Use the format below to create your own review for your book. I've posted a sample using a book that I just read.
Reviewer: (and two other books you love)
Book Title:
Author:
Setting:
Your review: (6-10 sentences that include at least a summary, an explanation of your favorite thing about the book, and a "window" moment for you as a reader)
Final Rating: 5 stars = MUST READ; 4= Really Good; 3= Good; 2 = Readable; 1= Not good; 0= utter trash
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
24 comments:
Reviewer: Mr. Golding (also liked The Incredible Adventure of Kavalier and Clay; Elizabeth George's mysteries)
Book Title: Faceless Killers
Author: Henning Mankell
Setting: Ystad, Sweden, 1991
Your review: When a farmer and his wife are brutally murdered in a quiet part of Sweden, Kurt Wallender sets about solving the case. Sort of like an episode of "Law and Order" set in Sweden, this book cruises along at full speed, but it has just enough character development to keep me happy. I liked Wallender, even though his life was pretty bleak, but I'd need more to like to keep going in the series. I am also intrigued because Mankell doesn't get far outside of Wallender's persepctive, so it's hard to understand how others see him. I like that...for now. My "window" moment into Sweden was the debate about immigration--it was shocking in that it sounded so much like the current debate in the U.S.
Final Rating: 3 or 2
For an "A" you'll need to add three hyperlinks.
1. A link to an image of the setting
2. A link to other book reviews
3. A link to some current news article that connects to your "window" moment
How to do a link:
Inside of these <>
type this: a href="website link"
then type the link word
end with <> with /a inside
Reviewer: Becca Goldstein: (also loves The Perks of Being a Wallflower and A Mango Shaped Space)
Book Title: The Poisonwood Bible
Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Setting: Kilanga, Congo, 1959 and Sandering Island, Georgia
My Review: Reverend Nathan Price drags wife and four girls to Congo on a mission; to Christianize them and relieve them of their wretched life style. Through tellings from Adah, the lame one, Leah, her twin, Rachel, her stuck up sister, Ruth May, the toddler and their mother Orleanna, the reader gets an excellent view into what living in Congo would have been like during the time of their independence in 1960. Although i had no favorite scene or specific part, I did have a favorite character. Adah, the twin who only had half of a working brain, looked past her first impression of the people of Congo. She understood the people of her village more than her sisters could because she looked at life differently than they did. She was handicapped, so she knew she needed to look at life in a way nobody else could understand. My "window" moment was when Adah was spying on Mr. Axelroot, the mysterious man who brought the Prices their food every month, and she overheard them talking about the how the Americans planned on assassinating the Prime Minister. This was a window moment for me because I had been researching Congo, and I read a long article on the man who had been assigned the job to kill the man.
Final Rating: 3 or 4
links:
A market in a Congo Village http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://beta.covchurch.org/uploads/eT/Y4/eTY4ryZRAGKbBDJHInHRDA/VillageHuts.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.covchurch.org/pcp/about/images&h=263&w=350&sz=15&hl=en&start=7&um=1&tbnid=vyd9GrGvtUnH2M:&tbnh=90&tbnw=120&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmarket%2Bin%2Bvillage%2Bof%2Bcongo%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den-us%26sa%3DG/>
New York Times Book Review http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805E1DC123BF93BA25753C1A96E958260/>
Article about the ongoing violence in Congo http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/world/africa/06congo.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Reviewer: Lily Strassberg (I loved by Jodi Picoult and by Jon Katz
Book Title: The Kite Runner
Author:
Setting: and (1975)
Your review: The Kite Runner, by is a powerful, deep, and engaging novel. Amir, a child who lost his mother at birth grows up, following in a pattern set by the previous generation, with a strong bond to his brother-like hazaran servant, Hassan. Hassan’s father, Ali, and Amirs’, Baba, had the same strong brotherhood. The book, describing a tranquil, peaceful Afgan neighbored quickly takes a turn for the worst when society catches up to Amir, pressuring him to re-think his relationship with Hassan. Hassan is sexually assaulted after a traditional Afgan Kite Battle, in front of Amir. The air between Amir and Hassan grows thick, and causes new tension within both brotherhoods which ultimately causes Ali and Hassan to move away. Soon after, political conflicts in Afghanistan force Baba and Amir to move to America, leaving the wealth and memories of Kabul behind. Baba, Hassan, and many other characters die off as Amil builds a new life for himself in America.
This book is to-the-point, sharp, and descriptive. It is a page turner, and engages the reader in a wide spectrum of emotions ranging from happiness and pride, to frustration and anger.
Final Rating: 4.5 stars- a great read!
Reviewer: Lily Strassberg (I loved by Jodi Picoult and by Jon Katz
Book Title: The Kite Runner
Author:
Setting: and (1975)
Your review: The Kite Runner, by is a powerful, deep, and engaging novel. Amir, a child who lost his mother at birth grows up, following in a pattern set by the previous generation, with a strong bond to his brother-like hazaran servant, Hassan. Hassan’s father, Ali, and Amirs’, Baba, had the same strong brotherhood. The book, describing a tranquil, peaceful Afgan neighbored quickly takes a turn for the worst when society catches up to Amir, pressuring him to re-think his relationship with Hassan. Hassan is sexually assaulted after a traditional Afgan Kite Battle, in front of Amir. The air between Amir and Hassan grows thick, and causes new tension within both brotherhoods which ultimately causes Ali and Hassan to move away. Soon after, political conflicts in Afghanistan force Baba and Amir to move to America, leaving the wealth and memories of Kabul behind. Baba, Hassan, and many other characters die off as Amil builds a new life for himself in America.
This book is to-the-point, sharp, and descriptive. It is a page turner, and engages the reader in a wide spectrum of emotions ranging from happiness and pride, to frustration and anger.
Final Rating: 4.5 stars- a great read!
Checking if I can make this work...
Faceless Killers
Another try...
Ystad, Sweden
reviews?
Reviewer: Phil Kernan (Also liked Scorpia and Ark Angel both written by: Anthony Horowitz)
Book Title: Fallen Angels
Author: Walter Dean Myers
Setting: South Vietnam, 1967-1968
My Review: A boy, who was only at the age of 17, Richie Perry decided to join the army. He left basic training shortly after entered because of a lack of soldiers in his platoon. He feels that his knee injury will prevent him from entering combat, but he soon finds out the army has little mercy for such a thing. Richie keeps a diary on all of his events and at the end of each month, sends his family a letter. His most horrified moment was when he best friend Jenkins, was killed by a land mine on only his first patrol. Since then they have been many patrols and a few firefights. One of the most nerve-racking moments was when Perry and Peewee were in a rat hole, and the North Vietnamese Soldier comes into the hole, machete drawn and stabs Peewee. This book had a lot of Plot, and at some points it was hard to keep track of everything that was going on, but it did keep me reading. My "window" moment into Vietnam was when Perry's and Peewee were in the spider hole as an enemy soldier comes into the whole with a machete. It also reminded me of an article I recently read. Machete Attacks
Other Book Reviews
Final Rating: 4.2, Very good book, kept me reading which most books arent good at.
Reviewer: Karina Berenbaum (also loves Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling and The Pact by Jodi Picoult.)
Book Title: Journey from the Land of No
Author: Roya Hakakian
Setting: Tehran, Iran during the Iranian Revolution
My Review: Roya Hakakian tells her story of what her life was like before and during the Iranian Revolution. She tells of her extended family and how they were all so close and how she had many very close friends. The revolution changes her life very much. At first she was influenced that it would be a very beneficial thing for Iran. It ended up being horrifying especially for Jews like Roya. When the shah was in power there was no discrimination but now their Hebrew school was being taken over and some were even being executed. I really liked it when a woman tries to come to the Hebrew school and be the principle but she wants to teach the girls about Islam. Roya and her friends want to rebel against the woman and they do which is a really funny scene. A “window” moment for me in the book was when President Khomeini bans many rights for women including letting them vote. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like in America if women were not allowed to vote. I read a article about voting in Iran: Iranians Register for Elections
Rating: 3
Other reviews
Reviewer: Matt Ma (Who also likes The DaVinci Code and The Bourne Ultimatum)
Book Title: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
Author: Ishmael Beah
Review: 1991, it was a time of civil war in Sierra Leone and young Ishmael does not know what a war is really like. He is a teenager living in a remote part of the country who up until now has not seen what war does to people. His life was turned around one day when the rebels who called themselves the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) attacked their village. During this ordeal, he was separate from the rest of his family except for his brother and his friends. After days and days of trudging through the dense jungles escaping from one village to another, Ishmael and his friends were finally picked up by government forces. Instead of providing for these poor boys, the government army trained these kids how to kill, pillage and torture enemies. After months of fighting and slaughtering, UNICEF finally came and removed them from fighting. It was here that Ishmael saw his brother for the last time. UNICEF brought them to an institution in which they could heal their traumatic experiences. It was here Ishmael slowly began to heal. Finally, after some months, UNICEF found a living relative of Ishmael, his uncle, it seemed everything was going to settle down. He went to New York to speak for an organization called Children Affected by War because of his experiences. He came back thinking that his life is going to be normal from now on. However, a military coup and the death of his uncle upset his life once again. Now he must flee the country in order to fly back to New York to live with a councilor he met during the conference. Now his life is finally settled and he lives with his foster mother in New York. The “window” moment for me in this book is when the boys were having a competition that determines who can kill their prisoner the fastest. It really made me feel fortunate about my life here and also pity I feel for the less fortunate people.
Rating: This book is a great book that really opens up your eyes about the tragedy going on in the world today. I would give it a 4.
Human Rights Watch World Report (It won't let me do this particular html tag) http://www.hrw.org/wr2k2/childsoldiers.html
Reviewer: Haley Stein (also liked Something Borrowed; Gossip Girl)
Book Title: Something Blue
Author: Emily Giffin
Setting: Mostly London, France
Review: When Darcy, a self-centered and judgmental girl, finds her fiancé, Dex, and her best friend, Rachel, in bed together, she does everything in her power to get revenge. Always being the more popular and prettier of the two best friends, she had no idea what it felt like to be rejected or put second especially by a boy. Immediately she tries to find revenge and sleeps with a boy, Marcus, who was dating Rachel at one point to get back at her but it comes back at her like it should have. She gets pregnant and once again tries to make Rachel jealous by going to London to visit their friend who was at the time, more friendly with Rachel. Unfortunately he lets her stay with him and he takes care of her. Darcy, being the stubborn and cowardly person she is, avoided both Rachel and Dex both when she sees him and when they try to contact her. I enjoyed the book because to a less extreme extent, I understand and know what it feels like to be betrayed by a best friend and the book has a good way of showing the right way to deal with a situation like that and a not-so-good way to deal with one. One of my favorite parts in the book is when Rachel sends Darcy a present to congratulate her on her newborn baby even though they haven’t spoken in months. It really showed how brave and courageous Rachel was to step up and do something nice for Darcy even though she probably didn’t deserve it. My “window” moment in this book was when Darcy responded to Rachel’s gift. It shows the reader that even though you may not like someone or something that someone did, there’s no need to make a war out of it. Overall, I give this book four stars.
Something Blue
London, France
Reviewer: Emma Hastings (also liked My Sister's Keeper; Keeping the Moon; and The Pact)
Book Title: A Thousand Splendid Suns
Author:Khaled Hosseini
Setting: small villiage on the outskirts of Herat, Afghanistan
My Review:
Miriam, a lovechild, struggles to find her way in this culturally eye opening novel. Living with her mother Nana in a small cottage right outside the town of Heart, Miriam goes through adolescence with only one visit per week from her wealthy father Jalil. Growing up isolated, Miriam spends time on her lessons in writing and reading as well as anticipating her father’s weekly visits. However when the sudden death of Miriam’s mother suddenly occurs, her father and his wives unwillingly take her in. Soon enough a marriage to Rasheed, a local shoemaker, is arranged by her father and many of life’s obstacles are throw her way. Dealing with issues like neglection, the Taliban, and abuse, Miriam’s story never leaves you unsatisfied. It’s a page-turner you just can’t miss.
Map of Afghanistan
New York times review of a thousand splendid suns
Lydia Emmanouillidou
Reviewer: Lydia Emmanouilidou (also liked The Secret Life of Bees and Invisible)
Book Title: The Poisonwood Bible
Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Setting: Belgian Congo, Zaire, Atlanta, Sanderling Island, Georgia, South Africa, and the French Congo, 1959-1998
Review: While living in the Congo during the time of independence, the Price family completely falls apart. Due to their tyrannous father, the three Price daughters and their mother are forced to leave their home in Georgia and move to the Congo- a country in the heart of Africa- in which the Nathan Price, the father and head of the family, plans to convert all the “unsaved” souls of Africa to Christianity. While reading about living in the Congo from the different perspective of Ruth May, the youngest and most simple-minded of the daughters, Adah and Leah, the intelligent twins, Rachel, the stuck-up sixteen year old, and Orleanna, the mother of the four young girls, the reader can acknowledge the hardships the Africans were going through before and after they were granted their independence. Throughout the book, I have enjoyed reading Adah’s perspective. Because she was born handicapped, and her whole left side of the brain did not function, she viewed the world from a different perspective- backwards. While her sisters’ views of the people and events going on seem kind of shallow at times, Adah’s looks past the obvious, giving the reader a deeper and more enjoyable explanation of events in the book. My window moment in the book was Ruth May’s death. Since I have a little sister the age of Ruth May, I had a really hard time reading the part of the book where Ruth May dies.
Final Rating: 4.5 stars- a great Historical fiction and an enjoyable read!
Other Book Reviews
Map of the Congo
Article of violence going on in different cities on Africa, and the Congo
Reviewer: Lindsay Forecast (also liked Mary Jane and Dreamland)
Book Title: Water for Elephants
Author: Sara Gruen
Setting: United States (New York, Chicago, Rhode Island/New England)
Your review: Water for Elephants is about a man named Jacob Jankowski and his experience in the circus. He is telling his story when he is in his early nineties as if it were all a dream. His joining the circus helped him cope with the loss of his parents and discover himself. This circus is a collection of strays from failed shows and provides them with food and lodging. The circus turned out to be a family where most of the performers helped each other out. My favorite thing about this book it the way it shifts from present of when Jacob is ninety to when he is in his twenties at the circus. My window moment was when the ring leader of the circus tossed, around 8 working men over the trestle or pushed them off the train and two of them died, because these characters were in league with the man the ring leader was looking for the main character Jacob.
Final Rating: 4= Really Good
Links:
A Circus Parade in Connecticut:
/Circus Parade
Article:
/Train Accidents
Reviews:
/Water for Elephants Reviews
Reviewer: David Krieger(Also likes the giver and the hobbit)
Book title: I am legend
Author: Richard Matheson
Setting: New york, near future
My review: This is a griping story about a man and his quest to save humanity from extinction. the main character's name is Robert Neville and he is a surviver from a virus that broke out in the city. this virus kills most people but turns some into monsters and a very few people are immune. Robert Neville is one of the immune.This is a sad story about his quest to try to cure the monsters and find other immune humans. I really liked this because when you sit down and think about this it really seems like something very similar could happen, mabey not with zombies but the destruction. I think this story shows the potential of human destruction and what we can potently do.
Final Rating: 3or4
Reviewer: Tanguy (also liked Eldest and Golden Compass)
Book Title: A Journey to the Center of the Earth
Author: Jules Verne
Setting: The story starts in Hamburg and ends at Stromboli, Italy all while going through the center of the earth. 1863
Your review:
The book “A Journey to the center of the Earth” by Jules Verne start out really slow and boring like all of his book. But we still learn a lot from his extremely descriptive and rich writing. It is really only after 100 pages that they actually depart for
Snaefellsjokull where an ancient genius Arne Saknussemm was though to have found the way in to the center of the earth. While in side the earth they find a whole new world all while having to battle thirst and dangerous gases. They even encounter the famous giant mushroom the size of big houses. My favorite part was at the end when the com out of the sub terrain world, out of a volcano called Stromboli http://www.volcanolive.com/stromboli.jpg, which I have been too. It is a small volcanic island and it brought back good memories.
Reviewer: Greg Gruener. Yes I’ll admit it; I’m a big Harry Potter fan, although I don’t dress up as him or anything. I also like Other works by Carl Hiaasen including Lucky You.
Book Title: Nature Girl
Author: Carl Hiaasen
Setting: Florida’s “ten Thousand Islands”. Southwest Florida http://www.travelbygps.com/premium/everglades/salt.php this is info and pictures of the area the book took place in. It shows how easy it would be to get lost there.
Your review: Like most of Carl Hiaasen’s other books, Nature Girl has a twisted plot, absurd characters, and well, sick humor. Nature Girl starts with Sammy Tigertail, a Seminole, dumping a dead tourist into a river. In the next Chapter, Boyd Shrive, a telemarketer, calling up people and trying to get them to buy thing. You know, doing his job. However, Honey Santana, the main character of the book gets mad that he is calling her during dinner, they get in a fight, and Boyd ends up calling her a “Stuck up B****.” So, she hatches a plan to teach him some manners and, pretending to be telemarketer herself, tells Boyd that he has one a free trip to the keys. However, Honey, her son Fry, her Ex-husband, Boyd, his girlfriend Eugene, Sammy Tigertail, and Honey’s perverted boss Louie Piejack, all cross paths one way or another in the keys. Everything goes wrong for each of the characters and they all must find a way out of the keys somehow.
Another Review/ overview http://www.carlhiaasen.com/books/nature-girl.html
My “window” was that I did not even know that the Thousand Islands existed. It is a part of the country that I have never heard of and, of course, have never been to. It sounds very interesting, but the book describes it differently than the picture I found of the area.
Final Rating: 5 stars = MUST READ!!!! This book is Hilarious. You can find it at the Newton Public library.
Reviewer: Ben Grinberg (also likes Valhalla Rising, If Tomorrow Comes and Robert Ludlum)
Book: Iceberg
Author: Clive Cussler
When a luxury yacht is discovered frozen in the center of a giant iceberg floating across the North Atlantic Dirk Pitt sets out to find it. What he discovers is the charred remains of the crew and a missing cargo that could threaten nations. In the search for the ship’s cargo, Dirk Pitt reaches Iceland where he thinks the cargo is located. This book is very exciting, there were few times when I wasn’t on the edge of my seat. The author fills the book with action and mystery making it a good read. I like Dirk Pitt, he is kind of like James bond, not too much different, and he is just a little bit more believable. I recommend this book, if you like action, adventure, and mystery books this is perfect, and it will definitely make you want to read his other books.
Sherri Furtado said.....
Reviewer: Sherri Furtado (also liked The Making of Dr.True Love and Knocked by my nunga nungas)
Book Title: The Actual Real Reality of Jennifer James
Author: Gillian Shields
Setting: Midcaster, England in the 90's
Review: When sad little Jennifer's school is almost overturned by celebrities and money hungry producers, her life changes for the better despite the chaos around her. A reality show called Down the Bog is a survivor like show that is set in her school (London Comprehensive) where celebrities act as teachers and teachers run wild. The students, teachers, and celebrities are voted off week by week by callers from to a final three. Everyone is fighting for their chance at the prizes thatawait the lucky three. Jennifer is fighting for a chance to go to a school where she feels she will be accepted for wanting to learn. Through it all awkward Jenny is seen as the crowd favorite and feels more comfortable in her shoes than ever. A strained home life is turned around and it all seems to work out. Although this story lacked the snogfest sarcasm that Louise Renninson puts forth with the Georgia Nicholson Confessions (knucked out by my nungas nungas) it was a quick and easy read. I rate this book at a 2
Reviewer: Stephanie Dworkin (Also liked 19 Minutes and A Time for Dancing)
Title: The Kite Runner
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Setting: Kabul, Afghanistan
Review: The Kite Runner is a novel about a young boy named Amir and his Hazara friend Hassan who grow up in Afghanistan. The novel starts out with Amir reflecting back on his childhood from his new house in San Francisco, CA. Though Amir’s life in Afghanistan is very far in the past he stills feels guilt for something he did to Hassan. After loosing touch with Hassan, he is called back to Afghanistan to pick of Hassan’s son who is now an orphan. In the time that Amir started to flee and left the country, Afghanistan was taken over first by the Russians, and then by the Taliban. Both destroyed the country and Amir’s home that he once loved, became a location of poverty and crime. This novel is the gut wrenching story of Amir and Hassan’s relationship with one another as well as the story of what has happened to Afghanistan in the last few decades. My favorite thing about this story is that I was able to learn so much about Afghanistan and the government while also being taken into the heart and soul of Amir and Hassan. I really saw the meaning in this book when at the end of the novel when Amir and Hassan’s son sit under a tree in Pakistan and the son reflects on what his life has been like for the past few years in the new, corrupted Afghanistan. I believe that every person should read this book; it was a great reading and learning experience.
Final Rating: 5 Stars: MUST read
Other Book Reviews
Current Event
Reviewer: Rafael Neiman
Book: The Brothers Karamazov
Author: Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Setting: Skotoprigonyevsk, Russia, 1870
The brothers Karamazov is the story of three very different brothers and their incorrigible buffoon of a father. The oldest brother, Dimitri is feuding with his father over his dead mothers money and the beautiful clever lower class woman they both love. The middle brother Ivan, is extremely smart and has fallen in love with Dimitri's real wife who loves Dimitri despite his unfaithfullness. The youngest son Alyosha is a veritable saint and searches for spiritual meaning outside his monastery by doing all the good he can in the world. Got all that? The book becomes exceedingly more convoluted untill the father is violently murdered, Then it gets worse. Also the book has vast chapters devoted to mindblowing philosophical arguments(including socialism) that only russian novelists can do so well. I loved it. My window moment was when Alyosha attempted to make peace among a group of russian schoolboys. Its good to know that a hundred years later and half a globe away, kids are still stupid.
Final Review 5 out of 5 stars seriously an ill book
Post a Comment