Post 4 for summer reading

I chose to read Looking for Alaska instead of anything else on the list of books because I read The Fault in Our Stars which was by the same author and I really liked it. A lot of people told me that this book was good too so I decided to give it a try. At first I kind of thought it was slow and boring but it ended up getting better. I think the cover drew my attention because of the picture and title. At first I didn't know what Looking for Alaska was supposed to mean. I thought that something was lost and needed to be found. The picture made me curious too because of the smoke on the front. I wanted to know what it was like a candle or something else burning. I saw some connections with me and the book like how Pudge was uncomfortable at the school at first because thats how I am around new things. Something else I connected with was Alaska. She acts like a strong and confident person and thats how I want to be seen as. If I were to recommend this book to anyone I would say young adults/ anyone who has ever been so attracted to one person by the way they act and the things they do (like Pudge to Alaska).The story is really developed with a lot of big vocabulary so anyone who is reading this would have to be older. There are real world problems seen in this book too which can make it easier for people to relate. Overall I really enjoyed this book and hope to read more books by John Green.

Post 3 for summer reading

One section of the book that I got me hooked was a particular quote said by Alaska. Pudge and her are talking about how her name came to be Alaska. He leans in thinking they are going to kiss but she says no and rants about how she is going to just do what she wants instead of imagining and wishing that she could do certain things. She says,"You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present." This part is hooking because its like a reality check for all people. She is saying that if you want to do something, do it. Don't think about it just do it. When she says "You use the future to escape the present." it reminds everyone that by thinking about the future gives you a distraction on what is going on now in the present and it's like an excuse to not do what you want in that day, but to wait.  By then it might not even be what you want to do anymore.

Post 2 for summer reading

Each of the 3 major characters have something different that they want/desire. 
Miles: I feel like what Miles wants is to fit in with everyone at his school. He kind of is an outcast at school so something he would want to happen is to feel like he belongs to a group. Also I think he wants answers from people because he is curious with people and their last words.
Chip: I think that what Chip wants is whatever he can get. Something that made me think this was when they were having the prank he went along with everything that people told him, not backing out or anything. From that part it made me think he would be fine with whatever.
Alaska: I don't really know what Alaska wants right now because of how complex she is but I think she just doesn't want to put up with anyones crap. I think she wants to just feel like someone cares enough about her.

The way the book is structured is in a before/after set up. It goes "__ days before/after", before being before what happens and after as in after the thing happens. There really isn't any other structure of the book besides that.

One theme that I see so far is, don't take what you have for granted. I think that the characters kind of take what they have for granted because Miles has his family but he chose to stay with Chip for break instead of seeing his family. Alaska takes her life for granted I think because of the line, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." I'm almost to the end of the before section of the book and I can't wait to see what ends up happening.

Post 1 for summer reading

For the summer reading I chose to read Looking for Alaska. There are 3 major characters in this book, Miles "Pudge" Halter, Chip "The Colonel" Martin and Alaska Young. The story takes place in Birmingham, Alabama at a boarding school called Culver Creek Preparatory School. I think the conflict in this book is man vs. self. Miles goes through a lot of peer pressure from what Chip and Alaska do with their group of friends at the school. There is also man vs. man because of the pranks being pulled. I predict that Miles will fall for Alaska because of the way he acts when around her and some of his thoughts he has about her. Something that I want to know about the book is how Miles knows all of the last words said by people before they die? Another question I have is what a "great perhaps" is? I dont really get what he means by that. One other book that I think is really similar to this is The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Both of the main characters in each are a close group of friends. Miles and Charlie are the similar too because I feel like both are kind of awkward in social situations. They also are new to school, Charlie being in a new grade and Miles going to a whole new school than what he was used to. A movie that I think compares to this book is Mean Girls. Cady and Miles are alike because they are both new to a new area and make some friends except in Mean Girls Cady is friends with the Plastics as a joke. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this book. 

Explain what you plan to read next and why

I think that the next book I'm going to read is Looking for Alaska by John Green. I chose to read this because during the first tri this was my independent reading book but I never ended up wanting to finish it. A lot of people I know have told me that it was a really good book and that they recommend it. I read The Fault in Our Stars which he wrote too and it was one of my favorite books ever. I liked the way he writes because it's not something I've read before. He used a lot of elevated diction in that book and in the parts I read in Looking for Alaska. I hope that this book is actually as good as people say that it is. 

Book review for Matched

In the society that Cassia lives in they have control over how the people live. When Cassia goes to her Matching Banquet, Xander (her best friend) ends up being her Match. Another face comes up on the screen belonging to Ky though, which makes Cassia question who her true Match is. Her and Ky get to know each other but they have to take many risks to be with each other. Will Cassia pick Xander or Ky? To find out who she picks you'll have to read the book. Not everyone would enjoy the book I don't think. If you like science fiction books with romance involved then this book would probably be good for you. I would give this book a 4/5 rating because the way the author writes is descriptive and has a lot of thought in it but I couldn't say that it made me think about it once I was finished reading it.   

Conversation with a character from my book

If I could have a conversation with any character from my book I think I would want to talk to Cassia. I would want to know what she was thinking when Ky came up on the screen because if it were me, I would have probably been sad and really confused. Next I would ask her what she thinks her life would be like if her and Xander were matched without any problems in their way. After that I would ask her about her plans on going to find Ky. Something else I would ask would be what she likes about each of the boys (Xander and Ky). One thing I really want to ask is what she picked; either to stay safe or to know. The book leaves off with the readers not knowing so unless you read the second book, you don't find out either.