Welcome to the Book Reviews This page will feature and review the books we have read and in our response page, you can tell us what books you want us to review. Have fun! 1. Black Boy by: Richard Wright 2. The Crucible by: Arthur Miller 3. The Wild Hunt by: Jane Yolen 4. The Dark is Rising by: Susan Cooper 5. The Golden Compass by: Phillip Pullman 6. The Subtle Knife by: Phillip Pullman 7. So You Want to be a Wizard by: Diane Duane Read | Write | Respond | Book Reviews | Site Reviews | Home 1. Black Boy by: Richard Wright This book was a memoir of Richard Wright's life as a black child and young adult living in Southern America. He grew up surrounded by hatred (from his family as well as "them white folks,"), racism, starvation, poverty and religion. This memoir is made up of several stories of his childhood. In Part I the reader sees Richard become a drunk at the age of six, inscribe curses on the windows using soap, become baptized, find jobs and finally travel to the North where he feels safer. Part II shows Richard's adult life in the North where he finds friends who admire communism. We recommend this book to anyone who wants a challenging, disturbing autobiography with beautiful and rich language. Sometimes the words can be hard to understand and you have to read the book more than one time to fully absorb it. We recommend it to people over the age of 11, as some parts might not be appropiate. ****/***** stars. 2. The Crucible by: Arthur Miller The Crucible was a play written in four acts plus an appendix. It was based on the events in the Salem Witchcraft trials. It took place in a Puritan society where the Devil was greatly feared. If even someone suggested that you had compacted with the Devil you would hang or burn unless you confessed to your "crime". Many innocent lives were taken because of the accusations that seventeen Puritan girls made in the court. The girls claimed that they could pinpoint witches even when they were just pretending. They used their power to take revenge on their parents enemies as well as their own. We recommend this book to people 12 and over as some parts can be inappropriate. The characters were very realistic and the whole story was told through dialogue. *****/***** stars. 3. The Wild Hunt by: Jane Yolen Jane Yolen used several other books to inspire her for this creative story. The Wild Hunt describes the army of dogs, horses, the “moss man” and the Horned Hunter from three different perspectives in an original format. Section one consisted of: Chapter one, Chapter one sort-of and Chapter one almost. Each chapter was a different perspective on the events. The story is so complex. It is easier to read than to explain. The book’s weakness was that the ending went too fast and didn’t close up the story. The reader wasn’t even left with a cliff hanger. The book just seemed to end somehow. Other than this, the book was great. The rich details were fantastic and the unusual format heightened them even more. Appropriate for all ages. ***1/2/***** stars. 4. The Dark is Rising by: Susan Cooper The Dark is Rising was the second book in the series written by Susan Cooper. The protagonist is a young boy named Will Stanton who, upon turning eleven years old, receives an odd gift from his neighbors. His neighbors tell Will about what this gift, an iron circle quartered with a cross, means. They explain that he is one of the last of the Old ones, and that he must help to save the world and the Light from the Dark. He meets a man named Merrimen and an Old Woman who explain to Will in depth the task he has to complete. Will is the new sign seeker. He must find six signs made of different elements that are all in the shape of a circle quartered with a cross, that give him strength as he fights the dark. We enjoyed this book not only because of the suspense and the involved plot but for the beautiful language and the poetry that was added. This book is in the fantasy genre and is appropriate for all ages. (but the vocabulary is a little advanced). ****/***** stars.