40-Book Challenge Reflection

  When I look back at the beginning of 6th and 7th Grade I have improved both in reading challenging books and understanding the meaning behind each book. I can confess that last year I only read like 6 books but this year I enjoyed reading because I found the true adventure behind each book. I'm currently reading my 32nd book called Trapped and I was surprised that I made it this far. I could've finished earlier but I kind of stopped reading during Winter Break. For example in the early months of the school year it would take me like 3 weeks to read a 400+ book but now it only takes me like a week. I remembered when I read Darth Plagueis it took 4 weeks to finish but when I read Divergent I finished it in 6 days. I not only challenged myself by reading difficult books, but also increasing the number of minutes I read during the day. In Sept- Dec. I only read 20 minutes each night but now I read an hour every day. In the weekends I sometimes read 2 hours each day in order to process the ideas of each book.

      I would find it really great if we did this challenge in 8th Grade mostly because I want to beat the highest record of books read (47 books). I read 10 times more books of what I read last year because I found the world of great books. I just couldn't find what to read in 6th Grade so during the summer I found a list of the Most Popular Books for 7th Graders on goodreads.  The majority of the books in this list are from the GoodReads list. I usually never read classical books but I got into them during March when I started reading Frankenstein. I'm not going to lie but Frankenstein is not a really good book but it's probably better for adults instead of middle-schoolers. The caliber of the text I read was very difficult because of the classical books I read. The most boring book I read for the 40-Book Challenge was Pale Fire I didn't do a blog on that book because it was not very enjoyable.

Below is the list of the first 10 books I read but I'm on my 32nd book.

                              

1. The Secret of the Fortune Wookie.
This was the first book I read for the 40-Book Challenege and I believe I read it in Sept or earlier. The plot of this book is a group of middle schoolers who want to use the magic of this magical puppet. It talks like Chewbacca it sometimes brings good or bad fortune but the purpose is to save the students from something terrible. Their school has decided to ban all clubs, after school activities, and sports in order to have time for Funtime program which helps student reach the minimum average for the state test.
         

                   
2. Wonder
We had to read this book for STAR at the beginning of the year and I'm actually that I read this awesome book. It tells about the story of a young boy named August who is different from his classmates. It's hard to be the new kid in a different school but August feels that he will be left out because of how he looks like. The main goal of August is to show his classmate that he is the same as them despite his appearance. This book will take you in an adventure that will be both heart warming and entertaining.
                       

3. Fire Star
I always wanted to read this book because I read the first two books over the summer. This has so far been the longest book I've read (548 pages) but it just made you want to turn the page each time. The book is part of the Dragon Series which has to do with David Rain a student that goes to live with an extraordinary family called the Pennykettles. This book has a more serious tone than the other ones in which David has to battle dragons, polar bears, and the evil sibyl Gwilanna. I would recommend this book too any one who like dragons or polar bears.

                       

 4. It's Kind of a Funny Story
I was surprised that I got a lot of comments when I blogged about this book. In my opinion this isn't one of my favorite books but it was still interesting. It tells about the story of Craig that starts to have breakdowns for no reason. The majority of the book takes place in the hospital where Craig is being treated but there's nothing wrong with him. He makes friends along the way very extraordinary people that help Craig overcome this situation. I learned that this book is highly based on the experiences of the author.

                                                     

 5. Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
I give this book 5 stars because of its amazing plot line and the how a friendship can be developed between siblings. It tells about the story of Steven a band drummer that has to see his brother suffer because of cancer. One day out of the ordinary Steven's brother falls from a charm but he suffers so much like he just got shot. He is taken immediately to the hospital only to discover he has cancer which changes Steven's life forever. Now he must make a decision between not going to his important concert or going to visit his brother in the hospital.
       
                                                       

 
6. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
I recently heard that this book was banned from many school libraries throughout the US. The title is telling us about a Native- American boy who decides to go to a school that doesn't have any colored kids. I forgot the main character's name but he had to go throughout multiple challenges poverty, racism, and friendship problems. The toys in the cover of the book are basically the only available toys that the main character has. A bunch of movie directors plan on making a movie about this book because it would teach the world about the realities of life.

                                                 

7. The Wednesday Wars

The book is mostly about the relationship between a simple English teacher and an ordinary middle-schooler. It takes place during the early years of the Vietnam War in which a young boy named Holling Hoodhood has to deal with a teacher that hates him. Since he is a different religion he has to stay behind with his "marvelous teacher". Throughout the book they develop a friendship through Shakespeare plays.    

                                                           

8. Life of Pi

I would highly recommend this to anybody who likes to learn about the Indian culture or surviving 2 years in the Pacific Ocean. It tells about the life of Pi Patel a man that has a great knowledge of life and mathematics. His family is moving to Canada on board a ship that will bring them closer to reality. The ship sinks his family dies and he is forced to survive in a lifeboat with a Bengal Tiger. 

                                                          

9. Marley and Me

It might seemed like this book is a Realistic Fiction but it's actually a biography of the author. He explains that instead of going through a boring write up of his life he decides to write his family through  the love of his dog. This dog is more than just a dog more like an angel who helps this couple adopt to parenthood. 

      

                                                        

10. Darth Plagueis

I highly recommend this book who want to learn more about the story behind the Star Wars movies. This book is more specifically based on the events preceded the events in the first Star Wars movie. It tells about the story of Darth Plagueis and his difficulty of becoming who he is right now. He holds the title of creating the most evil person in the world.