Peter Pan

Author: J. M. Barrie
Year first published: 1911
Number of pages: 207

J. M. Barrie writes an exiting book about the adventures of Peter Pan and his companions. I enjoyed reading this book as it was very descriptive and fun. Peter Pan is a classic, old English tale about a young boy who can never grow up.  He takes children with him to his home in Neverland, to have adventures of all sorts. They fight pirates, meet mermaids, make peace with Redskins (as they are called in the book), and watch out for the dreaded crocodile and Captain Hook! Peter Pan starts out a bit slow, and a lot of the writing is in old English, which can be very hard to understand. There were a couple of places where I was confused as to what the author was getting at, but overall I loved reading it!

I absolutely loved Disney's version of Peter Pan, and I expected almost the same story from the book, and that was not the case. They use all of the basics, but Disney's version is more kid-friendly, and I was expecting that from the book as well. Peter Pan himself is much different. He is immensely self-absorbed, cocky, and selfish. It's almost funny, the relationship between he and Wendy. He thinks of her somewhat like a mother and really nothing more. She loves him, and is frustrated and upset because he doesn't see her that way. He saves her a couple of times, but it is mostly because of what is in it for himself. In the end though, I think he is truly grateful for her.

Peter Pan is a great character who is fun and ready for anything.  I was just surprised at his true personality. Also, Tinker Bell. Tinker Bell is a fairy, Peter Pan's best friend and companion, but she is quite rude and mean in the book. Even though she is a fairy, she loves Peter, and gets extremely jealous and angry about the way that Wendy feels about him. She even tries to kill Wendy several times. James Hook, captain of the band of pirates that roam the island, is a surprisingly complicated character. Barrie tells a good bit of backstory about Hook, and his character. Hook is actually quite a conflicted person, and he his hard on himself because he feels he has to have "good form" because of what was thrust upon him in his childhood. Hook is also a scheming, nasty character, but his backstory really interested me.

All in all, I thought Peter Pan was a magical book! I would recommend this book for ages around 10 and up, because the language that the writer uses can be difficult to understand, and there is a lot of very descriptive and sometimes confusing places. There is also a bit of fighting, and occasionally a little bit of blood and wounds. There is more to Peter Pan than what meets the eye, so I encourage you to pick it up!

A TBR jar, goals, and bookish fun!

 Helloooooo! So, I decided that it was time to make my reading goals for this year! I would like to read at least 52 books in 2015. That means that I will read a book every week for this year! I want to include a couple of biographies, autobiographies, and some classics, aside from the modern and futuristic books that I so enjoy reading. That dosen't include rereads; I'm going to tally up my grand total as well, but I want to read a lot of new books! I will probably end up reading more, but this seemed like a very fun and reasonable goal!

Yesterday I saw this cute idea and decided it would be perfect for me (and this blog!). I grabbed a mason jar, some colorful tape, and got to work making an awesome label! This "To Be Read" jar will hold little slips of paper, that contain the names of books that I would like to read. I decided that I would pick a slip of paper out of the jar every Sunday, and that would be the book that I would read that week.  I will read the book, and then do a review post about it on here. 

This weeks book is... The classic Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. I'll get reading and posting again soon!

Wonder

Wonder

Author: R. J. Palacio

Year Published: 2012

Number of Pages: 310

R. J. Palacio has written an amazing story about a boy named August (Auggie) Pullman. He was born with a facial deformity, which has kept him from going to public school until 5th grade. He doesn't want to go at all, and he is extremely nervous about what others will say. When he sees the kindness of the principal of Beecher Prep, he starts to think that it might not be so bad. He meets some very loyal and true friends, and some people who do their best to bring Auggie down. August does his best to not let people get the best of him, but sometimes they can be downright awful to him.  Auggie goes through some rough times, and there are friendships forged and broken. Through this book, there are lots and lots of lessons to be learned on both sides. There are a lot of mixed feelings; loneliness, happiness, sadness, and pride. August changes so much through the course of this book, and I'm in awe of what a wonderful job the author did in writing it. 

Sometimes this book made me laugh, cry, or just smile. Seeing Auggie deal with all kinds of different situations was heart-breaking and beautiful. It teaches you lots of lessons in the sense of how people treat others. For Auggie, he has lived his whole life being homeschooled, and he had only a couple of close friends. Whenever he went to the park or walked down a street, people would stare and small children would point and become scared. Imagine.

Imagine having a deformed face and how everybody would always see you as different, or weird, or scary. And imagine when you go to school, where there are so many people and there will be people who don't care, people who stick up for you, people who are always by your side.  And then there are the people who bully you. They are rude, mean, taunting, and hurtful towards you.  They want to have all of the attention to themselves, and they think by being nasty to you will get them more followers, more popularity. But, Auggie, he stays true to himself and by doing that, he becomes more confident, and gains himself the trust and love that a true friend and companion should have and give.

I would recommend this book for ages around ten and up. This is also a great book for adults to read; my mom really loved it! Be mindful that this book conveys a lot of feelings; it can be very sad and also very happy! This book is really a truly amazing read! I strongly encourage you to read it! 

The Giver

 The Giver 

Newbery Medal Winner

Author: Lois Lowry

Year Published: 1993

Number of pages: 180    

The Giver, by Lois Lowry, is a book set in a dystopian future about a boy named Jonas, who lives in a community where everything is black-and-white and everything is in order and perfect. They don't know the joy and heartbreak of feelings and it is a life with rules and straight answers.  They are always happy with the simplicity of life, the same routine day after day. Jonas is nervous to attend the Ceremony when he will become a Twelve and be given an Assignment - a job that suits your personality and interests. But it turns out that Jonas isn't going to be Assigned, he has been selected - Chosen to be the new Receiver. He meets the Giver, who carries all the memories of the past, of terrible and great things, and it is Jonas's job to learn and receive these memories from him. He has been given a great honor to be the Receiver, especially since they failed with the last one. At first, Jonas enjoys the sessions, but as the Giver transfers harsh and painful memories, he has to carry the burden of them. He realizes that that these things were taken from everyone because society wanted the perfect life, no wars or strife, but they also removed love and happiness, replacing them with the bliss of knowing nothing besides what they need to. Jonas also becomes attached to a little new-child named Gabriel. He wasn't growing like he should be and wasn't sleeping soundly, so Jonas' family took him into their care, since Jonas' father is one of the Nurtures that take care of the babies. But when it seems like Gabriel is going to be Released soon, Jonas wants to know what actually happens when a new-child or one of the Old is released.  After learning, Jonas and the Giver make a plan. 

When I read this book, I could definitely make some connections to Jonas. First of all, it makes sense to me that he was nervous in the beginning as the author chose to give them assignments when they turn twelve. Being a twelve-year-old myself, I understand that feeling of new responsibility and independence when you become this age. Jonas has feelings he does not yet understand and the author brings in some of the things that start to happen and change when you get older. I also wondered at the authors choice to give them this Assignment at twelve instead of thirteen. Most everyone these days can't wait to turn thirteen, to become a teenager and get that feeling of a little more freedom. I don't know, I'm not there yet! 

When Jonas becomes the Receiver his friends start to see him differently, a little strange and not really one of them anymore. I can relate to that a little bit, thankfully not as much as him, but I changed from public school to a private school (Waldorf) and while my good friends were sad to see me go, after I had been there for a year and the others had moved on to the public middle school life, sometimes I felt like I really was different.  Waldorf is very special, it likes to do things a little differently, and that's all good. Now, I do things my friends don't do and they do stuff I don't know how to do; like I go for walks in the woods on campus and they use computers and iPhones in class.

Jonas also carries this great burden of sorrow and pain from these memories that happened to an imperfect society and experiences the feeling of being with no people to protect him and give him medicine for the minor and major injuries in life. He is sometimes alone in these memories and he feels the effects on himself in everyday life. But he feels the love and joy that can happen too. And I think that the prospect of keeping those he loves alive, and reaching his ultimate goal, keeps him going during the times that follow.  I really think he finds himself along the way. I think that this a great book for teens because we are all trying to find ourselves in this world, and we can really understand and relate to Jonas.

I would highly recommend this book to teens and pre-teens around eleven years old and up. This book is not difficult and it is not very long. At times, this book was a little bit confusing to me and some of the memories were a bit harsh, so be aware of that. This book was all in all a great read and Lois Lowry is a great author. There are also three more books in this quartet, so be on the lookout for their reviews!

Hello!

Hello! My name is Grace and I am 12 years old. I love to adventure, and enjoy being outdoors; backpacking is my favorite. Our family loves to explore and travel around the states, and let me tell you, I've been to some pretty amazing places! I take ballet (on pointe this November!) and love to dance in general. I love to ride roller-coasters and the like, I am a risk and fun seeking kind of gal! Spending time with family is great, and I have tons of fun with my awesome friends. I really love to write, short-stories and poetry are my favorite. And I love, love, love books!! 

I think books are really amazing, don't you? There is so much one can say about books. Sometimes it happens where you don't really want to read the book but when you get into it, it's fantastic! Oh, and when that crazy plot twist comes dancing along the paragraph, yeah, I know the feeling. I have soooo many favorite books, but here is a list of some of my read-it-again-and-again favorites: Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Watership Down, The House Above the Trees, The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson (and the Heroes of Olympus), The Giver,  Swiss Family Robinson, Winnie-The-Pooh, The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (and the whole Benedict Society series) Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, and The Tale of Desperaux, to name a few (haha)! In this blog, I will be reviewing, rating and recommending the good, and sometimes not so good books that I read. This will be combining two of my favorite things so I think I'm off to a pretty good start! Enjoy!