She then explains how she took up drawing. She also discovers the Homewood Library, what she describes as “the most private and obscure part of life”. She then explains how she has been slowly developing into an adult. As a thirteen year old she began to perceive the world more similarly to how adults perceived the world. She also talked about her discovering a deeper history of World War II.…
Si Robertson had a lot of challenges in his life. Si and his family were very poor, but they knew how to live off the land and also had a very good relationship with the almighty God. He spent most of his childhood hunting and being around his family. After school he went to the military and met his wife and had children of his own. Eventually after retiring from the military he started to work for his brother, Phil, at Duck Commander.…
Allyson is the ultimate good girl, but toward the end of a surprisingly boring post-graduation tour of Europe, she makes an impulsive decision to skip the Royal Shakespeare Theatre's Hamlet for a street production of Twelfth Night featuring a striking Dutch actor. The next day, Allyson bumps into the handsome Dutchman, Willem, on a train ride to London, and they strike up a flirtatious banter in which he dubs her Lulu. After their two-hour trip, Willem offers to show "Lulu" around Paris "for JUST ONE DAY," and to her best friend's shock, she agrees. During their intimate day (and night) in Paris together, Allyson lets go of her inhibitions and enjoys taking risks, getting lost in the sights and sounds of a new place, and most of all, falling for this deep and enigmatic guy. But the next morning, Willem is inexplicably gone. Distraught and depressed, Allyson spends the entire following year coming to terms with how whirlwind romance changed the course of her life. Author Gayle Forman has already impressed readers with a moving novel about the difference a day makes, so it's no surprise she's taken the idea and inserted strangers instead of estranged exes as she did in Where She Went. Forman has created in Allyson's story not only the kind of intense 24-hour romance that quickens pulses but also a truly transformative coming-of-age tale that will inspire young women to take the Shakespearean line "to thine own self be true" to heart. By allowing Willem to rename her Lulu (he never learns her real name that night), Allyson starts off acting like a more adventurous spirit but slowly comes to realize she is capable of so much more than meeting her parents' straight-A, pre-med, Ivy League expectations.…
The story is imbued with a chilling villain that sends a chill down the spine making it impossible to put down the novel. Jesslyn lives through unspeakable sadness and pain after losing her children and husband to a drunk driver only to stumble on to her closest friend murdered, with the villain outline disappearing tin the darkness. To make it even more interesting she feels a weird attraction to her new guest even going as far as agreeing to stay with him. A spooky, yet scintillating and sexy read, it is sure to delight any romantic suspense thriller…
In the story “From Bien Pretty” by Sandra Cisneros, the author uses a unique style of writing to…
Jeannette Walls tells the story of her dysfunctional childhood during the 70’s. Her life is dismal to the reader because so many negative things happen throughout her first 6 years of life. She is full of optimism and joy. She is able to see the good in every person and every situation. Jeannette tells the intriguing yet disturbing story of her childhood without putting pity on herself.…
Laurie Halse Anderson’s Wintergirls artistically tells a story exposing the mentality of eighteen-year-old Lia struggling with the death of her bulimic friend Cassie and her own anorexia. Lia strives to learn the circumstances of Cassie’s death, only knowing that she was found dead in a motel room. Lia seems healthier yet grows worse as Cassie’s ghost frequently appears to her. Anderson’s fictional story reveals the true mindset of a disordered girl and her path to recovery. Lia works hard to reach her goals. Her extremist ways almost lead to her death; however, she realizes the importance of her life.…
Dead parents are extremely common in young adult literature, and although these characters are obviously absent throughout the story, they are still relevant and necessary to the plot because of the effect they have on their children. Because “dead parents are so much a function of middle-grade and teen fiction at this point,” it is no surprise that Collins sets up the Everdeen family with one parent deceased (Sales). However, instead of viewing deceased parents as enhancing the plot of a YA novel and adding to its complexity, many authors see dead parents as the product of “lazy writing” (Sales). These authors claim that since novels are centered on different characters’ relationships with one another, omitting a parent via death is simply…
The book, Ellen Foster, revolves around a young girl’s unstable life and her ability to fight through obstacles and to find people who truly care for her. As a young child, Ellen was damaged by her father especially because he treated her with extreme disrespect. After her mother’s death, Ellen did not really have any family left as her family members continued to pass away. However, Ellen learned to tend to adult responsibilities at a very young age. Specifically Starletta and her family, Julia and Roy, and her new mama all supported her in a way that made her feel as if she were a young girl rather than an adult with responsibilities.…
Patrice Wilton does it again! This book is great! You get humor, steamy romance, and a little suspense. She has a way of grabbing your attention and the rest of the world just fades away.…
The stories of “The Necklace” by Guy De Maupassant and “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” by Flannery O’Connor are different from one another at first glance, however when analyzing deeper into the context, there are obvious similarities that can be recognized. The main characters from both of these stories are identified as Mathilde from “The Necklace” and the grandmother from “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” with both of these characters being comparable on the aspects of their character flaw, encountering of tragedy, and undergoing of character change.…
This book is a diary that goes through the last two years of a young teenage girl's life,…
Joy Harjo has always been conscious of her gift by stating, “I was entrusted with carrying voices, songs, and stories to grow and release into the world, to be of assistance and inspiration. These were my responsibility” (Harjo 20). In her memoir Crazy Brave, Joy Harjo uses vivid memories, poetry, and dreams to portray her struggles and growth into the strong successful woman she is today. The book starts in her early childhood when she discovers her connection to music and the spiritual world. The sections “East “ and “North” of her memoir contain crucial moments that have molded Joy’s life while on a mission to find her sense of identity. Joy seems to struggle with her identity in much of the first two sections; these struggles with identity come from her gender, race, and family life. While her struggles make a significant impact on the person she is today, the way in which she overcame these struggles is what molds her character and view on life. Joy Harjo found refuge during adolescence in books, music, and poetry, which eventually saved her life. Pivotal moments in Harjo’s life are depicted in the sections “East” and “North” in Crazy Brave, that have impacted her developing sense of identity and her growing desire for independence.…
Josephine Alibrandi is built and supported from her relationships which continually questions her identity. In particular, the repetitive first person narrative by Josie about her two love interests helps her recognise her…
Throughout Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,” the nameless narrator, the main character develops emotionally through a situation that creates fear in an already introverted man. He does not want to go outside of his comfort zone and he is caught off guard when he is forced beyond his current developmental state. But, through a lesson from the blind narrator finds himself enlightened to the sentiments of the handicapped.…