[FUN WITH READING 2018-20212A] A Little Princess

20212黃宇吟 (HUANG, YU-YIN)

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TITLE OF THE BOOK: A Little Princess

NAME OF THE AUTHOR: Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett

YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1998

PRESS: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

ISBN: 978019478966

A Little Princess

In the story “A Little Princess,” it talked about a little girl who was called Sara Crewe. The story began in a cold winter and a school with rich girls in London. Sara was a rich girl, the richest girl in the school. But things went worse when her father died in a bad fever, and all his money was taken by his friend but his friend ran away from her.

Because of it, Sara had no money to support her in the school. She became a poor servant girl and worked sixteen hours a day. But she was not overwhelmed by the dilemma. She had two true friends. One was Becky, a poor servant girl, too. The other was a rich girl, Ermie. Sara went through two years in an attic until she met his father’s friend, Mr. Carmichael. Mr. Carmichael looked for Sara for a long time. When he knew Sara was Mr. Crewe’s daughter, he was surprised. And he brought Sara out of school with Becky. It was a happy ending in the end.

In the story, I liked a sentence most. “A princess is always brave, so I must be, too,” said Sara. She encouraged herself and kept working. When we are trapped in something, I want to use the sentence to encourage myself. Maybe not everyone can be like Sara. She was not overwhelmed by the dilemma and kept working to make her life better. Many people in the world are like her but more people are overwhelmed by the dilemma. It is critical to encourage ourselves by making a better life for us.

[FUN WITH READING 2018-20211B] Who killed Molly?

20211陳加恩 (CHEN, JIA-EN)

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TITLE OF THE BOOK: Love or Money?

NAME OF THE AUTHOR: Rowena Akinyemi
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2008

ISBN: 9870194789080

Who killed Molly?

“Love or Money?” is telling a story in Cambridge, July 1379. Molly was killed by putting lots of sleeping tablets in her hot milk. But nobody knew who did. Finally, the cop Walsh found the killer. And I thought the author Rowena Akinyemi wanted to write a suspense story to convey about love or money, which would make people blind. I think the book is written for everyone, and the tone is subjective. Because she just talks about humanity without any evidence.

The story is talking about family. A woman, Molly, was very rich. Everyone wanted her money because of different reasons, but Molly didn’t want to pay anyone, and in the next morning she was killed. It was a murder case. The police Walsh heard every testimony and through lots of identifications found the murderer was Jackie. Molly’s daughter, Jackie killed her, because Molly didn’t allow her to be with Tom Briggs.

I think maybe love and money will fool people, which even kill people. It is not only being stupid, but also a tragedy.

[FUN WITH READING 2018-20211A] Crime Stories

20211陳加恩 (CHEN, JIA-EN)

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TITLE OF THE BOOK: Sister Love and Other Crime Stories
NAME OF THE AUTHOR: John Escott
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2008

ISBN: 9780194789219

Crime Stories

The book “Sister Love and Other Crime Stories” is about that in any time and any place, someone we don’t know will commit a crime because of different reasons. The author, John Escott, had an interest in crime stories. He wanted to write one and show it to everyone. The book suits everyone who loves crime stories, and the book’s tone is subjective, because the author just told what he imagined.

The book talks about three stories. First, one is telling two sisters’ fight. Marcia was an elder sister, and she had lots of things to do. One day she met Howard, but her little sister Karia got her boyfriend, so Macia killed her. The second one is telling a man, Joey. He had nothing, but he wanted to eat and find somewhere to live, so he got money by crime. He committed a crime successfully. But in the last time, he decided to go to New York to start a new life, but he died by accident. The last story is telling a woman named Rosa. She had a job, but she didn’t make much money. So, she asked people who became drunk and drove to give her some hush money, but one day she was caught. She ended up escaping too fast that she got hit.

I think the stories were interesting, but I did not think a crime is a right thing. People shouldn’t commit a crime even if they have a bad mood or some reasons.

[FUN WITH READING 2018-20208B] Strong Love

20208高欣湄 (GAO, XIN-MEI)

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TITLE OF THE BOOK: The Phantom of the Opera
NAME OF THE AUTHOR: Jennifer Bassett
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2008

ISBN: 978-0-19-478915-8

Strong Love

In the nineteenth century, there was a tale about the ghost living in the Opera House. Jennifer Bassett, who wanted the people to know this story, wrote a story about this tale in an objective and positive way.

The Phantom, who was very ugly and looked like a ghost, lived in the underground in the Opera House. Owing to his appearance, he seldom showed up in front of anyone. He controlled the Opera House with letters or his voice everywhere. Moreover, he had a student, Christine, and he loved her very much. Because of a chance, everyone in Paris knew Christine’s voice and loved it very much. And Raoal, who met Christine before and also loved her, did, too. At first, Christine rejected all the invitation from Raou, because she was scared of the Phantom. In addition, she didn't want anyone to know that her teacher was the Phantom. But Christine finally gave up to keep these secrets. She told Raoul the whole story between her and the Phantom, and she was also determined to fall in love with Raoul. However, the Phantom realized their action. He was pretty angry. One day, he took Christine to his house during the opera. Raoul realized it and rushed into her restroom to find her immediately. With another person’s help, he discovered the secret passway to the Phantom’s house to save her. The phantom had already discovered their fiction; therefore, he did some tricks to make them feel uncomfortable. In the end, thanks to the strong love between Christine and Raoul and the Phantom’s kindness, they lived a happy life in another country.

In my opinion, although there were many different versions of this story, I loved this version the most. In this book, the author described the plot lively. And this could make me imagine the pictures in my mind. Furthermore, in the end of this story, the author didn’t tell the ending of Christine and Raoul. It was a good idea, because there would be different endings when people read it in different moods. With an open ending, the readers could have their own ending in their mind.

[FUN WITH READING 2018-20208A] A Different Sherlock Holmes

20208高欣湄 (GAO, XIN-MEI)

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TITLE OF THE BOOK: The Last Sherlock Holmes Story
NAME OF THE AUTHOR: Michael Dibdin
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2008

ISBN: 978-0-19-478915-8

A Different Sherlock Holmes

In the late nineteenth century, the murderer, Jack the Ripper, killed many a woman in London. During the investigation of Watson and Holmes, Watson realized some secrets of Holmes. Michael Dibdin, who wanted the people in the world to know Holmes, wrote this book in an objective and positive way.

Holmes, the most professional and famous detective in London, felt bored and used excessive cocaine recently. There wasn’t any case that could make him excited, and he  thought those cases are too easy for him to solve. One day, a new murderer showed up in London and killed the woman who was not special. Holmes felt very excited with this case; therefore, he started to investigate this with his partner, Watson, immediately. After several months, they still could not catch up the murderer. And Holmes became stranger and stranger. He said that there was a person who was the murderer who lived in the house which was across from him. During an action of chasing the murderer, Watson realized that Holmes killed a woman in the way which was the same as the way that “Jack the Ripper” did. Watson absolutely couldn’t believe it. Next day, he stayed at home all day to think this incident. He believed that Holmes would become so strange because of the excessive cocaine. One day, Holmes came to his house and asked Watson to help him fight against the person who was chasing him. Watson decided to tell Holmes the truth; thus , he promised it. During their trip, they went to a fall, and Watson told the truth to Holmes. At first, Holmes thought that the person who was chasing him killed his partner and tried to cheat him. So, he wanted to kill Watson. After Watson’s explanation, Holmes believed him and jumped down off the fall. In the end, he died.

In my opinion, the author described the plot lovely, especially the part that Holmes killed the woman. When I read this part, I could imagine the situation in my mind. Moreover, I knew more about Holmes after reading this book. In the past, I thought that he was a good person, but now, I knew that everyone could become bad if using excessive cocaine.

[FUN WITH READING 2018-20205B] Sherlock Holmes and the Duke’s Son

20205林欣璇 (LIN, XIN-XUAN)

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TITLE OF THE BOOK: Sherlock Holmes and the Duke’s Son

NAME OF THE AUTHOR: Sir Arthur Sonan Doyle

YEAR OF THE BOOK: 2008

PRESS: Oxford University Press

ISBN: 9780194789196

Sherlock Holmes and the Duke’s Son

“Sherlock Holmes and the Duke’s Son” was created by Sir Arthur Sonan Doyle. For Sir Arthur Sonan Doyle, writing fiction was not only the tool which could make money, but also a chance to tell that the good would always prevail over the evil. Just like Sherlock Holmes, he was always able to solve the mystery and dig out the truth; however, sometimes Sherlock Holmes would not bring the criminal to the police, because he thought it would be much better for everyone. This story describes a kidnapping, and the detective, Sherlock Holmes, who would solve the mystery.

Dr. Huxtable had a school for boys in the north of England. When Duke of Holderness decided to send his young son there, that was a piece of good news for the school, because the Duke was a very important person, and he was willing to let him son go there for study. But just two years later, Dr. Huxtable found the Duke’s son, Arthur, disappeared. He thought there was someone who had kidnapped him, so Dr. Huxtable turned to the famous detective Sherlock Holmes for help. Later, Sherlock Holmes discovered a strange thing. Arthur went freely on that day, and it meant that Arthur was willing to go with the kidnapper. After deeply dredging up the truth, Sherlock Holmes suspected the Duke was the person who kidnapped Arthur. But why did a father kidnap his son? Sherlock Holmes told all the process of complicated reasoning to the Duke. Finally, the Duke told a surprising news to everyone. The kidnapper actually was James, the Duke’s secretary and also the Duke’s son, but nobody knew James was the Duke’s son, because a government minister couldn't tell the world about an illegitimate child. James was jealous of all the things which Arthur had. As a result, he planned to kidnap Arthur on that day. After the Duke knew it, the Duke had no choice but keep Arthur disappeared. In the end, Sherlock Holmes didn't bring James to justice. He let James go to Australia as fast as he could.

    Having once started reading this fiction, I was completely immersed in the mysterious story, and I admired Sherlock Holmes so much. He was not only the observant but also a person with a large amount of knowledge. For example, he could infer that Arthur recognized the kidnapper, only according to what Arthur was dressed in and the footprints on the ground under the window. It was so amazing that I couldn't stop reading it.

[FUN WITH READING 2018-20205A] The Speckled Band

20205林欣璇 (LIN, XIN-XUAN)

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TITLE OF THE BOOK: The Speckled Band

NAME OF THE AUTHOR: Sir Arthur Sonan Doyle

YEAR OF THE BOOK: 2008

PRESS: Oxford University Press

ISBN: 9780194790710

The Speckled Band

“The Speckled Band” is a story about a lady, Helen Stoner, who was worried sick about herself. She thought there was someone wanting to kill her for the large fortune which she would inherit from her mom, so she recruited Sherlock Holmes to find out the person. I think the writer may once be framed by his close relatives for the heritage so he wanted to warn people that we should always be aware of our surroundings, just like Helen Stoner, so she could prevent herself from getting into trouble or danger.

One night, a young lady knocked the door of Sherlock Holmes’s door. She was shaking with fear and said, “Help me!” Then, the lady told a scary story to Holmes. The woman who was named Helen lived with her stepfather, Roylott, and her sister, Julia. One day, when hearing the whistle, Julia ran into her bedroom hastily and said, “I’m afraid, afraid of the speckled band!” Then, Julia died immediately. Two days ago, Helen heard the whistle again. She thought somebody wanted to kill her, because she would be married soon and had the control of the heritage, so the person needed to kill her to get the money. After listening to Helen’s story, Holmes decided to stay at Julia’s bedroom to wait for the criminal who had murdered Julia and attempted to kill Helen. In the middle of the night, Holmes saw a poisonous snake and attacked it, so the snake went back to Roylotty’s room through the air-vent and bit Roylott by accident. Finally, Holmes knew the answer. It was clear that the snake belonged to her stepfather. The criminal was actually Roylott, because he didn't want to give the money to Helen and Julia after they got married. He tried to kill them with the snake.

In this story, Sherlock Holmes impressed me so much. He was not only an intelligent detective but also a brave man. When Holmes saw a snake which tried to bite him and knew the criminal must be around the house, he didn't run away immediately, but wanted to find out the criminal to save Helen's life. I think I could never be such a courageous person like Holmes, and I would respect him all the time, even though Holmes was an imaginary character.