American Literature II [1]

Let me start by saying I'm a little behind on posting on here due to the fact that I have various books I have to read in my American Literature II class.  There are so many that I've read, I'd prefer to just post the ones I like, and thus this is what will be posted here.  I will be reading more stories for my American Literature II class and if any are worth writing a review about, I will come back and post another massive dump.  For now though, I hope you enjoy this review dump.

A ROSE FOR EMILY by William Faulkner
Genre: Classic / Horror / Mystery
This is a story about a woman who doesn't pay her taxes and who buys arsenic, for a purpose which is left up to the reader to decide.

What I thought:
I was expecting this to be a terrible read, having not read any Faulkner and having heard terrible things.  However, this story quite blew me away.  For being a short story it flows well and is very developed.  My only dislike is the fact that we never know why Emily buys arsenic, it's up to the readers interpretation of this.



Rating: ****/5

WINTER DREAMS by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Genre: Classic / Romance
Not technically a romance, but I see it as such.  It's a story about a man who in his youth was a Caddy and later falls in love with a woman of whom he may never truly have.

What I thought:
I was quite bored at the beginning but this didn't last.  The story finally unfolds and by the end I felt myself feeling for the lead character Dexter.  I couldn't dislike it for the fact that it's a very painful thing, unrequited love.  It's one thing that can be most understood for certain people reading it.  I feel in a way that he was quite a strong character.

Rating: ****/5

WINESBURG, OHIO by Sherwood Anderson
Genre: Classic
This is a book with various stories that all intertwine to create a larger whole.  It's about people called grotesques, and the meaning of grotesques in this book is basically along the lines of larger truths.

What I thought:
Some of the stories were dull and not something I would ever want to reread.  Not one of the best novels I have ever read.  I enjoyed some of the stories, and found myself coming to new understandings that are personal only to me.  I feel that anyone who reads this might, through a character's story, come to a new understanding of their own life or the world around them.

Rating: ***/5

THE OPEN BOAT by Stephen Crane
Genre: Classic
This is a story about men surviving a ship wreck by the only means they simply know how.  It's a story of their desire to survive, and their struggle to obtain freedom from the vicious natures throes, the ocean. 

What I thought:
I was expecting for this short story to be quite dull and boring but it was actually kind of interesting.  It didn't take me too long to read and I found myself wondering what was happening in it.  By the end I felt that the men had been more loyal to their captain than to themselves, sacrificing their lives for their loyalty in a way.

Rating: ***/5

DAISY MILLER by Henry James
Genre: Classic / Romance
This is a story about a woman who wants to live by her own rules, and a man who chases after her with love enveloping his very soul.

What I thought:
This felt like a shorter read than it was.  I burned through the pages like fire to paper. I felt connected to the man who loves Daisy, Mr. Winterbourne.  At first I thought he was kind of a douche, for a lack of a better word, but in the end I found myself feeling for him and his situation.  I felt like this is the beginning of a longer novel and was quite disappointed it was left so short.

Rating: ****/5

THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN by Mark Twain
Genre: Classic / Young Adult / Historical Fiction
This is the story of Huck Finn himself.  It tells of his drunken abusive father, and then leads us into his adventures after he escapes the coils of his father's shack.

What I thought:
This book started out as a 5 star review, but it slowly began to spiral down into a novel of lesser enjoyment.  I was expecting this to be one of the best novels I have ever read, but unfortunately, it wasn't.  I didn't find myself connecting to Huck himself, or the other characters really either.  By every chapter it was a new story, take from that what you will.  I felt like it was a bunch of stories that didn't really connect well to one another.  I'd have to say that I enjoyed the language and comprehension I got from this story more than from the story itself.

Rating: ***/5

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Genre: Historical Fiction / Young Adult / Classic

This is a story about a boy named Huck whose father comes back into town, and drunk as he is, abuses Huck.  Huck eventually escapes and the story is telling his adventures that are at times hard to imagine because they are incredibly intense.

Goodreads Synopsis:
Intended at first as a simple story of a boy's adventures in the Mississippi Valley-a sequel to Tom Sawyer-the book grew and matured under Twain's hand into a work of immeasurable richness and complexity.

This book started out as a 5 star, but by the end it slid down to a 3.  It just lost it's appeal to me, and I just couldn't wait to be done with it because it was so boring near the end.  Huck was an alright character at best.  I can't say I connected to any of the characters on a personal level.  I didn't like the fact that by every next chapter it seemed like it was a new story.  It felt at times like the chapters didn't really connect to one another, but that might just be a me thing and not the book thing you know.

Shame on anyone who thinks evil of this.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Genre: Dystopian / Apocalyptic / Romance / Young Adult / Government / Survival

Before you read this review, if you haven't yet, go read my Hunger Games review.  Make sure to read the first book cus it's good.

The capitol is angry about Katniss defying them.  In retaliation they round up previous tribute winners for the 75th Annual Hunger Games. Unknown to Katniss and Peeta, a rebellion is about to break out.  Katniss is known as the Mockingjay...which is a sort of catalyst symbolism.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sparks are igniting, flames are spreading and the Capitol wants revenge.

Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol-- a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before... and surprising readers at every turn.

What did I think of this book?  I thought it started out pretty slow.  It only starts to get better around 66% of the way through.  After that it gets good enough to be worth reading.  The ending caught me off guard, even though I didn't have any expectations.  It definitely makes me want to read the third book.  I know that I will!  I can't wait to see the second movie too, even though it probably wont be as good as the book.  If you liked the first book I suggest giving this one a shot.  Like I said though, it starts out slow but gets better around 66% of the way through.  The beginning is just sort of a set up for what's to come.

Shame on anyone who thinks evil of this.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Genre: Post-apocalyptic/Dystopian/Young Adult

This book is about a crumbling US government that devised a way to control the people with a thing they call The Hunger Games.

Back Cover:
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before--and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.


I was expecting something entirely different than what occurred in this book. That's not to say it wasn't a good book. Reading the back cover had me intrigued. As I read I felt slightly less intrigued, but continued to read knowing that sometimes it takes about 100 pages to get into a book. The more I continued to read the more I found myself feeling for Katniss and all the hardships she must face during The Hunger Games. I felt myself tear up a couple of times. We get to understand Katniss, but I think, she still has a lot to learn. I'm curious to find out what happens in book 2. If you're interested in a corrupt and brutal government, this is the book to read.

Shame on anyone who thinks evil of this.

Annie on my Mind - Nancy Garden

Genre: Lesbian/Romantic/Young Adult

Basically this is a love story about a young girl who falls in love with another girl. I don't know how more to say it than that without giving a lot away.



Back Cover:

"If you don't put that ring on this minute, I'm going to take it back," Annie Whispered in my ear. She leaned back, looking at me, her hands still on my shoulders, her eyes shining softly at me and snow falling, melting, on her nose. "Buon Natale," she whispered, "amore mio."
Merry Christmas, my love," I answered.

From the moment Liza Winthrop meets Annie Kenyon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she knows there is something special between them. But Liza never knew falling in love could be so wonderful...or so confusing.
I thought this book was a really sweet love story between too girls who are discovering what it really means to love someone else. More than anything, it's a story about love, and it was touching, and had a good moral which is this: "Don't let ignorance win," said Ms Stevenson. "Let love."

My favorite part of this book was this "Have you ever felt really close to someone? So close that you can't understand why you and the other person have two separate bodies, two separate skins?" I think that really describes what it means to love someone.

So if that doesn't make you want to read this book, then you're missing out. If you like love stories you might find this to be quite good. I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves shy romance.

Shame on anyone who thinks evil of this.

The Windup Girl - Paolo Bacigalupi

Genre: Sci-fi/Post-apocalyptic/Dystopian

The Windup Girl is set in a Steampunk Thailand. The story starts out with a man called Anderson who owns a factory that's failing in many aspects. Later we meet Emiko, our Windup-girl, who is a genetically engineered Japanese girl, who gets mistreated, but finds a renewed reason to live. Cibiscosis and blister rust go around like a plague making everyone deathly sick and food inedible. The world we come to know in this book is one that's very dark and depressing. Everything is genetically engineered from humans, to animals, to food.


Synopsis from goodreads.com:
What happens when bio-terrorism becomes a tool for corporate profits? And what happens when said bio-terrorism forces humanity to the cusp of post-human evolution? In The Windup Girl, award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi returns to the world of his award-winning "The Calorie Man" and "Yellow Card Man" in order to address these questions.

First let me say, this book was nothing like I expected. I didn't expect it to be so dark. That's not to say I didn't like this book, but I'm sure it's not a favorite of mine. The book takes place in a Steampunk Thailand which was different than anything I've ever known, so kudos to something unique. Sometimes the book is hard to follow, I guess because it has a lot of filler junk. I felt a bit of happiness when Emiko finds her strength. After getting into the book I guess I really had no expectations for the outcome. I did feel though, that it could have used something more...I'd have liked for the story to have a lot more about Emiko, since she's The Windup Girl as the title suggests. I felt like they should have described the diseases better, though I guess they weren't that important to the storyline. I did like that Emiko developed through the story, however, the ending kinda left me empty. Overall it was an okay book, worth a read if you're into something different and strange. This book is definitely a strange one, but with a unique story.

Shame on anyone who thinks evil of this.

Twilight: Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer

Genre: Young Adult

Bella's still in love with Edward, and in this book we get to see how much of a jerk Jacob truly is. Edward still wants Bella to marry him before he turns her, despite her wanting it now, under what Edward considers fear circumstance. It's Bella's graduation year and young vampires are running rampant in Seattle. We discover Jaspers past and how it's linked to the up and coming battle with young vampires. The Cullens and the wolves form an ally-ship to fight a battle against these newborns. Still victoria wants to kill Bella. Bella discovers her love for Jacob and wants to set him free.


Wikipedia Summary:
The story opens with the revelation that Seattle, Washington is being plagued by a string of murders, which Edward suspects is caused by a new vampire that is unable to control its thirst for human blood. As Edward and Bella apply to colleges, Bella explains to Edward her desire to see her friend, Jacob Black, a werewolf. Although Edward fears for her safety, Bella insists that neither Jacob nor his wolf pack would ever harm her, and she begins visiting him occasionally. On one of these visits, Jacob tells Bella that he is in love with her and wants her to choose him instead of Edward, but Bella says she just sees him as a friend. To that, Jacob forcibly kisses her and she reacts by punching him in the face, spraining her hand while not even leaving a scratch on him. Meanwhile, Alice Cullen has a vision that Victoria, a vampire who is hunting Bella for revenge, has returned to Forks. A few days later, Edward proposes to Bella and, despite harboring an aversion to marriage, she accepts.

Bella and the Cullens soon realize that the Seattle murders are being committed by an "army" of newborn vampires, controlled by Victoria. The Cullens join forces with the wolf pack to combat this threat. As everyone else prepares for battle, Edward, Bella and Jacob camp in the mountains, hidden during the battle, where they are later joined by Seth Clearwater, a young wolf pack member, to wait out the fight.

In the morning, Jacob becomes upset when he overhears Edward and Bella discussing their engagement and threatens to join the fight and get himself killed. Bella stops Jacob by kissing him, and she comes to realize that she is in love with him as well. During the battle, Victoria tracks Edward's scent to Bella's forest hiding place, and Edward is forced to fight. Edward manages to kill Victoria and her vampire army is destroyed. Afterwards, Bella explains to Jacob that while she loves him, her love for Edward is greater. After receiving a wedding invitation from Edward, Jacob runs away in his wolf form to escape his heartbreak over Bella's rejection.
Let me start by saying this books freaking long dude. I saw the movies before I read the books, but it looks to me like the movies follow the books pretty well. I didn't mind this one, in fact it was my favorite of the series so far. The one thing I have against this saga is that it kinda circulates to the same junk all the time. Detailed circles that just keep reoccurring basically. What I mean by that is, Bella's always strung between Edward and Jacob before she even realizes her feelings for the one guy. Not to mention that someones always trying to kill her because shes 'fragile.' Also she's always blaming herself for the bad stuff that happens and I guess she does kind of draw it to herself. They need to get on with turning her into a vampire already so that the story can get some kind of change. Also, is it just me or does Jacob become more of an ass, as the series continues? Raging werewolf hormones much? If you're into vampires and werewolves and love triangles, you'll love this series, especially if you don't mind some trends that seem to stick with the theme of the saga. It's definitely a series that if I were a teenage girl, I would be crazy about. The flaws probably wont stop me from reading the next ones.

Shame on anyone who thinks evil of this.

The Buried Covenant - Shawn P. Keenan

Genre: Sci-fi, Religious, Occult, Young Adult


The book starts out pretty slow, but does get better. It starts out pretty much like most young adult novels do, focusing on things like relationships and friendships. Our hero, Jayke, is a boy who doesn't know much about his past and is really nervous around others, especially those his own age. He slowly starts to learn he has some kind of super natural powers. We meet a few ominous characters one being Amber, who we later find out goes by a different name, and a different character all together. A group called the Aduro really wants to stop him, because he's the key of the future. In this book it seems love is our hero's reason for strength. I will admit I didn't like this book too much at the beginning, and the entire book almost lost me when we discover it's religious affiliation, but with a title like 'The Buried Covenant' it should have been expected. It wasn't written poorly by any means. It was easy to get through, I read the entire book in a sitting. It's pretty cool that Jayke goes through a metamorphosis of understanding himself, and the things he's capable of. Heck, he even has a romantic interest, even though he must stay pure and cannot be with her, which must be difficult, for anyone.


Synopsis from Amazon.com:
Being hardheaded is a common character flaw, but most teenagers can’t crack a concrete curb with their skull. And while a skilled skateboarder appears to defy gravity, he can’t keep water from pouring out of an upturned cup.

Unintentionally tapping into latent powers has brought Jayke Wolff to the attention of the Aduro, an ancient society plotting an apocalyptic new world order. He’s now their number one draft pick, and they’ve dispatched their most seductive member to close the deal. It shouldn’t take much convincing a hormonal teenage boy to turn his back on a cryptic covenant for a future of self-indulgence and unchecked power. But if Jayke can’t be tempted by pleasures of the flesh, the flesh can be influenced in less pleasant ways as well. Armageddon can’t wait forever. Killing Jayke will also work.

I thought it was pretty slow at first. As I said before it does get better. It has good character developement as we see Jayke go from a shy and unsure guy to a strong character with more understanding of himself. I read it in a sitting, so that should tell you it's not a terrible book, at least I didn't think so by any means. I recommend reading this book if you're into the occult, religious affiliation and the supernatural. If you're looking to read this book, goodreads.com has it up for June 2011 for a free read here. 

Shame on anyone who thinks evil of this.

Rating:

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

Genre: Sci-Fi

Where's a better place to start blogging about books, than Ender's Game? There isn't one, that I know of.

Ender's game is a Sci-fi novel about a boy taken by the government and trained in battle. It's the first of a saga of books by Orson Scott Card. It's a futuristic war-space novel. I don't know if any of you have read the Halo series of novels, but you'll notice how similar Halo is to this novel. The first time I read this book I thought the beginning felt slow, but the second time around I felt I understood why it was written as it was. It starts with his home life before they come to take him away. Through all of his training you learn how intelligent Ender is and you may find yourself becoming attached to his character and who he is and can become, at least I did. You get to learn a whole lot about his character, seeing the events he goes through, who he thinks he is versus who he truly is. I really like the character development. He does what needs to get done. He even has some really good supporting characters, like his sister. In the end I feel he truly knows what it is he must do, and maybe understands a little bit more about himself than he did throughout the entire novel.

This book was incredibly intriguing and I have read it more than once. In fact I suggested it for a book group of mine, and we read it together, well...those of us who opted to give it a chance instead of opting out. It's not usually a book that females might find themselves wanting to read and even if it doesn't sound like your thing you should definitely give it a shot. I think anyone whose interested in sci-fi novels should pick this one up if they have yet to read it.

Back cover:
"Intense is the word for Ender's Game. Aliens have attacked earth twice and almost destroyed the human species. To make sure humans win the next encounter, the world government has taken to breeding military geniuses--and then training them in the arts of war....The early training, not surprisingly, takes the form of 'games.'...Ender Wiggin is a genius among geniuses; he wins all the games...He is smart enough to know that time is running out. But is he smart enough to save the planet?"

I think this book is freaking amazing. The plot is great, the story carries well, the characters are intense, and the outcome is stupendous. If you don't read this book, you are seriously missing out. It's a must read in my books.

Shame on anyone who thinks evil of this.