A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

A Farewell to Arms takes place in the middle of the First World War between the years of 1916 and 1918.  The novel revolves around an American ambulance driver, Lieutenant Frederic Henry, on the Italian front, and his passion for the beautiful English nurse, Catherine Barkley.  The Lieutenant narrates his experiences at war, but sometimes switches to second person during reflections on more philosophical matters.  Hemingway portrays the brazen love between the Lieutenant and Miss Barkley as they struggle with and attempt to break free of the relentless breadth of war.  In a story of love and loss and loyalty and self-preservation, A Farewell to Arms carries intensity unrivaled in most modern literature.

I would rate Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms a strong 4 on a scale of 5 stars.  Though most people enjoy Hemingway’s work due mainly to his unique style of writing, I enjoyed the novel most because of its subtle humor.  It shows more aspects of war other than the fighting and death.  A Farewell to Arms showcases the region, the industry, and the people who not only inhabit these places, but also continue to live alongside the sweep of war.  I would strongly recommend this book to Hemingway and WWI enthusiasts who love a great tale.

Genre:  Historical Fiction, WWI
Reviewed by:  Antoni Saade
Teacher:  Mara Pufko

The Road of Bones by Anne Fine

The Road of Bones by Anne Fine

Synopsis

The Road of Bones is about the corruption that took place in Russia during World War 2. The Main character is a boy named Yuri who is just beginning to notice everything that is going wrong with his country. Around this time, the government begins capturing people for speaking out against them. One day, Yuri speaks out about how he isn’t getting enough food, and for this comment, the government captures him and sends him to a labor camp in Siberia.

5 Star Rating/Recommendation

I would give The Road of Bones 3.5 stars out of 5. Anne Fine did an extremely good of showing how life would’ve been in a labor camp, however this doesn’t make for a very interesting story and as such this book would really only appeal to people who are interested in history.

Genre:  Historical Fiction, WWII

Reviewed by:  Evan Jamison

Teacher:  Mrs. Pufko

St. Dale by Sharyn McCrumb

St. Dale by Sharyn McCrumb

 

 

A group of NASCAR fans want to commemorate Dale Earnhardt Sr. a year after his death. They go on a pilgrimage to the NASCAR circuits of the south. The tour guide is a former driver named Harley Claymore. Harley isn’t exactly Earnhardt’s biggest fan by any stretch of the imagination, but he will do whatever he can to get some cash. Harley also took the job to try and seize the opportunity to get back in a racecar. That is his ultimate goal.

Some of the people on the trip are ecstatic, like Justine, while others could care less, like her sister Bekasu who was dragged on the tour practically against her will by Justine. Some people take the pilgrimage as an opportunity to say final goodbyes, while others are just beginning to say hello. In this novel, not all people want to be on the tour, but they end up learning things not just about NASCAR, but they learn about themselves.

On a 5 star scale I would have to rate St. Dale as 5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the connection to NASCAR. I also liked how all the facts were true and McCrumb didn’t twist them just to fit the plot better. Because of that, St. Dale is an enjoyable book, but you can learn from it too. Since the book does dip into some little strides of pure NASCAR facts, some people might find that a little boring. Personally, I enjoyed those parts. I would recommend St. Dale to anybody who likes a good story, especially a NASCAR fan.

 

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Reviewed by:  Jonathan Anglin

Teacher:  Mara Pufko

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

 

Set in the early 1960’s, The Help is about the different journeys of three women in Jackson, Mississippi in the midst of segregation. Aibileen and Minny are two black women who work as maids, and Skeeter is a privileged white woman who is an aspiring journalist. Skeeter wishes to write a book of collective interviews about the daily lives of black maids, but cannot do so without the assistance of Aibileen and Minny. The Help records each woman’s journey as they dangerously risk their lives to rise from the lies of ignorance and fear to make the world more tolerant.

Amidst their attempt to make a difference, many obstacles are placed in their paths. For Skeeter, it is the difficulty of being a pariah amongst her closest friends for refusing to ignore the consequences of segregation. Aibileen must determine if she is willing to sacrifice everything she has ever known to make a difference in Jackson, or continue to remain under the dark shadow of racism and bigotry. Minny must decide if she wishes to live with an abusive husband and endure the wrath of manipulative women in an effort to keep her job, or make a difference and truly be free. Although the tests each woman faces is uniquely her own, they must be endured with each other’s support in order to truly succeed. Though the writing is simple at times, the message it carries is not. Each character offers her own view on segregation, and it is an exciting read for anyone who is interested in learning more on the impacts of segregation.

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Civil Rights Movement

Reviewed by:  Simmy Kaur

Teacher:  Mrs. Pufko

Boy in Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Boy in Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a story about a young boy that finds out he is suddenly moving far away for his father’s “important” job. The young Bruno finds the move disappointing and unfair. The new house is small and disappointing as well. In his boredom, Bruno began to explore through the new house and went outside as well. Journeying further away from the house he found something he’d never seen before. He saw tons of boys roaming around in striped pajamas behind a barbed wire. With a new friend made from the other side of the wire, he slowly becomes more involved with something that he never should have let himself find out about.

            The novel had good and bad attributes. The book had decent character development and had a good storyline. But characters and a storyline are only part of a good story, and this novel lacked intriguing events in-between the set up for the story (the beginning), and the conclusion to the story. If it were to be more entertaining, either more would have to be added to the story or it should be shortened.

            Out of five stars, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas would make 2 stars. If an interesting storyline is enough to occupy you as a reader, then you could probably enjoy it through how the story unfolds. But if you lack patience for lengthy chapters centered on one event then it’s hard to read through until you get closer to the end of the novel.

 

Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII
Reviewed by: Cord Bates
Teacher: Mara Pufko

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok

Synopsis:

 When Kimberley Chang and her mother come to Brooklyn, New York from Hong Kong hoping for a better life, they get the complete opposite. Having no money, they are forced to rely deeply on their evil Aunt to support them. They are forced to live in a filthy apartment without heat, infested with roaches, and no appliances. They also have to work at the family owned sweatshop for hours on end. Kimberley has to juggle school, friends, and working at the factory daily. When she is given a full scholarship to one of the best schools in New York there is hope that she can get herself and her mother a better life. Not only does she have to translate the English she barley understands but also her friends, love, and family. As she learns to translate in school she also learns more about herself not only as a student but also as a person.

Praises:

Throughout the book the reader gets to see all of struggles Kimberley faces, through her eyes. I like how the reader gets to experience them almost as if we were the ones going through all of the things she has. As the readers we get to see the daily struggle she goes through living a double life of a student and sweatshop worker. Another point that I liked in the book was how the author showed the daily struggle of emigrating from Hong Kong to America and showing the daily differences in the culture.

5 Star Rating/ Recommendations:

I would rate this book as a 4 out 5 stars. I like how the author shows the struggles of emigrating from different countries and shows the daily differences the cultures have. It is an eye opener to how much a person can truly endure and how much the people around them are oblivious.  I would recommend this book to middle school/ high school readers.

Genre:  Historical Fiction, American Immigrants

Reviewed by:  Ali Sharpe

Teacher:  Mara Pufko

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

This story is about a young boy named Bruno whose father is one of the Commanders of the Army that is taking over Poland and removing the Jews. In this story, the boy and his family moves from Berlin to Out-With, better known as Auschwitz. Bruno looks out his window one day and sees a fenced in area with thousands of people inside, which were all wearing striped pajamas. Bruno then decides to explore this place and walks along the fence until he discovers a boy his age named Shmuel. The boys talk everyday until the day that Bruno discovers that he will be returning to Berlin and will never be able to see Shmuel again. On the last day that Bruno is there, he finally convinces Shmuel to take Bruno inside the fence. This day however, turns out very wrong as the two boys try to find Shmuel’s father.

I would give this book a four and a half out of five stars because it is well written, but is a tad elementary for a high school student. I think that a middle school reader that enjoys historical stories that show someone that could have been there during that point in history would enjoy this book. However, I do not recommend this book to an average high school student, unless they are looking for a light read. Overall, however, the story line is a very serious point in history and could be thought about more deeply if read by a high school student. The book, in my opinion, was well written and has a good historical story line.     

I think that this book was great because of the way the author put the main character as a young innocent boy. This point of view allows the reader to see what the world was like back then through his eyes and prospective. Another praise about this book is that the story was exciting and at some points unexpected of what was going to happen to some of the characters. This gives the reader some mystery to look forward to uncovering if they continue to read. This gives the book a good pace that can draw a reader in, and making them finish the book so that they will find out what happens to the boys.

Genre:  Historial Fiction, WWII

Reviewed by:  Heather Clark

Teacher:  Mara Pufko