Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
5-star review by Jasmine, 8th grade
Plot Summary
Nickel and Dimed is a non-fiction story that follows Barbra Ehrenreich, a journalist who takes on the challenge of working minimum-wage jobs to see if you can really live off them. She goes through multiple states finding new jobs and housing along the way. The longer she works these jobs she starts to realize how much labor and work is required for the tiniest pay check. She discovers how it is to live from paycheck to paycheck. She realizes how difficult it truly is to provide for one working minimum-wage jobs let alone trying to provide for a whole family.
Personal Review
I honestly really liked everything about this book. To start off, I loved that it was non-fiction and was real and showcased a true problem in our world. Financial inequality is a huge problem in America and this book shows the true struggles of it. It takes someone like Ehrenreich who is not used to the minimum-wage work and opens her eyes to what difficult labor it entails along with the microscopic pay. Reading the book, it opened my eyes to how other people are living and struggling and created a sense of empathy for them. I also loved how this book almost felt like a diary entry. Ehrenreich would just go throughout her day and report back. The book is just very well written and just super raw and real, including so many intricate details. It is such a good read that I honestly think everyone should read at some point just because it is so eye opening.
Book Tags
Fascinating, eye opening, detailed, realistic, poverty, financial inequality
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
5-star review by Jasmine, 8th grade
Plot Summary
The Diary of a Young Girl follows Anne Frank who writes in her diary almost everyday. She is hiding from Nazi forces in what she calls the Secret Annex. She is a young Jewish teen hiding in the Annex with her family and some friends. She navigates the struggles of being cooped up inside all day, fearing Nazi forces, and growing up as a young teen. Although she is scared for her life, she finds ways to remain hopeful and stay strong. Her main outlet is her diary which she got on her 13th birthday, before she and her family went into hiding. She pours her heart out into the diary, keeping it real and sharing all of the good and bad in it.
Personal Review
This is an amazing book. Many people will read this book at some point because it’s part of most school curriculum, but I was so happy to read it. I love this book because it is all history and it is so interesting to see how a Jewish girl in hiding lived. Although this book is interesting, it is also heartbreaking and heavy. It is so sad to read about the fear Anne and her family lived through every day. She and her family could be found at any point and be taken to a concentration camp in a pinch. I can’t imaging having to live in that fear everyday. This book has a way of having you put yourself into Anne’s shoes, which adds even more intensity and realism to the book. Overall, this book is a one hundred percent must read for everyone because it is pure history and it should be known how people lived in the tragic time of the Holocaust.
Book Tags
Real, emotional, honest, personal, hopeful, Holocaust
Call of the Wild by Jack London
5-star review by Lars, 7th grade
Plot Summary
Buck was just a house-dog; the king of his own domain, until his antagonist abducted him in which he became a sled-dog and he had to return to a more primordial state. In Jack London's Call of the Wild, Buck’s primordial instincts compel him to truly hear and understand “the call.” It is a force that transforms his behavior and calls forms within. In London’s Call of the Wild, Buck finds his true self while owning bravery, climbing the social hierarchy, and unlocking a true primordial version of himself. Buck owns his bravery while claiming his true identity alongside “the call.”
Personal Review
I had a generally positive reaction to The Call of the Wild by Jack London. One of the things I liked most about the book was how illustriously it portrays aspects of the story, such as nature and survival. Jack London creates a harsh Yukon [a part of Alaska] setting that feels intense and realistic, which keeps the reader engaged the whole time. I also found Buck to be a very complicated but interesting main character. Even though he’s a dog, his journey and emotions feel surprisingly real and easy to connect with. Another thing I liked was the theme of instinct and change. Watching Buck transform from a house dog with no worries in the world into a strong, independent animal was intriguing. It shows how environment and experiences can shape something's character. The sense of adventure and survival aspect also made the story exciting to read. However, I didn’t like how rushed parts of the story felt, especially near the end. Some events happened more hurriedly than others. The scenes of cruelty were also hard to read, even if they were important to the story. Overall, I liked the book and its powerful message.
Book Tags
hardship, adventure, rivalry
Similar Reads
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
5-star review by Lars, 7th grade
Plot Summary
Flowers for Algernon tells the story of Charlie Gordon, a kind but hurt man with an intellectual disability who works at a bakery and takes night classes to improve his reading and writing. He is chosen for an experimental surgery meant to increase intelligence, which has already been tested on a mouse named Algernon. Hoping to become smarter and gain acceptance, Charlie volunteers. What Charlie lacks in brains, he makes up for in heart. The novel is written as a series of progress reports by Charlie, showing his growth as his language and thinking become more advanced. As his intelligence increases, he begins to understand the world and his past in deeper and more complicated ways. He realizes that many people who once seemed friendly were actually bulling him. With his newfound intelligence, comes newfound sorrow and understanding. Charlie also forms a meaningful connection with Algernon the rat and grows more aware of the emotional and ethical implications of the experiment, along with the isolation that can come with change.
Personal Review
I found Flowers for Algernon compelling and emotional. What stood out most was how the story is told through Charlie’s progress reports and you can actually see his growth and changes in the way he writes, which made everything feel more personal and real. It makes the reader feel connected to him, especially as he starts to comprehend things he couldn’t before. I liked how the book explores deep ideas about intelligence, loneliness, and how people treat others who are different. It made me think about empathy and how easily people can be misunderstood or mistreated. At the same time, parts of the story were frustrating, especially seeing how Charlie was treated by others. It was hard to read at times, but in a meaningful way. Its sad to think people go through this in real life. However, overall, I liked the book because it wasn’t just a story—it made me reflect on human behavior and emotions.
Book Tags
science fiction
The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson
4-star review by Anonymous, 8th grade
Plot Summary
Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey follows the ten-year journey of "a complicated man," Odysseus, as he strives to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. While Odysseus faces many divine challenges, mostly from Poseidon, mythical monsters, and his own mind, his faithful wife, Penelope, fends off over a hundred arrogant suitors in Ithaca. These suitors are consuming his wealth, courting his wife, and threatening his son, Telemachus, who travels searching for news of his father. The story picks up in the middle, Odysseus stuck on Calypso’s island before finally reaching Phaeacia, where he recounts his previous encounters with monsters like Polyphemus, Circe, and the Sirens. Upon returning to Ithaca in disguise, Odysseus works with Athena, Telemachus, and loyal servants to plan his return to power.
Personal Review
I read this book for my English class, and I chose it myself. The book was truly a good experience, and my favorite character was Telemachus. It had a great plot, and I appreciated how the author, Wilson, revealed a darker, more complex, and morally ambiguous story. She made a good decision to translate terms regarding enslaved people and women accurately, using "slave" instead of "servant." Additionally, Odysseus is depicted not just as a hero, but as a complicated and often ruthless survivor. Penelope is portrayed as a strategic and highly intelligent character, rather than just a frail wife who can't do things on her own. The thing I didn't like was that it finished way too quickly, but that was my own issue. I also didn't like how rushed the Odysseus and Calypso arc was. This is because Odysseus is supposed to be on Calypso's island for seven years. Besides this, I still love the story!
Book Tags
Fiction, epic, poem, Greek myth
Similar Reads
The Song of Achilles and Greek mythology
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5-star review by Vivian, 9th grade
Plot Summary
The novel follows the protagonist and narrator, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, as she recalls the events of her childhood that led up to her brother breaking his arm. The novel allows the readers to experience 1930s Alabama, a great time of poverty and racial injustice, through the eyes of young, naive Scout Finch. The story unfolds in a fictional town called Maycomb, when Scout’s lawyer father and moral compass, Atticus Finch, is tasked with the job of defending falsely accused Tom Robinson, a black man, in a rape case. Scout is accompanied by her elder brother Jem and, later, a boy named Dil Haris as they learn both empathy and injustice through Tom Robinson’s case and the corrupt societal norms of Maycomb.
Personal Review
This novel was life changing for me when I read it in middle school and again in high school. The major plot twists and climaxes had me at the edge of my seat, and the tragic stories of Boo Radley and Tom Robinson left me in tears. I believe it truly captures the injustices of the Jim Crow South, and it was interesting to see such serious topics in a story through the eyes of a child. I would say that my favorite thing about this novel is that you can physically see the moment Scout matures. I will admit, I was sometimes frustrated by her naivety in the beginning of the book, but if you compare the first chapters to the later ones, you will notice how she takes after her father’s advice and becomes more understanding and patient, marking her major character development. Another thing I love about this novel is Boo Radley’s entire character. He resonated with me the most because he was just a man who was slightly different from the others and was deemed a monster and hidden away his whole life. The scenes where Harper Lee drops small indicators that he has been helping the children made my heart shatter because he truly just wanted to be their friend. Luckily, he did get a good ending, which made me happy, but I was still saddened by Tom Robinson's tragic ending. As much as I hate it, I do believe his chosen ending was the best outcome because it truly captured the horrible treatment African Americans faced in the past. To conclude, this book was five stars for me, with my only qualm being it has a lot of time skips that can get confusing. Overall, this is a book I will recommend to everyone.
through Tom Robinson’s case and the corrupt societal norms of Maycomb.
Book Tags
Southern Gothic, Child Protagonist, Historical Fiction, Bildungsroman, Social Inequalities, Morality, Racism, Prejudice
Similar Reads
Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Animal Farm by George Orwell
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
5-star book review by Sofia, 9th grade
Plot Summary
A Tale of Two Cities, a historical fiction taking place in Paris and London spanning across the years 1775 to 1793, reveals the atrocities of the French Revolution and the danger of taking things to the extreme. This story follows the Manette family, showing how they navigate the brewing chaos leading up to the revolution. There is a stark inequality between the rich and the poor, as the aristocracy grew further and further out of touch with the extreme poverty in which the French civilians lived. This systematic cruelty was bound to lead to violent ends as the lower class received horrible treatment. In response to this apathy, a group of revolutionaries going by the name of “Jaques” began to plan a rebellion. As this group grows, violence ensues. Vengeance pushes the Jaques to act in brutal ways, mirroring the cruelty that they were originally fighting against. The characters must face the moral complexities of the revolution and make life-altering decisions for the greater good of their society. Dickens wrote this book as a warning to England, as he believed it was following the same doomed path France had.
Personal Review
After reading it in English class, A Tale of Two Cities was a formative book for me as it deeply shifted my perspective. Going into this book, I had no expectations, and I found it quite daunting. The book starts fairly slow and may take readers a while to get completely invested. However, not too far in, I was captivated by the storyline and was very drawn to the various characters. Sydney Carton is one of the most interesting and tragic characters I have witnessed, and the way Dickens wrote him was really touching. His depiction of mental health felt very genuine, and I appreciate the rawness of Carton’s problems. I thoroughly enjoyed the theme of redemption and sacrifice in this book, and I found it very evocative. I also enjoyed the justice-seeking storyline of the Jaques and how quickly it escalated into an entire revolution. Not to mention, the extreme plot-twists and drama of this book truly made it a page turner for me. Although this book is eloquently written, one of the biggest critiques I agree with is Dickens ’ contrived writing style. This book can definitely feel intimidating with the complex writing, so I would not recommend it to a younger audience. I will admit, without the help of my teacher’s lectures and outside sources, I think I would be overwhelmed by the story. After taking the time to analyze the book and truly understand it, I was able to deeply appreciate it and what it stands for. Overall, A Tale of Two Cities is a great book, and I would recommend it for those looking for an action-packed, devastating story with complex characters.
Book Tags
Historical Fiction, Social Injustice, Sacrifice, Redemption, Resurrection, Intense