Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Today I’m going to blog about a book called Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. I read this book my freshman year of school for my English class. In my opinion this is the best book I read all year.

            Speak is about a girl named Melinda Sordino and her summer before her freshman year of high school; and how this effects her during high school. Melinda goes to a party with her friend Rachel. During the party Melinda starts hanging out with Andy Evans. Andy is the popular guy at school and Melinda is shocked that he even likes her.

            By the end of the party Melinda ends up calling the cops. You do not find out why Melinda called the cops until the end of the book; I’m not going to tell you either. But what happens at the party affects Melinda all through her freshman year. Fellow students bully Melinda and make fun of her for calling the cops.

            All because of the party, Melinda and Rachel have a falling out and drift apart until they don’t even talk anymore. This hurts Melinda the most because she and Rachel had been friends forever.  One of the reasons Melinda and Rachel are not friends anymore is because Melinda is not cool and Rachel is.

            Andy and Rachel start dating. Melinda tries to talk to Rachel and tell her why she called the cops at the party, but Rachel will not listen. Melinda gets called a liar by Rachel. Then Andy starts saying that Melinda is just trying to get attention.

            The only friend Melinda has is a girl named Heather. Melinda gets tired of being sucked into doing things to help Heather get popular. Melinda decides to tell Heather how it is and they have a falling out and aren’t friends either.

            The only way Melinda made it through her freshman year is because of art. She is forced to come up with different ways to make a tree. And this helps Melinda get her frustration out. Melinda’s art teacher Mr. Freeman believes in the potential she has.

            I really liked this book. I feel by reading this book the reader sees how hard it is to be picked on every day. It also lets the reader know how keeping a secret can make the character as a person; once Melinda tells her secret and get it out; things start to change for the better.

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Today I’m going t o blog about A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks. This book is about a girl named Jamie Sullivan. Jamie’s father is a preacher; he is very strict and protective when it comes to Jamie.

            There is also a boy named Landon Carter. Landon is bad news and always gets in trouble. Landon gets in trouble at school and is forced to do the school play to get himself out of trouble.

            Landon and Jamie play the two main characters in the play. Jamie has always gotten made fun of and laughed at by everyone, including London’s friends.  Jamie and Landon become good friends throughout getting ready for the play. They even meet up and rehearse lines together.

            Landon falls in love with Jamie. This is one thing that Jamie told Landon not to do. But London did not care because he loved her.

            One day, Landon finds out about Jamie having leukemia; this hurts Landon. Jamie ends up getting really sick and ends up in the hospital. This is where London’s father steps in and pays for Jamie to get the health care she needs at home.

            By the end of the book Jamie and Landon get married. However Jamie and Landon do not have much time to spend together. Not too long after they get married Jamie becomes really sick and dies.

            This does not stop London; he goes to school to be a doctor so he can discover the cure for leukemia. Jamie’s father and Landon never did agree on much of anything. The only thing they had in common was that they both loved Jamie. At the end of the book London goes to visit Jamie’s father. During the visit London gives Jamie’s father the book that Jamie gave him; this book belonged to Jamie’s mother.

            I think that this is one of the best books written by Nicholas Sparks. This book is also the saddest book I have read by Sparks also. I really do not like the ending but I love how Landon and Jamie fall in love and are happy for a little while.

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

Today I’m going to blog about "The Notebook" by Nicholas Sparks. This in my opinion this is one of the best book I have ever read. I can read this book over and over again and not get tired of it.

This book is about a girl named Allie Nelson and a boy named Noah Calhoun. Allie and Noah fall in love and spend a wonderful summer together. Allies mother and father both disagree with her relationship. Allie does not care what her mother and father have to say because she knows how she and Noah feel about each other.

At the end of the summer Allie goes back home. Noah writes her every day for a year. However Allie never sees these letters and thinks Noah does not love her anymore.

 Allie gets a job as a nurse for wounded soldiers when they come back from the war. A man named Lon tells Allie that when he gets better he is going to ask her on a date. One day when Allie was walking with her friends a man comes up and asks her out on a date. The man turns out to be Lon and they go on a date and end up getting engaged.

Noah sees in the newspaper a photo of Allie and Lon. The article tells all about how Allie and Lon are engaged to be married, this crushes Noah because he is still in love with Allie.

Allie ends up going back to say goodbye to Noah before her wedding. Allie finds out that Noah wrote her every day for a year. Allie also finds out that Noah is still in love with her. Allie is still in love with Noah.

Lon tries and tries getting a hold of Allie at her hotel but she never answers her phone. Allie does talk to him she is always in a hurry. This makes Lon suspicions and he comes up to visit her and makes sure she is ok.

Before Lon can get to Allie her mother goes to see Allie at Noah’s house. Her mother gives her the letters that she kept from her for all of those years. Allie says goodbye to Noah and gets halfway down the streets and reads the letters. Allie breaks her engagement with Lon.

Allie and Noah get married. They are put in a nursing home when they get old. Allie forgets everything about her and she even forgets who Noah is. So Noah reads to Allie every day the notebook that Allie wrote about her and Noah.

Sometimes this helps Allie remember but other times it does not. At the end of the book Noah sneaks into Allies room to see her, Noah risks waking Allie up. In the morning when the nurses find them Noah and Allie are dead. This is by far the saddest but happiest ending to a book I have ever read.

Ghost Twon by Rachel Caine

             I finished "Ghost Town" by Rachel Caine yesterday. This is the ninth book in the Morganville Vampire Series. I think that this is by far the best book in the series.

            In this book Claire has been forced to fix the machine that Myrin created. The machine is used to do border patrol so that humans cannot leave Morganville. The machine has its own problem. Just when Claire thought she had the machine fixed it starts wiping people’s memories.

            People all around Claire start to lose their memories and not remember who Claire is or where they are. Claire’s boyfriend Shane is the last person close to her to forget who she is and what he is doing with her. This breaks her heart.

            On top of all or this Claire has to deal with her father being in the hospital because of problems he is having with his heart. Claire’s mother and father were given permission to leave Morganville so that her father can get treatment in Dallas. Claire is thankful that her mother and father do not have to go through the pain of forgetting and being confused.

            When Claire discovers what the machine is doing she goes to talk to Amelie who is the town founder. When Claire gets to founders square she sat through a meeting. There is a tragic change of events and Claire ends up not talking to Amelie.

            As situations get worse, Amelie loses her mind and forgets who she is Claire has no choice but to ask Oliver to help her destroy the machine. However this does not work out. Claire ends up having to get a whole group of vampires and a few humans to help her take down the machine.

            Claire has to remind Shane, Eve and Michael who they are to get their help. The only person who really believes Claire is Shane.  Eve and Michael go along with it only because Shane does.

            In the process Claire and her friends almost die. Shane’s father gives up his life to blow up the machine and save the people and vampires of Morganville. Amelie and everyone else regain their memories.

            Amelie forces Claire to have a new machine made in a week. Myrin is only allowed to assist Claire but he is not allowed to make the machine. All in all Morganville seems so what normal but in reality it is far from normal.

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

                The book I read is”Glass Houses” by Rachel Caine which is the first book in the Morganville Vampire Series. This book is about a girl named Claire Danvers who is only sixteen years old and moves to Morganville to go to college. Claire is a very bright young girl and is the youngest student in her college. Claire gets teased and harassed by Monica and a group of friends. They make fun of her because she is the youngest, smallest girl and doesn’t dress very nice. Monica shoves Claire down stairs and her and her friends harass and beat Claire up.

                Claire ends up having to go to the hospital and goes to town to find a different place to live because she doesn’t want to live in the dorms. Where Monica knows where she lives and is right beside her. Claire finds a place called the glass house to move into. She meets Eve who shows her around the house. She tells Eve why she is moving out of the dorms and Eve tells her that she will talk to Michael and Shane about her moving in.

                Claire moves into the glass house and discovers secrets about Michael that not even Shane or Eve know about. Claire also finds out that Morganville is a town ran by vampires. Once Claire finds out these kinds of secrets about Morganville she can’t leave without the vampiers finding and killingher. They could bring her back to Morganville. So I guess the saying is once Claire is in she can’t get out, at least with her life. Monica still manages to find out where Claire moves and she continues to harass her.  In high school Monica did the same to Eve, Shane and Michael. Monica is not liked by very many people. Claire doesn’t really know what to do so she continues to go college and live at the glass house with Shane, Eve and Michael.