Brian's Winter

Ever read The Hatchet by Gary Paulsen? If so, then you'll love this. As you may or may not know, in The Hatchet, Brian is rescued in the fall, many readers asked the question "what if he wasn't saved?" This book answers that question. Brian overcomes many obstacles but you'll have to read the book to find out if Brian survives them! I would recommend this book to mostly guys, and people who loved The Hatchet. It received 9/10 stars from me!

Book Talk: Habibi

The book I read was "Habibi" by: Naomi Shihab Nye. In this book, there is a Arabian American family who recently moves to Palestine. The main character, Liyana is a teenage girl, and this move for her is very hard on her. She barely knows the language, and she doesn't care to learn about her nationality or origin, until one day her Grandma's house was destroyed due to them being Arabian. This kind of suspense and drama opens her eyes, and learns to enjoy her life and her country. Not only does this book have suspense and drama and helpful facts about Palestine, but it also has romance. She meets this new boy, who is Jewish named Omer. What Liyana doesn't know that is she is that it is wrong to be with Jewish people if she is Arabian. Find out what happens to the two and how they deal with their conflicting lifestyles. I rate this book an 8 out of 10 for it has many facts in it, but also suspense, drama and romance, so pick this book up and read it!

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay is the 3rd and final book of the Hunger Games series. The main character, Katniss, has been used in a plan to start the rebellion against the Capital while she was unaware of it. She now represents the rebels while they revolt against the Capital and she gets thrown into the war. During the war, Katniss realizes that the real enemy may not be who she thinks it is. She has to make many tough decisions that could affect the rest of her life and the lives of many others. I thought this was a good book, although it had a slow beginning. This book had many surprises to keep me reading and interested in the book. I would recommend this book to someone who likes a book with a lot of adventure and action in it or to someone who is looking for a good, exciting story to read.

I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

I read I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. I would give this a 4 out of 5 because it was one of those books where I couldn't put my book down. Throughout this story, the main character, Ed, receives playing cards and on the cards it has addresses or clues to where he's supposed to go. During his missions, he tries to find out who could possibly be behind all this because Ed was a nobody in his society just a simple, under-aged taxi driver. If you want to know what happens at each address and find out who's behind all this, then you definitely should read this book. I recommend this book to people who love mystery and action stories.

Tales of The Greek Heroes

I read a book called Tales of The Greek Heroes, and this book is pretty much a breakdown of a lot of the gods in Greek Mythology. Each chapter is a different god and some are even just stories/myths. This book is very interesting, and I recommend it to people that like to read about all the different gods. I would give this book a 9 out of 10 because its just fun to read and it's interesting. In this book you'll read about famous gods like Poseidon and Zeus, and some of the other lower not so known gods, like Dionysus and Perseus. So if you like Greek mythology, I'd definitely recommend picking this book up.
-Konrad Markowski-

13 Reasons Why

13 Reasons Why by: Jay Asher is about a girl named Hannah Baker who commits suicide. The book is told by Clay Jensen, a member of Hannah's list, and Hannah herself on tapes before her death. On the tapes Hannah tells stories about the people who connect to her death. I would recommend this book to both boys and girls because not only is it a great book but, it has an important message. The message is, people have an impact on the lives of others. It's not possible to know everything else going on in a person's life and how you might be adding to their pain.

13 Little Blue Envelopes

The book I read for this quarter is called 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson. The book is about a young girl who gets 13 blue envelopes from her recently deceased aunt. Each envelope has a number and a task, and she can't open the next envelope until that task is complete. These 13 little blue envelopes will take her on an exciting adventure across Europe. Read the book to see what exciting things her aunt has instore for her. I would rate this book a 9 out of 10, because there are some boring parts, but it is overall a really good book. I would recommend this book for girls who like reading about travel.

Chasing Lincoln's Killer By: James L. Swanson

Lincoln's deaths, a famous story of a southern extremist who takes action; is it so? This book, historically accurate, explains in depth the conspiracy behind the assassination of our beloved sixteenth president. Entering deep into the intentions of the failure, John Wilkes Booth, and his gang of bandits, this book is a shocking eye opener showing the audacity of the conspirators. I would give this book a five out of five stars, not only for its amazing story but because it is surprisingly true. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone who is fascinated by real historical facts.

What My Mother Doesn't Know- Erin Peiss

What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones, in my opinion, was a very good book. I would give it a 9.5 out of 10. This book is written in all poetry from the point of view of a 14 year old girl, she tells all about her mom, her boyfriend, her school life, and she gets pretty down and dirty about her personal life. I would recommend this book to mostly teenage girls. But hey, guys feel free too. I read this book in two days and for me that's crazy, so if it sounds good to you, read it. :)

Lock and Key By Sarah Dessen.

In the novel Lock and Key written by Sarah Dessen, 17 year-old Ruby's life is turned upside down when her alcholic mother decides to abandon her with no food, running water, or money to pay the bills. She would rather live in those conditions then live in a gated community with her sister who left ten years earlier, Cora, Suddenly her life is transformed: attending a private school, brand name clothing and maybe even college? With a new neighborhood and school a normal teenager would want friends right? Wrong, with her rough and haunting past Ruby won't let anyone in. Except for her neighbor Nate, who may be more like her then she thinks and has plenty secrets of his own. I would rank this book a 10 out of 10 because Sarah Dessen really makes you hang on every word and makes you never stop reading.

By: Surina (using Marykate's email...)

Party by Tom Leveen

As summer break comes closer it seems like all we can think about is sleeping in, hanging out with friends, getting a nice tan, and going to parties. Party by Tom Leveen tells a story about 11 different teens, who are summer break, who all go to this big party! This book is unique because it starts with one person telling the story and then the story continues from all of 11 of characters. I would highly recommand this book to anyone!

The Summer I Turned Pretty

This quarter for my independent reading project, I read the book "The Summer I Turned Pretty", by Jenny Han. The main character in this book, Belly is always ignored by her brother and his friends then they go to the lakehouse for the summer. But this year, the boys actually start to pay attention to her. To find out the adventures they experience, you can go to the Fremd Media Center and check this book out. I would mainly recommend this book for girls. i rate this book a solid nine out of ten.

Book Talk "Peak" By Roland Smith

My book is about a boy named Peak Marcello who's passion in life is to climb mountains. Unfortunatley for Peak, he lives in New York City; surrronded by tall skyscrapers. So, Peak decides to climb a skyscraper. Due to some legal issues, Peak is forced to live with his father, who also loves to climb. Peak's dad ows a climbing company; selling gear, and leading expedtions to the summits of numerous mountains. So while Peak is with his dad, his dad offers him the chance to climb Mount Everest. The tallest mountain in the world. Peak's birthday is in a couple weeks, and if he summits before his birthday, he will be the youngest person to ever summit the tallest mountain in the world. Read the book to find out if Peak makes it to the top before his birthday; or to the top at all.

Million Dollar Throw

I read the book Million Dollar Throw. I liked the book at some parts but at other parts it was kind of boring because it got repetitive. The main character Nate has the chance of a life time. He got the chance to throw a football through a target 20 yards away at a Patriots game. If he makes the ball through the target the he wins one million dollars. You'll have to read the book to find out he he gets the ball through the target and wins the million dollars.

Freezer Burn Blues By:Shannon Danford

In the book the story takes place in south Florida. The main character is a young woman named Sonny. She takes care of an old man who is close to death. He writes a new will for his workers and family but it doesent go into effect until the wensday after he died. Under pressure Sonny hides his body in an oversized freezer and tries to hide him for a few days. Then comes a hurricane and the power goes out. Will they keep the body hidden? Find out when you read it.
This book is for people who like comedy.
 
By Erik

Warrior Heir by Cindy Chima

Jack, a teenage soccer player was told by his famiuly and his doctor since childhood that he had a heart condition, and needs to take medicine frequently. Soon enough, Jack finds out that he's a lot more than he though he was. Jack goes on a trip with his aunt to find some things about his family history, and discovers his true self, A warrior heir. Although there is a lot of fantasy in the storyling, Cindy still manages to get some drama into the story. I would recommend this book to fans of most genres. Find out more at www.cindychima.com

Virgin Suicides by: Jeffery Eugenides

Virgin Suicides is a book about the Lisbon family, they have five teenage daughters that all commit suicide in different ways. The youngest daughter Cecila cuts her wrists in the bath tub, the medics get her out in time. Their father believes that they need to have a party, to make all the girls happy. At the party Cecila jumps out of her bedroom window, killing herself. After this occurs the father decides to pull the girls out of school and away from their friends. Throughout the remainder of the novel the other four Lisbon girls all kill themselves in different ways, at the end the two parents pick up and move to a new place. I thought this book was riviting and very attention keeping. I would recomend to more towards girls then guys.


By Erin Peiss
period 1 Nickow

Fallout

This quarter, i read the third and final book in the Crank Series, Fallout. Ellen Hopkins started this story with a young, ambitious girl, Kristina Snow, visiting her father in Nevada. Before you know it, Kritinas life is turned around. Fallout tells the story from three points of view, each from a different child of Kristina's. I would recommend this whole series to any teenager who likes an interesting story that is loosely based on real-life events.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows By: Jk Rowling

I read the seventh book in the Harry Potter series by Jk Rowling, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. In this book Harry's journey to vanquish The Dark Lord, Voldemort, is soon coming to an end. Harry must find all the Horcruxes that contain a piece of Voldemort's soul. Without Dumbledore helping along his side, he runs into a few bumps in the road. Luckily, Harry's friends are beside him to help. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure, a little bit of mystery and romance. This book will surely have you on the edge of your seat.

Heist Society By: Ally Carter

The book I read is called Heist Society by Ally Carter. It's about a girl named Kat who's family business is high class robbery. She tries to get out of this risky business by scamming her way into an elite boarding school. However, she is pulled back into this hectic life when a very famous, very dangerous mobsters paintings are stolen from his mansions and Kat's dad is the only person on his suspect list. Now with the help of some friends, Kat must pull off what perhaps could be the biggest heist in her family's history. Even though this book has a lot of action and suspense I would recommend it for girls only. This is one of my favorite books that I have read.

reading journal

Title of book: BAIT By: Alex Sanchez This book is mainly about a young kid named Diego who punches a kid just because he looked at him weird, so from there he is sent on probation. He has a lot of issues and he really needs to visit his councelor to get some help because he really needs it. As the book goes along he is telling Mr. Vidas aka his councelor all of his deep and darkest secrets. I recommend this book because its a quick and easy read to get through. Also if you want to find out what this Diego kid has gone through and what he does with the shark tooth his stepfather gave him.

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Sophie lived in the town of Market Chipping, which was in Ingary, a land in which anything could happen, and often did-especially when the Witch if the Waste got her dander up. Which was often. As her younger sisters set out to seek their fortunes, Sophie stayed in her father's hat shop. Which proved most unadventurous, until the Witch of the Waste came in to buy a bonnet, but was not pleased. Which is why she turned Sophie into and old lady. Which was spiteful witchery. Now Sophie must seek her own fortune. Which means striking a bargain with the lecherous Wizard Howl. Which means entering his ever-moving castle, taming a blue fire-demon, and meeting the Witch of the waste head-on. Which was more than Sophie bargained for.

I suggest this book to people who like fantasy but it isn't: "Oh look a unicorn! Lets play forever in Strawberry Meadow with it!" This is a down to earth book with characters that have common sense. It contains an interesting connection between our worlds "Wales" and their world. The book is not like the movie although it does contain some similarities.

Lucky by Rachel Vail

I recommend this book to girls and if you like realistic drama about friends and boys.. enjoy!

The end of eighth grade is coming soon. Phoebe Avery and her group of friends plan this huge graduation party for the whole eighth grade. Everything at the party was to be perfect from fashion photographer to engraved invitations. All Phoebe needed was the perfect dress to attend the party in. She had everything she ever wanted and everything was going smooth in her life until her family hits a financial crisis. Her dad suggests to cancel the party because Phoebe isn't able to help pay her share of the party's price. Also, Phoebe's crush is now giving mixed signals and on top of that her friends are suspicious about Phoebe and her family because Phoebe has been acting weird around them. Read the book to see if her family survives at the end, if she gets her dream dress, and if the party still continues!

The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox

I read a book called The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox. This book won the John Newbery Medal, and it is loved by many people. The genre of this book is historical fiction, and it takes place in the 1840's in New Orleans. The protagonist of this book is Jessie, a thirteen year old boy who lives in New Orleans with his mother and her sister. Back in the 1840's, there were slave markets in New Orleans where African Americans were sold. Jessie went to slave markets to see the slaves even his mother told him not to go. One day his mother was out of candles, so she told Jessie to borrow some candles from her aunt. On his way back home from his aunt's house, he gets kidnapped by two men, and he gets forced to aboard a ship to Africa. Jessie realizes he was on a slave ship, and discovers that he was taken to be the "slave dancer" of the ship. A slave dancer has to play his fife to make the slaves dance to keep them fit during the long voyage. So as the ship's boy, he plays his fife, and makes them dance. During the long voyage, Jessie learns the realities of sea life, and the brutality that the slaves face. Can Jessie get back home to New Orleans? Find it out! Readers of this book can learn how terrible the slaves were treated back in those days. It was a fantastic book, and I recommend this book to everybody who likes historical fiction!

Ambition By: Kate Brian

During 3rd quarter,I chose to read Ambition (the seventh book of the Private novel series) by Kate Brian. Reed Brennan, the newly elected Billings House president, is now tasked to save Billings, to do this she must raise 5 million dollars in a month's time. Preparing for the fundraiser is not all Reed has on her plate, she must also deal with being framed with Cheyenne's murder, losing the love of her life,Josh,to her arch enemy,Ivy Slade, and going on dates with eligible bachelors of Easton Academy. Will Reed Brennan's fundraiser be a success? Will she find Cheyenne's real murderer or will she get to Reed first? Will she ever fall in love with another "Josh" again? Read Ambition to find out! - Surina Lewandowski

Catching Fire by: Suzanne Collins

I read Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. This is the second book of the Hunger Games series. This book is about how Katniss and Peeta go on their victory tour around the Districts after they won the hunger games competition. The Districts are starting to rebel against the Capitol so, while Katniss and Peeta are on tour, they need to find a way to lead the districts away from rebelling against the Capitol. If the Districts do end up rebelling, Peeta and Katniss will be blamed for it and could get killed or have their family members and their close friends killed. I thought this was a good book, but I liked the first Hunger Games book better because this book had a slow beginning and did not get exciting until the middle of the story. This book had many interesting surprises in it. I would recommend this book if you liked the first Hunger Games book or if you are looking for a good, exciting story, you should read the Hunger Games series.

The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal Ball By:Risa Green

When I was little I got a cheap plastic magic eight ball. It was one of those things that you ask a question and shake. It then gives you an answer like yes, no, or ask again later. Anyways, this is the type of gift Erin Channing got from her Aunt in this book. Hers is a little different though. Unlike some five dollar toy you could probably buy from Walmart, Erin's actually works. Any prediction the crystal ball makes comes true, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. The rules that came with the crystal ball are on the back cover of the book. Erin tries to decipher their meanings throughout the whole story. I usually really like books with clues, letters, or something different about them, but this one was only okay. It talked about dealing with a difficult loss and true friendships. I would recommend it for teenage girls who like books with a lot of surprising twists in them.

Echo By: Kate Morgenroth

In this book, Echo, by: Kate Morgenroth, this teenager, Justin before was popular, had the prettiest girl in the school, was the star athlete and got good grades. It wasn't until his younger brother, Mark killed himself, that his whole life turned upside down. His whole life changed not just because his was brother dead, but everyone thought he was the one who killed his brother. Justin needed help and he didn't get that until after about a month, he woke up with this voice in his head, almost like his conscious. This voice told him what to do and where to go during the day. What was weird was that Justin had to go through the same school day with this voice in his head, three times. For this reason because he needed to figure out why he tried to kill himself that day and why there were random spots of blood everywhere and why his mirror all of a sudden broke. At first, when I was reading this book I didn't understand most of it, but since each day was gettting clearer and more suspensful, it kept me on my toes and wanting to read more. This book is a very sad, depressing book, but it does help you to realize the silver lining in every day, even when you think it's the worst day of your life. Read this book, Echo, and find out what happens to Justin and how he copes with his depressing life.

Lockdown

Lockdown is a book by Alexander Gordon Smith. This book is about a boy named alex thats kind of a typical junior high school bully, like the ones you see in movies. He takes territories on the playground and takes kids lunch money. One day him and his friend Toby are robbing a house and everything goes wrong. No one is home except for the blacksuits... they are owners of a prison called Furnace. They shot Toby and framed Alex, Alex had nothing else to do but run. Eventually he got caught, and sent to Furnace. There, the prison is underground and filled with gang members and violence. People say that its literly  hell and that the warden is the devil. Read this book to see if Alex can escape, let alone survive this hell. I would recommend this book to anyone, i absolutely loved this book and it kept me reading. Its very interesting and filled with action and mystery. Great book overall.
-Konrad Markowski- 

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

This book is interesting because of the unique way the author tells the story. It isn't just all fiction, the vampire part of the story is mixed in with the true facts of Abraham Lincoln's life. From childhood until his death, you learn how vampires affected his life. If you like fighting, action and presidents fighting alongside and against vampires, then this book is something you must read. Even if you don't like vampire story's, you should get Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith.

Under A War-Torn Sky

For those of you wanting suspense, action, and drama, this is the book for you. This book is about a boy named Henry who flies a b-24 bomber. On one of his raids, his plane is shot down by the Luftwaffe (German air force) and he and the crew bail out of the plane. Henry, the last of his crew, tries to make his escape to freedom, he is at the mercy of citizens who can choose not to help. Will he survive, or will he be captured? This story is nonfiction, but the characters are fake. I give this book five out of five stars. The in depth descriptions of this book is unreal. The title of the book is "Under A War-Torn Sky" by L.M. Elliott. If you don't read it, your missing out.

The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton.

Ever wonder what it was like growing up in the late 1960's? Low class kids in the 1960's, more specifically 1967, were called greasers. The rich kids in were called Socs. This story is about their differences growing up in the same town. During one of their fights, a young greaser stabbed one of the head socs, causing a huge comotion. The ending of this book is very intence and I didn't see it coming at all. Overall, this book was wonderful. S.E Hinton did a great job of describing everything for you and there is never a dull moment while reading this book. I recommend this book to everyone!

The Best Book Ever

This is the best book ever.

The Twenty-One Balloons

In my book, The Twenty-One Balloons, by William Pene du Bois, Professor William Waterman Sherman goes on a hot air balloon ride, from San Francisco and trys to fly over the Pacific Ocean. His expedition is disurbed, when he encounters a little storm making him crash on an island named Krakatoa. Krakatoa is an unknown volanic island with only 40 people living there. The people there are normal, but their ideas are out of this world! He finds a way out and then goes on to tell his experiences.

No English Teacher Could Be That Bad...

The book I read is called Killing Mr. Griffin, by Lois Duncan. You will love this book if you enjoy mysteries and suspense. In this book, there are a group of friends who strongly dislike their English teacher, so they always joke about how they want to kill him. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, so if you want to know what happens to the hated English teacher, you should read it!

Picture for week of 1/10-14/11

Our English final is on January 19. This week we spent time reviewing for our English final with the whole class and we worked with classmates too. Good luck period one!

Week of 1-10 1-14

This week we spent a lot of time reviewing for finals. We had a review game where we broke up into teams and made a list of what we thought would be on the finals. There were three winning teams that though of the most things that would be on finals. We also got a review sheet to help us study for finals over the weekend. We also got a survey for Valentines day to find out who would be the best match for us. The survey results will be back before Valentines Day.

Picture for week of 1/3-1/5

This week we prepared for the Explore test by taking a practice test. We will only be taking the reading session next week.

During my break I went to the Christkindle Market in downtown Chicago. The Christkindle Market is a Christmas market that originated in Germany. Different venders come from around the world to sell their holiday goodies. The Christkindle Market came to Chicago and is located at the Daily Center. It is open November 24th to December 24th. No matter how bad te weather, there is always a long line for the traditional German food, including the German bratwurst, and the Lebkuchen Gingerbread. This has been a tradition in our family since my mom was in highschool and lived in Germany for five years. When the Christkindle market came to Chicago she started bringing me every year.