        booksCut and copy your review into this box.Sign it by linking it to your Personal Page. (put your name within asterisks). Then type 'underscore' to create a line to separate your review from the next one to be posted. I recommend reading Wicked and its sequel, Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire. The first book takes the old Wizard of Oz story from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West. The second follows the story post-witch melting. Both books are wonderful fictional novels taking the world that we all recognize from our childhoods and giving it a new life full of politics, love affairs, tragedy and scandal. Both books are good reads for either gender offering an impressive mix of fantasy and realism creating an environment that is seemingly tangible, though just beyond our reach. They are sophisticated and mature without being difficult to understand. I would have to say that these books are two of the best novels I have read in quite a while. Cassandra Syfrett I'm recommending four books: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova for the intense reader (it is 656 pages) with an interest in history (hence the title) and vampires. Brainless: The Lies and Lunacy of Ann Coulter by Joe Maguire for the reader interested in learning more about the right's chief female ambassador and with an appreciation for intelligent humor. EE Cummings: Complete Poems 1904- 1962 for the reader that enjoys contemporary poetry. AND The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand for the reader that can see the beauty in the English language and shows an interest in human relationships and architecture. You can search these books on Wikipedia for more information. Angie V. Cano-Flores Atlas Shrugged is also another fascinating book by Ayn Rand. It explores the philosophy of capitalism and how its ultimate realization leads to both individualism and a sense of self worth. Brittany Utting H.P. Lovecraft is a short story author, who's works delve into his dark and sinister mythos of bizarre and horrifying otherworldy beings. If you want to have a fascinating and possibly frightening read, reach for some Lovecraft and curl up with it alone in a dim room on a stormy night. Michael McCorkle 1776 by David McCullough inspires patriotisms, hope, and appreciation. He carefully details the revolutionary war from both sides without opinion. Some of the accounts are so vivid that the reader will smell the gun powder or freeze with the soldiers, while reading during the summer. You will never look at your freedom the same. Karen Mangum This is a musing I wrote about Truman Capote and In Cold Blood: Capote has this incredible ability to illustrate a story. In the case of In Cold Blood, it is certainly more than simply telling an entertaining story. He’s portraying the lives of actual people, like you and me, with complex lives and conflicting feelings. The book is ingeniously constructed. That is, the information is all there. It exists in its entirety. The art comes in the impartation and portrayal. Capote has created a masterpiece of literary art, fully aware of cause and effect. Fully aware of what images and information to reveal at the moment and what to defer for better effect later. What to set up. What to reinforce. What to further illustrate with glorious detail and pure emotion. As I read, I couldn’t help but compare Capote to Orson Scott Card’s concept of a speaker for the dead. Like a speaker for the dead, Capote paints a picture of exactly what the characters stand for, hones in on exactly the situations, conflicts, and emotions at hand and on all levels. As you read it, you feel it, you experience it because all that there is to live it is captured in the words. How in the world can such abundant and personal “non-fictional” detail possibly be obtained. Of course, it cannot. How would Capote know exactly what this real person was thinking or saying at this real time. He can’t... just as a speaker for the dead cannot tell someone’s story without embellishing. “Embellishing” doesn’t seem quite the right word because it implies over-exaggeration and even complete deception, which Capote seems to have done neither. No, like a speaker for the dead, Capote may not state absolute fact, but certainly speaks the TRUTH of the people nonetheless. Vincent Yee J. K. Rowling is a genius! Everybody was worried about how she would pull all of the problems and solutions together in the end (Harry Potter 7), but I was very pleasantly pleased! Don’t worry… there will not be any spoilers in this review. But let me simply say that everyone that I know that has read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows loved it and was sad to be finished with the series. This book is not only very entertaining and captivating but it is also a very good illustration of practically all of the literary devices and the boring stuff you learn in English class. Rowling, however, uses these tools greatly throughout the book and they are what make it so exciting! Kimberly Para Personally one of my all time favorite books is The Five People You Meet in Heaven. A lot of my friends had told me it was amazing and I was skeptical until I read it and fell in love with it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading. Joanna Liu I have to recommend the 7th and final addition to the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I began reading Potter when I was in middle school and they have only gotten better with time. JK Rowling does an excellent job bringing the series to a close, incorporating events and objects from the previous six books. I don’t even really like to read, but I love these books… Will Youngblood I just finished reading Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuck. I'm sure most people are more familiar with the movie made in 1998 starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt, but I was a much bigger fan of the book. The book was much easier to get into and it keeps you wanting to read, whereas the movie can be slow. The movie also leaves out some details and changes the order of some events. Although it does not make a huge difference in one's understanding of the movie, after reading the book it causes the movie to come up short. Although it is a dark book I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the movie. Rebecca Fenster My favorite books of all time are Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre. If you haven’t read them yet, you should! I read them and 11th grade and couldn’t put them down. Megan Mullininx I, personally, am not a big reader. I rarely read for fun, but I was really surprised last year when I actually found an assigned reading that I loved. I highly recommend The Poisionwood Bible. It isn’t the ultra-religious book you’re expecting. The book takes place when a Southern Baptist minister takes his wife and daughters to the Congo to evangelize, but the book does not focus on the religion. It actually morphs into a great critique on society by including negative American involvement in Congolese revolutions and the misconceptions the Western world holds of Africa. It is a feminist novel, told from the perspectives of the three very different daughters and the mother, but I know plenty of guys who enjoyed the book as well. I would definitely encourage everyone to give it a chance. Erin West It's been about a year now since I read it, but I would definitely recommend Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany. It's not for the faint of heart (I stress this - if you're easily offended, don't read it), but it does gives you an interesting perspective on architecture and the way the built environment interacts with people's lives, and vice versus. ethan brown PS: Read Lovecraft instead of Ayn Rand – both lead to the same result, and at least you won't get confused that Lovecraft is advocating a tenable philosophy. I would like to recommend "taming of the shrew" because I have to read it for English and its really exciting. Elisabeth Robertson The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand This novel is one that I think is worth reading. It focuses on Rand’s idea of Objectivism while simultaneously exploring the world of architecture in a mind challenging fashion. Though the philosophy is rather bold it in turn incites the reader to think about themselves and the world differently. Victoria Do This year in AP Language I read The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. It was a really great biography about Walls’ very dysfunctional childhood. She’s a great writer and I would recommend it to just about anyone. Leah Downey “Hip: The History” I’ve left the book at home, but anybody who is interested in pop culture or culture in general should really pick it up. The writing itself was a little essay-ish, but the connections between the rise of pop culture and race relations really opened my eyes. Good read. Wade Cotton I highly recommend the author Ian Mcewan. He is a timeless writer of the ages, and I loved the book "Atonement", because of its thought provoking plot, as well as the twisted ending that involves the protagonists and antagonists colliding and sparking new plots at every turn. His use of imagery is crisp and vivid, setting an already colorful and multidimensional scene for the story to unfold. Katherine King The Hobbit is quite possibly the greatest story ever written, or at the very least the greatest story of the last century. It incorporates so many storytelling devices, plot elements, and classical references, it is simply a joy to read. There are never boring spots in the book, it is always fun and adventurous. The character development of Bilbo Baggins in the book is worthy of novels itself. I should know, having written such a report myself in 10th grade. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story. Matthew Salazar I highly recommend "The Notebook" by Nicholas Sparks. It's insanely romantic and i wish i was noah. Alex Lowry Abi Locatis J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series is quite entertaining. Although the books are tairlored for a younger audience, I still enjoy getting lost in the adventures of Harry Potter and his friends at Hogwarts. ;) Mariel Fedde I never was much of a reader, but I grabbed the book 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea off the shelf on a whim. It’s been a great read. If you’ve ever wanted to explore what’s under the waves, here’s your chance. Cameron Beck Link to this Page
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