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Reviews

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years ago

Reviews

New feature on the library catalog at school - you can add reviews. Click on the book title and click on Reviews, then you can start adding your own!

You can give a few more details about the books that you love or hate here. Feel free to write or record your rants or raves. I've also provided links to places that you can find reviews about your books.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

"A novel set against the three decades of Afghanistan's history shaped by Soviet occupation, civil war, and the Taliban, which tells the stories of two women, Mariam and Laila, who grow close despite their nineteen-

year age difference and initial rivalry as they suffer at the hand of a common enemy: their abusive husband."

I did not think that I would like this book as much as I did. After looking at the description above, I think it sounds pretty boring, but it was really phenomenal! The writing made it so easy to sympathize with the women who lived during the reign of the Taliban in Afghanistan, something that I really didn't know anything about before reading this. Even though it is fiction, the writer bases his story on realistic occurrences. If you haven't read this yet, you really should. It was great!

See Khaled Hosseini's interview about A Thousand Splendid Suns:

"Khaled Hosseini discusses A Thousand Splendid Suns." You Tube. 31 MAY 2007. 10 Apr 2008 <http://youtube.com/watch?v=S4kyalTT_wY>.

I also read a really interesting article in Newsweek this week about Afghanistan. The article was "The Opium Brides of Afghanistan" by Sami Yousafzai (http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=31506784&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehost-live&scope=site). It discussed farmers in Afghanistan who grow opium (you make heroin out of this). The farmers have to borrow money from drug dealers in order to survive until their crop comes in, but government groups have been coming around and killing all of the opium instead. The farmer now doesn't have a crop that is coming in, but still owes the drug king money. The tribal councils in Afghanistan have decided that it is OK for the farmers to sell their daughters to the drug dealers to satisfy their debt. Some of these children are 5 years old and are used as slaves in the drug dealers household. Then when they turn 10 or 11, their "marriage" is consumated.

Reading A Thousand Splendid Suns is the first time I realized how people in Afghanistan treat women and I thought it had gotten better since the American troops came in, but evidently it hasn't helped that much. Write some comments about how you feel about this situation.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

"Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors."

Here's another one that sounds boring, but was so great. The book is told from the perspective of Death -- an interesting technique by the author. I read this over a school holiday and read the entire thing -- all 552 pages -- in one day because I couldn't put it down. I gave it to my daughter and she couldn't stop reading it either. This book tells the story of the Holocaust and World War II, but from the perspective of a German girl. She is forced to leave her home because of the bombing and her mom has her live with strangers in the country. The family that she lives with begins hiding a Jewish man and this story describes the bravery of some of the German people. I cried at the end...and then wanted to start right back at the beginning again because it was so good.

Markus Zusak had an interview about the book on ABC News. It was very interesting!

Markus Zusak Home Page

Princess in the Spotlight by Meg Cabot

"Mia, the fourteen-year-old New York City-raised heir to the throne of the tiny European country of Genovia, manages to alienate her best friend, her family, and her soon-to-be-subjects in the space of one national primetime interview."

So you thought I read only serious books?! Over Spring Break, I ran out of things to read and my daughter said that I could borrow her book. If you haven't read the Princess Diaries or any of its sequels, they are actually pretty funny! They are a little different from the movie...Mia's dad is still alive, but it provides kind of a behind-the-scenes look at what was started in the movies. Mia is such a dork in the book and she stays a dork for much longer than in the movie. I liked it -- it's a fast read and humorous -- what could be better?

A funny, related-to-the book website -- http://www.ihatemiathermopolis.com/

Information about the author, Meg Cabot - http://www.megcabot.com/megsbio.php

Mrs. Keller's Favorite Book

I have several "favorite" books. However, this is best book I've read this year - in 2008!

1) The Kite Runner - The Kite Runner was a tremendously well-written, heart-wrenching tale of two friends who travel throughout life in Iraq together, all the while realizing the importance of true friendship. The story tells of personal and national heart-aches, triumphs/victory and the joys of close, personal friendships.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini