The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Anne Frank's family lived in the Netherlands to be away from all that was going on in Germany. However Germany invaded the Netherlands and they had to hide along with another family because they were Jewish. In the beggining of the book it seemed like she just lived the typical life of a little girl however she did have to go to a special school just for Jewish people when they lived in germany because of a law. Her life quickly changed from being normal to living a life in fear. They lived above Otto Frank's office in a small room stockpiled with food and other supplies. Living in the annex Anne felt much solitude although she was with other people she did not feel much love or care from them. However she really connected with a youjng man named Peter even though her parents do not approve of there relationship. Anne is thirteen years old at the time this all begins and doesn't really understand why the Jewish people are being singled out. Towards the end of the book Anne seemed to see herself more as a writer and wrote more about what was happening in the War rather then what was going on with her. This book shows how hard it was to live in the war. Anne had many struggles and lived in saddness, fear, and even gult. When nothing was really her fault she still felt guilt for what was going on around her. This was just meant to be a little girls diary at first but changed into showing the world what really happened to the Jewish people living in the area that Hitler controlled during the war.

The Ancient Ship by Zhang Wei; posted by Jack Jones

The book I read was The Ancient Ship By Zhang Wei. This is a Historical Fiction novel following the lives of the people of the small fictional village of Wali, China. More specifically, the novel follows the stories of the Sui, Zhao, and Li families that occupy the village. The story takes place right after the creation of the Peoples republic of China and Mao's rise to power. Mao's actions are illistrated through the eyes of the people of Wali, uncovering an interesting point of view on early communism in China and the cold war. The people of Wali receive only bits of news from the Western world. The hear about U.S. and Russian Space travel and all about the U.S. side in the cold war, but all through an extreme communist filter of which they do not know about nor understand. The townspeople are oppressed and their story shows the history of China and their communist regime.
The book demonstrates the cluelessness of the people of the more rural parts of China and their suseptability to manipulation. The people are forced to beleive rumors about the U.S. which causes them to side with their communist leader and further allow for the spread of communism which the U.S. so diligently tried to stop. The author uses anecdotes to relate the people back to the actual history of China and the cold war era. He also tries to demonstrate the tension between China and the western Nations, and even the U.S. presedents.

Hitler: The Last Ten Days

Hitler: The Last Ten Days – An Eyewitness Account by Gerhard Boldt is just what the title says, an eyewitness account of the last ten days of Adolf Hitler’s life. We see these last ten days through the eyes of Gerhard Boldt, a cavalry officer and Senior-Lieutenant with the 58th infantry division on the East front during World War II. Boldt starts by showing us what a briefing in the Reich Chancellery with Hitler was like. He listens as many generals walk up to Hitler terrified, and tell their leader what is going on in the war. Hitler seems to be deteriorating. He appears to be exhausted and weak, and he is getting crazier by the minute. He had his mind set on what he was going to do, and no one could change his mind. No one had any good ideas except for him, he thought.
After a long briefing, Boldt flashes back to the beginning of the war; he lets the reader see his life. He explains the hoops he jumps through and the injuries he acquired while trying to get to the top. By the end of his war-life story, he is sent to the Fuehrer’s staff at Army High Command. On Hitler’s staff is where he observes him from a closer view.
As the book goes on, Boldt is called to briefing sessions daily. He sees that Hitler is getting worse by the second. He was brooding, as anyone would expect, and on drugs. Here is one of the greatest leaders in the world, with only a soft grip on reality and he is leading a world into war. In July of 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Hitler. This, of course, made Hitler furious. It only made him angrier at the world. Because of this attempted assassination, he arrested 5,000 people and 200 more were executed. At one point, Hitler ordered the Berlin subways to be flooded to hold the Russians back for a few more hours, even though he knew that many of his people had taken shelter in those subways. Later, as his country was falling to pieces, Hitler and his new wife, Eva Braun, sat there drinking in celebration to their new marriage and to the new world of hate and prejudice he had created among his people. On the 30th of April, 1945, the day after these two married, Eva and Hitler said their last goodbyes to the staff and headed into the study. Later that day, witnesses heard a gunshot from the study. Both were dead. Hitler had a gunshot wound in the head, and was dripping blood all over the couch. Braun, however, didn’t seem to have any wounds. She is believed to have poisoned herself.
It is interesting to see the Second World War from the eyes of a Nazi. The war seems so different in the eyes of an American soldier, or in the text of an American History book, than from the eyes of a German Nazi. Some people often look at Nazis as if they were horrible people—though most were—but the fact of the matter is, those soldiers were people, too. They had a passion for their country. They were told and taught different things, but in essence, they were still soldiers. It was also interesting to see that many people disagreed with their Fuehrer, but were too afraid to speak up because they knew what he could do to them and the people they loved.

Charles Lindberg by Taylor Damrow

Charles Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist. He spent the majority of his childhood residing in Detroit, Michigan. Lindbergh pursued the career in aviation and became a US Mail pilot. At the age of 25 Lindbergh emerged from the shadows of a normal American citizen life when he was struck with instant fame after a solo flight across the Atlantic. The mission consisted of a one way flight from New York to Paris. This feat had never been achieved before Lindbergh did it firsthand. Many thought he was too inexperienced for his age to complete the mission, but he proved everyone wrong on May 21, 1927 with his plane “The Spirit of Saint Louis”. He turned into a household name overnight, some referring to him as “Lucky Lindy” and “The Lone Eagle”.

Lindbergh put his fame to use, promoting the advancement and development of aviation as a whole. Unfortunately, his fame brought great sorrow to himself and his family. In 1932 Lindbergh’s infant son was kidnapped and murdered. The Lindbergh’s fled to Europe as a result to the hardships in which they had endured. However Lindbergh and his family returned once again to the United States after the surprise attack of Pearl Harbor. Lindbergh was an outspoken advocate of keeping the U.S. out of world conflicts. Even with the resentment of being involved in a world war, Lindbergh carried out many combat missions in the Pacific Theatre as a civilian consultant, because the president wouldn’t allow Lindbergh to be reinstated. Charles Lindbergh was an icon of the 20’s and 30’s expressing his talents in many forms.

Annie's Promise

Annie's Promise by Sonia Levitin is a very good read!It is 1945 and Annie's family and herself have moved out of Germany because of the Nazis. The left because of Hitler and her family is Jewish. When they come to America they realize many things are different and have to adjust. Annie is very different from her sisters, she had an illness and her parents are very protective. They don't want her to do anything. Also she is not a girly girl. Annie really wants to see what life holds for her, but her parents are holding her back in doing so. Her guidance counselor from school confronts her one day and tells her she has been invited to Quaker Pines Camp. She asked her parents and at first they said no, but finally they caved in and allowed her to go. When she first arrived at camp she knew no one, but befriended a girl named Tally. Tally and Annie became really good friends over the summer. Annie ha some troubles during her time at camp with people and tasks. She was enjoying her time though. Annie was a natural with horses and people. Many liked her and found her intelligent. When camp was over Annie went home to knew things. Her sister left the house and she was alone with her parents. Annie was given the opportunity to return to camp as a counselor. Tally came to visit Annie and they had a grea time but when Annie's parents found out she was hanging with a black girl and where she was they were outraged. They said profane words and made Annie very upset. She snuck out to go to camp that night. She arrived at camp and it wasn't the same. It was scary and vacant. She only stayed for a while then realized she missed home. The day she went back to camp as a counselor the war was over. The Americans had dropped the bomb. It was a new beginning for all. His book is great. It shows people all the history and the lives people had back then. It also captures the true essence of a young girl during this time. It still is relevant to the wold today. We have wars going on currently and people are suffering. Not all are in the war, but have family over there. Many people suffer when there is a war and the book shows this.

The Truth Behind Death at Columbine By: Brooks Brown and Rob Merritt

The Truth Behind Death at Columbine is the true story of Columbine. The story is told by Brooks Brown. The two shooters at Columbine were Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris and Brooks Brown was their best friend. So this story is told by the shooters’ best friend and how he had no idea what was going on and all the signs that were completely missed. Columbine was the worst murder that occurred at a school in U.S. history. Dylan and Eric shot to death 12 students, 1 teacher, and wounded many others. The day of the shooting Brooks noticed that Dylan and Eric were not in school. It was pretty common for Eric to miss school but if Dylan was gone, Brooks was normally with him. But that day, he wasn’t. After school Brooks saw Eric drive up and park his car in the parking lot. He went over and asked him where he was all day and if he knew where Dylan was. Eric got out of the car with a big duffle bag said to Brooks, “Get out of here. Go home”. Brooks was confused but did what he said. As he was walking home he heard loud noises coming from school. He soon figured out it was gun shots.
Dylan and Brooks had been friends since first grade. They grew up together and when they got to middle school Eric moved to town and the 3 of them became inseparable. Brooks and Dylan were made fun of a lot growing up in school. People called them nerds, they were very into video games and computers. They a lot of times played very violent video games and many people think that was a significant factor in this. Eric was just like them. He was into video games and computers as well. The 3 of them were made fun of consistently and even when they tried to tell administration about it, nothing stopped it.
This obviously affected Dylan and Eric a lot more than it did Brooks. Brooks never suspected them to do this. After the shooting occurred Brooks was questioned and thought to be part of the shooting because he was such good friends with them. They soon found out Brooks had nothing to do with it and no idea it was coming. Brooks said that there were some signs but he didn’t notice them till he thought about it after the shooting occurred.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer- Mark Twain

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain, is a classic novel about a young boy and his adventures. Tom is a young boy who would rather be lazy and do nothing all day. An example is when Tom convinces his friends into painting his white picket fence, by telling them that it is fun and they should be jealous of him. He does this multiple times, to many kids in the neighborhood so he can sit back, relax and watch. This story is also about the adventures that Tom and his famous friends, Huckleberry Finn, Becky Thatcher, Joe Harper and Injun Joe, have. One of his adventures with Huckleberry and Joe Harper is when the three of them run away from home. They decide they have had enough of their parents, and guardians in Tom’s case, yelling at them and telling them what to do, so they decide to run away. They swim across a river where they stay for about one and a half days, until they decide that they are too homesick and want to be with their families. Becky Thatcher and Tom have and interesting relationship; originally Tom liked a girl named Amy until he saw Becky. He then told Becky that he loved her and was engaged to her; she loved him too, until she finds out about Amy. Then, she doesn’t like him anymore and they try and win each other back throughout the book. Eventually, it seems like Tom has won Becky back until they get lost in a cave while they are on their way to Becky’s “party”. They get stuck in the cave for a long time because no one has figured out that they are gone yet. They have already run out of food and candles by this point; and to make things worse, they come across Injun Joe.
Injun Joe is a criminal who Tom and Huckleberry first come across in the graveyard one night at around midnight. They see him with his friend Muff Potter, and a doctor. Injun Joe wants to get back at the doctor, and kills him. Tom and “Huck” witness the whole event and desperately want to tell the police, but they are afraid of what will happen to them. After this, Injun Joe does not want to get blamed for the crime, so he disguises himself as a Spaniard who is deaf and mute. The boys encounter him again when they are on an adventure looking for buried treasure while he is actually doing the same thing. He ends up finding the money before the boys and hides it. Huck begins to follow him just waiting to steal the treasure. While Tom is looking for a way out of the cave that he and Becky are trapped in, he finds that he is using the cave as a hideout. Eventually, Tom and Becky get out of the cave, Injun Joe is stopped, and the money ends up being Tom and Huck’s. This story relates to today because there are plenty of kids who feel like they want to run away from home, or who want to go on adventures, just like Tom did.
An example of a major symbol was tickets that the children of the town got from Sunday School. They would recite verses from the bible and earn tickets, until they have achieved their ultimate goal of getting a bible. Tom trades his friends for the tickets that he gets because Tom doesn’t know any verses, unlike other children. This symbolizes Tom’s ticket through life: he just gets people to do things for him while Tom gets all of the credit. Another example could be the white picket fence. Other literary elements used in this novel were imagery and foreshadowing. Twain does an excellent job of “painting the picture in the readers mind”. He describes the setting really well, but still does a good job of making the reader think about it from their point of view. He also uses foreshadowing, for example right at the beginning of the book. The reader finds out that Tom hates being at home and doing chores, and from reading that, the reader can tell that something dramatic will happen later in the book.