Annotated Bibliography

Ebscohost. Web. <http://web.a.ebscohost.com/novp/detail?vid=2&sid=fbd745d7-5e94-41a6-8047-a91aa7179670@sessionmgr4004&hid=4209&bdata=JnNpdGU9bm92cC1saXZl#UI=096612&db=neh>.

This review from NoveList Plus summarizes the novel Bridge to Terabithia with extensive vocabulary and understanding of the novel, though they didn’t comment on neither the content (i.e. age group, violence, language, etc.) nor the value. The author of this review covers the storyline and the events that occur with detail, but their lack of depth into deserving topics such as the era, setting, character, etc. leave readers with an inability to evaluate whether or not they would be interested in reading such a book. The summary includes Jess’s progression from being "that crazy little kid who draws all the time”, to dealing with life through his imagination, to being the fastest kid in his grade. When it comes to the structure of the review, some grammar/ spelling mistakes were made but the overall outline was accurate and noticeable. For those who are questioning whether or not to read this novel won’t have to, for the author explains the complete novel ‘spoiling’ the ending and twists that occur. For those who are doing research or are simply looking to understand what they just read, they will be grateful for such a review.

Sova, Dawn B. "Bridge to Terabithia." Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Social Grounds, Third Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2011. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 20 May 2016 <http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&WID=241145&SID=5&iPin=BBSO3059&SingleRecord=True>.

This review from Bloom’s Literature was well written but had little depth. The review covers some of the book’s awards, the author, and storyline but has no information on the story’s target age group, lessons, or meaning. When summarizing the story, the author included that May Belle’s Twinkies were stolen but not a whole scene where he goes to a museum. The author picked out moments that they found vital and didn’t allow the reader to be the judge of what is important. Generally the summary included a lot of information about the basic storyline but no in depth reviews were shared. As a summary of the book Bridge to Terabithia, the author of this review used descriptive vocabulary to build the story’s mood and storyline in only two paragraphs. This was well written but, to be efficient, it need more connection between the characters. The author has the story but little structure was there to connect the towers of life-lines.  The review also mentioned nothing of the era/ year. This would affect a reader's decision to take note of the book in situations such as a school project and/or comparison between other works of text. Overall, the review was descriptive and covered a lot of the required material.

The Great Gatsby

 Recently in class, we have read and watched The Great Gatsby. It's a story about a wealthy man, named Jay Gatsby, that does so much for the love of his life. The book is written in the point of view of this man's neighbor, Nick. I found the book to be incredible. each scene was described as the mood and each page was consisted of poetry. Just the analogies were so captivating. The story was basic, with romance, conflict, death, and parties. In other words, a good book for everyone.

      The movie was not unlike the book. It was from Nick's point of view but it was focused on him recalling the story in a novel he writes. I enjoyed this way of telling the story because it allowed Nick to explain his emotions in the scenario, helping us to understand the mood. But contrary to that, it made the emotions biased.

F. Scott Fitzgerald developed characters well in terms of back-stories and personalities, making the book easy to follow. The movie was so much like the book that even a majority of the lines were directly from the book. I don’t know about you but I absolutely dread when I enjoy a novel and then the movie destroys it *ahem* Percy Jackson *cough, cough*.

I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone looking for a good read. With the lessons portrayed and the enhanced drama, I found I couldn’t put it down. When you think of the older novels that are written way back when, you usually aren’t as interested because it doesn’t touch the topic of today’s problems/ scenarios. But The Great Gatsby unexpectedly mentioned these problems just in a translated form. Overall I give this novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald a huge thumbs up.