The Naked Truth - Lakita Garth

"Teaching abstinence isn't just shaking your finger and telling someone to "just say no." Teaching abstinence is a mastery of the arts of self-control, self-discipline, and delayed gratifications." 

The Naked Truth - Lakita Garth

The message throughout this book was clear: abstinence. It was quite refreshing, honestly, to read a positive message that was contradictory to what the media is saying. It was also comforting that there are other people in the world that believe in abstinence. 

So I didn't buy this book. Honestly, I don't really care "about love, sex and relationships." My mom bought it for me, of course. But as hard as it is to admit it, I enjoyed the book. It was really informative and even entertaining to read. I definitely came away from this book with knowledge that I didn't have before.

Lakita Garth is humorously blunt and very outspoken. If anyone "tells it like it is", it's her. Although her stories were generally comical to read, sometimes I found her to be too outspoken and too nosy. That's just my opinion though, I do believe she meant well. I enjoyed her style of writing because it wasn't trying to scare me into an abstinent lifestyle. "Don't have sex before marriage or you'll die" wasn't the message. She gave a grounded, informative, and realistic perspective on both views. It is a book I would highly recommend in high school classrooms, although I believe that decision wouldn't be too popular among a young generation today. 

Lakita Garth presented in her book a message that needs to be heard today. It was told beautifully, simply and in a way that didn't make us feel that she was any better than us. I enjoyed reading this book and think it should be passed on to many in my generation. 

All Quiet On The Western Front - Erich Remarque

"Our life alternates between billets and the front. We have almost grown accustomed to it; war is a cause of death like cancer and tuberculosis, like influenza and dysentery. The deaths are merely more frequent, more varied and terrible."

All Quiet On The Western Front - Erich Remarque

While reading this book, I felt like I was reading the journal of a soldier. Its pages gave an up-close look at World War I, revealing the horrors and emotions behind the battlefield. 

The book flowed nicely, and every event seemed to have some sort of purpose. The book was detailed, but not too gory. Enjoyable, and realistic. I thoroughly felt that the author accurately captured the reality of any war. It was almost difficult to read at times. To read of how the soldiers were trained to think and behave, to the way they interacted with family gave us an all-around perspective of war. It made history come alive and presented World War I in a touching, personal way. 

I loved the way the book was written. It was truly like reading a diary of a soldier. Told from the first-person type of view it was a good read and easy to follow. The ending was satisfying, and yet there was no true "happy ending", in a sense. It made sense with the rest of theme of this book and concluded the book nicely. 

Although this book was good, I would only recommend it to an older audience. Certainly sensitive people should take extra caution, as the facts of war in general was presented in a shockingly personal way. Yet anyone who feels they are old enough should read this book to understand and appreciate what many soldiers, even today, go through.