【書籍介紹】 書名／The Giver 推薦者／新興高中‧吳聲寬 內容簡介：

Eleven-year-old Jonas, the protagonist of this novel, lives in a community that seems to be perfect, free of crime, hunger, poverty, racism, and strife. He is a polite and humble boy who is sensitive, compassionate, and thoughtful. He often feels confused by some community rules; however, he obeys them and yearns for the human touch even before he understands what it is. All the citizens in his community know how to behave properly and what their responsibilities are. They have their spouses chosen for them and each family is only allowed two children. Their roles in society are chosen in The Ceremony of Twelve in which Jonas is selected to be the next Receiver of Memory, a person who must hold the collective memories of his community. Jonas is trained by an elderly man who calls himself “The Giver”, in charge of passing knowledge and memories to receivers. In the learning process, not only does Jonas gradually know about things for the first time, but he also discovers wicked and evil parts lurking beneath the flawless facade that surrounds him. The community gave up its memories for the sake of a plan for sameness, where memories, colors, individuality, emotions, and choices are eliminated. During his sessions to be the Receiver of Memory, not only does Jonas experience seeing colors and feeling emotions, but he also starts to feel negative emotions such as unhappiness and pain, along with humans’ dark sides-death, war, and suffering. Unable to deal with the overwhelming truth, Jonas runs away from home, meanwhile finding that his little brother Gabriel is going to be “released” because he was born with some issues. However, “release” in the community actually refers to death, which means Gabriel will be killed. Armed with the power of knowledge, he strives to save his brother from the House of the Old. He and his brother escape across the border, and Jonas subsequently returns all the memories, colors, and feelings to the citizens. Is it wrong for the Elders to create this “perfect” community? The real world can be colorful with death, diseases, lies, and suffering existing in it. Although Jonas’ world is black and white, everything is under control, which is probably the kind of society that all people desire. The people in Jonas’ world appear to be happy on the outside, but once Jonas starts to experience real feelings and see colors, he starts to question the very existence of everything that he previously believed. He even realizes that his own family does not love each other truly. Additionally, having a seasonless society like Jonas lives in means that no one will experience the true joy of snow, nor its perils. It is believed that people should have free will to make a choice and to do what makes them happy in life and find out what true happiness is for themselves under no one else’s control.

【書籍介紹】 書名／Frankenstein 《科學怪人》 推薦者／六龜高中‧朱庭佳 內容簡介：

Frankenstein is a novel by Mary Shelley. The story unfolds in a series of letters by Captain Robert Walton to his sister on his journey to the North Pole. During his voyage, Walton encounters Victor Frankenstein, who is emaciated during his pursuit of a monster that he created. From chapter 1 to chapter 10, Frankenstein recounts his story. He spends his childhood in Geneva with his adopted sister Elizabeth Lavenza, who later becomes his wife. Years later, Frankenstein enters the University of Ingolstadt to reveal the secret of life. Despite the fact that his health has been wrecked by his constant exertion, he is obsessed with his toils, fashioning a creature with body parts collected from graves and charnel houses. However, the creature was so hideous that Frankenstein fled from his laboratory with repulsion and remorse. When he returns, the creature is gone. One day, Frankenstein is informed that his brother William is murdered and hurries home. On his way home, he sees the monster near the crime scene and believes that he is the murderer. Nevertheless, Justine Moritz, William’s nanny, is accused, tried and executed although she is innocent. Frankenstein thus secludes himself in the mountains where he later meets the monster. In the following chapters, the monster, face to face with Frankenstein, narrates his life after his departure from Frankenstein’s laboratory. He suffers from hunger in the wild until he finds a shelter next to a cottage in which a lovely family lives. Since then, the monster starts to acquire language from them and resonate with their emotions. The creature secretly does the daily chores for the family and gradually becomes attached to them. After a period of time, he intends to be part of the family by befriending the father first; however, he fails to do so because he is struck violently by Felix, the young man in the family, due to his horrifying appearance. Eventually, the monster admits to the murder of William and asks Frankenstein to create a female mate for him. From chapter 17 onward, Frankenstein resumes his narratives. He is persuaded by the eloquent monster, albeit with doubts and reluctance. Secluding himself on an island in the Orkneys, Frankenstein works on the female creature. However, when he is aware of the malignant gaze from the monster, he tears the unfinished work into pieces. Seeing his possible companion destroyed, the monster is desperate and vows to revenge. Soon, Frankenstein is charged with murder because his beloved friend Henry was killed. Proved innocent, Frankenstein becomes delirious after he is released. On his wedding day, Frankenstein expects that the monster will kill him yet it turns out that his fiancée Elizabeth is strangled to death. He then spends time pursuing the creature and ends up in Walton’s ship due to exhaustion. The novel ends with Walton’s letters again. Soon after Frankenstein dies on board, Walton discovers the monster mourning the death of his creator. After asserting his suffering, the monster departs and disappears in darkness.

【書籍介紹】 書名／The Little Prince 《小王子》 推薦者／六龜高中‧李佩宸 內容簡介：

The narrator, a pilot, recalls his childhood: the adults didn't understand his passion for imaginative drawings and hoped that he devoted himself to geography, history, arithmetic and grammar. He then learns to fly; however, during a flight the airplane has a breakdown and crashes in the Sahara Desert. When the narrator tries to fix his airplane, a little blond creature suddenly appears in front of him – he is a little prince from the asteroid known as B-612. The little prince shares his stories with the narrator and the latter is gradually attracted by the former’s surrealistic yet fascinating and witty episodes. While the little prince was still on his asteroid-planet, he spent time pulling up the seeds of the baobab so that his planet wouldn’t break into pieces. Apart from fighting against the baobabs, he fell in love with a rose whose fragrance and radiance made him delighted whereas her vanity and demands depressed him. The little prince decided to leave although he later regrets that he “ought to have judged her by deeds and not by words.” Before his arrival in the Earth, the little prince had been to many other asteroids where he met many different people – a king, a vain man, a drunkard, a businessman, a lamplighter, a geographer. He finds them rather tedious and bizarre; he doesn’t like those adults. After his arrival in the Earth, he encounters numerous roses in a garden and a fox. The little prince finds it disappointing to see thousands of roses in the garden which make his own rose not unique anymore. However, the fox tells him that only by “taming” can they be unique and meaningful to each other. It also tells him the secret of relationship: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” As soon as the little prince knows that the narrator has his airplane fixed, he makes decision to go home – a place “much farther.” Bitten by the snake and expecting the coming of death, the little prince tells the narrator that “it will be like an old abandoned shell. There is nothing sad about old shells...” He falls down quietly on sand. For the narrator, the death of the little prince doesn’t mean the end of their bond, but the start of an endless search of his existence through various approaches. The author tries to convey his ideas about the limit of adults’ way of thinking: they have lost their ability to explore the world through imagination. What most people care about are things that can be counted and practical; yet, the true values of things are often invisible with depth and special meaning. Only when one regains his curiosity and innocence can he possess a fuller understanding of the world.

【書籍介紹】 書名／13 Reasons Why 推薦者／新興高中‧黃鈿云 內容簡介：

‘IF YOU’RE LISTENING, YOU’RE TOO LATE.’ It all happens with a high school girl, Hannah Baker, who took her own life by taking lots of pills. After she suicided, a shoebox was being delivered by some students who are involved in her death. A shoebox with 13 audiotapes inside. A shoebox with no returning address—anyone who sends it did not put on a returning address, not the next person, or anyone after. Clay Jensen, studying in the same year as Hannah, also has some classes with her while she was still there. Clay is such a normal high school kid, who is too shy to talk in classes. Anyone who knows him will describe him as a quiet person. As normal as he can be, he is kind of the only person at the school who has no rumors being talked around—well, according to what Hannah said. And even if he really has any rumor, it’s all about positive opinions such as kind, sweet, and lovely. The only difference between him from any other students is that he used to work with Hannah. And that’s it. Nothing more than that. So, talking back to the shoebox. What exactly are the audiotapes about? Well, in each tape, a specific person is being mentioned, along with a story about the person causing Hannah’s death. Believe it or not, EVERYONE on the tapes has something to do with Hannah’s death. You will get to it as you listen to it. But trust me. By listening to each of these audiotapes, you are getting closer and closer to the truth of what caused Hannah’s death, while anyone else not on the tapes will never get to know about it. These tapes are going to be life-changing, and they are going to tell you why Hannah gave herself up, and how much she had done to try to save her own life—I need to clarify for her that she did reach out for help. It’s just that nothing came back with hope. And that’s what torn her apart into pieces. Now, all the above should have unless explained why Clay Jensen was so confused when receiving the package with that shoebox in it. He didn’t think he had anything to do with Hannah’s death, while everyone else on the tapes thought the same, too. Surely there are still so many questions that you may be wondering, such as what has been mentioned on the tapes? What has every one of them done to her that deserves her to kill herself? Just be patient as we’ll soon get to it. Remember that she’s dead anyway. Nothing will ever bring her back. Even if you finish listening to all of them, all you will get is the truth. You may know about the deepest part of her, but definitely not Hannah Baker in person. So, press the PLAY button for more. Never give up. If you start listening to it, there’s no turning back.

【書籍介紹】 書名／Pride and Prejudice 推薦者／新興高中‧孫于涵 內容簡介：

In Jean Austin’s Pride and Prejudice, the reasons why I recommend this book are as follows. Firstly, the story matches the background of the time; secondly, the climax of the plot is completely engrossing; thirdly, Austin portrays the intriguing personalities of the main characters with outstanding skills. I will, therefore, introduce the three points in detail. I. The story matches the background of the times The era of Pride and Prejudice is set in the countryside at the end of the eighteenth century. From the story, Austen faithfully presents a sketch of the patriarchal society at that time. Women have no other alternative but to gain power through marriage. For example, Mrs. Bennett eagerly hopes to marry her five daughters to well-to-do families, and her daughters also yearn for marriage, While reading, I can't help but feel helpless and chilled at the humble status of women at that time. II. The climax of the plot is completely engrossing. The plot of Pride and Prejudice is splendid, and the content is gradual and interlocking, which successfully arouses the readers’ curiosity. Moreover, it grabs the reader's attention and makes people unable to extricate themselves, especially in the chapter where Mr. Darcy puts aside his arrogance and writes a long letter to Elizabeth. The development of the storyline keeps piling up and it is easy to resonate with the readers when the author reveals a lot of unknown things through Mr. Darcy's letter. The author has, indeed, puts a lot of effort into the intricacies of the plot. III. Austin portrays the intriguing personalities of the main characters with outstanding skills. Austen’s skills in character description is most worthy of our appreciation and exploration. Her portrayal of each character— whether it is Elizabeth's prejudice, Mr. Darcy's arrogance, Mr. Bingley's devotion, Miss Bingley's snobbery, Jane's being reserved or Mr. Wickham's deception—effectively carries their personalities from the page. Pride and Prejudice not only provides us with a fascinating glimpse of the lives in the 18th century England, but also vividly presents the universal human flaws through the love-hate relationship of the characters. It is no wonder that this book has never been removed from the shelves of readers.

【書籍介紹】 書名／Thirteen Reasons Why 推薦者／新興高中‧林妤婕 內容簡介：

There was a forever absent seat in the classroom since two weeks ago. Hannah.Baker, this controversial and rumored girl committed suicide by swallowing sleeping pills. Clay, one of her classmates found a package in front of the door, which neither has name of the sender nor the return address. There are seven tapes with a number written on 1 to 13 in package. Hannah’s voice came out from radio when Clay played tapes. The person who received the tape is one of the reasons she gave up her life. She said that the receiver must follow her rules; He has to send tapes to next person after listening to the contents of the tapes. Otherwise, the backup will be made public.Clay, confused and full of fear with so many questions, doesn’t know where his name would be found in tapes. What has he done to this girl whom he admired? Would he be one of the reasons for her to end her life? He gradually understood Hannah’s expectations and struggles for life as the tape played, but it was too late… It may be the criticisms from the public, the rumors that were flying everywhere that made Hannah had no space to give herself a break and to heal, and made her not dare to seek for other’s help. Consequently, sadness and disappointment accumulated. If Clay had told Hannah that he likes her then, maybe she would have been more brave to face all these horrible things. If there was a little more care, she may gradually open her heart to accept other’s help. But no matter how many tears and regrets couldn’t call back a valuable life. A sentence seems simple, but it may hurt other people's heart seriously. Every single word and people’s attitudes may make another person decide to give up his or her life. Before doing anything or saying any words, please use your brain and think- do not hurt others on purpose or even by accident, for you may never know how hurtful your words and attitudes can be. These may destroy other people’s whole world. Say less negative words, care more about your friends beside you, even if it is just a sentence. Your kindness may save a person who is going to drop into the abyss.

【書籍介紹】 書名／The giver 推薦者／新興高中‧周純君 內容簡介：

The community in the book of “The Giver” was without wars, disasters and troubles. People always follow the rules living in an orderly manner. They don't worry about work, nor are they afraid of not having a partner. They also have no emotions and worries at all. Nevertheless, people have no freedom of choice, no memories, and no love, because there is “The Giver”, responsible for transmitting and storing the memories that humans had before. The protagonist of the story is a boy named Jonas. Because of his talent, he is designated as the heir of the new “The Giver”. He stores all the memories of humans in the previous life. After the old “The Giver” passed the memory to him, he found that people originally had memories. They could see colors, feel nature and convey love. Gradually, he became obsessed with past memories and questioned the rules of the community. Under the guidance of old “The Giver”, he realized the dark side of the community. He didn't want to be consistent with the existing system, so he chose to flee, hoping to bring memories back to people in order to change this seemingly perfect but imperfect community. Jonas is a brave twelve-year-old boy who was originally an ordinary person like everyone else. However, when he became the “The Giver”, he had the courage to return his memories to the people. He dares to pursue what others cannot do. One fascinating passage in the book is "Jonas opened his eyes and lay contentedly on the bed, still luxuriating in the warm and comforting memory. It had all been there, all the things he had learned to treasure.” This passage tells us that in a better world, there are bound to be various emotions and loves, and more importantly, we must know how to cherish these precious assets in our lives. This book has no terrible descriptions of power struggles, and no illusions about the future. The author only uses simple and direct writing methods to grip readers’ interests. The only special thing is that the author did not leave a definite ending for the protagonist, by doing so leaving room for the readers to imagine, and to create the ending they want. Furthermore, this book conveys the message that people may desire to pursue a perfect world, in the real world we currently live in, there are life and death and all kinds of regrettable separations. We also often suffer from various difficulties. But difficulties are often accompanied by hope and lights. This kind of world filled with sorrow and joy, gains and losses is what we live in and live for.

【書籍介紹】 書名／The Tales of Beedle the Bard 推薦者／新興高中‧吳欣璇 內容簡介：

This story is recorded in THE TALES OF BEEDLE THE BARDS, in which the same name is mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. One day, three brothers were traveling together, they reached a horrifying river. They used their magic to build a bridge to cross the river. Unfortunately, they met Death. Death was furious because the three brothers used magic to escaped from death. It was not normal to see mortals (muggles) peforming magic. So enraged about losing three potential victims, Death pretended to be impressed by three brothers and granted each a wish as a reward. The oldest brother wanted an unbeatable dueling wand, so Death gave the oldest brother his Elder Wand. The middle brother asked for the ability to resurrect the dead, so Death gave him the Resurrection Stone. But the youngest brother didn’t trust Death, so he asked for a way to stop Death from following him. As a consequence, Death unwillingly gave him his Cloak of Invisibility. Afterward, the brothers went their separate ways. The oldest brother used the wand to kill a man with whom he conflicted, and resolved a previous problem. But his ostentation to wield the wand's incredible power made his life end with getting robbed of the wand and being murdered in his sleep. The middle brother wanted his lover back, so he used the Resurrection Stone to make her come back to life. Notwithstanding, even if his lover was back, she just being partly alive. Therefore, unable to endure his lover's spirit suffering and overwhelmed with sorrow, the middle brother committed suicide. As for the youngest brother, Death never managed to find him because he remained hidden under his invisibility cloak. Many years later, the youngest brother removed his invisibility cloak and gave it to his son. He was satisfied with his whole life, greeted Death as an old friend, and left the world with Death contentedly. The message that the author wants to convey is that greed can kill a person, and people can't escape death, but accept it, and lead a fulfilling life with no regret. The oldest brother was the first to die because he wanted supreme power; the middle brother was too eager to regain his deceased lover to realize that there is no such thing for human resurrection. By contrast, not only was the little brother humble, but he was also very clever, only asking for peace and living long. None of them escaped death, but only the youngest brother died peacefully. This author uses examples to warn people not to be controlled by avarice. This kind of dark novel is unique and worth reading.

【書籍介紹】 書名／Harry potter and the Philsopher’s stone 推薦者／新興高中‧何翊新 內容簡介：

“One night,Albus Dumbledore,the principal of Hogwarts, met Professor McGonagall, and a giant named Hagrid outside the Dursley home. Someone named Voldemort has killed Mr. and Mrs. Potter and tried unsuccessfully to kill their baby, Harry. Ten years later on a quiet night, the Durcleys heard a large bang on the door and Hagrid enters. He hands Harry an admissions letter from Hogwart, a wizard school. A month latter, on the train. Harry made friends with the two first grade students, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. During the semester, Hagrid accidently uttered the name of Nick Le May, asking them to guess what’s hidden in the cellar was the Magic Stone. Harry and his friends' adventure is about to begin...... "The plot tells the story of a little uizzard named Harry Potter who discovered his magic talent and went to Hogwarts School to study at the first grade. With the help of friends, Harry confronted the black wizzard Voldemort who killed his parents and tried to make a comeback. The author has added prejudices such as racist views and genocidein in the real world into the plot. These prejudices are exactly the ideas of Voldemort and his partners. J.K. Raiding has skillfully cleverly blends magic into the element of traditional with British academy with no inconsistency. Readers will find the story is full of British flavors, and that Harry Potter and the Philosophers stone is a "growing novel". The change of the protagonist of the "graving novel" has plot significance ; related to this, the plot of the novel has also been fundamentally re-understood and re-constructed. Time enters the interior of the person, into the image of the person itself, and greatly changes the destiny of the person and the meaning of all factors in life. In most general sense, It can be called a human growth novel. Harry, who was trusted by principal Dumbledore, is also the main character. Ron, Harry's best friend, although his grades were not very good, he was honesty and trusty. Hermione, a good student with excellent academic performance. The trio is the protagonists of the whole story, telling the adventures and challenges they face together. The story is amazing. and people can't help but want to plunge into the book and follow the story step by step. Although this is not a true story, it was brought to the fullest by J.K. Rowling, as if it were true. It not only describes the story in detail, but also uses the most beautiful words and sentences to describe the personality and temperament of the protagonist.

【書籍介紹】 書名／Frankenstein 推薦者／高雄高工‧王柏翰 內容簡介：

The story of the leading role is Victor Frankenstein, who was born in a beautiful family in Geneva. After he entered university, he wanted to know how life began and if it was possible to put life into the dead things. Thus, he decided to do an experiment. After a lot of hard work, he created the monster out of the dead parts in his laboratory, which was two and a half meters tall. When Victor saw the monster come alive, he was very scared and ran away. By the time he came back, the monster had been gone. The monster went to a small village. When he was there, he was stoned by the villagers because of his huge body and terrible looks. Even though he saved the little girl’s life, he was shot by others due to his ugly face. Because he was bullied by others again and again, his original goodness gradually became evil. As years went by, his hatred of his creator increased. The monster wanted to take revenge on Victor for creating him but deserting him. At first, he strangled Victor’s brother William to death with his big hands. After Victor's wedding ceremony, he killed Victor's wife Elizabeth, who played such a crucial role in Victor’s life. He wanted Victor to experience the feelings of being lonely and losing something precious. After Elizabeth passed away, Victor returned to Geneva in order to ensure the safety of his family. When his father heard the news of Elizabeth’s death, his father also fell ill and passed away in a few days. Many months later, Victor left Geneva, trying to find and kill the monster, which had deprived him of his lovely life. It was a pity that he couldn't put the monster to death before he died. In the end, the sea carried the monster away, and he was lost in the darkness. No one knew where he had been. I have learned from the story that we should give kindness to people around us instead of speaking ill of others. The monster wasn’t born evil and guilty. He tries to help others, but what was his reward? People cursed him because of his looks, unwilling to understand his inner kind heart. It was people’s attacks and criticism that transformed his goodness and innocence into hatred and evil.I thought of an experiment that corresponded to the theory. The scientist tried saying something good to the plants every day, so the plants grew well. On the contrary, under the same care, the plants accepting bad messages every day withered. Sometimes we think it is no big deal. It’s just a joke. Who knows? The mean joke might ruin someone’s life. We should keep the lesson in mind.

【書籍介紹】 書名／魔女嘉莉 推薦者／復華高中‧鍾欣辰 內容簡介：

We all know bullying is wrong, but who will stand out for the victims? Carrie is a teenager girl who has not only kind but also pure-hearted in the town. Her mother is a devout Christian who has an extreme belief in everything. It is no wonder that Carrie can’t grow to have the general knowledge of life given such a family background. For example, not until she turns thirteen does she understand what puberty is. Because of her naivety, the mean girls in the school start to bully her. For this reason, the other teachers and students are all looking on without lifting a finger, scared that helping her would make them fall into victims, too. Carrie is under a lot of pressure every single day with everyone’s hatred. Although in the story there are few people who want to talk to her, a person named Sue from the same class still wants to treat her nicely. Realizing Carrie’s awful and helpless situation, Sue wants to reach out to her and offer a helping hand. Thus, when the prom is around the corner, she asks her boyfriend if he can go out with Carrie. At the beginning of the prom, everything goes well. In the dress made by herself, Carrie catches everyone’s eyes. Afterwards, she even wins the prom queen, which almost makes the party the best day of her life. However, the moment when the mean girls play a trick on her again, Carrie cannot bear it and lose her temper. She starts to slaughter every person at the prom with her unusually super power. Eventually, she flies into a rage and punishes those who have laughed at her. In the end, Carrie gets hurt so seriously that she falls dead in Sue’s arm. The story is shocking, but except the super power part, bullying indeed happens every day. The book stands from different perspectives from the assailant to the spectator, which makes the readers feel the pain of being bullied and think the consequences of being bullying. It is no wonder that it becomes one of the best-selling novels in the world.

【書籍介紹】 書名／FERRYMAN 推薦者／福誠高中‧郭品辰 內容簡介：

Everyone will have moments of confusion, so who will be your ferryman? "The ferryman" is a story about a girl who gradually became brave under the guidance of the ferryman after the accidental death. The protagonist of the story is a fifteen- year-old girl Dylan. There was a traffic accident on her way to her father's house. She thought she was the only survivor in the accident but actually she wasn't. After she left the train, she found a boy of her age, the soul ferryman, Tristan. After they left the spot, things became stranger and stranger. After experiencing the deserted mountain and the chasing of the devil, finally Tristan confessed to Dylan that she isn't a survivor, but a victim of the accident, and he is her soul ferryman, who will send Dylan where she should go. In this dangerous wasteland, there are evil demons, in order not to be chased by the devil, they must reach the safe house before the sunset. Because Tristan tried his best to protect Dylan, she fell in love with him gradually, and her trust transformed to affection to him. Dylan concern for Tristan also let him was now in the so-called heaven, her love and perseverance for him became her courage to take a new step. She broke the rules and returned to the wasteland to find Tristan. Without the protection of the ferryman, Dylan faced the terrible devil alone, and finally found Tristan and took him back to the world. Life is like a wasteland, and it's not easy to follow the bumpy road, since there is a desire like the devil on the way, who will drag you into the abyss. Only by overcoming it can you get what you want because the ferryman wasn't always by your side. They will accompany you and lead you to be a better version of yourself, but they are only your guide, your temporary protector, and nothing more. The final choice is still on your own. The book said, "Or never take the step. Either it is now." It's really difficult to make a choice in reality, but if you decide to do it, it's better to take the step bravely. In fact, as long as you take the step, you will find that everything is ready for you. Life is like a river, and we are both the river crossers, and the ferryman. Helping others or helping yourself are just the same thing.

【書籍介紹】 書名／13 REASONS WHY 推薦者／新興高中‧林佳瑩 內容簡介：

The story begins with Hannah Baker, a high school student who commits suicide by taking pills. As for why she does this, it is her classmates and teachers that should take the responsibility. Before Hannah ends her life, she records thirteen tapes in which all their brutality is kept in detail. She requests them to listen to those tapes in turn. If they don’t, she will release one tape at a time to make known to the world the evidence of her being mistreated. The thirteen tapes include thirteen sad stories. When the male character Clay Jensen gets those tapes, he is appalled since he never thinks of hurting Hannah before. To know the reasons why Hannah commits suicide, he starts to listen to the tape. Under Hannah’s guidance, Clay goes to every place that she mentions in the tapes and he realizes what results in Hannah’s ending her life— it is a series of cheating and betraying of classmates, along with rape and verbal bullying that makes Hannah end her trouble by suicide. Most of this “killers” doesn’t know they hurt Hannah before they listen to her tapes. Although at the end of the tape, Hannah says that Clay doesn’t hurt her, he still feels regretted about his carelessness. Indeed, sometimes we are unaware that our behavior has damaged the feelings of others, and we should always put ourselves in others’ shoes and care about people around us. After all, once he or she is gone, it is no way that we can make things right.

【書籍介紹】 書名／Pride&Prejudice 推薦者／新興高中‧劉欣旻 內容簡介：

Pride&Prejudice is a novel written by Jane Austen.It appears to tell a love story, but as we probes deep into the relationship between the storyline and the social background, we clearly discover women’s predicament— to marry for love, or to marry for money? This is a story about the Bennet family with their five daughters living in the country.Mrs.Bennet always wants her daughters to find a rich and powerful husband. Without producing a male heir, she knows neither she herself and her five daughters are qualified for getting the inheritance. Therefore, taking part in many balls and making acquaintances of single men is the most important for Mrs. Bennet. When Mr. Bingley arrives in their neighborhood, Mrs. Bennet can’t wait to call on him. At the welcome party, Jane Bennet, the eldest and the most beautiful of the five girls, soon catches the attention of Bingley. They fall in love at first sight. Bingley’s friend, Darcy, feels unpleasant the whole night, so Bingley encourages Darcy to dance with Elizabeth, Jane’s younger sister and the second prettiest in the Bennets. But Darcy tells him that Elizabeth is not pretty enough . As luck would have it, this conversation is overheard by Elizabeth, who leaves an impression of Darcy’s being proud and opinionated.However, Darcy’s love for Elizabeth grows deeper and deeper as he notices her quick wit and striking feature. Soon afterword, a series of annoying things happen to the Bennets. Firstly, Bingley leaves for London without informing Jane; secondly, Lydia, Jane and Elizabeth’s younger sister, elopes with an officer Wickham and causes a scandal. During the process to deal with these problems, Elizabeth ponders on her own situation. She is indeed a woman of independent thinking, who doesn’t want to marry for money. Therefore, Elizabeth conflicts with her mother. For instance, when Mr.Bennet ’s cousin , Mr.Collins comes with the hope of finding a wife, Mrs. Bennet wants Elizabeth to accept Mr. Collins’s proposal because after Mr.Bennet dies, all his property will belong to Mr.Collins. She turns Collins down flatly and not in every possible way will she change her mind. Darcy, on the other hand, is a rich ,powerful and handsome aristocrat, but he is very proud. It is not until Elizabeth clears their misunderstandings that she discovers that she has misjudged him. The book then ends up with a happy ending. Pride and Prejudice reflects the social situation in the 18th century England by depicting the love story of Bingley and Jane, Elizabeth and Darcy. Women at that time have no other alternative but to marry for protection and money. Austen provides us with not only a fantastic story but also with a glimplse of people’s lives at that time.

【書籍介紹】 書名／Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.? 推薦者／高雄高工‧楊凱鈞 內容簡介：

Who was Martin Luther, King Junior? This story happened in South America in the 20th century, a place where black and white people were treated differently and a time when a system called segregation separated the black from the white. For example, black people have to give their seats to white people on the public transportation, or they would get arrested. In 1929, Martin Luther was born in a happy family. The doctor said he was a perfect boy and he indeed grew up to be a perfect one. He made many friends including white kids in his childhood, but he had to say goodbye to his white friends when they started school because of the segregation policy. Martin didn’t understand the system until he grew up. Realizing the unfairness of this system, he made up his mind to fight against it. After college, Martin became a pastor in his father's church. One day, a black woman, Rosa, was arrested on a bus only because she was not willing to yield her seat to the white. Martin felt angry to see this, so he started a protest against public transit. Although there were many people arrested, including Martin himself, the protest succeeded. The local government decided to repeal the law about giving seats to white. Finally, they got the voice of the black heart. After Rosa’s case, Martin launched many "peaceful fights" for voting rights and many other rights of the black people. Many of the protesters were arrested by the police, but they never fought back. With the popularity of television, more people heard Martin's voice, and more and more people started to consider that the segregation system is unequal for black people, which is against human rights. Eventually, the government abandoned this system due to people's demands. In this story, there are many other protesters fighting against segregation. Some of them used fists, some of them showed their acts but they all fought for one common belief shared by most people around the world now--that is, all men are created equal. Although it is very sad to see that Martin was shot dead in a hotel, it is happy to see that people inspired by him achieved the goal not only for him but also for many many people, black and white, included. Thanks to the efforts of Martin and many people, nowadays, we all enjoy equal rights for almost everything. If there is something unfair imposed on us, I think we should be brave to fight back just like Martin. Be grateful for what we have but at the same time fight for our own rights.

【書籍介紹】 書名／Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow 推薦者／立志高中‧林芯卉 內容簡介：

Harry Potter can be regarded as the greatest novel that has endured in recent years. Reading them from different ages gives me different feelings. The story is talking about a boy who lived in his uncle's house since childhood, he’s called Harry Potter. At the age of 11, he finally entered Hogwarts to study. He’s best friends are Ron and Hermione. The whole story of Harry Potter revolves around his 7 years at Hogwarts. Because he is called the boy who lives in catastrophe, he will inevitably have a life and death battle with the dark lord “Voldemort” of the magic world. The novel has announced the return of the dark forces in the fourth episode, but Harry was not afraid, instead he became braver in the destiny of a battle. In the last episode of the novel, Harry bravely defeated the Voldemort after watching the memory of Professor Snape, who protected him with his life to the last moment. Although many people died in the war in the end, Harry's bravery brought the magical world back to peace. The two friends who through thick and thin with him prove that they are brave Gryffindor! Frankly speaking, after reading the novel, I felt a little sad than happy. We all understand that evil cannot overcome righteousness, and the ending of the novel is indeed developing in this way. One of the characters who touched me was the dean of Slytherin-Severus Snape. He blamed himself for Lily’s (Harry’s mom) death, so he silently guarded Harry in his own way. At first, I also thought that Snape was not a good person since he opposed Harry everywhere, but before he died, he handed over his memories and let all the truth come to light. What I want to say is that the Harry Potter’s novel not only told us to learn to be brave, to face up to the problems we should solve and to change our destiny with our own hands, rather than pretend to be in business by afraid things will occurred. At the same time, it also showed me the gentlest aspect of human nature” sacrifice for love”. And the three of them still willing to believe in each other's indestructible friendship after numerous ups and downs. In the end, many times we are bound by established underlying rules, but we can try to break away from the framework. Harry Potter accompanies me through my childhood and has become a magical world that many people yearn for. Perhaps in the parallel time and space of our lives, on the other side of the Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Harry and his partners are still studying happily in Hogwarts.

【書籍介紹】 書名／Who Was Gandhi? 推薦者／高雄高工‧曾粲稑 內容簡介：

Who Was Gandhi? This book talks about life of Gandhi, the father of India, who led India to be an independent country. Gandhi was born in 1869. He married his wife and had a child when he was only 13. At the age of 19, Gandhi went to London to study law. There, he found himself coming to a very different country with different social and educational values from his homeland. In 1893, Gandhi went to find work in South Africa, where he found many unfair treatments imposed upon the Indians. Instead of coming back to India, he decided to stay. He then stood up, fighting for his rights and the rights of Indians in South Africa. During his years in South Africa, Gandhi kept working as a lawyer but he never stopped striving for the rights of his Indians people living there. After twenty years of hard work in South Africa, Gandhi finally made a difference. In July 1914, the government passed the Indian Relief Act, putting an end to the unfair taxes and the marriage restriction bias against a certain religious faith. Feeling his work was done in South Africa, Gandhi planned to stay only for one more year, but he ended up staying for twenty-one! On March 12,1930, Gandhi left an ashram in Ahmedabad with a group of seventy-eight people. They headed south for a march to the sea in calling for British to quit India. Along the 240-mile journey, the group grew bigger and bigger to several thousands with a mix of young and old, men and women, Muslim, Christian, and Hindu, and untouchable. Gandhi was then imprisoned many times and for many years. However, Gandhi always faced the oppression bravely. He refused to cooperate, meanwhile struggling for Indians. He didn’t mind prison. In fact, he welcomed the time to be alone. He rested, read and studies. Finally, the British offered India its independence in 1947. At this time, Gandhi was almost eighty years old. In the year that followed, Gandhi was assassinated. That night, the light had gone out of Indian’s lives and there was darkness everywhere. The people of India mourned the loss of the most powerful force of India and one of the world’s greatest teachers. He proved that truth and love are the strongest forces for change. I admire both Gandhi's perseverance and courage. He never gave up even though he knew what he had done would bring death to his front. This inspiring story shows people the spirit of never giving up. As for me, a senior high student, I think I will learn to be more insistent and courageous next time when I encounter difficulties instead of just giving things up easily. As Gandhi said “Be the change you want to see in the world.” So, let me start from changing myself!

【書籍介紹】 書名／Guns, Germs, & Steel: A short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years 推薦者／瑞祥高中‧許毓淋 內容簡介：

“Guns, Germs, & Steel: A short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years” is a book that attempts to provide a short history of the last 13,000 years. The story started when the author, Jared Diamond, was studying bird evolution as a biologist on the tropical island of New Guinea. By chance, he met a local politician named Yali. Yali curiously asked Diamond, “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?” It’s a profound question that has gone through the whole book. By answering Yali’s question, he then takes the readers into an innovative perspective. Many of us have held an unconscious belief that white people nowadays are far superior to other people because they are smarter, so they can create new technologies, weapons, or of their ultimate navigation. However, the author has given the readers other kinds of explanations that prove our thoughts wrong. The author has pointed out that the diversification of today's history is not owing to biological differences amongst people but because of differences among people’s environments, which means it’s actually the environments in which people developed in. The author has narrowly divided accounts of world history into four parts. Part One is focusing on Yali’s question, by explaining a war between Spaniard conqueror Francisco Pizarro and Inca emperor Atahuapulla. The racist explanations started at the famous Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. The author thinks the proximate factors between the war were literacy and writing, which gave the Spaniards a huge body of knowledge of human behavior. On the contrary, the Incas had never learned this knowledge before. Then, for Part Two, the author has illuminated the effects of continental environments on history, from hunter-gatherer tribes to proto-empires. He thinks the main fraction which has caused a diverse range of living styles is agriculture. When people can harvest crops and provide food for everybody else, they can have more time to work in other jobs, such as woodworkers, steelworkers, politicians, kings, etc. In contrast, in hunter-gatherer society, people have to forage for food by chasing wild animals, decimating all the species that can be easily hunted. People may get injured during the hunt, while in the agricultural society, people spend more time doing other productive work. And this all happened in the Fertile Crescent. Whereas other continents still have a limited ability to grow plants, the Fertile Crescent had given the inhabitants a full-fledged of plains. Furthermore, the author has also discovered how people domesticate plants and keep poultry which can provide a regular source of food production. In Part Three, beginning with the connections between food production and distinctive lethal germs, the author thinks that Native Americans and other non-Eurasian peoples were mostly killed by Eurasian germs throughout their domination. Germs were spreading from person to person by consuming domestication of crops and animals. Last, since we know how people began to cultivate agriculture, we shall see that there is more time to allow other people to specialize in a whole range of different things, and allow others to go out seeking for another “new world”. So some of them turn to literature. By teaching their descendants knowledge, they got more ability to explore or conquer the world. In short, this book has completely changed my perspective of human history. I recommend it to everyone.

【書籍介紹】 書名／The Upstairs Room 推薦者／中正高中‧康宜庭 內容簡介：

The Upstairs Room is a Holocaust literary novel written by a Dutch novelist Johanna Reiss. The story was based on the author’s personal experiences. During the period of World War II, there was a Jewish girl called Annie de Leeuw living in Netherland. Everything in Annie’s life was perfectly fine until Nazi appeared from nowhere and took over her homeland. Annie and the rest of her family had to leave their country so that they were not caught by the Nazis’ invaders. However, life is not all roses, Annie’s mom became ill and had a severe migraine. It was so bad that she couldn’t go anywhere. Due to this painful situation, the family had to be separated, Annie and her older sister Sini were sent to a farmer’s house and her another older sister Rachel was taken in with a priest. As for their mother, she passed away eventually because of the poor medical condition back in then. Everything was just out of control, to be honest, so Annie and all the other Jewish people could not be in control of their own lives under Adolf Hitler’s inhumane domination. Annie and her sister’s hiding “trip” was more exhausting than ever. They even had to hide in a very narrow closet because that was the only place the farmer could provide them for hiding. What’s even worse, that place wasn’t even safe enough, so they were once nearly found by the German invaders! “I could see their hands patting on my blanket” is one of the sentences in the book. It was just one simple sentence, but it was scary enough to send shivers down my spine. No one can image how scared the girl was, not to mention an eight -year- old girl like her at that moment. After this incident happened, they transferred to many other places, but they were never safe because Nazis were still ruling Europe. Fortunately, after years of waiting, they were finally free from the German soldiers’ control. However, if we think from a different perspective, can they ever be free? Can we ever be free? The answer is, no because no one can ever be free as long as racial discriminations still exist. I still have no idea why there’s such a thing as “the better ethnicity,” God makes us all the same. What’s more, according to a biological study, we are actually all related! So, isn’t that stupid to rate a person by his or her race? No matter which continent you’re from or what color your skin is, we should all be treated equal. We can see a lot of historical events in this book, such as Anti-Semitism, which means hating Jewish people. And this sad hatred led to a horrible disaster in the end, with hundreds of thousands of Jewish people sent to Nazi concentration camps where they were slaughtered. Plus, all the books that contained or were suspected to contain Jewish literary were all burned down by Nazi, which is an action that’s irreversible. I think the most heartbreaking part is that this was based on a true story. In other words, none of the brutal things we read in this book were made up. What’s even sadder, things like this are still happening nowadays. What I learnt from this novel is that Freedom is the most important thing ever and we can never stop fighting for it. Hope one day we can have a world with no hatred, no stereotypes and no discriminations.

【書籍介紹】 書名／The miraculous journey of edward tulane 推薦者／高雄高工‧黃靖淳 內容簡介：

Love, the essential part of life, is the theme of this book. Without love, we are nothing but an empty shell. Edward, the maincharacter, doesn't know what love is in the beginning of the story, but as his journey goes on, he starts to understand love even though he is never able to say goodbye at the very end. The plot that enchants me most is that Edward woke up in a place where everyone he has loved is around him after he is broken by an angry chef. Everyone is glad to see Edward; however, all Edward wants to do then is fly away. It broke my heart when I read about his desire for escape. In my opinion, Edward tries to avoid those who he loves because he feels painful with them. I also can’t help wondering if Edward wants to get away from people whom he cares for simply to protect himself from being heartbroken, or he's just dreaming. "How can a story end happily if there is no love." After Edward loses his loved ones, he thought he would know what love is. But the truth is, life, though never perfect, should never be lived without love. Otherwise, our search for happiness will be in vain. When we are heartbroken, we should never lose faith in love. Instead, we should learn to appreciate the small things in life and find joy in them. One way to feel loved is to give love. We send love to others by doing good deeds for them or caring about them. In return, we will experience the happiness and love down in our heart when we realize the difference we have made. In the end of the story, Edward can’t love. It is because he gives up the feelings for what or whom he has encountered. I think it is tragic to stop feeling love. An old doll which was placed next to Edward  in the end of the story enlightens me. The old doll has been to many different places, and you become a different doll in each of the places. “Someone always comes. Just have to wonder who will love you, whom you will love next.” After finishing the book, I realize that I should believe in love, be faithful with every small opportunity that could happen to us, be patient with those that mean a lot to us. Embrace and believe in every nice or horrid journey that we had or will have and stay open-minded. It doesn’t matter what will happen to me or whom I will meet; on the other hand, it is how I react to the events and how I respond to those people around me, that make me feel loved and become a loving person.

【書籍介紹】 書名／The Phantom of the Opera 推薦者／福誠高中‧陳曉蓉 內容簡介：

Hush! Rumor has it that there is a monster appearing everywhere in the opera. He has grisly countenance and shrewd tricks of hurting people. Do not let yourself have any opportunities to meet him face to face, or you may be scared to death! In fact, the monster has a human name-- Eric. With a horrible appearance under his mask, he lives beneath the opera alone. People working here have heard a lot about him, but no one has met him in reality. In contrast to his ugliness, he is gifted in composing. He uses his talent to teach an innocent girl who beguiles his heart with her exquisite appearance. Her name is Christine, who performs in opera as a chorus girl. Since Eric never appears and instructs Christine only through voice, she believes Eric is the Angel of Music in her life, as her father used to tell her. With Eric’s secretive teaching, she becomes a better and better singer. At her first performance in public, she makes a great hit. All of the audience are excited about her marvelous debut. Among Christine’s admirers, there’s a rich and faithful gentleman, Raoul. He has known Christine since they were kids. He is attracted to Christine and courts Christine’s affection. In Christine’s heart, Christine admires Eric and adores Raoul. Both of them have different meanings for Christine. She struggles to choose one of them. However, the moment Christine reveals Eric’s mask, she is scared and shocked. Eric isn’t ready to spot his true self to Christine; because of this, Eric flies into a rage by her reaction. He is too hysterical to stop being brutal to Christine. Finally, Eric lets Christine go away. After leaving Eric’s place, Christine tells Raoul her strange relationship with a monster under the opera. Frightened and worried, they try to escape from Eric. As a result, they decide to get out of opera after her last performance. Nevertheless, during the last performance, Eric takes Christine away. Anxious and desperate, Raoul almost gets crazy, looking for her poor Christine everywhere. Then, Raoul meets someone to help him find Christine out in Eric’s house which he constructs on his own under the opera. Eric can’t control his feelings for Christine. Eric threatens Christine to marry him. If she doesn’t answer him, a large number of people in the opera will die in his hands. Now, Christine has a heartbroken epiphany because she knows her love for the angel has faded away. She makes a better choice instead. In the end of the story, Eric releases Christine and lets Raoul and Christine be together. Grief-stricken, Eric can hardly accept that Christine loves Raoul. It is needless to say that losing Christine makes Eric cry the blues. Therefore, Eric decided to pass the point of no return and end his life.

【書籍介紹】 書名／Who Was Mother Teresa? 推薦者／高雄高工‧吳羿葦 內容簡介：

The book, Who Was Mother Teresa?, is recounting the things about Mother Teresa, who devoted all her life to helping the poor especially in India. Mother Teresa was born on August 26, 1910, in the city of Skopje, now the capital of Macedonia, just north of Greece. There were five people in her family and she was the youngest of the three children. Her father was a member of the town council and owned part of a construction company that built the first theater of their city. Although he was not very rich, he sometimes squandered his money in a “nice” way. He helped the poor. In addition to inviting poor and starving people to enjoy meals with his family, every time he went on a business trip, he always left enough money to her wife to help those who came to ask for help. Mother Teresa’s mother also liked to help the poor when she was not busy with her household chores. Because of her parents, Mother Teresa was doing the same thing when she grew up. Although Mother Teresa’s father died when she was only eight, she and her family did not stop helping the poor. Once the family went to a shrine in the mountains because they believed the mountainous area of Montenegro was good for Mother Teresa’s health. When she was in the shrine, she heard the voice of God, who told her to start a spiritual life. Accordingly, Mother Teresa became a nun an started her life of serving others in the church. She taught Sunday school to children at the church when she was fourteen. She also joined a group called the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Catholic society for young people to honor the mother of Jesus. Together with the group, Teresa prayed and served the poor. In 1928, Teresa at the age of 18 left home for Ireland to join the Sisters of Loreto, where she learned English and to be a missionary. The next year, she arrived in India. When she came to India, she saw many poor people including people with leprosy, homeless children, and so on in the slum. One day when she was taking a train, she saw man who is asking desperately for help. He was thirsty, begging just for a cup of water. Seeing this situation, Teresa couldn’t help but feel very sad. She decided to help. Over the years of hard work and efforts, she had not only founded a hospital to train nurses, but also built a school for the poor children. In 1952, she established a nursing home to take care of the poor in need and those who were terminally-ill. Mother Teresa has since become the beacon of life and hope for India. After reading this book, I think Mother Teresa is more than a great person. When she was little, she started to help the poor with her family. This makes me feel embarrassed because when I was at her age, I just knew to play all day. Besides, her intent of joining the nun to became a mother so as to help the poor is even more admirable. She pursued the very goal which is different from most of us, the ordinary people. Although I know it is very hard for me now, I want to be a person like Mother Teresa, who can help people who need help. As we all understand, “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” I think this is the message which Mother Teresa has used all her life trying to convey to us.

【書籍介紹】 書名／A Doll's House 推薦者／高雄女中‧黃資尹 內容簡介：

The story,”A Doll's House”, was written by Henrik Ibsen,a famous Norwegian dramatist. His plays often reflect the dark sides of corruption and depict the ugly side of classical society. He brought people a new look in the literacy and helped people think from moral aspect. The heroine in the story was named Nala,who married a bank manager. In the story,Nala’s life was described as a cute bird in a cage,so that her responsibility was to raise her children and take good care of her family in order to please her husband. Her life is looked as perfect to other people at that time,but actually she was treated like a child or a pet by her husband. In the past,because Nala’s husband and father were seriously ill,she had loans privately,although at that time,a woman was not allowed to borrow money or make loans from a bank. In that case,Nala had faked her father’s signature to get bank loan for treating her husband. However,her husband knew the secret and insulted Nala for her guilty and destroyed his reputation. After all that,Nala realized that she has been treated as a doll or property of a man,before her marrisge she was owned by her father;and by her husband after her marriage;she has never been herself.She then proposed to explore for being herself and leave her husband,although her husband asked her to be responsible for her duty as a wife. In the end of the story,although it didn’t have a precise finale,I think that Nala had recognized that whether she would stay at home and play the role as a good wife and a mom or she decided to leave for herself, all the decision should be made by herself not someone else. After reading this story, I think I'm happy to live in such a free and equal society. I can get a good education and pursue my dreams. In addition,I can discover this wonderful world personally.I think that no matter who you are, you deserve equal treatment and good care.In the present,social media and old society still influence our view of gender equality,still gender inequality incident remains nowadays, such as child brides or anachronistic traditional etiquette. I think we should pay attention to the human rights issue in this world and speak up for these issues. By doing so, we can really create equal and fight for the freedom and awesome future. Perhaps we can't predict what fate Nala would be in that old society bound by tradition, but at least we can expect there won’t be second “Nala” emerge in a new era.

【書籍介紹】 書名／Star Reporter 推薦者／高雄高工‧楊峻杰 內容簡介：

“Star reporter” is an appealing story revolving around the leading characters, Steve and Marietta. Marietta was new to this small town. She had red hair and a nice smile, which made Steve look forward to seeing her. But something bad seemed to happen all the time to prevent Steve from getting along well with her. Steve's dad, Ned Reit, was an editor of the Cado Star, the weekly newspaper, but his only reporter got sick. In order to find something interesting to put on the newspaper, he appointed Steve as a temporary “reporter.” In the meantime, Marietta, who was into photography, went out to get some good pictures. Steve bumped into the girl, but he wasn’t aware that the extremely beautiful girl was Marietta. Steve was fascinated by her at the first sight. On another day, Marietta drove her car to the library, which was holding a reading day for children. Meanwhile, Steve went to the library to return the books. When he saw the girl’s car parked in front of the library, he was looking for her hurriedly. At last, he spotted that girl, but he didn't notice there was a potted plant right in front of him. Unfortunately, he fell into it, which gave the girl a good chance to get an “interesting” picture. Feeling embarrassed, Steve rushed out. On his way home, Mr. Pickett called him to come to his place, for he wanted to show Steve something “interesting.” He told Steve that he had collected plenty of old Cado newspaper, because he liked to read it when he was in his leisure time. He introduced his old school friend, Bud Ritchie, who was a writer, to Steve. Steve thought it might be a piece of news worth reporting. Therefore, he paid a visit to Bud Ritchie. When Bud Ritchie knew Steve wanted to report about his life story, he shared with Steve many places he had been, like the Himalayas, Paris, Africa, etc. Suddenly, Steve noticed that there was a cat trapped in the tree. He had no choice but to interrupt Richie’s talks. Steve tried to save that cat, but ended up falling into the pool next to the tree. At the same time, the girl whom Steve was falling in love with showed up. Steve was very surprised to know that the girl was Marietta, Bud Ritch’s daughter. Bud Ritchie told Marietta that Steve's father was an editor of the Cado Star, so that they could work together. Marietta provided pictures and Steve wrote articles. A week later, the newspaper was published. They were proud of each other because their cooperation made a piece of impressive news. Actually, bad things took place whenever Steve met Marietta, which made me feel anxious for him. I held my breath, read through the whole book, and hoped Steve would overcome all the obstacles. I’ve learned from Steve’s experiences that life isn’t always smooth sailing. As long as we stick to our goals, we will eventually get good results.