Thomas’s Comments (group member since Aug 24, 2014)

Thomas’s comments from the BDCHS Advanced Reading group.

(Fiction assignment due 11/12/14) - I give the fiction book 'Catching Fire' by Suzanne Collins a rating of 5 out of 5 stars. 'Catching Fire' is the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy. The book is set in the futuristic country of Panem, which is under the dictatorship of the Capitol and its current president, President Snow. Seventy-four years ago, there were 13 districts, but they all rebelled against the Capitol. The first 12 districts were defeated and the 13th district was destroyed by the Capitol. As punishment for the rebellion, the Capitol forced two children from each district, a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18, to fight to the death in an arena as ‘tributes’. The last one standing at the end of the fight was declared the winner. Thus, the Hunger Games were born.

'Catching Fire' continues the story of protagonist, Katniss Everdeen. Katniss is from Panem’s District 12 and she was the recent female ‘tribute’ of the latest Hunger Games. She, and fellow District 12 male tribute, Peeta Mellark, won the Hunger Games. After their win, Katniss and Peeta returned to their district and moved into Victor’s Village, to live the remainders of their lives in luxury and safety with their families, or so they thought. While Katniss and Peeta should be happy, they aren’t. The Capitol is annoyed with them as they tricked the Capitol into allowing 2 tribute winners during their Hunger Games. Katniss and Peeta were able to win the Hunger Games by pretending to be in love and vowing to eat poisonous berries to commit suicide so that there would be no winner during their games. Thus, the Capitol was forced to allow 2 winners to preserve the games. The districts saw this potential act of suicide as rebellion against the Capitol.

As a result, the districts were now ready to rebel against the Capitol and were looking to Katniss and Peeta to help lead the fight. Katniss and Peeta go on their required ‘Victory Tour’ to all the other districts, which only serves to rile up the districts further against the Capitol. The Capitol becomes angry as the districts try to rebel and sends ‘Peacekeepers’ to try to control them. The Capitol views Katniss and Peeta as a continued threat to their rule and arranges the 75th anniversary Hunger Games, called the Quarter Quell, to be played with former tribute winners, including Katniss and Peeta, hoping that they will be destroyed during these new games.

Katniss and Peeta form an alliance with tributes Finnick (District 4), Mags (District 4), Johanna (District 7), Wiress (District 3), and Beetee (District 3). During the Quarter Quell games, Mags gives up her life to save the others by walking into a poisonous fog. Later, Wiress figures out the game arena is designed like a clock and is able to help the others figure it out too by constantly saying ‘tick tock’. Unfortunately, Wiress is later killed by other rival tributes. During the game, the group overcomes and survives various trials and fights with other tributes. Finally, Beetee comes up with a plan to destroy the force field surrounding the game arena, but ends up unconscious and cannot carry out his plan. However, Katniss is able to carry out Beetee’s plan to destroy the force field by tying a wire to one of her arrows and shooting it into the force field, which is destroyed when lightning strikes the wire. After the force field is destroyed, Katniss, Finnick and Beetee are rescued by Plutarch Heavensbee (Quarter Quell Head Gamemaker) and his rebel allies who plan to take them to the rebuilt, underground District 13. Plutarch states to Katniss, “We had to save you because you're the mockingjay, Katniss. While you live, the revolution lives”. Unfortunately, however, Peeta and Johanna did not escape with them and were captured by the Capitol. The book ends with Katniss distraught when she finds out about Peeta and also that her beloved District 12 has been destroyed by the Capitol.

There are several themes in the book 'Catching Fire', including war, competition, courage, loyalty and love. I thought that one of the most prevalent themes, however, was courage. Katniss and Peeta are ready to die for each other and sometimes act foolishly in order to defend their beliefs, like when Peeta painted a picture of Rue in front of the Gamemakers, because he wanted to hold them accountable for her death, without thinking about any possible consequences. Also, Mags and Wiress give up their lives to protect the others in the Quarter Quell games and Johanna and Finnick risked their lives during the games to save Peeta and Katniss. I thought that one of the biggest acts of courage in the book was when Cinna, Katniss’s stylist, risked everything to give Katniss a costume that promoted the rebellion by having her wedding dress catch fire and change into a mockingjay outfit, the symbol of the rebellion. Unfortunately, Cinna is beaten to death in front of Katniss for his betrayal against the Capitol.

I chose to read this book because I already read the first book, 'The Hunger Games', and really liked it. 'Catching Fire' was fast-paced and hard to put down and I finished it very quickly as I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. I found the relationship between the tributes interesting because though in the games they are supposed to be out for themselves, they all worked together to try to outsmart the Capitol, who was the real enemy in the book. I learned that to survive in the wilderness you must be aware of your surroundings, don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it, stand up for what you believe in and stay loyal to your friends. I also learned that you should be careful who you trust and that you can be friends even with people you thought were your enemies. This book kept me entertained and was difficult to put down. As a result, I can’t wait to read the last book in the trilogy, Mockingjay, so I can find out what ultimately happens to Katniss, Peeta and the rest of the characters.

(Non-fiction assignment due 12/12/14) - I give the non-fiction book 'How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous' by Georgia Bragg a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. ‘How They Croaked’ is a book about 19 famous historical people, including George Washington, Galileo, Mozart and others, and relays the circumstances surrounding their deaths. There is a warning at the introduction of the book that states, “if you don’t have the guts for gore, do not read this book.” Basically, what that means is the book is very graphic about the details of the deaths of these historical figures. While it is graphic and sometimes gross, the author also uses cartoon drawings, anecdotes and humor to relay the gory details of each person’s demise, which made it an entertaining read, despite the topic (death). I learned that most of these people died from diseases that could be easily cured today, such as malaria (Christopher Columbus), pneumonia (Queen Elizabeth I and Pocahontas), and strep throat (Mozart). I also learned that some people, specifically President James Garfield, would have survived their injuries had doctors not intervened by sticking their dirty, unwashed hands into Garfield's bullet hole wound. Another person in the book who I found interesting was Albert Einstein. After Einstein’s death, an autopsy was performed and it was discovered that Einstein’s brain was actually smaller than the average human’s brain, which was surprising because he was such a genius. The book not only included many interesting facts about each person, but there was also a chart at the end of the book that showed how all the famous people in the book were connected (like the fact that Mozart performed for Marie Antoinette’s family and how Marie Antoinette’s grandniece married Napoleon). There is no specific setting for this book because all of the people that were written about lived at different times in history all over the world. The overall theme of the book is death, an often sad and depressing subject, but this book relayed it in a way that made it seem almost humorous and interesting.

I chose to read this book because I thought it might be interesting to find out how these people died. I thought it was very well-written and liked that it was written in chronological order, ranging from people who died thousands of years ago, like King Tut and Julius Caesar, to people who died more recently, like Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein. I also liked how the author incorporated humor into an otherwise morbid subject (death). Overall, I liked this book as I like to read about historical figures, and learned many new facts about each person. However, I only gave the book 3.5 stars because I felt that although the book was non-fiction, some of the things the author wrote about seemed unbelievable (even though they were actually true, like the blister-beetle treatment given to George Washington). Also, some may not like the subject matter or how it was presented. However, I learned that death does not have to be sad or depressing, but could even sometimes be humorous and fascinating. After reading this book, all I can say is that I am thankful that I live today and have access to current technology and modern medicine!

I give the fiction book 'Ender’s Game' by Orson Scott Card a rating of 5 out of 5 stars. ‘Ender’s Game’ is a science fiction book that is set on Earth in the future. Earth has been attacked twice by alien insect creatures called ‘buggers’, who almost wiped out Earth’s population. To prepare for the next attack, the International Fleet has chosen genius children to train to become military leaders at their Battle School. The book was primarily about six year old Andrew ‘Ender’ Wiggins. Ender was identified by the Colonel Graff of the International Fleet, along with his brother, Peter, and sister, Valentine, as child geniuses worthy of monitoring and attending Battle School. At Battle School, the children play various games like arcade games in the Fantasy Room and war games in zero gravity in the Battle Room in preparation for the next attack by the buggers. At Battle School, Ender proves himself to be very talented and rises to the top of his class. Because of his ability, there are some kids at the school that don’t like him, like Bonzo Madrid. Ender ends up having to fight Bonzo and defeats him. Ender is chosen to attend Command School, where the games become much more difficult, but Ender is still able to master them. Ender begins to train under war hero, Mazer Rackham, who destroyed the buggers in a battle almost 70 years before. Ender’s friends, Petra, Alai, Bean, Shen, Tom, Carn, Dink, Han, and Fly all fight under him as his squadron leaders in these new military ‘games’. However, Ender eventually finds out that the ‘game’ he thought he was playing was actually real and he ends up destroying all the buggers. This makes Ender upset because he was lied to and didn’t think he was actually killing the buggers and he decides to leave the military.

While Ender is training to become a great military leader, Ender’s brother, Peter, is power hungry and wants to rule the world. Peter and his sister, Valentine, create fake names: Locke (Peter) and Demosthenes (Valentine) and the two are able to influence world events through their articles on the internet. Ultimately, Peter takes over the world and Valentine convinces Ender to leave with her to be part of a new colonization project in the world left behind by the buggers.

I chose to read this book because I know that the book was made into a movie recently and thought it might be a good read. I also saw good reviews about it online. I don’t usually read science fiction books, but I like science fiction movies like Star Wars, so I thought I might like this book. I found the story entertaining because it was set in the future and there was a lot of action in the story that kept me interested. I found that I wanted to keep reading to learn what was going to happen next. There were several themes in the story, including friends, enemies, lies and war. I found the relationship between the kids and adults interesting because the adults used and manipulated the kids to get them to do what they wanted (fight the buggers), but, in the end, two kids (Peter and Valentine) ended up taking over the world by manipulating the adults. I also learned that you should be careful who you trust and that you can be friends even with people you thought were your enemies.

I give the non-fiction book 'The President’s Been Shot!' by James L. Swanson a rating of 4 out of 5 stars. ‘The President’s Been Shot!’ was primarily about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, but was also a biography about his life. The book was broken down into two parts. Part 1 was the ‘Introduction to John F. Kennedy’ and told about his life, including his inauguration as our 35th President. Kennedy was the youngest President ever elected at the age of 43 and the book highlighted parts of his inaugural address including his famous comment, “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” which inspired many people in our nation. The book also highlighted some of the important things he did while in office, including his successful negotiation of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty between the U.S., Soviet Union and Great Britain and the solving of serious problems like the Cuban Missile Crisis. Part 2 was about the assassination of Kennedy. It discussed Lee Harvey Oswald and his life and what led up to Oswald killing Kennedy during his motorcade in Dallas, Texas on Friday, November 22, 1963. After the assassination of Kennedy, the book continued to cover Kennedy’s very public funeral and his burial at Arlington National Cemetery, where his Eternal Flame continues to burn today. The book also detailed the arrest and later killing of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby.

I chose to read this book because last year I read Mr. Swanson’s other book, ‘Chasing Lincoln’s Killer’ for school and really enjoyed it. The chapters were fairly short and were written in a way that kept my attention because it was written more like a crime thriller than a historical event. I learned a lot about Kennedy and his assassination from reading this book. There were many old, black and white photos included about Kennedy and the assassination, which also made the book very interesting. Though many others have felt Kennedy’s assassination was some sort of conspiracy, Swanson wrote his story with Oswald being the sole killer. Overall, I really enjoyed this book as I like historical books and would suggest it to anyone who might like to read about one of the most famous and interesting historical events in our nation's history.

I give the book 'Monster' by Walter Dean Myers a rating of 4 out of 5 stars. 'Monster' was a story mainly about a 16-year old, African American boy, named Steve Harmon. Steve and his friend, James King, end up in trouble with the law because they are accused of robbing a drug store in Harlem and killing the store owner. The story mainly follows Steve while he is in prison and on trial for murder. It was written from Steve's point of view and he wrote it in a unique way, in the form of a movie script, because he wants to become a filmmaker someday. During the trial, we find out that others participated in the crime, including Richard "Bobo" Evans and Osvaldo Cruz, who both admitted to taking part in the robbery, and ended up testifying against Steve and James. Eventually, the trial concludes and Steve's guilt or innocence is revealed. However, I felt that the reader really must decide for themselves as to Steve's innocence or guilt because Steve never reveals in the story his true involvement in the crime.

I thought this was a very good book and was told in a way that kept my interest because it was written like a movie script. I also like books about crime and law, which is another reason I enjoyed this book. One of the things I learned from the story was that peer pressure can sometimes make you do things that you know are wrong. I also felt that one of the themes of the book could be "if you do the crime, you must serve the time."