First Semester novels
Catcher in the Rye: This novel started out as being one of my least favorite books ever to one that I felt had a beautiful and touching story. When Holden arrived in New York that is where the story took off for me. I enjoyed seeing a bit of his life style in the thirty six hours that we were given. I agree with missy about liking the part of Holden visiting Phoebe, especially at night. So far he had come off as a strong independent person but when he was with Phoebe we see a more vulnerable side of him. Anything she says has a lasting effect on him and I think that shows a lot about his character as a whole.

First They Killed My Father: Loung’s autobiography is probably one of the most emotional and disturbing novels I have ever read. The way she stayed strong throughout the war was remarkable, being that she was only a little girl. She seems to have a strong personality and be a fighter not only for being a survivor but when I saw her at Writer’s Week last year Loung acted like she had been through nothing. It was frightening to wonder if something like that could ever happen in our society today. All the tragedy all those people went through seems like a nightmare, it’s hard to believe that it is reality. It really shows you how strong some people really are.

Inherit the Wind: I think that this has to be my favorite thing that we read so far this year. I enjoyed that it was based off a true story and how detailed the characters were mostly by their actions. The strongest example of this that I can think of is when Reverend Brown dams his own daughter to hell for defending Bert. Brown is so caught up in his own beliefs that he turns his back on his family, thriving to be right and speak out about evolution. And with this reaction Brady, one of the people against evolution, steps up and defends Rachel. The play continually shows you a different side of characters. One minute you feel a certain way about a character and then a twist of events makes you feel differently. I loved what this play was about and the message it sent.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: This play is one of the most entertaining Shakespeare plays that I have ever read. The way that the woods played a huge part in the lovers’ lives gave the story a sense of humor, with Puck always messing up and giving the story line a new twist. I had always thought of Shakespeare’s plays were outdated and not too much fun to read. It was surprising that it was so comical and easily relatable to today. True there are no magical fairies in the woods and people don’t run away into a forest to avoid a marriage, but the point about love being difficult is one that will Always be true.

My Antonia: In my opinion this was the least interesting book that we read. Though I enjoyed book one I felt that the story could have ended there and that the other chapters weren’t really necessary. To me My Antonia was about two children growing up in the prairies of Nebraska, and not about them growing apart in social class. What really confused me was when Willa Cather wrote about Jim’s roommate for a few chapters and ended up killing him off. For me it had nothing to do with Antonia and didn’t seem to help add to her and Jim’s story. I enjoyed learning about Antonia Shimerda and I wish there was more about her and less about Jim at college. The story never really seemed to have a high point or events leading up to it.