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. 

Similar characters from other books or people in real life

During the book I thought that Cassia was similar to another character that is really popular, Katniss Everdeen. Both characters have several problems thrown at them that they have to face. When I was reading "The Hunger Games" I thought that Katniss was a strong and independent person. She is also really brave. When I started to learn more about Cassia I found out that she has some of those traits too. Also both of them go against the laws of their home place. I think that if Cassia could be similar to anyone I know in real life, it would be my mom because I think both of them are strong and don't let anything stand in their way.

What does the work tell us about how people behave?

In my book, the people who live in the Society have to go by the rules/laws the leaders made. At the beginning Cassia follows the rules and thinks that the Society is making the best choices for everyone. I think that the author is trying to tell the readers that people will follow rules based off of what they've known their whole life like what Cassia is doing. In the front cover of the book it even says "between the only life she's known and a path no one dares to follow... between perfection and passion." Throughout the book she starts to develop deeper feelings though for Ky. This causes her to go against the Society and the life she is so used to. I thought that the author did this because if people are told to do something they usually don't do it and actually do the opposite of whatever they were told to do. This relates to how people behave because most people do that in real life too.

Final Blogging Assesment in English 1B (edited post)

The theme that stands out to me the most is the importance of freedom. In the book Ally Condie does a good job on stating this theme because even though Cassia is supposed to go by the rules of the Society, she still falls in love with Ky when her original Match was Xander. One line in the book made the theme clearer which was, "So in the middle of all the noise, I point to the sky. I hope he understands what I mean... and I will find him." (Condie 320). I felt like this quote made me realize that Cassia is starting to be her own person and not go by the rules of the Society. She is trying to be free by choosing her own love instead of having it chosen for her. Something else that supports the theme is when she tells Xander she loves Ky. Since Xander was her Match at first, it probably took a lot to tell him that she loves Ky but she still chose to be the bigger person and tell him how she really feels. The author does other things in the book to have the theme stand out. I think the theme is something that people in our world should notice because its always good to be your own person and not go by what others tell you to do. A lot of people can relate this theme to other books like The Giver and to their life so I think the author wrote a good and relatable theme. The cover for the book is also related to the theme because it shows her stuck inside of a bubble (stuck under the Society's rule) but on the next book she is breaking out so could that mean she is going against the Society for good?

Krista Ramsey Introduction Activity

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/02/15/krista-locking-into-the-magic-of-legos/5521245/

In the third column I read by Krista Ramsey it talked about kids and legos. They need time alone so they build legos to relax when they need to. The line that I think is the best is when it says "Legos let them claim the two things adults don't even realize they need: space and silence." I thought that this line let the reader know that younger kids still need time alone and their space to do what they want. It can tell the parents reading the column that they should give their kids time by theirself. One example of syntax used in that sentence was when she put ":" because that is like its going to a list. I think that her writing style is elaborate. She goes into detail about how kids are with legos and provided other details like about The Lego Movie. I think that her writing style is elaborate. In every column we've read by her she goes into detail about her topics of writing. The line that stood out to me for the choice elaborate was "The first time a kid constructs a new set, he'll sit on the floor, contents before him, and pore over the instruction booklet spread out before him." If I got the chance to ask her some questions I would probably ask: 1. Do you get to pick what to write about and why do you pick the topics if so? 2. What is the most interesting thing about writing columns? and 3. What do you usually do to your stories so that there is positive feedback?

Text to text connection

A text to text connection I made while reading was The Giver by Lois Lowry. I feel like both of these books relate to each other. One reason is both are a science fiction book that takes place in the future. Both authors use some of the same writing styles to make the story more descriptive. I didn't really like The Giver when we read it in 8th grade but one thing I remember reading was that in the society they lived in, the jobs and who they married were chosen for them. Also the deaths were kind of chosen too since sometimes the people would have to kill the new babies. In Matched the same things happen so I thought that it was similar to The Giver.

Most important line from the chapter

In the chapter I'm on the most important line is:

"Cassia Reyes, the Society is pleased to present you with your Match." My heart stops, and I can't believe what I see. A face comes back into view on the port in front of me. It is not Xander.

This is the most important line because she is in her house alone so she is trying to look at the microcard to find more about Xander but while she is looking into seeing if she already knows everything on the card the screen blacks out and then a new face comes up. The Society doesn't make mistakes so Cassia doesn't understand what is going on. I think this will help develop the plot because there weren't any problems going on up until this. Also it doesn't say who the new person was on the screen so  it will probably take awhile for her to figure it out. I think that what will happen is Xander won't find out right away but then she'll meet the new person and it will cause fights and Xander won't be able to trust Cassia anymore. 

Setting of Matched

The setting for this book is a Utopian society. Also this is taking place in the future. It is supposed to be a perfect society because the officials choose who you love, where you work and when you die. It is kind of like the Farenheit 451 society because the officials don't want people to know too much like they did in the past. I feel like the setting is related to The Hunger Games because both are futuristic utopian societies. There is supposed to be a movie being made for the book so it would be cool to see how the directors make the society come off as. Ally Condie is descriptive too on how the place looks so it makes it easier to imagine in your mind.

Why I chose to read Matched

The new book I'm reading is Matched by Ally Condie. I got the book for Christmas from my cousin and she said that it was really good. I chose to read this book because I like reading science fiction books kind of. Another reason is because last year a lot of people read it and recommended to read it. There's three books in the series so if I like Matched then I'll probably read the other two sometime. I think that this will be like The Hunger Games in the same way that the community is controlled. I'm not that far into the book yet but I look forward to reading it.