TKAM

Review the foods in To Kill A Mockingbird

     Personally, I feel the food that we saw throughout the book were really good. Some of my favorites were the coffee, chicken, iced tea, etc. However , there were some that didn't settle with me such as the sardines, black eyed peas, collard greens, etc. The thing is, i am very sensitive  to how things look and smell and the ones that I listed that I didn't like look .... unique to me.

     The way that they eat their food are also very unique such as putting maple syrup on meat and plain bread. Thats certainly something that you wouldn't see today, at least in the mid west where we live. Also, sardines aren't very common either. I think it's because of the very strong aroma they give of making people kind of queasy. 

     However, drinks like lemonade, iced tea, and coffee are very very common here in the midwest. I think it's because they are quite easy to change to a persons need. You can make those 3 drinks either sweeter or more bitter based on the amount of sugar you add. Same with the chicken. To can make it crispy or regular. I feel that people in the midwest like to change things to hit our specific needs. If we can't we usually don't like the food, drink, or item.

TKAM- Found Poetry 12.12.14

Atticus

Not everyone is equal

Courage is not a man holding a gun

I wanted to see what real courage was

You rarely win but sometimes you do

Im simply defending a Negro 

When your licked before you begin

Thats what courage is

You will hold your head high

Keep those fists down

This time were fighting our friends

But they are our friends no matter what

Until you climb into his skin and walk around it....

Listen

Make the best of things

Even through we are still struggling

TKAM- Character Relationships.

   
    Aunt Alexandria and Atticus are 2 very uniques characters. They are siblings and of course bicker. There are multiple ways that the 2 are different. There's the obvious one such as Aunt Alexandria is a girl and Atticus is a guy. However, I feel like their personalities are very different. Atticus is easygoing and calm. He can be tough when needed to be but also is very generous with the kids. Aunt Alexandria is the complete opposite. She is very strict with them. She likes to us the real named for the kids such as Jean- Louise instead of Scout. She want's the kids acting their age and gender. She doesn't like how Scout likes to play and get dirty. She rather have her sit down with her girlfriends and talk with them. Also, Aunt Alexandria is very controlling. She doesn't take anytime to settle into the Finches house. One specific part where this is co obvious is when Scout is asking Atticus if she could spend the day with Calpurnia on Sunday. Instead of Atticus answering, Aunt Alexandria does, angrily. She completely despises the idea. Scout gets so angry at her and she  responds with, "I wasn't asking you!"

     There may be differences between these 2 but there is also multiple similarities. One big one is that they both want the best for the kids. Want them to succeed and grow up. The way they achieve that is completely different but they have the same good intentions and morals. They both also care for others. They both involve people and care about them. However, Atticus cares about the actual person as themselves. Aunt Alexandria cares more about what people think rather than the person themselves.

     This may sound absurd but I feel that Aunt Alexandria and scout are Alter egos of each other. As for Atticus and scout, I feel that they are Foils for each other. The relationship between Scout and Aunt A is very very bad because I feel that they are very similar in they way that they don't change their minds. They stick with one answer and don't like being ordered around. As Scout gets older, she starts getting more opinionative and independent just like Aunt Alexandria. Aunt A's effect on Scout is also, of course, bad. She gets Scout so angry. She so far hasn't brought the kids any joy and is always ordering them around.  The reason the I feel that Atticus is a foil for Scout is because he is too easy going and easily persuaded. Like I established a few second ago, Scout has gotten to the point in her life where she sticks to her opinions and doesn't change them However, Atticus's relationship with Scout is very close. They are on a first name basis and can tell each other many things. Since he is so easygoing, Scout likes the fact that she can do a lot of things that normal kids her age wouldn't be able to.

TKAM: Photo Analysis

On The Road Near Eutaw, Alabama

          When analyzing this photo I noticed that there were 2  ladies walking. I noticed that there was a lot of tall grass or possibly wheat with some trees or houses in the background. I saw that the ladies were barefoot and looked as if they were tired. One of them was wearing a towel over her head to most likely keep the sun out of her face. I saw that there was some dirt roads and fences which most likely means that the ladies are either one, walking by the farm, two, going to work to the farm or three, leaving the farm.

     I think that this picture was taken to represent how far some people had to walk for their job. Also, how poor some people were. If someone were to take this picture now , you would see most likely Men talking on their cell phones either walking to their job or in a taxi in suites. However, it looks like the ladies are tired and stressed so if we were to see this in the modern day, you would see people with tired faces but still up straight talking on their phones.

     One question that I would like to be able to ask these 2 ladies or even the person who took the picture is, Where were they going and what were they going to do ?

   

Go Ask Alice- week of 11.17.14

P.g 0 - 103
Prompt: If you were a close friend to the main character, what would you do or say to help the character through their problem? What is the one thing you would change from the past that would get rid of problem?

* Book is an anonymous diary of a drug addict and I don't officially know the name of the main character*

     If I were the friend of the main character, I think it would very difficult to do or say anything because of her addiction to drugs. I would probably have to be careful with what I do or say. I think the best thing would just be their for her. Their really isn't anything you can do other than go to an adult about their problem (sounded so cheesy.) I think I would try to spend as much time that I could w/h her so I could be w/h her instead of her trying to get high.

     I know that I definitely would have to be careful w/h what I say. I think that trying to say that she is putting me and her family in distress would be a bad idea because she would just lash out and say that her family is the main reason why she does drugs. Throughout the book, her family had been the reason that she started continuously doing drugs. I think I would try and something along the line of ,what she is doing to herself is harming her and her loved ones more than it is making her happy.

     The one thing that I would change to get rid of this problem is convince her to not go to Jill's house, a supposedly"close" friend. While there, she is introduced to drugs for the first time in her life and she wasn't even aware of it until she had consumed it. They were drinking Cokes at the party and
she started noticing that she was acting funny. She then asked Jill why she was feeling so strange. After asking Jill, she wrote, "I sort of asked Jill what happened and she said that 10 out of the 14 bottles of Coke had LSD in them."  She then started using more frequently.

     

Youtube Channel *Update*

    It's been over a month and a half since I started doing Passion Project. Gianna and I have successfully established both of our Youtube channels.( However, you can't see them because there are no videos in them) We have started pre-recording our videos. We only have two videos done for the fun channel. One by me and one by Gianna. Gianna's video is a vlog (video blog) of her being  in Minnesota for a weekend. My video was the TMI tag where I answered a bunch of questions. We still need to prerecord video w/h each other and for our serious channel. Although we haven't really discussed it, I want to start uploading videos around the New Year or earlier.

     We also h
ave resulted our problem for a camera. Gianna's father has multiple cameras that she and possibly I could use if he (Gianna's Father) can find it. If that is not possible, I will use a camera provided by the school. Mainly used by Ms.Aparicio.

Wonder- Week of 11.10.14

P.g. 43

Prompt(s) - Analyze the impact word choice has on the meaning or tone of a text and analyze how dialogue or specific incidents reveal information about characters. Make sure to include textual evidence.

     One thing that I have noticed about my book, Wonder, is that word choice is kind of be very childish or serious but still is perfect for the mood because in the book, the main character is seen as kind of a child because of his facial deformity and people treat him as if he can't do anything even though he is going into 5th grade but he talks back as if he was someone who is normal. And in his eyes, he is. One time I have noticed this is when we August first find out that his parents want to send him to private school. When August's parent are explaining to him why one of them wants to send him to private school and the other one doesn't the dialogue is kind of childish towards August and when August talks back, he gets kind of childish also, as you can see, "So sending him off to Middle school like a lamb to the slaughter...," Dad answered angrily, but he didn't even finish his sentence because he saw me in the mirror looking up. "Whats a Lamb slaughter?' i asked sleepily. "Go back to sleep, Auggie," Dad said softly. "Everyone will stare at me at school,' I said suddenly crying." This is a perfect example of how word choice affects weaning and tone. The father saying, " A lamb to the slaughter." This gives tense and serious tone. Especially for August's father who doesn't want him to go to school. The author wanted to specify that he was angry about August's mother's idea of sending him to school. Not upset.

      After reading, I notices that one instance between August and a new boy that he meets named Julian, shows a little about Julian. Theres 2 times we see the "dark side" of Julian. The first one is when August is being shows around the school by a boy named Julien, Jack, and Charlotte. When they all go to show August the theater, Julian comes out and says, "Why is your hair so long?" and "Whats the deal w/h your face? I mean, were you in a fire or something?" This shows that Julian really doesn't think before he talks which could get him and August in some trouble. 

     Another instance that we see a hint about what Julian really is when all 4 of them are leaving the library and Julien "accidentally" trips August and says "oh sorry.." but August automatically knew he didn't mean it. This shows the true personality of Julian. IT proves that he now has something against August and is going to seek a hard and long year at his new school.

Wonder-Week of 11/2/14

Prompt: Write a letter to you character 
Pages-31

     Dear August,
I don't want to lie to you. I know that everyone says that it gets better. To just ignore it. August, come one, we all know, for the most part, that isn't true. I know you had no control over what happened to you and that you have no control over what people think of you. but whether to accept or deny it is the main problem. Denying the problem wont make it go away. 

     I hear you're starting school soon. Great, However, it's definitely not going to get easier. People will stare. People with be mean. People will gossip. Who cares! It's just people who are bored with their anti-social lives. 

     The main point I am writing to you August is because I want you to not care about what people say. To accept it but not let if offend you. Why be upset with yourself if you're EXTRAORDINARY! Hope you do well August. 
                                           sincerely, Jack Will

Maleficent

Prompt: Show a picture of you setting.Describe the picture as if you were a kindergartner and as yourself now.

Page:23

        Kindergartner: So, I see that it is really colorful and that there are lots of pretty colors. I see 2 trees, a butter fly and and a mommy fairy and a daddy fairy with a baby fairy. I see that there is a pond. They have rocks around it and it has water and those green things. I think that this a mystical fairy garden and that all of the fairies live happily ever after and never have to do work.

         Now: So, I notice that there a a few trees so I think that this is a forest. I can see that there are a some fairies in the background so I can probably confirm that this is an enchanted forest. There is a pond that has some rocks around it with some Lilly pads.  There is a butterfly. I think that the butterfly symbolizes peace and harmony in the forest and that since there is only one butterfly, something horrible is going to happen.

LETS GO GET SOME AMONTIALLDO

Prompt- Write what Montresor and Fortunato were thinking in their minds through out their walk dow into the catacombs.

**SETTING**
Montresor and Fortunato just entered the catacombs. Fortunato has just coughed for a small period of time and has finally finished.

Montresor's POV
Do I feel right. Should I be condoned to the death of a dying man? A man who will pass blissfully, gracefully, getting away with hurting me!! Non-sense. I shall feel no remorse. For all the pain that he has caused me, this is enough pay.  For every day that he has caused me pain. For every second he is dead, a second more that I feel happier.

Fotunato's POV
For what does it matter that I Fortunato have a cough? For all that matter at the moment is the Amontillado. For that is what we have come for. Isn't it?

Montresor's POV
That fool. He has no idea. Ha! Amontillado.  He thinks that I will share with him! After the thousand injuries that he has caused? No. He will die with my pain on his shoulders. how dare he steal from me. My fortunes. Thousands of dollars. Taken. Just like that. Well, your life is going to be taken. Just like that.

Fortunato's POV
This is perfect. What a great plan. I, the rich and wealthy Fortunato, will never run dry. For I, know where Montresor keeps his fortune. I have an endless supply of wealth . What a fool. Thinking I'm his friend. He disgusts me. He doesn't deserve this money. I do. I work. He doesn't.

Montresor's POV
Perhaps Fortunato isn't drunk enough. Should I dare waste more of my wine on my "friend"? More like a thief. Maybe I shall make as though I want to soothe his cough. Yes. Perfect...

Fortunato's POV
Oh my dear Montresor ....

Maleficent

Pages- 0 (just got it)
Prompt: Why did you choose this book and predict what you think will happen.

      Why did I choose this book? Well, multiple reasons. One is that I saw the movie. Now before you guys are like"BOOOOOO!!!! YOU RUINED THE BOOK!!!!! YOU CANT SEE THE MOVIES BEFORE THE BOOK." One, I didn't even know there was a book. Two, the book's cover is a movie poster so I think the book was written after the movie. Anyway, as soon as I saw the book, I got so excited. I new that I loved the movie so much so why wouldn't I like the book, right! So far, I haven't read anything because I have been super busy but I plan on reading a lot over the weekend.

     Another reason I want to read this book is because I wan't to see how different it is from the book. We all know that movies are never like the movie. They have the same plot, mostly, and characters and problems but never the exact same thing. They always change same thing. I think personally, seeing the movie before the book isn't that bad. When reading the book after seeing the book, you have the suspense of "what's different?!"

     Overall, I just thought that book would be really good. Suspense is something that I really love reading. It gets you going. Wanting you to turn every single page of the book until you find out who the evil person is what the secret is. I feel that the book is going to be amazing and is going to different from other fairy tales.

Youtube Channel

Troye Sivan

Marcus Butler

 











      The passion project is all about doing something you love to do and have a passion for. A lot of my friends know that I love youtube. I love watching people who crack me up and can put me in a good mood when in feeling down or upset. This is the reason that I want to start my own youtube channel. I feel that it would be so fun and something to keep me busy and something that let's me do what I want to do. Another reason I am so passionate about starting a youtube channel is because of my mother.

      My mother feels that Youtube is something stupid filled with people who never grow up and don't have a real job. I think that doing this would show her that youtube isn't all fun and games. When you first start off, you are all happy and you have so many video ideas. But after a while, you start losing those ideas and you have to be creative. Whether it is coming up with tags, challenges, DIY's everything. The inspiration that I got to want to come up with a youtube channel is because of people like Tyler Oakley, O2L, Troye Sivan,Caspar Lee,
Marcus Butler, Connor Franta, Miranda Sings, ETC. All these people have inspired me and my friend to make our own Youtube channel.

Connor Franta

Miranda Sings (character)

 









      When I think of it, I have been dreaming of making this channel since forever. Me and my friend have decided to make 2 channels. The first one would consist of DIY's (do it yourself's) Tags, Challenges,hair tutorials, crafty things, ETC. This channel would show our fun creative parts of us. Our second channel would be a more serious channel. It would mostly consist of bullying,school tips, school related stress, home problems, home related stress, all of it. Our videos would be us trying to help these people. I was thinking of sometimes doing a video were people would comment on a certain old video about problems they have and we would help them by answering the question in a new video.

Caspar Lee, O2l group 

Tyler Oakley

TIME TRAVEL!!!!

Q: Where would you go?

A: I would go to Germany.

Q:To which year or period would you travel?

A: I would go to 1935.
Q: Who would you want to meet or what event would you want to witness?

A: I would wan't to see Anne Frank and witness WW2 as it happened.

Q: Where would you find this person or see this event?

A: I would see Anne at her house in Frankfurt Weimar, Germany.

Q: Why would you want to meet this person or witness this event?
A: I would like to see this person so I could get a real life insight of 
WW2 and the holocaust.  
Also I would go and see Anne Frank because she was a very notable 
person who had a big impact on the world just because of her diary's. 

Q: How might YOU change history?

Anne Frank

A:  I think that I could change history by telling Anne, Give me your diary's. I would tell her they would show people the truth. How horrible it is living in hiding. Starving. I would tell her that these diary's could possibly let her live. I would take them to a place that makes books and show them to them. Maybe get her diary's into books then. If that wouldn't work, I would go out and show people  my self. Show them the truth about Hitler and how he wasn't all that great.

Characterization

Prompt:your blog post will be centered on direct and indirect characterization. Your focus question should be on how elements of a story interact with one another. For example, how does setting affect character or how does conflict drive character development.



     I think that every single part of of story interacts with each other. First lets talk about how setting affects a character. Lets say that our setting is Ireland and we have a character from America. The character won't know really anything about his setting thus making it harder to deal with any problem that involves the city it self such as finding clues and places. However, if we have a character who knows Ireland like the back of his hand, he would wiz through everything making the story really boring and dull.

     Another 2 parts that interact with a story is the conflict and character. People all care about their own things. Depending on what the problem is, people will react and put more effort in accomplishing the problem. 
if someone is passionate about the environment but someone thinks that helping war veterans is more of an issue, yes they will probably both donate their time to both things but will have more passion towards the one they think is more of an issue.

     The point I am trying to make is that a story and all of it elements are cause and effects. A chain reaction.If someone doesn't like something, less passion. If they do like something, more passion. Just like theme interacts with the problem. If the theme is being responsibility, the problem would be something like, what time does Jimmy need to start his homework instead of like, how manny apples were bought? Everything affects each other.

What Have I Learned About the World?- 10/17/14

Number of AOW's This Year- 5

How Much I have learned?- A Lot!

The Ebola Virus

     The world has some scary things in it.How are people supposed to be calm when there is a virus attacking every living things it can get to. How are we supposed to be happy when there is a terrorist group that could possibly kill a great potion of us at any given time. How are we supposed to have a relaxing weekend when there are people around the world being quarantined, killed, not getting an education! The answer is ... there is no answer. I have learned so many things this year that have given me the shivers. But, I think it's how we receive the information. If we find out that something horrible has happened when in a calm environment, you perceive it as a problem that can be handled. However, if we receive it during lots of commotion and panic, you perceive it as horrible and the end of humanity. (exaggeration) 

     When I first started doing AOW's this year, I thought that most of them would be happy and wonderful topics such as homelessness and death rates going down. But no. I learned about Ebola and Death row. Ebola is a deadly disease that has been killing thousands in West Africa and slowly making it's way to haunt America. From the very beginning I knew that eventually America would be affected. We have had cases in Ohio & Texas. Hospitals getting ready to treat Ebola in New York, Wisconsin, and Chicago for what could be, and epidemic. I guess that if you think of it, it's kind of amazing how people risking their lives for people that they don't even know. Also, Death Row was something that I sort of already knew about. Death row is the term used for people that have committed a crime so horrible or so big that they are killed for it. We learned that  120 people out of 3,000 people that are found "Guilty" are being killed because of false accusations. I told you the world is full of scary things.

This Year, ISIS has been brought to my attention. ISIS is a terrorist group that has been terrorizing parts of the Middle East. Places such as Pakistan and Iraq have been victims of ISIS and I learned that the Leader of it was let out of a heavily guarded prison and when walking out, he made remarks about seeing them in America again. Also, ISIS has been tweeting horrible messages such as "We are here #America near our #target :) sooooooooooooooon" and "A message from ISIS to US We are in your state, We are in your cities and We are in your streets." Followed by a picture of ISIS flag in front of the White House. When I first heard of this, I was mortified. What if they do attack. but then I realized, what if these people are wannabes. They just want attention. You can never really know. This first quarter has shacked me up sometimes but they can always be a little good in the bad like with the doctors and Ebola.

ISIS's Flag

Then and Now - A Blogger Reflection- 10.6.14

Then and now
Isabela J.
10.6.14

     Recently, I have been looking at all of my previous blogs from when I was a little writing munchkin. I noticed that when I first started writing in 7th grade, I chose prompts that related to to the books. These prompts included, "describe the characters based on other characters." or, "Write a journal entry as if you were a character reacting to their life, (what you just read)" instead of prompts that were based off of my opinion. Some blogs where I did this was with the the book, The Giver. I realized that I did this with this certain book because I had so many feelings and thoughts about it that if I did my opinion on this book, I would probably rant on and on and on. Now, I have realized I still do this. I get way onto something and support my opinions too much and can probably write forever about it.

     Also, when I was a munchkin, I concluded that I misspelled a lot of words and had a lot of grammatical errors. One blog I especially know I did this was for my blog on Kill Alex Cross. I had perceived that I had spelled the word kind or kinda as, kids. Or, that I had weird broken up sentences that didn't really make any sense. I noticed that I have a habit of writing too fast and not double checking. Now I notice that I have improved greatly with this problem but still have many grammatical errors. However, I do plan on improving on these things and hope my blogging gets better.

The Chocolate War- Robert Cormier- Tone Blog-10/1/14

Isabela J.
10/1/14
What type of writing techniques does the author use?
Pages- 0-43



     The Chocolate war. What a weird name for a book. Well, thats exactly what it is. This books takes place in a Catholic schools for boys. There can be no harm in a Catholic school, right? Well, in this school there isn't, but thats no because of the teacher. Or the rules. But for the Vigils. The Vigils is a "secret" group of boys that the teachers know about and the kids are scared of. The Vigils are kind of like the bullies that enforce their rules..? They assign assignments to kids in the lower grades and make them do things that the Vigils find "Funny" so they don't try and think to mess up the status quo. However, when one kid is picked to sell annual chocolates to raise money for the school, he refuses the Vigils and things get nasty. Now, Jerry Renault has to decide, "Do I dare disturb the universe?..."  As you could probably notice, the way I described this book is with questions,which is a style of writing. Every author has a style of writing whether it is by questions, word choice, format, anything. Thats what this blog is about. Style and mood.


      While reading, I noticed one really big part of the book is when we see an assignment be given out for the first time. During this part of the book, I noticed that the writer, Robert Cormier, used a lot of imagery and detail. One specific part that I remember reading where we see this is when the author starts describing the setting of the meeting, and how he uses descriptive words and explains the lightbulb hanging in the room,"---private, the solitary entrance easily guarded, and dim, lit by a single bulb dangling from the ceiling, a 40-watt bulb that bestowed only a feeble light on the proceedings." I think this is a good quote to show style in writing because he described the lightbulb using words like "Feeble." I think that this is a good showing of Cormier, because you really don't see words like that in modern literature.


     Another thing I want to talk about is mood. Mood is the way you feel after you read a book or a part of the book. One part that made so tense and curious is when Archie, the person who gives the assignments, is beating around the bush about an assignment he is going to give to a kid named, Goubert or as they call him, The Goober. Robert describes the way the kids are acting and all the tension in the room that it makes you feel like you are right there waiting to see what is going to happen. The exact part of the book I am talking about is right here,someone snickered. Archie stiffened, shot a look at cCarter=r, a withering look that said, tell them to cut the crap. Carter snapped his fingers, which sounded in the the quite storage room=m like the banging of a gavel." I picked this part because you can tell how instantly the mood in the book is and you feel as if you were part of the vigils.
   



   


   

   

The Giver- Vlog

Pretty Little Liars: Book 3 : Perfect-Sara Shepard

Pages- 5
Prompt: What songs would represent the main characters?

How the books
Pictured the girls.

How the show pictured
the girls.

      Well, we all know, everyone is different and everyone has a different personality. The characters in my book; Alison, Emily, Spencer, Aria, and Hannah are very different. Alison is a very frilly girl. She likes all the girly things like the color pink, Paris, sparkles, tiaras, everything. But she has a mean dirty side to her. I feel that her song would be, Dirty Little Secret by The All American Rejects. I feel that this song is perfect for Ali (her nickname in the book) because Ali is a very secretive person. If you have any suspicion, she will taunt you with the secret an dangle it right under you nose. Emily is sooooo different from Ali. She's more of a sporty,shy, curl up and read a book girl. I feel that her song would be The Rocky Theme Song.  I feel that this perfectly resembles Emily because she is very competitive and athletic, especially with swimming. She will train for weeks before the swimming season starts and will never miss practice unless some one is dying or maybe for a little romance swim in the lake. (a little hint of book two)

   












      I think Spencer is a touchy subject. I feel that she has around maybe 2 songs. I feel that her whole life is surrounded by people, especially her mother, telling her what to do. She has to go to Princeton. She HAS to get good grade. She HAS to athletic. She HAS TO BE PERFECT. So, I feel that one of her songs would be Mother Knows Best from Tangled. This song is perfect for Spencer's surrounding and life. But like I said I think Spencer is capable of another song. I feel that really any classical music is perfect for Spencer. She has been in this type of environment for her whole life and she has also kind of  grown onto this concept of being perfect! She lives, breaths,and thinks of this idea.

     Hannah is a very glitzy girl. She loves to shop, dress up, and use makeup. She's as you can say, an average girl.But she didn't use to be. she used to be really chunky but changed herself over the summer her best friend went missing. I feel that the perfect song that would represent her would be Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper. I think that this sing is perfect for Hannah because she lives for fun. Party, dancing and all the fun things. I think that this song perfectly
describes a girly girl.

     And Lastly, one of my most favorite characters, Aria. She is a very creative, artsy, different person. She's not an average girl. She will wear a party dress, fish-net stockings, and 5 inch high heels to picture day at school. As you can tell, she is a very UNIQUE person. Personally, I feel that here is no song to grasp all the different sides of Aria. she has so many characteristics ti her no song could rap it all up. If I had to pick one song to describe her artsy personality, I think that it would have to be Chandelier by Sia. I think that this shows her artsy side because the song itself is SO different. A different music video as well. The interpretive
dance is something that Aria would love.





   

If I Stay 9/10/14 (Imagery blog)

Pages read- 173 out of 234



     This book is very different from other books, at least to me because it pretty much is made up of all imagery. We are like ghosts and we only see whats happening but we can't really do anything about it. One really good piece of imagery is in the beginning, "I wake up in the morning to a think blanket if white covering our lawn." Although this is a small piece of imager, it shows us what time of year it is,around winter, thats its cold. We can infer that it is slippery out side which will play a major role later in the book.

     Another smaller piece of imagery is, "I call, but as I walk towards him, the pavement grown slick and there are gray chunks of what look like cauliflower" and "pieces of my fathers brain is on the asphalt." These two pieces of imagery kind of give us a look at how bad this crash was. It gives us an insight on what the are they are in looks like.

     Lastly, one really good piece of imagery that I found is this quote right here, (this is a flashback where a minor character is describing her funeral) " Without missing a beat, Willow said : Play 'P.S. You Rock My World' by the Eels, And I want one of those green funerals where they bury you in the ground under a tree. So the funeral itself would be in nature, and no flowers." Or how her mother wants her funeral to look like. "I my ideal situation my bighearted pushover husband and I die quickly and simultaneously when we are ninety-two years old. i'm not sure how. Maybe we're on a safari on Africa- 'cause in the future, we're rich; hey its my fantasy- we come down with some exotic sickness and go to sleep one night feeling fine and then we never wake up. And no James Taylor. Mia plays at our funeral. If, that is, we tear her aways from the New York Philharmonic." These two pieces of Imagery are very good because they give us an insight on what type of people Mia had in her life. (Mia is the main character.) This shows us they thoughts and likes and dislikes and the personalities of the people in her life.

Books, Books, Books, and More Books! 9.2.14

During my school time, I have always been told to always have a book with me. I have had books that I loved and that I hated. These next ten books have made me enjoy reading and have made me look at life of things a different way.

1) Thirteen Reasons Why :  Jay Asher
This books is one of my all time favorite books because of story of the main character , Hannah , that has been bullied and in a depression for a while and because of it, killed herself. Throughout the story, we follow a boy , Clay Jensen , that has received tapes of Hannah explaining why she killed herself and everyone she made a tape of is a reason why she decided to take her life away. This book makes you feel like your actually listening to the tapes. You are actually part of the book. When I read this in 7th grade, I remember, I was addicted.



2) Hunger Games Series: Suzzane collins
The Hunger Games series are definetaly unique. Through out the three book series, we follow the lives of Katniss Everdeen, and Peeta Mellak as they deal with the hunger games, TWICE, and battling with the capital to get Peeta back. When I first heard of this series, I thought it was really dumb at that it was going to be boring. I tried reading them twice and got so bored. After a while I went t a garage sale and saw all three books for sale and the were SUPER cheap. When I got them, I automatically started reading them and I was hooked

3) Pretty Little Liars & Flawless: Sara Shepard
The two books are AMAZING. As we read these books we follow Spencer Hastings, Aria Montomgery, EmilyFields , and Hanna Marrin as they are haunted about there best friend, Alison Delaurentis, and her kidnapping, by someone named "A". I heard of this series through the hit T.V. show Pretty Little liars. These books are riveting and will make you turn very page until you finish them. There are 12 books in the series and I am currently reading the third one. I love these books and the show. - A




4) If I Stay: Gayle Forman
This book is something completely unique. I am currently in the middle of it but so far it has really made me think about what I have, In this book, we learn about Mia, a cellist that has a wonderful family, and wonderful boyfriend and a wonderful life. This is all until she gets in a car crash and it all goes away. Her mother, father, and brother, Teddy, have all died. She is stuck in this state where she can see everything but no one can se her. During all this chaos she has to decide if she wants to live or die. This book it one of those books that make you stop and think. "Wow, I have a great life, family, and friends." I want to see the movie but of course you cant see the movie without reading the books!!

5) Of Mice and Men: John Steinbeck

This book has so many feelings in it that I can barely describe it.  In this book we see Lennie Small ( actually a really big guy)  and Milton as they go out and try to make enough money to live out there dream where they will have a small house with a wood burning stove and rabbits and trees and everything you can imagine. When they arrive to a ranch to work it seems that for a while, they will be able to accomplish there dream until Lennie gets himself into trouble and something huge is the punishment. When I first saw this book, I thought that it was going to be really boring and dumb. However, this book was actually very interesting and had cliff hangers at the end of every chapter.

6) The Giver : Lois Lowry
This books. I cant even explain exactly how GOOD it was. This books takes place in the future where everything is the same. Same food, same clothes, same social class, everything. One day we meet Jonas, an eleven year old boy who is about to turn twelve and get his job assignment he will have forever. On the day of the ceremony, Jonas gets a job that is very very rare. He has been assigned to "The giver" The Giver is a man/woman that has remembrance of all world memories and has to pass them onto every new giver that comes.

7) The Pigeon series : Mo Williams

These books were probably why I woke up in first grade,. These were the most funniest, craziest, but dumbest books EVER! Each book has a recurring character, the pigeon. Each book talked about not letting the pigeon do something like stay up lat, eat a hot dog, or drive a bus. The way that pigeon would react would crack me up. I think it was because all of the sarcasm that the pigeon would have to other small characters. These books will always be dear to my heart.
                                               

Prisoner B-3087- Alan Gratz
This book is based on true events. this takes place in WW2 where we follow Jack Gruener as he has to deal with losing his parents, his home and living on his own. One day he is taken away and is sent to horrible work camps, death camps, and death marches, This book made me cry multiple times because of the horrible things that
happened to this little boy that grows up knowing barely anything about a happy life or a nice person. Throughout this books we see Jack grow up, fall in love, and learn how to grow up. I personally really loved this book because it gave me a deeper insight on the Holocaust and what people went through

9) Esperanza Rising : Pam Munoz Ryan

The reason this book made me fall in love with it was because it made me think. People that were like me, (Mexican) used to have to leave there family  in mexico, some to America expecting big things and having to work back breaking hours with little pay, and bad housing conditions. this all happens to Esperanza and her family as the come to America after her father is killed by bandits and her mother had to marry her husbands kinda creepy brother to stay in the house they live in or they have to leave after her house burns down.
 I read this book in fifth grade and really really really loved it.

10) I Wish to be a Christmas Tree : Colleen Monroe

This book was and still is my favorite childrens book no matter what. This book tells you about a HUGE tree that lives on a tree farm that has seen his friends go and become christmas tres. All he wishes is for a family to pick hi, take him home, and decorate him for christmas and love him. All he feels is leftout. One night when he is possibly the saddest he has every been, the farms animals gather up leaves, pine cones,berries, ETC. to decorate their beloved friend to show him that he is love and to them, their christmas tree. This book game me an early look on feeling left out but that you need to know that you have friends that love you.

Summer reading post number 4 - Pretty-Little-Liars- By sarah sheperd

Prompt:Pick a character(s) that you feel is similar to you in a way
Finished

     I feel that i am like Aria Montgomery. Me and her always have questions to ask. We are always very curious about things. When a person mentions something but then says "NEVER MIND" we both become anxious to kn ow what it is. If you don't want us to know, why did you mention it. We will demand to know what it is.

     Another way reason on why I feel that I am like Aria is because of our fashion sense. Me and Aria both have a different but unique styles. Aria is very into lacy,dark,red clothing. Although I am a very bright person who loves lace, I still match different colors with different things, but we both know when something doesn't look right.

     The last I feel that I am like are is in our friends. Aria has Spence- the preppy,out together, fancy friend, Emily- the sporty,plain (in the sense of no sparkle or too bright clothing), and funny friend, and Lastly, Hannah- the glamorous, bright, sparkly and very up to date in fashion friend. I feel that I have these types of friends.Although they don't have all the qualities that I listed, they do all share different qualities
with the character.
   

The Walking dead, Book one. (summer reading post #3) !*Spoilers*!

     The walking dead novels is a series that I believe is still on going. It is a series of graphic novels that correspond to the show on T.V. In the first book, I realized that there is so much in the book that either isn't in the show or happens earlier or later. One big difference in the the book is that Daryl Dixon, a big character in the show, hasn't appeared. This came to a shock to me because his role in the show is so important that it is surprising that they would just make up a random character.

     Another big difference between the show and book is the death of a once main character, Shane Walsh.
In the show, The death of Shane happened at the second camp they settled into. A farm where you meet the characters, Maggie Greene, Hershel Greene,Otis, and many more minor characters. However, the death of Shane in the graphic novel takes place in the very first camp the group settles into right outside of Atlanta, Georgia. One similarity though is that Shane died in the show and in the books by getting in a fight with Rick Grimes, another main character in the show, over power over the camp and many other things that Rick supposedly "Stole" from Shane after arriving to the camp after being in the hospital for multiple weeks during the zombie apocalypse due to police business.

     Lastly, I realized that in the books, there are so many relationships that are not put into the show. in the books, a character named Tyreese, seen on the show, falls in love with another character, Carol who is also seen on the show. I was so surprised that this relationship was never or at least has been put off in the show. The relationship is so important in the book because it gives a bad "first impression" on Michonne, a MAJOR character in the graphic novels and the show because Tyreese cheats on Carol with Michonne who knew that the two of them were together.

     So, Overall I have realized that The show and ythe books of the Walking dead are very similar but are also  very different.

After Ever After: Summer reading challenge Post #2

After Ever After
Finished
Prompt:Pick a character(s) from the book and describe how he/she is like one or you own family members.


     When reading this book, I realized that on character stood out to me. This character is Tad. Tad is a 13 year old boy who had cancer. Due to cancer, he was put in a wheelchair. Tad is a very sarcastic person who puts up walls to certain people. Tad is also one of those people that if he accepts you, he is a very kind genuine person. I feel that Tad is very similar to my brother in the sense of personality.

     My brother Marco, and Tad are both people that seem kind of intimidating at times. They can be super serious but they can both be super super funny.Both Tad and my brother are people that love love love sarcasm. They sort of have sarcasm as a daily routine. Another way Tad and Marco are very similar is how they treat there sisters.

     Every single brother in the world that has a younger sibling wither it be a sister or brother tease them. Tad and my brother love to tease their sisters (me.) They call us names boss us around and tell us that we are bothering them but deep down, I now that my Brother loves me and deep down, Tads sister knows that he loves her. These are just some of the ways that Tad and my brother Marco are similar.

Summer blog posts #1 - "After Ever After" *SPOILERS*

Prompt: Pick your 2 favorite parts of the book and describe why you like them.
Pages: FINISHED

     When I was reading After Ever After, I fell in love with multiple parts, and I wanted to cry at some parts.Overall I loved this book,but there were some parts I loved the most. MY first favorite part was when Tad, one of the main characters, showed up the New Jersey state education system and refused to take the state test if it meant it might hold you back a year if you don't pass. My second favorite part of this book was when Jeff, another main character, accepted Tad's middle school diploma at their 8th grade graduation because Tad hap relapsed and had gotten Cancer again, and sadly, died.

     The reason I love it when Tad stands up against the New Jersey education system is because of how brave Tad was. Tad was a boy who could hardly walk and is a person that really only care for himself, it takes a lot of courage to do something like that. The reason I also lot this part in the story is because he did this whole thing for his friend, Jeff. Jeff had brain damage from his cancer treatment and it made math super super hard for him and math was part of the statewide tests.

     The reason I love the part when Jeff accepts Tad's diploma is because Tad and Jeff had been soooooo much and after Tad's death, he had broken down.Tad and Jeff were so close to the point where Jeff thought he could never move on and when he walked up to the stand, he realized that Tad was still with him and that nothing could change that.

MILKWEED

Prompt:Draw 4 objects that represent your reading. Write a paragraph for each, telling
what each item has to do with your reading.

pages read:33-59

This wee for my last blog, I wanted to do something that has to do with drawing since I really didn't do much with drawing this year. 

So, I found this prompt and decided to pick my 4 images to be 1)The Nazi sign & Jackboots 2) The Jewish star 3) a miniature glass dog 4) A yellow ston on a necklace.

The reason I decided to do the Nazi sign and Jackboots is because in the book, the Holocaust is going on and the Nazi's are ruling a lot of Poland. Particularly Warsaw Poland where my main character is living in. The reason for the Jackboots is because the main characters, Uri and Misha, call the the nazi's that invaded their town Jackboots because of the boots they are wearing. That is pretty much their label.

The reason I drew the Jewish star is because the main character, Misha, is out at night and then witnesses the Kristallnacht (Nigh of Broken Glass). This was when a bunch of german people grouped up and went to Jewish houses, stores,cars, ETC. to cause mayhem and damage. If people did not break the glass, in the book, the people would draw the star of the front window and tell people no to eat,spend time, or spend money there. Misha then goes on to tell himself that he is glad to be a Gypsy and not a Jew.

I drew a small glass dog to represent the relationship Misha has with a young Jewish gir. Misha met this little girl by going into her garden one day and eating her tomatoes. After their first encounter, he would bring a loaf of bread to her backdoor everyday/week and waiting for him would be a small little present that the little girl would leave for him.

lastly, I drew a yellow stone on a necklace to represent the only thing that Misha has from his family that he doen;t even remember. The necklace primarily is for Gypsies just like how the Jewish star is for Jews. This stone is important because it is all he has of his past. He doesn't even remember his real name.

My 40 Book challenge!!!

     This year was a pretty good year for my 40 Book Challenge. I have been introduced to many new genres that I normally would not read,like Historical fiction, or poetry, scifi, and Mystery. Overall, including the book that I am almost done with, I have read 10 books. I know this seems like very little bu compared to last year where I only read 3, I have excelled a lot.  I feel that I have gone into more difficult and higher level books where it may take me a little while to fully understand what I just read. When I was in 6th grade, I would read books with really big print or graphic novels. This year I have gotten out of that habit and reading longer thicker books.

     Thinking about the 40 Book Challenge in 8th grade is kind of making me excited. I have come to loving books a lot more and it I actually enjoy doing it in my free time! I have a feeling that I actually will excel over how many books I read this year, next year in 8th grade. I will be exposed to even more books, books that i truly never thought I will read. Do I know what type? No. I guess I will just have to wait and see. Personally, I can't wait until 8th grade!