Into the Wild by John Krakauer

I just finished Into the Wild by John Krakauer and I have to say that I enjoyed it a lot. It took me way too long to read, something I am NOT proud of, but I think I came through in the end and finished it. It was a very interesting story about a real boy/man named Chris McCandless who, in 1992, decided, after graduating from Emory, to go on the run. He gave up all his savings and created a new life for himself. He became Alexander Supertramp. Krakauer went in depth and found out all about McCandless' odyssey. He got all the letters and the accounts from everyone McCandless met. He did his homework alright. And, after just being assigned to write one article for Outside magazine, he went further and wrote this book. Krakauer included personal anecdotes from his life as well as sufficient research about McCandless from the time he was born to the day he died. Not only did he research, but he also went in to the Alaskan bush McCandless saw his last days in. That's devotion right there. I really enjoyed this book because it wasn't a run of the mill biography. It was intricate and interesting and sometimes hard to follow. The whole epic journey McCandless took reminded me so much of Holden Caulfield. For example, one quote claims that

"Children can be harsh judges when it comes to their parents, disinclined to grant clemency, and this was especially true in Chris's case. More even than most teens, he tended to see things in black and white. He measured himself and those around him by an impossibly rigorous moral code"

(122). McCandless was a quirky character who I was really intrigued by. He saw things differently and his refusal to conform, which leads to his downfall, is refreshing and so incredibly interesting. I recommend this book to ANYONE--adults, teenagers, boys, girls, dogs, etc. It was a book I'd read again for sure.

End of Quarter Blog

The third quarter is almost over. Wow, time flies by in your sophmore year of high school! So, my genre plan for the fourth quarter is to read a play, poem or a historical fiction book. Just for the simple reason that I have not completed that genre requirement yet. I have absolutely no idea what book I will be reading but I'm sure my classmates or good old Ms. Bandman has a good idea for me. I have actually branched out a lot more this year than last year in independent reading. Last year, I wouldn't even take a second look at Jane Eyre and this year I ended up loving it. Also, I'm tending to read less and less of the easy breezy reads--though I am guilty every now and then. I do prefer a good realistic fiction every now and then. Looking for Alaska was a great read as well as Nicholas Spark's The Last Song and The Wedding. I do enjoy reading Picoults books as well (Handle with Care) but sometimes I don't want to start reading a book that I know will make me cry eventually so I'm trying, as of recent, to stay away from her books. Hmm...what else does her blog sheet say....what was my favority book this quarter? I'd have to say The Time Traveler's Wife. I absolutely LOVED that book it was interesting, well developed, and riveting. I found myself reading a book instead of watching tv which sometimes is a very surprising thing for me. I think that I didn't just choose this book as my favorite because it was better comparing to what else I have read this quarter, I think I would have chosen it either one of the other two quarters if the same question had been asked. Well, I think that this is all for now....


Allie