Freshman Voices, 2019-2020: Waltham Hawks Write

                                                                Holes                                                                                      By: Louis Sachar  Imagine being falsely accused and sent away to the middle of the desert for years f...

Amanda Silva The Fault in our Stars John Green After hearing such good things about the book I knew I had to read it. The Fault in our Stars by John Greens is a love story between two sick cancer patients. 16 year old Hazel Grace, a girl with thyroid cancer falls in love with Augustus Waters also a 16 year old with an osteosarcoma. They meet at a support group for fellow cancer patients. Hazel didn’t enjoy going to support groups until she met Augustus. After watching a movie together and telling each other about their lives they realize they have a lot in common. They bond over the novel Imperial Affliction. They emailed the author Peter Van Houten and got themselves invited to Amsterdam to ask questions about the book. They board the flight to Amsterdam and are excited to talk to Peter Van Houten even though he refuses to tell the ending of his story. On the airplane Augustus confesses to being in love with Hazel.  After reading the Fault in our Stars I would definitely...

Ron Bajrami The Firm By John Grisham What would you do if your dream job turned out to be your nightmare? The Firm is a novel written by John Grisham that gained popularity in the ’90s; this is a story about the life of Mitchell Y. Mcdeere, who has worked hard to become one of the most renowned and well-respected lawyers in Memphis. Mitch seems to shock everyone because he joins a small private firm called Bendini, but little does he know that his new job is going to be the toughest challenge that he has yet faced. I would recommend this book to most people because the author does an excellent job of setting up Mitch’s story throughout the book. I personally chose this book because it was a novel that had drama and thriller involved. The Firm had countless cases of employees that died in car accidents, suicide, homicide, and drug addictions that sparked Mitch to accuse them of killing their own employees. The protagonist - Mitch had just started working at his new job and he was stay...

Mina Alkhafaji The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Sherman Alexie Imagine being bullied and hated by your own people just for the conditions you have and the education you want. In the book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, a Native Indian boy named Junior goes through these struggles.  Junior lives on a Native American reservation where the conditions are very poor. Nobody there has the opportunity to get a good education and have a carrier because they’re forgotten by the world. Junior didn’t want to end up like the rest of the people on the reservation so, he decided to go to an all-white school outside his rez. He was considered as a traitor just for following his dreams for a better future. Junior always felt “Zitty and lonely, I woke up on the reservation as an Indian, and somewhere on the road to Reardan, I became something less than Indian” (Alexie 83). Junior tries very hard to please both sides while foc...

Lori Tnkjian  Pride  Ibi Zoboi  Your roots are what make you the person you are today. Even if you move onto bigger and better things, you should never forget where you came from.  In the Novel Pride Ibi Zoboi, Zuri Benitez, an African/Latino young women, has pride. She - and her 5 sisters - grew up in a small town near Brooklyn New York. The neighborhood isn't the best, but they make the most out of it. Across this street from their house, there is this huge mansion. Two boys, Ainsley and Darius Darcey move in. When Janae - Zuri's older sister - comes home from college, she forms a connection with Ainsley right away. Darius and Zuri also have a connection, but she keeps denying it because she just wants to spend time with her sister and family. Throughout the Novel, Zuri tries to figure out a way to get Ainsley away from her sister, but while this is happening, she forms a connection with Darius. Will her 4 other sisters rip it apart? Or will Zuri stick...

Sheila Butler Eleanor & Park Rainbow Rowell How would you go about wanting to be with someone but you both don’t know how to work it out since people are trying to bring you apart? In Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell there is a wonderful story about a relationship that has its ups and downs but gets through it. The first half of this book really focuses on the coming of Eleanor and Park’s relationship. It all starts with them sitting next to each other on the bus to school. At first they never really talked to each other or even looked at each other; instead they would just sit on the bus and just get to school. But one day, something changed; Park had brought a comic book to read and Eleanor “was reading his comics” (Rowell 35). From that day forward they bonded on two things: comic books and music. The two begin to not want to leave each other -- since they’re always thinking about each other -- and really want to start seeing each other out of school. This is diffic...

Vacation Mystery Aidan Sacco Murder on the Orient Express By Agatha Christie “And now a passenger lies dead in his berth- stabbed”( Christie 48). As a murder has been committed on the express train, Poirot tries his best to find clues to solve this crime. Will the killer be caught or will they escape the crime scene uncaught? Murder on the Orient Express is a fictional novel written about a terrible murder that occurred on what was supposed to be a relaxing train ride through Europe. I have only read about halfway through so I am not sure as to how the book exactly ends. The story begins as detective Poirot boards the train ready to vacation for a few days through Europe. The next day as Poirot and his friend M. Bouc are in the diner eating lunch, Poirot notices two men who are also seated near him. The two men happen to go by the name Hector MacQueen and Ratchett. As the dining car slowly empties out Ratchett approaches Poirot, “I want you to take on a job for me”(Christie ...

Chloe Doe  Suzan Philips  Review by Emely Lopez  Authentic, endearing and inspiring. Chloe is not only faced with many hardships throughout her life, but amazingly overcomes them. Her journey first begins at the age of 17 at Madeline Parker Institute for Girls. Chloe has been on the streets for quite a while now. She is a hard headed, independent character. Her therapist, Dr. Dearborn slowly chips away at her reluctant exterior, gradually exposing her weaknesses and secrets— along with dark memories. Chloe's extensive journey from her so called “home” to Madeline Parker was very much contributed by her toxic mother with a long list of boyfriends and stepfather who got a little too close to her sister; ultimately leading to her decision to run away and have to become a prostitute in order to make ends meet. Throughout the book, the reader is able to see the vulnerability and toughness of the young teen through her thoughts and emotions. Although the reason as to ...

Quick But Interesting Will Hunt Here to Stay - Sara Farizan        What are some challenges you faced during high school? Was it a stupid drama-filled feuds that didn’t matter once you graduate or was it more personal things that stuck with you longer than the 4 years of prison named “high school”?       In the book Here to Stay, by Sara Farizan, both of these challenges come up to Bijan: the main character. Beej, as commonly referred to, is a very nice kid. He gets really shy around girls and isn’t used to the spotlight. That is until he gets called up to play a varsity basketball game. He goes in with little time remaining and drills a shot to give his school the win. Now, most would see this as a great thing. But, as time went on Beej started to realize high school would now be different. He wasn’t that kid that could hide under comic books at lunch. He was now known and that came with a price. He was expected to go to parties and big social...

June 4, 2020 Believe to Succeed Nick George Gym Candy Carl Deuker “Mick are you on steroids”(230)? That is a question asked by the trainer after Mick has two record shattering performances. Mick made significant physical improvements during the off-season leading up to this question that could ruin a career. Gym Candy is a realistic fiction book about a kid and his hopes to be a football star. The main character, Mick Johnson has been playing football his whole life and has dreams to one day play in the NFL. Mick is a hard working kid and puts football over everything else in life. Not only is he a hard worker, he has the skill and genes to make any team if he gives it his all. Mick’s father made it to the league with a promising career only to be ruined. He had a terrible injury; he would never be the same. At Least that's what he told Mick. This gives Mick-- a hardworking kid-- even more drive to make it to the league and accomplish great things that his father was not able to. ...

19 Years Later Review by Madelyn Buxton Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Rehearsal Edition Script), J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne “Harry Potter’s Son” sounds like a perfect title, right? Who wouldn’t want to have the most idolized wizard of all time as a father? Albus Severus Potter is who.  The lead role of “Harry Potter and The Cursed Child” is Albus, son of Harry Potter and--yup, you guessed it--Ginny Weasly. While the couple’s other 2 children Lily and James seem very simple and manageable, Albus is a different story. In fact, he couldn’t be any more different than his siblings. Unlike his Gryfindor brother and sister, Albus is a Slytherin. Albus doesn’t have many friends, he has never liked quidditch, and he hates Hogwarts-- very much unlike the rest of his family. What is most unexpected about Harry Potter’s son is that he hates the idea of being the child of “Harry Potter”. People only know him as the son of Harry Potter, and he feels like he is trapped ...

Darren Kabunga 6/1/20 Maze Runner: The Death Cure By James Dashner “He knew enough about the Purge, about it being the shift from the original creators to their replacement. He and Teresa had to exterminate the entire staff after an outbreak-- they’d had had no choice, were the only ones left who were immune. He swore to never think about it again”( Dashner Chapter 28). Thomas’s memories about his past years had been gone; the only way he knew anything was learning it or from little snippets he got from his dreams. The Death Cure is the third book of the Maze Runner series. Thomas, Minho, Newt, and two others are the main characters of this book. After going through the first two trials--revealed within the previous books--Thomas and the others are tired of working for WICKED. WICKED is a group created by the leading countries, who are left after The Flare ravaged the world. WICKED’s job is to find a cure for the disease. The Flare is a disease that infects your mind and it makes ...

Will Curley Live In Infamy Caroline Tung Richmond “All he knew was that The Fortress was under attack. And his mission was turning to dust in front of his eyes”(Richmond 225). Will The Viper pull of the mission to save his mom? Or will he be tortured in “rehabilitation” camps for the rest of his life? Live In Infamy is a fictional book about what life could be like if The Axis powers; Germany, Italy, and Japan, won World War 2 -- I read this book, and already made 1 book review on it -- so I will continue from there but cover some background information still. The main character Ren is a Chinese-American. He is usually oppressed in this society because the Japanese claim America; he lives in California -- near San Fransico. His mom was publicly executed because she was “prosecuted” for going against the government. Ren is also known as the Viper but nobody knows it’s actually him. He writes against the government and he is one of the most wanted criminals in all of the Wester...

Path to Greatness Cole Metallides Gym Candy Carl Deuker Do you want to learn about the experiences of a young fictional football star and see where his hard work and dedication to the game will bring him? In the fictional novel Gym Candy written by Carl Deuker the main character, Mick Johnson wants to achieve his dream of becoming a NFL player. He puts in work everyday to become the best player he can be but makes many mistakes along his path for greatness, some mistakes a little more extreme than others. I have not yet finished this novel so I will be summarizing the first half of the novel. Throughout the first few chapters of the novel: the author illustrates Mick’s younger years of his life and how he has got to where he is today. Mick is a year older than his classmates because his father kept him back a year to better prepare him for his life in the game of football. Mick’s father was a former NFL player himself and is now trying to help Mick achieve that as well. In middl...

Aidan Sacco Always Running by Luis J. Rodriguez Living in a place with very little positivity, it's very easy to turn one's life from good to bad in the matter of one bad choice. Many people have made terrible lifestyles for themselves but have lost hope of making a positive future for themselves. In bad areas of L.A many children grow up without parental figures in the picture which only negatively affects the younger generation. In the non-fiction novel Always Running main character Luis explains his troubles he faced when he was younger.    After living in L.A for a while since moving across the border from Mexico, Luis Rodriguez has made a reputation for himself. Since he has dropped out of school he has gotten hooked on drugs and becoming a frequent participant in gang warfare, leading him to face much physical and mental pain. Finding cheap ways to get high Luis constantly sniffs paint to escape the pain of the real world with the money he steals from people w...

Ron Bajrami Detective Stories by Philip Pullman Are you interested in smart detectives solving different types of mysteries? Tired of reading only about Sherlock Holmes? Then Detective Stories is the book for you. To summarize, since the last book review I finally finished the book and it had a big switch in the stories. Every chapter has different stories, each one is unique and creative. This book was chosen by Philip Pullman, he is a brilliant writer and chose the best detective stories I’ve read, some other authors that stuck out to me in the book include: Erich Kastner, Micheal Underwood, Isacc Asimov and many more. I would really recommend this book if you’re interested in murder mystery or detective stories. Every story has unexplained deaths, different mysteries, and reading about how these detectives solve them keeps you wanting to read more. I really like the layout of the book, the way the stories switch is really nice, and I like how he changes the time...

The Color of Love Gene Cheek Valerie Charles The Color of Love is a book about the life of a twelve year old boy - Gene Cheek living in North Carolina in the 1960’s with an alcoholic father and a loving mother. During this time the world was fighting with segregation and Gene would not yet realize the power of hatred and the strength of love. Genes mother had fallen in love with an African-American man which went against the law and was forced to choose between the mixed race baby and Gene. Don’t ever let the world’s judgement go against what you believe and what you feel is right because of the color of someone’s skin. Throughout the young years of Genes life, he had dealt with a drunk man walking through the front door every night and blaming everything around him for his life problems. On top of this Jesse - Genes father had been a very abusive husband towards Gene and his mom and had no way of controlling his problems. “He needs to be taught a lesson. Let him go!’ ‘No, I won...

Chloe Doe Suzanne Philips Review by Emely Lopez “I told her once I wasn’t good at anything. She told me survival is a talent.” ― Susanna Kaysen, Girl, Interrupted According to the Oxford dictionary, the word survival means “continue to live or exist, especially in spite of danger or hardship.” The ‘in spite of danger or hardship’ part is key for Chloe Doe. The story begins when 17-year-old Chloe is placed in the Madeline Parker Institute for Girls following an arrest for prostitution. Chloe comes into the institute hard headed, with a stubborn and indignant attitude. But as her therapist is able to unravel this rigid, reluctant exterior, Chloe reveals her deep, hidden memories. From her mother's long list of live in boyfriends, a stepfather who got a little too close to her sister, to running away and pleasuring johns in order to make money. Throughout the book, the reader is able to see the vulnerability and toughness of the young teen through her thoughts and emo...

Mina Alkhafaji That Night By: Amy Giles     Do you ever wonder how it would be like to be in a shooting? What would you do? How would you react?      In the realistic fiction novel, That Night by Amy Giles, a traumatizing shooting occurs in a Queens neighborhood in New York. Even a year later, a lot of people in the community were still trying to heal. That includes the two main characters, Jessica Nolan and Lucas Rossi. Both of them were dealing with problems in their own separate lives but their paths conjoined when they started being coworkers at a small after-school job. When the shooting happened, Jess’s world seemed to shut down. She had to deal with the loss of her brother, who passed from the shooting, and her depressed mother all by herself. To add to all the trauma, her best friend couldn’t handle the incident and got sent away to a boarding school across the country. So, just imagine how much pressure was laid on her back. As for Lucas, h...

The Hate U Give By Angie Thomas Review by Ashley Karish Standing up for what you believe in is important to all people in this community, including one specific person, Starr. In this book, a girl named Starr switches between two different worlds. She lives in Garden Heights a poor mostly black neighborhood while she goes to school at Williamson Prep, in a wealthy, mostly white area. This is because the school in Garden Heights can be very dangerous, so Starr’s mom sends her and her two brothers Seven and Sekani to Williamson. Big Maverick is their father. No one messes with him or his kids. Seven is Starr’s half-brother; Maverick is Seven’s father and a lady named Iesha is his mother. Iesha’s boyfriend is the abusive King and he likes to make trouble in Garden Heights. When Starr was ten years old she witnessed her best friend get shot and killed. At the beginning of the book Starr experiences something like this again when she and her other childhood best friend, Khalil is dr...

Henry Merola Gods and Generals (1-81) By: Jeff Shaara Are you a history buff but hate straight facts being thrown at you? If so, this historical fiction novel,  Gods and Generals,  is the perfect book for you. The story revolves around four Civil War Generals, both Union and Confederate, those Generals being Robert E. Lee, Winfield Scott Hancock, Thomas Jackson, and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Each character has their own story, the most interesting being Lee's and Hancock's, Robert Lee was second in command of a regiment in Northern Texas. After catching word of his father-in-law who passed away and his wife being ill, he goes to his plantation to comfort them. After seeing his daughter, who was overjoyed to see him, and his sick spouse, he pondered if he should quit being in the service and become a farmer. This dream is short-lived when he is called by the president to stop a riot happening in Maryland. Lee successfully put down the riot, due to over prepara...

  Stick Pick Written by Steven Sandor Cody Eaton Star hockey player Janine suffers a severe car accident while on the way back from her game that could destroy her career completely; it will be a long and tough recovery but will Janine be able to push through and fight off the pain? “ Janine, her dad said, '' We were in an accident. A week ago…”13) The book Stick Pick by Steven Sandor is a very intense and nerve racking book that every page you read makes you want to keep reading. The genre of this book is realistic fiction because injuries occur like this all the time unfortunately, and could affect your everyday life. In this book a young teen aged girl named Janine is an excellent hockey player and also the Captain of her team. On the way back from one of her first playoff games, Janine and her father are celebrating a great win and an awesome overtime goal by Janine to win the game and advance her team to the next round. But what happens next will change Janin...