The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz

The Four Agreements

by don Miguel Ruiz

• Nonfiction, Psychology, Self-Improvement
• 12+ for complex ideas and theories
• Published November 7, 1997 by Amber-Allen Publishing
• ★★★★★

The Four Agreements: A Summary

    This post is in correspondence with my review of The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, which will go up on Wednesday. However, I loved the book and idea so much that I'm going to summarize the four agreements and how you can apply them to day to day life. Honestly, I plan to start following these, as I believe they could greatly improve my life and generally make me happier and more accepting of myself and others.

Jacob Have I Loved

Jacob Have I Loved, by Katherine Paterson, takes place on Rass Island over a period of seven years. Rass is a small, little known island off the Chesapeake Bay, and about two-thirds of the island is covered in windy salt marsh full of cordgrass that hides tin, glass and other sharp things. Cordgrass alone can rip your skin so imagine how deadly it is with harmful stuff hidden in it. On Rass everybody makes money either by teaching or fishing for oysters, eeling or crabbing every day except Sunday.

Jacob Have I Loved is about the life of teenage girl Sara Louise Bradshaw. Louise has lived in her sister Caroline's shadow since the minute Caroline was born. After only a few minutes of attention, Caroline was born and all the attention was drawn to her from Louise. All Louise wants is to get out of Caroline's shadow and find something she is better at than Caroline.

"My sister was loved by every body but me- 

the one who should have loved her best."- back cover

Characters 

• Sara Louise Bradshaw - main character and twin sister of Caroline
• Caroline Bradshaw - antagonist and twin sister to Louise
• The Captain - Louise, Caroline and Call's friend
• Call - friend to The Captain, Louise and Caroline

I liked this book and recommend it to people who like realistic fiction. Jacob Have I Loved is by award winning author Katherine Paterson. Also written by Paterson:  

• Bridge to Teribithia, 1978 Newbery Medal winner
• The Great Gilly Hopkins, Newbery Honor Book and 1979 National Book Award winner
• The Master Puppeteer  1977 National Book Award winner

IL: MG - BL: 5.7 - AR Pts: 8.0

Makenzie: Midwife's Apprentice

Makenzie's Review

"I am Alyce. Not Brat or Dung Beetle or Beetle. Alyce." -Cover, The Midwife's Apprentice


The Midwife’s Apprentice, by Karen Cushman, is the story of Alyce, a young girl on her quest to find an identity for herself. Along the way, Alyce comes across many ups and downs in her path.

My favorite part was when Alyce finds that she is white under the layer of dirt always piled on her. When she finishes washing the sheep at the manor, she sees her hands are white when they are clean. I think it is funny that Alyce didn’t know she was white.

I would recommend this book if you like historical realistic fiction because the story takes place in Medieval England.

The Midwife's Apprentice: Karen Cushman

Tori's Review

I have to admit, as I began the The Midwife's Apprentice, I was a bit leery. Within the first chapter, readers meet Alyce, an orphan child who is forced to sleep in a dung heap to keep warm. Sadly, she is awoken by a group of horrid boys and a grown woman who kicks her in the stomach. However, after finishing the story, I applaud Karen Cushman for her grim introduction of the Alyce and the villagers.

A ridiculously simplified synopsis, to quote Shelfari, would be to say, this is the story of an orphan girl's quest for identity and belonging in a harsh environment. In typical quest for identity novels, the antagonist at least begins the story with a bit of self-knowledge. At the beginning, Alyce has no name, no recollection of family and no name. In fact, the name Beetle is given to her due to her choice of sleeping locations.


Readers travel with Alyce through a year of self-discovery in Medievil England. This voyage is rather cut and dry. First she is given a home and job as the Midwife's apprentice. Then, she choses her name, Alyce. Third, she happens upon an orphan boy and points him in the right direction, essentially forming a family for herself. Most importantly, she runs from everything that has come to be meaningful to her thus giving her a chance to reflect upon her life and see where she belongs. Lastly, Alyce makes her decision and chooses her rightful place in the world.

This list is quite simple because the story itself is rather simple. I do not say this to be taken negatively. The simplification of the storyline, in my opinion, allows the printed book to be a mere 117 pages thus attracting the apprehensive reader with it's size. Densely packed, the reader will then receive a valuable lesson in the value self-identity, the importance of a strong will as well as a brief history lesson.

I must warn parents, just as the title says, Alyce is in fact a midwife's apprentice. She helps with expecting mother in labor. If this is not a sensitive topic, however, I strongly suggest this story to girls between the ages of eight and twelve.


1996 Newbery Medal Award
IL: MG - BL: 6.0 - AR Pts: 3.0
Karen Cushman on Amazon