Book Reviews : Recent Episodes
Honors English 2 (American Literature)
Honors English 2 students offer one to two-minute reviews on canonical pieces of literature, as well as modern classics.
This novel is about Sam Spade, a detective, who is recruited to participate in the dangerous quest to find the elusive Maltese Falcon.
The book Kindred tells the story of Dana, a modern black woman in 1976, who is celebrating her birthday with her husband when she is abruptly snatched from her home and is transported back to 1819 to save Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, from drowning.
In this book it talks about everything they went through, their challenges they faced, and how they got to where they are today and what motivated them to keep going.
If you are looking for a book that will capture your attention, will keep you interested, and has an exciting plot line, find out all of this in the book Kindred.
In many books like these of its time, readers have seen slaves in dialogue as ignorant and resentful.
Traveling across a game, risking his life, Wade Watts adventures in hope to find the easter egg left by Halliday so can stop living of poverty and live a life of luxury.
Within 19 minutes, one person was able to kill ten people and ruin so many lives, but who is really guilty for what happened.
This is a complex story of a school shooting, that changes everybody's lives in 19 minutes.
The Are of Racing in the Rain is a heartwarming story about love, family, and of course, car racing, told by of all narratives, a dog.
In 2044, everyone is trying to escape from their own realities, and the only way to do that is in the OASIS.
The Book, Everything I Never Told You, is an intriguing story of a Chinese-American family that has to over come a huge tragedy that strikes their small family.
Shortly after Jack the Ripper had infamously haunted the streets of London, Herman Webster Mudgett, who later names himself Henry Howard Holmes, had himself eliminated between 27-200 people, mostly single young women.
Most war books are about WWI or WWII, but this book is a collection of war stories during the Vietnam war, which people don't get to hear about as often.
This novel is a thrilling, thought provoking book about a school shooting in a small town and the events that led up to it.
Something that sparks thought in out culture today is, what will the future of our world look like?
In 2044, everyone is trying to escape their own realities, and the only way to do that is in the OASIS.
Take a look at the life of a seemingly normal 16-year-old girl named Lydia in a seemingly normal family.
Being a woman comes with many responsibilities and expectations, but are these expectations something these women want put on them?
This is a satirical and eye opening coming of age story that follows a teenage boy named Holden.
Hurricane Katrina rips apart the streets and one man is left to protect his house from thieves and the cruelties of a natural disaster, will he survive?
Slaughterhouse-Five is a story about a haunting event that still remains a major part of the author's life, and his attempts to move on from it.
As humans we tend to see things from a very one sided perspective meaning that we are superior and more advanced than anything else.
Devastated by climate change, war, diseases, famines and droughts, the earth in 2044 is a pretty crappy place for the teenager Wade Watts to live in.
Walls had a crazy eventful childhood from traveling thorough the desert, to making her way to New York as a seventeen year old.
The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime that Changed Their Lives, is a beautifully written non- fiction story for both teens and adults to read.
This novel tells the intriguing story of Janie Crawford and how her life progressed throughout her middle-aged years.
The key to a good read is finding a book that challenges the reader's morality and affects how they see the world.
Written to give readers a chance to walk alongside the characters and their experiences, The Women of Brewster Place constantly reminds people of the world’s issues from then and now.
Everything from old video games like Pac-Man and Adventure to socially awkward teenagers finds its way into Cline's novel.
The Devil in the White City is an incredible book full of wonders, crime, and the latest innovations that were displayed at the Chicago World Fair of 1893.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a novel containing the dangers and thrills of a world after the apocalypse.
From reckless childhoods to severe family issues, The Glass Castle is an emotional roller coaster of a book for those who are interested in adventure and also for those who enjoy reading about the dynamics of family relationships.
From terror to compassion this non-stop mysterious book will have a reader on the edge of their seat dying to read more.
As the pages turn, Holden Caufield, recently kicked out of school, finds himself exploring the New York nightlife that most teenagers of the 1950s would kill for, yet he still can't find himself having fun, or enjoying life, at all.
A mystery and a thriller the book keeps the reader turning the page and wondering what happened to Lydia and why she went out to the lake.
One thing that Sterling High wasn't expecting was that in nineteen minutes multiple classmates and teachers would be murdered by fellow students.
In most science fiction novels, the protagonist of the story is usually able to control their special trait and/or power.
The Maltese Falcon is a novel that will keep the reader engaged throughout the whole book and also keeps an air of mystery until the very end of the novel.
Shoeless Joe is a book that readers will love if they like sports, a good story, religion or a book that has a use of a lot of metaphors.
A man running and running, then suddenly he turns back, months later his friend is hot in the head he feels its his fault.
The phrase rags to riches is a common one that many people hear either in a book or hear about in a movie.
This Book is made to be all about video games while also keeping a genuinely good story unlike any other book ever made before it.
In this amazing sci-fi book the reader is able to enter any type of world, through the many references to modern media or the 80s.
Ready Player One is a science-fiction masterpiece of contemporary literature that combines futuristic video games with a dying world and a long journey to achieve greatness.
Imagine watching the world through the outside knowing where the missing piece to the puzzle is but not being able to tell those that are looking for it where it is.
The book focuses on the lives of different slaves struggling to stay alive and retain their religious beliefs while enduring daily mental and physical abuse.
American gods is an action-packed book with the main character, Shadow Moon, being an ex-convict with an unknown past.
This novel showcases the twisting fate of Wang Lung as he grows up, his luck wavers, and his relationships change.
American society today has many different movies and TV shows that depict different dystopian and post-apocalyptic worlds.
This novel falls into the realm of realistic fiction, and fits into American culture perfectly as a result.
The story of Holden Caulfield was one that was fascinating in the way that it addressed sensitive issues in a time where it wasn't very common.
Though bildungsroman are often illustrated to have a positive effect on the protagonist, it can also easily document a person's mental decline, in a horrifyingly intimate way due to a bildungsroman's intrusive narrative style.
This book is about a young 14 year old girl, Susie Salmon who got brutally murdered by her next door neighbor, Mr Harvey in a cornfield outside of her school.
America is plagued by gun violence and school shootings and there seems to be no answer for solving these atrocious crimes.
Ready Player One is an extremely captivating novel that takes the reader on a roller coaster of successes and failures.
The Glass Castle is a riveting memoir that tells the story of Jeannette's anything but ordinary upbringing.
Slater goes into great detail on the true story of two teens whose lives dramatically change after a bus ride after school.