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Showing posts from July, 2017

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie                 Some stories just tell themselves beautifully. Through the despair, hardships, triumph, joy and loss of the characters you begin to see the world in which they exists and the lives in which they are living. I feel like Half of a Yellow Sun tells itself beautifully. Taking place in the 1960’s before, during and after the Civil War in Nigeria, this book introduces you to a wide array of characters from Ugwu the houseboy, to his master Odenigbo, his wealthy girlfriend Olanna, her sister Kainene and Richard, the white man who came to Nigeria to study and falls in love with Kainene. Through these characters we experience the war in its entirety. We see the creation of a new nation, the plight of the refugees, the fear of those watching everything fall to ruins around them and the destruction.                 This may very well be my favorite novel so far by Adichie. Not only were these characters well developed an

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry

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Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry                 Imagine meeting a young boy with promises of an island where you will never grow up. Oh the fun you could have, leaving the world you know to have adventures. Imagine if the world you did know was one where you were unhappy, afraid, alone. Then this island and this boy, Peter, would have everything you could ever want. That was Jamie. He left the land he knew to follow Peter many, many seasons ago. He was the first boy Peter had ever brought to the island. They were best friends and they would never grow old. But as the seasons passed more boys would come. When those boys died either in Battle, during a raid against the pirates, from sickness or the Many-eyes, Peter would go back to the Other Place to get other boys. Jamie would be the one to bury the bodies. He was also the one that made sure the boys were taken care of, looked after, and while everyone had fun, Jamie kept them safe. This is the stor

George by Alex Gino

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George by Alex Gino                 George loved reading Charlotte’s Web . So much so that George cried at the end when Charlotte died. Charlotte was everything she wanted to be. She wants to play Charlotte in the school play but her fear of everyone finding out that she is really a girl is crippling. Her mom and brother don’t know that she feels this way. George isn’t like the other boys because she isn’t a boy. She is a girl. But how to prove to everyone that what they see isn’t everything.                 Simple, powerful, timely and necessary. Those are the four words I would use to describe this book. Here we have a young person by the name of George, who was born a male but believes himself to be female. She is afraid of what that means but believes in her heart that is true. How do you reveal that information to the people you love most: your mother, brother, best friend? How can you prove to someone what you know is true. George was such a great character. She was w