Native Son

Native Son
Richard Wright
502 pages

Summary: Direct from Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Native-Son-Richard-Wright/dp/0062357255

Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic. Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Richard Wright’s powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America.

Opinion:
(Sigh) This book. I just couldn't deal. The outcome of the book was laid out before me right after Bigger Thomas first committed his crime. After that scene, I was done with the entire book, but since it is summer required reading I had to complete it.[Spoiler] It truly was sad about Bessie, especially how the court showcased her. Death should be respected. Her body didn't need to be shown to the world. That irked me. Especially how nobody seemed to care and just viewed her as a thing. [End Spoiler] Overall, the entire court scenes weren't my favorites. It was completely unnecessary to have almost 100 pages on his days in court and for Mr. Max's speech to be 20 pages of it. I didn't want to read all of that. It was interesting, especially since Max brought many issues to light that affect blacks today. He brought up oppression and how it was/ is something America is having difficulty with. I especially liked his words of black America being a nation inside a nation.

All of Max's words were so thought provoking. He was my favorite character truthfully.Its so true in that fictional 1930's and even now (the news and the increasing black body count are testaments to that). It was a wonderful speech and one that somebody should say in real life to the mass someday, but for a courtroom I felt like it was too long and a little unnecessary. That could just be my opinion. I see how Native Son could be revered as a classic due to Wright's progressiveness in bringing light to the plight of my people, but the story overall was just uninteresting and a little unrealistic to me. Certain parts of Bigger's personality seemed realistic to me, while others seemed stretched thin and forced to fit the new stereotype that Wright wanted to portray. Overall, I think the introduction and analysis to the story attached in the copy I have was the most interesting.  It actually spoiled a little of the story for me, but I didn't mind. I don't really recommend reading the book. My father has read it and truthfully, he didn't even remember the plot. In the analysis, that author compared Native Son to the Invisible Man and said the Invisible Man was a much better book in terms of plot and message undertone about the lives of blacks. The Invisible Man is actually my father's favorite book. If you decide to read Native Son, please be over the age of 16 or at least very mature (the book deals with serious issues like rape, murder, public masturbation, and gore) and have wonderful reading comprehension, as well as overall understanding where Richard Wright was coming from when he wrote this book (a different time, but where in some aspects we can relate).


P.S. Please leave a message/comment below. What do you think?
P.P.P.S. Bigger Thomas did not rape Mary, but Bessie was raped since she didn't truly give consent in her last scene.
P.P.S #BLACK LIVES MATTER

The message:

Ferdinand and Isabella

Ferdinand & Isabella
Paul Stevens 
(Introductory essay "On Leadership" by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.)
111 pages
World Leaders Past & Present Series

Summary: Direct from Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Ferdinand-Isabella-World-Leaders-Present/dp/0877545235

A biography of the king and queen whose marriage led to the unification of Spain and who increased the country's power by conquering the Moors and sending Columbus to America.

Opinion:
This was a very informative book. Its a non-ficition book about the lives of Ferdinand and Isabella, the King of Aragon and Queen of Castile (Spain regions). You might know of them as the people who funded Columbus's excursion. They did much more than that though, these monarchs helped as well as hindered their country at the same time. It starts with Columbus asking the monarchs for funding for his new trade route. The first thing I learned was that Columbus was 40 years old at the time of the trip, as well as being a very arrogant person. I visited Spain in the summer of 2014 and noticed that the actions of these monarchs really did affect Spain, from then to now. The facts in the book are so interesting. In AP World History, I learned about King Henry the 8th, who had 6 wives and actually created a new branch of Christianity in order to be allowed to have a divorce. "Divorce, Beheaded, and Died. Divorced, Beheaded, Survived."

World History is such an interesting topic, since its so very hard to fathom sometimes that while one very fabulous event is happening in one country, halfway over the world something else noteworthy is occurring. You have to look at the times and just be amazed. Maybe its just me. I do get weird notions. Overall, I really liked this book. It reminds me of my younger days where I would read tons of historical fiction or just historical books in general (usually biographies). I am a history buff, so this book is recommended to other history buffs, people who like Spanish history, or just people who want to one-up your friends on cool/interesting/fun facts. FYI, the book is in the reading level of a 5th grader, or at least I was able to read this in the 5th grade. Its very easy to understand, though there are a few technical terms.

P.S. Please leave a comment below. I want to know how I'm doing. Like or nah?

Rings of Enchantment

Rings of Enchantment
Alicia Rivoli
759 pages
The Enchantment Series


Overview: Direct from Amazon.com  http://www.amazon.com/Rings-Enchantment-The-Series-Book-ebook/dp/B00C79JREM

Everything is About to Change...
The enchantments protecting the kingdom of Mere are growing weaker. Jacan, recognizing the change, sends his army of Umbra through the shadow portals to wreak havoc on the cities outside Mere’s walls of protection. He feels his own powers have begun to weaken. That could only mean one thing, the heir of Nebula has returned.
As Preston approaches Mere he is discovering more of his father’s stories are coming to life around him. He is struggling with the thought that he will be the King, and that one day he is expected to marry the Princess of Mere. When Preston takes a wrong step and finds himself alone, he uncovers something that his father never told him. Will he discover all the pieces of the puzzle in time with danger around every corner and Jacan and the Umbra getting closer?
Chloe’s magic builds with each challenge from The Master Puzzler and the evil creatures that inhabit Mere. She quickly becomes a skilled sorceress as she fights alongside an unlikely companion. Can Chloe learn to control her magic before it consumes her life source? Will she accept what is yet to come?
Follow the epic journey of Preston, Megan, Chloe and Jason in their quest for victory and their struggle to take their rightful places in the kingdom of Mere.

Opinion:

Wow this book was long. The readers knew the eventual predictable outcome. It was obvious from the start who the Princes and Princesses were. I liked the road to the ending. It was creative. Excellent worldbuilding if i do say so myself. But besides that, this was a cute read. I suggest reading the first book in the doulogy as without it you will be kinda lost. Its been a while since i read the first book so it took a while before i caught up with the storyline and remembered the characters. Fair warning: the book is reallly long.



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Broken Spirits

Broken Spirits

S.A.Hunter

424 pages

Scary Mary Series

Overview: Direct from S.A. Hunter's website http://www.sahunter.net/p/scary-mary.html

Mary has been through a lot recently. She defeated a Shadowman, saved Vicky from a coma, and got a date to homecoming. She's ready for life to settle down and be a bit boring so she can catch her breath and process everything that she's been through. But she isn't going to get any downtime.
She may have defeated the Shadowman, but it isn't done with Mary, and it has her number. Literally. Now a scary monster is calling her house and Mary can't block its number. What does it want? How can she get rid of it? And what will she do when it decides to come visit?

Opinion:

This time the series’ title really embodies the storyline. Mary is scary. This girl has gone through so much. I am amazed she can still function after killing Mr. White and seeing the Shadowman. However, stuff just got worse from there in my opinion. A couple of surprises come in the relationships of her friends: Rachel, Kyle, and even Vicky. I think they need to stop mentioning Cys in a boyfriend potential type of way; that is crazy. Let the girl experience relationships please. The antagonist in this book scared everyone. The phone calls were the creepiest. If I got creepy phone calls following me all the time, I would have called the police. The antagonist's "apprentice" was the real curveball. I did not expect it; truly, I did not expect most of the stuff in the book. Now the remaining mystery is who exactly this mystery caller savior is. I recommend reading this series. Its highly original and one that I enjoy and will continue to support.

P.S. This book cover is beautiful.
P.P.S. Please leave a comment below or the ghosts will come for you.

The man who mistook his wife for a hat and other clinical tales

The man who mistook his wife for a hat and other clinical tales
Oliver Sacks
209 pages

Summary: Direct from Oliver Sacks webiste http://www.oliversacks.com/books-by-oliver-sacks/man-mistook-wife-hat/

Here Dr. Sacks recounts the case histories of patients lost in the bizarre, apparently inescapable world of neurological disorders: people afflicted with fantastic perceptual and intellectual aberrations; patients who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no longer able to recognize people and common objects; who are stricken with violent tics and grimaces or who shout involuntary obscenities; whose limbs have become alien; who have been dismissed as retarded yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents.
If inconceivably strange, these brilliant tales remain, in Dr. Sacks’s splendid and sympathetic telling, deeply human. They are studies of life struggling against incredible adversity, and they enable us to enter the world of the neurologically impaired, to imagine with our hearts what it must be to live and feel as they do.

Opinion:
Wow! This book amazed me with the amount of neurology problems that can or are commonplace. I did not know about any of those technical terms except for autism, tumors, etc. Everything else was a completely new concept to me. The brain fascinates me. Its territory is still in the beginning stages. I do not know when we will completely understand the brain, but I know it is not anytime soon.

Agnosia and proprioception were the most fascinating to me. I am going to look more up on those subjects. The stories were interesting, especially Part One. I liked The Man who mistook his wife for a hat, The lost mariner, The dismembered lady, Hands, The president's speech, Cupid's disease, A master of identity, Reminiscence, A passage to India, The dog beneath the skin, Murder, and The twins were my personal favorites. Lol! That is almost about the whole book. The part I did not like was when they referred to some of the patients as idiotic, dumb, or stupid. That is not right or moral in my opinion. They are people too and using those word to describe their conditions as wrong. It is full of 24 short stories. Dr.Sacks himself is a very interesting character. In the stories, you can see his growth as a neurologist, as the time range varies. Besides all the technical terms, the stories themselves are the best part. In my opinion, just skip straight to the stories and do not read the post publications. I recommend this to everyone just for the experience.


P.S. Pinky and the Brain say leave a comment behind.

The Crucible

The Crucible
Arthur Miller
150 pages

Summary: Wikipedia.com (Sorry couldnt find a better one.)
The Crucible is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693.

Opinion:
This book was crazy. If this was how the witch trials really happened, I am twice as grateful to live in these times. It is sad to think everything happened because of vindictive little girls. Several people died because of them and many more would have if they had not confessed to stupid crimes. I feel like the Crucible displayed some of the deepest lows people have gone to for power and money. Gold, glory and god is pretty much the theme song for the whole book and real-life situation. Salem turned into a theological society and tiny government inside the United States. That is never going to happen again. I really do not have words for the stupidity in this classic and school summer reading mandatory book. Innocent people died and that was crazy and uncondonable. As you can most likely tell, I did not really like the book. Technically, it is a play. It includes the background of each character and the overall situation plus the actual characters in the play were the real people in the Salem Witch trials. That was the only interesting part to me since I am a history nerd. Unless you are required to read this book, I do not recommend it.

P.S. Please leave a review/ comment. GRACIAS!

Blood of My Blood

Blood of My Blood

Barry Lyga

359 pages

I Hunt Killers Series

Summary: Barry Lyga's website

Jazz Dent has been shot and left to die in New York City. His girlfriend Connie is in the clutches of Jazz’s serial killer father, Billy. And his best friend Howie is bleeding to death on the floor of Jazz’s own home in tiny Lobo’s Nod. Somehow, these three must rise above the horrors their lives have become and find a way to come together in pursuit of Billy. But then Jazz crosses a line he’s never crossed before, and soon the entire country is wondering: “Like father, like son?” Who is the true monster?
The chase is on, and this time Jazz is the hunted, not the hunter. And beyond Billy there lurks something much, much worse. Prepare to meet…the Crow King.

Opinion:

One word: Wow!!! This book series can mess you up and play with your head like Billy Dent. It starts right where the last book ended and then continues on a wild goose chase. Poor Jasper starts going down the path of insanity and all you can do is flip the pages faster. Connie starts changing. And well Howie stays the same. The book kept getting realier and realier and sacrier and scarier. I just don't know. It was a rollercoaster of feelings.  The book reminded me of a scary movie or just a movie with a really good plot; it sucks you in and for a full two hours you are a character in the movie observing all the antics. Then the lights turn on and you are back in yourself looking at the last page of the book. Blood of my blood hooks you exactly like that. I was amazed by every word and every action in the book. The history on serial killers integrated into the text just makes me want to find out even more. I especially loved the 5 years later aspect and Mama Dent's involvement. Barry Lyga is a fabulous writer. He is on my favorites list. We all need to watch out for his books in the future. I recommend you to read this series, I Hunt Killers. But warning it isn't for the faint of hurt, it involves a lot of blood and gore, especially since its about serial killers.

P.S. Please leave a comment below.
P.P.S.HAPPY 4TH OF JULY