Catcher in the Rye: I agree with John when he said that it was really unique to have a teenager voice narrating the novel. I believe it is really rare where a story gives so much insight to what the character is thinking. The author held nothing back when he wrote this story. He included every swear, insult, and thought that went through Holden’s mind. The thing I didn’t like about the story was the ending. I felt like it was very rushed, and awkwardly written. First he is going to run away, next he is saying how unsafe the world is, and then he is in a hospital. In a way I was also disappointed in this story. I had always heard that people were reading it and how good it was, but when I finished the story I was sort of let down because my hopes were set so high.

A Midsummers Nights Dream: I loved this story! I read Romeo and Juliet last year, and this story is completely different. I agree with what a lot of people by saying, how surprised I was about the casualness of the story. I was afraid that this story was going to be hard to understand, but I think actually having it read to me helped me comprehend everything better. I liked reading Shakespeare because he has so many hidden themes and symbols throughout his plays. It forces you to read deeper into the story. I liked how all the characters personalities would change, but in the end, everything still worked out.

First they Killed my Father: I actually wanted to read this book since I heard the author speak last year at writers’ week. Like Robyn, I like reading about genocides, because it teaches me so much. It is hard for me to imagine my friends, and family dying, or having to leave my home, and almost dying of starvation. Nothing like that happens in Palatine. If I am hungry there is always a way to get food, the government doesn’t make me and my family leave our house, and my friends and family aren’t getting murdered by soldiers. I think it is so interesting to learn through the eyes of others. Not the fiction story stuff, but actual life. While I was sitting in my family room, my mind was in Cambodia with Loung and her family. At times this book was hard to put down, because I never knew what was going to happen next. On the other hand, after a couple pages I sometimes had to stop reading because parts of the story were so depressing. After finishing the novel, I actually was very appreciative of my privileged life. I am very glad I read this book and hear the author speak. At times in the story I thought back to some of the comments that Loung made while she was at Fremd, and it reminded me of how strong and courageous she has been throughout her whole life.

My Antonia: Sadly, I would have to agree with a lot of my classmates by saying my Antonia was the worst book I read this semester. I loved the beginning of the story were it starts out in the future, so the reader knows the ending of the story, but at the same time they still have to read the book to understand. I hated that the story was so drawn out. It would show a couple years of Jim’s life then all of a sudden, he is ten years older. I didn’t like Willa Cather’s writing style either. I feel that since she made the story written by Jim, she wrote more lazily. By this I mean that she would not add important details like, how Jim’s parents died, or even large events in Jim’s life. Though Jim is one of the main characters in the story, we never know what happened in high school, or college. Furthermore, many people say that Jim’s life is not that important because the book is all about the life of Antonia. We don’t know what happened to Antonia for huge periods of time either! After Willia Cather skips forward ten years in Jim’s life, she just randomly slips in that Antonia had a ton of kids, and is perfectly happy now. WHAT?! I feel that the author would forget to add a little fact from another time in the story, and then she would just stick it in a random paragraph.

Inherit the Wind: I thought this was a really good book to start the year with. It was really interesting (I thought), because it was based on real events. I also thought the format of the book was really neat; writing it as a play. There was a good mix of characters personalities. Hornbeck was sarcastic and funny, while Brady was self-loving, and sophisticated. I know the ending was sudden also like in Catcher in the Rye, but somehow in this story it seemed to fit perfectly. It kept me thinking at the end about the actual themes of the book, evolution, and the bible. I am going to steal Priya’s line by agreeing that the story was “short and sweet.” It didn’t need to be a three hundred-page novel covering every single event that happened in the trial. It showed the main points, but still added a unique twist to the events.

-Claire Brady-