○ Book Review

Ground Zero: A Book Review

by Sophie Frankel The book Ground Zero contains the incredible story of Brandon Chavez, a boy who was in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11. This book deserves a Newbery award. What is the Newbery award, you ask? The Newbery award is given annually to an American author that displays the most distinguished writing with six criteria, including setting, characters, plot, style, organization and theme. The three criteria I will talk about are character development, setting, and style. One of the Newbery criteria is character. Being able to feel the character’s emotions is an important part of a book being notable. The main character in Ground Zero is Brandon Chavez, a nine year old boy in Lower Manhattan. He is a relatable and sympathetic character. The author vividly portrays his emotions through his words and his actions. For example, when his friend’s gloves are stolen by the school bully, he punches the bully in the nose. This shows how much he cares about his friends. Asecond example is when Brandon is finally outside after the attack, he is met with a horrific sight. “In the plaza, there were dead bodies everywhere. In the lobby, the first responders have lined up all of the injured and burned victims. Some had missing limbs, others had open wounds. Paramedics moved among them, doing what they could. ” Brandon couldn’t believe it was real. He felt like he was in a nightmare. I could imagine myself in Brandon’s shoes in both of these situations. I could feel his emotions clearly. That’s why I love this book so much.Alan Gratz used extremely descriptive language to help the reader understand exactly what the main character is feeling. This is part of the author’s style. Alan Gratz has a very special style of writing. He uses vivid language and careful word choice. He has the special ability to draw the reader in and make them feel like they are in the same situation as the main character at any given moment. When Brandon saw the people trapped in the elevator, I could see them too. I can still hear the echoes of the screams of pain of the woman who ran through the flames to escape, see her arm bubbling, see the elevator disappear, crash to the basement, the remaining passengers' screams echoing up the elevator shaft. one person was sitting on the floor, head in his hands, sobbing. Two people were grasping the railing as if their lives depended on it. The last person was getting ready to run through the flames to escape. Outside the elevator, Brandon stood with two other men, urging the people who were trapped to get out. I can feel the emotions of the trapped passengers. They are terrified! They have no idea what will happen to them! That’s what makes this book so amazing. I can feel the emotions of all the characters, not just the main characters. Being able to feel the emotions of all the characters adds to the plot development. Alan Gratz’s use of colorful words also adds excitement and suspense to the plot.At the end of each chapter, there is a cliffhanger, which leaves the reader to wonder what will happen next. For example, when Brandon is on the way out of the building, the floor starts to shake. Brandon thought it felt like a subway car beneath them. But it wasn’t a subway car. “The shaking kept getting stronger, and Brandon just had time to look at Richard [his companion] in horror, before something exploded. It was as if the whole mall had collapsed in on them at once, and with a roar like a garbage truck, a blast of dust and smoke lifted Brandon off his feet and

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Ground Zero: A Book Review

by Sophie Frankel continued from p. 6 hurled him into darkness. ”Another example is when Brandon calls his dad, and the second plane hits. He realizes that the tower is under attack. His father tells him to hang up and get out of the building. Brandon doesn’t understand. His father tells him that he has to get out of the building fast because they are under attack. In both of these examples, the chapter ends after these events. These are only a few of many examples of colorful language, careful word choice and suspense. These things make the reader want to continue reading. I have never read a book that drew me in like this did. Mr. Gratz’s use of vivid language, strong character development and exciting plot narrative make this book seem real. I can feel myself at Ground Zero on September 11th. I look forward to reading more ofAlan Gratz’s books. Ground Zero was an exhilarating read, and I highly recommend it. It deserves a Newbery award for sure!

Hot Seat Interview With Mr. Camba

by Beatrix Mackil and Anna Bogenschutz continued from page 1 R: How does Harvey compare to other schools you have taught at? MC: I am used to the private school setup, because that is the only type of school I’ve ever taught at, but the idea of a small school is something new to me. I have never taught classes this small. My largest class is 14 people, and that is usually the smallest class I would have taught at other schools. The largest class I’ve ever taught was 35 kids, so having a class of 4 or 7 or 6 is different for me. That’s the biggest thing to adjust to, having such a small class size. But it also gives me a chance to cover more material as I’m not managing so many kids. R: What do you prefer? MC: That’s a tough choice because both have pros and cons. The smaller school is more intimate, and more personal, and you are able to learn a lot more material. But for me personally, there’s something about having a school of 1200 kids. It’s like a little city, you get to see different aspects of culture and people’s lifestyles in a different way. I tend to like having larger classes, my largest class is fourteen, and I’m more comfortable in that class of 14 than in a class of seven. So there are pros and cons, I’ve taught in both and they both have good things about them. R: When did you learn Latin? MC: I started in my Freshman year of high school. I had a choice of Spanish, French, German, or Latin. I said,

“Okay, French and Spanish are out, because half of my family is French and the other half is Spanish (with smatterings of other things). I didn’t know when I’d ever use German, so I decided to take Latin. R: Have you taught subjects besides Latin? MC: In the 20 years I’ve been teaching, I have taught just about every subject in the liberal arts field. I have taught English 2, Latin 1,2,3,and 4 (at a high school level), world history, honors world history, US history, economics, world literature, geography, and science and logic.Alittle bit of everything, I’m a renaissance man. If it’s in the liberal arts field, I've taught it. R: Do you have a class you enjoy teaching most? MC: I love, love, LOVE, history. I often say I’m a really good Latin teacher, but I’m an even better history teacher. I love teaching world history but I taught World Literature also and I loved that too. I formed that class on my own, and we did everything from Robin Hood to the Legends of Zorro to comparing the Joseph story in the bible vs. the Quran. We looked at a little bit of everything; it was a true world literature course. But usually, history is my favorite. R: Do you enjoy being a teacher? MC: I love being a teacher. Outside of my family and my dog, it is the passion of my life. It's the one thing that I plan on doing until I'm in my golden years. Then I will retire to a small Greek island and raise sheep.