My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

I read the New York Times review for My Sister's Keeper: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/18/books/books-in-brief-fiction-poetry-147680.html?pagewanted=1
I definitely agree with this review. Usually I don't read book like these that have SO much drama in them, but this one, as the review describes it is "some awkward combination of a sci-fi novel and a movie on the Lifetime Channel." Although this book does include a lot of drama, my love for the plot line overshadows it. In this novel, the protagonist, Anna, sues her parents for rights to her own body after being forced, year after year, to donate organs and tissues to her sister, Kate, who is dying of cancer. The conflict is that if Anna doesn't donate her kidney to her sister, she will die. The thing that I love about the story line of this book is that the protagonist, Anna is forced to do something wrong, like allowing her sister to die, if she wishes to reach her goal. I feel like this makes the book more realistic. Also, the reactions of the other characters to Anna's lawsuit makes the book more realistic. Anna's mother obviously wants to save her daughter, so she wants to lawsuit dropped. Her brother, who feels that she should do what she needs to thinks that she should continue on with it. Kate, her dying sister, has mixed feelings, but in the end I feel like she wants Anna to do whatever would make her happy.I loved this book and I would recommend this book to people who like realistic fiction and surprise twist endings!!!

Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

Overall, I didn't really like Water for Elephants. Firstly, the novel started off very slowly, and it was difficult to concentrate on the book. On the other hand, the book reminded me of one of my favorite movies, The Notebook. Sara Gruen's novel is about the protagonist, Jacob Jankowski, a man in his nineties, who resides in a nursing home. Throughout the book, he flashes back to when he was part of the Ringling Brother's Circus. There, we meet his friends, Kinko and Camel, his enemies, Uncle Al and August, and his true love, Marlena. This novel flashes between the old and young Jacob, telling his story of how he cared for the animals at the circus. The old Jacob is getting very worried and depressed that he is losing his mind. This is similar to The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. In his, novel, the main characters are also old and retelling stories of their youth. Because they seemed similar, I thought I would like Water For Elephants, but the book had a very slow beginning. I would recommend this book for people who like romance novels.

Life of Pi New York Times Review and Response

New York Times review on Life of Pi by Yann Martel:http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/books/taming-the-tiger.html?pagewanted=1
I totally agree with this review. This book is made very interesting by the fact that it is about a boy who gets stranded in the middle of the ocean on a boat, not to mention with a tiger. It is a normal survival story, but the real twist in the story is found when the reader learns more about the main character, Pi Patel. The review hit on a point in the book that is very interesting. Pi is a boy who believes he can practice three religions all at the same time. Throughout the book, he finds out what it means to be Christian, Hindu, and Muslim. And as if that were not enough, he is very educated in the sciences because his father owns a zoo in Pondicherry. It is interesting to see him struggle with his multiple religions and with science as well. Although I am not yet finished with the book, I would reccomend it to people who like slow-paced books. It doesn't start off very interesting, but it's turning out to be a great book.

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

Before I read this book, I had watched the movie. Although there were some aspects of the book that I liked more, overall, I liked the movie better. In this book, the main charachter, Robert Neville, is the last human survivor on earth after the entire human population has turned into vampires. This evolution that the humans went through was because of a gene that they always had. These vampires cannot go into the sunlight and are repelled by garlic. Every day, Neville goes out and kills a few more vampires with wooden stakes. Neville thinks that he is the only human survivor on earth, but is surprised when a woman comes to his house. She doesn't look like a vampire, so he begins to trust her. The next night, though, she left unexpectedly, leaving a note behind. It said that she was part of an elite clan of vampires who was sent to spy on him. Read the end of the book to find out what happens next! I liked the movie more than the book because the book has vampires in it, which is something I can't relate to. On the other hand, in the movie, it is an epidemic that turns the people into zombies. Although this is a bit farfetched, I think the movie really conveys the message that humans will be the cause of their own destruction. In the book, it is just a genetic mutation, and I don't really think it conveys a message at all. Either way, it was a pretty good book that I would reccomend.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

This HAS to be the best series I have read ALL YEAR. I LOVE these books so much! I couldn't put it down. I really don't usually like this genre, but this book has definitely made it into my top 10 favorite books. The first book, The Hunger Games, was fantastic, and somehow, Collins has been able to not only keep up the amazing writing, but make it even better! This book was about the protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, after she won the Hunger Games in the last book. In the last book, Katniss and her friend (or boyfriend!?) Peeta find a way to beat the system of the Hunger Games: kill themselves. Being the only two left in the arena, and not wanting to kill each other, they were about to eat poison berries when they were both declared winners. In this book, the government is making sure that this act against the system does not cause a rebellion amongst the people. Katniss must be very careful about what she says or does as she embarks on a victory tour across the country. If she is the cause of a rebellion, she and her family will be tortured, or worse. The plot is extremely interesting in this book. Also, a character is being reintroduced. Gale was Katnisses friend before she entered the Hunger Games, but they grew apart. Now he is a bigger part in the book and a love triangle is beginning to form.... I don't really like this character. If he's so important, how can the author make him disappear for an entire book? Anyway, I would recommend this trilogy to ANYONE no matter what types of books they like. The third book comes out next year...I can't wait!

The Laramie Project Extra Credit

The Laramie Project was a great play. It's about a homosexual man, Matthew Shepard, who was tied to a fence and beaten to death as part of a hate crime in Laramie, Wyoming. The Laramie Project is a play that was produced by the techtonic theater company about Laramie's reaction to this crime. The actors in the play were all very good. There were a limited amount of actors, so the actors had to play more than one character each. It was very clear and they portrayed the personalities of the characters very well. The overall message of the play was portryed well also. The play was funny at times and very entertaining. I would highly reccomend anyone to watch it.

The Year of Secret Assignments by Jacelyn Moriarty

This was a great book. I picked this book to read because it is written entirely in the format of letters, diary entries, and emails. The author, Jacelyn Moriarty, is very successful at this writing style. Each of the six main characters have personalities that really stand out. I like this book a lot because the author was able to give the characters voice and personalities just by letters and written things, in which actions and event can not be shown. I also like her sense of humor. This book is about three girls, Lydia, Emily, and Cassie, who write anonymous letters to a neighboring school for a pen pal project. The letter's recipients, Sebastian, Charlie, and Matthew Dunlop, soon become very close with the girls. Soon after, though, Cassie finds out that there is no such person as Matthew Dunlop that goes to that high school, and the five friends set out on a mission to find him. Overall, this has been a very funny book, and I would definitely recommend it. I have read another book by this author, and it is in the same format.This author is very talented at really just giving her characters realistic personalities. I love this author in general and would recommend her also.