The Wind Done Gone

The Wind Done Gone by Alice Randall is an unauthorized parody of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind.  A parody is usually a humorous or satirical imitation of a piece of literature, but The Wind Done Gone is not the comedy that the word parody implies it would be.  There was a lot of legal controversy over the publication of this book.  The story is told from the point of view of Scarlett O’Hara’s mulatto half-sister, Cynara.  Cynara is the daughter of Scarlett’s plantation-owning father and Mammy, the slave who cared for Scarlett since she was a child.  This is a good book, but in order to really understand everything that goes on with this book you must first read Gone with the Wind.  I really enjoyed reading this book, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed reading Gone with the Wind.  Below are some links to several websites that discuss this book.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wind_Done_Gone

http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/features/randall_url/

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18412.The_Wind_Done_Gone

http://www.alicerandall.com/wind_done_gone

Crossing the Wire

Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs is a really good book.  I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading contemporary fiction.   

Fifteen-year-old Victor Flores lives in central Mexico.  Victor is a farmer.  Since his father past away, he’s been taking care of his mother and five younger siblings.  His family’s survival depends on selling the corn he grows, but lately the price of corn has been dropping every year.  This year it dropped so low that there is no point in growing more corn than his family can eat.  Victor has an idea, though.  His best friend Rico has just left for the United States.  Rico has experienced men to travel with and coyote money to pay the smugglers who sneak illegals across the border.  He has everything Victor does not.  Victor has heard stories of people who travel across the border alone though, and he knows that if he wants his family to survive he’ll have to cross the border and find work in the U.S.

Scat

Scat by Carl Hiaasen is a wonderful book.  It’s hilarious and I would this book to anyone.

Bunny Starch is one of the most feared and detested biology teachers ever.  Mrs. Starch is Nick and Marta’s biology teacher, and she took their class on a field trip to Black Vine Swamp.  Not long after they got there, they smelt smoke, and discovered that a small fire had started at the edge of the swamp.  They quickly left for the buses, but Mrs.Starch stayed behind to retrieve an inhaler that a student had dropped.  It was the last time Nick and Marta saw their biology teacher.  There’s a message on Mrs. Starch’s answering machine and a letter written by her that both say she has taken leave because of a family emergency.  The problem is that no one has actually seen or heard from Mrs. Starch.  Nick and Marta are terrified that their classmate Duane, who everyone calls Smoke, has done something to her because he threatened her the day before she disappeared.  So they decide to take things into their own hands and figure out what happened to her.  Below is a video that talks about the book.

Flowers for Algernon

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keys is a great book.  I would recommend it to anyone who loves to read science fiction. 

Charlie Gordon has an IQ of68.  Charlie wants to be smart, and has wanted to be smart all his life.  He tries really hard, but Charlie just can’t learn.  He even goes to night classes at Beekman college for retarded adults three times a week.  All of Charlie’s trying is about to pay off, though.  There’s an operation that has been proven to increase intelligence dramatically in animals, animals, and now scientists want to try it on a human.  The scientists give Charlie the operation.  Charlie is finally able to learn the way he has always wanted, too.  After a while though, Charlie learns the hard way that being smart can also mean being lonely.  Then, scientists notice that the animals that had the same operation as Charlie have regressed mentally.  They fear that the same thing will happen to Charlie.

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini is one of my favorite book series.  I would recommend this series to anyone who likes to read fantasy.  There are currently three books out in the four book series: Eragon, Eldest, and Brisnigr. The fourth book in the series is called Inheritance, and it is going to be released November 8, 2011.  I’ve been looking forward to its release for a really long time.  I think it’ll be a really great book, because I really enjoyed reading the first three books.  The series follows the story of Eragon, one of the very few living dragon riders, on his journey to defeat the evil King Galbatorx, the man who killed nearly all of the dragon riders when he came into power.  Below is a video of the author of the series discussing the first three books in the Inheritance Cycle.

All-in

All-in by Pete Hautman is a good book, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes to read good poker stories.

Denn Doyle makes his living by playing high-stakes Texas holdem.  He’s seventeen and it’s not even legal for him to gamble, but he doesn’t care and it doesn’t stop him.  Denn has a knack for finding and reading tells.   It’s earned him thousands of dollars and a lot of enemies, particularly Artie Kingston, who Denn one a nightclub off in a poker game months earlier. Things are going good for him, until his card dealing girlfriend sets him up in a poker game for ten-thousand-dollars, leaving him nearly flat broke.   Denn has one chance to make a comeback and that’s a million-dollar, winner-take-all tournament, held at Artie Kingston’s brand new casino.   There‘s only one problem though, and that’s the ten-thousand-dollar entry fee.  Denn tries to get the money by playing low-stake tournaments, but he quickly realizes that that will take too long.  He asks his best friend, Jimbo, for a loan, but is quickly shot down.   Soon, Denn’s out of options and sure he’s not going to get the money together in time.                                                                                                                                                                                

The Outsiders

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is an awesome book.  I love it and it's one of my favorites.  I would recommend it to anyone.

Ponyboy Curtis lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  In Tulsa, the rich Socs live on the West side of town, and the poor greasers live on the East side of town.  Socs jump greasers, wreck houses, and throw beer blasts.  Greasers steal, hold up gas stations, and have gang fights.  The Socs and the greasers don’t get along.  Ponyboy is a greaser, but he doesn’t do the things normal greasers do.  Instead, he brings home good grades and tries to stay out of trouble, because if he didn’t his brother would kill him.  One night, when Ponyboy and his best friend Johnny are out to late at the park a blue mustang pulls up and five Socs jump out.  That night, the Socs take things too far.  They jump Ponyboy and Johnny.  One of the Socs tries to drown Ponyboy.  So Johnny, in a desperate attempt to save his friend’s life, stabs the Soc with his switchblade knife.  The Soc dies, and the other Socs disappear the moment their friend is stabbed.  Ponyboy and Johnny are terrified that they’ll be charged with murder, so they do the only thing they think they can do, run.