This book is the third in a series of three, soon to be four. It is an amazing love story. It is a continuation of the adventures that Isabella (Bella) Swan has with her vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen. This book is about what happens after Edward comes back and how he deals with Jacob the werewolf and the trouble that he and Bella face. The passion that Stephenie Meyer portrays through the events that happen is amazing. The love that she talks about is complicated for uncountable reasons and it is fun to see how the characters deal with these complications. These books pull you out of your world and take you to Bella and Edward’s. If you need to get away from life just pick up one of these books and start reading. Everyone should read these books, but make sure you start with the first one, Twilight. You won’t want to put it down!

Reviewed by Talia Behrend-Wilcox, Grade 9

Nyssa’s parents were killed 6 years ago. Who killed them? No one knows. Except Nyssa might. Well, she has a good idea of who did it. Or does she? She might know if Elsdon would come back after 6 years of being away. If she gets at least one thing -a lock of hair, an article of clothing, something he’s touched or owned- she could look into his dreams, for she is a witch and can look into peoples dreams. Will he be the murderer? Read to find out!

Reviewed by Kellie A., Grade 6

This book is about a young girl named Franny who lives on one side of the highway with a variety of different types of interesting people. One day, a boy named Jesus moved from the other side of the highway, and is teased by some of the other neighborhood boys. Jesus was adopted and his parents are both African American. All of the children think this is very strange. Franny’s friend Samantha is very religious, and her father is a preacher. Franny on the other hand avoids church as much as she can. Samantha and Franny start believing that this boy Jesus just might be the real thing. Franny’s brother is deaf, and gets teased a lot by the kids. If you want to find out what happens to Franny and Jesus, and all of their friends, then read this book by Jacqueline Woodson called Feathers. (This book has 118 pages)

Reviewed by Samantha A., Grade 6

Chloe / The Manny

Hannah / The Fire Within

Ashley / Leaping Beauty

Kyra / Green Glass Sea

Timothy / Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Eric / Wish List

Shoun / Artemis Fowl

Hannah / Twilight

Hannah / The Clique

Madeline / Shug

Grace / Gossip Girl

Katelynn / Eragon

Elizabeth / Soul Surfer

Avery / Tree Girl

Max / The Blade of Fire

Patrick / Maniac Magee

Caroline / The Clique                                             

Parents are apparently tired of the mystery and so many are trying to find out what their kids are up to on Facebook. The Washington Post reports that some teens and young adults are shocked to find their mom or dad trying to “friend” them on Facebook. Some are even finding their Mom or Dad friending their friends.

Across the country, Facebook users are contemplating similar questions when they log onto their accounts. More and more moms and dads are signing onto Facebook to keep up with their offspring. Not only are they friending (or attempting to friend) their sons and daughters, they’re friending their sons’ and daughters’ friends.Some, like Matt, take the requests in stride. He ultimately friended his dad. Others are less sanguine, voicing their dismay via online groups that decry parental intrusion and offer tips on how to screen out mom and dad. (“Just go onto their computers and delete their accounts.” “Just don’t add them as a friend or any1 that is a co-worker with ur parents duh.”) Even parenting experts are getting involved, offering their own tips on proper Facebook etiquette.

 

“I do not know if this has happened to anybody, but this morning I log on to Facebook and I have a new friend request!” wrote 19-year-old Mike Yeamans, a sophomore at James Madison University, on one of several “No Parents on Facebook” groups that have popped up on the site. “I am excited to make a new friend so I click on the link. I could not believe what I saw. My father! This is an outrage!”

Some might argue that this means Facebook has jumped the shark. They might be right. If someday in the near future young people start complaining that their parents are following them on Twitter it could mean that many twittering teens are about to relocate. However, these same types of stories popped up a couple years ago with parents becoming the MySpace friends of their children. We’ve seen this all before. We’ve even seen this story before with Facebook and parents. Last June the New York Times ran a story called “omg my mom joined facebook!!” Today, MySpace is still going strong although one could argue that some of the younger people have gone elsewhere. Facebook seems to be holding onto its young users. Most 20-somethings can probably deal with the idea of parents on Facebook but parental intrusion might discourage some of the younger Facebook users who just aren’t interested in having their parents as Facebook friends.

Posted on March 9, 2008

At first the premise of the novel sounds far fetched and unrealistic: our characters live in a near-future United States, after the Second World War in which Pro-Choice and Pro-Life armies fought and killed to maintain their ideals (I encourage you to read about these subjects to discover what you think about the issues). The result is a preposterous compromise in which a pregnancy can be retroactively “aborted” after the age of 13 and until the age of 18. Teens everywhere become possible commodities because their bodies, if retroactively “aborted,” are unwound. This process systematically dismantles, but does not technically kill the host teen and disseminates his or her organs and tissues to recipients in need. As adult and teenaged characters are introduced, it becomes apparent that this “Great Compromise” does not necessarily produce the guilt-free results it purports to do. One of the unspoken results of unwinding is a split of the donor’s consciousness and muscle memory through the population of organ recipients. Instead of our present day reality of black market organ selling, in Connor’s world this is common trade. Another result of unwinding is the growing guilt of the adult population, evident in the actions of a few conscientious individuals.

To our sensibilities, Connor is just another troubled teen—he gets into fights, he tries to maintain a tough exterior, he doesn’t get along with his parents. But when his parents decide to have him unwound, his fight or flight urge kicks in and he does both. Along the way he picks up Risa, a state ward who is being unwound because of budget cuts and rescues Lev, a tithe whose religious family chose to have him to unwound and donated to humanity in the name of God. Each of these three main characters is developed in separate chapters of the novel and through their struggles they each come to understand their own ideals and their misgivings about the society in which they live.

The plot itself is exciting and a page turner, with underground networks of Unwinds trying to reach freedom, terrorists using the exiled Unwinds for their own schemes, and jaded authority figures in between. At first I thought this novel would be another “wham bam thank you ma’am” experience, with little thought to character development. I was completely wrong. While the characters generally act as you would expect them to, it is in ways that develop them into adults and it reflects on the choices all teenagers must make as they accept responsibility and work to become adults. There just happens to be a lot of action and a lot of “bigger picture” issues acknowledged along the way in this novel.

Shusterman doesn’t necessarily tell his readers what to think about the issues of abortion, religion, consciousness, the soul, organ donors and organ harvesting, parenting, or politics. He merely weaves these questions into his narrative and lets the reader muse over them. In this respect, the novel allows for a dialog between readers and people interested in these issues. It is also a compelling read and each character complexly explores his and her own personal issues. Ultimately each character works through their own questions about how to be a thoughtful and successful citizen in their community. Connor struggles to control his temper and make wise decisions, Risa reflects on her complacency while living in the State Home and her growing resistance to the wrong types of authority, Lev battles with his loss of the faith he thought he knew and trusted and learns to be an individual.

While this novel touches on several important and very controversial issues, it doesn’t necessarily make assumptions about its readership and what we believe, for we all believe something a little bit different. By weaving these contemporary issues into a dystopic future, it reminds its readers that we all must address these issues on some level even if we’re not technically faced with the ramifications of Unwinding.

National Poetry Month
Poem Contest
1st Place

The robins sing as their nest they make,
Leaves unfold as tree branches shake,
It’s all too much for a man to take
Spring, spring, spring

The white has gone both sickles and flakes
Sun pierce the clouds as the cold it takes
The earth rejoices to God whom creates,
Spring, spring, spring

National Poetry Month
Poem Contest
2nd Place

Your heart going like crazy

Racing and running

And going to face your mind

Your wings start to give

And you soar

You feel new inside and…

Let go

You feel that nothing in the world

Matters anymore

 You die from the freedom

Loving to fly and…

Being you

National Poetry Month
Poem Contest
3rd Place