The Help

The book I am currently reading is The Help by Kathryn Stockett. So far I really like the book. The story is based in 1962 to in the Deep South where there is segregation. They story is told from different perspectives from two African American maids to their full of themselves white employers to the one woman who thinks she can make a change. Aibileen is raising her 17^th white child.  Her current child is Mae Mobley, Elizabeth Leefolt's little girl. One day during bridge club the topic of the Africans Americans have “dirty diseases” and how "the help" should have different bathrooms. Miss Skeeter comes to the kitchen later and asks what Aibileen thinks of the bathroom situation. Later when Miss Skeeter gets a job as the writer of the house-cleaning column at the local newspaper she turns to Aibileen for help. As time goes on Aibileen and Skeeter get more comfortable together and things that are usually kept private between African Americans and white people, slip out. So when Skeeter gets an approval to try and write a story about “the help” for a job she has applied for in New York Aibileen actually thinks about letting herself be interviewed. This is a quick summary of what I have read so far in The Help.

The fact that Aibileen actually thought about letting Skeeter interview her is a big deal because if people found out Aibileen and Skeeter would be in so much trouble. This is because a story like this had never been published and also they are in the Deep South where there were very thick lines of what’s ok and what’s not. This is why it would be so brave of Aibileen do even consider much less saying yes.

So far I really like this book and I recommend it to 12 and up because of the topic of segregation. I am only a little ways into the book and I already really like it. I think this book can only get better.  

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Wonder by R.J. Palalcio is a heart-warming novel about young August or Auggie Pullman. Auggie is a normal kid, well, almost normal. He has a facial deformity that leaves most people gawking. They way that people treat Auggie has always gotten on his sister, Via’s nerves, so when Auggie is about to start the fifth grade and school for the first time because his mom has been homeschooling him- naturally Via, Mom and Dad are all petrified that he will be teased. The tour of the school does anything but calm their nerves. August meets Charlotte, Julian and Jack-Will. Charlotte is a goody-goody but when the time comes she does the right thing even if she has to break a rule. Julian is the popular mean boy who starts the Plague and the War. Jack-Will becomes Auggie’s best friend through the ups and downs of fifth grade and life. This book is told from many different perspectives so the reader is able to see all the sides of the story.

Over the course of the novel Auggie becomes stronger. He learns that friends can be do the wrong thing, but if they are a real friend they will be able to make it up and do the right thing. When Auggie hears Julian say that he is only friends with Auggie because he has to be August is crushed. August says that he never wants to go back to school But, being brave he makes it with the help of his new friend Summer. Later he finds out that Jack-Will stood up for him. Being courageous August survives the Plague where no one in the whole school will touch him. He also survives the War where Julian and his minions try, but fail to turn everyone against August, Jack-Will and Summer. Over all Auggie becomes stronger over the course of this novel.

I think that this book is good for ages eleven and up because of some of the topics like bulling. The novel is great for anyone who has trouble fitting in or has been bullied. I highly recommend this book. 

My Reading List

The Year Of The Hangman by Gary Blackwood
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Dream Of Night by Heather Henson
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowery
Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Vaswani
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Wonder by R.J. Palacio

My summer reading

Caitlin Kilgore                                                                                         

September 13, 12

708                                                                                                             

ELA

Reading Response About Summer Reading

 One of the books that I read over the summer was The Year Of The Hangman by Gary Blackwood. This novel deals with the idea of what would have happened if the Americans had lost the Revolutionary War. The story is about a teenage boy who unwillingly comes to the colonies from Europe. Creighton is what we call today a troublemaker. He enjoys gambling and drinking.   After the death of his father, Creighton becomes too much for his mother to handle. Creighton arrives in the colonies against his will and to an unwelcoming uncle. I won’t give away the book but this is a quick summary of the action-packed novel The Year Of The Hangman.

Over the course of the novel, Creighton changes for the better. When he arrives in the colonies he is upset and just wants to go home. But while on his way to West Florida his ship is attacked by the rebels and his world changes forever.  They are taken to New Orleans, where his uncle is held captive by the Americans.  Creighton is sent to live with Benjamin Franklin. His uncle expects him to be a spy and figure out when and where Franklin is printing a secret newspaper The Liberty Tree that is read by the rebels, also known as the Americans.  Creighton starts to help his uncle, but then when his uncle and a lieutenant escape and purposely leave him behind, he begins to think for himself. I won’t give the rest of the book away but Creighton finds his true self and learns to speak for what he believes in by the end. This is how Creighton changes over the course of this story for the better.

Overall, I really like this book. I think that this is a good novel for readers who like history because they can start to imagine what could have happened to our nation if we had lost the Revolutionary War. Also this book helps you understand what it is like in a battle both literally and figuratively. Figuratively, you see how it is to battle oneself as you make decisions under pressure. I would recommend this book to people 12 and up. Anyone who likes novels about characters who make life-changing decisions should read The Year Of the Hangman by Gary Blackwood.