Tuesday Night’s Homework
February 22

Tonight you are going to write TWO book reviews. Think about books you have read recently. We’re just at the end of the second trimester, and you should have read at least 4 books by now. DO NOT WRITE YOUR REVIEW ABOUT The Giver or Animal Farm.

Each book review will be approximately one paragraph. The MINIMUM ("C-" grade) you should write is 6 sentences. An "A" quality book review will be neatly written, contain 8 or more sentences, and be thoughtful, reflective and should NOT give away the ending of the story!

Read the models below to give you an idea of how to write your book review.

"If you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy." Such is the reigning philosophy at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility where there is no lake, and there are no happy campers. In place of what used to be "the largest lake in Texas" is now a dry, flat, sunburned wasteland, pocked with countless identical holes dug by boys improving their character. Stanley Yelnats, of palindromic name and ill-fated pedigree, has landed at Camp Green Lake because it seemed a better option than jail. No matter that his conviction was all a case of mistaken identity, the Yelnats family has become accustomed to a long history of bad luck, thanks to their "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!" Despite his innocence, Stanley is quickly enmeshed in the Camp Green Lake routine: rising before dawn to dig a hole five feet deep and five feet in diameter; learning how to get along with the Lord of the Flies-styled pack of boys in Group D; and fearing the warden, who paints her fingernails with rattlesnake venom. But when Stanley realizes that the boys may not just be digging to build character--that in fact the warden is seeking something specific--the plot gets as thick as the irony.

It's a strange story, but strangely compelling and lovely too. Louis Sachar uses poker-faced understatement to create a bizarre but believable landscape--a place where Major Major of Error! Bookmark not defined. would feel right at home. But while there is humor and absurdity here, there is also a deep understanding of friendship and a searing compassion for society's underdogs. As Stanley unknowingly begins to fulfill his destiny--the dual plots coming together to reveal that fate has big plans in store--we can't help but cheer for the good guys, and all the Yelnats everywhere.

Lord of the Flies is a great book. It’s a wonderful depiction by Golding of a group of teenage boys that are supposed to be "civilized" boarding-school students but turn wild and barbaric as a result of the harsh island environment that they are set in. This book provides a powerful representation of our own society, and how these animalistic natures all exist in the underlying shadows. Although the adult in his ship rescues the kids at the end, the point is made by Golding in the Epilogue that, even though the kids are rescued, who will rescue the adult? Lord of the Flies connects all readers with its harsh, gritty setting and the personalities of all characters in a very gripping way.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling, was an okay book, but it was surely not as good as the first book. In this book Harry starts attending his second year at the Hogwarts School with his friends Ron and Hermione. They get off to a rough start, and as the year goes on it doesn't get any better. There have been strange attacks on students that did not have two parents that were witches or wizards (the school is for witches and wizards only). Many suspect that Harry is the attacker, so he feels it is up to him to find out who it really is and stop these attacks. But this just gets Harry in more trouble until he succeeds... As I said above, the book was okay, but it was certainly not as good as the first one. It began with a slow and boring start. All that happened in the first three chapters was Harry's summer vacation was ending with no exciting events and he got ready for school. When everyone is finally reunited at school, it gets a little better. But, for at least the next four chapters there are many events, but they are not written with any juice, and the events themselves are not really anything to be interested in. For example, there are a few Quidditch matches, but they were only exciting in the first Harry Potter book. Towards the end it starts to draw up more suspense and gets better because Harry starts taking more risks to find out who the vicious attacker is. For instance, Harry and Ron took Hagrid's dog at midnight, they hid themselves with the invisibility cloak, and went into the Forbidden Forest. Also, Harry went back in time to find out who opened the chamber of secrets the first time it was opened. The best part would have to be at the end when Harry discovers who the attacker is and the school year finally ends. But, the thrill isn't over yet...

Speak
by Laurie Halse Anderson

This book is definitely one of my favorites. It's so different from anything I have ever read, the style, the tone, and the way it was written. It was a compelling read from the beginning to the end.

The story is not written as your average outcast "popular people are stupid" cliche. It's an original. The tone is like Melinda is just relaying her thoughts and what she sees to the reader, rather than her feelings and rage and anger against the people that hurt her. Her character gets stronger as you read on, as she begins to stand up for herself.

I liked how the author didn't just tell you what had happened to Melinda in order for her to stay so silent - instead, bits of the incident unfolds as you read along.

I was caught up in Melinda's world, and even though I'm glad to say that I haven't been there and done that, it was easy to just recognize the pain, fear and confusion she went through just because the author doesn't say it right out.

Overall, this was an excellent read, and I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to feel the triumph of Speak.