Photo by Rebecca Wilson via Flickr. The first book I remember buying from my own money was Finally by Wendy Mass (I recently sent a review of it to Stone Soup, inspired by the Newsletter). I felt grown up carrying the shiny paperback home by myself, and even more importantly, I’d never identified with a character so much. From that moment, Finally and I were best friends, and although the copy became worn and smudged with time, the story never grew old in my eyes. At this moment in time, a few weeks after I began seventh grade, the book that means the most to me is Emma by Jane Austen. I carried it with me in my backpack on the first day of middle school, over a year ago. My new school was giant compared to my elementary school, and I was surrounded by strangers. For the first few weeks, I felt lost and alone. But every time I opened Emma at lunch or between classes, the familiar characters and old-style language seemed to wrap their arms around me and transport me to a place which I knew like the back of my hand. I think of those days with nothing more than vague but fond memory now; but Emma continues to be my all-time favorite book. My book collection consists of books which really mean something to me. It can be something that inspires memories in me, has characters I identify with like I do with no others, or simply strikes me as a book which is second to none. When I check out something from the library which I’m unable to part with after weeks and even months, then I know it belongs in my collection and I usually buy a copy off Amazon or from the bookstore. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most of the books are also by Jane Austen – upon reflection, the humor and archaic language appealed (and still does appeal) to me more than any other style. I like to keep my locker at school filled with books, so a large percentage of my collection is crammed against the walls of the locker. The rest I keep at home, because all readers know that one can’t have a room without a book collection of some sort inside it.
Book Reviews
To Kill A Mockingbird, Reviewed by Maya Viswanathan, 12
To Kill A Mockingbird is about Scout, a girl growing up in Alabama with her brother Jem, a daring adventurous boy, her friend Dill, Calpurnia, a motherlike figure who watches over her, and Atticus, her father, a kind and caring person who stands up for what is right. When Tom Robinson, a black man, is wrongly accused of committing a crime, the Judge knows that Atticus is the right person to be Tom Robinson’s lawyer. In Alabama, blacks had different churches and had their own section of the courtroom. They didn’t mix with whites. When a black man was accused by a white man, he was nearly sure to lose. Society was clearly very different then. But despite the differences in society, I can relate to Scout as well as if she was growing up in the 21st century. One thing that helps me relate to Scout is that the book is written from her point of view. Although the story is about Tom Robinson’s case, it also talks about Scout’s daily troubles from Jem ignoring her to her teacher reprimanding her. These details about her daily life are what make the book hard to put down. Tom Robinson’s case causes problems for Scout. People were angry with her father and it infuriated her because she felt that people have no right to be angry. At the same time it scared her. She worried that their anger will lead to actions against her father. Although I never felt such feelings, I can easily understand the way Scout thinks. Every other character in To Kill A Mockingbird is just as vibrant and realistic. Another example is Calpurnia. At the beginning of the book, Scout does not like Calpurnia because she is too strict. However, as the book goes on, Scout grows fonder of Calpurnia. Calpurnia stays as strict as she always was but in other ways, she proves that she cares. When Atticus was out of town, she took Jem and Scout to church with her. When miss Lula May, another woman who went to Calpurnia’s church, said that Jem and Scout should not be at the church because they were white, Calpurnia defended them. I can relate to this because my mother is strict with me. She wants me to work hard on math and music. Recently, she told me to start playing a song that my violin teacher had not assigned yet. I was very annoyed by this. I was already working hard and didn’t need to add this extra work to my practice. Reading about Calpurnia and Scout reminded me that my mom is strict with me because she cares about me and wants me to excel. Like my mother, Calpurnia really cared about Jem and Scout. She was like a mother to them. and by the end of the book they wouldn’t think of letting her leave. Through Calpurnia and other characters, To Kill A Mockingbird shows that nobody is perfect and everyone is good in some way. Tom Robinson was not perfect, but he was innocent. He was convicted because he was black. We have come a long way, but today African Americans are still treated unfairly and we should do our best to prevent it. To Kill A Mockingbird shows us how wrong prejudice is and reminds us to try to be fair and just. We also learn form Atticus to stand up for what we believe in and to never give up. There is a lot to learn from this book and you should read it to discover plenty of wise thoughts and ideas. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 1960. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? Let us know in the comments below!
Beasts Made of Night, Reviewed by Mirembe Mubanda, 12
Are you craving an action packed, magic filled, fantasy novel, with a cliffhanger ending? Then Tochi Onyebuchi’s Beasts Made of Night is meant for you. The teenage main character, Taj, is an aki. All aki are required to ‘eat’ other people’s sins. To eat a sin beast, an aki must first battle it to death. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening job, because the sin beasts are very difficult to defeat and can easily destroy an aki. Once the sin beast is killed, it dissolves into an inky, black substance. The aki are forced to swallow this revolting liquid. After that happens, a tattoo of the sin beast is branded into the aki’s skin. They will also feel the guilt of the bad deed that is not theirs. Once an aki eats too many sins, he or she will die. On top of feeling the burden of remorse, the aki are unjustly treated like second-class citizens. This reminds me of some of the commonly overlooked, but important jobs in today’s world, such as migrant farm workers, who work on plantations, for long hours and low pay. They work hard, but are taken advantage of, because of their need for a job. As the book progresses, Taj and the princess of the royal family (the Kayas) fall in love. Will they stay a couple? He and his best friend Bo are struggling to stay alive. To survive they must abide by the rules, and destroy sin beasts; but still not eat too many sins, to prevent themselves from dying. Will their friendship be torn apart by envy and different political views? I can relate to Taj and Bo’s problem about being friends with someone, but having different political perspectives, because I have some friends who don’t have the same opinions on what the United States government is doing wrong that I do. The difference is that I am not living in a place where my views on politics can affect whether I live or die. If my friends and I disagree on a political issue, we share our points of view, debate them, then move on, but in Taj’s world the political system is such dire situation that views affect whom he trusts, deeply. Throughout the book, Taj meets people who want to help him. Do they truly want to change the lives of aki in a positive way? Taj and a few supporters of aki rights meet in secret. Will they ever be discovered? While thinking about the secretive meeting that he attends, I was reminded of how in some countries in the world, such as Russia, Syria, Turkey, Venezuela, and North Korea, if people publicly criticize the government, he or she faces the consequence of being thrown in prison without a fair trial. In the last few chapters of the novel there is a huge fight scene involving the whole town of Kos (the village that Taj lives in). One of the other lead characters who Taj assumes to be on his side, unleashes a brutal plan to destroy Kos, to get want they want: Aki to be treated equally to non-Akis. Demolishing Kos would mean killing majority of the population, and only sparing a few lives, and wrecking the homes and shops of the townsfolk. Is Taj willing to do this, or does he want to change Kos a different way? If he doesn’t want to abide by the current plan, will he die? I would recommend this book to middle grade readers (ages 10 to 14). Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi. Razorbill, 2017. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? Let us know in the comments below!
