Book Reviews from Zubiri's 2016 Language Class

Win Forever By: Pete Carroll w/ Yogi Roth

Genre: Autobiography/Sports

Summary: Win Forever is a autobiography that talks about Pete Carroll’s struggles with coaching in the NFL and his overwhelming success as head coach of the USC Trojans. Carroll talks about his competitive spirit and how his success came from his winning philosophy “Win Forever.” Also Carroll talks about his love for the game and how he was able to turn a school from bottom of the barrel to the top of the totem pole. He was recently fired from The New England Patriots and felt his coaching career was finished, but his hopes were not diminished as he got the call to coach for USC. USC was recently in a slump and were last in the Pac 12. After one season Carroll took the Trojans to 6 national championships.

Favorite Part: My favorite part of the story is when Carroll talks about his time growing up in California. He was always the smallest kid on the field and that lack of size he made up for with heart. Then he got his big break and was able to play Division I at Pacific University.

Recommendation: I recommend this book because Carroll depicts the type of coach I would like to have and even if you’re not into sports, everyone has a competitive drive. Carroll teaches us not only how to use it on the field, but in regular life.

Ryan Cano-Williams

The River by Gary Paulsen

Genre: Realistic fiction         

Summary:The River by Gary Paulsen is the sequel to the novel Hatchet. In this book, Brian Robeson returns to the wild a year after being stranded there for 52 days, but this time he goes to a new location with Derek Holtzer, a psychologist who works with a government program that teaches people to survive in situations like the one Brian experienced. However, this trip is planned and seems too easy to Brian after three days of apparent dumb luck finding a premade shelter and stumbling upon flint. During that third night a lightning storm hit and struck both Derek and Brian putting Derek into a coma and knocking Brian out for a brief while. The only way for Brian to save Derek’s life is for him to build a raft and pull him up the river to a trading post for help. Along the way Brian loses the raft temporarily due to white water rafts, but retrieves it and eventually gets Derek to safety at the trading post.

My Opinion of the Book: This sequel dulls in comparison to Hatchet and actually does its original an injustice with the simplicity in which the story was constructed. It was just another example of a failed attempt in creating a book sequel.

I would not recommend this book because it is way too fast paced to lead to no type of climax with a typical resolution that was expected since the character Derek got struck by lightning.

Naren Hunter

The Color Complex Summary 
Genre: nonfiction 
Summary of book: This book explains the politics in how people of color are portrayed in 
society. Providing background history from slavery days and much of what was going 
on in the 20th century, Kathy Russell, Midge Wilson, and Ronald Hall all provide 
examples to demonstrate how as a Black person, usually the lighter you are the more 
you're accepted by society. From physical features such as hair and how women of 
darker skin try and change their hair just to look in the slightest bit acceptable to their 
peers, to the privileges in the workforce, their dating life, and how the media portrays 
those of lighter skin, this book opens your mind into seeing that colorism and 
discrimination still take place in today's day. It isn't just a white and black type of 
discrimination either and the authors do a good job of showing how discrimination 
persist even amongst the people in the Black community. The authors seem to have the 
goal to educate the reader about the real life controversial issue and how it affects the African American 
community. The authors also demonstrate how to change it all in the 
epilogue, which I thought was pretty cool. 
My Opinion: This book is a good read. Every page of the book provides you with 
interesting details and examples relating to this topic. I really did enjoy reading this book 
and it taught me so much more about the Black community and it really served its 
purpose when it came down to educating me about the whole controversial idea of 
discrimination and how it's deeper than just and Black and White thing. 
I recommend this book because its does a tremendous job of informing without trying to 
sound too sophisticated. It wasn't too easy of a read but easy enough to understand the 
message being portrayed by the authors. It also got straight to the point and didn't drag 
out the facts about things which also made me wanna keep reading 

Thabiso Moroke

Summary of book

The book Always Running by Luis J. Rodriguez is an autobiography about a conflicted teenager. The autobiography depicts how Luis came to be a gangbanger and the lifestyle he has because of his choices. It illustrates the struggles he and his family encountered here in the US (they are from Mexico). Luis becomes a gangbanger and then talks about the difficulties he comes across with his gang. One can seethe type of lifestyle he acquired for himself and the consequences he then suffers. The book ends with Luis getting out of jail. He gets out of jail and sees no choice but to move away from his childhood home. While leaving he is confronted by an old disabled rival, Chava, who blames him for his condition. Chava brought along two guys that would willingly fight Luis but he is able to calm Chava and embrace him.

My Opinion of the Book

In my opinion I did not really like the book. I thought it was okay but it didn't really intrigue me. I thought the story was overall a good story but in all honesty I could have gone without reading this book. I had heard from a lot of people that it was very good but came to find for myself that it was okay. However other peoples opinion may differ from mine.

Recommend ?

I would not recommend this book to a friend because I thought it was kind of boring. If they want to read a book about a gangster they should read Monster the autobiography of an L.A. gang member by Sanyika Shakur. That is an amazing book that never gets boring, I didn't want to put it down. I wanted 














to continue reading more and more. In fact after I finished reading it I actually did some extra research on the book, that’s how interesting it was. 

Marlene De Los Santos

  Book report

The book that I read is called 2001: A Space Odyssey and it is science fiction story published in 1968 about an adventure through space and it's beginnings. The story starts with our primitive ancestors and talks about their early struggles and then their encounter with an alien device known as a monolith. The monolith would give knowledge to the primitive beings that roamed the earth and somehow influence the primitive beings to start using bones and weapons. This would happen again in the year 2001 and the humans would discover once more the monolith on the moon and would send them on an adventure to Saturn. The trip would take years for the humans to reach Saturn. On aboard the spaceship, was Hal, the smartest machine created and would help the human with their trip through space. Problems would arise though out their journey and would lead to the resolution.

My opinion. The book was very interesting to me because of the idea of traveling through space and visiting other planets. It's a very unique book that was ahead of it's time in 1968 and still is due to the idea of traveling pass the moon and traveling toward other planets.

I recommend this book to any reader who finds space interesting and is willing to read a book that starts slow but gets better. If you like space and adventure this is for you.

Omar Bautista



Title: The Selection 

Author: Kiera Cass 

Genre: Fantasy ,Young Adult fiction  

Summary of the Book:  The Selection is the chance of a lifetime for poor citizens of the kingdom. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels maids to serve their every will. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon and have a happily ever after with him. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare the worst chance to ever come to her in her life.It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her leaving them to have a slight chance of living comfortably. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks. But will prince Maxon make her have a change of heart about living this life. Will they mend each other's hearts and find an eternal love. 




My Opinion: The book was interesting yet the plot was a typical plot that you can think of. Yet what made it apart from other stories was the author didn't just focus on the romance they focused on the kingdoms struggle as well. The romance between the two characters was good because, they didn't connect quickly it wasn't unreal. It unraveled like a normal relationship having some things in common but, disagreeing in other thing. Which is something that I loved because it wasn't fake at all. 




Recommendation: I would recommend it only if you like romance if not then don't read it. The plot doesn't take as long to unravel as other books which is a bonus if u want to read something that is straight to the point. There are some times where it get boring because it's the same ideas, but there are good plot twists which make up for it.




Conclusion: Overall the book was great and it's a four book series so you get more of it. The author has a great writing style which gets addictive. It's a great romance you feel like you're in her shoes at times because, the romance is relatable. If you enjoy this kind of style of book then it’s the right book to read.

Diana Rodriguez




Title: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Author: John Green and David Levithan



Genre: Realistic Fiction

Summary of Book:  Two boys living in Illinois have the name but live two totally different lives. The first Will that was introduced likes to live a quiet life with no attention directed to him. The second Will is pretty dark and diagnosed with depression. The whole novel is LGBT themed, as Will #1 has a gay best friend and Will #2 is gay himself. Both Wills have a very small group of friends at school and have a girl currently in their love lives, with Will #1 showing some interest to the girl but not Will #2. The Two Wills end up meeting each other and become close, but not too close. That’s where life changes for them.

My Opinion: I enjoy reading this book, although I did not finish the novel. Meeting someone who has the same name as you might be awesome or be a little weird, but in the end, they’re still someone totally different from you other than sharing the same name.

Recommendation: Yes, I would recommend this book because of how relatable the stories are. Most books don’t really seem realistic to today’s society and what goes on at school, but this book seemed like it was happening in front of my eyes. Everytime I read the book, I laughed and shared that section with my friends.

Conclusion: This book was amazing overall. It didn’t feel like it was a fictional piece since it felt so real. It was easy to read and totally relatable to today, even though it was published in 2010.It was a funny and enjoyable novel to read. I would watch the movie if there was one, but there isn’t one. There aren’t many books that are LGBT themed and this book seems to be a great example of one. If you enjoy LGBT themed novels, John Green and David Levithan’s works, this is a book for you.




Juliana Kim








Genre: Dystopian, Science Fiction                                        




Summary of Book:

Fahrenheit 451 takes place in a dystopian futuristic world where reading books is considered a crime and where television rules. They believe reading brings bad thoughts to people and people are unhappy when they read because they begin to question life and the government wants all people to have the same level of knowledge. Everyone is expected to be happy with their daily routines and if you start asking questions about the existence of the world you live in they identify you as crazy and they keep an out for you in case you decide to do something radical. There is also the role of firemen whose job is to burn books and the homes where they were found in instead of putting out fires. One fireman in particular, Guy Montag, is the main character in the book and when he starts to steal books he finds himself in a huge dilemma and decides whether to turn the books in or keep it to himself and red their text. At the beginning of the novel, Montag is happy with his job and his wife Mildred who spends all day with her television “family,” but when he crosses paths with his neighbor, Clarisse, he begins to question everything. Clarisse brings Montag into reality and makes him see what the world has become. 

My opinion of the book:

I enjoyed reading this book and it made me think of how we would be if we lived in the world described by Ray Bradbury. The book has a lot description and you get to really know the characters, I would definitely recommend this book.  



Karen Morales



Mortal Danger Summary

    Mortal Danger by Anne Aguirre is a somewhat paranormal like book. It starts off with a teenage girl named “Edie” (Edith) who lives in an apartment with her mother and father. Both her parents work as professors at Boston University. Edie attended a private college that her parents could barely afford, and she was a brilliant girl, top of her class brainiac. Unfortunately for her, her mother cared more for academics than she did physical appearance, but that can be unfortunate, or a good thing, depending on your viewpoint. Edie was taught to care more for how she did in a class than she did outside of a classroom. She wasn’t social at all, she didn’t have friends, and she was overweight due to the fact that she was loved by her parents whether she was skinny or overweight. Like any other “typical high school”, there was of course a clique of students that “ruled” the school; they were known as the Teflon Crew. They bullied, made fun of her, and would publicly humiliate her. One day, they did something horrendous to Edie, and that cause her to set the perfect day, perfect time, and perfect spot to commit suicide. She chose a day that her parents were out of town, a location that didn’t have many bystanders, and chose to do it at 5:57 am. The day that she was going to commit suicide, she made it all the way to the spot that she had chose, and she made it there on time. Just before she was about to jump, she heard someone call to her, when she turned around, she found some guy standing behind her. He convinced her not to jump and they went to go have coffee. He introduced himself as someone that worked for companies that wanted to stop special brilliant people from going into “extremis”, although this term was never really defined, I made out that it meant her suicide. He being Kian wasn’t from a normal company; instead, he was from a paranormal company who was able to grant her three wishes. At the end of those three wishes, she had to repay Kians boss. She took the deal only because she wanted to get revenge on the Teflon Crew. She did exactly that and infiltrated the crew. From there, time passed and the revenge she seeked is not what happened, almost half of the crew ended up dying from an unknown mysterious cause. 



Mortal Danger Summary

    Mortal Danger by Anne Aguirre is a somewhat paranormal like book. It starts off with a teenage girl named “Edie” (Edith) who lives in an apartment with her mother and father. Both her parents work as professors at Boston University. Edie attended a private college that her parents could barely afford, and she was a brilliant girl, top of her class brainiac. Unfortunately for her, her mother cared more for academics than she did physical appearance, but that can be unfortunate, or a good thing, depending on your viewpoint. Edie was taught to care more for how she did in a class than she did outside of a classroom. She wasn’t social at all, she didn’t have friends, and she was overweight due to the fact that she was loved by her parents whether she was skinny or overweight. Like any other “typical high school”, there was of course a clique of students that “ruled” the school; they were known as the Teflon Crew. They bullied, made fun of her, and would publicly humiliate her. One day, they did something horrendous to Edie, and that cause her to set the perfect day, perfect time, and perfect spot to commit suicide. She chose a day that her parents were out of town, a location that didn’t have many bystanders, and chose to do it at 5:57 am. The day that she was going to commit suicide, she made it all the way to the spot that she had chose, and she made it there on time. Just before she was about to jump, she heard someone call to her, when she turned around, she found some guy standing behind her. He convinced her not to jump and they went to go have coffee. He introduced himself as someone that worked for companies that wanted to stop special brilliant people from going into “extremis”, although this term was never really defined, I made out that it meant her suicide. He being Kian wasn’t from a normal company; instead, he was from a paranormal company who was able to grant her three wishes. At the end of those three wishes, she had to repay Kians boss. She took the deal only because she wanted to get revenge on the Teflon Crew. She did exactly that and infiltrated the crew. From there, time passed and the revenge she seeked is not what happened, almost half of the crew ended up dying from an unknown mysterious cause. 

John Garibay  

Genre: The Genre of “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote is that of mystery. 

Summary: The book “In Cold Blood” is a tale of a family of four, the Clutters, who are slaughtered in their Kansas home, in a place where nothing like that is ever expected. The four victims, Herb, Nancy, Kenyon, and Ms. Clutter, were people very much liked by the town of Holcomb. The KBI is solved in to help solve the murder, and it turns out that it was the work of two people, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. They had initially gone to the Clutters to rob them, but in the act, they found that Mr. Clutter did not have wads of cash in his house. The whole family was tied up, and killed, one by one. Once the deed was done, with the little money they did get they headed to Mexico, and Florida, and eventually were apprehended. They gave each other up for the crime in which they committed. Smith and Hickock were sentenced to death by hanging. They spent years in a prison cell until they were finally executed.



Opinion: I actually very much did enjoy this book and would recommend those that like to have a little mystery in their reading. I was very difficult for me to put it down, and as the story just kept twisting and turning and made it so much more interesting. The only thing is you have to be willing to read into older history as it takes place within the 1959-1960’s. 

Jonathan Marcial



Title: The Selection 

Author: Kiera Cass 

Genre: Fantasy ,Young Adult fiction  

Summary of the Book:  The Selection is the chance of a lifetime for poor citizens of the kingdom. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels maids to serve their every will. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon and have a happily ever after with him. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare the worst chance to ever come to her in her life.It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her leaving them to have a slight chance of living comfortably. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks. But will prince Maxon make her have a change of heart about living this life. Will they mend each other's hearts and find an eternal love. 




My Opinion: The book was interesting yet the plot was a typical plot that you can think of. Yet what made it apart from other stories was the author didn't just focus on the romance they focused on the kingdoms struggle as well. The romance between the two characters was good because, they didn't connect quickly it wasn't unreal. It unraveled like a normal relationship having some things in common but, disagreeing in other thing. Which is something that I loved because it wasn't fake at all. 




Recommendation: I would recommend it only if you like romance if not then don't read it. The plot doesn't take as long to unravel as other books which is a bonus if u want to read something that is straight to the point. There are some times where it get boring because it's the same ideas, but there are good plot twists which make up for it.




Conclusion: Overall the book was great and it's a four book series so you get more of it. The author has a great writing style which gets addictive. It's a great romance you feel like you're in her shoes at times because, the romance is relatable. If you enjoy this kind of style of book then it’s the right book to read.






Title: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Author: John Green and David Levithan



Genre: Realistic Fiction

Summary of Book:  Two boys living in Illinois have the name but live two totally different lives. The first Will that was introduced likes to live a quiet life with no attention directed to him. The second Will is pretty dark and diagnosed with depression. The whole novel is LGBT themed, as Will #1 has a gay best friend and Will #2 is gay himself. Both Wills have a very small group of friends at school and have a girl currently in their love lives, with Will #1 showing some interest to the girl but not Will #2. The Two Wills end up meeting each other and become close, but not too close. That’s where life changes for them.

My Opinion: I enjoy reading this book, although I did not finish the novel. Meeting someone who has the same name as you might be awesome or be a little weird, but in the end, they’re still someone totally different from you other than sharing the same name.

Recommendation: Yes, I would recommend this book because of how relatable the stories are. Most books don’t really seem realistic to today’s society and what goes on at school, but this book seemed like it was happening in front of my eyes. Everytime I read the book, I laughed and shared that section with my friends.

Conclusion: This book was amazing overall. It didn’t feel like it was a fictional piece since it felt so real. It was easy to read and totally relatable to today, even though it was published in 2010.It was a funny and enjoyable novel to read. I would watch the movie if there was one, but there isn’t one. There aren’t many books that are LGBT themed and this book seems to be a great example of one. If you enjoy LGBT themed novels, John Green and David Levithan’s works, this is a book for you.