Blog entry on second half of book due: 11/12
All comments due: 11/15
Your entry should—
· focus on your response as a reader and not on plot summary.
· use specific details and short quotes from the book to support your opinion.
· include page numbers
· create responses that are at least seven well-developed sentences.
· discuss literary elements (conflict, setting, characterization, irony, foreshadowing etc.)
Reader’s Log Entry Starters (Pick one per assignment)
Comments
In addition, you should read and comment on what your classmates are reading and writing. The comments should be substantive and not generic. You should make at least two comments. You will need to set up a blogger account using your school email. For your blogger account use only your first name and last initial. Obviously, all of your posts and comments should be appropriate.
Sample Blog Entry
As the book goes on, the storyline gets more and more interesting. There are more points of rising action that lead to the climax of the book. For example, on page 155, when this girl named Beth and Macie are fighting about Leslie Gatlin's death, "I stood up and wiped my nose with the back of my hand. 'You two will never get away with this,' I said softly. Macie laughed. 'Oh dear, sweet Beth. We already have.'" At this point in the book some people are starting to suspect who may have influenced Leslie's suicide. In this situation, Beth is accusing Macie and her friend of not directly killing Leslie, but bullying her to an extreme level that it would make Leslie feel very depressed. Beth knows that Macie's intentions were to kill Leslie, but I don't think that Macie will never admit to that because her character is someone who is very controlling and always makes sure that everything is her way. This book is becoming better and better as I keep reading. It's all about rumors, secrets and lies which adds so much more exciting drama to the story. I hope that the end of the book will live up to my expectations.
My book, Waiting for You, is about high school and friendships as well. My book has friendships breaking and rumors and lies spreading, which create a whole mess between girls as does your book. Your book sounds very good and I would love to read it and compare the similarities it shares to my book, even though I can tell it has several already.
Outside Reading Rubric for Blog Entry
/25
This is my first blog so I don’t know how to write a good one so here goes: The main character of this book is an orphan named Fletcher, who was saved, and adopted, by the blacksmith of his village, Berdon. The world of this book is fantastical, and special individuals are able to use magic and summon companion demons. This continent has three major, individual, powers; the human kingdom, Hominum, the elven clans, and the savage orcs. The elven clans are situated to the north of the continent, while the orcs are situated in the warm, southern jungles, and the humans are situated in the middle, as the most powerful. The human is at “war” with the elves, but both agree that the orcs are the true enemies of every power as there very few summoners, and mages in all powers. The demons that can be caught, and summoned by the powers can be ranked in levels and can look very much like the mythical animals of our legends (pg.351-355). Our main character, Fletcher, becomes a summoner when a chaffed soldier, old or crippled, sent to the elven lines stops by his village, to sell his things, before going. The old soldier was with a scout squad, going into the orcan jungle, which got decimated by the orcs, with him as the only survivor. With his survival, he inherited the book of the summoner of his squad (pg.18-28), which he then gave to Fletcher (pg.43), and with it, he managed to summon a demon; a level 5, lizard-like demon called a Salamander (pg.48-51). The book becomes more interesting with suspense, and Fletcher meets many new people, even dwarves, and an elf! I hope this book continues to surprise me with more interesting demons, plots, characters, and I hope that Fletcher learns magic through this book.
ReplyDeleteFor not knowing how to write a blog, this blog is stupendous! You were able to go into depth in your blog and explain clearly what is going on. In my book,I'm also at a very suspense turning point too.
Deleteyour blog entry is very good I like it a lot. I think the book sound pretty cool and i really like fantasy setting.the book sound very unique and fun.
DeleteThis sounds like a very interesting book. I've read other fantasy books in the past and the way that you described it makes it sound really interesting. It's different that in this book summond demons levels. It makes it seem more like a board game and it's a new and interesting concept. Nice job describing the book; it was a very great blog.
DeleteThe book that I am reading is The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen. The story starts with Emma, the main character as a little girl asking her mom to tell her a story about a girl, and a lake. Then the story jumps to the summertime when Emma's dad is getting married again, and her father and stepmother are going to Greece for their honeymoon. Emma was originally going to stay at a friend's house for the time being that her dad and stepmom was away, but her friend's grandpa had a stroke. Her friend Bridget and her family would be staying at a hospital, and they could not take Emma with them. Emma has nowhere to stay. But Emma's grandma suggests that she goes and stays with her mom's mother. Emma is shocked because she does not remember the last time she was there with her mother, and her mom is now dead. Her dad does not want to stay there, but Emma wants to go. When Emma arrives at The North Lake she remembers the story her mom told her ¨There was a little girl who lived by a big lake that seemed like it went on forever. The trees around the edges had moss, and the water was cold and clear...In the winters, the water was cold, and so was the house...When the weather got warm again, though...They brought boats with loud motors, and floats of many colors and shapes, crowded the docks through the days and nights ( page 2).¨While Emma is in The North Lake she sees everything her mom described to her as a child. She is confused but also realizes that the little girl was her mother. As the story progresses on Emma meets her old but new friends and family. Emma learns more about her mom when she was younger and why she left home and never went back.The book gets more interseting as you read and you learn that there are two sides to The North Lake
ReplyDeletemy book Joyland also has character growth and discovery, with the main character Devin reflecting on his life and telling the readers lessons he has learned.
DeleteMy book’s author also plays with the timeline that she write the story in to make it more interesting. The main character is also finding new things about her past, and it really changes her to see what is really important.
DeleteThe book that I am reading, Shooter by, Walter Dean Myers is written as a series of documents about a fictional incident at Madison High School. When I first started reading the book I thought that it was boring because there was no good hook. However, after reading over halfway through the book I have realized that this is not the case. Once the author started to really get into the story and start developing the characters, I became intrigued. The story has many levels to it and your ideas of the characters and events that took place will change from the beginning to the end of the story. For example at the beginning of the story in an interview Cameron, one of the main characters simply says “It’s okay” when asked what he thought about his high school on page eighteen. Later in the book however the characters become less shallow with their answers revealing what was truly happening leading up to the tragic event at their school. There is also lots of suspense used in the novel such as on-page 65 Cameron says “Then, when he said he was just going to write on the walls-he was going to write “Stop the Violence” in blood..” when asked what Len told him about what he was going to do. Then the interview ends and you need to wait and see what happened next through other interviews and letters compiled in the book.
ReplyDeletewow very cool
DeleteMy book also has very well developed characters that took me a while to get to like. By now I actually feel really bad for the main characters for the troubles in their lives.
DeleteWOW! This sounds like a great read I cant wait for the next blog!
DeleteThat sounds like a very interesting book. I like how the author decided to use interviews as a way to tell the thoughts or backgrounds, rather than just telling it flat out from a friend or a side note or something. Although I liked how it left you on a cliffhanger, I personally don't like cliffhangers. May be a different opinion from you, but from me, I don't like them.
DeleteThis book sounds great. I want to read it.
DeleteThe book that I am reading is a Stephen King book called Joyland. This Stephen King book is not what you would expect from this author, not only is it a not well known read, but it isn't filled with guts and gore. This book was set in 1973 and follows Devin Jones who took a job at Joyland an amusement park in North Carolina to forget about Wendy who broke his heart. Like I said this book is not similar to Kings typical writitng style as in IT, it isnt about a serial killing clown, this is about a murder that took place at the park and how people can see the ghost of the victim. On page 36 it says “ ….and then he took her into Horror House. They went in together but only he came out. About halfway along the course of the ride, he cut her throat and threw her out beside the monorail tracks the cars run on.” In this book, King focuses more on his storytelling powers. Throughout this story King switches points in times throughout his book by using flashbacks. Devin is writing Joyland as an old man, so he is flashing back to different points in time such as before he got his job, while having his job and personal information such as his mother dying. He divides this up in the story by putting a heart to show he is jumping back to when he was in college or when he is talking about summer job. On page 49 Devin is reflecting on Wendy and the last time he saw her and says “ Wendy might have been expecting such a call, maybe even wished for it. If so she was disappointed. I hope she was. All these years later, with those old fevers and deliriums log in my past, I still hope she was. Love leaves scars.” He then adds the heart underneath and says “ I never produced the books I dreamed of, those well-reviewed almost-bestsellers, but I do make a pretty good living as a writer, and I count my blessings; thousands aren't so lucky.” He jumped from the past to the present when he is writing the story. This keeps me as the reader engaged and focused and also keeps the storyline interesting, and is a good way to add many elements to the story and introduce information. I am very excited to keep reading this book!
ReplyDeleteMy book also has a main character who has a dead parent/grandparent. My character is an adult though so he copes with the grief differently.
DeleteMy book also involves a mystery murder at an amusement park but in my book, the killer is unknown as of now. This sounds like a great book and I will definitely read it.
DeleteIn my book also the main character has a dead parent.And my character shows how she copes with her being dead and the author also jumps from the present to the past too.
DeleteI feel like this has taken some inspiration from IT though or vice versa. You said it takes place in a park and IT 2 has a park scene. Plus clowns are from parks so there's that connection. You also said people can see ghosts in this book but then IT doesn't really have ghosts, but it does have something to where you can see dead people. Just a little though though.
DeleteDan Quinn
ReplyDeleteGolden Boy
by:Tara Sullivan
Pages 0-114
the book "Golden Boy" by Tara Sullivan features a young 13 year old boy, "Habo". Habo however is not your everyday African, rather than having his families rich brown skin Habo is an albino. After his dad leaves him at a very young age Habo has very few friends, one of them being his very supportive sister Asu. The first chapter helps to portray Asu as one of Habo's mentors and friends, for example on page 4 Habo is getting hit for accidentally letting the goats out, Asu immediately intervenes and defends Habo.
I also see the possible inciting force developing, that being the families current lack of funds. Forcing the family to move out and journey across the Serengeti for a "better life" with Habo's aunt. This may pose a problem due to the discrimination albino's receive in certain areas across Africa.
While reading Golden Boy I noticed multiple literary elements Tara Sullivan uses to display scenes better and be more easily understood, like on page 29 Asu calls Habo "Golden Boy" she uses this hyperbole to help the reader better understand Habo's "Golden" aspects, like his golden traits and literally his golden skin. Another example is page 99 "Your family named you right when they called you dhabo, for you might as well have been made of gold." This metaphor helps to depict Habo's physical appearance as it is golden. I believe Golden Boy is approaching its climax, and I am more then pumped to read on and update you as I reach it, thanks for tuning in!
Super response! I connected to the part about "rich brown skin", however the main character in my book is white and seems okay with it. I eagerly await your future journal entries.
DeleteGreat job Dan my book is also about a young boy
DeleteVernald
ReplyDeleteDisappeared
By: Francisco X. Stork
Pg 94
In the book Disappeared by Francisoco X. Stork, Sara Zapata is a reporter in Mexico at El Sol, who is taking action to try and find The Desaparecidas, who are missing girls, which the police aren’t necessarily helping find them. As she digs deeper, she finds some clues that have led to the United States. But at the same time, she receives death threats. Finally, she recieves death threats that threaten not only her but her family. Although she believes this threat as a hoax, she is also worried about the safety of not only herself, but her father and brother’s safety. Emiliano, Sara’s brother, is supposed to help Sara out but has his own plans. As a high school soccer player and works at the border selling art, the income coming in still isn’t enough. But he also falls in love with Perla Rubi, daughter of a wealthy lawyer. On page 94, Mr. Esmeralda, father of Perla Rubi, says “All I want to do is to tell you that growing up means, unfortunately, expanding our views of what we consider good or bad … Getting dirty means doing what we have to do for our families and for those around us, given the realities of where we live, in the mess of a life that is good and bad.” Adding this element in the plot affects the outcome of the story significantly and is also definitely foreshadowing the climax in the story. But it also hooked the reader in, including me, because this scene makes you want to see what will happen next. I’m wondering if Emiliano will tell Sara about his side hustle but I really want to know how, or even if Mr. Esmeralda has any relation with the missing kids and why is he asking a high schooler to smuggle drugs in the first place?
Great entry Vernald! I really liked the way that you summarized your story without giving away too much of the plot.. Nice Job! My story also has lots of suspense and foreshadowing in it and I can not wait to read more. WOW!
DeleteI am currently reading the Dangerous Art of Blending In. It is about a boy named Evan who is gay. Evan’s parents are very religious. His Greek mother is very strict and she thinks that he is a disappointment. He kissed one guy over the summer named Gaige. Evan is starting to think that his best friend, Henry, is attractive. His mother is very abusive to him and he has bumps and scratches on his head because of her. Evan tells people that he is very clumsy and always falls off of his bike and that’s why he has those scratches. Evan has notebooks with his private things in it. Henry and Evan decide that they should share their biggest secrets. Evan gives Henry all of his notebooks so he can read them. Evan finds an old abandoned monastery that is as lonely as he is and he tells Henry about. This is a great book and I can’t wait to find out what happens.
ReplyDeleteThe book that I am reading is The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. It is the first book out of a Trilogy. It starts off when Todd, the main character and narrator, is walking his dog, Manchee, through a field to pick some apples. He lives in a town named Prentisstown, after their Mayor Prentiss. He’s currently 12 years old, awaiting his 13th birthday which is in the following month. I think that Prentisstowns’ way of life is interesting. They live by 13 month long years instead of the 12 months we all live by. And once you turn 13, you become a man. Todd hates living in Prentisstown. Their Mayor is insane, his priest, Aaron, is super scary and strict, and he hates listening to the Noise. Back to when Todd was just born, everyone who live in Prentisstown now had just landed on New World. (Where Todd and everyone else lives). Originally, they were living up in space but realized it was safe to land on the planet. There were creatures who lived on the New World, called Spackle, and when the humans landed, they didn’t come with very kind gestures. They started a war that killed almost all the Spackle on the planet. But before the Spackle died, they released this virus to the humans. This virus was said to only effect the XY gene. That means that it infected all the males and no women. The virus was made to release all your thoughts out to the open. When anything popped into your mind, everyone else heard it. And it is very loud. That’s where it got the name, “Noise”. Then, the people came to figure out that the women were effected too, but differently. Todd has been told that the virus killed all the women including his mother. So far, the book is going slow but there are some key details that make me very excited for what’s to come.
ReplyDeleteMy book also has a protagonist who doesn't like where they live. This causes her to lash out and make some bad choices.
DeleteChloe Lephart
ReplyDeleteRoom
By Emma Donoghue
Pages 0-128
The book I am reading is called “Room”. It is written by Emma Donoghue. A really cool thing about this book is that it’s written from the perspective of a five year old boy. He name is Jack. Jack Jack is completely aware of the dangerous environment he is growing up in. His mother was kidnapped at age 19. She was raped multiple times. She gave birth to her son Jack in this room where she and her son have lived ever since. It has been over 5 years. The kidnapper provides them with food, water, vitamins, a tv, a bed, furniture and basically the necessities for living. I think that if the mom never had a kid the kidnapper would have been more harsh and would have given her a worse living environment. But i think that he secretly cares for this boy even though the mother won’t let him come anywhere near Jack. It’s Jacks 5 birthday and he wants to watch tv. This is when readers discover that Jacks mom has been telling him that everything is fake. This is a conflict because if Jack ever gets the opportunity to escape he will be absolutely clueless. For example, he thinks that the ocean or soccer or playgrounds aren’t real. He only knows what is in this room. He always says, “But that’s the pretend stuff, and Ma says it’s all fake.” I can understand why the mom would want to raise her son like this because she doesn’t want him knowing that there is so much more to the world than this tiny room. So far the book hasn’t had a climax, but I can sense one approaching. This book has been extremely interesting so far because it’s so fascinating to see how the mom has anusdyed to this lifestyle and how both Jack and the moms life routine goes about. I can’t stop reading this book and I can't wait to find out what happens next.
My book also has a protagonist!
DeleteMy book also has characters that have to adjust to the way they live, not in the same way though. In my book two teenagers are moving to a new school and trying to find their way around as opposed to your book when the mother has to learn how to live in one room with a child and do whatever she has to do to stay alive.
DeleteMy book also deals with kidnapping and even though the main character wasn’t the one going through that horrible experience, she was greatly affected by what happened and it completely changed her life. That is why it is understandable that your book’s main character would want to keep the outside world a secret from her son because it is so hard to grasp and a life-changing secret.
DeleteSam R.
ReplyDeleteYiddish Policeman's Union
By Michael Chabon
Up to Page 110
My book is a murder mystery set in the late 1990's in Alaska. One thing that's interesting is that there aren't even any suspects 110 pages into the book. One interesting thing about the writing style is the number of synonyms the author uses, the perspective character (it's written in third person limited perspective) is a homicide detective and in the first two chapters the author used 7 or 8 different words to mention his service pistol. Another interesting writing element is how the author relies heavily on metaphor and simile. For example on page 86 the author describes a man as having a beard "black as if shaded in with a soft pencil." Another element of the writing style is how direct the writing is and how often the writer uses exposition dumps. I like the main character and a big part of the story is his difficulties in life. His father had a strenuous relationship with him and committed suicide and his ex-wife had a miscarriage. This has caused the main character to suffer from undiagnosed depression and collapse into alcoholism. Its interesting to see his sole remaining family, his cousin, try to pull him from this. There is also a large amount of the book revolving around chess with the homicide victim being a grandmaster. I like this due to the fact that I love chess and am in chess club. I always have to have my phone next to me when reading this as the characters are liable to use Yiddish slang terms.
My book also has a main character that has had difficulties in life such as issues with his family. This caused him to not only become depressed like your main character but to isolate himself from society as well. This led to some interesting events happening in the story. Nice Blog!
DeleteThe book I am reading right now is "Two Can't keep a Secret." It begins with Ellery and Ezra driving to their grandmother’s house in Echo Ridge. On their way there, they are stopped by the dead body of a science teacher at Echo Ridge. Ellery would have met him a week later. The reason Ellery is in this situation is because she was sent to live with her grandmother that she doesn’t even know. Sadie, Ellery’s mom got into a bad car accident and was sent to rehab due to the fact that she was an addict. Ellery has heard the unsolved mysteries from her mom but does not know much about it. Sadie’s twin sister, went missing years back and has never seen back since. Her mom refuses to tell her anything but Ellery knows she is hiding something. The mysteries of Echo Ridge only continue, five years ago Lacey Kilduff was strangled and murdered at an amusement park ironically called “Murderland.” No one knows who did it. On page 6 Ellery says “Sadie wouldn’t answer any of our questions when she got back from Lacey’s funeral.” Sadie also did not talk about this mystery as well. This only furthers Ellery’s curiosity. At the time of her death Lacey’s boyfriend Declan Kelly received a lot of the blame even though there was no evidence that it was him. Declan left town soon after this and has not seen back since. This book is told by a different person each chapter and as characters are added into the plot, more connections are made from each story. For example, Malcolm Kelly is introduced as Declan Kelly’s brother. Him and his family go to a fundraiser for Lacey Kilduff for the first time since she died. When he is there, Malcolm is caught by a girl holding a can of spray paint. He was standing in front of a threatening sign, but he was not the one who spray painted the sign, he only found it. I later read in Ellery’s chapter that she was the girl who saw him that night. I thought it was very interesting and I found other examples of this throughout reading. I am really enjoying this book and I cannot wait to find out what happens next.
ReplyDeletemy book also has a murder mystery in it and strange occurrences that have happened since the murder, including paranormal sightings and unusual people connected to the murder still being employed. Your book sounds very interesting, I definitely will be reading it!
DeleteI love mystery books. I can't wait to read it. It sounds like a great read.
DeleteMy book involves a mystery based around a missing person. Mine is the journey during instead of a journey after .
DeleteColin
ReplyDeleteWatchmen
By: Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Chapter 1-7
I think the book is really interesting because it break down cliches found in superhero media and puts them in a more realistic perspective. They talk about the idea if there was a actual person with superpowers in the world they would make all other people obsolete. In the chapter five a retired superhero talks about meeting a new superhero who is the first to ever have real superpowers. He says that “mask vigilantes have certainly been make obsolete but so has everyone else”. He feels replace and also feels that now that someone has real superpowers they are now a God amongst man, better than everyone else around them. They also talk about the idea that superhero are loved by the public and flip it on it’s head, in the book there are protest and riots aganist having these mask vigilantes. In chapter six they say things like “give us are police back”,“badges not mask” and “whos watching the Watchmen”. The public also doesn’t like the idea of a actual superhero with real superpowers they say “it’s is against God” and have a hard time accepting someone like that is real. The further in the book the more they develop the idea that the way superhero life is shown in movies and comic books is not what would happen if they were too exsited in the real world today.
Tim replying, I feel like this book is something that I would like, seeing as how people reacted to real superhumans. Personally, I would feel many things, such as amazement, disbelieving, excitement, and hope for humanity
DeleteMy book is also a graphic novel, and it's really interesting to see how different stories can be portrayed using the same format. Our books take place in completely different settings, and mine is a realistic fiction, but they both have the same way of conveying information to the reader. I also like the way that you explain how your book defies expectations, and break down the cliches of the genre to create a better story by giving it more realistic qualities, You can see this more realistic mindset in that it's not a comic book, it's a graphic novel. Sick entry.
DeleteLaura Mason
ReplyDeleteAll the Missing Girls
By Megan Miranada
Pages 0-127
As the book goes on, the author does a good job keeping the reader interested and on the edge of their seat. She starts the story with the main character, Nicolette, coming back home after starting her new life far away from her small, deserted home town. Her father is sick and she has to clean out her old childhood house. From the beginning, the author makes it clear that Nic’s past is filled with secrets and pain that she is trying to forget and has avoided telling her soon to be husband. Her biggest secret is that her best friend went missing when she was 18 and was never found. Then, after Nic arrives home, another girl goes missing, she feels that trouble follows her There are many points where the author uses foreshadows what is going to happen next and gets the reader to start making guesses about who could have kidnapped these two girls. On page 49, the author writes, “I look over at Tyler, who has taken another step closer. He was halfway across the room, his head tilted to the side, like he was trying to hear the conversation. “Listen to me,”...”Get out.” This is an example of foreshadowing to make the reader’s not trust Tyler and the author waits to explain that until later.The author’s writing style is also very different, but works very well in this story. She starts explaining what has happened two week in advance and then backtracks to when Nic first arrives home. This is a great way to keep the reader interested and continue to get more information to see who might be the kidnapper. I have really enjoyed it so far and can’t wait to finish it!
My book also has to do with a kidnapping of a young girl. She is very close in age with the character of your book. She was 19. This book sounds very interesting and I hope I can read it sometime soon.
DeleteMy book is similar because it involves the kidnapping of sixteen year old Paige. You begin to understand that with graduation coming these two good friends, Skye and Drew are not going to be able to follow their dream of going to New York City. You start to learn things about how poor Skye is and how her mother is psychic.
Delete
DeleteIn my book also the author jumps back in the past and then goes back to the present. Your book sounds very interesting and I would definitely like to read it.
Cooper Filkins
ReplyDeleteThe Harlem Hellfighters
By Max Brooks
Up to pg 120
The book that I am reading is a graphic novel called 'The Harlem Hellfighters' about the “Harlem Hellfighters", a nickname for the 369th infantry regiment in World War I, who spent more time in combat than any other American unit, never lost any battles, one of the most decorated and renowned infantry regiments. The members of the infantry signed up because they wanted to “make the world safe for democracy” and because they loved their country. This makes me really sad because I know that when they return from the war they’re going to be treated horribly just because they’re not white. The book has so far given really great depictions of the infantries bravery, the Germans were the ones who dubbed the name Hellfighters for their extreme courage and ferocity after all. I’m really nervous about what’s gonna happen to some of the members of the infantry because this was the first instance of modern warfare. On page 98, the members of the infantry are at their first day on the front lines, and they start to learn about the new weapons of mass killing that was used in the first world war. “We learned all about the new toys of modern warfare, barbed wire, land mines, and a real doozy, the machine gun… the machine gun changed everything about the war, except for the minds of the generals running it… cause the old men calling the shots… they still thought all you needed was good old fashion courage”. A big reason for the amount of casualties of the first world war was the strategy to deal with machine guns were to send men at it until it jammed or ran out of bullets. I’m really interested to see how the characters end up managing their way through war, even when the friends that they made in boot camp are being mowed down by weapons that no one understands how to combat.
Reply from Tim, my book doesn't have anything to do with WW2 but I really like how you included your personal ideas, and reactions to what happens in the book, like how you commented on how the soldiers are going to combat the machine gun.
Deletethe book sounds really good the setting of it being in world war two sounds really interesting. I might read it
DeleteChristian Ciannamea
ReplyDeleteGathering Blue
By Lois Lowry
Pages 1-118
As the book goes on, you realize it mainly revolved around one thing. Kira’s ability to sew. On page 22-23, it says, “Kira had always had a clever way with her hands. When she was still a tyke, her mother had taught her to use a needle, to pull it through woven fabric and create a pattern with colored threads. But suddenly, recently, the skill had become more than simple cleverness. In one astounding burst of creativity, her ability had gone far beyond her mother's teaching. Now, without instruction or practice, without hesitancy, her fingers felt the way to twist and weave and stitch the special threads together to create designs rich and explosive with color.” This is important because it tells the reader what Kira’s main talent is. This talent got Kira out of a bad situation with Vandara, a woman who told her she lost her property, by going to the Council, and becoming the Singer’s robe fixer. By getting this spot, Kira was offered a place to live, food, and all the necessities, as long as she repaired the Singer’s robe by the deadline. This book seems to be going good so far and has been very interesting, just like its companion book, the Giver. I doubt it will disappoint me.
Avaneesh Benki
ReplyDeleteGlass by Ellen Hopkins
2nd book in the series
This book is about a girl and the way her life is completely ruined by her use of meth. I found it interesting the way that the author portrayed the downward spiral of her choices and her story. Instead of the way we are often shown in media and taught in class, Kristina ( the main character ) did not ruin her life with one bad choice. In this book, it was the development of many bad choices, some of which were not her fault, and her addiction was the result of a long struggle with the drug. It was also fascinating to see how addiction can happen to anyone and how blind people can be to the signs when they don't know what to look for. At the start of the first book, Kristina was an honor roll student on the path to success, and it is a stark contrast to where she is now, a complete drug addict with multiple crack babies. Also, the book is written in verse and it is cool how the author juxtaposes such ugly topics with beautiful language. She also refers to meth as “ The Monster” personifying it and sort-of putting the burden of her responsibilities on someone else. An example is, “Then I’ll move on without the monster breathing against my neck, begging me to do one more little whiff.”(Page 233). Don't do drugs guys.
Great response, my book is also about someone stuggling with addiction. What are the odds! 👀🙌
Deletethe guy in my book struggles with abuse and drugs
DeleteVery cool blog Avaneesh! Drugs play a big part in my book except my character crosses the border to sell drugs which is risky and is a big role in the outcome of the story
DeleteThe book I'm reading is called The hanging Girl by Elieen Cook. The main character is named Skye Torn, her life is a little sad because her dad left her mom when he found out she was pregnant. She made up a story that her dad was in the military instead of not being in her life. Skye reads tarot cards she learned how to read them when she was little with her mom because her mom believes that she is psychic. Skye and her mom were watching t.v when this commercial pop up with a missing girl report and it was for the Bonnets family there daughter Paige. Paige is the daughter of the Bonnets and she runs away on spring break to meet up with this guy she met at a christmas ski trip. Everyone thinks Paige is a good kid because she always calls wolf and they believe her. She went missing after her classes on thursday and Skye's mom keeps asking if she knows her and she told her mom she kinda knows Paige but what her mom doesnt know is that Skye knows exactly what happened with her.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Scott
ReplyDeleteTouching Spirit Bear
By: Ben Mikaelsen
Pages: 1 - 68
Blog Entry
In the start of the book we are introduced to a character named Cole Mathews. He was a juvenile delinquent. The book starts off with Cole on a boat in handcuffs. On page three it says “Worn steel handcuffs bit at his wrists each time the small craft slapped into another wave.” He's always been a bad kid but normally his parents get him out of trouble. This time though Cole broke into a store illegally. He later bragged to classmates that he did that. One of his classmates named Peter Driscal turned him in. Cole beat up Peter for revenge. This caused Peter to have serious head trauma and a permanent speech problem. Coles in serious trouble now. Coles a crazy kid because in chapter 2 in goes back to a time when he was on an island and burned the shelter down. He later realizes he made a serious mistake but it's too late. At this point, Cole needs some serious help to turn himself around. He resents his parents which might be the reason why he does all these terrible things. His father would hit him and would always get drunk and his parents divorced.
Great BLOG entry George Scott!! My book also happens to have a main character that does not make good decisions in his life and then ends up in difficult situations because of it. My character ended up being able to turn his life around and fix his relationship with his family and hopefully yours can too.
DeleteI remember reading this book a while back, it's a really good read.
DeleteThis a great orb entry george. Good job!!!!! Very interesting book.
DeleteFor my book, I’m actually not entering something i’ve read. I’m entering something i’ve created. It’s a story about a group of guys and girls who had to flee Earth after the air pollution became so horrid and the wildlife was decimated. Now a band of casual people with lung implants have nothing to do but to explore their other living options. But in the meantime, they have adventures in the nearby universe. One literary device I’ve used so far is conflict. Some of the other humans who survived the decimation of the environment live in the solar system. These people don’t live on earth, but can manage to live on nearby planets. The main group of people that are on the ship generally don’t go back to that solar system, but one of the members have an idea to go back into Earth’s orbit so they could see if they could try to stream a show to the ship. Another member had a friend still in the solar system who asked if she’d be around, and she said yes. This caused a conflict among the crew since because their home is polluted and dead, they don’t want to have to see it. It’s a disagreement among the members that can only be solved by going back. In the story so far, there is also an example of characterization. One of the crew members, Janet, is supposed to be an authoritative figure. She’s the one who instates the disagreement with going back towards earth. She’s scolding and protective over her members, proven by this passage:
ReplyDelete“ “What are you guys doing in here this early?” Janet questioned.
“Well last night, I was trying to see if I could stream anime to the ship.”
Nova said, wrapped up in the focus of her work. “I can’t, but we’re close to the Milky Way right now. Maybe we c-”
“Can we not? Is anime something we really need to go back to the Milky
Way for?” Janet groaned
“Come on, please?” Nova pleaded with her “I’m sure you miss anime too!”
“No. We’re not going. I don’t care how much we miss it, I just don’t want to
go back and have to see Earth.” Janet said, rubbing her forehead.
“Aw, alright.” Nova pouted in defeat. “Going to the Milky Way is probably
unrealistic anyways.” “
This passage establishes her as someone who is like a mother to the members of the crew.
What I've read is super interesting! I'm excited to read it sometime.
DeleteRyleigh Endres
ReplyDeleteHolding up the Universe
Jennifer Niven
1-103
When I started to read “Holding Up the Universe” by Jennifer Niven, I thought that Libby Strout is a young teen, like us, who WAS very self conscious about her weight. The “American Fattest Teen” tv program contacted her, but she dubbed it. Libby has very few friends because of what she looks on the outside, but what most people do not know is about her inside. By heart, Libby is a caring, sweet-hearted girl who will go out of her way to make sure others are happy. It’s about the important things, like the way their face lights up when they laugh, or the way they move as they’re walking towards you, or the way their freckles create a map of the stars says her friend. She has had many people come up to her and ask her why she’s going to school or how she can each so much. Although Libby gets upsert from it, she lets it blow over her head.
This book sounds really cool because it deals with a problem that is so common. Judging a book from its cover. This sounds like its a good read for teenagers like us so that we can all learn lessons.
DeleteMy outside reading book is called WATCHMEN by Alan Moore. It is a graphic novel about superheroes in a society that does not want costumed vigilantes anymore. So all of the super heros stop being superheroes by the time the book takes place. Our main characters are Nite Owl, Doctor Manhattan, Ozymandias,Rorschach,Sally Jupiter, and Edward Blake. The book starts out with Edward Blake being murdered. And none of the super heros really looks into it besides Rorschach. This is how far I am in the book there is no further plot at this point.
ReplyDeleteKeira O'Connell
ReplyDelete13 Little Blue Envelopes
Maureen Johnson
The book “13 Little Blue Envelopes” is about a girl who is left envelopes with letters in them from her missing aunt. The letters contain instructions on how to locate her. Each letter contains a different task on how to find her. For her first journey she was left money to buy a passport so she could buy a plane ticket and go to London. She explains later on in the chapters on what her aunts life was like when she was younger. She talks about what she did during college and what kind of a person she was.
Caleb Ethier
ReplyDeleteShooter
Pages: 111-223
I think that the author’s theme for this book is individual against society. In my story, Shooter by Walter Dean Myers one of the characters in the story, Leonard is bullied and pushed away by everyone. This includes his family and everybody at his school except for his very few amount of friends. The harassment keeps getting worse and worse until it comes to the point where he commits a truly horrifying act of violence and ends it all. The story is quite dark and shows just what happens when an individual is put against all of society. Len’s isolation is shown in some of his journal entries such as on page 174 where the author says “They are yelling at me like the crowd of fools they are. Should I jump down to be with the masses, or stay isolated?” when speaking about the school. This shows how Len has been pushed away from society so much that he sees them as a bunch of “fools.” In order to show this idea of man vs society, the author used the literary element of repetition. Walter Dean Myers repeats the same few events told from different perspectives. One of these events is Len cutting himself off from communication with people outside of his friend group. Since this event was repeated so many times it allows the readers to have a clear idea of how important this event was and just what happened during it.
Very good BLOG entry Caleb. Great Job!đź—ż
DeleteI agree with Caleb this is fantastic Caleb
DeleteCaleb and George are absolutely correct this is a fabulous Blog entry. Also, My book also dealt with people outcast ed from society and how they found a home in drugs.
DeleteSecond Blog by Timothy Lin
ReplyDeleteThe Novice
Taran Matharu
Fletcher has now been in Vocans Academy for a few weeks, and already things are going downhill. During a lesson by an instructor, an incident happened which caused the instructor to be incapacitated, leaving a space for a new instructor, one that was heavily biased towards the nobility. One night while Fletcher was asleep, he encountered a demon vision, a memory recording from his demon, Ignatius the salamander. During this vision, the author used imagery, describing what was going on,” The war drums beat with a mad fervor, throbbing the night air with pulsing intensity. Row upon row of orcs clapped and stamped to the rhythm, punctuation the end of each cycle with a guttural ululation.”(pg.258) this described what Fletcher saw at the beginning, a gathering of orcs performing a ceremony, before human and elven soldiers crashing their ceremony,” Men wearing heavy plate armor, armed with broadswords and shields, fearlessly plunging into the heart of the camp. They gave no quarter, hacking and stabbing at the orcs in a whirlwind of steel.”(pg.260) ,” ...sitting astride giant elks, full-chested beats with strong legs and sharpened antlers. They wore no armor, but wielded the bows which had blackened the sky with arrows not so long ago.” (pg.261). This imagery made me imagine the scene clearly, and it made me excited for what came next. After Fletcher saw the vision, he woke in the middle of the night to go to his elven classmate, Sylva, which he then learns that his demon Ignatius would be 2000 years old, if his vision was from Ignatius’ memory. This interesting plot twist had me excited to read more, more quickly and I hope that after finishing, I get to read the second of this series.
This book sounds cool. I've never really tried to read fantasy books, but there's a first for everything. It seems like this book has quite a few surprises and plot twists. - Ashton G
DeleteSaab 1992, Alternator and charging system.
ReplyDeleteCar manual
1.) Inspect V-belts and make sure they are tight
2.) check the charge warning lamp. In 1987 and later cars,check that the ignition switch relays closes when the key is turned to start car
3.) check the battery for voltage between ground and terminal B+ at the back of the alternator.Then check for battery voltage between D+
4.) with the engine running, carefully measure the voltage between terminal D+ and ground it to B+. difference should not exceed 0.7
5.) if no faults are found up to this point,the alternator should be tested using special test equipment,such as the SUN VAT40. Alternator test specifications are shown below.
5 part 2.) install the new alternator,leaving the mounting bolts slightly loose. Install the V-belt and tension is as described in 1 LUBRICATION AND MAINTENANCE
6.) Tighten all mounting bolts.install the wiring to the alternator.reconnect the battery terminal
And check the operation of the charging system warning lamp.
the absolutely true diary of a part-time indian is about a boy named arnold who goes by junior. The book is about his life and how he moves from an all indian school to an all white school and the struggle he has to face going through it he has some issues moving on through it but he faces them with new people and encounters new friends. but their is alot he has to overcome but he handles the problems well
ReplyDeleteDan Quinn
ReplyDeleteGolden Boy
by:Tara Sullivan
Pages 114-End
These past few chapters have been a roller coaster for Habo and his family, but trust me it all works out. Alsasari is back at it with his illegal antics and this time takes his business to Habo’s mentor Kweli, the carpenter. Habo being the smart boy he his informs Kweli of Alsasari’s business, and they plan to set up a trap. Long story short the trap goes as planned and the police put Alasari behind bars. The book finishes as Habo spots his sister at a nearby store, Habo sees her and the family, reuniting them once and for all. As reading the book, I noticed a few key themes throughout, one of them being the theme of honesty, specifically demonstrated by Kweli. As Habo first meets Kweli he attempts to hide certain elements of his life from him, Kweli eventually finding out, teaches Habo the idea that the truth will always be found. Kweli’s idea of honesty is proven when he said “What money I do need I am happy to earn legally, even if that is the slow way.” (Pg. 274)
Another theme presented is Judgement and this plays a huge roll within this book. There are multiple characters who are acceptant of Habo’s difference. Like; Kweli,Davu, and his sister Asu. But it is also clear that many members of society are very quick to judge.
This novel has been a true joyride to read and I am more than excited to read more of Tara Sullivan’s works.
Chloe Lephart
ReplyDeleteRoom
By: Emma Donoghue
Pages: 127-End
When I started reading this book, I found the first half very interesting and intriguing. But when I read the second half I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! The rising action and the climax of this book is absolutely amazing. For example Jack’s mom is helping him escape from Room. Jack is supposed to “play dead” so Old Nick will bring him outside of Room and then Jack will run. Jack is very scared. For example on page 138, Jack says, “Ma! Im shouting in my head. Dead, Truck, that's two of the nine. I'm in the back of the brown pickup truck just like in the story. I’m not in Room. Am I still me?” When I was reading this part I felt really bad for Jack because his whole world has been inside that room and he knows nothing else. He is very confused right now. During this time I thought OK. Jack is going to get the police to rescue his mom, and the end. But no! There is so much more! There is a whole other part about how Jack and his mom adjusted back to the real world. As I thought adjusting back would jot be easy for either of them. I mean Seven years of Jack’s mom life was just gone, and Jack only knows Room which he left behind. On page 249, Jack’s mom overdoses on her medication. Jack says, “ She doesnt switch on, she doesn't groan even or roll over, she's not moving when I pull her. This is the most gone she has ever been.” AT this point I was super scared for Jack. But the ending Is happy. They live with JAck’s mom’s parents and they go back to living a normal life. I really enjoyed this book and I loved all of the unexpected elements! I would highly recommend it!
I really love this blog! I've read the book before and it was amazing.
DeleteLaura Mason
ReplyDeleteAll the Missing Girls
Megan Miranda
Pages 127-368(end)
I finished the book and it was so good! I enjoyed everything about it. The writer’s style was very different than any other book I have read because she starts the second chapter two weeks after Nic first arrives home and backtracks until you get to day one. It was a really good way to keep the reader’s attention and interest and also added to the mystery because the more you read, the more information about what really happened is shown and it turns out to be something that I did not expect at all. The author throughout the entire book does a great job with the characterization of everyone in the book. I especially found Nic’s and Tyler’s development to be really good and by the end, you felt like you knew them personally. The first chapter foreshadows that Tyler might have had something to do with the disappearance of the girls, but as the story goes on, you see that no matter what, he will do anything for Nic and would never do anything she would not approve of. But, he would also do anything to keep her safe. Nic also changes a lot in this book. In the beginning, she was scared to face her terrible past and wanted to leave it all in the shadows. But, as she learns to trust and love her family again and sees what they have done for her, she knows that the only way to move on is to embrace her past and she even realizes this town is where she is meant to be. On page 367, she says, “If there’s a feeling of home, it’s this. A place where there are no secrets, where nothing stays buried: not the past and not yourself.” This shows she is at ease with herself and her past and is ready to move on with her life. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and could not put it down. I had an ending that I never expected but ended pretty hopeful overall.
I haven't read your first blog on this book but from what I read here, your book sounds to be interesting and I may try to read it in the future.
DeleteAshton Gilbert
ReplyDeleteJust Mercy
Bryan Stevenson
1-122
The book I am reading, Just Mercy, is based on a true story. It played with my emotions and made me upset at the way our criminal justice system worked in the early 1900s and still works today. This is because in the book, the main character is a legal advocate who goes into prisons and talks to people who are put on death row. His goal while talking to them is to get enough evidence of their innocence or intent, to make sure they do not end up being executed. The tone makes the reader feel bad because it is clear that these men were wrongly convicted and it keeps the reader hopeful that the so-called criminal will get the freedom they deserve. In the book, the main inmate who’s being helped is name Walter McMillian. He was charged for murder because people testified that they witnessed it. “The second witness gave law enforcement officials what they needed to charge Walter McMillian with capital murder in the shooting death of Ronda Morrison.” (49) Now Stevenson is going to try and prove that the witness is lying.
The book you are reading sounds very cool and also the book I am currently reading also has people wrongly convicted of their crimes.
DeleteThe book I am reading the true diary of a part-time Indian is kinda boring not gonna lie in the first half while there were no real issues I got to meet the characters rowdy and junior two Indian best friends rowdy is the stronger braver friend while junior is a weird small cowardly nerdy friend. They have a good bond rowdy don’t let anyone pick on junior. I got further into the book and released junior comes from a not so wealthy family and neither do any of the kids living on the res. T was a small area mostly filled with Indians the kids here didn't really have any money but they still managed to get by. As I get deeper into the book it talks about how junior is gonna move to an all-white school and no one knows how that will playout. junior gets to the school and alreday they call him names he says “they called me names chief sitting bull tonto redskin squaw boy” he has to deal with this problem for awhile but he can get through it
ReplyDeleteI read this book last year in Mr Edgars class I thought the book was really funny
DeleteI think the title is an amazing choice because the book title is “The Rest of the Story”.Emma Saylor the main character does not remember anything about her mom or her mom’s side of the family. Also, what is Emma going to be like a rich girl from the yacht club or the girl who helps clean motels? In the book, she learns about her mom and what she was like when she was a teenager and how different her mom’s life from her dad’s. For example “I felt more like we’d gone a million miles… just the boardwalk itself, which was lined with planters sprouting perfectly landscaped flowers, expensive cars parked along it… compared to what I’d seen of North lake, everything seemed new and well, expensive. Calvander’s was just a motel. This was a resort .” Emma’s dad was a rich yacht club boy and her mom was the poor girl who worked in motel’s and gas stations to make money. As you read on you find out more details about Emma’s mom’s life. The author uses a lot of imagery in her book to describe how the characters are feeling and even what they are seeing. Like in the quote before the author was describing what the boardwalk of the resort looks like and Emma was comparing both sides of the lake and how different they really are.
ReplyDeleteThe ending of the book was really different than what I thought was going to happen. Emma chose to be both sides the girl from the yacht club like her dad but also the girl that lives on the poor side like her mom. Overall it was a really good book. I would recommend it.
George Scott
ReplyDeleteTouching Spirit Bear
Ben Mikaelsen
70 - 240
Cole Mathews had the decision of either going to jail or going to the circle of justice for one year. He chose the circle of justice not knowing what he got himeself into. but few days after he was banished to a remote Alaskin Island he was mauled by a myseterious bear. The bear was white and almost unrealistic looking. He almost died already. After this he knew it was going to be a challenge living here for a whole year. He later invites Peter to the island to teach him how to survive. At the end of the day Cole being banished for a whole year tought him a good lesson. He stopped doing bad things and now he actually cares
11/12/19
ReplyDeleteBlog 2:
Continuing the book, I have found it much much more interesting that the beginning. Todd had escaped the evil of Prentisstown and on his journey, he found a girl. The first girl he has ever seen. She doesn’t talk much but the men chasing after Todd want to kill her. So he helps her escape also by taking her with him. Todd, Viola (the girl), and Manchee all run away to try and find a new safe place to live. They meet several welcoming people, fight for their lives, and run some more. But they get stopped once they get so close to one of the safest places on New World. Aaron had caught up to them. Half of his flesh had been ripped off while he was attacked by a Gator back in Prentisstown so he was scarier than ever. Todd, Viola, and Manchee manage to break away for a little bit before Aaron gets them again. “If Aaron won’t sleep, then neither will we.” Todd says to Viola. They had been walking for days and they finally rested by a self-made fire next to a river. But as they take their time to chill out by the water, Aaron manages to sneak up on them and grab Manchee. They run into the water to escape but Aaron follows. Todd tries to save Manchee but Aaron severely hurts him and Todd can no longer have him. Todd is hurt so badly that everything goes black. “And I know nothing more as the river takes us away and away and away.” After that, Todd wakes up in an unknown hospital and put carefully in a bed, for his injuries. But then, Aaron finds them again. It’s a chase. And then they finally make it to the safe haven. Everything is better now. Todd makes sure that Aaron will never go near them again. But once they feel safe, Davy Prentiss comes out of nowhere and causes chaos. I won’t say what happens at the end of the book but I really recommend it! It’s the first book of a trilogy and it’s very entertaining! It’s very well written and keeps you engaged throughout the book.
This book sounds really interesting, i'll have to check it out sometime.
DeleteI finished the book and it was quite the page-turner! I won’t reveal the ending too much, but Devin figured out who the killer was and two new main characters were introduced. Stephen King did a great job keeping the reader interested because he introduced two new main characters in the second half of the book, Mike and Annie. At the beginning of the book the fortune teller at Joyland had told Devin that “ In your future is a little… boy. The boy has a dog… one of these children has the sight.” (page 23). Madame Fortuna as a character was very useful because she predicted things that happened in the book, which was a very unique way on King’s part to keep the reader invested and making predictions the whole time. By using Madame Fortuna Stephen King does a great job of using foreshadowing in this book, keeping the readers engaged to see if predictions are correct. Ultimately Mike is the boy who has the sight. He has a terminal illness and knows as a young boy he is going to die, but he is full of life. His sixth sense helps Devin figure the killer and confront him. The characterization in this book is also amazing. Devin as a character has grown a lot; from a college boy who thought he had his life all planned out to realize many things about himself, including that he can survive to be alone. Also that everyone should have fun in life like the kids at Joyland. One final thing I thought was really interesting is that it was set in the 1970s, so in Devin and Annies’ relationship, there are some gender inequality elements and irony. On page 267 Devin thinks “ ...The bullet must have gone right past me, but I didn’t hear or feel it, the ways characters do in books. The car we were in swept past the loading point and I saw Annie Ross standing on the ramp with a rifle in her hands.” At this point in time, it was crazy to think women could kill let alone save men so I liked reading a book that was set in an older time, but this also shows the irony in the situation because Annie saved Devin. Overall I would recommend this book. It is a page turner and the killer will shock anyone who reads it.
ReplyDeleteVernald
ReplyDeleteDisappeared
By: Francisco X. Stork
Pg 94-End
In the book Disappeared by Francisco X. Stork, when I started reading the book, I thought the story would be focused around Sara Zapata, as she is the one trying to solve the case. Instead, it’s Emiliano Zapata’s story was focused on more. I believe his story was more focused on because he had to make decisions that impacted Sara. On page 94, Mr.Esmeralda, trying to convince Emiliano, says “This city is like a spiderweb, every thread is connected directly or indirectly to every other thread.” This is a great metaphor because Emiliano’s decisions from that time to the end of the story hindered what happens to Sara and what she is doing to find where all The Desaparecidas are. If I was Emiliano, I would definitely find out what my priorities are and do what’s right. But also understand what’s happening in your surroundings because some decisions he makes are life threatening yet he could had made the right decision by listening to the right people. And just like a spider web, each decision he makes cannot become undone, leaving him either in a good situation or stuck in a sticky situation. Overall, this book was really good and every chapter leaves you thinking of a different outcome at the end of the book.
I finished reading The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis. It is about a 17-year-old boy named Evan Panos who kissed a boy named Gaige at bible camp. Evan’s parents are very religious. They have a bible group that comes to their house every Sunday. After bible camp, he starts to think that his best friend Henry is attractive and they kiss. Evan and Henry decide to share their biggest secrets and Evan takes Henry to an old monastery that he discovered. Henry wants to know what other secrets Evan has. Evan has five notebooks that he writes his secrets in. He decides to give Henry the notebooks. Evan knows that Henry is going to see that he kissed another boy. Evan is nervous that Henry won’t want to be his friend when he sees that he kissed Gaige. They set up a place and time to meet when Henry is done looking at his notebooks. They decide to meet at the school. Henry gives him all of his notebooks and Henry is not mad at Evan for kissing another boy. Evan takes all of his notebooks home and Evan’s mother wants to know if he is hiding something. Evan’s mother decides to take his notebooks to their pastor. She makes the pastor read the notebooks and the pastor tells her that Evan kissed a boy at the bible camp. Evan’s mother goes home and tells Evan that she knows he kissed Gaige. Evan’s mother set up an appointment to go talk to the pastor that read Evan’s notebooks. Evan has to go talk to the pastor and Evan is upset that the pastor read his private information. The pastor tells him that his mother was worried about him. The pastor says that he knows he should not have read the notebook and he apologizes.
ReplyDeleteChristian Ciannamea
ReplyDeleteGathering Blue
By Lois Lowry
Pages 119-241
In this book, Kyra learns that there is another person the Council put with her. Not in the same room but in a different one. She hears her constantly singing and realizes, this other person, is only a little girl. The text says, on page 170, “As Kyra prepared for bed, she thought about the frightened, lonely tyke below. What songs were they forcing her to learn? Why was she here at all? Ordinarily, an orphaned tyke would be turned over to another family. It was the same question that she and Thomas had discussed the day before. And the answer seemed to be the conclusion they had reached: they were artists, the three of them. Makers of song, wood, of threaded patterns. Because they were artists, they had some value that she could not comprehend. Because of that value, the three of them were here, well fed, well housed, and nurtured.” This is important because it introduces a whole new character to the story. And this character isn’t a normal character. She plays a big role since she’ll be a part of the ceremony Kyra has been working for. I have finished the book though and I feel all the characters in this book learned a lesson. If you want to read this book, then I say go for it. You don’t need to read “The Giver” to understand this. And it’s pretty good.
Colin
ReplyDeleteWatchmen
By: Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Chapter 8-12
One thing I really like about the book is the setting. The book is set during the cold war a time of a lot of mistrust and paranoia. This really fits with Rorshach’s character as he is also very paranoid. I find it interesting how they made Rorshach very cruel and mean person. In chapter eight Rorshach is put in prison and runs into to criminals he put in jail. The criminals are trying to kill him Rorshach kills two of them and the last one runs away. As this is happening Nightowl comes to break him out of jail. They run into each and were going to leave but Rorshach had to kill that last criminal. This really shows how cruel Rorshach can be he had no reason to that last guy because he had run away. In the end, the only reason Rorchach did it was for revenge. One last thing the pacing of the book is bad they sometimes but this really boring scene in between something like in character 11 Nightowl and Rorshach are going to confront Veidt about how he killed the comedian and is going to blow up part of New York City. In between this, they have a scene of this newspaper vendor and all these other random people and none of this really matters because they all die five minutes later.
This book sounds really intense and intriguing! There is a lot of action and death and I'm interested in learning more about the external and internal struggles these characters had to deal with. - Ashton G
DeleteIn my book (Two can´t keep a secret) Ellery makes homecoming court and at the announcement of it, there were more threatening signs and notes put up targeting one of the three nominated girls. Ellery and Malcolm end up going to homecoming together after another girl, Brooke, goes missing. Brooke was also coincidentally nominated for homecoming queen. The night she went missing, Malcolm dropped her off at home. Ellery and Malcolm are determined to find out what happened to her because Malcolm is getting a lot of hate as he was the last person who was seen with her. Malcolm is suspicious of his step sister Katrin and follows her to see her hanging threatening signs up all around town. If I was him I would not have followed her because of his family's history with all of the accusations regarding murder. Brooke is found dead and suspicions are suddenly steered towards Declan (Lacey ́s boyfriend) who is back in town once again. They find a ring that belongs to Declan near the crime scene. Ellery and Malcolm were trying to text the police officer and tell them what they found when, Peter(who is Malcolm´s step dad) holds them in the basement at gunpoint, in a room full of toxic gas. It was crazy to think that someone you live with could put a gun to your head. I could not have imagined what Malcolm was thinking. Peter obviously had the intent on killing them but Ellery woke up in the hospital bed later and was relieved when she was told Peter was in jail. The time between Ellery passing out and her waking up was very suspenseful because you did not know what was going to happen to her. Before Peter left the room, he told Ellery that he was the one to kill Sarah but only realized he had killed the wrong girl. He was not trying to kill Sarah, he was intending to kill Sadie, who was his ex-girlfriend. The book ended on page 327, with Peter saying ¨I thought she was your mother.¨ This book was very good and I recommend it to anyone who likes mystery books.
ReplyDelete(edited for a mistake)
ReplyDeleteSam Rodick
Yiddish Policeman's Union
Michael Chabon
111-411 (end)
I enjoyed this book. One thing that changed in the book as I went was the perspective characters. While most of the book was written in the point of view of the main character, Meyer Landsman, there were four segments written in the perspective of other characters. Two of them were out of the blue however two were other character's flashbacks. One interesting thing about the book is its tone, there is always a sense of uneasiness which matches the setting and the main character who, by the end of the book, should probably be in a hospital and definitely has a concussion. Another interesting thing was how the author placed in many Yiddish words and allusions to Ashkenazi Jewish Culture such as referencing the dish "tsimmez" which I had to look up. The book also ended on page 411 with Meyer saying on the phone to an investigative journalist who'd wronged him in the past and saying "Brennan, I have a story for you." This closed up one big cliffhanger in the story allowing a glimmer of hope for what was a slightly sad ending. Despite the positives the book had some negatives. Despite the book being a mystery there were a lot of untied ends without any purpose and a weird solution to the mystery that was not satisfying. The only time I really felt anything for the characters was when Meyer quit his addictions to alcohol and nicotine. The book was overall okay but I probably wouldn't read it again.
Great entry! My book also dealt with drugs and had an unsatisfying ending aswell, because in my book, the characters drugs problems were never resolved. Great work!
DeleteAvaneesh Benki
ReplyDeleteIdentical
By Ellen Hopkins
Whole book
This book is part of the same series as the book I read in my last ORB and dealt with much of the same topics. It is also written completely in verse and does a couple interesting things with the layout of the words such as making them into a shape which kept the read engaging. Identical is about the lives of two twin girls and how rough it is under the surface that they show to the world. One of the girls struggles with drug addiction and depression and the other struggles with eating disorders and PTSD which means this is not a light read by any means. It was interesting how the author chose to use characters who you would not expect to have those kinds of problems. In her past books, the characters came from a poorer background and had a lot of systematic disadvantages, but in this book, the twins’ parents are very rich with the mom being a congresswoman and the dad a respected judge. This demonstrates how problems are universal and not limited to a certain demographic. Although I enjoyed the book, by the end I was getting really tired of it because nothing ever got better. The Girls kept on making bad choices and nothing ever improved. It was draining to keep reading about the morbid and quite frankly disgusting subject matter for too long and I had to stop to take a break many times. Although this is the case, the book did offer insightful looks into the minds of people who are often overlooked and misunderstood and shows their point of view. One example is on page 138 it says “It’s probably weird to think about an addiction like it’s a sentient being, but that’s how it feels. Like its something living inside of you. Something you can't get rid of because killing it means killing you.” when talking about her eating disorder. The best part of the book was the end in my opinion when there was a huge twist that changed everything that happened in the book previously, but I won’t spoil it in case any of you want to read the book.
Here i am, i'm finally making my second blog entry because i have the time to. Anyways, i'll be talking about my own project again. Truth be told, i haven't worked on it much since my last entry, but i still have literary examples. This next segment can also represent conflict and characterization.
ReplyDelete“Hey guys guess what?” Ronnie said, walking into the room. “We’re going
back to the Milky Way!”
“Not you too, Ronnie.” Janet said. “I just talked Nova over here out of it.”
“Well i have a pal on Mars who wants a favor done, no big deal. It won’t
hurt anybody.” Ronnie rationalized. “Besides, we don’t absolutely have to go to Earth, We’ll just be next to it.”
Janet let out a brief groan.
“Fine.” she said “just please, make it quick.”
“Yes!” Ronnie celebrated. “That way, Nova can do her anime thingy too!
It’s a win for both of us!”
This segment can show the determination of Ronnie and Nova, while it displays the stubborn personality of Janet (even if she can be easily swayed). This also shows a connection between the verbal power of Ronnie and Nova.
Cooper Filkins
ReplyDeleteHarlem Hellfighters
By Max Brooks
Throughout the entirety of the book private henry johnson has seen and dealt with the harsh realities of war. He’s seen the trenches with poisonous water and rats scurrying around, but the thing that really made him aware of the horrors was when his sergeant died right in his arms. They were attacked with gas and his sergeant didn’t make it. Johnson couldn’t dwell on the death of his friend and mentor and had to keep fighting. I thought it was pretty inspiring how he kept fighting for his life and his country and didn’t give up. On page 223 it shows him leading the hellfighters charge. It’s really sad because for the whole book we knew that when they returned home they would be faced with racism and prejudice. On the very last page Johnson says, “Was it all worth it? As long as we’re not forgotten”. This points out the horrible injustice that this brave infantry unit that fought for democracy got swept under the rug because of their race. This part has dramatic irony because the reader know how they would be received when they came back to the US. This line also shows the author’s purpose for writing the book. He wrote it because he wanted people (specifically teens) to know about these incredibly important people in US history. I really loved this book and I learned about a part of World War I that my teachers talked little about.
In the book i am reading the main character Junior has more than enough problems to deal with. He was born hydrocephalic, and he lives on an Indian reservation where there is little hope or money, but plenty of alcoholics, including his parents. His sister hardly ever comes out of the basement. He gets beaten up a lot for looking weird. He's smart, good at drawing and basketball, and, unlike his friends and relatives, he has hope. But when he decides to reach for more by going to a white school 22 miles away, his problems grow even greater when he is not accepted by anyone at first it makes things rough for him but he can overcome it because he is hopefully he eventually makes friends and gets a girlfriend he loves very much in the end things for junior are pretty good that is until he has trouble with his bestie rowdy who is real mad that he has moved away from the area. They eventually make up though after having a talk and climbing a tree and that was how the book concludes over all people should read it because it's actually really good
ReplyDeleteAshton Gilbert
ReplyDeleteBryan Stevenson
Just Mercy
The second half of my book got a lot more interesting. Stevenson was able to gather enough witnesses who were willing to finally tell the truth about what really happened. He argues that though there have been many Civil Rights movements over time that there is still a lot of oppression towards people of color, poor people, and mentally ill people in America’s justice system. “Simply punishing the broken—walking away from them or hiding them from sight—only ensures that they remain broken and we do, too. There is no wholeness outside of our reciprocal humanity.” This quote suggests that people who don’t fit in are easily abandoned from society and unwanted. Stevenson testified for Walter and he made it obvious that there was no way he was guilty of this crime but he was still sentenced to death by the jury.