Berlin boxing Club

Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow is about a boy named Karl who gets the chance to have  boxing lessons from a famous fighter.  The book takes place in the 1930's-40's in Germany.  Karl gets bullied a lot so he has the chance to be able to fight back.  The lessons really fulfill him as a person.  

In Berlin Boxing Club, there are many complex ideas that are happening.  One example is that Karl and Greta are forced to have a secret relationship because they are different religions.  This could be considered complex because Karl has to find a way to stay the person he is even with all the changes in his life, Greta being a big one.  Karl has to learn to balance boxing, his family, school, hiding his religion, and his girlfriend.  I noticed that at certain points in the book, you could tell that he is struggling but uses people to overcome his sturggles.

First he uses his little sister who is nicknamed Winzig.  Even though Winzig is younger Karl and her really have a strong connection and they are always there to stand up for each other.

Second, he relies on the boxing club and Max.  He feels that if he learns to fight he will never get beat up again and he can prove to his dad that he is not a disgrace and it wasn't a mistake to take the boxing lessons over the money.

Finally Karl relies on his family.  He always thinks to himself "no matter how hard my day is, I can always come back to my house with my sister and my parents and sometimes my uncle."  But what Karl doesn't realize is that even though his parents try to cover it up as much as possible, they are still poor.  Karl knows this but he chooses not to think about it.  But he's always relying on the fact that  that when he comes home he is going to have a house and everything will be good.  But what would happen if the governemtns takes his house away because of there religion or they cannot afford to pay rent?

Another complex idea is how Karl always contradicts himself while he is fighting or before a fight.  He always compares his lanky body to the other guys' muscular bodies. But Karl underestimates himself even though he wins most of his fights.  When I was reading this book I was thinking, If Karl doesn't believe in himself, who does?  Then I realize that many people believe in Karl and rely on him.  His sister, Greta, Herr Koplek, and Neblig. 

Catcher in the Rye

I have not yet finished the book but I can already tell that Holden and Stradlater have a unique relationship.  It might be considered a love-hate relationship.  For example Holden would always talk great about Stradlater and how he could "always get the girls" and such.  But at the same time when he was saying that, Holden was envious.  Stradlater wouldn't really help holdens anger problems and would often pester him about Jane.  He wouldn't really answer Holdens questions directly.

 It also seems that their sides for each other changed, for example Holden used to be perfectly fine with Stradlater until he found out that he took Jane out on a date. That is when Holden began asking questions and his opinions of Stradlater changed. 

Kissed by an angel

this is a GREAT  book to read because Ivy lost hope but she found out that she should always believe because the people that loved her inspired her and kept her going. Ivy really believed in angels until she claims that an angel was the reason that Tristan (her boyfriend) died in a car crash.  Ivy tried countless times to commit suicide to be with her boyfriend again but her friends, tristans friends, and her own little brother kept her sane.

Ivy was struglling along with life until her and one of Tristan's friends found out that Tristan did not die because of his broken brakes, it was murder and now the murderer is also out to kill Ivy.  The two eliminated their suspects one by one, until they found out who the real culprit was.

One thing I really like about this book was that everyone seemed to have a role in the book.  Tristans role was to try and contact Ivy from the dead and tell her one last time he loved her.  Suzanne has the job to be a good supporting friend to Ivy.  Lacey (Tristans angel partner) had the job to teach Tristan the rules of being an Angel.  Phillip had the job to find Ivy's lost hope and regain trust in the angels and there presence. 

Another thing I really liked about Kissed by an Angel is that Tristan and Ivy are complete opposites, yet they are so perfect together. Tristan is captain of the swim team and the best swimmer in the state but Ivy hates swimming, she even hates water..  Ivy adores cats and owns an abandoned one but Tristan is allergic.  The one major difference though is that Ivy believes in angels but Tristan doesn't.  No one believes in angels until Ivy looses her faith.  Then Ivy's brother, Phillip, started believing.  He took all of his sisters glass figurines and kept them, even when Ivy demanded them to be destroyed.  Phillip wanted to make his sister believe again.