Girl, Interrupted Review By Caitlin Scarpa

Girl, Interrupted Review

By Caitlin Scarpa

Girl, Interrupted was an amazing book.  I read this for my group memoir podcast, and I am so glad that I did.  This book was about the time Susanna Kaysen spent in the McLean mental hospital.  She told the stories of all of her friends she made while there.  There was Polly, who tried to commit suicide by lighting herself on fire; Lisa, who was an anorexic, sociopath, with insomnia; and Daisy, who would only eat chicken and laxatives. These were just a few of the young women she had met while there, but they were definitely some of the most interesting ones.

She spent two years in the hospital after being diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder.   Borderline Personality Disorder is a mental disorder that causes depression, anxiety, an unstable sense of self, etc.  I’m not going to spoil the story here but I would really suggest that you read it if you are interested.  I really enjoyed seeing Kaysen’s view on being in the hospital and how she dealt with her illness.  She told the story in a bunch of really short chapters.  Each chapter showed a different experience in her life in, or around the time she was in McLean.  Sometimes she would talk about her life before the hospital, and all of the troubles she had.  Other times she would talk about her life after the hospital, and how she moved on and recovered from her illness.  She would explain how she felt about certain people in the hospital, including patients and staff, and how they affected her life.

*SPOILERS BELOW*

There were many parts of the book that I really enjoyed.  My favorite part was when Susanna became unsure of if she had any bones in her hand.  She was concerned that she wasn't entirely real, and started to dig into her hand until she found her bones.  I found this really interesting, because up until now, she has seemed fairly sane; she didn’t have outbursts like Lisa or any of the other patients.   She also hadn’t showed any self destructive actions since she tried to commit suicide.  I found this scene very interesting.  

Another interesting event was when a new girl, named Alice, came in.  She didn’t look like there was anything wrong with her, until one day when she snapped.  One day, she was taken off to the High Security Ward, where the most dangerous patients were kept.   She was in a room, where she smeared feces on the walls, and was huddled in the corner.  The other girls, including Susanna, decided to never let each other get that bad.  They had realized what could happen to them if they let it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I may read it again just to see what else I can get out of it.  

Books You Should Read Before You Die

By Cynthia Loh 

Harry Potter Series

This fictitious book series follows the journey and adventure of Harry Potter, a young wizard, and his friends Ron and Hermione. The characters attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and while enhancing their magical skills, they overcome enemies and obstacles along the way. The story mainly revolves around Harry's fight against Lord Voldemort, a wizard who tries to displace the Ministry of Magic, the governing body for wizards.

Falling under many genres, such as fantasy, drama, coming-of-age, mystery, thriller, fiction, and young adult, Harry Potter is on of the most widely known novels and one of the most successful. The Harry Potter franchise is valued at about $25 million. The seven books in the series were turned into an eight-part film series which is the second highest-grossing film series of all time.

The Harry Potter books in order:

1. The Philosopher's Stone
2. The Chamber of Secrets
3. The Prisoner of Azkaban
4. The Goblet of Fire
5. The Oder of the Phoenix
6. The Half-Blood Prince
7. The Deathly Hallows

Caitlin Scarpa- "Harry Potter has a lot of childish adventures and you grow up with the books as you read them."

Claire Riley- "Its good" 

Of Mice and Men 

A greatly distinguished novel written by John Steinbeck and often regarded as a classic. The main characters are George Milton and Lennie Small, an odd and seemingly incompatible characters. George is small and smart but is uneducated, on the other hand, Lennie is big and lumbering but had a mental disability. They are migrant workers with the American Dream of settling their own land. However, Lennie's mental disability leads commit many blunders, some more consequential than the others, and George takes his role as Lennie's guardian and does his best to keep Lennie safe. 

Of Mice and Men is a required piece of reading in many schools but is often challenged and argued that it should not be required to be read in schools. Contested for it's vulgar and offensive language, this book falls into the American Library Association's  list of the Most Challenged Books in the 21st Century.

Caitlin Scarpa- " It's an amazing classic that will be enjoyed for many more generations to come."

The Notebook 

Written by Nicholas Sparks, a novselist, screenwriter, and producer, most famously known as being a romanctic novelist. The Notebook is described as a story of miracles and an aching story about the power of love. Narrated by an elderly man in a nursing home who tells this story to another patient from his notebook. The main characters Noah and Allie who spend a summer together and fall in love. However, Allie's parents disagreed with her seeing a lower-class man and ban her from seeing him. 14 years later, Noah has returned from fighting in the war and Allie is know engaged to a rich lawyer. These two are able to rekindle their love and end up together in the end. 

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee published in 1960 is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel and a classic in modern literature. The novel is in the perspective of a young girl, called Scout, and follows her as she grows up and the plot unfolds. As a young child, Scout, her brother Jem, and their friend Dill, had a fascination with Arthur "Boo" Radley but were terrified of him at the same time. Boo has never been seen by anyone for year and the rumor and stories of Boo made him out as a wild animal. Atticus, Scout's father, defends a black man, who is innocent, from a rape allegation on a white girl. This being the climax of the novel discusses the issue of rape and racial inequality. 

The characters and the plot of this novel was based off the author's own observations of living in her hometown and her family and her neighbors. Although the book's lesson denounces prejudice and racism, it is challenged to be taken out of public schools due to it's racist epithets. It was even ranked, by British librarians, above the Bible in the list of books "every adult should read before they die".  

Ender's Game

A futuristic, military science novel written by Orson Scott Card presents a conflict between humans and aliens known as "buggers". Ender Wiggen, a genius-like boy is recruited to go to Battle School, a facility in space that prepares kids to fight in an appending war against the buggers and to protect humanity. The teachers at Battle School see Ender as their last chance for a commander who can defeat the buggers and push him through the school process leaving Ender mentally and socially strained. Disguised as a battle simulation, a game, Ender battles against Mazer Rackham in what is thought to be a simulated fight that gets progressively harder with each battle. What Ender doesn't know is that he is actually in control of human lives and is actually fighting the war. 

Ender's Game is a series with sequels: Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind, and Ender in Exile. There are later novels that come out that take place in the same time period as Ender's Game. I recommend Ender's Shadow.    

The Song of Achilles 

Madeline Miller spent ten years writing her debut novel novel, The Song of Achilles. Set in Greece, the novel tells the story of Achilles, the demi-god and Greek hero of the Trojan War, and Patroclus, Achilles best friend. These characters were take from Homer's Iliad and told as a love affair between Achilles and Patroclus. Like many others, Miller wondered what the relationship between these two friends actually was and tells how she interprets their relationship in her book. Miller saw their relationship not as best friends b, but rather as lovers.

The Song of Achilles is a winner of the Orange Prize for fiction and was shortlisted for the 2013 Chautauqua Prize.  

The Five People You Meet In Heaven 

The Five People You Meet In Heaven, a novel by Mitch Albom, shows the life and death of Eddie, a maintenance man. After dying trying to save a girl from a failing amusement park ride, Eddie is sent to heaven. From there he meets five people who had a significant impact on Eddie when he was alive, the Blue Man, The Captain, Ruby, Marguerite, and Tala. Each person he meets becomes a theme for the book. The Blue man shows that everything happens for a reason, the Captain explains how sacrifices are a part of life, Ruby teaches the importance of forgiveness and that there are two sides to every story, Marguerite shows the power of love after death, and Tala expresses that there is a purpose life.     

And A Bunch More...

Caitlin Scarpa

The Maze Runner summary and review

*WARNING SPOILERS*

The Maze runner, by James Dashner, is a book about a young man named Thomas who is thrown into a confusing world full of unfamiliar people and monstrous creatures.  These people are all boys of around the same age, and they all have no memory of who they really are; all they know is their name.  All of these young men were placed into a giant maze full of terrifying creatures, called Grievers, and they have to find a way to get out.  The only way out is through the maze.  The Grievers: giant slug like creatures with mechanical spikes jutting out in every direction, are what's keeping them from escaping.  The maze doors open every morning and the grievers leave, but every night the maze doors close and the grievers come out to play with anyone who didn’t make it to the door in time.  The only ones who are brave enough to go in the maze are “the runners.”  The runners are the people who run through the maze and try to track its movements to find a way out.  The maze itself moves every night and forms a new shape, making it harder to track and map out.  The boys aren't making any new progress until Thomas shows up, and everything changes.

The book The Maze Runner was heavily inspired by The Lord of the Flies, which we are going to read later in the year, so there will most likely be many similarities.  The boys who are sent to the maze were sent there by a government group called WICKED.  WICKED is trying to study them to find a cure for a disease, called the Flare, which is plaguing the rest of the world, making them into zombie like creatures.  Almost all of the boys in the maze are immune to the disease, which is why they are being studied, they want to see what makes them immune and try to replicate it in others. Every month, one boy is sent into the maze by WICKED, and when Thomas shows up, the whole maze starts to change.  Only a few days after Thomas arrives, a girl, named Teresa, is dropped off by WICKED, she is the only female to ever be sent to this maze.  This is what triggers the “end of the trials.”  The whole maze is sent into dire situations and deadly circumstances.  All of the kids are now facing the clock to find a way out of the maze, and Thomas is the only one who has been able to make any progress in the escape.  

Thomas gets help from a few other people trapped in the Maze including, Minho, Newt, Alby, Chuck, Frypan, and Teresa.  With all of their separate strengths and abilities, they are able to solve the puzzle and find a way out.  

The book series is full of adventure and excitement that really keeps you on the edge of your seat. There are five books in the series so far, The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, The Kill Order, and The Fever code. All of the books help to elaborate on the story and really make the world feel real.  The Kill Order and The Fever Code are both Prequels, which help to shine some light on what the world is facing and why WICKED is experimenting on children to cure the disease. It also helps to give different points of view for the story, and what different people living in the world might think of WICKED and what they are doing.   The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, and The Death Cure are all part of the main story, following Thomas and his friends through the trails and their escape from WICKED.   While reading the books myself, I came to love the characters and the story, which fascinated me and made me want to keep reading.  As with any good book, this one contains lots of very happy and very sad moments which send the reader on a roller coaster of emotions, which only makes the reader more immersed in the story.

Even though the book series was phenomenal, the movies were disappointing for anyone who is a fan of the books, for various reasons.  Many scenes and events of the story were cut out in order to make it have more action scenes, which ruined elements of the story.  If this series seems interesting to you, then I suggest giving the books a try first, and holding off on the movies until later.  I would suggest this book to anyone who is a fan of non-stop adventure, suspense, mystery, and action.  

Work Cited

Dashner, James. The maze runner. New York: Delacorte Press, 2009. Print.

American Sniper Book Review Beck Gozdenovich

Summary:
American Sniper is an autobiography written the most lethal sniper in U.S. history, Chris Kyle. He guides us along his life before, during, and after his time spent as a navy SEAL in the military. He gives a brief background about his childhood and what it was like growing up in Texas. Then he moves on to his motives for joining the military. He describes his training and boot camp in extreme detail and it is very eye-opening. Then he extensively describes his life in active service. He dives deep into each category of military life, the combat, the missions, the gear, the stress, and even the downtime. After he finishes his duty, he then describes how his life was after his service and how he was effected by the war both positively and negatively.

Recommendation:
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading. It highlights the sacrifices soldiers make to keep their country safe, and their incentives for doing so. It is a very eye-opening read, even to those with little to no interest in war-style books. Even if you don't read the book, the movie is a great alternative.

Overall Rating:
I would give this book a 4.5 out of 5 because the great life lessons this book teaches and because of how intriguing the whole book is

What's the Deal with Harry Potter? by Claire Riley

I know that i'm pretty late to the Harry Potter series, as they have blown up YEARS ago. But, I just recently found the time to read them, and I am SO INTRIGUED. I just got sucked in, and now I can't stop. I actually finished the first book the same day I started it, and within only a week I have read 3 of the books and 1/3 of the 4th book. So as it is clear is see, it is a pretty great series. The question I want to answer is why. What makes these books so attractive and precious, that there are now two entire real, life sized WORLDS made to reflect the book? J.K Rowling, the now famous author, has been known change the modern world of literature, and there must be distinct reasons.

You can spot a Harry Potter lover from a mile away. I have many friends who are fans, wearing shirts with quotes from the books and they fact that like to brag how many times they have re-read the series. I asked a Hogwarts loving friend, Caitlin Scarpa, as to why she loved the books so much to see if we had similarities. She stated, "I really like the sense of childish wonder and adventure that you get while reading these books. I have read the entire series twice!" I believe that Harry Potter has been a book that was originally directed to a younger audience, so Caitlin had read them earlier on. This is why she gets a sense of childhood when reading them, and gives her a good thought to look back on.

Sadly for me, I am just now picking up the books, so I can't have a nice sense of nostalgia when reading. ALTHOUGH, I am still a kid! Perhaps I can still read over these books again, and relive the wondrous world of Harry Potter. The way J.K Rowling writes has opened up to all audiences, and have gone from silly kids books to life-changing experiences everyone has heard of.

Summer Reading Books Review

By Caitlin Scarpa

Almost everyone can agree that most schools have a tendency to choose terribly boring books for their students to read over the summer.  However, this year the choices of books were surprisingly interesting, and I enjoyed reading them.  The books I chose to read this summer were The Girl on the Train, Neverwhere, and The Nightingale.

The Girl on the Train was about three different women telling the same story through their own point of views.  The three main characters were Rachel, Megan, and Anna.  Rachel was an alcoholic who was struggling with her divorce with her husband Tom who cheated on her with Anna.  Every day she would pass Megan’s house while she was on a train to London; she would fantasize Megan's life with her husband Scott to be a perfect life, when in reality their life was far from it.  This book showed the struggle of these three women and how they affected each others lives.  It keeps the reader excited and in suspense throughout the entire story, especially when Megan mysteriously goes missing, and Rachel is too drunk to remember that night.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good murder mystery.

Neverwhere is about an average man named Richard Mayhew, who one day finds himself in a world of magic and mystery that was right under his feet the whole time.  After Richard decides to help a bleeding girl, named Door, one night, he woke up to be invisible to the world around him.  He makes his way into the Underground sewer system where he reunites with Door, and meets a group of wonderfully odd people.   Door is seeking answers to who killed her family, and Richard wants nothing more than to go home.  They embark on an adventure which takes them to magical and dangerous places.  The concept of this book was fascinating, but the execution could have been better.   The book would have been much better if it was written in a different format.  The book was based on a TV show, which explains why it was structured like it was.  If the story was told in first person by Richard, it would have made the book a lot better, in my opinion.  The book was still very interesting even of the format of it annoyed me.

The last book I read this summer was The Nightingale.  It was about occupied France during WWII.  The two main characters were Vianne and Isabelle, who both dealt with the war in a different way.  Isabelle was determined to make a difference and to help France in any way she could.  She was told countless times that she couldn’t do anything because she was a woman.  Even the Nazis didn't expect a woman to be one of the most wanted people in all of France.  Isabelle became known as the Nightingale; she would bring English and American airmen over the Pyrenees mountains to Spain so they could continue fighting.  She saved over 100 men  by making these treacherous journeys over the mountains and risking her own life as well as her family’s lives.  Vianne was a hero in her own way, she stayed home and took care of her family, making sure her daughter Sophie ate and was safe from the Nazis.  She saved her best friend Rachel’s son, Ari, by pretending he was her own son.  She was also able to help save about 19 other jewish children by hiding them in an orphanage until the war was over.  She was brave and strong and would do anything to make sure her family was safe.  Out of all of the books I have read this summer, this one was by far my favorite.  The book was extremely emotional, and heartwarming.  It showed the effect of woman on the war, and how women can make a difference even when everyone says they can't.  I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who has a sense of adventure and who enjoys reading about a hero's journey.