The Hunger Games (written by a student)

*Written by Ramsay T.

The Hunger Games was one of the best books that I’ve ever read. It has a lot of action and some romance. It makes you want to be brave and actually do something. I don’t want to give no spoilers but the ending made you almost have to read the next book. Katniss and Peeta kept to themselves a lot. They didn’t partner up with anyone during the games. They get very lucky though. They don’t even know what they did would turn out to be this big. These two people change the whole world with just berries. You can’t stop reading after this book either. you have to finish the series or you will always be thinking about it. You have to know how it ends. I really actually liked reading this book. I was never bored with it and i just didn’t want to put it down. All the action and drama is amazing. It makes you think what if this would actually happen. These people have very hard lives. Living in Panem for me would be crazy. I would die so fast. I really do recommend this book to anyone. It is actually a very good. I have read it more than once.

The Pigman (another student review)

*Written by Braydie A.

The Pigman, by Paul Zindel, is a action packed novel with alot of suspense.The main characters are sophomores, John and Lorraine. Another main character is, of course, Mr.Pignati, or the Pigman. John is the author of  the odd numbered chapters of the book and Lorraine is the author of  the even numbered chapters. John and Lorraine liked to play practical jokes on people by calling random phone numbers. One day, they came upon The Pigman’s number,and that’s how it all started.They pretended to be charity workers for the “Lorraine and John Fund”. The old man didn’t know any better, so he helped them out. They got to know Mr.Pignati through their phone calls. One day, they decided to go to the zoo and meet him in person. He was really nice to them. He would get them anything they wanted.The Pigman loved this baboon named Bobo and he would spent hours with him. John and Lorraine enjoyed spending time with Mr.Pignati and wanted more of it, so they continued to have more days like this with him.Then, they started coming to the Pigman’s house.There, they did whatever they wanted and had the time of lives with Mr.Pignati. John and Lorraine really took all the fun and gifts for granted. Then one day Lorraine, John and Mr.Pignati were all roller skating. Mr.Pignati skated so hard with them and he had a heart attack.The Pigman turned out to be okay for now. While Mr.Pignati was in the hospital, John and Lorraine had his house to themselves. They thought that was awesome. John decided to throw a party since Mr.Pignati wasn’t there. Lorraine wasn’t really happy about it, but she went along with him. The party was good at first,but it got out of control fast. Soon the house was a wreck. Later that night, Mr.Pignati came home from the hospital and saw the crazy party.The Pigman was speechless. The police came, and John and Lorraine got in big trouble. John and Lorraine felt horrible for what they did to Mr.Pignati. So, they decided to take him to see Bobo. When they met up with the Pigman, he looked horrible.They walked in the zoo and went straight to Bobo’s cage,but he wasn’t there. It turned out that Bobo had died. Mr. Pignati was devastated, and fell to the floor. . .

I really liked the book. I didn’t like the way that John and Lorraine treated Mr. Pignati  because they took him for granted. I also didn’t like that Mr. Pignati gave them so much. I did like all the fun that the friends had together. The book also showed that older people and younger people can still be friends. Overall, it was an awesome book and I think everyone should read it.

The Last Dog on Earth (student review)

*Written by Mattie T.

“The Last Dog On Earth” is an outstanding book that shows action and violence but at the same time shows the love and friendship between a boy and his dog. The book by Daniel Ehrenhaft was published by Dell Yearling in June of 2004. I just read it last month. I didn’t know about the book until I saw someone reading it at “2nd and Charles”. When I found it I was intrigued in the book. The beginning was a bit confusing but it was interesting. About half-way through the book, I was so committed to finishing the book because so many had lost their lives to this disease that has affected most of the population. At that point in the book, Logan Moore and Jack only have each other (with the exception of Dr. Craig Westerly)

When I finished the book I kept thinking to myself, “What will happen to Logan and Dr. Westerly? What about the people still infected with the disease?” According to me, this is the perfect book for people who like action, suspense, and love (boy and his dog love). The book will take your heart away and leave you at the edge of your seat. This book is unlike anything you have ever read. Trust me, you will LOVE this book!!!

I have read several books but this one, without a doubt, is the best!!! Since I have read this book I see the world a little differently, I cherish all of those moments, I feel for your pain and loses. This book tells the story of Logan Moore and his loving dog, Jack.

There's something unique about how Daniel Ehrenhaft named his characters. Logan is just a normal name for many kids in the world and Logan was just a normal kid until he met Jack, a sweet, loving, FEMALE dog who hates everyone EXCEPT Logan. She is a mutt, but Logan saw that she was more than a mutt, he saw her as a dog that just wanted someone to care for her. This book is a thrill ride, if you wish to know more than READ THE BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Pigman (written by a student)

*Written by Madison S.

Ever thought, you were the only one going through something? You're not! In The Pigman two of the novel’s main characters, go through some of the exact same things you might be going through right now. The Pigman is a realistic fiction novel, about a lonely old man, with a big secret, who just wants some friends. Who are those friends, The Pigman finds? You guessed it, John, and Lorraine. John, and Lorraine are friends in high school, with secrets of their own. John, and Lorraine share the same secret, that they wish they could change. They both come from homes where their not treated very well. John’s mom is too OCD to notice, anything that’s going on in his life, and his dad is the  reason John drinks. Lorraine's life isn’t much better. Lorraine’s dad walked out on her, when she was little. And her mom, oh her mom. Her mom is a piece of work! Lorraine’s mom blames Lorraine for her dad walking out on them, and her mom is always telling her she’s ugly, and not worth anything. And then there's Mr. Pignati, better known as THE Pigman. Mr. Pignati is an amazing man, who no matter what is going on, he’s always got a twinkling smile oh his face going from ear to ear. In The Pigman Mr.Pignati faces some problems of his own. The problem he goes through is actually the reason he is lonely. His wife dies. So you see The Pigman, is a very easy to relate to novel, being as the characters face problems that everyday people go through all the time.I think that The Pigman would be a great novel for anyone to read,that likes realistic fiction novels,and wants to read books that they could relate to, and that are about everyday life, and do have things going on in them, that the reader themselves might be going through. I think that The Pigman is an appropriate book to read for kids that are in middle school, and above just, because it does have some language symbols in it, and it has some chapters that mention alcohol. I think that  whoever reads The Pigman, will love it, and want to read it again, and again!

Divergent (reviewed by a student)

*Written by Katy P.

I am selfish.  I am brave.  

This is a famous quote from divergent, and you wonder what divergent  means and what it is about. Let me tell you that divergent means “Tending to be different or develop different directions.” This young lady name beatrice comes from 1 out of 5 factions. And the factions are Amity the peaceful,Abnegation the selfless, Candor the honest, Erudite the intelligent, and Dauntless the brave. The one she comes from is Abnegation the selfless. As you first read the day of the aptitude test has come for her and her brother Caleb Prior.She sits in her set  and begins the test, After the test she finds out that she is divergent from a dauntless born named Tori. Tori made the test results inclusive because in their world if you are divergent you can be kill. Its the day after the test and Beatrice is worried about what faction to choose. When it comes for her to pick her new faction she gets torn between Abnegation and Dauntless. But she chooses faction before blood and left her family behind and went to Dauntless. The first day to Dauntless she decides to change her name to Tris. We find out there's three stages emotion ,body, and the mind.We also meet their instructor Four and Eric a dauntless leader. As you read along Tris meets friends Christina from Candor also Will from Erudite and Al from Candor. later in the book there is this lady named Jeanine. She is the leader of Erudite and she wants Erudite to be the leader of all the factions ,because they're the smartest and they thing you need to selfish to run all of those factions and not selfless and caring for others like Abnegation has been doing .   

As the book comes to the end Abnegation is attacked by….. who? Try to read the book Divergent to know. I like this book for teenagers because its showing us teeenagers how to become adult by learning what is right and wrong in life . It is also very romantic and sad at the same time because, you feel her pain and her brokenness when she misses her family but, you love that she in’s up with four.

Hunger Games (student review)

*Written by Hannah M.

The book I read this month was the Hunger Games.  It was the first time i had ever even read the book, and before that i had seen the movie. So i compared it to the movie a lot which i shouldn't have done. Anyway what my point is is that if i mess up on some details its because i compared and thats how i remember it. The Hunger Games in the beginning is basically telling about her life. You know like how she grew up, her circumstances and how her dad died. It also talks about what she enjoys to do and what she loves. In the first couple of chapters you're getting to know Katniss and i think thats the most important time to actually pay attention because later on in the book you're gonna need the little things to know what's actually happening. Okay so once she starts the games its like she is telling the reader about the games, how she feels, is she hurt, what that pain feels like, what her competitors did and more detail than you could ever imagine but thats what is great about the book. Suzanne Collins made the book great out of imagery and detail. You can tell what's happening easily. Towards the end of the book she has to kinda fight for her and peeta because peete was hurt and sick. Plus also at the end of the book Peeta was gonna sacrifice his life so Katniss could win the games but instead they tricked the capitol and the games so they both won. What they were gonna do is both eat poisonous berries so no one was the winner of the games and of course that was impossible. I think towards the end of the book everything starts moving faster like right after they almost eat the berries. The people tell them to stop and then they get water and next thing you know they are on a plane. So thats also a pretty good time to pay attention to the words and what’s going on because you will get lost if you are like me.

Tears of a Tiger (Reviewed by a student)

*Written by Emma B.

Andy doesn’t know if he could handle this pressure anymore.. In Tears of a Tiger by Shanon M. Draper, Andy kills his best friend in a car accident based on his drunk driving. Andy was driving while intoxicated, then they got into a car accident and killed Rob. After the accident, Andy goes into horrible depression and loses his other best friend(also his girl friend), Keisha, because of his mood swings. Andy soon goes to a psychologist to help him out of his depression. Andy deals with racism, depression, and horrible mood swings everyday. Tears of a Tiger is a great insight to how much teenagers can deal with in just months.

In my opinion, Tears of a Tiger was a great book. It showed you that all of your choices can turn into consequences; good or bad, depending on what you do. The rest of his life Andy goes crazy blaming himself for the accident and saying it should’ve been him. Tears of a Tiger had a great ending and you never knew what was coming next. Andy believes that if would’ve died instead of Rob everything would’ve been better off, which is sad because no one should feel like they need to die.

Tears of a Tiger is a great book because of how it’s told. The book is told in many different elements, from Andy’s point of view, to the “Hazelwood Herit” which is the school’s newspaper article. It showed everyone elses’ point of views and what they thought about it. To rate the book in stars, I would rate it a 4 out of 5. The book was great overall, but some of the different point of views were not necessary. I liked how the story was told, how it started, and how it left a cliffhanger as the ending. Tears of a Tiger shows you how much someone can deal with, when you lose your best friend.

Tears of a Tiger was overall a great book. It had many twist and turns but it always kept you guessing. This is my opinion on the book and how I liked it and what I didn’t like. Andy never knows if he is going to be able to make it through all this pressure.. did he?