West of Kabul, East of New york by Tamim Ansary

This book is a biography of Tamim Ansary, an Afghan-American looking to reconnect with his afghan roots. Tamim's father was an Afghan who got the privilege of studying abroad in America where he met Tamim's mother, a shy Finnish-American girl who was also living at the University of Chicago. Tamim and his sister Rebecca were born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and because of their mother, they grew up speaking English instead of Farsi, eating with forks instead of fingers, and sleeping in beds instead of on mats. A few years later however, Tamim's father got a new job and the family moved to Lashkargah, where Tamim was first introduced to co-education, racism, and discrimination. After enduring name-calling, bullying, and overall rejection from his peers there, Tamim's family moved back to Kabul after another job change for his father. Later, during Tamim's high school years, he got application forms for CRMS (Colorado Rocky Mountain School) and after sending them off and receiving the acceptance letter, Tamim was off to America with his family traveling along to help him settle in, except they weren't planning on coming back. After his junior year at CRMS, Tamim's father was called back to Afghanistan and had the difficult decision of returning to the Ansary family compound or staying with his American family. He chose Afghanistan.

After high school and college, Tamim lived in a counterculture in Portland, an intimate community of closely interwoven networks of friends and lovers numbering around 200. A few years later, he began to move away from the counterculture and moved to San Francisco with dreams of being a writer. Once there and employed as an editor for a newspaper outfit called the Asia Foundation, he went looking for a similar communal living situation and found 1049 Valencia St. and Debby Krat. After living there for a while, he received a check in the mail and decided to use it to try and re-visit Afghanistan and the East. Before he went, he visited his mother in Maryland and met with his younger brother Riaz, who had just returned from Pakistan and had newly converted to Islam. Riaz's conversion was one of the reasons he wanted to go to the East, to find out about Islam. He traveled from Paris to Madrid to Algeciras before entering into the Middle East in Tangier, where he was swarmed by tour guides who were really just homeless men looking for a source of income. They told him about Abdullah, a "true muslim" who seemed like an extremist to him and was even worse in person, talking only of the harsh and negative side of Islam. After about a week, he traveled across Morocco to Oujda, a small town on the border of Morocco and Algeria. Unfortunately, getting to ALgeria was easier said than done because one had to walk from the Moroccan border to Oran, Algeria. On the train out of Oran, there was limited space so he stood between two of the cars with a group of Algerian soldiers who talked with him about Islam. He kept traveling and everywhere he went it was the same, Islamic and socialist countries with poverty and lots of "true muslims" eager to tell him all they knew about Islam. Finally, he decided to return to America where he married Debbie, left Riaz and his wife to themselves, connected with his Afghan cousins and friends, and decided that Islam was much too complicated for him.

I really liked this book because it was interesting to learn about his thoughts on Islam and what he thought of the situation in the East. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes reading about different cultures and ethnicities.

The Lost Symbol- Dan Brown

The Lost Symbol, released September 2009, is the third installment in the trilogy of religious/mystery/thrillers by Dan Brown, including the Da Vinci Code. It involves the same main character as the other two novels, Robert Langdon, Harvard University Symbologist.

The story begins when Robert Langdon is asked to speak at the National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. Peter Solomon is Langdon's mentor and the head of the Smithsonian Istitute. When Robert Langdon arrives to speak at the Capitol, there is no one to listen to him, because the lecture invitation was just a trick to bring him there. Instead he hears screaming coming from a special room in the Capitol. He goes to investigate and finds the right hand of Peter Solomon mounted on a stick in the middle of the room, with special symbolic tatoos on each finger. Since Mr. Langdon is a symbologist, he recognizes it as the symbolic Hand of Mysteries, which points up to the Apotheosis of Washington, inside the Capitol dome. He analyzes the symbol tatoos on Solomon's severed hand and discovers that the kidnapper who cut of Solomon's hand and abducted him wants him to find the Masonic Pyramid, and more symbols on the hand actually point them down instead of up toward the dome as they had previously thought. This journey leads Langdon down to a seldom used and almost unknown room in the basement and find the Masonic Altar.

Meanwhile, Peter Solomon's sister Dr. Katherine Solomon, a Noetic scientist, is doing research in a secret laboratory her brother built. Peter knows of Katherines secret research, and is sworn to secrecy, but later after Peter is kidnapped, she learns that he shared some of the details of her research with Dr. Abbadon, who supposedly was working with Peter for psychological reasons.

As the story progresses, Langdon and Katherine are brought together in their journey to find Peter Solomon, discover the kidnapper, find the Masonic Pyramid, and mostly, to prevent a single insane man from revealing secret information that would destroy life as we know it.

The symbols in this book were not obscure at all, considering the main conflict IS symbols, which drives the complex plot. The Masonic Pyramid was a symbol, as well as each tatoo on Peter Solomon's hand and the ring he wears, which is the mark of the Freemason's highest honor.

This novel was extremely complicated and required major focus when reading in order to follow the plot's twists and turns and extreme detail. If a reader is able to follow the mystery and comprehend the symbols of the story, it would be a great read. I would reccomend this story only to a person who enjoys lengthy and complicated books with no real, satisfying resolution. If a reader enjoyed The DaVinci Code or Angels and Demons, they may enjoy this novel as well. It required some knowledge about the two preceding novels as well, to fully comprehend the vaule of the plot and Robert Langdon's thinking. I did not read the two other books but saw both movies, and I retained enough knowledge from those to be able to (somewhat) understand this novel.

Outside Valentine by Liza Ward- Karly Schultz

Outside Valentine, by Liza Ward, was written in 2004. This novel is based on the true story of the 1957 Starkweather murders committed by 19 year old Charlie Starkweather and his 14 year old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate. Liza Ward, whose grandparents were killed in the spree, based the character of Lowell on her father.

Outside Valentine is told from the perspective of three different people; Caril Ann Fugate, a child Puggy, and Lowell. Caril Ann is a young girl who is taken over and captivated by love. She is so deeply in love with her boyfriend and killer, Charlie Starkweather that she’s just along for the ride during the murders. Puggy lives in the years after the murder. She lives a life of loneliness even as little girl, battling the divorce of her long married parents and not fitting in at school. Puggy is extremely fascinated by her neighbor, Lowell Bowman. The third narrator, told nineteen years after the murders, is Lowell whose parents were two of the many killed by the Starkweathers. Lowell’s regular life is clashing with the horrors of depression, loneliness, alcoholism, and divorce. Lowell’s family is desperately pleading for him to love them again. Ward’s ultimate purpose in Outside Valentine is to portray the horrors and aftermath of the bloody and shocking Starkweather murders of 1957 and to bring to life the effects that senseless violence has on many lives.

1957 is the year in which Caril Ann Fugate’s story is told from. Fugate was an outcast and an underachiever. She was deeply in love with fashion, always strutting in front of her mirror in her pink kimono embroidered with women dancing. She lived in a dysfunctional family where she was sexually and emotionally abused by her stepfather, but Fugate was always determined to stand her own ground and fend for herself. She was a very independent person. At home, Fugate refuses to repeat the eighth grade, but when she fails to listen to her stepfather and is threatened to death, she runs away to her tree house. That day in her tree house, she meets Charlie Starkweather. Love captivates these two and pulls them together. Caril thinks Charlie is the guy anyone would ask for; he drives her around in his fancy Packard and sneaks into her house late at night. But from that day on, everything will change, and people would always remember the name of Caril Ann Fugate. A major symbol in this narrative is Fugate’s pink kimono. It represents being free, and Fugate desperately wanted to flee her harsh family life. The dancing women represent freedom and the idea of decision making. Just as Fugate thought it was time to leave and live life as an independent teenager, her life is taken over by love and the idea that Fugate would do anything to make Charlie love her ever more.

1991 is the year in which Lowell Bowman’s story is told. Lowell is a middle-aged man who sells antiques for a living. Nineteen years ago his parents were murdered by the Starkweathers, and every since the tragic day Lowell dreams of a spot of blood slowly spreading until it takes over his whole life. With little income coming into the family, his marriage slowly falls apart throughout the novel, and day by day Lowell finds himself feeling emptier inside. Lowell’s children have a hard time communicating and understanding their father despite all that has passed through their family. Over the years, Lowell has become more dependent on alcohol, and this is another factor that leads the family to rip apart by the seams. After his parent’s death, Lowell finds a black box deposited in the bank with nothing in it. His wife continues to believe that Lowell knows what’s in the box, but is keeping it a secret. Through many obstacles, Lowell decides to leave his family arguing that internal struggle has taken over his life. A major symbol in this narrative is the empty black box. It symbolizes the idea of loneliness and the toll it takes on a family.

1962 is the year in which Puggy’s story is told from. Puggy is also struggling with the divorce of her parents and ‘blessed’ with the trouble of making friends. Puggy, however, does have one friend, Cora. Cora lives next door to the Bowman’s, and is devastated by the murder that happened so close to her own home. Unlike Cora, Puggy is fascinated with Lowell and with the Starkweathers. She keeps an old newspaper clipping from the Lincoln Journal Star in her dresser, frequently embedding the pictures and articles of the Starkweathers into her brain. Puggy plays detective, and every so often uses Cora as a way to spy on the man down the street, Lowell. One day, after coming home to empty house with no mother, Puggy turns to the newspaper clipping and wonders if anyone will ever love her the way Charlie loved Caril Ann. A major symbol in this narrative the empty house Puggy comes home to. Like Lowell, Puggy is questioning love instead of relying on love to help her through life. She turns to others who have lost someone forever for confidence and support.

Outside Valentine is a powerful story about the impact that violence has across generations as well as a story of people torn apart by tragedy, but ultimately transformed by love. This is a novel definitely worth reading.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair- Published by Cody Larkin

The Jungle is a novel written by author Upton Sinclair. It was written and published in 1906. Sinclair wrote this novel to ultimately expose the horrid details and research he had concluded about the meatpacking industry and to also shine a light on the struggles of the working class.

The novel focuses on a Lithuanian man named Jurgis Rudkis who moves to the United States to achieve the American Dream. Jurgis and his family settle down in Chicago, which at the time was the center of the meatpacking industry. Jurgis and his family were forced to work strenuous hours in unbearable conditions at the local slaughterhouse. The workers were harshly under paid and barely received enough money to put food on the table. The meatpacking families began to realize the stomach-wrenching secrets of the meatpacking industry, including the packing of diseased cattle and hogs for public consumption. The sausages were made of various items such as dirt, animal bones and even poison.

Jurgis flees Chicago after his wife and newborn son die during childbirth. He eventually returns to the city with no money or personal belongings. He finds himself in jail and meets a man named Jack Duane who introduces him to the reality of America. One day while begging on the streets, Jurgis stumbles into a socialist meeting and is utterly intrigued. Jurgis becomes transfixed by the idea of socialism and receives a job at a local socialist-run hotel. By the end of the novel, Jurgis is a completely new man who supports his family and believes that the socialist party will overthrow Chicago.

This novel is strongly related to today’s world of labor. The Jungle is often referenced when speaking of the cleanliness and labor of today’s fast food restaurants. Many authors have created pieces to expose the world to the dangers of fast food restaurants just as Upton Sinclair had done in the 1900’s. Novels such as Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and films such as Super Size Me by Morgan Spurlock have swept the nation and exposed them to the reality of the fast food industry.

The novel is also thought to be the birthplace of the journalism tactic called muckraking. Muckraking was a tactic used by journalists in the Progressive Era to expose the corruption of the government and industries. Upton Sinclair is one of the most well known Muckrakers. Muckraking is still used in today’s world of journalism.

"Summer of My German Soldier" by Bette Greene

Patty, a 12 year old Jewish girl, lives in a small town in Jenkinsville, Arkansas. Her life quickly changes when she meets a German prisoner of war named Anton. Despite the consequences she knows she will have if she has anything to do with Anton, Patty hides him and brings him food.

Patty’s life changes when a group of German prisoners of war arrive and are taken to the new prison camp just outside of town. The next day the soldiers are brought into town to purchase a hat to protect them from the hot sun. There are taken to Patty’s father’s store. Patty quickly ran into the store to help out. There was one prisoner who spoke English, his name was Anton. Anton started to have a conversation with Patty but then was told he must leave. A few days later, there was word that a German prisoner had escaped from camp. Patty soon found out that it was Anton who escaped. Patty decides to hide him in the upstairs of an old garage. She visited him and brought him food everyday. One night he told Patty that he is going to jump on the train and try and get away from here. As they’re saying their goodbyes, Anton slipped a gold ring into Patty’s hand and told her they will meet again someday. The police eventually find out that Patty was helping Anton and give her sever consequences.

This can relate to today because if someone truly loves someone they will do anything for them, even if they know their consequences could be sever. Patty knew that helping Anton could lead to nothing but bad, but she insisted on doing it anyways. It also relates to today’s society because there is still somewhat of a separation between different cultures.

The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson

This intriguing story follows the actions of one of the world’s most famous serial killers. It tells the horrors of Chicago in the 1890’s and how the famous World’s Fair came to change our country. The Devil in the White City follows the true story of two architects, Burnham and Olmsted, and their struggles to build a fair beyond anyone’s beliefs. The two men ran into many problems in the process. One of their buildings burnt down while others merely collapsed from extreme winds. As the World’s Fair was occurring, a man who went by the name H.H. Holmes was making his mark in Chicago; building his hotel which was later called the “Castel” and murdering numerous women.

The World’s Fair, also known as the Chicago Columbian Exposition, was to be held in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the United States. In 1889 France held a very successful World’s Fair in Paris that was highly known for building the Eiffel Tower. The United States wanted to make a fair that would greatly surpass that of France in order to prove America’s powerful place in the world. After deciding to hold the fair in Chicago, Daniel Burnham and Frederick Olmsted were appointed as the main designers for the fair. Burnham was the lead architect, building classic architectural pieces that events would be held in during the fair. Olmsted was in charge of designing the landscape for the fair.

The fair’s designers ran into troubles in the process of building. For many months there was a stretch of terrible weather that brought extremely high winds. These winds made it very difficult for workers to safely build the structures for the fair. Many times structures collapsed from too strong of winds. Several men were killed in these events. It took a long time to finish the construction of the buildings which then delayed the landscape project. With only three months to create the landscape, it was a miracle that Olmsted was able to finish on time and still have everything look the way it was planned. On May 1, 1893, the fair finally opened its doors to the public. Millions of people came to see the fair and its biggest attraction, the Ferris wheel. It was the first successful Ferris wheel, with thirty cars that carried a grand total of 2000 passengers. Although there were many road bumps in the process of building the fair it turned out to be a great success.

The fair drew people to Chicago from all over the country, including many curious independent women. For H. H. Holmes, this was exactly what he wanted. Holmes came to Chicago in search of a job. He discovered and old widow who owned a small pharmacy. Holmes happened to be a doctor and soon began working for the woman. Oddly, the old widow suddenly disappeared. Costumers would ask Holmes why she was away for so long and he would simply tell them she had decided to move to California.

Holmes eventually purchased a lot across the street from the pharmacy and began to build a hotel. A hotel would be very successful during the fair especially when it was so close to the fair grounds. It also pleased Holmes to think of all the beautiful women who would be drawn to the fair and need a place to stay. Many women came looking for careers in Chicago and Holmes was able to offer them jobs at the hotel or “Castle.” Women accepted jobs offers from Holmes in a heart beat. Holmes was not only an intelligent man, but he was also very attractive, with piercing blue eyes that lured in many women. Mysteriously, numerous women who entered the “Castle” were never seen again.

Holmes was eventually arrested for insurance fraud in 1894 which forced police to start looking into his background. They talked to the custodian at the “Castle” who informed them that he was never allowed to clean the upper floors. This led police to thoroughly investigate the “Castle.” They soon discovered Holmes had built secret chambers within the “Castle” that were completely sound proof and had gas lines leading to them. In the basement they found surgical tables and instruments along with a kiln that was hot enough to burn a human body. They learned that when Holmes murdered someone, many times he would perform autopsies on them and remove everything from their bones. He would then proceed to sell the skeletons to hospitals and medical schools for a profit. The police were able connect twenty-seven disappearances to Holmes which he eventually confessed to. The police believed he killed more than he confessed to, and they estimated the numbers were between twenty-seven and one hundred victims. After being convicted Holmes was executed at Moyamensing Prison. Soon after, the “Castle” mysteriously burned down.

Hattie Big Sky posted by Taylor Damrow

Not having parents or a real home growing up can be quit traumatic for a child. Hattie Brooks orphaned as a young child endures exactly just this throughout her childhood, living with her aunt and uncle in Iowa. Hattie’s uncle is kind to her, but her aunt makes living unbearable. She feels as if she needs to find herself and the real meaning of home and family. As a frustrated teenager, Hattie makes one of the biggest decisions in her life, to move onto her inherited homestead in Montana.


Hattie, at only the age of 16, she leaves her life in Iowa and her crush Charlie. Hattie is very excited about her new life as a homesteader and the adventures it will bring. Unfortunately Hattie soon discovers many of the difficult struggles she must endure. Hattie soon finds out that the great pressure in having to cultivate the land as well as constructing large amounts of fence for the homestead done within a year’s time. She braves the unpredictable and dangerous weather, as well as an ill-tempered cow and incapable hand at cooking.

Hattie and Charlie frequently write to one another while he is in France serving in the army. Hattie also writes some newspaper articles for a local newspaper portraying her hardships, while illustrating her lively personality. During Hattie’s struggles, she is supported by friendly German neighbors, but also feels the pressure to stay as a loyal American. Some local settlers are unkind to Hattie’s German friends, leaving her standing alone in supporting them and showing her true devotion to the friendship. These obstacles allow Hattie to find the real meaning of friendship, love, and most importantly her home.

Kirby Larson portrays the real meaning of home through a young girl who had never experienced this as a child. Today children that are orphaned like Hattie or whatever the circumstances, can relate to the basis of this plot. Hattie Big Sky can give hope to children, observing that home can be found throughout life in many unique ways. This book clearly demonstrating that hard work can pay off only if an individual overcomes and works through the struggles placed in front of them in life.