Salt to the Sea is a story about the greatest maritime tragedy in history. Though not well known
the Wilhelm Gustloff, a German ship that was sunk in 1945 that was carrying refugees from the
war was sunk, with about 10,500 passengers inside. Ruta Sepetys guides you through this story
between the perspective of 4 characters all from very different backgrounds, but finding
themselves on the same ship.
Cast Away is a great movie about a plane crash that leaves Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks)
stranded on an island, fighting for his survival. I think Tom Hanks was perfect for this role and
delivered an excellent performance, making it feel as if he really was alone on an island. The
progression of his loneliness was also very well portrayed, making for a dramatic scene when
the water pulls Wilson, the volleyball, out to sea. Besides a few gruesome scenes, I would say it
Billy Madison is a hilarious movie about a grown-up immature person named Billy. Who, in order
to inherit his father’s hotel, must repeat all twelve grades of school again. But this is no easy
task for someone as stupid as Billy, for he almost loses the second-grade spelling bee. My
favorite scene, however, was when Billy threw dodgeballs at all the kids during recess. While
the adult audience may not be fan of the slap-happy Billy Madison, the younger audience, like
Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings is an excellent book for adolescents about friendship and
trust-- for when thirteen-year-old Brady and his best friends J.T. and Digger get entwined in a
tragedy, Brady has to decide between company and right and wrong. I love this book because it
teaches kids to do the right thing and to tell the truth no matter what. I also enjoyed this book
because of its surprising twists and turns, keeping the reader on their toes.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K Rowling is by far my favorite book in the Harry
Potter series. It is full of action, romance, comedy, and tragedy as Harry attempts to discover
more about Voldemort's evil backstory- hoping it will uncover secrets important to his defeat.
During his sixth year at Hogwarts, Harry also attains a mysterious textbook belonging to an
Whitney Richards is the cheerleading captain for her school, she is dating the
captain of the football team, and she has all A’s. Life is going great until Whitney gets
a D in calculus and her boyfriend breaks up with her on Valentines Day. Now
Whitney’s mom is furious and she insists that Whitney finds a tutor. Whitney’s teacher
connects her with a tutor named Taylor. Whitney begins to notice that Taylor is very
kind and she finds him good looking. What will Whitney’s mom think of this, and how
will Whitney survive the punishment.
Kara McKormick is going to be a star. She loves comedy which the whole world could
see on a reality tv show she was on. Now Kara is headed to Orlando with 10 other girls
to be a co-host on another tv show.
Chad Beacon already is a star. After winning America’s Next Star, he has a lot to lose
if he does the wrong thing. Chad is worried that if he becomes a co-host on a tv
show many will disapprove. How will Chad manage school, relationships, friends, and
being a star?
Summary: Winston, the main character, is against the political party and Big Brother. Posters
around London show the party slogans. More posters write that “Big Brother is Watching.”
However, Winston is against the party. It was wrong to be against the party because people could
be vanished for thoughtcrime. Although, it wasn’t just Winston; it was Julia, but what can they
do the if the whole population is against them?
A new mystery has come to Pippa’s hometown and Pippa has set out to solve it. Pip
had promised herself, her parents, and boyfriend that she would not try to solve any
more mysteries but she can’t keep her hands off of this mystery. Pippa’s friend
Conner’s brother, Jamie, has gone missing and the police won’t do anything about it
so Pippa feels it is her duty to provide justice to Conner and his family. Pippa knows
she is putting herself in danger with this mission but does she really know how far this
will take her?
In the book called Rated, by Melissa Grey, it is set in a dystopian society where people
survive based off of their ratings. This rating system keeps people in order and it ranks the
society for value. The higher score you have the more value you keep to the society and lower
you have will mean less value and harder work you have to do to then increase rating. At a
school called Maplethorpe Academy, EVERYTHING the people do counts to their ratings.
