Kuro Zakuro

By: Ryan Sanford
The title of the book is Kuro Zakuro, and the author is Yoshinori Natsume. The book is about a boy who got bullied a lot. Then one day he went to a grassy place and this thing called a devils seed bounces into his bag. Then when he goes home and goes to bed the seed bounces out of his bag bounces to him then he swallows it while he is asleep. Then he has a dream at a place where this random “kid” who is a devil-like thing ask him “what do you want” he reply’s “Want?” and the devil says “you want money? Power? Name your desire” and Mikito said nothing then after a while he finally thinks of something and that is to be stronger so nobody bullies him anymore. And the devil like thing says your wish will come true when you wake up. The next morning Mikito wakes up and puts on his glasses but he sees everything blurry and realizes he does not need them anymore. And then a while goes on in the book and he later finds out he is an ogre and that wish in his dream came true but in a bad way…
I like this cartoon anime because it is talking about fighting things and how they are trying to solve a mystery. My favorite part of the book is when he finds out that he is an ogre. The people I think would like it are 13-15 year olds. I would rate it an 9 out of 10.

Sample Post: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Taken from Nanci Atwell's blog "You Gotta Read This"

I loved The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. This is a beautifully written yet harsh memoir about her childhood. She grew up with parents who couldn’t properly take care of her, her sister, and her brother. They moved constantly, from one horrible place to another, because her father was always running away, both from the police and his responsibilities to his children.

The lead brings a reader right in. Walls starts her story in the present, and we get a brief vision of her glamorous life today. Then she flashes back, and the rest of the narrative connects in subtle ways. Walls shows us tidbits of her life, but she succeeds in not giving anything away, because she has crafted the narrative so the conclusion reveals everything.

I rate The Glass Castle a definite ten. Walls creates detailed visuals and amazing dialogue that made these memoies come alive in my mind, perhaps as much as it was in hers. I felt like I was there with her the whole time because of all the thoughts and feelings she weaves into her story. She reflects on everything.
The Glass Castle is much like a series of vignettes from Jeannette Walls’s horrific past, crafted to connect the little stories. It is a quick read—I finished it in only a couple of nights.

Walls brings out so many themes in this book, including the importance of family, but also the need to create an independent identity, and how to forgive. She shows how she looked out for herself and her brother, even as a young girl. And she doesn’t blame her parents or express bitterness, although she has every right to.
I would recommend The Glass Castle to anyone who wants to read a true story about family values. This memoir continues to haunt me.
Maura (student)
Publisher: Scribner, 288 pages