Semester 1 Reflection

What's up guys? This semester is coming to a close and its always nice to look back and reflect on what you've done. So that's exactly what I'm doing!
     This semester I read 6 books, including summer reading, 3 independently and 3 in class books. Although they aren't all entreating, they are all fun to blog about. My personal favorites were Divergent and Game Changers. Game Changers being a sports book and Divergent being more of an action, dystopian literature book. I myself am more into sports books than action books. Why? I have a deep fear of getting attached to a character and then that character dies. I also feel a closer connection to the characters in a sports book because I also play sports. I chose. These kinds of books because these were all I knew and I was afraid to step out of my comfort zone. Now that I have had a semester to be exposed to different kinds of books, I like way more types of books.

      Looking back at my previous blogs, I noticed a major improvement. I now use more variety of sentences, add quotes and widgets, as well as engage with you guys while I'm blogging. All of which are in the criteria for a "Superior" blog post. Things for this type of blog include: using diction, sentence structure, and engaging style. I have improved in all of these areas  but I still am not at the the place I want to be at. Comparing then to now there is major improvement.

     This is only the beginning of what I hope will be a long blogging career. If I am going to have a long career I need to have improvement. I want to complete the three goals I have set for myself. Number one, I want to start including diction and figurative language in my posts. Looking back I don't think I ever did that. Number two, I need to post on time. There were big gaps between posts sometimes and a superior blogger would never do that. Finally number three, I want to start adding videos to my blogs. in the past I didn't because I saw it to be time consuming but now I know that it is useful in describing books. All of these technics will help me become a superior blogger and I cant wait to try them out next semester.

   

          

The Sequel

As you guys know I really enjoyed "Divergent" and knowing that there was a sequel. I had to get my hands on it.

I did some reaserch on the book and some critics say this book is even better than the last. On Goodreads it was rated 4 stars. I was also looking at some of the quotes from the book. My favorite being,"Cruelty does not make a person dishonest, the same way bravery does not make a person kind." Good to see that Tris hasn't changed I guess. 

I can't wait to start reading this book. Between Tris' personality and the plot of the last book. I can't imagine what excitement Veronica Roth has in store this book.

A Long Way Gone

As you know from my previous post I have taken an interest in Multi cultural memoirs, The next book on my " To Read List " was " A Long Way Gone " By Ishmael Beah. As the reader, I saw a young boy who had a bright future being altered into a killing machine. Ishmael is afraid of fighting and had nightmares about dying. In Chapter 2 he has a very graphic description of one of his nightmares. He is pushing a wheel barrel with a corpse inside. The body has been riddled with bullets. When he unwraps the body he is looking at himself.

In the book Ishmael lives in Sierra Leone when it is going through a civil war. I took this dream as foreshadowing of events that may become true. Either he would become a soldier, or he would be killed. Tension builds and Ishmael joins the army," I am tired of living in fear " joining the army was one of the biggest turning points in the story. Slowly, Ishmael became a monster, " Killing had become as easy as drinking water " While in the army Ishmael did things that in the past he would have viewed as unthinkable.

Romeo and Juliet

In our English class we have started one of the greatest love stories of all time! Romeo and Juliet. Let me just tell you reading this for the first time is not what I expected

Even though this incredible love story is well known, I came in knowing as close to nothing as possible about this book. I was really expecting a really Disney like story. A brave strong handsome man meets a damsel in distress and they get married happily ever after blah blah. But actually in the prologue it is said they both die. That's not the only difference. Romeo isn't exactly my definition of a stereotypical macho man. in Fact he is a very emotional and passionate boy. We get introduced to him as a sad depressed kid. His mom says about him that he stays in his room and closes the curtains to make an artificial night. I absolutely hated Romeos personality. He is the type of guy that even the smallest thing can make or break his day. It will be interesting to see if Romeo becomes a dynamic character or just stays static.

Shakespeare was a very special writer to say the least. he is very passive aggressive and uses a lot of very crude humor. Including my favorite so far "Look my naked weapon is out." Shakespeare also does an amazing job giving each of the characters their own distinct personality. Romeo is emotional Juliette is obedient The Capulet's like to party and the Nurse and Mercuric are very talkative. A lot of times how talkative some characters are makes the play hard to understand. Characters can talk for dozens of lines and only five could be important. But some times the other lines could be funny. It is easy to see why Shakespeare is regarded as the greatest writer of all time.

A Different Kind Of Story

In my English class we read a class book " The Color of Water" by James Mcbride.

At first I wasn't very exited to read the book because Memoirs just aren't my thing I like action, sports, and adventure. But hear me when I say that this book is an exception.

At first I was very curious about the title of the book. Why would he call it that? What was the meaning? My questions were answered when Ruth, James' mother, answered James question about God, " God is the color of water. Water has no color." This was interesting because the book was heavily centered around race and religion it also uses many allusions.  Always talking about how Ruth Is out of place her being a white Jewish girl living in a black neighborhood.

Ruth was a very interesting characterin my opinion she was the main character even though it is narrated by James.She is very isolated coming from an abusive father and a family that ultimately ignored her. Her childhood really shaped her as an adult and the way she raised her kids. Despite all the hardships all of Ruth's children became successful.

Divergent Review

"We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another." 

Beatrice is more than just an average girl. In fact on her aptitude test she scored divergent. Meaning she didn't fit in to any one faction in particular it is also dangerous to be one. If someone where to find out, it would be trouble. She ended up choosing the Dauntless faction. In this faction it values courage and bravery. Members look and dress just as tough as they are. Members where an assortment of all black clothing often with tattoos and piercings. While training for Dauntless, Beatrice changes her name to Tris to hide the the fact that she is a Divergent. With this name undergoes many physically taxing and painful endurance tests.

Tris overhears that the Erudite  faction is attempting to overthrow the abnegation government by brainwashing the Dauntless army. Although being a Divergent is dangerous it has it's perks. One of them being that she doesn't get brainwashed. She must stop the Erudite and save the abnegation government. To do this she need to be a true brave, courageous Dauntless.But at what cost? 

Divergent So Far

Right now In divergent. I have learned a lot about the story and have also made some connections and inferences.

The first and most important thing I learned was about what factions actually. I assumed that it would be a place where they worked or what they did with their lives but instead it was more like what they would specialize in or what trait best suits that person. There are 5 factions: 

Abnegation, suited for people who are kind, Amity, best for people who can make peace or are peaceful, Candor, honesty, erudite, Brave, and Dauntless, Braveness.

Each of these factions are also personality traits and each person is tested for what faction they have. I believe that Caleb is easily fits in with the Abnegation faction. Especially on page 36 where he said,"“Beatrice…We should think of our family…But.  But we must also think of ourselves.” He seems to be the caring type of person, but after seeing him after his test with Tori I don't know. However Beatrice is kind of a mystery even she doesn't know what faction she will be in. I personally hope it's not the cliche Dauntless bravery thing that have billions of times.

The final thing I noticed was how similar Divergent is to " The Giver." Especially how you were given a job that you would do for the rest of your life. And also they are both set in a dystopian society. It will be interesting to see more comparisons throughout the story.

Divergent Ch.1!

I'm After reading just a little of divergent, I'm already hooked! So far I have seen the main character Beatrice. She is sixteen and is a very strong girl. Beatrice lives in what would be modern Chicago only this version seems corrupt like a dystopia. Beatrice is going to take an "aptitude test " after doing research I learned that aptitude means having the ability to do something well. I will find out more as I progress through the book.

Beatrice isn't the only character we have met. We also met her older brother Caleb. Caleb is the prime example of a perfect role model. He is well behaved and polite he his also going to take the aptitude test at the same time as Beatrice.

Beatrice doesn't seem to have many friends and may be struggling in school. In the book, she is shoved by a boy in school and he calls her "stiff" I think this might be more about Beatrice's personality. She might not be as open to people and doesn't let people in her life.

So far the book has been very intriguing and I can't wait to read more 

Divergent

I have recently finished reading " Game Changers" by mike lupica. If you read my review of it you know I was on the fence about the book. But enough about that book, let's talk about my next book.

   

I have decided to read Divergent by Veronica Roth. I have decided to read this book because I want to branch more into the adventure category of books. I fell in love with the Hunger Games books and now I'm hoping that the Divergent trilogy will be an adequate replacement.

   

I have heard many glowing reviews of this seemingly action packed novel and now I get to see for myself. Stay tuned for my review coming soon!

Game Changers

I recently just finished Mike Lupicas "Game Changers" Although it had its good moments, to me it seemed like your typical football story. Maybe even go as far as your generic sports story to be completely blunt.

 Ben Mcbain is the main character, he has always wanted to the starting quarterback but there were two things standing in his way. 

        The first thing is the coaches son Shawn O'Brien. Shawn is practically given a spot on the team on a silver platter. Although he isn't bad, there are better people than him. Ben and Shawn play the same position tension build up between the two and one emerges as the starting quarterback.

         Now, the second cliche is that Ben is a rather small skinny guy who has to overcome the odds and yada yada. This side of the plot got boring time progressed. 

       All in all it wasn't a bad read. But it wasn't my favorite. 3/5 stars from me.

My Summer Reading

My summer reading book was "Help for the Haunted" by John Searles. It was a very interesting book heavily revolving around the themes of  horror, mystery, and religion/supernatural beings.
The main character, Sylvie Mason, was a prime example of excellent character development. She went from being a small, frail girl that was afraid of the world. To a strong, determined girl who wanted to get answers.
         Another thing I liked about this book was the character contrast between Sylvie and her older sister Rose. Unlike Sylvie, Rose was a static character throughout the book. The whole time giving off a sense nonchalance and an " I don't care about anything attitude" she is also very selfish and brash. Meanwhile Sylvie is kind and caring.
         This contrast is very important to the story because when Sylvie's parents died Rose was the that was supposed to take care of Sylvie. But since Rose was not the ideal guardian, Sylvie became detached and lonely. 
         After the death of Sylvie's parents, Sylvie wanted to find the killer, and all the fingers were pointing at Rose!

          Find out what happens by reading the book!