The Winter Girls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Dear Readers,

I have very mixed feelings about this book. Laurie Halse Anderson is a good author. She has written many other book that I love. Fever 1793 was one of my favorite books as a young girl. But this book was not one of her best. Her historical fiction is superb so good that I would read it over and over again. Wintergirls had a different vibe. I would call it a whinny girl vibe.
Wintergirls is about Lia, a teenage girls struggling with anorexia. The book is her struggle to survive while fighting a horrible body image. Anorexia simply put is not fun. And reading about it is not fun either. So this book is not a fun read. It is actually quite depressing. If you want to be thoroughly depressed read this book. There are a few things about this book I do like though. It is hard to relate to because I have never had anorexia, but there are some parts that every teen girl can relate to.
First reason why I like this book, the ending. Through out the book it is whinny. Me Me Me Me Me. That's basically all the book is about. Lia saying I am not pretty. I am not skinny. I am not perfect. I I I I I I I. But in the end Lia sees that she has to live for other people. That life is not all about her. Her actions have reactions. (Sorry here is a spoiler alert.) She permanently scares her little sister, Emma, when she is found in the bathroom trying to kill herself. Emma will never recover from seeing her beloved sister cut open. After she realizes she hurts Emma so bad Lia decides to change the way she is living. She is not hurting only herself by not eating.
Like I said almost every teenage girl can relate to feeling bad about her body. I would be lying big time if I said that I have never looked in the mirror and hated what I saw. We all do it, but most of us have found ways to cope with it. We read, we run, we bake, we find something to pour our hurt into. It is so sad that there are you girls and guys out there that feel so bad about their body that they can not find an outlet. You may not be perfect, but you need to love yourself. Everyone needs to remember that they are made the way they are for a reason. You are the perfect you, and don't change.
Well I did the think the book had an over all good meaning. The end made me so happy I wanted to cry for joy. The fact that this is relatable is sad but so true. But after all of that this book would not be one that I recommend. It is depressing. It is sad. It is just not fun to read. So Laurie You adressed the subject well, but I did not like it.
So read on, just don't be depressed.
Lindsey

The Bride's Farewell by Meg Rosoff

Dear Readers,

      I believe I have mentioned in the past that I am part of a organization at school called The Battle of The Books. This is probably the best extracurricular activity I have been in while at high school. Well, my team this year was super awesome and made it past the first online test onto a second oral test. We got 7th in the state out of about 90 schools that took it. So not to be cocky, but we are awesome. Since we get to take another test we are reading some of the books twice just so we know what happened. One of my friends has already read this one, but we are doubling up. So without any more of my explanation why I read the book I will tell you how I felt about The Bride's Farewell by Meg Rosoff.

      Let me start out with a brief overview of the plot. The Bride's Farewell is the story of Pell. A young woman who lives in England. She was promised to be married to a boy she had known all her life, Birdie. The night before her wedding she ran off to find something different from life then a dull, boring marriage. Pell from a very young age had been able to work almost magic with horses. She runs off with her horse Jack and her younger brother Bean, in search of an exciting life. On this search her life repeatedly changes. Once she feels comfortable and fine in her surroundings something happens and she has to move again. The book is just the twist and turns of her life, from losing everything to finding an almost happy ending.
      The plot of this book made it a very quick read. Pell's story was very intriguing. It was hard to put the book down. Although the plot turns made it interesting, they were not my favorite. The story never seemed to stay the same for more then twenty pages. Also Pell to seemed changed every twenty pages. She only ever had to goals in mind. Find her brother and find her horse. Everything else that came her way on the journey didn't seem to phase her. At the beginning of the book it seems that she felt no remorse for leaving her family and fiance on the night before her wedding. It also seems that she feels no remorse for any of the people she hurts on her journey. She enconters so many new faces that the book is just a parade of new people.
      These new people, though somehow connnect. It's almost like a big game of Dutch Bingo across the English country side. This was the thing I liked most about the book. It was fun to see in which ways all of the characters were connected. There were some many under stories of the people that Pell met. She would meet one person who would tell her about a relative in another village that may be able to help her. Once there she would stay for a while, then leave then come across something or someone else. The relationships of the characters are what made this book so interesting.
       Overall I liked the book. I did not like some of the things the main character did, and I did not like some of the things the author decided to put in the book. But it wasn't awful. I was just another book, another story. Not the most memorable, but not completely forgetable. I would recomend this book if you like interesting plots, or horses, or a quick read.
 I would like to thank Meg Rosoff for taking me to the English countryside for a few afternoons.
Lindsey

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Dear Readers,

Hooray! I recently started a book club at my school. A couple of friends of mine, a wonderful English teach, and I are included in the group. Our first book to read was The Great Gatsby. I really can't tell you why we chose this book. I pushed it because I bought a copy of it at a used book store and I wanted an opportunity to stop everything and read it. And reading it for a book club was the perfect excuse.
Going in this book I really didn't have a clue what it was about. I had a vague idea. I knew that it was about the 1920's, but beyond the time period I had no idea. Let me just say I was pleasantly surprised with this book. Actually I was more than pleasantly surprised, I was on the verge of love.
I could not put this book down. It was almost impossible to stop reading and go to work today. You are sucked into the story right from the beginning. The narrator of the story Nick Carraway sort of confused me at the beginning, but as you read you develop a relationship with him. His eyes are the ones through which you get the experience the man Gatsby.
Gatsby is a very devoted character. He seems to go whole-heartily into whatever he is doing. On top of his devotion Gatsby is very hospitable. He throws parties every weekend and just about everyone is invited. I am not going to lie though. I thought that Gatsby would be older and more wise, which would makes sense with his title Great. But really he is just a youngun' at the age of 30. And he definitely not without his flaws.
Gatsby is living in the past. He fills his time worrying about what he didn't get that he cannot see what he has. By writing about Gatsby Mr. Fitzgerald was trying to show us what living in the past can do to a person.
One thing I realized about this book is that you really can't like any of the characters. They all have one thing that just turns you off. Even that narrator, Nick, isn't very likable. Nick just goes long with whatever. He allows these people to get him involved in their lives, but he's really not there. It hard to describe, but when you read it you will understand. Nick doesn't really care about any of the people he calls friends. He knew Gatsby for all of three months and only ever gave him one complement. I hardly call that friendship. When he learns about Tom Buchanan's cheating he doesn't feel the need to tell Tom's wife, Daisy, and Daisy is related to Nick. Nick has a facade of caring but underneath he is just observing these people living without really caring about what happens to them in the end.
Tom and Daisy are both characters after what makes them feel best and what is easiest at the time. Tom has an affair because he wants to. Daisy marries Tom because he is rich and available, and she doesn't want to wait for Gatsby to come back. They both just sort of irritate me.
I love the book, but somehow I hate everyone in it. Weird... But somehow it works. Read it and you will understand.
Lindsey