A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

By: Betty Smith 

Synopsis: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn follows the life of a second generation Irish-American girl named Francie, in the first two decades in the 20th century. Francie lives in Brooklyn with her parents and little brother Neeley. The book is about the successes and struggles the family faced and how Francie dealt with them. It's a coming of age story about a poor Irish girl who just wants to pursue her education. 

Review: This is a book that you can't forget once you read it. It was pretty long and it was hard to read during certain times but it's unforgettable. This is a Historical Fiction novel full of emotions.The book made me feel angry, sad, happy, and excited as I read about Francie's incredibly hard life. Personally I love immigrant stories and I love learning about the history of these immigrants and the hardships they faced. It reminds me of how lucky I am now, and it shows how my ancestors felt and shows me what kind of things they went through. This book is full of history and is just an amazing book overall. 

 

Champion (Book Three of the Legend Trilogy)

Champion 

by: Marie Lu 

Synopsis: June and Day are back working with the Republic, both have important new jobs. When everything is getting back to normal, a new disease breaks out and rips through the Colonies. June knows how to stop it and could save thousands of lives, but she will have to ask her love, Day, to give up everything he has. 

Review: This book is crazy and full of surprises. It's very exciting and most of all very very very sad. Although it's sad, it has a REALLY good ending. It doesn't end like one would think and I think that's why I liked it so much. It had a different kind of ending, which makes you make your own conclusions. Some people don't like that, and I didn't at first, but now I appreciate the different ending. The first one is still the best, but it was nice to see Day and June's relationship develop. Overall it was a great book with a great ending to a great trilogy. 

Prodigy (Book Two of The Legend Trilogy)

Prodigy 

by: Marie Lu 

Synopsis: Prodigy starts right where Legend left off, June and Day are on the run. The Republic thinks Day is dead, and now June is the Republic's most wanted traitor. They are out of money and out of ideas, so they are forced to turn to the rebellion group, the Patriots. Day and June have to decide whether the Patriots are actually better than the Republic. 

Review: Being the second book, I had very high expectations because usually the second book is my favorite, and since Legend was so good, I couldn't wait to read it. Unfortunately I was disappointed. The characters changed drastically. In Legend I loved Day, everything about him, he was funny and always had something witty to say. While June was a little annoying, and was always negative and angry.  However, in Prodigy it switched, it was like Day was a different person, he was not as funny and he was kind of pessimistic and always angry. It was sad. Eventually they switch back to there own selves, with June being a better person. But it wasn't all bad, the story picked up right where it left off and it made me want to read and finish it quickly, which I did. Overall it was still very good, (just not as good as Legend). I definitely will reread it, hopefully soon. 

Legend (Book One of The Legend Trilogy)

Legend 

By: Marie Lu 

Synopsis: In what was once The United States, the Republic now stands. The Republic is constantly at war with it's neighbors. Born into an elite, and one of the wealthiest families in the Republic, 15 year-old June is a prodigy, and being groomed to become one of the highest Military officials. Born in the slums, 15 year-old Day is the most-wanted criminal in the country. But his motives might not be as cruel as they seem. One day June's brother is killed and the prime suspect is Day. June makes it her mission to find and bring Day to justice, while Day tries to keep his family alive. 

Review: This is an amazing, fun, exciting, and over all great book. Day, June, and all the other characters are interesting and each have something amazing about them. I can't think of anything bad about this book, besides the fact that my copy, Day's chapter were written in gold while June's were written in blue, and that it hurt my eyes. It's so amazing and impossible to put down. The relationships in this book are extraordinary, whether it's friendships, siblings relationships, or romantic relationships, they all are amazing. I read it last year and can't wait to reread it! A ton of people I know have read it and throughly enjoyed it, some of them don't even like to read, and they loved it. Overall it's a wonderfully well-written book that everyone should read. It also is the first of a trilogy (Prodigy is the 2nd, and Champion is the 3rd).

 

The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried

by: Tim O'Brien 

Synopsis: The Things They Carried is about the experiences of O'Brien's platoon in the Vietnam War. It's told in O'Brien's point of view and describes what it was like to be in the Vietnam War. 

Review: I read this for my English class and I thought I was going to hate it. But it was very good and I enjoyed reading it. Even though the description makes it sound non-fiction, O'Brien actually made it all up. This was extremely frustrating because I thought it was real and cried and was moved by this real experience, to only find out towards the end that it was made-up. It also was rather deep, like a war story should be, but O'Brien wrote in a way that confused and frustrated me. You had to dig and think very hard to get the real meaning, which was actually very cool. If you want to read a book that doesn't make you think, this is not the book for you. It was a good book, with great characters, and a great story. 

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Will Grayson, Will Grayson 

by: David Levithan 

and John Green

Synopsis: This is about a depressed boy named Will Grayson, who randomly meets another boy with the very same name. He believes it's fate and they become friends in a way. They both are very different but are both going through something. Both Will Grayson's are friends or become friends with Tiny, who writes the most amazing and most fabulous musical to ever be seen on a high school stage. It's told in alternating views between the two. 

Review: This was an amazing book. It's extremely funny and actually made me laugh out loud. But it also is serious and sad. I read it in about 2 days. At first I wasn't sure because one of the Will Graysons, wrote in all lowercase and not in proper English. It also was sort of dark and I don't really like dark stuff at all, but the comedy evens it out and it turned out great. I am so glad I kept to it and read it all because it is probably one of the funniest books I've ever read. I also really like the end. The other thing that was really cool was that the two authors, David Levithan and John Green, both wrote as a Will Grayson. Usually I would say that that wouldn't work but they made it work so well. This emphasized the differences in the two characters, so when the two different authors wrote, two different characters wrote. They worked nice together to produce a funny, real book that makes the readers feel. 

The Crucible

The Crucible 

By: Arthur Miller 

Synopsis: The Crucible is a play about the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The play is based on real events and the characters are based off of historical people that were actually involved. As Abigail as their leader, this group of girls accuse dozens of people of being witches. This is taken to court because they live in a Puritan society, which is a religion. In court the accused people are given the choice of weather to confess that they are witches or they will be hanged. This obviously causes many issues which need to be resolved throughout the play. 

Review: I usually don't enjoy reading plays, but because it's historical fiction I mostly liked it. It definitely was interesting but it was a little to dramatic for me at certain parts. Also if Miller's point was to make me hate Abigail, he did a great job. Everything about her was annoying. It was very interesting to learn about the witch trials, which I thought I knew, but really didn't, about what happened. Although some stuff was boring, hard to read and understand, and confusing it was still a good read. I'm glad I read it but I probably will never read it again. It also is something I wouldn't recommend to anyone unless it was for school, which is the only reason why I read it.