2 books
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins is gruesome story that tells of a young girl, Katniss, and the awful decisions she is forced to make during a brutal civil war in a future land, Panem. Katniss became a hero in the first two books due to her defiant gesture in her first Hunger Games, threatening to kill herself and the other potential winner, Peeta. After being sent to the Games again, she is broken out by District 13, who wants to use her as a war hero to rally around and with, she proves herself good at this but only if she is in a live battlefield, which fuels her want to kill the enemies leader, President Snow. This book is an excelent read as it intesivifies not only on the character's war lives but on their personal lives as well. Katniss is the main character of Mockingjay, she's also the spark that sets of a revolt against the Capitol, District 13 was ready to rebel, they just need someone to set into motion. This book proves that no matter the numbers, people always need a leader.
Martel, Yann. Life of Pi: a Novel. New York: Harcourt, 2001. Print.
2 books
Life of Pi is a funny, unusual, thought-provoking, novel written by Yann Matel which tells of teenage Pi Patel and his quest for truth in religion and survival. The story begins with random and unusual tales of Pi's life, for instance he tells of his father's zoo and facts about animals, which eventually leads to Pi's love of religion and strong belief in God. Pi's family is forced to move to Canada for political reasons, they take all their zoo animals with them. The ship sinks and Pi is stranded with a tiger, hyena, zebra, and orangutan on a small lifeboat. Religion is a major theme in Life of Pi as the reason Pi stayed reasonably sane on the life boat in the middle of the ocean. Rituals and storytelling saved his human mind as he explores Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism.
Sykes, Charles J. Dumbing down Our Kids: Why America's Children Feel Good about Themselves but Can't Read, Write, or Add. New York: St. Martin's, 1995. Print.
2 books
Dumbing down our kids is serious, nonfiction, rant by Charles Sykes arguing that our public schools spend too much time and money on less important subjects such as driving ed, P.E., and sex ed rather then academic studies such as math, science, and english. He doesn't stop there but claims american families don't teach enough to their children thus their want for the schools to teach more. A theme in the book that isn't argued, obvious or talked about much is doing things yourself, not shoving it on to others. He shows this by telling how much time american schools spend on other things that aren't academics that should be taught by families themselves, therefore the families are shoving their responsibilities on to public education, which Sykes shows to be not worth it in the long run.
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