Dec. 21, 2006 - 1776 - David McCullough

In my opinion, this is the best history book I've read this semester.  This book takes you through almost every battle during the American Revolutionary War. I liked this book because, although I don't usually like war books, it gives accounts written by people who actually fought in the war. I think this is probably one of the best books on the Revolutionary War that you're going to find.

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Dec. 21, 2006 - The Reshaping of Everyday Life - Jack Larkin

I thought this was a very good history read. It was kind of long, but this book explains what everyday life was like from 1790 - 1840. Instead of focusing on the government aspect of America during this time period, it explains what it would have been like to be a middle or low class american family in the middle of the changing economy, when trains were first being built, and people were starting to move out west. I would definately suggest reading this book for information though, and not straight through, because it does get kind of long. It's definately better than a history text though.

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Dec. 20, 2006 - Sword of the Rightful King - Jane Yolen

This was a cool book. My homeschool group was studing the Renaissance/Middle Ages, and we decided to assign this as one of the reads. It's the story about King Arthur, Merlin, the Knights of the Round Table, and the Sword in the Stone, only with a couple of twists. I really liked it because it's a different take on the Merlin stories you usually hear, and when you think you've predicted the ending, it changes. It's definately a strange book though, that's for sure.

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Dec. 20, 2006 - Hamlet - William Shakespeare

Yep, another review of a Shakespeare play. Bet you're excited Acctually, enjoyed reading Hamlet. It wasn't my favorite book in the world, but It was definately an easier read than the other Shakespeares so far, and I liked the ghost in this play. In my opinion it wasn't bad, and it wasn't good, so if you have the  choice, I would suggest reading a different shakespeare play.

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Dec. 20, 2006 - Decision in Philadelphia - James Lincoln Collier

This book is about the Constitutional Convention of 1787.  I would definately suggest this book to anyone. I hadn't even heard of the Constitutional Convention before I read this book, which is hard to believe because without this convention, America would not have the same government - much less have the same constitution- that it does today. If you have not read this book, I would highly suggest you read it.

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Sep. 21, 2006 - The Giver - Lois Lowry

                My first opinion of this book: Whoah! The Giver is a book about these people who live in a “perfect” society. No crime, no swearing, no starvation. Sounds good doesn’t it? Well... there’s also no individuality, no color, and no feelings. Creepy huh? Well, the way I explained it isn’t half as creepy as the book itself is. But you’ll have to read it for yourself to find out. My parents counted The Giver as a sociology read. Definitely a great book , that in my opinion, everyone should read.  

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Sep. 21, 2006 - The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

            This is an awesome book! I read The Hobbit because originally I was going to have to read The Fellowship of the Ring. I don’t have to anymore, but I’m still very glad I read The Hobbit. This book is so well written. It’s a little hard to keep track of the characters, but I really like the story of Bilbo Baggins. I mean, I’ve seen The Lord of the Rings movies, which tell the story of Frodo, but I think Bilbo is more interesting. I would definitely suggest this book to anyone who likes fantasy and fiction. I’m probably going to read The Lord of the Rings trilogy now, even though I don’t have to, because I love the style of writing, and now I’m hooked : )

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Sep. 14, 2006 - A Raisin in the Sun - Lorraine Hansberry

                I didn’t particularly like A Raisin in the Sun. I didn’t particularly understand it either when I read it, so it’s probably a better book for older readers. But anyway, the play tells a story about the Youngers, an African – American family who lived in downtown Chicago during the 1950’s. I thought it was a good book to find out about what life was like for people who lived in Chicago during that time period. So if you’re into reading plays or studying Chicago in the 1950’s, it’s definitely a good book to read.  But I didn’t like it very much because that’s not my sort of thing.

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Sep. 14, 2006 - Don't Sweat the Small Stuff: For Teens - Richard Carlson

    I have to read at least one self-help book a year, *sigh*, and this was my pick for the 2005 – 2006 school year. I thought it was really good as far as self-help books go. I mean normally I’m like ok, why is this person telling me how to live my life? But this one was cool. I don’t recommend reading it all the way through, because that gets really boring, but if you skim through and find the sections that apply to you, it’s good.

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Sep. 14, 2006 - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith

Now this is an awesome book. I think everyone should be required to read it. But it’s definitely not a book for younger readers. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is about a girl who grows up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, starting in the year 1912 when she is 11 years old. I think the main reason I enjoyed this book, was because it wasn’t fabricated. This book actually tells the story of how life would be in Williamsburg, which was a poor part of Brooklyn. If you get the chance to read this book, I would definitely recommend it.

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Sep. 14, 2006 - Among the Hidden - Margaret Haddix

I really liked this book. My mom counted this book as a sociological emphasis read for my literature. Among the Hidden is about a boy who is born a third child in a place where families are only allowed to have two children. It’s scary to think of what that would be like, to have to hide just because you were born. This book was very well written and also very sad at some points. Definitely a heavier read.

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Aug. 29, 2006 - Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

I think Of Mice and Men was a very good American historical fiction book. However, it was so sad, that I almost started crying at one point in the book. In my opinion, a book has to be written pretty well for you to get so much into the book, that you feel the emotions along with the characters. So I would definitely say that this was a good book to read.  But I would not suggest it for younger readers due to the fact that there was some strong language  in certain parts of the book.

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Aug. 29, 2006 - Red Badge of Courage - Stephen Crane

I personally did not like the Red Badge of Courage. I thought it was well written and very descriptive; however, it bored me half to death because I don’t particularly like war books. If you like war books, this is definitely the book for you. It gives a very detailed description of what it would be like to be part of a war. But if you don’t like war books, I suggest you don’t read it.

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Aug. 29, 2006 - Hound of the Baskervilles - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I LOVED the book Hound of the Baskervilles. My mom counted this book as World Historical Fiction. This was probably one of my all-time favorite reads. This book had a little of everything in it... Suspense, Murder, Mystery, pretty much every thing I like in a book. I liked it too because some murder mystery books get kind of gruesome, but this one didn’t. Definitely an awesome read for anyone who likes mystery books. Oh, and the movie is good too, but only after you’ve read the book .

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Aug. 29, 2006 - Shakespeare

This last year I read two Shakespeare plays. It sounded really scary at first because my mom told me that I had to read two each year!!! Yikes!!! But she was nice and she got me these awesome books called “Shakespeare Made Easy”. These books have the original text on one side of the page, and a newer version on the other. Cool Huh? Anyway, the two plays I read were Julius Caesar, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Now I should point out that these are the only abridged books I’ve read. So almost all the other reviews I will be doing will be of unabridged books.

Sorry, back to the books....

 Julius Caesar was definitely an interesting read. I didn’t understand all of it, even with the simplified version, but of what I did understand, I liked it. Shakespeare sure had a way with words. It was definitely better than a textbook to learn a little bit about Julius Caesar.  

I really liked A Midsummer Night’s Dream. My mom, my sister, and I read it with two other girls because we were all in a musical called Dream On, which was based off of Shakespeare’s play, and we wanted to read the original version first. I think that A Midsummer Night’s Dream will probably be my favorite Shakespeare Play, even though I still have 6 more to read before high school is over. *Sigh*

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Jul. 30, 2006 - My Intro

Hi Everyone,

    I created this blog to kind of help other homeschoolers, and homeschool parents, by giving brief descriptions of my assigned readings. Some reviews I'll be doing are:

- The Red Badge of Courage
- Julius Ceasar
- Don't Sweat the Small Stuff For Teens
- The Hound of the Baskervilles

 And those are just some of them. So you can check in every once in a while and there will probably be a new book review.

                                                                           ~Krystal~                                 

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