The Crucible by Arthur Miller

A group of girls are playing, laughing, dancing in the woods. They are caught, and as their village is strictly Puritan, they are to be chastised and shamed for doing something so forbidden and taboo as dancing. The only way to evade punishment is to place the blame on someone else, so they concoct a tale that involved them being possessed and influenced by a witch who was in contract with the devil. Intended as a onetime way to get out of trouble, the accusation of witchery worked all too well, and it soon became a trend that took a life of its own, and, over the course of a year, destroyed the trust and shattered the foundation of a run-of-the-mill pre-American Puritan town.

These were real events, portrayed in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. And yes, I understand that this is far from a new book, but it is such a wonderful classic that I think it deserves to be reviewed and read and read and read.

It is pretty widely understood that those prosecuted in the witch trials of 1692 were far from magical or devilish. But in a way, the Crucible shows the devil as a facet of personality, showing itself in times of great distress and pain, such as the witch trials. The ironic part is, the devil is more seen in those who did the accusing than the ones who had been accused.

While The Crucible never comes out and is explicit in its meaning, it is written in such a way that is open to dozens of different interpretations, all centered around the idea of human nature and what being frightened and pressured can do to a person

If one is about to be hung for witchery and the only way to save oneself is to “confess” and accuse another, isn’t it the natural thing to do? At the same time, one is struggling between their faith and their life, because the Ten Commandments are clear in their message to never, ever lie.

Psychology of a sort comes into play as well, when one considers the idea that if people are constantly acting possessed and placing blame on others, they begin to believe what they are saying and that they are truly being hurt and targeted.

I loved having the opportunity to explore these questions and ideas, and The Crucible provided me with a perfect reason.

In short, it is about a group of girls caught dancing in the woods, who use witchery to evade trouble, and the aftermath that shattered an entire town. It is not a novel, it is a popularly performed play, but still provides an amazing read—perhaps even more striking because it is all in dialogue. It provides a chance to see what tremendous power an accusation can have, and the effects of power on everyday people. It is a quick read, but the experience of having read it stays with you a long time.

The Crucible goes beyond ratings, but if asked, I would have to say five daggers.



Briar

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

It's not every day you read a book that officially makes it to the top of the list of "best books I've ever read." But for me, Unwind by Neal Shusterman did just that.

The sci fi-slash-horror story-slash-adventure-slash-romance tale takes place a few generations in the future, after a second civil war in which Pro-Life and Pro-Choice armies battled over the abortion issue. The war ended in a stalemate, and a new compromise was made: All babies had to be delivered and raised to age 13. However, between the ages of 13 and 17, parents could choose to "abort" their children by having them "unwound"--a process in which all of the organs are harvested and donated to hospital patients. In other words, 100% of the "unwind" stays technically alive, just in a divided state.

And although the process sounds shocking and unbelievable, in the story, it has become a common and accepted part of American society. Unwind follows three runaway "unwinds": Conner (who's being unwound because his parents think he's a troublemaker), Risa (a ward-of-the-state who's being unwound to cut costs), and Lev (who was promised to be an unwind at birth as a part of his family's religion, and who has been brainwashed to believe that unwinding is okay because it helps people). And when the government is desperate for organ donors, they will stop at nothing to find runaway unwinds and make sure they don't escape their fate. Lucky for Conner, Lev, and Risa, a secret society of runaway unwinds is just around the corner...if they can only survive to make it there.

Although Unwind is thoroughly packed with action from start to finish, that's not the only reason I loved it so much. In a YA room full of Cliques and Gossip Girls. Unwind really makes the reader think about deep, life-or-death issues. Like, who has the right to say when someone's life is going to end? Is it really okay to commit an act like murder in the name of religion? How far can you go in order to "protect the greater good?" And which is better: aborting thousands of babies that someone could have loved, or having an orphanage full of thousands of babies that no one loves? Unwind explores all of these and many more. Throughout the main story, Neal Shusterman intertwines many different subplots that get you thinking about the values in America and the value of your own life. There's even some laughworthy satire thrown in here and there. I'm warning you now, it's extremely intense, and many of the ideas suggested in the book may upset you. But if you're looking for some meaningful, thought-provoking reading that really changes the way you look at life, death, and your place in the world, then I strongly consider Unwind.

I definitely give this book the full 5 out of 5 daggers.

Misty

Everything is Fine by Ann Dee Ellis

Young Mazzy is living with her mother while her dad is on a week long business trip. Everything is fine... except that Dad left about a month ago and Mom never gets out of bed. Mazzy thinks she can handle it. She takes care of her mom and people bring them food too, but when the government gets involved, Mazzy is forced to talk to her dad. Mazzy knows everything is fine, but when the government disagrees, everything is not fine. 

Mazzy, as a character, is very human and believable. Her denial of her family's problem is completely normal and human nature. What makes this book intriguing is watching the story of her family unravel. At first, the reader only knows that Mom is sick and Dad's never home. The reader has no idea why or how things got this way. Throughout the book, flashbacks as well as Mazzy's thoughts and encounters slowly enlighten the reader to the truly dark and dismal family past. Since this revelation encompasses most of the book, it is exciting to slowly, but surely, figure out what led to such a dreadful situation.

Another interesting thing about this book is that it is written in what I like to call "mini chapter things." They are usually Mazzy's thoughts, a conversation between Mazzy and someone else, or a flashback. They can be as short as a single sentence and as long as two or more pages in length. These "mini chapter things" make the book especially easy to pick up and read. You can pick it up and easily read a whole "mini chapter thing" in between all the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Another attractive aspect of this book includes the way conversations are written. When Mazzy talks to someone, Ann Dee Ellis exposes the reader to not only the words coming out of Mazzy's mouth, but also the thoughts in her head. This creates an entertaining discord between what Mazzy says and what she thinks. Unfortunately, it also makes conversations choppy and slightly awkward because Mazzy's thoughts interrupt the conversation's rhythm. This setback is completely worth it though because Mazzy tends to say either nothing at all, or the actual word, "nothing" when she responds to simple everyday questions. 

I give Everything is Fine by Ann Dee Ellis a slightly less than deadly 3.5 daggers out of 5.

All in all, the book is entertaining and pretty unique in the way it was written but, it's really short and the ending is rather unsatisfying.

Yours truly (but only in mini chapter things),

Gabriel Gethin

First Daughter by Mitali Perkins

For the past year and a half, America has been caught up in the whirlwind that is the election of a new president. And the book that I just read goes along quite well with the thoughts that have been on everyone’s minds during the whole election process.

The book I read was First Daughter, by Mitali Perkins.

Sameera is Pakistani American, having been adopted from her home country when she was three years old, by an American politician and his activist wife. She’s sixteen now, and is joining her parents in the dog-eat-dog world of the campaign trail.

Her father is running for president.

She’s excited to receive a paparazzi-pleasing makeover, excited to spend more time with her family, and excited to plunge into the campaign—that is, until she learns what her father’s campaign people have in store for her. Eager to make her seem more “American” to voters, they coach her in speaking “teenager,” create a blog for her that she has nothing to do with, and rename her ‘Sammy.” Sameera is now caught between staying true to herself and hindering her father’s chances of being elected, or sacrificing her personality and ethnic pride, in order to promote her father .

This book was ridiculously eviltastic. It delved into American culture and asked questions about ethnic identity. For instance, one of my favorite thoughts from the book was this: How soon after your family has lived in America, can you take off the ethnic word that precedes “American?” For a German immigrant, it takes only a generation or two, but for African Americans, Thai Americans, Pakistani Americans... the first word almost never wears off. I just loved how the book explored questions like this.

Another cool thing was the fact that Sameera, the heroine of the novel, would experiment by putting on a burka (a Muslim woman’s full body covering) and wandering the streets of Washington. She found herself almost invisible, and was amazed and interested by the reactions of passers-by when she asked them for directions, et cetera. Sameera got the chance to talk and think about cultural identity and different types of people, and we, as readers, got to listen and think about it ourselves.



Trying to dig up my old family tree to see if I have any cool ancestry (well, asides from the BEST grandparents ever that made it so that I have so many wonderful evil cousins),

Briar

The Mozart Season by Virginia Euwer Wolff

Allegra Shapiro was looking forward to a nice relaxing summer, free of school, free of softball, and free of worries. Her plans were abruptly changed when she found out that she had been selected to perform at the finals of the prestigious Ernest Bloch Competition for Young Musicians of Oregon.  She was one of only a few finalists to have been selected from eighty five initial contestants! To make matters even more nerve-racking, Allegra was only 12 and her music teacher told her that he expected the average age of the finalists to be 17. Clearly an underdog, Allegra spends her entire summer practicing Mozart's Fourth Violin Concerto. She knows that she has to find some way to make her rendition of this piece mean something more than the notes on her sheet music, but this is easier said than done.

What I love most about this book is Allegra herself. She is such a rich, genuine character. The way this book is written causes us to spend most of our time listening to Allegra's thoughts. Therefore, we get to know Allegra very intimately. We watch her grow throughout the story and it's a beautiful thing to watch. She is very easy to relate to. She, like many other young girls, has a huge crush on a famous person, in her case it is Joel Smirnoff, the second violinist in the Juilliard Quartet. This is just one example of the many things that distinguishes Allegra as just a simple girl with great ambition.

Another thing that I love about this book is the role that music takes in it. Any musician would love this book simply because of Wolff's portrayal of music. To Allegra's family, music is essentially a way of life. To Allegra, music is her connection to her dead great-grandmother who died at Treblinka, a concentration camp in Poland. During her final performance, as she plays, she envisions her great-grandmother and feels one with her through the music. This conclusion is a truly beautiful moment. In my opinion it, is one of the most serene, most tranquil, and most heart-warming as well as heart-wrenching moments in any book I have ever read. It is simply beautiful.

I give The Mozart Season as a whole a 4 out of 5 daggers (the ending itself deserves 6 out of 5)

Musically yours,

Gabriel Gethin

The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman

The Other Side of the Island, by Allegra Goodman, is the story of a girl by the name of Honor. But her name is an anomaly, you see. Though she was born in the year H and Honor is a perfectly approved government name, the H is silent, so it sticks out. Her school isn’t worried, however. They know they’ll train her to change it, because what fun is life if you’re different than everybody else?

But Honor’s parents seem to think her name is okay. They dance and sing and laugh and read and draw, push limits, go on adventures, take midnight strolls to the forbidden ocean, betting on dark and serendipity. They even go so far as to have a second child, something rare and frowned upon. No, they seem to be just fine with Honor’s name.

Honor, herself, however, is a different story. After her family was relocated to one of Earth Mother’s controlled islands, she has been in a class with Helixes, Henriettas, Harrys and Harmonies. She’s not sure how she feels. On one hand, she lives for the forbidden excitements she and her family enjoy, but at the same time, she’s frustrated. Because really—why can’t her parents just obey Earth Mother and the Government? Why can’t they just be like everyone else? The last thing Honor would ever want would be to lose her parents, and she knows that if you’re too different, you might just disappear.

Though the book was rather predictable in places, The Other Side of the Island was surprisingly good. It was suspenseful with some nicely original aspects. The characters were relatable, and there were some quite cool notions about weather and religion. “Earth Mother” combined God and Mother Nature, and the religion was centered around her. Scientists had found a way to control the weather, so that Unpredictability could be avoided whenever possible.

I liked this book a lot, it was a pretty quick read—not too hard, along the same lines as a lot of other science fiction/distopia sort of novels, but with some parts that were truly new and quite interesting.

I would give it four out of five ridiculously evil and futuristic daggers! Twas a Very Good book, edging on great.



Bowing down to Earth Mother,

Briar

P.S – How coincidental that my name works! Awesome!

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

When Colin Singleton, amateur anagrammer and noted child prodigy, was eight years old, he was kissed by a girl named Katherine. Three minutes later, she dumped him.

Nine years later, Colin has just been dumped by a girl named Katherine. For the nineteenth time. Seeing him devastated, Colin’s best friend, Hassan, pulls him out the door and into the car, on a road trip that eventually winds up in a small town called Gutshot, Tennessee. Colin and Hassan soon land a job with Hollis Wells, factory owner and lover of everything pink, and begin to hang out with her daughter Lindsey.

Seeking to get over Katherine XIX, as he refers to her, and to finally “matter,” Colin conceives the Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, a mathematical formula for predicting the course of a relationship based on five personality traits of the people involved. Lindsey and Hassan offer their help and advice, and soon a road trip becomes an extended vacation in the middle of nowhere.

This book is a bundle of fun, funny, and fantabulous. Colin is a totally relatable character (if a bit pathetic at times.) It absolutely cracked me up. The book makes occasional attempts to be thought-provoking, and does not entirely succeed, but that doesn’t detract from its coolness. I give it four out of five daggers.

Anagrammatically yours,

Tay Darramont