This Lullaby Review (counts as 2 books)

This Lullaby, by Sarah Dessen, is all about decisions.

Remy never knew her biological father, but she had a steady stream of step-fathers (five in all). She spent her high school years trying to find happiness in an endless number of temporary boyfriends.

Ever fearful of falling in love, Remy never allowed her relationships to last longer than a couple of months. When Remy found Dexter, a boy that had the potential of making her fall in love, she got scared and pushed him away.

With the help of a lot of courage, coincidences, and an unfaithful fifth step-father, Remy finally realized what she had lost.

Call of the Wild

Jack London's Call of the Wild is a book about survival and intense emotions. This classic, set in the Klondike during the gold rush, has stood the test of time.

Buck, the "kidnapped king"(pg. 13), was taken from his sunny comfortable life and thrown into a brand new way of life. He was no longer treated any differently than a typical sled dog. Soon the call of the wild was pulling Buck back to the old way of his life, linking him to his ancestors.

To my surprise, I actually enjoyed reading this book. It is not one that I would choose to read on my own, but I would recommend Call of the Wild to others.

Antigone

Would you stand up for what you think is right no matter what? In Antigone, a classic tragedy written by Sophocles, Antigone is a young woman that does everything she can to stand up for her brother. I had a hard time understanding this play, but I did enjoy reading it.

Being an orphan, Antigone cared deeply for her siblings. When her brothers were killed, one was honored with a burial, while the other was viewed as dishonorable. She stood up to Creon, showing how strong she really was.

Antigone never backed down from the challenge she took on. In fact, she proved to Creon that what goes around comes around. Fate punished Creon for his actions.

Taking a Stand

This year has been filled with difficult decisions and situations. I have many friends that I have kept throughout junior high and this year, but i also have many new friends. When my new friends began making fun of one of my best friends, I knew what I had to do. I began by asking them very nicely to, "please stop calling my friend those ridiculous names." Still the teasing continued. They called him hurtful names. I clearly stated that I would not be around people that treated my friends that way, so they stopped the harassment, and everyone gets along now.

Sophomore.

I was not nervous before starting my sophomore year. By talking to some of my older friends, I was already prepared for how different high school would be from junior high. Even though it is not exactly what I expected, it has gone pretty well so far.

I have gotten used to the different students and teachers. Also, two of my more difficult classes have made me push myself to work much harder this year. For the most part, my grades have improved.

Leadership

Shakespeare points out many of the characters' leadership flaws in the play Julius Caesar. Caesar had defeated Pompey and many others in his scheme to become dictator of Rome. As this was taking place, Caesar's peers feared he was becoming much too powerful and ambicious, so they formed a plot and assisinated him. Some did this for loyalty to their country. They loved Rome more than they loved Caesar. These men, Brutus included, believed the only way to save Rome was to overthrow Caesar and find a new ruler. But others did this out of greed and hate, hoping to gain political power of their own.

Similar to modern times, citizens do not always agree with their nation's leader. Barack Obama, set to take office in January, is our country's President-Elect. People have very different feelings about Obama becoming the President of the United States. Unlike the men living in Caesar's time, we must only fight for what we believe in and hope for the best.

Sci-Fi as a Genre

I do not enjoy reading science fiction novels. I have read quite a few science fiction books, finding many of them dull and difficult to follow. There is one exception, though. I actually liked 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne. But I would usually much rather read a historial fiction novel or a book about something more realistic and true to life. Overall, the sci-fi genre is not for me.