Into the wild Review by Tatyana Jones

Title of the Book: Into the wild
Author: Jon Krakauer
  # of Pages:224
  Star Rating: ☆☆☆


Review:     Into the Wild  by Jon Krakauer is a life changing  story of an intelligent young man full of lust. This book brings the reader back reality. Even though the nonfiction book is so tragic and horrifying its a great story of Chris McCandless’s journey it gave the young people a place to speak there minds.
 
  This isn't a regular story its way more than just a story about a young boy learning to survive in the wilderness. In this book there are no surprises when it comes to the outcome at the end. Christopher wants you to know the outcome I mean on the first page you know the ending. Christopher made it to where its not the end of his message its behind  how he went from a genius in a wealthy family to a dead man on an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness.


   This story is the type to keep the reader on there feet waiting for more wanting to know reasoning behind his behavior and actions. The way Krakuaer went into depth about Christopher's life about his family , work, and education is what the reader wants to know more about. Even though I've never had any experience like Christopher's I've sure have had the same ideas and thoughts.

This book was maybe one of the best books that I have read this year I just loved the way Jon Krakauer goes into depth on his life and the things that chris went through is what intrigued me the most. I recommend this book to everyone.

Eat, Pray, Love

Title of the Book: Eat, Pray, Love Author: Elizabeth Gilbert # of Pages: 352 Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ Review:I highly recommend this book. It's about a young woman who decides that she's tired of the marriage that she's in. She gets divorced and decides to travel to three different parts of the world in order to find herself. She even picks up a new language and a new way to pray and becomes a healthier person.

Moneyball: Michael Lewis: 288 Pages : Star Rating: ☆☆☆ Review:

Moneyball by Michael Lewis is a non- fictional story about baseball and specifically the Oakland A’s. This book talks about how the manager of the A’s found the cracks in the way the MLB teams draft and find players all because he had 3x less the money than all the other teams did.

This book was unique to me because there is no book like it. If you are a true fan of baseball you feel that you are a complete part of the journey in a time of success for the Oakland A’s. While I was reading this book I felt like I was in the crowd and at some points felt that I was in the dugout helping the manager decide whom to put in the game to save us from a loss. This book gives you a lot of behind the scenes information on what goes into draft day (for baseball).

If you want to be transported into a world of wholehearted baseball Moneyball is the book for you. As a reader I would recommend this book to any fan of baseball or sports in general.

Into the Wild By Jon Krakauer Review Logan O'Donnell

Title: Into the Wild

Author: Jon Krakauer

# of Pages: 224

Rating:

Review:

Into the Wild  by Jon Krakauer is a liberating story of an intelligent young man full of wanderlust. This book brings the reader back to the true roots of humanity and transcendentalism. Although, the plot of this nonfiction book was surrounded by such a tragic event, the inspirational tale of Chris McCandless’s journey has brought an awakening and given a voice to a generation of nomadic young people.

This is not your average story, this is not a tale about a guy who learns how to survive in the wilderness. The reader does not get a chance to have a personal encounter with the subject of the book. There are no surprises when it comes to the outcome of this story, on the very first page you already know the ending. Although, Christopher’s end wasn’t the end of his story or of his message, the ending lies within the reasoning and how he went from a genius in a wealthy family to a dead man on an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness. How is it such an intelligent man could have put himself in such a situation where he had to fight for his life to survive?

The adventurously intriguing tale constantly keeps the reader on their feet trying to understand the reasoning behind his endeavor. Jon Krakauer goes into intensive depth on a timeline of Christopher’s life, including but not limited to his family, education, work, and acquaintances. When the author used his own personal experiences to connect with the persona that is Chris McCandless, it allows readers from many different aspects of life find their own ways of connecting to the character. Personally I can say even though I have never experienced the same situation that Chris had, I have definitely shared more than a few of the same ideals. Jon took this story from a very compassionate place when deciding to analyze this young mans life, as did I have sympathy for the character and everyone whose life he had touched.

This has been by far one of the best books I have read, and highly recommend anyone to read. Into the Wild, not only appeals to the whimsical younger generation, but I believe people of every age and social class would benefit from hearing Christopher’s story. Not only does this book include travel, adventure, and philosophy but it also has a loving family aspect to his findings. Anyone would be happy to have read this book.

Title of the Book:Angela's Ashes   Author: Frank McCourt # of Pages: 378   Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆ ☆  Review:

 Have you ever reflected on your childhood? Perhaps the memories that came back to you led you to a new understanding of how you became the person you are today. Maybe the knowledge that you have now makes you feel differently about a situation than you did in the moment. Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt is an excellent illustration of such a reflection. It follows the path of a young Irish boy born in America all the way through to adulthood. As a young man the thoughtful memoir resonated with me very well and I think it will for many other people too.

The story is written through the eyes of the author as he grows up, because of this the descriptions, and the voice they are given in, naturally advance with the narrator and his journey through childhood in Ireland. While you never hear the author directly commenting on his experience from an adult point of view there are subtle criticisms in the vignettes that he relates. Examples of this can be seen in the repetitive and slightly humorous exchanges between his teachers and their students, as well as the way he describes the interactions between him and the adult figures in his life. This all results in a very relevant and thoughtful piece that focuses on what we gain, and lose, with our experiences as children.

Speaking of experiences, Frank McCourt has a myriad of them that he shares with the readers. Most of these experiences are not positive. Despite this, the novel is not written to make you feel sympathetic toward the author and the many injustices that come against him. In fact, what you get when you read this book is a searingly honest look at the imperfections that plague humans. No one is safe from this uncovering, even the author himself does things that are very hard to get behind. Surprisingly this doesn’t alienate you from the characters or make them unlikeable, it actually does the opposite. Even characters that may have come across as villains or antagonists are more fleshed out and human because of the common thread of mistakes that all characters share. Because of this it makes you feel as if the author is without bias, and is fairly representing the events that transpired.

Just like people no books are perfect. The series of event’s in Angela’s Ashes is sometimes unfocused and hard to follow. It could talk less about the “interfering” that the narrator does. However, these imperfections don’t deter me from making a recommendation of this book to anyone that would enjoy a well developed coming-of-age story. It is engrossing through the last chapter that contains a single word. Within the context this word holds much meaning. It is partly a sigh of resolution to and acceptance of ones past and identity, but more powerful than that is the hope that the word holds. I hope you take the time out your life to read Angela’s Ashes, if you open your mind to how real and honest it is, you certainly won’t regret it.

Title of the Book: Into Think Air
 Author: John Krakauer
 # of Pages: 332
 Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Review:

What’s it really like at the highest point on Earth? John Krakauer’s Into Thin Air gives a personal account of what it’s really like at the top of Mount Everest, but the journey to get to that point and come back down again is the focus of his chronicle. Krakauer is a writer and a climber hired by a magazine to detail his journey up to the roof of the world, but a cruel twist of fate puts him in the middle of one of the deadliest expeditions to the summit and thereby exposes all that went wrong during this particular mission.

For those who are unfamiliar with the technicalities of climbing high altitude peaks, this is a very eye opening narrative of all the processes involved. Krakauer does a great job of explaining in detail the mechanics essential to ascending tremendous altitudes. He also enlightens the reader to those agonizing physical effects felt at such heights. A new appreciation, if not astonishment, is felt for the excruciating conditions and the risks of death that climbers choose to endure to reach the top of a mountain. The only explanation is summit fever as described by Krakauer.

In addition to his empathizing descriptions of the processes, conditions, and physical effects, Krakauer accurately reveals the mental and emotional struggles felt individually, giving the reader a peek into how this great endeavor can feel. There is also an emotional connection to the characters because Krakauer familiarizes the reader with the major people involved, including their families, so you can feel the pain of loss he feels when his friends are perishing. A last goodbye by radio brings tears and a miracle of survival brings cheers.

I would highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy adventure. Discovering how a series of mistakes, bad decisions, and bad luck contributed to a horrific situation with devastating consequences at the mercy of Mother Nature will keep the reader intrigued in this page turning narrative.

Title of the Book: The Perfect Storm
Author: Sebastian Junger
# of Pages: 233
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆


Review:
The Andrea Gail is a fishing boat filled with people saying goodbye to their loved ones to go to work. The "Perfect Storm" arrives and leaves the Andrea Gail with no communication. This is the story of several boats of people trying to survive everything that nature throws at them.

Junger keeps the tone dark and mysterious, as if anything could happen at any moment. Even when helicopters are saving lives, you are always aware that others are still out in the sea, facing worse conditions.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in tales of the sea or natural disasters. I felt that this book highlighted the destruction, beauty, and chaos that is a natural disaster.