Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets- J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

368 pages

Summary:

      Harry Potter is visited by Dobby the house elf where he is warned not to return to Hogwarts. Harry does end up going but soon realizes that strange things are happening. He hears strange hisses and voice. Soon there is blood on the wall that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Soon after Harry and Ron find out that Ginny (Ron's sister) has been snatched from the grounds, they both go down to the chamber with Professor Lockhart. Harry fights the basilisk and saves Ginny from death. 

My Review:

     It took me years to actually finally pick this book up. I read the first one maybe two years ago and now I have finally read the second one. It was an okay read, I never really got into J. K. Rowling's series. There are a lot of details and I could never keep up. The books are incredible, I won't lie about that but it's just so much detail to keep up with.

Quote:

"Voldemort.. is my past, present and future..."

Artichoke's Heart- Suzanne Supplee

Artichoke's Heart

276 pages

Summary: 

        In Artichoke's Heart, Rosemary Goode is struggling with her weight. Not only does she criticize herself, but her family and friends criticize her as well. Even the girls at school have given her the name Artichoke. Throughout the book, Rosemary fights her weight. Later she gains the support from her best friend and her boyfriend. Her family and friends quit the criticizing and support her as well.

My Review:

        I wasn't quite as into this book as I though I would be. However it was a very good book. It is a particularly easy read and the plot doesn't tend to jump around a lot which is good. There was just something about Supplee's writing that I didn't like though. I can't really put my finger on it, but it just didn't hit the right note. Maybe it was the fact that it was too easy of a read for me.  

        Overall, Artichoke's Heart has a huge point to it. It shows that appearance doesn't matter at all and that what's inside is what really counts. A pretty face doesn't mean a pretty personality. It was a very good book and the story was remarkable.

Quote:

“When you look at a person's eyes or her smile, you can't tell how much she weighs.” 

Rules of Attraction-Simone Elkeles

Rules of Attraction

326 pages

Summary:

     Rules of Attraction is the sequel to Perfect Chemistry. This tells the story of Alex's brother Carlos who moves to Colorado and takes residence in Kiara's  home. He goes to Kiara's home for being caught with drugs. At first, Carlos hates it. But then, Kiara falls in love with Carlos. So Kiara will belong in the high school, Carlos agrees to be her boyfriend. Carlos then runs into trouble with a gang and he suddenly has to leave. He gets beat up. A few weeks after being beat up, he takes Kiara to homecoming and to an after party. There, Kiara and Carlos have sex. Knowing he's in trouble, he teams up with Alex and Kiara's dad and betray's the gang and hands them over to the cops. A gang  member shoots Carlos in the shoulder and the story ends in the hospital.

My Review:

      Simone nailed yet another teenage love story with Rules of Attraction. I loved this book as much if not more than Perfect Chemistry. It really tells a beautiful story of love. Now of course, the story is to good to be true but as always, who cares. I could not put this book down. I even re-read it a couple times. I just plain love the book.

Quote:

“dear kiara,
The women in the shop told me that yellow rose represents friendship and red rose shows love. And the rosery is the only thing i own that i care for, its yours
i'm yours
C” 

Perfect Chemistry-Simone Elkeles

Perfect Chemistry

368 Pages

Summary:

        In Perfect Chemistry, Alex and Brittany are assigned as chemistry partners. Brittany is a popular rich girl and Alex is a poor, gang-boy. In the beginning the two hate each other. However, as the story goes, the two warm up to each other and fall in love. When Alex must go do a drug deal, Brittany tries to talk him out of it by having sex with him. When Alex tries to escape the deal, he gets shot. He breaks up Brittany at the hospital. A few months later, he tracks down Brittany in Colorado and pretty much proposes to her.

My Review:

      I absolutely loved this book. It is the perfect teenage love story. It backs up the phrase, don't judge a person by their appearance. I could not put this book down, I would stay up late reading it. Now, the story really is to good to be true, but not every love story is perfect. I guess all teenage love books are to good to be true.

Quote:

“If there's one thing I learned, it's that nobody is here forever. You have to live for the moment, each and every day . . . the here, the now.”

Farewell to Arms- Earnest Hemingway

Farewell to Arms

332 pages

Summery:

      In the book Farewell to Arms, the main character is Fredrick Henry, Henry for short. He works as a doctor and meets a very beautiful woman name Catherine. Soon after they meet, while driving, his car gets bombed and he goes to the hospital where Catherine works. There, is where they start their relationship. Soon after that, Catherine becomes pregnant and Henry is sent to the front. While in the front, Henry goes to Udine to escape the front and "abandon" the army because he believes he is done with war and just wants to be with Catherine. Officers plan to arrest him but he escapes with Catherine to Switzerland. There Catherine goes into labor. However, the baby is stillborn and Catherine dies of two hemorrhages.

My Review:

      Farewell to Arms was an okay read. It was very confusing though. There are many confusing parts. Like the part where you find out Catherine is three months pregnant. I don't even know is Henry and Catherine knew each other for that long! At least it doesn't seem that way. The book seemed to jump around a lot as well. One moment you're in the hospital, the next moment you're on the battlefield. I would have to re-read a lot of the chapter just to understand some parts.

     Overall, Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway was an okay read. If you like romantic war stories than, this would be a book for you. The symbols were noticeable. However it was a difficult read.

Quote:
   "It seems she had one hemorrhage after another. They couldn't stop it. I went into the room and stayed with Catherine until she died. She was unconscious all the time, and it did not take her very long to die." 

The Lord of the Flies-William Golding

The Lord of the Flies

202 pages

Summary:
         In The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of boys get stranded on an island all by themselves. They think the life without adults will be party party but soon realize that they are in deep trouble by their situation. One of the boys, Ralph, is nominated as the leader and together the boys come up with rules to live and work together. As the story goes on, the boys run into numerous conflict and also fear "a beast" that lives on the island. One of the boys, Jack, forms his own group of "hunters" and tries to overthrow Ralph and the other boys. Simon, another boy, has hallucinations about "the beast" and says that it lives not on the island but in the boys' imagination. Jack soon goes crazy and sets the island on fire. A nearby ship sees the flames and the boys that survived are rescued from the island.


My Review:
        Lord of the Flies was a boring book. I could only maybe read one chapter per night. I would get very tired and want to put the book down ten minutes into reading. I would get distracted easily and would not think much about it. I would also not look forward to reading on. The book was also hard to understand. Some parts did make sense, but most parts did not. The plot would jump around a lot.
       Despite being a boring book, it did have some life lessons that any person could do well with. For example, living without parents can make life extremely difficult. It may seems to be all fun and games at first, but then you realize that without your parents, it's hard to get by. It also shows vaguely how to work together. If little boys can do it, why can't other people do it? They make fair rules, and elect a leader. Sort of like a government. Overall, The Lord of the Flies had some good parts and some bad parts but it was a rather boring read.


Quote:
  "He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and an unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of a man's heart, and the fall through he air of the true, wise friend called Piggy."