Quarter 4 Choice Book Report

Part One:

           I read Someone like You by Sarah Dessen. The main character is Halley Cooke. She was named after her grandmother who was named after Halley’s Comet. Halley is a junior. She has long brown hair and a small nose. She is very quiet and shy. Her best friend is Scarlett Thomas who is brave and outgoing. They have been friends since they were very little. They live across the street from each other.

          Halley is very helpful. She is at a summer camp when Scarlett calls her. Her boyfriend Michael Sherwood died in a motorcycle accident. Scarlett is devastated and wants Halley to come home. She comes home and Scarlett really needs her. Scarlett is usually the person who takes charge and is always there for Halley. Now it is Halley’s turn. Scarlett finds out she is pregnant with Michael’s baby. Marion who is Scarlett’s mom wants her to have an abortion. She decides that she wants to keep the baby with Halley’s help. Halley promises to help with everything. Marion suggests adoption instead. After all, it’s going to be very difficult to raise a baby while still in high school. Scarlett is firm on her decision to raise the baby herself with a lot of help from Halley. They go to birthing classes together and Halley even throws her a baby shower. Halley helps get the baby’s room ready for when it comes too. In the end Scarlett has a girl named Grace Halley Thomas.

          Halley is also very supportive. Scarlett first wanted to have an abortion and Halley supported her with that decision. Then Scarlet decided that it was wrong so she wanted to keep the baby instead. Halley supports her with all of her decisions she makes. Halley supported Scarlett when Michael died and she helped Scarlett write a letter to Michael’s mother saying that Scarlett is carrying his baby. When Michael died, they sat on Scarlett’s front steps while Scarlett leaned on Halley’s shoulder and cried and cried. Halley will always support her with every decision she makes, even if she thinks it is the wrong one.

          Halley is also forgiving. Halley and her mother had always been very close. Her mom knew all the boys she liked and the girls she hated. They were inseparable. Then when Halley starts dating a “bad boy” named Macon everything changes. Her mother disapproves of Halley dating Macon. Her mom says she will get into to drinking and drugs. Her mom wants them to break up. Halley keeps sneaking out at night to go out with Macon. One time when they were out Macon is speeding past a red light and collides with another car. Macon doesn’t get hurt, but Halley does. Her mom finds out that Macon was the one driving and is furious with Halley. Halley breaks up with Macon.  Halley and her mom have a huge fight. Halley says that her mom is always making decisions for her and that she will never learn. Her mom realizes that Halley is right; she needs to learn from her mistakes. Halley forgives her mom for everything and they start over with their relationship.

           Those are just some of the reasons why I think that Halley is helpful, supportive and forgiving.

Part Two:

          I LOVED Someone like You! It was an amazing book! I would recommend it to any teenage girl who likes drama. It was an easy book to relate to. It’s about to best friends and the troubles they go through together. The two girls who are just trying to get through high school and find out who they are. The plot is also very easy to understand. It flows very nicely. Someone like You describes things very well. From prom night to the first day of school you feel like you are right there with them. This book is also written in first person. I like this form because then you can find out what the main character is thinking.

          My favorite part of the book is when Scarlett goes into labor with the baby. The author Sarah Dessen describes it beautifully. I can just imagine a bunch of high school kids who had just come from prom sitting in a hospital waiting room. There were also some guys dressed up in medieval costumes and a group of boy scouts. It was funny, scary, happy and sad all at the same time. The ending is very cool when Scarlett decides to name the little girl Grace Halley Thomas after her best friend Halley. I thought that was very sweet.

          I would strongly recommend this to any girl. Boys probably wouldn’t like it because they talk about feelings and drama. The main character is Halley. Her problems are dealing with her best friend whose boyfriend died and she is now carrying his baby, her mom who is too over protective, and trying to find out who she is as a person. You laugh when she laughs and are sad when she is sad. It is a very touching story about trusting and helping your friends. Halley’s and Scarlett’s friendship is amazing. They are practically sisters.

          Halley is going through a time in her life where she is not sure who she is. Scarlett helps her through that and also lets her make some decisions on her own. That is the only way you will ever learn. Halley does make some mistakes in the book, but then she realizes what she did was wrong. There are many lessons to be learned in Someone like You. That is why I think if you are a teenage girl you should DEFINITELY read this book.

Quarter 3: Choice Book Report

Part One:
    I read The Lying Game By: Sara Shepard. The main character’s name is Emma Paxton. She is eighteen years old. Emma is thin, has blue eyes, slightly upturned nose, round face, and brown hair. Emma is a foster child. She doesn’t have a lot of money so she wears whatever she can find at thrift stores.
    I think that one characteristic of Emma is that she is very determined. One reason is that she wants to find a family that will accept her. She is an orphan and will soon be turning eighteen. So now she can look by herself for a family that will take her in. She has been in and out of foster homes her whole life, and now she wants to change that and find a permanent home. Another reason is that Emma is determined to find her long lost twin sister’s killer.  One day Emma sees a video on YouTube of a girl being strangled by her necklace. The girl looks exactly like Emma. So Emma does some searching and finds out that the girl in the video is Sutton Mercer. Sutton is also adopted, but is living with a good family. Emma tries to contact her. For a few days nothing happens. Then Sutton replies. They agree to meet at a state park. Sutton never makes it. Emma finds out she is dead! She decides the only way to find her killer is to take Sutton’s place and act like everything is normal.
    Emma is also hopeful. She was an orphan when she was very young. She has always been hopeful of finding a permanent foster home. That hasn’t happened yet, but Emma knows that there is a family out there somewhere that wants her. Another reason that she is hopeful is that she wants to find her sister, Sutton. Emma lived with her mom when she was little. One day she was sleeping over at a friend’s house and her mom never picked her up. The next day she was living at a foster home. So when she found her twin sister she immediately wanted to find her. When Sutton didn’t show up, Emma knew that something was wrong. Now she is hopeful that she will find her Sutton’s killer.
    Emma is very resourceful. She has had to provide for herself since she was little. She knows how to spend her money and find where all of the deals are. Whenever she would go to a new foster home they always said we will give you no money. You will only get fed, have roof over your head, and get schooling. If you want anything else you have to go and get a job, and so she did. One time Emma went to the thrift store and found a pair of big sunglasses. She thought they were cute so she bought them. It turns out that the sunglasses were actually Prada sunglasses.
    Those are just some of the reasons why I think that Emma is determined, hopeful, and resourceful.



Part Two:
    The point of view in The Lying Game is third person AND first person. The first person point of view is not Emma’s, it is Sutton’s. When Sutton died she became a "ghost' and is following Emma around while she is trying to figure out who the killer is. Sutton can’t interact with anyone. Sometimes she has flashbacks. You find out some fuzzy details about how she died. Since you see the details then you form an idea in your head of who you think the killer is. The whole story is mostly in third person, but every once in awhile you will see that there is an “I”. When you see the “I” it means that Sutton is now talking, not Emma.
    I think that if the whole story would have been in first person, you wouldn’t have found out what Sutton was thinking.  Even though she is a “ghost” it is still important to hear her thoughts. If it wasn’t in third and first person then you wouldn’t have been able to make a good prediction. The author wants you to make predictions so that you are still interested in the story. You would get to know what Emma was thinking if it was in first person, but it is more important to hear Sutton’s thoughts.
    One part that was really intriguing was when it was in first person. Sutton was reliving what happened when she was kidnapped before she was killed. She was describing everything perfectly. Her and her friends were at a hot spring spa. They were not allowed there. Sutton’s sister Laurel was wearing a heart locket necklace, just like Sutton’s. Sutton got mad her for always copying her so she went over and yanked the necklace off and threw it into the woods. Laurel went off crying into the woods. Sutton ran after her. All of the sudden the woods got quiet and all Sutton could hear was someone breathing. Then it went black. So after hearing that you are wondering who could it be? If it was from Emma’s point of view and she was reading it somewhere you wouldn’t have been as into it as you were from Sutton’s view.
     I think that if The Lying Game would have been written in first person, the book wouldn’t have been the same. That is why I think the book was written perfectly in first person and third person.