My Finished Reading List

Life As WE Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer 6/5/15

House of The Scorpion by Nancy Farmer 5/23/15

The One: Book Three of the Selection Series by Kiera Cass 5/13/15

1776 by David McCullough 5/11/15

Cinder by Marissa Meyer 3/31/15

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 3/20/15

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 3/8/15

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill 3/3/15

Allegiant by Veronica Roth 2/24/15

The Rithmatist by Brandon Anderson 2/3/15

Insurgent by Veronica Roth 1/23/15

Packing For Mars by Mary Roach 1/20/15

The Sea-Wolf by Jack London 1/6/15

The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare 12/17/14

The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare 12/10/14

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins 12/2/14

The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare 11/28/14

Bomb by Steve Sheinkin 11/25/14

Trash by Andy Mulligan 11/20/14

The Agency: A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee 11/13/14

Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne 11/7/14

Legend by Marie Lu 11/4/14

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman 10/29/14

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach 10/21/14

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 10/20/14

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway 10/16/14

Code Orange by Caroline B. Cooney 10/15/14

Locked in Time by Lois Duncan 10/10/14

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglass Adams 10/7/14

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells 10/2/14

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells 9/29/14

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë 9/27/14

Speak by Laurie Anderson 9/14/14

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 9/10/14

My Summer Reading Project: War Horse

My Summer Reading Project: War Horse

Over the summer I read multiple books and watched their movie versions. Some of these books are The Joy Luck Club, The Hunger Games, The Black Cauldron, and An Inconvenient Truth. But the one that impressed and awed me the most was War Horse.

Summary:

     The book War Horse was an inspiring historical fiction story about a workhorse named Joey who is sold to the army during the Civil War. He is separated from his master and friend, Albert, and travels through many dangerous situations and witnesses terrible tragedies, yearning to be with Albert once again. Throughout the book he finds many friends, like Topthorn, and Captain Stewart. He is reunited once again  with Albert when the war finally ends. Having lost many masters, companions and friends, yet being a horse, no one will know how Joey ever truly felt- but there is one thing for sure: Joey is a war horse to the heart.

My Response:

     I felt that the book was very interesting and inspirational, especially it being from Joey's perspective. This, and many books like it, makes me wonder what goes on in the minds of other animals, if they understand and know more than they let on, and why they do certain things when we 'command' them. 

     This book shows that we aren't the greatest beings in the world- there are far more powerful beasts than us. It is because of our advanced minds that we think in this condescending way. Chimpanzees are our ancestors and can communicate to a limited extent with us. But we don't appreciate their intelligence, we still think of them as inferior creatures to us humans. We hate certain animals because we don't understand them. They might think the same way. 

     This book shows us again and again that humans and animals can live in peace and that animals are more than we think. For example, Joey never spooked when Captain Nicholls fell in battle; he led on the charge, risking his life and never breaking stride, even when horses and humans fell all around him. Through his eyes we see how exactly terrifying war is, alone in many, never knowing if you'll live to see the light again. We see how he endured many cold months of starvation, bad men and masters, and ground that exploded beneath his hooves. We understand why he struggled through his grief and pain, fighting to survive when others became mere shells of their former selves. 

     We have much to learn from this book, and much to discover about the beings that live by our side every day.