a mother.  The thought of her child being touched by a sick and twisted person haunts her throughout the story, until she takes matters into her own hands.  In the book she travels to work and home in the cold winter of Maine.  All throughout this book you will never know what is coming!

“ When we are struck without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we should- so hard as to teach who struck us never to do it again.”  In Perfect  Match Nina Frost was hit with the hard fact that someone had touched her son, and she was going to strike back even harder.  Even though the problem was being dealt with, she felt as if she had to take matters into her own hands because it was her son.  Showing how much she truly loved her son and what she would do for him.  Even when she didn’t know who touched her son she new that they would soon hurt after she was done with them.  Knowing how much her son was hurt was what kept Nina trying to find the right person who hurt her son, and show them how much her son was hurting.  No matter what the consequences.  Nina Frost would do anything for her son.  Even if a loved one dared to touch her son in that way she would still lash out in furry.  It was what made the book interesting and lively.  Being struck by something when it is unexpected can take down your whole world, it’s what you do after you’ve been struck that makes all the difference.

In Perfect Match Nina become miserable and couldn’t get out of bed.  It became so bad that Caleb, her husband, decided to take her son, Nathaniel, from the house and move to a motel in Canada, because he couldn’t bare to watch Nathaniel grow in such a bad environment.  Nathaniel was the only thing Nina could think about, and right then, he was gone.  So after that Nina pulled herself together and made a better effort to live. After a while Caleb and Nathaniel didn’t come back, and she didn’t lose one loved one, but two.  This reminds me of when my parents got a divorce, my dad left the house for a while, but I was confused, why wasn’t my dad coming back.  I was like Nathaniel, who didn’t know what was going on.  I got to see my dad, when he got a new home, but what if I had never been able to see my dad again.  Thats what Nathaniel was probably thinking when he and his father left their house that day.

E.G.

The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan is the third book in the thrilling series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The other books in the series are The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The last Olympian. All of Riordan’s books are great, but he really topped himself coming out with this series. Percy Jackson is the protagonist. He is a very brave character in the book. He always helps his friends and is very committed. In the book, Percy gets a call from his best friend and saytr, Grover, saying that he found two children.  Percy takes out his celestial bronze sword, Riptide, and he travels towards Grover destination. Then, to his horror, comes to find out that an ancient monster has arisen and Artemis, the godess of the hunt; is missing. He and his friends only have one week to find Artemis and to solve the mystery of the monster she was tracking; along with figuring the prophecy of the Titan’s curse. The setting in this book is in New York. This book came out in 2007 and was named #1 New York Times bestseller and Amazon best book of 2007. There are three-hundred and twelve action packed pages in the fantasy book, The Titan’s Curse.

Rick Riordan has  a way of pulling  his readers into the book so  they feel like they’re practically on the scene. One minute you’re in your bedroom, the next, you’re fighting a Chimera. In the book he writes, “Westover Hall looked like an evil knight’s castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other.” (p. 1) I love this quote because it really shows the best of his writing. He writes with tremendous sensory detail that paints a beautiful picture in your mind. For example, when you read that quote, you can picture the wooden doors with thick splinters and you can almost feel the snowy wind on your face. This is how you know it is great sensory detail. There isn’t much figurative language in the quote, but it could certainly lead on to some great metaphors and similes. Riordan is a great writer with his own well developed, unique style. It seems that Riordan. can relate to Percy as I can to Annabeth. You have to understand the character to be able to write that sincerly about them.

In The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan, the other protagonist in the book is a girl named Annabeth Chase. I relate to her the most because we have similar problems in life. In her family, her father loves her, but doesn’t understand her. Annabeth doesn’t really connect with her father. It is somewhat similar to my father and I. When Annabeth makes strong decisions in a difficult situation; I can see why she made the decision. I can also understand when she makes decisions within her family, I can relate and understand her. I can follow her thinking and I can understand why she feels different things. Me being able to understand Annabeth helped me understand the rest of the book.  When Annabeth has complicated feelings against one of her friends in the book, I can practically feel her frustration and anger. I really love how I can relate to Annabeth. It can read and understand the book from anew perspective. I can understand her life as well as her friends and the rest of the plot.

– by A.W.    8th grader

The Giver was published in 1993 and won the Newbery Medal in the same year. This captivating yet mysterious book is about a boy named Jonas who is stuck in  a modern world that’s quite different  from our own. The Giver contains 192 pages of “stay up late reading when your not supposed to” action, and it’s totally worth the tired morning eyes. This science fiction fantasy book will have you hooked from the start. This book tells the story of an ordinary boy who overcomes and amounts to something no one would have imagined possible. In this book Jonas has to decide to either go away and possibly help and change the world or stay with his family and live life in a way he does not feel is right. It all happens when Jonas is 12, and he is assigned to be the next Giver. This means that he must train with an old man who keeps all the memories for their community. But when the close partners realize that the world they live in is not ideal, thats when things start to change. Reading this book makes you consider the way we live today and make you feel grateful. Jonas is a head strong 12 year old who lives with his mother, father, and little sister, Lily. He has always accepted that the way he lives now is the way it is. What he didnt know was that there was more out there.
Lois Lowry has written several science fiction fantasy novels before. Both of the books I have read by Lois Lowry have been good, but The Giver is my personal favorite. I like the author’s use of sensory detail. It makes me feel like I am right there in the room or in the memory that the giver transfers into Jonas’s mind, feeling the same things that Jonas is.  Lowry is aware of what the reader will be reading and always makes the point apparent. Her writing is smooth and puts you into “the zone” very quickly. Lois Lowry is one of my favorite authors because her writing style is unlike so many others. I discovered her by accident but I am glad I did. This quote shows lowry’s creative use of of sensory detail I can hear the music and feel the warmth of the house inside this quote. “He heard people singing. Behind him, across vast distances of space and time, from the place he had left, he thought he heard music too. But perhaps it was only an echo.”
Reading The Giver not only made me feel grateful, but also was somewhat familiar. The Giver and Jonas’s relationship reminds me of any other teachers and students, but more specifically the relationship with my flute teacher. We do work, just as Jonas and the Giver do, but we also ask questions and share things. We share memories also like Jonas and the Giver, but it’s not our main focus. I think that being able to talk to someone and ask questions is important being happy because it lets you vent and share feelings. I think that Jonas wouldn’t have gotten as far as he did without his teacher, the Giver. Just as I certainly wouldn’t have gotten as far as I would have without my flute teacher.

EC

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a 215 page book written

by Douglas Adams in 1989. Douglas Adams also wrote The Restaurant at

the End of the Universe, The Life, the Universe, and Everything. I

would count this book as a sci-fi comedy. There was an alien named Ford

Perfect. Then there was a human named Arthur Dent. Ford Perfect

Plucked Arthur Dent off of the world. Ford new Arthur because they were friends off the world. Ford plucked Arthur off of the earth because the earth was about to blow up and ford didn’t want arthur to die. The book is mostly about how

Arthur and Ford wind up biting the built again an again but the Problem that

Arthur dent Faced was not being able to get back to his home planet.

Ford and Arthur run and  jump and try to get rid of all of the other

aliens trying to get them off of there home planet but when The aliens

try to get rid of them ford and Arthur fight back and defend them-self’s.

The most important Quote in the book I think was when the space ship

was landing when it made the “Swish” to come and pick up Arthur. To

bring him to the galaxy where Ford was waiting for him. What I think

the “so what” is do what your gut is right.”  Which means just follow what your hopes and dreams think are right..

The connection I had with the book is when I was playing paint ball with Mason. When we were playing I found that I had to run and jump over all of the  debris in the way, just like Ford and Arthur when they were running away from the aliens that were shooting at them. That made me under understand the book by actually knowing what it would feel like to be shot at. Then when Ford plucked Arthur off of the earth and he didn’t know anyone that was like another time when I went to Maine and didn’t know anyone there  either.  It felt like I was isolated in a room by myself and I was scared. It was like being the only green apple on the red apple tree.

jw tehe

Guts by Gary Paulsen is one of the best books  that has  ever be written. This book is an autobiography, meaning that Paulsen himself is the main chacter. He is very  adventurous, for a example when he goes to Alaska and trains for the  Iditarod  he perserveres  in the face of the challenges that he confronts. It is not  hard reading and the  writing is large and easy to understand. It was published in 2001 and has 148 pages. he ‘s wrote  allot of books like hatchet,brines hunt,wood song,the winter room and the river all the book are nonfiction  Paulsen has been on a lot of adventures–he was in a plane crash and attacked by a moose. He is still living to tell the story’s of his life. Mr.Paulsen’s style  of  writing includes a good deal of description from i his life and the things that have happened to him. He puts a lot of sensory details in his story. For example, when he uses the words “enormous  figure was stomping on him”it makes you feel like you’re right there next to him. All of his stories  put me right in to the reading zone I can’t stop reading. My favorite book he has written is Wood Song. But sometimes he gets carried away in his story.

“At the precise moment  a cow moose that was standing in a darken spruce tree swept me off the sled.  I had no idea she was there, absolutely no warning that anything was coming and the dogs hadn’t seen or smelt her, they didn’t give any indication.  Suddenly I was upside down in the snow, flat on my back and something enormous was stomping on me.”This is a example of when he was telling about the moose attacking him and hitting him off the sled. It seemed like he kept going on about the  event that was happening like shown above he carried on about it for 3 pages.  Despite this, I still love his  writing.

He grew up hunting and fishing and so did I. I grew up hunting, but I didn’t do a lot of fishing. I shot my first deer when I was 10 years old and I can’t even start to  explain the excitement I was feeling had his first gun was a single shot 22 and so was mine I moved around a lot this is the only school i’v stayed at for more than a year but he never moved around.

By MB

The Outsiders is a fast paced realistic fiction novel about two unruly gangs that live in Oklahoma- the Greasers and the Socs. The Socs are middle class guys who ride around in fancy cars, like Corvairs and Mustangs, live on the West-side of town, and jump Greasers and throw beer bashes for fun.  The Greasers, on the other hand, are much poorer than the rich Socs, and from the narrator’s point of view, are a tighter knit gang who always have each other’s backs. Ponyboy, the main character, lives with his brothers, Darry and Sodapop, because both of their parents died in car crash eight months before the story begins. Pony is the youngest in his family, and the second youngest in his gang at age fourteen. He always feels like he’s being treated like a six-year-old. He enjoys drawing, watching movies, and reading books, which isn’t normal for a boy from a tough gang like the Greasers. Many tragic events affect these boys, and they wind up part of issues that would be nearly impossible for most teenagers to deal with. S.E. Hinton wrote this outstanding book when she was only sixteen. It was her first book, but it’s so professionally crafted that you would never be able to guess it was written by a teenager. Published in 1967, this is a coming-of age-themed novel that never bores you. I wish this 156 page book had a sequel, because it ends sort-of abruptly.

Halfway through the book, Ponyboy was knee-deep in conflicts and realized that being part of a gang can also have its downfalls. “Sixteen years on the streets and you can learn a lot. But all the wrong things, not the things you want to learn. Sixteen years on the streets you can see a lot. But all the wrong sights, not the sights you want to see.” (p107) Hinton has a magical way of putting her characters thoughts and emotions, into your head and having you think they’re your own. When one of the characters is nervous, it makes me squirm in my seat, and when one of the character’s shares their lighthearted feelings, a smile is lit up on my own face. Every character in this book struggles through a traumatic or difficult event; whether it’s their parents abandoning them, one of their friends being beat up by another gang or the police, or having someone from their gang run away. Hinton provides the reader with an insight of what life is really like when you’re living without a safe or loving home, and with the fear that you could be ambushed and attacked at any moment. Throughout the story, Hinton shows that Ponyboy develops a more mature sense of what’s important in life, and he realizes that living in the type of lifestyle he has now, won’t get him anywhere. Winning rumbles, gelling his hair, or acting tuff doesn’t seem as important anymore. One of the “so what’s” of this story is that school has always been important to Ponyboy, and in order to pursue his educational goals of going to college and beyond, he needs to create a more supportive and productive lifestyle than the one he has now.

In The Outsiders, Ponyboy receives a lot of help from his gang, the Greasers. At one point, Johnny and Pony need to escape out of Oklahoma because they commit a  crime, and could get in trouble from the police. Without any money, dry clothes, or resources, they seek help from Dally, one of  their gang members. Dally gives them a loaded gun, a roll of bills, and some dry clothes. Even though Dally could get in trouble with the police if he was caught helping the boys escape, being there for his friends was something that was important to him. Three years ago, both of my parents were going away on a three day vacation. A friend offered to take care of me while they were away. They fed me, drove me to my hockey practices, and let me live in their house. My friend even decided to cancel a play-date she had made with a girl from a different town because I didn’t know the girl, and I might have felt uncomfortable coming along. I was very grateful for my friend and her family’s kindness, because otherwise I don’t know what I would have done for those three days. I don’t know how I would have handled the weekend without help from my parents, and I can’t imagine what it would be like being a teenager dealing with death and crime without any support.

~C.H.

The Time Thief by Linda Bucket-Archer is a fantasy-fiction book. Published in 2007, it is a relatively new book based on the past and the present. The 488 pages will seem like nothing–you will fly through them without even noticing. The Time Thief is the second book of the Gideon Trilogy. The first book, The Time Travelers, is also fascinating, and  leaves you eager to continue on to the second. Having to travel though time to retrieve her friend, Peter Schock, from 1763, Kate Dyer accidentally lands in 1792. Kate has to retrieve Peter before the machine is destroyed but traveling in the past might change the past to hurt the present. Kate is adventurous and caring and so, she is willing to risk get herself get caught in time for who she cares about. How will she find her way out of 1792 and save her 12 year old fiend, Peter? While Kate is trying to manage all this there is one other problem. The Tar Man, a feared villain from the past, has been released into modern day. How will everything be brought back to normal? This is the question Kate and others are asking themselves.

Kate and Mr. Schock are about to travel back it time and Kate’s dad is trying to stop them through a closed door. ‘Dad!’ shouted Kate. ‘I’m starting up the machine now. If I need to adjust anything you’d better tell me now before it’s too late. . . .’ ‘No! Kate! . . . Don’t do it!’  There was a pause. Kate waited for perhaps five seconds. ‘Okay, I’m going anyway,’ she said, and kicked the brick away. ‘Good-bye, Dad!’ Without her even having to switch it on, she immediately heard a low hemming noise, rather like the sound of a fridge. ‘Wait!’ shouted Mr. Schock, leaping toward her. He threw his arms around the base of the machine. (page 81) This quote demonstrates how interesting Linda Buckley-Archer’s writing style can be. These events make you want to continue reading  until you arrive at another action scene. There is almost always one following. Linda Buckley-Archer always finds a way of showing the scene, not telling it. One way she does this is by adding dialogue. There are always enough people to talk with. At the times where no dialogue is needed, she adds descriptive writing. There are some times when dialogue is needed, and some times when dialogue is not needed. Linda Buckley-Archer always knows when it is the right time for both, and her dialogue is always interesting.

In The Time Thief, Kate travels through time to rescue her friend. She has to leave all her family behind. This reminded me of the time when we were going to move back to America. I had already lived there and I preferred it. I was glad we were returning, but I also had to leave all my grandparents and friends again. This helped me understand how much Kate liked Peter and want everything to return to normal. Peter was her best friend, she could not just leave him in the past. Peter was more important to her, than time travel, or the rest of her family. I liked America more than Germany and my grandparents. Sometimes even though you like your family more than your friends, you know it is the right chose to leave them and go after a friend that needs help. –JK

When Bo and Prosper run away from their aunt and into the streets if Venice, they start starving. Prosper and Bo were so uncomfortable that they would almost go back to their aunt who separated the two brothers from one another, keeping only “angel-faced” Bo. The boys were saved from their poor shelter and little food when they met Hornet. Hornet, and her friends, Riccio and Mosca were under the care of the Thief Lord, also known as Scipio. Scipio steals from rich houses to feed his friends, yet even though Prosper doesn’t believe in his new life, without it they’ll starve. Young Bo is easily influenced by Scipio and the Thief Lord soon becomes his new idol. Prosper becomes annoyed that his younger brother isn’t looking up to him as much. Meanwhile, young Bo is trusting of everyone, partly because he is adored by all. In fact, he’s so trusting that he gives away their location to a detective about to find him and  his brother!  As Scipio accepts a dangerous job and Bo’s aunt returns to find her nephew, the book leaps into an adventure filled with fantasy and realism. Including such items as an enchanted round-about, a pair of sugar tongs and a winged lion. Cornelia Funke’s The Thief Lord has been a classical children’s story since it’s release in 2002. All 352 pages in this epic Scholastic book are action packed and charming, with a lovely perspective on the streets of Venice. This story is a must read for any one who loves an enchanting and suspenseful story.

Cornelia Funke’s detailed story telling is filled with images, but not too many, so that it doesn’t bore people. ‘“What a generous offer!” The girl looked at him with amusement. “And what makes you think he’d ever let you go again? This is the Isola Segreta. You must know the stories. Nobody who’s ever visited this island has lived to tell the tale. Now move!” She pointed down a path to their left that wound into the bushes. “That way. Don’t try to run. Believe me, my dogs are faster than you.”’ (page 225) Though their isn’t much direct detail, after reading the whole book you can visualize anything you see in the print after reading the descriptions of the characters and the city of Venice. When you see a story through your own mind it helps you imagine what the characters going through. I like the way you imagine the island, in this quote, and the way the dialogue portrays the character’s feelings. Her writing gives you freedom to imagine the characters and setting according to your beliefs. Cornelia Funke has a lovely style of writing and all of her stories are rich with suspense, feeling, and creamy detail.

Cornelia Funke’s unique and descriptive  style of writing makes it easy for anyone to relate to her book. As I read how Prosper was disappointed in Bo’s aspirations as a young pickpocket, I thought of the time a friend and I were shopping for scarves. She saw a scarf that she really liked but I didn’t. I thought that she shouldn’t buy it because it was ugly but my friend bought it anyway. I felt like Prosper did because I was disappointed in her choice of scarf, just like Prosper was disappointed in Bo’s admiration for thievery. A lot of the story focuses on the conflict between Bo and Prosper’s ideas on their new way of life. While Bo is impressed with the idea of taking from other people, Prosper is ashamed that his only income is stealing from others. Scipio is caught in the middle of the conflict between the two brothers as, though he helps Prosper, he is  angering Prosper by misleading Bo onto a different path than Prosper has disapproved of.

When Scarlett Wakefield believes she is finally been accepted by the popular crowd, the most horrible thing happens. In Kiss Me, Kill Me, Lauren Henderson blends drama, mystery, and murder together. Early in the story, Scarlett gets invited to one of the hottest parties hosted by Nadia Farouk, one of Plum’s friends. Plum is the girl who basically runs her school and the people in it. The setting is in London, where things can become very competitive. This is why it is such an honor for Scarlett when she is invited by Nadia to the party. She puts so much effort into trying to fit in at the party that when she thinks it finally all paid off, Scarlett feels fortunate. Then, at the party, Dan McAndrew, the love of her life, asks Scarlett to go out on the terrace with him. She gladly accepts. What Scarlett didn’t know was that Dan would fall dead in her arms and she would be the one who gets blamed. She decides that she should be the one to figure out what really killed Dan. This 260 page book, written in 2008, will make you want to jump right into the sequel, Kisses and Lies.

Lauren Henderson not only describes the story perfectly, but also makes you feel like you met and know the character. As I was reading the book, I could feel Scarlett’s emotions. Scarlett is a brave girl, and the author uses that trait to make the story interesting because Scarlett is always in the middle of one conflict after another, trying to solve each one herself. I can feel her pain and fear, as well as her need to solve the mystery about what really killed Dan. “My eyes snap open. I sweep a quick look round the room and realize it is not as I left it. My folder with all the articles about Dan and me is lying on my bed, open. The articles are scattered all over the bed. Some have blown to the floor because there’s a breeze coming from the window, which I’m sure I didn’t leave wide open this morning…..” (p.  161) Henderson puts a ton of dramatic and suspenseful scenes in the story that make me scared and look around the room to see if anyone has been spying on me. Because Henderson describes what is happening so well, you find yourself reading the quote over and over to see if you can find out how Dan died for yourself. The story moves quickly and there is never a dull moment, which makes it one of the best stories I have ever read.

Scarlett has hung out with her two friends, Alison and Luce, for as long as she can remember and she knows they like her for who she is. When Scarlett gets invited to Nadia’s party, she just can’t say no. The problem is that Alison and Luce aren’t invited, so Scarlett has to decide whether she wants to stay a loser or lose her friends. She knows that staying with her real friends would be the right thing to do, but she just can’t make herself do it. She says to herself, “It can’t be me who’s bending to the bench to pick up my bag; who’s managing to avoid eye contact with Alison and Luce, because I know the fury and betrayal I’ll see if I catch their eyes.”(p. 19) I know that sometimes I don’t do the right thing because I would rather do something else. One time a friend invited me over and I still had a lot of homework, but I went anyway. I knew the right thing to do would be to stay home and study because it would help me in the future. I didn’t get back from my friend’s house until late at night, so I didn’t have enough time to study and rushed through my homework. This is how Scarlett felt. After the party ended in a disaster, she wished she hadn’t gone because not only had Dan died, but she had lost her friends. After I got a bad grade on my quiz, I wished I had studied instead of going out. That one wrong decision had a tremendous impact on Scarlett’s life.

by AW