Wuthering Heights--a book report by Jordin Annett

I give it a mixed review!

Wuthering Heights takes place in the charming moors of England, set in the first decade of the 1800's. It starts out with a man, by the name of Mr. Lockwood, who is renting a mansion from Mr. Heathcliff. Mr. Heathcliff owns another mansion on a few acres not very far from where Mr. Lockwood is renting. Mr. Heathcliff is not very hospitable and neither is his household. The household consists of4 people: the servants Zilla and grouchy old Joseph; Hareton who is Mr. Heathcliff's cousin; and Cathy who is Mr. Heathcliff's daughter-in-law. When Mr. Lockwood suddenly takes ill, he is nursed back to health by Nelly. Nelly used to be Mr. Heathcliff's nurse.
Since there was no television or video games in the 1800's, you either read, played a board game, or listened to a story for indoor entertainment. Mr. Lockwood's illness prevented him from reading. So, Nelly tells him the history of Mr. Heathcliff and his household. She tells her story from chapter 5 of Wuthering Heights until the end of the book. With a few breaks in between, Nelly's story makes up most of Wuthering Heights. Of course there is a happy ending to this story, however, most of the time it looks as if there won't be. Mr. Heathcliff had kept Hareton from becoming educated. Hareton was ashamed to be around anyone who was better educated than himself. Cathy scoffed at Hareton's attempt to learn. This only discouraged Hareton from continuing his education. The happy ending came to pass when Hareton and Cathy decide to stop making each other miserable. Cathy, who is well-educated, chooses to quit being hateful and help Hareton with his schooling. The two become best friends and even decide to get married. This heals the story. Despite the many broken relationships, one does survive and flourish. I discovered from reading this book that even though life may be hard, we can still find the time to forgive and the room to change. I think that this is a good morale for all of us to learn.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond--a book report by Jaxin

I give it a thumbs up!

I just finished the Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. The main character is Katherine. People call her Kit for short. Kit is a girl. She has dark long hair, brown eyes, and no religion at all. Kit was born in Barbados. She has to leave Barbados because her parents died. Then her grandfather took her in , but he died. Her family was rich. However, her grandfather had a debt to a man. After her Grandfather died, the man said, "I don't want money, I want you to marry me." He was an older man and Kit did not love him. She ran away on a boat to Weathersfield where her Aunt and Uncle lived. Her Aunt and Uncle did not know she was coming. When she got to Weathersfield, she went to her Uncle and Aunts's home. They found out she was their neice. They let Kit stay. Her Aunt had two children named Mercy and Judith. The next day, Kit went to church with her Aunt and Uncle. She found out that they were Puritans!
One day Mercy asked Kit to help her teach at a Dames school. A Dames school is where children learn their ABC's and how to read so they can go to school. One day kit said, "Let's do a game of make-believe out of the Bible." The story she picked was The Good Samaritan. The boy she chose to be the Samaritan was a boy liked in school. The children Kit chose to be the thievesreally beat the boy up. Then the man who started the school waked in. He slapped a child and every body stopped the play. He said, "This school is closed!" Kit ran out into a meadow and cried herself to sleep. Then she woke up and saw an old woman standing over her. Kit mad friends with the lady. The old lady's name is Hannah Tupper. Hannah Tupper is known as, "The Witch of Blackbird Pond". The reason Hannah is called a witch is because she lives by black bird pond,and because she hardly comes out of her home. She is a Quaker. Puritans don't like quakers. Weathersfield is a place where Puritans live.
Months later, a group of people decided to burn Hannah's home and kill her. They went to Kit's Uncle's home and asked if he wanted to help. Kit's Aunt told Kit to goto bed. Kit went to her room. She put on her cloak and went beack downstairs (everyone is asleep). Kit went out the back door and went to Hannah's house to warn Hannah before the mob came. She ran inside Hannah's house and woke Hannah up. They hid behind a bush. Then the mob came and threw torches into Hannah's home. It burned down to the ground. Suddenly, Hannah's cat ran out with a mouse in her mouth. The mob thought Hannah had performed witchcraft and turned into a mouse. So, the mob went after the cat. The cat got away. The mob ran back to their homes. Then the Dolphin arrived. The Dolphin is the boat that kit sailed on to Weathersfield. Nat, the Captain's son, stopped the ship. Nat was a friend of Hannah's. Kit told him everything that had happened. Nat said that he would take Hannah to his grandmother. The next day Kit was accused of witchcraft and taken to court. She was found not guilty. then she went to the docks and Nat asked Kit to marry him.
I like this book because of the adventures in it, the things it teaches me about Purtians and Quakers, and that you need to stand up for what you believe in.