Book Review

THE WAY WEST

Book tittle : THE WAY WEST
Author : A.B. Guthrie, Jr.
Publisher : William Sloan
Date Published : 1964 Number of pages: 435
Genre :  Classic Adventure

The word “West” on the tittle means the state of Oregon. This is a true story about some people who did the travel from Missouri to Oregon to find a better life. The travel was very hard and difficult because they have to face a lot of problems during their travel, such as Indian attack, wild animal, and bad weather before they could achieve their dreams in Oregon.
The main character on this book is Evans Lije, a farmer who wants to get a free land in Oregon. Evans is a simple, wise and also friendly man. Later, he was chosen by the colony members to become a leader to change the previous leader. And then a mountain man, known as Dick Summers. The colony had choose him as a guide of the travel because he had a lot of experience and because he is the only man who ever went to Oregon before. Another character is Tadlock, he is the first colony leader before the colony members ask him to give his leadership position to Evans.
The most interesting part on this story is when Dick, with his experience, could negotiate with the Indians who attacked them, so they could continue the travel safely.
The part of this book that made me confuse is about how many people actually in the colony. There seems to be so many members on the colony, but the author did not tell the number exactly.
The part of the book that I dislike most is when some member of the colony killed many Indian without reasonable reason. The Indian did not attack them, they did not steal anything from the colony, but they still being killed like animal. If I were the leader of the colony, I will try to make peace with every Indian tribe I met, so someday I could ask their help when I’ve got trouble.
Two colony members were died on this travel, some other members were resign from the journey and changed their route. But the remaining members, with their bravery and hard effort, could complete the travel and achieve their dreams in Oregon. But Dick Summer, after guided the colony to the Oregon, he turned back to Missouri. If I were him, I will stay in Oregon, and start my new life there.
I think the book is quite interesting with a very good story, even though sometimes I feel confuse with some strange vocabularies on this book. But still, I feel amaze when read this book because I think the author could describe the classical American life so well, so I could read this novel with enjoy. The moral value is “The dreams can only be achieved with hard effort and struggle”.



THE ADVENTURE OF TOM SAWYER
Book tittle : THE ADVENTURE OFTOM SAWYER
Author : Mark Twain
Publisher : Penguin
Date Published : 2002 Number of pages: 192
Genre :  Classic Adventure

The main character on this story is Tom Sawyer. He is a naughty boy, but he is also brave and clever. Tom lives with his aunt, Polly, and his half-brother, Sid. Aunt Polly is very strength to Tom. And his half-brother, Sid, is a spoiled boy who always tells Aunt Polly about the naughtiness of Tom.
Another character is Huck, he is a boy who likes adventures like Tom. One night they brought the dead cat to the graveyard for curing a wart. They thought that it could cure the warts. But suddenly, they saw a murder of Dr. Robinson in the graveyard. The person who did the murder is Injun-Joe. But this is the part that made me confused. I still don’t understand what is the reason Injun-Joe kill Dr. Robinson. The author just told that Tom and Huck saw three persons who were broking the grave. They are Injun-Joe, Dr. Robinson, and Muff Potter. Then, Dr. Robinson was killed by Injun Joe. And later, Tom became a witness of this murder and told the truth to the police. The author didn’t tell why Injun-Joe killed Dr. Robinson in the graveyard.
There are two parts of story which is very interesting for me. The first is when Tom was punished by Aunt Polly to paint the fences because of his naughtiness, but Tom was clever, he can persuade his friends to do his job. So, he can enjoy his day without painting the fences. And the second is when Tom and Huck found the box of gold in the cave.
The part of the story that I dislike most is when Dr. Robinson was killed. I think it will be better if there were no scenes of violence in this story, because it bothers me when I enjoy the funny parts in this novel.
But overall, I think this novel is still very funny and so interesting. The vocabulary is not too hard, and the story is very good. I feel very entertained when I read this novel.