By Jennifer Ciotta

Black Like Me written by John Howard Griffin (New American Library 1960) is an enigma to the younger generations of the United States.  However, college students of the 1960's/70's researched and wrote term papers based on this same book.  Unfortunately, the popularity of Black Like Me has died throughout the decades, along with the memories of the struggle for civil rights in America.

John Howard Griffin, a trained journalist, shocked the nation as he underwent a racial transformation.  With the help of skin darkening medication, a sunlamp and black stain, Griffin morphed from a white Texan into a black man roaming through the Southern states of Mississippi and Louisiana.  Griffin then secured his identity by shaving his head and hands bald.  Yet the journalist did not change his clothes or his personality, keeping his "true" self.  He did not tell others he met along the way for fear of their safety, instead they were led to believe that Griffin was an everyday "Negro."

One of the most compelling sections of the book is how Griffin is horrified at the black face staring back at him in the mirror.  Throughout Black Like Me the author combines a dated diary of personal daily events and his own reflections on the situation with historical facts from the year 1959.  The style and tone work perfectly for the story that Griffin needed to tell--even his long monologues about civil rights seemed well-placed.  To read the book in 2007 Griffin's revelations are not so startling since society has been educated about the black man's struggle in the deep South through television, movies and books.  However, what still is revolutionary is discovering the actual details of the seven-week experiment itself, and the punishment Griffin endured from his white peers for committing to such a radical test and stating the facts so unapologetically in the racially-divided 1950's/60's.

John Howard Griffin was an oustanding leader in the Civil Rights Movement.  As an author, he takes the reader inside the "Negro" world to reveal the hardships of an oppressed people.  It is a work of literature that should still be revered today, reminding the younger generation of the evils, which nearly destroyed American society.  John Howard Griffin serves as a true pioneer not only in black equality, but also in expert journalism and sincere autobiographical writing.

by Katie Davis

New York Times bestselling author Dan Brown is definitely not a "one-hit wonder" of thriller fiction. Though it was his novel, The Da Vinci Code, that first caught the public eye, his earlier work, Angels & Demons, is now also a worldwide success and has been recently adapted as a major motion picture. This suspenseful page turner is certainly not for those who'd prefer a quiet book to doze off to on a Sunday afternoon.

The peaceful life of Robert Langdon, a forty-year old professor of symbology at Harvard, is brutally interrupted when he receives a mysterious five am phone call and disturbing faxed image of a man killed and branded with a puzzling symbol. Looking for answers, Langdon immediately goes to the scene of the crime, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland, only to discover that thousands of people and millions of dollars worth of precious artifacts are at risk of being annihilated in Vatican City.  Time is running out. Accompanied by an intriguing, young, nuclear scientist, Vittoria Vetra, Langdon rushes to Rome where the two of them are forced to stretch the limits of their knowledge of history, art, and cryptology in order to stop the horrific events that will occur hour by hour if they do not succeed.

Throughout the novel, Dan Brown's confident voice takes charge of the page so that readers gladly accept every plot twist and turn he throws our way. Though centered on Langdon, Brown employs many points of view, from cameraman to cardinal, which greatly enriches the fabric of the story and effectively muddles the line between villain and ally, keeping us guessing until the astounding finish. His extensive use of historical and religious details does not appear at all textbook-like in nature, but instead the information is so deeply entangled in the exhilarating events that we forget we're actually learning something after all. Through Angels & Demons, Dan Brown brings to life the wonders of the ancient world as never before, forging an unforgettable connection between the constructions of the past and their undeniable impacts on the future.

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by Jennifer Ciotta

Matilda, a precocious child genius, possesses qualities which make her unruly to her parents, yet an inspiration to her classmates, teacher and librarian.  For some peculiar reason, Matilda's parents do not recognize her unique talents such as reading Charles Dickens and reciting seemingly impossible times tables at the mere age of four.  In fact, poor Matilda is resented by her parents, especially her father, who is the town thief.  However, by utilizing her extreme intelligence, Matilda "punishes" her father in humorous, inventive ways.  At school Matilda now must face a different kind of bully, the terrifying Miss Trunchbull.  Unbelievably physically and mentally abuse toward young children, Miss Trunchbull cruelly holds up a child by his ears, and throws a little girl across the playground.  Even the parents fear Miss Trunchbull, but Matilda is of a unique breed.  In a Dahl-esque twist at the end - representative of his children's books and adult short stories alike - Matilda champions over Miss Trunchbull, in a delightful, yet impish way.

Dahl's dark sense of humor is apparent throughout Matilda.  The book teaches invaluable lessons of how to level a dictator with cunning saavy and sheer creative intelligence.  As an obvious remark on the abuse of children who are educated through the strict, and sometimes oppressive English school system, Dahl never uses violence as a counter-attack.  Instead, Matilda remains funny and purely adorable, even in the most dire of situations, thus sending a message to child readers to find humor in their darkest moments.

Dahl engages the reader through a fascinating and distinctive writing style, using quite advanced vocabulary for even the most studious child.  Although Matilda is aimed toward a child audience, adults will find themselves equally amused and entertained by the antics of the loveable Matilda.