Short stories are the souffles of literary work; quick and short, rush and it will flatten, leave too long, it will burn. Sherman Alexie is truly a chef who has mastered the art of creating characters that we meet for about a half of an hour, yet are able to savor for a lifetime.

Alexie, a Native American who grew up on a reservation, is an author renowned for his writing skills just as much as for his controversial and personal topics. The Native American writer is so rare, his perspective, a crucial part in the making of American identity, is renowned in the literary community, as well as the world. Racial and cultural notability aside, Alexie’s writing has earned him more than 15 awards. He has written and directed 4 movies included in the Sundance movie festival.

Through his “War Dances”, a series of short stories and poems, Alexie not only questions what it means to be Native American in the America, but what it means to be a person, anywhere. Son of an alcoholic father and a victim of seizures and bullying, Alexie gives us this piece, “War Dances”, that melds lines between fiction and bone-chilling autobiographical facts and moments. Through snarkiness, laughs and an occasional session of somberness, Alexie allows the reader to fully his word for word, masterpiece.

These stories, some told in first person, others in the third, are like dreams. You can’t really tell how long you’ve known the character once you’ve flipped the first page .You don’t remember when you started, but you know exactly where you are. Alexie’s short stories have their readers afraid to turn the page, for fear a connection with the character would be over, like a friend you met during a week-long vacation.

There is something relatable in every character. I, an African American girl felt akin to the Native American man who killed a black teen. Alexie doesn’t just convey the pain of the main character. In every story, he shows how the entire world around them begins to crumble, and at times with a hilarious prose.  

Alexie’s satire is not overt. Every sentence does not blame America for the Native American people’s condition. When he chooses to address the situation (in about 3 stories), there is a subtlety that challenges the reader as a person to criticize the character, as well as themselves. Any reader who enjoys a book that does not answer questions, but rebirths age-old ones and challenges the world around them, as well as their universal truths, should pick up “War Dances”.

The Dirty Divorce
By: Ashley Spells

The dirty divorce is such an amazing book! It takes place in Washington D.C.From the time you start till the end you are on the edge of your seat. You are always wondering what is going to happen next. This is the type of book where you don't want to sit it down you have to keep reading.Miss K.P. did a awesome job keeping the readers attention and not making the book boring.The book is full of drama and it makes you think and it makes you feel as if you were there. I myself am not a fan of reading books a lot but this book was different I really could not sit this book down thats how good it was.Love,trust,lies,deceit,money,family and sex are the common themes in the book. Pregnancy,rape and abduction hit the family all at one time.
The main characters of the book are Lisa and Rich. Lisa and Rich are married and have two children together,Juan who is the oldest and Denie who is the baby girl. Lisa is a stay at home wife and mom.Lisa gets any and everything she wants and loves to go shopping! I first realized that I was going to love this book when I made a connection with Lisa’s character.Lisa loves to go shopping she is very chill and loves to have fun.When I first were reading about Lisa I pictured myself being with her because we like doing similar things. Rich and Lisa are complete opposites, I guess its true that opposites attract.Rich is a sexy drug pin and he runs the city of D.C! Rich is a gangster and is well respected In D.C. Denie which is Lisa’s and Rich’s daughter is a daddy’s girl she and Rich have a great relationship  but Denie never had a good relationship with her mother Lisa. Denie is a spoiled brat she gets everything she wants.Juan on the other hand is a mommy’s boy he would do anything and everything for Lisa,Juan hates Rich with a passion. Lisa and Rich live the fab life in the suburbs of D.C. They have the nice cars,Big house etc.Rich is top drug dealer in D.C. he is very attractive and girls love him.
Lisa grew up in the church.She went to church every day of the week well until she met Rich. He was the bad guy,she was the good girl it was love at first sight. Lisa fell in love with Rich only because he was the bad guy that’s what she loved most about him.She loved that we was into the game because she grew up in the church she never experienced a “bad boy” Only Lisa didn’t know what she was getting herself into. Lisa is the type of chick that was be like “What am I going to do without him” She was so use to having everything handed to her that she forgot all about being independent. I really hated that Lisa depended on a man.
Rich has the money and the look and girls would just throw themselves at him. Rich always cheats on Lisa with other women. Lisa is so naive about the situation! Lisa really got on my nerves when it came to Rich and his infidelities. She knows Rich cheats on her but Lisa loves him so much and have been with him for so long that she could never see herself ever leaving Rich for good.When she tries to walk away when she has had enough he would always shower her with gifts to make her stay.Rich knew exactly what to do to make Lisa not mad at him anymore.Lisa is so blinded by Rich’s infidelities that she always comes back to Rich.We all have that boy who we love and can never give up.We know that he is doing wrong and that we shouldn't be with him but we stay because of our love for that person.Even when we do leave that person alone we know at the end of the day we will always be there well that’s how Lisa feel about Rich but how much can a person take before they are done forever? I understood that Lisa didn’t wanna leave Rich alone because she really cares for him and love him but Lisa really made me so mad when she started to make up excuses for not leaving. She would always use her kids as an excuse to stay with Rich.
I think a lot of young girls  would love to read this book and can relate to this book. I believe that anyone who does read this book would love it because it touches on things that are going on in the real world and also because its a suspenseful book, keeps you interested and also on your edge of your seat. Overall this is my book review on The Dirty Divorce by Miss K.P.

The Dirty Divorce
By: Miss K.P.
Publisher: Life changing books
Genre:Drama.
Total Pages: 233 pages
Date published:May 14th 2010

There are many characters in the book 50 Shades of Grey. The main characters’ names are Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. They meet and suddenly become attracted to one another.

Christian Grey is a very intimate man with a huge secret. He is tall and attractive with dark, copper colored hair and intense, bright eyes. Christian is outspoken and speaks his mind about everything, but when it comes to his personal life he is extremely secretive. He is the CEO of Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc. which means he is very rich and confident about himself.

Anastasia Steele is a senior and a literature student at Washington State University. She is awfully shy, especially when it comes to Christian Grey. She gets unnaturally nervous  around him and is very self conscious about how she looks and what she says. She is an intelligent woman with a terribly big issue.

In the book, Anastasia is given a document that makes her think twice about whether she wants to be associated with Christian Grey or not. She can not tell anyone about the document, so she can’t even get Kate, her roommate’s, opinion on the whole situation. If Ana doesn’t sign the document, she will never see or hear from Christian again, even though Christian really cares about her. Kate has her suspicions about Christian Grey, but she just can’t quite put her finger on it.

Christian Grey is a immensely manipulative towards everyone. He can get anyone that he knows to do things remarkably easy, especially Anastasia. She is so attracted to Christian she stumbles on her words and when she walks. They get to know each other very well as the book goes on, but Anastasia still doesn’t know what shes in for. She is sucked into his lifestyle easily by his intriguing eyes and mixed between happy and serious emotions. She sees that he is mysterious but she wants to pull him out of his shell and see what Christian is hiding. She tries getting in his heart, but quickly realizes that he won’t let anyone get that close to him.

Christian cares about Anastasia and wants her to part of his crazy lifestyle, but will she say yes to him?  He asks a lot from Ana. He wants her under his terms with very little compromise. Anastasia doesn’t know if she is ready for the affairs Christian wants her to be a part of. The problem on her mind is that if she doesn’t agree she will never see or hear from Christian again and she doesn’t want that to happen because she is really falling for him, but she still needs to think extremely hard.

The book, 50 Shades of Grey is intended for mature audiences only. Mature audiences means people that are comfortable with reading scenes that are very erotic and descriptive. Most people like to call it “Mommy Porn” because it is immensely erotic and  extremely descriptive. There is a lot of controversy over the book, and E.L. James, the author didn’t think it was going to get so popular so for her first print, she went to Australia and only got a few print outs of the book. Word spread about the book quickly, and millions of copies have been sold all over the world. 50 Shades of Grey is a trilogy, and you will fall in love with the first book so much that it will make you want to read the second, “50 Shades Darker,” and the third and final book, “50 Shades Freed.” This book is an erotic romantic novel will have you on the end of your seat the whole time you’re reading it.

E.L. James, the author of 50 Shades of Grey is a British woman who was born on March 7, 1963. This would make her 50 years old today. Her book came out June of 2011 which means when it was published she was 48. This was her first time writing a trilogy, and I loved the first books so much that I am definitely going to read the other ones. Her birth name is Erika Mitchell, and she just uses E.L. James as a pseudonym. James didn’t expect the book to get so popular. She won 2 awards in 2012 for 50 Shades of Grey and they were, Popular Fiction Book of the Year, and Book of the Year. The book is also nominated for a GoodReads choice awards finalist for best romance. It is also a number one New York Times Bestseller.

Book review of “Crash ( Vision #1)”

The novel “Crash” written by Lisa McMann is the beginning of a book serie which is called “Vision”. It is also a kind of love story and kind of mystery

The main character of this book is called Jules Demarco ,her parents are the owner of an italian family restaurant. She lives together with her parents and her two siblings,Rowan her younger sister and her older brother Trey, in the apartment over the restaurant. After school they help most time their parents in the restaurant because it was always in her family that the children have helped their parents in this. Also her parents thinks that her brother Trey drives Jules and her little sister with a truck which has meatballs in the top, every morning to school. But Trey don’t really want to do this so he gives her every week 10 Dollar to drive the truck to school.Her parents thinks that the meatball truck is a good advertisement but it’s more a kind of embarassing for their children. To the normal stress which comes when you owned a restaurant comes the fact that her family is since years in a big fight with the Angotti’s family which also owns a Italian restaurant and which have stolen a special recipe from the Demarco family. Another problem from here is that she loves Sawyer Angotti since she is little and that she is not allowed to love him.  To all of her teenage and family problems comes on really special problem: She see the Vision how a truck crash into a house and after the accident they are laying seven white backs with deads bodies in the snow.

After a short time it starts getting really personal for her because she see the face from one of the dead bodies, it is her big love Sawyer. The boy which has start stop speaking with her from one day to the other day in seventh grade. The boy which she will never be allowed to love.

This vision following her always. She see it when she is sitting in the car on the way to school and look on a screen or if she just want at home and want to see TV and nobody else can see this vision. After a short time she decided to do something to stop the accident but she no idea where she can start or how she get anyone to believe to her. So she start try to figure out where it will happened or why and what she can do to stop it.

This book is more about the love story between Jules and Sawyer than about the accident and the Vision which Jules has. I had hoped more that it would be a more mystery than that it would be a love story. But on the other side I loved her kind of writing a book. She has written it so that in the book where some really sad moments but there were also some moments where you was really excited and also there was some moments where you just had the book in the hand and can’t stop laughing because some parts was so fun.

All in all she has written in a really interesting  way which was for me the reason that after I have start reading the book that I couldn’t but it away.

You will really enjoy to read mystery books which have a big touch of love stories and which are written in a varied way.

Lisa McMann was born on February 27. 1968 in Michigan U.S. . Since 2004 she lives together with her husband Matt and her two children Kilian and Kennedy in the near of Phoenix, Arizona.

On of her most famous book is Wake which is the beginning of a trilogy.

The book “crash” is the beginning of another book serie and was published on January 8 2013.

Lisa McMann writes in general books for children and teenagers and short stories which are more for adults.

Bibliography:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_McMann

       Nearly 1 in 6 high school students has seriously considered suicide, and 1 in 12 has attempted it. The book I was reading for my Q1 English BM and find it really interesting is call “Its Kind of a funny story by Ned Vizzini” It's also about teens. I loved this book. It is about teens and it discusses suicide, sex and more, but it is a great book with an important message. Sometimes you have to get all the way to the bottom of the barrel before you can get back to the top. When you read this book you can experience all the stragglers teens go through in their high school/college years. All the pressure that sometime they start to feel that suicide is the easy way out off all this.

          Its not always just study that pressure teen to suicide but most of the time is bullying that effect the most. In recent years, a series of bullying-related suicides in the US and across the globe have drawn attention to the connection between bullying and suicide. Though too many adults still see bullying as "just part of being a kid," it is a serious problem that leads to many negative effects for victims, including suicide.

Many people may not realize that there is also bullying include in teens committing suicide. Teen suicide is a very real problem in the United States and all over the world. With many pressures and a variety emotional, social and family issues to confront, many teenagers find themselves having suicidal thoughts. Part of averting a teen suicide is being involved in your teen’s life and watching for teen suicide warning signs.

It is also important to note that many of the teen suicide warning signs are also indications of depression. And it is important that around this time of your life you need to be around the people who love and care about you, also enjoy every moment of your life because our life is too small to be depressed and do something stupid like suicide. Thats what this book is about when the main character in the book go to a hospital for his depression problem he meet a lot of new people and became their friends thats when he realize how fun and beautiful life is. Its not always full of stress and pain everything will be OK at the end but its not than its not the end

Alex Held

Earth Stream

1984 Book Review

Power. It gives a person the potential to rule or to govern with a guiding hand for the prosperity of a country and it’s people. But more often, it has the propensity to corrupt and eradicate equality. It alters speech and changes behavior. It impregnates the susceptible mind with deceit and reaps it of its morals.

George Orwell, the author of 1984, was an English novelist, whose works are often highlighted for his articulate prose, commitment to democratic socialism, and his awareness of social justice. All of these qualities in addition to his extraordinary knowledge of totalitarianism aided him in creating one of the most spectacular and eloquently written novels of all time; one that not only displayed how thoroughly he grasped one of the most austere conflicts of the 20th century and the possible repercussions of a German victory in the Second World War or Stalin’s second Great Purge that never was, but also allowed him to strikingly do so in such an unsettling and dismaying manner. A manner that can never be reproduced. 1984 was the final book produced by Orwell in the year before he passed away. Other notable works written by him are Animal Farm, and Homage to Catalonia.

George Orwell’s gripping novel written in 1949 throws the reader into Oceania. No, not the Southern Pacific islands and Australia, but a worn-torn, totalitarian “Superstate,” whose decrepit slums serve as the home to almost all of the its population. The few percent of the population of Oceania who are rarely ever seen, just whispered of by the “proles” who live in perpetual fear of these very people, go by the name of the Inner Party. The two other Superstates’ (Eastasia: Obliteration of the Self), (Eurasia: Neo-Bolshevism) inhabitants reside in anything but harmony, just like those of Oceania.

All three Superstates are at a incessant war and live under the yoke of their own versions of The Party and it’s privileged elite. The Party dictates society through the euphemistically named English Socialism (Ingsoc) political system. They, however, both fully devote their lives to Big Brother, an apocryphal, quasi-divine figure who is the at the utter Zenith of the hierarchy on earth where “WAR IS PEACE”  and government surveillance is ubiquitous in the form of mind control telescreens. Any manifestation of individualism or thinking that may be deemed independent is looked on as a “thoughtcrime.” Those who are even accused of committing thoughtcrime are sent to a torture and reformation facility ironically named the Ministry of Love.

Orwell involuntarily connected the “watchful eye” perspective in 1984 of Big Brother and The Party to many things 60 years in the future. The United States has duplicated the idea of telescreens in an tenor manner with the NSA (National Security Agency), despite the fact that they would like to admit to it. It is no secret that the NSA listens in on every phone call, tracks internet history, and maintains close surveillance on everyone living in the country and even more so those out of it, living in countries that the United States is affiliated with, as allies or opponents. It is becoming increasingly palpable that the Orwellian themes in 1984 are unavoidable.

The protagonist of the book is a man named Winston Smith. Winston lives in Oceania and is a member of the outer party. His profession is in historical revisionism, where he alters history in favor of The Party, which, again shows how they censor any and everything from the people. Winston is depicted throughout the book by Orwell as an intelligent man, but one whose oppressed and thus, his intelligence is vastly hindered by both fear of thoughtcrime and just deprivation of knowledge concealed by the Party. Although he serves The Party, Winston secretly hopes that Big Brother is subjugated by some rebellion. “If there is hope, it lies in the proles,” is something that Winston keeps ensconced in his mind.

As the book progresses Winston meets a girl named Julia. As Orwell describes her, Julia is  a young girl who also works in the same field as he does, historical revisionism. Orwell’s language in the book suggest that Winston not only had mixed feelings about Julia (one time suspecting she was a member of the Thought Police), but also that he desires to feel love once more and that he can achieve that with her. Not love in the way he did for his wife some time ago when he initially met her, but a kind of dispassionate connection he now has with her. He desires that with Julia. She is his new beginning and his revitalization, but their relationship is far more bound than it ever was with his wife.

Orwell not only affects Julia and Winston’s relationship with the aspect of neverending surveillance of every move they make and every word they utter, but with just the environment alone that they, and everyone else around them are forced to live in. 1984 will leave you wondering if Winston can perpetuate his visits with Julia, with each tryst becoming more jeopardous than the last. Orwell creates a bleak scenario for a love affair that makes one question if there is even any love left to give. He offers a book-long question of whether or not there there is any promise that remains on earth, or has hope become completely effete.

1984 is a book that will really test you optimistic types out there. Can The Party be overthrown or will they do what no other ruling system has done before: watch everyone, crush every rebellion, and stay in perpetual control. Can the keep strengthening their plutocracy, which gives them the only wealth they’ll ever need, power and fear? George Orwell baits you with hope, but is there any that remains?

Title: 1984

Author: George Orwell

Publisher: Secker and Warburg

Date of Publication: 1949

Number of Pages: 328 Pages with afterword

Genre: Dystopian, Political Fiction, Social Science Fiction

He ends up getting suspended. He realizes during his suspension that he needs to leave the reservation or else he will end up like everyone else in his reservation, poor and drunk. Here is a little taste of one of his moments where he realizes he needs to leave:

“‘Who has the most hope?’ I asked.

Mom and Dad looked at each other. They studied each other. They studied each other’s eyes, you know, like they had antennas and were sending radios signals to each other. And they both looked back at me.

‘Come on,’ I said. ‘Who has the most hope?’

‘White people,’ My parents said at the same time....

‘I want to transfer schools,’ ...

‘I want to go to Rederan,’ I said.

Rederan is the rich, white farm town that sits in the wheat fields exactly twenty-two miles away from the rez.” (P.45)

The way the author writes is obviously in first person. I think that this is the best way to show the development of the character. You hear all of his thoughts and know what is going on within him. The way Sherman Alexie writes is hard to describe, but I would call it an informal way of writing. He writes in a simple way, like a kid would think or talk which makes it makes it much better when he is thinking or talking because nobody speaks perfect english and this adds a little more authenticity to the characters. Also, it’s easy to read and funny sometimes too.

Sherman Alexie is almost exactly like his character. He grew up on a Native American reservation and was born into a poor family (like most Native Americans). He was born with a condition where spinal fluid was in his skull and it made his head big. He  had surgery and the risk of his brain being damaged was very high but he turned out to be fine. He was also bullied as a kid because of the size of his head. Also just like in his book, he left his reservation school and went to Rederan high school to get a better quality of education.

Good:

One of the best things about this book is that I actually laughed from this book. I genuinely liked it. One cool thing that made the world actually real was the main character, Arnold who is actually Sherman. The book is about his early life and the struggles that he had to go through being born with a deformation that made his head huge. It really shows that people can achieve anything no matter what holds them back. Also the drawings usually add a bit of humor to the situations. They usually make fun of people and he also says that they are his escape from the hard things.

Bad:

I wish I could say something bad about the book itself, but I really liked it. I can relate to and understand what happens to Junior and why he chooses what he does. Some people think that talking about sex and girls in a book is a bad thing (and it was actually banned in a few schools because of that) but that stuff is in everyones life if you like it or not. It’s something that cannot be ignored.

I would think that this book is for almost everyone as long as you can get past some of the sex and language in the book. I don’t find it that bad but it did get banned in a few places so it must be for some people. I think what makes it good for everyone is that everyone was once a teenager and had to deal with the pressures of going to high school for the first time.

Book Info:

Title: The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian

By: Sherman Alexie

Publisher: Brown and Company

Date of Publication: September 2007

Pages: 230

Genre: Fiction, Young adult literature, Children’s literature

The first time I read Bob Harris’ “Prisoner of Trebekistan”  I was 12 years old, and in a frenzy over jeopardy. 4 year, and countless books later, it is still the one i come back to time and time again, for its odd connections, and off humor. The book is one part autobiography, one part jeopardy study guide, and one part life advice, that combines in the strangest way possible to form an experience that is visceral, and exciting.

The book proper starts with a brief overview of the history of jeopardy, and how the creator, Merv Griffin came up with the idea. He then jumps into an anecdote of his experience taking the jeopardy test, and eventually succeeding to get on the show. After some humorous faltering he manages to win his first game. He is quickly consumed by his studies, so much so that he stops doing routine things like washing clothes and going outside. This world of learning where different themes and ideas converge to form an overarching narrative of the world at large, is known as Trebekistan.

The biggest draw of “Prisoner of Trebekistan”, is the author’s ability to convey his thoughts and emotions with such clarity that it impacts you on a deep level. The book is at its core, a tale of a small town boy who moves to hollywood, and gets an opportunity to take part in a game that he never imagined. When he wins, you feel every ounce of excitement that he feels. When he is sad you will be brought to the verge of tears. There is never a point in the story where you feel disconnected from him, because even though he is going through so many foreign experiences, he is a very relatable and down to earth “Character”. He makes readers root for him, and want to experience these things with him.

If you have an interest in Jeopardy, the this book was tailor made for you. The author gives insight into how a game of jeopardy works. The author does a good job of showing exactly how playing a game of Jeopardy affects your mind, as well as how your frame of mind affects your level of skill when playing. It shines light on what it takes to be a jeopardy champion, and gives information on why knowing the answers does not guarantee you a win. Most importantly it is packed full of information, that anyone who craves knowledge will embrace wholeheartedly. The things you will learn will span all subjects, and transcend time, ranging from fanciful humor, to serious medical conditions, and they are presented in the most humorous way possible.

And of course you cannot forget Harris’ self depreciating form of humor. After college he spent years as a stand up comedian, and it shows through in every joke, and wisecrack. Harris makes wild and humorous analogies to describe the functions of the human brain. Using humor, and crudeness to memorize important facts is just one of the many tips he gives to set readers on their way to becoming a Jeopardy champion.

None of this is to say that the book is without its flaws. Harris is prone to long tangents that have little to do with the topic at hand, and he has some really roundabout ways of making points. Some will argue that’s the point, making obscure connections in ways that no one would ever notice, but after a while, it begins to seem tangential. Despite being relatable, Bob can also be very unlikable. At sometimes it seems as though he is forcing his self depreciation for a joke, making the entire experience feel disingenuous. Beyond a certain point the satire can become dry, and insufferable.

The biggest weakness of the book is that it is excessively preachy. Almost from the beginning morals are shoved down your throat in a way that tries to be fun, but is ultimately hamfisted. He outlines steps to “Enlightened Jeopardy” which are for the most part very traditionally eastern beliefs, slightly modified to fit jeopardy. He claims that following the path as closely as possible will lead to happiness, yet their are times in the book where following the path his led him to his own disasters, undoing him, and his life at large.  The heavy handedness and irony of his steps make parts of the book almost unbearable.