Tuesdays With Morrie

An old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson. A book by Mitch Albom.

Before I begin this post, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Years eve, and would like to say goodbye to 2011 and welcome in 2012, hope it'll be a good reading year! Just as a reminder, only about nine hours left to vote on your favorite book reviewed in 2011. You can vote in the side bar to the right. >>>    >>>     >>>     >>>     >>>     >>>      >>>     >>>     >>>    >>>     >>>     >>>     >>>
Summary: Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient, and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago. Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger?
Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class": lessons in how to live.

Tuesdays with Morrie is a magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting gift with the world. (Summary found on the book)

Official Reviews: "Mitch Albom's book is a gift to mankind." Philadelphia Inquirer

"A wonderful book, a story of the heart told by a writer with soul." Los Angles Times

"An extraordinary contribution to the literature of death." Boston Globe

"One of those books that kind of sneaked up and grabbed people's hearts over time." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"An Elegantly simple story about a writer getting a second chance to discover life through the death of a friend." Tampa Tribune

"As sweet and nourishing as fresh summer corn... the book begs to be read aloud." USA Today

My Review: I liked this book. Tuesdays with Morrie isn't exactly a book I would have read on my own (I prefer fiction personally), but it was a book that I would recommend for anyone who has read other books by Mitch Albom, or I am the Messenger  by Mark Zusak. This is one of those books that makes you want to review your life and become a better person. Just as a fair warning, this isn't a super cheerful book. There are funny moments like when Morrie worries most about is how someday someone will have to "wipe my ass" (page 22), but for the most part, it takes place as Morrie is dying making it a bit of a tear-jerker. But don't let that discourage you, it's still a very good book.

Well folks now you know what I think. I'm not going to go through that whole spiel about leaving a comment telling me what you think. It you want to leave a comment you will. As a reminder, you can follow the Teen Reads Referee on twitter and remember to vote!!! >>>
Have a happy New Year!

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Classic Novel by Harper Lee.
Summary: The novel takes place in the "tired old town" of Maycomb Alabama during the Great Depression. It follows six-year-old Scout, her older brother Jem, and their newfound friend Dill as they stir up child-like trouble while trying to lure Boo Radley, a sort of Maycomb monster, out of his home. As the story progresses, Atticus, Scout and Jem's father and local lawyer, is assigned to defend a black man during a period in which racism was still very huge. The story follows the children as they grow to learn that Maycomb isn't the "tired old town" that they had initially thought it to be. They learn of the cruelty of racism while discovering that perhaps not all Maycomb rumors are true.

Official Reviews: "A first novel of such rare excellence that it will no doubt make a great many readers slow down to relish more fully its simple distinction.... A novel of strong contemporary significance." -Chicago Tribune
"That rare literary phenomenon, a Southern novel with no mildew on its magnolia leaves. Funny, happy, and written with unspectacular precision." -Vogue
"Novelist Lee's prose has an edge that cuts through cant, and she teaches the reader an astonishing number of useful truths about little girls and about Southern life." -Time
To Kill a Mockingbird was also awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1961.

My Review: After reading so many old, school-assigned books that I had never heard of before, I was actually excited to read To Kill a Mockingbird, a book I had heard so much about. It didn't disappoint. I can honestly say that this has been one of the only school assigned books, where I actually read ahead of what was due to be read. It's a very eye-opening book, and I'm glad I've read it. I think more people should read books like this and would recommend this book to anyone middle-school aged and up. A good book, that doesn't necessarily have to be read just in the classroom.

The Hunger Games

Yes folks it's true, I've finally gotten around to reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and I'm so glad that I have.

Summary:
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Each year, the districts are forced by the Capitol to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the Hunger Games, a brutal and terrifying fight to the death – televised for all of Panem to see.
Survival is second nature for sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who struggles to feed her mother and younger sister by secretly hunting and gathering beyond the fences of District 12. When Katniss steps in to take the place of her sister in the Hunger Games, she knows it may be her death sentence. If she is to survive, she must weigh survival against humanity and life against love. (Summary found at http://www.scholastic.com/thehungergames/about-the-book.htm)

Official Reviews:  "I was so obsessed with this book....The Hunger Games is amazing." Stephanie Meyer author of the Twilight series.
 "exciting, poignant, thoughtful, and breathtaking by turns" Elizabeth Bird of the School Library Journal
"brilliantly plotted and perfectly paced the considerable strength of the novel comes in Collins's convincingly detailed world-building and her memorably complex and fascinating heroine." John Green of The New York Times
"closest thing to a perfect adventure novel" Rick Riordan
Kirkus Review also gave the book a good review but writes "poor copyediting in the first printing will distract careful readers—a crying shame"
Stephen King praised the addictiveness of the book but said the "displays of authorial laziness that kids will accept more readily than adults" Overall he rated the book with a B grade. (Reviews found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunger_Games)

My Review: After months of being told by multitudes of people how much they enjoyed reading the Hunger Games, I finally borrowed it from the library and I wasn't able to put it down. The plot is intense with twists and turns on every page. A phenomenal book (and hey, with the holidays right around the corner, it'd make a great gift). There are more violent adult themes so I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone under twelve, but otherwise, I would recommend it to everyone. Oh, and in case you haven't heard, the Hunger Games movie comes to theatres in the US March 23, 2012. May the odds be in your favor.
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