Semester 1 Reflection

    I read a few books this semester.  I'm sad to say it was a lot less then I usually read, high school really takes up time.  As far as books go, I read: Girl Overboard by Aimee Ferris, Safe Haven and The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks, Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  I also started and then ditched two books, when you don't have much time to read it's hard not to skip books that don't really spark your interest from the start, one of those books was: Perfectly Dateless by Kristen Billerbeck, I don't remember the title of the other one.  On the informal reading side, I read Seventeen and J-14 magazine for all 5 months and the occasional Entertainment magazine.  I also read countless Disney blogs and such, on new advancements in the parks as well as the new movies coming out (Toy Story 4), and just for fun stuff.  I read a few books to my baby cousin, such as: The Cat in the Hat;  One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish; The ABC book, and Green Eggs and Ham.  I am at least happy that I finished my required reading and got to read two of the most popular books of the year. 
 
     I would say that my blogging is very inconsistent.  I have posted all my blogs and comments on time, but the quality has been sporadic.  Sometimes I would have a blog where I just wrote my heart out and felt really good about what I was posting, or included a cool or interesting link that I felt would really get my point across, or inspire others to read the book as well.  At other times in my blogs, I felt that I didn't do a very good job and that I was writing just to get my assignment complete; which happens sometimes when the book isn't a favorite, but really shouldn't be happening often.  In my 4-5 point blogs, I included lots of links or pictures to accompany a post that had a clear message and point to them. I felt that if I could get my opinions about a book across, like I did when I blogged about The Book Thief, then it might get people to read the book, or a least consider it instead of saying that it isn't really in their interests.  I know that sometimes I don't get my point across effectively, but that is one of the things I am trying to work on, and feel like I am improving in that area.


     In the second semester, I would like to improve on a few things.  First, I would like to be more focused about the content of my blog then just getting the requirement complete.  I think that I need to be more thoughtful in my posts.  Secondly, I think that I need to use more resources, technology wise, so that it will enhance the message of my blog post, not just adding pictures or Goodreads webpages.  The third thing that I would like to accomplish in the second semester is to add more details from the text.  I have included some details previously, but sometimes they aren't relevant and I was told that sometimes they don't make sense with just my post.  Of course, I would also like to get in more reading time and finish the books that have been sitting at my house since the summer, and finish my 30 book goal. 

The Book Thief

I am reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.   It is about a young girl, Liesel Meminger, who is in a war stricken Germany, with Hilter as a leader.  She is the foster daughter of the Hubermanns, Rosa and Hans, whose parenting styles differ extremely.  Rosa believes in punishment in the degree of yelling and hitting, usually with wooden spoons, Hans likes to nurture Liesel by giving her love and might yell a little, but only if it is helping her grow.  I think that Ruth, from The Color of Water is a good mix of these two parenting styles.  It mentions that sometimes she gives them slappings or hits them with a belt, but she is also very loving towards them. 

This book is extremely interesting.  At first I didn’t think that I would enjoy it but it talks more about Liesel than what is happening during the time period. I like that the narrator tells us what the characters feel but also his opinions, and I like that the story jumps a little because it’s realistic, no one ever gets through a whole story without being interrupted or changes to a different story or gives background about their story.  I also like the narrator because his balance of humor and tragedy Is good.  

Blog Post #9

This week, I got The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak from the book swap.  I have read about 50 pages so far.  Let me just say that I am loving it.  Usually, I am not one to like third person type books, but this has kind of a mixed first and third person point of view which I think is very interesting.  I think that having the book all from third person would have been boring, and all from first person would have been too depressing.  I think that the narrator, a weird soul carrying after death person, has a perfect combination of telling you the facts, and having sympathy for poor Liesel.  I also enjoyed that in the prologue the narrator referred to the three different events with colors, and that the colors were different then what I would have assumed them to be.  I also loved that he put the different colors together to give the reader a great idea of the setting, time period and even some insight to the characters feelings about what is happening. 

Another thing that I really liked about the book is that every so often, the narrator pauses the story to give us: more information about the characters, an overview of what just happened, helps us recognize and connect with the different words of the time period, or just a general observation. 

Some Examples are:

• “SOME FACTS ABOUT ROSA HUBERMANN
  She was five feet, one inch tall and wore her
   browny gray strands of elastic hair in a bun.
  To supplement the Hubermann income, she did
  the washing and ironing for the five if the wealthier
  households in Molching.
   Her cooking was atrocious. 
  She possessed the unique ability to aggravate
  almost anyone she ever met. 
  But she did love Liesel Meminger. 
  Her way of showing it just happened to be strange. 
  It involved bashing her with wooden spoons and words
   at various intervals.” (35).
• “A SPECTACULARLY TRAGIC MOMENT
  A train was moving quickly.
  It was packed with humans.
  A six-year-old boy died in the third carriage.” (19).
• “A TRANSLATION
  Himmel = Heaven” (26).
• “AN OBSERVATION
  A pair of train guards.
  A pair of grave diggers. 
  When it came down to it, one of them called the shots.
   The other did what he was told. 
  The question is, what if the other is a lot more than the one?” (23).
  Yes, I did type that right.  This book seems to be philosophical too, among other things.

                I am very pleased with this book choice, and am not surprised that it is popular and was made into a movie.  I am very unhappy when I have to put it down, and can’t wait to read more. 

 I thought that this character sketch was very interesting.  Enjoy!

      Text-to-Society Memoir Connection

    Megan and I are reading First Love:Just Once in a Lifetime:A Memoir by: Violeta Barrett.  Through this book, we realized that love, no matter what form it takes, is extremely powerful.  In our memoir, Violeta, a Wall Street investor, takes a once in a lifetime trip to Mexico to relieve the stress of her job and recent divorce.  In Mexico, Violeta meets her handsome tour guide, Jorge, and they start a romance whilst in Mexico.  As they visit all of the incredible sights,  they grow close and Violeta learns about the cultures of the different places they visit. After Violeta has to leave, they continue their romance with love letters. 
  Love is powerful. This message is one that many people are familiar with, whether they are talking about a romantic love, a sibling love, a mother to her child love. It is seen again and again in all types of ways.  Our book shows this in Violeta's and Jorge's relationship that even though they are miles and miles apart, they still are in love and show that love through their letters. The article talks about how having and giving love is just as important as receiving oxygen, that we need it in order to survive. This image is showing how love and power are interconnected.

   
    I am going to be reading, Perfectly Dateless by: Kristin Billerbeck.  I was intrigued by this book because it seems to be about romance, the title is Perfectly Dateless, after all.  I was very interested in reading about a girl who isn't very conventional and who seems to be about my age, she might be a little bit older since she is talking about prom instead of homecoming, but still is around the same age group.  Another part of the cover summary that I liked is that her problems also include her parents which aren't usually the main conflict of romance novels.   

     My prediction is that in the end of the book, Daisy (the main character) will find herself the perfect date to prom, but will leave because she would rather be with her family.  I predict this because somehow, the conflict with her parents will have to be resolved and usually the realistic fiction genre gives the reader an enjoyable and satisfying ending.  I think she will realize that nothing is more important then her family and that they have reasons for what they say and do. 

   Kristen Billerbeck has written many novels, at least 30, and is very well-known for writing romance and realistic fiction novels.  She has written a few series of books including: Ashley Stockingdale, Spa Girls, Universally Misunderstood, Trophy Wives Club, and Smitten Novella.  She is very accomplished.  Here is a link to an interview about Perfectly Dateless, which is a Universally Misunderstood book: http://www.teenreads.com/authors/kristin-billerbeck/news/interview-070910 .

  You can also look up her many books on GoodReads and Amazon.com

     

 

 

 I have been reading The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks.  The characters (in order of importance) are: Thibault (Logan), Beth, Clayton, Ben, and Nana.  The symbol I would choose for Thibault would be a piano because he plays the piano, but also how well he plays epitomizes how good he is at being a responsible father figure for Ben, Beth's son. For Beth the symbol I would choose would be a tree, the reason being that even though she has a lot of problems in life: her ex-husband is using her kid, and controlling her life by threatening to take him away, she has to care for Nana and the family business, and work as a teacher whilst raising her own kid, she finds a way to be strong and raise Ben as a great kid, and manages to fall in love again. The symbol I would pick for Clayton is a baseball; I would choose a baseball because it shows how perfect he thinks he is because his family has a lot of power in the small town.  I also choose it because Clayton pushes his and Beth's son, Ben, to play baseball and be athletic even though Ben would much rather read or play chess, which shows just how bad of a role model he is, pushing his son to be something he doesn't want to be.  For Ben's symbol I would choose a chess pawn.  I would choose this for Ben because he likes to play chess, and is rather good at it, even though his father would rather he be more athletic.  I specifically choose the pawn because it also represents how bad of a father Clayton is, he uses his son to get what he wants out of everyone in his life: his ex-wife Beth, his dad, his grandfather.  For Nana I would choose a question mark because she is so abstract, her metaphors don't really make sense and she seems to always know the correct answer or the correct decision at any point in time. 

I think the best part about my book is that even though romance seems to be the main topic, several other issues are dealt with in the book including: good vs. bad parenting,  the struggles of surviving a war, and even how hard it is to run a business and keep a steady job and raise a fantastic kid all at once.  This is a good thing because if a book only has one focus or one problem, it can become boring and predictable, with only two or three possibilities of an ending, but with many problems and topic covered, it is interesting and has many possibilities to end the book with. 

    The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks is about a former marine, Logan Thibault, who finds luck in a woman's picture that he found while on duty in Iraq.  He travels, by walking with his German Shepherd Zeus, from Colorado to Hampton County, North Carolina to find this mystery woman.  The book creates suspense by switching to a different character each chapter, these characters includes Beth, who seems to be the woman from the picture, and her ex-husband, Clayton, who is a sheriff.  Beth and her grandma, Nana own a dog training and boarding kennel.  In between being a teacher and raising her son, Ben, she works at the kennel, helping with clients.  Thibault, determined to find the woman and to thank her for the great luck during the war, narrows down where she could be and asks in the small town where he could find her.  He comes to the kennel and instead of explaining what he is actually there for, he asks her for a job working there.  Nana agrees to hire him and he starts the next week.   

     

    The setting of this book is Hampton County, North Carolina.  The town is small and has a everybody knows each other feel to it.  So, it is no surprise that when a stranger waltzes in everyone is weary of him.

"As crazy as it sounded, he was looking at her as though he recognized her.  But she'd never seen him before; she was sure of that." (72).

"No one passed through Hampton and decided to stay here on a whim.  Charlotte, yes.   Raleigh, of course.  Greensboro, absolutely.  But Hampton? Not a chance." (75).

     The year the book takes place is sometime after 2007.  I know this because it mentions that Logan was on one of his tours in Iraq in 2005, and that the present part of the book takes place after he is honorably discharged two years later. 

"Thibault didn't want to return to Iraq, but once more, in February 2005, the First, Fifth was called up." (81).

" 'After that, I joined the marines, and I received an honorable discharge two years ago.'"  (75).  

     Another very vivid part of the setting is Logan noticing that the town has very old buildings and architecture. 

"The place was one-story, southern rustic, and at least a hundred years old, but kept in relatively good repair.  After rubbing the dirt from the windows, he peeked inside.  It needed some work, but not the kind that would prevent him from moving in.  The kitchen was definitely old-school, and there was a wood-burning stove in the corner, one that probably provided the house's only heat.  The wide-plank pine flooring was scuffed and stained, and the cabinets had probably been around since the place was built, but these things seemed to add to the house's character rather that detract from it.  Even better, it seemed to be furnished with the basics: couch and end tables, lamps, even a bed." (86-87). 

   I have not yet started the Nicholas Sparks books, but I have been reading Brian's Winter by: Gary Paulsen.   It is about a teenage boy who has been trapped in the woods for a whole summer after the plane he was supposed to take to his father's house went down in the middle of the woods because of the heart attack the pilot had.  All of the boy's, Brian's, summer was in the of the first book in the series, Hatchet.  The story of how the boy survives starts in late August when Brian starts noticing the signs that winter is coming, and fast.  He prepares by winter-proofing his shelter and clothes using the skins of animals he has killed to stay alive, and clay from the nearby lake.  So far, Brian has survived using his wits and prior knowledge to get him through, but can he make it to the next spring?  I think that a reader who would enjoy this book are people who are familiar with the outdoors and/or someone who is into action or survival stories.  I would give this book a 3 out of 5 because it has interesting and authentic writing, and I like that at the end of most chapters the author foreshadows what will happen to Brian. 
   The most important line from chapter 7 is, "Later, he would think on how strange things were.  He would never see the bear again and inside the shelter he would never be threatened again.  Yet the lance would save his life." (Paulsen 63) .  This line is a very important line in the book because it foreshadows Brian's next experiences.  It tells us that in the future, Brian will face danger and the lance will be used in someway to save him from that danger.  It also tells us that he would not see the bear again, so we should not expect another bear attack.  Lastly, it tells us that Brian's little shelter will not be threatened so we should expect peace when Brian is in the shelter.  This advances the plot line because it shows us what to expect in the rest of the book and also what not to expect, so Paulsen will have to use other obstacles to show Brian's hopelessness of getting out of this situation.  It also advances the plot line because it is a transition into when Brian has to use the lance to save his life. 


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Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks is a novelist who has written 18 novels.  Many of these novels are focused around a theme of romance.  Sparks was born on December 31^st and is 48.  He published his first big seller, “The Notebook” in 1996.  Many of Sparks’ books have been made into movies, these include: “The Notebook”, “The Last Song”, “A Walk to Remember”, “Message in A Bottle”, “Nights in Rodanthe”,  “The Lucky One”, “Safe Haven”, and “Dear John”.  He lives in North Carolina with his wife, Caroline and their five children.   I have seen many of the movie versions of the Nicholas Sparks books but want to see the difference between the books and movies.  I plan to read Safe Haven as my next book.

Nicholas Sparks responded to the question, “Who is your favorite author?” in an interview that was posted on http://parade.condenast.com/123117/parade/authors-on-authors/ , it reads, “While it’s hard to choose a single book that had a profound impact on my life, I can definitely say that the works of a single author certainly did: Stephen King. I started reading King’s books when I was a kid, and have continued to read every new one religiously. Not only did he fan the flames of my passion for reading (I couldn’t put his books down, which made me seek out other books that replicated that experience), but he truly shaped my concepts of what a writer could do and be. His books, like The Shining, Different Seasons and Lisey’s Story, taught me so much about storytelling, how to keep the pages turning, and creating characters that you felt invested in … all in a supremely enjoyable, accessible package. He has always been tremendously prolific—and I am in awe of that ability, as he doesn’t employ others to do his writing for him, or take any shortcuts. In short, he’s always been a role model for me: someone who not only shaped and re-defined the “genre” he wrote in, but ultimately transcended it.”  This was a very interesting answer because I wasn’t expecting an author who writes about the woes of relationships and struggles of life to enjoy reading horror novels.  

 

Citations

" Nicholas Sparks." 2012. FamousAuthors.org 6 September,            http://www.famousauthors.org/nicholas-sparks

"Your Quickie Guide to Every Nicholas Sparks Book." About. Web. 6 Sept. 2014.

"Top Authors on Their Favorite Reads." Parade. Web. 6 Sept. 2014.

      I just started reading Girl Overboard by Aimee Ferris.  I chose this book for many reasons.  The first reason why I chose this book was that it is about a girl, Marina, who is dreaming about becoming a marine biologist which is one of my ideal careers, so this book is relatable.  Another reason I chose this book is that it is about Marina, and a program which enables her to get some hands-on experience with fellow marine lovers, who are appearing to cause drama for the protagonist.  I also choose this book because, in the description on the back of the book, it seems to entail some romance issues. 
      One of the romance issues is that Marina has a boyfriend but doesn't know if she is willing to give up her other hopes and dreams to be stuck in her hometown, Vermont with him. Another issue is during her program, Students Across the Seven Seas or S.A.S.S. for short, she meets a handsome and romantic Australian boy, Link, who will be in the program with her.  She also meets  other girls who are quick to flirt with Link.  She also meets Link's roommate, Ryan, who is a shy photographer who spends a lot of time in the dark room, processing his pictures. 
       My prediction is that Marina will not fall for Link but rather his eccentric roommate and photographer, Ryan, and break-up with her boyfriend back home. I predict that they will be the perfect couple, but, I believe that at the end of the book, Marina will also give up Ryan in order to fulfill her career as a marine biologist.  I think that in the future, Marina will have a successful and joyful career, and will not worry about her choice to break-up with her old boyfriend or Ryan.

The Cranes Dance

In The Cranes Dance, the protagonist, Kate Crane changes over the course of the story.  At first, she is a social butterfly, sharing an apartment with both her sister, Gwen, and her best friend, Mara.  "Gwen was at the school and Mara and I were in the company and the three of us shared this apartment." (Howrey, 97). Through the course of the story, Kate becomes more secretive and shy around everyone, even her best friend.  She thinks that she is protecting herself and them from all thoughts of Gwen, but she is just burying herself deeper into Gwen's breakdowns and emotions.  This is shown on page 259, " 'And you shut me down every single time I try to talk to you about Gwen.' ... 'You know, I haven't really noticed that you've made some huge effort to reach out to me.'  'That's what I'm saying you make it impossible.' " (Howrey, 259).   This change in Kate advances the plot because it shows that she is starting to have mental issues like her sister.  She wants to be alone so that no one finds out something is wrong with her.  The plot changes and instead of her trying her hardest at ballet, she is more focused on her sister's breakdowns and how they are starting to make sense to her.  They breakdowns make sense to her because she has started to do the same things as her sister.






The Cranes Dance article is about Meg Howrey's use of syntax and diction to create a dazzling and captivating story.  It summarizes the book and how Meg Howrey uses her knowledge of ballet to convey an authentic story.  It also lists reasons why this particular critic loved the book and the main character. 




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The Cranes Dance Book Trailer