Runner

By Carl Deuker

Reviewed by Edward G., BCCHS student

Runner is about a boy named Chance, a teenager that is living in a sailboat in Seattle, Washington with his dad who always drinks. He helps his dad pay the mortgage for the boat by working in a cruddy restaurant as a dishwasher. His dad then gets fired, so Chance tries to get a raise in his job but can't. But one day, a fat guy who always looks at Chance run every night comes to him and tells that he has a job for him. He just needs Chance to run and pick up a package everyday under a tree. That’s when the story gets interesting and conflicting.

My opinion of the book is that it’s very intriguing. This book will catch your attention in the beginning and then gets you to read more and more. The title makes you curious about why it’s called Runner; it makes you wonder what the ending would be like, and you will have so many theories about the ending in this book.

My favorite character in this book is Chance. He thinks just like me sometimes and does some things that I do in a related way just like this quote from the story, “… I did what I always do when I feel like my head is about to explode: I ran”. I go outside once in a while to cool myself down whenever I get mad. I like that he thinks so much and wonders about things that he does, what people do, and what people say.

People who might like this book would be people who like mysterious, fast-paced, mind-blowing, surprising, and suspenseful books. This book will blow your mind in the end and I would really recommend this book to anyone. A lot of people will like this book, it’s very simple to read and easy to follow. I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars. To me it’s not 5 out of 5 stars because it needs a little more suspense, but everything else about this book is great.

The Kite Runner

By Khaled Hosseini

Reviewed by Jessica M., BCCHS student
 

Kite Runner is about friendship, loyalty, and cruelty. It’s about Amir’s childhood with Hassan and his relationship with his father in a cruel society. He has to deal with a secret that makes him who he is now.

The story takes place in Afghanistan. This book gives people a good idea of Afghan history, so I highly recommended this book to those people who love to learn about history and who like violent books. I’m not a person who likes violent books, but when I got to some parts of the book, it was surprising because unexpected things happen that are intense. An interesting quote from the book was, “For you, a thousand times over.” Hassan tells Amir these words that mean that he would basically do anything for him, which is disturbing because Amir wasn’t really a true friend and Hassan was.

It would have been a little better if the book had had a mini glossary in the back of the book so that the reader could understand what it is saying because it has a lot of Arabic words. On a scale from one to ten, I would give this book an eight because even though it has violence, it’s still a great book.

Hole in My Life

By Jack Gantos

Reviewed by Adrian H., BCCHS student

A Hole In My Life is a very interesting book, but if you want to enjoy the book you must always be thinking as you read and trying to predict what’s going to happen so that you understand what’s going on. The book keeps you on your toes. It’s mainly about this young teen who is forced to become a man at a young age because of his life situation. He has his own apartment, his own car, and he is a student in high school trying to do everything in his power to become a professional writer, and the way he does it is unique: Instead of making his writing plain and boring, throughout the story he forces himself into situations that are dangerous and daring, which get him into trouble and sent to jail, and from there the story begins!

If I were to rate this book, I would give it eight out of ten, which is good. This book is mainly for anybody that likes reading, but it also depends on what type of a book reader you are. For example the book is based on a true story, and it is based on somebody’s life. You must begin with high expectations for the book to actually like it.

I found it interesting and unusual that the character is a good kid and his mentality in life is positive, but from out of nowhere he goes to jail for a mistake that he will regret his whole life. It was interesting when he said, “I wasn’t raised around this level of violence.” He’s not a bad man; he’s just put in a spot where he doesn’t belong. And many people can relate to this situation because when you least expect it you can make a mistake that will make your life go downhill. So reading this book will keep you aware of how anything can happen even though your intention isn’t to do anything bad. The book makes you visualize his perspective so that you don’t make the same mistakes. This book can be looked at in many ways—from entertaining to an eye opener to many other subjects. That’s the main reason why you will enjoy this book, guaranteed.

Dark Places

By Gillian Flynn

Reviewed by Jazmine L., BCCHS student 

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn is about a girl named Libby Day. Libby Day was only seven when she lost both her sisters and mother in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” After seeing her family laying there all cut and stabbed, bleeding to death, she runs to a tiny little farmhouse, freezing in the middle of January. You will never believe who killed her family.

My favorite quote from the book is, “I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ.” I like this quote for many reasons, but I believe it means that she has so much pain and hate against someone who hurt her.

The best thing about this book is that it has so much mystery and suspense. I personally recommend it to everyone who enjoys a good mystery. You will also see how Libby thinks and feels, what she thinks of everyone, why she’d rather be alone, and why she has so much hate. I rate this book a ten, because I love how she is, the way she sees people, and how she doesn’t care about anyone other than her mother and sisters.

A Walk to Remember

By Nicholas Sparks
Reviewed by Ashely P., BCCHS student

A Walk to Remember is a wonderful book by Nicholas Sparks who writes about two young teens that fall in love with each other. The main teens are Landon, a popular guy who basically does whatever he wants, and Jamie a girl that was born in her dad’s church and is an intelligent student who doesn’t really care what people think. These teens wind up getting stuck with each other in a school play, and they soon get to know each other and fall madly in love. I recommend this to anyone who has an interest in romance and tragedy. Other authors who talk about love and death at same time don’t really have it quite down like Nicholas Sparks. This author really puts you into his own book, and you feel like you’re actually there.


One of the quotes from the book that really stuck in my mind was when Landon said, “Our love is like the wind, I can’t see it but, I can sure feel it.” It made me go back to a friend of mine that passed away that I had a really close connection with.

This book is going to give you some happy tears and some sad tears. It gave me mixed feelings.  I give this book 5/5 stars. I think maybe people who like love stories would really want to read this book. I say maybe 10th graders and up would appreciate reading this book.  Again, I really recommend that teens read this book. Trust me you’re not gonna want to put the book down.

Wicked Lovely

By Melissa Marr
Reviewed by Sarah G., BCCHS student

“Studying the art and realizing that beauty wasn’t in the order, but in the unplanned harmony.”

To me this quote not only signifies art but it could represent a person too. Things aren’t always going to be beautiful at first, but to see someone for who they truly are-- That’s what makes them beautiful. That’s what makes someone truly special. 

Wicked Lovely is a story about a summer king looking for his summer queen. Ash is destined to become the summer queen but throughout the story you read of her struggle to remain human and remain in the semi-normal life she has been living. Also, the struggle to remain with the man she loves and not fall prey to the fairies of the summer court.

I enjoyed this book very much. My favorite character in the book is Seth because even though he doesn’t exactly believe that fairies exist, he still tries to find ways to help Ash to defend against the fairies. And another weird thing is that the summer king’s parents were the former summer king and the winter queen. The reason it’s so strange is because the summer king and the summer queen cannot stand to be around each other because one brings warmth and the other brings frost.

I most certainly recommend this book. Especially for those who love fantasy love story drama. On a scale to 1 to 10, 10 being the greatest, I rate this book a 9. This book is good for anyone from middle school to high school and maybe for older people who enjoy these types of books.

A BCCHS Patriot publishes her story on FanFiction.

Senior Sarah Gonzalez has gone from spinning her supernatural tales on paper to sharing her stories on the World Wide Web.

Check out this Patriot's first installment by clicking on the link below:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7540462/1/



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Snitch

By Allison van Diepen

Reviewed by Gloria X., BCCHS student

I have to admit, Snitch is one of my favorites.  Since the first day I saw it and my teacher told me about it, it got my attention.  This story is basically about how this girl named Julia started high school.  Before starting school, she made a pact with her friend Q to never be part of a gang and stay in school.

At the beginning of the story, Julia gets sent to the dean’s office for making a stupid comment.  That same day she meets this cute guy named Eric Valiente.  After time passes she starts talking to him, but things start to change in South Bay High School.  A lot of arguments are going on between her and her friend, and despite her pact, Julia begins to feel that she has no other choice but to join a gang for protection.

I think most teens, such as high school boys and girls, will like this book because it talks about how things in high school change, and although you try to stay on the right path, things don’t really work the way you want them to.

One of my favorite quotes was, “He kissed me again, taking my breath away. It thrilled me and scared me at the same time.” I chose this quote because it reminded me of me and my boyfriend. That first day we started talking.  When he kissed me and I felt butterflies in my stomach.

I recommend this book to everyone, and to be honest, this is the first book I’ve liked.

Perfect Chemistry

By Simone Elkeles

Reviewed by Elizabeth F., BCCHS student

Perfect Chemistry is an interesting, entertaining love story. There are two main characters, Brittany and Alex. Brittany is a girl that has a reputation to keep at school. She lives a perfect life in the eyes of everyone, when in reality her life is pretty tough. Brittany has a sister named Shelley who is disabled, so her parents expect Brittany to be the “perfect one.” On the other hand, Alex is a gang member that has the worst reputation at school. He is in the gang called Latino Bloods, and the kids at school don’t really mess with him.

Brittany and Alex have a little misunderstanding on the morning of the first day of school. Alex drives a motorcycle and parks it in the school lot, but Brittany has a car, and she doesn’t see Alex’s bike parked so when she tries to park, she almost runs over his bike. That causes a misunderstanding, which makes Alex and Brittany hate each other. Things get interesting when Alex makes a bet with his friends and then tries to talk to Brittany more. 

One quote that really touched me was when Alex says, “I don’t belong here. It doesn’t matter, because even if I don’t belong in this place, she’s here and I want to be where she is.” That shows how much he really loves Brittany. It was so cute and romantic for him to think like that. I wish a guy would say something so caring like that to me.

The character I feel a connection with is Brittany. She has to keep an image, so that she isn’t judged, and sometimes I feel like I have to keep an image too. It’s not only with my friends, but with my family as well. I have three older brothers, and I am the only girl, so in my family I have to be the “perfect one” kind of like Brittany.

I think it is a really good book, and I enjoyed reading it. I would definitely rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. It kept me in the mood of wanting to know what would happen next, and I couldn’t put it down. I think all high school students would enjoy this book. Those who like love stories will really enjoy this book because it is a funny entertaining love story.