1. It’s a long way to Paradise
Maroula Kliafa was born in 1937 in Trikala where she still lives with her family. She has studied journalism and she has been entering into literature for more than 40 years. She is also dealing with the study of local history, the collection of folk myths, games and photos. She has written several novels for adolescents and two of them have been translated into Russian and German as well. Besides extracts from her novels have been used in official curriculum by the Greek Ministry of Education. Moreover she has been awarded several prizes by Athens Academy, Greek Literature Club, and Women Union etc. She has also been honored with a doctorate by the Thessaly University. An advertisement for correspondence in a newspaper is the reason of the creation of a strong friendship between two 15years-old girls that belong to two different worlds: Veronica that comes from Albania with traumatic experiences of abandoning her country, and Eleni, daughter of an urban family of Athens that seems that no problem affects her life. For eight whole months the two friends communicate through correspondence and trust each other their secrets and their dreams. They describe with humor their life in school, they comment every reasonless thing happen, they fall in love, and they are disappointed, but they hope. And suddenly… Suddenly everything change. The communication that they have created is in danger. A secret almost destroys their relationship. Will this secret “kill” their friendship? It is proved that the two girls have so strong a friendship that they remain friend for ever.
There are many reasons that I liked that book. First of all, this books aims at certain and modern problems that our contemporary society faces. For instance, the heroes of the book experience the racism and as well as the social isolation. Also, these girls are different and as a result sometimes they feel that they live in the margin. What is more, this book is very interesting, because we can guess what is going on. Finally, the writer does not make any comment about the girls’ behaviors and she just lets us judge, comment and understand the book according to our point of view. •
http://www.wordreference.com
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http://peiramatiko.uom.gr/gymna/ekdiloseis/11_thraniaA1/11_thraniaA1.pdf
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http://www.greekbooks.gr/books/pedika/neanika/o-dromos-gia-ton-paradiso-inemakris.product by Areti Mpaltou and Stavros Papageorgopoulos for the Greek Comenius Team
2. In a different forest
Loti Petrovic-Androtsopoulou: Greek origin: She writes books for children and young people. It also deals with the theoretical study of children's literature. Nowadays she has written more than 60 books. Her works have been broadcast on the radio, have transferred to TV, have been included in anthologies and magazines and have been translated into English, Japanese, Korean and Albanian. Her works have been broadcast on the radio, have transferred to TV, have been included in anthologies and magazines and have been translated into English, Japanese, Korean and Albanian. In a different forest ', ' a forest of concrete logs. Α modern little Red Riding Hood meets one of the most horrible wolves at the very beginning of the 20th century. A wolf insidiously trying to exterminate, but with the initiation into the world of drugs rather than with the sharp teeth. Is there any hope in the modern concrete forest? What I like most in this book, is that is the plot because it is about the relation of teenagers with the use of harmful substances…I highly recommend it to you because I found it very interesting….it is an adventure book with many secrets and mystery about bad fellowships of New York! Adigoni Xagara For the Greek Comenius Team http://www.i-read.i-teen.gr/book/sto-tsimentenio-dasos
http://www.loty.gr/ http://www.loty.gr/mythistorima_analyt_3.htm
3. The Diary of Anne Frank
The diary of Anne Frank is a book written by Anne Frank and first published by her father Otto H. Frank. But, actually “The diary of Anne Frank” is not a book that was meant to be published and make Anne Frank famous worldwide. It was the real diary of a Jew teenage girl who lived in the Second World War. It was a notebook that Anne Frank considered as her only real friend and could write all her secrets and everything that she felt. Anne Frank used to live with her family, her father, her mother and her sister, in the Netherlands during the Second World War. She wished to become either a journalist or an actress, when growing up. As her family was Jew, they had to hide themselves for quite a long time in a factory’s storehouse trying not to be noticed by anyone. There were only a few people who helped them and knew their hideout. These people were working at the factory so they had access to the place they were staying at. They catered to all of their needs, ensured their safety, and supplied them with food, a task that grew more difficult as time was passing by . After a small period of time, the Franks were joined by the van Pels family, and later in November by a dentist and friend of the family. Anne wrote with pleasure having new people to talk to, but tensions quickly developed within the group forced to live in such confined conditions.
Some time later, after first dismissing the shy and awkward Peter van Pels, she recognized a kinship with him and they fell in love with each other. She received her first kiss from him. Moreover, Anne examined her relationships with the members of her family, and the strong differences in each of their personalities. After two years, the group was betrayed and transported to concentration camps. Anne Frank and her sister, Margot, were eventually transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they both died of typhus. After her death, her father found her diary and published it in 1947.
Anne Frank is a person that I admire for her courage and strength. Actually, after reading her diary, I realized that I am very alike with her as she was a teenage girl the same as me. However, she had such a tragic end; nevertheless, she achieved her main goal. Writing this diary, she wanted to go on living even after her death with her books and she achieved it without even knowing it.
Dimitra Petsa For the Greek Comenius Team http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Frank http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/anne_frank.html
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4.
Little Nikolas by Goscinny
Goscinny was born in Paris in 1926, in a family of Jewish immigrants from Poland. At school he
was "the Class Clown�. His family moved to Buenos Aires. When his father died he became a junior illustrator in an advertising agency. Goscinny, along with his mother, left Argentina and went to New York in 1945. To avoid service in the US military, he travelled to France to join the French Army in 1946.Promoted to senior corporal, he became the appointed illustrator of the regiment and drew illustrations and posters for the Two of his most famous works were PILOTE and ASTERIX and LUCKY LUCKE . One day Nicolas and his six friends went fishing. They took vases and set off. After fishing a tadpole, they went home. When his mum saw him and the tadpole, she became angry and told him to leave the tadpole in the lake .So Nicolas and his father went to leave the small frog back but when the guard of the park saw them he told his father that he was the seventh dad who evacuates a vase at the same point of the lake. I love this book because Nicolas is a lot like me, the plot is hilarious and the sketches are so funny. I liked more, the part with the guard! I found it extremely amusing! I think everyone would enjoy reading it. PAPAEFTHYMIOU SOFIANOS For the Greek Comenius Team Word Crossing
http://www.ert.gr/paidiko/O-Mikros-%CE%9Dikolas#.UQroK_Lt_DA http://www.anubis.gr/books.asp?BID=1513 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1264904/
5. Swallowing Grandma
Kate Long is an author of the numerous bestselling novels. She was raised in Black rod and was educated at Bolton School. She describes herself as being inspired by family stories, and by power shifts in relationships, as well as how people form personal identities. Other favourite themes are class, disability, and the power of the maternal bond in all its forms, healthy or otherwise
Swallowing Grandma is one of the greatest novels of Kate Long. It is about an eighteen year old girl, Kathrin Miller, who seems to be doomed to waste her best years caring for her horribly ungrateful grandmother, Poll. Nobody can blame her because she doesn’t want to call her Kathrin anymore but Kat, as she thinks it is a little childish for her age. Kat also thinks that she is very fat and that is the reason she keeps herself away from the real world. Without friends, the only thing she does is reading books and tolerating her really nerve racking grandmother. Kat has finished school and she will go to college soon. She has a lot of plans in her mind but she can’t materialize them as long as she has her grandma above her. Her life was stuck in a little village Bank Top when one day
everything changes. She learns the truth about her dad’s car accident and her mother, as everyone believed, was vanished and banded her daughter years ago. Swallowing Grandma is also about how environment shapes a person as they grow up, and how far we are able to shed that first identity. “An enjoyable and entertaining read…” The Independent
I really loved this book the moment I read it. It is full of dreams, mystery, humor, laughter and crying but above all, it fills the reader with great hope and faith for the future.
Athanasia Kalogianni For the Greek Comenius Team http://www.katelongbooks.com/swallowinggrandma/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Long
6. Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince Author Joanne "Jo" Rowling, pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British novelist, best known as the author of the Harry Potter fantasy series. Born in Yate, Gloucestershire, Rowling was
working
as
a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International when she conceived the idea for the Harry Potter series on a delayed train from Manchester to London in 1990.
Synopsis In the sixth Harry Potter book, published in 2005, the Ministry finally accepted that Voldemort is back, but that's not really making the situation
any better.
With
everyone
terrified,
obviously unjustifiable arrests, and misinformation still being printed, just in another way, and events play out to show that the Ministry can't really stop Voldemort in its current form. But while those events linger over the plot, the action stays fully grounded at Hogwarts. Harry learns more about
the
Voldemort's Back
Story,
becomes
increasingly suspicious of Snape's loyalty and discovers an old potions textbook annotated with powerful spells and useful notes from its previous owner who identifies himself only as "The Half-Blood Prince". Draco Malfoy joins the Death Eaters only to discover that Evil Is Not a Toy; and “wacky romantic hijinks ensue� for everyone. Personal Opinion
I like these book series because they all have complex and interesting plot. I also think that if someone read one of these books, he would love it and wished to have read all of them. And most important, this book series makes reading fun!! I highly recommend this book to anyone who hasn't read it yet, kid or adult. Let it carry you away with the knowledge that you're reading a classic that will be read and loved by generations to come, just like the fairy-tales of old. Comments on Harry Potter books “By now there's not much that can be said about the Harry Potter phenomenon that hasn't been said already. Worshipped by kids, enjoyed by adults, this modern myth has become an accepted classic worldwide. Pull any copy of the series off a shelf anywhere in the world and you're holding magic.� Dimitris Biros For the Greek Comenius Team
http://www.jkrowling.com/en_GB/ http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/harrypotter http://harrypotter.warnerbros.co.uk/games/home.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Half-Blood_Prince_%28film%29 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpCPvHJ6p90
1. NICCOLƠ AMMANITI, Io e te (Me and You)
Ammaniti is an Italian writer who became famous after the success of Io non ho paura (I’m not Scared) . He usually writes about teenagers' problems and relationships between parents and children. His books, including Io e te, have been translated into 44 languages.
Rome, 2000. Lorenzo Cuni is a very shy boy about 14 years old, who has been having problems in socializing since he was a child. Growing up, Lorenzo learns how not to be noticed in order to look like an ordinary guy. One day he hears a group of friends who are organizing a trip to a ski resort, and when he realizes he hasn't been invited, he feels strangely let down. Back home, he lies to his mother telling her he is going on a trip to the mountains with his friends. On departure day, he pretends he’s leaving and he goes wandering around Rome instead. Then, after checking that nobody is at home, he gets to the cellar where he had set aside some food supply. Soon afterwards Olivia, his step-sister whom he very rarely sees, goes to the cellar looking for a box where she has hidden some money. She can’t find the money and she starts feeling heroin withdrawal symptoms. Lorenzo reluctantly agrees to put her up. Little by little they start feeling close to each other, Lorenzo gradually learns a lot about himself and also Olivia rediscovers human relationship. At the end of the week, they say good bye to each other promising to keep in touch. But the destiny... We recommend this book to all teenagers because it analyzes the many difficulties we face at our age, including isolation, social exclusion and drugs.
2. MARCO POLO, Il milione (Travels)
We recommend this book to those who love travelling with the mind because it leads the reader through places far from the well-known reality, with magic and wonderful sceneries. The whole journey, through spaces and through words, is a discovery. The story: Marco Polo was born in Venice in 1254 in a rich family of merchants. Their surname was Emilione, thence Milione, the title of the book. He was the first man who travelled around Asia with his father, Niccolò Polo, and his uncle, Matteo Polo. Their journey lasted 27 years. When Marco returned to Venice, he was imprisoned after a battle between his town and Genoa. During his imprisonment he told Rustichello from Pisa about his travel adventures and Rustichello wrote them down. The journey: After a long travel through many peoples and cities (marvellous or strange cities), Marco arrived at Kublai Khan’s court and completed his mission, followed by some priests who converted the people in Kublai Khan’s kingdom and gave them the holy oil. During his journey Marco Polo came in contact with unknown peoples, religions and customs, which he didn’t know before and he didn’t even imagine. Imagine...you too!! Fantastic places. It is a real experience. The book: The account is divided into short chapters and is characterized by quick moves to different places and slow, detailed descriptions of them. We considered these descriptions the best parts of Marco Polo’s diary. They are in fact so detailed that the reader has no difficulty in imagining these places and situations. You really have to read it! Italians: Marco Polo has been the only one in the world who found the poetry of learning in the act of facing fearlessly what he didn’t know. He managed to turn everything into a beautiful way to learn through images, sounds and colours that impress in your mind for their peculiarity and beauty. Advice: We like Marco Polo very much and we really recommend the reading of Il Milione, first because we think that he discovered the
right way to observe what and who he didn’t know before, what was very far from him. Nowadays it is important for us too! Reflect: “millions of cities” are “ millions of cultures and souls”. In your mind, millions of pictures. One journey.
3. ALESSANDRO MAZONI, PROMESSI SPOSI (THE BETROTHED)
Promessi sposi is a historical novel written by Alessandro Manzoni, one of the greatest authors of the European Romanticism. The final edition of the novel was published between 1840 and 1842.
In the evening of 7th Novemeber 1628, Don Abbondio, the curate of a small village near Lecco (in Lombardia), comes back from his evening walk. Two cutthroats ( the “bravi”) at the service of Don Rodrigo, a tyrant of that place, stop him and order not to celebrate the planned marriage between Lucia Mondella and Renzo Tramagliano. Don Rodrigo, who was infatuated with Lucia, bets his cousin Attilio that the girl will be his. Don Abbondio, a fearful and servile man, decides to obey without any resistance and when the following morning Renzo goes to him for the last formalities, he produces a lot of obstacles and impediments. The young man, after interviewing Don Abbondio’s servant, Perpetua, finally knows the truth. Renzo immediately tells Lucia and her mother Agnese about the fact and all together try to find a prompt solution.
The two young lovers try to deceive the priest because they want to get married but their attempt fails because of the reaction of Don Abbondio, who wakes the whole village up with the sound of the bells. At this sound the cutthroats, who had gone to Lucia’s home to kidnap her as Don Rodrigo had ordered, run away.
The flight is the only solution for Renzo and Lucia. They leave the village with the help of Frà Cristoforo, a friar of the monastery of Pescarenico and a friend of the family; Lucia goes to Monza and Renzo to Milan…
Renzo and Lucia's story has entertained many generations of readers and it still has a special place in all the Italian libraries. We can consider
it like a timeless romance, regularly set for reading in
secondary schools, like Dickens' books in England and Homer’s Iliad.
Promessi sposi takes a part in your heart because of its romantic plot, but also in your mind because it has a lot of adventures and dramatic turns of events. We think that it is perfect for you because, also if it may seem long and boring, it is fascinating like real life.
4. Italo Calvino, Le cittĂ invisibili (Invisible Cities)
The novel is very good for those who like profound and complex books. However, It is also very good for those who like fantastic sceneries and surreal pictures framed by a logical construction (=the chapters of this book). You have to love Arts and Maths both, too! The writer weaves words, places, images, names, times past, present and future...all in your mind. He weaves yours and his imagination. Story and themes: It is the writing that makes places: real or fantastic places. The book is written like a dialogue between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan.
Marco Polo
describes 55 cities, each named with the name of a woman, like: ‘Armilla’, a city without buildings where water lilies live among the pipes; ‘Bauci’, on high stilts; ‘Anastasia’, one of the “cities of wishes”: it is described with big channels full of whirls and lots of precious stones. ‘Despina’ is a strange city with two faces: it has the form of a maritime city for the people who come from the desert and the form of a desert city for those who come from the sea. There are many others again: you r eally have to discover them! Inside this fantastic construction the book shows various and real issues about Nature and Man. Words open up landscapes, landscapes reveal a complex world, real or fantastic. Marco Polo and Kublai Khan do not speak the same language, so Marco uses gestures; each character understands the other through his own interpretation of what the other is saying. It is also funny! The journey: Kublai Khan, like you, does not know if the trip and the stories of Calvino’s Marco Polo are true or invented because he speaks with an imaginary language. In fact, the emperor points out that Marco’s descriptions of the empire are very different from what his ambassadors report. The reader has to discover the real places, outside or inside his mind: real problems or feelings. The author: Italo Calvino was an Italian writer of the 20 th century. He wrote important novels translated in many languages. He liked Logic and Maths together with poetry and literature and their power of imagination, so he liked very much this Venetian merchant born in 1254 who discovered most of Asia and was a model for Wonderful Worlds writers (Book of Wonders was the title of the first edition of Il Milione, Marco Polo’s Travels).
Advice: it is a very interesting book, a little difficult to read because you have to read it at different levels. Don’t worry, it is just like getting on an airplane! It’s fantastic!
5. Luis Sepulveda, Mundo del fin del mundo (The World at the End of the World)
We suggest this book to those who love mysterious stories because this tale is enigmatic and engaging. The story talks about a reporter who, to investigate after a serious maritime accident in Chile in 1988, finds a pretext to take courage and return to his homeland. It amazes him like when he was young, although he’s afraid of find it different from how he left it years before. In a few days the protagonist solves this case and he discovers that there are two boats with the same name to cover some illegal activities like whaling. The journey: he flies from Hamburg to Chile and there he meets some people who help him with the investigation taking the protagonist along the way travelled by the whalers. The book: this book is exciting to read because it is the journey that makes the writing and it is also easy to read. The writer puts in the story some flashbacks and some descriptions of the places and he also uses this book to criticize the immoral behaviour of profiteers who are bringing destruction to the environment. The protagonist, returning to his homeland, the “world at the end of the world�, travels inside himself, too. He rediscovers his country, a little world distant from the rest of the society. Finally he rediscovers himself, the Word, and the real and right connection between Man and Nature. We must live in Peace and Respect our Earth.
1. Review of a book “A Christmas Carol” “There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”
Last Sunday I read a novel “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. He wrote this book in 1843 in Great Britain during Christmas Eve. The book was written and published in early Victorian Era Britain. A ghost story, moral lesson, this is one of Dickens’ best known and loved tales. It is a story about a sour man, who was very mean but after that he became a good person. This book shows the struggle of an old insensitive man taken on a voyage of his life. The voyage is in order to save him from a dreary after life. The main character is Ebenezer Scrooge, an old merchant. He is a hard-heartened old businessman, who hates Christmas. Ebenezer is a very gloomy and cruel character who doesn’t have any friends and thinks only about his own life. He is an egoist. During Christmas Eve three spirits visited him. They showed to Ebenezer his mistakes and his future. Then Ebenezer udnerstood what he did and he became a good person. He realized that money is not the most important thing in life. He became a nice and friendly man. I think it is a great, well-written and interesting book .This novel teaches us how we should live. You should read this book. It is fantastic.
Magdalena Ligorowska Class II „c”
2. Review of a book “The Hobbit”
“The morning often gives advice, night often changes the mind.”
and
The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien was first published in Great Britain in 1937. It was published just before the outbreak of WWII in Europe. The Hobbit is the story of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who lives in Hobbiton. A Hobbit is a small creature half the size of a man. They have no beards and hairy feet with a tendency for rotund stomachs. They tend to be farmers and rarely go on adventures. Beyond the borders of their people, few have ever heard of them. Bilbo enjoys a peaceful and pastoral life but his life is interrupted by a surprise visit by the wizard Gandalf. Before Bilbo is able to improve upon the situation, Gandalf has invited himself to tea and when he arrives, he comes with a company of dwarves led by Thorin. They are embarking on a journey to recover lost treasure that is guarded by the dragon Smaug, at the Lonely Mountain. Gandalf has decided, much to Bilbo’s chagrin, that the hobbit will make an excellent addition to the team and Bilbo is going to play the role of a burglar. As they start on their way, Bilbo has serious misgivings. On the journey, Bilbo and the dwarves encounter all sorts of villains and obstacles. His adventures, are like stepping stones on the inner journey Biblo must take to find his courage. Bilbo faces trials which again and again force him to look deep inside himself for the strength and resourcefulness he needs to complete the task expected of him. After a very long journey, Bilbo makes it home to find his stuff being auctioned off. He gets most of his things back and settles down again, happy to be living a simple life after so long a tale. In my opinion this book is fantastic. It is really worth reading for everyone, who likes adventure novels. I recommend it to all teenagers who want to escape from the real world. Mariusz Zagórski
Class I „c”
3. Review of a book “The Catcher in the Rye”
“For the immature man is significant that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the
mature - that he wants to live humbly for her.”
The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger is set around the 1950s and is narrated by a young man named Holden Caulfield. Confused and disillusioned, he searches for truth. Holden is not specific about his location while he’s telling the story, but he makes it clear that he is in a mental hospital or sanatorium. The events he narrates take place in the few days between the end of the fall school term and Christmas, when Holden is sixteen years old. Holden’s story begins on the Saturday following the end of classes at the Pencey prep school in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. Pencey is Holden’s fourth school. He has already failed out of three others. At Pencey, he has failed four out of five of his classes and has received notice that he is being expelled, but he is not scheduled to return home to Manhattan until Wednesday. He visits his elderly history teacher, Spencer, to say goodbye, but when Spencer tries to reprimand him for his poor academic performance, Holden becomes annoyed. He tells us also that the one thing he would like to be is the catcher in the rye. He would stand near the edge of a cliff, by a field of rye, and catch any of the playing children who, in their abandon, come close to falling off. Holden ends his narrative, telling the reader that he is not going to tell the story of how he went home and got sick. He plans to go to a new school in the fall and is cautiously optimistic about his future. I think that, this is an excellent book for young readers, lost and rebellious. The novel covers a period of adolescence, puberty, forming their own views of the world, for themselves and other people. The writer showed typical teenage rebellion, but also honesty. I recommend this book very much. Tomasz Woźniczka
Class III „c”
4. Review of a book “The Little Prince” “The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.”
“The Little Prince” is the most popular of the books written by Antoine de SaintExupery. It was published in 1943. In a short time, the book was a great success and the French writer became famous. People came to love the Exupery's story. It was translated to a lot of languages, published in hundreds countries and in millions copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling books ever published. The story of the Little Prince went round all over the world and it is still very popular. With a timeless charm it tells the story of a little boy from Asteroid B-612. The protagonist is a simple, mystical, creature. One day a seed arrives on his planet and blooms into a beautiful flower. Though the flower is lovely, it is vain and irritates the Prince. Finally he leaves his planet, to escape the flower. After visiting several asteroids, the Little Prince reaches Earth, where he meets the narrator in the Sahara Desert. His adventures on six different planets are recounted, including the encounters with the king, the vain man, the drunkard, the businessman, the lamplighter, the geographer, the snake, the fox, and the narrator. He visits many planets and meets many people, whom he questions about life. In particular, he wants to understand the existence and pastimes of adults on Earth. He tries to find his answers from a snake, a fox, and the narrator. The story ends when The Little Prince finds the answers to his questions about what is important in life. When he realizes his love for the flower, he accepts that he must return to his star to care for the rose. He makes arrangements with the poisonous snake to bite him. For me it is a charming story about amazing friendship between two people - an adult pilot, and a little boy. In the Little Prince’s stories we can see the truth about ourselves. He has learned from the fox that the important things in life cannot be seen with the eye, only felt with the heart. In the book, Saint-Exupéry explains the importance of true friendship, relationships and what is essential in life. For children it is beautiful, interesting and funny tale about the boy who looks a friend. For adults, short, well-written story about themselves. Therefore, this is the book good for everybody, everywhere and in every age. I truly recommend it and I promise that you will never regret reading.
Katarzyna Prusek Class II „a”
5. Review of a book “The Witcher” “And
what
is
true
manhood,
if
not
confusing in the right
proportions class and madness?”
The Witcher, first published in Poland in the early 1990s, by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, is a collection of short, fantasy stories about Geralt of Rivia. In Sapkowski’s books, witchers are monster-hunters who receive special training and have their bodies modified at an early age to provide them with supernatural abilities so they can cope with dangerous monsters. The books have been adapted into a movie and television series, a video game series, and a graphic novel series. The novel series is also called the Witcher Saga or the Blood of the Elves Saga. The Witcher short stories and novels have been translated into several languages. Witchers are taken in as children and subjected to potions and martial training for most of their young life. They have special powers, such as the use of low-level magical abilities based on the four elements, faster movement, rapid healing, quicker reflexes, and the ability to drink toxic potions that would harm normal people. The only downside is that Witchers become infertile when they pass the trials. Witchers also wear a magical medallion that will vibrate when magical creatures are nearby. They carry two swords. The first is a steel sword used against humans, and the second is a silver sword used against creatures like werewolves and vampires. The book introduces us to Geralt, a human who underwent a series of experiments and mutations as a child to turn him into someone with both the strength and many skills. After a serious injury Geralt is recuperating in a temple. During his time there he recalls earlier incidents in his life, such as fighting monsters, or his first meetings with characters from the books and games, such as Dandelion the minstrel. This set up allows Sapkowski to give the reader an interesting introduction into both Geralt and the universe he inhabits. In my opinion, the book is not boring even for a moment. The action is quickly developing and there are still many important things going on. Those, who like fantasy books, like Tolkien’s, may find the books by Sapkowski very interesting. I would recommend this book to all people. It is something, that makes you relaxed and cheerful. You are invited to the world of magic and dreams. You get to know fascinating creatures. You feel, what they feel and you go through many adventures with them. Patrycja Misztal
Class II “a”
6. Review of a book “The Lord of the Rings” “Not all those who wonder are lost”
"The Lord of the Rings" is a book by the eminent English writer John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. This is a fantastic novel, which takes place in a fictional world called Middle-earth. This place is inhabited by Hobbits – creatures similar to human beings, but much smaller. Author with a great passion shows their habits and customs . The Lord of the Rings is an entity named Sauron, the Dark Lord, who long ago lost the One Ring that contains much of his power. His overriding desire is to reclaim the Ring and use it to enslave all of Middleearth. There are also other, equally interesting, fantastic creatures, which play a greater or lesser roles in the plot. The main character of the novel is a Hobbit named Frodo. He is always accompanied by his faithful friend, Sam. Frodo inherits his uncle mysterious ring, which he can use to become invisible. Once he learns more about the past of this precious treasure. It turns out that this is a ring forged by Sauron, the Dark Lord, who wanted to take control of the world. However, he was defeated, and the treasure was lost for thousands of years. Later in the story, Frodo and Sam set off on their journey with the ring to the Rivendell – the mystical, beautiful city of elves. There is a council, which is elected to take the ring to Mordor - the place where it was forged. Only here they can destroy it in order to avoid destruction of the world. As it turns out, the mission is dangerous and challenging. At each step of the book, we can observe compensated struggle between good and evil. Reading this book gave me a great pleasure, therefore, I recommend it to all fans of history, fantasy and suspenseful stories.
Michał Stępień
Class I „c”
1. GLADIATOR
The tittle of book is “Gladiator”. It was adapted from the novel by Dewey Gram based on a screenplay by David Franzoni and John Logan and William Nicholson,story by David Franzoni.First published in the U.S.A. by Penguin Putnam Inc 2000 and first published in Great Britain by Penguin Books 2000.This edition first published 2001. Maximus is a general in the Roman army. After his last battle he wants to return to his family.But the new Emperor Commodus hates Maximus, and kills his family. Soon Maximus is a prisoner then a slave, and finally a gladiator. When Emperor Commodus joins Maximus in the arena they fight for their lives. An impressive scene in the novel is this when Commodus and Maxims fight for their lives in the arena. After Commodus was dead and all slaves were free the one true friend of Maximus walked across the sand, he still hear one voice in the arena,though. He heard Maximus, the great fighter, asking about his home in Africa and talking to him about his own home in Spain. Juba took something from his pocket-the small wooden figures of Maximus’s wife and son. He carefully put them in the hole and covered them with the earth that carried their loved one’s bood. Now it would be easier for them to find each other in the next world. What impress me was the Juba’s words:”I will see you again. But not yet ”that means a true friend. All I can tell you about this book is that I recommend you, because you will see that is the best story you have ever read.
by Fericean Georgiana
2. GODFATHER
The book is intitulated ”The Godfather” written by Mario Puso, introduced the readers to the first family at American crime fiction. The book is an attraction for adventurious people. It was published by Longman, and appeared for the first time in 1969. The Godfather is a book about a Sicilian Mafia based in New Yorck. This ,,business” was coordinated by Don Vitce Corleane wich gad four children: Santiro Samy”, Frederrico” Freddie”, Michael ”Mike” and Cestausia ”Connie”. He also had an informally adapted son, Tom Hoger, who became Corleone’s consigliere. The story’s central is Mike, who’s destiny is to replace his father as the head of family. The next interesting part of the book for me, is represented by Mike, who from a young boy, who didn’t want to face the family problems because the chief of Mafia. He learned a lot from his father and that’s why he can be see good in Mafia business. He also had an American lifestyle, with his girlfriend, Kay Adams. So if you want to read a book about crime and allegal facts, which included all the Mafia, by Godfather.
By Petrar Ciprian
3. Misery
Stephen King
REVIEW
‘Misery’ is a psychological thriller novel by Stephen King. Published in june 8, 1987, the novel was nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1988, and was later made into a Hollywood film. In ‘Misery’ the object of fear is a former nurse named Annie, living alone in the Rocky Mountains. She’s mentally unbalanced and starts off as an angel of mercy, rescuing Paul Sheldon, after he’s injured in a car accident. She takes care of him in her house but becomes irritate when she discovers that her favourite character, Misery Chastain, was killed off in his latest book. So, Annie, keeps Paul prisoner while forcing him to write a book that brings Misery back to life. I remember the feeling of dirty I associated with this book. What caused me to think that this novel is connected with such afeeling of such a profound filthy? The answer is that the book opens with the breathe of life being breathed into Paul Sheldon’s lungs by a woman who had a ‘breathe of dusty roadway’. Imagine being awaken from death by the taste of dust in your mouth; It’s enough to make you want to die all over again. The book is masterfully written, and develops a sense of broading horror that I couldn’t stop reading until absolutely necessary. So, read the book, because it’s a classic; and also watch the movie, because it is haunting. By Deac Diana
4. Strangers On A Train – Patricia Highsmith
‘Strangers on a train’ is a psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highswith published in 1950.
It tells the story of Guy Nuires and Charley Bruno, which meet each other on a train, and plan an ‘exchange of murders’. Bruno, being a psychotic, kills Miriam, Guy’s wife. Guy also kills Bruno’s father after Bruno’s insistence. Charley Bruno is a great and interesting character, representing a mistery. All one knows about him after the first encounter is that he hates his father and is slightly psychotic. He is an extremely unstable individual, so a very complex character. We can easy make a confusion between Bruno’s obsession for Guy and his homosexuality. Definitely, he is a bad influence for Guy, he can easy make him to do what he wants. He has a great ability in persuading Guy ‘Hey! Cheeses, what an idea! I kill your wife and you kill my father! We meet on a train, see, and nobody knows we know each other! Perfect alibis! Catch?’ From that moment Guy is trapped in Bruno’s dangerous game. I recomand this book because it’s a story about acts which destrou lives, murders, innocent people and dangerous attractions and desires. Definitely, this is a great book for readers which love the secrets and the mistery of agood story.
By Bud Narcisa
5. THE DIARY OF YOUNG GIRL
The Diary of a young Girl is one if the world’s most read book .Discovered in the attic of the writer’s father’s in England in 1952.Anne Frank, isn’t only the main author, is also the character of this unforgettable true story. Born in Germany in 1929,she died in 1945 at the age of 15.Written in diary us letters to her imaginary friend”Kitty”, Anne shares her truly life. Anne Frank belongs to a Jewish family. Till the second World War she enjoyed her life like any other girl. But when, Germany invaded Holland, Otto Frank, Anne’s father moves his family into hiding. The happenings in hiding for 25 months are described by Anne in her diary with emotions and also her moods are well preserved in worlds. Anne Frank is the main Character, and she is the youngest child of Mr and Mrs Frank. In her diary she is intelligent, charming and even under the worst circumstances, funny. Over the course of the book, she grew from a spoiled, somewhat naïve young girl of 13 to a self-aware young woman of fifteen. During her time in the annex, she discovered a wealth of good quality in her. After she was discovered by Nazist, in Germany, where she died before having her birthday of sixteen years. I recommend this book to anyone who loves history and nonfiction. This is a truly amazing book. It is not full of historical details but it is also a great and lifestyle book. I hope that everyone who reads it will find as much joy as I did, because her life and emotions, truly amazed me.
1. The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins: Suzanne Collins was born in August the 10th of 1962 in Hartford, Connecticut. She’s novelist and screenwriter. She has started in her literary career in 1991, as screenwriter in children's programmes. In 2003 she has written her first novel, “Gregor the Overlander”, and met with critical acclaim. Between 2003 and 2007 she wrote the five books of the Underland Chronicles. During that time, Collins also wrote a rhyming picture book, When Charlie McButton Lost Power, illustrated by Mike Lester. In September 2008,she was publicated The Hunger Games, the first book of a trilogy. The trilogy's second book, Catching Fire, was released in September 2009, and its third book, Mockingjay, was released on 2010. Within 14 months, 1.5 million copies of the first two Hunger Games books were printed in North America alone. The Hunger Games has been on The New York Times Bestseller list for more than 60 weeks in a row. This book's popularity reached its peak with the eponymous film released in March 2012 in the United States. At present, Suzanne is at work on a picture book with James Proimos. Synopsis: “Winning means fame and wealth. Losing means certain death.” The hunger games, it’s a book that shows the courage, the fears and the adventures of the main character, Katniss Everdeen. The hunger games it’s a reality show who was created by The Capitol and it consists about two boys or girls belonging to one of the twelve districts, who must survive in an unknown place under really bad conditions. Only one of the twenty four participants will survive. One of the chosen ones happens to be Prim, who is only twelve years old. Her sister Katniss offers herself, in order to save her. She knows that she has more possibilities to survive than her. Once there she looks after herself. Every day there
are more deceased, and less participants. Katniss should kill the rest of people if she wants to stay with life. During the games, Katniss falls in love with Peeta, her teammate. They get together in order to be stronger and to help each other. At the end when they reach to be alone , they forced kill other,
are to each but
they are in love,
and
they
can't
do it. Then the Capitol decides to change the rule, making that both can live. Katniss and Peeta happily are allowed to come back home with their families after their victory.
Personal opinion: We like this book because is different that the other books there now. It’s based in a society where the people lives enclosed in their districts and they must obey The Capitol, the most important who rules. In this society there has one person who break this enclosed and make free the people. The book talks about the inequality of the people, and the duty that the inhabitants have of the district. We recommend Hunger games because it’s very interesting and you can learn a lot of things. from the moment you started reading the book, until you have finished you become addicted to it and then you would like to read the second part of the book.
2. Around the world in eighty days. (Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours)
Summary: Set in 1872, the story focuses attention on Passepartout, a Chinese thief who steals a valuable jade Buddha and then seeks refuge in the companion ship of an eccentric London inventor and adventurer, Phileas Fogg. He has made a bet with members of his gentleman club, that he can travel around the world in just 80 days using transports like boats, trains, balloons, and elephants along the way. Passepartout uses his amazing martial arts abilities to defend Fogg from the many dangers they face. A major threat to their adventure is a detective that is chasing them, because when Fogg and Passeportout left London, the largest bank was assaulted, with Fogg suspected of using the trip around the world as an excuse to escape. Writer: Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne was born in Nantes on the 8th of February in 1828, and he died in Amiens on the 24th of March in 1905. He was a french writer known for books such as Around the World in 80 days and ‘Voyage au centre de la Terre’. He started a new literary genre: the science fiction. He wrote adventures based on scientific advances. Jules is considerated one of the most importants writers of science fiction. Today his house of Amiens is a museum in his honor. Opinion: We’ve chosen this book because it talks about travelling and having adventures, and we think that the Comenius is about that too. by Rebecca Iulia
3.
DON QUIXOT
At the beginning of the seventeenth Century, a gentleman from la Manxa lost his mind as a result of reading a lot of chivalry books. He showed that he was absolutely crazy when he decided to be a knight and he started to travel for all the different roads with the name Don Quixote. He pretended to impose the peace in the world doing good deeds. He walked around wearing an armour of his great-grandparents and with the company of Sancho Panza, an ingenuous man.
Don Quixot covers almost all Spain searching for evil men to defeat them and for helping all the people who need it. His adventures are consecutive moments of crazy reactions in front of ridiculous situations. This, for the people who saw it isn’t more than a provocation to make them laugh or be surprised.
In one episode he confused mills with giants and he started a fight with a flock of sheep because he taught that they were from the group of his enemies. Another time he freed some dangerous criminals and he showed them that he could fly for the sky on a wood horse.
But forgetting the crazy things that he did, he gets our sympathy and he raises some tenderness, because his ideals of justice are from a noble heart and the lightness of his words make us a lot to envy.
So we have chosen this book because when you have finished reading it you start thinking, if our world doesn’t need more crazy persons like Don Quixote to see all the situations in a different way. In fact his aim is to change the world.
MIGUEL DE CERVANTES
Miguel de Cervantes was born in Alcalà de Henares the 1547 and he died in Madrid the 1616. He was a writer, a playwright, a poet and also a soldier too. He is universally recognized for writing Don Quixot, which a lot of critics consider it like the first modern novel and one of the best universal novels. They put his face on some coins like a tribute for this.
So important have been the influence of Quixote that a lot of authors have used the story like an inspiration. One of them is William Shakespeare.
Cervantes said that his first intention was to show to the people, who read the book the crazy things that the chivalry books explain. In effect, Don Quixot offered this explanation but it isn’t too simple, it means more than this. The book narrates the different interpretations that you can do about something and it’s interesting to see too that in the novel are mentioned some other books that Don Quixot read.
4. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE Synopsis Harry Potter is orphan and he lives at the worst conditions in his uncle’s House. One day he discovers his wizard
gift and he is invited
to go in a magic school
(Hogwarts). In the school he learns his job and he meets Ron and Hermione who will be their friends until the last year. At the end of the last semester, Harry must fight with Quirrel, who embodies Voldemort and wants to steal the Philosopher’s Stone. Finally, Harry reaches to defeat him. J.K.Rowling J.K. Rowling, born on July 31, 1965, in Chipping Sodbury, England, became an international literary sensation when the first three installments of her Harry Potter children's book series took over the top three slots of The New York Times best-seller list. The phenomenal response to Rowling's books culminated in 2000, when Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire became the fastest-selling book in history. In 2012, Rowling published her first novel since the Harry Potter franchise, a book for adults titled The Casual Vacancy.
by Guillem Aguiler
5. The little prince
The narrator, an airplane pilot, crashes in the Sahara desert. As he is worried about what will happen, he meets the little prince, a very serious little blond boy who asks the narrator to draw him a sheep. They become friends and the pilot deduces that he comes from a small planet called Asteroid 325. The little prince care his planet, but he has to protect it of baobab trees. One day, a mysterious rose sprouted on his planet and he fell in love with her because he never saw a rose before. The little prince starts a travel where hemeets a king, a vain man, a drunkard, a businessman, a lamplighter, and a geographer. They answer he some questions about life. The little prince visits the Earth because he wants to meet the humans, but he lands in the middle of the desert and can’t find anyone. Instead, he meets a snake who says that she can send the little prince back to his asteroid. The little prince ignores the offer and continues his explorations, climbing the tallest mountain where he can find the echo of his voice. Later, he finds a rose garden and thinks that his rose fib he. The prince meets a fox, who teaches him some important things in the life. In the end, he encounters with two men, a railway switchman and a salesclerk. Now was the eight day in the desert and the water feeds good his body. The two agree that too many people do not see what is truly important in life. The little prince’s mind that it’s time to return to his rose, and he begins making plans with the snake to head back to his planet. The narrator is able to fix his plane in the day before the one year birthday of the prince’s arrives on Earth, and he walks sadly with his friend out to the place the prince landed. The narrator takes comfort when he cannot find the prince’s body the next day and is confident that the prince has returned to his asteroid. When he looks the stars, he knows that his friend is good.
Antoinie de Saint-Exupéry Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was an aristocrat French writer, poet and pioneering aviator. He is best remembered for his novella The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) and for his lyrical aviation writings, including Night Flight and Wind, Sand and Stars. He was a successful commercial pilot before World War II, working airmail routes in Europe, Africa and South America. At the outbreak of war he joined the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force), flying reconnaissance missions until France's armistice with Germany in 1940. After being demobilized from the French Air Force he voyaged to the United States to convince its government to quickly enter the war against Nazi Germany. Following a 27-month hiatus in North America during which he wrote three of his most important works, he joined the Free French Air Force in North Africa although he was far past the maximum age for such pilots and in declining health. He disappeared over the Mediterranean on his last assigned reconnaissance mission in July 1944, and is believed to have died at that time. Prior to the war he had achieved fame in France as an aviator. His literary works, among them The Little Prince, translated into over 250 languages and dialects, propelled his stature posthumously allowing him to achieve national hero status in France. He earned further widespread recognition with international translations of his other works. His 1939 philosophical memoir Terre des hommes became the name of a major international humanitarian group, and was also used to create the central theme (Terre des hommes– Man and His World) of the most successful world's fair of the 20th century, Expo 67 in Montreal, Canada. Opinion
Since arriving on Earth, he has spoken to a fox who has taught him that to know someone or something. « What is essential is invisible to the eye. », says the fox. The fox say that the important in the live, isn’t the material things, the important is the things that we can’t catch and see, the love, the friends, the generosity, etc. This book gives you a lot of tips and you can brush in your problems. When he is travelling, he goes to his neighbour’s asteroids where he meets a king, a vain man, a drunkard, a businessman, a lamplighter, and
a geographer, who need to order people around to be admired, and to own everything. As he is travelling, he discovers that, to know the happiness, you don’t need to have it all.
We have chosen this book because it reflects the different ways to see it all. Lot of children knows this book, but also a lot of adults know it too. That happens because the mind of people changes with the age, so the way to read the book changes too. We think that is you read this book more than one, you see different ways to see the live and to hang decisions.
Top 1 / 2 – The Hunger Games I-II-III ( Written by Suzanne Collins ) “The Hunger Games” is compelling reading and makes the reader want to read the next book immediately to find out what has happened to Katniss and Peeta .
I read all three books of the trilogy. I can't imagine reading any of the books without reading all of them in order. The story takes place in Panem, a future version of North America that is comprised of twelve Districts, and the Capitol. Long ago, the Districts staged an uprising against the Capitol, demanding more power for the people. As a punishment for this reckless behaviour, the all-powerful Capitol created an annual event called “The Hunger Game”', where one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts would be required to fight in an arena- until only one survives. I really like the characters in this book, they are so wonderful, my favorite character is Katniss. I think she is so brave! Katniss is a strong character who solves her own problems and takes charge of her own life. Her struggles with her divided affections between two boys are realistically portrayed but not overwrought. And her tendency to inadvertently create problems can spark many conversations about whether she was right or wrong and whether she stayed true to who she is. Katniss is someone that readers will not forget It is definetly worth reading. Cem Celal Tellioğlu
Top 3 – Love ( Written by Elif Şafak ) This is the story of two loves: the spiritual love of the 13th century poet, Rumi, for the wandering dervish, Shams of Tabriz and the present day love between Ella Rubenstein , an American housewife and mother, and a Sufi, Aziz Zahara.
Ella is a 40 year old American housewife who is in a marital rut. Married for 20 years, she has a husband who may be unfaithful, three children she runs from place to place, and she longs for something more. Ella accepts a job as a reader for a literary agent, and her first assignment is to read and review an unsolicited manuscript called: Sweet Blasphemy. As she begins her assignment written by a man named Aziz Zahara, she is immediately drawn into the story. It is a story about a world famous poet and Sufi mystic, Rumi, who like Ella struggles with feeling of emptiness and loneliness in his life. In this story Rumi's world is transformed when he meets a whirling dervish known as Shams of Tabriz
I thoroughly enjoyed reading about, Rumi, Shams (a fascinating character)and the world they lived in. I found the affair between Ella and Aziz rather contrived and irritating. It gives some insight into the religious differences between Muslim and Christian. It shares some philosophy and reason for Rumi's ascent as one of the greatest poets of all time. it was a wonderful read for anyone interested in Rumi, the Sufi philosopy, or anyone wanting to live a more love-centered life. If you have read any of Rumi's poetry and enjoyed it, you should consider reading this novel. Gizem Şevval Çetin
Top 4 – Think of a number ( Written by John Verdon ) Dave Gurney a retired police detective who has captured a number of big serial killers, is settling into the country life with his wife, until a college friend contacts him with some spine-chilling notes. The first note begins with, “Do you believe in Fate?”. This question draws Dave into a scary and fatal game.
This book is an exciting read, which pulls you in from the first word, and digs its claws in deep. I’ve found this to be one of the most original mysteries I’ve read in a long time. Gurney is a complex character and the way his mind works is fascinating as he unravels the tangled threads that have knotted around him. I highly recommend this book!
Ezgi Alkaya
Top 5 – Serenade ( Written by Zülfü Livaneli ) Relating to the human being , present day and the past, a sixty year old love, Two historical events: Jewish Holocaust and the Blue Regiment,Love , psychology, music and the history . All of them in “Serenade”
It is full of dramatic story in the
1940s - Struma Tragedy and the biggest drama that the Crimean Turks lived...The one who read this book is feeling deeply.. Livaneli, with his style and words, it is as if he is serenading to us. Serenade , which breaks the taboo of boring history books, is an example to the next ones ... Love, women, Psychology, Music and History.They have never befitted to each other so much before. I learned lots of historical facts through this book .Unbelievable things happened in the past and it's a great shame I had no idea about them. Fantastic book, moving story.
Tayfur Kunt