Hunted Book review By: Jordyn Randall

Benchmark on book Review: 

Movie: https://vimeo.com/77799822 

You would think having telepathy would be great, but what if it put your life in danger?

“Hunted” by Cheryl Rainfield, is a thriller suspense book intended for a teen audience. The book is about a teenage girl named Caitlyn who is  telepathic and lives in a world where having any paranormal powers is illegal. Caitlyn is on the run with her mom away from the government troopers,who are people without paranormal powers who are called normals,they enslave, torture and kill Paranormals. Caitlyn and her mom stop in a city to settle for a while. Her mom finds a job and she attends a regular high school to blend in with the normals. She became friends with two normals named Rachel and Alex. She begins to  fall for Alex. Caitlyn is very scared to become closer to him because of how dangerous it would be if he turned her in. She begins to realize that  there are Paranormals that want to destroy all the Normals, the exact same way the Normals are trying to destroy all the Paranormals. Caitlyn has to decide if she wants to stay in hiding to protect her mom and herself, or take a stand to try and save the world.

The author of “Hunted”, Cheryl Rainfield is a canadian author who has written many books like “Scars” and “Stained”. Cheryl Rainfield has been abused, raped, bullied, tortured, has had her life threatened repeatedly, and has been mistreated because she is queer. “I’ve seen what people are like when they let hate twist them. And I know what it’s like to be in so much pain and feel so alone in that pain that I want to die. I want to lessen that pain for others if I can. And I want to increase compassion. I think the best way of doing this is through books.” Cheryl says that books help us get inside another person’s soul, thoughts and emotions and helps us understand another person and we begin to have more empathy and kindness not just for ourselves but for others also.  We begin to realize their’s more to why a person acts the way they do. 

To write Hunted she thought back on to some of her abuse experiences. Just like the main character Caitlyn, Cheryl knows what it’s like to have her life threatened, to be tortured, and having to decide whether to hide her true self or to be herself even if it means putting herself in danger. Cheryl says a lot of people can relate this book because many people struggle to be who they are because they are scared society will not accept them. Cheryl also had a strong love for fantasy, and she read a lot of books growing up. Fantasy helped her escape from the real world. Cheryl wished that she had telepathic so she could know what her abusers were going to do to her before they did them. Another thing that inspired hunted is the cruelty in the world with sexism, racism and homophobia. Cheryl tried to put a correlation of those types of things in all her books. 

I like Hunted because it was based in another world with different ruled and laws but still somehow related to the real world. It makes me mad and sad that people feel that they have to hide themselves to protect themselves because they’re scared of what people would think of them or what they would do to them. The same way Caitlyn has to hide herself from the Paratroopers. The book made me think about how cruel people in the world are. I agree with Cheryl and Caitlyn, I just want their to be more kindness in the world, so people can understand peoples situations. 

Bibliography:

Rainfield, Cheryl. "Cheryl Rainfield: Teen Fiction Author, Reviewer, and Book-a-Holic."Cheryl Rainfield: Teen Fiction Author, Reviewer, and Book-a-Holic. Cheryl Rainfield, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.

http://www.cherylrainfield.com/

"Cheryl Rainfield." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. 

Bossypants Review


In Bossypants by Tina Fey, you will find very intriguing stories. Stories from how she has a scar on her face, how much she loves and hates her job, and even stories about drunk babies! This book is not a classical romantic novel, or an all jokes book. This book is full of personal events that just make the moment funny. This book indeed is an autobiography. Everything happening in the book is about Tina Fey or related to to her in some way. If you want to know about how someone worked their way up a later, read about someone’s personal life and think hey, I am not the only person going through this, some sketches about Sarah Palin or just get a good(GREAT) laugh then this is the book for you!

Elizabeth Stamatina Fey also known as Tina Fey, was born on May 18, 1970. She is from a town right outside of Philadelphia named Upper Darby. The entire book is about personal to not so personal events in Tina’s life. She explains her childhood, her teenage years and her adulthood to a certain extent. In Bossypants, Tina Explains her childhood. She was very intrigued in the theatre. Everything she did revolved around the theatre. That influenced her life greatly because as a teenager, she work at theater as a cashier. She would like to see everyone perform and one day she performed too. She knew that is what she enjoyed doing. As she grew up that was her support. While going to school, She had a job at a YMCA to be able to pay off classes for theatre. By working and dedicating her life to her job and family, she has received many achievements and is where she is today. Throughout the book, she displays how she worked hard to get what she wanted. By being very detailed when talking about how she went from point a to b and so on, she gives the reader the opportunity to experience what she went through in some form.

This book takes you to a very similar place that Forever by Judy Blume takes you. They are both completely different genres and both have a different purpose too, but they both have one goal; to work for what they want. “Forever” was about a girl who went to a party and  fell deeply in love with a guy she met. The feeling was mutual and were going out for a while. At first everyone was happy for them, but then as time went by, they thought that if they gave each other some time, they would be able to experience new things and would be able to work through anything and everything. The only thing different between Forever and Bossypants is that the main character in Forever gave up her love because she realized that in the time she spent alone without him, that she was not truly in love with him she was just used to having him. Tina Fey was not like this. When she worked for something she workers through it all. In her book, she explains how some nights she had to stay up to finish a sketch for Saturday Night Live. (If you saw some episodes before the 2008 election and a few months later, then probably one of her sketches were in the story and you got a good laugh out of it.) Tina Fey, was the person who impersonated Sarah Palin. Although she got a lot of negative criticism for impersonating Sarah Palin, she kept moving forward and kept making new sketches.

Also, this book gives a very insightful view on what she did at work. She loved her sketches the most. With that being said, if you are really into acting, you should read this book as well. The introduction to this book was strong as well as the other parts of the book.The only downside to the book is the ending. The books ending could have been stronger. It just seems that everything was rushed. Thats like baking a cake. If the most delicious condiments are added to the cake, then a great cake is expected. But if you put it in the oven and leave it for 20 minutes because you are trying to work fast than 35 to bring the cake to perfection, then the cake will not be as good. Or maybe if you add lemon frosting to a chocolate cake. Lemon cake is good but when you mix it with chocolate it isn’t the best cake at least that is in my case. If Tina Fey added more details to the ending like she did to the rest of the book, then the book would of been better. More of a cliffhanger would of been better as well. Maybe when she hits 70, she could’ve written another book and her cliffhanger would of been the completed version of the book.  This book ending was not what I expected. Everything was tied together too quick. More details should have been including. Regardless of the ending, this book is one of the best books  I have personally read.

The life of the actress, script writer and charming Tina Fey is really down to earth and hilarious. Bossypants reflets that all. It lets the reader know that sometimes in life, many lemons will be tossed at you. And you either take the hits negatively or make lemonade.


Bossypants-Tina Fey-April 5,2011-277 pages- Autobiography


Citations for iMovie and Book Review:

Bossypants. 2011. Photograph. N.p.

"Tina Fey." PEOPLE.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.

Fey, Tina. Bossypants. New York: Little, Brown and, 2011. Print.

SNL. N.d. Photograph. N.p.

Blume, Judy. Forever ...: A Novel. Scarsdale, NY: Bradbury, 1975. Print.



Ben Carson: Gifted Hands

Ben Carson: Gifted Hands

The complete autobiography of the famed African American Neurosurgeon. This is his tale of grit and hard work in a time where the odds were in the complete opposite of his favor.


Spanning the from the late 1950’s up to the late 2000’s, Gifted hands covers more than 55 years of Dr. Carson’s life. At a young age, Carson’s mother and father split after the revelation of his father’s second family. Carson’s mother battled with a lack of education, mental disorders, and finance as she struggled to raise her two sons in the city of Detroit at the peak of the civil rights movement. Although today we know Dr. Carson as one of the most talented surgeons in America, he was consistently the bottom of his class throughout his elementary years of schooling. His mother, working under successful caucasian families, drew inspiration from her employers on values to instill within her own children. By the time Carson graduated from the eighth grade, he was the top of his class. Of course, his successes at his all white school were not met with approval from his peers. On top of racial discrimination, Carson struggled with a severe anger management problem. However, he didn’t let these obstacles hinder him. He continued to excel through high school, reaching achievements high enough to earn him acceptance to Yale University. There, Carson met his wife, Candy. Drawing from the values of hard work, integrity, and his strong belief in god Dr. carson has achieved many successes in his career.


This is an autobiography, allowing the reader to feel more of an intimate relationship with the author. Along with relaying the events of his life, Carson also gives us insights on his thoughts throughout each event. Considering the level of education and knowledge Dr. Carson possesses, the book reads very much at a basic level. The book has a very relaxed and informal tone, almost as if you are sitting in your quaint living room having a conversation with a man probably miles away from your home. By doing this, you can vividly see the way the Dr. Carson matures as he ages.  


Whether you believe the book was written well or not,  it has a certain value to society’s youth. Not just African American youth, but to any young person who aspires to do anything great in his or her lifetime. Observing the way that Dr. Carson overcame adversity, not through natural talent, but pure grit and hard work is one of the biggest inspirations a child can receive. It reinforces the hackneyed message that we can achieve anything if we put our minds to it. I believe that actually seeing this played out is extremely valuable.


Gifted Hands
By: Ben Carson
Published: Review and Herald 1990
Pages:224
This is a photo biography of Ben Carson's life. The music playing in the background is Fur Elise written by Beethoven which represents Dr. Carson's fondness of classical music.

https://drive.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/file/d/0B6Cc-ylOZ3jzejAwQjJGVlBKVjQ/edit?usp=sharing

Q1 Benchmark: Book Review for The Martian Chronicles

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Above is my alternate cover to the novel The Martian Chronicles. I decided to do it from the point of view of the Americans before they're even able to travel to Mars, when it's just an idea that some can't even fathom, and when it's finally a dream that's able to come true, the sky becomes a little brighter. 

Jaime Christmas

D Band 

Book Review 


Ray Bradbury’s novel The Martian Chronicles was inspired by some of his favorite writers, including L. Frank Baum, Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs. As he was growing up he spent 3 days a week for 10 years in libraries, investing his time there immensely because he didn’t have the funds to attend college, for he was growing up during the time of the Great Depression. Being a fan of magicians and adventure as a child, sheds light on his style and genre of writing, which he described as “not science fiction, but a piece of fantasy, the depiction of something unreal”. Other pieces of work by Ray Bradbury include, Fahrenheit 451, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and Dark Carnival, a series of short stories. He later went on to win the 2004 Pulitzer Prize. 

The Martian Chronicles was more than just a story of martians and space exploration but the analysis of man kind and human nature. The novel is set on Earth and Mars, starting in 1999 and ending in 2026. It begins with various expeditions to Mars, which all end in peculiar and mysterious ways. Soon after all of the expeditions prove to fail, people being migrating to Mars looking for work or a better life, because it’s almost like being “halfway to heaven”. They’ve learned that they can completely reconstruct their entire existence with a simple one way trip. As more people arrive on Mars and embark on colonizing different parts and turning it into essentially, a second Earth, Mars starts to lose its values that it once had when the original Martians inhabited the land. Ray Bradbury tackles the idea of mankind with such brutal honesty by showing how destructive humans can be when it comes to their personal comfort levels. He cleverly displays the act of the Earthlings going to these extreme lengths to move their entire lives millions of miles away to create exactly what was on their previous home. This makes you wonder why they would even leave in the first place. If they basically recreated what they already had, whats the point? Well, the two paragraph segment that separates the book in two sections, space expeditions and immigrators, explains it all. It states how everyone is leaving something behind on Earth and looking to replace with something grander on Mars. These men were experiencing what is known as “the Loneliness” which occurs when you finally realize that you’re most likely never to return what you no longer call home. Ray Bradbury makes this connection with his own life because, even he was born in a small town in Illinois. He goes on to discuss how even though the numbers of the men traveling grew, it was understandable for the first men to be traveling to slightly frightened because “There was comfort in numbers. But the first Lonely Ones had to stand by themselves...”. I had never experienced such vivid descriptive writing until I encountered this one chapter in this novel. Even though it was in the middle of the book, it tied together everything that had happened and everything that was to come. There are magnificent sections in the book where the writing certainly makes you question and really consider  who we are as a human race, but in spite these significant ideas there are a couple of gray areas where you wonder how it ties in. An example would be when they’re in America during June 2003, set in an incredibly racist town somewhere in the south. I was obviously confused why this town seemed so underdeveloped compared to the rest of America in 2003, and why a man who was an employer of a couple of young African American men could blatantly say the N word. Usually I would just pass it off to them being apart of their time, but that was just not the case here. I think because Ray Bradbury was writing this from his perspective during the 50’s that had some influence on his writing but it was kind of sad to see how he perceived our country would look in 50 years. There was absolutely no growth in his eyes, and that was slightly disappointing. 

Although there is a lot of adventure and excitement in Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, it’s not the upbeat, one shot that some may be looking for. It’s a constant build throughout the entire novel. Every chapter is about a different person; it’s a different story from a different perspective following the same path, slowly completing the tale. I would recommend this book to people who are more focused on the actual people themselves. What their motives are and what influenced their personalities and decisions. This book would be great for anyone who’s looking at the more philosophical side of things, because when considering mankind as a whole, there’s a lot that has to be taken into consideration. 

All and all, The Martian Chronicles had everything I wanted in a book, and I would read it a thousand times over, but since I don’t have the time to do that, I’ll let my peers discover the secrets and fears that lie within this novel. 


Book Information: 

Title: The Martian Chronicles

Author: Ray Bradbury 

Publisher: Doubleday & Company, Inc.

 Date of Publication: May 1950

Number of Pages: 181

Genre: Science Fiction




"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" Book review

In this beautiful, spiritual, and poetic #1 bestseller Maya Angelou writes about her childhood and recalls many situations that happened within her black community that changed her perspectives on life. Throughout the book Maya speaks on the triumphs,losses, dignity and courage of the black community. “I know Why The Caged Bird Sings” is filled with many anecdotes that are almost like puzzle pieces that fit together so beautifully that you not only understand her life, you love her life and each and every word speaks to your soul. Maya Angelou is one of very few authors who can write a story so inspirational, powerful and compelling that you build a bond with each character. Allowing you to cry for their hardships and smile at their accomplishments. “I Know Why The Caged Birds Sings” is not only uplifting to the many people in the black community but also,  other communities of people who have had many losses and victories in their lives.


Maya Angelous was born on April 2, 1928 in St.Louis, Missouri and was raised in Stamps, Arkansas by her grandmother. As a child Maya loved poetry, reading books and even obtained a scholarship to study dance and drama at San Francisco's Labor School. After giving birth to her first and only child, Guy Johnson, Maya began working as a waitress to support her new baby  However, Maya’s love for literature and civil rights changed her path in life and she became a poet,novelist, historian and civil rights activist. Maya has been married three times and won over four award including Presidential Medal of Freedom. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is not Maya’s only book. “And Still I Rise”, “Letter to My Daughter” and “Mom & Me & Mom” are just a pea size amount of all the books Maya has written.


“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” opens with a three year old Maya and her four year old brother, Bailey moving to Arkansas with her grandmother whom she called momma. Maya lives with her grandmother for many years in a primarily black neighborhood. She grows up as a A student who loves reading. After many years of living in Arkansas with her grandmother something that seems normal but is actually a very life changing event happens. Bailey and Maya get a present from their parent who they originally thought were dead. Then one year later Maya’s dad shows up and decided that it is time for Bailey and Maya to live with their mom. Maya’s dad takes them to St.Louis where their mother, Vivian, lives. While there Maya meets her mothers boyfriend Mr.Freeman. Although Maya’s life with her mother was not perfect, she gets used to it but then the unimaginable happens. Mr.Freeman rapes Maya at the tender age of 8. This experience changed Maya in more ways than one and left behind scares that will never be healed. Through out the rest of the book you can see a difference in Maya after the rape.


For people who are sensitive to rape,murder and racism this book might not be the book for you. Maya Angelou goes into explicit details on her rape and how it affected her as a person. Also, there are stories of pretty graphic murders. However, if you can get pass the harshness of these topics, you will love the book. I would recommend  this book to anyone, of any age who loves reading poetry or enjoys reading books about the lives of people over fifty years ago. This book has historical and social value. “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” was published in 1969, there is 289 pages in the book and there was even a movie made about the book. However, the movie did not do very well because people felt that it could not deliver the same emotion that the book did. Overall, “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” is a 10 out of  10 stars. The raw emotion in this book is overwhelming and the compelling stories are more  than  enough to swoop a person off their feet.



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Maya Angelou’s  Life

For my Creative portion I wanted to make a collage showing different portions of Maya Angelou's life. My pictures on the neon green papers represent Maya’s life when she moved to Arkansas at three years old. Maya lived with her grandmother and her uncle in Stamps, Arkansas where her grandmother ran a store thats customers usually consisted of cotton pickers and lumber workers. At a young age Maya had the importance of education embed in her. Maya grew up loving to read, especially Shakespeare.In the green picture the pictures represent the racism that was present in Arkansas and they also represent her father who lived in California. When Maya was almost 8 years old her dad came and decided she should live with her mother. The orange picture represents Maya in St.Louis with her mother Vivian. Vivian had a boyfriend named Mr.Freeman. Mr.Freeman ended up raping Maya when she was only 8 years old and told her that if she were to tell anybody he would kill her and whomever she told. The darker orange pictures represent Maya being silent for many years. She wouldn’t talk to anybody but her brother and her family in St.Louis decided to send her back to her Grandmother where she meets Mrs.Summers. Mrs.Summers starts Maya’s love for poetry but also, more importantly, gets Maya to speak again. A few years later Maya moved back in with her mother and that summer Maya’s dad says he wants Maya to spend the Summer with him in California. In California with her dad Maya meets his girlfriend Dolores who has an immense hate for Maya. Maya and Dolores gets into a physical fight that results in Maya running away for a month where she stayed with homeless kids in a car lot. The pink paper represents Mayas life when she goes back to live with her mother and her mother's husband Cliedell after running away from her father. Maya thinks she is underdeveloped  after seeing many other females her age with more voluptuous bodies. She even believes that she is possibly a lesbian hermaphrodite. In order to lay her fears to rest Maya sleeps with an attractive boy in the neighborhood which end up in an unplanned pregnancy. Maya is able to hid her pregnancy for months but soon decides that because she is due very soon that she should tell her parents. They accept her situation and at the end of the book Maya gives birth to a healthy son named Guy.

Q1 Benchmark - Review of Grow Up

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photo (4)
Above is a drawing I did of an alternative cover to Grow Up by Ben Brooks. In the bottom left corner, there's a cigarette giving off the smoke that spirals in the center. In the right bottom corner, there's a black book with lines of Ketamine, which is their choice of drug, forming the title. Inside of the spiral there is different important elements from the book, including Wu Tang, Crystal Castles, a dead cat, marijuana, cigarettes, beer, etc. 





     Grow Up


Who better to write about the youth than the youth themselves? Ben Brooks captured modern youth flawlessly in his 2011 novel Grow Up. This brutally honest novel stars Jasper Wolf - the 17 year old version of the author himself. While writing the novel, Brooks’ publisher tried to sway him from adding his own characteristics to his character. Brooks disagreed, and adding his own traits to a fictional character proved to be successful. In the end, it enabled the storyline to be more relatable than the majority of young adult literature out today.

Trying to convince everyone that his stepfather murdered his ex wife, passing school exams, and exempting himself from fatherhood are only some of the challenges Jasper faces in Grow Up. He and his friends just barely get by each day with the help of cheap alcohol and drugs, along with numerous tobacco breaks in between. Although you may not impregnate someone after a one night stand on ketamine, you will definitely find a way to relate to Jasper. Grow Up is written as if it were an insiders view into Jasper’s (Ben’s) mind, and you can’t help but fall in love with him as the book goes on. Jasper sees himself a perfectly fine and normal teenager, until he realizes that he isn’t who he thought he was. Dealing with his classmates suicide, his best friend’s relationship ending, and his unborn baby cause him to reconsider who he really is. Although some people may only see this book as nothing but sex and drugs, it does have a deeper meaning to it. It is about growing up, and the ups and downs that come with it. It’s written in a way that makes you rediscover yourself over and over again.

Brooks grew up in Gloucestershire, England and began writing at a very young age. Grow Up was his first mainstream novel, which was written when he was only 18 years old. His inspiration came from well known American writer Tao Lin, and Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. He mentions Murakami in his writing, saying “Murakami makes me feel safe and positive. I wish Murakami was my stepdad. Murakami would never murder my mum.” He incorporates both of their styles into his writing, which forms the unique inner monologue feel of Grow Up. Brooks is also the author of books such as Fences and the newly published Lolito, which is a spin off of the famous novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.

One common comparison is between Grow Up and the British TV show Skins. Skins features a group of teenagers that are portrayed to be partying misfits, but are actually all fairly attractive and well off.  That same stereotype is often applied to Grow Up. People often feel as though he’s following in the same footsteps as many young authors - trying to be unique while still being a cliche. The rebel group of partying teens is long played out by now, but Grow Up has a certain touch to it that makes it feel as though it were the only (and most important) book of that matter.

Brook’s taste and style is somewhat concerning when first reading this novel. His use, or lack thereof, of consonants emphasizes every emotion individually along with the short, simple sentences that are used. Although his writing seems simple and amature, it contains a depth that unfolds throughout the reading. His comparisons are often questionable, such as when he describes his best friend Tenaya’s house. “It is huge and victorian, with ivy curling up the front  like a pedophile’s fingers.” These uncomfortable comparisons keep the story interesting, as if you never know what he’s going to say next.  His use of detail is often, keeping the story alive. It’s as if this were a true documented story rather than a work of fiction.

After reading this novel, I’m left with the feeling of wanting more. Although it would of been great to continue this story, it was perfect timing to end where it did. Grow Up should be a staple in every young person’s reading list. It was written about teenagers by a teenager, so it’s realisticness is unbeatable. It opens up new doors to what life could be like, and provides a sense of hope for even the worst situations. I would highly recommend this book for people who enjoy young adult literature, realistic fiction, or just gritty coming of age work. Brooks is still young, and I predict his work will be getting better with age.



Grow Up / Ben Brooks / Penguin Group / 2011 / 260 Pgs / Fiction

The Thief Of Always Book Review

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Clive Barker, horror and fiction mastermind, tells a riveting journey that delves deep into the themes of utopia and mystery in the work of fiction “The Thief of Always”. Clive finds a unique balance between paradox and ordinary as 10 year old Harvey Swick lives out a wondrous life in his own utopia, called the Holiday House. However, sheer perfection has its low points, as for what Harvey will soon find out, utopia cannot truly exist, and behind all good, there is some bad. The Holiday House serves as a true test to Harvey’s wisdom and knowledge as he is subjected to the countless illusions that comprise this phenomenal tale.

The concept of the Holiday House seems very simple and direct: The house serves as a safe haven from all that isn’t what it shouldn’t be, offering homemade cookies made fresh from the oven, a couple nice children who serve as the ideal buddies, and endless activities and fun. The somewhat chilling effect that is given off by the story is the severity of the perfection occurring in this reality. For every day that passes by at the Holiday House, back in reality, an entire year passes. This goes hand in hand with the fact that for each day that passes at the house, all four seasons occur throughout each day. The Holiday House’s extremely deceiving facade is a perfect challenge for the mature and wise mind of Harvey Swick. The seemingly perfect environment, where every morning is Christmas, everything has purpose, and not a dull moment exists, was simply too perfect to trick Harvey. After consulting with a fellow resident around his age named Lulu, he realizes that she isn’t really happy, at all. He discovers that the owner of the house, Mr. Hood, is imprisoning the children with this false utopia. The fact that Harvey is so intelligent and can process such mature and adult-level thoughts makes the read very satisfying, as rarely do we see a ten year old doing the things Harvey did.


The recurring theme in this story is the comparison between what is real and what is illusion. These main topics incite deep thought and deeper meanings under the plot. The sense of otherworldliness within this seemingly ever so normal environment is a prime example of paradox and illusion. This characteristic of the book makes it only more alluring, as it becomes almost effortless to lose yourself in the realms and layers of the story. This strong trait that the book possesses makes it a fantastic read for the more mature audience. This asset brings along another powerful comparison to the novel, which is the comparison of audiences. The book remains simple enough for rather young individuals to thoroughly enjoy the plot, while the deeper meanings will satisfy the needs of the more mature, deep thinking reader.


Low points in this story are scarce. The only ones realistically fathomable are the writing tense (the story is written in third person, some people may much rather prefer first person), the fact that the book had no successor or series along with it, or, complimenting that flaw, that the book was just too short. However, it is still an impressive accomplishment to fit a story of such thought provoking themes into 225 rather small pages. The writing is superb and has a classic flow that allows the reader to forget their surroundings and find themselves immersed in the plot. Clive is a very naturally gifted writer; having been a writer since the 1980’s it’s an understatement to say he’s had some experience in the field. Being an adept horror writer, this novel is strongly influenced by that trait of Mr. Barker. The vibe that is given off throughout the story is a chilling, eerie vibe, and I believe that comes directly from the author’s past experiences in writing.


I would recommend this book to just about any reader who is looking for a great, well rounded story. The length is suitable for most audiences, and within this length are incredible new thoughts and ideas to be explored. Clive Barker has done a fantastic job weaving and intertwining realities in this book. The blend of what is real and what is illusion will captivate any reader, age seven or seventy, and leave them reflecting upon their own reality, what is real and what is not, and other philosophical theories. This thought provoking novel is a wonderful read, but beware, just like Harvey, you may lose track of time after entering the realms of the thief of always.



Title: The Thief Of Always

Author: Clive Barker

Publisher: HarperCollins

Date of Publication: Nov. 18th, 1992

Number of pages: 225 (first edition), 240 (newer edition)

Genre: = Fiction



My creative piece is a drawing made by myself. When reading this book, I got a sense of trippyness, mystery and illusion. In this picture, I drew the house (one of the main subjects of the story), and incorporated many trippy images and designs. On the bottom in the pathway towards the house, I have a double headed creature. The top is a monster and the bottom is a perfect girl. I used this to show the comparison between the good and bad that comprises the Holiday House.

War Dances Review

Short stories are the souffles of literary work; quick and short, rush and it will flatten, leave too long, it will burn. Sherman Alexie is truly a chef who has mastered the art of creating characters that we meet for about a half of an hour, yet are able to savor for a lifetime.

Alexie, a Native American who grew up on a reservation, is an author renowned for his writing skills just as much as for his controversial and personal topics. The Native American writer is so rare, his perspective, a crucial part in the making of American identity, is renowned in the literary community, as well as the world. Racial and cultural notability aside, Alexie’s writing has earned him more than 15 awards. He has written and directed 4 movies included in the Sundance movie festival.

Through his “War Dances”, a series of short stories and poems, Alexie not only questions what it means to be Native American in the America, but what it means to be a person, anywhere. Son of an alcoholic father and a victim of seizures and bullying, Alexie gives us this piece, “War Dances”, that melds lines between fiction and bone-chilling autobiographical facts and moments. Through snarkiness, laughs and an occasional session of somberness, Alexie allows the reader to fully his word for word, masterpiece.

These stories, some told in first person, others in the third, are like dreams. You can’t really tell how long you’ve known the character once you’ve flipped the first page .You don’t remember when you started, but you know exactly where you are. Alexie’s short stories have their readers afraid to turn the page, for fear a connection with the character would be over, like a friend you met during a week-long vacation.

There is something relatable in every character. I, an African American girl felt akin to the Native American man who killed a black teen. Alexie doesn’t just convey the pain of the main character. In every story, he shows how the entire world around them begins to crumble, and at times with a hilarious prose.  

Alexie’s satire is not overt. Every sentence does not blame America for the Native American people’s condition. When he chooses to address the situation (in about 3 stories), there is a subtlety that challenges the reader as a person to criticize the character, as well as themselves. Any reader who enjoys a book that does not answer questions, but rebirths age-old ones and challenges the world around them, as well as their universal truths, should pick up “War Dances”.


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​Artist's Note: This picture shows an artistic comparison of a Native American dancing and a skeleton. Notice the placement of the images, the contrasts. Comment what you think it means.
"War Dances", Sherman Alexie, Publisher: Grove Press,Year: 2010,Pages: 214, Genre: Fiction

Ashley Spells Book Review: The Dirty Divorce

The Dirty Divorce
By: Ashley Spells

The dirty divorce is such an amazing book! It takes place in Washington D.C.From the time you start till the end you are on the edge of your seat. You are always wondering what is going to happen next. This is the type of book where you don't want to sit it down you have to keep reading.Miss K.P. did a awesome job keeping the readers attention and not making the book boring.The book is full of drama and it makes you think and it makes you feel as if you were there. I myself am not a fan of reading books a lot but this book was different I really could not sit this book down thats how good it was.Love,trust,lies,deceit,money,family and sex are the common themes in the book. Pregnancy,rape and abduction hit the family all at one time.
The main characters of the book are Lisa and Rich. Lisa and Rich are married and have two children together,Juan who is the oldest and Denie who is the baby girl. Lisa is a stay at home wife and mom.Lisa gets any and everything she wants and loves to go shopping! I first realized that I was going to love this book when I made a connection with Lisa’s character.Lisa loves to go shopping she is very chill and loves to have fun.When I first were reading about Lisa I pictured myself being with her because we like doing similar things. Rich and Lisa are complete opposites, I guess its true that opposites attract.Rich is a sexy drug pin and he runs the city of D.C! Rich is a gangster and is well respected In D.C. Denie which is Lisa’s and Rich’s daughter is a daddy’s girl she and Rich have a great relationship  but Denie never had a good relationship with her mother Lisa. Denie is a spoiled brat she gets everything she wants.Juan on the other hand is a mommy’s boy he would do anything and everything for Lisa,Juan hates Rich with a passion. Lisa and Rich live the fab life in the suburbs of D.C. They have the nice cars,Big house etc.Rich is top drug dealer in D.C. he is very attractive and girls love him.
Lisa grew up in the church.She went to church every day of the week well until she met Rich. He was the bad guy,she was the good girl it was love at first sight. Lisa fell in love with Rich only because he was the bad guy that’s what she loved most about him.She loved that we was into the game because she grew up in the church she never experienced a “bad boy” Only Lisa didn’t know what she was getting herself into. Lisa is the type of chick that was be like “What am I going to do without him” She was so use to having everything handed to her that she forgot all about being independent. I really hated that Lisa depended on a man.
Rich has the money and the look and girls would just throw themselves at him. Rich always cheats on Lisa with other women. Lisa is so naive about the situation! Lisa really got on my nerves when it came to Rich and his infidelities. She knows Rich cheats on her but Lisa loves him so much and have been with him for so long that she could never see herself ever leaving Rich for good.When she tries to walk away when she has had enough he would always shower her with gifts to make her stay.Rich knew exactly what to do to make Lisa not mad at him anymore.Lisa is so blinded by Rich’s infidelities that she always comes back to Rich.We all have that boy who we love and can never give up.We know that he is doing wrong and that we shouldn't be with him but we stay because of our love for that person.Even when we do leave that person alone we know at the end of the day we will always be there well that’s how Lisa feel about Rich but how much can a person take before they are done forever? I understood that Lisa didn’t wanna leave Rich alone because she really cares for him and love him but Lisa really made me so mad when she started to make up excuses for not leaving. She would always use her kids as an excuse to stay with Rich.
I think a lot of young girls  would love to read this book and can relate to this book. I believe that anyone who does read this book would love it because it touches on things that are going on in the real world and also because its a suspenseful book, keeps you interested and also on your edge of your seat. Overall this is my book review on The Dirty Divorce by Miss K.P.

The Dirty Divorce

By: Miss K.P.
Publisher: Life changing books
Genre:Drama.
Total Pages: 233 pages
Date published:May 14th 2010


Two Boys Kissing Book Review

it was a story nobody was telling

there are boys lying awake hating themselves.

there are boys who clutch secrets at night the same way they clutch denial in day.

our humor was our compass our humor was our shield

when we kissed, we know how powerful it is

ignorance is not bliss. Bliss is knowing the full meaning of what you have been given.

our happiness had defiance our happiness had fear

when  we feared being too open meant opening ourselves to attacks

you spend so much time, so much effort, trying to hold yourself together just for it to all fall apart

if you put enough closets together, you have enough space for a room

it is not darkness we fear but our own dreadfulness in it

the fewer connections you’ve made in the world the easier it is to leave

our lives were short and we never would have wanted them to be shorter

If you play your cards right, the next generation will have much more than you did

I am not wrong. Society is wrong.

The poem above is written using different quotes from the book. I was trying to magnify his poetic use of words. In the movie the people are saying the poem along with different pictures that go along with some topics in the book.


The non-fiction book Two Boys Kissing is a story that travels through the life of gay teens who are discovering who they are and their many different struggles. The author, David Levithan takes you on a journey through the very distinct real stories of teens who share very different stories in their lives. He shows the perspective of what to many of us seems something so normal to in the 21st century be gay, but from the perspective of a gay teen you begin to realize how recent it is that being gay has been ok, if it even is yet.

The author David Levithan is a New York Times best seller, who is known for many other realistic fiction and nonfiction stories for teens. Some examples of his work are Invisibility, Every Day, Every You Every Me, Lover’s Dictionary, and Love is the Higher Law. He decided to write this book when a man named Michel Cart asked him to write a book about LGBTQ life today. His whole life he has seen struggles of being gay;for example his Uncle almost died of aids, or his best friends got married in Washington DC. The title of the book came from a David Hockney painting named “We Two Boys Together Clinging” which was from a Walt Whitman Poem. In his author's notes he says, “This isn’t a book that I could have written ten years ago. And as much as I’d love to credit that to my growth as a writer, I know it’s not really that. Instead it’s about all the people I’ve met and talked to as an author.”

The story is narrated by two adult gay men who follow these other boys through their journeys as teens. The premise begins at a gay prom where kids travel from all over because many of them live in towns where they are not accepted and this is their night. You meet Peter, Neil, Avery, Ryan, Craig, Harry and Cooper. The book switches back and forth through their stories.         

Through the book the main story that connects all of the characters is the telling of two boys trying to break the record for the longest kiss. These boys are Craig and Harry, they are ex boyfriend's who decided to take on this challenge of a 36 hour kiss. Through the story you will see their struggles through the kiss physically and emotionally as their feelings run wild. Craig’s parents do not know that he is gay while Harry’s parents are big supporters of the kiss and him. Peter and Neil are a fairly new couple whose journey through their relationship is laid out in the book. There is another couple that begins to appear, Avery and Ryan who met at the gay prom. Avery is a girl and is transgender, their new relationship endures many hardships even though it has just begun. The last boy in the story is Cooper who has a much harder time than the other boys with his identity. His story is one that is not like the others.

The book is interesting because it gives you a whole new look at what it means to be gay in our society. For people living in an urban setting being gay has become something that is typical. When you hear the stories of these boys though you get a whole new look on what it means. Our society is still ignorant and the stories of these boys will change your life.

The poetic writing grabs the readers attention and drags them into a whole new realm of connection with these characters. In one part of the kiss when he talks about the book he says, “this is the power of a kiss: it does not have the power to kill you. But it has the power to bring you to life.” He intertwines a very typical teenage writing style into one where there is more depth. It magnifies that it is a love story that still has many ups and downs in it and that is shown through the writing style. The book is written with two narrators who follow these boys and for a lack of better words comment on their decisions and their journey through being gay. It flips between their narrations and dialogues between the characters.

Although the book was very well written and I enjoyed the writing style some parts could have been done a little better. I understand that this is supposed to be a vignette of different love stories displaying a struggle but I feel that there was not an appropriate use of dramatization in the correct places. David Cullen in sometimes presented certain parts too over and under dramatized leaving the reader annoyed by giving up so many chances he add to add many key scenes to the book.

If you enjoy teenage love stories that are not so average then this is the book for you. I would recommend it for a young adult audience who is also aware of social issues.


Title: Two Boys Kissing

Author:David Levithan

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Date of Publication: August 27, 2013

Number of Pages: 200

Genre: Teenage Realistic Fiction


Book Review on 50 Shades of Grey

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There are many characters in the book 50 Shades of Grey. The main characters’ names are Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. They meet and suddenly become attracted to one another.

Christian Grey is a very intimate man with a huge secret. He is tall and attractive with dark, copper colored hair and intense, bright eyes. Christian is outspoken and speaks his mind about everything, but when it comes to his personal life he is extremely secretive. He is the CEO of Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc. which means he is very rich and confident about himself.

Anastasia Steele is a senior and a literature student at Washington State University. She is awfully shy, especially when it comes to Christian Grey. She gets unnaturally nervous  around him and is very self conscious about how she looks and what she says. She is an intelligent woman with a terribly big issue.

In the book, Anastasia is given a document that makes her think twice about whether she wants to be associated with Christian Grey or not. She can not tell anyone about the document, so she can’t even get Kate, her roommate’s, opinion on the whole situation. If Ana doesn’t sign the document, she will never see or hear from Christian again, even though Christian really cares about her. Kate has her suspicions about Christian Grey, but she just can’t quite put her finger on it.

Christian Grey is a immensely manipulative towards everyone. He can get anyone that he knows to do things remarkably easy, especially Anastasia. She is so attracted to Christian she stumbles on her words and when she walks. They get to know each other very well as the book goes on, but Anastasia still doesn’t know what shes in for. She is sucked into his lifestyle easily by his intriguing eyes and mixed between happy and serious emotions. She sees that he is mysterious but she wants to pull him out of his shell and see what Christian is hiding. She tries getting in his heart, but quickly realizes that he won’t let anyone get that close to him.

Christian cares about Anastasia and wants her to part of his crazy lifestyle, but will she say yes to him?  He asks a lot from Ana. He wants her under his terms with very little compromise. Anastasia doesn’t know if she is ready for the affairs Christian wants her to be a part of. The problem on her mind is that if she doesn’t agree she will never see or hear from Christian again and she doesn’t want that to happen because she is really falling for him, but she still needs to think extremely hard.

The book, 50 Shades of Grey is intended for mature audiences only. Mature audiences means people that are comfortable with reading scenes that are very erotic and descriptive. Most people like to call it “Mommy Porn” because it is immensely erotic and  extremely descriptive. There is a lot of controversy over the book, and E.L. James, the author didn’t think it was going to get so popular so for her first print, she went to Australia and only got a few print outs of the book. Word spread about the book quickly, and millions of copies have been sold all over the world. 50 Shades of Grey is a trilogy, and you will fall in love with the first book so much that it will make you want to read the second, “50 Shades Darker,” and the third and final book, “50 Shades Freed.” This book is an erotic romantic novel will have you on the end of your seat the whole time you’re reading it.

E.L. James, the author of 50 Shades of Grey is a British woman who was born on March 7, 1963. This would make her 50 years old today. Her book came out June of 2011 which means when it was published she was 48. This was her first time writing a trilogy, and I loved the first books so much that I am definitely going to read the other ones. Her birth name is Erika Mitchell, and she just uses E.L. James as a pseudonym. James didn’t expect the book to get so popular. She won 2 awards in 2012 for 50 Shades of Grey and they were, Popular Fiction Book of the Year, and Book of the Year. The book is also nominated for a GoodReads choice awards finalist for best romance. It is also a number one New York Times Bestseller.

Get sucked into the erotic and romantic novel that will take you further than you have ever imagined you could go in a book. Get attached to Christian, find out why Anastasia gets nervous around him, and see if she takes the offer he gives her or turns him down. Or walks away forever?

Articulo #7

Will Amari

Señorita Manuel

Q1

Kate Moss, Johnny Depp y Meryl Streep

protagonizan el nuevo vídeo de Paul McCartney 



El ex Beatle, Paul McCartney tiene mucho amigos que era muy famosa y importante. Incluso la modelo británica Kate Moss y el maravilloso actoras Johnny Depp y Meryl Streep protagonizan el nuevo vídeo de Paul McCartney. Johnny Depp, es en un largometraje de Queenie Eye.  


El músico genio, de setenta y una años, es en necesitas de un promoción de su último álbum en solitario. Sin embargo, para mi, Paul McCartney no necesita un promoción. El es muy famosa por su vejez banda de roca, El Beatles. Ellos hacen millones y millones de dólares. También ellos hacen mucho fama. ¡Sin duda Paul McCartney es una de la mayoría importante roca músicos en el mundo!


Es grande que sus amigos era celebridades. Por ejemplo, Meryl Streep y Kate Moss. Yo quiero amigos famoso. Sin embargo ellos necesitan para ser uniqo y cómico porque estoy uniqo y cómico. Yo leí el artículo porque el artículo dije Johnny Depp y Paul McCartney. Ellos son llamativo. Me gusta la musica de Paul McCartney y Johnny Depp es un buen actor. Yo aprendí que Paul McCartney tiene un nuevo vídeo y el tiene un nuevo álbum. Mi favorita álbum es Paul McCartney es Ram. Yo quiero más álbumes de Paul McCartney.


word count: 206


http://spanish.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=spanish&cdn=education&tm=192&f=10&su=p284.13.342.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.abc.es/


Benchmark Book Review Crank

Book Review 

The book Crank was recommend to me by my Student Assistant Teacher Alisha Clark.  I really wasn’t sure that this type of novel told in verse form was anything I would like, since normally it’s not my thing.  So, imagine my surprise when I started reading it and found myself sucked into the story to the point where I could not put this book down. 

Ellen Hopkins wrote Crank in 2004.  She once said in a interview that her book is somewhat based on her life and things that she went through. I always thought that when writing books, a lot of authors really don’t like to express their feelings too much because some feel like they don’t want to be looked down on or judged.  I feel like we learn lessons from reading books like this, and even though we go through things doesn’t mean others have not lived it.  From reading this book, I’ve seen how families can overcome things for the better and the worse. The book was written from the point of view of Kristina, which sounds like the point of view of the author.  I liked how the author didn’t use a lot of characters and told it mainly from Kristina’s point of view. Each and every night, Kristina sat down and expressed her self about the “monster” and how it made her feel when she was not at her highest point, like how she felt when taking the drugs.  It made me have an understanding about the people who take do crack and pop pills. It showed me that they would do anything just to get high and feel like the person that is inside them would only be expressed when they are high.

I had a few opinions on the plot of Crank.  I didn’t understand why the mother let her child go stay with her father knowing that he was addicted to crack and smoking anything that can get him high. It’s funny because it stated how the mother left him just to get away from it and then to put her child with a person who has a tough time dealing with their own problems. The main character Kristina seemed like she is trying to be someone that she is not. I believe that the author gave her a alter ego name Bree, Bree was the other person inside Kristina’s mind, she was the loud mouthed one and she didn’t care what anybody had to say about her. Then Kristina started talking to Buddy, a boy she met when she was with her father.  I didn’t like how she seemed so easy, it seemed like she’ll do anything for him just to make him happy.  Noticing how Buddy introduces Kristina to drugs, It made me think that the father wanted to have his daughter and her friend on drugs, so that he could join them or have company. I didn’t like that at all. It made me look at him like he is a drug freak and would do anything just to get high. Then for Kristina, who thinks it was okay to do what any man tells her to do. It seems like Kristina wanted to find love, but just was looking in all the wrong places.

This book was written for young girls who think they are out here alone and feel like there’s no one that they can talk to.  Even though we look down on and say that people who do drugs are wrong, I believe that it just some way of how people express their ways. For example, if someone feels like an unwanted child, they may turn to drugs.  People need to have a better understanding of what is happening when it comes to reading books.  Some of us read books just to read them and other read books to learn how to overcome their problems. From reading this book, I came to the point that I learned how to deal with things and I don’t have to do drugs or take anything because from learning what Kristina went through, I know what these types of drugs can do to you.

I would give this book four stars out of four stars because I love how Ellen Hopkins writes some of her book in poetry form.  The overall mood of the story was relieving because of how Kristina grew from being a young teenager to a an adult.   There is a surprise at the ending for the reader that is unexpected.  Throughout the story she overcame her struggles.  After reading this book, I think Ellen Hopkins told a good story and did a good job doing it.  I think the way Ellen Hopkins ended the story was a good setup for the reader to get the message across that the mistakes that Kristina made so that other young girls would not make the same mistakes as well.


Works Cited


Hopkins, Ellen.  Crank.  New York : Simon & Schuster , 2004 . Print .


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crank_(novel). Wikipedia, Crank.  Website.



   



   

    




When the winter came , I felt you calling my name. didn’t  know how to express the pain. Your was controlling me, would let me be the person I am when I feel the monster inside,
 I feel like this person taking my body but controlling my mind . and I like it.
 I didn’t care who see me, I didn’t care about what anybody to say, I just wanted to get high. 
So hard not be able to express me. Good girls ain’t no fun, and the bad girl are just trying to fuck.
Knowing me Im trying all I want to do was be a bad ass and get high. 
The emotion I feel cant no one take it way from me. I was just a fool. 
Knowing that I should go  even when I PACK MY BAG SOMETHING ALWAYS HOLDS ME BACK.

English Benchmark

​ 

Book review of “Crash ( Vision #1)”

The novel “Crash” written by Lisa McMann is the beginning of a book serie which is called “Vision”. It is also a kind of love story and kind of mystery

The main character of this book is called Jules Demarco ,her parents are the owner of an italian family restaurant. She lives together with her parents and her two siblings,Rowan her younger sister and her older brother Trey, in the apartment over the restaurant. After school they help most time their parents in the restaurant because it was always in her family that the children have helped their parents in this. Also her parents thinks that her brother Trey drives Jules and her little sister with a truck which has meatballs in the top, every morning to school. But Trey don’t really want to do this so he gives her every week 10 Dollar to drive the truck to school.Her parents thinks that the meatball truck is a good advertisement but it’s more a kind of embarassing for their children. To the normal stress which comes when you owned a restaurant comes the fact that her family is since years in a big fight with the Angotti’s family which also owns a Italian restaurant and which have stolen a special recipe from the Demarco family. Another problem from here is that she loves Sawyer Angotti since she is little and that she is not allowed to love him.  To all of her teenage and family problems comes on really special problem: She see the Vision how a truck crash into a house and after the accident they are laying seven white backs with deads bodies in the snow.

After a short time it starts getting really personal for her because she see the face from one of the dead bodies, it is her big love Sawyer. The boy which has start stop speaking with her from one day to the other day in seventh grade. The boy which she will never be allowed to love.

This vision following her always. She see it when she is sitting in the car on the way to school and look on a screen or if she just want at home and want to see TV and nobody else can see this vision. After a short time she decided to do something to stop the accident but she no idea where she can start or how she get anyone to believe to her. So she start try to figure out where it will happened or why and what she can do to stop it.

This book is more about the love story between Jules and Sawyer than about the accident and the Vision which Jules has. I had hoped more that it would be a more mystery than that it would be a love story. But on the other side I loved her kind of writing a book. She has written it so that in the book where some really sad moments but there were also some moments where you was really excited and also there was some moments where you just had the book in the hand and can’t stop laughing because some parts was so fun.

All in all she has written in a really interesting  way which was for me the reason that after I have start reading the book that I couldn’t but it away.

You will really enjoy to read mystery books which have a big touch of love stories and which are written in a varied way.

Lisa McMann was born on February 27. 1968 in Michigan U.S. . Since 2004 she lives together with her husband Matt and her two children Kilian and Kennedy in the near of Phoenix, Arizona.

On of her most famous book is Wake which is the beginning of a trilogy.

The book “crash” is the beginning of another book serie and was published on January 8 2013.

Lisa McMann writes in general books for children and teenagers and short stories which are more for adults.


Bibliography:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_McMann

https://www.google.com/search?q=Lisa+McMann+Lebenslauf&oq=Lisa+McMann&aqs=chrome.0.69i59l2j69i61j0j69i60j0.5261j0j7&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=91&ie=UTF-8#es_sm=91&espv=210&q=Lisa+McMann





Girl saved lives

Yesterday the 13.2 one day before Valentin's day Jules Demarco which is a really amazing Girl have saved many lives. Her older brother Rowan report about it in an exclusive interview what exactly was happened. She was on the way to deliver food to customers when she has made a break to pick him up. This break was in the near of Angotti's and it was also their look because when she was on the parking lot she has seen the truck driving with high speed on the street on the direct way to crash into the restaurant. So Jules had a really good reaction and has taken their truck which has big meatballs on the top and has driven backward into the other car to stop him. The driver of the other car had a heart attack and died which was the reason why he lost his control over the car. All in all Jules has done it and have stop the truck and have saved many lives with this action but she was for a few in the hospital. 

But she didn't risk her live to save the restaurant from anyone no she has done this to save the restaurant from the biggest competitor of her parents restaurant. 

Book Review: Macbeth

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​Here is the link to the audio of my Creative Piece.

The world of the legendary storyteller William Shakespeare is at his best when he tells the breath-taking story about a Thane and his betrayal of honor towards the unlikelihood of him becoming the king. The themes of ambition and ruthless power bring out the true colors of the anti-hero.

William Shakespeare, the profound writer, poet and playwright is considered the all time best English language writer. Macbeth was just one of his many classic plays. Shakespeare has written many renowned stories from Romeo and Juliet, the story of two lovers from different worlds, to the story of Othello “The Moor of Venice”, as he brings classical themes together like racism and jealously. He died over 300 years ago and his plays are still related to the present issues we have in our culture today. The format and genre of the book is written as a script, in which the characters and the plot is given through the characters dialogue. The book was published in the year 1623 in a folio. Folio is a Shakespearean term for a series of collected literature.Blood and tears follow him, and the guilt of his unworthy deed costs him his companions lives. The wild grass hides the snake in its charlatan schemes. The two have a zealous soul and little do they know they can’t withstand the ramifications of their dishonored act.


Macbeth is said to be brave and honorable, but he struggles with these characteristics throughout the entire play. Three witches give him a prophecy that he will become the King of Scotland. Lady Macbeth, his wife, wants the prophecy to become reality. Her masculine ambition yokes that of her husband’s. She concocted a devious plan to allow her beloved Macbeth to become King. Lady Macbeth is introduced already planning the death of Duncan, the Scottish King. Macbeth questions himself, when he realizes he must take his own king’s life. Lady Macbeth then manipulates him by questioning his valor and spirit. Macbeth, now in a power struggle feels he needs to prove himself. So he puts all his objections to the deed aside and performs the “manly task”.


The play meets my various expectations. Such as having great dialogue, its ability can to pull me in and catch my attention, starting at the first page. It grabs your ideas and thinking to make you imagine. Another expectation I have is there beautiful words and detail. It gets a kudos for the descriptive details and great usage of words. Shakespeare a genius at work who encourages you to analyze his work.  The book is for readers that have some ideal thoughts on life and have many questions about what's right and wrong. I questioned ideas and themes in the play. For example, a controversial theme in the play was the lust for power and strive to make that power possible. In Macbeth's case, he was willing to kill to advance himself to the throne. Other themes that leave readers puzzled is the masculinity of the woman in the play. Lady Macbeth and the three witches that gave Macbeth the prophecies all jolt a act of violence in his actions. These actions in a woman are uncommon and that's why it puzzles so many readers. The play is full of pages with pure accuracy and detail, giving the reader a new perspective of regret. Which leads to aggressive power. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth feed off each other and that’s how they completed the task of killing Duncan, the Scottish King.


The novel reveals ideas and details that you can never imagine. It’s a classic play that’s is renowned around the world. It teaches you things you would never know about yourself. After reading this play I knew how I was going to approach the world and what flaws i needed to make about myself. Because like Macbeth everyone has ambition or goal. But you can not let it lead you into the valley of darkness and evil. The book can help you make decisions in the future about power and ambition; to teach you how these qualities work together. The book may be a hard read for people who are not use too old readings. For example, the book uses words that are not used in the modern day text. In the book that the play is in the book is organized so that if you understand the dialogue. So there is a nice way you can understand the plot. Macbeth is wonderful plot that you should give a chance.



Title

Author

Publishers

Date of Publication

Number of Pages

Genre

Macbeth

William Shakespeare

John Heminges

and Henry Condell

1623

193

Tragedy


The Fault in Our Stars

Untitled

This is a redesigned book cover for the book. I put my favorite quote from the book in the background, and just reformatted the lettering.


I’ve always wondered what the hype was about this John Green guy. I’m a regular on tumblr a blogging website. The links and ravings about his books and the author himself were just flooding my dashboard a mile a minute. This wasn’t the first time something had blown up on the website like this, especially something about books. Of course with the majority of Tumblr being avid readers, there was bound to be one or more book reviews. But this was alarming, the amount of praise this guy got. The book I saw the most buzz about was The Fault in Our Stars. So of course when it came time to pick a choice book, I had something to look forward to.


The Fault in Our Stars, or TFIOS for short, is about the life of a girl who has lung cancer. She can’t attend school because of her sickness so her friends soon become obsolete. She has to attend this meeting/group with other kids who have cancer. There she meets a boy who had his leg amputated because of bone cancer. Soon they become friends and then fall in love, the standard plot for a young adult novel. But the way the author went about it was captivating and completely different from what I have ever read before.


With most reviews I read about The Fault in Our Stars, a lot of people mentioned that this wasn’t John Green’s story to write. It would of made more sense for a cancer survivor to be talking about being a teenager and dealing with the harsh realities of cancer. But I did some research and found that he actually worked in a hospital for sick children. This inspired him to become an author, and those experiences formed the The Fault in Our Stars. This made me have so much more of a love for this book since it was unbiased and came from actual experiences, seeing how these kids lived with one foot in the grave.


Overall the book was beautifully written, keeping me interested through the ups and downs of the plot. It’s hard for a book to keep me interested for so long; that’s why I don’t tend to read things unless it’s a short story or a news article. But this book surprised me completely, with it’s complex characters and realities that aren’t saccharine. What really kept me reading was the limited amount of description. I tend to doze off when I read three chunky paragraphs about how the wind affects the trees. The outside description was kept minimal and focused more on human interaction and inner monologues, which I tend to appreciate more.


I especially loved the characters in this book. For teenagers, they were complex and interesting, their personalities and quirks not seen in most teenagers. Usually young adult novels about teenagers depict them as hormonal, unintelligent beings that live off of drama and the media, influenced by absolutely anything. To be honest, it’s not that far from the truth, but only a small population of teenagers are actually like that. Most of us are actually smart and have a lot more common sense than what we’re credited with. But here, the teenagers were actually decently intelligent and acted like mature people. As a fellow teenager, I really appreciated this and felt like we as a whole were being respected as human beings. However, they only thing that threw me off was the amount of complex and poetic conversation that was going on. We may be intelligent, but we don’t use poetic and novel references. Let’s be honest here: none of us talk like that at all. Yes, we have serious conversations that might dwell into some bigger issues and actually come out with an epiphany about the human race and society. But that doesn’t happen during every single conversation, especially to other teenagers. However, the romance that blossomed between the two main characters felt pretty realistic. Most teenage romance is full of awkward glances and awkward times together. But these two had a special connection: they both had cancer. I’m sure that connection made their romance a bit different, but strong than the standard teen romance.


What really made me love this book was that the reality of cancer was real. I’ve personally never knew anyone with cancer. It’s always been diabetes and heart problems for me, since both run in my family quite frequently. The deaths feel the same, since the death of anyone no matter the way the went feels horrible. But what I find different with cancer (or what I’ve heard about it) is that you can just see the person deteriorating from the inside out. They look absolutely fine one day, but then they get deathly sick the next, their cancer coming back to haunt them once more. In this novel, the threat of dying was always felt and was completely real. Most novels about sickness and disease tend to downplay this, focusing on how strong and happy the characters are, like their lives wouldn’t end at any moment. The characters in this book however always recognize that their lives can end at any moment, and live accordingly. They don’t ever talk about hope, in fact they’ve stated that they are hopeless and always expect to die at some point. They weren’t strong, they were real.


I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes young adult novels with a  twist, especially a grim one. I think this book would suit teenagers and adults alike. For teenagers it would be a relief to see that someone actually treats us with respect and depicts us somewhat realistically. For adults it would be nice to show that kids can be intelligent human beings with complex emotions that have meaning behind them. The twist and turns will keep anyone interested for a long enough time to finish the book and crave more. Similarly, Green’s Looking for Alaska is amazing as well, with the same complexity revisited. Honestly all of Green’s novels are amazing, and great for anyone to read.


Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author : John Green

Publisher: Dutton Books

Publication : 10 January 2012

# of pages : 313

Genre : Young Adult


Artículo respuesta #7

Betty Louis Q1

Senorita Manuel

En este articulo actores perder peso en cines en general. Este artículo habla la pérdida de peso de Jake Gyllenhaal. Jake Gyllenhaal en la foto después la pérdida de peso es muy guapo. Yo pienso Jake Gyllenhaal es guapo sin la pérdida de peso. Él es siempre atractivo. La artículo dije que actores siempre  perder peso pero yo no entiendo por qué se debe. Todos los actores son bonitas y guapos la forma son están. ¿Por qué debería ellos tener cambiar para un papel en una película? El artículo no dice que todos los celebridades hacer esto pero hay un patrón. El artículo también muestra fotos de celebridades en otras transformaciones asombrosas del cine despues pérdida de peso. Yo escogí este artículo porque me gusta leer sobre celebridades. Sus vidas son interesante. Desde Jake Gyllenhaal es muy guapo con su ojos azules tuve que escoger este artículo. Si yo fue su esposa yo diría “Usted están perfecto como eres!” Entonces me gustaría abrazo y beso él. Si yo fue su esposa él pensaría que él es maravilloso. Sin embargo, el artículo dije al final que “Christian Bale; quien no es extraño a transformarse físicamente, aumentó algunos kilogramos”. Finalmente, un celebridad quien no le importa sobre pérdida de peso no más.

Word count: 210

"La Pérdida De Peso De Jake Gyllenhaal Y Otras Transformaciones Asombrosas Del Cine." CNN En Espaol Ultimas Noticias De Estados Unidos Latinoamrica Y El Mundo Opinin Y Videos RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. <http://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2013/10/24/la-perdida-de-peso-de-jake-gyllenhaal-y-otras-transformaciones-asombrosas-del-cine/>.

The Spectacular Now

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Screen Shot 2013-10-24 at 10.41.38 PM


​For my creative project I decided to do a collage. Now this might look like a whole bunch of scattered pictures of things but they all have a deeper meaning. The yellow dress is what Aimee wore to the Prom with Sutter, the Tree is representing one of the oping scenes in the book, which is Sutter climbing a tree, half drunk. The horse is something that Aimee talks about a lot in the book a lot, about buying a horse ranch. The red cup is for all the drinking that Sutter does throughout the book and how he turned Aimee onto drinking. The tall building represents the Chase building that Sutter claimed his father worked in. The 7-up logo is for Sutter’s mixing of whisky and 7-up, the Flask is the gift that Sutter gave Aimee, the marijuana leaf represents Sutter’s friend Ricky and the weed that he smoked. The NASA logo represents Aimee wanting to work for them, The Mars plant is representing the Sy-Fi books that Aimee read about outer space.The purple coat is another thing that Aimee wore, the lipstick represents the lipstick that Aimee wore when Sutter was around. The Algebra book represents the class the Sutter’s was failing and how they both grew closer, the whisky bottle represents all the whisky that Sutter drunk throughout the book. The news paper is representing the paper route that Aimee worked. And the cast represents the accident that happened and what it lead to. 


The Spectacular Now, by Tim Tharp is not your average run of the mill teenage love story. It follows a high school senior named Sutter Keely, who doesn't really care about school, but what comes after you done with school. Sutter also as a small drinking problem, alcohol of choice being whisky. Even with all this Sutter is a good person at heart. Sutter is also a lady’s man always has a girlfriend but never really keeps them. When Sutter current girlfriend, Cassidy breaks up with Sutter because of his lack of responsibility it sends him over edge. Until he meets Aimee, a blonde girl that always lets people walk over her. Sutter is convinced that he can help her stand up for herself, but ends up falling for her.   

I came over this book in a english after watching the trailer for the movie that was just made, and I made a vow not to watch the movie until I read the book. Me myself being a movie person I thought I would not be able to finish the book, but once I picked it up I didn’t want to put it down. The book had this suspense to it, not like a thriller but you just had to know what happened next, Sutter had so many different thoughts on things you just had to know what he thought, and what was going on in his head anytime something happened. He had a opinion even on the simplest things like the color of a lipstick. 

Tim Tharp the author of Knights of the Hill Country, Badd, and Mojo did a great good with this book. He took a character that he could have just easily made him this crazy alcoholic, high school teenager but he didn’t. He took the character on a journey and the only reason this happened was because of Aimee. He turned Sutter complete around but yet her stay the same Sutter. Tim Tharp shaped the book around Sutter not Sutter around the book. In one of Tharp’s interviews he says that he develop to character Sutter from a short story he wrote when he was younger about a rebellious young guy that end up at a dinner party.  I think that a lot of people would be happy to read this book.

I feel like you would enjoy this book if you like teenage love story, but not too mushy. It is like The Notebook meets Project X, it’s love story with the usual teenage stuff, sex, drugs, and drinking. With the jobs problems, school problems, and parent problems. I feel like you would enjoy this book no matter what gender, this book broke the gender stereotype for me. Saying girls like love stuff and boys like action and partying and things like that. I think a boy would enjoy this book just as much as a girl would. 

The Spectacular Now has taken the place as my favorite book I wish I could forget the whole book and read it again. I took me a while to finish the book but once I got really into I was binge reading. I read 100 pages at a time I could not put it down, I’m general a slow reader but not for this book.

I completely suggest reading the book before watching the movie, from what people have told me the book and the movie are really different. The author Tharp was on the set the whole time the movie was being shot, he said some scenes that he saw get shot did not make it into the movie. But in an interview Tharp said he was very happy they way the movie turned out. He loved the people that where casted to play parts. One major twist in the movie is that Sutter best friend Ricky, in the book is the same age as Sutter, but in the movie he is a little kid. I have still yet to see the movie but I am looking forward to it. 

I would suggest this book to everyone unless you real aren’t in to any type of realistic fiction, but other than that I would say find it somewhere and read it.    


Book- The Spectacular Now
Pages- 294
Author- Tim Tharp
Publication Date - Oct 20, 2009
Publican- Ember 



  
 

Artículo Semana Siete (con Zack Hersh)

Zack Hersh & Andrew Roberts Spanish Reflection 7

Señorita Manuel

Envío de remesas tendrá nuevas regulaciones


Muchas personas contan en y usan los servicios de remesas para dar dinero a familia y amigos en paises otras. Muchas personas vivan en los Estados Unidos que son y tienen familia de un país otra. Este es porque es más facil para hacer dinero aquí. Entonces, ellos pueden mandar el dinero que ellos hacen a su país original para soportar su familias aquel. Este trabaja bueno, pero hay unos problemas. Muchas veces, el dinero que ellos tienen en los Estados Unidos como dolares son valor menos cuando estan cambiado dentro de la moneda corriente del pais. Por ejemplo, un hombre podria hacer ciento dolares en los Estados Unidos, pero cuando el mandarlo a su familia en otra pais, lo podria ser valor noventa dolares en lugar de ciento.  


Pero ahora hay noticias buenas para ustedes. Habrá nuevas regulaciones para los envíos de remesas. Estas regulaciones tienen reglas más claras y precios  más competitivos. Mandando dinero a su familia en otras países va a ser mucho más fácil y más barato en el futuro. Estas regulaciones va a implementarse en el veintiocho de octubre.


Las regulaciones incluyen los consumidores pudiendo aprender sobre el tipo de cambio y cuánto dinero será entregado a sus familias antes de hacer la transacción. Ademas ellos pueden cancelar la transacción dentro de los treinta proximos minutos.


Está bueno que tenemos estas regulaciones.  Personas en los Estados Unidos mandar mucho dinero a su familia, especialmente a latinoamérica.  Un estudio del Banco Mundial dice que mandamos sesentaocho billones por año a las familias en latinoamérica, y va a ser más el los años futuros.


Parace que cada semana leyes y regulaciones que benefician el comunidad española se pasan. Es muy bueno y siempre cambiando y convirtiendo más bueno.


290 Palabras


"Latino News and Opinion." Envío De Remesas Tendrá Nuevas Regulaciones - . N.p., 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.


Zack Hersh (& Andrew Roberts) Article 7

Zack Hersh & Andrew Roberts Spanish Reflection 7

Señorita Manuel

Envío de remesas tendrá nuevas regulaciones


Muchas personas contan en y usan los servicios de remesas para dar dinero a familia y amigos en paises otras. Muchas personas vivan en los Estados Unidos que son y tienen familia de un país otra. Este es porque es más facil para hacer dinero aquí. Entonces, ellos pueden mandar el dinero que ellos hacen a su país original para soportar su familias aquel. Este trabaja bueno, pero hay unos problemas. Muchas veces, el dinero que ellos tienen en los Estados Unidos como dolares son valor menos cuando estan cambiado dentro de la moneda corriente del pais. Por ejemplo, un hombre podria hacer ciento dolares en los Estados Unidos, pero cuando el mandarlo a su familia en otra pais, lo podria ser valor noventa dolares en lugar de ciento.  


Pero ahora hay noticias buenas para ustedes. Habrá nuevas regulaciones para los envíos de remesas. Estas regulaciones tienen reglas más claras y precios  más competitivos. Mandando dinero a su familia en otras países va a ser mucho más fácil y más barato en el futuro. Estas regulaciones va a implementarse en el veintiocho de octubre.


Las regulaciones incluyen los consumidores pudiendo aprender sobre el tipo de cambio y cuánto dinero será entregado a sus familias antes de hacer la transacción. Ademas ellos pueden cancelar la transacción dentro de los treinta proximos minutos.


Está bueno que tenemos estas regulaciones.  Personas en los Estados Unidos mandar mucho dinero a su familia, especialmente a latinoamérica.  Un estudio del Banco Mundial dice que mandamos sesentaocho billones por año a las familias en latinoamérica, y va a ser más el los años futuros.


Parace que cada semana leyes y regulaciones que benefician el comunidad española se pasan. Es muy bueno y siempre cambiando y convirtiendo más bueno.


290 Palabras


"Latino News and Opinion." Envío De Remesas Tendrá Nuevas Regulaciones - . N.p., 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.

Article Response #7

Lauren Thomas      Q1

Senorita Manuel


Una Explosión en Ciudad Juárez


En el veinte y cuatro de octubre, un jueves, por la tarde, al menos cincuenta personas han resultado heridas y dos han muerto. Este accidente estaba en un fábrica de dulces de Ciudad Juárez (Chihuahua, al norte de México). La fábrica tenía trescientos trabajadores a la hora de el explosión. El tejado de la segunda planta se derrumbó y un muro también quedó destruido. Había también un fuego. A causa de este fuego, muchas personas no pudieron ser rescatados. Unas treinta unidades de equipos de rescate llegaron a la fábrica. El gobernador de Chihuahua, César Duarte, dijo sobre sus Twitter esta  los heridos están en muchos hospitales. La fábrica pertenece a la American Blueberry Company.


Yo quiero saber lo que causó este explosion de una caldera a la fábrica de dulces. ¿La fábrica de dulces tenían precauciones de seguridad?


Yo aprendido nueva vocabulario de este artículo. Yo aprendido que derrumbó es “collapsed” en Inglés y que rescatistas es “rescuers” en Inglés.


Yo decidí escribir sobre este artículo porque no se aprende de estos accidentes en las noticias. Está triste cuando muere la gente.


Es curioso que el gobernador dio noticias de importantes a través de Twitter y no hablar en público.



WORD COUNT : 201



"Una Explosión En Una Fábrica En Ciudad Juárez Deja Dos Muertos Y 50 Heridos." EL PAÍS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. <http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/10/25/actualidad/1382658547_650824.html>.


El Sumario Siete

Sieanna Williams                                                                                                  Q1

Srta. Manuel


El aborto como método anticonceptivo en Cuba


Cuándo yo ví esto titulo, yo estaba en shock. Incluso yo sé que aborto no es un método de anticoncepción. Anitcepción es cuándo tú quieres prevenir el embarazo. Aborto es cuándo tú, para la falta de una palabra mejor, mata su ya concibió bebe. Aboto no prevenió conceptión. El artículo dijo que,

mujeres cubanas de entre 15 y 54 años ha tenido al menos un embarazo que acabó en aborto provocado o en una regulación menstrual.”

¿En serio? Aunque hay que respetar la decisión de mujeres que quieren abortar sus bebés, es sin duda ridículo usar aborto como un anticoncepción. Eso no tiene sentido. Personalmente, yo no creo en el aborto para yo mismo. Yo sé que yo no podría manejar manta mi bebe–la adopción tampoco. Yo no puedo imaginar matando mi bebe o lo regalando a un otra familia. Lo me asusta. Eso es la razón principal que yo no quiero tener el sexo hasta que me voy a casar, y yo soy muy cómodo decir eso a la gente.

Yo pienso que los adolescentes en esta generación tienen el sexo porque de la presión ser como adultos. Esta la lástima ver muchos chicas, que son más joven de yo, teniendo bebés ante ellas se graduaron escuela intermedia. Yo rechazo tener 16 años y embarazada. Yo tengo demasiado muchos metas en mi vida permitir sexo para mí y qué yo quiero hacer en el futuro. El embarazo no es un experiencia mágica para esposos, es una tendencia de adolescentes.

Yo entiendo que la gente van a hacer que ellos quieren hacer, pero yo no puedo ayudar sentir triste para niños que pierden sus vidas porque ellos tuvieron sexo y accidentalmente se convirtieron en embarazada, o como las mujeres cubanos, practican aborto como un método anticoncepción, y cuándo ellas finalmente quieren tener un bebé, ellas no pueden porque los muchos abortos causan “un "alto" índice de infertilidad femenina” como en Cuba.

~~~

PALABRAS: 321

EFE. "El Aborto Como Método Anticonceptivo En Cuba." El Aborto Como Método Anticonceptivo En Cuba - . AL DIA News, 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.



Book Review: Snow by Tracy Lynn

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20131025_043832
About the artwork:

For my creative piece I chose to remake the book cover of the book Snow by Tracy Lynn, which is the book that I reviewed. In the artwork, I drew the evil stepmother holding a sleeping Snow White in a glass ball. Inside the glass ball is falling snow. The evil stepmother holding the glass ball with Snow White in it, represents that she has a hold of Snow's life. Snow encased in the glass ball represents that she's trapped, and she's asleep from the evil stepmother's spell over her. Lastly, the falling snow in the glass ball represents who Snow is, and how she got her name. 



There have been many retellings of Snow White. In fact, there have been so many retellings of it, that it’s hard to choose which one to read. Some retellings aren’t that much of a retell of the original story, and some are based loosely on it. Snow by Tracy Lynn is in between that.  Tracy Lynn is the author of many young adult novels. Before she wrote young adult novels, she published adult horror stories under her real name, Liz Braswell. Although she is known as Liz Braswell, her full name is Elizabeth J. Braswell. She chose the name “Tracy Lynn” for her young adult novels. She also produced many video games. A few years later, she published The Nine Lives of Chloe King series under a second faux name, Celia Thomson. Liz Braswell was born in Birmingham, England. She graduated from Brown University, and she earned a degree in Egyptology. She is currently married, and she lives in East Village. Her books, The Stolen, and The Fallen won the ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. The Fallen also won the NYPL Books for the Teen Age award.

Tracy’s book, Snow, gives the same scenario of the real Snow White; Mother dies, father raises child all by himself until he marries, the woman he marries turns out to be an evil witch, the witch wants to eat Snow’s heart, etc., but it adds a twist. The storyline goes like this: There once was Duke and Duchess, who needed an heir to the throne, preferably a son. And so, the duchess had a child, and unfortunately she died from the childbirth. Instead of a baby boy, this left the Duke alone with a baby girl who he was not happy about. Wanting to have nothing to do with her, her father ignored Jessica for almost her entire life, leaving Jessica under the care of her maids. Like Snow White, Jessica is very fond of small animals, and found comfort in them. Soon after, Jessica’s father finds a beautiful duchess to marry, but looks can be deceiving. The duchess has some evil plans of her own, and is willing to threaten Jessica’s life to achieve them. This story takes place in Wales, which is a country that is apart of the United Kingdom, and it also takes place in London. The Author uses languages that has a mixture between English and Scottish accents in the book,”...Ah, a girl, Gwen. It’s a long story. A lass from the pub the next town over.” Her use of language gave me a really good idea of how the characters sounded. “... “What, this?” With a violence unnatural to him, Alan viciously kicked the bag, scattering the coins all over the floor. “I cannae make songs out of this rubbish!”...”

One of the major themes that the Author focused on in the book is how society views women. In the book, the evil stepmother’s main focus is being the most beautiful woman of the land, and maintaining her youth. During a conversation with Jessica (Snow), she shared her thoughts on what women were only wanted for in society, “....Society only has two uses for women, remember that. Beautiful young girls and mothers.”..... “Be one or the other, or both, but not neither. No one wants an old hag. Or a trollop.” What she is saying is that society will only accept you if you fit into their criteria. I admired how the Author used a real world issue, and placed it in a fairytale. This made the book connect easily to the real world even though it’s fiction.

Honestly, what sparked my interest in even getting a Snow White book was seeing the movie, Snow White and the Huntsman. The movie was so good that I developed this Snow White addiction. So, I went book hunting on Amazon for a Snow White book, and that’s when I came across the book Snow. I didn’t know what to expect from the book, but I did want an action packed-thriller, a lot like Snow White and the Huntsman. It didn’t quite meet that criteria, but I enjoyed it anyway. The last thing the book had was violence. The way Snow White was portrayed in Snow White and the Huntsman, was not the way Liz portrayed the Snow in this book. The Snow White in Snow White and the Huntsman stood up to the queen, and fought her. The Snow in the book ran away from the queen when she discovered that the queen was going to murder her. “...What if the duchess tried to kill her again? Snow panicked for a moment at what she had begun, images of the tall and frightening duchess looming over her with knives and candy-sweet smiles.” Instead, the book had a quirkiness to it, and that’s what intrigued me the most about Snow. “Her fingers entwined in his hair and fathers, and she remembered the ravens she used to watch from her window...”

I recommend this book to anyone of any age, who enjoys fantasy. Whether you are someone who is looking for a fun, quick read, or if you just need a book for school. Liz does a fantastic job by engaging you in the book, and making you feel like you are on the adventure with the main character, Jessica. Snow will not disappoint you. It will take you back to a victorian aged world, full of magical surprises, a little twist, and a bit of romance.



            Snow By Tracy Lynn, Simon Pulse, 2003, 259 pages, Fantasy


It's Kind of a Funny Story book review


       Nearly 1 in 6 high school students has seriously considered suicide, and 1 in 12 has attempted it. The book I was reading for my Q1 English BM and find it really interesting is call “Its Kind of a funny story by Ned Vizzini” It's also about teens. I loved this book. It is about teens and it discusses suicide, sex and more, but it is a great book with an important message. Sometimes you have to get all the way to the bottom of the barrel before you can get back to the top. When you read this book you can experience all the stragglers teens go through in their high school/college years. All the pressure that sometime they start to feel that suicide is the easy way out off all this.


          Its not always just study that pressure teen to suicide but most of the time is bullying that effect the most. In recent years, a series of bullying-related suicides in the US and across the globe have drawn attention to the connection between bullying and suicide. Though too many adults still see bullying as "just part of being a kid," it is a serious problem that leads to many negative effects for victims, including suicide.


Many people may not realize that there is also bullying include in teens committing suicide. Teen suicide is a very real problem in the United States and all over the world. With many pressures and a variety emotional, social and family issues to confront, many teenagers find themselves having suicidal thoughts. Part of averting a teen suicide is being involved in your teen’s life and watching for teen suicide warning signs.


            

It is also important to note that many of the teen suicide warning signs are also indications of depression. And it is important that around this time of your life you need to be around the people who love and care about you, also enjoy every moment of your life because our life is too small to be depressed and do something stupid like suicide. Thats what this book is about when the main character in the book go to a hospital for his depression problem he meet a lot of new people and became their friends thats when he realize how fun and beautiful life is. Its not always full of stress and pain everything will be OK at the end but its not than its not the end

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