Cascade High School Library
Book of the Month
Often hailed as a true American Classic, this book explores many of the questions and challenges we face as individuals, but leaves freedom if interpretation to the reader.
"Zen" follows a father and son duo making a cross-country trek via motorcycle, chronicling the sights, sounds, and thoughts of the father, who examines his old life as the book progresses, revealing more and more of his past.
While this book is an exceptional piece of literature, it is not for the faint of heart- be prepared to delve into the depths of human psychology and philosophy. If you want a fluff read, this book is not for you.
-Josh Wulfman
Student Book Reviews
The Help: by Katherine Stockett
The Help, centers around the stories of three very different, yet connected ladies living in the town of Jackson, Mississippi. Eugenia Skeeter, commonly known as Miss Skeeter, is a freakishly tall, intelligent young writer who dreams of making a difference with her writing. She is a white girl coming back from college in 1962 when intergration is just starting to come into effect.
Aibileen is a wise, older, black maid working for the Leefolts family. She builds close bonds with the little white girls she looks after. However, she knows it's only a matter of time before they grow up, lose their sweet innocence and become just like their mamas. Aibileen's best friend, Minny, is the sassiest black maid in perhaps all of Mississippi and works for the Footers family. She is very prideful and will fight tooth and nail for those she cares about.
These three ladies all dream of making a difference in their own way and feel oppressed by the rules of a segragated society. Fate brings them together to secretly work on an anonymous project that will be bigger than they ever imagined. They put themselves in terrible danger. The result breaks down barriers and opens doors in ways they never could have foreseen.
Will miss Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny get caught or will the genius work of these three ladies tell the story of what it is truly like being the help? Will they ruin their reputatuion and get fired from not only their jobs, but become outcasts in society as well? If people discover who broke the staus quo and told other people's private stories, who knows what the purepercussions could be for all of them and their families.
The Help, is a thought-provoking, historical novel of three courageous ladies in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. You won't be able to put it down and it will leave you thinking long after you've already turned the final pag.
By: Katie Schiefelbein
Review:
This is truly an inspiring story of a father who would go to great lengths to keep his loved ones alive and well. Nolan was able to keep his baby alive with only a crank generator for almost two days. On the day of hurricane Katrina, a young woman goes into labor 5 weeks early and dies during childbirth. Nolan finds himself alone with his child, grieving a dead wife, and in an abandoned hospital. The levys have broken and New Orleans is flooding. A nurse bringing IVs for the Nolan's baby is shot. Nolan must find away to beat all odds to save himself and his child during a devastating hurricane. The story will keep you on the edge of your seat and the reality of the true dillema of surviving a disaster will haunt you.