Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill

James Patterson

Final Post For This Book

Quarter 1

The ending of the book, like in any crime investigation book, is what the reader looks forward to while reading everything that comes before it. One important theme in the book is that a profession can become extremely overpowering, and even if you love what you do, family always comes first. As detective Cross tries to solve two different murder cases, he finds that he is more aggravated with the murderer killing small black children that go to his son's school, than the killer murdering celebrities. When Cross is finished solving both cases, and can spend time with his two kids and grandmother, who raised him and helped to raise his kids, is what he truly cherishes in life. I greatly enjoyed the book! All detective mysteries have me on the edge of my seat and keep me wondering if the murder(s) will be solved and by whom. I also love that James Patterson uses dramatic irony so the reader finds out who is committing the murders before the detectives and is able to follow the story from their perspective. Patterson wrote at least 10 books with Detective Cross and I have now read 3 with Cross and even more books by Patterson without him.

Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill

By James Patterson

Quarter 1

In this thriller where detective Alex Cross is hard at work, two murder cases must be solved by Cross and the D.C. police force. One killer is after little, African American kids who attend the Sojourner Truth School where Alex's son, Damon, attends classes. The other, who calls himself "Jack" teams up with a woman who he falls in love with, "Jill," and together they play a vicious game where they murder celebrities in the D.C. area and eventually plan to kill the president. Detective Cross, the main character, has to deal with both of these murderers and is having difficulty with both cases because they are leading to dead ends. Now he has a new problem on his plate that he blatantly reveals when talking to his shrink, "There's also a woman I met whom I could become interested in. She's married,' I said and smiled." (179). This is now a new problem Alex must face--he likes a woman that is married. This woman, Christine Johnson, is also the principal at the Sojourner Truth School and it is her first year there, so he has interviewed her and worked with her on the case. This minor character is becoming more involved in the book and starts to become a major distraction to Detective Cross. The same night after talking to his shrink, Alex drives to Christine's house because he is attracted to her and cannot help it, he then enters her house and they have a deep conversation before he realizes he should get home. The predominant question in my mind remains, will Christine continue to be a distraction to Alex or will she be a help in solving either murder case?

Darwin's Radio (Whole Book)

Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear

Summer Reading

The most important theme from this book is to think everything over before making a conclusion or decision. Kaye Lang, a molecular biologist, works on finding a cure to a sexually transmitted virus called SHEVA. This virus is transmitted from men to women and results in the woman having two pregnancies because the baby has a baby of its own. Kaye tries to figure out if SHEVA is going to wipe out the entire population. She worries because the average person hears about SHEVA and its problems on the news and then aborts their pregnancy. The first successful baby to come out of the womb with SHEVA was stillborn resulting in even more women to giving up their babies to the new, scary disease. Kaye is stubborn and she believes that SHEVA is not a change for the worse, so when she has a SHEVA pregnancy she keeps her baby. Kaye has to face a lot in this situation because no colleagues support her reasoning. This discovery of Kaye's intertwines with many other discoveries and stories throughout the entire 500 page book. Because Kaye never gives up she is the one who can appreciate the joy of giving birth to a SHEVA infected baby who can talk at the age of six months and is very advanced.

Sarah's Key (whole book)

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Summer Reading

The protagonist in Sarah's Key is really what allows the story to unfold, event after event. Julia, who grew up in Massachusetts and moved to Paris as a young woman, is assigned to write an article about the French police rounding up Jews to the Velodrome d'Hiver during World War II (she works at as a journalist for a not so popular newspaper in Paris). When she received the assignment, Julia was naive about the subject, and only knew that it took place during the Holocaust. Thankfully Julia is determined throughout the entire book and learns all about the Vel d'Hiv roundup. She finds the site where the building stood in Paris and questions people living on the block living where it stood, and researches about the topic through the night. As she researches about the topic the author gives the reader a peek at what one family, and in particular one girl, went through during the roundup and after it. Julia faces obstacles while researching such as divorcing her husband, and getting pregnant unexpectedly; however, she does manage to find out everything she needs to know about the event and more. Sarah is the girl whose life is uncovered as a flashback to the war. As Julia indulges herself into the topic she finds out more then she is meant to know about her husband's family and their connection to Sarah's.