The Real Lolita

In the second quarter I read the book The Real Lolita written by Sarah Weinman. This is a true crime book which has 270 pages. It is about a young girl named Sally Horner and the struggles she went through when she was kidnapped from her family at age 11 for 21 months. Throughout the book it gives different details about her case and how the man who had done all this to her, Frank La Salle had gotten away with this for those 21 months. This book is different to me though because as a reader we find out that Sally never thought any of the things Frank did to her were unusual since she was so young and did not know any better. She talks a lot about the struggles after that she had with her family, friends, and how hard it was for her to after all this try and have a love life. Her mother was her biggest worry though because she had never let herself live down the fact that she was the one who let Sally actually go with this man she did not know by giving her permission over the phone. Her mother had to learn how to forgive herself because Sally had finally come home which is what she had prayed for throughout this whole book. With Sally telling her mother new things every day, her mother had a sense of happiness knowing that throughout all this Sally had so many people around her willing to help her with anything she needed.

Cruel Sacarfice

 Alright guys so in the book Cruel Sacrifice the Main character goes by the name Melinda Love. The book is written by Aphrodite Jones and it is 333 pages long. The book is a true crime book so it is probably the most interesting book I’ve read all year. In the book she has a terrible relationship with her father growing up watching beat her mother. This had all taken place in the 80 ́s in Pennsylvania. Growing up since she had seen her dad be super controlling over her mother that is how she becomes in her relationships. Melinda was always the popular girl in school that everybody wanted to date and be with, but eventually she had become lesbian and fell in love with a girl named Amanda. She had become very obsessive over her and basically didn't let her out of her sight. A new girl named Shanda Sharer had came to the school and everybody now wanted her even her girlfriend Amanda. In the book Melinda had done something that she would regret for the rest of her life. She had secretly went through Amanda´s stuff and found love letters from Shanda to Amanda. Then she had found Amanda´s letters to Shanda. After finding this out she would do another thing that seemed like the right idea for a crazy person like her, but it was far from it. After she had done the deed her life and everybody's life around her had changed forever. The world would change for the worse with her as she got herself caught up in something that wasn’t planned to happen yet it did. She also had dragged three other girls into it with her that didn’t want to be there either. It’s a very intense read, but very interesting I suggest it to anybody into crime books.   

The Ragamuffin Gospel

The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning is a 258 page nonfiction, motivational book that calls Christians to understand the true meaning of God's grace as being a ragamuffin in this world. This book is very complex and has very intense wording that will cause you to have a dictionary or phone on you to continuously research words. Although it may be tiring, it is beneficial to the reader because it allows you to dive deeper and gain a stronger understanding of what the author is trying to illustrate and for you to understand. This book is for readers who are seeking to gain understanding about our gracious God who has a completely different mindset than ours and we must grasp the idea that we are insignificant. However, because of His son Jesus, we have been made righteous in the Father's eyes. It illustrates the picture of a child who is filthy and must gain a desire to go into the father's arms ready to cleanse him/her of previous failures. Furthermore, this book encourages the reader to understand the true meaning of being completely dependent on the fact that God has given us an abundance of His love, mercy, and even more. In addition, the most important teaching in this book is how God sees us beyond our failures and mistakes because He is not a God of track records, but of forgiveness and grace. In all honesty, this book was difficult to read because it made me pinpoint certain aspects of my life that allowed me to realize my ignorance and selfish desires. But, it also allowed me to grasp the idea of my loving Heavenly Father who is not seeking to "pray on my downfall", but to help lift me when I do fall, so that I may bring Him the glory, honor, and praise. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is seeking to gain a deeper understanding about our Heavenly Father who is actively searching for people to pour out His love and grace into with an open mind and heart.

Hey guys, a book that I read in first semester was the book Murder in the Bayou, written by Ethan Brown. My book was a true crime book so it was filled with very specific details with each crime that was committed. The book has 224 pages of scary, exciting, sad, gross content, but it is all worth the read. So the book starts out with a boy finding a body in the river while fishing. He calls the police and notifies them on the situation they automatically suspect him to be the killer which he is not. After that whole situation there are 7 more crimes like that throughout the book. The setting of the book is in Jefferson Louisiana and these crimes are notified as the Jeff 8. Every death that occurred in this book were all connected, and the casualties were all women. There wasn’t a main character, but you can count the women as main characters. I did not feel any type of connection with this book, due to it being a true crime book. The writing in this book was narrative, and expository, because the author got his facts by going through the city and trying to figure out who committed the crimes. I really enjoyed the book my rating would be and eight out of ten, I recommend this book if you enjoy crime.

First Semester SSR - Game of Thrones.

During the second quarter of ERW I began to read Game of Thrones, the first installment of A Song of Fire and Ice series, by George R.R. Martin. Although I didn't finish the book I really enjoyed what I did read. The author makes it very easy to understand this massive world he is building. There are so many characters and story arcs that are all beautifully woven together in a big web. If you aren't used to reading books that have so many details it is admittedly difficult. Martin also sometimes very vividly describes many gruesome and sensual scenes that are not for the feint of heart. Game of Thrones is a fantasy book that mostly takes place in the land of Westeros. When the hand of the king suddenly and mysteriously dies, Ned Stark is asked to replace him. A curious Ned Stark begins to meddle in the suspicious affairs of many of the Lords of Westeros. On another land East of Westeros called Essos, young Daenerys Targaryen is building an army to sail West and take take back the throne from the current usurper king. My favorite character would have to be Tyrion Lannister. Born an imp and being the cause of his mothers death has made his family think of him as a disappointment. His father is the Lord of House Lannister, the richest house. Although he goes through much struggle and hardship he manages to be the smartest character in the book. He has a great sense of humor and wit that I enjoy and every piece of dialogue with him in it is always entertaining. This book is very action filled and seriously a page turner, a great read.

Unbroken

For one of my SSR books, I read Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand which is a biography of a legendary, prodigy runner who turned into an unforgettable prisoner of war. I really enjoyed this book because it allows the reader to be fully absorbed into the world of Louie Zamperini. The book talks about Louie Zamperini and his journey from a little boy to becoming a famous war hero due to his courage and commitment. Many significant and exceptional moments of Louie's life was due to his incomparable spirit. From the moment he was a boy, he was proven to be rebellious and independent. However, despite this character, he was able to channel his energy into becoming one of the greatest runners to live, even going to the Berlin Olympics. It wasn't until World War 2 started that he embarked on a new chapter of his life that would define him not only as a brave man but as a living miracle. Louie Zamperini's plane was shot down during flight, but Louie and two other airmen survived. He survived for 47 days on a raft until he was captured by Japanse soldiers. At the prison camp where they kept American soldiers, he was constantly tortured, along with the other prisoners, by the prison camp leader who was called the Bird. However, even with the beatings, starvation, dehydration, and other inhumane living conditions, he was able to keep his spirit from surrendering to the Japanese soldiers. He was eventually rescued, and his story remains as something that inspires people today. This book is not boring. Many people do not like biographies because it isn't exciting enough, but Louie's life has enough excitement that can be read and enjoyed by everyone.

-Dominick Yun

Turtles All The Way Down

When I read this book in class, everyone around me started telling me that they have read the book. I don't remember the reactions towards the books, but I know it discouraged me a little because I want my own reaction to the book so I don't get any like spoilers. Little did I know that the author, John Green, wrote "The Fault in our Stars", which I heard a lot about, but never really cared to watch it. Anyway, my interest in the book is as follows.
"Turtles All The Way Down" by John Green is a young adult novel that widely revolves around the mind and life of a teenage girl and her OCD. Aza Holmes has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and is trying to live a normal life her mom and her best-friend, Daisy. Aza and her mom live in Indianapolis and they have a good "mother-daughter" relationship. The other relationship in her life is, of course, her bestie. Daisy is a very eccentric person who loves to do nothing but talk about her life with Aza. But, with Aza's OCD, she tends to get distracted during those talk, and the consequences of that soon trail behind her. In Indianapolis, news reports have said that there is billion dollar fugitive by the name of Russell Pickett. Russell is a CEO and founder of Pickett Engineering, a top business, but the business continuously gets sued, so he disappears without a trace. There is also a $100,000 reward for anyone who could provide info on his recent whereabouts.
Daisy immediately hops onto the case and drags Aza along with her. While researching about the case, the two remembered that Russell Pickett had two sons, David and Noah. Noah was younger, but David was around their age and had been childhood friends with them in the past. They go to the Pickett house to investigate more, but Aza is reconnects with David and they soon date.
The savings of Russell Pickett and the company was left into the research of a Tuatara (lizard). Knowing this, they don't get any closer to solving the case. David finds out their true intentions for their visits and, in a annoyed manner, gives Aza $100,000 in cash, in a sports bag. They disconnect, and now Aza and Daisy are rich. During this whole search for answers, Aza's OCD gets bad and she constantly has to see her therapist.
Daisy, on her of time, writes fan-fictions of Star Wars' Chewbacca and Rey. But, within the stories, Daisy creates a problematic character that resembles Aza. While driving, the two begin to argue about how much Aza doesn't know about Daisy. They crash and get into a terrible accident, sending only Aza to the hospital. After a few weeks in the hospital, Aza has an anxiety attack and passes out from drinking hand sanitizer, due to her OCD of being free from C. diff (Clostridium difficile). Soon, after her recovery, her and Daisy rekindle their relationship.  They continue with the case, and discover a bad smell coming from the Pickett house area. They discover Russell's body in the sewers and solve the case of the missing fugitive.
The 286 page book is something that really gets my mind thinking. The author does a great job of portraying the mind of someone with a mental illness and that's what makes me read the book. It's relatable because of the teenagers' struggles, but the beginning of the book was un-informal because it started out in Aza's own thoughts, without me knowing her as a character yet. Other than that, the plot that Russell Pickett left his money to his lizard instead of his two sons interested me.