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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

Sieanna Williams                                                                                                  Q1

Srta. Manuel

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.

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.

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

       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

When looking for this book you will mostly find it in the fiction collections, Either you are at the library or the store. The book is a short novel that will inspire you in many ways. The first thing that might come to mind might be, why is there an upside down dog on the cover, The upside down dog happens to be the most popular cover for the book. The author has many different covers for the book. He has one with a garden fork going through a bloody dog. You might do what we all call “Judging a book by it’s cover”. That’s okay but this book is worth more than the cover. You will only understand the cover if you take out the time to read this book. If you love mystery novel, then you will love this book. Just because the book is called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time doesn’t mean that it is all about a dog, It’s more than just a book about a dog, This book teach you how “Acceptance of others helps one find self-acceptance as well, problems can be an opportunity to learn and grow, a person can turn a weakness into a strength” and this all depends on how you interpret the book, one might say that they get a different message, and that is totally fine. It’s all about how you can turn the story into your own life experiences.The book is for adults, But if you think that you can handle it then you are more than welcome to read it. I promise that it will be one of the best book you have ever read.

The author of this book is named Mark Haddon. Mark Haddon is 51 years old, and was born 26 September 1962 in Northampton England. He went to a school called Uppingham School and studied English. After college Mark Haddon was occupied with many different jobs. One  the jobs included working with disabled people, and creating illustrations and cartoon for magazine and Newspaper companies. Mark Haddon also worked with autistic individuals as a young man. After many years mark decided to write his first children's book, which was called Gilbert’s Gobstopper. After writing this book he also wrote a several other children's book. He also wrote some Screen plays for BBC television. In 2003 He won the “Whitbread Book of the Year Award” One of his best selling book called  “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” He won many awards after that as well. One of the things that made Mark such a sensational writer was because he wasn’t only a writer, He was an artist. So therefore his work was very catchy. He try to fit his own personal life, and personal experiences  into the stories that he wrote. You will definitely see that as you read his work.

Mark Haddon have a very unique style of writing. One example is while reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, I notice that the book Christopher was writing is the book that we actually have in our hands. Well it will be in your’s if you decide to read this Amazing book. Since the novel that I read was the novel Christopher was writing, it made me feel closer to him. For same that reason, I felt like I was looking at the world from his perspective. The fact that we are  positioned in his shoes make it easy for the reader to understand the Novel.

I personally enjoyed reading this book because I believe that no matter what your conditions are you should still be treated “normal.” I mean is “normal” even normal, how do we know what’s normal and what’s not. Is there such thing called “Normal” This book got me thinking otherwise, Now I have a different perspective on how we look at people that have disabilities. I believe that no one can tell you what you are capable of. Christopher had autism so therefore he got treated differently. Christopher is someone you can look up to, because no matter what he didn’t let his obstacles get in the way of his success. I highly recommend this book. If you like  Daniel Isn't Talking, or  When I Was 5 I Killed Myself you will definitely enjoy this book, and even if you haven’t read the two book listed above you can still enjoy reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

These are some quotes that I really liked. My mind personally works like this sometimes.“But in life you have to take lots of decisions and if you don't take decisions you would never do anything because you would spend all your time choosing between things you could do. So it is good to have a reason why you hate some things and you like others.” My other favorite quote was “I like it when it rains hard. It sounds like white noise everywhere, which is like silence but not empty.” Read this book, and you will find many more amazing quotes like the one above. To finish up, I want to introduce you to a quote by one of my favorite writers, ― Mahatma Gandhi “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

Alex Held

Earth Stream

1984 Book Review

Power. It gives a person the potential to rule or to govern with a guiding hand for the prosperity of a country and it’s people. But more often, it has the propensity to corrupt and eradicate equality. It alters speech and changes behavior. It impregnates the susceptible mind with deceit and reaps it of its morals.

George Orwell, the author of 1984, was an English novelist, whose works are often highlighted for his articulate prose, commitment to democratic socialism, and his awareness of social justice. All of these qualities in addition to his extraordinary knowledge of totalitarianism aided him in creating one of the most spectacular and eloquently written novels of all time; one that not only displayed how thoroughly he grasped one of the most austere conflicts of the 20th century and the possible repercussions of a German victory in the Second World War or Stalin’s second Great Purge that never was, but also allowed him to strikingly do so in such an unsettling and dismaying manner. A manner that can never be reproduced. 1984 was the final book produced by Orwell in the year before he passed away. Other notable works written by him are Animal Farm, and Homage to Catalonia.

George Orwell’s gripping novel written in 1949 throws the reader into Oceania. No, not the Southern Pacific islands and Australia, but a worn-torn, totalitarian “Superstate,” whose decrepit slums serve as the home to almost all of the its population. The few percent of the population of Oceania who are rarely ever seen, just whispered of by the “proles” who live in perpetual fear of these very people, go by the name of the Inner Party. The two other Superstates’ (Eastasia: Obliteration of the Self), (Eurasia: Neo-Bolshevism) inhabitants reside in anything but harmony, just like those of Oceania.

All three Superstates are at a incessant war and live under the yoke of their own versions of The Party and it’s privileged elite. The Party dictates society through the euphemistically named English Socialism (Ingsoc) political system. They, however, both fully devote their lives to Big Brother, an apocryphal, quasi-divine figure who is the at the utter Zenith of the hierarchy on earth where “WAR IS PEACE”  and government surveillance is ubiquitous in the form of mind control telescreens. Any manifestation of individualism or thinking that may be deemed independent is looked on as a “thoughtcrime.” Those who are even accused of committing thoughtcrime are sent to a torture and reformation facility ironically named the Ministry of Love.

Orwell involuntarily connected the “watchful eye” perspective in 1984 of Big Brother and The Party to many things 60 years in the future. The United States has duplicated the idea of telescreens in an tenor manner with the NSA (National Security Agency), despite the fact that they would like to admit to it. It is no secret that the NSA listens in on every phone call, tracks internet history, and maintains close surveillance on everyone living in the country and even more so those out of it, living in countries that the United States is affiliated with, as allies or opponents. It is becoming increasingly palpable that the Orwellian themes in 1984 are unavoidable.

The protagonist of the book is a man named Winston Smith. Winston lives in Oceania and is a member of the outer party. His profession is in historical revisionism, where he alters history in favor of The Party, which, again shows how they censor any and everything from the people. Winston is depicted throughout the book by Orwell as an intelligent man, but one whose oppressed and thus, his intelligence is vastly hindered by both fear of thoughtcrime and just deprivation of knowledge concealed by the Party. Although he serves The Party, Winston secretly hopes that Big Brother is subjugated by some rebellion. “If there is hope, it lies in the proles,” is something that Winston keeps ensconced in his mind.

As the book progresses Winston meets a girl named Julia. As Orwell describes her, Julia is  a young girl who also works in the same field as he does, historical revisionism. Orwell’s language in the book suggest that Winston not only had mixed feelings about Julia (one time suspecting she was a member of the Thought Police), but also that he desires to feel love once more and that he can achieve that with her. Not love in the way he did for his wife some time ago when he initially met her, but a kind of dispassionate connection he now has with her. He desires that with Julia. She is his new beginning and his revitalization, but their relationship is far more bound than it ever was with his wife.

Orwell not only affects Julia and Winston’s relationship with the aspect of neverending surveillance of every move they make and every word they utter, but with just the environment alone that they, and everyone else around them are forced to live in. 1984 will leave you wondering if Winston can perpetuate his visits with Julia, with each tryst becoming more jeopardous than the last. Orwell creates a bleak scenario for a love affair that makes one question if there is even any love left to give. He offers a book-long question of whether or not there there is any promise that remains on earth, or has hope become completely effete.

1984 is a book that will really test you optimistic types out there. Can The Party be overthrown or will they do what no other ruling system has done before: watch everyone, crush every rebellion, and stay in perpetual control. Can the keep strengthening their plutocracy, which gives them the only wealth they’ll ever need, power and fear? George Orwell baits you with hope, but is there any that remains?

Title: 1984

Author: George Orwell

Publisher: Secker and Warburg

Date of Publication: 1949

Number of Pages: 328 Pages with afterword

Genre: Dystopian, Political Fiction, Social Science Fiction

The Awkward Type

‘Eleanor and Park’ By Rainbow Rowell

When I first began reading the book Eleanor and Park, I expected it to be a story about love and music. I never expected the rest. I bought the book because my teacher rated it five stars. So it must be great. She was right. I am not one to read stories about teenage love. Most of my book choices are about people with psychological issues. Reading about teenage love always felt so cliché. Every little girl wants to fall in love and have a perfect life, but I never believed in love like this book made me believe. This book truly captured the imperfect side of love. Where it is unintentional, straining, and very awkward.

Eleanor and Park is a fictional novel written by Rainbow Rowell. This is Rainbow Rowell’s first novel for young adults. It is a story with love, misfits, and great music references.

and the most incredible descriptions of how love truly is. The book is set in 1986, and spans from September and through the school year.

Eleanor is the main character. Eleanor has bright red hair. She is chubby and pasty white with freckles all over. She is also made fun of by the popular kids in school for her hair, being visibly poor, dressing like a boy, and because she is a bigger girl, but not fat, more curvy. Eleanor has three brothers and one sister. They are all younger than her. Her stepfather is Richie. This book begins when she is moving back to her mother’s house because her stepfather kicked her out a year before. This man is the antagonist. He is scary, but in a deadbeat, always drunk, cursing at small children for wetting the bed and screaming at his wife who is crying because she is just afraid, type of scary. None of them can get away though.

Park was a very innocent character. His examples of love were so powerful, unlike Eleanor’s examples. His mother is from Korea and his father was stationed in Korea after the Vietnam War. They fell in love and he brought her back to America. Park’s parents are still in love and they are just always happy with each other. Rainbow Rowell does an excellent way of showing all of the different “types” of love that can be. Park is the weird kid on the bus, who wears black clothes and listens to punk music. He isn’t made fun of for being different because he has lived in the neighborhood his whole life and in the 6th grade he dated the popular girl.

Eleanor and Park meet on the school bus. She was lost and nobody wanted to sit next to the new girl that had fake pearls on and patched up jeans. Park just curses at her to sit down though. It takes months for them to have any type of conversation. They sit quietly and try so hard to not make eye contact. One day, Park realizes that Eleanor is reading his comics over his shoulder. He starts bringing her other comics to read. He gives her stacks and she always brings them back smelling like a field of roses. On the day that Park forgets to grab the stack of comics for her is the first day they say anything to each other. They begin talking about music.

“You can be Han Solo," he said, kissing her throat. "And I'll be Boba Fett. I'll cross the sky for you.” This is a quote from the book. I want to explain my reaction to just this line. I read this quote before I got to where it was in the book because of a website called ‘Goodreads.’ I was reading a review and I knew that I needed to read this book because of this line. The way that Rowell writes this line made me so excited. The reference is from Star Wars. A few times during the book, Eleanor and Park talk about Star Wars, and how they’re love is like that. I knew that I needed to read this book because this “nerd love” is the best kind of relationship to me. I fell in love before I began reading. This book is stocked full of these very graphic descriptions. Most are about the love story and I swooned at every one. Rowell gave the same power in her descriptions of everything that you didn’t know could scare you or make you want to cry.

This book was just incredible to me. I felt everything that both characters were feeling. I cried when the book ended because all I wanted to do was read more and have their story live on forever. Everytime Park had to remind Eleanor how he felt about her, I fell in love and wished I could find this fictional character and have him love me. These two characters are very awkward. They aren’t outgoing and they try to stay invisible, or just be. When they meet, sit together, and finally speak, they are noticed by everyone. The hand-holding between Eleanor and Park is written so intense. Park says, “Holding Eleanor's hand was like holding a butterfly. Or a heartbeat. Like holding something complete, and completely alive.” Rainbow Rowell did an incredible job of writing about this type of love and the only part of the book that fell short was how it ends. I won’t give it away though. I just wanted the book to go on forever.

In the New York Times, John Greene wrote in his review, “Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it’s like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it’s like to be young and in love with a book.” I am young, and I don’t have a very good understanding of what love will be like when I find it, but I know exactly what it is like to fall in love with a book, and I can’t wait to reread this book and fall in love all over again. Mark Twain once said, “Books are for people who wish they were somewhere else.” This quote spoke true while I was reading Eleanor and Park. Rainbow Rowell creates an excellent picture that engages the reader so deeply that they forget about the real world and their life is in this novel.

The day after I finished reading Eleanor & Park, I immediately began reading her book ‘Attachments’. I am not very far into the book, I know that it is a struggle to get into this book because it isn’t much like Eleanor and Park besides also being a love story. Being a teenager, I find it so much easier to read about people my own age. It gives me a better connection so I can feel like I am in the book and this is my other life.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press.

Published: February 2013.

328 pages.

He ends up getting suspended. He realizes during his suspension that he needs to leave the reservation or else he will end up like everyone else in his reservation, poor and drunk. Here is a little taste of one of his moments where he realizes he needs to leave:

“‘Who has the most hope?’ I asked.

Mom and Dad looked at each other. They studied each other. They studied each other’s eyes, you know, like they had antennas and were sending radios signals to each other. And they both looked back at me.

‘Come on,’ I said. ‘Who has the most hope?’

‘White people,’ My parents said at the same time....

‘I want to transfer schools,’ ...

‘I want to go to Rederan,’ I said.

Rederan is the rich, white farm town that sits in the wheat fields exactly twenty-two miles away from the rez.” (P.45)

The way the author writes is obviously in first person. I think that this is the best way to show the development of the character. You hear all of his thoughts and know what is going on within him. The way Sherman Alexie writes is hard to describe, but I would call it an informal way of writing. He writes in a simple way, like a kid would think or talk which makes it makes it much better when he is thinking or talking because nobody speaks perfect english and this adds a little more authenticity to the characters. Also, it’s easy to read and funny sometimes too.

Sherman Alexie is almost exactly like his character. He grew up on a Native American reservation and was born into a poor family (like most Native Americans). He was born with a condition where spinal fluid was in his skull and it made his head big. He  had surgery and the risk of his brain being damaged was very high but he turned out to be fine. He was also bullied as a kid because of the size of his head. Also just like in his book, he left his reservation school and went to Rederan high school to get a better quality of education.

Good:

One of the best things about this book is that I actually laughed from this book. I genuinely liked it. One cool thing that made the world actually real was the main character, Arnold who is actually Sherman. The book is about his early life and the struggles that he had to go through being born with a deformation that made his head huge. It really shows that people can achieve anything no matter what holds them back. Also the drawings usually add a bit of humor to the situations. They usually make fun of people and he also says that they are his escape from the hard things.

Bad:

I wish I could say something bad about the book itself, but I really liked it. I can relate to and understand what happens to Junior and why he chooses what he does. Some people think that talking about sex and girls in a book is a bad thing (and it was actually banned in a few schools because of that) but that stuff is in everyones life if you like it or not. It’s something that cannot be ignored.

I would think that this book is for almost everyone as long as you can get past some of the sex and language in the book. I don’t find it that bad but it did get banned in a few places so it must be for some people. I think what makes it good for everyone is that everyone was once a teenager and had to deal with the pressures of going to high school for the first time.

Book Info:

Title: The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian

By: Sherman Alexie

Publisher: Brown and Company

Date of Publication: September 2007

Pages: 230

Genre: Fiction, Young adult literature, Children’s literature

Chris Tran

Srta.Manuel

Nexus 7, la mejor tableta Android:

Este artículo se trata de la tableta de Nexus 7. Gente dijeron esta la tableta de Nexus 7 es mejor que Ipad. Esta tableta es hecho por Google, un compañía mejor en Los Estados Unidos y el mundo. Por treinta dolares más su puede tener esta tableta. Esta tableta es más caro porque es un modelo nuevo. La pantalla de esta tableta es grande y tener bueno ángulos por un pantalla de cualquier tableta. Esta pantalla es bueno por juegue videojuegos en la tableta. La lista de Best in Tech tuve esta tableta como una tableta mejor. Yo pienso esta tableta es el mejor porque una tableta con una gráficas buena y es bueno por juegue videojuegos. También yo pienso esta tableta va a vender mucho tabletas y hago mucho dinero. En el futuro la tableta y tecnología en todo va a mucho mejor y hago tecnología mejor. El vocabulario que yo aprendí en el artículo es iteración. Iteración es un proceso de repetir un proceso. Yo encontrado la palabra en esta sentencia en el artículo. “La popular mini tableta, la cual fue lanzada el año pasado por Google, sólo ha mejorado con la llegada de la segunda iteración.” (CNN)

Word count: 200

Work Cited:

The first time I read Bob Harris’ “Prisoner of Trebekistan”  I was 12 years old, and in a frenzy over jeopardy. 4 year, and countless books later, it is still the one i come back to time and time again, for its odd connections, and off humor. The book is one part autobiography, one part jeopardy study guide, and one part life advice, that combines in the strangest way possible to form an experience that is visceral, and exciting.

The book proper starts with a brief overview of the history of jeopardy, and how the creator, Merv Griffin came up with the idea. He then jumps into an anecdote of his experience taking the jeopardy test, and eventually succeeding to get on the show. After some humorous faltering he manages to win his first game. He is quickly consumed by his studies, so much so that he stops doing routine things like washing clothes and going outside. This world of learning where different themes and ideas converge to form an overarching narrative of the world at large, is known as Trebekistan.

The biggest draw of “Prisoner of Trebekistan”, is the author’s ability to convey his thoughts and emotions with such clarity that it impacts you on a deep level. The book is at its core, a tale of a small town boy who moves to hollywood, and gets an opportunity to take part in a game that he never imagined. When he wins, you feel every ounce of excitement that he feels. When he is sad you will be brought to the verge of tears. There is never a point in the story where you feel disconnected from him, because even though he is going through so many foreign experiences, he is a very relatable and down to earth “Character”. He makes readers root for him, and want to experience these things with him.

If you have an interest in Jeopardy, the this book was tailor made for you. The author gives insight into how a game of jeopardy works. The author does a good job of showing exactly how playing a game of Jeopardy affects your mind, as well as how your frame of mind affects your level of skill when playing. It shines light on what it takes to be a jeopardy champion, and gives information on why knowing the answers does not guarantee you a win. Most importantly it is packed full of information, that anyone who craves knowledge will embrace wholeheartedly. The things you will learn will span all subjects, and transcend time, ranging from fanciful humor, to serious medical conditions, and they are presented in the most humorous way possible.

And of course you cannot forget Harris’ self depreciating form of humor. After college he spent years as a stand up comedian, and it shows through in every joke, and wisecrack. Harris makes wild and humorous analogies to describe the functions of the human brain. Using humor, and crudeness to memorize important facts is just one of the many tips he gives to set readers on their way to becoming a Jeopardy champion.

None of this is to say that the book is without its flaws. Harris is prone to long tangents that have little to do with the topic at hand, and he has some really roundabout ways of making points. Some will argue that’s the point, making obscure connections in ways that no one would ever notice, but after a while, it begins to seem tangential. Despite being relatable, Bob can also be very unlikable. At sometimes it seems as though he is forcing his self depreciation for a joke, making the entire experience feel disingenuous. Beyond a certain point the satire can become dry, and insufferable.

The biggest weakness of the book is that it is excessively preachy. Almost from the beginning morals are shoved down your throat in a way that tries to be fun, but is ultimately hamfisted. He outlines steps to “Enlightened Jeopardy” which are for the most part very traditionally eastern beliefs, slightly modified to fit jeopardy. He claims that following the path as closely as possible will lead to happiness, yet their are times in the book where following the path his led him to his own disasters, undoing him, and his life at large.  The heavy handedness and irony of his steps make parts of the book almost unbearable.

The author of this splendid book is Philip Pullman. He is an excellent author who won awards for his series trilogy of “His Dark Materials”. He was born in the town of Norwich, England in 1946. He taught english at Oxford Middle Schools for a while until he went on to teach at Westminster College. He tries to write stories that can grab readers attention, but most of his reader are pre-teen and teen. Philip Pullman also wrote other fantastic stories like book 2 and 3 of his trilogy of His Dark Material, Puss in Boots, The Broken Bridge, and The Butterfly Tattoo. The book that I’m doing this book review on is his first book from his award winning series. The Golden Compass is a book that takes you back to the era similar to the Victorian Era that occurred in England; an era where the church rules everything and there are scholars and students who attend Universities. Lyra, a young girl who lives in the university with her daemon, Pantalaimon, likes to lurk around the university and nearby towns. One day, her uncle, an important man, has came to the university to talk to the headmaster and other scholars about a discovery that he had uncovered in this journey in the great North. Then Lyra saved her uncle from being killed by an attempted assassination. Saving her uncle was just the beginning of the chains of many tortuous and dangerous events that Lyra will experience later in the book.  She went through many hardships during some events and also found herself in danger. Events like getting abducted by a lady that commits hideous acts, traveling to the great north with Egyptians to save children from being severed, or risking her life to save her friend’s life. During this grand journey, Lyra has found her talent and unique qualities, qualities that she would soon use to unlock key information that relates to the rescue of these children. Lyra, who is intelligent, brave, and adventurous, has gone through a journey that will change and influenced her life.  

The structure of this book is like any other book, the story has an uphill part which leads to the climax, and then the downhill. The Golden Compass did a great job of grabbing the readers attention on the very first page. Throughout the book, the author used lots of figurative language and adjectives that gives off lots of imagery, which grabs readers attention and makes books more interesting to read. The type of speech that he included in this book caught my attention as well. The speech matches the context of the story and its plot. Since this book has a setting similar to the Victorian Era, the author has carefully set this type of language back into the story to help the readers be aware of the time period that the setting is in. The idea that this book explored was the idea of mixing the Victorian Era and its complex language with a genre like science fiction. This kind of mixture for an idea of book is difficult. Something that happened in the past is really difficult to mix with the idea of futuristic and fantasy ideas (just thinking about it is impossible) but somehow this book had succeed on something that I  assumed to be impossible. This book includes description of the past, but adds futuristic things in its context. For example, a city in the aurora borealis is an example of science fiction that exist in this book. Philip Pullman did a fantastic job writing this book because he has fused two different kinds of genre into one book that’s enjoyable to pre-teens and teens.

The areas in the book where expectations were exceeded was how descriptive it is. While writing this book, the author did a stupendous job being descriptive with all of the action that is occurring in the book. One example was the in the beginning, when Lyra and Pantalaimon was sneaking around the Master’s meeting room. He gave us a very illustrative description that makes us have the feeling of actually being there with Lyra sneaking in the room with her. Other than being descriptive, the book exceeds my expectations by not making the introduction into the setting of the story long. In other books that I have read they took time describing the world that the story takes place. Meanwhile, this book provides us with little context of where the setting of the story is, and instead went straight into the rich details of the action that occurred in the book. The part in the book that fell short of my expectations is at the very end. At the end of the book they left us with a question that I felt remained unanswered. This question I think is not going to be answered until the second book. This question is about the relationship between Lord Asriel (Lyra’s “uncle”) and Miss Coulter (random woman).  The author made a mistake of not being descriptive enough when explaining about the relationship of Lord Asriel and Miss Coulter. There has to be something important about their relationship that Philip Pullman did not describe enough to let me understand why that would lead to the event in the story. The age groups that I think would love this book are kids ages 11-16 because kids at this age would like to read something that is fantasized into a world where there is danger because they love books that have danger, suspense and drama. The reason why older adults wouldn’t like this book is because this illustrates fantasized characters that exists in books for little kids. Characters like witches and talking animals are considered to be little kids favorite characters. But Philip Pullman does such a superb job in coordinating these fantasized characters into a book where it is enjoyed by pre-teen and teenage kids.

• Book Title: The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials: Book 1)

• Author: Philip Pullman

• Publisher: Yearling

• Date of Publication: May 2001

• Number of Pages: 399 pages

• Genre: Science Fiction

Melanie Harrington Q1

Earth Stream

To Kill a Mockingbird Book Review

Harper Lee’s compelling classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, forever touches the hearts and minds of those who read it. Harper Lee created a thought provoking world that would not soon be forgotten. While the genre may be fiction, the book is anything but. It still remains today to be one of the best books ever written and over 30 million copies have been sold worldwide since its publishing date in July of 1960. Upon it’s release it generated a lot of controversy and uproars among its readers. A few aspects of the book are perceived to have come from Lee’s experiences and life in her hometown, Monroeville, Alabama. To Kill a Mockingbird is the only piece of writing she ever published.  It is amazing how someone’s first and only book turned into a worldwide best seller, won the Pulitzer Prize and several other awards and was adapted into an Oscar Award winning movie. To Kill a Mockingbird is still taught in classrooms across the nation today.

Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. Lee developed an interest in writing and literature during her high school years. When she graduated in 1944 she attended the all-female Huntingdon College in Montgomery. Unlike many of the girls who attended, Lee focused less on fashion and boys and more on her studies and writing. It wasn’t until after she transferred to the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and enrolled in a law program that she took all of her focus away from writing, when she finally confessed to her family that it was her true calling. Soon after, at twenty-three years old, Lee dropped her law studies and moved to New York City to follow her dreams. With the help and financial support from new founded friends, Lee finished her manuscript of To Kill a Mockingbird in 1959.

This mind blowing novel follows the life of a family living in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. The world may be changing but Maycomb is in no hurry. Racism and gossip are prevalent in this small town. An innocent black man is put on trial by the word of a white man and Atticus Finch, lawyer and single father of two kids, is put on the case. Atticus faces the scrutiny of the town and his family for openly defending a black man and the choices he makes when raising his children. Jean Louise “Scout” Finch takes us through her early years and the events that all add up to the trial, all the while opening our eyes to the many themes brought up in the book.

To Kill a Mockingbird is not based on any one topic in particular. Every event undergone by Scout and her brother, Jem, bring up a new theme for discussion. Childhood, parenthood, innocence, justice, social norms and racism are a few that recur throughout the novel.  Every theme is interconnected and the transitions are flawless.

Society is ever changing. All of the unspoken rules we abide by without question are created and upheld by society. Face forward in an elevator, not back, bring a gift to the host or hostess, don’t take your shoes off unless you’re at home, call before you show up, fill up the gas tank before you return a borrowed car. We follow these rules every day and don’t even realize it. It just comes naturally to us because it’s the way we were brought up. We watched others do these things and assumed we had to as well.

Society and it’s norms force us to do one of two things. The first is to conform into society’s ideal person. This means following all the rules, spoken and unspoken, following trends in style and technology, making sure that you meet every standard and resemble every other person around you, in every aspect, in order to fit in. The second thing society forces us to do is break away and rebel on our own. This means standing alone, being different, and not following the set rules and guidelines to life.

Throughout the book society has an impact on the way people present themselves. Atticus, the wise and very observant lawyer, sees the flaws in the way society is made up but can not speak up about it because it would be frowned upon greatly. The choices he makes when raising his kids are scrutinized by the entire town and speaking out would only cause more trouble. Scout is in a constant battle of fitting her aunt’s idea of a perfect lady. Even Boo Radley, the town shut in, battles with fitting in on a daily basis. On the other hand, the Ewells, the sleaziest white family in Maycomb, actively rebel against society. The children run wild, they don’t go to school, aren’t polite and collect free money like a shelf collecting dust. They refuse to be a part of the black and white sea that is society and instead prefer to make a sea all of their own.

To Kill a Mockingbird is recommended to anyone looking for a good historical fiction or drama book or someone who is interested in one of the topics listed above. Considering there is some mature content throughout the book it is not recommended that children who are not mature enough to handle it read it. Do not force yourself to read this book if you are uninterested. It will ruin your reading experience. Come back when you grow a little older and see how you like it. You won’t ever regret picking up this book if you do and the life lessons will stay with you forever.

Title: To Kill a Mockingbird

Author: Harper Lee

Publisher: J. B. Lippincott

Date of publication: 1960

Number of pages: 384

Genre: historical fiction, drama, suspense, legal

A 2006 award Printz winner, reached number one on New York Times Best Seller List for The Fault in Our Stars in January 2013, and made it into ALA’s Top 10 Best Books for Young Adults. He is John Green. John Green is a young adult fiction writer, a youtube vlogger and an educator. John Green was inspired to write this book because of a youtube vlogger name Esther Earl. She was sixteen years old and passed away from Thyroid cancer. Two years later, he dedicated this book to her. I heard about this book from numerous friends in school, on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, magazines, television, just everywhere. I refused to read this book for a long time because those I know who read it, said it was a very sad book about two people with cancer. Hearing that too many times, I had no interest in picking up the book because I’ve watched too many movies about characters with cancer. Book and movies are very similar to me, except reading a book, you are able to repeat certain words or phrases, maybe even lines that could make you think so deeply. And each time I did, it would break my heart because it’s just so upsetting. Finally, one day, I decided to pick up The Fault in Our Stars and read it out of curiosity.

The Fault in Our Stars isn’t your typical cancer genre book. It isn’t your stereotypical teenage love story. Hazel is 16 year old. She’s a quirky, smart, community college student. She is obsessed with her favorite book “The Imperial Affliction” and has a desire to meet the author, Peter Van Houten, one day. She’s suffers everyday from fluid filling up in her lungs by tumors. Gus is 17 years old, he’s a handsome, humorous, charming, brilliant amputee who enjoys most of his time playing video games, reading poetry or hanging out with his one eyed best friend, Isaac. Gus is in a remission of osteosarcoma. During a cancer support therapy group session, Hazel notices Gus staring at her, the two meet and casually become friends. Hazel talks about her favorite book to Gus and he decides to give it try. The two become instantly attached which results to a beautiful, twisted, unpredictable romance.

I didn’t know cancer books can be filled with such beautiful, happy, heart melting memories until I finished The Fault in Our Stars. It’s not filled with constant tragic that you would think. It’s pure mutual love between two people who have limited times and they can make the best out of it. There’s a very beautiful theme of this book which is...value your youth and cherish what you have left because this book does affirm that life is truly and unfortunately short. Of course, in the story, there is pain, struggle and terrible circumstances but it is well balanced out.

The way John Green writes is very powerful. He is able to suck you into the setting with very few characters in the plot. Hazel and Gus were the stars of this story and he can keep it interesting until you are done with the last page of the book. And that is my problem when I read. If I put a book down, it is most likely because it was boring and I got tired of hearing from the main characters. The second I picked up The Fault in Our Stars, I spent the next four hours of my day reading it non stop. Because the characters were so unique and I honestly felt like I was Hazel, myself falling in love with a hot amputee who is attracted to me.

So I’ve read dozens of pretty sad books and I’ve never cried once, until I came across The Fault in Our Stars. That is exactly the reason why I will never forget about this book. I shed my first tear for fictional characters in a book when I finished The Fault in Our Stars. The fact that I actually cried because of Hazel and Gus’ beautiful chemistry for each other, is a big deal to me. John Green was able to make me feel so overwhelmed over these characters on paper, it’s just crazy. After I finished crying, I immediately called my boyfriend of almost two years and told him that I love him and that I appreciate his existence. Sounds pretty sappy, but this book made me realize how I should really value my physically healthy relationship and my own well being.

My favorite quote from this book (not giving away a spoiler, I promise) was when Gus told Hazel “Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.” After I read this quote, I shouted “exactly!” outloud to myself. Why? Because that’s how I felt about this book. This book is so powerful in every way that I just felt like everyone needed to read it. Which is why I chose this book to write a book review on.

In no doubt, I promise you this is a book to remember once you give it a try. Remember to keep a box of tissues next to you while reading it. Don’t worry, these tears will be from enjoying the book, loving the characters, and overall, appreciating a beautiful, well written story by John Green.

Book Information:

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Publisher: Dutton Books

Date of Publication: January 10, 2012

Number of Pages: 313

Genre: Young adult novel

Jasir Massey-Campbell

English

Due: 10/25/13

The Prince by Machiavelli

There are many people who crave power, diplomats, politicians, congressman, business owners and more importantly everyday people. The will to be in control is a trait popular among all life. The Prince is a guide to establish a sphere influence and properly maintain a successful government. The renowned author, Niccolò Machiavelli (1469 -1527) born in Florence, Italy has gathered one of the most popular collections of chapters regarding the creation and conservation of a potent government. His assembly of strategic chapters allows a reader to immerse themselves in the mind of one of the most profound political analyst. Each page reveals the techniques and strategy of gaining and keeping political control. Machiavelli extensive research reveals his thoughts on conspiracies, merit, goodness, first impressions, flattery and fortune.The book originally drafted in 1513 in Latin was then republished a few years later in 1532 which is 5 years after Machiavelli’s death.

Machiavelli was an historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, and writer in Florence during the Renaissance. For many years Machiavelli was an official in the Florentine Republic. He had responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. He is a founder of modern political science and also wrote comedies, songs, and poetry.He wrote The Prince, when the Medici had power and when he no longer held a position of responsibility in Florence.This 16th century writing style, and sophistication of the level of words he incorporates in his piece developed into a poetic language which may take some time to fully understand. There are less than 150 pages yet there are very few who’ve addressed this book as a quick and easy read. Still, well known Universities’ philosophy and political classes use this book because of its deep research. Its is amazing how Machiavelli was able to create a book and still have his knowledge preserved over hundreds of years. He starts his book strong and lays foundation for the tone of the book.

“All states and dominions which hold or have held sway over mankind are either republics or monarchies. Monarchies are either hereditary in which the rulers have been for many years of the same family, or else they are of recent foundation. The newly founded ones are either entirely new, as was the Milan to Francesco Sfroza or else they are, as it were, new members[...]”

A reason that his book is short is because he gets to the point. He supplies the reader with the message he wants to convey and very little of anything else. Machiavelli also chose not to worry about transition. Each chapter is him laying down one point after the other. Chapter after chapter. After chapter one where he talks about the various kinds of government and the way that they are established he dives into the next couple of chapters where he begins describing the subcategories of government.  

I had high expectations for this book and all expectations were met. Even reading this book twice, I am still looking forward in continuing my studies of this book as well as other popular books regarding government. What struck me was how powerful and true this book is. Many of these tactics in many areas of profession are still used today. This showed how precise his research had to have been. This is a reason why he is one of the most important people in the realm of political science. I would suggest to someone who is truly interested in the knowledge this book possesses, to really devote and invest their time on every sentence so that they may fully procure the information. Many who enjoy reading philosophy may also be interested in The 48 Laws or Power by Robert Greene which is a similar book in which it talks about how to build and maintain influence.  Philosophy is important because these skills are not just for people who want to gain economic power but can be used by anyone who seek to gain an advantage over an enemy. The Prince is a good read regardless of what genre is of preference. Even if one may not fully be able to understand all of the ideas, which many still do not, they will be able to find at minimal one thing that could potentially better themselves.

Title: The Priince

Author: Machiavelli

Publisher: Antonio Blado d'Asola.

Date of publication: 1532

Number of pages: 127

Genre: Philosophy