📖 The Fort

Recently, a huge hurricane hit the town of Canaan knocking down dangerous trees, flipping sidewalks and curbs, and destroying an important fort. The secret fort belongs to a group of close friends, Evan, Jason, Mitchel, and CJ, who have known each other since they were kids. The boys are surprised when Evan brings along an "intruder," Ricky, who is a weird new boy who had transferred from a highly intelligent magnet school, to the fort. Just when the four best friends are disappointed by their dismantled fort, the new kid Ricky suddenly finds a hard piece of metal. It turns out, the metal Ricky finds is part of a strange door, leading to an old bomb shelter with perfect conditions, including vast space, electricity, food, games, and even a TV. As each day passes, the boys feel a stronger bond with the top-secret fort, as it is their way to escape their difficult situations, such as CJ living at the fort almost every day to escape his out-of-control abusive father, and to support each other. As two troublesome teens, one of which was Evan's older brother, catches wind of the friend's suspicious activities and starts threatening and bullying them, it was getting harder to keep the fort a secret from the police and everyone. The clock is ticking,and everyone's secrets are spilled; but with trust and a close bond, the friends are able to face a critical decision of either keeping the fort a secret or letting violence from the two teens happen. Reason for Recommendation: This suspenseful book by award-winning author, Gordan Korman who has written books like Restart and Linked, is a perfect and easy read. Personally, I really enjoyed this book, which is actually Korman's 100th book, especially because of the amazing character development, realistic issues, and the touching messages of family, friends, and trust.

最近,一场猛烈的飓风袭击了迦南镇,刮倒了危树,掀翻了人行道和路缘石,并摧毁了一座堡垒。这座秘密堡垒属于埃文、杰森、米切尔和CJ这几个从小就认识的好伙伴。埃文带着一个"入侵者"——瑞奇——来到堡垒,这让男孩们大吃一惊。瑞奇是一个古怪的新生,刚从一所天才学校转学过来。就在四个男孩对被拆毁的堡垒感到失望时,新来的瑞奇突然发现了一块坚硬的金属。 原来,瑞奇找到的金属是一扇奇怪的门的一部分。这扇门通往一个条件完美的旧防空洞,里面有宽敞的空间、电力供应、食物和游戏,甚至还有一台电视。随着时间一天天过去,男孩们对这座绝密堡垒的感情日渐加深,因为这是他们逃离困境的出口,也是为了互相扶持。就比如说CJ,他为了逃避失控的虐待狂父亲,几乎每天都住在堡垒里。 两个惹是生非的青少年(其中一个是埃文的哥哥)察觉到了朋友的可疑活动,并开始威胁和欺凌他们,男孩们也发现他们越来越难以互相向警方和其他人隐瞒堡垒的秘密。时间一分一秒地过去,每个人都选择分享自己秘密;凭借相互信任和亲密友谊,男孩们最终将有勇气面对一个关键的抉择:是继续隐瞒堡垒的秘密,还是任由霸凌和暴力发生。 推荐理由:这本悬疑小说的作者是屡获殊荣的作家戈登·科曼(Gordan Korman)。他著有《重启》(Restart)和《链接》(Linked)等作品。这本书是科曼的第100本书。这本书读起来轻松流畅,我个人尤其喜欢书中精彩的人物塑造、现实主义的主题,以及故事传递的关于家庭、朋友和信任的感人信息。