Social Issues Books - Page 3

Walter the Farting Dog

William Kotzwinkle, Glenn Murray

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 184 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

STOLEN STORY !! 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I came across a book called "Dog Breath" by Dav Pilkey. It's the SAME EXACT story as "Walter" but the dog has bad breath. This dog also fends off burglars and is saved from being given away. I was horrified. This book was published in 1994. Walter in 2001. Way to steal someone else's story for your own profit!!!

Walter the Farting Dog -- A Dog Trainer's Perspective 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I don't know how William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray learned of my dog George. Somehow, though, they must have heard the tale - like the fart heard round the world - and seen in his story the drama, the suspense to capture an audience and make their New York Times Bestseller dreams come true. They changed his name, of course, called him Walter the Farting Dog; but then that is common practice, "to protect the innocent" - I assume that means me. And they changed some of the facts of the case - again, common; a true story fictionalized to make it more difficult for casual acquaintances to put two-and-two together and identify my family as the agonists (not exactly ant- but certainly not pro-). But it's our story; really. And as Kotzwinkle and Murray benefit from its telling, here I sit, gas-mask mussing my hair, living the odorous reality of it all. It seems so unfair. Perhaps I should sue.

Chiefly I object to being portrayed as the kind of woman who would consider returning George because of his noxious smell. After all, my husband farts. In fact, he farts in bed. And not only does he fart in bed, he then proceeds to fluff the sheets to share his farts with me. It is egregious. It is gratuitous. It is, as he puts it, "The last bastion of manhood in a gelded world." (All right: I'm paraphrasing. The way he said it was ever-so-slightly more salty.) And I have never once (well, maybe once) threatened to send him back to his mother in England - so why would I return George?

Though, George does fart. Like Walter, he farts when he bathes and while playing. He farts as he walks around the house - in the dining room and kitchen. And he farts in bed. And while my husband, fair-minded man that he is, laughs and helps George to fluff the sheets (George having that no-opposable-thumb issue), I admit I am not so forgiving. "Outside," I'll say, and then, "Bedtime," as I hold the kennel door open and my nose closed and usher George into his own little bed for the rest of the night. Sometimes, then, I'll lie in the darkened room down the hall and wonder if the kennel has yet swollen to ten-times its normal size as George's hot-air inflates it like a balloon. The next morning it is always in its place, though. Flights of farts and fancy aside, George remains at home where he belongs. I open the kennel door, and with a fart and a stretch, George begins his day. I accept this. I would not give George up.

Aside from this one small error, however, Kotzwinkle and Murray got the story straight. We have consulted our veterinarian (who apparently is in the authors' employ), and we have tried various foods (though not lettuce and tomato sandwiches - everyone knows that George doesn't care for green food). Poor George does indeed get the blame for any and all suspicious smells, including those emanating from backsides decidedly less doggish (you know who you are, "Uncle Irv"). And while he has never in fact scared away nighttime marauders, guests who have over-stayed their welcome have occasionally been handed rather smelly, though figurative, hats as George has shown them the door. So you see: our story; not Kotzwinkle's and Murray's.

Yet, I suppose the story is theirs now, in a way; and because they have told it, it's become your story, too. For Kotzwinkle and Murray, from their objective (and odor-free) distance, have distilled our malodorous little family saga to its universal essence; have made it a story of compassion, a story of acceptance, and, ultimately, a story of redemption. And so, you see, I cannot bring myself to pursue legal recourse. In a way, I'm proud that our smelly laundry has been so publicly aired. If it can but help one family, one other Walter, or George (or 30-something English computer programmer) retain his happy home, it will have been worth the sacrifice. No other compensation is necessary. (But honestly, Kotzwinkle and Murray: now that you've sold a million copies, couldn't you at least spring for one bottle of Febreeze?)

Editorial Review:

Warning: This book may cause flatulence. Walter is a fine dog, except for one small problem: he has gas. He can't help it; it's just the way he is. Fortunately, the kids Billy and Betty love him regardless, but Father says he's got to go! Poor Walter, he's going to the dog pound tomorrow. And then, in the night, burglars strike. Walter has his chance to be a hero. Destined to become a children's classic, this story will have kids rolling on the floor with laughter. Adults are permitted to laugh too.

Hatchet

Gary Paulsen

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• Made with the Best Quality Material with your child in mind.
• Top Quality Children's Item.

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1163 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

One of the best I've ever read! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Of course, like many of the reviewers, I had to read this for school. And it has turned out to be one of my most favorite books of all times! I LOVE this book!

If you do not like wilderness, don't read it

If you do not like very vivid detail and description, don't read it

If you do not like to believe that a child at the age of 13-14 could survive on their own, don't read it.......

I've read almost all of the 1 star reviews and a lot sound like they came from really immature people, or people who don't like really good descriptions of things (ie the repitition in the book)

I for one really appreciated the detail that Gary put into the book. It really makes the story come to life. I went on to read the sequels, and while not QUITE as good, they are still good. I would recommend this to any child that has a very vivid imagination

Editorial Review:

Headed for Canada to visit his father for the first time since his parents' divorce, thirteen-year-old Brian is the sole survivor of a plane crash, with only the clothes he has on and a hatchet to help him shape a life for himself in the wilderness. Reprint. AB. K.

The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 209 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

It was ok, I guess..... 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Well, I'm 14 and perfectly authorized to write a review for this book since it IS for teenagers. The entire freshman class is being required to read this book as a part of our 48 Books Program and some of us like it and some of us absolutely can't stand it. I would give it the fact that it's remotely interesting but it's mean in a way that if you do something wrong you're totally undermining your self-esteem and I think that's just plain wrong. To make this book better he should have put more in that are popular that people actually know about and are funny, not just being used to prove a point. Also, the way he wants us to write in the book and stuff just doesn't appeal to ANY of us because of the way it's phrased before a line to write. Most of us just kind of think about it and go on. It's hard to hold my attention on it for very long because just reading through Habit #2 makes you read over a hundred pages of boring text. My school is in the top 36 elite high schools in the nation and they expect us to read this boring book that's of little or no help to the majority of it's freshmen? I mean, my math teacher thinks it's the best book on the planet, but seriously, he's kind of old. Us teens (who the book was actually written for) think it's not all that great. Whatever. Read it yourself and see what you think, this is only my opinion after all, not that a whole lot of people are going to read it or anything.

Editorial Review:

Being a teenager is both wonderful and challenging. In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, author Sean Covey applies the timeless principles of the 7 Habits to the tough issues and life-changing decisions today's teens face. In an entertaining style, Covey provides a step-by-step guide to help teens improve self-image, build friendships, resist peer pressure, achieve their goals, get along with their parents, and much more. Filled with clever ideas, great quotes, and incredible stories about real teens from all over the world, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens will engage teen listeners unlike any other audiobook.

An indispensable audio program for teens -- as well as parents, grandparents, and any adult who influences young people -- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens is destined to become the last word on surviving and thriving as a teen and beyond.

Graceling

Kristin Cashore

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 94 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Loved It! Could Not Put It Down! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I absolutely loved it! seriously stayed up all night reading it! i just had to know what happened! You will fall completely in love with the characters, especially if you are somewhat afraid of being control by someone else! I could completely relate with the main character on how she did not want to be told what to do and how to live. She was amazingly strong physically and just needed someone to show her how amazing she is mentally as well! Although the writing itself is not the best, the story and characters are! I defintely recommend reading this book!

Editorial Review:

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

     When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

     With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.

 

(20080901)

Paper Towns

John Green

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 41 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

not my favorite 3 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

This is a hard review to write because I am such a fan of John Green. I loved Looking for Alaska and Abundance of Katherines is one of my favorite all time books--so of course I was excited to be able to review this book.

I'm sorry to say, I just never got hooked into this story. Most of all because I never could get into the main character--I just didn't feel a strong voice from him, he had no unique personality, and I never felt a reason to care about him. The other problem was his mission--he suddenly turns his whole life upside down to chase after a girl he has barely spoken to in almost 10 years. I just didn't get it. I also didn't get what was so great about her that he would need to chase her--I never felt the bond that he supposedly had for her.

As for the other characters in the book, the only one I really liked--the only one that felt real--was Radar. He was interesting and well drawn. The rest were just stereotypes or unreal. Ben, his other best friend, was completely ridiculous with his honeybunnies and ginormous balls. Give me a break. Why mega-popular Lacey would even fall for him was completely unbelievable. Q's parents were also one-dimensional. Every scene with the parents was just something like 'we love you' or 'we think you're great'. I never saw him do anything great--do they never not get along?

I hate to be so negative because Green is such a wonderful writer. There were many great lines in this book like when they blast their car stereo and open the windows so everyone will know what great taste in music they have--that is so perfectly teen. I also loved learning about "paper towns" a term I've never heard of.

Anyway, judging by the other reviews I am obviously in the minority in my opinion but there it is.

Editorial Review:

When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night—dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows her. Margo’s always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she’s always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they’re for Q.

Printz Medalist John Green returns with the trademark brilliant wit and heart-stopping emotional honesty that have inspired a new generation of readers.

Thirteen Reasons Why

Jay Asher

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 71 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

This book might change the way you deal with friends and classmates..... 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Have you ever found an unexpected package on your doorstep? How exciting to get a surprise, right? Well, for Clay Jensen, this package isn't what he hoped it would be. When he opens it, he finds cassette tapes and a note. The really scary thing is that these tapes have been left for him by a dead girl, Hannah, who committed suicide just a few weeks ago. Pills, they said. But why did she kill herself? She explains who is responsible for what she has done -- in her own words on the tapes, she gives 13 reasons why -- and they all have names. Despite being horrified at what he might hear about himself and the others on the tapes, he forces himself to listen to them. Along the way, following the map included with the recordings, he finds himself both excused and also held accountable. What Clay hears that night changes him forever. Recommended!

Editorial Review:

Clay Jenkins returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers 13 cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush—who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay’s dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Novel

Zora Neale Hurston

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 407 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Southern Florida in the early 20th century and one black woman's story 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This 1937 novel has become a classic of its time. It is a mere 184 pages long, but the edition of the book I read is packed by commentary. I skipped this commentary because I wasn't particularly interested in literary or social analysis. I just wanted to experience the book for itself and the story it told. Reading it this way, I actually "felt" the book in the way the author intended. And, "wow", I really understand why it has stood the test of time.

Set in her native Florida, we first meet Janie Crawford, a black woman in her 40s, when she returns to the town of Eatonville. She's been gone for a few years because she left town with a younger man named Tea Cake, who she married after she was widowed. As she tells her woman-friend her story, the reader is cast into her world.

Born the granddaughter of a slave, she was married young to a farmer who wanted more of a farm worker than a wife. She then ran away with a traveling salesman and moved to an all-black town where her new husband became the mayor. They had a general store and he expected her to run it, keeping her hair covered so that her beauty didn't show, and expecting her to be the perfect wife in the eyes of his world. She was unhappy but accepted this and nursed him through a long illness. When he died, she ran the store herself where she met Tea Cake, who appreciated her good qualities and completely adored her. Against the wishes of the people in the town, she ran away with him.

All of the characters in this book come across as real people. All have flaws and all have strengths. For example, even though Tea Cake stole her money and lost it all gambling, he begged her forgiveness, managed to pay back the money and was a devoted husband. He got a job in the Florida Everglades where both he and she worked hard and loved hard and were part of a community. And then, they were swept up in a devastating hurricane. It was awful. Lots of people died. They had to swim for their lives amidst the horror around them. While trying to save her, Tea Cake is bitten by a dog. Only later do we discover the dog was rabid and that Tea Cake himself has rabies. He turns on Janie then and there are dire results.

The book moved fast. I was glued to it but it took some getting used to because it was written in the Southern Black dialect of the time. This actually made the characters even more real to me. She did not necessarily preach about segregation. To her it was a "given". However, I was particularly moved by the part where she described the aftermath of the hurricane and how the black men were rounded up to bury the bodies of the dead. They had to carefully separate the white bodies from the black bodies. The whites got coffins and were buried in one section. The blacks did not get coffins and were thrown into a pit. Often it was impossible for them to know the race of the decomposing bodies. To me, this said more about segregation in the South than anything else I've ever read on the subject.

This is a very worthwhile book. I loved it.

Editorial Review:

"Belongs in the category ... of enduring American literature." Saturday Review Fair and long-legged, independent and articulate, Janie Crawford sets out to be her own person no mean feat for a black woman in the '30s. Janie's quest for identity takes her through three marriages and into a journey back to her roots.

Wednesday Wars

Gary Schmidt

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

a favorite of three generations 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

We listened to the audiobook on a three generations family road trip and everyone loved the book. Granted, some of us were raised on Long Island in the early sixties (duck and cover drill, LILCO power outages, etc. rang true). However, even the twelve year old reluctant reader in the group raised in Mass. couldn't wait until we got back in the car to listen to more. It is a book with something for everyone. There is plenty of humor and serious concerns along with an examination of family dynamics. The setting is the Vietnam war and there are plenty of parallels for today as well. In summary, give this book a try and consider reading or listening as a family. "You sir, are a pied ninny", is now a favorite family quote.

Editorial Review:

Seventh grader Holling Hoodhood has a tough year ahead of him. First of all, his teacher, Mrs. Baker, keeps giving him the evil eye. Second of all, the class bully keeps threatening to do Number 167 (and you don’t even want to know what Number 167 is). Third of all, his father keeps calling him ""the Son Who is Going to Inherit Hoodhood and Associates."" But things are changing in 1967, and while reciting his favorite curses from Shakespeare’s plays, Holling might just find the true meaning of his own story.

Identical

Ellen Hopkins

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 41 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Beware the Broken Mirror 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

PLEASE NOTE WELL: The five stars are for the author's clearly-manifested writing ability and the reader's thespian talent . They are not an indication of the suitability of this book for a particular young adult (or mature one, for that matter).

Children and young adults are supposed to be exposed to "window books" and "mirror books" to help them become more insightful, better educated human beings. "Identical" is not the sort of window one would wish on another lightly. It goes without saying that incestuous, drug-dependent psychological confusion torments a percentage of families in these United States. If this is a world-expanding insight one wants one's unaffected child to experience vicariously, "Identical" is a brutally-poetic window for fostering it. However, for a specific child in an unfortunate situation, "Identical" might be a lifeline...a profoundly-catalytic mirror. This child will meet Gretta who will tell her/him: "Never accept evil as something you must walk with...something you deserve somehow." In this case, one can only hope/pray that one or more competent, caring, and trustworthy adults are available to help the child begin sorting it out.

Ellen Hopkins does a splendid job using terse, poetic phrases to convey her characters' confused emotions as they face their tangled, interconnected webs of recursive obsession and guilt that are cast in and around their fine home unadorned with family photos. Likewise, Laura Flanagan gives "Identical" a first-rate reading...highlighting the characters' thoughts and feelings in artfully-subtle ways.

Make no mistake about it, this is not an easy book. There was a time, not long ago, when prose such as this would have been labeled "pornographic". What's the difference between then and now? The tone of our times and the author's intention. Nevertheless, for many, this will not be an appropriate book. It is, undeniably, a well-crafted book with some important, uncomfortable themes. Buyer be aware.

Editorial Review:

Do twins begin in the womb?
Or in a better place?

Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district-court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family -- on the surface. Behind the facade each sister has her own dark secret, and that's where their differences begin.

For Kaeleigh, she's the misplaced focus of Daddy's love, intended for a mother whose presence on the campaign trail means absence at home. All that Raeanne sees is Daddy playing a game of favorites -- and she is losing. If she has to lose, she will do it on her own terms, so she chooses drugs, alcohol, and sex.

Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept -- from each other or anyone else. Pretty soon it's obvious that neither sister can handle it alone, and one sister must step up to save the other, but the question is -- who?

Frostbite (Vampire Academy, Book 2)

Richelle Mead

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose…

It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians—including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if handto- hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks….This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price…