Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
Fannie Flagg
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
It's first the story of two women in the 1980s, of gray-headed Mrs. Threadgoode telling her life story to Evelyn, who is in the sad slump of middle age. The tale she tells is also of two women -- of the irrepressibly daredevilish tomboy Idgie and her friend Ruth, who back in the thirties ran a little place in Whistle Stop, Alabama, a Southern kind of Cafe Wobegon offering good barbecue and good coffee and all kinds of love and laughter, even an occasional murder...
[publisher's description]
I personally adore this book; my mom recommended it to me after I had watched the movie based on it, and I loved it. It's perfect for when your brain decides to take a day off or when you need something to cheer you up. I really like the spirit of the South in the thirties and how the novel brings up the problem of racism and abusive relationships which were kinda normal those days. The only safe place in the town was the Whistle Stop Cafe - you wouldn't leave it hungry, no matter if you were black or white. Another advantage of this book are the characters; every one was charming in their own way and they would do aything for one another.
Sometimes I just wish I could transfer to Whistle Stop and get to know Idgie, Ruth and the whole rest of them 
Matylda Iniarska
źródło zdjęcia: www.goodreads.com
Struck by Lightning
Chris Colfer
Struck by Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal
Carson Phillips is at the bottom of the food chain in a high school filled with people he hates, stuck living with his depressed single mother in a small-minded town at the corner of nothing and nowhere... He has just one goal: escape to Nortwestern University and a career as a hard-hitting journalist. He can practically smell the ink on the admission's letter when disaster strikes: his guidance counsellor tells him that he needs to bolster his application by creating a literary magazine. Which means he needs submissions. From other students...
With 17 years of animosity standing between him and his dreams, Carson resorts to the only thing he can think of: blackmail. After all, desperate times call for desperate measures and everyone has a secret they'd do anything to hide...
[publisher's description]
At first I wanted to read the book because it was written by an actor who played one of my favourite characters in "Glee", the series. Then I remembered that I had watched a movie based on this story a few years ago and I loved it. I wanted to see if Chris was as good a writer as he was an actor and I wasn't disappointed; the story is very funny, written with easiness. You feel like you're really reading a teenager's journal and you can identify with Carson. I know I did. He's a kid from a small town with big dreams and Chris Colfer proves, in this book as well as in "Glee", that he knows how to portrait such a kid.
Matylda Iniarska
źródło zdjęcia: www.amazon.com
Sense and Sensibility
Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility
First I want to say that books are one of the best things we can possess. I usually read crime stories or adventure books but recently I've found something completely different... and really fantastic!
I mean the book whose title is "Sense and Sensibility". It was published in 1811 by a British author Jane Austen. This is not a typical story for plaintive women but definitely a book for people who like sitting by the fireplace, drinking tea and just spending time relaxing while reading. Yeah, that sounds encouraging :)
But let's get to the point. It's Great Britain, the end of the 18th century. Henry Dashwood dies and leaves his wife and three daughters orphaned... They must leave their family house and move to a new home in Barton. The oldest girl - Elinor - is very reasonable if somewhat reticent; the second, Marianne, is the absolute opposite of her older sister, she's got a romantic soul. Both want to be happy and find love... Unfortunately, the rules of the society and hierarchy it follows may come in the way of true love... What will happen to the sisters? Will they find men to share true love with? This you will know when you read the book.
I recommend "Sense and Sensibility" with all my heart! The book will help you break away from your everyday life and move you to the good old days...:)
Ilona Budyta
źródło zdjęcia: www.amazon.com
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
This is the first in the series of 7 books.
"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" is a story about a ten-year-old boy who is a wizard. The boy doesn't have an easy childhood; he has lost his parents and now he lives with his mother's sister and her husband and son. He sleeps in a small box-room under the stairs and he is constantly bullied by his cousin Dudley. He hates his family...
On his 11th birthday he meets Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwart's gamekeeper, who arrives to take him to Diagonal Alley, the only place in London where wizards can buy things necessary for doing magic. Hagrid tells Harry about the world of magic and explains that Harry is a wizard himself. Then Harry goes to Hogwart - the School of Magic and Witchcraft - where he befriends Ron and Hermione and enters the world of adventures he will never forget...
This book is a story about love, friendship and bravery. And it is addictive... When I started, I couldn't put it down. This magical story will make everybody, not only fans of fantasy, reach for it. The created world is amazing: we have tragedy here, love, friendships, secrets...
The characters are so lively they become our friends or our enemies:
Hogwart's Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is a really smart and mysterious person. He is the most powerful wizard in the world. He's funny and helpful, too. He really cares about Harry and other students. Without him the book would be much weaker.
Ron is a boy from a big, poor but happy family. He has a lot of brothers and one sister. He's really clumsy, but he would do anything for his friends and relatives. He is also a great player of chess. He has a very unusual, atypical magical pet - a rat.
Hermione is a girl from a muggle (non-magical) family. She reads a lot of books and she is the cleverest person in class. She is self-righteous, but her knowledge comes helpful in many situations.
All of them are "supporting cast" but they are also the reason for the success of the book.
I think it is an extremelly smart novel which can teach us a lot. The writer shows us the values which should be cherished by every human being: loyalty and true friendship, one that requires sacrifices and selflessness and is full of love, one which helps in life and has great moments. We can learn from the story that it is worth being good as lies always come to light.
The book made me cry and laugh and be angry... I lived through every moment along with the charatcters. It didn't left me indifferent at any moment because I felt so close to the characters. I certainly won't stop reading it after the first volume...
Karolina Jabłońska
W szkolnej bibliotece znajdziecie komplet opowieści o Harrym Potterze - od "Kamienia filozoficznego" po "Insygnia śmierci":)
źródło zdjęcia: www.amazon.com
Forrest Gump
Winston Groom
Forrest Gump
This is a warm and funny story about Forrest Gump, a good-hearted young man from Alabama. He's an unusual man: he is a footballer, he is a soldier in Vietnam, he meets the President of the USA, he goes into space... and his best friend, Sue, is an ape!
In my opinion the book is fascinating. It is a great combination of humour and knowledge. Most of the time the main character is shown as an idiot. But actually he is a kind, emotional and honest man. He shows us how important love is in our lives. He shows us that he doesn't need money to be happy and satisfied and thus we get to learn the most important lesson both in the book and in real life.
It is an important book for me personally because it's the first I have read in English. And I am really proud of myself. But the point is that it is a good story for beginners (when it comes to reading in English) :) And it's full of advice on life...
Ola Muchowska
Książkę znajdziecie w naszej bibliotece na półce z tzw. readersami czyli książkami przeznaczonymi dla uczących się angielskiego, z uproszczonym tekstem.
źródło zdjęcia: www.amazon.com