Tamar

This is a book about about a resistance group in World War 2 and of the girl trying to find out her grandfathers part in it. Tamar is the name of the girl and it is also the fake name given to her granddad in the war. He was given the job of underground transmitting. He worked in Holland. Tamar and Dart are partners in the war. They work with each other well for the first few months, but Dart loves the same girl Tamar is with. Dart takes lots of drugs during this time to stay awake for his job but they also mess with his mind. Ernst Lubbers is Darts fake I.D name. Dart is his code name. Christiaan Boogart is Tamar's fake I.D. name. The names Tamar and Dart are after rivers. This story is alot like a puzzle. Nothing seems to make sense but it all comes together in the end of the book. The ending is crazy. This is a good book for any one interested in war. The book is based on facts and fiction. I give this book a 5 out of 5.

Roughnecks

" I-left, Y open, inside belly right on first sound, first sound. Ready? He paused then we clapped our hands one time and together said, break! Stills turned and I trotted past him. Grooms was directly in front of the ball. He was resting on all fours. I crouched with my hands clasped, settled my feet, and reached for the ball for the snap. Hut hut! Hike! Grooms gambled on the count. He guessed and he was right. I was stunned. I was lying flat on my back and I wanted to stay there." One play costed the conference championship for Travis. One missed block and the Oil Camp Roughnecks lost. Jehrico Grooms of the Pineview Pelicans beat Travis on one play. Travis contained him most of the game but this one play is the one that counted. Travis's senior regular football season ended with an 8-1 record. It's one game they lost, but the undefeated record would have been a lot more glorious. Travis Cody is a senior this year at Oil Camp high. This year he's back on Varsity despite his previous year out with a serious injury. Travis's team the Oil Camp Roughnecks entered the playoffs with a great record, but a low self esteem. They made it all the way through to State. More confidence filled up there bellies then. On a Friday morning one week from state, Crews their coach announced their final contest opponent. The Pineview Pelicans Vs. the Oil Camp Roughnecks. A breath-taking re-match for the Roughnecks and Travis. Their previous match-up five weeks ago ended with a loss. One play costed it. Travis missed his block resulting in a turnover. Now he has the chance to over come that, to redeem himself. He has the chance to show everyone, this time he won't miss the block that counts. It's Travis Cody the center, versus Jehrico Grooms playing nose-guard all over again. That game was for the coference. A huge loss for them. But this time it's different. They're playing for the state title. Can Travis Cody and the Oil Camp Roughnecks win this time, or will they fail? This book is long, but builds up your adrenaline as you read. It takes over a short period of time. This book goes into extreme detail, almost minute by minute just until game time. I give this book a 3.5 out of 5, because it shows how much any game could mean to anyone. It's your senior year and you've made it to state. You either leave your high school graduated as a State Champion or a Runner up. The stakes are high for Travis and his team.

Brutal

I just finished an other book. The title of the book is called Brutal and is written by Kevin Weeks. Kevin weeks is not only an author but once a mobster. That is what this book is about. The organized crime of James "Whitey" Bulger a big time mob boss. This book is action packed with Kevins life of him growing up and him getting older. It tells how he got interduced with the mob and how he became on of them. This book is seriously unbelieveable and I loved every mintue of reading it. The whole book goes so deep into detail about everything he talks about. And I mean really deep into detail and mostly about murders and other horrible crimes. I really like this book alot. If you like mobs and that kind of reading this is the right book for you, i couldnt put it down. I give this book 10 out of 10

CRANK

Life was good
before I
met
the montser
After,
life
was great,
At least
for a little while.

17 year old Kristina Georgia Snow is America's Angel. Every one wants a daughter like Kristina. Super talented, quite and never troubled average teenage girl just trying to get through High School, get into a college and live the perfect life like her mothers.
A trip to visit her absentee father will change her life forever. Peer pressure, sex, making love, lust, drama and the monster. Kristina turns in to Bree an alterego. When Bree invites the monster into her life, she doesn't know what she's really in for. It's about to be a crazy ride back and fourth between heaven and hell.

Boot Camp

I just finished a book called Boot Camp by Todd Strasser. This book was amazing. I loved every minute of it. Im not a big reader but, spent 2 full Core Charter days reading the book straight that should really tell you something. This book is about a high schooler named Garrett. He is kiddnapped by a guy his parents hired to bring him to a place called Harmony Lake. This is a place for only "troubled teens". Garrett is very mad that his parents would ever do such a thing to him and he keeps wondering why they sent him here. Harmony Lake is pretty much a prison for teenagers. Everyone attending this "correction facility" has to speak to the camp directors as sir. If you do not they throw you in a concrete room and you have to lay face down on the floor as they beat you. Thats also how you sleep in that room. Its a hard time for Gerrett in the book. The only way he can graduate from this place is if he can live up to there standards of "matters". But he doesnt make there requiements and he can't stand to be there anymore. This book kept me on edge the whole time. And i just could not stop reading this book. I can really say it was one of my favorite books ever read. I say you read this book if you like surprising books. I give this book 10 out of 10

Generation Kill

Generation Kill is a 7-part miniseriers on HBO. This book is action packed and there is never a dull page. This book is all about the war after the September 11th attack. After the attack Bush sent in armed forces. This is about the Marines in the First Recon Battalion, there are the first generation of killers sent towards Iraq. All the men are suited up and ready to roll out when they get accompanied by a reporter named Evan Wright. All the men are so mad because they thought he was going to make them out to be "baby killers" in his writing. But when Evan tells them he wrote Hustler, the Marines really warmed up too him quickly. This book is also wrote by Evan Wright and everything that has happened in the squad he was assigned to "roll out" with. He writes his experiences in a little journal he has. He writes down all the towns he went through and the ambush they got setup in and ambush they carried out. Generation Kill has a great twist of things. Sometimes the chapters can be funny and make you laugh. Other chapters may bring tears to your eyes because of hearing how horrible war really is. An example, many times in the book he will be with Marines when they are holding roadblocks in town. The "gunny" (machine gunner on top of the humvee) he will fire one warning shot over they car, if the do not stop or turn around, the "gunny" has to shoot the driver no matter what or who is driving. It really tends to be a sad book but like i said it can be funny too. An example of a funny part in the book is that, once the reporter Evan, was trying to put on his gas suit but it was to small for him. When he tried getting it all the way on, it crushed his "area" and he fell to the ground screaming and everyone laughed at him. But one Marine felt bad and cut him out of the suit. You will really enjoy this book if you like war books or shooting and killing books. Generation Kill is more then filled with it. And it really opens your eyes to how truely brave our Marines really are.

Moon Called

I just finished the book called "Moon Called." It is about a girl who is friends with werewolfs and vampires, and she is also part werewolf herself. In the book, the main charactor is a girl called Mercy. Mercy has to find out who is trying to kill the secondary main charactor who's name is Adam. Adam is the Alpha male of a pack of werewolfs, and Mercy thinks that somebody that belongs to his pack is trying to kill him so they can be the Alpha. So, Mercy has to find out what is going on, and how to stop a plan that she doesn't even know who made. If you want to find out if Mercy finds out what is going on, and if she saves her clan, I would recomend reading this book.

Robert Lipsyte's Raiders Night

Dedication and commitment are great when it comes to becoming a successful football team. When it comes to becoming a "Raider" football player you are up for some extreme measures. Matt is a senior this year at Nearmont high school and is a captain on their Raider football team. He's their starting wide-out. Matt remembers what he had to do his first year at the end of football camp in order to become a "Raider", called "Raiders Night." They took a rag, blind folded him, and placed him on his back. Scared, in the background he could here sounds of belt buckles and pants dropping. "On your backs," a senior would say, "Open your mouths for the dipping of the tea bags." A few seniors would go around "tea bagging" the new kids using hot dogs and bagged rubber balls instead of the real things, but it sure scared them. Some would gag and others would throw up. This year as a senior, the same becoming a "Raider" ritual would take place. Ramp being the leader of the team. One of the new players lying on his back was some sort of threat and enemy to Ramp because they played the same position. Ramp was team contributor, but also a team bully. Ramp would go around doing the ritual, but when it came to Ramp's enemy Chris, something different happend. Something so vicious and cruel it would leave everyone in the room breathless and horrified. Knowing this could get into the public, the team kept it secret from everybody. Matt knew this wasn't right and fair. Chris was tortured with Ramps act upon him, leaving him scarred. Even though Ramp seems like a bad kid, it's only his decisions that hurt others. Like Matt's addicted to Vicodin, drinking, and steriods. Matt's drinking habbit caused a conflict over a girl he messed around under the influence with, and his preppy popular cheerleader girlfriend. That just adds on the stress for Matt. Who should he chose? Also with the whole Raider's Night putting extra heat in the air, his team is under the possibilty of losing it's popularty and royalty. It would break down the community if this got out in the open. The whole community is on crack down. No one cares about Chris, who had the potential to be a star athelete. All they want is for the football team to achieve their goal, winning state and earning scholarships for Matt and others. Will Matt play by Raiders rules, or do the right thing by telling what happend on Raiders Night? I thought this book was really good. It has real life examples of how teens react to certain things and how they go about their lives while committed to a team. This book may seem like the other one I read (Gym Candy), but it's totally different. Reading this book and Gym Candy can show how different other schools truly are and the hard hitting difficutlties a community have to go through. I give it a 4 out of 4.

Link to Author; Robert Lipsyte

Life of Pi

10/7/08

I am done reading my last book called "The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore." Now im reading another book called "Life of Pi" This book is about a 16 year old boy named Pi Patel who lives in India. In the begining of the book Pi is talking about going to school in Brazil to become a zoologist. He also explains about a project he is doing for one of his classes. His project is about three-toed and four-toed sloths and how they are different, and also similure. He also starts to tell the reader about his life when he was little, and how his parents named him after a swimming pool in Paris, France. Pi talks about when he was 7, a good friend of his family took him down to the beach so he could learn how to swim. It took him awhile to get used to it but, once he got used to being in the water he learned fast. Every week Pi's friend would take him to the beach and swim. Pi's friend always told stories about when he was in the olympics in Paris. He told Pi all about the swimming pools and beaches that they have in Paris. Although, most of them were very dirty and crowded. Pi also tells the reader about his father who is a zoologist. (As you can see, Pi wants to become a zoologist just like his father.) Pi also talks about the days him and his family lived in the zoo, and how every morning the roaring of the lions woke him up, just like an alarm clock. And when he went to school, he would have to walk through the zoo, passing all of the animals that would watch him walk by. Then Pi tells us how his fathers zoo closed down because of the people who thought zoos were inhuman. And that's all that i've read so far.

Why do clocks run clockwise?

This book, by David Feldman is about imponderable questions people have but have never gotten the answers to. A lot of them are things you encounter every day like why do clocks run clockwise? What happens to the tread that wears off tires? Why do doughnuts have holes? This book was very interesting. I learned a lot of random facts. I thought it was a good book. I would recommend this book to any one that thinks about the small things in the world.

Night Prey

Night Prey is the 6th book in the fast paced "Prey"series of John Sanford. My sister-in-law gave me the 3rd book called Eyes of Prey which I read and loved. Because of that book, I decided to continue with the series. Each book so far has been about a Minneapolis detective searching for a serial killer. Lucas Davenport is a street wise detective who has the ability to think like a criminal. He is the protagonist in each of the books. This book follows Lucas Davenport and his staff as they figure out the clues to try and catch the manic who is dropping bodies all over the Minneapolis area. In Night Prey the serial killer goes after quiet, ordinary women who kind of blend in with society. This guy is smart. He's had some experience and knows how not to leave clues/evidence behind, that is until he becomes fixated on a woman named Sara Jensen. He begins making some mistakes, and that's all Davenport needs to figure out the puzzle. This read kept me on the edge until the end. The ending was not what I was expecting at all. John Sanford is my new favorite author. I would recomend this book to anyone who likes excitement and suspense.

The Earth, My Butt, & other BIG Round Things

I just finished the book The Earth, My butt, & other BIG Round Things By: Carolyn Mackler. This book is about a girl named Virginia who is slightly over weight. Everyone in her family is skinny and popular and impossible to live up to. She does not have very many friends and the one friend she does have (Shannon) just moved 200 miles away. Virginia and her mother do not get along well. Her mother thinks down on her because she is "fat" and not pretty and popular like her other siblings. She is the only child left at home. Her sister just moved to Africa, and her brother is attending college. Well that is until they get a call from the administrators saying hes kicked out for a semester. Then everything takes a twist at the end of the book. They find out not every family is perfect and not ever life has a fairy tale ending.

Carl Deuker's Gym Candy

Shilshole High School is where Mick Johnson attends. This is a school where sports are everything, but mostly it's all about football. Mick Johnson enters Shilshole as a freshman, but as a varsity football player. From being watched in 8th grade he was a top notch player, a beast. He was an amazing running back, so he gets invited to play on varsity. From day 1 of his life, it's all about football. His dad, Mike Johnson was on the practice squad for the National Football League's San Diego Chargers as a Running back. Even though he was released due to code violations in Mike's preseason games, the pressure of having a dad that was in the NFL was all on Mick. All throughout high school Mick works hard to achieve being a starting running back. When he get's his goal, the pressure to become bigger size wise, lays on him. With Kane the other running back trying to pursue the starting position, the steroids become bigger in Mick’s eyes. He does everything it takes to become a super star football player. (This is on the back of the book. "Look, Mick," He said, "you're going to find out from somebody in the gym, so you might as well find out from me. Those supplements you're taking? They might get you a little bigger, but just a little. If you're after serious results, there's other stuff that produces better results much faster, stuff that a lot of guys in the gym use." "What other stuff?" Mick responds. "You know what I'm talking about; gym candy.") Sports aren't drugs, but they may act like some. You might find yourself addicted to the sport, doing what it takes to become amazing, but doing stuff that is risky. Risks like taking steroids. Even though this book is about the sport of football, I think it’s a great book. It reflects upon the pressures of being in a sport, and trying to become a great athlete. This book goes behind the scenes of one player who wants it all. To be great, fast, strong, and the best. This book shows what Mick tries to do to become a better athlete that has strong consequences. Read this book to find out what Mick does to become a great athlete and the consequences that road along his side the whole way. I rate this book a 5 out of 5 being one of my favorites. I recommend this book to anyone who likes sports, or someone who wants to know what it’s like to be an athlete and to see the pressures athletes deal with.

Here's a link to the author; Carl Deuker

The Devil Inside

I just got done reading this book called "The Devil Inside." I thought it was a really good book. In the begining, The main character, Morgan Kingsley is called to Topeka Kansas to do an exorcism on a seven year old girl. If you havn't noticed already, Morgan is a professional exorcist. Anyways, when Morgan gets to the location were the exorcism takes place, she noticed that the little girl was strapped to a metal table right in front of a incinerater. Morgan was really uncomfortable doing an exorcism on a little girl but, she knew she had to do it becuase if she didn't, the little girl would be burned alive. So, if Morgan couldn't get the demon out of the little girl, or she just didn't want to, the only other choice is to burn the host alive along with the demon. They all say that is the only way you can truly kill a demon. While Morgan was getting ready to do the exorcism, she could hear the metal cuffs creaking because the demon inside the little girl was trying to get loose so it could hurt or maybe even kill Morgan. Finally Morgan started the exorcism, and just as she started the demon was trying to posses her. She knew she had to do something before the demon got inside her so, Morgan gathered all of her strength and courage and fought one last time against the demon, then it was all over. After the exorcism, Morgan called her best friend Valerie, and they met at the airport so they could go back home. In this part of the book, you get to meet Morgan's boyfriend Brian. When Morgan gets home, her whole world seems to turn upside down. At first Morgan doesn't really notice it that much, but when things start to get a little more serious, she starts to think that a demon might of gotten in her. Throughout the whole book Morgan is trying to find out what is going on with her, and she also has to figure out what to do next to save her life, and also the life of everyone else.

Independent Reading Options for 2008-09

Student's will have two different grading options for Independent Reading. Students can journal everyday they read, or they can construct a project when they're finished reading their book. Rubrics for journals entries and projects can be found on Moodle in the Independent Reading course.

Summer Reading

What's everybody been reading?

Stray

Author: Rachel Vincent

I read this book and it was very interesting. This book is about a girl named Faythe and she is a Werecat. She is one tough girl. She started out in her family and she wanted independence from them. She made many attempts to escape from her home but they always brought her back. She worked so hard to convince her dad that she is able to live on her own. She doesn't want anyone to follow her. After years of fighting for her freedom, she was able to leave the pride land and go to college. Then different tabbies of different prides were being kidnapped. There are only a few Tabbies (female were cat) left. Faythe is now on a hunt to find out who is doing all this kidnapping and save her cousin who has been kidnapped from this stranger. Faythe is now in for a fight for her life between her life and the life of her cousin. I gave this Book a 4 out of 5!!

What I'm Reading

Right now I'm reading "The Heroin Diaries, A Year In The Life Of A Shattered Rock Star" This book is about Nikki Sixx, the bassist/songwritter for the well known band, Motley Crue. This book tells you when, how, and why Nikki Sixx's life got turned up side down, when he went spiraling through his life on drugs, perticularly heroin. The book starts out by telling you about Nikki's life growing up. He tells you about when he was about 1 or 2 years old his father left him and his mother. And when his mother used to pone him off to his grandparents. He says that he basically lived with his grandparents his whole life. Once he was a teenager, he was really into the whole rebel rocker scene, and wanted to start a band of his own. He tells you about his adventures when he first got to hollywood, and Los Angles. It tells you what he did when he found a couple of guys to make a band with. And when they got there big shot at becoming famouse. He tells you about all of the good and the bad things that go on when your in a famouse rock band. But, most of the stuff you get into comes with being a rockstar, and most of it's no good. Nikki states that " Before the band, I only lived for music, now that it started, I only live for the drugs."

Left Behind

By: Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins

Left Behind is a book that is part of a series about the last days on Earth. The series starts out with the people who were "left behind" that didn't truly believe in God. Everyone who did believe in God were taken to Heaven and they left behind all of the things they were wearing and most of all some of them left behind family and friends. There are four main characters in the story, Bruce, Chloe, Buck, and Rayford. Bruce was one of the main men in his church that didn't truly believe in God so he was left behind and since he knew about what happened, he became the reverend of the church and started to tell people what happened. In the bible it says everything that is going to happen in the end times and people the four main characters of the book started to meet once a week to study the end times. Two of the things that happened in bible is the rapture came and took people who believe in God, away. The other prophecy that happens is a ruler will come and everyone will like him but he's really not a good man, and he is called the Anti-Christ. It goes on to tell about how people are dealing with everything that is happening. The next books in the series tells about what else happens in the end times and what other prophecies from the bible come true.

here is a website that tells more about the next book in the series. > Tribulation Force

Twlight Series

This series of books is about a young girl who lives in (Phoenix,Arizona) with her mom and moves to (Forks,Washington) to live with her dad. This young girl name is Bella and she is in high school. Little does she know, that she is in for a big surprise. She falls in love with two guys, and doesn't know what to do. Bella is falling in love with a guy named Edward Cullan. Edward Cullan is a vampire and is insanely in love with Bella. But also Jacob Black is falling in love with Bella and he is a family friend. They have known each other for a very long time but what Bella doesn't know is that Jacob is a werewolf. She find herself in a bond with love. I give this series of books a (5 out of 5). Find out what people will do for true love!

Brutal By: Kevin Weeks

Brutal is about the big time mobster Jim "whitey" Bulger, and his days being a mobster until he had to flee the country because of the FBI. This book goes into great detail about how he ran his crew, killed people, and took care of business. Through his years Whitey extorted millions of dollars, shook down pimps and drug dealers, and had dirty cops working for him. I recommend this book to everyone. On a scale one through five, I give it a five.

One good Punch

By: Rich Wallace
CORE Rating: 4.4 (Out of 5)

The protagonist is a 17 year old named Mike. He is accused of having marijuana in his locker. Mike's only a few weeks away from graduation and he's a star on the track team. He's also starting to become romantically involved with one of his best friends- the rising action in this book is great! I really liked the way that Wallace incorporated Scranton, PA, and Gerry McNamara into the story.

Kimberlyreads

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