Last Blog post... D:D

Done reading my coming of age book called "The House on Mango Street" By Sandra Cisneros. The book was really good. It was mostly written in vignettes which are just really short stories talking about something.

I would describe my character as a very determined, positive and smart girl, from the beginning towards the ending. In the ending, the main character, Esperanza, describes how she doesn't want to belong and live in the poor latino section of Chicago. She wants to become something of herself.

Throughout the story, Esperanza is more of mother figure to her siblings, telling them right from wrong and worrying about them. So in a way, Esperanza is or already was growing up to fast to try and maintain a motherly figure for her siblings.

Initiations that Esperanza has is like a said before trying to be a motherly figure to her siblings, but not that she doesn't have a mother, but she's in a way trying to grow up too fast, but in another way not really.

What the author is trying to say about childhood is that the kind of neighborhood or environment that you live in can affect how you grow up and the type of living situations that you live in. Sometimes with that kind of situation, it can ruin a part of your childhood, and you miss out on things.

What the author is trying to say about adulthood is that you have to be determined about certain types of things to have a good future,which is also the transfer from childhood to adulthood. To go onto adulthood, you have to become a different person and be more responsible and smart and determined, which is what Esperanza is which made her more determined with that transition from childhood to adulthood.

The House On Mango Street

"The House On Mango Street" By Sandra Cisneros focuses on a young girl named Esperanza who lives in a poor Latino section of Chicago.

In the beginning, the main character, Esperanza, describes her life and her family members and siblings. When i kept on reading the book, it seemed to me like Esperanza was the one taking care of her younger siblings. Like she has to watch over them. I would probably describe Esperanza as a very positive and determined person. She cares about things and she's positive about what she wants to do with her life.

Some things that might be holding her back would probably be the way her lifestyle is and where she lives, which can be a conflict because that's something that she wants to change, but something is holding her back, so she can't do anything about it just yet, since she's too young.

Someone who's plays an important role in Esperanza's life would have to be her sister, Nenny, because she has to take care of her and help her and everything, but Nenny's still there to help her too.

Crank!

It's been a while. I just finished reading such an amazing book called "Crank" by Ellen Hopkins. A book talking about how a girl, Kristina, who is your all american teenager. She gets good grades, she's a good student,but then once visits her dad, and gets a boyfriend, Adam, she gets introduced to the drug crystal meth, also known as crank. I've read this book last year as well and I've also read the sequel which is called "Glass". throughout the book, she struggles with the drug and has two different personalities. One, Kristina, the person who her family knows, then there's Bree, the person she becomes when taking the drug.

While reading this book, I kept on thinking about how Kristina felt about her life after she encountered the drug. How her mood has changed and how before she was using the drug, she was a normal average teenager. She cared about her family and she had nothing to worry about, but throughout the story, a bunch of different situations happen when crank takes over her body. Things change a whole lot once you start taking crank.

What Ellen Hopkins is trying to tell the reader is that a lot of bad and horrible things can happen when people take drugs. It can affect their mood, they way they act and it can make you seem like a whole different person. In the book, Kristina, transforms from her regular self, to Bree, a different person who has a different personality and in a way, the opposite of Kristina. This book was based on Ellen's daughter, so you can't say that this book isn't fiction. It talks about her daughter's experience with the drug and the situations that came out of it.

Yes, people do take drugs now a days. Young people and older people. People should read this book because it shows how Ellen's daughter life turned out once she took the drug. Me, after reading this book for the second time, I've thought twice about drugs and the affection of them. How crank, or any other drug can control your life.

Ah Romeo & Juliet

I loved the modern version of Romeo and Juliet. It was so amazing and exciting and just breath taking. I thought that the language of Shakespeare was at first hard to understand, but you have to "unpack" the sentences and metaphors, as Ms. Robbins says, so that you actually have an understanding of what he's trying to say.

A theme that I want to focus on was the hate/rivalraies that went on with the Montagues and the Capulets. In the beginning of the movie, there was a fight scene that broke out at the gas station. I think the movie started out with a fight scene to make us realize how strong and powerful the hate between the Montagues and the Capulets was. Then I thought, if the Montagues and the Capulets hated eachother that much, I wonder how hard it was going to be for Romeo and Juliet to be together. I thought about all the things that they would have to get through in order to be together. I also remember i think Benvolio (Romeo's cousin) saying that the hate was between their masters, but I also saw that Tybolt (a Capulet) and Romeo (a Montague) were the ones that were mostly in battle with eachother beacuse in one part of the movie, Romeo shoots Tybolt because earlier in the movie, Tybolt shot Romeo's best friend Merrcucio, so later on, Romeo told Tybolt that one of us has to go with Merrcucio, and since at that time Romeo had the gun, he shot Tybolt and he died. So, when the Capulets found out about Tybolt's death, I think that caused much more hate between the Montagues and the Capulets.

Contents Under Pressure

I just finished reading the book "Contents Under Pressure" by Lara M. Zeiss. The book was actually very intresting book. What made it so intresting was how the author wrote the book, and how she came up with the characters personalities. Not every character in the book was exactly the same, like the main character, Lucy, she's kind of like the outcast and she just cares too much about what people think, and her family memebers are just there to support Lucy and the things she goes through.

I thought that the book was just explaining the things that a girl feels pressured about in her life. Lucy has to deal with guys, dating, love, family and she just gets too overwhelmed by what she has to do in order to have everything running smoothly. But while i was reading the book, and coming up with this idea, i thought why does she have to have everything turn out perfect? Not everything in life is gonna turn out exactly the way you want it to be. Everything just somehow always happens and if it does, then i guess that's how it should be and you shouldn't change it...well if it's that bad of a situation you could try and fix it, but if it's just a few tiny problems, i don't think you should fix it. Not everything's going to be perfect. And you can also learn from your mistakes.

The theme that I came up with about this book was that everyone, girls, guys, adults can feel pressure any time when they don't know what to do and that they shouldn't have to do anything that they don't want to.

The sky

all blue

all yellow with

the sun shining

so bright.

The city,

under the

dark blue night.

So calm,

and peaceful.

The mountains

in the from a

distance.

All dark and

mysterious.

Just makes the city,

be a city.

The Kite Runner PART 1...

I'm currently reading a book called " The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. I've been wanting to read this book since the seventh grade, but i never got a chance to read it. So i kind of basically just saw the movie. It was a really great movie though, and now that i have the book, i want to compare the movie and the book. I rarley watch a movie before reading the book first. For some reason, reading the book gives much more description than the movie, but there's still those very intense scenes that just make the movie worth while, but other than that, i prefer reading the book before watching the movie first.

I'm a really slow reader so I'm not up to the part in the book where the action kicks in, but the book has very descrpitive parts in it. For example,

"The curved wall led into the dining room, at the center of which was a mahagony table that could easily sit thirty guests- and, given my father's taste for extravegant parties, it did just that almost every week. On the other end of the dining room was a tall marble fireplace, always lit by the orange glow of fire in the wintertime."

I liked this description in the text so far because he describes what his home looks like and he doesn't just let you wonder about whatever. I also like the last line of that small paragraph because he tells you what they do with the fireplace during a certain time in the year.

This Lullaby Part Two

Ok so im almost finished reading the book "This Lullaby" by Sarah Dessen. This book has been one of the best books i've ever read. It's filled with drama and love and such emotion. It's like once you start reading the book, you just can't seem to stop.

A theory that i came up with about the book, was basically that falling in love to fast isn't really good, and that you have to take your time beacuse in the book, Remy's(the main character) mom has had many husbands in her life. Like husband after husband after husband. I thought that was kind of weird because whenever she met a guy, she thought that he was the one and it would wind up being a marriage then divorce and that was how it was all the time. But for Remy, her love life is different compared to her mother's. Whenever Remy had a great relationship going on, then all of a sudden when things got serious, she would break up with that person and that was how her love life was with her. So i'm basically saying that falling in love too fast isn't really worth it beacuse you want to get to know the person before things get serious.

I recommend my friends and my classmates to read this book because it's a really great book and it's teaches you a thing or two about life.

This Lullby

I just started readin This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen. When i read the blurb, i thought that this was going to be another amazing book because it's by Sarah Dessen, and she's one of my favorite authors.

The book is going great.I really like how Sarah Dessen describes everything in the book like the characters feeelings, the settinng and the mood of the story.
"When I got home, the first thing I noticed was the music. Classical, soaring, filling the house with oboes and flowing violins." This was a quote from the book that i really liked. She described how the house was just filled with music,what was playing and the instruments. I thought that if she could describe things in the book with such passion, then I could do the same.

So far, the book is really amazing. It's very descriptive and it looks like Sarah Dessen put a lot of effort and hard work because the book is just wonderful.

2nd Entry to "Give A Boy A Gun"

The last blog I made about "Give A Boy A Gun", it just mainly talked about what I thought about the book and how I felt about it I think...but oh well, once i finshed the book today, i got a much better understanding of the book and what it was trying to say.

So the book was just based on a school shooting that acually happened in Middletown Highschool. I really liked how in the book, instead of just putting the whole story out there, the author just took quotes of students, teachers, family and friends and put it in the book, which was really intresting because you could actually read and listen to what the people that witnessed or were a part of the situation had to say. So, i guess that was kinda of like a craft move that the author made.

What the author wants us to know is that school shootings are something that everyone has to be aware of beacuse since every single human being went to school, there was probably a shooting that a person has faced in their life time. What the author wants us to think is what we can do to decrease the violence that goes on in most schools in the country. What the author wants us to feel is prety much feel sorry for the people that were involved in school shooting or have been a part of them in their life. I dont relate to this book at all because I have never been involed in school shootings but i still want to know and learn more about these shootings, like if we're like telling people that violence in school just doesnt help at all, why do people still do it ?

Give A boy A Gun

I am currently reading a book called "Give A Boy A Gun". My friend Kevin recommended this book to me. At first I was a little critical about reading the book because well, I dont really know, but I asked him to tell me more about the book and then i got more intrested in the book.

But what really got me intrested in this book was that it had to do something with social action since in the book, violence is involved. But, it wasn't like the kind of violence that happens in the streets or whatever. It was the kind of violence that takes place in an educational environment. Even though I just started reading this book, I'm already thinking why this kind of violence happens in schools all around the world. Can somone like explain to me why this happens because im like lost. What's the actual reason why kids bring such violent weapons to school and decide that it's "ok" to shoot someone or whatever ? I, for one believe that violence shouldn't happen in school because, first of all, what does violence and weapons and stuff like that have to do with school ? Isn't school suppose to be educational and filled with learning ? Second of all, why even do it? ( I think i've mentioned this a few times before...) Is life that bad that kids just all of a sudden have to bring a gun or whatever to school and take their anger our on teenagers ?
I seriously don't get that at all.

Even though I'm still reading this book, I can already tell that this is going to be another one of my favorite books that I've been reading in the 8th grade.

Wherever Nina Lies

I just finished reading this book called "Wherever Nina Lies" by Lynn Weingarten. I just wanna say that this book was really amazing. It was filled with so much mystery that just kept on leaving me thinking about what was gonna happen next. Well anyways, i really enjoyed this book a lot because it was very exciting and mysterious. The main chararcter Ellie, had a sister who went missing and 2 years after her dissapearance, ellie goes on a journey trying to find her.

The book was filled with so much description about what was happeneing like the setting and the characters' feelings. I like when the author's are very descriptive and passionate about what they write because i think that it helps the reader get a much better idea of what the story is about and what the message in the story is about .

I really recommend many people to read the book "Wherever Nia Lies" beacuse i guarrantee that when you start to read this book, you literally won't be able to stop. The book is just filled with suspense and mystery that it's just overwhelming but I love it !

It's Kind Of A Funny Story

I am currently reading a book called " It's kind of a funny story" by Ned Vizzini. So far, what I think about the book is that it's a really great book and I like how the writer describes things like the setting or a situation that's about to happen or is happening.

In ELA this week, we are talking about social justice and if there is social justice happening in our books. In my book, the main character Craig, wants to have a great future. He gets into a high school and soon, the pressure gets to him. Then, he nearly kills himself. Since he planned on killing himself, he got checked into a mental hospital. So, i think that this has to do with social justice because there are people all around that world that are killing themselfs either becuase they're stressed, harrased or just a loser in life. I think that my book sends out a message to the world because people who commit suicide don't realizethat this is actually a really big issue that most people have to deal with.

I think that if people read this book and see what it's trying to tell you, then they might
realize how serious this can be. And I also feel like I have to say that when people make jokes about commiting suicide, I dont find it funny at all. I really dont get how such a serious thing like suicide can be funny. When I hear things like this coming from my friends, it kind of breaks my heart a little that they would even think of suicide even if they mean it or not. So, if you plan on reading this book, tell me what you think about it and what you think that message is.

13 Reasons Why

I am currently reading a book called " 13 Reasons Why" by Jay Asher. I really would like to tell you A LOT about the book , but at the same time i really wanna hear what you have to say about the book . I just checked this book out of Ms. Robbins's libary because my friends told me it was a really great book . Turns out, it really is an excellent book.

When I started reading this book, I thought it would be just be one of those books I would never EVER read again even though my friends told me it was a rather amazing book. But as it turns out , I wrong. The book is so mysterious and secretive. It's like when someone tells you prepare for something that might happen . Your so eager to find out what that "something" is. Your mind is focused on that one thing. That's what I felt like when i started reading this book.

I really recommend that you read this book because there's just so many things that happen throughout the book. I guarantee you'll be telling you're friends all about "13 Reasons Why".

Wintergirls

I just finished reading a book called "Winter Girls" by Laurie Halse Anderson. I really enjoyed reading this book because it talked about social issues but one imparticular caught my attention , and it was mainly one the book was focused on . Eating disorders. i remember how in the begginging of the book, the character Lia, is trying to control her weight and what she eats. At first I thought that this was really scary, I mean why is she keeping track of things that she eats? And then obviously I read the blurb and found out that she has a problem with her weight.
After finishing this book, i realized how serious these social issuses were. How after barely eating for a long time can cause you to go the hospital. I now noticed that life isnt all fun and games when there are people out in the world surffering with issuses like these.

The Phantom Tollbooth

I have just finished reading an incredibly awesome book called The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I'm not gonna brag about what the book is about, you guys can just read the book .
But i am gonna say that as I was read the book, I found that the book was filled with so much humor and jokes that you just can't stand but laugh while reading the book. I started reading the book with my book club. We discussed what we thought the themes of the book were about , we talked about the characters and settings. Everything in the book changes, and if you didn't know, The Phantom Tollbooth, is a fantasy book.

I really enjoyed reading this book for the 3rd time because when i read this in the 5th grade, i just read it because i thought it looked like an amazing book and i would learn a few things. Then in the 6th grade, i had to do a project about the book . Now in the 8th grade, my class is doing an "Appreciation Letter" about our bookclub books.

Anyways, I just thought that the book was quite amazing . And if you're planning on reading it , i hope you enjoy it . IT'S A REALLY GREAT BOOK ! IF YOU DONT READ IT , YOU WONT KNOW WHAT YOU'RE MISSING!!