Mrs.+Jack

//Extremely Loud and Incredibily Close// by Jonathan Foer

Book Review From School Library Journal
Oskar Schell is not your average nine-year-old. A budding inventor, he spends his time imagining wonderful creations. He also collects random photographs for his scrapbook and sends letters to scientists. When his father dies in the World Trade Center collapse, Oskar shifts his boundless energy to a quest for answers. He finds a key hidden in his father's things that doesn't fit any lock in their New York City apartment; its container is labeled "Black." Using flawless kid logic, Oskar sets out to speak to everyone in New York City with the last name of Black. A retired journalist who keeps a card catalog with entries for everyone he's ever met is just one of the colorful characters the boy meets. As in //Everything Is Illuminated// (Houghton, 2002), Foer takes a dark subject and works in offbeat humor with puns and wordplay. But //Extremely Loud// pushes further with the inclusion of photographs, illustrations, and mild experiments in typography reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut's //Breakfast of Champions// (Dell, 1973). The humor works as a deceptive, glitzy cover for a fairly serious tale about loss and recovery. For balance, Foer includes the subplot of Oskar's grandfather, who survived the World War II bombing of Dresden. Although this story is not quite as evocative as Oskar's, it does carry forward and connect firmly to the rest of the novel. The two stories finally intersect in a powerful conclusion that will make even the most jaded hearts fall.


 * Why this text is important to me:** This book resonates with me on many, many levels. On 9/11 I was teaching 5th grade at Rydal Elementary School. I can vividly remember what a gorgeous fall day it was, and how I was looking forward to taking a walk outside when my class was at recess. Then, slowly, news about the attack began to work its way down the halls, into my life, and the lives of all Americans. My daughter, who was a junior at the University of Maryland, called me in a panic...all she wanted was to come home. All day we anxiously awaited news of a close friend's daughter who worked in Tower One (miraculously, she had not gone to work that day). I can divide my life into before 9/11, when I felt more carefree and untroubled...and the aftermath, when I tend to view situations with more caution than I did before. HOWEVER, I stiil firmly believe in the strength and beauty of the human spirit, and that was on full display as Americans dealt with the tragedy of 9/11...and is seen in all it's glory at the conclusion of this text.

**"You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces - my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined." (Elizabeth Edwards)** === **PS: This book is being made into a movie starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, and will open December 2011! Click here to see a trailer...[|movie trailer]** ===


 * Aimee's commentary:**
 * I thought this book was amazing. I thought it was so good because it's a story based around the aftershocks of 9/11 but instead of focusing on the actual event it tells the story of a young boy and how he copes. Parts were confusing but it came together in the end. It was one of those books that makes you both laugh and cry, and I highly recommend it. (checked by mrs j 10/20 25 pts) **

I thoroughly enjoyed this book i liked how it told many stories in one and it gave great detail it was a very emotional book because even though i dont believe i lost any family members during 9/11 i feel like i lost a brother, a sister ,and every other family mamber and this book sus up my general feelings about the entire phenomenom. = (checked by mrs j 10/20 25 pts) PLEASE EDIT YOUR SPELLING HERE! =
 * eric's commentary: **

//City of Bones// By Cassandra Clare

**Book Review from Amazon.com:**
When Clary Fray witnesses three tattoo-covered teenagers murder another teen, she is unable to prove the crime because the victim disappears right in front of her eyes, and no one else can see the killers. She learns that the teens are Shadowhunters (humans who hunt and kill demons), and Clary, a mundie (i.e., mundane human), should not be able to see them either. Shortly after this discovery, her mother, Jocelyn, an erstwhile Shadowhunter, is kidnapped. Jocelyn is the only person who knows the whereabouts of The Mortal Cup, a dangerous magical item that turns humans into Shadowhunters. Clary must find the cup and keep it from a renegade sector of Shadowhunters bent on eliminating all nonhumans, including benevolent werewolves and friendly vampires. Amid motorcycles powered by demon energies, a telepathic brotherhood of archivists, and other moments of great urban fantasy, the story gets sidetracked by cutesy touches, like the toasted bat sandwich on the menu of an otherworldly restaurant. The characters are sporadically characterized and tend toward behavior that is both predictable and slightly repellent–Clary finds out who her real father is about 200 pages after readers will have it figured out. Despite the narrative flaws, this version of New York, full of Buffyesque teens who are trying to save the world, is entertaining and will have fantasy readers anxiously awaiting the next book in the series//.// == **//Here are the other titles in this series, you will want to read them all: City of Angels, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels....and coming 5/1/12 City of Lost Souls, and 9/1/13 City of Heavenly Fire. City of Angels is also being made into a movie with Alex Pettyfer and Alexz Johnson, release date still unknown, but wil be in 2012.//** ==
 * Why this text is important to me:** I simply LOVE a story with a strong female heroine, and that's what you get with Clary Fray, the protagonist of this novel. I also appreciate how dedicated Clary is to her friends, and to her Mom. Being loyal to my friends and family is the cornerstone of my life.

=  "The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other." =

Melissa's Commentary: This was a really really fun book to read and its definitely something different than what i am used to. The characters are fantastic, and they helped me to really enjoy the story. I prefer romance novels and cheesy teenage novels and books that make you think philosophically but i really did enjoy this foray out of my comfort zone. (checked by mrs j 10/20 25 pts, are you going to read the rest of this series?)