Wednesday, May 18, 2016

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, by Christopher Hitchens

This book covers the highly controversial topic of religion. The author brings up various arguments that are brought up about the existence of god and proves how they cannot have possibly been true in a highly persuasive and unbiased form. Furthermore, this book also talks about how religion “kills” by explaining that religion has been and is the root cause for mass killings of people all in the name of god. A lot of ancient claims are refuted by the author through scientific explanation. This book defines that religion is just morally wrong and through every chapter a new topic is brought up and challenged through logic and reasoning.

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, by Christopher Hitchens, will go down as one of my all time favorites. I really liked the author’s style of writing in this book. He didn’t just flat out say that religion is wrong and god is imaginary. The author provided extensive examples to prove his points and in the end you were left to form your own opinion. I hit the point in my life where I started to question religion and I decided to pick up this book. It drastically helped me find out where I stand in this matter. I not only recommend this book to atheists, but I recommend it to anyone open minded. While reading this book, I came across several ideas that just left me in astonishment. All of a sudden, everything was making sense to me and the questions I had regarding religion were answered. This book will provide you with a new way of thinking and I think that anyone who questions religion should pick this up.

Reviewed by Arthur A., Grade 11
Glendale Central Library

Monday, May 16, 2016

Sweethearts, by Sara Zarr

Sweethearts , by Sara Zarr, is a phenomenal book that makes want to ponder a bit. This book is based on a past experience of a girl named Jennifer Harris (also known as Jenna Vaughn). The story begins with a flashback when she was in elementary. Elementary was a big moment fro Jennifer because she was bullied for her weight which meant she only had one friend, Cameron Quick. Cameron Quick also lived a terrible life..not with society but with his family..also known as his abusive father. The point is one day he just disappears and Jennifer never sees him again. Jennifer later moves and had great change for her family and society..she becomes Jenna Vaughn. A new identity for her but still deeply maintains Jennifer. Jennifer lives a happily normal life until the unexpected comes on her birthday that will change her perfect life into the reality she is really living.

The book was so great and different from other books. I would totally recommend it to young adults because it is a beautiful story based on true friendship. It is a story we can all relate to. It made me wonder about typical stereotypes in society and why they behave in such a way. I honestly thought it was going to be a cliche..like lost love or something but it was different and unexpected..

Reviewed by Andrea V., Grade 10
Glendale Central Library