The Amulet of Samarkand
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Life as we knew it
By Thomas Cappelli
"I know it's crazy. But I really need to know if Lisa had the baby. It feels like it's okay for me to die if she did. How much longer can I last anyway? A week? Two? I'm willing to lose a few days for peace of mind. You understand that, don't you?" Sixteen year old Miranda Evans is your average teenage girl, with problems like her two best friends always fighting and her dad and his new wife about to have a baby. But this life, the life she used to know quickly fades away. When an asteroid collides with the moon and knocks it out of orbit, the Earth faces massive environmental disasters. Tsunamis wipe out whole cities and islands off the map, and volcanic ash spreads through the air, blocking off any sunlight, the skies only to be seen in shades of dark gray. You forget that electricity even exists for most of the book. Hundreds are dead within the first few chapters, and many more struggle to survive. Miranda writes down her encounters and story of survival during the most catastrophic time in world history for ten months as her and her family start cutting down on meals to maintain their dwindling food supply for as long as they can, and being forced to live in their sunroom, with a woodstove being their only source of heat. Temperatures drop to freezing by November in their rural western Pennsylvania town. Throughout the whole book, Miranda starts to have occurring nightmares where she can't tell whether she is still alive or not. She even says "Megan's right about my being a sinner. But she's wrong about hell. You don't have to wait until you're dead to get there.” It seems that throughout the book, as Miranda and her mother and two brothers grow closer together, she matures greatly. She stays strong instead of just giving up all hope like most people in the story. She cares for her family when they are struck with a spreading flu virus, and she's the only one that can take care of them with their scarce supplies. She, her mother, and her older brother Matt stop eating for a while, in hope that if they all die, her younger brother Jonny can still have enough food to survive. Life As We Knew It is a very intense book that will have you reading non-stop until the end. It had well-written journal entries from the point of view of Miranda. From the first two chapters, you will be captivated by the writing of Susan Beth Pfeffer as she tells a story of how one girl manages to push through the worst, and survive along with some of her remaining loved ones. The Boy who harnessed the wind
By Nick Riley
The book we read was The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind. It was very educational and it makes you see what it is like to live somewhere a lot different. The main character was William Kamkwamba and he lived in Malawi. He overcomes so many different things in an act to bring good to his town. William's parents also are very good people, they always want the best for their children. The story is written well and has a good plot. The story is great, but the author can use more detail and focus on more interesting parts. William also overcomes starvation and builds a windmill to power his house and town. This was one of my favorite books I have read, and I recommend this book greatly. |