Lexi’s Comments (group member since Aug 20, 2014)

Lexi’s comments from the BDCHS Advanced Reading group.

I rate the book Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swan a 4 out 5 because it was very interesting yet kind of boring and a buzz killer. It takes place in Washington D.C, during the extended celebration of the civil war being over. The Union was safe but the Confederate States of America were ruined after Lee surrendered. The thrilling events throughout the book revolved around hunting down the assassins from Washington D.C to Maryland and Virginia. A true southern, said to be handsome actor, John Wilkes Booth was in despair after hearing the news. His attention and anger was focused on Lincoln the President, who he thought was responsible for the destruction of the South. Booth had two opportunities to kill his enemy Abraham but missed them. April 14, 1865 Booth heard that Lincoln and his wife would be at the theatre to see a performance of "Our American Cousin", he thought out a plan to assiassian the President Lincoln, the Vice President Johnson and the Secretary of State Seward to throw Washington in a up roar so the South could start war and win. Although Booth's plan didn't go as planned exactly, the President ends up dying the Secretary gets hurt, the Vice President takes over for Lincoln and the Confederate States of America as well as Booth die. The main characters are John Wilkes Booth, the notorious assassin of Lincoln, Lewis Powell Booth's friend who was a former confederate solider, David Herold who helped Booth and Powell, George Atzerodt who also helped Booth, Samuel Mudd who helped Booth hide and Marry & John Suratt who as well helped Booth. The problem would be looking for Lincoln's killer, a solution would have been to get more information of what happened and more information from people associated with Booth Atzerodt, Powell and Mudd. The theme is revenge, sometimes revenge isn't really worth it though.
I learned that revenge isn't always necessary. I personally liked the story at some points and other points i wasn't into it.

I rated the book Dark Life by Kat Falls a 4 out of 5 considering in the beginning I was a bit confused and uncomfortable. The book takes place in the deep undersea but mostly on the ocean floor and Benthic Territory where all the settlers live like Ty and his family. The story is set in the future where global warming has caused rising sea levels resulting in the world being swallowed by the sea and now everyone lives in homesteads with farms. The setting alters throughout the book while Ty and Gemma explore. A fifteen year old boy named Ty, the main character, lives with his parents and his little sister Zoe. He is a brave, determined and independent teen. Ty helps his family farm the ocean floor. He enjoys his sub-sea life and is terrified of moving topside. Ty soon figures out that he has a Dark Gift. Gemma, also a main character is a strong fearless fifteen year old girl, who is a orphaned topsider who came subsea to look for her brother Richard. Shade, a brutal smart man who wants to punish the government for being tested for a Dark Gift. The plot of this book is pretty interesting. An outlaw group called the Seablite Gang attack homesteads, Ty meets Gemma, whose searching for her brother, together they get involved to capture the bandits and to find Gemma's brother. Exploring deeper and deeper they go through hardships like being haunted down by gangs of outlaws with eerie abilities. Throughout their dangerous missions and adventures in the deep, they both find shocking news. Gemma finds who she thinks his her brother while Ty figures out something interesting about himself. The main problem in the novel is that Gemma needs to find her brother, this problem leads her and Ty on dangerous adventures risking their lives by being haunted by wanted outlaws. A solution would be to talk to the outlaws, ask what they want or get help from others instead of risking their lives, fighting them on their own. Another problem would be the global warming that caused the settlement to sink, a solution would have been to use more natural resources or not using/doing things that harmed the environment. The theme in the novel I believe is perseverance due to the fact Gemma never gave up looking for her brother and the town never gave up while adjusting to a different and difficult lifestyle.
I learned that global warming could harshly affect an environment and that we all should consider how our future could turn out if global warming gets worse. At first I wasn't really into the novel, it made me uncomfortable but throughout the story I became attached and it was very interesting. I like this book because it gives me an uncomfortable feeling, it was strangely unique.

I rated the book The Pact by Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt a 5 out of 5 because the fact those three men grew up together and accomplished a goal together as a team is really neat.
The story takes place on the rough streets of Newark, New Jersey. The main characters are George, Sam, and Rameck. George was a smart kid living in a place as he described "a place where dreams were snatched away all the time". His mother was the dominant figure in his life and the closest thing he had to a father was his friend's father, Shahid Jackson. Sam was a curious kid who grew up in the projects on Ludlow Street. He had five other brothers and sisters making it six children in total which was a lot of pressure for his parents, and the reason for their fighting as well as the reason to his father leaving. Rameck lived with his grandmother as well as his mother. His grandmother whom he called "Ma" was the steadiest person in his life, his mother and his grandmother didn't really get along. His dad was a heroin addict and spent most of his time in jail while his mom did drugs too.
The plot of the story is that these African American three boys grow up in poor living conditions and face the hardships on the streets like drug, jail, gangs, and death, neither of these boys want to get into trouble they want to be successful.One day in class there was a presentation about Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Plus Program at Seton Hall and it all hit them. They made a pact and a promise to be doctors, they pushed one another and believed in one another. In the end they all fulfilled their dream and accomplished their goal. I don't think there was a major problem other than the poor conditions that could have kept them from achieving their goal, the solution was that they all believed in each other and didn't give up. The major themes in this novel would be friendship and perseverance, they stuck together and never gave up.
I personally learned that if I want something in life I can get it if I try hard enough and believe in myself with the belief of others. I loved this story it was very inspiring. These three men are still friends today and two are doctors and the other is a dentist, which is wonderful.

I rated The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne a 5 out of 5 because the novel was very interesting yet shocking, the events were well organized and the plot line was well put together. The novel takes place in Berlin, Germany and eventually the countryside of Auschwitz, also known as Out-With. The main character Bruno is a curious little 9 year old who likes to explore. His older sister Gretel, who to Bruno is just a "hopeless case", is very interested in the activities of the Nazi party. She nags Bruno a lot considering she thinks she is far more mature than him as well as better than him. Their father is a Nazi commandant, their mother goes with whatever her husband wants. Maria is the family's maid. Pavel is their butler who prepares meals for the family, he is also a prisoner at Out-With. Shmuel is a innocent little boy that Bruno meets through the fence. They share birthdays and become good friends.
Bruno's father is a "very important man" in Germany, he is a Nazi commandant and was chosen to relocate for business in Auschwitz. In Out-With Auschwitz there is a concentration camp for Jews. Since he had to relocate he had to take his whole family with him, nobody wanted this or were they excited but it had to be done. Gretel and Bruno left their friends in Berlin, in Out-With they knew no one and there wasn't anyone to know. Their new home was in the countryside, no neighbors but there were buildings far away behind their home. These buildings were concentration camps, nobody but Bruno's father and mother knew, nobody would tell Bruno so decided to explore. He'd go pass the gate he was told not too, into the woods until he came across a fence where he met Shmuel. They would talk about why Shmuel and all the people behind the fence were working and why they wore stripped pajamas and why he wore a bracelet with a star on it(which indicated he was a Jew), Shmuel would explain that they were Jews and how they were put in camps to work as well as how he lost his father in the process of being split up. Everyday Bruno would go back to talk to Shmuel but somedays he wouldn't be there and somedays he couldn't stay long to talk. Bruno never catches on to what is going on, one day he goes back to see Shmuel and they plan to get an extra suit for Bruno so he can join Shmuel to find his father. He puts on the suit goes under the fence and goes on a hunt for Shmuel's father. Neither of the boys know where he is but on their way to search they both are pushed into a group of men who were off to the showers. There was nothing they could do at that point and neither of them knew they were about to be gassed and die. Bruno's parents and sister were looking for Bruno that afternoon and had no clue. They all went to look for him noticing the gate to their back yard, which Bruno wasn't suppose to go pass was open. They race through the woods until they get to the gate where they find his clothes and a hole under the fence. At this time Bruno's father and mother freak out, his father races to go in the concentration camp to look for him. He asks around and checks many places, when he comes across the gas room he realizes that's the only place he could be and that it is too late. The problem is that Bruno was not clearly informed what his dad did, who the people behind his house were, and what those buildings were. Bruno did not know what was going on between the Nazi and the Jews his parents did not want him to know about the horrors in the Holocaust, if he had known Bruno would not have gone with Shmuel under the fence. The major theme in this novel would be innocence, even though Shmuel was a Jew he did nothing wrong and Bruno a little curious boy who wasn't told a thing about what was going on died, trying to help his friend find his father.
I have learned that sometimes you have to tell someone things even it will affect them, not to hurt them but to protect them. I enjoyed this book a lot even though it made me sad I liked it.

The book Monster by Walter Dean Myers is told in a first person's point of view, which makes it unique. I rate this book a 4 out of 5. The story takes place in a courtroom, a jail, and 141st street where the incident happened. The characters in this novel are Steve Harmon, James King, Sandra Petrocelli, Kathy O' Brien, Richard "Bobo" Evans, Jose Delgado, Lorelle Henry, and Osvaldo Cruz. Steve, a African American teenager tells his story in first person through a script like structured text as if he was in a movie. Going back and fourth from jail to the courtroom, Steve is being trailed for the robbery and death that happened at Mr. Nesbitt's drugstore. A teenager by the name of Richard "Bobo" Evans was the man who planned the crime, James King another young African American was in on the plan and helped Bobo carry it out. Steve on the other hand was connected to the crime because he was their lookout, although he never helped or warned the two men if anyone was near he is being accused. Throughout the process Steve questions as well as doubts himself for being innocent. He knows what happened he knows he wasn't guilty but he feels like a monster considering everyone is making him look like one. I believe the problem is that there is no 100% clear evidence, Bobo admitted to pretty much everything as well as James King but evidence concerning Steve was never shown, and is on trail for not good enough reasons. I also believe if Steve was not at the park that day when Bobo and James made the plan or if he had just said no and went home, he would not be in the situation he is in. The solution to these problems would be to get good evidence concerning everyone being trailed, and for Steve to associate with better people.
The theme in this book I would say is perseverance, considering Steve never gave up on himself no matter how many times he had doubt and was put down and set out to be evil.
I have learned from this that you have to make good decisions, think what may happen if you take this action or participate in something, little participation or 100%. I have also learned that you have to believe in yourself first in order to have someone else help and believe in you. I personally enjoyed this story because the way it was written. With camera angles and structured as a script it kept me tuned and interested as well as the events, they made me wonder what was going to happen next.