If you're having any trouble trying to find a good read this summer, I happen to know the title of the best book ever written. Wicked. The author is Gregory Maguire. The book is a takeoff from The Wizard of Oz. It tells the story from the point of view of the witch, starting at her birth. Her real name is Elphaba, and there is a specific reason that her skin is that grotesquely beautiful shade of green. I read this book last summer and it is full of huge vocabulary words and descriptions, which is why I am reading it again. Except this time, I'm highlighting every word that I don't know, so I end up with at least two to six words per page. And then I'm going to type up all of the words and their definitions, and read the book again. Every other student I have told about my SAT studying technique has told me that I am crazy, but every teacher or adult I have told has been amazed that I would go so far just to learn some more vocabulary words. But this isn't about the vocabulary, it's actually about me understanding the book better than I did last summer. Just getting through the book the first time gives you a sense of accomplishment, plus the vocabulary and reading it again and again, is amazing. And you never get tired of the book because some new conflict is always appearing for you to make guesses about. Or be totally surprised about.