Louis Zamperini was an army air forces bomber during World War II. And before that, he was an Olympic sprinter. But now he is a captive of the Japanese forces. His plane crashed and he survived thousands of miles in the open ocean with little to no water or food. His raft eventually washed up near a Japanese base and he was sent to a POW camp. This book tells the incredible story of his survival against all odds and about the amazing life he led.
Taken in the middle of the night, Garrett is taken to Harmony Lake, a boot camp for child delinquents. But Garrett knows he doesn’t deserve to be there. He doesn’t think he did anything wrong. He endures harsh physical and psychological abuse from both the campers and the staff. There is no way to fight back because the battle is futile. He can’t leave until he has admitted his “mistakes” and conformed to the standard of behavior. He has slowly been beaten, humiliated, and stripped of what little pride he has left, he feels he will never be able to escape.
Habo is an albino, but where he lives in Tanzania, albinos are hunted because their body parts are thought to bring good luck. But soon he must leave his family, he is being hunted by a fearsome man with a machete willing to do anything to track him down.
The nation of Panem is a post-apocalyptic version of North America. It consists of 12 poorer districts and the powerful and wealthy Capitol. Early in it’s history, the 13 districts rebelled against the Capitol which resulted in the destruction of the 13th district and, as punishment, an annual televised show called the Hunger Games. Each year, all the districts must choose a boy and a girl to send to the games that are forced to fight to the death, until only one survivor remains to claim victory. When Katniss’ sister Prim is chosen, she volunteers to stand in her place.
