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Dylan

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Dylan is currently reading

Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10

by Marcus Luttrell

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read in May 2016

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Dylan said: "
Personal Response: I have read the book Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell. I have seen the movie prior to reading the book. I have been intrigued in the military all my life. I enjoyed this book, because it had everything from Marcus' training to the
Personal Response: I have read the book Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell. I have seen the movie prior to reading the book. I have been intrigued in the military all my life. I enjoyed this book, because it had everything from Marcus' training to the actual ambush from the Taliban. I couldn't stop reading it as soon I started. My favorite part was when Marcus talked about his Seal training.

Plot: The plot of this book was all over the place. The beginning of the book started with Marcus' upbringing as a southern kid in Texas. At a young age, he knew he wanted to become a Navy Seal. When things started to get serious, he found help from a former Green Beret named Billy Shelton. The next part transitioned to the day Marcus signed up for the Navy. He shared a couple things about basic training, but not much. Then, he went through his BUD/S training and talked about "Hell Week.” “Hell Week” was the worst experience he had encountered in his whole life. After he trained, he was deployed. While deployed, he went through several missions with his men and told it in vivid details. This led up to the famous "Operation Redwing." A Taliban leader, associated with Osama Bin Laden, had hit the most wanted list. Marcus and his men were put on this mission to take him out. Soon after Marcus and his men landed on a mountainside in Afghanistan, they stumbled upon some herder's who were Taliban. The team decided to let them go. After they were dug in a fox hole for about an hour, the men were ambushed from the cliff top. Machine guns and RPG's were firing at them every second. The only thing they could have done was fight and call for help. Marcus went into great detail about how his team was killed and how the helicopters were shot down. After Marcus escaped from the chaos, he was lucky to find a small Afghan tribe. The tribe was against Taliban and defended him even when their lives were at stake. The tribe sent word to the nearest military base, and they sent choppers to pick him up at the tribe. The book ended with Marcus' experiences after the ordeal. This book was my favorite book of all time.

Characterization: The main character was Marcus Luttrell. The minor characters were Michael Murphy, Danny Diaz, and Matthew Axe. Marcus went through mental and physical trauma during his military experiences. In addition, he had to overcome his friend's death. As a Navy Seal, they made him fearless. Marcus said that as soon as his best friend, Michael Murphy, died, he snapped like a twig and cried.

Impacts of Setting: The main setting took place in modern day Afghanistan. Marcus' team was placed on a mountainside in Afghanistan on rugged terrain. The setting impacted their team in many ways. They were placed in a situation they knew nothing about. When the Taliban ambushed them, they were familiar with the terrain and knew where to attack the Seal team.

Thematic Connection: The theme of Lone Survivor was tragedy. The theme was tragedy because there were many casualties as a result of Operation Redwing. The theme also tied in with Marcus. When Marcus was on the mountainside he overcame his team’s death and escaped by the skin of his teeth. Marcus had to deal with the tragic deaths of his fellow soldiers because he was the lone survivor.

Recommendation: This was my favorite book I have ever read, and I recommend this book to anyone in high school ages fourteen through eighteen. The reason I chose high schoolers was because there were many adult words and scenes. I rated this book five out five stars. The reason I gave this book a high rating was because the story was true and the author experienced the trauma first hand. There were many details that were descriptive, which was easy to picture in my mind. ...more "

May 25, 2016 06:02AM · see review

Dylan is currently reading

Brians Winter

by Gary Paulsen

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in December 2015

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Dylan said: "
Personal Response:

I read Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen. I thought this was a very good book, because I have read the previous books and they kept on getting better and better. He knew where the animals were and how to hunt them. He set up his camp u
Personal Response:

I read Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen. I thought this was a very good book, because I have read the previous books and they kept on getting better and better. He knew where the animals were and how to hunt them. He set up his camp under a rock by a small lake in Canada, where he only killed what he needed, and used the whole animal for tools and food.

Plot:

Brian's Hunt was about Brian Robeson who was a thirteen year old boy and survived in a wilderness with a winter that came fast. He has learned to do a lot more things than an experienced adult might not even know. He learned many different things during the winter, He learned how to skin some big and small animals. After his first experience in the wild, in Hatchet and Brian's Winter, Brian befriended a group of Native Americans in the Canadian Wilderness. In Brian's Hunt, he went to visit his Indian friends and saw that they and their camp have been killed and torn up. Brian quickly could tell that it was a bear which did the damage. Brian swore to get revenge on the bear by hunting and killing it. He and his dog began to search for the bear, which because of its size left large tracks and scat. They finally found the bear and Brian wounded it with an arrow, but was easily thrown around by the large animal. His dog came to the rescue and distracted the bear while Brian gave the final shot. Brian and his dog, wounded by the bear, left the wilderness. Brian rested easy knowing he got revenge on the bear.

Setting:

The book took place in the Canadian wilderness over the time of a few weeks in the summer. The setting impacted Brian because it was where he felt at home and in piece. He loved the outdoors more than the old life in the city and has a new knowledge and love of the wilderness.

Characterization:

Brian Robeson, changed by his first experience in Hatchet, can't let go of nature. This is the reason he went back on purpose. He is knowledgeable about wilderness because of his past, and he would do anything to stay. His dog was also a character in this book. He saved Brian’s life from the bear that attacked him in the wilderness. There bond was inseparable.

Thematic Connection:

All of Gary Paulsen's books have a theme of Isolation vs. Community, but it is seen more in Brian's Hunt. He cannot seem to readjust to his old way he lived in the city, but rather preferred life in the wild. He felt more comfortable in the wild and always had something that pulled him to it.

Recommend:
I would recommend this book to young adults. Males would most likely read this book because of the nature this book brought. Young adults my age usually love the wilderness, so they would love this book. I rated this book 5 stars because of how much I was able to connect to it. ...more "

Jan 14, 2016 01:08PM · see review

Dylan is currently reading

The Crossover

by Kwame Alexander

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in October 2015

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Dylan said: " Personal Response:

I read “The Crossover” by Kwame Alexander. Personally, I love this book because it is about basketball and many people know I love basketball. This book shows me how competitive middle school basketball is and how similar it was in ...more "

Oct 22, 2015 01:55PM · see review