Soldier's Heart by Gary Paulsen

Do you know who Charley Goddard is? He was a soldier that fought in the Civil War. Gary Paulsen writes about the civil war through the eyes of Charley Goddard in this short novel or novella. It is a very short read, and is no more than 200 pages. It is very short, and incredibly fast paced. Paulsen does a great job at showing the change that Goddard goes through during his experience while fighting in the civil war. The book is recommended to middle school because it is short, fast-paced, and easy to read. To be more specific, I recommend it to 8th grade. It is a definite must read.

Luqman Sattar

Truce: the Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting by Jim Murphy

Truce: the day soldiers stopped fighting is a non-fiction, war, historical, young-adult book by Jim Murphy. The book takes place in 1914 during the First World War on the Western front, where both German and British troops fought against one another in bloody trench battles, until on day the bullets stopped firing and both German and British troops had an unofficial truce to celebrate Christmas together. The book is truly an emotional tale, and highlights the goodness in humanity. I would recommend both middle and high schools students to read this amazing book.

Sameer Khan

Discovering God: The origins of the great religions and the evolution of belief by Rodney Stark

Discovering God is a historical and religious analysis book by Rodney Stark. The book is about human history of religion from is origins in the Stone Age all the way to modern times and gives an insight of how religion changed over time and why and how the largest and most popular religions today came to be. It is a very interesting book to read and gives a deep inside in the history of religion, it is also a great book to use for research. I would recommend this book to high school students and those who might be writing an Extended Essay in religion.

Sameer Khan

Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden

Escape from Camp 14 is a true story presented by the author Blaine Harden of one man’s journey from North Korea to freedom. The book is based on the true story of Shin Dong-Hyuk who was born in 1982 inside a North Korean political concentration camp and talks about his life in the camp, how he escaped, and his journey to the US and South Korea. His story is one of the most remarkable because he is the only known prisoner to have escaped from a North Korean concentration camp and survived. This is one of the most intriguing and emotional books I have every read because when I was reading; I was reminded that every account was true. I definitely recommend that everyone, both middle school and high school students should read this truly life changing story.

Sameer Khan

The Language of Tolkien's Middle Earth by Ruth S. Noel

I usually do this last, but if you are not a Tolkien nerd this book is definitely not for you. If you do want to learn elfish and other languages from the Lord of the Rings then maybe it is. This book talks about all the languages featured in LOTR and other Tolkien stories such as Numenorian and Quenya. I personally liked this book because I am a Tolkien fan, and it was interesting to learn about the languages in his stories. Again not for everybody, but of course, give it a whirl if you like. This is recommended for middle school because high school should be doing other things like studying Spanish, French or Arabic and not Elfish.

Luqman Sattar

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell never fails to create thought-compelling books such as, Tipping Point, David and Goliath, and What the Dog Saw. Blink is a book about quick thinking and snap judgement, or “the power of thinking without thinking.” It contains many stories, just like his other books. He various real life stories and situations to complement the points that he is trying to make. He talks about a person’s ability to spot something instantly using an example of a fake sculpture at a museum. He also backs his claim up with a marriage analyst being able to spot whether a couple will stay together or break up. This book is definitely recommended for the high school especially when it comes to making discussion questions and topics.

Luqman Sattar

A History of God: The 4000 year quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by Karen Armstrong

This book by Karen Armstrong follows the evolution of how people worshiped God. Starting from polytheism, to Judaism and Christianity, and moving on to Islam and the worship of God in the modern world. It talks about the worship of God from many angles coming from the three main monotheistic doctrines. It is a very interesting book, and I would recommend it to people interested in different religions and various beliefs. This book is pretty thick, and has very small font. It will probably take a long time to read. I recommend this book to the high school level, and possibly the middle school level, but most probably the high school.

Luqman Sattar

J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography by Leslie Ellen Jones

Have you read Lord of the Rings? You may know everything about the books, but do you know anything about the author? This book is about J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of the legendary Lord of the Rings series. He was really creative! He was the guy that created an entire language for his books, but named the evil mountain Mt. Doom. And this is your chance to learn about him, his life, and inspiration for writing his books. This book is for anyone looking for a biography to read, but I really recommend this book to a Tolkien fan.

Luqman Sattar

Spartans by Don McLeese

This is a history book about Spartans, but here’s the super awesome twist. It’s in the form of a comic book! It talks about Sparta in Ancient Greece. If you don’t like history books because they don’t have any pictures, this book is definitely something that you should check out. You know what? Even if you do like history you should try giving this book a whirl. I do, however, recommend that you DO NOT use this book as a source for any type of assignment that requires research or the citing of sources. But again, it is a very creative way to “teach” history and is interesting enough to be read by anyone.

Luqman Sattar

Tuesdays with Morrie by MItch Albom

Mitch never had a college professor better than Morrie Schwartz. Morrie and Mitch quickly became friends, however, after Mitch graduated from college they lost contact with each other. Mitch later finds out that Morrie is dying of ALS (yes, ice bucket challenge ALS). Mitch manages to contact him, and the two meet each other for the last time, or so they think. Morrie spends his last days teaching Mitch about the things in life that are the most important. This book is based off of true events that happened to the author. Morrie Schwartz, the man whose name is in the title, teaches Mitch the most important things in life. And if you give him a chance, Morrie can teach you too. This book is a must read for anybody of any age.

Luqman Sattar

David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell

Has anybody ever told you that you would not be able to achieve something because it had a small chance of success, and you went ahead and achieved it? No? Yes? Whatever the answer is, it’s a good answer. Malcolm Gladwell talks about how the least likely outcome is achieved. Gladwell uses various stories to show how smallest outcome are the best outcomes, and why the smallest outcomes are more likely to succeed than you think. Staring with the greatest underdog story ever known, David and Goliath. The author of other bestselling books such as Blink, What the Dog Saw, and The Tipping Point.

Review:
This book is nonfiction and for those that like reading about other people’s real-life stories. The book provides real life accounts of a person’s or group’s actions that would have been considered insane and would be very unlikely to succeed. Gladwell talks about how seemingly “bad” things can be good, and how seemingly “good” things can be bad. What are better off being, a big fish in a little pond or a little fish in a big pond? What is better, arresting people, or treating them nicely? How do you battle giants? How does a revolution succeed? The answers will be yours when you read this book. Are you willing to find out how David beats Goliath?

Luqman Sattar