“There There” By Tommy Orange 

This book follows a group of  Native Americans in Oakland, California  and details of their life and struggles along with stories of Native American history.  This book ripped out my heart and stomped it into a million pieces.  

It also made me incredibly happy. That’s because Orange knows how to create a complex story with diverse characters. I felt the pain and happiness of the characters and got to experience their life and memoires with them, and it was a wonderful gift. However, in case I didn’t make it clear, this book broke my heart. It isn’t a fairytale book, and it shows the devasting reality many Native Americans deal with. It’s a hard book, but it is important. It is also great for learning more about Native American history.  

I give this book a 4/5. 

“The Catcher in the Rye” By J.D. Salinger 

Now, before I get scorned by every English teacher here, I would like to say that this book was not that bad…but I did not like it. I know it’s a classic piece of literature, but I simply did not find the appeal of the story. The story follows Houlden Caulfield as he recalls the events of him being kicked out of his private school. The rest of the story is about Houldens’ thoughts and feelings has he tries to find meaning in the world. Now, I would like to read the book again because maybe I just didn’t get the point of the story the first time around, but as of now, I am not the biggest fan of this book. I couldn’t find a clear message from the book and found it hard to connect with Houlden. I will say, however, I did start to enjoy the book towards the very end, and I liked that the book sheds light on mental illness. 

I give this book a 2/5…I am sorry! 

“A Walk to Remember” By Nicholas Sparks  

 When people think of Nicholas Sparks, they think of The Notebook. I argue, however, that A Walk to Remember is his best work. It is about Landon Carter, who spends his days up too no good with his friends. When he needs a date for the school dance one day, the only girl available in his small town is Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the minister of the local church who spends her time volunteering at the orphanage or finding ways to help others. Landon is at first embarrassed to be seen with her, but soon starts to fall in love with her. Unfortunately, because this is a Nicholas Sparks novel, and he wants us to suffer, we soon find out Jamies is hiding a devastating secret. I have loved this story for has long as I can remember. My whole family loves the movie, so I grew up watching it. In middle school I read the book for the first time and fell in love with the story even more. I don’t know what it is, honestly. I just think it’s such an incredible love story. It’s not just some cheesy romance, it is a story that shows the consequences of love, but how we choose to love anyway and how a random person you have never thought about can suddenly be the most important person in your life. I do not like the way Sparks talks about women in this book, however. He talks about their outward appearance more than their personality and tends to talk about them quite negatively. Other than that, I think it’s a great book. I will happily cry to it forever.  

I give this book a 4.5/5