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.