Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Jurassic Park is an exciting and intellectual novel published by Michael Crichton in 1990. The novel tells the story of one man's quest to restore the beasts of the Jurassic age; dinosaurs. Using immense wealth through his corporation InGen and genetic science, John Hammond is able to fulfill his quest, and thus constructs a dinosaur amusement park on a fictional remote island near Costa Rica called Isla Nublar. As a final step to open his park, Hammond must invite experts of different fields to come and examine the park and ensure that it is safe for mass crowds. Among the experts are paleotologist Alan Grant, his assistant paleobotanist Ellie Sattler, mathematician and chaos theorist Ian Malcolm, and finally a lawyer representing the investors; Donald Gennaro. Upon inspecting the island and finding the dinosaurs to be real, the visitors are in awe. Everything goes to plan until Dennis Nedry, the parks head programmer and mastermind behind the parks computer controlled systems, temporarily shuts the park down in order to fulfill an inside job funded by InGens rival genetic corporation, Biosyn. Nedry does not make it back to the control room as he had planned and without it's systems back online in the wake of a crushing storm, the park falls into disarray, leaving the visitors to fend for themselves against a prehistoric nightmare.

City Of Bones - Cassandra Clare

The first book in The Mortal Instruments trilogy makes you fall in love with the characters. It's told as if the world as we know it has a whole other dark side that is unseen to the human eye, that is, unless you are a shadowhunter. Vampires and werewolves, faeries and demons, they once lived in fragile peace until Valentine takes control over the demons to wreck havoc on everyone. The shadowhunters, those decendants of the few who drank from the angels cup, are the only ones capable of fighting these dark forces with the help of runes carved into their skin. Clary, who lives alone with her mother in a single apartment finds everything shaken when her apartment is torn up and her mother missing. Until then she believed her world to be normal and vampires to be fantasy. She begins seeing things that 'aren't there' and finds out just how much of her past has been hidden from her, and that she is a very strong shadowhunter. ~ Caitlyn W.

Boss Lady By Omar Tyree

This book is about Tracy Ellison who is the lead character in Fly Girl and For the Love of Money.She is grown up now and very successful in her career. Her book Fly Girl is about her life as a teenager growing up in the eighties. After her little cousin Vanessa got into a fight with her mother Tracy said that she could come and live with her. Tracy knew that it would be a learning experience for Vanessa. Vanessa has the drive to become successful. Vanessa finishes high school and is going to college while living with Tracy. She wants to learn all that she can while living with Tracy so that she can make it on her own. Vanessa does not want to have to depend on her older cousin for ever. Vanessa is also pushing Tracy into making Fly Girl a movie. Girls from there home town Philadelphia look up to her and would love to see Fly Girl on film. After harassing Tracy about it for two in a half years she finally agrees to start making the film. The Filming process is taking longer than Vanessa and her crew anticipated. The crew had a falling out while they were in Philadelphia on a business trip. That falling out resulted in Trace's Photo being on the front cover in the news paper. Tracy had to check them all and teach them a lesson about herself as a actress and author. This book is great for teenage girls and boys if they are thinking about becoming actresses or actors. This is a coming of age book. If you like to read about hard working women that will work hard to accomplish there goals then this is the book for you.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby is considered F. Scott Fitzgerald's best novel and is a classic that any student should read. The story is about a young man named Nick who comes to New York City from the Midwest. He soon finds out that much of the big city is filled with people who have money. He becomes friends with his wealthy neighbor Gatsby, who gets him involved with his elaborate parties and fast paced lifestyle. The novel does a great job of showing how different social classes interact and makes you think if money is really everything. I would recommend anyone to read it.

Splinter Cell

Tom Clancy has done it once more with this thrilling book about one man that works alone to save America's freedoms. He is Sam Fisher. He is a Splinter Cell. Splinter Cell is about Sam Fisher who works for the NSA. The NSA has created a sub-division called Third Echelon. This division is responsible of carrying out covert operations through out the world to protect America's freedoms.

This is an action pack book from start to finish. It gets your attention and keeps you guessing till the very end. Splinter Cell is an excellent read and I highly recommend it. It is a very good book for people who seek action and adventure. Sam Fisher is a funny guy, the way he puts things in the book is simple and some times down right hilarious. Splinter Cell is a top notch action thriller and is one of Tom Clancy's best books.

Reading her three other books, Ellen Hopkins's ability rises above all by revealing and uncovering the damages life may put upon us. Once again she succeeds in the story-telling of Burned.
A young Mormon-born teenager growing up with six younger sisters, a lazy detached mother, and an abusive alcoholic father fights to reveal the hidden truth. While she continues living and observing her broken home, Pattyn detects major flaws in her family, school and religion. In her junior year of high school, she meets a boy, who is ran off by her father, while she is shipped off to her out-casted aunt, and finds true love along with the ugly truth. As summer ends, she is returned to her broken home. Pattyn returns to situations that shift from bad to worse, which only end in grief.

This soft yet powerful ride of love, religion and morals all link together to create this masterful novel. As the setting switches, Pattyn's beliefs follow along.