Outliers

By Malcolm Gladwell
Published in 2008 by Little, Brown and company

Would you believe me if I told you that the success of amazing people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs depended on the year they were born? That Asians are so good at math because of the agricultural activities of their ancestors?  Or that the reason for several mysterious plane crashes was actually the ethnicity of the first officer? In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell tells us the real story of success. Whether it’s high school hockey players, software geniuses, or amazing math scores, there’s more to success than meets the eye.

In part one, Opportunity, we see how success depends more on opportunity and luck than on personal talent. Learn how Bill Gate’s success was thanks to  the ‘Mother’s Club’ at his school, and how Bill Joy the computer legend would have been a small, infamous biologist if he was born just three years earlier than he was. Through all these stories and more, we understand the amazing way that every small opportunity plays a part in turning unremarkable people into stars. Even setbacks are golden opportunities in disguise. It isn’t enough to have talent. To succeed you need extraordinary perseverance, fortune, ambition, and chances. But sometimes even that is not enough.

Part two, Legacy, tells us what influence the cultural background of a person can have on their success. The author studies how important it is for officers on airplanes to learn English and get used to American culture, and also how rice paddies play such an important role in the math tests of Chinese children.  You wouldn’t believe the effect ethnicity can have on a person’s achievements.

To read more of these remarkable stories about how exceptional accomplishments are made, read Outliers, an incredible book which will alter the way you look at the world.

 

To me, ‘non-fiction’ has always been pretty much synonymous to ‘boring textbook’. But then, I was given Outliers to read as a classroom assignment. After reading just a few pages I was fascinated. I went far past the one chapter I was supposed to read and finished the entire book. By the end, my views and ideas about success had changed completely. I’ve learned an amazing amount from this one book, and I will never look at a ‘rags to riches’ success story the same way again. For the first time, I have truly realized the amazing complexity and hardship success involves.

I would definitely recommend this book to all kids twelve years and above. A wonderful and informative read this is the kind of book that not only you will love, but your parents will be proud of as well!

 

The Conch Bearer

Here is a book review on the book 'The Conch Bearer' by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni in the form of a poem!

The book starts in a bengali alley,
and takes you to a secret himalayan valley.
Along the way there is lots of magic,
and interesting events,
both happy and tragic.

The excitement begins in a tiny shack,
from work a boy named Anand has come back.
But there he finds a mysterious man,
who claims that he will and can,
take Anand on a wonderful travel,
if he will protect a conch which is quite a marvel.

So Anand sets out, starting in his alley,
to go return the conch to its silver valley.
Accompanying him is Nisha, a girl of the streets,
and the man, of course, with his magical feats.
On the trip there is lots of danger,
and scary encounters with an evil stranger.
But Anand and his friends overcome it all,
and enter the secret valley standing tall!
Yet, even there, Anand must make with precision,.
a horrible, poignant, life-changing decision.

This is a fantastic compelling adventure story,
with ups and downs, despair and glory
The Indian setting gives the story a special feeling,
making the book very appealing.
I assure you this book will never make you frown,
It's a real page turner, impossible to put down!

The Giver by Lois Lowry

About the Book:


The Giver was published in 1993. It won several awards, including the Regina Medal, ALA Best Book for young adults, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, and the 1994 Newberry Medal.



The Main Characters

Jonas- A twelve year old boy who is selected to be the next Receiver of Memory. It is a job which involves bearing other’s pain and joy so that there is peace in the community.

The Giver-The old ‘Receiver of Memories’. Now that he is old, he must pass his memories on to Jonas.

Jonas’s mother

Jonas’s father

Lily-Jonas’s sister

Asher and Fiona-Jonas’s friends

Gabriel- A small newchild (baby) who comes to stay with Jonas’s family.



Summary:

Jonas’ world is completely under control. Everyone is obedience. There is no joy or sorrow. Everyone experiences only the most shallow of feelings. There is no rain, sunshine, love, hate, music or colors.



Then, Jonas is selected to receive training from the Giver, the man who bears joys and sorrows for the whole community. Now Jonas is learning the truth about his seemingly peaceful community. He and the Giver must make things change before it is too late.



The Positives and Negatives of the book:

This book is very emotional. It leaves you thinking, trying to decide which is better: - Our world or Jonas’s. Also, the author starts by building up more and more suspense until a huge amount of action when Jonas runs away. The story is very tightly plotted and gripping.This makes the book very interesting.

Around the World in Eighty Days

Author: Jules Verne


About the Book:

Around The World in Eighty Days was published in 1873. It is a very famous book. Along with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, it is Jules Verne’s most popular work.

Summary:

The story opens as Phileas Fogg, a non sociable, time-bound man who lives in London employs a new servant named Passepartout. But after that the day, which was supposed to be another time-bound day, becomes more exciting than usual!

Fogg makes a famous bet to travel around the world in eighty days, and at 7:35 p.m. they leave on a voyage which would make history! They travel through Europe to Suez, Egypt, where a British detective named Mr. Fix suspects them of a robbery and starts tailing them on their trip. Then they go through India, where they rescue an Indian princess named Aouda. They almost get arrested at Calcutta, and soon, Aouda falls in love with Fogg. Then in Hong Kong, Detective Fix drugs Passepartout so that they miss their steamer. But nothing will stop Fogg! He hires his own ship and sets sail for Shanghai.

So the story goes on with luck and hardships. Will Fogg win his bet?

Why I liked the book:
This story really gets you hooked, and it is interesting to hear about the different modes of transportation used in those times, such as ship, steam rails, elephants etc. Also, it’ll help you remember the International Date Line if you ever decide to travel around the world! (That was just a hint about the ending!)

My Favourite Character:

My favourite character is Passepartout. This is because he is lively and talkative, and also has very good judgement. He is very loyal and trusting. I also feel that he is pretty lucky, and also I like the ‘ring’ to his name (Passepartout).

If I could choose my own Ending:

If I could choose my own ending, nosy Detective Fix would be in a fix, and the reform club members would become poor and move away, leaving everything to Fogg. Also, Aouda would marry Phileas Fogg, and Fogg would become a much more sociable and nice man, ten times richer than before. Also, Passepartout would be ‘adopted’ as their brother, and all of them would live happily ever after.

Surviving the APPLEWHITES

Book Review:


Surviving the APPLEWHITES

Author: Stephanie S. Tolan



About the book:

This book is a novel written for children about the experiences of a family called the Applewhites and a boy named Jake. It is a fiction book, meant for kids eight years and above. It has also won a Newberry Honor Book medal.



The Main Characters

Members of the Applewhite family:



Destiny Applewhite- The youngest Applewhite in the family. He is four years old.

Edith Applewhite- Usually called E.D., she thinks that she’s the odd one out in the Applewhite family. She is thirteen years old.

Cordelia Applewhite- The most dramatic girl in the family. She enjoys dancing.

Hal Applewhite- He is a recluse who lives in his room and works on his paintings. He comes out only at night to take food. The Applewhites respect his ‘Artistic privacy’, and don’t ask him what he’s working on until he comes out and shows it to them, even if they don’t see him for months.

Sybil Jameson- (Her real name is Debbie: she changed her name and kept her maiden name when she married) She is a famous author, and is the mother of the Applewhite children.

Randolph Applewhite- He is the father of the Applewhite children. He works as a theatre director.

Archie Applewhite- Randolph’s brother, he works as a wood worker.

Lucille Applewhite- Her view of the world is completely sunny. She is an Applewhite by marriage. She is a poet.

Zedediah Applewhite- He’s the Patriarch of the Applewhite clan. He is the grandpa of the Applewhite kids. He makes handcrafted wood furniture along with Archie.



Other People:

Jake Semple: A boy who managed to get kicked out of every school on Rhode Island, and is famous for burning down his last school. Jake is a bully who swears and smokes.

Govindaswami- Lucille’s guru, he cooks amazing meals.

Jeremy Bernstein- A man who first came to interview Sybil and ends up in a car crash and comes to stay with the Applewhites.



Summary

Jake Semple is coming to live with the Applewhites and take classes in their home school! Everyone is determined to fish out the good kid under the bad exterior. Everyone except E.D. She’s the only one who thinks he’ll be a disaster. But, in fact, living with the Applewhites, Jake does change. Nobody except E.D cares if he swears, and he simply cannot smoke with Zedediah around. Then he starts actually becoming fond of the family’s dog, and soon he even likes Destiny, who keeps following him around. He realises that he is changing. He’s getting new feelings.



Later, Jake even accepts an offer Randolph gives him to join his latest theatre production. But, the president of the theatre is against the play just because her daughter (who is a horrible actor) didn’t get into the cast. So, she makes all the workers quit the show. But that doesn’t stop Randolph! The rest of his family do the work instead! But, the president refuses to let them have the show. There was nothing to do. The Applewhites had wasted weeks. Projects had come to a standstill just to make the show a success. Just as everyone was gloomily accepting the truth, E.D gets an idea! No one can stop the show! The Applewhites decide to have the show in their barn instead! Quickly a stage is built. Everyone, even Destiny, have hundreds of things to do. But, on opening night, something goes wrong. Everything is going well until the power goes out! What will they do now? Read the book to find out!



Review written by Sahithi Pingali

The Last Olympian

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Book 5
By: Rick Riordan

In this book, it is the final battle against the titan lord, Kronos. The demigods are fighting with all their might to make sure that Olympus, home of the gods, doesn’t get invaded by the titans. Their forces are getting weaker and weaker. Will they win?

Main Characters:
· Percy Jackson (hero, son of poisodon, (sea god)
· Annabeth Chase (daughter of Athena(goddess of wisdom), Percy’s friend)
· Kronos (King of the Titans, father of the gods, but their enemy)
· Grover (satyr, half man-half goat)
· Thalia (daughter of Zeus, King of gods, God of the sky)

Why you should read this book
You should read this book because it is very exciting and gripping, and it is full of humour. They are the NY Times number one best selling series, and this is school library journal’s comment about this series -“with electrifying moments chasing each other like heartbeats” and I think so too!

How the book got its name:
During the battle, most of the demigods think they would loose and the Titans will win. They think all the Olympians would be destroyed, and the only Olympian who would be left would be Hestia, goddess of the hearth. She would be the only thing left. Home. Hearth. She would be the last Olympian.