Friday, February 4, 2011
Independent Reading...
Wonderful students... it's time to reflect on the books you have just finished reading on your own. Please answer the following question in a 500-word (minimum) response: "Please describe the main character and his/her conflict in your novel; then comment on how that conflict relates to your experience or the contemporary experience of any 14-year-old reader today."
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I had started reading the Mediator series, I have finally read the last novel. Sixteen year old Susannah Simons experiences the most challenging yet amazing moments of her life. From kissing a dead ghost to wrestling with one. She is a mediator basically a liaison between the living and the dead. In other words she sees dead people. She has gotten used to ghosts ever since she was two. They wake her up in the middle of the night. They haunt her locker at school. She has even spotted a few down at Carmel beach. Communicating with the dead is all in a day's work for her. She is tall looking, brunette, and light skinned. Her father had died when she was small. She had moved California with her mum, Stepfather, and her three stepbrothers for a fresh start. In her new bedroom Susannah finds a really hot guy.....Too bad he was a ghost and no one could see him besides her. In this novel Susannah does experience some very hardships with her friends, family and Jesse the hottest and greatest ghost of all time. The biggest problem Susannah faces is Paul. Paul is Susannah's creepy admirer. He and Susannah discover that the powers they can share aren't limited to helping ghosts resolve their woes. But they can also determine weather or not they become ghosts in the first place, Suze can't help but freak out. The only problem with Paul is that he wants Susannah to himself. Ever since he has discovered the gift he can share with Susannah, he is hell-bent on making her and Jesse ancient history. He threatens her to travel back in time and stop Jesse from dying so he and Susannah wont be able to meet. Susannah also travels back in time and fights for Jesse. She had to choose between allowing the only guy she has ever loved to have the life he was longed for. Or keep him anchored forever in half-life at her side. But then again Jesse also had to choose if wanted to live without her or die to love her. While Susannah was in the other dimension she accidentally brings Jesse back to life. He is then rushed to the hospital and treated. Jesse had chosen to die loving Susannah however he didn't die. He also became a mediator. Since Jesse was alive he asks Susannah to prom and they danced their night away happily under the night sky.
ReplyDeleteWell, I personally think that I cannot relate to Susannah’s experiences because i have never seen ghosts and I don’t talk to them. However there are many 14 year old readers that sometimes do experience times like Susannah. However on a very rare case. I would like to recommend this novel to mostly thirteen and fourteen year old girls that like to read about romance and thriller. This is such a great novel and I think that some guys should read it. It is not too much like the twilight series but I would recommend it to most people out there.
I have just finished reading the book Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
ReplyDeleteMy novel is about how this girl called Lizzie has graduated from college and she decides to take a vacation to England to go and see her boyfriend while her best friend is in Paris organizing a wedding and staying in this really big house. Lizzie then discovers that her boyfriend is not who he acts out to be and he is just using her for her money. Lizzie then takers a train to Paris where she discovers this very attractive guy who she meets at the train station and he helps her get her internship in fashion school in Paris where they live happily ever after a successful wedding.
I personally don’t have any connection with this novel because I don’t believe in love and running after guys when you haven’t even seen his face or if they live a million miles away. I personally don’t feel as if this story was real and it didn’t really connect with anything to do with my life right now or ever and the fact that she even has a boyfriend a million miles away is just not very intelligent.
I don’t feel as if any 14 year old would relate to this and actually have a personal experience like this because we are young we are early teens, we have no idea what we’re doing, there is no way that anyone’s parents would allow them to go visit there boyfriend in England and spend the whole summer with him.
The book was very interesting even though I don’t relate to it. It couldn’t put the book down because I was always wondering what would happen next liked this book and hope to read similar books in the future.
The book I have read is called The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. The main character is a girl called Macy and her and her family is trying to recover from their father’s death. He died of a heart attack and what's worse is that Macy was there when it happened. Every day she tries to act as if everything is perfect, she puts on a smile and tells everyone that she's fine. When deep down inside she's hurt. Now that its summer vacation, she has to be away from her oh so perfect boyfriend who's away at brain camp, so without school and her boyfriend she needs to try and keep busy so that she doesn't think about her dad too much. Everyone has their own way of grieving. Some people cry about it, or do things to keep them busy at all costs. Macy never really cried when her father died. She wanted to be the strong one out of her mother and sister.
ReplyDeleteMacy has always been the perfect daughter. She's extremely intelligent, has a high GPA, and is tall with blonde hair. Since she was always at home doing her homework, Macy never really had time to socialize with the rest of the teenagers in her grade. She preferred to stay in at home do the laundry and study for her SAT's. But when she finally starts working for Wishes (a catering company) she meets a gorgeous black haired guy called Wes who she learns also lost a parent (mother) so they could understand each other. She also makes some new friends called Kristy and Monica. These new friends finally open her up to have some fun and go to parties. Macy thinks that it's great that she's changing but her mother doesn't agree. When her boyfriend Jason decides to take a break all because Macy finally expressed her feelings about how she feels about him to him, she becomes closer with Wes and realizes that having the perfect smart boyfriend wasn't what she needed. She wanted Wes. But when her mother finds out that Wes went to Juvenile Hall from getting into some trouble with his friends she doesn't want Macy to hang out wit her new friends or even work in Wishes. Macy doesn't want to go back to her old boring life and now that she has to work as an assistant for her mom, things are getting hard. Macy's mom is the type of mom that’s always on the phone making business plans and is always working and never taking a break. Macy thinks that this is her mom's way of forgetting about her dad. She hasn’t really talked to her mom about it as much as she'd like to. Her mom doesn't give her much attention yet; she always pays attention to her clients and people on the phone. But somehow it all works out in the end, Macy opens up to her mom, she ends up with Wes and gets her mom to finally take a break at their beach house.
How this book relates to a fourteen year old will probably be the way some people get over a lost relative in different ways like crying or keeping busy. Also the experience of making new friends and going out for parties. Another thing that 14 year olds can relate to is making the right choice on who to date and who means a lot to you. I would strongly recommend this book to 14 year olds because even though it’s kind of a sad story it has a happy ending.
The book I have just concluded is called Halt's Peril by John Flanagan. This book is the ninth installment of the Ranger's Apprentice series about a young boy that trains to be in an elite Ranger Corps that ensures peace and safety within the Kingdom. That young boy is now 16 and his name is Will Treaty. As a fully accepted Ranger he is assigned his own territory to oversee. Now the time comes for a gathering of all members and at that gathering he is given a mission to aid his old mentor, Halt. The mission involves hunting down a cult that tricks people into donating money to build a fake altar to their fake God. Now to trick people they have a hired group of bandits to harass the community continuously. The cult leader explains the only way to make the harrassment stop is to worship their God and to donate money. That is their scam. The story picks up from the last book where Will and Halt have just revealed the cult for who they really are. The remains of the cult scatters into Picta a nearby country. So the hunt continues. The two Rangers cross the border into Picta to find that the leader of the cult Tennyson has started his scam once again but on the people of another country. So the Rangers are desperate to take down this man once and for all. Once again the cult is on the run but Genovesans, assassins of Tennyson set up an ambush for the Rangers. But Rangers are known for their skill in tracking and remaining concealed so they realize something is up and tread cautiously. They come to a forest with thick trees and heavy vegetation. The duo proceed with caution darting from cover to cover. They see a flash of purple cloth and a bolt is sent flying from a crossbow in the dark and embeds itself into Halts chest. As it turns out the crossbow bolt was poisoned. Now it is a race against time for Will to find the one man that can heal his mentor back to health. He rides day and night to save his friend but when he returns with the healer Malkallam they discover there are two variants to the poison and if the wrong antidote is administered Halt will die. So they set out to capture one of the assassins and they eventually do, forcing the information out of the crossbowman. So with Halt healed and the assassins out of the picture they manage to catch up to Tennyson and bring the cult down once and for all.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be impossible for me to relate to this as nobody I know has been poisoned. But it was a good moment for thrills in the book to see was he going to survive or would it be too late. General readers of this being my age would feel the same way but the commitment of trying to save someones life is huge. Normally people would give up when things become complicated but this book does teach us to persevere and get to that goal no matter what obsticles are in the way. For people looking for a thrilling, adventurous and humourous book i would really recommend the series itself not just the book. Because why start with Book 9 instead of 1?
I ran out of books to read so I decided to read a book recommended by my mum, the Doomsday Conspiracy. In that book, the main character is called Robert Bellamy. He is a navy commander who is sent on an impossible mission to find 10 unknown tourists who witnessed a weather balloon crash. Throughout the novel, Sydney Sheldon conveys Bellamy’s conflict extremely well. Bellamy is fighting himself, his government, his beliefs and the man who stole his wife away.
ReplyDeleteBellamy is in conflict with himself because he is an emotional wreck after his wife left him. He got too carried away with his work that he let his marriage take second place to his career. He is continuously blaming himself for losing his wife, but he has no time to mourn. He is always being sent on different assignments in different parts of the world so he cannot concentrate on anything except his work life.
Bellamy is told that it was a weather balloon that crashed, but the witnesses say that it was a UFO. As he progresses to find the rest of the witnesses, they all start telling him that it was a UFO that crashed and that there were aliens inside of it. Bellamy does not know whether or not to believe them or his own sane belief. What these people are saying is insane because they are talking about UFOs and aliens, but Bellamy is given a logical explanation to what landed; a weather balloon. However, if every witness says that it is a UFO, then there are probably other forces at work here.
Bellamy is fighting his government because they are ruining his marriage and not telling him the whole story for his missions. His government is telling him that it was a weather balloon that crashed and that he needed to find the witnesses of this crash because there was top secret technology on that balloon. But when the first witness is found, Bellamy is told that it was a UFO that crashed. He calls the government and he is told the truth that it actually was a UFO. However, all the witnesses he finds mysteriously start dying. They are being killed because of a conspiracy. They were not allowed to know about the aliens and their warnings. Another conflict with the government is that Bellamy trusts Admiral Whitaker. Whitaker plays a father-like role to Bellamy. However Bellamy finds out that Whitaker is the leader of this conspiracy and that Whitaker sent Bellamy on an impossible mission that ruined his marriage and made Bellamy more work-focused. If Bellamy can’t trust a father figure, who can he trust?
Finally, Bellamy is in conflict with Money Bags (Monty Banks), a rich man who stole Bellamy’s wife away from him. Bellamy trusted his wife and she was the only figure that showed true affection to him. Bellamy continuously shows hate towards Monty Banks about how he is just a poser and he is truly not who he seems. His wife doesn’t believe him, but Bellamy ends up being right.
The conflict does not relate too much to a 14 year-old reader because this book was made for an older audience because there are very intimate scenes during the course of the novel and an average teenager may have trouble understanding where the plot fits in with the conflict.
I recently started reading one of Jacqueline Wilson’s books called Love Lessons. Like most of her books, this story relates to a teenage girls life in many ways. The story talks about Prudence, a 14 year old girl who goes through each and every day hating her dad along with her little sister Grace. Both of the girls have been home schooled as far as they can remember and its something their hoping will change. However, a man from called Mr Miles from a certain education authority comes to their house every once in a while stating their father doesn’t have the right education to teach them. At one point he even asks prudence where she’d like to go and she end up by saying art college which angers her dad. Prudence starts getting math tutoring by an old lady called Miss Roberts that confuses her rather than explains anything so she decides to stop going and starts saving up her money to get herself and Grace a few treats that their parents would never let them have.
ReplyDeleteOne day the whole family sits down for a normal breakfast that turns out being the complete opposite. There’s a knock on the door and it’s the postman with a letter for Prudence’s dad from Miss Roberts saying Prudence hasn’t been coming to lessons for a while! This automatically sets the family into fight mode, especially in her dad’s case, even causing him to have a stroke and have to be hospitalized! Since their dad is in hospital there is no one else to teach them, seeing as their mother is in complete shock, therefore their only way of getting in less trouble with Mr Miles is by enrolling into a school. They end up having to go to Wentworth, the school they’ve been dreading the most because all the other are full. The two girls have to take some type of assessment and Grace passes with flying colors while Prudence fails miserably due to her mathematics grade. Prudence is then placed in a class with a lot of underachievers, making her feel even worse. However, as the weeks go by she realizes she’s felt a certain something for her art teacher, Rax, since the first day the two met, seeing has he is young and the only one she can really talk to. “Prudence starts babysitting for Rax’s children and finds herself longing for the ten minutes they have alone together as he drives her home. “ But can she really act out the way she’s feeling, seeing as it it so wrong in everyway. At one point in the book prudence ends up thinking “ For one magical moment I thought he was going to kiss me…” showing how much she was really starting to like him. From Jacqueline Wilson’s point of view I would say this is just one of the problem’s she’s chosen from a normal teenager’s life. Prudence is lonely and has no special person to comfort her when she feels sad, then all of a sudden she meets someone that is not only kind to her, but also makes her feel somewhat wanted and exceptional, relating to most 14- year old experiences when it comes to secret crushes and so on. A lot of life experiences often inspire authors in many ways translating the emotions into the book, capturing the readers at the same time, which is what Jacqueline Wilson’s words did when it comes to teenagers. I would recommend this book mainly to teenage girls, because it ended up being an interesting book that I wouldn’t mind reading again anytime soon.
I have just finished reading the novel "Word Nerd". I would say that it is a good novel by Susin Nielsen but as good. The protagonist of this book is Ambrose who is twelve year old kid who is allergic to peanuts and lives with his mom in the basement of a house. His dad had died when he was small, and because of that his mom is not in a very good condition, because of which Ambrose dosen't get "all" the good things. At the begenning of the novel the three school bullies slip a peanut into Ambrose's sandwich. Without noticing the peanut Ambrose eats the sandwich and finds that there is peanut in it and later on finds himself in the hospital. He then tells his mom Irene about it and the bullies get in trouble. After a meeting with the bullies, Irene, and the Principle the bullies are put to do work for the rest of the month afterschool as a punishment and their parents had been notified. After that incident Irene Ambrose's mom takes him out of the school and decides that Ambrose will now be home schooled. Later on their house owner calls them for dinner and they have to go. They were two old people and their names were Mr. and Mrs. Economopouloses. Ambrose used to call them Mr. and Mrs.E. THey had three children. Two of them were well educated but one was in the jail. One day the guy from the jail shows up and surprises the E's.They called him Cosmo and then just went and hugged him. Then Ambrose started to think why was he in jail and asked his mom one day. Then she tells him that she dosen't know and told him not to know. Curious Ambrose tries to figure it out and when his mom is gone out to work he notices that Cosmo is outside and then goes to ask him. He first tells him that he killed 12 year olds that's why. Well Ambrose knew he was joking so another day he asked him again and he said that he broke into someone's house. So that was the reason Ambrose had bee getting worried for. I forgot to mention that Ambrose is very good at scrabble and it is the only thing he is good at and he knows it because he always beats his mom. Well one day he saw a poster saying thaty there is a scrabble club which anyone can join. Well he tears off the poster and keeps it in his pocket and when one day his mo says that she will be arriving late from work he asks Cosmo to take him there. At first Cosmo says no but later on he convinces him and they go. There Cosmo finds this girl which he falls in love with. Then Ambrose also losses 2 games out of 3 and feels very sad for it. Then Ambrose throughout the novel goes out every friday with Cosmo and Amanda without telling his mom. I think that it relates because now a days in every book of our level the protagonists are trying to do something with hiding something from someone which makes it pretty interesting for the reader to read the novel and find out that if they will get caught or not.
ReplyDeleteI am now on my second book in the series House of Night. Betrayed introduces some of the new enemies to the Protagonist and portrays the old ones as her friends. Zoey soon learns that after her best and first friend in the house of night rejects the change into a vampire along with many other students, that her mentor and high priestess Neferttiti may have a lot more to do with the deaths than she claims. More accusations begin to rise at the already hated students at the school of human killings and Zoey finds herself (being the leader of the dark daughters) hoarded by the press and police. Alone and confused she seems to only find comfort in her grandmother Amy Redbird who has always been there for her since the split of her parents and re-marriage of her mother to her horrible Christian step-dad. As if that’s not enough tensions begin to rise with her all too perfect boyfriend Derek. He accuses her of having an affair with her human ex Heath who cant seem to get that they are no longer together. By the end of the novel Zoey and the vampire goddess Patricia come to the conclusion of destroying the high priestess Neferttit. However will it be possible to destroy the most powerful woman in the vampire world? The plot continues in Chosen.
ReplyDeleteP.C. CAST + Kristen Cast
The book Fever 1793 was about a young girl named Mattie in Philadelphia. She lives and works in a coffee house with her mom, granddad,and maid Eliza. One day one of the helpers, Polly died of yellow fever. However, they do not believe that it is yellow fever, so they do not go anywhere. When more and more people get sick, including Mattie’s mom, Mattie and her Grandpa ride a wagon and try to go to their cousin’s house in the country. On the way, they pass through a village and their doctor diagnoses Grandpa with Yellow Fever. The wagon leaves them, and Mattie has to try and keep Grandpa healthy. In the process, she gets sick and collapses. She wakes up in Bush Hill, a place where patents are taken care of. She stays there a few days, and then she and her Grandpa go home. Grandpa does not feel good still, so when they get to her house, Grandpa lays on the bed, and goes to sleep. During the night, they are robbed, and the grandfather is killed. Mattie buries him, and walks around the city. She finds a girl named Nell, whose mother had died. Then she finds Eliza, and stays with her husband Joseph. While she’s there, their two kids, Robert and William, and Nell, all get the disease. While they are being treated, they bring them to Mattie’s house. While she is there, it starts to snow, which means yellow fever is over. Mattie then becomes partners with Eliza with the coffee house. Her Mom is found, and she learns that she was in the country. And they lived happily ever after.
ReplyDeleteThe main conflict that Mattie goes through has to deal with the disease. Many people that she knows and loves get sick due to the yellow fever. First, one of her house helps dies of the disease, and she is then devastated by the lost. Then, Mattie’s mom gets the disease, and becomes gravely ill. This is another big lost in her life, because she thinks she is going to die. She has to leave the city, not knowing if she is safe, which has a devastating effect on her. Then her only family left, her grandpa gets yellow fever, so they are not able to enter any other city. After all these events and more happen to her, she is still able to keep her composure and keep her character. Even though she has nothing, she is still willing to help other people and families to stay safe. This shows you what kind of character she must have. She is kind, helpful, and always ready to do the right thing. Mattie learns that even if you are counted down and out, you can still get back up and do what’s right.
I think in a 14 year olds life, this type of experience occurs many times a day, around the world. Many kids lose a loved one for quite some time. Whether it is family, a close friend, or someone you just happen to know. They are sicken by illness, have to go somewhere for their job, or is affected by a tragedy. The real challenge is being able to be our self, even if we are faced with such diversity. If you can keep your character in that situation, that is a good way to judge your character. Many people become depressed and distant when they hear such grave news, which they have a right to do. Many people handle bad news this way, so it is not really a negative reflection on character. However, it is much harder to hear that kind of news, and still be the same person you always are. If you are willing to help other people with similar problems, it shows a much better side of your character. It shows that can face adversity head on, and come out victorious. After, having a good character is what we all want, no matter the situation.
The final book of a series brings mixed feelings to the reader. The reader feels happy and relieved because they have finally finished the story. They have learnt the truth about the characters, and the period of time where the author has kept them in the dark over what will happen at the end is over. They know it all. However, the reader also feels a bit disappointed because there will be no more books with these characters and setting. They have to move on and find another series to indulge into. These are the feelings I felt after I finished the book “Pendragon: The Soldiers of Halla”. The book brought an end to the fantastic Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale. The Pendragon series falls under the genre of fantasy. This series contains ten exhilarating novels all of which include magic, adventure and a quest to save humanity.
ReplyDeleteThe protagonist, Bobby Pendragon, changes throughout the series. At first he is shy, weak and scared easily. However, towards the end of the series he is much more confident and is always prepared for the unexpected. I believe the author creates and develops Bobby so well that you feel like you have met him. Bobby Pendragon has two conflicts going on in the series. The first one is your classic person vs. person conflict. Bobby has to battle the evil antagonist, Saint Dane, to save all of humanity. In the world D.J. MacHale has created, there are ten different territories that you can only reach by traveling through passageways called flumes. Each of these territories exists in a different time period and place than the others. Saint Dane influences the people on each territory into making the wrong decisions, which send the territory in turmoil. Bobby’s job is to let that territory play out the way it should, and that means stopping Saint Dane’s influence. In this book the war has come to the last territory, Third Earth. This territory is in the year 5010 of our Earth. Bobby has triumphed on some territories, but has lost on others. It all comes down to this. Saint Dane has lead the territory on the wrong path once again and Bobby must stop him once and for all. I won’t say how it ends so I don’t spoil the series for you.
The second conflict that Bobby experiences is a man vs. self conflict. He is constantly at war with himself over who he is exactly and what he can do. For example, in one of the books he learns he has healing powers. This changes his whole perception of who he is. Along the way he discovers numerous new things about himself, and sometimes he refuses to believe they are true. It isn’t until the last book that Bobby finally learns the complete truth about who he is. I believe these conflicts relate to the contemporary experiences of 14 year olds today. I think that most 14 year olds are forming their worldview at this age. They are also trying to decide where they belong in society, and who they really are. This is just like Bobby’s conflict with himself. Some 14 year olds also quarrel with their friends and parents. This is like Bobby’s battle with Saint Dane, on a smaller scale. I think this series is so well written. I recommend this series to anyone who likes fantasy or adventure books. Just make sure you read the series in order, so you don’t get confused.
Raihan Jadavji
I read a book called Tree of Avalon. In this book the main character is called Tamwyn and he is a wilderness explorer and guide in a constant search for his brother and only family. He seems at peace with himself and his environment until he meets a girl by the name of Elli who helps him to find out that he may be the child of the dark prophecy a prophecy that forecasts doom for the whole world of Avalon. Elli also talks about how there is a bad man on the loose who is trying to destroy the world. It also says that it will be at the hands of a child born in a certain year Tamwyn is one of the only people who was born in this year and is still alive. Finding out this information Tamwyn goes into a depression and you can see the huge conflict that his happening within him. He then makes up his mind that his long lost brother is his worlds saviour so he decides to try and find him. He then finds him and but also finds out that his brother is not the saviour. However his brother is also the guardian of a mysterious staff that can only be wielded by the true heir of Merlin who can save the world. Tamwyn makes a selfless decision and decides that he may not be the true Heir of Merlin but maybe by trying to fight this menace terrorising Avalon and by committing suicide he can save Avalon. By doing this he discovers that he is actually the saviour of Avalon and not the destroyer.
ReplyDeleteI started reading the second book of a series, and it's called "Rules" by Jane Beaton. I believe both of her books relate to us teenagers in everyway, and what we go through in school.
ReplyDeleteThe first series of the book, which I had talked about in my last independent reading blog, was a very funny, page-turning and addictive book. I loved it!! So I decided I had to get the second book to see what happens in the second year at Downey House (which is the boarding school where the story is based).
The first book, "Class", was about a twenty-five year old woman, Maggie Adair, who was the newest teacher at Downey House. Most of the girls she was teaching didn’t like her because they thought she tried to hard to be a "cool" teacher, and she had a very strange accent which nobody could fully understand. She has been dating a guy named Stan for years. He's safe, comfortable and very boring! He doesn't like doing exciting things that much. Then Maggie meets David McDonald, who is her works at a boys' boarding school over the hill. Every single girl in the school thinks he's a hot teacher, and at the beginning, Maggie didn't think so, but then she starts to talk to him, and get to know him. And unlike her boyfriend, he is very exciting, and always thinks outside the box.
The story is also about two girls in the same form. One of them named Simone Kardashian, won a scholarship to Downey House, while the other one, Fliss Prosser, is furious at being so far from home. She hates it there and tries everything to get out of Downey House as fast as she can, whereas Simone tries desperately to fit in.
The headmistress, Veronica Deveral, has a secret that could ruin her career, but they don’t say what the secret is in the first book.
I'm not yet done with the second book, but at the point where I am, Maggie gets engaged to the sweet, steady, and boring Stan, but she can't stop thinking about the exciting and outgoing David McDonald. Veronica Deveral, the headmistress, has more to lose than anyone. When Daniel Stapleton joins the faculty, she's forced to confront her scandalous secret, and now I need to read more to find out what the secret it! At the point I'm at, she's trying her best to keep the secret under wraps.
With the two girls, Fliss (the one trying to get out of Downey House) makes a friend who is very mean and bossy to other people, like Simone (the one trying to fit in). Fliss's mean friend goes overboard when she becomes super mean to Simone calling her a fat hippopotamus, and making fun of her pajamas and the way she sleeps, and much more. Fliss feels really bad for Simone, and tells her mean friend to stop being so cruel to Simone, and I believe that was a real turning point for Fliss's character because she finally stood up for what she believed in.
I've never been in a boarding school before, but I believe that most posh boarding schools are like Downey House. There are always people trying to fit in, people trying to get out, and people who just enjoy making others suffer. 14 year olds can also relate to this book because it also shows how you can make good judgements, and good choices, for example, when Fliss stood up for Simone because she was being bullied. I would strongly urge 14 year olds to read this book, because I know that I related to it, and I couldn’t put the book down! I also think because it was written in the 1st person, which makes it more interesting to read, because then you know what the characters are feeling.
So if you're a teenager, go out today and get Jane Beaton's series!!
I recently began a series of books called "Skulduggery Pleasant". The book I just finished reading was named Dark Days. The book was actually fascinating and I thought it would be quite childish when I saw the front cover, but the author Derek Landy took my mind to unfathomable scenes in far off places. I pictured images I did not know were possible to picture. Skulduggery Pleasant is the main character in this series of books, however in this book he was trapped in another world where every day he was brutally tortured by his captors: The faceless ones. They have another name but everyone is too scared to say it. Since Skulduggery is trapped for a large part of the novel it is up to his friend Valkyrie to save him. She has been going through some terrible times since Skulduggery went missing and now is her chance to save him. Valkyrie is probably the most courageous human on the planet because she has to go and save her friend who isn’t even human from a perilous fate. However in the book her conflict is more internal than external. She must battle within herself to find a way out of the life she has been living. When she met Skulduggery he began to teach her environmental magic and she was training to become a master, it would take 100’s of years but she would be able to keep herself alive. However when he disappeared she began to learn Necromacy which is a dark form of magic. Now she is reaching the age where she must decide between the two and now that Skulduggery is back the choice is harder than ever. Valkyrie also creates a mime which is a figure that will act and do everything like she does and even looks like her then will replay back its memories. She speaks to her parents once a week if she is lucky because she is always sneaking out of the house and using the mime. Now, of course within the story there is a lot of action and excitement but no conflict is as great as the one Valkyrie has to face, picking between her friends and her family. I think that many teenagers face the exact same problems that Valkyrie does. She is a girl that has been led astray from the path she planned her life would go on and now she realizes she does not want to go back. Many people sneak out of the house and do not spend time with their families while they are teenagers and Valkyrie faces the same problems. It is not hard to understand where Valkyrie is coming from and all of that with the addition of adolescence means she must be an emotional wreck. Just like a lot of 14 year olds in reality. Eventually she has to decide between letting something go because it is the right thing to do or letting go because you cannot hold on forever.
ReplyDeleteSorry this is not up to my usual standard, It’s really late and I am exhausted
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ReplyDeleteSaurabh Sawant
ReplyDeleteFlowers for Algernon
By, Daniel Keyes
Character Analysis
Charlie-Is the narrator and the main character of the book. Charlie isn’t one of the smartest guys around (litterly) he’s dumb but not to the extent of being retarded. His innocence plays in with his not smartness. Making Charlie trust worthy and a friendly guy, but he also assumes that so are the other people at his work place. Later on as his intelligence grows he understands the past and the present, and how people have used him and mocked him. He also realizes when people have been nice to him. As his intellect keeps growing he discharges his feelings for people and other things and eventually for the person he likes Miss. Kinnian. Feeling lonely Charlie try’s to teach himself to be emotional eventually failing. He understands that he might have become smart but he lost his feelings for others. Slowly Charlie becomes less and less intellectual and eventually becomes dumb again but regaining his emotions.
Alice Kinnian- Alice is one person which Charlie gets really close to. She helps to teach writing to dumb people or people with challenges. She has a urge to help others. Alice is also very smart, she recommended Charlie to the doctors for the experiment because he likes the way that Charlie always wants to learn. Eventually Alice’s kindles and admiration of Charlie grows to love. Even though she is confused because of Charlie’s intellect she doesn’t feel that just because Charlie is not smart it doesn’t make him a less of a person than a normal person.
Dr. Nemur- I think I can say Dr. Nemur is the exact opposite of Charlie. He’s intellectual but he can’t relate or doesn’t care of others feelings. Dr. Nemur did not care about Charlie’s feelings he thinks of him just as a test rat like Algernon. Dr. Nemurs strive for success made him heartless and care free. All he wants is the fame he will get if Charlie passes the test and its proven that he becomes smart.
Rose Gordon- Is Charlie’s mom, she has been wanting Charlie to be normal. She did everything that se could but itnever worked. Rose was always jealous of the other neighborhood moms. Obssesed of trying to make Charlie normal or at least close to normality she gives up. Towards the end of the book when Charlie is smart he vists her. At her old age she could not understand how Charlie is so smart. She eventually goes into a phase of which she can’t recognize Charlie sometimes. Overwhelmingly at her old age Rose turns insane not being able to understand .
Obviously i really don't think that the book will
relate to me directly or any other person on this blog. Any way people who are a little on the low standard of brain capacity, should not be made fun of nor humiliated. I agree that they need some what more attention but not to make use of then for unnecessary reasons. In school this would be just bullying or another way to take advantage of some one, which should be stopped and destroyed from the society!
I finished reading a book called Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Clay Jensen, a popular high school boy discovers his five year crush, Hannah Baker commited suicide. Dealing with this shocking news, Clay is mailed a box of thirteen old casset tapes. Behind these thirteen casset tapes are the thirteen reasons why Hannah Baker commited suicide. These tapes have been going around school to the thirteen people who caused Hannah Baker to kill herself. Whilst listening to the tapes Clay struggles to realize who these other people are and what he did wrong to his long time crush. Along the way he discovers what Hannah and his classmates are really like.
ReplyDeleteClay Jensen and Hannah Baker I believe face what 14 year olds have to go through a lot. Peer pressure and gossip. That is what drove Hannah to the edge. Even though suicide doesnot occur in ISK I think her problems are shared with quite a number of teens world wide. There is so much media now that most really listen adn depend on it, and it persuades us to think differently. Causing some chaos in our lives. We question our selves and others. Today there is a lot of peer pressure mostly on girls but there is also some pressure on guys. The way we have to look, dress and act. This book is amazing and is beautifully written, it highlights what teens have to go through, and proves that being a teen in this day and age is actuaslly quite challenging and tough. Another problem that this book highlights is that teens (mostly) are not really listened to. Their voices are heard but they are not recognized as much as a teen would hope for. Clay and Hannah both have a hard time making their voice heard in this story.
I think that this book highlights the everyday problems teens are faced with. Making their voice heard, and fighting agaisnt peer pressure. I think this is a fantastic, exciting and original novel!
Airborn, by Kenneth Oppel is an amazing book. It is about a boy, Matt Cruse, who has lived his whole life on an airship literally. He was born in the air as well. The book starts with him on the crow’s nest at the top of the airship. He sees another smaller blimp called the Endurance. Stranded in the air, the crew discovers that the pilot is sick. They try to help, but the man is very sick. He mutters something about the creatures being beautiful and that his niece would love them. After a few days, two people arrive on the ship by a helicopter. One of them is a girl, niece of the sick pilot, and her nanny. As Matt gets to know her, she tells him about her grandfather’s adventures. And shows him the diary of the creatures of the sky. Mystified by the images, Matt tries to search for the creatures. He sees a picture of creatures and a detailed log. As they are flying, they are attack by a group of vicious pirates. The pirates rob them but they manage to escape. Few days later, there’s a giant storm and their ship is flown off course and they are trapped on a deserted island. Matt and Kate stay on the island for a while. Soon after they discover that this was the same island that was recorded in Kate’s grandfather’s book. They realize that the creature lives on the island. Amazed they try to look for it, escaping from the airship. They find a skeleton of the creature. It looks like a jaguar with gigantic wings and a beak like nose. While searching for the creature they see they discover the pirates who wrecked their ship. They try to fake and join in but the pirates discover them. Kate and Matt have to flee. They come across a cave with natural helium. They go back to the ship. On their way they actually see the creature. It’s all white and has giant feathery wings. Matt realizes why he can’t see them in the sky. They see that this one has broken wings.
ReplyDeleteWhen they come back to the ship, they realize that the pirates were following them and they are raided again. But they escape just in time and the pirates are thrown off the ship. Kate collects the bones of the dead creature and takes them back to her home-town. She shows them to scientist and becomes popular. Matt becomes promoted and continues to live aboard the Aurora.
I think that it would be kind of hard for me to relate to this character. I guess I love flying through the sky just like Matt. But I love the earth as well. I would rather be on the solid ground than forever flying through the skies. But blimps must be more peaceful and relaxing than airplanes. The author talks about how there is still a whole lot of unexplored sky. We might have discovered everything on the land but there are still the skies and the oceans. We always take the same route when we travel through the sky and the whole space as well. So I guess I can relate on a certain level. It is an amazing book and I recommend it to everyone.
I have finished reading the book A Catcher in the Rye by J. R Saliger a timeless influential book based on a few days in the life a boy named Holden Caulfield. Holden is 16 and he is being expelled from his boarding school for poor performance. A few days before the end of the semester and his parents having yet to find out he is being expelled from school he decides to leave the dormitories and spend a few nights in NY City before going home. The story tells of his personal journey in New York. Holden battles mostly with himself and having to make sense of his life dealing with all the wacky conflicts he faces in NY from getting beat up by a pimp, talking to nuns, going on a date with a girl, spying on perverts, and fighting with his repulsive roommates. Holden is quite un-motivated with things and throughout the book learns to express this admitting that this is a problem. Quite a pessimistic guy he tends to point out to himself the flaws in everything and everyone. His little sister is the only person he seems to enjoy being with (and his old teacher up till the point the teacher tries to be sexual with him.) As the book goes on he stops and begins to think about the flaws in himself. You don’t see a withstanding change necessarily with Holden at the end of the book but reading between the lines is quite an important thing in this book and you can sense a shift in attitude in Holden by the end parts were he is with his sister and before that his old teacher.
ReplyDeleteThis book has been noted ever since it was written in the early 1940’s for its influence on teenagers and the copious amount of ideas, scenes and emotions expressed so vividly that Teens can relate to. I found that I could relate to many of the ideas he had about people and the way people interacted with one another, and having them expressed to me solidified my own thoughts about it and made me feel better about them a swell. I think any teenager can relate to this book in different ways. Of course not to all of Holden’s experiences and thoughts but definitely to some of them and definitely to the emotions Holden comes across.
This book probably relates better to guys the way Holden thinks and acts and also all the interactions with girls but I think even if you are girl you can relate with this book or at least find it a very entertaining story. After reflecting on it A Catcher in the Rye most certainly lived up to my expectations and the standard people hold it to I am very happy I read it and I think everyone should read it, it could be a very important book for you..
This time for my independent reading i read a book called The Bailey Game by Celia Rees. It was an amazingly well written, short, fictional book about bullying and how sometimes the smallest things such as being different speaking differently or acting differently can start a whole chain of unfortunate events. There was once a boy who went to this school called Michael Bailey and he was bullied so badly(they used to call it the Bailey game) that something terrible happened and they believe his ghost still wanders round the school. They stopped playing the game but when the new girl Lauren Price arrives the game starts again. The story is about a young girl named Alex Lewis and her struggle not to be part of the vicious game again. However this means that she has to decide wether she wants to be the bully or be bullied.
ReplyDeleteI think that this book is definitely one that many people can relate to because in our lives we have all faced tough decisions and even though we may not always make the right choice we all try. I also think that this is a very good book for the children of today because it is not too complicated and is actually written so that eleven year olds can understand what is going on. However that doesn't mean that it's not detailed or descriptive because it is. It is a very good book for people to read because there is a lot of bullying going on and there are not many people who actually have the power to stand up for what they believe in. However once in a while you come across that one person who is ready to fight for the right cause. However you are never aware of the struggle they may go through and the consequences they have to face for making the right decision and choosing the right path. I feel as though this book captures that struggle perfectly and is able to be captivating at the same time. It has an interesting take because while most authors would have chosen to write it from the perspective of the kid being bullied Celia Rees did not and that made it even more interesting. It definitely calls attention to certain problems such as peer pressure and bullying that many teenagers and even grown up's face today. It is an excellent book and i recommend that everybody reads it.
The book I read was a part of a detective series called The Hardy Boys and this specific story was called the vanishing thieves. The Hardy Boys series is written by Franklin W. Dixon and it is about Frank and Joe hardy who are the children of a very famous detective who only dream of following in their father’s footsteps and become world famous detectives as well but now they are amateur teenage detectives who keep winding up in trouble and end up having to solve their case with the help of their friends and they end up being successful and the villain occasionally ends up behind bars.
ReplyDeleteIn this very story the hardy brothers beg their father to trust them with a minor case of vanishing thieves who keep stealing cars, household items in different states and before anyone can spot them, they “vanish”. After many attempts to find the thieves, they acquire information from one of the valleys in the streets from an anonymous source that the gang of the vanishing thieves were hiding and performing secret operations in the abandoned textile factory. The gang without informing detective hardy went forward with the plan and unfortunately the information was inaccurate and they had caused millions and millions of dollars of damage by blowing up the factory and there father was very disappointed and refused to believe them about the incident with the false information but their father didn’t believe them after they had actually found out where they were and they secretly inquired and they caught the culprits and presented them to the police and regained there lost trust and reputation.
Every child or specifically a14 year boy or girl, parents can never trust your abilities or sometimes even some of the facts you tell them, as they are small or they are not mature enough and therefore they imply that whatever we say is not true and if it is our word against say an older person, the older person is considered right as they are older. Personally I don’t see how maturity should influence people believing each other.
The book I have just finished reading is called Alex Rider: Storm Breaker, written by Anthony Horowitz. Alex Rider is not an ordinary boy, given the fact that his parents died earlier in his life and he can barely remember them . His uncle also recently died, putting Alex in the care of a guardian. In the book Snakehead a 16 year old boy named Alex Rider loses everything when his last family member, his uncle dies. He finds out that his uncle was a spy for MI6 and that he didn’t die in an accident, rather he got killed. MI6 also then tell him that his dad was a spy for MI6 and the plane crash was not accidental. When MI6 offer Alex Rider a job to help take out the person who killed his uncle he joins seeking revenge. He then realized that all the training his uncle had given him actually had a purpose. So the conflict of the story is Alex Rider trying to get revenge on the person who killed his uncle. In the end he doesn’t manage to find the killer (probably still to come in the ongoing series). I think this conflict relates to 14 year old boys. I think this because once something bad happens to you, you usually feel the urge to go and take revenge. And you don’t feel satisfaction until you have taken revenge. This is not the same for all boys given that some are different, but it most certainly is for most. Another conflict he faces is trying to fill his uncle’s shoes in being a secret spy at MI6. This is also related to some 14 year olds because if their parent is successful, they would probably also try to do the same job as his mom or dad and become successful.
ReplyDeleteI read the book "Bloomability" by Sharon Creech. The main character is a girl my age who moves around a lot and just goes along with it without ever protesting. She has issues with feeling as if she is too "normal" because she doesn't feel special, which is an issue many 14 year old girls have to deal with. The fact that she moves around quite frequently can be associated with almost every 14 year old person in our school because we are so international. Since our parents move around, we have to go along with it, even though we might not be happy about it, just like Dinnie in the book. Dinnie's best friends are all from different nationalities and speak different languages so there are sometimes problems with understanding eachother, which is very common in our society as well. I can associate myself with Dinnie very well actually becaue she feels like everywhere she goes, when she has just settled in she moves again and I sometimes get that feeling as well. Dinnie has a lot more problems conflicts though because she only owns one box of things that she takes with her every move, so she only carries her most important items. For example, she always carries her dream notebook with her, which is a book where she records all the dreams she has had; she started when she was seven. This is actually a quite important part of the story because for every conflict she undergoes, she has an interesting dream about. The dreams are always completely unrealistic which makes them realistic because dreams in our world usually don't make sense either, even though we think they do. As a 14 year old teenager, people often relate their dreams to their lives and live based on signs they get from their dreams. I think dreams play an important part in all of our lives because they show us what and who we truly care about if we dream about something or someone specific. They also give us messages that we can learn from and interprate in different ways. Dreams are also incromprehensible to humans because they seem so realistic and we are in a state of unawareness and it is a bit frightening, even, to just think about it. Many 14 year olds don't remember dreams they had so they think they don't dream and it creates a conflict in their lives because they feel strange but in reality everyone dreams even if we don't remember it. The reason why dreams are so important to Dinnie, I think, is because she feels a bit lost in her life, having to move so much, seeing so many new faces, that dreams give her a feeling of knowing where she is and who she loves. She usually dreams about specific people, which I think are the people that mean the most to her.
ReplyDeleteAnother important conflict Dinnie has to overcome is that her best friend is a very challenging person to be with. For the first semester everyone hates her because she complains about everything and is mean to everyone. Dinnie sticks by her side and people question this a lot. She comes back the second semester and has changed majorly: She has become a kind person, who never complains and everyone loves. Dinnie finds this harder to deal with than before because now she doesn't have her best friend to herself anymore because she has become popular. This is a major conflict in many 14 year olds' lives, mainly girls I think because girls often feel like they have to control and own their best friend and not have anyone else be friends with them. I think the reason for that is because they feel left out when their best friend stops hanging out with them because they were always there and have known her/him for longer. Jealousy is also a major influence because often people want to have something or someone, in this case, who just belongs to them. I think in Dinnie's case the reason is because she was there for her best friend when everyone hated her so she wants to be aknowledged for that in a way.
As an independent reading book, I read an autobiography: Riding Shotgun. The author is Gerry McAvoy who writes about his 35 years on the road with Rory Gallagher and Nine Below Zero. While reading this book, I was only familiarized with the music of Rory Gallagher, and didn’t have much of an idea about Nine Below Zero. I probably should’ve first listened to their music before reading this book because it related to it a number of times. The book, however, was mainly about Rory Gallagher. Gerry writes about him having always looked up to Rory as a kid and the way that he played music. He created his own band with a few friends at school and performed as often as they could to try make money, but also to improve on their playing. At the time, Rory was also in a band, Taste, a very popular band around the world. His band eventually fell apart, leaving Rory alone. He had seen Gerry play once before and asked him to jam with him at a studio. Rory was impressed and got a drummer to join them. He soon asked the two of them, Gerry and the drummer, Wilgar Campbell, to create an album with him. Gerry was extremely excited and agreed. Over the years the band made a few more albums, but had to switch drummers a few times, around 3 or 4.
ReplyDeleteRory was afraid of flying. And of course, this was a big problem. They were a very famous band around the world, meaning they had to tour a lot. This then meant that they had to fly a lot, while Rory was afraid of that. This was very stressful for him, and added to all of this stress, was the stress of the band and all of the touring. After around 30 years this started to become a lot worse. To make this better for himself, Rory started drinking more alcohol. He already drank with the band often, around every day after a practice or concert. Rory and Gerry were both Irish, so it was fairly typical that they drank. But this started becoming excessive, turning into alcoholism. After a few more years, Rory started becoming sick. The band started touring a lot less and they barely ever practiced. Of course, it was extremely boring for Gerry to never play anymore, so he joined another band: Nine Below Zero. But Rory’s condition did not become any better, only worse. He eventually had to go to the hospital due to too much alcohol. He received a liver transplant, which was thought to have been successful. Unluckily, Rory passed away several hours after the transplant. Gerry couldn’t believe he just left Rory Gallagher’s band and left him to die. To this day forward Gerry still lives, playing and touring with Nine Below Zero, but he still has great regrets of having never done anything to stop and help Rory’s alcoholism.
I find it very hard to relate alcoholism to any of my personal experiences, the reason being because I am not aware of having met any alcoholics in my life that have passed away. It doesn’t surprise me very much that Rory was able to live with the stress. It was a lot of work and would probably be hard for anyone to handle and live with. Setting aside the sad moments of the book, I enjoyed reading the book. This is mainly because I was very interested in Rory Gallagher, being one of my favorite artists.
I enjoyed the book Pirates, by Celia Rees because it really catches the reader’s attention and it’s a book with a lot of adventure.
ReplyDeleteNancy Kington, one of the main characters of the story is the daughter of a rich merchant in Bristol. As a teen, Nancy witnesses her father’s death and is later on put on a ship to Jamaica where she meets a slave, and also her half sister, Minerva Sharpe.
Soon enough, Nancy finds out that she is has to get married to a man that she doesn’t love. As a result, Nancy and Minerva escape from Jamaica and become pirates. Both of them embark on an adventure to find William, Nancy’s childhood best friend and the guy she likes.
I think the conflict of the story is more about Nancy and herself. She went through drastic changes in her life that taught her to listen to her instincts and not listen to what other people made her say or do.
I actually think that anyone could relate to the conflict of the story because I think that we all have been in that situation where we don’t know what do. Either listen to your instincts, or go with what other people tell you. However, in the end listening to your own opinions may be the best thing for you.
I just finished reading the first book of the series Eragon by Christopher Paolini. Since the story continues the plot is not really apparent to me yet, but I have some ideas of what it will look like in the later books. In the beginning of the story Eragon a teenage boy finds a blue stone which finally hatches to reveal a dragon inside. He then hides the dragon as he trains it to become a dragon rider. The land is ruled by a man who used to be a dragon rider but then his dragon died and he went mad, he and some other people were the dragon riders who were the peace keepers of the world. Once the dragon rider named Galbatorix went mad he killed the other dragon riders, now he is evil. Eragon then sets of on a journey to defeat the ra’zac that came looking for the stone, then burned down Eragons house and killed his uncle. He travels with his dragon and a weaver who is wise and will guide him. At a point in the journey his mentor dies and tells him he was once one of the dragon riders, before Galbatorix killed his dragon. He continues on his journey and meets several obstacles. He gets followed by the Urgals, so he meets up with the Varden and prepares to fight the Urgals. He battles the Urgals and wins, which is where the first book ends. I believe that in the sequel he will continue on his journey, to defeat the ra’zac and the current ruler of the land, Galbatorix.
ReplyDeleteEragon’s main conflict in the story is the fact that the ra’zac came to his home when he was not there, burned it up, and killed his uncle. So that he sets out to get revenge on the ra’zac. This can be connected to a regular teenager’s life. The egg can represent a child, and then when it hatches it can be seen as puberty, because you change into something so different but so fast. Flying on the dragon Eragon must feel free just like what teenagers want and as they get older get more of it. Eragon has to leave his home when it is burned down, just as a teenager leaves his or her home when he or she finishes their schooling. They become independent in the world all alone, just like Eragon. Also the evil in the book can be seen as things holding them down from that freedom that they are trying to get, these things can be parents or school etc. In the real world after schooling people need to try and survive in the city, by working and earning money. In Eragon he needs to try and survive by gaining an army to defeat the ra’zac.
In conclusion the beginning of the Eragon story is sort of like a kid going through puberty and then finishing school and moving out. Like all kids want freedom Eragon wants to get even with the re’zac. The egg to dragon represents puberty, and flying represents freedom. Also just like the ra’zac in Eragon’s life teenagers have parents and school that keep them tied down which may make some teenagers see it as a type of evil.
For my independent reading I read “The Lost Hero” by Rick Riordan. The book is the first in “The Heroes of Olympus” series. The book consists of 3 main protagonists Jason, Piper and Leo. Each chapter is told in first person but the person narrating the story changes from Jason to Piper to Leo. Jason wakes up and learns that his memories have been stolen by Hera (the Greek goddess), he has rescue her in order for him to gain them back
ReplyDeleteDuring the course of the book Jason has many conflicts. The main conflict that Jason faces is how to gain his memory back. Jason is confused and lost but with the help of his friends he is able to get a basic understanding of who he is. He is sent on a quest to free Hera, the Greek Goddess from a giant called, Porphiron but if he doesn’t he will not be able to gain his memory back. During the course of the quest he slowly gains parts of his memories back. He doesn’t understand who he is but he learns that he has to work with people he doesn’t remember knowing in order for him to gain back his stolen memories form Hera.
Another conflict Jason endured was rescuing Hera. Jason was sent on a quest to rescue Hera but he had to face many obstacles on his way. He had to go through the classical hero’s journey. He faced daunting tasks; he had a call to adventure; he achieved the boon and he returned to the ordinary. During his adventure he encountered many inhuman creatures that he had to work with or against so he could fulfill his boon of saving Hera. He also had to use tools that he had never worked with before like a man made dragon.
I haven’t had many similar experiences with Jason except for working with people I do not know. A few years ago I volunteered to be a ball boy in a large tennis tournament; I knew a few people but I was put on a court with people I had never known yet alone worked with. I felt rather lost but I learned that I can work with most people if I want to. In my community service after school on Wednesdays I interact and work with children that I do not know.
Most 14 year olds don’t know fully who they are and what they want to do when they are older. Just like Jason had to learn who he really was many 14 year old boys and girls still have a lot to discover about who they are. In our world today we have to interact with many people that we don’t know and like Jason did we have to cooperate with everyone.
Imran
I just recently finished reading the novel New Moon by Stephenie Myer. This book was about Bella Swan, losing the love of her life, Edward Cullen, and her fight to get through life without him. She isn’t normal, when he isn’t by her side, and is irreparably broken, since he wasn’t hers. She can somewhat be normal when she is around her new best friend, but the second he leaves her side, a gaping whole of agony appears in her chest, and she drops down in sobs and deep pain.
ReplyDeleteBella is not like any other teenagers, she doesn’t throw fits and she is very considerate. She is extremely selfless and is infatuated in a vampire. Bella loves to read, and she never really goes for the normal things, that an average teenage girl would (Prom, Going Out, Attention ect.) Bella hates to draw attention to herself, and lives life happily on the sidelines, not getting into action, well, normal teenage action. She is like a danger magnet, and attracts all the vampires in the area, getting top on their hit lists. Bella is very stubborn and isn’t swayed easily.
This book is based on heartbreak. Bella is basically a walking zombie, since Edward left her. Yes, she is somewhat better when she is with her best friend Jacob but when she isn’t she falls back to pieces. She is broken without him, because he is part of her, and therefore incomplete without him.
This storyline is easily linked to 14 year olds, and other teenagers. At around this age, teenagers, find their first love, and can get infatuated with them. At really any age people can find their other half, or sometimes it just feels like they are that for you, and you later realize that they aren’t. People go through heartbreak all the time, and therefore they can relate to Bella, and understand what she is going through, as they read through the novel. You go through a swirl of crazy events at around this age, and even though they may not be as insane as Vampires and other mythical creatures, some horrifying problems and set of events still appear very easily around the high school years. Hearts are broken, your other half may not be yours anymore and he may leave you broken, because part of you is missing. Depending on how madly in love with the person you are, you may not be able to recover from such as heartbreak, and the agony of him, not being yours, could turn you into a zombie like trance and he would really be the only solution to get you out of this. At this age you may go through a series of heartbreaks, and reading a novel like this, and realizing that you aren’t the only one to have gone through such agony and anguish, may help you get through the break-up or heartbreak, because you then, might not feel so alone.
I know that this was a book I could easily relate to, and did somewhat make things easier; because you know that this pain, isn’t new, and there are people who understand what you are going through. I would recommend this book, to girls in a somewhat similar situation to Bella Swan.
Well I ran out of books to read so I read a fictional story I found lying around. It’s not anything as long as a Harry Potter book or anything like that. In fact, it’s rather quite a short book. The name is The Legend of Spud Murphy. The novel was written author called Eoin Colfer (a really hard name to pronounce!). It is about these two brothers, Will and Marty, who have been forced by their mother two spend their holiday in the library. This would be all right for them except for one thing, the librarian. Over the course of her job as this librarian she had gotten a reputation of being the strictest person in the whole city. Even if one person does something not allowed by the rules of the library, no matter how big or small the offence, she will always discipline the guilty. Plus she is rumoured to own a gas powered spud gun, which she uses as a way of punishment. So naturally the two boys are terrified of her, more so they are terrified of the spud gun. Since they were children, the boys were limited to a small square carpet with a single shelf of kid’s books. Over the first few days the boys test the limits off the librarian, but she has none of it. She punishes them. As the holidays go on they start to read the books. By ½ the holidays both of them have finished every book in the lone shelf. Will trying to find something more interesting to do, the boys’ have an idea. They would get an adult book to read. This does not go well with Spud Murphy. But as Will are sneaking out of the carpet, the zone only for children, and got a book to read, Murphy finds out. But after standing up to the librarian and tells the truth she is shocked, he broke the rules so he could read, not to do mischief. So in the end Will ends up not afraid of Spud Murphy and gains the ability to read the adult books, where as Marty doesn’t accomplish any of them because he did not stand up to Murphy.
ReplyDeleteThis has happened to all of us, young and old, though mostly young. One has been too scared of someone or something to stand up for what they believe is right. They are scared not to try because they believe that the risks outweigh the benefits. I have had an experience like this. It was with my friend’s pet dog, a Rottweiler. I used to go to his house a lot, after school, weekends… I was always afraid of his dog, well since my other friend, Callum, had an accident with him. I was not there but some how the dog managed to bight Callum’s cheek and now there is a nasty scare as a reminder. Since then I was to scared to even go near him, fearing that something like that would happen to me. But one day I faced my fears, perhaps in an unusual way as I had not meant to. I got out the car and before I new it the dog was jumping on me. But it wasn’t doing it in a vicious way, more of a playful way. Since that day I have not been scared of the dog.
meer
The book I read is called, The absolutely true dairy of a part time Indian by Sherman Alexie. This book is about a Native American boy named Arnold spirit who lives on a reservation made for Native Americans. After an event that gets Arnold suspended from school his teacher visits him and tells him the further away he gets from the reservation the more hope he will find. This then leads Arnold to change schools and face challenges along the way. The main conflicts that Arnold faces are man vs. the world and man vs. self.
ReplyDeleteThe main way Arnold faces the world is when he moves schools people have weird ideas and stereo types about him because he is Native American. People bully him and make fun of in at school and at the reservation. At one point people at the reservation start saying he abandoned the tribe. The main way I think people can relate to him is trough him feeling left out because everybody has felt left out at one point in their life so far. Also this book makes you think about racial prejudice and stereo types because Arnold gets made fun of with them. Everybody has experienced racial prejudice. Arnold’s experiences show that skin color doesn’t make the person who they are.
The man vs. self conflict is presented when Arnold realizes that he doesn’t have to be what people say he has to be and rediscovers himself. Most people can relate because we all know or knew someone who always doubted us and what we could achieve.
By Bobo Kennedy Kwofie
I've been reading Pretty little liars. It is a book about a group of girls and their friend goes missing one day at a sleepover. This is a series. In the first book Aria moves back from Iceland, and comes back to Rosewood. Where Emily, Hanna, and Spencer have been living their whole lives. When Allison went missing the girl's stopped being friends and went on with their own lives. The books are about blackmail, and secrets that would ruin their lives. A girl named A keeps blackmailing them, and stalking them. She even pays off people to make sure that the girl's never find out about Allison's past. This book is a action, romance, comedy book. They even have a show, that i also watch. A has something on each girl like Spencer was seeing her sister's boyfriend, Aria was dating a teacher, Emily is gay, and Hannah makes herself puke to loose weight. More secrets and stories of their past and Allison's past comes up in the story. In the last book that i read Allison had a twin sister, and nobody knew, plus how could Allison tell them when she was dead. Well in the last one Allison's sister comes to Rosewood and becomes the new popular girl. They become friends with Ali's sister and one weekend they go to her family's house, her family of course isn't in town. But Allison's sister was actually just Ali. Allison's sister was in a mental hospital because she always wanted to be Allison. One of the weekends that Allison's deranged sister comes to visit Allison and her sister get switched. So Allison goes to the mental institution and her sister stay's and Rosewood and finds new friends which were Hannah, Emily, Aria and Spencer. After one sleepover the faux Ali gets murdered and thrown into a hole, and a couple books ago they find her body. So when the real Ali gets out of the hospital she wants revenge, for being locked up. She blames all of it on the 4 girls. This is a very interesting book, and the show is great to watch. I would recommend this book from the ages of 13-20yrs.
ReplyDeletetesting post
ReplyDeleteI recently read a short story which was true.
ReplyDeleteIt was about this traditional Indian family who lived in London their whole life. The family consisted of a strict father,a mother and an older sister and younger brother.
The parents wanted their kids to live as normal Indians in their home town would, but unfortunately,the two kids,especially the daughter, was influenced by the life in England too much and soon began to pick up bad habits, the most major one being drinking.
The daughter used to drink a lot during college and stuff and since her brother was only two-three years younger than her,she introduced him to his first beer.
After that, whenever they would go home from holidays, they used to hid bottles of beer in their cupboards until lights out and then drink.
After a while, the girl realized that the drinking was affecting her studies and so she stopped, but her brother didn't and so he ended up failing school and having no job to fall back on. This ashamed his parents a lot since all he would do was sit at home drinking...So they asked the girl(sister) to talk to him because if there was anyone that could convince him,it was her.And so she tried to talk to him,but he didn't listen, instead he screamed at her saying that she was the one who gave him his first drink.This made her feel really bad and argue with herself and everyone else until one day, she got so tired of it,she cut off all contact and survived on her own. She made a family and had a successful job while her brother continued to tarnish his father and mothers reputation by marrying a girl who had children who was twice as old as him and who smoked.
Anyways, the girl was living a successful life until one day, a few years after she had cut off communication from her family, there was a note from her brother wishing her happy birthday. She quickly wrote a reply telling him everything that had happened with their father and mother(of course,,she communicated with them after they gave up on their son),she told him that he was an uncle and all about her life.She soon got a reply asking if he could come over for a few days to see his nephew and she agreed and so the following week, he came.
The brother claimed to have stopped drinking and to have gone into rehab and so slowly,she(the sister) started trusting him again until one day,when her and her husband came back from a movie and found their baby playing in the bathtub while her brother was drunk and knocked out,did they find out that he was lying and so, they sent him off.
After that incident,the girl felt really bad and she started arguing with herself again blaming her for his condition. In the end,she couldn't handle it anymore and so she went to her husband and told him the truth. he never trusted her after that.
I think that this story can relate to anyone whether he is a teenager or an adult because everyone encounters problems. Its how you deal with them that proves the future. This book shows how one bad habit that someone introduces on you,can effect your life and family. It shows what can happen when peer pressure takes over and when you try to fit in.
This is a true story from a book of short stories that i read and i think that this happens to a lot of people because everyone takes after their elders whether it be their elder sister or brother or father. Everything you do or introduce to them will have an effect on them.Some of these effects will be long lasting,others,a glint.
i think this book also teaches you that you have to be aware of your actions.
This story will effect kids of all ages, mostly teenagers and i would recommend this story to everyone teenagers and up.
The Book I read for my Independent reading is called Twister. It is a constituent of thrilling five part series written by real life S.A.S hero Chris Ryan. Chris Ryan had served in the S.A.S for 10 years while working undercover in Iraq and was awarded the Military Medal for his outstanding contributions. At this moment he travels around the world, putting all his real life experiences into books and T.V. shows. The protagonist of the Novel, Ben Tracy had to endure a few major obstacles. One includes when he had to board a plane for Miami after he was warned of a severe hurricane headed for the greater area of the Cayman Islands. At the time, he was on holiday but this sudden change in events meant that he and his Italian friend Angelo, the son of a billionaire must fly out of range. What he didn’t know was that the plane had been hijacked by terrorists and the pilots, dead at the hands of their brutality. He was able to capture the terrorist but was very startled by the fact that there was only one. With the help of his wealthy Italian friend and Danny(one of the passengers on the plane) he was successfully able to land the plane in the Everglades. He imagines after the crash landing that it would all be over, but it wasn’t. The plane was threatening to blow up with the terrorist left trapped in one of the seats. In the process Ben, Angelo and Danny lost the rest of the passengers and crew after the plane exploded leaving the three of them stranded in the middle of the everglades. Who was the hero, who was the villain? It soon becomes clear after one of Ben’s companions, Danny comes clean with his intentions to blow up an Oil Refinery owned by Angelo’s father. This act of hatred was a way of Danny avenging the father’s company for all the destruction he caused on his beloved country. Danny also planned to kill Ben and Angelo inside the refinery at the hands of the Mercenaries. The plan soon fails and Ben and Angelo soon kill Danny during an ambush. But even with that out of the way, their final major obstacle was inevitable. After diverting a category 5 hurricane, news soon broke out that an F5 tornado was headed straight for the city and unavoidably the refinery too. Their final main objective was to now stop the refinery from exploding before the tornado stops them from even commencing with their plan. But with their perseverance, determination and luck, they were able disarm the bombs and kill the mercenaries. The tornado diverted away in its final moments meaning the Refinery is still left standing. It is pure adventure and action from beginning to end. The pace and twists of the novel is evident on every page making it extremely entertaining. The basis and message of the novel makes a definite appeal to teenage guys. The author’s voice is very engaging and authentic, which doesn’t make it very surprising given his S.A.S background.
ReplyDeleteDuring the last few weeks I’ve finished a number of books, but the best novel by far was called Mafia: First 100 years. Many people would have expected this to be a boring book filled with unnecessary events and boring monologues but this has been one of the best books I’ve ever read. Even though this book is a biography, the events and twists that this book contains make it better than most fictional novels out there. Even though at times, scary events make this book seam unreal, the best part about it is that everything written down in this book is the complete truth.
ReplyDeleteThis book is about a man named Frankie Yale who is trying to put his gang on top. Yale does everything not to keep the cash rolling in but to send a message. In the beginning Yale forces his friend to kill his brother for the unspeakable acts he has committed. After this his goal is to make the city his, doing things like buying weapons, hiring new mercenaries, and disposing of anyone in his way. The beginning is naturally a little bumpy for him because of all the rival gangs in the area. Yale slowly overcomes them by striking fear into their followers. Even though his closest friends think of him as a brother, acts of tyranny such as lighting public buildings on fire or cutting off the rival’s water supply soon cause the whole city to fear him. Eventually all but one major competitor remain. Naturally Yale’s gang becomes known as the ‘’Black Hand gang’’ because their rivals were called the ‘’ White hand gang’’. The two competitors are at each other’s throats, small shootouts and frequent killings leave both gangs in a state of ruin. Eventually Frankie realizes that in order to win, you must take over the rival’s businesses and that’s exactly what he did. Men were being sent to run stores out of business collect extortion money, kill key members in the rival gangs, and do whatever it takes to ruin his rivals. Frankie Yale never did completely destroy the White hang gang but he put his gang (branch of the larger mafia) on top of the city.
Even though it’s hard to learn a positive lesson from a book filled with such vile acts, Frankie Yale taught me something. Even though it was his job to make sure his gang succeeded nobody believed he could do it, the odds were just against him for many reasons. Despite this, Yale got his priorities right, kept the morale of the men serving him high, and sent a clear message to the people opposing him. These are all key factors anyone needs to succeed in life, whether trying to become the don (mafia leader) of New York City or trying to apply to a university in Toronto. Even though Yale may have been doing evil acts to put himself on top he always felt a little bit of sympathy for his target, trying to find an alternative if there was any. Even though many say this sympathy was his weakness, seeing things from another person’s point of view is a great quality to have. Yale has taught me a lot but those are the key factors. No matter what you do just remember ‘’It’s only Business’’.
testing this...
ReplyDeleteI have read a book called, Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil. It is the fifth book of the series and i have read all of them now. It is about a girl that has powers that can control fire, water, wind and rock, meaning she is a elemental. In this book she finds out that she is the one the will end up killing the whole world... At the end she changes the future so that it will never happen. I found this book very exciting I have read a book called, Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil. It is the fifth book of the series and i have read all of them now. It is about a girl that has powers that can control fire, water, wind and rock, meaning she is a elemental. In this book she finds out that she is the one the will end up killing the whole world... At the end she changes the future so that it will never happen. I found this book very exciting and i recommend the series to others to read as well.
ReplyDeleteThe book I have read is called Holes, by Louis Sachar.
ReplyDeleteThe story is about a Boy called; Stanley Yelnats. Who’s whole family is apparently under a cursed due to one mistake his great- great-grandfather had made. Which was, breaking a promise that he had made.
Since he had this cursed bad luck, the police, arrest him and send him to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp for a crime that he hadn’t even committed. (Talking about, being at the wrong place at the wrong time..)
Hundreds of years ago Camp Green Lake was a beautiful place where delicious peach trees bloomed throughout the spring, beautiful lakes and nature was all around. But now, everything is completely dried out, all the citizens had moved away. Stanley’s job is to dig big and deep holes, but this isn’t an easy task due to the incredible heat and the by far too little amount of water they get for the whole day.
Throughout the book, Stanley builds up a friendship with a boy named Hector Zeroni, but everyone calls him zero.
Zero, turns out to be the great-great grandchild of the woman that stanley great-great grandfather had broken the promise to.
Towards the end of the book Zero Runs away, and stanley acts like true friend and follows him. The two help each other to reach the top of a big mountain but because Zero is very weak from lack of food and water, Stanley had to carry him up that mountain. They survive on onions for more than a week before returning to camp green lake, planning to search for Kate Barlow's treasure. Luckily they were successful, and found a suitcase, with Stanley’s great- great-grandfather’s name on it, which contained many many valuable items. At the end, the curse is lifted, or at least they think so since they haven’t had any bad luck.
Stanley is an overweight boy who does not have any friends and is often picked on. Although when he comes back out of Camp Green Lake Throughout the book his conflict is to fit in with people, which is something that he really longs for. He gets picked on from his family, from classmates and all the bullies. Although this might also be faulty to the bad luck that they have in their family, it still isn’t a nice feeling got him to have. I think that many people can relate to similar situations all the time today. Many people want to fit in, and would do anything to make that wish come true for themselves. Even if it mean extreme measures, to either get noticed or look better, or ditch want is really important and risk everything. I think that the people who read this, still won’t really grasp the point that they can fit in, no matter what. People just have to learn to accept themselves for who they are, shouldn’t let others judge them by their looks, or first impressions, or rumors.
[sorry for the lateness, it must have not posted properly the first time]
Blogpost Reflection: Wuthering Hieghts
ReplyDeleteI have recently finished reading the book Wuthering Heights. It was a phenomenal read, but I cannot stress how many times I had to go back and re-read passages to make sure I understood them. It is a very complicated novel, with many continuously overlapping conflicts including love triangles, deaths, and deceptions. Both the style and the writing in this novel make it increasingly difficult to understand, but by the time I finished the story, I believe that I had a fairly strong grasp on the main ideas.
The book begins with a man named Lockwood renting the manor known as Thrushcross Grange, the neighboring mansion to Wuthering Heights. Here he meets Heathcliff, his old, sour landlord. Lockwood asks his maid, Nelly Dean, to tell him the tale of the mystery of Heathcliff and his mansions. He records her story in his ‘diary’ and these entires make up the main part of the book.
One of the main themes in this novel is the destructiveness of love. There are numerous love affairs that occur throughout this book, and one of the biggest conflicts in this novel is the love triangle that comes into the lives of Heathcliff, Catherine, and Edgar Linton. The then kind-hearted Heathcliff and “sister” (not by blood, by adoption and incredible closeness) Catherine develop a very close relationship, but when they venture into Thrushcross Grange and Catherine gets bitten by a dog, things change between them. She is forced to stay at the neighboring manor while she recuperates, and while she is there, she falls in love with Edgar Linton, though is still infatuated with Heathcliff.
This concept of a love triangle (although in this case it’s more of a love “v”) is something I’m sure all teenage readers are familiar with. Not only are love triangles common ideas in television, literature, and music, they are also - unfortunately - incorporated in people’s everyday lives. Maybe at the age of fourteen not everyone has been involved in such a triangle, but certainly by the age of twenty or twenty-five, almost everyone has been mixed up in a triangle entanglement of hearts.
Although the contemporary experience of any young reader is mirrored in this particular love-related conflict, Wuthering Heights contains many other, more adult and sophisticated conflicts. Concepts such as the importance and precariousness of social class, and the price one pays for living a life of cruelty and suffering, are both very strongly found in this novel. These conceptions are ones that I feel young readers (including myself) can not really relate to. After all, we aren’t influenced by social class as much as adults are, and we don’t know very much about life itself...
In my opinion, Wuthering Heights is a fifty-fifty novel in regards to how much young readers can relate to it. The love and temptation part of the story can very easily be compared to our lives, whereas the darker, more sinister ideas such as the deceit, insanity and cruelty that also occurs throughout the book would be more difficult to relate to...
The book I have just read is called the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time which is a story written in the 1st person from a social challenged teenager. In the book its is very apparent that Christopher Boone has a disease much like Autism however it doesn't what the disease is.
ReplyDeleteThe story starts off with the murder of Wellington, his neighbors dog. Because his favorite book is Sherlock Holmes, Christopher decides to do a bit of detective work himself. However when he does a bit of research he finds out that his father is not friends with their neighbor anymore and that the name of the neighbors ex husband is a very delicate detail with his father but we're not told why. Later in the story he talks with another neighbor and she lets it slip that his mom, who died of a heart attack, was having an affair with the neighbors husband but he promises not to tell his dad. But when his dad finds the book he reads it and sees that he knows and hits him when they get in a fight. However Christopher takes no notice of it. As the story progresses and Christopher tries to find his book he comes across a pile of letters written by a mother addressed to a Christopher how because he believes his mom dead he thinks that these letters were sent by the wrong person and he tries to investigate that too but when reads them he realizes that they are from his mom who never died from a heart attack but left him and his dad with the neighbors ex husband. This is the point where he realizes that his life was a lie and then his dad tells him that it was him who killed the dog.
This is the point of no return in the story. He then decides to go to London to his mother and live with her because he doesn't want to to live with his dad anymore because he is afraid so he goes alone. this is an amazing feat for him because he hates strangers, new places, crowds and the unknown. When he gets there he lives with he until his dad comes to get him and they live happily after because he alternates who he lives with and passes his exams for A level math.
This story is hugely related to what many teenagers, especially in modern times, have to deal with. They have to deal with divorce, parents arguing over everything and i mean everything because honestly they can argue over money, or anything.
This book is really a good book and i recommended it to anyone who wants to read soemthing new and much more interesting than a normal novel. Also it also gives a very good insight into what the mind of a autistic teenager might be like, to the best of its abilities.