The Phoenix Lament

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

J.K. Rowling’s novel Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, released in 2005, is about a boy named Harry Potter who attends a great school of magic, Hogwarts.  This is the sixth book in a series of seven books.  His Mom and Dad are dead and his only living relatives treat him horribly wrong.  He feels his only home is at Hogwarts or the Burrow.  But now, Dumbledore and Harry are trying to figure out how to destroy the evil dark wizard of all time, Voldemort.  But to do that, they must get a certain Memory from Professor Slughorn.  My favorite person in all the Harry Potter books would have to be Dumbledore.  Dumbledore is my favorite because he is very intelligent and knows a great wizard when he finds one.  I really liked the book because of the humorous parts that pop-up randomly and the suspenseful ending.  I would recommend this book to people who are looking to go on an adventure with wizards and magical creatures.

By: Sam McMahan

Book Review of Holes

Bety Sanchez

Media Services

February 23, 2012

                                      Book Review

The novel Holes a novel that is serious but at the same time funny. By Louis Sachar, this was released in 1998.

Stanley Yelnat’s, the main character of Holes is a character that does not have good luck. He was blame for something he did not do. Staley is sent to Camp Green Lake a lake that has been dried for more than a hundred years. Stanley among the other boys was told they were going to a hole that is five feet deep and five feet across. Stanley will realize something wrong is going on and will try to discover the truth.

Holes, a novel that I really liked, I especially like how Stanley proved to everyone he was a good and innocent person, and not a bad and guilty person. He was not a bad person like people thought. I would recommend this book to all the people that like funny novels, but at the same like novels that are serious.

By: Bety Sanchez

Man vs. Huge Marlin: Ernest Hemingway’s “Old Man and the Sea

Ernest Hemingway’s novel Old Man and the Sea, which was released in ‘52, was based on fishing. As an old Cuban fisherman the main character got too old to be fishing by himself, so he hired a young 18 year old boy to help him on the boat. The old man always dreamed of catching the biggest fish on the sea. Then one day the old man told the boy he didn’t need him, and that was the day it all went down.

            There were some things that I liked about the book and some parts that I didn’t really understand.  The thing that I liked the most was the way the sentences were written.  The words were easy to comprehend also.  I didn’t like the book’s setting because the setting was always the same.

            I would recommend this book to anyone. It’s a good book and has a good story.  The type of people I would recommend this book would be anyone who loves outdoor books.

Book Review of The Notebook

            The novel the Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks which was released in 1996. This romantic novel is about two young lovers, Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun, who meet each other at a carnival. They have an amazing summer together, until Allie’s parents disagree with her seeing Noah because of his unweathly family. Allie’s parents disapprove the relationship and move her away, she doesn’t get to say goodbye to Noah. Later on, Allie is engaged to Lon but then she notices Noah in the newspaper fixing up the old abandoned house. It soon shows they have still have feelings for each other. Allie now has to choose between Lon or Noah.

            I absolutely loved this book, even though it was kind of sad.  It makes you believe in true love. Whenever you hear about it, you probably think it’s just a girly book. But I thought it was wonderful. I encourage anyone to read the Notebook, from young teens to old people. Everybody will love this book. I really enjoyed reading this book.

By: Sierra Hughes

Hunted by Humans: Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games”

"Panic begins to set in. I can’t stay here. Flight is essential."…"But I can’t let my fear show," Katniss Everdeen runs, determined not to be anyone’s game. She must continue into the unknown land, spoken of as, the Arena. Katniss Everdeen is from District 12. She and twenty-three others have been dropped into a secluded arena filled with deathly dangers, various environments, and new creatures, all of which the Capitol created. There can only be one winner, so how does one win? They must kill, not animals, but the other competitors. “My name is Katniss Everdeen. Why am I not dead? I should be dead,” the distress dwells inside as she trembles from pain and shock. She must go on.

            Suzanne Collins fills the novel with the perfect mixture of adventure, friction, power, love, and survival. The Hunger Games emancipate the emotions out of the reader, causing the desire to read more. The Hunger Games was published on September 14, 2008, bringing an immaculate and mind opening novel into existence for all readers to experience.

By: Ashlyn Medina

Book Review of Beowulf

Book Review of Beowulf

Translated and with an Introduction by Burton Raffel an epic tale called Beowulf, which was released in 1963 the earliest of poems in the modern European language.

Beowulf an epic tale is the story of a true hero containing all the fighting and suspense a reader could ask for. Mainly this story is about an ultimate hero by the name of Beowulf who is sent off to an unknown land to fight its monsters. The hero will face many obstacles in his pursuit to avoid blood shed, but at the same time conquer with victory.

What I enjoyed about the book is the fact that it kept you on the edge of your seat the whole time because of the intense action and suspense. The only thing I disliked about the book was that it was a very hard book to read. By that I mean you really had to pay attention to what was going on or you would be completely lost, mainly because of the wording in the book which was during the Anglo – Saxon time period.

I would definitely recommend this book to the audience who really enjoys suspense and action. Those who are not so much into that, or who have trouble following what is going on, I recommend that you choose another book for yourself to read.

By: Spencer Bishop

Hunger Games Read-a-likes