I enjoyed reading your poem– especially the George Eliot quotation (she’s one of my favorites). My son, Bradley is in your 4th period class. He, too, loves Harry Potter, “lake living” (we’re at Lanier) and would definitely read at the table if I let him. Maybe I should, now and then…

Thanks for giving us a great start to the year– you are very warm and welcoming!

Sara

Ms. Street,
Adam said you guys have lots in common…reading and Risk. I loved your picture and Lake Rabun. We had the opportunity to spend a weekend up there last fall and we fell in love. Being from TX, we are mesmerized by mountains. I am looking forward to a great year.
Fran Walker

“The Power” is a fascinating short story about Corbyn Gelips, a brilliant young man, with equally brilliant parents, who lives in the year 2034. In the world that Corbyn lives in, the former USA morphed into Unicom; a super power controlling all of North and South America, Europe, and Africa, led by President Molly Sanchez. The only only two continents not ruled by Unicom are Asia and Australia, which are ruled by The Chinese Empire, which is, needless to say, Unicom’s arch enemy. The story is about Corbyn, his family, and family friends doing all they can to prevent Molly Sanchez and the Unicom from complete world domination. Throughout the story, “The Power” is described as hope, “the one power that tied them all together.”

The story was very unique. It kept me on the edge of my seat, anticipating what was going to happen next. There was an appropriate amount of foreshadowing, although there were plenty of exciting twists in the story line. I particularly admired the choice of characters; Joe put in names such as Ralph Lauren, and Willy Wonka, which only added to my liking of the story. There were a lot of grammatical errors, such as sentences that needed commas and seemed to run on, and I often found myself re-reading to understand. However, overall the story was wonderful, and it was very fun to read.

“The IRA Incident” is an intense action-packed story about an M15 agent, John Brooks, who figures out the dastardly plans of the Irish Republican Army, or I.R.A. They are planning to assassinate the Prime Minister of Great Britain, and John must stop them before time Runs out.

This Novella was a real nail-biter for me. Every time I read more, the suspense would grow larger, and I would want to keep reading without stopping. Also, the great detail that Tom gave for his characters, made it very easy to visualize them. There were no grammar mistakes to my knowledge. The ending was very surprising, but hey! You never know what will happen when John Brooks is around to save the day!

“Brothers of the Boomerang” is a fun and exciting novella about an interesting relationship between two brothers. It had many characters that were well developed. However sometimes it became confusing of who was speaking at what time. There were a couple grammar mistakes and typos, but it did not distract the reader at all. The only real error I noticed was in the first chapter, there were no indentations.

The story over all was fun and exciting to read. I never even expected the ending. One of my favorite parts of the novella was the setting and how it influenced the plot. One of the best scenes was about Christian and Gus out in the dessert. How Christian was able to get the snake venom without being harm is fun to imagine. Through out the whole story, I was able to imagine the setting and see the tasks that all the doctors had to go through. She did an awesome job over all.

“Journal of a Spy” was about a young, newly recruited CIA agent named Damien. He is sent on a mission but he gets captured by the enemy. While he is held by the enemy he learns that they are plotting to kill the President. Two older CIA agents come to check on young Damien and they too get trapped. However, they escape and are reunited with their younger companion. Will they be able to stop the evil-doers plans to assassinate the President or will they fail at the hand of evil?

The author did a good job of writing this story. The characters were well developed and the story was filled with action. There were many complications which added to the intensity of the story and very few grammatical errors to distract the reader. Overall, “Journal of a Spy” was an exciting and action-packed story.

Matt’s fictional novella is a story of a teenage boy dealing with the stresses of high school while trying to pursue his musical career. Brian Savage, the main charecter, and the remaining “Faded Soul” band members, are an extremely talented group of boys, yet they are teased and taunted frequently at school. However that doesn’t break their spirits. Eventually they are discovered, but are the six high schoolers skilled enough to sign a record deal? Will Brian, Bobby, Joel, Allen, Matt, and Andrew ever get their well deservered fame? There is only one way to find out.

Overall, I thought it was a plesant and inspiring story. However, it went by quickly, taking away from the potential of the story. For instance, some added emphisis on Brian’s miserable life and a longer journey towards stardom may’ve helped. Besides that, there was a little confusion in dialogue.

In conclusion, Matthew’s novella was a very inspiring peice of work and a joy to read. Well done, Matt.

The story is filled with sensory details that make the reader actually feel like they are taking the adventure along with the characters. Robert does an excellent job in foreshadowing. The plot kept me wanting more but, it could have had more rising and falling action. However, the lacking is understandable because it is a novella not a novel. There were a few errors in mechanics but they did not take away from the overall experience.

I would rate this novella a 4.5 out of 5.