Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
Serve to Win
Title: Serve to Win
Author: Novak Djokovic
Number of pages read: 46/189
This book means a lot to me because Novak Djokovic is my idol and I love him. I loved reading these few pages of the book even though I already know everything about him. It basically talks about the start of his career and how he became a champion he is now. From the start he knew that he will be number one and that he will win tournaments. At the beginning of his career and when he first started playing majors, US Open 2006 he was very week. He was barely able to hit the ball and had to take time outs more than 5 times. This just proved how much he actually improved since that match till now. In 2008 he won his first grand slam and became a better player but still there was something missing. He had to change the way he ate. He did so and by the end of 2010 till now he was the best. 2011 was the best year for him, winning almost everything there was to win. If he didn't change his eating habits and if he didn't start training more often none of this would have happened. He thanked his team, family and friends for this success. Without them and his hard work he would still be that weak Novak who would faint while playing.
I really loved reading this part of his life and how he became who he is now because I could learn something from it too. If you really like something and if it means to you than anything is possible. Novak set a goal for himself; to win Wimbledon and be number 1. He did just that and that is why I love him o much.
"It's not that bad. But none of this would have happened if I haven't found this way of eating." (46)
This part explained everything in one sentence. His new eating habit brought him to number 1. I still cannot believe that someone would sacrifice their own eating in order to become the best in their sport.
Author: Novak Djokovic
Number of pages read: 46/189
This book means a lot to me because Novak Djokovic is my idol and I love him. I loved reading these few pages of the book even though I already know everything about him. It basically talks about the start of his career and how he became a champion he is now. From the start he knew that he will be number one and that he will win tournaments. At the beginning of his career and when he first started playing majors, US Open 2006 he was very week. He was barely able to hit the ball and had to take time outs more than 5 times. This just proved how much he actually improved since that match till now. In 2008 he won his first grand slam and became a better player but still there was something missing. He had to change the way he ate. He did so and by the end of 2010 till now he was the best. 2011 was the best year for him, winning almost everything there was to win. If he didn't change his eating habits and if he didn't start training more often none of this would have happened. He thanked his team, family and friends for this success. Without them and his hard work he would still be that weak Novak who would faint while playing.
I really loved reading this part of his life and how he became who he is now because I could learn something from it too. If you really like something and if it means to you than anything is possible. Novak set a goal for himself; to win Wimbledon and be number 1. He did just that and that is why I love him o much.
"It's not that bad. But none of this would have happened if I haven't found this way of eating." (46)
This part explained everything in one sentence. His new eating habit brought him to number 1. I still cannot believe that someone would sacrifice their own eating in order to become the best in their sport.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Across Five Aprils
Across Five Aprils
Irene Hunt
Historical novel
Pages read 212/212
Summary
Many men offers the Creightons a helping hand and help their recovery. A soldier named Dan Lawrence visit the Creigtons and tell them that Tom passed away at the battle of Shiloh but died instantly without pain which relieved them at the least. Ross Milton publishes a letter in his paper to the men who harassed Creightons saying that Matt Creighton has not only suffered the loss they made, but the loss of his son who died in battle as a Union soldier and they are nothing more than people who damage a man's property and hide.
The war seems to be advantagous for the Union in 1862 and the men who are helping the Creightons talk about the war with different perspective as they work while Jethro does the errands. The Creightons receive a letter from Shadrach saying that soldiers are loyal to General McClellan and he does not wish to send his loyal soldiers to death resulting in another defeat. Ambrose Burnside, a general assumes his job but creates another tragedy He causes numerous deaths of his soldiers and was stopped by generals of lower rank from causing more death. Shadrach says that the Union soldiers lost faith in their leaders and that deserters began to pour out.
Armed deserters gathered at a place called "Point Prospect" and foraged and stole food to survive. Some time later, a man named Hig Phillip who hired someone to fight in the war instead of him with no good reason, is murdered by these former soldiers which made people grow afraid. One night, men from Federal Registrars visit the Creightons and say that Eb is likely to be a deserter and search the house but finds nothing. The tell them to report to them if they see him and leave. When Jethro was plowing his field, he hears a strange racket and finds Eb hiding. Eb says that he had to leave after seeing so many deaths but regrets having left and refuses to go to his house because he might cause trouble. Some time later, they receive a letter from Lincoln that says that deserters can rejoin the army and Eb gladly follows. Then, the Creightons are informed that at the battle of Gettysburg, Shadrach was severly injured and Ross Milton suggests that she visits him and agrees to accompany her and they leave the next morning. After a few months, Jenny and Shadrach ask for permission to marry and Matt permits it.
Nancy gets worried about John who fought in the battle of Chickamauga, in which only one union army held on. At last, Nancy hears receives a letter from John that he is in that army and is told about John's story about in the war. Meanwhile, Lincoln announces that he will let the confederates join the Union if they swear by the constitution and the reelection begins. As for the war, although Grant was losing to Lee, he does not give up and redirects his army to Petersburg, a city with railroads that Lee uses to supply his army. After a while, the Union navy sends a Confederate ship sinking one after the other. Sherman's ship disappears and Lincoln is reelected. The north loses two battles in Nashville, and John sends a letter that he was in the second one and that he saw bill when he was taking care of the rebel prisoners. He says that Bill said to send word that he did not fire the bullet that killed Tom.
Suddenly, in December, Sherman wires Washington and tells them about his arch from Atlanta to the ocean. After a few weeks, the news of Sherman's army eating all the food and burning everything in their way spread. Sherman's army changes route to the norht to face Grant, to South Carolina. People predict that the war will soon end in Union victory because the confederate will be near its end after crossing 300 miles of enemy territory. However Ross Milton tells Jethro to be wary of the fact that the scars of the war will take time to heal.
Finally, in April, the war ends and the two men sign peace in a courthouse. Everyone celebrates, the southerners, northerners, including the Creightons but soon hears the death of the president. Jethro fulfills his duty in the fields quietly and Shadrach appears. He tells him that he will be coming with him and Jenny to study. Jethro worries about his family after he is gone but Shadrach tells him that it is what his family wants. Jethro is pleased and reunites with his sister in the house of Creightons.
Reflection
I think it is a reasonable ending that not all of Jethro's brothers were able to come back from the conflict "Civil War". There might have been some conflicts between the Union and the Rebs as well as between the Creightons but it was good to see "the scars of the war" heal and resolve.
Passage
"Yes let's go see Jenny," Jethro said huskily.
This passage shows Jethro's development from a child to a man after 4 years due to the war. The word "huskily" describes Jethro more like a man than a 13 years old boy.
Irene Hunt
Historical novel
Pages read 212/212
Summary
Many men offers the Creightons a helping hand and help their recovery. A soldier named Dan Lawrence visit the Creigtons and tell them that Tom passed away at the battle of Shiloh but died instantly without pain which relieved them at the least. Ross Milton publishes a letter in his paper to the men who harassed Creightons saying that Matt Creighton has not only suffered the loss they made, but the loss of his son who died in battle as a Union soldier and they are nothing more than people who damage a man's property and hide.
The war seems to be advantagous for the Union in 1862 and the men who are helping the Creightons talk about the war with different perspective as they work while Jethro does the errands. The Creightons receive a letter from Shadrach saying that soldiers are loyal to General McClellan and he does not wish to send his loyal soldiers to death resulting in another defeat. Ambrose Burnside, a general assumes his job but creates another tragedy He causes numerous deaths of his soldiers and was stopped by generals of lower rank from causing more death. Shadrach says that the Union soldiers lost faith in their leaders and that deserters began to pour out.
Armed deserters gathered at a place called "Point Prospect" and foraged and stole food to survive. Some time later, a man named Hig Phillip who hired someone to fight in the war instead of him with no good reason, is murdered by these former soldiers which made people grow afraid. One night, men from Federal Registrars visit the Creightons and say that Eb is likely to be a deserter and search the house but finds nothing. The tell them to report to them if they see him and leave. When Jethro was plowing his field, he hears a strange racket and finds Eb hiding. Eb says that he had to leave after seeing so many deaths but regrets having left and refuses to go to his house because he might cause trouble. Some time later, they receive a letter from Lincoln that says that deserters can rejoin the army and Eb gladly follows. Then, the Creightons are informed that at the battle of Gettysburg, Shadrach was severly injured and Ross Milton suggests that she visits him and agrees to accompany her and they leave the next morning. After a few months, Jenny and Shadrach ask for permission to marry and Matt permits it.
Nancy gets worried about John who fought in the battle of Chickamauga, in which only one union army held on. At last, Nancy hears receives a letter from John that he is in that army and is told about John's story about in the war. Meanwhile, Lincoln announces that he will let the confederates join the Union if they swear by the constitution and the reelection begins. As for the war, although Grant was losing to Lee, he does not give up and redirects his army to Petersburg, a city with railroads that Lee uses to supply his army. After a while, the Union navy sends a Confederate ship sinking one after the other. Sherman's ship disappears and Lincoln is reelected. The north loses two battles in Nashville, and John sends a letter that he was in the second one and that he saw bill when he was taking care of the rebel prisoners. He says that Bill said to send word that he did not fire the bullet that killed Tom.
Suddenly, in December, Sherman wires Washington and tells them about his arch from Atlanta to the ocean. After a few weeks, the news of Sherman's army eating all the food and burning everything in their way spread. Sherman's army changes route to the norht to face Grant, to South Carolina. People predict that the war will soon end in Union victory because the confederate will be near its end after crossing 300 miles of enemy territory. However Ross Milton tells Jethro to be wary of the fact that the scars of the war will take time to heal.
Finally, in April, the war ends and the two men sign peace in a courthouse. Everyone celebrates, the southerners, northerners, including the Creightons but soon hears the death of the president. Jethro fulfills his duty in the fields quietly and Shadrach appears. He tells him that he will be coming with him and Jenny to study. Jethro worries about his family after he is gone but Shadrach tells him that it is what his family wants. Jethro is pleased and reunites with his sister in the house of Creightons.
Reflection
I think it is a reasonable ending that not all of Jethro's brothers were able to come back from the conflict "Civil War". There might have been some conflicts between the Union and the Rebs as well as between the Creightons but it was good to see "the scars of the war" heal and resolve.
Passage
"Yes let's go see Jenny," Jethro said huskily.
This passage shows Jethro's development from a child to a man after 4 years due to the war. The word "huskily" describes Jethro more like a man than a 13 years old boy.
Blog Post #6 - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - JRR Tolkien - Jared Rogerson
This week I finished reading the fantasy, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien.
I left off in my last blog post where they arrive in Rivendell, and have the huge council with Lord Elrond and all of the other really important people representing the different Free People: Elf, Man, Dwarf etc. Where I started this week, Elrond announces that there needs to be a group of 9 people from all different nations to take the Ring and go to its birthplace in the Misty Mountains. The goal is to "cast it into the fire from which it was forged" which is the only way to ultimately destroy it for good. They call this group The Fellowship of the Ring.
After some debating and thinking, the Fellowship of the Ring includes the following people; Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn/Strider, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir. Before they can depart, Elrond sends spys to multiple locations to see what kind of danger they are in. After 2 or 3 months, the spies return and The Fellowship and set off.
They start there quest one week later, and live in the dead of night. Like I said earlier, their goal is the Misty Mountains, which are down south, and they start traveling in that direction. After traveling awhile, they arrive at the Misty Mountains and try to pass through on a path. After traveling along this path for a bit, they find its is blocked a large mound of rocks. They try and divert through the Mines of Moria, which were built by the Dwarves ages ago. While traveling through these mines, Gandalf falls into a pit while protecting the rest of the group from the Bulgrog, which is basically a huge demon, dragon monster thing.
Leaving Gandalf, the rest of the Fellowship continue to Lorien, which is a forest, and meet Lady Galedrial. She puts them through some tests and gives them gifts to help them destroy the Ring and be successful in their journeyings. Frodo offeres her the Ring, but she refuses because she thinks she will just become another Dark Lord, because the power of the Ring is to strong.
After this encounter, they leave the Elf forest and continue on their quest by traveling on a boat down the Anduin River. When they set up camp at night, they see Gollum and leave quickly the next day. After traveling for some more time, they reach the Falls of Rauros and have to decide whether to go to Minus Tierth or Mordor. Before they make a decision they sit down to rest for the night. During this time, Boromir is taken ahold of by the Ring and tries to obtain it from Frodo in a violent manner. (taking a knife). Frodo then decides that he must go on to Mordor to destroy the Ring, rather then go to the relative safety of Minus Tierth. He tries to leave secretly then, but Sam follows him, so they set out for Mordor. This is where the books ends.
This book has definately lived up to my expectations. It is very detailed with the setting, the storyline, and the characters, while on the other hand not over doing it to make it boring. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
The excerpt that I have chosen for today is when Boromir is overcome by the Rings power and tries to take it from Frodo. I chose this because it is another testament to the Rings evilness and its ability to corrupt peoples minds.
'Ah! The Ring! ' said Boromir, his eyes lighting. 'The Ring! Is it not a strange fate that we
should suffer so much fear and doubt for so small a thing? So small a thing! And I have seen it only
for an instant in the House of Elrond. Could I not have a sight of it again? '
Frodo looked up. His heart went suddenly cold. He caught the strange gleam in Boromir's eyes,
yet his face was still kind and friendly. 'It is best that it should lie hidden,' he answered.
I left off in my last blog post where they arrive in Rivendell, and have the huge council with Lord Elrond and all of the other really important people representing the different Free People: Elf, Man, Dwarf etc. Where I started this week, Elrond announces that there needs to be a group of 9 people from all different nations to take the Ring and go to its birthplace in the Misty Mountains. The goal is to "cast it into the fire from which it was forged" which is the only way to ultimately destroy it for good. They call this group The Fellowship of the Ring.
After some debating and thinking, the Fellowship of the Ring includes the following people; Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn/Strider, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir. Before they can depart, Elrond sends spys to multiple locations to see what kind of danger they are in. After 2 or 3 months, the spies return and The Fellowship and set off.
They start there quest one week later, and live in the dead of night. Like I said earlier, their goal is the Misty Mountains, which are down south, and they start traveling in that direction. After traveling awhile, they arrive at the Misty Mountains and try to pass through on a path. After traveling along this path for a bit, they find its is blocked a large mound of rocks. They try and divert through the Mines of Moria, which were built by the Dwarves ages ago. While traveling through these mines, Gandalf falls into a pit while protecting the rest of the group from the Bulgrog, which is basically a huge demon, dragon monster thing.
Leaving Gandalf, the rest of the Fellowship continue to Lorien, which is a forest, and meet Lady Galedrial. She puts them through some tests and gives them gifts to help them destroy the Ring and be successful in their journeyings. Frodo offeres her the Ring, but she refuses because she thinks she will just become another Dark Lord, because the power of the Ring is to strong.
After this encounter, they leave the Elf forest and continue on their quest by traveling on a boat down the Anduin River. When they set up camp at night, they see Gollum and leave quickly the next day. After traveling for some more time, they reach the Falls of Rauros and have to decide whether to go to Minus Tierth or Mordor. Before they make a decision they sit down to rest for the night. During this time, Boromir is taken ahold of by the Ring and tries to obtain it from Frodo in a violent manner. (taking a knife). Frodo then decides that he must go on to Mordor to destroy the Ring, rather then go to the relative safety of Minus Tierth. He tries to leave secretly then, but Sam follows him, so they set out for Mordor. This is where the books ends.
This book has definately lived up to my expectations. It is very detailed with the setting, the storyline, and the characters, while on the other hand not over doing it to make it boring. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
The excerpt that I have chosen for today is when Boromir is overcome by the Rings power and tries to take it from Frodo. I chose this because it is another testament to the Rings evilness and its ability to corrupt peoples minds.
'Ah! The Ring! ' said Boromir, his eyes lighting. 'The Ring! Is it not a strange fate that we
should suffer so much fear and doubt for so small a thing? So small a thing! And I have seen it only
for an instant in the House of Elrond. Could I not have a sight of it again? '
Frodo looked up. His heart went suddenly cold. He caught the strange gleam in Boromir's eyes,
yet his face was still kind and friendly. 'It is best that it should lie hidden,' he answered.
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (Blog Post No. 6)
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
Genre: Social Criticism, Fictional Novel, Historical Novel
Summary: Darnay entered France and on his way to Paris, he was stopped multiple times by the revolutionaries. They questioned him and asked him to identify himself. The last time he was stopped, he was arrested. He informed them that he has rights, but they responded that he lost all of them by being an emigrant. The guard then handed in Darnay to Defarge. Defarge inquired about why he had decided to return to France at the time of the revolution. Darnay did not answer, instead, he made a plea that he helps him. Defarge refused and locked him in jail. A prisoner welcomed him to the La Force prison and told him that he hopes that he will not be held "in secret" (Solitary confinement). In the end, Darnay was held in secret in a room that is 5 feet by four and a half. Later, Doctor Manette, Lucie, her daughter and Miss Pross traveled all the way to France, to get to the branch of Tellson's bank located in Paris. Lorry sends everyone except for Doctor Manette to a nearby lodging. He converses with the doctor. Manette thinks that he could get Danray out of jail because he himself (Manette) is a former Bastille prisoner. Through the window, they saw a crowd of people sharpening their weapons on a grindstone. Manette got an idea, so he went out and screamed that a kindred of a former Bastille prisoner is being held in La Force. After Manette alarmed the crowd, Lorry sent the him to the lodging and Jerry Cruncher to guard him. Defarge approaches Lorry with carrying instructions from Manette. Following the instructions, Lorry tells Defarge where Lucie is. Monsieur and Madam Defarge, accompanied by the woman known as The Vengeance, visit Lucie so they could familiarize with her and her family. Defarge hands her a note from her husband saying that she should stay strong. Lucie asked Madam Defarge to be merciful towards Darnay, but she replied that the revolution will not bend its rules. Doctor Manette, now healthy and full of energy, convinced the Tribunal, the revolutionary court, to keep Darnay alive. He even got a job as the prison physician. By doing these two things, he insured Darnay's safety. France was going through a very hard period, full of violence and aggression. The king and queen were decapitated. Darnay was in jail for a year and three months. Waiting for the trial, the Manettes stand in an area in front of the jail where Darnay might see them from his window. While waiting, Lucie talks with a wood-sawyer. He says that his saw is a guillotine and that each piece of wood he cuts is a head of a prisoner. Soon, a crowd of people came and started dancing a aggressive dance called Carmagnole. When the dancers left, Lucie was scared, so Doctor Manette started comforting her. Madame Defarge passed and exchanged salutes with Doctor Manette. On the day of the trial, Darnay was proven not guilty because he renounced his property and tittle, he married a French woman and is the son in law of Doctor Manette. Later, in their lodging, someone knocked on the door. When they opened the door, they found four soldiers that claimed that they had to re-arrest Darnay. The accusers were Manette, Monsieur and Madam Defarge. On the trial, Darnay was proven guilty, for the crimes of his father and uncle who killed a peasant family. Defarge had strong evidence. Darnay was sentenced to capital punishment. Carton, who was undercover the whole time, with the help of Jerry Cruncher and Barsad, saved Darnay. Carton went to Darnay's cell, drugged him, exchanged clothes and Carton ordered the guard to bring Darnay to the carriage waiting for him outside. Carton's head was cut instead of Darnay's to save Lucie's family. In the meantime, Miss Pross was in hand to hand combat with Madam Defarge. When Madam Defarge pulled out a pistol, Miss Pross took it out of her hand and shot her. Miss Pross, Jerry Cruncher, Lucie, Darnay, his daughter and Doctor Manette safely went back to London.
Reflection:
I am really glad that I chose this book. I enjoyed reading every single page of it. The last part of the book was very exciting and full of surprises. The plot completely twisted in the end. I never expected Carton to do such an honorable thing. I never thought that he would do such a good deed. The book was written in a dark and mysterious, the literary gothic style. It was hard to read because of the old english and the high level vocabulary.
Passage:
"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." (Dickens, 321)
I chose this passage because it is the last sentence of the novel and it reflects Carton's last thoughts and emotions. He finally brought meaning to his life. It was the last and best thing he ever did.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows post #6
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
J.K Rowling
Fantasy, Fiction, Thriller
759/759
In the last couple chapters of the last installment in the
Harry Potter series it was the Hogwarts Battle. It was the life and death
situation where the good and evil fought against each other. This was the time
to see who would live. Is it Harry, the chosen one or the Voldemort, the one
who should not be named? At this part it was when Harries school friends and
teachers will be battling against Voldemort and his army from the dark side. At
one point, Voldemort warned Harry that if he doesn't come to the dark forest on
his own all of his friends would die because of him. At the forest, Voldemort
swung his wand at Harry and he collapsed on the floor. One of the witches from
the dark side, in fact Draco’s mother approached Harry. She knew that Harry wasn't
dead, but all she wanted to know was if her son, Draco was still alive. She
asked Harry quietly if her son was safe and alive, as Harry slowly nodded his
head, Draco’s Mother wanted to help Harry by telling Voldemort that he was actually dead. Voldemort finally thought he had all the power in the world.
Voldemort brings Harry back to Hogwarts with the news that “Harry Potter is
dead”. All of Harry’s friends were there and all of them speechless and in
tears apart from Ginny who couldn't keep it in and started yelling “No!” She didn't want to believe that he was dead. As
soon as Harry saw that he had the chance to “awake” by running away and continuing
the battle with Voldemort he did so.
Everybody in Hogwarts couldn't believe what they just saw and Voldemort
furious. The battle continued just as it
stopped. Harry and Voldemort were found in front of the Hogwarts entrance battling
each other. Voldemort fired his killing curse, but Harry instantaneously sent
back a disarming curse where the two curses meet in the middle. Voldemort’s wand rebounded with the curs
which killed him and the wand flew into Harry’s hand. All of Hogwarts vents in
Victory. Harry lived a regular life from then on and he will die a natural
death. Nineteen years after defeating Voldemort, Harry and Ginny had a family
with three children and Ron and Hermione as well. At this last chapter of the
book, Harry, Ron and Hermione are reunited at the Hogwarts express where they
were sending their children off to Hogwarts. The book ends with a discussion
between Harry and his second child Albus Severus Potter who was getting ready
to head to Hogwarts for the first time.
In my opinion the last bit of the book was the best part of
the book. There were so many things happening at the same time and they were
all so interesting and in depth that I did not want to leave the book without completely
finishing it. To me it’s upsetting that this is the last Harry Potter book. I
have enjoyed reading this book so much. Everything was so in depth and while
reading I could picture everything that was happening in Hogwarts during the
battle and with the golden trio, Harry, Hermione & Ron.
Albus, Rose, Hugo and Lily laughed. The train began to
move, and Harry walked alongside it, watching his sons thin face, already ablaze
with excitement. Harry kept smiling and waving, even though it was like a little
bereavement, watching his son glide away from him…
The last trace of steam evaporated into the autumn air. The
train around a corner. Harry’s hand was still raised in farewell.
“He will be alright,”
Murmured Ginny.
As Harry looked at her, he lowered his hand absentmindedly
and touched the lightning scar on his forehead.
“I know he will.”
The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was
well.
I really liked reading these last couple of sentences in the
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. They were so heartwarming and touching
that I could just picture it in my head and the moment making me want to cry.
Outside Reading: Hunt For Red October (6)
Hunt For Red October
Summary:
Afterwards the crew
proceeds to Norfolk where the October is supposed to be handed over to the Americans.
However this is interrupted when Captain Tupolev, a Russian submarine captain
and an old student of Ramius notices that the vessel he had thought to be
trailing is actually the Red October. Tupolev starts to engage the October but
is soon killed by the Red October. The October is now damaged after it was hit
with a torpedo.
The story comes to a
conclusion when the October arrives in Norfolk and the October’s crew is taken
to a CIA safe house to begin their Americanization.
Throughout this section I noticed that as
the story came to an end the bonds between the American crew and the Soviet
crew became friendlier and that each crew was focused on a mutual goal, for the
first time in the entire novel.
Response:
To me the section I read
this time was the most exciting in the entire novel. In this section there was
plenty of action and it was very suspenseful. All in all this section
completely fulfilled my exceptions and I greatly enjoyed reading this section.
Quotation:
““It’s a free country,
Captain,”” Ryan said softly. “It will take you some time to understand what
free really means. The word is often misused, but in time you will see just how
wise your decision was.””
This quote derived from
96% (kindle) really shows just how different the United States is from the
Soviet Union. Furthermore it also shows the difference in mere lifestyle and
perspective on life. As a reader I believe this quote really gives a context to
how the Soviet crew views the perspective on freedom.
Sixth Blog Post: Heart of a Samurai
Title: Heart of a Samurai
Author: Margi Preus
Genre: Children's Literature
Pages: 175/282
Summary Section:
The first day Manjiro arrived at the school. He saw a coin on the ground so he tried to pick it up, but the coin had continued to move by two boys named Job and Tom. Manjiro realized Job and Tom were playing a trick on him then Manjiro recognized one of the boys, Tom who made fun of him when he first arrived in America. Tom started being mean to Manjiro. He tried to send Manjiro to Japan so they made some operation for sending him. They thought Manjiro was been send America to spy and would report back to Japanese government. Of course it was not true they just couldn't trust and hated Manjiro. Actually Job was not as Tom. Tom didn't pick on Job because Job used to be friend with Tom. That's why Job was going out with him and obeyed him.
Reflection Section:
The story made me falling asleep. I mean it was pretty boring. First when the story was about Tom and Manjiro, it was interesting but after that chapter the story changed about the horse named Duff, Manjiro's horse. There was no any happy or sad or impressive story making me curious or interesting. I am not really satisfied for the chapter i read in this week.
Passage Section:
"People are going to think you 're anti-American if you keep being friends with him. There's no way he will ever really be American. He shouldn't be allowed in this school. We shouldn't have to go to school with people who want to kill us."
This passage is when Tom and Job talked about Manjiro. It is not impressive chapter but I could know Tom was thinking to make a plan to leave Manjiro from the school. It is told me something would happen to Manjiro.
Author: Margi Preus
Genre: Children's Literature
Pages: 175/282
Summary Section:
The first day Manjiro arrived at the school. He saw a coin on the ground so he tried to pick it up, but the coin had continued to move by two boys named Job and Tom. Manjiro realized Job and Tom were playing a trick on him then Manjiro recognized one of the boys, Tom who made fun of him when he first arrived in America. Tom started being mean to Manjiro. He tried to send Manjiro to Japan so they made some operation for sending him. They thought Manjiro was been send America to spy and would report back to Japanese government. Of course it was not true they just couldn't trust and hated Manjiro. Actually Job was not as Tom. Tom didn't pick on Job because Job used to be friend with Tom. That's why Job was going out with him and obeyed him.
Reflection Section:
The story made me falling asleep. I mean it was pretty boring. First when the story was about Tom and Manjiro, it was interesting but after that chapter the story changed about the horse named Duff, Manjiro's horse. There was no any happy or sad or impressive story making me curious or interesting. I am not really satisfied for the chapter i read in this week.
Passage Section:
"People are going to think you 're anti-American if you keep being friends with him. There's no way he will ever really be American. He shouldn't be allowed in this school. We shouldn't have to go to school with people who want to kill us."
This passage is when Tom and Job talked about Manjiro. It is not impressive chapter but I could know Tom was thinking to make a plan to leave Manjiro from the school. It is told me something would happen to Manjiro.
Quarter 1 Post 6 ~ Kingdom of the Wicked
Skulduggery Pleasant: Kingdom of the Wicked
Derek Landy
Fantasy
390/390
Summary
Skulduggery and Valkyrie leave the
Sanctuary after they’ve dealt with Strom. Valkyrie’s arm starts hurting, and
she just manages to send a text to her mother and Skulduggery calls Ghastly to
notify him. Then Valkyrie shunts, and finds herself back in the alternate
reality, except this time she has Skulduggery to back her up. They fly to a
nearby town, and there they find Anton Shudder, a member of the Resistance,
waiting for them. He tells them that Valkyrie’s reflection was taken along with
thirteen others. He then leads them to China, the leader of the Resistance. They
tell her about their plan; that they need a way into the palace. The Teleporter
was taken back, so China arranges to get them a guide. She gives them a small
black disc and then leaves. Skulduggery identifies it as a pain regulator, a
device that can either subdue pain or inflict it. A helper leads them to a cell
to meet their guide, and there they find Nefarian Serpine, the villain from the
first book and the man who killed Skulduggery’s wife and children a long time
ago. Skulduggery and Valkyrie attach the pain regulator to him and make him
lead them into the rich city, the one populated by sorcerers. He does so with
the help of a man who owes him a favor. They go inside, and quickly locate
Walden D’Essai (the other reality’s Argeddion) and ask him what his mother’s
murderer told him. D’Essai tells them that the murderer said; “I’m sorry”. That
doesn’t make sense, though. People say ‘I’m sorry’ every day, so it’s not very
traumatizing. Skulduggery and Valkyrie realize that Lament must have been lying
to them about how the caught Argeddion, because he was under Argeddion’s
control when he told Skulduggery that.
Skulduggery, Valkyrie and Serpine, after
that, go to the castle. However, they don’t know how to get in. Serpine comes
up with the idea to wait for Baron Vengous, who always uses secret passageways,
because it’s faster, and so that would reveal said passageways to the trio.
They find Eliza Scorn, Baron Vengous’s wife and devoted follower of the
Faceless Ones (the dark gods that are worshipped by Mevolent and his
followers); so devoted that she walks around in chains. Skulduggery figures out
where the passage is from Scorn’s reaction every time he passes a certain spot.
They make it through the passage and enter
the castle. When they get up to the throne room and to the case that holds the
Sceptre, Serpine makes the other two take his pain regulator off. The case is
protected by a seal, but, luckily, in Skulduggery’s reality, the way to break
that seal was revealed a long time ago. Just as he breaks it, Eliza Scorn runs
in (without her chains) hurling red light at them. Valkyrie knocks her out, and
it seems like they got away with it, until Baron Vengous shows up.
Vengous starts fighting Skulduggery, and
Serpine manages to convince Valkyrie to take off the glove that stops him from
using his power. He leaps into the fray, and Valkyrie takes off to save her
reflection. She goes down to the dungeon, finding here reflection wounded
terribly. As they try to leave, they find Remit, the Teleporter, in their way. Valkyrie
leans the reflection against the wall, and engages Remit in an argument. While
she has him distracted, the reflection attaches the pain regulator to his back,
making him fall onto the floor in agony. Valkyrie makes him teleport them to
the throne room. They arrive in the middle of the fight, and the Sceptre lay on
the floor, unnoticed. Valkyrie grabs it and throws it to Serpine to free her
hands. She then attacks Vengous, giving Skulduggery time to catch his breath.
Skulduggery jumps toward Valkyrie, and they all grab hands and Remit teleports
them away. Valkyrie’s arm starts aching, and she tells Skulduggery that they
have maybe thirty seconds. China shows up, and she takes the Sceptre to have a
look. Unfortunately, she refuses to give it back. Valkyrie then shunts with
Skulduggery and her reflection, but the Sceptre is left behind.
While they were in the other dimension,
Kitana went looking for Sean. When she got to the Sanctuary, she saw Argeddion
kill Lament and his colleagues, and she gets scared. Who’s to say Argeddion won’t
do that to them, too? When she finds that Sean has escaped with the help of
some Roarhaven mages, they formulate a plan to get rid of Argeddion so that no
one can stand in their way.
When they get back, Valkyrie goes home and
puts the reflection in the mirror for it to heal. She goes downstairs and talks
to her mom, and finds out that her mother lost her job. She says it’s not a
problem, because they have the money that was left to Valkyrie when her uncle
died. When her mother tries to protest that the money isn’t theirs -it’s
Valkyrie’s- Valkyrie insists that that’s not the case. When she’s done talking,
she returns upstairs and lets the reflection out of the mirror. She goes
outside, and Skulduggery picks her up and they drive to Roarhaven. Halfway
there, Skulduggery brakes sharply; Kitana, Doran and Sean are standing in the
middle of the road. Kitana tells Skulduggery her plan; she wants the sorcerers
to distract Argeddion while the three defeat him. Skulduggery and Valkyrie go
to see the Elders to discuss this with them, and walk in on an argument between
Ghastly and Sult (a man from the Supreme Council). Ravel comes up to them and
tells them about the deaths of Lament and his associates. Skulduggery tells him
about their attempt to get the Sceptre in turn. Sult comes up to them and
questions Skulduggery about the disappearance of Strom, Ghastly at his heels. They
insist that Strom is in a meeting. Sult then explains that, in the absence of
Strom, he is the representative, and he tells them that, now that Skulduggery has
failed to retrieve the Sceptre, that they need to use the Accelerator to
supercharge their mages. Skulduggery objects, stating the risks of using the
Accelerator on people, and tells them about the plan that Kitana, Doran and
Sean proposed. He tells them that his plan is to put the teenagers into the Accelerator to boost their powers.
Later, after much discussing, they come
back to the scientists, who have formulated a plan. They have transformed the
Tempest (the power source for the Cube) into a weapon to subdue Argeddion. It
needs people to charge it for it to work, and it can only point straight up, so
Argeddion needs to be distracted. Kitana, Doran and Sean come in then, and get
charged by the Accelerator.
They’re using Greta Dapple as bait for
Argeddion, so they go to her house with the Tempest and the magicians charging
it in a cloaking sphere. Valkyrie and Skulduggery lead Greta outside, and her
panic brought Argeddion to them. He comes and floats over the hidden Tempest,
and then they turn it on, trapping him. The Tempest explodes, and then Kitana,
Doran and Sean fly in and attack Argeddion before he has time to recover. They
beat Argeddion to the ground, and Greta Dapple comes toward them, trying to
save him. Kitana kills her. After that, they have Argeddion near death, but
they don’t kill him. They figure out that the Sanctuary wanted them to kill
him, so that would mean that they would lose their powers. Instead, they go and
take him to the Cube to imprison him.
Skulduggery takes
Valkyrie to fly her to the Sanctuary. In his hand is the case that holds Lord
Vile’s armor. They go inside the Sanctuary, where the three teenagers are
figuring the Cube out. Skulduggery puts on the armor, and starts fighting.
Kitana goes to Valkyrie and punches through Valkyrie’s chest-
-and Darquesse
takes over. She heals, and joins the fray, fighting the teenagers alongside
Vile. They struggle, until Darquesse breaks away and stumbles on Argeddion, who
has just arrived. He takes Darquesse’s arm and feels the shunt coming on, and
he speeds it up, taking the two of them to the other reality. Argeddion then disappears,
and Darquesse leaves to find the Sceptre. She locates China in the middle of a
small war between the Resistance and Mevolent’s forces. She asks her for the
Sceptre, but China won’t give it to her. Then, Remit the teleporter shows up
with Mevolent himself. Mevolent wields a sword, but Darquesse soon takes it
from him. Unfortunately, Mavolent also gets his hands on the Sceptre. They
fight, and it ends with Darquesse knocking him out with a horse. China comes
and grabs the Sceptre, but Darquesse takes it from her. Just as Darquesse is
about to shunt back, Serpine shows up and kills China, and then he hits her
with a ball of energy, sending her flying, and she shunts. Once she is on the
other side, she realizes she doesn’t have the Sceptre. She left it behind.
Darquesse flies
back to the Sanctuary, and flies at Kitana, taking apart her head, killing her.
She then sends a blast of energy towards Doran, blowing apart his face, also
killing him. Then, she pops Sean’s head off. She turns to Vile, but realizes
that it actually isn’t Vile but Skulduggery, who has managed to get a hold of
himself. She calls the armor and rips it off of him. Then, Argeddion bursts in,
along with Walden D’Essai. Argeddion’s plan is to combine his and D’Essai’s
power to gift magic to the entire human race. Unfortunately for him, D’Essai
doesn’t agree. Argeddion loses his temper and accidentally kills D’Essai.
Darquesse moves in for the kill, but symbols on the wall, meant for creating
light, flash, and Valkyrie wakes up on the floor.
When Valkyrie wakes
up, she finds out from Skulduggery that he used the symbols to create a seizure
in both Darquesse and Argeddion. The plan now, is to rewrite Argeddion’s
identity and erase all his memories of magic. They run into Strom, and he tells
them that, because of their success, he might decide to withhold, in his report
to the Supreme Council, the whole locked-in-a-cell incident.
After everything,
Valkyrie and Skulduggery go for a walk. Ghastly comes up to them and tells them
that Strom is dead. He was attacked by a woman named Tanith and her boyfriend,
Sanguine, characters from the previous books. Now, there’s no one to stand for
the Sanctuary at the Supreme Council and to stop Sult from relating all the
details.
Valkyrie’s reflection
is with her cousin, Carol (Carol learned about magic and her abilities in the
last book). The reflection gives her the spell to make her own relfection, and
Carol performs it. Then, the reflection kills Carol, using her life to charge
the Sceptre. Darquesse had, in fact, brought the Sceptre with her, but it had
slid under a truck. The reflection had found it. Valkyrie’s reflection, then,
turns to Carol’s reflection and instructs it to take over Carol’s life.
Valkyrie’s reflection, then, explains her plans. She’s going to kill Valkyrie.
She’s going to kill Skulduggery. She’s going to kill anyone who might suspect
anything because she is going to be
Valkyrie. With the help of the Sceptre, no one will stand in her way.
Response
I’ve
really enjoyed this book so much. It had a really good plot that twisted around
and had little side things going on as well. I’m really excited to read the
next book; I want to see what happens with Valkyrie’s reflection and whether
Valkyrie will be able to beat her. I think that, in the next book, someone close
to Valkyrie will die because of this (because Derek Landy has no problem with
killing off characters).
Bud Not Buddy Blog Post 6 Leonardo
TITLE: Bud, Not Buddy
AUTHOR: Christopher Paul Curtis
GENRE: Historical Fiction
PAGES: 236/236
In the last chapters of my book, Bud has found out that Mr. Calloway, his supposed-to-be father, is actually his grandfather. He found out that he is his mother's father. The room he has been sleeping in was his mother's. Mr. C has a collection of rocks in his car, with the date and where he found them, just like Bud's. These events have affected Mr. C because when he heard Bud say his daughter's name, he knew it was her. In shock, he started crying. This shows that he was probably affected negatively by the news. These events have also shown me how much Mr. C cared about his daughter and how much he will miss her.
I think that what I read was unpredictable. I thought that Mr. C was Bud's father, but instead he was his grandfather. Therefore, my recent reading has not fulfilled my expectations at all. I am very satisfied with my reading. I think that its being unpredictable was very cool, and it shook the reader's mind completely.
"Herman E. Calloway's pipe dropped out of his mouth and he stumbled and fumbled into Grand Calloway Station, feeling his way like he'd been struck blind" (Curtis 212). This passage shows me how Mr. C loved his daughter. His reaction shows how shocked he felt and how much disbelief was going through his mind at that very moment. This passage intrigues me as a reader because now I want to see how Bud will react to the news about Mr. C not being his father, but his grandfather.
AUTHOR: Christopher Paul Curtis
GENRE: Historical Fiction
PAGES: 236/236
In the last chapters of my book, Bud has found out that Mr. Calloway, his supposed-to-be father, is actually his grandfather. He found out that he is his mother's father. The room he has been sleeping in was his mother's. Mr. C has a collection of rocks in his car, with the date and where he found them, just like Bud's. These events have affected Mr. C because when he heard Bud say his daughter's name, he knew it was her. In shock, he started crying. This shows that he was probably affected negatively by the news. These events have also shown me how much Mr. C cared about his daughter and how much he will miss her.
I think that what I read was unpredictable. I thought that Mr. C was Bud's father, but instead he was his grandfather. Therefore, my recent reading has not fulfilled my expectations at all. I am very satisfied with my reading. I think that its being unpredictable was very cool, and it shook the reader's mind completely.
"Herman E. Calloway's pipe dropped out of his mouth and he stumbled and fumbled into Grand Calloway Station, feeling his way like he'd been struck blind" (Curtis 212). This passage shows me how Mr. C loved his daughter. His reaction shows how shocked he felt and how much disbelief was going through his mind at that very moment. This passage intrigues me as a reader because now I want to see how Bud will react to the news about Mr. C not being his father, but his grandfather.
Blogpost 6 The Riddle
The Riddle
Alison Croggon
Fantasy
59 pages 481/481
Report Section
Maerad has managed to sneak out of the Winterking's castle but the biggest obstetrical it yet to come. She has to pass a high iron arch placed between the two mountains. It radiates the power of the Winterking and it is obvious that she cannot pass. she sits there for a while panicking until the same strange white wolf appears on the side of on mountain. And in the speech it tells her to become a wolf. Maerad does not understand what the wolf means, it tells her that the Winterking cannot recognize her if she was a free wolf and that she could easily pass ass a wolf. It takes a while but soon Maerad looks deep inside of her until she has become completely blank of what she is, then she imagines a wolf. First she is chocked with the pain that left as fast as it came and then suddenly she is overwhelmed by all the new scenes. Maerad easily passes through the arch and in moments she finds herself running though the vast snow covered landscape with the strange white wolf. Maerad somehow gets the feeling that she knows that the white wolf is her Elemental ancestor. They run very far as the Winterking finds out and summons a huge storm. They reach a forest but they are not safe yet, the storm breaks down trees and Stormdogs howl from everywhere. The white wolf leads Maerad through a hole in the hill, they emerge into a big cave where a pack of wolves are resting. The white wolf tells that these wolves will help her to the Osidh Elanor mountain pass. Maerad is happy to travel with the pack, she is finally free and not all alone anymore, though this was not the whole pack. The pack had only brought it's strongest wolves to help Maerad because she is the One. After five days of constant travel they reach the Osidh Elanor pass, Maerad is forced to part with the wolf pack because it is dangerous for wolves to travel in Annar and they had already traveled far enough from the other part of the pack. Maerad travels through the mountain pass feeling empty and alone again, already missing the presence of the other wolves. As she exits the mountains she plans on traveling through Annar to find her brother Hem in Turbansk. She finds herself in a landscape that is strangely familiar to her. As she continues to travel abandoned houses and ruins start to come up more and more often and soon Maerad realizes that she must be in the moors near Pellinor (the school shes from that was destroyed when she was really young). She quickens her pace as she is scared yet eager to see the ruins of The School of Pellinor where she was born. She soon approaches it, though everything is in ruins, overgrown with vegetation and everything was crumbling. She wanders through the ruins of the school as she suddenly scents the smell of meat. She sneaks around the corner to see a man in a cloak sitting by a fire with his horse his hood over his face so she could not see who it was. Maerad watches the man for a while until he notices her, as he turns around Maerad sees that it is Cadvan. Somehow he survived the mountain slide and was here. Though he cannot recognize her since she was in a wolf form. She transforms back into a human and they both greet each other happily and Maerad starts to cry. They tell about what happened to each other after they split up and they make up their minds about what they are going to do next. They plan to find Hem which means they have to travel to Turbansk. That night Maerad has a strange dream about being in a beautiful garden full of apple trees that where blossoming beautiful flowers, there was a big house with beautiful carvings. She knows that this house used to be her house in Pellinor. She rushes inside looking in every room on the first floor... but there was no one there... she gets stressed and looks upstairs for something that she in not quiet sure what it is. With tears in her eyes she rushes outside to find her brother Hem sitting under one of the apple trees eating an apple... at ths=is moment Maerad knows he is home.
Response Section
What do you think about what you have read?
What do you think about what you have read?
I really like what I have read because it is (sadly) the end of the book but it does not end properly, it leaves an opening for the third book which I have and I am really exited to read.
Has your recent reading fulfilled your expectations?
Has your recent reading fulfilled your expectations?
Yes, in these last chapters Cadvan has finally come back revealing that he was not dead just as i predicted.
What do you expect for your continued reading?
What do you expect for your continued reading?
I expect tat in the next book they will have too take the other half of the Tree Song from the Nameless One and that they will find Hem somehow.
How satisfied are you with what you have read?
How satisfied are you with what you have read?
Well I did not read a lot since I was so close to the ed of the book but I am happy that I finished the book in time.
Passage Section
"And then she saw Hem among the apple trees, a half-eaten apple in is hand. He waved and started running towards her, his face radiant with joy. He was coming home" (481p Croggon)
This was the last sentence of the book and it was special because I wonder what Maerad mean with "coming home" when they have no home. I fear that she might mean that he is dead or will die as she has had many signs of that before.
Passage Section
"And then she saw Hem among the apple trees, a half-eaten apple in is hand. He waved and started running towards her, his face radiant with joy. He was coming home" (481p Croggon)
This was the last sentence of the book and it was special because I wonder what Maerad mean with "coming home" when they have no home. I fear that she might mean that he is dead or will die as she has had many signs of that before.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Blog #6
1) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay
Suzanne Collins
Dystopic Fiction
Page 390/390
2) I have read a lot since last week, so there is a lot that has happened. I'm not going to say anything about the last part of the story, because that would spoil it for people who want to read it in the future. What I know is that it wasn't the district 2 man holding the gun to Kantiss' head that shot her, it was someone else in the crowd, but she had protective armor on so she only got some bruises and broken ribs. She finished her job, which was to unite the districts and get all of them on the rebel side, so Coin doesn't need her anymore, which puts her at great risk, since she is now pretty useless. They decide not to let her go to the Capitol because there is a big chance that she will die, but also because she can't follow orders, so she will be useless, or at least that is what Coin thinks. But Katniss still goes to training, and passes the exam, so they have to let her go anyway. Johanna, Katniss' roommate and friend, also a victor doesn't get to go though, because she is still in a pretty rough shape. Katniss is part of the Sharpshooters' Squad, also known as the Star Squad, which includes Gale, Finnick, Leeg 1, Leeg 2, Mitchell, Homes, Jackson, and Katniss. When they are in the Capitol, or just outside in a rebel camp training, Leeg 2 gets killed by a pod (a specific weapon or trap automatically activated when someone steps near it, or manually controlled by the Capitol from some station) that shoots out metal darts, and one hits her in the head. Since the Star Squad has now lost one of their members, Coin sends in another one to replace her, and to everyone's surprise, it is the mentally unstable Peeta, who cannot shoot well, is not qualified as soldier yet, and still has issues with the whole hijacking thing. So the only reason why Coin sent him that anyone can think of is that she hopes he will kill Katniss, so Coin doesn't have to deal with her anymore. When Snow is dead, a new president will be elected, and since Katniss is the mockingjay, whoever she votes for is probably the person everyone else will vote for as well, and knowing she dislikes Coin very much, she probably won't vote for her, meaning not many others will either. So Katniss thinks that Coin figured if she is dead, she won't be able to vote, and who better to kill her than Peeta? When the Star Squad is in the block to record something the rebels will later televise, with their leader Boggs, and Katniss' camera crew including Cressida, Messalla, Castor, and Pullox, they encounter a pod that was not on a map, and things fly out of hand. Many people are killed on this very dangerous attempt to move all the way into the center of the Capitol, where Snow's mansion is located, to try to kill him to end the war. Unexpected things happen that I never saw coming, and in the end, instead of shooting Snow, like Katniss was supposed to, she lets her arrow fly into someone else's chest, shocking everyone watching, which is the entire population of Panem. After the war is over she is sent to Twelve to live there, but her mother is in 4 to set up a new hospital, and Gale in 2 where he got some kind of fancy job, or at least that's what she heard, so the only people she has now are Peeta, Greasy Sae, Haymitch, and a few others living in Twelve.
3) I learned that Katniss truly doesn't have much of a heart, and those people she does love, are all taken away from her, except one; Peeta. This book was indeed addicting, and I read about 200 pages in one day, not wanting to put it down; always excited for what will happen next. I did expect a different ending though, and at first I was disapointed, but later I understood why Collins wrote what she did, why she didn't end it the way everyone would expect; because she didn't want an ending where everyone would be happy and satisfied, where the girl gets the guy and they live happily ever after. No, she wanted people to question her, to have thoughts and questions that would never be answered, so they could make up their own solutions, and thoughts about why that happened, or why she chose him instead of the other one, or why they couldn't live happily ever after, because no such thing will ever be possible. So in the end, I was very satisfied, but I do still have tons of questions that I know will never be truly answered, and I guess that's okay.
4) "Gale said that in the end, I would choose whoever I think I wouldn't be able to survive without... I know this would happen anyway. That what I need is not Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means birth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that" (Collins 388). This passage finally tells us who Katniss chooses to be with, who he thinks she can't survive without, and that was essentially what we wanted to know, wasn't it? But then again, it doesn't fully answer our questions. This is a way of bringing Katniss' confusion and suffering to an end of sorts. I think Collins does a great job of ending the story, but in such a way that it does never truly end. There could be another book following, because there is so much left to explain, so many problems without solutions, but that is the way she wants to leave us readers; with questions.
Suzanne Collins
Dystopic Fiction
Page 390/390
2) I have read a lot since last week, so there is a lot that has happened. I'm not going to say anything about the last part of the story, because that would spoil it for people who want to read it in the future. What I know is that it wasn't the district 2 man holding the gun to Kantiss' head that shot her, it was someone else in the crowd, but she had protective armor on so she only got some bruises and broken ribs. She finished her job, which was to unite the districts and get all of them on the rebel side, so Coin doesn't need her anymore, which puts her at great risk, since she is now pretty useless. They decide not to let her go to the Capitol because there is a big chance that she will die, but also because she can't follow orders, so she will be useless, or at least that is what Coin thinks. But Katniss still goes to training, and passes the exam, so they have to let her go anyway. Johanna, Katniss' roommate and friend, also a victor doesn't get to go though, because she is still in a pretty rough shape. Katniss is part of the Sharpshooters' Squad, also known as the Star Squad, which includes Gale, Finnick, Leeg 1, Leeg 2, Mitchell, Homes, Jackson, and Katniss. When they are in the Capitol, or just outside in a rebel camp training, Leeg 2 gets killed by a pod (a specific weapon or trap automatically activated when someone steps near it, or manually controlled by the Capitol from some station) that shoots out metal darts, and one hits her in the head. Since the Star Squad has now lost one of their members, Coin sends in another one to replace her, and to everyone's surprise, it is the mentally unstable Peeta, who cannot shoot well, is not qualified as soldier yet, and still has issues with the whole hijacking thing. So the only reason why Coin sent him that anyone can think of is that she hopes he will kill Katniss, so Coin doesn't have to deal with her anymore. When Snow is dead, a new president will be elected, and since Katniss is the mockingjay, whoever she votes for is probably the person everyone else will vote for as well, and knowing she dislikes Coin very much, she probably won't vote for her, meaning not many others will either. So Katniss thinks that Coin figured if she is dead, she won't be able to vote, and who better to kill her than Peeta? When the Star Squad is in the block to record something the rebels will later televise, with their leader Boggs, and Katniss' camera crew including Cressida, Messalla, Castor, and Pullox, they encounter a pod that was not on a map, and things fly out of hand. Many people are killed on this very dangerous attempt to move all the way into the center of the Capitol, where Snow's mansion is located, to try to kill him to end the war. Unexpected things happen that I never saw coming, and in the end, instead of shooting Snow, like Katniss was supposed to, she lets her arrow fly into someone else's chest, shocking everyone watching, which is the entire population of Panem. After the war is over she is sent to Twelve to live there, but her mother is in 4 to set up a new hospital, and Gale in 2 where he got some kind of fancy job, or at least that's what she heard, so the only people she has now are Peeta, Greasy Sae, Haymitch, and a few others living in Twelve.
3) I learned that Katniss truly doesn't have much of a heart, and those people she does love, are all taken away from her, except one; Peeta. This book was indeed addicting, and I read about 200 pages in one day, not wanting to put it down; always excited for what will happen next. I did expect a different ending though, and at first I was disapointed, but later I understood why Collins wrote what she did, why she didn't end it the way everyone would expect; because she didn't want an ending where everyone would be happy and satisfied, where the girl gets the guy and they live happily ever after. No, she wanted people to question her, to have thoughts and questions that would never be answered, so they could make up their own solutions, and thoughts about why that happened, or why she chose him instead of the other one, or why they couldn't live happily ever after, because no such thing will ever be possible. So in the end, I was very satisfied, but I do still have tons of questions that I know will never be truly answered, and I guess that's okay.
4) "Gale said that in the end, I would choose whoever I think I wouldn't be able to survive without... I know this would happen anyway. That what I need is not Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means birth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that" (Collins 388). This passage finally tells us who Katniss chooses to be with, who he thinks she can't survive without, and that was essentially what we wanted to know, wasn't it? But then again, it doesn't fully answer our questions. This is a way of bringing Katniss' confusion and suffering to an end of sorts. I think Collins does a great job of ending the story, but in such a way that it does never truly end. There could be another book following, because there is so much left to explain, so many problems without solutions, but that is the way she wants to leave us readers; with questions.
Blog Post #6: White Ghost Girls
White Ghost Girls
Author: Alice Greenway
Genre: Young Adult Fiction: Multicultural
Pages: 167/167 (100% kindle)
Author: Alice Greenway
Genre: Young Adult Fiction: Multicultural
Pages: 167/167 (100% kindle)
Summary: In the last chapters of the book, Kate and Frankie's mom gets ready for Frankie's to go to Boarding School. When they are ready they go to the pier where they wait for their father to arrive so he can take Frankie to her flight. The two daughters, their mom, Ah Bing and Ah Wong are sitting on the pier, having a picnic. When Frankie sees her father she starts jumping up and down and waving her arms. Her father waves back. Frankie is hogging her father's attention from her mother and sister. When he is close, Frankie yells: "Save me Daddy. Catch me. Take me with you." Of course the boat is too far, and yet too close. Too far for Frankie to land on it, but close enough for her to hit it. She jumps, her father tries to back the boat, her mother screams, and Frankie hits the boat hard. She is bleeding from her head. He tries CPR, but this just pumps more blood out... Frankie is lost. Their father is crying, swearing he can do nothing to save her. Her mother pulls Frankie's body close to her, cradles her. Now no one is trying to save her. They know all is lost.
Did what you expected to happen last time happen?
Yes. Frankie killed herself by accident and I thought something like that would happen and it did.
What do you think about what you have read? In the last chapter I think that Frankie has gone too far. She causes so much pain to her family, she practically betrays it. Kate, who throughout the book tries to take care of her, keep her secrets, cannot help her sister anymore. When Frankie jumps to her death, Kate cannot make a sound. She cannot warn her. She is mute. Finally, I think this is a tragic story and this is all because of Frankie.
Passage Section:
"I want my father home. I want him to take care of Frankie, to make her happy. To make my mother stop worrying. I want him to make it all right for Frankie to go to boarding school, or to maybe let her stay. To make her stop punishing us,hurting herself. I will give Frankie to him. I will tell him I can't look after her anymore." This quote is very strong because it proves what a rebel, troublemaker Frankie is. It tells us how unruly she is. This quote, to me, explains why Frankie dies.
"Then without warning, without looking back, Frankie jumps. She leaps off the railing, jumps into the air. I don't know whether she means to or weather she's just so carried away she can't stop herself. She must get to him first. Make him love her most." This is who Frankie is. She wants all the attention she can get. She wants to take her father away. She wants to be the one he loves the most. This is what gets Frankie killed.
"Then without warning, without looking back, Frankie jumps. She leaps off the railing, jumps into the air. I don't know whether she means to or weather she's just so carried away she can't stop herself. She must get to him first. Make him love her most." This is who Frankie is. She wants all the attention she can get. She wants to take her father away. She wants to be the one he loves the most. This is what gets Frankie killed.
Hide and Seek (Last post)
Hide and Seek
Sara Shepard
Thriller
288/288
I
finished my book. In the last chapters of my book many things were reviled. At
the beginning of the section Emma (Sutton twin sister) went up to meet with
Raven (Raven is the woman she thinks Mr. Mercer is in a relationship with).
When Emma arrived at the motel where Raven was staying at she asked the
receptionist in which room Raven was staying at. Emma went up to the room. She
knocked on the door no one answered she waited for a while. The she opened the
door. There was no one in the room it was empty but the television was on. Emma
checked the bathroom and no one was there. There was a paper on the TV. The
paper was a flyer of a small restaurant near by and it said “Meet me”. Emma
left to meet Raven at the small restaurant she got into her car and started
driving. She arrived and the small diner and saw a car that looked familiar. It
is Mr. Mercers (Sutton’s adoptive dad). Emma knew that he cant see her there
but more importantly what she didn’t know was why he was there. Emma went out
of her car and as she did Mr. Mercer saw her and started to chaise after her.
Emma ran as fast as she could in fear. At that point in the book Mr. Mercer was
the person who looked the guiltiest of murdering Sutton. I was exited to see
what was going to happen to Emma. She raced to her car and got away from Mr.
Mercer. He left and then she went to the diner to see if Raven is still there.
She wasn’t, she asked the waiter who worked there if he knew her and if she
left something for her. She did she left a letter for Emma. She was exited but
also fearful of what could be said in the letter. In the letter there was a
picture that to Emma looked familiar but in the letter it said that she couldn’t
tell her anything else. After that Emma went home and when she came home Mr.
Mercer decided to reveal some key things to Emma. He told her that Raven’s
actual name was Becky. When he said that Emma knew something weird was going
on. Becky is Emma and Sutton’s birth mom. Then Mr. Mercer told her that Becky
was actually his daughter that means that both Emma and Sutton were his
grandchildren. That is where this book ended. I have learned many things in
these couple of chapters starting with whom that characters actually are. I
also discovered that Mr. Mercer is now off the suspect list of people who could
have murdered Sutton because he told the truth. This affects my opinion about
the characters a lot. Up till now I was really curious with who Mr. Mercer was
with the night of the murder. This affects the relationship between Mr. Mercer
and Emma because now she knows a part of the truth about what happened the
night of the murder.
I am
blown away by everything I have read this week. In the past few chapters I have
found out more then what I found out through the whole book. My recent has totally fulfilled my
expectations. Because my book has other part to it I am looking forward to
reading the following books. I am sure that by the end of the next book the author
will reveal who killed Sutton. I am very satisfied with my book all together
because there were no boring parts in the book I look forward to reading more
of the books from the same author. I have many concerns because my book didn’t
end the way I wanted to. I thought that more answers would be reveled by the
end of the book. The ending kind off left you with many questions, concerns,
and wishes for further reading. I only have one comment, which is that on the
beginning of the book I said in one of my blogs that I think by the end of the book
the murderer will not be revealed. So I just want to say that I am correct.
“Raven
Jannings (Becky Mercer) Raven was… Becky? And Becky was the Mercers’ daughter?
And Grandma Mercer was her and Sutton’s great-grandmother?” (Page 273)
This
passage was said almost at the very end of the book. This was when Emma was finally
putting the pieces together about who Raven better said Becky really was. This
passage surprises the reader a lot because then you have an “ohhhh” moment in
you head. Many things make sense to you things that were left unsolved from the
beginning of the book. When I read this passage I figured out many things that I
couldn’t have figured out without this piece of information.
The Fault in Our Stars #6
The Fault in Our Stars
John Green
Young Adult Novel
476/476 pages read
In this
part of the book everyone is still upset and shocked by Augustus’s death. Hazel starts worrying that one day she will
die of cancer just like Gus and leave her parents, and people she loves feeling
very sad like she feels now. Her parents try to comfort her and her mom even
decided to become a social worker to help people with illness in their
families. Also Hazel wants to find Augustus’s last letter, which was written on
a few pages that were ripped out from his notebook. When she was on the phone
with her friend Kaitlyn she finally realize that he probably mailed the pages
to Van Houten and quickly sent an email to his former assistant. Soon the
assistant finds the pages and mails them to Hazel. The book ends with the end
of Augustus’s letter but I know that Hazel will be happy again after she
finishes reading the letter.
I
really enjoyed reading this book and I think that it taught me many valuable
lessons about life. Even though the ending of the book isn’t completely happy
like it is in most books I think it is realistic because not everything ends entirely
happy in real life. My recent reading
did fulfill my expectations because I really enjoyed the word choice,
interesting characters and the theme of this book. I am very satisfied with what
I have read because I learned about the feelings of people who have to live
with serious illnesses, knowing that your days are limited and I learned that I
should really treasure my life the way it is because there are many people
whose lives are much harder than mine.
Quote: “Then again, I’d already lived twice as long as Van
Houten’s daughter. What he wouldn’t have given to have a kid die at sixteen.” (Page 457)
This quote shows that Hazel is always very thoughtful about
others and their feelings and accepts the fact that she is ill and won’t be
able to live much longer. This means that Hazel is very strong person because she accepts reality and still cares for other from her situation.
Seekers, Great Bear Lake
Author: Erin Hunter
Pages read: 300/300
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Summary
Toklo dislikes swimming, because he thinks that the spirits of the dead bears live in the flowing water. When he is in water, Toklo thinks that there is a big connection between him and the spirit bear, as if he can touch them physically. He accidentally gets in the water, and starts drowning. He still believes that his mother and brother will help him get out, but it didn't happen. He almost got killed, and few seconds before his death, his mother and brother help him get out of the water.
Every year, there is a ceremony for each of the race of the bears. White bears thank spirits for finishing the hot days, and bringing back longer nights, which means colder and cooler days. Now polar bears can hunt properly and live on the ice. Taste of the seal never tasted better for Kallik. The grizzly bears thank the spirit bears for giving them enough food to survive, and want extra food to survive over the winter. The oldest black bear thanks spirit bears for giving them healthy trees, and enough berries for survival, and also they want some extra berries to survive over the winter. Finally Taqqiq joined Kallik and her friends in their journey for the Pathway .
Response Section
This is our last blog post for the first quarter. This was great way for me to tell what happened in the story. It is really smart, and we write these blog post for our final essay, so we can use information from this posts and pt them in our essay. Also this is a way for teacher to see if we read our books on time. This book is really good , Hunter really showed how to change the story between the characters point of view. It is well known and well written novel. I liked how this book finished, how each of the bears prayed for better life and opportunities and how Taqqiq joined the crew at the very end of the story. This reading really fulfilled my expectations. I was surprised at the end that Taqqiq choose to come with Kallik, and I would really like to see what will happen in the next novel in this series. This was book number 2 from Seekers series. I think three of the characters will meet new problems and will need solutions to solve them, I need to get book number three of this series. I am really satisfied of what I read this past six weeks.
Passage Section
" As Lusa padded along, she looked up as the sky began to brighten and the Bear Watcher faded in the orange light of dawn."
"Thank you for watching over us," she whispered. "We will see you again soon."
This was the ending of this novel, where Lusa was thanking the star tat was watching over her, and hoping to see it again, but now she has her new family.
Pretty Little Liars #1 (Finished The Old Book)
- Title: Pretty Little Liars
- Author: Sara Shepard
- Genre: Mystery
- Number of pages read this week: 50/244
- Report Section
At this point of reading, the author introduces us with the close group of friends, in which everyone is different in their own way. The 'leader' of this group is Alison, who is the most popular and the smartest girl in their school. There's Aria, an independent girl who doesn't care about other people's opinion, Emily who is the best swimmer in the school and has secret feelings for Alison, Hanna who strives to be thin and to look and behave like Alison, and Spencer- the most competitive and smartest girl in their group. Author introduces us with their type of relationship. Alison is the person who gets them all together, and she is the person who is making everyone feel special and unique. Suddenly, she mysteriously disappears during their sleepover in summer right before the start of wight grade. The story then jumps 3 years later, where the girls are separated and don't talk to each other at all. Aria comes back from her three-year trip to Island, where she falls in love with the unknown guy in the bar, who turns out to be her English teacher. Emily becomes best friend with the new girl in town, Maya, and she becomes very close with her. Hanna looses weight, and becomes the most popular girl in school. Spencer continues struggling in her long lasting rivalry, with her perfect sister, Melissa.
In this section of reading, I have discovered many things about the main characters' personality. When only one person is gone, the others' might lose everything that they had. In this particular example, Hannah, Aria, Spencer and Emily lose their friendship only because of one person's disappearance. I also discovered that time is the cure to everything and the perfect example is Hannah who lost instead of weight gained self-confidence in herself.
Also, at the beginning of the book, it is shown that the siblings might have a lot of struggles in their relationship. Spencer was competing with her sister basically her whole life, and she never loved her like the sister. Spencer always wants what she can't have, and she wants everything that belongs to Melissa. Also, this might have effected her friendship with other's because she feels like she's the one who's always right and who doesn't make any mistakes.
- Response Section
I think that this passage that I read is very well written first of all. The author used easy word choice and it was easy to understand and keep reading. This is a book that most of the teenagers read, so in every other sentence in the book I could find myself. Sara Shepard tried to present others' out way of thinking, and how we actually react to many different struggles and situations.
My recent reading has fulfilled my expectations. I experienced the same situation as with previous book. I could barely stop reading, because of the nice word choice and because of the interesting point of view that author introduces us with. I really liked the book so far, and I think that something interesting and exciting might happen.
As I have already mentioned, I think that something exciting might happen in my continued reading, and I honestly except teenage drama and Alison's return at the end of the book.
I am very satisfied with what I have read. I find this book so realistic, and I personally love the books that I can relate to, and this certainly is the one that I am able to recognize and find myself in. I can't wait to read more of it and to find out what is going to happen further with every character, and are they actually going to get along together like before!!!
- Passage Section
'' Everyone was quiet for a few seconds, and the girls looked blankly at each other. This had happened a lot lately: Someone -usually Ali- mentioned something, and someone else got upset, but everyone was too shy to ask what in the world is going on.'' (page 9)
This is actually a very realistic example of their relationship between Ali went missing. Ali was the one who actually wasn't afraid to be herself, and who wasn't afraid to offend and hurt others with her words, and none of the girls could stand up to her and tell her their opinion about her offending other people without thinking of hurting them.
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