By Aungelina Dahm
Executive In-depth Editor
It’s funny how whenever we’re forced to read a book, it takes days and even weeks to finish 150 simple pages. But when we choose something that we actually want to read, that we don’t have to annotate with no due date, we can finish it in two days.
Last year for my outside reading book, I read (or at least started to read) Judge and Jury by James Patterson. I got maybe a third of the way through the book within the whole quarter I had to read it.
Instead of choosing to read my mandatory summer reading books, I decided to download Judge and Jury onto my iPad mini. Thankfully, this time I finished the 400-page wonder.
This thrilling read is about the trial of the mobster Dominic Cavello. The story centers around one of the jury members, Andie DeGrasse and her son Jarrod. Originally, she did not want to be a juror and sought to be dismissed, but it did not work.
Nick Pellisante, the FBI agent that dedicated most of his career to nailing Cavello, followed the trial very closely. Meanwhile, the jury started getting anonymous threats and they had to be sequestered.
After Cavello makes an unpredictable move, Pellisante has to return to the chase. He has followed Cavello for years and is the leading person that can foresee what Cavello will do next.
Pellisante and DeGrasse started to become very close as things were getting more and more suspenseful throughout the story. Since it has gotten personal for DeGrasse, she joins Pellisante to try and pin down Cavello once more.
Anyone who has read a James Patterson book knows that the twists and turns that he incorporates in the book makes it hard to not turn the page and read more.
Even though I had to finish my two books for AP English the day before school started, I don’t regret laying by the pool this summer and enjoying Judge and Jury.
If you’re looking for your first quarter outside reading book (because we know teachers love to give you assignments the first week of school right?) you’ll find that Judge and Jury will keep you from doing all your other homework. Your literature teacher will love you for it, but I can’t speak for the others.
