When Baron Soontir Fel, the greatest pilot of the Imperial forces, is captured by the Rebels, he tells all in the confines of an interrogation cell to Wedge Antilles, the greatest pilot of the Rebellion - also his brother-in-law.

Stackpole brilliantly shows the past carrer of Fel in the Imperial Navy, how he met Syal Antilles, Wedge's sister, and how it comes to be that Fel defects to the Rebels.

The story falls short in the cofusing final third, however. Not much happens and what does happen is very jumbled and not thought through. Then again, Stackpole isn't exactly the Master of the Hidden Plot. But it is well worth its cost in dollars in the first two-thirds; after all, I bought it.

'Blood & Honor' is basically two stories in one, including dramatically different art teams, so I'll do my best.

The first part, 'The Making of Baron Fel', is definitely one of the most unique pieces of SW ever assembled. Picking up right where 'In the Empire's Service' ended, Baron Fel is in Rebel hands and through the interrogation chair reveals his life in service to the Empire in a mix of narration and flashbacks that could only be achieved in comic book format. Fel's story is indeed a compelling one and does the rare feat of presenting a clear philosophical case against the Empire.

It has also been both praised and criticized for its extensive use of cameos. I, for one, will do some praising, as it does help to tie the SW galaxy together. Appearances by people such as Tarkin, Thrawn, Derricote, Isard, and so forth are key to the story, while people like Post ('Family Ties')and Turr Phennir ('In the Empire's Service') serve to tie together pieces of Fel's life and the over all XWRS story.

The art by Steve Crespo is good, with well-done people and a good amount of realism. The spacecraft, while reasonably detailed, are nowhere near those of John Nadeau and his wizardry with technology. The whole thing, for better or for worse, has a rather crisp look to it, as opposed to the very dirty style of Gary Erksine.

The slightly longer second part, 'Family Ties' is a little of a letdown. The art has little detail and the movement isn't very fluid either. The story itself is alright, a bit of a nice breakaway after 'In the Empire's Service'. It opens in the aftermath of the Brentaal Campaign, where General Salm gives a little eulogy for the dead Aggressors and Rogues. Following is Fel's introduction to the rogues and greeting that is not too kind. Then Wedge send Plourr, Hobbie, and Janson to Corellia on a mission that takes up the rest of the story. The appearance by Kirtan Loor was a nice touch, enhanced even more so when Corran Horn and Iella Wessiri from Stackpole's novels take on roles as co-stars.

'Family Ties' was colored by Perry McNamee instead of the usual David Nestelle, and, call me spoiled, but it shows. One particular scene, if you read the dialogue, takes place at night, but you couldn't tell that by simply looking at it.

Overall, its is a key link to the rest of the series and is recommended for that and because of the very interesting look into the Empire provided by 'The Making of Baron Fel.'

Blood and Honor, the follow-up story to "In the Empire's Service," is comprised actually of two stories, not just one. The first, "The Making of Baron Fel," is quite possibly the best X-wing comic ever. It was released on the stands as a special 48-page issue, and is quite outstanding. The second story is the 2-issue "Family Ties," which often vies for a position as the worst of the Rogue Squadron stories. Although these stories conclude some of the plots from the previous comic, they incidentally also pretty much completely drop the "Rise of Isard" story, leaving that to continue in the next Rogue Squadron story.

The Making of Baron Fel is simply an outstanding comic. Basically it is, as the cover implies, the life story of the Empire's greatest pilot. It is told by Fel as he sits in a Rebel interrogation room, and really takes the guy from "Imperial pilot extraordinaire" to one of the most sympathetic characters to show up in the Star Wars mythos. The art suits the story perfectly, and we get to see a ton of familiar faces. There are cameos by Isard, Derricote, Thrawn, and Hal Horn, as well as a bunch of Rebels before they defected from the Empire. This comic also gives us a good look at how truly corrupted the Empire was, and why so many people were so willing to serve under it. There are also several surprises, including the identity of Fel's wife, as well as Fel's offer to the Rebels. This comic alone is worth the cover price of Blood and Honor.

Unfortunately, Family Ties does not fare so well. Janson, Hobbie and Plourr (shouldn't she be back on Eiattu by now?) go on a mission to Corellia to ensure the safety of Baron Fel's family. Along the way they bump into a few familiar faces (including Corran Horn and Iella Wessiri in their CorSec days, as well as their Imperial liaison and nemesis, Kirtan Loor), as well as a few old enemies of Fel's. I didn't mind the art style, except that the characters were changed. Plourr was never before a buxom, spandex-wearing type, and Horn's X-wing as well as Horn himself and several other characters were also somewhat butchered. There were a couple funny running jokes, but no particularly wonderful dialogue, and there was only one space battle, thrown in at the end almost obligatorily, and then only to show off Corran's skills in a fighter so that the Rogue could make some jokes about how he'd never be a Rogue.

The Making of Baron Fel was exceedingly good and definitely worth reading. Family Ties was not. I definitely recommend this comic for the one, if not the other.

I read this book and found it, frankly, depresing. If you would like to know, it is about a 15 year old boy who's mother passed away the year before. Now his father and himself have seemed to drift apart. So much that his father seems like a stranger. At the beginning of the book he reminises of the so-called Old Days when his mother was still alive, and when they went on car trips, and how they would play road games, which I hate to say made me feel ultimitly depressed. Then on about the second chapter, he reaches his grandparents house where he sulks and reminisses some more, while cleaning his grandmother's small family graveyard. At about 2/4 through the book, he notices a small picture of a man in a basic flannel shirt and blue jeans. After asking a family friend, he realizes it's a tin-type of the legendary Sin Eater. After this dreary period, he finally makes some local friends who take him to the Sin Eater's former house where he finds a treasure. Then Christmas time comes, and his father spends all his time upstairs in the attic, looking at old pictures, while he refuses to put up a tree, because of the memories of past Christmas's when his wife was still alive. I won't tell you the rest, in case you would like to read it yourself, but it ends in a somewhat happy ending. I would not recommed this book, but I suppose some people might like it, if your the type of person who enjoys some-what depressing lituature.

After reading these past reviews as compared to the booklist review, I cannot see how a critic can compare to the real people this book was written for--the regular reader. though it took me but a day to read this book, I found it invigorating, insightful and meaningful. I must admit, I am quite biased, Schmidt is one of my professors and mentors. Yet, regardless of this fact, this story is one that should be told. If not for the story itself, then for the moral and the message behind it--that one shouldn't let the hardships of life bring them down, that life goes on..we should charish life.

This book is a true gem. It is beautifully written and constructed. The reviewer from Booklist seems to have misunderstood the book when she said that the Sin Eater element was not well integrated -- all of the elements of this book are perfectly integrated. It is, in fact, the Sin Eater "character"(as well as Cole's grandparents, friends and community) that allow Cole to cope with and understand his loss. This is a truly beautiful book with many layers of meaning. It is about the value of family history and experience, the past, community, faith... It's a book that will make you think. It's a book you will want to reread. Don't take it lightly and don't miss it!

Brian's return is a book about a 16 year old who has finally been rescued form the wilderness.The time is about a year later after Brian has been rescued form the wilderness of Canada. (I recommend you read the first three before reading this one our at least the first one).Brian can't stand living in the city and wants to return to the wilderness but if he dose he will bring a couple helpful items.The question is will he? If you liked The hatchet and the other two and would like to know the final ending of Brian's adventures i recommend this book.This book is not as action packed as the other three but is a very surprising and fun book to read.

Brian's Return is the third and final sequel to Gary Paulsen's 1988 Newbery Honor book Hatchet. In this sequel Brian is an unhappy 15 year old high school student who is having great difficulty adjusting to a normal "civilized" life after being alone in the wilderness. For almost two years he tries to fit in but he just can't seem to connect with his old friends and their seemingly trivial concerns. Through conversations with a counselor Brian realizes that he must return to the wilderness to find himself and his place in the world. This book chronicles his canoe trip back into the wild. Paulsen's desciptions of the scenery and wildlife are so vivid and realistic that readers will feel they are on the trip with Brian. If you have read Hatchet, The River, and Brian's Winter, you MUST read Brian's Return. Although it is a little more reflective than the other action packed books, it is still a fitting conclusion to Brian's saga. I highly recommend Brian's Return.

I think Brian's Return is a great book. If you have read Hatchet, The River, and Brian's Winter (like I have) then you will understand the story better 'cause you probably wouldn't really understand it if you haven't read at least one of those three books that came before this one. This time, Brian is back at home and he can't seem to adjust to his formal life at home. After he gets into a huge fight with this kid who is jelous of him and gets arrested for it, he decides that the best place for him is back in the woods and so he goes back there. This time, Brian is prepared and he is used to the way the woods is so he can survive. I think this book is awesome and if you have read Hatchet, The River, and Brian's Winter and liked those books, then I can gaurentee that you will like Brian's Return! Even if you haven't read those books but have read other books by Gary Paulsen then you should get this book!

Jay McInerney made a name for himself with his 1987 blockbuster Bright Lights Big City. He should have called this book, the 1989 followup, Big Print Thick Paper.

Instead, he called it Story of My Life, which is just as well, since the protagonist, Alison, must utter that phrase 500 times. That in itself is a major factor in helping the fluff stretch out over 180 or 190 pages or so, but it doesn't help the narrative avoid sounding as if most of it appeared in word balloons over the heads of the main characters, like in a 1950s-style Real Life comic book.

It's easy to write this book off as a product of the tail end of the most decadent decade in the U.S. since the Jazz Age (though the 1920s did at least give us some extraordinary literature), and there may be something to that point of view. But I choose to see it as the swan song of a self-indulgent literary style whose time had come before it really began and a writer whose success would have been impossible at any other point in history. In that respect, Story of My Life has some value as a sort of literary time capsule, a curious reminder of a time we'd rather forget. But is it worth reading now? Ask yourself this: what did Jay McInerney write next? Where did his career rise to after this exercise? If you know the answer, you get my point.

I recall reading McInerney's "Bright Lights, Big City" due to all then hype around it, and hating it. The main tragi-stupid, silly and self-destructive character simply got more on my nerves with every page. Thus, when one day, for some reason while listening to the radio I heard a review of this book, I was somewhat doubtful, yet decided to check it out. What followed was total inability to put the book down until I finished it, cover to cover. It is very readable. It's jazzy rhythm, with hilarious fast-paced passages interrupted by a more introspective brief slow adagio, is simply brilliant. Witnessing an intelligent person that struggles to defeat her capacity for introspection while entertaining us with the wittiest insights and wordplay is captivating. It does not have the pretense to be a masterpiece, and yet I find it one of the best books I have ever read. Bravo, Jay McInerney.

This novel inspired me to write (a similar) one of my own. I still can't believe it was written by a man and not by one of my girlfriends. I feel as if I've met the main character a million times on the LA club circuit. I can totally relate to this book-- for someone who can't, however, this book is still recommended, as it puts forth an extremely honest and accurate rendition of a young, beautiful and wild girl's life in the city. It is also very witty and HILARIOUS, as well as thought provoking (i.e. the "chain of pain" theory.) There are two other books by this author that are similar to this one, specifically "Bright lights Big City" and "Model behavior", however neither one is as compelling in my opinion--perhaps because their protagonists are male and I can't relate as well. The author does, however, have a wonderful talent for bringing his characters to life and making you symathize with them even though they all have incredibly prominent faults. This quality alone makes his novels worth the price and time.

Can you imagine what life would be like if you were 13 years old and homeless on the streets of Mexico? Well, if not, read "The Crossing" by Gary Paulsen. "The Crossing" is about a young boy named Manny Bustos who is fighting for survival in Juarez, a Mexican border town and who's only chance is crossing over into the United States. Manny develops a strange friendship with an emotional American soldier who decides to help him cross the border. But, to fully review the book, one must know about the characters in the book, explore Gary Paulson's purpose of the book, and finally share a personal opinion of the book.

The main characters in the book "The Crossing" are Manny Bustos, Robert S. Locke, and Maria. Manny is a young red head Mexican boy who roams the streets of Juarez scavenging for food. Robert is a Sergeant in the American ARMY. His whole life consists of being a good officer during the day and surviving his haunted nightlife by drinking himself to almost "brain dead." Robert is haunted by dead friends, who were killed during a war. Maria is a woman who worked at the Two-by-Four bar and cafe. She would sneak Manny food and also supported Manny when he decided he was going to cross the border.

Gary Paulsen tries to show the truth of what life is like for some Mexican people. He tries to show Mexican poverty and street life, of those who are faced with "the crossing." Paulsen tells us in his book about men who are out to capture young men like Manny. These men will do damage to anybody, just how they did to Robert toward the end of the book. Paulson also shows how life can be rough when trying to trick tourists by having them throw money.

"The Crossing" is a book which I enjoyed reading. I would suggest this book to other teenage readers but would not recommend this book to anyone who is a sophisticated reader. Like the relationship between Robert and Manny, this book is brief and brutal but ends on a note of hope. This book is very short in length and has a simple writing style which should give high-school students with slow reading abilities a special appeal for this book.

"The Crossing" is a spectacular book, which will make a person realize how spectacular their life is. A complete review to the book has been given with information about the characters, Paulson's purpose, and a personal reaction to the book. If you are a high school student wanting to learn about the Mexican culture along the borders, read this book.

I believed the book was pretty good. i liked how it had to do with a kid trying to better himself and escape from poverty as an orphan and start a new life in the USA. It helped give a good view on wat real friendship is suppose to be like. I would recommend this book to people who want a quick book to read and would just like to have it easy.

"The Crossing" is a great book about a Mexican boy named Manny who will do anything to try and make the crossing from Mexico into the United States so he can get him a job and maybe even buy some stuff for himself. Gary Paulsen seems to tell a realistic story of how a beggar's life is because all through the book, it tells about Manny's ideas of how to get money or food from people and how he thinks he should beg. But Manny is fourteen now and he wants to try and make the crossing to start a life for himself. Manny meets a Sergeant named Robert Locke, who Manny sees as somebody different. Manny must find a way to make the crossing over the border without being caught.

"The Crossing," like most Gary Paulsen books, is a good story. It's about struggling and how to overcome the struggle and survive. It doesn't ever get boring and you'll want to read on the whole time until you finish the book. I recommend anybody to read "The Crossing."

The sequel of the miraculous book "Hatchet",known as "The River", by Gary Paulsen,is based on a story about a 15-year old boy named Brian Robeson.He faced 54 days alone in the woods with nothing but a hatchet two years ago because of a plane crash. But fortuanatly, he was recued at the end of summer. Now a young govorment psychologist named Derek Holtzer persuades him to go into the woods again so Derek can learn his survival techniques. Brian and his mother agreed, so soon enough, he was heading toword the woods next to a lake similar to the one he had been at two years ago. For the first few days everything was going fine, but later, during a terrible storm, Derek is struck by lightning and falls into a coma, while the radio is dead.Brian soon learns that Derek will die of thirst unless Brian can get him medical help 100 miles down the river. Brian builds a raft to try carry Derek and him across the river, but will Brian be able to save Derek in time? Read the book to find out. Overall, I think the book was pretty good, but not exactly great. The reason it's not terrific because it's a bit boring and I'm not that into survival stories anyway. But remember, that's my opinion. I think the book would be great for children around the age 9 who like danger and survival stories because the book is about how Brian shows how he survives to the wilderness and the reading level is meant is for these students. If you like "The River" you can read "Hatchet" or "Brian's Winter", a companion to both of these books. I hope you enjoy reading these books!

The book The River by Gary Paulsen is about a boy named Brian Robensen. He is about 15 years old, and is just getting used to being home after being stranded in the Canadian Wilderness Area. Three men come to his home and ask him to do it again. He decides he will do it to save peoples lives. One man, Derrick, who is with the wilderness survival center, goes with him to the wilderness. The plane leaves and the two only have a radio to call if there is trouble. Trouble comes in the form of lightning, and strands Brian with Derrick in a coma, and the radio is dead. He decides the river is his only hope to civilization...

The book overall was good, but There were one or two things I didn't like, such as Gary Paulsen doesn't explain the camping site very well. He just says that it has a fort, and a fire pit, and the usual camping site stuff. He should have described into detail the fort, and the fire pit, and all the rest of it. Another thing I didn't like was the fact that he introduced the two problems at once. It isn't very realistic that Derrick was holding the radio during his sleep, and the lightning bolt just happened to hit right as the two were sleeping. One thing I did like was the non stop action the whole time after the introduction of the problem. Brian is constantly chasing a raft, or pulling on the raft. I really liked the action of this book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes wilderness survival, or action books, or who just like to try to figure out how to overcome a problem. You are constantly guessing how he will get out of a problem or if he will get out of problems.

You must read The River. It's a book where Brian argues with a government psychologist over survival gear and battles a raging, ripping river with only a small, homemade raft. Brian is being paid by the Canadian government to teach his survival tactics, that he used in Hatchet, to instructors for the army. The only big change for this trip is that Brian won't be alone. A young government psychologist named Derek Holtzer will accompany him on this survival. Also Brian and Derek will be dropped off at a different Canadian lake. The plane is carrying plenty of gear, such as a tent, gun, sleeping bags, fishing gear and a radio. Brian refuses all the gear, except the radio, which Derek promises to use only in dire emergencies. The camp goes well. Brian gets a fire started and they make their beds. Brian teaches Derek how to shoot fish, and everything is going great until a freak storm erupts. With a loud clap of thunder, Derek reaches for the radio and a bolt of lightning strikes Derek, and puts him in a deep coma. The River is an extremely good novel. I would suggest it to anyone who is into the outdoors, and adventure.

Canyons is a really good book. It's about a fifteen year old boy named Brennan who goes camping up in the canyons, and finds a skull. He ends up taking it home, and he does some research on it. He finds out that it belonged to an Apache Indian boy, about his age, named Coyote Runs. Later Brennan gets in trouble with the cops, over the skull. Although the book didn't really seem that interesting when I started it, towards the end it gets really good. I think you will enjoy it!

Canyons is a great adventure story. The main characters are Brennan, Mr. Homesly and Brennan's mother. In this book Brennan stumbled over a skull with a bullet hole in it. After this, he had trouble sleeping. He had strange dreams, and he heard whispers. He finally realized that he had a quest from an Apache boy who was executed by soldiers for no reason. His quest was to return the skull to the medicine place. Could he do it? Once Brennan had a vision about Coyote Runs, the Apache boy. In his vision Brennan saw soldiers coming after him like they did to Coyote Runs. This reminds me of the time I was playing guns. I was climbing on the rough rocks of Devil's Den at Gettysburg, playing with my brother. I could see myself slipping, fearing that I might fall just like Brennan did when he climbed the cliffs with the rescue team behind him. When Brennan went camping, he was having a lot of fun. Then when he found the skull, he was scared. This reminds me of the time when I went camping in Canyonlands in Utah. It was a lot of fun at first, but then I got worried that the creek next to our tents was going to flood. That night in our sleeping bags, we heard the water come closer and closer. I was so scared I almost jumped out of my shorts! I felt just like Brennan did when he found the skull. When Brennan was doing research with Mr. Homesly, he was trying to find out more facts about Coyote Runs. He wanted to know who this boy was. When I was studying about the Civil War, I did alot of hard work looking into the past and trying to understand what happened. I was staying up late just like Brennan did looking at every detail. Canyons is a great book for kids. It's loaded with action, suspense and alot of adventure. I recommend it to every boy in our class

The novel, Canyons by Gary Paulsen is one of the best novels I've ever read. The beginning is rather strange because the author switches between two story lines and two characters in each chapter. One chapter will be about an American boy, Brennan Cole, then the next one tells about an Apache boy, Coyote Runs. Until the reader realizes this, it is a little confusing because Brennan is living in the present and Coyote Runs lived in the past. This writing style made me wonder what the two could possibly have in common. Not too far into the book, though, the story becomes very clear. As the book begins, Coyote Runs is searching for his manhood. He is anxious to take part in his first raid, hoping that the success will make him worthy of being considered a man and not a boy anymore. The raid starts out very well but in later chapters it turns sour and Coyote Runs is killed. The murder occurs in a savage way near Dog Canyon. As the life of Brennan Cole is introduced into the book, the reader eventually sees how the two lives are joined. Brennan takes a camping trip to Dog Canyon with his mother, her boyfriend, Bill, and some youth from Bill's church. While trying to get some relief from the other campers, Brennan goes to sleep in a secluded place away from them. When he wakes up, Brennan realizes he is lying on top of a skull, which he secretly takes home with him. It is during this night that the excitement and eerie feelings begin. The rest of the book leaves the reader in complete suspense as Brennan searches for answers to his many questions concerning the skull and his obsession with it. The way the author, Gary Paulsen tells the story, it makes the idea of the "Indian spirit" very believable. The words he uses and the way he repeats them, made me feel like I was running with the skull myself, just like Brennan Cole. The novel, Canyons is a very exciting, mysterious adventure that I would recommend to any reader.

Gary Shteyngart has written a great first novel, filled with idiosyncratic characters and their over-the-top experiences.  With the Russian Debutante's Handbook, he has established himself as a master of social critique and comic lunacy.

One of the beauties of this novel is how it skillfully juxtaposes two worlds.  The first half of the novel explores the peculiarities of New York City through the eyes of Vladimir Gershkin, an immigrant Russian Jew working as an assimilation facilitator at an immigrant absorption clinic.  The second half of the novel follows our hero to the loosely-fictitious eastern European city of Prava, bubbling with the onset of capitalism and infused with comic relief by the budding expat community.  Shteyngart, himself a Russian immigrant, ideally trained by his own experience and uniquely equipped with a gift for observation and expression, exposes the hilarious quirks of each world and pokes sharply yet playfully at their shortcomings.

Much has been said about Shteyngart's gift for language.  It is not an exaggeration to say that one could literally open this book to any page and find an utterly original turn of phrase, or a combination of words that beg you to stop and ponder.  This is a truly fresh voice in the literary world.

The verbal play of this book is phenomenal. The comic associations that Shteyngart comes up with are spontaneous and hilarious. The archetypical bildungsroman structure is both used and undermined by Shteyngart as the protagonist, Vladimir, doesn't really strive to understand, but just try to make lots of money and be accepted. The omniscient narration is used masterfully here, and it's a tribute to Shteyngart's power as a writer that this cynical omniscient voice also seems to belong so personally to Vladimir. Many of the descriptions and events are viewed both from a deadpan, ironic hindsight and a tender naivete of the character. Not only does this effect makes the story vibrant, it creates one of the more unique and likable 'authorial voices' in recent contemporary fiction.

The story itself is a simple one: Vladimir, the son of rich, idiosyncratic Russian immigrants, gets in trouble in the States, goes to the fictional city of Prava (obviously based on Prague) to swindle loads of money from rich ex-patriates with a preposterous pyramid scheme. Of course, there's a subplot of love, but it's peripheral compared to the main story of Vladimir who doesn't feel he's accepted as an American because of his Russo-Jewish heritage (who consequently finds out he is to be treated as a foreigner everywhere else, even with his 'own' people). Shteyngart's take on the immigrant experience is refreshing and funny, but also painfully accurate.

One of the book's flaws is that the ending comes at you with a sense of rushed purpose. The climactic explosion of the Foot and the chase is fine and thrilling enough, but the pace of the story spirals out of the author's control. The careful dialogue work and characterization give way to facile internalization of Vladimir to bring the whole ordeal to an end, as he tries to make sense of the whole thing. The epilogue is predictable and Hollywood-esque, too, even as Shteyngart tries to blunt some of its saccharine edges with his wonderful writing.

But all in all, a very impressive debut novel.

I thought this book was hilarious and smart, but at first I suspected it was kind of a flight of fancy on the author's part. I mean an exploding statue of Stalin's foot?! Catalan mafia?! And then I read recently that one of the best scenes in the novel, when Vladimir Girshkin stages a fake naturalization ceremony (for complex reasons), actually happened last month in California. So no matter how wild Russian Debuante's Handbook may seem, the author's devilish sense of humor is not as far off from reality as you may think.

I think Shteyngart is the bard of the immigrant experience. He belongs in college curricula dealing with the subject and after the incident in California perhaps the police should read up on the Russian Debutante's Handbook too. A great piece of work.

What a confusing story! Just thinking about the book Tracker makes me want to kill! Why do I say that? Tracker is about a twelve-year-old boy named John Borne who lives in the Minnesota woods and was brought up on a farm. His main conflict is that his grandfather is dying of cancer. John now has to hunt alone for the first time. He develops a different perspective on hunting. For instance, he thinks if he cheats death, his grandfather won't die, so he's confused about death. I thought it was confusing also: why would someone think he could cheat death so other death could be spared? Even though it was the worst book I've read, the beginning was interesting!

John Borne's grandfather is dying of cancer. This year, John will be hunting by himself, for the first time. In a way, he's happy, but just thinking that his grandfather wouldn't be going, made him sad. They live in a small house, by a swamp, which makes it easier for John to hunt. But on the day before hunting season opens, John sees the most beautiful deer, which may be able to magically cheat death. I thought Tracker was a good book. It was very interesting and suspenseful, in some parts. The only boring part was in the beginning, but when I kept on reading, it, it turned out to be a good book.

The book tracker was about a boy and his grandfather. The boys grandfather is dying from cancer so for the first time, boy has to go hunting by himself. The boy knows that it will not be the same without his grandfather, when he goes hunting. So the boy decides he must touch the deer if he's going to save his grandfathers life. The raeson that I liked the story is because it's about hunting. The boy does exactly what I do when I go hunting, but I go hunting , but I don't track the deer for days I shoot it as soon as I get a claer shoot. John also had the datermanation to track the deer for days. I don't have datermanation to track a deer for days so I think John was datermind and detacadid to touch it and save his grandfather. What I didn't like about it is that his grandfather dies at the end of the story. And the boy has to go hunting by himself. I would recommend the book to anyone who likes to hunt. What I would change about the story is that his grandfather does not die or is not dying the who story.

The book the car is about a young teenage boy whose parents are always fighting. One night it gets really bad. The next morning Terry wakes up to a quiet house, a few days go by and Terry doesn't see, or hear from his parents at all. After about three days Terry gets a phone call from his father saying that he is leaving and not coming home, than later that day his mother calls with the same message. Terry is abandon by his parents and decides to assemble a "kit car" that his father had in his garage. When the car is finished, he calls it the "Cat" and begins his journey from Cleveland to Portland. He is going to Portland to see an uncle that he has met only once in his life, he is the only family that Terry knows of. During Terry's trip he meets up with a Vietnam War Veteran named Waylon and he guides him his way to his uncle. This book is a lot about what Terry learns on his journey.

I thought that this was a very good book but I did mark it down a few stars because I personally did not like the narration of the book. I sometimes found myself asking which character was which and who did what. Yet the book although somewhat difficult to follow was an excellent book!

A fourteen year old boy named Terry is on a quest. He needs to get from Ohio to Portland, Oregon with two old Vietnam Veterans. Terry ends up with no parents as a result of them not liking each other. He was left all alone. When he found out he was alone he started building a kit car that was given to his father. He plans to drive to an uncle in Portland who he barely knows. Along his way he picks up Wayne and Walon. Both were in the Vietnam War. They wanted to show Terry America, it's wonders, and its people. I think most people would enjoy THE CAR if they would sit down and read. I highly recommend this book to people who especially like Gary Paulsen or who are interested in cars. I hope you will want to read this book after reading my review.

I thought that this book is a great book. THE CAR was very easy to read. It is a great book to read on a rainy day. It is, as they say, "easy reading." In this book Terry Anders lives in Cleveland, Ohio. He lives mostly by himself because his parents fight all of the time and they are never around. He actually loves it because it gives him a chance to think for himself and not get really bossed around by his parents. One time, after his parents had one of their worst fights ever, they both left. One parent called him and told him that they were never coming to see the other spouse ever again. Then the other parent called and said the same thing. He tried to think of any relatives that he knew of but he couldn't. Finally he thought of one uncle he met one time when he was much younger. That uncle lived in Portland. He couldn't think of any way to get to Portland. While he was looking in his garage he found a car kit somewhat put together. Not all of it, though. He decided to put the rest of it together and get as far west as he can. He also finds instructions to putting together the car. He finally after like one or two weeks he puts together "The Cat." "The Cat" is what he call the car. He sets a date of leaving for Portland or as far west as he can. The day finally comes and he was off. He starts downs the highway and everything was going great. It turns to be night and he decides that the best thing is to go off of the road and sleep. One problem, it starts to rain. He puts up a tarp to protect himself from the rain. While he was sleeping, a man comes up to the car and asks for a ride. Terry reluctantly says yes. This man is named Waylon. Waylon is a Vietnam veteran who likes to recite Shakespeare. The rest of the book talks about journeys that Waylon and Terry have on the road trying to get to Portland. I would recommend this book to all who like to read action books and also like to read something that gets you involved very easily.