Shelf Life

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is about a retarded man named Charlie Gordon who gets a second chance in life when he is selected to have a brain surgery that will increase his intelligence. After surgery, Charlie is becoming more and more smart. However, his emotions start coming in his way when he starts going back to his past and starts finding out how badly he was treated. With these memories, he learns more and more information about his family and himself which is weakening his heart with pain. Most importantly, he is facing his fear of having a relationship with a woman. After much searching and thinking, he wishes he hadn’t done the operation. Then, he starts working on his experiment but in the end he is unable remember it. For one to know how a writer forgets his own experiment, he/she has to read this eye opening book.

By Nina Bajwa

Swallowing Stones is a story of a girl who witnesses her fathers death. A boy more than a mile away shoots off a gun that he gets for his birthday into the air. Not knowing that the gunshot hit an innoccent man in the head. The girls father. The boy doesn’t tell anyone that he shot the gun on the day of his birthday, so he ends up having to hinde from the police. And he aslo starts to find out as much as he can about the girl. And one day he follows her into the woods and sees her asleep. He decides that when she wakes up he might tell her everything that happened.

By Denise Pulido

Night by Elie Wiesel is a story about Wiesel’s life in the Nazi concentration camps. The setting of the book Night by Elie Wiesel is the Holocaust. The book’s themes include deportations, denial, optimism, false hope, and God. Night is enjoyable and has something for everyone. He is a 15 year old boy when he is sent to the concentration camp of Auschwitz with his father. His father and him are separated from his mother and sisters forever. It is a very powerful book because of all of the description that takes place in the novel. The first day Wiesel goes to the camp he sees babies being burned in pitches of fire. Wiesel changes a lot through out the novel his faith in God is gone in the middle of the novel but in the end Wiesel’s ability to believe in himself lets him believe in his God again. Wiesel’s experiences described in the novel show the causes and the degree to which the Jewish prisoners in the concentration camp were dehumanized and how many of those prisoners who survived were permanently scarred.

By Perveen Mann

April 27, 2006
The novel Born Confused is about a teenage girl, Dimple Lala. Dimple turns seventeen and suddenly realizes that life is more complicated than ever. Her parents are trying to set her up with a traditional, suitable boy but her best friend, Gwyn, falls for him instead. Dimple wants an unsuitable but what happens when the traditional and suitable boy her parents tried to set her up with becomes unsuitable? Throughout the novel, Dimple struggles in trying to understand her culture and her best friend. She tries to ignore the fact that she is curvy and Indian; instead, she tries to behave like her best friend who is American. Dimple does not want the suitable boy, Karsh, but when she sees him at a club, he becomes suitable. She falls in love but does not want to tell her best friend. I recommend this book to all teenagers who think that only their life is complicated. I also recommend this book to girls who are struggling with their traditional and the American culture. The novel keeps you hooked and is very humorous. It teaches about trying to find yourself and your culture in the midst of peer pressure and teenagers. I really enjoyed this book.

By Gurpreet Kaur

Night by Elie Wiesel is a powerful novel. It is a terrifying recollection of the author’s experiences during the Holocaust. It is a very painful novel and will touch anyone who reads it. I recommend this book to all readers who are willing to know about a Jewish individual’s life during this horrific time.

Elie Wiesel is the author and the protagonist of the novel. He is living in Sighet, Romania and in 1944 he and his family are deported to Birkenau, a concentration camp. Here Elie is separated from his mother and sister and is left to fight this struggle with his father, Chlomo. Elie and his father move from camp to camp and pretty soon Elie is protecting his father instead of his father protecting him. Elie loses faith in God and is determined to fight this ordeal on his own. Elie questions God for he doesn’t understand why this is happening to them.

Throughout the novel many incidents affect Elie’s life. His father dies and now it is up to Wiesel to go to the end of the road and survive. Elie Wiesel changes greatly throughout the plot. However, you must read the novel to find out if Elie Wiesel is able to overcome the hardships and live on. This is a very powerful novel and I was glad that I read it. Moreover, I can honestly say that after reading this novel I have been affected greatly.

By Jyotti Pannu

The Chocolate War is a good book. The book is about a young freshmen, Jerry Renault, and how he arouses the wrath of the scool bullies, the Vigils, after refusing to sell chocolates for his school’s annual fund raiser. The bullies decide to make his years in high scool miserable until he decides to sell the chocolates. I enjoyed this book because of Jerry’s decision to face the school bullies head on and not sell the chocolates.In my opinion this book is a must read because its a good story of what the new kid at school, Jerry, faces.

By Carlos Alvarez

In the book A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray, Gemma Doyle is taken from her home in India, and sent to a finishing school in London. While she is there, she learns about the schools history, and the death of two girls and a teacher that happened many years before she arrived.This book has mystery, supernatural powers, and a good storyline. It is a really interesting book and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys mystery or supernatural stories.

By Kim Davis

Do you like a story full of mystery, adventure and fruit? In the novel Black, Thomas Hunter, the protagonist, is a writer that has found himself in trouble with the Mafia. One night, they find him and a chase ensues. A stray bullet clips Thomas’ head, and he is knocked unconscious. When he wakes up, he is another world full of black. The sky is black, the trees look like they have been burned, and thousands of hostile black bats cover the trees. They attack him, and he faints. When he wakes up, he is back in Denver with a massive headache. He soon finds out that whenever he falls asleep, he wakes up in another world. Now he is caught between the two worlds, each on the brink of destruction. In one, a virus threatens to destroy the whole world. In the other, a massive battle between good and evil threatens the entire planet, and only Thomas can save them both.

This is the first book in the Circle Trilogy. I know that every book review says that their book will keep you on the on the edge of your seat, in suspense until the last page, so I won’t (but it does). This book is like a cross between the Matrix and Lord of the Rings, with action and romance so it’s perfect for the ladies as well. I greatly recommend this book for anyone who is sick of studying theme, symbolism or anything else that the English teachers try to cram into us, and just want some brain candy.

By Ian Naldi

After reading the novel Children of the River by Linda Crew i found myself rapped in her story. Taking place during the attacks in Cambodian a young girl named Sundara and her relatives escape capture and flee to America. Here pressured by her family to focus only on school and work she finds herself losing that focus to the most popular boy in school, who seems to be highly interested in her. But that’s only one of her problems as Sundara waits for news about her parents and siblings she left behind as everyone around her is receiving either bad or good news, while all the time being haunted by an incident that happened to her on the journey to a new life. How will Sundara balance her new life all while falling in a love with someone she shouldn’t even talk to? Will she ever see her family again or will she continue to wonder if they’re alive? The only way to find out is to read it, which I most definitely recommend you do. Have Fun!

By Kimberly Machado

Is it better to be a little different, and be aware of it, or to be really weird, and have no idea? And what is society’s responsibility to people like this?

Christopher Creed is an odd kid. He doesn’t seem to have appropriate social skills for a high school student. Other students mock him, play tricks on him, and even hit him, if they become overly exasperated. One day, Christopher disappears. Did he commit suicide? Did he run away? The clues are few—Christopher sent an enigmatic email to the principal on the day of his disappearance, but interpretations as to its meaning vary dramatically. Police have yet to find his body—dead or alive. But as days go by, fingers point, accusations fly, and blame is cast—the town and relationships are torn apart.

The novel is told from the point of view of Torey Adams, a classmate of Christopher’s. Torey, in a mix of guilt and compassion, is drawn in to the mystery of Christopher’s disappearance. He begins an investigation of his own, coming dangerously close to breaking the law at times, ultimately making a shocking discovery that sends his world into a tailspin.

This novel pulled me in, and kept me racing to reach the end. Its ending is surprising and poignant, and will leave readers satisfied, and yet still asking questions and exploring its themes. An excellent mystery and social commentary!

By Miss Alvernaz

For Christmas I was given the book Team of Rivals by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. Being a history buff and having always been a fan of Abraham Lincoln I looked forward to delving into this book that was really a complex biography of five men who found their lives intertwined through the unfolding of the greatest crisis in American history, the Civil War. The book is not an easy read as the author takes you into the thinking and emotions of five men faced with some of the most difficult political and personal decisions that could be asked of anyone.
The five men whose lives you enter in the book are Lincoln, Seward Chase, Bates and Cameron. This is Lincoln and his wartime cabinet. All of them brought special gifts to offer, all them brought conflicting ambitions, and all of them were on the same team. It was only through the almost unworldly genius of Abraham Lincoln that the cabinet could function as a type of dysfunctional family of sorts. The book offers in-depth detail and is voluminous at about 900 pages. So if you want to take an historical ride through the Washington D.C. of the Civil War and involve yourself in the complexity of politics and personalities this is a grand read. I loved it and plan to read it again over the summer, just to pick up what I missed the first time through.

By Mr. Rupp

For years Steinbeck has been a favorite author of mine, but it wasn’t until recently that I read East of Eden and truly discovered his craft as a master storyteller.

East of Eden is the ultimate story of good versus evil. The majority of the story takes place in California’s Salinas valley and it chronicles the lives of two families, the Hamiltons and the Trasks. These two families live on neighboring farms and their paths cross from time to time. The Hamilton family is close knit and learns to survive on the rough terrain of the valley. The Trask family is far from close and brings us to the heart of the struggle between good and evil. Adam and Charles Trask are two brothers who find it difficult to get along due to the jealousy Charles has of Adam. (The relationship between the two brothers echoes the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible.) In the midst of the turbulent relationship between these brothers, we meet one of Steinbeck’s most colorful characters, Cathy Ames. Cathy literally crawls into the story severely beaten and left for dead by her former boyfriend. Though she comes into the story as a victim of abuse, Cathy soon proves to be an evil temptress and manipulator. She is married to Adam Trask and brings nothing but trouble to the Trask family from the moment she marries him, sleeps with his brother, gives birth to twin boys, Aaron and Caleb, and becomes a prostitute. From here the story of the Trask family continues on as Aaron and Caleb grow up unaware of their mother, the very successful Madam. The struggle between good and evil also continues to rage throughout this novel as the Trask brothers deal with love, jealousy and acceptance.

By Miss Yates

If you’re in need of a heart warming romance to read on a cold afternoon or just looking to escape into a touching love story, then you need to get your hands on a copy of Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas.

The story opens with the protagonist Katie Wilkinson struggling to understand her unexpected break up with Matt, the love of her life. It seems that Matt and Katie’s eleven-month relationship had been well on the road to marriage, but out of the blue Matt broke it off. Soon after the break up a package is delivered to Katie’s home. What she discovers inside the package is a diary written by Suzanne for Nicholas. Curiosity and confusion lead Katie to open the diary where she discovers a note from Matt. Matt’s note apologizes to her and asks her to read the diary written by his wife to his son. Matt’s hope is that after reading the diary, Katie will be able to understand why he had to end their relationship.

As Katie reads Suzanne’s diary, the story of Matt and his former wife is revealed. The ensuing chapters alternate between Suzanne’s life and Katie’s reactions to it. The uniqueness of this story lies in the fact that the reader really gets to experience two stories of love and loss at one time. If you are a true romantic at heart, you will not be able to put this book down.

By Miss Yates

Suspenseful, intriguing, and superb are all words to describe To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This story is about a family living in Maycomb, Alabama. The family encounters many problems throughout the story, and the setting is based on a time during the Great Depression. Their names are Scout finch the young daughter that brings compassion and humor to he story, Atticus Finch the widowed father who works as a lawyer, and his son Jem who is an adventurer, and who loves to discover new things. Although the focus is on the young girl, Scout , the story definitely invokes the realism of racism of America at and leaves the reader pondering of how far we have come, economically and socially. To Kill a Mockingbird is definitely one of the best books I have ever read.

By Melissa R.M. ?

If you like to read books based on real life experiences, about compassion, and emotions, this is the book for you. Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt is a story full of compassion and emotion that will wring your heart. It is an account of author’s tragic childhood in the slums Limerick in Ireland. McCourt as a kid narrates his story providing such details of his life in poverty that it makes you realize how helpless a child could be. Since the narrator is a kid, his thoughts about the world and myths about life and other people make story more interesting and less depressing. McCourt has to witness his brothers and sisters dying of malnutrition, steal food to feed his ailing mother and hungry brothers due to poverty. Due to negligence of his father towards his family, McCourt has to support the family. He works at dirty coal mines of Limerick and carries heavy coal bags to earn few shillings. He wants to leave for America, but he can not run away from his responsibility towards his family. Should he run away to America and get a better life for himself or should he serve his duty towards the family and live in the slums of Limerick forever?

By Suman Kang

What would you do if you had the chance to live forever? You may be thinking this only occurs in fairy tales. Well that’s what the Tuck family thought before they drank water from a spring that turned them immortal. They soon meet Winnie, an overprotective child, who they become good friends with. She becomes real close to the Tuck family and they soon tell her their secret. She learns the great problem they are faced with. They are forced to hide from the world because if anyone figures their secret out then the world would completely change. Now Winnie has to decide if she should drink from the spring and stay the same age forever.

By Elizabeth Cisneros

This novel was about a young boy name ken who’s sixteen year old that lost his bests friend in a plane crash. When his friends dies ken wants to be invulnerable he met Cherri buttercups she was a voodoo priestess who charge ken only $50 dollars for his soul. Ken sold his soul to Cherri buttercup at first ken though it was cool because he couldn’t get hurt nothing couldn’t hurt him. He when with his parents to st.caolo for vacation in there he met a girl name Sabine. Ken when to st.caolo to surf and to see the sharks he went deep in the water he saw a shark the shark try to bite ken in the leg but nothing happened to him and the shark left Sabine was behind him and she saw everything ken then got out of the water and told Sabine everything Sabine told him that he needed to get his soul back before Cherri buttercup had control over his soul he had to get his soul back

By angelica vasquez

In this book Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikealsen Cole Matthew’s has been stealing and fighting almost all of his life. Cole’s most recent crime is smashing a boy named Peter Driscal head into the sidewalk, his punishment is that he has to choose if he wants to go to jail or a native American circle justice. Cole would live behind bars or in isolation for one year. Cole chooses to go on the circle justice. A few days on the island he mauled by a mysterious Spirit Bear and he almost dies from the attack. Will the attack of the bear can save his life or destroy it.

By Oscar De Leon

The novel that I most enjoyed this year was Black an Blue by Anna Quindlen. Right from the beginning I got into it. Frannie was a woman in love when she first married Bobby but as time past he change. It’s like that saying you don’t really know a man unless you’re married. But regardless of everything Frannie loves her son Robert and that’s the reason she’s staying with Bobby.

As time past by he started getting violent with her. He broke her back bone, her nose a couple of times. She always had bruises but the bruise that most hurt was the one in her heart. Frannie is a nurse at a hospital she went trough a lot of woman that got hit and her advice to them was “leave them” and now she’s living the same thing and why doesn’t she leave Bobby? At one point she said it’s enough I had it and left him she took nothing just her son Robert to star a new life, new name, new school, new friends, new everything. By this time Bobby was looking for her and when he found her he will kill her if he had to. One night Elizabeth (frannie’s new name) told the truth to her son and he couldn’t believe her so while Elizabeth being asleep he called Bobby.

Will they change towns again already when they are settled and love it there or will they just face reality and confront Bobby, will Robert believe Bobby and leave with him? Read it to see what happens you’ll enjoy it.

It’s an unexpecting ending that I couldn’t believe and still can’ believe….

By Alfadalia Ortega

In Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye, Pecola, the main character, is anAfrican American girl who wants to have blue eyes. Pecola lives in a white society that values blonde, blue-eyed people. In Pecola’s society, people with white skin and blues eyes are considered to be beautiful. She is an African American girl who has dark skin and dark eyes. She counters the image her society values. Pecola is ,thus, considered to be ugly. Furthermore, Pecola is abused by her father and treated unfairly by her society. She, then, starts praying for blue eyes. Throughout the novel, the reader see’s Pecola struggle with her society’s values.

The climax of the novel is towards the end when Pecola decides to choose between her society’s value and her own identity. The novel’s non-fiction aspect reminded me of how a person tries to define themselves by what others value. The novel The Bluest Eye is true story of how racism can affect a person’s life. It is one of the most touching books I have read and I recommend it to those who are looking for a great novel.

By Gurpreet Kaur