Stephanie Button's Bookshelf

Stephanie Button's Virtual Bookshelf

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Daniel Hadler

          This series is what got me to read. 4th grade SSR time in Mr. Wheeler's class I had always sat there pretending to read, as I had every year before that. But one day I grabbed the second book of this series, The Reptile Room, and I was hooked. This series helped me grow because it taught me adventure, and to always be cautious, aware, and somewhat suspicious. I know this sounds cynical, but you never truly know one's intentions. The Baudelaire's knew of Count Olaf's intentions, but not initially- they learned of his evil ways after discovering his murderous ways to get their family fortune. These books added adventure and wonder to my childhood and I believe that is why Hadler wrote them. They also made me realize how fortunate my family situation is- because the Baudelaire orphans were thrown guardian to guardian for the majority of their childhood. This book connects to creativity within our class because of how bizarre, peculiar, and original every story, description, situation, escape, and plot is.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

         It doesn't get any better than the Harry Potter series. I first watched the movies then read the Chamber of Secrets (I know I know basically illegal but yolo) because I had felt that so much had happened in it. I started in 6th grade then life happened and finished in 8th (oops) and since it took me so long to finish, I gradually learned from things within the book that applied to my life at the moment. It taught me to be brave by speaking in front of the class, raising my hand, getting answers wrong and learning from mistakes. It taught me to be curious and ask questions. It taught me to become aware of how others are feeling and aware of peoples actions and intentions. Lastly, the book taught me to infer and read in-between the lines when listening to peoples words and seeing their actions. This book was like another secret life to me- I felt like I knew Harry and all the characters personally, and I think one of the reasons Rowling wrote this: to transport people into a second life.

Beloved by Toni Morrison

        I had initially read Beloved for over summer reading going into 10th grade. When we discussed it in class everyone said they didn't like it, but I was one of few who did. I enjoyed it because it was not like anything I had ever read before. Switching time eras was completely new to me and my classmates and it happened so often you could barely tell which time era you were reading-which is why I think my classmates didn't like it. This was one of the first pieces of literature that really got me to truly understand the horrors of slavery. Yeah you learn about it your whole life and they tell you how awful it was but you never truly understand it until you have a connection with a character. I connected with Sethe,  I felt her pain and suffering- she helped me truly understand how despicable slavery was and question how people could ever let it happen and how it happened for so long. Morrison wrote this piece for everyone's raw understanding of the monstrosities of slavery and to be thankful that it isn't legal anymore.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

         I read this during 10th grade and I thought it was the best, most touching, real, raw, book I had ever read- I was taken aback when I had found out that it is supposedly fiction. This is the most emotionally invested I have ever been regarding read- I even had to read certain sections multiple times because I could not believe what I had just read. This is a story about the famous kite race in Afganistan, but mostly about the deep love that can be had within a friendship. This book made me feel sympathy for Hassan because of the adversity he has faced, anger at Amir because of his neglect toward Hassan after the rape, and a whole swirl of emotions in the middle. Hassan taught me loyalty, bravery, and selflessness throughout the whole book-even though he wasn't present in a lot, his demeanor and spirit still were. I think Hosseini wrote this book to bring to light the cultural difference and struggle in the Greater Middle East through a heart-wrenching story.

The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy

       I started reading this book senior year of high school and it is about Tom Wingo trying to help his suicidal sister through a New York shrink. Through therapy sessions to get to the bottom of Savannah's (his sister) troubles, we get flashbacks of the Wingo siblings adverse childhood. Tom Wingo copes with the memories of his abusive parents and rape through sarcasm and by making fun of himself as a defensive mechanism. From this book, I learned that you cannot control some things that happen to you and sometimes all you can do to get cope is to laugh it off like Tom Wingo. I think Conroy wrote this piece in order to show that people react to obstacles differently and that it is human to do so; Savannah reacted to her rape and traumatic childhood by multiple attempts at suicide and Tom reacted by being very cynical and sarcastic. This book had dark, dry humor and it connects to our class through the theme of improvement by seeking help to recover and cope with past life events.