The Twilight series is definitely fiction from vampires to werewolves it keeps you hooked. When Mrs. Knapp came to visit our classroom she had mentioned that last year this book had earned many awards and was really good. She also said that this year the third book in the series was nominated for an award. So i figured that theses books must of been good. Another reason I chose this book was because my brother was an extra in the movie. But I will admit that when I first heard about this book I figured it would be lame because it's about vampires...but I was wrong!


Twilight is about a teenage girl named Bella who moves from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington. She comes to Forks to live with her dad, Charlie. On her first day she has everyone's attention because she's the new girl, who no one knows ,but everyone has heard of. Of the many people she meets on her first day she remembers one: Edward Cullen. Well all the Cullen's actually, because they all stand out in that they are extremely beautiful. But as Bella gets to know Edward she can't figure him out. One day he is pushing a van out of the way from hitting her and the next he isn't speaking to her. As he continues his strange behavior of saving her life repeatedly Bella reunites with an old family friend, Jacob Black, whose dad, Billy Black is best friends with Charlie. When she visits Jacob she asks him about the Cullen's and he tells her some information she hadn't expected at all. The Cullen's are vampires. As she gets to know more about Edward, he is surprised that she got it right. She comes to find that their skin is ice cold and they are incredibly strong. When Edward invites Bella to come watch the Cullen family play baseball this happy story turns into a nightmare. As there playing ball some unexpected guests come, and when they see Bella one of the vampires named James, loves the smell of Bella and with one whiff he instantly wants to kill her. But Edward won't have this so he sends Bella away with Alice and Jasper, his brother and sister. When James contacts Bella he tells her he has her mom so Bella goes to save her mom. But James tricked her and nearly kills her. Then Bella wakes up in the hospital with many brusies, a broken leg, some broken ribs, and Edward at her side.

The significance of the title, Twilight, is that in the book Edward tells Bella that twilight is the easiest time of the day for them to be around humans. But he also says that this is the end of another day and he must face one more day of forever.

If I could ask Stephenie Meyer three questions it would be:

"What inspired you to think up and write this story?"
I would ask this because to think up all of the interesting little facts she puts in her writing would be difficult and she thought of everything. Also the big things like all the characters and the plot.

"Will the movie Twilight be like the book or is it different?"
I would ask this because sometimes movies are different from the book and that is just a dissapointment if the book is good.

"Was your life as a child sort of like Bella's?"
Because in the book it really shows her and how she cares so much for the people around her. The book also shows the pain she goes through with her parents, the seperation, and her mom's new man.

By Kierstyn Tuel

Eagle Blue

The genre of this book is non-fiction. The reason I choose this book was because of two reasons, the first reason i chose this was one it was about a basketball team. The second reason was because it was an award winner. So i figured that it has to be a good book. And for me its very hard to get into a book. But this book was well worth it. Its a great book. And I can relate to this in many ways to, for example I played basketball my self. But there were other reasons. The main reason I choose this book was because of the story behind these players, the players lives, and about the villages. Basketball was everything to these villages. As well as the hardships they went through. If I could ask the author three questions it would have to be

• were the boys well disciplined after there season?
• Did the boys go back to the hard life, maybe drugs? Fighting, bad grades, or did they take what they learned and put those skills into life?
• the third question would have to be was it worth it? Do you have any regrets?



By: Tanner Lupton

Brittany Sauer's book project.

The genre of Just Listen is fiction, but the events that occur could happen. I chose this book because it looked like a good story plot and everything.

Summary:

Annabel has a pretty good life until her junior year of highschool when she is alienated from all her former friends because of something that happend at the beginnging of the summer that everyone misunderstood. Along with that she wants to quit modeling but is afraid to tell her mom because it could upset. And on top of that her sister is dangerously anorexic. So she keeps all of her feelings bottled up. Then she meets Owen and guy who is extremely honest and it influences Annabel to change. In the end Annabel discovers her true self.

The signifigance of the title is to not judge before you here the whole story and Just Listen.

3 Q's: What made you decide to write this book? Do you listen to every type of music like the character Owen does? Does the character Annabel reflect yourself in any ways?

Just Listen by: Sarah Dessen

I had an endless amount of books to choose from for our independent reading project. But there was one book that really caught my eye. That book was the realistic fiction, "Just Listen". I chose this book for many reasons. A couple months ago, I was at my friends house, and we were settling down for the night, and my friend, Lauren, pulled out this book. I asked her what it was about, and she said, "Well you'll just have to read it. One word though, amazing." So I knew that at one point in my life I would eventually read it. The book had totally slipped my mind until Mrs. Knapp was going through her slide show. That day she had recommended it to the girls in the class. Right then I knew that I was going to read this book. The fact that it was about a girl somewhat close to my age really interested me. On the cover you see a girl listening to music, yet you don't see her face, I thought it was odd that the girls face wasn't shown. Also, the Ipod was really interesting. I myself, am really into music, and that was another thing that really helped me decide on this book.

Annabel is the youngest of three girls in the Greene family. Annabel, her sisters, Whitney, and Kirsten are absolutely stunning. Life was good...for awhile. Annabel met Sophie at the local swimming pool. After a rough start, Annabel and Sophie became best friends. Sophie wasn't exactly the nice girl in town, or a good influence. While their friendship went on, Annabel did things that she never thought she would. These things included, boys, sneaking out, and drinking. Sophie had a boyfriend, older, handsome, and mysterious. He often was involved with other girls other than his girlfriend, Sophie. Lets just say that those girls didn't get off easy after Sophie found out. Well, one night at a party, Annabel's life came to a dramatic halt. Everything changed. She lost her best friend, which meant that she basically didn't have a social life anymore. At home, things weren't the best either. Whitney took a turn for the worst. Annabel's life wasn't the best then, until she met Owen. Owen was a bit of a loner. He was obsessed with music, and never lied. He introduced Annabel to a new way of thinking, a new way of life. But in the end, can Owen save Annabel, and convince her to finally talk about what happened that night at the party that changed everything?

The title of the book, "Just Listen", has somewhat of a significance to the book. In the novel Owen makes Annabel many mix Cd's to listen to. One of the mix Cd's that he gave to her was titled, "Just Listen". That was really the only mention of the title in the actual text. But really the book is about Annabel finding her true self, and learning to cope with things in life. In the book there is a sentence that randomly occurs. The sentence is, "Shh Annabel, it's just me". Annabel, is really trying to figure out who she is, and where she stands. So I would say the the significance of the title is that Annabel, really just needs to listen to her inner voice.

3 Questions:

1. What was your inspiration for writing this novel?

I would ask Sarah Dessen this question because I feel that this book is very realistic, and could easily happen to a girl, or anybody for that matter. I just want to know why she put the things in the book that she did.

2. What was the real meaning of putting in the sentence, "Shh Annabel, it's just me,"?

When that sentence came up, in the rare places that it did, I really wondered what it was about. The first time I read it, I had to go back and read it again. I thought I was seeing things.

3. Did you go through or know someone that went through some of the things that Annabel went through?

I think that all of things that Annabel went through is a lot to handle being a teenager in high school. It would be interesting to know if Sarah Dessen thought up the things in her head, or had a similar experience.

By: Ashley Hansen

Iris, Goo Goo Dolls: I chose this song for two reasons actually. Since it's about love and such I thought it would go great with the relationship between Colie and Norman. Also, Morgan and Marc fit into this song as well. They had a difficult relationship, it was one sided. Morgan truly loved Marc though.


Gauntlet of Solitude, The Devil Wears Prada: This song represents the music that Colie listened to before she got to Colby and when she first arrived. When she was there though, she didn't really have time to listen to music. After her expericences in Colby and after she met everyone, I think she gave up on the hardcore music.


Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper: Isabel and Morgan always had fun together. Unless they were fighting, they were always making each other laugh. Their friendship was an amazing example for Colie to go off of. Since Colie had never had a friend before, they showed her how. They really took her in, and Colie became best friends with them.


The Boys of Summer, The Ataris: It was summer when Colie was in Colby. And I think this is a good theme song for her summer. She had a lot of fun, and brand new experiences. She really got to take the time to find herself with the help of her new friends.


Glamorous, Fergie: Ever since Kiki Sparks, Colie's mom, got the job at Lady Fitness, they had been losing weight. This song is a good one to represent how they went from fat and poor, to thin and rich. They were basically living glamorous lives. Colie's mothers fame, from becoming a fitness guru did bring in a lot of money, and obviously made their material lives better.


Bitch, Meredith Brooks: I chose this book because of Isabel. Isabel is a beautiful, confident girl. But she used to be just like Colie. She was made fun of, not very pretty, insecure. That was until she found her inner beauty. Colie, like Isabel, had to deal with snobby girls, and Isabel really tries to help Colie through everything. I think this song had a good representation of Isabel and what she tries to teach Colie.

The Road of the Dead - Kevin Brooks

Just over 3 weeks ago, our librarian Mrs. Knapp gave our class a book talk about several stories that were a part of a couple popular book contests throughout the state of Washington. During this presentation, a couple books stood out to me, one being this one, "The Road of the Dead." The fact that this story held a plot line that was both mysterious and murderous, was what drew me in. So, being a non-fiction, mystery, I became immediately interested to learn more. Also, its title, "The Road of the Dead," is enticing and helped me make my choice for this project.

Ruben Ford, his brother Cole, their sister Rachel, and their mother, all lived together conservatively in an average home in Eastern London. The lives had been generally simple and untouched, that is, until one late summer night took Rachel's life. Since the day the children's father had left them, the three kids shared an incredibly tight bond and friendship with each other. However, sometimes it seemed too tight. Ruben had a special ability to feel what Rachel felt, if it was physical or mental, and he could tell the moment that she left him, and left the world. Having to find Rachel's murderer in order to have Rachel's body back, Ruben and Cole went to re-walk Rachel's last journey. With the police saying her body was found several hundred miles away, the two boys took "the road of the dead" to Lychcombe to re-trace her steps and solve her mystery. When finally arriving, the town of 50 people immediately recognized the two boys as being Fords, and the sons of Dan who was one of the gypsies living in this isolated village. Some were very happy to see them, for Dan was an idol among the gypsies, however, some men were the definite opposite. Four men: Red, Big Davy, Sim, and Nate, all knew very well about Rachel's death, and they also knew that Ruben and Cole were coming to find her murderer.

After uncovering secrets and finding parts of Rachel's "road of the dead," the two boys became a threat as well as a target among the people of the village. With a slight mistake by Ruben's older brother Cole, he was demanded to leave the town of Lynchcomb, but not with Ruben. Just minutes after, Ruben found himself being tortured in a rain-soaked barn on the edge of the village. Two of the four men: Red and Sim, knew that Ruben's advanced mind and knowledge was dangerous, so they were in the process of sending him out of town where he would be killed and never found again. However, with Cole's strength in fighting, and cleverness, he made the connections and found his brother Ruben as well as his sister's murderer. Getting information from one of Rachel's good friend's husbands who had associated with Rachel's murderer, Cole was led straight to John Stenler, who killed Rachel. In the end, after beating up all the men to near death, Cole and Ruben left town satisfied with John's dead body, and the ability for Ruben to let go of his sister forever.

So, as briefly explained, the title "The Road of the Dead" signifies the path that Rachel took to her death. However, on a more literal level, during the beginning of the village in the 15th century, a dirt road was created which was used to carry the dead bodies to their burial ceremony. This road was called Lychway, translating to "the road of the dead" and the village was named Lychcombe, translating to "town of the dead." So, as this road signified death, Rachel's body was found in the deep woods at the end of this road. So, literally, the two brothers traveled "the road of the dead" to uncover the murder of their sister.

I would ask Kevin Brooks:

"The gypsy character Jess is incorporated in the 'saving' of Ruben for Red and Sim. Why is she included, and what kind of connections did she have with Ruben's father?"

This question emerged right after I finished the book because she was a significant help in saving Ruben at the end of the book. However, she was never properly introduced, but just appeared in the story as a gypsy whose uncle knew Ruben and Cole's father. However, why did she help them? This would help uncover a lot about the ties that the Fords had with this village.

"Why was Cole forced to leave Lychcombe without Ruben?"

This was one of the only parts of the story that was confusing. The book stated that Cole's mistake sent him out of town, but it never explained why Ruben wasn't allowed to go with him. For some confusing reason, Ruben was forced to stay in Lychcombe without his brother. And lastly, Cole seemed okay with the fact that Ruben would be left there because he got on the bus back to London without a fight.

"Was this murder and family based off of a true story?"

The details in this book, such as "Lychway," the gypsies, and this forgotten village seemed too realistic to create from one's mind. So, I was wondering throughout the story if there really was a murder case in East London, and members of the family went to try and solve the mystery by themselves.


By: Evan Klein

Just Listen - Sarah Dessen

This is a fiction book written by Sarah Dessen, the author of several other books that I've read before and really enjoyed. I chose this book mainly because I've read a few other books by this author including Someone Like You, and The Truth About Forever, and I've really liked both of them. After talking to some of my friends about these books, they recommended that I read Just Listen, as it is by the same author and has a similar tone.


Just Listen is a story about a high school girl named Annabel Greene. Annabel is known by her classmates as the girl who has everything. Or at least that's what it seems like through her modeling shoots for Kopf's, a local department store. But from what she sees, Annabel's life is nothing close to perfect. She no longer has any friends or anyone to turn to, her older sister's anorexia takes a toll on her whole family, and no one seems to understand what she's going through. Eventually, she learns to accept things the way they are and lives silently on her own. It isn't until Annabel meets Owen, a tough, tall, dark, music-obsessed boy who is committed to telling the truth, that she learns so much about herself. With Owen by her side, she learns to listen to herself and gains the confidence to speak the truth. But, there's one thing that's weighing her down, that she doesn't know if she'll ever be able to tell the truth about. And that one thing is the reason her friendship with Sophia ended bitterly. The story is about Annabel's year and the struggles she goes through with Owen as she learns to "just listen".


The title, Just Listen, is somewhat significant in the deeper meaning of the book. Throughout Annabel and Owen's journey together, Annabel learns to "just listen" to herself and be honest with the people she faces, even though it may be the hardes thing for her to do. One of the main topics that comes up between the pair is music. They don't have nearly the same taste in music, but that one subject always seems to strike up deep and meaningful conversations between the two. Eventually, Owen makes Annabel several cd's that he wants her to listen to, but they are all in a specific order. Each of them have different labels on the cd, and the last one that Annabel is eager to listen to is labeled, Just Listen. Owen does this on purpose, as throughout the entire story, he is trying to encourage Annabel to listen to herself and all of the important things she has to say.


If i were to get the chance to ask Sarah Dessen three questions, they would be:

1. Why doesn't Annabel ever give up modeling, as she has a pretty good relationship with her mother and isn't enjoying it anymore?

I would ask this question because throughout the whole book, Annabel explains how she really doesn't enjoy modeling anymore, but she never tells her mother that she isn't interested in it anymore. I'm wondering why she never tells her mom, as they are fairly close and it wouldn't hurt their relationship at all.


2. What inspired you to write a book about Annabel's such difficult times in high school?

I've wondered this as I read the book, because I think it's interesting how an author can come up with such an interesting plot and create a character who's so sevretive and isolated. I'd like to know how the circumstances in Annabel's life were thought up and put into the writing of a such interesting and relatable book.


3. Does Annabel's character relate to the main character in any of her other books?

I've already read Someone Like You, and The Truth About Forever, and the tones of all three books seem to be somewhat similar. I'd like to find out if the main character in any of her other books purposely relate to Annabel, or if it's just a coinsidence that they all seem to be similar.

-Adrienne Engel

Brisingr is the thrid book in the inheritance trilogy. It is written by Chritopher Paolini. His books are fiction, Containing a lot of adveture and fantasy. I choose this book specifically for the reason his other books were excellent. The reason that his books hold my attnetion is that they contain a very well balanced style. Many books have either too much action, too much romance, or just are repetitive. his sstyle allows for all ends to meet. I would reccomend this book to m friends, but most of them have already read it too.

overall, this book akes place right after one of the major battles, and Eragon and Roran are going on a mission to save Roran's love. Many things hapen througout the story. The chapters are divided into a couple peoples point of view. We have the Vardens leader, Roran, Eragon, and with saphira, arya, and other miscellaneous people also making frequent appearances. Over the course of the book, the people: kill the Ra'zac, get married, help elect the king of dwarves and repair their saphire, get a riders sword, kill a shade, and other various fillers. In the end, both eragon and saphira's teachers are killed.

The title holds some great significance. It is the first word of magic Eragon used. This probably symbolizes a new start or new strength in the coming battles. He also names his sword thus. In the ancient language it means fire, one of the main elements of nature. This could possibly be used to represent the passion for what he's doing. Overall, this title could have many underlaying meanings which will undoubtbly become more apparent in the next book.

There are a lot of conclusions in this book, such as who Eragons father is, and many more questions opened up. Some of my questions are:

1. Is the Thrid egg/dragon rider going to be good or evil? this could make a huge plot twist either way, it will really determine how the next book is written.

2.does anything ever happen off of alagasia? from the map, it seems like there is a ton more space for world. The ocean is on one side, the forest on another, and the mountains on the third. I'm wondering if Eragon will find help from some other race of creatures on the other side of nay of these boundries.

3.when will Solembums prediction in the first book come to pass? The whole second book left this unawnsered, and only a little happened in this book. I think it needs to come true soon or it will be left as a nagging ache.

-Chris Grote