Book Recommendations
interview with Kuang Hua Guo:
What book would you recommend?
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan.
Why would you recommend it?
It is an amazing fantasy fiction tale intertwined with complex politics (at least the later books in the series). Also it is a good story about growing up and taking responsibility. I think it’s the more manly version of Harry Potter. And more interesting version of Lord of the Rings and it is by no means a rip off of any of them. It is simply a well told story with age old concepts.
Why did you decide to read this book?
I bought it at Barnes and Noble by accident. My friend gave me a discount card for my birthday and I just went in and took a book with a cool cover. Then it turned out to be an awesome book.
What is the book about?
The book is about a universe and in this universe a creator created the world. The creator then locked up the dark one, who is like the devil. The creator then made something called the wheel of the world. It weaves lives in to a complicated tapestry that represents history and real life events. Thus we see that fate may be already decided by how the wheel weaves. The wheel is divided into seven eras. For example, the first era is hinted to be something like our world. Where science ruled. Then the world ended, probably cause we destroyed it, and the wheel reached the second era, where magic progressed. They built amazing cities and people lived for thousands of years. Near the end of that age, the dark one’s prison became weakened. He contaminated the magic that males used and they went insane and destroyed the world. Then the third age begins. Women who control magic rule the world by controlling the kings behind the scenes. The dark one is still trying to break out of his prison, since the males from the previous age tried to fight the dark one to reseal him. They were led by a man known as the Dragon. In the third age, the dragon is reborn on the same spot where he went crazy and started destroying the world. The story starts at a village where the dragon reborn lives. He doesn’t know who he is though. He is a teenage kid who is found by the women who know magic. The dark one sends his servants to hunt him down. The dragon is basically someone extremely important to history. He can change the weave of the wheel of time, thus change fate as it were. This teenage kid is named Rand and has two friends Mat and Perrin that go with him away from the village when the dark one’s servants attack. It turns out all of them can change the weave of the wheel. But Rand is the strongest because he is the dragon reborn. The first book is about a journey of a bunch of people to the White Tower where female magicians reside to protect Rand.
How accessible is this book?
You need about fifth grade English and a dictionary, since there are some hard words that a 5th grader might not know. But all high school graduates should be able to read it.
Interview with Daniel Jeng
What book would you recommend?
I would recommend The Demolition Man, by Alfred Bester.
Why would you recommend this book?
Because this book provides us with an interesting view of a world where mind reading is a part of society, wiping out crime. In this newly created world, Bester creates characters that allow the reader to see and observe this world. It is also is a book that opens one’s horizon and brings the What if? question even further.
Why did you decide to read this book?
I decided to read this book because it was required for English class last term.
What is this book about?
This book is about a man, Ben Reich, who is psychologically unstable. Therefore, he decides to murder someone, something no one has done for many years because of the development of mind reading. Because of mind reading, the police can detect crimes before they actually happen. This story is a chase between the police and the brilliant and rich Ben Reich.
How accessible is this book?
This book was pretty easy for any high school student to read. The story is compelling so it isn’t hard to get through at all.
Interview with Hanming Zhang
What book do you recommend?
It by Stephen King
Why do you recommend this book?
I recommend it because I enjoyed the book a lot. I thought it was an interesting take on the effects of childhoods on adulthood and the plot was very engaging.
Why did you decide to read this book?
I was bored one day waiting for a train and found it in a book store. I thought the cover of the book, which was a picture of a clown, looked amusing so I picked it up.
What is the book about?
The book is about a group of people fighting an evil clown that haunts their home town twice.
Was the book accessible?
Yes because this book uses common language anyone can understand.
Interview with Lauren Ng
What book would you recommend?
Ender’s game by Orson Scott Card.
Why did you like this book?
Because it is so interesting and adventurous. It made me wish I was in the storyline.
Why did you decide to read it?
Because my brother recommended it to me.
What was this book about?
This genius boy who’s recruited to a military thing and he has to save the world.
How accessible was this book?
It is not particularly hard, so it is a good book for preteens.
Interview with Tiffany Chang
What book would you recommend?
Memoirs of a geisha by Arthur Golden.
Why would you recommend it?
The book allowed me to see the cruel treatment that poor families of that time had to go through. Women were treated with basically no respect. Their ‘company’ was sold and it told the harsh truth that a poor woman in that Japanese society had no societal standing without a man, which I found interesting and sad.
Why did you decide to read this book?
Well, it was on Stuy’s summer reading list, so I was more or less forced into reading it. Also, I watched the movie and I wondered how it’d compare to the movie because I felt the movie wasn’t as emotional as it could be. And lastly, I really wanted to know Japanese culture, and that was just one traditional aspect.
What is the book about?
The life of a poor girl from a fishing village who got sold to a geisha house because the mother died and the father was unable to continue supporting his daughters. His sister ended up being a lower form of a geisha and she eventually escaped, but the main character wasn’t able to so she was left behind. she grows up and falls in love with the chairman, one of the kindest men she’s met her entire life, so she grows up and her main goal in life is to become the best geisha or most famous one possible so she could be with him. She goes through harsh training, has to deal with a cruel older “sister”, and ends up getting what she wanted and she lives happily with the sister.
How accessible was this book?
This book is easily accessible by any high school student. A middle schooler should also be able to read it with a dictionary.
Book recommendations by Stuyvesant students for Stuyvesant students and readers around the world. Also known as Stuy Bookshelf/Book Box. Submissions are open—click on register below!