Blue Bloods (Melissa de la Cruz) by Jackie Peens

IN this book, the story focuses on a young girl, Schuler van Alen, who learns that she is part of a selece group of vampires. These "immortals" date back to the beginning of time, back to the battle between heaven and hell. This was one of best young adult vampire boosk that I've ever read. The story is captivating and leaves you wanting more. Melissa de la Cruz is a fantastic writer who sucessfully pulls you into the story. If you're a fan of the books Stephenie Meyer, you'll love this book. And teh best part....there are sequels!!

Banned Books in Schools

I love reading, and I'm all for celebrating the freedom to read, but I've never purposely set out to read a banned book during Banned Books Week. However, as I read through lists of banned books while researching BBW, I realized it was entirely possible I’d unwittingly read a banned book during BBW, because Simon Kenton uses a fair number of them. In fact, it seems most of the ones SK uses have been challenged:

- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
- The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

There are even more if you count excerpts (ex. Grendel, The Canterbury Tales, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.) Most of these books can be found on the SK library’s shelves, so if you want to get ahead on your school work and celebrate BBW at once, come check one out.

Harry Potter is Wiztastic! By Amanda Lukas

I was a late bloomer. When everyone was reading it and talking about it, I wanted nothing to do with it. I avoided it at all cost. Finally, when all the initial excitement died around it, I picked up the first one. I finished the last Harry Potter book about a month ago. I understand the obsession behind the book. It is well-written for all ages, and has relatable characters in which the reader gets attached to and cares about.
I thought I would never read the Series, so I let people around me tell me every little detail about the book, including all the deaths. So, when I finally picked it up, I knew which ones I shouldn’t get attached to from the beginning, because I would just end up heartbroken. However, in Book Five when Sirius was killed, I cried. Dobby, a minor even slightly annoying character got tears when he was killed. I balled when Dumbledore begged for his life (or the end of it as we later find out). I knew these deaths were going to happened. I expected them. Yet, JK Rowling wrote them in such a way that even if the reader hears all the rumors, it matters who survived.
Book One wasn’t the best literature I’ve ever read. However, the series got better over the time (unlike some writers cough*Stephanie Meyer*cough). The first book was a wonderful introduction to a character that resembled the tragic typical main character—a young child, abused and neglected by those who were supposed to take care of him, orphaned at a young age, who soon finds out that he is more than what he lived as for the last eleven years. The audience heard a story similar to this one before, but it’s new in the story behind it. There are other stories with wizards, but never from the perspective of a young group learning about their powers. Never before was a wonderful world full of mystical creatures and a secret world of magic painted for the reader to be absorbed in. To think of a world where a war that us “Muggles” would never completely understand; this is the world that JK Rowling presents in her Series. Not only is this story created, but the developed and relatable characters help move the plot along.
Obviously the main character is Harry Potter, since the Series is named after him. However, the reader finds himself or herself falling in love with not just Harry. There is his two best friends—Hermione Granger, who is the bookworm with a lot of knowledge and skill and does not fit into the typical girl mold because of the two male best friends, and Ron Weasley, who has lived his life in the shadow of his several older brothers who have done everything first and now has to deal with a famous best friend while struggling with his feelings for Hermione. Through the story the audience sees the two of them—along with Harry—grow from eleven year olds to adults, dealing with teenage decisions along with the mishaps of war and destruction. The reader more than likely screamed at Hermione and Ron to “just get it on already!” during their several arguments that is rimmed with jealously and tension. The reader called Ron several names that one’s mother should never hear uttered, when he left the two of them in the woods in the Seventh Book.
If the reader couldn’t relate to these two, there were several other characters to attach oneself to. The last remaining Marauders: Sirius Black and Remus Lupin for example. Could the reader put oneself in the reckless and restless shoes of Sirius Black, needing something to stimulate him and the desire to help despite the danger? Or was it Remus Lupin, the man who just wanted to fit in and had a ‘furry little problem’ that held him back? (As a reader, I screamed at Remus along with Harry when he was trying to leave a pregnant Tonks, and it made me go “aaawww” in a very girlie voice when they died right next to each other.) Luna Lovegood, though a kind of creepy girl, was a misfit that everyone has felt like before. Neville was the lovable loser that the reader just wanted to hug and cheer for. I know I leaped for joy when he destroyed the last Horcrux. All these characters, from major to minor, had a story behind them. The reader may not know all of it, but the audience knew enough to at least understand the motives of the characters and actually relate to them. JK Rowling did a brilliant job in making the audience do something that is rare… CARE!!
The characterization of the characters was not the only thing done well by JK Rowling. The Series became darker as the number of the book increased. However, it still remained one of the best selling books for children in the world. Why? With so many characters dying left and right, wouldn’t children be too disturbed to pick up another book? Well, JK Rowling wrote it in the way that didn’t let the mind linger on it too much. In the Fourth Book when Cedric Diggory died, the words were, “He was dead.” That was it. She wrote nothing else about the death of Cedric. As a teenager or adult reader, that left a sickening feeling in one’s stomach. Yet, that is the greatness that is JK Rowling. Children can’t handle the lingering feeling of death, and children don’t have a long attention span. The way she wrote it allowed the reader to know what happened, but also allowed the young ones reading not to linger on it. It was like a parent’s version of the tale behind death. A parent doesn’t tell their eight year old the details of death. Instead, the parent says the goldfish for example is going on a long trip that it will not return from. Death isn’t an easy topic, and to linger on it, would disturb Rowling’s core audience—children. No other writer that I’ve read has found that balance between the appropriate approach towards death.
Another thing that is remarkable about the books is how an 800 page book can be an easy read. The reader picks it up and read until he or she finished. The language is at a lower level; it is not at any fault or lack of skill of JK Rowling, but once again, she has to keep the audience in mind. These books are for all ages. The ten year olds have to understand it just as much as the forty year olds who are reading the Series. The books are miraculously written because every so often, a “big” word slivers its way onto the page. Yet, the words and meaning are easy to understand.
There are many theories behind what Harry Potter means. Here is my theory—England is still very much affected by WWII. The whole nation was bombed, families destroyed, several of Britain’s men were sent into battle and never returned. Some readers may believe that it’s the story of Jesus, and everyone has the right to their opinions. However, I believe that this story gets its inspiration from the destruction of war. Instead of preaching religion and the importance of it, I believe JK Rowling is “preaching” something else entirely. She is telling a tale of a story of a war that had no other purpose than destruction of another because they were different. Did Voldemort ever remind the reader of Hilter? He is a half-blood, raised by muggles, and son of a squid. Wasn’t Hilton dark-haired, brown-eyed, and half-Jewish? JK Rowling was discussing how pointless war is, and how many people can die from it. It is not just the people who were fighting, but the innocent are destroyed as well. That is also another reason for the short sentences surrounding the death of characters. Death is final. Killing is pointless. War is not good for children or other living things.
The Harry Potter Series is on the banned book list. There are rallies and protesting in which whole boxes of Harry Potter copies are burned. Why is this well-written series being punished? What do you think? Who’s your favorite characters? Do you find anything wrong with the books?

Banned Books Week

What is Banned Books Week? Is is a national week in which there is a discussion on what books we "encourage" our children not to read? Actually it's the opposite. Libraries and other bookholders across the nation celebrate the books that so many government officials, parents, social and religion groups want wiped off the shelves every year.

Several books that students read for pleasure or because a teacher demands it of them are on the list, to surprise of many. Some reasons that book are on the list of "inappropriate" are:

Vulgar language (such as the n-word in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)
Promotion of sexual behavior (such as Fade by Robert Carmier)
Promotion--or even mention--of homosexuality (such as Two to Tango)
Promotion ot religion or atheism/agnosticism

The list goes one. Several books have been placed on the "banned books" list, from Lord of the Flies to Where's Waldo. Personally, I respect someone's lack of interest in the vulgar language in a book. However, if a person doesn't like it, don't read it. the 1st Amendment still exists! No one has the right to determine the books another can read.

So this week, read a banned book and tell you what you think!

Do you think books should be banned?

Frankenstein: Hero or Villian by Amanda Lukas

Hey everyone! I just read "Frankenstein" for AP English. The book was written by Mary Shelley, and this is the 1831 edition. This review is a personal opinion and in no way reflects the beliefs and opinions of the SK LMC. Please leave comments, and tell us what you think! Do you agree, disagree, indifferent?

“Abhorred monster! Fiend that thou art! The tortures too mild a vengeance for thy crimes.” In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, when Dr. Victor Frankenstein sees his monster, or “creation”, for the second time, this is what he utters. He leaves his monster the moment he set eyes upon the monster, assuming because of its ugliness its nature is just as horrifying. The monster, childish with no child-like features, is abandoned, and is turned evil, corrupted by the cruelty expressed to him. Frankenstein, due to obsession, creates a monster but destroys any possibility of life the monster could have due to Frankenstein’s fleeing—the doctor, though portrayed as the protagonist, is the antagonist of the story, and discourages the monster’s growth in his shallow one-sided personality and cravings.
The novel is a frame-story—a story within a story. In the letter written to his sister, a captain named Walton describes his position; he is traveling to be the first to sail to the North Pole. In his letters, he tells the discovery of a man, half frozen and half dead on the ice. Walton writes of the conversations that the man—the reader finds out his name is Dr. Victor Frankenstein—and the minor details the doctor gives about himself. The doctor warns Walton about obsession, a weakness that Frankenstein says he himself has. He is mentally weak, staying in Walton’s cabin alone and is physically exhausted. Finally, after weeks of letters, Walton states that Frankenstein is finally strong again, and this is when he tells his tale.
By the way he begins his history—the details of his parents’ first meeting, the expeditions of a friend of his, and his growth— the reader can automatically see the obsessive behavior that Frankenstein is possessed by. One example is when the character, Elizabeth, is introduced. She is a neglected and poor child that Mrs. Frankenstein fell in love with and wanted to take care of. She goes to her son Victor and states that she has a ‘present’ for him. A sign of danger is expressed in the next line, “I interpreted her words literally and looked upon Elizabeth as mine….” Though, through one AP English class consensus, this is demonstrated as creepy, that is not the correct term. It’s not odd, because many people are overcome with large emotions. There is a better term for this behavior. It’s a screaming exaggeration and too overdone. The reader must become concerned about the mental situation of Frankenstein’s brain. Another sign of the obsessive behavior that will be his down fall was when he was younger. Frankenstein becomes interested in natural science. At that age, he reads any book about the topic. His father even warns him about the books, but when that happens, Frankenstein keeps reading them. In college, he then becomes interested in the mystical sciences, such as alchemy. His professors all believe that this fascination will not be healthy for his career, and the new experiment—creating life from an inanimate object—will never work. Instead of being discouraged, the obstacles make him want to create life even more.
This obsession shows another bad part of Frankenstein’s personality. The reason behind the creation isn’t noble. He discusses in a brief sentence that the new lives will be able to fight disease, but then he goes on for a paragraph or two on the real reason behind the creation—he wants to be God. He doesn’t say it for the reader to actually pick up and see, but the reasons, and how he describes them, shows the true intentions. He states that he could have a large group of individuals that would owe their lives to his ingenious. With the experiment’s success he would be glorified in the science community. He would prove everyone wrong that ever doubted him. He would have this power, and people would admire him. These reasons aren’t noble in any sense. Whether it is his obsession talking or it’s his true personality, these reasons don’t leave a good taste in the reader’s mouth. This is also expressed later in the book, towards the end. He doesn’t learn from his obsession and the danger of playing God. Instead, he becomes obsessed again. This time, instead of creation, the craving is for destruction. He wants to kill the monster he created, chasing it all the way up to the North Pole.
When his creation is “born”, (the scene “He’s alive! He’s alive!” was rather disappointing. It wasn’t as dramatic, and slightly confuses the reader in its lack of detail and quickness.) Frankenstein freaks out and runs away. He leaves his “child”, so the monster basically is all alone. Not only that, but he faints as well, an annoying trait that gives the reader a headache in its excessiveness. When the monster finally comes back into the picture and blames the doctor for his condition, the reader understands the monster and sympathizes with him more than the doctor. The blame is after the monster tells his story. He speaks of being alone for months upon months, and how he watches a family—his ‘protectors’—and learns things from them. He hears the history of men, and the brutality that they express towards each other. He tells of his rejections—of his “protectors” fearing him and beating him, being shot at for saving a young girl, and also being stoned for walking into a village. The monster tells his mental journey of first not knowing why so many hated him. Then, he looks in a river and is scared of his own reflection, finally understanding his appearance in the reason for his exile from human kind. He speaks of the fear he feels and the loneliness he experiences. He tells his creator of his turning point, the point that made him evil in his mind. It isn’t after his first two rejections—the ‘protectors’ and the stoning experiences. He sees the situation from their point of view for a moment; he knows he was in compromising positions. The moment is when he is shot, and lies in the woods alone, feeling as if he is going to die. He vows revenge on the creator that left him alone in the world, and who made him ugly, so any chance of being accepted is gone. He finds him, Dr. Frankenstein, and demands a request of him, something that will fill the void.
Frankenstein has the opportunity around chapter fifteen to make up for what he calls his ‘misdeeds’. He can make up for creating the monster in the first place, for having his younger brother dead by the hands of the monster, and the unjustified execution of a family friend, Justine, who is charged with his younger brother’s death. The monster demands the doctor to create another for him, a female mate, which Frankenstein agrees to. The monster doesn’t want to be alone, a fear that the reader can relate to. He is lonely, and wants—no needs to get rid of the loneliness. So, he asks the doctor for a mate and promises that he will leave for the middle of a jungle with her and never return to the doctor’s life. The promise seems truthful, and even if that is a doubt of the doctor, he can do something about this female monster. The doctor could have taught the female, and not abandon it like he did with the original monster. He can redeem himself, but he doesn’t. Instead, he destroys the female before she is “alive”. This of course angers the monster. The monster vows to “be with you on your wedding night,” to the doctor. Then, the doctor faints again in the next couple chapters.
Along with the fainting, Frankenstein whines…a lot. He spends chapters expressing the pity that he feels, yet he doesn’t do anything to stop the monster or warn anyone. Yes, people might think him crazy, but the guilt might not be as consuming. It seems to the reader that Frankenstein wants the pity. He wants to drown in it and be consumed. However, this just annoys the reader, especially after the monster’s tale. Eventually, the reader just wants the monster to come back. The doctor is a weak character, and just in that he doesn’t fit the “hero” role. He isn’t someone who can handle situations well, and seems to be lacking common sense. His personality leaves the reader wanting a character with a backbone.
The reader must wonder if the author intends the audience to dislike Dr. Frankenstein and sympathize with the monster. The book is written wonderfully, and the author does a great job in the description of the setting and creating a feeling of darkness and a great depression that the reader is sucked into. However, as well written as the long rants of Frankenstein’s self-pity are, the question of who is the protagonist is on the readers’ lips. Frankenstein, a whiny, self-centered, idiotic doctor, seems to be the wrong person to fit into the role. Some could claim that he does change; however, he does not learn from his mistakes. Instead of obsessing about the creation of life and playing god, he obsesses about destroying his creation. He may have stopped obsessing about one thing, but he still obsesses about SOMETHING. He doesn’t learn how hard obsession can be on the soul. He didn’t change or grow in any way. Most of the obstacles that Frankenstein faces are self-inflicted. The monster, however, never asks to be put through the things he put through, and the reader learns—through his tale—that the monster is several sided, with a wide variation in beliefs and traits. The monster, especially in the end scene, is shown to be a round character, a true protagonist compared to the weak doctor.

Welcome to the Brick Post, the SK library’s book review blog! If you’ve read a book and got an opinion on it, you can send us a review of it. If you’re looking for a book to read, you can read through reviews ‘til you find a book you think you’ll like.

Book Reviews
To have your book review published on the blog, send a copy of your review to amanda.lukas@stu.kenton.kyschools.us or erin.hall@stu.kenton.kyschools.us with the words “Book Review” plus your name and the book’s title (it can be shortened) in the subject line (ex. “Book Review: Joe Schmoe, Grapes of Wrath”). If we post it, we’ll tell you. If it’s not, we’ll tell you why not. You can write edit and resubmit reviews as much as you want. Now, the basic guidelines:

Book Review Guidelines
1. All book reviews must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy (i.e. don’t write anything you wouldn’t write in English class. This is a school-based blog, after all.)
2. All reviews must be at least about 3 paragraphs long (can be longer if you wish.)
3. All reviews must be readable. Not perfect, just readable.
4. All reviews will be edited for grammar and spelling before being published.
5. Probably goes without saying, but be sure to include your name, the author’s name, and the book title in the review.
6. The book does not have to be from or available at the SK library.

Comments
Any student (or teacher!) can leave comments on blog posts so long as they relate to the blog post and adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy (http://www.sk.kenton.k12.ky.us/bluetech/TeacherPage/Code%20of%20conduct%20online%20version%202008-2009.pdf, pg. 15)—that is, so long as you express your opinions respectfully and without going for the jugular. Critique, debate, praise, discuss, whatever you want goes as long as it it’s relevant and respectful. Finally, all comments have to go through moderation (be approved by Ms. Moore or one of us library aides), so if your comment doesn’t show up:

a) it just hasn’t been approved yet, in which case, sorry for the delay!
b) the comment isn’t relevant to the blog post, in which case it won’t be approved
c) it violates the AUP, in which case it won’t be approved

Erin and Amanda's Books of the Week

Every so often, we (Erin and Amanda) will post a list of books we'd recommend or warn against. If one interests you, leave a comment and we'll review it so you don't waste your time reading something have no idea if you'll like or not. Or, if you have any recommendations or warnings for the week, post 'em in the comments!

Disclaimer: These are the opinions of us as individuals, not the official opinion of the SK library or anything like that.

Recommendations:
The Hobbit by JR Tolkien

The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

Goose Girl by Shannon Hale


Warnings:
Twilight (Series) by Stephanie Meyer

War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells