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I was so excited to read The Catcher in the Rye. It is a classic novel written by J.D. Salinger and is the most censored book of all time. While this may be seen as a negative, there are lessons to be learned in this book and a whole new take on life. Written in 1951, this novel takes its readers into a time period and way-of-life completely different than our own. Even though it takes place in such a different era, the lessons learned are still very applicable today. One of the lessons being taught is that our own self-image may differ from the way our peers see us.

Our self-image is a huge part of us and has a large affect on how we act around peers. But in The Catcher in the Rye, we learn how others see us as well. One part of the book where this was apparent to me, was when the main character, Holden Caulfield, attends a play in New York called “The Lunts”. Holden knows that the actors are good at what they do. However, he goes on to say, “If you do something too good, then, after a while, if you don’t watch it, you start showing off. And then your not as good anymore.” Holden’s point was that because the actors themselves thought they were good, others no longer viewed them that way. While I see myself one way, just like the actors in the play, I may come off completely different to my friends and family.

The way I am viewed by others may also have outside influences that have nothing to do with my personality. At one point in the book Holden says, “The thing is, it’s really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs – if yours are really good ones and theirs aren’t. You think if they’re intelligent and all, the other person, and have a good sense of humor, that they don’t give a damn whose suitcases are better, but they do. They really do.” While in this quote the term suitcases is used, Holden was really referring to material wealth. Even though I want to be judged by who I am, my wealth will always have an affect on how I am seen by my peers. It does not matter if I am loaded or not, my wealth will always surround my image.

There is also a lesson to be learned from the controversy surrounding the novel itself. There was conflict over this book concerning the use of profanity, sexual references, and the undermining of family values. Almost all adults viewed Holden as a terrible role model because of his views on life and his morals. And while Holden is indeed a bad role model for children, teenagers, including me, who read this book had the opposite reaction. Holden is a symbol of rebellion and angst. Teenagers saw him as a hero and looked up to him. He gave them reason to rebel against their parents. From this controversy alone, I have found out that the way we are viewed by others can change from generation to generation, group to group, or person to person.

Our image varies from the way we see ourselves, to our parents, friends, and all of our peers. Our image can also be improved or tarnished by outside influences. This is only one lesson I have learned so far in this novel and these are only a few of the examples present to support it. There are more lessons to be learned in The Catcher in the Rye and I am sure I am looking forward to finishing this book. I highly reccomend it for anybody looking for a good read.

Like plenty of other avid readers, I am a huge fan of the Harry Potter series and was excited to get a chance to read the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Like other Harry Potter fans out there, I have read all of the other books of the series and have read nearly all of them multiple times. J.K. Rowling has outdone herself with this series. In the final book she explores how life’s many pressures can influence our decisions.

The decisions we make throughout life are effected by different aspect that we face on a daily basis. These can include our fears, our dreams, and the pressure put on us from those around us. In the Deathly Hallows, Harry sets out to destroy Voldemort once and for all with the fate of his own life and the rest of the Wizarding World resting on his shoulders. If this isn’t pressure than I don’t know what is. I crumble under the pressure of deciding what I should eat for lunch. Being faced with the burden of so many innocent lives I would definitley be a wreck.

When faced with pressure, those like myself who are not good at dealing with it tend to become almost paralysed. Our minds freeze up, our hearts beat fast, and our actions are very tense. However, Harry faces none of those symptoms. He remains cool and calm and thinks all of his actions through wisely. He is like those few people that, when faced with such a sense of urgency, use it to propel themselves forward. He uses his burden to achieve his goal. He knows he cannot back out and works so much harder to destroy Voldemort.

Pressure can take other froms as well. Fear is one of those forms and is probably the most overwhelming of them all. At the end of the book, we find Harry beginning to give into fear. Harry must walk thorugh the Forbidden Forest to his death. He must face Lord Voldemort and stand quietly while he is murdered by the Dark Lord. Harry is faced with two opposing pressures. The pressure of the lives of the rest of the Wizarding World and the fear of his own death. Once again, being faced with this decision I would be a wreck. Harry however nows that he must carry on and does so. He never loses sight of his goal even when faced with death.

I love the Harry Potter series, especially this book. J.K. Rowling is a genius and uses her books to explore the topics of love, death, and magic. The conclusion to this series is extraordinary and entertaining. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows should be read by everybody.

Life on a boat would be different. Especially when you are spending it with a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger who has barely been fed in months! It would not only be different, it would be terrifying, depressing, mentally draining, and exhausting. Yann Martel brings his readers into the life of Pi, a 15 year old Indian boy trapped on a lifeboat. Martel explores the decisions we make on a daily basis and why we make them.

The decisions I make on a daily basis include what I want to eat, what I want to wear, what I watch on TV, and when I go to sleep. These decisions are not very difficult to make. They are actually quite easy and I don’t give them very much thought. However, if I was living on a lifeboat with a Bengal Tiger, my decisions would change instantly. Just like the decisions Pi made, my decisions would be tougher and would require much more thought and consideration. Pi’s many decisions included what will I eat today, if I eat at all, will I make a shelter, and how will I not get eaten by my more than unfriendly roommate.

My decisions are usually based on what I want. But the decisions Pi makes in the book are based on what he needs. Along with anybody else who becomes lost at sea, Pi is no longer able to make decisions on what he wants. He bases everything on what he needs and how he will survive the longest. If he spent his time wishing he had an ice cream cone to eat instead of trying to catch a fish, he would most likely starve. Pi put his needs so far ahead of his wants that he even went to the extreme of trying to eat a cigarette.

Being stuck on a life boat for two-years does not just present physical needs and problems. The psychological and spiritual aspect of being on a lifeboat is even more daunting. Faith is one of those aspects that can provide hope in the worst situations. When many people suffer a loss or feel that they have experienced the worst life can throw at them, their faith sometimes begins to waver. Religion is a huge factor in Pi’s life. Being born in India, Pi was naturally raised as a Hindu and he embraced this religion. However, Pi was curious. Pi began attending Christian masses and Islam prayers and soon found himself a practicing Hindu, Christian, Muslim mix. Pi’s faith does not waiver while he is stuck at sea. He continues to pray five times a day like every other Muslim, as well as stay in touch with his other religions. I admire Pi for this. It is not easy to stay faithful when your family has died and you have been alone for almost two years. Pi remains faithful and says he just wants to love God.

It is common sense that being trapped on a lifeboat would be no picnic. However, it is not easy to make good decisions and stay so faithful after a few weeks of loneliness and fatigue. I really admire Pi for this reason. He always had hope and faith and made sure that the decisions he was making were best for him and would ensure his survival.

Dreams are powerful. This is apparent in the novel Dreamquake. Written by Elizabeth Knox, this novel shows us the effect dreams have on us through nightmares of Earthquakes, convicts, and being buried alive. This fantasy novel takes its readers on many adventures through the place and keeps them excited. Knox exhibits that making uninformed decisions can have very drastic consequences.

Laura’s main goal is to reveal the actions of her government to the public. In her attempt to do this she makes many hasty and uninformed decisions. Laura’s inability to think things through resulted in a large riot and her family beginning to lose trust in her. Laura quickly became an enemy of the government. These consequences are quite large and hopefully we won’t be making decisions this large without thinking them through. Laura quickly became overwhelmed by the consequences of her actions and was forced to hide.

Laura’s cousin Rose gets on the wrong side of a high ranking government offfical while she is staying at his house. She leaves his house at night and spies on the workers going into the place. As a consequence Cas Doran, the high ranking official, becomes suspicious of her. Rose’s decision didn’t only have consequences for her. Her family soon became the number one enemies of Cas Doran. The consequences that effect those close to us are the worst. Because of our bad decisions, the one’s we love also have to be punished.

The consequences we face on a daily basis are usually much smaller. The consequences we usually face are getting grounded or having our best friend mad atus for something we said. We usually do not have to worry about creating a riot. Even though our consequences are much smaller than the conseqeunces in books and movies, we can’t ignore them. We need to think of all of the consequences before we make our decision. An uninformed decision can lead us to jail or losing a good friend. An unthought out decision can lead us to regret our actions later.

Dreamquake is an entertaining novel that shows its readers that our decisions can lead to serious consequences. Elizabeth Knox provides perfect examples to support this idea. I was captured in this adventure from the beginning and kept on reading until the end.

Surviving the Applewhites is a novel that follows the life of Jake Semple, a young rebel boy who had been banned from every school in the state of Rhode Island. Trying to get through to his grandson, Jake’s grandfather sends him to the creative academy, a home school run by the entire Applewhite family. Jake learns many new lessons, finds a new identity, and finds his passion during his stay at the Creative Academy. Stephanie Tolan explores how we attain our personal and career goals.

At the Creative Academy, the students are able to pursue any subjects that interest them. They have no set curriculum given to them. Each of the students make their own curriculum according to their own interests and follow it at their own pace. These students have been given the ultimate control to their future. They get to decide if and when they are going to work and what they are going to work on. They are free to pursue their interests and hobbies.

While attending public schools, Jake had a rebel attitude and did not care about his future. After attending the Creative academy his attitude changed. Being free to pursue his interests and not having teachers boss him around was what he needed. He was able to set his own goals for the future and his career and started along a new path. However, if everybody is given these freedoms to make their own decisions at such an early age there would be large amounts of uneducated and unemployed adults. A large majority of citizens would make poor decisions and end up living on the streets.

However, society today is like the Creative Academy. We have so many options waiting for us. We can be anything we want to if we work hard at it. Thirty years ago the jobs available were not nearly as plentiful as they are now. Today, jobs can vary anywhere from a marine biologist to a pharmacist. When we graduate from high school we are like the students of the Creative Academy. We get to pursue our interests careers and and make our own decisions for the future.

Our careers are a huge part of our life. If you do not like your job you will be unhappy. Stephanie Tolan shows us the importance of the decisions we make about our careers. We are lucky enough to become anything we want to. Now we just have to go out there and get it.

The Westing Game had been sitting on my shelf, untouched, since grade five. Little did I know that such an intriguing book was right under my nose. I actually read it three times in one day. This thrilling mystery plunges its readers on a gripping adventure to find Sam Westing’s murderer. Ellen Raskin reveals to her readers how the pressures we face in our everyday lives affect our decisions.

Every child or teenager out there has had pressure placed on them by their peers. The Westing game provides a perfect example. Turtle Wexler is dared by her peers to enter the frightening Westing Mansion. She gives in to the pressure and decides to combat the abandoned house by herself. We all have faced this pressure sometime in our lives, but we shouldn’t always give into it. If our friends really are our true friends, they won’t judge us because we are not comfortable with that activity. Turtle’s trip ended when she stumbled across Sam Westing’s dead body.

Raskin provides another prime example. Angela Wexler is engaged to be married to Dr. Denton Deere. Angela has doubts about getting married. She doesn’t know if she is quite ready to get married but feels the pressure from her parents. Angela doesn’t work up the courage to tell her parents about her doubts and hides them deep down inside. We have all done this. We tend to keep our feelings to ourselves until we are ready to explode. We are either embarrassed or afraid of our feelings and we go along with the pressure. When we bottle our feelings up inside, we become sad, angry, and depressed.

While working in teams or pairs, we need to consider our teammate’s ideas, talents, and skills before we make decisions. Our groups and partners put pressures on us that we don’t experience working by ourselves. We need to make our decisions as a team and we both have to be happy with our final conclusion. A couple of groups thrive while working together and others flounder because of a lazy or selfish member. Sam Westing’s heirs are put into pairs and sent out to find his murderer. Certain members were embarrassed or disappointed with their partners and didn’t work well together. While other partners thrived and one pair actually fell in love. If the pairs were to find Sam Westing’s murderer while not getting murdered themselves, they had to work well together and trust each other. If our community or even our home is going to be successful, we need to work hard and trust each other.

The Westing Game shows us that the pressures we face in everyday life effect our decisions and actions. These pressures may be positive or negative and we need to control them to make a well informed decision. When we are making a big decision, like whether or not we are ready to get married, we need to ultimately decide. We need to decipher the good pressure from the bad pressure and make a well-informed decisions. We should never rush into anything because of our peer’s opinions. Ellen Raskin demonstrates that, whether we our making our own decision or we are in a group, we need to be aware of all of the pressure we face and use it to make the best decision we can.

I read The Golden Compass last year and The Subtle knife in January. Ever since, I have really wanted to read the Amber Spyglass and was excited to finally get the chance. The conclusion to this exciting series didn’t disappoint me. Pullman explores our decisions and actions and how they are viewed by society.

One of the characters in the Amber Spyglass was in the minority. Lord Asreal wanted to have his views and opinions heard so he created a rebellion against God. He would do whatever it took to have his views carried out. He was neither a better person nor a worse person for sticking to his plan. I do not agree with his views but I would not expect anyone to change themselves just to be in the majority. It does not make us a better person or a worse person. We are all equal if we are in either the majority or the minority. It is not our position in society that makes us a bad person. It is our decisions and actions that make us bad or even evil.

When asked, Lord Asreal justified his actions by saying that he was going to improve society and make it better for everyone. However, if the superiority of citizens disagree with his actions and ideas, will he really be improving society? If he is fighting the majority and what they stand for, then he isn’t improving society. He would just create turmoil and conflict. He should stand up for what he believes in but he cannot take away the freedom of choice from the bulk of citizens in the world. I do not consider upsetting the majority of the world improving society.

Lord Asreal did succeed in his goal. He set his plan in motion and was determined to succeed. He created a better society for the many worlds in this book. However, Lord Asreal would never have succeeded in real life. His goal was to ambitious and he fought against the greater amount of citizens in the universe. This is the magic of books. The Amber Spyglass shows us an alternative that we would never see in real life. It opens our minds to new perspectives and points of view even if we don’t agree with them.

Phillip Pullman wrote a unique and creatives story. The Amber Spyglass forces its readers to think about our decisions and actions and how they affect our place in society. It keeps its readers entertained and using their imagination the whole way through. While I disagreed with the religious views in the book, I was entertained and would definitely read it again in the future.

Dreamhunter is an enthralling story written by Elizabeth Knox. It is a well-written story that contains plenty of description and details. The imagery is clear and the setting is truly unique. Elizabeth has written a story about a subject that everyone can relate to: dreams.

Elizabeth Knox forces her readers to use their imagination in her unique fantasy novel about a young girl, Laura Hame. Laura becomes a dreamhunter and finds herself venturing into “the place” to catch dreams that cannot be found outside of the “place”. However, Laura keeps encountering nightmares about convicts. She quickly learns of the corruption of her government and the atrocities that are being committed against the convicts in her countries. Laura is the only dreamhunter that can warn her country about the horrors occurring in her country.

Laura must make all of the visitors of the Rainbow Opera suffer through the “Dreadful Dream”. A nightmare in which all viewers are a convict being buried alive. Whenever Laura sleeps, she must relive the horror of the nightmare. I can relate to having nightmares but reliving the experience whenever I slept would be painful.

I enjoyed this book because I could relate to having dreams. The detail was incredible and created a clear-cut image in my head. However, the early chapters were slow and slightly monotonous, but it quickly picked up. The end was astonishing and left me wanting to read the next in the series. I recommend this book to all readers who are looking for fantasy and a new adventure.