Book Interviews by Altaf Raffik
NH – Sophomore
What is your favorite book?
Holes by Louis Sachar
What was your favorite part of the book?
My favorite part of the book is when Stanley Yelnats leaves camp in order to friend his friend Zero who escaped a few days earlier. This event was the climax of the book.
Who was your favorite character?
Stanley is the character that the story follows; he is the one who tries to solve his issues.
What were the issues in the book?
Stanley was falsely accused of a crime and arrested. He had to choose between jail and Camp Green Lake and choose the latter. There they were forced to dig holes everyday five feet wide and five feet deep.
Is there a sequel to the book and if so what is it about?
The sequel to the book was Small Steps; unlike the first the protagonist is not Stanley but it is Armpit another detainee. This book follows his life after Camp Green Lake.
JL – Sophomore – JV Football
What is your favorite book?
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
What was your favorite part of the book?
My favorite part was when Professor Robert Langdon and Sophie escaped from the bank an armored vehicle.
What made you want to keep on reading?
It was a well-written book as well as being easy to read. The suspense was enough to keep on turning the pages.
What did you get out of the book?
I thought that the questions brought up and answered by the story were believable. I found myself researching to see if any of this was actually true.
Who was your favorite character?
My favorite character was the person who set up the entire scheme to find the holy grail by way of his research, this person is known as the “Teacher” at first and it is revealed that it is Sir Leigh Teabing.
AH – Senior – Stony Brook University
Which book would you say most piqued your interest of the various books you have been assigned to read throughout Stuyvesant?
I found White Oleander by Janet Fitch the most intriguing and easiest to read.
What did you find intriguing about it?
While the story itself had the same Baudelaire trait of one tragic event after another, the book kept from having a melancholy dull tone.
Did you like the main character? What was your favorite trait?
No. I did not like the main character, nor could I relate to her. She was a tramp that lost her virginity to her stepfather who was fifty three years old when she was thirteen years old.
Which characters in the book did you like and why?
I liked the man at the beginning that was killed by the girl’s mother because he cheated on her. At first the girl’s mother laughed at his advances toward her because of his obesity and ugliness but in the end he still got into her pants.
Was there a message that the author was trying to portray in his writing?
The message I got from the book is that no matter how much wrong you have done in life you can still redeem yourself.
AS – Senior – Emory University
What book would you recommend that you have read in Stuyvesant?
Rule of the Bone by Russell Banks
What did you like about the book?
Even though this was an assigned book for Freshman Composition, it was something relative to our time unlike other books we have been assigned. It discussed topics such as sex and drugs.
Who is the main character and what did you like about him or her?
The main character is Chappie later referred to as Bone after his tattoo. I like that he was only fourteen years old and went through so many life changing experiences.
What were the main points that you think the author tried to get across to his readers?
I think the author wanted us to see for our self the process of coming of age from teen to adulthood.
What else would you like to say about the book?
If you ever want to read for recreation if you possibly have any extra time in Stuyvesant I suggest that you read this book.
AS – Senior – CUNY Hunter
What book would you recommend for future Stuyvesant students?
I would highly recommend The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly or for the matter any one of his books.
What is it that leads you to recommend it so highly?
His style of writing in his genre is captivating and addictive. When you pick up one of his books you find it hard to put down.
What is the Brass Verdict about?
It is about a detective, Harry Bosch, and a lawyer, Mickey Haller who find themselves working together to solve one of the biggest cases thrown on them involving a Hollywood lawyer.
Which of the characters do you favor?
This is an obvious answer having read many of Michael Connelly’s books, I have gotten used to the LAPD detective Harry Bosch whose personal motto is everybody counts or nobody counts. This helps to drive him to do whatever it takes to uncover the truth behind all of his cases.
Is there an underlying message although it is aimed at recreational reading?
I think Michael Connelly uses his book as social commentary to say that our justice system is as weak as the people who make it run.
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