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Include your first name (state), title of book, author, and four or five sentences that will make us want to read the book.

Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara 

     This Historical Fiction Novel takes place before and during the events of the American Civil War, just before the Battle of Gettysburg in July, 1863. It covers four historical figures during this period, which are Robert E. Lee, Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, Winfield Scott Hancock, and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, and it recounts their actions during this period of time as best as possible. The story ends just before the next book, The killer Angels, picks up. This book is listed as Historical Fiction because it doesn’t fully recount History to the exact degree and it covers the individual characters’ unwritten conversations and actions.

            At first, the book appears to be a tough book to read due to its near five hundred page length and, for a lack of a better term, weird sentence design. Once you get through the first chapter, it becomes successively easier and it slowly envelops the reader in the story. As the reader continues through there, it becomes successively more interesting as the story progresses until you reach the end. From a historical perspective, the book follows the events that occurred during this turmoil period with detailed accuracy. This enthralling novel is a must-read for anyone who admires history and American History, even with the rough start. Finally, and most importantly, Gods and Generals describe these historical figures with a new perspective, which can change anyone’s perspective on the American Civil War and those who fought on both sides of the war.  --Virginia reviewer

See what our readers have to say about

The Kite Runner!

BT 

Have you ever flown in a Lancaster or a Halifax? Probably not as these were WWII fighter planes. In 1943, fifteen year old, underage, “Kak” from Kakabeka, Canada runs away from an abusive father to join the Canadian air force. His hobby is reading Captain America and Captain Marvel cartoons, and he sees himself as a superhero in training. He is soon sent to England and finds himself over the skies of Germany in a Halifax with real bombs being fired at him and the pilot. People get shot and die. Sometimes a downed plane is saved by homing pigeons. (But that is explained in the book.) Kak is really scared. What was he thinking?  Only old Bert, the keeper of the pigeons understands Kak. Join Kak as he learns that adventure and war are not at all what he imagined. Will he return to the forests of Canada or will Kak have a different future?

Have you ever had a plan that turned out much differently than you anticipated?

Mudbound

The Rag and Bone Shop.  ( Southeast Polk HS )                       ^

Jason is your average teenage boy that was Accused of murder. Seven year old Alicia was brutally murdered in her small rural town. Though this story does not trace setting to where this took place it is pretty obvious that as "Jordan" stated below me it is located in the u.s. This story was very suspenseful, one clue lead to another but eventually the ending is something you will never expect or even think of. Pay very close attention to the novel if you are choosing to read, the facts play a big role . In my honest opinion i actually liked the book and would rate it at 4 stars out of 5, or somewhere around 8.5 out of ten. The author must have put a lot of thought in this story.

-Ricky D.

The Rag and Bone Shop-

              The Rag and Bone shop is a mystery story about a young boy who gets blamed for the murder of his seven year old friend, Alicia. The setting takes place in a small town somewhere in the U.S. present day. The story starts off with a robbery and and a murder of a family of three. This sort of sets the tone for the type of book. The whole story revolves around a very intense interrogation that puts a wild twist on the book. I would rate this book about a seven out of ten only because the setting makes the book a little bit boring. The overall message is very thoughtful and the author did a great job writing The Rag and Bone Shop.

                                                                                                               -Jordan G

                                                                                                               -Period 3

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John (Texas) Journey of the Spirit by John Foxjohn. This is a fantastic book in the same mold as Hatchet. The difference, this book is a historical about a great Indian chief, told through the eyes of a fictional white boy. One of the best books I have ever read. You will love it.