The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Even Wallflowers Bloom (A Book Review of Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower) Meet Charlie. Not in the slightest one of the popular students at school, even though his brother is the school’s star football player. In no …

Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Through a Child’s Eye (A Book Review of Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are) I’m glad that I recently scored a vintage 1963 edition (picture above) of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are in Booksale during one of …

Watership Down by Richard Adams

Rabbits’ Quest (A Book Review of Richard Adams’s Watership Down) The Jungle Book, The Wind in the Willows, The Chronicles of Narnia, Winnie the Pooh and Animal Farm, now what do these books, with the addition of this humble blog’s …

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Defying the Odds (A Book Review of Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings)  The first volume in a five part nonfiction autobiography series, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings chronicles Maya Angelou’s coming-of-age in the segregated …

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Afflict the Comforted, Comfort the Afflicted (A Book Review of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath) If it can be said that a work of literature has the potency to afflict the comforted and comfort the afflicted, then I believe …

Looking for Alaska by John Green

  Grand Possibilities: Things we Seek, Sometimes Lose and Always Gain (A Book Review of John Green’s Looking for Alaska) In Looking for Alaska, John Green explores the themes of friendship, suffering, loss, grief and coping. The novel follows a …

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

In the Grip of Evil (A Book Review of William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist) Inspired by a reported case of exorcism of a child in 1949, The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty, published in 1971, is a novel about demonic …

Speak by Laurie Halse Andersen

Dare to Speak Up (A Book Review by Laurie Halse Andersen’s Speak) “Where can you run to escape from yourself?” That line taken from the song Dare You to Move by the band Switchfoot come to mind while I was …

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Through Pages and Hearts She Lives (A Book Review of Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl) “I feel the suffering of millions,” Anne Frank wrote in an entry on her diary dated July 15, 1944.  Unknown to its young …

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Disturbing My Universe (A Book Review of Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War) I’m writing this review in anguish and in tears. At first I couldn’t imagine myself getting interested about this kid who refuses to sell chocolates during a school’s …

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

Salinger and the Power of Fiction (A Book Review of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye) For generations Holden Caulfield, the “misfit hero” of J.D. Salinger’s highly renowned novel The Catcher in the Rye, has become the symbol of …

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

The Darkness of Man’s Heart (A Book Review of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies) (Author’s note: I’m giving you a fair warning—Spoilers be within.) I believe there’s always the proper time when a book is meant to be read. …

In Time for “Banned Books Week”

Reading Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson in time for the “Banned Books Week” since this was, well, almost banned. Or is it? The debate still rages on… It has a very intriguing start, tapping into the melancholies of an outcasted …