Alex+Reading

**Reading Task 1 Term 4 2009 - Falling**
Title: Falling Author: Sharon Dogar Number of pages: 344 ISBN: 978 1 905294 69 5 Publisher: Chicken House

Neesha and Sammy are in love. But there’s one problem; their different cultures won't allow it. Taking the risk of running away, they get caught up in events they never should have. Suddenly they become witnesses to a near death experience after Kef stabs Gita and he is now after Neesha and Sammy. Knowing his Grandfather is travelling India, Sammy hides Neesha in his boathouse as Neesha cannot go back home to her family. On the boat, Neesha continuously sees fragments of a lady falling down into the icy water below. When Neesha's brother, Jammi and Kef find out where Neesha's hiding, Neesha and Sammy decide to run away to another city. The morning they are supposed to be leaving, Kef captures Sammy and goes to find Neesha, who is all alone on the boat. Using her instinct, she realises Sammy isn’t coming back. She climbs out of the boat, trying not to draw attention to herself so she doesn’t get caught by Kef. Once Neesha finds Sammy, they make their way to the car but a voice inside Neesha’s head is telling her to save Kef. At first she ignores the voice, as he is trying to kill her and Sammy but then she follows the voice in her head and tries to find Kef. Neesha and Sammy find him lying on the ground, with many cuts on himself. Kef had gone crazy and his knife and talked him into cutting himself. Neesha and Sammy take him down to the water to wash kef but then the police turn up and assume Neesha and Sammy had cut Kef with the knife and were planning on killing him. Neesha and Sammy are taken away to the police station where they are questioned about Kef. Will Neesha and Sammy’s different cultures finally allow them to be together?

I really enjoyed reading 'Falling'. I loved how there was many different mysteries for Neesha and Sammy to unravel. There was a bit of everything in the story; mystery, anxiety and romance. I think it had a great plot and the way that the characters have turns telling the story from their own point of view also gave me full understanding of the story.

One thing I would change about it though is the amount of swearwords Sharon Dogar uses in the story. I think that in most places where she has used them, it was unnecessary and the words could have easily been cut out and been replaced by other words. My favourite character would have to be Neesha. It was like she had been locked up in a cage her whole life, teased and tormented because of her culture and finally breaking out of it. Overall I really enjoyed this book because of the way Sharon Dogar describes everything in such detail but in a compelling way. I think this book could be easily made into a movie by the way the plot has been set out and thought about very carefully. Sharon Dogar would have had to take time to think the whole plot out because of the many mysteries Neesha and Sammy solve and how they all link together at the end. I recommend this book to everyone who wants a gripping but emotional story and loves reading about all genres. I think this book is truly astounding.


 * Reading Task 2 Term 3 2009 - Dear Julia **

Reading Task 2 Term 3 2009 - Dear Julia Title: Dear Julia Author: Amy Bronwen Zemser Genre: Young adult fiction Number of pages: 327 ISBN: 978 0 06 029458 8 Publisher: Green Willow Books

Elaine Hamilton, a shy 16 year old has longed to be the next Julia Child since she was young. Her feminist mother on the other hand, doesn’t approve. Since the age of six, Elaine has wrote letters to Julia Child, explaining her problems about cooking certain food. Julia would have replied to the letters if Elaine had enough courage to send them. She cooks //Filet de Bouef Roti// and //Pate de campagne// for her family but still can’t seem to master the Omelet. Elaine, who would have never thought of entering a cooking contest to achieve her dreams, becomes friends with Lucida Sans, the outrageous girl who would do everything to become famous. Elaine’s mother pleads with Elaine to not choose a career in cooking and Elaine finds it heart-breaking that her mother doesn’t care about what Elaine wants to do and doesn’t believe in her chosen career. With the help of Elaine’s five brothers, Lucida persuades Elaine to enter a cooking contest. All goes well at the competition and ends up as tie between Elaine and Marceau Etienne, whose father is a certified master chef and owns the most successful restaurant in town. As a tie breaker they must make an Omelet. Can Elaine prove to her mother that cooking is her dream? And, most importantly, can Elaine accomplish the Omelet? I really enjoyed reading //Dear Julia.// It just goes to show that when you believe and have faith you can achieve your dreams. I think Amy Bronwen Zemser did a good job on writing this book, as I think it is an easy read and a great way to make children think; there is nothing stopping me to achieving my goal/dream. My favorite character was Elaine's Dad because he was always supportive of Elaine and whenever Elaine made a meal, he would always praise her and say thank you unlike Elaine's mother who would try to ignore the fact of Elaine being a great chef.

My least favorite character would have to be Elaine's Mother because she didn't believe in Elaine, which I found sad, because a mother should support their child in the choices they make in life, not try to change their mind. But it was good that at the end, when Elaine's Mother attends the cooking contest, she really started to see why Elaine wanted to be a chef and started to accept the fact that Elaine didn't want to be a congress woman. Overall, the only thing I didn't really enjoy was how the meals always had names like //Filet de Boeuf Roti.// Sometimes though Amy Brenwen Zemser explained what they were so we got a better understanding but she only did it occasionally. I recommend //Dear Julia// to anyone who is looking for an easy read, but an interesting plot with unexpected mishaps along the way.





__**Reading Task 1 Term 3 2009**__
media type="custom" key="4253189"