Summer Reading Responses (8/20/2014)
Remember
Toni Morris
This books is about how segregation was, how it got better as time went on. What I found interesting about this book is that this book is that each page is a different story and in each story is written by the point of view of a black person and how they felt towards the situation. The book started off talking about how black kids and white kids couldn’t go to school together. Then the Supreme Court allowed them to go to the same school, but still some people would protest on how they Supreme Court had made a big mistake. Later into the book it starts to say about how black people and white people can drink from the same water fountain, can’t be seated in sections of the movie theater and buses. The don’t talk about it that much but the book talks a little bit about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. One part of the book that I really liked was a quote that says “I see in her face just a girl. She sees in my face another girl. Maybe not friends, but simply girls together.” I liked this quote because it showed how some people were starting to realize that all races should be equal and that they are equal.
NL
by Laurie Halse Anderson
Fever 1793 is a historical fiction novel about a young girl named Matilda (Mattie) Cook, and the yellow fever epidemic during the summer of 1793. The book begins in August in Philadelphia where Mattie works in the family coffeeshop with her mother, grandfather, a cook named Eliza, and a serving girl named Polly. Polly hadn’t yet arrived, and Mattie had assumed she was stalling, but later that day they learn that Polly had died of a mysterious sickness. In the following week, 64 other people die in the city, and rumors of the fever break out. Villagers begin to flee to the country, and avoiding anyone infected, but Mattie stays with her family until her mother gets sick as well. Scared that Mattie might get infected, her mother sends her to the Ludingtons, out in the country with her grandfather. Along the way, the wagon is stopped so passengers are examined for fever, and Mattie’s grandfather is declared infected, and is forced off of the wagon. For the next few days, Mattie cares for her grandfather with the soldier tricks he taught her until she becomes sick and blacks out. When she wakes, she is taken care of by doctors, until she is recovered. They then return to the city together, only to learn that Mattie’s mother went to the Ludingtons after them. But when one night burglars go into their house and kill her grandfather Mattie must find refuge. But will she survive the epidemic?
I enjoyed this book, although it was an easy read. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Mattie and her grandfather. Through their time of caring for each other on their own, Mattie cared for her Grandfather, who cared for her with in teaching her the tricks she used to keep them both alive. They were dependent on each other in that time, and when her Grandfather is killed, she makes sure he gets a proper death, with a prayer, and reads Psalm 23 for all to hear. I would rate it 4 stars out of 5 and recommend this book to late 6th grade to 7th grade. One thing I didn’t like was that Anderson added Nathaniel Benson, to be Mattie’s love interest, which seemed unneeded in the story.
AN
The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
When Mary Lennox is sent to live with her hunchbacked uncle in Yorkshire, she is a selfish and horrid girl. Sent to live with her uncle after living in India with servants and an ayah, she must adjust to her new home, which she is not eager to do. One day, while playing in the gardens outside, she learns of a mysterious garden, which had been locked for 10 years. When she discovers the secret garden, with the help of a robin and a gust of wind, her life begins to change. She begins to care for the plants in the garden, the roses and bulbs, and plants her own in addition, and begins to also care for other people. Then she meets a boy named Dickon, who seems to understand animals and nature, and her cousin Colin, who has been sick and hidden from her since she came. Together, the three children work together weaving a story with them and the people around them.
I enjoyed The Secret Garden, because it showed how the characters were growing throughout their time together. For example, Mary came to live in Yorkshire as a selfish little brat, who expected things to be the same as in India where servants would dress her, etc. But as she grows with her new friends, she becomes more understanding and she is much more pleasant to be around. Another person that grows in the story was Colin, Mary’s cousin who had been sick and who everyone thought would die. When Mary first meets him, he would cry, and he would throw tantrums, but as he discovers the garden with Mary and Dickon, he begins to recover, and starts walking and digging, up until he can beat Mary in a race. Not only does he experience physical recovery, but mentally, he has grown, and convinces himself that he will not die, and he no longer cries and throws tantrums in the same way.I would rate this book 4 stars out of 5. One thing was that the speed of the book made it hard to get through. Some parts for me went very slowly, which I didn’t like. I did like the story, although it became a bit predictable (selfish girl to a kind, caring girl, the sick boy becomes healthy, and his father who supposedly hated him and Colin reunite. Although it had its slow and predictable parts, I enjoyed the story overall, and the writing was good, with character growth, and a good setting. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys classics.
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
When Mary Lennox is sent to live with her hunchbacked uncle in Yorkshire, she is a selfish and horrid girl. Sent to live with her uncle after living in India with servants and an ayah, she must adjust to her new home, which she is not eager to do. One day, while playing in the gardens outside, she learns of a mysterious garden, which had been locked for 10 years. When she discovers the secret garden, with the help of a robin and a gust of wind, her life begins to change. She begins to care for the plants in the garden, the roses and bulbs, and plants her own in addition, and begins to also care for other people. Then she meets a boy named Dickon, who seems to understand animals and nature, and her cousin Colin, who has been sick and hidden from her since she came. Together, the three children work together weaving a story with them and the people around them.
I enjoyed The Secret Garden, because it showed how the characters were growing throughout their time together. For example, Mary came to live in Yorkshire as a selfish little brat, who expected things to be the same as in India where servants would dress her, etc. But as she grows with her new friends, she becomes more understanding and she is much more pleasant to be around. Another person that grows in the story was Colin, Mary’s cousin who had been sick and who everyone thought would die. When Mary first meets him, he would cry, and he would throw tantrums, but as he discovers the garden with Mary and Dickon, he begins to recover, and starts walking and digging, up until he can beat Mary in a race. Not only does he experience physical recovery, but mentally, he has grown, and convinces himself that he will not die, and he no longer cries and throws tantrums in the same way.I would rate this book 4 stars out of 5. One thing was that the speed of the book made it hard to get through. Some parts for me went very slowly, which I didn’t like. I did like the story, although it became a bit predictable (selfish girl to a kind, caring girl, the sick boy becomes healthy, and his father who supposedly hated him and Colin reunite. Although it had its slow and predictable parts, I enjoyed the story overall, and the writing was good, with character growth, and a good setting. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys classics.
AN